Just us Girls #741

Hey, my friends!  I have one more post for you today - then let's get on with the weekend, shall we?

My friend Stephanie is the host at Just us Girls this week - I totally dropped the ball last week during my funk!  

It's stencil week and I have TWO beautiful cards today using stencils for coloring the images without the outline stamps! A lovely set from a suite of Pinkfresh products called Garden Roses.

First in those blues that have convinced me to love them!

 Look closely and you'll see I have used

Spellbinder's Nature's Botanical Wreath embossing folder to provide a little lift!

And sentiment from one of their Betterpress sets.

Thanks, Stephanie for the win!!

Next up: some pinks and those scrumptious yellow/curry colors from Pigment Craft Co....

No ink wasting around here - I just spritzed my stencils and press the

leftover inks onto a panel of Bristol card stock.... you can just see it

in the background.  I waited until it dried and then used my favorite debossing plate

to add interest and to mimic the movement of those trailing roses.

That sentiment is just so beautiful - from LDRS Creative - inked with an Altenew ink.

Now. How do I decide which to send to the challenge - I think I'll ask Tom who just got home to start our weekend a little early!

See you in the JUGS #741 gallery - and have a great weekend!

=] Michele

Playing Cards with Friends - October 2023

What can I say about my October guest ... she is someone I've enjoyed and admired for years ... she really knows her way around words [some of my favorite things!] ... has captured the interest of an abundance of followers on Instagram both with her fabulous eye for card design and generous praise for others who create.  OH, hey!  I guess mentioning her name might be nice. 

I'm so happy to be Playing Cards with Joan Bardee!!  a.k.a Dear Paperlicious and @dearpaperlicious on Instagram!  

There's something else I love about Joan: she LOVES a pun-y joke and has a slapstick charm about her sense of humor!  You'll never guess how I have incorporated that into our assignment this month:

Did you know that October 31^st isn’t just for Halloween??

It’s also: National Knock-knock Joke Day!  

Read all about it here:

NATIONAL KNOCK KNOCK JOKE DAY - October 31, 2023 - National Today

Use Halloween colors and share a knock-knock joke, too!  

I have been known to tell a joke or two on a card - some of you may remember THIS one from 2014 or THIS one which has seen a few rewrites!  But today I brought my sweet little owls out to play again - hope you get a hoot out of my knock knock card...

PLEASE tell me you get it??  I'll give you a moment... how about now?   

Joan!!  I know you'll do better than I did!!  Thanks so much for putting up with my silliness - and for Playing Cards with me, my friend!

Thank YOU, my friends - I know I can count on you to head over to Joan's blog - she's much funnier than I!

=] Michele

Spiced Cider card from The Stamp Market

PTI Layer to Layer: Torn Edges dies - debossed with Altenew Dotted Swirls die.

Elizabeth Crafts: Give a Hoot

Words: all my own =]

Spellbinders Hemstitched Circle dies.

Down on the Farm

I have a darling young woman in my life who lost both of her parents within months of each other this year.  Lynn and her husband built their 'forever' home on property they bought from her parents when she realized they would need help - more likely so she would be close for as long as she had them.  

Their darling home overlooks the vast fields of the farm, and I couldn't help but think of Lynn and her parents' farm when Marcia passed this Harvest Home set from The Greetery on to me.  It was high time I used it - thank you Marcia!

I won't sugarcoat it - these tiny little layers [three each for the house and barn] of detail are a test for my strongest readers!  It's a fabulous set - did you spot the rolled bales of hay?  How wonderful that they small enough to build on these wonderful leaves!  I pulled a few stamps from their Destination Summer set: the sun and 'trees.'

I think this favorite debossing plate from Altenew gives the perfect breath of wind to give those leaves movement - of course the deep grey makes me very happy.

Thanksgiving will be very hard for Lynn and her siblings this year as it has always been spent gathered around the farmhouse table... I will be missing her mom, too.  She was a best friend of mine for nearly 50 years.

I'm so blessed to have all of you in my life - thank you for your friendship! 

=] Michele

More Honeysuckles!

Life is back to normal this week - but I do miss my sidekick being home!  I drowned my loneliness with a bit more playtime with those wonderful Honeysuckles from The Greetery!

I brought out 'grownup loving' colors today - a bit of curry is so pleasing to my eyes [and taste buds]!

Remember the brickwork I did on my first Honeysuckle card?

This darling Honeycomb Corners Die added the same charm to my tag - IMHO.

All the better to see more of my favorite Altenew debossing die, right?

First a closeup so you can see my little buzzy friend, and where I've used those 'leftover' bits of honeycomb AND another favorite debossing plate from Wplus9!

Those sweet little sentiments come from The Greetery's Market Basket Sentiments set.  That little bee is Colorado Craft Co.'s Bee You.  The wonderful linen twine is from my sweet friend LeAnne!

Those of you with the eyes of an eagle will notice my card is left a little off-balanced by that stem - I just couldn't bear to snip it off!  lol

That's it for me today!  Hope you find a little extra time to spend in your playrooms!

=] Michele