Challenge Cards to Share ...

How do you like this inspirational photo for the color challenge over on The Play Date Cafe this week?? Isn't it awesome!! Now that I knew what colors to work with ... I needed a sketch to follow! So, I decided to go along with this week's SCS sketch and here is what I came up with.

I've had this vintage image in my collection for a very long time and I do believe it came from a challenge blog called "Art Creations Friday". This lovely lady provides you with some amazing vintage images & backgrounds that you use to create for her challenge! This photo is a "full view" image but I was wanting to concentrate on this amazing Bow, Headpiece, Hat... not sure what they called them back then.

The papers I have used are SU Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Basic Black and Graphic45 designer paper (Renaissance Faire Collection) which I just purchased from my friend Joan Fricker ... "Joan's Gardens" (she's got other Graphic45 papers too ... they are awesome!!!). I've ruffed up the edges with a distresser and added both the zig-zag grosgrain ribbon from JoAnn's as well as made the white organza bow using the Bow Easy to embellish.

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Since I LOVE anything of the vintage style .... I just had to make the time to play along in Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Challenge this week which is "Very Vintage". Keeping in mind that the typical style for her challenges is to keep it SIMPLE, I "simply" used paper on paper for my creation.

Again ... here is another Graphic45 paper pack I received yesterday from Joan at Joan's Gardens and this one is called the "Domestic Goddess Collection". There are so many amazing double-sided pages in these packs that it's really hard to "cut into them"!! My only embellishment additions are: buttons from Bucket 'O Buttons ... Crafty Secrets Sweet Stuff Twill Ribbon ... and gold thread from Stamp By Step.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed my creations! I find SO MUCH inspirations out there in blogland from all of you ... I can only hope you can find a little inspiration here on my blog too. Have a great day!!

Stamp Simply Challenge - SSNOTIME117

Good Friday Afternoon everyone!! First I'd like to say thanks to those of you who shared their "well-wishes" to me during my jury duty responsibilities! It really wasn't too bad at all. Out of the whole week, I only got called in one day and although they had 3 cases to try ... only 1 required a jury! So after choosing 20 jurors (of which I was NOT included) ... the remainder of us got to go home. After checking the website last evening ... I found that my jury responsibilities had been satisfied and I was allowed to "carry on" with my life. Sheewww!

So that was all well & good but then my laptop started throwing me all kinds of warnings and had me in a panic! I instantly shut it down and called the Geek Squad ... they had me bring it in this morning and after many scans & checks ... seems all is well! Another Sheeww!!

Okay ... on to my card for today! It's time again for a Sharon Johnson Stamp Simply challenge and this week she's asked us to "alter a store bought card". What great fun this was and I have a ton of them sitting around which have come from EVERY organization we contribute to!! I use the envelopes but the cards just keep piling up ... it was nice to be able to use one. I only wished I would have thought to take a "BEFORE" picture prior to completing my creation! DUH!!!

The focus image is from the card front and I have cut it out with a swivel craft knife and mounted it onto white cs. The top & bottom borders are from the card and again using my swivel craft knife, I've cut the portions I wanted and actually put them upside down from how there were on the original card. I added dimension with Michael's peel & stick candycanes and pinwheels as well as added Liquid Applique for the whipped cream in the cocoa cup.

Although I didn't photograph it, I cut out the inside greeting of the original card using a Nestabilities Labels 4 die and placed it on the inside of my card! What a fun challenge!! Thanks Sharon ... you always come up with the best ideas!!!

Thanks everyone for stopping by! Mark & I did some of the shopping this morning for our Open House party planned for Sunday evening and I have my Guest Gifts all completed but I can't show you until Monday (not sure who's watching and don't want to ruin the surprise!). Have a great weekend!

Stamp Simply #116 - Tag it Pretty

This week's Stamp Simply Challenge over on Sharon Johnson's blog was to TAG IT PRETTY! Well, not only did I go for PRETTY ... but SIMPLE! I have a hard time "keeping it simple" but with the help of this Nestabilities Stocking Die, I think I was successful!

I started with a premade tag and covered it with DCWV designer paper and edged it with a Silver Pilot Marker. The stocking was cut from Whisper White cs and after chalking a couple snowflakes with blue/green chalk, I sponged over the entire stocking with Ruby Red ink. My sentiment is from the Crafty Secrets Christmas Joy stamp set and inked with Versafine. My organza ribbon came from a local wholesale company called Flower Factory and was 100 yds. for $2.75 (what a great deal ... I bought a bolt of every color, LOL).

Thanks for stopping by today ... hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Have you started your holiday shopping yet??? Good Luck ...

Stamp Simply #113 - Matchbook Fold

Now this is a "fold technique" that I had yet to try!! Thanks Sharon for coming up with this idea ... what a fun challenge!! If this sounds like fun to you (and it is!!) ... please check out Sharon Johson's No Time To Stamp Blog for all the details ... then be sure to check out her DT ladies who have some really cool variations on this technique!!

In "Stamp Simply" fashion, after making my cuts & folds, I'ved used K&Co. holiday paper, Martha Stewart border punch, Nestabilities pine tree diecut and Creative Memories snowflake punch. Oh yea ... and a little Red, Green & Gold Stickles for holiday sparkle!! How much fun and how clever an idea!! I hope you like my creation and give it a try for yourself! Happy Stamping Everyone!!

Stamp Simply #109 Gate Fold

Happy Friday Everyone!!! It's time again for the Stamp Simply Challenge over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp Blog. If you've never visited Sharon ... you are not only missing a wonderful weekly challenge but in her store she has the most AWESOME ribbons and many other goodies! Please jump over and check it out! Now on to my creation for today's challenge.

The only stamping on this card is in the inside (see below). I started with a white base card which I sponged using Ranger Vintage Photo ink along the edges then layered designer paper from the Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holiday pack sold at JoAnn's. On top of the red designer paper I've used parts of one of the images from the Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kinkade Christmas Series designer paper and filled in the extra space with a panel of another Debbie Mumm dp. My main image is chipboard from the K&Company Christmas Cheer chipboard set. I'm really happy with the outcome and think I'll be making more for the upcoming season.

Here is the inside of my gate card. The floral scroll on top was created with Shapeabilities and I used the same Debbie Mumm dp I used for the small panels on the front. I know it's difficult to see but I have stamped a whimsical tree (by Inkadinkado) with versamark behind the sentiment. The sentiment stamp is by Northwood and was stamped using Versafine Black ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and please check out Sharon's blog and the creations by her design team. There is some wonderful inspiration from these ladies!!! Enjoy your day and upcoming weekend!

Stamp Simply #108 - Krafty Black

WOW ... is it Friday again all ready!! I tell you I don't know where the time is going ... but it sure is in a hurry to get there, LOL!!!




One of my favorite weekly challenges is the Stamp Simply Challenge hosted by the one and only Sharon Johnson! Sharon comes up with some wonderful challenge ideas and her SIMPLE creations are magnificient!!! If you've never played along in one of Sharon's challenges, now's the time ... hope on over and check out all the details. Today we are using a color I RARELY use ... but I hear it is the "new white" ... and that is KRAFT! We are also to use black in our creation so this is what I've come up with.




Since this challenge is "Stamp Simply" ... I really tried to keep it simple today. I don't even OWN kraft paper so I used a color I thought came close. Guess I'll have to make a purchase ... just for times like this, LOL!! My sentiment is from JustRite and my oval was cut using the Nestabilities Classic Oval dies. My ribbon is actually from last years holiday ribbon stash and is from Michaels. The black pearls are Kaiser and I took the liberty to color in the heart using a PrismaColor Marker.




Thanks so much for stopping by today and PLEASE check out this challenge ... it's always great fun and her design team creates AWESOME works of art that will totally inspire you! Have a great weekend everyone ... I'm off to Toledo, OH tomorrow morning with my daughter & granddaughter to watch the dancers from Season 5 of "So You Think You Can Dance" ... can't wait, what fun!!

Stamp Simply #106 - RICH AUTUMN LEAVES

Happy Friday Everyone!! ... I'm really excited about this weekend. My friend Sandy Egbert & I are headed to Mooresville, N.C. to checkout a couple awesome stamping stores she's familiar with down there and I get to finally meet Dawn Burnsworth (MyStampingThyme), (SCS: flowergal36) in person! How cool is that!!! Okay ... more on that later (with photos, LOL).




Now onto today's Stamp Simply Challenge #106 over on Sharon Johnson's (NoTimeToStamp) Blog. The challenge today is Rich Autumn Leaves. Working with fall colors is always fun and today was definately NO exception. I decided to use some of the FALL background paper I made myself using the Ink, Spray & Smash technique. If you're not familiar with this technique, you can check it out HERE.



Recipe for this creation:

Stamps: SU Fall for All, GinaK Whimsical Autumn (Carolyn King)

Papers: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Whisper White, Homemade designer paper

Inks: Versafine black, Refills: Summer Sun, Real Red, Old Olive

Accessories: Spellbinder Shapeabilities Fall Leaves, Prisma Pencils, Gamsol, Creative Memories corner rounder, dimensional tape




Be sure to pop on over and play along with this fun challenge!! Sharon's always coming up with AWESOME challenge ideas ... check it out!! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Stamp Simply #105

Happy Friday Everyone!!! Today's Stamp Simply Challenge hosted by the lovely Sharon Johnson, is to "keep it simple" and use only "black or brown ink" ... let your designer paper POP!



Actually, the only ink I have used on my card is for the sentiment at the bottom ... and that is Versafine Black and detail clear embossing powder. The verse is from the Hero Arts "friends" set.




My image is cut from a 12x12 sheet of Graphic45 designer paper ... the Fashionista Collection. The gold matting & flower is a piece of gold dp from the Basic Grey ... Two Scoops pack. The flowers were cut with a Martha Stewart punch and the ribbon is by Darice. I just happened to have this polka dot brad in my box of brads (sorry don't know who it's by) but it matched perfectly so I just had to use it. The vintage floral designer paper had no name on the back and I've had it for a very long time and can't remember where I picked it up either. You know how it is when you are a "paper hoarder" ...




I hope you enjoyed my card today. Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow when I'll have another creation and an ANNOUNCEMENT to share with you!! Have a great day!!!

Stamp Simply #103 & Stamps and Smiles

Oh my gosh .. can you believe it's Friday again already! I know, I say that every Friday but they are coming and going so fast ... that means I'm getting OLDER ... FASTER!!!! YIKES!!



For the Stamp Simply Challenge today, the topic is OVERSTAMPED SENTIMENTS ... merely stamp your sentiment OVER your image. I've decided to stamp my image & sentiment over designer paper from the K&Co. Ancestry 12x12 pack. VERY simple and yet very striking (in my opinion)!



My only embellishments used on this card are the Colorbok metal dots in the upper & lower corners. The floral stamp is from the SU Oh So Lovely set and the sentiment is by Art Impressions. I used a blender pen with Ruby Red ink to color in my poppies and filled in the center with a Creative Memories gold metallic pen.



Don't forget when uploading to either SplitcoastStampers or Papercraft Planet ... be sure to use keyword: ssnotime103.


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Another creation I would like to share with you today is for The Fresh Batch blog ... Stamps and Smiles Weekly Sketch Challenge.






I've turned things around a bit but you can still get the drift of the layout. Here are the details:


Stamps: JustRite (Thinking of You)
Papers: Brocade Blue, Almost Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey Wisteria designer paper
Inks: Versafine Black
Accessories: Martha Stewart flower punch, various Stickles, Hobby Lobby satin ribbon, Nestabilities (classic ovals), dimensional tape



I don't think I've ever made a card that used this many paper flowers ... but I really like how it looks! I'll have to remember this layout!! Again, when uploading to SplitcoastStampers or Papercraft Planet don't forget to use the keyword ... in this case it would be SASSC31.


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ON A SAD NOTE .... I will be sending this card along to a family who lives in our neighborhood and lost their 13 year old son yesterday. Over the weekend, this young man was doing what a lot of young boys of his age do ... riding his bike with some buddies! Somehow he fell off his bike, hit his head but didn't seem too concerned ... he wasn't bleeding or in any pain. Within hours he was at Cleveland Clinic in a comma and past away yesterday afternoon.


From what I can gather, his injury was similiar to that of actor Liam Neeson's wife, who had that skiing accident last year and although it didn't seem that bad at the time ... within a few days she was gone! Please say a little prayer for the Spencer family! Thanks

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone ...

GOOD FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Here we are at another Friday again all ready! My but the time is flying!!! With that being said, it's time again for another STAMP SIMPLY CHALLENGE over on Sharon Johnson's NoTimetoStamp Blog. Today Sharon is "nudging us" to step out of our comfort zone for today's creation.



