My First Christmas Card of the Year for Freshly Made Sketches #401 and Happy Little Stampers Challenges

Happy Monday!! I hope you all are having a great start to the week.

I have a busy week with MD appointments and getting my hair colored, (thank goodness!!) as well as making myself go to the gym. Hate exercise BUT it is essential to my physical and mental stability. I just hate making time for it. Would rather be doing so many other things.

Popping in with two cards I created for some challenges. The first card I created using Freshly Made Sketches #401 and Happy Little Stampers Challenge: Anything Goes With Dies.

Here is the sketch that I used for my jumping off point.

I used some of the die cuts that I had cut out this weekend to make this card. I have to say that I had A LOT OF FUN making this.

The green leaves are the new "Eucalyptus Leaves" die from Simon Says Stamp that I blended Mowed Lawn and Evergreen Bough Distress Ink on. I then topped it with some clear Nuvo Shimmer Pen.

I layered this over Memory Box's "Jovial Wreath" die that I had shaded in using Vintage Photo and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. My paper is from an old 6" by 6" Basic Grey paper pad. (So miss this company!) The little gold gems are from Studio Katia.

The sentiment is from the archives. I believe it is Making Memories? Could be something else but it is more than ten years old. I popped it up over the wreath and leaves with foam adhesive. I LOVE how this card came out!!

For my second card, it is another quick thank you. I used the sketch from AAA Card Challenge #148, which was a card sketch.

I decided to use the Simon Says Stamp "Explore Nature" stamp and Die set instead of using animal images.

I stamped the leaves with Ranger Archival Black ink and then used small cube inks and did a faux watercolor technique on the leaves.

I used scraps of paper to put above and below the leaf border. As you can see, the ink did seep out of the edge of the orange and red leaves. I didn't mind that it did this. It looks like part of the design. The sentiment is from Hello Bluebird.

I used Blushing Red Nuvo Crystal Drops as an embellishment.

Well, that is all from me today. I have some special posts coming up for the rest of the week, so tune back in tomorrow. I thank you for stopping by. Have a fabulous day!!

A Card for AAA Card Challenge and a Few Photos

Hey Peeps!! This is my second post for today. I have had a great weekend and am awful chatty today so I apologize ahead of time. I should probably have picked up a phone to one of my friends to talk but instead I just rambled on to all of you!!

I had a bit of mojo today so I decided to run with it. I used the sketch from this weeks AAA Card Challenge #148 as my jumping off point and the photo from the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #349 for my card.

Here is the sketch from the AAA Card Challenge that I used and the Butterflies and Blooms Challenge #349 from the Paper Craft Crew.

Since I had my design inspiration set, I picked what type of occasion to make by thinking about what I needed at the moment. I had two thank you cards that needed to be made so this was the theme of the card.

I am going to admit something here. I usually send out store bought thank you's I buy at TJ Maxx. Yup, I am lazy like that!! I always need one and they are not my favorite cards to make so buying them is just easier.

Anyways....I used the My Favorite Things "Beautiful Butterflies" stamp set with "Golden Sunset" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" ink cubes from Altenew for my butterflies.

I then masked off a border with Post It tape and blended the lightest color orange ink above and below the butterflies.

I added a skinny piece of orange pattern paper above and below the blending, as well as a popped up sentiment strip to complete the card. Oh, and the sentiment strip? A mistake as well. I had originally stamped it right on the card but even with a MISTI, it was crooked!! I had to cover up this mistake with that darn strip.

In other news, I was busy cleaning this weekend. My dog was mad at me for leaving him yesterday when I went to the gym and peed on the floor. I took the opportunity to wash my kitchen and downstairs bathroom floor on my hands and knees. It was a feat!!

My kitchen is long and has a lot of tile. I scrubbed it with a scrub brush, mopped it, THEN rinsed it and dried it with an old towel. It took me about two and one half hours when all was said and done.

Before you think I am crazy, I don't do this often. When I was younger and at home, I would wash the floor like this once a month. Now it gets done when I am in the mood. I do wash it (or more like Chris does!) but with a Swiffer Wet Jet after we have vacuumed the dirt up sometimes twice a week. It does not get as clean as when you do this, though.

In other news, Charlotte FINALLY decorated her walls on her side of the dorm room. It was looking like a prison when she FaceTimed me, so I am glad that she put in a bit of effort!!

Notice the Micky Mouse Ears to the left on the command hooks. Thought she was going to use those in her bathroom but she put them to an alternate use!!

Last night I couldn't sleep so stayed up binging on Netflix and die cutting until 3:00 a.m.

Am I the only crazy person that does this? I sometimes die cut different dies in white all at once so when I am making a card, I just pull them out, color them up (or leave them white) and voila, instant gratification. Some I put on Press'n Seal wrap to keep pieces together.

I wish I could say I slept late today but woke up coughing from allergies at 6:00 in the morning. I did go back to sleep for a bit but was up by 8:30 because went for a walk with a friend at 9. Glad this happened on a weekend and not a workday!!

Anyway, that is enough from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by and read this long post or just skim, as the case may be. Have a FABULOUS night!!

You Rock with CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Hi Peeps!! I hope you are all having a FABULOUS weekend!!!

Today it is my turn on the blog with CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I created a card to send to my daughter with a TON of stuff that did not make it into the truck when she moved to college.

Hop on over the the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog to see the entire card!!!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short for a Challenge

Happy Monday!!!

I cannot BELIEVE that this weekend went by so fast!! The summer has flown by and it seems to have never been.

Since I had time, my intention was to flood my blog with card posts this week but alas, my mojo has flown the coop. I did a bit of organizing, some coloring and die cutting of images, hoping that it would come back but it didn't. The results? Only one card made for some challenges.

For my inspiration, I used this weeks Freshly Made Sketches #400 and the Inspired by Challenge to create this card. Unfortunately, I didn't upload this in time for the sketch challenge. I hate when I do that!!

I started off this card with some SU! Coastal Cabana cardstock and a piece of scrap patterned paper with type on it as my jumping off point. This paper I "believe" is from Scenic Route? I cut off the edge when I was cutting up all my scraps so I am not sure. I wanted to make the typewriter as close as I could to the one in the photo BUT I didn't have the exact shade of cardstock I was looking for.

I then stamped a white,  die cut square with a birthday sentiment from Sweet Pea Designs "You're My Type" stamp set in gray. I then covered it with a bit of Distress Ink to match the background paper.

I then added the matching typewriter die cut over the stamped panel. My last step was to add a Taylored Expressions "Simple Strips" sentiment banner over the square using foam adhesive.

Simple but fun card. And I didn't use any Glossy Accents!!!

I am also going to enter this card into the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge: All About Occasions and TGIF Challenge-Embossing Powder.

That is all from me today. I thank you for stopping by!!! Have a GREAT night

Being Happy Rules!!!

Hello everyone!! Today it is my turn on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog with a simple card using the "Calm and Loving" stamp set that is on the retirement list. Below is a sneak peek of my card.

Hop on over to see how I created it!!

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