Vintage Stockings

Hello, stamping friends! Happy Friday!  This will be quick as we are having our family Thanksgiving tomorrow and I am making creamed mushrooms!  Did you know the area of PA in which I live is the mushroom capital of the world?  I am sure you didn't!  Anyway, we don't eat them regularly but we do like them for the holidays! Okay, enough about mushrooms! I have a CAS Christmas card today, it fulfills the CAS Colour & Sketches sketch as well as the Inspired By challenge of these cute stockings:

I knew just the stamp I wanted to use for this card....the October Kit of the Month from Unity had some adorable stockings!  Here we go:

This was super fun and easy! I stamped the stockings on Crumb Cake cardstock in Misty Moonlight ink and fussy-cut them out, then sponged them with Pecan Pie ink for a vintage look.  The sentiment is from Greetings of the Season (my new favorite), stamped in Night of Navy on some Country Woods DSP:

For some extra interest, I embossed just the lower portion of the card with the Distressed Tile embossing folder, I really like how it adds a vintage feel!  I also added a Crumb Cake star that I enhanced with a gold Wink of Stella pen, as well as some Natural Tones Linen Thread in Night of Navy too.  More Greetings of the Season on the inside:

I haven't counted yet, but I am getting close to the number of Christmas cards I need to send out this year!  How about you?  Have you started your cards yet....the holidays will be here before we know it!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Greetings of the Season, Sweet Bliss of Christmas (Unity KOTM)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Crumb Cake, Country Woods DSP
Ink	Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Dimensionals, Naturals Linen Thread, Gold Wink of Stella (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Distressed Tile Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Star Punch (ret)

FMS663 & LRW783 Simple Sympathy

Happy Thursday, all.  Sadly, we lost a former church member this week, one of the godliest men I knew.  He was a farmer, a millwright, a hunter and served his community tirelessly.  I wanted to use the paper from Winter Meadow that had the deer image on it, and the FMS sketch worked well with it:

The Little Red Wagon challenge this week is monochromatic, so since these papers are in shades of gray, that's what I used:

I used Smoky Slate and Basic Gray for my cardstocks, although I think probably Gray Granite would have been better, although it has a brown tinge to it that I really don't care for.  I did stamp a pine tree on the background and a sympathy sentiment on the front.  The horizontal panel is also embossed with the Subtle embossing folder.  A few enamel dots were the only embellishment.

It's sad to lose our loved ones at any time, but to lose them around the holidays is an additional challenge.  I know Dave's family is rejoicing that he is in heaven, but we all miss him here on earth!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with people!  He will live with them, and they shall be his people.  God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away all tears from their eyes.  There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared." Revelation 21:3-4

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Sentiments CL342 (Hero Arts), Forest of Tress (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Winter Meadow DSP
Ink	Basic Gray, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Enamel Dots (W+9)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Subtle Embossing Folder (ret)

Cute Little Postage Stamps

Happy Wednesday, peeps! I was lying in bed unable to sleep one night last week and remembered I had these cute tiny little stamps in my stash that would be good for a postage-style card.  The stamps are pretty poor quality, but they are cute, and with a little TLC, I can usually get them to stamp a fairly good image.  I already had a piece of Pool Party embossed with a snowflake embossing folder, so I used that as my starting point:

The card itself is notecard-sized.  I used dies from Waffle Flower's Postage Collage set, then stamped the images and added some shading and coloring.  A couple of stamped images from the Postage Collage stamp set added to the "postage" feel.  Snowflake Sky is the embossing folder I used, and I sponged Craft White ink all over the embossing for that snowy look!  A sentiment from Papertrey went on the inside. 

And since the Double D Challenge has a beautiful winter theme, I am going to pop it in there, as well as the Can You Handle The Pressure challenge!  (Thanks for the suggestion, Darlene!)

