Just us Girls - #668 CAS + Coloring

It is always such fun to challenge myself to a truly CAS card while adding a smidge of coloring.  I'm currently experiencing the bluest skies and sunshine - you know what they say:  make snails while the sun shines!!  wait.  that might have been me.

I've got this, JUGS #668!

I have put a ton of effort into creating a snail trail in the past.  Today, using the stamp included in this darling Concord & 9th Snail Mail set, I used Holographic embossing powder and think it's my best effort to date.  Here's a closer up...

Ta DA!  CAS and a little bit of coloring!

=] Michele

Waffle Flower Sneak Club - Kit #2

Hello my friends!  I was so honored to be invited to guest design with my friends at Waffle Flower Crafts again - more on the entire release coming to you on March 5th.  But today, I'm here to share their Sneak Peek Club Kit #2!  What is the Sneak Peek Kit Club you might wonder?  It's a fun monthly kit that includes a few of the fun products they will share a little later with the rest of the world on release day! You can read all about it over at the Waffle Flower Link Party!

Here's a peek of the items I received in Kit #2:

I had a blast coloring those little pups by attempting to represent different breeds:

I tucked them all inside one of Waffle Flower's incredible infinity shaker pockets along with a panel I stenciled with those cute paw prints, then topped it off with this gorgeous die cut panel - more on that soon - and I love this Friend die!  It's such a great size to coordinate with these sub sentiments that come in the kit!  I was even able to give it a 'kiss' of color with a Copic marker to match my cardstock!

Any 'dog person' will love this Kit!

[Hey, I'm a cat person and I love it, too!]

Be sure to head over to the Link Party and leave a little love for your chance to 

WIN a kit of your very own!  Each party member will have one to give away, so be sure to leave comments to increase your chances! 

[give away ends 2/27/23 -US friends only for now.]

Thanks so much for stopping by today and leaving me a little love, too - good luck winning the Sneak Peek Club Kit I have to give away! 

=] Michele

New FUNN with Craft Roulette!

 

I usually shut down after dinner for a little mindless TV but last evening I couldn't resist Gina K on Craft Roulette!  Mary Gunn had SOOO much FUNN with her Episode #152 guest star!  We did, too!

After the spin of the wheel, we were left with these card parameters:

Hinge + 

Kraft [and any other color according to Mr. Producer] + 

Outside my Window + 

Faux leather [yikes]

Here is how I accomplished my card while watching their shenanigans!

Yes, my window hinges open ~

Kraft woodgrain paper ~ card base and sentiment speech bubble

Flowers Outside my Window ~ in my dreams!

That planter is surely a good 'faux' leather boot, right?

While all these supplies were still out at 8 this morning, why not

make another card just for fun - and without the pressure!?

Thanks, Mary and Gina K for a great deal of FUNN!

=] Michele

Just a [Winter] note!

 

I was overjoyed to find one of the sets I've had my heart set on back in stock!  These HoneyBee dies are the perfect greenery for a wintertime note:

I've given you more than a sneak today - but I hope you'll still come by the Doodlebugs Blog for all the details.  I appreciate you so much!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #574

I knew the moment I saw this guy in the sale items at MFT that he was going to make an appearance on my card for Jen B's Freshly Made Sketches #574...

I just love him - and it just so happens that my granddaughters play for the Vikings JV and Varsity basketball teams.  I might have to make another using their team colors!

The deck rail is a split-in-half piece of The Greetery's Scalloped Ribbon die - 

and the sky is a full cut of their Pinked Stars Ribbon die!  

This gorgeous woodgrain paper is a gift from a far-away friend - thanks, Neha!  

I love how this turned out - but if I'd thought a bit quicker, I'd have made him slide back and forth on deck! 

=] Michele

A 'leftover' card for JUGS #667

 While tidying up my desk, I found these great little leftovers - why not put them to use?  For Just us Girls #667 Mood board!

I stuck the 'waves' together with tape and sent the panel through my machine with this very old embossing folder... a little rain doesn't hurt - but I sure hope we don't get that ice in the forecast!

I have a set from Honey Bee that has these amazing teensy beach-y dies!  I found these 

seagulls there - and that little sailboat from my original entry!  PTI's Dark Indigo is

the BEST navy of all!  In my humble opinion...

=] Michele

MORE Second Helpings!

We all know the saying 'when the mood strikes' right?  I had one such moment yesterday and found another set to use those gorgeous shades of cyan and lime that Tracey treated us to over at Color Hues #58 .

Before I show you my card, I just wanted to sing the praises of a tiny little hero in my studio - this simple little tool really makes a difference in stamping!  Especially when layer-stamping... here's what I mean:

Can you see the difference?  The bottom bloom was stamped with Altenew inks - it's good but look how much clearer the top one is after I treated the stamp to a little conditioning with one of their stamp conditioning erasers!  You know when conditioning is needed when the ink beads up on your stamp - we've all seen it!

You can tell that little bugger has been a workhorse around here! ha!

I know I used the Hydrangeas on my first card - I thought this Basic Blooms set looks very much like Hydrangea blossoms, too!  The set has really good sentiments, too - simple things that most anyone would use!

The inks I used on my mini slimline card today.

Hope your Monday is going well - I have a few loads of fun yet to enjoy! wink.

=] Michele

Just us Girls #667

 

I was intrigued by the bottom right corner of Vicki's Mood Board this week at JUGS #667 ... though I might have added a smidge of the aqua from those rolling hills at the top, too.  See what you think - hope it doesn't make you seasick:

I think the person sending out this big HELLO was the youngest of nine kids, like me!

