TGIF 368 Fresh Cut Flowers Sketch Challenge

Who can believe it is Friday!? Lets not talk about what the actual date is... I mean if your into superstitions, that is on you! It has been a week of cooties, sports physicals, pigs, and end of the school year shenanigans. Funny because as I type this, the song "Mi Vida Loca" comes on... Welcome to my crazy life! This weekend will be filled with Baseball, Laundry and Yard Work!!! The wind has been obnoxious!! We have a fresh harvest of tumbleweeds now surrounding our house. I have made time to be creative though!

Today I chose to not be a slacker or maybe I chose to not let life get in the way... However you want to look at it! The TGIF Challenge for this week is a fun sketch where I chose to pair the Fresh Cut Flowers with the Tailor Made Tags Dies to create this interpretation of this sketch! 

When I started this card, I knew I wanted to use this NEW stamp set. I chose to use my Stamparatus with Memento Tuxedo Black ink because the die cut tag from the Tailor Made Tags was initially a strip much like the one in the sketch. After wanting to add a bit of "something" (you crafters will get it) I chose to die cut the strip into the tag! My love for our Subtle color family returns with my Stampin' Blends in Petal Pink, Soft Seafoam, Pale Papaya and Soft Succulent to color my spotlighted piece. I have used my Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker to create the splatters along with my Clear Wink of Stella. I have accented this with our Elegant Faceted Gems. The sentiment is from the returning stamp set Wildlife Wonder and is heat embossed in gold. This is nicely layered onto a piece of Soft Seafoam cardstock and accented with a piece of the Brushed Gold Cardstock. To keep with the soft feeling of this card I chose to Thick Basic White as our base!

I am so excited to be back in the swing of things! I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks challenge! You can get all the details by clicking the sketch image above!

Happy Friday!

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!

TGIF Challenges 332 Natures Harvest

Happy Friday, Two days in a row with blog posts! Like I said, I am doing my best to return to my normal! Wesley had to be at school a bit early to greet the students arriving on the buses at school today with the rest of the football team! I am sure it was a pretty special moment. We get to go to our first football game tonight, last weeks was over 6 hours away and just not financially in the cards. Especially since Wesley is not varsity and that is okay! 

Today I find myself joining my TGIF Challenges Friends for a color challenge for you. At first you may think Christmas or Holiday when seeing this challenge. I decided to go with a Fall like spin and I can't wait to show you what I have created with the Natures Harvest Bundle!

This card started as a "Never mind it didn't come out the way I wanted it" type card. I had water-colored the flower stamp with my Water Painters using Cherry Cobbler. Cinnamon Cider and Mossy Meadow inks and didn't really like it and set it aside. After returning to my craft room the next day, they weren't as bad as I had thought. In fact, I loved them! This set has amazing coordinating dies and I used them to die cut the flowers and the Cork spray behind them. The Blender Brushes get used a ton in my craft room and I chose to use a bit of Cinnamon Cider in the back ground. The splatters are Early Espresso and a much needed added touch. Our Adhesive Sheets are perfect to use with our Cork and did the trick. With the flowers popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. A bit of Cinnamon Cider card stock stamped with Cinnamon Cider with the Knit Together Background Stamp was a fabulous accent to this fall themed card. I have added a bit of Linen Thread and Matte Metallic Dots. When the Mossy Meadow sentiment got stamped it wasn't inked enough BUT looked distressed much like the card, so it was one of those happy accidents! A rich mat of Cherry Cobbler and Mossy Meadow card base and this beauty was finished!

I can't wait to see what you create for this weeks challenge! Just click the challenge graphic above to play along!

Have a fabulous day!

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!

TGIF Challenges 316 Create With Friends Sketch

Okay first thing is first, IT IS FRIDAY!!! I spent yesterday afternoon not using my time wisely. I decided to go watch the high school baseball game. My best friends son pitched 5 perfect innings and we won the game 13-0. It was a double header and we decided to leave 2 innings into the second game because it seemed to be along the same lines as far as us scoring. When we got home, Taryn and I ended up walking a few pigs before doing barn chores. I did a quick dinner with Pork Chops that was ready right as Troy got home from a service call! PHEW!!! I still found time to create but it was before all of this above... I am a morning crafter!!!

