Flamingo Fabulous and Pineapple Thanks....FUSION~Pastel Pencils

Hello!

Yes, I'm back yet again (been crafting up a storm since returning from our little vacation!), this time to join my awesome team in welcoming you to FUSION Card Challenge~Pastel Pencils.  The assortment of  pencils and pencils, tucked into what looks to be re-purposed cans, has me thinking about jazzing up some containers of my own. I do have a soft spot for pencils having been a teacher for years upon years...

That said, I did not bring pencils or pens to the challenge; rather, I took my cue from the sketch and the colours, creating this pastel flamingo and stripes pairing,

followed by a pineapple and stripes version.

I rather like the 'swirl' element; a change from my typical same old-same old rectangle panel.

Please head over to see the beautiful cards designed 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

How will the lovely pencils and inviting sketch inspire you?

Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery!

Also sharing at:

CAS on Sunday Challenge #113~Exotic

City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 373 ~ Pretty in Pink

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

Flowers x Three...Happy Little Stampers August 2017 CAS Challenge~Flowers

Hello,

July was a whoosh! Hopefully, August will see the minutes, hours, days and weeks slow down a bit! I want the summer months to last!  Speaking of August, time for the new Happy Little Stamps CAS Challenge, where the theme of *Flower* is sure to generate plenty of inspiration and gallery entries.

I've brought three for you today, beginning with my flowering cactus.s (My Favourite Things),

a layered lily (Altenew) and

a whimsical 'natural organic' (Uniko)

NOTE:  Honoured and thrilled that my Uniko card was selected as one of the Top 3 in the Uniko Studio Challenge #42~Flowers. THANK YOU!

What types of lovely blooms will you share with us?  Looking forward to discovering a garden of gorgeous in the days ahead!

Also sharing at:

Uniko Studio Challenge #42~Flowers

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

SPECIAL EVENT....Celebrate National Coloring Book Day with STAMPlorations' New Bloomtangled Colouring Book!

Hello,

HAPPY NATIONAL COLOURING BOOK DAY!  

Who knew, right?  

Apparently, our sweet, creative and savvy Shery, from STAMPlorations did!  I'm thrilled to be joining her and several of her designers in a celebration to mark both the day AND the some sneak peeks to whet your creative appetite in preparation for the launch of her second coloring book: 

BLOOMTANGLED!

Today, I'm sharing some initial colouring of a couple of these whimsical, doodly, flowy images; talk about a fabulous way to practice blending, shading, highlighting, as well as to explore colour combinations. Prismacolour pencils all the way....

First, some 'sunflowers' in shades of yellow/orange and yellow-orange...

Second, a 'frosty' colours selection, using a variety of blues, as this page reminded me of snowflakes and wintry wonderland for some reason (perhaps all the heat we're experiencing is further addling my thinking....)....

Intrigued by my little snippets? Be sure to check out what the rest of the team have done then head on over to STAMPlorations, where Shery has a special treat in store.  No hints from me, other than to say...pull out your colouring tools, because you have some 'playing' to do! Check out the details here.

As for me: I have these pages to finish up and a whole bunch more bloom-entangling yet to go!  If you're looking for a space to be creative, yet relax at the same time, you'll find it in the pages of

Bloomtangled!

Thank you for dropping by; your visit has brightened my day!

Summer Flower Pops Thanks...Serendipity August Blog Hop #1

Hello!

Welcome to the Serendipity Stamps August Blog Hop (#1), where my incredible DT and I are sharing a whole bunch of Serendipity Stamps sensations.  Want to add a few of these fabulous products to your collection?  Two simple steps: hopping along the DT blogs (you should have come from incredibly talented, sweet Patti's blog) and leaving a comment puts you in the running for a $20 gift certificate.  Here's the list.

Mary's Blog

Beth Chiu

Patti Kehl

Carol Mayne  

Miriam Napier

Julie Warner

Vickie Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Summer has certainly made its presence known here, with unusually hot temperatures and, of course, accompanying thunderstorms. We've had a few doozies!  The rain is very much needed, as we are 'this close' to drought conditions.  A few days of gentle drizzle would certainly help lawns and gardens, both veggie and floral...

Speaking of floral: that's precisely the nature of my card today and in pink, to boot!  I sponged the background panel with Spun Sugar distress ink, then stamped the flowers with Mama Elephant Bubblegum pigment ink and the leaves with Mojito. A gift set using this design could be easily made; simply change up the colours, the flower selections and the sentiment. Serendipity Stamps make this soooooo easy!

Serendipity Stamps Products:

Summer Flower Pops Solid Stamps and Dies

Thanks

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

The 50% off Stamp of the Month is this marvelous Airplane:

Time for you to 'hop to it'! Next on the list is wonderfully talented Miriam Napier. Enjoy!

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

Spooky...Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #253~Holiday

Hello,

AUGUST! Already! Oh my!  Summer's zipping by and soon it will be fall and then...*deep breath* Okay, I've composed myself....

Welcome to Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #253~Holiday.

I know I should designing Christmas cards, but....nope!  I did this instead:

BOO!!

I love making Halloween cards....just sayin'!

Please check out my teammates wonderful holiday-themed cards, then create one or a few of your own to play along!

See you in the gallery!

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

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!