Catching up...

Thought I would start with my challenge card first.
 

The first is Color Throwdown #320, the second is Make It Monday #190 and the third is Simon Wednesday Challenge (anything goes).  This was a fun card to make.  For the Color Throwdown, our colors this week were red, aqua, silver and kraft.  I made the plaid pattern which is for the Make It Monday Challenge. I used an old SU stamp I can't remember what the name of the set was, and SU's Lost Lagoon and Cherry Cobbler markers and also a Distress Marker in Antique Linen.  I cut a small strip of it at the bottom of the card and die cut one of the snowflakes from PTI Snowflake Medley Die Collection. I used Simon Says Stamp! Falling Snow stencil with Kraft Ink on the Lost Lagoon card stock and clear embossed the dots.  I inked up PTI's Happy Birthday from Think Big Favorites #24 in Cherry Cobbler ink from SU, which I also clear embossed.  What a perfect card for a December birthday.    

 

Now I will catch you up on the rest of my cards from the past few weeks.

The first one I used a technique that Kittie Caracciolo likes to use.  Here's a link to the video she has showing this technique  http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/the_classroom_new/2014/09/fall-leaves-with-distress-ink-by-kittie-caracciolo.html.  The leaves are from Impression Obsession, called Leaves die set and the Wheat is from the Wheat die set.  I cut the wheat from some designer paper that I don't know the name of now.  The leaves are colored with the following Distress Inks, peeled paint, mustard seed, barn door and spiced marmalade.  I used Copper Pearl Liquid Pearls around the edges of the leaves after I embossed them with clear embossing powder.  I tied both, copper twine and some natural twine around the grouping and adhered them to the card with pop dots.  The background paper is from a local stamp store that has some gold flecks in it.  Very pretty paper.  I finished the card off by stamping Happy Birthday (from PaperTrey Ink's Stylish Sentiments: Birthday) in Spiced Marmalade.

 

This card is the one I made for my sister's birthday.  She is 3 years and 1 day younger than I.  I used Penny Black's Sunny Pair stamp, which I stamped with Momento's London Fog ink.  I then pulled out my Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor paints.  The happy birthday came from PTI's Birthday basics. I finished the card off with a piece of twine and used clear wink of stella in the center of the flowers. 

Last but not least, my niece Mallory shares my birthday.  As you can see, she turned 18 this past week!  I thought a shaker card would be perfect for her 18th birthday.  I cut the number 18 from my Silhouette.  The rest of this card is from PaperTrey Ink's Shaker Shapes Square Dies.  Some of the sequins are from Simons Says and the rest are from PTI's Make It Market Kits Shakers and Sprinkles.  The Happy Birthday is from Penny Black's Celebrations.  I used Wisteria Wonder and Elegant Eggplant card stock from Stampin' Up.  Yes, I glued all the confetti around the card.  It wasn't too bad. 

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to check out all the amazing cards over at Color Throwdown #320, Make It Monday #190 and Simon Wednesday Challenge.

feeling so blessed!!!

Hi everyone, no card to post today, but I will post some before the weekend is over. 

I turned 50 this past Tuesday and our beautiful daughter, Sarah, surprised me by coming home from NYC for my big day.  She had called her dad back in July and they arranged the whole thing.  I bawled like a baby when I came home and discovered her in the family room. Especially since she hadn't been home since last Christmas.  I'm glad I raised an independent daughter, but it does have some drawbacks. 

Our son, Nick, also came home from Wisconsin, too, but not until Wednesday night, as he has his "grownup" job, now that he has graduated from college.  I, also, wish he lived a tad closer, but he is only six hours away.

Our youngest child, Tim, is a junior in high school, so now all my kids were home for Thanksgiving.  We all were able to go to my sister's house to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some of the family.  Unfortunately, not everyone was able to come home for Thanksgiving, and they were all missed very much.

Nick took pictures of the whole family, but he hasn't emailed them to me yet, otherwise I would have a picture of all my kids on here, too.

Our family is starting another phase in our lives, as Nick is getting married August 15, 2015.  His fiance, Danielle, is a beautiful person.  She has been living with us this fall as she completes her student teaching at a high school not too far from where we live and she graduates from college this coming Saturday.  It has been a pleasure to have her live with us for almost four months.

Our children are truly a blessing from God and we are very grateful!  

The week turned out hectic, but it was well worth it!  I hope everyone had a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving and that, you, too, were able to spend time with family and friends!

Make A Wish

I am cutting it close on another challenge.  This time, I forgot until now (15 minutes before close time).  I had the cards done yesterday.

So this is really brief.  These cards are for Color Throwdown #318.

I used Marina Mist, Soft Sky and Pumpkin pie as my 3 colors.  I used all the circles from Simon Says' Luminary Circles and and Ring Frame dies.  Make a wish came from Penny Black's  Celebration dies.  I added some sequins to the orange card, too.

Thanks for stopping by.  Unfortunately, our internet is still acting up and I didn't get the cards posted in time.  Grrr!  I did find out, that it's Charter who is having a problem and it's not specifically our issue. 

Merry and Bright

Well, due to internet issues, I missed the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge deadline, but am able to use this card for both Simon's Monday and Wednesday challenges. 

I didn't come up with an idea until this morning and as usual working last minute never goes as smoothly as it is suppose to.  

I used Stampin' Up's Holiday ornaments to cut out the 3 ornaments from a dark blue speckled paper I get from a local stamp store.  I then used Memory Box Stars Starry Nights stencil with embossing paste mixed with silver glitter stickles and let that dry.  I also sprayed a piece of white card stock with Distress Spray Stain in Brushed Pewter and after it dried, I cut out Merry and Bright with Tim Holtz's new dies for Christmas #660058.  I used a piece of SU's Bashful Blue card stock and stamped dots all over it with Encore's Ultimate Metallic Silver ink.  I added silver cording to the back of the ornaments and put everything together on the card.  

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to check out all the beautiful cards made over at Simon Monday Challenge and Simon Wednesday Challenge.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours.

Here's another Christmas card for another challenge.  This one is for the Color Throwdown Challenge blog #317.  This week's colors are white, black, purple and light blue.  I really like these colors and it didn't take me long to figure out a night sky was in order and I also was able to use a new die set I bought last month, but haven't been able to play with until today!

This card would work great as a shaker card, too.  I just might do that before Christmas for a few close friends that I hand deliver their cards to.  I die cut out the houses from Home and Hearth by Essentials by Ellen in Stampin' Up's Bashful Blue card stock and also in white and used the white windows and doors in the blue houses.  I then used Distress Inks in Black Soot, Tumbled Glass and Dusty Concord to make my night sky.   I then splattered some Perfect Pearls for the stars (a few big stars, too) and also used SU's white chalk marker.  I cut a piece of white card stock for the snow and attached to the night sky.  I colored the white with Wink of Stella to make the snow glitter.  I also added some white chalk marker and wink of stella to the houses too.  I attached the houses and added a purple star to one of the houses.  I then cut it out with PTI's Shaker Shape Circle die.  I added the blue ring and then the black ring to finish off my focal point.  I attached the circles to a piece of Gina K's Pure White Luxury card stock after I stamped Sweet 'n Sassy's Snowflake background stamp in SU's Bashful Blue, which I off stamped first.  I added the Merry Christmas to you and yours from PTI's Think Big Favorites #20 in SU's Elegant Eggplant ink.  I attached the white card stock to a piece of black card stock and then a piece of SU's Elegant Eggplant card stock.  

Thank you so much for stopping by and you still have time to enter this week's Color Throwdown Challenge blog #317.  Don't forget to stop by their blog and check out the other beautiful cards using this week's colors. 

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Hi everyone, I'm so glad the past two weeks are behind me now.  I had a major project due at work this past Friday.  I was definitely doing the happy dance when I got home Friday afternoon.  I would have opened a bottle of wine, but I had to get the house cleaned before my great nephews showed up for me to babysit.  We hadn't babysat them for awhile.  Liam is almost 4 and Lincoln is 1-1/2 and starting to talk up a storm.  We had a macaroni and cheese for dinner and a marathon of movies from the Incredibles, to Happy Feet and finished off with some Scooby Doo!  Lincoln crashed during Scooby Doo and Liam was awful close.  

Today was devoted to making cards, which I haven't been able to do for two weeks.  So glad I had cards made a head of time to get me through.  

This card is for Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #133.  Nina asked us to use cream, tan and brown on our card.  

I started with Gina K's Pure Luxury Ivory card stock and stamped Sweet 'N Sassy's Friendship Script Background in Distress Ink's Antique Linen.  I stamped SNSS's Snowflake Background in Gina K's Kraft ink.  Next, I stamped the trees from Sizzix's Holiday Joy stamp & die set in Distress Ink's Walnut Stain.  I thought this card would be perfect for using Stampendous' Fran-Tage in Shabby White.  There is a close up of the Fran-Tage Shabby White embossing enamel below.  I use a quite a bit on the bottom and then sprinkled some along the rest of the card for my snow.  

I stamped Walking in a Winter Wonderland, from PTI's In the Meadow, in Walnut Stain, cut it out from PTI's Journal Card Boarder Dies and attached it to a piece of Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip card stock and added the twine and pop dotted the tag up.  I also pop dotted the trees to another piece of SU's Chocolate Chip card stock and mounted it to SU's Crumb Cake card stock. 

I love these colors together!  Thank you, Nina, for a great challenge!  Please be sure to check out the beautiful cards on the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge blog.

Guest Star Stamper for CTD #316 -- Leaves Galore

Most of the yards around here have leaves galore right now, especially after the windy Saturday we had.  Luckily the few leaves we did have in our yard were blown away.  

I was lucky enough to have my card chosen as the random winner of CTD challenge #314.  So I am the Guest Star Stamper for CTD challenge #316.  I am so excited and honored to have my card featured along side the design team's cards.  I just love the inspiration picture for this week's challenge.  

I decided to pull out a few old fall stamp sets that I haven't used for awhile.  I used a couple of stamps from 3 different sets.  I used one stamp from Inkadinkado's Leaves Galore stamp set and another stamp from Inkadinkado's Fall Season stamp set and the sentiment "A Thanksgiving Wish" came from a new set from Penny Black, called Fall Flutters.  I also used a dots stamp from Tapestry.

I used the baby wipe technique to ink the leaves up.  I used Stampin' Up's re-inkers in Daffodil Delight, Bliss Blue and Pumpkin Pie on Gina K's Pure Luxury Cream card stock.  I stamped the sentiment in Tuxedo Black ink.

I used SU's Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist and Black card stock on this card as well. I finished off the card with a few sequins from Simon Says Fall Harvest sequins.

Thank you for stopping by and you, too, can participate in the Color Throwdown Challenge #316.  You have until 6pm on Monday to link up your card.  Who knows, maybe your card will be randomly chosen as the next Guest Star Stamper!

PS...Gloria asked for me to explain the baby wipe technique.  What I do is use about 3 or 4 baby wipes and lay them flat and then use 3 re-inkers and drop droplets of ink on the baby wipe...about 8 of the yellow and orange in a circle and filled in with about 4 drops of blue.  The colors will meld on the baby wipe because of the alcohol in the baby wipe.  The baby wipe becomes your ink pad for your stamps.  The more solid your stamp, the better the technique works.  I made a bunch of these for a swap and got about 5 cards done before I had to use more baby wipes and add more ink.  Here's a video link from PaperTrey Ink's Capture the Moment (Make It Monday) by Ashley Cannon Newell showing this technique (she only used one baby wipe).

Pumpkin Harvest

Second post for today...is for Color Throwdown Challenge #315.  Our colors were pale yellow, mossy green, orange and cream.

I found this stamp at the Novi Stamp Convention back in August and didn't realize it didn't have a manufacturer's name on the stamp, but thought it would make a great fall card.

I stamped it in Momento's London Fog on Gina K's Pure Luxury Cream card stock and colored it with my Copics numbers YG63, YG95, Y11, Y13, Y17, YR16, W2 and COO.  I made my own background card stock by sponging together Stampin' Up's Barely Banana, Tangerine Tango and Pear Pizzazz inks on another piece of cream card stock.  I took a scrap piece of SU's Mossy Meadow and ran it through a Sizzix Embossing Folder. that I don't remember the name of, sorry.  I finished the card off by attaching the pumpkins and the embossed Mossy Meadow to the colored cream card stock and wrapped twine around where the two pieces meet.

Thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to check out the amazing cards over at CTD #315. 

Pink Christmas?

Hi everyone, what a busy week it has been and it looks as though the next two weeks are going to be just as busy.  The holiday madness has started!

Since I am short on time, this is going to be short and sweet.  The Merry Monday Christmas Challenge blog asked us to use unusual colors for Christmas.  I instantly thought of "Charlie Brown's Christmas" special with the modern pink Christmas trees.  

I used Ranger's water color paper and Tim Holtz's Distress inks in Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Picked Raspberry and Dusty Concord.  I masked out the moon and water colored with these 4 ink colors to make my background.  I did remove the mask and add some color to the moon.  After it dried, I stamped the fir tree from Stampin' Up's Lovely as a Tree set in Picked Raspberry and then added the "lights" with Liquid Pearls in Baby Blue.  I die cut out Penny Black's Merry Christmas from Joyous Wishes from white card stock and colored it with the Liquid Pearls in Baby Blue.  After it dried, I put the card together.  I used bright pink card stock as my base, a pink snowflake dp that was in my scrap drawer and pink bakers twine to finish off the card.  

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the other unusual colors of beautiful Christmas cards  over at Merry Monday's Christmas Challenge #131.

A Pair of Apples

It's Color Throwdown Challenge for me today.  This week's colors are to use pale yellow, pale pink and red.  These colors threw me and I really had to play with them to figure out the color scheme. I was pretty happy with my final outcome

So I decided to use a new stamp set for me from PaperTrey Ink called Apple Prints.  I love this set and can't believe I didn't order before.  I ordered the coordinating die set, too.

I started out with my card stock base of SU's Poppy Parade and used the Courtyard EF from Tim Holtz.  I used a piece of water color paper and wet it lightly with water, inked up an acrylic block with SU's Pretty in Pink and Distress Ink in Squeezed Lemonade and spritzed it with water, too, and stamped the color on the water color paper.  The picture makes the yellow and pink look very bright.  I used the die cut to out the apples and stamped them with SU's Poppy Parade and Pretty in Pink inks and also with Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink.  The stems were stamped with Tuxedo Black.  I used some yellow twine to finish off the card.

Thank you, Lori, for this great challenge.  Thank you so much for stopping by and check out the beautiful cards at CTD Challlenge #314.