Gingerbreads E'rywhere!

Hey friends, how are you?

 We have been invited to our son's in-laws for Thanksgiving - our two girls are spread out and our youngest daughter will be traveling with her in-laws, so it's a quiet time for Jim and I...and top it off, I will be dog sitting. 😀 BUT, if it works out, we will join them for a bit.

I wanted to make a gift for our hostess, something she could use - at home and for the holidays, so I created 8 gingerbread tags - 4 girls and 4 boys, paired with a gingerbread mug and tea towel. And when the to/from tags are cut off, the gingerbread all become ornaments you can place on your tree or use for decorations!

Everything on the gingerbread tags comes from Pretty Pink Posh (Gingerbread Holder and Christmas Holder Additions); I then finished them off by adding holiday greetings and to/from tags using The Greetery's Tear Strip Tags (I've owned this die and stamp set HOW LONG, and just used them for the first time 😁).

The final picture shows the large mug and a hand towel tucked inside; I think the set will make a nice gift showing our appreciation for the invitation and the work that goes into feeding a large group of peeps!

  

Two girls / two boys with tags 

 

Two girls / two boys without tags

 

 

Two girls / two boys with tags 

 

  

Two girls / two boys without tags

 

 Gingerbread mug and matching tea towel

 

MIUCB - Keep It Simple (Stupid / Silly = KISS)

Oh friends...this time at Mix It Up Challenge Blog we're going with KEEP IT SIMPLE...which is truly next to impossible for me. lol... Therefore, I renamed it KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID/SILLY = KISS!

I made 4 cards in different colors with this layout / design; I'm showing the purple one here, but I'll share the others soon!

I added the Pretty Pink Posh scallop piercing die in the background; the flowers were created with the beloved SSS Elegant Rose stencils. I then splattered some black gaouche and some Tim Holtz Statue Foundry Wax (which has to be heat set). 

I used Spellbinder's Alabaster for the main panel, cut with a scallop die and adhered to Papertrey Ink's True Black cardstock to help the main image 'pop', finished it off with a touch of sparkly stickles. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you join us at Mix It Up; and if you don't want to play with KEEP IT SIMPLE, we always enjoy seeing ANYTHING GOES!!

Love to Scrap - Anything Goes

And…he’s married! 💍✨

Welcome back to another post for Love to Scrap! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect—our son tied the knot at sunrise on 08.17.25.

Yes, you read that right…SUNRISE, 6:30 a.m.! Which meant my wake-up call was 3:15 a.m. so I could meet my stylist at 4:00 for hair (and a little makeup help). Totally worth it though—the photos are going to be LEGIT! 📸

This is the card I made for their wedding (their colors were pink and orange). I tried out one of Jennifer McGuire’s techniques—definitely not as flawless as hers, but for a first attempt, I’ll take it. 😉

Now, confession time: as I type this, I’m dog sitting, and for the life of me I cannot remember which flower stamps and dies I used. 🙈 I’ll check when I’m back home in early September and update. Promise!

On the inside, I added a LOVE die from Pretty Pink Posh. I didn’t snap a picture because I had to “make it work” after a little card mishap—but that’s crafting for you, right?

Thank you so much for stopping by! I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorite wedding photos. (Yes, the first time his groomsmen tossed him in the air, I screamed. By the second time, I was just trying to get my phone to record video! His wife wisely put a stop to it after his hand grazed the lights. 😂)

Come join us over at  Love to Scrap—we’d love to see what you’re creating!

Mix It Up Challenge Blog - Fun Fold

Boy, how’s the empty nest life supposed to go? Because somehow, I’m busier than ever! 😅 Between dog sitting (hello, pocket change), our son’s recent wedding 🎉, new responsibilities at work, and a longer commute to our new building…life is full!

BUT…thank you so much for stopping by! This round at Mix It Up, we’re featuring FUN FOLDS. I’ll admit, I usually forget about this option—layering is my go-to—but I’m so glad to have been nudged in this direction!

This fold was inspired by one I saw Jennifer McGuire create (you can find her YouTube video here), so I gave it a try using these festive holiday images. The set was a limited-edition collab between Simon Says (SSS) and Pink and Main, but it’s very similar to THIS stamp set by Pink and Main!

For my card, I started with a kraft base and stenciled white snowflakes, then added a splatter of watered-down white gouache and a mist of glitter. (Hard to capture in photos, but so pretty IRL!) On the white panel, I used a pierced slimline die from The Ton. I stamped and colored various images with Copics, blended with Distress Inks, and finished with embossed, sparkly snowflakes.

Thanks again for stopping by—I truly appreciate you. 💛

And of course, we’d LOVE for you to join us over at Mix It Up!

Party Hats for you, and you, and you!!

I am always inspired by other artists and tend to Copy and Share Everything (CASE) from their cards. These are no exception. I saw party hats JUST LIKE THIS from Arsenia (plant769 on Instagram) and knew I wanted to make some too.

I set about with a color palette and then mixed and matched the colors all day long! I love how the stripes are continuous on the card, looks so cool. For each card, I used the Cascading Star Stencil in the background, perfect addition to all types of cards.

Once again, I had fun shading my die cuts using Simon Says Stamp's Pawsitively Saturated inks, these  inks are my ride or die!

The irridescent stars are so pretty, and of course, I went to town with my white gel pen. #youarewelcome 😁

Which one is your favorite, light pink, green, or dark pink? I love the light pink card the most. Super fun birthday cards I can't wait to send!

Thanks for stopping by; hope you have a great rest of your week and weekend!!

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog

Hello, friends! I hope you are well!

Thanks for joining us on the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog!

This is the card I made our youngest daughter for her birthday. Both my girls like coffee, and this daughter likes PINK, so there is LOTS of pink on this one. 😉 I have really enjoyed seeking color inspiration from Pinterest, and this is no exception. When you see the inspiration, you'll understand the blue in the background. 😃 I used new cardstock from Concord and 9th, my first time using their cardstock and I really like it! Lots of pink options that all go together well, I appreciate that!

I die cut all the pieces and more from the Cup of Kindness set. I made a card similar to this, HERE, and used the same background (Spellbinder's Candy Stipes die, not sure it's available any longer, sorry), I loved it so much!

I die cut the lid components and wrapper from white and added some shading. I also added shading to the flowers and leaves and have tons left over for another card in the future. The other cup has a heart swirl stencil in white, then shifted slightly and blended in a bright pink. 

The heart on the 'floral' cup was embossed with Spellbinder's Tufted 3D embossing folder. Then I lightly swiped white ink over the top before adding glossy accents.

A bit of blue in the background to go along with the color inspiration photo, finished it off with some silver half back pearls. They really added the perfect touch!

Trying to capture the dimension - hopefully you can see it!

Can't wait to see what you create for Love to Scrap; we enjoy seeing your creations!

MIUCB - Paper Piecing or Anything Goes

Hello, friends! Welcome back to another challenge at the Mix It Up Challenge blog! This time we're focusing on Paper Piecing; however, we always welcome ANYTHING GOES, too!

I took a bit of liberty with the "paper piecing" and didn't use it in the typical sense I am familiar with! Instead, I used this sweet doggy from Pretty Pink Posh and paper pieced on some different colors of cardstock for one of his ears, the patch over one eye, and his tail (it's sticking out from the side of the package). I actually did it to one of his paws too, but it ended up being hidden by the bow. 

This card was 100% CASE'd from Nichole Spohr; she provides so much inspiration! I made two of these cards and gave the other to our soon to be daughter-in-law for her birthday. 

I cut the ribbon and bow from super sparkly silver paper. I cut the circles from a darker purple than the gift box, but then added copic coloring to give them even more dimension, I REALLY love how they turned out!

My color inspiration came from Pinterest, HERE.  The base was a wonky stitched rectangle, also from Pretty Pink Posh; if you zoom in, you can see I also used the cascading star stencil  with clear sparkle paste.  I added lots of splatters to the background and finished the design off with a little bling.

Thanks for stopping by; whether you're paper piecing or just creating - please take a moment and share your design with us, we love seeing them!

Some-BUNNY Loves You

Hi friends, how ya doing?

If you follow me on Snapchat (whimsycreation) or Instagram (whimsical_creations), you will notice this as being a much more involved version of the treat boxes I made for the Ronald McDonald Children's Home (RMCH). I made 10 of these with only the bunny peeking out to take to the RMCH; I filled the boxes with green and pink faux grass, then added as much candy as I could pack in to each one. I also took the leftover candy to RMCH, I hope the families were able to enjoy the items! 

All die cuts are from Pretty Pink Posh (bunny products and treat box)- goodness, I so love their products!

Anywho, as I was cutting the boxes for RMCH, I cut 2 extras to create little care packages for a couple dear friends. One's favorite color(s) is black and white; I didn't know the other's favorite color, so I did a light lilac.

Before I die cut the boxes, I used the Spellbinder's Tufted 3D Embossing Folder to emboss the full panel. I embossed, die cut, then embossed again to help with any embossing that was somewhat flattened during the die cutting process. 

Once complete, I highlighted the black box with white pigment ink and the lilac box with a dark purple ink. All inks, except the white pigment ink, are from Simon Says Stamp pawsitively ink. I adhered the boxes together with double-sided tape to make sure they were strongly secured. I then die cut and shaded lots of elements from the Easter Mugs Addition and Big Easter Cupcake dies; the bunny is from the  Bunny Face Shaker dies. The inside of the bunny ears were cut from white card stock and some were cut from a light grey card stock, shading was added with pink Copics. 

Oh, I almost forgot, I purchased the grass border die, also from Pretty Pink Posh. I die cut it from a couple different shades of green card stock and also added shading. I was able to create two rows of grass from one die cut. 

Thanks for HOPPING by, I hope this gives you some inspiration!

Valentine's Day - mega delay

Hello, HELLO!

Long, long ago, in a faraway land... 😁

Let me tell you, 2025 has not been my year; for anyone that knows me, respiratory infections and I have a deep-seated dislike for one another and 2025 has gifted me with two! I was sick all of January (yes, respiratory infections last about a month for me, even with breathing treatments, inhaler, steroids, etc. 😐), then February 13, I took a tumble at work and ended up with a severe concussion - that's a whole other story!! Three days before I was released from concussion protocol, I got another respiratory infection, so I was sick most of March. Just past that, I got violently ill one early morning, the kind where things happen from every end, all at once. Yeah, THAT was TMI, but boy, was I sick. It took a full week before smells did not bother me, and just over 48 hours before I could begin eating normal again. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!! Someone did ask me if I thought it was norovirus, I have absolutely no idea, but I wouldn't wish that on my greatest enemy!!

So...I'm very delayed in posting anything Valentine's related and I do have several things to post! First up, separate from these cute little mini cards, I made A2 size cards (post coming later) for several of my girlfriends and gave them little gifts. I wanted their A2 cards to be part of the gift, so I decided I would make some quick little cards to write on. These are the ones I made and I decided they were too cute, I couldn't write on them either. lol, I mean, SERIOULSLY!!

I used Pinkfresh's Rounded & Braided Rectangle die and cut a colored piece of card stock as well as some leftover designer paper I had on hand. I then used the Simon's Swirl Piercing Plate on the designer paper - you'll probably have to zoom in to see it, but it's there and adds such great detail!

I die cut multiple mini Interactive Envelopes and hearts from various card stock colors. I also die cut the little piece of paper 6 times. I used the Memory Box Distress Stamp (no longer available) to add faint notebook lines to the inserts. I then stamped sentiments from The Greetery's Just My Type in various inks. I finished the mini cards off with some clay hearts. 

And cutest gnome ever? DEFINITELY. Purchased from Leanne from gnomes_and_rainbows_co. 

Thanks for popping in; I hope you are well!!

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog

WELCOME BACK to another fun challenge at Love to Scrap; this is one where anything goes and we love to see what YOU create!

I'm sharing the birthday card I made for our son, the photos aren't the greatest and I apologize!!

He loves orange, it has been his favorite almost his entire life; there was a brief time as a little guy, when he liked green, but that ran it's course and it was back to orange. 😉

I love this pickup from Honey Bee Stamps; this was my first time coloring it - I can't wait to do it in red! I added packages to the tailgate and a HB2U license plate and then lots of rust. Does it read as rust?

There are several great images online of people that have colored the truck, hence where the rust idea came along. I finished it off with glossy accents on the mirrors and tail lights. I also made it into a shaped card with the base of the card being orange. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my project, we can't wait to see what you create!

Hope you will pop over and join us at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog - we love seeing what you create!

MIUCB - Layers

Hi friends! I'm finishing up posting the last of my holiday cards and how fitting, as this month at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog we're focusing on layers (or anything goes)! And if you've been around for any length of time, you KNOW I love me some layers - lots and lots! I'm not so good at Clean and Simple, ya know!! 😉

Along with my love for layers, is my love for Pretty Pink Posh products - always fun, whimsical and oh so cute!!

This Big Christmas Cupcake die set was released last year - just in time for the holidays. I had so much fun cutting all the little pieces, making  packages, a big ole bow, snowflakes and some adorable scallops for my tree - in sparking white cardstock of course! The candy cane comes from the Winter Mug die set. I pulled out the Winter Words stencil for the background and some peppermints from the Peppermints Clay Confetti pack to add some fun dimension to the tree. 

Lots of ink blending, some additional stamping on the tree, splatters and the wonky rectangle dies to wrap up my sweet little cupcake!

Hope you will pop over and join us at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog - we love seeing what you create!