Marvelous Possibilities

We made this card at our class last week, and everyone enjoyed it so much, and it was fast and easy to make, too.  I used the Betsy's Blossom stamp set, which gives such nice bold, clean images, so it turns out great all the time.  Love this set, and glad it's sticking around in the new catalog.  I had seen this card done by Wendy Weixler here , but she had done it in Pool Party where I substituted Calypso Coral, and I love them both, along with Daffodil Delight and Lucky Limeade.  All the ladies in the class loved the color choice, too.  I think the honeycomb embossing folder adds just another element of summer to this card, and it would be perfect for a summer birthday.   When I saw the inspirational card at the Muse Challenge #19 this week, I thought it reminded me of the card I just made, so I am entering it in their challenge competition, along with the layout  that I got at Hand Stamped Sentiments  #160.  Loved m...

  I wanted to show off another card that I made with Clockworks recently.  This was actually a card that I used for the shoebox swap we had earlier this month, and everyone really liked having a chance to try the new IN Colors that will be released in the Stampin' Up! 2013-14 Catalog on Friday.  I used Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantalope, and Pistachio Pudding, along with a little Espresso Brown.  It was a real cool combination for a modern masculine card.  I just love playing around with color combinations and these are so fresh and exciting, I just know you will want to get your hands on them soon.  I got the idea for this card from Mary Brown, and you can see her original here . I am showing off this card at a new card challenge I found CAS on Sunday Challenge  #9, where this week they are looking for Make It Masculine Cards.  Sure hope they like it, and you like it, too. It would make a great card for Father's Day, or a graduation. M...

I was inspired to make a baby card today, because I was just dying to play with some new stamp sets.  I thought the layout at Craft Project Central was just the one for my card idea.  I loved the photo inspiration at Just Us Girls Challenge #190 , and the combination of Wisteria Wonder polka dots, the touch of Daffodil Delight, with a little zigzag edge, and a flower motif in the stamps is my interpretation of the photo.  I like to I think my granddaughter is at the cutest age ever.  She is talking up a storm, and everyday it's something new.  Today was the first time she said "Hi Snowflake" to our pet cockatiel.  She is excited to help pull the cover off the birdcage when we get up in the morning, and I always tell her to say hi to the bird.  The bird loves music, and I usually sing it a little song as I get her out of the cage, and she runs up my arm to give me a kiss.  My little girl puts her little hands up and says "Here", ...

  I stood looking out my kitchen windows this morning, and the sun was finally shining bright, and my lilac bushes are blooming which is the highlight of spring for me.  I could see the trees finally starting to fill in, and the bright spring green color is intense all around.  I can see the white blossoms on the apple trees and the pink blossoms on the crab apple trees, and it just about takes your breath away because the view is never prettier out my kitchen window.  I have been taking my sweet little granddaughter out on the deck to feel the new leaves as they have been forming on the lilac bushes and the trees.  She laughs as I stick my nose in the blossoms and try to get her to smell the flowers.  I can hardly wait to spend the weekend with her exploring the woods surrounding our campgrounds where we are heading for the weekend.  For my card I used Lovely as a Tree, Bright Blossoms, and A Round Array stamp sets.  This card is not one o...

We had a great card class on Wednesday night, and this is one of the cards that I made for the class. I am just loving the Clockworks stamp set, and think this is going to be a favorite of mine for a long while.  It makes a great Fathers day card, but I think it can be used for graduations, birthdays, or just a friendship type card.  I think that everyone in the class enjoyed making this card because of the carefree stamping, and there is simply no way to screw it up when you are just kind of free-styling with the stamping.  I know that it is kind of intimidating at first, because everyone has a tendency to try to copy the original card, but it's really all about just being random with the stamping.  Of course, I have to admit that I somewhat copied another card that I saw, but the only info I have is it was made by Tea Leaf (?). I think I will share this at The Paper Players Challenge #146 where they are looking for Masculine Cards this week.  Hope you...

I was looking for a fun, and simple card to make for a recent card class, and decided that I really wanted to make this card before the Summer Smooches DSP is retired.  I love this paper, and I will really miss it's simple, bright colored prints.  I saw this card made by LeeAnn Greff, which inspired me. I used the birthday greeting from Curly Cute stamps and the little medallion is from A Round Array, which will be available in the new catalog. Just keeping it simple, and that makes this card just right for the Addicted to CAS challenge which is looking for Birthday cards, and the colors are perfect for the Sunday Stamps Color Challenge #49 . I hope you enjoy this sweet little card, and take time to enjoy the spring flowers.  Mary Alice

  I had the occasion to make a sympathy card this week, and I wanted to make something special, instead of just digging one out of my stash.  I lost my youngest, and last uncle, Bob, this week.  He died way to young and way too soon, and I will miss him so much.  Bob got sick just after Christmas, and went into kidney failure, and so he was going to dialysis a couple times a week, and things improved, although it was a struggle.  Six weeks ago he told me that he was showing so much improvement that he was going to reduce the dialysis from 3 to 2 times a week.  When I saw him at a wedding 3 weeks ago, he said he was done doing dialysis, because his kidneys were functioning better.  But, last week, when the weather turned nice, Bob went out to putter in his yard a little bit, and took a fall on the steps, hit his head and fractured his skull.  A few days later he died from a bleed in the brain.  Just when we thought things were looking better...

I wanted to make a little birthday card for the challenge at Cas-ual Fridays with their Top 10 Tic-tac-toe game .  It's their birthday this week, so this card is suitable.  I did the first row down with polka dots, square card, and birthday.   I found some fun polka dots in a pack of Sweet Shop DSP, and the cute little ice cream sundae print to coordinate.  I added a label from a new stamp set Lovely Label that I got as a sneak peek from the new catalog.  It has a coordinating punch for the stamp set, which makes it even more desirable for me, because it keeps it so simple.  I used a little birthday ditty from Stacks of Wishes inside, and this was a fun, fast and easy card.  Just stamp, stamp, and punch, punch, punch, and I was done.  And, then I decided to add a little sparkle with some  Dazzling Details on the ice cream to make them a little frosty looking.  The Crafty Boots Challenge is looking for CELEBRATIONS! this wee...

  I love making multiples of cards when I get a good idea.  Because I create for craft sales, I often make four cards that are all the same, but today I created four cards to make a set, which I could use as a gift, or sell as a set, or even separate.  These were so easy to make once I got the idea, it was so easy to put together.  I used the paper from the Print Poetry DSP Stack, so I just had to kind of cut each print in quarters and I was ready for a set.  Well, not actual quarters, but four pieces.  I decided to add a colored backer behind the card, and to mat each piece of paper to add some richness to the cards.  I was just going to use the Lovely Labels to put a greeting on the front, and the Stacks of Wishes to put a greeting inside, but it just needed more, so butterflies were just what it needed to step it up a little.  I wish I would have tied a little twine around the butterflies instead of the pearls, which I think would have made ...

  Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there.  I finally got a chance to show you my final Mother's Day card.  This one I made for my daughter-in-law, Melissa.  Sweet Melissa took on the job of mother when she married my son 4 years ago, and became mother to his 4 year old daughter, Emily.  So, although she has been a mother for some years now, this is the first year she is mother to a child of her own, so it's kind of like a first Mother's day, again.  It took a special mom to take on a preschool age child, and I think she was expecting it to be a fun undertaking, and soon realized that a four year old daughter had a special bond with her daddy, and demanded a lot of his attention, and affection.  So, there was a little competition for David's time and attention.  Melissa grew to handle the situation, and became a loving and kind mother to Emily.  But, last year she had a child of her own, Grayson, and she got a real first-hand id...

My mojo just was not working this last week when it came to creating.  I had a bad cold, and I was sneezing and coughing, and I just did not feel like getting creative.  So, when my son-in-law had a birthday last week, I just was not into making a card, but I did it anyway.  I found a nice layout at Mojo Monday Challenge 292 , and I went digging for some paper that would get me going.  I had received a new pack of paper, Pocket Full of Posies DSP, in our goodie bag at Spring Fling a couple weeks ago, and I had not even opened it up yet.  When I did, I found this wonderful hexagon printed paper, and I knew that was the one.  I could combine it with some embossing for the front layer, and I just had to dig around the scrap bin, and come up with some fun accents. I love the way this card turned out, and wish I had spent the time to make some more.  Oh, and did you see the cute little birthday greeting cut with a matching punch?  ...

I am supposed to be cleaning my craft room today, for obvious reasons.  Reason #1.  The pile of scraps to the right of my paper trimmer is higher than the platform, and I have to bend my paper to get it in the trimmer.  Reason #2.  I am having trouble finding an area on the work table that is big enough to lay a 4 X 6" card flat, and get a good stamped image without the scraps on the table causing ridges.  Reason #3.  Need I go on??  And, that has nothing to do with the storage side of the room.  So, I started cleaning on the storage side of the room, because I just could not clean off the table without anyplace to put the stuff away.  I added another shelf to my storage wall, and proceeded to organize on a higher level.  When I got to a bin full of envelopes, many very old in bright neon colors and rustic rich tones, I found some of my old cards that I saved from the early Stampin' Up! days.  I wrote a blog entry earlier today...