Congratulations

 Today is the LAST Wednesday of the month which means it is also
Amy's Woodblock Wednesday where woodblock stamps are used.

As you have heard me say 'a lot', I have many many woodblock stamps
so this monthly challenge is right up my alley!

I've been trying to use a stamp that 'sort of' goes with the month we are in, which is why I decided to use this birdhouse stamp

as the birds are so vocal right now and I love listening to their
song, it's so relaxing and pretty, so I thought it perfect for May!

My stamp is an oldie from Stampin' Up that was another stamp from
my friend along with a Hero Arts 1996 sentiment stamp.
I stamped the image with Cloud 9 Solid Black ( my new all time favorite black ink)
then colored in with my Copics and Olo markers.  Once done I used a The Greetery 
Aida Cloth Texture Plate.  I love this new plate of mine as it sure gives an awesome
textured look when done.

I am sure Amy would love to have YOU at her
Woodblock Wednesday challenge too.

Entering the following fun challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG
All Sorts .... ATG
Elliebelle's Garden Party .... Anything in/around A Garden

You're In My Thoughts

 Hello friends, just a fun stenciled card today.
I actually did this card for a stencil challenge but never got it on~my bad!

I used once again my new (to me) Waffle Flower Crocus Flutter stencil
and Altenew inks.  After the stenciling was done I ran it thru my
Big Shot with my newest The Greetery Aida Cloth Texture Plate,
(out of stock right now, I bought the last one)
I sure do love the effect of this die
The sentiment is another of the Spellbinders
Betterpress plates.

My first card I did with this stencil is HERE,
somewhat similar in colors though this is one is lighter and I
didn't have the Aida Cloth plate yet to use.

I did find another challenge to enter
Just Us Girls .... Stencil Week

Night Owl Challenges .... Stencils and/or Punches

Swing By Sometime

 Hello friends, today and for the next few weeks we have an
OPTIONAL theme for our challenge at
Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge
and it is Zoo/Jungle Animals.
An embossing folder is required for our challenge.

I used for the first time a newly purchased embossing folder during one of
the Sizzix sales back in January, Jungle Textures.  It's a pretty awesome
embossing folder and the perfect backdrop for my Cheapo dies monkey.
I die cut him a couple times and paper pieced him in.
The sentiment is Elizabeth crafts.
Just a fun and silly card!

Check out all the fun and creative inspiration from our design team
at Can You Handle The Pressure and join in with us too.

May's Birth Flower and Birthstone

Hello Double D friends our new challenge theme is  
May's Birth Flowers
(Lily of the Valley and Hawthorn)
and Birthstone is Emerald
Be inspired by any of the three

My Mom's birthday was May 6th and had she still be with us she would of
celebrated her 98th birthday this year, God rest her soul!
I have always loved lily of the valley and grow them in a great area
that they are allowed to spread, and the neat thing is the start I was given of them
was from my hubby's grandmother's garden making them even more special.
I used to have pink ones as well but we plowed that garden under last year
though hopefully I think I transplanted some.

Anyhow, back to the card.  I had this small stack of paper doilies
sitting around and have been using them up and I believe this is the last of them.
A perfect place for my Tutti Designs Lily of The Valley to 'rest' on.
After die cutting , I colored them in with Olo markers.
A Lawn Fawn sentiment was added and I had a quick card done!

Come and join our fun at Double D and check out all the
beautiful inspiration from the DT, it always amazes!!

Entering the following fun challenges:
Little Red Wagon .... Flowers
Lets Craft & Create #219 .... No Patterned Paper
A Cut Above .... ATG With A Die Cut

Merry Christmas

 Hello friends, at Peace On Earth we have a mood board for inspiration
that maybe will inspire you, maybe it will be the colors or the
nutcrackers themselves, but keep in mind we are an anything goes challenge
as long as it is Christmas themed!

