I am soooo far behind on my Christmas cards. I usually send out around 60-64 cards and make each card different.  I don't think that will be the case this year since I currently have only 25 made. So when I saw the Make It Monday # 267 challenge this week, I thought it would get me off to a good start. So I perused my new stamps and came up with this design.

 I began with all my die cuts; then did the stamping. Assembly was a breeze. Because I have such a short attention span (lol), and don't care much for making multiples (except when I'm in a crunch) I only made 4 altogether.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Halloween Treats

     There are a couple of adults in my daily life that I like to give a little treat to during the holidays. Last year, I remember someone used pencils, washi tape, the Holiday Pin Up: Halloween kit and the Write Stuff Holder die to create witches' legs.  I attached it to a bag of chips instead of candy.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI's Create Along With Us: October

During the October release at Papertrey Ink,  Laurie Wilson created this card which inspired me.  

Problem was I never up loaded the photo in time. Since Halloween is just 5 days away, I thought today would be a good time.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI Blog Hop: October 2016

The 25th always was the favorite time of the month for me because I loved playing along with PTI's monthly Blog Hop. However, I haven't participated in ages.  When I saw this month's inspiration photo, I knew I had to play along.

 Once again, the date almost got by me. When I realized today was the 25th, I postponed my house chores and created a simple card based upon the colors in the photo.

Cleaning up my craft room from the mess I just made is now added to my list of chores.  I'll be commenting later today once I get my chores done.  Happy Blog Hopping.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Make It Monday: Die Cut Stencil Shapes

It's been ages since I posted as well as played along with a challenge.  There are times I make a card based upon a challenge, but miss posting it on my blog in time.  However, I couldn't resist this week's PTI challenge: Die Cut Stencil Shapes. I have really been into stenciling lately.  In addition, I just loved the card Melissa made.

Isn't it beautiful.

  I sorted thru all my dies and came across an oldie: Harvest Berries. I used parakeet 

Green for my stenciling color. Here is my card.

I added some die cuts from Floral Sketches (my favorite stamp & die set) using Lovely Lady card stock and Habiscus Burst ink.  Love how this came out. Usually I don't care for some of the cards I make for challenges.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Stamp-a-Faire: Pointillism

Good evening,
       Trying to squeak in one last card for Stamp-a-faire before tomorrow morning's deadline. Playing along with Heather's challenge: Pointillism.  I was rather dubious about the look when I first viewed the video, but after playing along, I really like the uniqueness of the look. Hopefully, I'll remember this technique for the future.

I think it took me longer to sponge the background than actually doing all the dots on the trees. Just received my Clarity Stencil Brushes today so I really wanted to try them out. Love how the background evolved; much better than when I use the various blending tools I have.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Stamp-a-Faire: Starry Night

Good Morning,
       I started this card Sunday evening and finished it this morning. This is one of my favorite paintings of Van Gogh. However, one can not find it in his museum in Amsterdam. I was so disappointed when visiting that museum several years ago.
    I love the technique that Amy used to create this night sky.  My sky did not come out as dark because I wanted to stamp my tree in Enchanted Evening. I am submitting this for PTI's Stamp-a-Faire Starry Night challenge.

Well, that's another Christmas card down. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Stamp-a-Faire: master Color Recipes

Good evening,
        I'm finally getting the opportunity to post my first Stamp-a-faire project. I wasn't thinking when I invited another couple over for dinner on Saturday. That meant cleaning and prepping all day Saturday and entertaining Saturday evening. They must have had a good time since they left after midnight.
       I had planned to spend this afternoon working on a few projects, but was waylaid by a couple of lengthy phone calls.
       The  challenge  is Stamp-a-Faire: Master Color Recipes. One is to Create your own project utilizing one of the color schemes presented.  
This is the color scheme I chose.

Here's my card using my favorite stamp set. Floral Sketches.

