Sunday, February 9, 2025

Blue-Gray Valentine

Hey y'all, happy Sunday.  Ryan got to choose breakfast for this morning and of course he chose pumpkin coffee cake, it's his favorite : )

I have a bit of a nontraditional Valentine today.


I started with the AAA Cards Challenge colors:


I translated that to Evening Evergreen, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Succulent, and Bordering Blue, all of which are retired (and some for a very long time).  The card base looks totally gray in the picture but I promise it's a blue-gray.  So I had those colors in mind when I saw the CAS on Fridays challenge to make a Valentine and thought I'd try to combine them.  How'd I do?  I chose the ruffle-edged die because it makes me think of traditional Victorian Valentines; the banner behind it is actually two banners stacked on top of each other so that it's as tall as I wanted it.  The main image panel hides the join between the two.

Ta-ta for now, peeps.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Stamped with Love
Ink:  Evening Evergreen, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Succulent, Bordering Blue
Paper:  Bordering Blue, Thick Basic White, Soft Succulent DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals
Paper: 

Saturday, February 8, 2025

More than Donuts

Mornin' y'all!  Hope your weekend is off to a good start.  I did my workout this morning, I'm about to eat a late breakfast and take Daph for a walk and then it's time to clean the kitchen and bathrooms : p  I'll feel better when those are done and then I can play in my craft room for a while!

I have a card to share today:


I made this in a big hurry before we had to leave for Ryan's second grade concert on Wednesday and I goofed up the patterned paper at the top a bit.  The really funny part of this card though?  I don't even like donuts : )  And yet, donuts are where I ended up for today's card.  Do you spell it donuts or doughnuts?  Asking the important questions here.

Anywha, here's this week's Freshly Made Sketch:


And the Color Throwdown:


I used Polished Pink, Pecan Pie, and white for my colors.  I used the lighter Blend marker for the donuts on the sides and the darker one for the middle, so the lighter ones are strawberry frosted and the middle one is raspberry.  I added Wink of Stella so the frosting is a bit shiny.

Okay, time to get moving.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  More Than Autumn
Ink:  Early Espresso, Pecan Pie, Polished Pink, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie & Polished Pink
Paper:  Polished Pink, Pecan Pie, Thick Basic White, Polished Pink DSP
Accessories:  More Than Autumn dies, Basic Borders dies, Shiny Sequins, Mini Dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Friday, February 7, 2025

Another Magical Toadstool

Mornin' y'all!  I had a bad headache all day yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today so hooray!  I got some good sleep last night and I think that's what helped.

Anyway, as I said yesterday, I have yet another Terrific Toadstools card and here it is:


I've been having so much fun playing with these stamps : )  I used this week's CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:

Here's the card in the min catalog:


And I paired that with this week's Creative Colour Challenge:


It's funny, I put the Lemon Lolly Rainbow Dots on the card and they looked so GREEN on the Lemon Lime Twist DSP.  I'm glad they show up more yellow in the picture.  Also, I painted the toadstool cap with Wink of Stella but of course that didn't show up in the picture (it almost never does).  My experience with fungus is extremely limited, though once I saw a mushroom in the forest that had a cap so bright red that it looked fake, but my ignorance means that I am perfectly happy to stamp mushrooms and toadstools in every color ever : ) That also applies to dinosaurs, for that matter.

Anywha, that's it for me today.  Looks like a pretty day outside (though windy) so Ryan and I are going to take Daphne out for her daily perambulation and I'll get a new hairdo while we're at it.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Terrific Toadstools
Ink:  Gray Granite, Lemon Lolly, Lemon Lime Twist
Paper:  Gray Granite, Thick Basic White, Toadstool Gardens DSP, LLT DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Rainbow Dots, Dimensionals

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Sketchy Duo

Mornin' y'all.  I woke up not feeling too hot again this morning so I'm moving slow.  Might need a nap today, but right now I'm having my morning cuppa while Daphne eviscerates the toy I just bought her at the store this morning.  She's having a good time (and making a mess) and at the rate she's going, the remains of that toy will be in the trash before the hubs or Ryan get home today.

Anyway, I have two cards today.


More Technicolor toadstools because I love them : )  I have another toadstool card coming up soon, it's already made and photographed.  Check out the Atlantic Hearts sketch:


I admit I kinda ignored the doily element on the sketch and just used some DSP.  Next up is the TGIF Challenge:


The Toadstool Gardens DSP Stack is probably my favorite thing from the SAB catalog, and I used the purple sequins from there too.

And now a bonus card with the same sketch:


I have yet to actually stamp the crab or the lobster from this set, I keep die cutting them from the DSP : )  I used more of the sequins on this one.


There's my sketchy duo.  I like the cherry colors on both of them.

Time to take Daphne the Destroyer out for her tour of the neighborhood.  Cheers, y'all.

Supplies, crab card:
Stamps:  Ocean Friends
Ink:  Berry Burst
Paper:  Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Thick Basic White, Friends of the Ocean DSP
Accessories:  Ocean Friends dies, Dimensionals, purple sequins

Supplies, toadstool card:
Stamps:  Terrific Toadstools
Ink:  Fresh Freesia, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Thick Basic White, Toadstool Gardens DSP Stack
Accessories:  Dimensionals, purple sequins

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Valentinosaurus

Hey y'all, welcome to Wednesday.  I like Wednesdays because Ryan has a STEM club thing after school so I get an extra hour kid-free : )  His birthday is in 10 days so I am still stitching feverishly on the duckling, we'll see if I get it done in time.

In the meantime, I have an adorable dinosaur Valentine to share!


Did I already have multiple dinosaur stamp sets before I bought this one?  Yep.  Was it on the tops of my wish list when I saw the spring mini catalog?  Also yep.  When it comes to stamps, I will pretty much always buy dinosaurs, patriotic stuff, anything oriental-inspired, and tea.  Probably some other stuff too.  And this is why my craft collection is so large and in charge. #CraftyDragon

Anyway, this card will, of course, go to my dino-loving pal Krissy, but first we have some challenges!  Let's start with the Sunday Stamps sketch:


The scalloped edges on the sketch reminded me immediately of the Stitched So Sweetly dies, which I love, so I started with that and build my card from there.  I knew I was doing the "I love you" sentiment for the Paper Players challenge:


And then we have two color challenges that are combining forces, Inkspirational:


And Color Hues:


And then happily for me, all of those challenges dovetail nicely with the Festive Friday inspo list:


Pink, red, glimmer paper, hearts, love sentiment, and a cute animal (dinosaurs are animals, right?).  I debated between doing sequins or the glimmer paper hearts for accents but I decided to err on the side of glitter.

Okay, as soon as I finish my tea (Ceylon orange pekoe today, one of my favorites), it's time to walk Daphne and then work on that stitching project.  Then spend some time in my craft room, because I left a card half-done yesterday.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Darling Dinos
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Smoky Slate, Stampin' Blends in Pretty in Pink & Real Red
Paper:  Real Red, Thick Basic White, Pretty in Pink & Real Red DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Darling Dinos dies, In Color Glimmer Paper, Dimensionals

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

All the Reds & Pinks for SUO Challenges

Mornin' y'all!  I'm a bit tardy this morning as I got totally distracted with the updated clearance rack and some online exclusive preorders on the Stampin' Up! website.  Don't tell the hubs that I ordered a few things when I haven't used all the things from the last time I ordered : )  There's one bundle that I'm excited about because I think I can use it in my wedding album and get that thing DONE!

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at SUO Challenges!



This time it's a color challenge...allllll the pinks and reds!


Okay, you don't *have* to use all seven colors on your card or other paper craft creation, but you know I'm an overachiever and so I did.  Here's what I came up with:


I had gotten out the Perennial Postage dies for a project last week and then I didn't use them, so here they are now!  Some of the patterned paper that I used is retired, but I was looking through scraps and you could easily use all current papers.  I picked my background paper first (Pretty in Pink!) and then chose six scraps that I thought would work well together.  I stamped the solid heart from Bee My Valentine in five colors, my greeting on a sixth heart, and the I played around with where to place the different colored hearts vs. the patterns until I liked the arrangement.  I added some little accents to the top middle and the lower left heart and voilĂ !  I will admit that it took a while to stamp, punch, die cut, and adhere all the layers but I like it.

We hope you'll join us and upload your own creation at the SUO Challenges blog.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bee My Valentine
Ink:  Pretty in Pink, Petal Pink, Cherry Cobbler, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade (I think?)
Paper:  Real Red, Thick Basic White, DSP in Pretty in Pink, Poppy Parade, Melon Mambo, Cherry Cobbler, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Real Red (I think?)
Accessories:  Bee builder punch, Perennial Postage dies, square punch, white sequin, Mini Dimensionals

Monday, February 3, 2025

February 2021

Mornin' y'all!  I did not spend any time in my craft room yesterday, I was just feeling drained and so I took a two-hour nap.  Sometimes you just gotta nap.  I did work on my current stitching project in the evening though, which is a duckling for Ryan.  Not sure it will get done in time for his birthday which is in less than two weeks, but I'm going to try.

Anyway, how about a scrapbook layout from 2021?


Turns out that Summer Splash is a very good match for that set of bear jammies that Ryan had!  Love it.  If they'd had those jams in adult sizes, I would have bought me some.  I do love a good set of jams.


Today's color palette:  Summer Splash, Close to Cocoa, Blueberry Bushel, Lemon Lime Twist, Shaded Spruce, and white, which was taken directly from Ryan's jams and the little blue table we used to have for him.  We actually donated it when we got to Colorado and mostly he eats at the island now because he likes the tall stools.

Gotta get a move on, Daph says it's time to take her for a walk.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  My Paper Pumpkin, Scentsational Season
Ink:  Lemon Lime Twist, Blueberry Bushel
Paper:  Summer Splash, Shaded Spruce, Blueberry Bushel, Thick Basic White, Frosty Day DSP, Lemon Lime Twist DSP
Accessories:  none