Mother's Day Tulips

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. Hope your weekend was a relaxing one and you were honored or you honored someone for Mother's Day. 

I was honored by my next-door neighbor. She had dinner for her Mother-in-Law, and she invited my hubby and me to come for dinner. It was a lovely day. Her two little ones made me cards and I also received a beautiful plant. 

My son and daughter-in-law are away for a few days. I will see them later this week and we will celebrate then. So I get two celebrations. My CA son has a gift coming to me as well. Shipping was a bit delayed, but he won't tell me what is coming. 

Now onto my card for today. This is the Mother's Day card I will give to my daughter-in-law. She loves tulips. 

I used the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #1103. We were to use fresh freesia, misty moonlight and old olive for our color trio. Optional was to use designer paper.

fresh freesia, old olive, misty moonlight

I thought these colors were perfect for the card I had in mind. I started with the "bouquet of tulips" die from CottageCutz. I cut the vase and tulips in the challenge colors. I ink blended some of the tulips to get a darker shade.

I looked through my designer papers and found this pattern from the Stampin' Up "lighter than air" collection. I thought it had feminine appeal with the scallops. I continued the scallop theme with a die cut rectangle as a layer for my image panel.

I stamped my sentiment and added some purple sequins to complete my card. 

Well, that's it for me for this post so until next time......God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: 10 years of growth (PP Kit March 2023)

Paper: fresh freesia, misty moonlight, old olive, basic white, lighter than air dsp (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: fresh freesia (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Bouquet of Tulips die, Rectangle & Scallop dies (CottageCutz), Blueprints 15 die (MFT), Purple Sequins (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Beautiful Blossoms has an anything goes floral challenge. 

2.  Daisy Chain Challenge wants us to layer it up. 

The Beach Life

Hello Blogger Friends. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. 

Well, it's Saturday and another start to a weekend. It's a rainy day here in Pittsburgh.  Just a slight drizzle for now so I have my windows open and a nice breeze is blowing through my house. 

I spent yesterday doing household chores. So, my Saturday will be freed up.  My family is coming over for a visit. We are going to the premier chocolate factory in Pittsburgh to enjoy one of their delicious ice cream sundaes and then go on a trip through the chocolate store.

My grandsons are in town for the NFL Draft. They went down to be a part of the massive crowd in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. We were with them on Wednesday night and now we will get to see them again today.  I am looking forward to it. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #1101. 

wild wheat, misty moonlight, lost lagoon

We were to use wild wheat, misty moonlight and lost lagoon for the color trio. Optional this week is a 4th color. 

I used lots of dies to create my beach scene card, I started with the Beach Scene builder die from MFT. It created the sand and water.

I cut the water in lost lagoon and then stamped the waves in misty moonlight. The sand was cut in crumb cake (neutral) and I stamped sand granules in wild wheat ink.

I added the pelican, logs and starfish for added interest. Logs cut in soft suede (neutral). I cut the pelican beak in lemon lolly cardstock and sponged with the same color ink.

The top of the card is stenciled using soft sky ink. This covered my optional item of a 4th color. 

Finished off the card by stamping my sentiment on a cloud in misty moonlight ink and added a sun cut in lemon lolly and sponged with the same color ink.

I am going to send this one to my daughter-in-law for Mother's Day. She loves the beach and this is her serenity. This card will definitely give her a smile. 

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time,,,,,,,,,God bless.

Card Details:

Stamps: Island Life (MFP), Sunset at the Beach (Just For Fun),

Paper: basic white, lemon lolly, lost lagoon, crumb cake, soft suede (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: Wild wheat, Misty Moonlight, Lemon Lolly, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: pelican, die, stitched sun die, cloud die (CottageCutz), beach scene builder die, cloud stencil (MFT)

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Gals Corner is anything goes.

2.  The Sisterhood of Crafters has a "make someone smile" challenge. 

3.  The Paper Funday has an anything goes w/optional twist of die cuts/punches. 

The Little Things You Do

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog today. It's Sunday and I hope it's a day of rest and relaxation for you. And that you were able to get some crafty time in over the weekend. 

I was able to get crafty las week for several days. I was actually making Christmas cards. I am determined not to be in the Christmas rush of not having cards done. I say it every year but hoping this year is different. I did manage to make 10 cards las week. I usually need around 40 so I am off to a good start. I usually don't make more than 1 of the same card. But I had some designer paper that  I wanted to use up so I made 10 cards in the same design but with different paper. 

