Sending Hugs

 I had a play with my old Quickutz and a corner die along with a little flower paper punch and some pink papers and cardstock. I cut all the corners and placed them together to make little squares, and placed a glittered flower on top of each square. I used an old pearl pen (anyone remember them?) and gave each flower a pearl center along with a few others on the corners. I matted that panel with an older piece of SU! glittered cardstock and added another piece of pink dsp. behind that on a SU! Berry Burst card base. The hugs sentiment was done with a die from Pink and Main and the designer papers are from an old Tim Holtz paper pad. I wasn't sure if I liked this after it was finished but after all the work I put into it, I decided to share it anyway LOL

Sharing this with...

 the Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge for September ATG

the Allsorts Challenge Week #797 - fall colors or A/G option

Triple B September 2024 Challenge - birds, blooms, butterflies-use 1,2, or all 3 - I used blooms

 

the Sisterhood of Crafters August challenge - HUG(S)

Thanks for the visit and I hope all is well in your part of the world today.

Carol

Encouragement

 A very thoughtful and kind friend gifted me with these pretty SU! papers called "Wonderful World" and I love the summer feel of each and every one with the flowers and colors, so I used some snippets and cut them down to create this patchwork card. The big sentiment is by Pink and Main; cut from berry-colored card stock along with some pink. The word "sending" came from another stamp set and I backed it with black.

Sharing with these challenges:

Love Those Pretty Papers August Challenge - Use DSP *optional summertime

The Allsorts Challenge weeks #793/4 - Summer Days or A/G

Word Power #8 - Make the sentiment the focus of your card

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

use 1,2, or all 3

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend too!

Carol

Encouragement Card

 I used some pretty paper snippets from the Paper Studio and SU! along with snippets of vanilla and light green cardstock to put this card together. I followed a fun sketch to design this card adding some dark green cardstock for the base. I used a Cuttlebug EF with leaves on the vanilla panel to mirror the designer paper panel, then used a Stampendous sentiment on some pastel green cardstock adding some dark green candy dots for the finishing touch. 

You just can't miss with pretty papers and a good sketch!

Sharing this with the following challenges:

The Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #647

The Four Seasons August 2024 Challenge - A/G Summer

Can You Handle the Pressure? - A/G Embossing (Cuttlebug ef)

with an optional twist of "things with wings"

the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - A/G

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thursday on this first day of August.

Carol

Take Care

 While rummaging through my snippets, I found some random scraps of paper and cardstock to put this card together. I started with the white square placed on the black and white dsp, then framed around it with strips of grey. I die cut the Darice Daisy stem with scraps of pastel green, yellow, and black and placed it on the card, adding a twine bow and some black Nuvo drops. The Simon Says Stamp sentiment was die cut from the same snippet of yellow and I called this one done.

I'll share this card with the following challenges:

The Allsorts Challenge #784 - Flowers Galore or A/G

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2024/06/week-784.html

The Triple B June 2024 Challenge - Birds, Butterflies, or Blooms. Choose one or all 3

https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2024/06/june-2024-challenge.html

the Four Seasons June 2024 Challenge - A/G Summer

https://thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com/2024/06/june-2024-anything-goes-summer-challenge.html

The Snippets Playground Challenge #482 - Must Use Snippets

https://pixiessnippetsplayground.blogspot.com/2024/06/challenge-482.html

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a good week ahead.

 If I disappear for a while, it's because I'm having serious computer issues. Now I've lost all sound on my computer and all efforts to restore it have failed so far. I think the gremlins have taken over this machine and are making life interesting for sure. Clearly I'm still unable to link websites within the text and now I'm being booted offline randomly as well. I hope to be back again soon in good working order.

Carol

Encouragement

I made this card with 3 snippets of pastel cardstock and a WeRMemory Keepers gemstone embossing folder. I placed each embossed piece on a white card base and then added a die-cut MB Arborscello tree and added a few tiny bluebirds done with an IO set of bird dies. The sentiment is by SU! 

I will share this with the following challenges:

The Alphabet Challenge- E is for Embossing wet or Dry

https://alphabetchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/e-is-for-embossing-wet-or-dry.html

Can You Handle the Pressure? - Use an embossing folder

with an optional twist of using fruits or vegetables

https://cyhtp.blogspot.com/2024/05/anything-goes-embossing-with-twist-of.html

 the Allsorts Challenge #783- Lots of layers or anything goes

https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2024/06/week-783.html

I have no clue why I can no longer link the blog post directly on the text from each challenge, but when I try to do it as I've always done it, it adds a 2nd link, so I've had to put the links underneath the descriptions. I've had a lot of issues with my computer in the previous day and clearly it's still not all resolved. 

