Today's Cards

Sharing cards today, but no chatter if I can help it. No time. Lots going on.

Playing at Color Throwdown and City Crafter's Challenge

Week 366 ~ Frame It!

Mine:

"27" stamps by Studio Calico

Various sequins

Scrap of navy card stock

Card two will play at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Emboss It 

Mine:

NBUS TE embossing folder

MB branch die

MFT frame

SU Parisian Breeze blue base

Verve Sentiment stamp

Scraps of SU dp and cardstock

Last card will play along with Fusion. I used both sides to an extent.

ME scallop die and curve die

Various scraps of dp

Bicycle created by Silhouette; P&C file

SSS "wishes" sentiment

three enamel dots

Gotta run....

Guest Designing for The Heart Desires!!

Oh it's a happy day for me! Katie Brooks sent me an email after the birthday card I made for Lily took top honors at The Heart Desires Challenge, and asked if I wanted to be the Guest Designer for June. After some initial "woohooing," and some serious happy dancing, I replied that I'd be honored. And I am... really, really honored to be June's GD!!!!! I can't wait until you see the inspiration photo, and I'm hoping you'll play along too! Thanks for having me!

Now about that inspiration photo.... I couldn't decide which square to go with, because each one is amazing, and don't even get me started about how much I'm in love with those colors!! See if you can guess where inspiration took me:

*sigh*

This is what I made:

The main panel started out as blank and white. I created three masks from this set, C9's Wildflower (which can also be found in The Heart Desires shop), then covered the entire front with this chrysanthemum. I used some green Copics to color them, and then filled in the background with gray. I had a sample sitting on my desk and gave the centers of a couple a smattering of Stickles, but didn't like the outcome, so left them as is on the 'real' card front. The sentiment is SSS, and the gray ink for the flower outlines is Smoke from Mama Elephant. It needed a little something more, so I added a black mat. EZPZ lemon squeezy!! So there you have it, and I hope you'll join me in the gallery! Thanks to Katie and the DT at The Heart Desires for having me. 

Better

Good Monday morning everyone. Wanted to show you a card I made last night while the Cubs were on. And I also wanted to thank you for your kind wishes concerning DH. He's feeling better this morning, and while I know that he's never going to be "great" again, I'm delighted with 'better.' I can always tell when he's doing alright because he's sitting in the family room next door with MLB Central on. Maybe it's the way his team is playing that's helped his general well-being, lol!! In reality though, I know that it's all the prayers said on his behalf that is sustaining him.

Card. That's really why you're here after all. Only one today, but if I'm a good girl and get my chores done early, I might just make more! Hmmmm...I'll stop chattering now and get to business. Didn't think I could play with at the Curtain Call challenge, but as it turns out, I made a card that works! And since it's an Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, I'm playing there too!

Here 'tis:

One little pot of succulents. The pot and succulent stamps are from two different HA sets, and the sentiment is from a SSS set. I die cut a circle with a WPlus9 die (yeah...like you couldn't tell it's a circle...) from a piece of My Mind's Eye on trend 2 patterned paper pad. And the images are colored with some Copics. One of the things I like best about this, is that the pink Copic matches the dp perfectly. Love it when that happens!! I've got to get to the chores now, but you all have a great Monday, and as always

Happy (belated) Birthday, Ardyth!

My mother used to say while raising us kids, "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get." That kind of describes me these days, lol. DH has been under the weather, and has needed a bit more attention these last couple of weeks, and so I've been away from crafting and blogging. Just keeping up with a few chores while keeping an eye on him has been plenty 'hurrier.' So, I'm 'behinder.' And even more terribly behind with a birthday card for Ardyth.  She, of MASKerade fame. She, who needs no introduction... Just the mention of her first name, and we all know who she is! Maker of square cards, CAS Queen, rainbows, David Bowie, lovely lady, friend! On this week's Muse, where she is lead Designer, Ardyth is celebrating her birthday and we're to CASE one of her cards. I headed off to her blog, and after looking at about ten bajillion fabulous cards, I chose to CASE this one from April 19th 2015:

Now, I love her cards, but I really, really LOVE this one! CAS, gray, and lots of happy to go 'round. Mine looks like this:

I went with a strawberry pinkyred for my happy, though. This square card is already winging its way to Toronto. I only wish I could have gotten to it sooner....so sorry Ardyth. I'll try to do better next year, I promise!

The 'happy' is an MFT die, and the 'birthday' is from a SSS set. While the 'birthday' looks navy blue, it's really black. In addition to the birthday bash at Muse, there's another celebration at AAA Cards, and I'll play along there too. 

Since I was up at 4:30 this morning to help my sweetie, and since I couldn't go back to sleep, I thought I'd make a tag for the current Tag You're It Challenge. Lindsey Larsen is GD this week, and just look at the tag she made!!!!:

Oh so pretty! Great inspiration!

Here's mine:

Back when scrapbooking was my be-all-and-end-all, I bought all kinds of paper, including the curly laser-cut blue you see behind the vellum in the center of this tag. I cut the white part of the tag with my Silhouette, and the gold 'celebrate' die is from Studio Calico. A bit of scrap ribbon, and I was done in time to head off to church. 

Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Ardyth, and many blessings in the coming year!!!

Two Birthday Cards

Good Sunday Afternoon to you all. I should be heading off to a Confirmation party right about now, but here I am at home keeping a close eye on DH. He had a little boo-boo last night at bedtime, and I don't feel I should leave him. Poor baby is alright, but this is where I need to be today. Our sweet Anna understands about her Papa, so at least there's no guilt involved in not being there. Since my craft room is adjacent to the family room and since that's where he is right now, I can spend some time in here with one ear cocked toward him.

