The Flower Challenge - # 56 Favorite Flower Reminder!

Just a little reminder that you still have lots of time to share your favorite flower with us at The Flower Challenge #56!

Here's another of my favorites,  which I was reminded of while playing cards with a friend yesterday - a flower that causes us to remember those we've lost:

Another set borrowed from my friend - a beauty from Penny Black.

I simply stamped it onto water color card, and added lots of doodling with a Copic fine liner pen.

It's quite alright to have more than one favorite flower - and to play along more than once!  Be sure to follow the rules given at The Flower Challenge blog, of course.  Hope to see you there!

=]  Michele

CAS Mix Up Challenge - May 2021 - a reminder!

My hopes to make a reminder card as their May guest designer for the CAS Mix Up May 2021 Rainbow challenge materialized!  Thanks, Jenny!  My reminder card evolved, as cards often do.  

What started with a girl, a gorgeous stencil, her blending brushes, some rainbow colored distress oxides inks, and a simple piece of Bristol card stock - quickly turned sour!  But guess what happened?  I took a wonderful technique Loll* introduced me to and spritzed my inky stencil, flipped it over, and placed it over top of a second piece of Bristol!  Leave it for a few seconds, lift, and this is the gorgeous CAS result...

 

[Sorry to tease you with those PFS jewels again - still out of stock!]

I do hope you've enjoyed stenciling a rainbow of your own - maybe you'll take a second look through your stencils, and play again?  You have time!

Thanks again, to the CAS Mix Up team for inviting me to be their guest this month!

=]  Michele

The Crafter's Workshop - Mini Joyful Sunflower [thanks again my friend!]

MFT Wonky rectangle die

SSS - Big You die

Pinkfresh Studios Essential Jewels 

* Stencil Monoprint - though I will always call it Loll's Stencil Magic!  thanks, Loll!

Playing Cards, and remembering Friends

 

Playing with, and Remembering Friends*

I am so happy to be Playing Cards with my friend Bonnie Klass today!  Bonnie is a wonderful card-maker, and friend!  I'm always delighted by her creations at Stamping with Klass.  She does leave really wonderful, encouraging messages for me here.

Memorial Day is when we remember those lost in service to our country.  Sadly, this last year, around the world so many have been lost to a different battle: Covid, and other terrible diseases, too.  Today, Bonnie and I are remembering those we've lost, and all of you, our friends, that we depend on to get us through another day, in one way or another.

I lost a dear blogging friend to cancer in February.  Today I'm remembering Chriss, and thinking of all of our wonderful Monday telephone chats - you are missed, my sweet friend.  

Here are the parameters of my day of playing cards with Bonnie:

• Memorial Day  - in memory of someone special

• Poppy – any brand

• Must include a die cut
• Friendship card

In April, my friend Marcia came over to craft with me.  I knew she would have Poppies that were different from those I had.  She brought two... here is the one I chose for my card today:

Sadly, there aren't dies for this set, Bonnie!  I had to resort to fussy-cutting!

So, I stamped it onto my card front, then stamped another, and attached it

with a little lift!

MFT Pretty Poppies - no longer available

Thank you, Bonnie, for playing cards with me today!  I depend on you, and all my blogging friends to keep me smiling with your kindness, and wonderful creations!

I'll never forget the encouragement from you when I needed it the most!

I'm on my way to see Bonnie's poppies - I can't wait another second!

You'll all join me, right?

=]  Michele 

* I found this photo on the internet here - sadly there isn't any name to credit who actually took the photo!

Inspired By #174 - Orange you Lemonade?

 

Orange you glad I said yes! and didn't say banana? 

Happy 26th anniversary to my fun-loving husband!

Hi, my friends!  Glad you stopped by today - it's Inspired By time again, and this week, we have some juicy, fruity fun for you!  You'll notice some fun colors for those fruits in our inspiration - anything goes with color this week if you ask me!

I'm going with a more traditional tone for the oranges, and think pink lemons would be pretty cool!  I guess they do grow pink-fleshed lemons, but I sure haven't seen any.  They'd sure be cool for pink lemonade! But I digress... here's my card:

I dug into my stash pretty deep today... this is an older set Summer Citrus from Wplus9 that still seems really fresh to me - 

and happens to be in stock, and on sale, as are the dies!  

HOWEVER - this sentiment is from

Concord & 9th, and was borrowed from my friend Bobby - perhaps 

she'll share the name of it?

Suffice it to say it was a puzzle we had fun figuring out!

So will it be a puzzle for you to find inspiration?  Or will you be

immediately inspired to play along?  The latter, we hope!  My teamies 

have oodles of inspiration over at the IB blog - let's go!

=]  Michele

Altenew May 2021 Inspiration Challenge - take two!

What does a girl do with extra flowers?  She makes another card!

May 2021 Inspiration Challenge, enter take two - with a bit more blue!

This particular blue comes from a paper pack from 

Altenew's Celebrations Paper set, cut with their Rounded Rectangles dies.

I've taken a different tilt for my Climber Flowers die today - 

inspired by those sweet hanging umbrellas in Virginia's photo!

You'll spot that Dotted Swirls debossing here again - 

I should get a commission, right?

Topped it off with just a smattering of PF jewels*, but saving

it for a sentiment later on, as needed.

A very quick card when you start with a finished bloom!

Hope you've had a good week so far - thanks for stopping by today!

=]  Michele

*sorry, still out of stock!

Altenew May 2021 Inspiration Challenge

Virginia is the host of the Altenew May 2021 Inspiration Challenge, and I couldn't wait to make another Climber using her chosen colors!  It's amazing what one can do with bits of card stock!  Since I don't often use blue, I depended on Altenew for their Caribbean Sky ink, a stencil, and a wonderful sentiment with which to use it!

I'm on my way to deliver this to their gallery - I'll list all my supplies below.  Can you guess what I used for my 'trellis?'

=]  Michele

Altenew: 

Climber Flowers dies

Leafy Garland die

Elegant Swirls stencil behind that 'trellis' -

Mega Alpha X!

Rustic Linen stamp for detail on the light coral layers, and I love you sentiment

Color Hues #17 - Red & Orange

 

There was not one bit of doubt in my mind that I'd be playing along with those fab designers at Color Hues this week -  I LOve the combination of red, and orange!

DT Hannelie's card inspired me to get out some of the awesome card stock I have on hand - these from The Stamp Market, worked beautifully with my Climber Flowers set from Altenew - which seems to be climbing beautifully on their Grid Cover Die - thank you, to one of my generous friends for that die!  Ready for my card?  Here she is...

Two very bright and wonderful inks came together for my sentiment -

this one from Pinkfresh's Lush Greenery set... 

Okay.  I'd better get back to my regularly scheduled 'loads' of Monday fun!  Thanks Color Hues for featuring colors I love!

=]  Michele