TGIF 352 Sweet Conversations

TGIF!!! I am sure glad it is Friday! The kids have been fighting whatever cooties I had last week. Nothing alarming...Everyone is back at school today! HOORAY!!! I have been working on cleaning and purging a craft room... We shall see how that goes over the weekend, because with the kids home the last few days... nothing got done!

Today I am back with my favorite friends and design team TGIF! I have been on the struggle bus when it comes to creating. Its time to get back into creating with a sense of joy, creativity and those AHA moments. When I took a peek at the challenge for today... You, if you have followed for a while know that I do not like hearts... Its a thing, its been thing for a LONG TIME... but I knew immediately that I would be pairing the Fresh Freesia with Basic Black! Little did I know that I would reach for my Sweet Conversations stamp set for this cutie... Lets take a look!!!

Once I knew what color scheme I was going with it didn't long before I started to create the card. I started with a piece of Basic White that is trimmed down to 3" x 4". Starting with the Fresh Freesia ink first, I stamped the larger heart from the Sweet Conversations stamp set in a line across. I found that it stamped better if I stamped off slightly. Next, I took the the smaller of the similar style of hearts and stamped them in black. I used Memento Tuxedo Black but you can use Stazon if you prefer! Once this was done I used the brush tip from my Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker to create some splatters.  Now that this was done I embossed my piece of Fresh Freesia card stock with our new Gingham Embossing Folder. I chose to use the stripe from the Pattern Party Host Paper as it seems to be just the right touch. My cute little scallop strip is from the Friendly Hello Bundle in the Sale-A-Bration catalog. It was die cut with that cute little border from the Peony Dies. The sentiment is heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss powder on a strip of Basic Black. Once all of my card front elements were adhered, I added a cute little bow with our Black and White 1/4" Gingham (See a theme here?) and a few of the 2021-2023 In Color Jewels. 

I am so glad you stopped by today to see my card! I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks inspiration challenge! You can get all the TGIF Challenges details by clicking the link above!

Have a great weekend!

Biggest Wish Meets Pattern Party!

Happy Wednesday! You are going to notice a few changes with me and my blog. One of them is the fact that I am going to go back to blogging for fun. It is something that has gone to the way side for quite a few years. I don't have as many design teams on my plate for one reason or another and that is OKAY! So I will pick a challenge or two or three, that makes my heart go pitter patter and gets the wheels turning and start creating from a place of happy and joy!

Click Here for Full Challenge Details

Todays card kind of happened on accident. I had started creating this layout before even looking around for a sketch or challenge to play along with. When I checked a few challenge blogs and stumbled on the Paper Players challenge for this week (As seen above), I figured it was an omen. There is nothing I love more than a black and white card with a pop of color. Throw in some gold and rhinestones and this is your quintessential girly girl birthday card. Lets take a look!

I can't get enough of the Tailor Made Tags dies. It was the perfect size for my Magenta Madness and Gold Heat embossed Happy Birthday sentiment from the Biggest Wish stamp set. This stamp set was a must have when the catalog launched but I struggled when it came to ways of creatively using it initially. The scalloped rectangle is die cut out of Pattern Party DSP. This die can be found in the Scalloped Contour Dies, they are so fun and versatile to use with scalloped rectangles of many sizes and even a cute border die! The card is accented with the Black Glitter Organdy Ribbon and now my workspace is too. What can go wrong with a strip of the black and white stripes that are also from the Pattern Party pack. The Magenta Madness card front adds a bit of pop! I have put this on a mat of Basic White... it was weird for me to do this... I am not sure I have ever used white as a mat! It was my only choice I had for this Basic Black card base though! A few Basic Rhinestones on the tag and this card was set!

I am so glad you have stopped by my blog today! I have provided a link above for you to check out the challenge as well! Have an amazing Wednesday!

