Four Seasons April Spring

We are still happily into SPRING at Four Seasons
and have a pretty mood board for inspiration.

You can let it inspire you like it did me or create anything as
long as it is SPRING themed! 

Anything Spring 

I created my card with a newly purchased Bouquet of Tulips die
from Cottage Cutz.  When they have their up to 80% off sales I really stock
up on their dies knowing they will come in pretty handy down the road!

I die cut all my pieces from white card stock then colored them in with Copics,
sometimes I cut in all colors of scrap card stock but this way is much easier
and quicker then doing that.
I used a Pink Fresh Studio Blanket Stitched Circle, using the negative part
and placing my designer paper behind.
The sentiment is also from Pink Fresh Studio Simply Sentiments-Hello.

We hope to see YOU at Four Seasons and make sure to stop by to
see all the beauty from the design team!!

Entering the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge .... Anything Goes

Happy Birthday Violets

I'm back today with another card for another fun challenge at
Memory Box.
Their theme this month is Floral Favorites. 

For my CAS card I used the Blooming Violets die.
I have always loved the wild violets that grow in our woods
and even though this is an older MB die, flowers never ever go out of style!

My card is a smaller card, more notecard size.
I had a small yellow card base leftover from when I made a larger
then an A2 size card so put it to use with this cute
flower die.  I also used  MB stencil Texture Splatter Spray
behind my die cut Violets.

I'll try to be back tomorrow with another challenge card,
thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter Egg

 Hello Friends, hope you are having a good creative day!!
I decided to take a break from my DT work and have a little
creating fun with a current challenge!
I try to do the PoppyStamps challenge each month
but it always seems to be almost over by the time I get to it!
This time the theme is to use only die cuts.

I used two different older Poppystamp die cuts for today's card

I have always loved the Ribbon and Bow Egg, such a fun die to work with and then
for the flowers I used Garden Bouquet.
I also added a few already cut greens, Purple Rain Nuvo for the flower centers
and stenciled a background using a Memory Box stencil.

The egg pattern was made by using shimmer powders and water.
I actually got the idea of this layout from Pinterest
with a card made by one of the Poppystamp designers,
I thought it was so beautiful that I went with the design, changing it up a bit
but you can see it HERE and I'm sure you will agree with me how pretty it is! !

Thanks for visiting and hope you are having a fun and creative day!!

Also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge .... Stencil It

Sketch 722

It's time for  a new sketch challenge at Sketch Saturday
and once again it's a FUN one! 
There is always a fun twist you can add or not, totally up to YOU!
The twist is to add BUTTONS!

I created my card totally out of a pretty designer paper pad from
Carta Bella's Botanical Garden.  So many pretty papers in this pad!
I did add the twist and added die cut buttons but I do have a really neat
button die that I just couldn't lay my hands on that I would of rather used,
which die cut notebook I have filed it in is a puzzle to me!

Hope to see YOU over at Sketch Saturday,
would love to see your sketch design!!

Happy Easter

 Hello 'chickies', it's time for our next 'optional' theme at
Can You Handle The Pressure
and it is EASTER.
Remember the theme is optional and you can create anything
you want as long as you have used an embossing folder!

I love our challenge as I have an abundance of embossing folders
old and new and it gives me a great opportunity to put them to use!

I used a fairly new to me folder from Nellie's Choice.
It is full of springtime flowers, which I colored in with
Pan Pastels..  Such a pretty folder.
I stamped Happy Easter from Flourishes Easter Baskets set.

Visit at Can You Handle The Pressure and see all the pretty
creations from the design teams!

Entering the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday .... Spring/Easter

Rainbows

At The Sisterhood of Crafters is is all about
Rainbows OR Rainbow colors! 

I used a brand new to me rainbow die from Impression Obsession I bought over a year ago
for the FIRST time!!  That's what I love about our challenges
we can use any brand of product we want and aren't restricted to a certain retailer!
I die cut this seven times to get all my colors and now have six more rainbows
I can put together!
For the background I used a Lawn Fawn cloud stencil and
lightly stenciled in some clouds.
The sentiment is from a much used sentiment set by Pink Fresh Studio.