=] Michele

Waffle Flower Crafts hello die

MFT Navy cardstock 

SSS Stitched slopes and hills

HoneyBee Stamps: Shoreline Scene Builder for that teensy sailboat 

Color Hues #58

Happy Saturday, my friends!  I have a card for Color Hues #58: Lime Green and Cyan!  [Tracey's getting all tricky with that Cyan, right?]

Since I help my color-deficient husband out a little with editing his astro-photos I'm familiar with our old friend Cyan ... here's a little look at the many shades of Cyan...

I had just returned from the mailbox with my newest edition of embossing folder from my Spellbinders Club - no time like the present to put it to use!  I swiped one side of it with a pale form of Cyan [CP mint to be] and ran it through my Big Shot.  

I just knew I had a stamp much like the Hydrangeas in this embossing - sure enough, enter MFT's Fall Flowers!  Stamped and die cut three times for a full bouquet and then arranged on another oldie from Paper Smooches cut from a perfect match to that Cyan on the right - this one from The Stamp Market variety pack.

There's my favorite label again - and a birthday sentiment from Altenew's Fresh Freesia.

Here are all the inks that came together to create my shades of Cyan and Lime!

Another old meets new card - that makes my heart happy!  Speaking of - hope you have a happy weekend, my friends!  Thanks for hanging out with me this week!

=] Michele

Double D [tropical] Birds and Second Helpings for FMS573

Stopping in to share Second Helpings for Freshly Made Sketches - Kim liked my first card, but I felt the desire to follow her horizontal Sketch ... 

These little tweeties are from a retired set from Winnie & Walter.  On my way to that design, I found the perfect tropically birds for Double D - Birds!

I brought their fabulous Macaws to help with my coloring cause! 

I love this Feathered Friends mini 18 set from Papertrey Ink!

Hope you're looking forward to a fun weekend - and hope you find a little time to get your craft on!  Off to deliver my Random Acts of Kindness card!!

=] Michele

Spellbinders' Postage Edge Oval dies were used to create the frame!  It was embossed with SU subtle texture before adhering to my card front.

Edited to add my sweet neighbor - she liked it!!!

Who can resist a pie?  In this case, it was a Chicken Pot Pie! YUM!

Doodlebugs Friday!

 Ladies and gents, I have ANOTHER new Altenew layering die set to share with you all today as well as some of the new Altenew inks - you're never going to believe 

the collection I chose to test!

Come on over to the Doodlebugs blog to get the details!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #573

Kim is our hostess at Freshly Made Sketches #573 this week ... I'm now recognizing that my recall is no longer total!  geesh - this is the Sketch:

Turns out I was so happy planting my little posies it didn't occur to me that I flipped the Sketch!  Oh well, maybe I'll find a little more time for Second Helpings?

A very old SSS Hydrangea Petals meets new Altenew sentiment die!  

It's been an age since I relied on this MFT Stitched Strip to add pizzazz to my card - 

worked its charm for that panel in Kim's Sketch!

Thanks for all the love left for Nancy and me yesterday!  You're all so kind!

=] Michele

Playing Cards with Friends - February 2023

Hello, my friends!  I am so happy to introduce my February 2023 Playing Cards with Friends guest!  Nancy Penir and I were teamies on the 12 Kits of Occasions group for years and are teammates once again at The Flower Challenge!  

I hold such admiration of her talent for layering tons of gorgeousness on her cards and knowing the perfect moment to 'say when!'  Please spend a bit of your precious time perusing Nancy's blog [Artful Notions] and her Instagram page @nancypenir - you will see very quickly that Nancy has a way with every technique she puts her heart to!

Are you ready for our assignment?  it's Random Act of Kindness Day! on Friday! 

• Make a card for a neighbor and deliver it!
• Flowers are always appreciated - let's make ours die-cut flowers!
• Patterned paper must be included, and of course a 'kind' sentiment.

I quickly reached for this gorgeous layering die set from Altenew...

                      

I found wonderful little snippets of cardstock from The Stamp Market, a pretty pink panel cut with a favorite Winnie & Walter die, and a ribbon 

strip from The Greetery that worked a charm for my 

'Nancy-inspired' card - and then it happened...

 I realized I hadn't used patterned paper!!!  Back to the drawing board!

I grabbed that W&W panel die and cut another from this sweet gingham from Honey Bee Stamps - of course, I NEVER make the same card twice ...

I just loved that teensy little bit of kraft on my first attempt, so I looked for 

a second chance to add it!  In my search through my stash of embellishments, I found these darling little clay hearts to add to my flutterby's wings! 

The sentiment comes from a very old Concord & 9th set - lucky for me, it included this die-cut sentiment, too.  A little clear embossing gives it just the tone-on-tone look I was looking for =]  

So, even though I totally goofed up, I now have a card for my neighbor Dee who lost her husband a few years ago, and a second card to send to my friend, Nancy! 

Nancy, I can't wait to see your card - and to invite everyone to join me!  If they don't already, they'll soon love and admire your talent just as much as I do!  Thanks so very very much for Playing Cards with me today!  It's been way too long!

Thanks for stopping by today sweet friends!  You are ALL the kindest people I know!

=] Michele 

Card #1 sentiment is from The Stamp Market set called Bell Flower; that little tag and butterfly are from that W&W set - no longer available, sorry.

The Flower Challenge #77 Reminder

 

I have adopted a rule in my studio - have I mentioned it before??  

Any new product must have at least four three  two uses before it can be stored away - smart right? lol This rule also made my reminder card for The Flower Challenge #77 Use your Latest Stamps or Dies pretty simple - and simple it is how I've kept it.  

So simple that I made TWO!  One end of this Altenew Magnificent Branch was stamped 

in brown ink onto watercolor card:

... the other end in black on Bristol card!  Either of these can be colored by the recipient if they so choose!

Have you used all of your new goodies yet?  We'd love to see them in our gallery, friends!  Thanks for stopping by!

=] Michele