This sketch killed me for an hour... I decided to set aside what I had started on initially because I couldn't make it work. I have a secret sister for an upcoming retreat and decided to work on a project for her, not realizing subconsciously, that it was our sketch! Let me show you what I have created!

Yes, this is not a card but still followed the sketch and was so fun to make! I have paired the Create with Friends with the Artistically Inked Bundle as well as the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. My color combo used is the Polished Pink, Granny Apple Green and Coastal Cabana. I chose these colors as they seemed to be the closest to the note pad inside. After stamping and die cutting the flowers from the Artistically Inked bundle I set them aside to work on the sentiment portion. The sentiment is from the Create With Friends and heat embossed in Silver over the top of a Coastal Cabana stamped background also from the Artistically Inked. It is die cut with a scalloped rectangle from the Stitched So Sweetly dies. I have accented this with the clear Elegant Faceted Gems. The Basic Black base is nicely matted with a layer of Polished Pink and Pattern Play DSP. To close this cute little notepad holder I have used the Black Glitter Organdy Ribbon. I have given a couple of different views below! 

This is a perfect example of thinking a bit outside of the box for a card sketch! Its amazing how this great little notepad holder came together! I hope my secret sister enjoys it as much as I did creating this for her! 

Now it is your turn to create with this sketch! I can't wait to see what you make!

Have an amazing weekend!

TGIF 310 Sweet Ice Cream Color Challenge

Thank Goodness It is Friday! It was nice to not have to rally the troops for school this morning! They do not have school because today is "Good Friday". So we have started the morning with the normal bickering and arguing but peace and tranquility have been restored!

Earlier this week I stumbled on a Facebook Live with LeeAnn Greff where she featured different designs using up scrap pieces of card stock! I couldn't help but be inspired by this idea. For today's TGIF Design Team we are playing with Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Pool Party!  I have paired these scraps with the Sweet Ice Cream Bundle for this fun and cheerful card!

This card started with 1/2" strips of the three colors we are using for todays color challenge. If you are anything like me, you will have plenty of scraps! I created a pattern and made a herringbone like pattern on a piece of Basic White card stock. Once this was all done, I trim the ends with my Paper Snips. The colors were perfect from my double scoops. First I stamped the Blushing Bride scoop and added some Flirty Flamingo sprinkles. Next I stamped the second scoop in Flirty Flamingo! The cone was stamped in Crumb Cake stamped off first and then I added the cross hatch pattern! A bit of Pool Party sprinkles accented with the Holiday Rhinestones and a Flirty Flamingo sentiment and this cutie was done!

I can't wait to see what you guys create for this weeks challenge! These are such amazing colors for you to get creative with!

TGIF Challenges 300 New Catalog Inspiration

I know! You all are like OH MY Gosh! Four blog posts in a week! I have really been creatively driven lately. It may be the Dollar General Farmhouse group I recently joined or maybe the Rae Dunn display groups.  I have been trying to spruce up some of our décor around the house. I like to think that I was decorating Farmhouse before farmhouse was cool! Troy and I have always like rustic type things. Not southwest!!! 

 Enough about that! After a hiatus or sabbatical of sorts I am back creating with TGIF Design Team!!

 This week the TGIF Team is creating with inspiration from the January-June 2021 Mini Catalog! My first bundle I had to have was the Simply Succulents Bundle! This is going to amazing bundle to play with, and I can't wait to show you what I have created!

