Christmas Kickstart and Peace on Earth

Yesterday was a great day for Christmas cards and two challenges caught my eye, so I took advantage.

First up Christmas Kickstart #85 where they are featuring Santa and his Sidekicks!  I'm not sure if this is a 'sidekick' or the 'get-away-guy!'  He looks as if he's taking off with Santa's bag... you'll see what I mean:

My card combines two MFT sets that are pretty old and well-loved.

Jingle all the Way & Present Time.

The 'moon' was found among my snippets and gave me a good place 

to stamp a modified sentiment from the Jingle set.

Next one is for Peace on Earth Challenge #62:

Their top right photo was my color inspiration and I brought out my

old friend from WPlus9 today and found all the bits and pieces for 

this sweet bird and bits!

Woodland Basics + Spellbinders Essential Four Petal Labels + Tile Reflection embossing:

The good news is I added TEN cards to my Christmas card stash this week!  Yay! AND the better news is it is finally warming up - it hit 72 today!  Double YAY!

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate you so much!

=] Michele

More tulips!

More?  I'm sure you're not surprised ... what better way to start the weekend?  I have two cards that were started while TK was visiting and gave a helping hand with my Glimmer Hot Foiling machine - both are stenciled, both from a set from Alex Syberia Designs: Tulips Treasure.

I wonder if my favorite will also be yours?

So majestic, so bold - BLACK foiling with a gorgeous, embossed background from

SSS's Rhythmic folder.  Or will it be this soft and sweet trio?

Matte gold foiling, stenciled color, and my favorite of all SU Subtle Texture.

Whichever we favor, one of them is heading to Just us Girls where 

Stenciling is their challenge this week.

I have one more for you - this time it's second helpings for the gals at Color Hues...

This card combines two Pinkfresh Studio sets: Floral Border [silver foiled, stencil colored] and a beautiful sentiment from their With Sympathy set - I love that I have the dies but I don't have the foil plates, so a little old-fashioned silver heat embossing did the trick.  

That embossing just fills that garden beautifully, doesn't it?  Another from my collection of Spellbinders': Flower Frenzy.

That's it for me today ... I'm in Christmas card mode for my sweet seniors.  I figured if it FEELS like winter [42 would feel pretty good in Winter], I might as well get some made before it gets warm, and I just want to be outside!

Happy weekend eve everyone!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #633

My blog-buddy Linda is our Sketch artist at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  She has such a great sense of humor that something tells me she'll get a chuckle out of my card this week... here is her Sketch:

Okay, now use your imagination please... I crack myself up somedays.

Inside:

Start it sunny side up!

That paper looks just like my favorite granite frying pan - leave it to HoneyBee!  

Thanks, Linda!  You started my day sunny side up!

=] Michele

The Stamp Market: Big Shaker Flower die [for my egg] and Fun & Flowery [for the sentiment] and Thought Bubbles dies.

Alexandra Renke's Eggshell die.

Tip-toe-ing through my tulips!

As I patiently await the blooms on my tulips [those that the bunny didn't eat]  I enjoyed a fun first-time playtime with some new press plates from LDRS Creative today!  Introducing their Tulips Impression-Letterpress plate - of course I had to make my favorite white...

After pressing in black, I used a little blueish purple for shadows to make the whites whiter - and Leafy Green from The Stamp Market for their stems and leaves.

I couldn't help but use their Tulip Mix Background un-inked as my background.

Next, the same Tulips inked and colored in lots of color ...

Topped with a layered Hello from The Stamp Market.

ONE last one - you may have noticed I've used an MFT Elegant Rectangles 

for the first and final card.  I've found it best to cut first before pressing

so I don't lose any of that lovely impression of letterpress.

Another of TK's butterflies made a landing - I think I'll send this one to the 

sweet gals at Triple B!

This planked parquet background was cut at Marcia's house in February - I think

it is from The Greetery?  Maybe she'll remember whose sentiment this is?  

What I would do without her I'll NEVER know!

I hope your gardens are popping with color!  My new tulips have been protected the last few weeks with a little circle of chicken-wire ... fingers crossed!  

=] Michele

Testing, testing... my abilities!

While doing some bargain shopping recently at Altenew, I picked up a set that I'd had on my radar for some time... only one issue... they were out of the stamp set in the bundle.  Using my 'I can make do' attitude, and trusting my [limited] drawing skills, I bought it anyway.  Here is the set:

I loved it as much for the sentiments ... but alas, all they had were the stencil, and die.  My solution?  have Copic fine-liner, will travel...

Of course, I was looking at the image from their website while sketching out the details and I often went awry - but for the most part, I'm quite satisfied with it!  After drawing in the lines, I used the stencil to color it.  Adding that gorgeous embossing [Spellbinders' Beautiful Blooms] and another of Altenew's sweet little [Nesting Slim Labels] and a beautiful sentiment [Elegant Sayings] helps draw the eye away from most crafty mishaps and day of the week!

Speaking of a day of the week - you know if it's Monday, I have loads of fun ahead of me!  Bonus: a facetime chat with a friend!  I'd better hit the shower! 

OH! In honor of that friend and her great I.D.E.A.S. I'm happy to share this Anything Goes card with her!

Thanks for stopping by! You make my Mondays brighter than my whites!

=] Michele

Just another gorgeous mood board...

I didn't expect to be back on Saturday, but then this happened... Four Seasons April 2024:

 

I find these mood boards so hard to resist... and [happy sigh] birds!  I found just the right Chickadee in a very old Brand Kincaid design for EH...

PTI Botanical Blocks 2, over SSS Lilac Clusters embossing

Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well share another card - or two?  One I hinted at last week - it has been delivered and appreciated... Hideko's birthday card in shades of her favorite color!

Last one... I recently traded some [let's call them 'overstock'] supplies with a friend. I haven't ever purchased one of Lavinia's sets, but I sure did have fun watching videos on YouTube of them coming to life.  For Julia: Seren and Berry Wreath...

Have I ever shared how I make masks for stenciling?  All of us receive

these laminated ads in the mail, right?  They are perfect for masks -

here's one I made using a circle die...

MFT's work well, too! wink.

Thanks, Julia for sharing your 'overstock' with me!  

=] Michele

Just us Girls #723

I don't know where they find them but Vicki at Just us Girls has given us another gorgeous mood-board to play cards with this week ... take a look for yourself:

You may find my inspiration quite easy to spot when you see my card ...

I knew just the sunflower I wanted to play with again - this is 

Into the Blooms: Sunflower from Papertrey Ink. 

The flower head's layers were cut from C&9th Nectar card stock then

treated to a bit of blended ink - starting with CP Orange Bliss, on to 

Pigment Craft Co. Seagrass, and ending with the darkest brown

from CP Icing on the Cake.  The stalk and leaves were cut from a grey card

and then I blended a touch of green to capture that dusty look from the photo.

Besides their gorgeous sunflower, I couldn't help but notice those wonderful seashells!  My background was created with two papers from 

HoneyBee's Vitamin Sea paper collection.  

Another sentiment from SB's Betterpress A Little Message - they

always know just what I want to say.

With that, I'll say a big thank you for spending a bit of your time with me this week!  Hope you have a great weekend - getting crafty or doing whatever makes you happy!

=] Michele

Thanks SO very much, Vicki - such an honor!

Pinkfresh Studio meets Color Hues #85

 

It has been far too long since I've played cards with Pinkfresh Studio's Monthly Challenge!  Through the generosity of my friend TK, I had a few of their newest Butterflies waiting to play, too!

It might be hard to see the gorgeous florals - I did such a good job

matching inks to these Fluttering [washi] Butterflies!  But my Floral Notes are there and one of my favorites even though it has been discontinued.  I mounted the arch

onto an embossed image from my snippets bin and added a few PF gold metallic pearls.

I'm thinking that the gals at Triple B will like them, too!  Not quite as 'pink' as

their inspiration, but two out of three B's isn't bad, right?

