Merry and Candy

I am sure you weren't expecting to find a Christmas card when you went browsing online today but it's the first day of the month and that means a new Fan Club Christmas Challenge!  Participating in the monthly Christmas Challenge allows us to have a nice stack of cards finished before the holidays arrive!  For me, it's a joy to create Christmas all year long especially when I can stamp with a set as beautiful as this one! 

 I am featuring one of the sentiments from the String of Lights set by Picket Fence Studios.  This set is one of my faves!  It comes with a coordinating die set which I didn't use on this card but the light string die is amazing!  Not all dies are created equal so I was a tiny bit concerned when I saw that the die cuts around some of the strings.  But my fears were groundless as Picket Fence Dies fit around the images perfectly.  For a visual of what I am talking about check out THIS card.  

(Affiliate links used where possible at no additional cost to you)

         String of Lights                                             coordinating die            

Smore and Smore

 I am up on The Project Bin blog today and I am featuring the super fun Really Hungry set! This set has four cute food images and five sentiments including Happy Valentine's Day.  I created this with my husband in mind.  Twenty-nine Valentine's Days later, I still love him smore and smore!  :)

Looks good enough to eat!

Before I go I just want to let you know that The Project Bin has a new stamp set out and it's adorable too! 

The Gratest

Impression Obsession Old is New

Today I am featuring an older Impression Obsession image, Heart Nest along with an older sentiment, Happy Valentine's Day.  Aren't the little birds cute?  There is even a nest within the heart wreath! For something a little different, I chose the complementary color duo, blue and orange for this Valentine's card!

The Impression Obsession team has set aside a couple days a month to share some new projects using some great older stamps. You can see the list of today’s participants on the Impression Obsession blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Monday!  

Happy Valentine's Day

 Heart Nest

Get Well

For this week's Inspiration Challenge at SCS, Brenda has chosen a colorful site for us.  I was scrolling page after page of pretty rooms when I spotted THIS photo.  The newest Picket Fence Release included the amazing Aeonium African Succulent which I couldn't wait to create with!  This is a huge stamp set and after trying a few different things, I ended up using only a portion of the image on my card.  To create the soft look on the succulent I used my Life Changing Blender Brushes  then I fussy cut the succulent.  I adhered it at the lower portion and used foam squares to pop up the top of the succulent.  The sentiment is from the super cute Stand in the Sunshine set. I didn't use them today but this set does include a coordinating die set!

Life Changing Blender Brushes

or

Life Changing Blender Brushes (4 pack)

Aeonium African Succulent

Stand in the Sunshine

All About Love & a Giveaway!

It's time for a new Impression Obsession Challenge and it's All About Love.  For my All about Love card, I went with this darling Bunny Love image.  I added background paper with lots of hearts and framed the image with one of the frames from Rectangle 6 in 1 Frames. I added just a few hints of color on the bunny and the heart received a bit of color and glossy accents!

Now it's your turn to play along with the challenge!  Head on over to the  Impression Obsession blog to see all the challenge samples from the design team and details on entering the challenge. You can enter to win a $25 gift certificate from IO by linking up your "All About Love" card.   The winning project will be chosen at random and will be showcased on the IO blog!

Here is a look at today's featured stamps:

  Rectangle 6 in 1 Frames                                  Bunny Love                          

U > Than Cupcakes!

Today I am indulging my love for pink!  I am featuring this adorable image and sentiment from Really Hungry by The Project Bin.  This set has yummy food mages and super cute sentiments! 

I added Wink of Stella to the cupcake but it's super difficult to see. IRL it sparkles!

I am playing along with several challenges today.  

The AAA Cards Challenge is to use just a 1/3 of the card with a twist of masking. I took them up on the twist! :) 

I spotted Sarah's card in the link up and was so intrigued I decided to play along with The Less Is More challenge which is this cool sketch.

I am also playing along with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to create a CAS card!

The TLC726 at SCS was to create a little Envelope Art.  I simply added the same stenciling on the envie as I used on my card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Here's a look the stamp set featured today!

 Really Hungry

Die Cut Obsession with IO

Hi!  Welcome to Impression Obsession's Die Cut Obsession day!  Today the designers are creating cards with mostly dies.  I went ALL dies on this one and had a blast!  I took a nail polish background I had created last year and die cut it twice with DIE161-N Lg Bird on a Branch.  I love how the nail polish bg pops against the black.  I framed my scene with the largest die cut from DIE242-YY Rectangle 6 in 1 Frames and added the Hello from Die174-W Greeting Set.  I love the pretty font on this set.  Makes me think of a sentiment written with icing on a cake!

For a list of all the designers participating in today's Die Cut Obsession check out the Impression Obsession blog.

I am also playing along with two SCS challenges.  Click HERE for all the details. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Here's a look at the dies I used today:

  DIE242-YY Rectangle 6 in 1 Frames

Die174-W Greeting Set

 DIE161-N Lg Bird on a Branch

Picket Fence Studios January/Creativation Release

We have a very exciting release today!  Picket Fence Studios has a booth at Creativation this year so our release has been timed to feature at the same time!  This is a huge release which includes so many pretty things!

First up is the fabulous Dany Girl.  I just love her!  She is holding her pet dragon just like I hold my Storm!  Storm becomes quite demanding in the afternoons and insists I hold her in the same position as Dany's dragon.  I imagine she smiles like the dragon too because she certainly purrs!  For the background, I used the Sunburst Stencil and I stamped one of the sentiments from the Stand in the Sunshine set.  

