Wishing You Joy - FMS206

My two favorite Stampin' Up! colors are Soft Sky and Cherry Cobbler - and here they are hanging out together on my card! I love the swatch of Soft Sky behind the ornaments. It reminds me of scraping off a frosty window to see what's on the other side!  

I am hosting this week at Freshly Made Sketches. And I must add that hanging out with the gals on this team brings me joy. They are a talented, kind, and entertaining group of crafters! Oh and did I mention enablers?   Our FB page is full of discussion (and links) about all sorts of products out there in the craft-o-sphere!  I hope you hang out with us this week and try your hand at my sketch - three elements, a sentiment and you're done!  I love to see what you create......

                                                   

My Cup of Tea!

  


It is time for the Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop!  That Amy Tsurata sure throws a great party!  So many wonderful sponsors.....so many wonderful cards!  Tea drinkers and cocoa drinkers are welcome - whatever gets you through a long day/night of crafting!  It took two cups of tea and a few snack size Three Musketeers to get me through this card! Just another reason to love cardmaking!

Since I am a tea drinker I combined two tea sets on my card: Tea Time by Avery Elle and My Cup of Tea by Lawn Fawn. Stampin' Up!'s designer paper Cherry on Top was perfect for the background - kitschy and kitcheny!

The Paper Players have a fabulous layered sketch this week - perfect for a CAS gal like me who likes a road map when things get complicated!

                                        

Challenges! PPA269

The sketch this week at Pals Paper Arts is unique and a bit daunting at first.  But when I saw the amazing creative cards that were being made with it I decided to give it a go - I do love a good challenge!  I got an unexpected day off yesterday when Miss Emma and her parents left for a weekend visit to Washington DC. so I headed to my craft room.  I used Vintage Leaves in my interpretation of the sketch.  I hope you give it a go - this is a fun one!

Flying with a three year old can be challenging as well - good thing Dad's a pilot and knows the ropes!

Into the Night.......FMS 205

When I look at this card I think of Snoopy typing on the roof of his doghouse......It was a dark and stormy night.........

The ink was hardly dry when my daughter swooped into my craft room and said ...... oh wow this is perfect for my friend's Halloween birthday.....and just like that my card disappeared into the dark and stormy night..... 


Rita gave us a cool banner to play with at Freshly Made Sketches this week. I used the big sentiment from Howl-o-ween Treat and images from Among the Branches, Amazing Birthday and Happy Scenes along with Happy Haunting DSP.   Hope you play along!

So Sweet.......#GDP003, CTS#141

The baby challenge at the Global Design Project site and the fun sketch at Cas(e) This Sketch were made for each other!  The sketch is slightly askew - perfect for babies since they are often slightly askew.......unlike toddlers who are always so well put together......

                                    



                                                

If the Hat Fits......#GDP002

Just a little Halloween fun today.....I was inspired by my trip the post office this morning......and the sketch at Global Design Project!

I am a super fan of the USPS.  We've always had great mail carriers and the gals at our main office are wonderful.  This morning I went to mail a package and the lobby was empty except for a gal with a clipboard.  There was a bell at the counter with a "Ring me" sign.  I tapped it once and saw the counter gal moving a cart in the back.  She saw me, nodded and all was well.....so I thought.  It took her a few seconds to put that cart away which was fine by me but obviously not fine with the clipboard lady.  Clipboard lady marched to the counter, reached next to me and rang that bell loudly several times.......I was speechless.  The counter gal approached and explained she was just moving some packages but clipboard lady didn't want to hear it.  She marched away taking notes.....and then it dawned on me that she worked for the post office and was there to evaluate.  Ah yes.....inspiration can be found in so many places!

                                               

Peace...PPA268

I am keeping with my gold and bold theme for Christmas with this card for sure!  I love how those bold stripes from Winter Wonderland complement the retro trees from Festival of Trees!


There's a sweet simple sketch at Pals Paper Arts this week! Hope you join us!


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Baby Talk - FMS204

This card is headed to a fellow stamper who welcomed a sweet baby boy this week. My baby boy turns 34 this week - yikes!  And his babies are the furry kind!  I have posted pictures of them before and I have received many questions about those adorable pups and their names. So a recap.......

Corduroy is the new guy.....called Cordy for short....three months old, part poodle, part shih tzu, part dachshund.  He is named for a certain snow condition skiers call corduroy! 

Adirondack is a toy poodle named for the Adirondack Mountains and is called ADK for short.

Silas McConkey is named in honor of the late freestyle skier Shane McConkey. Silas - Si Guy as we call him - is half poodle and half dachshund.

And you've figured it out by now.....my son loves to ski!

I used Something for Baby and Sweet Talk DSP on my card. I changed Jen Timko's wonderful sketch from landscape to portrait to accommodate my hanging onesie!  Put your own spin on our sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!

Emma Is Three!

Emma is three today! It's been a big birthday week for her - she started pre-school AND got her first pair of skis!  The Big Guy (or Hey Hey as Emma calls him ) has been a ski coach for a zillion years and three is the magic number for him - that's the age he thinks a little one is ready to ski. So Emma got her first pair of skis and boots yesterday.  She was so excited and told me all about them and ended with ".....and then I am going to stand on the water and Daddy is going to pull me with the boat...."  Hey Hey has some work to do......

    The Fusion Challenge has a Back to School Theme going on - perfect for this time of year!

                                     

Snail Mail! GDP001

There's a new Design Team in town - the  Global Design Project - featuring some very talented Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world!  Their first challenge this week is a sweet color challenge and my first thought was baby card!  But then that little voice in the back of my head took over and I decided to have some fun with my design. The animals from Zoo Babies are definitely losing the race with the snail from Better Than E-Mail. After all who doesn't love snail mail?



                                          

               Stamp Sets Used:  Better Than E-Mail, Zoo Babies, Chalk Lines, Banner Banter

Clean and Simple? FMS203

The seasons are changing and Halloween will be here before we know it! Our final summer weekend at the lake was highlighted by a trip to the county fair and a bonfire on the beach.  Delightful!

I consider this a clean and simple card but as I sat down to write the post I am starting to rethink that simple part!  It took 7 stamp sets and some Winter Wonderland DSP to make this card come together! There are images from:  

Celebrate Today

Holly Jolly Greetings

Frightful Wreath

Among the Branches

Holiday Home

If The Broom Fits

Endless Birthday Wishes

That amazing Jen Mitchell has a delightful sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Hope you play along!

                                     
                                                           

Stamp Review Crew: Vintage Leaves

Those Vintage Leaves are gorgeous no matter how you stamp them!  I kept them neat and clean and trimmed with gold.  I am definitely on a gold kick these days. Last year it was all about silvers and blues for me at holiday time - this year it is gold and bold!  The sentiment is from Watercolor Words and stamped in Blackberry Bliss.

Even though the calendar says September we are having a heat wave - high 80's and maybe even 90 before the week is over!  Not going to complain - the cold weather will be here soon enough.  I have no AC in my craft room - we hardly ever need it here.  But I do have a nifty stand up fan that turns to keep me cool.  Paper crafting in front of a fan should be an Olympic Sport!  I have to quickly get a sequin or piece of cardstock glued down before the fan makes a return trip and blows everything around!  I give up trying to corral the backs of those dimensionals - it's like stamping inside a snow globe when that fan swivels by!

If you missed Bronwyn Eastley's amazing creations head back to her blog. Otherwise hop ahead to see what that talented Mike Funke has in store!

                                                  

                                                       


              I used the sketch at Cas(e) This Sketch for my design.


                                                

If the Broom Fits......

Sometimes I just can't help myself...............stamping can be very entertaining.........


Love our sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches this week so I flipped it and made another card using If The Broom Fits and Kind Koala! There is still time to play along!

Autumn Leaves......PPA266, CTS138

Just a scattering of fall leaves give you a hint of the season to come.  I am headed to the lake for the holiday weekend where I plan to enjoy the sunshine and totally ignore those random leaves that are beginning to turn already!


There is a beautiful fall color combo at Pals Paper Arts this week! I used these colors on the leaves from Among the Branches to create my card today.  Hope you play along!  

 

                    This sketch from Cas(e) This Sketch is delightful!


                                               

Going for the Gold.......FMS201

Turning that calendar page to September made me think about the holidays - time to start the Christmas cards!  I decided to go glam with my first card of the 2015 season! Winter Wonderland Vellum just shines with its golden design! The bough image from Wonderland is embossed and flipped for fun. A tiny star from Holly Jolly Greetings tops the pinecone. Gold cord, a gold button and a gold embossed sentiment from Happy Scenes completes the look!

But in the meantime we are holding on to the last golden days of summer!  Here are the two youngest members of our family saying hello at the beach yesterday! According to Emma......"Corduroy is my best friend"..........

Emma - Age 3

Corduroy - Age 3 months

Ourr talented team member Amy has a wonderful sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!