Color Hues #122 - but I missed it!

The lovely Nancy Leppek is the host with the most at Color Hues for challenge #122 - Nanc' you almost stumped me this time, my friend!  it looks like I missed my window of opportunity but that won't stop me from sharing.

A wonderful package of goodies arrived from The Greetery that I was thrilled to spend some time with today.  I have to say I'm more pleased than I thought I would be with this color combo you've chosen!  Thanks for pushing me beyond my comfort zone!

It might be a little hard to see, but there is a scalloped panel of

sparkly silver paper between those layers and a trio of silver doo-dads on each

of the largest flowers.  I was totally bewitched by Betsy's creations using

her November release.  My card features: Rosemal Reflections EF, Details dies, and Capsule basics dies.  I can't help but give you a closeup up:

I love that all the die-cut pieces can be put into the EF for adding all those details

and dimension!  I found my teals from MFT: Tropical Teal, and C&9th Aqua Sky and Oceanside.

Just wait until you see the one in grey I made for my MIL's birthday/Christmas!

Until it's light enough for photos, you'll just have to wait to see!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #714

Cecile has a delightful sketch for us this week!  Take a look...

 Since this one falls on the eve of Thanksgiving, and I knew there would be LOTS of cooking going on in our kitchens, I have 'worked ahead' and I had a bit of fun with this character again - I hope you will all get a chuckle out of it!

I've purposely left off a sentiment to keep the 'punchline' on the

inside... now who on my list might appreciate my sick sense of humor?

I'm wishing all of you a happy Thanksgiving!  gobble, gobble!

Hope you're not too full to play along with Freshly Made Sketches this week!

=] Michele 

The Paper Players #765 a Sketch!

It should come as no surprise that designing from a sketch is one of my favorites - thanks to Ann at The Paper Players, I have one more than planned for the week... and it turns out just the right spot for that little cutie I recently added to my stash from HoneyBee Stamps!  First, here's Ann's sketch...

 

HoneyBee's Lovely Layers: Vintage Snowman takes up a LOT of real estate, 

but I hope you can see the DSPs and debossing I added to my trio of

papers from Ann's sketch here...

Most of these papers are from those Scrapbook.com Merry patterned 

papers I bought this year.  Here's her closeup...

I used debossing plates [from the top] WF Tiny Crosses, WF Snowflakes, and 

Alex Syberia's Mermaid's Melody for the drifting snow at the bottom.

I never make just one when I get something new... here is her 'mate'...

This set does not have any sentiments, but I had no trouble finding

sweet and suitable sentiments in my stash.

Isn't he the definition of 'dapper?' I love his candy cane!

Our shopping is done so now starts the 'toe tapping' - we can't wait to smell the aromas of Thanksgiving and to welcome our family to the table!

I'll have at least one more card to share this week - I'd love to know what you think of my newest 'snowdude & dude-ette!'

=] Michele

Free birds!

My latest order from HoneyBee Stamps included a wonderful black & white postcard/thank you note.  By now you know how much I love birds - I thought I'd give it a bit of color, and it turned out so pretty I HAD to put it on a card - you don't mind, right?  The only error in my judgement was to forget to photograph the 'before!'

The birds were Prismacolor pencil colored then I Copic colored the background to match the DSP.  The sentiment was die-cut using one of those old PFS Label dies and popped onto a matte gold one just one step larger. 

In the closeup, you can see that I've fussy-cut the image from the postcard after coloring. I'm sure you'll agree this was such a nice thank you

on top of their wonderful customer service.

The background is a piece of their Merry Moments DSP that I added

a bit of texture to with my SU Subtle Texture then gave it a good

bit of extra splatter with white acrylic paint, and gold and white gold wc paints!

See that darling little un-twisted twine bow?  Thanks, LeAnne!  I went in

for a try right after I read your post this morning!

Wishing you all a wonderful, creative weekend - grateful that you spent a bit of time with me this week!

=] Michele

Congratulations to Peace on Earth Challenge

Darlene and Diane have the 'magic' in them and have so many wonderful challenges for us card makers to play in, too!  Their Peace on Earth challenge is celebrating its 100th Challenge!  

How could we say no to COOKIES??

These darling little Waffle Flower Cookie Time 

bakers are rolling out the gingerbread Papa, Mama, and

even a baby cookie today!

I've also used the WF Postage Collage die and stencils to

decorate my 'stamps' though I decided they were 'busy' enough

not to include the postage stamping.

That sentiment is an oldie from EH but sure seemed to fit.

My friend TK told me recently I could add two cards to a gallery

from one post - I could never make it work, but I'm going to give it a whirl!

I've zoomed in so you could see the embossed hearts I added

to my cover panel of kraft paper.  Same kids, though this time

they are helping their Gramma with her baking.

That would make it the MOST wonderful baking time of the year!

Congratulations, Diane and Dar!  Keep those card challenges alive, please!

=] Michele

Perfect timing for Time Out #302

When this prompt hit my inbox this morning, I couldn't believe it - kismet, I'm tellin' ya!

 I'll admit that Therese @lostinpaper has a big influence on my shopping habits... she used this sneaky Grinch Hand on a card recently, and I couldn't get it into a cart quick enough!  Oh, it isn't new, but a girl can resist some things for just so long!

Okay, here are the words that inspired my card:

Movie, White and sparkle!  

Of course, the movie is: How the Grinch Stole Christmas - that's too easy!

Now - go find the sparkle...

Did you find it?  It is the teensy little gold star in the middle of my Grinch-green foil ornament!  The White is pretty obvious!  You'll have to wait until next week [when I use this die again] to see the perfect sentiment for the inside of the card... sneaky, aren't I?

It's so long since I've played cards with my friends at Time Out - today I took advantage of a little extra time for a little time out! Thanks for all the fabulous inspiration T.O. team!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #713

Jen Brum has a great sketch for us this week - perfect for a few more Christmas cards for friends - and don't forget our postal carriers! 

Those little sprigs had me reaching for my Spellbinders' Holiday Blooms die set once again...

Now that I have the 'sandwich' figured out for embossing this 

HoneyBee Winter Gems plate, I couldn't bear to cover up one little bit of it.  

I used a Waffle Flower Rectangle Frame as an alternative for Jen's inner panel.  

Another premade sentiment from my snippets bin from The Greetery 

finishes my card.

You'll want to see all the gorgeous interpretations from the FMS team right HERE! And WE want to see all of yours in our FMS713 gallery soon!

=] Michele

Color Throwdown #845

As humbled and happy as I am to be guest designing for Color Throwdown today, it is with sadness, too.  After 15 years of delighting us card makers with gorgeous color inspirations, they are closing the door on their wonderful challenge.  I know - I said 'oh, no!' too.

But WOW what a beautiful way to go across the finish line, right?  I took those Autumn colors from CTD845 to a thank you card ... 

Pigment Craft Co.: Jumbo Botanical Sprig - Altenew: label die - 

The Stamp Market: So Very Much - and a wonderful SU! ef birthday gift

All topped off with another SSS bow!

I hope you like it and are inspired to play along!  What better way to thank the CTD team for keeping us making those color-filled cards?  They certainly can take large credit for getting this crafter to see beyond grey!

To Amy, Kelly, Lisa, Laurie, Lynn, and Susie, Vickie, and Wanda and all the past Color Throwdown designers: thank you, so very much for your stunning inspirational cards over the years!

=] Michele

and Everything Nice!

When Simon sends you a discount card for your birthday, it would be not so nice not to use it, right? I have had my eye on these two snowdudes from their newest set: Wrapped in Scarves ...

I love the thought of snowmen decorating the trees!

Looks like he has his work cut out for him, doesn't it?  

[btw that embossing is SU's Gathering Leaves from a dear friend]

He will be entered in the current Just us Girls: Winter challenge #801

The second snowman from that set is having the most fun IMHO...

I turned to MFT's Jingle All the Way for my sentiment - 

ALL THE WAY seems to be his intention!

My old favorite SSS Stitched Slopes and Hills always fits the bill.

This daring devil is headed to The Paper Players for their CAS Challenge #764 where Stef is asking us for our holiday favorites - who doesn't love a snowman??

Now, back to my regularly scheduled loads of fun...

=] Michele

Thanks, Stef!

Jingle Belles - leftovers anyone?

Anyone that makes cards or any other paper-craft can attest to the fact that we ALL have bits and pieces that get left behind, right?  Stephanie, and Lauren are here to help us put those to work for us today over at Jingle Belles!

I was pondering what to use for a bright and merry Christmas card inspired by my friend Therese and found the answer to both of their requests!  Leftovers found in the Pigment Craft Co. packaging + a bright red panel of Poppy in the paper pack = 

Not many consider purple as a 'Christmas' color, but combine this bright Plum [TSM] with Poppy [Concord & 9th] and add a Green-Eyed Monster from MFT

along with a pretty lavender bow from SSS found already cut, and you get one 

very bright and merry Christmas card!

Take a gander at the detail from Simon Hurley's Bark EF!  The only thing I had

to cut were those 'Juniper' berries from a Spellbinders Christmas Bird Poinsettias set of dies.

Thanks Lauren, Stef, and Therese for inspiring my playtime today in

such a fun and colorful way!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #108 - Reminder

You have a few more days to make thank you cards for friends and family before we close the door on The Flower Challenge #108! 

