Ho Ho HO! FMS516

 

The Christmas rush is definitely on the next two weeks.  We have had an icy snowy December.....until the last two days and the temperature rose to fifty...crazy weather!  Here is all that is left of a neighbor's snowman!

It was even nice enough to take Miss Pepper to the lake for the first time!  She didn't want to get too close to the water though!

These three amigos just seemed to work perfectly for the sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  It is our last challenge until the new year.

Hope Narelle's fun sketch will have you thinking in threes this week at Freshly Made Sketches! 

Stamp Set: Furry Christmas (SSS)

Paper: Whisper White, Penguin Playmates DSP

Ink: Memento Black, Copics, Distress

Santa's Sleigh.....FMS515

  

Not a drop of ink anywhere on my card today - just die cuts and fancy paper!  The Be Dazzling Specialty Paper is gorgeous and has a wonderful sparkle to it but no mater how hard I tried to get a good photo of it I couldn't make it happen.  It just looks like a snake has shed its skin across the top of my card!  Lucky for me the snake could spell....

Karren has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you will join us!

Stamp Sets:  Dies from Coming Home and Time of Giving (SU), Word Die from Hand Lettered Holiday (W plus 9)

Paper: Be Dazzling Specialty Paper, Peaceful Prints DSP, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Whisper White

Fresh Flowers....FMS514

 

All too often I come sliding through the finish line on Tuesday night with my FMS card that needs to be posted then for our Wednesday challenge.  I was quite proud of myself when I completed my card on Monday morning!  When I sat down to post it to our DT Blog Monday night I realized I had used the sketch for next week's challenge.......sigh.....

So here I am again rounding third and headed for home on Tuesday night!  I still need more Christmas cards so I made a few of these - keeping it sweet and simple like the sketch.

                                                                       

I love Cecile's square sketch this week!  Put your own spin on it and join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

                                                                           

Stamp Sets: Season's Blessings, Hero Arts Monthly Kit Nov. 2017

Paper: Whisper White, Tidings of Christmas DSP

Ink: Real Red, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Memento Black, Bumblebee

Fusion: Gray White

So much inspiration from the photo was used to create my card - the gray, the white, the bit of green.....and the pattern of the rug.  I did sneak in a few red berries - it is the holiday season after all!

I also snuck in a brand new embossing folder that will be available from Stampin' Up! in January called Gingham  I love the textured pattern it creates!

I used the sketch and the photo as inspiration for my card today!  Hope you join us for our final Fusion post of 2021!  We will be back with more challenges in 2022!

Stamp Sets: Cherish the Season, Holly Jolly Wishes

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Real Red, Shaded Spruce, Silver Glitter

 

Christmas Snowflakes.....FMS513

 

Keeping holiday cards sweet and simple certainly helps when there are a lot to make! Pretty paper also comes in mighty handy!  It's a busy start here to the holiday season.  We visited our favorite Christmas tree farm this past weekend - always a fun time.  A photographer was there doing a photo shoot so Miss Emma and Will donned their best Buffalo checks and had their photos taken - we await the proofs!

                                               

I used the snowflake as the circle element in Jen Brum's wonderful sketch this week!  Join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamps: Peace and Joy

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Tidings of Christmas DSP

Merry Christmas Word Die (SBC Words)

Peppermint Spice and Everything Nice.....FMS512

 

It is already hot chocolate weather here.  Our beautiful sunny fall has morphed into a dark, rainy and cold November.  I think that is why I love snow - it just brightens everything up!  So I will just sit here and sip my cocoa by the fire and wait for the flakes to fall!

Kim has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you play along!

                                                                     

The Fall/Winter 2021 Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is happening this week - glad they take cards with cocoa too because I love hot cocoa in the winter!

                                         

Stamp Set:  Cup of Cocoa (Newton's Nook)

Ink: Misty Moonlight, Memento Black, Copics

Paper: Whisper White, Penguin Playmates DSP

     

Holiday Magic!

 

I think Joanne was peeking in my craft room window when she created this week's challenge at the Paper Players!  My desk presently looks like this as I work on holiday cards:

I have been working with some beautiful holiday DSP from SU which is gray, silver, white and black.  I am adding some pops of color to some of the cards but just "let one card be" when I saw Joanne's color challenge!  Hard to photograph but the trees have pops of silver on the edge of their branches.

I stamped a silhouette image from Newton's Nook called Winter Memories directly on to Peaceful Place Specialty DSP and accented some of the snow with a light gray marker - quick and easy!

Fusion: Triangle Balls

I spent the morning crafting and the afternoon doing fall chores.  The hydrangea bushes needed to be cut back, the porch furniture was put away and the heavy quilts were taken out of the closet and put on the foot of the beds.  I love the rhythm of seasonal changes......even though I am still trying to adjust to the rhythm of that pesky time change!

The DSP has silver sparkly stars on it that were very difficult to capture in a photo!

I used both the picture and the photo for my Fusion card today.  Use what inspires you and play along!

Stamp Set/Dies: Happy Holidays (Doodlebug)

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Whisper White, Peaceful Place DSP, Peaceful Prints DSP, Brushed Silver

 

Holly Jolly...... FMS511

 

I am hosting this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  And since the holiday season is rapidly approaching I decided to keep it simple.  I embossed the holly images in white and then water colored them using Distress Inks.  I stacked the sentiment letters and put them on a simple vellum banner so the holly would show through - easy and fun to do!

In the meantime I am busy working hard to get this gal used to walking on a leash.  She is so full of joy and excitement about everything it is hard to resist that face when she "says" come on let's go for a walk!

                                                    

I am hosting this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  It is a simple wide open sketch so have fun with it!  Hope you join us - I love seeing all of your creations!

Stamp Set: Joyful Holly

Ink: Versamark, Distress

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Mad For Plaid DSP, Vellum

Die Cut Sentiment: Concord & 9th

Birthdays and Gotcha Days....FMS510

 

It's been a busy week around here getting Miss Pepper settled into her new life but I snuck in a bit of crafting time to make a birthday card for a friend.  It has been hard to get a lot done when someone is always ready to play - or go outside!  Pepper has settled in very well - is the perfect house guest - loves to play......loves the grandkids......but......the leash is her nemesis!

Oh we have had a few throwdowns trying on different collars and harnesses and the one she finally chose - accepted grudgingly actually -  was this lovely blue sports model.  We practice outside several times a day but the neighborhood squirrels and cats are powerful distractions!  

Because she is a rescue dog her actual birthday is unknown.  But I learned that rescue dogs are celebrated on their Gotcha Days so October 23rd will be her day from now on!  

                                         

Jen Mitchell's sketch was perfect to showcase these fall flowers and papers!  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Sets: Nature's Harvest

Paper: Whisper White, Harvest Meadow DSP

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Fusion: Pink Typewriter

 

My type of friend these days has black fur, floppy ears and a long tail!  Last weekend Erin, Emma and I drove five hours to Willow Grove, PA to meet a van carrying 32 pups from Tracy's Paws Rescue in Hondo, Texas.  My stamping friend Anne Marie Hile fosters pups for Tracy and I always love following their antics on her FB page.  I lost Abby, my 19 year old poodle, this summer so when I saw that Anne Marie was fostering a spunky pup that would be available in October I was all in!

It was amazing watching 32 rescue pups come off that van and handed over to new families!  Pepper is settling in nicely and loves everyone except the neighbor's cats!

I did some stenciling in light pink and purple behind my pink typewriter - fun! Use what inspires you at Fusion!

Stamp Set: You're My Type (Sugar Pea)

Stencil: Meet In the Middle (Colorful Designs)

Paper: Purple Posy, Basic Black, Whisper White,

Ink: Memento Black, Distress, Copics

Is It Halloween Yet? FMS509

 

I am sneaking in one last Halloween card before the big day this weekend. Hoping this crazy nor'easter gets out of here and the rain clears up soon.  Saturday we will be delivering treats to Pineview Commons, the assisted living facility where my mother resided for five years.  Emma and her friends will be in costume and will parade around the grounds - always fun for the kids and residents!  Over 100 bags are filled with treats for the residents and staff!  Thank Heaven for that pumpkin punch!

I used my favorite haunted house image on my card.  Before I stamped the house and bats I created the inked squares for the background.  I cut a 3 by 5 1/2 rectangle from a full size (8 1/2 by 11)  Avery Label sheet. (Thanks to Lydia Fiedler for the tip that Avery Label Sheets make great masks!)  Then I die cut three squares down the middle and applied that label paper to a  3 by 5 1/2 piece of white cardstock.  Using blender brushes I did the top square in orange and yellow, the middle square in yellow and green and the bottom one in green and purple.  Then I simply stamped the large house image right over the top!  Fun and easy!

I love Jen Timko's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!  My finished mini slimline measures 6 by 3 1/2.  Use whatever size works for you!

Stamp Sets:  Spooky Day and Wicked Together (Picket Fence)

Ink: Versafine Clair, Distress, Versamark

Paper: Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White

Oh So Perfectly Fall......FMS508

 

I love these simple flowers - ideal for sending birthday or get well wishes!

Nature's Harvest is such a perfect set for fall!  I die cut the flowers a second time in Crumb Cake and let it peek out just to add a bit of depth.  

Go ahead and make a scene!  Jacquie has a wonderful wide open sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamps: Nature's Harvest, Pond Pampering (CCC)

Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Harvest Meadow DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Copics

Fusion: Pumpkin Mug

Fall seems to last only a moment around here so I do make sure I enjoy every beautiful colorful moment! It is time to shuffle through those leaves and gather up the pumpkins!

I loved the pop of blue in the photo so I made sure to add it to my cup!

I rotated the sketch and also used the photo as inspiration for my card today!  Use whatever inspires you at Fusion!  Can't wait to see what you create!

                                 

Stamp Sets:Pumpkin Spice (Unity), Welcoming Woods, Enjoy the Moment

Paper: Come to Gather DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Ink: Copics, Memento Black, Crushed Curry, Just Jade, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze