Country Bouquet

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted. Years, actually! I don't know about you, but the winter months REALLY get me down, and it helps to have something to do to keep me busy. I have missed creating and decided the easiest way for me to get back into it would be to join some challenges!  I am joining the challenges at Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches. 

For my card I used the Country Bouquet set from Stampin' Up! that can be found in the new mini catalog, along with the coordinating punch. The colors are Rococo Rose (retired), Smoky Slate and Tuxedo Black (Memento Ink). 

This card came together so quickly with these two challenges and really inspired me to get creating again! And, better yet, I am weeks ahead on having a card for my sweetheart, rather than waiting until the day before which has been the norm the past few years. ;)

The Color Throwdown

I am so excited to be chosen as the featured stamper at the Color Throwdown this week!  We were given this lovely color palette to work with. 

These are not colors I typically work with, so this was a really exciting challenge for me! As much as I wanted to use my new Stampin' Up! goodies, they hadn't arrived yet when I was ready to create, so I set to work with some of my "old" stamping supplies. 

I love this butterfly from Beautiful Day so I embossed it in silver and used my Aqua Painter and inks to color it in. I couldn't find a stamped sentiment to suit me so I settled with the "celebrate" thinlit instead. I think I like it without a stamped sentiment!

I hope you will play along in the week's challenge. I would love to see what you create with these gorgeous colors!  

Make a Monster

After the fire, my dear friend Chris sent me a big box full of Stampin' Up! goodies. Make a Monster was a stamp set that I had never had before and one that I was especially excited to ink up when I saw it. I've made several things with it since then, including a chore chart for my boys, but nothing that I've shared! I thought this would be a good set to use with all of the new blends that I got last week. Here is what I came up with!

I used this great sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Don't they look so cute popping in from each side? I think my coloring is getting little better, too. Practice makes perfect so I guess I will make some more cards! 😂

Share What You Love

The Share What You Love suite was the first thing I HAD to have from the 2018-2019 annual catalog. Usually when that happens, I don't give the collection nearly as much love as it deserves! I'm happy to say that that is not the case this time! I have used EVERYTHING in the collection! On today's card I used the Love What You Do stamp set, pearlized doilies, and the Share What You Love Designer Series Paper. And isn't that Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon to die for?!  I just love it! Stampin' Up! really hit it out of the park with this fantastic suite, don't you think? 

I used the layout from CAS(E) this Sketch! for my card. I love this sketch and can see myself using it a ton, especially to use up all that gorgeous DSP that I'm always afraid to cut into. 😁

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great rest of the week!

Miss You

Sunday is my rest day from working out, my PASSION, and the day that I have more sitting-around time to think about things. Today I started thinking about my best friend from back in Indiana, and how much I miss her! Then she sent me a text about a project she was working on and I missed her even more! So I decided to make her a card. I used the sketch challenge from Paper Craft Crew and the color challenge from Color Throwdown.

I decided to pull out my Stampin' Blends to color with today. I hardly ever use them but I just ordered all of the new ones this weekend so I figured I better use the old ones so I felt less guilty about my purchase! 🤣 I don't know how to do shading correctly so I need to watch some tutorials, but I did have fun playing with them! I used Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Stampin' Blends and Gray Granite ink.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Post-Vacation Blues

We just got back from an amazing beach vacation, and I have to say, I have the blues! Not necessarily because I didn't want it to end, but more so because it means that summer is nearing an end!  I enjoy having the kids home from school, not worrying about homework and bedtimes, and being able to spend more time together as a family. I'm sad that in just over two weeks we are going to be back to schedules and busy days. Such is life though, and we are going to make the most of these next few weeks!

Today is the first time in a LONG time that I've sat down to post a card! I've made some cards, but just haven't taken the time to share them! I really love the card that I made today though, because it reminds me of our beach trip. I made this one for my friend Jennifer who was so kind to take care of our cats and get our mail for us while we were away. I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and the picture inspiration from TIME OUT Challenges

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This is the first time I have inked up this High Tide stamp set from Stampin' Up! and it was really fun to play with!  I used Crumb Cake, Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel and Early Espresso ink on Thick Whisper White Cardstock.

Thanks for looking! Have a great day! ❤

Painting with Brusho

Well, I am in bed with the flu and bored out of my mind, so I thought I would share a card that I made a while back.

I have been on this Brusho kick, trying out different techniques I've seen on YouTube. Today's card uses Brusho like a paint, and gives a more controlled look than the other techniques I've tried so far.

To paint with Brusho, I just tapped a bit of each color onto a clear block. I then used my slightly damp aqua painter to swirl the color around on the block, then picked it up and painted with it! It's a really easy technique. Just make sure you wipe off your aqua painter in between each color so they don't mix. 

Picture Perfect Birthday

I have been all about the messy cards with artistic backgrounds lately, so I decided to change the pace up a little bit and have a white background today!

I wanted to make some gifts on my card to go along with the beautiful bows in the Picture Perfect Birthday stamp set, so I inked up two sizes of my clear blocks and stamped them right on my paper. Worked exactly how I was hoping it would!

The bows are fussy cut and popped up on Dimensionals. Of course, I had to add some Tutti-frutti Adhesive Backed Sequins. I love that they already have the adhesive attached. It really speeds up the process of attaching them!

Brusho, Brusho, Brusho

Sounds like a catchy tune from Grease, right? 😊 Actually, it's a new Stampin' Up! product called Brusho Crystal Colour and it is so much fun!

Brusho is watercolor ink crystals, and they enable you to create a unique design every time you use them! There are several techniques, but for today all I did was tap a bit of Moss Green and Prussian Blue Brusho onto my watercolor cardstock and then spritzed it with water! I then dried it with my heat tool and I had this fabulous background. It really is that easy!

With these beautiful backgrounds, I hate to cover them up too much so I kept my stamping simple. This one is actually the most detailed one I came up with. I'll be sharing more Brusho cards soon! Have a great weekend! 

No Ink Required!

Today my goal was to use some of my beautiful Designer Series Paper. The 6x6 Picture Perfect Party DSP is full of great birthday pictures of presents, candles, confetti, etc. It pairs nicely with the Scattered Sequins Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the Tutti-frutti Adhesive Backed Sequins.

After I adhered my background papers down, I decided I would complete my card with this fabulous "celebrate" thinlit and keep my card completely ink-free! This thinlit set is one you can earn free during Sale-a-bration by spending $100! Contact me today if you are interested in hosting a get-together to make this card or would like to place a qualifying order to earn some free SAB items yourself! 

Stampin' Blends

Today I have a quick little tip if you have the Stampin' Blends, our exclusive Stampin' Up! alcohol markers.

I was making a simple little card and realized I didn't have the cardstock I needed to coordinate with my ink. I always have plenty of Whisper White cardstock on hand though! So I took my Stampin' Blends Bermuda Bay marker and colored around the outside of my cardstock. It created the perfect mat! Since the ink is alcohol, it blends nicely and you can't see streaks like you sometimes can with regular markers.

And here is my finished card! See how the mat coordinates perfectly with the ink? You would never know it's not Bermuda Bay cardstock!

I hope you have found this tip useful! If you don't have the Stampin' Blends yet, now is the perfect time to purchase them! It's Sale-A-Bration, and you get to pick a free item for every $50 you spend! Contact me for more information and check them out here on the website!

Color Me Happy!

We have been snowed in at our house all week and are going a little stir crazy! There's no school again today but our driveway is better now and we have been told the main roads are clear, so we are getting out of here! 😂 One of the local indoor water parks is having a snow day special so it is family day! I wanted to make a quick card before we took off for the day, and I came up with one that only took about 10 minutes!

When I'm in a hurry, or when I'm feeling uninspired, I look online for challenges to get me started. I found my layout at Fusion Card Challenge and my color combination at The Paper Players.

With those fantastic bright colors, I decided to use a simple white background. I had this extra Lemon Lime Twist leaf panel leftover from a My Paper Pumpkin kit, so I angled it and trimmed off the edges. Then I used my aqua painter to color my birdies, fussy cut them, and adhered them with Dimensionals. I added a sentiment and some embellishments and it was complete!

See how easy it can be to complete a cute card? Now we're off for a day of swimming and fun! ❤

A New Normal

Well, now that it's been a little over a year since the fires and we are FINALLY in our new home, I have started to get back to card-making and scrapbooking!

Here is one of my latest creations, done with the fabulous Waterfront stamp set that you can find in the current Stampin' Up! Occasions catalog.

