Two by Two

Here's another NBUS.  I've lost count of how many I've used this summer.  And, did you notice, I used some of that hoarded DSP! 

I hadn't used this stamp because I shy away from Watercoloring.  I don't know why because I really enjoy it after I get started.

The layout was inspired by this card by Wendy Wexler.

Melissa, at CASology, just had a baby girl.  They're having a baby shower for her over there this week.  Welcome to the world, Bryna! Congratulations to the proud family.

And I'll take this over to Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  I  haven't seen signs of the water guns on the playground this week, but the ark might be a safe bet just in case!

Almost forgot the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.  This week it's Anything Goes! Gotta love that!

This fits for a couple of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges at SCS.

I didn't keep up with the ink refills that I used.  Sorry about that.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Two by  Two (retired), Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Ink Refills, SU Marker (Marina Mist)

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, DSP, Watercolor Snippet

Other: Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon (retired), Jewelry Tag Punch (retired), Scallop Circle die (Spellbinders), Crochet Tread (from stash)

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!

Feathers

I'm backtracking on the Queen for the Day challenge.  This is for last week Queens C-D. (We're honoring past queens.)  This time I'm CASEing Kathy (aka CAKath).  Kathy has a wonderful gallery and is so encouraging with her comments.  I chose this card and shamelessly CASEd her card. I did use different feathers and sentiment. And I used a different ribbon treatment.

CAS on Sunday is doing Kraft and Twine so I think I'll pop over there.

TLC challenge at SCS is to pick a technique from the first 50 challenges.  This works for challenge 13 - Monochromatic.

Pixie's Playground warrants another visit since I used a snippet of Decorative Paper. 

Dare to Get Dirty has a challenge that this will work for. This challenge is for Fan Club members at SCS to participate in.  You can take a good look at the gallery with the link.

And the big feather stamp was a NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff).  It's been in my stash for at least 5 yrs. and never before seen ink.  I bought it to use with the quote by Jean Paul Richter, Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wings of time.  

Then I put thinking of you on the card.  Go figure!

The Natural Trim has been sitting on my shelf for several months waiting to be cut.  So I scored 2 NBUS' with this card!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Small Feather from Autumn Days, Large Feather (Rubber Stampede)

Ink:  Crumb Cake

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, DP snippet

Other:  Natural Trim, Hemp Twine  (retired)

Thanks so much for the visit.

Enjoy!

Baby Birds

We had Stamp and Share last Saturday and one of my friends shared this baby bird stamp that she found in the dollar bin.  Aren't they just the sweetest?

I stamped a few with black then thought of the brown and really like it better.  They're stamped on Very Vanilla though it looks like white in this picture.

CAS Colours and Sketches has this sketch this week.  I made it oblong and made my square oblong to match it.  

Or vise versa.

Unfortunately the other stamped birds are going to the UFO box for now.

I thought I'd share my box with you.

  

This is the main one.  I have another that holds the holiday UFOs.

It really isn't as tight as it was at the beginning of the summer but it needs a lot more work.

All Supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Birds (?), Bird on a Branch (retired)

Ink:  Rich Cocoa (Memento), Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Other:  Square Lattice EF, Hemp Twine (retired)

Thanks for stopping by.  Wish you could have stopped by on Saturday for some stampin and sharin!

Enjoy!

Merry Monday and Queen Harriett

We're rolling into the last Monday in July!  Christmas will be upon us before we know it!  How many Christmas cards do you have done?  

We're still having an Anything Goes challenge at MERRY MONDAY.  Come join us and check out the fabulous gallery of beautiful Christmas cards. Prepare to be astounded and amazed!

Here's my Christmas card for this week.

The Queen for the Day challenge at SCS is celebrating past queens this month.  This week we can choose a queen whose name begins with E-I.  Harriett Kelly (hskelly) was my choice and I chose this card as my inspiration.  I added a gold panel and used only 1 flower.  Otherwise I  stayed pretty close to Harriet's beautiful design.

