Flip-Floppin'

Mornin' y'all, and thank goodness it's Friday, I am ready for this week to be over.  I have spent a lot of time this week making phone calls (I hate making phone calls) and trying to get some appointments set up and the whole process has been a long drawn-out frustration and so I decided that today I am taking the day off from all of that and I am going to make some art in my craft room.  First I will need more tea (I always need more tea) so I'd better put the kettle on.

Anyway, I have two cards to share today, so here's the first one:

I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

And the Creative Colour Challenge:

I made a fall card because I am 100% manifesting fall and summer can go kick rocks, gimme fall colors and pumpkins and apples and baking and Halloween and Thanksgiving and all the good stuff.  But I just wasn't loving that card and I thought you know what, those colors just really want to be a summer card.  So I grumbled and made this:

Same colors and sketch as before, though I changed the sketch to a landscape card because that "Summer Adventures" stamp is so wide.  And this card insisted that it had to be CAS, who am I to argue.  I had thought about entering my Dog Days card in the As You See It challenge:

But I worried that the Dog Days card wasn't quite on theme enough so I didn't, and now here I am with some flip flops which I hadn't used before from the Summer Happiness bundle.  However, I fully intend for this to be my last summer card this year because I am so ready for this summer to be over already, it's been tough with me dealing with bad fatigue issues and just not feeling well in general.  I am ready to turn over a new (fall) leaf, and on Tuesday I placed a nice fat Stampin' Up! order with some fall goodies to make my little goblin heart happy.  There's a bunch of cute Christmas stuff on preorder now too, but I didn't order any of it yet because I want to enjoy fall first.

Yesterday something happened that has never happened before...Calamity has befallen the warcraft room.  I LOST A STAMP.  I was working on a card for the Nancy Drew Challenge and I know I had that stamp, I clearly remember having it out when I was playing with some parts and pieces, but it has disappeared.  Poof.  I spent over an hour looking everywhere I could think of and nothing.  The hubs came home in the middle of me looking through everything on my craft table for the fifth time and bless 'im he said "Just order another one, then you'll find the one you're looking for."  By the end of the evening I was frustrated enough to do just that, but so far my original stamp is still in hiding.  Unless it magically turns up today, the Nancy Drew Challenge will be delayed by one week, which doesn't make me happy, but I think it's worth having the specific stamp I'm looking for and it's my challenge and my blog so I can do that.  Maybe if I stop looking for that lost stamp, it will appear?  One hopes.  Anyway, I am going to do my best today to not worry about the doctor's appointments or the missing stamp and just have fun making some art.  Maybe I'll put out all my fall and Halloween decorations too, that would make me happy.  Cheers, y'all.

Supplies, leaf card:
Stamps:  Simply Leaves
Ink:  Real Red, Lemon Lolly, Azure Afternoon
Paper:  Real Red, Basic White, Lighter Than Air DSP Stack, Azure Afternoon DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals

Supplies, flip-flop card:
Stamps:  Summer Happiness
Ink:  Lemon Lolly, Azure Afternoon, Versamark
Paper:  Lemon Lolly, Real Red, Azure Afternoon, Basic White
Accessories:  White EP, Mini Dimensionals 

SSSmile

Mornin' y'all.  I'm feeling a little slow this morning but I'm hoping that I'll perk up now that I have my first cuppa in front of me.  I do love a good strong Irish Breakfast tea in the morning...or maybe two : )

Anyway, when I made my snake card for last Saturday's Nancy Drew Challenge, I had at first colored in the snake with Granny Apple Green and Golden Glow before I switched to Bubble Bath instead.  But I still had that green and gold snake image all cut out and ready to go, so here he is on a card:

My picture looks a bit dark but that's what I get for taking it when it was all misty outside and right now I'm trying to get this post written before my wireless mouse runs out of batteries so I'm not going to replace it.  Anyway, the AAA Cards Challenge was the perfect impetus to get Mr. Snakey here on a finished card:

And I paired that with the Festive Friday Challenge:

I already had white on my die-cut snake image, so I chose a frame to go around him and then the "SSSmile" sentiment because it made me laugh.  I almost put some embellishments on there, but with the little dots around the snake on top of the polka dot paper I decided I had better leave it alone.

