PP514 Baby Boy Sketch

 Hi peeps!  Sunday means a new Paper Players challenge with Jaydee as our hostess with a fabulous sketch---a sketch with THREEs!!!

I do love things with threes!!!  Recently I attended a "Meet and Greet" for a young couple who adopted a baby boy just as the Covid pandemic started.  No baby shower, no cuddling the newborn, seeing him in the nursery at church; just quarantining with the three of them as they waited things out!  So they finally felt comfortable enough to have friends and family to an outdoor get-together and it was delightful!  He's six months old now and just such a cutie!  Anyway, this card was to "re-celebrate" this special event:

Someone recently gave me a huge 12x12 pad of baby-themed DSP, so I pulled out this fun print, added some matching cardstocks and went to work.  Another page had the blue elements; I punched them out, diecut a border for the main one and stamped a sentiment from the retired A Dozen Thoughts:

I added a Marina Mist ribbon and it was done!  I love this sketch and you might just see it again sometime soon!  

What will you create with this sketch?  It's coming up to the busiest card-making season of the year, so this may be a great way to make some quick, easy cards using our awesome sketch!  Check out what the Design Team did with it as well as the Paper Players blog!  See you there!

Good old Highlights magazine provides fun activities while waiting for dinner!  Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

FMS458 A Friend with Chocolate

 Happy Saturday, peeps!  Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend.  This afternoon is our church's harvest party...a wee bit different than last year's but hopefully still fun for the kiddos!  

So today's card is for the FMS sketch this week from Kim:

This is such a great sketch, and I can see it being used with lots of little DSP scraps!  But as I was perusing my Martha Stewart magazine a day or so ago, I came across this "Magnolia Manifesto" from Chip and Joanna Gaines, and it reminded me of this sketch:

Such a fun thought and I loved the colors....so I put on my thinking cap to see how I could translate it to a card, and here's what I came up with, using some OLD stamps, LOL, and flipping the sketch to its side!

I pulled out an old stamp set I got at AC Moore many moons ago....not even sure of the name of the set or the maker, but they all feature sayings from kids, and they're very cute.  A friend with chocolate is a very good friend indeed! I stamped the swooshy image from the retired Work of Art in Bumblebee, Gray Granite, Poppy Parade, Sage Shadow (ret) and Petal Pink, then stamped the sentiment on each color.  They're clear stamps, so I cut them apart to make them easier to stamp.  I trimmed my panel down, mounted it on a Basic Black mat and added a sentiment from an old Lil'Inkers set and a heart from Banner Year before embossing my card with the Subtle EF.  

And before I did this card, I did a trial run on some Walmart cardstock, and I liked it so much, I mounted it on a Bumblebee card base and now I have two!

I wasn't real crazy about where the birthday sentiment was, but I liked the rest of it, so I'm sticking with it!  Thanks for popping in today!

"Give thanks to the God of heaven; his love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

A little cuddlebug...or should I say, "cuddle-chihuahua"?

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Banner Year, Work of Art (ret),  Friend with Chocolate (unknown), Rainbow & Cloud (Lil'Inker)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Bumblebee
Ink	Memento Black, Bumblebee, Gray Granite, Poppy Parade, Sage Shadow (ret), Petal Pink
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Subtle Embossing Folder

AYSI237 Sketch x Two

Happy Friday, peeps!  As You See It has a fun new sketch for their challenge this week:

I hemmed and hawed with this sketch; nothing seemed to be working, and I finally gave in and did a Halloween card, as I still need to send some out!  I actually made two cards, I will share that one later in the post!  So here we go with my busy Halloween card:

I discovered some fun Halloween papers I forgot I had (you never do that, right?) and used them on the front of my card!  (I think that probably contributes to the busy-ness feel to it, though!)  Anyway, I persevered, cutting an orange glimmer paper starry wreath, punched out a couple of bats and a green glimmer paper spider, and added a fun jack-o-lantern and some stars:

My sentiment is an old SU die, cut from black glimmer paper:

And I stamped a fun sentiment on the inside in Memento Black and Pumpkin Pie:

I think I know just to whom this card is going!  And I am also entering this in the Double D challenge for October, as well as the TGIF Halloween challenge!  

For my next card, I chose to use the colors from The Spot challenge, because I find Rich Razzleberry a challenge to use, and I wanted to challenge myself, LOL!

So here we go:

 

I wanted to get some use of out my Stitched Leaves dies again, so after getting my layers situated, I diecut three leaves from the challenge colors and adhered them to a Brushed Bronze "wreath", backed with some Rich Razzleberry DSP:

I added a copper ribbon bow, and after stamping my sentiment from So Sentimental, embossed each of the triangular panels with one of the Wrapped in Texture embossing folders, then added some faceted gems for fun: 

I also added a narrow strip of the metallic cardstock to the diagonal panel...I like the effect it gives!  

Now, what will you create with our sketch?  As you can see, any holiday or occasion would work well with this fun sketch...share it with us at As You See It...can't wait to see what you come up with!

First Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Autumn Blessings, Hello Pumpkin Cardmaking (both Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Grapefruit Grove (ret), Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Black Glimmer Paper, Orange Glimmer Paper(ret), Rainbow Glimmer Paper, Halloween DSP (Close to My Heart, ret)
Ink	Memento Black
Accessories	Dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Black Dimensionals, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Little Treats Box Dies (spider), Boo to You Dies (ret), Star Frame Die (Avery Elle), Autumn Blessings Dies (Close to My Heart), Pumpkin Pie Blend, Black Marker

Second Card Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	So Sentimental
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Pretty Peacock, Brushed Metallic Bronze, Rich Razzleberry DSP
Ink	Pretty Peacock
Accessories	Faceted Gems
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Leaves Dies, Circles Framelits (ret), Wrapped in Texture Embossing Folder, Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack

 

IB147 Fall is Sweet

Hi stampers!  Happy Thursday!  It's time for  a new Inspired By challenge....look at these yummy goodies!  I wouldn't mind eating every one of these, LOL!

And here's our optional sketch:

 

As much as I love a sketch with three elements on it, I opted not to use it this week!  I did use a couple of retired fall favorites, Merry Cafe and Pick a Pumpkin, to make my sweet fall birthday card:

So even though it might not be noticeable right away, there's a lot going on on this card!  My Early Espresso base is embossed with a swirly die; the Old Olive layer is stamped with the Buffalo Check background stamp, and the Terracotta Tile layer is stamped with a sprig from Banner Year.  The coffee cup was stamped on some patterned paper and fussy-cut; I then hand-drew the sleeve and added some stamping to it:

I added a few fall pumpkins just for fun and mounted it all on a layer of Very Vanilla that was embossed with the Cable Knit embossing folder.  And I carried the colors over into the inside with some birthday sentiments from Itty Bitty Birthdays:

I am sorry they retired this set so quickly, it has a lot of fun coffee and tea-themed images for the holidays and I am happy when I can use it again!  And I did use a challenge sketch; it's from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

And I am also throwing this into the ring at Festive Friday, because I've got a hot drink, plaid, cream, brown and diecuts!

Be sure to stop by the Inspired By blog to see what the DT has created...they're a talented bunch of stampers and I always love to see how their creative minds interpret the challenge!  Thanks for popping in today!

School picture...one of the nicest!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Buffalo Check, Banner Year, Itty Bitty Birthdays, Merry Cafe (ret), Pick a Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Terracotta Tile, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Old Olive DSP, Nightfall DSP (Authentique)
Ink	Memento Black, Pear Pizzazz, Terracotta Tile, Old Olive
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shots, Patterned Pumpkin Dies (ret), Cable Knit EF (ret), Blends, Swirled Dots Embossing Plate (Altenew)

TCC142 Thankful Pumpkins

 Hi peeps!  It's time for a new Card Concept challenge, and Julie has a beautiful seasonal photo to whet our creative appetite:

I have never grown hydrangeas, but I sure do think they're pretty!  But for today's card, my eye was drawn to those pumpkins as well as the pretty wording on the aluminum bucket!  I had bought a 12x12 package of fall scrapbooking papers a couple of years back because I just loved the pumpkins on one of the pages, and I don't think I've ever used it (I could be hoarding it, LOL), so I forced myself to pull it out and create a Clean and Layered card for today:

The background paper already had the pumpkins on it, but I stamped the words on it in Sahara Sand, using an older Impression Obsession stamp set that I've had for a LONG time!  I love how it adds such a subtle interest to the background!  The main image was a scrap image that I trimmed and diecut and layered on top; I used another panel to stamp "thanks" in Soft Suede ink and diecut it with a stitched tag die, then embellished with an enamel dot:

I am also entering this in the Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge; I flipped the sketch a little because my pumpkin is at the bottom, but hopefully that's okay!

What will inspire you from this photo? Please share it with us at The Card Concept, and tell us what your "concept" is....there is a page on the blog that describes all the styles, and the DT has descriptions of their style as well!  Can't wait to see what you create!

And here are my pumpkins (and a little lost impatiens petal!) on my porch step; the orange ones were bought at an Amish market, but the green one was a gift from our neighbor.  He has a green thumb and continually shares his garden bounty with us...so this card will be going to him!  

Thanks for stopping in today...enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Autumn (Impression Obsession), Elegant Florals -sentiment (Scrapbook.com)
Card stock & Papers	Sahara Sand, Thankful Heart DSP (Recollections)
Ink	Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Accessories	Enamel Dot (W+9), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Tags (Pretty Pink Posh)

RRCB146 Boo! and a DiecutTutorial

 Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's time for a new Retro Rubber challenge, where we use stamps that are least a year old!  Here's our prompt for this challenge:

What a cute prompt....and here's my take on it:

I diecut three pumpkins from Pumpkin Pie cardstock; the only stamping is the alphabet, which I won several years ago; it's from Concord & 9th, and I don't usually use alphabets, but I hung on to this one and I am glad I did!  Here's a close-up:

My background paper is from SU, from a few years back, and I added some black, orange and white glimmer stars for fun!  And here's the inside, using a CTMH set from 2018:

Now, I want to show you a little trick I came up to make using dies a little easier. I am sure someone may have come up with this before, but it's always good to see it again! These Impression Obsession dies are not open; they are solid, and if you look closely, you can see the ridges on the pumpkins:

Now, if you are just cutting out a plain pumpkin, that would be easy.  But I wanted to stamp a letter on the pumpkin before I diecut it because I knew I would not get a good image stamping over top of those ridges once I diecut it.  But I can't see the letter stamped on the cardstock to center it, because the die is closed.  So, I cut a template from a piece of cardboard (the white piece here) first:

I then stamped my letter on the cardstock, laid it on my Big Shot platform, and laid the template over it, centering it where I wanted it:

I placed the die over top of the template, seating it in the opening; it just sort of fits neatly in there like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle!

Then I ran it through my diecutting machine, and I had a nicely-centered image!

It works well with open dies too!  Many of SU's newer dies are made to cut very close to the outline of the image and sometimes it's a challenge to get them lined up just right.  Here, I have stamped the berry sprig from the new Poinsettia Petals stamp:

I cut a template from some cardboard (the brown piece), layered it over the stamped image:

This time, since the image was small, I anchored the die with some washi tape before running it through the Big Shot:

And here is the finished product!  SO pretty!

Hopefully you'll find that little tip helpful!  It has saved me lots of diecutting woes!

So, what will inspire you with our cute little inspiration photo this week?  Be sure to use stamps that are at least a year old, and tell us how old they are!  Then share your spooky project with us at Retro Rubber!  Can't wait to see what you come up with! 

A little more Hershey Park adventure!

 Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hello Pumpkin Cardmaking (Close to My Heart 2018), Bold & Brushy Uppercase Alphabet (at least 5 years old)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Black, Orange and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer, Spooky Night DSP (ret)
Ink	Stazon Black
Accessories	Black Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Pumpkin Dies (Impression Obsession), Star Die (Verve)

Halloween Altered Tin

Happy Monday, peeps!  I hope you had a great weekend!  I've got a little different project for you today!  I haven't done one of these altered Altoid tins for a long time, and I thought it would be fun to delve into my big stash of vintage/retro Halloween ephemera and create a 3D item!  So here we go:

 

I first covered the front of the tin with some Tim Holtz paper that was stamped with a vintage spooky design by Close to My Heart.  I added an image from an Authentique scrapbook page, diecut with a Stitched Shapes oval die.  The "Happy Halloween" was stamped on another TH paper; this stamp is an old Crafty Secrets vintage Halloween one; the bats are from the same set.  The crescent moon is from a mini CS Halloween set, stamped, colored and fussy-cut.

 

 

The back of the tin was covered with a Tim Holtz Halloween paper image:

 

 

and the sides were covered with adhesive glitter ribbon (Close to My Heart) and a hand-dyed (Cajun Craze ink) scrunchy seam binding bow.  

 

 

When you open it up, this is the inside:

 

 

The left side features a panel from a Crafty Secrets ephemera page; I simply cut it to fit the tin and rounded the edges.  I added some Tim Holtz stickers and black glimmer stars:

 

 

The right side (my favorite) features another panel from Authentique; I cut out the elements to fit the tin, layering the cat, the candle and the smaller pumpkins around the image.  The background is paper from My Mind's Eye Honey 6x6 pad, decorated with a ticket from Crafty Secrets ephemera pack:

 

 

I added a little Tim Holtz sticker for fun:

 

 

I am not quite sure why I love vintage Halloween images SO much.  My Halloween decorations at home feature a lot of these style images too....I think they remind me of my dad!  He was a good one to give you a scare at Halloween!  Anyway, I will add this to my collection of Halloween decor and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  I am entering it into the new Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge, the Funkie Junkie Boutique Halloween challenge, as well as the Inkspirational photo challenge:

 

 

Thanks for popping in today--enjoy it and be blessed!