10th Birthday at TMS

Happy 10th Birthday to Tuesday Morning Sketches! That's a long time and a lot of sketches over the years. I'm proud to be part of the design team and we have some wonderful inspiration for you this week. We would love for you to celebrate this milestone with us. All you have to do is make a card with the sketch and link your creation by 8 pm EST on Sunday. Click HERE for all the challenge details and design team inspiration. I hope to see your card in the gallery!

To make my card I used distress oxide inks in tumbled glass and mermaid lagoon with mixed media paper. I spritzed it with water several times and used a heat gun to help it dry. Once dry a Folk Art stencil by Plaid called Handmade Charlotte was inked with peacock feathers distress ink. For the smaller circle a portion of the stencil was inked with abandoned coral distress ink and die cut with a stitched die. A sentiment by Close to My Heart was stamped with Memento black ink. Then some twine and candy dots added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Sketch #511:

Butterfly Little Moments Card

Happy Friday! This Butterfly Little Moments Card is probably my last entry into the Inky Paws 100th challenge. I used a former sketch from challenge #46. You can find my original card for this challenge HERE. The mouse and butterfly image is from the Garden Mice stamp set are by Newton's Nook and it was colored with Copic markers. Some pretty butterfly paper from the Sunshine & Good Times/Amy Tangerine paper pad by American Crafts (2017) is one of my favorites and I admit to hoarding it. It was paired with Purple Posey gingham paper which is a new color by Stampin' Up!. A little green twine from The Twinery was added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Challenges entered: Creative Fingers (Anything Goes), Inky Paws (100th Challenge) and QKR Stampede (Anything Goes).

May 1, 2017

Nice of You Card

Hello! I have a quick post to share this Nice of You Card that I made for the 100th Challenge at Inky Paws. For this card I revisited Sketch #89 from January 14,2019. For a link to my original card click HERE. This card features an image from the Garden Mice stamp set. The image was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with the coordinating dies. It was fun selecting the patterned papers! The floral and gingham are from the Spring Fling paper pad by Echo Park (2019) and the pink paper is from the Watercolor paper pad by Lawn Fawn. A texture stamp was used on the die cut circle with Pool Party ink by Stampin' Up!. The twine came from the packaging of my last Newton's Nook order. It was just sitting on my craft desk and it seemed appropriate to use it on a card with a Newton's Nook image. Well, that's it! So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Inky Paws Sketch #89:

Pot of Gold Card - TMS #494

Happy Tuesday! The weeks keep flying by and it's time for a new sketch challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This week we have a terrific sketch by Debbie Foster and it features an angled focal area which I love. I needed a St. Patrick's Day card to send to my parents and the focal area was perfect for the Newton's Pot of Gold stamp by Newton's Nook. Copic markers were used to color the image and then some gold Nuvo drops added to the coins. We would love for you to join us this week! You have until Sunday at 8 pm EST to link your creation. Click HERE for all the challenge details and design team inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Alphabet: Y is for Yarn/String or Twine
• Always Fun: Shades of Green
• Crafty Cardmakers: Make it Green
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Loss of Pet Sympathy Card

For those of you who have lost a pet you understand the heartbreak it brings. My friend and her hubby lost their 14 year old Yorkie yesterday and I know they are devastated. He was sweet and cute and went everywhere with them. They, like us, have no children and their dog was the center of their lives. I made this card for them in the hopes that it will help in some small way. 💔

The layout and design for this Loss of Pet Sympathy Card was based on a card I made in 2013 (click here). I moved the twine and used a different paper and embossing folder, but the sentiment and paw print stamps are the same. Thanks for stopping by and give your fur baby and extra hug today.

Challenges entered: Just Add Ink (Just Add Embossing), Make My Monday (Make it Krafty) and The Creative Crafters (Anything Goes).

Newton's Donut Card

Hello! Today was spent doing laundry and running errands. Trying to play catch-up after working yesterday. However, I did manage to make this Newton's Donut Card using the sketch from the current Inky Paws challenge. This is the first time I've used the Newton's Donut image and coordinating die by Newton's Nook. The patterned papers are from the Cream & Sugar paper pad by Doodlebug Design Inc. with the exception of the yellow polka dots by Stampin' Up!. Copic markers were used to color the image and it was adhered with stampin' dimensionals. Three heart sequins and twine finish the card. That's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.


Challenges entered: Inky Paws (sketch #89), Just Add Ink (Just Add Something New), Lil Patch of Crafty Friends (Anything Goes) and Sweet Stampin' (Bright and Cheerful).

Christmas Card with Penguins

Oh my! I just finished baking sugar cookies for my family Thanksgiving on Thursday and decided to share my latest card while the cookies cool. This Christmas Card with Penguins features one of my favorite images from Bugaboo Stamps called Little Penguin Decorate Tree and it was colored with Copic markers. All patterned papers are by American Crafts, Granny Apple Green cardstock by Stampin' Up! was used along with a Merry Christmas sentiment by Hero Arts. I added some twine and a snowflake charm for detail and that's about it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cardz 4 Guyz: Christmas Critters
• Catch The Bug: Bingo (top row across)
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies: Anything with Critter 
• Holly and Ivy Christmas: Anything Christmas

Harvest Happiness Card

Well... the cooler weather has officially arrived. Yesterday it was sunny and nice and today it's rainy and cold. When I ran errands this afternoon I didn't bring a jacket and regretted it each time I got out of the car. The root beer freeze I was drinking definitely didn't help me stay warm. So, when I got home my spare jacket went in the back seat of the car. Now I'm prepared!

This Harvest Happiness Card will be one of my Thanksgiving Cards I sent to family and friends. The images are from the Harvest Tails stamp set by Newton's Nook. Copic markers were used to color the images and then they were die cut with the coordinating dies. The patterned paper is from the Fall Friends paper pad by Doodlebug Design Inc. and it was matted to Cherry Cobbler cardstock by Stampin' Up!. To add an interesting border, I tore the patterned paper in half and adhered the reverse side to peek out of the torn edges. Distress inks in Tumbled Glass and Peeled Paint were used on mixed media paper for the focal area. Once everything was adhered together the linen twine was added. That's it! So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cardz 4 Galz: Pumpkins
• City Crafter: Woodland Animals
• Creative Knockouts: Border Time
• Inky Paws: Use Burlap or Twine
• Unicorn Challenge: Use a Sentiment 

Happy Birthday Card - TMS #478

Hello and happy Tuesday! A few weeks ago I was invited to join the Tuesday Morning Sketches design team and today is my first share as part of the team. Sketch challenges have been a favorite of mine since I started making cards. It was Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge #184 when I started playing along back in February 2013. When I looked back through I noticed several sketches that I've used more than once. A good sketch saves time and makes my creative process much quicker. I sure hope you will join us this week and link your creation using sketch #478. For all the challenge details and design team inspiration click HERE.

To start this Happy Birthday Card I was determined to use the circle mini garland by Doodlebug Designs for the pennant detail. The hardest part was deciding what color to use for the background paper. After playing around for awhile, the gray stripes by Stampin' Up! became my choice. The Birthday Puppies image is by Bugaboo Stamps and it was colored with Copic markers. Using Memento black ink the Happy Birthday sentiment by Lawn Fawn was stamped and matted with Crushed Curry cardstock to match the twine. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Always Happy Birthday: Birthday Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals: Anything with Animals
• Dragonfly Dreams: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Sketch:

Candy Rabbit Halloween Card

Hello! Hopefully you're having a great week. I'm still working on my Halloween cards so I can get them in the mail on time. To make this Candy Rabbit Halloween Card I used the sketch from the Inky Paws Challenge. The images and sentiment are from the Hoppy Halloween stamp set by Newton's Nook. Since mixing patterned papers is one of my favorite parts about making handmade cards, I used three different papers on this card. The candy paper is from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles (2016), purple watercolor by Ms. Sparkle & Co (Joann's) and Cool Lime paper by The Paper Studio. Some retired Halloween twine from Stampin' Up! was added and then the focal circle adhered with dimensionals. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Cute Card Thursday: Food/Drink
• If You Give a Crafter a Cookie: Photo Inspiration
• Inky Paws: Sketch #83
• Simon Says: Animal Antics
• Southern Girls: Critter Crazy

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).

Purrrfect Day Card

Hooray for Friday! This morning I got up and finished this Purrrfect Day Card to give to the Humane Society of Tulsa along with a food donation. They have a lot of puppies and cats right now and have requested food donations, so when we can we try to help. 😺

The layout for this card is my "go to" layout. When I'm in a hurry it works for almost everything. Copic markers were used to color the cat from the Nine Lives stamp set by Paper Smooches. The cat and yarn images were fussy-cut and then adhered to the die cut square. All paper is from The Pets Stack paper by DCWV and some twine was tied for detail. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Challenges entered:

• City Crafter: Pet Company
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes 
• Fab 'n' Funky: All Creatures Great and Small
• Show Us Your Pussycats: Pussycats Only
• Sunny Day Crafting: Anything with Animals
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Fall Card with Squirrel

Happy Tuesday! In a few more days Fall arrives and I'm definitely looking forward to cooler weather. There are so many things about Fall that I love, the crisp air, smells of pumpkin bread baking in the kitchen and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. In my craft room I love using rich Fall colors! So today I made this Fall Card with Squirrel featuring the Autumn Squirrel image by Bugaboo Stamps. The look on the face of the squirrel is just so cute! To color the image Copic markers were used and it was a bit tricky with this being a digital stamp. There are several places where the black outline smeared, but I'm calling it shading. The background paper is from the Autumn Crisp paper pad by American Crafts (2013). A little twine was added for detail  along with three sequins for sparkle. The sentiment is from the Harvest Tails stamp set by Newton's Nook and it was matted to a scalloped circle. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Fall Colors
• Cards in Envy: Feels Like Fall
• Catch The Bug: Bingo (bottom across)
• Crafty Cardmakers: Autumn Colours
• Make My Monday: Autumn/Fall Colours

Second card using patterned paper from the Woodland Forest paper pad by Pebbles (2016).

Sweet Things Koala Card

Good day crafty friends! This morning I was feeling a little fruity and this cute Koala stamp by Newton's Nook caught my eye. So, I decided to use the Inky Paws current sketch challenge to make this Sweet Things Koala Card. The image was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers, then it was die cut with the coordinating die. The pineapple paper is from the Summer Fun paper pad and it was paired with a piece of green chevron paper from the Soak Up the Sun paper pad both by Echo Park. A little black and white gingham is peeking out and it's by The Paper Studio. The sentiment is by Impression Obsession and the yellow and white twine was the finishing touch. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cards in Envy: FRUITS of Your Labor
• Inky Paws: Sketch #80
• Shopping Our Stash: Crazy for Coloring
• Simon Says: Stamp It On

Stay Cool Card

Hello and happy Friday! Last week we had a brief cool down with some rain and now the heat is back. So, if you're like me and counting the days until Fall arrives, there is 29 days until the first day of Fall. Until then... Stay Cool!

Several years back I won a challenge at Pattie's Creations and selected this Dog Days of Summer image for my prize. Isn't she cute? The image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a square Tim Holtz Alterations framelit. All patterned paper is from the Sweet Summertime paper pad by Echo Park (2014). Some twine was added for detail and the sentiment was created on the computer, printed, punched, matted and added to the card. That's it! Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Challenges entered:

• Creative Knockouts: Twine
• Dragonfly Journeys: Dog Days of Summer
• Pattie's Creations: Anything Goes
• Stinkin' Inkers: Steamed Heat

Sending Smiles Card

This past week flew by! Unfortunately I had migraines three days in a row and they zapped all creative energy. I'm feeling better today, so I made this Sending Smiles Card just in time to enter the Inky Paws sketch challenge. I'll be sending this card to Wild Heart Ranch a rescue and rehabilitation group in NE Oklahoma. They have been very busy with over 500 baby animals in their care. They take in all kinds of wild animals: deer, owls, rabbits, possums, raccoons, eagles, beavers, foxes, bobcats, squirrels, etc. I really enjoy following their stories and have great admiration for their cause.

