Hm, The Sisterhood of Crafters is having a "wood" theme this week, and there are some seriously cute offerings in the DT samples!  I gotta try this...
I remembered that there is a woodgrain sheet in our gorgeous Come to Gather pack - love these planks!  With that as my starting point, I decided to just keep going with the Gather Together suite.  I also wanted to give this "invisible" coloring style a stab, too.  I tried with both Blends Markers, on the pumpkins, and Watercolor Pencils, on the leaf.  My method wasn't very scientific, lol.  I just stamped my images in stamped off Sahara Sand, and then just tried to make sure I covered up those lines in my coloring.  An interesting idea that I need to look into more!  It made for some fun experimenting today!
Gather Together Stamp Set; Come to Gather DSP; Whisper White & Early Espresso CS; Early Espresso & Sahara Sand Inks; Watercolor Pencils Pack 2; Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede & Color Lifter Blends Markers; Gathered Leaves & Stitched Shapes Dies; Leaves Trinkets; Copper Sequin; #TSOCWoodRelated.

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.

We're mixing it up again over at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #422 this week - there's even cake!
With that pretty stacked cake in our inspiration pic, I totally had to pull out Piece of Cake to play with.  I wanted some fun party colors, so I pulled out my retired Picture Perfect Party DSP and took my colors from there.  I did a couple simple layers, squeezed in some ribbon, and colored a fancy bright cake to go with!  Yummy!  I want to eat every bite!
So, what will YOU create for us this week?  I can't wait to see your creations!
Piece of Cake Stamp Set; Picture Perfect Party DSP (retired); Whisper White, Basic Black & Berry Burst (retired) CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Berry Burst (retired) & Lemon Lime Twist (retired) Markers; White Gel Pen; Cake Builder Punch; Stitched Shapes Dies; Metallic Edge Berry Burst Ribbon (retired); #TSOT422.

I love our landscape sketch at this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday #413 - like an ocean view!
Following that theme, I just HAD to try out my new 3-D Embossing Folder, High Seas!  I'm pretty sure it was made for the whole gorgeous Sailing Home suite, BUT, we also still have High Tide to play with!  TWO lighthouses, people!  Amazing!  So, I had to play around a little bit to get the right sandwich in my Big Shot for this folder - the new 3-D folders are just a tiny bit slimmer than the old dynamic jobs.  The sandwich that worked for me was original platform with no tabs, one chipboard insert from a Paper Pumpkin kit, and the new folder with the CS inside.  I guess all machines might be a tiny bit different, and I may try to add just a hair more depth to my homemade "plate," but I did find that a regular cutting plate was just too thick.  Learning new skills - yay!
High Tide Stamp Set; Whisper White, Pretty Peacock & Seaside Spray CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Seaside Spray, Smoky Slate & Pretty Peacock Inks; High Seas 3-D Embossing Folder; Pretty Peacock Sequins; #TSOT413.

I'm seeing layers this week at our beautiful new sketch at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #409!  We're also teaming up with Double Trouble #29 this week and celebrating National Brown Bag It Day!  Awesome - bring on the brown bag!
I went with a Crumb Cake base to Double Trouble, and the brown made me think "nature," so I pulled out Peaceful Place.  I just got this set, once I realized it would be carrying over - I thought it would be fun to color!  I tried today with Blends markers, but I'm thinking aqua-painting or watercolor pencils would be even better!  I added this lovely sympathy sentiment, and a couple matching Faceted Dots.  I think this could definitely be my peaceful place!
So, what will YOU come up with?  I can't wait to see, over at the challenge!
Peaceful Place Stamp Set; Nature's Poem DSP; Crumb Cake, Whisper White & Petal Pink CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Granny Apple Green, Soft Sky (retired), Pool Party Soft Suede & Crumb Cake Blends; Stitched Shapes Dies; Faceted Dots in Petal Pink; #TSOT409; #DTPC029.

