What's Up Duck?

 Hi there! Back again with another fun post...

AThis time for CAS Colours & Sketches.  I haven't played in this challgne for a while and I couldn't resist their current colour challenge.  Nor could I resist playing with this rubber duck die by Simon Says Stamp yesterday.  Puddle by Lawn Fawn. Grass (could be My Favorite Things, it's pretty old).

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.  

 ☘ Irish Blessing ☘

Nance

A Flutter of Happiness

 Hello there!

It seems to be a crazy weather Monday everywhere in the States!  Blizzards to the north, severe thunderstorms/possible tornadoes to the south! YIKES!

So I'm sharing a little bit of spring time happiness to distract us all from that and other craziness.

I had to play with Michele's sketch again over at Freshly Made Sketches.  I've had this gorgeous patterned paper and birdbath dies from Honey Bee Stamps for a year now and just pulling them out to play.  I wanted to keep with the colors in the background so I matched my birds to it. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon! Stay safe out there wherever you are, not just today but always! 

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.  

 ☘ Irish Blessing ☘

Nance

Irish Blessing

 Hello and Happy Friday!

What a week it's been!  Weather wise it has been all over the place - spring, the dog of summer and then back to winter! We had frost this morning after near 90s yesterday.  And the trees are budding, which does mean the dreaded pollen is coming! Got to love NC in March! LOL 

Well in the spirit of green, I have a card to share with lots of green. St. Patrick's Day is next week and so I thought I'd make at least one card for the holiday.  

I used green and gold colors for the Color Hues Challenge and then I decided to try Michele's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and see how it worked.  Not sure it completely passes for the sketch, but I made a good effort I think. My background is from a marbled stencil by Hero Arts I did in two green inks and gold glaze. 

For Following Challenges:

Simon Says Wed Challenge - Bit O' Green

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.  

 ☘ Irish Blessing ☘

Nance

Hoppy Birthday

Hello!

It's Thursday again!  Funny how that happens, huh? 

That means a new challenge at Seize the Birthday. 

JoAnn is our host this time and her Topping is Use Green as Main Color.

I decided to pull out my Waffle Flower frog dies for my card. That is where I began and then knew I wanted balloons coming out of a picture frame.  I wanted to jazz it up a bit so I chose some beautiful green and white background pattern paper by Honey Bee Stamps. I probably could have arrange the balloons a little better so as not to "grow" out of his head, but oh well.  HAHAHA

If you're not feeling a Green kind of Topping this time, you can always play in our Anything Goes Birthday Challenge and still share your creation.  Either way, we love having you play along!

We have two Surprise Guests today so be sure and check them out and welcome them - Jennie and Valerie! Welcome! Don't forget to check out the rest of the Design Team's creations also on the STB blog. These ladies are super creative and crafty! 

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.  

 ☘ Irish Blessing ☘

Nance

Poppin' By...

Happy Weekend!

It was a long, busy week! I have so many unfinished cards on my craft table from this past month and there doesn't seem to be enough time in between LIFE to get them completed. 

I feel like we need a personal secretary to keep track of everything Or Dave and I both need cloned. Why does it seem things were simpler when the kids were kids and still home? My oldest turned 34 yesterday, making me realize I'm NOT 34 anymore. My youngest, who lives in Virginia, called this week to inform us he has torn either his meniscus or ACL and more than likely will need knee surgery soon. This at a time when we are already in a holding pattern for a call to go south to help move my FIL into a memory care unit.  

Recently, I got a great card from a wonderful cardmaker friend, Nancy Leppek, her lovely UGH card.  It's on my living room mantle for me to see everyday. And thank you for enabling me to buy the die so I can now cut it out and tape it all over my house for now! 😁  Thank you, Nancy!

I did managed to finish a card today for the current Color Hues challenge I've wanted to join, so I'm sliding in!

Raise your hand if you ate Pop Tarts for breakfast either growing up or in college?  ✋  My favorites were Raspberry and Chocolate Fudge. Simon Says came out with this Pop Tart die and I had to have it. It just came last weekend so I made it work for this challenge. You can't tell in the photo but I sparkled up the sprinkles on the poptart.  The teal frosting is some textured cardstock from Bazzill to give it a little pizzazz too.  I stenciled a checked background with my teal ink lightly, (looks brighter blue in the pic than it is) trying to emulate a placemat or tablecloth.  

For Challenges:

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

 

Time To Celebrate

Hello Thursday!

This week is flying by for me. Hope it's been a good one for you.  Of course it's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday.  Our hostess this time is Jenny and her Toppings choice is "Things With Wings."

I pulled out some new dies from Concord & 9th I recently purchased for my card.  When I saw these geese dies and that they had rain boots as accessories, I had to get them!  While shopping during Christmas time at our local Painted Tree Boutique, I saw wooden geese with rain boots and each goose had it's own name and own color/pattern of boots.  I may or may not be heavily hinting for one for Mother's Day! LOL.  So I made these geese dressed in their rain boots and celebrating one queen goose birthday.

I placed them on a grassy background with the Grass Texture Die by Waffle Flower cut with the arch die by Simon Says Stamp.  All of that was then placed on top of a floral embossed background, also by Simon Says Stamp.

Of course, if you're not a Toppings kind of crafter, whether just this time or always, we also have our Anything Goes Birthday Challenge which is always an option.  Stop by STB blog to see all the rest of the Design Team's "Winged" birthday cards. Along with us we have had Helen guesting for the past two months and this is her last challenge with us. It's been a delight to have her. And we have our Surprise Guest, Rachel, also with us this fortnight.  So be sure and check both of them out too!  Hope to see you in our gallery!

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

 

Seas The Day

 Hello there on this Sunday evening!

It's been a very rainy day all day so perfect for reading and crafting. Tonight's post is a card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Verena's sketch had me thinking water - puddle, ponds, lake, but then I finally chose the an island on the sea.  I've had the Summertime Vacation and the Oh Buoy die sets by Spellbinders for a while now but never played with it.  So today I did.  

For Following Challenges:

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

Love To Pieces

Hello and TGIF! 

 

Hope you're ready for a weekend.  I sure am! It's been an interesting week. Had to have a shot in both my knees so been a little less ambulatory the past couple days to let them take affect. Actually have been off my legs the whole week waiting to get the shots. Thankfully today they feel great again and hope it stays that way now.    

I guess one plus is that I have been able to get in my craft room and create a little more. This is one of my finished products for some special people. Yes, my Valentines will be late but hey what can you do. Do we really need a specific day to tell others how much we love them and appreciate them in our lives? NAH!

I recently bought the puzzle cover plate die from Hero Arts and have been playing with it this week. I have puzzle lovers in my fam and I not only created this card for some of them but I also actually created a puzzle for them to put together as well. There may be a photo below.  

I started though with the Layered Heart stencil by Waffle Flower.  After stenciling in Cotton Candy and Rockin' Red (CP Designs) I went over the entire thing with a light layer of Cotton Candy.  Then I cut it with the puzzle coverplate.  Next I cut out that adorable Peeking Chicken die by Hero Arts and pieced it together.  The sentiment is from Lil' Inker Designs.

I did this one specifically for the Color Hues challenge and at least I'm not totally squeaking in last minute. 

Other Challenges:

The puzzle I created with the In The Forest layered stencil by Catherine Pooler and using her inks.  Then I cut it with the Hero Arts puzzle die.  I actually doubled up my cardstock before I cut it, which was not such a great idea.  It took quite a few rounds through my die cut machine and then using some scissor and exacto knife to get the bottom layer all cut. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

Another Year Looks Good

Good Afternoon to you!

We've had a small taste of spring this week after some very blistering cold (for central NC that is).  I know half the country has been that way much longer than us.  Yet, even this Yankee has had her blood thin I'm afraid over the 20+ years I've been in NC. So I'm hoping our brief very cold winter is done! 

Anyhoo, let's get down to card business!  Birthday card business!  It's Thursday and time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday!

Glenda is our hostess and her Toppings for this challenge is CAS + Dies!  So hope you're ready to break out some fun dies as well as make it CAS!

I chose a new to me die - a bonsai tree die by Hero Arts. I did do a hexagonal cut out for a little more interest and added a trellis cover plate die in vellum behind it to help the bonsai tree pop a little more.

 

And if you're not into Toppings this time, or ever, you can always play in our ATG, Anything Goes Challenge as long as it's a BIRTHDAY CARD! We always need birthday cards of one sort or another.

Please stop by the STB blog and check out all the Team's beautiful Toppings creations.  Also welcome our Surprise Party Guests Helen and Valerie!  Give them all some blog lovin'!

I also chose a color palette for my card that's featured in another challenge this week:

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

 

Cozy Moments

Happy Saturday!

It's a blustery cold one here in central NC.  

So my card today is most fitting for anyone needing some coziness.  

I subscribed to Waffle Flower's Sneak Peek Club and these adorable dies were the club goodies back in January.  I just now had a chance to play with them and a couple add-ons (lamp)they have to go with.  I saw the color challenge at Just Add Ink and thought it was perfect for my little comfy scene.  The background is a stencil, Mid Century Mod, from A Colorful Life Designs. The colors I used were: Cashmere, Over Coffee, Ginger, On the Lake and Daydream (CP Designs Ink).

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is not a thing, it is a way.”

 – Elbert Hubbard

Nance

 

Colorful Birthday 🎈🎈🎈

Hello there!  Glad to see you!

It's Thursday and everyone over half the U.S. are prepping for a "Major Winter Weather Event" as the weather guys are calling it.  Here in Central NC we've gone from hearing 3-6 inches of snow/sleet/freezing to now maybe 1-3 inches of snow/sleet/freezing rain.  I know around here even 2 inches of snow is major but personally, anything under five inches of snow I don't call "major".  Then again I grew up in WV and we got our fair share of winter storms way beyond 1-3 inches. And my hubs, being from Michigan, loves the snow and misses it immensely.  He was very excited initially to hear we may get lots of snow.  Now he's just annoyed. He is one of those who literally did walk a mile in a foot of snow to school.  LOL

But on to the real important things --- cardmaking and card challenge! 

Today there is a new challenge up at Seize The Birthday.  Cathy is our hostess and her choice for Toppings is Rainbow of Colors!

I love doing rainbow colored cards but for some reason this time it stumped me! And then I made not one, but two cards! hahaha  The first one, above, I kept very simple.  I used the Bookshelf die and stencil by Waffle Flower to create my rainbow book background.  I had already picked out my sentiment before that I knew I wanted to use.  Then I found that cute book napping cat stamp, by Gerda Steiner, in my stash and combined it with the sentiment (SugarPea Designs) embossed in white on vellum and fussy cut.  I love how it all came together.  I will confess, the stenciling did take a bit figuring out the order of colors and carefully stenciling. 

My second card is fairly simple too. Again I used Waffle Flower stamps (Cattitude) and dies (Happy).  I also used a postage stamp die by Catherine Pooler that was already cut.  I cut the Happy in the white panel and ink blended it so the letters would be inked as well.  Next I layered three white Happy dies with the colored one to pop it up.  Next, I stamped the cats around the letters in Midnight ink (CP Designs) and the sentiment.  Placed it on a black card base, glued in the stacked Happy. 

🎈🎈🎈Please stop by the STB blog and check out all the rest of the team's beautiful rainbow colored birthday cards including our Surprise Guest, Helen! I truly am blessed to be part of this talented team.  Remember, we also have our ATG Birthday challenge if you're not feeling a Toppings challenge.  We love having you play either way! 🎈🎈🎈

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”

 – Twyla Tharp

Nance

 

Chirp Chirp Hooray!

Happy New Year!

New year, new month and new challenge at Seize the Birthday! 

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. 

Barbara is our hostess and 

her Toppings is "Make your own snowflake background"!

I have to admit I am glad we had a break for the holidays. My break meant having to curtail any crafting and a lot of other regular activities due to tenosynovitis (form of tendonitis) in my right hand and wrist(dominant hand).  It's an injury I got back in the summer and had to have a shot then. Then, in early November, the hubs and I decided to repaint several rooms and the tendonitis came back with a vengeance exacerbated by newfound arthritis.  Two months wearing a brace, little use of my hand and four shots within that time.😩 UGH

Today's card was my first attempt at crafting earlier this week and I'm so happy I could do it minus pain.  So, <knocks on wood> hopefully back to normal!

Please stop by the STB blog and check out all the rest of the team's beautiful snowflake birthday cards.  Also, welcome to our Surprise Guest for the next two months, Helen! Be sure and give her a big welcome! Remember, we also have our ATG Birthday challenge if you're not feeling a Toppings challenge.  We love having you play either way!

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon!

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”

 – Twyla Tharp

Nance

 

Holly Jolly Birthday

Good Afternoon!

It's the 2nd Thursday in November! How did November come up so fast? Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday.  Ashwini is our hostess and for our Toppings this time, she has chosen "Use Christmas Supplies".

Seize The Birthday #317 Toppings 

I do have several people in my life with December birthdays and some close to Christmas.  So, I made a literal Christmas themed birthday card.  Usually I don't send those because I know some people with birthdays near Christmas would like regular birthday cards.  However, with this theme, I decided to go literal.  

I pulled out a layered holly stencil by Catherine Pooler for my background using a blueish teal, pink and red inks.  Then I pulled out that cute little gnome die by Spellbinders and cut everything in the same colors as well as the label for my birthday sentiment.

If you're not a "Toppings" kind of crafter, there's our Anything Goes challenge as well, just make sure it's a birthday card.  Stop by the STB blog and check out all the other scrumptious cards created by the rest of the Design Team and our Party Guests, Johanna and Liz!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  Hope you come again soon!

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”

 – Twyla Tharp

Nance

 

Hocus Pocus

 👻 Happy Halloween! 🎃

Are you ready for spooks, ghouls and trick or treaters? We're ready here.  The Hubs is breaking out the Pooh costume.  Got the treats ready.  In honor of Halloween, here's on final spooky card...

This witch/crystal ball I recently got from Crackerbox Stamps and really needed to use it this year.  I stamped her, then made a mask, masked her and then ink blended my background before stenciling over the inkblending with a bat stencil.  Then I removed the mask, color the witch, ink blended the ball a little and added my sentiment.  Then I added a top colored layer of just the witch to bump her up slightly.  I used a postage stamp frame die for some extra interest.

For Following Challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - October Option: Anything Halloween

Have a spooky, creepy, and joyful Halloween!

Nance 🎃

Feather Hugs

 One more post for this evening - - - not a Halloween card either!

A CAS card: three feathers, two colors, one sentiment and an emboss folder.  Emboss folder is Tim Holtz. Sentiment is a sentiment strip by Waffle Flower. The feathers are Catherine Pooler Designs stamped in Catherine Pooler inks Flirty Fuschia and Dress Blues.

For Following Challenges:

CAS On Friday #320 - Feathers

Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  Hope you come again soon!

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”  

Henry Ward Beecher

Nance