The Library Challenge #62 The Moon Spinners

I haven't been 'playing cards' much with my favorite challenges lately - Marina's reminder card sparked a remedy to that!   Here is our recommended reading:
 

… and my inspired by the cover card [I do love a stamp-free card!] for The Library Challenge #62 The Moon Spinners:

Inside:

I, too, feel a little lost being separated from my friends, and loved ones.

Thanks for always knowing when to pick up the phone!

 

Thanks for stopping by - your kindness doesn't go unnoticed!

=]  Michele

 

EBE Big City die

EBE Essential circle dies

Distress oxide inks:  Chipped Sapphire, Blueprint sketch, broken china, and stormy sky. -simply swiped, then blended with a TH blending tool

SSS Like You - thanks again, my friend

EBE Summer of Stamping!

At last!!  We have lots of fun coming your way! 

Stay tuned

and be sure to come by Instagram for a week of sneaky peeks, starting today, today, today!

 

A surprise EH Shower Hop for Carly!

 

Hi, my friends!  Today is a really special day!!!  a special Baby Shower Hop day spent with the Ellen Hutson team for our sweet Carly Tee who is having a baby!!!  Oh yes, we all wish we could be at the actual shower, but it isn't possible so we're doing this the virtual way.  She'll know our hearts are there with her!

Ready for my card?  Of course I had too much fun making this one... I brought out a few friends to help!

Can you even imagine my squeals when Carly shared she was thinking gray for the nursery?  There isn't a color on earth that doesn't go with gray, but I had to go with green - yes, Froggie made me do it -  Zebra splattered the perfect green splats, and Elephant cheered them on while tracking his toe prints over the alphas!

I couldn't love you more, Carly - I'll be counting the days!  This is just the JOY I've been needing in my life right now!

=]  Michele  [aka Auntie Michele]

See all the fun from the other EH Design Ambassadors over at the EH Blog here, and a full list below.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

1.      Ellen Hutson

2.      Lisa

3.      Julie

4.      Sandy

5.      Jessica

6.      Michele

7.      Carissa

8.      Carolyn

9.      Emily Mydlowski 

10.  Therese

11.  Emily Midgett

12.  Ashlea

13. Ardyth


Just in case you're wondering about the products I've used:
Reverse Confetti - Crafty Critters stamps and dies
                                  Cheerful Pals stamps and dies
                                  Flowers for Friends stamps and dies
EBE Swirl Background stamp
         Abstract Paint Strokes
Altenew Caps Bold Alphabet dies

CAS[E] this Sketch #378



 

Donna's latest Sketch is another keeper … can you feel the possibilities here?

 

I have had the stack of Waffle Flower Crafts sets that I won in May on my desk - this little Sweet Ice Cream cutie called my name again today!  GinaK Designs Wreath Builder templates made it so easy to stamp my patriotic ice-pops!

 

 

A pretty cute 'spin' on CTS#378, yes?  We can't wait to see YOUR spin on it!

 

=]  Michele



Inspired By #130 ... cool treats

I have a fun card based on this COOL IB130 photo inspiration … ready for lots of stamping, and Copic coloring? 

Just one of a ton of Sweet Ice Creams from this Waffle Flower set

Here is how I was able to stamp these popsicles so [nearly] perfectly, using a simple landscaping die …

Stamped in these fun Catherine Pooler inks - that are just perfect for Copic coloring I left just a bit of extra space to  curve, then [not so perfectly] stamped this sweet
Altenew sentiment!

I finished these frosty pops off with a bit of icy Stickles - pretty cool, huh?  I just know you'll see tons of popsibilities!

I also saw a chance to enter the 'repeat' challenge #16 at Day of the Month Club!

Be sure to check out all the frosty fun over at IB130!  We hope you'll be inspired to play along!

=]  Michele

Thanks for the honor of 3rd place, Day of the Month!

and for picking my own favorite from your gallery!

Congratulations to Claire!

Second Helpings for IB129 - fresh morning

 

I couldn't take my eyes off of this bed … and I haven't made a Second Helping card in a long time ... hope you are Inspired By me to make a second one, too - or maybe a first?

 

Though the colors aren't a perfect match to that

beautiful bedding, I still love them. Today, I'm trying to duplicate the layers and angles of the layers.  

My Pinkfresh Studio Classic Edger dies came in handy to accentuate the layers, and add a little ruffled effect, too.

