Blog Posts

Hippo 4 Guyz

1/23/2023

Very fun - Cardz 4 Guyz #313 would like to see a birthday card for a child!
I haven't yet moved over my retired sets from the Holiday mini catty, or the SAB that came out with that catalog's launch, so I still had Hippest Hippos on my critter shelf, and I thought it would be perfect for a boy's birthday! I did all my details in Balmy Blue, one of the colors from this sheet of Dandy Designs, and showed him motoring along in his little boat! So fun to pull all the little pieces together from those fabulous dies! I added this cute birthday sentiment from Sweetest Cherries to cinch the deal, lol.
Hippest Hippos (retired) & Sweetest Cherries Stamp Sets; Dandy Designs DSP; Basic White, Coastal Cabana & Balmy Blue CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Coastal Cabana Inks; Smoky Slate & Petal Pink Blends Markers; Hippo Dies (retired); Banners Pick a Punch; Iridescent Pastel Gems in Balmy Blue; #C4G313.

Pumpkin Club Jan 28!
Did you get your January Pumpkin kit yet? We're unlocking some love this month!! Check out the video HERE!
I hope you can join us for our next Pumpkin Club, Saturday, January 28, at 2 PM - RSVP to let me know you are attending, we will be all safely socially distanced at our big table downstairs!
Club is free for my subscribers, and includes any extra supplies you might need, plus drinks and snacks! I will also have a few extra spots available for club for $10, even if you are not a subscriber - come see what we're up to - full kit not needed, I'll supply everything you need for the projects! Just bring your own snips and basic adhesive!
Remember to subscribe here if you haven't already - sign up by February 10 and you can join us in time for next month!

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Sunday Pansies

1/22/2023

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Yum! Check out our fabulous wedding party colors this round at Sunday Stamps #301!
It was hard not to think of flowers with these colors, lol, especially with those gorgeous bouquets front and center! I wanted something bold and rich, though, so that meant pansies! I have hardly used this set, and too often, I die-cut my flowers from the gorgeous DSP that came out with the set - I haven't stamped too many at all! So I had some fun doing three different blossoms to cluster around my fave sentiment in this set, too. I am WAY happier with how this came out than I thought I'd be!
I can't wait to see YOUR projects for our fun colors - meet you at the challenge!
Pansy Patch Stamp Set; Basic White & Blackberry Bliss CS; Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, Memento Tuxedo Black & Versamark Inks; White EP; Pansy & Deckled Rectangle Dies; Timeworn Type EF; Flat Adhesive-Backed Pearls; #SSC301.

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The Snowy Day

1/21/2023

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Oo, good one! Once Upon a Time #6 is featuring The Snowy Day this month!
To be honest, I'm not too sure about where I've ended up on this one, lol. I actually don't know the story of this classic book {blush} and my final scene doesn't resemble the cover at all! But, I started off by thinking about footprints in the snow. I thought I would end up going back to the moose, because I knew off the top of my head that there are footprints in that one, but I checked my shelf of this year's sets just in case. And the Trees For Sale set jumped right out at me! I had totally forgotten about this little dog and HIS tracks, pretty sure I never used either, I was so focused on that darling camper, lol. So that's how I got here, with not enough red!
Trees For Sale & Penguin Place Stamp Sets (both retired now, sigh); Basic White & Soft Sea Foam CS; Pool Party, Soft Sea Foam, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede & Real Red Inks; Tree Lot Dies; Adhesive-Backed Snowflakes; #OUT6.

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Bear Back (& Pumpkin Club Jan 28!)

1/20/2023

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There's a fun new "bears" challenge at this round's AAA Cards #231!
My favorite CURRENT bear (don't even ask about my retired critter collection, lol) is in the super cute Count On Me set. I love this plumpy guy, lol. I kept things super CAS, simple layers, easy coloring, and just added a few tiny details to dress him up a tiny bit! Fun and fast!
Count On Me Stamp Set; Basic White & Crumb Cake CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Crumb Cake & Real Red Blends Markers; Linen Thread; Resin Hearts (retired); #AAA231.

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Among the Stars

1/19/2023

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We have an intriguing challenge from this month's The Male Room #170 - a galaxy and/or stars theme!
Just on a hunch, I decided to double-check our gorgeous new Greatest Journey suite for any star themes - I'm still not playing with this one much because I plan to do a whole class with just this suite in April, lol. At least I'll have a few additional samples to share, since I can't quite leave it completely alone! Turns out there's a whole sheet of just stars, in, of course, Starry Sky, natch, and the back of it has some gorgeous vistas in matching and coordinating colorways. I decided to stamp a starry moonlight night over the vista, and showed the star sheet on my envelope flap. And I couldn't beat this perfect sentiment! Gorgeous!
Greatest Journey Stamp Set; Enjoy the Journey DSP; Basic White & Starry Sky CS; Starry Sky Ink; Greatest Journey & Deckled Rectangle Dies; Rhinestone Basic Jewels; #TMR170.

