~ Home of the Free ~

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog. I can't believe that June is almost over and July will be upon us. We will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday in less than a week.

 

Tomorrow evening I will be hosting a little get together for the Preschool teachers.  I am having a lot of different appetizers with a Greek flair. I will let you know all that I make in my next post. There will be 8 of us enjoying a beautiful summer evening on my deck.

 

I am excited that all the teachers will be together for something other than a preschool function. Lots of work on my end tomorrow but I am looking forward to it.

 

Now let's move onto my card for today. This one I made for the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #640. I was the hostess for this challenge and I chose real red, dapper denim, smoky slate and whisper white for the color palette. Optional this week is something patriotic.

For this card, I did something a little different than my usual style. I have been seeing lots of patriotic cards on Pinterest using the Stampin'-Up "work of art" set. Here is one of those cards.

I don't have that set but I thought the "sheltering tree" set might work. So that's what I used and with the help of my MISTI I was able to stamp the flag and flag pole. For the vertical part of the flag, I used the "brushstroke" stamp set and stamped in dapper denim.

My sentiment is from SNSS "patriotic cocoa" set. Cut a few stars and scattered them around the card to complete it.

 

Well, that's it for me for this post. Time to dim the lights in Charmed Life land for another day. So until next time.........God bless.

 

card details:

Stamps: sheltering tree (Stampin'-Up), patriotic cocoa (SNSS)

Paper: dapper denim, real red, smoky slate, whisper white

Paper Size: A2

Ink: real red, dapper denim  

Accessories: sun, moon and stars die (MFT), MISTI  

  

 

Ice Cream Birthday Wishes

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

 

It's a sunny Saturday after a crazy weather day yesterday. We had an all day rain that was very heavy at times and reports of flash flooding and a tornado touched down in one area. We had 2" of rain in our area and some areas had over 3" of rain.

 

Our area was only hit with the heavy rain. There was no damage to our home. The weather report said that out of the last 60 days, we have had precipitation 43 of those days. In the past 2 weeks there has been flash flooding 3 times. The area where our church is located was affected by the flooding all 3 times. Our church had very minor damage.

 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz blog.

I have been showing you over the past several weeks how to combine word die phrases with a stamped sentiment. Check out my cards here, here, here and here.  I am continuing with this series today as well.

What I do is look at the word phrase and then think of other dies I have that would be identified by the phrase. Today, for instance, I thought of what could be identified as sweet and work for a birthday card. Lots of food items came to mind ice cream, frozen treats (popsicles), cupcakes to name a few.

For your viewing pleasure I am using the Sweet Phrase and Ice Cream Cone dies to create a cute summertime birthday card.

So let's get started with some details  on how I created my card.

Step 1: I looked through my patterned paper for a bright and fun design for my card background. I found this melon mambo striped paper from Stampin'-Up and thought it would work well. It reminded me of an old fashioned ice cream parlor.

white card base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

melon mambo layer: 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"
melon mambo striped paper: 3 5/8" x 5 1/8"

 

Step 2: Cut the ice cream scoops using bright pink, mint green and curry cardstocks. I sponged the mint green scoop with the same shade ink for a little depth.  The cone is cut in a medium brown cardstock and I sponged the underneath layer with tea dye ink. Again this is for depth.

 Step 3: I used the stitched circles die (2nd largest) to cut a backdrop for my ice cream cone and also to stamp the sentiment. My sentiment is just a bit too long for my circle. So by masking, with painters tape, and using my MISTI, I was able to turn it into a 2 line sentiment.

Step 4: With all my elements cut and stamping done, I am ready to start assembly of my card. I decided to add some twine to the circle for interest. I found some floss in my stash that is a mint color. Adhered the ice cream cone with dimensional adhesive.

Step 5:  I cut my Sweet Phrase in mint cardstock. The font is so pretty on all these new word dies. Love how it flows. It's a perfect fit for my ice cream cone.

Step 6: I finished off my card by adding some mint and pink enamel dots. I thought it finished off my card nicely. And, that my friends is my card for this post. So until next time.......God bless.

 

Dies I used to create card:

 

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog this beautiful day in June.

