Wicked Halloween

It's crazy to look at the calendar and see that Halloween

is almost here.  I have candy in the back of my car for

trunk or treat, so I guess that I'm ready.

This is a quick Halloween card, using the Wicked Dies

on page 55 of the Holiday Catalog.  The background was

created with the smoke from Geared Up Garage on 

page 154.  All it needed was some background layers

and those google eyes!

First Frost with Frosted Bouquet Dies

I'm really enjoying using the First Frost Stamp set

(page 140) and coordinating Frosted Bouquet combination

for Christmas cards.  This is a set from last year and

it is just dandy.  Adding some die cut Gold Foil always pumps it

up a notch.  These products would also coordinate with 

the Frosted Foliage Suite

from this year's Holiday catalog.

I put all the bits and pieces on a layer of Whisper White

that was run through the Hammered Metal 3D Embossing

Folder on page 31 of the Holiday Catalog.

Moose Punch Christmas on Magnolia DSP

This is another card that I made for last Friday's 

Stamp Off Challenge.  I figured that people are tired of

seeing Merry Moose cards for challenges.  However,

this Moose punch (Holiday page 27), makes for the 

quickest Christmas cards.  In this example, I layered the moose 

on to some Magnolia suite DSP, Gold foil strips 

and Rhinestone jewels colored with Stampin' Blends.
 The card base was run through the Hammered Metal 3D
Embossing Folder on page 31 of the Holiday catalog.

Stamp Off Country Home Sketch Challenge

Wow, time flies when you are watching the leaves fly!

It's time for another stamp off challenge, featuring cards by

Buffy, Susan and I.  This one is a card sketch that I designed.

I have to admit that I really like this sketch.  I made a number

of cards following this layout, just because they really flowed.

This is the card that I decided to use for this challenge.

I love the fact that we now have Puff Paint in the Holiday

Catalog (page 19), so that I can add cotton to this

Country Home (p 95) image.  It really pumps up the 

look of this image.  The Stamping' Blends are no slouch either!

I added See a Silhouette DSP with a Silver Foil accent.  

The sentiment comes from the

Here's a Card set on page 15.  

Please click over to Buffy and Susan's blog's to see

their interpretation of this sketch.

Mom's Birthday Greetings

I have one last birthday story to share.

This is my Mom (who prefers pictures taken from behind)

on a walk in our favorite park.  When Mom/Patty visited

we went to Hills and Dales park frequently for picnics,

walks or to feed the fish.

My Mom is creative and a little twisted.  That is

apparently where I get it.  Anyway, several days before

my birthday, I received two birthday cards from Mom.

She loves shopping for sassy Birthday cards, so

I was not surprised (that one had a Wizard of Oz type

monkey on it, the other talked about life not having

intermissions so you have to pee when you can).

Traditionally, there is a birthday check enclosed with a

birthday card.  However, this year, both cards said:

"Gift is in the other card."  Of course, there was no check to

be found, in either card.  I came to that conclusion 

after ripping envelopes apart and closely inspecting both cards.

I called Mom and asked, so "was this a senile moment,

or were you messing with me?"  Her long, satisfied

laugh answered that question.

Birthday Cards

I celebrated by birthday this past weekend,

and wanted to share some of the wonderful

birthday cards that I received.

This card was created by my friend Deb in VA.  We worked

together in the 80s & 90s, and have never lost touch!  

Sorry, but I knocked off and lost one of the leaves.

I received this card from the wonderful Buffy Cooper,

at https://buffycooper.com   She is one of our party of three

from BS&J productions, of Stamp Off Challenge Fame.

Buffy's stunning color contrasts are beautiful in person.

The final card for today was created by Susan Horr, at

https://susanstamps.wordpress.com/author/shcommish/

Susan is also part of our BS&J Productions team.  Susan 

picked my favorite stamp set, a wonderful color combination

 and  beautiful layout.

I thank everyone who made my birthday so special.