Autumn Blessings!

Hi there! I'm playing along with a couple of challenges today. Sort of a just for fun card you might say! I saw that The Paper Players had a blessings/thankful challenge. Personally, I'm thankful this election is behind us. I pray that with God's grace our country can come together to make America a better place. I've used this week's Retro Sketches challenge for my card design to create something playful and lighthearted.

What better place to begin than with some cute October Afternoon paper! I added a Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Borders 4 die cut to the card edge. A pair of MFT die cut leaves replaced the large flower in the sketch. One is cut from PTI's Canyon Clay felt, the other, OA paper. My sentiment (SSS) was stamped and die cut with a RC banner. Two PSX acorns replaced the small flower from the sketch. Finally I used a trio of DeNami Design buttons as accents. Wow, that's 8 companies represented on one card LOL!! I think that might just be a record!!

Thanks for popping in today, I appreciate it! ~Lisa

PP #295 & RS #215 ~ Love!

Hi! I found some extra time this week to squeeze in a challenge or two. I liked LeAnne's CAS wild thing theme at The Paper Players. Retro Sketches provided me with the perfect design, so I combined the two challenges.

My little Sweet P roars like a lion. In fact, when the dandelions began to spring up in the neighborhood she wanted to pick them. I told her they were dandelions and she roared!! Cutest thing ever!! So of course my wild animal had to be a lion. 

This little cutie is from Stamps by Judith. He's stamped on a Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Tags die and added to the card with foam tape. The papers I used are October Afternoon. I cut two strips with a grass die (Impression Obsession) and one with a PPP Stitched Borders 3 die. I can just picture this little fella hiding in the grass! The notebook die is from PTI and my sentiment is from Precious Remembrance Shop's This Moment stamp set. I liked the brushed scratchy look of it with the lion! A trio of 6mm Marigold sequins from PPP finish things off.

That's a lot of companies on one card LOL!! But I think they all work together and I love the way this turned out! 

Have a delightful day! ~Lisa

RS #211 & PP #291 ~ Congratulations!

Hi friends! Hubby went on an evening photography outing so I had some extra crafty time! I haven't played along at Retro Sketches or The Paper Players in forever. I made this card combining both challenges.

I used a panel of patterned paper by MME then dry embossed the lower portion of my card base. A vellum overlay holds the Reverse Confetti sentiment and provided a place for my layered butterfly to land upon. I felt it needed just a little something else, so I added a few pearls. We have a late May wedding that I think this will be perfect for!

I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of my Sweet Pea Stamp Set giveaway winner! Until then ~Lisa

Hey Chickie!

Hi! It's been a long time since I created a card specifically for a challenge with lots of behind the scenes stamping going on as of late. I had an urge to get into my vast collection of 6x6 paper pads! This one is for Retro Sketches, hope you like it!

I cut the MME paper using my Pretty Pink Posh Scallop Square and Stitched Photo Frames dies. The cute little chickie fairy and sentiment are by DeNami. I sprinkled on the new and ever so sweet Gold Mini Stars Confetti from PPP.

Speaking of PPP, are you aware there is a three day blog hop birthday celebration going on?  I'm up on the final day, but you'll want to get in on this one from the beginning!! Paulina has lots of fun and prizes lined up! Thanks so much for popping in ~Lisa

RS & CCCB ~ With Love!

Hi there friends! I have a card to share today for two challenges. I'll be playing along at Retro Sketches  and the color challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog. My card is a little on the shabby chic side, hope you like it!    

I started with a piece of patterned paper from Creative Imaginations. My focal is a collection of bits and bobs. I picked up the pretty little heart doily while on vacation a few years ago. The flowers came with it. I added die cut and stamped leaves by SSS along with a trio of MS punched butterflies. I like the way the sentiment from RC fits in to the scallops of my PTI die cut frame! Wow, that's quite a collection of companies on one card!

I'm very happy you decided to spend a little of your day with me! 

Thanks ever so much ~Lisa

RS #168 ~ Daddy!

Hey there! I have a card to share today that Sweet P will be giving her daddy for Father's Day!! I used this week's Retro Sketches challenge as my inspiration.

