Hello Sunshine.....

Hi, there everyone: I hope you all are enjoying Summer, we certainly are.

So it's August, sheeesh!! half of 2019 is gone and now it's time for the new challenge over at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE, our theme is "Use Your Favorite Flower".
This month we have a fabulous Prize from Michelle from Clearly Besotted who is generously sponsoring us, and it's a £20.00 E-card for one lucky winner.
There are some beautiful stamp sets, stencils and dies at the store so make sure you go and check that out.  And for more great news, the amazing Therese Calvrid is our Guest Designer for the month of August, she is one incredibly talented lady so go check out her blog Lost in Paper, to see what I'm talking about, her videos are simply fabulous.

Here's my DT card for this challenge, hope it inspires you to come and play with all of us in our gallery.

One of my favorite flowers is the Sunflower so I'm lucky I have this gorgeous image from the Power Poppy set called In Praise of Sunflowers.

Sunflowers are beautiful, with their big, smiley faces and bright, sunny colors, their centers that hold the seeds that are so yummy to eat and that also, attract birds, from the humble House Sparrow to Finches, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Blue Jays and more.

I stamped this image on watercolor paper with Versafine black ink and clear heat embossed it then, colored it with Sakura Koy watercolors.

The pattern paper on the top is from Lili of the Valley (retired) and the "brick" on the bottom is from, believe it or not, some decorative backsplash, self-adhesive tiles that I found at Home Depot on sale, I thought they were so pretty and, since they are made out of vinyl, I thought they would look really awesome on cards.

What do you think?

********************************************************

This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

Both the sentiment and the corner image are from the same Power Poppy set.

I hope you come and check out my teammates' creations at THE FLOWER CHALLENGE blog and then, join us in our gallery.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

Hugs.

Maria.

Bookmarks at Tag You're It!

Hello everyone: I have a quick post to share today, I've been busy doing some much needed basement updating, cleaning and sorting things down there, putting stuff in boxes to be donated, I finally broke the barrier of wanting to keep my grandchildren's toys, books, etc., I feel like I was holding on to their babyhood and childhood, especially now that they are 21, 19, 16, 15 and 12.

This "pace saver" like I like to call them, was created with an image from a 2012 Flourishes set called "From the Desk Off.....", I cut the tag with a die set from Papertray Ink called "Half and Half", (I tried to get a link again to the store but that is the only one I found), I stamped the images and colored them with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is a combination of a Power Poppy set called "Springtime Love", I inked the words "I Heart" with markers and then stamped the word "books" with an Avery Elle alphabet set.

The book I have in this picture is a beautiful one, it's called "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach and it's full of inspiring and truly comforting short stories for each and every day of the year.  I love it because all you need to do is look for the date of the day you are living and you'll have a wonderful passage to relax you and reassure you, I have in on my nightstand and I pick it up once in a while when I need to feel things will be ok.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Tag You're It! Challenge

The Crafters Cafe

Steampunk or Ribbon and Lace.

Brown Sugar Challenge
Anything Goes


Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.
Hugs,
Maria.

Ferngully, the last Rainforest.....

Hello everyone: It's time for a new and fun challenge from SHOPPING OUR STASH, the theme is "BASED ON A BOOK", which means your cards should be created with a book, any book in mind, whether is fictional or not, we can't wait to see what you come up with.
My card is based on a book by Diana Young called
FernGully, The Last Rainforest, we still have the VHS cassette LOL!! The kids used to watch it all the time.
 Now, most of you know I love Fairies, real or not, these fantastic little creatures have always made me wish I could someday see one.
When my granddaughters were about 10, 7 and 6 years old, I bought them a book on  How To Make Fairy Houses so, during Summer Break, they spent countless hours in my backyard under the oaks and pine trees, collecting little twigs, rocks, moss, leaves, and bark to make little houses and I gave them scraps of glimmer paper, sequences, beads, Rhine Stones, and yarn to attract them, it was so sweet and we all treasure these memories now that these girls are 21, 16 and 15, sigh!!
Here's my card.

This image is from a collection of plain, unmounted red rubber stamps my aunt found at a thrift store a few years ago, they are the most beautiful images of Fairies I've ever seen.

I stamped the image on Strathmore Bristol Vellum Surface paper with Stazon Black ink and colored with my Prismacolor pencils, I used a retired SU set called "Field Flowers" and one from my stash of unknowns to add some greenery in the background. The grass and little flowers are from Arts Impressions.

*******************************************************
This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from an old Flourishes set called "Orchids" and it's absolutely beautiful, I use it every time I make a Fairy card.

The little mushroom is from a Power Poppy set called Natural Beauties.

So go look for your favorite books, create a card and join us in the SHOPPING OUR STASH gallery.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Digidesign Challenge

"Things with wings or tails"

Sweet Stamping Challenge Blog

Show us your Magical Makes.

The Fairy and the Unicorn

Anything Goes/optional Mermaids.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XO

Maria.

Tic, Tac, Toe for RETRO RUBBER.....

Hello everyone: The RETRO RUBBER challenge has a Tic Tac Toe board for you to play with, this is a very popular challenge because you have a lot of choices to pick from.  I picked the diagonal row: Pattern Paper/Texture/Color Pens/Pencils/Inks.

This coming September 1st. my hubby and I will be celebrating our 46th. Wedding Anniversary so, I created this card to slip into his lunch bag on that day.

I just love the sentiments on the front panel and on the inside, which complement each other perfectly. 

These cute little succulents are from a stamp set by My Favorite Things called "Sweet Succulents", which I bought a year ago last May, way before I made that resolution of not buying any more stuff and I'm so happy I did because I love it.

The pattern paper is from "My Paper Studio", the embossed panel was done with a Tim Holtz embossing folder, the table is stamped with a retired SU set called "Scene in a Garden", from the 2009 Occasions Mini then, fussy cut.  The Succulents are stamped on Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper and colored with SU markers and Prismacolor pencils and die cut using the companion die set, the sentiment is from the MFT set.

**********************************************************

This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment and other images are from the MFT set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Bitten by the Bug 2

"BANNERS"

Cupcake Inspirations

Happy Little Stampers

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

Hugs.

Maria.

A Couple of Christmas Tags.....

Hello everyone: Besides making a few Christmas cards I'm also making some Christmas Tags, which will come in really handy when the Holidays roll in.

I love all the images on the Power Poppy set called Merry Littles which I usually use to complete the inside of my Holiday cards.

These tags are created with a retired SU stamp and die set called "That's the Tag", it has some really pretty images and dies to create the cutest little tags.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Tag You're It!

Jingle Belles

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge

Anything Goes Christmas/optional theme, use twine or ribbon

"Less is More!"

My Time to Craft

Christmas in July.

Little Succulents.....

Hello dear friends: I love Succulents, these hardy and beautiful little plants are easy to keep and simply adorable. 

The images and sentiment are from a Power Poppy set called "Sassy Succulents, the pattern paper from my stash.

I stamped them with Stazon black ink and colored them with my Prismacolor pencils, I embossed the panel with a Stampin' Up! embossing folder called "Subtle Dynamic Impressions".

***************************************************

This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

Both the sentiment and the little Succulent are from the Power Poppy set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

"Less is More"

AAA Cards

Black and White Daisy.....

Hello everyone: When someone asks me what is my favorite flower I honestly can't say, I love all flowers, from the regal Rose to the elegant Iris, the happy Daffodil and the always smiling Pansy, Violas and Violets, the "humble" Daisy is so beautiful too, simple and sweet, whether in all white or yellow, orange and pink, Daisies are lovely by themselves or as a complement to any bouquet.

These images are from a retired SU set called "Every Moment" (2010-2011)

I stamped them on a black card base with white ink and colored them with Prismacolor pencils, the sentiment is from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

**********************************************************

This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The border is from a retired SU set called "Bordering Blooms", the sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Azalea, the small Daisy from Penny Black.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Addicted to CAS

Dragonfly Dreams

Things with Wings

Daisy Chain Challenge

Flowers

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

Hugs.

Maria.