Another fun combo from this week's Fusion "Thankful" challenge - cool sketch!
I decided to try and "fuse" the botanical theme and the thankful with my trusty old Acorny Thank You - sometimes you just need nuts with snazzy hats, lol.  I went for some suitable autumnal colors, and floated them all over Soft Sea Foam, which is quickly becoming my most-used background!  I kept thing super clean and almost one layer for me - the only thing popped up is the sentiment, lol.  Quiet and simple, just right.
Acorny Thank You Stamp Set (retired 2015); Whisper White & Soft Sea Foam CS; Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Soft Suede & Crumb Cake Inks; Layering Circles Dies; Acorn Builder Punch; #FusionThankful.

Mountainview Presbyterian Holiday Boutique Nov 22 & 23!
Come see the best Scottsdale Craft Show of the year, and get your cinnamon roll orders in early!  I'll be here both days, and would love for you to come visit!  Lots of new vendors and treats!
Swing by Friday, Nov 22 from 9 am - 4 pm, or Saturday Nov 23 from 9 am - 3 pm!  Mountainview Presbyterian Church, 8050 E Mountainview Rd, Scottsdale, AZ.  See you there!

We have some wonderful Southwest colors for you this week at Sunday Stamps #217, speaking from an Arizona point of view, lol.
I decided to transform these colors into an underwater scene today, which of course means I get to play with the gorgeous Seaside Notions again.  I love this set so much, I don't even think about the number of times I've fussy cut all these pieces, lol.  It just looks so dramatic when I do!  Anyway, here's my little Southwestern seahorse, lol.  Perfect!
So, what will YOU create?  I can't wait to see YOUR creations!
Seaside Notions Stamp Set; Whisper White, Pretty Peacock & Sahara Sand CS; Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Terracotta Tile, Rich Razzleberry & Pretty Peacock Inks; Silver Pearls; #SSC217.

Christmas Countdown Kit Bonus Class Nov 9 at 3 pm!
Woo hoo!  There's just enough time for ONE Christmas Bonus Class - and the new Advent Calendar Kit wins it by popular acclaim!  Come to class for a relaxing time for crafting and chatting, plus some yummy drinks and cookies, and we'll put our kits together in record time!  RSVP to make sure I have enough kits on hand, or bring your own and enjoy the company!
Class is $35, all supplies provided (bring your own snips and fave adhesive), or $10 if you are bringing your own kit!
See you soon!

Time to brighten things up at this week's Fab Friday #174!
First I went hunting for a vehicle for my fun colors - Butterfly Gala seemed like a perfect fit!  Who doesn't love orange and pink butterflies?  I found some Basic Black DSP scraps in my scrap folder, and added a bright sash of Melon Mambo ribbon, too - I also tried a stamped and stamped-off butterfly in the Pumpkin Pie - I just got a new pad for that one, and I think it's pretty saturated, lol.  Anyway, I'm always cheered by my gala of wings!
So what will YOU create for us?  I can't wait to see, over at the challenge!
Butterfly Gala Stamp Set; Botanical Butterflies DSP (retired); Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Pumpkin Pie & Melon Mambo Inks; Butterfly Duet Punch; Melon Mambo Cotton Ribbon; Orange Sequins; #FabFri174.

The Sisterhood of Crafters has come up with a fun embossing challenge for us this week - heat OR dry - yay!
I started today's card by browsing my bin of embossing folders.  I quickly realized that it has been a while since I've had Basket Weave out to play - yes!  I decided to also match it with the still current Country Home set - I so love the pitcher and milk can that you can fill with lovely Fall arrangements...  A little fancy work with my Rectangle Stitched dies made for layers sized just how I needed them, and I even found some old brown sequins that I think are from a distant past Paper Pumpkin.  Guess I never can throw a sequin away, lol.
Country Home Stamp Set; Naturals White & Soft Suede CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Pool Party, Petal Pink, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze & Old Olive Blends Markers; Basket Weave EF; Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon; Rectangle Stitched Dies; Brown Sequins; #TSOCEmbossing.

Ooo, super cute sketch this week over at Hand-Stamped Sentiments #323!
Looking at that label shape, I decided to go back to the set that started it all for me with this die set - Believe You Can.  So much fun to mix and match the sentiments for the little banner, and SO much fun to color!  I went to town with my blends on this one, and made myself a nice bouquet, lol.  This cheery thank you will go far!  A few points of rhinestone light adds just a touch of sparkle, and my simple card base is actually all dressed up with embossing.  Sweetness!
Believe You Can Stamp Set; Granny Apple Green & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Granny Apple Green, Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie & Flirty Flamingo Blends Markers; Layered Leaves EF; Stitched Nested Labels Dies; Basic Jewel Rhinestones; #HSS323.

Check out our lovely colors this week and Fab Friday #172 - so fun!  I'm also combining our challenge with CAS on Friday #163's "die-cut word" challenge - cool!
So, "minimal" is the word fo the day for this CAS card - I couldn't resist making my "grateful" in Blackberry Bliss - my fave purple ever, though we DO have some good ones just now, lol.  Such fun Fall-ish colors, too, I naturally leaned over to the Gather Together suite for the rest of my details.  Simple and sweet, with "so glad to have you in my life" on the inside - just right!
So, what Fab creations will YOU have for us?  I can't wait to see them over at the challenge!
Gather Together Stamp Set; Come to Gather DSP; Mint Macaron, Whisper White & Black Berry Bliss CS; Mint Macaron & Pretty Peacock (inside) Inks; Seasonal Frame Dies; Pretty Peacock Faceted Dots; #FabFri172; #CASOF163.

Fall & Thankgiving Class Sep 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 still on for  Saturday, September 14 at 3 pm.  See you soon!

Such a fun idea - The Sisterhood of Crafters is running a "paper piecing" challenge this week!  Yeah!
My favorite way to paper piece is to combine stamped images with pieces in DSP, but I had a tough time picking out a good image for that today, sigh.  I finally resorted to my retired shelves and pulled out Beach Happy so I could do a fun dotty umbrella...  I still might go back and do some fancy piggies, too, lol.  Anyway, this was a fun little fussy cut taste, and I even got to pull out my penultimate Pool Party Tutti-Frutti SAB card base from a couple years ago - only one left!
Beach Happy (retired 2019); Pool Party Tutti Frutti Card Base (retired); Bermuda Bay DSP; Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Daffodil Delight Inks; Stitched Shapes Dies; Iridescent Sequins; #TSOCPaperPiecing.

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 goodie, Retro Rubber #118 has a cute sketch for us this week - with lots of room!  I think I'll combine with this lovely color combo from As You See It #208, too!
So, I really labored over which stamp set to go with for this one - I LOVE this color combo, and I wanted to do something funky!  Thankfully, I still have my beloved Acorny Thank You (and punch!) to play my fun color games with, lol.  I set up a little layered square, popped out some awesome color combo nuts, and assembled a quick and simple card that still has some POP!  Fun!
Acorny Thank You Stamp Set (retired 2015); Whisper White & Coastal Cabana CS; Pretty Peacock, Coastal Cabana & Mango Melody Inks; Bitty Banners Dies (retired); Acorn Builder Punch (retired); Touches of Nature Wood Elements (retired); #RR118; #AYSI208.

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!

Ahh, I love it when the stars align and I'm able to sneak in an extra challenge on my rotation!  I can JUST squeeze in this week's TGIF #225 "all on black" challenge!  Woot!
So, I do have a big stack (ahem) of new goodies sitting on my desk waiting for their ink-christening, so I did a quick shuffle and came across the lovely Tasteful Textures bundle.  While I didn't use the dies, I could see that some of these gorgeous patterns would awesome stamped and embossed on black, then colored with Blends, so that's just what I did!  These are done in the new Shimmer White EP - so sparkly!  I colored in Mango Melody, and added a Mango detail behind the sentiment, too - LOVE!
Tasteful Textures Stamp Set; Whisper White, Mango Melody & Basic Black CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Mango Melody & Versamark Inks; Shimmer White EP; Mango Melody Blend Marker; Rectangle Stitched Dies; Iridescent Dots (leftover from the Donut Paper Pumpkin, lol0; TGIFC225.

So excited to see a tic-tac-toe challenge at this week's Retro Rubber #116 - the best of all combos!
I studied the grid for a while, and I just kept coming back to the center column:  green, texture and nature.  I have a great idea for everything but texture, lol - let's play!  I knew right away I wanted to use my beloved Inspired by Nature set from 2008 for this one - this grass stamp in particular is a long-time fave of mine, and the Mother Teresa quote is just the icing on the cake, lol.  I finally snuck in a little texture with a little Pinewood Planks panel behind the sentiment.  This card also marks my final 5 Old Olive Glimmer Dots.  {SOB}  I really loved these guys, I wish we did them in our full color line-up, lol!
Inspired by Nature (retired 2008) Stamp Set; Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive & Whisper White CS; Old Olive & Early Espresso Inks; Pinewood Planks EF; Rectangle Stitched Dies; Old Olive Glimmer Dots; #RR116.

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!