How Does Your Garden Grow

Welcome to this months Control Freaks Blog Hop where we are featuring our favorite plants and flowers.  You may just be starting or you may be arriving from the charming blog of Cindy Elam...either way, be sure to hop all the way through to see what we have in store for you today!

Next to stamping, my other favorite hobby is my flower garden.  I have an entire corner of my yard dedicated to flowers and I look forward to working in in every spring and summer!

The new So Refreshing stamp set is so cute!  I always love a pitcher full of lemonade, but a pitcher full of flowers is just as good!  

I stamped the pitcher in Smoky Slate and added some stamped off Pool Party water.  The flowers were stamped right into the pitcher!  The Granny Apple Green stems and Calypso Coral blooms are just gorgeous!  I stamped one more set of flowers to lay across the cute Lost Lagoon table cloth...I love this die cut element!

I wanted a simple little sentiment to tie around the pitcher and the For You from Country Bouquet was just perfect!

Next up is Debbie Henderson ...you're going to love what she has to share with you! 

Happy Stamping!

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Plentiful Birthday Wishes

Welcome to an all new Control Freaks Blog Hop!  This month we are featuring a super fun sketch and I can not wait to see everyone's projects! Take a peek at the sketch below and hop along to see all of the creative inspiration we have to share.

Wasn't Wendy's card amazing?!?  So much talent!

I've been giving a lot of love to my stamp sets that will soon be retiring and today's sketch was perfect for the Plentiful Plants stamp set!  I am SUPER sad to see this stamp set go.  This is one I will hang on to forever!

I started out by cutting the panels in all different colors, then embossing them with a variety of embossing folders for a lot of awesome texture.

I stamped all of the plants in various shades of green and tucked them in pots to coordinate with the panels. A tiny bit of Frayed Ribbon strands were the only embellishments needed.  I used my favorite go-to Happy Birthday sentiment from Artistically Inked to complete the sketch.

Hop along to Debbie for more creativity...you won't be disappointed!

Thanks for hopping along with us!  We hope you will find the inspiration you need to create your own project with this sketch!

Happy Stamping!

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Springing into Easter

Welcome to March's Control Freak Blog Hop! This month we are trying something fun...a color challenge!

Are you just starting or did you arrive from the amazing Wickedly Wonderful Creations?  Either way, make sure to hop on all the way through!

Spring is finally making an appearance in my area and that means the Easter bunny will soon be making an appearance as well!  These spring-time colors were perfect for a sweet little Easter card.

I mixed and matched these fun colors with a variety of patterns and textures.  Country Gingham DSP and Highland Heather embossed with the Basic 3D Embossing Folders are too much fun together. 

A cute floral necklace of flowers decorated the fuzzy Smoky Slate bunny, tucked into the Granny Apple Green grass and some hidden Easter eggs. I can almost see that bunny nose twitching. 

Next up is RubberFUNatics...don't miss out on this colorful creation!

Thanks for hopping along with us today!

Hoppy, I mean Happy, Stamping!

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Sending a Big Squeeze of Love

Welcome to the February edition of the Control Freaks Blog Hop!  Valentine's Day may have passed, but we are continuing to spread the love this month.  Did you just arrive from the amazing project created by Melissa Davies of RubberFUNatics or are you just starting to hop?  Either way, be sure to hop all the way through!

I had some bright, colorful fun with the Sweet Citrus Bundle for today's card!

I created a rainbow of sweet citrus!  Polished Pink grapefruit, Pumpkin Pie oranges, Daffodil Delight lemon and Parakeet Party limes and a few pretty blue Pastel Adhesive Sequins.  And what goes better with all of these bright colors?  Black and white stripes, of course!  

I cut some strips of Basic Black and Basic White and adhered them to another piece of scrap paper to create a fun added striped pattern. 

The Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder is AMAZING! There is so much detail in this folder AND you can emboss and cut at the same time.  Even better!

Next up is the creative Connie Babbert of Inkspired Treasures.  You're going to love her project today!

Thanks for hopping along with us today!  Happy Stamping!

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Fun & Fancy Fold ~ Control Freaks Blog Hop

Welcome to the January edition of the Control Freaks Blog Hop!  This month we are getting Fun & Fancy with our folding!  Did you just arrive from Cindy Elam of Hearts Delight Cards or are you just starting the hop?  Either way, make sure to hop along to the very end so you don't miss a single one of the amazing creations!  

