AYSI249 Simple Sympathy

Happy Friday, everyone!  It's time for a new (delicious) As You See It challenge...check this one out! 

I am not a fan of macarons (I think they mostly are coconut, right?) but I AM a fan of those gorgeous colors!  Yummilicious!  Unfortunately, I needed another sympathy card for some family friends...this is their third loss of an elderly loved one in probably as many months!  I made a clean and simple card to send to them:

I used the sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches:

and used the Pierced Blooms dies for my florals and the Nature's Thoughts dies for the diagonals pieces (here's a tip: use spray adhesive like LocTite on the back of those thin diecuts!) :

I used a Thick White cardstock base, as I embossed it with the Subtles EF and I find it holds up better with the embossing.  The sentiment is from an older Hero Arts set, diecut with a Tasteful Labels die, and the sentiment I used on the inside is an older Our Daily Bread Designs set; I added  few extra flowers I had diecut:

Hoping it brings them peace and comfort.  And I hope you'll play along with our pretty color challenge too!  Find all the details at the As You See It blog!

I haven't shared any bird pictures for a while, because I haven't seen any interesting birds!  But I saw one yesterday that I did not recognize, so I took several pictures with my cell phone (which is really poor for photos); it was just a brown bird, but I knew I had never seen it before:

As I was texting the photo to my sisters, who are both avid birders, I realized in one of the other photos I took that there was a rose breasted grosbeak on another rung of the feeder!!  And I didn't even see it because I was so engrossed in the other bird!!!

It turns out that the brown one is the female!  I had a male show up at my feeder last year (they are only migrating through) but that was the first time I saw a female!  Here's are some better pictures I took with my camera, as they came back several times:

At this angle, the female is much more attractive than I first thought!  Doesn't she look funny with that seed hanging out of her beak?

It was a thrill to see them both!  Now, I am waiting for my Baltimore orioles to return, and maybe a scarlet tanager!  Thanks for indulging my bird-brained-ness!  And thanks for visiting today; enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	CL342 Sentiments (Hero Arts), Scripture Collection 1 (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Card stock & Papers	Thick Whisper White, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede
Ink	Soft Suede
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Subtles EF, Nature's Thoughts Dies, Pierced Blooms Dies, Tasteful Label Dies

IB172 Happy Retirement

Happy Thursday, everyone!  We have a new Inspired By challenge for you...check this one out: 

And here is the optional sketch, which I sort of followed!

And here we go:

I admit that this one threw me for a loop; I don't think I have ever made a retirement card, so I only had one little puny retirement sentiment, which I didn't really like.  I liked the sunglasses and flipflops, but couldn't come up with something that worked for that either!  So I chose to focus more on the green gem and silver bracelet, lol!  I stamped my Nothing Better Than cocktails in various shades of green, added some silver background stamping from an old Paper Pumpkin set, and mounted it on a green glimmer mat and a Just Jade card base!   

I used Just Jade and Granny Apple Green and a retired Silver Encore pad for my images; the sentiment is from Friends are Like Seashells.  My final addition were a few green and silver sequins and some dry embossing using the Elegant Dots EF.  

I hope you'll find some splashy inspiration from our cute little photo this week...be sure to check out what the other designers created as well.  You can see them all at Inspired By!  Thanks for popping in today!

While Wayne and Dana finished up the painting project at their home, Cassidy made them breakfast:

Looks pretty yummy, wish I had been there!  I love eggs and toast!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Nothing Better Than, Friends are Like Seashells, Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Just Jade, Green Glimmer (ret)
Ink	Just Jade, Granny Apple Green, Silver Encore (ret)
Accessories	Dimensionals, Sequins from my stash
Tools	Big Shot, Love You More Than Dies, Elegant Dots EF (ret)

TCC151 Mother's Day

Hi peeps, happy Wednesday!  It's time for a new Card Concept challenge and Julie has a gorgeous one for us today: 

Rather than try to duplicate that beautiful vase of flowers, I decided to use the blue and pink hues of the tableware in my clean-and-layered card today:

Pacific Point doesn't quite match the colors in the photo, but it was close enough!  I used a retired SU background stamp called Floral, and matted it with a layer of Magenta Madness.  The sentiment is from Welcoming Window and diecut with a die from Pierced Blooms, which is also the die for the flowers and leaves:

I added a little In Color jewel as a simple embellishment! 

What will inspire you from our photo?  Be sure to check out the different "styles" at The Card Concept blog and be sure to tell us what your style is!  Can't wait to see it!

