Just us Girls - #694 CAS Baby!

 While awaiting the birth of a good friend's grandbaby, I made two baby cards: one for a boy and another for a girl!  The boy card has been sent with all the best wishes, and this little baby girl card is just what I needed for Just us Girls #694 - Baby!  Well, until I need it, that is!

Okay, honestly, I'm not sure this fits the CAS requirements, but it's too cute to sit in a box!  It's absolutely okay with me if they disqualify my card - I'm just here for the fun!

Thanks for 'hopping' by!

=] Michele

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Bunny Stitch Thinlits die set

The Stamp Market - Happy Hearts cover die

PF Perfect Sentiments stamps and die

Do I?!

why, yes. Yes, I do adore you!  I'm speaking to my Betterpress, just in case you're wondering!  lol  

I was smart enough to get on the notification list at Altenew - their premier Press Plates were sold out before I could blink, and by now the 'refills' have been sold out as well!  Mine arrived and I got them inky before you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

First pressed using Betterpress Mulberry ink:

Then again, but this time with black ink on Orchid card from The Stamp Market:

[thanks, Therese, for the beautiful inspiration during your LIVE!]

There are two plates in this Altenew Dainty Flower Garden set - here's the second one that was begging for inky water-coloring! 

Now do you see why I adore this set?  Hope so!  Of course, I adore all of YOU, too!

=] Michele

Not just another Monday!

You may know by now that Monday is laundry day 'round here ... not my least favorite chore but it does cut into my crafty time.  Yesterday, I decided to catch up with a few of my favorite designers between loads - and I'm SO glad I did!

Channin Pelletier just loves color - and you all know just how intimidated I am by color!  She has such a way with inks, ink blending, and always adds a little something extra to her cards.  Using the Honey Bee Stamps Daisy Layers set of stencils, she brought a 'no-line' stenciled piece to life just beautifully ... please watch her video HERE as I did.  I have unapologetically CASE'd her card ... and also borrowed her color combination for water coloring my first Spellbinders Betterpress Club plate!  Hope you like them!

Of course, my Waffle Flower Grip Mat made it so easy to hold those stencils in place!

This set of stencils has 5 layers!  Here are the inks I used for Channin's color combo today:

After all the stencil work was done, it was time to come in with

a few Copics to add the details to the petals as Channin did.  I used a Prisma colored pencil for the fine veining of the stems and leaves.  Those little details really 

make these daisies come alive, don't they?

There are a multitude of wonderful sentiments in this set - and most of them have 

a coordinating die.  I used these CP inks to stamp a few to have on hand:

A little Copic shadow around the images gives them a bit more lift. 

Lastly, a few PF jewels and my CASE was complete!

Now, did I mention these colors for water coloring?  Here is that Rose Bouquet!

Thank you, Channin!  For always inspiring me with your bold color choices and gorgeous designs!

Thank YOU, my friends, for the visit!

=] Michele

Another celebration for Freshly Made Sketches #600

 Hopefully you've had the opportunity to make a card for Freshly Make Sketches #600 - such a fun Sketch!

I have second helpings in celebration of their accomplishment!  This time I flipped that Sketch as I often do...

I used a circle die to create a window and my 'glass' is vellum - sure wish I could have gotten a photo to show it off - you will have to imagine it!

That sprig of leaves is from The Stamp Market, and I've treated it [and the window frame] to a bit of glam by swiping them with Versamark ink and dipping them in Ranger Princess gold.  To keep my design cohesive, I heat embossed my sentiment [from Alex Syberia Designs' Spring Garden] in the same gold.

Okay.  Your turn!  You only have until 8/28 at 3pm EST to play!!

=] Michele

A PRESSING engagement!

It's Saturday!  While my hubby is mowing the lawn, I had time to take photos this morning of the Betterpress session I had on Friday!  This first one is a perfect fit for my friends at Triple B!  In fact, I might have been looking at their website while pencil-coloring this panel...

A sampling of the Triple B website background!

The 'tooth' of the Betterpress paper is perfect for pencil-coloring!

I really spoiled myself this month with a few new sets from Spellbinders Betterpress collection.  This beautiful sentiment is from their Sentiments of Wonder set.  I love the cursive font and the size is wonderful for the larger images that take up a bit more space on the card front.  Like this Butterfly Bouquet plate.  