Have I mentioned how much I love the coordinating dies that fit perfectly around the Picket Fence Girls?  I find some dies are annoying in that they don't allow enough space around the entire image so that one side ends up having too much white and one side almost cuts into the image.  With the Picket Fence Studios dies I get great alignment every time.  Easy Peasy! Lucky us, Dany Girl comes with a Coordinating Die!

Next up I used the stunning floral stamp set Wild Heart... Gypsy Soul and paired it with a sentiment from the Exhale Worry set.

For this card, I am playing along with this week's Inspiration Challenge at SCS.  Stacy has chosen such a fun site to inspire us.  I used the colors of THIS photo for my flowers.

I also created a simple inside by stamping just the feathers on the upper portion of the card and leaving them black and white.  I added my favorite sentiment from the Exhale Worry set.  It's a good reminder that worry is useless and maybe even a bit harmful! 

I took a walk on the wild side with the Boho Bull set and Coordinating Die!  I created a background with the     3 1/2 inch Blending Circle Stencil and my Life Changing Blending Brushes.  Once I had the Peacock Feather Distress ink on the circle I placed the Circles of Faith stamp on my MISTI and spritzed it with water.  I then stamped the watery stamp on the cardstock. An unexpected effect was that the rings of water left a bit of impression outside the peacock feather circle as well as inside.  When I sponged on black ink it revealed faint circles!  I splattered acrylic paint on the background then added the Boho Bull.

For my last card, I am featuring Cali Kitten!  She is so exotic!  I experimented coloring her in a variety of ways which I plan to share with you later this month!  For now, I kept her super simple and added the Cat Person Understands sentiment.

Check out the entire NEW RELEASE HERE.

Thanks so very much for stopping by today!!  

The Life Changing Blender Brushes I used also come in a 4 pack.

(Affiliate links used where possible at no additional cost to you)

Hangry!

If you have a teenager in the house you are probably very aware of the Hangry Phenomenon!  My daughter will burst into tears just because she is hungry!  She is also quite ill-tempered when she is hungry but once fed she is as sweet as can be.  The trick is to keep this busy girl full!    I love this next sentiment I am featuring today from the Really Hungry set by The Project Bin. Let's be honest, teenagers aren't the only ones that get irritable when hungry so it's not a bad idea to have a few cards like this on hand!

I used fun graphic style paper that my daughter loves and Freshly Made Sketch #369.

Thanks so much for stopping by and don't forget to eat!  

Really Hungry

Impression Obsession - Old is New - Bouquet for Valentine's Day

Today the Impression Obsession team are featuring New projects with Classic IO stamps!   

I chose E2146 Bouquet and D19042 Happy Valentine's Day for a fun Valentine card. I decided I wanted a bright multi-colored bouquet instead of traditional pink for Valentine's Day so I colored my flowers in orange, magenta and yellow.   

For a list of all the designers playing along with the Old is New segment check out the Impression Obsession Blog!  All the winners of the Spring Release Event are also listed on today's Impression Obsession Blog Post!

With my card, I am playing along with this week's CAS516 Challenge to use round items on our cards.  The spiral flowers are round but if they are not round enough I added white dots to all the flowers!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

E2146 Bouquet

D19042 Happy Valentine's Day

A Cheerful Note

Please scroll down or click HERE for the Impression Obsession post!

Don't you just love those projects that are a breeze to create? I do too but it's often the projects that require a little reworking that end up as a favorite!  I planned and created a pretty background using the sun rays from Spotlight on You and the Grass stamp.  Next, I colored this sweet girl from Have a Cheerful Day then die cut her with her coordinating die. 

 Turns out a beautiful background and a lovingly colored image do not always make a sensational card!  I set the background aside for a future project and selected this fun polka dot paper.  Since the Spotlight on You set was still sitting on my desk, I couldn't resist using part of one of the sentiments to finish off the card!  

Now is a great time to stop by the store and pick up coordinating dies as they are 30% off until Saturday, January 12th at midnight, plus shipping is always free within the US!

I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!

                                            Have a Cheerful Day                   coordinating die

                Grass                                              Spotlight on You

Impression Obsession Spring Release Day 5

Welcome to the last day of the Spring Release!  For my first project, I stamped Peony Pair on cardstock and watercolored them.  Next, I stamped Make It Your Own Mug on the cardstock and then again on another piece of cardstock.  The fun little trick here is that I didn't need to mask the flowers since I paper pieced the mug! For the mug, I stamped a bit of the Boho Mandala on the side of the cup and paper pieced it. The birthday greeting is from The Skinny set.

For my last card of the event, I have a bright Easter card to share!  I stamped distress inks and splattered water on the background then stamped the gorgeous silhouette stamp, Bunny Tree.  I added a banner with Happy Easter to finish the card.

 Today is the last day of the Spring Release Celebration!  I hope you have enjoyed seeing samples of the beautiful new stamps by the design team this week!  For this last day, you can find the list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog. Every single blog will have a $25 gift certificate to give away for the event - so the more you comment through the week the more chances to win! All comments for all of the event days will be open until Sunday, January 13th at noon CT. All winners will be announced on Monday, January 14th.

All of the new stamps are available now! You can find them HERE!

I am also the hostess this week of the IC684 challenge at SCS. HERE is my entry with a link to the photo I chose as inspiration.