Wishing You Peace

Hi again peeps,

I have another quick post to share a card that uses this week's Mojo Monday sketch and images from the new Gina K release. This stamp set is called Lovely Lotus. 

As you can see, I turned the sketch on it's side for my card. The lotus is stamped with Memento tuxedo black and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils in the "Gina K" way using Gamsol. I used the set dies to cut out the images and I've used Gina's new Master Layouts 2 set to make some of the layers on my card. The patterned papers are from Honeybee. 

Here's the inside of this card, again using colored pencils and Gamsol. The greeting is stamped on velum and overlaid. All images are from the Lovely Lotus stamp set.

Thanks again,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Lovely Lotus set by Gina K Designs

Paper: SU Not Quite Navy and Whisper White card stock, Honeybee patterned papers

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Not Quite Navy, Prismacolor colored pencils, Gamsol

Other: Lovely Lotus set dies, Gina K Designs Master Layout 2 dies, SU embossing folder, Misti, Gemini Jr, Pretty Pink Posh gems, foam tape, Gina K foam squares

 

MOCHACHOCALOVEYOUALATTE

Hi'ya peeps,

It's time for the 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I had to make a card for the first day. In between taking calls and fielding emails (my mgr is on PTO and I'm the "boss" today and next week), I managed to put together a card. Besides the blog hop, I'm posting to a few more challenges too. The sketch is based on  the current Mojo Monday sketch, and the colors come from the new As You See It challenge where Joanne has picked Daffodil Delight, Call Me Clover, Lovely Lipstick and Soft Suede.

I've used mostly Paper Smooches goodies to make my card today.

To make my card front, I started with the Paper Smooches Essential Stencil houndstooth pattern and Daffodil Delight and Call Me Clover inks using blending brushes to make the design on the left side of the card. I stamped the two greetings from the PS Caffeinated set onto white card stock and cut them out with a Die-namics Circle die and a Spellbinders Scalloped Circle die. The to-go coffee cup is stamped with Memento black, colored with SU Soft Suede Blends markers and a light beige Copic and cut out with the corresponding die. The design on the cup is made using the same essential stencil, only the scalloped design. The coffee circle label is an image in the stamp set and is stamped with Lovely Lipstick and cut out with it's die. After glueing everything in place, I decided it needed a bit of embellishing. I remembered the PS Cozy Coffee dies had the little coffee beans. I cut 5 out of Soft Suede card stock and then added two layers of clear embossing powder over them for a nice and shinny look.

For the inside of my card, I again used the houndstooth stencil this time with Daffodil Delight and Lovely Lipstick. The greeting comes from the PS Caffeinated Two set.

As I've said before, I don't drink coffee (I don't even like the smell) but I love to make these coffee themed cards. Go figure!

Happy Memorial Day holiday to all. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Paper Smooches Caffeinated and Caffeinated Two sets
Paper: SU Call Me Clover, Lovely Lipstick, Soft Suede and Concord & 9th white card stocks
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark, SU Call Me Clover, Daffodil Delight, Lovely Lipstick, Soft Suede, SU Soft Suede Blends markers and Copic E43 marker
Other: Paper Smooches Stencil, Die-namics and Spellbinders Circle dies, Paper Smooches Caffeinated set dies and Cozy Coffee dies, clear EP, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, Diemensionals, liquid glue

Wishing You Well

Ahhh, it Friday! Even though it was a super short work week, I'm always happy on Friday's. I'm looking forward to the weekend before I have to hit the road again for another week of work travel.

One of my co-workers recently had foot surgery and will be off work for three months. I made this card for her using a new SU Sale-a-bration set I ordered during the pre-order period for Demos. I used Julie's Mojo Monday sketch for inspiration.

Using the Misti, I stamped the lilies and stems using So Saffron and Garden Green inks. A little secret, I stamped the lilies several times mostly with the So Saffron to get a darker image. But, I wanted the shading to be a little more obvious, so I added Sahara Sand in the layering of ink and loved how it worked. I also used the So Saffron marker to color directly on the stamp over the stamen and I think that worked pretty well too.

The card base is from the SU Tutti-Frutti card base and envelope packet from last year. The green rectangle is dry embossed with the Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions EF. The lilies are cut out with a Die-namics Stitched Rectangle die.

For the inside, I used a greeting from the SSS Sketched Flowers set.

Hopefully, a handmade card will brighten her days as she recuperates.

Thanks for stopping in, and have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Lasting Lily set by Stampin' Up and Sketched Flowers set by Simon Says Stamp (inside greeting)
Paper: SU Tutti-Frutti pack, Whisper White, Garden Green and So Saffron card stock
Ink: SU So Saffron, Garden Green, Sahara Sand, So Saffron marker
Other: SU Subtle EF, Die-namics Stitched Rectangle die, Taylored Expressions Scalloped Border die,  Lawn Fawn banner dies, yellow pearls, the Big Shot, Misti, dimensionals

Merry Christmas

Happy Sunday morning,

It's a fairly lazy Sunday morning for me, but a little later I'll be packing my suitcase and work stuff. I am working this coming week in Denver, CO. The weather app says it will be cold! That will be a change since we've been having these late season "Santa Ana" winds with temps in the high 70s to mid-80s. Time to pull out my boots!

I ordered some new stamps and supplies from Gina K and in my box was a free stamp set called Winter Flower. It's a sweet little poinsettia and leaves and I couldn't wait to ink it up. Using Julie's Mojo Monday 502 sketch, I made three cards. Clearly, I love this sketch!

The flower is stamped on water color paper using MFT Hybrid black ink and watercolored using Zig Real Brush water color markers. Once they dried, I fussy cut them out. On the card above, I used some really old SU DSP (so old I have no idea of the name), chocolate chip and Groovy Guava card stock. The circle layers are Spellbinders Scalloped and Die-namics Cross Stitched dies. The scalloped borders are TE and the snowflake embellishments are SU.

I made two others with totally different papers and colors.

On the pink card, the backgrounds are made with a background stamp and matching embossing folder both from Taylored Expressions. Both the flower and background are water colored with Zig markers.

The white flower card is made using more retired SU DSP and the card base is embossed with the SU large dots embossing folder. The flower is water colored with Tim Holtz distress inks and an aqua painter.

I love the look of all three. They started with such a great sketch.

I hope you all have a good week ahead and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Winter Flower by Gina K, Taylored Expressions Circles Background
Paper: SU Whisper White heavy weight and regular, Pretty In Pink, Smoky Slate, Groovy Guava, and Chocolate Chip card stock, various older SU DSP
Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Real Red, MFT Hybrid Black
Other: Taylored Expressions Scalloped Border die, Die-namics Cross Stitched circle, Spellbinders Scalloped Circle and basic circle, Mama Elephant Inside Scalloped circle dies, Taylored Expressions Circles Embossing plate, SU Large Dots Embossing Folder, gold Stickles, SU and My Minds Eye enamel shapes, aqua painter brush, Misti, Gemini Jr

It's Your Day To Sparkle

Happy Hump Day stampers!

Today I have a card made for this week's Paper Players Challenge, where LeAnne has an awesome and fun theme challenge this week called Sweet Treats. I have many stamp sets that would work. The hard part was choosing which to use!

I decided on this lovely cake from Concord & 9th. It's no secret to any of my family and friends that I LOVE chocolate cake. (I take after my father in this trait.) I stamped the image onto Strathmore watercolor paper and heat embossed it with SU white EP then colored it with Zig Real Brush watercolor markers. The dark chocolate layers have Expresso Dimensional pearls added on top of the watercoloring. When it was dry, I cut it out with the corresponding set dies. As you can see, the layout is this week's Mojo Monday sketch.

I decided to not have a sentiment on the front on this one. Here is the inside with the appropriate greetings.

This cake reminds me of what I call "The Birthday Cake" that Mr. Personal Chef has been making me for my birthday since we were in college (minus the flowers). It's a triple layer chocolate cake, whipped cream between the layers and thickly frosted with semisweet buttercream. It's AMAZING! and one of the reasons I keep him around :).

Thanks for looking in today. Have a nice rest of the work week.
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Happy Day set by Concord & 9th
Paper: SSS white card stock, Strathmore watercolor paper, We R Memory Keepers Hip Hip Hooray patterned papers
Ink: VersaMark, SU Bermuda Bay, Memento tuxedo black
Other: SU white EP, heat tool, paint brushes, Die-namics Stitched Rounded Rectangle and Fishtail Flags STAX dies, Concord & 9th Happy Day dies, Dimensional Pearls, sequins, the Big Shot, foam tape

Let Your Dreams Take Flight

Hello stamping friends,

It's been a blustery day here today. Not as much rain as was predicted, but pretty cloudy and breezy, and cold. As with most Saturdays this spring, we went to our little friend's Little League baseball game in the morning, then went shopping for ceiling fans this afternoon. We skipped lunch, so had a little nosh of chips and guac at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant while the Kentucky Derby was run. Now, I'm settling in to watch some Big League baseball, Padres vs Dodgers this weekend.

