Hanging the Stockings.....

Hello everyone: The Merry Monday challenge this week is hosted by Sue Joyce and she chose a theme of Christmas cards for kids so, using the awesome sketch from Mojo Monday I created this card.

This image is from Lili of the Valley and it's stamped onto Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. I sponged some SU Baked Brown Sugar to give the illusion of a fire place, I don't know if I succeeded in this but I do like the vintage look this ink gave to this panel.

The pattern paper is from my stash and the sentiment is from Power Poppy's set called Spice it Up! .

I added a little bling with a few red Rhine Stones to the sentiment and the little red bow on the mantel. The image is die cut with Spellbinders Decorative Labels 8.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from the same Power Poppy set, the little present is from another Power Poppy set called Merry Littles, which is my "go to" set to add something pretty for the inside of my Christmas cards.

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

I think this stamp is discontinued, I've had it for about a year now and I couldn't find it at the store.

Let's Have Tea.....

Hello dear friends: I have some really awesome news!!! I've been asked to join the Shop Our Stash Challenge Blog Design Team and I couldn't be happier. I've come a long way from my very first post, but it was until much later that I started participating in challenges mainly because I'm a bit computer challenged.  Most of you who have followed me from by very humble beginnings know that I love this craft but you also know that I'm a bit challenged by all the techy stuff around blogging and posting pictures but, with the fabulous help of my more experienced blogging friends I've been able to learn a lot about this stuff since I started this little blog back on December 9th. of 2014 so, it's my privilege and joy to create my very first post for the Shopping Our Stash Challenge #255 with a theme of "Tea For Two", you can use Coffee also, here is my card.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "Let's Have Tea", I love this tea pot, I can imagine sitting with a dear friend having a cup of fragrant tea and chatting for a while.

I stamped the image onto Strathmore Multimedia water color paper with Dove Gray Stazon Ink and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter, the pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley and the ribbon from my bottomless drawer, I don't seem to be making any kind of dent in it at all!! 

I always like to finish my cards inside, this saves me a ton of time when it comes to mailing them.

Both the sentiment and the little tea pot and cup are from this same set.

I hope you give this challenge a try.  I'm linking this card to the IN{K}SPIRE_me challenge, I used their sketch to create this card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Papa Bear Father's Day.....

Hello dear friends: June is well on it's way, the weather is getting warmer and Father's Day is just around the corner so, with this special day in mind and using the fabulous sketch from Retro Rubber challenge #40this week and the Father's Day theme from The Paper Players and the Uniko Studio Masculine theme with the twist of "Father's Day", the Cute Card Tuesday challenge #428, I created this card.

This is a discontinued or retired stamp from Lili of the Valley, I had this stamp for over 2 years. I stamped the image onto Strathmore Multimedia water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I like this paper because it's thinner than the 140lb. I use sometimes therefore it's easy to fussy cut your images like I did in this case. I cut the Papa Bear sitting on his comfy chair looking at his little cub giving him a Father's Day gift, the slippers and coffee and cookies are part of this image too, I just thought they would look so fabulous "laying" on the "rug".

I colored this images with SU markers and the aqua painter, the paper is from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

I hope you guys give this challenge a try, as always, please use stamps that are at least one year old, this is really not so hard to do, all of us have a bunch of this beloved stamp sets in our craft rooms so, lets ink them up and share them in our gallery. 

Please stop by the fabulous Retro Rubber designers to check their beautiful creations and get inspired to participate. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

House Mouse Friend to Friend.....

Hello dear friends: Most of you know how much I love, love the House Mouse siblings, the images on all the stamps are endearing and adorable and this little critters are doing all kinds of fun and sweet stuff, one can't help but love them.
The "Just Us Girls" challenge is asking us to make a card with BIRDS in it so, I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps Weekly Challenge #128 to make mine.

Now, is this sweet and adorable or what? This stamp is called Hummingbird Feeder.  I stamped the image onto Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, I've found out that doing this, helps a lot when water coloring because the color stays inside the thin line of embossing. I colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. For the Hummingbird's green feathers I used a  Crayola marker that had this vibrant color matching the actual color of this beautiful birds.

The patter paper is from a retired line from Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is from SU Teeny, Tiny Wishes, punched with the retired Word Window punch.

I started finishing my cards this year as a New Year's resolution, it saves me a ton of time when I send them to family and friends.

The sentiment and the Hummingbird are from a retired Flourishes set called "Humming Along" and the flowers in the corner are from a retired SU set called "Peaceful Petals". 

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

Here are the stamps I used to create this card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Try Stamping on Tuesday #273.....

Hello everyone: The Try Stamping on Tuesday challenge blog has a new sketch for us to play along, this is the card I made with it.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "Grab a Cup", I love all of this fantastic images.

I stamped this one onto a piece of Strathmore Multimedia water color paper after masking the lemon wedge on the stamp, and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. The flowers inside the cup are from a retired SU set called "Every Moment", I also stamped them on water color paper and then, fussy cut them, they look very similar to the flowers on this image then, I die cut it with Spellbinders circle dies. 

The butterfly is from SU Papillion Potpourri and it's colored with Melon Mambo ink, the sentiment is from SU Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

This sentiment is I think from Penny Black but I'm not sure, the butterfly is from the same set from SU, this is such a beautiful group of images.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps I used.

Christmas Tea with Me.....

Hello everyone: The Stamp, Ink, Paper challenge has a really fabulous sketch and I used it to create this cheery Christmas card.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called Christmas Tea, I stamped it onto Canson water color paper  with Versafina Onix Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I use SU markers and the aqua painter to color it.  Having a cup of tea in one of this cups must taste delicious.

I love the beautiful Holiday detail on this cups, I think they are so elegant. The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley and, unfortunately their line of beautiful papers is discontinued, I was lucky to grab about ten 8"x8" pads when they announced they were not bringing them back, (sigh).

The sentiment is from my stash but the little Holy and Berries are from this set.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The inside sentiment and the little cup are also from the set.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card, which has some modifications to accommodate my image.

Hope it's ok.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps used to make this card.

Happy #200 CASology.....

Hello Dear Friends: I posted this card yesterday but, something happened to the post, when I came to check it was gone so, I hope it's ok that I post it again for you, I always send the posts to myself so, I'm going to write it just like I did yesterday. I apologize if you came to see my card and there was nothing on the blog.

Hello dear friends: I've been AWOL for more than a week!!! my last post was on the 26th. of May but I haven't made a card longer than that. My hubby was on vacation for 10 days and, even if it's fun to have him around, at times it was a bit nerve wracking, LOL!! I really tried to come up here to my craft sanctuary but, hearing him trashing around in the kitchen or sweating bullets in the yard, made me feel kind of guilty and, to be perfectly honest, I really don't like to turn him loose in my kitchen, he tends to use every single pot or pan to make a simple pancake batter, bacon and eggs so, I rather go down there to keep my eyes on him.
But enough of this, lets get started, shall we?
The CASology challenge blog is celebrating it's 200th. challenge so, to celebrate, I made this card.

I used the sketch from "Less is More" and the CAS on Sunday request for us to use SPARKLE on our cards. This sweet image is from a super old "There She Goes" set, I stamped this cutie patootie onto a piece of Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and colored it with SU inks and markers, the greeting is from a retired SU set called "Perfecly Penned" and it's also stamped with Versafine ink.  I fussy cut this little girl and used dimensionals to separate her from the diagonal piece of gold gitter paper, I also cut a little piece to add to one of the gifts.

I love her dress and boots in bright Daffodil Delight.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment and the little gift are from the same set.

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

Use sparkle on your cards.

Thank you for stopping by today, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps I used.