Double D - Tea or Coffee

 Hello Dear Friends!

It's time once again for a new challenge over on the Double D Challenge Blog!

 

Here's today's theme:

 

TEA or COFFEE

 

 and here's an inspiration board created to help get you started . . .

 

 

 I could have gone in so many directions on today's card but here's what I ended up with and I'm very happy with the outcome  . . .

 

 As you all know, I just love these 3D toppers!  They make such a quick & lovely card!  This one is from the Hearty Crafts 'Coffee & Tea' (#HC9069).  I had the frame hanging on my extras peg board and thought the 'chocolate' color would work well with the coffee theme.  My background paper comes from a 6x6  pack called 'Coffee Break' by P13 (thanks Diane for the RAK).  

 

   

 

You'll want to be sure to pop over to the Double D Challenge Blog to see all the details and amazing samples offered up by our VERY TALENTED design team ladies!!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hope to see you at Double D! 

  As always . . .

 

Bee-autiful Birthday

 Hello Friends!

I hope your Tuesday is off to a good start!
I'm happy to say I have already done some outside work this morning until it started to sprinkle then decided to take a break for awhile and hopefully go back out to do more a little later in the morning.

Anyways, I decided to other day to create a (think it's called) double Z fold card and use the happy BEE stamp/papers that were laying out on my table from a previous card commitment.  What do you think?

 

 

 Open View

 

The focus image flowers & bee are from a Hero Arts Kit stamp set that I bought several years ago and just love!  I'm not typically one who buys 'kits' but luckily when I saw that one & it caught my eye, I quickly made the purchase . . . it didn't take long to sell out, never to come back again.
 

I've used Tombow markers for my coloring and the paper is from the Eco Park Paper Co. called 'Bee Happy'.  I need to see if they still handle this 6 x 6 pad as I'm nearly out!  

Such an easy card fold, I should make more of this style ... I think the folks at my craft show would like it!  For them, it would be 'something different!' 

 Challenges to share in:

Colorful Options April Challenge - Celebrating Yellow (ends 4/28) ✓

Creative Creases April Challenge - ATG w/fun fold (ends 4/30) ✓

Girlz Rebel Challenge #51 - Flowers (ends 5/8) ✓

Well, that's my share for today!

Hopefully the rains will pass by and I can return to my spring clean up outside.  Lord knows I have a lot of it staring me in the face!  LOL

Happy Day All and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by! 

 As always . . .

 

Too Much of a Good Thing . . .

 Hello Friends . . .

Here we are at the start of yet another week (wow they sure are going by quickly) and even though I should be either doing house work or outside work I chose to create a card to share here on my blog after being inspired by KathyK's card HERE while doing my challenge blog commenting. 

 I have had this Penny Black stamp set (Allegro) for years and had totally forgotten about it until seeing Kathy's card.  

 

It was always one of my favorites!  Obviously over the years my 'stash' has increased & some of those oldies but goodies have gotten forgotten. 

 The current challenge over on the Penny Black Challenge Blog is Anything Goes w/Optional 'Pastel Colours' so of course I just had to play along!  Here's what I've created . . .

 

Taking a white card stock panel I used the residual ink in my small figure sponges to create the pastel background colors.  Then a light spray of TH distress ink spray.  After a little time to dry, it was time for stamping.  I finished off my image panel with a few pastel colored Nuvo Crystal Drops.

 I find such wonderful inspiration from my fellow crafters ... thanks Kathy!!

 Challenges to share in:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #275 - ATG (ends 4/18) TOP 5 WINNER
We Love Stamping April Challenge - Spring (ends 4/30) ✓
Allsorts Challenge #847 - In the Garden or ATG (ends 4/25) ✓

Well that's it for today!
Once again time is getting away from me here in my crafting cave so I'd better quit playing around and go get some serious work done lol.  Hope you have a wonderful day ahead!

  As always, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to stop by!

Making backgrounds from scraps . . .

 Hello Friends . . . Happy Sunday!

Today the sun is shining and the temps are supposed to be in the 70s so that means I'm headed outside to do some much needed spring flower bed clean up but before I do that, I wanted to share with you a couple of cards I created while playing around with the 'scraps' I got while shopping at the Stamplistics store up Cleveland way a couple weeks ago.  

They do classes at Stamplistics so they end up with a lot of 12x12 end cuts to do something with.  Wisely, they have them all stacked & laid out neatly where you can selected what you want and however many fit in the clear bag they offer (usually 50-55 sheets) you can purchase for under $3.  I went through and chose some coordinating papers and have finally started creating some background panels from them. 

