Thinking of You

 Hello and welcome back, Friends! I'm back with another creation.

I created this card out of combining a few online challenges. And as always as of late, keeping it simple, choosing to focus on the image instead of accessories.

I stamped out my image and colored it in with Copics, and cut it down to my desired size. Then, I ran a metallic gold sharpie pen along my edges, just to make them pop a little off my background and stand out a bit. It's barely noticeable but it creates depth so the images stands out and the edges don't get lost in the background matting.
I chose my favorite MFT Dienamic matting die, Stitched Scalloped Rectangles and cut out some Bazzil cardstock in Pale Rose; offering a breath of color but still a neutral enough to be a subtle background note.
I placed some popdots under my floral image so it would pop off the scalloped edge Bazzil cardstock, and placed it in the center of the card.

I truly love how it turned out! So simple, clean and pretty! Love it!

I'm entering it in the following Blog Challenges :

Color Throwdown - Teal, Pink & Lime

Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Inspired By... - Spring Colors

Just Add Ink - Pick Two (Colors & Thinking of You)

Hello Friend

 Hello again and welcome back, Friends!

How is the weather where you are? It's -1 here today and definitely a snug, tucked in, and cozy day to make a card!

I chose a new stamp set I had yet to try, from China. It doesn't have a name, though I got it from Amazon. It's silicone, and I don't care for it as it makes terrible impressions and doesn't like the ink I normally use. This might be the only time I ever use this set, so..

I stamped out my background image and colored it in with Touch alcohol markers, then used MFT's Stitched Scalloped Squares dienamics to cut out the scene.
I cut another Stitched Square piece out from Echo Park's Designer Dies using Kraft cardstock, and matted that, yet again, with Gina K's white cardstock, cut with MFT's Scalloped Stitched Squares dienamics. I layered all the diecuts together to create my layered layout for the card.
Then I stamped out the chickens from the stamp set, fussy cut them out, and popped them up on popdots. After that, I stamped my sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps Farm Fresh Flowers stamp set.

I created this card with a couple challenges in mind :

Inspired By... Sketch

Polkadoodles - Friends

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge : Sending Smiles

 Hello and welcome back crafty Friends! I'm back with another fun blog challenge card. But first, I have some fun news. I joined Donna and the rest of the talented Beautiful Blossoms Blog Challenge Team! I'm so thrilled!

If you haven't heard of the Beautiful Blossoms blog challenges before, on the 15th of every month they offer a Floral Focused challenge. Easy Peasy, right? Exactly! Who doesn't love a good flower focus? I know I do :)

Here is the DT's February 2025 design challenge photo.

Beautiful, isn't it? I know I was inspired by it!

I chose Gina K's Poppy Garden Stamp that I colored in with Copics. After that, I cut out the image using Pink Fresh's Stitched Rectangles. I matted the main diecut image out onto some design paper from Simple Stories called Simple Vintage Life in Bloom. Then I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Sentiment Banner's to cut out a banner out of vellum and stamped my sentiment from Flourishes (a beloved but now closed stamp company) Tulips stamp set.

Honestly, I took forever to find the perfect design paper for that card! I was obsessed with finding the perfect, but not too distracting, background color and print! 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, and don't forget to join us over at the Beautiful Blossoms Challenge. I love to see your creations there and for you to see the other DT's inspirations, too!

Love to You

 Welcome back to my little blog!

Today I have a card that is combining a couple of the following blog challenges :

Polkadoodles - Anything Goes ..w/ Love (theme)

Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes .. w/ Sentiment (feature a sentiment)

Inspired By...  - Puffy Hearts ... (theme : Valentine's Day)

Addicted to CAS - Friends

I stamped out Colorado Craft Company's Hedgehog Day stamp set and cut it out using the coordinating dies, then colored it in with Copics. I did fussy cut out a few areas so that there was very little white edge showing, to clean it up. 

To make my background, I used MFT's Slimline Cloud Edges, using Mermaid Lagoon and Prized Ribbon Distress Inks to make my clouds. After sponging the clouds in, I taped off a section and sponging in Peeled Paint and some Distress Oxide in Rustic Wilderness. I matted the background on top of MFT's Stitched Mini Scallop Square in Kraft cardstock, then added the diecut image that I popped up on popdots, so it would offer dimension off the card. Then I stamped my sentiment from Memory Bound Scrapbooking from their Care and Concerned stamp set.

I don't usually make Valentine's Day cards, but this one turned out really sweet!

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I can't wait to see you next time you pop by!

Hope Your Day is Sweet

 Good morning, Friends!

I have another card created from a challenge today. 

Color Throwdown : Pink, Brown & White

I chose to use Colorado Craft's Coffee House stamp and the coordinating dies, placed over a Distress Ink sponged background in Old Paper and Antique Linen.
I matted the main piece over some Kraft paper that I stitched together with Simple Stories Textured Cardstock in Mauve. Then I cut a banner using MFT's Skinny Strips die, and added my sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps "Mini Messages : Sweet" set.

I enjoyed the color challenge and I have a couple other ideas I might try with it.

But that is all I have for today. Until the next blog post, I hope you have a marvelous craft day!

Best Wishes!

 Welcome back, Friends!

I don't know about you, but I've always loved Altenew's stamps. I've been slowly collecting them over the last year, but I hadn't yet participated in one of their blog challenges, so I decided why not give it a whirl? 

Every month they challenge crafter's with a fun and inspiring photo or challenge. So this month, Altenew's February 2025 challenge is : Blue & Gold w/ Textures 

And here is their inspiration photo.

Gorgeous blues and a nice splash of a posh gold. What's not to love? I love that they decided to feature blues this month instead of pinks, reds, and whites for February. Nothing wrong with those colors, I love them myself, I just love a good challenge :)

I don't have many Altenew sets but I knew right away that I wanted to use the "Enjoy Your Journey" set. I stamped it out and colored it in with Copics, then I stamped out my sentiment from Altenew's "Gracious Peonies" set. Then I cut my image out with MFT's Stitched Rectangles dies, and matted it with Tim Holtz's Metallic Gold Cardstock, cut into a scalloped rectangle using MFT's Scalloped Mini Rectangle dies.

Obviously, I used a lot of Blues and added some gold touches in my image and coloring. For my Textures part of the challenge, I chose to use a shiny, smooth metallic cardstock as my texture for the challenge. It adds a bit of texture and sparkle to the card that I love!

Thank you for joining me and I'll see you next time I post my next project!

Happy Birthday

 Hello and welcome back crafty Friends! I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! I don't know about you, but I look forward to my weekends of crafting :)

Today I have a card that combined a few blog challenges :

Addicted To CAS : Center Focus

Word Art Wednesday : Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Blog : Anything Goes w/ Spellbinders

A Cherry On Top : Sketch

Just Add Ink : A Touch of Bling

I didn't want to combine too many challenges together, because I wanted to keep my card as clean and simple as possible this time. I usually have clean designs, but I really wanted this card to be clean and simple so the design would speak for itself and keep the focus front and center.

I chose to use Spellbinders Scalloped Symphony Notecard die set, on Tim Holtz's Metallic Cardstock in Rose Gold. I chose a close matching pink paper cardstock from The Paper Boutique's Moon Meadows cardstock collection. I stamped my sentiment from Crafter's Companion in a set called Gemini. After stamping my sentiment and placing it in the center of my card, I added a couple of gem stickers from Honey Bee Stamps from their Log Cabin gem collection.

Again, I felt it would look better if I made it as clean and simple as possible and I'm glad I did. I generally don't work with shimmery cardstock for many reasons, but mainly because I feel it's difficult to photograph well. I had to close some blinds and shades to keep from the high reflection on this card, but the darker room, I feel dulls it out. So it's tricky if you want to take photos with it, but in real life it just sparkles in such a lovely, eye catching, way!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a happy, crafty weekend!

Friends

 Hi Friends! I wanted to share with you another card I created for a blog challenge.

Over on Addicted to CAS, they're code word this week is : Center Focus .

I chose to use Colorado Stamp Company's "Bunny & Ducking" stamps with dies, and coloring them in with Copics. I masked off a border and sponged in Mermaid Lagoon & Prize Ribbon Distress Inks, then embossed a single line around the sponging with my Scor-Pal, to frame my images. I matted the scored and sponged paper with Kraft cardstock, to keep everything clean and non-fussy looking, then placed popdots under my bunny, to further give it depth, so it wouldn't feel "flat" and further reenforce the size difference, then added the duckling.

I love how it came out! So simple, gentle and clean!  I almost stamped a sentiment on the card but felt it would detract from the clean lines and the images. 

Thanks for joining me in my little craft corner. Until we meet again, have a great crafting day!

Father's Day

 Hello and welcome back, Friends!

I have another blog challenged card to share with you, and as you can see, it's a Father's Day card. I know it is rather early to even think about Father's Day, but it fit in so well with some other blog challenges, it was too perfect to pass up.

I chose Flourishes "In Nature" stamp set that I colored in with Copics - choosing to predominantly use mainly blues and greens to keep it masculine. I cut out the image with My Favorite Thing's Double Stitched Rectangles, and then cut the paper under it with the same die. I added a small die cut and stamped out my sentiment from Crafter's Companion called "Sentiments" set. I then took Simple Stories "Teal" and used my Scor-Pal and embossed a "frame" a 1/4" from the edge, all around my cardstock. Then I put popdots under my darker green paper with my image, and centered it over my blue Simple Stories cardstock, for added interest and dimension. 

I love how this turned out. I kept it as CAS and masculine as I possibly could. My only wish is that I had a "Father's Day" stamp with a little less "fuss and frill" to it, so it really would be completely masculine.

I created this card for the following blog challenges :

~ A Cherry on Top (using their Card Sketch) : Card Sketch

~ Freshly Made Sketches : Card Sketch

~ Inspired By : Boys Room (Masculine/Blues/Greens)

~ Word Art Wednesday : Anything Goes

~ Krafty Chicks : Masculine

~ DL.Art : Anything Goes

~ Paper Funday Challenges : Anything Goes w/ Optional Monochrome Twist

That's all I have today Friends, but I hope to see you for another card post from blog challenges, soon!

Have a great Crafting Day!

Let's Chill

 Ok Friends, I'm back with a fun card that's my new favorite! I just love Anita Jeram's images of the cute cat's holding ice cream!

I stamped out the images from Colorado Craft Company, called "Ice Cream Day" diecut them out and colored in with Copics. I cut out a frame with Stitched Scalloped Rectangles from MFT, in Bazzil "Chiffon" cardstock. I matted the scalloped rectangle with Echo Park's DP called "Kitty Plaid", and laid a Doodlebug Design "Mint" doily on top. After adding my doily, I put extra thick popdots under one of my images and thinner popdots under another image, for depth. I added a diecut tag from Momma Elephant's "Framed Tags", and stamped my sentiment from Colorado Craft's "Slimline Ice Cream" set, and added some candy dots from Bo Bunny's "Willow & Sage". 

I love the fun colors and images and how they turned out! Every time I look at it, it makes me smile :)

I created this card for the following Challenges.

Polkadoodles Card & Crafting : Anything Goes

The Outlawz Challenges : Use Blue

Stamping Sensations : Anything Goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends : Anything Goes

Love to Scrap : Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday : Anything Goes

Ok, Crafty Friends, that's it for me today. Have a great crafting day!

Good Friends

 Welcome back, Friends! I have another card created from blog challenges.

This time, I'm going to be combining three challenges together. 

Color Throwdown Blog : Blue, Pink, Yellow

Inspired By Blog : Pillows/Bright Colors

A Cherry On Top Blog : Weekly Sketch

I was very much inspired by the colors and using just a sentiment. But I decided that my sentiment would run from "top to bottom", instead of side-to-side.

I chose a long retired, but never used stamp set from Just Rite stamps, "True Friends" (I think). I chose to stamp it in Staz-On Timber Brown (because the black was just too harsh looking, though it definitely stood out better), on Acetate. I framed my sentiment with an old piece of Ephemera frames from a card kit I received years ago that I found in my stash. I put popdots under my pink Ephemera frame, placing it over my a scrap piece of paper that has blues, pinks, and yellows, so it pops off the background. Then I cut out a scalloped square frame from Bazzil's Pink cardstock, using MFT's Stitched Scalloped Rectangles. Then I added a few pearls for an elegant finishing touch (without them it looked like it was missing something).

As I said, I could have used black ink but I decided that I liked it better, almost faded looking. It was just too strong of a color with all the light colors in the card. Too striking for me. That being said, if you're stamping on Acetate, keep in mind it's slippery and difficult to get a nice crisp image. You really have to work on finding just the right pressure so it imprints, but not so much that it slides as you're pressing the stamp onto it.

Thank you for stopping by my little blog to check out my creations, I'm happy to see you here! Please leave some love, and come back soon!

Hello

 Hey Crafty Friends! Welcome back to my little corner of crafting paradise. 

Today, I'm submitting a card for Altenew's blog challenge, for January 2025, which you can find HERE.

Here is the challenge photo.

What beautiful colors, right?! I Love the color depths, but decided to keep my image colors lighter than the shades shown.

I chose to use Altenew's Timeless Tulips stamp set, coloring them in with Copics, and the sentiment from Altenew's Gracious Peonies set. I cut out the image with a die from Momenta, but I don't have a name of the die shape. Then I put popdots under the image and added that over some polka dot design paper from Bazzil called "Mint", diecut into a scalloped rectangle shape using the Taylored Expressions "Petite Scallop Mini Stacklets" die. I placed more popdots under the polka dot design paper to pop it off of the white cardstock from Brutus Monroe called "Not Your Momma's Cardstock".

