Happy 20th Birthday Charlotte!!!

 Hello everyone!! 

Today I am posting a birthday card I made for my daughter and another card for a challenge. Charlotte turns TWENTY today!!! Below is the card I created for her.

I used the "Sending Sweet Celebrations Wishes" by Stacey Yacula from My Favorite Things for the images on my card.

I used Copic markers to color in the little fox and the penguin. The sentiment is a negative die cut from Simon Says Stamp.

Charlotte always wants me to make cards for her on her birthday and I had to to a special one this year because she is not only turning twenty, but is stuck doing all her college classes from home. I thought these images would cheer her up!!

I will write something nice on the inside of the card. I need to start making my insides fancier but I have a hard enough time doing the outside!!!

I had to include some recent photos of my daughter from a photo shoot we had this fall for our Christmas card. NONE have been approved by her and most are straight out of the camera. I hate altering pictures!!

 I tend to like the photos where she is showing her personality!!! I just LOVE this kid!! She is the BEST thing that has come into my life. Not everyday was a piece of cake but I would not change her for the world! I hope this year brings you such happiness!!!!

Okay, now onto the card I created for a challenge. I have not been able to play with CASE this Sketch in a while and decided that I HAD to do this weeks sketch #400.

I did switch it up a bit. In lieu of the stripes, I used a scrap of wood plank pattern paper from one of my cards from yesterday. I layered this paper over a Stone colored cardstock background.

I then chose to adhere snowflake die cuts in different sizes over each other. These tended to get lost so I used a bit of Copic Marker in the W grays to give them a bit of shadow.

You don't notice it unless you are looking for it but it just gets the snowflakes a tiny pop so you can differentiate them from each other!

I know the sketch did not have a sentient strip but I had to use one on this card because I had no room to orientate it. I decided to stamp it in dark gray ink onto red cardstock.

I then adhered a combo of mirrored sequins and red sequins randomly around the front to give it some more POP!! I have to say, I LOVE how it came out!!!

Well, that is all from me today. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by!! Have a FABULOUS day!!!

Let Your Light Shine

 Hi everyone!! Just a quick pop in tonight with a card I created today for two challenges. I wanted to make sure I got in under the wire!!!

I used this weeks CASE this Sketch #392 and The Color Challenge #613 as inspiration for my card.

I used five shades of Distress Ink on this card-Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Carved Pumpkin and Dried Marigold on the background. I know, I know, it doesn't look like it BUT I would not have been able to get the depth of color otherwise. I then covered the blended background with Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray.

I used the Penny Black Delicate Silhouettes stamp set with black Versafine ink to stamp the botanicals and the sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Friendship. 

I used the Pinkfresh Studio Slimline Lacy Edgers to die cut the purple border from a piece of scrap paper.

I LOVE how this card came out and have another piece of shaded cardstock that I plan to use to make an identical card.

That is it for me tonight. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS night!

A Couple of Challenge Cards

 Happy Sunday!! 

I have not felt like doing anything this month so my blog has been slow. Stress has taken my mojo. Wish I stopped spending on craft supplies in the meantime!!

I started back to work last Monday and had a week of professional development. I learned some AWESOME skills in Google, some great ways to engage students via online and trying to take care of ourselves in order to be able to help our students. Tomorrow I go back with students. My schedule is VERY different from last year as our school has gone hybrid. I am actually looking forward to it after being stressed out over it. I decided I am concentrating on a positive mindset. I will do the best that I CAN do.

Letting it go has helped me to get a little mojo this weekend. I actually made a TON of cards-two for some challenges and the rest for an upcoming CAS-Friday release. 

The first card I created I had two challenges in mind. 

I used the Altenew Megabloom Stencil using four different inks and then used a sentiment from the Reverse Confetti Butterfly Blossoms stamp set.

The leaves are the Fine Cut Leaves from Memory Box.

I really love how this card came out. I blended two different pinks, a yellow and orange for the flower. It gave the flower so much dimension. 

I am entering this into CASE this Sketch Challenge #387 and this weeks Color Throwdown #608.

For my second card, I created a card using flowers from The Greetery.

The frame was on my desk and the butterfly is an old Martha Stewart Punch. 

I used Blueprint Sketch to stencil and blend ink for the background. The die used on the white background is from Mama Elephant.

I am entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge-Beautiful Botanicals and Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge-Anything Goes.

Well that is all from me today. I hope you have a FABULOUS day!!!

Just a Quick Pop In With Cards for Some Challenges

 It is Sunday night here and I am exhausted. I stayed up all night last night because I got into such a GREAT book. 

I am a romance junky-I got that from my mother. I read other things but when things get too stressful-and they have been with the tropical storm last week and the terrible plans that the state DOES NOT have for our school systems to go back (which we are), I have been totally stressed out. Anyway, I made these cards yesterday but didn't have the energy to post them until tonight.

My first card was inspired by two challenges-CASE this Sketch #384 and The Color Throwdown #605.

I kind of "flipped" the sketch in that I used my butterflies as the main image, rather than a branch. I used the little flower images as the accents.

   

The butterfly stamp is my new favorite stamp, I think. It is Hero Arts Monarch Butterfly. I used Lawn Fawn's Peachy Keen, MFT's Cherry and Blueberry Ink for this card. 

The sentiment is from Altenew's Label Love stamp set. 

When I was finished with my stamping, I die cut the panel using The Greetery's Crimped Frame Dies and layered it on a dark blue card base.

I finished off the card with some sequins and Diamond Stickles in the middle.

For my second card, I used the Fusion Card Challenge as my inspiration for my card.

I chose to use the sketch but flipped it and using fruit on my card was the inspiration, just not the fruit from the photo.

I used The Greetery's Just Peachy stencils, dies and stamps for this card. I think this card may be a bit too busy for me BUT unfortunately I used some strong liquid glue that I cannot rip this apart without damaging the background. That stenciled background took me a long time to complete!!

I used a TON of different inks on this-too many to even name. The little strips of pattern paper and cardstock are just scraps from my stash.

I have to admit that this was a TON OF FUN to play with. I cannot wait to use this on some other cards but will not be using the stamps and the background's together again like this.

Well, that is all from me tonight. I thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a great night!!

***Disclaimer: Some (not all) links in this post are affiliate links that are used at no extra cost to you.

In Full Bloom

Hello everyone!!

I am just popping in with a couple of cards I created this weekend for some challenges.

My first card is for this weeks CASE this Sketch Challenge #378. While this card did not come out as I had planned, I am still entering this into the challenge anyway.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card:

The flower is the Peeking Daisy die and sentiment is Tiny Words, both from Simon Says Stamp.

The paper is from Lawn Fawn (gingham) and Prima (yellow flowers). I colored the flower in with Copic Markers.

I added some glossy accents to the middle of the flower and some gold sequins around the sentiment to finish the card off. Lately, I am in bling mode!!

My second card was inspired by The Fusion Card Challenge. I was inspired by both the image (the blue colors and flowers) and the sketch. However, I did flip the sketch to make it a portrait card.

I decided to pull out some of my pattern paper 6" by 6" paper pads to embellish my cards. I combined Dress My Crafts Hydrangea Lawns paper (background) with some Pinkfresh Studio Joyful Day stripes.

I then added flower pot with flowers that I die cut using Lawn Fawn's Little Flowers dies. I have had these flower dies FOR YEARS but have never used. They have been sitting on my desk to play with and this card was the perfect card to use them on.

The sentiment is from Altenew's Paint a Flower: Rose stamp set. I heat embossed it in white.

I do not usually make my backgrounds this bold but I LOVE this paper!! Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers, even if I cannot get them to flower in my yard no matter how many times I watch videos on how to care for them.

I am also going to submit this card to Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

Well, that is all from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!!