Florals for Fun

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's the last day of March, and the last day of Sale-a-bration!  Did you take advantage of it?  You've got a little time left!  

I have a couple of floral creations today, and they each have a very different feel to them!  This one uses an older Artistic Outpost image that has never seen ink!  As I was suffering from insomnia the other night, I thought of it--surely I'm not the only one who does that, right?  Anyway, I was perusing my 6x6 stash and found this Night of Navy gingham (yes, more gingham, Michele!) and thought how pretty the tulips would look with it...kind of like Delft!  So here we go with my very CAS blue tulips:

This uses the sketch from the Global Design Project:

I stamped my image in Night of Navy, and I did something I rarely do:  I watercolored!  It's not that I don't watercolor often, but when you watercolor with water-based ink outlines, you run the risk of making your image bleed!  I was very, very careful and used an almost dry brush to add Blueberry Bushel and Seaside Spray inks to fill in my design:

I used the Stitched Shapes die to cut it out, and I used the Stitched Nested Labels die to create a banner; I used the "negative" portion for the fishtail, and used the straight die on the edges!  A sentiment from Honey Bee finished it off.  Simple!

My next card is for the SUO Challenge to CASE something from page 42 of the catalog, as well as the Time Out Challenge to use purple!   

Purples are not usual my go-to colors, so I sort of forgot about poor Purple Posy...and it's such a pretty pastel shade!  I chose to copy the bottom sketch of the SUO challenge, using a Purple Posy card base and some pretty floral paper from Best Dressed:

On another Stitched Nested Label diecut, I added a butterfly from Positive Thoughts in Pineapple Punch, a sentiment from Fable Friends in Mint Macaron, and I stamped the flower from Positive Thoughts in Highland Heather (stamped off twice) right on top of the sentiment.  Some Iridescent sequins (that reflect in really weird colors, LOL) added a little sparkly touch.  Some Nature's Twine, tied in a bow, coordinated with the greenery in the DSP:

I forgot to photograph the inside...I stamped the friendship sentiment from So Sentimental, so this definitely qualifies for the "friendship" part of the challenge as well!  

Dana told me that Cassidy cooked herself a cheese steak!  Yum!  I think Ginger is thinking she should be able to have a sample, too! But I don't see anything green on that plate!! Tsk, tsk!   

Dana, Cassidy and I actually got to video chat yesterday!  Technology is pretty great...we had a couple little hiccups at first, but I think we've got it now!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your social distancing and be blessed!

Card 1 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Honey Bee, A Lovely Day (Artistic Outpost)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Night of Navy, Night of Navy Gingham DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Blueberry Bushel, Seaside Spray
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Nested Labels Dies

Card 2 Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Positive Thoughts, So Sentimental (inside)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Purple Posy, Best Dressed DSP
Ink	Mint Macaron, Pineapple Punch, Highland Heather
Accessories	Nature's Twine, Iridescent Sequins
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Nature's Thoughts Dies

FMS428 Easter Bunny

Happy Monday, peeps!  Are we still putting on a brave face?  It's getting a little more challenging for us, but we are persevering!  I had a fun hour and a half this weekend doing a video chat with my Retro Rubber teammates!  They dragged me into 21st century technology and I didn't do too badly, LOL!  But I am having a little trouble getting motivated to stamp, I think we all feel that way!  I did manage to eke out another Easter card using the FMS sketch, squeaking it in in the nick of time:

I have lots of Pleased as Punch DSP so I thought I'd better use some of it up with my little bunny from Fable Friends:

Since I did a pink card yesterday, I thought I'd choose a color I don't use much, Mango Melody.  It's a little strong, and I am not 100% sure I like it here, but after you've put time into a card, you don't have the heart to let it go, so I persevered on this one too!  I stamped my little cutie in Smoky Slate and used a Blender Pen and some ink to color in her jacket, then used Blends to shade her fur.  I had cut out a little bunch of flowers to accent my sentiment, but couldn't quite figure out where to put it, and then I decided to give her a little crown:

Doesn't she look sweet?  It fit her little noggin perfectly!  My sentiment is from a retired set called Delightful Dozen, and I have always loved the font in this sentiment.  It was stamped in Mango Melody as well and diecut with a Stitched Rectangle die.

She'll get added to my pile of Easter cards to be sent out!

On a happier note, I was thrilled that my PBS station started a new season of Call The Midwife!  Are there any other CTM fans out there?!  LOVE that show!  And just a gentle reminder, I have had a few questions lately about items I use in making my cards, but my readers have not given me an email address.  If you leave a comment and your name is not associated with an email address, sadly, I cannot answer your question!  I usually do put a little recipe at the bottom of my post that lists my ingredients, so hopefully that will help!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fable Friends, Delightful Dozen (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Mango Melody, Pleased as Punch DSP
Ink	Smoky Slate, Mango Melody, Blushing Bride
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shape Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Blender Pen, Smoky Slate Blends

PP484 Easter Blessings

Happy Sunday, peeps!  It's time for another Paper Players challenge, and we have a fun tic-tac-toe grid for you!!

I chose to do the left diagonal of pink, spring and patterned paper for my Easter card this week:

I used a combination of old and new products for my card!  I used Blushing Bride DSP to create my background, cutting the smaller piece with a die from Sweetly Stitched.  The bunny and bow is from an older Lil'Inker die, and the flowers are from an old Triple Flower punch!  The sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings was stamped in Blushing Bride and also cut out with the Sweetly Stitched dies:

For fun, I added a little hem-stitching along the Blushing Bride mat, because I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

I love the monochromatic look to this card...it will go in my stash for the upcoming holiday!  Thanks for popping in!  I hope you'll check out what the Paper Players design team did over at the PP blog!  Once you've gotten some inspiration, play along!  Can't wait to see what you create!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Just hanging out together---I miss them!  And John REALLY misses Wayne, LOL!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Blushing Bride DSP
Ink	Blushing Bride
Accessories	Dimensionals, Small Pearls
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Sweetly Stitched Dies, Bunny Dies (Lil'Inker), Stitched Lines Dies (Ellen Hutson), Three Flower Punch (ret)

AYSI222 Positive Thoughts

Happy Friday, peeps!  It's recipe time at As You See It!  Here's our ingredient list:

I had not played enough with the Positive Thoughts set, so I thought I would pull it out and give it a go:

I stamped a flower in Petal Pink, Flirty Flamingo and Calypso Coral and cut each out with the coordinating Nature's Thoughts die, sponging the edges to give them a little depth:

I stamped a couple of pieces of foliage in Mint Macaron and diecut them as well, tucking them in here and there.  My Petal Pink gingham background was diecut with the rectangle die from the same set, but it wasn't quite as big as I wanted, so I cut another narrower piece, matching my plaid, and pieced them together.  The Mint Macaron ribbon hides the seam!  I stamped the sentiment in Smoky Slate, and for my "something shiny", I added some Iridescent Sequins.  They match perfectly IRL, but the photo turns them a wonky shade...you'll just have to take my word for it, LOL!  

I already have this card in the mail to a special friend!  I hope you'll do some crafty "cooking" with our recipe this time around...meanwhile, check out the others' creations and give them some love!  Then share yours too!  Thanks for popping in today!

Still working on those karate moves:

I hope you're able to get out and about and do some moves too!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

IB117 Yellow Makes Me Happy

Happy Thursday, peeps!  It's a new Inspired By challenge....one that's sure to make you "happy"!!!

I had just received some goodies in the mail, and I had so much fun with them, and the challenge, that I made two cards!  Here we go:

I had been eyeing the diagonal plaid background stamp from Concord and 9th for a while, and I finally broke down and got it!  I stamped it in Daffodil Delight and added the stitching in Granny Apple Green to make a background for my sweet little diecut tulip:

The die is also from C&9; it actually cuts the tulip and leaves as well as the stitched octagon and the skinny little frame!  I cut a few of them to create this image....I even cut the tulip twice and trimmed it so it would have more of a dimensional look.  (A tip:  I glued the frame and the center to a scrap piece of cardstock, then trimmed it by hand, so that it would be easier to handle.)  The "stem" is from a stitching set by CTMH: 

And can you see my little green lady bug?  I added her just for fun, LOL!  My sentiment comes from a really, really old SU set; I cut it apart and mounted it on some red rubber mount so that I could reposition the words:

In fact, this set is SO OLD that it came mounted on a really thick, hard piece of foam; I remember the first time I bought SU sets, the foam ones were less expensive than wood-mount, so I bought a couple of them....not SU's most shining moment:

They were awkward and cumbersome to use, and you often got that dreaded "halo" around the edge of the image!  Thankfully we've come a long way! Still a really cute set and I love it!  

