Zany Zoo Thank You

It's the last Friday of 2023 and TGIF Challenges is wrapping up the year with a fun Inspiration Challenge!  There is so much cuteness wrapped up in this cute little inspiration photo...so many creative possibilities!

I mixed some Annual Catalog favorites with some upcoming January-April Mini and Sale-a-Bration Catalog favorites to play along with this challenge.

I used the Perennial Postage dies to create a postage stamp with the super cute Sunny Days DSP, which you can earn for free with a qualifying order during Sale-a-Bration!  The sunshine pattern goes along perfectly with the clouds!

I colored one of my favorite Zany Zoo critters to cruise through the forest with a basket full of Charming {Thank You} Sentiments. 

I love the sweet and simple layout inspired by the latest Freshly Made Sketches...a great way to end the year!

I hope you join along in the fun!

Happy Stamping!

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Christmas Scraps

We're down to the last few days before Christmas and TGIF Challenges has the perfect Technique Challenge for us...Christmas scraps!

If you are anything like me, you have little bits and pieces of your favorite Christmas DSP that you just can't part with because they come in so handy for projects like this!

I used strips of Merry Bold & Bright DSP along with the Merriest Trees dies to cut out a bright and cheerful tree for a tag to top a Scalloped Gift Card Box.  I covered the top of the box with the Melon Mambo and Poppy Parade stripes pattern and added the recipients name with the soon-to-be-release Mini Alphabet Dies.

What will you do with your scraps this Christmas?  Be sure to share what you have created with us over at TGIF Challenges.

Happy Stamping!

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Softly Planted ~ Monday Montage

 

Today marks the last hop of 2023 for the Monday Montage designers!  Thank you for hopping along with us all year and we hope you'll join us again in January as we hop through 2024!

Thinking of You, Thank You and Just Because cards are always good to have on hand. These pretty sentiments from the Online Exclusive stamp set Softy Said and the soon to be available Planted Paradise stamp set helped to create a pretty trio of cards.

In addition to collecting stamps, ink and paper, I also collect plants.  It was fun to pot a few paper variety of plants!  Gray Granite,  Blueberry Bushel and Copper Clay were the color choices for the pots on the first card, filled with leaves in various shades of green.  Casing the January-April 2024 Mini Catalog, I stamped the cute little circle image in the background..cute, right?!?  

I went for softer shades of Petal Pink and Gray Granite for the next card, along with some more greens and Pebbled Path for the Thinking of You sentiment.  A little texture was added with the Painted Texture and Basics 3D embossing folders.

I went bold and bright for the last card, using Berry Burst for the pot filled with Granny Apple and Lemon Lime Twist leaves.  A Pretty Peacock Heartfelt Hexagon in the background and sentiment compliment the bright colors perfectly!

If you love fussy cutting as much as do, these stamp sets are for you!  There are no coordinating dies, but don't let that stop you!  There are lots of creative opportunities with both of these stamp sets that don't require any fussy cutting!

We have a smaller hop this week as many of the designers are enjoying the holiday season, but I promise you will find inspiration from all of us today!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Stamping!

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Flight & Airy - Around the World on Wednesday

Happy Wednesday friends!  It's time for an all new Around the World on Wednesday blog hop and I can't wait for you to see all of the fabulous creations with this months technique...Watercolor Smooshing.  

What is watercolor smooshing you ask?  It's one of the easiest watercolor techniques out there! Starting with your lightest color, smear you ink pad across any of the Clear Blocks (I used the giant F block). Smear any additional colors, lightest to darkest in any random pattern then spritz with a Stampin' Spritzer filled with water.  Next comes the smooshing part...place a piece of Fluid 100 Watercolor paper over the block and smoosh it in the ink.  Easy peasy and so much fun!

The Balmy Blue and Midnight Misty inks smooshed together created a sky-like background that was perfect for these fussy cut birds from the beautiful Flight & Airy DSP that will be available during Sale-A-Bration in January.  I cut the smooshed watercolor using the Countryside Corners Dies to go on a simple Basic White card base.  Sweet and simple...my favorite! Notes of Nature sentiments and a few Tinsel Gems completed the card.

I had fussy cut a few different birds from the Designer Series Paper, so I just had to create a couple more smooshed backgrounds for the birds. I used just Pool Party or the next card with a few splatters, giving it a robin egg look.

Fresh Freesia and Bubble Bath helped to create a pretty background that reminds me of an early morning sunrise. The pretty flowers and birds have me longing for spring, sunshine and warmth.

Click on the Next Blog to see what Lori Wilcox has in store for us! See the complete lineup below in case you get off track!

Happy Stamping!

Jan Clothier - NZ

Leonie Stuart - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Annette Ball - CA

Angie McKenzie - US

Tricia Butts - US

Bree Renwick - US

Lori Willcox - CA

Cheryl Hamilton - US

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Most Awesome Tools

 We all have our favorite artists who we always turn to for a little extra creativity, right?  My friend Charlet of Painted Orange has always been a huge inspiration in the world of stamping. She is simply amazing and is featured as the artist in this weeks Global Design Project Case the Designer!

