Thinking of You

 I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Here is today's card:

I used a Basic Beige card base and added another layer of Basic Beige that I embossed with the Damask Designs EF. I adhered a stitched oval to a scallop oval that I cut from the Beautiful Gallery DSP and then added my floral image with dimensionals. I cannot remember where this flower came from. It's a SU! bundle. I do believe that set is in the "to sell" box which is now at my mom's awaiting the yard sale. And yes, the next time I am there which will be today or tomorrow,  I am going to rescue the stamp set and bring it safely back home!  Not kidding! LOL! Why do I think I can sell my stamps sets??!!

My sentiment is from Tractor & Co stamped in Secret Sea. I inked the edges in Basic Beige. Seriously, Basic Beige is my new green. It's green! Has anyone noticed that the Basic Beige ink is green?? I added a few of the Pressed Flower Motifs to complete my card. 

I'm playing along with the  Freshly Made Sketches #695 Challenge 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Make a Wish

Happy Fri-yay! Today's card I made for the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge #380 where the challenge is to CASE the designer, team member, Christy! Here's my card:

I discovered Christy and I have birthdays in January. So, I went to her January 2025 blog posts and was inspired by this post and this card:

For my card I chose Timid Tiger cardstock for my card base. I used the Arched Wishes stamp set. Christy used Everyday Arches for her sentiment. I used the confetti stamp to make a base for my cupcake and a little flame for the candle. I colored the cupcake with Azure Afternoon, Lemon Lolly and Timid Tiger Blends. Christy embossed her image and watercolored it and I just did not have time to do those extras!

I really enjoy Christy's blog. It provides lots of inspiration.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

 

Thinking of You

 Note to self: Do not buy anymore scene builder stamp sets or dies. Seriously, who do I think I am?! I really don't know the first thing about making a scene. I used the  SU! Scenic Adventure Bundle on today's card, well, just the dies.

I used the Rays of Light background stamp also. I'm playing along with The Paper Player's color challenge this week:

I do like SU!'s Two Tone cardstock which I used for the mountains and the trees. It was on sale last week and a few of my crafty friends and I did a paper share. That was a great way to get each of the colors.

I'll play around with this bundle some more and see if gets a bit easier. I really want to use it on some scrapbook pages! 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Hello

 Today's card has been on my mind since I saw the CAS challenge #564.  It took like five minutes to make. Which  may not necessarily be a good thing. lol!

And here is the CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge #564

I used the foliage, an almond branch, from SU! Lovely & Sweet and stamped it in Basic Beige onto Basic Beige cardstock. The sentiment is from SU! Notes of Nature stamped in Early Espresso. 

Our heatwave continues here. It was about 99 degrees for the high today. Hopefully some cooler temps are coming. 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Nancy Drew #4

Just a quick post today. I am squeaking this card in for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

My card was inspired by the Nancy Drew Mystery book,  Mystery at Lilac Inn.  All I could think of while reading it was lilacs and diamonds! lol. And since my last Nancy Drew card was diamonds and gems I went with a kind of lilac card. I don't have a lilac stamp but I have a Hyacinth, from Newton's Nook Designs, and hyacinths and lilacs are related. I sprinkled rhinestones all over the card...for diamonds.😉 The sentiment is from SU!'s Beautiful Motifs and I chose it because they were celebrating Emily receiving the diamonds when all heck broke loose!

Here's the sketch from  the AHSC:

That's it for now. It's super hot here. 100 degrees. I'm very thankful for the AC!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

The Blue Pool

 We had our granddaughter, Autumn, Sunday afternoon until Monday evening. There was no time or energy to do any crafting and the studio is completely off limits to all the littles!

I did get some scrapbooking done over the weekend before Autumn arrived! I thought I'd share one of the layouts today. Please excuse the photography! 😒 I really don't know how to photograph scrapbook pages.

