Before I Go Check Out the LIM challenge for the week....

Yup, I've gone and done it again....made a card within 24 hours or so of checking on a challenge and then not posting it forthwith. Has that ever happened to you? Life got busy what with my SIL graduating with a well-earned Masters Degree and his parents coming from NC to share his joy. Having never met them in the 10 yrs., my daughter has been married to their son, this was just too busy and happy a time for me to retreat to my craft room. So, with the new challenge probably hovering in my sidebar this minute, I give you a looksie at the one I made for last weeks.

We were to use watercolors. And so I colored this lone tulip with my water colors and used an embossing folder. Then it's matted on the same cs.

Now for a peek at THIS week's challenge. I hope you can join the Limettes too.
Have a happy and blessed weekend.

Erica

A new embossing folder

The card is sitting atop my laptop. How's that for rushing. And it's night and it's from my IPhone.

I finished this card days ago and sadly I have to use it already. A cousin of my childrens' passed away last week. I was trying to get a sympathy card stash together. We all know how difficult they are to make if you need one right away.  I picked up a new Darice folder earlier this week, thinking it would be very useful for masculine cards. I used my Cheery Lynn die for the leafy vine. I ink-embossed the folder with Tim Holtz brick red distress ink. The sentiment is from SU die cut with a Nestabilitie, as well as the cs.

I will be putting this in the mail first thing Monday.

Count your blessings
Erica

Where have I been?

Hi Stampers,

I have been cruising and visiting relatives. I sailed on the 2nd largest cruise ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, Oasis of the Seas. When we docked in Florida, I headed straight to Atlanta where I visit relatives whom I hadn't seen for eons and got to meet some new little ones too. We ate, did some sight-seeing, hit the pool, and overall had a great time.

Here's a card I finally managed to rustle up once my mojo got working. I used the sketch challenge over at Fetch A Sketch.

I don't plan on going anywhere for a while, so I'll be blogging often.

Have a great weekend.

Blessings, Erica

Saturdays just get away from me

Even though I'm retired, I still look forward to the weekends and they move faster and faster the older I get. This last Saturday of the month is no exception.

My card for the Simply Create Too challenge no. 42, Anything But a Card, has been up for 48 hours without a post. So, at this late time, it needs to be short and sweet.

Last year when our home had a small electrical fire, I took up making stickpins while staying in a local hotel awaiting repairs. It is lots of fun. I just wish I used more of them on my cards. But stickpins lend themselves to vintage and shabby chic styles IMO, so I am left with quite a few to stash away. Here is a card I made with a little storage shelf to hold five of them inside. I did not create the storage idea. After lots of tute searching, I pretty much copied Tmika at Scrapdaworld. She makes wonderful projects of all types. Check her channel out.

Lots of pretty papers, border punches
ribbon, brad embellies, a handmade
flower from crepe paper, and several die cuts, a small CB embossed mat in white and one in pink and finally, another stickpin.

Though we're in the second week of our challenge, come join us. It's easy peasy with "anything but a card."

Blessings,
Erica

Less Is More Challenge

Gosh I just get so annoyed whenever the Internet is down. It turned out be our modem, broken after only five months usage. I did find several other things to keep me busy, like mounting 23 boxes of SU stamps and a bit of organizing when I couldn't find my box of loose silk ribbons. So now for my very late posting.

I created this card...which i think qualifies as one since it opens and closed and has both an image and a sentiment. It came in at 3 1/2 x 2 1/2. I stamped a BG woodgrain stamp in Memento rich cocoa onto the "base," which is a Quik-Kutz easel die. Then I added the tiny sunflower image, purchased many years ago, and one I couldn't part with, though I know big flowers are all the rage. Maybe its the tiny ladybug that makes me like it so much. I colored with Copics and and stamped a tiny sentiment from an ancient set....once again though I know big sentiments are in.

There isn't much time left before the new challenge, so hurry on over to Less Is More and be challenged.

Blessings,
Erica

Heather's Card

I posted this image large, so you can see all the details. I only make these gushy fancy cards  for very special people.  It's not a go-to design for me. After it was completed, I sat back and saw that I needed more contrasting papers. I was concentrating so hard on matching the dp, so it all came from one dp package. But I should have included other papers I now see. Ah well, I'm no Becca Feeken. I'm told by the recipient that a friend of hers who also makes card did admire it, so that's good enough for me.

So almost except the base and first mat layer are diecuts from Spellbinders. Flowers and leaves and pearls I picked up from the LA California garment district. Fun place, but quite crowded, to visit.
Lots of distressing and a little dry embossing. The sentiment is from a long ago retired SU set. The little butterfly is a Cherry Lyn die cut.

Will be uploading my mid-post DT submission for the Challenge at Simply Create Too
Hope you're getting ready to have a fun weekend. It's getting mighty warm in my neck of the woods.

Blessings,
Erica

P.S.
I just discovered a most fab blog thing. I found out how to put links into my posts much faster if they're in the sidebars of my blog. Hmmm, what else might I discover if I would only just stop oogling other blogs and concentrate upon my own?

Cheap DSP and the Mojo Monday Challenge

A few weeks ago, when I knew I had less than $5.00 left in my monthly craft budget, I dared to stop by Jo-Ann's. I was determined to get something for less than $6.00 to 7.00 and then subtract my 40% coupon which would result in my staying well within my budget.

What a find. Studio"G" Paper Packs by Hampton Arts. They are rather odd in their weight...sorta between cardstock and heavy-weight paper. The packets contain 15 sheets single sided 6" x 6" pieces.
Each pack is all of one hue. Here I used the green one. I loved the patterns (15). And I bought them in pink, blue, purple and the green. They were $1.50 each. Well, what fun, right, except, I could only use the coupon on one package. Not much of a savings, but I walked out of Michael's spending what I planned to and I like what I got...mission accomplished....this time.

So following the MoJo sketch challenge, here's my card.

Lots of die cuts used, an SU die cut too from a new set called Secret Garden Framelits. Some Studio G stamps, and a bit of bling (used to cover a tiny mistake I made). The card is a 5 x 5, since the challenge says square or round.

Hope you're having a Blessed week.
Stay tuned, I have a tiny haul from Walmart I picked up today. It was just over $15.

Erica