Be My Valentine(s)

Hello there!

We haven't met up with each other here in a while.  I hope you are doing well in your little corner of the world. 😀    How is it that, as the years roll by, we feel busier than ever before?  I wonder about that sometimes.  Do I truly have more on my plate than I did before, or am I just slowing down and am not able to keep up as well?  LOL

With some of the free time I have, you'll find me up in the craft studio making cards, versus blogging about them.  And I have kept myself plenty busy with art therapy, aka card making!  The creations you see here today were actually from last year; that's how behind I am in the realm of photo-editing and blogging about cards.

So glad you came by for a visit, and I hope you enjoy seeing these belated Valentine cards.

PinkFresh Studio cat - Playful Animals 2; Papertrey Ink sentiment - Daily Designs Sentiments;
MME Kiss and Tell patterned papers

Stampin' Up! truck, hearts, sentiment - Loads of Love; Papertrey Ink - Cloud 1 & 2 die

Essentials by Ellen sentiment, bear, heart - All Inside; L'il Inker Designs - Stitched Rectangles die

Essentials by Ellen sentiment, bear, heart - All Inside; Papertrey Ink sentiment - Daily Designs Sentiments

Simon Says Stamp Large Doily Heart die; Inspired By Stamping sentiment - All Year Wishes I; Prima flowers; Cuttlebug Love is in the Air conversation hearts embossing folder

Stampin' Up! Heart to Heart punch, window die (unsure of name); Papertrey Ink sentiment - Tag Its #11 and Tiny Tags round tag die; MME Lost and Found patterned paper

Top Dog Dies Doily Hearts die; Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die; My Favorite Things Essential Sentiments 

MME (My Mind's Eye) Union Square patterned paper; glitter heart sticker

Paper Sweeties Pennant Party banner and sentiment; My Favorite Things Mini Delicate Doilies die; pink glitter heart sticker

Verve Happy Phrases sentiment; red glitter heart sticker;
Stampin' Up! patterned paper

Stampin' Up! A Happy Heart sentiment, Round Tab punch; My Favorite Things Pierced Heart Stax dies;
Stampin' Up! retired patterned paper

Stampin' Up! A Happy Heart tic tac toe sentiment / image; Hug Snug Mottle Brown seam binding

It's 4:30 on a Sunday here, and it's been a wonderful sunny day, with church and then a nap. 😃  I'm washing bed sheets, vacuuming, and of course - visiting here with you.

I hope you have a terrific day, what's left of it!  God bless you!

Easter and more!

Hello!  Sooooo glad the weekend is here!  Wishing you an early Happy St. Patrick's Day, too.
Believe it or not, we're heading for a Mexican restaurant tomorrow, and staying clear of the Irish pubs. It gets a little wild in there on this Irish holiday!

I've got a bunch of cards to share today, including several Easter cards.

Here we go:

The first one has a Chocolate Bunny die from Memory Box, cut from dark brown damask paper.  He's so pretty!  I die cut two wreaths using the Memory Box / Poppystamps Breezy Wreath die. I layered them together, and let the top one hang over the edge a bit, then added some pearls.  The paper is by Prima, I think.  The stamped 'Easter Greetings' sentiment is from Flourishes He Is Risen set.

The Baby Bunny below is from Inkadinkado; the sentiment is from Wplus9's Easter Blessings set.

Up next:  a polka dot thank you card using patterned paper from Papertrey Ink.

The little strip of cardstock beneath the book page pattern paper is a dull golden shimmer; it matches the polka dot paper quite well.  The felt flowers are from Stampin' Up! from years ago.  The bold sentiment is from My Favorite Things All Occasion Sentiments.

Next up, two sprigs of moss green die cut leaves (My Favorite Things) are tied with gold/cream twine on this soft monochromatic birthday card.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

On this sympathy card, the dry embossed panel, and the die cut butterfly, were in a Stampin' Up! Scrap Bag.  They're beautiful, even more so in person.  My demonstrator used gold embossing powder, I believe, on that embossed panel.  Hard to see it in the photos.

