Mice, Mice Baby

Hi there!  I have a card here that I wasn't expecting to share today, but along came The Paper Players Challenge with the theme "For the Little Ones".  I had recently sat down with my Penny Black Especially Micey set and stamped, colored, and created cards.  The others were shared previously, this one is the fourth and final.  It feels good to have enjoyed every stamp in the set.

I colored with Tombow markers and blender, chose some old designer paper and coordinated all colors around that, including the Cougar Natural card base.  Wishing I'd used white, but hindsight, sigh...  Nevertheless, the stamps are cute.  Penny Black never lets me down!

The Paper Players Challenge -- For the Little Ones

Thanks everyone!  I'm so glad you stopped by!

Stamps:  Penny Black Especially Micey, Stampin' Up retired All Year Cheer  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Cougar Natural, Stampin' Up Gable Green, stash DCWV designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Archival Jet Black  Coloring:  Tombow markers and blender  Other:  Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles, Scrapbook.com Mini Flowers, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder

Double D Challenge: For the Kiddos

Hello there!  The Double D challenge is all about the kids today.  We have a fun board for inspiration...

... and a cute stencil prize for a random winner.  As always, creative winners are by team vote.

The board is full of Disney characters, which I don't have in my collection, but I was inspired by Pooh Bear to pull out one of my oldest stamps by DJ Inkers (or Hooks, Lines, and Inkers -- 1993).  I've used this guy many times in the past, but it's been more than a minute since he last saw ink.  He's just so easy and fun and cute, and he goes perfectly with my Cottage Cutz bamboo frame.

The sentiment is an oldie from Stampin' Up.  The background is a Sizzix 3D folder called Fallen Leaves -- another oldie and one of my most gorgeous favorites that WOWs me every time.  I brushed on yellow and blue inks for a soft suggestion of a bamboo forest.

Just for fun I cut an extra frame and trimmed off a piece for the panda to play with.

The team has some cute cards to share with you on the Double D blog!  If you need a card for one of the kids in your life perhaps you'd like to play along.  We'd love to see you there!

Have a wonderful summer day!

Seize the Birthday -- Stenciling

Hello, friends!  I'm back with my final post as Special Guest Designer for Seize the Birthday.  It's been a fun time creating for the themes.  A challenge so often makes you reach for things you may not have thought of otherwise, and that has been the case for me.  Today the theme is "Stenciling".

If stenciling is not your thing, don't let that stop you.  Alternatively it's always "anything goes as long as it's a birthday card".  We'd love to have you play along!

Nestled into my basket of not-yet-used Penny Black stamps (yes, they have their own full basket) was this lovable guy from a mini-set called Birthday Bundles.  You can't not love that face!  I colored him with Copics and made a wide frame using rectangle dies.

The frame is where the stenciling comes in.  It's a Simon Says Stamp star stencil, but I've somehow lost the name of it.  The stencil is half stars/half dots so I had to move it around to get full coverage.  I added die cut stars and sparkled all the die cut and stamped stars with Diamond Stickles.

This looks like a boy card so I'll add it to my masculine category and pass it along to a friend.

Hop over to Seize the Birthday and say "hello" to the team and enjoy their fabulous line up of birthday cards while you're there.  I am so appreciative of the opportunity to design along with them for the last four challenges.

Thank you for visiting.  Wishing you a happy day!

Stamps:  Penny Black Birthday Bundles  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, SU Elegant Eggplant  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Stickles Diamond glitter glue, Spellbinders Fluted Classic Rectangles dies (only used the plain ones for frame), MFT Die-namics Star Stax, miscellaneous rectangle die for sentiment, SSS Star Stencil (name unknown)

Double D Challenge -- Birthday Balloons

Hi, friends!  It's that time of the month again -- Double D Challenge time.  Darlene is asking for balloons and I think that pretty much guarantees a gallery full of celebration!

I was happy to find this little guy, Benton, in my card parts drawer, all colored up and waiting for a card.  He's from an old Inky Antics set called Pampered Benton which I've loved well in the past.  He's a cutie!  My favorite balloons stamp is a 1998 oldie from Stampendous, and the Impression Obsession sentiment says just what Benton needed it to say.

I love pulling oldies from different drawers and putting them together on a card.  My old Stampin' Up standby, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, provided confetti for the party.  I cut a frame from printed cardstock and stood Benton on its edge.  Colored with Copics, glitter on the cupcake... just fun.

Choosing the top creative winners is a team effort, and not an easy one at that.  There is so much talent out there in Blogland!  The Double D's are giving this prize to a random winner:

Come on over to the Double D Challenge blog.  The team has some great samples to show you, and we can't wait to see yours!

Stamps:  Stampendous Party Balloons, Impression Obsession Cupcake Kind of Day, Inky Antics Pampered Benton, SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, scrap patterned cardstock  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Pixie Pink & YoYo Yellow  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Stickles Stardust glitter glue, Memory Box Wrapped Stitch Frames

Five Years Old!

Hi there!  Today I'm celebrating with my friends at the Double D challenge blog as they celebrate their 5th birthday this month.  Congratulations, Double D!  They're asking that we use a cupcake on our creation.  I don't have much in the way of cupcake stamps or dies, but I do have this cute Bugaboo digi which I was happy to print up and color.

For the sprinkles on the cupcake I dotted first with various Tombow markers, then went over most of the dots with Souffle pens to make them puffy.  For the decorative pieces on the frosting I dotted with clear gel, then sprinkled with Art Institute glitter.  It's deep pink and very sparkly.  I think it was the wrong time of day for picture taking because the sparkles and texture don't show up much at all.

Double D 5th Anniversary/Birthday Cupcakes Challenge.  You can guess which part of the mood board inspired me:

Well, that was fun!  I'll be back on Friday with two posts.  Sorry, it just worked out that way this month.  Wishing you a cupcake kind of day!

Stamps:  Bugaboo Mouse-Cupcake digi, Power Poppy Best Day Ever sentiment  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, SU Whisper White, Echo Park Happy Summer designer paper  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Tombow markers & blender pen  Dies:  Misc Spellbinders rectangles and circles  Other:  Viva Decor Glass Effect Gel, Art Institute glitter, Sakura Souffle pens, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Air Mail Birthday Wishes

Hello, there!  It's a new week and I'm glad you're here.  Let's start out the week with a birthday card for my 3 year old neighbor girl.  I had plenty of cute stamps in my collection to choose from, but because I'd already made this stenciled sky background I decided to float some foxes.  They're just so darn cute, aren't they?  It's TCP's For Fox Sake stamp set which I've used often and had bunches of fun every time.  The sentiment is a Poppy Stamps Birthday Blowout.

You might be able to catch a glimpse of Wink of Stella sparkle on the balloons in the photo below.

About that background... I set out one day recently to play with my Heffy Doodle Cloudy Skies stencil, try some different colors, tuck them away in my background bag.  This was not a perfect piece, but I thought it was usable.  I do like it a lot, and the stamps help minimize some of the goofs.  Colors are SU inks -- Soft Sky and Barely Banana.  Stamps are colored with Copics.

I played with my cloud stencil some more after this, but didn't get very far before I decided I'd made enough of an inky mess for a while.  Not very much of it ended up in the background bag, either.  Cards happened... you know how it goes.

I must run now.  Too long on the computer makes Leslie a dull girl... or something like that.  See you again soon!

Stamps:  TCP For Fox Sake, Poppy Birthday Blowout  Paper:  SU Whisper White, Barely Banana, Soft Sky, Neenah Super Smooth 110 lb for fox stamps  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Barely Banana and Soft Sky  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Wink of Stella on balloons

Bird on a Mushroom

Hello again!  It's an unusual situation that I'll have a post every day this week, but there are certain challenges that caught my eye and I'd like to join in before the week is over.  At the same time I've got my self-challenge to use all the summer-themed NBUS I set aside, and fall is closing in fast, so the race is on.  Pretty sure I'm going to lose that race, but I'm still having fun.