I found a really quick, and beautiful way to say thanks among

my Spellbinders' Betterpress supplies!

I love this wonderful Corner Sunflowers pressed in this autumn yellow - don't you?  

I find Altenew inks press beautifully, and the cleanup is a breeze!

Although, they are NOT waterproof so if one wants to color these, the original Betterpress ink is the way to go!

Let's go see the wonderful reminders from my teammates HERE.

Thank YOU, my lovely friends, for stopping by!

=] Michele

Gifts of friendship

I have a few more cards made today with some wonderful birthday gifts from friends! I've already said thank you, but what better way to show thanks than this?   

First up - someone knows how much I love Poinsettias!  This one, called Whispers of Poinsettia from Pinkfresh was totally new to me.  It starts out with a die-cut panel that has really intricate cuts and then color is added using a set of 5 layering stencils!  I love how this one turned out.  I added a second layer of the panel for 'lift' and debossed my card panel using that old favorite Altenew Dotted Swirls.

Here are my inks - OH, btw I cut it from PTI Fresh Linen paper

for this first run but I can't wait to make another using white - watch for that one soon!  I didn't want to cover a bit of this one therefore I found this

simple Peace die from Altenew to be perfect!

Next up, a wonderful Penny Black set called Love Blooms and a darling little 'hitchhiker' - I just love those winged friends!  Here's their closeup first - the gorgeous, embossed panel was pressed at Marcia's.  SU! Ferns, I think?  Of course, I glued it to my panel before taking notice of what I'd written on the back of it!

There is never a day spent fishing that one of these guys 

doesn't hitch a ride on our hats or poles!

I cut his wings from heavy vellum and gave them a kiss of Wink of Stella.

His body was cut from a bit of matte gold foil paper.

Of course, the blooms are still the star of the card, right?

Stamped with Memento Toffee Crunch on watercolor card and very simply water colored using Distress reinkers then popped within a PB frame.

You'll see just a kiss of grey in the background using a PB stencil.

Thank you, my sweet generous friends!  I received SO MANY gorgeous birthday cards this year from so many - I can't thank you enough for remembering me!

This afternoon I'll be having a facetime playtime using another fabulous embossing folder from another friend - maybe we'll even make a card with it??  We'll see!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #712

Verena has a wonderful sketch and fabulous inspiration for us at Freshly Made Sketches #712... here is her sketch - but you'll have to stop by our challenge blog to see her darling card!

As I see all the goodness for Christmas being posted by my friends, I'm reminded of a few of my 'regulars' that I didn't make an appearance this year.  

For instance - my mittens!!

Verena's sketch presented the perfect time for them...

These oldie-but-goodie dies aren't available any longer but are well loved.  From Winnie & Walter: Noel and Ellen Hutson's Pop-Up Mittens.  

I cut Verena's left side border panel from a deep navy card stock and popped my white NOEL up on dimensional foam.  The bright red mittens were cut from EH felt and I used white

yarn to embellish them and to tie a band around the panel that was debossed with Waffle Flower Crafts' Dashed Snowflake cover die.  A few

white snowflakes and my work playtime was complete! 

You have until Monday, November 17th at 3 pm EST to play along - plenty of time to make seconds if you have a mind to!  Okay - off you go to see all the inspiration one could ask for from the FMS team!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #763 Color Challenge

The Paper Players color challenge #763 is a beauty from Jan!  

Perfect for Autumn or for giving someone the bird!  Oh, not that bird - this one, from Birch Press, that was sent to me for my birthday!  Thank you, sweet friend!

This lovely SB Sun Ray embossing folder was included, too, and I found a way to show my Crane making a splash by embossing my panel of Old Olive, then trimming the panel to position the circle in the lower area.

Okay, I know the trimming doesn't exactly match up at the top, but I still like it!

It took some finagling to get all the bits and pieces cut from Jan's colors

but in the end, I love the result and hope Jan does, too! I cleared the use of

kraft before cutting these SB cattails and pond-side flora.  Another of those favored Betterpress sentiments and all that was left was to photograph it!  Kinda dreary today - sorry about that.

Thank you, Jan!

We've had an inch or two of that four-letter-word - not unusual to see the first dusting around my birthday.  Let's face it - I don't have to go out in it, and

Tom drives my AWD when it's slippery, so it isn't a big deal.  As long as it

melts before Thanksgiving when I expect company.

My bird and I would like to celebrate another special day:

Congratulations to my friends at JUGS on their 800th Challenge!!

I've been busy completing the sentiments and signing all those cards

for my Senior recipients - see you again soon!

=] Michele