Simple Pleasures

When I saw "Summer Fun" was the theme for Impression Obsessions's challenge I knew immediately that I wanted to use the IO Solid Tree stamp set.  The tree was stamped in Distress Ink walnut stain & the swing in Memento Peanut Brittle with the seat colored in with a Memento Desert Sand marker. Somewhere I remember seeing leaves done by making dots with a marker. I gave it a try with Faber-Castell big brush May Green & Memento Pear Tart.  Fun & very forgiving!  The sentiment was inked with the May Green.  I sponged on a little Distress Ink antique linen to ground the tree & wanted an impression of sunshine, so very lightly sponged Distress Ink squeezed lemonade with a dauber.  Might be better if I'd sponged an entire background--too late now--LOL!  Hard not to have some bling, so gave in & added the Stickles.  I'm also entering Loves Rubberstamps, Add a Sentiment. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Red, White & Blue and a Visitor

I had to do a return at Michael's which is about 12 miles away & boy did I find a bargain. The Spellbinders they had left were 80% off and I couldn't resist the beautiful A-2 Fancy Ribbon Threader.  It gave me a starting place for my card which I'm entering at Verve Inspiration Challenge: Let It Bloom & Dies R Us Anniversary. MFT Mini Rolled Roses were die cut in MFT felt, embellished with blue pearls & mounted over the MFT Leaf-Filled Flourish.  I glued 2 of my ribbons together & love how they look threaded through the die cut. The sentiment from Lil' Inker Designs Modern Mehndi was stamped in Brilliance Mediterranean Blue.  

Got quite a surprise yesterday when I was walking down our dead end street with Fritz.  At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me! Grabbed my camera & caught the big guy in front of the neighbor's house.  If you look close, you can see one of their little dogs in the window & he was not happy that big thing was in his yard--LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  My weekend to work, but I'll catch up with you soon.  

May Flowers

Spring is such a beautiful time of year with trees & flowers in full bloom.  We've had such nice weather we decided to put out the deck furniture--something usually done in late June.  Easy to get in the mood to make a card with flowers!  I was inspired by City Crafter Challenge Blog Focus on Flowers, Verve Inspiration Challenge Let it Bloom & Lil' Inker Designs Monthly Meetup. I used some scraps so will also enter Pixies Snippets Playground & the embossing works for Just Us Girls.

I began by white embossing the bloom & leaf from Lil' Inker Modern Mehndi multiple times on white cardstock.  The sheet of blooms was spritzed with Tattered Angels Timeless Lilac, Rum Raisin & Lemongrass and the leaves with Meadow Green & drops of Kiwi which came out gold, but I like it.  I used the matching dies & also cut some vellum blooms.  Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles was used to make a frame & for the card front stitching.  The hardest thing about making this card was arranging the bouquet, but I love how it turned out.  Two of the flowers were mounted with foam tape & the sentiment from the same set was stamped in Brilliance Starlite Black & trimmed into a flag.  White dome glitter dots embellish the centers of the blooms.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

CCCB Inspiration Photo

Another One Layer Christmas Card

I'm making an effort to decrease the cost of postage for Christmas cards now that I've made so many card-making friends.  I did keep to one layer, but couldn't resist adding a bow with this beautiful shimmery ribbon.  My inspiration came from the PTI MIM technique using Gelatos over stamped images and the first challenge at Muse: Christmas Visions.  

Muse Inspiration Card

I love poinsettia images & color combos with gold. The stamps are PTI Year of Flowers Collection & Peaceful Poinsettia.  I rubbed a gold Gelato over the flowers, but wasn't happy with the look. That led to rubbing the gold Gelato over much of the card--now I like it!  I added splotches of red & gold along with gold Stickles for sparkle & interest.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday (use a sentiment) & One Layer Christmas Card Challenge. 
Thanks for all the sweet comments on yesterday's post. I'm so blessed to have caring friends--most of whom I'll never get to meet in person.  Enjoy your week.
Edited to Add: Thanks to Ardyth, I'm also entering a new to me challenge called One-Layer Simplicity.

Remembering

Mother's Day is bittersweet with my mom & grandmas gone for so many years.  When we got back from camping the roses were going to town!  I brought in one of the gorgeous Chicago Peace blooms to put on the mantle next to this sweet picture of my mom taken by my Dad about 6 weeks before she died.  
My card would have been perfect to give her.  I was inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch & the mood board at City Crafter Challenge Blog. I used 3 SSS dies: Bella Bloom, A2 Card Curved Edge & Clustered Leaves.  

From the Mood Board I used shades of blue & pink (I know it's really peach in the photos--hopefully close enough) & a doily inspired by the afghan & flowers on the blouse.  So fun to make use of a pad of paper I got long ago for just a couple dollars.  The bloom & leaves are MFT felt. 

Hard to tell, but the doily is spritzed with Tattered Angels Wheatfields & Snow Angel.  The dies let me also enter SSS Flickr Challenge #18 to make a card with flowers.  
Hope you have a lovely Mother's Day & thank you so much for stopping by my blog.

A Happy Hello

We had a fun camping trip which included a new experience: watching pelicans fish in the bay.  I was absolutely mesmerized & took about 100 pictures knowing they probably wouldn't come out very good.  Thought you might enjoy a couple anyway.  I've never taken stamping supplies with me on our trips, but this time I did since it was a pretty simple design.  
It came out OK, (posted here) but once I got home I decided it needed some layers. Here's the final version. I had trouble getting back into cardmaking, so started with my favorite PTI MIM challenge.  I don't use my Gelatos very often & couldn't wait to try out the technique in the video.  I used PTI Friendly Flowers & Wonderful Words: Hello with PTI inks Sweet Blush, Melon Berry, Spring Moss, Limeade Ice & Spring Rain along with Versafine Vintage Sepia. The Gelatos rubbed over the stamped images are Peach, Pistachio & Metallic Blueberry.  I used the linen/canvas impression plate for a bit of texture. 

First time to use these sweet peachy iridescent gems I got in close-out. I'm also entering the monthly challenge at Verve & SSS Wednesday.
Thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog. 

Graduation Card

On the way home so quick post using my phone--not easy, but can't get my laptop to work. PTI Happy Hexagons & Studio G sentiment for PTI MIM using vellum to soften bright colors.  Also entering Anything Goes at SSS Wednesday. I'll catch up with you soon.