Words of Hope

Good morning friends~ Like the rest of the world, I'm doing my part to stay home and lessen the curve of the spread of the Corona virus.  These have been challenging times for everyone with so much worry and fear.  I normally attend a Bible study group on Tuesdays with a group of wonderful, Godly women that are in their retired years.  We just celebrated a 90th birthday for one of them!  I am not yet considered a senior but I'm catching up quickly.  ;0)  Anyway, I've been calling each of them and checking in on their needs and I've also been sending cards with encouraging messages.  I don't know about you and where your heart is but I know for me, that when I'm afraid, I turn to the comfort of God's Word.  Here are a few cards I've made to send to my lovelies during this time of separation.

 While there's nothing fancy about these cards, I was able to put them together quickly using sentiments from The Greetery and stamps from PTI and Clearly Besotted.

If there's one thing we need in the world today, it's peace of mind to know Who is in control and we can turn to God because He cares for YOU. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Inspired By ~ Yellow Makes Me Happy

We all need a little happiness in our lives right now, especially with all that's going on in the world.  As crafter's, this is what we've been training for all these years!  Uninterrupted time at home when there's nothing on our agenda except to craft.  Of course keeping house, doing laundry and cooking are all still on the "to-do" list but I've never spent so much guilt free time in my craft room, ever!

Today's card is going for the Inspired By Challenge

There's nothing like sun-shiny yellow to brighten the dreary days here on the east coast.  I'm seeing spring bulbs popping up all over the place in my gardens.  Just greens right now, but I know the flowers will follow soon.  Anyway, here's my card for the challenge:

 I had these little yellow chicks from Dies R Us out for a design team project coming up soon and I thought they would be perfect for the challenge too.

 I created the background using printed paper from Moda Scrap Beautiful Season.  Elizabeth Craft Designs currently has this 12x12 paper on sale at over 50% off!  While you're there, you can pick up the newer version of the cute  little Spring Basket too.     

Here's another card I made using those same dies and paper.

And just because I was in the crafting mood, I wanted to create something a little bit different:

I used up some ribbon off a ribbon spool and was going to throw it away and then I got the brilliant idea of using it as a base for one of the little crepe paper dolls I've been making.  

You can find printable faces all over Pinterest.  If you want directions to make these cute dolls, I have them all written up and I'll be happy to share them here or e-mail them to you.  

I was supposed to have a craft day with some friends this past Friday, but along with everything else in the world, we decided to err on the side of caution and cancel it.  So I mailed everyone in our group the elements to make them and sent them along with a card and the instructions that I wrote up on my computer so they could have fun at home making them.  

I hope it brings a smile to your heart!

Stay well, stay safe and happy crafting!

ETA:  I'll be adding one of these projects to the following challenges:
Simon Says Monday Challenge ~ Spring
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters ~ Spring

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Spring! ~ Double D Challlenge

Good morning happy stampers!  I hope you're seeing signs of spring where you are.  We still have a few weeks on the east coast before we start enjoying warmer weather, but today's mood board from Double D Challenge is sure helping me to put a spring in my step.  

beautiful, right??
Here's my card based on the inspiration photo's:  

I used all stamps and dies from The Greetery for this challenge.  
I started by stamping some of the script and postal images on my background panel and then stamped and die cut all the layered elements.  I heat embossed the envelope in gold to add some glitz to my card and then just started layering the pieces until I was happy with the result. 

Here's a second card, with a few slight changes.

I hope you'll stop by Double D Challenges for more inspiration and to play along.  
Here's what you could win when you join in on the fun:

Thanks for stopping by!

Things With Wings ~ DRU Challenge

Hello~  We're starting a new challenge over at the DRU challenge blog and the theme is "Things with Wings".

I enjoy feeding the birds during the long winter month's.  They make me smile as I watch their funny antics at the bird feeders outside my window.  Dee's Distinctively Winter Robin is such a pretty die and just perfect for this challenge.

I started by cutting the Elizabeth Craft Designs Entwined Hearts from brown cardstock.  I added leafy sprigs from Cheery Lynn Designs Floral Bouquet.  The nest is from Leabilites Young Birds set, which was purchased during a special order event.  The lovely edge is Frantic Stampers Lovely Arched Loop Edger.

I hope you enjoy today's card and that it lifts your spirits.  You can find all the details of the challenge and join in on the fun here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Being There

Hello and happy Friday crafty friends!  I'm popping in today with a quick card that I made using a stamped image that was given to me a while ago by my sweet friend Lisa Elton of My Paper Tales.

I adore these sweet topiary images so much!  This one is called "Being There".  Michelle Masters is the artist behind this darling image and you can find more of her beautiful stamps HERE.

I'll be adding this card to the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Use Some Green

The Sisterhood of Crafters ~ Easter

Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes

Crafty friends really are the best!  Thanks Lisa for sharing this image with me.  Your friendship makes my day brighter.  

Thanks for stopping by!

St. Patrick's Day ~ Double D Challenge

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  If so, Double D Challenge is the place to go!

They're starting a new challenge today, inspiring you with this mood board.

I don't have any stamps to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with so I turned to some vintage images I had stashed away and found this one with the little girl wearing a green bow, loving on her dog.  I also had this vibrant background paper that's ages old.  I'm glad to finally find a use for it.

I added a Marianne Designs Barrel with some vines and flowers from Spellbinders.  The little mouse is from Cottage Cutz "Forest Critters" which is actually the prize for this challenge. I colored him up using my copic markers.  
I think he's feeling lucky.  ;0)  

So grab your stamping goodies and play along!

Here's what you could win:

You can join in on the fun HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tag, You're It! DRU Challenge

Good morning everyone and happy first day of March!  It's the beginning of the month so that means that there's a new challenge starting up over at the DRU Challenge blog.  This week the theme is "Tag, You're It!"

  I had so much fun using Elizabeth Craft Designs Macaron's, I ended up making a whole gift ensemble.  

I started by making a few tags using Creative Expressions Stitched Craft Tag Dies.  This is my favorite "go-to" set because it has many different sizes and shapes of tags with cute toppers.

I cut the ECD Macaron's out of colored cardstock and added a bit of coordinating Distress Inks around the edges of each outer die.  For the frosting part, I ran the dies through my Xyron and added Elizabeth Craft Designs Silk Microfine Glitter, again in matching colors.  The lovely cake stand is from Elizabeth Craft Designs Christmas Pudding set.  Isn't it darling with the striped paper details? 

The gable box is from Sizzix.

This set makes me think of sweet confections you might find in a darling pastry shoppe. 

I also wanted to remind you that Dies R Us now has a sister store with warehouses in the USA and Canada called Didi Crafts.  They have Marianne Designs dies in their store all the time!

They will ship to both the US and Canada.  Didi Crafts will carry some of the same products as DRU, but most will be different.  Now our Canadian friends don't have to worry about huge taxes or shipping fees. How great is that!?!  We'd love for you to visit by clicking on the links above or by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by!