I used a new nutcracker die from Photo Play.  This die makes three different
nutcrackers and it took me awhile to figure out the pieces.  All were cut with
a white card stock scrap and colored in with Copics. I used Spellbinders 
Curved Matting Basics A for my backgrounds.  He was a testsy little guy to make.

Come join us at Peace On Earth and have some
early Christmas fun with us!

Entering the following challenges:
NBUS .... Never Before Used Schtuff (my nutcracker)
Little Red Wagon .... 'D' is for Die Cut

Guest Designing At Cut It Up

Hello friends, today is a fun day as I am guest designing for the
Cut It Up challenge and the theme is FLOWERS.

Cut It Up is a challenge that is all about using your die cuts.

I decided to use my much neglected Concord & 9th Primrose Garden dies.
This by far is not a quick project but I prefer much more 'fussy'  cards myself
so this wasn't a hardship for me to create. 
It's a lot of die cutting but so worth it in the end. 
The sentiment is also Concord & 9th , Primrose Garden stamp.

 I totally used scraps for all greenery and flowers.  I keep all my scraps
in their own 12x12 ziploc bag sorted by color.  Makes it easy to just

grab a color when I need it.

I want to thank Cut I Up having me as a guest designer!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you can join the
challenge at Cut It Up, the perfect time for flowers!!

Entering the following challenges:
Little Red Wagon .... D is For Die Cut
Snippets Playground #506 .... Snippets
Craft Rocket #125 .... Flowers
Ellibelle's Garden Party .. In/From A Garden
Seize The Birthday .... Flowers

 

Two Old Bats May 2025 Reminder

Hello friends, we are halfway through our monthly year round challenge
at Two Old Bats and the design team have some fun new inspiration for
you, so be sure to go and check it out!
We also have this fun mood board for inspiration only!

 

Being the  month of May and in a 'Spring' mood I totally let the
pinks in the board inspire me!  I used the Waffle Flower postage die
and cut it apart to fit my cute little images from a paper pack of
Paper Rose 6x6 papers.  The background is an old Cuttlebug Spider web
frame that goes around the entire base, but you know how hard it is to 
get a good photo of a black card, especially when it is embossed!

Get those Halloween supplies out and come on over to
Two Old Bats and have some Halloween fun with us!

Signing off, one of the Two Old Bats!!

Every Flower Is A Soul

 Hello friends, we have a new and beautiful mood board at
Beautiful Blossoms where we are all about BLOOMS.
You can create any color but just keep flowers as your focus!

First card:

I used an Altenew Sweet Spring Stencil and Altenew
inks.  this is only a 2 step stencil so it was a little difficult to get the three colors in without overlapping on each other.
I used a Spellbinders Garden Favorites sentiment and a few PinkFresh Studio gems.  The die is PinkFresh Studio Mini Slimline Essential Bundle.

Second card:
This is the first I created but decided to do another as I 
wasn't quite satisfied with it.

This card kind of through me for a loop as first of all I thought the stencil
I used was Roses until I went to list it and saw it is actually Peonies.
It is a Hero Arts 4 layer stencil that I used Altenew and PinkFresh Studio inks
in purples and orange colors for the florals.  I am wondering if I used lighter and a dark color if
it would show more detail.  The sentiment strip is Stampendous and I added
a few purple sequins for a filler.

Come have some floral fun with us at Beautiful Blossoms.

3D Flowers

 Hello friends, at The Sisterhood of Crafters our theme for the month
is FLOWERS.
As you have probably seen on some previous blog posts
I have been a bit addicted to the Katy Sue 3D layered cards.
These gorgeous tulips are one of them.  All the pieces punch out and
then you use thin pop ups to layer them making them 3D.
I created a 5 1/2" square card as this is a pretty big panel.

The 3D effect:

It's May, time for all those flowers,
 so come on over and have some floral fun with us!!

Sending Hugs

 Hello friends, our OPTIONAL theme this month at
Can You Handle The Pressure is FLORAL
but you can create any theme as long as you have used an
embossing folder, that is a must!

I at one time was a member of the Spellbinders 3D embossing folder club
and this gorgeous folder is the January 2024 folder Efflorescent Flora folder..
It's a very large folder so you are only seeing a portion of it's beauty,
The polka dot paper is My Favorite Things die cut with a 
Tutti Designs rectangle slimline die.  The flower is (Iris) a layered stamp
that I inked a long time ago so not sure of the maker, Hero Arts(?) maybe.  The sentiment is Pink Fresh Studio.

We would love to see you and YOUR embossing folders over at
Can You Handle The Pressure.

Happy Birthday

Hello friends, we have a new challenge theme starting today at Double D and it is Designer Paper,  May is national scrapbook
month so you can even do a scrapbook page if so desired!
As always we have a fun mood board for inspiration! 

I was inspired by the pretty prints and had a paper pad I knew would be perfect
for this challenge.  The pad is full of gorgeous papers, Hydrangea Lawns
by Dress My Craft.I also used an Impressions Obsessions Hydrangea die
that I cut lots of the flowers and inked with Altenew inks Sapphire and Hydrangea.
The flower is really is more of a purple-isah color.  I adhered it to a spare parts
embossed strip I had and added a bow sentiment 'Put A Bow On It' from The Greetery.

Come on over to Double D with your designer papers

and have some fun with us, a plus is you can also

enter your project at our sister challenge

Love Those Pretty Papers!!

Entering the following challenges:
Elleibelle's Wednesday challenge .... ATG
The Paper Funday #76 .... ATG

The Crafting Challenge .... Flowers
Halloween Crafts & Other Occasions .... Birthdays
Simon Says Wednesday .... Beautiful Blooms 

Stencil Fun May 2025 Challenge

 Hello Friends, Stencil Fun is here again with a new monthly challenge
and an OPTIONAL theme of BOUQUETS.
You can however, create anything as long as a stencil was used.

For my card I pulled out a pretty layered
stencil from Pink Fresh Studios.
I used a variety of inks, Altenew Grass field, Mocha, 
Pinkalicious, Razzleberry, and Pink Fresh Studio
Sunkissed and Mango Sorbet.  I added a The Greetery
Put A Bow On It for the sentiment.

For my anything goes card I used a stencil that I
have used many times before, but it is a favorite of mine
Daisy Wreath from Pink Fresh Studio which is no longer available.
 The sentiment also Pink Fresh Studio 'Perfect Sentiments'
and also not available anymore.  A few half pearls were added top finish.

Hope to see YOU over at Stencil Fun!!

May Flowers

 Hello friends, it's time for a new monthly challenge at
The Neglected Stuff
where we are all about getting out your unused or VERY
neglected stuff (6 months or older)
and put it to use!

I came up with the idea of using this washi tape on a sleepless
in Michigan night and as soon as I got up the next morning
I went to work on making it.

Altenew has wide rolls of washi perfect for card fronts which is
where this washi is from.  I die cut three brightly colored umbrellas,
added the already made flowers from my stash,
and embossed the sentiment on vellum.

My neglected stuff is Altenew Rainbow Washi Tape,
Memory Box Proper Umbrella die, Michaels $1 Sentiment
and SNS white embossing powder.

We would LOVE to see YOUR Neglected Stuff at our challenge
where a Top winner and a Top 3 will be chosen!

Entering the following challenges:
Sparkles Monthly #187 .... Weather Related

Joy

Hello friends, we have a new mood board for inspiration today at
Peace on Earth
where the theme is always CHRISTMAS 
so you can create anything Christmas in any colors!

This is the year I am determined to use things I already have
and this die cut Memory Box Poinsettia Collage was sitting
right within my eyesight just waiting to be used.
I just added a textured paper underneath and a circle punched
Hero Arts sentiment and it was pretty much done!
One more thing out of my 'spare parts' box and many more to come!

