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 

Sky's the Limit!.....FMS641

 

Emma's dad is a pilot so we worked on this card together for his birthday.  She still loves to stencil so she provided the lovely clouds in the background. I think she was glad to sit still a while after a very hectic weekend with a two day dance recital and two day horse show.  All I had to do was to sit back and enjoy the performances!

These airplanes worked perfectly for the two upper elements of the sketch!

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

Stamp Set: Adventurous Sky

Paper: Take to the Sky DSP

Ink: Distress for cloud stenciling, Memento Black, Copics

Sweet Summertime....FMS640

 

Strawberry season is here in the Northeast so I thought fresh berries would be perfect for our sketch today.  June also means end of the year school activities for those two grandkids. Soccer games and dance recitals on tap for this week!  

Back in the day the Big Guy and I would be packing up the kids and the dogs to head to the lake for the whole summer.  It was great fun but a lot of work!  My son is now up there keeping things going for the summer - much to Will's delight.  We got this picture from him the other morning......

Our boat broke loose during an overnight storm and wound up on our neighbor's rock wall.  Fortunately there was no major damage....and even more fortunately the Big Guy and I didn't have to swim out there to pull it in! (Yes we have done that more than once!) We have handed over the resposibilities to the next generation and are very happy to be daytrippers!

Think in threes for Judy's great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Set: Berry Sweet (Scrapbook.com)

Paper: Poppy Parade, Lemon Lolly, Granny Apple Green, Orchid Oasis, Berry Burst

Ink: Versafine Black

Way to Go Will! FMS 639

 

This card is for Will who graduates from Pre-School next week. Then it is off to Kindergarten in the fall.  Already it seems like the years are "Racing By!

This fun card came together quickly which was a good thing because I came down with pneumonia this week and so did Miss Emma!  Craziness! We both got antibiotics and I got some prednisone too for an extra boost!  We are still arguing over which one of us passed it along to the other..... :)

"Poor" Will only had his dogs for company this weekend on his boat ride at the lake since part of his crew was  on sick leave!

He doesn't look too unhappy about it!

I love Amy's collage of shapes this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!

Stamp Set: Racing By

Paper: Ready To Ride DSP

Ink: Memento Black, Copics, Basic Gray, Poppy Parade, Shaded Spruce

Memorial Day 2024.......FMS638

 

 Two parades, two picnics, and two cemetery visits to remember veterans in our family kept us busy this past Memorial Day weekend.  Uncle helped Emma build a rocket for a school project and Will spent a lot of time bouncing on his new trampoline. And I carried a book around for three days thinking I would get a chance to sit quietly by the lake and read but it never happened......maybe next weekend!

Narelle's sketch was perfect for my Thinking of You card using the new Spotlight on Nature set. Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

StampSet and Dies: Spotlight on Nature, Sentiment from Bold Bloom (Gina K)

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Unbounded Beauty DSP

Eggs-actly!

 

True Confessions:  I am the world's worst on-line shopper when using my phone! I never get an order straight - always end up with an extra item or two - or totally miss something I thought I ordered.  I have a small sized iPhone which I love for convenience but obviously not the best for shopping when you are someone like me. I need to just shop using my computer!

Anyway my cousin and I usually exchange sweet treats for our birthdays and this was the sentiment I used on her card last year....

And of course I browsed other sentiments while shopping last  year and somehow ended up with the one I used today.  So this year I think I will break tradition and take her out for breakfast and give her this card.

It was the challenge at The Paper Players that got me thinking punny.....

You Rock - TTTC248

 

I rarely break out the glitter paper but decided a rock and roll themed card was the place for it!  A simple fun card today with a masculine feel to go along with the challenge at Tic Tac Toe.  I am so glad I grew up in the rock and roll era......so much fun.....so much dancing......and the thrill of getting to pick out a new 45 record every other week when my dad got paid!  And then came the Beatles and the music world just exploded.......

Have fun with out Tic Tac Toe challenge no matter which line you follow!

Stamp Sets: Rock Star (SU!), Sentiment Stamper (Paper Smooches)

Paper: Rock and Roll DSP, Glitter Sheets

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Summer 2024! FMS637

 

It has been a crazy busy week here helping out with grandkids and switching gears to summer - which seemed to arrive overnight! We set up the back porch, got the boat ready to launch and dragged out the summer clothes. I attended a wonderful shoebox swap but the prepping of 25 kits and 25 other swaps took sooooo much time. 

Then suddenly it was Freshly Made Sketches day and I was not on schedule!  I always photograph in daylight but ran out of daylight on Tuesday night after a fun day chasing this guy around...

The solution? I popped my card under my Ott light on my desk at 9 pm and called it a day. Didn't want to miss out on Karren's wonderful sketch this week!  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Set: Happiest Day (SU!), On My Mind (Concord & 9th)

Paper: Frames and Flowers DSP, Thoughtful Designs DSP

Ink: Memento Black, WIld Wheat, Petal Pink, 

Chillin'.....FMS636

 

The trees have their leaves back and the spring flowers are blooming so it won't be long until we are hanging out at the lake! That is definitely what I was thinking about when I made this card.   

The DSP I used as my backdrop is from a new SU! set called Country Woods. All the sheets of paper have lovely woodgrain designs on them. But there was just something different about this sheet and somehow it made its way onto my beach card.  I think it looks just like the spot where the sand meets the water on a beach. So it worked perfectly on my card!

I love Cecile's fun sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches! So many possibilities!  Have fun with it!

Stamps: Beach Hut Set (SSS)

Paper: Petal Pink, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Memento Black, Copics