Purple Thoughts

Mornin' y'all!  I just had a pumpkin spice English muffin for breakfast and it was goooood.  I am definitely going to get out all my fall and Halloween decorations this weekend and I can't wait.  The weather may still be hotter'n heck out there but I am going to turn it into autumn in my house!

But I think my card today is more springtime than autumnal, what do you think?

I saw the Colour Inkspiration palette on Jan's blog and had to give it a go:

I pulled the Sale-a-Bration set Beautifully Happy out of my To Sell? boxes to make this card and somehow I have never used that stamp set before?  Which is probably why it was in the To Sell? boxes, but let's be real I'm probably keeping it.  I like the mixed font greetings in this set and it was just the thing for making a card for a cousin who's undergoing cancer treatments now, she's on my weekly sunshine card list and this will go out to her next week.

That's it for now, peeps.  I think I'm going to make myself a Dolly playlist and buy her Rockstar album to enjoy this weekend while I'm decorating for fall.  Have a good 'un, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Beautifully Happy
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Stampin' Blends in Blackberry Bliss, Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam
Paper:  Fresh Freesia, Blackberry Bliss, Basic White, Favored Flowers DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Transparent Dots

Dolly's Butterfly

Mornin' y'all.  I found out yesterday that Tim Curry also passed away on Tuesday, but I don't have any Tim Curry stamps so I made another Dolly card.  Here it is:

When the hubs and I went to Dollywood like 20 years ago, they had a professional photographer take your picture when you came in the park and they'd CGI a butterfly on your photo, so I thought a butterfly would be a great choice with that particular quote.  And it made for a cheery card for the Color Hues Challenge:

I used Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie with some Early Espresso for a neutral.  Happily for me, the old Beyond the Garden DSP has both those colors in it and I chose a fun floral to back my butterfly.

Super easy challenge at Retro Rubber:

I'm pretty sure my Dolly stamp set is more than a year old, but I'm not sure how long I've had it since I hadn't inked it up before now.  However, I do know that Watercolor Wings is eleven years old and the last time I used it was 2019, so it was fun to dust it off.  I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I maybe should have done the smaller butterfly image and added another square element to my card, but I like the big butterfly image.

I bought The Essential Dolly Parton yesterday even though it has several songs that I had on a different album, but my new favorite Dolly song is Dumb Blonde, the first one on the album, and the last one is a cover of Collective Soul's Shine which is pretty cool.  So I listened to Dolly yesterday and then watched Clue last night while I worked on my stitching project.  My first Tim Curry movie was Legend (one of my three favorite movies as a tiny child, along with Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn) and I did think about watching that, but there's a limit to how much Tom Cruise in hot pants I can take, and I just love the sly humor of Clue.  Maybe next I'll watch The Three Musketeers.  I don't think I've ever seen 9to5 either and I don't want to watch Steel Magnolias because I would have to buy Kleenex in bulk for that one.

Anyway, that's it for me today.  Cheers,  y'all.  I will always love you.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Watercolor Wings, Dolly from The Ink Road
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Basic White, Beyond the Garden DSP
Accessories:  Bold Butterfly dies, Tiled Garden dies, Dimensionals, rhinestones, Wink of Stella

For Dolly

Well, this isn't the card I thought I would be making yesterday, but here it is:

News of Dolly Parton's death yesterday was totally unexpected.  I've had this Ink Road stamp set for a while but hadn't inked it up yet.  It has the image of Dolly and a variety of quotes, I just chose the one that fit in my die the best.

I used a Color Dare Challenge:

I used Berry Burst, Bubble Bath, and Parakeet Party for colors, though there's a bit of yellow in the floral pattern too.  And here's this week's Atlantic Hearts sketch:

I moved the sentiment a bit because I didn't want to cover up the image of Dolly.

I think I have just three of Dolly's albums in my music library, as I was never much into country music I am mostly familiar with her biggest hits.  The hubs and I did go to Dollywood about 20 years ago, and of course I know about her Imagination Library and philanthropy.  She was an extraordinary woman, and extraordinarily kind.  The world could use more people like Dolly.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to the Dolly album I just bought.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Dolly from The Ink Road
Ink:  Berry Burst, Bubble Bath
Paper:  Berry Burst, Bubble Bath, Basic White, Delightful Floral DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Charming Shimmer Faceted Dots, Dimensionals

Blue Spruce

We need to talk,  y'all.

If you've been around here for a while, you know I am a Fall Girl.  I love everything fall:  the colors, the leaves, pumpkin spice everything, cozy sweaters, fall baking, Halloween and Thanksgiving, you name it.  I have been actively attempting to manifest fall for weeks now.

Which is why I am at such a loss to explain...this.

Okay, this isn't exactly a Christmas card, but it's definitely wintry with the pine branch and the colors.  I am absolutely 100% not ready for anything winter or Christmas, so how did this happen?!  I'll tell you how, it was CAS Colours & Sketches.

I looked at those colors and blue spruce just happened.  If you're wondering where the Berry Burst is, take a look at the gems--they're Berry Burst though it's not showing up super bright in my photo.  It gives the impression of holly berries without any actual holly here.  And while I do love last year's Branching Out bundle, I do wonder at its audacity showing up here on my blog in AUGUST.  The nerve.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make something seasonally appropriate.  By which I mean fall.  Not winter.  Perhaps something in the Halloween genre, just to clear my card-making chakras.  Because this felt weird.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Branching Out
Ink:  Misty Moonlight, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Misty Moonlight, Basic White
Accessories:  Branching Out dies, Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

Pumpkin Glow

Mornin' y'all, how's your week starting off?  Ryan is feeling a little not-so-great this morning, I think because he ate so much junk when we went to see the new Paw Patrol movie yesterday.  (It was okay, but maybe not as good as the first two...Ryan liked that this one focused a bit more on Marshall, who's his favorite pup.). Haven't made a decision on if he should stay home or not yet.

Anyway, I have a card to share today and man I cannot type this morning, hopefully I catch all my typos before I publish this but whatever.

This month's Product of the Month is the Glow of Harvest specialty DSP and it's gorgeous with a pearlized finish.  It's single sided and we have several fall-centric designs that are so pretty, I cut the pumpkins out of one sheet and the floral background is another pattern.  I thought this DSP was a good choice for the TGIF Challenge from last Friday:

I have been loving Golden Glow lately, it's such a wonderful autumn color and it's in several of the new autumn DSPs that are coming out soon.  And you know fall and Halloween cards are my very favorites to make : ) Trying to encourage the fall weather to get here already, I want summer GONE.

That's it for now, peeps.  Have a great day!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Words of Beauty
Ink:  Early Espresso
Paper:  Golden Glow, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Glow of Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Words of Beauty dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, Dimensionals, Radiant Gems

Sketch Milestone for The Paper Players

Mornin' y'all and happy Sunday!  I hope you had fun with Claire's fall challenge last week, and it's time for a new challenge today.  The amazing Ann is hosting our sketch challenge this month, and it's a milestone number--800!  So we are bringing back our very first sketch:

Isn't that fun?  I couldn't resist playing with the Painted Pumpkins suite again (hurry up fall!) and here's what I made:

I really love that dark pattern with the pumpkins so that's where I started and built the card around that.  I chose two other patterns to complement the first one, and then I had to add some thin mats around the layers, and I stamped my greeting directly on the stripey pattern as a little variation on the sketch.  This time I stamped just one of the pumpkins with Secret Sea ink and used Golden Glow Blends to color it in, just for something different than what I've done with it before, and I added a couple of leaves and vines behind it and then some Painted Patch Dots to finish it off.

Check out the other design team creations on the Paper Players blog, and you can hop through their individual blogs to leave some comments too:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

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:  Painted Pumpkins
Ink:  Secret Sea, Stampin' Blends in Golden Glow & Pool Party
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Golden Glow, Whisper White, Painted Patch DSP
Accessories:  Painted Pumpkins dies, Dimensionals, Painted Patch Dots

The Kachina Doll Mystery

Mornin' y'all and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today is book #62, The Kachina Doll Mystery: 

We have three pretty great covers this time and at least Nancy is strawberry blonde on the third one.  I don't have a favorite cover this time around, I love the colors on all three and had a good time making my cards for them...maybe because this book is one of my favorite Drews!

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George are invited to Arizona by their friend Heather McGuire to investigate strange happenings and sabotage at the ranch resort her family is trying to get started.  Suspicion has fallen on a young boy who's living at the ranch with his aunt.  In addition, there have been sightings of a Kachina doll ghost (pictured on the first two covers) and rumors of a long-lost treasure.

Here's my first card:

I didn't want to be unintentionally disrespectful of First Nations cultures so I decided to stick with the desert setting for my cards, starting with Desert Details which I dearly love.  When the girls arrive in Arizona, they talk a lot about how Heather and her family have made the desert bloom at their ranch, so desert blooms it is for this card!

I used Merry Merlot, Blushing Bride, and Just Jade for my colors and I was surprised at how much I liked them together.  I've never been a fan of Blushing Bride but I really like how it plays together with the other two colors.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Desert Details
Ink:  Merry Merlot, Blushing Bride
Paper:  Merry Merlot, Just Jade, Whisper White, Awash in Beauty DSP
Accessories:  Desert Details dies, Everyday Arches dies, Dimensionals, Regal Foiled Dots

Here's card #2:

At one point in the book, Nancy and a large group of people take a trail ride out into the desert and have dinner and sing songs around a campfire, and there are several mentions of coyotes so Musical Jamboree was a natural choice for this one.

To match this cover, I used Lovely Lipstick, Azure Afternoon, Tranquil Tide, and Cinnamon Cider.  I used an Azure Afternoon watercolor wash pattern for the color of Nancy's dress and would you believe that Tranquil Tide piece on the bottom is from the Classic Garage DSP stack?  I just stamped some grassy bits on it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Musical Jamboree
Ink:  Early Espresso, Azure Afternoon, Tranquil Tide, Stampin' Blends in Cinnamon Cider, Ivory, Lovely Lipstick, Golden Glow
Paper:  Lovely Lipstick, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Bloom Impressions DSP, Classic Garage DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals

And for my third card:

One of the acts of sabotage that was blamed on the innocent kid was burning a huge cactus, which almost fell on Nancy, Bess, and George when they went to check it out and I will not miss an opportunity to make a fun cactus card.  Plus this gave me an excuse to use the frame dies from Desert Details since I didn't use them on my first card as I was focused on the arch shape.  One of the clues that Nancy finds is an old journal, so I used a piece of patterned paper with a lot of words on it.

Another color combination that was very fun to work with:  Shy Shamrock, Pool Party, and Fresh Freesia.  This particular book has some water damage along the right side, so if I find a copy in better condition I will probably grab it, but this one is otherwise in pretty good shape.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Flowering Desert
Ink:  Shy Shamrock, Fresh Freesia, Pool Party
Paper:  Shy Shamrock, Whisper White, Pool Party DSP
Accessories:  Desert Details dies, Dimensionals, Tinsel Gems

This book definitely hearkens back to Shadow Ranch which is one of my all-time favorites, I wish they had done some kind of callback to that book but they didn't.  This book also has an incident with a scorpion, which is the second book in a row that I don't have scorpion stamps for so maybe I should look into that.  The sabotage mystery was a no-brainer to solve; it's the missing treasure and the Kachina doll ghost that are more interesting and delightfully spooky.  I think this book is more respectful of First Nations cultures, by which I mean that Nancy doesn't dig up any bodies this time (yeah that bar was low), but we get a little bit of talk about Hopi culture and artwork, which is nice.  Also I have seen Kachina dolls in person, they are amazing and beautiful!  I'm giving this one five stars, I love it.  If you're inspired to make a card for this book, please leave me a comment!  And I'll see you next week when Nancy takes on The Twin Dilemma.