Some thank yous are in order

I have a few thank yous to get out this morning. This card was chosen by Muse voters as a Featured Member this past week. So thank you for choosing this one. I am humbled and honored (in all seriousness, not even a speck of sass) that you liked it. It's winging its way to Marilyn, who is feeling a bit better this week.  I have to say that there were soooo many amazing cards inspired by Darnell's lovely creation, and I'd like to offer my congratulations to the other Featured Members, as well as the HMs; your cards are an inspiration to me and to everyone.

The next thank you goes to Jen and the DT over at CASology for choosing this card as the winner for week 67. I was totally surprised as there were so many fun and great cards in the running. What a wonderful way to start my week. Thank you; it means so much.

It's been a busy week, but I have spent some time in my craft room. I managed to finish two cards yesterday, but since DH and I were headed to Milwaukee for a movie and dinner with friends, there was no time to post. We went to the early show, so as not to miss the entire (what turned out to be the last one too) World Series game. Not a great (heck, not even a good) movie, which I won't deign to mention in this post, but great company and good dinner following the film. We're hoping to get together again in a week or two to go and see the new film Twelve Years A Slave. Looks like a winner in my book.

Now the cards and challenges. My first card is for Muse. After perusing my stash of Christmas stamps, I found I really don't have very many. As you know, I don't really make many Christmas cards. But I guess it's time to make a small investment in a few... Janet Ribet is the Monday Muse this week and has a great card. Love the blues and the layers and the embossing, and the glitter...well, the whole card is sweet; see for yourself:

I kept to the blues and whites for mine. They remind me of Christmas Eve night.

I kept it simple. I used an Avery Elle frame stamped in blue Studio G ink and fussy cut. The bulbs are stickers from an old open pack. And the SU sentiment is stamped in the same blue ink.

My next card will go into the Inky Paws Challenge. The makers of Newton's Nook stamps runs this challenge. And if you haven't seen their stamps, take a little run over there. Cute stamps, and boy!, they are some of the best stamping stamps ever. There's a nice sketch going on, and I had to play. Got a ping right away for this one. Here's the sketch:

It's also going into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. It's an Anything Goes challenge this week, and according to my little brain, my card fits! It's always fun to play along. There are always lots of participants, and what inspiration in each and every card!

And my card:

All of the stamps are from Newton's Nook (dang cute too!). The papers are scraps - yippee!! I colored and fussy cut the wagon. I stamped and colored two sets of presents, one right on the card, one I fussy cut and slipped in the wagon. Stamped in Stayzon and colored with Sharpies and Copics. You'll notice there's a bow on the sketch, but I used the wagon handle in place of that as I didn't think there would be enough room. This will make a sweet kiddie birthday card!

Don't go away just yet...I have one more card to show you. I own a few sets and some dies made by W Plus 9. Another killer awesome stamp company. They have a Monday Mood Board Challenge, and I've never had the courage to play along. This time, I really wanted to. On occasion, I like to add a bit of frou-frou to a card. It's not all that easy for me, but I gave it a shot! So here's the Mood Board:  

So soft and lovely. So many elements spoke to me and I knew that I could put something together. And here is what I came up with:

All the stamps are from W Plus 9. A bit of crocheted lace, twine, and Washi tape. Scraps of dp, and also a scrap of kraft. StayzOn white ink, HA Shadow Ink - medium pink, SU pink ink, Color box blue and brown inks. W Plus 9 Fresh Cut Floral die, and the tag die is from LF. A smattering of dime store sequins and that's it. So if you've made it to here, you're probably already happy dancing that the post is done! Happy Halloween. 

Happy Saturday

What a lovely day. It's sunny with blue skies, and in about an hour, I plan on getting out and cut all my flower beds back. Might even dig up a few ugly plants/flowers if it stays nice. I've got big plans for those beds next spring, and am anxious for them to be all prepped. But that's all happening a bit later in the morning.

Right now, I wanted to share a card I made for the Muse challenge. My dear friend, Darnell from djkardkreations is the Guest Muse this week, and boy, if you haven't read her post or seen her card for this challenge, I strongly encourage you to get over there. In fact, here's the link to the specific post, and another to Muse. She's right, you know...we 'super women' have way too much stress in our lives. I decided a while back to eliminate as much stress as possible (restructuring those flower beds will help with some of my gardening stress...) for so many reasons. It's a much nicer way to live. Here's the calm, sweet, and encouraging card that the sweet Darnell made:

For my card, I tried to stay with the light, airy look of her flower, and with the pink and green color scheme. And, I CASEd her sentiment, as you'll soon see.