For me, two ideas instantly came to mind .... (1) I don't typically do "cutsie" stuff and (2) I rarely do 3D projects. SO ... I decided to do both!!



If you saw my previous post, you will know that I got together yesterday with some of my stamping buddies and some of the goodies that Terri brought to share where these awesome Halloween diecuts. I must admit, a lot of these were VERY large and designed more for use in scrapbooking ... but I decided to use an A-6 sized card to "make it work". There is NO stamping on this card (oh no ... I'm going into withdrawal, lol). But this cat & bat where just too cute not to use!! I SIMPLY adhered this Halloween designer paper from Debbie Mumm's Harvest & Holiday Pack, which is sold at JoAnn's ... then popped up the cat & bat with dimensionals!! THAT'S IT!!! This definately isn't ME ... unless I can figure out how to add ribbon & lace to it, LOL!!!


Now for my 3D project!




I must admit I was getting some helpful advice on creating 3d projects yesterday with stampin' buddy Lana (she has a wonderful mind for 3d). I purchased a variety of different sized tins a long time back with "altering" them in mind, but needless to say, I wasn't real sure where to begin so they have sat on the shelf until today!!


I am SO proud of this piece (patting myself on the back, lol). The inside image is actually 3D also. I've purchased several of these 3d pre-cut sheets from The 1870 Shoppe in Zoar, Ohio ... have put them together and sat them aside until such time to make a card or in this case use on a 3d project.




On the lid ... I've used a brown Sharpie marker to color around the frame, added this awesome leaf vine ribbon (thanks Terri) and Embellish It metal butterflies at the corners. My sentiment is by Serendipity. I've stamped it onto white cardstock with Versafine black ink then embossed with detail clear ep. Using my Fiskars swivel craft knife, I cut around the words then antiqued it by sponging with Ranger Antique Linen & Vintage Photo distress inks. It is adhered with a pop dot.


On the inside ... I've used K&Company Ancestry designer paper for the background ... stacked dimensional tape on the back of the 3d image for extra dimension and added another Embellish It metal butterfly at the top.




SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!! I have to admit, it was kind of fun "stepping outside my comfort zone"!! You should try it ... then pop on over to Sharon's blog and play along with today's challenge!! It's raining (and supposed to all day!) here in NE Ohio so guess what I'm going to be doing ... LOL!! You guessed it ... I'm headed back to my craftroom and PLAY!!! What ever you decide to do today, I hope it's FUN!!! Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by!!

Stamp Simply #101 - Let's Polka!

Well the Birthday party is over on Sharon's (notime2stamp) blog but they're still dancing ... and they're doing the polka ... DOTS that is!! So be sure to pop on over to the Stamp Simple #101 Challenge and check out all the details and come play along!! While you are there, don't forget to check out the samples her design team ladies have come up for your inspiration ... they are an AMAZING bunch!!!




For my creation, this lovely Anna Griffin designer paper just begged to be used! And if you "click for a closer look", you will see that the pink sentiment image is actually "dotted" as well as I've added dots to the scalloped matted circle. Here are all the details on this card:


Stamps: Hero Arts, Inkadinkado

Papers: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Anna Griffin designer paper

Inks: Versamark, Versafine black

Accessories: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, pink Pan Pastel artist chalk, cotton ball, Darice grosgrain ribbon, Signo white pen




Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your Friday is a good one and your weekend is even better!!!

Stamp Simply #99

Yippee .. time for another Stamp Simply Challenge over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp Blog! Today Sharon says "That's What Friends Are For". Here is the scope of the challenge as written in Sharon's words:

Today’s challenge is simple — make a card for a friend, for ANY occasion,
just make sure the word *friend* appears somewhere on the card front.
There are so many fun friend sentiments out there — these will be fun cards to
check out! If you don’t happen to have any friend sentiments, you could
even hand write friend on a little tag to hang — whatever works — let’s just get
very *friendly* today — LOL!!! Have fun with this!

For my creation today I definately followed the "STAMP SIMPLY" method. I just love this Hero Arts "friend" set that I purchased from MY friend, Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) at Toyrifix some time ago.





Here I've simply stamped the circle image with Versamark and colored it with Pan Pastels Artist Chalks and cotton balls. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Black and embossed with Detail Clear ep. I then ran it through my Cuttlebug to do the embossing and again to do the diecutting with my Nestabilities. The little butterfly is also from this set. I stamped it onto a scrap of purple cs with Versafine black ... then after clear embossing, cut it out with my swivel craft knife. My white satin ribon is by Offray and I have used my BOW EASY which was purchased from Sharon's Ribbon Store to make this beautiful, perfect bow! LOVE my Bow Easy ... don't have one you say ... well talk to Sharon ... she'll fix you right up!!









Sharon mentioned the "fun friend sentiments" out there to use and since I recently purchased this sentiment and haven't had the opportunity (until now) to ink it up ... that's what I'm going with today.



I've used a portion of a floral swag image from one of my Inkadinkado sets for the image behind the sentiment. I merely stamped it with Versamark then stamped the sentiment with Versafine black ink. With the simplicity of this card, I thought it added just that little extra touch. Hope you like it!









Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Don't forget ... it's the LAST DAY to get in on my Blogaversary Candy. Drawing will be tonight before DH goes to bed ... of course he doesn't know that yet ... but he will, LOL!!! Have a great day everyone!

A Three Fold Birthday Card

This card covers three different challenges today!! My color scheme comes from the colors required for the Curtain Call Color Challenge Act #1 over on Stacey's Stamping Stage Blog. My layout comes from the Stamps & Smiles Sketch Challenge over on The Fresh Batch Blog. Any my use of LACE on this creation is for today's Stamp Simply Challenge - Lovey Lace over on Sharon Johnson's No Time To Stamp Blog.




The recipe for this cards is as follows:

Stamps: Inkadinkado
Papers: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Daisyd's designer paper
Inks: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: The Paper Studio lace, The Paper Studio pearls, Nestabilities (circles & scallop circles), distresser, dimensionals





Another fun & easy creation that I hope you find inspiration from! Thanks so much for stopping in! I just heard from my kids and they are coming up for a visit this evening so I invited them for dinner ... guess I'd better figure out what to have, LOL!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

**ssnotime97** Fruit of the Vine

Happy Friday Everyone!!


It's time for another STAMP SIMPLY challenge hosted by the lovely Sharon Johnson and here's what she has for us today:


Fruit of the Vine - Fruit, the perfect summer snack, or even meal! I love it! Today let us whip up some fruity type of creation during this time of year when fruit is so plentiful everywhere. I’m sure most everyone has some fruit stamps, or images, and if you don’t, how about trying to create some fruit with punches? Or, if you really need to stretch it, how about some *orange* ribbon, watermelon paper, etc. I think you get the idea — just get fruity and have a little fun!



For this creation I chose to use the "Fruit Stand" set by Stampin' Up. I've inked up my peach with India Ink Black and stamped it onto Glossy White cardstock. Then using my new Nestabilities (deckled rectangles), which I purchased at Joan's Gardens over the weekend, I cut out the main image and matt. My coloring was done with inking nibs and 4 colors of SU ink ... old olive, close to cocoa, more mustard & only orange. My base card is Whisper White and the background paper is by Graphic45. My sentiment is from the SU Touch of Nature set and I've used sugar coated brads by Doodlebug for my embellishment.


Sharon's challenges are always SO MUCH FUN to do! Why not pop on over to her blog and check it out for yourself! Thanks everyone for stopping by today ... have a great weekend!!

Stamp Simply #96 - Little Black Dress

It's Friday and time once again for the Stamp Simply Challege on Sharon Johnson's blog. Today's challenge is all about the "Little Black Dress" ... here it is in Sharon's words:

Little Black Dress - The staple of every women's wardrobe -- or so they say. How many of you actually HAVE a little black dress? Not me! Anyway, today's challenge is to make a project of understated elegance using black and white. If you need to add in a little pop of another color, that's fine, as long as the project is primarily black and white and its overall feel is that of understated elegance. I think this one will produce some real beauties! Can't wait to see!!!

Well, I took Sharon literally with my main image ! It is my "Little Black Dress" by My Sentiments Exactly and I have stamped it in Versamark, embossed with Black Opal embossing powder and cut it out with a swivel craft knife.

My background panel was created by using Whisper White cardstock run through my Cuttlebug using the Swirls embossing folder. Once embossed, I swiped my Versamark pad over the top going from the corners inward ... then embossed with Black Opal embossing powder (same as the dress). It's a shame my photo doesn't really dhow the sparkle and beauty of this creation!!

I've used Offray white satin ribbon behind the dress and Offray narrow organza around the waist of the dress. The pearls are by Mark Richards and although you can't see it well, there was liquid pearls placed inside each of the black swirls. The Cuttlebug panel has been matted with glossy black and placed on Whisper White cardstock.

I've supplied a close up of the dress so you can see the beautiful sparkle it has but if you still have trouble seeing that, please "click on the image" for a better view.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you enjoyed my creation!!

Stamp Simply #95 - Let the Sparks Fly!

Here it is Friday and time again for another Stamp Simply Challege over on Sharon Johnson's Blog. Today it's all about the "Sparkle" and what fun it has been! It's so difficult to get a photo to really show off the sparkle on our cards but I did the best I could.

Recipe for this card:

Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, SU Bloomin' Beauty

Papers: Whisper White, Garden Green, DCWV Garden Party designer paper

Inks: Versafine black

Accessories: PKGlitz "China Red" embossing glitter, Red glitter Spica pen, Gelly Roll Stardust pen, Offray metallic ribbon, gold Pilot marker.

Please pop on over to Sharon's Blog and check out her inspirational creation as well as the awesome creations by her design team. Thanks for stopping by today!

Catching Up on Challenges ...

I have had out of town company the past few days so I'm a little behind on my card making & posting! My Toledo, OH company has returned home and now we are awaiting the arrival of our Pittsburgh, PA company. WHAT FUN!!!! With DH's illness, it seems like it's been SO LONG since we've been able to entertain friends & family ... sure feels good to see Mark enjoying their company too!!! I will have some photos to share in a separate posting.

Anyways ... on to my cards.

For today's STAMP SIMPLY #94 - Stars & Stripes Challenge, I have used my recently purchased stamp set by Flourishes. This set is called Patriotism on Parade and with every set they sell, Flourishes is making a donation to the Wounded Warrior program. If for no other reason than that, I felt I needed to make this purchase.

Please be sure to pop on over to Sharon's blog and check out all the details on this challenge. Also, you'll want to be sure and jump on over to her Design Team ladies blogs to be inspired by their works-of-art!!


This creation was certainly done in Stamp Simply fashion! The only stamps used were those mentioned above and the other details on this card are as follows:
Papers: Real Red, DCWV designer paper
Inks: Versafine Black, Versamark
Accessories: Fiskars decal scissors, PKGlitz embossing glitter, dimensional tape, swivel craft knife.


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This first card was for yesterday's Color Throwdown Challenge hosted by my dear friend Tammy Hershberger (Stamp Happy) and what a great color combo she has given us to play with. Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky ... probably three colors I would not have put together myself but I certainly like how this came together!! Here are the items used for this creation:



Stamps: Endless Creations (purchased at Tammy's Store - Toyrifix) & AMuse
Papers: Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Chocoate Chip & SU Groovy Guava designer Paper
Inks: Chocolate Chip & Groovy Guava
Accessories: SU Eyelet border punch, Stampendous Dot Sparklers, dimensional tape, Michael's brown satin ribbon, sponge applicator


Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by & see what I've been up to! Hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend and much as I am!!

Stamp Simply #93 *** Blue *** Green *** Piercing

Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Challenge for today is a fun & easy one! Here it is in her words:

Combo Challenge – Today’s challenge is two-fold — a color challenge and
simple technique. COLORS — grassy green and sky blue. I’ve always
loved blue and green together. You MAY add other colors, just make sure
you get in plenty of the greens and blues. SIMPLE TECHNIQUE -
PIERCE. I seem to have gotten away from piercing of late, but I LOVE to do
it — so I’m hoping this challenge gets me back into piercing mode!!! Can’t
wait to see what you all do!

I have had a product sitting on my work table called Pan Pastels for several months and today I decided to use them. It's an artist paste chalk and comes in stackable round containers with the sponge applicators in the lower portion of the stack. This made for a very QUICK background for my card. Using a large sponge pod I used a darker green with a lighter shade of green over top for the "grassy" portion ... then the same with 2 shades of blue for the "sky" portion. My image is by Paper Inspirations and I simply stamped it, clear embossed it, matted it (twice) then using dimensional tape, adhered it to my background panel.


Believe it or not ... the SU grosgrain ribbon is the exact color (brocade blue) as the matting but for some reason my camera always goes nuts when photographing blues/purple hues. Crazy I know!!!
The simple paper piercing was done using the SU piercing template.



Thanks for stopping by today! Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead ... go out there and do something fun!! And, if you can't ... stay in and stamp ... that's ALWAYS fun!!!

Stamp Simply #91 - Half Circles

What a fun challenge Sharon Johnson (notimetostamp) has for today in the STAMP SIMPLY CHALLENGE! PLEASE jump on over to her blog to see her GORGEOUS creation and don't forget to check out what her DT ladies have created for this challenge also! There are some really cool cards & projects you won't want to miss!!

I have created two cards for today's challenge! I don't always remember to "Stamp Simply" because that's not my normal style. One that I love mind you ... but rarely think to do!! On my first card I have used a summertime theme. With June being Strawberry month (at least here in NE Ohio) I thought this cute Crafty Secrets Garden Creative Scrap image and Stemma Strawberry Patch designer paper would work perfectly. This adorable little cook from the Crafty Secrets Sweet Stuff stamp set appears to be getting that strawberry mixture all ready for her pie.

The base card used here is SU Garden Green and the background panel is from the DCWV Garden Party 12x12 paper pack (just love this pack). I used my circle & scallop circle Nestabilities to cut my circles and a fine tip Creative Memories black marker to do tiny dots around the outside perimeter of the scallop matting. I have used dimensional tape to give my little cook dimension (see close up view) and did a little paper piercing around the Creative Scrap image. My red gingham ribbon is actually Michael's holiday ribbon and this is the end of it!!

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For my second card I tried really hard to keep it STAMP SIMPLY style. In a prior post I used this beautiful BoBunny designer paper I had just purchased and the pieces on that card were too small for you to really appreciate how pretty this paper is so I used it for my card today.

Now this is as simply stamped as you can get in my opinion. I used my Nesties to cut the circle and scallop circle then used the SU scallop border punch for the background panel. My sentiment is by Magenta and my organza ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I used my Bow-Easy for my ribbon and added a Martha Stewart pearl for a touch of elegance.

There you have it for today! I'm sitting at Akron's City Hospital with my sweet husband and he's doing pretty good. Since he has tested positive for C-diff infection, he'll be here for a couple more days but they have his nausea under control so that's a big plus!! Thanks for all who have sent well wishes & prayers our way!!

Isn't modern technology wonderful!! Having this laptop to keep me occupied while DH is resting is awesome! Here's wishing you all a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Stamp Simply #90 - Gone To Pot

Friday is here and it's time for another fun-filled challenge over on Sharon Johnson's blog (NoTimeToStamp). Today Sharon's challenge has "Gone To Pot" ... here it is in Sharon's words:





GONE TO POT! — Today’s challenge is somewhat of a play on words — I have always loved word games. Today we will incorporate some kind of a POT into our work — be creative! This idea came to me while I was planting some flowers into a “flower pot”, drinking coffee that had been brewed in a *coffee pot* — you get the idea. Let’s see how many *pots* we can come up with today — be creative and have fun!!!





Recently I purchased this awesome "pot" by Michael Strong. It's called "Cloisonne Pot" and I thought it would work perfectly for this challenge. What do you think???


I was trying out a couple new ideas and I'm not sure if I like how it turned out or not. Must practice more when I get the chance. This was a quick card ... I can hear that MOUNTAIN OF MULCH calling out to me to get out there and "get 'r done". It's taking me forever but I will get it done eventually!!! Anyways ... back to the card. My base card is Soft Sky which I stamped the image using Versafine Black and embossed with silver pearls. Then I ran my card through the Cuttlebug using the swiss dot folder and sponged over the dots around the outside of the vase ... ooops I mean pot. Then I dumped out my container of white & purple Prima flowers and started making my arrangement using glue dots to adhere them. The centers are Stampendous Diamond Dots and the gingham ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.


Well, there you have it ... now it's time to get outside. It's a beautiful day and I really must get out there and get started on my weeding and mulching. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!!!