I have two birthday cards for today. One is a pretty Pink card, and the other is, well, different. Here's where I'm playing:

and

My card for ATCAS looks like this:

To keep it a bit more 'simple,' I inlaid the smaller wonky panel within the larger one. Those are MFT dies. The blooms and stems are from Altenew, and the leaves are from an MFT set. The sentiment is from SSS. The Lemonade and the Succulent inks are from Fresh Ink. I've fallen madly in love with these inks. Truly.

I made the second card last week for THD.  My inspiration comes from the top right-hand quarter of the mood board. There are little vases on that table between the yellow and aqua glasses. They have pink flowers in them, though I left them off my card. It looks like this:

I used all scraps for this card, and the circles dies from MFT. The sentiment is PTI. Really easy. Not quite sure if I'm crazy about this, but decided to post it anyway. Let me know what you think...feel free to use words/phrases like, "ugh," "ick," "what were you thinking???"

And that's all for now. I want to play with some new PPP stamps that somehow arrived at my house even after I decided I was holding off for the rest of the month. Huh...wonder how that happened?!! 

As always...

Three for Four

I grabbed some time yesterday before and after chores and errands, and made a card or two. One of the three I made last week, but have had no time to photograph or post until today. I've got one ear listening for DH, who wants some help with a shower as soon as he works up the energy, so I will try to keep this short.

For the first card, I need to give credit to Therese, at Lost in Paper, whose card I totally CASEd. Have you ever fallen in love with someone's card, and you just have to do a little online shopping so you can make one just like it??!! That happened with this card:

I won't even tell you how long I stared at this one... Those colors, those owls (and I'm not a big owl fan, go figure...), the composition, that sentiment; I don't know what struck me, but I am full-on in love with this sweet card. 

For mine, I'm going to play at Seize the Birthday, where the topping is creatures or animals.

And it looks like this:

My favorite green ink died, so I had to go with yellow, but I LOVE this new Fresh Inks Chamomile. And the blue is also from Fresh Inks. The gray is Smoke from ME. The owls are NBUS from MFT, as is the sentiment. 

Next, is a card that will play at The Heart Desires and Cards In Envy (where the theme is to use your favorite color combination/anything goes).

If you look in the lower right-hand quarter, you'll see a flock of paper birds, and I was inspired by the movement and colors there. And I quite love this color combination.

I cut the birds out of various colors with my Silhouette, and arranged them about 5 million times until this mostly pleased me. The sentiment, both die and stamped are from Hero Arts. While I like this, I decided to make another, which looks nothing like this, which I'll post soon.

Lastly, I made a shaker card for CAS on Sunday, as the theme is a CAS shaker. I did my best to make it CAS, and if it doesn't meet those requirements, then I hope the DT removes it forthwith. 

Still in love with this AE birthday cake.

Horrid photograph. But this is so cute in person! PPP scalloped die, and as previously mentioned, an Avery Elle stamp and die. I colored the cake with Copics and added various sequins for the shaker part. I hope you like this as much as I do. And I'm off to get to my 'care giving' duties. Have a good day and as always, 

Here Again

I've been away again. Not "away" away, just away from my blog. Blaming the weather for making the head nasty, and DH for demanding a bit more than usual of my time. Today, however, the head is good, and DH is having a 'playdate' with a friend who stopped over. They're next door discussing politics... not my favorite subject, so I politely excused myself, shut the door gently, and am playing my party mix on my iPod. And yes, I am doing a little chair dancing when called for, as the 'boys' can't see me!! So they're happy, I'm happy and I hope this post finds you happy too. OH! I have cards (plural) as well. Let's mosey along then, shall we?!

Here's where I'm playing:

Less Is More

  

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

The theme for the week is "going dotty"

Freshly Made Sketches

Addicted To Stamps and More

Tag You're It

On to the cards:

My study in yellow and gray looks like this:

This one is for LIM and ATSAM. CAS, yes. Gray and yellow? Yes. SSS flowers cut and popped up. MFT frame die, and SSS sentiment. A bit of stickles for some shimmer. I watercolored the blooms with Zigs.

This next one is for TYI and FMS. I flipped the sketch, though.

That's a Uniko blossom and leaves and a HA happy and birthday. A scrap of LF dp, some ribbons, and a few enamel dots. Colored with Copics. (Wish it wasn't so dark, though...)

And lastly, this card is going over to SSSW to play.

You just never know when you're going to need a "cool" card. Job well done, congrats, way to go...

Scraps of dp, and a Studio Calico sentiment and popsicle die. And that's all there was to it!  

Now, if they boys keep solving the world's problems, I can get to some commenting! Here's hoping!!

A Happy Card

I like happy. Given the choice, I wouldn't watch a sad movie or read a sad book again as long as I live. At every opportunity, I'm going to look for the happy, the joy, that's in my life. No matter how big or how small that happy is, I am going to do my best to find it. Life is easier with 'happy' in it, don't you think? So I'm going with it. Making cards is one of the things in my life that helps to keep my 'happy level' full. So I'm going to share one bit of happiness with you today.

Have you seen the sweet inspiration photo over at Inspired By All The Little Things Challenge? It's delightful! I pulled out a NBUS set and within minutes, I had a card made. This same card will also visit the Seize The Birthday Challenge, and SSS Wednesday Challenge. Worked out perfectly!

And my card looks like this:

Love the yellow inside the bookcase. And that pretty blue wall. So that's where my inspiration came from. I used a NBUS Avery Elle stamp and die, which I lightly colored with Copics, and a silver gel pen. The little flower in the center is from a Poppy Stamps set. The little heart paper is Lawn Fawn, and scraps of blue and white. I did pop up the cake. Looks really happy to me. Hope you find it a happy card too! I'm off to start getting supper going. You have a good evening, and a good week. As always...