Happy Sunday with some Cards

Hello Crafty Friends!!

After being away three weeks in July, I was able to get back into my craft room this week. I have made a TON of cards for some of the design teams I am on but I was also able to make a few with some recent challenges.

My first card I created for this weeks Freshly Made Sketches #748.

I have been digging out some of the card kits that have been piling up in my craft room to create cards. For this card, I used the Simon Says Stamp April 2026 "A Little Artsy" kit for this card. 

The paper is Beautifully Imperfect from Spellbinders. The paper was a bit thin so I covered white cardstock with the pattern paper so I can distress the edges of all my pieces.

I added some stamping in black to the background paper using the Simon Says Stamp A Little Artsy stamp set. The sentiment was created using this same stamp set and cut with the matching die.

I am entering this card into the Freshly Made Sketches #748 and this weeks JUGS Challenge #835-Die Week Anything Goes.

The second card I created for this round of the Color Hues Challenge #138 Navy and Teal.

Once again, I used the SSS April 2026 Card Kit to create my card. The butterflies and the sentiment was stamped using the A Little Artsy stamp set.

This was a ton of fun to create. I used the stencil included in the kit to color in the butterflies with Peacock Oxide Ink-also included in the kit. I then added some SSS white splatter medium across the card. 

Once the panel was dry, I tied some teal twine around the card front, added the sentiment and then adhered it to an A2, white card base. My last step was to adhere some teal jewels around the sentiment.

I am entering this card into the following challenges: The Color Hues Challenge #138 and the Tic Tac Toe Challenge #298-the top horizontal line-sparkle, ribbon/twine and butterflies.

My last card I used the August (Pin)spirational Challenge #340 for my colors, The Sisterhood of Crafters July 2026 Challenge-the fun, bright flower mood board and We Love Stamping August 2026-Summer Blooms.

 

Once again I used the April 2026 SSS Card Kit for my card. I stamped the flowers and the print in black on a white card front.

I used the stencil in the kit to shade the flowers in with MFT Coral Crush and Persimmon dye ink.

The background is Salvaged Patina Distress Ink. 

The twine is from my stash and the sequins are from one of the Spellbinders Advent Calendars.

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

Nora

A Valentine Card

 Happy Thursday!

I have had a snow day today. The beauty of working in a school. It couldn't have come at a better time either. I so needed the day off!

Since I had the time, I spent some time in my craft room. It was so relaxing.

I used hearts that I cut out last week to make this Valentine card. I love when I am able to die cut a ton of images out and have enough to make more than one card.

I used the Simon Says Stamp Geometric Builders Heart Dies for the hearts. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp Big Valentine's Day.

I am entering this card into a few challenges. I was inspired by Just Us Girls Challenge #761-Use a Heart Die. I am also entering this into Paper Players Challenge #723-Love is in the Air.

That is all from me today. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Nora

Just Us Girls Challenge Guest Design Post Week 5-#608 Wild Card Week

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Happy Saturday everyone!! Today I am here with my last post as Guest Designer for Just Us Girls Challenge Blog. This week is a Wild Card week. The theme is leaves.

Here is the challenge badge that inspired this card.

I started off this card by using the Kat Scrappiness Quokka Thanksgiving Costume Stamps to stamp leaves randomly around the front of a white, A2 card front. I then colored i the leaves with Copic markers.

I used two Boxed Sentiment Strip Dies to die cut two white strips out of paper. I used Copic markers to color them in. I then adhered them to the left hand side of the card.

I then die cut the thanks out of white and the black shadow using the Kat Scrappiness Thanks Sentiment with Shadow. I adhered the shadow to the card and colored the bottom of the thanks with Copic markers. I used clear Sparkle pen over the sentiment and covered it with Glossy Accents. 

I finished off my card by adhering Jasper Stone pearls on the front of my card. 

I want to thank the Design Team of Just Us Girls Challenge for inviting me to be the guest designer for this month. . I have had so much fun!

I appreciate everyone for stopping by. I hope you all have a FABULOUS day!!

Just Us Girls Challenge Guest Design Week 4-Photo Week #607

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 Hello everyone!! I hope you all had a FABULOUS week. 

I have been so busy trying to get my head above water this week with cleaning, designing and adding a work out into my day. I wish my body didn't need a work out because it is time that I could use doing things I LIKE TO DO!!!

Today I am here with another card as a Guest Designer for the Just Us Girls Challenge Blog. This weeks Challenge #607 was to use a photo as the inspiration. Below is what I created.

The challenge badge inspired me for a few elements on my cards. First, I was inspired by the colors. Then, I was inspired by the stars and my last piece of inspiration was to use at least one animal on my card.

I pulled out the "Birthday Wishing" stamps and dies from the Colorado Craft Company to create with. I had bought these ages ago and never used them. I thought by coloring the mice a warm gray with Copics would help me get in one of the colors I wanted to use.

I loved how these mice came out!!! I layered them over a circle from The Greetery that I die cut out of Neenah Solar White cardstock. I used some Glossy Accents over the present and a teeny bit of Nuvo Bubblegum Blush Gloss for their noses.

The stars were embossed using a Paper Studio "Tiny Stars" embossing folder onto a piece of Concord & 9th piece of cardstock. 

The pattern paper on the right is from Lawn Fawn's "Watercolor Wishes" 6" by 6" paper pad.

This card came out so much better than I had anticipated! I will be creating an exact replica of this card as I stamped two of these mice images and colored them in the same way. 

Please hop on over to the Just Us Girls Challenge Blog to play with us this week. I cannot wait to see what you create.

I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by today. Have a FABULOUS day!!

Just Us Girls #606-Color Challenge

Hi everyone!! 

It is week three of my Guest Design Gig over at Just Us Girls Challenge Blog. This week it is a color challenge.

The colors I needed to use was turquoise, yellow and green. I added a neutral black behind the flowers. I just adore how this card came out!!

When I saw the badge for this week, I knew I would be able to use my Vintage Lemon Twist paper and ephemera from Simple Stories. This challenge was PERFECT for my collection.

I started out by picking my paper. The black gingham was perfect for grounding the bright embellishments on this card.

I just layered and layered my ephemera and then used a clear glitter marker over some of the flowers and butterfly to make is sparkle. 

I added some Glossy Accents in strategic places, some pearls and my card was complete. 

That is all from me today. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Be sure to hop on over to the Just Us Girls Blog to see what the other designers created for this fun challenge!!

Have a FABULOUS day!!

Just Us Girls Challenge #605

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Hey everyone!! 

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. I am once again Guest Designing on the Just Us Girls Challenge for my second post of the month. This week, the JUGS Challenge is to use an embossing folder or heat embossing on a card. I chose to use BOTH!!!

I used the Altenew *Perfect Poinsettia embossing folder to emboss a piece of red cardstock. I then used Ranger Distress Ink in *Festive Berries and *Fired Brick to shade the poinsettias in using a blending brush.

I adhered my panel to a white A2, top folding card base and added some gold gems for the center of the poinsettias.

I stamped the sentiment from The Stamp Market with *Versmark Clear Ink and heat embossed it with Ranger *Superfine Gold embossing powder. 

I adhered the sentiment to the front of my card and it was done. 

This photo does not do it justice and I apologize. It was incredibly hard to photograph!!

So hop on over to the Just Us Girls Challenge #605 this week and play with us. I cannot wait to see what you create!!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!

World Cardmaking Day and Guest Designer at Just Us Girls #604 with a Halloween Card

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Hi everyone!! I hope you all are doing well. Are you all playing along today with challenges in honor of World Cardmaking Day? 

For this month I am a guest designer at Just Us Girls Challenges Blog. I am so excited!! This week the theme is Halloween and I created my card in honor of this "holiday."

Below is the graphic for the challenge.

I started off my card by using some Distress Ink in *Twisted Citron and *Mowed Lawn. I then misted some *Twisted Citron Distress Stain, *Twisted Citron Distress Oxide Stain and Distress Mica Spray in Bubbling Cauldron over my ink blended panel.

While that was drying, I used the Elizabeth Craft "Pumpkins" to die cut scraps of orange, black and green papers for my pumpkins.

Before I put my Jack-O'-Lanterns together, I blended *Vintage Photo Distress Ink on all my die cuts. 

I adhered the dried white panel to a green A2, top folding card base. I added my die cuts and then stamped a sentiment from MFT's "Witch Way Candy" stamp set and it was done.

I hope you like my card and please join us this week over at Just Us Girls for the Halloween Challenge!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a FABULOUS day!! I hope you all are able to have some fun today on World Cardmaking Day.

Altenew Pair a Flower Contest and an entry for JUGs Challenge

Hello everyone!! It is Tuesday here in blog land. 

As I am writing this, it is Sunday and the wind is whipping and the rain is coming down in droves. Tropical storm in Connecticut!! Happy that Henri went west as we have not had a real hurricane in 30 years and I am happy to keep it that way!!

On to my card!! I created this card for some challenges, the first being the Altenew Pair a Flower Contest. I knew what I was going to do when I saw the challenge but it took me a while to get it done.

The challenge was to make a card using one of Altenew's flower stamps and a photo of the flower as your inspiration. I chose to use the Altenew Paint-A-Flower: Clematis Josephine and paired it with a photo from my garden. While I don't have the same kind of Clematis as the stamp, I tried to watercolor the image as well as I could to match the picture. 

I went out of my comfort zone a bit on this and heat embossed the flower with white embossing powder and then used Hero Arts Soft Pink ink to watercolor my flower. I am NOT a great painter and often get impatient. I tend to over paint to the point where I wear away the paper. I was successful in not doing this to my card.

My leaves were done with a combination of Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I also splattered all the ink colors on the background, as well as used a bit of Tarnished Brass Distress Stain. I used the brass because I knew I wanted a gold sentiment and do not have a great gold  mist. Any recommendations would be welcome!!

The sentiment was done using Versamark ink and heat embossing with Ranger Super Fine Gold embossing powder. I actually used a sentiment from the Clematis Josephine set, something that I NEVER do. I usually just go into my random sentiment box and pull one. I liked what this said, though, and thought it appropriate for my card. 

The center of my flower was done using Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink. 

I am SO HAPPY with the way this turned out!! I am also going to enter this into this weeks Just Us Girls Challenge-#598-Colorweek. It was to use the colors Yellow, Pink and Green on a card. Again, I am also entering this into the Altenew Pair a Flower Contest.

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

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