Ode to my friends . . .

Goodness hello!  I'm not sure if I remember how to blog or if anyone even still blogs anymore?  Am I horribly behind the times? How do people share these days?  Feel free to educate me - I hate being out of the loop!

I'm just so excited because yesterday I actually got an opportunity to sit down and stamp!! WooHoo!! Now I have to say, my supplies are very limited at this point (I ordered some supplies, but haven't received everything yet, and I have since discovered some things that I forgot (or didn't know I needed) so more shopping is in order!), I only had 4 stamp sets to chose from but really, you only use one stamp at a time right? *wink*

To ease back into my crafty head-space I took a shortcut and participated in a sketch challenge that I saw posted by Broni Holcombe. It was perfect for my limited stash and was a great way for me to stretch and see what I could do with what I have!

Go easy on me, I feel like a total newbie! Oh and I haven't replaced my camera yet, so I had to use my phone - not horrible, but not ideal. ;)

Before I go, I want to take a moment to THANK YOU ALL for your love and support for our family over these last few months!  I was completely blown away by the outpouring of support (financial and emotional) that we received from all you lovely crafters - my friends, those I've met over the years, and many who I have never met personally!!  You rallied, you prayed, you loved, you gave and you will never know how much it touched us - how encouraging it was (and still is) and how your selflessness was used in our lives!!  I haven't been very active in the crafty community for almost 2 years now - but you didn't forget me - you didn't turn away - you showed up BIG TIME!!! Thank you isn't enough, no words are enough but know that you are all loved and cherished!! You are the reason I am here!!

BIG inky smooches Crafty Peeps!!

All supplies used (except patterned paper) are from Papertrey Ink

Thinking of You!

Good morning!  I have a quick post today with a quick card (well, in theory anyway!).  :)  Some weeks I have a bit of time to stamp something for one of the many other challenges out there and this week I happened to catch Nichole Heady's Make it Monday video.  Something so simple, hand drawing a frame around your card, and yet I hardly ever think to do it.

I recently got this great set All About You by Melissa Bickford for Papertrey Ink so this seemed like the prefect time to break it in!  I love the beautiful flowers in this set, along with all the great mix and match sentiments - Melissa does such a nice job! 

Nothing earth-shattering about this card but I do hope it will bring a bit of sunshine to the recipient's day!!  The colors are bright and cheery but not obnoxious - lol!  I love how the navy blue seems to tone down the other colors and bring some sophistication!  Thanks for visiting today - have a beautiful day!

Cardstock:  (Enchanted Evening) Papertrey Ink, (White) Neenah, Stamps:  (All About You) Papertrey Ink, Ink:  (Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Enchanted Evening, Ripe Avocado) Papertrey Ink, Accessories:  (Epoxy sticker), foam adhesive, black pen

Say it with Sentiments

I had some time on Wednesday to myself so I decided to play along with Papertrey Ink's first Make It Monday challenge.  The challenge was to make a card using different sentiments around a central theme.  I chose to make a love-themed card - of course, it is almost Valentine's Day after all! :)

I used 6 different PTI sets for this one! I also used one of the color combos from the favorite colors download Nichole had on her blog a few days ago. I had a little space on the layout when I was done so I filled it in with a small button with a bit of bling stacked on top. 

 This was a fun challenge, I hardly ever think of making a card with just words!  Have a great Friday!

Cardstock: (Hibiscus Burst, Scarlett Jewel, Harvest Gold, Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink, Stamps: (Tiny Treats Valentine's Day, Men of Life, Paper Tray, Delightful Dahlias, Background Basics: Hearts, Everyday Classics) Papertrey Ink, Ink: (Hibiscus Burst) Papertrey Ink, (Black) Memento, Accessories: (Scarlet Jewel Ribbon, Vintage Buttons) Papertrey Ink, (Rhinestones) Zva Creative, Tools: (Medium Scalloped edge die) Papertrey Ink, (Heart Nestabilities) Spellbinders

Salt Challenge: A trouble free life?

Good morning! Pauline has given us the Salt challenge today based on Luke 8:22-25 which is the account of Jesus calming the storm.  Please read Pauline's comments on the Salt blog and take a minute to see the projects by some of the design team members.

I chose to focus on the verse at the end of the selection, vs. 25:  "Who can this be? For he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"  Matthew Henry states: "Those that had feared the storm, now that the danger was over with good reason feared him that had stilled it, and said one to another, What manner of man is this! They might as well have said, Who is a God like unto thee? For it is God’s prerogative to still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, Ps. 65:7."   They had witnessed the power of God over nature and were rightly amazed!

My ATC today uses Men of Life from Papertrey Ink.  I had to shorten the boat a bit to make it fit, but since it is not a line image that was easy to do.  I also used the KISS technique to make the boat have a woodgrain finish.  Thanks for visiting today - have a great day my friends!

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink), White (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Papertrey Ink, Stamps: Men of Life (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Rich Cocoa, Dessert Sand (Memento), Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink), Accessories:  foam adhesive, brad

Thanks for the Lift!

Sadly, today is my last post as a Sugar Baby for The Sweet Stop Saturday Sketch team.  My six month term has come to an end and there will be some brand new Sugar Babies next week.  It's been so much fun to work with all the great ladies and a HUGE thank you to Korin for having me!!

Today's sketch was lots of fun and I used a very pretty new digi stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Hot Air Balloon.  The colors were somewhat inspired by the cover of one of our school books from this past year, The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois (what a fun book that was!), although the pretty green didn't make it into the card.  I had some fun with my Copic markers and also a white gel pen on this card!  I think balloons are very "in" right now and this one is super cute!

You can check out today's sketch on The Sweet Stop blog along with the cards from the rest of the team - plus I know they'd love a visit too! :)  Of course, we'd love to have you link up your creation with the sketch as well!

Korin Sutherland
Audrey Gonzales
Andrea Vernagus
Candace Mitchell
Renata Elenbaas
Nancy Brown
Kathy Paige
Dana White
Kelli Caslow
and June Guest Cindy Coutts  

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Cardstock: Kraft, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), White (Neenah), Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti (Papertrey Ink), Stamps: digi - Hot Air Balloon (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps) sentiment from Up, Up & Away (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Memento, Accessories: Button, Twine, Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), foam adhesive, Copic markers, white gel pen, Tools: Nestabilities, medium scalloped edge die (Papertrey Ink)

Salt Challenge: Obedience

It's time for another Salt Challenge and this week it's Kim who's given us the theme.  Please take a minute to read Kim's excellent write-up on the Salt blog.  She's taken the theme from I Samuel 15:22 where Samuel tells King Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice."  Saul's excuse for his disobedience was that he intended to sacrifice the spoils of war to God.  I'm reminded of a quote I remember from college, "It's never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right."  So often today I think we "bend rules" or tell "little white lies" in order to perhaps do something "good."  But God sees our sin and more than anything He wants our obedience!

As I thought about my project today I kept singing this song that our children sing in Sunday School (I grew up singing it as well!):

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily.

Action is the key - do it immediately, the joy you will receive.

For if we believe the word we receive, we always will obey.

I used the first line of the song on my ATC today as I believe it sums it up nicely!  The background swatches were stamped with the Mint Motif set, Very Square. The frame is Fillable Frames #4 from Papertrey Ink.

I'm off to tidy up - Jana is coming to visit me today!!! We're so excited!! :)

Cardstock: Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Stamps: Very Square (Mint Motif for iheartpaper.com) Fillable Frames #4 (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Pear Tart, Tangelo, Dandelion (Memento), Accessories: Cream & Simply Chartreuse felt (Papertrey Ink), Brad (Pink Hedgehog Crafts), Flower dies (Provo Craft), Fillable Frame #4 (Papertrey Ink), White Gel Pen, foam adhesive

Pieced Dahlia (CAS72)

Hello friends!  Just popping in with a quick CAS card today.  Yesterday's CAS challenge on SCS was  fun sketch from Diane (fionna51).  This card seriously would have taken me about 15 minutes if I hadn't sat there and stared at it for so long - lol!  I used Delightful Dahlias from Papertrey Ink along with the coordinating dies.  The paper is Cosmo Cricket Early Bird of course - love that blue pattern with the red polka dots!!

