Fusion: Glamping

I had fun creating this "glamping" scene......almost as much fun as Miss Emma did camping out in her backyard.  End of summer sales are everywhere and her father surprised her with a tent this week!  I enjoy the fire and the s'mores but then I am very happy to go home and crawl into my own bed.....and maybe watch a little TV or read blogs or watch a stamping video.....you know how it is!  But Emma had a grand time and slept all night long.....not sure how much sleep her folks got though.....

I love the inspiration at Fusion this week!  I used the picture as inspiration and a sketch from the Paper Players to design my card!

Stamp Sets:  Home Sweet Home (Avery Elle), Bookcase Builder (SU), To Thine Own Shelf (SSS), Weather Together (SU)
Ink:  Black, Copics, Distress
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Petal Garden DSP. Wood textures DSP
Dies: Stitched Hillside Borders (Lawn Fawn), Christmas Staircase Thinlits (SU), Weather Together (SU)

You Are The Best! FMS303

My high school class of '67 held its 50th reunion last weekend and a few of us got together for coffee in the morning just to chat. And chat we did! We covered all the hot topics from proms to teachers to concerts.....and boys!  I sent this off to the gal who organized our get together - it was great fun and we truly got to catch up before the evening event.

And three of us are also in this picture from 1967......wow that's long ago!

My talented friend (of less than 50 years) - Karren Johnson - drew up a fun sketch this week for us at Freshly Made Sketches!  Think in threes and play along!

Stamp Sets: Daisy Delight (SU), You (SSS)
Paper: Whisper White, Delightful Daisy DSP, Calypso Coral, Dapper Denim
Ink: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Dapper Denim, Old Olive

Wagon Load......CTS235

Back in the day I used a red wagon just like this to haul kids, beach toys, snacks, towels and everything else down to the beach.....and back.  But not any more - the latest wagon is yellow and green and runs like a "deere".  The Big Guy says I need to embrace change......I think that actually means "My toys are cooler than yours!"  Emma seems to agree!

Such a neat sketch at Cas(e) this Sketch this week!

Stamp Sets:  Grown With Love, Jumbo Stripes (SSS)

Paper:  Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant

Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray, Black

Moon Bites......FMS302

The August monthly kit from Hero Arts is full of amazing celestial images and a few out of this world papers - perfect timing to use during week that included a solar eclipse!  Here in New York it was only a partial eclipse but exciting just the same.  I sat on my porch and enjoyed watching the little moon bites dance across the walkway.

Now and then I stuck my arm out from under the roof, turned my phone to the sky and snapped pictures.

You can just see the moon on the upper edge of the sun.  Amazing!

Our delightful designer from France, Cecile Ribon, drew up a terrific sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Play along!

Stamps:  Hero Arts August Kit

Ink:  Black, VersaMark for silver embossing

Paper:  Hero Arts, Whisper White, Silver Foil, Basic Black

Casing Brian......GDP100

Global Design Project is celebrating 100 Sketches this week! They have a wonderful design team and this week's challenge is to case one of their designers.  I am casing this elegant card designed by my friend Brian King.

I don't have any cake images so I decided to stack up some mugs from a new Stampin' Up set called Hug in a Mug. It makes a sweet wintry card! I hate to think about winter yet but it is coming......look what I saw today on my morning walk......

Fusion: Black and Orange

We've already had some Halloween fun this week. Yesterday morning the dogs started barking and chasing a bat through the dining room! If I'm outside I'm ok if a bat flies by...... but in the house.....yeow!  But you know the Big Guy is never without a plan!  First he opens the front door while I toss him a tennis racket from the cellarway.  Then he closes the French doors to try to confine it to the main hall while I barricade myself in the laundry room.  Then he sits on the stairs while the dogs hopefully chase it out the open front door......but if it turns to head up the stairs ........ well you know what would happen!

We live in an area where a bat will find its way inside now and then.  The rational side of my brain knows they are harmless and valuable critters......but the irrational side of me makes me hide in the laundry room.   I am happy to report the little guy found the front door and escaped from a howling dachshund, two yapping poodles......and the Big Guy's racket!

We also had this visitor near our camp this week snacking on some berries along the road.......and the plan for dealing with this critter is simple........leave the area immediately!

 We have a great inspiration photo and sketch this week at Fusion!  I used both!  Hope you join us!

Stamp Sets:  Merry Cafe, Coffee Cafe, Season to Sparkle, Holiday Home, Cutie Pie (Lawn Fawn)

Paper:  Whisper White, Halloween Night DSP

Who Me? FMS301

Aren't you just waiting for everything to slide off that shelf and fall into the sea of jumbled letters? I am!  My father and I found always found humor in things slightly askew.....and I think that's how I like my friends too!  I may have trouble deciding who gets this card!

