JAI731 & RRCB245 Winter Sleigh Rides

Happy Friday, peeps! Are your Christmas cards all done?  I have mine almost all addressed and ready to go, but I still love making them!  Especially when there are so many fun challenges out there! The one from Just Add Ink really caught my eye, along with the Tic-Tac-Toe board from Retro Rubber:

I was inspired by the red, white and tan colors in the photo and I chose the middle row down on the TTT board of texture, greenery and tag, although I could have also done a couple more of those rows/columns!  So here we go:

I used a really old Cornish Heritage Farms set called Winter Signage to create my little sign; it is mounted on a piece Country Woods DSP tag, cut with a Bonanza die.  That stamp is at least ten years old, LOL!  I added diecut greenery in Evening Evergreen and a bit of Cherry Cobbler striped ribbon that retired long, long ago! 

I mounted everything on a Cherry Cobbler panel that was embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder called Deer Knit.  On the inside, a sentiment from Greatest Part of Christmas (2019), along with a wee little cup of cocoa from Merry Cafe (2017):

I did add a few little cherry cobbler "berries" for fun!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Greatest Part of Christmas (ret), Merry Cafe (ret), Winter Signage (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen (ret), Country Woods DSP
Ink	Pecan Pie, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Cherry Cobbler Striped Ribbon (ret), Cherry Cobbler Thick Baker's Twine (ret), Enamel Dots (from my stash), dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Bonanza Dies (ret), Evergreen Dies (Tim Holtz), Deer Print Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz)

A Christmas Cup of Cheer

Happy Saturday, peeps! I have had a busy couple of days with Cassidy; Thursday we went to see the new Spiderman movie---let me say, it is not for the faint of heart!  But she loved it, and that's all that matters! I did have a few moments yesterday to make a card; the FMS sketch was quite challenging (thanks, Linda!) but I really wanted to have a go at it, and I paired it with the Jingle Belles challenge of a Caffeinated Christmas!  You could add the option of making it a masculine Christmas card....but I think I'll just say this for anyone who might like a cup of cheer!  So here's the sketch:

And here we go:

I used the retired sets called Merry Cafe and Coffee Cafe, stamping my images on some designer paper and fussy-cutting them out.  I added holly from the Quilt Builder dies, and the diecut sentiment is from Concord & 9th.  The circle in the background was sponged with Pecan Pie ink using a circle stencil. Finally, I added  a partial sentiment from Circle Sayings to finish off the little sentiment "thought".  I had to cut off the "a" because I already had an "a" on sentiment banner! (More about that on tomorrow's blog post too!)  I admit that I wasn't quite sure how this card was going to turn out....you know when you have an idea in your head, but it doesn't quite translate to cardstock?  Anyway, I persevered and in the end, it wasn't too bad.  I wish my snowflakes were a little whiter.

Anyway, there it is...another addition to my Christmas card stash!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge too!  Thanks for visiting today!

Grampy told Cassidy he needed some cake, so she went online and found a recipe to make! (You can see it here. I would have just gotten a box mix, LOL!)  But she wanted to do it, so we got started.  She was a little confused about how much butter was 2/3 of a cup, as the measurements on the butter paper weren't clear to her.  So we got that figured out.  Then she needed SIX egg whites....it was not an angel food cake but just a white cake so at least we didn't have to beat the whites.  She got quite adept at separating the yolks from the whites!

After some help from Grammy, we finally got everything in the oven; lately I have been baking smaller cakes,  and using the extra batter for cupcakes.  John takes the cupcakes to his friends at the nursing home he visits and the smaller cake is better for just the two of us!  The cake turned out great but Cassidy asked Grampy if she could dye the icing blue....at least it's light blue! I don't eat "blue"!

She is getting better using the offset spatula....practice makes perfect!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Circle Sayings, Coffee Cafe (ret), Merry Cafe (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Call Me Clover, Lights Aglow DSP (ret), All is Bright DSP (My Mind's Eye)
Ink	Versafine Black, Craft White, Cherry Cobbler, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Enamel Dots (unknown), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Mchine, Quilt Builder Dies (ret), Stylish Shapes Dies, Season of Cheer Dies (Concord & 9th)

IB205 National Coffee Day

Happy Friday, happy last-day-of September, peeps!  Ah, the weekend! Hope you have some fun plans!  My sweet friend Laurel is back with her awesome Inspired By challenge and although I haven't been able to play for the last couple weeks, when I saw the inspiration photo and sketch, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring!

