You're Pretty Darn Amazing

With the smoke from wild fires drifting down to Ohio, it was a good day to stay indoors and get a little crafty. I made a card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches and Tic, Tac Toe challenges. 

I used a trio of some favorite retired Poppystamps products. The Whittle Frame, Whittle Lizard and Daisy Trio worked perfectly with a sentiment by PTI. Everything went onto a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" base. This works for a few of lines on the Tic, Tac Toe board. The left and center vertical or the center horizontal. 

My prayers go out to those impacted by the fires in Canada and those dealing with the smoke. Several activities and businesses closed in our area today. Take care, my friends.

Just For You

While hubby was working on some action softball photos of Sweet P's team, I had a little play time and put together a card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Take a look...

My idea was to use a postage theme with my die cuts and stamps. I made a postage stamp using a Spellbinders die and a pretty little hydrangea stamp. Old Precious Remembrance Shop stamps were added too. Then I realized the graphic was a rectangle ~ OOPS! Sooooo, I added a couple of little banners to elongate my square postage stamp. What do you think, did it work? Hopefully the ladies at FMS will see the sketch in my design!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thinking of You

Dang... it's been HOT as HOT can be around here all week. Storms yesterday evening and this morning too. Time to stay in and get inky! That's just what I did and I created this little number for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.

I used a delicate leafy rubber stamp by IO for the two tall rectangles in the sketch. A scrap of patterned paper for the horizontal rectangle and retired Poppystamps geraniums for the circle portion. I topped those blooms with a sweet hummingbird by PPP. I colored him to match the little ruby throated fella that has been frequenting our feeder. 

Off we go to the FMS gallery. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it!

Easter Blessings

WOWEE did the wind ever BLOW here yesterday! We heard sirens all day long. Luckily we never lost power. Lots of debris on the roads. March sure has been a crazy month for weather around here. You just never know what you're going to wake up to! 

Anywho... how about a card? I have one for Freshly Made Sketches where my sweet friend Michele has given us a fun sketch to use this week.

I inked up the ever so sweet Rejoice Rabbit by Waffle Flower. I thought about using the entire image, but it seemed too large for Michele's sketch. So I used just her pretty little head! She's framed with a scalloped oval by PPP. The leafy sprigs I tucked in where cut using a die from The Stamp Market. Finally, little embossed spring buds for the background.

Off we go to the gallery. Have a great weekend!

With All My Heart

As the snow falls and the laundry tumbles, I had thoughts of summer and our yellow knockout roses on my mind! Seeing the bare bushes on either side of our little Max's grave had me longing for warmer days and those gorgeous yellow blooms. So, I put this together using this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. Take a look...

I stamped an IO Fairy Rose with Versa Mark ink, gold heat embossed it, colored it with Copics and fussy cut it. It was added to a card base with a sweet Amy Tangerine embossed panel, a strip of PP and a little gold border snippet. The sentiment is by The Stamp Market.

I'll set this aside for our anniversary. You see, my guy planted those roses for me two years ago as a Mother's Day gift. More than once he's mentioned to me, "Those yellow roses are quite lovely, babe."

Have a great weekend!

Peace, Love & Joy

It's me again! Popping in for a quick minute tonight with a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge and for The Flower Challenge.

You know, I had every intention of using an ornament as my focal. But when I went to my Christmas dies, I found this gorgeous Altenew poinsettia that I completely forgot I had! It's a Christmas floral, so it was meant to be! She's cut from a shimmery pink cardstock, popped onto and embossed panel (SSS) and topped with sparkly rhinestones. The little banner is PPP with a PTI sentiment. Phew, lots of companies, but they all play well together!

Thanks so much for stopping by again. Have a blessed week, friends!

A Snowman Merry Christmas Wish!

I'm still cranking out those Christmas cards, how about you? Truth be told, I got a very late start on them. It's been a busy year! When I saw Kim's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, this idea popped into my head. Take a look...

I stamped my cutie Stampendous snowman, Copic colored him, then cut him twice using two MFT stitched Circle dies. I popped him onto a snowy embossed background then trimmed off the left side. Everything went onto a red card base and I topped it off with a Memory Box gold and white sentiment tab. There are accents added with a gold glitter pen that are being camera shy on this cloudy rainy morning!

I noticed he fits in perfectly over at the Tic Tac Toe challenge too! I've used the diagonal line: Christmas Sentiment, Gold, Snow/Snowman.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a great weekend!

FMS ~ Sending a Hug

We've a had a quite weekend. Catching up on a few things at home, Saturday evening Mass, a couple of long walks and just being together! While the hubs worked on some photos this evening, I put together this card for Freshly Made Sketches.

As you can see, I flipped the sketch, hope Jen doesn't mind! I also went with an A2 card instead of a square one. Call me a rebel! I used some patterned paper by Lasting Impressions for my banner and topped it with a retired fox from Poppystamps. A few pierced sprigs by Simply Graphic and tiny Poppystamps blooms gave her a place to sit. Just a sweet way to send a paper hug!

Off this goes to the gallery.
Thanks for taking a peek!

FMS ~ Hello

I was doing a little desk clean up and came across a few snippets that I put together for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Take a look...

I don't even know where the polka dot paper came from. It was something I had as a backing in a frame from years ago. The little bird is actually a sticker. I purchased a nifty little tin containing birds, nests and eggs at a specialty shop a long time ago. The pretty floral square is an old MME item from Archivers. I cut down the square and trimmed out around the flowers. They were colored with Copic markers. I saw a pair of chickadees much like this one on our bird feeder yesterday. They reminded me that we need to get more seed for the winter months ahead!

Off this flys to the gallery. I hope you're enjoying your weekend. We have some gorgeous weather happening right now. Our evening walks have been the perfect temps and so enjoyable! Take care, friends.

FMS #704 ~ Deck the Halls!

When I saw Michele's sketch for Freshly Made Sketches with all of those polka dots, I knew I had to play along! Of course my first instinct was to recreate the polka dots, but then I went in a different direction. 

I used a trio of fussy cut ornaments by Lasting Impressions. Some die cut winter berry sprigs from Simply Graphic were tucked under them. Next, I stamped a few tiny ornaments from the PTI Love Lives Here set and little dots from Stamps by Judith. The sentiment is also PTI. It's from the Bells and Boughs set.

Now that I look at it, I suppose my ornaments look like big and small dots. Then I did manage to get the little polka dot trios in there too. Those berries kinda look like polka dots too, don't they? Okay... I couldn't help myself! Off we go to the gallery!

Bugs & Hisses

Hey there, I hope you had a good weekend! Ours was pretty laid back. We got a new computer and my hubby is spending hours getting everything transferred and set up. This is where we both do our photos... I'm trying to be patient! I put together this card for Freshly Made Sketches and it became our trail run. Photoshop was being difficult and then there is the whole watermark thing!

I topped my embossed pumpkins with a ring, spider, word bubble and sentiment, all from Poppystamps, along with a leaf by Pretty Pink Posh. A trio of purple rhinestones finished it off. I'll send this one to Sweet P who happens to love Halloween!

Thanks so much for popping in!

FMS ~ Happy Birthday!

I couldn't let the big celebration at Freshly Made Sketches slip by without playing along. Sending a big congrats on 700 sketches to all of their design team members past and present! This is what I put together for them this week.

I die cut 4 stitched squares then snugged them all together in my Misti. I stamped this pretty PFS wreath using PTI's Simply Chartreuse ink. After adding them to my square card base, I put together a yummy little cupcake (PTI). A sweet striped wrapper and shimmery pink frosting were topped with a couple of bright pink blooms. After playing around with sentiment ideas, this tab from Memory Box seemed a good fit!

Here's my first time playing along at FMS back in Feb. 2012!

Thanks for stopping by to visit, it's greatly appreciated!

Wishing you all a blessed weekend!

FMS ~ Oh Happy Day!

Good morning and happy Friday! My sweet friend Michele is sharing her first sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches ~ oh happy day!!

I knew just the sentiment I would use, it's from The Stamp Market. My big bloom is too. I die cut it using some hoarded October Afternoon paper! A sweet new EF from Penny Black provides a little interest to my background and I popped on a trio of my favorite aqua rhinestones. It all went on a soft stone card base. 

Off this goes to the gallery. This one's for you, Michele!

With Gratitude

It's a rainy day today, a perfect day to snuggle in and get a little card making time. I have one for you today that will be heading to a few challenges. I love it when it works out that way! I've used Stef's colors from The Paper Players, Cécile's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, the top horizontal line from Tic Tac Toe and finally, I've used a frame to fit in over at Diane and Darlene's Double D Challenge! Here we go...

My frame, butterfly and leafy sprigs are all from The Stamp Market. I added some stenciled clouds to the inside of the frame and fussy cut the Altenew sentiment. Off she flutters to the galleries! Thanks so much for stopping by, have a blessed day!

FMS ~ Thinking of You

The hubs and I have been crazy busy lately with Sweet P's softball (did I mention he's an official coach alongside our son!), transporting my dad to Cardio Rehab, taking care of my parent's other needs and well, just life in general. Today is a free day for us, so I got crafty! I was intrigued by Verena's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. Here's what I came up with.

Using a couple of circle dies, I cut a crescent moon from some PP in my stash. This pretty leafy vine by Pinkfresh had just the curve I needed to decorate that moon! I popped on a pretty little bloom by The Stamp Market then stamped and die cut the sentiment. My sweet friend Greta always includeds an embossed panel when she sends me a card. This one seemed to mimic the bloom I used.  A sprinkling of dew drops and she's good to go!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. 

Celebrate!

Happy weekend one and all! Truth be told, it would be a bit happier if it wasn't so dreary out. But as they say, April showers bring May flowers! Speaking of flowers, I have some to add to the Freshly Made Sketches gallery. 

My sweet friend Michele is now a member of the FMS design team! I missed her first week and couldn't let another go by without celebrating with her! This little mouse is bringing on the happy by sprinkling about some of those May flowers. As you can see I flipped the sketch to create a vertical card. My two toned panel wasn't wide enough for the horizontal layout. It was made using a small 2 1/2" x 4" stamp by Simply Graphic. Hope the gals at FMS don't mind!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Love You a Bunch!

I had a free moment this afternoon and took advantage of it with some time in my wee art studio! I put together this little number for the Freshly Made Sketches and Color Hues challenges.

I went pretty literal with the sketch using s favorite PTI tag die and a cute Stamping Bella/Mo Manning image. This little lady colored up quite well with the given colors of orange and teal, along with just a touch of neutral coloring for her hair. Who wouldn't want to receive a bunch of love and orange tulips from this sweet girl? I embossed some big ol' polka dots on the card base, popped her on and she's ready for her debut in both galleries!

Have a great day, friends and thanks so much for your visit!

Happy Freezin' Season!

Brrr... it's cold! Snuggling in and making a card seemed like a good idea for the morning. This one is headed over to the Freshly Made Sketches gallery. 

*Edit* Thanks to my friend, Julia for reminding me this will work for the Inkspirational 'snow' challenge. Off it goes to their gallery as well!

A simple card stamped with MFT's Warm & Feathered Hugs set. An oldie but a goodie! What's not to love about this little fella all bundled up in his scarf? He's just so cute! A wonky rectangle to frame him with a bit of PTI's Soft Stone PP peeking out behind it.

That's it from me today. 

We're headed for a deep freeze. 

Hope it's warm where you are!

An old favorite for FMS!

I'm still cranking out those Christmas cards, how about you? I'm also using up bits and pieces left over from last year and reaching for some older stamps. You know like those favorite Christmas decorations we bring out each year!

This little snowman by PSX was one of the first Christmas stamps I bought over twenty years ago! I popped him onto some PTI snowflakes, cut last year, that I layered over some MB patterned paper. I used Jen's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches changing her squares to my oval and snowflakes. I don't think she'll mind! The pretty embossed background is one Michele made me on our last visit to Michigan. Which, by the way, was too long ago!

Okay, off this goes to the FMS gallery and off I go to my wee studio for more creating on this rainy gloomy day!

Fall for FMS

It seems like forever since I've had time to enter a card challenge. Life does get busy sometimes! But I took a minute yesterday to get crafty and this is the card I came up with using Karren's fun sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.

I already had a piece of PTI Soft Stone card stock all dolled up with this cute Concord & 9th cover plate. The MB paper was cut then added to the bottom for the diagonal portion of the sketch. The fall leaves are new over at Poppystamps. It's a Nordic set, but I opted to use just one layer here. The sentiment set, in it's first outing, is one I picked up on sale at PTI... last year I think! I love the way it looks on this pretty little PPP tag cut from vellum.

Okay, I'm off and running again. It's a pretty sunny day, a good one for washing  and vacuuming my car! Thank for stopping by, I appreciate it so very much!