Freshly Made Sketches #684

As I was writing this post there wasn't a thing blooming in my yard... sigh.  But I'm so happy to see my neighbors Forsythias are!  But we card makers can always find flowers blooming in our happy places, right?  Jen Mitchell's Sketch #684 gives us the perfect spot to plant a few posies - or anything else your crafty heart desires!

 

I had a few new dies to take for a spin...

Concord & 9th: Paper Posy Dies with a side of PFS Lacey Edger

SU! Subtle Texture [retired]

I can hardly wait to see what you all plant in Jen's circle!  See you soon!

=] Michele

The Paper Players #735

Claire has a sketch for us at The Paper Players #735 and I couldn't resist it!  Digging into my stash I found this sweet little Altenew Coneflower that wanted to play cards, too!

Here's Claire's Sketch: 

I had that set out for another challenge but I'm trying to watercolor more using all of the wonderful line art images I have in my stash.  Jill Foster's influence, no doubt!  After stamping and water coloring, I used the coordinating die to cut the smaller bloom, and an MFT Elegant Rectangle die for the larger which will stand in for the circle on Claire's sketch... it's easier to show than to tell!

Though I really love the uncut/cut version stacked, that rectangle forced me

to make it a landscape version of Claire's sketch - I hope she doesn't mind!  

My vertical strip was a smooshed snippet, and of course I had another Betterpress sentiment to add.  Its cotton paper matches so well with the Canson watercolor paper I used for painting and the card base, too.  You'll be seeing the layering stamped version of these Coneflowers soon!

Hope you've had a wonderful start to your week - thanks for stopping by today!

=] Michele

An homage to Bob

If any of you have an Instagram account, you may have crossed paths with a few wonderful birders at some point.  I follow many who are absolutely phenomenal photographers and videographers.  @putman_and_robin is one of those!  His adorable videos of the most wonderful European Robin friends Bob, Bobette, and Pip are worth a watch or twenty!  

Here is my homage to 'Bob!'  Maybe his older, slightly 'more fancy' sister?

I'm a bit sad today as one of our darling Tree Swallows had a

window strike - she rallied but we couldn't get her to fly.

We handed her off to a licensed rehabilitator with prayers.

Her mate is still looking for her.  SO sad.

I needed the joy that Bob brings me!  Hope you stop by for a look-see!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #772 Stencil week

 

I somehow made more than one [surprise!] card for JUG's stencil week last month - it is currently on its way to a friend, but thankfully I had a photo!  So I'm happy to have one for Ina at the current Just us Girls #772.

This one carries on where I left off HERE where I used a debossed panel and stenciled over the top of it... guess who found a matching stencil for her Altenew Elegant Swirls in her stash!

Backing my panel with black accentuates the pierced detail of this die and connects

the sentiment that was inked with black.

A simple blend using these pretty pastels:

Topped off with a simple SSS die cut Cosmos Stem and

a favorite Boho Botanical stem of leaves! 

It's hard to believe how quickly this week has flown!  Happy weekend eve, my friends!

=] Michele

A sign of Spring?

There aren't many signs of Spring 'round here - though I am grateful for the little warm-up we've had I can only hope it stays around!

Our Bluebirds and Tree Swallows have chosen which box they'll use to nest - funny thing: they've decided to use the box built for the other breed!  Oh well, let the nest building begin!  

Speaking of... that darling Concord & 9th Birdhouse Blossom set landed in my studio this week!  The 'bundle' came with an EF to add a bit of realism to the birdhouse bits!

A few colorful snippets and their new Starfruit cardstock came together very nicely!

It was my idea to put the house on a post as we do in our backyard!  I had to find a way to

add very tall stems to those little daisies - slivers of greed card stock to the rescue!

My card is an 'odd ball' size but will mail nicely in an adapted size 10 policy envelope.  Now I'd better get that envelope addressed as it's already late to the party!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #683 from Jen T.

Talk about clever!  Jen must get good vibes while she's at 30,000 feet!  Here's your Sketch for this week:

Another card using some 'oldie' papers from Anna Griffin - they really

were perfect for another playtime and the AG florals in this pack came in both a light and dark background - perfect for the light and dark side of Jen's Sketch -

she won't mind one bit that I flipped them!

My MFT stitching dies came out again - one day soon I'll get my sewing machine

out.  I knew I was making a big mistake when she was relegated to the closet! 

I can't wait to see how you will interpret Jen's Sketch - you have until 3 pm EDT on Monday April 28th - that's enough time for a few - wink.

=] Michele

The Paper Players #734

There was another challenge that I intended to send yesterday's bunny to - oopsie daisies!  What's a girl to do?  Make another!  This time a much more CAS design for Elizabeth at The Paper Players #734!

sans the teacup!

This guy and his crabby friend just make me smile even after all these years ... which do you think: tipping or holding on? ha!  You'll be seeing more of them soon, promise!

=] Michele

Thanks so much, Paper Players!

Just us Girls #771

Hello, friends!  I hope you all enjoyed Easter or Passover and got to celebrate it with the ones you love!  

I have one more bunny who asked to play at Just us Girls #771 and their fun moodboard:

Click on that photo and you'll find my inspirational rainbows in many

forms: balloons, graphics, and eggs!  Since our Easter Sunday was enjoyed

with a gentle rain all day, my bunny  and his buddy had another idea:

MFT: Weather with You stamps and dies; Starburst Sentiment Strips;

and a very old, much-loved Cuttlebug EF.

That's about it for me this morning - my laundry awaits!  Hope your weeks start out with more fun than mine!

=] Michele 

The Paper Players #733 a color challenge!

The Paper Players #733 and Stef's gorgeous colors came in handy when a new set arrived from the latest release from Alex Syberia Designs.  I was the luckiest to have won a gift certificate and I put it to use [and then some] very quickly!

Here are Stef's colors:

The premier outing for ASD's Charming Floral background press plate was pressed into cotton card with NO INK for the first pressing!  I then used inks in Stef's colors to color the florals using the coordinating stencils:

Thanks so much, Stef!

I'm always happy to share my inks and I'll tell you that I used a water brush and TSM's Sea Glass ink to watercolor the background.  Concord & 9th's Just Sayings dies were used for this sweet sentiment for my granddaughter's birthday in May - a smattering of sequins seemed appropriate for the occasion.

I LOved how this turned out so much that I had to make another... you know my rule by now:  why make just one?  I can't wait to press it again as intended with the background inking, too!

Flower: SB Woodland Tales floral die but the floral center is from a different SB die set

to mimic those on the press plate.

Sentiment: PFS Magnolias stamp set

There is just something about these muted colors that make my grey-loving heart happy!

Thanks for all the congratulations on my new design team position!  I'm still in the someone pinch me frame of mind!

=] Michele

Freshly Made Sketches #682

I'm very pleased and honored to announce that I have been invited to join that fabulous team at Freshly Made Sketches!!  I had thought my design team days were coming to an end, but how could I say no to these gals?  It truly has been one of my very favorite challenges for years!

Judy has a really fun Sketch #682 for me to 'cut my DT teeth' on - you'll love it, too:

First, to decide how and what to use for the card panel.  I was so tempted to

use more than one color paper but decided to keep it 'clean' by stenciling a 

tone-on-tone panel, then cutting it in three pieces.  It worked out well with that 'fishnet' look.  When you see my card, you'll understand why...

Have you 'caught' the debossed detail I've added to the cut edges?

This fun set from HoneyBee has seen a lot of action - I'm hoping to see 

a little fishing action in my near future!  Come on warm weather!

Of course, you know I'd be thrilled if you played along, too!  I know a few of my friends already play at Freshly Made Sketches but we'd be so happy to see a few new faces and cards in our gallery!  There is TONS of inspiration at the FMS blog as well as all the details you'll need to enter before 3pm EDT on April 21st.  

Thanks in advance! x

=] Michele

Supplies:

HoneyBee Stamps: Rod & Reel stamps and dies; Hooked on You [sentiment] stamps and dies; Fishnet stencil

Oval of cardboard found in my snippets

The Stamp Market: Sea Glass card stock

Pigment Craft Co. Jade ink for stenciling

Ellen Hutson: Stitching Lines die for stitched detail 

The Flower Challenge #101 Reminder

As I was shopping my stash, I came across this lovely die set - I'm not sure that it was used before storing?  Shame on me!  But they are perfect for our Spring colors this month!  Spellbinders: Sakura Blossoms - the real thing must be blooming in Japan!

I created my own paper with these inks:

I can only imagine how gorgeous they are in real life!

My stash of Betterpress-ed sentiments keeps giving!

You won't believe the beauty of Spring colors from my teammates... let's go...

=] Michele

A little bit of stenciling fun!

Ahhh the dreaded Monday - my sidekick had gone back to work after a fun week off and I got back to business as usual... with a side of laundry!

A little bit of stenciling was just what I needed, and I had a beautiful set from a friend to make my 'work' fun!  Thanks, lovely friend!

First, this wonderful PFS stencil set was treated to some bright colorful inks:

You might not think these would work, but I think the results are wonderful:

This darling little SSS Layered Berry Bird seemed quite happy about it, too.

One more for Easter... you know this happy (Waffle Flower Crafts) bunny has to make an appearance each year!

Here are the inks for this version:

Since I've used pastels, stencils, and florals I'm sending this one

over to my friends at TIME OUT!!

Thanks so very much Time Out!

Now, I'd better get those Easter cards in the mail!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #770 Word Week

It's WORD WEEK at Just us Girls #770 and they have chosen YOU as their word.  It's a good one - I always love creating cards for you, and you and I'd never leave YOU out! lol

I thought about those fun dies from SSS that become the focal point - and I had just the sweet little stenciled background at hand!  I love it when Marcia and I stencil together - this one is hers from PTI called Wild Blooms.  It just makes me smile... hope it makes you smile, too...

Thank you, Carol!

A quick little card just for YOU!

=] Michele

Save it for a rainy day?

I have been waiting for a challenge that would allow me to sing this little ditty... thanks Amy!  Freshly Made Sketches #681 is just what I needed:  

Sing along if you know it...

A wonderful friend from Denmark that I met in Canada brought me this darling pocket die... I'm not sure I ever found a source for it here in the US.  I used my fave SU! EF to add 'denim' texture to my cardstock before cutting.  The pocket has a wonderful double-top-stitch detail that I added to the seam using my old faithful EH Stitching Lines.  And finally, the star of the card: that gold star!  It was cut using one die from a nesting set from Ellentina Classic Collection and Scrapbookusaca.com.

This week is flying by and with the weather we've managed to get one good walk in and a few 'I didn't have to cook' meals - that's a vacation, right?

=] Michele

Penny Black Tuesday!

My husband is on Spring Break - the weather is barely Spring-like, so we'll be sticking around home this year and I'll sneak into my studio when I can! 

I had a little inky fun with a few more of those Penny Black cling stamps Marcia kindly gave me.  If I don't play with them more, I can't imagine how I'll get better at using them!  Jill's new PB&J videos have helped spur me on!

This one is called 'Peony' and is a cling/brushstroke stamp where water-based ink markers 

and mini-ink cubes are used to apply color directly to the red rubber - spritzed with a fine mist

and stamped using a stamp positioner in case a second round will be needed.

I did add more, then a final stamping without water to get the awesome texture/print of the stamp to transfer to my paper.   I trimmed my piece down with my MFT Wonky Stitched rectangle die and mounted it onto a card base made with Curry paper from The Stamp Market.

Then came PB's Light Touch - a beautiful 'geranium' in my view with a sweet 

little visitor stopping by for a visit.  The sentiment from Altenew's Wild Geranium stamped

on one those PFS Essential Labels.  The oval is from two Spellbinders' die sets.

My last card was inspired by my friend Bonnie - these little critters wanted

to color eggs, too!  Their 'dip-dyed' look comes from cutting MFT's Dip Dyed Ombre dsp [it also became the background panel debossed with that Lil' Inkers Woodgrain die] then these little PB Special Friends went to work with decorating with stamps from their set.  

The Easter greeting is an oldie from Waffle Flower Crafts - stamped in chocolate ink naturally. 

One of these will find their way to the Penny Black on Saturday Challenge where they are looking for Easter cards as their special sauce but it isn't necessary to play along.

Hope to see you again soon!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #769 - dies, no flowers!

My card for Just us Girls #769 is ready to hang in their gallery.  The dies 'no flowers' was a tricky move on Sue's part - you know I do love those layered-die-cut-flowers!  

My friend Lisa used a sweet little Purple Onion Owl and frame - so I followed her lead and found myself reaching for these fun Happy Birds from Wplus9 from yesteryear!  

These guys continue to put a big fat smile on my face - that little dude on the left

must be a Brown Creeper as they are the only bird I know of that go upside down and 

backwards when foraging for bugs on the bark of trees!

I just love these Charley Harper-like birds!

That Penny Black frame continues to please - and a new PF stencil [from that most generous friend] found its way into the background!  SO fun!

Read the sentiment again - I mean that sincerely!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #101

Does it feel April-y where you live?  Spring often takes its own sweet time in Michigan!  But I have some really pretty springlike flowers for you - thanks to my friend, TK who sent me the most wonderful birthday gift last November!   Don't you think for a minute that I didn't play with it immediately - but I really wanted to feature these Altenew: Flutter and Bloom florals here for The Flower Challenge #101:

I pulled some lovely purple Copics for today's florals - but watch

out for the water-colored and stenciled versions later this year!

I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and

popped them up on top of a gorgeous, embossed panel I found in my stash.

Isn't it a perfect match?  I'm sure the wonderful person who 

sent it to me carefully wrote its name on the BACK before

I stuck it on my card. 

We are looking forward to a gallery FULL of gorgeous Spring-colored flowers - will you be playing along?  Come see all the lovely colors of Spring from my teammates!

=] Michele