Sad Card Today

Hi everyone!  Today, I am sharing probably one of the saddest cards I have ever made; my cousin's 8-year-old grandson died yesterday after discovering he had an extremely aggressive case of a rare cancer.  Sadly, I have never even met my cousin or any of his family....he lives several states away and as siblings, my mother and his father were never close.  That does not mean the pain is any less....I just can't imagine their loss.  I know they are a very closely-knit family and they will rely on each other, friends and the Lord to get them through.  I recently got these cute vintage-style stamps from 100 Proof Press, and since Owen had just gotten a little puppy, I thought they were ideal for a sympathy card for the family:

I used the black & white challenge from Inspire.Create, and the sketch challenge from Case This Sketch:

I used some plaid papers from My Mind's Eye's Winterberry line and stamped my images and sentiment in Stazon:

On the inside, I stamped a sentiment from Papertrey along with another little puppy image:

Hug your family members today....you never know what the day will bring!  Be blessed, my friends.

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Happy Tails, Puppy and Bowl, Boy with Dog on Leash (both 100 Proof Press), Inspired Prayer (Papertrey)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Basic Black, Winterberry DSP (My Mind's Eye)
Ink	Stazon Black
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Circles Framelits

IB65 Windows, Not the Microsoft Kind

Happy Thursday, stampers!  It's time for another Inspired By challenge from Laurel, and she really challenged me this week!  I did need a sympathy card, so it was perhaps a good challenge for that:

And here is her prompt:

I know I am not much of a city girl, so I really struggled to find some inspiration in the photo! I did live in a city right out of college, East Orange, New Jersey, and I like to think that I can make a home wherever I am, but I am a farm/country girl at heart!  Anyway, I could just imagine a little kitty looking out one of those windows, so that's what I went for!  I used the Heart and Home Framelits for my white window, and stamped a sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings on the bottom portion.  The kitty is from an Impression Obsession die, and the brick is a Cajun Craze panel embossed with a Tim Holtz brick embossing folder and sponged with some white craft ink:

On the inside, I added a Papertrey sentiment:

On the whole, I just think it looks a little plain and sad...maybe I should have added another kitty as a playmate, LOL!  Anyway, I hope you'll find some inspiration with our challenge this week and share what you create at the Inspired By blog!

And speaking of kitties, my friend Martha sent me this picture of her kitty, making herself right at home in a Stampin' Up! box:

She's not only pretty, she's smart too....choosing a SU box for her bed, LOL!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Misc DSP from my stash
Ink	Basic Gray, Craft White
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Hearth & Home Thinlets (ret), Brick Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Stampin' Sponges, Cat Die 083-K( Impression Obsession)

AYSI191 Sympathy Butterfly

Hi everyone!  Yay, it's Friday, the start of the weekend, and the As You See It challenge is back for the new year with a marvelous sketch:

And here's my creation:

Since my time is really crunched this week, I turned to the beautiful Botanical Butterfly DSP that is being offered as a Sale-a-bration item this year.  These papers are GORGEOUS and really make your card-creating easy as pie!  I cut a piece 2 7/8" x 4 1/8", backed it with a Basic Black mat, then added a sentiment and a die-cut butterfly and it was done!

My sentiment is from Flourishing Phrases, and the butterfly is from the retired Bold Butterfly (retired) Framelits.  The little ribbon is also a SAB redemption item from the Organdy Ribbon Combo pack!

I hope you'll play with our lovely sketch..I will be using this one often...it's a keeper for sure!  Check out what all the designers created by hopping over to the AYSI blog!  Thank you for popping in here, too..be blessed and enjoy your day!

It was "Wear-Your-Pajamas-To-School Day"!!

SIP177 Lonely Tree

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  Cassidy has off today, so I am not sure what we'll be doing...it's supposed to get cold, cold, cold, so it will probably be an indoor activity!  Sadly, I needed another sympathy card this week; I had been toying with an idea for a card for a while and when I saw the Stamp Ink Paper challenge, I thought I could make it work:

The colors I used were Chocolate Chip (I had a piece on my desk already), Merry Merlot and Gray Granite, and here's my very CAS little creation:

I know it looks a wee bit Christmasy with that starry background but hopefully the recipient will find comfort with it nonetheless.  I used a tree die from In The Woods, backing my cardstock with a piece of Adhesive Sheet first; the hill is diecut with another die from the same set, and the heart was punched with an older SU punch:

The starry paper in Gray Granite is from the Twinkle Twinkle DSP series; I thought it looked nice for a quiet solemn sky!  Thanks for popping in today...if you have time to stop in tomorrow, there is a new Inspired By challenge!!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

This is the scary part of karate...Cassidy got her sparring gear!!  Yikes!  At least she'll be able to defend herself in any situation!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Flourishing Phrases
Card stock & Papers	Merry Merlot, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip (ret), Twinkle Twinkle DSP, Adhesive Sheets
Ink	Merry Merlot
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, In The Woods Thinlets, Triple Heart Punch (ret)

One Sheet Wonder Sympathy

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Sadly, our family needed two sympathy cards this week.  The In(k)Spire Me challenge had some pretty colors in it:

I decided to make three cards by using the "one-sheet wonder" technique with the challenge colors, doing some random stamping with various floral images on a half-sheet of Whisper White cardstock.  I cut it into two sheets that are 3 1/4" wide and added a piece of Animal Expedition DSP to follow the CAS(E) This Sketch sketch for this week:

So here we go:

I added a piece of silver ribbon and a silver foil scalloped mat under the sentiment from Flourishing Phrases stamped in Balmy Blue:

The remaining piece of stamped cardstock was matted with Soft Sea Foam, and placed atop a piece of embossed Balmy Blue that I already had in my stash! They were both just the right size for the Try Stampin on Tuesday sketch:

And here's the final product:

I diecut a piece of Whisper White with a Stitched Label die and added a sentiment from the same set, then I colored some pearls with a silver Zig Painty Pen to add a little silver accent, and although it's hard to see, a little panel of silver foil along the left side of the stamped piece:

Thanks for popping in today!

Because of the snowstorm, Cassidy spent the night with us on Thursday and had a two-hour delay on Friday, which was John's birthday.  She hid his gift (in his bedroom closet) and wanted to give him clues to help lead him to it, sort of like a scavenger hunt!

He was able to follow the clues from room to room:

upstairs:

downstairs:

and back upstairs where he finally found it!

 She did a great job and it was a lot of fun!  Tonight we'll go out to dinner for a little more fun!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!  And be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Touches of Texture, Flourishing Phrases, Blooms and Wishes (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Soft Sea Foam, Silver Foil, Balmy Blue, Animal Expedition DSP
Ink	Soft Sea Foam, Gray Granite, Balmy Blue
Accessories	Pearls, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Stitched Labels Framelits, Silver Woven Ribbon (ret), Zig Silver Painty Pen, Basketweave EF, Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil'Inkers)

Leafy Sympathy

Happy Friday, peeps!  Not sure why, but I struggled so much with my card today!!  I used the FMS sketch:

and I love things in threes, but I think because I was trying to match the colors in the washi tape, I just wasn't feelin' the love!  Oh well....it's on its way and hopefully the family will get some comfort from it!  

My vertical panels are from the Stitched Labels dies, cut from retired Baja Breeze cardstock, and my leaves are from Lawn Fawn, cut from Poppy Parade, Hello Honey and Mossy Meadow.  The washi is from Simple Stories' Winter Wonderland, and the sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Design's Mini Tag Sentiments:

And since I used washi tape, I am also entering this in Festive Friday's washi challenge:

Hanging on to summer outfits as long as she can!

 Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Two Easy Cards

Happy Saturday, peeps!  I have two easy cards for you today...I spent some time in my stamp room today (instead of doing chores, I am such a procraftinator!), and the first one is for Dana and Wayne's first anniversary, which is tomorrow:

Blessedly, the weather last year was very cooperative; if they had gotten married this year, they would have needed umbrellas just like Kelly!  I used the FMS sketch for this one by Jen, it's really clean and simple, which was perfect for what I wanted:

Dana likes purple, so I used some Highland Heather as my card base and layered it with some pretty heart-embellished SU vellum from several years ago.  I heat-embossed a sentiment from Beautiful Bouquet and added some gold diecuts:

Sadly, my second card is for a close family/church friend who has been battling health issues for several years; he came home from the hospital last night and passed away early this morning.  We know it is a blessing, as he was in a lot of pain, but we still miss him!  The sketch from Sketch Saturday gave me a chance to use some pretty papers from Share What You Love:

And here's the sketch:

I already had a Mint Macaron card base cut and scored, so I layered my DSP on a Petal Pink mat and adhered them.  The beautiful velvet ribbon from the Holiday Mini matched nicely, and I colored a pearl with a Light Pumpkin Pie Blend marker and adhered it for just a little extra something:

My sentiments, inside and out, are from Flourishing Phrases, stamped in Soft Suede, and I added some leaves from Perennial Birthday, stamped in Soft Sea Foam:

Hope you have a blessed day, thanks for popping in!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge too!

CAS Colour and Sketches 277 Serene Dove

Hi again, everyone!  It's my third week as a guest designer at the Clean and Simple Colours & Sketches challenge!  It's time for another color challenge, and here is your palette:

I had a few different ideas for these colors, and I actually made two cards, I'll share this one first!  I used some of the new Graceful Glass vellum to create a "stained glass window" using a Basic Black frame and Blend markers in the challenge colors:

I normally color just the back of the vellum, but to intensify the colors, I colored both the front and the back!  It was easy to do as the alcohol inks dry very quickly!  I stamped the dove from Serene Garden and diecut it out:

then stamped a sentiment from Rooted in Nature below the panel:

I felt this would be a lovely sympathy card; although they're never fun to make, it's always good to have some on hand.  And here's another card I created using these colors; this one is very clean and simple, almost a little too clean for me!  I felt like these colors were beachy, so I created an ocean by watercoloring a line of Pool Party ink and filling in below it; I stamped the sentiment from Sitting Here in Bermuda Bay, then stamped the deck chair from Colorful Seasons in Calypso Coral and fussy-cut it out:

I also hand-painted a couple of seagulls to make the sky look a little less bleak!  My dilemma, besides the fact that it is so bare, is that when using SU's watercolor paper, I never know which neutral to use....Whisper White is too white and Very Vanilla is not white enough!  At any rate, I chose Very Vanilla for my card base and called it a day!

I hope you'll play with our pretty challenge colors this week...be sure to check out the CAS Colours & Sketches blog to see what the other designers created, and add your creation too!

My niece came over one afternoon last week with her daughters who are two and three years old; they were enamored with John and didn't really care that our swing set and sand box are rather old and rickety!!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!