Purple Peacock

Ya know what?  It's time to make Mother's Day cards. And since my mom checks out this blog from time to time, I don't think she'll be surprised when this card arrives in the mail soon.

Mom has a thing for peacocks and purple :)  The layout is based on the latest Retro Sketch:

And the color combo started out being the palette provided by Nacho Average Challenges:

I kinda forgot the Basic Gray.  Ok, so I didn't so much forget it as it just didn't quite work with the rest of my card...I meant to stamp the sentiment in Basic Gray but I forgot and did it in Elegant Eggplant, and then the Eggplant button just looked much better on there to my eye than a Basic Gray one and then there was no other place for the Basic Gray so it got left out.  But the Nacho challenge was still what gave me the idea to do a purple peacock so I'm still gonna count it.

Have a fabby-dabby Tuesday and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  World Treasures, All Holidays (retired)
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, Regals DSP Stack
Accessories:  Wisteria Wonder baker's twine, Regals button, Dimensionals

Washington Apples

Just when I thought I might actually get some of my own personal scrapbooking done, one of my friends announced that she's pregnant.

With TWINS.

So I'm back to doing baby books instead of scrapbooks for me and hubs...I'm so far behind.  I haven't even gotten halfway through our time in Japan, China will be an album by itself, and I haven't printed off hardly any pictures from after we moved to England.  So yeah, I will never be bored when it comes to scrapping.

But anyway, let's get back to the baby books.  I'm doing two books, one for each twin (both boys), and I always do baby books in multiples but this is the first time I've made books for twins.  These two books will put me at 13 baby books made total--always in pairs except one time I did three.

I usually start with whatever layout I have the first idea for, and yes at this point I copy myself quite a bit.  I go back to the older baby book pics and sketch out all the layouts and notate what stamps I might want to use.  This one is very much like an earlier September layout I did in 2010, but this time I used Perfectly Preserved and the Orchard Harvest DSP from last year's holiday catalog.  Is it weird that I have three different stamp sets with apples about that same size?  (Tart & Tangy, Fruit & Flowers, and Perfectly Preserved, if you're curious.)  And then for the journaling block, I used the teeny apple from One Smart Cookie and I totally bought that stamp set JUST for this purpose, luckily right before it retired.  And this layout is doubly appropriate since the mommy-to-be hails from Washington State.

While I was sticking down the letters on one of the layouts, I dropped the R and it landed adhesive side up (so, not stuck to the paper) and as that is a violation of the laws of physics I expect there's a rip in the space/time continuum now.  Because if you drop something with adhesive on it, there's a law that says it has to land adhesive side down.

Have a great Monday, and if you see that rip on the space/time continuum, report it to the nearest temporal police officer.  :D

Supplies:
Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, One Smart Cookie (retired)
Ink:  Real Red, Lucky Limeade, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Orchard Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Cannery Collection Framelits, old Sizzix alphabet

Friday Flashback: Because I Care

Happy Friday and welcome to this week's edition of the Friday Flashback!  Today's featured stamp set is Because I Care, which was a pretty little hostess set a little while back.  For some reason SU! sent it to demos for free but I forget why.  Let's take a trip back in time to see what I've done with the stamps before today *cue time travel sound effect* {it sounds like the TARDIS}

Um.  Well.  That was a short flashback!  In case you missed it, the little flower to the right of the sentiment is from Because I Care, and that's it.  I'm really not sure how it's possible that I hadn't used this stamp set more, I love hydrangeas!  Well, here's a new card for you:

I'm kinda digging that color combo, what do you think?  It's Wild Wasaaaaabi, Marina Mist, and Wisteria Wonder.  I was pleasantly surprised with how vibrantly the markered image showed up when I stamped it.  Thought I'd use some of that Marina Mist ribbon that's in the Occasions catalog because I don't think I'd used any of it till now.  And how did I make cards before the Big Shot and Framelits came along?!

Today's card is brought to you by Freshly Made Sketches:

Another lovely and endlessly flexible layout, gotta love that.  I only tweaked a teensy bit so you could see more of the ribbon and of course my main image panel is shaped.

Thanks for joining me for today's Friday Flashback, and have a great weekend!

