Cute Little Postage Stamps

Happy Wednesday, peeps! I was lying in bed unable to sleep one night last week and remembered I had these cute tiny little stamps in my stash that would be good for a postage-style card.  The stamps are pretty poor quality, but they are cute, and with a little TLC, I can usually get them to stamp a fairly good image.  I already had a piece of Pool Party embossed with a snowflake embossing folder, so I used that as my starting point:

The card itself is notecard-sized.  I used dies from Waffle Flower's Postage Collage set, then stamped the images and added some shading and coloring.  A couple of stamped images from the Postage Collage stamp set added to the "postage" feel.  Snowflake Sky is the embossing folder I used, and I sponged Craft White ink all over the embossing for that snowy look!  A sentiment from Papertrey went on the inside. 

And since the Double D Challenge has a beautiful winter theme, I am going to pop it in there, as well as the Can You Handle The Pressure challenge!  (Thanks for the suggestion, Darlene!)

Thanks for stopping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Holiday Stamps (Peachy Cheap), Postage Collage (Waffle Flower)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Pool Party, Acetate Sheet
Ink	Craft White, Versafine Black, Real. Red, Shaded Spruce, Pool Party, Garden Green, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Rhinestone, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Snowflake Sky Embossing Folder, Postage Collage Dies (Waffle Flower), Sponge Daubers, Real Red Marker, Blender Pen, Blushing Bride Marker (ret)

CAS on Sunday 294-Jack & Cat

Happy Wednesday, peeps! The CAS on Sunday challenge this week is Halloween!  I got this howling cat stamp several years ago and always ensure he makes at least one appearance in October!  My card is uber-CAS; just one layer, no embellishments or frou-frou!  Here we go: 

I stamped my cat in Versafine Black ink, then stamped it again on a piece of masking paper and fussy-cut him out.  I laid the masking paper on top of the stamped image, then stenciled a big yellow/orange moon behind him, and finally, colored in his pumpkin:

I added some stamped black stars, some orange "twinkle" and a little "boo" as my sentiment!  I wish I had stamped the image a little lower because it looked top-heavy, so I trimmed off the bottom a bit to even it up, LOL!   Easy peasy and this little kitty is already in the mail!  

 I am also going to add this over at the Double D Challenges where there are looking for a pumpkin!

Thanks so much for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Seaside Wishes (twinkle), Jack & Cat (100 Proof Press), Halloween (Recollections), Paper Pumpkin (for the star)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Acetate for Stencil, Masking Paper
Ink	Versafine Black, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories
Tools	Blending Brush, Pumpkin Pie Marker

IB291 Choose Healing

Happy Friday, everyone!  I have a cheerful little card today based on the Inspired By challenge photo, as well as the sketch; here they are:

I needed a get-well card for a friend who recently had a medical procedure, so this is for her:

I decided to turn the sketch on its side so I could add a sentiment at the bottom.  The images and sentiment are all from Choose Happy.  I diecut three "stamps" from the Perennial Postage dies and created a little stencil using a piece of acetate so I could sponge the centers.  I then stamped each one with an image from the set and colored it with ink and a blender pen:

I also added some gel pen polka dots for a little fun and to coordinate with the background paper as well!  And because of those polka dots, I am squeaking this in to the Double D Polka Dot challenge where they're honoring a team member who recently passed away:

I hope it cheers up my friend! 

Yesterday I heard a very LOUD squealing sound from the woods behind my house...I have never heard a noise like that at all! Nothing came up on my Merlin bird app, so I cautiously walked out through the freshly-mown field and just happened to look up and see this:

Yep, a bald eagle.  I got very close and it never flew away while I was there. I did make a little video and in it you can hear the sound; I believe it was a hawk, which I saw behind the eagle.  I am thinking he was not happy the eagle was honing in on his territory, but the eagle stayed put and the hawk flew off!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Polka Dot DSP (ret, can't remember the name)
Ink	Versafine Black, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Primrose Petals (ret), Acetate Sheet for stencil
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Blending Brushes, White Gel Pen (Posca)

Double the Joy

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I have two almost identical cards for you today; they are for the Color Throwdown challenge as well as the Little Red Wagon "sentimental" challenge, and I am tossing it in over at the Double D challenge of Sparkle & Shine as well:

Just a day ago, I received some beautiful Mintay Christmas papers, and they had several in pink and blue. I chose two identical snowflake patterns and used a Poppystamps die to cut out the word "Joy", then went to work:

These papers are very pale, so it's a bit challenging to see how pretty they are!  I put the blue letters on the pink card:

and the pink letters on the blue card! One I adhered flat, the other I popped up, just to see the difference!

For the blush color of the challenge, I coated a piece of Petal Pink with clear glitter to put behind the snowflake opening on each card, then added a Genial Gem to the center.  It's so pretty peeking through!  I also added some glitter ribbon on each card.

With the leftover piece of DSP, I stamped a Christmas sentiment from Hope & Peace and put on the  inside:

Thanks for popping in today! 