I used a bit of distress ink and lots of water to add interest to the background then cut the panel with that old faithful Wonky Stitched Rectangle die from MFT... do they even make it anymore?

I couldn't resist the gorgeous offerings Spellbinders have for Christmas - Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge offered a beautiful color palette!

The detailed 'wreath' was first pressed in black, then I pressed

the separate sentiment using Brilliance Gold pigment ink.

Betterpress Holiday Foliage Joy - 

does not press the outline around the sentiment!  I added

that using a Copic Multiliner pen.

Okay.  There were many more pressings, but I'll save them for another day, and challenge!  

Happy Saturday, friends!  Thanks for spending a bit of your weekend with me!

=] Michele

Bird is the word!

Hello, friends!  Hope you've made it to Thursday without a hitch!  

I spent an entire afternoon with that SSS Kit [sorry no longer available] and still haven't used all the gorgeous bits and bobs from the bag of ephemera!  Grab a beverage as ba ba ba bird is the word for sure today [Lisa]!

Bonus!!  There were butterflies, too!!  This beauty deserves a closer look:

The black sentiment strips are those cut-apart ones.  The white lettering was bothering me

so I used a Copic to knock that white back a bit - looks good, right? BG10 for the win!

There is a lot of goodies in the Kit and it come with a beautiful stamp set but honestly, I only used it for this last card and the two little circle sentiments - don't get me wrong, I will use it.  But when all is said and done it was so fun spreading all that ephemera out and finding the best fits.  ALMOST like the 12 Kits of Occasions days!

The BEST news?  I found that ephemera pack at Scrapbook.com HERE and just saved you about $40!

Thanks for stopping by today!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketch Challenge #600 Celebration!

Yes, you did read that correctly: Freshly Made Sketches 600th Challenge!  I am so happy to be celebrating along with a wonderful group of former FMS Queens!  We are inviting YOU to participate in the celebration!  

Fresh Made Sketches is one of the challenges I cut my card-making teeth on years ago and I'm happy to continue to play along when I can!  There's just something about a Sketch that gets my juices going.

Ready for my card?  How about that 600th Sketch?  Here you go...

Fun, right?  Well fun is what I'm here for!  Fun is what I give you:

ASD: Pengu-tastic Holiday, and Mermaid's Melody cover die.

I love how this one came out!  But I just know the other guest designers, and the FMS team will give you even more inspiration so head over now to check out the party post!!  

We sure hope you'll join us to celebrate this monumental milestone!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #599

Hello, my friends!  I have a very quick post for you because I don't want to miss the window over at Freshly Made Sketches #599!!  I spent half of Sunday at one of my favorite gardens with one of my favorite members of the FMS design team - you'll have to visit me over at Instagram to see who!

It was fun to represent our day together using this wonderful Etched Greetings kit from SSS.

I stopped buying the kits years ago, but there were SOOO many birds included in the ephemera pack in this kit that I couldn't resist it!

There were a few Cedar Waxwings that couldn't resist a cool bath in our birdbath 

on an 89-degree day:

Thanks for stopping by!

=] Michele

Triple B - August 2023

Hope you don't mind, but I'm giving you all the bird today - not THAT bird, silly! This one:

Isn't he a tweetie?  He's flying over to our friends at the Triple B Challenge today! 

 

The little bird is part of a fun die set from Alex Syberia Designs and was part of that terrific prize I won recently.  It was high time for this Garden Tweets to land on a card! 

Happy weekend eve, my friends!  Hope it is a crafty one!

=] Michele

Double D Sunflower and JUGS #692 Bee

Hello, friends!  I have TWO cards for you today - first up: Double D has asked us for Sunflowers, and I'm pleased to deliver!  DT Barbara's idea of 'shopping our stash' reminded me of a golden oldie Botanical Blooms c. 2015 from Papertrey Ink!

I love clear heat embossing the image as it makes for really easy water coloring with Zigs!

This sentiment seemed appropriate and was found in an Altenew set: 

Paint-a-flower Hydrangea.

My JUGS #692 Bee card was made during a terrific thunderstorm this morning!  Thus, my sad photos!  But no amount of rain can wash away the joy on this little 'bumblebee's' face...

