Friday, August 8, 2025

Counting the stars

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Add a Sentiment

Here is my card for your inspiration:
I have been working really hard to use up EVERY single scrap of this patterned paper pack!  The partial star was already die cut from a previous project and the side strip was made with little tiny scraps of the same pack.  And then I had some little tiny scraps left and I die cut out the three brown stars. I pulled them all together and thought the would work perfectly with this sentiment.  I will probably use it as an encouragement card.  If God knows the names of the stars, He certainly knows your name and He cares about YOU!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Shining Star"
Dies: My Favorite Things "Star Stax";  Stamps of Life little stars

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #711--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Snippets #512--anything goes with snippets (every single thing on here is a snippet, other than maybe the card base)
Cards Galore #138--anything goes
Creative Inspirations--anything goes
Colorful options--mood board colors OR rainbow (I went with the rainbow option)




Thursday, August 7, 2025

Hello

I was chosen as the Star of the Month for CRAFTChallenge several months ago, and I get to guest design for them for the month of August.  For the first challenge the theme is Summer/Holiday (Vacation)/Anything Goes.  The sponsor is Star Stampz.
I chose to go with the Summer theme.  Where I live (on the coast of New England, USA), strawberries ripen at the beginning of summer.  So, when I saw this image, I decided to go with a strawberry themed card, and here it is for your inspiration:
I colored up my image and then chose some green and red patterned papers to extend the color scheme.  I die cut the "hello" and finished everything off with some red pearls.

I hope that you will stop by the CRAFT blog to see what the Design Team did for this challenge.  And then come back and play along with us.

Supplies:
Stamps: Star Stampz "Strawberry" digi
Dies: YNS "hello"; unbranded circle die from Amazon

Challenges:
Shopping Our Stash #553--eat 5 a day (fruits and veggies)
Creative Fingers #305--anything goes
Cards Galore #138--anything goes


 







Creative Inspirations--anything goes
Creatalicious #291--anything goes with the optional twist: summer fun/at the beach (summer fun: picking strawberries)
613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: summer fun
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Friday, August 1, 2025

Bear hugs

Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Embossing.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Sheepski Designs.

 Here is my card:
Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary!  This is the card I made to give to him.  I used an embossing folder on my patterned paper on my base layer--something I don't think I have tried before.  It gives a fun texture, obviously, but I'm not sure I like it and it sort of muddies up the pattern on the paper itself.  Overall, I do think it turned out really cute.
In the photo below you can see the sentiment I added to the inside as well as one of the die cut hearts left over from the front of the card.

You have all month to play along.  So, get inky and link up your creation; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sheepski Designs "Fuzzy Friends"; PaperTrey Ink "Inside and Out: Love"
Dies: unbranded circle die from Amazong; MFT "Tag Builders: Blueprints 5" hearts

Challenges:













Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with an embossing folder with the optional twist: birthday or anniversary
The Paper Shelter--anything goes
Crafty Catz #699--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday--summertime blue
Penny's Challenge #602--anything goes
Krafty Chicks #779--anything goes
Creative Fingers #305--anything goes

Hoppy birthday

 Happy August 1st!!  It's time for a new challenge on the Critter Crazy Challenge blog!  As always, it is a month long challenge: Anything Goes as long as you feature a creature.  Here is my card for your inspiration:

This card was created with a bunch of scraps and bits that were lying on my desk just waiting to be used.  Since I was in a bit of a hurry (as I very often am), I decided to use some of these pre-made elements and create a fun, and cute, birthday card for a family member.  I really enjoy trying to use up every last bit of patterned paper from my paper packs.  When I get down to just little scraps, I love to create the border pieces using small strips of scrap paper.  The varying widths and patterns make for a fun element, I think.  So, I trimmed off the front of my card base and adhered one of these border pieces to the front.  I also had the die cut "hello" letters (two sets of them, don't ask me why I had two sets!!) sitting on my desk and thought it would be a fun addition to the sentiment AND add a bit more interest to this otherwise very CAS car.  I stamped the frog, fly and trail and sentiment directly onto the card base, colored up the frog and glued the "hello" in place and it was finished!  I love the pun in the sentiment!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hop on over to the Critter Crazy blog and check out the details and the rest of the projects from the Design Team.

