Coffee and Friends

One of my favorite things to do is join a friend or group of friends for coffee. It is probably my most favorite beverage and is an inexpensive way to meet and share over something warm or iced and in an easy to converse place.
This stamp was purchased as a kit from Simon Says last month. I have put it to good use and sent off a couple of friendship cards. These designs are not originals, although altered slightly from the designs included in the kit.
Some days I just like to give my brain a break and make it easy on myself.

It doesn't get much more simple than this. The sentiment was curved over the circle, stamped in versarmark then heat embossed with white. The adorable cups are 3-D stickers, and the little gold glitter heart an adhesive as well.

This cup and saucer were paper pierced...so cute! I added a bit of copic on the brown paper for shading and the smiling sugar cubes are also stickers.
These cards have already been mailed out! Yay!!

February Power and Spark Challenge~Take 2!

Since Spring is not in the air...yet...and we just had a pretty good size snowfall with more scheduled this week...I am thinking bright and Springy colors!
This is my second entry for Power Poppy's "Say Yes to No Lines!" February challenge. The first try was such a teen tiny image...it was much harder than this larger one!

      Thanks so much for your visit! Happy Spring is just around the corner!

PTI February 2017 Blog ~

Hi visiting friends! I don't have the opportunity often to participate; but this time I decided to play along with Papertrey Ink's February Blog Hop.
Here is the Inspiration Photo:

I decided to capture the inspiration with some of the colors; seen in my background papers and the individual floral from "Rosie Posies." The sentiment, "Thanks," and the frame are from "Gathered Garden." The vine and floral die are from Memory Box, "Seraphine Laurel."

I also used a vellum and gold stripe along the left border and two small rhinestones on the smaller posies.
Thanks so much for stopping by...I hope you get to play along today!!

PTI~Looking Back at 2009!

Giga Guidelines came out in 2009...and I have always been too intimidated to actually stamp with it! After seeing Laurie Schmidlin's card...I studied it and several other samples...then actually inked them up! Yes, I made 2 cards...one is a CASE of Laurie's (except for that diamond embossing!,) and the other is my own creation using "New Every Morning" as the focal sentiment.
I stamped on itty bitty vellum dot paper and then colored the lettering in with copic markers.
Not the best card photograph...it was hard to capture the softness of this.

                                          Stamps: Giga Guidelines, New Every Morning
                                          Ink: Memento Black, Autumn Rose, Linen, SU Soft Sky
                                          Paper: SU Soft Sky, PTI Vellum , PTI Linen Ribbon,'
                                          Websters Sparklets, copic markers
Laurie's card was so classic in Black, White, and Gold....I tried navy, white, and silver embossing. I actually liked how it turned out...but do wish I could figure out the scoring she used!

This should make a great masculine birthday card, don't you think? Thanks for stopping in! Blessings on your day!

PTI~ 2014~Embellished Elegance

This is one stamp I fell in love with immediately and have made a few monochromatic cards for weddings. Today I pulled out a pretty pick of posies in a variety of pastels...and then covered too many up with ribbon. Ah well...it's a challenge and I took it! Thanks so much for peeking in!

                                   I used Embellished Elegance, A2 scalloped note card, DSP ,
                                   variety of pastel inks including encore gold, and a vellum diecut
                                   white sequins and lavender ribbon

And here's a close up for you! Thanks again, now I am off to finish up a few more challenge cards!

Power and Spark Challenge~"Say Yes to No Lines!"

Just stopping in with a sweet image from Power Poppy and joining in this month's challenge...Coloring with "no lines" by stamping a very light image.

 I probably should have used a slightly larger image but this little Primrose turned out pretty sweet with the additional papers.
After having a very difficult January following some dental problems, numerous visits and" yikes!!!" moments in the dreaded "chair"...I felt the need for some soothing, sweet, and fairly simple get well or cheery cards to have in my stash.

And here is a close up of the Primrose:

This was actually pretty soothing to color...though I will need lots more practice, I opted for a tiny image this time and will try slightly bigger scale next time.
The paper is from Lily of the Valley and the Notecard dies are from Papertrey Ink.
Thanks so much for popping by...wishing you blessings on your day!

