Joy of the Lord...

The Bible Verse is a download from Digi Doodles Studio. a link along with the challenges I am entering will be listed below.  I stamped buds from the retired SU Hope Blooms set onto the current SU marble DSP papers, using the pink and the gray sheets, and fussy cut them.  My SU friend and supplier gave me a pack of the marble papers, along with my last order.  I had said I probably wouldn't use them, but now that I have them I think I am going to like and use them. At Christmas I told her I wouldn't use the Penguin Playmates but she pointed out the neutrality of at least one side, so I got them free in Sale A Bration and I love and use them a lot.  The CS is Smokey Slate (SU) and is one of my favorites in the neutrals.   It really is a fairly straightforward card.    I followed the sketch and made a square card (which I don't do often) at Freshly Made Sketches and yesterday their link said it would be open 6 moe days, but evidently that is a mistake they have chosen the winners today.  The link was still open so I linked my card.  They have always closed the link at 3:00 PM on Mondays.  Anyway, I let them know so they could fix it and it's not a problem,  they have an awesome sketch each week and  you can click on the sketch below and go to their site to check them out.  Tomorrow they will have a new sketch!   At tic tac toe I completed the top row,  and used a sweet pink plaid that was a download for Just Us Girls..  I just tried to make it fun by addding textures.   Thanks for stopping by and comments are so appreciated!      Kathy

DIGI DOODLES STUDIO

REBECCA POWEL DESIGNS 

Fan Card...

 

This weeks sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches is perfect for showcasing DSP.   I decided to use the Hello Friend Paper from Sale A Bration.  The sentiment and image are from the Smitten stamp and die set that I just received from CTMH.   I've made a pun card for Valentine's day and playing along over at Make the Cards challenge blog.    There are many people in my life I could send this to.   I'm also linking to Lil Patch of Crafty Friends in the "anything goes category.     For Christmas my husband gave me "stamp money" and I waited until Sale A Bration and the Jan-Feb book at CTMH to order.  This card is in keeping with my goal to make some fun cards this year, since I have a tendency to be so serious! Thanks for stopping by,  Kathy

Hot Cocoa Christmas card...

This card is based on three specific challenges:  Inspiration Station (photo), Try Stampin on Tuesday (sketch) and My Time to Craft Christmas (anything with the letter S.)   It's just a simple and sweet card (pun intended).  I am also linking to A Perfect Time To Craft as "anything goes."   I've been stamping and making cards since January 2002 when I went to my first Stampin Up party at a friends.  Cardmaking has evolved amazingly over these years and I've aged 20 years and face challenges associated with normal aging along with challenges that accompany the treatment for Multiple Myeloma that I was diagnosed with in January of 2014.     When I first started if there was such a thing as having a blog, I certainly didn't know about them.    A few years ago I decided to try my hand at it and I really enjoy it so much and it is so inspiring to visit your blogs and be inspired by your artwork and learn of new and irresistible products that are available.   Doing challenges is so good for me,  being part of an online community and while sketches make sense to me (put something here--put something there) they are far from easy if you are trying to remain fresh with your work.   Color and photo challenges and a use this use that challenge are areas where I am determined to grow more this year!    I love to read mysteries of all kind and watch British TV mysteries.    I might could even characterize my cardmaking style as a mystery, since very often even I don't know how it's going to turn out.   I often start with something in mind and the finished product is way different.   For this card, looking at the Photo I thought hot cocoa, and then the throw (which looks so soft) set me to thinking about the literal warmth of hot cocoa and Christmas cookies and how could I bring that together on a card.   The sketch at TSOT gave me the perfect place to put all the elements that I came up with in place, it was a double challenge but I chose to not do monochromatic this time.  I can always use it again!   Trying a new challenge "Anything with an S" for sweet cookies and cocoa at My Time to Craft Christmas.    So that's what my gray matter has been up to...I look forward to hearing what you think and visiting your blogs and seeing what you have been up to!     Stay safe and may your weekend be a good one!              Kathy

Supplies:  

SU Painted Christmas DSP

Sentiment-SU Poinsettia Petals

ETSY--Christmas Cookies

ETSY--Christmas Mugs

Fun on ICE...

 

 First of all, you are not going crazy, the card that I linked is not the same as the one above.   The more I looked at the red sentiment the less I like it, so I did the sentiment in blue and used a cloud die.  So this is alow laying cloud just at the tree line but it works for me.  My mind had much on it when I started putting my card together during the night.  I had been looking at create a smile sketch for a few days and was planning to use some dies I have to give the look, but when I saw this background paper it just seemed to work so well, too bad I missed the link cut off.    I took liberties with the sketch, but it was defintely my inspiration and also the challenge photo at Just Us Girls served as inspiration.    Yesterday was my Multiple Myeloma infusion treatment day and I get steroids as part of the treatment, so I didn't even go to bed last night, because I always have so much drive going.   I take steroids every Tuesday, but only get the infusion every 4th Tuesday.    Anyway,  I found this cute set on Etsy and with so many elements I felt it would be something I could use every winter and for $3.00 it was a good deal,  so it is now part of my growing digital collection that I store on a flash drive to free my computer.  I work in Word when I use my digital papers and clip art digis..   I created the background and then printed the kids separately and fussy cut them.   I wanted to do a winter scene and the Olympics are on my mind, because I have a niece and her family who live near Bejing and it has been tough because of strict Covid Mandates, thankfully they are doing well.   These kids may just be practicing to be future ice skating Olympians.  Because of all that is going in my country and around the world, I really want to do more fun cards this year.  All of the challenges and the Etsy Digital set is listed below, I  wanted to try and make access easy,  but getting it all to stay put was like herding cats.  I think it's fixed, but I may not do it this way again..   I always appreciate comments and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by.   Blessings to one and all,  Kathy

  

 

                        

 

Christmas Trees Card....

I just loved this card, made by Jen Timko, so much so that I ordered the Pine Tree Honey Cuts and the Vintage Holiday paper pad along with some other goodies from the Honey Bee Company.    So of course, I've just been dying to play with it all, and today I did just that!  I also used a sentiment from the vintage SU set Joy Christmas.   It's simple and clean and I like it!   I hope you do too!     Thanks so much for stopping in have a great and safe week!       Kathy

 

Brown Christmas Card...

 

Never have I made a Christmas Card where I used shades of "Brown" predominantly.   Since this is the year I wanted to "branch out" and try different challenges and challenges out of my comfort zone I decided to give the current challenge at 52CCTD my best shot.   I am also linking to some "anything goes" challenges...Just click below and it will take you to the Websites.     The verdict is out on my card.  There are some lovely cards that have been posted for this challenge.   It's just that I have always been very traditional with Christmas (red/green black/gray with pops of color, or shades of blue). So I went shopping and  I downloaded some lace papers and used a very old CTMH set to create a Nativity.   The embellishments are SU Cinnamon Cider (last year's incolor) in this years book!    I am starting to incorporate digital into my artwork...I just love the brown lace papers I downloaded from Etsy.   I look forward to building my digi stamp collection.     I would love to know what you think!   Thanks for stopping by!   Kathy

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY CHALLENGE "Anything

Christmas Goes

Penguin Triple Trouble card....

 

This week Double Trouble Challenge and  Try Stampin on Tuesday are combining their challenges.  At Double Trouble Thing 1 wants participants to use 3 pieces of patterned paper on the cards and Thing 3 wants a Penguin to be used.   I guess for this week Thing 2 is TSOT and they are providing the sketch.   This is the first time I have played along at Double Trouble, and I just hope I am doing what is required,  it may take me awhile to get the hang of it!   I used colored pencils on a download stamp from PinkGemDesigns on ETSY.   The Papers are Winter Seamless digital from PaperStarrStudio also ETSY.    I printed the digi papers on a 4 on 1 vertical label program in word on watercolor paper.  I had some left over, I messed up or it would have been enough for 2 cards.   The image I then printed on 4 x 5 watercolor paper in the photo program, next I printed the same image on 4x5 white CS.   I die cute the watercolor image in an oval and fussy cut the CS image.  If I had wanted to water color I would have printed the images twice on watercolor paper.    I also am participating at Paper Players where the challenge is winter animals.   And for one last challenge I am linking to Dare 2B Artzy where the challenge is Winter Fun.  I am trying to branch out and try new challenges this year.  Thanks for stopping by and stay safe!       Kathy

Blue and Gray Birthday Card...

Today has been a fun play day...it has snowed off and on all day and since we don't get much snow here in SC, it  has  been a treat.  We are officially snowed in,  everything was closed for the day.   For many years I worked in Radiology with the local hospital system and we had to report to work snow or no snow, so as you can imagine I am loving being retired.   I kept looking at this Try Stampin on Tuesday sketch trying to come up with a way to use it.   This morning as I was waking up, I remembered the Lovely Day stamp set that came with one of the Paper Pumpkin kits a couple of years ago and thought it would work well with this sketch.  I used retired SU DSP that works well with the challenge at Seize the Birthday use Blue and Gray.  I ended up stamping the cake with crumb cake ink so I decided it was a spice cake!   Since the lovely stamp was a little on the big side I decided to just stamp it on the tag and add a little navy clothes pin.   Thanks for stopping by and have a safe week!    Hugs and Smiles,   Kathy

 

Psalm 145.8

For this sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches I decided to show the card I made from it last February...I used Bible Verses both times but the looks are totally different!   I am also linking at Make The Cards Challenge "encouragement."     I used the color scheme at Paper Players, but somehow missed the cut-off time for linking (bummer).    It is supposed to start snowing anytime now where I live.  We don't get much snow, so I'm just playing around and taking it easy today!    Thanks for stopping by,   Kathy

 

Husband's Valentine...

As I started putting together the "ingredients" for this card, I decided that the color scheme and sentiment would be work perfect on a Valentine for my husband.   That's when it's ok to give a man a somewhat frou frou card, or at least I think so!     It will have a gift card inside for his hobby.   I probably won't get a card, but he will tell me to order myself some card making goodies which works for me!   He would take me somewhere nice to eat, but since I am immunocompromised and  Covid continues to rage we will order food from a nice restaurant and pick it up at the curb.    The photo at The Card Concept speaks formal to me, but I think I used the colors a little less so and using gray as a neutral I pretty much stuck to the  color scheme as it appears.  The 2nd card with the black base is actually the first card I made, Clean and layered is the look I was going for!  But the camera shows everything and the Just a note didn't imprint good and I filled in with a black marker, and in the photo it looked horrible.   I didn't have any more black so I used gray on the top card.  But the more I looked at the first card, I kept thinking I could fix...and that is what I did I untied the ribbon and attached a new panel and then reattached a heart and the flowers.  It was a lot of work, but I think it was worth it, I now have 2 lovely cards of this design!  The watercolor dots and stripes are from Digital BJOETEE on ETSY.  They printed so beautifully on watercolor paper.  I print on watercolor paper all of my digital files for the most part, it makes such a difference when it's an image I want to color.   I can print from the photo tray so I don't waste paper when I print an image.   I store all my digital files on a separate hard drive so I don't tax my computer hard drive.   White looking for a sketch for the card on Pinterest I came across the Paper Craft Crew sketch # 158 and when I visited their blog and found that their current challenge is "Anything Goes" I decided this sketch would be perfect.   The heart die is from Hobby Lobby (can't remember who).  The pretty little flowers are SU stamped on some of the big circle paper that I printed.   I only print what I want for the project I'm doing...but I have a notebook that I save the leftover papers in a protector with the photo on Etsy of the download package, with each paper choice numbered to match each jpg or png in the file.  That way it doesn't take long to find what I want!   I still buy pretty papers but my work space is in the guest bedroom, so I have to purge regularly and make sure what I buy can be used over and over (stamps and dies at least).  Soon I plan to take pictures of my workspace and share how I manage limited space!      Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!     Kathy