I VIKE You Very Much...Happy Little Stampers April 2018 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Hello,

Welcome to Happy Little Stampers April 2018 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge.

Mr. Viking and his little pet dragon have been waiting a LONG time for their debut...and today's the day!  Too. Much. Fun! The viking is one of 26 I coloured up and placed on tags for my nephew's classmates. This guy 'made the cut' and wound up on a card. I VIKE this big ol' burly dude immensely!

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

Looking forward to seeing your Anything Goes with Dies cards/projects in the gallery!

Also sharing at:

Simply Create Too Challenge #137~Use Die Cuts

Thank you for dropping by!

My Favorite Things Viking

My Favorite Things Magical Dragons

My Favorite Things Stitched Mod Rectangle

My Favorite Things Stencil Cloud

You Make Me Happy...Inkspirational Challenge 158~Rain Photo

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #158~Photo Challenge, where we have this lovely rain image to spark inspiration.  I know that April showers are supposed to bring May flowers; but what does April snow bring? Yep...still wintry here!

Please welcome our Guest Designer, Anita in France , whose incredible talents and ultra-sweet personality are renowned in the crafting community. Guaranteed you'll be dazzled by her gorgeous, CAS card!  Speaking of 'dazzling', my teammates have created lovely cards as well. Please drop in at their places, delight in their inspiration and leave them some love that I know will be greatly appreciated:

Shauna, Sandie, Kylie, Marina, Yvonne, Nonni

A simple card from me, where the elements of the photo that caught my eye are readily apparent.  In real life, the umbrellas are sparkly, as they would be with rain and light hitting them...

Hope my enjoyed my tumble of umbrellas; more important, I hope it gives you incentive to dive into your stash to find something that links to the photo - rain, clouds, sunshine, buildings, cityscapes, shapes, to suggest just a few - and join us with a card, or three!

Looking forward to seeing your photo inspired creations in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!

Kindness and Just Because...Just Us Girls Challenge #435~Bold

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #435~Word Week, where our sweet Ina has selected BOLD as our inspiration! Bold letters, words, colours...whatever you choose, make it big and bright!

If you've come from - or are heading to - the challenge blog, you'll see an array of fabulous cards from our April Guest Designer Karren Johnson - welcome to JUGS, Karren - and my talented teammates: Sue, Angie, Vicki, Ina, Bobby, Nancy, Lisa, Maria.
I also have my own Guest Designer: my 8-year-old niece (yes, eight...she turned 8 in March), who designed a card for the challenge while she was at our place, visiting (with her family) over Easter Sunday/Monday. I'm soooooo impressed with her talents and hope you will be, too!

First, my card. Even though Spring is slow to arrive and Summer seems a long way off, I'm seeing Farmer Market signs popping up around our town. Those, in turn, reminded me of my Altenew Farmer's Market set, filled with big vegetable images. I inked them in bold colours, added a sentiment and...done! Salad, anyone? Perhaps a stir fry?

Next, is my niece's wonderfully bold 'rainbow' floral card. She used a combination of Zigs/Tombows to colour her Studio Katia You're So Ranunculus blooms, stenciled dragonflies from STAMPlorations Dragonfly Waltz for her background and added a sentiment from Studio Katia Label Messages. Aside from actually using the heat gun and getting a wee bit of help with some gluing, she did everything else herself! I started crafting with her when she was barely three and she can navigate my Misti and Big Shot like a pro!  I absolutely LOVE her bright, pretty card!

Turning the stage over to you! 

Looking forward to seeing your BOLD creations in the gallery!

Also sharing my niece's card at:

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #397~Flowers

Simply Create Too Challenge #137~Use Die Cuts

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #386~Rainbow Colours

Thank you for dropping by!

Pretend to Hug You Until You Get Here...STAMPlorations April 2018 Challenge #1: FOCUS ON THE SENTIMENTS

Hello,

I'm excited to be joining with my awesome STAMPlorations teammates for the April 2018 Challenge #1: FOCUS ON THE SENTIMENTS

My card was originally intended for Valentine's Day - hence the pink/red - but with modifications to the schedule to allow Shery and her family a "Winter" break to play catch up and adjust to life with two little ones, I decided to save it for this challenge.  A simple change in colours makes the sweet image and heart-warming sentiment an 'any time someone is distance and we miss them' combination.  A timeless sentiment, indeed! 

A Full Heart - Big Grins by Becca Cruger

Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

As a reminder, we have only one challenge for you this month, with only one theme: Focus On the Sentiments. As long as you follow the theme, any type of project is welcome! We'll return to our regular programming in May...yayyyyy!

How will your inspiration for this theme take shape? Perhaps a big word or phrase die? An oversized sentiment? A sentiment stamped into little snippets to make it the focus of your design? An entire panel stamped with sentiments. Oh my...the possibilities!

Looking forward to seeing your 'sentiment sensations' in the gallery!

For more details about how to enter and prizes (gotta love the prizes!), head here. 

As well, Shery is offering a generous 10% off (no coupon code needed) all stamps, stencils, and dies in the store through April. Retiring products are excluded. With a discount code from your favorite designer for 20% on top, this is definitely the time to pick up items you may have on your wish list!

To receive 20% off STAMPlorations stamps, stencils and dies, I invite you to use my code: STAMPGIRLCAROLM. The code applies to regular and sale-priced products, but cannot be combined with other discount codes you have. Happy shopping!

Thank you for dropping by!

For smiles and inspiration head to: STAMPlorations blog | STAMPlorations shop

You're Amazing: Card Designed by my Niece...2018 Stamping for Autism Awareness Blog Hop, Simon Says Monday Challenge~A Trio of Something

Hello,

We were soooo thrilled to have my brother, sister-in-law and our sweet niece and nephew, Ms T and Mr. C, spend Easter with us, on their way home from their Spring Break holiday. Of course, a visit here means a whole 'lot' of activities on the agenda: Easter egg hunt, Easter cake decorating, making home-made pasta dough and pasta, using our crank-the-handle pasta machine (my husband supervised that adventure), making bath-bombs (first time for me, too!), gluing tubes on bike tires (husband definitely in charge *grin*), and...well, a bunch more!

In the midst of all this, my niece (who just turned 8) also made FIVE cards, as she fell in love with two stamp sets sitting on my crafting desk: Studio Katia's You're So Ranunculus and Spring Bouquet.  She decided to target a couple of her cards for specific challenges, so we went for a wander through blog-land, to see what caught her eye.

It didn't long for her to reach her #1 choice: to design a 2018 Stamping for Autism Awareness Blog Hop.  Her knowledge about, paired with her thoughtfulness in creating her card...well, let's just say she had Aunty c teared up!

Here's her card...and I am absolutely blown away with how fabulous it is! She's already savvy with using stamps, stencils and dies, but embossing was new. I showed her the steps and, aside from using the heat gun, everything here, she did pretty much all on her own!  She used a combination of Zigs and Tombow markers for her flowers, and paired them with a stenciled dragonfly background (STAMPlorations Dragonfly Waltz).  Flowers and dragonflies...love it!

NOTE: Thrilled to bits-and-pieces that my niece's card was Tenia's choice for *I Rocked the Watercooler* recognition! THANK YOU!!

I'm just so gosh-darn proud of her! As for the other four cards...keeping you in suspense for the time being *grin*  If you have a chance, your comments will thrill her to bits and pieces; I'm also sharing on IG, if you prefer to visit there...

We're also sharing at:

Simon Says Monday Challenge~A Trio of Something

Creatalicious Challenge #136~Anything Goes

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #164~Marsha's Feminine Anything Goes

Thank you for dropping by!

You're So Cool...Happy Little Stampers April 2018 CAS Challenge~Chevrons

Hello,

April...already! How did that happen so quickly?  The forecast for the next week is for clouds and flurries. I think Spring is taking a vacation before heading our direction...

Welcome to Happy Little Stampers April 2018 CAS Challenge~CHEVRONS. 

Not a lot of chevrons in my stash, but I think this one, from STAMPlorations (Mixed Media Grunge) works well for grounding my cutie-patootie Simon Says Stamps Best Friends. This foursome makes me smile!

That's it from me; please head over to the blog to see how my talented teammates interpreted this month's theme.  A reminder that we're looking for CAS designs:

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Also sharing at:

Creatalicious Challenge #136~Anything Goes (Optional Twist: Friendship)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Anything Goes

Looking forward to seeing your *chevron* cards/projects in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!

Happy Easter...CASology Challenge #293~Cross, Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Anything Goes

Hello,

Happy Easter to all my wonderful friends who celebrate; may your day be filled with joy, time with family and friends and, of course, chocolate!

All products are from Studio Katia...and oh, how incredible they are!

Studio Katia:

Floral Cross

Easter die

Dotted Patterns: Set 2

Dotted Patterns: Scallop Frames

Joining the gallery at CASology Challenge #293~Cross

and Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Anything Goes

My niece and nephew will be arriving soon...and since the Easter Bunny visited here, we have some egg hunting to do! 

Thank you for dropping by!