I recently participated in a smaller demo swap where we have to designate which stamp sets and or bundles we want to use. I immediately responded with the Simply Succulents and the Flowering Cactus Medley! Then the over thinking commenced! When I started creating with this bundle it was amazing to see how soft and delicate it could be! I started with the layer of Very Vanilla and chose to use our adhesive sheets to cut the Soft Seafoam card front die. The cluster is also on Very Vanilla but heat embossed with Stampin' Emboss Gold. It is popped over the top of a bit of the Blushing Bride 3/8" Metallic Ribbon. The Simply Succulents Bundle has some really cute label like dies that I stamped the sentiment using Blushing Bride with. It was also popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. I wasn't quite sure how to gently embellish this but a go to of mine is the Elegant Faceted Dots in the Annual Catalog. With my Blushing Bride card base and Gray Granite mat this card was finished!

I am so glad you stopped by to see my inspiration for this weeks challenge! I can't wait to see what inspires you from the new catalog! 

TGIF Challenges 280 Have A Cozy Christmas

It has been a doozy of a week. Between all the the back to school stuff, Josh had his appointment at Children's in Denver. It was a 4 hour appointment and while I know that it was really grueling for Josh, the 6 hours in the car round trip on top of that, wipes a Momma out! The good news was that Taryn cleaned the kitchen while I was gone. She is an expert organizer and did an amazing job!

I am back with my TGIF Design Team friends creating with one of my favorite color combos. I have always loved the combination of Pear Pizzazz and Blushing Bride and what better than Soft Suede too?! I have decided to make this color combo into something "Holiday" like with the returning favorite Merry Moose. Let me show you what I have created.

This card started with a piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock. I have stamped it using the Birch Background Stamp with Soft Suede Ink. After stamping it, I decided to sponge it a bit to give it a bit more of a vintage like feel. Next, I embossed a piece of Blushing Bride Card Stock with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder. After I had it embossed I tore the edge and sponged it a bit with the Soft Suede ink and accented it with a bit of the Open Weave Vanilla Ribbon in the Forever Greenery Ribbon Combo Pack. After stamping the tree in Pear Pizzazz, I chose to die cut it with the tag die from the North Pole  Wonder Dies. It too was sponged before the Heat Embossed Gold sentiment. My Moose, stamped in Soft Suede on Soft Suede and accented with a Blushing Bride scarf was the perfect touch. The bow made of the Open Weave Ribbon with Gold Bakers Twine was just the right touch. A soft curl of the corner and a Wonderful Gem accent and this beauty was done!

I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks challenge! Have an amazing weekend!

TGIF Challenges 267 Just Saying Hello Color Challenge

I am so glad that today is Friday, not that it makes much of a difference! The kids are sunburned from yesterdays play time on the slip n slide. The boys were told that they needed sunscreen... Maybe next time they will listen. Taryn gets to go to 4H Sewing today, she really loves it. We may end up going to another pig show on Sunday, we will see how that pans out.

Today I am designing with the TGIF Challenges design team and a nice color challenge. I know that we all do not have the Bumblebee ink pad yet, but I was impatient and overnighted mine! You can use whatever yellow you want, unless you are inpatient like me and already have it! It is funny how many of us on the team used the same stamp set... let me show you my card. 

I really can't put this set down and I think ANYONE who is ordering from our new Annual Catalog should order this WHOLE suite! I started with my layer of Whisper White. First I stamped the leaves in Crumb Cake ink on opposite corners, Next, I have adhered a strip of Crumb Cake Card stock with a piece of the In Good Taste DSP over it using our new adhesive Stampin' Seal. I stamped my flowers using our new In Color Bumblebee and fussy cut them. It is a really nice flower to fussy cut and the possibilities are endless. Before adding my flowers, I added a couple of the In Good Taste Elements to accent the Crumb Cake stamped greenery.  To create my sentiment piece, I stamped the Crumb Cake accent before stamping the sentiment with Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White. This was die cut with one of the coordinating dies in the bundle. I adhered the flowers on the corners before adhering this piece to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.  A bit of Linen Thread and some of the new Elegant Faceted Dots and this card was complete.

I am so glad you stopped by today! I can't wait to see what you create for this challenge! Want to create this card? To make it easy for you, I have provided a shopping list for you below!

Have a great Weekend!

