Lilies of the Valley

Happy Thursday, peeps! I was so excited to see a lily of the valley stamp in the upcoming SU catalog! I remember a row of them growing along my grandmother's house in the spring and they smelled SO good. I even wore a lily of the valley perfume in high school called Muguet de Bois - I just looked it up online and it goes for $50 on ebay! YIKES!  You can be sure I didn't spend that back in 1970!!!  Anyway, I'll just imagine the smell as I share a couple of cards I created with this new set along with a new In Color called Peaceful Pine, which is a lovely green, and Fresh Freesia.  Here we go:

My first one uses the smaller floral image, stamped in the Peaceful Pine, and lightly watercolored with Fresh Freesia ink.  I then die cut it and mounted on an Everyday Arches diecut with a Peaceful Pine mat.  The background was embossed with the Eyelet embossing folder; I added some pearls and white ribbon trim.  The sentiment is from the same set.

The second one uses the larger lily of the valley image, stamped, diecut and colored the same way; the sentiment is from Lasting Beauty.  I did color a piece of white ribbon with a Fresh Freesia blend for a little accent.  The background paper is called Bloom Boutique:

I also used some retired Fresh Freesia DSP.  The layout is from Try a Sketch on Tuesday:

I look forward to playing with this some more!  

On a different note, John & I went to see the movie A Great Awakening yesterday; it's a historical movie about the great preacher George Whitefield and his friendship with Benjamin Franklin.  It was extra-special to us, as it was filmed in our area by Sight & Sound Productions, which is noted for it's amazing Biblical theatrical productions.  They feature LIVE animals in some of them!  (I read where they sell more tickets than most Broadway shows and it is in a rural area of Lancaster County!)  Another reason it was extra-special is that George Whitfield preached AT MY CHURCH in 1740 to a crowd of 12000 people!  It gave me goosebumps to think about it! And lastly, a family friend who works at Sight & Sound was an extra in the movie and we actually saw him in the film!  Wow! I know a movie star, LOL!  I recommend it highly!

Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Lily of the Valley (upcoming), Layers of Beauty
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Peaceful Pine, Bloom Boutique DSP (upcoming), Fresh Freesia DSP (ret)
Ink	Fresh Freesia, Peaceful Pine
Accessories	White Ribbon (ret), Pearls, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Lily of the Valley Dies, Everyday Arches Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Textured Notes Dies, Eyelet Embossing Folder, Stylish Shapes Dies, Fresh Freesia Blend, Aquapainter

TSOT676 Rustic Centerpiece

Happy Thursday, peeps! My card today uses a partial image from the Online Exclusive Rustic Centerpiece along with the sketch from Try a Sketch On Tuesday:

So here we go:

I stamped a partial image on watercolor paper in Stazon ink, then did some creative diecutting with an Everyday Arches die. I colored the image with some reinkers and an aquapainter, and added a wee bit of Linen Thread for an embellishment.  I snagged a piece of plaid DSP that matched my fall colors and ran it through the upcoming Gathering Leaves embossing folder and sanded it with a sanding block:

I added a little sentiment with an enamel dot from Layers of Beauty, and put everything on a Cajun Craze card base:

I know my image is a wee bit larger than the one in the sketch but hopefully it's okay!  I really love this centerpiece set and hope to use it some more!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Layers of Beauty, Rustic Centerpiece, Itty Bitty Backgrounds (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Watercolor, Cajun Craze, Timeless Plaid DSP
Ink	Stazon Black, Cajun Craze, Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Gray Granite, Basic Beige
Accessories	Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Enamel Dot (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Textured Notes Dies, Everyday Arches Dies, Aquapainter, Sanding Block (ret)

TSOT669 Quick Thank You

Happy Thursday, all! I have a quick thank you card today using the beautiful papers from Florals in Bloom as well as the sketch from Try A Sketch on Tuesday:

So here we go:

My sentiment from Everyday Arches was stamped in Berry Burst, and the little flower from Choose Happy was stamped and watercolored in Petunia Pop and Garden Green and accented with a little pearl:

Simple, quick and oh so pretty!

Yesterday morning I received an email from our neighborhood watch group; I use the term "neighborhood" loosely, because I live on a rural road and our neighborhood consists of about three small roads and a couple developments, neither of which are really near me.  But sometimes someone's dog gets loose, or an elderly neighbor wanders off, so an email goes out.  Nothing prepared me for this, however, only half a mile from my home:

Yikes!  I have never known bears to be in my area---EVER! Someone saw this one on his way to work and snapped a couple of pictures from the safety of his car!   And off it goes, into the woods! 

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Choose Happy, Everyday Arches
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Petunia Pop, Florals in Bloom DSP
Ink	Petunia Pop, Garden Green, Berry Burst
Accessories	Pearl, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Textured Notes Dies, 1 3/8" Circle Punch (ret)

AYSI346 Perfect Polka Dots

Happy Friday, everyone! Time for a new As You See It challenge, and it's a Fill-in-the-Blank!  

There are LOTS of tools that I won't get rid of, but this fun little dotted embossing folder is one that I'll never part with!  I used the sketch from Try a Sketch on Tuesday:

along with some pretty pastel cardstocks and a retired floral set called Shaded Summer to make a birthday card for my SIL:

I might add that the scalloped border die from the Be Mine dies is also another one I'll never part with!  I took panels of Purple Posy, Pink Pirouette and Soft Sky cardstocks (sadly, all retired) and embossed each one with the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder.  I added a couple of the scalloped border pieces, then my floral, stamped in Pink Pirouette and Mint Macaron (also retired).  I stamped the image twice, then fussy-cut the florals to adhere on top.  

I added a sentiment from Waffle Flower and a few matching sequins, and it was finished!

What retired or retiring product is one you'll never part with? It's a hard question to answer, isn't it? So many fun things come and go, but we hope you'll be able to pin one thing down and share something you've made with it over at the As You See It blog! Can't wait to see what you create!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Shaded Summer (ret), Sentiment Additions (Waffleflower)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Sky (ret), Pink Pirouette (ret), Purple Posy (ret0
Ink	Pink Pirouette (ret), Mint Macaron (ret)
Accessories	Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Summer Shadows Dies (ret), Be Mine Dies (ret), Scalloped Circle Dies (Nestabilities), Sentiment Additions Dies (Waffleflower), Pretty Polka Dots Embossing Folder (ret)

Tis The Season

Happy Friday, peeps, happy weekend! I have a Christmas card today; it uses the sketch from Try A Sketch on Tuesday; here's the sketch:

There were a lot of summery-themed cards in the gallery, but I went a different route:

I lined up some papers from Unity for the bottom portion, then added a diecut tree from the Tree Lot dies, a few rhinestones and a sweet sentiment from Simon Says Stamp:

Another sentiment from the same set on the inside, and I have another card for my holiday stash!

This also qualifies for the Jingle Belles' challenge of using three designer papers, so I'm popping it in there. And since the Krafty Chick's challenge this week is Christmas, I am entering it there as well!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Succulent (ret), Sweet Sorbet (ret), Just Jade (ret),  Watercolor Winter (Unity)
Ink	Just Jade (ret)
Accessories	Red Rhinestones from my stash, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Layering Circle Dies (ret), Tree Lot Dies (ret), Scalloped Contours Dies (ret)

TSOT639 A Bright Get Well

ooHappy Wednesday, peeps!  Brrrr! It's COLD here in SE PA!  I have a hot pink card that should warm us up today! It uses the sketch from Try A Sketch on Tuesday:

I love this sketch because I love things in THREES!! Woohoo!  So here we go:

I wanted something bright for my friend so I pulled out some retired Magenta Madness cardstock; I thought some of the black and white prints from the Zoo Crew DSP and made some banners.  I attached them to my card front, which I had embossed with the Starry embossing folder.  I made a horizontal banner on which I stamped my sentiment, then added a white and Magenta Madness glimmer star.  I diecut four tiny black stars....the tiniest die I think I have in my inventory, to embellish the top right corner as well as the magenta star:

I added the inside star and another one floating around on my desk on the inside for fun:

I love this sketch...it's a keeper!

Dana is not much of a baker, she admits that, but wanted to make Wayne a cake for his birthday.  Unfortunately, she didn't have all the ingredients she needed, so she made him brownies, and made homemade peanut butter icing to go on top.  Since he loves those peanut blossom cookies, she decorated his cake with Hershey's kisses:

It was also our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday....here's John's cute decor that greeted me first thing in the morning....the plant was already there, he just did the "decor" and cards!

He's such a sweetie! Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Many Mates (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Magenta Madness (ret), Zoo Crew DSP, White Glimmer (ret), Basic Black
Ink	Versafine Black
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Banner Punch, Starry Embossing Folder (ret), Star Dies (Avery Elle)