~Cantaloupe Flower~

 

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

 

Kitchen update: The company we are buying our countertops from came yesterday to measure. It took much longer than what I thought it would. He was here for about 1 1/2 hours.

They do a digital measure with photos and then take it back to the company and do a computerized layout for us. We will see how the granite will be cut and what it will look like in our kitchen. We go in on Saturday to check all of this out. This is such an interesting process.

 

Then next Friday, April 1 is our install day. I am so excited. We have a few things to do before they come out. My hubby is going to remove our existing countertops. It's a bit expensive to have the company do it. He said it won't be a problem getting the old ones out. I will be without countertops and a kitchen sink for a few days during this stage of the work. Hopefully, not too long. I may become friends with my basement laundry tubs (lol)!!!

 

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the color challenge #574 on Splitcoaststampers.  Vicki was our hostess and she chose  crisp cantaloupe, sahara sand and crumb cake for her color palette.

 

sahara sand, crumb cake, crisp cantaloupe

I will admit here that I had a problem with this trio of colors. But, since we can use any neutrals on our card, I decided to use a soft suede to accent these very light colors. Once I did that I was pleased with how my card turned out.

 

I started with my card layout this week and I used the MojoMonday #439 sketch.

On the background panel, I used sahara sand designer paper. It's from the Stampin'-Up "thoroughly modern" collection. My dotted panel is soft suede designer paper and also from Stampin'-Up.

The flower is a new die from the March 2016 release by CottageCutz.  It's the 3D Flower #3 die and the thanks word is also a die from CottageCutz.

 

The flower is cut in cantaloupe cardstock and I sponged the edges with cantaloupe ink for depth. I popped up each flower layer with dimensional dots.

 

For the "thanks" word I cut 2x in soft suede cardstock and a 3rd time in crisp cantaloupe and did a slight offset. It adds a bit of visual interest.

For the middle rectangle panel in the sketch, I decided to use ribbon and cardstock. The mesh ribbon is from May Arts and over that I layered a piece of crisp cantaloupe cardstock and then crumb cake ribbon from Stampin'-Up on the top layer.

To complete my card, I used the small butterfly die from Elizabeth Crafts and scattered some die cut sequins. The sequins are a die from MFT. And that's my card for today, my friends.

 

Time for me to get started with my day. I am on Easter break from pre-school and I have lots to do. Easter dinner is here at our house so cleaning is my goal for today. So until next time.......God bless.

 

I am also entering:

1.  Through the Purple Haze has a flowers challenge.

2.  Addicted to Stamps and More has an anything goes challenge.

3.  Crafting By Designs has a 3 or more layers challenge.

4.  Fab 'n Funky has a flowers challenge.

5.  Ruby's Rainbow has "the earth laughs in flowers" challenge.

Summers Last Hurrah

 

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday here in Pittsburgh.

 

Just the type of day that our tomatoes like to turn them red and ready for picking. They are ripening at a very nice pace. I roasted some the other day with olive oil, garlic and thyme. They were super delicious. I used them to make a vodka sauce to serve with some ravioli that I picked up at Trader Joes.

 

The sauce is really easy to make and is so delicious. I put the tomatoes in my food processor to puree them. Then I sautéed some onion and more garlic-added my roasted tomatoes, fresh basil (also from our garden) and 1/2 cup of vodka. The alcohol cooks off in this dish since you let it simmer for about an hour. To finish it off I added some heavy cream and it's done.  

 

I am definitely going to make this again. By roasting the tomatoes it really enhances  their flavor.  I have been roasting a lot of vegetables lately. They are so delicious and easy to prepare. You just drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and any other seasoning you like.  

 

Now, onto my card for today. This one I created for the CC494 on Splitcoaststampers. I was the hostess  and for my color palette I chose melon mambo, basic gray and wild wasabi.

 

I chose the colors based on this comforter set I saw on Pinterest. Thought it would make a pretty card and based on the SCS gallery, I was correct.

I also gave an option to add flowers or create a summer scene for the card. Wanted to make it summer's last hurrah. The 2nd option was use these non-traditional colors to make a Christmas card or a winter scene.

 

Today I am showing my summer's last hurrah card. This card is using lots of dies and background stenciling.

 

I had this card saved in my faves on Pinterest and used it for my inspiration today. I changed the colors and some dies to give it my touch.

 

The background die is the Memory Box “massa leaf frame, the lighter green is the Memory Box “chloe die”. My flower is the Cherry Lynn Designs “sunflower die” and I cut it from melon mambo cardstock.

 

The butterfly is from Elizabeth Crafts and it was cut twice-once in basic gray and then I layered the melon mambo over that. 

"Thanks" word is a Taylored Expressions die cut in basic gray.

I stenciled the background with a Heidi Swapp stencil and used melon mambo ink. I completed this card by adding some gray rhinestones.

 

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

I am also entering:

1.  Crafts Galore Encore Challenge wants us to make a card.

2. Scrap It Girl has a stencil or mask challenge.  

3. That Craft Place has a summery colors challenge.  

4.  A Gem of a Challenge has a summertime challenge.