Supplies, today's card only:
Stamps:  Because I Care
Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist
Paper:  Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Whisper White, In Color DSP Stack
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits & coordinating paper piercing template, Marina Mist ribbon from the Occasions catalog, Dimensionals

Happy Hummingbird

The weeks are just flying by, aren't they?  Can't believe we're almost at the end of April.  But here's another springy card for today:

Thought I'd give some other soon-to-retire stamp sets some lovin' today, so I chose Elements of Style and Pursuit of Happiness.  I *am* bummed that they're retiring Pursuit of Happiness, I've used that set a LOT.  I really like Elements of Style too but haven't used it much of late.  This was going to be a Mother's Day card until I settled on that "grateful" sentiment from Pursuit of Happiness; it shows up against the background better IRL than it looks like on the picture.  And the ribbon matches the hummingbird better too, even though I've got some natural light in my craft room the colors in the pic seemed to be a tad off.

This layout is courtesy of Retro Sketches:

Kind of an unusual layout to my mind but I kinda like how my card turned out.  I saw a card earlier today (I think it was in the new SU! catalog, demos can see it online now which I just figured out this afternoon, DUH) that had the reverse masking technique so I thought I'd give that a whirl today.

Hope you have a fantastic day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Elements of Style, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze (sniffle! is there a petition to replace Soft Sky with Baja Breeze, 'cause I'd sign it!), Crumb Cake
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  Baja Breeze seam binding, Labels Collection Framelits, Dimensionals

Just Imagine!

Howdy everyone!  Hubs and I got home from Amsterdam yesterday evening, we had a fun trip.  Then when I got up this morning the Stampin' Up! retirement lists had just been posted...I have I think 36 stamp sets on that list, which is less than in years past, and I'm not terribly upset over any of the ones on the list (mostly 'cause they didn't mess with By the Seashore and Perfectly Penned, ha!).  So today I thought I'd make a card with the retiring stamp set Word Play:

I like that sentiment.  I like to imagine possibilities.  My favorite Shakespeare quote is "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."  It's exciting to me to think of all the stuff we don't know about yet.  Ooh hey, look at me here getting all philosophical.  The card is based on the current Nacho sketch:

I punched my butterflies out of scraps of DSP...only the Tempting Turquoise one is retired right now, though the rest are now on the chopping block, which means all-new monochromatic DSP in the new catalog!  At least, I hope that's what it means, I like having DSP in every single color.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Word Play
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry
Paper:  Pacific Point, Whisper White, Brights & In Color DSP (Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Tempting Turquoise)
Accessories:  Argyle EF, Elegant Butterfly & Bitty Butterfly punches, rhinestones

Parisian Anniversary

Is it weird that I like the word "Parisian"?  I just think it sounds neat.

I thought a happy anniversary sentiment would go well with my Eiffel Tower image on this card, made for last week's SCS sketch and color challenges.  I liked this simple sketch and didn't really gussy it up much so the focus is still on the image and the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today and happy stampin'!

Supplies, all SU!:
Stamps:  Artistic Etchings, A Word for You
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, River Rock, Melon Mambo
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, River Rock, Whisper White, Brights DSP Stack
Accessories:  rhinestone, Dimensionals

Raining Flowers

Howdy stampers!  If you're reading this on Monday, I'm still in Amsterdam taking hundreds of pictures of tulips :)  But I have a non-tulip card to share today!

I kept seeing these patterned papers that I just LOVED and finally I broke down and bought the Print Poetry DSP stack.  It's only 4.5x6.5, but there are four sheets of each double-sided pattern, so I'm gonna have some fun with these :)  I feel like I haven't played with the 2012 In Colors enough, so the Create with Connie and Mary color challenge was an excellent excuse:

And I just got Million Dollar Moments so it was also an excuse to use brand-new rubbah :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantabulous day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Million Dollar Moments (get it while it's hot, it's a hostess set from the Occasions catalog and only available until the end of May!)
Ink:  Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit
Paper:  Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White, Print Poetry DSP (flowers), In Color DSP Stack (stripes)

Friday Flashback: Flower Fancy

Happy Friday and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  I randomly picked a fun springy stamp set today, Flower Fancy.  Let's visit the archives, shall we?

I remember thinking this color combo was never going to work (it was an SCS color challenge) and then being pleasantly surprised with it when I actually got my card made.  I also used the still-current Four Frames and Pursuit of Happiness.

 I like the flowers on this name frame, but I'm less sure of how much I like the cut-out Broadsheet Alphabet letters.  But I like the bright colors!  You know me, I love-a de bright colahs!

Here's one using my favorite Baja Breeze *sniffle*!  Fear not, I have quite the stash of both 8.5x11 and 12x12 cardstock to keep me company.  I was surprised how well it went with Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry, this is one of my favorite cards!

And here's today's creation:

I went with some springy colors for today, and I picked out the two stamps I hadn't used yet in this set.  There's no sentiment on it so it can be for Mother's Day or a new baby (I always thought this color combo would be cute for baby girl cards) or just hey friend, I'm thinking of you.  I was inspired (or should I say INKspired?) by the latest challenge at Inkspirational:

Obviously I just went with the sketch and chose my own colors :)  And I moved the bow to the bottom of my image because it just didn't work on the top like in the inspiration pic.

That's it for me this week, y'all have a great weekend!  We leave early tomorrow morning to spend a couple days in Amsterdam.  I know, tough life right?!  Happy stampin'!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Flower Fancy
Ink:  Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, retired DSP in Regal Rose & Peach Parfait
Accessories:  Windows Collection Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Template, retired Old Olive polytwill (yay for me using some retired ribbon!), Dimensionals

Sunshine Butterfly

One giant butterfly card deserves another, right?  'Cause I made one!

So I said I might try the Pool Party EP with Basic Gray cardstock, but then I decided to go in a different direction and have some fun with bright colors :)  That's Tangerine Tango EP on Island Indigo cardstock, whatcha think?  It's pretty similar to yesterday's card but today's uses the latest Freshly Made Sketch:

If only I could make every single card/scrapbook page that floated through my imagination, because I had lots of ideas for this sketch!  Well, if I did make everything I ever thought of, I'd be swimming in cards and scrapbook pages, but I'd be as happy as a pig in slop--but drier and probably more prone to paper cuts.  Meh, gotta take the good with the bad I guess.

Here's wishing you a gloriously sunny day such as I'm having here!  Yeah, I live in England, but it gets sunny here sometimes too :)

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Swallowtail, Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Versamark, Tangerine Tango
Paper:  Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Floral District DSP
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Template, Boho Blossoms punch, rhinestone, Dimensionals, Tangerine Tango EP

Heavenly Butterfly

Ya know what?  I think it's been too long since my last giant butterfly card.  Let's fix that.

Man, it is SO EASY to make really striking cards with this stamp!  I admit though, my first plan was to emboss the butterfly with Melon Mambo EP but then I discovered I don't have any.  Whaaaaat?  Clearly I don't have enough stampy stuff yet and must buy more.  But I kinda like my backup color combo, which is Gumball Green and Calypso Coral with Basic Black.  Come to think of it, this woulda been good with Pool Party and Basic Gray too, so maybe I'll do that next time.

This easy breezy beautiful sketch is from Unscripted Sketches:

Happy stampin', folks!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Swallowtail, Blessings from Heaven
Ink:  Versamark, Calypso Coral
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories:  Gumball Green EP (was in the Holiday Catalog, can't remember offhand if it's still available), Apothecary Accents Framelits, In Colors Designer Printed brads, Calypso Coral baker's twine

Above & Beyond

I've had one of those days where I have a nasty headache all day long, but I did manage to make one card!

I'm always in need of thank you cards, aren't you?  The other half of the sentiment is stamped inside:  "...that's where you always seem to go!  Thanks so much".  I combined last week's Splitcoast sketch challenge with the latest color combo at Dynamic Duos:

Again, I used the cupcake punch to make clouds....haven't used it yet to make a cupcake ;)  Yesterday I started work on a pair of baby books for my friend who's expecting twin boys...there goes my goal to get a bunch of my personal scrapping done!  At least for the next little while, I have until her shower in mid-June to make these books.  And I'm in charge of planning her shower too, and a few weeks after that we get invaded by my parents and my sibs so we're planning that too.

I may go crazy first.

Happy stampin'!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Up, Up & Away, One in a Million
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Brights DSP Stack
Accessories:  Cupcake builder punch, Argyle EF, Dimensionals

Forever Home

Monday again already...how does that keep happening?  ;)  Hope your week is off to a good start; for right now, I've got a sweet little card to share.