We're so excited because I have a great-niece!  Jameson and Sawyer have a little sister, she arrived Wednesday morning early!  I will have pictures soon!  FINALLY a girl in the family!  So blessed!  Enjoy your day and be blessed too!

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.  Proverbs 1:8-9

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hope and Peace
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Petal Pink, Adhesive Sheet, Merry Little Christmas (Mintay)
Ink	Smoky Slate
Accessories	Glitter Ribbon, Dimensionals, Genial Gems (ret), Glitter from my stash
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Seed Snowflake Joy Die (Poppystamps)

Happy Christmas Deer

Happy Thursday, peeps! The week is screeching along to the weekend and I feel behind!  LOL, I am sure I will get it all done, right?!  I made a card a couple of days ago and just had the time to post, and it happened to be for a couple of challenges!  First, the sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

And both Little Red Wagon and Double D challenges want Christmas animals on their cards:

I hadn't used this sweet little deer diecut from Papertrey for a while, so I decided he needed to make an appearance:

I guarantee you that John won't see a deer out in the woods decked out like this one, LOL!  He's created from some retired Naturals White cardstock, mounted on various Christmas papers, and decorated with some sequins and twine on his little wreath around his neck:

The layers are mounted on a 4 1/4" square Mossy Meadow card, and the sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp's Christmas Blessings!  Off to make some more cookies!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Mossy Meadow, Naturals White (ret), Real Red Glimmer (ret), Winter Flowers (Unity), Christmas Salutations (Echo Park)
Ink	Mossy Meadow, Real Red
Accessories	Sequins (from my stash), Cherry Cobbler Thick Baker's Twine (ret), Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Deer to Me Dies (Papertrey), Large Banner Dies (Pink & Main)

FMS606 & DDC Pink Halloween

Happy Thursday, peeps!  The Double D Challenge this month is PINK for Breast Cancer month!  Here's their fun prompt:

A couple of years ago I bought some CTMH Halloween papers and one of them had a pink background with white ghosts and black bats....but I never used it because I just couldn't reconcile pink with Halloween!  But I thought it would be perfect for this challenge!  So I pulled it out and here we go:

I also used the FMS sketch for this week:

I don't know what it is with me and vellum lately, but this is the third card I've made in a couple of weeks that uses vellum, particularly over top of printed paper! These papers just looked a little too busy with my trio of circles, so I gave it a "misty" look by popping a piece of vellum over top.  And since I still had my dies out from the card I made a couple days ago, I diecut another ghost, punched out a bat, and created some pink and black candy corn...I'll bet they taste like Good 'n Plenty, whatcha think?

I added a sentiment from Papertrey (as are the candy corns), a few sparkly bits and some diecut circles and it was done!  Here's the inside, using MFT's Primitive Pumpkins sentiments:

I am also going to enter this at the Two Old Bats Halloween challenge, where anything Halloween goes:

I am thrilled to be using up some of that pink Halloween paper!  You should check out what the design team members came up with using their pink supplies!  Thanks for popping in today..enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Primitive Pumpkins (My Favorite Things), Tremendous Treats: Halloween (Papertrey)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Basic Black, Bubble Bath, Vellum, Boo Crew (Close to My Heart)
Ink	Bubble Bath, Versafine Black
Accessories	Sequins, Gems & Rhinestones from my stash, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Cupcake Toppers Dies (Impression Obsession), Bat Punch (ret), Small Oval Punch (ret)

Floral Sympathy

 Happy Saturday, peeps! Sadly, I needed a sympathy card this week, so I went looking for some challenges that would give me some inspiration! I took the sketch from TGIF and paired it with the Double D challenge of Anything Goes.  They are collaborating with Altenew and their stencils, which are optional, but since the images that I used just happened to be Altenew, I decided to add a little stenciling too!

And here's my card:

My florals are from Garden Treasure, and I used some retired DSP for the bottom panel.  The sentiment was stamped in Memento Black, then diecut with a Stitched Labels die.  I very lightly stenciled some Bubble Bath polka dots on the card base around the flower:

and added a little banner of the new Grosgrain Ribbon:

A Stamp Simply verse was stamped on the inside:

Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Cassidy did a little fishing with Wayne last week and had some success:

Hard to believe she'll be thirteen next week!  

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Special Moments (ret), Garden Treasure (Altenew), Farmhouse Scriptural Thoughts (Stamp Simply)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Garden Green DSP (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Bubble Bath, Flirty Flamingo, Poppy Parade, Soft Seafoam, Garden Green, Mint Macaron (ret)
Accessories	White Grograin Ribbon, Dimensionals, Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (Stencils, ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Labels Dies, Blending Brush

Be Merry Candy Cane Shaker

Happy Thursday, peeps!  Before I start making my pies, I snuck into my craft room to create another Christmas card...I'll need them for next year!  The Global Design Project had a fun sketch, and the Double D Challenges want to see red and white candy canes!

