My Favorite Things

This fab sentiment stamp is perfect for upcoming graduations.  I found it at the My Favorite Things store in Eustis, Florida this past winter.  Today, I've paired it up with the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #226.

This was my first time trying MFT stamps and I am very pleased.  I used water based ink and it inked up well, giving me a clear image the first time I used it.

This card has been entered in these fun challenges:

MFT Sketch Challenge #226

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge - Monochromatic

City Crafter Challenge Week 239 - CASE FOUR ( I picked up Stella's pop of red and star for my card.)

Scrap It Girl! April Color Challenge - Black, white + 1 additional color (red)

Deedee's Digis April Guest Designer Card # 5

My last card as April Guest Designer for Deedee's Digis uses the set Rose Regards

and a Twisted Circular Easel Card.

I've had a wonderful time making cards for Deedee's Digis this month.  Thanks so much for asking me to be your April GD.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Aurora Wings Challenge #14 - Flowers

Crafting from the Heart Challenge #57 - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion Challenge #259 - Always Anything Goes

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

Glitter n Sparkle Challenge #134 - Easel Cards

Robyn's Fetish Challenge #261 - Easel Cards

Scribble and Scrap Challenge #43 - Always Anything Goes

Creatilicious Challenge #74 - Embossing (I've used dry embossing.)

Di's Digi Designs Challenge - Fun/Fancy Folds

Chocolate Coffee and Cards Challenge #89 - Use a Die Cut (I've used Spellbinders Beaded Circles Dies.)

Polkadoodles Challenge Week 17 - Anything but Square
Creative Card Crew Challenge #86 - Fancy Folds

Two Tuesday posts

Purchasing a new dishwasher before my annual Mother's Day Lunch is my top priority today.  But while I finish my morning tea, I'd like to share the card I made for this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #105, the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #179, and the Anything Goes Heart 2 Heart April Challenge.

 

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #242

The theme for this week's challenge at Tuesday Throwdown is Get Well.  Using the digi image, Love Sick Nurse, supplied by our sponsor, Karleigh Sue's Digis,  I decided to make a masculine card with a card fold I haven't tried before, a Pinwheel Fold.

 

 It's always nice to have a masculine get well card in my stash. 

I had a very difficult time deciding which of the 2 images the DT was so generously given by our sponsor to use.  

I printed them both and colored them both. 

 So why not use them both?

This Karleigh Sue digi image is called Take Time to Smell the Flowers. 

To see more Karleigh Sue Digi images visit the Digi Shoppe.  To join the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge and maybe win a Karleigh Sue Digi Image simply make a Get Well card and link it up.  And to make some very hard working crafters happy please visit the blogs of my Tuesday Throwdown Design Teammates and leave them a little love.


The first card has been entered in the following challenges:
Crafting From the Heart Challenge #57 - Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenge #223 - Hip to be Square
Digi Designs Challenge - Fun/Fancy Folds
QKR Stampede Challenge #136 - Guy Cards

Getting ready for those May flowers

Yes, it's time to spend more time playing in the dirt than playing with crafts.  There are just a few exceptions, one of them being Mojo Monday.  So I've used an April Showers Bring May Flowers theme and the Tall & Skinny Mojo Monday Sketch to make a birthday card for my daughter, who was born May 1st!  Although, this card could be used for just about any occasion.

(sentiment stamp by Taylored Expressions)

This card is my entry in the following challenges:

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge # 395

The Paper Girls Challenge #78 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Use Your Stuff Challenge #181 - April Showers

Eclectic Ellapu April Challenge - Purple Team April Showers/Spring

Daring Cardmakers Challenge - Under the Weather

Time Out Challenge #29 - You can't make a rainbow without a little rain

I just realized that the Color Throwdown Challenge # 339 closes in 6 hours so I am also posting this yellow, black and white card using the flowers I cut to make my stencil for Saturday's card.

(sentiment stamp is CTMH)

Smell the Daisies

 
Yesterday I thought I'd try making and using my own stencil.  I cut several sizes and shapes of flowers out of a sheet of paper using the Cricut and CTMH Artiste Cartridge.  The flowers are still on the cricut mat to be used later.  The negative became my stencil.  I taped it to a sheet of white CS and, using ink and a sponge dauber, I added the flowers creating my own background paper.  Next I debossed the paper with a daisy embossing folder.  It was kind of a whoopsie because I meant to emboss it but put the paper in upside down.  But I really like how it turned out.   And it works well as background for this digital image and sentiment from Doodle Pantry's Floral Hats set.  

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Doodle Pantry Ants in My Pantry Challenge #4 - Anything Goes
Bloggers Challenge - Stencil It
Wags n Whiskers Challenge #132 - Flowers
As You Like It Challenge - Favorite Style of Embossing and Why (I love dry embossing.  It adds texture to the card.  There is a wide variety of EF available.  It's not messy.  And it's hard to mess up. Unless, you put the paper in the EF upside down, like I did here.  But, even then, the debossing looks great.)
Southern Girls Challenge - Get Wordy
Perfectly Rustic Design Challenge #46 - New Technique (making and using my own stencil)

Corrosive Challenge #222 - Floral Fantasy
The Color Sisters Challenge Palette -
 

From the Heart April Challenge

Here's a quick and simple card for today:

From the Heart April Challenge - Anything Goes with Hamlet Pigwit being Shy Digi Set
Brown Sugar Challenge #143 - Anything Goes
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe #223 - Anything Goes
As You Like It Challenge - Favorite kind of embossing and why (I love dry embossing.  It adds texture to the card.  There is a wide variety of EF available.  It's not messy.  And it's hard to mess up.)
Scrap and Craft Challenge #7 - Tie it up!  (I've used baker's twine)
Cuttlebug Mania Challenge - Button Up! (I've used a Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder.)
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Cute as a Button
Eureka Stamps Challenge #137 - Buttons and Bows

Owl have to make a couple more of these

I cannot take credit for this adorable owl card.  I have cased it from the Papercrafting Princess, herself.  Tracey has some wonderful cards on her blog.  This isn't the first one I've cased.  

(sentiment stamp by Taylored Expressions)

The owls are from the CTMH Artbooking Cricut Cartridge.  The next one I make, I think I'll use the white and black glitter tapes behind the owls for their belly feathers.  The DP is embossed for extra texture. 

Owl enter this card in the following challenges:
The Paper Shelter Challenge 200 - It's a Celebration
Cuttin and Stampin Challenge 12 - Cute Critters
Sweet Stamps Challenge #218 - Pearls
Through the Craft Room Door Challenge Apr 21-27 - Anything Goes
Simply Create Too Challenge #83 - No digis or stamped images
The Crafting Cafe April Challenge - Flights of Fancy 
CCC Digi Creations Challenge #23 - Add some sparkle
Card and Scrap Challenge #95 - Anniversaries

Deedee's Digis April Guest Designer Card # 4

Here's something different for my Deedee's Guest Designer card this week.  Instead of making a card with folds, I've made a fun shaped card using another of Deedee's adorable digi sets called Rainy Day.

I thought this little duck swimming in the umbrella made a great April Showers card, a fun cheer up card for a rainy day.

I hope you'll stop by Deedee's Digi shop where you'll find something perfect for every occasion.  

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Creative Card Crew Challenge #65 - Sentiment

Cuttin and Stampin Challenge #12 - Cute Critters

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge Apr 21-27 - Always Anything Goes

Crafting from the Heart Challenge #56 - Anything Goes

Love to Scrap Challenge #52 - Anything Goes

Without Words April Challenge - Under my umbrella

Pile It On Challenge #65 - April Showers....

My Time to Craft Challenge #288 - Umbrellas

The Alphabet Challenge - "e" is for eye-catching edges

Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge #116 - Aqua and lt. coral colors

Next Wednesday will be my final Guest Design Card for Deedee's Digi Designs and I have a very special twisted easel card to show you. 

Ahoy There! + CTMH Cards 4/21/15

Imagine That... digis by Kris has supplied participants in last month's progressive challenge a cute new digi set, My Sailmate, to use in this month's Imagine That challenge.   

Here is my April entry:

front

inside

This boat is pointed toward the following challenges:

Digi Choosday Challenge #16 - Spots and Dots
Paper Minutes Challenge #380 - Wood
Crafty Cardmaker Challenge #137 - Dots 
Love to Scrap Challenge #52 - Anything Goes
Ooh La La Creations Challenge #178 - At least 5 layers
Come and Get It Challenge - Things that start with b (boat, blue, birds)

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Today was card class at Joyce's.  Take a look at these:

Nice cards, Joyce.

Missed you, Gail.

Yesterday was Sunday so..........

that means today is Monday!  If I wasn't retired, it wouldn't excite me in the least.  But since I am retired, I now look forward to Mondays and my 2 favorite sketch challenges.

When I saw today's sketch for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #104, I was delighted.  I haven't made one of these layered cards in quite a while and like them very much.  I decided to combine it with the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #138 and the Birthday Fun 4 Kids Challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids.

(I've used the Pinwheel and Just to Say stamp sets from CTMH)

 

Yesterday, I colored the Coffee Girl digi image for the April Gerde Steiner Designs Progressive Challenge, hoping I'd be able to use it with today's Mojo Monday sketch #394.  

(Sentiment is from the CTMH pinwheel set.)

 

The paper I used is leftover from a project I made on Friday.  I was "trying" to reorganize my stuff.  Seems like I am continually trying to organize my stuff.  I have a box that I use to keep partially made card fronts and extra images that was quite literally bursting at the seams.  I found another spot for the images to alleviate some of the stress on the box.  Then I decided to decorate the box to help reinforce the bursting seams.

Work and play at the same time. 

 

Deedee's Digis April Progressive Challenge

While most of Deedee's digis feature cute critters, Blooming Blessings,  the set for this month's progressive challenge, doesn't.  This set has some wonderful sentiments and floral images just in time to make some great Mother's Day cards.  I've made a very special gate fold card using 2 of the images and a sentiment.

card front

card back

opening the gate fold

inside sentiment 
 
I am entering this card in these additional challenges:  
Stamping Sensations April Challenge - Pretty in Pink
Polkadoodle Challenge Week 15 - Pink and Pretty
Moving Along with the Times Challenge - Anything but a Square Card

Hoping not Hopping Today

Yesterday I did quite a bit of blog hopping.  Really Reasonable Ribbon has their monthly hop.  Gosh that DT has talent.  I spent some time doing the CTMH Stamp of the Month blog hop and trying to decide if I want to purchase that vintage typewriter and cute sayings.  Sweet 'n Sassy has a fun hop and challenge.  And I still had the monthly Joyful Stars hop to finish.  (I always check Joyce's (super cute chick card), Betty's, Crystal's (she made a great shutter card this month) and Nancy's blogs first)

Now that I got all that hopping out of my system, here's a very simple spring card featuring a flower digi from Bugaboo Digi Stamps, 3 layers and punched scalloped corners - just what I need to enter it in the April Bingo Challenge at Catch the Bug.

(sentiment is a CTMH stamp)

And here are a few more challenges where you might see this tulip popping up:
Allsorts Challenge Week 307 - Quick and Simple
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #32 - Q is for Quick
Susy Bee's Bloomin Challenge #76 - Anything Goes; twist - Punches and/or Dies
Crafts 4 Eternity Challenge #222 - Spring
Creative Moments Challenge #66 - Anything Goes Spring/Easter
Ruby's Rainbow Challenge #102 - CAS
Clear It Out Challenge - Theme:Color Challenge  Stash Item:Yellow (I used an old yellow card base.)
Shopping Our Stash Challenge #197 -  Lost & Found  (This tulip digi was in the wrong file folder.  Don't even know how it got there.)
Top Tip Tuesday Challenge - 3 of something  (3 paper layers)

I do believe I'll go out and play in the dirt on this gorgeous spring day!

Tomorrow I have a special Mother's Day card to show you.

Spring Tulips + CTMH Cards from 4/14/15

Haven't seen hide nor hair of a tulip in any of my flower beds yet.  I do have a few daffodils blooming and a few more buds ready to open.   Spring is getting a really late start.  

Thought I'd use a retired CTMH stamp set, Blessed, for the tulips on this card for The Muse Challenge #113.  I switched the contrast color from Blue to Purple and used sentiments from the CTMH stamp set, Just to Say,  that came bundled with the newest cricut cartridge.  I don't often participate in the Muse Challenge, but I really liked this week's layout and technique.

Here are a few more challenges into which I am entering this card:

Red Rubber Inspirational #216 - Make a fuss (I fussy cut  a second set of the tulips so I could pop them.)
Creative Moments Challenge #66 - Anything Goes with optional Spring/Easter
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make your own background
Top Tip Tuesday Challenge - 3 of something (stamped tulips)
Scrapbook Stamp Society Challenge #64 - Anything Goes with optional Mother's Day
Through the Purple Haze Challenge #84 - Anything Goes


************
Before I go make a batch of chocolate chip cream cheese cupcakes,
here are the cards we made on Tuesday at Joyce's CTMH Card Class using the April Stamp of the Month.

(The message sheet pulls up from the typewriter carriage.  Gluing was a bit tricky.)

My kitchen is going to smell so good in an hour!!!  TTFN