SO when I cut out my multiples of the die, I had "leftovers", so I put some together with a few pieces of coordinating DSP to create a little birthday notecard:

I used a sentiment from the SAB Sending You Thoughts, and I embossed the bottom portion with the retired Perfect Polka Dots EF.  These colors really do make me happy!!!

I hope that there is something in our inspiration photo that will get your creative juices flowing!  Please be sure to stop by the Inspired By blog to check out the DT's creations and share yours as well!

And Dana recently sent me this picture of some florals from her yard:

My maternal grandfather was a wholesale carnation grower, and he, my uncle and my cousins all took part in running his florist business.  I joke that that particular gene did not come down to me, but it did pass on to Dana!  She's good at arranging!  Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Sending You Thoughts, Diagonal Plaid (Concord and 9th), Hello Spring (ret), Itty Bitties (ret), Stitched Borders (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive Gingham DSP, Bird Ballad DSP, The Bee's Knees DSP (Honey Bee)
Ink	Granny Apple Green
Accessories	Dimensionals, Daffodil Delight Ruffled Ribbon
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Tulip Label Dies, Perfect Polka Dot EF (ret)

GDP233 Spring Wreath

Hello everyone!  Hope your week is going well and you're not going too stir-crazy!  I still am working at my church one morning a week, blessedly there are only two of us in one office and our desks are far apart!  The Global Design Project had a pretty color challenge this week:

Mmmmm....these colors remind me of those melty mints covered with non-pareils!  Yum!  But I digress....my SIL has a birthday coming up, so I made her a little floral wreath!  We both love bird-watching, so I added a cute little bird as well:

My wreath was cut from some Crumb Cake cardstock, using the retired Swirly Scribbles die.  I added some stitched flowers, embellished with pearls that were colored with Blends (such handy little things to have!), my little bird, and a bit of baker's twine from a Paper Pumpkin kit: 

It was adhered to a mat of Whisper White cardstock, diecut with a Spellbinders dotted edge die, then I added a sentiment from another past Paper Pumpkin kit not only on the front:

but also on the inside of the Pool Party card:

We can't be together on her birthday but she'll know we're thinking of her!

You might remember the orchid I had blooming a couple of months ago; here's what it looks like now:

I know I'm supposed to "train" it to go up the stick, but I never remember to do it, LOL!  I am enjoying them regardless!  One more bud to bloom and I think there are actually a couple more coming!  And my violet isn't doing too bad either:

Lots of little buds coming on this one too!  I just love spring!  No matter what is going on in the world, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and the Lord is still on His throne!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pool Party, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Petal Pink, Basic Black
Ink	Pool Party, Coastal Cabana
Accessories	Jumbo Pearls, Baker's Twine (both ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Birds and Blooms Dies (ret), Stitched Flowers Dies (My Favorite Things), Swirly Scribbles Die (ret), Dotted Border Die (Spellbinders), Blends, Marker

RRCB131 Eggs Eggs Eggs

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  Time for another Retro Rubber challenge, and we have a fun tic-tac-toe grid this week!  Check it out:

I chose to do the left diagonal down:  eggs, diecut and patterned paper!  So here we go!  I used a set from 2000 called Soft as a Feather!  It was one of my favorite sets long ago, but I sold it!  Luckily, I found it online and bought it again!  I paired it with Nature Walk from 2011:

I stamped the nest and eggs from Soft as a Feather on Very Vanilla cardstock with Early Espresso ink and colored them with Blends and Copics, then fussy cut the eggs and popped them up on mini dimensionals:

I used the Stitched Shapes circle die to cut it out.  I then stamped two rows of eggs from Nature walk and colored them as well, did a row of double stitched embossing on them and mounted the panel on a piece of retired DSP (can't remember the name!!!) and ran the whole panel through the Big Shot with the largest Stitched Rectangle die:

I used my Stamparatus to stamp the sentiment, mounted everything on a Soft Sky card base and added a linen thread bow. Finally I popped up the nest image and added a birthday sentiment on the inside.  I love the soft look of these eggs....and it's not an Easter card, LOL!

I hope you'll play with our Retro Rubber challenge this week...remember that your stamps have to be at least a year old, and you must tell us their approximate age!  Can't wait to see what you create!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Soft as a Feather, Nature Walk (both ret), Stitched All Around
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Soft Sky (ret), DSP ???
Ink	Early Espresso
Accessories	Linen Thread, Dimensionals
Tools	BIg Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitching Lines Dies (Ellen Hutson), Blends