Friday Flashback: Lots of Thoughts

Happy Friday, peeps, and welcome to the Friday Flashback.  Today's Flashback set was a Sale-a-Bration set from 2008, and it's called Lots of Thoughts.  Buncha little sentiment stamps, but not a set I've used much.

Also features Fabulous Flowers and Paisley

I have lots of thoughts on this card, and they all start with "Ew" and go downhill from there.  This is The Ugly Card.  Mostly I don't like Bravo Burgundy too much, and that corset lacing thing is just...no, and even Fabulous Flowers looks less than fabulous here.  The whole card is a world of no.  So sometimes sketch and color challenges will lead you astray!  I had to redeem myself today.

Ok, this might not be my favoritest card in the universe, but it's loads better than The Ugly Card, right?  I mean, it's hard to go wrong with Swallowtail.  And we're continuing yesterday's pinkalicious theme with this color combination from Create with Connie and Mary, who did not steer me wrong today:

And the sketch (turned on its side) is from Freshly Made Sketches:

So yep, I finally made something with Lots of Thoughts that is at the very least presentable.  My work here is done for this week ;)  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Lots of Thoughts, Swallowtail
Ink:  Versamark, Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Blackberry Bliss
Paper:  Blushing Bride, Rose Red, Whisper White
Accessories:  Gold EP, baker's twine from an old Paper Pumpkin kit, corner rounder punch, Dimensionals

Painted Pink

It rained all day long yesterday, and it's still gray, gray, gray today, but here at Snapdragon Stamps we're in the pink.

Yay pink!  I love pink.  Who am I kidding, I love color, period.  So anyway, I used the gorgeous springtime color palette from the Color Throwdown:

I used Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive, and Crumb Cake.  Seems like I hadn't used Rose Red in a long time, at least until it showed up in the Painted Blooms DSP (which I didn't use on my card, since I stamped my own patterned paper).

Just for something different, I tried out the Mojo Monday Tall & Skinny sketch:

And apparently I paid insufficient attention when I jotted down the sketch, I totally missed that one background layer.  Too late now!  Anyway, for funsies, I also made this card over in the standard A2 size:

It's like a security blanket, the card proportions I'm used to.

And there they are together, tall & skinny and short & fat.  Hope no one ever thinks that when they see me standing next to the hubs...

Anyway, hope you have a great day, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Painted Petals
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Old Olive
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Dimensionals

Over the Hill

It's raining again today...just got back from a walk with my dogs, and we got sprinkled on even though my phone claimed it wouldn't start raining until around 11:00.  Oh well, at least we're not six feet deep in snow?

This is a birthday card for my father-in-law, whose birthday was over a week ago but I was asleep at the wheel.  Oops.  Maybe *I'm* the one having senior moments.

I thought this week's Nacho color challenge would be good for a masculine card:

And I also used the latest sketch from (CAS)E this Sketch:

I've got a couple other birthday cards I need to send out this week, so I'd better go write in them before the mailman gets here.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Just Sayin', Calendar Alphabet & Numbers (retired)
Ink:  Tangelo Twist, Crushed Curry, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Paper:  Basic Gray, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Confetti Celebration DSP
Accessories:  Ovals & Word Bubble Framelits, Dimensionals

Nachos: Enjoy the Ride

Happy Tuesday, Nacho fans!  It's time for another Nacho Average Color Challenge!

Of course with those three colors, the first thing that popped into my head was Halloween, but it's February so I did this instead:

The layout is kinda based on one I've seen Rita use quite a few times (though usually she has multiple skinny banners to my one fat one).  Still, it's a CASE and she should get credit :)

Now let's all go check out the Nacho blog for more eye candy, shall we?  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Today & Everyday
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Crushed Curry, Tangelo Twist, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Tangelo Twist, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Color Me Autumn & Confetti Celebration DSP
Accessories:  Party Pennants Bigz die

Home Sweet Home

Scrappy Monday, peeps!  We're doing the time warp with today's layout, the pictures are over 10 years old.

This is from way back when the hubs and I lived in North Carolina and were just getting furniture for our house...we slept on the floor for a month before we got a mattress, and it was several more months before we got living room and dining room furniture.  Then we brought my yellow Lab Chewie from Texas to NC to live with us, and that's when the house became a home :)

Here's my color palette for today:

Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Cherry Cobbler, and Early Espresso.  If you want to be picky, I have some bits of Night of Navy, Mossy Meadow, and Soft Suede on my stamped block, but the ones pictured are the main colors.  When we moved to Alabama, I got a bunch of scrapbook stuff that I'd left at my parents' house for 7 years, so I had a looksie through the patterned paper and pulled out some of that to use on this layout (which is good, because I don't think I have any Mellow Moss SU! patterned paper really, and that was the color I wanted).  Kind of fun to look through that stuff I haven't seen in so many years...now I just have to figure out what to do with it all!

