Flowery Birthday For Three Challenges

Today I was inspired by three different challenges and out of that came this sweet, and kind of summer-y, card.

First, I went over to Poppystamps (#psc142) to play along with them, and I found that their challenge this month is "Anything Goes." The only thing you have to do is to include at least one of their products. Easy peasy! Then I check in on Time Out Challenges #322 and found that their theme was "Seasonal Colors Where You Live." Since I'm in Florida, it's still very sunny and green here and the flowers are still in bloom in my yard. And the skies are blue, which is why I added blue in the background.  Lastly, I wanted to play along with Retro Rubber#280 (#rrcb280) and found that they have a sketch challenge, which was perfect to tie all of this together. You always have to use a stamp that's older than a year, and my "celebrate" stamp is one that I picked up at a yard sale over 5 years ago. It's part of a set of many birthday greetings, although I don't know the brand.

The whole idea for this card started when I found the two half-circles (green dots and yellow scallop) in my stash. For the shape in Retro Rubber I thought that a split circle would be nice, and it's a great way to use with flowers from Poppystamps.

Here's my supply list:

• Poppystamps Nordic Flower Bunch Die Set
• Stampin' Up! Lemon Lolly Card Stock
• SU! Daffodil Delight Card Stock
• SU! Cucumber Crush Card Stock
• Michaels 60# White Card Stock
• Unknown Red Rubber Stamp (bought 5 years ago)
• Big Box Blue Dotted Paper
• Papertrey Blueberry Sky Card Stock
• Unknown Green Patterned Paper
• Sizzix Scallop Die
• Newton's Nook Green Dotted Paper
• Versamark Ink
• Michaels Yellow Glitter Embossing Powder

This was a bit of a tedious card to make, but it was a lot of fun. Thanks so much to all of the great challenges out there that really inspire me! And thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Word Art Wednesday 770 & 771 with Gina K. Giveaway!

Hello stamping friends! It's time for another round of fun over at Word Art Wednesday, and this time our $25.00 prize is from a great company called Gina K! I don't have any of her stamps (due to unfortunate financial limitations 😅) but I've seen her on YouTube and not only are her products really great, she has amazing ways of using them. If you get a chance, check out her channel HERE.

And by all means, come over and play along with us! You can use any products that you have, and you are free to use our Word Art like I did here, but you're not obligated to in order to play along. We are always "anything goes!"

When I first saw the scripture for this round, I immediately thought, once again, of making some offering envelopes. On the 5th Sunday of the month, our church collects money for ministries that help the poor, and I thought this would be a great way to save a little and make a donation.

I created three 4" x 7"  envelopes, starting with some 12 x 12 patterned paper. It was a lot of fun doing these because I could use thick pop up dots and lots of embellishments without having to worry about them making it through the mail.

Here is my starting paper:

And here's my supply list:

• Word Art Wednesday Scripture (above)
• Michael's Patterned Paper
• Stampin' Up! Envelope Board Maker
• Forest Green Card Stock (Amazon)*
• Michaels Light Purple Card Stock
• Papertrey Spring Rain Card Stock
• Sizzix Border Dies (559200)
• SU! Faceted Dots
• SU! Gold Thread
• SU! Blushing Bride Card Stock
• Misc. Gold Elastic Twine
• SU! Brushed Brass Butterflies
• Gold Paper from Michaels
• Sizzix Nesting Dies

*I've had the hardest time finding the exact shade of forest green card stock and I finally found some that I love HERE on Amazon. Usually their card stock is on the thin side, but this is great!

I'm really happy to have made these. It's nice to have a special envelope for those times when a special offering comes up!

And here are close-ups of each envelope:

This one has some very fine gold thread behind the scripture. It's hard to see but it's a really fun look!

This one features a gold piece of elastic twine with is good for giving the envelope extra security.

This one is my favorite with the thick embellishments and the little bow.

And before I go, I want to give a shout out to Michaels. I've gotten some amazing deals this year. this 12 x 12 paper pack was on sale for just $5.00. I bought about five others as well. It's so nice to have paper on hand rather than having to run to the store.

We'd love to have you play along with us, so hop on over to Word Art Wednesday and join the fun!

Autumn Birthday Greetings

Here's a quick card I made using Stampin' Up!'s Happy Birthday Gorgeous Stamp Set. I'm working my way through some of my older sets to see if I want to keep them or if I'm ready to pass them on. I'm on the fence with this one. I'm not crazy about the flowers. They're cute, but tedious to cut out. However, the sentiments are stunning. I'm thinking of hanging on to this one just for them.

I used various patterned papers, card stocks and Copic markers on this. What I really love about it is the bow. It's always so fun to add something unexpected like that on a card, even if it does cost a little more to send.

I really like being able to make seasonal cards as well. It's hard to find an Autumn Birthday card in the store, so I'm grateful to be able to create things like this!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Simple Crochet Lap Blanket

Today I just finished a very simple lap blanket. That will be perfect for a gentleman in a nursing home. Despite how easy it was to make, I really love how the finished product turned out.

I started by choosing three different kinds of yarn that went well together. They were yarns that I had in my stash, so it cost virtually nothing to make this.

The pattern begins with a simple chain stitch, and then I double crocheted straight back across. I didn’t count my rose, and the number was a little off, but I was able to fix it and make it square when I put the border on.

After my foundation, chain and double crocheting, I simply did. Three double crochets, chain 2, then three double crochets all the way across. The next row, I did a row of solid double crochets all the way across. That was using the yellow yarn.

For the repeat pattern, I simply double crocheted all the way across in the taupe colored yarn. Then I came back across with a single crochet in the off-white, and finished that section with an another row of double crochets all the way across.

Super simple! And yet choosing the colors gives you so much flexibility to mix and match and make a blanket for any season.

I did the border with the off-white yarn. Unfortunately, it was Red  Heart’s cheapest yarn. The border was so hard and stiff with this yarn that I stopped at just a few rows. If it was soft, I would’ve put a thicker border on.

It's my hope that this will make a nice blanket for someone who needs a little extra warmth and love this season.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Lawn Fawn Giveaway at Word Art Wednesday

Welcome to another round of wonderful prizes over at Word Art Wednesday! This time our sponsor is none other than the wonderful Lawn Fawn! If you've been stamping for even a short while, you'll not doubt recognize their adorable little critters and whimsical scenes. They're giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to anything in their store, so grab some stamps (thety don't have to be the Lawn Fawn brand) and join in the fun! Our challenges are always anything goes! 

One of my favorite sets from Lawn Fawn is called Making Frosty Friends. I have so much fun each time I use these adorable snowmen. What makes this set special is all the fun components that there are to work with. The mittens and top hat are my favorites.

I created two cards with this set. The pink will be perfect for one of those times when you need to send a wintery card past Christmas because the sentiment is perfect for anytime in the winter.

Here's my supply list for these:

• Lawn Fawn Making Frosty Friends Stamp Set
• Lawn Fawn All That Sparkles Background Paper (Pink Card)
• Lawn Fawn Merry Messages Stamp Set
• Lawn Fawn 
• Memento Black Ink
• Copic Markers
• Michaels Card Stock
• Stampin Up! Patterned Paper
• SU! Real Red Card Stock
• Washi Tape
• White Embossing Powder 

And of course, we always have a beautiful scripture for you to use if you would like. Here is the one for this round:

We would love to have you join us and hopefully you’ll even win the $25 prize! Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!