Today I have an All Dressed Up digital stamp called Woodland Bird.  Maybe it doesn't look like a birthday card, but it is.  I made it for our 9 yr old neighbor.  The bird with mushrooms is the digital stamp.  I added the sentiment and music notes from my stash.

For extra color and festivity I added die cut fun flowers and plenty of sparkle.  The heart which hangs from the mushroom has "tweet dreams" written on it, but I covered that with a punched heart, considering this is a birthday card.  Sorry, no balloons or cake or candles.  Coloring was done with Copics.

Sharing the inside which uses an oldie bird stamp from my stash, plus the music notes (from a Power Poppy Christmas stamp set), and a brand new-to-me Rubbernecker sentiment.  A lot of different things from my stamp room came together for this card!

 

I'll list supplies below my signature, but first -- today's challenges:

Double D Challenge -- Colorful.  I had this challenge in mind from the beginning and I'm hoping this is colorful enough.

All Dressed Up Challenge #108.  Anything goes with an All Dressed Up image.

NBUS Challenge #18.  The All Dressed Up digi stamp and the inside Rubbernecker sentiment are NBUS.

Thank you so much for your time today.  Wishing you all things wonderful!

Stamps:  All Dressed Up Woodland Bird digi, Power Poppy Tweet Tidings (music notes), Power Poppy Best Day Ever, inside -- Great Impressions bird, Rubbernecker Tweet Birthday  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, retired SU designer paper  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  MFT Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames, Memory Box Flower Stack  Other:  Stickles Cinnamon and Stardust glitter, Wink of Stella, SU 3 in 1 heart punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape (one flower)

Little Frog and a Lotta Dots

I haven't given up on coloring, but a little break feels right for the time being.  I just need to play.  We're doing quite well at our house, staying home except for necessities and exercise.  We're social distancing and wearing our homemade masks when we go to the store.  That was one of my busy projects, sewing a few masks.  I no longer have a lot of sewing supplies (gave up for paper crafting), but I had just enough 1/4" elastic for four masks, which I made from old pillowcases.  Not so pretty, but functional.

Well, anyway, here's my very colorful and whimsical card that was hugely fun to design and simply makes me smile:

First of all, I want to mention that the reason the little brush is in the picture is because I used it to brush on the bit of blue around the frog.  Just a touch.  I didn't want to do the whole background.  The handy little brush was included in my set of Beauty Kate make up blending brushes.

The little girls next door will be turning 9, 5, and 3 yrs old this year and I'm all out of kids' cards, so I might as well start getting ready.  The frog is one of my 95 cent Cottage Cutz dies.  I didn't even know I needed him until I saw him.  He's only 2 parts -- the body and the eyes.  Easy peasy.  I thought he would look cute with the boots and umbrella.  The "hi" is three layers of black, and as you can see, I went dotty with everything else.

Are those boots cute, or what?  The boots and umbrella are a Frantic Stamper set.  I'll list everything below my signature.

My other reasons for making this card are:

Double D Challenge:  Banners and NBUS Challenge #13 (I'll make a pest of myself at NBUS because I'm on a mission to use all my never-before-used schtuff.)  The frog, dotted curve, and boots are all NBUS.


Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope to get caught up on my blog visiting soon.  Stay well!

Dies used on today's card:  Cottage Cutz Frog Mini, Paper Smooches Hello Words, Frantic Stamper Rainy Day Necessities, Poppystamps Dotted Curve, Memory Box Banner Parade

Just When You Thought it was Safe to Go Back in the Water

Okay, friends...  when I was over at Frantic Stamper shopping for a mermaid tail a few extra things jumped into my cart.  You see, I was searching for sentiments to go with my mermaid tail when I spotted the sentiment set I used on today's cards -- Shaaaark!  Wait, what?  Well... the set does have one sentiment that says "Have a fin-tastic day", but it also led me to three more die sets that I felt I (ahem) really needed.

