The Paper Players #763 Color Challenge

The Paper Players color challenge #763 is a beauty from Jan!  

Perfect for Autumn or for giving someone the bird!  Oh, not that bird - this one, from Birch Press, that was sent to me for my birthday!  Thank you, sweet friend!

This lovely SB Sun Ray embossing folder was included, too, and I found a way to show my Crane making a splash by embossing my panel of Old Olive, then trimming the panel to position the circle in the lower area.

Okay, I know the trimming doesn't exactly match up at the top, but I still like it!

It took some finagling to get all the bits and pieces cut from Jan's colors

but in the end, I love the result and hope Jan does, too! I cleared the use of

kraft before cutting these SB cattails and pond-side flora.  Another of those favored Betterpress sentiments and all that was left was to photograph it!  Kinda dreary today - sorry about that.

We've had an inch or two of that four-letter-word - not unusual to see the first dusting around my birthday.  Let's face it - I don't have to go out in it, and

Tom drives my AWD when it's slippery, so it isn't a big deal.  As long as it

melts before Thanksgiving when I expect company.

My bird and I would like to celebrate another special day:

Congratulations to my friends at JUGS on their 800th Challenge!!

I've been busy completing the sentiments and signing all those cards

for my Senior recipients - see you again soon!

=] Michele

Color Throwdown #844

Amy at Color Throwdown features a photo that had me laughing out loud, alright...

While I was on the road, my longtime friend Neda celebrated her birthday.  Normally, I make it a Halloween themed card - it does fall on the 31st after all.

But this turkey had me reaching for a bird of a different color!

I pulled out a few retired Ellen Hutson sets for the sentiments -

Julie Ebersole always knew how to make me smile!

I dare you to look at this old bird and NOT see a string of pearls! lol

Only the HoneyBee Lovely Layers: Quail and 

Spellbinders Four Petal dies are still available!

Thanks, for the turkey, and fun colors, Amy!

=] Michele

Color Hues #121

I love the cozy colors of Fall - and the Color Hues challenge has two 'must have' colors for the season... I stretched them into Christmas, Sheri!

 

I may be all set for Christmas 2025, but there's always next year, right?  It's never too early to get them started.

Even in the closeup it's hard to tell, but I promise you that my stocking

is indeed brown - in fact it's cut from Altenew's brown woodgrain paper!

The cuff and leaves were cut from watercolor paper and painted with

Distress reinkers.  My sentiment is from PTI's 'Tis the Season and stamped 

in CP's Icing on the Cake.

I adore this Penny Black Stocking Stuffer die set!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #711 - Kim

I'm baaack!  Tom and I had a wonderful 8-day road trip complete with lots of Autumn color, a dream come true in nature, and one more that we never expected!  

But first, I hadn't had the first load of laundry in the dryer before I got started on making my FMS card using Kim's fantastic sketch this week... 

When reaching for patterned paper, I'm sure you'll agree that lots of time

is consumed choosing patterns that work together - am I right?  Well one of the wonderful friends I visited along the route made quick work of that for me today - I 'upcycled' a bit of the gift bag Birgit blessed me with on Friday morning - our last stop in Maine! Thanks for the gift AND the idea, my friend!

This sweet little piece with fun flora and fauna was the bag topper and the

pretty plaid was just one of a full pad of papers for Memory Box.  

I only wish I'd have thought to make a few acorns like those green ones in the paper...

These acorns are from Altenew and look pretty cute tied up with

a SU linen bow IMHO!

My sentiment is from PTI's Thankful for Fall set.

This one's already in the mail, and I can't wait to see what those talented

DT friends of mine will share over at the Freshly Made Sketches blog!

We hope you all will have fun with this one, too!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #799

It's time to CASE a designer over at Just us Girls!  I seldom play in this one because I really love all of the designers on their team - hard to pick just one!  But when I saw Lisa's darling card, I remembered that I had a certain bear that hadn't played cards yet this Christmas season!

Here's Lisa's creation:

and here is my CASE:

• I kept the scallops but used my favorite grey instead of blue.
• I left off the debossing - however, it does have Lisa's favorite polka dots!  
• I gave the big guy a sweater and a cap instead of a scarf - recreating the pattern of Lisa's scarf on the sweater and nudged him into the center of that space.
• I only added three snowflakes but gave them a dusting of Stickles - much prettier IRL I promise
• Added a sentiment from this Sweet Pea set and stamped it on a die-cut quote bubble.  The Christmas message will be on the inside of this card.

