One last thing...

 OH I'm sorry to barge into your weekend-eve again, but if I don't post this today, I'll forget in the 3 days I have until the window to Altenew's February 2021 Inspiration Challenge closes!  Here is their fabulous inspiration...

Lucky those that had the Altenew Birds of Paradise stamps - pity one of them wasn't me... here is my substitute...

I was so pleased, I forgot the sentiment!  The inside will cover the error of my ways!

Okay, I promise you won't see me in your inbox until next week!!

=]  Michele

Altenew:  Lavender Bud, and die; Dotted Starburst cover die; Apothecary Labels nested to create a frame!  Inks above in photo!

Hey, Honey!

I have a just bee-cause card for you today... one more bit of  ThePooh for the week couldn't hurt!

 

Hope you all have a honey of a weekend!!

=]  Michele

Altenew Striped Circle stamp - [thank you friend!]

W&W Noelle Cutaways - no longer available

Sizzix for SU cloud embossing folder

The Stamp Market Hexagon dies

MFT stitched circle dies 

Inspired By #163 - take a number

 

Take a number?  I couldn't help myself - I had all these wonderful Pooh quotes left in my brain from last week - I couldn't think of a more perfect time to use this one... 

These number dies have been in my stash for years - might be one of the first sets I bought -

not sure who made them, but there are loads of sets out there!  

I've 'colored' mine with a few pattern-making sets from EH.

I've chosen 100 ... what number will you take?  I can't wait to see how you put it into your design!  Now, let's go see which my teamies have taken for IB163!

=]  Michele

I'm feline good!

My friend LeAnne is hosting The Paper Players this week - how could I resist this guy:

Another friend, Amy, made the cutest DT card for Color Throwdown #630 using this lovely inspiration:

Everyone knows what happens when you combine a cat and a cake, right?  

You won't find this sentiment in your MFT Cat-astrophe set, so don't look.

Sometimes a girl just has to use her [own] words!

On second glance, I don't know why she didn't use her pink ink for those

footprints!!  Ah well, next time!  

Her pink nose, and tongue, will just have to be enough!

Thanks, LeAnne, and Amy, for inspiring my play time between loads today! xx

=]  Michele

Thanks Paper Players!

SSS Slimline Scallop frame

MFT Starburst sentiment strip dies

MFT Cat-astrophe stamps and dies

a very old Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous stencil for 'rug'

Ranger DOX bundled sage ink

Let's Squash it! #5

 

I'm jumping in really quickly to add my little love card to 

an already lovely gallery at Let's Squash It #5

I promise [even though it says love and red] that pink is allowed, too!

Ready.  set.  ice cream...

Old meets new again today... a very old Cuttlebug Cross my Heart 

embossing folder and heavy vellum,  & MFT Blueprints tag builder 3, 

meets new Colorado Craft Company Ice Cream Day stamps!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! xx

=]  Michele

Inspired By #162 - Quote me!

Quote Me.  No!  not ME, but any quote that you love!  and you know I do love a certain bear - today, he's representing a very famous bear named Winnie the Pooh - and there are so many things that Winnie has said that I've used on a few cards over the years!  Here's another favorite:

I've pulled out pencils for my bear, and Copics for the bee hive.

Of course he had to have a shiny nose!

So!  Who would you quote today? a favorite writer, or perhaps a song lyric?  or Bible verse?  We can't wait to see how it will be the highlight of your IB162 card!  Remember you can always use the Sketch - which you can find at this week's blog post!

=]  Michele

Color Hues #12 Peach and Green

Yesterday, I spent a day with one 8.5 x 11" piece of Neenah card stock, and a few of my new Concord & 9th inks...

  

Imagine my delight when the new Color Hues challenge landed in my inbox:

I managed to complete three stamped, and die-cut cards from that one sheet of paper!  Take a look....

The first two of my cards are simply stamped, die cut, and mounted on another panel onto which I had stamped a few more of these gorgeous Altenew Pen Sketched Silhouette images.  This last one is simply stamped - adding a few dots of Copic black multiliner dots - but after I'd cut the label from the panel, I ran it through my machine with that wonderful Subtle Texture embossing folder from Stampin' Up.

This Altenew set was a Christmas gift from a very dear friend ... thank you so very much, You Know Who!  Since it's my newest set, I'm sharing one with The Flower Challenge, too!

Off to the Color Hues gallery - can you guess which card you'll find there?  

Enjoy your day, and thanks for stopping by!

=]  Michele

Happy Gal-in-times Day!

 Happy Valentines Day, my friends... I only have one true valentine who will receive his card tomorrow.  But if a girl ever needs a friend - a gal-in-times of need is so appreciated!  I'm unofficially taking over this day for those friends!

This card's for all of you... all the gals that offer a shoulder, an ear, a caring heart, and more support than I could ever hope for... I'm sending ...

and since it was made with an Artplorations Old Rose Prints stencil, then heat embossed with UT clear embossing powder, I'm also sending it over to the 

CAS Mix Up Challenge!

Here is a little closeup of that fabulous shine:

What's a girl to do with those MFT die-cut letters?  Make another you say? oh, okay... it's a nice day for a white wedding card!

This time I pressed my versamark pad over the stencil, onto vellum, 

and white heat embossed those Roses.  I may go back and fill that O with pearls!

What do you think?

=]  Michele

Edited to send one of these over to the Love Vibe Challenge at Stamplorations!!  Maybe two?

Playing Cards with Friends - Marcia Hill

 

Turning the calendar to February is always such a relief - do you feel the same?  Oh, don't think that we won't have plenty of Winter weather yet here in Michigan, but I always feel like I can make it because of this shorter month!

For the February 2021 edition of Playing Cards with Friends, I've invited a very dear friend who I've been lucky enough to actually craft with! IN PERSON - remember that??  Marcia Hill, of Marcia's Stampin' Pad, is not only sweet, kind, and generous, she's a fabulous card maker, too!  We often compare notes when MFT has a release to ask 'did you get this?' or 'do you have that?'  

Of all the things we mutually love,  Marcia has a wonderful stash of MFT Birdie Brown sets ... this one [Warmest Wishes] I loved so much, I HAD TO make it my own.  Here are the parameters I assigned to our play day:

• ·         MFT Birdie Brown: Warmest Wishes and dies
• ·         Make it a Valentine!!
• ·         Copic coloring

Flurry of love!

My little snowflake catching girl is instead catching a bundle of love in the form of a few hearts from a very old MFT Blueprints tag builder #3 set.  The big grey heart was cut from MFT grout grey card stock with Stitched Heart Stax.  I've colored her with Copics - these to be exact:

... and lastly added a bit of Frosted Lace Stickles!  Voila!  

Marcia - thanks for generously sharing your crafty stash, and studio with me in the 'good old days!'  I cannot WAIT until the day we'll be playing cards together again!  

This card should be in your hands by now ... happiest birthday, my friend, one day early!  I hope your DH will shower you with all your heart desires!  [or that YOU have showered yourself - been there, done that!]  We are all on the way to see how you've used this sweet little stamp today!

Thank YOU my friends for stopping by today, and being so generous with your kind comments on my Playing Cards with Friends posts!  Who knows?  YOU might receive an invitation to play, too - if so, I do hope you'll say YES! xo

=]  Michele

Inspired By #161 - pretty as a pitcher!

 

As much as I have total recall of my supplies - lol - only one set came 

to mind when I looked at this photo inspiration for IB161's Pretty as a Pitcher!

This is going to be one of those something old + something new cards!

Sweet Havana from Mama Elephant meets Reverse Confetti's Plaid Lines =

I'm so sorry to report that this set is no longer available =[

Some images stamped and die-cut, some stamping directly onto my

linen cardstock.  Here are my inks:

I'm sure my teammates will have thoroughly frame-worthy cards -

let's go see, shall we?  IB161

=]  Michele

CAS Christmas February 2021 - Christmas Kickstart #47

I seldom combine challenges, but these two:  CAS Christmas February 2021, and Christmas Kickstart #47 are so easily combined, I simply had to!

CAS Christmas is asking for Cats or Dogs, and Christmas Kickstart a slimline design - here's how I put them together using those sweet mittened-kittens from Colorado Craft Company's Kittens and Mittens! and their coordinating dies.  Let's start with a closeup...

So happy these three little kittens DIDN'T lose their mittens!

You can't imagine how much I wanted to add ruffled borders, and more - but this card is being sent to a good friend who had a terrible diving accident last Summer.  He will appreciate it just the way it is.... though he may be more partial to dogs!  oops!

=]  Michele

The Flower Challenge #53

 Happy weekend eve!  I woke to a bright, fresh,  white 5" blanket of that four letter word this morning!  I really needed something to brighten my attitude - flowers it is!

The Flower Challenge team is asking us to use our latest stamps or dies for challenge #53 - no problem, that new layering die from Altenew wanted a bit more attention!  Thanks, TFC!

I have been pushing myself to use more color and made a discovery about colored cardstocks ... these lovelies are from MFT...I really hate to waste one teensy bit of it.  You'll see evidence of that here.  Reminds me of a pocket square - Bond, James Bond style.  He left just enough space for a showing of my fave Dotted Swirls debossing plate.

Thanks for stopping by ... hope you all are having much better weather where you live!  I'll see again soon - gosh it feels good to type that!

=]  Michele

CASology #383 - envelope

 

I'm still waiting for my CTS card to post... this will be hard for the first few weeks, I'm sure of it.  But, since I've had two cards post every Thursday for a few years, I've decided I'll play along with old friends - CASology is one of them.

I've decided to push the envelope... 

No worries about licking the envelope with this guy around!

Hope they like it...

=]  Michele

Concord & 9th:  Snail Mail - and inks

MFT [maybe PTI?]?  envelope die, and Itsy Bitsy polka dot paper pack

The alpha stamp used inside is an oldie from Mama Elephant - do you have it?  Why don't we use old favorites more?

Inspired By #160 - krafty love

 

I adore this image ... and the look of natural French linen!  What better way to embrace their look than with kraft card stock?  and a snippet of patterned paper, perhaps?  That is where my heart took me for my IB160 card ...

Perhaps you didn't even notice the woodgrain of the table those little sachets were lying on?  I never miss a chance to use this old wood grain embossing folder from The Paper Studio!  I've added a little love by way of my MFT Blueprints tag builder 3, and brought out my sewing machine - we're getting along better today.  Don't even ask about the patterned paper - it's been around for much too long to still have the packaging - there was just enough to cut my MFT Stitched heart!

So where will your heart take you?  We're so hoping it will lead you to join us this week!  Let's go see how our team was inspired by IB160, shall we?

=]  Michele