Happy Birthday

Happy Sunday! Today's card was created for AAA Birthday card challenge. This month's challenge is to create a shaker card. I thought it would be fun to create a fun underwater scene using fish and an adorable mermaid. I started by inking an ombre background panel using Tim Holtz distress inks an Altenew's Scales Debossing cover die. I die cut a large circle in the middle of the panel using a stacking circle die from Spellbinders. I inked another panel to go behind the circle. I popped the main panel up using foam tape and added some clear, marshmallow, and turquoise sequins from The Ton in the shaker panel and adhered it to the card. I then stamped the beautiful mermaid image from Lily of the Valley's Mermaid 1 stamp set and inked her up using my Copic markers. I stamped a few fish and some seaweed from Lawn Fawn's Fintastic Friends and colored them using my alcohol markers. I fussy cut the mermaid and die cut the fish and seaweed images using coordinating dies and adhered them all to the card to create my underwater scene. I created my sentiment by die cutting the Birthday Wishes die set using white cardstock and colored them using my Copics to create an ombre look that matched the card. I attached them to the shadow piece and adhered them to the card. I finished off this card by added some pretty glitter glue using Nuvo crystal glitter drops and some white gel pen for additional details on the mermaid. Thank you for stopping by my blog! 

 

Happy Winter-Send A Smile 4 Kids December

 

Hello! Can you believe that it's December already? This month at Send A Smile 4 Kids we are celebrating winter by creating winter cards for kids. And before anyone gets upset with me...yes, this is the same stamped image I used for last month's challenge but I shook it up with a winter sentiment and a new layout and winter themed patterned papers. To create my card I started by layering some early espresso cardstock by Stampin' Up onto my white A2 card base. I then cut and adhered a piece of dusty blue patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas 6x6 paper pad on top. I die cut a large strip of pretty snowflake paper from the same paper pad and matted it with more early espresso cardstock. I adhered it to the card to the far left. I then stamped the adorable image from Margaret Sherry's Christmas Cuties stamp set onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it with my alcohol markers. I die cut the image using a pierced edge oval die from My Favorite Things and then another decorative pierced edge panel using a Gina Marie Designs die and more early espresso cardstock. I adhered the two panels together and popped it up off of the card using 3M foam tape. To finish off my card I added some fun details and highlights to the image using my white gel pen and added some dark brown sequins from The Ton around the focal panel. I'm kind of obsessed with this adorable image! I can't wait to see what everyone else creates for this challenge!

Thankful

 

Hello and  happy Monday! We are experiencing some cooler temps and lower humidity here in the Midwest and it reminds me of fall. So, it seemed fitting when I saw the latest challenge over at The Sisterhood of Crafters. Why not create a fall leaf card, right? To create my card I started by layering a piece of crumbcake cardstock onto my A2 white card base and then adding a white cardstock panel that I had dry embossed with a woodgrain embossing folder by Darice to the bottom of the card. I then die cut some fall leaves using stitched leaves dies from Jillian Vance and solid cardstock and patterned papers from Paper Rose's Autumn Plaid 6x6 paper pad. I adhered the leaves directly to the card at the cardstock break staggering the solids with plaids. I then stamped the sentiment using Memento cocoa ink and a stamp I had picked up last season at the Target dollar spot. To finish off my card I added some brown and white bakers twine from Stampin' UP above the leaves and a few cocoa colored 6mm sequins from The Ton. I love this card and may have to mass produce it for Thanksgiving. Thank you for stopping  by my blog and, if you like my card be sure to leave a comment. I read and appreciate them all. 

Hope Your Birthday Stacks Up-Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop

Hello and happy Monday! Today's card was created for the 2021 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop. I belong to a coffee lover's group and we swap cards every month. Sometimes we include little treats for one another to enjoy. The darling little stacked teacup die cut and sentiment were included in my card this last month from one of the members. I decided to pair it with some pretty patterned paper from the Basic Grey Out Of Print 6x6 paper pad, some sequins from The Ton, and a scalloped edge strip that I cut using a Fiskar's punch. I assembled the card by adhering the die cut image onto some deep aqua blue cardstock I had in my stash using Jackie's Craft Table archival glue. I then attached a piece of the Basic Grey patterned paper directly to the cardstock. Using a Pink & Main A2 rectangle die I die cut the panel down. I punched the scalloped edge border using the Fiskar's punch and adhered it the panel at the border to help delineate the cardstock and the patterned paper. Using a Jillian Vance fishtail banner I die cut the sentiment, layered it onto more of the deep aqua cardstock and cut it down to match the fishtail using my detail scissors. I popped it up off of the card using 3M foam tape, added some color to the tea cups using my Copic markers, and finished the card by adding some coordinating sequins. I like how it turned out!

 

Hello Sunshine-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

 

Hello and happy Sunday! In celebration of spring coming right around the corner Deb and I decided to create pretty springtime cards for this month's collaboration. Deb picked this beautiful inspiration photo to help inspire us both. I happened upon the gorgeous Echo Park Flower Market 6x6 paper pad at my local Tuesday Morning and couldn't resist picking it up and using it for this month's card. There was absolutely no stamping on this card...it's all patterned papers and the cut apart is included in the paper pad! This card took me all of 10 minutes to assemble and turned out gorgeous! The only finishing touch I had to add were a few sequins from The Ton and Pretty Pink Posh and a little bit of glitter pen to the flowers on the cut apart. I also figured out how to add transparency to my stamped logo I include on the back of my cards and I decided to add it to my photo. Now I just need to figure out how to add it to cards with dark backgrounds, which I'm sure will take me months. LOL

I opted for a medium Dunkin Donuts Charli's foamy cold brew this month. It was full of cinnamon and very tasty! Now be sure to head over to Deb's blog and see how she was fun she created with our inspiration photo! 

Coffee-Coffee And Cards By Celeste And Deb

Hello and happy Sunday! For our monthly collaboration Debra Davison and I decided to create coffee themed cards since the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers blog hop started yesterday. Perfect timing, right? To create my card I started by stamping the coffee image from the Unity Stamp Company's Coffee Side By Side stamp set onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock. I colored the images using my alcohol markers and then cut the panel down using some fun angles. I then created a border using some textured cardstock from the Mat Stacks paper pad by DieCuts With A View. Using a piece of coordinating patterned paper from the same paper pad I adhered it all down to my A2 sized card and rounded the bottom corners using my We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper. To finish my card off I added some gorgeous mocha colored sequins in a 6mm size from The Ton. So simple, but so pretty! 

It has finally warmed up a bit here in Southeast Missouri and I mowed my lawn this afternoon and was hot after my shower. So, my coffee choice today is a nice homemade latte using some coconut crème liquid creamer, ice, almond milk, and my standard dark roast homebrewed coffee. It definitely hit the spot! Now be sure to visit Debra's blog and see what fun she created this month! 

You're So Smart

Hello and happy Sunday! I hope everyone is well and staying safe amidst our national COVID-19 crisis. Today's card was created for the latest Cardz 4 Galz and Watercooler Wednesday card challenges. I was in need of a graduation card so I thought it would be fun to create a card using this adorable image and sentiment from the Unity Stamp Company's Lil' Smartie Pants stamp set. I stamped the image and sentiment out onto white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it to match the patterned paper I planned to use. I die cut it into a circle using a Little B circle die set. I cut down some Stampin' UP's crumb cake cardstock into an A2 card base and adhered some pretty patterned papers from the Bo Bunny Early Bird Collection 6x6 paper pad directly on top. I cut the die cut panel down to be a semi circle and adhered it directly to the card panel. To finish off my card I added a few blue sequins from The Ton. Thank you for popping over to my blog today and please stay safe!

Coffee, When Your Brain Needs A Hug-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and happy Spring! Welcome to the March Coffee and Cards Collaboration between myself and my friend Debra Davison. Deb chose this beautiful and serene inspiration photo for our theme this month. We both agreed that, with all of the chaos going on around us right now, that looked like a pretty happy place to be. We both work in health care so self-quarantining is not really an option for either of us but it's nice to close your eyes and image quiet, happy places like this! I decided to use the colors in the photo for my card. So, I started by layering some early espresso cardstock from Stampin' UP onto my white A2 card base. I then layered on some patterned paper from the Studio Calico Atlantic 6x6 paper pad on top. I cut a strip of the early espresso cardstock and layered it on top at a diagonal angle adding a small fishtail banner with more patterned paper from the same paper pad and a stamped sentiment from the Altenew Coffee Love stamp set below it. I stamped the coffee pot, stacked cups, and the sentiment from the same stamp set onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored them with my alcohol markers, and die cut it into a circle panel using a pierced edge die from My Favorite Things. I popped that focal panel up off of the card using some foam squares I had in my stash and finished the card off with a few espresso metallic 6mm sequins from The Ton.  

For my coffee this month I opted for a cup of chocolate peanut butter cup gourmet coffee that I recently picked up at my local TJ Maxx. And yes, it's as tasty as it sounds! Perfect after a cool morning run and a shower! Now be sure to head over to Deb's blog to see what fun she's created with our inspiration photo!

Bras Are Like Friends

Hello! I hope everyone is having a happy Monday. Today's card was created for the latest The Paper Players card challenge. To create my card I started by layering some dark turquoise cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my white A2 card base. I then die cut a scalloped edge rectangle panel using a Gina Marie Designs die and some white cardstock from Staples. I stamped the sentiments and the bra from the Skipping Stones Design Bras Volume 1 stamp set and colored the bra to match the layered cardstock. To finish the card I added some turquoise sequins from The Ton onto the base, added some shimmer to the bra using my Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen, and popped the entire panel up off of the card base using some inexpensive fun foam I found at Hobby Lobby. This card was super easy to create and would be fun to mass produce in different colors to create a fun gift pack! Thanks for stopping off here today and, if you like my card please leave a comment. I read and appreciate them all! 

Thankful For You-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb Collaboration

Hello! Happy Sunday to you all and thank you for stopping by my blog this morning for another Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb collaboration. Debra picked this fun inspiration photo for our collaboration. It's perfect considering Thanksgiving is this week. To create my card I started by layering some chocolate chip cardstock by Stampin' UP onto my A2 white card base. I then layered a piece of Best Creation Inc's Autumn Splendor pattered paper on top. I love how beautifully it matched the inspiration photo. I then stamped the sentiment onto some white cardstock using Stampin' UP dual tip markers in autumn colors and the sentiment from the Stampin' UP Thankful Forest Friends stamp set. I cut the sentiment into an oval focal panel and layered it onto a scalloped oval in more brown cardstock using Spellbinders dies. To complete my card I added some brown dashed lines around the outer edge of the focal panel and added some pretty bronze sequins from The Ton on either side of the sentiment. I hope you like it! 

For my coffee selection this month I popped into my local Barnes & Noble and picked up a nice warm chestnut praline latte. It hit the spot on this cold, gray day! Now be sure to pop on over to Deb's blog and see how she was inspired this month. 

Always Grateful-November Words To Craft By

Hello fellow crafters! I cannot believe we are already half way through November. This year is just zipping by way too quickly. Our word inspiration for W2CB this month is "When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup." - Sam Lefkowitz. To create my card I started by layering some Stampin' UP chocolate chip cardstock onto my white A2 card base. I then layered some pretty patterned paper from the Echo Park Reflections Fall 12x12 paper pad on top. I stamped the beautiful tree from the Close To My Heart Always Grateful Seasons & Nature stamp set onto some white card stock and then stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set right below in Memento rich cocoa ink. To create the illusion of leaves on the trees I added some gorgeous chalk ink in pumpkin spice from Versa Magic using a Q-tip. Once dry I die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs and mounted it onto some more of the same chocolate chip cardstock. To finish my card off I popped the panel up off of the card using some fun foam from Hobby Lobby and some pretty mocha sequins from The Ton. I can't wait to see how everyone was inspired by this beautiful quote!

Thanks

Hello and Happy Halloween! Today's card was created for the latest If You Give A Crafter A Cookie card challenge. To create my card I started by selecting four inks from Gina K Designs that matched the color challenge and stamped the leaves from the Cloud 9 Leaves stamp set onto my white A2 card base in a random pattern. I then added the small splatters from the Stampendous Sunny Flowers stamp set. I die cut the sentiment using some espresso cardstock from Stampin' UP and a die from Lil' Inkers. I popped the sentiment up off of the card base using some foam squares from Scrapbook Adhesives. To complete my card I added some sequins from The Ton in coordinating colors. I hope you like my card and thank you for visiting my blog today!

Love Ewe-February Words 2 Craft By

Hello and welcome to the February Words 2 Craft By challenge. This month's word challenge is based on a quote from an A. A. Milne Pooh book "Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you." I thought since it was so close to Valentine's Day I would create a sweet card for my granddaughter Maddie. She's 11 months old this month. To create my card I started by layering some black and white heart paper from The Paper Studio onto my white A2 card base. I then added a small strip of pink and cream patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Penelope 6x6 paper pad onto the card panel. I then stamped the adorable sheep images from Unity Stamp Company's Love Ewe onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it using my alcohol markers. I then die cut it into a panel using a stitched edge oval die from My Favorite Things. I adhered it directly to the card and then added a few die cut hearts using some Paper Smooches dies and colored them with my alcohol markers to match the focal image. I then stamped the sentiment onto a small die cut banner I created using a Jillian Vance banner die and adhered it to the top right of the card. To finish my card off I added some black dashed lines around the focal panel, the fishtail banner, and the focal strip. I added some sparkle and shine with my Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen and a few beautiful soft pink sequins in 4mm and 6mm from The Ton. I can't wait to see how this month's challenge inspires the rest of you!

A Little Birdie Told Me-January Words 2 Craft By

Hello and Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Our quote for January's Words 2 Craft By is " Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul-and sings the tunes without words-and never stops at all. -Emily Dickenson." And January 5th is national bird day so I thought it would be appropriate to create a card with a bird on it. To create my card I started by stamping my leaves and bird from the Skipping Stone Design Heartsong II stamp set onto some patterned paper from the Cosmo Cricket 2twnty-thr3e 6x6 paper pad using both Versafine onyx black ink and Tim Holtz distress oxide ink in mermaid lagoon. I die cut the paper to create a panel using a stitched rectangle die by Gina Marie Designs. I stamped the sentiment from the Skipping Stone Design Heartsong I stamp set onto the panel and layered it onto my white card base using more patterned papers from the same Cosmo Cricket paper pad. To finish my card off I added some black dashed lines around the outer edge of the card for some added contrast and a few turquoise 6mm sequins from The Ton. I can't wait to see how our quote inspires you! Thank you for stopping off at my blog today. 

Fall Leaves Thank You

Hello, happy Monday! Fall is here in full effect in Southeast Missouri and the foliage is simply gorgeous, so I was excited to create something reflecting the rich, beautiful colors of the season. I will be submitting this card in both the The Card Concept and The Paper Players card challenges. To create my card I started with an A2 base of crumbcake cardstock from Stampin' UP. I layered on a piece of plaid patterned paper from the Echo Park Reflections Fall 12x12 paper pad that I had die cut using a stitched edge rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I then die cut a fishtail banner using more of the patterned paper from the same paper pack and a die from Jillian Vance. I wrapped the bottom of the banner with some brown sugar bakers twine from We R Memory Keepers and adhered it directly to the card. Using a leaf punch from EK Success I punched out more of the patterned paper and heat embossed it with some Recollections brown sugar embossing powder and a sentiment from the WPlus9 Strictly Sentiments stamp set. I popped the leaf up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals and finished the card off with some pretty rich bronze sequins from The Ton. I hope you like my card and thank you for visiting my blog today!

Ah, Autumn-Words 2 Craft By September/October

Hello and welcome to the September/October Words 2 Craft By word challenge. Your inspiration this month is Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall-F. Scott Fitzgerald. Anyone who knows me knows it's no secret that autumn is my favorite time of the year. I love the cool, crisp air, the foliage, the warmer clothing...and my birthday is in the fall. So, I was excited to create a card that celebrates my favorite season! To start I layered a piece of chocolate chip cardstock from Stampin' UP onto my standard A2 white card base. I then layered a piece of the Autumn Splendor patterned paper from Best Creation Inc on top. I then stamped the gorgeous tree image from the Hero Arts Color Layering Fall Trees stamp set onto some white cardstock from Staples using Memento dew drop inks in fall colors. For the ground I used one of the images from the Paper Smooches Positive Strokes stamp set and more Memento inks. I then stamped the sentiment from the Close To My Heart Always Grateful Seasons & Nature stamp set and die cut the image using a stitched edge rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I matted the panel onto more Stampin' UP chocolate chip cardstock and popped it up off of the card using fun foam from Hobby Lobby. I added some coordinating 3mm sequins from The Ton onto the tree image to mix in with the leaves to finish up my pretty autumn card. I can't wait to see how this month's quote inspires the rest of you!

Best Fishes

My card today was created for the latest The Male Room card challenge. To create my card I started by stamping the fun images from the Lawn Fawn Fintastic Friends stamp set onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock. I colored the images using my alcohol markers and used the coordinating dies from the set to cut the images out. I took a strip of Gina K Designs patterned paper and layered it onto my white card base to the far left. I added a sliver of basic black cardstock from Stampin' UP next to the strip of patterned paper just to break up the design a bit. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto more of the same black cardstock using Versamark ink and heat embossed it using Recollections snow white embossing powder and my heat tool. I popped the fish tank up off of the card using fun foam as well as all of the images and the sentiment strip. To finish this the card off I added some coordinating sequins from The Ton and some shimmer to the images using my Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen. Thank you for visiting my blog and be sure to leave a comment. I read and appreciate them all! 

Have A Frapp-A-Licious Day!

Hello, and happy Memorial Day weekend to you! Today's card was created for the latest Fusion Card Challenge and the 2018 Spring & Summer Coffee Lovers Bloghop. I loved both the colors and the layout on the Fusion Card Challenge so tried to incorporate a bit of both in my card. To create my card I started by layering some pretty patterned papers from the Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go 6x6 paper pad onto my card base following the sketch. Using more of the same patterned papers I stamped the travel mug from the My Style Stamps Coffee Lovers stamp set and fussy cut the images out, lined the edges with my Memento tuxedo black dual tip maker and popped it up off of the card using some fun foam from Hobby Lobby. I added some black dashed lines around the inner focal panel of the card and then added some gorgeous sequins from The Ton as a finishing touch! I hope you like my fun and whimsical card and thank you for visiting my blog. Have a safe and happy weekend!

Hello Love-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and welcome back to another installment of Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb! We have yet another fun guest designer with us this month, Michael Trent. Since Michael is our guest this month we let him select a theme that would unify our projects and he chose LOVE. Since I'm still in winter/Christmas card making mode I knew immediately I would have to break out my Unity Stamp Company Hello Love stamp set and create something fun and wintery with it. The sentiment is exactly how I feel about my morning coffee! LOL. 

To create my card I started by stamping the focal image onto some Copic-friendly 110lb cardstock and colored her using my Copic markers. I then fussy cut her out and edged the image with my Memento tuxedo black dual tip marker to clean the edges up. I stamped the image again onto some patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas 6x6 paper pad and then cut it into a small panel. I die cut an oval into some smoky blue grey cardstock from Hampton Art's ki natural cardstock 6x6 paper pad using a Spellbinders die and then adhered the image behind it. I then die cut a scalloped oval using another Spellbinders die into some more of the My Mind's Eye paper and wrapped some sage grey twine from American Crafts around the panel close the bottom and tied it off with a bow. I popped the panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape and adhered it to the card. I stamped the sentiment from the same Unity Stamp Company stamp set onto more Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it in with my alcohol markers to match the colors on the patterned paper. I fussy cut the heart sentiment down and adhered it to the card. To finish off my card I added some sequins from The Ton around the panel, added some clear Wink of Stella to the mittens and scarf on the focal image, and then some dashed black lines around the outer panel and inside the oval panel. I hope you like it! 

As for my beverage of choice I opted for a nice hot cup of black French roast from Seattle's Best Coffee. 

Now be sure to hop on over to Michael and Deb's blogs and leave them some love in the way of a comment!

Thankful-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello, and welcome to the November edition of Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb. Deb and I decided to go with a Thankful theme this month since we celebrated Thanksgiving this week in U.S. We also have my good friend Rebecca Ledbetter joining us again this month as our guest designer. To create my card I started by layering some pretty burnt orange cardstock onto my white card base. I then cut down a smaller panel of white cardstock and splattered it with Memento cocoa brown and morocco inks using a small tipped paint brush and some water. Once it was dry I adhered it to the card panel and added some dashed lines around the outer edge using my Memento cocoa brown dual tip marker. I then stamped the medallion from Stampin' UP's Day Of Gratitude stamp set onto some more white cardstock using a combo of both the same Memento inks. I added a pretty bronzed brad from Stampin' UP in the center and popped the image up off of the card using Stampin' UP's foam dimensionals. I heat embossed the sentiment from the Close To My Heart's Always Grateful stamp set onto a strip of the burnt orange cardstock and heat embossed it using Recollections snow white detail embossing powder. I stamped the leaf image from the Stampin' Up stamp set and popped it and the sentiment banner up off of the card using more foam dimensionals. To finish my card off I added a few mocha sequins from The Ton to the card panel and added some dark brown dots to the medallion and leaf for some additional interest. I will also be entering this card into the latest Time Out Challenge. 

As for my coffee beverage of choice this month, I popped in on Becky and brought us both a McCafe' peppermint mocha latte. She had leftover cookies and cake from Thanksgiving so I dug in and enjoyed way more sugar than I should have. Good thing I ran this morning. LOL. Now, hop on over to Deb and Becky's blogs and leave them some love in the way of a comment.