bright and beautiful

not at all what i had in mind but oh, i am so pleased with this.  MFT back ground stamp parrtially inked and wiggled just a teeny bit for a more distressed looking line, Tombow markers on Fancy Flowers. 

MFT Sketch Challenge 400

MFT Color Challenge 100

100 color challenges given at MFT.  Of course I had to play.  the retired set of sentiments called Clearly Sentimental about Coffee was perfect to use on this cool fall day.  I left all the sentiments on the plastic sheet they arrive on.  I added a swipe of ATG adhesive to the outside sheet and adhered it to my MISTI.  Put in my cardstock, inked up the sentiments all still on the sheet and pressed.  Worked really well.  You can’t tell from here, maybe, a little on the bottom, the sentiment panel is a very light blue to match the color challenge.

drink up

Food or drink is on the table for Simon’s Wednesday challenge.  Using the coffee and tea card kit from last year i put this sweet card together.   The COFFEE sentiment is taken from a full sentiment i used on the inside.  I just inked up the word COFFEE for the front. 

falling

sob, sob, it’s turning into autumn.  i miss summer already and it’s not even gone.  but it’s been quite cool here in northern wisconsin in the mornings and it’s been raining a lot which keeps it cool.  leaves are turning and some are falling and i’m never ready for it.

Simon’s Monday challenge to create an Autumn card reinforces the reality.  I used Gina K Designs stamps with Altenew inks.  I made my pumpkin into a wobbly squash to give a little interaction for my 90 year old mom.  She loves the simple interactive cards.

Technorati Tags: GKD,Pumpkin,Wobble,Autumn,Fall

and R is for Rabbit or Robins

Thankfully at ABC Christmas Challenge blog they gave us a choice.  I dunno, but i never heard of a Christmas rabbit.  Well, i never heard of a Christmas Robin either but i went ahead and made them.  I now have 37 Christmas cards made ahead.  I decided this year to double up every time i made a card.  I forgot a couple of times but for the most part that has served me pretty well this year.

Q is for Quote

Q is for quote in the 2nd part of the ABC Christmas challenge.  I love this retired candle set from Sweet N Sassy and lucky me, it has a die to go with it.  The quote is direct from the scripture.  Figured i could only go right with that one.  Thanks for the challenge.

Background is an embossed die from Spellbinders.  Ran it through my cuttlebug with an embossing mat.  copic colored

P is for Plain

Playing catch up with ABC Christmas challenge.  This is the current challenge and i need to go back and pick up the N and O.  I haven’t entered very many this year but I have played along.  Mostly because I am playing along after the challenges close. 

Simple white embossing on teal cardstock and popped a ribbon on. 

Thanks for stopping by, as always.  Here’s to more stamping time for all of us. 

Monday is back to school

The best thing about going back to school for our children was always the friends they made and seeing the ones they had missed during the summer. 

For this challenge from SSS creation  i used the Best Blender Brushes in the world from PIcket Fence studios.  The color was so easy to apply even to the tiniest areas because the brushes come in so many sizes. 

I’ve been noticing shadow dies popping up as an on trend focus.  I made my own with this large FRIEND die from MFT.  I embossed the die onto some dark brown card stock and then cut it out.  I then die cut it the regular way in my big shot and laid it on top and wow, perfect fit.  I was so happy with my experiment.  Thanks for stopping by.

Back at it

Simon’s wednesday challenge is Back to School.  What that means to me is MUSIC.  Our music teacher here in town has been a family friend since she and our son were in kindergarten together.  She puts together the best musicals and talent shows.  The students love her.   School means looking forward to her dedicated work with the students that she gets to do their best. 

Technorati Tags: masculine,music notes,embossing

Summer School #2 day 5 Ombre

Ombre has always intrigued me.  the soft fade of colors, light to dark.  Using an ombre pad is a very simple way to get this wonderful techinique.  Penny Black images and Simon sentiments.
MFT day 5 Summer School #2
Simon Says Monday Challenge

Technorati Tags: penny Black,WISHING,Scoring,Flowers

Summer School Day 4

Rainbows!  I love them in real life but i have to admit they are one of my least favorite designs in crafting.  They always look so contrived, to my eye.  Hmmm…what to do when the challenge is rainbow.  I took all of the ROYGBIV in oxide inks and made a horizontal strip of color on my craft mat.  Sprtized liberally with water and tipped my mat so they would run together a bit.  Grabbed a piece of watercolor paper and laid it on top and let the watered colors seep into the cardstock.  I love the soft look and just a hint of each color.  MFT Wildflowers.  I love this set an dit is likely the most used set in all of my stamps.

MFT Summer School #2 day 4

Visual Triangles

Visual triangles are so subtle the viewer doesn’t even know his eye is being led to elements.  There are two main triangles on this card.  I was glad I learned this theory in my earlier card making years.  I wish I could draw lines on here to show you but alas, that is something I don’t know how to do. 

MFT Summer School #2 Day 3

Technorati Tags: Washi,diagonal,CAS,Summer

Day #2 MFT school

Day 2 for summer school is Focal image.  You can barely see the little bokeh dots i stenciled from the left corner down to my image.  I then went over the stencil again with my wink of stella brush.  I paper pieced her cute dress and colored in her wings and shoes with clear star Sakura pen for some real fairy shimmer.  Putting the sentiment right into the image really draws the eye straight to this sweet fairy.  A couple of punched scraps from the glitter paper brings the eye right through the sentiment.  Just a touch of pink with a stencil brush for contrast finishes her off nicely.   MFT retired images and sentiment.

it’s summer school part 2

Part one of part 2 MFT summer school.  Monochromatic is the lesson for today.  I thought these bokeh stencils were from MFT but when I went looking on their site I couldn’t find them.  Maybe they are from Simon???? i dunno.

The sun stencil is definitely MFT.  It says so right on the stencil.  You can find it here.  

MFT SKetch

All American sketch reminded me of baseball.  I was glad I had this little retired PI image form MFT.  I made my homemade candies by using a 3/8 inch punch and matching cardstock scrap.  Just punch, use a stylus on a rubber mat and voila’ matching candies.  I placed this little guy on a shadow die also from MFT.  I wondered how much use i would get out of them but surprisingly i use them quite often.  MFT DP Sweet Sunshine pack.  Entereing in MFT sketch challenge.

Technorati Tags: MFT,PI,Baseball,Masculine,Candies

Simon’s Wild Things

Another entry for Simon’s Monday Challenge. Our nephew just had his heart valve replaced.  He’s doing really well.  Thought he would get a kick out of this pig as my husband works for Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats featuring pork.  In fact, he calls himself, the pork merchant.  Inside reads, “you cured yet?”

Technorati Tags: Sweet and Sassy,Pig,you cured yet?,SSS Monday Challenge,Envelope

Wild Thang, I think i love you

Wild side, is Simon’s Monday Challenge.  It’s been awhile since i made a watercolored background.  I love these distress colors blended together.  Here’s some wild flamingos for you. MFT die cuts.

Technorati Tags: Tickled Pink,flamingos,water color background,SSS Monday Challenge

B & W can be stunning

Simon Wednesday Challenge this week is to make our own background.  I pulled out my Unity stamps because they have challenged us with black and white.  I have to admit it was with trepidition as I am a woman of COLOR!!  Give me pink, green, orange…as evidenced by my blog background.

Anyway, I astounded myself with how this turned out.

Technorati Tags: Unity,Flowers,Scalloped border die,SSS Wednesday Challenge,Black and White,B&W