I made this card a few nights ago for the current Mojo Monday contest. I love these patterned papers from We R Memory Keepers. They're called Chalkboard and the floral images are very pretty. I've paired the papers with Reverse Confetti butterflies.

The butterflies are stamped in Pool Party ink using my Misti stamping tool. I stamped them several times to make them very bright.

Here is the inside. There's a fun sheet of patterned paper striped with all of the single sheet patterns. The stamps are another Reverse Confetti set.

I hope your weekend is going well. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Butterfly Dreams and You're So sets by Reverse Confetti
Paper: SU Pool Party and X-Press It Blending card stock and We R Memory Keepers Chalkboard patterned papers
Ink: SU Pool Party and Memento tuxedo black
Other: Reverse Confetti Butterfly Dreams dies, Die-namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle and Stitched Square dies, Nuvo glitter drops in Silver Moonlight, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Make A Splash!

Hi again,

I had planned on posting this one tomorrow evening, but then saw that the Inspired By All the Little Things challenge ends later tonight. Since I had made this card using the inspiration photo, I wanted to get it posted. I used several elements from the photo. The rainy scene, the black and white stripes and the pink color. The sketch comes from this week's Mojo Monday.

The background patterned paper and the papers used to piece the umbrella are from We R Memory Makers "Chalkboard" 6X6 pad. Abby is stamped with Memento tuxedo black on X-Press It Blending card stock and colored with Copics. She, the rain puddle and the umbrella are cut out with the corresponding SSS dies. the other dies are all Die-namics. I've used sequins for the "rain" drops.

Thanks again for looking in, and have a very happy Friday!
Colleen


Supplies
Stamps: Abby's Spring Showers set by Simon Says Stamp
Paper: SU Blushing Bride, Basic Black and X-Press It Blending card stock and We R Memory Makers Chalkboard patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Abby's Spring Showers dies, Die-namics Pierced Circle and Fishtail Flag dies, the Big Shot, black sequins, dimensionals

a latte Birthday Wishes

Hello again,

This is my second post this afternoon. I'm posting to the challenges that end this afternoon, and just in time too. I made this card using this week's Mojo Monday #492 challenge. As with my first post today, I'm using more new Lil' Inker stamps.

Last weekend when I was doing some re-organizing of my supplies, I found this pad of patterned papers behind some boxes on the floor. I put it in the front of my patterned paper bin, and so when I was looking for some papers for today's card, being in front, it was the first pack that I grabbed. The dark blue with the pink roses piece was the first page and that's as far as I went. I love the pink and dark blue together. Since I needed another piece per the sketch, I picked this co-ordinating piece, which I think was page two in the pack. Sometimes it takes me forever to decide on papers!

I love Julie's Mojo sketches because they usually have layers, as this week's does, and I love me some layering! I used several dies to cut out the layers and the coffee cup. The inside uses more stamps and another sentiment from the same Lil' Inker set. The coffee cup here is the second of the two in the set and I've paper pieced it with the same patterned papers.

I love how this card turned out and I'm going to save it for a friend whose birthday is in June. She loves coffee!

Thanks again for stopping by. I hope your week is a happy one!
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Latte Love set by Lil' Inker
Paper: Taylored Expressions textured dark blue, SU Blushing Bride and X-Press It Blending card stocks; Carta Bella Hello Again patterned papers
Ink: SU Night of Navy, Blushing Bride, Baked Brown Sugar, Memento tuxedo black
Other: Latte Love dies, Die-namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle, Stitched Square and Double Stitched Square dies, Taylored Expressions Burlap EF, My Mind's Eye enamel shapes, the Big Shot, foam tape

Hopping By To Say Hi

Hi to everyone,

My card for the March Mojo Madness Contest was among the winners chosen by random and this is the set that I picked from Verve as my prize. Julie sent it super fast, so I used it to make my card for this week's Mojo Monday Challenge.

A quick post this morning as I have some errands to run soon, but then I plan to do more stamping later this afternoon. 

Thanks for looking in,

Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies set by Verve
Paper: SU Ruby Red and TE Choice Buttercream card stock, My Mind's Eye Tangerine pattern papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Ruby Red, Copies
Other: Die-namics double stitched circle and banner dies, Spellbinders circle die, TE Scalloped Border die, enamel dots, the Big Shot, dimensionals

A Hippity Hoppity Hello

Hello and happy Sunday afternoon,

I've been feeling pretty poorly for the last 3-4 days and I'm getting sick of being sick, LOL. Somewhere, I picked up a really nasty cold virus. Couldn't be because my work takes me to hospitals and urgent care facilities. I thought I was fighting it off, but on Friday it really got the best of me and yesterday I did absolutely nothing but watch tennis and baseball. My two favorite sports as least.

One evening earlier in the week, I stamped this Reverse Confetti bunny image onto SU Naturals card stock with SU Archival black ink and colored it with colored pencils while watching TV. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at the time, I just felt like coloring. Since I felt a little better this morning, I decided to turn it into a card. I looked around for a sketch to use and decided that she would look great showcased using this week's Mojo Monday sketch.

A quick post today. I did feel like doing some stamping today and I made a few more cards that I'll share later this week. I hope you all have a great week ahead!

Thanks for checking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Bebe Bunny set by Reverse Confetti
Paper: SU Naturals, Whisper White and Wild Wasabi card stock and Crate Paper patterned papers
Ink: SU Archival Black
Other: Die-namics Stitched Rectangles dies, Prismacolor colored pencils, My Minds Eye enamel shapes, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Coffee & Friends Make the Perfect Blend

Hi again,

Another quick post for a card that I made for this week's Mojo Monday Contest challenge. I ordered the Simon Says Stamp monthly card kit a few months ago when it was all about coffee and tea. Super cute images in the stamp set. Warning: you may need to view this one with sunglasses. It's bright!

All of the paper, images and embellishments are from the monthly kit. The card base is embossed with the SU brick wall (subway tile) EF and the circles are Die-namics Inside and Out Stitched dies.

Here is the inside:

The sentiment on the inside is Avery Elle dies.

As I've mentioned before, I don't care for the actual coffee, but I love the coffee themed stamps. Go figure!

Thanks again,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Coffee and Tea by Simon Says Stamp
Paper: SSS card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, Doodlebug Cream and Sugar patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Mambo Melon, Copics
Other: SU Brick Wall EF, Die-namics Inside and Out Stitched Circle dies, Doodlebug enamel shapes, Avery Elle hugs dies, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Christmas Cheer

Happy Tuesday Peeps,

I'm headed to the middle of the country today, specifically to Nashville, TN for work. I'll be gone all week. After packing last night I had some time to make a card and since it's the first week of November, Mojo Monday is a contest sketch this week, so I thought I'd play along.

I'm still needing many Christmas cards so that's what I made.

I stayed really true to the sketch this week, using some snowy hills as the square element.

Have a good week all and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Kitch Christmas by Avery Elle
Paper: X-Press It Blending card stock, SU Real Red card stock, Lawn Fawn Christmas Plaid patterned paper
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics
Other: Lawn Fawn Trees die, Die-namics Pierced Fishtail Flag, Stitched Hill and Stitched Oval dies, Kitch Christmas dies,
Stickles, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Bee Sweet

Hello again,

We did go shopping (see my last post), but I actually didn't buy a thing! More money to buy stamps with, LOL. Once we got home and had lunch, I did sit down and make a quick card using the Mojo Monday sketch for this week. Squeaking it in, too.

I used some older Lawn Fawn Halloween stamps and another new paper pad that I bought at Paper Source with the other on Wednesday. This one is a fall themed pad from Pebbles. My little bear dressed up like a honey bee is stamped in Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics. I've used a variety of dies to create the sketch elements.

Thanks again for stopping in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Critters in Costume by Lawn Fawn
Paper: Taylored Expressions textured card stock, SU Early Expresso and X-Press It Blending card stock, Pebbles Woodland Forrest patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Early Expresso, Copics
Other: Spellbinders Open Scalloped circle die, Die-namics Wonky Stitched circle and Curved Stitched rectangle dies, the Big Shot, enamel dots, dimensionals

Birthday Wishes

Yay, it's Friday!

It's the first week of the month which means it's contest time over at Mojo Monday. I haven't played along in a while and I thought it was about time. Plus, I really like this week's sketch from Julie. I pulled out one of those old single wood mounted stamps and colored it up with my Copics and then found some fun, bohemian patterned papers to go with it.

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Sunflower Square by Stampassions and Endless Birthday Wishes set by Stampin' Up
Paper: X-Press It Blending, SU Peach Parfait and TE green card stock; Farmhouse by Crate Paper patterned papers
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Stitched Curved Rectangle, Stitched Square, Pinking Edge Circle, and large Banner Die-namics dies, SU white ribbon, enamel shapes, the Big Shot, dimensional tape

Watercolored In The Meadow

Hello,

I hope your Saturday has been nice. I've been at my crafting table catching up on some of my favorite sketch challenges. I was visiting my family in Northern California for a couple weeks and had a great time with my mom. I don't make it up to see her as often as I should, unfortunately.

While I was gone, I had ordered some new goodies from the SU Occasions Mini, so I thought I'd play with them today. One of the sets that I ordered is In The Meadow and I thought that the deer and fawn would look good watercolored. I used the Mojo Monday #429 sketch for my card.

I notice that on many of the recent blog posts for Stamp and supply companies that plaid patterned papers are becoming pretty trendy, so I pulled out some older SU plaid DSP for my background panel on the sketch. I decided to omit the small element on the left of the large circle and opted to go with the enamel dots down the edge. I like the way it turned out. I didn't take a picture of the inside, but I made this card into a Birthday card with the sentiment "Birthday Wishes."

Supplies
Stamps: In the Meadow set by Stampin' Up
Paper: SU Early Expresso, Island Indigo and watercolor card stock and SU Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: SU Archival Black and Zig water color markers
Other: Aqua-painter brush, Die-namics double stitched circle and square dies, enamel dots, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my Paper Players post.

Thanks,
Colleen

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Monday stampers,

I'm traveling today, but not to far, for a work training class and team meeting in Los Angeles. I'll be gone two nights only so that's not too bad.

I made several Christmas cards yesterday and this is one of my favorites. It uses last week's Mojo Monday sketch #425.

And the inside:

Supplies:

Stamps: Jingle All the Way set by My Favorite Things

Paper: SU Real Red, Calypso Coral and Whisper White card stock, SU Nordic Noel DSP

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Real Red and Garden Green, Copics

Other: MFT Jingle All the Way, Stitched Oval and Rounded Corner Rectangle, and 

Pierced Circle dies, TE Falling Snow EF, SU gold cord, gold sequin, the Big Shot, diemsionals

Thanks for looking,

Colleen

Spooky Wishes

Happy Friday afternoon,

I'm so glad it's Friday. It's another HOT one here in Southern California with temps in the 90's even close to the water. I think we are all ready for fall here.

Speaking of Fall, I felt like coloring last night after dinner so I colored this Halloween, Pure Innocence cutie. The sketch comes from this week's Mojo Monday contest.

The image is stamped in Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics. I fussy cut her out and popped her up on dimensionals inside the frame. All of the dies are Die-namics. The frame is cut from SU black glimmer paper.

Supplies
Stamps: Pretty Pumpkin Pure Innocence set by My Favorite Things
Paper: SU black card stock, Copic sketch paper, Bella Blvd Halloween Magic patterned paper, SU black glimmer paper
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics
Other: Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frame and Pumpkins dies, orange and black Stickles, Wink of Stella glitter pen, foam tape, the Big Shot and dimensionals

I sure hope it cools off some, or actually, a lot. Enough is enough!

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Hello

Yes, Hello,

I hope you are all having a relaxing and fun holiday (Labor Day in the U.S.). I've been hanging out at home doing some stamping while watching U.S. Open Tennis and an afternoon baseball game. I did manage to get a few loads of laundry done, so at least one chore out of the way.

The card I made this afternoon works for several challenges. The sketch is the new Mojo Monday #414 and the color scheme comes from the CanYouCaseIt? #85 color challenge. The colors this week are brown, blue and yellow. Finally, the September Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge week one is "anything goes." I used some super cute Paper Smooches stamps for my card so I will post to it as well.

Here is the inside. I kept it pretty simple, but I think it's pretty cute.

Supplies
Stamps: Whimsical set and Flap Happy set (greetings) both by Paper Smooches
Paper: SU Early Expresso, Hello Honey and Very Vanilla card stock, My Minds Eye Stella & Rose patterned papers
Ink: SU Early Expresso and Hello Honey classic pads, Memento tuxedo black, Copics
Accessories: Die-namics Stitched Curved Rectangle and large Fishtail Flags STAX dies, Spellbinders Scalloped Circle die, Doodlebug enamel shapes, Reflections hemp twine, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Thanks for checking in today,
Colleen