IB257 Sympathy Card

Happy Thursday, all.  Sadly, we had two past members of our church pass away within the last two days.  I was totally enamored of Silke's card (you can see it HERE) for the current Inspired By challenge, so I set out to CASE it for a sympathy card.  First, let's see the photo inspiration:

I remembered that I purchased the same PTI dies last year that Silke used on her card and I think I used them once so I got them out for my card too!  I paired the smaller pumpkin with a Hymn Block sentiment from Sweet & Sassy:

I stamped it in Early Espresso on a piece of woodgrained paper:

then created my pumpkin with some retired Naturals White and Mellow Moss cardstocks, giving them a good sponging around the edges with Sahara Sand and Crumb Cake inks and speckling them with Itty Bitty Backgrounds.  It all went on a Boho Blue card base and I added a little piece of Boho Blue twine for color:

And a few sympathy sentiments on the inside as well:

It is a blessing that my friend will no longer be suffering from her cancer, but we will miss her!  Thanks for popping in today....enjoy it and be blessed.

For those who love to see all things Longwood, their blog recently featured an interesting article about tree removal.  Even a public garden like Longwood is no match for winds and storms, but their professionals do have procedures in place to follow if a natural disaster occurs.  It's an interesting read with some pretty amazing photos!  You can check it out HERE.

photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Everyday Sentiments CL342 (Hero Arts), Hymn Blocks (Sweet & Sassy) Farmhouse Scriptural Quotes (Stamp Simply), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Boho Blue, Crumb Cake,  Naturals White (ret), Mellow Moss (ret), Misc Woodgrain paper
Ink	Early Espresso, Boho Blue, Sahara Sand (ret), Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Mellow Moss (ret)
Accessories	Boho Blue Thick Twine, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Subtle EF (ret), Into the Bloom: Pumpkin Dies (Papertrey)

52 CCT23-7 Deer Merry Christmas

Happy Monday, peeps!  I hope you had a good weekend!  I have a Chistmas card to share today; I used up a lot of my stash last December, so I need to build it up again!  The 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge this week is "masculine":

I wanted to use a deer on my card, so I pulled out the Christmas Silhouettes die and stamp set from Sweet and Sassy and went to work:

I mounted my deer on a twig wreath from Cottage Wreaths, along with some greenery and a Real Red bow.  In hindsight I think I should have left off the greenery, but I had already glued it on, so I let it ride!  I used the Wintery embossing folder on the white panel and matted it with Evening Evergreen.  The background paper is some retired Warmth & Cheer DSP. Finally, a few red enamel "berries" finished off the wreath:

I stamped a sentiment from the same set, adding a few holly sprigs, and diecut it with an Ornate Frames die:

And here's the inside:

Thanks for visiting today!

A few more pix of Ranger and company!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Cottage Wreaths, Christmas Silhouettes (Sweet & Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Evening Evergreen, Crumb Cake, Warmth & Cheer DSP (ret)
Ink	Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Real Red
Accessories	Enamel Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Country Wreaths Dies, Wintery Embossing Folder, Christmas Silhouettes Dies (Sweet & Sassy), Ornate Frames Dies (ret)

IB198C Marshmallow Friends

Hi stampers!  Time for a new Inspired By challenge...check out these fun photos!  You can choose either one, and use the optional sketch alone or with one of the photos!  The choice is up to you!

 

I remembered this sweet older SU set called Winter Wilma, and it had this cute mug, marshmallows and fun sentiment!!  I found some complimentary DSP and here's my card:

And here's the optional sketch, which I did use:

I stamped the mug twice on watercolor paper, loosely watercolored and snipped out one, then mounted the other on top.  I used a couple of dies to cut some circles and snowflakes and embellished them with some enamel dots and Wink of Stella:

Aren't those marshmallows the cutest?

I combined a couple of sentiments for the inside, and it all went on an Early Espresso card base:

This card just makes me smile! I am also going to enter it at the Krafty Chicks for this week...they want something stamped!

I hope you'll play along with our challenge this week....I can't wait to see what you create!  Share it with us at Inspired By!  Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Winter Wilma (ret), Just Treats (Close to My Heart), Christmas Silhouettes (Sweet & Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Early Espresso, Real Red, Watercolor, Candy Cane Lane DSP (ret)
Ink	Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Real Red, Sahara Sand
Accessories	Enamel Dots (W+9), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Snowflakes Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Aquapainter, Wink of Stella, Stitched Chevron Dies (Sissix)

Merry Christmas Village

Happy Monday, peeps!  Hope you had a great weekend....we had glorious sunshine one day and downpours the next!  March weather for sure!  I planned to post this Saturday but we had quite an eventful day so I just gave up and posted it today!  I liked the sketch from FMS and so I paired it with the colors from Fab Friday, and the Jingle Belles challenge to use dies!

