The Sweetest Friends

Welcome, everyone!  I've got a golden-oldie stamp set featured today.  Remember Tender Toile from Stampin' Up!?  I fell in love with it after stalking Splitcoaststampers in my early stamping years.  It had already been retired for a while, but I found it on eBay and I was the lucky buyer.  :-)

So, this card is another one that I had been saving to feature at the Seize The Sketch challenge, before it shut its proverbial doors.  I'm glad I can still share it with you.

I love the old-fashioned feel of this image.  Last summer, I colored it when I had been laid up in bed after foot surgery.  Then, it sat in my Images Box for a while before finding a home here.

I truly hope you've enjoyed seeing this week's cards.  I really appreciate you letting me share them.  <3 p="">

Stamps: sentiment - Happy Moments; scene - Tender Toile - SU Paper: white, Vintage Cream - PTI; stripe, floral - SU Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap - Ranger Fibers: moss green satin ribbon Accessories & Tools: Tiny Tags die - PTI; Copic markers; doily - Wilton; ivory flower

Just Married By The Sea

Hello again!  Welcome back.  :-)

When the shop owner at A Beautiful Touch told me that brides were very "into" beach-themes, I have been exploring the possibilities for cards of the same theme.  Have to say, I'm really liking this one:

I used a sand dollar stamp from Blockheads Paper Arts (they're not open anymore), gorgeous shell sticker from K & Co., sentiment from Papertrey Ink, and other goodies that make me think of the ocean.

The Mottle Brown seam binding from Hug Snug is such a dream.  It's the perfect brown for many of my cards, because it has a gray-ish cast to it.  Love, love, love.  I buy mine at The Zipper Stop.  You get 100 yards for $9.50.  What. A. Bargain.  I used a Colleen bow here (what else is new??).

See you tomorrow, and thanks so much for coming by!

Stamps: Happily Ever After - PTI; Seashells with Round Frame - Blockheads Paper Arts Paper: Soft Sky, Sahara Sand, Naturals White - SU Ink: Crumb Cake - SU; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: abaca ribbon; Mottle Brown seam binding - Hug Snug / The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: Modern Label punch, Elegant Lines embossing folder - SU; matte gold sequins - MJ Trimming; shell sticker - K & Co.; Labels Eight die - Spellbinders; Khaki spray - Tattered Angels

Toile Sympathy & baby bunnies

I've been waiting to share this card for quite a while.  It was going to be my contribution to the Seize The Sketch challenge -- how easy this one would have been! -- but then it closed.  Boo hoo!  I do miss it.

Not much to say about this card.  Piece o' patterned paper, sentiment stamped on it, add a Colleen bow and pearls -- boom, done!  I like the muted tones for this occasion.  And, well, heck, I just love a chance to use toile.  :-)

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Can I share pics of the CUTEST baby bunnies that came to life in our backyard recently?  A mama bunny gave birth in one of our potted plants (!).  I was about to water the flowers in this pot, saw some dried grass in one, and thought, "How did that get there?"  I lifted it and discovered the two little sweethearts.

Hello!  Who is in here?

Oh!  There are TWO of you!

One sibling was shyer than the other when I nosed in with my camera.

After this delightful discovery, we went away for a mini vacation.  My youngest (the animal lover) and I checked the pot as soon as we returned, but they were gone.  We've not seen any tiny bunnies around our yard, either.  Bigger ones, yes.  Maybe they grow really fast?  I sure know my own kids grow like weeds!

Stamps: Deepest Sympathy - Verve Paper: Vintage Cream - PTI; toile - K & Co. Ink: Walnut Stain - Ranger; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: Mottle Brown seam binding - Hug Snug - The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: pearls - Queen & Co. 

Splitting a Spellbinders die cut

Hi there.  :-) Something a little less fancy today - in contrast with yesterday's card - for the times when you need something a bit more mail-friendly.  I used the largest die in the Spellbinder's Labels Ten set on a piece of happy-flower-patterned-paper.  Then I cut it in two, and matched 'em up to card bases whose colors harmonized.

