Hitching A Ride......FMS652

 

I'm not too sure about hitching a ride with this crew from the Bag of Bones set! But I do think they are the perfect crew to be on Will's Halloween card!

My grandson Will visited this week and made a birthday card for Cousin Emma.  She is having a pool party so he wanted a water scene. 

 He actually stenciled some waves and learned how to use the Misti to add mean sea creatures under the waves.

And of course you need to add bombs to scare the mean critters away from the swimmers!

And he finished it all off on the back with donut sprinkles because who doesn't like donut sprinkles?!?

I am hosting this week at Freshly Made Sketches. My sketch was inspired by a holiday project in Brian King's Super Awesome Fun Time Card Kit class - always a fun class to take!  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches and put your own mark on the design!

The Mind Plays Tricks.....FMS651

 

The last two weeks in August just zoom by as we try to pack in more summer adventures before school starts for the grandkids!  On tap this week is a back to school shopping spree, the County Fair, last visits to our favorite ice cream and vegetable stands before they close for the season. I peeked at the sketch a couple of days ago and thought  I had it firmly in my mind before I left for the Library Staff picnic on Sunday. And you know how that goes - when I returned I was waaaay to tired to craft and didn't get back to my card until Tuesday afternoon but I still remembered the sketch.....so I thought....

While the Big Guy headed out to get us pizza for dinner - hey I was busy crafting - I took the photos of my card and posted one to the FMS site.  And then I noticed....the rest of the team actually followed Jen's great sketch but I flipped it around. Too late to change it and the pizza had arrived so I stuck with this oh so Fall card!

We mean it  at Freshly Made Sketches when we say feel free to put your own spin on our design! Hope you join us!

Stamp Set: Signs of Fall (Newton's Nook)

Paper: Them Bones DSP

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Christmas Eve....FMS650

 

The die cuts from the retired set Time of Giving worked perfectly with Judy's sketch this week. I am thinking I may make a few more of these this week to add to my stash!  I also plan to soak up the sunshine these last two weeks of summer.......wow summer flies around here!

Judy has a fun sketch for us this week! Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches !

Beach Days - #TTTC254

 

The rich colors of the designer paper in the background were the driving forces behind this beachy card.  I am a fan of a lot of white space so this was waaaay out of my comfort zone. But I managed to sneak in some white in my beach house so I was happy! I have never surfed in the ocean - watching those surfers in the Olympics last week took my breath away! Amazing! Now if they gave medals for floating on a pool noodle in a swimming pool I'd be all in.......

I was thinking beachy when I designed this week's board at Tic Tac Toe. I went across the bottom row - hope you join us!

Stamp Sets: Beach Day, Beach Happy

Paper: Full of Life DSP, Berry Burst, Wild Wheat, Crushed Curry

Ink: Memento Black, Berry Burst, Copics

Summer Snowman....FMS649

 

This happy snowman from the new set Filled With Cheer definitely adds cheer to a holiday card. Decorating a tree and playing in the snow sound like the perfect holiday to me!  But right now I'm happy enjoying the sunshine and summer fun!

Our latest adventure involved mini golf and ice cream in Lake George....

and whatever this is......

Love Amy's sketch this week - hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

I'd Pick You! FMS648

 

I am late with my FMS card this week - but what a week! We had another stretch of way too hot weather. When I went upstairs to my craft room Monday to start my card a soft rain had started. All of my windows were open as I was hoping for a cool down! Then without any warning the wind roared and torrential rain fell. It was pouring through my windows like someone was throwing buckets of water in.  I ran around to close all 11 of them and grabbed towels to start sopping up the water. Before I even finished the storm ended and the sun came out.

But when I looked out this is what I saw.....

And this.....

And this......there is a house behind all of that.......

It is being called a microburst and it blasted down our street for a block and a half then left as quickly as it came. Our block lost several beautiful trees but not one hit a house!  The clean up is pretty much over today but the landscape of our street is forever changed.  I'll miss all those big guys shading our sidewalks. 

Power has been restored but we do have a streetlight still lying down on the job shining its light to the sky!

The good news is that no one was injured and not one house was smashed.....and I finally got back to my craft room to finish my card!

Narelle has us thinking in threes this week!  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Set: Simply Zinnia (SU!), Sentiment from Photoplay

Ink: Memento Black, Granny Apple Green

Paper: Wild Wheat, Lemon Lolly, Fresh Freesia, Wildly Flowering DSP

Holiday Cardinals......FMS647

 

One holiday card finished!  Only 999 more to go! No I don't really make that many but I am notorious for starting my holiday cards way too late so it seems like I have a zillion to make all at once! I found a sweet sheet of DSP in my retired holiday stash and used it as a backdrop for the cardinals from the new holiday set Wintery Trees.

And while I was crafting my daughter took Emma and her friends to the new Minions movie to escape the afternoon heat!  I love how they dressed up like minions and made my daughter dress like Gru - whoever that is!

                                           

Karren designed a wonderful sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Hope you join us!

Stamps: Wintery Tree Tops (SU!), Holiday Silhouettes (Gina K)

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Paper: Blueberry Bushel, A Walk in the Forest DSP

Celebration! FMS646

 

Confetti, streamers and balloons - always festive for a birthday celebration! It has been a wild week around here with excessive heat and then horrible thunder storms and tornadoes - very unusual for our area.  The tornadoes - about 7 or 8 of them I believe - were small and short lived but they did plenty of damage. They swept down the Mohawk Valley and then up into the Adirondack Mountains. Literally hundreds of trees down! Our camp lost power for three days as crews worked to clear the roads and repair the power lines. Directly across the lake from us a pontoon boat and the dock it was tied to was lifted out of the lake, up over the road and then smashed into a parked car and the house near it.  Amazingly no one was hurt but the clean up continues.  So I am actually celebrating a return to normal summer weather here...............

