S&S Theme Challenge

The mid-week theme challenge over at the Stars & Stamps blog this week is "you light up my life"........in other words, something that indicates light. With summer about to unfold, is there anything brighter than the sun? LOL I made this beach scene by punching that seashore border with an EK punch. I used itty bitty backgrounds with sandy beige ink to create a sandy look on the beach. The umbrella, flip-flops and beach ball are stamps from an unlabled set that my DIL gave me. The sun was made with 2 different punches and a touch of yellow stickles. The ribbon with the little crabs just totally cracked me up, so of course I had to have it:)

Here's wishing each and every one of you a happy, healthy, and safe Memorial Day weekend and I hope you'll all take a moment to remember those who have served and continue to serve this great country of ours.

Carol

A Failed Challenge

I was playing along with a challenge when I made this card, but after I finished it, I realized the sketch had four square panels on the left side instead of the three I used. Ah well, Momma said there would be days like this!
I used River Rock card stock along with some intensely hoarded retired Apple Cider dsp from SU! The stamp was from a $1 bargain bin I found several years ago, but it's one of my favorites. I paper pieced the flower images with some polka dot DP and added some white dew drops to the centers. The sentiment is by Verve and the rest is pretty basic.
It's going to be a steamy one here in PA today, so stay cool wherever you are and have a fabulous Wednesday!

Scrappy Flowers

I have lots of small scraps of designer paper that I just never throw away, so I decided to get out a variety of flower punches and put those scraps to work. I used 2 different colors of the PTI bitty box dsp and layered them with silver brads. I used my paper cutter to cut the stems. The top note die was stamped with the linen backgrounder using antique linen ink, then matted with black cardstock. The sentiment is by Just-Rite and the ribbon is by PTI (new leaf) while the card base is also by PTI.
Enjoy your Tuesday!

Carol

S&S Sketch Challenge #18

I need some more birthday cards for my stash, so I used the Stars and Stamps Sketch Challenge #18 to make this one. I used some Prism Intense Azalea card stock for the base and used a scrap of DSP I've had for ever. I punched the squares with the SU! scalloped punch, and then just cut smaller squares of DSP and turned the stripes in the opposite direction. I added some prima flowers with button brads in the centers. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with clear ep, then colored with a matching Tombow marker. I added a few Kaiser clear gemstones for interest.
That's it for me...........I'm off to bed!

Carol

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #4

I was browsing through some of the challenges out there and found THIS one and decided to play along. It's called Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge and this week the challenge is to create a card or project with an animal on it. I created this card for my BIL's birthday. He used to break and train thoroughbred horses, so I know I'm always safe using a horse image for his cards. This image is by Serendipity and was colored using Tombows and a wet brush. I layered it with 2 different Nestability dies using soft suede and bermuda blue. I stamped the background with another horse stamp, just randomly stamping once, twice, and a third time without reinking to give the effect of running horses. The sentiment panel was done with yet a third Nestability die and layered with some Bermuda Blue polka dot ribbon.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend is getting off to a great start!

Carol

My Stars!

The Wednesday stash challenge over at the S&S blog is to create a card with stars. I just made these two "any hero" cards to send with my next box of cards going to OWH. I pulled out an old how-to-scrapbook book I purchased several years ago which included quite a few sheets of DP. That's where I found these colorful, patriotic patterned papers. I used scraps of red, white, and blue and created the sentiments on the computer. For this card I used my Cricut to make the layered stars, and used the SU! scalloped, fancy label and word window punches. The corners were made with my Quikutz.
For this card, I also used the Cricut to make the stars and added some tiny blue gemstone stars to the centers.
I'll be writing a message inside each one to thank a member of our military for their service to our country.
As always, thank you for stopping by. I hope your day is a good one :)

Color Throwdown #93

It's been weeks since I played along with the CTD, but I couldn't resist the pretty combo of Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and Melon Mambo that Danielle chose today. I'm so glad that SU! is bringing back these beautiful shades of pink and blue!
This card took on a life of it's own once I began with it. I had no idea what I was going to make, but I love the Baja Breeze pack of DSP I've been hoarding, so I started with a favorite layout of mine and stitched down all the panels. I used the petals a'plenty embossing folder and dotted the flower centers with a Tombow marker. I had about 4 inches of Pink Pirouette ribbon left, so I used it here along with a snippet of Melon Mambo ribbon. The flowers came from my stash and seemed to perfectly match these colors, so I added a padded brad and a tiny pink gemstone to the sentiment panel.
I hope I can find my color Mojo in the coming weeks and work easily with color combos again, because I look at this card and just say blech! LOL
I hope you're having a fabulous Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

Thanks Jill!

Last week my friend Jill of Ribbon Challenged stopped over for an afternoon of crafting and she gave me 2 of these awesome, brand new Tim Holtz birdcage/bird die cuts! They're huge, and oh so much fun! Since Jill's favorite color is pink, I used pinks and blacks to create this card. The birdcage is quite large, so this card measures 5x7". I lined the top and bottom of the cage with Pretty in Pink cardstock, and used some Anna Griffin dsp for the background. I used the arch lattice punch by MS for the bottom double border and added some pink satin ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is by Just-Rite and the black layer was heat embossed with some pink ep. I couldn't seem to make the wing work on the bird so you could see it well, so I turned it upsidedown to make her appear as if she's about to take flight, and then I added some "feathers" with a pink souffle pen. The bird's eye is a pink gemstone by Kaiser. I think Jill has enabled me well............I know I have to have this die now:) Thanks so much for thinking of me Jill, you're really a thoughtful and generous person :)
I hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday wherever you are!

Carol

S&S Sketch Challenge #17

I made this card for the OWH Stars and Stamps Sketch Challenge #17 found here. I pulled out my PTI Plum Pudding cardstock and some PTI guidelines DSP for this one. I embossed the background panel with the Cuttlebug Leafy Branch embossing folder and chalked it lightly with a q-tip and some pale pink chalk. The sentiment panel was done with a Just-Rite stamp and some Plum Pudding ink, and layered with SU! Pale Plum and PTI Plum Pudding. I dotted the scallops with a pink souffle pen for interest. The circle and scallop were all done with SU! punches. The ribbon is also Plum Pudding from PTI.
It's nice to see you again, and I hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

Carol

A Pocketful of Hugs

I had time to stamp today, and since the Crazy4Challenges#37 was to create a card with some kind of pocket, I decided to make this card. I made a version of this one before and stuck some $$ in the pocket for my granddaughter's birthday, but this one will be going to OWH so I stuck a coupon inside that's good for 1 free hug. This photo shows the coupon inserted.........
And this photo shows the coupon removed from the pocket. I used a very old Coluzzle template for the pockets and used an Inkssentials white gelpen to create all the faux stitching. I added eyelets to each pocket and the coupon stamp is a $1 G studio stamp. I used all 3 shades of light, medium and dark cardstock from the Prism Birchtone line. I downloaded the panty template from SCS a long time ago.
Thanks for stopping by and spending a little time with me today. I hope you're enjoying your weekend :)

Carol

QFTD09 to honor Linda {aka Hotwheels}

There is a new challenge game over on SCS where a stamper is chosen as Queen for the Day each week. In honor of their being crowned, we're to CASE a card from their gallery. This week Linda (Hotwheels) was chosen as the QFTD09. She has an amazing gallery of cards to choose from, and THIS is the card I chose to CASE. I used an image with a wagon on it since her card also had a wagon. The image is by Stampabilities and was stamped on wc paper then colored with Tombows. The sentiment is a SU rubon and it's layered with 2 SU punches. I matted the image with green galore and a scrap of striped dsp that was punched with the MS fence punch. 2 silver beads were added as hubs for the wheels along with some edge distressing and piercing on the image panel. A clip and scrap of ribbon were the final touches to my CASED card.
Congrats to Linda for being chosen QFTD09 this week, and thanks to all of you for stopping by and spending a few minutes of your day with me here:)

Carol

KSCC#25

It's been a while since I participated on a regular basis in some of my favorite challenges, so this week I pulled out some of my Kitchen Sink Stamps and decided to play along with their challenge #25, which is a sketch found here. I used the KSS Giant Sunflower stamp set for this one, and did the letterpress background with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink on PTI Spring Moss card stock with the floral Impressabilities plate. I'll be doing more of that letterpress technique in other colors because it makes a great background! I felt this card looked fine without a sentiment, so I'll leave it as a blank card for the time being.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Carol

stamps - Kitchen Sink Giant Sunflower
paper - SU real red, basic black, PTI white, spring moss
ink - Memento Bamboo Leaves, Cottage Ivory, Dandelion, Caramel, Rust, a double-sided yellow ink dauber, a double-sided red dauber
accessories - Petite oval Nestabilites, Floral Impressabilities, SU! 3-flower punch, SU! scalloped border punch, white dew drops

for Marci

My physical therapist Marci (who comes to the house to help get me back on my feet) recently noticed the handmade cards I received sitting on my entertainment center. She marveled over each one, which brought up a discussion of cardmaking. She mentioned her daughter was having a birthday this past weekend and asked me if I'd have time to make a card for her. She said she loves bright colors and that her room is bright yellow and lime green, so I made a card for her keeping those colors in mind. I know I've used this layout and stamp set many times before, but it's probably my favorite go-to set, so here we go again:)
I started off with the Fifth Avenue Florals set, stamping the flowers with versamark on Lemon Tart cardstock and embossing with white ep, then cutting them out. I added some yellow shimmer by painting them with some Lemondrop twinkling H20's and then popped them up on some foam tape. I used green galore cardstock for the leaves, circle, and layer beneath the swiss dots embossed white panel. I used my Just-Rite stamper to create the circular sentiment, adding a small prima in the center with a jewel brad. The circles were punched, while the scalloped circle was cut with a Nestie. The floral centers are bling I've had forever that came from CTMH. The ribbon is PTI Lemon Tart.
Marci told me today that her daughter loved the card :) That's the main thing with making a hand-made card...........pleasing the recipient:)
Thanks for spending a little of your Monday here with me today. Make it a great day!

Carol

Mother's Day Cards

Today I have 2 Mother's Day cards to share with you. I made these for 2 of my neighbors who have been helping me tremendously since I had surgery. I couldn't get out to buy them flowers, so I made them each a card to let them know how much I appreciate their help. I used the same image by Rubber Stampede on both of them. On this card I also used chocolate chip, groovy guava and blush blossom. I used the linen backgrounder to stamp the chocolate chip with versamark, and embossed with white pearls ep for a glossy look. The top note die was stamped with the stitched backgrounder in guava and embossed with the CB flourishes ef. The image was sewn onto the labels 4 nestability after being stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. The ovals were cut with my Cricut and I added some ivory ribbon and MS mini pearls for accents. The sentiment is by Verve (Because of You) and the bow was made with the Bow-Easy.
For this card, I used the negative piece of guava from the first card for the frame. I lined it with a piece of polka dot dsp and layered the image on guava and chocolate chip, snipping the corners with scalloped scissors and adding some Kaiser blush pearls to the corners. The guava piece was embossed with the Swiss Dots ef. The sentiment is a $dollar clear stamp set, stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia and lined with more Kaiser pearls. It's layered with blush blossom, guava, and chocolate chip. I also used the Bow-Easy to create the bow on this card. Since I had a little snippet of ribbon left over, I folded it in half and stuck it behind the sentiment panel rather than throw it away. The circular panel is popped up on foam tape and the image panel is popped up on dimensionals. I added a hint of color to the lips with a Tombow marker.
The SSNOTIME #138 is to make a Mother's Day card, so I'm entering these cards into that challenge.
Thanks for stopping by today and I wish each and every one of you Moms and Grandmothers out there a wonderful and special Mother's Day on Sunday!

Carol

I'm Back!

I want to say thank-you to everyone for all of your kind thoughts and get-well wishes. For those who didn't know, I had hip replacement surgery, but I'm on the mend and slowly regaining my strength and ability to walk again. I still have to be careful about bending and twisting, so the card making will be sporadic until I regain my flexibility again. Thanks for stickin' around all this time I've been AWOL :)
I made this card before surgery but never posted it so I thought I'd share it with you today. I used the SU butterfly die along with some yellow and black dsp from PTI. I embossed the bottom layer of the butterfly with a CB ef and the tiny butterfly in the center was done with a MS punch. The scalloped border was done with a SU punch, and some black Kaiser pearls were added for accents. The sentiment is by Verve and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink. Ribbon is also by PTI. I sent this card to another blogger who is also about to undergo hip replacement surgery. You might say we're joined at the hip :)
Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for your patience. I'll gradually get back into the swing of things, but it's slow going for the time being. In the meantime, have a wonderful Sunday!

Carol