I bought some product last Christmas and never got to use it and that will be my next batch of cards.  I am excited to start those ones. Although I have some Mother's Day calendars I am making for some of the women at church so I need to get moving on those. Plus making my Mother's Day card. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the Splitcoaststampers challenge #1100.  I was the hostess this week and I chose pretty peacock, cloud cover and secret sea for my color trio. Optional was to use designer paper. I encouraged stampers to get creative and choose paper that doesn't have these colors if they wanted.

secret sea, cloud cover, pretty peacock

I needed a thank you card for my next-door neighbor who helped me out in a huge way a couple of weeks ago.

To create my card, I used the Stampin' Up December 2025 Paper Pumpkin Kit. That's how I chose my colors for this challenge. These kits come with everything you need to create at least 9 cards. Sometimes I create them as per the instructions and sometimes I make alternate designs. 

I created my card according to the kit instructions except I added an additional layer of cloud cover for the card base.

My background paper is one of the card bases that was included in the kit. All the other items on the card are also from the kit including the beautiful bronze sequins.

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time......God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Watercolor in Bloom (PP Kit Dec 2025)

Paper: cloud cover (Stampin' Up),

Paper Size: A2

Ink: Pretty Peacock (Stampin' Up),

Accessories: Watercolor in Bloom Paper Pumpkin Kit Dec 2025,

I am also entering:

1.  Allsorts Challenge is in the garden or anything goes. 

2.  Love Those Pretty Papers is anything goes using patterned paper.

3.  Creative Fingers challenge is anything goes. 

4.  Paper Funday is anything goes w/option of die cuts or punches. 

Daisy Daydream Birthday

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. 

Well, Tax Day (April 15, 2026) has come and gone for another year. Hope all of my American followers were able to get everything filed on time. I completed mine and even got a refund this year. 

Now I can concentrate on getting my craft room reorganization done. I keep putting it off, but I definitely need a better system than what I have right now. I know where most things are but sometimes, I forget about things I bought since my system is not so streamlined. But my goal is to get all that changed this year. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created using the contents of the March 2025 Daisy Daydream Paper Pumpkin Kit from Stampin' Up. These kits give you everything you need to create at least 9 cards. What I like to do is create alternate designs from what the kit calls for. 

This one is a fun fold card. It's called a Z-fold design. I used my own white card base and then took one of the printed card bases from the kit and cut it for designer paper. 

The daisy images were the front of the base and I cut those to 1 7/8" x 5 1/4". The honeycomb images were the back of the card base and I cut that for my card inside at 4" x 5 1/4". 

I cut 2 circle images and stamped then with honeycombs. The stamp set is also part of the kit.  The bees and daisy images were also in the kit. To complete my card I added some yellow enamel dots. 

For the card inside I added a honey pot. It's a die from CottageCutz. 

Well, that's it for me for this post. So until next time.....God bless. 

I am also entering:

1.  Creative Creases has an anything goes with a fun fold design.

2.  Cut it Up has a colors of Spring challenge using die cuts. 

3.  Craft Rocket Challenge #135 wants us to layer it up.

4.  C.R.A.F.T. challenge is anything goes. 

5.  Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge - I used middle panel- embellishments-free-circles. 

Easter Cross w/lilies

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. 

Hope you had a great weekend and were able to get some crafty time in. When Spring rolls around that sometimes gets difficult if you are a gardener. I am not the one who tends the outside here. That is my hubby's domain.  

You might think it's odd that I am featuring an Easter card today. But one of my neighbors and a couple of friends are Eastern Orthodox Christians and yesterday was their Easter celebration. So, they always get a card from me just a bit later than my Western Christian friends. 

For this card I started with my background paper. It's from the Divinity Designs "Spring Flowers 2" collection.

I paired it with Stampin' Up rococo rose cardstock and rococo rose foil designer paper. My cross is cut from the designer paper and rococo rose cardstock.

Cut my Easter phrase in foil and to finish off the card.  I added some die cut sequins from the foil paper.

Here is another of the cards I created for this Holiday. 

And my last one for this year.

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time......God bless. 

Paper: Rococo Rose, Blushing Bride,  Love You Always Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up), Spring Flowers 2 Pad (Divinity Designs), Chantilly Cream (MFT)

Paper Size: A2

Accessories: Cross w/Spring Lilies die, Easter Phrases die (CottageCutz), sequins die (MFT)

I am also entering: 

1.  Crafting From the Art challenge is anything goes.

2.  Crafts Galore Encore is anything goes.  

3.  Creative Crafting Uncles has a Spring/Easter challenge. 

4.  Moving Along with the Times has an anything Spring challenge.

5.   Paper Rocks Scissors has an anything goes using paper or scissors. 

Bunny Kisses

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. It's Easter Monday and I am showing another of my Easter cards. I don't know how I get so behind posting these cards. I did the same with my Valentine cards (LOL). 