We've got a full day ahead, I hope you are all enjoying some beautiful summer weather and sunshine!!

Cardstock:  Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket), Stamps: Delightful Dahlias (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Button, Twine (Papertrey Ink) Foam adhesive, Tools:  Delightful Dahlias dies (Papertrey Ink), paper piercer

Sky's the Limit

Good afternoon! I'm running a bit late today but I just finished up a quick little card for the CAS challenge over on SCS - Things that Fly!  I love using this adorable set, Fly Away from Becky Oehlers for Papertrey Ink and of course, clouds! :)

I used Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides for the colors with just a pop of red!  I think they're good colors for a masculine card and wouldn't this be a good graduation card or congrats on a new job card?  The layout is CAS94 sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping only I turned it on it's side.

Thanks for visiting today - I hope you all are enjoying some beautiful weather and perhaps a bit of happy crafty time yourselves!!

 Cardstock: Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink), Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Up, Up & Away Sentiments, Fly Away (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Black (Memento), Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink), Accessories:  Ribbon (SU!), Button, Tin Type Impression Plate, Corner Rounder, Clear Glaze Pen, Copic markers, Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Wishing . . .

I am loving this cute Up, Up & Away set from Papertrey Ink! Course that means you subjected to more cute clouds - lol! I was just playing around the other night and came up with this fun card. The rainbow would be fun to do in lots of funky colors wouldn't it?

After I die cut the clouds I added a bit of Spring Rain ink to the edges using a sponge dauber just so they wouldn't get lost up there in the sky - which by the way was embossed with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.  The sentiment is from the companion set, Up, Up & Away Sentiments.  Wouldn't you love to get a happy card like this in the mail?! :)

All Supplies Papertrey Ink unless noted:

Cardstock: White, Spring Rain, Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Up, Up & Away Sentiments, Ink: Memento, Accessories: Lemon Tart Ribbon, Cloud dies, Vintage Button, Copic markers

Well Done! (SSS58)

Welcome to another Saturday Sketch from The Sweet Stop!  I hope you won't mind a few more clouds?  I know you've seen them here a lot but I cannot help myself! :)  Please be sure to check out The Sweet Stop blog for the sketch as well as all the great cards from the Sugar Babies.

I used the Up, Up & Away set from Papertrey Ink for my card.  The balloons were so much fun to color and arrange.  I stamped the medium one first and then masked it to stamp the smaller one (which is floating off farther in the distance).  The largest one was stamped twice, with one being colored, cut out and popped up with foam adhesive.

I played around quite a bit with the layers and colors for this one and in the end I went with black polka dotted paper for the mats.  The clouds were stamped with Fresh Snow on Spring Rain cardstock.  The white background panel was embossed with the cloud dies (simply flip them over to get a nice flat embossed area!) - what a great option with these dies!  The sentiment "sun" was cut out using Nestabilities Pinking Circles. Oh, and I added a bunch of bling to the large balloon and the corners.

Please visit the rest of the Sugar Babies and give the sketch a try yourself - don't forget to leave us a link!  I'll have my last post on the Flourishes blog tomorrow, until then have a wonderful holiday weekend!

All Supplies Papertrey Ink unless noted:

Cardstock: White, Spring Rain, Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot, Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Ink: Black (Memento), Fresh Snow, Accessories: Vintage Button, Cloud dies, Nestabilities, Copic markers, foam adhesive, rhinestones, ribbon (SU!)

Salt Challenge: First

I'm late, I'm so late!  Running behind in everything today so I will just let you know that today Tanis picked the Salt challenge this - Putting Him First.  Please take a moment to read her excellent words and perhaps the comments of a few of the design team members.  I have been particularly convinced of my own shortcomings in this area lately!  Doing lots of things, even good things, but what do I do well - what do I give my best to?  Do I put God first in all things? These are the things I've been pondering. 

I went simple and used the verse Tanis pointed us to, Matthew 6:33.  Have a wonderful day my friends!

All Supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock: Kraft, Hawaiian Shores, Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti, Stamps: Background Basics Tin Type,Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Fresh Snow, Accessories:  Hawaiian Shores Felt, Ric Rac die, Butterfly Die, Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Rhinestones (Zva Creative), corner rounder punch

Soaring By . . .

The CAS challenge this week on SCS is a sketch challenge inspired by a great card of kmahany.  I needed to play with this adorable Fly Away set by my sweet friend Becky Oehlers for Papertrey Ink.  Remember how I told you that I've been so drawn to clouds lately? I'm seeing clouds everywhere - love it!! When I saw the sketch I thought it would be perfect for a strip of cloud paper and Becky's cute airplane!  I stamped the solid airplane with Hibiscus burst ink and carefully cut the plane out.  I stamped the little star on the tail again using Ocean Tides ink, punch it out with a circle punch and added a bit of Glossy Accents for some shine!

Now, I also just got some goodies in the mail today from My Favorite Things and one of them was the brand new Die-namics Cloud Trio Die.  I had to give them a try so I die cut them using white paper and ran the clouds through again using the Swiss Dot embossing folder - cute cute!!

We posted a new challenge on the Children's Challenge Corner blog last night so if you have crafty children go take a look!! There's a prize being offered by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  Have a great day my friends - thanks for visiting!!

Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: Follow the Cloud (My Little Shoebox), Stamps: Fly Away, sentiment from Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Hibiscus Burst, Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink), Black (Memento), Accessories: foam adhesive, Die-namics Cloud Trio die (My Favorite Things), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Swiss Dot embossing folder (Provo Craft)

Some CAS Cards

You probably already know that I love the Monday CAS challenges over on SCS.  I was super excited to be a guest of the design team last week and this week! Last week the challenge was to use orange on your card.  The dt coordinator, Jen, aka Miss Boo was having a birthday and orange is her favorite color.  Well you know me, orange wasn't hard for me at all - I love it!!  I pulled out Delightful Dahlias from Papertrey Ink to make a colorful birthday card.  Having the matching dies from Papertrey made this card a snap!  I cut out the flowers first and then stamped the flower in place adding a few rhinestones for some shine!

I just love these colors together too - Hawwaiin Shores is such a pretty color and the Summer Sun dotted flower I think is my favorite!  I used the Medium Scalloped edge die for the orange scallops down the side of the card which I sewed on with my sewing machine!

All supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock: Kraft, Orange Zest, Hawaiian Shores, White, Kiwi Kiss (SU!), Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot collection - Summer Sunrise, Stamps: Delightful Dahlias, Ink: Orange Zest, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sun, Accessories: Medium Scallop die, Dahlia dies, Tin Type Impression plate, rhinestones (Kaiser), sewing machine, foam adhesive

This week's challenge is to make a Mother's Day card or a May Day card.  I used 2 new sets I picked up from Gina K Designs, Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments.  My mom is an avid knitter - she doesn't go anywhere without her knitting! - so I knew I had to get this set.  Plus it has a beautiful quilt image and several others that are so pretty!  I used FTL87 for the layout of this card and I love how it really lets you focus on the main image.  The card is 5"x3.5" which I really enjoy making. 

I stamped the image in Rich Cocoa ink and colored it with my Copic markers. The dp is from October Afternoon.  To finish it up I added a line of paper piercing down the side which I think ties in well with the whole "stitching theme" and I rounded one corner.

I'd encourage you to give the CAS challenges a try, they're so much fun!! Thanks so much for stopping by - have a wonderful day!!

Cardstock: Ivory (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Stamps: Nana's Needlework, Nana's Needlework Sentiments (Gina K Designs), Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Accessories: foam adhesive, Nestabilities, Copic Markers, paper piercer

Fly Away!

Today it's time for The Sweet Stop's Saturday Sketch #53.  For my card today I used the newest stamp set from Papertrey Ink designed by Becky Oehlers called Fly Away.   This little set is adorable!!  I think we're going to convince Aaron (who turns 3 next Sunday) to have an airplane birthday so that we can use this set! :) 

I had to switch the sketch around a bit in order to be use the cute little banner for the sentiment, but what a fun sketch!  Be sure to visit The Sweet Stop to see what the rest of the Sugar Babies have for you today and if you get a chance pay them a visit and then give the sketch a try yourself!

 Korin Sutherland
Audrey Gonzales
Andrea Vernagus
Candace Mitchell
Renata Elenbaas
Nancy Brown
Kathy Paige
Dana White
Kelli Caslow
April Guest Sugar Baby Kelly Schelske



Have a  great weekent!!

Cardstock: Orange Zest, New Leaf (Papertrey Ink), White (Neenah), Baja Breeze (SU!), Patterned Paper: Imaginesce, Stamps: Fly Away (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Large scallop cutter, Orange Zest ribbon, Vintage Buttons, twine (Papertrey Ink), brads, Copic markers, foam adhesive

Filled With Joy

Hello again! Sorry for the later post today but I do have a quick, fun card to share today using FTL#85 and some Papertrey Ink stamps.  At first I thought of using a floral set but I wanted to try something a bit unexpected - and I wanted to play with the Fillable Frame die I haven't used yet.

'The buttons were stamped using Dark Chocolate ink and the button from Tiny Treats Valentine.  I colored them in with Copic markers to match Hawaiian Shores, Hibiscus Burst and Summer Sunrise.  The frame cuts out so nicely and it's easy to stamp the outline and add your sentiment!

The Hawaiian Shores felt was cut with the ric rac die, only I used the piece left over instead of the thin ric rac strip.  A few real buttons added to the sentiment label and we're done!  And isn't that sentiment fun with all the buttons? It'd be cute to give this to a crafty friend with a little jar of buttons!

I'm off to finish up a few projects - hope you are enjoying your day!!

All Supplies from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted:
Cardstock: Kraft, Hibiscus Burst, Stamps: sentiment from Everyday Button Bits, button from Tiny Treats Valentine, Fillable Frames #2, Ink: Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate, Accessories: Fillable Frames #2 die, Vintage Buttons, Summer Sunrise grosgrain ribbon, Hawaiian Shores felt, Copic markers

Enjoy the Ride

It's time again for the Saturday Sketch from The Sweet Stop.  My card today uses more new paper I bought at Wholly Scrap! (are you getting a picture of me roaming around the store with a basket full of dp? LOL!  We really don't have any LSSs here in Southern Maine so this was a real treat for me!!) I'm in love with cloud paper lately - it's so whimsical and fun!  And this version from My Little Shoebox (a company I wasn't familiar with but now love) is super duper cute - love the notepaper lines and the polka dots and the colors!

The stamps are Everyday Button Bits from Papertrey Ink.  I wanted to use something other than buttons so I decided to do a bit of paper piecing with them (also to enter the Moxie Fab paper piecing challenge).  I looked through my Papertrey Ink sets and found different ways to make balloons.  For the large balloon I used an owl belly (hee hee) from Wise Owl Bellies.  I stamped it one the pink cardstock using Fresh Snow ink.  The smallest balloon in obviously a flower - a tiny one from Green Thumb.  It was stamped on the back of the cloud paper which is a sunny yellow/gold subtle stripe.  I added a teeny white brad to the center.  The last cloud uses a small solid circle from Take a Bough which was stamped on the cloud paper and punched with a 1/2" circle punch.

The final little bit of piecing is the sentiment tag - I was tickled when I found one of the clouds that my sentiment would fit in perfectly!!  Cutting out the cloud was a snap and doesn't it look cute popped up with foam adhesive?!  Love it!

So pop over to The Sweet Stop and check out what the rest of the Sugar Babies have made today!  Then go ahead and get crafty - make your own version of today's sketch and leave a link on The Sweet Stop blog!  Have fun and  . . . enjoy the ride!! :)

Korin Sutherland
Audrey Gonzales
Andrea Vernagus
Candace Mitchell
Renata Elenbaas
Nancy Brown
Kathy Paige
Dana White
Kelli Caslow

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Rose Red (SU!), White (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: Follow the Cloud (My Little Shoebox), Stamps: Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Soft Suede, Soft Sky (SU!), Fresh Snow, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), Accessories: Nestabilities, foam adhesive, tiny white brad (Queen & Co.), pink brads (Pink Hedgehog Crafts) sewing machine, ribbon (May Arts), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (Provo Craft)