Just Us Girls Challenge #573~Aurora Borealis...Wishing on a Star for You

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #573, where our lovely Sue invites us to bring the vibrant, dancing colours of Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights to our cards/projects this week.  Shimmering purples, blues, greens...this masterpiece of Nature is a sight to behold. I've been fortunate to see them many times during our trips to my grandparents' home in norther Alberta and oh....they are magical, mystical and dazzling.

We bid a big thank you to Leslie Turner, our February guest designer. Leslie, your cards this month have been amazing. Hopefully, you'll continue to join us in the gallery. Your finale is sensational, as are those of my teammates. 

My Northern Lights kind of 'missed the mark', so to speak, in that I don't have the knack to improvise those amazing swooshes of colour we see in the photo. That, paired with no silhouette tree/forest stamps/stencils, meant seeking a different entry point. Result is below...a sort-of Aurora Borealis sky (Black Soot...I have a tough time with that ink) background for an assortment of adorable images from MFT's Sky High set. Those bunnies and bears...ohmystars!

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing your Rainbow Colours creations in the gallery.

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #233~Word Prompt: Tower....Frozen Slimline with Castle Background

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #233, where our word prompt for the next two weeks is TOWER.  Initially, this threw me for a loop but...I found my way and I know you will, too! 

So, at the time I was making my cards, it didn't dawn on me to use a cityscape die for towers. Nope...instead, my mind went to the towers found on castles, which lead me to my Echo Park Magical Castles stencil, which lead me to thinking about the movie, Frozen, which lead me to a slimline design (which is kind of tower-ish), which finally resulted in this...

My sweet niece will be turning 11 (already!!) in early March, so this will be heading

her way, along with Rainbow loom elastics and  markers for her to decorate ceramic mugs. I think that oil-based Sharpies are the way to go with that project (based on my limited research); if anyone has better ideas, I'd be thrilled to hear them. New to this particular craft, so advice appreciated.

Please check out my teammates' tower-themed creations, then play along with us!

Marina, Shauna, Pia, Marlena, Lindsey

Also sharing at:

ModSquad Challenge~Fairytale Castle

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #572~Colour Week...Shimmery, Sparkly Rainbow Birthday

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #572, where our lovely hostess, Angie, is inspiring us to use Rainbow Colours this week. This doesn't mean you need to create a rainbow; rather, create anything you like, focusing on the good ol' ROYGBIV palette.

Once again Leslie Turner joins us as our guest designer this month, with an adorable card. Please head over to the main blog to see the amazing inspiration from her as well as my talented teammates. If you have time to drop by their places and leave a comment, that would be appreciated.

Recently, my friend Lindsey created a wonderful foiled rainbow card, so I took my cue from her. I wasn't in a "get messy" mood, so rather than use a rainbow stencil + Deco Transfer Gel + foil, I went for an easy route: rainbow dies (Concord & 9th) + toner paper + foil (Deco Foil Rainbow Shattered Glass).  I simply cut a piece of toner paper large enough to fit the dies, placed the foil on top, ran it through my laminator, cut the arches and...done! One VERY shimmery rainbow, plus a few shimmery hearts from the left-over bits....

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing your Raibow Colours creations in the gallery.

Thank you for dropping by!

Seize the Birthday #208~Create A Scene...Unicorn Picnic Magical Birthday

Hello,

It seems like just yesterday that I posted my first card as the Surprise Party Guest at Seize the Birthday for February/March and here we are, in a blink, already at the month's second challenge! Time is whooshing! 

I'm delighted join the wonderful Seize the Birthday team once again, with my card that features the 'toppings': create a scene

My niece will be turning 11 (ACK!!! Growing up way too fast) in early March, so her special occasion influenced the card I made, featuring a variety of images from Lawn Fawn's Unicorn Picnic set. The unicorns and fairies, enjoying sweet birthday treats atop the pillowy clouds, are truly adorable!  The rainbow/sun and a cast of fluttering butterflies completes the scene. I sure hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed creating it for her (although, there were a couple times when I almost 'made a scene' in the process of assembling it. Smudges! Grrr...but they're hidden, so that's a 'whew'!).  I'm glad she still loves 'cute' and, fingers crossed that she always will!

Thank you, Nancy and the rest of the team, for welcoming me to 'your place' for this second February date.  To my visitors: thank you for dropping by. I hope you'll join us in the gallery, with or without the topping.

Thank you for dropping by!

Color Hues #12~Peach and Green...Cacti Turnabout

Hello,

Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #12, where I, as your hostess, selected  Peach and Green as the hues we're inviting you to play with for the next couple of weeks.  

Way back when I selected the colours, I had an idea in mind...and somewhere along the way, it evaporated!  Next choice: my Concord & 9th To the Point turnabout. Peach Fizz, Perfectly Peach, Cactus and Parsley...my ink selections from assorted companies. No sentiment outside but inside: "I'm happy to be stuck with you". Fun!

Please visit the rest of the team; they've created quite the array of dazzling delights with Peach & Green:

Nancy

Hannelie

Cindy

Julie

Sheri

Kristie

Lindsey

Karen

The challenge is open until 9:00 AM (EST) on February 28th.

 The winners will be posted an hour before our next challenge goes live on March 1st.

The overall winner will have the opportunity to be a 

future Guest Designer!

Thank you for dropping by!

Perfectly CAS February 2021 Challenge~Splash...Mermaid Thank You

Hello,

Welcome to Perfectly CAS February 2021 Challenge, where our theme is SPLASH.

A foiled mermaid die cut (My Creative Time) paired with an alcohol ink 'splash' (Picket Fence Studio)... Splashy and flashy! *grin*

Please be sure to pop by my teammates' blogs, leave them some love, then bring your Perfectly CAS Stencil creations to the gallery.

• A friendly reminder: For this challenge, we're asking you to use one-third (aka: the rule of thirds) or less on your card designs, leaving plenty of scrumptious white space (two-thirds of your panel) to draw our eyes to to your focal image. Kylie has included an easy-to-follow explanation on the challenge blog here.

Hope you're staying safe and healthy!

Thank you for dropping by!

Valentines, Valentines and More Valentines...Gnomes (class set), Secret Admirer and Hearts, Secret Admirer and Candy, LOVE and Secret Admirer, Gumball Machines x 2

Hello,

Happy Valentine's Day! Popping  in with a quick (because I'm not 'talking' very much here) post to share a few of the Valentine cards I made recently.  Hard to believe how quickly *this* occasion has come and gone; Easter will arrive in a blink!  

#1

This year, due to Covid restrictions, my niece and nephew weren't able to give out Valentine cards/tags in the 'traditional' way, which means I didn't have opportunity to go-to-town with making oodles of cards/tags for them. Big downer!  On the plus side, our neighbour here in Cochrane is a teacher and, because she is busy with teaching and working on her Master's Degree, she asked if I'd make some for her class. YES!  Her request certainly filled the 'wild crafting' gap I was missing!  It took a while to decide what to make for her 23 students, as I wanted something a 'bit' different from the usual. A quick visit to Shopping Our Stash Challenge #438~Love is in the Air had me sorting through my bins and....

I found my answer: Valentine gnomes!  The best part: Vicki loves gnomes, as do her students, so a perfect match!  All the gnomes (Simon Says Stamps) have pink clothes, a varied-in-colour/pattern hat and sparkle paper beards. The hearts are from a Concord & 9th turnabout.  I put a white die cut heart on the back of each for Vicki to write a message and...off they went.  Hope the kids enjoyed them as much as I did making them!

Here's a sample...

Here's the gang...

#2:

My mini card is heading to Your Next Stamp Challenge #157~Young At Heart, where I paired one of their heart panel dies with a Waffle Flower Secret Admirer mouse.

#3: I didn't find a challenge for this one, so it's just here *grin*

#4 This card is off to Colour Throwdown Challenge #629

#5.  My gumballs are headed to Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #512~For Those Your Love. One of these went to my niece; the other to my nephew. Two of my loves!!

#6 Finally, a card for Time Out Challenge #181

Wishing you a wonderful day filled with LOVE! 