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Sending Warm Thoughts

1/18/2023

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So cute - Cupcake Inspirations #560 has a "winter fun" theme going!
When I saw this cute cascade of skiers on cupcakes, I immediately flashed onto a set of hoarded DSP I have - our old Trimming the Town pack (2020, I think?) had a couple full sheet scenery pages in it, featuring tiny people out doing their winter thing! I rarely use these sheets - it hurts to cut into them for me, lol. But today, I couldn't resist cutting out this little scene of skaters on the town pond, enjoying some Winter fun! I matched this sentiment from 2017's Hug in a Mug, so it doesn't HAVE to be a Christmas card - though that's where I'll file it!
Hug in a Mug Stamp Set (retired 2017); Trimming the Town DSP (retired); Basic White & Poppy Parade CS; Poppy Parade Ink; Deckled Rectangle & Ornate Frames (retired) Dies; Poppy Parade Baker's Twine; Fine Sparkle Gems; #CIC560.

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Arctic Bears

1/17/2023

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Woo hoo! So excited that we're finally back at Retro Rubber #198! For our opening round we'd like to see your retro winter themes!
After a browse through my Winter sets I settled on Arctic Bears from 2021- I haven't used these cuties in at least that long! I kept it pretty basic today - that big polar bear is too majestic to fuss with too much! I started with setting his scene in Navy, and then smudging the ink a bit with a Blender Pen. I popped up my bear in Basic Gray, and gave him some birds and the sentiment in the same color. In the end, I couldn't resist a few of our new Milky Dots in Navy to go with - so excited to have more neutral embellies this year!
I can't wait to see YOUR Retro Winter projects - meet you at the challenge!
Arctic Bears Stamp Set (retired 2021); Basic White & Night of Navy CS; Night of Navy & Basic Gray Inks; Blender Pen; Polar Bear Dies (retired); Night of Navy Milky Dots; #RRCB198.

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You Bug Me

1/16/2023

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I'm super excited about CAS on Friday #248's challenge this round - it's insects!
I'm excited because I've been looking for a challenge I could play 2017's Beetles & Bugs on - I picked up this set from a friend who was doing some de-stashing - I didn't have anything else like it! I combined it with Hello Ladybug, so I could use that fabulous (if perhaps slightly obvious, lol) sentiment, too! It was fun to make my bugs all pretty in Pool Party and Granny Apple Green, I think they're super cute!
Hello Ladybug & Beetles & Bugs (retired 2017) Stamp Sets; Basic White & Basic Black CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Pool Party Inks; Granny Apple Green Blends Marker; #CASOF248.

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Pajama Day

1/15/2023

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Too funny - Shopping Our Stash #487 is celebrating Pajama Day! We're supposed to make a card inspired by our favorites, lol...
THIS time, I really had to hunt through my drawers for some jammies I thought I could CASE, lol. I finally found these cuties at the bottom of a drawer I haven't looked in for ages - I forgot I had these! I thought they could be a fun one to reproduce, and I went with the Color & Contour set to do it! I stamped all my stems and flowers in Melon Mambo to start my background sheet, then filled in with Mango Melody - what a vibrant combo! I think now I should have mixed in more Melon Mambo, but I do love how it came out! I floated everything over Pear Pizzazz for the ribbons, and finished with a strand of Melon Mambo twine a few matching Solid Faceted Gems. What a fun project! I included a shot of my pajamas below, lol.
Color & Contour Stamp Set; Basic White & Pear Pizzazz CS; Melon Mambo, Mango Melody & Pear Pizzazz Ink; Layering Circles Dies; Melon Mambo Twine; Melon Mambo Solid Faceted Gems; #SOS487.

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Geek Romance

1/14/2023

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Aw, here's a sweet one - Time Out Challenges #229 wants to get romantic!
I decided to take a humorous route and pulled out my Tech Support set - I don't use it enough! It has this little search window of "romantic" searches, so I ran with it! I did some random keys in the background, with some emoticon hearts, and floated my sentiment over all that. A few tiny Resin Hearts finish things off! I think it's geekie-cute, lol.
Tech Support Stamp Set; Design a Daydream DSP; Basic White, Basic Black & Real Red CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Real Red Inks; Deckled Rectangle Dies; Resin Heart Embellishments (retired); #TOC229.