Home of the brave, land of the free!

Happy 4th of July - our Independence Day! 

You may remember this design from my sketch FMS#740 a few weeks back.

This was my alternate card, and I decided to share it with you today instead. And just in case you aren't able to attend any parades today, here is a little something for your listening pleasure!  A little John Phillips Sousa can make anyone feel a bit more patriotic!  

Be safe and let freedom ring!

=] Michele

CAS Mix Up Challenge July 2026

I'm very happy to be invited to guest design over at CAS Mix Up - even happier that Loll has brought her CAS challenges back!  Here is the July challenge:

I did a deep dive into Eclipse techniques, including those that Loll

has included in their post. I recently watched one of my favorite crafters

who loves tags and used one to create a gorgeous eclipse card using some

of her favorite florals from Altenew - I have a few of my own! That is how

my CAS Mix Up Eclipse card began [Thanks Michelle Short!]  armed with

these inks and Altenew's Rose Gallica stamp and stencils.

I admit that it is a bit CAS for Mixed Media - but it is a CAS challenge after all!

You'll no doubt remember this gorgeous Nesting Slimline Labels set if

you've been visiting me at all.  I used to use it quite a bit and it was nice

to bring it to the table again.  I've added a sprinkling of SB Aura AB gems -

I challenge you to find them.

Now then, why don't you join us in celebrating the return of another of

Loll's CAS challenges?  You have the entire month and all the fine details along with the team's gorgeous cards can be found at the CAS Mix Up Challenge!

Thanks, Loll for inviting me!

=] Michele

CAS Christmas July 2026

 

Are you as ready as I am for a little cooling off?

CAS Christmas July 2026 Snowman theme [and the AC at 73] was just

what this crafter needed!

This darling little SSS Snuggle Snowman snow-dude was purchased months ago but was still on top of the stack of Snowmen I had at hand!  

Keeping it completely CAS was simple by keeping all that white

with a simple snowy hill and embossing from Penny Black's Encircle EF.

See you soon and thanks so much for stopping by for a visit!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #743

It's Summertime and the heat [and just the right amount of rain] are making our gardens look like we might know what we're doing! lol  Don't count on it!  But our gardens put me in a floral mood for Judy's Freshly Made Sketches #743... take a peek...

 

Okay, like you might be, I was a little freaked out over those strips, but then

I remembered that our sketches are only a 'glimpse' of what the shapes

might mean to us!  See what I mean...

Two water-colored florals from Pinkfresh Studios' Beautiful Blooms set.

And when I couldn't find a matching 'periwinkle' blue cardstock in my stash,

I just watercolored a strip the same wilted violet as my 'Delphiniums!'

All of this was popped up on my SU Subtle Texture panel and added

to a side-fold A2 card base.

A little stitching and an embossed circle from my snippets and all

I had left was to top it off with another Betterpress-ed sentiment.

I can't wait to see what my teammates have added to the team page since I was there last.  And just what will YOU make to represent those strips?  I look forward to seeing your cards, too!  You have until Monday July 6 at 3 pm to join in!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #829

It's stencil time over at Just us Girls #829 - thanks, Lisa - for the excuse to sit down to ink one of my biggest stencils of all: Altenew's Rock Trumpet!  It's so big, with a little purposeful trimming, you end up with TWO cards!  Here's number one:

LOTS of layers and details galore - even the sweet sentiment was in that set!

I used Altenew's Exposed Brick and Old Olive paper I bought at LeAnne's yard sale!

and here are the chosen inks...

Of course, I couldn't let the trimmings go unloved... this time, I mounted

it to a panel embossed with SU! Tasteful Texture.

Which card do you think I entered at JUGS #829?  Well, you'll just have to go see for yourself!  There are a few hours left to play if you have a mind to!

=] Michele

Thank you, Lisa! Always appreciated!

The Paper Players #792

Joanne has a marvelous sketch for us over at The Paper Players!  I just happened to have a pair of card panels sitting on my desk from an earlier playtime.  Claire inspired me with her patriotic card to 'make one work' for Joanne's sketch and LeAnne inspired my shopping spree at HoneyBee!  

My large oval [Avery Elle] was cut from one of those aforementioned panels that were created

by stamping this fantastic HoneyBee Land of the Free cover rubber stamp onto

white with red ink, blue with navy ink, and red with dark red ink. 

You might recognize my last sketch - FMS740?  I used that design to cut the panels using an old die from SSS into rolling hills then put them back together using 

one red, one white, one blue.

The white banner is C&9th - star from Ellentina [and my first meetup w/Marcia!] -

and this wonderful sentiment is one of fourteen in the HoneyBee Because of the Brave sentiment set. 

OH, before anyone writes asking me about that embossing - 

it is from Provo Craft for Cuttlebug and purchased in 2010 or before - sorry!

Thanks to all three of the Paper Players for bringing my card to life today!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #742

 

You might notice right off the bat that I've tipped Amy's Freshly Made Sketch #742 this week to accommodate my elements a bit.  Isn't that the best part of using a sketch as inspiration?  We think so.

Marcia gave me this Harvest Home set from The Greetery and it's perfect for all four

of the season's we enjoy in Michigan.  Right now, it's sum-sum-summertime

and on a windy day you can see so many wonderful sail boats out on the

Big Lake - palm trees on the beach?  Not so much... but I don't miss them.

That poor little boat might be battening down the hatches on the

rough waters I've created with Simon Hurley's Bark embossing folder.

BTW the sailboat, umbrella, palm tree, sun and sentiment are all from 

The Greetery's Destination Summer set of stamps and dies.

I can't wait to see what YOU all create using sketch #FMS742 this week!

=] Michele