I love how the dies really show off the image without distracting from it, but still adding to the overall look. I really enjoyed layering everything together and how clean and simple it is.

I look forward to seeing you again on my little blog, and until then, have a great crafting day!

Love You Very Much

 Hello again Crafty Friends! I'm back again with a new Card Challenge that I found online. This weeks challenge is from My Favorite Things. Their challenge this week is a Sketch, and here it is.

I Love, Love this sketch and I got so many ideas from it! Without further adieu, here is my submission.

I chose MFT's "Wish You Were Hare" stamp & die set, colored it in with Copics, and set it aside. I cut out and embossed the background with Taylored Expressions Diamonds Piercing Plate, then I cut out the Stitched Mini Scalloped Square to frame the background. I chose to use Bazzil'z Blush Polkadot pink background, cut into scallops using Simon Says Stamp's "Slim Line Borders", sponged in with "Tattered Rose" Distress Inks. I cut the Sentiment out using a retired die set from MFT called "Blue Prints 2", and finished the card using some blush pink Zva Pearls.

I absolutely love how cute the card turned out and non-fussy it looks. The only difficulty I had was choosing what design papers I wanted to use! :)

Well, that's it Friends! I'll see you the next time I post my challenge creations. Until then, stay Crafty! :)

Let's Celebrate!

 Good morning Craft Friends! I'm back with another blog challenge from Lawn Fawn (my first!). This week, their challenge is : Let's Celebrate!

As crafty as I am, I thought I had more Lawn Fawn stamp sets. But alas, I searched my stash, and I actually only have one, long since retired set, called "Blue Skies".

So I decided that my card would be great for a recent graduate, and that's still a great reason to celebrate!

I stamped out my hot air balloon from 'Blue Skies" and lightly colored it in with Copics, then fussy cut it out and around the image. I stitched around the design paper from Lawn Fawn, called "Daisy", and adhered it to some Kraft cardstock, then backed that with Bazzil cardstock called "Chiffon". Then I added some clouds from a random die from my stash that I have no idea where I got it. Then I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Sentiment Banner die to cut a banner out and stamped out the sentiment from the Blue Skies set.

I really love how this card turned out! I won't lie, it was difficult since I only have one stamp set, one die, and one DP from Lawn Fawn, but I'm still proud of how it looks. Once again, a blog challenge really made me think and I love the results!

Thank you again, Crafty Friends! Join me again when I post another craft challenge to my blog :)

Baby Blue

 Hello again Crafty Friends! I'm back again with another crafty card for this weeks blog challenge from Addicted to CAS. 

This week's challenge is : BLUE

I chose to use Nellie's Choice "Elephant with Star" stamp, colored in with a few of the lightest blue Copics, then cut out the image with MFT's Double Stitched Rectangle Stack. I matted the main image with Bazzil's Polka Dot "Teal" papers with MFT's Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle. 

I actually enjoyed this challenge and obviously kept it super simple. I love the way it turned out, though I do feel like it's lacking a little something somewhere. I always look forward to these CAS challenges though, because I Do feel like less is always more!

Thank you again for joining me, Craft Friends! Until next time :)

Sprinkled with Love

 Hello again crafty Friends! I'm back with another fun card created from two blog challenges that I found online.  The first blog is : Inspired By with their "Inspired By ... Gnomes". Though I wasn't inspired by the gnomes or the colors themselves, I was definitely inspired by the Sketch they offered. The second blog challenge I am combining with my card is : Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This is also a new blog challenge that I found recently that I wanted to try out. This weeks challenge is : "Something New".

As you remember, this year I am challenging myself to create and participate more. And though we're only 11 days into the new year, I've found a few challenges and really enjoyed the crafting push.

I created this card using some new stamps that I bought.

I stamped my image from Kokorosa using their stamp set & dies, called "Cake Making", and a sentiment from MFT, called "Sugar Coated Sentiments", stamped on a MFT "Skinny Strips" pennant die. I cut out an oval with Spellbinders "Oval" and sponged "Old Paper" Distress Ink gently around the edges to help bring the focus on the main stamped image. Then I die cut a scalloped rectangle with a buff colored cardstock and an old piece of Cosmo Cricket "Sofie" DP, using Taylored Expressions "Petite Scalloped Mini Slim Stacklets" & Stitched Mini Slim Stacklets" dies. I added a unique Spellbinders decorative element cut from Tim Holtz's Metallic Paper collection, in Gold, and added some Nuvo Pure Sheen Sequin in "Cannoli Cream" with gem stickers from Honey Bee Stamps from their "Farm Fresh Holiday" collection.

