Friday, May 31, 2024

IB291 Choose Healing

Happy Friday, everyone!  I have a cheerful little card today based on the Inspired By challenge photo, as well as the sketch; here they are:


I needed a get-well card for a friend who recently had a medical procedure, so this is for her:


I decided to turn the sketch on its side so I could add a sentiment at the bottom.  The images and sentiment are all from Choose Happy.  I diecut three "stamps" from the Perennial Postage dies and created a little stencil using a piece of acetate so I could sponge the centers.  I then stamped each one with an image from the set and colored it with ink and a blender pen:




I also added some gel pen polka dots for a little fun and to coordinate with the background paper as well!  And because of those polka dots, I am squeaking this in to the Double D Polka Dot challenge where they're honoring a team member who recently passed away:


I hope it cheers up my friend! 

Yesterday I heard a very LOUD squealing sound from the woods behind my house...I have never heard a noise like that at all! Nothing came up on my Merlin bird app, so I cautiously walked out through the freshly-mown field and just happened to look up and see this:


Yep, a bald eagle.  I got very close and it never flew away while I was there. I did make a little video and in it you can hear the sound; I believe it was a hawk, which I saw behind the eagle.  I am thinking he was not happy the eagle was honing in on his territory, but the eagle stayed put and the hawk flew off!


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


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Polka Dot DSP (ret, can't remember the name)
 Ink Versafine Black, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Primrose Petals (ret), Acetate Sheet for stencil
Accessories Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Blending Brushes, White Gel Pen (Posca)

Thursday, May 30, 2024

FMS638 Perennial Sympathy

Happy Thursday, peeps! It's an unappealing day...I have a dentist appointment AND I needed not one, but two sympathy cards! I will save one for later, though.  This one happens to use the FMS sketch for this week:

I delved into my Perennial Lavender DSP and came up with a couple beautiful prints to make my card:


I matted my shapes with some diecuts in Pretty Peacock, Highland Heather and Basic White, then added a sentiment, stamped in Gorgeous Grape, and added a second banner of Fresh Freesia:


I mounted everything on a Crumb Cake card and stamped a sentiment from the retired Here's A Card on the inside:



I just think these papers are stunning!

On a happier note, Cassidy decided she wanted to go back to her natural hair color, so Dana took her to the salon for the whole works!


It may take me a while to get used to this look!!!


Before and after!


Thanks for indulging me!  And thanks for popping in today! Enjoy it and be blessed!



Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Here's a Card (ret), Sentiments CL342 (Hero Arts)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Crumb Cake, Pretty Peacock, Highland Heather, Fresh Freesia. Perennial Lavender DSP
 Ink Gorgeous Grape
Accessories Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Layering Squares Dies (ret), Circle Dies (Nestabilities), Shape Dies SD203 (Nellie's Choice)

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

SSC336 Knitting Keeps Us From Unraveling

Happy Wednesday, peeps! I have a fun little card today which uses the sketch from Sunday Stamps--such a fun one, too!


A friend in our church knitting group is celebrating a birthday and my first thought was to use the knitting llama from the Zany Zoo set, but I remembered this older SU set called Hand Knit, so I pulled it out and got to work:


I am always teasing her because she tends to knit things in grays and other neutrals, and tell her she needs to knit and wear brighter colors!  So I chose some bright prints for my DSP, but nodded to her love of gray in the stamped images:


I did stamp the sentiment in the retired Regal Rose ink and I mounted the panel on a piece of Bubble Bath...just had to get some color in there!  And since I smudged my original inside sentiment, I stamped it again on a Spotlight on Nature circle diecut and adhered it on top of my booboo, adding some knitting needles beneath it:


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


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Hand Knit (ret), Birthday Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Smoky Slate, Bubble Bath, Misc DSP from my stash
 Ink Memento Black, Smoky Slate, Bubble Bath, Regal Rose (ret)
Accessories Baker's Twine (ret), Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Banner Dies (Pretty Pink Posh), Blender Pens