Jameson had his sixth birthday recently, and he kindly shared the privilege of blowing out the candles with his little brother Sawyer:

Some cake, too!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Welcoming Window, Floral BG (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Magenta Madness
Ink	Pacific Point, Magenta Madness
Accessories	2021-2022 In Color Jewels, Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Pierced Blooms Dies

RRCB157 Vintage Sketch

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It's time for a new RetroRubber challenge, where we encourage you to use your older stamps!  We have a sketch for you today:

What a great sketch...lots of layers to play with!  As I was trying to "clean" my craft room, I remembered I hadn't played with these two sets from 2010 and 2011:  French Foliage and Nature Walk.  I also haven't done a vintage-style card for a while, so here we go:

I started with some vintage ephemera background papers, probably from My Mind's Eye, but they were in my scrap bin, so I don't know the maker for sure; I stamped images on a Naturals White panel in Stazon Black, Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand, and lightly stenciled a pattern over them:

I added some "splatters", a couple of honeycomb diecuts in silver glimmer paper and a tattered organdy rose, which also had some glitter adhered to it.  I stamped the bird once on the panel and again on a scrap, then watercolored and fussy-cut him out:

The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Greetings; I did a bit of sponging as well to add to the shabby, vintage look.  It felt good to use all these sweet images and I always love a vintage-styled creation!  

I hope you'll play along with our RetroRubber sketch this week; just remember to use stamps at least a year old, and tell us the approximate age!  Thanks for popping in today!  

Three fun-lovin' girls!!!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Greetings, Nature Walk (2011, ret), French Foliage (2010 ret), Gorgeous Grunge (2013, ret), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (2006, ret)
Card stock & Papers	Naturals White (ret), Misc DSPs, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink	Stazon Black, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede
Accessories	Dimensionals, Organdy Rose (ret), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Detailed Bee Dies (ret), Sponge Daubers, Aquapainter, Basic Pattern Decorative Mask, Blending Brushes

PP538 A Sketch from Claire

Happy Sunday, stampers!  I am back after my blog break, and I wish I could say that I got my entire craft room neat and tidy, but unfortunately, it's only a wee bit better!  I sure do have a lot of stamps!  I will keep chipping away at my stash and keep working on the "tidy" part though! 

Claire is our Paper Players hostess with week with a lovely sketch, and I pulled out a die I hadn't used for a while to bring it to life!  Here's the sketch:

I dusted off my Sunflower dies and some retired Flower and Field DSP for my bright and cheerful card:

I diecut the sunflower from some Whisper White and Bumblebee cardstocks, and colored the center with some Bumblebee ink:

I polka-dot stamped and diecut some Granny Apple Green leaves, then stamped a sentiment in Granny Apple Green and fussy-cut it to layer on top of a stitched banner:

I love how bright and sunny this card is!  Now be sure to check out all the samples at the Paper Players blog...then share yours with us as well!  Thanks for popping in today!

Cassidy was invited to her friend's birthday party and they went ziplining!  COOL!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."  

 2 Timothy 1:7 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hi There (ret), Dot Dot Dot (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Bumblebee, Granny Apple Green, Field and Flower DSP (ret)
Ink	Granny Apple Green, Bumblebee
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Sunflower Dies, Tasteful Labels Dies, Aquapainter

Wee Blog Vacation

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Normally I would have my Paper Players card for you to peruse, but I am taking a wee little blog vacation this week.  Everything is fine, I just need a break!  (Perhaps my illustration will give you a hint of what I plan to do, LOL!) I'll be back next Sunday, see you then!  Have a blessed week!

AYSI248 Polished Thank You

 Happy Friday, peeps! It's time for a new As You See It challenge, and we have an awesome sketch:

I couldn't wait to play with one of the new In Colors, Polished Pink, so I pulled out some cardstock and ink, along with some True Love DSPs, and went to work:

The card base and sentiment from Ornate Thanks are Polished Pink; the butterflies from Butterfly Gala are colored with several different shades of pink, and the scalloped border is Melon Mambo:

I added some Wink of Stella to the butterfly, along with some Genial Gems, then stamped the sentiment (in Memento Black, but it certainly doesn't look like it!) and another butterfly on the inside:

I love this sketch....I need several thank you cards, so I will be making a few more of these!  I hope you'll play along with us this week and show us what you create with the sketch!  Share it with us at As You See It!  Thanks for popping in today!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Ornate Thanks, Butterfly Gala
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Polished Pink (coming soon), True Love DSP
Ink	Memento Black, Polished Pink, Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mamabo
Accessories	Dimensionals, Mini Dimensionals, Genial Gems (coming soon)
Tools	Big Shot, Penned Flowers Dies (coming soon), Butterfly Duet Punch