By joining us at Peace On Earth you can get a huge edge on
your holiday cards for this year, come and join us!

Entering the following challenges:
My Time To Craft Christmas #111 .... Christmas Flowers
Cardz For Galz .... Flowers
Craft Rocket #125 .... Flowers
The Holly and Ivy Christmas #183 .... ATG Christmas
Girlz Creative Christmas #123 ... ATG Christmas

Florals At Love Those Pretty Papers

 Hello friends, our monthly OPTIONAL theme at
Love Those Pretty Papers is FLORALS!

We are a challenge where you get to quit hoarding those beautiful
papers you have and make some pretty creations!
Our theme is optional so you can create anything with your designer papers.

For our optional theme I pulled out two different Waffle Flower postage dies.
One cuts the scalloped 'frame' you see and one cuts the different postage shapes
that you can then 'piece' back in.  I used a gorgeous Paper Rose 6x6 pad
called Purple Haze, full of all kinds of pretty purple/lavender papers.
All the little stamped extras are postage stamps from Waffle Flower.

Anything Goes:

For my anything goes card I guess I kind of went with florals
again, I guess this time of year it's hard not to think of flowers!
I saw this design on Pinterest HERE and thought it was so
beautiful that I had to give it a try and love how it turned out.
I didn't use any of the measurements given but made an A2
card.  Doesn't it look like the butterfly is added to the embossed panel (?), well it isn't, it is actually cut out of the panel
using the 'negative' so the paper beneath shows through,
pretty clever.  I used a mix of products for this card,
Sizzix butterfly, Honey Bee Spring Medley embossing folder,
The Ton Easy Expressions sentiment, and the paper is
Paper Rose Rainbow Twirl.

I hope these cards inspire YOU to join in our fun
Love Those Pretty Papers challenge!

Entering the following challenges:
Elliebelle's Garden Party #2 .... Anything Garden
Craft Rocket Challenges .... Flowers
Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG

May 2025 Triple B Challenge

Hello Triple B friends, we have a pretty mood board for you,
I can almost smell the lavender, can you?
You can create anything using birds, blooms, or butterflies
in any color as our mood board is for inspiration only.

In January Sizzix had a big warehouse sale and I purchased this
Botanical Card Front die ($5)and thought it was perfect for this challenge.
It is a two piece die cutting the back panel as well as the intricate front panel.
It's a very pretty die and one I am sure I will use again and again.
I have a lot of gems I am trying to use up so added a few here.

Hope to see YOU at Triple B with your birds, blooms or butterflies or ALL three!!

Entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday .... ATG

Spring Tulips

 Hello friends. at Simply Clean & Simple we have an
OPTIONAL theme of flowers.
However, you can create anything as long as it is CAS.

My card features a Gina K Designs Spring Tulips stamp,
colored in with Olo's.  The sentiment is from the same set.
Not much to say about this as it is CAS in perfection.

Want to join us?  Then come on over and show us YOUR CAS design at
Simply Clean & Simple.

Entering the following challenges:
AAA  Color challenge #289 ....Pick at least 3 of the colors (Both light and Dark pink and green)

Two Old Bats May Challenge

Hello friends, we are into May already and still making our Halloween
cards at Two Old Bats!!

We have a fun and 'May like" pinkish mood board for you
but you can create anything as long as it is Halloween! 

I was totally inspired by those fun pink ghost cupcakes
and used a new die I purchased LAST year for Halloween,
for some reason I seemed to go a bit overboard with new Halloween
and ended up with LOTS of new fun things.

My card was made with fun and creepy cupcake dies from 
Pretty Pink Posh. What is neat about this set is that it has plenty of
spooky fun things that can be used on other Halloween projects besides
just the cupcakes.  Other then the designer paper,
which is from scrapbookdotcom's Spooky paper pad,
 in the background,
 all the dies were cut from scraps of various cardstocks. 
I have all my scraps pieces sorted in
12x12 ziploc bags by color, making it super easy to grab a color I need!