You can choose either the inspiration, the sketch, or both!  I was intrigued by the color of the bottom cup, so I focused on the colors but I did throw in a wee bit of coffee-inspired stamping, using the retired Merry Cafe again:

I would not normally put these colors together, but after playing with them, I really like them!  The DSP is retired Come to Gather, along with Crumb Cake, Soft Sky and Baked Brown Sugar cardstocks.  Love those little Stylish Shapes circles:

Everything went on a Baked Brown Sugar card base that was embossed with the Stitched With Whimsy die.  Here's the inside (even though the color is way off from my camera!):

Cute way to use these retired products!  Thanks for popping in today!

I've actually been doing a wee bit of crafting lately too, now that summer is over!  I finally finished my redbird sampler cross stitch on linen; this is the first time I have used hand over-dyed floss and it was really pretty, and soft and easy to use:

I even had some scraps of dark red fabric in my stash along with some linen rick-rack to finish it off!  I also made a chunky knitted pumpkin:

I've made these before (in fact, I don't really need any more) but they're fun to do and I've never done one in chunky yarn like this!  

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.  Proverbs 3:9-10

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Merry Cafe (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar (ret), Soft Sky (ret), Come to Gather DSP (ret)
Ink	Baked Brown Sugar (ret), Memento Black
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched With Whimsy Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Layering Circles Dies, Black Marker

AHSC492 Hello Fall!

Happy Tuesday, all!  Today I have a fun card using some retired coffee-themed stamps and pretty fall papers!  It uses the sketch from Atlantic Hearts:

Another one with lots of layers!  So here we go:

I used stamps from Coffee Cafe and Merry Cafe, and papers from Gilded Autumn and Come to Gather, along with some retired Baker's Twine and Stitched Leaf Dies:

The tag and the cup were shortened a bit so to fit on the card better!  How about you?  How do you feel about pumpkin spice lattes?  I do like the flavor of pumpkin spice, but not so much in my coffee!  The coffee shops go a little overboard, in my opinion....a wee bit goes a long way!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Coffee Cafe, Merry Cafe (both ret)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Gold Foil, Gilded Autumn DSP (ret), Come to Gather DSP (ret)
Ink	Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Mint Macaron Thick Baker's Twine (ret), Sequins from my stash, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Tailor Made Tags Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, 1/2" Circle Punch (ret), Stitched Leaves Dies (ret)

IB147 Fall is Sweet

Hi stampers!  Happy Thursday!  It's time for  a new Inspired By challenge....look at these yummy goodies!  I wouldn't mind eating every one of these, LOL!

And here's our optional sketch:

 

As much as I love a sketch with three elements on it, I opted not to use it this week!  I did use a couple of retired fall favorites, Merry Cafe and Pick a Pumpkin, to make my sweet fall birthday card:

So even though it might not be noticeable right away, there's a lot going on on this card!  My Early Espresso base is embossed with a swirly die; the Old Olive layer is stamped with the Buffalo Check background stamp, and the Terracotta Tile layer is stamped with a sprig from Banner Year.  The coffee cup was stamped on some patterned paper and fussy-cut; I then hand-drew the sleeve and added some stamping to it:

I added a few fall pumpkins just for fun and mounted it all on a layer of Very Vanilla that was embossed with the Cable Knit embossing folder.  And I carried the colors over into the inside with some birthday sentiments from Itty Bitty Birthdays:

I am sorry they retired this set so quickly, it has a lot of fun coffee and tea-themed images for the holidays and I am happy when I can use it again!  And I did use a challenge sketch; it's from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

And I am also throwing this into the ring at Festive Friday, because I've got a hot drink, plaid, cream, brown and diecuts!

Be sure to stop by the Inspired By blog to see what the DT has created...they're a talented bunch of stampers and I always love to see how their creative minds interpret the challenge!  Thanks for popping in today!

School picture...one of the nicest!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Buffalo Check, Banner Year, Itty Bitty Birthdays, Merry Cafe (ret), Pick a Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Terracotta Tile, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Old Olive DSP, Nightfall DSP (Authentique)
Ink	Memento Black, Pear Pizzazz, Terracotta Tile, Old Olive
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shots, Patterned Pumpkin Dies (ret), Cable Knit EF (ret), Blends, Swirled Dots Embossing Plate (Altenew)

CAS Fall Latte

Happy Saturday, peeps....my schedule is all out of whack today, I am very late!  But we had a late night at the fair (no ribbons, but that's okay!), then yard sale, an auction and a health fair during the day today!  Finally I am home and I can post a little card I created yesterday for a couple of  challenges!  It features the retired Merry Cafe, which just didn't get enough ink time when it was in the Holiday catalog a couple years ago!