Can you see it?  I sure hope so!!  I'd better get this one delivered before it's too late!  Thanks, Lisa - my 2025 Christmas card season is now complete!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #108 - Thanks!

In the USA we celebrate Thanksgiving in November so it is wonderful to have Thanks as our prompt for The Flower Challenge #108!

I'll share my closeup first so you can see the Altenew Ways to say Thank You embossing in the background - it also provided my sentiment!

I adore this sweet HoneyBee Coneflower - one of many in their Lovely Layers

collection of stand-alone die sets to love!

It certainly is lovely enough to deserve a frame - this one from 

Waffle Flower's Nesting Rectangle Frames.

In case you're wondering, my pieces were cut from colored cardstocks

and their color was pumped-up a bit with ink and a sponge dauber.

I am happy to join you in seeing all the wonderful cards of Thanks

from my teammates HERE.

Thanks for stopping by - and in advance for playing along!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #762

Hello, my friends!  Gosh it seems like an age since I've written a post OR made a card!  But we are home and that mountain of laundry is nearly done!  

LeAnne's theme at The Paper Players #762 is a good one to get me back into my studio this morning...

I wonder if she knew I'd jump at the chance to make that 

bottom right corner come to life?  

You'll have to take my word that this card will indeed contain a message

of thanks into the inside! lol

• My 'plate' was created by cutting a circle and then debossing a rim using a smaller circle die and my rubber mat.  Then set the table on woodgrain DSP.
• The 'napkin' is a simple piece of grey that I gave the look of linen using my trusty SU Subtle Texture folder.  
• The sticks, branches, and leaves are from HoneyBee's Winter Greenery with a few 'berries' from my enamel dot stash.
• To finish it off I tied a little SU linen thread [thanks, LeAnne] and added a sentiment from PTI's Thankful for Fall set.

Thanks, LeAnne, for getting me 'back on the horse' so quickly and painlessly!

=] Michele

Thank you, Paper Players!

Freshly Made Sketches #710

Happy Halloween!  I'm on the road but there was NO WAY I could miss out on playing cards with one of my favorite humans and her very fun Freshly Made Sketches #710!  

Yes, this is exactly what Linda sent me last week LOL!

 Inside secret: this is exactly how most of us

create our Sketches with a simple drawing that Jen T. magically

turns into those FMS Sketches that you see each week - btw you'll find

that sketch on our team blog!

Within seconds, I knew just who wanted to come out to play -

a few more of those MFT characters:

Those marshmallows need just a few more seconds, IMHO!

Sadly, MFT is no longer available - nor is the windy debossing or snow hills.

But I just KNOW you have equally wonderful supplies!

By the time you see this, I'll be on my way to Linda's house FOR REALS!

On a sad note, this is Linda's final sketch with our team - we love you, my friend, and I promise to keep coming by your blog as long as you post cards and photos of your darling grandkids - pinky swear!

Be sure you stop by FMS for lots of treats - no tricks!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #709

Hello, friends!  Another Jen, another fun sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches #709!

I spy with my little eye a square card!  I'll admit I don't make them often, as there

is something about that smaller creative space that feels limiting!  But I found a way around that and am happy as a clam penguin about the results...

A fun 'waves' embossing folder sent from a friend was turned into

drifting snow - isn't it great?

Yes.  I did use a bit of felt and was really surprised how easily those Playful Penguins dies from Spellbinders cut through it!  I turned Jen's banner into a snuggly

scarf with a few snips of my scissors and added a 'tag' with my sentiment - an oldie

from Ellen Hutson.  

Wasn't he so nice to lend a 'helping flipper' while I tied my bow? lol

Oh, the possibilities are endless if you just open up your imagination!

Speaking of - check out what the rest of the FMS team made HERE.

=] Michele

The Paper Players #760

Jaydee is looking for CAS designs this week at The Paper Players - when one is busy planning/packing for an 8-day road trip, CAS is the only way to go!

These MFT Harvest Mouse images are my go-to for CAS cards in the Fall...

Inside: to warm your heart as temperatures Fall!

PTI Keep it simple Happy Mail outside sentiment.

Thanks, Jaydee!

=] Michele

Sunday, Funday!

My Sunday fun included two cards for challenges - first up: Color Hues #120:

Here's a little gal that hasn't gotten the love she deserves in a long while...

MFT: Thankful Friend - simple watercoloring and an even simpler 

sentiment from Papertrey Ink's: Larger than Life: Fall sentiments

Next up: Just us Girls #797 Moodboard from Carol:

Here's an enlargement:

Maybe you'll spot the elements I've included on my card - yes,

another much loved set from MFT: Fall Friends

Last but not least: another bird - this one was the first I created and posted

to Instagram.  Then I remembered not all of you would see it there - duh!

A lovely Spellbinders embossed panel made at Marcia's.

A white-on-white birdhouse from Concord & 9th,

and of course, this little lovely bird from Memory Box: Happy Dance Bird!

Sounds like you all like her very much!  Makes me do a happy dance!

=] Michele

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas!

My mojo got a kick in the pants this morning when my friend Bonnie posted her darling card for the pink challenge at Jingle Belles!

By now you all know I do love pink at Christmastime!

Here's that joyful little Happy Dance Bird from MB again... in pink!

These papers from Scrapbook.com's Merry patterned collection had just

what I was looking for to create a fun scene for her... doesn't it look like she's

'skating' in for a landing?  My old favorite W&W die stitched them together.

Here are the inks I used to color her feathers! and another 'stamped at Marcia's' sentiment!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

=] Michele

Stenciling fun with my friend, Therese!

I love 'hanging out' with Therese and her fun friends during her YouTube LIVEs - let me tell you - Therese has been going gangbusters using one of my favorite supplies: stencils!  Head on over to her YouTube page to check out the latest.  But you'll find at least three posts on her blog where she dives into the many different ways she found to use stencils.  I took the bait and found ONE MORE... stenciling OVER patterned paper!  Yep, it works!  Take a look:

I found the perfect pattern in one of those Scrapbook.com Merry collections of Christmas papers I added to my stash this year.  I thought the stripe would be great as a backdrop to my stenciling - I've use Papertrey Ink's Berry Branches, and a few inks that were a perfect match to the colors in those stripes.  Then just ink away!

#1 Add the stems ...

then the leaves and berry layers.  Then for fun I borrowed

Therese's 'drop shadow'...

... then used the berry stencil to add dimension with the berry stencil

and my rubber mat...

I trimmed the finished panel just a wee bit, then popped it onto a side-fold A2 card base.

Adding a smattering of 'snow' using gouache.  Ready for the reveal?

Topped with a fussy-cut simple sentiment from my snippets, I couldn't 

be more pleased with the final card!

So, what do you say?  Will you try stenciling over patterned paper?  Or

will you be tempted by one of Therese's fun techniques?

If you do, we'd love to know about it!

I'm sending my 'snowy' creation - second helpings - over to

Christmas Kickstart #103!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #107 - Reminder

Hello, friends!  I do hope you don't mind... you see I loved that gift so much, I decided to use it for my reminder card, too!  SO pretty in purple which is the name of the game this month for The Flower Challenge!

Instead of watercoloring, I stamped them in black ink, and added color

using the coordinating stencils from Altenew's Flutter & Bloom!

My friend Marcia keeps me well-stocked in embossed panels!

I just grab a handful of panels from home and rifle through her EF stash until I find

a few that I don't own.  A bit of mindless embossing makes it easy to keep chatting! 

I think this grey is stunning with my purple blooms

 - and a sentiment pulled from my snippets was also stamped in grey so

it made finishing my card really quick!

Speaking of quick - get those floral stamps out quickly!  You have plenty of

time to make some purple-floral cards and get them planted in our gallery!

You HAVE to see the ways my teamies have used purple!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #708

Jen T. enabled a little bit of shopping recently and I couldn't wait to use this Fall Leaves embossing folder from HoneyBee!  Luckily, Jen is our Sketch artist at Freshly Made Sketches #708 - here's her Sketch:

 

and here is my card...

Another little birdy jumped into my cart too! I fell in love

with this Happy Dance Bird from Memory Box after seeing @paws_ink_love

cards on Instagram.

The leaves are some leftovers from my playdate with Marcia, and the

sentiment is from C&9th's Birdhouse & Blossoms stamp set and dies.

You'll find yourself doing a happy dance after seeing all the inspiration

from the FMS team right HERE... you have until 3PM Monday, October 20th to play along!  See you there!

=] Michele