Thanks A Bunch-SC88

Good morning... it's another Monday, so... time for a new challenge again at Stampin' Celebration!  Today we've got a great inspiration challenge.  Take a peek at this...

Doesn't this get you all excited for fall?  Don't get me wrong... I love summer and all the sunshine-y gloriousness that brings us... but you gotta admit that there's something about being cozy inside while the rain is falling outside, crockpot meals, reading in front of the fireplace.... tucking the kids in early..."because look how late you stayed up, it's dark out already!"  (Although admittedly that only really works with  our three year old these days!)  But anyway... the challenge... here's what I came up with...

I needed ALOT of thank you cards these last couple weeks, as I just had surgery and was absolutely overwhelmed, I tell you, by the people that brought our family meals, flowers, gifts, made my kids' school lunches, babysat, had play dates for my kids, etc.  Overwhelmed... it doesn't even seem like an adequate enough word!  But it was the perfect opportunity to make a fall-ish 'thank you' card.

Click on over to Stampin' Celebration, check out what the other designers have created, read the guidelines, and make sure you take some time to play along with our challenge.  See you in the gallery!

xo Anita

Pssst... CCMC294, RS#106

So far... so good!  It's the first day of my spring break... and I am on a card making spree!  Our two oldest daughters are on a 'mystery vacation' with my in-laws for a couple days and our youngest is currently napping (knock on wood!).  Love it!  Although I know it can't be like this every day, I do have to do some catch up work in this house sometime!  But for now... I played along with a couple more challenges!  RetroSketches and Create With Connie and Mary.  I haven't had a chance to really play along with many challenges in the last couple months at all, so I am really loving these opportunities!

 

I turned this sketch on it's side and substituted banner shapes instead of the square shape!  I used one of the images from Summer Afternoon and coloured it in using my markers and a blender pen... and I must say... I love the result.  You may be wondering where the colour black is, well, sometimes when I am at a loss for how to add that in, I use it on the sentiment!  And in this case I also coloured the cart wheels with it.  The whole card is so spring-y looking and fresh.  I used the Pssst... sentiment on the outside and when you open it, it says... 'you make me HAPPY... thank you.'  Don't you think it sort of looks like the little dog has been hiding under the flowers and now is peeking out to say... pssst...  I think so!

Here... take a look...

Thanks for looking!  Hope you enjoyed!

xo Anita

Many Thanks! CQC#232, FabFri37

I played along with the challenges at ColourQ and FabFriday today!  I loved the sketch at FabFriday, it was different... and different is good!  And the colours at Colour Q were a challenge to say the least.... not because of the combo, but rather because I had about 6 square inches of Lucky Limeade left!  I very carefully fit my Word Bubbles Framelits on it, and then used my SAMJ to stamp on them!  Perfect!

You may be wondering where I got that small framelit on the bottom right, well, it's really the same as the one above it, I just ran it through twice to make it a bit shorter!  Finicky... but it worked!

Well... I would say that was a great use of the very last little bit of my Lucky Limeade.... lucky indeed, wouldn't you say!

See you soon for another card!

xo Anita

Thank You!

Today I have a set of thank you cards that I want to show you.  I made them in a rainbow of colours!  I love rainbows!  I also made a set of 6 envelopes to go with them using my Brights DSP stack.

Let's start with a picture!

I stamped my sentiment on white cardstock in  six different colours... and then... cut them up!  Eeeek!  But it was all good, I put them back together again, popping up some of the panels on a stack of the coordinating cardstock.  You can see what I mean if you look at the second picture!

Isn't it cool?  And I love that they all have an envelope that goes with it!  

I plan to give these away as a set to my secret sister tonight, at our secret sister reveal evening... to thank her for all the little things she has done for me secretly over the past year to brighten my days!  And I have a set of cards for MY secret sister as one last gift before we begin again with a new round of secret sisters to surprise!

xo Anita

Thanks Much! CTD#273

Happy Monday everyone!  I've got a quick thank-you card today.  I resolve to send more of these this year!  Who doesn't feel great when they get one of these for just the smallest of reasons?  I think it makes people become more aware of the things they do for others when they get a thank you for something they've already done... keeps the love flowing!

I played along with the colour challenge at the Colour Throwdown.  It's a beautiful combo, and I have a few more ideas swirling around in my head for it!

I was also partly inspired by MDS Monday's new challenge.  It has hexagons on it.  I didn't link up there though, since I didn't use MDS.

                                               

OK, here's my card! 

I literally whipped this card up in a few minutes.  I used the background stamp from the Truly Grateful stamp set, heat embossed with Tempting Turquoise embossing powder and layered some stamped and punched hexagons from my Six Sided Sampler.  I layered that up on a Basic Gray panel that had been embossed with the Hexagon Folder, matted it on a Tempting Turquoise panel and used Smoky slate for my card base.  Seriously, I am ashamed to admit, that it was the very. first. time that I used Smoky Slate.  Ever.  I know... I'm sorry!  It's a beautiful soft colour!

Go check out the challenge blog... there's still a little time to play!

I'll be back in a bit with... some chalkboard art that I made in MDS!  

xo Anita

 

Thank You!

 Good morning!  A few more quick cards...

These cards all use the 'thank you' stamp that comes with the Everyday Occasions Card Kit.  All the cards in the kit are just beautiful.  Love them!

xo Anita

CQC #210, FM131

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!  We have so many things to be thankful for, and one of them for me... is YOU!  I appreciate each and everyone of you that comes faithfully here to my little corner of blogland.  I love reading your comments, and checking out your blogs as well!

I had some free time today... my husband is off fishing with our oldest daughter (a Thanksgiving Day tradition, he says!  hah!), my youngest is napping and my other little homebody daughter is reading books for a read-a-thon at school!  Craft time for me!  

I played along with the Colour Q challenge, and the sketch at Friday Mashup.  I didn't mash it up this time as I'm not really into making things for Halloween at all... no spooky projects for me!  But I totally loved the sketch they had for us!  Check it out!

I went with a grateful/thank you card... seeing as it's Thanksgiving... and there are always opportunities to give out thank you cards!

I stamped my image in Black StazOn on watercolour paper, and coloured it using my watercolour pen and the challenge colours!  I had to dig around in my box for some Dusty Durango... but I found two whole sheets of it!  By varying the amounts of water I used on my stamp image, I got varying shades of Dusty Durango on the wheelbarrow handles and pumpkins.  I used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch cut in half lengthwise to peek out on either edge of the DD panel.  And how fun is a Tempting Turquoise wheelbarrow?  Fun, right?

I hope you enjoyed my card!  Go check out both challenge sites and play along yourself!  So fun!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our new mid-month challenge from Stampin' Celebration... it's a sketch this time around!  See you then!

xo Anita

Thankful For Fall!

I've got a few more cards today that use some DSP.  Not scraps really, but larger pieces this time!  These are such simple cards to create... and some of that DSP from Stampin' Up! is just so beautiful!

Take a look for yourself!  These are basically all the same card, just a few details like DSP and embellishments switched up for each one!

Aren't they so pretty, but SOOO easy?!?!  The little details like paper piercing around the label, really put the finishing touch on here.  These would be great for anyone to just have on hand.  A thank you card is something I like to just give to people when they least expect it!  My mother-in-law did some baking for me once, spur of the moment, and she sure didn't expect to get a CARD saying 'thank you' once again, a few days later.  But it made her day right back!  My husbands youngest sister also does babysitting for us... FREE OF CHARGE!!!... if that doesn't deserve a thank you by way of a beautiful card... I don't know what does!  She loved getting a card.... it just makes it seem that much more thankful I think!

Now here is one more card that I found in my folder of pictures that I didn't show you yet.  This one uses scraps again, and is the same layout as one I showed you a few days ago!  But this one has a whole different look just because of the DSP that I used!  This one is so fun and bright!  Love that!

OK... that is what I have for you today!  Hopefully when you come back tomorrow, I'll have another card for you!  My nephew has a birthday this weekend and I haven't made him a card yet... and his sister has one the day before and her card is already in the mail!  Can't have that!  At least in my house.... everything, and I mean EVERYTHING has to be EVEN STEVEN around here!!!

Don't forget to send a card to someone this weekend!  It is World Card Making Day on October 5!!!

xo Anita

Thankful For Fall!

Hello Fall!  

Yes, it's definitely here... at least here in the Fraser Valley!  I love the rain... it's so cozy!  And so, because it's fall, and because I love that... I am showing you a card that honours this thankful season!  

I made it using a retired stamp set, Always Thankful.  I love it and hope to use it some more in this season!  Have a great Monday!  I'll be back tomorrow hopefully with some cards that I made last week using my scraps of DSP!  Love them!

xo Anita

Dynamic Duos #56

I made this card using the colour challenge from the Dynamic Duos blog.  It’s a beautiful, classy combo.  I decided to create a thank you card using it, and it turned out so gorgeous and elegant.  I am in love with the final result.

Here’s the challenge…

                               

 

Here’s my card.  I used a few things that I hadn’t even had a chance to try out yet, so this card was a lot of fun to do.  With school almost out, I will hopefully have more time to sit down in my ‘office’ and ‘work’, and give all my goodies a good workout!  I CASEd this card from the new catalogue.  The general layout was the same, I just turned it on it’s side, changed the embossing folder, stamped sentiment, colours, and embellishments… and had my card!  Put like that, the end result really looks absolutely nothing like what I was originally inspired by, but nonetheless, that is how it came to be!

So... here's my card...

I absolutely love it.  When I told my husband to 'look at the card I made'... he looked... and then looked again!  That's something!  He's so used to 'looking', but this time he really 'looked'!

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and take a 'look' of your own!

3 Card Set

These have got to be the cutest little cards in the West.  The finished size is... I cannot remember!  Maybe 3x4 or so?  Making a little set of cards like this is a great way to use up little pieces and strips of leftover paper.

For the first one I used the Cheep Talk stamp set and my SAMJ to get the perfect placement of flowers on those branches.

This one below uses the Bugs and Kisses stamp set.  Used the SAMJ on this one too.

And for the third one I used the Cheep Talk set again.  And the SAMJ!

For all three cards I used a base of Bermuda Bay which was one of the In Colours then, and is now back in the SU! Brights collection!  Love it!