I used some of the sneak peek Gold Foil Sheets that are in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog. It's beautiful, heavy and so shiny that it was really hard to get a good picture.  Here's another angle to give you a better idea of the gold.

I made the poinsettia with my Spellbinder's die and embossed the sentiment with gold. 

I used up some snippets of Vanilla for this little poinsettia and the embossed piece is also a snippet so I'm going over to Pixie's Playground to see what mischief is going on this week.

And it's Rudolph Days until the end of the month so I'm going to take this over there.

This week is extra special at Splitcoaststampers.  It's their Dare to Get Dirty Challenge.  Past and present members of the Dirty Dozen team issue challenges each day.  Only Fan Club members can participate in the challenges, but anyone can view the cards in the galleries. I've never participated before even though I've been a Fan Club member for several years. This is such a wonderful place for card makers to find inspiration.  If you've been a stamper very long, you're probably familiar with them.  If you're not be sure to pay them a visit.  It's easy to join and you don't have to pay anything to view the galleries. 

I know I won't be able to do all the challenges.  There's just not enough hours in the day.  But I'm excited that this card fits DTGD13Kittie747 and DTGD13TammieE challenges.

OK.  If you're still with me, I hope you'll go visit the rest of the Merry Monday Design Team

Allisa Chilton

Bonnie Klass

LeAnne Pugliese

Nina Forsyth

Wendy Aungst

Narelle Farrugia

Sue Joyce

Sherry Eckblad

Margaret Moody 

And be sure to go to Always Playing with Paper for some Guest Designer inspiration.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps: More Merry Messages

Ink:  VersaMark

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Gold Foil

Other:  Perfect Polka Dots EF, Vintage Wallpaper EF (retired), Gold EP, Poinsettia Die (Spellbinders), Flat Back Gold bead (?)

I'm so glad you could come by to visit, especially if you stayed to the end of this long post!

Enjoy!

Something Fishy

The Featured Stamper at SCS this week is Heather (aka housebuiltofcards).  I saw so many wonderful cards to inspire.  I ended up choosing this card to CASE.  Here's my interpretation....

I had this fish in my UFO box.  It was a leftover from a botched stamping attempt for a Stamp Stack card.  I cut off the deformed fish and this is the image I was left with.

The design piece was sponged with Daffodil Delight, Pool Party and some Island Indigo around the edges and the bottom.  The coral and fish were stamped with Midnight Muse and the bubbles with Pool Party. I distressed the edges a little with my fingernail to give it a little more natural look.

Some snippets from the blue bag made a nice color blocked background.

I'm skipping over to Pixie's Playground with my fish and snippets. I don't think the fish will mind the water guns.

Seize the Birthday is having an Anything Goes Linky Party this month.  Wow, what a lot of inspiration in that gallery!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  By the Tide, French Foliage (retired), Wow Birthday (retired)

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Midnight Muse

Paper:  Naturals White, Pool Party, Island Indigo

Other:  Stampin' Sponges, Word Window Punch

My hubby and I went to VT for a few days to visit with my Dad.  It's so beautiful there! We stayed at a lovely inn in Bennington and spent some time sightseeing as well as visiting.  We were able to have a picnic on Sunday with nearly 30 of Dad's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren.  What a wonderful time! 

It's so good to be home again.

And sleep on my own pillow.

And be able to access a computer.

And get creative.

I love to go, but love to come home.

Thanks so much for coming by to visit.

Enjoy!

Pleasant Poppies for Jan

This is the birthday card I did for my friend Jan.

The poppies were stamped with Soft Suede and colored with Stampin' Up! Markers by coloring the petals first with Pink Pirouette then swiping the Primrose marker on a plastic lid and picking up the color with a blender pen to add depth to the petals.

There was a little smudge around the flowers so I spritzed some Raspberry Ripple with the Color Spritzer tool (retired).  I find that it's a good way to disguise a boo boo.

