Ten cups should do!

One of the items I purchased during that aforementioned Sizzix sale had not been used yet - funny how that one slipped through the cracks as it was the one I had been looking forward to playing with the most!

I've seen Tim Holtz's Papercut Cafe around for a while often used along with his signature 'distressed' look.  I've kept it CAS and spent an entire afternoon layering these darling cups! lol

First up: two cups for Color Hues #88 in Karen's chosen Blue and Yellow color combo, and second helpings for Freshly Made Sketches #639:

HoneyBee Gingham Galore paper; WF Hello Friend sentiment combo 

Then it was all about 'balance!'

More WF sentiment fun and gingham cut with their Nesting Postage dies!

Here is a little closeup so you can see all the fun layers that make up each cup!

Another WF sentiment; one of the layers from PF Slim Ornament Banners

Ten cups should do for now!  but you will undoubtedly see a few more soon!

=] Michele

Two florals for Friday!

I have two floral cards for you to round off my crafty week!  The first for Just us Girls #730 where they are having a color challenge!  There is something about aqua that my eyes struggle with.  I hope a little distress peacock feathers paired with picked raspberry will do Carol's lovely color choices justice... 

This gorgeous Wild Daisies image from Altenew is a gift from a friend - too beautiful to trim,

I left it large for a 5x7" card today!  Of course I had another little Spellbinders 

sentiment to add to it!

I used a sharp blade to cut around two of the leaves and popped them up

for a little subtle dimension.

Thanks so very much, Carol!!  I'm so very honored!

My second floral card is heading to Freshly Made Sketches - Amy, I was challenged by your Sketch!  But isn't that what makes it fun?  I hope it's okay - I had to flip it!

Let's start with that embossed panel - someone is bound to ask! lol

Spellbinders Stylized Calla Lily!

Followed by one Altenew Queen Anemone, a frame made with their

Rounded Rectangles Die set [the center is peeking out from behind].

A strip of C&9th Parsley card stock and a sentiment white heat-embossed from

MFT's Sweet Nothings - finished with a few PF Gems and my card is done!

And that's it for my week, folks - but don't worry, I have 10 cups of fun heading your way soon!

=] Michele

Two minute, ten second tidy!

 Remember this?

Here's how I tidied up and created FOUR cards!

After rewetting, here is the first pressing with Spellbinders' Four Petal Floral onto A2 panel.

Then a second panel.  It was clear to me that the ink was quite fond of that baby wipe.

My solution:  glue the whole thing to a half-sheet of cardstock!

After leaving it to dry overnight, I cut it into two smaller panels with

less than an inch of that baby wipe left over!

Ready to see my cards?

This sentiment [The Stamp Market- Kindness Matters] was the perfect size for one 

of the SB Essential Four Petal labels.

Two sentiment dies from one set: Concord & 9th Just Saying Dies

I love that one less baby wipe is in the landfill! lol  Seriously though, we need to rethink throwing those inky wipes away!

=] Michele

Waffle Flower Grip Mat 2024

 

Our friends at Waffle Flower Crafts have a re-release of their fabulous Grip Mats today!  They kindly asked me to test drive one of the bundles - there was no question what my answer would be!  YES, of course!

HERE is a video where Nina explains the re-release, what's new, what's changed, and the additional sizes in the collection.  I love it when she says something like 'if you have one of our original mats, you don't need to do anything!'  That's so true - I LOVE my original 8.5" square mat!

I received the Grip Mat Stampers Bundle that has two mats that fit into my original MISTI and my mini-MISTI.  But ended up using them for stenciling my cards today!

The larger of the two was used to hold my Hammermill panel in place while also holding the stencil without the use of tape [except when covering areas that you don't want to get inky!]  That is the best part for me!

Of course, I was happy to turn a 'garden' of daisies into butterflies!

happy b is for butterfly day! - sentiment from WF Happy Bee Day combo

I used my jellyroll sparkly pen to add some fun details.

All the questions you have will be answered by Waffle Flower Crafts today in their Release post!  BUT if I had to choose today - I'd choose the NEW 7.5 x 11-inch mat for sure!  All the room one would need for stencils and a place to 'stick' your ink pad, too!

Thanks, Waffle Flower Crafts!

=] Michele

Destination SUMMER time!

My star-spangled card has sparked another idea!  Harvest Home, meet Destination Summer... 

The leaf die from The Greetery's Harvest Home was used as the base for my beach/lake and 

Destination Summer is where I found all the other images.

A bit of stickles for sparkle and a fun debossed sunray from a friend, and a fun sentiment was from Destination Summer was the perfect finishing touch to my scene.

It sure reads summertime to me!  Hope the ladies at Four Seasons Summer like it!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge #92 - a Sketch!

In all the years I have been on The Flower Challenge design team, I don't remember ever having a Sketch - but we have one for your crafting pleasure this month!  I hope you enjoy a sketched inspiration as much as I do!

Isn't it fun??!!

I had no problem choosing from my vast supply of florals from Altenew - it was those little circles that gave me pause.  Here's how I combined them all...

Starting with the center section I embossed a narrow panel of white with a honeycomb embossing folder from Waffle Flower.  Next came my flowers - Altenew's Blooming Delight in Summer-y shades of blue and yellow.  I turned those circles into hexagons to provide a sweet space for my sentiment and a few enamel embellishments, too.

Hmmm maybe a little bumble bee would have been appropriate.  Well, we can't wait to see what you use to fill our Sketch!  If you need a little more inspiration, why not join me to see what my teammates have created - they're sure to be brilliant!

=] Michele

Just us Girls #729 - CASE a designer!

It is a CASE a Designer time at Just us Girls challenge #729!  I'm CASEing EVERYTHING about Stephanie's gorgeous card!  After all - it IS HER BIRTHDAY!!

Happiest birthday my darling friend!  I couldn't come close to that gorgeous, elegant cover die you used - but this die from The Stamp Market made me happy - hope it makes you happy, too!

My die-cut sentiment is from Concord & 9th's Just Saying set.

Here are the inks I dipped my watercolor card panel into:

and then!  I remembered Stephanie's card had a bit of turquoise on it - oops!

Distress inks are so cooperative, aren't they?

a bit of Peacock Feathers to the rescue!

ALL of the JUGS designers are incredibly talented - I could CASE each and every one!  Are you ready to see Stephanie's gorgeousness?  Here you go...

Isn't it grand?  I will be THINKING OF YOU all day today, my friend!

Hope you are celebrating big time!

xoxo

=]  Michele