The sage green base is from Color Mates, which is widely available at Archivers. A scrap of white Bazzill for the focal point. All SU inks, and as well as the little tiny pink butterfly stamp, which represents hope. The flower and greens stamps are from Technique Tuesday (a NBUS, Darnell!), which I have had stashed for several months but hadn't used these particular images. I wish you could see the smidgen of Wink of Stella I've applied randomly to the flower heads; not covering them entirely, but enough to make you move the card to make sure your eyes aren't deceiving you. I drew the line with my old marker, which I've had for years, and the sentiment is from CAS-ual Fridays. Isn't that a great font?! I like the way this turned out. I think that it pays tribute to my dear friend Darnell and her tremendous talent and kindness, and also lets those who are battling, or have battled the big "C" that they can (absolutely, positively) count on me. Today's Happy Dance is dedicated to all those who have won their battle, are in the midst of their battle, and all the families who rally round them. So go out and do a happy dance for them. Thanks!

ETA:

Just got word that my sil, Marilyn's cancer has returned with renewed vigor... Not the kind of news we wanted about her. This card will go out to her in Monday's mail, along with thoughts and prayers. 

Onto the cards

With the Disney scrapbook FINALLY DONE, (Christmas gift for some of the grandkids...) I was able to start making cards yesterday. Then I got a migraine, and well, that blew the rest of the day. So far so good today, and I got all nine of the cards for the little ones finished. Yippee!! I also managed to sneak a card for CASology in. And boy that one was EZPZ!

I promise to get to all of my neglected commenting too. I owe you all comments on your blogs, and apologize profusely for not getting to them before this. That darn scrapbook stole days of cardmaking and blog browsing.


CASology has a new cue card this week, and I was stumped for a day or two. Had a small ping, so then I thought, well, let's see if I can make the small ping work. I'm pretty sure that it does...

I kept it very, very clean and simple:

Can you believe I actually went online to learn how to tie a lasso? It is tied properly, at least according to the directions I found. I used my Cameo to cut out the speech bubbles and the "Howdy". The dp is from a 6x6 Kaiser Craft, and the brown cardstock is just a scrap. The base is some kraft cardstock.

My next card comes from my group of nine Halloween cards. I thought it would be nicer to show you the whole group, and then just an individual card I've made and will to pop into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.  So first, the inspiration:

And next, the group of cards I made between yesterday and today:

Photo's not very clear, but these are all the cards for the little ones. I have cards for the college grandgirls, but they're not in the photo. This is the one I chose for the challenge:

Doesn't this just crack you up??! What a funny little doxie! All of the stamps are from Newton's Nook. And just let me say, Dang!, they are some of the finest stamping stamps I've ever used. Copics to color, and an MFT die. I wish you could see the Wink of Stella on the wings and tutu, but that part didn't seem to want to cooperate. Oh well...And now, if I'm to get onto comments, I had better shut up! Happy dances everyone!

Kinda Fun

It's kinda fun to make cards. Okay...it's waaay fun to make cards! I've been working on a scrapbook for the grandkiddies for Christmas, and I just had to feed my card making obsession this morning. There were withdrawal symptoms occurring...and I know that you know exactly what I mean.

There are a few scant hours left to play over at Color Throwdown. And a dear, dear friend had sent some goodies a little while ago, and I have been dying to use them. This was the perfect time and challenge to really put a few to good use!

Love this combination! Love all the fashion inspiration. Though I will admit those shoes hurt my feet just looking at them! 

Here's what I made:

The navy came out blackish, but it really is navy. All the dp, and the "Happy Day" sticker is from Fancy Pants. The silver disk and the branch are from my scrap box, as is the little heart. The heart has a dab of Wink of Stella on it. And now I'm off running with DH this morning. Happy dances everyone.

Groovin', on a Sunday afternoon...

Anybody remember that song? It's been stuck in my head since yesterday at Scrap and Stamp. We had Pandora Radio on, and it was set to my "5th Dimension" station with great Motown Sounds. That song played and brought back memories of warm, sunny, summer days as a young teenager. Carefree days of Dr. Scholl's sandles, halter tops, learning to golf, riding mini bikes, and hanging out with girlfriends. Nice memories.

My card today goes into Muse #39. As soon as I saw the Muse card by Marion Vagg, I knew I would play along. It's one of those cards you just love. And I do...take a look and see if you don't fall.

Uh-huh. How cool is this??!! I'm barely squeaking in for various reasons, but here is my take on this week's Muse:

Once again, the weather isn't cooperating with my photo shoot. It's pretty darn close to the same blues as in Marion's card, and the reds are beautifully rich. Die cuts again. Letters and number are from MB. The stamp and the tag dies are from LF. Versacolor red ink, and some ds sequins. Hope the rest of your Sunday is wonderful. Happy dances to everyone.

One Layer Wizard

Before the deadline expires over at Less is More, I wanted to get my card in. Last month, I ordered a bunch of stamps from Newton's Nook. This was in one of the sets. Oh. My. Goodness. What wonderful stamps. Nice crisp, clean and darn cute images. You've got to check them out. The LIM challenge is to make a one-layer card with a witch, wizard or even a little monster. So many cute cards have been posted; had to play.

So here's my little fella:

It's hard for me to see today...migraines are interrupting my eyesight today. If this is blurry, let me know and if I have a migraine free day tomorrow, I'll fix it. Can't tell if it's my eyes or the photo...sorry.

But isn't he the cutest?! His spell went wonky, and whatever he created certainly has him confused! Again, stamps from Newton's Nook, and Copic markers. Oh, and the ? & ! are from an MFT set. That's it, gotta run. Happy dances everyone.

Die Cut Day

It was die cut day here in my craft room. Just couldn't stop. Mostly from my Cameo, but the one I'm still working on has the alphabet dies from MB, and is hopefully, being posted tomorrow! I've gone a bit overboard with cards today and am not even posting all of them. So I'll move on and get right to the challenges these cards are going into without any more nonsense.

First, I have a card for CASology, whose cue card this week is: 

Darnell...I had a ping. Had two other cards going but had to stop and cruise through this one:

It's going to UW to granddaughter Melissa for Halloween (no duh, eh?!) Everything was cut with my Cameo, and the stamp is from Newton's Nook, (killer perfect stamping stamps, btw) and inked up with SU black. Pretty easy card.

Next up is card #2 for CAS(E) this Sketch. Talk about a fun sketch!! Karolyn Loncon came up with this one, and I think I might have to bookmark this and use it often. Here's the sketch:

This card is going to another granddaughter, only Miss Sammy is 3. She's so darn cute, and loves ducks. Her daddy thinks she's a bit sassy, but I tell him that she's just like him at that age!

I've made cards for all three of this family of little ones, but am only posting this one. The ducks were cut with my Cameo, and the flowers are actually sequins I got years ago at a scrapbook convention and rarely use. Bookworm font, computer generated. EZPZ! She'll love getting her own real mail!

And lastly, I found this sketch over at CAS-Colours and Sketches. Had another ping, and this card went together really, really quickly. 

It's for a friend who lives far away...

Now I have to tell you that I saw a card made this morning by Wida Miller over at Beachorado. First, her card is awesome, as all her cards are, and I fell madly in love with this cut file. I borrowed her idea slightly. So thanks Wida! An inspiration as always!!

My card uses a dp from a 6x6 pack of Fancy Pants, and all the cardstock is from Hobby Lobby. A few sequins, and whammo!, done!! So quick; another EZPZ card for today, and my last. 

I will get to commenting tonight (I hope). Had planned to catch up last night when a YKW hit. First one in about a week....anyway...Happy dances everyone!

About this card..

This card is for another one of our kids...our youngest daughter. Her favorite color is red, so I knew that I had to go with that color. Wasn't sure what I was going to make, then I remembered I had a new stash of MFT supplies, which I won in a blog hop. I started by cutting the large speech bubble die in red cardstock, popped over and saw the current sketch over at their blog, and the card just made itself. I finished it this morning, but had to run DH around town and am only now getting to the post. Dinner looms, and I haven't got a clue what to make. Oh well, what's more important? Card making or making dinner? I'm going with cards, how 'bout you???!!

I have to tell you that if you're looking for some awesome dies, try some of the ones from MFT. Clean cuts, fun shapes, and I've found them on line, in stores, and at conventions. They've got a brand new one out, that I'm pretty sure is calling my name. Wait! Did you hear that???? Sorry, thought I heard something....
Their Wednesday Stamp Club has a fun sketch and while it's only up for a bit longer, go and check it out.

And this is what I made for DD3:

Bear with me...the red is this gorgeous rich deep red, but here it looks a bit garish! Sorry about that. All of the dies and the stamp are from MFT. Cream colored scrap of cardstock, and scraps of black and red too. Dime-store sequins. $.69 per package. 800 count per package...can't beat that! Studio G ink, and the background paper is from OA. Now before I go, you've got to see this die...the one that's calling my name. See if it doesn't start calling your name too!! Here's the link, and here's a photo:

Oh can you just imagine the possibilities????!!!! I'm going to try to be good...I'll let you know how that goes...hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! In the meantime, happy dances everyone.

I don't make many...

...Christmas cards. Isn't that funny for a card maker? I quit sending out Christmas cards several years ago when we topped the 150 mark; it just got too expensive. That was well before I started making cards, and I'm really fussy. No 'el cheapo' cards were ever bought! And the other thing about the cards was, that Christmas cards should be about the true meaning of Christmas; the celebration of Christ our Redeemer's birth. The card you're about to see is a "winter" card, which DH will send to one of his friends over the holidays. He likes to have a few 'non-religious' cards on hand. Yep, he still sends out a few cards. But enough of that...

Now. Don't ask me where or how I found this brand new challenge blog, but hanging out in blogland, I stumbled across this one:  Stamplorations Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog. I found the sketch to be intriguing, and thought I'd play along. I'm really pleased that I did too. There's nothing like finding a new challenge and inviting your friends to join you for its inauguration. Head over to check it out, then play along! Here is the sketch:

My card looks like this:

This is quite a mixed lot of supplies. White Bazzill base and snow, which was embossed with a LC folder. SU stamps from a set my sister Sue (hi Sue!) gave me eons ago. Jenny Bowlin ink, W Plus 9 circle dies, an olllldddd top hat sticker, craft ribbon from Michaels (thanks Geri!), Cloud 9 'buttons' on Mr. Snowman, and the face I drew my own darn self (that, my friends, is the extent of my artistic ability!). I popped the little fella up on some pop dots, and called it good. I think DH will like this. So. To all my Canadian friends, have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. And everyone should be happy dancing today - it's Friday! Woohoo!

Two quick ones

Jumping right in....

Had to play again at the Lawnscaping Challenge. We are challenged to use patterned paper. Since I have scads, that was EZPZ.

Here's my (second) card:

The patterned papers are from Authentique. Lawn Fawn balloon stamp, SU ink, "birthday" arrow cut with Cameo, clouds die cut with MB die. The basket on the balloon was stamped and fussy cut from a scrap. 

Card number two is for CAS(E) this Sketch.  Very cool sketch and I hope to play this challenge again. Check it out:

My take is a bit less literal:

All scraps on a white Bazzill base. PTI sentiment stamped with SU ink. A bit of random twine "attached" with MME enamel dots. I cut the flags with my MFT die. So that's it for today...I promise. Happy dances!

Sneaking One In

CAS-ual Fridays challenge ends in a couple of hours, and it took me this long to figure out what I wanted to make. I love chevrons, and I adore sequins (reminiscent of old Barbie evening gowns, I think...) and I really wanted to play along. But I wanted to do something a little different. I have a *few* sheets of chevron paper, but none of them spoke to me. Then when I was perusing my emails, I saw a striped Christmas tree. Skinny stripes. And I thought that I could paper piece some stripes and make my own chevrons! Toss some sequins on to  look like ornaments, and voila!, I'd have a card.

As I was fiddling with the card, things changed a bit. I simply cut out a triangle in the shape I wanted on my Cameo. Then, after making sure I could get the proper chevron look, I turned the paper a quarter turn and cut another one. After cutting one right down the center, I adhered half onto the other tree and adjusted it a bit to line up  my  pattern.  Ta-Da! My chevron tree! When it came to the sequins, I tried making them look like ornaments, but changed my mind as you'll see.

The lighting this morning wasn't great. The pinkish red is more like a redish pink, but looks rather garish in this photo. It's richer irl. I used a scrap of polka dot paper, and a sheet of Dots and Stripes from AC. The sequins are from N&T, and the stamp is one I got a long time ago and has been out of its packaging so I'm not sure who makes it. And a matchy-matchy green ink from SU. Don't you love it when that randomly happens?! And that's it. After a few chores, I'll get back to crafting. In the meantime, I hope you all find something that makes you do a happy dance. 

Back.

After I got back from visiting Avery and her family last week, I came home to company. Our dd and sil were here from Phoenix for his niece's wedding. That left no time to craft...and yesterday, after they left (@5:00 a.m.) it was time to catch up on groceries, laundry, and then a granddaughter's swim meet. I did attempt to make a card before the swim meet, but mojo was a no go. Finally got back in the groove this morning. Although my mojo is somewhat limited for now....

I made a card for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. They're "going dotty" over there. Use dps, embossing; just make it dotty.

I went starry dotty:

No matter what I did, the image decided it was not going to cooperate well. I must be out of practice. But I think you get the general idea. The 'happy' was cut using my NBUS die from MFT. I smeared glue all over it, and sprinkled green glitter. While that dried, I covered the front of the base with some Doodlebug dp, cut a white mat, and a black mat from some scraps, and used my Cameo to create a little tag. The ribbon was in my last order from Ellen Hutson, and I used some KF twine. The 'Halloween' is more NBUS - a masked off sentiment from Newton's Nook stamps. Once the 'happy' was dry, I put it all together. I like how it turned out. This will be a good one to send to the college girls. Happy dances everyone.