VERY nice, Retro Rubber # 119 has a lovely Autumn color challenge for us this week!  I can also JUST sneak in this week's sketch from TGIF Challenges #229 - yay!
I still have just the set for this combo, 2016's gorgeous Thoughtful Branches.  I love all the tree-building options it has, along with some truly wonderful sentiments - images AND words is totally the way to my stampin' heart, lol.  I sponged both Pumpkin Pie and Real Red onto my leaves, and stamped and stamped off a few times to add some fullness over this cool trunk.  I added one leaf for a full-size accent, my lovely big sentiment, and even some words inside: "and always in my heart."
Thoughtful Branches Stamp Set (retired 2016); Crumb Cake, Whisper White & Pumpkin Pie CS; Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie & Real Red Inks; Stitched Shapes & Beautiful Branches (retired) Dies; Corner Rounder Punch; Orange Sequins; #RRC119; #TGIFC229.

Oo, good one!  The Male Room #119 has an Autumn theme going this week!
I couldn't resist going back to the lovely Rooted in Nature for this Autumn theme, and the bonus is it has this blocky stacked sentiment that is so easy to show off on a masculine card, not that I haven't used it on a woman's card, too, lol.  Anyway, I am so intrigued by this leaf shape included in this set, so I did a little fall of them down the edge in some rich fall colors, and finished with a nice button, too, which I thought would be better than sequins today.  Very guy-ish, I hope, lol.
Rooted in Nature Stamp Set; Garden Green, Cajun Craze & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Garden Green, Crushed Curry & Cajun Craze Inks; Crushed Curry Button (retired); Linen Thread; #TMR119.

Time for another fun mix-it-up challenge at this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday #425 - let's give it a go!
So, wow, pocket cards, lol.  Yikees!  I remember doing double-pocket cards an age ago, with some kind of folding technique and 12 x 12 paper, but I decided to kind of wing it today - a simple single pocket, floated over a regular card base - that holds a loose card for pulling out on the front, while still keeping the whole inside available for my written note - what fun!  And what better suite to suit our creating than It Starts With Art?  I slipped in a little bit of everything here, smiling all the way!  A perfect little secret love note!
So, what will YOU create??  Can't wait to see you "mix it up" with us over at the challenge!
It Starts With Art Stamp Set; Follow Your Art DSP; Whisper White, Calypso Coral & Coastal Cabana CS; Calypso Coral & Pacific Point Inks; Arts & Crafts Dies; Crushed Curry Seam Binding Ribbon; Follow Your Art Felt Shapes; #TSOT425.

Fall & Thankgiving Class Sep 12 & 14!
Ah, it's finally starting to cool off around here, so it's time to start thinking about our lovely Fall occasions - better break out the scarf!  This class will feature six cards all about Autumn, and all from our new Holiday Mini Catty - there might even be a little spooky sneaking in there somehow, lol.  Class includes all supplies (bring your favorite snips and adhesive), snacks, drinks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  This class can also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot today!  Class is on for Thursday, September 12 at 630 pm, or Saturday, September 14 at 3 pm.  See you soon!

Oh yum, Hand Stamped Sentiments #322 is all about the purple inspiration this week - love it!
So, I will admit freely that I've been a bit off florals this catalog year - I actually have NOT gotten any of the major flower suites this year at all, lol.  BUT, I do think these lovely leaf images from Rooted in Nature can do the trick nicely, and they have their dies to go with as well, of course.  Let's just go purple crazy, and call it good, OK?
Rooted in Nature Stamp Set; Whisper White CS; Blackberry Bliss, Gorgeous Grape & Highland Heather Inks; Blender Pen; Nature's Roots Dies; Purple Posy Faceted Dots, #HSS322.

Fall & Thankgiving Class Sep 12 & 14!
Ah, it's finally starting to cool off around here, so it's time to start thinking about our lovely Fall occasions - better break out the scarf!  This class will feature six cards all about Autumn, and all from our new Holiday Mini Catty - there might even be a little spooky sneaking in there somehow, lol.  Class includes all supplies (bring your favorite snips and adhesive), snacks, drinks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  This class can also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot today!  Class is on for Thursday, September 12 at 630 pm, or Saturday, September 14 at 3 pm.  See you soon!

Sweet - SU Only #229 is bringing it home with a summer theme this week - good timing since we're so close to the end!
One of my favorite things to do in summer is to take a load off my feet and relax in a nice chair with a glass of something cold - preferably in good company!  I decided to recreate this thought with the awesome adirondack die in the Seasonal Layers set, with a few added details from its stamp set. Colorful Seasons.  Doesn't that glass of lemonade look GOOD?  A perfect summer - let's go chill out!
Colorful Seasons Stamp Set; Gingham Gala DSP (retired); Crumb Cake, Pool Party & Whisper White CS; Daffodil Delight & Early Espresso Inks; Stitched Shapes & Seasonal Layers Dies; #SUO229.

Oh yes, total cuteness at The Library Challenge #39 this week - The Tiger Who Came to Tea!  I actually remember this one, lol!
So, the stumper for this one is I actually have NO tiger stamps, lol - I had to get a little creative with some scraps left over from my old Swirly Scribbles dies - and I think it came out pretty tiger-y!  I added a sweet tea sentiment from my old Tea Shoppe set, and I think this is about all I can do, lol.  Eat your heart out, Tony!
Tea Shoppe Stamp Set (retired 2012); Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black Markers; Stitched Shapes & Swirly Scribbles (retired) Dies; Epoxy Clear Droplet; #TLC039.

Ooo, AAA #146 has a touch one for us this week - a bit of a speed challenge with a summer theme!
So, I tried to think ahead for this one - made in minutes and ultra clean and simple means one focal image, and it also needs to be summery, hmm...  Good thing I hung on to my Beach Happy set - I didn't get to use it enough for sure!  I went for the cute beach chair and umbrella for the card, but got the palm tree on the envelope at least - and a cute beach tote inside, too, lol.  I guess a part of me is just rebelling at the minimalism here, lol.  In celebration, though, I booked our April Maui trip finally - it'll be SO nice to spend our 20 anniversary there!  Dreaming of Hawaii again!
Beach Happy Stamp Set (retired); Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Poppy Parade, Soft Suede & Granny Apple Green Inks; #AAA146.

Art & Silhouettes Class Aug 17!
So excited for our first focus class of the new catty!  This month we'll zero in on two suites:  the gorgeous It Starts With Art AND Silhouette Scenes!  We'll do three cards in each suite, and class will includes snacks, drinks, and a special treat from me!  All you need to bring is your favorite snips and adhesive, I provide everything else!  Class is $25, or can be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot for Saturday, August 17 at 3 pm - see you soon!

Oh goody, Joy of Sets #008 has another grid for us to play with!
This one was a tough one for me - it took me forever to settle on my "row" - I finally went for Yellow-Paper Tearing-Circle.  I haven't played around with torn edges in a while, so I pulled out some retired papers to practice on, lol.  I liked it so much I just ran with it!  All my torn DSP is from the old Cherry on Top set, and I floated it over a layer of Crushed Curry, making sure to get a few yellow patterns in there.  To keep the yellow theme going, I stamped this lovely sentiment from Colorful Seasons on So Saffron.  And I of course cut it in a nice Stitched Circle!  I'm really pleased with how it all came out - even with no embellishments!
Colorful Seasons Stamp Set; Cherry on Top DSP (retired); Whisper White, Crushed Curry & So Saffron CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; JOSTTT008.

Art & Silhouettes Class Aug 15 & 17!
So excited for our first focus class of the new catty!  This month we'll zero in on two suites:  the gorgeous It Starts With Art AND Silhouette Scenes!  We'll do three cards in each suite, and class will includes snacks, drinks, and a special treat from me!  All you need to bring is your favorite snips and adhesive, I provide everything else!  Class is $25, or can be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot for Thursday, August 15 at 630 pm, or Saturday, August 17 at 3 pm - see you soon!

Oh goodie - In{k}spire Me #398 has a fun combo for us again this week, and has a few of our amazing new In Colors, too!
So this card went a totally different direction than I planned - I was all set to do something cute with scraps of ribbon, but I couldn't help thinking that I wouldn't know what to do with the envelope, sigh.  Then I happened to notice this little patterned piece in Woven Heirlooms - ooOOoo!  I was off to the races with that, lol.  I used a pretty sentiment from the same set, and finished off with our gorgeous faceted dots - perfect!
Woven Heirlooms Stamp Set; Flirty Flamingo & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Pretty Peacock & Seaside Spray Inks; Purple Posy Stamp-n-Write Marker; In Color Faceted Dots; #IM398.

Art & Silhouettes Class Aug 15 & 17!
So excited for our first focus class of the new catty!  This month we'll zero in on two suites:  the gorgeous It Starts With Art AND Silhouette Scenes!  We'll do three cards in each suite, and class will includes snacks, drinks, and a special treat from me!  All you need to bring is your favorite snips and adhesive, I provide everything else!  Class is $25, or can be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot for Thursday, August 15 at 630 pm, or Saturday, August 17 at 3 pm - see you soon!

What a super sweet sketch this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments #320 - there's even a tag!
I had a hard time choosing a direction for this card, I have to admit.  It took me a while to come around to that I hadn't stamped the pepper in my Garden Goodness set - or the peas, for that matter, lol.  How about a nice garden card?  I wanted something different for the sentiment, though, and came across this cute little hexie from Believe You Can.  It still ended up a little plainer than I thought, but still, it's pretty cute, lol.  Gotta get my veggies in somehow, and what the heck, I even squeezed the peas in on the envelope!
Garden Goodness & Believe You Can Stamp Sets; Wood Textures DSP (retired); Whisper White & Old Olive CS; Real Red & Old Olive Inks; Pinewood Planks EF; Stitched Shapes Dies; Clear Epoxy Droplets; #HSS320.

Art & Silhouettes Class Aug 15 & 17!
So excited for our first focus class of the new catty!  This month we'll zero in on two suites:  the gorgeous It Starts With Art AND Silhouette Scenes!  We'll do three cards in each suite, and class will includes snacks, drinks, and a special treat from me!  All you need to bring is your favorite snips and adhesive, I provide everything else!  Class is $25, or can be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  RSVP to save your spot for Thursday, August 15 at 630 pm, or Saturday, August 17 at 3 pm - see you soon!