Warmest Birthday Wishes

 

Hello friends.  I am participating in the challenge this week at Color Hues where we are honoring and remembering our friend, Lindsey, who recently lost her battle with cancer.  I never had the privilege of meeting Lindsey in person, but we were online friends for a number of years.  We were on the DT of The 25 Days of Christmas Tags together, and I never could see a cat or book themed stamp set without thinking of Lindsey.

I chose to CASE a card of Lindsey's and decided on this card from a recent blog post of hers.  I knew I wanted to make a clean and simple card, just like Lindsey's, and wanted to have a cat sitting in a chair reading a book.

Lindsey's Card

I used Sunny Vibes stamps from MFT, and put my cat reading a book at the beach.  I chose this stamp set in particular because it is one that Lindsey and I had discussed, and I remember making a card from it and sending it to Lindsey.

My CASE'd card

I am also entering this card at Just Us Girls #643: CASE a Designer (Lindsey M-P), AAA Birthday #40: Anything Birthday Goes, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes, and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Birthday.

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Time Out #219...With Sympathy

 

It is time for a new challenge at Time Out.  We challenge you to make a card inspired by this photo:

Fun fact about this beautiful sunset photo is that it is a picture of the beach near my house.  (I did not take this photo--but found it online)

I was inspired by the beautiful colors of this sunset, and the silhouette of the plants in front.

How will this photo inspire you?  

Please head over to Time Out to see more inspiration from our fabulous Guest Designer, Deepti, and the Time Out Design Team.  Varada Sharma  is our sponsor for this challenge.  Details for the prize are on the Time Out Challenge Blog.

This challenge will run for 2 weeks.  I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule to play along with us.  

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Guest Designer Color Hues #45: Peach & Gray

Hello and happy Saturday.  I am posting today as the Guest Designer at Color Hues #45, where the colors are Peach & Gray.

This is such a lovely color scheme, and I immediately thought of creating some peach flowers.  This card actually was quite quick and easy to make.  I pulled out a very old PTI stamp (Bigger Blooms, I think) and stamped one corner in DO Dried Marigold.  Flipped the card over and stamped the opposite corner.  It looked a little flat, so I used colored pencils to add a bit of darker peach to the flowers.  Then I cut the center out of the panel and popped it up just a bit for some added dimension.

This is where I confess that for my first version of the card, I got the colors wrong.  For some reason, I had it in my mind that the colors were Coral and Gray.  No, I did not check the email before starting my card!  So, at least the card was very quick and easy to make, and once I realized that Coral was the wrong color, it was very easy to redo using peach.

A very happy mistake, because now I have two cards!

I big 'THANK YOU' to the kind folks at Color Hues for having me as their Guest Designer for this fun challenge.  I would encourage you to head over to the Color Hues blog to see the lovely inspiration provided by their Design Team.

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Time Out #218...RBG

It is time for a new challenge at Time Out.  We challenge you to make a card inspired by this quote:

"Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life.  Reading shaped my dreams and more reading helped me make my dreams cone true."

--Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I was inspired by this quote to make a card featuring books and reading.  I used Newton's Nook Sips & Stories stamps for my card.  I am always needing book and reading themed cards for my book club friends.  I especially like the sentiment I chose, as it has the word 'judge' in it--fitting for a quote from a Supreme Court Justice.

There are so many ways to be inspired by this quote.  Will you focus on books and reading?  How about dreams?  Doors?  Or maybe an encouragement card.  We'd love to see how you are inspired.

Please head over to Time Out to see more inspiration from the Time Out Design Team.  Newton's Nook is our sponsor for this challenge.  Details for the prize are on the Time Out Challenge Blog.


This challenge will run for 2 weeks.  I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule to play along with us.  

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Time Out #217...Be Kind

It's time for a new challenge at Time Out.  This week, we challenge you to:  

Be Kind

The world could use a little more kindness, don't you think?

I paired up this pretty flower from PTI Beautiful Brushstrokes with a little sentiment set to create my CAS card.  I really do agree with this sentiment.

Please head over to Time Out to see more inspiration from our fabulous Guest Designer, Arlene Rose, and the Time Out Design Team. CAS-ual Fridays is our sponsor for this challenge.  Details for the prize are on the Time Out Challenge Blog.


This challenge will run for 2 weeks.  I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule to play along with us.  

Thanks for Visiting

Time Out #216...Tropical

 

It is time for a new challenge at Time Out.  This is a THEME week at Time Out, and our theme this week is:

TROPICAL

I have a little secret for you....I made this post and scheduled it in advance because right now (if you are reading this on the first few days of the challenge) I am in Maui, and it looks exactly like this where I am.  Wish you were here.

I created this little tropical scene by combining stamps from Mama Elephant (Beach Chickies) and Clearly Besotted (Scene it More).  It is such fun when I can take my stamps out from different companies and they play so well together.  My sky is blended distress ink, and I created that sandy beach with copic markers using a technique I learned somewhere but now cannot remember.

Please head over to Time Out to see more inspiration from our fabulous Guest Designer, , and the Time Out Design Team.   Topflight Stamps is our sponsor for this challenge.  Details for the prize are on the Time Out Challenge Blog.


This challenge will run for 2 weeks.  I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule to play along with us.  

Thanks for Visiting

CASology Week #404...Ride

 

On a personal note, this will be my last challenge as a member of the Design Team at CASology.  I have been on the team since 2014, and I cannot believe how the time has flown by.  CASology was the first DT I was ever on, and I would like to say a big thank you to Melissa for taking a chance on me and welcoming me to her team.  I am grateful to my teammates at CASology and well as all the talented card makers that have played with us over the years.  You are a constant source of inspiration.  I'll see you all around blogland, and probably at CASology as well, where I plan to play along as often as I can.

Now, back to my typical CASology post...

Hello and happy Tuesday. It's time for another challenge at CASology.   This week, our cue word is RIDE. I just love this little scooter with its festive balloon message.  To keep the card CAS I used white on white texture behind my main focal image.

Now it's your turn.  How does RIDE inspire you?


As always, remember the following CAS guidelines when creating your design:

1. One main image
2. Lots of open space, uncluttered
3. Limited layers & embellishments
4. Quick & easy to recreate (Note: It may take a while to create a design you like, but once you have that design, making more should be a piece of cake!)

I hope you play along this week.

Please head on over to the CASology blog and gather some inspiration from our Guest Designer Marieke, and our design team.  

Thanks for Visiting

Crafty Round Up

 

Hello and happy Sunday.  A lot has been going on here behind the scenes, and I am finally taking a breath to post a few cards I've made over the past I-Don't-Know-How-Long.

First up is my first creation from the newest MFT Stamps kit called Greetings from the Couch.  For some reason, this kit really spoke to me.  Maybe it's because I practically never leave my house, or maybe it's because I know I need to go couch shopping soon.

I was inspired by the black and yellow colors at Color Hue #42, the photo from Inkspiration #266 (although I must admit my home scene is way tidier than the inspiration photo), Addicted to Stamps and More #430: Die Cuts, and Seize the Birthday #239: no topping.

Next up is this little cutie that combines two different MFT gnome sets I recently purchased.  Aren't they adorable?  This is a birthday card for a friend who loves gnomes.  I am entering this card at Seize the Birthday #239: no topping.

I don't know when the babies will start to arrive in my family, but I will be ready.  This one is going into the stash.  I am entering it at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Little Critters.

The next 4 cards will also be entered at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Little Critters, and I made them all using some new mini sets from Colorado Craft.  I am newly obsessed with their adorable mice, and all the fun these critters can get into.

This first card was a graduation card for my youngest who just graduated from college.  I my mind, that stylish mouse is carrying a suitcase, off to tackle the world.

In this card, our brave little mouse is an artist, making art that makes them happy.

And a pair of cards celebrating marriage and anniversary.  Just love these little mice love birds.

Last up is a graduation card for a nephew who plans to study Architecture.  I thought that The Greetery Big Plans background would be the perfect backdrop for this card.  I am entering this card at Addicted to Stamps and More #430: Die Cuts.

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Time Out #215...Wild Birthday

It is time for a new challenge at Time Out.  We challenge you to make a card inspired by the photo above.  Here is a closer look at the photo:

I love this room and the beautiful decor.  I decided to focus on those giraffes, as I have a little bit of a thing for giraffes.  I used some brightly colored giraffes to create a focal point on my card.  I think this makes a very fun birthday card for a young friend, or even one who is young at heart.

Where will this photo take you?  What appeals to you about this photo?  We'd love to see it in your card.

Please head over to Time Out to see more inspiration from our fabulous Guest Designer, Deepti Aggarwal, and the Time Out Design Team.  Stamplorations is our sponsor for this challenge.  Details for the prize are on the Time Out Challenge Blog.


This challenge will run for 2 weeks.  I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule to play along with us.  

Thanks for Visiting

Happy Tuesday

Hello and happy Tuesday.  I am popping in quickly to share 2 cards.  My first card was inspired by the challenge at Just Add Ink #604: CASE of Yourself.  I still had my Hero Arts City Park stamps out, and was thinking I'd like to make something using those stamps again, but much simpler than the first batch of cards I made.  See here and below.  I created a distress ink background (I can't decide if it is sunrise or sunset) and kept my stamping to just that upper third of the card.  I like how CAS this card is.  

I am also entering this card at Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero May and Perfectly CAS #27: Distress.

My next card uses some of my oldest stamps --PTI Game On.  My newest family member is a gamer, so I broke out this little mini stamp set to make his birthday card.  I am entering this card at AAA Birthday #37: Let's Party, Retro Rubber #183: Anything Goes (8 years old?) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Layer it Up.

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