Yummy!  I haven't used this Stamp Market candy cane image at all this year, so I thought I'd give it some love and make a shaker card.  I must warn you, it's a little busy, so prepare your eyes, LOL:

I used some Rings of Love DSP along with elements of Mint Macaron and Blushing Bride.  The candy cane was stamped in Poppy Parade and I added some Mint Macaron stripes.  Shaker cards are always so challenging to photograph, too! I threw in a bunch of sequins and pearls from my vast stash:

The sentiment is from the same set (Candy Cane Christmas), diecut with a shortened Stylish Shapes die:

And a fun Impression Obsession stamp went on the inside, along with candy canes from Jingle Jingle Jingle and twinkles from Trees for Sale:

Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Trees for Sale, Jingle Jingle Jingle, Candy Cane Christmas (Stamp Market), Christmas Stamp D14802 (Impression Obsession)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Poppy Parade, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Window Sheet, Rings of Love DSP (ret)
Ink	Mint Macaron, Poppy Parade
Accessories	Sequins from my Stash, Adhesive Dimensional Strips
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Layering Squares Dies (ret), Candy Cane Christmas Dies (Stamp Market)

JAI634 Furry & Bright Gift Bag

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Just a quick little post today; I always exchange gifts with a friend from church; she is like a mom to me, and although our gifts are very inexpensive (yard sale or thrift store finds!) they mean a lot to me!  The Just Add Ink challenge is "Anything but a Card" so it was a perfect opportunity to create a little gift bag for my present to her:

After a few false starts with the measurements, I finally got it right:

The final measurements of the bag are 3 3/4" high, 3" wide and 2" deep.  The bottom is 1" across.  My friend has several cats and dog-sits her daughter's dog every day, so I thought the cute retired Sweet Stockings DSP would be a good decoration!  I stamped a sentiment from Christmas Scottie and diecut it with a Tailor Made Tags die, then tied it with some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine to the Mossy Meadow Baker's Twine bag handles!

I am also entering this at the Double D Challenge this month, which is Christmas stockings!;

And do you want to see what I tucked inside the bag?  Here we go:

Isn't he a cutie? A bargain from Goodwill!  Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Scottie
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Sweet Stockings DSP (ret)
Ink	Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Thick Baker's Twine in Mossy Meadow and Cherry Cobbler (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Tailor Made Tags, 1/8" Punch (ret), Scoring Board

PP616 Thankful Thoughts

Hi stamping friends!  Happy Sunday and time for a new Paper Players challenge where the sweet Claire is our hostess!  She has a timely theme for us today:

I pulled out a set from the Holiday Mini catalog from 2006 for my card today!  Talk about an oldie but goodie!  This style of line-art drawing was what drew me to SU in the first place!  So fun to stamp in Stazon, then use inks to watercolor in!  Here we go:

I used Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Cajun Craze and Cinnamon Cider to color in my images:

Then mounted it on a piece of Old Olive plaid DSP.  I stamped a sentiment from the same set in Mossy Meadow, and since I didn't get it quite centered, added a little leaf from the retired Itty Bitties set to make it look a little bit more centered!

Finally, I stamped the inside sentiment also in Mossy Meadow and left enough room for a couple more leaves at the bottom to tie it all together!  Square stitched dies were from Lil'Inker!  Everything went on a pretty Mossy Meadow card base!

I am also entering this at Double D Challenges, where they have a thankful mood board, and at Make the Cards, where they also want "thankful"!  

     

I know you'll have lots of ideas to share with us, so I hope you'll stop by the Paper Players blog, see what the DT created, then post yours as well!  Can't wait to see it!

We had Cassidy overnight and after running a bunch of errands, she wanted to make homemade ravioli!  She has a monthly baking/cooking subscription from a company called Kiwi, and they send utensils and directions for a variety of goodies!  This month's was ravioli, lasagne and marinara sauce.  Believe it or not, I have never made ravioli, so I was intrigued.  We gathered the ingredients together and went to work!  She put the flour in a baking dish and made a well:

Added the eggs and mixed it all together.  She was not too keen on the mixing part...she wanted to use her hands but the dough was pretty sticky before it came together.  Then we took turns kneading it for fifteen minutes:

After kneading and resting, she rolled it out and laid the first layer on the ravioli form:

We made the ricotta filling and filled them up; by trial and error we realized we had them a little too full, but after adding the top layer and pressing them together, these are the final product!

I was very impressed with her skill, even though she is a little lax on the tidying up!  We boiled them and added our own spaghetti sauce. She loved them!  I did not realize that the Italian seasoning I used in the filling has lots of sage in it, of which I am NOT fond, so I wasn't crazy about them.  They were a little thicker than I thought they would be, since she rolled the dough to what I thought was the perfect thickness!  But she's going to leave the ravioli form with me and I might try to make them again, maybe with a different dough recipe!  It was definitely labor-intensive but satisfying to see those little doughy pillows pop out!  Thanks for visiting today, enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Thoroughly Thankful (ret), Itty Bitties (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Mossy Meadow, Old Olive DSP, Basic White, Watercolor
Ink	Stazon Black, Poppy Parade, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler, Cinnamon Cider, Mossy Meadow
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Square Dies (Lil'Inker Designs), Aquapainter