Florals for Fun

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's the last day of March, and the last day of Sale-a-bration!  Did you take advantage of it?  You've got a little time left!  

I have a couple of floral creations today, and they each have a very different feel to them!  This one uses an older Artistic Outpost image that has never seen ink!  As I was suffering from insomnia the other night, I thought of it--surely I'm not the only one who does that, right?  Anyway, I was perusing my 6x6 stash and found this Night of Navy gingham (yes, more gingham, Michele!) and thought how pretty the tulips would look with it...kind of like Delft!  So here we go with my very CAS blue tulips:

This uses the sketch from the Global Design Project:

I stamped my image in Night of Navy, and I did something I rarely do:  I watercolored!  It's not that I don't watercolor often, but when you watercolor with water-based ink outlines, you run the risk of making your image bleed!  I was very, very careful and used an almost dry brush to add Blueberry Bushel and Seaside Spray inks to fill in my design:

I used the Stitched Shapes die to cut it out, and I used the Stitched Nested Labels die to create a banner; I used the "negative" portion for the fishtail, and used the straight die on the edges!  A sentiment from Honey Bee finished it off.  Simple!

My next card is for the SUO Challenge to CASE something from page 42 of the catalog, as well as the Time Out Challenge to use purple!   

Purples are not usual my go-to colors, so I sort of forgot about poor Purple Posy...and it's such a pretty pastel shade!  I chose to copy the bottom sketch of the SUO challenge, using a Purple Posy card base and some pretty floral paper from Best Dressed:

On another Stitched Nested Label diecut, I added a butterfly from Positive Thoughts in Pineapple Punch, a sentiment from Fable Friends in Mint Macaron, and I stamped the flower from Positive Thoughts in Highland Heather (stamped off twice) right on top of the sentiment.  Some Iridescent sequins (that reflect in really weird colors, LOL) added a little sparkly touch.  Some Nature's Twine, tied in a bow, coordinated with the greenery in the DSP:

I forgot to photograph the inside...I stamped the friendship sentiment from So Sentimental, so this definitely qualifies for the "friendship" part of the challenge as well!  

Dana told me that Cassidy cooked herself a cheese steak!  Yum!  I think Ginger is thinking she should be able to have a sample, too! But I don't see anything green on that plate!! Tsk, tsk!   

Dana, Cassidy and I actually got to video chat yesterday!  Technology is pretty great...we had a couple little hiccups at first, but I think we've got it now!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your social distancing and be blessed!

Card 1 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Honey Bee, A Lovely Day (Artistic Outpost)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Night of Navy, Night of Navy Gingham DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Blueberry Bushel, Seaside Spray
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Nested Labels Dies

Card 2 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Positive Thoughts, So Sentimental (inside)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Purple Posy, Best Dressed DSP
Ink	Mint Macaron, Pineapple Punch, Highland Heather
Accessories	Nature's Twine, Iridescent Sequins
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Nature's Thoughts Dies

FMS428 Easter Bunny

Happy Monday, peeps!  Are we still putting on a brave face?  It's getting a little more challenging for us, but we are persevering!  I had a fun hour and a half this weekend doing a video chat with my Retro Rubber teammates!  They dragged me into 21st century technology and I didn't do too badly, LOL!  But I am having a little trouble getting motivated to stamp, I think we all feel that way!  I did manage to eke out another Easter card using the FMS sketch, squeaking it in in the nick of time:

I have lots of Pleased as Punch DSP so I thought I'd better use some of it up with my little bunny from Fable Friends:

Since I did a pink card yesterday, I thought I'd choose a color I don't use much, Mango Melody.  It's a little strong, and I am not 100% sure I like it here, but after you've put time into a card, you don't have the heart to let it go, so I persevered on this one too!  I stamped my little cutie in Smoky Slate and used a Blender Pen and some ink to color in her jacket, then used Blends to shade her fur.  I had cut out a little bunch of flowers to accent my sentiment, but couldn't quite figure out where to put it, and then I decided to give her a little crown:

Doesn't she look sweet?  It fit her little noggin perfectly!  My sentiment is from a retired set called Delightful Dozen, and I have always loved the font in this sentiment.  It was stamped in Mango Melody as well and diecut with a Stitched Rectangle die.

She'll get added to my pile of Easter cards to be sent out!