I couldn't resist putting away the Dainty Flowers DSP without making another card! The card base was created with a pice of DSP, scored and folded to create a Fun & Fancy fold!

A Petal Pink panel was added to hold the beautiful fussy cut bouquet of dainty flowers.  These little flowers are so dainty that I may have held my breath when cutting some of them for fear of cutting one of the leaves of blooms off!  I used the Kind & Sincere stamp set again for the sentiment and will likely use it again very soon.  I love the mixed fonts!  A simple Linen Thread bow and a few Pastel Sequins completed the card.

Thanks for hopping along with us this month.  Next up is Wendy Weixler of Wickedly Wonderful Creations!

 

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Divine DSP ~ Control Freaks Blog Hop

 

Hi friends! Welcome to November's Control Freaks Blog Hop!  This month we are diving in to all of the Divine DSP in our stash.  Did you just come from Melissa's devine project or are you just starting?  Either way, be sure to hop along and see what we all have in store for you today.

I always love a DSP that can steal the show all on it's own!  Storybook Gnomes DSP is one of my favorites from the July-December Mini Catalog.  In addition to all of the cute gnomes, the forest critters are absolutely adorable!

I fussy cut a few of these forest friends and paired them up with another fabulous print from the pack of DSP to create a cozy little winter wonderland.

The only stamping was the sweet little sentiment.  How awesome is it to have the DSP be the highlight of the card?!?

Keep on hopping to the next stop to see what my dear friend Wendy Weixler has done with her DSP!

Happy Stamping!

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Trick or Treat and Spooky Spells

Welcome to the October edition of Control Freaks!  This month we are celebrating the upcoming holidays.  There are so many holidays packed into the last few months of the year, so the creative possibilities are endless!  Hop along and see all of the fun holiday creations!

Did you just arrive from Cindy Elam of Hearts Delight Cards or are you just starting?   Either way, just keep hopping until you make the full loop!

I switched back to some Halloween cards for todays hop.  I paired up Best Witches with the stamps from the September Paper Pumpkin Spooky Treats for some spooktactular creations!

I decided on a colorful witch for the first card, giving her a Parakeet Party dress and Rich Razzleberry cape and hat. I think the only spell she could put on someone is a spell of sweetness!

This next little witch is a bit more traditional with her black hat and cape.  I love her "golden" Daffodil Delight dress...she's a happy, sunshiny witch!

As you can see, I used the same layout and patterns of Celebrate Everything DSP for both cards.  I made a few sets of each card for a special order, so this was a quick way to get them all done!

Next up is my friend Wendy Weixler of Wickedly Wonderful Creations.  You don't want to miss her Happy Holidays creation!

Happy Stamping!

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Stepping Things Up - Control Freaks Blog Hop

 

Hello stampers and welcome to another Control Freaks Blog Hop!  This month we are stepping things up with our projects. Did you just arrive from the amazing creation from Melissa Davies of Rubber Funatics or are you just getting started?  Either way, make sure you don't miss a single stop along the way!

I decided to make my focus on the beautiful Perfectly Penciled DSP for my projects today.  I always love any black and white DSP and this pack of paper does not disappoint!

For my first card, I keep things simple with nothing but paper, stamps and ink...and maybe some embossing powder too!  Charming Sentiments stamp set was perfect to go along with each different design.

Next up is another pattern of Perfectly Penciled with a little pop of color.  I die-cut 

circle from the center of DSP and colored the flowers with Calypso Coral and Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends.  I wanted a bit more color, so I filled in the remaining white space with Pool Party Stampin' Blends.  The colored circle was then layered on a Basic Black circled, carefully lined up to match the black and white flowers behind.

Next up is the big step up...lot of color for the flowers, followed by lots of fussy cutting!  These beautiful blooms were popped up with a few Dimensionals on top of a Basic White background with just the right amount of splatter.  Some separated threads of Parakeet Party Metallic Woven Thread were tucked behind the sentiment, along with a few Fine Sparkle Adhesive-backed Gems scattered around the floral image as a finishing touch.

It's always fun to start simple and step things up!  

Check out Cindy Elam of Hearts Delight Cards to see how she stepped things up too!

Thanks for hopping along with all of us!

Happy Stamping!

