Color Throwdown and Time Out!

Hello everyone!  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

I had such a good time water coloring those Penny Black images for their Permission to Play series!  I did a bit of shopping and within three days I received their Little Guy set of stamps - Jill highlighted a little fisherman who was calling my name!

I used a few distress ink cubes to come up with this fun color scheme from Color Throwdown #798:

Summer says lots of fishing to me - bringing a picnic along would be

the cherry on the top!

Red. Blue. Green. and brown as a neutral.

Time Out has a photo inspiration for challenge #266 ... something tells me one might just find the lighthouse keeper's son heading to one of those little coves...

Now, did you notice that there are two new embossing folders making

their debut today?  I think their Triangle Pattern was the perfect match for the sails! It took a great amount of restraint not to color their Encircle like a setting sun behind my little fisherman above - one for another day and card!

We've had lots of rain this weekend which kept us out of the canoe and inside doing the other things we love to do.  Perfectly OKAY by me!

=] Michele

Ending my week on a soft note!

While browsing my YouTube subscriptions I discovered Penny Black's Permission to Play series!  I can get lost in Jill's water coloring, can't you?  [After a little bit of shopping] I gathered a few supplies from my PB stash to join in the fun!

Here is Peaceful Time using Jill's #1 sketch and panel design...

I loved that Jill embossed her background... I have a few of my own! wink.

Parklane 1771-7463 embossing folder from JoAnn's

You know my rule... here's card two:

Spellbinders' Leafy 3D embossing folder - Canson cold press watercolor paper

Assorted Distress inks for coloring

I'm always pleased to get Debby Hughes' blog posts delivered to my inbox.  I couldn't resist CASEing her latest creation for SSS!  You can find it HERE.  I have quite a few SSS flower dies so I did a little digging and found one that could be layered as Debby did.  

It has been an AGE since I used embossing paste - lucky for me it 

hadn't completely dried up.  

I couldn't help but try to 'stage' my card 'Debby-style' too!  Her photography skills

mirror her card-making skills!  But I sure do miss her videos - maybe one day she'll

treat us to a little water coloring again!

SSS Cosmos Stem from 2019 - Memory Box Delicate Fern circa 2012!

Altenew Broken Chevrons Stencil - Dreamweaver pearlescent embossing paste.

It has been a creative week and I'm happy to end it on a soft note - note CARD, that is!

Have a great weekend my friends - 

=] Michele

Pink and Sage for Marcia!

I pulled out my favorite sage inks from Pigment Craft Co., then a pink or two and spent my day yesterday making cards with just those two colors.  

Have you guessed the challenge?  Color Hues, of course and 

my sweet friend Marcia is the hostess with the most-est!

I had another new stencil set from Waffle Flower to test drive - no time like the present!

Postage Collage: Wild Flowers with their original postage stencil as backup

singers... I'm thinking this is the first time I've ever added those 'airmail' stripes around the edge!

I found a lovely, patterned paper in such a wonderful sage and white:

This little bloom from The Stamp Market was the perfect specimen, and that die from PTI was just the shape to mount it on.  I cut

the bloom from white and used my blending brushes to add color.

This PTI Stormy Sky is in my opinion the most wonderful sage cardstock there is!

While shuffling through my papers I came upon this next one that has glazed roses - more 'antique' pink than Marcia's - but any hue will do they say!

I cut a panel with an old favorite from Winnie and Walter.

Here's her closeup so you can see the shine:

My die-cut 'rose' is actually a poppy - from Altenew: Craft a Flower: Poppy to be exact - but I think it makes a lovely rose.  A sprig of Boho Botanical from The Stamp Market and my card is complete! [we probably don't need to talk about those BP sentiments - do we?]

I might save this one for an upcoming wedding. 

Okay, that's quite enough from me today - now I need to decide which one will be sent to Marcia for her Color Hues gallery!  Decisions, decisions! lol  

Thanks for dropping by!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #641and JUGS #731

I had such fun making my card for last week's Freshly Made Sketches - bonus: a win!  These gulls just had to play again!

For FMS#641 here is Jen T's sketch:

Guess who got the Beach Days Postage Collage from Waffle Flower - did you guess me?  Yeppers: it's all MINE MINE MINE!!  and I managed to get a little 'salty' myself with a little help from my friendly Stickles... you'll notice a bit of it on 

the beak, of course.

Now, while I have you... here is my celebratory card for the gals at JUGS#731:

It's just been too long since these MFT cuties took flight!  Thanks, Carol, for

the perfect time to use them and this sentiment!

I have made lots and lots of cards the last few days... more soon!

=] Michele

Always room for second helpings ...

Second helping of cuteness, that is!  These cuties from Waffle Flower arrived just before my guest arrived - since she already had played with hers at home, I waited until today to play with them!  I couldn't help but see Judy's Sketch...

Of course there was a chorus of ...

WF Postage Collage Beach Days - sentiment; WF Inquisitive Gulls;

MFT Peek-a-boo Wonky Windows; Lil' Inkers Wood Grain [no longer available]

Altenew: Speech Bubbles dies; Spellbinders: Splish Splash embossing folder

The Stamp Market Sea Glass card stock

They just make me LOL!

And bonus: since I've used that embossing folder, this one follows Darnell's 

I.D.E.A.S. program for the day!  Woo hoo!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #640

Hello, my friends!  In case you're wondering where I've been - it hasn't been in my studio much!  But there is the very VERY best of reasons for that!!  My darling wonderful friend Stephanie [you know her from My Ink Well and all the teams she's on I'm sure] was here for three days and there was so much fun to fit into only three days!  We laughed, we shared, we had a little crafty time AND rolled sushi!  I've never enjoyed making lunch more let me tell you!  What a great thing it is to have an un-fussy eater in the house!

Now that she's left me [boo hoo], it is SO quiet around here - and I'm lonely!  So, into the studio I went this morning for a quick card for Freshly Made Sketches #640 and Judy's fun circles...

These guys from MFT are always fun:

Simply stamped and quickly Copic-colored - I couldn't help but

add a little shine to Mr. Bear's specs!  My front panel is another

of those sent from a friend - Altenew's Cross Stitch Canvas.

Lucky me, indeed:

Thank you, my sweet friend, for spending a little time with me in The Mitten State!  Come back any old time at all!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #92 - Reminder

I'm back to remind you that there is plenty of time to create with our Sketch this month!  I took it down a very colorful path today... hope you like it!  

Starting with a bright persimmon base, adding a geometric embossed

pattern from WeRMemoryKeepers on a deep purple, and topping it all off

with these gorgeous layer-stamped Peony Dreams from The Stamp Market!

I think my work here is done but wait until you see what my partners in crime have for you HERE!  We hope to see your take on the sketch in our gallery soon!

=] Michele

Ten cups should do!

One of the items I purchased during that aforementioned Sizzix sale had not been used yet - funny how that one slipped through the cracks as it was the one I had been looking forward to playing with the most!

I've seen Tim Holtz's Papercut Cafe around for a while often used along with his signature 'distressed' look.  I've kept it CAS and spent an entire afternoon layering these darling cups! lol

First up: two cups for Color Hues #88 in Karen's chosen Blue and Yellow color combo, and second helpings for Freshly Made Sketches #639:

HoneyBee Gingham Galore paper; WF Hello Friend sentiment combo 

Then it was all about 'balance!'

More WF sentiment fun and gingham cut with their Nesting Postage dies!

Here is a little closeup so you can see all the fun layers that make up each cup!

Another WF sentiment; one of the layers from PF Slim Ornament Banners

Ten cups should do for now!  but you will undoubtedly see a few more soon!

=] Michele

Two florals for Friday!

I have two floral cards for you to round off my crafty week!  The first for Just us Girls #730 where they are having a color challenge!  There is something about aqua that my eyes struggle with.  I hope a little distress peacock feathers paired with picked raspberry will do Carol's lovely color choices justice... 

This gorgeous Wild Daisies image from Altenew is a gift from a friend - too beautiful to trim,

I left it large for a 5x7" card today!  Of course I had another little Spellbinders 

sentiment to add to it!

I used a sharp blade to cut around two of the leaves and popped them up

for a little subtle dimension.

Thanks so very much, Carol!!  I'm so very honored!

My second floral card is heading to Freshly Made Sketches - Amy, I was challenged by your Sketch!  But isn't that what makes it fun?  I hope it's okay - I had to flip it!

Let's start with that embossed panel - someone is bound to ask! lol

Spellbinders Stylized Calla Lily!

Followed by one Altenew Queen Anemone, a frame made with their

Rounded Rectangles Die set [the center is peeking out from behind].

A strip of C&9th Parsley card stock and a sentiment white heat-embossed from

MFT's Sweet Nothings - finished with a few PF Gems and my card is done!

And that's it for my week, folks - but don't worry, I have 10 cups of fun heading your way soon!

=] Michele

Two minute, ten second tidy!

 Remember this?

Here's how I tidied up and created FOUR cards!

After rewetting, here is the first pressing with Spellbinders' Four Petal Floral onto A2 panel.

Then a second panel.  It was clear to me that the ink was quite fond of that baby wipe.

My solution:  glue the whole thing to a half-sheet of cardstock!

After leaving it to dry overnight, I cut it into two smaller panels with

less than an inch of that baby wipe left over!

Ready to see my cards?

This sentiment [The Stamp Market- Kindness Matters] was the perfect size for one 

of the SB Essential Four Petal labels.

Two sentiment dies from one set: Concord & 9th Just Saying Dies

I love that one less baby wipe is in the landfill! lol  Seriously though, we need to rethink throwing those inky wipes away!

=] Michele