From Our Home to Yours

Nothing like a little Christmas in July! That was the inspiration at Just Add Ink, and I had to play along.

I pulled out some pattern paper, stamps and dies from several years ago to create today's creation. I mixed up a few crafty companies for this card. I wanted to give the illusion of red trucks leaving the tree lot with their picks for trees.

This reminded me of Christmas, 1987, when my husband had just had surgery, and my brother took his red truck out to pick out our tree. My brother did all the work, loaded our truck and came back to the house to get it set-up for us. Family is the best. 

It's August, but still celebrating the Christmas in July. 

Cheers.

Debbie

Supplies Used - From Our Home to Yours

Stamps and Dies:  Layered Holiday Truck Stamp Set and Dies (Avery Elle);

Ink & Embossing:  Peppermint Scrub, Rouge, Sage, Spruce, Twilight and Black Jack (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Opaque White Cardstock (Accent); Patterns and Pine Pattern Paper (Catherine Pooler Designs); White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart);

Other: Snowflake Sequins (Close To My Heart); Diamond Stickles (Ranger);

Coverplate Dies and Puzzles

Background/Coverplate dies make me realize my true love of jigsaw puzzles. I have a hard time resisting cutting and piecing things back together. 

With Just Us Girls having a die challenge, I picked a cover die and some pattern paper, and I put the puzzle together. 

It's a bit retro, but I love it. And putting it together was so satisfying. 

I hope you get a chance to put something together today.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Have an Amazing Day

Stamps and Dies:  Mosaic Tiles Dies, Xanadu Coverplate Die, Hello Amazing Stamp Set and Dies (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  It's a Girl, Be Mine and Black Magic (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Accent Opaque Cardstock; Sketchbook Pattern Paper (Catherine Pooler Designs); Black Glitter Cardstock (Close To My Heart);

Other: Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Watercolor Birthday Wishes!

The inspiration at Shopping Our Stash this this last round was "What's the good word?" Mine was Wishes . . . or was it Birthday. It started as Wishes . . . I'm going with Wishes. 

I mixed some Hero Arts product with my Catherine Pooler inks and had some watercolor fun creating two pieces . . . one bold and one a bit more subtle and perfect for words.

I truly love creating backgrounds with stencils. There is something so magical about starting with a solid background.

Grab your stencils and have some fun. 

Supplies Used - Birthday Wishes

Stamps and Dies:   Let's Celebrate Stamp Set, Celebrate Words Fancy Die (Hero Arts)

Ink:  Party Dress, Tiara, All That Jazz, Lime Rickey, Melon Ice, Bellini (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart); Canson Watercolor Paper;

Other:  Daisy Mosaic Stencil (Hero Arts); Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

In Stitches Inspired by Cardz 4 Galz

My card today was inspired by the prompt from Cardz 4 Galz. Rainbow was the inspiration, and so I pulled a set from Spellbinders and created the creation of a rainbow, some some "girlz" might do! 

I had some fun with this card. I used a textured and slightly inked background . . . textured to give that same cross weave that you'd get from cross-stitch fabric. I was also able to find a fun pattern paper that seemed to match my die cuts, including those little flowers. 

Another fun creation, and I certainly hope you find a way to have some fun!

Debbie

Supplies Used - In Stitches Over You

Stamps and Dies:  Weekender Sentiment Stamp Set, Big Bicycle Dies, Gathering Stiches Dies (Spellbinders);

Ink & Embossing:  Party Dress, Tiara, Lime Rickey, Orange Twist, Fiesta Blue, Grape Crush (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Lily White (Bazzill); Rainbow Vibes Pattern Paper (Brutus Monroe); Gingersnap (The Stamps of Life);  Holographic Mirror Paper (Scrapbook.com); Cardstock Scraps (Spellbinders);

Other: Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); Lemon Chiffon Pops of Color (Scrapbook.com)

You're a Peach

I had some creative time this weekend and got busy with the inspiration challenge to CASE a card at Just Us Girls. 

I saw refreshing and adorable card with the lemon and the diagonal large stripes, and it immediately made me thing about a stamp and stencil set that I had. I decided to create my card using stripes on the diagonal and a different type of fruit. 

Here is my creation . . . 

Definitely a different look from the original, but inspired from it for sure. Anything that gets me creating is a great thing! 

I hope you found some time to be crafty today!

Debbie

Supplies Used - You're a Peach

Stamps and Dies:   Oh So Sweet Stamp Set, Die and Stencil (Concord & 9th);

Ink:  Dove, Honeysuckle, Sprout, Parsley, Buttercup and Grapefruit (Concord & 9th); Jet Black Ink (Lawn Fawn);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Black Cardstock (American Crafts); Pattern Paper (Concord & 9th);

Other:  Clear Drops (Concord & 9th);

Inspired by Sunday Stamps on a Sunday

Alright, admittedly created this card on a Saturday, but posting on a Sunday using the inspiration at Sunday Stamps. I'm not sure I've ever played along here before, but the color palette . . . LOVE!

I can never pick a favorite color, but I do have some favorite color combinations. This one has a been a favorite of mine for years, and in fact, my daughter's room was pink with roses bordering below the ceiling when she was little. She was a fan of pink! 

Shhhh . . . she's 40 now. But I haven't aged as quickly. I'm on a slower track - ha!

Several shades of pink and several shades of green. I think this floral design from Pinkfresh is beautiful.

This is actually the perfect sentiment for my daughter. She's been my wild child. 

Make some time to create something creative!

Debbie

Supplies Used - One Day . . .

Stamps and Dies:  Darling Dahlias and Floral Bunch Stamp Sets (Pinkfresh Studio);

Ink & Embossing:  Bellini, Samba, Lime Rickey and Garden Party (Catherine Pooler Inks); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn);

Paper: Distress White Heavystock (Ranger); Accent Opaque Cardstock; Black Cardstock (American Crafts);

Other:  Clear Loose Gems (Close To My Heart); Darling Dahlias Stencil (Pinkfresh Studio); 

P is for Pink at Little Red Wagon

My card today was inspired by the prompt of pink at Little Red Wagon, and my need to want to create a watercolor background to cut my shaker window from. I used some older product in my stash to create this baby card. 

I used a small cover die to create my shaker, and this one has a maze design that adds some extra interest. I placed the pieces back into the design on top of the shaker window. 

How dare my husband say I don't use my old stuff!

Shake it up for a little celebration. Welcome baby!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Welcome Little One

Stamps and Dies:  A-Maze-ing Mini Cover Plate Die and Oh Baby Stamp Set and Dies (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  Kitsch Flamingo Distress Ink (Ranger); Midnight and Be Mine Ink (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Solar White (Neenah); Watercolor Cardstock (Ranger); Acetate Sheet (Judikins);

Other: Flamenco Beach and Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Waving Hello

My card today was inspired by the prompt at Time Out Challenges, and I had so much fun creating this scene. 

I've been revisiting some of my Avery Elle stamps and went in that direction for today's card.

I just love the little critters all swimming together. My water was created with pattern paper, which I fussy cut along the waves and then ink blended the top edges.   

I have a love/hate relationship with textured cardstock. As a scrapbooker, I always loved the extra interest it added to a page. But as a card maker today, I don't always love it for ink blended backgrounds, and yet it doesn't stop me from going in that direction. This one felt right, especially when I added the sun, so I stuck with it.  

The baby ducks just make me smile.

Find something that makes you smile today!

Debbie

Supplies Used -  Waving Hello Fox and Chicks

Stamps and Dies:  Outside In Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn); Make a Splash Stamp Set and Die (Avery Elle);

Ink & Embossing:  Cummerbund, Fiesta Blue, Chiffon, Limoncello and Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Copic Markers; Clear Gloss, Black and White Gel Pens (Sakura);

Paper: Lily White Cardstock (Bazzill); Solar White (Neenah); Scraps of pattern paper from stash;

Other: Corner Rainbow and Slimline Cloudy Stencil (Lawn Fawn); Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); Crystal Stickles (Ranger); 

More Christmas in July - Lawn Fawnatics

More Christmas in July, but this time from Lawn Fawnatics! 

I had to go mouse theme . . . and why not do some fun folds using an interactive die.

The front of my card was an aerial view, but then the inside . . .

A little bit of picture window magic with some additional skating mice. My fave is the mouse doing the jump and staying mid-air (or at least that's the story in my head). 

I hope you find some time in July to play with your Christmas products. Keep it merry!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Happy Holidays

Stamps and Dies:  Center Picture Window Frames, Mice on Ice Stamp Set and Dies and Say What Christmas Critters Stamp Set (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic Markers;

Paper: Knit Picky Pattern Paper (Lawn Fawn); Red Cardstock (Papertrey); Solar White (Neenah); Diamond Stickles (Ranger)

Christmas in July

It's Christmas in July at Sweet Stampin', and I'm always up for creating a holiday card to increase my stash. 

I went simple for this card, unless you count the masking to get that tree in the pick-up. 

A simple card with lots of stamping. 

Happy Christmas in July to you and your crafty supplies.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Jingle All the Way

Stamps and Dies:  Sleigh Ride Stamp Set and Merry Mini Cover Plate Die (Catherine Pooler);

Ink & Embossing:  Rockin' Red, Grass Skirt, Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper:  Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler) and Black (American Crafts);

Other: Silver Stickles (Ranger); 

Play and Pawty!

It was Word Week at Just Us Girls, and the word was "Play". 

As an empty nester with only dogs in my house, the most play that happens in my house is me in my crafty space creating card, and my dogs who bring on their own brand of crafty! I have two Miniature Schnauzers, Sweet Caroline and Jojo, and a Chihuahua mix, Carly, who thinks she's a Schnauzer, and she rules the place. Her toy of choice is Sweet Caroline. She plays crafty games to scheme against her and boss her around all day. 

Sweet Caroline's playtime involves the real deal . . . soft balls. She's not big on catching them, but she's big on nosing them around the place. She particular likes soft stuffed balls. 

My card combined my play with dog play! And let me tell you, every single day at our house is a paw-ty! 

I hope you find some time to play today!

Cheers!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Time to Pawty

Stamps and Dies:  Watch This Stamp Set and Dies (Colorado Craft Company)

Ink & Embossing:  Tuxedo Black Ink (Memento); Various Copic Markers; Icing on the Cake (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart); Rocky Road Cardstock (American Crafts); Scrap of Pattern Paper from Stash;

Other: Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Hoppin' on the Holiday Train

My card today was inspired by the Stars and Stripes prompt at Jingle Belles challenge. I created my background using the Peppermint Stripes stencil from Lawn Fawn. 

I used a mix of products for this card and had so much fun creating my striped background for this scene. I bought this stamp a few years ago and never got around to using it. Avery Elle . . . love their stuff and so sad they are no longer bringing all the craft goodness to us. I celebrate their amazing products with this adorable train image. 

Get on the holiday train, and keep crafting along!

Go be creative!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Merry Christmas

Stamps and Dies:  Peek-a-boo Christmas Train Stamp and Die (Avery Elle); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Die (Lawn Fawn); Sentiment Strips - Christmas (Pretty Pink Posh);

Ink & Embossing:  Rockin' Red and Grass Skirt (Catherine Pooler Ink); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Copic Markers; Versafine Black Onyx Ink; Clear Glaze Pen (Sakura);

Paper: White and Black Cardstock (Scrapbook and Cards Today);

Other: Peppermint Stripes Stencil (Lawn Fawn); Stardust Stickles (Ranger); Salem Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Turn Up the Beat, Piano Man!

A bright card inspired by Little Red Wagon's Piano Man prompt. 

Colorful keys for this creation . . . I kept the black and white off the keys and in the sentiment and background/base. 

I stamped on pattern paper to create my little keyboards. They are quite colorful. 

Create something colorful!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Turn Up the Beat

Stamps and Dies:  Turn Up the Beat Stamp Set (Catherine Pooler Designs); Circle Die (Sizzix);

Ink & Embossing:  Midnight (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper: Premium White Cardstock and Totally Rad Pattern Paper (Catherine Pooler Designs); Licorice Cardstock (The Stamps of Life);

Other: Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); 

Spread Sunshine

I was inspired to create a card with the bright color combination at Girlz Creative. This is such a great color combination. 

I chose two of my favorite Catherine Pooler colors and put them to work in varying degrees on this card. I started with a piece of watercolor cardstock and a citrus stencil. I inked up some areas on the stencil, spritzed it with water and then laid it on my water color paper, allowing the drips to do their work. 

You can see it created a subtle background. I then came in with a stamp set and stamped my images in those same ink colors, giving a bold look. I used a water pen to fill in the rind and the segments, pulling in the ink from those stamped images. 

I had a lot of fun creating this card, and I love the sentiment. I hope you find some creative fun today.