First up here is Happy Shark.  I combined it with dies from my stash -- Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers and KaiserCraft Decorative Anchors.  A little designer paper.  I wanted to keep it ultra-CAS just to see if I could.

I don't have anything against sharks, but I'm not a super fan, either.  However, I thought these would make good cards for boys from kidhood to adulthood.  Truthfully, I was having so much fun with this shark I had a hard time putting it away.

The next card incorporates another new die set -- Making Waves.  It's 5 separate dies which can be used in different combinations.  It's my first wave die set and I think this one will cover all needs.  Additionally, from my stash are Cottage Cutz Rope Corners and a party hat which I cut from an embossing folder.  I colored with a red Copic and added silver Stickles glitter.

Lastly, another die set called Tails and Fin, which includes a shark fin and two sizes of whale tails.  Aren't they a necessity in every die collection?  Maybe not, but I've been wanting to do more nautical/beachy/ocean-type cards.  For this one I added a stamped sun, a balloon, and swirly embossing which suggests a windy day.

That's enough shark cards for now, but I'll get back to it.  More of everything coming soon.  Am I having fun yet?  You bet!  Have a happy day!

Twofer Card Challenge #18: Garden

Welcome to Twofer Card Challenge #18!  Our theme through July 24 is "Garden".

My samples are a child's birthday card and an encouragement card with the stamp in common from The Cat's Pajama's For Fox Sake.  Same stamp, two cards, two different occasions or purposes, each with a different layout/sketch.

It's an itty bitty garden, but we all have to start somewhere, right?  Our fox has bright hopes for the future.

In order to turn this into a child's birthday card I borrowed a sentiment stamp from a retired SU set, It's Your Birthday.  I may not have thought to combine these stamps, but that's what the Twofer Card Challenge does -- it gets you thinking about how you can stretch your stamps into more uses than they were, perhaps, originally intended.

Both cards are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics.  The birthday card is on hot press watercolor paper and the encouragement card (below) is on Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White.  You can see the difference in the Copic colors and the whiteness of the paper.  Just having fun.  I like hot press watercolor paper for just about anything, really.

These cards probably don't require much more explanation, but I'll list details in the recipe below my signature.

Hop over to the Twofer Blog to see samples and welcome our new member, Cat Craig.  Hello and welcome,  Cat!  Our Loll will still be with us, working behind the scenes in an administrative capacity, but no longer sharing card samples, sniff sniff.  Girl has a lot of other things going on.

We're pleased to welcome Kathy and Robyn as guest designers for our Twofer Garden challenge, too.

Thank you, and have a happy day!

Dies for birthday card:  Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Poppystamps Stitched Landscapes
Dies for encouragement card:  Spellbinders Long Classic Rectangles, Elizabeth Craft Bunch of Flowers 4, Impression Obsession Tiny Flowers, Impression Obsession Watering Can

CAS Watercolor: For a Child

Hello on a Monday, friends!  I can hardly believe I'm back so soon with another card.  I'm starting to feel like one of those people who stamps a lot.  I changed my morning routine, got new stamps and, well, things happen.  I don't know how long I can keep this up as we've already gone on our first camping trip (last week) and now that the weather has changed we'll be out and about a lot.

For the time being, I've been inspired by some challenges I hope to play in more often.  Today it's the CAS Watercolor Challenge.  This month's theme is "For a Child", and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to ink up my new MFT Picture Perfect set.  I didn't buy this set with kids in mind, but it works.  I made this into a birthday card which will go to one of the little girls next door.  Between us we have three dogs, so it's perfect -- picture perfect!

Per the challenge rules I watercolored and kept the card clean and simple.  I used Tombow markers and some MFT dies and mounted the image panel on a grocer's kraft card base.  The sentiment is MFT Die-namics #Captions, frame is Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stax, and leaf sprig is Wild Greenery.  I had to put the leaf sprig there to cover up a splotch where I dropped a marker, but the card is better for it.  Nice how that works out sometimes.

That's all for today.  Thanks, CAS Watercolor team, for the creative spark.  Have yourself a beautiful day... hug a furry friend and try on a smile!