Make it Monday~Masked Heart Wreath

Hi dear visiting friends! It's past time to show some stamping don't you think?...I needed a nudge after too much time off and becoming a bit lazy here! Over at Nichole's blog, Capture the Moment, this week's "Make it Monday" challenge by Melissa Philipps was to create a card using a masked heart negative and stamping around the outer perimeter with a variety of stamps and colors to form a heart wreath.
To begin, I watched her excellent video on the blog. Then I did a practice run on grid paper, using a variety of floral and a few twirls and swirls added in and experimented with colored inks. There is nothing that makes me happier than inks all across my desk...this was also very helpful in the final outcome.
Once I got started...I could not stop because I loved the outcome of the colors and floral look...so I have two cards to share today. One is a little more to it in design, I used a scalloped border and some striped PTI designer paper. I also used the sentiments in the "Choose Joy" sets as those are some of my favorites! And my heart shape was huge so I needed something to fill it.

And here is a little bit simpler version using some special variegated pink ribbon bow:

I added sequins to both cards...which gives them just a touch of sparkle!
Thanks so much for your visit...and thanks to Melissa for such a fun technique that will get a lot of mileage from with the approach of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine's Day!!
Card Recipe:
Paper: PTI White Linen, Sweet Blush Pattern Pack
Ink: Pale Peony, Autumn Rose, Lavender Moon, Stormy Sea, Amethyst Allure, Hibiscus Burst, and Encore Ultimate Metallic
Stamps:  Embellished Elegance, Graceful Greetings, Choose Joy
Thank you for your visit, and I cherish each comment! Blessings on your day!

Winter Doe in Golds

                                                        Winter Doe (Serendipity Stamps-Retired)

Papertrey Ink Songbirds

Howdy there! I am spending a few days with our daughters and a friend relaxing at our mountain condo. Just before Christmas I took a Craftsy class with Laura Bassen on adding texture to your cards. I used Papertrey Ink's Songbirds stamp to create these. The first one I was just experimenting with the stamp and used the sentiment banner to create a thank you note.
The second one was created after taking the class which gave me some new to me ideas. I love doing online classes because it is go at your own pace, and you are given a glimpse into the instructor's creative process. It also helps me to use supplies like vellum paper, designer paper and diecuts. I was so tickled with second card as it wasn't an outcome I would have had on my own.
Thanks so much for your visit. Blessings on your day!

Power Poppy Wreaths

Hi there friends! I have a couple more Christmas cards to share before the year is over. This one features Power Poppy's stamp, "Wreaths Plain and Fancy." I wanted to venture out to blues and golds for this long and skinny card. The gold is a glittery  cardstock and the blue is a natural fiber paper. I decided this year to use my pretties that I  store up year round, and to give away as many of my cards as I possibly could.
Speaking of, my kind husband did the annual post office trip for me. I had ordered some white padded envelopes in bulk online. They were just slightly larger than an A 2 card. He brought one envelope back with a variety of stamps totaling around 2.75 because it did not have the correct zip code. He told me they were all charged that much postage.
Which means I was very irritated...and I'll have to work harder at flat cards for mailing unless it's a birthday, I couldn't believe that was how much itcost...especially after spending so much time on a card and purchasing the envelopes and then the trip to the mailbox.
However, I Do like this card and hope the recipient did as well. Thanks for popping in.
I am see now why stampers resort to one layer cards.

Power and Spark~Sweet Treats Challenge!

Oh, I was really hoping I could find time to participate in this month's Power and Spark Challenge hosted by the talented Christine, "Sweet Treats!"
It's the morning after Christmas and I wanted to share a card "from the heart," when I was feeling quite nostalgic about Santa and the letters our girls would write, even though for the most part, they knew it was "pretend." I wanted to write my own letter...and I did...it was short, obviously...written on some designer paper. I thought this would be a cute card to leave for Santa with his own treats on Christmas Eve. Thanks for popping in and hope you and your family had a very blessed Christmas!

Ho~Ho~Go!! Power Poppy Action Santa!

Hi friends...hope you're not feeling too frenzied or rushed right now. Every year I try to make a card for both of our daughters. Sometimes it is cute, or a fun shaker card, defininitely something a bit more special than the generic card.
When I saw the "Action Santa" Marcella Hawley designed for this year's Power Poppy Christmas release...I immediately thought of our youngest daughter who is always on the go and has wanted a Vespa scooter for awhile now. Not that we're getting her one...Ha! But she likes to get around...and boy does she! She has traveled  more countries than I ever will...and has spent 6 months in Singapore/China/Thailand and other areas with her career. And she has no fear. Anyway...as a Mom I say a lot of prayers on her behalf. I know God honors our prayers and I am so thankful I can lift up others to Christ when I am anxious or concerned and those I love are too far away to be of any help.
So isn't this the cutest?

This is Erin and her puppy, Walter taken last winter. He is too big to carry now...but the sweetest large animal I have ever known. Besides my dog.
So my card is for her:

She likes plaid (as seen in her vest above.) So I thought this festive Christmas red plaid was a good backdrop...then a blue with embossed snowflakes, topped with the Santa image. A Spellbinders dainty snowflake in Shimmer white and a red sparklette are the embellishments.

Here's a little close-up of Santa:

I will admit, this took me a long time to color. I am not fast by any means...but I am getting better over the years and Power Poppy images are my favorite to color because of the exquisite detail and vintage feel to so many of the images.

Thank you so much for indulging me another card and hope you have a wonderful day!

Not your Spring Chick-a-Dee~

We have regular visitors at our bird feeder and bath all season long...the sweet and chirpy Chickadees! This year I've noticed the bird bath freezing over and less and less visitors at the feeder which prompted me to ask for a heated bird bath for Christmas! Wouldn't that be fun to see the birds up close on our deck?
I was able to snap a photo of a chickadee  at our mountain condo last winter. A bit shadowed, it is hard to get a picture up close. They are a little bit shy.

I almost forgot about my card. I used a design very similar to my friend,  Grace Nyweing's , (at Th-inking-of-You, that she shared quite awhile ago...I had the same stamp (I think) and was inspired to use it in a Christmas card.

The image is colored in copic markers and I use a multiliner to add a bit of black to the eyes. The evergreen and pine cone are Spellbinder die cuts and a branch punch with diamond stickles added. I used a retired Stampin Up paper pack. A pretty double loop bow and my, this Chickadee is looking pretty festive. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for your visit. I love hearing from you and knowing you were here. Wishing you blessings as you prepare your heart for Advent and this wonderful Christmas season anticipating the birth of our Lord and  Savior, Jesus! 

Christmas Card for Dad~Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

I love making Christmas cards. I do...and I probably spend too much time on it...but I like making miniature works of art, or if art doesn't qualify...at least it's from the heart. But every year, I still make my annual trip to Hallmark and get a big beautiful card for my Dad as I know how much it means to him...and making a card never seems like it's enough.
But this year I was inspired by Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

I haven't participated in this particular challenge before, but I do love the Simon Says Stamp store and am always inspired by their designers. The first image reminded me of a deer stamp I've had for a few years (now retired)...and the card grew from there. Even though it is very feminine...it is from me to my Dad and I hope he will enjoy it.

The image was stamped on shimmery cream paper in Gold Encore ink which gives it such an ethereal dreamy effect. I had some Stampin Up paper pack with the music and lyrics from "Silent Night" which was used on the background. I added a scalloped note card background, offsetting the scallops (die from PTI), then added the Prima Poinsettia and some cream crochet lace. 

Thank you for looking and hope you were a bit inspired today! 

I am sharing this card on a wonderful blog, WordArtWednesday too! Blessings.

Snowman Sparkling Season

The month of December is here...and as usual, I've been stamping my Christmas cards one by one...never in a hurry and always delighting in the details! Every year I get caught up in the magic and feel like a little stamping elf in my own little cubby creating with pretty papers, glitter, and the occasional jingle bell or two. I love to make ornaments with scripture verses and have been working on a few special ones which I will share soon.
But for today, I have a sweet snowman with cardinal from Darcie's. I created a snow bank, added some German glitter to the base before realizing it was real glass...so handle with care!! I had a lot of fun making this card...the inside sentiment reads, "You add a little sparkle to the holiday season."
I joined our daughters in Denver Saturday for a relaxing afternoon of wandering through a little neighborhood market fair, dinner out at a quaint Italian restaurant, and then a walk through the Denver Botanical Gardens which was all lit up at night. Just beautiful!

Thanks so much for popping in. Have a wonderful, blessed week!

Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart

Hi stamping friends! It is just 2 days short of a week before Thanksgiving! We were 80 degrees last Monday, then Tuesday our first snow of the year came and the trees were covered in the frosty white stuff! I did not get a picture...instead I was out doing a little early Christmas shopping for my Operation Shoebox!  I had some time this week to make a batch of four of these cards using the stamp from Papertrey Ink, "Give Thanks."  It was one of those times when the background paper just made the card...golds and russets and a little purple shade in the die cut wheat stalks! And the font on this is so beautiful, you don't need much embellishment! I did use a bit of Wink of Stella on the wheat stalks, die cut and popped up, and shaded the acorns with a copic marker. 

I am so thankful to the Lord for my family, friends, my country, my dear husband, my sweet dog , Beulah,who is beginning to heal up from her knee surgery 2 months ago...and of course, you! God has blessed me indeed...and even in those times when we are undergoing trials and difficult losses, especially then, He is near me and his words of comfort and blessing are whispered back to me in my prayers. He is working out His sovereign plan in a world that desperately needs Him...aren't you glad that we have a God that is in control, does not sleep or slumber, and knows the hairs on our head? Thank you so much for your visit, kind comments, and wishing you a very special Thanksgiving!

You are a Blessing!

Hi friends! I recently had the opportunity to make a card to thank someone for being a blessing in my life. Actually, I made three of these using the "Turning a New Leaf" stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I had fun playing with color combinations and finally settled on these two inks, shadow stamping to get two variances with both the green and the purple. I scored the main panel and will send them off...easy to mail and simple yet pretty design.

I find in life it is in the giving of thanks and recognizing the blessing others are to us that we are able to perceive the abundance of God's goodness to us.

Think Pink!!~November Power and Spark Challenge

Hello, fellow stamping friends! This month's challenge on my favorite stamping blog, Power Poppy, is hosted by Tosha Leyendekker to "Think Pink!" It is slightly humorous that I've been on a pink stamping spree lately...especially with Christmas cards...well, who am I kidding?? Pink is my go to stamping color!! But for the life of me, when I saw this challenge...I couldn't figure out what to do! I credit it to being emotionally tired and perusing through stacks of  Christmas themed designer paper in search of pink.  I found this old single sheet (old but oh so pretty) by Basic Grey I think...and used it as my starting point. There isn't a lot of detail in my card but if you could fast forward a video of it in the making process...well, it would be a "comedy of errors," I am sure. It just did not come together easily. In the final product, I used one sheet of pink and burgundy poinsettia paper with burgundy embossing powder for the main image, a pretty floral embossing folder that mimic the poinsettia paper on a pink stripe, and some pretty silver vintage tinsel from Tim Holtz. The scalloped base is a die from Papertrey Ink that I love and use often! And that's it. Whew!!

 This darling image is from a retired set, "Sweets of the Season." The sentiment was too long to fit horizontally on my card, so I finally took my scissors and cut the sentiment in half, then layered it on the top and the bottom of the focal point, using my fingers to form an arched curve to hug the sentiment.  I have never done that before...but I am happy to say I did and it worked!!
Now that I've accomplished this one card...my mind is back in gear and I am going to attempt more pink in the form of gift cards for Christmas.
Thanks so much for your visit!!

Cozy Cardinals

Hi there, crafty friends! I am popping in for a brief interlude between family obligations. My dear Father-in-law took flight to be with the Lord. His services are tonight in Denver and all day tomorrow. I wanted to take a breather from the heaviness to lift my spirits with these sweet cardinals.
Stacy Morgan hosts a Dirty Dozen Christmas challenge monthly, so wanted to play along for the month of October!
I love this sweet image from "Cozy Cupfuls" by Power Poppy! I used a herringbone patterned paper in reds and greens, framed out with scalloped white.

The coloring was done with copic markers and highlighted with a white prisma pencil. They eyes were done with a very fine micron black pen and highlighted with a white gel pen. The bowls have a bit of glaze to give them a more authentic look.Red satin ribbon was added and two Webster Sparklets on the sentiment tag.

Wishing you blessings on your day!

Power and Spark Challenge~Make it Move!

Leaves are swirling, unfurling...glorious shades of golds and purples, just outside my window...and I am sharing my first Christmas card of the season!! I will get back to Fall creations...maybe...but I wanted to participate in the oh-so-fun Power Poppy October challenge to Make it Move!!
Allison Cope is this month's hostess; and she challenged us to create a card that moves in some way! So I chose to make a Shaker card with little snowflakes, German glass glitters, and bright pink sparkly sequins to go along with this sweet vintage Christmas Tree in a Teacup from last year's release by the ever so talented, Marcella!!

My photo had a tiny bit of sunshine on the card which has a bit of glare, but also shows the little filler at the bottom of the Shaker card window...I took a tip from Jennifer McGuire and glued some of the tiny snowflake shaped sequins to the scene so that there are a few sparkles before shaking and it looks so pretty! I rarely make these type of cards, so had to look up several tutorials...they do make for a really special keepsake and I will probably give this one to one of our daughters. The card is 5 1/2 inch squared. The designer paper is one of my very favorite oldies from a Stampin' Up Designer pack with some Bazill background pink. I had so much fun making this card!! Can't wait for this year's Christmas release which actually starts today!! 

And here is a little close-up! This scene is so easy to color up with just an assortment of green flicks of copic markers and a few others. Not intimidating at all! 

Thanks for dropping in...have a Blessed Day!!

Prairie Cheer

We've had beautiful Fall weather the past two to three weeks here in Colorado! My husband and I have had to take a break from travel for awhile as our three year old Golden Retriever had to have knee surgery on very short (one day) notice. I will write about that in a future blog post.
Meanwhile...since I'm sticking pretty close to home for the next few weeks...I'll be sharing more of my cards.

Here is one I made recently using one of this Fall's newest Power Poppy's Prairie Cheer floral! I love the ease of coloring these blooms...especially when stamped and white embossed on Kraft card stock. I used Prisma pencils and tried to match my background paper which is a very old Basic Grey and the stamp and paper seemed to suit each other. I used a pretty berry paper for the solid color, some twine and this country bouquet seemed to call for a button!
Thanks so much for popping in and viewing my card creations. I certainly appreciate your visit and love to read your comments and questions! Have a blessed day!
I'm entering this in a new challenge blog:
The Flower Challenge
and Word Art Wednesday

Painting Outside the Lines~Power and Sparklette Week 3 Challenge

Hey there, and thanks for stopping by! I had the need for some creative inking; if you know what I mean. I spent a few days just mulling over Marcella's Power Poppy Challenge and after a few swirling ideas; set on this one...water coloring outside the lines! 

I just received this set in the mail not long ago..."Sunny Harvest," and used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi water colors for this. I spent more time on the outside shading and filling in color than the actual image...the colors gave the card a very warm glow which is what I was hoping for. I embossed the image with gold detailed embossing powder and layered shading on the Chinese Lantern blossoms. The little buds didn't receive as much detail...I just added varying shades and later realized those were maybe leaves on the side...not sure...so this is an "artistic rendition" which means me just playing around with color. I added a little white signo gel pen for highlights on the smaller buds. Certainly not perfect...but I still like the result. I stamped the setiment in Versafine Sepia which actually appears a little darker on the card than this photo indicates...but still keeping with the glowing look of perhaps candlelight and parchment?   A few gold sequins were added for some sparkle. I enjoyed this challenge and thank you for your kind comments! Blessings on your day!

Walk among the Aspens in Colorado

                                             Beginning of Autumn Walk near Fish Creek

Grateful for You!

Hi and Happy almost Fall...stamping and blogging friends!
I just wanted to share one more Fall inspired gratitude card before I forget. I took an online class last Fall from a few Stampin' Up demonstrators. One of them was Connie Collins and I don't recall the other's name. They had to discontinue the class as it was too time consuming for them...but I received some beautiful kits and online instruction. I came across this one and had to share before I mail it out.
It used reinkers, gold encore ink, and gold embossing powder on the leaves. The set I used

 was Stampin' Up's "For All Things."  The card has a lot of depth and pretty shimmer. Gold mirror card stock framing against the black provided a dramatic feel. Gold encore ink was touched to the tops of the embossed background panel to highlight.  A pretty glass button with the twine added some feminine with rustic feel. I apologize for the photo being a bit dark...it didn't look that way initially when I checked my computer.
 Constantly Stamping is Connie Collin's blog...and you can find her on my sidebar.
Thanks for peeking in...hope you leave with a bit of stamping inspiration.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."~Colossians 3:15

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater~

I'm back with another Copy, Steal Inspire challenge with Power Poppy's Power and Spark!
I received my newest PP stamp set, "Feeling Fall," this week and was so taken with these stamps and the Bloom Brigade's monthly inspiration that I had to pay one more tribute. The challenge was to go back into the archives for inspiration from anywhere in blog land, SCS, etc...but I didn't have to go far. If I had more time...I'd probably do more...as I love the thought of copying pretty cards!!
I hope it is okay that I pretty much copied Katie Sim's from Inky Peach Designs  here. I fell in love with the warmth of the color on the images and the sentiment with the striated color. Katie excels at warmth, both in her card making and just reading her blog, it's easy to feel a connection with her friendly conversation.
I added a different topper, striped big bow and a huge button that makes this card a bit top-heavy so I had to take it's picture lying flat for the best photo.

I did go back and add some pretty glitter to the pumpkins and berries, but forgot to take another photo. I hope I did Katie's card justice and am so thankful for the opportunity to Case one of my favorite artists! Honestly, if I had time, I would attempt to Case all of them...so much beauty and talent out there in Power Poppy land!
Thanks for stopping in...now let the cooler weather begin!!