Sketch 731

We have a new sketch for you at Sketch Saturday
and it is a fun one.  The 'optional' theme is feature a food image. 

Obviously I didn't go with the optional theme but went with a floral theme.
I have to admit when I first saw the sketch it threw me a bit, then thought about using
some of my florals I already had made, these florals sure have come in handy!
The background was embossed with a Park Lane leafy EB folder which I thought would 
go well with the florals!!

Pop on over to Sketch Saturday and see more inspiration and we would love
to see YOUR take on the sketch!

Entering the following challenges:
Crafty Catz .... ATG/Hot Colors
Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG

Tropical Happy Birthday

The Sisterhood of Crafters is going all TROPICAL
for this challenge!  So many possibilities with this theme! 
My tropical creation is pretty flowers in all tropical colors
using for the first time a die by Lawn Fawn 'Hibiscus'.

I die cut all the flowers in white scrap cardstock then colored each
piece with Copic markers and yellow Nuvo in the purple flower centers.

Take a peek over at The Sisterhood and see all the pretty
tropicals my 'sistahs' have created, you won't be disappointed!!

Entering the following challenges:
Unicorn Challenge .... No Designer papers
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday .... ATG
Ally's Angels .... ATG
Die Cut Diva's .... Happy Birthday
Happy Little Stamper .... ATG With Dies
Let's Craft and Create .... ATG + Add Flowers
Simon Says ....ATG

Nautical Challenge

A new challenge starts today at
Can You Handle The Pressure where we are all about using
embossing folders, a fabulous challenge that puts all those
embossing folders we all have to good use! 

The challenge is always anything goes using an EB folder
but we also have a theme for inspiration for those (like me) that need it!

This time our optional theme is NAUTICAL.

For my card I used an older Darice lighthouse embossing folder.
I also used some stitched die cut clouds cut from vellum from Kat Scrappiness,
a very old (2012) Turtle Border die from Memory Box
(first time I have ever used it) and a sentiment from the 
Catherine Pooler Ocean Chums set to finish my card!

We would love to see YOU at Can You Handle The Pressure
and there is always a prize up for grabs to one lucky random winner
and it could be YOU!!

Christmas In July

It's time for a new challenge theme at Double D
and if you are hot in the middle of July it's a good one as it's 
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
maybe that will cool you down a bit lol!!

We have a fun mood board for Inspiration too,
but you can create anything Christmas staying within the theme!

I totally let the bottom left picture inspire me with the berries and greens!

I purchased a new 3D embossing folder last year around
Christmas time and fell in love with all the detail and thought
it would work great for this challenge.  But, you should see the other half
of the embossing folder, it's a big one so I cut the image in half
and it's just as gorgeous as this one!
In case you are interested in purchasing it, you can find it at Spellbinders
under the name of Holiday Floral Swag.
I didn't give the link as I write this up in Dec of 22 and not sure if they will still have it!

Make sure to pop on over to Double D and all the pretty inspiration there!!

Entering the following challenges:
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge .... Anything Goes Christmas
Shopping Our Stash .... No Stamping Allowed
Unicorn Challenge .... No Designer Paper
Dragonfly Dreams .... Christmas

Peace On Earth Challenge #44

We are at challenge #44 at Peace On Earth
and have a mood board for inspiration but you can create anything
as long as it is Christmas themed! 

I let the Santa in the upper left corner inspire me as well as all the 
little animals in the bottom right corner knowing I had this 
Cottage Cutz die that I had never used before!

I let that die intimidate me with all the small pieces which is crazy
as this was a very easy die set to put together, geez why didn't I use it sooner?  All my pieces were cut from 'snippets' of white card stock
then colored with my copics making it even easier to put together!
(I keep all my card leftovers in bags by color)

Unfortunately the die has since been discontinued from their store!

Other then adding some paper behind the image I pretty
much left it alone, the sentiment will go inside the card!
This was a fun piece to put together and I definitely will be making more 
cards with this cute die!!

Take a peek at Peace On Earth and join in with us,
jus think you will be that much ahead on cards when the holiday season

rolls around again, which seems to be here before we know it!

Entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground .... Christmas with Snippets
52 Christmas Card Throwdown .... Pets
Double Trouble .... Santa's Hat

Jingles Belles .... Santa's Hat
Send A Smile For Kids .... Christmas In July

TOB July Mid Month Reminder

 Hello my 'spooky' friends, we are half way thru our
Two Old Bats challenge and would love to have YOU join us!
Their is a fun inspiration board to get those creative vibes going
but you can create anything as long as it is Halloween themed!

 INSPIRATION BOARD

This challenge is so fun as it allows you to get your never been used 
before 'stuff' out and create some spooky fun!
That's just what I did, I pulled out a Cottage Cutz die I have had in my stash
for awhile now, purchased when they have one of their big sales!
I surely had fun putting him together as he wasn't as picky as some
of their dies can be, he came together rather quickly.

I did add a BIG red bow to keep in theme with the inspiration board!
The sentiment is from a wordies sentiment sheet.

Come on over to Two Old Bats and see all the fun from the design team,
have some fun with us and join in too!

Entering the Following challenges:
Halloween All Year Round .... Anything Halloween

Sketch 730

 Time for a new challenge at Sketch Saturday and we have a
fun sketch for you with the optional theme of
'Feature A Sentiment'.

I went with the option this time and made the sentiment the focus of my card,
The papers are from The paper Boutique Bumblebee's Dance a collection
of pretty yellow and lilac papers.  The EB folder is Spellbinders Tiled Motif.
The sentiment is from the stamp set Kaisercraft Whisper.

Hope to see you over at Sketch Saturday!!

Tropical Colors Floral Challenge

We are into July at Beautiful Blossoms and have a very warm and tropical
mood board for you.  Look at all the pretty colors you can create with,
be inspired with those colors! 

I was able to capture ALL the colors using a variety of flower dies
making a very colorful bright, warm, and tropical feel card!

I used a mix of flowers from Spellbinders Bold Blooms,
Concord & 9th Picked Posies
 and Pretty Pink Posh Spring Foliage.
The background die is Spellbinders Candlewick Rectangle.

While at our lake house back in January and too cold to go outside
I sat one evening and made lots of flowers from these three die sets.
Once home I then purchased a container where I could sort each flower
making it easier to see/grab a flower when I wanted to create with these,
previously I had them in bags and had to dig thru them and it was just
not working for me!

It doesn't show them all but as you can see it is MUCH more convenient for me!

To see more Beautiful Blossoms head on over to the challenge
blog and feast your eyes on all the floral beauty,
join in with us too!

Entering the following challenges:
Happy Little Stamper .... Dies
Lets Craft & Create .... ATG+Flowers
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday .... ATG
Unicorn Challenge .... No Designer Paper

Jump Rope

The new challenge at A Barrel of Monkeys is a
SKIPPING ROPE
but in my day they were called a jump rope,
guess it depends where you are from like the old debate of 
pop or soda (?), it's always been pop here in my part of the Midwest. 

Anyhow this one threw me a bit but then look at those pretty colors together,
you could always create something (flowers perhaps) in those pretty colors.
But me being me (boring), I took the rope to heart and found an image on

Digital For Tuesdays  that I downloaded and printed off to color.
This is an awesome sight for digitals (free) but she hasn't had any new ones since 2018, makes me wonder what happened??

I also used a 'new' paper I had just purchased this Spring, I know it's for the Spring season but I just loved
the design and the colors were perfect, the backside is just as beautiful, 
6x6 paper by Paper Rose called Spring Bunnies, what a gorgeous pad of paper!

Won't you join us at A Barrel of Monkeys?
We would love to see YOUR interpretation of the
'skipping rope'!!

Entering the following challenges:
The Crafting Challenge .... Summertime

In The Garden

 Hello Friends!
Here we are already in the middle of July with summer
being half over for us here in Michigan
and it seems like it just started!
It is also time for a new challenge theme at
The Sisterhood of Crafters and it is In The Garden
So many options to be had with that theme!
I decided to go with a die I have long had in my possession it seems
like forever (2012).  I purchased this die eons ago as it reminded me of
my Mom as she had a nice gazebo that she thoroughly enjoyed.
all the little die cut pieces you see come with the die set.

I inked up some green grass using oxides and stenciled clouds
using oxide stormy sky and faded jeans.

Supplies used:  Die Versions Garden Gazebo, Lawn Fawn Cloud Stencil,
Spellbinders Garden Favorites Sentiments, Black Nuvo Drops.

Myself and my 'sistahs' would love to see your In The Garden creations at
The Sisterhood!

A Fun Day

 I don't have a card to share today but those of you that
know me, know I have a grandson that was injured in an ATV
accident when he was 15, he is 22 now.
When he graduated high school he received a full four year scholarship to
University of Michigan and joined the wheelchair tennis team.
After three years of attending college he graduated
( yes it only took him 3 years to graduate)
but still wanted to compete in tennis tournaments.
All his years of playing I never got to see him play other then videos
as most of the tournaments were out of state all over the country.
I was lucky enough that it just happened he had a tournament in
Michigan from Friday til Sunday this weekend and I got to attend.

I have to say it was very humbling to see all the players in wheelchairs,
I mean you know there are a lot of reasons for so many in wheelchairs
but to actually SEE that many all in one place is quite an eye opener.
And all in good spirits, all having a laughing good time,
it did my heart good to be a part of it!

I have a few pictures (actually quite a few) to share if you would like to see.
He finished a finalist in Co-Ed A Singles
and
2nd in Doubles.

He received a check for winning.

He is taking the next school season off for a break
but hopes to back in the fall of 2024 to obtain his masters.
Right now he is building websites for various companies.

Thank You For Your Service

A new challenge begins today at
Can You Handle The Pressure 
where we are all about embossing folders.

There is always an optional theme and this time it is
STARS!

You can create anything though, as long as you have used an EB folder!

For my card I used a 'new to me' folder I purchased as a set of two
from Michaels last winter.
This folder has fun 'confetti' stars all over it and thought it would be
the perfect folder for my never seen ink before
Fun Stampers Journey Spellbinders stamp American Sun.
I have my stamp upside down for this card as it worked/looked better
for what I was trying to accomplish (thank you for your service)
with the thank you sentiment placement on the card.!

We would love to see YOU at
Can You Handle The Pressure.

A Single Rose

Hello friends!
In case you haven't heard the news Darlene and I have started yet one more
NEW challenge blog called Simply Clean & Simple.
I am sure you can tell by the title that it is all about 
clean and simple cards, meaning leaving a lot of blank/white space. 
Are we nuts?  Probably!  But we thought we would give one more
challenge a go and came up with this one as we pride ourselves
for running orderly and fun challenges, I hope you will enjoy it
as much as we will!!  We will have an overall winner and three Top Winners
and maybe even toss in a prize here and there, you never know!
The new challenge will start the first Friday of each month
and end the 28th of each month.

Our OPTIONAL theme is Roses Are Red Violets Are Blue,
but you can create anything as long as it is CAS!!

I had the idea of this card in my head for a while and finally found the time
to put it together.  The embossing was to go on the left side but I had the
embossing plate in wrong with the debossed side out, so just flipped my card
base and decided to just go with it!!

The stamp set is one I received when I was on the DT for Sparkle N Sprinkle
and this is the first time this Rose has seen ink.
The set is Roses,  a nice set with three sentiments and three different Roses!!

We have a great new design team so make sure and head on over to
Simply Clean & Simple and join in with us and see all the beauty from the DT!

Entering the following challenges:
Creations In Pink .... Mainly Pink
The Flower Challenge .... CAS

If You Gave A Crafter A Cookie .... Pastels

Day of The Month Card Club .... National Simplicity Day

Just For Fun Beach Scene

 Hello Friends,  today was the only free day I didn't have a
design team blog post so I thought I would show a card I made
specifically for a couple challenges I saw.

One was a challenge at 
As You Like It and the theme was to use Patterned  or Plain Paper .
As you all know my favorite pattern papers
are the ones from Poland 'Mintay and P13'
Why do I like it?  It is the most beautiful paper,
the quality is fabulous and I seem to hoard it more
then use it, so time to bring it out!

I used P13 today though I pulled out three different
Mintay pads also but I loved the beach scene in this one.

Most of what you see on my card is the actual designer paper
which to me looks just like a watercolor painting,
 I fussy cut another sailboat and the lighthouse
and popped both up with itty bitty little foam squares.
I also cut some shore birds and seagulls and popped those as well!

I didn't think it needed any kind of sentiment
at this time so left it off.

The second challenge is at Little Red Wagon and

it's a Beach Theme.  I think my card qualifies!

Just a quick and easy card that was fun to put together.

Thanks for visiting with me today, I appreciate it!

Also entering the following challenges:
Challenge Up Your Life .... Patterned Paper

The Great Outdoors

 Hello,  I hope you had a great July 4th if you are in the states,
I have to admit I am not fond of all the fireworks and noise it involves 
as it disturbs my poor dog Mack, he is terrified of all the booms
and it seems to go on for days!

Today also brings us to our new challenge theme at
Double D Challenges and it is:

THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Anything to do with the outdoors
think canoeing, camping, traveling, gardening, fishing, etc.

The hubs and I have spent many a summer kayaking on one of the
great lakes, Lake Huron and since we have our lake house for sale we
surely are going to miss it (it might even be sold before this goes live)
but the time has come for us to let it go after having it for twenty years.
So, that is where my thoughts went for this challenge, kayaking!

I have had this stamp set for many many years and it has never seen ink.
I thought it was the perfect time to bring it out and put it to use.
I might even use it for the hubs birthday this year!

I saw the fold for this card on Pinterest and liked it so much I went with it.

I visited the blog where the original card came from and saw her post was 2015, then I normally look at their blog to see their most latest
and was surprised to see she has had no posts since 2017,
that always bothers me as I then wonder what has happened
to make her stop blogging and/or card making, kind of sad!!

This picture slightly shows the inside of the card, the papers are from 
One Canoe Two Creekside 2017.

Lots of fun inspiration at Double D from the design teams
and we would LOVE to see YOUR take on The Great Outdoors!!

Entering the following challenges:

Crafting Happiness .... Anything Goes

Simon Says Monday .... Summer Mood Board

Challenge Up Your Life .... Patterned Paper (m)
Creative Creases .... ATG With A Fun Fold

Happy Birthday Stenciled Card

 Our OPTIONAL theme this month at our Stencil Fun challenge
 is Birthdays
and I have a pretty floral card using Sweet Poppy stencil Leafy Flower.
I added a bow using The Greetery Put A Bow On It stamp and die set

For my anything goes card I used Pink Fresh Studio Folk Art Print stencil,
this is  a layered stencil that I think has been discontinued, glad I was able to get it!!

I added some jewels also from Pink Fresh Studio,
 they come in all colors and if you haven't tried them you should as they
add a lot, are easy to use AND so pretty, these are the Ballet Slippers jewels.

Hope to see you at our Stencil Fun blog and that you will
join in with our stencil challenge too!!

Entering the following challenges:

Make My Monday .... Birthday
Seize The Birthday .... Anything Birthday

July 2023 Triple B Challenge

Triple B has a new monthly challenge today
and a fitting colorful mood board perfect for July.
The mood board is for inspiration only, BUT
you do need to use at least a floral, bird or butterfly
on your creation, or two or all three,

I once again used my Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms die
and think this is the most I have ever used one die so  much
with the exception of my nesting dies, but these flowers
are so easy, pretty and come in so handy to make a
beautiful card.  Of course I did let the mood board inspire me
with the patriotic colors.  I didn't add much greenery as 
I wanted to keep within the RWB color range. 

Be sure to visit at the Triple B as we have more fabulous
inspiration and a guest designer with her beautiful
creation as well!

Entering the following challenges:
Cupcake Inspiration .... Red White Blue

Colorful Options .... Red White Blue

Seize The Birthday .... Anything Goes Birthday
Die Cut Diva's .... Happy Birthday

July Red~White~Blue Color Challenge

Time for a new color challenge at
Colorful Options
and it is RED~WHITE~BLUE
You can use ONE~TWO~or ALL THREE colors,
or if you prefer you can always use rainbow colors .

As usual I normally stick with the the color options and chose
the red, white , blue though my blue looks black in the photo
it is actually navy blue!

A long while back I had used a quilt die using all these colors
and it takes four different colors leaving me with enough left over pieces
to create 3 more quilt cards and it felt good to put them to use!

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3

Supplies used:  Impression Obsession quilt die, Lawn Fawn Wavy Banner die and stamps, Doodle Bug Yankee Doodle paper pad

Visit Colorful Options and have some 'colorful' fun with us!

Entering the following challenges:
Cupcake Inspiration .... Red White Blue

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge .... ATG