Free Bird Friday

Happy Friday stamping' friends!  Are you feeling free as a bird today?!?  This is the last holiday weekend of summer and I am ready to enjoy every minute of it...right after my staff meeting this morning!

I am still having so much fun with the Bird Ballad Suite!  I love ALL of the DSP and all of the birds are just so dang cute!  The feathers DSP pattern is my absolute favorite pattern of the pack...I need at least 100 sheets!

My stamping is pretty minimal...just the little bird, a few leaves and a simple little HELLO sentiment.  The Pinewood Planks 3D embossing folder felt like the perfect background for the sweet little bird, while the fussy cut feather, tiny key trinket and linen bow were the perfect finishing touches.  

Of course I used my Stampin' Blends...I just can't stop! Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake blends were just the right colors for this little guy.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Bird Ballad DSP

Ink ~ Basic Gray, Memento, Stampin' Blends:  Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Old Olive

Stamp Set ~ Free As A Bird

Other Supplies ~ Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder, Layering Circles Dies, Bird Ballad Trinkets, Linen Thread

As soon as I'm done with my staff meeting, we headed to the lake for the day.  I'm looking forward to a fun and relaxing family day!

Have a fantastic Friday and amazing weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Make a Birthday Wish With Mickey

Hello friends!  We've made it to the half way point of the week...YAY!  We're sliding our way into the weekend now!

Not only is today Wednesday and the middle of the week, but it is also my BFF's birthday!  And what kind of card do you make for your BFF who is spending her birthday at her most favorite place on earth?!?!  A Mickey and Minnie card of course!  

You can never go wrong with some fun Mickey and Minnie punch art balloons for a fabulous Disney card.  Add a few candles and a fun sentiment from Broadway birthday and you have a celebration right on a card!  

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink ~ Real Red, Crushed Curry, Memento

Stamp Set ~ Broadway Birthday

Other Supplies ~ 1/2" and 1" Circle Punches, Dog Builder Punch, Broadway Lights Dies

I'm not gonna lie...I'm really wishing I was with Wendy celebrating with our favorite Disney friends.  But I know she will have a good enough time for both of us!  Happy Birthday friend!

Make a Difference in Your School

What?!?!  Two posts in one day?  Yep...I've been on a creative roll these past few days, so I have lots to share with you!

Our students and teachers are getting ready to head back to school next week and many areas have already been back at it for a few weeks.   Seeing all of the teachers in our district office over the past couple of weeks and all of the Facebook posts about them preparing their classrooms brought me inspiration for this card.  It's nothing fancy, in fact it's kind of simple, but it has such a big meaning!

 During the school year, our children are with their teachers, coaches and many other school staff members more than they are with their families.  These staff memebers all work so hard to provide a safe and welcoming learning space for our kiddos and love each and every one of them, big or small, sweet or sassy.  It's not an easy job, but they keep on doing it day after day, year after year. It is so awesome to see an entire school come together to make a difference in the lives of our children and even MORE amazing to see an entire school district to work together to make a difference.  I am blessed to be a {very} small piece of the puzzle that we all make up to complete the big picture!

As a child, there was nothing more exiting than a brand new box of crayons or colored pencils to start off the school year.  I still get excited buying school supplies for my boys!  I guess that dream of being a teacher will always be a part of me, even though life took me on a different path.  

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink ~ VersaMark, Memento, Stampin' Blends: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue, Highland Heather, Flirty Flamingo, Soft Suded, Basic Black, Smoky Slate

Stamp Sets ~ It Starts With Art, Artfully Aware
Other Supplies ~ Arts & Crafts Dies

Thank you to all of the teachers and staff who make a difference in the lives of our kiddos...you are AMAZING!

Happy Stamping!

Magnolia Wedding ~ HSS#322 Inspiration Challenge

Hello and welcome to an all new Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge.  This week we have a beautiful inspiration challenge for you.m  I hope you'll join along and share with us what you were inspired to create!

I love the colors and the pretty magnolia blooms, so I pulled my inspiration from there.  I stamped the small magnolia bloom randomly across the card front, then colored each of them in Rococo Rose.  The background was a bit too white for me, so I decided to fill it in Crumb Cake to soften it up a bit. 

We have a wedding to go to next weekend, so adding the Congratulations! sentiment made this the perfect card to give to our friends.  I added a few leaves using the Magnolia Memory dies and a little branch from Seasonal Layers, then finished it off with some of the beautiful Magnolia Lane Ribbon.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Rococo Rose, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White

Ink ~ Mossy Meadow, Memento, Stampin' Blends:  Rococo Rose, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake

Stamp Sets ~ Good Morning Magnolia, First Frost

Other Supplies ~ Tailored Tag, Magnolia Memory, Seasonal Layers, Magnolia Lane Ribbon, Linen Thread

I'm sure you have noticed that I use my Stampin' Blends a lot!  They are my favorite coloring tool and my favorite form of creative therapy.  I always love it when my youngest joins me in a little coloring session.  It's fun to let our minds wander and conversations flow!

Thank you for stopping by today!  I had lots of craft time this weekend, so be watching for more posts this week!

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Greetings from the Gang ~ Monday Montage

Welcome back to Monday Montage!!!  We have another fabulous hop in store for you this week!  Make sure you click on the links below so you don't miss any of the creations...we promise you will love them all! 

I can’t believe it’s the end of August already!! We might still be dealing with scorching hot weather, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start preparing for cold, snowy days and CHRISTMAS CARDS!  The 2019 Holiday Catalog is almost here and it's FULL of so much amazingness...you're going to love it ALL! 

 I fell in love with these cute little guys from Christmas Crowd as soon as I saw them.  I mean, who doesn't love a bunch of cute little critters, elves and SANTA?!? And given the fact that I love ANY stamp set that I can use my Stampin' Blends on, it was a no brainer for me to snag this set in a hurry!

I chose a cheerful array of Christmas colors, turned on my favorite Pandora station and enjoyed some color therapy creating this card.  And the sentiment...it's pretty much the best!  I'm almost certain this will be the sentiment I use on our family Christmas card this year!  Since this is such a big stamp, it doesn't really need much more than color, but I threw in a few snowflakes and just a little bit of bling.  Cute, fun and simple!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Call Me Cover, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink ~ Balmy Blue, VersaMark, Memento, Stampin' Blends:  Basic Black, Old Olive, Call Me Clover, Granny Apple Green, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Balmy Blue, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Mango Melody

Stamp Set ~ Christmas Crowd

Other Supplies ~ Rhinestone Basic Jewels, White Embossing Powder

Whew...that's a lot of Blends!  Nothing better than breaking out so many different colors for one image!

Next up in hop is my crafty friend Cathy...her creations are always so awesome!  Or if you'd like to take a hop back, you'll find the amazingly talented Amy...I love her style!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy Stamping!

We've added links to all of our home pages as well so you can hop along in any order you'd like!

Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts

Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs

Charlet Mallett - Painted Orange

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run

Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations