Pastel Festivities

 Happy Monday!

It's a nice cool day today.  Hope your day is going fine.  I got a little crafting done over the weekend just in time for the end of the current Color Hues Challenge.  Had ambitions for other challenges, but life is not slowing down right now.

I love this color combo and I had so many ideas for it.  In the end I chose this beautiful Chinese lantern die by Catherine Pooler.  I paired it with the background stamp also by Catherine.  And of course the ink is Catherine Pooler also.  I love how it came together and very quickly also, which is sometimes I feat for me!

For Following Challenges:

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Background - Fan Dance and Sentiment - Lantern Festival (CP Designs)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink:Midnight, Cummerbund, Sweet Sixteen(CP Inks)

Extras: Paper Lantern Die and Sequins (CP Designs) 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

Holiday Greetings

 Hello, it's FRIYAY!

It may be April, but I have a Christmas card to share.  It's been five months, almost to the day, since I made and shared a Christmas card - Nov. 26, 2024.  Hopefully I can maybe let this be the beginning of me making at least a couple Christmas cards each month the rest of this year.

I used the Holiday Street Betterpress Plate and coordinating stencil set by Pinkfresh Studio to create my card.  I also used the Holiday Greetings Sentiments Betterpress plate as well.  Before I stenciled, I pressed another copy of the stamp and then fussy cut it so I could create my "northern lights" effect around the top. I wanted a very soft, festive looking neighborhood so I used pinks and soft greens and blues.  I'm very happy with how this turned out.  

For Following Challenges:

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge 

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Holiday Street Betterpress; Sentiment - Holiday Greeting Betterpress  (Pinkfresh)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink:Midnight, Minted, Cotton Candy, It's a Girl, Be Mine, Pucker Up, Oh Boy, All That Jazz, Limoncello(CP Inks)

Extras: Holiday Greetings die (Pinkfresh); Gold gems.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

Colorful Canoes

One more quick post today....

This one is for the Inspired By Challenge.  This one is a one layer full of color and punny.  LOL

For Following Challenges:

Inspired By Challenge #332

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Canoe stamp and sentiment - Oarsome Dad (CP Designs)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink:Midnight, Something Borrowed, Oh Boy, Blue Raspberry, Limoncello, Tiara, Orange Twist, Bellini(CP Inks)

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

Ears To You

Hello there, Wednesday!

I cannot believe I had another small sabbatical from crafting last week.  It most certainly wasn't planned, but you know ---- life. I finally got in my craft room this afternoon and miraculously made two cards!

The first one is for the challenge at JUGS. 

The inspiration photo was too good to pass up and I took my inspiration from the cake slice.  It is similar to a jello pie I made this weekend for our Easter dinner. So I went with that.  Had to add the little sprinkles on the top layer for added interest and texture. The pie, btw, really really good.  Tasted like summer - light and refreshing!

For Following Challenges:

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Bunny - Hops & Peeps(CP Designs); Sentiment (EH)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink: Chiffon, It's a Girl, In The Park, Midnight (CP Inks)

Extras: Chevron EF (The Paper Place); Banner die (Reverse Confetti); Scallop die - Dashes & Ruffles (CP Designs), Clay dots (Pretty Pink Posh I think).

The last few weeks have been crazy chaotic and hectic with the Hubs' surgery/recovery (he also got a stomach bug last week) but we had something exciting and happy happen as well....

Our youngest, Ben, proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Molly, at the beginning of their two week vacation to New Zealand!  YAY!  WOOHOO!  She had no idea it was happening. However, both families and their close friends knew, as Ben had arranged a few days before they left for all of us to make congratulatory videos he could show her afterwards.  And what a place to get engaged!  He arranged a private helicopter ride over Auckland to a cliffside overlooking the ocean before a celebratory dinner at a nearby vineyard on Waiheke Island.  Thanks to the helicopter pilot for the pics!

               

And of course, since we were dogsitting, we had to make sure their dog, Jack, got in on the celebratory videos and pics for them as well...

So, I just had to share our happy news here!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

AAA Colorful #15 Guest Designer

Hello to you and happy Tuesday!

I'm happy to share that I am the Guest Designer at AAA Colorful this month! 

WOOHOO! 

I'm thrilled as I have guested with them before.  

They are a really inspiring and creative color challenge!

Here is next month's colorboard for April 15 - May 14:

And here is my card I was inspired to make:

I used Catherine Pooler Inks in the following colors: Drive-In(background and flower centers); Cotton Candy, Cummerbund(lightest color on flower), All That Jazz(darkest color on flower), and Aquatini(stems).

I won't lie, this color combo really did challenge me quite a bit trying to choose the right combo amounts.  I knew I wanted the darkest color as my background.  Trying to get out of my comfort zone a little by using bold background colors.  I'm very happy with the final result. 

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Flowers - Japanese Anemone (Altenew); Sentiment - Delicate Garden (Altenew)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink: Midnight, Cotton Candy, Cummerbund, All That Jazz, Aquatini, Drive-In(CP Inks)

Extras: Hi sentiment die- part of Sunshine Mini Cover Plate set(CP Designs); EF - Tiny Tufts (Simon Says Stamp); Stencil and Dies for Japanes Anemone (Altenew).

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

Seize The Birthday #303 Surprise Guest

 Hello Thursday Afternoon!

I am thrilled to be the Surprise Party Guest today at Seize the Birthday! 

🥳 WooHoo! 🥳

This has come at an optimal time as April is a busy birthday month in our family. If you have visited my blog in the last few days you have seen several birthday card posts already.  So it has worked out well for me to be Guesting and sharing a special card for my niece. 

The toppings for this fortnight is Layer It!

As you see, I did layer it!  I've been wanting to play with this butterfly/flower die from Waffle Flower for a few weeks now.  I'm a member of the Sneak Peek Club so I got it early before the February release. Yet, you know how it goes sometimes when acquiring new stamps/dies, they sometimes sit patiently for a while before they're given some love.  So I pulled it out for this challenge.  It also has a coordinating stencil set, which I got also.  And there is a separate die set of some butterflies and flowers so you can bump some of them up off the main die if you want.  And I wanted! LOL  I paired the image dies with an overlapping sentiment die/stencil combo also from Waffle Flower.  

I layered it all on top of a very light cream background with a stitched frame that I found in my background ufo box. I love how it gave a little soft tone to the card. I added some sparkle to the middle of the flowers to finish it off.

So please stop over at the Seize the Birthday Challenge blog and check out all the beautiful creations by the fabulously talented Design Team and play along!  Use the topping or just make a birthday card and for the always "Anything Goes".

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Sentiment - Overlapping Happy Birthday(Waffle Flower).

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock;  Cream cardstock - stash. 

Ink: It's a Girl, Chiffon, Limoncello, Cummerbund, Fiesta Blue, Garden Party(CP Inks)

Extras: Butterfly die - Butterfly Blossom Texture Die/Stencil Combo(Waffle Flower); Butterflies, flower centers - Butterfly Blossom die (Waffle Flower); Sentiment die - Overlapping Birthday die/stencil(Waffle Flower).

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

Hello Spring Pup

Good Evening, Wednesday!

One quick post today for the Inspired By Challenge.

Each week Inspired By gives a photo inspiration and a sketch.  You can use one of them or both of them.  I chose both of them.  I thought this Frenchie would look cute peeking out from his umbrella while he's staying dry from the rain.

For Following Challenges:

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Umbrella & Sentiment - Blue Skies (CP Designs); Puppy - Peeking Pets (CP Designs).

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock

Ink: Limoncello, All That Jazz, SMores (CP Inks)

Extras: Mini Cover Plate - Puddle Jumper (CP Designs)

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

Licensed To Grill

Good Evening!

I have one more birthday card for today.  This is another card for our Ben. He loves to grill and cook. Last summer he bought himself a nice grill, so this apron giftcard holder card is perfect.

For Following Challenges:

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - #261 M is for Manly

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Sentiment - Dressed To Grill (Franctic Stamper); Inside Sentiment - Big Dill (Darcie's Stamps).

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock;  Silver cardstock - Stash; Patterned paper - Moose Crossings (CP Designs). 

Ink: Rockin Red, Glitz, Something Borrowed, Midnight (CP Inks)

Extras: Apron card die and Apron BBQ Add on dies (Honey Bee Stamps); Embossing Folder (on mitt) - Cuttlebug.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

Recycled Teenagers

Hello again!

Another birthday card this morning. 

This is for my sister inlaw who turned 65 yesterday.  She does not look 65 by any stretch.  I wanted to create something funny and uplifting at any rate and I've been wanting to use this stamp by Unity Co that I got a few months ago and I specifically paired it with the sentiment from Riley and Co.  Of course I had to color these wild ladies in bright colors.

For Following Challenges:

Kraft Chicks - Challenge # 762 - Birthday

Addicted to Stamps & More - #489 Any Occasion

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Sentiment  (Riley & Co)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock;  Patterned paper- (Altenew). 

Ink: Limencellos, Black (Memento); Copics

Extras: Oval dies (Ellen Hutson).

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

 

Hoppy Birthday

Hello there!

A couple quick posts this morning in between errands.  This first one, I'm skirting in at the last minute for Seize The Birthday.  Have too many things happening at once and sometimes is challenging to squeeze them all in at the same time.  Anyway, this card is for my youngest, Ben's birthday on Sunday.  Only, he won't see it until he's back from his dream trip to New Zealand with his girlfriend.  He doesn't look at my blog so it's all safe.  Hahaha

The die cut "grungy" parts are a corner die I used in various parts of the background for a grungy bar look.  It's hard to see in the pic, but I did puff emboss the beer foam also. 

For Following Challenges:

Seize The Birthday - #302 - Milestone Toppings

(I did not use the Toppings)

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Sentiments - Here's to You (MFT Stamps)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock;  Patterned paper from stash. 

Ink: Limenocello, Glitz, Midnight (CP Inks)

Extras: Beer Mug Die (MFT Stamps); Corner die - Distressed Baptista Collage (Memory Box).

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance

 

You're The Vest

TGIF!

Happy FriYAY!  

It's a hot one here in central NC.  It's like we jumped clear to July temp wise while in full blown pollen mode and haven't checked today but maybe also in fire danger mode. Springtime in North Carolina!

I've had a little more time, off and on, in my craft room this week.  The Hubs has been recouping from shoulder surgery and doing very well.  Post-op visit today doc gave him six weeks of physical therapy and light duty at work (he returns Sunday) and home then we will see.  

This is one of my creations this week.  I have surprised myself in that I've made six cards in one week, definitely a record for me lately.

Is this not the coolest die set for anyone - life vest?  It's a newbie from Catherine Pooler Designs - part of the series "At The Lake With Dad".  This life vest die is actually a gift card holder.  I did not take it apart to photograph the inside I'm afraid.  You don't have to make it a gift card holder, you could glue down the straps and just use it on a card.  

I wouldn't say I bought it jsut for the AddictedToCAS challenge, but the timing was nice that it dropped in the shop within the time frame for it.

For Following Challenges:

The Color Hues Challenge #107

Card Supplies: 

Stamps: Sentiment - Vest Gift Sentiments(CP Designs)

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock. 

Ink: Orange Peel, All That Jazz (CP Inks)

Extras: Lifejacket die/accessories - Vest Gift Ever (CP Designs); Coverplate (Lil' Inker Designs)

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

– Pablo Picasso

Nance