*This or That Instagram Hop*

 This week for the This or That Instagram Hop, we had to choose between clean and simple or mixed media.  Honestly, I don't even know where to start with a mixed media card so I went with a clean and simple design.

I'm sure that no one is surprised.

Card Info
*Cardstock:  Stampin Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Vines & Roses

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Nesting Ovals; Pinkfresh Studio Vines & Roses; Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up! Soft Waves
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*It's MY Birthday Instagram Hop*

 I am one of those people who loves their birthday...  getting older is a part of life.  I don't love that I'm closer to 60 than I am to 50, but I'm happy to be alive to celebrate another birthday.  I took the day off work, have spent some time reading and crafting... got my free breakfast at Denny's and am looking forward to dinner and cake with my family this evening.  Let's be honest, the best part of my birthday is the cake! LOL!

Anyway, I am hosting a birthday hop on Instagram this afternoon... I hope you'll go have a look at all of the cards my online friends made to celebrate my birthday!

I used some of my favourite things for this card today... some pretty flowers, black and white stripes, all items from my bin of extras and a clean and simple card!  LOL I should have made it a mini slimline too! LOL

Card Info

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Pattern Party; MFT Black & White Stripes
*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*Dies:  The Ton Easy Exprssions; Pinkfresh Studio Rainbow Daisies

*CAS on Friday #339*

 Happy Friday, my friends!  So hard to believe we're nearing the end of July already!  It feels like summer just started but I can already tell that the sun is spending less time with us!  

It's time for a new challenge at CAS on Friday.  For challenge #339, we are playing with FLOWERS.  I decided to incorporate this challenge with my final card for the Christmas in July Linky Party so my flower is a pointsettia.  I am SO thrilled with how this clean and simple card turned out.  I added just a little sparkle with some glitter paper that I think made all the difference...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler, Evening Evergreen; unknown gold glitter

*Stamps:  Concord & 9th Winter Greenery

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Spellbinders Christmas Blooms

*Etc:  gold cord; gold flat backed gem

*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #339; BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 This week for the This or That Instagram Hop, we got to choose between ice skates or roller skates.  Since I've been busy making some Christmas cards this week, I chose ice skates.  I have this cute set of stamps that has giraffes on skates.  I got to pull out my Copics for a little simple colouring again too!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  MFT Giraffes on Ice; Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics

*Etc:  Stampin' Up! Wonderful Snowflakes

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*Time Out Challenges #318*

 I took a little break from the Christmas cards to make my design team card for the new challenge at Time Out Challenges...

As soon as I saw this challenge prompt, I knew I wanted to play with some gorgeous paper in my stash and some fabulous new leaf dies I just got.  I cut a panel of the paper and then cut it in to three equal pieces.  I put the middle piece on the card using foam adhesive and then put the other two directly on the card front with regular adhesive.  I added some die cut leaves and a simple pop of colour with the sentiment.

Card Info

*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Berry Burst, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive

*Paper;  Stampin' Up! Moonlit Florals
*Stamps:  Gina K Wreath Builder

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Fern & Flora; Waffle Flower Nesting Circles
*Etc:  foam adhesives

*Challenges:  Time Out #318

*Rainbow Connection Instagram Hop*

 I am combing the Rainbow Connection Instagram Hop with a card for the BYSHCardmakers Linky Party today...  What's better that some rainbow snowflakes?!  I cut the snowflakes out of pattern paper and am in love with how they turned out.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Granny Apple Green

*Paper:  Paper Rose Studio Rainbow Twirl 2.0

*Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Simply Winter Sentiments

*Ink:  Verafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Impression Obsession Small Snowflakes, Snowflakes

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*Card Clubhouse Instagram Hop*

We're playing with anything to do with letters home this week for the Card Clubhouse Instagram Hop... so I chose to play with a postage die and a stencil I haven't opened before.  I used only 3 colours but layered them up to create a rainbow of colours!  In the past when I've used this die, I've cut the pieces apart... this time I decided to use it as a full panel.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Celebrate You; Waffle Flower Postage Collage
*Stencil:  Waffle Flower Collage Colouring Stencil

*Ink:  Tim Holtz Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Mustard See

*Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July Holiday Linky Party*

 I'm back with another Christmas card to share with you today... have you been playing along with the Christmas in July Holiday Linky Party??!!  There are so many fabulous prizes to be won!

For today, it's all pattern paper and a little gold cord...

Card Info

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #691*

 This is a fun new sketch at Atlantic Hearts that starts today...

I struggled quite a bit with getting the sizes of the the rectangles "just right" so I cheated a bit by using a full panel of pattern paper and dividing it with strips of red cardstock.  I kinda like how this one turned out...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Tidings of Christmas

*Stamps:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips, Simple Strips Backer; MFT Stitched Rectangles; Pinkfresh Slim Strips

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July ; Atlantic Hearts Sketch #691

*Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July Linky Party*

 I'm sharing another card for the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July Linky Party... I have had a blast making a bunch of Christmas cards in the last few days!

Today I pulled out some pretty paper...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Handsome Hunter; gold foil

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Christmas

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocture

*Dies:  unknown star; The Ton Easy Expressions Christmas

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenge:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*Create It 3-Way Instagram Hop

 This month for the Create It 3-Way Instagram Hop, our theme is "thinking of you"... each of us plays with at least one common item from our stash to create three cards following the theme.  I chose to play with the same stamp set, the same die set and the same pattern paper...

Here are the up close photos of each of the cards I created... going from clean and simple to less clean and simple...

First, the clean and simple version...

This second one has an fully embossed background which takes away from it being truly clean and simple (although there are many who would still classify it as clean and simple.

And finally, a mini slimline that isn't at all clean and simple...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Paper:  Stampin Up! Full of Life

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Pinkfresh Studio Floral Squares; MFT Something for Everything

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up! Soft Waves

*Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July Linky Party*

 WOW!  That title is a mouthful!  But it's worth every word because today marks the start of the fabulous Christmas in July Holiday Linky Party!  Yup, that's right!  One full week of lots of holiday card inspiration.  And for every card you upload, you have a chance to win one of the wonderful draw prizes from one our fabulous sponsors!!!

It was fun to focus on Christmas cards for a few weeks to prepare for this party... I hope you'll have fun digging in to your Christmas stash too!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Handsome Hunter

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas; unknown gold sparkle

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday
*Ink:  Verasfine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Embossing:  Sizzix Christmas Tree Pattern

*Challenges:  Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Christmas in July

*AAA Colourful #30*

 There's a wonderful new colourboard challenge at AAA Colourful that starts today... what a beautiful photo Jane chose for us to be inspired by...

These colours are not ones I use very often...  but wow they look good together!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Boho Blue, Midnight Muse, Night of Navy, Golden Glow, Cajun Craze

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Paper Rose Studio Little Etched Butterflies;  The Ton Easy Expressions
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  AAA Colours #30

*Addicted to CAS #312*

The challenge at Addicted to CAS this week is UP!  How will you interpret the code word?

I chose to do a rainbow with some clouds... I cut the rainbow pieces out of white cardstock and added some colour to them with my Copics.  I adhered them to a panel and then cut it with a stitched rectangle die so that there is only half of a rainbow.  I added some die cut clouds to cover the edges of the rainbow

Card Info

*Stamps:  Studio Katia Birthday Greetings
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics

*DIes:  Stampin' Up! Sunshine Vibes; MFT Stiched Rectangles, Treetop

*Challenges:  ATCAS #312

*CAS on Friday Challenge #338*

There's a fabulous new challenge at CAS on Friday that starts today... and it's totally up my alley!  The challenge is to use dies only with the only stamping allowed on our sentiment.  I think most of my cards are like this!

I cut some flowers in bright colours as well as a fun stem and layered it all together in the middle of my card front.   I layered the stamped and die cut sentiment across the middle of it, keeping everything together in a tight design

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade

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

*Dies:  Prism Studio Essential Greenery; Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms; The Ton Easy Expressions
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #338; Simply Clean and Simple

*Clean and Simple Instagram Hop*

 This month, the theme for the Clean and Simple Instagram Hop is "celebration"... I chose to do a birthday card.

I started with some fun ink splatter stamps and stamped them in my favourite colour combination.  I stamped the greeting directly on top of the ink splatters and added a little bling to finish it off.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  MFT Distressed Patterns; Pinkfresh Studio Happy Birthday Sentiments

*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Bermuda Bay, Granny Apple Green; Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Embellishments:  Picket Fence Studio Day & Night Gem Mix

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges: Simply Clean and Simple

*White on White Instagram Hop*

We are playing with a celebration theme for the White on White Instagram Hop this month... I chose to play with an idea that Sandi MacIver shared recently with an embossed panel that you cut in to strip and then adhere the strips to the card front alternating each strip either raised or adhered directly to your panel.  Please pop over to see her fabulous creations!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  Concord & 9th Big Day Birthday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Concord & 9th Big Day Birthday

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up! Dotted Circles

*CAS Colours & Sketches #589*

 Happy Tuesday, creative friends!  It's time for a new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches!  For this challenge, it's a sketch!

I had some fun with some bits and pieces in my bin of extras to make this card... I find it a lot of fun to use up these pieces that a lot of others might throw out.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Gorgeous Grape, Old Olive

*Paper:  MFT Black & White Stripes

*Stamps:  Pinkfresh Studio Happy Birthday Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Pierced Blooms

*Embossing:  Altenew Deck PLanks

*Embellishments:  Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Clear Drops

*Challenges:  CC&S #589
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Card Clubhouse Instagram Hop*

 I had to play with the theme of "where you're from" for the Card Clubhouse Instagram Hop today... I didn't feel super inspired to make a red and white card so instead I went with a Calgary Stampede themed birthday card... anyone who knows me is probably surprised as I am not a country girl, I am not interested in Stampede... but it's probably what the city I live in is best known for.

I started with a Spellbinders alphabet and cut out the iconic Stampede "yahoo" and then used a wood grain embossing folder on them.  Super simple!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Pecan Pie

*Stamps:  Concord & 9th Big Day Birthday

*Dies:  Spellbinders Be Bold Alpha; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Embossing;  Alten New Deck Planks

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Scraps Only Instagram Hop*

 Each month, I play along with a group of friends on Instagram where you do a hop that focusses on using up the scraps and extras that we have hanging around, waiting for a rainy day.  Our theme for this month is Red, White & Blue... and since I'm not a patriotic American (but instead, a proud Canadian), I didn't do a patriotic themed card...  These are some of the pieces of the Pinkfresh Washi that I've cut and that get ignored in my bin of extras...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic BLack

*Stamps:  Gina K Wreath Builder

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Washi:  Pinkfresh Studio Fluttering Butterflies, Vines & Roses

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Nesting Ovals; Pinkfresh Studio Vines & Roses, Fluttering Butterflies

*Tools:  Perfect Layers