Wishing You Koi...The Heart Desires Challenge #14~First Anniversary Celebration!

Hello!

Looks like our sizzling temperatures are creating all kinds of havoc (much more serious than my *can't handle the heat* grumpies); we have ash/smoke from various forest fires greying our skies (so much for having dusted!) AND a severe thunderstorm watch in effect.  While I'm hoping for rain, as  most of western Canada is, I'm also hoping that, given the dry conditions, lightning is not part of the package deal....

Anyway, let's turn away from 'scary' water scenes and focus our attention on those far more lovely and alluring, such as the pretty images selected to inspire us for the First Anniversary Celebration at The Heart Desires Challenge #14.

Vibrant sea-themed photos, indeed. I'd love to explore such surroundings, although that crab...he'd be given wide berth...those claws look pinchy! Speaking of big crabs, he reminds me of my long ago trip to the Cook Island of Aitutaki  where crabs galore skittered along the roads, in the ditches and into the restaurants and pubs. I kept my feet up whenever sitting down and my legs were on high-run-away alert when sight-seeing. Icky....but the island itself is gorgeous!

Moving on:  we won't discuss how long the Hero Arts Layering Koi set has been in my possession. Today, finally, making a debut...

Colours, water theme, celebration...hope I've met the "physical' challenge criteria.  As for the enjoyment aspect: oodles of fun creating this...and another 4 koi are inked up, ready for a swim on their respective panels.

To the wonderful team at The Heart Desires: thank you for the fabulous year of challenges!  Such an inviting, inspiring place to play (and the shop? Only awesome!!).

Also sharing at Muse Challenge #227~Anything Goes (how cool is that!!).

Thank you for dropping in; your visit brightened my day!

The Happiest of Birthdays...CASology 5 Year Anniversary~Balloons, Seize the Birthday~Splatter

Hello,

As many of you know - judging by the fabulous works of art in the gallery - one of our favourite challenges is having a party!  CASology is celebrating its 5th Anniversary with a blog hop AND a balloon challenge....

Of course  I'm joining in the festivities, even though I'm nearly the last to arrive! I've brought along a balloon, too - brand new from Winnie & Walter's recent release!

Happy 5th Birthday/Anniversary, CASology! Thank you for the fabulous challenges that keep us inspired week after week! Wishing you 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 anniversaries/birthdays to come!

My balloon has some splatters (s well as a heavy spicing of Perfect Pearls...), so we're joining Seize the Birthday~Splatter.

Dashing off....hope you're all having/had a wonderful Sunday!

Starfish and Shells Many Thanks...Inkspirational Challenge 140~Photo

Hello!

We're back from our vacation which, in a word, was AWESOME and have a few days to collect ourselves before heading off again. This time, I'll be going north to see my mom and my husband to the east, to be an official at Canada Summer Games.  Our journeys overlap so neither one of us is home alone for very long.  After that...still more to come!  I'm missing my crafting and my mojo (as you'll soon see...), but so enjoying our traipsing here, there and everywhere....

Anyway...Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #140, where we have this oh-so-striking piece of wall art to spark your creativity...

Joining us - Marina, Shauna, Kylie, Sandie, Nonni and Yvonne - this week is our talented Guest Designer, Jaydee,  The interpretations you'll see from her and the team are simply marvelous!

As for me: YIKES! Yes, this photo was a challenge so...I dived into my patterned paper collection for the background that 'sort of' mimics the colours/weatherworn appearance of the boards and used my sea images stencil to create a focal point focusing on the grey, blue/teal and whisper of coral from the collection on the shelf.  Hopefully, I came 'close' to translating aspects of this lovely piece of decor. 

Same card; just a different pose....

That's it from me...unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping are calling my name!

Looking forward to seeing your artistry in the gallery!

Thank you soooo much for dropping by, even though I'm dreadful at keeping caught up with comments!  Your patience - and continued visits - are truly appreciated!

Also sharing at:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Anything Goes

Birthday Bunnies and Flourish Hello...FUSION Card Challenge~Hello Cards

Hello!

My husband and I are having a lovely, though sweltering hot, little vacation. So nice to get away and just...well, hang out at bike races, because that's what we do!

Before heading on our trip, I squeezed in a couple of cards for the oh-so-lovely photo and inviting sketch for the new FUSION Card Challenge~Hello Cards.  The hello cards...swooning!

As oft is my way, I went 'out there' with my first card,using a fusion of the colours from the photo with the sketch. Pastel birthday Strike Up the Band bunnies from MFT...They make me laugh!

To reel myself in a bit, I also created a second card; again a fusion, but this time with Concord & 9th's Flourish set....

Please head over to see the brilliant, beautiful makes by my wonderful design team:

Becca Cruger

Betty J
Carol Mayne (me)

Claire Apostoloff
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Linda Callahan
Lyndal Higgins 
Michelle Leone

Michelle Lupton
Michelle Williams

Also sharing at:

SIP Challenge #108~Fabulous Flowers

Looking forward to seeing your designs in the FUSION gallery!

Watermelon Happy Summer Birthday...Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop (July #2)

Hello!

Welcome to the Serendipity Stamps July Blog Hop (#2), where my incredible DT and I are sharing a whole bunch of summer Serendipity Stamps sensations.  Want to add a few of these fabulous products to your collection?  Two simple steps: hopping along the DT blogs and leaving a comment puts you in the running for a $20 gift certificate.  Easy peasy, right?  Okay,  here's the list.

Mary's Blog

Beth Chiu

Patti Kehl

Carol Mayne  

Miriam Napier

Julie Warner

Vickie Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Recently, wonderfully talented Taheerah Atchia penned an illuminating article on the current summer fruit trend that we see, in abundance, throughout our crafting community, as well as in fashion, home decor and design. Her discussion, paired with fabulous images, is a 'must read'!  Included in her post are two cards she designed, one of which served as inspiration for my card, which you'll see below hers:

My version , in the grand scheme, is pretty much a turned-upside-down case of her BUT using Serendipity products paired with distress inks and black 'splots' for seeds, glistening with Glossy Accents.

Serendipity Stamps Products:

Seasons Dies

Happy Birthday

My goal: to make a card as "bold, punchy, and full of life" as hers! And with Serendipity dies/stamps to help me out, I think I came mighty close!

Now, I want to see if I can find a few fruit-replicated items like this fabulous skirt and art print:

 

Please head over to Serendipity Stamps Blog for more how-to-win details as well as for some scoops on sales. 

This month's 50% off stamp is the Sunflower Rake. Talk about pretty!!

Hop, hop, hop! Next on the list is wonderfully talented Miriam Napier. Enjoy!

Thank you for dropping in today; your visit brings me joy! 

Welcome Baby....Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #151~Anything Goes

Hello

Hope you've all enjoying a fabulous summer; hard to believe we're in the second half of July already!

Welcome to the ever-popular, fill-the-gallery-to-the-brim Anything Goes at Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #151.

My sister-in-law requested some baby cards, so I played with my Waffle Flower Cross-stitched Unicorns. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.  These sweet unicorns would fit a number of occasions!

Purple/pink one....

Shades of pretty pink....

Baby boy blue...

Now, your turn! 

Looking forward to seeing your dazzling delights!

Also sharing at:

Cards in Envy~Baby Blue or Pretty Pink (one of each)

 Thank you for dropping by; your visit is both welcomed and deeply appreciated!

Just A Note & Veggie Thank You...Inkspirational Challenge #139~Designer's Choice (Sketch)

Hello!

All my traveling hither and yon (with more to come later today, as my husband and I are embarking on a much-anticipated holiday...and yes, as per usual, it is road-bike race related *grin*) sees me missing longer bouts of time my craft room.  I have new goodies calling my name, but for now, they're just sitting in the NBUS pile....waiting...patiently...

Moving along...welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #139~Designer's Choice, where my talented, sweet teammate, Shauna, is inviting us to use an 'all kinds of possibilities' sketch in our designs:

For this challenge, we  welcome our talented Guest Designer, IZZY, who is joining my wonderful team - Sandie, Marina, Kylie, Yvonne, Shauna.  Speaking of teammates:  our sweet Pia  has left our DT after three years. I'm sad she's leaving, as I - and all of us - will miss her creativity and inspiration, but...we understand. Life takes us in different directions. Wishing you the best of luck in everything, Pia, my friend! Hope we'll see you in the gallery! 

As 'inviting' as the sketch is, my on-an-extended-vacation Mr. Mojo had some challenges. I started with this card (Concord & 9th's Many Mandalas)

which, 'design wise' turned out fine, but why I selected a pop of fushia as a stand-alone, who knows? Oh wait...I do know! I was trying out some new inks which, while super pretty are stamp stainers! GAH!  Oh well...a good scrubbing helped, but still...grrrrr!  My lovely Mandalas appear no worse for wear, so that's a plus...