I did the antenna by snipping a tiny piece of black scrap and adhering it to the underside of the butterfly with a glue dot.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Pleasant Poppies, Blooming with Kindness
Ink: Soft Suede, Raspberry Ripple, SU Markers (Pink Pirouette, Primrose Petals, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple)
Paper:  Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler (for butterfly)
Other:  Square Lattice EF, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Basic Pearls, Color Spritzer Tool 

I'm so glad you took the time to stop by.

Enjoy!

Merry Monday Rejoicing with You

Here we are at Merry Monday again.  This month we have the same challenge each week.  Along with our regular Design Team we have Guest Designers each week.  So if you need some inspiration or just want to see some eye candy, be sure to go over and take a look.

I used the retired Rejoicing with you set. 

This was super quick.  I stamped and embossed the sentiment, stamped and embossed the angel, tied the ribbon and rounded the corners.  Sorry about the picture. It was hard to show the shine of the embossing without some glare.  Maybe one day I'll learn how to get around that.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Rejoicing with You

Ink:  VersaMark

Paper:  Whisper White

Other:  Silver EP, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Silver Cord

I hope you'll join us at Merry Monday with a Christmas card of your choosing.  Anything goes as long as it's Christmas.  And if you need inspiration, the Design Team and Guest Designer have some gorgeous offerings!

So glad you stopped to visit today.

Enjoy!

Baby Dress for Olivia

We have a new baby in the family.  Her name is Olivia Wren and she is my great-great niece.  I think.  I always get confused when it gets beyond the great stage.

I made a similar baby dress card about 3 years ago.  You can see that post here.

I was inspired by this card by Sherry Phipps.  The link to the template doesn't work anymore.  I found another template here.  Be forewarned.  I did not download the template since I already have one.  Sometimes these sites can add unwanted little buggies on your computer.  Make sure you have a good virus scan in operation.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  None
Ink:  None
Paper:  Pretty in Pink (retired), Whisper White
Other:  Perfect Polka Dots EF, Basic Pearls, Flower (Inspired by Stamping)

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!

Wetlands by the Sea

I was so excited to see the Wetlands set in the new SU catalog.  I had some watercolor ocean scenes in my UFO box and needed something to put on them. These shore birds were just what I was looking for.

The ocean scene was done with watercolor crayons and and Aqua Painter.  I stamped the birds in Going Gray and the starfish and sand dollar in Sahara Sand.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is 

By the Sea

so anything Beach/Nautical related

Thanks Joy for this fabulous Inspiration Board ! :-)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Wetlands, Starfish, Sand Dollar (Rubberstamp Tapestry)

Ink:  Going Gray, Sahara Sand

Paper:  Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, Watercolor

Other:  Watercolor Crayons, Aqua Painter

This makes me wish we were going to the ocean.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enjoy!

Featuring Jeanne with Meadow Silhouettes

The Featured Stamper this week at SCS is Jeanne (aka akeptlife).  It didn't take long to find a card from her fabulous gallery to CASE.  I chose this card for the bright, pretty flowers. I remembered this image that I'd started to color as a demonstration during a class and threw in my UFO box after. Jeanne's card was just the inspiration I needed to get it out and finish it.

The background of this is stamped with VersaMark and embossed with white.  The flowers are not embossed and I nearly went blind colored them with markers.  It's much easier to do this technique when it's embossed in black.  Like I did here.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Meadow Silhouette (Hero Arts)

Ink:  VersaMark, SU Markers

Paper:  Whisper White, Gumball Green (card 1), Whisper White, Basic Black (card 2)

Other:  White Embossing Powder, Gumball Green Ribbon (card 1), Black Embossing Powder, Basic Pearls, Simply Scored (card 2)

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!

Sailing by with Curtain Call

There's a new challenge out there and some of my favorite stampers are on the design team.  It's called Curtain Call and this is their first challenge.....

I just happened to have a nautical image in my UFO box.  Here's what I did with it.

I hope this is nautical enough.

I'm also taking it to Simon Says Wednesday Challenge

By the Sea

so anything Beach/Nautical related

Thanks Joy for this fabulous Inspiration Board ! :-)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps: Sail Away (retired)

Ink: Not Quite Navy (retired)

Paper:  Naturals White, Midnight Muse, DSP

Other:  Labels Collection Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Twine (kitchen drawer)

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!

Sunflower Tag for Brenda

The Queen for the Day challenge at SCS this week is to honor past queens whose names begin with A and B.  I chose to honor my friend Brenda of (aka Benzi). This is the bright pretty card that I've CASEd.

I found these tags at a Scrap Meet in our neighborhood.  I love sunflowers so I grabbed them.   I changed out the ribbon that was on the tag for some twine and gingham ribbon. The scallops look a little rough. Mainly because I can't cut straight!

Addicted to Stamps is having a CAS week.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps: Delightful Designs (Incentive Stamps for SU Demonstrators)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Other:  Needlepoint Border EF,  Hemp Twine, Tag (?), Gingham Ribbon (from stash)

Man, is it hot here! And it's so humid that the air feels solid! I'm so thankful for air conditioning! I know it's hot everywhere.  I hope you have a way to stay cool. It's good weather for stamps and a fan!

I'm so glad you could stop by today.

Enjoy!

Baby Pins

A friend asked if I had any baby cards last week.  When I checked, I had one.  So it was baby card making time.  Here's one.

I used a snippet of some beautiful baby paper that a friend gave me soon after my granddaughter was born.  I think she thought I would do a scrapbook for Emmy.  She didn't know then about my hoarding tendencies for DSP!  So I only use it a little bit at a time.  I get to enjoy it longer that way. Thanks again, Karen!

I don't usually post more than once in a day, but I want to get this card in the Simon Says Challenge before it closes. You may remember from the previous post that they want us to 

PIN IT

It's getting a bit prickly around here!  We want to see you use pins, paper clips, clothes pins, brads etc. on your projects for this week!  Get creative, folks!  We can't WAIT to see your PINS!

See those little safety pins?  I bought them to use on baby cards.  That was about 5 years ago.  I think they must multiply because I don't remember buying that many.

Hopefully Pixie's Playground will let me back on the playground for a second time today.

Not much to put in the recipe so if you have any questions, you can email me.

Thanks for stopping in again.

Enjoy!

A Closet Full of Dress Up

Last week I shared a card done with the Dress Up dies that my friend Ruthann let me use.  You can see that card here.  

Today I'm sharing an ensemble.  It's not my CAS style at all.  But it was fun and showcases all the elements that we used in making the cards in our Papercrafting class.

The hat is made with the 1 3/4" Circle, 1" Circle and 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punches. We can thank Rena for the idea of adding the scallop circle in the color of the dress. What a difference it made! The white circles were embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing folder to look like a straw hat.

While we were at it, I thought a purse would be nice.  It was made with the Decorative Label punch and also embossed with the Square Lattice EF.  I also used this punch for a piece of red to make it show up better.

I used some old clips for a handle on the purse as well as a hanger for the hat. 

Simon Says Stamp challenge is     PIN IT 

We want to see you use pins, paper clips, clothes pins, brads etc. on your projects for this week!  

Pixie's Crafty Playground is one of my favorite challenges.  Not only do I use some of those snippets, but we have such a good time there.

Ways to Use It at SCS is to use any metal embellishment on a card. I may have gone overboard with the metal on this.  I don't think I'll be mailing this one!

While I'm at it, let me show off the cards our little group put together last week.

Clockwise: Jan, Pat, Linda and Rena's creations. I had lots of dresses and stands cut out and card bases of all different colors. The snippet box got a work out!

Linda made another.  Very elegant!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  none

Ink:  none

Paper: Whisper White, DSP, Real Red

Other:  Dress Up Framelits, Decorative Label Punch, 1 3/4", 1" Circle Punches, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Square Lattice EF, Real Red Ribbon, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Dots and Flourishes EF (Sizzix), Brass Clips (in my stash), Gold flat backed beads (in my stash)

It was a fun time together.

I hope you have some fun creative time today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!