Well, it's time to get my run on this morning.  Have a great day, peeps!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Good Neighbors
Ink:  Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso marker
Paper:  So Saffron, Cherry Cobbler, non-SU pattern
Accessories:  None

Friday Flashback: Blooming With Happiness

Well, I got distracted with a book today so here it is very nearly 7 p.m. and I'm just now writing the Friday Flashback!  But anyway, today's stamp set is Blooming with Happiness, so let's go get springy!

Also features Simply Said

Even when I first made this card, I didn't think I'd gotten the color balance right on it.  This is my least favorite card for today's post :(  Not every card can be your favorite!

Also features Simply Said and Happy Harmony

Here's a baby shower card, the umbrella is from Blooming with Happiness but the small flowers on the card front are from Simply Said, which I used with Blooming with Happiness a LOT.

Also features Simply Said

I love that dress image, I used craft ink here and heat embossed the image before I colored with markers.  And then there's my favorite polished stone background, along with some more heat embossed flowers.

Also features...you guessed it...Simply Said

Then I had to try it in a few different colors.

Simply Said on this one too

This one is my least favorite of the three, but I don't know if I like the red or the purple one better.

So anyway, besides the umbrella and the dress, there's another main image in Blooming with Happiness and I just had to use it for today's new card:

No Simply Said on this one!

The cake and the candles are two separate stamps, so I suppose it could be a wedding cake or a birthday cake as your little heart desires.  The colors are courtesy of the challenge at Colour Me...!

And the sketch is a slightly tweaked version of the Mojo Monday sketch:

Well, it's date night, and I think I've made the hubs wait for dinner for far too long.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Blooming with Happiness
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, So Saffron, Pool Party, Real Red
Paper:  So Saffron, Pool Party, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Flashback DSP
Accessories:  Oval Framelits, Spring Flowers EF, Dimensionals

Hello Spring

Maybe that's wishful thinking, considering that it's really cold here in Alabama right now and I know it's a lot colder up north.  But I still have a springy card to share today.

The butterfly Thinlits were on backorder when I ordered them a while back, so I only just got them yesterday and I had to break 'em out immediately to make a card.  Since this die is so intricate, I ran it through the Big Shot with a piece of waxed paper in between the die and the cardstock--worked like a champ!

My springy color combo is courtesy of The Color Throwdown:

I used Pistachio Pudding, Garden Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Whisper White.  I think maybe the Cantaloupe is a bit pinker than the color swatch, but it was what stuck in my brain when I looked at the challenge.

The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches:

This card came together in no time flat, but I think it still looks pretty good :)  Gotta love those butterfly Thinlits!

Thanks for stopping by.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  A Dozen Thoughts
Ink:  Whisper White
Paper:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Garden Green
Accessories:  Butterflies Thinlits, Spring Flowers EF, rhinestone

Congratulations Star

I am a challenge junkie because a.) it's faster (most of the time) to create when you've got a sketch and/or colors picked out for you and b.) then people come comment on my blog when I enter my cards in the challenges :)

So here's a card using a sketch that might look familiar.

I needed another patriotic congratulations card, so here it is.  The hubs says he woulda liked it better without the silver glimmer paper; maybe I should have thought more guy and done brushed silver cardstock instead.  It was already glued down so it's staying like it is, though :)  And here's the challenge graphic from Nacho Average Challenges:

I've got a bit of a headache going on, probably because the smoke detector is beeping.  Maybe I should go see if we have any extra batteries anywhere...

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Something to Say, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink:  Soft Sky, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Paper:  Soft Sky, Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer
Accessories:  Oval & Star Framelits, hexagon punch

Nachos: Tangerine Hello

Happy Nacho day, peeps!  Yep, it's time once again for a Nacho Average Sketch Challenge:

Fun, right?  I think so.  And here's what I made:

I went pretty literal this time and even used the exact same flower shape from the sketch :)  I started with a piece of patterned paper that I really liked and let it dictate the colors:  the flower is Tangerine Tango, the card base is Night of Navy, and the sentiment is Lost Lagoon.  But I thought maybe I needed more Lost Lagoon, so I made this version:

Now it doesn't look so white-on-white, though maybe I could have used some white EP on this one ;)

So which one do you like better?  The white or Lagoon?