These fun little Santa hats inspired me to ink up the various tools in the new Trusty Tools stamp set and partake in a little color therapy before work today. All of the little tools in this 2-step stamp set have stamps to help add color to each tool or you can add color with your Stampin' Blends like I did here!

The fun pegboard pattern of Trusty Toolbox DSP was the perfect addition along with the Metal Plate 3D embossed background.  The sentiment is, well...awesome, for any occasion!  Add a Happy Birthday, Thanks or Happy Father's Day to the inside and you are set!

Wishing you all a fantastic week! I'll be back on Wednesday with another Around the World on Wednesday blog hop. We have a fun technique for this months challenge!

Happy Stamping!

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Trusty Toolbox

We made it to Friday and y'all know what that means...time for an all new TGIF Challenges.  This week we have a sketch that was perfect for sharing a sneak peek of some new products coming in the January-April 2024 Mini and January-February 2024 Sale-A-Bration catalogs.

Let me introduce you to the Trusty Tools stamp set (Jan-April) and the coordinating Trusty Toolbox DSP (SAB)...

This stamp set and DSP will get a lot of use for all of the guys in my life!  From my dad, husband and sons to father-in-laws and friends, this will be a well loved stamp set!

I created a tool box with the DSP, tucking a few fussy cut tools inside.  The ruler, also from the DSP, filled the other half of the sketch.  The saw blade was the perfect addition to the front of the sketch.  I even brought in the Metal Plate 3D embossing folder from the Annual Catalog.  Products from all of the catalogs are always working together!

Join along in the fun and share your take on the sketch with us!

Happy Stamping!

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Simply Sparkling Birthday

It's time for another Monday Montage Blog Hop!

I finally had the chance to play with some of the new stamp sets that arrive a few weeks ago.  My Christmas creations kind of made everything else take a back seat, but not any more!

Simply Sparkling Bundle is a recent addition to the Online Exclusives and it is so much fun! The possibilities are endless with these cans of bubbly.  And when you add some of the Holographic Specialty Paper, they look like real soda cans.

Do you spy the fun bubble dies?  They are so awesome, especially with the addition of some stamped bubbles. Parakeet Party, Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana seemed like the perfect colors for an extra bubble birthday wish.  The black and white Delightfully Eclectic DSP made the bright colors pop even more!

Keep on hopping along to see what the rest of my Monday Montage friends have to share with us today!

Breelin Renwick - You are here

    Cathy Casey

Charlet Mallett

Cheryl Curtis

Dani Dziama - not hopping today

Elizabeth Price

Emily Miller Kimmey

Julie Warnick - not hopping today

Wendy Weixler

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Nature's Sweetness

Hello stampers!  I finally opened my box of new stamps, paper and other fun products and took a short break from Christmas cards for the latest Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch Challenge.  It was love at first sight when I saw Nature's Sweetness shared during OnStage@Home.  I was so happy it was included in the list of items we were able to order early!

I used the Notes of Nature stamp set to create a collage background on the Pecan Pie circle on the front as well as the Very Vanilla panel peeking from the background.  I love the freestyle stamping that sets like this allow!

The floral image was die cut from the GORGEOUS Nature's Sweetness DSP and colored with Stampin' Blends in shades of Old Olive, Pecan Pie and Petal Pink.  The Lovely & Sweet dies coordinate with some of the images in the DSP, which makes cutting some of the beautiful images super easy!

Do you spy the cute little Cork Rounds?  These may easily be my new favorite embellishments!  A simple "congratulations" sentiment from Lovely & Sweet was just that...lovely and sweet.

I can't wait to create more projects with this suite.  There are endless possibilities!

Happy Stamping!

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O Holy Night

Hello and happy Friday friends!  I hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving yesterday!  We are officially kicking off the Christmas season over at TGIF Challenges  with a fun Theme Challenge.  What is your favorite Christmas song?

There are so many joyful, beautiful and meaningful Christmas songs I love, but O Holy Night is probably the one I love the most!  The story this song tells is beautiful.

The Night Devine bundle is one that I will hang on to forever!  This bundle brings the true meaning of Christmas to life in whatever project you create with it. Paired up with the gorgeous O Holy Night DSP, I quickly created a beautiful nativity scene using the Night Devine dies.  I stamped the sentiment in Misty Moonlight and fussy cut around the beautiful script. A few golden stars were the only embellishments needed.

As we jump into the craziness that the holiday season can bring, my hope is that we can all take time to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Happy Stamping!

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Festive Merry Monday

 

It's that time again...time for another amazing Monday Montage Blog Hop!  We are missing a few in the lineup this week, but we've still got a ton of creative inspiration to share with you!

I'm still plugging along with the #30DayChristmasCardMakingChallenge. The theme for day 20 is Festive Vibes Only.  It doesn't get much more festive than bright, shiny Christmas lights, right?

Merry Bold & Bright DSP has been my go-to Christmas paper this year...if you haven't noticed!  I paired up with brightly lit bulbs with the Poppy and Melon stripes, along with a row of fussy cut lights.

Oh, what fun the sentiment is to finish off the card.  Granny Apple Green has been my go-to Christmas green this year too.  Give me all the bright colors!

Hop on over to see what my crafty friend Cathy has to share or take a hop back to see what the amazing Wendy has in store.

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Make It Merry

Happy Tuesday friends and welcome to an all new Hand Stamped Sentiments Color Challenge.  Aren't these colors beautiful together?

It's still operation Christmas Cards in my craft room, so I inked up the wreath of trees from Wishes All Around. I alternated Berry Burst and Mossy Meadow for the trees and love how it turned out.

I stamped Whisper White snowflakes on a Pebbled Path panel than ran it through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine with the Exposed Brick 3D embossing folder.  I love the texture in the background.

A couple sprigs of Mossy Meadow and Berry Burst topped with a Whisper White snowflake brought just a bit more color to the card.  I pulled some strands of Pebbled Path Textured Ribbon for a soft and wispy bow.

Be sure to hop on over to the Hand Stamped Sentiments Blog to see what the rest of the team created and be sure to play along with us!

Happy Stamping!

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Merry Monday and Weekend Recap

Happy Merry Monday friends!  It's Day 13 of Martin's Mayhem #30DayChristmasCardMaking Challenge and the theme is Elfed Up.  I love all of his themes and the fun inspiration and interpretation that come from them!

I used the cute elves from the Jolly Words stamp set.  After stamping and coloring the images, I fussy cut each piece and rearranged them in a fun and festive way.  I have a newfound love for Bubble Bath, especially when paired up with Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green.  What do you think?!?

Before we jump in to a new week, I want to share a bit of a recap from this past weekend.  Many demonstrators from all over the world gathered for the OnStage@Home virtual event.  While nothing beats in person events, my heart is still full after spending time with everyone virtually.

Along with some business updates, demonstrations and stamping, some BIG news in my crafty world was finally revealed.  I am honored and beyond blessed to have been selected to be a part of the 2023 Artisan Design Team!

Once upon a time I was an Artisan Finalist, back when it was only US residents who made up the team.  There were 20 finalists and only 10 were selected.  Unfortunately, I did not make it on the team at that time, but I didn't give up on trying.  It took some time, but thanks to the amazing guidance, support and love from so many stamping friends, my dream finally came true!

            

This beautiful tin arrived before the OnStage@Home event, but I waited until the morning of the event to open it.  Along with personalized Artisan stamp, we also received a beautiful engraved clear block.  I love it and will proudly display it in my craft room!

I can't wait to create with all of the amazing Artisan Design Team members in 2024.  Hopefully some of us will have the opportunity to meet up in Houston!

Happy Stamping!

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Happy Dance

Happy Friday stamping friends!  TGIF Challenges has an all new sketch for us to play along with this week. Who doesn't love a good sketch?!?

Today is extra happy Friday because I have the day off, which means more time to stamp! And tomorrow will be even happier because it's OnStage@Home...I've been looking forward to this virtual event all week long!

I'm sure many of you have seen pictures of the OnStage@Home gift box floating around social media.  That, along with today's sketch, was the inspiration behind my card. The Curved Occasions roller-skates went along with the fun patterns on the box so well.  And the colors are so much fun!

In-person events are always the best, but I love that we are still able to connect with demonstrators all around the world for virtual events.  I can't wait to see all they have to share with us tomorrow!

Happy Stamping!

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A Beary Merry Monday Montage Blog Hop

 

We're back with another Monday Montage Blog Hop!  Be sure to hop all the way through to see all of the amazing talent!

Once again, I'm sharing some Merry Monday creations...this time using the Beary Christmas DSP along with the fun sentiments from Merry & Bright.

I absolutely LOVE to fussy cut images from Designer Series Paper and make them come to life on cards. I sat down with the adorable polar bears and friends this past weekend and fussy cut my heart out!

In keeping up with the #30DayChristmasCardMakingChallenge, I had to use this cuddly polar bear and bunny Topping the Tree for Day 6 of the challenge.  I'm pretty sure I could use the tree pattern of this DSP for ALL of my Christmas cards...it's so awesome!

It doesn't get much cuter than a momma bear and her baby toting gifts through the snow to wish you all a Happy Christmas.  I love the sweet simplicity of this card..nothing more than ink, paper and stamps!

Caribou and deers in sweaters and scarves are also pretty stinking cute too!  I love the footprints in the snow pattern of DSP...it goes along perfectly with these Christmas critters!

Be sure to keep hoping along to see what all of my crafty friends have created!

Happy Stamping!

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