Just us Girls #823

Lisa is our host for Just us Girls #823 and she has chosen a wonderful noun for their Word Week: Flowers!  I just so happened to have a brand-spankin'-new Altenew Flourished Flora in my hot little hands!  Thanks, Lisa!  Now let's hope I remember to link and share!

This is a 6-stencil set that took a little bit of shifting and planning to bring together but

in the end, I couldn't love it more!  You might notice that I did a 'no-line' look in the photo

above but soon decided that stamping those lines would really bring out some of the

fantastic details on this stamp.  Here are the [many] inks used - I over-stamped the

outline using the darkest of the blues from the Altenew Tranquility set: Dark Night.

I treated myself to the coordinating dies and after cutting discovered just how huge this image is!  A wee bit of surgery was required to make it fit on a 5 x 7" card!!

Isn't that wavy embossing great?  Spellbinders: Summertime Waves.

It was a great time pulling together all those colors!

Okay... I'm going right now to get this one in the JUGS#823 gallery!

Thanks for spending a bit of your weekend at my place!

=] Michele

Color Hues #132

I was delighted to know that someone was missing me here in blogland!  It isn't because I've stopped enjoying my crafty time, believe me!  Here is a little something I cooked up just for the gals at Color Hues #132 - thanks to a generous share from a friend, it came out so cute IMHO!

I was delighted to play with Donna's PTI Chicken - thanks so much my friend!

I did find a way to 'make her my own!'  PTI even makes these fun papers but the cloud and sentiment are ancient EH products!

Are you ready for the inside?

Can anyone relate? lol

I'd better get this one delivered before it's too late!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #736

My wonderful teammate Verena has a gorgeous CAS style about her cards - perfect for Freshly Made Sketches #736 and her happy sketch this week ...

I've also found it perfect for a fun 21st birthday card for my granddaughter!

Where have the years gone?  I'm sure she's thrilled about this milestone

birthday - but this grammy really wishes she was still 5!

These 'old birds' are from Ellen Hutson, designed by Brandi Kincaid, 

and go way back to 2019!  But I still love them!

Three of five 'chicks' found their way onto Verena's circles - though

I can't say they are in 'pecking order!'  Another oldie but goodie from 

MFT: Jumbo Ric Rac brought more fun as does the burlap texture from

HoneyBee's embossing folder.

I'll save the inside sentiment just for Lola!

Hope this and all the wonderful inspiration from my teamies get

your creative juices flowing - come play!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #735

Kim is our sketch artist this week and I think she was a little tired of seeing circles?  But I may be wrong! lol  Take a look at Freshly Made Sketches #735 ... 

Even though I'm seeing squares, I thought hexagons might work 

great for her layout!

Check it out...

An older honeycomb embossing folder set the stage for the larger

honey-colored hexagons [The Stamp Market.]  Looks like those honeybees [Happy Bee from Waffle Flower Crafts] are happy!

I can't believe I made another square card... just in case you're wondering if

they would work on an A2 card...

 I think they work just fine and dandy - using a hex die from Altenew 

as my alternative and lots of little scraps of cardstock found among my snippets.

So, do you have an idea brewing yet?  Oh, let me tell you my FMS teammates

will have you playing cards with us before you know it - we hope!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #783

I have really cut it close with this card for The Paper Players #783!  I had a couple of Shipmates floating around my desk.  One is just right for Stef's fun Sketch...

Yes. That fun set I borrowed from Marcia did end up living among the many!  I found an old EH die for my lifesaver, and a fun sentiment from 

Altenew's Speech Bubbles.

[psst you might be seeing more of those soon!]

 Of course, I had to make an addition to my EF stash while taking 

advantage of the SB sale.  All Wrapped Up seemed perfect for the

nautical theme here today.  Here is the 'captain' of the sea ready

for the catch just in case his shipmate loses his grip!

I'd better set sail for that PP783 gallery, or I'll have to walk the plank!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #734

Before I introduce our next Freshly Made Sketch, let me say that I'm sorry I haven't been around much.  I have had a busy Spring that has taken me out of the house WAY more than normal - I'm a homebody, for sure!  

Okay. Now for the fun part!  Jen Mitchell is one of the founding members of FMS and her busy career keeps her from playing cards with us as often as I'm sure she'd love to.  Good news: Jen is our Freshly Made Sketch #734 designer this week! YAY!  Here it is... 

I normally steer clear of square cards - let's face it 'extra postage' isn't something we need these days with the already pricey stamps!  But my card design and elements worked so well with Jen's square - IMHO!  Ready for it?

The lovely crane was a gift that just keeps giving and fits so beautifully

with the elements from the March 2024 Hero Arts Classic kit that I HAD TO HAVE

after watching Channin Pelletier do her magic!

Today I paired the kit's large cut/emboss panel die with Spellbinders' Essential Four Petal Labels to create the largest of the two main pieces of Jen's sketch.  Another smaller one was stamped to create the watery scene for my Crane.  There was a sheet of rub-ons included in the kit, too - not sure what this strip says, but it worked its

charm, I think, and allows me to use this for any occasion!

So, what do you think?  Did I pull off that square design?  I know YOU will - or you can make it any shape you want as long as we can see our sketch in your design!

Come play!

=] Michele 

JUGS #820 Color Hues #131

I had just enough time to make a card today - shhh it's for my husband!  AND Just us Girls #820 and Color Hues #131, too!

Our anniversary is coming up in May, and this sentiment just says everything about 

his sense of humor!  Thanks, D for sending me this one! xx

 Just us Girls is looking for stenciling this week - I adore this set from Pinkfresh Studios... and tulips are always my go to for our anniversary!  Why not make a few in Color Hues' colors? 

Oh, oh!  Just heard the garage open... off to share!

=] Michele