Happy Memorial Day ~ 2021!

 

Hi friends!

Happy Memorial Day!

I'm getting a late start to my post because I've been enjoying

 time with my family and took a few days off of social media :)

It's been amazing to get so much done around the house, 

completing some projects AND have fun, too!

The more serious side of today is celebrating the meaning

behind Memorial Day.

Growing up in a military family, and having my older brother

still serving and stationed far away in Europe,

this day makes my heart swell with pride.

The sacrifices made for me and my family is humbling

and I carry a strong sense of gratitude for our miliary!

So ... naturally one of my favorite Altenew stamp is this one:

Land of the free.

I paired it one of the backgrounds I made from the ice cube painting

(see! It was fun AND practical! You can see the video version here :)

I used Bearly Art glue to hold the firm, thick acrylic paint background

to the cardstock and added the die cut eagle and stars as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

However you are spending your day today,

I hope it's amazing!

Send it Saturday ~ Card #1

 

Hi friends!

Today's card is a little bit of this ...

and a little bit of that!

I hope I'm not the only one who starts a project ...

then puts it on hold before completion :)

I think for me it's that tale as old as time ...

only a few minutes sometimes!

I was SUPER EXCITED to play with the new Salvaged Patina

last month or so that I made so. many. flowers!

So for Send-It-Saturday, I decided to look through my half projects

and container of sentiments and put a card together.

It = forgotten bits and pieces and Send = add it to the post.

I used a background piece that I made with Ranger's Twisted Citron

and pounced the ink onto the paper - and didn't use it.

It became the perfect backdrop for this floral from Altenew

and the flower was watercolored the same way with the Salvaged Patina.

I ADORE this color!

I plan to do this many times a month :)

It's a great way to clean up the clutter, get the stuff off the desk

and out of files (or bowls!), onto a card and in the mail!

Thanks for stopping by ~

have a great weekend!

You're FRAME-azing!

Hi friends!

In my last post, I eluded to the newest challenge at

Splitcoaststampers .... hosted by me :)

Every 5th Saturday, it's my turn to host

and the spot I chose for this challenge is:  Picture Frames!

It's a fun site filled with not just frames ...

but inspiration in the forms of photos, colors, artwork!

Like this one ↓

I love the soft look of this photo from the pale sunrise sky

to the wonders of the city life and still waters.

I chose Sweet Escape - one of my favorite Paper Smooches stamps 

(gahhhhh! I'm so SO sad they closed!)

I created this card by created a watercolor wash background

and let that dry.

I added a snippet of watercolor paper to the bottom as the water

and popped the uncolored city image onto the front.

If you'd like to be inspired by Picture Frames, 

you can find it here.

They also have a Pinterest Board filled with inspiration, too!

My husband is off for the long weekend 

and our 'to do ... together' list is quite long.

I'm also hoping to take in some quiet reflection at the veteran

cemetery, like this one in Luxembourg where I've visited

as my husband also wanted to visit General Patton's grave.

Photo Courtesy: History Channel

So I hope to be among the first to wish you a WONDERFUL 

and long weekend, friends!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sneak peek and the 'biz!

 Hi friends!

Sounds like a groovy group from the 70's, amiright?

Sneak peek and The Biz! :) 

I'm so glad we have a wonderful long weekend!

Memorial Day is near and dear to me having a military life -

my Active Duty Army brother still serving and stationed in Europe 

and my dad who was career Air Force, serving 27 years!

First up, be sure to head over to Instagram at 12 PM EST

for an incredible blog hop with an opportunity to win some prizes!

It is a sponsored post and if you follow me,

you'll see the details in a few hours!

*Squee!*

And, later this evening, I'll be hostessing a challenge

at Splitcoaststampers .... 

and it's going to be FR-AMAZING! :)

And, finally, for the biz (business!)

 the Free For All challenge today is to use lots of die cuts.

I just finished a sympathy-thinking of you card that I need to get

in the mail like a week ago ....... 

This cards has a floral stamp and die from MFT Stamps 

and I've used 4 die cuts on the front.

Thanks for stopping by!

CCEE2121 - National Road Trip Day!

Hi friends!

There's a new challenge this week at the CCEE Stampers 

and we are celebrating National Road Trip Day!

Here's the full challenge this week:

 Wow, it has finally arrived, and I have had all my vaccines, so maybe this year can mean a road trip!! 

May 28th is National Road Trip day.Your creation might include a map, a wonderful scene, or an exhausting shopping spree to a great out-of-town spot you haven't ventured to in quite some time. You might want to include the car if you would like on your card. Have fun, and if a road trip is still not on your agenda,

 take a virtual one in your imagination. 

Wow, super fun challenge!

 I've created a postcard type card by stamping Hero Arts

National Parks Poetic Prints stamps. Once they were stamped,

I lightly added Karin markers to my glass mat

and lightly sprized it with water.

I took the stamped image and tapped it into different colors of ink,

essentially creating a watercolor look.

Once they were dry, I used my edged die to cut them out,

resembling a postage stamp on a postcard!

Be sure to stop in here to the blog and take a look at the cards,

as well as link up your Road Trip cards, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bokeh coffee!

 Hi friends!

Today's card is taking the good with the bad

and the not-so-pretty with the pretty!

              I tried a new to me technique for the Alpha card group

 B = Bokeh technique.

I loved it!

It was super fun and a new way to jazz up pretty backgrounds.

But ............

then my card fell flat!

I just wasn't thrilled with how it turned out but that's okay!

It was fun and the process was in the learning not the perfection :)

To create this card, I blended several distress inks into the background.

 Once it was dry I added a stencil and sponged Hero Arts Unicorn ink 

in a random fashion to create the circles.  

I colored Latte Lucy from C C Designs in similiar colors

 and popped her on the front and added a coffee themed sentiment. 

 I'll be doing this technique again for sure - 

just plan my card out differently next time :) 

 Thanks for stopping by! 

Double Duty ~ Unity Stamp Co.

 

Hi friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :)

    I really need summer to be here to catch my breath!

Alas, 2.5 more weeks of school

and this mama is counting. the. days!

I'm rushing (again) to get cards made like these for Double Duty.

This is card group started by my bestie, Barb, 

and she's invited a few of us to join her.

This month, we have a new sistah joining us ... welcome Carol!

Each month, she choses a stamp company and we make 2 cards

as long as they are both with the company of the month.

And this month = Unity Stamp Co!

I confess, I barely have any Unity stamps left :(

I sold almost all of my stamps and kits to new homes!

But I scrounged up a few and made these 2 cards

and I chose to use different stamps/similiar cards.

First up, I've created a clean and simple card using Tricia Girl.

For my second card, I've used Not Be Perfect 

and I've used the leftover paper from card #1.

I kept both of them with the same card design/colors.

For the sentiment of this one, I used the one from

A Little Warmth because I'll be sending this card to someone

near and dear to my heart <3

The sentiment was more fitting for her so I added it to the card!

And that's my duo of Unity cards for the Double Duty!

To see what everyone made, you can peek at the blogs: 

Barb

 Carol 

  Jeanette 

today (or soon!)

Next month, we will showcase Gina K. Designs

and in a stroke of good luck, my cards are already done :/

I looked at the list and read Gina K. Designs NOT Unity - eeeeeep!

At least I will be ahead .. for once! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

YIPPEE! Happy Dance!

 

Hi friends!

I'm pretty sure this was me during the whole Your Next Stamp

May new stamp and die release ...

saying Yippee and dancing around :)

I'm super excited to be up on the blog today at

Your Next Stamp and I'm showcasing this A-DOR-A-BLE

 stamp and die set called Home-Stretch!

I used a few scraps of dsp that were previously cut

and still in the pack - and colored this cutie with copic markers.

I continued the theme to the inside and 

added the matching sentiment,

and there are so many in this set to use.

This stamp set is BEYOND cute and can make cards upon cards!

You can find Home Stretch and all the stamps and dies 

from the May release here in the store

so be sure to check out all the goodies :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Classy Card Ladies: Going to the chapel!

 Hi friends!

Today's card is a sweet but simple one for

the Crazy Card Ladies ...

2 teams (The Diamonds and The Pearls) that duel against each other

with 2 card kits but ONE chosen theme!

This month, our hostesses with the mostestess are Carol and Shelly.

Their theme for May is "Going to the chapel."

Our card kit was sent to me by the adorably sweet Carol!

She went above and beyond to make sure 2 of us in the group

had a card kit and not miss today's posting.

Thank you, Carol - you are appreciated!

Her kit was a plethora of beautiful black and white -

a very Carol theme :)

The image is from Colorado Craft Company called Lovely Legs

Happy Forevering.

Unfortunately, I only have half a card - 

I spaced on the slimline requirement!

I left it intentionally blank, mostly because I've been unitentionally

disposed this entire week and I've only had this kit for a couple of days.

I do have one more image which I plan to color at another date.

I added a sentiment that sort of implies it could be for an anniversary.

So not a fan of how this turned out but I do love the sparkly kit

and I've turned this into an anniversary-ish card :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Your Next Stamp - May 2021 release IG hop!

 

Hi friends!

Batter up!

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp May 2021 

new stamps and dies release blog hop!

The hop is over on Instagram and starts at 11 am EST

at Your Next Stamp IG.

I hope you have loved all the new goodies from this release

and hope you have visited the YNS blog to comment to win :)

Please see the graphics for some great sales and deals, too!

For my stop here on the hop, I'm showcasing the adorable

Grand Slam stamps and dies. It's a perfect set for the baseball

players you know and the fans!

 

I've created an interactive 'swish n pop' card

that is reminiscent of my childhood, watching my brother play.

As the tab is pulled, the sweet ladybug on the baseball

flies over the grounds, straight into out field!

Here's my card and video for you ...  

Here is my card as it moves.... starting on the left:

And ends on the right!

Here are a few sales you can see and take advantage of

during new release...

I hope you've had a fun week!

Remember, hop over to Instagram to see the cute cards 11 EST

and we'll see you on the hop!

Thanks for stopping by!

Your Next Stamp - Preview Day 3!

 

Hi friends!

It's Day #3 of the Your Next Stamp new stamp

 and die release for May 2021!

I am absolutely DELIGHTED to be a Guest Designer

 for this amazing release and super humbled 

to be asked to showcase this sensational new release

from Your Next Stamp <3

Today's stamps and dies are very close to being my favorite!

We are on Day 3 but if you'd like to see all the stamps 

and dies and Design Team inspiration cards so far, 

stop by the blog here and catch up :)

(My Day #2 card can be seen here on my Instagram)

For today's card, I'm channeling summery, tropical colors

inspired by the beautiful toucan.

I'm sharing a card using the Tea Time shaker die set

and the tea time shaker tag stamps with coordinating dies.

They are so so SOOOOO cute! 

Here's my shaker card:

I've colored the images of the stamp set to match the cardstock colors

and cut them with my die cutter with the matching dies.

I added a shaker element to the front

and the wonderful sentiment is from the stamp set: Stretch,

which you will be seeing on my blog later this week!

Please hop on over to the blog at YNS and start the previews!

You won't want to miss this absolute cuteness!

Thanks for stopping by!