 

Well, it's official according to the calendar. Summer is here. Although, we have been having summer temps for a couple of weeks here in Pittsburgh. The gardens will begin producing profusely.

 

I am so looking forward to garden tomatoes. My hubby planted several different varieties for us to enjoy. And, in August I will be going through my canning process. It's become a summer ritual for me and I really enjoy doing it.

 

I have taught my daughter-in-law and she enjoys it immensely as well.  We both use the water bath method and the freezer method. For the freezer, I roast the tomatoes with onions and garlic and then put them in freezer bags. It's such a delight to pull them out in mid-winter to enjoy as a marinara sauce or in other recipes.

 

Now onto my card for today. This is another sample I created for the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #639. Maura was our hostess and she chose tempting turquoise, crushed curry and pumpkin pie. Optional this week is summer treats. So of course, I chose ice cream. What's better than that in the summer?

My background is stamped in pumpkin pie with the Stampin'-Up brushstrokes stamp. The birthday sentiment is from Verve and stamped in tempting turquoise.

My ice cream cone is from the MFT "sweet treats die". The stitched circle and sweet phrase are dies from CottageCutz.

To complete my card I used some twine and scattered a few pumpkin enamel dots.

 

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

 

card details:

Stamps: brushstrokes (Stampin'-Up), be blessed (Verve)

Paper: whisper white, pumpkin pie, crushed curry, tempting turquoise

Paper Size: A2  

Ink: tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie  

Accessories: Sweet treats die (MFT), stitched circle die, sweet phrase (CottageCutz), twine, enamel dots (Stampin'-Up)

 

I am also entering: 

1.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is patterned paper-you can make you own as well.

2.  Crafty Addicts has an anything goes with option or using die cuts.

3.  Create and Makes challenge is anything goes with an option to use yellow. 

Father's Day Fox

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit on this Sunday in June.

We are celebrating Father's Day today but without our sons or grandkids. My youngest son lives in California and the oldest one and his family left for the beach yesterday. It's their year to go with my daughter-in-law's family. So we are taking care of their dog.

Today I will make my hubby a special dinner and just let him relax. The US Open (golf) is on TV so he will probably watch that. He is a great Dad and Granddad so a day to honor that is wonderful.

 

I showed his card yesterday. See that here. And, today I am showing the card that  I sent to my son in California. So let's get started with some details on how I created this card.

 

crushed curry, pumpkin pie, tempting turquoise

This is my card for the Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge #639. Maura was our hostess and she has chosen tempting turquoise, crushed curry and pumpkin pie for her color trio. Optional this week is to add the treats of summer to your card.

I needed a Father's Day card so I didn't use the option on this card.  My sweet granddaughter will love the fox.

I used a kaleidoscope stencil + sponge dauber for my background and the challenge colors. I thought it made a nice masculine backdrop for my little fox.

The fox and log are dies from CottageCutz - the Forest Peekers Fox and the Log for Peekers. I cut the fox in pumpkin pie cardstock and then sponged with the same ink ink. I wanted to deepen his color a bit to make him look like a red fox.

The sentiment is from the "Man of the Hour" set from Waltzingmouse. Cut it with a flag die. Well that's my card for today. I hope you are enjoying your Sunday whatever plans you may have. Until next time........God bless.

 

card details:

Stamps: man of the hour (Waltzingmouse)

Paper: pumpkin pie, choc chip, crushed curry, basic black, whisper white  

Paper Size: A2  

Ink: crushed curry, pumpkin pie, tempting turquoise (Stampin'-Up), tuxedo black (Memento)

Accessories: kaleidoscope stencil (Stencil Ease), log for peekers, forest peekers, fox (CottageCutz)  

Techniques: stenciling

 

I am also entering:

1.  2 Crafty Critter Crazies has an anything goes with a critter challenge.

2.  Crafty Purple Frog has a make it manly challenge.

3.  Just For Fun Rubber Stamps has a for the guys challenge

~ Aweseome Dad ~

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog on this Saturday in June. 

 

We have been having some heavy rain and thunder storms the past few days. It has caused some flash flooding in several areas in Pittsburgh. My home has experienced no flooding or other damage. We are supposed to have some more heavy storms on Sunday. Hopefully, flooding won't be another issue.

