School Begins!

 I've had a marvelous time with my grandchildren this summer - they are 8 and 5.  We have taken walks in the woods, along rocky beaches, crafted, learned to embroider and knit, played catch, cooled off on the slip n' slide, picked blueberries, made jam and applesauce, gardened and pulled weeds, gone to museums, trampoline, and putt putt golf.... this Mimee is happy and tired!  One more overnight weekend with backyard camping and maybe a movie/popcorn night and then it will be time to start school and Mom and Dad will be in full charge once again.

I will make them each a card with a note inside and a positive message.  This is the first and will go to the Kindergarten kid.  I used some papers from my stash and the stamps are from a Close To My Heart set called School is Here - at least 10 years old as I purchased it before I retired.

Linking to Retro Rubber Challenge #214  

Hey, friend!

 With this card I played with a Jennifer McGuire technique of rubbing ink on debossed side of a panel. I had embossed with Gina K Falling Leaves folder and after rubbing with three shades of ink, I cut a circle aperture and a smaller one on the dark brown to create an inner frame with SSS Stitched Circles.  The Nina Desert Storm card front was embossed with a wood grain folder. I colored and cut the bear and sentiment from the Happy Fall Y'all kit from Simon. The inside has a little colored leaf from that set.

linking to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Arigato

 

My son who lives inn Japan brought me so many lovely gifts on his recent visit home! It is really fun to get the gorgeous papers, stickers and yummy foods, and lots of thank you cards must be sent. So I have used papers and a gold sticker from Japan and an embossed sentiment from an old favorite Lawn Fawn set.  It's a clean and simple card, but I love the sparkle. Inspiration from the newest sketch at TSOT.

                Please check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the Design Team at                                       Try Stampin' On Tuesday and give this marvelous sketch some crafty love.  

Bonjour!

 

Good morning!  Monday, start of a new week and a new sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts.

#540 is another opportunity to use some pretty scraps. I have used some hoarded CTMH red paper and some MFT gingham. Tag and stitched rectangle dies from Gina K Designs; cherries die from Cottage Cuts; sentiment from Avery Elle. Ribbon from my stash.  

Please join us at Atlantic Hearts this week. We really look forward to seeing what you create.

Encouragement

 A dear friend and P.E.O. sister fell and broke a shoulder last week.  Two challenges inspired my card of encouragement to her and they are linked below.

I embossed the back panels of bamboo paper with a Gina K Designs folder and rubbed it with a combination of  speckled egg and faded jeans Distress Oxide to  achieve a color similar to the challenge.  For the small square I used an emboss/cut folder from SSS that was part of a kit last year with Desert Sand paper and I rubbed the raised portion with Distress Oxide as well. The sentiment is Gina K stamped in faded jeans and adhered to the back of the square.

Linking to Tuesday Morning Sketches #721

and  Hand Stamped Sentiments #421

Another try...my photography skills are seriously in need of improvement

Paradise

 New challenge at Sketch Saturday!  #733  (with Optional twist to add sequins)

I'm a bit late posting this morning, but hope you will check out the new challenge and all the other fabulous Design Team inspirations. This sketch challenge runs for the next two weeks - plenty of time to get crafty and join us.  We so enjoy seeing what you create with the sketch.

My card used an embossing folder technique from Jennifer McGuire which involves inking the debossed side. I used the Alocasia folder from Altenew.  The flowers and sentiment are from a very old Close to My Heart set, Extreme Happiness.  I stamped with Gina K Designs inks and fussy cut. This set was long before coordinating dies :-)  

Butterflies

               It is my week to select a theme for the new challenge at Allsorts!  I have chosen

                                                   🦋🦋  Butterflies  🦋🦋                                                                                                            or you may always use the Anything Goes option

Prizes from Craft Stash, Anna Marie Designs, AALL and Create, Oakwood

The Allsorts Design Team has some stunning projects to inspire you. Please check them out and we look forward to seeing what you create this week for challenge #743!

I began by creating a panel on the gel plate with various layers of color and stencils. When it was dry I ink blended a Stampendous stencil of cascading butterflies. In each of the blank butterfly spaces I stamped a small butterfly. I also stamped a marvelous new stamp from AALL & Create #907 several times.  I placed this panel behind double frames -one cut in gold and the other in white popped up with foam tape on the card base.  From the same butterfly set from SSS, I stamped a larger butterfly, embossed it in gold and added some color with Zig Clean Color pens.

FMS Celebration

Freshly Made Sketches challenge is celebrating 12 years and 600 sketches of crafting inspiration! 

My card used some Simon Hurley stamping foam to press into my granddaughters new sweater. We inked it up with her favorite color to match the sweater. It was a full day of crafty goodness with her as I taught her to cast on and knit. She's 8 1/2 and it took two days to get her going on her test swatch without adding/dropping stitches. She's got it now! 

I used my new Chunky Knit stencil (SSS) to 'emboss' a panel. I fussy cut one of the images from the Yarn Love (SSS) set and stamped a sentiment from the same set. Popped up the embossing panel and the yarn/sentiment.

Bees

 Cleaning some craft boxes and found these little bees...so they have been buzzing around my desk for a week or so.  Before cleaning up my Gel plate I tried a background with the beehive embossing folder which didn't really show up they way I had hopes, so I embossed the paper once it dried and used an ink cube to highlight it. The dandelions were in my stamped scrap box so I cut them with the smaller Wonky Stitched rectangle from MFT die set.

Linking to Tuesday Morning Sketches #720     and Polkadoodle  - Anything Goes

AHSC #538

 

                     Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #538

A perfect sketch for me to use another Gel print!  I have been making so many and now it's fantastic fun turning them into cards.

I used Poppy dies (www.poppystamps.com) for the sentiment and also for the little flower. The set has both outline and background,  so I used a scrap left from the squares to cut that.  

Hope you will join us at AHSC this week!

Autumn Fawns

 Allsorts challenge #741/42 is Brenda's theme  All Creatures Great and Small                                             or you may always use the Anything Goes Option. 

Prizes, A4 stamp set from AALL and Create and £15 voucher from WOWVOW

My Design Team card for your inspiration uses a sweet stamp and die set from My Favorite Things, and tree dies from Impression Obsession, and card scraps for little leaves and ground. The label die cuts are Spellbinders Nestabilities.  Not really sure about the patterned paper - it came from my loose paper drawer. The images were colored with Copic markers, and the sentiment attached with a bit of twine.

Our neighborhood is near several wooded gulches and a large forested park and we have regular visitors of deer. Whole families sweep through munching flowers, bushes and trees. Fortunately, fencing prevents them from getting into my backyard garden. So I try to not begrudge them feasting on the front yard! :-)

Thank you for looking. Hope you will join us at Allsorts for this challenge.

Daisy Birthday Wishes

 

The newest sketch challenge #618 at

Try Stampin' On Tuesday!

For my design team card I have made a mini-slimline and flipped the sketch. I used daisies from Simon Says Stamp (Etched Layered Daisy Stem), and a sentiment stamp from another SSS set.  The background is a Gelli print made with several stencils.  I have had lots of fun making backgrounds this week and decided it was time to make a few into cards. I had a bit of print left over and used it to decorate the envelope flap.

Hope you will join us and share your creations at TSOT!