Lots of Kindness

I'm a little late, but I have my card for Freshly Made Sketches today!   I love Cindy's sketch and I hope she's okay with my interpretation of it.  :)    I didn't realize my panel was so huge until I actually sat down to assemble my card.   Oops!   I still think it works and I love all the pops of red on the white!   I think these two stamps are two of my most favorite Stampin' Up! stamps of all time.

Of course it's also another Hope You Can Cling To card.   :)   The challenge was to T-R-A-S-H cancer by using something that started with at least 3 of the letters in trash.  I went with tulips, red, and a stitched die.  

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Kindness Matters, Love is Kindness

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Real Red, Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Memento Black, Copics

Tools/Embellishments:  Lil' Inker  Stitched Rectangle dies, Wink of Stella clear

My tiny dancer is having a rough week this week.  :(   Grammy left today so I don't know if that's the issue or if it is something else.  I'm hoping things turn around and she can be a bit happier and calmer.  I'm also crossing all my fingers and toes that she's not getting sick or anything like that.   

Hope with My Favorite Things

Today's Hope You Can Cling To card checking in!  :)   This one is one I just love and it was so easy!  Most of the work is done by the My Favorite Things Blueprints set.  I just picked out the colors and papers.  I love when cards are easy AND turn out great. I'm going to leave this one without a sentiment so that someone can grab it and use it for whatever they need to say that day.    Oh, the challenge was to use a trio of hearts and some red.  I think I have that covered.

Stamps:  NONE!
Ink:  NONE!
Paper:  Stampin' Up! Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Brights Designer Series Paper Stack, Neenah Solar White
Tools/Embellishments:  MFT Blueprints 20, misc enamel dots

We have more caterpillars this week!   So exciting!   Most of them are still super tiny as the eggs just hatched, but this one is getting big and fun to watch.  I am loving our butterfly garden so much.   We had a huge Monarch butterfly hanging out over the weekend and I'm guessing that is where the eggs came from.   It is a great learning experience for Laila and fascinating for her nerdy parents.  :o)

Color Me Not

I'm trying to post one of my Hope You Can Cling To cards each day.  Today's card is for Paula's challenge to use a line art image but NOT to color it.   Yikes.  For a Copics addicted person, that's a tough one.  I used this beautiful set from Altenew in an attempt to make an elegant card that would shine without color.   I added some Wink of Stella sparkle to the flowers that you can't really see here, but it looks awesome in person.  

Stamps:  Altenew Persian Motifs
Paper:  MFT Black Licorice, Neenah Solar White, pink scraps
Ink:  Versafine Black Onyx

Mom and Laila both had a blast at our zoo trip last week.  :)  

Blue Snowman for TPD

1. Two Paper Divas has a fabulous new release this month and this cute Snowman is one of them.   I had such a fun time coloring him.   I had tried a different technique with him for the past two days that I couldn't get to turn out, so I grabbed my markers to go about things the traditional way.  :)  I'm glad I did because I love him in blue!  The sentiment is from the Holiday Sentiments set.  This is also another Hope You Can Cling To card.   Diane challenged us to make an easy-to-mail card, so I left it flat and easy to pop in an envelope.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is a clean and simple Christmas card, so he is also for that.  :)   

Stamps:  Two Paper Divas Snowman and Holiday Sentiments
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, misc. blue papers
Ink:  Stampin' Up! Basic Gray, Memento Black, Copics
Tools/Embellishments: Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder

I Heart Pink

Last night Jason and Mom were busy sewing so I grabbed my Copics and sat with them and colored.  I am useless with a sewing machine, so I didn't even try jumping in.  lol   I worked on another Hope You Can Cling To challenge and combined it with Avery Elle I Heart U challenge to use pink.   My background is drawn by hand and colored in with Copics.   I added a sentiment from Avery Elle's Simply Said Hello and a little ribbon of hope and called it done!   It's simple, but I love how it turned out!

Stamps:  Avery Elle Simply Said Hello
Paper:  Neenah Solar White
Ink:  Copics, Sharpie, Memento Black
Tools/Embellishments:  Paper Smooches Hope Die, Glossy Accents

Sadie is not much help with stamping, but she's great at holding down this blanket.  :o)

Lovely as a Tree Hope

Sorry for a second post today.  I wanted to share another card I made for Hope You Can Cling To.  It is for Kathy's strength/warrior challenge.  I was a bit stumped on this one, but she helped me out and mentioned this oak tree from Lovely as a Tree.  I haven't inked this set up in ages, so I grabbed it and started working!   I haven't made a card with so little white/vanilla in ages!  lol

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Lovely as a Tree
Ink:  Always Artichoke, Early Espresso
Paper:  Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Regals Designer Paper Stack, Very Vanilla

Monster Mash

It's Wednesday and I'm here with a card for Kim's great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   I just love this layout and will be using it again for sure!   A sketch that makes you do a bit of math is always good for the brain!  :o)   I decided to play along with The Paper Players again this week and their challenge was a Halloween theme.   I love these little Lawn Fawn monsters so I thought they'd be fun.  I started off wanting to make a monochromatic card but I couldn't resist a bit of green to break up all the black and gray.  

Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Monster Mash

Ink:  Memento Black, Copics

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Green Galore, MFT Black Licorice, misc. Stampin' Up! retired Halloween DSP 

Watercolored Leaves

Did you get any stamping done on World Cardmaking Day?   I started a few cards and it took me days to actually get back to them!  I wanted to play along with Winnie & Walter's challenges and the first one was watercoloring.   I'm so clueless about watercolors, but I tried to do a background with my Koi Watercolors.   I added a sentiment to split it up and work for a Hope You Can Cling To challenge and used autumn colors for the Simon Says Stamp Autumn Monday challenge.

Stamps:  Winnie & Walter A Tree for All Seasons
Ink:  Early Espresso, Sakura XNCW-24N 24-Piece Koi Assorted Water Colors Field Sketch Set with Brush
Paper:  Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake, Stampin' Up! Early Espresso, Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Master's Touch Watercolor Paper
Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Neutrals buttons, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry Baker's Twine

My mom brought Jason and I an awesome gift.  She made us a double wedding ring quilt!   I absolutely LOVE it!  It was her first one of that pattern and I'm so proud of her for attempting it.  She did such a great job too.  :)