Friends are Flowers

These flowers and the sentiment piece were both from a friend in our stamping group from Canada who wasn't able to make it to our Group Gathering in June. Thanks again, Annie! I still have more to use!

I colored the flowers three times, til I was finally satisfied with them. First I used some really cheap watercolors - too pale and chalky. Then I added some Copics, but still too light. I added more Copics and they are acceptable. Not great, but acceptable. I spritzed the flowers with some glimmer mist type spray. The card is a style I learned at our Group Gathering. I made several of them when I was there - to be finished later. This is the first one I've used. It's a double folded card. I put patterned paper (from Recollections) on the second page and stamped some birthday greetings from PSX. The inside is still blank, waiting to be written in.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sympathy in Two Colors

When my friend was over at my house last Friday doing her digital scrapbooking, she told me she was in need of a sympathy card, so I made her one very quickly. Then I made another almost like it for my "stash." Even though these are not exactly CASEd from Heather Telford, they are certainly done in her style, which I love. I masked off the top and bottom of the card front, then sponged on two colors of Tim Holtz Distress ink. The flowers and the sentiment are from a Hero Arts clear set. I masked off the very bottom of the flower stems, also.

This second one uses the same blue, but has purple instead of green. It also has three butterflies added to it, due to a slight smudge in the lower right corner. They were done with a Martha Stewart punch, and as usual, I added pearls to their bodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge - Flowers

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down for my Flutter By Wednesday post.

Today starts a new Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge. One of the Rock Stars chooses the theme and the others create their masterpieces. Today's challenge was chosen by ME, and I hope no one finds it to be too much of a challenge so that there are LOTS of entries! The theme for today's challenge is to use flowers. Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, to find out what you need to know for a chance to win a full sheet of unmounted rubber of your choice. You will find the other design team members' cards there, also. Or you can follow these links to their blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I started with the embossed background. Harriet brought the folder (by Sizzix) to my house in June at my request, and I embossed a few of them to have on hand. I love the look of white on white, so that's what I went with. The flowers are Morning Glories, and can be found on this page. I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic markers. I cut the oval with a Nestability and sponged with light yellow before removing from the die. I matted with white, cut with a scalloped oval Nestability. The image panel is mounted on Pop Dots. The sentiment can be found on this page. For my card, I stamped it in a straight line, rather than in two lines as it comes.

I sure hope you'll consider joining in on the fun and entering your flower-themed card to the challenge. You also have nearly a week to participate in the current WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

If you're still with me, you'll be reading my announcement. This is my last post as a Repeat Impressions Rock Star:( After nearly two and a half years, I have decided to step down. I have thoroughly enjoyed being on the design team, and I thank Wendy for everything! I will miss all my fellow design team members and my RI challenges and Stamp of the Week postings. I hope you will continue to check out the other Rock Stars' blogs. Also, Wendy has THREE new members! Check them out on the RI blog, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday - Open

Welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday! The challenge today is Open - just use a fairy or a butterfly on your creation and also decorate the inside of your card. Please visit the Flutter By Wednesday blog for the necessary details and to view the creations by Danni's wonderful design team.

I started with a large butterfly stamp from Repeat Impressions. I paper-pieced it with paper from a Deja Views matstack. (I took the above picture of the card before I added Stickles to it. Here is a picture of it after I added the Stickles.) I stamped the image again on a white square to add my paper-piecing to. I also added a little hand-doodling. I matted with a mat cut with a Nestability and mounted on foam squares. The background patterned paper is from the same matstack. The sentiment is from a Stampendous set.

Here is the inside of the card. The sentiment is from the same Stampendous set as on the front of the card. The butterflies are a smaller version of the one on the front of the card, and also from Repeat Impressions.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Anniversary Joanne and Mark!

Here is the card I made for one of my stamping group friends. Happy Anniversary tomorrow, Joanne!

The inchie stamp is from an Inkadinkado set. I stamped it four times and cut them out and matted with black. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Hope your day is sunshiny and awesome!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Mouse and Cheese

Time for a new Stamp of the Week from Repeat Impressions. This week's stamp is called Mouse and Cheese and can be found on this page. Wendy is offering this stamp for 50% off through Sunday evening. You can find all the details on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. You'll also find some more creations from the Rock Stars. Or, you can follow these links to their blogs:

Dawn ~Joy ~ Kecia

I really liked the sketch from the current WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge, so I started off using that for this card. However, I decided to move the sentiment square over to the right instead. The sentiment I chose to use with my cute little mousie is from the Birdhouse Flip Set. I used a Cuttlebug Bubbles folder to emboss the plain white squares.