 

Tomorrow is Father's Day here in the US. Not sure if that is a world wide holiday or not. The card I created today is for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz blog.  This is also the card I will be giving to my hubby to celebrate his special day. He is an awesome dad and Grandfather.

 

I wanted to use the Awesome Phrase die and started thinking of how I could incorporate that into a Father's Day card.

I wanted the card to reflect my hubby as extraordinary & impressive and also to have an image that reflected that as well. I came up with a dinosaur image. They were grand and striking animals. So my card idea was born. Maybe I think to much (LOL), but it helps me to create when I have a theme in mind.

So let's get started with some details on my card for this week.

Step 1: Once my card theme was set, I needed a layout for my card. I saw the  Splitcoaststampers Sketch #649 and thought it would work perfectly. When I look at a sketch I guesstimate the layer sizes. I usually start with an A2 base then go form there. It looked to me as though layer #2 had a 1/4" border on this layout. Once I figured that size, the other panel sizes became a bit easier.

 

Burgundy Card Base: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
Striped Patterned Paper (layer #2): 4 7/8" x 3 5/8"
Lime rectangle Panel: (layer #4) 4 7/8" x 1 3/4"
Navy Blue Rectangle Panel (layer #5) 4 7/8" x 1 5/8"
Sentiment Circle: (layer #6): circle dies -3rd largest

Step 2: I looked through my patterned paper and cardstock for my colors. I thought this striped paper had a nice masculine appeal, and I could also use it for layer #3 in the sketch. The striped paper has burgundy, navy blue. lime green, emerald green and peach. I cut the papers to the above sizes and die cut my circles. Navy blue is a hard color for me to photograph for some reason. It looks black in this photo.

 

Step 3: I die cut my dinosaur and my word phrase. I wasn't sure at first what color to make the awesome word or the dinosaur. So I cut several staying with the card colors. But in the end, the dino ending up lime green and a darker contrast green. His bony spine is cut in peach also one of the colors in the striped paper. The awesome phrase look best in the burgundy color.

Step 4: Next I stamped my sentiment in night of navy ink. I just wanted the Dad portion of the stamp for my circle. So I taped off all the words except Dad and inked up that part of the stamp. I used my MISTI just in case  I needed to stamp the sentiment more than one time. And, as it turned out the image did stamp dark enough the first time so had to re-stamp. If you look at my finished card you will see the difference a second stamping made.

Step 5: Now that all the dies are cut and sentiment stamped, it 's time for card assembly. I added a couple peach enamel dots and a peach heart to complete my Father's Day card.

 

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

 

Dies I used to create card:

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Calendar Challenge for June is "boys will be boys".

2.  Craft Rocket Challenges has a for the men/boys challenge.

3.  Cardz 4 Guyz has a something blue for Father's Day. My rectangle panel is blue and my sentiment is stamped in navy blue.

4.  Cuttlebug Mania has a Father's Day challenge.

` Baby Koala ~

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

 

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Pittsburgh. Our flower gardens are blooming and the vegetable garden is coming along. Although we have had such an abundance of lettuce. My hubby planted several different varieties and it's so nice to be able to go to the back yard and get lettuce for a salad instead of to the grocery store. 

 

I am already looking forward to next month when the tomatoes start to come in. It will probably be later in July before we get any harvest though. My canning season will start in August. That's always a highlight of my summer.

 

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the color challenge #637 on Splitcoaststampers. Barbara was our hostess and she chose sweet sugarplum, wild wasabi, and daffodil delight for her color trio. Optional is to add some bling to your card.

My next-door neighbor just announced she is expecting their first child in December.
I wanted to make her a congratulations type card. These colors worked great for a baby card especially when you don't know the sex yet. I already gave her the card along with a little gift. She loved the card and will put it in Baby's scrapbook.

I started this one with the MojoMonday #499 sketch. It's a 4 ¾" square card.

My background designer paper is some older Stampin'-Up from the "porcelain petals" collection.
The image panel is a die from CottageCutz. It's part of the new Baby die release - Baby Koala w/Blanket.