So here we go:

I started with a Whisper White card base and stamped a bunch of snowflakes on a panel of Misty Moonlight and adhered it on top.  I then stamped a little village scene in Memento Black in colored it with Blends, diecutting it out and placing it atop some die cut snow:

I added a diecut sentiment, a diecut snowflake and a sprinkling of glitter and the front was done!  Here's the inside sentiment!  Such a fun card to create!

So I said we had an eventful Saturday, and before I get started, I'll add a disclaimer!  What we did is not what you SHOULD do when you find a little stray wild animal on the side of the road! But my nephew has a soft heart and when he saw this little furry bundle along the highway, he stopped to pick it up:

The poor thing was covered in dried mud and was in a daze:

I happened to be babysitting Cassidy that morning, so she got a doll's bottle and we gave it some milk, and it really perked up!  What an interesting experience!  I was sure it was a baby mink but the neighbor thought it was a coyote!  Brad actually took it back to where he found it in the hopes of the mother coming back to retrieve it and we meanwhile called the Game Warden.  She was young and only on the job a few weeks, and thought it might be a fisher, but after consulting with the other wardens, they agreed that it probably WAS a coyote!  Yikes! She relocated it to a safer place but I doubt the momma will be able to find it.  A cautionary tale, as we could have gotten rabies or some other disease if it had been a raccoon or opossum and we had gotten bitten, so we were duly chastised, but it really gave us an exciting day!  Thanks for popping in today!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Simply Celebrate Winter (Lawn Fawn), Christmas Silhouettes (Sweet N Sassy), Christmas Wishes (Scrapbook.com)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Misty Moonlight
Ink	Craft White, Memento Black, Misty Moonlight
Accessories	Rhinestone, Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Tags Tags Tags Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Simply Celebrate Winter Dies (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Hillside Dies (Lawn Fawn), SU Blends

Happy Anniversary

Hi peeps! Today is our 22nd wedding anniversary and I thought I'd share the card I made for John.  He's kind of a plain guy, he doesn't like fussy stuff, so I took Linda's FMS sketch:

 

and came up with this:

My base is Seaside Spray, and the main panel is a piece of Sand & Sea DSP, on which I stamped a lighthouse silhouette from Sweet & Sassy with some trees in the background:

I was a bit surprised; after stamping the lighthouse in Misty Moonlight, I stamped the trees in the background with Seaside Spray ink, and it actually turned the lighthouse a lighter shade...which looks kind of cool!  The sentiment is from Many Mates, and the coordinating "mate" was stamped below:

I also stamped some "splashes" on the card base with the splash stamp from Gorgeous Grunge since I still had it laying on my desk from a couple of cards ago!  Thanks for popping in today---be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"  John 14:6

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Many Mates, Gorgeous Grunge (ret),  Landscape Silhouettes (Sweet & Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Seaside Spray, Misty Moonlight, Sand & Sea DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Seaside Spary
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools

PP512 Colors by Ann

Hello, stampers!  Ann is our Paper Players hostess this week with a lovely fall palette: 

I knew I wanted to create something with some fall leaves, and since I've been happily perusing my older stamps lately, I pulled out French Foliage...one of my favorites...along with French Script, and went to work:

I started with a Naturals White square card base, added a layer of Cajun Craze and a layer of Cinnamon Cider, stamped with the French Script stamp and shaded with a sponge.  The skeleton leaf panel is a new one to me; it's from Sweet n Sassy and I sponged several colors on it before inking it up.  Finally, I stamped the leaves in Mossy Meadow, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry, fussy-cutting them out and layering them in the corner.  The sentiment was also fussy-cut and popped up, and I added some enamel dots for embellishment:

The sketch I used is from Inkspire Me:

And since it's a large square card, I also made my own envelope using some retired DSP and the retired Envelope Punch Board!  I hope you'll play along with our pretty fall colors this week!  Be sure to check out what the Design Team has created with them as well...you'll find them all at the Paper Players!  Thanks for popping in today!

Here's a lone little leaf I found on one of my walks:

The leaves are finally beginning to turn!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"Rich and poor have this in common; The Lord is the Maker of them all."  Proverbs 22:2

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Life is Beautiful, French Foliage (ret), French Script Background (ret), Skeleton Leaf (Sweet n Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Naturals White (ret), Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider
Ink	Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider, Crushed Curry
Accessories	Enamel Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Sponges

Crazy Card for TMS562

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  Tuesday Morning Sketches is celebrating their 11th year..wow! (And they have prizes!!) They brought back their first sketch, and it is so out of my comfort zone, I just had to play along, LOL!  Here's the sketch:

I am just warning you...this is not my usual style!  I went through some of my older stash of DSP and found some fun papers that coordinated; my friend Teri gave me these, so I don't know the maker!  Anyway, I paired them with a new stamp I got from Sweet & Sassy to make this crazy card:

As I said, it's really out of my comfort zone-style, but I just went with it!  The set is called Vintage Love, and I thought a pink typewriter would be really vintage, and it matches the pink notepaper in the background!!  It was stamped in Night of Navy ink and colored with a Pink Pirouette Blend:

I love the little sentiment....this set is sold as a Bible journaling set, but I haven't gotten into that, but I can certainly use this to send some encouragement to a well-loved friend!

Thanks for popping in today!

Several years ago I purchased a wooden spooky house kit to paint, decorate and assemble.  I never did it!  So I thought Cassidy might enjoy painting and decorating it, and she jumped at the chance!  Of course, she painted it black (can you tell it might be close to her favorite color???); I did convince her to paint some of the other elements different colors!  It's a work in progress, so I'll keep you posted:

Pardon the mess on the table....when she's around, I can barely keep up with clean-up!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

CAS Christmas Guest Designer

Hi everyone, happy Wednesday!  I am excited!  The sweet gals over at CAS Christmas asked me to be a guest designer for their current challenge!  You know I said YES!  Here is their prompt:

I knew just what I was going to use for my card and I went right to work:

I started by embossing a Whisper White panel with the Subtle EF and adhering it to a Gold Foil mat.  I used some deep gold glimmer paper that SU had a couple of holidays ago and diecut it using my favorite Lil'Inkers bell die.  I just love the little details...and I saved some of those wee little stars that popped out to embellish my card, too!  I adhered them to a Mossy Meadow greenery diecut:

and added a tiny little tag on which I stamped "Noel" in Delicata Gold ink.  And you can see a couple of those little stars!  Clean, simple and easy!

How are you making out with your Christmas card stash this year?  If you haven't started yet, this would be a great time!  Be sure to check out what all the designers have created at CAS Christmas and get inspired!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

This little petunia seeded itself in our driveway.  It reminds me of the Bible verse from Matthew 13: 20:  "Truly, I tell you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard (or petunia) seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."  Lately, I am feeling the need for some faith like this little petunia's!  How about you?

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Sentiment (Sweet & Sassy)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Gold Foil, Joyous Noel Glimmer (ret)
Ink	Gold Delicata (ret)
Accessories	Gold Trim (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Subtle EF, Tiny Tag Punch (ret), 1/16" Hole Punch, Greenery Dies (Tim Holtz), Bell Dies (Lil'Inker)

RRCB113 Anything Goes Vintage Christmas

Happy Tuesday!  It's Retro Rubber time, where we give our older stamps some love!  Here's an easy one for you...Anything Goes!

I used several older stamps for my vintage Christmas card today...it uses the FMS sketch from last week, which is expired, but I loved it so much I used it again anyway!  So here we go:

I was in the mood for some vintage images, so I pulled out a couple of vintage-style stamps from my stash:  Christmas Background (Stampendous, not sure of date but I've had it a couple of years), and Paisley (2006).  I stamped the collage in Merry Merlot of some scrapbook paper in a warm vanilla hue, and sponged the edges with some Soft Suede ink.  To give a wee bit of added interest, I stamped a fir tree from Flourishes' Forest of Trees set (2012) directly over the collage in Sahara Sand; it's a little hard to see, but I like the subtle effect. 

  

It was then mounted on a Merry Merlot card base that was stamped with the Paisley background stamp, also in Merry Merlot ink.  I stamped some Christmas words from Sweet and Sassy (2009) in White Craft ink and heat set them with white embossing powder, then diecut them with a banner die and layered them on the left side:

Finally, I stamped a sentiment and another tree on the inside:

The name of the sentiment set is Handy Christmas Greetings, from Amy R, and I know I've had it for several years, but I can't find a date....I'll just say it's definitely older than a year!  And since this is definitely vintage, not just the stamps but the images too, I am entering this is the Christmas Card Throwdown challenge for June, where they are looking for shabby/vintage Christmas cards!

Hope you'll play along with our Anything Goes challenge!  Just be sure to use stamps over a year old, and be sure to tell us how old they are!  Can't wait to see your creation in the gallery!

SO...you might remember that Cassidy's dad rescued a little dog that had been abandoned at a truck stop; they named her Ginger.  Since Charlie is out on the road most of the time, his mom usually takes care of the family's dogs, and it's getting a little too much for her, so Cassidy asked Dana if they could "adopt" Ginger and bring her home to be Eden's playmate.  On weekends that Cass goes to her Daddy's, Ginger will go too!

We'll let you know how it all works out!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paisley Background (ret), Christmas Collage (Stampendous), Sweet and Sassy Holiday Greetings (2009), Forest of Trees (Flourishes), Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R, C&C Stamps)
Card stock & Papers	Merry Merlot, Naturals White, Handmade Holiday DSP (Simple Stories 12x12)
Ink	Merry Merlot, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Accessories	White Embossing Powder, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Banner Dies (Nestabilities), Heat Tool, Sponges