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

RRCB231 Lavender Love

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Feels like Monday, doesn't it? We had a nice rainy Memorial Day....a good day to stay inside and stamp!  The Retro Rubber challenge is a color challenge this go-round and since it uses lavender shades, which are a struggle for me, I thought I'd challenge myself to create something! Here's the pretty prompt:


I had not used Painted Harvest (2017)  for a long time, so I pulled it out, along with Wishing You Well (2018) and some papers in the challenge colors:


I enjoy all these colors, but these are not ones I would necessarily think to put together! I stamped the flower petals in Gorgeous Grape and Berry Burst, then the center with Fresh Freesia.  It was diecut with the new Spotlight on Nature die.  I added a layer of Berry Burst gingham to a Gorgeous Grape panel that was cut with the Radiating Stitches die.  Each leaf was stamped with Shaded Spruce, then fussy-cut.  I added the sentiment, cut with the Countryside Corners die, and popped everything on a card which had the lower portion embossed with the Wrapped in Texture embossing folder.  I left the inside blank, and I'll add a sentiment when I decide the occasion!


If any of you are creeped out by creepy crawly things, just move past this part, LOL!  My sister is visiting her daughter outside of Chicago and they're in the path of the emerging cicadas (we are not!)!!  She took some pictures after it rained a couple of days ago:



I think this one is the most interesting! We used to collect these little shells all over the trees (and my grandma's clothesline prop!) on our farm.  Who knew that what came out of them looked like THIS:


Isn't nature amazing?!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!



Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Painted Harvest (2017), Wishing You Well (2018), both retired
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Berry Burst Gingham DSP (ret)
 Ink Gorgeous Grape, Berry Burst, Fresh Freesia, Shaded Spruce
Accessories Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Countryside Corners Dies, Radiating Stitches Dies, Wrapped in Texture Embossing Folder (ret)

Sunday, May 26, 2024

PP691 Sketch From Claire

Happy Sunday, everyone!  Claire has a lovely sketch for us this week at the Players!Players!  Check it out:

I recently got the Perennial Lavender DSP and wanted to make a vintage-hued card.  I chose a few patterns, inked up my Country Flowers stamp set and went to work:


I created my vertical panels using the retired Stitched Rectangle dies and layered them on a panel of Very Vanilla.  The floral image was stamped on Vanilla as well, using Pecan Pie ink and coloring it was ink and an aquapainter.  The pot was stamped on some retired Kraft paper and the little "joy" was from Choose Happy, and I punched it out with a retired tiny tag punch:


I did add a couple of Blooming Pearls to the center of the flowers for a wee bit of classiness!

I can see lots of possibilities with this sketch, and I hope you'll hop over to the Paper Players blog to see what the other designers did with it!  Get some inspiration, then come play along! We can't wait to see what you come up with!

A few pix from our Memorial Day parade; John marching with the (dwindling) veterans:


Our town always has a little ceremony; John is second from left:


Afterwards, a local Presbyterian church always has hot dogs, snacks and a band.  It was a beautiful day for all of it!


Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Country Flowers, Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers     Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Perennial Lavender DSP, Kraft (ret)
 Ink Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Pretty Peacock
Accessories Dimensionals, Blooming Pearls, Linen Thread
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Country Flowers Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Small Tag Punch (ret), Aquapainter

Saturday, May 25, 2024

JAI703 Happy Fiftieth

Happy Saturday, peeps! We have our town's Memorial Day parade today, so this will be quick!  The Just Add Ink challenge this week wants us to choose two:


The Senior Center where my TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group meets is celebrating their 50th anniversary and my group wanted to give them a card!  What I came up with just happened to meet this challenge!  Here we go:


My two elements are balloons and bright colors, obviously!  My papers are from Die Cuts With a View, and I used a SU punch for the balloons!  Spotlight of Nature dies provided the circle background and the "Yay!" is from Simply Said.  Some cheapo glimmer paper from a craft store provided the number 50, diecut with the Little Numbers dies.  I added some baker's twine string and some fun little sequins!  