After a bit more pondering, I decided that my Altenew Farmer's Market needed some attention...and that's precisely what it received...

See...you can use any shape you want in place of the circles (even salad ingredients!).

Turning the stage over to you!  

Looking forward to seeing your sketch-inspired creations in the gallery!

 Thank you for dropping by; your visit is both welcomed and deeply appreciated!

One of a Kind and You are Magical...MUSE Challenge #224 and TIME OUT Challenge #87~CASE with your own Twist

Hello,

I should be packing for our upcoming *finally* vacation, but instead...snuck in a little crafting time.

First, over at MUSE Challenge #224, sweet Tracey created this card to inspire us:

Simon Says Stamps Fingerprint Doodles appeared in my mailbox while I was at my mom's so...they came out for a play. Such fun, those little critters!

NOTE: Honoured and delighted to be one of the Featured Members at MUSE Challenge #224!  THANK YOU!

My second card was inspired by wonderful Cornelia over at TIME OUT Challenge #87~CASE with your own Twist: 

Since I have bird-terror, no way was I heading that direction. Uh Uh. Nope. Instead, I brought out the stamp and die set I was fortunate to win over at Pinkfresh studios...Unicorn Dreams.  Now 'that' kind of flying creature I can handle...horn, hoofs and all *grin*

Okay...enough dilly-dallying and time to figure out what to bring for our trip. Hoping I'll have a chance to catch up in commenting while we're away; if not, it's because we're at bike races (gee...isn't that a 'common theme' for our holidays...and weekends...). My husband will be one of the officials for several days' worth of racing and me...just a fan on the side of the road!

Thank you for dropping by; your visit is both welcomed and deeply appreciated!

Celebrate & Make a Wish...Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies Challenge (July 2017)

Hello,

We are so having a heat wave here, to the point where Environment Canada is issuing *Heat Warning in Effect* statements!  YIKES!  And guess who's spending the weekend at bike races! Swelter-fest in the forecast!

Anyway....let's discuss far more entertaining topics, such as the Happy Little Stampers July 2017 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge.

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

Recently (as in before I spent the past two weeks with my mom on my working/visiting excursion), I watch Jennifer McGuire's 7 Ways To Use Coordinating Dies video. Yep....inspired! Aren't we always, though!

The first uses the impress technique, although it's difficult to see as the impressed die is nearly the same size as the diecut. That's okay...still a 'something new' for me...

The next two use the solid dimension technique; one with the cake (straight stamped sentiment)

the other with the sentiment and the cake.

Inset technique for the next two.

And here's the gang!

Please visit my teammates for some truly amazing die cut inspiration, then play along with us!

See you in the gallery!

 Thank you for dropping by; your visit is both welcomed and deeply appreciated!

Table for Two...Serendipity Stamps July Blog Hop #1

Hello,

Time is rushing along far tooooo quickly! We're talking July already! JULY!  I want the lazy, hazy days of summer to slow down, so I can savour every moment. Trying to do my best...I need longer days *grin*

One of the many perks of July is the Serendipity Stamps July Blog Hop (#1), where my incredible DT and I are sharing a whole bunch of summer Serendipity Stamps sensations.  Want to add a few of these fabulous products to your collection?  Two simple steps: hopping along the DT blogs and leaving a comment puts you in the running for a $20 gift certificate.  Easy peasy, right?  Okay,  here's the list...I'm in between incredibly talented Patti and Miriam (eek!)....

Mary's Blog

Patti Kehl

Carol Mayne  

Miriam Napier

Julie Warner

Vickie Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Coffee with a friend, surrounded by a colourful garden of flowers...that's what came to mind in designing my card for this hop

Serendipity Stamps Products:

Table for Two

Summer Flower Pops Background (water-coloured with my Tombow markers)

Pretty Pink Posh Scallop Square Tag Dies  

(Did you know Serendipity carries Pretty Pink Posh dies? If not, you do now!  

Choices galore over at Mary's shop!)

A steaming cup of coffee is calling my name, so I'm off.

Please head over to Serendipity Stamps Blog for more how-to-win details as well as for some scoops on sales. 

This month's 50% off stamp is the Sunflower Rake. Talk about pretty!!

Hop, hop, hop! Next on the list is wonderfully talented Miriam Napier. Enjoy!

Thank you for dropping in today; your visit brings me joy!