A Flowery Reminder.....

Hello dear friends: Well, all of us over at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE  are thrilled and grateful for the amazing response we are getting from all of you who joined us in the gallery of this, our very first challenge blog post. We hope you continue to enjoy this blog and come to visit often and participate in subsequent challenges, we simply love all the amazing cards you have submitted, keep them coming.
Here is a card I made for the mid month reminder, so I hope you like it, get inspired and come to the challenge and join us in the gallery.  To get more inspiration, visit my teammates blogs to see their beautiful creations and leave them some sweet inky love.
                                                                   

This image is from the Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley called Spring Time Love and, even if we are in the middle of October, beautiful flowers are really for any time of the year.

I stamped this image onto a die cut circle of Canva water color paper with Versafine black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I like how the raised borders of the embossed images keep your water colors from bleeding out. I colored it with SU markers and an aqua painter.

The pattern paper is from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley, I was lucky enough to grab a bunch of 8x8" pads and packages before they were gone.

I die cut a piece of pink card stock with the retired SU Labels die set and paper pierced it. The ribbon is from my stash. 

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

I was lucky I had this roll of washi tape that looked like the ribbon in the front, this organza ribbon is kind of hard to stick to paper. The sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Tulips for Friends" and the little flower on the corner from the Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley set called Country Side Bouquet Delux, colored it with Prismacolor pencils.

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

Hugs from Maria.

BITE ME!!!!!

Hello dear friends: I've been busy this past couple of days doing some Fall gardening, cutting dead branches, mowing the grass and, believe it or not, racking leaves!! Autumn is here and I love it, the only thing I do not like to much is the racking of the gazillion of leaves that are starting to fall but, all things considered, this is a minor detail in exchange for the gorgeous colors around my house.
Anywho, I have a card today using a little stamp I've used before for THIS CARD I made for my grandson who is a Chicago Bears fan. I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan since age 15!!! I'm 65 now so, do the math, LOL!! This time there is no football theme, just this fun image for you to enjoy. I will link this card to a few challenges at the end of this post.

I don't know for sure where I got this pumpkins stamp, it's so old and, back then, when I started making cards I never bother to write down or save the package they came in so, I apologize for not having this information, I've been looking for it, but so far, no luck.

So I stamped this image onto a piece of Canva water color paper with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder, I cut the image with a rectangular die and did the outside the box technique to make sure the bottom of both pumpkins were not cut out by the die. 

I colored them with SU markers and an aqua painter, super easy. The pattern paper is from my stash, the bats are die cut and the sentiment is from a SU set called BITE ME!  Super fabulous images and it's on sale now, woo hoo!! 

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

Here I mixed some old stamps, the spider web, from Stampabilities and the sentiment, from an old Flourishes set called "Witching you a Happy Halloween", with a new one, the big spider coming down from the web, from the SU set "Bite Me!"

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

Hanna and Friends Challenge #259

 

Addicted to Stamps and More 

Stamping Royalty

The Male Room challenge #46, Halloween.

Double D Challenge "Pumpkin Time"

Creative Moments Challenge #104 "Show us your Pumpkins"

Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate your comments more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

All Wrapped Up!!!

Hello crafty friends: This week over at RETRO RUBBER  it's Halloween time!!! One of the most fun Holidays in the year so, we want to see your spooky, bewitching, mummylicious creations on our gallery.  I dug deep into my stash of Halloween stamps and found this one from Whipper Snapper called Mummy Cat, I just love this "spooky" half wrapped mummy kitty, I've had this stamp for at least 5 years.

I stamped the image onto a piece of Canson water color paper and made a mask of the moon, so I could sponge the sky with Broken China distress ink. I colored him with SU markers and an aqua painter, adding some Wink of Stella to the ripped strips of cloth. The big bat on the cat's tail is from the bargain bin at my local craft store, the flying witch is punched with a Martha Stewart punch.
I die cut the frame with the Fleur the Liz die set from Spellbinders.  The ghosts are stamped onto Tracing Paper with Dove Gray Stazon and then fussy cut, it was a bit hard to do this since this paper is super thin but I wanted them to look ethereal and I think I accomplished this. Here is a closer look.

I can't help but smile at this "frightening" scene.

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

The sentiment and the spider webs are from Inkadinkado and they've been in my Halloween stash for at least 5 years. 

Here is our banner to get you in the mood, we can't wait to see your cards in the gallery.

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

Animal Friends Challenge #43, Halloween/Autumn. Must have an animal.

Just for Fun Challenge October challenge "Halloween"

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #118 Halloween/Autumn.

Paper Creators Challenge "Anything Spooky"

Pink and Main challenges 

Paradise of Stamps Challenge #49 "Halloween/Autumn.

Scrap N" challenge September Challenge "Halloween"

Scrap from your Heart #2 "Halloween"

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

Hugs from Maria.

Friendship Bunch.....

Hello everyone: I hope Autumn is showing up with it's gorgeous colors in your little corner of the world, up here in NW Indiana, some of the trees around my house, are starting to change into lovely shades of gold and orange, it wont be long till all of them look amazing.
This week over at SHOPPING OUR STASH, we want you to get inspired by this colors to create your cards and join us in the gallery. I'll include our color chart to guide you and inspire you. Here is the card I made and, for more inspiration, just hop over my teammates' blogs to see their beautiful creations.