TGIF 322 Farmhouse Chic Designer Takeover

Thank goodness it is Friday! The last time I posted was two weeks ago. It has been a really difficult two weeks. On June 13th our family got word of a horrible single car accident with 4 teenagers in the car. Two of the kids were flown out and the others were treated and walked away.  One of them was Wesley's friend. Not just any friend, Owen was a boy with a heart of gold and never did anything malicious and early on the following Monday, his mom called to tell me that he did not make it. It has been so hard to process for myself and Wesley. Things are slowly moving forward and I can't thank this community enough for the support being given to not only Owen's family but to our teenagers and those of us grieving... 

Enough about that! So I have been trying to stamp again, it really isn't a conducive to cry while stamping it can make a mess! My personal goal was to not cry this week. I had already failed on Monday... but I have had better luck as the week has gone on! When Jeanna reminded me that this week was my challenge I started to overthink things... in typical Andrea fashion of course. 

There is nothing more farmhouse than the kitchen and slowly started to piece together what was running through my mind as farmhouse. So for today's card I have used the What's Cookin' Bundle with the Pattern Party DSP and of course In Good Taste DSP. Let me you show you what I have created!

I started with the stamped  utensils in Gray Granite, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate and Jet Black Stazon. I love that these all have coordinating dies. The cutting board is cut out of Crumb Cake but I used a Blending Brush with Soft Suede to ink it up a bit. If you are a Hobby Lobby person you will know that the Black and White Buffalo Check is a thing in farmhouse trends. This strip from the Pattern Party DSP is nicely layered over a piece of Soft Succulent Cardstock. This sits over a piece of wood paper from the In Good Taste DSP. What can be more farmhouse than wood, right?! The sentiment is heat embossed in White Stampin' Emboss Powder. Once I arranged everything and adhered them I added a nice little Linen Thread bow! I just love how this all came together on my Crumb Cake card base! 

Now it is your turn! Design a card with YOUR version of Farmhouse Chic! I can't wait to see what everyone creates! Have an amazing weekend!

Stamp Ink Paper 144 It is a Birthday Theme

Tuesday, Oh Tuesday is blowing right in!!! I am back with the Stamp Ink Paper Design Team and we are creating this week with a Birthday Theme!!

We had a nice little Easter Weekend. I, however am fighting allergies and the side effects of them. Joshua, my middle kid, turns 10 on Thursday! Time is just flying by. This is his last 8 weeks of elementary school. Next year he heads off to the middle school. 

Click Here For Full Challenge Details

It is kind of funny, I went to my craft room with an upcoming challenge in my head when I made this card... Luckily, Murphy and his law were on my side when I made this a Birthday Card!!

As I said above, this was not the challenge in my head that I was creating for. I started with an ombre like sponged circle using my Sponge Daubers with Pool Party, Bermuda Bay and Island Indigo inks. I then used the Pattern Party Decorative Masks with Shimmer White Embossing Paste to create some texture to the card. I adhere the Magic Myths Starburst Punched Glimmer Paper with Mini Glue dots. My fun little cake was created using the Celebration Time Bundle. A nice Stampin' Emboss White embossed sentiment on the Basic Black was just the ticket. I added a nice little flower at the top also using the Magic Myths Glimmer Paper Pack. A nice bow of Basic Black Shimmer Ribbon and some Silver Metallic Thread made this card pop! I snagged a few sequins from the Metallic and Iridescent mix and my card front was finished! Last but certainly not least I matted this on to a Bermuda Bay matte wonky style and then added this to a crisp base of Basic Black!

Thank You so much for stopping by today! I can't wait to see what you create with our Birthday Theme!

If you like what you see, I have provided a full product list below!
Happy Tuesday!

Product List

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045]	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131197]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272]	Celebration Time Clear-Mount Bundle [145369]	Shimmery White Embossing Paste [145645]	Pattern Party Decorative Masks [144103]	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982]
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [131171]	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Silver Metallic Thread [138402]	Basic Black 3/8" Shimmer Ribbon [144129]
Metallics Sequin Assortment [144214]	Iridescent Sequin Assortment [144212]	Sponge Daubers [133773]	Starburst Punch [143717]	Big Shot [143263]	Precision Base Plate [139684]	Big Shot Magnetic Platform [130658]