For You

 I was over on Splitcoast Stampers and I saw two challenges that I wanted to combine, but I wasn't sure if it would work..

This week's CAS (Clean And Simple card) challenge is : Pumpkins

And this weeks Color Challenge is : Gorgeous Garden Pie (Purple, Gold & Green)

I really thoughtthe colors would clash and look garish together, but I am pleasantly surprised that they REALLY POP!!

I honestly don't know where I got this stamp from or who made it, but I rarely use it. I stamped it out and colored it in with Copics, then diecut it out with MFT's Double Stitched Rectangle die, then matted it with a Bazzil Forrest Green cardstock, and then cut that out with MFT's Scalloped Rectangle die from their Dienamics collection.

Everything is CAS and really pops! I love a good challenge that pushes you out of your comfort zone! Give it a try one day and see if it doesn't inspire you, too!

God Gives Me a New Song

 Life has gotten so busy lately!! Hopefully, it will start to slow down soon. Winter is coming and with that, a slower way of life.... I hope. That's my intentions anyway! 😄

My good friend, Rebekah, has the sweetest parents, whom I met over the summer and have gotten close to.  Joy, Rebekah's Mom, sends me random beautiful handmade cards she's made on the computer. I wanted to send her a simple card that would make it through the postal system with minimal damage, but still look pretty.

I chose to use Power Poppy's "Helping Hands" stamp, featuring a sweet bird, chirping a melody.

I stamped out my image and colored it in with Copics, then cut it out with Mama Elephant's "Framed Tags : Union Square" die. 

Then I picked a background design paper from Mintay Papers "Peony Garden" collection, and adhered it to a diecut scalloped edges card, that I cut from Kat Scrappiness "Stitched Frame" die.

After that, I added popdots under the main image and centered it on the card, then I added some green pearls from Honey Bee's "Pastel" collection. Inside I stamped a Bible verse about how God gives us a new song.

I think it turned out nice. I love how CAS it looks :) 

Feel Better Soon

 Many times I don't feel like creating a card, but I want to color in an image. I have many colored in images that I have collected, waiting for inspiration, or a good idea, to hit. 

One of those images is of a cat and a mouse with an umbrella, under a shower of hearts. Usually, I don't choose images with animals because I find them harder to color in and get the colors right. But I couldn't help myself and bought this set because it was sweet.

I stamped & colored the image in, then cut it out with MFT's Double Stitched Rectangle Stack. Then I cut out a blue polka dot scrap paper with MFT's Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle die.
Then I added my sentiment from Say it With Stamps, at the bottom, and my card was complete.

Sometimes, you just have to color in an image and wait until things come together. No pressure. Creating is supposed to be fun, not hard :)

May Your Blessings Abound

 Have you ever had a card come together so quickly that it hardly took any effort? Yep! That's this card.

I stamped out some Peas from the Garden Fresh set and colored them in with Copics.

I picked a green polka dot paper from Mintay Papers for a little interest, and pop off of the forest green cardstock. I used a punch to punch out a scalloped border to make it fancy.

Everything came together so quickly and easily! My only regret is that I didn't stitch along my card to add that little "extra" something to elevate it. But hey, it is what it is. I still like how it turned out.

Creating

 I'm back. But where has the time gone? Where has the creativity gone? I don't know about you, but I used to have endless creative ideas. But then life takes over and when you finally have a minute, you're creatively done. Nothing. Toast. 

It used to bother me until I realized, that's life. There's an ebb and flow to everything. It's been a year or more since I have had the energy to create. And that's ok. I re-joined my favorite craft site, SplitCoastStampers, and I'm using their weekly challenges to inspire some new ideas in me.

This week's CAS (Clean And Simple) challenge is : Recycle. You can recycle anything to use on your card.

A couple weeks ago, I attended a store that was closing and found a badly damaged hymnal with many loose pages. This was the perfect way to reuse them in a way that they would be appreciated again.

So, I created the following card from the challenge.

I stamped out my image and colored it in with Copics, fussy cutting it out.
I cut down my music sheet to what size I needed. Then, I matted it against some Chiffon Bazzil Cardstock, that I matted over some Kraft cardstock, making them the base of my card.

I Cut out a frame, using Avery Elle's Pierced Birthday Frame die, and put PopDots under the frame to pop it up a hair off the card, for some small form of depth. After that, I glued my chipboard down, and placed the colored in image of the Cross on top of it, and added a few pearls for some interest.

I'm not certain if I can actually call it a CAS card anymore, but I love how it turned out!!

So, if you're ever finding yourself stuck in a crafting rut, or feeling uninspired, don't let it get to you. Eventually, it'll come to you! Until then, don't be too hard on yourself, it's all just the ebb and flow of life :)