A Beautiful Season.....

Hello dear blogging friends: In my efforts to have a good stash of Holiday cards by at least November, here I am with another Christmas card that I hope you'll enjoy. I will play along with a few challenges at the end of this post.

This image is from one of my very first Stampin' Up! sets called "Beautiful Season" which came out in the 2011-2012 idea book and catalog, it's indeed BEAUTIFUL, love the sweet Chickadee perched on that lovely Holly branch.

I stamped it onto a piece of Arches 90lb. cold press watercolor paper, which was a gift from my granddaughter Vanessa, I love this paper, it's rough surface makes your image really stand out and the colors blend beautifully.

I colored it with SU markers and also a bit of Sakura Koi watercolors, the pattern papers are from a retired Lili of the Valley line, the sentiment is from the set and the Poinsettia flower from Power Poppy's Merry Littles.

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Finishing the inside of my cards is a great way to save time when I mail them. 

The sentiment is also from the "A Beautiful Season" set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Inspired by all the Little Things Challenge #77 featuring Linda Snodgrass.

The House that Stamps Built DCC13, "Things with Wings"

Craftaholics R Us Challenge #1 "Celebrations"

The Crafty Addicts Challenge #44 "Anything Goes/optional Winter Blues"

Just Us Girls

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Grateful.....

Hello everyone: This week, a dear friend of mine of many years was welcomed to be a Designer for a challenge blog named CAS(E) this Sketch, that friend is Mr. Brian King from Stamp With Brian.  I've been following Brian since day one back in 2013, I always enjoy his amazing talent and sense of humor, his kindness and generosity and, most of all, his friendship.

So, in honor of Mr. King's brand new Designer spot at CAS(E) this sketch, I'm submitting this card and I will play along with a few challenges at the end of this post.

This sweet little mousy is from my other favorite critter stamp set from Penny Black called Hugs. I stamped it onto a panel of water color paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with Sakura Koi watercolors, I sponged a bit of Tumbled Glass distress ink and stamped the sentiment from an old Flourishes set called "Lots of Thoughts".

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Finishing the inside of my cards is a great habit I picked up a year ago, it saves a lot of time when I mail them.

The sentiment is from another Flourishes stamp set called "Picking Wild Flowers", the little mouse is from a Penny Black set called Critter Party.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

CAS(E) this Sketch

Time Out Challenges Challenge #100

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #62 "Flowers"

As You Like It "Anything Goes"

Double D Challenge

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Here I go.....

Hello everyone: Here is my very first Christmas card of 2018, I hope it will be a great year for creating and learning, sharing and making new friends.

This card is made with one of my favorite Christmas Power Poppy sets called Spice it Up, I can almost smell the delicious aroma of cloves and oranges.

I'm linking this card to a few challenges at the end of this post.

I stamped this image on a panel of Blick Studio Drawing Paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold. My granddaughter gave me this huge pad of this paper and I really love it.  It is great to color with Prismacolor pencils and, to my amazement, it also can take heat embossing and water, it's very smooth and the colors blend beautifully.  I used SU markers and an aqua painter to color this image.

The ribbon is from my stash.

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Finishing the inside of all my cards has saved me lots of time when I mail them, it might take a bit extra time to do it but, in the end, the cards look beautifully finished.

The sentiment is from the "Spice it Up" set and the little mug from another Power Poppy set called Merry Littles, this is my "go to" set to add a little extra image to the inside of the cards.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Merry Monday

Freshly Made Sketches

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #273 "Holiday"

Christmas at Sweet Stamping "Anything Christmas Goes"

The Merry Christmas Challenge #1 "Anything Goes Christmas"

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express. 

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Spotlight Stamping for THE FLOWER CHALLENGE.....

Hello everyone: Before I continue, I want to thank all of you sweet ladies and gentlemen, who visited my blog and left such sweet comments this past 2017, I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and I hope you continue to do so on 2018.  I want to wish all of you a year full of Health, Joy, Peace, Love and Prosperity. Big hugs from my family to  yours.

My teammates and I at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE want to launch this brand new year with a fun challenge for all of you to play with, we hope you get some of your beautiful flower stamps and join us in our gallery.

Spotlight Stamping is a fun technique in which you stamp your image and then, color only some parts of it. You can do it directly on your panel or, stamp the image again and select what part or parts you want to  highlight and then, die cut them.  This is what I did on my card so I hope it inspires you to give this technique a try. 

I stamped this old Flourishes image from the set called "Picking Wild Flowers", on a piece of white card stock with Stazon black ink and then, I stamped the parts I wanted to color on some scrap watercolor paper, just so I can use my Sakura Koy watercolor on them, easy peasy. 

Then, I die cut both parts and attached them to the panel with foam adhesive squares.

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I always finish the inside of all my cards, this saves me time when I mail them.

The sentiment is from another Flourishes set called "Gerbera Daisies" and it's one of my most favorite friendship sentiments, the words are so true.

