AHSC608 Noel

 Hello, peeps! Happy Monday!  The Atlantic Hearts Sketch this week is an interesting one:

Normally, I try to stay pretty true to the orientation of the sketch but I just got a new cover plate die and thought it would be fun to use, and its orientation is portrait, so I used it anyway!  Here we go:

I began by stamping the letters in Blueberry Bushel.  The alphabet is an older wooden one I've had for a long time, called Narratives by Creative Imaginations, and I just fussy-cut the squares out.  The Festive Grid cover plate from Pinkfresh covers the entire card front, so I mounted it on a Blueberry Bushel card and mounted the squares with dimensionals.  I added a Simon Says Stamp sentiment:

and finished the inside with a sentiment from SU called Night Divine:

A very simple card but I love the colors and that fun cover plate!  

I hope you'll play along with our sketch this week!  On Wednesday, you'll be able to see all the DT's designs at the AHSC blog! Be sure to share your creative endeavors with us too! Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp), Narratives (Creative Imaginations)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Blueberry Bushel
Ink	Blueberry Bushel
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Christmas Blessings Dies (Simon Says Stamp), Festive Grid Die (Pinkfresh Studios)

Sweet Little Altoid Box

Happy Tuesday, peeps! Yesterday I resurrected an Altoids box that had been floating around my craft room after seeing this sweet card by my friend Lisa. I remembered that I had some of those Mintay papers, and like so many of the 6x6 pads I get, there are scrapbooking elements on some of the pages, which I never use. I thought it would be fun to incorporate them into a little vignette within my Altoids box.  The designs are both whimsical and elegant, and you'll see what I mean.  Here's the front:

All the papers and elements are from the Merry Little Christmas line by Mintay.  I used the Iconic Imagery die to cut out the snowflake paper for the front of the tin, then fussy cut the deer and that fierce-looking cardinal from the scrapbooking elements of the pad.  I did add a couple of diecut snowflakes as well.  Sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs, Mini Tag Sentiments.  Here's the back:

This time, I stamped a sentiment from Jolly Christmas by CC Designs and used the Nested Essential dies to cut it out.  And here's the inside; these papers are from the same pad but definitely have a more elegant feel:

I simply trimmed the papers to fit the inside, popping up the one on the right.  The left design is all one paper, the only addition is the sentiment (Tiny Words Christmas, from Simon Says Stamp), stamped on a scrap of the paper in Soft Succulent.  The right design has the flowers fussy-cut and popped up; same set for the sentiment.  Here are some closeups:

I did add a few glimmer paper leaves using the Timeless Arrangements dies and some retired glimmer paper, as well as a big silver wire bow.  A piece of retired Blushing Bride ribbon went around the outside, adhered with some Tear n' Tape:

This was loads of fun to make! I am going to enter this is the Inspire.Create challenge this week, which is "Anything But a Card" as well as the Peace on Earth challenge:

Thank you so much for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

PP718 Peaceful Deer

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Wow, happy December...that month flew by!  It's my turn to be the hostess over at the Paper Players this week, and the theme I've chosen is "Be a Deer"---add a deer to your project!

It wasn't my plan to be so literal in my interpretation of the sketch, but I had a piece of Winter Meadow on my desk and I liked how it looked like a wintery sky, so I went with it!  Here we go:

I have several deer dies, but I hadn't used this Papertrey one for a while; I diecut it in white and stamped the antlers and legs in Misty Moonlight ink:

I placed him on a stitched hill then added a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp along with some of the "greenery" from the same PTI set:

The background looked a little bare, so I added some glimmer stars, a couple of rhinestones and a few Poppystamps Whittle trees!  The inside sentiment is from CC Designs called Fanciful Christmas:

While I had the die out, I decided to make a second card since I just got a die I had been wanting for a long time (Michele is such an enabler!):

This time I stamped my deer in Pecan Pie on some Kraft cardstock, then added the background DSP, the double scalloped borders and a sentiment from Hope & Peace.  I am sure you'll be seeing a bit more of this fun die!  And we hope to see YOU in the Paper Players gallery, showing off your deer!  It doesn't have to be Christmas; deer are great for masculine cards, baby cards, anything!  Can't wait to see what you create! Thanks for visiting today!

The last of my "smalls"!  Now I have some bigger projects to frame or finish somehow....more work, more money, LOL!

 Enjoy your day and be blessed!

First Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Deer to Me (Papertrey), Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp), Fanciful Christmas (CC Designs)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Misty Moonlight, Winter Meadows DSP, White Glimmer (ret)
Ink	Misty Moonlight
Accessories	Silver Cord (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Deer to Me Dies (Papertrey), Tree Dies (Poppy Whittles), Christmas Blessings Dies (Simon Says Stamp), Star Dies (Taylored Expressions), Stitched Hillside Dies (Lawn Fawn)

Second Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hope & Peace (ret), Deer to Me (Papertrey)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Kraft (ret), Home for Christmas (Violet Studio)
Ink	Pecan Pie, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Deer to Me Dies (Papertrey), Scalloped Contours Dies (ret), Double Frames Dies (Penny Black)

AHSC605 Warm Wishes

Happy Tuesday, all!  My card today uses the current Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, as well as the AAA CAS Christmas challenge:

I pulled out a set from Photo Play that I got several years ago and have hardly used:

I heat embossed the ornament in gold, then watercolored it with Poppy Parade ink; in hindsight, I wish I had used Blends or Copics.  I added some greenery in Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen, along with a wee little sentiment and some speckles of gold.  The gold vertical piece was some gold Shimmer Trim from CTMH...I miss that stuff!  The final addition was a gold diecut bow:

I added a Greetings of the Season sentiment, along with a little left-over piece of greenery, on the inside:

I hope you'll play along with our pretty sketch this week!  Tomorrow you can see ALL the DT submissions, and I am sure you'll get lots of inspiration at the AHSC blog!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Greetings of the Season, North Pole Trading Co (Photo Play), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (ret), Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Succulent (ret), Gold Glimmer (ret)
Ink	Encore Gold (ret), Poppy Parade, Evening Evergreen (ret)
Accessories	Gold Shimmer Tape (CTMH), Dimenisonals, Gold Embossing Powder
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, North Pole Trading Co Dies (Photo Play), Heat Tool, Aquapainter

Wishing You Peace

Happy Monday, peeps! My card today isn't for any challenge, but I liked it so much, I wanted to share!

 Most times, when I am stamping and diecutting an image, I diecut the cardstock FIRST.  Then I use the negative piece of the cardstock (the outside edges) as a template for use in my stamp positioner.  I stamp my image on some scrap paper while in the stamp positioner, then I place the negative piece over top of the stamped image on the scrap, line it up, add my magnets so it won't shift, then I place my diecut inside the opening and stamp again.  I find this is a really good way to ensure my stamping and diecutting "jive"! It is a couple of extra steps but I feel it's worth the extra minute or so!

 But sometimes, especially when I am doing a stamp camp, I make an additional template from Kraft or Crumb Cake cardstock, because it is a little sturdier and it makes it easier to line up because of the difference in color between my template and the actual white diecut. I am telling you all of this because now I have all these diecut shapes from Kraft cardstock floating around on my desk, unused, but perfectly good!  SO....I took one of the diecuts, this one happens to be a tag from the Bonanza dies, and created a Christmas card with it:

Since I still had my Waffle Flower Postage Stamp stencils and dies sitting on my desk from yesterday's card, I also made a single little image using the Christmas ones:

I stenciled the house & tree in Garden Green and Versafine Black and then mounted it on the tag.  I heat embossed a sentiment in white (Christmas Blessings, Simon Says Stamp) and added some ribbon and twine.  The background paper is from Unity, and it all went on a Soft Succulent card base.  Here's the inside, also from SSS:

I love these colors together! And now there's one less lost little diecut floating around on my desk!  Thanks for popping in today!

Here are the last of my birthday cards; this beauty is from Peggy:

And this cutie is from Sally; I love the bright, cheerful colors:

And this gorgeous one was from Debbie (and there was a nice little surprise inside too---it involves ICE CREAM!):

And Michele knows how much I love BLUE:

I am so blessed!  Thank you, ladies!  Enjoy your day and you be blessed as well!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp), Postage Collage (Waffle Flower)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Succulent (ret), Kraft (Close to My Heart), Watercolor Winter (Unity)
Ink	Craft White, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Versafine Black
Accessories	Crumb Cake Stitched Ribbon (ret), White Perle Cotton, Dimensionals, White Embossing Powder
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Bonanza Dies (ret), Postage Dies (Waffle Flower), Postage Collage Christmas Stencil (Waffle Flower), Heat Tool

52 CCTD Easy Starry Christmas Card

Happy Monday, peeps! This will be quick, as it is stamp club day! I love stamping with my friends! This week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a sketch:

I searched through my huge stash of Christmas papers, found a starry print and decided to go monochromatic:

Such a great sketch and so easy to do....I just cut strips of the DSP, added a Christmas sentiment from Simon Says, then diecut some glimmer stars!

Another sentiment on the inside, and I have another card to add to my stash!

Shaded Spruce is such a great holiday color! I love it!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, White Glimmer (ret), Classic Christmas DSP (ret)
Ink	Shaded Spruce
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Give it a Whirl Dies (ret), Stitched Star Dies (Paper Rose)

FMS641 Christmas Joy & Peace

Happy Thursday, peeps! This hot week is winding down!  My sweet friend Sheilah very kindly lent me her Layers of Beauty bundle while she is on vacation, so you'll be seeing a few creations made with it in the future!  Today, I created a Christmas card with it using the sketch from FMS as well as the inspiration photo from Peace on Earth Christmas blog:

I chose the image from the lower right-hand corner, using green and silver as my main colors:

I stamped the outline of the florals in Old Olive and used Soft Seafoam, Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive and Granny Apple Green for the stenciling, which I admit, I did better on the first couple of cards I made!!  I diecut and fussy-cut the images out, then placed them on a panel that was embossed with the Simon Says Stamp Pepperberry embossing folder. 

I also stamped a SSS sentiment in Old Olive on Soft Seafoam cardstock, diecut it out, then layered it on another Seafoam panel on top of some silver glimmer paper:

It seemed appropriate to add some pretty silver sequins too!  And since I messed up the inside sentiment, I stamped it again on a piece of white cardstock and diecut it out to cover up my booboo:

I know none of my stamping friends ever do that, right?!  LOL!  I can add this to my Christmas card stash!

We have been watching the antics of at least two (maybe three) chipmunks that live under our shed.  So far they've not caused any damage but they sure are fun to watch.  They have several hiding spots, one of which is our downspout.  As I was sitting on my porch yesterday, I heard a noise and got my camera ready; they're not too clear, but he's a quick one!  First, you can just see his nose as he scopes out the landscape.  Honestly, he spent two minutes stock still like this:

The coast looked clear, so he began to venture out:

Not sure if he saw me up on the porch or not:

But he thought he should probably run and hide somewhere else:

And off he went!

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

The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.  The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.  Lamentations 3:22-24

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Layers of Beauty, Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Seafoam, Silver Glimmer
Ink	Old Olive, Soft Seafoam, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories	Dimensionals, Sequins (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Layers of Beauty Dies, Layers of Beauty Masks, Blending Bruses, Pepperberry Embossing Folder (Simon Says Stamp), Stylish Shapes Dies

IB292 Surfin Summer

Happy Saturday, everyone! Hope you have something fun planned this weekend!  I loved the inspiration photo at Inspired By this week:

Laurel always comes up with the most fun ideas!  I don't have any oars in my vast array of stamps, but I do have some surfboards:

To achieve a weathered look, I stamped the surfboards from Pretty Pink Posh on some white woodgrain-printed paper, then loosely watercolored them, adding some shading of Smoky Slate here and there.  I stamped and diecut a sentiment from the same set, then mounted everything on a panel of Lost Lagoon that was embossed with the Pinewood Plank embossing folder.  Before embossing, I swiped a Craft White ink pad on the raised inside portion of the EF and I love the effect it created!

The Many Mates set was on my desk, so I stamped it on the inside, along with a little solid oval and some more surfboards:

I love this summery vibe!

On Thursday, I went to the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community where Dana works (in billing, not nursing) and had a fun little stamp class for eight of the residents!  My friend and downline Sheilah went to help me and we all fun!

These ladies took to stamping like a duck to water...and I'll be back there in July to have some more fun!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Many Mates (ret), Summer Surfboards (Pretty Pink Posh), Stitched Shapes (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Lost Lagoon, Heart & Home DSP (ret)
Ink	Craft White, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Blueberry Bushel, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Candy Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Pinewood Plank Embossing Folder (ret), Aquapainter, Sponge Dauber, Banner Dies (Nellie Snellen)