Cut the bear in close to cocoa and choc chip cardstocks. His ears and belly I cut in very vanilla and shaded with close to cocoa. His sweet little blanket is done in daffodil delight.

My sentiment is from the Verve Set "practically perfect". For my bling, I added some heart enamel dots in sweet sugarplum. The panel behind the bear is embossed with the Stampin'-Up adorning accents hearts folder.

 

Well that's it for me for this post. I have a hair appointment and I have to get out the door. So until next time..........God bless.

 

card details:

Stamps: practically perfect (Verve) 

Paper: sweet sugarplum, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, very vanilla, close to cocoa, choc chip, porcelain petals dsp (Stampin'-Up)   

Paper Size: 4 3/4" square

Ink: close to cocoa, sweet sugarplum

Accessories: Baby Koala w/Blanket, oval dies (CottageCutz), adorning accents embossing folder, sweet sugarplum enamel dots (Stampin'-Up)   

Dies I used to create card:

I am also entering:
1.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is embossing.
2.  Mod Squad Challenge is a square card.
3.  Crafty Addicts has an option of anything goes with option of die cuts.

Celebrate Your Day

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog on this beautiful day in June.

 

We had a great weekend and celebrated my Mother-in-law's 87th birthday on Sunday. She was happy that everyone was together to honor her. She is healthy and still fairly mobile for her age.

 

The card I am showing today is the one I gave her for her birthday. She thanked me for the card but I am not real sure if she liked it. She never has been a big fan of my cards or a supporter of my creative endeavors. Not sure why but I have decided not to think on it too much. I get more than enough support from my hubby, family and friends.

 

Here are the details on this card. I made this card for the color challenge #638 on Splitcoaststampers.  Pam was our hostess and she has chosen wisteria wonder, blushing bride and pear pizzazz for her color trio.  

blushing bride, pear pizzazz, wisteria wonder

My card started with my sketch. I am using the MojoMonday #500 sketch. This is the last Mojo sketch. After a 10 year run and because of family obligations, Julie has decided to say farewell. I have used these sketches often so I will definitely miss them.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up "have a cuppa" collection. I used white ribbon and wisteria wonder cardstock to join the panels.

For the background rectangles of the sketch I used both cardstock and pear pizzazz ribbon. The cardstock is embossed with a hearts folder.

My image panel is stamped with a birthday sentiment from the Verve "poppy birthday" stamp set. I stamped in pear pizzazz.

The stitched cupcake is a die from CottageCutz. I cut in the challenge colors and sponged the edges with ink for some dimension and to darken the colors a bit. Finished off my card with a few wisteria wonder enamel dots.

 

Well that's it for me for today. So until next time...........God less.

 

card details:

Stamps: Poppy Birthday (Verve)  

Paper: pear pizzazz, wisteria wonder, blushing bride, whisper white, have a cuppa dsp (Stampin'-Up)
Paper Size: A2
Ink: pear pizzazz, blushing bride
Accessories: stitched cupcakes & rounded rectangle dies (CottageCutz), heart embossing folder (Darice), subtles enamel dots & pear pizzazz ribbon (Stampin'-Up), white ribbon (Darice)  

I am also entering:
1.  MojoMonday #500
2.  Everybody Art Challenge has a birthday challenge.
3.  Lemon Shortbread has an anything goes challenge.

Hugs From the Herd

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Saturday to you. Another weekend is upon us and hope that brings some fun plans. We are celebrating my Mother-in-law's 86th birthday tomorrow at my home. 

 

I decided to keep it simple (menu wise) by cooking out on the grill. She is a woman of plain tastes and a simple palette with food. So my elaborate meals aren't impressive to her. And, sometimes that makes it harder for me to plan a meal when she is coming over. I just need to figure out some side dishes and I will be good to go.

 

Now let's move onto my card for today. This one I created for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz Blog.

 

Combining the new word die phrases with a stamped sentiment is always a fun way to create a card. That's the direction I am going today.  I did this technique with this card and another idea popped into my head using the Baby Clothesline and Hugs Phrase dies.

I need a card of encouragement for a friend of mine who is battling cancer. And, the sweet baby animals are just too cute. And, they worked perfectly with the Hugs Phrase and sentiment I used.

