Double D Challenge - Shades of Purple

Happy Wednesday All!

It's time for a new, fun challenge at the 

DOUBLE D CHALLENGE BLOG!

Today's theme is:

SHADES OF PURPLE

and here's a peek at our Inspiration Board ...

Anyone who knows me, knows that PURPLE is my all time favorite color!
My phone is purple, my purse is purple, my wallet is purple,
my crafting cave is purple ... heck even my 30 year old bowling ball is purple!  LOL
I'm sure you get the picture!

 The main focus die I have used today is the
Sue Wilson 'Frames & Tags - Hannah' #CED4309

And the sentiment die I've used is the
Sue Wilson 'Just A Note' #CED5407















There are so many ways you can create with a die set such as this Hannah set ... but today I chose to use only a couple of the
dies to create my focus panel.

The little hearts cut out so I saved them and colored them with my Spectrum Noir
Alcohol marker PL3 to help achieve a variety of purple colors.
After die cutting my sentiment, I also used the same marker to color it
and tie in with the corner hearts.

Another die set I used is the Elizabeth Craft Designs
Bunch of Flowers 4  #1030




As you can see, there are 3 different styles of flowers in this set
and by simply sponging the edges with Tim Holtz 'Wilted Violet' distress ink
before shaping ... I have once again achieved another shade of
purple as well as added dimension.

So there you have it!
Now it's your turn and I can't wait to see YOUR purple creation!

REMEMBER:  We have a fun prize to give away to one

lucky player which will be chosen by Random.org.

ALL are welcome to enter, we will ship international!

Today's prize is this fabulous Crafty Secrets
Words from the Heart
Love and Friendship Booklet

So be sure to come join in the fun!  YOU could be our winner!!

See you there!!

Challenges to share in:
Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes
Retarte Challenge #81 - Anything Goes
Craft-Dee Bowz July Challenge - ATG w/handmade bow
Use Your Stuff Challenge - Die Cuts and/or Punches

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a fabulous day and week ahead!

As always . . .

Recipe:

Papers:  White cs, deep purple cs, DCWV purple gingham dp

Accessories:  Dies as mentioned above, Kaiser purple pearl, Michael's purple gingham ribbon, HFC pop dots, Spectrum Noir alcohol marker

Our Beautiful World Challenge

Hello Friends!

Over on the Our Beautiful World Blog the new word prompt challenge is GREEN!

It just so happens I snapped a few awesome photos that fit this challenge while on vacation a couple weeks ago and would love to share them with you today.

This beautiful green sunflower was among the various GREEN  glass sculptures at the Chihuly Garden & Glass in Seattle, Washington.

 

While walking through some of the outdoor gardens near the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, I spotted the dew on these leaves and just had to snap a photo (via my phone).  Love the end result.

These next two photos were taken while walking through the rain forest on our way to the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska.  This first plant is called Devil's Club and it is one of Alaska's poisonous plants.  You can also see the Hemlock in the background which is also poisonous.  Yikes ... need to be careful walking through this rain forest ... I was careful to stay on the path and use my zoom!  LOL

Absolutely beautiful foliage and moss walking through the rain forest.  

Isn't Mother Nature amazing!! 

I hope you've enjoyed my photos and I look forward to seeing what everyone shares for this challenge.  Each and every challenge at the Our Beautiful World Blog shares some AMAZING & BEAUTIFUL peeks into what a beautiful world we live in.  Come see for yourself!!

 Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Wishing you a fabulous day and even better week ahead!

Until next time and as always . . .

Tutti Designs - Happy Fall Ya'll

Hello Everyone and Happy Sunday!

Sunday's are my day to share a new creation using the fabulous new dies from Tutti Designs on their Tutti Designs Blog.  The design team shares something new each & every day!!  If you haven't taken the time yet to check out this new line of dies ... please do it NOW!  They just put out their second release the beginning of July and there are some AMAZING dies for Fall and the upcoming Holiday season!

Today I decided to create a card for Fall.  I know it's early to be

thinking about Fall but time just goes by so dang fast and I'm always a step behind

it seems!  LOL  

The two dies I have used on today's creation are from the latest July release. 
They are:

Owl Family (Tutti-142)

and

Elegant Pumpkins (Tutti-150)

I had a lot of fun creating with both of these dies today and went a little crazy!