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Holiday Stamps (Peachy Cheap), Postage Collage (Waffle Flower)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Pool Party, Acetate Sheet
Ink	Craft White, Versafine Black, Real. Red, Shaded Spruce, Pool Party, Garden Green, Smoky Slate
Accessories	Rhinestone, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Snowflake Sky Embossing Folder, Postage Collage Dies (Waffle Flower), Sponge Daubers, Real Red Marker, Blender Pen, Blushing Bride Marker (ret)

AHSC604 Thanksgiving Blessings

Happy Monday, peeps! Time for a new Atlantic Hearts sketch!  I almost went literal here and made another Christmas card, but I've been making lots of them lately, so I decided I had better bulk up on some Thanksgiving cards!  Here's the sketch:

See what I mean? It's hard to get that image out of one's head! Anyway, I knew I wanted to use these wheat sheaf dies on my card, so I cut them out of Bumblebee cardstock, then went searching in my vast stash of papers for something appropriate.  Here we go:

I pulled together papers from various manufacturers and an oldie-but-goodie sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes!

It's hard to see but there are a couple of enamel dots on the floral panel and I added some Cinnamon Cider ribbon for an embellishment.  Since I had three sheaves diecut and only used two on the front, I added the third to the inside along with a Papertrey sentiment:

This sketch is a fun one and I haven't been using Very Vanilla much this season, so it was good to get it out and play with some older goodies!  You can see all the DT's submissions on Wednesday at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog, but YOU can play along now!  Thanks for visiting! 

I bought this 1000-piece puzzle at a yard sale recently:

It was a challenge, but a fun one!  And instead of having a missing piece, I had an extra piece---see it on the table over on the left?!  That was crazy!  Now I am donating it to my local library--they lend out puzzles as well as books! What a great idea!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Teeny Tiny Wishes (ret), Take Three-Fall (Papertrey)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Bumblebee (ret), Pleasant (Authentique), Trail Mix (Simple Stories), Soft Suede Gingham (ret)
Ink	Vintage Photo (Ranger)
Accessories	Enamel Dots (W+9), Dimensionals, Cinnamon Cider Ribbon (ret)
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Wheat Sheaf Dies (Impression Obsession), Banner Dies (Pink & Main)

PP716 Vintage Christmas

Happy Sunday, stampers!  It's time for a new Paper Players challenge and the talented Jaydee is our hostess!  It's clean-and-simple day, and she's chosen a timely theme:

I decided to go a bit vintage for my card today!  Here we go:

I stamped my vintage tree on some Crumb Cake cardstock in Tranquil Tide ink, diecut it with an oval die and did some sponging around the edges.  I added a scalloped mat in Very Vanilla and mounted it on a panel of embossed stars. 

I recently got a nice little stash of gingham ribbons from a vendor on Etsy, so I took a green one and colored it with a Soft Suede blend to give it an aged look.  It doesn't match my green perfectly but I still like it!  I also added a little metallic embellishment to the star!  The inside sentiment is from a retired Paper Pumpkin set:

The Christmas theme lends itself very well to the clean-and-simple vibe...so many possibilities! I hope you'll play along with us, just remember to keep it clean-and-simple!  Check out what the DT created at the PP blog!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Your Season (Unity), Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink	Tranquil Tide, Pecan Pie
Accessories	Dimensionals, Gingham Ribbon (Penny Supplies, Etsy), Adhesive Metallic Gem
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Oval and Oval Scallop Dies (Nestabilities), Star Embossing Folder (Sissix), Sponge Daubers, Soft Suede Blend (ret)

Warm Cocoa

Happy Saturday, peeps! I've got another Christmas card for you and it just happens to fulfill the Jingle Belles' Christmas Feast challenge!  I recently got this fun Christmas Cookies embossing folder and just had to pair it up with a mug of hot cocoa!  Here we go:

I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake with the folder, then sponged on some white craft ink to look like icing!  The little mug from the retired Scentsational Season was perfect stamped in Real Red, and I added some "steam", heat embossed on vellum (CTMH):

The sentiment is from TPC called Sweet Christmas, and I don't remember where the inside sentiment came from, sorry!

