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!

Just Us Girls #789 ~ love you

Hey there! I'm hosting this week's challenge at Just Us Girls. School started this week in our neck of the woods, so I picked that as my Mood Board theme for you. But you can make anything you like, whatever inspires you from the photo! 

Our Sweet P is moving up to the Intermediate school; 5th grade. Holy smokes, how can that be??!! I made this card with our sweet girl in mind.

I used an arch die and woodgrain paper to mimic the chair. An apple (PTI) and a few Copic colored sprigs were tucked in. I embossed my background paper with an alphabet EF and backed it with the same red used for the apple. A simple tiny tag was tied to the apple to send a little love.

Alrighty, it's your turn now. 

I sure hope you'll join us this week! 

Just Us Girls #787 ~ Thank You

We've had such a busy summer and it's flown by. I can't believe it's August already! That does bring with it a new round of challenges at Just Us Girls. Elizabeth is kicking things off with Die Cut week. She's made it easy... FLORALS! A new month also means a new guest designer. We're tickled pink to have Julie Beech joining us!

After seeing so many of my blogging friends use this pretty Amazing Things set from Pinkfresh Studios, I had to go shopping. Stamps, stencils and dies cuts... oh my! I framed (PTI) this little beauty with shimmery plum and lavender gingham papers. Doing it this way let me create a second card using the opposites of the frame die cuts. 

I don't use purple very often, but this sweet gingham paper nudged me in that direction!

Time for you to pick a posey or two and join us this week!

Just Us Girls #785 ~ Happy Day

Hello, friends! We have a new challenge up on the Just Us Girls blog today. It's STENCIL WEEK and I had such a good time creating my card. Take a look... 

I started with a PPP bokeh stencil set. After my stenciling was complete, I die cut it with a PTI postage die. The outer frame portion was cut twice again so the inner panel could sink in. I adore this Anita Jeram bunny from Colorado Craft. Isn't he just the sweetest little fella! There's just a touch of gray shading added to him along with a little blush pink in his ear and on his nose. 

It's your turn now, what stencil will you pick? Come on, you know you have a few to choose from and I can't wait to see what you create for our gallery!

Just Us Girls #784 ~ Enjoy Your Special Day

 

Hi there! It's time for a new challenge at Just Us Girls. Carol has picked out a delightful mood board with lots of summer sweetness on it. There are so many possibilities here that you could enter more than once! 

I picked a few posies from my Poppystamps dies and plunked them onto a sweet PPP tag. A few little ferns (PTI) and dots (SBJ) were added first. When I was trimming the orange stem from the bottom of the tag, I cut into the tag. Drat! So I covered it up with a little scalloped shelf! 

Okay, you know the drill. Pick what inspires you from the mood board, get crafty and then add it to our gallery!

Just Us Girls #783 ~ Thank You for Being There

 

Hello and welcome! It's time for our Word Week challenge at Just Us Girls. Vicki wants to see what you create with the word WATER in mind. Here's what I came up with.

My sweet friend Michele was my enabler forcing me to purchase this MFT set! I always enjoy the darling cards she creates with it, so it had to come to live with me too! I cut waves using an old PTI scalloped border die, cardstock and vellum. The beach was freehanded from kraft cardstock then dots added with Copics to make it a bit more sandy-like. My sweet bunny is napping in his boat and just floating about among the waves. A cluster of PPP clouds were added to the soft inked sky along with a sentiment from the set. Looking at it now, I wish I had colored the boat in a different color... or the bunny! Oh well, next time!

Okay, you know the drill, it's your turn now! 

What does WATER say to you?

Just Us Girls #782 ~ Happy Summer

 

Ready for a new Just Us Girls challenge? It's 'DIE' week and Carol is looking for summer things. A new month of challenges also brings with it a new guest designer. We're so happy to have Donna Mikasa joining us this month! Welcome, Donna!

I opted to use dies to put my summer things on. Some cutie little stick stamps from Stamps by Judith provided me with those summer things. Look at that little skeeter... isn't he fun! They went onto some layered scalloped squares, then I popped them onto a PTI scalloped panel. The paper I used on that panel is an oldie from my stash. Lasting Impressions, I think. 

And now it's your turn!

What summer goodies do you have in your stash? 

Just Us Girls #778 ~ Love You Forever

 

Hi there! It's time for another month of new challenges from Just Us Girls. We're excited to have Joanne James joining us as our guest designer! Welcome Joanne! Ina is our hostess for Die Week and she's looking for layers. I put together this little number for my mom's birthday.

I used an oldie but a goodie set from PTI ~ Pretty Peonies as my focal. I stamped and die cut the peony bloom then popped it up on the stamped and die cut leaf layer with foam tape. The butterfly from the set was double stamped with the same ink then die cut. These were added to the rustic cream panel layered with the embossed panel. Another butterfly and sentiment finished my design. I added a final die cut layer in the form of a scalloped panel and a sprinkling of pearls. 

What dies will you choose to layer up? Pick some out and come play along with us this week!

Thanks to sweet Michele for reminding me... I'll be sending this over to The Flower Challenge!

Rejoicing With You

I created this card for a challenge who's deadline I missed. But then I saw a delightful card made by my friend, Bobby that she had entered into the As You See It Challenge. This is new challenge for me, but when I saw dots or stripes, I knew I had to link up this little number!

When looking for something else, for another card, I found this label already cut and stamped with polka dot flowers. I stamped more of the same flowers (PTI's Beautiful Blooms) on a matching Vintage Cream panel. That panel got the polka dot embossing treatment before being added to a Pale Peony card base. I added a shadow layer of Pale Peony to the label to help it pop a little then topped it with a die cut sentiment. Not sure who makes that sentiment. The unmarked stamp and die set came from a  friend. I like the font though, don't you!

We're off for an evening walk before the rain settles in!

Just Us Girls #776 ~ May your memories be a blessing

Hello, friends! I'm hosting our stencil week challenge at Just Us Girls and I hope you have time to play along with us. You can use any stencil in your arsenal! I went with this little number from Pinkfresh Studio.

I bought this set for the sentiments, but the flowers are lovely too. I just have a heck of a time getting the colors to suit me. There's actually another version under this bouquet... shhh, don't tell! Not so sure I did a great job here either... better luck next time! Anyway, I added it to a pretty embossed background that I cut with a PTI postage die. A sentiment from the set and a couple of tiny Poppystamps butterflies finished it off. 

The team and our guest, Rosemary have some incredible inspiration for you. Let's go check it out, shall we?

Love Grows in Happy Homes

Hey there, I have a pretty little card to enter over at The Paper Players! I've used Ann's color challenge to CASE one of my own cards made many years ago. The reason for the CASE was that I found the cutie PTI birdhouse already cut in one of the colors I needed! 

I stamped the (PTI) leaves to hang the birdhouse from, then topped them with the leftover heart cut-outs. The sentiment and birdhouses are from the PTI Love Lives Here set. An old set that never gets old! After cutting the panel with a Spellbinders hemstitch die, I popped it onto a white card base then added the pearls.

And off she goes to the gallery and I'm off for a regular eye check up.

Dilation... no fun!!

Just Us Girls #775 ~ Thanks

 

Isn't this a bright and happy Mood Board that Carol has given us to use at Just Us Girls this week? If you know me at all, you know I spotted polka dots in those paints! Here we go... 

I stenciled a rainbow of polka dots then framed it with an embossed panel to mimic the look of those pencils all lined up. I topped the heart off with a pinked heart frame. 

That stubby little pencil (Stamps by Judith) reminds me of our son when he was about 8 years old.  I saw him doing his homework one day with this itty bitty nub of a pencil. I said "Joey, I think we need to buy you some new pencils!"  He said "Nooooo I like using this one! It's my favorite!" Yes, just in case you're wondering... I still have that pencil!!!

How will Carol's photo inspire you? 

I look forward to finding out!

Just Us Girls #774 ~ Best Wishes

 

Hey there sweet peeps! It's time for our Word Week challenge at Just Us Girls. Vicki is our hostess and she's looking for fruit. I used some paper I've been hoarding far too long! Take a look...

This paper came from Archivers many moons ago, so it's old! I just love the raspberries though and those pretty little heart shaped leaves. I topped it with a pretty PTI border cut from the reverse side of the paper. A sweet Poppystamps heart made of vellum and a couple of Poppystamps Nordic Butterflies added to the summery feel. 

I know our gallery is going to be one big beautiful fruit salad of cards this week. You'll be adding yours to the mix, right?

Just Us Girls #772 ~ It's Birthday Time!

Hi there! It's time for a new challenge at Just Us Girls. Ina is hosting stencil week for us. I made a playful card for a first birthday. Take a look...

 

The DeNami polka dot elephant was stamped using PTI's Berry Sorbet Ink. I cut it using a die from TMS and popped it up with foam circles. My stenciling was done using Citrine ink. That's a hard one to photograph. It shows up more yellow than green! Some sweet PTI printed Berry Sorbet paper was added along with a fun banner (Poppystamps) for the sentiment.

Now I'm on the hunt for a cutie little elephant toy of some kind to go with the card. I like to match the card to the gift! I look forward to seeing your stenciled works of art in our gallery this week. You know you have a stencil or two to choose from!

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!

Hugs for the Flower Challenge

Good morning friends! I'm popping in for a quick minute before heading out to Mass. I couldn't let the 100th celebration over at The Flower Challenge pass by without sending them a big congratulations hug! They're looking for flowers and circles... here we go!

I saw a card design like this on Pinterest, I think. Not sure who the designer was, but it stuck in my mind and worked perfectly for this challenge. I embossed a panel of Sweet Blush (PTI) cardstock then covered it with a panel that had circle cut outs and a Wonky Stitched (MFT) border. My Poppystamps Nordic Blooms added more circles to the mix! The gold leaves came from the Nordic Fancy Blossom set and the green are PTI's lovely layers. A simply sentiment (IO) was all this needed.

Off she goes to the gallery and off I go to get ready for Mass!

Have a blessed day, friends.

Just Us Girls #766 ~ Sweet

 

Were going green at Just Us Girls this week! Gosh, this word challenge has so many possibilities. It's sure to be a bright and cheerful gallery. I had a certain little Sweet P in mind when making my super simple card!

I already had the sentiment hot foiled and die cut. I simply popped it onto an embossed panel then added my darling little pea with a few golden sprigs tucked behind it. The pea is heat embossed and popped up on a foam dot. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a cutie little card to send to our best girl!

Your turn now. How will you use the word green?

Squeezing this one in a the last minute over at Color Hues!

Just Us Girls #762 ~ Hello, Friend

Ready for a new challenge at Just Us Girls? Ina is our hostess for word week and she's looking for FRIEND cards! I had some ready made bits and bobs in my stash that let me put this one together pretty easily. Take a look...

The little bird is and old SU! set I no longer have. I think it was a stamp and punch set. That leafy branch was part of the punch... I think! My pretty little silver leaves are metal. I picked them up a a local scrapbook store a long time ago. Same goes for that sweet gingham flower. I popped this all onto a card base embossed with an EF I bought at JoAnn last summer. I think this is the first time I've used it! I like the way it matches the stamping on the PTI Mat Stack die cut. I think this turned out kind of cute! 

Okay, how will the word FRIEND inspire you? 

I can't wait to find out!

Celebrating You

It's been a minute since I've been able to sit down and create. My dad went in for a heart valve replacement mid January, had a complication, spent a few days in the hospital, then a skilled nursing rehab facility and is now back in the hospital. My mom has vision problems and can no longer drive so we have been the official chauffeurs and caretakers. I don't mind, I wouldn't have it any other way! 

I needed some down time last night, so I got crafty. My sweet friend Michele is guesting at a new to me challenge ~ As You See It, so I jumped in with this card!

A sweet piece of patterned paper was my starting point. I popped it onto an ivory card base along with a panel cut with a SSS cover plate. An Altenew Fantasy Floral die cut was adhered to a pierced circle along with my Pinkfresh gold embossed sentiment. A trio of gold confetti bits and some knotted ribbon finished things off. I think I ticked all of the boxes for the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by, I sure do appreciate it!

Just Us Girls #761 ~ I Love You

 

Our new die cut challenge at Just Us Girls seems to be a big success! We enjoyed seeing all of your cards last month using your dies. I'm the hostess this week and I'm looking for heart die cuts. I know you have some of those in your stash! A new month also means a new guest designer will be joining us. Welcome, Stephanie we so happy to have you! 

And now for my card...

I've paired one of my favorite Poppystamps cover plates (Nordic Flourish Background) with one of my favorite Papertrey Ink heart dies (On the Border: From the Heart Border). Ivory cardstock and some vintage October Afternoon paper did the trick along with a wee sentiment by the Colorado Craft Company. 

♥♥♥♥♥

 Okay, your turn. 

I look forward to seeing what heart dies you choose!

I'll be linking this up over at The Paper Players.

They have a 'love is in the air challenge' this week.

The girls at Double D Challenges are looking for hearts!