Take me out to the ball game!

Do you love baseball? Do you love SOFTBALL too? Well, the design team for Serendipity Stamps have had a fun chance to participate in America's greatest pastime by making cards celebrating the USSSA Softball World Series.

Last week Mary's (Serendipity Stamps owner and fearless leader) oldest daughter headed off to the USSSA Softball World Series. I'm betting lots of other girls and boys around the country are traveling to games too. This was a lot of fun to create a couple of softball card using Serendipity stamps. And just in case you're more in tune with the boy side of the ball field than the girl side, a softball is bright yellow, not white. Thus, my softballs are colored yellow.

For this first card I used the ball, bat and mit stamp from Serendipity stamps and colored it with copic markers. The sentiment "Get your game on" is also a Serendipity stamps. I used my sewing machine to sew a feather stitch around the image and the outside edges of the card. The button and ribbon are from my sewing room stash.

This was fun making cards so I decided to use on of the Serendipity Softball stamps and the sentiment "It's not just a game" and stamp and mount the sentiment and ball on a ball field diamond shaped mat. The fun baseball print designer paper on this second card is from Michaels. The grosgrain ribbon is Stampin' Up! I thought the ball field diamond mat looked too plain so I went back to my sewing machine for this card too and used a feather stitch around the border, trying to replicate the stitching of the baseballs.

I have fond memories of my three children playing little league baseball and softball. Wow! The years speed by quickly.

After making these cards I'm singing, "Take me out to the ball game!"

Cheers!

Autumn Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Fall, Happy Blessings to one and all. This is the sentiment on the pumpkin for this Autumn/Halloween card I made for a card swap of that theme at the Stamp Shack.

The stamp set used for this sweet scarecrow (who doesn't appear to be doing his job very well) is from Stampin' Up! and the set is titled Happy Blessings.

Card Recipe Ingredients:

Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny
Cardstock: Stampin' Up!
Ink: Colored with Copic Markers
Accessories: Nestibilities rectangle die, Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder, raffia, Martha Stewart Pumpkin punch, Stickles.


It is a chilly, damp, rainy day today. Blaaaaaaaa...I think I'm staying inside and doing housework. Sure wish we could spend the weekend out of doors. Perhaps later I'll do some weeding and deadheading of flowers in the sprinkles. It is supposed to be summer! I've been wearing sweaters and sweatshirts all this week. Sigh.......

Hope your weekend brings you sunshine and happiness!


Cheers!

Serendipity Stamps Reader Challenge Deadline extended!

Would you still like to share your Reader Challenge card with Serendipity Stamps for a chance to win the Oval Months Unmounted Sheet Set, valued at $20? We’ll the deadline to enter has been extended until Friday, July 31 so that you can join in on the fun, too! If you missed the first announcement, here are the details….

Just send your challenge project, made exclusively with Serendipity Stamps images, to serendipityreadercards@gmail.com . We’ll post your submissions right here on our blog and at the end of the challenge deadline, we’ll pick one random contributor to win a set of Oval Months Unmounted Sheet Set ($20 value)! And make sure to add your blog address and email so we’ll know how to contact you if you’re the lucky winner. Good luck!!

Take a look at this Gorgeous Set:



So get busy and create a Christmas in July card and submit it to the Serendipityreadercards@gmail.com And remember, you have until July 31st to enter.

Cheers!

Forever Friends

A very close friend of mine emailed me a message the other day and we were reminiscing about fun times spent when we used to get together during lunchbreak at work...sitting under a big tree on the University campus eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After our conversation I knew I had to make a card to mail to her. Sometimes geographical distance separates us from our friends, but a true friend is never far from the heart.

I purchased this darling "friends" stamp at Heather's Stamping Haven in Ottawa. I think this is one of my favorite Heather's Stamping Haven stamps. It is so sweet and poignant.

I recently found these gorgeous K&Company patterned papers stack at Michaels. For this card I definitely chose the background papers first and then colored the image to coordinate. And the sheer ribbon was a little piece, about 10 inches long, that was in my ribbon bin. A couple years ago when my mom was moving she gave a sack full of little ribbon scraps from her sewing room. Some of the scraps are just a few inches long (never throw away something that may be of value to you in the future!) The color was perfect on this card.

Card Recipe Ingredients:

Stamp: Heather's Stamping Haven
Designer Paper: K&Company
Ink: Colored with Copic Markers
Accessories: Machine stitching, Martha Stewart eyelet border punch, miscellaneous ribbon and buttons, pop dots.

Speaking of Heather's Stamping Haven, Heather just began a blog for her shop and you can connect to it HERE.

Time to dash off a note on the inside and mail this. I think my friend will get a kick out of this. Miles may separate us but our friendship holds strong.


Cheers!

House Mouse White on White Challenge

It's been a while since I've played with my House Mouse stamps. This week, on the House Mouse and Friends Monday challenge site, the challenge was to create a white-on-white card. The requirements were all cardstock and embellishments must be white with the exception of the coloring of your House Mouse image. That is the only color allowed.

This was a lot of fun and admittedly, I got carried away. Oh well, I love glitz, glitter, ribbon and embossing so I went to town on this card.

Card Recipe:
Stamp: Stampabilities "Floating on a leaf"
Cardstock: Papertrey white
Ink: Colored with Copic Markers
Accessories: Michael's satin ribbon, Nestibilities frame die, Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder, Martha Stewart snow white ultra fine glitter.


It is a cloudy and rainy day so I had to take this photo between raindrops and I'm afraid you can't see all of the glitter and sparkle on it. Maybe I can get a better photo later.



Cheers!

Anyone can count the seeds in an apple....

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count the apples in a seed."

I just love this Serendipity Stamps sentiment stamp written in the shape of an apple. It really gives one pause for thought.

For this card I used this week's MojoMonday layout challenge #96 shown below. This is another patterned paper combo from my new stack of K&Company papers. I thought the MojoMonday layout and this K&Company paper were a perfect combo with this stamp.

The card recipe ingredients:

Stamp: Serendipity Stamps
Card stock: Papertrey white and Stampin' Up! Old Olive green
Designer Paper: K&Company
Ink: Colorbox Cranberry and Evergreen pigment ink
Accessories: Spellbinders nestibilities circle and scalloped circle dies, Red Dashes and Dots ribbon, Green crystal brad, Pop Dots, white jelly roll pen and clear embossing powder.



Don't forget that you still have an opportunity to WIN the Serendipity Stamps Christmas in July challenge. Deadline to get your cards emailed is July 22nd. Serendipity has some positively gorgeous Christmas stamps so be sure to check them out.

Cheers!

Little Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch

All together now! Awwwww....isn't this little bear in the pumpkin patch adorable? I just knew I had to make a 1st Halloween/Autumn card for a special little "pumpkin" in our family using this adorable Whimsie Doodle image.

I'm crazy for layout sketch challenges and this week at Whimsie Doodles blog site is holding its first whimsie doodle layout challenge. Create a card using the sketch below using one of the whimsie doodle images for the opportunity to win TWO free images. Check out the site for details.

Card Recipe Ingredients:

Image: Whimsie Doodles
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Colored with Copic Markers
Added details: Cuttlebug swirl embossing folder, satin PUMPKIN PATCH ribbon, pop dots, Fiskers scallop scissors

I think we are going to have a sunny day all day today (I hope!) That's a first in a long time so I plan to go outside and enjoy it. Hope your day is sunny and bright too.

Cheers!

...Cats have staff.

I was cleaning off my desk after I finished packaging up the ATCs I made for mailing. I had a few left over cat images and a brand new pack of gorgeous K&Company paper so I decided rather than tossing out the extra embossed images I'd make them into cards.

And I must confess, it wouldn't have been a great loss to throw away this embossed cat image. I had a rather large messy area right at the bottom of the ATC. I couldn't hide it on the ATC, but with this card I placed the sentiment tag over the messy part. Nobody will ever know...that is if you don't tell on me! :)

The cat brass template is from www.thestencilcollection.com
The sentiment stamp is from The cat's pajamas
The patterned paper is by K&Company
I punched the flowers from some of the coordinating K&Company paper using my Stampin' Up! flower punch and then added a blue crystal brad to the center.
Just a little machine stitching and .....

VOILA!

A completed card out of scraps from my ATCs.

This week over at Our Creative Corner Challenge site, the theme is to create a pet related card. Despite the fact that I have three very large Newfoundland dogs, in my household my two cats are the ones who have staff. That is a fact they make well known.

Now to really clean up my desk. More cards coming soon.

Cheers!

Pretty Kitty

About a year or so ago I stopped joining card swaps. After 4 or 5 years of continuous swapping I was kind of swapped out. As I mentioned in a previous post, I never cared very much for making ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). Recently, though, I've changed my tune and have joined several ATC swaps.

I've titled this ATC, "Pretty Kitty." This is for an ATC swap over at the Stamp Shack. The ATC swap required using embossing paste. I just love this Cat brass template.

For this ATC I used:

Black Embossing Paste
Cat Brass Stencil from www.stencilcollection.com
Green Stickles for the eyes
Ribbon and paw print brads

So here is my collection of nine ATCs ready to mail off and swap. A swapping friend said she thinks it looks like 9 lives all lined up. Tee hee hee! :) I think so too.


Cheers!

Christmas in July

This is the month that many stampers and card makers begin to search out the special stamps they want to use for this year's Christmas cards. SERENDIPITY STAMPS is a great place to help you get inspired because this month's Serendipity Stamps monthly Challenge is Christmas in July!!

Serendipity Stamps has a huge fabulous selection of Christmas and Winter themed stamps. Not only do they have a huge selection, but right now and until July 19th, Serendipity is having a Christmas in July sale! Check them out at the SERENDIPITY STAMPS SITE.

And not only that, Serendipity Stamps has a gallery and you too can take part in the challenge and win a prize. Each month Serendipity has a new challenge so be sure to check them out for your chance to participate and win! :) Also be sure to check out the new Serendipity Gallery. You can take part in the challenge and have a chance to win a prize!

Be sure to stop by the rest of the Serendipity Stamp team's blogs for their Christmas in July cards:

Amy Cokley
Anya Schrier
Kathie Bailey
Kelli Richardson
Lynda Benden
Shannon Teubner
Sue Eldred
Yvonne Hagane



For my Christmas in July card I used the Christmas Clef stamp set. The inside sentiment reads "Let Heaven and Nature Sing." I'm going to be humming Christmas music all day as I stamp.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers!

Friends Forever

When I was a little girl I had a pair of red plaid sneakers. I loved those sneakers. I wore them until I could no longer squeeze my chubby feet into them which was long past their expiration date if you'd seen the holes and tatters in them. But those little red plaid sneakers were probably the start of my love of shoes. I'm not a flip flops kind of gal and definitely don't show me "Crocs."

This fun stamp is from SERENDIPITY STAMPS . Did you know that Serendipity Stamps now has a blog, newsletter and soon will be presenting great card challenges for you to participate in. Hurry on over to Serendipity Stamps and check out their catalog as well the gallery and be sure to sign up for the newsletter.






Card Recipe Ingredients:
Stamps: Serendipity Stamps (Tennis Shoes # 221QCL)
Patterened Paper: K&Company
Colored with Copic Markers
Embellishments: Making Memories Eyelets, satin 1/8" ribbon, Pop Dots

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

Cheers!

First Harvest - Broccoli

Look what I just harvested from the garden! Five huge heads of broccoli. They are massive, though as I look at the photo it doesn't really show how huge these are. This is the first year I've grown broccoli and I know it will be a staple in our garden in future years. I wasn't sure it was ready a few days ago to be harvested. It was! I thought I'd wait a few more days but this morning I knew if I waited longer it wasn't going to get any better. Woo hooooooo! Fresh broccoli for supper and the rest I'll blanch and freeze. This grew so fast that I'm seriously considering planting more tomorrow and hopefully getting another harvest before the fall.




The sugar snap peas have really taken off. Don't know if you can see them in this photo but I've got some ready. More to come over the next few weeks.

Can you see in the middle of all of the green leaves the cherry tomatoes? These are the BEST cherry tomatoes I've ever eaten. I plant the same variety every year. We tend to stand in the garden and just eat them off the vines until the branches are too full to eat in one standing. Then we'll pick and share them with friends. These plants are so plentiful!

I also have Roma tomatoes for canning, salsa and sauce growing. And then of course what would summer be without fresh beef steak tomatoes. As you can see the plants are getting huge. They are beginning to produce tiny pea size tomatoes so it will be about 4 - 5 weeks before I can begin picking and canning.

The brussels sprouts plants are getting huge but so far I've not seen any sprouts. The carrots are doing very well too. Those are a fall harvest so we'll leave them be for now. The pepper plants are growing but I don't think they are too fond of our sandy soil. We'll see what happens.

Oh, and the beans are really starting to bush out and produce so I imagine in a few weeks we'll begin having fresh beans too.

I just love having a garden. I had to share my broccoli with you though. I get so excited to actually harvest fresh vegetables from my own garden.

A happy day!

Cheers!

Pumpkin Patch ATCs

This is a bit of a change for me. I've never been particularly fond of making ATCs (Artist Trading Cards.) In fact, I really didn't enjoy them at all. However I guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks because recently I've found that these little ATCs are a lot of fun to make and trade.

These Pumpkin Patch ATCs are made for an ATC swap I'm participating in at The Stamp Shack. The theme for the swap is "Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere". I'm eager to exchange these with the other swap participants to see the variety of ATCs following the theme.

Now, you ask, how did I make these so sparkle-y? For these I used a pumpkin brass stencil, sticky paper and ultrafine glitter. This is a technique and product I bought last fall when I was at a stamp show in Fort Wayne, IN. It is a super fun way to use some of those brass stencils you have kicking around.

I'm still a card maker at heart, but for the purpose of swapping and getting new ideas for card making techniques, I think I'll be participating in more ATC swaps.

Cheers!

When life gives you rain play in the puddles

My favorite color combination is blue and green. When I received this new Whimsie Doodles digital stamp titled "Puddle Jumper" I knew immediately that I had to make a card with it in blue and green.

This is a pretty simple card and layout because I didn't want to take away from the cute image and sweet sentiment. I had a lot of fun using my Copic markers on this card. I've only had my copics a few weeks and I'm thoroughly enjoying learning the process of blending the colors and also using them to color match embellishments. If you look closely you'll see three pearls on this card that I've colored with my copics. The top of the umbrella I used a lighter shade of blue and the two pearls on the sentiment a darker.

Card Recipe Ingredients:
Stamps: Whimsie Doodles Digital designs
Cardstock: Stampin' Up!
Colored with Copic Markers
Accessories: Nestibilities rectangle, oval and frame dies, Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder, Clear dimensional glaze for the rain and puddles, pearls and grossgrain ribbon.



With all of the rain we have been having this seemed like an appropriate card to make today.

Cheers!

Plaid Vintage Picnic tin

Yep! I'm loving these Vintage Picnic basket stamps. For today's card I used one of the plaid designs for the picnic tin and colored it with my copic markers in colors I don't usually think about combining; mint green and rust. I like the outcome in a different sort of way.

For the layout I used Julee's Mojo Monday layout sketch #94 as shown below:

Card recipe ingredients:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: Wild Asparagus
Colored with copic markers
Accessories: Nestibilities Deckle rectangle die, Cuttlebug argyle embossing folder, prima flower, gold crystal, copper stickles and ribbon.




Cheers!