I used my aqua painter to wet Thick Whisper White cardstock. Then I inked up each image and also wet it on the block before stamping it onto the cardstock. This allowed the colors to easily blend together, giving it that watercolor effect. That's all there is to it! Doesn't it look so much more difficult?!

I would love to get back into offering card classes to teach you how to make beautiful cards, too! If you are in the Gatlinburg area and have any interest in coming to a class let me know and we can set something up! 

My Slow Return

Hi, friends! Well, it's been well over three months since I've posted. On November 28th, we lost our home, our truck, and all of our belongings in the Gatlinburg fires. We have been very blessed with help from family and friends, and are getting back on our feet and rebuilding soon. If you would like to see our whole story about that, you can visit my personal blog Adventures on Silverbell Lane.

Several of my friends, as well as Stampin' Up!, sent me some stamping goodies. I am so grateful for that! It's hard to go from having everything right at your fingertips to having nothing, so I was beyond excited to have some toys to play with! 💕 I figured the best thing to do to help me get back into the swing of things was to find some fun challenges to play along with! I did a CAS card for the Addicted to Stamps challenge, along with the color challenge at Color Throwdown and the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.


I have been in need of MANY thank you cards, so the sentiment was easy. It comes from the SAB set Any Occasion. The cute little truck is also a SAB stamp set, Tasty Trucks. I used the new watercolor pencils from the Occasions catalog and a blender pen to color it. They are fantastic!

This is one of Stampin' Up!'s notecards. I had never used them before, believe it or not, but I am addicted! What an easy way to make a fast little card.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to be posting more often now that things have settled down a bit here. 😊

The Stamp Review Crew: Paisleys and Posies Edition

Welcome to another round of The Stamp Review Crew! This week we are using one of my favorite stamp sets in the Annual Catalog, Paisleys and Posies. This set can be used for any occasion! I used two completely different color combinations for my cards this week. 

When I first started on my cards, I had just received my October Paper Pumpkin in the mail. I had some leftover sequins, so I decided to make a shaker card. I also used the color combination of the cards from MPP. If you are stumped on color combos, this is a great way to get you started! Look back at other cards you have made or received, or just flip through the catalog to find something that inspires you! I think these warm colors are perfect for a fall card.

For my second card, I decided to go the opposite direction with my color combination and choose some cool colors. I love how these colors blend together so easily to create a simple background! I created the backgrounds for both of my cards by simply sponging ink onto the cardstock and then stamping paisleys. I rarely buy DSP anymore because it's so easy to make your own with stamps in whatever color you want! Okay, that's a partial fib. I buy it. I just rarely USE it. Haha

Thanks for hopping with us today. I hope you my cards! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop!

Blog Roll:

1. Shana Gaff   http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and.html
2. Holly Krautkremer  http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-.html
3. Mike Funke  http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/2016/11/stamp-review-crew-paisleys-posies.html
4. Jessica Williams  http://www.thepapercaper.com.au/2016/11/07/src_pp/
5. Dawn Tidd    http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-posies.html
6. Bronwyn Eastley  http://addinktivedesigns.com/2016/11/07/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and-posies/
7. Bruno Bertucci   http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/11/paisleys-and-posies-stamp-review-crew.html
8. Nikki Spencer  http://nikkispencer-mysandbox.blogspot.com/2016/11/stamp-review-crewpaisleys-posies-edition.html
9. Tanya Boser   http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/11/stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and-posies.html
10. Valerie Moody   http://www.stampingwithval.com/2016/11/07/stampin-up-paisley-posies-for-stamp-review-crew/

The Stamp Review Crew:Acorny Thank You

 Welcome to another round of The Stamp Review Crew!  Acorny Thank You is one of my favorite fall stamp sets of all time. I must confess though, as excited as I was to get this stamp set (last year, I think!), I never inked it up until it was time for this hop! I'm sure you have never done that, have you? 😉

I wanted to use non-traditional fall colors for my cards, since that is what I typically see with this set. I started with some purples and neutrals for my first card. I didn't have any DSP in the colors I chose, so I just cut strips of cardstock for the back to anchor my stamped image.

For my next card, I wanted to use the glitter ribbon and sequins from the Holiday Catalog. I love those colors and they remind me of baby colors, so I decided to use this card for a baby card. Probably not what you would expect from an acorn stamp set!

