Life is Sweeter With Watermelon

Our little town has been covered in a blanket of fog for weeks!  I am beyond ready for some sunshine and warmth!  Since we still have a couple months of winter yuck, I'll find joy in creating some visions of summer with Watercolor Melon and the latest Global Design Project Sketch.

I stamped the whole watermelon in Garden Green, then went over the entire image with the dark Parakeet Party Stampin' Blends. Thanks for the fun tip Charlet! (Check out her fun tip over on Instagram @I.heart.stamps) The slices were stamped in Sweet Sorbet with a Garden Green rind and some Tuxedo Black Memento Seeds.

This sentiment from Share a Milkshake was perfect for some sweet, juicy watermelon!  The adorable little Sweet Sorbet floral pattern of Bee Mine DSP was just right for the tag, especially with some of the yellow and white Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers embellishments.

 

I added a few Parakeet Party splatters to the Basic White layer and stamped some more seeds on the Sweet Sorbet card base.  So deliciously sweet!!!

Happy Stamping!

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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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Shining Merry & Bright

Happy November friends! Today officially kicks off the @martinmayhem 30 Day Christmas Card Making Challenge on Instagram and I am so excited!  I play along last year and had so much fun!

The first theme challenge is Shining Bright.  How about some bright and shinny Merry & Bright Christmas lights?

I stamped these fun little lights in Melon Mambo, Parakeet Party, Bubble Bath and Pool Party, topping them with the amazing Silver & Gold Adhesive-Backed Glimmer Paper.  (I hope this makes a comeback soon!) Aren't the shimmery filaments the cutest?!

Inspired by this weeks Global Design Project Sketch Challenge , I arranged the lights behind a Deckled Circle topped with Merry & Bright. I pulled a few strands of the White Iridescent Ribbon to tuck in behind the sentiment.

The light wires were perfect to go along with the sketch in the background, adding just a bit more sparkle.  And just when you think you have enough shimmer and shine, you remember the super cute Iridescent Discs that go along with these colors perfectly!

If you don't follow @martinmayhem on Instagram, you are missing out!  He creates the most AMAZING projects and has a month full of fun and creative Christmas card challenges!

Happy Stamping!

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Merry & Bright Monday

Hello stamping friends!  It's time for another Merry Monday!  I've missed a couple weeks, but I'm getting back on track thanks to this weeks Global Design Project Case the Designer Challenge.

I chose to case the sketch of this card because I love the sweet simplicity of it. And because it was perfect for the Merry & Bright string of lights!

I am all about bold and bright colors for Christmas!  The colorful rainbow of stripes pattern from the Merry Bold & Bright DSP is one of my favorites and was just perfect to peek out behind the string of lights.

How cute are these light bulbs?  I love all of the cute elements and details in the Merry & Brights dies!

Do you love traditional Christmas colors or are you drawn to the bold and bright colors like me?

Happy Stamping!

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Sending Sunshine

This weeks Global Design Project Theme Challenge is all about the stripes!  I love all things with stripes, so of course I had to play along!

I love polka dots almost as much as I love stripes, so I had to add two fun patterns from the amazing pack of Delightfully Eclectic DPS! But I didn't stop there...inspired by the amazing Melody Hyde, I fussy cut a couple of these fun flowers from another pattern.

A couple of friends have had some tough losses, so I thought they could use a little happy mail to add a little sunshine to their day.  Sending Smiles stamp set and coordinating Sending Dies are perfect for an occasion like this.

With all of the fun patterns, just a few Tinsel Gems (3 pack) were the only embellishments needed!

Happy Stamping!

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Sentimental Thanks

Happy Tuesday!  It's time for a colorful new challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge.  A couple of these colors have retired, so I swapped Mango Melody for Daffodil Delight and Mint Macaron for Soft Sea Foam.

It's also case the designer over at Global Design Project, where they are casing the amazing Krista Frattin.  I used the layout of her card to create my card today.

I used Sentimental Park for a sweet and simple thank you card.  The flowers were colored in Petal Pink with just a touch of Daffodil Delight.  Some die-cut Soft Sea Foam greenery was tucked in and layered on top of a Balmy Blue Stylish Shapes circle.  A fussy cut thanks and a few little Petal Pink die-cut flowers, embellished with a few rhinestones, completed the card.

Sweet, simple and oh-so-cute!

Happy Stamping!

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Sweet Citrus Thanks

    

Mother Nature is still trying to decide what season it is around here, but I think she's almost made up her mind that it really is spring!  The beautiful blue skies are making an appearance and the sun is shining...it just needs to warm up a bit more and spring will officially be here!

This weeks Global Design Project Color Challenge certainly feels like spring and when you pair it up with this weeks Freshly Made Sketches Challenge, you end up with a springy Sweet Citrus thank you!

I am trying to used up as much as my retiring product as I possibly can and this color challenge was the perfect way to put this adorable Tahitian Tide pattern of Tea Boutique DSP to use.  What's more cheerful than polka dots and citrus fruits?!?

I added a couple Stylish Shapes die cuts to go along with the sketch. I'm so happy these dies made the cut for another year!  I dressed up the fruit with a splash of Petal Pink stamped flowers, a bit of Tahitian Tide Baker's Twine and few clear Milky Dots.  So cute!

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Happy Stamping!

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It Looks Like Spring

It's the last day of February AND the last day of Sale-a-Bration!  I am celebrating with these springtime Awash in Beauty DSP flowers and the perfect sentiment from the SAB stamp set Thanks A Bunch.

This paper and stamp set paired up for the perfect card for this weeks Global Design Project Theme Challenge...SPRING!  While we are still officially a few weeks away from the first day of spring, I'm hoping our spring weather will make an early appearance.

If you love fussy cutting as much as I do, the Awash in Beauty DSP is a must have for your paper collection.  I fussy cut along the tops of the flowers from one of the patterns and added it to a Basic White background embossed with the Painted Texture embossing folder.

A few additional blooms were cut and tucked around the sentiment stamped in Balmy Blue and die cut with the Beautiful Shapes dies.  An additional hexagon was cut from the DSP for a little added color.  A few strands of the White Frayed Ribbon and my favorite Brushed Brass Butterflies completed the card.

I can't wait for all of my springtime blooms to start brightening my card and watching our pups chasing butterflies around our yard!

Happy Stamping!

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Best Day Party

Happy New Year! I know I'm a day late, but yesterday was a total lazy day that resulted in very little being done.

Today was my last day of winter break, so I did my best to spend most of it in my craft room. (In between taking care of my son's sweet new puppy while he was at work.)

This weeks Global Design Project Party Theme gave me a great excuse to ink up and color the new Best Day stamp set.  This is the cutest stamp set!

I love this fluffy cupcake kitty!  It reminds me of our old gray kitty who was about as fluffy as this one.  I added some fun pops of color using Parakeet Party, Bermuda Bay and Polished Pink, along with a Pool Party cupcake wrapper.  I dusted off my Basic Border dies to create a fun background to match the party hat. So much fun!

I couldn't just color one of these fun images and had to do the Happy Birthday cake too!  I stuck with the same colors for the birthday cake, adding some So Saffron for a yummy vanilla cake.  Some Stylish Shapes circles match up perfectly with the polkadots on the cake!

Can you believe I made two cards without any embellishments?!?  That almost NEVER happens in my crafty adventures.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that all a card needs is stamp, ink and paper.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to the week!  I'll be back with more fun things to share throughout the week...stay tuned!

Happy Stamping!

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Together is the Merriest Place to Be

It's not very often you get two posts from me in the same day, but today I have an extra special post as a Guest Designer for Global Design Project Color Challenge!  It's such an honor to be a guest amongst all of their talented designers!

In keeping with my Merry Monday Christmas cards, these colors seem perfect to use with the Merriest Moments stamp set.  I am always drawn towards the Petal Pink Poinsettia's during the holidays and stamped one of my own for this card.

 

A few Soft Succulent holly leaves and some cute little Sweet Sorbet holly berries were tucked in behind the poinsettia. When you add these stamped images to the beautiful Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder and dies, there isn't much else that you need!

After cutting out the beautiful frame from a piece of Soft Succulent, I added some shimmer with the Wink of Stella Glitter Brush.  Don't you just love this?!?  An additional layer of Whisper White was added behind, also embossed with the Merriest Frames.  These all layered on top of a Petal Pink design of Design a Daydream DSP.   And I can't forget the Sweet Sorbet Sentiment!

Thanks again to the amazing design team at Global Design Project for inviting me today!  I can't wait to see all of the beautiful projects made with this weeks color challenge.

Happy Stamping!

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Full of {Colorful} Love

Most of my mornings consist of a little stamping before I head in to work and this morning I decided to play along with the latest Global Design Project Color Challenge.  How fun are these colors?!? Rumor has it they will be selecting one person from this months challenge to be a Guest Designer for the next color challenge...so exciting!

I just recently added the Full of Color stamp set to my collection during the 24 hour stamp sale and these colors seem perfect! After coloring the flowers in leaves in shades of Flirty Flamingo, Parakeet Party and Shaded Spruce, I fussy cut the image.  I was going to go with a super clean and simple card and just pop the image up on a Basic White card front.  Then the creativity bug bit me and I decided to add a Stylish Shapes circle with strips of color coordinated paper.  This was a quick and easy way to add another pop of color!

Some days I am even lucky enough to sneak in a little evening stamp time as well and this evening just happened to be one of those days!

Using the scraps I still had out on my desk, I created a fun paper stripe background for the other adorable Full of Love floral image. I love the added stitched look from Rectangle Stitched and Stylish Shapes Dies!  

Any day is a good day to stamp and it's an even better day when you start AND end your day with stamping!

Happy Stamping!

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Daffodil Blessings

Hello friends!  I feel like it has been FOREVER since I last posted.  I've kind of been in a creative slump, but after deep cleaning my office this past weekend and getting everything back in order, I pulled myself out of that slump.

Inspired by the latest Global Design Project CASE the Designer Challenge and my daffodils that are just starting to peek out of the soil, I created a cheerful Easter blessing. I love the use of the Paper Lattice!

By now you should know that I love to color with the Stampin' Blends.  Daffodil Daydream Bundle was a must have, of course!

I started out by creating a soft Daffodil Delight background with an ink pad and Blending Brush.  A few Daffodil Delight splatters were stamped, then layered with a trimmed piece of Paper Lattice.  I layered the bunch of daffodils on top of the Paper Lattice, but it needed a little something more.  A die cut circle of You're A Peach DSP  was just what it needed!  The Pear Pizzazz pattern was perfect...so perfect that I layered another piece on the card front!

The bundle of daffodils was colored with Stampin' Blends in shades of Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Pale Papaya.  A little bit of Linen Thread wrapped the bundle of flowers up and a few Brushed Brass Butterflies were scattered around.  Oh!  And I can't forget my heat embossed sentiment!

I've managed to keep my office clean so far this week, so hopefully you'll see more creations from me!  

Happy Stamping!

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Holly Jolly Hot Chocolate

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means I better get started on some of my special treat packages for Christmas!  I love to have a stash of little gifts on hand, ready to go for those last minute holiday gatherings that always seem to pop up this time of year. 

Anyone else have a ridiculous amount of fun packaging in their stash that rarely gets used?!?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!  I pulled out my stash of Acetate Card Boxes and found that they are perfect for a quick and easy hot chocolate kit!

Anyone else have a ridiculous amount of fun packaging in their stash that rarely gets used?!?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!  I pulled out my stash of Acetate Card Boxes and found that they are perfect for a quick and easy hot chocolate kit!

I tucked a packet of hot chocolate and a candy cane in the box, then aded a few strips of the Whimsy & Wonder Specialty DSP to the top and bottom.  

Another crafting item I tend to collect is ribbon...ALL the ribbon!  The Metallic Mesh Ribbon was just what this box needed.  It goes along with the bits of silver in the DSP beautifully!  And you can't have a box without a tag, right?  

After cutting out a Tailored Made Tag from a piece of Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper, I created a watercolor background with the Water Painters and some Mossy Meadow ink.  A beautiful Wonderful Snowflake, a couple of cute die cut trees and a heat embossed sentiment from Christmas to Remember, along with just a few Polished Pink In Color jewels completed the tag.

I'm hoping to get a few more of these put together over the Thanksgiving break, along with a few other treat boxes.  'Tis the season!

This weeks Global Design Project Christmas Theme Project inspired today's project! Join in the fun and play along!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Stamping!

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Cute Halloween Critters ~ #GDP310

Hooray!  We made it to Friday!  

It has been another insanely crazy week at work and stamping has kept me calm in the mornings.  This weeks Global Design Project Sketch Challenge was just what I needed to start my day today!

I've been working on a few Halloween cards and have been having so much fun fussy cutting the cute little ghosts and goblins from the Cute Halloween DSP.

These cuties were perfect for this weeks sketch!  I paired them up with some Halloween stripes and polkadots, also from the Cute Halloween DSP.

My sentiment was, once again, heat embossed in white on black and fussy cut for that perfect placement.

A little bit of Black & White Gingham Ribbon and a few Cute Stars Sequins were the final touch.  So cute!!!

I hope your weekend is off to a great start!  I have a busy weekend ahead of me, but I am certainly looking forward to a break from the craziness of the work week!

Happy Stamping!

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Peachy Birthday Wishes

Hello friends and happy Thursday!  I am so happy to be one day away from Friday, but I could also use an extra work day to catch up this week.  It has been a crazy start to the school year!  Thank goodness for some creative therapy with this weeks CASE the Designer at Global Design Project.  It was just what I needed!

Peaches are finally ripe enough to pick around here, which inspired me to give some love to the Sweet as a Peach bundle!

I decided to CASE Wilma de Korte's layout using the You're a Peach DSP.  The Balmy Blue stripes make me happy!  I added a strip of the juicy peach pattern of DSP across the middle and topped it off with a sweet peach and Happy Birthday sentiment.

A white twine bow was tucked behind the peach and a few little white die-cut flowers were added for good measure.  Kind of a clean and simple card...I'm loving it!

Even though it has been a super busy week at work, I am happy to report I am back to my early morning, pre-work stamping routine.  I love starting my days this way!  Now if I could just find more time to squeeze in some evening stamp time too...I'll have to work on that!

Happy Stamping!

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Seashells and Friends

Hello friends!  It's been a bit since I last posted here...I was enjoying my last week of summer break!  My school year started today, which I was not ready for, but it did feel good to be back in my regular routine.  

I usually try to stamp a bit each morning before heading in to work and this weeks Global Design Project Color Challenge was just what I needed to get back in my groove!

 

These soft colors had me dreaming of morning walks at the beach, collecting seashells.  I inked up Friends Are Like Seashells and added a Sailing Home lighthouse to complete the beach scene.

A soft Balmy Blue background was brushed on Basic White with the Blending Brushes, as well as a few Balmy Blue bubbles and some Pear Pizzazz seaweed.  The lighthouse and shells were layered with a few Artistry Blooms Sequins tucked in for just the right amount of bling.  The sentiment was simple stamped...no heat embossing, fussy cutting or die cutting...who am I?!?! 

I layered this pretty beach scene on top of the light wood-grain In Good Taste DSP, then added it to a Basic White card base.  I love the clean, fresh air feel!

It was good to be back to work and see all of my co-workers, but I am exhausted!  Trading my summer yard work for mental work is a big change that my brain needs to adjust to again.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Stamping!

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Let's Go Camping ~ #GDP298

It's another day of triple digit heat, so that means another afternoon of stamping for this momma! 

Today's card was inspired by this weeks Global Design Project Sketch Challenge!

As we prepare to head out for a weekend of camping, this sketch inspired me to ink up Campology once again for a special birthday card.  The trees were perfect for the background of the sketch!

I added a strip of wood-grain DSP from the In Good Taste DSP and a fussy cut heat embossed sentiment from Happiest of Birthdays.  And because I love the lantern so much, I just had to add it!

I added an extra layer of Misty Moonlight Birch (background stamp) and roughed up a corner a little bit.  I love what this adds to a card!

We are packing up and getting ready to head out for a camping trip over the holiday weekend.  I am excited to escape the heat and spend some time by the lake!

Have a great day and, as always, happy stamping!

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