Anway hope your Easter celebration was a great one. Ours started off with church and then we had a lovely dinner with a friend. My meal turned out just as I wanted it too. And we sent some leftovers home with him and there was still plenty for dinner today and probably tomorrow. 

Now onto the details for this card. To create this one I used the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #1097. We were to use granny apple green, fresh freesia and balmy blue for the color trio. Optional was an anything goes theme. I chose to use a 4th color of petunia pop.

granny apple green, fresh freesia, balmy blue

I used the Easter Basket die from Stamps of Life. It's part of their "Fold-It" line. So, the die makes an Easter basket fun fold shape. The die also includes the egg shapes and decorations for them.

I cut the basket outline in pecan pie (allowed neutral). I used the two-tone cardstock from Stampin' Up. It gives a lighter shade of the same color. I cut the basket front with the lighter shade.

For the eggs, I used the challenge colors plus my 4th color of petunia pop.

My cute little peeking bunny is cut in pecan pie cardstock. I added the bunny kisses sentiment to complete my card. Both of these dies are from Cottage Cutz.

Well, that's it for me for this post. Stop by again tomorrow to see a couple more of my Easter cards. So until next time.....God bless. 

Card Details:

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Petunia Pop, Pecan Pie, White (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Accessories: Easter Basket Fold-It die (Stamps of Life), Double Trouble Bunny die, Bunny Kisses die (CottageCutz)

I am also entering:

1.  A Cut Above Challenge is anything goes with a die cut and a twist of using pastels. 

2.  Double Trouble Challenge is from Thing 3 - using Easter elements. 

3.  Crafty Animals is anything goes with an animal.  

Easter Tulips

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. 

It's Easter weekend. I just finished cleaning in anticipation of my company tomorrow. It's a breeze because I keep up after my house almost daily and Saturday is running the sweeper, kitchen and bathroom days. Although I keep up with the kitchen daily as well. 

It will be a smaller gathering tomorrow for dinner, but I am still looking forward to it. My hubby's brother & family are out of town for the holiday. His siter is not feeling well so she declined the invite. We invited a young man from church who has no family here in Pittsburgh, also another single man from church who just lost his mother. 

I am making my usual Easter menu. Ham, hash brown potato casserole, roasted green beans and a fruit tray. I almost nixed the ham this year, but I couldn't decide on another meat so I went with ham. 

Now onto my card for today. These cards I created for the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #1098. We were to use gorgeous grape, daffodil delight, poppy parade and coastal cabana for the color trio. Optional was dies or punches. I chose the die option.

gorgeous grape, daffodil delight, poppy parade, coastal cabana

I looked through my paper pads and found this beautiful pattern from Divinity Designs "Spring Flowers 2" collection. It had the challenge colors and these beautiful tulip images.

The panel is a 6x9 size, so I was able to cut it in half and get 2 cards. For this card I used daffodil delight as my card base. Die cut my Easter phrase in gorgeous grape and scattered a few gorgeous grape enamel dots to finish off my card.

For this next card I used gorgeous grape as my card base. Die cut my Easter phrase in gorgeous grape and stamped the blessings word in gorgeous grape ink. I scattered a few gorgeous grape enamel dots to finish off my card.

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time.....God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Alleluia Stamp set (Divinity Designs)

Paper: gorgeous grape, daffodil delight (Stampin' Up), spring flowers pad 2 (Divinity Designs)

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

Ink: gorgeous grape (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Happy Easter Greeting die (CottageCutz), gorgeous grape enamel dots (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Alphabet Challenge is "Y" for yellow flowers.

2.  Creative Fingers is anything goes. 

3.  Cardz 4 Galz is Spring Flowers.

4.  C.R.A.F.T. Challenge is Seasons/Weather or ATG. I chose the Spring season. 

5.  Just us Girls has a Spring or Easter Card challenge using die cuts. 

 

Wish Big

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life today. 

Hope your day is going well. I treated myself today to a manicure and a pedicure. It's been months since I have done this but after our taxes were finished, I felt something special was in order for me. After all I am the one who spends days working on them (LOL)!!!

The young woman who I go to is such a gem. She treats me so well and does an excellent job on my fingers and toes. She wondered why I hadn't been there in months. I was away so much in January and February, but sandal season is almost here and it's time to have feet looking presentable. Oh well enough about that. Let's move on to my card for today.

This one I created for the color challenge #1095 on Splitcoaststampers. We were to use flirty flamingo, lemon lolly and lost lagoon for our color trio. Optional was to use our favorite embellishment. I like enamel dots.

flirty flamingo, lemon loll, lost lagoon

I just picked up a new to me stamp and die set from Stampin' Up. It's the "hot air balloon" collection. I saw measurements for this fun fold from Denise on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try using this week's colors.

I stamped my balloon in flirty flamingo ink several times to get a cleaner image. I used dimensional adhesive and placed it on a background of designer paper.

My designer papers are from 3 Stampin' Up collections - Tartan Foils, Subtles and Thoughtful Journey. I liked the hearts paper since this card was going to a good friend of mine. I thought it gave a nice feminine touch. 

I added lemon lolly enamel dots to get the 3rd color on my card. And that's my post for today. So until next time......God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: hot air balloon (Stampin' Up)

Paper: lost lagoon, basic white, subtles dsp, thoughtful journey dsp, tartan foil dsp (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: flirty flamingo (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: hot air ballon dies, rainbow enamel dots (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Love Those Pretty Papers challenge is anything goes w/option of circles. 

2.  Sweet Stampin' has a tartan/plaid challenge. I used a Tartan foil designer paper. 

3.  Creative Creases is anything goes with a fun fold. 

4.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge. 

Wild Birthday

Hello Blogger friends. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. 

Hope your weekend was a great one and you had some crafty time. It was one of those lazy weekends for me. I intended to get some crafting and de-stashing done but that didn't happen. I watched the NCAA basketball games with my hubby and got caught up in that. 

We have a family bracket where you get bragging rights as the winner. So far, my hubby is in a tie for 1st place. Our sons, daughters in law, grandsons and granddaughter are all playing. 

We also have a group for the Women's tournament and I picked those teams. Since I know nothing about the Women's teams, I let ESPN do an auto pick for me. We are all very close in that group and I am in 7th place. But it's still early in the tournament. I am rooting for my granddaughter to win. 

 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for a Ways to Use it challenge on Splitcoaststampers. We were challenged us to use a brand-new item from your craft stash.

This kit showed up in my mailbox the other day. It's a kit from LDRS designs and includes everything you need to make some wilderness themed birthday cards. It includes card bases, die cuts and envelopes I think they all have a masculine vibe.

I chose the wolves to make my brother's birthday. He celebrates this month.
The wolves are printed on the card base, and I took one of the die cut toppers and popped it up to overlay the base image. It gives it a nice 3d look. 

The sentiment that came in the kit is a rub on design. Added a few black enamel dots to complete the card.

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time.....God bless.

Card Details:

Paper Size: A2

Accessories: LDRS Wildwood Card Kit

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Animals is anything goes featuring an animal. 

2.  Critter Crazy challenge is anything goes featuring a critter. 

3.  AAA Birthday Game #83 has a die cut challenge. 

  

Friends Are Sunshine of Life

Hello Blogger Friends. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today.

Well, I just finished my Federal & State income taxes for 2025. I am quite a bit earlier this year. I usually wait until the filing date of April 15. But I bought the Turbo Tax Software in early February and this past week I organized all the necessary receipts. 

So, I worked on it yesterday and just finished up today. They are both e-filed and I already heard on the Federal return that it was received and accepted. So relieved they are done. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created using the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge. We were to use coastal cabana, silver and pool party for our color trio. Optional was to use stripes. It didn't work for my card design, so I skipped the option.

coastal cabana, silver, pool party

For my card, I used the Stampin' Up "Flowering Foils" designer paper and colored in some of the flowers. This paper pack is a few years old and was never opened until I made this card. It has such pretty papers, so I plan on using it again. 

For the coloring I used ink daubers with coastal cabana and pool party inks. I decided not to color the silver trimmed leaves. And I like how the flowers are outlined in copper foiling. 

Layered the designer paper on brushed silver cardstock and then coastal cabana as my card base.

I stamped my sentiment on a die cut label, added some coastal cabana ribbon and scattered a few sequins to complete my card.

Well, that's it for me for this post. So, until next time.....God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Spring Sentiments (Stampendous)

Paper: coastal cabana, flowering foils dsp (Stampin' Up), brushed silver (MFT)

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

Ink: coastal cabana, pool party (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: coastal cabana ribbon (Stampin' Up), sequins (Recollections)

I am also entering:

1.  Creative Inspiration Challenge #36 is anything goes.

2.  Paper Shelter is anything goes w/option of tic-tac-toe. I used ribbon & a die cut.

3.  A Place to Start is anything goes just no square cards.   

4.  Make My Monday has an all tied up challenge. 

5.  Neglected Stuff Challenge is atg. I used designer paper & ribbon (both at least 2+ years old.