For my last card, I stuck with some of the 2016-2017 In-Colors. I colored on my block and then spritzed it with water before stamping it on my card. Then I stamped one little sentiment from the stamp set in the corner and added a heart enamel shape. SUCH a simple card, but one of my favorites ever!

I hope you got some different ideas on how to use Acorny Thank You. Thanks for stopping by! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop. You will NOT be disappointed!

Blog Roll:

1. Yapha Mason   http://yaphamason.com/blog/2016/10/16/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you-edition/
2. Dawn Tidd   http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thanks-edition.html
3. Tanya Boser   http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
4. Sue Plote   http://thispinkrooster.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
5. Shana Gaff   http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crewacorny-thank-you.html
6. Linda Callahan  http://stampinseasons.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
7. Bruno Bertucci   http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/10/dropping-in-to-say-hi-acorny-thanks-you.html
8. Martha Inchley  http://www.inchofcreativity.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
9. Heidi Baks   http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
10. Holly Krautkremer   http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html

Beginning Bible Art Journaling

I am so excited to start a new journey in my faith, Bible Art Journaling. Two of my best friends, Erin and Steph, gave me a journaling Bible before I moved at the end of July. I had been looking at many wonderful pages on Pinterest for months before this, so this was such a treat! I am just getting starting, and I already feel like this is helping me to draw closer to God, as well as to share with Him the talent He has given me! 

Here is the beautiful cover they gave me for my Bible. I love feathers and these colors are to die for! My best friends know me oh so well. 😊

They also gave me tabs for each of the books of the Bible. I finally got around to putting these on today, and boy does it make a difference! I love how easy they make finding the books. I've never had tabs before. Can you believe that? 😁

This past week, I decided I am getting serious with this. We are in a new place with no friends, so I should be spending more time with God! I made several trips to the store for supplies to get started, but could not find a few things I really wanted before I began, specifically clear gesso. I have read that this is the key to preventing bleed-through, so I decided it was a must-have and ordered some online. I wanted to get started right away though, so I decided to begin with a card that I would tape into my Bible with washi tape. 

I chose Jeremiah 29:11 because I feel like it has been our family Bible verse this past year. I struggled for awhile with the idea of moving, after living in the same house for 36 years, and being so close to our family and close friends. This verse helped me to realize that this was God's plan for my life, and He would not have presented this opportunity to cause me harm! I figured this was a great place to start my new journey. 😊

I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock and scraped yellow, green and blue acrylic paints all over both sides with a plastic card. It dried almost immediately and made the sides very smooth and shiny. I then added some letter and word stickers, as well as some doodling and zentangling on the cross and it was complete! I was really pleased with how it turned out!

I used a little bit of washi tape on both sides of the card to act as a hinge to attach it to my Bible. It folds in nicely when I want to close it.

Thanks for stopping by. If you are doing Bible Art Journaling, leave me your blog address in the comments. I would love to see your work too!

The Stamp Review Crew: Host Set Bonus Hop

I'm back again, just a week after last week's hop, with a BONUS hop! Yay! This hop is a little different, because we could choose from any of our current host sets.

I chose to use the set with the cute little animals, Love You Lots. I'm kind of in love with those little critters! I decided to use the 2016-2017 In-Colors as the basis of my card. I started by stamping the background with the "love you lots" sentiment. I had a few places that didn't line up as I would have liked, so I added a few pieces of washi tape over the top. After I added my focal panel, I couldn't even tell there was a boo boo. See, you can fix your mistakes instead of trashing your work! 😁

Thanks for stopping by! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop. I can't wait to see what sets everyone used!

Blog Roll:

1. Betty Traciak   http://kittystamp.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-hostess-set-edition.html
2. Kelly Kent  https://mypapercraftjourney.com/2016/09/26/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop/
3. Rochelle Blok   http://rochelleblok.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
4. Tanya Boser    http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-edition.html
5. Shana Gaff   http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
6. Mickey Roberts   http://www.paperconversation.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html 
7. Dawn Tidd  http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-special-edition-host-sets.html 
8. Nikki Spencer   http://nikkispencer-mysandbox.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crewhost-setbonus-hop.html
9. Heidi Baks   http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
10. Holly Stene   http://hollyshobbs.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-bonus-hop-hostess.html