Amusing anecdote time:  This summer, I spent a lot of time in the car driving Ryan to various summer camps which all seemed to be 30 minutes away, so we started playing a game in the car where Ryan would name a letter and then we'd trade off saying words that start with that letter.  Sometimes we'd do fake acronyms just to try to make each other laugh (there was one about a problematic turnip vs. a pretty tiger).  Anyway, whenever Ryan ran out of words, he'd just yell "SNAKE!" and choose a different letter.  Why snake?  I have no idea.  He also said "Why did I play this game with YOU when you know every word in the English language?!" but we had fun with it.

Okay, I'd better finish up before my poor mouse goes into a coma.  Cheers!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Animal Notes from C.C. Designs, Nature's Symphony
Ink:  Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in Granny Apple Green & Golden Glow
Paper:  Golden Glow, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Granny Apple Green DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Detail dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Dog Days

Mornin' y'all!  Ryan's first day of school was yesterday and so far he's done well with the routine.  I had to drive him to school yesterday because his bike had a flat, but the hubs fixed that last night so Ryan rode his bike to school today.  I'm not quite finished with my first cuppa but I'm already contemplating a second one since I have to get out and run some errands here shortly.

Anyway, it has been too long since I played with the Cutest Crew bundle so that's what I did today.

I made this for the current Inspired By... challenge:

I liked the colors, and I started going through my more-or-less current stamps (i.e. the ones in the new packaging since they're all in one handy container but I still don't like the new packaging so there nyeh) and I pulled out Cutest Crew immediately.  I figured it would work well with the colors (I used Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Golden Glow, and Pecan Pie) and I thought a lot of horizontal elements would be a good callback to the inspo pic, so this is a good chance to play with a few of the dies that I hadn't messed with before.  I still need to use the birds and the kitties from this stamp set, but the pupperinos are just so cute!  I needed some kind of pattern on the Crisp Cantaloupe paper so I inked up the now-retired Painted Stripes and do not ask me how I got it to go all the way across the card front when it's not that wide, I have no idea how I got the stripes to match up as well as I did and I am sure I could not replicate it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Cutest Crew
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie, Golden Glow, Smoky Slate, Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana (the Blendabilities and WHEN IS SU! GONNA GIVE US BLENDS IN THIS COLOR)
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Golden Glow, Pecan Pie, Basic White, Fresh Prints (of Bel Air) DSP Stack
Accessories:  Cutest Crew dies, Nested Essentials dies, Dimensionals

I told Ryan I wanted a first day of school picture of him yesterday.  This is what I got:

I told him that I am keeping many many pictures like this because in a few years when he brings a girlfriend home I'm going to have LOTS of things to show her.  Thankfully Daphne was here for the cute:

BOOP.  I loves her.

Okay, I've got the kettle on for my next cuppa, and as soon as that's gone I'll have to go run some errands.  Cheers, y'all!

SUO Challenges CASE-ing the Catty

Mornin' y'all!  It's time for a new challenge from SUO Challenges and this time we're literally taking a page from the current catalog : )  Here it is:

Now, I don't have that rounded rectangle punch or the DSP that they used, but that doesn't mean I can't CASE one of the cards.  I had a look-see through my current papers and picked one that has blue and green tones and I reversed the colors on the card in the lower left corner.  Here's what I made:

The Nested Essentials dies gave me a similar shape to the punch they used in the catty, and I found a similar greeting with mixed fonts in Fern & Flora, which I embossed in white.  Even when I do CAS cards, I like to use different colors for the card bases, so I went all in on the blue for this one and used a white-based pattern for the three rectangle pieces.  Fun fact:  the watercolor wash is the back side of the floral pattern I used and also, hooray for using up some more DSP!  I added a few retired Blueberry Bushel Tinsel Gems to finish it off.

Now it's your turn!  Take a look at the samples from the catalog and make a CASE for yourself.  And remember, it's completely up to you how much of the inspiration you use on your own card--I think you can tell that I started with that one particular card for my inspiration, but my card looks fairly different because of the paper choices.  Upload your creation at the SUO Challenges blog...remember to use only Stampin' Up! products and most important, have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fern & Flora
Ink:  Versamark
Paper:  Blueberry Bushel, Garden Poetry DSP
Accessories:  Nested Essentials dies, white EP, retired Tinsel Gems

Tiny Tranquil Tree

Mornin' y'all!  I am on my second cuppa tea this morning and I had pumpkin coffee cake for breakfast because Ryan picked Sunday breakfast yesterday and he almost always chooses pumpkin cake.  I think I took a page from his book too because for some reason I was getting crumbs everywhere, but at least I clean up after myself.

Anyhoodle, the hubs and I were both in the warcraft room on Saturday (where he plays World of Tanks and I do crafts) and the following conversation took place:

Me:  Do bonsai count as trees?
Hubs:  ...Yes?  (definitely questioning)
Me:  Okay cool *stampy stamp stamp*

Result:

Ohhh yeeaahhh we're CAS today and I like it.  I used the Color Dare Challenge for my colors:

The card base and the stamping are done in Pretty Peacock (it looks extra dark in the picture, and I even took more than one but they all looked dark), the shading under the bonsai is Coastal Cabana, and I used watercolor pencils in Calypso Coral and Bermuda Bay to color the bonsai.  As to why I needed a tree, here's the Addicted to CAS challenge:

I hope they agree with the hubs that bonsai count as trees.  Bonsaaaaiiiiii!

Daphne is ready for her morning perambulation so I'm going to take her because I am totally stalling about all the phone calls I need to make today because I hate calling people on the phone but I need to make appointments and pretend I'm a functioning adult.  Wish me luck.  Bonsaaaaiiiii!!!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Calming Garden, Kanji
Ink:  Pretty Peacock, Coastal Cabana
Paper:  Pretty Peacock, Basic White
Accessories:  Corner rounder punch, watercolor pencils

My darling Daphne.  Sun's out, tongues out!

Paper Players: A Card for Ryan

Happy Sunday, y'all, and that means it's time for a new Paper Players challenge!  This week the jubilant Jan has a fun theme challenge for us to kick off August:

Jan wants to see cards for babies or kids, and as it happens I live with a not-quite-so-little-anymore kiddo who will be starting fourth grade this week, so this is a perfect time to make a card to slip into his backpack on that first day.  Here's what I made:

Ryan has been fixated on ducks for yeeeeeaarrrrs but after we went to Yellowstone and then to a nearby wolf sanctuary this summer, he is now also fixated on wolves.  He's read several books about the wolves of Yellowstone and I am all for anything that gets him to enjoy reading.  Anyway, this was also a fabulous opportunity for me to finally ink up my Wild Wolves stamp set from Lawn Fawn that I got last year.  I kinda took inspiration from a shirt that Ryan and I both have:

We took this selfie at Yellowstone this past May : )

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:
Stamps:  Wild Wolves from Lawn Fawn
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in So Saffron, Smoky Slate, Copper Clay
Paper:  Night of Navy, Basic White, Everyday Skies DSP Stack, Simply Marbleous DSP Stack
Accessories:  Wild Wolves dies

The Greek Symbol Mystery

Happy August and welcome to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today we are on the sixtieth book in the series, The Greek Symbol Mystery:

I still don't like Nancy's hair and face on the arch covers (no shade to Ruth Sanderson, the artist, and the charcoal illustrations inside the book are quite nice) but I do like the background of ruins and Nancy's outfit is pretty good.

We get Nancy, Bess, and George all together on the first checkerboard cover and for once the outfits aren't bad at all.  Actually all three books have pretty good outfits, which is a contrast to last week's mystery.

I think the one on the right is my favorite though, I like the purple and green color combination, Nancy's facial expression, and it feels more active than the other two covers which are rather static.  And I'm pretty sure I have a button-down shirt in a very similar color to what Nancy's wearing on this one (even though it's George who discovers the snake in the book).

Case file:  Not sure why Nancy bothered to go home to River Heights after her mystery in Belgium because she's right back in Europe, this time in Greece.  Maybe she did it for the frequent flyer miles.  Anyway, she's tracking down a missing person, investigating a possibly fraudulent charity, trailing some art thieves, and running afoul of the local law enforcement (which might be a first, usually the cops are falling over themselves to help her with anything she wants).  And in the end someone names a yacht after her, which is a questionable decision given how many boating accidents she's had.

Here's my card for the arch cover:

I had to ponder this card longer than the other two for this book, the colors on the arch cover don't really say "ancient ruins" to me but I think I made it work here.  I used More Mustard, Bermuda Bay, and Pretty Peacock; since I don't have More Mustard ribbon (and I really thought I did), I used some Hello Honey ribbon which I thought worked well with the So Saffron in the patterned paper and the card base.

I will say that even though the Winged Victory statue *is* Greek (or is it a Roman copy?  I can't remember), I associate it with France since it's on display at the Louvre (and I've seen it).  The Winged Victory stamp actually says Greece on it though so I started with that and used several other travel-related stamp sets to make a collage.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Travels Abroad, World Wonders, Travel Post, Next Destination
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Pretty Peacock
Paper:  More Mustard, Pretty Peacock, Very Vanilla, Cupcakes & Carousels DSP Stack
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

And here we go for cover #2:

I had to ink up Sweet November's Mini Medusa for this one!  In the first chapter, Nancy tells her friends, "Last night Hannah dreamed that we'd be greeted at Athens airport by gorgons--monsters with snakes for hair!" and then George says that was probably because Hannah had an appointment to have her hair permed.  I adore this Medusa stamp so I was delighted to use it for this one.

For my colors, I used Shaded Spruce, Azure Afternoon, Golden Glow, and Crisp Cantaloupe to coordinate with the book cover.  Doozy's skin is Crisp Cantaloupe and I did wonder if that looked okay, but the hubs said he liked it so I kept it that way.  I had fun coloring in Doozy's snek friends.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Mini Medusa from Sweet November, My Paper Pumpkin greeting
Ink:  Night of Navy, Shaded Spruce, Stampin' Blends in Shaded Spruce, Golden Glow, Crisp Cantaloupe, Azure Afternoon
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Basic White, Venetian Romance DSP, Bloom Impressions DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, In Color Dots

And speaking of snakes, here's my card for the third cover:

I never thought I'd be saying "Oh how CUTE" about a snek image but here we are.  For a wonder, I did *not* buy the Animal Notes stamp set from C.C. Designs specifically for this challenge, I got it because it's got a dozen super cute rolly-polly animals and the snake happened to be one of them.  Then I perused my Halloween stamp sets for my greeting and it makes me laugh because I am a giant nerd.

I think this cover is the hardest of the three to find; I would like to get one that's in better condition, but I have yet to find one despite being on the hunt for over a year.  At least I have this book even if it is a bit distressed.  I remember this cover especially because it's the one my library had when I was a kid.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Animal Notes from C.C. Designs, Scary Cute
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Granny Apple Green & Bubble Bath
Paper:  Petunia Pop, Gable Green, Granny Apple Green, Basic White, Cute As Can Bee DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Details dies, Dimensionals, Petunia Pop Iridescent Ribbon

When I first read this book as a wee young lass, I never guessed that one day I'd get to go to Greece too; the girls visit Athens, Piraeus, and Corfu, and I've been to all three of those plus several other places like Santorini and Olympia.  Also I have cousins who are half Greek so this book was extra interesting to me for that reason.  Usually I like the travelogue books, but this one feels like they skipped a chapter at the beginning--the missing persons case isn't explained at all, we just find out about it in dribs and drabs through the book and most of what happens doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  I do like the Greek setting though and the covers are all good so I'm giving it one and a half stars.  If you make a card based on the book, leave me a comment as I'd love to see how it inspires you!  I'll see you next week when Nancy finds The Swami's Ring.