We all need a little happy about now

     Hey everyone. I hope you are well and holding up in this very stressful time.
     Right now it's time for the latest challenge from PINspirational Challenge. Deanne has given us this spring-themed inspirational photo. (I believe she chose it months ago, but how appropriate.)
     For my card, I used a small clear stamp I got several years ago. I think it's an Autumn Leaves stamp. I inked it in Memento black ink on a white snippet and added some touches of color with colored pencils. The flower centers are all embellished -- from left, there's a button, a bit of Nuvo Drops, and a button-shaped brad.
     The central image is matted on a snippet of patterned paper.
     The sentiment (from Purple Onion) is stamped on a snippet of grid-patterned paper using a Ranger ink called Stream. It's mounted on another snippet of the patterned paper. Everything is assembled on a coordinating pink patterned card.
     I hope you'll join the challenge. Just make a project inspired by the inspiration photo and link up on the challenge blog. If you're stuck inside, crafting is a wonderful way to put your mind on something useful.
     Sadly, my craft room is in boxes, many of which are in a storage space several hundred miles from here. We are in the midst of a house move/relocation that's dragging on far longer than anticipated, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to crafting. This was the last card I made, and I can't tell you how much I want to have the familiar pleasure of card-making right now.
Take care.
This card is entered in these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #374-- use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #432 -- anything goes
The Paper Shelter #420 -- Flowers of Spring
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper 

Love birds

Another PINspirational Challenge is up, and this one has a Valentine's focus. If you need to make a card or two for Feb. 14, maybe this image (to the right )will inspire you as much as it inspired me.

 My card began with a background I'd made previously. I used a snippet of light brown/craft paper and dragged a white craft inkpad on it to give the look of whitewashed wood. For the birds, I used part of an Impression Obsession stamp, inked in Staz-On. (it's really hard to get a good image on top of the craft ink, and I had to reink several times.)  For the birch tree, I used a stamp from Whimsy (I think, or else Stamped Simply) Christmas set.

The tiny hearts were die cut with a tiny snippet of red, then covered with a paper glaze.  The main image is mounted on a white snippet to get a very thin frame, then on a red card. It's 'finished with black and white baker's twine.

This card is for these challenges
Pixie's Snippet Playground #371-- use snippets
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- with love
Crafty Sentiments -- use red

Orange you glad

Hey there! Orange you glad it's 2020... because that means the PINspirational Challenge is back in session. Here's the image that Deanne has chosen for the first challenge.

To join in the challenge, simply make a project that's inspired by this image and link up at the challenge blog. (It doesn't have to be a card. Tags, layouts, decorated cookies -- go where the inspiration takes you. Send the decorated cookies to me.)

Since I am no fan of snow, I was inspired by the oranges in this scene. Oranges are warm and sunny and happy, so that's the vibe I wanted my card to have. I found this snippet of background paper with a citrus theme and made it the central component of the card.  The "Wishing you sunshine" sentiment seemed the perfect match. It's black-embossed on a snippet of paper the same color as the card.

The embellishment is a silk flower on top of a paper flower, held together by a tiny brad.

This card is being entered into these challenges
Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2002 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #369 -- use snippets
Crafty Sentiment Designs -- anything goes
The Paper Shelter #410 -- something sweet
Word Art Wednesday # -- anything goes

Christmas snippets

Between work, my son's college graduation and getting ready for Christmas, I hadn't been in my craft room for over a month. Last night I left the guys watching football and actually made a card. Yay me.

Those of you who hang around Pixie's Snippet Playground probably recognize the inspiration for this card. About six weeks ago, the amazing Karen Letchworth made a sample card out of lots of strips of Christmas paper, and I immediately knew I'd be CASEing it. (I made this card from what I remembered Karen's card looking like, and now I see I made a more CAS version than she did.)

 The size of the Christmas paper pads I have all require me to cut a strip of an inch or two off the paper to fit on a standard size card, so I have tons of snippets, and I thought Karen's solution was brilliant.  I have plenty more snippets, so I expect I'll make several like this.

My card is for these challenges:
Pixie's Snippet Playground #368 -- use snippets
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #470 -- anything Christmas

Christmas sparkle

I can't avoid it. Christmas is coming and it's time to make some cards. Luckily, PINspirational Challenges has a new challenge designed to spark your Christmas creativity.

My Christmas style is usually pretty CAS. However, while I'm not a glitter girl most of the year, I think every holiday card needs a little sparkle.  This inspiration photo allowed me to do both.

The image and sentiment are both from Simply Stamped. I stamped them in dark green on a white snippet, then used a silver Spica pen to fill in the star and the baubles and garland on the tree. There's brown marker on the tree trunk.  I added some sequins as ornaments/sparkly elements.  The panel is mounted on a snippet of silver card stock, then on a white tent-fold card.

I hope you'll be inspired by the PINspirational photo. Link up whatever you're inspired to make (it doesn't have to be a card) on the challenge blog.

This card is entered in these challenges:
Double D -- Christmas style
Crafty Sentiments -- Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #464 -- Christmas
The Paper Shelter#404 -- Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #414 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #365 -- use snippets

Food or flowers?

      I was really impressed when I saw the cards my Design Team teammates created for the new PINspirational Challenge. I looked at the inspiration photo (to the right here), saw a pie, and immediately went to a homey apple pie theme for my card. (yup, I love food.) But some of the others looked at the same pie I did and created lovely, flowery, filigreed creations. And that's the fun of an inspirational challenge -- you can go where ever it takes you, and no two people are inspired to make exactly the same thing.
      So what do you see when you look at the photo, and how does it inspire you. No matter the answer, I hope you will make a project and link it up at the challenge blog. (You can see the different directions the DT took at the same link.)
       For my card, I created the background by repeatedly stamping an image of an apple seed packet in subtle diagonal lines. For the main image, I colored a small image of an apple pie, used an oval die to cut it out, and mounted it on a larger oval. (Note that the plaid paper I used matches the pattern of the latticework on the pie!) There's a row of small gems under the sentiment. (Sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs, source of  other images not known).

My card is for these challenges:
Word Art Wednesday # 410  -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Crafting by Design -- anything goes
Pattie's Creations #164 -- anything goes

It's fall y'all

Fall has finally arrived here. To celebrate, here's a fall card.  The image is from Stamplorations, colored in pencil, fussy cut and adhered on pop-dots.  The strip down the left is a snippet left when I cut out the apple basket.  The letters are stickers. The card needed something on the right, so I used a few snippets of ribbon and a leaf brad.  The background paper is a snippet of a grid-patterned paper that kind of echoes the squares of the letter stickers.

This card is entered in these challenges:
Catch the Bug -- fall photo inspiration
Word Art Wednesday #410 -- anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Stamplorations Never-Ending Challenge -- Stamplorations image
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper