Hi Sweetie

 Hello friends, we have a SUMMER color mood board for you this month at Colorful Options.
Think picnics, yummy summer food and pretty flowers!

I have to admit summer foods always entice me, nothing better then fresh
picked fruit in my book!  I mean look at all those yummy fruits, let alone
that sandwich, I might have to quit and go have my lunch LOL!

I used Lawn Fawn for my strawberry die and paper.  
Outside in Stitched Strawberry die and Perfectly Plaid papers.
I used a Waffle Flower Lacey 2 die and a Tutti Designs Dotted Oval.
The sentiment is Sunny Studios.

I hope you have enjoyed my big plump strawberry card and
will come and join in our summer fun!

Flag Colors

Hello friends, at Stencil Fun our OPTIONAL theme is
YOUR flag colors.

Living in the USA our flag colors are of course the
red~white~blue.
It took me a bit to decide what I wanted to use but leafing through my stencil
notebook I can across this Tim Holtz 'Rays' stencil that I thought would make the
perfect background for my Cottage Cutz Patriotic Eagle With Top Hat
that I purchased on one of their up to 80% off sales.  The Eagle was a bit bigger
then I thought he would be so the large background worked great for him.  Both the stencil and the die are a first time use and perfect I think for July!!
The inks I used were Altenew Azurite and Hero Arts Cherry.
The eagle was die cut on white scrap pieces and colored in with Copics.

For my Anything Goes card I used a Hero Arts Folk Winter Animals Stencil
inked with Altenew Winter Lake and Artic Mountain, and Hero Arts Cherry.

We are an anything goes STENCIL challenge with an optional theme...
hope to see you there!!

Entering the following fun challenges:
Snippets Playground #509 .... Snippets

Simon Says Stamp Monday .... Red~White~Blue
Shopping Our Stash .... Red~White~Blue
Never Before Used Schtuff .... NBUS
Just Us Girls .... Stencils (2nd entry)

You're So Sweet

 We are into our second season of SUMMER at
The Four Seasons challenge and have a fun, summery mood board for inspiration,
but you can create any summery thing you want!

I let the yummy and colorful ice cream cone on the bottom right inspire me.
The hard part was deciding which of my die/stamp sets to use.

I finally settled on a die I received free with an order from scrapbookdotcom,
it is one of their own dies they sell.  I cut out six ice cream toppings from scraps of
white card stock
and inked each one up with various inks, the same with the cone and cherry.
I cut two banners from Cheery Lynn Designs to place my cone on.

The background paper is a first time use  too and is Honey Bee Team Tie Dye,
it is full of the prettiest papers.  The sentiment is Concord & 9th Pretty Sweet stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and come and have some
'summertime' fun with us!

Entering the following challenges:
Halloween & Other Occasions .... Ice Cream

Hello Sweet Friend

 It's time for our Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge
with an OPTIONAL theme of Cats and/or Dogs.
We are an anything goes challenge but an embossing folder usage is a MUST!

My embossing folder is a Darice paw print,
embossed on kraft card stock.
The gray die cut is one I cut for another previous project but forgot to
add it so it became the perfect background for my Cottage Cutz 
Profile of a Labrador to be popped up on.
The sentiment is a Spellbinders Betterpress, geesh, how I love that thing!

I really like how this card turned out!
Hope to see you over at our fun challenge...get those folders out!!

Entering the following challenges:
Cut It Up .... Critters
Krafty Chicks .... Masculine
Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG

Woven Ribbon Stencil

 Hello friends!  I was totally inspired by a card on one of my favorite blogs HERE.
So inspired I had to purchase the Altenew Woven Ribbon stencil.
I think her color choices are much prettier then mine but it
is a learning experience of colors to use. 
I used Simon Heather, Violet, Rosie Cheeks, and
Altenew Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades and Pumpkin Pie.
I also loved the clean white of her flower,
so kept mine white as well.

My hello sentiment is Paper Smooches ( site closed).
The flower is Waffle Flower Focal

Altenew makes it super easy with a diagram of how to use the stencils, 3 stencils in all and each one is turned 90 degrees

after the first stenciling.  I am sure I will be using this stencil

again and again!  It certainly looks woven doesn't it?

Entering the following challenges:

Just Us Girls ....Stencils

Inkspirational .... ATG Stencils (optional geometric)

Anniversary Card

 Hi All, our anniversary was the 20th and I created this
'masculine' anniversary for my hubby. 
I always struggle with masculine cards for some reason
and since I had just recently purchased this awesome
Simon Happy Cover die with stamp set recently I thought it would
work good for the hubby's card!
One thing about this die is that you cut it once for the frame then
again in a different pattern for the letters,
making two different cards, (hope that makes sense)!

The paper for the letters was Brutus Monroe Secret Garden (no longer available)
though they do have a 'new' secret garden one out now different from this one, same name.  Anyhow he seemed very pleased with it.

Entering the following challenges:

Pearly Sparkles #108 .... Masculine
Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG
Night Owls Create Beautiful .... Lots of Green
Krafty Chicks Challenge #774  .... Masculine

Woodblock Wednesday

 Today is the last Wednesday of the month  which means
it is also Amy's Woodblock Wednesday where woodblock
stamps are center stage.

In trying to use a woodblock stamp that 'sort of'
represents the month we are in I thought my

Stampendous 2001 sun stamp was it for this month

since we have been having hot hot temps in the 90s
with a heat index of over 100.

I used Sparkle N Sprinkle Tequila Sunrise embossing powder

after stamping with Versamark on a 4x4 navy blue card stock.

It was then layered on a Sizzix textured sunny gold panel.
The sentiment is The Ton Easy Expressions.

This card has lots and lots of sparkle and the stamp

is yet another I received from my friend when she gave me ALL

her woodblock stamps!

Go on over to Woodblock Wednesday and see all the

fun and amazing entries and if you have some

woodblocks, why not join in??

Also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG

Graduate Cards

 I finally got my grad cards made I needed for their grad party.
I saw a new die that Simon Says released that I thought would
be perfect for my cards.  It is Happy Cover and comes with a
stamp set that can be used for many other occasions as well.

I made my granddaughter Trinity's in her Buchanan school colors of
maroon and white.

Trin and her boyfriend Noah.

I made my grandson Jameson's in his Niles school colors of 

blue and gold.

Jamison and his girlfriend Shelby.

I also have a few that were honored this year

Mena that will be moving to Niles high school as a freshman.

Great granddaughter Paisley was honored at Buchanan and will be moving into the
Buchanan High school as an 8th grader.

And Nyla that was honored  not only for All District but also

All Conference for volleyball.
She will be a senior at Niles high school next school year.

And a little more bragging rights LOL as these three are all sisters

and great granddaughters that are in cheer competition,
they all placed this year:

Paisley

Bostinn

Everly (she is only 4, they start them young))

Wow, that was a lot this year, but so proud of them!!

Entering the following challenges:

Fab N Funky .... Anniversary or Graduation

Let's Go To The Beach

Hello friends,  it is summertime at Double D and our theme is
LET'S GO TO THE BEACH..
Sounds good to me, living close to Lake Michigan
we have LOTS of beaches around us,
I love the beach, how about you?

We have a very 'beachy' mood/inspiration board
but you can create anything 'beachy'!!

Last year I 'hit' a Spellbinders warehouse sale and purchased one of their
small dies of the month July 22 Day At The Beach.
As soon as I saw the board I knew I wanted to use this die set for the 2nd time.
I didn't give her a polka dot bikini but she does has a polka dot swimsuit!  I die cut all my pieces from my zillion
scrap pieces I have bags and bags of, sorted by colors of course!
The background paper is from Honeybee, I added an embossed cloud
from my 'spare parts' bin and a few IO seagulls.  This was a fun set to put
together and relatively easy too.

Come on over to Double D and have some summer fun with us
and check out all the awesome summer DT projects! 

Entering the following challenges:
Snippets Playground .... Snippets
Halloween & Other Occasions .... Great Outdoors
Aud Sentiments #326 .... Summer & a Sentiment

June 2025 Reminder

 Hello friends, we are halfway through our challenge at
Two Old Bats
so that means you have a couple more weeks to join in
our fun year round Halloween challenge!
We always have an inspiration board for a few creative ideas!

Though I normally am a stickler myself to using the boards for inspiration,
this time I failed as I had purchased these adorably cute 
doodlebug designs 'boo crew' doodle pops and just had to use them!

The card base was one I had rejected for another project so I thought
the swirls on the design paper would  be great for the fun ghosts.
I placed each ghost on a punched circle left over from my January
ghost card that were left sitting on my work table.  The BOO is part of
the boo crew doodle pops.

Come on over to Two Old Bats and have some fun using YOUR
Halloween supplies now instead of waiting an entire year to bring them out again,
we would LOVE to have you!!

So Very Thankful

Hello friends, we have pretty vase of flowers for inspiration
that is perfect for our June/July  monthly challenge at 
Beautiful Blossoms
but you can create any colors as long as it is floral! 

I went with the inspiration colors of the red, white, and blue.
I used mostly dies for this card starting with the background
Waffle Flower Lacey Layers 2, die cutting a Doodlebug Yankee Doodle paper.
I die cut a Memory Box (2014) Blushing Bouquet then colored in the red 
and blue flowers with Copics.
Because it was a cold and dreary day when making this (in March) I
added some cheerful bits of PinkFresh Studios (Glacier) bling to each flower center.
The sentiment is Easy Expressions from The Ton.  The eyelet die is
Cottage Cutz.

Come and join us for some pretty 'floral' fun at Beautiful Blossoms.

Merry Christmas

 Hello friends, it's once again time for our Peace On Earth Christmas challenge and we
have a VERY colorful inspiration board to cheer you up!
However, you can create any new Christmas project in any color,
our inspiration boards are just that, to inspire!

I have to admit it took me a while to decide what I was going to do.
I first thought of doing a tree and pulled out a tree stamp but that
bright pink present in the upper right corner kept drawing me to it.
I long ago purchased a gift box die from Sunny Studio  (Perfect Gift Box)
and it just got put away and never used.  I saw a cute layout on their site using
the die the that clinched my decision to go with the boxes.  All the papers used
other then the solids are from my scraps bag of Christmas papers.  
The sentiment is i-crafter stamped in Hero Arts Neon Pink ink
and also the first it has been used.

These colors aren't my typical Christmas color choices for me but it is always good
to go a little bit out of your comfort zone, don't you think?

We would love to have YOU come and join our challenge at Peace On Earth!

Entering the following challenges:
NBUS #75 .... Never Before Used Schtuff

Hello

 Our challenge at Can You Handle The Pressure has
a new OPTIONAL theme of BUTTERFLIES.
It is optional and you can create anything but using an
embossing folder is a MUST!

I pulled this already embossed panel from my 'spare parts' bin.
It is Simon Floral Center Piece which is a gorgeous 3D folder.
The butterfly hello is from Cottage Cutz, it is so delicate
I had to run it thru my Big Shot 3 times to get to weed out the
 small parts, but worth it in the end.  A few gems were added
for butterfly sparkle.

Come and join us for some embossing fun!

Entering the following challenges:

Alphabet Challenge ...E for Embossing

Soak Up The Sun

 Our monthly challenge for June begins today at
The Sisterhood of Crafters
with a theme of Fun In The Sun.

Living in the Great Lakes state and about 25 minutes from
Lake Michigan, my idea of fun in the sun is 'beach time'.
Since I'm (ahem) 'older'  I am more into walking the beach and
looking for beach glass then I am being a 'sun bunny' 
but my card today is more about lazy days sunbathing!

I used for the first time a Sizzix die set Beach Day.
I cut all the pieces out of a white card stock scrap and then
colored each little piece in with alcohol markers,
when I popped the flower center out it flew across the room,
so, instead of cutting a new one, I just replaced it with a gem.
The background wavy paper is from LDRS, You Are My Sunshine
paper pad.

Just a fun little summer card.
Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!!

To A Special Couple

 Hello friends, at Love Those Pretty Papers challenge we have an
OPTIONAL theme of WEDDINGS.
I don't know about you but I can certainly use some wedding cards on hand.
You can create anything goes but we do require you to use designer papers.

I started with an old 12x12 paper pack from The Paper Studio called Pearl
that I picked up a long time ago (2011) at Hobbylobby.  It is full of  pretty pearl like shiny papers
slightly embossed with  a pearl like look.  The perfect papers for a wedding.
I used a Tutti Designs Dove Circle, a sentiment from Heartfelt Designs stamped on a first time used Stampin' Up framelets die 
and a few pearls.