There are two open challenges from Repeat Impressions, too, and you can enter for a chance to win great prizes. Check out the blog for details on how you could win a $25 gift certificate or a full sheet of unmounted rubber.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"Christmas Sunday"

Three more Christmas cards made. (I made two of the second one.) Forty-eight down, about thirty-two to go. I don't know who makes this paper, but I think it's yummy. The ribbon on this first one is from Basic Grey. The sentiment is from Denami and is stamped with Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red.

Same paper, same stamp. I used solid red satiny ribbon on this one, matted the sentiment and mounted it on foam squares. I'm linking these up to the Christmas Card Challenge blog.

Have a great week!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Pink Birthday

A friend came over to my house yesterday and we spent the day crafting - me doing stamping and her doing digital scrapbooking. We were pretty slow at getting anything done until late in the day, but we did finally accomplish some things.

This was one of the three cards that I got finished. One is very similar to others I've done, so it probably won't make my blog. The third one may find its way here soon. I stamped the sentiment (from PSX) on the cardstock, then embossed with a Swiss Dots folder. The flowers are from Michael's (Studio 18.) The butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch and have pearl centers. Simple, but pretty, I think.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Same Image - Two Black and White Cards

This cute bicycle with flowers image was also from my stamping group friend, Annie. She embossed the image with white after stamping on black. I matted both with red cardstock. For this first one, I used a couple scraps of patterned paper from a The Paper Studio black and white matstack, which I matted with black. I mounted the image on foam squares. The butterfly was in a bag of bows and butterflies from another stamping group member, Andrea. Thanks, Andrea!

For this second one, I used a larger piece of black to mat the other layers with. I added a sentiment in white (from Papertrey Ink) and a sparkly black flower with a white brad center. The patterned paper is from the same matstack as the first card.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday

(This is my second post for today. For my Flutter By Wednesday post, please scroll down.)

Today begins a new WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge from Repeat Impressions. Wendy gives us a sketch and asks what we can create with it. One lucky participant for the month will win a $25 gift certificate! Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and to see the inspiration from the other team members. Or, follow these links to their blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

I started with Wendy's wonderful Monarch Butterfly, found here. I paper-pieced it with paper from a Recollections matstack. For the sentiment, I used the Happy Birthday stamp, found here. I used the same patterned paper as the butterfly for my squares, and matted with Perfect Plum from Stampin' Up! The two white squares are mounted on foam squares.

You still have nearly a week to enter Karen's Designer's Choice challenge, too. Her choice was to use scoring to decorate your card. A full sheet of unmounted rubber of your choice is up for grabs! You can find those details and post here.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday - Friendship

Today's Flutter By Wednesday theme is Friendship, in honor of making new friends through the re-opening of Flutter By Wednesday! It's sponsored by Saturated Canary. One lucky person will win their choice of two digital images from them! Be sure to check out the design team members' wonderful creations.

I was given my choice of a digital image, and I chose "Secrets." I thought it was a great friendship image! It's awesome to have a friend you can share secrets with. I colored my image with Copic markers. I printed my image pretty small, so I did very little shading. The sentiment stamp is from a Papertrey Ink set. I matted with Papertrey's New Leaf cardstock - both layers. The patterned layer is from a Die Cuts With a View matstack. I mounted the image panel on dimensional squares.

We'd love to have you join us this week. Just make your card or project with a Friendship theme and be sure to include a fairy or a butterfly. Then link it up to the Flutter By Wednesday post.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Masculine Birthday

A friend from my stamping group lives in Canada and so far hasn't been able to attend our Group Gathering. However, she has sent packets of "card parts" for us. So sweet - thanks again, Annie! This card uses a stamp off from her.

I wish you could see it in the picture, but the image is embossed with copper embossing powder. I cut out the cup (which says "Dad") and the handle of the fishing pole and mounted them on foam pieces. I matted with shimmery copper paper and then a thin layer of black. The background paper is from a matstack from The Paper Company.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

SplitCoastStampers Featured Stamper Challenge

It's been a long time since I've participated in a SplitCoastStampers challenge, but I finally did:) This card is for this week's Featured Stamper challenge. The Featured Stamper is Maureen, and this is the card I cased.

I stamped the leaves (from Stampin' Up!'s Best Blossoms set) with Old Olive ink - three times without reinking. The butterfly is from shimmery purple paper, punched with a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is from a small KaiserCraft set. The matting is black and I cut the scalloped edge with a Fiskars rotary cutter. This card is also for a color challenge in my stamping group to use dark purple and olive green.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Christmas Sunday

I was home alone last night and stayed up late to make a couple cards. What fun! I wish I wouldn't have been so tired - I would have stayed up much later.

Today I'm sharing another simple Christmas card. I'm getting a little behind in my goal, but I'm still doing all right. I'm not sure who makes the embossing folder - I did the embossing last year in Des Moines at our Group Gathering. The sentiment stamp is from an Inkadinkado set. The matting is all Always Artichoke from Stampin' Up! The sentiment panel is mounted on foam squares. I'm entering this into the Christmas Card Challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Onesie Baby Card

I have seen many "onesie" cards in the past, but I have never made one before. But, I thought it would be perfect for my niece. She is expecting her first baby in September and we are going to a shower for her tonight. She has done the baby's room (to be called Madison) in pink and brown, hence the color scheme for the card.

My sister was at my house for a few days, so we made a card together. Very fun! (She has some stamping things, but hasn't used them yet. I'm trying to "push" a little bit! LOL!) I didn't have a pattern, but it wasn't hard to make. I used circle Nestabilities to draw the curved edges to cut out, then used the matching scalloped Nestabilities for the trim. The patterned paper is from a Die Cuts With a View stack and the stickers are, too. We used an EK Success punch for the flowers and a Studio G punch for the letters, which were stamped with a Studio G stamp set. The flowers with letter centers are mounted on foam squares. We added eyelets for the snaps.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge - Scoring

This is my second post for today. If you're looking for my Flutter By Wednesday post, please scroll down.

Today starts a new Designer's Choice Challenge from Repeat Impressions. It's another fun and easy challenge for you! Karen has asked us to use scoring on our cards. (Scor-Pals and other items from Scor-Pal are available from the Repeat Impressions store, on this page.) Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details. One lucky random participant will receive their choice of a full sheet of unmounted rubber! Please check out the wonderful creations by the Rock Stars by visiting their blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I started with the Noel stamp, available on this page. I stamped it on my main panel and also on a piece of scrap cardstock. From the scrap piece, I colored the poinsettia and cut out the letter O and mounted it on Pop Dots. I added Stickles to it for some sparkle. I used my Scor-Buddy to score the pattern around the edge. I matted with red. I'm submitting this card to the Christmas Card Challenges blog, too. It's been a while since I've made a Christmas card!

Wendy is always looking for new talent on the Design Team. Check out the Repeat Impressions blog to find out how you can let Wendy know you are interested!! Look for the open challenges listed on the blog, too. Lots of great prizes up for grabs.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Flutter By Wednesday is Back! A Blog Hop

We're celebrating the return of Flutter By Wednesdays with a fabulous blog hop by the amazing new Flutter By Team and we sure hope you'll join in! The challenge is everyone's favorite - OPEN - anything goes as long as you use a butterfly or fairy!! Please hop along with us and then link up your creations.

If you're joining the hop, you should have arrived at my blog from Joey's blog. Next up will be Denice's blog. If you get lost along the way, simply visit the Flutter By Wednesday blog for the complete list. :)

My card uses the same stamp I used a few days ago - my new stamp from Stampendous. I stamped it on watercolor paper with Versafine Black Onyx ink. I used my very few Tim Holtz Distress markers to color the flowers. I matted with Old Olive cardstock from Stampin' Up! I found the perfect paper to match the colors - from a pad from Recollections that I really tried to talk myself out of buying! The sentiment is from a Papertrey Ink set. It's matted with Old Olive and mounted on foam squares. The butterflies are punched with a Martha Stewart punch and have pearls for their bodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Curiosity Cat

Time for a new Stamp of the Week from Repeat Impressions - available at 50% off through Sunday evening. This week's stamp is called Curiosity Cat, and is found on this page. You can find all the details and the Rock Stars' creations on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. Here, also, are links to the design team members' blogs:

Dawn ~Joy ~ Kecia

I chose paper-piecing for today. I used paper from Basic Grey for the cat and a plain grocery sack to piece the sack. I also put a pop dot under the top of the bag for more dimension. I matted with more grocery sack paper. I thought this would make a great invitation for a surprise party, and I printed the sentiment on my computer.

There are two challenges open on the Repeat Impressions blog, and you can find them here and here. There are great prizes up for grabs.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Congrats, Georgia!

A woman in my stamping group just had another granddaughter - Rae Allison. How exciting, Georgia! This is the card I made to send to her.

The stamp is from a Stampin' Up! set called "For a Friend." I did the little bit of coloring with Copic markers. I added tiny pearls to the flower centers. The patterned paper is from Recollections. The matting is all black. The sentiment panel is mounted on foam squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Watercolor Flowers - and an Announcement

Here is another card I made on Tuesday evening. I went to Archiver's on Tuesday to take advantage of their 43% off all stamps. I almost came home empty-handed! However, I was finally able to find two sets and one single stamp to buy:) It wasn't so easy to shop since I had Owen (my almost-20-month-old-very-busy grandson) and they don't have carts! I did manage somehow,though.

This stamp is the single stamp I purchased. It's from Stampendous. I stamped it on watercolor paper from Stampin' Up! and used my SU! ink pads and an Aquapainter to color it. I matted with black. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, is matted with black and is mounted on foam squares. The image, sentiment, and card base are all ivory, as are the stripes on the patterned paper.

Here is the announcement: Flutter By Wednesdays is back! And I was selected for the design team! Danni started announcing the team yesterday, announced some more today, and the last of the team will be revealed tomorrow. Check out the Flutter By Wednesday blog for details.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sunflower "enjoy today"

I finally took some time for stamping on Tuesday night. I made a couple cards - and most of a third. You get this one today. :)

The sunflower is stamped with a Papertrey Ink stamp and the button is also from PTI. The little sentiment is from Verve and is stamped in black. I matted with Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke cardstock - both layers. I used my Scor-Buddy to score the lines on the matting. The patterned paper is from Recollections. The flower layer is mounted on dimensional squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday

Today's Repeat Impressions challenge is a WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch challenge. Above is the sketch for this time. We'd love to have you join in for fun and for a chance to win a $25 gift card from Repeat Impressions. Simply make your card based on this sketch, upload to your blog or on-line gallery, and link up to the Repeat Impressions blog. You can find all the details on the RI blog, The House That Stamps Built. You'll also find the creations by the Rock Stars. Or, you can follow these links to their blogs:

 Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I used the Sun Beams stamp, found on this page. I stamped it with gray Memento ink and colored with a yellow Copic marker. I added some Stickles. I also stamped again on a scrap of white cardstock, cut out the cloud, and mounted it on foam squares for a little dimension. I cut it out with a Nestability. The matting is gray and is also cut with a Nestability. The patterned paper is from Recollections and is also matted with gray. The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions, of course! I added the pearls, per the sketch. I was disappointed in myself that I glued the Sun Beam layer crooked. I was concentrating on lining up the scallops with the bottom layer and I didn't put it straight across like I was planning. Oh well. The recipient will never know!

You still have almost a week to enter the Designer's Choice Challenge, too. It's a great challenge to use black, white, and one other color. You can find those details here. The winner will receive a full sheet of unmounted rubber of their choice - a fabulous prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

August Calendar Page

Oops! I knew this wouldn't be posted on August First, but I was supposed to schedule it for the Second. I forgot. So, today you get my August calendar page.


Not much to it. The stamp is from Repeat Impressions. I used a kraft-y paper. I colored lightly with colored pencil and added sparkle with Stickles (on the water) and a Spica glitter pen over the beach and castle.


I sure hope to do some stamping again soon, but I know it won't be for a few more days, anyway.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions - Designer's Choice Challenge

What a fun Designer's Choice Challenge this week from Patti at Repeat Impressions. Her choice was to make a black-and-white-and-one-other-color card. Are you up for the challenge?? We'd love to have you join us. Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and to see the creations by the other Rock Stars. One random winner for the month will win a full sheet of unmounted rubber of their choice. You can find the design team members' blogs by following these links:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

My one other color is blue. I started by stamping the Loon with black ink. I masked him off and added the Cattails. I masked off the top and the bottom of the cardstock, then sponged on some Tim Holtz Distress Inks. After adding a little bit of blue, I also added a partial circle and sponged some more. The sentiment is from Repeat Impressions and I stamped it in a straight (well, OK - a little crooked!) line instead of in two lines, the way it comes. I matted with black.

There is a WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch challenge available for you, too. You can find the details here. One random winner for the month will win a $25 gift certificate from Repeat Impressions.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!