Happy Anniversary Darnell

A very special friend  is celebrating her wedding anniversary today.  And a few of us wanted to let her know how special she is to all of us.  So Happy Anniversary, Darnell (and Kevin too).   May you have many more wonderful years together.  Mwahh!

Darnell recently posted a wedding picture and some of the gals thought it would be fun to dig out our wedding pictures to post.  Hubby and I eloped and don't have any pictures.  I wore hot pants, he wore Levi's.   We didn't have much of a honeymoon either.  We got married on a Friday and he started a new job on Monday.  On Tuesday he had to leave to cruise timber in the Dismal Swamp for several weeks.  My first week of married life was spent with my MIL and SIL.  The second and third weeks I stayed by myself with about a million ants that decided they wanted to move in with me.  He got to spend all 3 weeks with snakes and mosquitoes.   I was a New England girl in North Carolina and totally lost.  But I was blessed with wonderful neighbors that looked out for me.  And really glad when hubby could come home to stay.  Ah, the good old days.

I imagine that's more than  you stopped by for.  So here's the card information.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Loving Thoughts
Ink:  Encore Silver
Paper:  Whisper White
Other:  Silver EP, Lace Ribbon Border (retired but still available on the Clearance Rack), White Satin Ribbon (retired), Basic Rhinestones, Silver Cord (from my gift wrap stash)

This card was super quick until I decided to add the silver cord with the satin ribbon.  It took longer to tie the knot (pardon the pun) than it did to make the rest of the card.  It made the card a little more special so it was worth the time.

I hope you'll go visit Darnell.  You'll see why we all love her.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!

ColorQ Wind Chimes

When I saw the inspiration photo for the ColorQ challenge this week, I immediately thought of this stamp.  It's one that I've had for over a year and hadn't used. Gasp! That never happens to you does it?  I've used the rest of the stamps in the set, but not this one.

I had to get out my Stamp-a-majig for this one.  I stamped the design twice.  If you want to count the times I stamped it twice and messed it up, you'll need more than one hand!  Man, oh, man, my Stamp-a-majig must keep moving or something!

When I finally got it stamped OK, I colored in the little gems with my markers.  It looks like a wind chime to me.  I love hearing wind chimes and have  two.  One is over the air conditioner so we're hearing it a lot these days.

I added a few gems and a few dots, stamped the sentiment (the first time, yeah me!), matted it onto a Poppy Parade piece cut 1/8" larger than the design piece, put it on the card and I was done.

Here's the inspiration photo

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  My Friend, Loving Thoughts

Ink:  Basic Gray, Pacific Point,  SU Markers (So Saffron, Pacific Point, Poppy Parade, Basic Gray)

Paper:  Whisper White, Poppy Parade

Other:  Basic Rhinestones

Thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comments.  They make my day!

Enjoy!

Playing with Leftovers

Last week some friends came to participate in a Stamp Stack.  After they left, I had a couple of extra sets and set out to do them up.  I thought it would be fun to change them up a bit.  This is one that I did.

The card in the Stamp Stack was really quite different.  We used the smaller of these beautiful label stamps.  I hadn't used this particular stamp in the set yet and thought it needed a try.

After stamping it in Jet Black StazOn, I colored it with markers, then  used the Framelit die to cut it out.  I thought it would be fun to cut out the banner for dimension, so I inked up the middle of the stamp and stamped again on a piece of scrap.  After cutting it out, I used 2 dimensionals (one on top of the other) in the center so it would have that wavy look.  (I know the sentiment is crooked.  I have 3 more just like it.  I'm hoping that double bow will camouflage it a bit.) 

The embossed mat, is the same as the Stamp Stack card but this one is  mounted on a white card instead of Daffodil.  I used my homemade bow maker and tied a double bow from seam binding and used glue dots to adhere it to the edge of the banner.

I'm sending this over to a new challenge, Addicted to Stamps.  This week they are doing a Bingo challenge.  Here's the chart.  Hope they have sunglasses!

I have flowers and stamping.  I'll use the free space for ribbon.