For my anything goes card I figured as long as I had a wedding card
I might as well make an anniversary card too.
It's a simple card but it sure shows the pretty designer paper well.
The paper is Mintay's Antique Shop.  I used a frame from IO to frame some of the gorgeous roses on the paper, added a sentiment
I created using a Spellbinders Betterpress plate and die,
added some Pink Fresh Studio Pixie gems for sparkle.

Come on over and join us for some pretty paper fun!!

Entering the following challenges:

Word Art Wednesday....ATG

Welcome Little One

Hello friends, at Simply Clean & Simple we have an OPTIONAL theme and it is
PRETTY PINKS.

You can however create anything as long as you keep it CAS!

In trying to use up things from my 'spare parts' bin I had this cute
giraffe already die cut and ready to be used.
He, (or she as the case may be) is a Cheery Lynn Designs die.
I used another Cheery Lynn die for the fishtail banner underneath,
cut with a pretty gingham Prima paper.
The sentiment is one of my Spellbinders Betterpress plates.

If you like CAS then come and join us at SCAS.

Word Power June 2025

 Hello friends, today is our new challenge at Word Power
where our challenge is all about those BIG words or sentiments,
-they should be the FOCUS or eye drawing element on your card.

For my card I used a big Happy Birthday sentiment by Sizzix, the flowers are part
of the die set.  I die cut a Waffle Lacy Layer for the base, then used a stitched
oval from my 'spare parts' bin.
That's it, an easy peasy card for a birthday!

Get those big words or sentiments out and come and join us for some Word Power!

My Dear Friend

 Hello friends, today at Double D we have a new challenge theme and it is
FRAMES!

We have a fun inspiration board full of pretty frames to inspire!

For my frame I created one from my Cottage Cutz Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies.
I had an already stenciled and die cut Spellbinders Hello Blooms flower
just waiting to be used.  I popped it up on my frame and added a Spellbinders
Little Hello sentiment.  For the background I had an already embossed floral
panel.  All of the things used on this card came from my 'spare parts' bin
and it felt good to put them to use.

This is an easy challenge so find yourself some frames and
come and join us!!

Soar

 Hello friends, at Triple B for June we have an amazing colorful 
inspiration board, but you can create anything in any color as long as it
has birds, blooms, or butterflies on it, one, two or all three.

For my cards I used a very favorite and colorful 6x6 paper pad by
Little Birdie Artsy Blooms.  This pad is full of beautiful and colorful blooms
and seemed to fit the inspiration board perfectly!

I created a couple of cards using not only the papers but Graphic 45 press-ons as well.

The first card I used the press-ons on a few punched circles.

The second card I used the press-ons on vellum.

I just love these pretty papers and don't think they needed much more
and chose to let the papers be the 'shining stars'!!

Come on over to Triple B, it's a super fun and pretty challenge!

Summertime Fun

Hello friends, We have a fun OPTIONAL theme this month at
Stencil Fun and it is SUMMERTIME.
However, you can create anything NEW as long as a STENCIL
has been used.

I am sure you are all familiar now with the Waffle Flower postage
dies and stencils, I have to admit I have been quite addicted to them myself
and seemed to order with every release they have.
This stencil and stamp set  is Beach Days stenciled with mostly Altenew inks.

I had so much fun with it I created a second card as well.

For the anything goes portion of our challenge I created a graduation
card I made quite some time ago for a grandson that had graduated from
University of Michigan, which in another year I'll be making
him another card as he is back at UOM getting his masters.
The stencil I used is a Brutus Monroe Grad.
Pretty simple as no layers like I normally do.

Come and have some stenciling fun with us
at Stencil Fun!

Thank You

 Hello friends, I saw a fun challenge that worked perfectly for me
for a card I just created.  It is at The Paper Players and it is 'recycling is in'!

Last month I made a purchase at The Greetery with their new May release

and with every purchase they sent a FREE cute urn die and it was mounted as
shown below.

I thought the packaging was so pretty I just couldn't toss it
so I turned it into a thank you card by simply cutting one of the
urns from a glitter paper and adding a frame around the image.

A great 'recycle' don't you think?

I had a second order and received a second one of these dies

and am sending it to a friend for her enjoyment!

Thanks for stopping by!!