So Sorry for Your Loss--#tgifc313

This week's TGIF Challenges theme challenge is Dogs and Cats.  I was working on card ideas, when a friend's sudden loss, made up my mind for me:

For my card, I used the retired Happy Tails stamp set with the very best sentiment for my friend's loss.  I also used the retiring die set, Stitched Be Mine (#151814), and two returning die sets, Forever Flourishing (#152714) and Cherry Blossoms (#151456).  The splatters image stamped randomly under the leaf branches is from the returning Forever Fern stamp set. 

Card stock used:  Gray Granite, Soft Sea Foam, Highland Heather and Basic White. 

Ink used:  Soft Suede, Gray Granite, Soft Sea Foam.  Basic Pearl Jewels complete the card.

Be sure to visit the TGIF Challenges Blog here for great inspiration for your dog and cat projects.

Have a good day!

--Sara Nell

  

Hope Is My Anchor--#tgifc312

Our technique challenge this week over at TGIF Challenges is to create a vintage style card.  When I think "vintage" I think of my old family photos from two and three and even four generations back with sepia tones and sometimes just hints of color added in.  I started out with those photos in mind, but I strayed a bit--I used neutral colors with Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, and Mossy Meadow, then added a semi neutral with Misty Moonlight. 

I started the card by using a blending brush (#153611) to add Crumb Cake and then Misty Moonlight on Basic White card stock.  I used a sponge daubers to sponge the edges of each piece and layer of the card with Crumb Cake, Soft Suede or Misty Moonlight.

The stamps and dies are from the Sailing Home stamp set (#149457) and Smooth Sailing dies (#149576).  The images, the sentiments and especially the fonts used have a vintage feel to me.

Check out some more vintage style cards over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great week--Sara Nell

 

Dragonfly Meadow--#tgifc311

This is sketch challenge week over at TGIF Challenges, but this week we've been challenged to make a slimline card, instead of using a sketch.  You can make these about any size you want.  Mine is 3-1/2" x 8-1/2" basically because our Basic White thick card stock is 8-1/2" wide.  I cut a piece 7" long and then scored it at 3-1/2" to create my card base.

To create a meadow, I stamped the wildflowers image from the Dragonfly Garden stamp set (#154411) in Soft Suede across the front of the 3-1/8" x 8-1/8" Basic White Layer.  Then I colored the flowers using Stampin' Blends in the following colors:  Soft Suede Light, So Saffron Light, Soft Sea Foam Combo, Seaside Spray Light, Mango Melody Combo and Rococo Rose Light.  I used a Soft Suede Stampin' Write marker to create a bit of splatter. 

Three dragonflies were punched out of Seaside Spray card stock using the Dragonfly Punch (#154240, or in a combo with the stamp set for 10% off, #156224).  Each dragonfly was centered with a Basic Pearl Jewel (#144219).

The greeting is from the same stamp set.  It was stamped in Misty Mountain on Basic White and die cut using a label die from the Meadow Dies (#155852) which will be available in the new Annual Catalog on May 4.  White baker's twine from the Snail Mail Twine combo Pack (#154579) was wrapped around the layer and tied in a bow in the middle scallop of the greeting label.  

The stamped piece was layered over a Seaside Spray pattern from the Sand & Sea Designer series paper pack (#154288).

Check out more slimline card designs over at the TGIF Challenges Blog here.

Have a great week!

--Sara Nell

Friends Are Like Seashells--#tgifc310

It's color challenge week over at TGIF Challenges.  The colors are Flirty Flamingo, Blushing Bride and Pool Party for a lovely subtle color combination.  

My first step for this challenge was to check out my designer series paper stash and see what I could find with these colors.  I pulled out a few pieces and decided on this pretty Blushing Bride and Flirty Flamingo sand dollar design from the Sand & Sea designer series paper collection (#154288).  I cut it in a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" piece and arranged my other elements on it:

Sand dollars and small seashells were stamped in Flirty Flamingo and Pool Party using images from the Friends Are Like Seashells stamp set (#154368).  Blushing Bride was blended over each using Blending Brushes (#153611) and then they were die cut using the coordinating Seaside Seashells  (#156095/bundled with the stamp set, #156205 at 10% off).  Opal Rounds (#154289) were also added.

The Pool Party layer was embossed with the retiring Old World Paper 3D embossing folder (#153200).  This layer was layered over a piece of Flirty Flamingo, then tied with a Pool Party sheer ribbon (#152462) bow.  The card base is Basic White Thick card stock (#159229). 

Check out the TGIF Challenges Blog to see lots of pretty projects using these colors:

Have a wonderful day!

--Sara Nell

Creation Station April Blog Hop--Sweet Treat Packages

 

Welcome to the Creation Station April Hop!  Whether you've hopped over from Yvonne's wonderful blog or have just started your hop, I'm so glad you've landed here.  This month our theme is Sweet Treat Packages.  We have lots of inspiration for you today.  Be sure and click on the "Next" link at the end of each blog and hop around to see each of the design team's projects.

As I thought about what I wanted to do for today's hop, I made a mental list of my favorite sweet treats.    Blueberries, as always, topped the list.  Why?  Blueberries invoke some of my favorite memories from childhood and family camping trips.  We always took our trips from Kansas north to Northern Minnesota and Ontario, Canada, during the hot month of August.  We landed in our favorite spots as the wild blueberries were reaching the peak of sweetness--which is why they were our favorite spots!  My sisters, brother and I would take our buckets to find "our" blueberry patches.  Sometimes we arrived well after the bears had eaten most of the berries, and one time we arrived at the same time as a bear (another story); however, usually we arrived in time for enough berries to have blueberry pancakes in the morning (maybe two mornings!) and a sweet juicy cobbler my mother made by rigging up an oven out of foil to bake it in the campfire ashes.  That, my friends, is the sweetest treat of all!

A blueberry cobbler wouldn't fit in a treat package, so I baked some blueberry bars, cooled them completely and packaged them in Printed Gusseted Cellophane Bags (#151312) for sweet Easter treats.

The tags were created using the third and fourth largest dies in the retiring Stitched Nested Labels dies (#149638) and Misty Moonlight and Whisper White card stock.  The ribbon is the retiring Misty Moonlight 1/4" ribbon (#153624) and the Misty Moonlight/silver baker's twine from the Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo pack (#153620).  The greeting is from the retiring Well Said stamp set (#148796) and was stamped in night of Navy.

The blueberry image used on the tag and mini card set is from the retiring Field Journal Stamp Set (#152609--purchased because of those camping memories!).  The image was stamped in Night of Navy and colored using the following Stampin' Blends:  Old Olive Combo, Misty Moonlight Combo, Rich Razzleberry Dark and Soft Suede Light.

The 3" x 3" card set includes 5 cards and envelopes which fit nicely inside a 3-1/8" square Acetate Card Box (#150428).  It makes a nice little gift to go with a sweet treat.  The cards have both "For You" and "Thank You" greetings (the "Thank You" is from the Field Journal stamp set).  The background grid image is from the retiring Comfort & Hope stamp set (#152509) and was stamped in Crumb Cake.  The images were all stamped on Whisper White card stock which was die cut using the largest square in the retiring Stitched Shapes die set (#152323), then layered over Misty Moonlight card stock.  The Misty Moonlight layer on the box cover was embossed with the Old World Paper 3D embossing folder (#153200).

I've used several retiring products as noted, including the stamp sets and dies.  If you are interested in purchasing them, they are now available while supplies last or until May 3.  Shop Here to find these and other Last Chance products.

Whisper White card stock is now discontinued, but I'm using up my stash.  You'll find an equally nice card stock with our new Basic White (Shop Here).

Now head over to Julie's blog to see her cool sweet treat packages:

To Julie's Blog . . .

Have a wonderful day!

--Sara Nell

Behold Him, Behold Him

Lift up your eyes and see the

Son of Heaven.

Hosanna, Hosanna

Pour Out Your Praise

Sing the Name of Jesus

--Brandon Lake

"Son of Heaven" from his House of Miracles Album