My young friend Victoria is on their design team and I followed her to the challenge. Actually her card inspired the card we did for the Stamp Stack.  Thanks for all your inspiration, Victoria.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts
Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, SU Markers (Daffodil Delight, More Mustart, Old Olive, Always Artichoke)
Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Other:  Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Stampin' Dimensional


Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enjoy!

3D Flowers

I've been busily preparing for a Stamp Stack coming up next month and I've gotten behind on everything else.  There just doesn't seem to be quite enough time to do everything I want to do.  Do you have that problem?

 I'm just under the wire on the SUO challenge to create a project with 3-dimensional flowers on it.

I knew I wanted to use this folded flower that was sitting on my desk.  You can find the tutorial for it here.

The Color Challenge at SCS this week is to use the retiring In Colors.  Dessert is to use at least 3 of these colors and tell which color we will miss the most.

I've used Poppy Parade DSP, Blush Blossom cardstock and Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding and ink.  I've loved all of these colors and I'm sad to see all of them go.  Though I didn't use it on this card, I think Concord Crush has been my favorite.  It's such a rich, regal shade of purple.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Loving Thoughts
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade DSP
Other:  Big Shot, Elegant Lines EF, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding. Pearl (from the retired Pretties kit)


I'm excited about using the new In Colors.  I love the bright shade of Gumball Green, the rosy dark pink of Primrose Petals, the deep rose red color of Raspberry Ripple, the deep yet bright blue of Midnight Muse, and the greenish yellow of the Summer Starfruit.

The new inkpads are terrific.  Just a light tap and the stamp is inked.  I can see now that I'll be replacing all my inkpads.

I had some delightful news on Saturday from The Paper Players.  My Pocket Silhouettes card was chosen as Jaydees Cut Above.  Thanks so much Jaydee.

The same card was listed in the CAS Favorites on Sunday, May 20 and as the Featured Upload this week at Splitcoaststampers.   I'm not sure what this upload thing is.  Hopefully, I'll find out soon.  It sounds good though, doesn't it?)

This card was also a CAS Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers on Sunday.

These kudos, your comments and emails all inspire me to keep creating.  Thanks so much.

Enjoy!

Great Sketch

I love the Paper Players sketch this week.  It's a variation of my favorite CAS layout.

I used one of my 3D folded flowers on this one.  It's made with the flower made for the tutorial. (You can scroll down for the tutorial.)

Here's the sketch.

Here's another that I did with a piece from my UFO box.  I love the sweet flowers from this set and I'll be sorry to see them leave the catalog.  They'll still be on my shelf though.

I left off the scallops on this one, since I have some of that beautiful Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Loving Thoughts

Ink:  Whisper White

Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, DSP

Other:  1 3/8" Circle,  Small Scallop Circle and Scallop Edge Punches, Jumbo neutral brad, Big Shot, Stripes EF

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Happiness Shared

Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Old Olive SU Marker

Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Other: Daffodil Delight Reinker, Aqua Painter, Big Shot, Stripes EF, Scallop Circle die (Nestabilities), Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon

I'm glad you could stop in.  I hope you found some time to stamp today.

Enjoy!

Neutrals

Hello y'all!  I've been wanting to post some cards that I did for challenges at SCS last week.  Do your weeks fly by too, or does the time just fly in my neck of the woods?

First, here's a card I did for the CAS challenge last Monday. You can take a look at Mary's (stampercamper) lovely card that inspired the sketch.  I love this sketch.  So simple yet classy.

And this is what I came up with.

This is one of the flowers that Barb taught us to make.  We punched 9 circles (I used a 1 3/8" circle punch).  Fold 8 of them in half, in half again and in half again.  We spread glue on the unfolded circle.  (I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue.)  We inserted a brad or bead and were finished.... with the flower.  I needed this sketch for the perfect layout to add it to.

While I had my neutrals out, I inked up a stamp in my new Mixed Bunch set.

The Color Challenge at SCS was to use Whisper White, Basic Gray and Sahara Sand.  I found the piece of Sierra Sand with the sentiment already stamped.with Basic Gray.  How lucky was that?

I inked the flower with Whisper White craft ink and heat embossed it with white Embossing Powder and centered it with some black micro beads.

It needed just a little something else, so I colored some basic pearls with a black Sharpie, and added them.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe  (card 1)
Stamps:  Loving Thoughts (Occasions Mini)
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Crumb Cake paper pack DSP, Acrylic paper (non SU)
Other:  1 3/8" Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, and 2 1/2" Scallop Circle punches, Jumbo (5/16") Neutral brad


Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, (retired sentiment)
Ink:  Whisper White, Basic Gray
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Sahara Sand
Other:  White EP, Basic Pearls, Micro Beads (non SU)


I hope you have had a wonderful weekend.  We've had some much needed rain here.  It was a good day to stamp.  I didn't get a chance to stamp, but it was a good day nonetheless.

I'm so happy you stopped by.  I hope you can come again soon.

Enjoy!

Getting Scrappy

The Less is More challenge this week was

DON'T SCRAP IT

This week's recipe is to use some of those left over bits and pieces we all tend to keep

I have my cardstock scraps organized in plastic bags according to color.  Then I have another smaller box of decorative paper.  I also have what I call my UFO (UnFinished Objects) box where stamped images that don't get used end up.  This Robin from Nature Walk was in there.  All I had to do was trim off the edges and  mount it.  I tore the bottom edge.  I also tore the bottom edge of the DP and used a distressing tool on the other edges.  I left the brown layer clean cut.  The design piece was mounted on a Very Vanilla card and the sentiment is from the Three Little Words set.

This card was inspired by a card in Paper Crafts this month.  You can see it on page 45.

I cut some 1" x 1" squares from some scraps, adhered them to a 5" x 3 3/4" scrap of textured white cardstock.  I scored on either side of the pieced strip and stamped the sentiment.  I punched 2 holes with my 1/8" circle punch to weave a piece of ribbon through and mounted it on a Sahara Sand card.

Here's another almost exactly like the one in the magazine.

We had the nicest weekend.  I got to stamp with some friends on Saturday afternoon.  Then our oldest daughter and sweet Emmy spent the night with us.  We had a lot of fun.  Not much sleep, but lots of fun.  I hope they can do that again soon.

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

Enjoy!

ColorQ Bird

What kind of bird is this?  I can't find a bird in my bird books that helps me identify it, so I'm calling him the ColorQ bird.

That's because the design is colored in the ColorQ colors for this week.

The image was stamped with Jet Black StazOn and colored with SU Markers. I used the markers directly on the design for the deeper tones and swiped on plastic and picked up with a blender pen for the lighter tones.

Here's a closeup

We were joking yesterday that I'm going to wear out my Square Lattice Embossing Folder!

All supplies Stampin' Up!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Take it to Heart, Loving Thoughts
Ink:  Jet Black StazON, SU Markers (Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, More Mustard)
Paper:  Watercolor, Riding Hood Red
Other:  Big Shot, Hearts Collection Framelits die, Square Lattice EF, Dimensionals


I hope you have a wonderful day.  Thanks for spending some of it with me.

Enjoy!

Color in Winter

Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge this week is ....

"Winter's dominant color scheme is gray and white (at least in Ohio), but every now and then, a pop of color reminds us that spring and summer WILL come. I've seen pops of red (cardinals) and blue (blue birds) out my windows this month.

This week's OLW is to make a one-layer card that uses white, gray, with a pop of one bright color of your choice. (If you must, you may use black for the sentiment.)"

Very quick and simple.  I stamped the flourish from the Creative Elements stamp set in Basic Gray.  Colored the "berries" in Real Red with a SU Marker.  Inked the Sympathy from the Loving Thoughts set with a Basic Gray Marker.

That's it and it was done.

I had done this card yesterday for this challenge but then decided that it had more than a pop of color in that Carolina Blue sky.

Actually, it's been so warm here in Carolina that I have a daffodil blooming in my front yard.  And when I went to the library this afternoon, there were several showing their happy faces.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps: Creative Elements, Loving Thoughts

Ink:  Basic Gray, SU Markers (Real Red, Basic Gray)

Paper:  Whisper White

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Teeny, Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Basic Gray

Paper:  Naturals White

Other:  Stampin' Pastels (Bashful Blue, Night of Navy), Sponge Dauber

I had a wonderful time this afternoon with some of my stamping friends. We had the best time and all made lots of beautiful cards. Now I'm so inspired I probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

I'm so happy you stopped by.

