Mini and Mighty.....

Hello everyone: I think this is the first time I post a card that is really small, this is maybe not an actual card but a note, something that I can tuck inside my hubby's lunch box Monday morning.

I will link this card/note to a few challenges at the end of this post.

This note card measures 3 1/4 x 3 1/4. The image is from a Power Poppy set called Sunny Harvest, I partially stamped it on watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU markers. The sentiment is from the set.

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

Both sentiment and flower are from the set.

I'm linking this note card to the following challenges.

Power Poppy October Challenge

Muse Challenge #237 Our Muse is Tracey M. McNeely.

Time Out Challege #94

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #56 "Autumn/Fall"

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #372 "Fall"

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.

Haunting with Horace.....

Hello everyone: I'm so getting in the mood for Halloween so I'm making a few more cards for my stash to send out to family and friends, near and far.

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

This handsome fella is a NBUS stamp from Kraftin Kimmie, I don't know why I haven't used it before, he is quite a looker, all dressed up and ready for some haunting fun.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Versafine black ink and colored with my SU markers.

The pattern paper is from my Halloween stash, the bats are die cut but I don't know where the die came from, might be from Cherry Lynn. I added a bit of Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Diamonds for the eyes, hope you can see it.

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This is a picture of the finished inside of my card. It's not a second card, just wanted to make sure to clarify this because of the challenges I'm entering.

The sentiment is from Inkadinkado and the black cat and spider web are from a retired SU set called "Bite Me"

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #180 "Boo/Halloween or Autumn Thank You"

Crafty Sentiments Designs "Halloween/Fall Challenge"

Tiddly Inks Challenge #206 "SpookaBoo!"

Try it on Tuesday "It's Halloween Time"

Tuesday Morning Sketches

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.

Trick or Treat with the Mice.....

Hello everyone: October is in full swing and soon, Halloween will be here so, his is your chance to increase your stash of "Spooky" and "Frighting" cards to send to family and friends.

The RETRO RUBBER challenge for this next 10 days is HALLOWEEN so, go look for those forgotten stamps you know you love, ink them up again and join my teammates and I in our gallery.

So hop over the challenge to see what my awesome teammates created for your inspiration.

Here's my card.

I just adore the House Mouse siblings and, can you blame me? I mean.....just look at these three sweeties Trick or Treating, all dressed up and looking so "scary". The label on this stamp dates back from 2002 but I bought it probably about 5 years ago.

This is a big image so I just stamped it on a piece of watercolor paper with Stazon black ink and colored it with SU markers and some Sakura Koi watercolors, the pattern paper is a piece I found in my box of retired SU DSP, it was just the right size for this panel, phew!! the ribbon is from my stash.

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Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.  I've been finishing the inside of every single card I make since January, this saves me a ton of time when I need to mail my cards.

The sentiment is from an old stash of Halloween stamps, I think it's from Stampendous but I'm not sure, I apologize for this.  The little spider and bat are from a retired SU set called "Googly Ghouls" that came out in the 2012 Holiday Mini. 

I hope you play along with my teammates and I in the RETRO RUBBER gallery, we can't wait to see what you create.

I'm entering this card on the following challenges.

House Mouse "Halloween"

Animal Antics "Autumn Colors"

The Crazy Challenge "Halloween"

2 Crafty Critter Crazies "Must Feature a Creature"

Animal Friends Challenge #55 "Fall/Halloween"

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.

If The Shoe Fits.....Wear It!!!!!

Hello everyone: There is a new challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH, this week, the theme is SHOES, shoes of any kind so, I created this card which that I hope will inspire you to come and join my teammates and I in our gallery. 

Aren't this Witch's shoes just awesome? This image is from my stash of retired Flourishes sets called "Witching you a Happy Halloween" it came out back in 2010, it has some fabulous images like this one. I stamped the shoes on water color paper with Stazon black ink and colored them with SU markers, the bats are from a background stamp I think from Penny Black but I could be mistaken.

The pattern paper is from my Halloween stash, I just realized I need to go get some more. I found the black ribbon in a bag of bits and pieces and it was just the perfect size.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Tee-Hee-Hee"

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

The sentiment and broom are from that Flourishes set.

I hope you stop by the SHOPPING OUR STASH blog to see what my awesome teammates have created for your inspiration and join us in the 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.

Hot and Spicy.....

Hello everyone: Sweater Weather is definitely here so I made this card featuring one of my other favorite pass times when the cooler weather arrives.....KNITTING. When my grandchildren were born, I knitted a warm and fussy blanket for each of them, not to mention baby booties, little hats and scarfs. I miss those days when they spent weekends with grandma and grandpa and each time, brought their blankets, dragging them around all over the place, sigh!! Where did the years go?

Anyway, here is this card that I will link to a few challenges at the end of this post.

This image is from an old Flourishes set called "Stitched with Love" and it just makes me want to cozy up with my yarn and needles and a hot cup of tea and knit away, I might just do that soon.

This stamp set was created by Marcella Hawley when she was designing for Flourishes and now, she has it as a DIGITAL IMAGE  at her Power Poppy store.

I stamped this image on watercolor paper with Versafine black ink and clear heat emboss it, then colored with some SU markers and Sakura Koi watercolors. 

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Cozy Cupfuls which I stamped along the curve of the die cut panel. 

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

Both the sentiment and the little flowers are from the Flourishes set.

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

"Less is More" Hot and Spicy colors.

CAS on Friday Challenge #118 "Fall/Halloween"

Crafty Catz Challenge #387 "Anything Goes with optional twist CAS"

Pattie's Creations Design Challenge #139 "Shades of Autumn"

That's Crafty! "Forever Autumn" 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.

CELEBRATE WITH US!!!!!

Hello everyone: Well, time sure flyes when you are having so much fun!!  We at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE are Celebrationg our 1st. Birthday, WOO HOO!!. We can't believe one year ago this fabulous challenge blog started with just a thought, an idea, a wish made by my dear friend and team leader Aileen Ryan from Colour and Sparkle who gathered all of my amazing teammates and me to join her in this adventure.

I must confess I was a bit intimidated maybe? by all of these incredible card makers from around the world, but all of them made me feel so welcomed and  comfortable to be a part of this team that I happily accepted and for that, I'm incredibly grateful.

This challenge is going to be a big celebration, not only because we have the amazingly talented Therese Calvrid, from Lost in Paper as our Guest Designer, but because we also have 2 fabulous former The Flower Challenge Design Team members, Karren Johnson, Lisa Tilson and last but definitely not least, we also have a new Guest Designer EunJi Jung with us to help CELEBRATION!!!!!  And that's not all, my friends, we also have some fantastic prices for you, our loyal followers, from some of the best companies out there who so generously offered to contribute some fabulous stuff for you to win.  We are so grateful to all of you for helping us along the way by sharing your beautiful creations with us every month, you have made our gallery look amazing and my teammates and I have had lots of fun admiring your cards so, be sure to hop over THE FLOWER CHALLENGE blog to get all the details about this Anniversary Post, to check out my teammates amazing creations and to upload your cards to the gallery.
Please be sure to READ OUR RULES, they are a bit different just for this challenge.

This is the card I made to celebrate our 1st. Anniversary, I hope it inspires you to get crafty and join my teammates and I in the gallery. 

And this is THE FLOWER CHALLENGE banner, please be sure you add it to your post when you upload your card to our gallery.

The beautiful image I used for my card is from Power Poppy, who is one of our fabulous sponsors.  I asked Marcella Hawley to help us celebrate and she happily accepted and offered a $30.00 gift card. This set is called Daffodils, which are some of my most favorite flowers. After a looooong Winter up here in Crown Point, IN. one of the first signs that Spring is coming are my Daffodils bravely peeking out of the cold soil after their Winter slumber, their pretty, bright flowers give me so much joy.

I stamped this bouquet onto a panel of water color paper and then I colored it with water colors and my Prismacolor pencils for detail and shading.

Then I fussy cut it to prop it on my card front, it was a bit hard but I have a great pair of small scissors and I also put a couple of pieces of Scotch tape behind the smaller parts like the leaves and the pins, that way the paper holds on better and the image is intact. I added a couple of Rhine Stones to the pin heads and a few scattered around.

The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley.

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

The sentiment and party horn are from a Power Poppy set called "Marcella's Mixed Tape 2"

For more inspiration, hop over to THE FLOWER CHALLENGE blog to see my teammates gorgeous creations and also, to READ THE RULES for this challenge, then join us in the gallery.

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous contributions for our celebration, you made this challenge even more fun.

I want to thank all of my teammates and especially Vivien Hodge, for being our most awesome boss, LOL!! she kept this blog running smoothly, nudging us once in a while to upload our cards, creating the gorgeous water marks and banners and fixing links and stuff like that for us.

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.

Snail Mail is Happy Mail.....

Hello everyone: Like the title says, "Snail Mail is Happy Mail", there is nothing sweeter than opening your mailbox and finding a handmade card from your friends and family, among the dreaded bills and junk mail.
So here is a card I created celebrating our beloved "Snail Mail" and I will link it to a few challenges at the end of this post.

This ohh!! so adorable image is from a Penny Black set called.....Critter Party. I stamped it onto a panel of watercolor paper and then, made a mask of it to sponge the grass and sky. The little envelope is from a small set from Technique Tuesday I got as a gift, I colored these images with watercolors and added some detail and shadows with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Natural Beauties

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

The sentiment is from two Power Poppy sets, Everything's Even Rosier and Azaleas

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

2 Crafty Critter Crazies

A Inky Mess Challenge #14 "Anything Goes" Just for fun.

Aurora Wings Challenge #58 "Clean and Simple"

Penny Black and More October Challenge "Close to Nature"

AAA Cards Game #100 "Sketch"

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.