D is for Die-ing to play!

Dear D.,

I had a little bit of time between 'loads of fun' and had a new die set calling my name!  I'm so happy to play cards with your I.D.E.A.S challenge: D for die - and! There may be one for NBUS, too!

Love ... M.

Think Autumn and the last brave roses on the vine!

HoneyBee Vintage Roses cover plate finally came home to mama after a 6-month or longer stint on my wish list.  Betterpress-ed sentiment.

Look closely and you'll see my old favorite Altenew Elegant Swirls!

All cut with Bristol paper, blended with a few Altenew inks, and Roses distress re-inker 

Ripe Persimmon 'homemade' paper.

HoneyBee's Lovely Layers: Amaryllis + PB Frame it!

Sentiment and snowflake from my snippets.

And another in white on a grey blue HoneyBee Vitamin Sea paper!

This Christmas sentiment is from Spellbinders SB BP-204 Sending Joy.

It has been a looooong day!  See ya later gators...

=] Michele

PBSC on Sunday!

 

When the newest Penny Black on Saturday Challenge for September 2025 hit my inbox, I just happened to have finished my next batch of Christmas cards using a few more of the sets I snapped up from the Penny Black Christmas release!  Would you look at that... there are lots of stripes - that makes it a good time to share them.

First this darling snowdude and friend from Penny Black: Frosty Hops...

This lovely sentiment is also from the Frosty Hops set.

Penny Black: Christmas Cubs...

PB Classy Frames; EH Rectangle dies

No stripes or dots on these next cards but 'just because' you know me 

and bears by now...

PB Teddy Tidings

Her hearth 'rug' was created using the PB encircle ef over top 

of a woodgrain embossed piece.  It was really easy to create this 'wainscoting' 

out of the scraps of watercolor card!

A little black bear gets his mail delivered by this sweet little bird on 

a branch borrowed from the PB Frosty Hops set.

Because I never miss a chance to learn a thing or ten from the spectacular

Jill Foster and the newest video series from Penny Black, I brought

out the PB Edger: Friend die for my little brown bear!

Now one of those will be shared with those wonderful card makers 

at PBSC - you'll have to stop by to see which one made the cut!

=] Michele

Ho, my gosh my golly ... it's Santa Mouse!

Jo has my friend Leslie as her Guest Elf this month!  I fully intended to dig through my Christmas supplies for my Santa Claus sets, then I spotted this darling 'Santa Mouse' among those Penny Black Tiny Tinsel characters and couldn't resist him for Christmas Kickstart's Challenge #102: Santa in September!

I had two full sets of those characters already stamped in Toffee Crunch on watercolor paper.  This one got a little paint, a pretty frame, and a trio of trees...

Background embossed with un-named snow.  Triangle trees from Reverse Confetti.

Sentiment included in the PennyBlack Tiny Tinsel set stamped in red. PB Frame It.

Okay.  The second Santa-mouse was left in all that yummy creaminess:

Self-built house, Fresh Air Window frame die from The Greetery, and a stamped

Reverse Confetti tree in the window!  HO3 from MFT's Jingle All the Way.

You know the drill - you have to go to the Christmas Kickstart gallery

to see which of my cards made the cut!  While you're there, why not play?  Those

Christmas cards don't make themselves, folks! 

=] Michele

Just us Girls #791

It's die week over at Just us Girls #791 and I had a wonderful surprise from a friend that was die-ing to play along!

This adorable Spellbinder Sunflower Serenade is so fun to put together. I think the embossed sunflowers in the background from SU! were just the ticket.

A new die snatched up from the clearance bin at HoneyBee, a scripty message and heart from The Greetery's Pretty Postmarks and another from 

Penny Black's Loving Friend brought it all home.

Thanks, sweet friend! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #106 - a Sketch!

Here's a challenge from The Flower Challenge that I think you'll love as much as we do!  It is no secret that I have just loved using sketches to inspire my cards for many years and they continue to do so!  Ready... sketch:

... and my very literal interpretation:

Featuring a gorgeous press plate from Alex Syberia Designs: Elegant Blooms

pressed with Altenew's Crystal Violet ink then I cut the circle using one of the many circle frame dies from EH, and finished with a sentiment

from ASD's With Sympathy stamp and cut with its coordinating die.

We hope you'll enjoy creating your own floral cards using our sketch!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #702

 Cecile is our hostess this week!  Her sketch is a beauty... see for yourself:

Since it's almost harvest time - alas, all I have to pick are peppers - I thought

I'd bring this sweet little PTI set out to play!

I can hardly think of a more appropriate texture than this HB Burlap - can you?

While I'm picking peppers for pepper jelly, I hope you'll be searching

your stash to see what you'll bring to the table for FMS702!

Lots of inspiration from our team right HERE!

=] Michele

I'm also sharing this little punkin' with my friends at Color Hues #117

Featured Stamper at Color Throwdown!

I was thrilled to be chosen as the Featured Stamper [by random.org] for CTD838 which means I am the lucky guest here today for the Color Throwdown #840!  

When I saw their inspiration photo, I knew that new set from Concord & 9th called Cherry Nice! was going to work perfectly.

Okay, okay.  I know those are apples and am very excited for apple season BUT

when I visited Seattle years ago, I fell in love with Rainier cherries which are the loveliest colors and that is exactly why I reached for those C&9th Cherries!  

Tell me what you think...

Aren't they fun??  I cut all the pieces out of Fabriano hot press

watercolor paper and used Distress inks to color and splatter them. 

I loved the photos I found on the internet for them - but don't think

for a moment I like them MORE than I like our wonderful Michigan Sweet Cherries!

After putting the pieces together, I created a deep yellow card cover

that has been debossed using an old Reverse Confetti cover plate.

I hope you'll join us for CTD840 and have just the red, yellow, and green things that make you want to play along!

=] Michele

Yes, my friends, it is Christmas in September, too!

If anyone gets upset about me sharing Christmas cards before Christmas just walk away, because the holidays will be arriving before we know it and I have a huge goal set for myself!  I've made many that I won't share but today's cards are just too cute not to 'show and tell!' lol

The first four cards feature one of the many sets I ordered from the latest Penny Black release - I wanted them all but needless to say I couldn't have them all!  Their Tiny Tinsel characters stole my heart and there are four characters in that set - woo hoo!  Each image was stamped onto Canson watercolor cardstock with Memento Toffee Crunch ink - which I'm thrilled to finally find at SSS - and watercolor painted with Distress re-inkers.  I have my eye on a few of those new Penny Black watercolor inks but can wait.

Ready?  Let's go...

sentiment and 'tree' from PB Merry Boughs; PB Double Frames 

I 'built a house' so I could add the Santa Mouse climbing into its snowy roof, 

and climbing into the chimney!

So much going on that I saved the sentiment for the inside =]

SSS Falling Stars die c. 2013 in the MFT Steel grey back panel.

PB Tiny Tinsel sentiment; PB Merry Boughs tree

I really dug deep to find this cute little mailbox from Reverse Confetti - no longer in business.

PB Frosty Hops for the holly branch. MFT Flurry of Love by S. Yakula for my 

sentiment, and their Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies.  

There was lots of Stickle snow added to each card where appropriate - for some reason it doesn't seem like Christmas without it!

Just when you think I MUST BE DONE - no.  I was inspired by a card made by Jody Morrow for Pinkfresh Studio.  You'll find it HERE - you won't be surprised that it was the pink that pulled my heart strings.  Here is my take on Jody's gorgeous card for Christmas... I'll give you the closeup first - look closely and you'll see tone-on-tone stamping on those old EH Modern Christmas holly leaves cut from SU! Evening Evergreen cardstock.  The pink is so pale - but I promise it's there - Bazzill wasn't kidding when they named it PALE ROSE.  debossed with an old PFS die ...

Decorated with enamel dots and a heart, topped with a SSS bow.

This sentiment is also from that old EH Modern Christmas set - I always loved that font.

And because the leaves were calling, one more for my friends at Four Seasons: Fall 2025

HB Autumn Splendor cover die; EH Autumn Acorns; gold pearls; and another

sentiment from MFT's Flurry of Love by S. Yakula.  All topped with another SSS Pretty bow.

Okay - all that AND the laundry is [almost] done!  Phew.

=] Michele

A day with Bobby!

It was great fun to have both Bobby and Marcia here together but don't think the fun stopped there!  

Bobby and I had the better part of the next day together and shared lots of our supplies.  I got right to work putting all those die cuts together and today I'll share what became of our playtime together and Bobby will, too!

Believe me when I tell you that Bobby's supply of HoneyBee die sets is out of this world!  Let's start with her Autumn Bouquet tucked onto the HB Rattan Basket:

I found a really dark wood design paper from Craft Consortium [cut with an EH rectangle die] that really let that bouquet shine!  Then I tucked in a teensy sentiment from

The Greetery's Market Basket sentiments.

Of course, I couldn't stop at just one...

this time, they were tucked into her HB Wooden Crate and topped

with one of two birds from HB Winter Birds: the Chickadee!

My card front wears a panel I've embossed with SU! Exposed Brick 3D EF

As Bobby often does, I've left this one without a sentiment - I

think it would be a wonderful masculine bd card, don't you?

While I had those Winter birds in hand, I cut the Cardinal, too!

I couldn't craft for a day without making a Christmas card - or two!

Anybody recognize that string of lights??  If you guessed this guy 

from Spellbinder's Festive Friends you're a winner!

Bobby and I actually FINISHED one of our cards together!  Here's mine:

We cut his sweater out of those new Scrapbook.com papers - I just

love the little snowman that landed right where it should be... can

you find it?  

I loved seeing you again 'for reals' Bobby!  It has been a very long time.  Thanks for coming, for your wonderful gift, and for sharing in our 'Blondie' adventure! 

Thanks, my friends, for stopping by - I can't wait to see all the cards Bobby has to share - join me, if you haven't already been there, please!

=] Michele

Group of Seven: Embossing with Dies!

The Group of Seven Cardmakers are at it again and I happen to LOVE their current technique so here I am joining in the fun! 

I have used many of my cover dies as embossing plates before, but this set of circular Penny Black Ripples has never been cut apart!  So, each time I use it there are multitudes of frames cut, and many are tucked into the packaging for later use... we all know how that goes.  

Take a look at it used to emboss...

Just in case you're wondering, here is how I was able to create all those lovely

HoneyBee Peony layers using Distress re-inkers on Bristol paper!

Thanks for always inspiring me to try another technique with you ladies!

Maybe you have a secret disappearing laundry trick up your sleeves?

=] Michele