Hi

 

Hello, happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July weekend. I absolutely had to join the latest card challenge at Just Us Girls this week, because my lovely friend Lisa Elton of Paper Tales mailed me a card this week with this amazing die. It was like a sign from the Universe. LOL. The Hi die from The Stamp Market is huge and takes up a large portion of an A2 sized card, so I decided to keep it simple and let the sentiment be the star. And since it creates both a positive and negative when you die cut it, I created two cards with one swipe! Using patterned paper from Fancy Pants Meology Painterly 12x12 collection, I created both focal panels by die cutting them with a stitched rectangle die from Paper Rose. I die cut the Hi using plain white cardstock and more patterned paper from the same Fancy Pants collection. On the chartreuse card, I used the white outline and filled in the letters with the patterned paper. On the blue card, I did the opposite. I embellished both with more patterned paper from the same collection by using a flower puch from Stampin' UP and finished them off with large clear rhinestones from Recollections! Thank you, Lisa, for the lovely gift, and thank you to all who have popped by my blog today! Be sure to tell me which card you liked best.  

You Look Better Without Him

 

Today's card was created for the latest Paper Players card challenge. No one likes to think about a long-term relationship ending, but we all know it happens. I have a friend whose daughter just ended her marriage, and she asked me to create a card for her. I used Kelly Purkey's F Bomb stamp set and heat embossed it onto some pink cardstock using Ranger's white detail embossing powder. Using various punches from Stampin' UP and dies from Spellbinders, I created lots of circles, hearts, and flowers using beautiful, patterned paper from Echo Park's Hello Valentine 6x6 paper pad. I created a panel by die cutting a rectangle using a Paper Rose stitched rectangle die, embossed it using a Spellbinders plaid embossing folder, and adhered the whole panel down onto my white A2 card base using thin foam tape for a little added dimension. I adhered the circles I created onto the focal panel using Bearly Art liquid glue. I embellished the card using some Recollections clear rhinestones in various sizes. I love how this card turned out! Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend. 

Sweet Holiday Wishes-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we are celebrating Christmas in July. I created this fun card using Sunny Studio's Christmas Cookies mini stamp set and some white heat embossing. I stamped the images onto some sand cardstock from Hobby Lobby using Versamark ink and Ranger's detail white embossing powder. I used my Copic markers to color the images in shades of brown and pink. I cut the panel down using a Pink & Main nesting rectangle die. I layered it onto a scalloped edge stitched panel by Gina Marie Designs that I cut down using plain white cardstock. I adhered both panels to my card base created out of more sand cardstock. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto a small strip I had colored with my pink Copic marker, cut it down into strips, and popped it up off of the card using foam tape. This card was so simple to create and really packs a punch! Be sure to stop by the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog and check out this month's challenge!

Happy Birthday

 

Today's card was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches card challenge. I recently picked up the Penny Black Nature's Jewels stamp set from an online purging sale, and immediately had to use it when it came in. Using a 1.25-inch punch from Paper Shapers, I punched three squares. I stamped the floral images on the squares and colored them using my alcohol markers. I matted them onto black cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I die cut a smaller piece of white cardstock using a Paper Rose nesting stitched rectangle die. I embossed the panel using a Lifestyle Crafts geometric embossing folder. I matted that panel onto black cardstock and adhered it onto the card panel. Using a piece of blue patterned paper from my stash that is so old I no longer know who makes it, I created the side border. I popped the stamped squares up using foam tape and adhered them to the card. Using a sentiment stamp from Stampers Anonymous Crazy Talk, I created the sentiment strip and adhered that to the card according to the sketch. I finished the card off with some black gems from Simon Says Stamp. Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Debra thought it would be fun if we used books as the inspiration for our coffee and cards collaboration. I used Angie Blom's Enjoy Life digital stamp. I colored her using Copic markers and die cut the image into a panel using a nesting stitched edge circle die from My Favorite Things. I layered some navy-blue cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my A2 card base. Using patterned paper from Echo Park's 12x12 Coffee collection and a fun layout I found on Pinterest, I created my base layers. I printed the sentiment from the same digital stamp set and fussy cut it out. I mounted the focal panel onto the center of the card using thin foam tape. I adhered the sentiment below it. Using nesting banner dies from Unity and patterned paper from the Coffee collection, I created a few fishtail banners and adhered them on the top left of the card. I colored a few clear rhinestones from Recollections with a blue Copic marker and adhered them around the focal panel. I finished the card off by adding white gel pen details on the main image. 

It's been getting brutally hot and humid here in Southeast Missouri, so I opted for a nice, ice-cold S'mores blended latte from Scooters. It definitely helped cool things down and was delicious! Now, be sure to stop by Deb's blog and see how she was inspired. She creates the best cards, and her creations are always so fun!

Scooting By To Say Hi-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we're creating cards that celebrate summer fun. I had to crack out an oldie but goodie for this card. I stamped by stamping the scooter from Paper Smooches Spiffy Scooters stamp set onto white card stock. I colored the lights and wheels using my alcohol markers. Using patterned papers from Simple Stories Sunkissed 6x8 paper pad, I stamped the scooter again onto various patterned papers, fussy cut them out, and adhered them to the original image. Using real red cardstock from Stampin' UP and a pretty orange polka paper from the same Simple Stories paper pad I created my card base. I then created a contrasting strip for the bottom half of the card using a pretty floral paper from the same paper pad and red cardstock. I created the frilly border using a border punch from EK Success. Using Spellbinders nesting circle and scalloped circle dies I created the focal panel using red cardstock and a nice blue grid patterned paper. I popped up the circle panel using thin foam tape. I adhered the scooter onto the circle with a few clouds I had punched using a mini cloud punch by Fiskars. I finished the card off by stamping the sentiment from the same stamp set at the bottom of the card. I love how cute this sweet, summer card is! Be sure to stop by the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog and see how the rest of the design team was inspired by this month's challenge. We would love if you were to join us with a fun summer creation! 

Celebrate Your Day

 Hello! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Today's card was created for the latest Inkspirational card challenge. It's not often I create a clean and simple card, mostly because I struggle with those. I love layers and patterned paper, but this one was fun. I created a white panel using Stampin' UP's tulip edge embossing folder and adhered that onto some pink cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I stamped the sentiment from Verve Stamp's Poppy Birthday stamp set using Versamark clear ink and embossed it using Recollections Silver embossing powder. I adhered the vellum strip in the center of the card and adhered the entire panel to the card base. Using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit from Stampin' UP I created the butterflies. I adhered them to my card by adding liquid glue just behind the center of the body so the wings could still lift up on the card. I finished the card off by adding beautiful clear rhinestones from Recollections all around the card and on the bodies of the butterflies. Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

I Like Big Mugs-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Deb and I are focusing on coffee-themed cards! It's been a long time since I've created a masculine coffee card. So, I decided to break out my Miss Ink Stamps Big Mugs stamp set. I stamped the adorable gnome with his mug coffee mug onto white cardstock, colored him with my Copic markers, and fussy cut him out. I stamped background mushroom scene using Woodware Craft Collection Vintage Fungi. I die cut the panel using The Greetery's Nordic Circle dies. I stamped and colored more mushrooms from Bo Bunny's Woodland Mushroom stamp set. I fussy cut the smaller mushrooms and adhered them to the Nordic Circle panel. I die cut a panel of distressed blue patterned paper from We R Memory Keepers Anthologie's 6x6 paper pad using a Spellbinders nesting die. I adhered that directly onto my chocolate brown card base. I added white dashed lines around the outer edge using a white gel pen. I adhered the focal panel on top. I popped the gnome up onto the scene with thin foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from the Miss Ink Big Cups stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and a stitched banner die from Unity Stamp Company. I adhered that to the lower left side of the card. I finished the card off by adding white gel pen details to the mushrooms, gnome, and butterfly. 

I chose an icy white chocolate latte from a local coffee shop here in town called Ground About. It's been getting warm here in the Midwest and this icy treat hit the spot while I was out running errands! I hope you stop by Debra's blog to see what fun she created this month. She always creates the best cards!

Queen For The Day

 

Today's card was created for the latest AAA Birthday card challenge. My daughter's birthday is coming up next month and this card is perfect for her. This image looks just like her, including the messy bun. I started by stamping the Unity Stamp Company's Queen Girl onto white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored it with my alcohol markers, and fussy cut the image out. Using some terra cotta cardstock from my stash, I die cut a panel using a scalloped edge die from Gina Marie Designs and layered it onto a white card base. I die cut two panels using a Paper Rose stitched edge rectangle stacking dies and patterned paper from Pebbles Sunny Side 6x6 paper pad. I stacked the panels together and adhered them to the scalloped edge panel. I popped the main image up using foam tape. I die cut a tag topper using more of the same patterned paper and a die from Papertrey Ink and adhered that onto the focal panel using more foam tape. I finished off the card by adding an orange button and some white twine to the tag topper, some glittery heart stickers from Heidi Swapp, and some Crystal Stickles to the crown and balloons on the focal image. I'm sure my daughter will be tickled by this card. Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

You're Not Old-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

Hello, and happy May! This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we are creating cards with punny sentiments, and a focus on dads. I had to crack out my Art Impressions Golden Oldies "Norm" stamp set with matching sentiment. I stamped the focal image and the sentiment onto white Copic-friendly cardstock. I colored the focal image using alcohol markers, and cut it out with a pierced edge nesting circle die from Gina Marie Designs. I didn't have a die for the sentiment, so I fussy cut it out. Using paper from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker 8x8 paper pad, I selected papers that I thought would be as fun and "loud" as the focal character's Hawaiin shirt. I put the card together using a fun sketch I found on Pinterest and popped the focal panel and the sentiment up off of the card using thin foam tape. This card literally cracks me up! Please pop on over to the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog and see how my fellow design team members were inspired by this month's challenge. We would love for you to join us by submitting a card too! Have a wonderful weekend!

For Someone Special-Woodblock Wednesday

 

Today's card was created for the latest Woodblock Wednesday hosted by Amy Tsuruta. I have had this fabulous and simple stamp called Fresh Bloom from Stampedous for at least a decade. I don't use it much, but I love its simplicity. This card was so simple to put together. I stamped the floral image onto white cardstock, ink blended it with some distress inks, fussy cut the image out, and added white gel details to the stamens. The patterned paper and the sentiment strip were freebies I got in a recent Simply Cards publication I picked up at Barnes & Noble. I loved how well matched the paper was to the floral image! I just die cut a circle in the lower right side of the patterned paper panel, adhered it to my card, attached the floral image in the center of the circle, added a sentiment strip and some black gems for a clean and simple card. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Always Bee Yourself-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Hello! This month Debra and I decided to feature cards using an embossing folder. I bought a Momenta honeycomb embossing folder sometime last year and am ashamed to admit that this is the first time I've used it. I created my card by layering butter yellow cardstock directly onto my card base. Then a smaller panel of black cardstock. I cut down an even smaller panel of white cardstock and die cut a circle from the upper center using a Spellbinders nesting circle die. I stamped the sentiment from the Hampton Art Hello Honey stamp set at the bottom right side. I took a smaller piece of the butter yellow cardstock and ran it through the Moment honeycomb embossing folder. I adhered it the card base and then popped up the white panel using thin foam tape and adhered it with the cut out over the embossed panel.  I stamped one of the blooms from Simon Says Stamps Butterfly Blossoms stamp set (I've been a little obsessed with this set lately) onto a separate piece of white cardstock, colored it using Copic markers, and die cut it using the coordinating die. I adhered that the lower left side of the card. I stamped the smaller bee from the Hampton Art stamp set twice, colored them using Copic markers, and fussy cut the images. I adhered them in the embossed circle using foam tape. I finished off the card by using some sparkling black gems I had in my stash and crystal Stickles to the wings and bodies of the bees and all of the flowers. I love how beautifully this card turned out.

 
For my coffee this month, I swung by my local Ziggi's coffee shop and picked up a frosty Horchata Blender, a nice frosty coffee with coconut milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. I will be purchasing this again! Now, be sure to stop by Deb's blog and see how she was inspired this month. 

Mom-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we are using a sketch, with a focus on Mom cards. If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you will know that I am a huge fan of patterned papers and sketches. So, this was right up my creative alley! I just purchased the Butterfly Blossoms stamp/die/stencil bundle from Simon Says Stamp and I had to use it for this fun sketch. Following the sketch closely, I used beautiful, patterned papers from Bo Bunny's Early Bird 6x6 collection. I stamped the flowers and butterfly from Butterfly Blossoms onto white cardstock using Memento tuxedo black ink, colored them using the stencils and inks from Stampin' UP, and die cut them using the coordinating dies. I layered the elements onto a circle panel using white cardstock and a stitched circle die from My Favorite Things. I stamped the sentiment from WPlus9's Strictly Sentiments 4 using Versafine onyx black ink, and I heat embossed it using Zing's clear embossing powder. I fussy cut the sentiment out and adhered it directly to the panel. I finished the card off by adding some clear rhinestones from Recollections. Please pop on over to the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog and see how everyone else was inspired by our sketch challenge.  

Happy Birthday

 

Today's card was created for both the Color Throwdown, Freshly Made Sketches, and Flower card challenges. I started by layering some butter yellow cardstock from my stash onto my white A2 cardbase. I then die cut a smaller panel using white cardstock and embossed it using a Spellbinders plaid embossing folder. I matted that panel with some black cardstock from my stash and adhered that to my card base. I stamped the floral image, butterfly, and sentiment from Simon Say's Stamps Butterfly Blossoms, colored them using the coordinating stencils and inks from Altenew, and then die cut them out using the dies. I popped the sentiment, butterfly, and image up with thin foam tape and arranged it onto my card following the sketch. I finished the card off with some diamond confetti from Pink & Main scattered around the card and some Nuvo Glitter Drops in white blizzard on the florals and butterfly from some additional sparkle and shine. Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Have A Magical Day

 

 My adorable little fairy card was created for the latest AAA Birthday card challenge. I started by layering some pretty patterned papers from We R Memory Keepers Anthologie 6x6 paper pad onto my card. I stamped the fairy from MFT's Pure Innocence Fairy Girl stamp set onto white alcohol marker-friendly cardstock and colored it with my Copics. Using a Pink & Main's nesting rectangle die, I die cut the focal panel and the layering piece. I adhered them to the card. I paper pieced the dress from the same patterned paper I used for my background panel, fussy cut it, and adhered it directly onto the focal image. I stamped the image from the same stamp set and die cut it using a pierced edge nesting circle die from MFT and a decorative edge scalloped circle die from Papertrey Ink. I adhered them together and adhered it to the card next to the focal panel. To finish off my card, I added some clear crystal drops from Simon Says Stamp, and some pretty Nuvo Crystal Drops in white blizzard to the mushroom, the fairy wings, the wand, and her dress. Love the fun sparkle and shine it adds. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Jump For Joy

 

Today's card was created for the latest Just Us Girls card challenge. I saw Lisa Elton's card posted on her Facebook page, and it really inspired me to crack out an old stamp set I've not used in years. I stamped the sheep, the flowers and grass, and the sentiment using Elzybells Jump For Joy stamp set and Memento tuxedo black ink. I created masks for the sheep and stenciled the background using My Favorite Things Mini Cloud Edges stencil and bashful blue ink from Stampin' UP. I die cut the panel using a stitched edge rectangle die from Paper Rose. I colored the images using my Copic markers and finished the card off by adding some mini clear rhinestones from Recollections to the centers of each of the flowers. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. 

With Love On Your Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

For this month's Coffee and Cards collaboration, Debra and I are celebrating kids. My granddaughter, Maddie, is having a birthday this month, so I had to create something fun for her big day. Using MFT's Mini Cloud Edges stencil and a variety of inks from Stampin' UP, I created the rainbow cloud background. I die cut the panel using a stitched nesting rectangle border die from MFT, which I matted onto silver glitter cardstock from Crafter's Square and then mounted the panel to my white A2 card base. I stamped the images from MFT's Unicorns and Glitter stamp set onto white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored the images in rainbow colors and to look like Maddie and her little dog. I fussy cut the images and popped them up on foam tape on the card. I stamped the sparkles from the same stamp set around the images and heat embossed them using silver embossing powder from Recollections. I added a few clear rhinestones from Recollections to the center of each sparkle for extra shine. I stamped the sub sentiment using Versafine onyx black ink and a sentiment from The Greetery's Pretext Sentiments stamp set. I finished off the card by die cutting the word birthday using a die from Heffy Doodle and more of the silver glitter cardstock. To finish off the card, I added white gel pen details to the images and some Nuvo Glitter drops in white blizzard on all of the images for a nice sparkle and shine. 

For my coffee this month, I opted for a delicious pistachio latte with pistachio cold foam from Ziggi's coffee house. It was sheer perfection! Thank you for stopping by my blog today, I appreciate you! Now, be sure to head over to Debra's blog to see what she this month. 

Happy Easter-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

Hello, happy March! This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we are creating cards with animals on it with a special focus on spring or Easter. I did some silhouette stamping using Pawsome Stamps Oh Bunny and Verve Stamps Because Of You stamp sets. I wanted to keep this card one layer, so I masked a circle using some Inkadinkado masking paper and a large circle die. Using the negative space of the circle and a Lawn Fawn grass border die, I ink blended the grass. Then I inked the sky. I stamped the bunnies from Pawsome Stamps Oh Bunny stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and my stamp positioner. I moved on to the eggs, which I stamped in various colors using Gina K Designs inks. Using some selective stamping, I created the border foliage using a stamp from Verve Stamps Because Of You. I stamped the sentiment from the Pawsome Stamp set, and added white gel pen detail to the bunnies, eggs, and flowers and black dashed lines around the focal area. I finished the card off by scattering around some pretty diamond confette from Pink & Main. Now, be sure to head over the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog and see what the other design team members created. We would also love it if you played along!

Thinking Of You On Your Birthday

 

My card today was created for the latest Just Us Girls card challenge. I tried to use some of the fun colors in the mood board on my card. I started by die cutting a piece of bright pink cardstock from Colorbok's Cardstock Carton paper pad using CTMH Stitched Lattice background plate. The "thinking of you on your" sentiment came from The Greetery's PreText Sentiments stamp set. And the remainer of the images were from the SSS Birthday Mail freebie I received from my last order with them. The images were all stamped onto white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored with my Copic markers, and fussy cut out. I popped them all up using foam tape and arranged them on the card. I finished off the card using 6mm and 3mm clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. Thank you for stopping by my blog today! 

Nope. Not Today-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

This month Debra and I decided to create a card using any Unity Stamp Company stamp. I love all of my Unity stamps but am partial to my Angie girl stamps. I seem to grab for them a lot. This month I opted to use Tricia Girl and do some fun paper piecing. I started by stamping the image onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock, and then die cut that into a panel using a wonky stitch nesting die from Gina Marie Designs to create a panel. Using the Heidi Swapp Sugar Chic 6x6 paper pad, I stamped her scarf, shirt, skirt, jacket, purse, and boots and fussy cut them out. I edged each piece using my dual edge Memento marker and adhered them to the base stamped image. I added shadows to all of the pieces using my Copic markers. I die cut some banners using the same paper pad and some nesting banners from Unity Stamp Company and adhered them to the top of my focal panel, which I matted with some black cardstock. I finished off my card by adhering some black gems around the image. 

For my coffee this month, I opted for a nice deep Italian Espresso in my adorable Miss Etoile espresso cup that Nathan and I brought back from London last year.

Now, Debra did tell me that she was going to be using a new to her stamp from Unity this month, so be sure to stop by her blog to see what fun she created!  

We Go Together Like

 

Today's card was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches. I started by embossing a piece of white cardstock using Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots embossing folder. I adhered it to the top of my card base. Using various shades of pink cardstock from my stash and a Martha Stewart scalloped lacy punch, I created three layers and adhered them to the card base. I punched the darkest of the cardstocks using a Stampin' UP border punch and popped it up using high dimension foam tape. I stamped the images from Sweet Stamp Shop's Perfect Match stamp set onto white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored them with my alcohol markers, and fussy cut them out. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set and die cut it into a sentiment strip using Sugar Pea Designs Sentiment Strip dies. I adhered everything down to a heart panel I created using a Waffle Flower nesting heart die. I edged the heart with white gel pen dashes for a little additional interest and popped it up off of the card using more foam tape. I finished the card off by coloring some clear rhinestones from Recollections in a pink that matched the cardstock and adhered them around the focal panel. Thank you for visiting my blog today!

You're Cuter Than Cupid-Send A Smile 4 Kids

 

We are celebrating fun folds this month at Send A Smile 4 Kids. I have to admit that I have never created anything other than a traditional top or side fold A2 card, so I had to go to Pinterest to figure this one out. I found this design on a Stampin' UP demonstrators page using some floral image. I thought it would be fun to do a sweet Valentine's Day card instead. I started with a piece of real red cardstock and cut it down to an A2 size (4.25"x 5.5"), removing 1" from the right side. I cut down down a piece of white cardstock for the insert to be 4'x5.25". I then die cut a rectangle piece of real red cardstock using a Pink & Main nesting rectangle die. I score the right edge at 1/4" and adhered that to the center of the insert panel at the back. I then attached the entire piece to the inside of the card. I then cut down another smaller piece of white cardstock and stamped the adorable image and sentiment from Colorado Craft Company's Mini Love Cards stamp set using Memento tuxedo black ink, and colored it using my Copic markers. I adhered that panel to my folded flap and added black dashed lines around the panel for a bit of interest. I added some patterned paper to the smaller front panel using Pebbles Be Mine 6x6 paper pad. I finished my adorable card off with some Nuvo Crystal drops in the White Blizzard to Cupid's wings and the cloud, and some pretty red clay hearts from Trinity Stamps to the outside panel. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. Be sure to stop by the Send A Smile 4 Kids blog to see how everyone else was inspired!

Just A Note To Say

 

Today's card was created for both the Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown card challenges. I stamped the butterfly image from Skipping Stones Designs Heartsong 1 stamp set onto white cardstock and colored them with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto black cardstock using embossing ink and heat embossed it using Ranger's white embossing powder. Using an embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts, I created a textured background that I matted with black cardstock. I arranged the sentiment and butterflies onto the panel using thin foam tape. I finished my card off by adding clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh around the panel and clear rhinestones from Recollections to the bodies of the butterflies. Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful day!