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Spotty Rugged Birthday Wishes

Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog Hop! We're back after a little break to enjoy the summer and are excited to share "spotty and dotty" creations with you.

 

Whether you are just starting or hopped over from the amazingly creative Cindy Elam, be sure to keep hopping all the way through!

I recently added the Dots & Spots die to my collection and thought it would be perfect for this months theme!

Inspired by the talent of Susan Wong and Cindy Schuster over at The Crafty Carrot Collective, I created this card for my hubby's birthday.  I cased a card made by Susan in this months free He's All That tutorial, with a little added elements from Cindy's sneak peek cards.

I heat embossed the compass in white on Basic Black, adding die cut and banner layers of He's The Man DSP. I stamped the Happy Birthday in Cajun Craze, cutting just the HB sentiment from the rest of the car image from the He's All That Stamp set.  The antlers, elk and strip of stars all came from the He's The Man DSP as well...I need more of this!

I used the Kraft 6"x6" paper with the Dots & Spots Die, then added a bit more texture to the Basic Black card base with the Brick & Mortar 3D embossing folder.

I always look forward to making my hubby's card each year, always searching for something hunting related.  Thanks to the Craft Carrot crew for the inspiration! 

Next up is my dear friend Wendy of Wickedly Wonderful Creations.  I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!

Happy Stamping!

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Clean and Simple Hues

Hello stampers!  The Control Freaks are back this month and we are sharing some clean and simple creations with all of you!  You may just be starting the hop or you may have come from the creative Cindy Elam...either way, be sure to make your way  all the way through!

If you've been following along with me this week, you'll remember that I shared a card earlier in the week with these beautiful Hues of Happiness blooms. I fussy cut nearly an entire page of these flowers and put them to good use for today's projects.

First off we have shades of Flirty Flamingo and Melon Mambo...

...followed by shades of Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody.

Next up are Costal Cabana and Pool Party...

...followed by Gorgeous Grape and Fresh Freesia.

Each card was embellished with coordinating Glossy Dots and a touch of texture from my favorite Painted Texture 3D embossing folder.

I chose a few of my favorite Peaceful Moments sentiments, which were stamped in Memento then, you guess it...fussy cut!

It's always so refreshing to create something clean and simple!

Next up is my stamping BFF Wendy Weixler.  You won't want to miss her wonderful creation!

Happy Stamping!

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How Will I Live Without...

The Control Freaks are back with an all new Blog Hop this month.  We took a short break last month and we are so happy to be hopping along again!  You may have just arrived from Debbie Henderson or you may just be starting. Either way, don't miss a single stop!

This month we are sharing our favorite stamps, dies, embellishments, papers (and so much more) that we just can't live without!  Every time we have to say good bye to retiring products, I can't imagine my stamping life without them. Anyone else feel that way?  I'm here to share a few of my favorite retiring things before they are gone for good.

I am seriously sad that the Sweet Strawberry bundle is retiring.  I love these sweet strawberry images and sentiments.  I love them even more as a pop of color with a Basic Black card base.

I stamped the floral image on a piece of Basic White, coloring the flower in Petal Pink and leaves in Mossy Meadow.  The strawberries were colored in Real Red, with their tops and extra leaves in Mossy Meadow too.  The berries were punched out with the Strawberry Punch and popped up for a little extra dimension.  The simple Thank You sentiment was heat embossed in white on Basic Black with a little strip of  black and white Pattern Party DSP.  It was finished off with a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels and a little Playful Pets bakers twine.

Next up is another one of my favorites...Tasteful Touches and the coordinating Tasteful Labels Dies.  I love the floral image in this stamp set and the dies...oh, how I will miss them!  I use these dies on almost EVERY card I make!

This card is a case of one of this months Crafty Carrot Collective projects, created by Cindy Schuster...I loved the layout of her project and just had to use it!  I started off by combining two patterns from In Good Taste DSP, adding a diagonal strip of Gold Metallic Specialty Paper.  Some flowers, colored in Balmy Blue, and a few Granny Apple Green sprigs were tucked in behind the sentiment, along with a few more gold leaves.  A few Brushed Brass Butterflies finished things off...isn't it pretty?

Next up is Melissa Davies of Rubber Funatics...isn't she amazing?!?!

Thanks for hopping along with us!

Happy Stamping!