At first I wasn't going to stamp a sentiment because I didn't know what occasion I wanted to use the card for. But after I sponged the Lavender Moon on the bottom of the card, I got a few smudges on it, so I stamped the sentiment to hide the smudges. I added the strip of Blueberry Sky to cover the unevenness of my blending.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Stamp-A-Faire: Masterpiece

Since I haven't posted in quite a few  months and wasn't taking photos of my cards, my pickings were limited.  However, the card I have chosen is one of my all time favorites.  It was done for Pti's Make it Monday :2015 A la Carte.  I chose  #215: BRINGING THE INSIDE OUT by Danielle Flanders.

      

Here's a close up of the Inside coming out.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. I hope you like my Masterpiece!

Stitched Tray Rectangle

 I made this rectangle tray as a gift for one of the employees at the gym I go to every day. She is a real gem and is moving to Atlanta. I also made her a set of cards (but forgot to photograph them)

This is the second tray I have made as a gift. I also forgot to photograph that one too. Gave it as a hostess gift filled  with some dark chocolates on Easter morning.

 They take about 5 hours to make. I just do a little each night as I watch tv. However when adding the trim I need to be extra careful; so of course I don't stitch the trim while watching tv.

 I have yet to make a tray without the trim.

 The side view

  These are so cute; tiny but cute. Perfect as a catch all or little treat holder.

I am planning on making some for my granddaughters' teachers for end of the year gifts.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Congratulations DS

Saturday, February 27, 2016

  My son informed us last week that he made partner at his law firm. My husband and I are so proud of him. I decided to use the color scheme from the challenge this week at Colour Q for his congratulations card.

I used some oldies and goodies from PTI.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Happy 41st Anniversary DH

Friday, February 26, 2016

                      

                        My husband & I celebrated our 41st Wedding anniversary this past Monday.  Searching Pinterest for some inspiration for a masculine card (didn't think my husband wanted florals) I stumbled across this card.

     Here's my take:

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Make It Monday #239: Customizing Pattern Paper

  Popping in with a birthday card I made for my sister-in-law. I'm not much of a pattern paper person, although I have tons and have been pushing myself to use it more. thus when I saw the challenge this week for PTI's Make It Monday to customize pattern paper, I decided to give it a try..... a very small one at that.

I stamped the banners on top from Birthday Style in Lovely Lady and Mint Julep. The sentiment is from Botanical Silhouettes
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Joy to the World

Feb 16, 2016

      I'm back in the groove of making Christmas cards for 2016. I decided to incorporate 2 challenges with this card.  The fantastic sketch this week for retrosketches #202 make this card very easy.

The theme this week for Merry Monday is to incorporate berries.  My berries are very tiny. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Thank- You Anniversary Challenge

Monday, Feb, 15, 2016

Playing along today with two challenges.  The first one is a PTI anniversary challenge where you are suppose to create a Thank you  card for the wonderful warehouse staff and of course mail it.

I decided to use this beautiful palette from ColourQ.  Isn't it beautiful?

  I began by coloring one of the sheets from Bold Blossoms released last month.

I cut several "thanks" to give the card some texture.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Valentine's Day 2016

Sunday, Feb 14, 2016

           Happy Valentine's Day! Just a quick post of two Valentine cards I made for my granddaughters.  They both love butterflies so when I saw a coloring page of a butterfly made from hearts, I decided to make a card.

 Can you tell what their favorite colors are?  Here's the sentiment I generated with my computer. (Sorry for the blurriness as I am still not good taking pictures with my new  phone.)

  Since the cue word at Casology this week is:

I am submitting this post.

 Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI Anniversary Challenge: Grab & Go

  Monday, Feb. 8, 2016

         The PTI anniversary festivities continue. The day 3 challenge is to create a project with supplies you gather in 5 minutes. The catch is to use everything you chose.  I knew I wanted to make another valentine card so I immediately chose white, pink and red card stock. I also picked the dies: Unlimited Layers: Hearts. Looking for a small Valentine sentiment I only chose 1 stamp set: Cupid's arrows.
Having about 3 minutes left, I started fiddling with my supplies and decided I needed more. So I grabbed two more dies: Edgers #4 and Garden Gild. Now I needed some green card stock for my leaves. At the last minute I grabbed some bling.