Product List

Tasteful Touches Bundle (English) [154098]	In Good Taste Designer Series Paper [152494]	In Good Taste Elements [152476]	Elegant Faceted Gems [152464]	Linen Thread [104199]
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [147110]	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100867]	Bumblebee Classic Stampin' Pad [153116]	Bumblebee 8-1/2X11 Cardstock [153077]	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [147116]
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [120953]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730]	Stampin' Seal [152813]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

TGIF 262 Color Challenge Wash Your Hands

Thank Goodness It's Friday! I am sure that many of you are glad it is Friday and may be waking up to what will lead to your new normal! Salon's can officially open here today in Colorado! We have plans to plant our garden over the weekend after I make a trip to the green house today and we may take a family road trip to Home Depot... The kids are itching to get out of the house and see their friends and I am not sure that I am ready for all of that quite yet!

Today I am on the TGIF Challenges Design Team with an amazing and cheerful color challenge for you all to play along with! This challenge is great because you can't help but smile while using these colors and I think many of us need to smile more lately! Stampin' Up! has responded to Covid-19 Pandemic with an amazing digital download, proceeds from this will go to COVID relief. There is a TON of sentiment that are perfect for everything going on and I couldn't wait to use it! You can get the download here https://covid19.stampinup.com/products/giving-back-us-ca 

Are you smiling yet??? How can you not?! I started this card by cutting assorted sized strips of Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight then adhered them to a base of Whisper White. It is nicely matted with Coastal Cabana with a base of Calypso Coral. I chose the Sweetly Swirled stamp set, sadly these fun little scribbled circles are retiring, so if you love them you are going to want to snag them in my store NOW! Once I stamped in Versamark and sprinkled it with Stampin' Emboss White Powder, I zapped it with my Heat Tool. The sentiment is from our Share the Sunshine Digital Stamp set, again it is a PDF, and all I did was use my Whisper White card stock to print onto! I have fussy cut the Wash Your Hands sentiment and layered it onto the Starburst of Daffodil Delight, a banner of Calypso Coral and a label from the Tags & More Accessory Kit that will also be bidding us a fond farewell! A bit of the Whisper White Flax Ribbon and a few Basic Rhinestones and this adorable card of cheer was done!

I can't wait to see what you create for this fun and cheerful challenge!

Have an AMAZING weekend!

TGIF 249 Valentines Challenge

Boy am I glad today is FRIDAY! The kids don't know that tomorrow brings a long list of to-dos and cleaning. It has been a bit of a quiet week, but my stress level does not seem to reflect that! Who are you guys rooting for this weekend? I think we are a house divided... I am rooting for San Fran! Enough about that!

I am designing today with the TGIF Design Team and we have a fun and festive challenge that is just in time! Valentines Day! I am sure we are all up to our elbows in Valentines at this point, in fact I actually struggled with this challenge because everything has been HEARTS. If you have followed me for a while, you will know that hearts are not my favorite. So when I started creating for this challenge, the idea for me was to use what others had not been using and maybe mix it with something new!

 

After creating all day... and not finishing or liking what I was coming up with, I came up with this. This elegant Valentines card started with the Basic Gray stamped heart with Petal Pink sentiment from the Meant To Be stamp set. It wasn't until that moment that I began to have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I have use the Stitched Be Mine dies to create my cluster of hearts.  These are nicely layered over a Basic Gray layer that has been stamped with the Breathtaking Bouquet background stamp and heat embossed with Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder. This was die cut with the scalloped rectangle from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies and adhered onto a layer of Petal Pink card stock that has been embossed with the Tufted 3D embossing folder. A mat of Vellum to coordinate with the Vellum heart die cut was just the right touch on my Basic Gray card base. A bit of Petal Pink Metallic Edge Ribbon and Champagne Rhinestone to set this card over the top. I gave you a bit of a close up below!

This challenge should be easy for ALL of you and I can't wait to see what your Valentine's will look like! Remember, you only have a week to get those cards submitted!

Have a fabulous weekend!