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great weekend too!

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

Grateful

 I love this Stampendous stamp and use it often because it reminds us to always be grateful in spite of our hardships and difficulties. I found a few leftover strips of Lawn Fawn autumn themed papers and added them to the side of the card, adding some die-cut Lawn fawn leaves cut from more snippets of autumn colored papers. The little bird was cut with a snippet of black and a SnSS die, dotting the eye with a white gel pen. The tiny sun is a die from Lawn Fawn and was made from snippets also.

I'll share this with the following challenges:

The Snippets Playground #478 - must use snippets

the Triple B April 2024 Challenge -  use 1,2, or 3 of Birds, Blooms, Butterflies

or if you choose, use all 3

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope your day is just perfect

Carol

Sending Hugs

 I made this card recently with a Lawn Fawn image and some strips of designer paper. I added a die-cut stitched sentiment panel to send hugs and added 3 tiny die cut hearts in black and red for accents. I think that's all this card needs to send hugs.

Sharing with the Double D Challenge to use patterned paper

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

Carol

Here For You

 A dear friend gifted me with these beautiful papers a while ago and after making several cards, I had a few strips left over that I didn't want to waste. I also had some strips of retired SU! pastel green designer papers that were a perfect match, so I played with them until I came up with this design. I also added some thin strips of dark green cardstock snippets to add contrast. I placed it on another snippet of a matching blue cardstock and was rather pleased with the overall look. Then another generous and sweet friend recently sent me this adorable bunny image and I thought he looked perfect sitting on this panel. I added a tiny red heart to his chest and used a SU! sentiment from 2016 and called this one done.

I'm sharing this over at the Snippets Playground #472 since the whole card was made from snippets.

Heartfelt thanks to all of my thoughtful dear friends who generously share crafty items with me. I'm very blessed to be the recipient of many wonderful items to make cards with and I'm beyond grateful to each and every one of you.

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day.

Carol

One Day at a Time

 I found this sentiment stamp years ago at a craft store and knew it would come in handy to make cards for those who need encouragement so I bought it and I'm glad I still have it in my collection.

I used snippets of fall colors of cardstock and designer paper to put this card together. I used a leaf die from Gina Marie Designs and cut it 3 times from rust and chocolate cardstock along with a very old snippet of retired SU! designer paper. I added an embossed strip with a Darice fall leaf embossing folder on the side along with another strip of chocolate and placed it on a soft colored cream card base. I'll enter this into the following challenges:

The Snippets Playground Challenge #467 - must use snippets

Can You Handle the Pressure?  - A/G using an embossing folder with an optional twist of Thanksgiving/Turkey/Thanks

Shopping Our Stash SOS509 - Emboss like a Boss

the Sisterhood of Crafters - Fall Harvest

the Four Seasons November 2023 Challenge - fall

Wishing you all a wonderful fall day filled with happiness. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Carol

Encouragement Card

I need to make a few encouragement cards, and this is the first one. I used  2 stamp sets - one from Simon Says Stamp and another from Lawn Fawn;  combining both to create a rainy day scene. The die-cut border is from Sweet 'n Sassy while the doggie image is from SSS. I stamped, colored and fussy-cut the umbrella, dog, and boots and placed them on top of the raindrop-stamped card base. I added turquoise stickles and aqua Nuvo drops on the umbrella to add some sparkle and shine and hand-drew the handle with a black marker.  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

Here's what I added to the inside and colored with my Tombow markers - also done with the Lawn Fawn set.

 I hope this card will bring a little smile to someone going through rough times.

I'm sharing with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is

 "Shimmer and Shine."

Also sharing with the Happy Little Stampers August challenge -

A/G with dies.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a great weekend!

Carol

Hugs

 I made this card in red, black and white because I love this color combination! The red dsp is a piece someone shared with me a long time ago and the diagonal butterfly panel is the flip side of that paper. I used 2 GMD nested dies to create the frame and added a MFT stitched diagonal die to place the die-cut layered butterfly on. The word HUGS was cut 3 times with an Impression Obsession die and layered for a little dimension.

I'll enter this into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Sending Hugs

Dies R Us #167 - a/g using any brand of dies they sell (I.O)

Happy Little Stampers - a/g with Dies April Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a fantastic day - whatever you're doing!

Carol

Silhouettes Twofer (plus one)

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by today. I made time to play along with the Twofer challenge #32 this month which is "silhouettes" and here are my twofer cards - created with a Stencil Girl Mylar stencil.

