*Sending Sunshine Instagram Hop*

 Hello friends... I'm here today to share the card I made for the Sending Sunshine Instagram Hop. This hop is to make cards of encouragement for friends and family, to show them that we are here for them no matter what they are going through.  We hope that these cards will put a smile on someone's face or at least let them feel a hug from far away.

I had this larger scrap of paper sitting on my desk for a while now and decided to feature it in a card for this months' hop.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Mossy Meadow

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Moonlit Flora

*Stamps:  Honeybee Best of Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Honeybee Best of Everything
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*CAS Instagram Hop*

 This month, the Clean and Simple Instagram Hop is playing with the theme of "Black & White"... one of my favourites!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Pattern Party

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Birthday
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Love From Lizi Stitched Rectangles; The Ton Easy Expressions Birthday; Spellbinders Floral Spray

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 I had fun playing with the This or That themes this week and almost did a card that featured both stripes and dots... and I guess I kinda of did in the end since I did some ink blended stripes and then flicked some water on it to create some dots!

Card Info

*Stamps:  Pinkfresh Studio Simplest Gestures; Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments

*Ink;  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tim Holtz Shaded Lilac, Salty Ocean (oxides)
*Dies:  Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments

*Mini Slimline Instagram Hop*

 I'm here today with my card that I'm sharing along with the Mini Slimline Instagram Hop.  I really do think that this is my favourite shape to work with other than a standard quarter fold card.  It's a challenge to keep it CAS, but I do enjoy trying!

My card today is created from scraps that were in my bin of extras!  Don't you wish your bin of extras had stuff like this in it?

Card Info
*Cardstock:  gold mirror

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas, Pattern Party

*Stamps:   The Ton Easy Expressions Birthday
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Pinkfresh Studio Foliage Shaker; The Ton Easy Expressions Birthday

*My Favourite Instagram Hop*

 This week, the My Favourite Instagram Hop challenge was chosen just for me!  We got to play with our favourite clean and simple card!  I took the challenge to mean "make a clean and simple card using favourite elements"....  So my card included a black circular frame, a die cut sentiment and one of those beautiful butterflies I'm so fond of using!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Fluttering Butterflies
*Dies:  Pinkfresh Studio Fluttering Butterflies; Waffle Flower Nesting Circles; The Ton Easy Expressions
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*World Cardmaking Instagram Hop*

 Happy World Cardmaking Day, creative friends!!  A day dedicated to my favourite hobby!  I love it!  A group of Instagram Friends and I have gotten together to celebrate this day by sharing some beautiful cards...

I decided to create a card that is based off of a few ideas I saw on my friend Toni's Instagram page... Toni passed away suddenly a few weeks ago and I sort of thought that this hop would be an excellent way for me to send a nod her way as a thank you to her for sharing her creativity with everyone.

I was inspired by one of her cards that had a rainbow theme as well as one that had a wonderful radiating embossed background.  I combined the two to create this card...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  Waffle Flower Sweet Birthday Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Picked Raspberry, Scattered Straw, Salty Ocean

*Dies:  Waffle Flower Sweet Birthday Sentiments

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up! Dotted Circles

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Addicted to CAS Challenge #318*

 It's kind of an oxymoron that the team is playing with a "happy" challenge after recently finding out that one of our creative friends has passed away.  I'm on a few design teams with Toni and have admired her work for a lot of years...  she will be missed.

I'm sure that Toni would want for us to continue creating and sharing, so that's what we'll do.  Today I am sharing the card I made for the current challenge at Addicted to CAS.

I think I've made a card similar to this before... but it was truly the first idea that popped in to my head (and let me tell you, my creativity has been struggling lately).

Card Info

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Pattern Party

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Big Happy; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Challenges:  Addicted to CAS #318

*Build Your Stash Instagram Hop*

 Every month (or at least most months), I play along with an Instagram Hop where we are challenged to dig in to our stash to create 1 or more cards following a common theme.  This month, our theme was wedding, engagement or anniversary.

I decided to make a couple of anniversary cards...

My first card, I used these cute puffins and did a simple colouring on them...

Card Info

*Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Stud Puffins; MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Real Red; Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics
*Dies:  MFT Stitched Rectangles

For my second card, I did some ink blending on my card front and then added a die cut panel on top of it.  I used only three colours of Distress Ink and was sure to overlap my colours to get my rainbow.

Card Info

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Scattered Straw, Salty Ocean

*Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Floral Sparkle

*CAS on Friday Challenge #344*

The team at CAS on Friday is playing with a "shades of grey" theme for this weeks challenge.  Since I had so many ideas in my head for the splatter card I did the other day, I decided to play with the idea again.  Instead of multiple shades of ink, I used only black ink and did off stamping to get the different shades of grey.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin Up! Basic Black
*Stamps:  MFT Distressed Patterns; unknown sentiment

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #344

*This or That Instagram Hop*

I'm here to share my card for the This or That Instagram Hop... we had to choose between reality and fantasy this week.  I mixed it up a little more and added a little fantasy to my reality!

Who wouldn't love a garden full of rainbow flowers?  So I ink blended over some hot foil to create my heart of rainbow flowers!  I found it kind of got lost on the white paper so I added a black banner behind it to help it pop a little more

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black
*Ink:  whatever was left on my ink blending brushes
*Foil Plate:  This Calls for Confetti Heart Bloom

*Foil:  Spellbinders black

*Dies:  MFT Celebrate; Stampin' Up! Banners; This Calls for Confetti Heart Bloom
*Etc:  Nuvo Aqua Shimmer

*{BYSHC} Sketch #74*

 Happy October, creative friends!  I'm here to kick of the month at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers and the brand new sketch for the month.

I thought that this was a perfect sketch to use my favourite Christmas themed patterned paper...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Tidings of Christmas

*Stamps: Tonic Studio Candy Cane Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  BYSHC #74

*One Layer Instagram Hop*

 Hello my friends... I'm here with my card for the One Layer Instagram Hop.  For the month of October, we are playing with the theme of splatter.  I had a few ideas go through my head including using some of the ink splatter stamps and stencils I have... but I decided to go super old school and do some actual ink splattering using some reinkers and a fan brush.  I started out by stamping my greeting and then masked it off before starting with the ink splatter.

*CAS Colours & Sketches #595*

 How is it already the end of September?!  I am still not ready for summer to be over (and yet, here we are).  Sigh...

Anyway... it's time for a fun new sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches!

When I saw this sketch by Rachel, All I could think of was snowflakes... so I went with it!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stardust Shimmer in two shades of blue (so old in my stash!!!)

*Stamps:  Gina K Holiday Wreath Builder

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Impression Obsession Snowflakes; Waffle Flower Nesting Circles, Additional Circles

*Challenges:  CC&S #595

*Embossing Folder Instagram Hop*

 Hello friends... I'm here with a "fall splendor" themed card for the September Embossing Folder Instagram Hop.  I maybe should have done something other than green for a fall card, but I liked how the green and gold embossed panel looked together.  I took panels of each colour and cut them in half diagonally and then embossed them to ensure I had a seamless transition between the two colours...

Car Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Gumball Green, Basic Black; Spellbinders gold foil
*Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Big Thanks

*Embossing:  Spellbinders Leafy

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Atlantic Hearts Sketch #701*

 Hello friends... I'm here today to share my design team card using the current sketch at Atlantic Hearts.

I took some liberties with the sketch... I had an idea to cut up a piece of pattern paper into a bunch of little squares but I KNEW I'd hate putting that back together.  Instead I embossed some grid lines on to a panel with my Score Buddy and then decorated my card front.  I like that it gave me a more clean and simple look to this sketch.

Card Info

*Stamps:  LDRS My Wish For You
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*Dies:  Love From Lizi Stitched Circles; Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*Tools:  Score Buddy
*Challenges:  Atlantic Hearts #701

*{BYSHC} Sketch #73 Take 2*

Good morning creative friends...  time to share my second (and final card) using the September sketch at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers.  Christmas will be here before we know it... are your cards ready?

I was totally in love with my first card...  this one, not so much.  I'm trying to get more brave and use up different pattern papers in my stash.  I am so inspired by Crystal and the gorgeous cards she makes with pattern paper... I just don't have the same eye as she does.

This paper is SUPER old in my stash...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Lawn Fawn holographic

*Paper:  Doodlebug Frosty Friends
*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Hero Arts Snowflake Cluster; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Challenges:  Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers #73

*Rainbow Connection Instagram Hop*

It's the time of the month where I'm playing along with some Instagram friends and all of the colours of the rainbow.  We try to use the colours of the rainbow on a somewhat clean and simple card.

I took inspiration from a card I saw on Pinterest (see it HERE)... but instead of it being monochromatic, I chose to use the colours of the rainbow for my elements.

Card Info

*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Bumblebee, Shaded Spruce, Night of Navy

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  VersafineClair Nocturne

*Dies:  Waffle Flower NextingCircles; Spellbinders Floral Spray; MFT Something for Everything

*Embellishments;  Picket Fence Day & Night Gems

*Happy Birthday Parmi*

 Today, I am celebrating my friend Parmi's birthday, together with some other Instagram friends...  Please go wish her a happy birthday!

I set out to make a simple black and white card... In fact I had it all put together.  But then I felt like it needed something more.  And I was able to finesse this rainbow floral wreath behind the layered circle.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  LDRS My Wish For You

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*Dies:  Waffle Flower Nesting Circles, Additional Circles; Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*Embossing:  Simon Says Stamps Kaleidoscope

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Crushing Christmas Instagram Hop*

 This month, my friends and I are playing with a monochromatic theme for the Crushing Christmas Instagram Hop... I bought this embossing folder a few months ago and had to see what it looked like so I embossed it almost as soon as I brought it home.  And then it sat on my desk.  Until now!

I left the embossed panel completely plain and added a simple stamped and die cut sentiment to it...

Card Info

*Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Star Flakes

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Star Flakes
*Embossing:  Lisa Horton Winter Flowers

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Pattern Paper Instagram Hop*

 I am trying so hard to get better at mixing patterns...  it's been so hard for me lately!  Even using papers from the same package! I had to do it with this card for the PatternPaper Instagram Hop (where our challenge is "layers)... and I hope I did OK!

Card Info
*Paper:  Unity Love Notes
*Stamps: Uniko Birthday Wishes
*Tools:  Perfect Layers