The owl on this Sending Smiles Card is from the Sending Hugs stamp set by Newton's Nook. It was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with the coordinating dies. The floral paper is from the Family Ties paper pad by Pebbles and it was matted to Dapper Denim cardstock by Stampin' Up!. Some retired Island Indigo twine was added and the focal area was adhered with dimensionals. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Inky Paws: Sketch
• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes + Sentiment
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes

Owl at Wild Heart Ranch

Bunny Smile Card

Last week one of my crafty blogging friends, KT Fit Kitty, posted a card with a bunny and she mentioned a Bunny Hop. Well... since bunnies are one of my favorite critters, I knew I had to join this hop at Crafty Nomad's blog. I combined a few challenges to create this Bunny Smile Card.

First, I selected the Tulip Bunny image by Bugaboo and then I decided to use the color challenge at Catch The Bug. The image was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a stitched square die. For the patterned paper selections, the green leaves came from the Flora paper pad by Carta Bella and Calypso Coral stripe is from the Petal Garden paper pad by Stampin' Up!. Some retired Calypso Coral twine and retired Crisp Cantaloupe sequins were added. To finish it off a little yellow butterfly with rhinestones and the sentiment from the Affectionately Yours stamp set by Stampin' Up!. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Catch The Bug: Colors
• Crafty Nomad: Bunny Hop
• Dragonfly Journeys: Add Sequins
• Love To Scrap: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown: Critter Crazy

Catch The Bug April Color Challenge

Mouse Big Flower Card

When life gets tough as it sometimes does, it's best to take it one day at a time. I love using this sentiment by Verve Stamps. It makes a wonderful card to send a few weeks after a sympathy card. When I was looking through my stash this past weekend I realized I had no cards ready with this sentiment. So, I used one of my favorite Bugaboo images called Mouse Big Flower to create this card.

This card is entered into the following challenges:

• Crafty Animals: Anything with Animal
• Crafty Sentiments: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Bingo (Sentiment, Player's Choice and Stitching)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Sending Love Card

Do you ever lose something in your craft room? I knew I had this patterned paper that I was "saving" for the right card and when I finally decide to use it, I couldn't find it. Well after a couple of searches I found it stuck in a box. The colors are perfect for one of my nieces and that's who will be receiving this Sending Love Card.

The layout for this card is from the current Inky Paws Sketch Challenge. I used the new Sending Hugs stamp set and coordinating dies by Newton's Nook. Copic markers were used to color the image. To go along with the sketch, some Basic Gray twine by Stampin' Up! was added and three pink sequins for a little sparkle. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Challenges entered:

• Inky Paws: Sketch
• The Crazy Challenge: Love
• Addicted to Stamps: Make Your Mark
• Crafty Gals Corner: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes

More than Naps Card

Good day crafty friends! This year has flown by, especially the last couple of months. I want to thank each of you for following my blog and leaving your encouraging comments. It's fun to share my creativity and I love all the inspiration I receive from my the online crafting community.

This More than Naps Card was inspired by the current Inky Paws Color Challenge #62 (see photo below). I love the combination of colors and the cable knit sweaters. So, I knew I had to use the cable knit embossing folder by Stampin' Up!. Surprisingly... there is NO patterned paper on this card. Copic markers were used to color the Newton's Naptime image and then it was die cut using a cross-stitched oval die by My Favorite Things. Circle punches were used to cut out the sentiment and some Very Vanilla twine from Stampin' Up! adds the final detail. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have a happy and safe New Year's Eve.

Challenges entered include:

• Inky Paws: Color Challenge
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T.: Anything Goes
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Freestyle!