 

So, what do you think?  Ready to play along?

You'll find lots of inspiration over at

Inspired By #129!

 

I better get back to that laundry now...

=]  Michele

Custom Father's Day cards with EBE!

Hello, my friends!  I'm up on the Ellen Hutson blog today sharing three custom cards for my bestie who was having trouble finding cards in the shops where she lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  I like to think it's a sign that there are more cards than ever being sent these days!

Dolores really loves the beach, and struggles to leave it for any reason - even  for those sweet sons-in-law she loves to pieces.  For Larry, Brett, and Michael: custom Father's Day cards! 

Larry is a retired NY police officer turned stand-up comedian - a perfect second career for this guy, let me tell you!

 An original sentiment using MS Word …

completed perfectly with one from the Leading Dog Lady!

BTW, Dolores does have pink highlights in her hair!

I think Larry will laugh over the image of her telling HIM

to 'sit and stay' like he does his beloved Koaha!

Brett is married to Dolores' youngest daughter [who was MY youngest daughter's bestie when they were little.  Inseparable really … many hearts were broken the day we moved away!]  He's a physical therapist … so a bit on the serious side - but he still knows how to relax with a cold one!  Enter our Leading Gentleman, with a tongue-in-cheeky original sentiment:

Dolores' husband sadly passed away two years ago …

Ed, I really channeled your snark for this inside sentiment:

Remember I mentioned how Dolores doesn't want to leave the beach?  Enter my card for Michael, who never wants to leave Brooklyn!

 Brandi, your Leading Beach Lady says it perfectly

[we make a pretty good team!]:

Of course these will be mailed off to her guys, but if she could, Dolores would seriously make them come to SC to get them! 

Thanks for hanging out with me today as I created custom cards for three great dads.   I wish all the Dads out there a fabulous, fun filled, Father's Day!

=]  Michele

Other supplies:

EBE Leading Dog Lady dies; acetate; Wood grain card stock; Copic Sketch markers [many on sale!]

EBE Leading Gentleman dies; Essential Circles; Pattern Play; High Five dies [for quote bubble die]; Distress Oxide inks for blending, and stamping: Peeled Paint, and Broken China

EBE Leading Beach Lady dies; Canson water color card stock; Altenew water color pan set

CAS[E] this Sketch #377

Are you ready for the next fun CTS Sketch?  N@ has done it again for CTS#377 ...

I had double the fun with it, and made TWO cards!  Why not, right?  First I want to show you how I set up my stamp to work with the die I intended to use - enter the brilliance of the MISTI once again …

• I placed my panel into one of the MISTI creative corners, in my original MISTI
• placed the die where it will be cut from the panel
• then lay on the stamp where you'd like it to be within the die cut - I use the line drawing on packaging for that. 
• Pick up the stamp with the lid of the MISTI!  Now it's set up for inking, and inking again as I've done today, first on water color cardstock, then again on Neenah 110# Solar White

Here is the card that made it over to the CTS#377 blogpost:

… but I have to say, this loose water-coloring style is perfect for coloring on paper that wasn't intended for it!

My MFT Elegant Rectangle die needed a bit of a trim to arrange horizontally … but that was easy to do, with a quick partial cut with the die:

  That was a whole lot of information … I'll send you over to the CTS blog to see all the cards my teammates made - you'll love them as much as I do!

=]  Michele

EBE Mondo Succulent
MFT Elegant Rectangle dies
TH water color card stock
Neenah 110# Solar White
Versafine Tuxedo Black - clear embossed
Pinkfresh Studio gems
Distress Inks for water coloring

Inspired By #129 ... fresh morning

Inspired By #129

 

You might be surprised by the item in this fabulous room that inspired me … my husband couldn't find it, based

on my card!  See if you can... I might be losing it!

 



I know you will do better than I did!  See you in the gallery?

 

=]  Michele

Ellen Hutson Summertime Sale - and savings is easy!

If you have some free time this evening you might want to check out the Sunny Savings over at Ellen Hutson … we're making room for something new, and you may find just what you're looking for in the Sunny Savings Category here!  No code necessary!  Have fun!  I know I did!

=]  Michele

CAS Mix Up June 2020 Vellum

When I saw Susan's choice for the June CAS Mix Up Challenge I knew I'd play along!  Vellum paper has been a favorite of mine for years … but I haven't used it in ages!  Thanks, Susan, for this opportunity to correct that!  

The embossing folder I used today was a gift from a crafty friend - I couldn't believe my luck - or that she'd let it go.  It's one of those wonderful Crafter's Companion 3D folders - so I was skeptical if it would work with the vellum I had on hand.  I put two vellum papers to the test:  PTI Stamper's Select, and PTI Linen Vellum.  Here's how they held up to my Big Shot Pro:

 

PTI SS vellum on left;  PTI linen vellum on right

 

 You can see that the first even tore during embossing

 

It's obvious that the Linen vellum held up better:

 

On to my card...

Isn't this a stunning embossed pattern?  I just love the detail. I used a Paper Smooches frame die [so sorry they are closing their doors!] and a sweet little bloom from The Stamp Market 'dotting the i' with a matte enamel dot.

There's a wedding coming up in August in our Ferguson family.  No telling where the plans will go, so I went the extra mile to make their wedding card special, just in case.  I used a photo of  our nephew and his bride to be from their shower invitation!  My sentiment, from The Stamp Market Hexagon Hello set, embossed onto a piece of the invitation, too ...

I'm pretty sure this might push the boundaries of the CAS rules, but that's okay!  I just really wanted you CAS girls to know that you had inspired a card that might just become a keepsake!

=]  Michele

CAS[E] this Sketch # 376

Hi my friends!  Thanks for popping over!  Brian has a fun Sketch for us this week - I happened to have a another 'left-over' to use - don't you just love when that happens?  This pretty little bloom [The Stamp Market Petal Perfection] was still on my craft desk from my Inspired By card - too pretty to throw in the recycle bin!  What can I say - I LOVE BIG BLOOMS!

I use my rectangular Spellbinder's dies quite often, but the circle version fit the Sketch, and was just what Brian asked for! a quick 'hello' stamped in navy, and another [navy] snippet of card stock is rescued!

Okay, let's go see what my teammates have created, shall we?
Naturally you're invited to join me... and to play along with CTS#376!

=]  Michele

Inspired By #128 ... a day to relax

I feel I've had TOO MANY days to relax lately … how about you?  Certainly none of my days have been as colorful as this photo - there are so many design factors here!  See if you can find the things that factored into my card design:

 

Here's a hint... COLOR! 

Some have noticed my increased use of color in my cards - Let's just say I'm trying! 

The Stamp Market's Petal Perfection helped!  These are the Distress Oxide inks I used to layer them up:

 

You might notice the lines of concrete/gravel under the chaise?  That's where my Altenew Gradient Stripes Cover die came to my rescue.  My sentiment [EBE Succulent Sentiments] has a bit of a zig-zag font - a little like the zig-zagging weave in the rug?  I used the tan of that gravel for inking it. 

So... who saw the fruit in the bowl?  Pillows, and tassels?  That gorgeous bitter-orange throw?  I could make another four cards, but I do hope all of those details will inspire you to play along with IB128!  We sure love it when you do!

=]  Michele

CAS[E] this Sketch #375

Chrissy has given us the perfect Sketch for drawing attention to one of the [hundreds] of blooms/and or dies we ALL have in our crafty stash - oh, I know you have them, too!!  Here's our CTS375:

 

I'm thrilled to FINALLY look out my window and see green!  Green grass, green leaves, and in the beautiful shades of Spring … here's my interpretation of CTS#375, and my view:

 

 

We can't wait to see which dies, and/or blooms you see in Chrissy's Sketch!  I can't wait to see Chrissy's card!! 

 

=]  Michele

 

Supplies:

EBE Mondo Oak stamps, and dies

Altenew Dotted Swirls cover plate

Catherine Pooler inks:  Lime Ricky, and Eucalyptus

MFT Grout Gray card stock



Inspired By #127 ... colorful kicks

IB127

 

Even though my favorite kicks are just like these [in grey - surprised?] I don't have any of those wonderful sneaker dies, or sets - do you?  But what I did have is an older PTI set that my sweet CTS teamie, Michelle-two Ls, gifted to me last fall when we visited them!  Thanks, my friend Heart & Sole saved my crafty day!

 

My husband isn't thanked enough for all he has done for my kids... I always try to make him a father's day card, because I appreciate him more than he'll ever know.

 

A slimline sized card= 4x9"

Inside:

"For Step-Dad-ing up whenever, however, you're needed!"

 

There's another great sketch over at the Inspired By #127 post - and plenty of inspiration, too!

 

=]  Michele