On a happier note, I was thrilled that my PBS station started a new season of Call The Midwife!  Are there any other CTM fans out there?!  LOVE that show!  And just a gentle reminder, I have had a few questions lately about items I use in making my cards, but my readers have not given me an email address.  If you leave a comment and your name is not associated with an email address, sadly, I cannot answer your question!  I usually do put a little recipe at the bottom of my post that lists my ingredients, so hopefully that will help!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Delightful Dozen (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Mango Melody, Pleased as Punch DSP
Ink	Smoky Slate, Mango Melody, Blushing Bride
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shape Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Blender Pen, Smoky Slate Blends

IB116 Hello Spring

 Happy Thursday, peeps!  Hope your week is going well....you're calm and collected, LOL!  It's time for a beautiful Inspired By challenge today, I just love this one:

I had already made this card for my club girls, and since it's very springy, I decided I would share it here:

It highlights the Pleased as Punch DSP that SU has now, which is really cute, and matches several punches they have available!  I chose to fussy-cut my tulips, which are very easy to do, and I created a basket with the new Coastal Weave embossing folder (directions below)!  I used a sentiment from Fable Friends, lots of Layering Ovals dies, and a sentiment from A Wish for Everything for the inside:

So here are the easy directions for the basket.  I began by inking up the inside front of the Coastal Weave embossing folder...it's the side that has the SU logo on it.  Just tap your ink pad (in this case, I used Soft Suede) across the folder, or if you prefer, you can use a sponge brayer.  It does get a little messy, so make sure you wipe the ink off your fingers before handling cardstock!  Place a quarter sheet of cardstock inside the embossing folder and put it through your diecutting/embossing machine.  I used Crumb Cake for mine....you'll get a piece that looks like this:

Take three oval dies of your choice and lay them out like this; for mine, I used the largest Layering Ovals dies, then the next smaller one and one that nested nicely inside it.  The larger one creates your basket bottom; the others create your handle.  You can choose any size die you like if you'd like to make a smaller basket.  I adhered the handle with some glue dots and then arranged my flowers in a pleasing way!  You can sponge the edges with a dauber for more definition, but I left mine naked!  Easy and fun!  I hope you'll try it out as well!

I hope you'll find some inspiration with our Inspired By challenge this week!  Please share them with us so we can enjoy them as well!

I wanted to share a photo of my great nephew, Jameson.  Our family has a friend whose son had a serious aortic root operation due to his Marfan syndrome.  We've all been praying for him, and he's doing well and home from the hospital, but my niece posted this photo of Jameson, spontaneously praying for their friend while they were driving in the car:

This little boy is FOUR YEARS OLD!  Never underestimate how your behavior influences your children...if they see you praying, they will pray too!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, A Wish for Everything
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pleased as Punch DSP
Ink	Soft Suede, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories	Grapefruit Grove Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Glue Dots
Tools	Big Shot, Layering Ovals Dies, Small Bloom Punch (SAB)

GDP230 Happy Easter

Hi everyone!  I have an Easter card to share today, using the Global Design Project sketch:

I am not 100% happy with this card, but sometimes that happens, right?  So anyway, here we go:

I used the little bunny from Fable Friends, stamped in Stazon and watercolored, and put him on a stitched circle with a little grassy background.  The Bird Ballad DSP was matted with some Balmy Blue cardstock, and I used a couple of banners for the horizontal pieces, stamped with sentiment from A Wish for Everything.

The white background looked a little plain, so I stamped a couple of butterflies on it in Balmy Blue and Blushing Bride!  Isn't he a cutie?  Thanks for stopping by today!

Cassidy got a new hairdo this weekend!  Wish my hair would grow long enough to have this style!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	A Wish for Everything, Fable Friends, Small Sayings (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Thick White, Balmy Blue, Bird Ballad DSP, Blushing Bride DSP (ret)
Ink	Stazon, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Banner Dies (Nestabilities), Aquapainter

FMS419 and FF0051 Toucan Friends

Happy Saturday, peeps!  It's going to be a rainy day today, perfect to hang out in one's craft room, right?!  I did manage to get a little stamping in yesterday between tax/lawyer stuff, and it uses a couple of challenges, the Festive Friday Valentine's Day and the FMS sketch:

I thought the little toucan from Bonanza Buddies would be fun for a cute Valentine, so I turned the sketch so he wouldn't be looking off the edge of the card, and paired him up with some Best Dressed papers and a sentiment from Fable Friends:

I added a Real Red banner cut from the Bonanza dies, and used the edge of the die as a pattern to trim my sentiment to fit the curves of the diecut banner; I added some little Rose glimmer paper hearts, and colored the toucan's beak in red and pink to match:

I even cut an extra little wing to add to Mr Toucan's body so he could tuck his heart underneath!  The final touch was a little baker's twine bow at the top!  The inside had a simple "Happy Valentine's Day" from A Wish for Everything!  

Cassidy showed me some of the "forms" she is learning in karate:

Thanks for popping in today!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Bonanza Buddies, Fable Friends
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Real Red, Best Dressed DSP, Rose Glimmer
Ink	Real Red, Memento Black
Accessories	Black Baker's Twine (from my stash), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Bonanza Dies, Mini Treat Bag Dies (ret, for the hearts), Blends

FMS416 Glad You're My Friend

Happy Saturday, peeps!  Hey look!  It's NOT a Christmas card!  I got my first order from the upcoming Occasions catalog and these beautiful papers were in it!  They're from a collection called Best Dressed, and they're so pretty, I thought one of them would work well with the FMS sketch for this week:

Yikes, I almost didn't want to do those wonky layers, but I pushed through and did it anyway!  I paired my floral design with some more gingham, and used a sentiment from Fable Friends, embossed in white on Lovely Lipstick cardstock for my sentiment:

I can't tell you how EXCITED I am that SU finally came out with stitched scallop dies!  Yippee!  These are available in the upcoming catalog as well!  I diecut a panel from the center of my gingham paper on the front to put on the inside, along with a sentiment from a new set (which bundles with the dies as well!) called So Sentimental, stamped with Lovely Lipstick ink:

And for my front sentiment, I diecut a partial panel from a larger die, then ran it through my Big Shot again, just cutting the edge to make a smaller panel!  I accented it with some Polka Dot Organdy ribbon and a little leaf from Bloom & Grow:

Thanks for popping in today!  

Silly girl!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

IB84 Apple Friends

Hi peeps!  Thursday is here..almost the weekend, yay!  Laurel has a fun Inspired By prompt for us, another back-to-school one....'tis the season, right?!  Cassidy will be starting August 26 and I know some schools in the south start even before that!  Anyway, here is my card using a bunch of older stuff and a new-ish set as well:

And here is the challenge photo:

Isn't that fun?!  What a cute centerpiece!  I concentrated on the reds and greens as well as the polka dots!!!  I stamped these apples from a retired SU set called Perfectly Preserved in Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green and used the matching dies to cut them out.  My background paper is some Papertrey I've been hoarding FOREVER, and just had to break it out; I diecut it with a Nested Stitched Label die and topped it with a polka-dotted banner:

I heat-embossed the sentiment from Fable Friends in white on an Early Espresso banner; I decided the right side of my card looked a little bare, so I added an embossed stitched line and threw on a few sequins:

I left the inside blank so I can use it for whatever occasion that arises!  This card makes me smile too!

What about you....what inspires you?  The numbers, the colors, that cute little school bus?  I hope you'll play along with us at Inspired By and share your creation with us, and be sure to check out the awesome samples from the DT while you're there!

Here are a few more birthday cards:

Martha and Karen F. know I love my orange hues:

And Peggy and Karen H know how much I love birds!!!

Thanks, ladies, and thanks, readers, for popping in!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Perfectly Preserved (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Thick Whisper White, Early Espresso, Fruit Fusion DSP (Papertrey), Handmade Holiday DSP (Simple Stories)
Ink	Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Craft White
Accessories	Sequins from my Stash, White Embossing Powder, Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Nested Stitched Labels Dies, Cannery Dies (ret), Stitching Lines Dies (Ellen Hutson), Heat Tool

PP435 Happy Easter

Hello stampers!  Hope your weekend is fabulous so far!  We had some warm temps yesterday...a little teaser, I think, because it's going to RAIN all week long!  Anyway, we can spend time inside stamping, right?  It's time for another Paper Players challenge, and Laurie has a tic-tac-toe challenge for us:

I chose the bottom row across, but I also have the diagonals too!  My card today was based on a card my upline Pennie sent me, which I just loved!  So here is mine, featuring Botanical Butterfly DSP, a sentiment from Fable Friends, florals from Painted Seasons, and diecuts from Cross of Hope, Be Mine and Stitched Shapes:

And here is Pennie's gorgeous card she sent me:

So the very cool thing about this card is that it folds flat and fits in a standard sized envelope! Edited to add:  just "push" the card flat...one side will stay folded, the other will stay extended---and in this way, it will fit into the envelope).  I started with a piece of cardstock 4 1/4" x 8", and scored at 1 1/4" and 2 1/2" on the 8" side, then flipped it over and scored the same on the other side.  (If you don't feel like flipping, your measurements would be 1 1/4", 2 1/2", 5 1/2" and 6 3/4"). I started with a Highland Heather card, and pieced the outer panels with the Botanical Butterfly DSP.  My inner panel was embossed with Perfect Polka dots embossing folder and my cross was diecut from Silver Foil and Gorgeous Grape cardstocks:

My front panel was embellished with two dies from Be Mine, the stitched scallop and the open floral; I added some flowers and leaves that I fussy cut after stamping them with Highland Heather ink; I also added a little silver thread behind it to tie in with the silver foil cross:

I thought the upper left side needed a little something as well, so I stamped the same floral and cut just the inner petals to make a smaller flower:

Tic-tac-toes are always so fun, I hope you'll play with us this week and share your creation at the Players!  Meanwhile, check out what the DT created:

Ann

Claire

Jaydee

Joanne

Laurie

Nance

Anne Marie

Su

Wanda

Windy

Saturday, my friend Robyn and I went to a crafty neighbor's house to learn how to make felted bunnies:

Here is my "work in progress":

And here he is, all finished and "on display" with my other Easter goodies:

The carrot makes it, don't you think?!!  And here they all are, on parade:

So much fun!  And so many cute possibilities for other little critters too...but I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER HOBBY, LOL!  Thanks for popping in today...enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Painted Seasons
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Silver Foil, Botanical Butterfly DSP
Ink	Highland Heather
Accessories	Silver Thread, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Be Mine Thinlets, Cross of Hope Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits,  Perfect Polkadot Embossing Folder (ret)