IB218 So Much Love

Happy Friday, peeps!  I haven't been able to play with my old challenge team at Inspired By for a while, so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring this week with a simple, easy card!  Here's the prompt as well as the optional sketch:

Even though the prompt has a New Year's theme, I chose to use some new goodies from the upcoming spring catalog and made a non-traditionally-colored Valentine's card:

I love this new DSP called Country Gingham (Gingham? Of course I love it!) and chose a Mint Macaron diagonal plaid, and I paired it with the new Love For You dies....how wonderful that the dies and the stamp set share the same name!  (So much easier to match up!)  Anyway, I cut the background panel from some Brushed Gold cardstock, then layers of Basic White and Basic Black!  Several heart die cuts were scattered around along with some gold sequins.  Pretty simple but that big sentiment really packs a punch!

Thanks for visiting today!

Cassidy "trained" Eden to unwrap a gift....unfortunately, it wasn't a gift for Eden, but a crazy game called Farting Frenchies!  It's a game featuring French bulldogs and their propensity for being stinky...apparently some of the dogs actually have FB and IG followers!  We played on Christmas day and it was pretty funny!!  But I felt bad that Eden did all that work and didn't get rewarded!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Basic Black, Mint Macaron, Brushed Gold, Country Gingham (new spring mini)
Ink
Accessories	Dimensionals, Gold Sequins from my stash
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Love for You Dies (new spring mini), Stitched Be Mine Dies (ret)

PCC499 Showered With Love

Happy Thursday, peeps! I needed a bridal shower card for this weekend, and the bride loves anything purple! The upcoming SAB paper called Dainty Flowers had some beautiful florals along with a cute little Fresh Freesia polka dot, so I combined them with the sketch from Paper Craft Crew:

I also used some old products to mix with the new!  Here we go:

I have virtually nothing that works for a bridal shower other than hearts, so I used the retired Stitched Be Mine dies to make a layered heart with the DSP and some Rich Razzleberry cardstock.  I used the Stitched Rectangle dies for the cardstock layers, and another piece of the DSP for the horizontal banners.  It looked a little plain, so I adhered some loops of rose-colored metallic thread under the heart:

A little sentiment from the retired Under My Umbrella provided the sentiment:

Hope she likes it!

My friend took these pictures of our church on Christmas Eve:

Thanks for popping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Under My Umbrella (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Dainty Flowers DSP (upcoming SAB)
Ink	Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	Dimensionals, Rose Metallic Thread (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Stitched Be Mine Dies (ret)

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  I have a Christmas card today (I am still making them!) for three different challenges!  The CAS Colours & Sketches wants us to use a challenge from the past (I chose sketch #467); TGIF wants us to use punches; and CAS on Sunday wants us to make it Christmas! 

So here we go:

I used the Santa Hat Builder punch to punch out hats in red and white glimmer paper.  The sentiments are from a CTMH set, stamped in Shaded Spruce and mounted on banners of starry DSP

The inside just has a simple sentiment in Real Red; it's from the retired Little Delights set:

Fun and cheerful! Thanks for popping by today!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Little Delights (ret), Santa Claus (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Red Glimmer, White Glimmer, Classic Christmas DSP (ret)
Ink	Shaded Spruce, Real Red
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Dainty Diamonds EF (ret), Santa Hat Builder Punch (ret)

AHSC505 Thanks a Bunch

Happy Tuesday, peeps! I hope your holidays went well!  We had a lovely Christmas, COLD but no bad weather for the big day!  I do feel a bit rusty in the stamping department, though....too many other distractions!  I did get in there yesterday to play with some new upcoming SAB and Mini Catalog goodies!  I used the Atlantic Hearts sketch for my layout:

and I used the Conversation Bubbles and Thanks a Bunch stamp sets, along with some Regency Park DSP:

It's a wee bit weird stamping a bunch of carrots but it is a cute set!  I hope that SU surprises us with some dies in the upcoming months, because it would be a lot easier to diecut the shapes than fussy-cut them out, LOL!

The conversation bubbles are fun too!  And the paper has lots of cute flowery prints!  Of course I chose these little calico-like flowers because that's what I love! 

On Christmas eve eve, I had some family members over for dinner; it had rained on Thursday and the temps were in the 50s; by Friday afternoon, it was in the single digits, so I was worried about the roads being icy.  The winds were so strong however, they blew the roads dry and no one had a problem!  Food and conversations were plentiful:

My great-nephew Jameson regaled us with Carol of the Bells; let me tell you (wish I had recorded it), this kid can PLAY!  John's been taking lessons for five years and Jameson can play better than he can.  He has strong fingers and he uses them!  His mom's side of the family is very musically talented and he definitely got those genes!  The look on my brother's face when he started to play was priceless!

Of course, with two growing brothers, there is always mayhem.  They were wrestling each other on the floor before they kindly posed for this one, LOL!  Cassidy was constantly refereeing them!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Thanks a Bunch (new SAB), Conversation Bubbles (new Mini)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Balmy Blue, Regency Park DSP (new Mini)
Ink	Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Succulent, Shaded Spruce, Balmy Blue
Accessories	Fan Twine, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Scalloped Contour Dies, Conversation Bubbles Dies (new Mini)

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Enjoy the day with your families and remember the greatest gift of all--Jesus, who died on the cross to save our sins!

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the governments will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah  9:6-7

Be Merry Candy Cane Shaker

Happy Thursday, peeps!  Before I start making my pies, I snuck into my craft room to create another Christmas card...I'll need them for next year!  The Global Design Project had a fun sketch, and the Double D Challenges want to see red and white candy canes!

Yummy!  I haven't used this Stamp Market candy cane image at all this year, so I thought I'd give it some love and make a shaker card.  I must warn you, it's a little busy, so prepare your eyes, LOL:

I used some Rings of Love DSP along with elements of Mint Macaron and Blushing Bride.  The candy cane was stamped in Poppy Parade and I added some Mint Macaron stripes.  Shaker cards are always so challenging to photograph, too! I threw in a bunch of sequins and pearls from my vast stash:

The sentiment is from the same set (Candy Cane Christmas), diecut with a shortened Stylish Shapes die:

And a fun Impression Obsession stamp went on the inside, along with candy canes from Jingle Jingle Jingle and twinkles from Trees for Sale:

Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Trees for Sale, Jingle Jingle Jingle, Candy Cane Christmas (Stamp Market), Christmas Stamp D14802 (Impression Obsession)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Poppy Parade, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Window Sheet, Rings of Love DSP (ret)
Ink	Mint Macaron, Poppy Parade
Accessories	Sequins from my Stash, Adhesive Dimensional Strips
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Layering Squares Dies (ret), Candy Cane Christmas Dies (Stamp Market)

AHSC504 You're Grate

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  I had a reader ask me about a stamp set that I had used a while ago and while I had it out, I thought I would use it for my friend who is a New Year's Eve baby!  She is a wonderful cook, so it was perfect for her!  I used the Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

And the retired set that I am using is called Perfect Mix!  So here we go:

I stamped the potholder and grater on some scraps of DSP, and the mixing bowl on Very Vanilla, coloring them in with a Blender pen and ink.  It's hard to see, but the upper panel of that card is stamped with a retired background stamp which I think is called Plaid Flannel (I bought it at a yard sale!), and the little bow is retired Bumblebee gingham:

I often cut apart my stamps, separating the sentiments from the images, which allowed me to stamp this sentiment separately, diecutting it with a Stylish Shapes die!  The inside sentiment from Picture Perfect Birthday was stamped in Crushed Curry, and I threw a dozen eggs in there for fun!

Thanks for visiting today!

Cassidy's youth group had an ugly Christmas sweater party:

Unfortunately, she got up sick the next morning, so she brought home more than magic!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!  

Your kingdome is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.  The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.  Psalm 145:13

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Picture Perfect Birthday (ret), Perfect Mix (ret), Plaid Flannel (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla,  Crushed Curry, This & That DSP (Echo Park)
Ink	Stazon Black, Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede
Accessories	Dimensionals, Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Layering Circles Dies, Blender Pen

Nature's Prints Thanks

Happy Monday, all! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend  It's wrapping day in the Pugliese household!  Hopefully I'll get them all done before hubby gets home from work, LOL!  I have a non-Christmas card today; it uses the sketch from Try Stampin on Tuesday as well as the challenging (to me) colors from Inspire.Create:

So here we go:

Petal Pink and Rich Razzleberry are colors I rarely use; Granny Apple Green I use a little more often, so I chose this challenge because I really wanted to be challenged!  To make the colors a bit more matching in tone, I stamped the Early Espresso and Rich Razzleberry on scrap paper first before stamping them; that way the colors were a bit softer!

My sentiment is from Hand-Penned Petals; florals and greenery are from Nature's Prints.  I used Petal Pink DSP for the horizontal panel, and also embossed the front panel with the Timeworn Type EF.  I finished it off by adding some pretty Seasonal Sequins!  Thanks for popping in today!

Hubby and I hit an estate sale over the weekend in an over-55 community.  One of the homes had this in their yard:

This is a FULL SIZE sleigh and horse....and it's not a blow-up one, either!  I wonder if they keep them in the garage for the rest of the year!  I'd love to see it all lit up; might have to take a ride some night this week!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Nature's Prints, Hand-Penned Petals
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Petal Pink DSP
Ink	Rich Razzleberry, Petal Pinkk, Granny Apple Green, Early Espresso
Accessories	Seasonal Sequins, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Timeworn Type EF, Natural Prints Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies

JAI634 Furry & Bright Gift Bag

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Just a quick little post today; I always exchange gifts with a friend from church; she is like a mom to me, and although our gifts are very inexpensive (yard sale or thrift store finds!) they mean a lot to me!  The Just Add Ink challenge is "Anything but a Card" so it was a perfect opportunity to create a little gift bag for my present to her:

After a few false starts with the measurements, I finally got it right:

The final measurements of the bag are 3 3/4" high, 3" wide and 2" deep.  The bottom is 1" across.  My friend has several cats and dog-sits her daughter's dog every day, so I thought the cute retired Sweet Stockings DSP would be a good decoration!  I stamped a sentiment from Christmas Scottie and diecut it with a Tailor Made Tags die, then tied it with some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine to the Mossy Meadow Baker's Twine bag handles!

I am also entering this at the Double D Challenge this month, which is Christmas stockings!;

And do you want to see what I tucked inside the bag?  Here we go:

Isn't he a cutie? A bargain from Goodwill!  Thanks for visiting today--enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Christmas Scottie
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Sweet Stockings DSP (ret)
Ink	Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Thick Baker's Twine in Mossy Meadow and Cherry Cobbler (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Tailor Made Tags, 1/8" Punch (ret), Scoring Board

AHSC503 Birthday Wishes

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I have a NON-Christmas card for you today!  How about that!  My January birthdays are coming up and I need some cards!  I used the Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

What a fun sketch, right?!  But I didn't want to put a big bow on my card, which makes it a challenge to mail, and I didn't have many bow dies!  But I persevered, used some Celebrate Everything DSP and a couple bright colors, and NO stamping on the outside:

My "ribbon" is strips of Poppy Parade and Basic White, which was embossed with a die from Ellen Hutson called Stitching Lines.  The bow itself was made with two diecuts from the retired Pierced Blooms dies, and I added a little Crushed Curry flower and rhinestone:

The sentiment is from Poppy Stamps, called Simple Best Wishes, and I diecut it in Granny Apple Green and mounted it on a banner from Stylish Shapes.  I added a simple birthday sentiment on the inside!  One down, a few more to go!

A couple more photos from Longwood:

These may be duplicates...I can't remember what I've already shared!  Anyway, this tree rotates very slowly so you can see all the sides!  Just stunning!  And although we haven't seen the lights at Longwood in the evening (the tickets sell out quickly), you can click on the link below to see what they look like:

Longwood Lights

Longwood was voted the #1 Botanical Garden by USA Today!  And the lights you see are only a wee little fraction of what's actually there!  Thanks for popping by! Enjoy your day and be blessed!