Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Four Great Reasons to Love Chalk Lines

Chalk boards, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk or 
driveway - does that evoke fun memories in your mind?

I absolutely love the Chalk Lines stamp set (#135005) - it's so fun - and 
here are four great reasons:

 1.  It's a very versatile stamp set - so many fun ways to use it - guy or 
gal card - holiday or every day.  You name it, you can use it for that 
occasion!  Love that.  Versatility equals value.
 2.  Since it's made of photopolymer, the stamps are 
very "bendable", so they can be curved on your acrylic block 
or laid down straight.
3.  The "clear-ness" of the photopolymer allows you to lay your 
image down exactly the way you want, where you want - helping 
your creations come together more quickly and with less fuss on your part.
4.  The images in the stamp set are nice and long, so they 
can go all the way across your card if you want.  Sweet!

These cards are for our newest neighbors in welcoming them
 to the neighborhood.  We've had a lot of new folks move in recently.  

I also created this card to enter the 
CCMC317
The Bravo stamp set  (#135380) was also used for this sweet card.
Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Feel Goods - Stencils - AAA Cards

Love, love, love the theme for AAA Cards Challenge this week! 
 It's "Create", and we're using stencils!  Yay!!!
I've just gotten some Hearts & Starts Decorative Masks (#133777) 
which are basically stencils, and I'm simply in love.
Using stencils makes creating cards a snap!
I've already given one card away and the other is 
going to a lovely couple's housewarming party this afternoon.

Can't wait to see your creations at AAA Cards Challenge 
and to comment on them.

What I used:
Stamp set:  Feel Goods (#129681)
Inks:  Bermuda Bay (#131171) and Melon Mambo (#126948
Card Stock:  Whisper White (#100730) and Melon Mambo (#115320)
Ribbon:  1/8" Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon (#131206) and Silver 1/8" ribbon (#132137)
Sponge Daubers (#133773) and Silver Glimmer Paper, Small Heart Punch

Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Sweet Stuff - House of Cards Challenge

Are you in the mood for some Sweet Stuff? 
 Well, I used the Sweet Stuff  (#134156) stamp set for my niece's 
birthday that's coming up in September.
And I'm also entering the House of Cards Challenge with it. 
 It's a new-to-me challenge that had a great sketch for this month.
Yowza!!  What a fantastic and easy layout!  I really like it.
 After all, I got to use lots of Washi (love, love, love that stuff).
The ink is Coastal Cabana (#131175); the card stocks
 I got to dig out my Labels Collections Framelits (#125598), too!  Sweet!!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Amazing Birthday - Retrosketches

It's almost time for an Amazing Birthday!  Yep - we're
 having lots of those in our family during the month of September, 
so I've gotta get ready with some fun cards!
This bright and cheery card is one I made 
for the Retrosketches challenge this week.
So many wonderful layers . . . 
and lots of yummy colors . . . 
Some of the fun stuff I used:

Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Inspire - AAA Card Challenge

Today at AAA Card Challenge, we are being inspired by
 the talented Jane Taylor.  
I just love her work.  Here is her inspiration piece:
She does cool stuff on her blog like pictures of nature, as 
well as once a month a tribute to what has happened the
 month before from this cool little envelope where she has t
ucked things all the month before.  I really like that idea.
Anyway . . . 
Please join in with the wonderful inspiration at AAA Card Challenge. 
 I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Stencil CASE

CASEing (Copy And Share Everything) is a great thing to do. 
 It's fun and gives you license to take a project you like and make it your 
own - put your own twist on it, if you will.  Your twist may be a different 
color scheme, or maybe just a different stamp set, maybe your take is 
very, very different but your inspiration still came from the original project.
That's where this quick card comes into play.  I CASEd it from 
one I saw on the Stampin' Up! blog and switched out the stamp 
set and used a different blue for my sentiment.  
The inspiration piece used stencils, and I have just gotten a
 few - so I was achin' to try them out.

So much fun!!  First I stamped the sentiment in Island Indigo 
using the Age Awareness stamp set.  After that, the star stencil was 
used to stencil Crushed Curry ink stars randomly over the Whisper 
White card stock with a Sponge Dauber.  
For the finishing touches, Crushed Curry was daubed over a 
wider area of Whisper White and then cut out using the Star 
Framelits.  Whisper White Baker's Twine is looped over the 
top of the card with a small bow.

Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Good Greetings - Create with Connie & Mary

It's hard to beat a good greeting, don't you think?  

week, I've used a stamp from Good Greetings (#135014) centered in one 
of the Four Frames (#123440) stamp set. 
 It's fun to mix and match!
PERFECT for this layout.
CCMC315
 A bit of texture with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 
and Layering of the Basic Black (#121045)
Whisper White (#100730) card stock base.
A few embellishments of Basic Rhinestone Jewels (#119246) and
 a couple of fun punches put this cutie together!  
Easy card - it's ready to give away!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Monday, August 11, 2014

Gorgeous Moon

Last night, the coolest moon I've seen for a while was rising very quickly.
I was in my Stamping Studio, making some cards, and when
 I came up, realized it was too dark to photograph my cards to post 
on the blog.  However, there WAS that gorgeous moon out there 
begging for a few shots to memorialize the event.  I succumbed.
That moon was rising very, very quickly.  Since my eyesight 
isn't the greatest - thanks older age - I wasn't able to focus 
the camera as well as I wanted, but the interesting color 
still came through.

Hope you were able to enjoy the moon, stars, or whatever your
 night sky was last night, too.

Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Playing with Summer Foods - AAA Cards

What's your fav summer food?  One of mine has got to be watermelon.  
Love it!  
I've got a card with a watermelon slice on it today for you . . . 
It's a seedless watermelon - can you tell?  All the seedless watermelons 
I get have these little white "seeds" anyway (why do they call
 it seedless if it has these white seeds?).  I may never know.
Anyway - at AAA Cards, the challenge this week is for Summer Foods.  
Please be sure to join us.  I cannot wait to see what you have to share!
On my watermelon rind, I actually used a technique called "rocking".  
I began with the lightest green I have (Pistachio Pudding (#131177),
then took the same stamp and rocked the back of it 
(where the back of the rind would be) in Wild Wasabi (#109014).  
Finally, to get the dark green outside of the rind, I rocked the 
stamp in Garden Green.  Then I laid it on the card stock.  
See the different colors?
To make the tasty eating part of the melon, I stamped off the 
Strawberry Slush (#131178) once each time before stamping 
on the card stock.

The card stock is Whisper White (#100730) 
and the Stamp Set is Work of Art (#134111).
Of course, those seeds are Basic Pearl Jewels (#119247).

Fun card, and a great challenge.  See you there!

Just wanted to share that I'm rockin' crutches these days, too!  
Right knee finally gave out - oh, well!
Photo: My new crutches and the knee that demanded I buy them
Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!


Friday, August 8, 2014

Love a Riddle - CAS-ual Fridays

Don't you love a riddle?
Okay - What's black and white and Chevron all over? 

 My card!  And for a bonus, it has a bit of
 sparkle with some sequins, too!! 
Ha!
It's for the Cas-ual Fridays Challenge where they have 
a Tic Tac Toe for their last challenge of 2014. 
 They said we're not to freak out because they'll 
be back in 2015 - it's just a bit of a re-charge for the group.
And I chose the top row across for Chevrons, 
Black and Sequins.  A fun and CAS card.
So hope you can keep to what the card says - it's a 
great saying from the Ray of Sunshine stamp set.

The card stocks are Whisper White and Basic Black 
and I used the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stacks.  
And, of course, the Gold Sequin Trim!

Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Creating - Tap Tap Tap - Retrosketches

Tap, Tap, Tap goes my keyboard - both my computer and typewriter!  

I just LOVE typewriters - in fact, I have a collection of antique 
ones, and this stamp set of Tap Tap Tap fits 
in perfectly with that obsession.
It's just wonderful when the universe falls together like that.
This cute card ties in with the Retrosketches challenge this week.
And then there is the color scheme - using inks of
 Tangelo Twist, Basic Gray, and card stock colors of
 Bermuda Bay and Whisper White - all done to
 meet the color challenge for the Create with Connie and Mary team.
CCMC314
Very fun!  Cannot wait to mail this or hand it out to someone.  
What about you?  Have any cards you're handing/mailing out?
I'd love to hear about it . . . 
And remember - I'm thinking of you!
Thanks so much for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Monday, August 4, 2014

Beautiful Day - Lovely Walk

The day began with clouds and rain - turning unexpectedly into the 
most beautiful day we've had for a while!

We had to get out and enjoy it with a lovely walk.  We took 
our walk in the "Bog" - a park that's only a couple 
years old by our home.
It's a natural prairie and just wonderful for walks.  
You see lots of birds, butterflies, and blooms.
In fact, the Queen Anne's Lace is taller than we were!
Everywhere are cone flowers in vibrant yellows, pinks, and purples.  
Fortunately, it wasn't too buggy, either.
The path is nice and wide - just right for two or three to walk side-by-side.
Wonderful day.
Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Flower Patch Watercolor - AAA Cards

Watercolor fun - I just LOVE it!  It's one of my favorite
 things to do and AAA Cards Challenge is using for this 
week's challenge!  I'm so glad since there's so
 much you can do with it.
For this card, I inked up the Flower Patch stamp and then sprayed a fine 
mist of water on the stamp until the water began to run; then
 I stamped it on the card stock and let it dry.  After that, I did the
 next layer of my flower, and then the final, red part of the flower 
was heat embossed after the second layer dried.
It's not a completely clean technique - and that's ok.  Sometimes 
You've got to let go of your perfections when it comes 
to having fun.
So - I began a new job this week, and I gave this card to the
 Office Manager when I was thanking her for all the help she's
 been giving me while I adjust to the ways
 this new (to me) office does things. 
 She likes to make cards, so I hoped she would like it.  She did!  
She really seemed to enjoy getting a hand-stamped card.  Yay!
Go out there and give away your cards, too.  
And I'll look forward to seeing what you create 
(and have given away) at AAA Cards.
Thanks for stopping by ~~ Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!