         This is the result.

     This was definitely a challenge for me.  Took 5 minutes to gather the supplies but about 45 minutes to actually make the card. Thanks for stopping by to take  a peek.

Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016

          Squeaking in with a last minute submission to Merry Monday Challenge # 190 where the challenge is to make a card with Santa on it.

  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI Anniversary Challenge: Dress Up Inspiration

Sunday, Feb, 7, 2016


     Good morning. PTI is celebrating their 9th anniversary. It is 10 days of challenges and give-a-ways. One of their challenges this week is to go through your closet or explore a favorite clothing store online and select a piece of clothing or outfit to use as inspiration for a project. You can find out more by clicking the link here.
    Since much of my wardrobe consists of black and white, I had a limited supply of clothes to choose from. I chose this dress that I just wore on a cruise I took last week.

  Here is the card inspired by my dress.

    About 5 years ago I made a card based on one of my favorite dresses. You can see it here.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI Blog Hop: January 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

It's been ages since I have participated in a PTI Blog Hop. This was the inspirational photo for this month.

This is my take on the challenge. I pulled out two items I Have neglected: The Round Repeats stamp set and the Chevron Die.

O

Thanks for taking a peek.

Valentine for Retroskect 198 Challenge

Friday, January 22, 2016

    I love the sketch for this week's Retrosketch # 198 challenge.

  I decided to make another Valentine card.

                                         Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Retrosketches # 198

Popping in with a Christmas card for two challenges.  My layout is based upon this week's retrosketch # 198.

The challenge theme this week at Merry Monday is hot beverages. The only hot beverage stamp I have is from PTI's Scen-timentals stamp set. I think it was the perfect size for the retrosketch.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Make It Monday # 237 Matchbook

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

      Yesterday when I went to the store to buy some little "goodie" to make for this week's  Make It Monday sponsored by PTI, I got side tracked when I spotted these.

Nothing like rushing the season. I never did pick up anything for Valentine's Day. So instead of making a matchbook Valenitne, I made a matchbook with an Easter theme.

My daughter loves these mini-eggs.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Party Popper Birthday Card

Saturday, January 16, 2016

          I have several birthdays in January. This is the card I made for my brother-in-law.

 Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides are good colors for a masculine card.  I think the party popper set is perfect for an early January birthday.

I am submitting this card to Seize The Birthday.The topping this week is Clean & Simple.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Freshly Made Sketch # 219: Sending Hugs

January 14, 2016

 Just popping in with a Valentine Card inspired by  the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches #219.

This one was designed by Cindy Hall.

My card is a tri-fold card. I don't make those too often, but it worked well with this sketch. Still using my pattern paper. This is a record for me.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Masculine Birthday Card for Colour Q Challenge

January 13, 2016
   I have quite a few birthdays in January & February. The majority of them are for the males in my family. I always find this the most difficult card to make. However, when I purchased the Make It Market Birthday Pop Up kit last April, I promised myself that this year all the recipients would get some version of this kit. When I saw the colors for this week's challenge at Colour Q I though they would make a perfect masculine card.

I just used a tad of silver on my card embossing the balloons' strings and bow. I should have embossed the little tab too instead of stamping that in black.

I am submitting my card to the challenge at Casology  where the cue word is:

Lifting the tab, the recipient opens the card cover to reveal a special message.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Christmas

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Just popping in to post two Christmas cards I made for two different challenges.  Both were quick to put together.The first is for the Merry Monday challenge where the theme this week is plaid.  I am not a plaid girl. At first I thought I would pass on this week's challenge, but then I remembered a had a piece of pattern paper that was plaid. Since it seemed rustic to me I paired it with the Rustic Wreath die.

I am also going to submit this to the ABC Christmas Challenge where the theme is anything goes. 

My second card is a CAS card for Muse Challenge # 143.  Here is this week's muse.

I was inspired by the white and the stamped image & sentiment.

I used a bit of Wink of Stella on my card too.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.