Used up my last Martha Stewart doily die cut on the Groovy Guava card (above), and had to do without on the Wild Wasabi card below.  It looks kind of bare without that doily to anchor the flower, if you ask me.

On both cards, I applied drops of Glossy Accents glue to look like dew drops.  I like to do this when a card feels rather simple.  Those little droplets make it feel like I'm dressing the card up a bit.

Thanks so much for coming by to visit, and if you decide to comment, thanks for that too!

Stamps: Think Big Favorites #5 - PTI; Summer Flowers - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, floral pattern - SU Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: doily die cut - Martha Stewart; Glossy Accents - Ranger; Labels Ten die - Spellbinders

Pink and Black Bridal Chandelier

Welcome, and Happy Monday!  I've got a bridal shower card to share today, so let's get right to it:

This black flocked paper from Stampin' Up! (um, pretty much all the SU papers I have are retired.) still thrills me.  I love that you can touch it and it has dimension.  It makes a bold, dramatic statement, so that was my starting point.  A chandelier (Paris / Inspired By Stamping) has the same effect, so paired them together.  The sentiment, stamped in two parts, is from Papertrey Ink's Happily Ever After.

I remember in maybe 9th grade, I bought myself a pink and black peplum blouse.  Boy, I thought I looked so sophisticated!  It might have been from The Limited, back when that store was relatively new.  Whenever I needed to feel good about myself, that was the shirt I'd wear.

Thanks so much for dropping by today.  =D

Stamps: chandelier - Paris - Inspired By Stamping; Happily Ever After - PTI Paper: True Black, white - PTI; Pink Pirhouette, black flocked patterned - SU Ink: Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: flower - Prima; Fancy Tags Two die - Spellbinders; White Opal Liquid Pearls - Ranger; rhinestone - Queen & Co.

Squeezing in Summer Flowers

It's a lazy Sunday morning here as I write this.  Love times like that. My niece slept over, and we ate a big breakfast of homemade pancakes (plain, blueberry, and chocolate chip varieties) and pork roll (a New Jersey favorite).  The kids are back upstairs, and I'm spending time photo-editing many cards' worth of shots to share here on my blog.

I came upon these two cards, which feature summer flowers.  Since our trees are already dropping leaves, and I've spied a bright red leaf or two, Autumn is on its way.  Figured I'd better share these quickly, then!

Bright orange lilies from Inspired By Stamping's Summer Flowers atop a lettuce-colored lattice, plus lots of bright white...this definitely says 'summer.'

I created the green panel by spritzing Ranger's Adirondack Color Wash in Lettuce through these:

Plastic mesh sleeves that came on bottles of barbecue sauce.
Crafty supplies can come from anywhere!

Glossy accents on the flowers' anthers, burlap leaves, and a sentiment from Verve are a few of the details here.

Stamps: Summer Flowers - Inspired By Stamping; Kind Words - Verve Paper: white - PTI Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Lettuce Adirondack Color Wash - Ranger Fibers: burlap Accessories & Tools: Copic markers; Fleur de Lis Squares die - Spellbinders; Damask embossing folder - Sizzix/Tim Holtz; Glossy Accents - Ranger; pearls

A piece of bright pink satin ribbon was my inspiration for the next card.  In real life, the color of the flowers matches the ribbon nicely, but my camera gets crazy around bright hues and tells a different story.

The same Summer Flowers stamp set features a hibiscus, which I figured would go well with the ribbon.  We saw lots of hibiscus in Hawaii.  (dreamy sighhhhh.....) The sentiment is also from Inspired By Stamping:  Trendy Circle Sentiments.

Thanks for visiting, and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!

Stamps: Summer Flowers, Trendy Circle Sentiments - IBS Paper: white, kraft - PTI Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: bright pink satin ribbon, burlap Accessories & Tools: Copic markers; circle dies - Spellbinders; Glossy Accents - Ranger; Honeyblossom Sprig die - Memory Box; pearls

Silver Anniversary

Hi there!  Happy Friday!

My husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in October.  Holy cow, where do the years go?  According to Hallmark, gifts for a 20th would be china (traditional) or platinum (modern).  Does anyone follow those guidelines anymore?

A silver anniversary celebrates 25 years of marriage.  I guess that's what I had in mind when making this silvery card.  Lots of silver here:  the butterfly medallion, the vintage button - and the rhinestone topping it - the patterned paper, Liquid Pearls and the sheer ribbon.

That's a lot of silver accents, and yet the card doesn't overwhelm you with a metallic feel.

For my upcoming anniversary, we're planning a mini-getaway.  Not sure to where, just yet.  I really love the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, and would love to return again.  Last time we were there, I was pregnant with our oldest child.  :-)  I remember some strangers asking if this was our first baby.  We said to each other, "How do they know?  For all they know, maybe it's our fifth!!"  Well, after two kiddos, now I understand.  Kids have a way of, oh, wearing on you.  hee hee

Thanks a bunch for letting me inundate you this week.  Have a great weekend!

Stamps: sentiment - Vintage Frames - Inspired By Stamping; butterfly medallion - Nature Medallions - Blockheads Paper Arts Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White - SU; Garden Vignettes stack - My Mind's Eye Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: sheer silver ribbon Accessories & Tools: vintage button; rhinestone - Queen & Co.; scalloped oval punch - SU; Beaded Circles die - Spellbinders; silver embossing powder - SU; Silver Liquid Pearls - Ranger

A CASE for the Mr. & Mrs.

Hi friends, welcome back!  :-)

So glad there's Pinterest (click to see my boards) and a hefty stash of papercrafting magazines to help provide inspiration when the creative well runs dry.  In one of the Paper Crafts back issues, I saw a wedding card that wowed me.  This is a pretty close CASE.  Can't remember which issue, or the designer's name.  I'm so sorry!  It's a bear to photograph, though.

Loved how the designer added the "something blue" touch on the sentiment.  I used Wplus9's Fresh Cut Wreaths for mine.  Can't recall what kind of flower the designer used in the corner, but I made a rosette with gathered lace, then topped it with a champagne pearl.

Thanks for hanging in there with me this week!  I'll be back again tomorrow with an anniversary card.  xoxo

Stamps: Fresh Cut Wreaths - Wplus9 Paper: white, Vintage Cream - PTI Ink: Baja Breeze - SU Fibers: sheer white ribbon - Stamp Simply Ribbon Store; white gathered lace; white seam binding - Hug Snug / The Zipper Stop Accessories & Tools: champagne pearl - Recollections; Labels 25 die - Spellbinders; pearl spray - bridal section of craft store ; Damask embossing folder - Sizzix/Tim Holtz

The Card Concept #18 - Apples For You

Time for a new Card Concept challenge!  We've got a Back-To-School theme, and I made a card to give to a teacher.

Here's our inspiration photo, below.  I was inspired by the chalkboard, the tree, the apples, and the colors.

I employed the chalkboard technique with a Verve sentiment from Glad Tidings, and a little Hampton Arts flower, paired with fun glittered Jolee's stickers.

My spot on the Card Concept Team is as a Classy & Elegant designer.  The definition is listed as any of these:

polished
shiny finish
sparkling embellishments
rich color scheme
sophisticated sentiments
regal
sweeping
dramatic
monochromatic
layered textures
awe
impress

Must admit I had a hard time working with a school theme and still creating something elegant.  Not sure I've actually achieved that...

Hope you get a chance to play with us!  Check HERE for all the details.  :-)

Stamps: sentiment - Glad Tidings - Verve; flower - Wedding - Hampton Arts Paper: True Black - PTI; Poppy Parade - SU Ink: Versamark - Tsukineko; Whisper White craft - SU Fibers: bakery string - from a real bakery! Accessories & Tools: white embossing powder - SU; apple, tree, branch stickers - Jolee's; large tag die - SU; White Opal Liquid Pearls - Ranger 

It's raining hydrangeas!

Hello!  After a period of quiet here on my blog, I'll be giving you lots to look at this week.  =D Hope that's okay with you!  I'm finally getting around to photo-editing the more than 30 cards made in the last month or so.  Sure does take time.  :-/

 Let's begin with a dainty, girly card:

This shower card went to the bridal shop, and uses one of my faves from Stampin' Up!:  Blooming With Happiness.

This chipboard frame from Maya Road - a free gift, for having a card published in CARDS magazine a while back - received a coat of white paint, then iridescent glitter.  LOVE how it turned out!  A bevy of pink hydrangea blossoms rain down upon the sweet umbrella.

The sentiment is from SU's Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Out of my entire collection of stamps, this is the only one with this exact wording.  I wish for another sentiment exactly like this, but in a larger font.  It's hard to find, though.  If you know of one, please let me know!

Thanks a bunch for your visit today!  I'll see you here again soon.  xoxo

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Blooming with Happiness - SU Paper: white - PTI; Pretty In Pink, Pink Pirhouette - SU Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: White Opal Liquid Pearls - Ranger; Hydrangea punch - Martha Stewart; oval punch - SU; chipboard frame - Maya Road; corner rounder punch - Fiskars; white craft paint; iridescent glitter; Copic markers

Modern Sympathy

Hey there!  Hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend, my U.S. friends.  And for my friends around the world, hope your weekend was wonderful, too.  :D

I am sharing a modern kind of sympathy card today, using a seemingly-favorite color combo of mine for these occasions - purple and black.

You know how crafting accidents happen, and sometimes they provide us with a chance to reinvent and reimagine a project?  Seeing the splats of silver embossing, can you guess what happened?  Yep.  It got all messy, and I decided I liked it a bunch, so went with it.

A Verve sentiment and good ol' Happy Harmony flowers (Stampin' Up!) were stamped atop a sponged panel.

A crafting friend wrote to ask what was up with me, since I haven't been on the blog much lately.  It's nice to be missed!  My mom had visited in August, and then we went away for a week.  Being away from the computer felt kinda good, a mini-vacation all its own.  I've been plenty busy in the craft room, though...and I've got over 30 cards' worth of photos to edit before they hit my blog!  Holy cow!

Stamps: Deepest Sympathy single - Verve; flowers - Happy Harmony - SU Paper: True Black, white - PTI; Vintage Violet - SU Ink: Going Gray, Orchid Opulence, Vintage Violet - SU; Milled Lavender - Ranger; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: sheer purple ribbon Accessories & Tools: silver embossing powder - SU; embossing ink - Rubber Stampede

Seize the Sketch #27 - Trick Or Treat

Hello friends!  =D  I had so much playing with the current sketch (#27) at our LAST (sniff) Seize The Sketch challenge, another card popped out of me.  Lo and behold, it's a Halloween card!

The retired Stampin' Up! set, Window Dressing, was staring at me from its place on the Ikea book shelf in my studio.  It never saw much ink, and I felt bad for it.

The kitty and window are from that set, the pumpkin is from Family Accessories, and the sentiment (colored with markers) is from Holiday Best.  Boom!  A Stampin' Up!-only card!

Here's the sketch again, and before you say, "What?  Her card looks nothing like the sketch!", take a peek below.

Sure, maybe I took a little creative license with the sentiment and bow, but the bare bones are still there!

My family and I just got back from a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a quick break before school resumes.  It felt good to play in the surf (before the waves became too rough due to the offshore Hurricane Cristobal) and just let go for a while.

The sunsets are so gorgeous there, my camera just clicked away.

Me and my youngest, doing a selfie.

Thanks so much for popping over, and if you'd like to join us at STS, click HERE for details!

Stamps: Window Dressing, Holiday Best, Family Accessories - SU Paper: kraft, white - PTI Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Fibers: Argentina seam binding - Hug Snug Accessories & Tools: markers - SU; circle punches; Copic markers