WELCOME BACK, MERRY MONDAY!!!!!

Hello everyone: After taking the Summer off, the talented ladies at Merry Monday are back in business and I couldn't be happier, the challenge this time is to use the colors Black, White and Gold, which make very elegant Christmas cards. I couldn't make up my mind about what color to use as a background so, I made two cards, maybe you could tell me which one you like the best. I used the beautiful Botanical Blooms die set from Stampin' Up! on both cards.

This is the finished inside of this card.

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called POINSETTIA and the little Poinsettia in the corner from another Power Poppy set called MERRY LITTLES 

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Here is the picture of my second card, I had trouble photographing the gold flowers so I hope you can see them ok.

The sentiment is from my old stash of Christmas stamps, I heat embossed it in gold.

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

For this card I used one of the stamps on the brand new SU set called FATHER CHRISTMAS, I love this vintage Christmas images. The sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Christmas Candles".

So, which one you like the best? 

Here is the photo that inspired my card.

Merry Monday Christmas Challenge, use Black, White and Gold.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Autumn Fairy.....

Hello everyone: A couple of years ago, more or less, my hubby's aunt gifted me with a collection of about 25 amazing Fairy rubber stamps she found at a thrift store, in a cardboard box, dirty, stained, abandoned, unloved. She knows how much I love stamping so she got the entire box for $10.00 and gave it to me. After cleaning this plain rubber images I started stamping them to see what they looked like and, to me total surprise, they were the most beautiful Fairy images I've ever seen.
I've made several cards with them, and this one is next, I will link this card to several challenges at the end of this post.

I stamped the image with Stazon Jet Black ink onto a piece of Canson water color paper and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. I added some sparkle to her wings and the leaves with SU Dazzling Diamonds embossing powder.  I love the Fall Season and this Fairy is the only one in the bunch that has an Autumn theme, she is beautiful, her little mousy friend is too.

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

The sentiment and the leaf are from a set by Our Daily Bread called "Autumn Blessings"

I would like to enter this card to the following challenges.

Creative Corner Challenges Theme "Fairy Tale"

Woopsy Daisy Challenge "Autumnal Colors"

Sparkle and Sprinkle Challenge Use Glitter, Embossing Powder and or Flocking.

Ellibelle's Creative Moments Feature a Critter or a Creature.

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

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

Hugs from Maria.

Fairy stamp I used.

Hee Haw!!!!!

Hello dear friends: I've never lived in a farm but my maternal grandma had a chicken coup with about  10 gorgeous hens that laid the most beautiful and delicious eggs and a parcel where she planted tomatoes and green beans, carrots and cucumbers, green sweet peppers and really hot Jalapenos, going to spend the Summer with her was the best vacation EVER!! when I was a wee girl, unfortunately I didn't get her "green thumb" when it comes to planting veggies, the only thing I've ever planted in containers last year were tomatoes, which produced a few good ones.
This week at SHOPPING OUR STASH , we have a fun and fabulous challenge for you, we want to see FARM ANIMALS on your cards, from chickens to ducks, cows to piggies, sheep and horses, we want to see them all!!  So, go dig out your stamps from your stash and join us in the gallery. Here is my card.

This trio of girlfriends it's from Penny Black and it just makes me smile, the stamp is called "The Sensations" (the serial # is 2887K) and, as you can see, it's a gem. Looks like they are having some awesome fun down on the farm.

I stamped the image onto a panel of Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder then, colored it with SU markers and my aqua painters. No fuss, easy peasy. I sponged a bit of Broken China distress ink and water colored the grass, the sentiment is from Power Poppy Best Day Ever stamp set, I picked it because this gals are simply FLIPPING FANTASTIC.

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

Sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called Botanical Plates 2, the sweet images are from a retired Stampin Up! set called "Picnic Parade", one of my first purchases from the 2010 Occasions catalog, super cute little images, perfect to build adorable little scenes.

So, we hope you give this challenge a try, I'm sure you can dig out some fun farm images from your stash and create something fabulous to share in our gallery. 

So go and check the SHOPPING OUR STASH blog to see what the rest of the Designer Team has created, do not forget to stop by my teammates blogs, I'm sure you'll be totally inspired by them to give our challenge a try.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I appreciate your comments more than I can express in words. Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Other stamps I used.

The Apple of my Eye.....

Hello dear friends: Well, September is finally here, this is a wonderful month for several reasons.....the weather is fabulous, fall is just a few weeks away and the Orchards will soon be ready for all of us to go pick apples. This card is celebrating this very occasion, I hope it gets you in the mood for hot apple cider and delicious apple pie.

Don't you just want to grab one and take a bite? This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "Apple of my eye" and it has the most beautiful apple images I've ever seen.

I stamped this one onto Canson water color paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU markers, the aqua painter and Prismacolor pencils for shadowing, specially around the apples.

The patter paper is from a sadly discontinued line from Lili of the Valley. 

The sentiment is from the set, the yellow flourish on the corner is from 

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

The sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Berry Sweet", the apple from the "Apple of my Eye" set.

I would like to enter this card onto the following challenges.

Curtain Call "Candy Apple" challenge.

Match the Sketch challenge #140.

Ellibelle's Creative Moments Lets Color Linky Party 12

Inkspirational Challenge#116 Primary Colors Red, Yellow and Blue.

A Gem of a Challenge #177 "Ribbon, Lace or Twine"

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

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps I used.

Handmade With LOVE.....

Hello everyone: I'm thrilled to announce that I've been invited to be the Surprise Sweetie over at the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge for this week, it's a color challenge using Mint, Poppy and Kraft. Here is my card, hope you like it.

I love this retired set from Flourishes called "Stitched for You", this images are so endearing, they remind me of my maternal grandma, who taught me how to knit and crochet and also how to use the sewing machine.

I stamped this image onto Strathmore multi media water color paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU markers, I also added a bit of shimmer paint to the pins on the pin cushion.

The little scissors are stamped onto plain white card stock and fussy cut. They belong to THIS  Power Poppy stamp set called "Sage Advice", I think they also look like fabric cutting scissors, don't you?

I die cut the panels with Spellbinders Floral Ovals and Spellbinders Decorative Labels 8, the sentiments both in the front and inside of the card are from the set.

Here is a close up of those cute little scissors.

And this is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

This is the color chart from the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge that inspired my card.

I want to thank all the fabulous ladies over at Cupcake Inspiration, specially Naki, for inviting me to be their Guest Stamper this week, I'm loving being a Sweetie Guest, hope you give this color challenge a try.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps I used.

Golden Wings.....

Hello everyone: I love stamp sales, don't you? I found this beautiful Butterfly stamp from So Suzy Stamps on Ebay a few months ago so I bought it and today, I inked it up for the first time with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold. I'm linking this card to several challenges, which I will list at the end of this post. Here's my card.

I stamped the image onto a piece of light brown card stock and fussy cut it after I heat embossed it. The die cut corners on this panel are done with Tim Holtz die set called "Mixed Media Dies".

I used the retired SU stamp called "En Francais" for the background, stamped with Versamark ink, heat emboss it and sponged lightly with Baked Brown Sugar. The word die is from Elizabeth Crafts.

Here's a close up of this pretty butterfly.

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And here's a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from a set by Unity Stamps called "Your Wings Exist".

I would like to enter this card onto the following challenges.

Stamp, Ink, Paper "Wonderful Wings"

C.R.A.F.T Challenge #379, EMBOSSING.

Moo-Mania challenge "Nature's Beauty"

The Butterfly Challenge #61, use Kraft paper or a Kaleidoscope effect.

I chose the Kraft paper to heat emboss my butterfly.

Double D Challenge "Neutrals"

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

Hugs from Maria.

Never before.....Stickers!!!!!

Hello everyone: I'm safely sliding at home plate with this card for the "Less is More" Recipe Week challenge, this time is STICKERS. When I saw this challenge I was very excited because I had this beautiful Fall leaves stickers I bought a few years ago just because I couldn't resist the gorgeous colors and images of this leaves but, since I'm always stamping, I put them away and totally forgot about them, that is, until now, when I saw this challenge they immediately popped into my head but the problem was WHERE THE HECK DID I PUT THEM???!!!  I started looking for them every chance I had but, as the dead line for this challenge came closer I just gave up. Then yesterday, I was looking for a box where I had stored some colored sheets of printer paper to try my printer, which is acting up, and when I opened the box, well.....the stickers were just peeking from the side of the pile, how lucky am I? Anywho, here is my card that I'm so happy to share with several other challenges at the end of this post.

The only stamping I did on this card was the sentiment from the "Teeny, Tiny Wishes" from SU and some spots using the retired SU set called "Gorgeous Grunge". I did some score lines on two of the corners just for fun.

Here is a close up of this beautiful stickers. I did fussy cut around the leaves only to eliminate the edge.

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

The sentiment and leaf are from a Our Daily Bread set called "Autumn Blessings"

Here is one of the 4 sticker strips I still have, love these leaves.

How can I not buy this beauties?

I would like to enter this card onto the following challenges.

The NBUS challenge #7

"Less is More" week #291.

Aud Sentiments Challenge #163 Anything Goes+a sentiment.

Crafting With An Attitude Anything Goes.

Craft Rocket Challenges #23 Anything Goes.

Crafty Ribbons Challenge #165 Anything Goes with a ribbon.

DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge #187 TAGS.

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

Hugs from Maria.