The inside sentiment came from the retired Special Moments:


The Senior Center is a great place for our area seniors and I hope they can celebrate another 50 years! 

My niece sent me this picture of her youngest, Coby, wearing a onesie that I bought for him for Christmas!  He's such a little bruiser but oh-so-sweet!


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



Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Simply Said, Special Moments (ret)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Birthday Wishes Stack (DCWV), Blue Glimmer (Artskills)
 Ink Rea; Red, Tahitian Tide (ret)
Accessories Silver & White Baker's Twine (ret), Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Balloon Punch (ret), Little Numbers Dies (ret)

Friday, May 24, 2024

CASC&S537 Thanks So Much

Happy Friday, happy holiday weekend! Woohoo!  I have a very quick card today for the Clean & Simple Colors & Sketches challengenull; I am not sure it's CAS enough, but I'm going with it, LOL!  Here's the sketch:

And here we go:


Almost all the elements on this card were pieces that I had left over from another project, unused!  The florals from Country Flowers were stamped in black and watercolored with Blueberry Bushel ink.  The bold sentiment is from Love For You; I had the stamped "much" and the Basic Black silhouette diecut in my "scrap" bin.  The thanks sentiment is from Latte Love!  My banners are from Countryside Inn and Country Woods, and I added a few Neutrals sequins.


Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

"How clearly the sky reveals God's glory!  How plainly it shows what he has done!  Each day announces it to the following day; each night repeats it to the next.  No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth." 
Psalm 19:1-4


Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Love For All, Country Flowers, Latte Love
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Countryside Inn DSP, Country Woods DSP
 Ink Stazon Black, Blueberry Bushel
Accessories Neutral Sequins, Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Stylish Shapes Dies, Love For All Dies, Country Flowers Dies

Thursday, May 23, 2024

FMS637 Choose Happy

Happy Thursday, everyone!  The sketch from FMS is a favorite one of mine this week, because it features THREE elements! Love my threes!

I just purchased the Choose Happy stamp set and couldn't wait to put it to good use on this fun sketch! So here we go:


I selected three of the new In Colors:  Summer Splash, Peach Pie and Petunia Pop, and cut a 1/2" strip from each of the DSP shades.  I stamped the three images in Stazon Black ink, then used a blender pen and ink to color them all in:


The new Spotlight on Nature circular dies are awesome!  I popped each one up on a dimensional, added my sentiment, then at the last minute, added a strip of retired Black & White gingham for fun!


That sentiment makes ME happy!  Thanks for popping in today and I hope you "choose happy"!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, In Color DSP
 Ink Stazon Black, Summer Splash, Petunia Pop, Peach Pie
Accessories Dimensionals, Gingham Ribbon (ret)
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

52 CCT24-19 Scandinavian Peace

 Happy Tuesday, peeps! Sorry, another Christmas card for you...I promise I'll stamp something else here soon!  The 52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants a Scandinavian theme:

and there was an older SU hostess set called Northern Hearts that always reminded me of that sort of design.  I paired it with a Tim Holtz Deer Knit embossing folder and a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp for this:


The image was stamped in Real Red on a Spotlight on Nature diecut, then mounted on a diecut scallop as well.  The sentiment was stamped below and I added a Real Red heart, diecut with the Give It a Whirl die, as well as a little red bow that was sitting lost and lonely on my desk:


On the inside, I stamped a sentiment from Brightest Glow as well as a snowflake from the Northern Hearts set:


I love crisp white and bright red together for Christmas, don't you?  Another to add to my stash!

We went to a family get-together over the weekend and I got to see Jameson & Sawyer's little sister Maven---she's now four months old!



Dana got her baby-holding fix too!


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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps Northern Hearts (ret), Brightest Glow (ret), Christmas Blessings (Simon Says Stamp)
Card stock & Papers     Basic White, Real Red
 Ink Real Red
Accessories Real Red Ribbon, Dimensionals
Tools     Cut & Emboss Machine, Spotlight on Nature Die, Give It a Whirl Dies (ret), Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Circle Scallop Dies (Nestabilities), Deer Knit Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz)