Spooky and Creepy and Boo

Word Stamps: Spooktacular Bash - Retired Stampin Up

Bat wing dies - Sizzix Thinlits - Bat Crazy

Cloud Stencil - MFTmini cloud edges

Ink - Clouds: Elegant Eggplant and Smoky Slate - Stampin Up

Ink - Circles: Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant, Mellow Moss 

Punches: Stampin up 1 1/4, half inches and 1/4 inch

Random Bling

Hi Friends, 

I saw Mary Brown's version of this card and knew I had to make one for Danni's Facebook Challenge this week, use at least three circles. I inked up some glitter paper and punched out the circles. Then I die cut some dies and cut them in half and adhered the wings. I kinda wish I had some eye lashes to add to them, lol. They eyes were made with a half inch circle punch and a quarter inch circle punch. I inked up the background using a stencil with both gray and purple inks. Then I glued it all down. So fun. 

Okay, off to bed for me, lol. 

Be well and stay safe, 

Holly 

 

Some Days Require Cookies

 

MFT Stamps - Cookie Crumbs - retired

MFT Dies - You're the milk to my cookies - retired

Circle Die - Uniquily 

Same as above 

Hi Friends,

I remember when these first came out and I squeeled with delight, had to have them, but wait - I have to have it all. So it goes without saying that life passed by and all of the sudden, these were not only retired, but they were gone. Ugh. I finally tracked a set of stamps and dies down and was able to buy them used. New/Gently used, I'm good! So I went back to the cards that inspired me. Jodi Collins had one similar to the top. I did change a few things as recommended with a case. But the bottom one is from Torico and it was so cute as is, that I did very little changes. But I love my Cookie cards! I think I will be making some more. And I can totally see using these on a scrap page that I will probably never get done, lol. 

I hope you are all having a great Monday! I'm going to submit these to Danni's Facebook challenge - There's a stamp for that. This time it's use at least three circles. 

Thank you for checking in and I hope you stay well and safe!

Holly 

I'm Nuts for You

 

Lawn Fawn - Nuts for You

Hi Friends,

I've been working on cards nonstop, lol. Just for fun. I recently purchased this nuts for you by Lawn Fawn. love these cute little faces. This was a bit of a labor of love. I had to mask each leaf on a sticky note, fussy cut, and then cover. But it was worth the effort. 

I hope you are all having a great weekend. I am making cards and watching Football. Nice relaxing weekend. 

I am entering this one in Danni's biweekly challenge of Facebook - There's a stamp for that. This time it's autum, gnomes, and at least three circles. 

I hope you are well and stay safe!

Holly 

Friends

 

Stamps: My Favorite Things - you're my person

Paper: S.U. retired

Copic Markers

Hi Friends,

I'm using this weeks MFT sketch

I just love these little P.I. Images, I always have. I'm glad I had an opportunity today to ink them up. 

I hope everyone is well and staying safe. 

Holly 

Nothing's Better Than.....

 

Stamps: Nothing's Better Than - Stampin Up

Dies: Love you more than

Dies: My Favorite Things Die-Namics Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangles

Ranger Acrylic 

Paper: Stampin Up - In color stack

Stamps: Nothing's Better Than - Stampin Up

Dies: love you more than - Stampin Up

Dies: Spellbinders circle and scallop dies

Paper: Dots and Stripes - Echo Park

Hi Friends,

I wanted to make a couple coffee cards for Danni's current facebook challenge - there's a stamp for that, coffee theme. So I pulled out my Nothing's Better Than stamps and dies. 

Somewhere on Facebook there is a coffee card with this design, lol. Sorry I did not get the name before I closed that tab. I used the Nothings Better Than stamp set and dies, as well as the MFT scallop stitches rectangle dies. I was rummaging through my stash when I came across the Ranger acrylic liquid that I purchased a while back. So I decided to try it for the three dots. Love it!

I saw Angela Anzalaco's cute cards on Instagram and her tutorial video, so I decided to go ahead and use what I had on hand to copy this cute design - (the yellow card).  I will definetly be pulling this out over and over again. Love this set. 

Thank you for popping in to see me. 

Be well and stay safe!

Holly 

Life is Messy

 

Stamps - Cat-astrophie - MFT

Dies: MFT Pierced Fishtail Flags

Dies: MFT Blueprints 13

Dies: MFT Stitched Circle Stax

Copic Markers

Ink: Memento Cantaloupe and Tuxedo Black

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka and Perfectly Plaid 

Hi Friends, 

I came home tonight and got started on a cat card for Danni's challenge on Facebook. This is the first time I have inked these cute little kittens up. I plan on making more. I saw Christy's card designs and decided to try it out with some of the paper I had on hand. 

Well, I have just enough time left to clean up my mess so my husband can work in this space tomorrow, lol. That's one way to keep it cleared up, lol. 

I hope you are all well and safe, 

Holly 

Ginger Bread Friends

Stamps - Cookie-Cutter Christmas - Stampin Up

Cookie-Cutter Punch - Stampin Up

Ink - Versa Magic - Gingerbread

Dies - Spellbinders - Labels 9, Decorative Photo Corners, Nested Hearts

Paper - My Favorite Things - Gingham Galore

Jewels - Pink Fresh Studio - Crystal Mix 

Hi Friends,

This is the first time I have used this retired set from Stampin Up, lol. But you know, I have a lot of sets that are retired that I have never used. Best to pick them up and play later when you can, right? I'm glad I did. These little guys are adorable. They are bit hard to ink up and get a good image. That's when I rummaged around to find my Versa Magic and it did not disappoint. Plus I was so thrilled that I had purchased one in Gingerbread. I also bought these photo corners ages ago and when I saw Danni's challenge this week, decorative corners, I totally thought about these. They cut and emboss but I could not see the embossing that well. So I could either ink them up or cover the centers with hearts. So I pulled out my Copic markers and attempted to ink up the embossed areas....epic fail. Hearts it is! 

I hope everyone is having a great week. Stay well and be safe!

Holly 

 

Under Caffeine

 

Stamps Katzelkraft - KTZ127

Ink - Distress Oxides - Black Soot, Salty Ocean, Wilted violet, Seedless Preserves

Paper - Koh-I-Noor 

Moon - Some random stamp I had in my stash (literally no insert in the package - so unlike me)

Versifine Clair - Nocturne

Hi Friends,

I wonder if caffeine is spelled differently in other countries? I literally just noticed that this stamp only has one "F" in the word, but you know, that's okay.  I think this cat maybe be "under the influence of Caffeine" lol. Even the moon can relate! lol. Sometimes I feel just like this cat when I try to drink more coffee to offset lack of sleep. Then I am just jittering in place and still not accomplishing much, lol. 

 I watched a Jennifer McGuirre video not that long ago and she suggested this Koh-I-Noor paper for water colors. Turns out she is a genius! Not that I know what I'm doing yet, but this made blending these colors a bit easier. In real life, the black is more of a smokey color, and there is not as much contrast. I will continue to work on my blending. I actually did not realize I don't have the blueprint oxide ink, which is what I had intended to use. But saltey was the darkest blue I had, so I went with it, lol.  I have found a ton of make up brushes at Walmart and Amazon and I'm using those to apply and blend the colors. So much easier to use than the sponge applicators, but then, I am not sure I gave those too much of a chance. I think I decided I wasn't going to be really good at this, so I just didn't attempt to master it. Now I am. Late Bloomer. 

The new Blogger format is now manditory and it is taking some getting used to. But like everything else, I will learn how to navigate eventually. lol. 

I actually made several cards this weekend, but I have not taken the time to photo them and it's already getting late, so I will share this one for now. 

I hope you are well and stay safe. 

Holly 

Birthday Shark, Doo Doo.....

 

MFT - Baby Shark

MFT - Sharky Sentiments

MFT - Die-Namics Making Waves

MFT - Pierced Rectangle Frame Dies

MFT - Paper Your Crafty Happy Place

Hi Friends,

I was looking at this weeks MFT sketch and thought about my Baby Shark Die with some bubbles. 

I had fun making this, this evening. But I have stayed up way too late. Thank God tomorrow is Friday, lol. 

I hope you have some crafty fun this week. 

Be well and stay safe, 

Holly 

Better Together

My Favorite Things - Better together Card Kit

MFT Dies - Open Road

Copic Markers

Hi Friends, 

I had this box on the table behind me calling my name! I absolutely love this Better Together card kit from My Favorite Things. I love that this little car can be made with any paper and in many different styles. There is a different road die-namic called on the road and it is wider to go under this car. That's next on my wishlist for sure! 

Once again, I am using this weeks sketch from My Favorite Things. These critters are super cute, I can see I am going to need to break this set out over and over again. Plus I got the cutest little tree dies for free with this. 

I hope you are all having a great Sunday!

Stay well and be safe!

Holly 

Class Act

MFT - Class Act

MFT - Fishtail tag - retired

Paper - Echo Park Teacher's Pet 

Copic Markers

Hi Friends,

Danni has a challenge on Facebook called "There's a Stamp for That" group, this time it's square cards or back to school. I have done three sets of square notecards, so I thought I would give this weeks My Favorite Things sketch a try and enter both challenges. 

I LOVE all things Birdie Brown, she is such a great artist and her whimsical little images just make me so happy. This image is so adorable. Love the little nose! 

How is everyone doing in back to school? We are distance learning and the boys are doing well. I think they miss being social with their friends a lot but as far as the learning, this is working well. Each class is two hours in length and they do three classes per day. So each class is every other day. I know I am relieved they are distance learning. I think if they do back to brick and mortor before there is a vaccine, we will opt for homeschooling. But everyone has their own opinions and what works for them. 

I hope you are all having a great Sunday! 

Be well and stay safe!

Holly 

Shake Up Some Coffee

Top Dog Dies - Mini Coffee Die Set

Paper - Retired S.U. Mocha Morning

MFT - Distressed Background Blocks - retired

Hi Friends, 

I know, I need to stop making note cards, lol. I was passing by my paper when I spotted this very retired paper I picked up from Stampin Up a longgggg time ago. At the time, we made mini coffee's too! This is not what I had in my minds eye, but since I was comitted to this project, I went with it. I have to say I think this is the first time I've used this old retired MFT set, but I really do love the distressed blocks, I think I may need to use these again soon.  And I do love this mini Coffee Die Set. I am sure I will be using these again soon! 

Have a great day and I hope you get some coffee in the morning!

Holly 

Hello Friend

Your next Stamp - Happy Gnomies

Spellbinder Heart Die

Copic Markers

Hi Friends,

I can't resist a cute Gnome stamp set! I just got these adorable Gnomes from Your Next Stamp, called Happy Gnomies. I couldn't resist making a set of note cards with all these images. These are 3X3 notecards. I used my Spellbinders nested heart die (that I have had forever and use quite a bit) to cut out the top portion of these cards. Then I cut a smaller panel to place behind the cut out hearts. On the panels I sponged Memento Cantalope and Memento Tangelo. Then I adhered these behind the front panel with glue. I colored up the adorable Gnomes and fussy cut them out. I had to restamp two of the Gnomes onto the card fronts, the one with balloons and the one with flowers. Then I just glued the fussy cut images over the outlines. Except for the spray of flowers, I just colored them on top of the sponged top. That's the beauty of using Memento for sponging, they are Copic friendly.

Today was a Murphy Law day, every card has a smudge of some sort. Thanks to my white jelly roll pens, I was able to blot out most of the smudges. Even the magnet in my Misti had a little ink on it and smudged the inside of a heart, lol. I decided these were minor and not worth starting over.

Such a great day to stay home and relax. It's 105 outside and tomorrow is going to be 109. But I'm grateful it's not the 111 that they predicted earlier. It is going to be another California heat wave. I do hope we don't lose electricity this weekend with rolling blackouts. Crossing my fingers. In the mean time, I am enjoying being home.

I'm entering this set in the Your Next Stamp challenge - Keep it Simple
I'm also entering in Danni's facebook challenge to make a square card.

I hope you stay well and happy,

Holly

Hey Gnomie!

Stamps - Hello Bluebird - Next Door Gnomes

Dies - Spellbinders Big Scalloped Square

Copic Markers

Hi Friends,

I just have not met a Gnome that I just didn't LOVE! And I do love these cute little Gnomes. I saw Anja Byqyti's slimline card and it gave me an idea for these little 3X3 notecards. This is the first time I've used these dies and I've had them for years! But I did just get these stamps, so see there is hope, lol. I actually have a few new Gnome sets, so you'll be seeing more Gnome cards. 

I colored these up with my copic markers. I was a little exasperated that I had to refill a few of my markers and lately, I feel like I have to refill them all the time. But I was looking through my blog for a particular card I made a while back and I actually started to realize that I've had them for at least 9 years, probably more like 11! And I have used these markers like crazy. So I really have gotten my money's worth, lol. I have about 20 refills for my most common used. I definetly need to get a lot more refills. I think the investment is a good one. I really enjoy coloring with them. 

I made these for Danni's Facebook challenge - There's a stamp for that! This time it's all about square cards and back to school. I hope you can join us. 

Stay well and Safe!

Holly 

We're All in the Same Boat

Stamps - Penny Black - Friendship

Dies - Gina Marie, MFT, Lawn Fawn

Hi Friends,

I have been seeing this image for a while in cards and finally picked up this stamp. I just love it. The last card I saw using this stamp was from Deb Valder. Here is her cute version:

I just love how she used the cloud die cuts upside down. I thought about that too but I had these Lawn Fawn dies that I had never used. Honestly, they are pop up dies (because I saw someone elses card used with them and I had to have them, lol.) but I was determined to make them work, lol. I do like them. I have so many cloud stencils now, you would think I would use them, lol. I decided to use these MFT cloud dies that I had never used. They have a lining to them and I thought about a silver lining but it just didn't work out for this card.

I feel like these dogs are saying, "We're all in the same boat". And we are. As divided as our country is right now in an election year, we are truly all part of a great nation, we share in our stories about the great Covid pandemic, and we strive to protect what is ours and eachother. Right now they are all peacefully making their way towards their detination but if you throw a bone in there, it will rock the boat for sure. That's just how I see life right now.

I have been super busy making cards and doing some contining education. I am a certified nurse, so that means even more eduction above and beyond my normal continuing eduction. But I do enjoy learning new concepts and refreshing my memory on others. It comes with the teritory.  I figured this is a good time to get this stuff done because when the vaccine comes out and we are free to live our lives, I don't plan on staying home a lot, lol.

I hope you are staying well and safe!

Holly