Beautiful Shells

Another very late post, maybe this is a thing... 

Tonight's card uses the Inspired By... challenge with cookies, colors and even a sketch. I didn't follow it, but I was *inspired by the sketch. I did a kind of blocking with the stamps. And I used their colors, and a beach theme. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Beautiful Beach (2006!)
Ink: Versamark, Island Indigo

Paper: Crumb Cake, Lost Lagoon card stocks 

Accessories: Regals Candy Dots, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Heat Tool

I used a really old technique of stamping  inking up the image first in Versamark, then in the color you want, then stamping it on the paper. Then you use the fancy, long-retired Iridescent Ice embossing powder to make it SPARKLE. Before you heat it, it looks like this: 

and afterwards, it's super sparkly and also a trick to photograph, ha.

But all the shells look like that bottom clam shell IRL, on a certain angle, ha. 

I also almost used up this pack of Candy Dots. I just have four left! Just a little bummed that they didn't line up super well.... It's FINE. The recipient won't mind too much, ha. 

Traveling Birthday!

Did you have a happy 4th of July weekend? Ours was busy, happy and good. And hot... 

Today I have a late post, and a happy card!

I almost never use four stamp sets on one project, but here we are! I needed Neuschwanstein Castle (been there!) and the Arc de Triomphe, and thought this Eiffel Tower looked like a good enough match in style (not really, but it's close enough). Then the images fit perfectly for this color blocked look using the latest from TGIF Challenges! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Chase Your Dreams, Artistic Etchings, Lets Get Away, Special Moments (all long retired!)

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Coastal Cabana, Lemon Lime Twist

Accessories: Classic Matte Dots  

And it's going out in the mail in the morning! 

Purple Flowers

Happy July! 
I don't know about your neck of the woods but around here it's been a little bleak.
We have a lot of terrible wild fires surrounding our area and we've had days of raining ash and days of yellow skies and it is definitely taking a toll, physically and mentally. It is too hot and blah to be outside enjoying summer, soo we kind of haven't. (altho we did have two really nice weather days this past weekend, which was a huge blessing!)
I don't know anything about soccer (seriously, I watched my middle kiddo play for six years and barely caught on her last season!) but I have enjoyed the fun social media posts about the World Cup. Other than that, not loving social media. Wow, people are grumpy. 
And SO. I have delivered cookies and mailed cards out to people I've noticed could use a bit of brightening to their day. 
Which means I needed to make some. ha. 

And so, today I have the colors from CAS Colours & Sketches, and I think it's CAS enough... tho I did sneak in a few flower centers of Crumb Cake...
Just some happy flowers to hopefully cheer up a friend of mine.

Supplies:

Stamps: Cheerful Daisies

Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Blackberry Bliss, Garden Green, Crumb Cake

Paper: Basic White card stock

Accessories: Dimensionals 

anyway. You should send out cards too. Share some love and not all the grumpiness and negativity. It's a good mid-year goal, haha. 

Bright Floral Birthday

Hello again! Today I have a happy card, even if it turned out differently than I meant it to... I used the colors from As You See It and clearly was inspired by the photo too. I'm also going to put this with the TGIF Challenges because the card front, and the greeting are popped up! 

I love this long-retired flower set. It always makes happy cards! I even know exactly who this is going to in a few weeks! 

The only thing that didn't go quite as planned was using the Blending Brush to add in a bit of Coastal Cabana "around" the flowers, but the brush spread around some of the Melon Mambo too...which is interesting because I was thinking it needed re-inked... ha! Oh well. I still like it. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Posies

Ink: Melon Mambo, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Basic White card stock

Accessories: Dimensionals, Blending Brush

Sunset birthday!

Sometimes you gotta take the inspiration photo literally, and this was one of those times!
Today's card is entirely based on the inspo photo from TGIF Challenges.
And some other day, I have got to use the other images in this fun bundle, ha! 

Supplies:

Stamps: Sunny Sentiments

Ink: Versamark
Paper: Full of Life DP, Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black card stocks

Accessories: Iridescent Pearls, Boardwalk Fun Dies, Black Embossing Powder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Heat Tool

I wanted to heat emboss the greeting so it would be a darker black than just ink. I haven't embossed in ages. I had to look hard for my heat tool AND the powder! Sheesh! Use your stuff! 

Back with Sympathy

I have a friend who's lost another dear family member, and I thought this color combination from Just Add Ink was soft and peaceful and would work well for a card for her. 

The specific shades I chose were Basic Black, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Balmy Blue & Boho Blue, and I used them all. I added a smidge of "gray" pearls, ahem. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Ranunculus Romance, In the Moment

Ink: Boho Blue, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray

Paper: Balmy Blue, Basic Gray, Basic White card stocks

Accessories: Black Vintage Crochet Trim, Metallic Pearls, Dimensionals, Blending Brushes

Winnie The Pooh!

And finally, we did get to meet and hug Winnie the Pooh!! Can you think of a better hug? haha! 

Last time we went, he was the first character we saw, but we couldn't hug any characters on that trip because of the plague. In fact, the week after we got home, they finally ended the mask requirement, which was totally lame because you could be crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in outdoor lines with no mask, but the second you went inside, ten feet away from the other "car", that mask had to be on correctly. things I do not miss.....

Supplies:

Stamps: Crayon Fun Alpha Lower, Sweet Old Friends, Sweet Words & Labels

Ink: Golden Glow, Memento Black
Paper: Basic Vanilla, Golden Glow card stocks, Silly Old Bear DP

This page shows another new In Color, Golden Glow. It is the shade of Pooh Bear in the new DP, because obviously it was meant for him! 

Once again, I added typed journaling afterwards. This time Pooh is laughing because my son went for a handshake instead of a hug, haha. Silly boys. 

I am looking forward to playing with these products more, that's for sure!! 

Seeing Eeyore

Continuing a little Disneyland, with the new Winnie the Pooh suite...
 
We didn't actually *meet Eeyore, but we saw him walk past a couple times! In the middle picture, he's waving to my bouncing youngest child, haha! 
I seriously love the DP in this suite. I MIGHT cave and get a second pack... 

Supplies:
Stamps: Crayon Fun Alpha Lower, Sweet Words & Labels

Ink: Memento Black, Hydrangea Hue
Paper: Basic Vanilla, Hydrangea Hue card stocks, Silly Old Bear DP

This page also shows off one of the new In Colors, Hydrangea Hue. It's a perfect blue. Gonna need to stock up on that too..... oy. 

Meet Rabbit

Happy Monday! Time just keeps on marching on and I still think it's February. It's fiiiine.

In March, we went on a trip to southern California- and I will start with {baby steps of} scrapping Disneyland! I have so. many. things. to scrapbook...! 
I started seeing sneak peeks of the Winnie the Pooh suite from Stampin' Up! and knew I needed it. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is definitely one of my top comfort movies. I got a stuffed Pooh and Tigger for my first Easter. My oldest has a stuffed Pooh and Tigger and my youngest has a stuffed Pooh and Piglet.
I was a little ...annoyed is probably too strong a word...? that it was a whole product suite, ha, because then I *needed more than just a stamp set, haha!
But then, along with a trip to Disney- yep, this suite is a NEED! And I didn't even get it all! 

So the first thing I scrapped for this trip was two of my kiddos meeting Rabbit! I made this layout using a cute bit of the DP and the stamp set. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Crayon Fun Alpha Lower, Sweet Words & Labels
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry

Paper: Basic Vanilla, Daffodil Delight card stocks, Silly Old Bear DP

Accessories: Blending Brush, really old washi tape

I did type up some journaling and stuck it in the open space. One thing was that Rabbit is reacting to my son's shirt which is the "The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison?" from a huge family favorite movie around here - Emperor's New Groove, which was the theme of t-shirts we got this year, hahaha!  

Birthday Scrapping

I have done something to my foot. Or ankle... Really, its the space below the ankle bone. I don't know what- but I'm pretty clumsy, so really, anything is possible. Also I'm over 40 so maybe I just slept wrong. Anyway, it makes it difficult to stand for a long time, which is how I craft, lol. So there's not a lot of new stuff.... 

But I did recently get some scrapping done for my youngest, so I can share that!

This one is quite simple, but I stamped strawberries on the pink card stock, because her pink shirt has dark pink strawberries. And the greeting isn't something I would usually think goes on a page, but in this case, it totally works. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Sweet Strawberry

Ink: Magenta Madness, Memento Black

Paper: Magenta Madness & Basic White card stock
Accessories: Iridescent Pearls, Oval Punch
Journaling Font: justbeautifulsimplicity

A different kind of calendar - the end!

Welp! My girl is off to Mexico City, starting quite an adventure! She has contacted us briefly a couple of times so we know she's alive and well! Tomorrow we should have a chance for a real conversation, but in the meantime, here's the end of her calendar pages. I counted the first post wrong, so it's less pages this time, ha. 

September:

October:

November:

Hopefully she's got this hanging in her new space, and hopefully it's cheerful and not adding to the homesickness... 

Cookies for the Teacher

Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a good weekend. We had a lot of family time, which was good and very needed. 

Today I have a card that I made simply because I didn't want to get my card stash box out one. more. time! It's currently in an awkward spot because the craft room is a wreck, and it was just too much for me to do again, lol, so I just made one! Plus I got to play with SUO Challenges for the sketch. And actually, I think the card turned out better for the recipient than any I had on hand, so it's fiiine. 

Again with the retired stash, ha. Also fine. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Nothing's Better Than

Ink: Cinnamon Cider, Memento Black, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Basic White card stocks

Accessories: Iridescent Striped Trim, Opal Rounds, Perennial Postage Dies, Blending Brushes, Dimensionals, big shot 

This one is actually going to my daughter's school teacher. (the inside says "you make everything better") My kiddo has had a rough time at school the last few years, but at least this year she had a good teacher. She will tell you that, too. I don't know her teacher super well, but on her faculty page it says her favorite color is turquoise and that she likes cookies. I can do that. I was also drawn to this ribbon and realized the dots are a perfect match, and I think it's because she's one of those people who just exudes light. Bless her. Seriously. She is exactly the kind of person who should teach elementary age children.

Most years I have given my children's teachers a small thank you, and usually it's a short stack of cards for them to use and some kind of treat. We have a lot of cookie places around here, so we got this teacher a gift card for one of them. She also got five cards to use, this card from me, and a picture my daughter drew for her. 

Also, funny secret, the little gift sack comes from the eye doctor. I like that it says Thank You right on it, and for a long time I didn't even know where we got them in the gift wrap stash, haha... But it's a perfect fit, so I'm gonna use it!