So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.

Mint Macaron Card Base: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
Patterned Paper Image Layer: 5 3/8" x 4 1/8"

 

Step 1: As I was looking through my cardstock and patterned papers, I found some card bases from Concord & 9th that have the look of water coloring. This is so popular in card making right now but I never like how mine turn out. That was the reason I bought the card bases. There are 4 different color schemes in the pack and I chose the mint.  With the coral hugs word and all my animal colors, I thought this would be a good base color.

Step2: I used the Baby Clothesline die and cut all the animals. Instead of cutting in white and coloring them, I used different colored cardstock for each animal. Either way works just fine. Just depends on what you want to do. Ranger multi-matte medium is my adhesive for securing the pieces together. 

Step 3: I cut the Hugs Phrase in coral cardstock. I only show one cut in this photo but on assembly I decided to cut another one. It just gives it a bit of dimension. I just love the font on these new Phrase dies.

Step 4: Now that everything is cut, it's time for card assembly. First, I stamped my sentiment. Although I forgot to take a photo after this step. I used a combination of glue dots and the multi-matte medium to secure the animals to the patterned paper.

Attached my hugs phrase and then used some coral twine because I wanted it to look like the animals are holding the word.

Step 5: I die cut a few hearts to add to the top of the card. This helped to balance it out for me. The stitched hearts are part of the Stitched Cupcakes dies set. They were the perfect size to fill in the open area. I cut the hearts in the coral cardstock. This color works nicely with the mint. 

 

Well, that completes my card for this post.  Hope I have given you another idea for a way to use the Expression Phrase dies. So until next time.........God bless.

 

Dies I used to create card:

 

~ Blooming Birthday ~

Hello Blogger Friends! Happy Thursday to you all. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog.

 

Today I went out with my daughter-in-law to look for paint colors for my kitchen. I want one accent wall and then the other walls in a white.

So I found this color named restrained gold that looks so beautiful next to my countertop. The countertop has gold tones in it plus rich caramel shades. And, it coordinates well with the oak trim in my kitchen. It's not a shiny gold like we use for card making.  

 

The white is named steamed milk and has more beige tones in it. So next to my ceiling which is white, I think it looks good. This is a bit of a difficult decision to say the least. I am trying to finish up my kitchen project which has been going on for much longer than I care to talk about. And, I am so over it now.

 

Hopefully, my hubby will be in agreement with the colors I have chosen and we can buy the paint and get it done. Plus, Sherwin Williams has a 40% off sale going on right now.  So I have to decide rather quickly.

 

Now, lets move onto my card for today. This one I made for the color challenge #637 on Splitcoaststampers. Barbara was our hostess and she chose sweet sugarplum. wild wasabi and daffodil delight as her color trio. Optional this week was to add some bling to your project.

sweet sugarplum, wild wasabi, daffodil delight

On this Stampin'-Up only card I did lots of stamping. The stamps I used are from the flower patch set. I always like the corner stamping that I see on a lot of the color challenge team's cards and then adding a sentiment to the middle. So, I thought I would give it a try.

I stamped in the challenge colors in each corner. Then stamped one of the bigger flowers from this set 2x with sweet sugarplum ink.  Die cut with the matching framelit dies. Used dimensional adhesive in between the flowers and slightly offset them for added depth.

I had some sweet sugarplum twine left from the March Paper Pumpkin Kit and used it on my card. The sentiment is stamped in sweet sugarplum ink and I scattered a few enamel dots for the bling to complete my card.

 

I will hold this one for my daughter-in-laws birthday in August. She loves flowers so this one will be perfect for her.

 

Well that's it for me for this post. Time to get my dinner started. I am making chicken & roasted garlic ravioli served with a basil pesto and a tossed salad. The lettuce and basil are both from our garden.

 

So until next time.........God bless.

 

card details:

Stamps: Flower Patch (Stampin'-Up)  

Paper: wild wasabi, whisper white

Paper Size: A2

Ink: wild wasabi, sweet sugarplum, daffodil delight

Accessories: flower fair framelits dies, sweet sugarplum twine, in-color enamel shapes, stamping dimensionals (Stampin'-Up)