While I had that little bowl of butterflies out, I picked three that fit the bill for Color Hues #85: Yellow and Pink...

Lovely layers using PF Fancy Floral 1 cover, Curvy Leaves, and Fancy Circles.

That bottom flutterby looks a little bit more orange but you'll have to trust 

me - although yellow+pink does equal orange!

Hope you're having lots of fun with color this week!  I'd better get these delivered!

=] Michele

Peace on Earth #61

Hello again, my friends!  A few months ago, I bought a slue of Sizzix die sets from a sale they had - I couldn't believe the savings!  I've had my eye on a few of them for a long time - when I show you which one I used first you won't be one bit surprised... 

YES! another Poinsettia*!  She's making her premier playtime especially for 

Peace on Earth Christmas #61!

The embossed panel is from SSS called Holiday Greenery - just the ticket, I think!  the sentiment - Pinkfresh Studio: Basic Banners Christmas sentiments.

I'd better get this one in POE's gallery - thanks for dropping by!

=] Michele

*Sizzix Thinlits TH Holiday Brushstroke #3

The Flower Challenge #90 - Reminder!

Just me with a friendly reminder that you have until the 25th to get your own floral layers into our gallery at The Flower Challenge!

There are a whole new batch of layered beauties on our blog for inspiration - and here is one from me, too!  This one has those gorgeous Altenew Climber Flowers - they just never get old!

Cut from two shades of peach and layered up with some 'trimmings' leaves and vines in two shades of green from my snippets I put them all together onto a Slim Label, and popped the whole shebang onto a panel of Desert Storm card that I embossed with my HoneyBee Dogwood Blooms folder.  Another Betterpress-ed sentiment from their A Little Message sentiment set.  ALL that on a little 3.5 x 6" card!

And VOILA!  That's as pretty a reminder as I can offer today!  I just know you can do better, and I'll be watching for those in our gallery!  Hurry now - there's even time to make two! Check out all the team reminders HERE - so pretty!

=] Michele

Color Throwdown #788

A quick post with another Anemone or two.  This time just for Color Throwdown #788 and these gorgeous colors:

 

One might think I would have pulled out a bird - I have a few don't I?  But some pretty card stock from Concord & 9th did the trick beautifully!

Papers: Dragonfruit, Briar Rose, Sunflower, Lemongrass, & Avocado

A bit of 'loose' water-colored stenciling with WF Puffy Squares stencil.

You know my rule, right?  Here's card two... using the stencil properly

this time to make my background.

I found some pretty close matches to the cardstock in my ink stash:

Happy Sunday, my friends!

=] Michele

With a little help from my friends...

An hour or so ago I had a chat with my friend Bobby who had commented on yesterday's card saying it reminded her of '...tapestry...'  To which I replied 'or silk screen ... or an antique Japanese umbrella.'  

So, this happened - thanks to Lisa over at Just us Girls #722 looking for something to do with rain...

The umbrella was cut from Mixed Media paper and stamped with four of the 

images from my Hero Arts March Monthly Kit.  The sentiment and scripty rub-ons are

included in the kit.  Spellbinders: Umbrella Bloom was just the right size and

that's where I found those little blooms 'raining' down.

I think I got by with a little help from my friends!  Thanks, ladies!

=] Michele

My Hero March Monthly

I have many card-making heroes.  Channin Pelletier demonstrated Hero Art's March Monthly kit on YouTube, and it seemed perfect for a certain friend's birthday card!  I won't show the one I made for my friend - it was just put in the mail as I waited far too long for the Kit to arrive... nothing ever ships fast enough when there is a special card in mind, right?

You'll have to watch Channin's replay HERE - it was hard not to CASE it completely!  But I did make it my own in the end...

I would give anything to know what that script says - would you believe

it is a 'rub-on?'  A first for me!

The second one is winging its way to California for my friend Hideko - happiest birthday, dear friend - hope it gets there soon!

Thanks @ChanninPelletier for the gorgeous inspiration to shop - again!

=] Michele