Sportsman

 Today's card was so fun to make! I will be making several of these!

I used the stamp set Unsportsmanlike Pissy Kitty from Unity. I embossed the number 2 in gold and then colored Kitty in with Blends. I used DSP from Nature Walk (coming Jan. 6). Everything went on an Early Espresso card base. I added a few Shades of Green Hexagons for embellishment. This is going to a former football coach and I'm sure he and his wife will love it! 

Earlier this month we had a lot of rain. We managed a walk in between rain showers one day and saw a rainbow! It was actually a double rainbow but the second one wasn't as bright.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

This Little Piggy

 I've been working on January's birthday cards especially those who have birthdays the first week of the month. If I'm not careful I can be a little late getting those sent! But today's card is actually for a birthday much later in the year! 

I have a friend who collects pigs so of course when I came across this cute little gal on the scooter, that I had already colored, I was inspired to make my friend a card and her birthday is in April! And yes, I do have an organizational system where I put birthday cards so they don't get misplaced or forgotten! 

The piggy is from SU!'s This Birthday Piggy which was retired in '23. my card base is Strawberry Slush and the little piggy is actually adhered to an old Memories and More card. Strawberry Slush was an In Color from '13-15 so I am assuming sometime in there is when those Memories and More cards came out. The DSP is from the Florals in Bloom pack. I added a couple of the clear Faceted Snowflake gems with the confetti and some Wink of Stella to make the scooter sparkle!

On one of our recent bike rides up the Valley we saw "The Herd " of elk. I took this photo but you will have to zoom in to see them. lol! We really weren't that far from them but in photography we were. There are at least 50 in this herd. We have seen them a few times and are always on the lookout for them. It's a sweet find. 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Warm Hugs

Hello again!

My goodness it has been a hot minute since I have posted here on my blog. All is well! We had a beautiful fall, the holidays went well, the grandchildren are growing and now winter has arrived! 

Here's my card for today:

I used a Fresh Freesia card base and a couple pieces of DSP from Florals in Bloom and Florals Impressions that I cut with the Textured Notes dies. I used my old faithful circle and scalloped circle dies for that adorable penguin from Unity called Warm Hugs. I added a few gems to the center of some of the flowers. These warm hugs are going to a friend who has a winter birthday!

It has finally gotten into the 30's around here but the sun came out yesterday and the hubs and I went for a bike ride! I got this picture on our way home. If it wasn't so cold I would think spring is here! Everything is so green!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Season's Greetings

 Today's card came together fairly quickly using seasonal ephemera which is actually hard for me to use. I fiddle around with that stuff not really knowing where to put it, how to use it, do I pop it up or not, and etc! lol...not really!

So, there it is. I used the challenge at Stampin' Up Only Challenge #386 where they want us to Case the Catalog.

I'm not sure what I CASE'd other than layers of ephemera! lol! 

We had another gorgeous day at the beach yesterday! 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

It's Halloween

 Happy Tuesday! 

Today's card came together fairly well using limited supplies. We are glamping at the Oregon coast this week. I brought crafting supplies. I always bring crafting supplies! I knew I wanted to use Clever Cats...here is today's card.

I used the challenges at The Paper Players and the Color Throwdown.

My Clever kitty is all dressed up for Halloween wearing a Timid Tiger hat that's been glittered up with Wink of Stella. Her broom awaits her midnight ride. I snagged a couple bits from a past Christmas ephemera kit for the green and red strips she is sitting on. I had a white rectangle already embossed with the Exposed Brick EF and a Garden Green piece embossed with the Countryside Blossoms EF in my stash that I brought! That was not planned. Everything went on a Timid Tiger card base. I finished it with a few Delightful Decorative Dots.

The beach was amazing yesterday when we got here. It was HOT, calm and beautiful! If you are familiar with the Oregon coast you know this is very rare to have all three on one day! Here's a photo.

And it looks like today is going to be fabulous too! I'm off to enjoy it!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

You are much appreciated

 My DIL asked me to make a card for her boss, the principal at her school. She wanted it to be related to "sour" as the theme. She said like lemons. Okay...I'm sure her boss is not sour! They just had different themes for each day. Anyways, here's my card.

I had originally thought I would use the long retired Lemon Zest stamp set. Ummm, apparently I don't have it. Did I ever have it?? I ask my stampin' bestie if I could borrow hers. She couldn't find hers either. Okay. Fine. I found a lemon slice stamp and die in the retired Cup of Tea and this is what I came up with. The DSP is from Fruit Salad. 

I used the Freshly Made Sketch #706.

It was kind of stressful making it. I hope it's okay for what she needs/wants.

I'm going to go back to happy stamping now! 

Tracy

I miss your face!

I was happy making today's card!

 

I used the CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch #532.

I had this sketch marked and was wanting to create a card using it even before this challenge! 

I used the little critters from Just Me & You. I went with a note card. The images are small and I stamped them on the smallest square from the Stylish Shapes dies. I colored them very carefully with Blends...they're pretty tiny for my comfort zone. I used the green gingham from Christmas Tags & More DSP, some Baker's Twine and a few Delightful Decorative Dots.

I think this sketch would be fun with quite a few other images too!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

You Are Awesome!

 I love it when I find a challenge and the card is completed and sitting right in front of me! That's what happened with today's card.

The Color My Heart Color Dare #671 worked perfectly for this card.

I used Darling Duckling and Timid Tiger and added Mossy Meadow as my color of choice. I added neutrals of Crumb Cake and Pecan Pie and the Gold Metallic.

I loved making this card and want to make a whole bunch more with lots of different colors! I embossed a piece of Basic White cardstock with the Sunflower 3D EF and on the debossed side swiped Crumb Cake and Pecan Pie ink pads over it. On this one I used my Blends in Timid Tiger, Darling Duckling and Mossy Meadow to color the flowers. 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Swing High

 Happy Monday! 

I'll always love stamping flowers and creating projects using them but I think I was ready to move to some other images and so I branched out and got the Playground of Life stamp set. Here's my first card I created with it.

It's super simple but I wanted to use the Paper Players #757 sketch this week and the Color Throwdown Challenge #841.

I used Cajun Craze, Night of Navy and Balmy Blue for my colors and added some neutrals for the skin tones and the little one's hair. The DSP is from the Lighter than Air pack. I thought it looked like a chain link fence or netting that you might find at a park or a backyard. 

It was fun and easy and I love that style of crafting! And it reminds me of our oldest son who now has a little boy of his own! 

We are heading to the apple orchard today! We had planned to go three weeks ago but our grandson was born and the apples were put on hold. Hopefully we will be successful today.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Life is an Adventure!

 I had a play with the Turtle-y Cute DSP and this is what evolved:

I used the CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch # 531 as my inspiration.

My card base is Garden Green and I used the light side of Granny Apple Green Two Toned Cardstock and embossed it with the Turtle Textures EF. The DSP and my turtle are from Turtle-y Cute. The sentiment is from the Playground of Life stamp set  and I completed the card with a few Delightful Decorative Dots.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Happy Birthday

 Today's card uses the Happy Place stamp set from Stampin' Up! 

I used the color challenge from the As You See It Challenge #357.

I used the sketch from page 60 of the  SU! September-December mini catalog where you will also find the stamp set. This stamp set was inspired by Million Sales Achiever Sharon Armstrong. Kudos to her! 

I inked HAPPY using sponge daubers in Timid Tiger and Pumpkin Pie and then I added a bit of Cloud Cover at the bottom with my Stampin' Write Marker. I stamped BIRTHDAY in Secret Sea ink. The card base is Cloud Cover and the Cloud Cover DSP is from Floral Impressions. I added some Linen Thread and then popped the Happy Birthday up on dimensionals and added a few Timid Tiger Flat Pearls.

I'm excited to create a few more cards with this stamp set.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Glory

 Happy Monday! It was a beautiful weather weekend here! Fall has arrived!

For today's card I made a Christmas card. Probably my first. I am not one to make Christmas cards ahead of schedule...even this may be ahead of schedule. LOL!

I used the CASE-ing Tuesday Sketches #530.

I used the Shepherd's Care stamp set for my images and For Unto Us (retired) for my sentiment. All were stamped in Secret Sea onto the light side of Secret Sea Two Tone Cardstock. I tore the cardstock at the bottom. I used two strips of Country Lace DSP. I tore the strip at the top. I finished the card with three clear Faceted Snowflakes.

I'm going to try a few other color combinations using this sketch and this stamp set. It was fun and easy! My favorite style! 😉

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

GO NUTS!

 Today's card came together fairly quickly with some remaining acorns I had left from my Fluffy Squirrel boxes.

I used an Early Espresso card base and added a piece of Boho Blue that I used the Pattern of Friendship die on. I added a piece of Timeless Plaid to that and then added the acorns. I stamped the sentiment from Fluffy Squirrel in Early Espresso onto Crumb Cakes cardstock. I added a few loops of  Crumb Cake Baker's Twine and popped it up on dimensionals.

I'm playing along with the Freshly Made Sketch #704 this week.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Nancy Drew #7

 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories The Clue in the Diary

Today's card is inspired by this Nancy Drew Mystery book and I'm playing along with Christy's challenge at Snapdragon Stamps.

In the story there is a little girl named Honey. She sounds adorable with blonde hair and blue eyes.  I used the little girl from SU!'s Catching Butterflies and tried to create this idyllic scene with her. LOL! I've had it sitting on my desk for probably a week because I don't think I really like it.  Ya know sometimes that happens. Oh well! I think I should have made glittery butterflies or something. 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

This Calls for Doughnuts

 Today's project is a box that holds a package of Hostess Donettes. 

My upline, Teresa Harper at KnT Designs by Teresa, created the template for the box specifically for these treats. You can find the video tutorial here.

I had to decorate it using Fluffy Squirrel! I couldn't pass up a good pun and Fluffy is just too cute! I stamped Fluffy on Basic white using Early Espresso for the outline and Crumb Cake on the body. The acorn that Fluffy is holding is stamped with Early Espresso onto Crumb Cake cardstock and colored with SU! Blends #200 and Dark Crumb Cake. 

Here is how the box opens. I made the boxes ( I made 32 of them!) using Two Tone Cardstock in Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. 

It was super fun! I loved how they turned out and loved giving them to my Bible study besties, my hairstylist and a friend who will give them to her Bible study besties! 

In other news...our grandson, Ivan Lee Henry Grauer, arrived September 7.  Ten days early via ceasarean section.

Thank God he was early and delivered via a C-section. That little guy weighed 10 pounds 6 ounces! He is doing great and so is Momma. Big sister thinks he's pretty cool too!

Here he is at ten days old, the day he was due. What a strong boy!

Okay, that's the update! It's been a pretty busy month but all is going well. 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Hello there!

Today's card is very clean and simple. It's actually a bit challenging to keep it simple. Ya know?! But I like it and am going to do a few more. LOL!

My card uses the Beautiful Gallery DSP cut and adhered to a Basic Beige card base. I stamped the sentiment from Blooming Phrases in Mossy Meadow ink onto a strip of Basic Beige. I inked the edges with Pecan Pie and added some Linen Thread. I completed the card with the Pressed Flower Motifs. It is almost impossible for me not to add gems to complete a card. That's just how I create!

My inspiration for this card came from this week's CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch #528.

Our newest grandbaby is expected to arrive this month!  In the meantime we had this little, big guy yesterday. 

Weston is 9 months and is a pretty easy going baby! Yea! His parents are NOT the ones expecting another baby! LOL! 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Hello!

 Today's card was a challenge from my upline to use our DSP as a focal point on a card. I love a DSP challenge! Here's my card:

I used the Painterly Pears and did a little fussy cutting on this image. I adhered it to other pieces of the paper from that same collection. My card base is Secret Sea. The sentiment is from the Perfectly Pears stamp set and cut with a die from the same set. I completed the card with a few of the Low Profile Sparkle Dots. Let's just say I made quite a few cards with this paper and I am not done! So fun!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Gather Happiness

 Happy Monday! Happy September 1!  What a glorious morning here on the farm! The morning temperatures have been so nice and cool. Fall is just around the corner. Today's card is a nod towards that season of Autumn!

The Fluffy Squirrel stamp set and punch bundle will debut on Wednesday in my SU! store! It is in the SU! new mini catalog on page 49. This has been the year of the squirrel around here. They have been very naughty...eating our garden and digging where they shouldn't be digging. Never in our 35 years of living here have the squirrels been so prevalent. Most likely from the filbert orchard next to us that hasn't been maintained quite like it should...thus a haven for the squirrels. Anyways, I have had fun watching them (don't tell my hubs that!) and have created a children's story, in my mind, that I should put down on paper! 

Okay, so my card uses the fantastic Weekend Adventures DSP on a Crumb Cake card base. I stamped Fluffy in Pecan Pie with an Early Espresso outline. The acorns I stamped in Early Espresso onto Crumb Cake and colored the top with #200 Blend which now might be one of the Deep Blends (?) and the lower half with the Dark Crumb Cake Blend. The sentiment is cut out with a die from the Mixed Labels dies. I like these label dies and they are on the Last Chance list at a reduced price! $18.90. 

And I'm playing along with the sketch at CASE-ing Tuesday.

I'm off to walk Jake! Here's the sweetest picture of our Autumn giving him some love. He really is the best.dog.ever!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Nancy Drew #6

 I should have labeled all my Nancy Drew posts with the number of the book...but I didn't and now I am out of numerical sequence. LOL! Oh well, I don't think anyone is going to know anyways!

Today's card is inspired by the book The Secret of Red Gate Farm which is #6 in the series of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. I am playing along with Christy's challenge at Snapdragon Stamps.

I went with a cow because in one scene Nancy tries milking a cow. I didn't realize Christy's card was with a cow also...too funny! Anyways, making this card made me happy! I used SU!'s Over the Moon. I embossed  Mossy Meadow Two Tone cardstock with the Pressed Flowers EF. I thought maybe it looked like some yummy grass or clover for the cow. The DSP piece is from Beautiful Gallery. I added it all to a Old Olive card base. I added a few Low Profile Sparkle Dots because I was thinking of dewy clover or grass sparkling in the sunlight.

I made the same card switching to a Basic Black card base and I added the yellow Sparkle Dots.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy