Beachy SSINKIC35 and RRCB43

Hi peeps!  Popping in today before I have some stamping friends come over!  I was intrigued by the Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration challenge 35...isn't this a pretty inspiration?:

I thought that beautiful woodgrain background matched the paper from Serene Scenery, so I pulled out some beach-themed stamps and dies and went to work:

I stamped all the images on SU's watercolor paper for a rustic look, plus it made it easier to color in the larger starfish.  The stamped shells and sentiment are from a (really) old Lizzie Anne set called Shore Thoughts; I added some tiny shell diecuts from Impression Obsession and some random flowers from a Paper Pumpkin set from a couple months ago.  The flip flops I got from a friend...no name, sorry!  I added some gold speckles, and some of the shells are diecut from gold paper as well.  I also added a little linen thread.:

The final touch was some Wink of Stella, which you can't see...but it is so pretty IRL!  I really love the collage feel of this card, but I would never have been able to put it together without the inspiration photo!  I am also entering this in the RetroRubber "Sumertime" challenge, since these stamps are from around seven or eight years ago...seems like I've had them forever!

Thanks for popping by!

A little mani/pedi time for one of Cassidy's dolls:

Then she thought it would look good as lipstick too, LOL!

Enjoy your day!

TSOT280

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It's time for another Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch from Kaylin; this week's optional theme is "splash"!

I've been "rediscovering" the plethora of random DSP I've collected over the years....this group of papers is from an older Graphic 45 pad called "On The Boardwalk".....it was perfect for my vintage images of bathing beauties from Artistic Outpost (Boardwalk).  So here we go:

I stamped my image in Bermuda Bay and added some overstamping of SU's Linen background stamp as well as some sponging.  I struggled to find a color that would complement the colors in the DSP, and to my pleasant surprise, the new In Color Peekaboo Peach worked perfectly!  I added a couple of mats and some candy dots, then added a little "enjoy" (Everyday Expressions by Paper Studio) in Cajun Craze.

Finally, I punched out this little circular embellishment from one of the DSP's designs and mounted it on a Cajun Craze scallop.....isn't it fun?  Perfect for the sketch, too!

I have a few summertime birthdays coming up, so this will be in the mail for one of them!  Hope you'll play along with us, and remember that we have a Facebook page and you can submit your creations there as well!

Speaking of the boardwalk, here's a few shots from Funland at Rehoboth Beach, DE....a place where I rode these same rides, as did Dana, when we were kids:

Enjoy your day!

Eggplant and Wisteria Sympathy Fun Fold

Happy Monday, peeps! Hope you had a good weekend!  I mentioned last week that I was going to try to incorporate some of the colors that I rarely use into my crafting....I find that purples don't usually make it onto my table, so I chose Wisteria Wonder and Elegant Eggplant for my first attempt!  I also wanted to try this fun fold I saw on my friend Wendy's blog....you can see her beautiful card here. The link to the tutorial by Dawn Olchefske is also there.  So I pulled out some retired Wisteria Wonder DSP and went to work:

Sympathy cards are sad but necessary, and I needed one this week, so I pulled out Flourishing Phrases, which not only has beautiful florals, but wonderful "in-and-out" sentiments as well.  Above is the card folded together, and below is it open:

I stamped the flower twice, once in Elegant Eggplant and again in Wisteria Wonder, and then trimmed them and adhered them together with dimensionals.  

I stamped the flourish image on the inside with WW, stamping it once on scrap paper and again on a white panel, then added the Elegant Eggplant sentiment on top.

I added a few pearls but left the rest pretty simple!  Hope you enjoy it!

A little beach time this weekend!

Paper Players 304 CAS Watercolor

 

Happy Sunday, peeps!  Another Paper Players challenge is here, this time with Jaydee as our lovely hostess and she has chosen a wonderful CAS challenge for us:

I love to watercolor line images, but I thought I would stretch myself a little and do a different technique today; it's been done lots of times before, but I usually don't have much success with it!  I managed to create this look on the first try, though:

I diecut a panel of SU's watercolor paper with a Lil'Inker stitched die, then inked up the fern from Butterfly Basics with Cucumber Crush ink, lightly spritzed it with water from a spray bottle, then stamped my image quickly.  I love the effect it created:

I added a few speckles from my trusty Itty Bitty Backgrounds, and then stamped a sentiment  from Watercolor Wishes at the bottom and added a "swoosh" from Work of Art in Soft Sky:

I added an enamel dot, then mounted it on a Soft Sky card base.  Quick and easy!  I hope you'll find some inspiration from the samples the DT created!  You can check them out on the PP blog, or right here:

• Claire
• Jaydee
• Joanne
• Laurie
• Nance 
• Sandy
• Linda
• Hannelie
• Colleen

The "I-don't-want-to-have-my-picture-taken" smile:

Enjoy your day!

SR338 and JAI320 Birthday

Happy Saturday, peeps!  Hope you have something fun planned!  I've got a masculine birthday card to share with you; it's for my nephew, and it uses the colors from Stampin' Royalty and the sketch from Just Add Ink:

I never quite know in which direction to go when created a card for a young man!  This is a mix of eclectic vintage images with some silver accents thrown in:

My base was stamped with a Simon Says Stamp grid background, and added a lot of elements from Timeless Textures randomly along the edges.  A scripty image (Artistic Outpost's The Outpost) was stamped horizontally as well.  I stamped the watch image (also Artistic Outpost's The Outpost) in Night of Navy and fussy-cut it out and mounted it on a circle of Mint Macaron.  I added a banner and a sentiment from last month's Paper Pumpkin and popped everything up with some dimensionals.  I just couldn't figure out what to use for the embellishment, and in the end, to follow through with the tree image, diecut some silver leaves with the Flourishes die.  I added some Silver Encore speckles on the card base as well!

Thanks for popping in today!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

A week of Vacation Bible School just wore her out!

CTS181 and CASology 206 Work of Art

Hi peeps!  Phew, it's hot....I feel like singing Martha and the Vandella's HEAT WAVE!!  I decided to cool off with some cool colors and the CAS(E) this Sketch sketch and the cue from CASology:

                 

There are some really fun cards in the CASology gallery; I wish I had the creativity that some of these stampers have!  Mine is rather mundane, although I did do some sponging, which I haven't done in a while:

In the next few weeks, I am going to be highlighting some SU colors that I rarely use!  A wee challenge to myself, you could say!  Today I am using Tempting Turquoise....I love this colors, but for some reason, never think to pull it out!  I stamped the little paintbrush from the Hostess Set (last year) Love You Sew in Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist and Bermuda Bay, then added some speckles and sponging in Soft Sky.  I stamped the sentiment from Work of Art and added the swoosh from Love You Sew on top, as well as some sequins from my stash:

To do the sponging, I just lined up some Post-it Notes, stamped and sponged...easy peasy!  My final touch was to add a little baker's twine bow; I used the one-hole bow technique so that it doesn't slide off my panel.

Thanks for popping in today!

Cassidy made a little pot in Sunday School a few weeks back and we finally had time to paint it!

Have a blessed day!

SIP56 and FMS245 Joy To The World

Happy Thursday, all!  Can you handle another Christmas card?  The Stamp Ink Paper challenge is Christmas in July, so I combined it with the Freshly Made Sketches sketch from Jen M:

This is the first time I've pulled out This Christmas Specialty DSP....aren't these patterns pretty?

I received the Christmas set Jolly Christmas at the very end of the holiday catalog period last year, so this is the first time I've inked it up!  I used Rose Red to stamp the sentiment, then Mint Macaron to do some snowflakes.  I used an Impression Obsession die (Pine Boughs) to diecut some greenery in MM and Garden Green, then added a bow from the Mini Treat Bag thinlet:

And here's a little trick to get added value from your Layering Squares dies....if you look very closely, you can see where I actually adhered two pieces together (cut a straight edge across one of your squares), lining up the scallops to fit my stamped piece.  I love doing this....it's barely discernible and it's like getting a free set of rectangle dies!  Finally, the inside is stamped with sentiments and images from the Paper Pumpkin Christmas set from last year:

Thanks for popping in today!

 Cassidy learned to ride a two-wheeler, but the trike is still the best mode of transportation when you want to haul around the babies!

Have a blessed day!