Cheers.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Today I Will Spread Sunshine

Stamps and Dies:  Your Zest Live Stamp Set (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing:  Tiara, Lime Rickey and Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Watercolor Paper (Canson); Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler);

Other: Just a Squeeze Stencil and Williamsburg Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs

Hap-Bee Anniversary

 Who does not love playing with paper, and who doesn't love summer or love? The Paper Players challenge installed a tune from Grease in my head for a bit. It also inspired me to create an anniversary card. 

Yellow is one of those colors that screams summer to me. It's sunshine and brightness. It has a sense of warm summer heat. As for the bees, they are adorable on paper. I actually admire their color as they buzz around my patio . . . but my dog tries to hunt them down. She's not been stung yet . . . it my be my resounding "No!" (the neighbors must love me). 

I love how this card came out. I hope you find some time to create today.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Hap-Bee Anniversary

Stamps and Dies:  Henry's Jr.'s ABC's, Henry's Build-a-Sentiment Stamp Set, Scalloped Fringe Border Die (Lawn Fawn); Large Sentiment Strip Dies and Sweeter Than Honey Stamp Set and Dies (Pink & Main);

Ink & Embossing:  Jet Black (Lawn Fawn) Copic Markers; Versafine Black Onyx Ink;

Paper:  White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Pint-Sized Patters Summertime (Lawn Fawn);

Other: Star Dust Stickles (Ranger);

Thinking of You for Cupcake Inspiration Anything Goes Challenge

I had some great supplies on my desk and decided they were perfect for an "Anything Goes" challenge at Cupcake Inspirations. 

This pattern paper from My Mind's Eye was not only the perfect backdrop for my card, but I used the leftover piece of 6 x 6 paper to create my die cut sentiment. 

Mostly Catherine Pooler products used in this design, including one of my favorite dues (Snug Hugs).

I'm all about the anything goes . . . but no frosting on the cupcakes makes me a little sad. 

Cheers!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Thinking of You - Hugs

Stamps and Dies: Inside Out Sympathy Stamp Set and Snug Hug Word Die (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Ink & Embossing: Juniper Mist (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper: Ivory, and Burnished Rose Mirrored Cardstock (Simon Says Stamp); Decorate Double-sided Pattern Paper (My Mind's Eye Blush);

Other: Mazatlan Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); 

Mixed it Up for Alphabet Challenge

I wish I could say I could decide between wet or dry embossing for the The Alphabet Challenge, but clearly I couldn't. I mixed up a lot of products and techniques for this creation. 

There are a few techniques displayed on this card. I used the floral embossing folder with an ink brayer for my focal image. I love the technique is rarely perfect and gives a distress feel. 

And then on the sentiment, I used white embossing powder for my "happy" throughts. 

The strip at the bottom was created using some re-inkers and shaving cream. 

A mix of products from many companies. I love a good mix. Mix it up where you are!

Cheers. 

Debbie

Stamps and Dies:  Henry's Build a Sentiment Stamp Set and Scripty Sentiments Stamp Set and Dies (Lawn Fawn); Infinity Circle Dies (Hero Arts);

Ink & Embossing:  Machiatto, Coral Cabana, Martini (Catherine Pooler Inks); Embossing Paste and Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder (Wow);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook and Cards Today); Solar White (Neenah); Chocolate Cardstock (The Stamps of Life);

Other: Basket Weave Stencil (Newton's Nook); Barbasol Shaving Cream; Oak City Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs); Baroque Bouquet Embossing Folder (Taylored Expressions);

Snug Hugs Die . . . an Old Fave

Trying to keep my creative streak going, so I got a bit crafty over the weekend. Today's card was inspired by the Just Us Girls Challenge to create with a forgotten die. 

I don't remember how old this die is, but I went digging for it. I love this die because it lives up to it's name - snug hug. Because it's snug, it has such a unique outline. 

I had an old kit with these gorgeous papers from a Simon Says Stamp kit. I used the lined paper with some rose mirror cardstock. I saved the letters for another project, and I used the shadow portion of the die that was left behind. 

No stamping . . . just die cutting and designing for this one. 

Create something magical! Cheers. 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Hugs - Thinking of You

Stamps and Dies: Snug Hug Word Die (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Paper: Ivory, Soft Navy Cardstock and Burnished Rose Mirrored Cardstock (Simon Says Stamp); Decorate Double-sided Pattern Paper (My Mind's Eye Blush);