 For instance . . . here's one of the groups of papers I chose and cut them into strips to created these four background panels ... they are next to be turned into cards.

      

The fractured card technique is perfect for scraps and there are so many variations!

 

Card #1 
This is a group of blues & greens that I chose and how fun that the flip side of one panel had trains on it . . . perfect for a Baby Boy Card.  

 

 After creating the background I simply went to my book of baby dies and came up with this cute train and It's a Boy sentiments..  Viola!   While the images were still in the dies I did my coloring with Tombow markers.

 

 Card #2 
is a pretty Birthday card ... again, the background is created from scraps that I thought would go nicely together.  What do you think?

 

 I didn't want to cover the background so I decided to stamp/color & fussy cut this pretty Simon Says 'Wild & Free Flowers' stamp.  Water coloring was done with Tombow markers, the sentiment flag was laying on the work table left over from a past project so stamped my birthday sentiment & added a few Nuvo Crystal Drops for accent.   OH ... and after photographing I realized I should have rounded the corners of my base card to match in with my purple matting so did that and rephotographed.  
Much Better!  LOL

Challenges to share in:

We Love Stamping April Challenge - SPRING (ends 4/30) ✓
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Favorite Color (ends 4/25)  Purple has ALWAYS been my favorite color!!

Addicted to Stamps & More #514 - Any Occasion (4/15) ✓

 Well that's it for today!
Lunch time is quickly approaching so I'd better quit playing around in here and go get some serious work done lol.  Hope you have a wonderful day ahead!

  As always, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to stop by!

Can You Handle the Pressure - Twist - Blue on Blue

 Hello Friends, thanks for stopping by today!

We have a new challenge starting today over on our new Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge Blog and the TWIST theme is ...

Blue on Blue

Remember, the twist is optional but you MUST use an embossing folder on your projects to qualify for the prize.  Heat embossing is also permitted but only in conjunction with an embossing folder.

 Here's what I've created to inspire you today ...

 

 Quick, Easy and so much fun to create!

 

I've used an old swiss dot embossing folder then a variety of TH distress oxide blue inks to create my background.  The flower cluster is a topper from the Hearty Crafts 'Flowers Blue/Violet' Easy 3D Topper set.  The sentiment is from the Rubbernecker '#3494 Birthday Lillies Set' and I've used a die from the Cottage Cutz #CCB021 'Double Stitched Rectangle Set' for the panel. 

 

     

 

 

 I do hope you'll come check out our challenge blog and play along.

Challenges to share in: 

 Creative Knock Outs #568 - Embossing (ends 4/15) ✓
Make My Monday #275 - Monotone (ends 4/19) ✓

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,
I appreciate it more than you'll ever know!!

As always . . .

Heartfelt Condulences

 Hello Friends . . . Happy Friday!

WOW!  Another week has gone by and time is just zipping by!!  Need to make the best of each & every day because they seem to be passing by faster than they used to!  LOL

Anyways ... with that being said, I was in need of a quick sympathy card so turned to my Blue Knight Stamps products and created this card.  

 

After convention a few weeks ago, I stamped, colored and cut several of the  Blue Knight Blossoming Branches Stamps/dies to have on hand for such times as this.

         

 

The background paper is the 'back side' from the Misty Moons 6x6 papers.

 

 |
The stamped sentiment comes from my 'Doni Collection' and is from one of her Paper Smooches stamp sets.  Well . . . busy day ahead so I'd best get after it!

**  UPDATE ** 

After all was said and done, there was 'something' that bothered me about this card and finally decided it was 'missing' something!  Crazy as it may sound, I'm not happy with a sky that doesn't have birds in it so here we go . . .

 THERE!  THAT'S BETTER!  lol

Have a wonderful day my friends and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!

As always . . .

 

Just BEE-cause!

 Hello Friends!

I created this card a few weeks back and thought to finally share it here with you today!

 Here in Ohio, even though we're still getting some freezing temps here & there, Spring is doing it's best to make an appearance and all the flowering trees have really started to pop out in blossom.  Such a wonderful sight after a long, bitter cold winter.  It is truly an uplifting sight for me ... as I get older, winters become harder to tolerate and I find myself getting slightly depressed (which I have never done before).  Come on Spring/Summer!!!

This stamp/die set comes from a kit I purchased from Hero Arts several years ago and I still love creating with it.  I've used Tombow markers for the coloring (some solid & some watercolored). The background paper is also Hero Arts called 'The Bees Knees' 6x6 pack.

 Inside view

I make up several of these little bees and have them on hand to use with other floral designs.  They are just so chubby & cute!

Challenges to share in:

Crafty Gals Corner Chlg #276 - ATG w/optional twist - Spring (ends 5/12) Top 3 Winner
Fab'n'Funky Chlg #634 - Easter / Spring (ends 4/16) Top 3 Winner
I Love Promarkers Chlg #604 - ATG using markers (ends 4/12) ✓
I Spy with my Little Eye #35/#36 - Spring Flowers or Spring Showers (5/17) ✓
The Paper Funday April Chlg #86 - ATG w/optioal twist: Die Cuts/Punches (ends 5/3)  ✓ Guest Designer Invite for June 

 Wishing you a fabulous day ahead!
It's to rain later tonight ... hopefully I can get outside and do some spring clean up.  We will see how much I can get done before my old body says 'ENOUGH!' lol

 As always, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to stop by!

Sisterhood Challenge (4/2026) - Make Someone Smile

 Hello my friends!

Today I have a card for the new challenge over on The Sisterhood of Crafters!

 

Our theme today is:

 

 Make Someone Smile

 

 Here's a fun mood board I've created to help inspire you . . .

  

 What fun ... here's what I've come up with today . . .

 

I have had this Art Impressions 'Old Goat' set #AiCS37 for quite some time now and rarely use it ... well today's the day and here's a peek at the inside for another chuckle . . .

 

 

 

Of course you'd have to be careful who you sent this card to as some folks are very sensitive to aging lol.  But I think it's funny and hope you do too!

 

Along with the stamp set (images colored using Tombow markers), I've created the background farm scene using stickers from 'The Falling Leaves' sticker book I purchased online last year.

 

 

  

I hope you'll come join in our challenge fun at The Sisterhood of Crafters!

My 'sistahs' have created some fabulous creations to help inspire you ... 

be sure to pop over and check them out!

 As always, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to stop by!

Stencil Fun Challenge (4/2026) - Rainbow Colors

 Hello Everyone!

It's time for another fun challenge over on our Stencil Fun Challenge!

Remember, this challenge is all about using your STENCILS.
We are a MONTHLY challenge that begins on the FIRST TUESDAY of each month.
Theme will always be ANYTHING GOES USING STENCILS but we will also offer an OPTIONAL theme.

Here is the OPTIONAL theme chosen for this month:

 

 Rainbow Colors

  

 Using an older Memory Box Stencil called 'Modern Pop Dots', I've used the various TH distress oxide inks to create my 'rainbow' effect.  The big butterfly is an older Cheery Lynn Designs die , the sentiment stamp is Serendipity Stamps (circa 2008) and the mat panel is a Sue Wilson die.

 

 

 

 

 For my second card (Anything Goes)

  

For this card I've used a stencil that has been in my stash for awhile now and never used.  I must admit it turned out prettier than I anticipated.  I've used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks with this Lisa Horton Layered Floral Roses stencil set. 

 

 

 

 Hopefully you'll get those stencils out and have some fun with us.
We won't always have a prize but periodically we will, you just never know!
We do have a Top 3 and a Top winner and it could be YOU!

 

Please come join us and GOOD LUCK!!
As always . . .

 

 

Neglected Stuff (4/2026)

Hello friends!

Today I have a project to share that was created for our newest
NEGLECTED STUFF CHALLENGE. 

Click on the link then come join in the fun!

   

The neglected items I've used today are these pretty Prima butterflies which have been hanging out on my 'embellishments board' for several years.  I actually think I bought them at Archiver's (we all know how long they've been out of business).

 

 

 

 I've also dipped into my pile of designer paper scraps for my design.  An OLD Cuttlebug embossing folder was used for my background then I simply reached for pink based papers to put together for a design.  The flip side of my sentiment panel is actually the same as the black background/pink roses paper.  I had a couple extra punch out sentiments laying on my work table so instead of stamping a sentiment I grabbed one of them to use ... VIOLA.

 

 

Be sure to pop over and check us out then play along!
If you're a crafter, I'm sure you have some 'Neglected' goodies in your stash
that are just waiting to be loved!

You  have until the 28th to play along!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!

As always . . .