It looks more complicated than it was to make, but I love it. It all came together so quickly! My only regret was that I didn't have any of those "springs" that you can put under images that let them move back and forth!! Next time I put an order in, I need to grab a couple of those and experiment with them!

Well, until next time Friends, stay crafty!

Peace on Earth

 Ok, I'm back again with a new card I made from a challenge I found online that I'm pretty excited about! I have never heard of this challenge, but I stumbled across it while looking for online paper craft shops. It's called Addicted to CAS. CAS means Clean And Simple. I love that!

So the theme is : BRRR!

I chose a stamp set that I found at a crafter's Garage Sale. It's a cute stamp without a name, but I think it's from a UK company called Lily of the Valley. I watercolored it in with Letraset Watercolor markers.

Then I used Spellbinders "Scalloped Symphony Notecard" die set to create the card base, with Kraft paper. I cut out a banner for my sentiment with MFT's "Skinny Strips", and stamped a sentiment from Power Poppy's "Heavenly Peace Dove" stamp set.

I kept everything CAS and though the card feels a little naked, it's nice to keep the focal point on the stamped images and the message.

I'm looking forward to their next challenge! :)

You've Been On My Mind

 Ever had a card that you had all these great ideas for but nothing actually worked? Yep. That's this card, for me. I must have remade this card 3 times before it actually came together smoothly! 

Splitcoast Stampers Monday CAS challenge this week is : What brings you JOY?

For me, it's Family, Friends, Coffee/Tea, and Crafting.

I stamped out my image using MFT's "Latte Love" set and used the coordinating MFT die. Then I colored the image in, keeping it very light. Then I created a background using Taylored Expressions Fanfare Cutting Plate and MFT's Stitched Rectangles. I used scrap pieces of Kraft and Bazzil "Teal" design paper. I used the discard piece of Teal paper I had used MFT's Stitched Pinking Rectangle on, stitching it with my sewing machine, to the Kraft cardstock. Then I used some scrap black cardstock to cut a banner out with MFT's "Skinny Strips", and stamped it with Honey Bee Stamps sentiment from their "Latte" set.

I love how fresh, clean, and uncluttered it looks. Sometimes I think I add too much to cards, so it's nice to see a clean and streamlined card, even if it did take some effort! 

Happy New Year 2025!!!

 Welcome back and Happy New Year to my erratically posted, blog 😆 

You know, I could really try harder to post more often, so I will. My goal is to post 2 cards a month, this 2025 year. So lets begin. 

I decided to participate in Color Throw Down's color challenge : Black, White & Gray. 

Super simple, right? But it's actually tricky to do cards in monotones without getting bored or challenged by the lack of pizzaz or color pops. A master or intermediate card maker would enjoy this challenge and blow it away, but for little more than an amateur card maker like myself, I struggled. I ended up making two cards because I felt the first one was way too simple, so I went back to the drawing board and tried harder.

I stamped Altenew's "Enjoy Your Journey" on Neena Solar cardstock, and cut it out with MFT's Selfie Square & MFT's Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle in Black cardstock. Then I added Gem Stickers from Honey Bee Stamps from the "Farm Fresh Holiday" collection.

Then, I decided to try another card, and really challenge myself again.

I stamped out Avery Elle's "Look For Rainbows" bunny, out on Lawn Fawn's "Narwal" gray cardstock, and fussy cut it out. Then I masked off the face of the bunny, and sponged a pattern from Gina K's "Leafy" stencil, in Distress Ink "Weathered Wood", to add some texture on the umbrella. I created a background by stamping out MFT's "Scene Builder" on some more Narwal cardstock, in Memento " London Fog" ink.  After that, I used popdots placed for dimension on the back of the bunny, and placed it in the scene on my card.

Then, I diecut a pennant out for my sentiment by using MFT's "Skinny Strips" dies, and stamping out the sentiment from Penny Black's "Rain or Shine" set, in white ink from Pink Fresh, called "Calico White". To add just a touch of sparkle, I added some Gem Stickers, from Honey Bee Stamps, from their "Farm Fresh Holiday" collection.

This was quite the challenge, and one that I want to challenge myself with again, because I enjoy the effort to think outside the creative box! I still wish I could add some pink to the nose and ears, but those are the rules! 😄

Until I post again, Enjoy your crafting day!