AYSI381 Color Challenge

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you have some fun stuff planned for the weekend!  It's time for a color challenge at As You See It, and this one is quite striking: 

I really had no clue what to do with this challenge, but I remembered a set from Colorado Craft and a little light bulb went off! I normally do not go quite as literal with my stamping, but this one just had to be:

I first embossed a piece of Basic Gray cardstock with a Tim Holtz Brick embossing folder, adding some dimension by swiping my Basic Gray ink pad on the inside of the folder before embossing.  I then stamped my door on some Azure Afternoon cardstock, gave it a little watercolor shading and fussy-cut it out.  The little kitties were stamped, watercolored and also fussy-cut, then they were all mounted on an Azure Afternoon mat and white card base.

I didn't want my sentiment to overpower my design, so a simple hello from an old Flourishes set worked fine!  I have been updating all my stamps in a database, adding sentiments so I can find one when I need it, and I have forgotten a lot of my older stamps, so it was nice to give this one some love!  

I know this is a challenging color combo, but I enjoyed thinking outside the box a bit and I hope you will too!  Play along with us at As You See It!  Can't wait to see what you create!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Home Sweet Home (Colorado Craft Co), Sweet Violet (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Azure Afternoon, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate
Ink	Basic Gray, Azure Afternoon, Versafine Black
Accessories	Mini Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Brick Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Bitty Banners Dies (ret), Aquapainter

CAS on Sunday #336 Birds

 Happy Friday, peeps! I have the honor of being the guest designer for CAS on Sunday this week, where the challenge is birds!  I love birds! It was hard to choose which one I was going to use, but I decided to go for a vintage feel, so here we go:

My robin is from a set by Artistic Outpost called Birds of a Feather, and the sentiment is from Flourishes' Sweet Violets.  I stamped him in Black Stazon ink, watercolored him in, then added some speckles and a bit of embossing around the edge.  On hindsight, that embossing reminds me of bird tracks, LOL!  Maybe that was a subconscious thought of mine!!!

I left the inside blank, so it could be used for most any occasion!

Now, how about you?  Do you have some bird stamps you could use to create a clean-and-simple card?  We would love to see them at CAS on Sunday!  Thanks for visiting today! Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Itty Bitty Backgrounds (ret), Birds of a Feather (Artistic Outpost), Sweet Violets (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla
Ink	Stazon Black, Really Rust (ret), Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Smoky Slate, Crushed Curry, Basic Beige,, Crumb Cake
Accessories
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched with Whimsy Dies (ret), Aquapainter

52CCTD Floating Bay Window Card

 Happy Tuesday, all!  I decided to try my hand at a floating bay window card, which is the challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week!

They supplied a link to a great tutorial for measurements and inspiration; you can see it HERE.  I chose to use some older CTMH heart 12x12 paper for my card, as it is a little thinner than SU's paper and I felt it was easier to use since there are several layers once you fold it to go in an envelope!  So here we go:

My card base is the retired CTMH Seabrook, and the patterned papers are from Studio Light; the pattern is called Sending Joy.  The images are just gorgeous!  I layered some of the papers on the panels, then fussy-cut a wreath to put on the acetate "floating" panel:

I added some rhinestones and a sentiment from Flourishes' Holiday Greetings, stamped in Lost Lagoon.  Here's what the card looks from the top; it folds and fits into a standard-sized envelope!

I stamped an older Waltzingmouse stamp on the back as it's a bit challenging to sign on the "inside"!!

I recently went through my non-SU stamps and created an excel spreadsheet of all my sets and their sentiments.  Honestly, I really should be ashamed to purchase anything new at all, I have SO MANY STAMPS!!  And I haven't even begun to catalog the SU ones---wood or clear!  So you may see some stamps that haven't seen ink for a while---I forgot about so many of them!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the Christmas "floating bay window" card! It's not hard at all--I challenge you to try one!  Thanks for visiting today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Holiday Greetings (Flourishes), Compliments of the Season (Waltzingmouse)
Card stock & Papers	Acetate Sheet, Seabrook (CTMH), Sending Joy (Studio Light)
Ink	Lost Lagoon
Accessories	Tiny Rhinestones (from my stash), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies (Impression Obsession), Tear 'n Tape

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)

PP620 Vintage Santa

Happy Sunday, peeps!  It's almost our last Paper Players challenge of 2022, can you believe it?  I am the hostess, and here's the theme I chose for us:

I am a pushover for Santas...but especially vintage and retro Santas! I haven't gotten this vintage Santa from Flourishes inky for quite a while, so I thought I'd show him some love:

I started by stamping the image in Real Red and adding the sentiment in Shaded Spruce. 

I cut off the bottom portion of the card front with the Basic Borders die, added another layer of Gold Foil, then adhered a pretty piece of Christmasy plaid DSP to the inside 

A Tim Holtz die provided some Shaded Spruce holly leaves and I added some glimmery dots for the berries!  Inside, another sentiment from the same set:

I hope you'll play along with my "Ho Ho Ho" challenge and pull out your favorite Santa stamp and get him inky!  Share it with us at the Paper Players and check out what the other DT members have done as well!  Can't wait to see it! Thanks for stopping in today!

John and I had to go to a funeral on Friday morning, but we had the afternoon free, and we were driving right past Longwood Gardens, so I convinced him to stop!  It was a beautiful day and although we didn't get to see the lights, the other displays were stunning!  I'll share some more in the coming days, but here are a few to get you started!  The first one is the tree outside the Gardens entrance:

And these were outside the conservatory entrance:

A carpet of poinsettias!

And I managed to spend a couple of minutes with my brother, who works there!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Santa - I Believe (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Shaded Spruce, Gold Foil, Wrapped in Plaid DSP (ret)
Ink	Real Red, Shaded Spruce
Accessories	Glimmer Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Cut & Emboss Machine, Basic Borders Dies, Greenery Die (Tom Holtz)

TTTC136 Ho Ho Ho

Hey peeps! Back again today with a new Team X Tic Tac Toe challenge!  My turn today to fill in the grid and here's what I've come up with:

Oh my, I have SO many Christmas stamps, I don't think I could use them all in a lifetime!  I totally forgot about this big vintage Santa image from Flourishes...it's several years old....but I thought he would like to be remembered, so I pulled him out and went to work, using the right hand column of glitter, die and star:

Using my Stamparatus, I stamped the image in Real Red and diecut him with a Stitched Rectangle die.  I mounted him on an Evening Evergreen mat on which I stamped some holly leaves, but they're really not very visible, and then on a Cherry Cobbler card base.  The sentiment is from The Stamp Market, stamped in Soft Succulent.

The glittery stars are from SU glimmer paper from a few years back, punched out with a retired Country Star punch.  The inside sentiment is from Papertrey:

I hope this grid prompts you to get started on your Christmas cards if you haven't already!  It's only a couple of months away!  Share your creation with us at Tic Tac Toe--can't wait to see it!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Vintage Santa (Flourishes), Holiday Wishes (Papertrey Ink), Candy Cane Christmas (The Stamp Market)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen, Green Glimmer Papers (ret)
Ink	Real Red, Soft Succulent
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Country Star Punch (ret)

RRCB168 Peaceful Tree

 Hi everyone!  Tuesday means Retro Rubber!  Yay!  This week we've got a tic-tac-toe grid for your inspiration:

I chose the middle row down:  greens, trees and die; it also fulfills the diagonal of one-word sentiment, trees and a bow!  Here we go:

This tree is image is from Flourishes from 2008, one of my first photopolymer sets!  I stamped it on a panel of Basic White with Soft Succulent ink and ran it through the Big Shot with a snowy embossing folder.  The "peace" diecut is from Papertrey, and it was diecut with some green glimmer paper from a few year back; it's mounted on a Tailor Made Tag and embellished with some ribbon and silver twine:

I must have used an older piece of Whisper White for my tag; it definitely has a different white tint than the new Basic White, and the ink stamped a bit differently on it!  I really didn't think there was much of a difference, but I can see it!  Not so much that the recipient will notice, but my eye did pick it up!  Anyway, I hope you'll find some ideas from our grid this week and share you retro creation with us!  Remember that your stamps have to be a least a year old, and you must tell us the approximate age!  Can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for visiting---enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Trees (Flourishes, 2008)
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Soft Succulent, Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper (ret)
Ink	Soft Succulent
Accessories	Soft Succulent Sheer Ribbon, Silver Twine (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Tailor Made Tags Dies, Peace Die (Papertrey), Snowing Die (ret)

PP520 Christmas is in the Air

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Time for a new Paper Players challenge with the clever and talented Joanne as our hostess! Here we go:

Are you finished creating your cards yet?  This prompt has several ideas to give you a little boost!  I chose the upper right hand corner...I love the look of the lit tree against the blue background.  It was a little more challenging than I had anticipated, but in the end, I was happy with it:

I started with some Night of Navy cardstock and stamped and embossed a fir tree and snowflakes in white.  I added a scrolly sentiment: 

It looked a little odd just sort of floating groundless, so I created some sponged hills:

and stamped some bare trees behind them.  Then I added shading with some Night of Navy ink.  I don't do "scenes" very well, so this was a bit of a stretch for me!  In hindsight, I would have liked to have added some more tiny snowflakes in the sky, but I didn't want to mess it up, LOL!

Finally, on the inside, a pretty sentiment from the For Unto Us set:

I hope you'll play along with us....I know time is getting tight and people are busy, but we'd love to see your creations!  You can see the DT's cards at the Paper Players blog....stop by and get some more inspiration!

We did shopping AND wrapping yesterday:

She wrapped the dogs' gifts in Troll wrapping paper!

And we hand-stamped our tags because, well, it's just more fun....and Grammy couldn't find the store-bought ones until AFTER we finished wrapping!

Thanks for popping in today---enjoy your day and be blessed!

 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	For Unto Us, Trees (Flourishes), Frosted Christmas (Kaiser)
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink	Craft White, Night of Navy
Accessories	Dimensionals, White Embossing Powder
Tools	Heat Tool, Sponges

Violets for RRCB134

Hello stampers!  It's Tuesday, and time for another Retro Rubber Challenge!  Look at this pretty prompt!  I'll bet you all have some lovely older floral stamps that would appreciate getting inky!!!

I first used this Flourishes violet stamp set on my blog back in 2010, so it's at least ten years old!  I inked it up in Stazon Black on some watercolor paper and went to work with my aquapainters and ink:

Even though it's a bit intricate, it's a fairly easy image to color in!  I diecut it with a Nested Label die, then mounted it some complementing layers of Mellow Moss DSP and Purple Posy.  I stamped some of the single violets on a Highland Heather card base and adhered the layers to it.

I diecut the sentiment from the Smooth Sailing dies, adhered it on the front, and added some sequins and Mossy Meadow ribbon to finish it off.

When I was a little girl, violets were always something that grew in our yard in the spring, and I remember picking them to give to my mom and grandmother!  Such sweet memories!  I hope you'll share you spring flowers with us at Retro Rubber this week too!  Just make sure your stamps are at least a year old, and tell us their age!  See you at the blog! Thanks for popping in today!

And speaking of spring activities, you can tell the difference between what little girls do in the spring (pick flowers) and what little boys do in the spring; these are my nephews in the little creek that runs behind their mom-mom and pop-pop's house:

They were with their cousins and let me tell you, the mud was flying!  Running, jumping, splashing, muck everywhere!  And there was a little girl in the mix too, LOL!  Enjoy your day and be blessed! 

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Violets (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Highland Heather, Purple Posy, Best Dressed DSP, Fluid 100 Watercolor
Ink	Stazon, Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow
Accessories	Mossy Meadow Ribbon (ret), Dimensionals, Sequins from my Stash
Tools	Big Shot, Tufted EF, Ornate Layers Dies, Nested Labels Dies, Smooth Sailing Dies, Aquapainter

PP468 CAS North Pole

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Hope your weekend is going well!  It's Jaydee's turn to be our Paper Players hostess and she has a fun CAS challenge for us:

I love it!  Have you ever seen the northern lights?  We had some one night, very faint, but normally we are way too south to see them.  They sure are beautiful!  I had to be satisfied with using some frosty colors and snow on my card today:

This is probably a little less CAS than I normally make; I thought of making it one layer, but I would have had to make some masks, and I thought if I am going to be cutting things out, I might as well just stamp my little images and cut them out instead of masks!  I used thick white cardstock, stamping my little critters with Memento ink and coloring them with Blends.  I embossed the card with the Softly Falling EF, then added (the dreaded) Stickles to the ice, Wink of Stella to the ice cube, and some Martha Stewart chunky glitter to the hats:

It's very fun and sparkly in real life!  I stamped the sentiment in Balmy Blue and added a little glimmer snowflake:

as a sentiment from a Flourishes stamp on the inside!

I am also entering this in the Jingle Belles challenge where they're highlighting cold weather wear--gloves, scarves, hats, etc!  I think this could fit the bill!

So how will our challenge inspire you?  I hope you'll play along and enter your creation over at the Paper Players blog...while you're there, check out what the other designers did!  Remember to keep it clean and simple too!  Thanks for popping in today!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Cool Yule (My Favorite Things), Vintage Santa (Flourishes)
Card stock & Papers	Thick White, Sparkle Glimmer
Ink	Memento Black, Balmy Blue
Accessories	Dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Stickles, Chunky Glitter Snow (Martha Stewart)
Tools	Big Shot, Blends, Layering Oval Dies, Softly Falling EF (ret), Snowflake Dies (Taylored Expressions)