Such pretty layers in this week's As You See It #198 "wings" sketch!
It's so funny, I just wrapped up my "Butterflies Galore" class, so I wasn't feeling like pulling in any more wings, lol.  Then the retiring lists hit, and I realized I was gonna need a LOT of room on my retired shelves for all the new items about to migrate over, lol.  While I started my "purge" (have I used this in the last year?  two??) I came across this old lovely, Watercolor Wings.  And I realized I maybe have one more butterfly in me this month, lol.  I kept it fairly simple, and featured one of the large wings arrangement front and center - good times!  I added a few details for a bit of shine, but that's it.  I forgot how much I miss this beauty!
Watercolor Wings Stamp Set (retired 2018); Whisper White & So Saffron CS; Early Espresso DSP; Early Espresso & Crushed Curry Inks; Stitched Shapes & Bold Butterfly Framelits; Gold Cording Trim; Crushed Curry Glimmer Dots; #AYSI198.

Another cool new book cover for me from the Library Challenge #28:  The Party!  Pretty building...
So, I don't know this book, but I knew I had the perfect set to make a card version of the cover!  At Home With You has everything you need for the well-dress front door, lol, and I went with a birthday theme to go with the title.  Now, looking more closely at the picture, I have realized that this actually must be some kind of scary book - woops!  Too bad!  I see "party" and I'm all over it in the best way, lol!
At Home With You Stamp Set; Adventure Bound DSP; Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana & Gray Granite CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Mango Melody & Bermuda Bay Blends Markers; At Home & Stitched Shapes Framelits; #TLC028.

We have a lovely slant to this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday #396!
As soon as I saw our optional theme of "flower fun," I knew I wanted to try out our brand new Country Floral Dynamic Embossing Folder.  This beauty is in the second wave of Sale-A-Bration releases, and I snapped it up right away!  The dynamic folders give such a deep emboss - so much detail!  The flyer showed a piece of the emboss colored, and I immediately knew I would be trying that - here it is!  I wanted it to be bright and bold, but really, I think the softer colors are better for this technique.  I went to town with my blends, as usual, and I think it was fairly successful - I'm thinking I might need more practice - but it was FUN - and that was the idea!
So, what will you have for us this week?  I can't wait to see your creations over at the challenge!
Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set; Granny Apple Green & Whisper White CS; Country Floral DEF; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Mango Melody, Poppy Parade, Petal Pink, Pool Party, Highland Heather, Soft Sea Foam & Granny Apple Green Blends; Basic Jewel Pearls; #TSOT396.

We have a great banded sketch for you this week at Fab Friday #155!
That nice horizontal got me thinking about our awesome long bench in the Sitting Pretty bundle, and I knew I needed to pull that one out and get some bulldog time!  I'm not sure why I always gravitate to the more muted colors for this one - I think I've used Soft Sea Foam every time for it, lol.  Anyway, I really wanted my dog, plant and birdie for the bench, and then I decided to use Well Said for my sentiment.  I figured the "here for you" thought went great with my little loyal pup, and I matched it with a "surrounded by love" phrase for the inside.  Such a great sentiment set!
I can't wait to see YOUR creations - see you at the challenge!
Sitting Pretty & Well Said Stamp Sets; Gray Granite, Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz & Crumb Cake Inks; Balmy Blue Blends Marker; Subtle DEF; Pretty Park Framelits; Faceted Dots; #FabFri155.

Awww, The Library Challenge #22 is all about the super sweet book The Snowman!  Perfect timing!
I decided to pick my other snowman set, 2015's Snow Place, and just dress my boy up all in green!  Not quite the right hat, but I like a dapper snowman, lol.  I love the sketched snow flakes that come in this set, too - don't they look cute in Pool Party?  I even added some sparkly ribbon - doin' the glitz!  Another fun walk down memory lane with TLC - so glad I found this challenge!
Snow Place Stamp Set (retired 2015); Whisper White & Pool Party CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party & Old Olive Inks; Melon Mambo Blends Marker; Snow Friends Framelits; Pool Party Glitter Ribbon; TLC22.