Merriest Wishes Card

Good day! I have a quick post to share this Merriest Wishes Card. It was inspired by the Christmas in July photo/movie challenge at Catch The Bug. The movie is White Christmas and the photo is a wonderful snow woodland scene (see below). So, I used more white than normal with some fun foil polka dot paper. It looks silver and when light hits it there is a rainbow look. It's by DCWV pastel foils mat stack and it was paired with a Bugaboo image called Winter Birds - Snowman. The image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a Taylored Expressions scalloped frame. On my craft desk was this cute squirrel from a retired Newton's Nook set that I colored months ago and I decided it was perfect next to the Merriest Wishes sentiment. That's it! Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. I'm also entering this card into the challenge at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas. So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day! 

Photo inspiration:

Newton Santa Paws Card

Happy Thursday! We got a subtle break from the summer heat the last couple of days and it's been nice. I mowed the lawn yesterday and pulled a few weeds, but there are still plenty of outdoor chores that need to be done. It's seems there is never enough time or energy to get everything accomplished.

Making Christmas cards in July is a wonderful idea! It helps me add to my stash and it's a nice break from summer colors. Although, this Newton Santa Paws Card is the first one I've made this month. I've had a harder time finding ideas than usual. Luckily the sketch at Inky Paws helped to inspire this card. The Santa Paws stamp set by Newton's Nook was used and the images colored with Copic markers. Three different patterned papers were used, plaid by Lawn Fawn, polka dots by Stampin' Up! and snowflakes by Recollections (Fireside paper pad). I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Gals Corner: Christmas in July
• Crafting By Designs: Get Ready for Christmas
• Inky Paws: Sketch #102
• Shopping Our Stash: Christmas in July
• Watercooler Wednesday: All About Occasions

Caring Card - TMS #512

The weeks keep flying by and it's Tuesday again! That means the start of another sketch challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This weeks sketch was designed by Melissa Craig and I really enjoyed using my patterned paper on this Caring Card. It's a great sketch to use a sentiment as the focal point and I used a sentiment by Print Works called Caring is Everything. The design team has created some wonderful inspiration and we would love for you to join us this week. For all the challenge details click HERE and don't forget to link your card by 8 pm EST on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges entered: Crafty Friends (2 or More Patterned Papers), Creative Fingers (Anything Goes) and Just Us Girls (Sentiment as Focus).

Sketch #512:

Loveable Llama Birthday Card

Hello! For the next couple of weeks Inky Paws is celebrating their 100th challenge. It's fun to look back and I found the first time I played along and it was challenge #32, you can see that card HERE. For the celebration you can pick your favorite color, sketch and theme challenges and play them again. For this Loveable Llama Birthday Card I picked challenge #54 to use polka dots. I love to use polka dots and decided to ink one of my newer stamp sets called Loveable Llamas by Newton's Nook. The images were colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating dies. Three sequins were added for sparkle and a small butterfly from the Newton's Birdbath stamp set. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• 2 Crafty Critters: Anything Goes with a Critter 
• Crafty Gals Corner: Polka Dots and/or Stripes
• Inky Paws: 100th Challenge (#54 Use Polka Dots) (Original Card Entry)

August 28, 2017

Birthday Blessings Card - TMS #505

Hello and happy Tuesday! If you live in the United States I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I will admit I didn't leave the house yesterday, it was nice to stay home. Now today is the start of a new sketch challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I hope you will join us this week. After choosing my sentiment I decided to rotated the sketch vertically, to fit the flowers they couldn't be arched as drastically as the sketch shows. So, feel free to try the sketch with your creative alterations. You have until 8 pm (EST) on Sunday to link your creation. Click HERE for all the challenge details and design team inspiration.

The stamped flowers were made using Guava ink and the Fab Flowers stamp set along with coordinating dies all by Lawn Fawn. Some fun polka dot paper from the Pretty Things paper pad by My Mind's Eye was matted to a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock by Stampin' Up!. The sentiment area was cut with a Cricut machine along with the Storybook cartridge and then was stamped with a birthday sentiment by Stampabilities. That's it! So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Allsorts: Birthday
• Crafty Cardmakers: Birthdays    

Sketch #505:

Sending Sunshine Card - TMS #501

Happy Tuesday and welcome back for the start of a new sketch challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This week features a sketch designed by Melissa Craig. I like to use cute critters on my cards when possible, so I made the focal area a little larger. The digital image is by Craftin Desert Divas and it's called Sending Sunshine. I'm entering my card into the Make My Monday challenge to use Wings. To enter your creation using this weeks sketch you have until Sunday at 8 pm EST. For more details and to see all the wonderful inspiration from the design team click HERE. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Easter Blessings Card with Bunny

Hello! I decided to make one more Easter card and couldn't resist using one of my favorite stamps called Let's Be Happy by Unity Stamps. The bunny is just darling and makes me smile. Copic markers were used to color the bunny and then a stitched square die was used. For the background paper I found a piece of yellow polka dots from my scrap bin and used a small piece of floral paper from the Spring Fling Paper Pad by Echo Park. A small pink butterfly finishes it off and that's it. So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered: Addicted to Stamps (Make Your Mark), Creative Moments (Anything Goes/Spring/Easter), Dragonfly Journeys (EveryBUNNY is Welcome), Simon Says Wednesday (Mood Board) and The Fairy and the Unicorn (Easter Rabbits).

Monster Birthday Card

Hello! I have a quick post to share this Monster Birthday Card I made today. There is a Monster Birthday Bash going on at the Catch The Bug Challenge and I wanted to play along. To make this card I used patterned papers from the Happy Birthday paper pad by Echo Park (2017). The image is by Bugaboo Stamps and it's called Birthday Monster Cake. Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was die cut with a stitched square die. The birthday sentiment is by Hero Arts and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. That pretty much sums it up. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Catch The Bug: Monster Party
• Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper: Anything Goes
• Dragonfly Dreams: Anything Goes
• Southern Girls: Anything Goes

Warm Fuzzies Christmas Card

Good day! The Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop started last Friday and I finally had time to make a card. This Warm Fuzzies Christmas Card features the Warm Fuzzies stamp by Gerda Steiner. The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut. A die cut circle was used for the focal area and then some Tumbled Glass distress ink applied for some color. The cup and stocking patterned paper is from the Recollections Fireside 6 x 6 paper pad , Merry Christmas text paper is by The Paper Studio, the Shaded Spruce polka dots are by Stampin' Up! and the papers were matted to a piece of Shaded Spruce cardstock. To add a little sparkle three white snowflake sequins were added and that's it. So glad you stopped by.

Challenges entered:

• Coffee Lovers Winter Blog Hop
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Christmas
• Crimbo Crackers: Anything Christmas
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Moving Along With The Times: Anything Christmas

Happy Hoppy Halloween!!!

Happy Hoppy Halloween!!! The trick-or-treating has begun and a sugar rush is sure to follow. We always decorate our yard and try to make it fun for the kids. Unfortunately, it is raining and that may keep some of the ghouls and goblins away. That could mean leftover candy... which I'm sure my hubby will have no problem polishing off.

After I mailed my Halloween cards to family and friends, I decided to make one more card using some of the scraps. Everything was laying around my craft desk and the image was already colored. All I had to do was trim a few pieces, die cut the bats, stamp the sentiment and adhere everything together. The orange polka dot paper really soaked up the Memento black ink I used with the sentiment. It started out much darker, but it's much lighter now. Well, that's it! I hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Halloween
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Halloween
• Fab 'n' Funky: Halloween
• Shopping Our Stash: Witching Hour/Halloween 

Our decorated front yard

Just a Note Card with Cat

Hello and happy Monday! Today is National Cat Day and we are certainly a pro cat household. Our cats are a constant source of entertainment and joy. Although, there is a lot of work involved in keeping the litter boxes clean, washing their blankets and providing for all their needs. We wouldn't change a thing... they are our family and life would be boring without them.

