Happy Independence Day!

 Today we celebrate July 4th in the US as Independence day and I have a quilt card to share with you done in the colors of our US flag which is red, white, and blue. 

I used a MFT quilt die with some older retired SU! papers as well as a sentiment die from Lil Inkers to add the word Celebrate. I added a tiny punched red star in the center with another tiny die-cut star in the center of that one. I randomly added sparkle with tiny gemstones as well as bits of red, white, and blue glitter and mirror papers done with a hole punch. I sent this to someone celebrating a birthday recently but it's also perfect for the July 4th holiday.

I'm sharing this with the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stars and/or Stripes

The Four Seasons Challenge - Summer Season July 2024 Season

A Cut Above (Use Die Cuts) - Start this new challenge off with a "Bang!"

Colorful Options July 2024 - Flags

Craft Rocket Challenge #116 - Summertime

Word Power #7 - Make Your Sentiment the Focus

Thanks for stopping by today and remember to keep your pets indoors when the fireworks start later today. Please use caution with fireworks too and have a safe and happy July 4th celebration.

Carol

Mother's Day Bouquet

 I played with an older retired SU! set of Beautiful Bouquet dies to create this mother's day card. I die cut all the flowers with assorted colored bits of cardstock and arranged them all into a bouquet adding a purple die-cut ribbon to hold them all together.  I dotted the flowers with black Nuvo dots. The stitched frame is unbranded and I used 2 retired SU! punches to make the SU! Teeny Tiny Wishes sentiment panel.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use Die Cuts

Cards 4 Galz #224 - Celebration Mother's Day

Craft Rocket Challenge #114 - Flowers

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a pleasant day.

Carol

You've Got This

 A friend of mine is undergoing surgery on Friday, so I made this card to  give her a little encouragement. I used some MB papers along with some soft grey cardstock to make the background. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp and was die cut with black cardstock. The flowers and leaves were done with a Hero Arts stamp set, fussy cut, and popped up on foam bits. The tiny white flowers were added on top of the pink flowers and finished with a tiny black gem. The final touch was to add some pastel pink Nuvo drops to the sentiment panel.

I'm sharing this with these challenges:

the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - A/G

the Flower Challenge #90 - Add Layers

the Triple B April 2024 Challenge - use Birds, Butterflies, or Blooms 

(1,2, or all 3)

Craft Rocket Challenge #113 - Layer it Up

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a wonderful day.

Carol

A Milestone Birthday Card

 I made this card for someone who recently celebrated an incredible number of birthdays. I decorated the stitched oval panel with a Tim Holtz stencil and matching ink that looks like bubble wrap, and decorated the die-cut large numbers with little black gems. The background was embossed with an older Cuttlebug birthday embossing folder and the little flower was done with SU! mini punches and a cut-off portion of a die-cut stem. The sentiment is a pre-printed one from SSS matted with black cardstock.

I will share this with 

Seize the Birthday #275 - Embossing, Wet or Dry

Can you Handle the Pressure? January 13th, 2024 -

A/G using an embossing folder with an optional twist of snow people

Craft Rocket Challenge #110 - use Embossing

Here in PA we're having another snowstorm today with very cold temperatures, so it's a good day to stay indoors and craft! Thanks for stopping by and I hope it's warm where you are! Take care everyone.

Carol

Happy Winter

 We had a little bit of snow a few days ago and may be getting more of the white stuff early next week, so I figured it's a good time to make a card like this. A thoughtful sweet friend (thank you!) sent me this Cottage Cuts die recently so there's no time like the present to put it to good use. I die cut it in GinaK Blue Raspberry cardstock along with several other colors and yes, I actually paper pieced all those itty bitty negative bits to add a little color to the snowman. I pulled out a very old MFT letter stamp set and made the sentiment, matting each one with more matching cardstock. I added 2 die cut stitched snowflakes from Lawn Fawn, covering them with Diamond Stickles and adding a tiny blue gemstone to the center of each one as well as the letter "I" in the sentiment. The background was embossed with an older retired SU! ef that I've always been a fan of for wintry cards.

I will share this with the following challenges:

The Little Red Wagon Challenge #738 - show some snow

the Sisterhood of Crafters January 10th, 2024 challenge - icy cold

The Four Seasons January 2024 Winter Season Challenge

Craft Rocket Challenge #110 - use embossing

NBUS Challenge #58 - Never Before Used Schtuff

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're keeping warm and comfy wherever you are.

I saw this sign today on my way back home today from the store:

Sausage jokes are the wurst . 😆 

Keep Smiling 😉

Carol

Autumn Cards

  I used a Brutus Monroe stamp set to create these cards and used 2 different sentiments in the center of each wreath. I stamped everything with Versamark and then gold embossed before coloring with assorted markers.

Here's another version that was done on PTI soft stone cardstock for a softer color card base than plain white.

 

I'll enter the first card into these challenges:

The Four Seasons October 2023 challenge - A/G fall

The Sisterhood of Crafters challenge - pumpkins

The Double D Challenges - pumpkins

Craft Rocket Challenge #108 - Autumn and/or Halloween

The Alphabet Challenge Blog - "N" is for nature

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your autumn day is a great one!

Carol

Trick or Treat

I've made several Halloween cards using this candy corn die a friend gifted me with several years ago so I'll share one today.  It's time to use up the Halloween papers I've been hanging onto for so long, so I cut the smaller pieces into strips and made a herringbone background for this card. The trick or treat stamped image was done with a SU! Tags 4 You set (2013-2014) on orange cardstock and cut with the coordinating punch. I added a green gel sticker just for a fun accent. 

 The same friend who gifted me with the candy corn die, also gifted me with an envelope of fun die cuts so I added 2 of them here on the inside. I added some fluorescent Copic colors to the cauldron and added a SSS pre-printed sentiment along with another snippet of retired SU! Halloween paper.

I'll share this card with the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #507 - Franken-Card / Halloween

Craft Rocket Challenges #108 - Autumn and/or Halloween

Allsorts Challenge week 749 - Vintage or A/G

Retro Rubber Challenge #217 - A/G using stamps older than 1 year

Two Old Bats October A/G Halloween Challenge

That's going to do it for me today so thanks as always for stopping by and have a great day whatever you do.

I'm keeping the world in prayer for peace.

Carol

Another Masculine Birthday Card

I found it difficult to photograph this card  for some reason, but it looks much better in real life. The Stampendous image was inked with Versamark and stamped on a sturdy kraft remnant; then embossed with gold ep, adding a little bit of coloring with markers and Copics. I used a piece of Pacific Point cardstock for the base and added a strip of matching polka dot paper for the SSS pre-printed sentiment. I found some glitter gold die-cut bits leftover from a previous cutting and added them just for a little sparkle and fun.

 Here's another photo angle but unfortunately neither one clearly shows the card the way I hoped it would appear. 

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Craft Rocket Challenges #106 - animals

Critter Crazy Challenge #77 - A/G featuring a critter

We Love Stamping August Challenge - Masculine

Triple AAA Birthday Challenge #52 - A/G Birthday

The Male Room Challenge #177 - Dots and/or Stripes

That's it for me today but here's wishing you a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Father's Day Card

 I made this card for a friend's hubby who loves to play golf. I feel pretty certain that he'll be on the golf course this coming Sunday when we celebrate Father's day, so I just went with that thought in creating this card. The Father's day sentiment is inside the card.

I created the skies with T.E. stencils and some Tumbled Glass ink, and then added 3 tiny birds done with a SNSS stamp. The green hillsides were done with Lawn Fawn dies, and the golf bag was done with a Tutti designs die, colored with Copics.  His golf bag is red, white, and blue which is why I chose those colors. The sentiment is also from SNSS.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz #324 - Father's Day UK & USA

June Stencil Fun Challenge -A/G using a stencil *option, use layered stencils

Craft Rocket Challenge #104 - Use Dies

Happy Little Stampers June A/G with Dies challenge

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day whatever you do! 

Keep smiling 😊

Carol

From the Snippet Box

 I've been trying to use some of the snippets I've accumulated for eons, so I dug into that overflowing box once again to create this card. I found 2 die-cut circles in there, one black and one mint green. The mint green circle was  cut from a Lawn Fawn die-cut background with wind swirls, while the black circle was plain. I embossed the black circle with a SU! Petal Burst embossing folder and then sanded it a bit to show all the embossed petals. The die-cut bucket was made with an Impression Obsession die and some grey cardstock; while the greens were done with Precious Maricke and SU! dies. The little bow was made with a Sizzix die from 3 colors. The flowers were done with a SU! mini flower punch, and dotted with Nuvo drops in assorted colors, adding more black drops to the overall design of the card. The birthday greeting was a pre-print that came in a paper pad. I placed this on a Berry Burst cardstock base by SU!

Here's a small sampling of some snippets I used to make this card.

I'm going to share this with the following challenges:

The Snippets Playground #452 - must use snippets

Freshly Made Sketches #582

Happy Little Stampers April Birthday Challenge  - A/G

Triple AAA Birthday Card Challenge #438 - Layer it Up

Craft Rocket Challenge #102 - Layer it Up

Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge - A/G Embossing *Option of Clouds

Whew, I'm sliding into that last challenge with less than 2 hours to go before it closes!  😊 LOL

Thanks for checking in today and I wish you a great day whatever you do!

Carol

Thinking of You

My card today was made with bits of designer paper found in my snippets box. The frame was left over from a previous project where I only used the inside piece. I had another small piece of that same paper that I die-cut with a MFT stitched die and placed it behind the layered image panels. The aqua paper was bought pre-embossed at Tuesday Morning years ago. The butterfly die was made with MB Vivienne and Darla dies and adorned with 2 teardrop pearls. The sentiment was heat-embossed with white embossing powder and a Teeny Tiny Wishes sentiment stamp from SU! 

I'll share with these challenges:

The Triple B April Challenge - use a bloom, butterfly or bird or all 3

The Little Red Wagon #700 - Layers

Craft Rocket Challenge #102 - Layer it Up

HLS April Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Thanks for the visit and it's great to see you stopping by. Have a great day!

Carol

Colorful Birthday Card

 Today I have a fun little birthday card made with snippets of polka dot and striped designer papers. I just glued all the strips down in a diagonal pattern and placed the panel on a yellow card base. I've had this Stampendous stamped image forever. (thanks to Wendy and Di for letting me know the manufacturer). I colored it with Copics and glaze pens; then die cut both the image panel and the red mat with stitched square dies. The red sentiment panel was done with a MFT stitched die, and the word "Celebrate" was cut with a Lil Inker die from navy cardstock 3 times, stacked and covered with glossy accents.

Sharing with these challenges:

The Snippets Playground #449 - A/G must use snippets 

Critter Crazy Challenge #72 - A/G featuring a critter

Craft Rocket Challenge #101 - for the girls

Allsorts Challenge week #718 - A/G *optional 4-legged friends

AAA Birthday Game#47 - Stripes and/or Dots

Happy Little Stampers March Birthday Challenge - A/G

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Carol

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Today I have an easy valentine to share made with snippets of black, red, and some pre-embossed woodgrain white cardstock from SSS. I used an I.O. wooden heart die to create the layered hearts and embossed the background with a SU! embossing folder. I added a sentiment along with a little heart-shaped brad and called this one done.

Sharing this with the following challenges:

Inspiration Station - Prompt #46

(I was inspired by the love theme and hearts)

Cardz 4 Galz #192 - include one heart or more

Craft Rocket Challenges #100 - Love/Valentine

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #196

I used the diagonal from top left to bottom right 

(Heart - Free - Die-Cut)

Thanks for stopping by and I wish everyone a happy Valentine's day filled with lots of love!

Carol

Love is in the Air

 I found this Penny Black image hiding in my box of stamped images and knew it was perfect for making a Valentine's day card. I stenciled the  background with TE stencils and some tumbled glass ink to create the sky, then colored the image with Copics, adding Wink of Stella to the balloons for some sparkle. The sentiment is by Inky Antics and I cut the image panel and card base with Lil Inker stitched rectangles

I'll share this with...

The Penny Black Saturday February Challenge - A/G optional hearts and/or flowers

the Craft Rocket Challenge #100 - Love/Valentine

Critter Crazy Challenge #71 - A/G with a featured critter

Allsorts Challenge week #714 - A/G with optional theme "I Love"

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a fun-filled happy weekend!

Carol

Peek-A-Boo Halloween

This is the first outing for this Lawn Fawn Peek-A-Boo die I received for my birthday.  I had fun creating with it and made this card for my friend's young grandson (and will make another for his older brother soon). I used an assortment of stamps and a punch for the words on each window, adding a couple stickers to add some sparkle. Open the windows and here's what's inside...

 The images and sentiment are from MFT and I added an old die-cut bat and a trick or treat sentiment I found in my snippets box. I hope this will amuse a 3 year old with all the opening windows - at least for a minute or two :)

I'll share this with these challenges:

Two Old Bats October Halloween Challenge - A/G Halloween

Craft Rocket Challenge #97 - Autumn/Halloween

Little Red Wagon Challenge #674 - Spooky Halloween

NBUS Challenge #43 - Never Before Used Schtuff

(The Lawn Fawn dies and MFT stamps)

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day whatever you do!

Carol

Masculine Birthday Card

 I made this card for my brother-in-law who will be turning 81 soon. I die-cut the numbers using SU! large number dies (r) and heat-embossed them with silver and gold embossing powder; using an older (r) SU! mini background stamp set. I matted the black piece with some gold matte cardstock, then matted that piece with a piece of mirror silver card. The striped dsp is (r) from SU! and the pre-printed sentiment was purchased from Simon Says Stamp.

I'll enter this into these challenges:

The Craft Rocket Challenge #96 - dots and/or stripes

( I used both dots and stripes)

The Happy Little Stampers September Anything goes with Dies Challenge

(I used the retired SU! large number dies)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one!

Carol

Summer Birthday Card

 Today I have a summery birthday card to share with you. While sorting through my overwhelming supply of stamps, I found this long-forgotten Black-Eyed Susan stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers (now closed) I stamped it and colored it with Copics, Markers, and glaze pens; adding Nuvo black drops in the center and dotting some orange with glaze pens after it dried. I fussy cut this flower and placed it on a white card that was stenciled with Tumbled Glass distress ink and Taylored Expressions cloud stencils. I die cut the large and small sun images from Lil Inker (also now closed) with scraps of orange, red, and yellow. The birds and dragonfly were done with an older Sweet 'n Sassy stamp set, while the sentiment was done with a Taylored Expressions stamp. The grassy border was done with an unmarked wooden stamp I've had for years.

I'll enter this into the following challenges:

Four Seasons August Challenge - A/G with a summer theme

the Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge August - A/G 

AAA Birthday Challenge #40 - A/G Birthday

Craft Rocket Challenge #95 - Flowers

Just Us Girls Challenge #645 - Use a Stencil

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a very happy, pleasant day!

Carol

Yellow Floral Birthday Card

 While I had my Altenew Dahlia stencils out recently, I decided to make another card with them using the color yellow. For this background I used Distress inks of Lemonade and Mustard. The flowers were stamped on pieces that match the card base, clear heat embossed, and fussy cut. I die cut the centers from polka dot dsp and placed them on the centers. The leaves and flowers are both from a very old Hero Arts Stamp set that I've had probably 8 years or more. The sentiment is by Sweet 'n Sassy (from 2009) and I colored inside the letters with a matching Copic marker, and placed it all on a die-cut MFT fishtail flag banner. 

I'll enter this into the following challenges:

The Retro Rubber Challenge #182- Flower Power

HLS May Stencil Challenge - A/G with stencil

The Four seasons May Spring Challenge - A/G Spring 

Craft Rocket Challenge #92 - Birthday

Just Us Girls Challenge #631 - Word Week - "Flowers"

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

Got Eggs?

 I recently won this fun Stamping Bella Oddball Easter Bunny stamp over at the Snippets Playground, so I thought I'd make my first Easter card this year with him. I used 2 pieces of (r) SU! Soft Sky designer paper and split the panels with a narrow strip of lavender cardstock. I framed the bunny image with dark purple cardstock, then colored the image with Copics and glaze pens. The grassy border was done with a SNSS die, while the 2 bunnies were done with Gina Marie Design dies. The sun and cloud were done with Lil Inker dies and the sentiment is a wooden stamp I've had for years.

I'll share this with the following challenges:

Four seasons March challenge - A/G spring with a mood board too

the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - add a die-cut

the Critter Crazy Challenge #60 - feature a critter

Craft Rocket Challenge #90 - use an animal

NBUS #36 - never before used schtuff (Oddball Easter Bunny stamp)

Thanks for stopping by and do have a good week ahead. Spring is rapidly approaching and I long for the days where we can sit out on the front porch again and just enjoy some warmer weather!

Carol