IB170 Hand-Penned Friend

Hi peeps!  Thursday brings us a new lovely Inspired By inspiration photo:

and here's the optional sketch, which I used this week:

I promised I would be using the new Hand-Penned Petals again, and here it is!  I used some Hand-Penned DSP along with one of the new In Colors, Soft Succulent, and used two more In Colors to watercolor the floral, Pale Papaya and Fresh Freesia:

Instead of using the two-step stamp to color the flowers, I used ink and an aquapainter.  After diecutting the flower, I embellished the circle panel with a couple of black sequins from my stash and a Basic Black sentiment from the Well Written dies:

The Crumb Cake card base was embossed with the Subtle embossing folder before adhering everything together!  Now I hope you'll find some inspiration from our photo this week and play along with us at Inspired By as well! Thanks for visiting today!  

We have an alarm in our driveway that alerts us when someone is driving in.....and it went off at 8:30 in the morning, which is pretty unusual for company!  When I went to look to see who it was, this is what I saw:

The neighbors across the street have a small pond and every spring, two Canada geese build a nest, and I guess they decided to come over for a visit! Enjoy your day and be blessed!

 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hand-Penned Petals (coming soon)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Soft Succulent (coming soon), Basic Black, Hand-Penned DSP
Ink	Memento Black, Pale Papaya (coming soon), Fresh Freesia (coming soon), Mint Macaron, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories	Dimensionals, Sequins and Gem (from my stash)
Tools	Big Shot, Subtles EF, Well Written Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Aquapainter

TCC153 Lovely Lavender

 Happy Wednesday, stampers!  There's a new Card Concept Challenge up today, look at this beauty:

Isn't that gorgeous?  It gave me a chance to use my brand-new, coming-in-the-new-catalog stamp set Hand-Penned Petals!  I made a mini-slimline card in the Clean and Layered style; the size is 6"x 3 1/2":

I stamped the florals in Memento Black and filled them in with Mint Macaron and Highland Heather.  The stamped background is the script from (old) French Foliage in Smoky Slate; the beautiful DSP is part of the Hand-Penned suite, and it is GORGEOUS.  You will definitely be seeing a lot more of this!  Plus I diecut it with the new Basic Borders dies...they are amazing!  I added a few little Genial Gems in Mint Macaron and a gingham bow:

And I almost forgot....I freehand cut some Brushed Silver cardstock into a bucket shape, then embossed it with an embossing folder and added some Craft White and Basic Gray shading!  I used the remaining piece of diecut DSP to embellish the inside:

I am also entering this at the TGIF challenge, where they are looking for slimline cards!

I hope you'll play along with our pretty inspiration this week...be sure to stop by the Card Concept blog to see how the other designers interpreted this photo, then share yours with us too!  Be sure to tell us your "style"...you can see all the styles listed on the challenge blog!  Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hand-Penned Petals (coming soon), French Foliage (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Hand-Penned DSP (coming soon), Brushed Silver (ret)
Ink	Memento Black, Highland Heather, Mint Macaron, Craft White and Basic Gray (for sponging)
Accessories	Dimensionals, Genial Gems (coming soon), Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Penned Flowers Dies (coming soon), Basic Borders Dies (coming soon), Woodgrain EF (ret), Sponge Daubers

RRCB156 Tiny Pastel Teacups

Happy Tuesday, all!  Time for a new Retro Rubber challenge where we challenge you to use your older stamps!  Here's our sweet prompt for this week:

Yes, pastels!!  What a nice challenge for spring, too!  I pulled out a little stamp from 2010 called Tiny Teacup, stamped it five times, and here we go:

I fussy-cut them out and mounted them on a diecut panel, then mounted that on an embossed panel, a Soft Seafoam panel and a white card!   I used So Saffron, Purple Posy, Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette and Soft Seafoam inks:

The sentiments are from Friend to Friend (2006), stamped in Pool Party:

I hope you'll play with our pastel challenge this week!  Just remember to use stamps at least a year old, and tell us how old they are!  Can't wait to see what you create!  Check out what the other designers did at the Retro Rubber blog!  Thanks for popping in today!

Dana and Wayne are doing some remodeling which included some painting!  Dana was doing her ceiling-painting thing, and noticed Eden; you always think of cats basking in the sun, but Eden's got that down pat too!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

"The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble." Proverbs 19:23

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Friend to Friend (ret, 2006), Tiny Teacup (ret, 2010)
Card stock & Papers	Soft Seafoam, Whisper White
Ink	Soft Seafoam, Purple Posy, Soft Sky (ret), Pink Pirouette (ret), So Saffron, Pool Party
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Perfect Polka Dots EF (ret)