Come on over and join us for some off season fun at
Two Old Bats!
If  25 or more players we always have an awesome prize up for grabs!

Entering the following challenges:
Halloween Crafts All Year Round .... Halloween

May 2025 Colorful Options

Hello friends, it's time for our new monthly challenge at
Colorful Options  where we are all about colors.
We have an interesting color board this time
but don't let it fool you , there is plenty of colors to focus on!
Not a fan of these colors (?), then  rainbow colors are another 'option'!!

I have to admit I was first thrown by looking at the images and not the colors,
silly me, as after all we ARE all about color!

I started with a beautiful card base of Barely Peach.  I was hunting around for
a light peach color and this one was perfect, in my excitement of finding just
what I was looking for I accidently ordered 2 reams, no hardship there as it beautiful!
It is from Spellbinders 100#, though I prefer 110# for my bases, this one was sturdy enough.

I had a few Stampendous 'toppers' that I put together for my florals to 'rest' on
as I thought they contained ALL the colors of the board.
The florals are Spellbinders Bold Blooms from my already made stash of blooms,
but the focal center flower is a new one from the Waffle Flower release in February
'Flower Focal' die cut from the same paper as the base and inked with Pink & Main
Construction ink.  The sentiment is part of the Stampendous set mentioned above! 

I hope you will join us at Colorful Options as I know I for one
would love to see YOUR take on it!
Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!!

Entering the following challenges:
Little Red Wagon .... Use That Stash
Just Us Girls .... Die Week~Flower

Craft Rocket .... Flowers

The Four Seasons May Spring 2025

Hello friends, we are into our last Spring season at The Four Seasons for this year 
and next month moving into Summer, so enjoy it while you can!

We have a pretty and fun SPRING inspiration board for you
but you can create anything SPRING!

I was totally inspired not only by the fuzzy duckling in the top
right corner but also all the pretty Spring colors!

This little duck from Cottage Cutz Duckling In An Easter Basket
wasn't too picky to make but I sure made it difficult lol!
I cut it from my Big Shot on a scrap of white cardstock but didn't think I
got a good cut so recut it with a shim, still didn't think it cut correctly so
then I cut a third time in my Sizzix Switch and had the same result
then deciding it cut as it was suppose to in the first place.
After all that I colored each piece with Copics and Olo's then started to
assemble it.  I dropped one piece glue side down on the basket so ended up
adding another small flower (on the left) and leaf which aren't part of the die set.
To make matters worse, once the card was completely done I noticed I had missed
a spot to color in on his bill, so I grabbed my Copic and yep, got it on his yellow face.
I was able with a blending pen to get most off...time to quit for the day!

But no, I still did more stupid!  I adhered my Little Birdie Artsy Blooms paper,
die cut with a Waffle Flower scalloped die to my wrong side up
embossed Darice Basket Weave embossed panel, yes I did that!
But after all the stupidity I think he is still pretty cute! 

Come on over to The Four Seasons and join in our LAST Spring fling for
this year, the DT has some awesome inspiration too!

Entering the following challenges:
Crafty Gals Corner .... Adorable DUCKY
The Paper Shelter .... Cuties
Make My Monday .... Things With Wings
Inspirational .... Seasonal (Spring)

A Giant Thank You

 Hello friends, time for our Word Power challenge
where we are all about sentiments taking center stage!
It's an anything goes challenge as long as we can see your big sentiments!

I used a Spellbinders hot foil die 'A Giant Thank You' for my card
purchased at one of their fabulous warehouse sales and a 
Petal Pink Iridescent Foil. 
I foiled it on a Spellbinders Essential Floral Reflection die.
The background paper is My Favorite Things Petite Plaids
die cut with a Waffle Flower Lacy Layers die.
A handmade Spellbinders Bold Blooms flower was added.

Sound like a fun challenge (?), then come on over and
have some BIG sentiment fun with us at Word Power?