GDP233 Spring Wreath

Hello everyone!  Hope your week is going well and you're not going too stir-crazy!  I still am working at my church one morning a week, blessedly there are only two of us in one office and our desks are far apart!  The Global Design Project had a pretty color challenge this week:

Mmmmm....these colors remind me of those melty mints covered with non-pareils!  Yum!  But I digress....my SIL has a birthday coming up, so I made her a little floral wreath!  We both love bird-watching, so I added a cute little bird as well:

My wreath was cut from some Crumb Cake cardstock, using the retired Swirly Scribbles die.  I added some stitched flowers, embellished with pearls that were colored with Blends (such handy little things to have!), my little bird, and a bit of baker's twine from a Paper Pumpkin kit: 

It was adhered to a mat of Whisper White cardstock, diecut with a Spellbinders dotted edge die, then I added a sentiment from another past Paper Pumpkin kit not only on the front:

but also on the inside of the Pool Party card:

We can't be together on her birthday but she'll know we're thinking of her!

You might remember the orchid I had blooming a couple of months ago; here's what it looks like now:

I know I'm supposed to "train" it to go up the stick, but I never remember to do it, LOL!  I am enjoying them regardless!  One more bud to bloom and I think there are actually a couple more coming!  And my violet isn't doing too bad either:

Lots of little buds coming on this one too!  I just love spring!  No matter what is going on in the world, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and the Lord is still on His throne!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pool Party, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Petal Pink, Basic Black
Ink	Pool Party, Coastal Cabana
Accessories	Jumbo Pearls, Baker's Twine (both ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Birds and Blooms Dies (ret), Stitched Flowers Dies (My Favorite Things), Swirly Scribbles Die (ret), Dotted Border Die (Spellbinders), Blends, Marker

The Tic Tac Toe Challenge #54

Hi everyone!  It's time for another Tic Tac Toe challenge...it's Team X's week, with Joanne as our hostess!  Here's our grid for this week:

I chose the left column of punch, rain and gingham for my Easter card today, although it also uses the center column down as well, if you consider a chick an animal, LOL!  So here we go:

This little chick is one of my favorite spring images; I stamped it in Stazon ink and watercolored it with an aquapainter.  The raindrops are from Under My Umbrella; I matted it with a stitched scalloped mat of Daffodil Delight and added some blue ribbon:

I added a panel of So Saffron gingham, and I layered a couple of punches to highlight a sentiment from a past Paper Pumpkin kit:

The grid this week has so many fun elements to help you create a spring card--we hope you'll play along!  Be sure to check out what all the design team created at the Tic Tac Toe blog, then share yours today!  Thanks for popping by today!  Enjoy it and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Under the Umbrella, Spring Joy (unknown maker), Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Daffodil Delight, Subtles DSP
Ink	Stazon Black, Old Olive, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Balmy Blue, Crushed Curry, Mango Melody
Accessories	Organdy Ribbon (ret), Dimensionals, Glimmer Dots (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Modern Label Punch, Curly Label Punch (both ret), Aquapainter

RRCB129 Season's Greetings in Red

Happy Tuesday, peeps!  It's time for another Retro Rubber challenge, and it's an "Anything Goes"!

I recently saw a Harry and David box that contained some Christmas goodies, and I just loved the red and white theme:

So I thought it would be fun to re-create it on a Christmas card, using some retired SU dies and stamps!  I cut out a couple of houses from the Hometown Greetings dies in Real Red, tapering the bases so that I could layer them on a white card base:

I popped up the right hand layer with some mini dimensionals:

I stamped the little snowflakes in the sky and the greeting in Real Red as well, using some older Paper Pumpkin stamps:

The inside sentiment is also from Paper Pumpkin....as far as I can remember, these are from October 2017 and November 2016.

The Jingle Belles want to see lots of red on our Christmas cards, so I am entering it there, and the Christmas Kickstart challenge wants red as well!

It's always fun to have an Anything Goes challenge at Retro Rubber!  When you share yours with us, make sure your stamps are at least a year old, and tell us the age!  Can't wait to see you there!

Lovely Valentines

Hi peeps, and happy Saturday!  I got several hand-made Valentines this year and I thought I would share them with you!  First, I do have a couple of ones that I made and didn't share yet; this one was inspired by all the typewriters I've seen on cards in blogland lately!

I used a Floral and Fauna typewriter die, a retired Paper Pumpkin stamp, and a Tim Holtz typewriter embossing folder for my Rococo Rose card:

 

And this one was inspired by Lorri Heiling's candy bar treat, which you can see here; I adapted it into a card for my friend Robyn:

If you do watch Lorri's video, I believe the measurements for her candy bar pieces are a wee bit off, but they are easy to figure out!  I used From My Hearts DSP and a past Paper Pumpkin kit for the sentiment!

And finally, here are a few of the cards I received:

From Wendy:

From Debbie:

From Sandy:

From Kathy:

From my upline, Pennie:

And from my Secret Admirer (Doris)!:

Thank you so much, everyone, for the lovely cards!!!  You're all so sweet!  Now be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge! Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #050

Hello, stampers!  A second post for me today.... I was recently asked by Felicita to be on the Tic Tac Toe Challenge team!  I said yes, and there are a lot of other familiar faces on the design team too!  I am happy to be designing with them!  Our first challenge of 2020 looks like this, with Shannon as our featured designer:

I used the bottom row across:  punch, blue and twine! 

I started with some Balmy Blue cardstock and my Timeless Label punch, punching out three labels, then stamping them with Versamark ink, using  the wooden image from Gallery Grunge.  I tried an old technique to add some light color; I used my Stampin' Pastels (anyone remember them???) and a cotton puff to dab on some color, just to make it stand out a bit!  I embossed a panel of Basic Black with the new Coastal Weave EF and layered the labels on top.

I stamped two of the birds from the May Paper Pumpkin kit and fussy-cut them out after giving them a wee bit of color with my Blends.  A sentiment from the same kit was stamped in Memento Black and diecut with a Stitched So Sweetly die and tucked under the black panel:

I finished it with some Soft Sky twine, then mounted it on a Smoky Slate mat, a white rectangle-stitched panel, and finally a Balmy Blue card base.  I stamped a sentiment from So Sentimental on the inside, along with some speckles and another couple of birds:

I can't wait to see what you create with this tic-tac-toe board!!  They're always fun, and they are a great way to get your creative juices flowing when you're stumped for ideas!  Stop over at the TTTC blog to see what the others have created and share yours too!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	So Sentimental, Gallery Grunge, May 2019 Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Basic Black
Ink	Memento Black, Balmy Blue, Versmark
Accessories	Soft Sky Thick Twine (ret), Dimensionals, Stampin' Pastels (ret)
Tools	Big Shot, Coastal Weave EF, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Timeless Label Punch, Blends

AYSI218 Speedy Shades of Brown

Happy Friday, peeps!  I hope you have some fun things planned...at least maybe some stamping?!  We have an awesome Speed Stamping challenge for you today, this last day of January, at As You See It!  Hopefully you can complete your card in ten minutes or less!  Look at this yummy challenge photo:

I had been cleaning up some of my craft room right before I did this challenge and one of my challenges to myself was to finish up the cards in my May Paper Pumpkin kit.  Look what I found....a pretty "shades of brown" pre-printed card!  Woohoo!  I simply stamped a sentiment from A Wish For Everything in Craft White ink on some Early Espresso cardstock, sprinkled on some white embossing powder and heated it up to make this little tag to add to my card:

After heating it up, I diecut it with one of the dies from Trio of Tags (they're not just for the matching stamp set, LOL!), then added some Linen thread!  

At the last minute, to add a little more brown, I watercolored the nest very quickly with some Soft Suede ink!  My final total was 8 minutes, 40 seconds!

I hope you'll step up to this challenge and use some shades of brown---in ten minutes or less--and share your creation with us at As You See It!  Can't wait to see it! Thanks for popping in today!  

So I shared a card a few days ago for my great-nephew; his birthday was yesterday and I just had to share this photo his mom put on FB:

So no whining, any of you, about having a bad hair day, LOL!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	A Wish for Everything
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso, Paper Pumpkin Hugs from Shelli Kit (May 2019)
Ink	Soft Suede, Craft White
Accessories	Linen Thread, Dimensionals, White Embossing Powder
Tools	Big Shot, Heat Gun, Trio of Tags Dies, Aquapainter

RRCB127 Sympathy

Hi everyone!  It's Retro Rubber time again...time flies, doesn't it?  We have a Tic-Tac-Toe for you this time, and since I have needed several sympathy cards recently, I took the advantage of using one of the diagonal lines for my card today; here's the grid:

I chose "sympathy", "die cut or punch", and "pattern paper":

My sentiment, stamped in Pear Pizzazz, is from a Paper Pumpkin kit, probably two years ago...I didn't keep track of the dates, sadly!  I stamped it on a piece of Thick White cardstock, and diecut it with a die from Reverse Confetti.  My card base of Grapefruit Grove was scored at each end at 2 1/8" to make a gate-fold card:

I added some pretty Papertrey printed paper and a few leaves in Pear Pizzazz.  My final touch was a little bow in the upper corner.  These folds are so simple, but really add a nice touch to an otherwise basic card!  

I hope you'll play along with our challenge this week....tic-tac-toes always have so many possibilities!  Just be sure to use stamps that are at least a year old, and tell us how old they are!  Can't wait to see what you create!  Check out what the designers did at the Retro Rubber blog and share yours there too!  Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paper Pumpkin (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Grapefruit Grove, Pear Pizzazz, Thick White, Green Tea Leaves DSP (Papertrey)
Ink	Pear Pizzazz
Accessories	Pear Pizzazz Ribbon (ret), DImensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Lacy Scallop Frame Dies (Reverse Confetti), Massa Leaf Frame Die (Poppy Stamps)

IB108 Clusters Sympathy

Hi peeps! Wow, the week is just whizzing by!  We have a new Inspired By challenge today...check this one out:

Isn't that a pretty vignette?  Unfortunately, I needed several sympathy cards recently, so you may see a theme for a few posts.....but this challenge did give me a chance to pull out some lovely elements to mix and match! 

I started with some papers from Julie Nutting's French Flea Market by Photo Play, using some blue for my background, a stripe for my banner, and a pink brocade for my florals; I stamped them in Basic Gray, fussy-cut them out and added a little shading with some Copics:

I just LOVE the tag die from SU's new Bonanza dies, so I cut one out from Whisper White cardstock, stamped a few elements on it from the retired Butterfly Basics stamp set, and mounted my florals on it.  I also added some twine and sparkly sequins:

I stamped and diecut a little butterfly, embellished it with a little glimmer dot, and I found this chipboard button in my stash....IRL it matches a little better than it does in the photo.  The sentiment was also stamped in Basic Gray and is from Our Daily Bread Designs:

For my inside, I used a past Paper Pumpkin sentiment, stamped in Marina Mist, and I also stamped the fern again behind it:

The DT has some lovely samples using the photo as their inspiration....please check them out at Inspired By and share your creation with us as well!  Can't wait to see it!

Cassidy had an inservice day yesterday, so we spent the day together!  She helped me unpack a big SU order; she set up a "store" in the living room and I had to "shop" for all my customers' orders!! Then she took the box apart, re-taped it and made a play house for her dolls with it!

Thanks for popping in today!  Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Paper Pumpkin sympathy (ret), Mini Tag Sentiment (Our Daily Bread Designs), Flower Garden (Tim Holtz), Butterfly Basics (ret)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, French Flea Market (Photo Play)
Ink	Pineapple Punch, Basic Gray, Certainly Celery (ret), Marina Mist (ret)
Accessories	Sequins, Chipboard Button, Baker's Twine (from my stash), Glimmer Dots (ret), Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Bonanza Dies, Copics, Small Butterfly Punch (ret)