This Just a Note Card with Cat was made using the color challenge at Catch The Bug. After selecting the patterned papers and layout, I decided to add stitching for extra detail. The digital Cute Kitty image by Bugaboo Stamps was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a stitched circle die. A retired sentiment from Stampin' Up! was added along with a small butterfly from the Newton's Birdbath stamp set by Newton's Nook. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cardz 4 Galz: Let's Go Digital
• Catch The Bug: Colors
• Sunny Day Crafting: Use an Animal 

Hoppy Halloween Card

Hello! I hope you had time to make a card today during World Cardmaking Day. We ran errands this afternoon and then I took a nap, finally this evening I made this Hoppy Halloween Card. The stamp set is called Hoppy Halloween and it's by Newton's Nook. It coordinated perfectly with the candy patterned paper from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles (2016). Some twine and three glimmer dots finished the card and that's it.

Challenges entered: Addicted to Stamps (Make Your Mark), Aud Sentiments (Use a Two Word Sentiment), Craft Rocket (Autumn/Halloween), The Crafty Addicts (Anything Goes/Spook it Up) and Unicorn Challenge (Autumn/Halloween).

Dog Sympathy Card

Last night before I went to bed I checked my Facebook feed and was heartbroken to read one of the dogs from Animal Aid of Tulsa named Stella passed away. Her story is tragic as she was shot in the head and left to die. Animal Aid and veterinarians worked with her and ended up removing one of her eyes. It had been seven months since her rescue but she had night terrors from her abuse, phantom nerve pain and so much psychological damage that she was miserable. Her caregivers made the hard choice to free her of her suffering. She was a victim of abuse and abuse is what killed her. May she rest in peace!

This Dog Sympathy Card was made for Stella's caregivers. I know they put a lot of love, time and effort into her recovery and their hearts are broken. Their work is so important and I hope this card helps in some way. The layout for this card came from this weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches. If you have animals give them an extra hug today. Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Animals: Anything with Animals
• Sunny Day Crafting: Anything with Animals
• Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #471

Photo of Stella

Sketch

Fabulous Day Card

Hello! I ended up having a little time to myself this evening when my hubby ran errands. So, once the washing machine and dryer were doing their thing... I decided to play.

Earlier in the week I found a really good deal on the Early Bird paper pad by Bo Bunny (2017), so I bought two. The colors in this paper are really pretty and I thought it would look good with the polka dot butterfly from the Hero Arts Stamp & Cut set. I bought the stamp set several years back and have barely used it. I love the polka dot butterfly, so I don't know why I don't use it more. Daffodil Delight ink by Stampin' Up! was used for the butterfly and Memento black for the sentiment and butterfly detail. That's it! I debated on adding embellishments but decided against it. Sometimes less is more! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the weekend!

Challenges entered:

• 4 Crafty Chicks: Crazy Egg/ATG
• Craftyhazelnut's: Patterned Paper
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes
• Shopping Our Stash: Quit Buggin' Me!!

Birthday Card with Elephant

Good day! Did you know last Sunday, August 12th was World Elephant Day? I had no idea until late that night when I saw a post from the Tulsa Zoo. It was too late to make a card for the occasion but I did print out this image and laid it on my craft desk. The image is called Peaches Balloons by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Marker colors were selected to coordinate with the retired Cherry On Top patterned paper by Stampin' Up!. I really love the bright colors in this paper! Warm Grays were used to color the elephant and neutral grays for the little mouse. A cross stitched oval die by My Favorite Things was used to die cut the image. To cut the mat a pair of deckle Fiskars scissors were used. The Happy Birthday sentiment was a freebie from Lawn Fawn that I received when I placed my birthday order. A punched circle was matted to a scalloped punched circle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Going Around in Circles 
• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments Designs: Animals
• Cute N Crafty: Animals

Heart Spots Card

Hello and happy August 1st! August is definitely not my favorite month, but we are one month closer to Fall and that makes me happy. This past weekend we went to the Tulsa Zoo and currently they have four snow leopards. The mother had three babies last year, two boys and a girl. My hubby and I love watching them. The boys are being kept apart from their mother and sister. Eventually they will go to another zoo as part of the species survival program. It makes me so sad to think about this species vanishing from our Earth. They are so beautiful!

Supplies for this Heart Spots Card include:

• Stamps: Heart Spots by Reverse Confetti and retired Thoughtful Branches by Stampin' Up! (grass).
• Inks & Coloring: Memento black ink and Copic markers, Warm Gray for the Leopards and Neutral Gray for the stone, YG17, YG25, V15, V17, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends marker. Tumbled Glass distress ink and Wild Wasabi ink pad by Stampin' Up!.
• Other Stuff: Heart Spots Confetti Cuts by Reverse Confetti and Frames & Flags die set by Newton's Nook.

Challenges entered:

• Crafting By Designs: Anything Goes
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Stitched Dies
• Simon Says Stamp: Wild Things
• That's Crafty!: Animal Magic
• Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes

Snow Leopard from Tulsa Zoo

Newton's Ice Cream Card

This week I was really excited to receive my recent Newton's Nook order! The new Newton's Summer Treats stamp set is super cute! When I was growing up I remember my mom would eat ice cream almost every night. I'm pretty sure her motto is "ice cream solves everything," so when I saw this set I knew it would be perfect for numerous cards. This Newton's Ice Cream Card was created using the sketch challenge at Inky Paws. I was definitely feeling a sherbet vibe with the colors selected. All patterned paper are from the Sugar & Spice paper pad by Doodlebug Designs. Some Lemon Ice Stickles was added to the strip of yellow paper for some sparkle. Copic markers were used to color the image and I colored the kitty to look like my first house cat. That's it, no other embellishments were added and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and may the rest of your day be wonderful!

Challenges entered:

• Alphabet Challenge: Ice Cream
• Cardz 4 Galz: Food and/or Drink
• Crafting with Dragonflies: Spots and Stripes
• Inky Paws: Sketch #77

My first house cat, she was so pretty and sweet.

Dressed Bunny Easter Card

This week is going by pretty fast and I still need to make several more Easter cards. It's been a couple of years since I stamped this image that I borrowed from a friend. I knew it would make a cute card for my youngest niece. The image is really large, so I used a center focused design for this Dressed Bunny Easter Card. Copic markers were used to color the image, then it was trimmed and matted to pink cardstock. The plaid patterned is by Lawn Fawn and the yellow polka dots is by Echo Park. To finish it off I added a little yellow butterfly and a Happy Easter sentiment.

Does your favorite colors change with the season? I'm always going to love green and purple but I love using yellow in the spring and one of my new favorite colors is coral sea blue (BG23). Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cute Card Thursday: Easter
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Shopping Our Stash: Here Comes Peter Cottontail
• Aud Sentiments: Bingo + Sentiment  (patterned paper, stamps and favorite color)

Another version:

Hello Honey Card

Good day! It's a cold rainy day today, so I stayed indoors and made this Hello Honey Card. This weather has me thinking about Spring and all the lovely Spring flowers. So, I decided to use Spring patterned papers by Pebbles from the Spring Fling collection/2015. The bear and bee images are from the Winston's Honeybees stamp set by Newton's Nook. All images and sentiment were stamped with Memento black ink. Copic markers were used to color the images and then they were die cut with a stitched circle die by My Favorite Things. Cardstock colors include: Basic Black, Mint Macaroon, Hello Honey and Watermelon Wonder all by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!


Challenges entered:

• Double D: Woodland Creatures
• Crafty Sentiments: Spring
• City Crafter: Polka Dots
• Craftaholics R Us: Anything Goes
• Dream Valley: Things with Wings (Bees)

Birthday Card with Turtle

Today is day 6 of the Bugaboo Birthday Bash at the Catch the Bug Blog. The challenge is a recipe challenge to use: Kraft, Ribbon & Bold Colors. I chose some fun bright bold colors using patterned papers from the Hello Sunshine paper pad by Doodlebug Designs. The turtle image has been in my stash since 2013 (click here for another turtle birthday card). Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was die cut with a stitched circle die. The ribbon was adhered flush to the card behind the image. I'm not good with bows, so I avoid making them whenever possible. Five larger sequins were added for sparkle and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from the new Perennial Birthday stamp set by Stampin' Up!. That's it, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Catch the Bug: Recipe
• Cute Card Thursday: Something Fun
• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes
• Crafting with an Attitude: Anything Goes