My sketch from from CAS(E) This Sketch:

and I stamped the little to-go cup in Terracotta Tile, adding some shading with a Blender Pen and a pretty little sleeve from some fall-ish DSP:

I stamped the sentiment in the same ink, then mounted the cup on a couple of diecut panels in Terracotta Tile and Crumb cake.  They were mounted on a Very Vanilla panel and adhered to a Crumb Cake card!  This also fulfills the Fusion Coffee Challenge (I only used the photo, not the sketch):

This was a fun card to make, I loved shading that little cup!  Thanks for popping in today!

Speaking of fall, here are a few pix from the Solanco Fair last night:

It was a gorgeous evening...cool and clear!

Contented cows:

Lots of blue ribbons for interesting veggies:

And can you see the sign under this pumpkin?  920 pounds!!  That's a BIG pumpkin!

Dana and I are already thinking about what we can enter in the fair next year....she's going to do some crocheting and I have a couple of things in mind!  We have a year to get them ready, LOL!  Thanks for visiting--be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge too!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Merry Cafe (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Terracotta Tile, Pleasant DSP (Authentique)
Ink	Terracotta Tile
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Nested Labels Dies, Blender Pen

RRCB97 Hello Fall

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's time for another Retro Rubber challenge, and this week we have a Tic-Tac-Toe!!  There are lots of fun creative opportunities in this one:

I chose to use the top row across:  neutrals, texture and ribbon!  And here's my card:

Remember that for our challenges, you must use stamps that are at least a year old and tell how old they are!  This Merry Cafe set came out in the Holiday 2017 catalog, and I just did not have a chance to use it enough!   I started with some Kraft cardstock that I embossed with my favorite fall embossing folder; then I stamped some of the elements from the stamp set and cut them out.  I know my sentiment says "pumpkin" and my coffee cup has an apple, but they're both flavors of fall! Besides, that little apple was too cute to ignore!   And since SU considers Merry Merlot as a neutral, I used it plus Crumb Cake and Early Espresso to diecut some small leaves, and I added some Merry Merlot and Chocolate Chip ribbons to the top of the tag, which was also embossed with a polka dot folder for more texture:

I hand-drew and shaded the lid on my coffee cup to give it a little more depth!  I love all these little elements together!

I hope you'll play along with our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge this week!  You have until October 19 to play!  Be sure to check out the RRC blog to see what the DT created as well!

Over the weekend, my TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group attended a fall rally!  My friend Sharon, who was our club's "Best Loser", and I were practicing our selfies, LOL!

 

Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Merry Cafe (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Rustic White (Papertrey), Kraft (ret), Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Merry Merlot
Ink	Crumb Cake, Merry Merlot, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Accessories	Merry Merlot ribbon, misc ribbon from my stash, Dimensionals, Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Fall EF (Cuttlebug), Perfect Polka Dot EF (ret),  Stitched Leaves Dies (Lawn Fawn), Tags & Labels Framelits (ret), Early Espresso Marker, Blender Pen

Merry Cafe Fall Style

Happy Monday, peeps!  Thinking of all the people in Florida...we have friends and family there and are just praying that each and every one stays safe!

Now that the wedding is behind us, I am trying to get back into the new normal, which I am sure will be a transition for all of us!  Poor Cassidy is still trying to get her head wrapped around it...her mom's married but she still spent last night at our house!  All will fall into place soon!  

I haven't had time to play with any challenges yet, but I wanted to share a card I made last week while I still had Merry Cafe on my desk:

I stamped the coffee cup from Coffee Cafe on some Wood Textures paper and stamped various leafy elements on it from the Merry Cafe set; the lid was stamped in Cajun Craze on Peekaboo Peach cardstock and shaded with some ink and a blender pen.  I mounted it on a Very Vanilla panel that was embossed with the Cable Knit embossing folder, then I added the "label" as well as some sweet little leaves from Colorful Seasons:

To give the leaves some interest, I inked them in a lighter color, then sponged a darker color around the edges before stamping and cutting them out with the Seasonal Layers framelits.  I added a leaf and a sentiment from Coffee Cafe on the inside, too:

I just love the warm feel that the embossing and the fall colors give this card!

So I have several wedding photos but I thought I would share these first.....during the ceremony and finally at the end!  I took these myself; we'll get some from the photographer later!  I also have a couple of cute ones of Cassidy...I'll share them throughout the week.  It was a perfect day, not too hot or cold and the setting was beautiful!  A gazebo in the picturesque town of Lewes, Delaware (pronounced Lewis) was the "venue" and it was surrounded by lush flowers and green grass....tiny, but perfect!

More photos to come, I promise!  Have a blessed day!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Coffee Cafe, Merry Cafe, Colorful Seasons
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Peekaboo Peach, Wood Textures DSP
Ink	Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Sahara Sand
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Seasonal Layers Framelits, Blender Pen, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers