MTS087

Hello, everyone!  I am back from vacation…a perfect beach week, very relaxing!  Here’s a view of the Lewes, Delaware, beach on a quiet Tuesday morning:

Nothing better than a deserted beach!  So now I am trying to get back into the stamping groove…I have lots of goodies to play with but I am struggling with getting all my thoughts and ideas  together!  I went to the Match the Sketch challenge for my sketch, turning it on its side:

I love the new Woodland Textured embossing folder..here I used it on an Old Olive card base, adding three feathers from the Cheer All Year set in Tip Top Taupe, Early Espresso and Soft Suede.  I also stamped a sentiment  from the same set and added a touch of Tangelo Twist for a little brightness!

And for ease, I simply glue-dotted on my little baker’s twine knots…no tying!

Today is the first day of school….I’ll have pictures tomorrow.  Meanwhile, here is a little montage of Cassidy and her friend Dominic, whose mom is a friend of my daughter’s:

There is always lots of action and excitement when these two are together!  And in true Cassidy fashion, if something doesn’t work right, she is right at the ready to get it fixed!!!  However, I think there’s something wrong with this picture!

Enjoy your day!

FMS200 and KF237

Happy Thursday, peeps….almost the weekend, it can’t get here soon enough for me, LOL!  I finally got a wee bit of stamping time late, late last night, making a really simple card for the Freshly Made Sketches 200th sketch!  Wow….what a milestone, and they are celebrating big time over there.  You’ve got to check it out!  So here is the easy sketch….lots of room for interpretation, right?

Since the Kraft Journal’s challenge this week was Anything Goes-Birds, I knew I wanted to pull out some of my hoarded CTMH Skylark paper….I just love this stuff!  I did some strategic cutting and pasting and came up with this:

I mounted it on a card made from paper from the same pack, then stamped a Clearly Besotted sentiment in Tip Top Suede, fussy-cut the letters and punched it out with an oval punch:

Those cute little swirly designs on the paper just reminded me of sequins, so I searched my stash for some that would complement my colors and randomly placed a few…and it was done!

I have to admit that the last few weeks, my mojo has been somewhere between Toledo and Santa Fe….and I am weary!!!  I have a box of brand-new SU goodies sadly still unpacked, a bad case of insomnia and a plethora of garden produce that won’t stop!!! SO….I am taking a little bloggy break and hopefully will return refreshed and full of creativity!  I can dream, anyway!  I might be going somewhere that has some of these, too:

Enjoy!

Try Stampin on Tuesday 232

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It’s time for a new Try Stampin’ on Tuesday challenge!  This week we have this sketch (and I realize I forgot the little embellishments on the left side, ooops!) as well as the optional theme of “Happy”:

I needed a wedding card, and I am trying to use up some of my huge stash of DSP, so I thought this floral design from a few years ago would be pretty:

The main sentiment is from SU’s retired Word Play, stamped in Always Artichoke; the florals are from Everything Eleanor, stamped in Soft Sky.  The congrats is from a big set of sentiments gifted to me by my friend Martha!  I added a panel of embossed hearts, and the banner is woodgrain-embossed as well, to add to the botanical theme:

And of course, I had to add a “diamond” to the ring!!  And the inside uses the same sentiment set, along with some little hearts:

I hope you’ll play along at the TSOT challenge blog this week….we have a FB page too, you are more than welcome to share your creation there as well!

We gave Cassidy her big gift yesterday morning; the suspense was mounting:

What could be in this big box?

Something “Frozen”!!!

A scooter!

We know she needs a helmet (it was at home) and perhaps froggy boots weren’t the best choice of footwear, but she gave it a go:

We definitely need practice…and we still have training wheels on the bike she got last year!  But she had fun!

Enjoy your day!

Happy Fifth Birthday!

Oh yes, how can it be?!  My wee Cassidy is turning five today!  And kindergarten is just around the corner!  Remember this?

I made a special card for her (even though I had made one a month or so ago, I had to make one that had a “FIVE” on it!!!) and it had to be full of sprinkly goodness:

I used the sketch from Match The Sketch for my layout:

and used images from Sprinkles of Life for those five big candles, as well as DSP from the Cherry on Top paper pack!

There’s sparkle on those flames, too….you’ll have to take my word for it!  And here are a few more pix from the party on Saturday.  All the little girls got wings, a magic wand, a tutu and butterfly headpieces:

Cassidy loved the little fairy decorations hanging from the trees:

She was definitely eyeing up those fairy cupcakes, too!

Now, tonight we’ll have her “real” birthday party and another cake and candles!  Enjoy your day!

PP258 CAS Beach

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Hope you are enjoying your weekend!  It’s time for another Paper Players challenge, and this week I am the hostess with a clean and simple theme:  the BEACH!

It’s a little joke here on the east coast…some people say they’re going to the “shore” and others say they’re going to the “beach”.  I like to say I am going to the shore and then once I am there, I go to the beach, LOL!  Whatever way you say it, you can’t deny the pull of the ocean, sand and salt air!  So many ways to interpret it….I actually had another idea in mind for my card when I came up with this theme, but I started playing around with some watercolor paper, inks and water and ended up with this:

Just a couple of swishes of Soft Sky and Sahara Sand; a line of Lost Lagoon; a sentiment and a few hand-painted seagulls, and it was done.  I added a starfish, some Gorgeous Grunge speckles and burlap ribbon for a simple embellishment:

And isn’t this a lovely sentiment?  This is from an older Impression Obsession set, stamped in Early Espresso:

The rope is also from the same set, and the starfish is from SU’s retired Beautiful Beach.  This is also for the City Crafter Challenge blog’s beautiful theme board:

I can’t wait to see your CAS beachy creations!  Share them with us at the Paper Players blog, and meanwhile, check out the other lovely beachy cards the DT has come up with:

• Ann
• Claire
• Jaydee
• Joanne
• Laurie
• Nance
• Sandy
• Amy
• Jodi
• Lisa

Yesterday we had Cassidy’s “pretend” birthday party, which is what she called it because her real birthday is tomorrow!  She had a Tinkerbell/fairy theme, and my daughter did a great job with decorations and costumes!

Of course, we also had a “slipping slide”, as Cassidy calls it!  The day was perfect….warm, not too hot, a nice breeze….it was great!   I’ll share more as the week goes by!

And today, we’re headed to a pre-season Eagles football game….I have a chance to sit in a box seat, so this will probably be the one-and-only time I’ll ever attend a game!  Enjoy your day!

AYSI100 Celebrate!

 

Happy Friday, peeps!  Today is a really special day….it’s the 100th challenge for those sweet gals at As You See It!  I have really enjoyed playing with their challenges, and honored that they asked me to participate!  So here’s your inspiration:

I loved the “celebrate” in the Paper Pumpkin kit from a month or so ago, along with the balloons, so I put them to work in my sparkly square card:

I stamped the balloons on the back of some red glimmer paper and cut them out, then stamped the strings on some vellum, and placed it over a circle of some Everyday Chic DSP, which I also used for the other portions of my card.   I stamped the sentiment simply on a strip of Whisper White in Real Red and added some red, white and black sequins!

My sketch is from Retrosketches for this week:

I sure hope that you’ll play along with the 100th celebration at As You See It!  The challenge will last for TWO weeks, and there is BLOG CANDY!   Check what all the other designers and previous winners created as well!

Here are a couple more birthday cards; this beautiful vintage one (she knows me well) is from my customer/friend Alison:

and the sweet floral creation is from my dear friend Billie:

Thanks, girls! 

Just taking a little early-morning ride around the drive:

Enjoy your day!