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #571~Trend Week...Secret Admirer Slimline

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #571, where our lovely hostess, Maria, has selected the increasingly popular Slimline Card style for this week's challenge. I love slimlines, be they the full or mini size. Guess that qualifies me as being trendy *grin*

We're delighted to have Leslie Turner joining us as our guest designer this month, with a slimline card featuring my favourite hot beverage. Truly delightful! Please head over to the main blog to see the amazing inspiration from her as well as my amazing teammates. If you have time to drop by their places and leave a comment, that would be truly appreciated.

Today, I'm sharing the Valentine's Day slimline I sent to my mom. It's been a year today since we last had a 'real' visit with her (as in spending a couple of day/nights); hard to believe how things have changed. Every evening, however, I call to see how her day has been, so I figured these images would make her smile.  I've also taught Lily, my sweet mini schnauzer, to be part of the conversation: when I tell her we're calling 'Bacia' (Polish for grandma), she sits beside me and 'listens' until it's her turn to say 'Night night'. I ask her to sit, look at me, wait and then, say 'night night' at which point, she taps (or more like 'smacks') her paw on the back of my iPhone. Mom can hear the 'taps' and lets Lily know how great she's doing. Of course, each 'night night' comes with a kibble as added incentive.  We do that three or four times before we end the call. I know mom comes away with a smile and happy thoughts of her grand-dog *grin*

That's it from me; looking forward to seeing your slimlines in the gallery.

Also sharing at:

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #512~For Those You Love

Cut It Up Challenge #291~All You Need Is Love

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Make A Slimline Card

Thank you for dropping by!

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration ~ Sentiment Stamped Valentine Cards

Hello,

Welcome to my Uniko Brand Ambassador post with a Valentine's Day twosome. Earlier this month, in celebration of Uniko's 9th birthday, I shared two cards where I created 'patterned' word backgrounds using a variety of birthday-themed sentiments from several stamp sets. Since I enjoyed the results so much, I've replicated the process here, with an assortment of love/Valentine sentiments.  

The panels are essentially the same in terms of word placement/palette, but with slight variations in design. For the first,  I die cut a larger heart (triple backed with scrap cardstock for dimension) over which I added a sentiment cut from shimmer cardstock.

For this one, I cut a trio of hearts (each backed with two piece of cardstock) before affixing the heart die-cut sentiment. 

Even though it's an investment of time to create these backgrounds, the results make me happy. I hope they have the same effect on you!  If you have a chance (and the inclination/time), give your sentiments collections a play-on-the-stage. Guaranteed, you'll be delighted...and have fun in the process.

Thank you for dropping by!

HLS February 2021 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge~Concord & 9th Purses

Hello,

Welcome to Happy Little Stampers February 2021 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge. 

I love x love making cards, but sometimes, I need a 'something else' to keep the creative fires burning, as you saw with the tags/shopping bag ensemble I shared last month.  This time, the spark comes from Concord & 9th's Everyday Purses; below are three of the 'many' I've made, a la card style. Fun, pretty (a great way to use up patterned papers) and fairly easy to make. Yes, the Weekender Purse is also on my radar! 

That's it from me! Check out what my talented teammates have created, then bring out your dies and join us in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!

HLS February 2021 Stencil Challenge...Hockey Player #2

Hello,

Welcome to Happy Little Stampers February 2021 Stencil Challenge, where Anything Goes.   

I finally found a stencil that is absolutely perfect for my nephew: a hockey player!  In real life, his opportunity to play hockey was pre-empted with virus restrictions, so a very, very short season. That, however, hasn't changed his desire to play and, hopefully, we'll see him return to the ice soon. While he waits for that to happen, he and my niece are taking horseback riding lessons.  Always something new and interesting with those two.

Even though my nephew's jersey number this year was 14, his favourite number is 2, which is what he wore previously. He says it's his lucky number so...I added it to the image.

This, along with a batch of hockey cards we collected from Tim Horton's, will be heading his way soon. Hope he likes his 'surprise' gift.

Looking forward to seeing your stencil sensations in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!