LOTS of pretty rainbow cards over at The Sisterhood,
make sure to stop on by and take a peek!!

Hello Spring

 Happy first day of Spring!!
I can hardly believe it is here, now if it would just warm up
it is 26 degrees as I write this, BRRR!
Lots of my spring flowers have sprouted and some
have even bloomed, poor things, they have been covered in snow
at least four times, everything is about a month or more early
which is fine IF it was warmer out!

Anyhow I have a pretty card today just for Spring!

When I saw The Flower Challenge this month was
use die cuts or a stencil I knew I had to join in!

I stenciled this card using Altenew's Garden Days.
A favorite layered stencil that has since been discontinued.
You will see this lovely floral come up on my blog down the road in other colors!
I added a few Pink Fresh Studio gems as I noticed a small ink smudge and these are certainly good for covering that up
as well as adding a bit of sparkle!

Thanks for looking and have a fabulous first day of SPRING!

Peace On Earth Challenge #36

Hello Friends, it's that time again for a new 
Peace On Earth Challenge
and we have a fun mood board for inspiration!
You can create anything you want as long as it is Christmas themed!

 

I let that cute bear inspire me in the bottom left corner though my
first thought was to make a Grinch card but after a trip to HobbyLobby
and catching an awesome sale, I came home with this fun
Tim Holtz bear die set Cozy Winter.
This fun set even comes with a woodpecker that looks just like
Woody Woodpecker though I didn't use him this time!

I had a lot of fun putting this bear card together and surely will make some more!
Hope to see YOU at Peace On Earth!!

Entering the following challenges:

Caffeinated Christmas #15 .... Green

Pink and Green Florals

Another beautiful challenge is starting today at
Beautiful Blossoms and we have the pretty mood board below to
inspire YOU to create your own pretty floral!  

I have Hellebores in my own shade garden and they pretty much
resemble the ones shown below.  In fact they have spouted greens and buds in January
already and normally start to bloom in March
(as I work ahead I am writing this in January, we have had a crazy mixed up winter)!

When I saw the colors for this months challenge the first thing I thought of
was my own Hellebores and knew I had a very old stamp set by Marcella Hawley
when she created for Flourishes called Winter Blossoms.

I stamped  it on a pretty die cut from Pink Fresh Studios Folk Edge Circles.
The paper used is from Mintay and the strip down the side was a pre-cut 
piece from my stash!  The sentiment is Altenew.

We would love to see your floral creations at Beautiful Blossoms
and all the details and rules can be found there, please stop on by!!

Entering the following challenges:
The Flower Challenge .... Dies and/or Stencils

Easter Challenge

 Double D has a new challenge theme and it is all about
EASTER!

There is a mood board for inspiration but it is just that
for inspiration, use it or not but just make sure
your card is EASTER themed!!

When I worked for Sparkle N Sprinkle I received many awesome stamps from them
and this is one of them Spring Bunny, the sentiment is also part of the set
which I stamped in Versamark and embossed with SNS Beach Cruiser embossing powder.

I added a few fun sequins.  Make sure to visit at
Double D and see all the beautiful creations by the teams!!

A Barrel of Monkeys Challenge #2

Call me crazy as I probably am lol,
but I joined a new challenge that I think is going to be a big hit
A Barrel of Monkeys
The challenge is all about using kids toys or games for each
challenge theme.  I wanted to join as I have so many grandchildren and
great grandchildren that it seems  I am in need of at least one or two
children's  birthday cards every month plus this is a challenge I am not
a co-owner of so all I have to do is create a monthly card
and I'm good to go, easy peasy!

The challenge theme this time around is 
a dog pull toy.
I can remember my own kids having one of these
when they were small.

Here is my card version using a
Cottage Cutz die Dapper Dashshund.
It also comes with a few accessories to 
create a well dressed boy or girl dog.

I had a Doodlebug puppy love paper pad I used for my backgrounds,
the inside of the card reds 'party your tail off', a sentiment from SNS.

Pop on over and check out this fun new
challenge blog at A Barrel of Monkeys
and join in our fun too!!

TOB March Mid Month Reminder

We are half way thru our challenge at Two Old Bats
and have a fun mood board for inspiration
but you can create anything as long as it is Halloween!!

  Inspiration Board

 As usual I let the inspiration board inspire me with all the 
bright green colors, after all it IS March, right?

A year or so ago I bought these Ella and Viv Very Strange Things
square stickers and mounted them on a die cut square.
They make for an easy Halloween card and are pretty cool too
and you get 16 of them so you will be seeing them here often until gone!

I used an old stamp I have had for years from the dollar bin at Michael's
for the sentiment and die cut a black rick rack piece for the bottom.

We would love to have you join us at Two Old Bats
and it gives YOU an opportunity to use those fun Halloween stamps year round!
We also have a fun prize up for grabs if we have 25 or more players
so what are you waiting for, join us!!!

Sketch 721

It's Sketch Saturday time and we certainly have a FUN new 
sketch for you 

I really liked this sketch and certainly had fun with it.
I inked an embossed background with three different shades of green inks,
used a Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Strip die,
the stamp came in the purging boxes of stamps my friend game me,
there is no name on it (wood block stamp)
but it was so pretty and fit perfectly into my die cut stitched square
ad did the Stampendous sentiment from the Spring Sentiments set. 

Hope to see YOU over at Sketch Saturday,
would love to see YOUR take on our fun sketch!

You Are My Rainbow

 A new challenge starts today at
Can You Handle The Pressure and our 'optional' theme is
RAINBOWS!

Our challenge is all about embossing folders,
dry embossing is okay but an EB folder
must be used!

I used an Ecstasy Crafts Dazzling Sunburst
embossing folder trimmed down to fit an A2 card base.
I die cut many leaf pieces in rainbow colors
and glued them around a die cut ring to make my
wreath.  The sentiment strip is Honey Bee
and the sentiment is from Pink Fresh Studio.
I cased a wreath created for Picket Fence and  
I tried to find a link to give credit for it but couldn't
find it, but the designer is Emelie Genberg
and though mine is a bit different I absolutely loved it!

Have a lot of neglected Embossing folders?

Then join in our challenge with us at Can You Handle The Pressure,

we would love to have you!! 

Entering the following challenges:

Aud Sentiments .... Anything St Patrick's and/or a Rainbow
Just Us Girls .... Word Week:  Rainbow

Happy Birthday

 Hello All!

Today a new theme starts at
The Sisterhood of Crafters and it is GREEN!
We want to see all YOUR green projects!!

I pulled out scrap papers for my background papers
and for the rickrack side pieces, those were cut using an
old Cherry Lynn Designs die, looks kind of real doesn't it?

The image is is an oldie by Our Daily Bread now known as Divinity Designs
Butterfly Branch. 

The sentiment is from ODB also and is Ornate Border Sentiments.
I have used this stamp set once before and gosh, it feels good
to pull out an old stamp (2012) and use it again!
The stamp stamps little dots on and I added Nuvo Apple Green dots
to those and added a few extra.

Make sure to take a peek over at
The Sisterhood and see all the pretty inspiration from my 'sistahs'!!

CAS Card For Stencil Fun Challenge

 This months OPTIONAL theme for our Stencil Fun challenge is 
CAS!
Of course it always an Anything Goes challenge as long as you use a stencil!

For my CAS card I used a Pink Fresh Studio Daisy Wreath stencil.
Love this stencil that  also has a die available to use with
which is what I did here.  I have stenciled this in many other colors
which will show up later on my blog I'm sure!
I used an EB folder for my background
which still leaves a lot of white space,
the sentiment will go on the inside!

My second card is an anything goes card using the beautiful
Altenew Garden Days stencil!
I think this is a gorgeous stencil (a biggie though) that I have also
stenciled in many other colors!
The background paper is from My Favorite Things,
you can see it fades out on the right hand side which 
is just part of the design!

Dar and I would LOVE to have you join us in our fun challenge adventure
at Stencil Fun!!

Peace On Earth #35

We are already into March for our Anything Goes
Peace On Earth challenge but as always we have a fun
mood board for inspiration.
Being March I created this fun board in greens
but you can create anything, any color as long as it is 
Christmas themed!!

I, of course couldn't resist the green and knew I had a snowman die that
would be perfect for this challenge!

I used a Sue Wilson Build A Snowman set and had fun die cutting 
out all his winter apparel in green!!
I stamped the background with SU's Lovely As A Tree set.
This stamp never never gets old and is useful for so many projects!!
I also used a SU sentiment that I stamped in red for a contrast!

I mixed some glue with water and spattered in on the card front
(minus the snowman) then sprinkled fine glitter all over,
let it dry good, then adhered the snowman and the bird.

We would love to see your Christmas creations at
Peace On Earth
and be sure to see all the pretty designs from the teams!

Barrel of Monkeys Challenge

 I saw a NEW challenge A Barrel of Monkey's that looked like lots of fun so
I had to join in when I saw what the first challenge was as I had this die 'Barrel of Monkeys die from 
 Cheapo Dies when I ran the Cheapo Dies blog and never used it.
Now was the time to bring it out as it is perfect for this challenge.
Not everybody but ME would have banana paper in their stash now 
would they?  But of course I did left over from my sock monkey days
when I had the sock monkey stamps from SU that I have since
downsized from my stash.  The paper was an entire pad of sock monkey papers
from Daisy D's and I only have about 5 sheets left of it, but once again
perfect for my card!

I needed some kids birthday cards for my stock so this was a perfect
opportunity not only for the challenge but for my stock as well.

I was thinking wouldn't it be fun to give the gift of the game Barrel of Monkeys
and this cute card together?

March 2023 Triple B Challenge

Guess what???
Darlene and I have created yet another NEW challenge and it is called 
TRIPLE B
meaning it is all about BIRDS~BLOOMS~BUTTERFLIES!
You can use one, two OR all three, up to you as long as you use at least one!
We also have a fun mood board each month for inspiration! 
The challenge starts on the 3rd of every month and ends on
the last day of the month with Top 3 and Top winner posted on the 2nd!  Are we crazy or what?  But as Dar says,
if it makes us happy then so what!!!

I LOVE tulips so I let those inspire my card and created with both
blooms and  a butterfly!
The tulips are a stencil from Spellbinders which include the stenciled
background you see on my card.  They also have a hot foil plate and die  set to
go along with the stencil if you want giving it an entirely different look!  The set is Wonderful Tulips.

I have a funny story to tell in the making of this card, I grabbed my stencil and set to work
stenciling away and then thinking something is wrong with this stencil as it
surely does NOT look like a tulip nor the pictured tulip on the package.
I was on my third stencil when I realized I had grabbed the wrong stencil.
I had also ordered a Lisa Horton stencil set when ordering this one
and had both out of the package to put in my stencil book but hadn't done so yet,
and here I was all ready to email Spellbinders about receiving the wrong stencil lol.
BUT, that being said, it says it has a package of six stencils all numbered 1-6

which they are with the exception there is no #4 but a #7 so it all works out LOL!

I added a Cheapo Dies butterfly to finish off my card.

WE hope to have a guest designer every month joining us
which we do this month and she is a very talented designer!
So head on over to Triple B for some beautiful and inspiring inspiration!!

Sage Green Color Challenge

Colorful Options new challenge is all about pretty GREENS
this month, or you can always use rainbow colors!

Fun inspiration board below in the pretty colorful options! 

I decided to go with a mix of rainbow colors and a mix of green colors!
I have had this Cottage Cutz  Iron Stand with Plants
for quite some time and decided to pull it out and use it.
I have found that by die cutting all the pieces in white
then coloring them in makes it much quicker and easier then trying
to cut each piece with scrap colors of choice.
I have to say though this was another of those picky little pieces

that almost drove me bonkers and also resulted in me
stabbing myself with my tweezers!
The back piece is a gingham EB folder and the plant stand was
attached to a Spellbinders Hemstitch die cut!

We would love to have you visit our Colorful Options challenge and
join in with us, either rainbow OR green!!

TOB March Halloween Challenge

Can you believe we are into March already? 
We sure are and that brings us to a new challenge starting at
Two Old Bats
nd we have a fun GREEN inspiration board
but you can create anything as long as it is Halloween themed!

 Inspiration Board

 I couldn't resist all those fun green bats flying around
so I got out my SU bat punch and a die from Prickley Pear
Making an once again easy Halloween card.
Gosh it feels good to use some of this 'old' stuff again!!

I hope I have inspired YOU to have some Halloween fun and join us at
Two Old Bats!!

Four Seasons March Spring

I am happily to say we have slid over into SPRING at Four Seasons!
I love Spring myself, the flowers are starting to come out of hiding after a long
cold winter, the birds are returning and the fresh smell of rain to cleanse the earth!

Yes Spring is a favorite season of mine!
We have a fun mood board to inspire but you can create anything as
long as it is SPRING themed!

I love this mood board so much I had a hard choice of choosing
what inspired me.  In the end I went with the upper right corner as I had a
'new to me' Penny Black Jump For Joy stamp that seemed to fit
the board perfectly.  This is a 2007 stamp but one that I had recently just ordered .
I stamped my image on a Spellbinders Hemstitch oval then colored in with
my Copics.  I loved the polka dot background paper as it reminded me of my frog!
The sentiment is Stampendous Spring Sentiments.

Take a peek over at Four Seasons and be inspired by not only
our mood board but all the 'pretties' from our design team!!

Entering the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday .... ATG
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday .... ATG

Green Challenge

 We are thinking GREEN at Double D
this time for our theme and have a fun green mood board
for inspiration but you can create anything you want as long as 
GREEN is your main focus!

I had something totally in mind for this challenge DT card
but forgot about it until I saw it later sitting there,
that's what happens when you get old, your mind isn't what
it used to be and you are 'forgetful'....sigh!!

A year or so back a friend of mine sent me a few Priority envelopes
of dies as she was getting out of the card making fun and this
Poppystamps Madison Door die was one of them.
The door has nice embossed panels but I couldn't get them
to show up well in my photos, but know that they are there
just like a real door!
I die cut it out of green and placed it on an embossed background panel by Paper Rose (wood panels).
I created the wreath using various pieces of die cuts,
added potted plants using The Greetery Sitting Pretty accessories
and a kitty cat from my stash of already die cuts!

The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

When I first die cut the door I had it upside down and couldn't figure out why it

cut one whole side open, once I figured out it was upside down

it made much more sense but I didn't have the packaging to see how it was 'suppose' to go. 
I only let a small portion of my door open  and tacked the rest down.

We would love to have YOU join us at Double D
and there is beautiful inspiration from the Design Team,
we also have a awesome GREEN prize to one random lucky winner,
so head on over and join in all the fun!!

Entering the following challenges:
PoppyStamps .... Die Cuts

Me and You

 Just doing a fun challenge today at Poppystamps
that ends soon as I saw the theme was
Me & You 
and only requirement was to use ONE Poppystamps die.

I used the Roundabout Heart.
I have always loved their dies that cut into the card
which makes them great for making shaker cards or
adding a pretty design like I did on this card.
I also love the fact that they are made in the USA!!

I kept the card pretty CAS by just adding a sentiment from an OLD Flourishes
stamp set that seemed to be perfect!

Now back to my regular scheduling programing TEEHEE!!