Cecile has such a fun sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!

Stamps: Attention Shoppers, Beautiful Balloons

Ink: Memento Black, Concord & 9th: Buttercup, Briar Rose, Watermelon

Paper: Fresh Freesia

Stencil: Confetti by Honey Bee

Big Hugs.....#TTTC252

 

I participated in the Concord & 9th Summer Camp recently - such a fun event!  Amazing creativity from the instructors - and the campers! Everyone was assigned a cabin - with a counselor - who was also a very talented stamper! I was in the Creamsicle Cabin with Jennifer McGuire as our counselor.  It was a two day event and it was full of ideas and beautiful cards!  I confess I haven't completed all of the projects but I will get there! Each "cabin" received a unique die set for every "camper". Our cabin members received the sweet die set I used on my card today!  A fun way to let someone know you are thinking of them!

I went straight down the middle of the Tic Tac Toe board for my design today. Hope you join us!

Die Set from Concord & 9th

Paper: Berry Burst, Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green, Crushed Curry, Full of Life DSP

Scoop! There It Is! FMS645

 

Definitely ice cream season here - sooo hot!!  My favorite ice cream is Stewart's Philly Vanilla.  Stewart's Shops are all over northern New York - definitely the splace to go for milk, gas and ice cream! I like to have a few ice cream themed cards on hand because I often send Stewart's ice cream gift cards in with thank you cards or even thinking of you cards - always a hit! And a whole pack of ice cream themed sentiments from Impression Obsession was a big hit with me! I used my favorite sentiment first.....my kids sang that song waaay too much back in the day!

I love Jen Brum's sweet sketch this week!  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Sets: Share a Milkshake (SU!), Ice Cream Sayings (IO)

Ink: Versafine Black

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Bubble Bath, Sweet Sorbet, Early Espresso, Silver Metallic

Where the Art Is.....FMS644

Kim designed the perfect sketch to show off DSP so I used panels from Unbounded Beauty to showcase the new In Colors from Stampin' Up! I filled the flower box with those same colors for the flowers and leaves. The result is a sweet summery card which must have been inspired by recent 90 degree temperatures. Way too hot for upstate New York! One of these days I may  have to invest in an air conditioner for my craft room! In the meantime I plan to join this parade to the beach!

 Kim designed a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Hope you join us!

Stamp Sets: Country Birdhouse

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Paper: Unbounded Beauty DSP, Pecan Pie, Pretty In Pink, Shy Shamrock, Peach Pie, Summer Splash, Petunia Pop

Summery Thank You...FMS643

 

Celebrating the warm weather here with a summer themed thank you card.  Even though the temps are higher now it takes a long time for that lake to warm up after winter and a cool rainy spring. But playing on the shore and splashing around keeps those grandkids entertained just as well as swimming! Lazy summer days are the best!

                                                                                 

Hope you have a fun filled Fourth of July holiday!

Have fun with my sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Put your own "stamp" on it!

Stamp Set: Seaside Post (Concord & 9th)

Ink: Memento Black, Concord & 9th

Paper: Full of Life DSP, Basic Grey, Starry Sky

Refreshing!.....FMS642

 

It has been very hot and summery here so I thought a splash of cool fruit would be just what I needed! There is no AC in my craft room so simple stamping and die cutting was definitely part of the plan!

Over the weekend we had lots of muggy heat,rain and heavy thunderstorms so we took Emma and Will to a nearby science museum and planetarium.  Perfect way to "chill" for the afternoon!  Here Emma is teaching Will how to edit photos.......

Result looks familiar........

I always love square sketches by Jen Mitchell!  But you can change it if it works better for you! Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Set: Just A Note (LDRS Creative), Fancy Phrases (Gina K)

Paper: Starry Sky, Pecan Pie

Ink: Starry Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Poppy Parade, Memento Black, Shaded Spruce, Daffodil Delight, Evening Evergreen

Double Bubble....TTTC250

Here's a sneak preview of an upcoming Halloween set from Stampin' Up! available next month. My style is usually CAS and I rarely make scene - on a card that is - but I just had to make  a witch's den with these images.

When I make such a card I'm always thinking of a back story.  I can see that Halloween witch in an old shed brewing up some magic.  The paint is peeling off the walls and the floor and her potions and magic books are handy.  The sentiment is stamped right on the wall because that's what a witch would do - just write it on the wall!

But witches can be girly girls too so there's a touch of gold on her broom and shiny sequins on the pot.  And where is this witch?? I believe she heard her cat meowing at the door after a night on the prowl and she went to let her in.............

I went down the right side of our grid for my card today.  Hope you join us at Tic, Tac Toe!

My blog title today is Double Bubble because I thought Shakespeare wrote "Double bubble, toil and trouble" way back in 1606! But the correct quote is "Double, double, toil and trouble".  Double Bubble was a bubblegum back in my day and for the longest time I thought the name of the gum came from that line in Macbeth! I can still remember the first time reading the correct line in Freshman English class and laughing at my craziness.....

Stamps; Potions and Spells (SU!)

Ink: Memento Black, Copics!

Paper; Granny Apple Green, Crushed Curry, Pecan Pie, Gold, Country Woods DSP