Supplies:
Stamps: Memory Box "Hoppy Holidays"
Dies: MFT "Essential Hello"

Challenges:
NBUS #76--never before used schtuff (this is the first outing for this adorable frog stamp set)
The Paper Shelter--anything goes
Crafty Catz #699--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #710--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenge #602--anything goes
Krafty Chicks #779--anything goes
Creative Fingers #305--anything goes


Friday, July 25, 2025

Monochrome

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Monochromatic

Here is my card for your inspiration:
I had a bunch of fun with this one as I stepped outside my comfort zone and went a little bit mixed media.  I started by stamping a French Script in several places over the background.  I then stamped the frame image three times and added several butterflies, all in the same Aqua Mist ink.  I splattered on some gold and black splatter from Picket Fence Studio.  I stamped the sentiment with the same Aqua Mist ink and added some gold thread and some gold nuvo enamel drops to finish everything off.
You can see the shimmer on that gold splatter in the photo above.  I also swiped on some of that same platter in onto my sentiment panel for some extra shimmer.


Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts "French Script"; Altenew frames; Picket Fence Studio butterflies; Verve "Be Blessed" sentiment
Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" stitched banner

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday--make your own background
Nbus--never before used schtuff (the first time out for the butterfly stamp set)
Creative Knockouts #551--sparkle & shine
Cards Galore #137--anything goes
Die Cut Divas--happy birthday
We Love Stamping--sun, sea & sand OR anything goes (I went with anything goes)

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Joy to the World

 A couple months ago, I won the chance to be a guest designer for CRAFT Challenge Blog.  This challenge is the one I get to design for!!  Yippee!!  The challenge is "Christmas in July" and the two amazing sponsors are The Cutting Cafe and Dr. Digi's House of Stamps.

I am using an image from Dr. Digi's House of Stamps and here is my card for your inspiration:
I thought using this gnome as a Christmas image was a bit of fun, so I colored him up to look a bit like Santa.  And he is "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."  Now that I say that, I wish I had added a Christmas tree; that would have been so fun!!
I used some scraps of patterned paper and a snowflake border die cut that was in my bits and pieces stash.  The silver stars also were in the stash.  To go with the music theme, I embossed the base panel with a music score embossing folder.  It added so much interest to all that white space!


Supplies:
Stamps: Dr. Digi's House of Stamps "Tony I Gnomey" digi; Papertrey Ink "Just Sentiments: Be Merry" sentiment
Dies: Memory Box snowflake border; Verve stars
Darice embossing folder

Challenges:
Crafter's Cafe Blog #321--anything goes with the optional twist: Christmas in July
Creative Inspirations--stars AND/OR stripes
Craft Rockets #127--Christmas in July













Crafty Gals Corner #268--fill in the blank-- . . . in July (Christmas)
613 Avenue--anything goes with the optional twist: any holiday
Di's Digi Stamps--Christmas in July
Paper Shelter--anything goes


Friday, July 18, 2025

Be Merry

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Use a Die Cut.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: All Dressed Up.

 Here is my card:
I went with a Christmas theme again as I thought this little Santa girl was super cute!  I colored her up and added some Diamond Dust glitter to the "fur" and pom pom on her hat.

You have all month to play along.  So, get inky and link up your creation; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: All Dressed Up "Little Christmas Girl" digi; Papertrey Ink "Just Sentiments: Be Merry" sentiment
Dies: Spellbinders "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangle; Verve "Sprightly Sprigs"; My Favorite Things "Fancy Flourish"

Challenges: 
Unicorn Challenge #111--Christmas in July













613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any holiday
Aud Sentiments--tags AND/OR Christmas in July
Creative Fingers #305--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #601--anything goes