That little bit of rebel came out in me while designing this! I went with a rounded banner rather than a pointed one like the sketch. Actually, I already had that die cut laying on my desk and wanted to use it up. I think it works. I used a PPP Stitched Borders 2 Die on the angled piece and the Picket Fence Die for the horizontal piece from the sketch. Isn't this tiny fox the sweetest thing! I just bought him at the stamp convention in April from the Prickley Pear booth. My letters are from a set I picked up at Jo-Ann eons ago. All of the DP is by Crate Paper. 

I forgot to photograph the inside. Sweet P put her signature in there for her daddy! I rubbed some chalk on the end of her teeny little finger and let her put it on the card!! 

Have a great day friends and thanks so much for stopping by! ~Lisa

cQc #288 & RS #160~ I'll Be Here...

Hello and welcome! It's Tuesday and that means a new palette from ColourQ! I love the colors this week but will admit, this card was a loooooong time a comin'!! Working in the Bermuda Bay was giving me fits until I finally stumbled upon a shimmery scallop circle by The Paper Company I've had forever. The Retro Sketches challenge provided me with the idea for my design.

I layered a couple of DPs with my shimmery find. They were all die cut with PPP Stitched Borders 1 Dies, then added to a white panel. Mama Elephant's: In My Heart stamp & die sets seemed perfect with the papers I chose. Everything was added to a kraft card base along with a couple of little banners. They are sort of a substitute for the tail of the speech bubble in the sketch.

That's a wrap fro me today. Pop on over to the cQc blog to see what the DT has to share then get inky and link up with us!! Have a delightful day friends ~Lisa

SSS & RS ~ Heartfelt Thanks!

Hey there! I finally had time to play around with my new MISTI and I must say it has definitely lived up to all the hype! If you haven't purchased one yet, I suggest you work it into your crafting budget. I'm going to link this simple "first try with the new tool" card at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where it's an anything goes this week. My inspiration was loosely based on this week's Retro Sketch so I'll play along there too.

Now you're probably thinking what's the big deal here. Well, you see that label containing the sentiment? I was never happy with the way those lined up before. But with the MISTI you can get it perfectly straight every time! That and your sentiment too. I can't tell you how many times I've made a card only to stamp the sentiment crooked. Even with a clear stamp sometimes it can be a booger, especially if your stamp is ink stained. That's another issue with me. I don't like my clear stamps to get stained!! Am I the only one LOL??

So as I said, a simple card using PTI stamps and my new best friend!! 

Hope you like it. ~Lisa

RS #157 & NBUS #4 ~ Get Well!

Hidy ho bloggy friends! We have a beautiful sunny day here in Ohio, buts it's cold, about 30. Nonetheless, that sun sure does lift one's spirits and bring the hope of spring flowers peeking their happy faces out at us sometime soon! 

I have a whimsical little number I put together for two challenges today. Darnell has a new NBUS Challenge up and running. This is number 4 for my sweet friend and I know it will be another huge success! For inspiration I turned to this week's Retro Sketch.

I've used three Pretty Pink Posh dies on this card. The new Stitched Banner Duo & Picket Fence (this one is my NBUS!) and Stitched Borders 1. The stamps making up my scene are Impression Obsession: tree branch and Stamps by Judith: bees, hive & sentiment. PPP sequins (4mm Aquamarine & 6mm Marigold) are standing in as the buds on my tree. I layered a couple of them with a big flower from the Springtime Mix to anchor the sentiment. 

Thanks for popping by ~Lisa

RS #154 ~ Smile!

Hello sweet bloggy friends! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Hubby took me out to dinner after Mass on Saturday, just the two of us! I made a big pot of veggie soup on Sunday. We snuggled in, watched a movie and just relaxed. I did manage to make a card or two. This one today was inspired by this week's Retro Sketch.

I saw this as an opportunity to use up some older MME paper. I have just a few bits left from this 6x6 pad and would like to finish it off! After layering the DP and hand cut banners, I topped things off with a PTI tiny tag and a trio of wood veneer flowers. 

Thank you for visiting with me. I'll be back tomorrow with my card for a new ColourQ challenge. See you then ~Lisa 

RS #151 ~ Happiness!

Hey there, back with that card I mentioned earlier!! This one has a lot of die cutting and only one stamped image.  I've used this week's Retro Sketches challenge as my inspiration.

 

I never tire of this ME mat set, love the scallops and stitching. The ever so sweet patterned paper I've used is from a Making Memories 6x6 pad I picked up at Tuesday Morning for $2.99 ~ score!! And of course the tag from my PPP Stitched Duo 1 set was perfect for the sketch. Isn't the font on the sentiment by Impression Obsession just beautiful!! Too bad I got it a wee bit crooked ~winky wink! The two PTI Tiny Tags were die cut from snippets of one of my all time fave papers. I have one small square left...which of course will be hoarded!

And there you go, one more for a challenge!

 I hope you enjoyed your weekend ~Lisa

RS, CCC & SSS ~ Celebrate!

How has your week been? We started out with a drizzly rain this morning, then sleet and then a bit of snow. I've been hearing sirens in the distance, I have a feeling the roads are super slick. Hope everyone has a safe commute home today.

Have you seen this week's Retro Sketches? It's super cute and I've paired it up with the cue word at CASology ~ Birthday. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is Anything Goes so I'll play along there too!

Many thoughts came to mind for the scalloped part in the sketch. A paper doily, die cut doily, dry embossing, something stamped. But I finally decided to layer up a couple of PPP die cut borders. The layered banners from the sketch became layered RS tags. The focal tag is stamped with the cute DeNami Design Happy Monster. Isn't he a fun little fella!! The balloon & his eyes have Ranger Glossy Accents added to them. I forgot about the sentiment being on the front banner. So I had to go little and get creative since I didn't want to redo! This little celebrate by A Muse fit perfectly and I think it works!

I'm happy you spent a bit of time with me today. Be blessed friends ~Lisa

It's a Wonderful World!

Hello all! I have a card to share this evening for two challenges. First up is The Paper Players where my sweet friend LeAnne has given us the task to create a CAS card with our sentiment as the focal point. I knew I had the perfect stamp for this challenge! To get the inspiration for my design, I turned to Retro Sketches where another of my sweet friends Tracey has the sketch based on one of her previous cards.

See what I mean about the perfect sentiment!

I die cut a white panel with my PPP Stitched Borders 1 die then added the pretty MME butterfly paper to it. After stamping and die cutting my sentiment, I added it to a punched scallop circle. This was added to the card with foam squares. The sketch shows a rectangle, but I switched it up a little to work with my sentiment better. Hope they don't kick me out for that and for putting my ribbon tails in the wrong place LOL!! To finish things off I added a trio of pearls and some ribbon tails made from PPP Chevron Twill Ribbon (Champagne).

Thanks for visiting. Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for the Precious Remembrance Shop New Release blog hop. Two new stamps sets will be given away!! ~Lisa

cQc #274 & RS #147!

Hello friends! Are you ready for a new ColourQ challenge? Arielle picked out a fresh pretty palette to chase away those post holiday blues! I've used this week's Retro Sketch for my design.

I had a lot of leafy options to chose from, but decided on this pretty Berry Vine by DeNami Design. I stamped a kraft panel with the image several times using Fresh Snow ink then colored them in using chalk, a colored pencil and a gloss Gelly Roll pen

I like the way my sentiment (DeNami Design) tucks among them perfectly! The tiny scallop used to create the tab from the sketch are made from PTI's heart border. To finish things off and add a little sparkle, I reach for some of my Pretty Pink Posh Mossy Green sequins.

That's a wrap for me. My granddaughter will be spending the late afternoon with me today, can't wait!! ~Lisa

Looking back at 2014!

What a year this has been. I went into 2014 with pneumonia, (that was no fun), said hello and goodbye to design teams and joined the addictive world of Pinterest. The absolute lowest part of this past year was the loss of my sweet beautiful boy Max. I miss my little pup so very much. Thankfully the year was finished off with a beautiful gift from God...my precious granddaughter Penelope. She's a new bright spot in my life that came just when I needed her most.

Like so many fellow cardmakers, I'm taking a little trip down memory lane with my favorite cards from the past year. I've picked one from each month...enjoy!

January

February

March

April

May

 June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I wish all of you, my sweet blogging friends and followers, a Happy New Year. Your friendship, visits, encouraging comments and emails mean the world to me. I love having you in my life and am so happy you've joined me in this blogging journey of mine. May you all be blessed in 2015 ~Lisa