For this card, I used the Stencil Girl Mylar stencil on black, sponging on some Platinum Planet ink for a really cool look. If only my photo could capture that metallic shine, but unfortunately it didn't. The clock is a die from I.O. and I cut the fancy parts with GinaK Blue Raspberry card stock. The hands on the clock were cut from gold mirror card. The borders were done with a SU! scalloped edge punch and the sentiment stamp was purchased from a local store that makes their own stamps. The card base is a soft kraft color and the clock and borders were done with vanilla cardstock.

Next up is a bright birthday card with Melon Mambo as the base color. I sponged a piece of white card with the same stencil, covering the entire  card with barn door, marmalade and fossilized amber distress inks. The framed scalloped border is a die from Gina Marie Designs and the butterfly die was a gift from a friend with no mfr. name. The birthday sentiment came from a SSS stamp set and I added a couple of Nuvo black droplets for fun.

 I was having so much fun with this stencil, I created a third card. This time I sponged white craft ink through the stencil on a piece of black cardstock and used a MFT notched border die-cut along one edge. The HUGS is a die from Pink & Main, and the rest of the sentiment came from a SNSS stamp set, broken up and heat-embossed with white ep on some die-cut MFT labels. I seldom sit down to make many cards anymore, but this stencil was so much fun I didn't want to put it down, so this time you get a three-fer instead of a twofer :)

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you the best possible day!

Carol

I Care

I needed to add some cards with this theme to my stash, so I kept it simple, using a strip of designer paper along with a strip of kraft card stock. I embossed the blue panel with a Cuttlebug Decorative Tiles ef, while the kraft was embossed with a SU! square lattice ef. The stem was cut with a very old Sizzix little leaves die. The sentiment is from SU! Thoughts and Prayers, and I finished this card with some aqua Nuvo drops for a little sparkle.

I'm sharing this with the Just Us Girls Challenge #541 - color week

Also wishing a happy Father's day to all the great dads out there!

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

Carol

Umbrella Days

I finally got around to finishing my cards for the Twofer Challenge #26 which is "Rain/Umbrella." In the twofer challenge you're supposed to make 2 different cards with 2 different themes by using the same stamps, stencils and/or dies.

My first card is an encouragement card showing a storm scene on the front....

with a rainbow inside. The umbrella is from a SSS Seasonal Simon stamp set and that's what I used to make both my cards. I used the same stamp set for the dog and his boots. The sentiment, clouds, raindrops and rainbow inside were done with a set of Lawn Fawn Rain or Shine / Before and After stamps and dies.  I stamped Simon first, then colored him with Copics. I stamped Simon's boots on a snippet of yellow card, then colored them with a pink gel marker before fussy cutting. I grounded him in a puddle done with Copic markers. The umbrella was paper-pieced with snippets to match the mosaic panel on the side.

The mosaic panel was done by cutting snippets of dsp into random shapes and sizes. I took a panel of scrap card, and completely covered it with adhesive, then placed the dsp snippets on top of the adhesive, leaving spaces in between. Afterward, I sprinkled the entire piece with turquoise glitter embossing powder to fill the spaces in between and then heat set it. I also colored another snippet of white card with a yellow fluorescent Copic marker, then used a MFT notched border die to cut it, adding it to one side of the mosaic strip, with the leftover strip placed on the other side. 

I will also enter this card into the Craft Rocket challenge #69 

which is "Furry Friends."

Also entering it into the NBUS challenge #13 - use your Never Before Used Schtuff. This is the first time I've used the Lawn Fawn stamps and dies as they were a recent gift from a friend.

Here is my 2nd card for the Twofer. I made the butterfly with 2 umbrellas from the SSS stamp set. I stamped the umbrella twice on Yupo paper that was colored with alcohol ink and some gold mixative. I fussy cut both umbrellas and put them together to create a butterfly, adding a MB Darla die-cut butterfly beneath. I hand-drew over the stamped umbrella lines with a gold paint pen, then added dots with a white sharpie. The body of the butterfly was done in mirror gold; cut with the MB butterfly die. I used some beautiful SSS woodgrain cardstock and cut a stitched oval die to place the butterfly on, adding tiny gold gemstones randomly. The glittered gold panel was die cut with a Lil Inker stitched rectangle die and placed on another piece of SSS woodgrain cardstock. I will put the sentiment inside when I get ready to use this card. It can be used for a birthday, Mother's Day, thank-you, or Thinking of You card so I'll save it for just the right occasion.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenge...

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -"Knock on Wood" (use anything wood related)

Thanks for the visit and sticking with me for this long post and I hope your weekend is off to a good start. Take good care of you and yours!

Carol

Hugs

While reading Darnell's recent blog post, I was instantly inspired to pull out my box of snippets and make cards. Ok, the inspiration lasted long enough to make ONE card for now, but I'm leaving the box on my desk to work from it for the next few weeks or so.

I found the navy blue stitched panel done with a GinaMarieDesigns stitched die, the die-cut sign, and the die-cut bird among my snippets. The sign and bird were die-cut gifts from my friend Alice (Scrap & C/ scrAPamondo) who lives in Italy, and I've emailed her but haven't received a reply yet, so if anyone knows if she's OK, please leave a comment to let me know. Italy is having a horrible time with this virus outbreak and I do hope she's OK. Since they were gifts, I'm sorry I don't know the manufacturer's name of either one.

I also found a tiny snippet of a previously made water colored background that I cut to fit inside of the sign. I dotted the holes around it with Aqua Nuvo glitter drops and added a black Nuvo drop for the bird's eye. The hugs die is by Impression Obsession and I triple cut it from random snippets of white, layering for some dimension. I added a Coastal Cabana polka dot dsp panel behind the navy, using a Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, and also used another stitched rectangle die to stitch the card base.

I'm sharing this with the Snippets Playground #374 since it's mostly made from snippets

I'm also adding it to the Dies R Us challenge #141 which is "things with wings.

I called a long-time friend earlier in the week and when she didn't call back, I called a 2nd time a few days later and left another message asking if she was OK. Her sister called me yesterday to let me know she'd suffered 2 strokes and was currently staying with another sister. The card I made today is going to her because I'm sure she can use a few good hugs.

I hope everyone is doing well in this sudden crisis. My husband got so housebound/stir crazy/bored, he got in the car, drove down the driveway to pick up a couple days worth of mail and drove around the block while he was out! LOL It was a short drive, but it made him feel human again just to get out of the house! I know he is feeling extreme WaWa coffee withdrawal symptoms as he hasn't been there for several days now and that daily cup of coffee has been a long time ritual for him! Ha!

Thanks for stopping by and be good to one another. As Darnell always says, life is short.

Carol

Encouragement Card

I made another Double Point fold card for a friend going through cancer treatments. I used some pretty American Crafts double sided papers I bought at Tuesday Morning several years ago. The adorable mouse image is by Gerda Steiner and I colored him with Copics. He just looks like he's got lots of confidence and I added a  SSS die-cut sentiment panel meant to give a little encouragement to the recipient. I added a few Nuvo glitter drops to the bottom of the image panel and did some doodling around the edges with a black marker.

I'll share this with Pammie's Inky Pinkies challenge #2008 - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by and make it a fantastic day!

Carol

Miracles

I have a friend who's daughter just turned 18 yesterday and she's been suffering from anorexia for several years. I wanted to make a card for my friend to support her and give her encouragement and this is what I made.

I sponged the background with distress inks in peacock feathers, salty ocean, and broken china, then did the Bokeh technique with some SSS white craft ink and a hand-made stencil I made with circle punches. After it dried, I added the D.R.S. Designs sentiment along a Joanna Sheen die-cut fairy that was gifted to me from Annie. (thanks!) I prefer to think of her as an angel, and I coated her wings with Diamond Stickles for some sparkle. I lightly colored her with Copics, adding more Stickles to the tiny stars as well, and then added a die-cut stitched Lawn Fawn cloud for her to sit on.

I'll enter this into the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Carol

Encouragement

My card today was made for encouragement. I began with a SB labels 18 die cut that I edged with a black marker while it was still in the die, I stamped it with a Verve sentiment and then added a couple Cheery Lynn mini flourishes, topping them with SU! punched mini flowers and black gemstone centers. I placed it all on a SU! tulip embossed piece and added it to a white card base.

I'm entering this into the Just Us Girls Trend Week #496 challenge which is to make the sentiment the main focus of the card.

Wishing each and every one of you a miracle in your life. Life is precious and tomorrow is never promised for any of us.

Thanks for stopping by and hug your loved ones today.

Carol

Poppies

 I found this Crafter's Workshop stamped background in my stash that I stamped at a friend's house years ago and decided it was high time to make a card with it! I love that it looks stenciled which is so trendy these days, but it's a stamped image done with what appears to be a shade of olive green. I pulled my Flourishes Poppy stamp set out of the cobwebs and stamped several flowers and leaves onto a scrap of water color paper. I colored each image with Copics, then covered the whole piece with Versafine ink, and heat embossed it all with clear detail embossing powder. Next I fussy cut each piece and arranged everything onto the stamped background. The sentiment circle was done with a TE stamp and a retired SU! mini circle punch and it's all on a red card base. I'm glad I hung onto this stamp set through the years, because it always makes such pretty cards!

I'd like to share this with A Place to Start July 2019 monthly challenge - anything goes

Have a great Monday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol