Challenge

When I saw the current Case Study challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do! These cards use new releases from Quietfire Design's Gentle Thoughts rubber stamps...just LOVE these!!

For this card, I prepared a watercolour paper background by spritzing Ecoline Watercolour Inksfrom a Ranger Mini Mister over a flourish mask, then simply stamped the sentiment with Versafine black ink, and the hearts with the same ink and Top Boss gold embossing powder. The butterfly is a Hero Arts digi image. The Papertake Weekly challenge is 3-2-1 (I used 3 hearts, 2 crystals, 1 sentiment)

For this one, I used a precious piece of hoarded musical score paper from an old Creative Imaginations line, some paper flowers, and a handmade wire treble clef. The alphabet challenge is to use roses on our creations.

The current Creative Cottage challenge is Christmas. Here's a card I just finished with a new Dreamweaver embossing stencil. It uses a Cuttlebug embossed background on metallic cardstock, with "Christmas" paste embossed and glittered overlay on acetate.

Thanks so much for visiting today! I'll visit you too when I come back home. I'm taking three of my delightful little grandkidlets to the lake for a few days, for swimming, boating, bonfires, fishing, and general summer fun...a last hurrah before they go back to school next week.

Wishing you a creative, happy weekend, doing whatever you like best!

Happy Birthday!

This one's for several current challenges: Created by Hand (birthdays); Theme Thursday (children); Create for Fun (56th. challenge, birthdays); Stampin' for the Weekend (anything goes); Our Creative Corner (sketch challenge); Creatilicious (vintage), and Papertake Weekly (use 3-2-1; I used 3 crystals, 2 words and 1 image). I used the Quietfire Design Happy Birthday stamp, and some beautiful new wood paper from Creative Imaginations, along with a precious hoarded image scrap from a very old K & Co sheet. I kept the card simple to show the grain of the wood, LOVE this paper! It's available now at Michael's stores, and this is one of several cards I created for a display for the store. Lucky me! I get to play with all their new products these days. I have fifty different projects on display in the Halifax store now. Retirement is BLISS!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll come visit you too.

Lots and LOTS of new things!

Well, can you believe it's half past summer already!? The older I get, the faster the summers whiz by. I have been a "bad blogger" this summer. It's not that I haven't been creating...I have...honest! It's more that sitting at the computer for any length of time at all to edit pics and to post things is still a bit uncomfortable. (had a wee mishap earlier this summer) So, that's my sad story. However, I'm back to full speed now, so I'll be a better blogger. Now on to fun!

This week's challenge for the Impression Obsession designers is "simple stamping," using fewer embellishments than we usually do. Here are a couple of cards I made for this theme, using the challenge sketch over at Papertake Weekly. I used two stamps designed by the artistically gifted Melissa Gordon. Mitra Friant knows talent when she selects her stamp designers, that's for sure! This one is "Duck and Bunny," and you can find it right here.

This one is her Labrador Retriever, which you can find here. Isn't she just GORGEOUS! She just needed a little simple chalking.

Have a look at the full range of Melissa's stamp designs here. She renders the most beautiful pencil sketches of all kinds of beautiful critters! Take a little time to visit the blogs of the other Impression Impression designers too, for more ideas about simple stamping:

Dina Kowal

Jeanne Streiff

Jenny Gropp

Kathy Menzies

Laura Fulcher

OH! And visit the IO blog right here to find out who won the four gift certificates from IO and Flower Soft!

Gingersnap Creation's random redhead challenge right now is to do something 3-d, the Theme Thursday challenge is all about children, and the Play Date Cafe wants us to use lovely blues and greens together. Here are a couple of one-dollar frames I altered for a local craft shop this week. The boy is a favourite picture of my son Michael from MANY years ago (yes he knows, lol), and that precious wee girl is Brea, the daughter of one of the store's customers.

Now, on to some other things. I finished a set of ten simple note cards with Kraft cardstock and Crafty Secrets goodness. I LOVE the wonderful vintage images! The Creatilicious challenge right now is vintage. Here are five cards from the set:

The City Crafter challenge is "Isn't she lovely?" She IS 'eh!?

The current Fab and Funky challenge is flower power! Crafty Secrets has DOZENS of gorgeous vintage floral images...have a look!

Now here are some Crafty Secrets Halloween cards just published in the current issue of one of my very favourite paper crafting magazines, Paper Creations; aren't these just the CUTEST images!? I just love the way Paper Creations photographed these cards. Their photography looks so much better than mine! (lol) I have lots more Crafty Secrets cards and projects coming up in three different magazines...watch this space :-)

Let's see, now here are some Christmas cards I just finished with Lynell Harlow's FABULOUS new stencils over at Dreamweaver. Creative Cottage challenge # 21 is Christmas, so I'm entering these three for that challenge. This next card also fits with the current City Crafter challenge...isn't she lovely. As soon as I saw this Hallelujah, I knew exactly what I wanted to pair it with...this stamp from Magenta. I used Melt Art clear ultra thick embossing enamel after I stamped the image with Ancient Page Chocolate Brown ink. I used just one layer of the EP because I wanted a mottled, textured look. I stencilled with gold glossy embossing paste, then sprinkled Green Metallic FX over the wet paste. What a beautiful sheen that gives the paste! Look at all the gorgeous Metallic FX colours available right here.

