My Journey

Hi friends!  The latest challenge over at CASology #208 is the one I tackled for my second card making session this week:

I called this post My Journey because I had always hoped that some day, when I retired, that I would live at the beach...trading in high heels for flip flops.  That day finally came and, although the journey was fun, the destination is a dream come true!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ may you have your toes in the sand and shells in your pocket!

Here's the stuff I used for this card:

Cardstock - Neenah Solar White
Die -  MFT Stitched Rectangle
Stamps - Stampendous (beach scene), Avery Elle (sentiment)
Ink - VersaFine Onyx Black
Other - Prismacolor Pencils

I know, I know...it's still Summer!

Yes, it's still summer and I was playing around with Thanksgiving cards!  BUT, I have this beautiful wreath stamp from Catherine Pooler's Stamp of Approval Kit and I couldn't help myself!  Using the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #247, I jumped into Fall for just a wee bit:

I did load up the wreath with summer flower stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry - just used "fallish" ink colors from Gina K.  Finished it up with berries (also part of the stamp set) glammed up with Glossy Accents and added Copper stickles to some of the flower centers.  The die cut sentiment is from My Favorite Things which I foiled with gold Deco Foil.  Anyway, it was fun to fast forward into Fall for this challenge but I am going to hold onto Summer as long as I can!  Thanks for stopping by!

Roughest Storms

CASology's latest Cue Card is:

I'm still practicing with CAS cards and thought this Cue was appropriate for me!  Many times I find it "rough" to be clean and simple but love the challenge!

I really like this sentiment from Impress for a "cheer up" card.  I used Distress Inks and a grungy stencil from Prima (turned sideways, going for a deep sea look) directly on the card front before adding the anchor and "faux" chain.  I did some Shimmer Mist splattering too but it's not really showing up in this pic :(  Too many gray clouds today!  Thanks so much for stopping by ~ I hope you're having calm seas where you are!

The Paper Players #304: CAS Challenge

Good morning!  The latest Challenge over at The Paper Players is a CAS one featuring watercolor:

I have a quick card I just made for a dear friend that I hope fits the theme:

The Curly Flowers from Rubbernecker were watercolored with Zig Clean Color watercolor brushes on Ranger watercolor paper.  I love those little curly q's for leaves!  I curved the sentiment from Clearly Besotted to stamp inside the doodled frame.  I added a little Wink of Stella to the flower centers and called it done.  Thanks so much for stopping by ~ Hope you're having a great week!

Cards in Envy Challenge: It's a Heat Wave!

Hello CIE fans!  I can't believe its the middle of July!  We really haven't had our "heat wave" out here yet but that's okay...there's one going on over at Cards in Envy for the latest challenge :-)  The Cards in Envy theme for this time around is "It's a Heat Wave!" and we're looking for Summer Cards or HOT Colors.   Any size card is welcome.  Just keep it fairly flat (no big lumpy bumpy embellishments) so it will fit comfortably in an envy.

I used some bright summer cardstock from The Paper Studio with a sentiment to hopefully cool someone off!  I'm also playing around a little bit with foiling (I'm a little slow in the trend department :).  The hello die cut is from My Favorite Things that I foiled in gold, along with the itty bitty triangles to coordinate with the background DSP.  The sentiment is also from MFT.

We sure hope you'll cool off in you're craft room and play along with us!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Live Love Cards Washi Challenge

July's Challenge over at the Live Love Cards community is to use washi tape on a card.  I tend to hoard, I mean "save" Washi tape, so this was an opportunity to pry it out of my hands and actually use some!

I tried to keep the background fairly simple so the focus would be on the great "Hello" washi tape from The Paper Studio.  It was a package deal so it came with complimentary thin gold tape that I also used as a border - woo hoo!  The background was stamped with circles from Lawn Fawn's "Let's Bokeh" set using Gina K. inks.  The gold circles are also embossed with clear embossing powder for a little bit of texture.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Juicy News!

When I saw the challenge over at Die Cuttin Divas, I knew I had to play!  Their theme for Challenge #274 was "Ants or Picnic."  I'm very attached to the wacky ants over at Doodle Pantry that are always getting into things, so I thought they were perfect for this card!  I also wanted to link up to the latest Ants in My Pantry Digital Challenge #19 (AG), so here it is:

The hungry ant is holding onto a watermelon die cut from the Stamps of Life that has been inked with Distress Inks, sparkled up with Shimmer Mist and a touch of Glossy Accents on the watermelon seeds.  The DSP is from MME, the sentiment is from Doodle Pantry, and I just doodled a border on the label which is attached by MME enamel dots. 

The card layout is based on the latest Freshly Made Sketch #245 that I flipped:

This was a fun and quick card to make and I'm so impressed with myself that I can actually link up to three different challenges before they close...LOL!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you're having some juicy watermelon this weekend!!

Art from the Heart

Hi there!  Ugh...I woke up at 4:30 this morning (yawn) but the beautiful sunrise was worth it!  It was also a perfect morning to make a card so I tackled the latest CASology Challenge - Art:

I'd been itching to use a new stamp set I had ordered from Rubbernecker.  I thought these wildflowers were so pretty and airy with an artful watercolor look.  It's a four stamp layering set that I'll admit took some practice on copy paper first!  I thought it needed a bit of a background so I blended in some pastel blue chalk for contrast.  Hmmm, I think this set would make a beautiful fall card with yellows, oranges, and browns too!

Here's the stuff I used:
Cardstock - Neenah Solar White
Stamp(s) - Wildflowers in the Wind (Rubbernecker Stamps); sentiment (Gina K.)
Ink(s) - Gina K., VersaFine Onyx Black
Other:  MFT Stitched Rectangle die, Pebbles Chalk

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ I hope I can stay awake to enjoy the sunny day!

W2CB #31: Just Keep Swimming!

Hello friends!  It's time for another fun words challenge over at Words 2 Craft By!  This month we're looking forward to seeing your entries for "Just Keep Swimming!"  Keeping Dory in mind, I went with a wacky colored fish on a wonky square die cut for some inspiration:

Come play with us and just keep swimming! 

Cards in Envy: Stripes

Happy 4th of July CIE friends!  Here's another reason to celebrate...today kicks off another fun Cards in Envy Challenge and the theme is "Stripes."  Any stripe card elements are welcome ~ just make sure your card will fit comfortably in an envy.

My stripes are inked up in Brilliance Sky Blue using the watercolor stripes background stamp from MFT.  Rocky the Crab (Elizabeth Craft Designs) is relaxing on a piece of burlap surrounded by K&Co. shell embellishments and a few Pretty Pink Posh sequins.  The sentiment die cut from the Stamps of Life says it all:  Life IS better at the beach!

We hope you'll get your stripes on and join in the fun over at CIE :-)  Thanks so much for stopping by!