Thanks for popping in today! It's chili cook-off tonight, so I will be in the kitchen for the rest of the day!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Scentsational Season (ret), Sweet Christmas (TPC), Just Treats (Close to My Heart)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Crumb Cake, Vellum (ret)
Ink	Real Red, Crumb Cake, White Craft
Accessories	Dimensionals, White Embossing Powder
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies (ret), Holiday Collection Dies (ret), Christmas Cookies Embossing Folder (Simon Says Stamp), Early Espresso Marker, Heat Tool

Cardinal Trio

Happy Friday, everyone!  Phew, the weekend is here!  When I saw the sketch at AAA Cards, I knew I had to play with that little trio-inspired sketch:

I also used the colors from Hand Stamped Sentiments:

And here we go:

I used the Perennial Postage dies to cut out my "stamp", then created a stencil with an acetate sheet and sponged in some Balmy Blue ink.  The twigs are from the Winterly Tree Tops dies and the cardinals are from Poppystamps:

I did add some glitter to the twigs too!  The sentiment stamp is from Night Divine, stamped in Cherry Cobbler; the inside sentiment is from Hope & Peace:

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

A gentle answer quiets anger, but a harsh one stirs it up.  Proverbs 15:1

 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Night Divine (ret), Hope & Peace (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Pebbled Path, Cherry Cobbler, Acetate Sheet
Ink	Balmy Blue, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Perennial Postage Dies, Layering Squares Dies (ret), Blending Brush, Cheery Cardinal Dies (Poppystamps)

Merry Wishes

Hi everyone! Happy Thursday!  The weekend is almost here!  I have another Christmas card for you; this one uses the color palette from 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, as well as the sketch from FMS:

I remembered some fun black and white papers from a couple of years ago, so I pulled them out and went to work along with some other retired goodies:

These fun little trees from the Celebrate Everything DSP were just itching to be colored in with some pink and green shades of Blends!  I heat-embossed a sentiment from Oh, What Fun and backed it with some black and white gingham.  The zig-zag Granny Apple Green border was attached at the bottom, and I added a little line of embossing on the Magenta Madness card:

I added a sentiment from More Merry Messages on the inside:

It's fun to use these retro colors for Christmas occasionally!  

And since the Krafty Chicks' challenge this week is Christmas, I am going to enter it there as well!

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Oh, What Fun (ret), More Merry Messages (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Granny Apple Green, Magenta Madness (ret), Celebrate Everything DSP (ret)
Ink	Versafine Black, Craft White
Accessories	Black & White Gingham, White Embossing Powder, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Basic Borders Dies (ret), Stitched Lines Dies (Ellen Hutson), Heat Tool, Banner Dies (Pink & Main), Blends

TGIF498 Fragrant Forest

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  I am squeaking in a card for the TGIF498 sketch challenge:

At our club meeting on Monday, we used the Fragrant Forest background stamp.  I think background stamps can be a bit intimidating, but with a little practice, a stamp positioner and maybe a sticky mat, you can create some pretty awesome backgrounds!  Here's the card we made:

We used Lost Lagoon ink and the Peaceful Season stamp set.  I had another blank panel stamped, but not adhered to a card, so I decided to cut out part of it with a circle die and use it for the TGIF sketch:

I used some retired Soft Glimmer papers in Lost Lagoon and Pretty Peacock for the horizontal pieces and the scalloped mat, then added another sentiment from Peaceful Season.  I also added an embossed panel (Snowflake Sky).  

Here's the inside:

These trees are so pretty!  Thanks for popping in today!  

My brother sent me this photo from my dad's field:

Pretty awesome!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details for Both Cards—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Fragrant Forest, Peaceful Season
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Lost Lagoon, Soft Shimmer in Lost Lagoon & Pretty Peacock (ret), Brushed Gold Foil
Ink	Lost Lagoon
Accessories	Neutral Sequins, Pretty Peacock & Gold Ribbon, Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Snowflake Sky Embossing Folder, Peaceful Season Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Iconic Imagery Dies,  Layering Circle Dies (ret)

CASC&S548 x Two

Happy Monday, peeps!  Today is stamp club but I just had to share a couple of cards I made over the weekend!  First, let me say that the stamping community is so wonderful; if you give other stampers their due credit, you usually can "borrow" their ideas and make them your own!  Amanda Mertz at Did You Stamp Today? is one of my favorite stampers and she had a card recently that I thought I would CASE (Copy And Share Everything) with a current color challenge from CAS Colours & Sketches:

You can see her card HERE. I wanted to re-create that card using the above colors, and here's my take on it:

I used the Iconic Imagery set, punches and dies, and the challenge colors.  I love it, but it wasn't quite clean and simple enough for me to enter, in my opinion!

And here's the inside:

SO, I went back to the drawing board to make a new card!  This time I used Golden Greenery and Peaceful Season in the challenge colors, along with the Birch Wood embossing folder:

I finally mastered a trick to get these double die-cuts to line up easily (maybe I'll share that in a later post):

And here's the inside:

But that's not the end of the story!  Yesterday, Amanda posted THIS card on her blog; a little bit different than my card, but we were on the same wave length for sure.  And honestly, I made this card before seeing hers!  Anyway, I think my second card is sufficiently CAS for the challenge, so in it goes!

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

Project Details for Both Cards—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Peaceful Season, Iconic Imagery, Golden Greenery, Choose Happy
Card stock & Papers	Real Red, Shy Shamrock, Shaded Spruce, Basic White
Ink	Real Red, Shy Shamrock, Shaded Spruce
Accessories	Dimensional, Festive Pearls, Red Satin Ribbon
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Birch Wood Embossing Folder, Golden Greenery Dies, Peaceful Season Dies, Various Circle Punches (ret), White Gel Pen (Posca)

PP715 Celebrate!

Happy Sunday, stamping friends! Claire, whose love for color matches her vibrant personality, is our Paper Players hostess today with a bright, vivid color challenge:

I thought these colors would be good for a birthday card, so that's what I did!  Here we go:

I pulled out a retired set called Holiday Haul because I knew there was a little present in there! I stamped each one in Tahitian Tide, Gorgeous Grape, Peach Pie and Melon Mambo, then diecut each one out with a retired Stitched Shapes die.  The Tranquil Tide background was embossed with Dotted Circles embossing folder and I added a wee stitched scalloped border of Melon Mambo as well:

I used an old Verve stamp for the sentiments, and the Hooray for Surprises set for the candles....hopefully Claire won't kick me out for the Daffodil Delight flames!!!

My final addition was some glimmer paper hearts; each gift was embellished with one in a matching shade (although the Mambo one looks really purple in my photo!) and a little white heart in the center just to jazz it up a bit!

SO....what will you create with these colors? The Design Team really stepped up to the plate on this one; the cards they created are really spectacular!  Be sure to hope over to the Paper Players to check them out, then come along and play with us!

So yesterday was the yearly cleaning of the chandelier globes at our church.  A group of us do the washing and drying (very carefully) after the guys take the globes off, take the bulbs out, then put new bulbs in and put the clean globes back on.  It's a painstaking process, and not for someone who has acrophobia!

Blessedly, John does not have acrophobia, but he does have a good routine and good assistants!! 

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

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Hooray for Surprises, Holiday Haul (ret), Birthday Bash (Verve)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Tahatian Tide (ret), Glimmer Paper in Assorted Colors
Ink	Peach Pie, Gorgeous Grape, Melon Mambo, Tahitian Tide, Daffodil Delight
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Dotted Circles Embossing Folder, Stitched Be Mine Dies (ret), Stitched Shapes Dies (ret), Triple Heart Punch (ret)