This is another newly released stencil...SOOO pretty! I used white matte embossing paste, then Green Metallic FX powder over that. I used LOTS of Tulip crystals for the berries...love that bling! :-) For the sentiment, I used the same paste, and sprinkled just the smallest bit of Gold Metallic FX over that, just for a little sheen.

This card uses gold glossy embossing paste all by itself...such beautiful results for such a simple card! These pretty beaded pins are available over at Dreamweaver too, just scroll down to the bottom of this page to see them! It meets the Charizma Cardz challenge this week, which is to use die cuts.

PHEW!! I have a few more things on my craft desk ready to put together, so I'll post those tomorrow. Thanks SO MUCH for visiting my blog. I'll come by yours too if I see your link.

I wish you a wonderful day, doing what you love best!

"Home Sweet Home"

It’s time for another Impression Obsession Challenge! This week’s challenge is “Home Sweet Home; hope you can come play with us. For even MORE fun and inspiration, The Impression Obsession and Flower Soft Design Teams are playing together for this hop...LOTS of prizes up for grabs! As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 4 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs: Two $25 gift certificates from Flower Soft and two $25 gift certificates from Impression Obsession. The prize winners will be announced on the Flower Soft Blog and The Impression Obsession blog on Wednesday August 18th. Good luck!

If you didn’t start at the beginning of the hop please go to the beginning at the Flower Soft Blog.

Then visit all these places to see the most delicious eye candy!

Jenny Gropp

Jeanne Streiff

Daniela Dobson

Julie Koerber

Linda Beeson

Kathy Menzies

Deborah March

Vicki Garrett

Dina Kowal

Debbie Seyer

Laura Fulcher

Kelli Richardson

Gini Cagle

Jacque Beddingfield

For this card, I used another wonderful Impression Obsession stamp designed by Gary Robertson. His stamps lend themselves so beautifully to embellishing with Flower Soft! I decided to use a little humour too, with the "his 'n' hers" out houses. The sentiment stamp is from Quietfire Design.

I'm entering this card also for the following challenges:

Crazy Amigo free theme

Cute Card Thursday anything goes

"Just another challenge" blog free theme

Created by Hand "welcome..." to my world (lol)

Papertake Weekly something old (my pink cardstock), something new (my fabric covered Making Memories brad), something borrowed (the ink I used on my card...created at a friend's house!) something blue (my ribbon)

Three Muses doors

Simon Says Summertime Blues

Fab 'n' Funky Use your favourite colours (LOVE blue and white together!)

Stamp Challenges have a delightful photo for inspiration this week...lots of pinks!

Okay, next stop on the hop is the very talented Flower Soft design team member Vicki Garrett! Thanks loads for stopping by. Hope you enjoy a FUN and creative day, doing whatever you like best!

This place we call home

Impression Obsession design team members are showcasing cards today that remind us of "home." The first thing I thought of was my old, rambling childhood home (long since gone) with the most wonderful huge veranda that I remember playing on as a little girl. This Gary Robertson stamp brings back those memories so beautifully for me. Although we lived in a cool climate, my Mum was an Aussie who loved flowers, so there were always colourful blossoms 'round our house. I coloured this image with chalks, and used Flower Soft as highlights. The sentiment was computer generated. Let's see, other challenges for this card include open themes Cute Card Thursday, Dutch Dare , and Creative Inspirations.

Everyone is invited to enter the IO challenges, so haul out your favourite IO stamps and play! See the I.O. blog for all the details - there's a $25 gift certificate to be won. Hope you'll have some time to look at the other designers' blogs for some delightful eye candy. Their blog links are on my right sidebar.

Thanks so much for visiting. I wish you a lovely day, doing whatever you enjoy best!

Stamping and beading...

The brand new "Bring Back Beautiful" challenge over at Flourishes is to use a favourite colouring medium. I LOVE using beads to add colour! This week's Created by Hand challenge is to create art using the themes Fairy Romp, beads, or pearls, using a word, image, color or feeling to portray the theme. Here are two cards I created with hand stitching and beading, and each using a rubber stamp from Quietfire Design Gentle Thoughts. I really enjoy combining beading with stamping! The Pick Three challenge for the month of August includes using light green, metal embellishments, and anything with a bit of blue. The Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger is dancing lanterns. My twinkling beads make me think of teeny tiny lanterns...bit of a stretch 'eh? (lol) The Simon Says Challenge is to use dots...my beads again! Over at Practical Scrappers, they're encouraging us to use a favourite product...you guessed it...beads again! Theme Thursday's theme is...words! Cute Card Thursday's theme is text. "Anything goes" is the challenge for Dutch Dare , Creative Inspirations and for Paper Play. Stitching is the theme at Paper Sundae.

This card was created for a special friend who's leaving for Guatemala this week, to do volunteer work with orphaned children.

This card was done for a friend experiencing some difficult challenges right now.

Thanks so much for visiting today; hope you all have a happy, creative week, doing what you love to do!