Below, the spring birthday sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Spring Hills set.  I tucked a little scrap of lace behind the sentiment tab, and added a little rhinestone there, too.

Another Easter card below, using Avery Elle Happy Spring stamp set for the sentiment, tan stamped wreath, and tone on tone rosy red silhouette bunnies leaping across the bottom of the card.  I die cut a Memory Box / Poppystamps Breezy Wreath and layered it outside the sentiment circle.

These gold-embossed flowers and the dry embossed panel were in a Stampin' Up! Scrap Bag.  I topped the panel with some lace, a paper gardenia, pearls and scattered sequins.

Next is a psychedelic card.  Look at that crazy Stampin' Up! patterned paper!  Found it in a scrap bag, and challenged myself to use it in some way.  I pretended it's kitchen wallpaper LOL, and set a teapot scene in front of it.

I had two flowers already punched out - one in shimmery white, the other in mirror gold- and added them to the teapot.  The pot sits upon a doily die cut from white cardstock, and that in turn is atop a rosy coral hued 'tablecloth'.

The card below was a Valentine for my husband in 2017.  Something different!  I used the bear from Essentials By Ellen All Inside stamp set, a bee from Avery Elle Storybook, and a ransom-style sentiment from Blockheads Paper Arts ATC Honey Bees.  The trees are stickers from Jolee's Boutique.

The grass is greener where this bear stands!  It feels good too, in such a beautiful shade of green felt.

This little guy got a shiny nose, thanks to some Glossy Accents glue.

Thanks so much for coming by today.  Time to go for a walk with my favorite guy. Have a wonderful weekend!

A Mixed Bag of Cards

Hello, friend!

I hope you are well today.  What are your plans for the weekend? We've had a nor'easter storm that hit us yesterday, and it's still quite chilly here today, which makes it a perfectly cozy and lovely day to stay inside. I've got the usual list of laundry and cleaning to tackle, and will also be putting away some snowmen decorations (yes, they stay up long after Christmas; they're my winter friends!) and bringing out St. Patrick's Day decor.

I have several cards to share today, no particular theme...

I had to have the My Favorite Things Bundle of Baby Clothes set, which came out in 2017. Cute, cute, cute little sweet things to hang on a laundry line! The sentiment is from MFT's Welcome Baby stamp set.

How cute is this bear from Essentials By Ellen's All Inside??  Love him's little face! I gave him a balloon to hold from an Avery Elle set.

Also had to have the My Favorite Things Cup of Tea stamp set, along with the MFT Tea Party die set. Such endless possibili-teas between the two!  (sorry, couldn't resist that pun)

This simple cross card is a sympathy card, using the Spellbinders Crosses Two die, cut from shiny gold mirror cardstock, and topped with a pearl.  I also die-cut the cross from white craft foam, and gave it some elevation.

The card above is dotted with wooden flowers (Studio Calico, which are topped with white enamel dots I made myself using Tonic's Nuvo Drops.  When they were dry, I glued those dots onto the flowers. Vintage thread hangs from the tag, and I glued it into place carefully.

I love this stamp from Verve, called Grace. The quote from Anne Lamott, "Grace...meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us," speaks of God's truth, His grace and His mercy. We do not need good works in order to be saved, but the Lord takes us as we are, and transforms us from the inside out in the image of Christ.

This last card is super simple, and uses a rose-filled heart stamp from Flourishes' Hearts and Flowers stamp set. I left it black and white, choosing not to color it in so that it has a more modern, clean feel to it. It's propped up with foam dimensional tape behind it, on a gray patterned paper that has been cut with a scalloped rectangle die cut (My Favorite Things). The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's The Skinny stamp set.

That's it for now!  Will try to get more card photos edited so I can blog again soon, but my daughter starts having regattas (she's on the high school Crew / rowing team) in just a couple of weekends, and our lives will be a whirlwind once more.

Until we meet again, God bless you and thank you for your visit!