Pumpkin Harvest

Mornin' y'all.  Moving slow this morning as the hubs returned from a quick trip to DC late last night and it took me forever to get back to sleep when he came in.  Been busy this morning too, going to the store (again), doing the dishes, and I have the first of many loads of laundry in the washer because I didn't actually do it the other day when I said I was going to.  Oops.

Anyway, while I might start making Christmas cards, I also want to spotlight my FAVORITE holiday so here is today's card:

Yes, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, mostly because PIESSSS (so many pies) and also sweet potato casserole.  I'm the only one in my household who likes sweet potato casserole so I only make it for Thanksgiving, and actually I usually only make pies at Thanksgiving too.  If we're celebrating other friends or family, I make two apple pies so the hubs doesn't have to share because if I only made one, he would sword-fight other people with his fork and knife to keep them away from his apple pie.  Pumpkin is my favorite though and I use a pumpkin praline pie recipe that I found in a cookbook we got for our wedding over 20 years ago.

Anyway, now I'm craving pie but let's talk about challenges, starting with the Creative Colour Challenge for this week:

The Blueberry Bushel is only on the sky in the pumpkin image, and I added Early Espresso and Pecan Pie (oh look, more pie) for neutrals.  Next up is the As You See It theme challenge:

My main image is from Best of Autumn, which is a smaller version of one of the stamps in Harvest Home and I kinda wish I'd found the bigger stamp but too late now.  I'm also not sure how much I like the layout I came up with...it seemed like a good idea at the time but I'm not sure I like the effect.  Well, not every card can be your favorite and this will still go out in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

I have one crazy doggo who really wants to go on a walk, so I should go do that before she gets too pushy.  Maybe the washer will be done by the time we get back and I can start a second load of laundry, so I have that to look forward to, ha.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Best of Autumn, Petite Patterns, Painted Pheasant
Ink:  Versamark, Early Espresso, Blueberry Bushel, Timid Tiger, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Timid Tiger, Early Espresso, Thick Basic White, Crushed Curry DSP
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Stitched Rectangles dies, clear EP, Streaked Dots, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Linen

Happy Friday, y'all!  Today's Friday Flashback stamp set is Linen--yep, we're shining the light on a background stamp today.  Let's check it out!

Also features Baby Talk, Petite Patterns

One thing I noticed going through my archives is that I've used Linen quite a few times, but it's hard to see in the pictures because the texture is so fine on the stamp.  So click on the photos to enlarge, and check out the card base on this one.

Also features Heartfelt Thanks, Warm Words, French Script

Or the Almost Amethyst layer on this one.

Also features Fall Whimsy, Print Pattern, AYC3

Pumpkin Pie layer on this one...

Also features Touch of Nature, Print Pattern, Weathered, AYC3

The card base on this one...

Also features Steppin' Style, Print Pattern

And finally, the blue layer on this one.  Uh, Linen is a hard stamp to photograph I guess?  Well, here's my new card:

I think you can see it a little better here; I stamped Linen with Dapper Denim ink on Dapper Denim cardstock and IRL it looks like blue jeans which makes me happy.  I'm entering this at Just Add Ink, where the challenge is to just add "B"--I made a birthday card with a blue jeans background, using the color Blushing Bride and the stamp set Bodacious Bouquet for my blooms, to which I added a bit of bling in the form of rhinestones, and I used my Big Shot to cut out the Lots of Labels die for my sentiment.  How's that for Bs?

This also counts for Retro Rubber's challenge to use flowers:

I've had Linen for 10 years (!!!), Bodacious Bouquet for 9, and Perfectly Penned for 5, so they're all nice and retro for that challenge.

I also incorporated the colors from The Color Throwdown:

I used Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, and Watermelon Wonder for my colors, and I think they'll forgive me for adding a smidge of Pear Pizzazz because I just needed some leaves for my flowers.

This afternoon, hubs and I are going to see the new X-Men movie (hubs is off work today!) and then we're going out to dinner.  Maybe I can talk him into going to Chuy's for some Mexican food...adios for now!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Linen, Bodacious Bouquet, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, Watermelon Wonder
Paper:  Dapper Denim, Blushing Bride, thick Whisper White
Accessories:  Lots of Labels Framelits, rhinestones

Friday Flashback: Gifts from the Orient

Happy Friday, y'all!  Already time once again for a Friday Flashback, and this week's featured stamp set is Gifts from the Orient.  Let's take a trip back through the stampy archives...

Also features Rough Type, Dream Gardens

Here's a scrapbook layout from my parents' visit to Okinawa in 2008.  Wow that was nearly 8 years ago, crazy.  Anyway, the origami crane above the title is from today's stamp set.

Also features Petite Patterns, Warm Words

And here's a card from the same time period, I made this for my parents when they visited and gave them a kokeshi doll too.  So I pulled these two out of the archives and I was absolutely SURE I had made at least one more card with this stamp set, I remembered it quite vividly so I just spent 15 minutes looking for the picture of it in my Splitcoast gallery only to find out that for the card in question, I used a different Asian-themed stamp set.  *sheepish grin*  So that's it for the flashback part, let's see some new stuff!

This card was the combination of three different challenges, starting with the latest from CAS(E) This Sketch:

I turned the sketch on its side, but I kept my card CAS because it's only two layers of white cardstock and the strips behind the oval are stamped red lanterns.  Speaking of red, the Retro Rubber Challenge this week is a color combination:

So for Retro Rubber-ness, I've had Gifts from the Orient since 2008, and I got Rough Type when it was first released in 2010.  Both well over a year old, though that alphabet never has time to get dusty in my house ;)

Anyway, just one more challenge, the theme at the Male Room:

Yep, I used pink on a dude card.  Granted, not a lot of pink, but I did use pink :)  I'm sending this card to my dad because it's punny and he appreciates a good pun.  "Hai" sounds like "hi" but means yes in Japanese (or if you want to get more nit-picky, it's more like "I acknowledge what you're saying" rather than "I agree with you") but it just made me giggle a bit when I thought of it and yep, Dad will like it.

After I finished my hai card, I just wasn't quite ready to stop for the day so I made one more:

When I do the Friday Flashback posts, I almost never look at the older project pictures first so it's just coincidence that I used the same two stamps from the set on my two new projects.  That, and those are my favorite stamps in the set.  Anyway, this one is for the challenge at Fusion:

I went with the sketch more than the paper hearts picture, though I think I could do some thing with green, orange and purple.  Maybe another time.  Anyway, this good luck card I think also counts for the Male Room challenge again.

So that's it for me today.  Hope you have a great weekend, y'all!  I think we might go see Kung Fu Panda 3...

Supplies, Hai card:
Stamps:  Gifts from the Orient, Rough Type
Ink:  Basic Black, Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Mint Macaron, Blendabilities
Paper:  Thick Whisper White
Accessories:  Ovals Framelits, Neutrals Candy Dots

Supplies, Good Luck card:
Stamps:  Gifts from the Orient, So Happy for You
Ink:  Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black
Paper:  Real Red, Thick Whisper White, Confetti Celebrations & Perfectly Artistic DSP
Accessories:  Circles Framelits

Friday Flashback: Carved & Candlelit

Happy Friday, y'all!  I have an appropriately October-ish stamp set for today's Friday Flashback:  Carved & Candlelit.  Love it!  So let's get to the fun part :)

Also features Rough Edges Alphabet

It's hard to tell from this photo, but the jack o' lanterns' faces are embossed with Iridescent Ice so they're all sparkly.

Also features Cool Cat, Background Basics, All-Year Cheer III

What's more Halloweeny than a cool black cat?

Also features Background Basics, Petite Patterns, All-Year Cheer II

I happen to know a couple of people whose birthdays are ON Halloween, and quite a few more with October birthdays who also love pumpkins.

Ok, so this one is really old:  it's a layout from the first set of baby books I did way, way back.

Also features Bright Blessings (unmounted wheel)

So Carved & Candlelit is a simple little set with a couple of pumpkins and a few faces, but clearly I love it.

Also features Grateful Greetings

Again with the Iridescent Ice EP faces.

Also features Priceless, Falling Leaves

You've seen this layout on here quite recently but I couldn't leave it out.  And that's the Flashback part of today's post, so here's the new creations:

Yep, I made two!  My brother-in-law and his son have birthdays one week apart so I figured I'd make cards for both of them.  And between the two cards, I used every stamp in the set one time.

First up is the grown-up card; I had quite a time trying to get this card to work.  This is actually the FOURTH background panel!  I don't know why but I was just having trouble getting things to gel yesterday when I worked on it.

I used the color combination from The Color Throwdown:

And the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

And I think this one counts for the Male Room challenge to make an autumn card for a guy:

So next up, the card for the 6-year-old.

This one didn't quite want to gel either, I don't know what is up with my craft cave lately.  But anyway I used the color combo from ColourQ:

And the sketch from Retro Sketches:

I think this might have worked better for me if I'd made my card more like 5 inches square instead of 4.25".  But I don't have envelopes that size, so what can ya do.

Well, I know what I'm going to do:  I'm going to go back down to my craft room and work on another project, and hope that this time my mojo cooperates a little better.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, next-to-last card:
Stamps:  Carved & Candlelit, Fall Fest, Birthday Wish, Work of Art
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Accessories:  Dimensionals

Supplies, last card:
Stamps:  Carved & Candlelit, All-Year Cheer II
Ink:  Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Paper:  Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango DSP
Accessories:  circle punch, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Baby Talk

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  I tell ya, if there's one thing I need a lot of lately it's baby cards.  Lucky for me, today's featured stamp set is the baby-licious Baby Talk.  Let's flash back!

Also features Linen and Petite Patterns

I still miss Gable Green and Green Galore, they were great limey greens.  Fun for little boy cards :)

Also features Wild Hearts and Print Pattern

And here's a baby girl card.  You untie the ribbon at the top and use it to pull out the insert from inside the sleeve:

I also miss Orchid Opulence and Cool Caribbean, though Coastal Cabana is totally wonderful :)  What can I say, I just love colors.

Also features Bundle of Joy

You know that the baby books would make an appearance!  That's it for the Flashback, here's today's brand-new card:

I raided my scrap box for a couple of complementary patterns and I love these colors together:  Lavender Lace (retired), Regal Rose (retired), and Pumpkin Pie (not retired).  Just for funsies, I dusted off my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and went to town on that stamped image.  I have a friend who just found out she's having a girl (she has a 2-year-old boy and was hoping for a girl this time) so she'll be getting this card and a pair of baby booties before we move, which is fast approaching.

Thanks for joining me for this week's Friday Flashback, cheers peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Baby Talk
Ink:  Versamark
Paper:  Lavender Lace, Whisper White, DSP scraps from Flowers for You, Love Sparkles SSK, and Pumpkin Pie DSP
Accessories:  Black EP, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Labels Collection & Banner Framelits, Dimensionals, Rhinestones