I used the Everyday You & Me scrapbooking workshop as my inspiration for this layout. I thought the paper was just the right colors. The darker side of the Two Toned Pretty Peacock cardstock worked beautifully and I love any kind of check/gingham type paper! I stamped the title using a very old alphabet stamp set from Stampin' Up! called Whimsical Alphabet. I used the 1-1/4" circle punch and then inked the edges with Pecan Pie. My wood grain circles I made using  the Timber EF that I inked with Pecan Pie. I used the Deckled circles and cut them out. I then added ephemera from the kit and cut a few ferns using the Beautiful Motifs dies. 

And I used my first flip flap! I adhere it to the page protector and I was able to add two extra photos using it! So easy and clever! 

Here's the happy Autumn!

That's all I have for today!

Happy Scrapping and Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Thinking of you

Monday, July 7, 2025

We did a really nice, new to us, hike on Saturday. On the drive to it we saw a farmer on a small red tractor moving his irrigation line. That was my inspiration for today's card.

I used the new SU! Tractor & Co and used just the dies to design the tractor. So fun! I used the Rays of Light background stamp and stamped it with Darling Duckling ink onto Darling Duckling cardstock. My sentiment is from Beauty of Friendship which I cut with one of the dies from the Cracker and Treat Box dies. 

I hope it's appropriate for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week.

Just Us Girls is looking for summer things and die cuts.

Here's a couple pics of the hike we did.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Love you, friend

  

Happy Fri-yay and Happy Independence Day to those in the USA! 

Here's today's card:

I used the CASE-ing Tuesday Sketches #519 challenge as my inspiration.

I used Fresh Freesia ink on my block and stamped the coneflowers from Mixed Florals in Blackberry Bliss. My sentiment is from Shaded Summer (retired) also stamped in Blackberry Bliss and mounted on a piece of Best Dressed DSP (retired). I added some silver thread and a few sequins for my finishing touches. 

I had a few chuckles with this technique. When I went to mist the block I had water spraying every direction. Apparently my little water mister has a mind of its own...or possibly operator error. lol! 

I hope everyone has a fabulous day and wonderful weekend. I hope to tackle some scrapbooking this weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Hello Fabulous!

Well, hello Thursday. I'm not sure how you got here so fast! Hope your week is going well. Today's card uses the Dressed to Impress bundle again and the Best Dressed DSP. I just couldn't help myself. 

I had another piece of Purple Posy cardstock that I added the strips of DSP to, popped up the parfum bottle, stamped the sentiment and added a few embellishments. I thought it would make a great birthday card so I added this sentiment to the inside:

It is from the fabulous Happy Thoughts stamp set. And since Retro Rubber is looking for birthday cards I thought I'd play along. Dressed to Impress is from 2020 and Happy Thoughts 2021.

We had these two littles yesterday. It was our first time watching both Paisley and Weston at the same time. It went well.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Be Bold!

 Wednesday, July 2, 2025

I have continued to have some fun creating with the Dressed to Impress bundle.

I used this week's sketch from the Atlantic Heart Sketch Challenge #636.

My card base is Purple Posy (retired). I paired it with the gorgeous Blackberry Bliss that I embossed with the Starstruck EF from this year's Sale-a-bration.  I colored the lipstick with Blackberry Bliss Blends, a gold metallic marker and a silver pen. 

We went and watched Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning yesterday afternoon. We liked it. Very action packed. It was a great thing to do on a hot afternoon!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

You're Awesome!

 Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Today's card was inspired by a book I read and not a Nancy Drew mystery book! I'm not sure I'm going to be able to read a book now without creating a card! LOL! So, here's the card:

And this is the book that inspired the card:

Of course the shoes on my card are not Nikes! lol! This is the only sneaker stamp I had which is from Epic Celebrations. I'm not sure how old that set is.

They are more Converse sneakers which brings me to another story which also inspired my card!

When my husband was in high school he played basketball. Keep in mind he graduated in 1976.  The team wore Converse Chuck Taylor shoes. They were high tops, canvas and he went through at least two pairs a season. They always ripped out on him. I've heard lots of stories about those shoes. And they were blue! The school colors were Brilliant Blue and Summer Sun but I went with Blueberry Bushel and Mango Melody because that is what I had!