This image is from a very old and retired Flourishes set called Gerber Daisies. I stamped it onto a panel of Canva water color paper that had been die cut with the Cross Stitched die set from GINA MARIE DESIGNS with Versafine black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I then colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter.  The pattern paper is from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley and the ribbon from my stash. I'm making a very definite effort to use my ribbon stash, I've been resisting the temptation to buy more, I need to make a dent on the rolls I have.

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

Both the sentiment and butterflies are from this pretty set.

Here is the inspiration colors for this fabulous challenge.

We hope you play along, we can't wait to see what you create.

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

Happy Little Stampers October Challenge "Anything goes with dies"

Art*Journal*Journey Indian Summer/Golden October/Autumn challenge.

Stamping Sensations October/Autumn.

Penny Black and More October Challenge-Autumn

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #133 Embossing Wet or Dry.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Pink Lady Sleepers.....

Hello everybody: I have the Power Poppy set called Orchids Rock and I've been wanting to ink it up since I bought it about a month ago so, I'm taking advantage of a few challenges in which the main color they are asking is PINK, here is my card. I will enter it in a few challenges at the end of this post.

This flowers are so amazing in real life, I had to go and look for a picture of this beautiful Orchids called "Lady Sleeper" so I could have an idea of what colors they come in so I can color my image. I found this picture on Google so I tried my best to mimic this gorgeous colors.

I stamped my Orchids onto a piece of Canva water color paper with Versafine black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, I like the sharp, defined lines and the embossing powder keeps your water color where you want it, with no bleeding out.  I colored with my SU markers adding a bit of shadow with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is stamped with Strawberry Slush onto a die cut piece of vellum and also clear heat embossed.  

The patter papers are from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley, the ribbon is from my stash. That little butterfly is from a stamp set I had for several years, the problem is that I threw away the package and never bother to write the name of the company or the name of the set, this was way before I ever entertain the idea of having a blog.

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

The sentiment is from The Ton stamp set called Pyrotechnics, the die cut is from Cuttle Bug, I added a pink ribbon to remind everybody that October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, early detection saves lives!!!!!

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

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 

CRAFT ROCKET CHALLENGES #25, use ribbon and or lace.

The Alphabet Challenge "P is for Pretty in Pink"

Cut It Up Challenge #106, Pink or Breast Cancer Awareness.

Inspiration Destination Challenge #106 Anything Goes.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Trick or Treat with Monica.....

Hello everyone: This morning I was looking for some challenges to make some Halloween cards for family and friends and I found one called Craftaholics  and the challenge is to make Halloween cards for girls.  Now, many of you know how much I love the House Mouse siblings so, as soon as I saw this challenge's theme, my mind fluttered to this sweet stamp, here is a Halloween card I was asked to make by one of my Triathlon friends (perfect timing for this challenge), her little step-granddaughter wants to be a butterfly for Halloween, isn't that so sweet?! She is 5 years old and her grandma has been working hard making the costume, I just hope the weather will cooperate on Halloween day up there in Spokane!!
I'm linking this card to a few challenges at the end of this post.

This image is from House Mouse and it's called Monica Butterfly, she is adorable, isn't she?

I stamped this image onto a die cut piece of Canson Water color paper and colored it with SU markers, the aqua painter and Prismacolor pencils.

The pattern paper is very old from SU, the other papers and the ribbons are from my stash.

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

The sentiment is from my stash and the little spider and bat from a retired SU set called "Googly Ghouls", scary aren't they?

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

Moving Along With The Times challenge #30

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Photo inspiration.

Crafty Ribbons Challenge #170 "Halloween Colors"

C.R.A.F.T Challenge #384 Photo Inspiration.

Craftaholics R Us  Challenge #4 "Halloween Cards For Girls"

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

Hugs from Maria.

Joyful Elf!!!!!

Hello everyone: I have a card I made with the sweetest little Elf I've ever seen, it's called Little Elf Finn from Penny Black. I saw THIS CARD on Pinterest and I CASE'd it, I just changed the sentiment and the colors a bit.  Now, I will let you bask in the cuteness of this adorable image.

Well, isn't she just beautiful? I have had this stamp for a while and I don't understand why I haven't inked it up before, I think I was waiting for the perfect time to do it and I found it at the Merry Monday challenge, woo hoo!!

I stamped the image onto a piece of Canva paper with Versafine black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, I found out that heat embossing your images makes water coloring them easier because the embossed areas keep the ink from bleeding out.  I used SU markers and lots of Dazzling Diamonds for her hat, trim and puff.  I die cut some snowflakes with silver foil paper and heat embossed in silver glitter the JOY sentiment. The bow is from my stash.

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

This sentiment is from a Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley set called Poinsettia an the little bottle brush Christmas Trees from the set called Merry Littles, I use this set all the time to adorn the inside of my cards, all of this images and sentiments are just darling.

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

Merry Monday Challenge #216 "Elves"

Craft Dee Bowz "Anything Goes include a hand made bow"

Incy Wincy Designs "All that Glitters"

Sparkle and Sprinkle October Challenge "use glitter, embossing powder or flocking.

Snow Flake Promise Challenge 30 "Twist of the Seasons"

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

And don't forget to stop by The Flower Challenge on it's first challenge and join us in the gallery.