Here's a quick peek at some of the steps that went into today's card.

After die cutting the Elegant Pumpkins from white card stock, I did a quick coloring with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.  I didn't like how the die cut seemed to 'disappear' when I placed it on my background paper so I decided to cut out around the die design with my swivel craft knife.

Then there was too much white space (for me) and since I now had this cut out panel of my designer background paper, I decided to die cut my Elegant Pumpkins one more time and 'paper piece' the pumpkins on my card front...

 ... as seen below:

That's better ... really helps pull it all together and my pumpkins look like one of those hand made cloth pumpkins that you see at the craft fairs in the Fall.

 Next came this adorable Owl Family.
After die cutting from white card stock, I once again turned to my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and started playing around with coloring.  Lastly I used a fine tip black marker to 'give them a face'. 

How cute are these little guys (or girls) . . .

Lastly I added a hand written sentiment panel in which I also incorporated a few little pieces from the die cut piece of background paper that I used for the paper piecing on the pumpkins.

Voila! Ready to make someone smile this Fall!

Make sure and check out all the great places to see this new line of dies.

Tutti Designs Store

 Tutti Designs Blog 

Tutti Designs Pinterest

Tutti Designs Facebook

Thanks for stopping by today and here's wishing you a FABULOUS week ahead!
As always . . .

Dies R Us - Water and/or Beach

Hi Everyone!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today I'm doing something a little different, I'm joining in with the Team B ladies over on the Dies R Us Challenge Blog and playing along in today's challenge.  We are a little short on DT members for this team so I thought I'd join in the fun ... why not right!!  (Coordinators have to have some fun too!  LOL)

 So anyways, the challenge for the next 2 weeks at Dies R Us is

WATER and/or BEACH

I love creating a scene (only in the good sense that is) so here's what I came up with:

The dies I've used for today's creation are:

Lawn Fawn 'Large Cross Stitched Rectangle Stackables'

Lawn Fawn 'Small Cross Stitched Rectangle Stackables'

Impression Obsession 'Beach Chairs'

Impression Obsession 'Sea Birds' DIE078

Frantic Stamper 'Tall Palm Tree w/Fronds' FRA9504

Memory Box 'Beach Toys' #99122

Memory Box 'Sandal Border' #98332

Sue Wilson 'Happy Birthday' CED5406

Sue Wilson 'Pierced Flags' CED4304

 To be honest, some of the die cuts used on today's card are pieces that had been cut and then not used.  They were laying on my craft table so it felt good to finally 'give them a home'.

The background was created with ink & sponge daubers.  I love being able to create my own background, especially for a beach scene ... so easy and effective.

I hope you enjoyed my card and will come join in the challenge fun!

Now let's see if I can find a few other challenges to share my creation with . . .

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge  (7/20) - Create a Scene

Fab n Funky Challenge (7/19) - Add a Sentiment

Fresh Brewed Challenge (8/2) - Birthdays

 Try It On Tuesday (7/18) - Favorites Vacation/Holiday Place

If you go to the Dies R Us Store and don't find what you're looking for ... come back again because there's a lot going on right now with being in the midst of moving their warehouse from one location to another.  Several items are 'hidden from site' temporarily until all the stock can be put back on the shelves ready to ship.  

Please bear with DRU during this move.  Thanks for your understanding.

Thanks for stopping by today and as always  . . .

Recipe:

Papers:  White cs, Black cs, Olive Green cs, SU Bermuda Bay cs, scrap of designer paper, Copper metallic,

Dies:  Listed above

Accessories:  Various TH distress inks & SU inks, large sponge daubers, pop dots,

Sisterhood of Crafters - Animals

Hello Everyone!

It's time once again for a new challenge over at

The Sisterhood of Crafters.

Today's theme, chosen by sistah Vickie is:

ANIMALS!
(Please make an animal the focus of your project.)

I chose horses as my 'animal of choice'!
My daughter loves horses ... in fact she has a couple of her own
and there was always a horse in the barn when I was growing up!!  NO NOT MINE!
My younger sister was the horse person.  I was just as happy with a goldfish!  LOL

As this card starting taking shape, it reminded me of the opening clip for the 
'Pioneer Woman' on Food Network.  Ree Drummond!  
In fact, here's one of the photos she has taken & posted to her blog.


 Aren't they beautiful?

People who know me, know that I am not an 'animal person'!
Not that I don't like animals, I've had my share of dogs, etc.  over the years ...
It's just that at this stage in my life, I don't want/need to be
bothered with the attention & clean up necessary to be a pet person.  
I guess that's being a bit selfish ... but I'd rather be that
then have an animal that I can't give my full attentions too!  
LOL ... right now CRAFTING is my PET OF CHOICE!!

Challenges to share in:
Through The Craft Room Door Challenge (7/12 - 7/18) - Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations Challenge #160  (7/17) - Anything Goes
A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge (7/14) - Anything Goes 
Animal Friends Challenge (M) - Animal + die/punch
Happy Little Stamper July Challenge (M) - Anything Goes w/Dies



 Be sure to pop over to see what the team has created for this fun challenge.
What talented ladies ... 
Then I hope you'll come join in the fun and share your inspirations with us!!
See you there!
Thanks for stopping by ...
As always . . .

Recipe:

Papers:  White, Brown, Black, Kraft cs, Paper House 'Country Girl' designer paper

Dies:  Technique Tuesday 'Hello' #DIY0383, Memory Box 'Galloping Horse' #996

Accessories:  burlap

Flowers and Lace

Happy Monday All!

I had a little extra time yesterday and decided to join in the 

fun at Fussy & Fancy where the theme is Flowers & Lace!  You certainly

can't go wrong with that combination!

 

 With August right around the corner, I turned 

to the Graphic45 'Time to Flourish' 8x8 paper pack as

the starting point for today's card.

I've had this Cheery Lynn Designs 'Sunflower' die for several

years and don't think to use it very often ... well it was PERFECT 

for today's application don't you think?

I die cut using goldenrod card stock 3 times for each flower, then

conditioned each petal by using my flat pointy tweezers

and curling the petal up around them.  I like

the dimension that process gives to leaves and flower petals.

Mission accomplished!

Now I'd better get back to my DT work and creating

for upcoming shows.  Hope you enjoyed today's creation!

Other Challenges To Share In:

Dragonfly Dreams July Challenge - Anything Goes

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge - Anything Goes

The Ribbon Girls July Card Challenge - Anything Goes (card+ribbon) 7/16/16

Craft-Dee Bowz July Challenge - Anything goes with a handmade bow

Till next time, have a fabulous day!

As always . . .

Recipe:

Paper:  White cs, Goldenrod cs, Dark Olive cs, Brown cs, Ivory cs, Graphic45 dp

Dies:  Tutti Designs 'Butterfly Corner' TUTTI-107, Cheery Lynn Designs 'Sunflower' DL121, Sue Wilson 'Finishing Touches - Laurel Leaves' CED1431

Accessories:  Craft-Dee Bowz bow maker, Stampin' up ivory lace, Jambo Lace Roll Tape, Flat pointy tipped tweezers, Verve 'Kind Words' sentiment stamp, Versafine Onyx ink

There's always HOPE . . .

Happy Sunday Everyone!

With so much tragedy and sickness in the world today,

I think we all know someone who is going through a difficult time

and could use a card of encouragement to not give up HOPE!

 

That was my thought behind today's card.

I know it's only July but I'm thinking ahead and wanted to have a

few cards ready for the Fall season.  I have one particular Fall Craft Show that I know the ladies

will love this Fall colored creation.  The fact that is '1 stamp mailable' will be a PLUS for them.

Here's a few quick tips on it's creation . . .

I first die cut the beautiful Maple Vine Frame (Tutti-139) from white card stock.

 

Next I took another piece of white card stock and sponged various fall colors of ink around the outer edge.  I wasn't too concerned about the middle since it pops out of the die.

(As you can see I wasn't too concerned about getting those ROUND sponge dauber circles either ... as a matter of fact, that was quite okay because it gave me some 'highs & lows' on the finished cut.)

I off set the inked die cut panel over top of the white die cut panel

then adhered it to my forest green card base.

Remember I said the center pops out ... well, we wouldn't want to waste that piece since it was perfect to use for cutting out the HOPE die which is actually a part of the Snowglobe Expressions (Tutti-143) set.

 

 

A white gelly roll pen was used to free hand some faux stitching around the word

as well as the edge of the card base.

Viola ... almost done!

I wanted to leave room for a message on the inside but then remembered there was another fabulous fall die in this latest release that I thought would work nicely as an accent for the inside of my card.

That die is the Pinecone Branch (Tutti-148) ...

If you haven't yet popped over to the Tutti Designs Store, YOU ARE MISSING OUT on some fabulous dies at a very REASONABLE price!!

And if you need inspiration, did you know there is a team of ladies who are sharing Tutti Design creations each and every day of the week ... each month?  Yep be sure to pop over to the Tutti Designs Blog so see what these ladies have created using Tutti Designs dies to help inspire your creativity.

There are two more locations you'll want to check out ... 

Tutti Designs Pinterest

Tutti Designs Facebook

Challenges to share in:
Just Us Girls Challenge - Sponging
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Sentiment as Focus
Creative Artiste Challenge - Anything Goes
Creative Corner Challenge - Anything Goes

Please take a minute right now and check 'em out ... you'll be glad you did!

I will be back NEXT SUNDAY with another creation made using Tutti Designs dies,

I hope to see you again soon!

Till then . . .

Time to Celebrate Christmas in July

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a card to share that was created for the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog!
One of my team mates mentioned doing 'Christmas in July' cards.  I thought it was a great idea and decided to give it a whirl myself!

Now mind you ... when it's upper 80s outside, I'm really not in the mood for holiday cards  ... BUT ... with the A/C on and I'm in the basement ... the temperature feels like it could be snowing in here!  LOL
So why not!

I don't make many 'shaker' style cards but am always impressed with them when I see the amazing creations other crafters come up with so that was the direction I decided to go with today's card.

AND, it's a great use for that packaging so many of my dies come in ... I keep them all and when I get a free minute I cut the edges off so I have a flat panel to use for various other projects.

Here are a few steps I took in making my shaker card:

First I decided on what scene I wanted to create and chose the Memory Box 'Cascade Evergreen Frame and Memory Box Everygreen Trio (no longer in stock) but the Memory Box Mountain Evergreen would work well also.

As you can see, I cut a panel in white and another in green.

Next I wanted to create a 'backdrop' for my evergreen forest so I cut a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 panel of white card stock and simply sponged just the top half to represent the sky using Tim Holtz 'broken china' distress ink and a large sponge dauber.

After cutting the green trees from the border ... I staggered them on top of the white tree panel to give the illusion of snow on the branches.  Next I started 'creating my forest'. 

 

To create my SHAKER, I decided to hand cut strips of dimensional tape to help create my 'window'.  After laying a strip on all four sides, I removed the protective strips from all but the top strip.  Next I adhered my 'window panel' ... poured in some Martha Stewart 'snow' ... pulled the top protective strip off and VOILA!!

Now for the finishing touches!

By positioning the Impression Obsession 'Icicle Edger' across the top and one of the deer from the Frantic Stamper 'Reindeer Duo' Set, down on the bottom, the dimension of my winter scene really came together ... what do you think?

I couple more dies for the inside sentiment and the first holiday card of the 2016 season is complete!
I chose the other reindeer in the Frantic Stamper 'Reindeer Duo' Set, and the Cheery Lynn Designs 'Merry Christmas with Tree' Sentiment die.

Sorry for the long post ... thanks for sticking with me!!

I hope you'll take the time and pop over to our Dies R Us store!
The holidays are 'not that far away you know!' ... YIKES!

There are so many wonderful die cutting companies to choose from ...

I'm sure you'll find exactly what you might be looking for (and more, lol) !!!

Remember, there is a new inspiration sample shared each and every day of the month

on our Dies R Us Inspiration Blog using a variety of dies from several different companies.

Then of course you'll want to come join us at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.

There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st & 15th of each month with

a gift voucher prize to one lucky winner each challenge!

OH!  And did you know we have a FB Page and PINTEREST Page?

I hope you'll check out all the fabulous fun going on through DIES R US!!

Challenges to share in:
Broken Fairy Challenge #6 - Anything Goes / Twist - Christmas in July
Digi Designs Challenge - Christmas in July
Christmas Cards All Year Round July Challenge - Anything Goes (Christmas)
Creative Corner Challenges - Anything Goes
 Cut It Up Challenge - Anything Goes (must have die cuts)
Winter Wonderland Challenge - Let's see a Christmas tree and make it cute.
 ABC Christmas Challenge - N is for No Rules

Till next time . . . 

And, as always . . .