Anyways, I'm going to play along at The Paper Players this week.

I chose the right to left diagonal of CAS, die cut and masculine. I die cut the shoes with a Nested Essentials die and the sentiment I cut out using the label die from the Playful Piggy dies. I love that label die. I did emboss the Mango Melody with one of the EF from the Basics Embossing Folders.

As for the book, it was an interesting read. I like reading about how people become successful. It was a bit dry in places and at times I couldn't keep track of all the people Knight talked about. Now that I know a little bit more about Phil Knight and Nike I have more respect for both and want to go buy a pair of Nikes. lol!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Trusty Tools

 Monday, June 30, 2025

Happy Monday! Today's card uses the Trusty Tools bundle.

This was the make-n-take I shared at our June crafting day which was several weeks ago...I found it buried in the studio. 😬 

My card base is Blueberry Bushel. I embossed a piece of Basic White using the Plaster Painting 3D EF. I love that EF! Three of the tools were stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink onto Azure Afternoon paper and highlighted with the Dark Azure Afternoon Blend. The other tools were die cut and pieced together using Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon and Silver Foil paper. The sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts is embossed with white on Blueberry Bushel paper.

This was a fun card to make. I like the Trusty Tools bundle and look forward to making more cards with it.

Paisley was here visiting recently. She loves the dirt. ❤

We have a beautiful wheat field next to us this year. Poppy was showing her how to check it for ripeness. She thought that was great.

Make it a great Monday.

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Buy the Shoes!

 Saturday, June 28, 2025

Today's card sort of came together when I was in the process of making yesterday's card. You know how one idea leads to another idea and you just want to keep creating! So here's today's card:

I have some pieces of the Best Dressed DSP  (retired) in my stash. I took this piece with the shoes and adhered it to a piece of Lovely Lipstick cardstock (retired) and it went on the Blackberry Bliss card base.  I stamped the shoes from the Dressed to Impress stamp set  (retired) in black on Lovely Lipstick, Fresh Freesia and Pretty Peacock cardstock and cut them out with the coordinating die. They went on Petal Pink squares from the Stylish Shapes dies. The sentiment and label die are all part of the Dressed to Impress bundle. I finished the card with some rhinestones. 

I went with this week's Freshly Made Sketch challenge but I flipped the sketch because, you know, crafty people do what they want. 😅

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Nancy Drew's #3

 Friday, June 27, 2025

It's Fri-yay! I have another Nancy Drew card today! The Bungalow Mystery challenged my creativity a bit. I was leaning towards jewels the whole time as Nancy and Laura were trying to keep Laura's jewels safe throughout most of the book. I just couldn't find a jewel in the stamp collection. And then it hit me! I inherited a few (now old) Paper Pumpkins from my (sadly) deceased friend, Krista. I thought I'd seen a jewel in one of them. Yes! July 2016 You're a Gem!  Here's the card I came up with:

I stamped the little gems in an array of colors. Then I used the little sparkle stars stamp from Darling Donkeys and embossed them in gold. The sentiment was embossed. I used some '24-26 glimmer paper. I think it is in Summer Sun. I added some gold trim and it all went on a Basic White note card.

Luckily, Laura's gems were kept safe and in the end she gives her new, dear friend, Nancy, an aquamarine ring!

I do say this is so much fun! 😄

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

You Mean the World to Me

 Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Today's card was out of my comfort zone but I challenged myself to make a card with one layer. Here's what I came up with:

The Paper Players has the one layer challenge this week.

I stamped the Watercolor World background stamp in Azure Afternoon and the sentiment from Memorable Blooms in Poppy Parade on a Thick Basic White card base. That's it! 😅

Our granddaughter Autumn was with us earlier this week. Fun times!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Current Status

 Monday, June 23, 2025

Happy Monday! My BCFF (Best Crafty Friend Forever) recently gifted me the stamp set Begrudged Pissy Puppy from Unity. I made this card:

So funny! My cousin has gone through a house remodel due to some water damage. NOT funny! This is one of the cards I sent her during the remodel. 'Current status: over it.' She said it made her laugh. Mission accomplished!

I kept it super simple with a Wild Wheat card base that I embossed with the paw print EF. The black square is also embossed with a leaf EF. I colored Pissy Puppy with Crumb Cake Blends and his hat with Boho Blue Blends.

The hubs and I hiked Saddle Mtn. last week. We've hiked it a couple times over the years but last week was the first time we got to see the ocean from the top. The clouds swirled around and lifted enough for us to see it! You have to look closely at the horizon to see the ocean in the photo but it's there!

The sign on the highway said we were 14 miles from the nearest coastal town. I'm not sure how far away it is from where we were standing on the mountain.

Here's a couple other pics from the hike.

 

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Nancy Drew's #2

 Sunday, June 22, 2025

 I'm happy to be back with card #2 of the Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Hidden Staircase. For more info see this post.

As I was reading the book I kept picturing this house from the stamp set French Countryside. I mentioned in a previous post that I've been doing some major cleaning in Studio 1.15...well, I found French Countryside in the "to go" box! Yeah, no! I rescued it and made this card. This is my vision of Twin Elms the estate where Nancy and her friend, Helen, are trying to solve the mystery. I stamped it on Basic Beige with Secret Sea ink and cut it out with a Textured Notes die. I added that strip of crocheted trim and the sentiment from Charming Duck Pond. I also inked the edges with Basic Beige. I cut a piece of  Beautiful Gallery DSP from another Textured Notes die. Everything went on a Secret Sea card base. I finished it off with a few Pressed Flower Motifs. It's highly unlikely that the estate looked anything like this but that's okay! In the crafty world it works!

It's been super fun doing this. I'm now reading book #3 in the series.  It makes my crafty heart happy! 

Studio 1.15 was tidy but I tackled another area and it's a mess again BUT I made more room on the shelves for stamp sets!!! I hope to rescue a few others from the "to go" box!

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Happy Summer

 Wednesday, June 18, 2025

I'm excited to share another card today! 

I've been doing a deep clean of the studio. Its been good. Definitely hard at times and I still have a couple more drawers to go through. I don't want to get rid of any of my stamp sets but the reality is I only have so much space...so some things need to be sold. Why am I rambling on...well, today's card came together when I uncovered these cute watermelon pieces. They were already colored and ready to go! I added a piece of Fruit Salad DSP to a Poppy Parade card base and then added the melons and sentiment which are from Lawn Fawn's Simply Celebrate Summer!

This card fits right in at the Paper Player's challenge this week:

Happy Stamping!

Tracy

Driving By

 Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Hello, crafty friends! 

Today's card was made with a challenge from Christy at Snapdragon Stamps blogspot in mind. She's making cards inspired from the Nancy Drew books she is rereading. Well, I'm a bit late to the party! I had never read any of the Nancy Drew books! Where was I growing up?!  And I have always been a reader! Well, it's never too late to correct a mistake! So, I am reading the Nancy Drew books. Here's my card based on Book #1 The Secret of the Old Clock.

So, Nancy and her convertible inspired me to make this card using the 2022 SU! Sale-a-bration Driving By stamp set. Nancy was driving when a terrible rain storm hit and she just happened to stop at the house where the sisters lived that she was wanting to meet! And it was one of the sister's birthdays! 

I used a card base of Darling Duckling. Embossed a panel of Secret Sea with the Old World EF. I thought it looked a bit stormy-like. The convertible was stamped in Mememto Tuxedo Black and colored with Balmy Blue Blends. The banner is ephemera and the sentiment is stamped with Timid Tiger and cut out with a Mixed Label die. I finished it with a few sequins because...because I wanted it to be festive.

Happy Stamping and happy reading!

Tracy