Enjoy!

Bluebird of Happiness

The Less is More challenge this week is...

ONE LAYER CARD

with the subject of

BIRDS

Remember to add NO additional layers and to keep embellishments to a minimum.

I got this stamp a while back.  It's called Young Vermillion but I've changed him to a bluebird for this card. He's a very bright bluebird.  Too bright actually.  But he is bound to spread some happiness to someone.  I've been seeing a bluebird flitting around in my yard lately and thought how nice it would be to put one on a card.

I stamped this little guy in StazOn on Naturals White and used my SU Markers to color him.  The retired Ballet Blue was my favorite bluebird color, but I thought I would try the Island Indigo and Calypso Coral.  Thus the bright bird.

After stamping and coloring the little guy, I masked off a section and sponged some Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy for the sky.  Then I extended the branch to the end of the sponging, used my Basic Black marker to outline the design area and used my Simply scored to add some extra details.  When I scored, I realized that my sponging wasn't exactly straight.  But I decided I kinda liked it that way.

All supplies Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Young Vermillion
Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, SU Markers (Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Soft Suede Basic Black)
Paper: Naturals White
Other:  White Gel Pen, Simply Scored

I'm really glad you popped in. 

Enjoy!



Fresh Poppin' Pastels

The Friday Mashup challenge for this week is to do a birthday card for Holly and mash it up by using pastels.

Now this doesn't say Happy Birthday does it?  However, I wish Holly a wonderful day when she is free to create anything she wants.  Happy Birthday Holly! 

To do the Poppin' Pastels technique, just stamp in VersaMark then rub your sponge dauber (or eye makeup applicator) in the Pastels and rub on the stamped design.  It gives such a soft look don't you think?

I was at a loss what to do with the design once it was done.  Then I looked at the Featured Stanper Challenge at SCS on Sunday and browsed through Pam's wonderful gallery.  When I saw this card it just clicked.

All supplies Stampin' Up
Card Recipe
Stamps: Fresh Vintage, Loving Thoughts
Ink:  VersaMark, Rich Razzleberry
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Other:  Stampin' Pastels, Sponge Daubers, 2 1/2"  Circle & large Scallop Circle punches, White Gel Pen, Big Shot Square Lattice EF

I'm so glad you stopped by.  Isn't it fun to visit each other?

Enjoy!

 

The Color Purple

The Less is More challenge is....

 the first week of the month and a colour challenge

this time we want to see

Predominantly Purple

 

 

And purple  was a good choice for this Sale-a-bration set.  It's called Fresh Vintage and it will be free (with a $50.00 Stampin' Up! purchase) from January 24 - March 31.

I used my SU Markers (Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum and Lucky Limeade) to ink the stamp, huffed and stamped on Whisper White.  The image was cut with my Bigshot and the Ovals die.  The larger oval was cut with a non SU product.

I used my Simply Scored to do a lattice background.  If you don't have this wonderful tool, you can use your Fiskars Papercutter.

The sentiment is from Loving Thoughts.  It's a set in the new Occasions Mini catalog and there are 11 beautifully scripted sentiments.  I think I'll be using this set a lot!

If you're still with me, here are a couple more purple cards that I did using the Medallion background stamp that I've had for a couple of years and haven't used.  I think it's about time I dusted it off, don't you?

All Supplies Stampin' Up!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Medallion, Happiest Birthday Wishes (Hostess set)

Ink:  Concord Crush

Paper:  Whisper White, Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder

Other:  Small Scallop Circle Punch

And here's another version with the Medallion.  Once I got started, I couldn't stop!

All supplies Stampin' Up!
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Medallion, Tagtastic (Hostess set)
Ink:  Concord Crush
Paper:  Concord Crush, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder
Other:  Small Scallop Circle Punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon

Do you remember that book, The Color Purple?  They made it into a movie too.  It's one of my favorites.

This is a long post, but these days I never know when I can post again.  I hope to get back to daily posts, but my good intentions seem to fall flat as the week wears on.

I'm so glad you stopped by.  Hope you check back soon.

Enjoy!