Go check out the Nacho blog for more pretties, and then make one of your own and post it over there so we can see it.  Have fun, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Four You
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White
Paper:  Night of Navy, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Flower Pot DSP
Accessories:  Oval Framelits, Blossom punch, hexagon punch, Dimensionals

Birthday Valentine

Mornin', peeps!  Hope you had a good Valentine's Day weekend.  February 14th happens to be my sweetie pie's birthday, so today I wanted to share a layout I did a few years ago.

Happy Valent-irthday!  This was from when we lived in Japan.  This year all my hubs wanted to do was go out to dinner, so we did.  He hates being the center of attention so I didn't even tell the waitress it was his birthday :)

Anyway, I'm off to go start my Monday morning run.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Jayne's Type Alphabet
Ink:  Not Quite Navy
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Western Sky DSP
Accessories:  Large star punch

Friday Flashback: Script Heart

Happy Friday and thanks for joining me on today's (rather late) Friday Flashback!  Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I have an appropriately lovey-dovey stamp set today:  Script Heart.  Oddly, it seems this little set is so obscure that it doesn't even have a Splitcoast gallery.  So let's get started!

Also features French Script

Honestly, I thought I hadn't used this stamp set at ALL so I was a little surprised to find this one in the archives.  And that's the entire flashback part of today's post, so here's my new creation:

There are other stamps in the set, like some floral bits that would be used in corners and a couple of sentiments in that same spidery script, but I like the big heart the best.

I wanted an extra-simple layout to let the ornate stamp be the star of the show.  I'm still loving my new firm foam ink pads and I'm slowly getting all the colors out of the wrappers...just for funsies, I've only been opening up new colors as I use them, because I was kind of curious to see what I would open up first and what would be left to the very last.  I don't think I've got even half the colors opened up yet, though Perfect Plum, Pear Pizzazz, and Real Red joined the list this time.  (Garden Green was the very first one out of the wrapper, it is my favorite green!)

Speaking of colors, I must thank the lovely folks at the Color Throwdown for today's color palette:

I used Coastal Cabana, Perfect Plum, Real Red, and Pear Pizzazz, plus a bit of Sahara Sand for shading and a teensy bit of Crushed Curry for the violets' centers.  A scrap of patterned paper and some ribbon, and finito!

I hope y'all have a great Valentine's Day tomorrow.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Script Heart
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Perfect Plum, Coastal Cabana, Pear Pizzazz, Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry
Paper:  non-SU white (because it's thicker), Fresh Prints of Bel Air DSP stack (I never get tired of that joke)
Accessories:  Pear Pizzazz taffeta ribbon, corner rounder punch

Hearty Lumberjack

Well, Missy agreed that she liked my Baylor-iffic lumberjack, so we'll see what she thinks of a Valentiney one.  He'll be going postal quite soon:

I think he's so stinkin' cute no matter what color he's wearing.  And 'tis the season for Valentines, right?

I wanted this to be on the front of the card, but it was a little bit too big for the sketch I was using so I stuck it on the inside instead.  Speaking of the sketch, it's from Freshly Made Sketches:

And my color combo is from Colour Me...!

Perfect for Valentines.  Beautiful picture too.  I thought about doing something on the Pink Pirouette card base, but I decided to just leave it as-is so my cute little lumberjack can be the star of the show.  I need to think of a name for him.

Hope you're having a great day.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Wood You Be Mine?, Hardwood, A Dozen Thoughts
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Blush Blossom & Pink Pirouette markers, Blendabilities in Crumb Cake and Smoky Slate
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Trim the Tree DSP Stack (from the Holiday mini)
Accessories:  Sweetheart punch, Dimensionals

Lotus Thanks

Once upon a time, the hubs and I visited a botanical garden in Okinawa, and they had a long row of dozens of different kinds of lotus in pots.  I spent over an hour in the scorching heat taking pictures of them all.  They came in all different colors, but I clearly remember some that were white with pink tips.  So I made them into a card.

I'm on the laptop right now because the main computer seems to have a case of the Mondays (I know it's Wednesday, but apparently it doesn't) so the colors might be a bit off since I'm not used to using PC software anymore.  But anyway, I was also inspired by the latest challenge at Cupcake Inspirations:

They never fail to make me hungry :)  Anyway, you see where I got my pinks and the little bit of purple.

I also used the sketch from As You See It:

I only changed it up a teensy bit, moving the sentiment onto the circular element and changing the top embellishment to a butterfly.

And while I don't have any cupcakes in the house, it is lunchtime, so I'm gonna go rustle up some food :)  Thanks for stopping by and cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lotus Blossom
Ink:  Whisper White, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Accessories:  Circle punches, Elegant Butterfly & Bitty Butterfly punches, Banners Framelits, Subtles Candy Dots, Dimensionals

Nachos: Sympathy in Pink & Gray

Happy Tuesday, Nacho fans!  It is time once more for a fantastic Nacho Average Color Challenge:

These colors would be perfect for a wedding card or a Valentine, and I was planning to use them to make a baby card, but I found out last week that a friend of mine recently lost her brother so I find myself in need of a sympathy card instead.

I like soft colors for sympathy cards, and these three fit the bill.  Still, for such a simple-looking card this seemed to take me forever!  It took at least 20 minutes looking through my patterned paper scraps for something that would work with what I had in mind, but then I found that soft dot pattern from last year's Watercolor Wonder paper.  Just what I needed.

I usually don't combine my Nacho cards with any other challenges, but I needed a sketch to make the process go faster so I turned to the gals at Create with Connie and Mary:

I think it's an interesting sketch, different from what I normally do, but I liked how my card turned out.

So anyway, I hope no one else out there needs a sympathy card so you can get to making the pretty Valentines or baby cards!  Check out the Nacho blog for more eye candy and then make your own :)

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Blooming with Kindness, Thoughts & Prayers
Ink:  Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate, Watercolor Wonder DSP
Accessories:  Sweetheart punch, white baker's twine

Go Away!

Me, not you :)  When we were getting ready to leave Okinawa, my coworkers set up a farewell lunch for me, and then one of the guys called it a "go away lunch" (which sounds like he couldn't wait to get rid of me...) and the name stuck and now it's immortalized in scrapbook form!

What's funny is when I started this layout, I had the pages reversed so the one with the title on it was on the right.  But I like it better this way, and how it looks like that patterned paper strip goes straight through even though I cut it so there would be a border of Melon Mambo between it and the photo.

Here's my rainbow-licious color palette:

I started out with all the colors in the Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP (one of my all-time favorite packs!) and then added Pumpkin Pie and Orchid Opulence to complete the rainbow.  I needed those two extra colors to do my title all multicolored.  Do you like the title?  (You can scroll back up to look, I'll wait.)  I can't seem to get away from mixed font titles but at least I used some different alphabets this time.

That's it for me today, peeps.  Cheers!

Supplies, mostly SU!
Stamps:  Retro Alphabet Upper, Big Deal Alphabet, non-SU image
Ink:  Pacific Point, Orchid Opulence, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Memento Tuxedo Black; Basic Black marker, Blush Blossom marker, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, & Smoky Slate Blendabilities
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP
Accessories:  Circles Framelits

Friday Flashback: Bareback

Happy Friday, peeps!  It's time for the Friday Flashback, and this week I bring you Bareback.  I was one horse-obsessed kid growing up--when we moved to Texas, 7-year-old me thought we'd have a horse in our backyard and I'd get to ride to school.  When I found out that wasn't the case, I packed a bag and tried to walk back to California ;)  All that to say, of course I bought this horsey stamp set!

Also features Flannel Plaid, Many Merry Messages

This was my Christmas card right before we moved to Japan, because we were in Texas for a few months.  My mom said it wasn't Christmasy enough; I said whaddya mean?  It says Merry Christmas big as day, how much more Christmasy can you possibly get ;)

Also features Flannel Plaid, A Word for You

This one was a fairly recent creation, but not really one of my favorite cards ever.  It's my least favorite of the cards on today's post...I do like how the white markings on the horses' faces turned out, though.

Also features Flannel Plaid, Wanted, Full of Life

And now I realize that I *always* use Bareback with Flannel Plaid, but luckily today I did something different :)  Behold the new card on the block:

I even know who this is going to:  a friend of mine bought a horse a few months ago and takes riding lessons on the regular.  I'm totally jealous, I've always wanted a horse :)  Anyway, knowing her, I figured that sentiment from You're a Gem was perfect on this card.  It's going in the mail today--I'm trying to mail out more of the cards I make instead of just storing them.

The colors are from The Color Throwdown:

I interpreted this as Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, Soft Sky, and Always Artichoke.  The sketch is from CAS(e) This Sketch:

There's something about this one that I just reeeeally like, even all that white space isn't making me nervy.  I like it!

So anyway, today I'm leaving on a jet plane to go back to the land of no-you-don't-have-a-horse-in-your-backyard because my brother's promotion ceremony is on Sunday.  Woohoo!

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Bareback, You're a Gem
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Night of Navy
Paper:  Soft Sky, Night of Navy, Wintergreen DSP
Accessories:  None