Tiptoe Through the Toadstools with SUO Challenges

Mornin' y'all and happy Tuesday!  And it's time for a new challenge at SUO Challenges!

And today we have some fun colors for you, take a look:

I pondered these colors for quite a while before deciding that it had been a while since I tiptoed through the toadstools, so here we go:

I added Crumb Cake as a neutral, stamping off once for the stems and then using a light Crumb Cake grid pattern behind my fancy Night of Navy circle.  I sent this card off to my parents already because my mom is always like "What's with all the mushrooms??" which makes me want to send her MORE fungus, ha!

Don't forget to add your SU! only card creation on the SUO Challenges blog.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Terrific Toadstools
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy
Paper:  Night of Navy, Crushed Curry, Thick Basic White, Nature Walk DSP
Accessories:  Spotlight on Nature dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Dots for Days

Coffee Catch-Up

Mornin' y'all!  I didn't even sit down to eat breakfast until after 10:00 this morning, it's been a slow morning here but I got my workout done, took a lovely hot shower, and did the dishes.  We spent Saturday night in Silverthorne because we went to an ice castle thing there on Saturday night and then the boys went skiing for a couple of hours at Keystone yesterday morning while I was happily ensconced in a restaurant with a hot chocolate and a book.  The hotel's shower wasn't great and I couldn't get the water temperature right, so I was glad to be back in my own shower this morning.

Anyway, I do have a card to share today and we're continuing the hot drinks theme:

You may remember that I never drink coffee (I am 100% a tea girl, though the occasional hot chocolate is fine too, and it's easier to find in America than a place that serves good tea), but all my friends drink coffee so I bought the Latte Love suite when it came out two years ago.  I decided to ink it up for Retro Rubber's triumphant return challenge:

So glad to have you back, Retro Rubber!  I paired that with The Card Concept:

I made a clean and layered card and this inspo pic is what made me choose Real Red for my mug color and card base.  I used Very Vanilla instead of Whisper White on my card because I pulled out a very, very old piece of DSP from a pack called Cerise and it has Vanilla, which I think warms up the card so I like it here.

I've also pulled out a very, very old stamp set that is coffee/hot chocolate themed and I really want to make a card with that for later this week.  But for now, I'm going to finish my tea and then take my darling girl for our tour of the neighborhood.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Latte Love
Ink:  Real Red, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Real Red, Thick Very Vanilla, A Little Latte DSP, Cerise DSP
Accessories:  Latte Love dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals, Swirl Dots, Chocolate Chip polytwill ribbon

Signs of Winter with the Paper Players

Good morning stampy friends!  And it IS a good morning, because it's time for a new challenge from The Paper Players!  Check out the theme this week courtesy of the lovely Joanne:

So when you hear the word winter, what do you think of?  Evergreen trees?  Skiing?  Snowflakes or snowmen?  All valid answers and all on the challenge graphic, but you know what I think winter is for?  Tea and books!  And a snuggley blanket!

Yep, while the hubs and the kiddo were out skiing last weekend, I was snug in our house with a cuppa tea and a good book (and also icing my hand after I fell down, I can't imagine how I would injure myself if I tried skiing).  For my card, I combined a teacup image from the long-retired Take a Sip (a wheel that I unmounted and turned into stamps, it lives in the stamp case with the coordinating Morning Cup stamp set) and a stack of books from last year's For the Books.  I found my winter greeting in Delicate Pines, and I took my colors mostly from the Penguin Playmates DSP, though the pattern I used is monochromatic Fresh Freesia--I chose the snowflake pattern to support the winter theme of my card.  I had fun coloring in my stack of books, added a few Two-Toned Sparkle Gems even though this is a CAS design, and done.  The color on the sparkle gems doesn't show up too well in my picture but it does coordinate well with my card IRL.

Do you like to read?  My kiddo does not, which I find inconceivable.  Last week I was reading The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King, and now I am reading the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series.  I read every single day and can't imagine going any length of time without reading something.  I've been a bit fixated on Middle Earth of late, which is funny because the first time I read the books I thought they were an absolute slog, but I enjoyed them much more this time around.  Next Saturday the hubs and I are going to see the extended edition of The Two Towers on the big screen for my birthday.  I have the movies in our library, but there's no telling how long it would take me to get through an almost 4-hour movie when I'm getting interrupted by Ryan or Daphne or bedtime or laundry or what have you, so I will enjoy going to see it all in one go in theaters.  Going to the movies is also a fun winter activity : )

I digress.  I hope you'll check out the Paper Players blog to see what my teamies think of when winter is upon us, and upload your own creation there.  You can also hop through all the blogs:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

you are here --> Christy Stanford

And then upload your card at the Paper Players blog!  Keep in mind a few simple rules:
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL
4.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Take a Sip, For the Books, Delicate Pines
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Just Jade, Pretty in Pink, Soft Sea Foam, Ivory, Bronze
Paper:  Balmy Blue, Thick Basic White, Penguin Playmates DSP
Accessories:  Nested Essentials dies, Dimensionals, Two-Toned Sparkle Gems

The Witch Tree Symbol

Happy Saturday and welcome to the 33rd Nancy Drew Challenge, where today we will investigate The Witch Tree Symbol!  Here are my books:

I think my OT cover on the left might be printed darker than usual, it seems dark when I compare it to pictures online.  We have Nancy and a pair of Amish people looking at the titular witch tree symbol and I kinda wonder why Rudy Nappi painted the hands the way he did for the two Amish people.  I bet painting hands in a realistic way is a challenge.

The RT on the right is a newer Nappi cover and it's spookier, which is amusing to me because I wouldn't classify this story as being particularly spooky, even by Nancy Drew standards.  Nancy is wearing a '70s-style blue pantsuit here with some purplish details which I find interesting, and we learn over the course of the book that a witch tree is one that has a parasite on it that makes it look odd.

For once, I don't have a favorite among the two covers, I think they're both interesting.  Let's take a look inside:

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George travel to Pennsylvania's Amish country in pursuit of stolen furniture; we learn about Amish culture (not sure how accurately it's portrayed here but interesting nonetheless) and Nancy is repeatedly accused of being a witch, usually right after some character says the Amish people aren't superstitious.  Nancy finds the furniture, reunites a runaway girl with her strict parents, and they eat a lot of food while of course fat-shaming poor Bess, who deserves better friends.

Here's my card:

Nancy has to track down where a "schnitz" is, which has something to do with apples, and that combined with the Amish character Manda Kreutz made me think of this sweet Greeting Farm stamp called Lottie, isn't she darling with her bowl of apples?  I made her hair dark because I was thinking of Manda rather than Nancy.  Plus I have dark hair so that's what I tend to do when I color in stamped images like this.

I chose Boho Blue to go with the sky on the cover, a bit of Calypso Coral to match the symbol being painted on the tree, and a bit of Wild Wheat to coordinate with Nancy's shirt here.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Lottie from The Greeting Farm, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Ink:  Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in neutrals, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Boho Blue, Mossy Meadow, Wild Wheat
Paper:  Boho Blue, Thick Basic White, Timeless Plaid DSP Stack
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Ombre Matte Decorative Dots, Dimensionals

Next up is the RT:

As I said, I think this cover is misleadingly spooky, but it does grab attention.  Here's my card:

Nancy is accused of being a witch several times so I just had to make a witch card, plus it has witch in the name of the book.  I used some nontraditional Halloween colors to match the book cover.

Once again I think Nancy's pantsuit is Boho Blue but I ended up not working that into my card; instead I have Moody Mauve for the purple accents on her clothes and some Pretty Peacock for the blue color in the tree, plus a black card base for the shadows behind Nancy.  I got Out on a Limb last year and this is the first time I've inked it up other than doing my index sheet for it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Out on a Limb, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pretty Peacock, Stampin' Blends in Petal Pink, Copper Clay, Pretty Peacock, Moody Mauve
Paper:  Basic Black, Thick Basic White, All About Autumn DSP
Accessories:  Seasonal Labels dies, Mini Dimensionals, Pretty Peacock sequins

But wait, there's more!  I found some DSP that I really wanted to use to match the RT cover, but the DSP didn't match the vibe of my little witch, so I ended up making another card:

This is the Earthen Elegance DSP, which coordinates with the Earthen Textures stamps and dies I used, that background pattern just felt like it coordinated with the book cover.

This time I did work in some Boho Blue to match Nancy's outfit, and still have Moody Mauve on there to boot.  I think I like the witch card better though, I was getting tired by the time I got to making this one so I'm not sure how much I like it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Earthen Textures
Ink:  Pebbled Path, Boho Blue
Paper:  Misty Moonlight, Boho Blue, Pecan Pie, Earthen Elegance DSP
Accessories:  Earthen Textures dies, Deckled Rectangles dies

I wish I had reread this before the hubs and I visited Ohio's Amish country a few years ago just to see if Amish culture and turns of phrase are similar to what's depicted here, though we were in Ohio as opposed to Pennsylvania.  I do think the focus on food is accurate, I still remember Amish pies from our trip : )  I give this one four stars, it's a fun adventure outside of River Heights.  If you are inspired to join the challenge, comment with a link so I can see what you make!  Otherwise, I'll see you next week when we investigate The Hidden Window Mystery.

Symphonic Sketch

Mornin' y'all!  I am happy to report that I did, in fact, ink up one of my new stamp sets yesterday and here's what I made:

I tried to resist the Nature's Symphony bundle at first but as you can see I was unsuccessful.  I had fun with the stamps, dies, and my new favorite Nature Walk DSP, plus the current Atlantic Hearts sketch:

Yep, that sketch was *made* for the Nature's Symphony bundle, and the DSP continues to be stunning and I may need to buy more packs to hoard (I already have two packs but I love this stuff).  I cut a piece of DSP sized for the card front, then traced the edge of a dinner plate for the curve and cut it.  The Secret Sea pattern on the right is the reverse side of the pattern I used on the left, and I managed to cut the curve symmetrically enough to just flip over the smaller piece for my card front.  While making this I discovered that my Pretty Peacock ink pad needs to be replaced I think--like little chunks of the foam are coming off the ink pad and sticking to the stamp when I try to ink up a stamp.  Never had that happen before with any of my other foam pads and you know, I think I've already replaced the peacock one once before.  Weird.

ETA:  Serendipity!  The brand new challenge at As You See It is to use something new!

So today's card is the first time I've used my new Nature's Symphony bundle, which is among the newest purchases that I have here in my craft room currently.  Let's not talk about how I got some more dies from Spellbinders yesterday and it's LeAnne's fault : )  So that's my newest craft purchase, but it hasn't shipped yet.

Ryan has a 3-hour early release today (why) so I had better hurry up and finish my tea and walk Daphne if I want to get anything done in my craft room before I go to pick him up.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Nature's Symphony
Ink:  Pretty Peacock, Garden Green, Secret Sea
Paper:  Pretty Peacock, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Nature Walk DSP
Accessories:  Nature's Symphony dies, Dimensionals, Sparkle Dot Essentials

Traditional Valentine

Mornin' y'all!  Ooh, I'm actually getting a post done in the morning, yippee for me.  Still haven't busted out any of my new stamps yet, but I did get some things done yesterday, including this Valentine:

The Shopping Our Stash challenge right now is to use something old with something new, so I paired the new Valentine DSP with old dies (Hearts Collection Framelits) and an old stamp set (Country Bouquet).  The only Valentine stamp set I've bought this time around is the Valentine Kisses one with the bears, 'cause you know I love bears, so I used some older heart things already in my stash.  Anyway, I paired all my Valentine goodness with the sketch from Sunday Stamps:

Their sketch prior to this one was really fun too and I'm sad I didn't get to participate, but sometimes challenges get away from me.  I had fun with this sketch though.

So my plan today, after I eat breakfast and take Daphne for her walk, is to actually bust out at least one of my new stamp sets : )  I have some design team work that I need to do and I have some ideas swirling for that.  And I need to do Ryan's laundry; I did four loads of laundry yesterday but that was all my clothes and some towels, didn't get to Ryan's yet.  Super fun times.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Country Bouquet
Ink:  Flirty Flamingo, Versamark
Paper:  Real Red, Flirty Flamingo, Bubble Bath, Made with Love DSP
Accessories:  Hearts Collection Framelits, Mini Dimensionals, White Opaque Gems

Just My Cuppa

Afternoon, y'all!  I can't seem to get ahead this week--I didn't end up getting anything made in my craft room yesterday after driving the hubs to his appointment, though I did get a nice fat box of SU! goodies unpacked.  Okay it seems like half of it was empty stamp cases to put my newly unmounted stamps in, but still, I do have some new stamp sets to play with.

So what did I do today?  Pulled out a stamp set that's been retired for years : )

I was very intrigued by the color challenge from Cupcake Inspirations:

I read it as Concord Crush, Peach Pie, and Basic Beige; the first two are long-retired In Colors and I particularly love that super-dark purple.  I was thinking about these colors a lot yesterday but couldn't get them to work in my brain with any of the current sketch challenges, so enter the new Freshly Made Sketch:

And then my card came together very quickly, go figure.  Once again I stamped directly on DSP (a Basic Beige pattern from Peaceful Garden) and then the rest of it was just playing with the colors and the patterns in an old In Color DSP stack.  A few rhinestones that have probably been in my stash for like ten years and it's done.

Ryan has STEM club after school today which means extra crafty time, so I'd better go use it since he's got early release on Friday and I haven't done this week's Nancy Drew cards yet.  Back up to the craft room I go.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Tea Party
Ink:  Concord Crush
Paper:  Basic Beige, Concord Crush, Peaceful Garden DSP, In Color 6x6 DSP Pack
Accessories:  Layering Ovals dies, Dimensionals, rhinestones