This is the maiden voyage of Forever with You in my house.  I made this card for my awesome husband...in the 9 1/2 years we've been married, we have lived in Florida, North Carolina, Japan, and now England.  Along the way, we adopted two fun-tastic black lab mixes from a shelter, and I can't imagine a home without hubs or my silly little fur-babies (even though there is currently a ton of black dog hair on the floor from brushing Sadie yesterday).  So anyway, this card was inspired by the latest Freshly Made Sketch:

I chose my colors because most of what we own is blue (hubs' favorite color) and/or green (my favorite color).  We toured a palace in Madrid last week, and the rooms decorated in blues or greens just felt so much more *right* to me than the ones decorated in red or yellow.  Which isn't to say I don't love other colors too, 'cause I do.  :)

Happy stampin' and thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies, all SU!:
Stamps:  Forever with You
Ink:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  Window Collection Framelits, coordinating paper piercing template (hard to see, but the Island Indigo mat *is* paper pierced), In Color Designer Printed Brads, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Pattern of Friendship

Happy Friday, stampers, and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  Today's stamp set is Pattern of Friendship, a cute little set that always makes me think of visits to the fabric store with my mom when I was a kid.  So without further ado, let's open the vault, shall we?

I can tell this is a really old picture because it's a scan :)  And it's got Cool Caribbean!  Doesn't that just look great with Elegant Eggplant and Rose Red?  The Cool Caribbean panel is stamped with the Wild Hearts background, which I totally love, and it also reminds me of fabric prints.

This one was made last year for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on Splitcoast, I think it was something to do with sewing.  Well, I cross stitch a lot, but I can't do a thing with sewing machines, so I faked it with the sewing machine patterned paper :)

And here's today's card!  Once more, I get a teeny step closer to having completed all the Splitcoast sketch and color challenges.  I thought Dusty Durango would be a good redhead color, what do you think?  I always wished I had red hair, I never could understand why Anne of Green Gables hated her red hair.  Ha!  These dresses also make me think of Nancy Drew:  if you look at the illustrations in the old yellow spine books, she wears a lot of things that are this basic pattern.  On the covers of some of the paperback ones, she goes all '90s and wears stirrup pants.  Shoulda stuck with the timeless dresses, Nancy.

Thanks for joining me on today's Friday Flashback, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Pattern of Friendship, Beyond the Basics (both retired)
Ink:  Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry, Blush Blossom, So Saffron, Dusty Durango, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  So Saffron, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Lovely Flowers DSP (retired)
Accessories:  Basic Gray taffeta (retired), circle & scallop circle punches, Dimensionals

Sweet Cherry Blossoms

While we were in Spain, we took pictures of a church with some cherry trees out in front of it, which reminded me of the cherry blossom festivals we went to when we lived in Japan.  And today I made a card inspired by those beautiful blossoms.

I've had that Floral Fusion Sizzlit for a while but this is the first time it's been used.  Actually, the Finishing Touches Edgelits hadn't been used yet either.  Hey, that's kinda why I started this blog--to make sure I used my stampy stash more often!  So, mission accomplished :)  I also used FOUR retiring colors:  Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Regal Rose.  And I think I need more Bashful Blue cardstock (what? so I have a slight hoarding problem).

This week's challenge at Inkspirational was the kick in the pants I needed to get this card made:

And the layout is courtesy of CAS(E) This Sketch:

I think I know who this card should go to, so maybe I should go write in it now and get it ready to mail.  Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  You Are Loved
Ink:  Whisper White craft
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, retired Certainly Celery DSP
Accessories:  Floral Fusion Sizzlit, Finishing Touches Edgelits, pearls

April Showers

When I was a kid, it seemed to take three to five years just to get from one birthday to the next.  Nowadays, I swear that time is running at warp speed all the time (unless you're waiting in line) and I'm like DUDE, how is it April already.  At least it's finally warming up a bit...I almost left my jacket at home yesterday when it was a balmy 12 degrees Celsius.

Back to April showers!  Though it's not raining here today, it's actually quite pleasant outside.

The Splitcoast color challenge this week was Baja Breeze (sniffle!), Calypso Coral and Basic Black.  My first thought was to use By the Tide or By the Seashore but then I thought I'd shake it up some and work with these cute umbrellas again.  Sorry the pic is a bit blurry, I think it's getting close to time to replace our little camera...it's done really well for us but it is starting to get old.

Anyway, the main image panel is cut with my fave Apothecary Accents Framelits, stamped on my brellies and the sentiment, and then added some clouds made with the cupcake builder punch.  I admit, making clouds with that punch was the main reason I got it...I was thinking earlier today how cool it would be to have some larger cupcake Framelits.  See, I really should be elected Queen of the Stamping Universe.  :D

Go forth and stamp happy, by order of the Queen!  (And I wonder why my hubs told my mother to stop sending me coffee mugs that say Queen of Everything on them...)

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Rain or Shine (look ma, I didn't fussy cut the umbrellas this time!)
Ink:  Baja Breeze (get it while you can, I'm hoarding the cardstock!!!), Calypso Coral, Basic Black
Paper:  Baja Breeze (I think it's my fault they ran out of the cardstock already), Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories:  In Color Designer Printed Brads so I can't mail this in a regular envelope, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Cupcake builder punch, Square Lattice EF (hard to see, it's on the black strips)

Crushed Curry!

Hola, peeps!  We just got back from Spain last night...the last three blog posts were scheduled before we left so you'd still have something to look at :)  But anyway, I didn't check email at all while we were gone, so I had a big surprise waiting when I got home and there's all this color refresh stuff happening at SU!  I've said it before on here, and apparently the stamping gods were listening, because WE'RE GETTING CRUSHED CURRY BACK!  So I wanted to use it on today's brand-new-actually-made-today card.

I used Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive with my Crushed Curry on this.  I started with a Curry card base but it was just too much, so instead I sponged some ink on white cardstock.  I like the colors together, and I like the sketch, but I'm not quite feeling this card.  Maybe it takes a day or two to get back in the swing of things after being on vacay.

So here's the Nacho sketch:

So back to the color refresh thing.  There are a couple of colors I am SO glad to be getting back--Bermuda Bay!  Crushed Curry!  I'm ambivalent about most of the current In Colors that are staying...I don't mind having Pool Party and Island Indigo stick around, though I liked Cool Caribbean more and I kinda think Island Indigo is close to Pacific Point.  And I never much cared for Blushing Bride, so I for one would rather have Pretty in Pink stick around.  I know lots of Splitcoasters were in love with Blushing Bride, but not I.  We need more purples, so I'm okay with Wisteria Wonder staying, though I like other shades of purple better.

Which brings us to the retiring colors...BAJA BREEZE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  I read that on the computer last night and made this weird noise and hubs thought someone had died and then thought I was weird for mourning over a color retirement.  I love Baja Breeze, it's one of my favorite SU! colors.  I would SO MUCH rather have it than Soft Sky, which seems too close to Pool Party, and both of them together aren't as awesome as Cool Caribbean all by its onesies.  And also Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, and Not Quite Navy.  I love all those colors...I think Bashful Blue's retirement leaves a giant hole in the blues lineup, what do I use now for baby boy cards?  I can kinda see RHR going since they're keeping Cherry Cobbler (though I love RHR), and I don't care a pin about Bravo Burgundy going bye-bye since we have a well-documented acrimonious relationship, but I'd rather keep NQN than Island Indigo.  Then again, if I ran the stamping world, we'd only ever get more and more colors and none would ever retire (even Bravo Burgundy). 

Vote Christy for Queen of the Stamping Universe!  And have a nice Tuesday.  I'm making enchilada loaf for dinner and catching up on the shows I missed while we were in Spain.  Hasta la bye-bye!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Blooming with Kindness
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, International Bazaar DSP
Accessories:  Whisper White taffeta, Windows Collection Framelits, Dimensionals

Happy Day on Madison Avenue

I found a SAB card that I didn't get around to posting, so here it is today.

Once again, I used some old Splitcoast color and sketch challenges...that sketch is a little...well, not me, but whatever.  And the flower on the right is crooked because even WITH a Stamp-a-ma-jig, I can stamp crooked.  I'm that special.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Madison Avenue, Bloomin' Marvelous
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Brights DSP Stack
Accessories:  Bitty Butterfly & Elegant Butterfly punches, Bashful Blue brads (retired)

Friday Flashback: Pocket Silhouettes

Hooray for another Friday Flashback!  Today's retired stamp set of choice is Pocket Silhouettes, a cute little set which retired not all that long ago if I remember correctly.  Let's open up the archives, shall we?

This first card is my favorite of the cards I have for today (much more so than the new card, but we'll get to that).  The one thing I'd change is just tying the ribbon 'round the DSP layer rather than the whole card front, and shortening the pierced line a little bit so it didn't go edge-to-edge on the image panel.  Well, I guess that's two things.  But I like the color combo:  Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip even though it looks black.

Pretty sure this was for a combo color/sketch challenge and to be honest I kinda wonder why everyone else on the cardmaking planet is so in love with Crumb Cake.  I think it's okay I guess, but this much of it I think is drab.  And so MANY of the SCS "color" challenges are Crumb Cake, white or vanilla, and only one actual color (as opposed to a neutral).  YAWN.

And here's today's card, which is also a bit of a yawner to me.  I love Taken with Teal (retired, sniffle!) and Close to Cocoa (also retired, another sniffle!) but this card strikes me as trying too hard to catch up on the old SCS color and sketch challenges, and it just doesn't do anything for me.  Oh well, not every card can be your favorite, right?

Thanks for joining me on today's Friday Flashback!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes
Ink:  Taken with Teal (marker, because my TWT ink pad does this weird shade that looks more like Baja Breeze, what's up with that?!) and Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, retired Close to Cocoa DSP
Accessories:  Triple Flower punch (retired), Word Window punch, Neutrals brads

Phoebe's Lobster

You remember that episode of Friends where Phoebe is talking about how lobsters mate for life and they wander around the ocean floor holding onto each other's claws and then later in the episode she's like, "He's her lobster!"  (I forget who she was talking about.)

If not, you need to watch more Friends reruns.  If so, you'll know what I was thinking about when I made this card.

It started with this week's SCS color challenge, Real Red, So Saffron and Pool Party, which made me think of this lobster.  And then I was thinking of using alphabet stamps or something to spell out "what a catch" or something like that and I thought of Phoebe and her lobster story and then I just HAD to put that "congratulations on finding each other" sentiment on there and I have NO IDEA who I would ever send this to!  Because it makes no sense unless you think of Phoebe and her lobsters.

But it made me giggle when I made it.

Happy stampin, peeps!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  By the Tide, A Word for You
Ink:  Real Red, So Saffron, Pool Party, Early Espresso
Paper:  Real Red, Pool Party, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Subtles DSP Stack
Accessories:  Early Espresso taffeta (retired?!), Dimensionals

Primrose Tea

You know what I love?  I love it when I get an idea for a card and it all comes together in oh, ten minutes, and I like the result.  Lucky for me, that happened today!  (Also lucky for me, I'm starting to get over this stomach bug malarkey.  Yay!)

Yeah, the thing that took the longest for this card was cutting out the teacup.  Other than that, super easy-peasy.  The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches, I loooove this kinda sketch!

And the color combo is courtesy of Dynamic Duos:

At first I was looking for some So Saffron DSP, but then I found that Summer Starfruit pattern from Patio Party and it was big enough for a card front layer, so I just went with it.  I kinda like the small floral pattern with the teacup anyway, so that was kismet.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Tea Shoppe
Ink:  Primrose Petals, Early Espresso
Paper:  Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Patio Party DSP
Accessories:  Primrose Petals stitched satin ribbon, Dimensionals

Hiji Falls

I am still in the throes of this wonderful stomach bug, so I'm taking the easy way out today and posting a scrapbook layout I did a few years ago.  This is a small waterfall on Okinawa, and to get to it we had to hike a couple of kilometers through bug- and snake-infested jungle.  But the waterfall was pretty!

Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow and will actually have something new to share.  Until then, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps: Lovely Letters Alphabet
Ink: Garden Green craft, Handsome Hunter marker
Paper: River Rock textured, Garden Green, Blue Bayou (retired), Whisper White, Brocade Background DSP (retired)

She Believed

Happy Monday peeps, I hope you're feeling better than I am.  The stomach bug has caught up to me so mostly I've been spending time either sleeping or lying on the couch watching movies (GI Joe, Galaxy Quest, and a James Bond movie...I like movies where things blow up).  But I finally managed to make a card for today!

I have a friend who is running her first half-marathon later this month, I think this might go to her.  I picked out that pattern from the Twitterpated DSP and let it dictate my color combo for everything else.  The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches:

Lovely sketch didn't take me long at all to put together my card once I chose the Feel Goods stamp.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stampin'!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Feel Goods
Ink:  Island Indigo
Paper:  Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits, white baker's twine, Festive paper piercing template, eyelet border punch, Argyle embossing folder