Another oldie from Penny Black c. 2018 she's actually called 'fairy love' but 

with her striped leotard and tights, I'm seeing a BEE for sure!

All those darling Happy Bee Day supplies from Waffle Flower added to the fun.

I'd better get these cards into the appropriate challenges right away before I forget!  Thanks for stopping by and leaving a little sweetness if you do!

=] Michele

Playing Cards with Friends - August 2023

I have such a sweet card maker to share with you all today - Cindy Chiu, who blogs and shares her beautiful cards at Escape to Stamping is a new friend but one I look forward to getting to know better and better!  It's quite obvious by the wonderful photos she shares in her posts that we have a few things 'outside' of our craft rooms in common - take a peek at this post and you'll see what I mean. 

Once again, I turned to National Today for a fun assignment.  August happens to be National Happiness Happens Month - who knew??  It was easy to set the parameters for the two of us:

Make a card that makes YOU happy!

Use a favorite product, stamp, die, or technique you love!

Deliver that card to someone who brings happiness into your life -

hand delivered or mailed!

Okay, since there are SO many things about card making that make/keep me happy it was very hard to narrow it down to one.  But I think you all know by now that those Altenew Craft-a-Flower layering die sets really get a lot of attention around here... a new one arrived just in time!  Meet Saffron - or more appropriately the Saffron Crocus Sativus:

Of course, they should be a little more purple, but our play time is

about what makes us happy - pink and orange always 'does it' for me!

What else?  That wonderful debossing plate from Wplus9!

I love the attention to detail Altenew gives these die sets - I feel

like I could pluck those stigmas and make bouillabaisse - a la Ina Garten of course!

Okay, Cindy!  I'm on my way and can't wait to see what makes YOU happy today!  I'm also very happy that you accepted my invitation to Play Cards - thank you, so very much!

Thank YOU, friends, for stopping by - you can't imagine the joy that your visits bring to me!  I know Cindy would love it if you stopped by at her blog, too!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #83 Reminder

 

Have we had you seeing spots?  or are stripes your thing?  Either way, we are so happy to have you adding your creations to our gallery at The Flower Challenge - of course they must have the requisite flowers, you know!  I had borrowed a really lovely Botani-cut Geranium set from The Greetery from my friend Marcia recently... it turns out it is right at home on my stripes!  

PTI stripes, that is, cut with one of their layering frames.  Adding these inks with a small blending brush allows for lots of depth and dimension.  I made a little 'pot sign' using an old Altenew mini set called Best Sentiments.  Here are those referenced inks:

Alright!  I'm off to see all of the reminders from my teammates, and to check to see if YOU are in the gallery!  Oh, you better believe I am watching!

=] Michele

Color Hues #69 & Four Seasons Summer Challenge August

Last week as I prepared to welcome Nancy and her husband to my home, Marcia and I had a few hours to get into a little crafty mischief - thanks for coming early, Marcia!  While Marcia borrowed a few of my newest Betterpress plates, I ohhh'd and ahhh'd over her sweet Spellbinders of the Month Day at the Beach die set that she used for her darling DT card.

Now, how could I not use it to make second helpings for Color Hues #69?  Here she is in all of her sun-tanned glory... upon a wonderful driftwood plank we dragged home from the beach years ago...

Instead of using one of the dies in the set that cuts the hat in Hello or Smile, 

I thought the card was a perfect place for one of the fun ASD Sunkissed Memories sentiments instead!  I left off the stripes on the towel making it a bamboo mat to match her bamboo hat, and sandals!  a few enamel embellishments and my card is complete!

Of course, I had to make another ... this time for a friend who will be having surgery soon and will take advantage of the beach before then!  So smart!

Perfect for the Four Seasons August Summer challenge!

Someone will ask about that cover die: Altenew's Gradient Stripes!  And some pretty dandy paper-piecing if I do say so myself!  lol  Notice the sandy strips have a subtle texture?

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope everyone has some fun planned for the weekend ... if you are so inclined [or reclined] LOOK UP at the stars Saturday night!  It's time for the Perseid meteor shower!  We'll be watching!

=] Michele

Thanks, Sheri!