The little flowers are from the first set.

So, I hope you come and play along with us at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE, on this our very first challenge of 2018.  For more inspiration go to the blog and check out my teammates amazing projects, visit their blogs and leave them some comment love.

Please READ OUR RULES, they are easy but important, and also, please include our banner on your blog post when you upload your card to our gallery.

Thank  you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Dreaming of.....

Hello everyone: I know for a fact that, most of us up here in the Northern States are in the grip of Old Man Winter, who is blasting us with frigid temperatures, fierce winds and lots of snow.

It's inevitable to think about it, no matter how hard you try not to so, in an effort to maybe help you guys forget a bit about this very cold season, I have a card for you that will warm your heart in a few ways, heck!! I started dreaming of sun kissed beaches, warm sand, cold drinks and a tan, using a good amount of sun screen, of course😉

Ok, are you warm yet?  Most of you know I adore the House Mouse Siblings, they are always doing something cute and/or outrageous, LOL!!  I don't think many of you would like to find a little mousy taking a bath in your cold lemonade, would you? 

I stamped this little guy with Stazon black ink onto a piece of smooth drawing paper from a big block my granddaughter gave me last week. I love how fabulous this paper is to color with Prismacolor pencils and paper stumps dipped in Gamsol.

The patter paper is from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley, I love the bright and cheerful colors on this paper.

The sentiments are from a couple of Power Poppy sets, the top ones from Go Wild and the bottom one from Dynamic Duos:Peonies & Tulips 

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This is a picture of the finished inside of my card, I've been doing this every time I make a card, it saves me a lot of time when I mail them.

The sentiment is from another Power Poppy set called Short Stacks, the cute little kitty is from a Penny Black set called Critter Party, I colored it with Prismacolor pencils.

I would like to play along with the following challenges.

House Mouse Monday Challenge

Catch the Bug

heARTful stamping "Anything Goes+a stamp"

2 Crafty Critter Crazies challenge #10 "Anything Goes with a Critter"

Craftyhazelnut's Pattern Paper Challenge

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Fabulous Florets for SOS #335.....

Hello everyone: I hope your Holidays were amazing, spent in the company of dear family and friends. I wish for all of you Health and Joy, Peace and Prosperity for this 2018.

Well, we at SHOPPING OUR STASH have a brand new challenge for you to kick in the New Year of card making fun, we want you to use WATER COLORS in your cards.  This challenge is one that is close to my heart since I love water coloring, it's my most favorite medium to add color to all of my cards.

This card is made with an old favorite set from Stampin Up! called "Fabulous Florets", this little blooms are so beautiful and fun to color.

I wanted to give the NO LINE COLORING technique a good try this year, so I stamped the images with Tim Holtz "Tumbled Glass" Distress Ink and used my aqua painter and a few SU markers.

I added a few Rhine Stones and the sentiment from the set.

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I always finish the inside of my cards to save time when I mail them.

The sentiment is from Elizabeth Craft Designs and it just sends a message of hope for all of us who are enduring this deep freeze, there is still a lot of Winter still to come so, lets be patient and wait for those first signs of Spring very soon.

I hope you find a bit of time to make a card and share it with us at the SHOPPING OUR STASH gallery, we can't wait to see what you create.

Stop by the challenge blog page to see what my teammates have made for your inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my post, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express,

Until next time, happy stamping,

Hugs from Maria.

We Wish You a Very Pink Christmas.....

Hello everyone: I have a super cute Christmas card done in pretty much non traditional colors to inspire you to join my SHOPPING OUR STASH teammates in our gallery.

The theme is to use mostly the color PINK in your creations, we can't wait to see what you come up with. This challenge will run for 2 weeks instead of the normal 1 week, we know how busy this time of the year can be, with all the preparations for family visits and friends dropping by so, one extra week will be just fabulous for all of us.

This card was made with mostly stuff from my stash of ribbons, left over die cut paper (the frame was cut last month I think, for a card but I changed my mind), I knew I had some die cut greetings in my little box where I keep them and there it was, the "Merry" word, all I did was to die cut it again on some fun foam for dimension, I also found there the three little Christmas Lights there, also left over from another project. The background paper is from my stash of pattern papers.

The sweet little Elf is from a My Favorite Things set called "Santa's Elves", I purchased a while back on Ebay but never used so, I combined a bit of old and new on my card.  I stamped this little sweetie with Versafine black ink and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter, I added a bit of gold gel pen to the jingle bell on her hat.

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I always finish the inside of all my cards, this saves me time when I need to mail them.

I stamped all of this images with Tim Holts distress ink in Picked Raspberry.

So I hope you have a few minutes that you can squeeze in between shopping and cleaning to play along with us. For more inspiration, please go to the SHOPPING OUR STASH BLOG and check out the beautiful cards my teammates have there for you.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express. 

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.