Like Cooper for instance.......just look at that smirk on his face!  It's as if he is saying of course I wanted to cover myself in smiley faces........why else would I have rolled in Emma's sticker stack?!?

Jen Brum, my talented friend from the north, has designed a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!

                                          

Stamps:  Bookcase Builder (SU!), To Thine Own Shelf (SSS)
Paper:  Whisper White, Color Theory DSP
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Berry Burst, Dapper Denim, Distress
Stencil:  Jumbled Letters (MFT)

What Was I Thinking?

The Big Guy is a very observant person.....me not so much.  I go through life in my own little bubble and take Emma with me! This week Emma and I went to the Post Office and I let her pick out my stamps.  She chose a page of Disney Villains with large, colorful images. We had a grand time talking about the villains and their movies.  I may have even sung a verse or two of the Cruella DeVil song while we happily slapped stamps on my cards to mail.  As I dropped the cards into the mail slot it dawned on me that I mailed two sympathy cards and three get well cards adorned with a crafty evil queen, a mean old stepmother, a shady conniving fox, a scary sea witch and a crazy croquet playing queen!  So not appropriate........

                                               

I used the sketch from Cas(e) this Sketch and the cue word Safari from CASology to design my card today.  And I guess it would be ok to use Scar from the Lion King on the envelope!

                                                     

Stamp Sets:  Hero Arts Safari Set

Ink:  Distress, Black

Paper:  Go Wild DSP, Tip Top Taupe

In The Pink

A few years ago I was at the Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City when my daughter called.  She was very excited that she had just signed up to sell thirty-one products.  I had no idea what they were. Well the ladies around me at the table filled me in right away and raved about their products - especially for holding or transporting stamping supplies!  So I am now a convert and my craft room is filling with all sorts of handy 31 products to hold supplies!  If you have a 31 product working hard in your craft room I would love to hear about it!

And then there are the lucky bags that get to go to the lake with us!

So this card is off to Erin to say Congrats on running a successful business and being promoted to Director!  (Her recent convention reminded me a lot of our SU! gatherings!)

I used the sketch from Cas(e) this Sketch and Fabulous Flamingo for my card today - had to keep with the pink theme for 31!

Stamp Set: Fabulous Flamingo

Ink:  Powder Pink, Lemon Lime Twist, Tranquil Tide, Black

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink, Whisper White

Happy 300 Freshly Made Sketches!

Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating this week......300 Sketches!  That is amazing!  Let's see according to my math....which can be sketchy at times.....300 times 10 Design Team cards plus 300 times an average gallery of 75 equals over 25,000 cards!  Yeow that is amazing! What is even more amazing is that no two were alike.   And it never gets old - I love seeing what everyone creates!  If you add your card to our gallery this week you get a chance to win all of the cards that the team designed this week!  Hope you join us this week to help us celebrate 300!

Stamp Sets: Wood Words, Beautiful Bouquet
Ink:  Flirty Flamingo, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide
Paper: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo
Dies:  Stitched Shapes (SU) Scalloped Frames (Pretty Pink Posh)

Fusion: Pastel Pencils

Words to live by.........but if you are reading my blog I bet you already know that!




             I used both the sketch and the picture as my inspiration at Fusion!  Hope you join us!

                                 


Stamp Set: Crafting Forever
Paper:  Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Emerald Envy, Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Pick A Pattern DSP
Ink: Flirty Flamingo
Die Cuts: Stitched Hillsides (Lawn Fawn), Pencils (Sugar Pea)

Whew! FMS299

Directions to make this card:

1 - Mask off rectangles and sponge inks in rainbow order to create vertical elements.

2 - Choose a large Happy Birthday sentiment and balloon images to stamp but decide to cut a stitched border before stamping.

3 - Make the Big Shot sandwich and totally fail to notice that there is a die stuck to the underside of the top plate.........

because there is cardstock being used as a shim on top of the plate which hides the rogue die!

4 -   Run your sandwich with the stowaway die through the Big Shot and end up with a stitched frame AND the word friend cut out in the middle of your project!

5 - Swear......loud enough so the Big Guy hollers "What's wrong?"

6 - Head to the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream then return to craft room fortified and ready to start all over.

7 -  Look at the ruined card front still on the desk and think......"Wait maybe I can save this!"

8 - A bit of trimming, a switch to butterflies and flowers, and a bit more diecutting and a new creation is born!

Whew this stamping stuff is hard work!

Kim our oh so talented designer from out west has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!

Stamp Sets:  Jar of Love (SU), Blissful Butterflies (Pretty Pink Posh)
Paper: Whisper White, Dapper Denim
Ink: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Dapper Denim, Distress
Lovely Words Thinlits (SU)
Glitter Enamel Dots (SU)