Orchid Thank You

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

Hope your weekend is going well and you have found some time to get crafty. Or maybe you are just relaxing and enjoying the summer. I am doing a bit of both. 

I decided to pamper myself a little and went for a pedicure today. That's something I haven't done in a long time. I usually do my own nails and toes, but I decided to go for a spa pedicure. It was 45 minutes long and I loved every minute of it. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #1057 on Splitcoaststampers. We are to use granny apple green, strawberry slush and pool party for the color trio. Optional is an anything goes theme. 

granny apple green, strawberry slush, pool party

I needed a thank you card for a friend who loves orchids. I had the perfect die and colors to create my card.

I cut the orchids and stem in the challenge colors. For the orchid center I used strawberry slush designer paper.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin' Up 2025-2027 in-color collection. The background banner is embossed with the Stampin' Up "Greenery folder".

Stamped my sentiment using the Charming Sentiments stamp set & die. Finished off my card with pool party enamel dots and green sequins for the optional theme.

Card Details:

Stamps: Charming Sentiments (Stampin' Up)

Paper: strawberry slush, granny apple green, white, strawberry slush, choc chip, pecan pie, designer paper (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: strawberry slush (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Orchid die, circle dies (CottageCutz), greenery embossing folder, sequins, dots for days enamel dots (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Allsorts has a pretty flowers challenge. 

2.  Love Those Pretty Papers challenge is anything goes. 

3.  C.R.A.F.T. has a thank you challenge. 

4.  Can you handle the Pressure is anything goes with embossing.

5.  Creative Inspiration challenge is anything goes. 

Thanks For Your Hospitality

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog this first Sunday in March. 

It's a beautiful Spring like day here with temps hovering around 64°. We just came back from a 2-mile walk and I thought I would get a Blog post in before it's time to start dinner. I am planning on a salmon dish I made before. It's really delicious and here is a link to Pinterest if you are interested in the recipe.  

I am still having trouble with my FeedBlitz account and this has been going on since October. Customer service has once again escalated to their billing department so I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Now onto my card for today. This one I made as a thank you to send to my neighbor who invited us down to their Florida home for a week's stay. It was a wonderful week of sunshine and warm temps.

I tried a technique I have seen on Pinterest and YouTube. It's called the Fractured Card technique. It's a fun and easy technique. I followed this YouTube video from Lisa Curcio. She gives the measurements to use for each cardstock and designer paper piece you need for this card. Here is the link. 

I used the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #988. The colors were blueberry bushel and white. Optional was anything goes. I chose to use green for a 3rd color.

The designer paper is from the Stampin' Up "berry delightful" collection. The blueberry images are from the "berry blessings" stamp set. It's a 2-step stamp set, and I think it gave the blueberries a watercolor look. My neighbor does water coloring so she will like this card. 

The sentiment is also Stampin' Up - it's from the Paper Pumpkin "Welcome Inn" kit from June 2023. 

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

Card Details:

Stamps: berry blessings, Welcome Inn (Stampin' Up)

Paper: blueberry bushel, white, berry delightful dsp (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: blueberry bushel, night of navy, garden green, granny apple green (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: stitched square die (CottageCutz)

Techniques: Fractured Card

I am also entering:

1.  Die Cut Divas has an anything goes challenge. 

2.  Crafts Galore Encore is anything goes. 

3.  Polkadoodles has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge. 

5.  C.R.A.F.T. Challenges is female. 

 

A Sweet Thank You

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. Hope your weekend was a good one and you were able to get some crafty time in. 

Last week was a busy one for me. It was income tax time. I always seem to put it off to the last minute. But then again, we always owe additional tax so I am in no hurry to pay. 

Compiling the information needed and getting my Quicken software entries up to date takes a couple of days. Then I use Turbo Tax to complete the tax forms and to do an e-filing. 

We used to take it to an accountant but then I realized I was putting all the info for them into a spreadsheet. One year they called and were asking me questions that were answered on the spreadsheet. When I told him they were on the spreadsheet he said he didn't have anything from me. 

That settled it for me. I took the time to put the info together and then they lost the spreadsheet. I wasn't happy.  Why should I pay him to do the work that I could do with Turbo Tax. Anyway, I have been using Turbo Tax for about 6 years and it's worked out fine for us.  

Now onto my card for today. This one I created using some new CottageCutz dies. I am featuring the Lemonade Stand and Celebrate Banner dies.

I was in need of a thank you card to send to a friend who invited us to visit with them at their Florida home for a week. It was such a wonderful time and a handmade thank you card was in order. I recently found out she saves all the cards I send her. That's so heartwarming for a card maker to hear. So, let's get started on some details of how I made my card.

Design Steps:

I started my card by stenciling clouds on white cardstock with tumbled glass, broken china, spun sugar and mowed lawn distress inks.
Image Panel: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Next, I cut the lemonade stand and the celebrate banner from different colored Stampin' Up cardstock.
My card elements are prepared and ready for card assembly. I attached the lemonade stand with double sided tape. I decided to use the Arch Sun die and attached it to the side of the lemonade stad for added interest. 

Before I added the celebrate banner, I stamped my sentiment in a bright pink ink. I used my MISTI for placement, and this also needed a double inking. The MISTI is so perfect for this feature alone.

Added my celebrate banner with clear drying glue.

To finish off my card, I attached the image panel to a white card base with double sided tape. I kept the base the same size as the image panel.
White Card Base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

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

card details:

Stamps: more lemonade 2 (Stamps of Life)

Paper: basic white, polished pink, daffodil delight, real red, granny apple green, (Stampin' Up), toffee (TE)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: polished pink (Stampin'-Up), tumbled glass & spun sugar distress inks (Ranger)

Accessories: lemonade stand, celebrate banner dies(CottageCutz), mini cloud stencil (MFT)

Techniques: stenciling

I am also entering:

1.  Lil Patch of Crafty Friends has an anything goes challenge. 

2.  Allsorts challenge is anything goes w/option of creating your own background.

3.  Alphabet Challenge is "A" for adorable or anything cute. 

4.  Creative Fingers Challenge #252 is anything goes. 

5.  Cut it Up Challenge is to use a die cut & something with letter "B". I have a banner. 

6.  Word Art Wednesday is anything goes. 

Beyond Grateful

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

Hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying the summer months. I can't believe that we are halfway through August already. The summer is going by way to quickly for me. I love the long, hot days of summer and sitting out on our deck at night. We had dinner on the deck on Friday night and then lingered for a bit to listen to the crickets and locusts singing away. 

Today my grandson is here to spend the night. He and my hubby went golfing this morning and I have a few minutes to get this Blog post done before they return. We always enjoy the visits and especially that they want to spend the night. 

granny apple green, mango melody, coastal cabana

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #898 on Splitcoaststampers. Our colors were granny apple green, mango melody and coastal cabana.

I started my card by sponging around the left edge of the white panel with coastal cabana ink. I used the forever fern stamp set and stamped in mango melody, granny apple green and coastal cabana inks.

After I stamped in the mango color, it seemed to washed out so I decided to stamp and then die cut a few of the leaves. It added some interest and more color to the card.

My sentiment is from the Stampin' Up "charming sentiments" set. It has a coordinating die. Scattered a few coastal cabana enamel dots and my card is finished.

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

card details:

Stamps: forever fern, charming sentiments (Stampin' Up)

Paper: granny apple green, whisper white

Paper Size: A2

Ink: mango melody, granny apple green, coastal cabana

Accessories: forever flourishing dies, sentiment silhouette dies, coastal cabana enamel dots (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Use Your Stuff has a Nature challenge. 

2.  Lil Patch of Crafty Friends has an anything goes challenge. 

3.  We Love Stamping has an "in my garden" challenge. 

4.  Crafty Calendar has an anything goes challenge. 

5.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge. 

A Succulent Thank You

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

I had a busy day in my kitchen making pesto. We had our first basil harvest so I turned that into pesto. The basil was enough to make one batch and that's an 8 oz cup. But when I take it from the freezer, I will add the parmesan cheese and more olive oil so I will have enough to use it for a couple of meals. My hubby also cut his garlic scapes and I turned that into pesto. I have more to make but I ran out of lemon, and I use that in the garlic scape pesto. 

In case you are wondering what garlic scapes are, we didn't know either until my hubby started planting garlic. They are the long slender flower stems that grow from the top of the garlic bulb. They need to be cut so the bulb will get larger. The garlic bulbs will be harvested in late July or early August. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for a friend who needed some thank you cards. I made her 10 of them but this was the only one I took a photo of. Not sure why I didn't photo all the others?

I used the contents of the February 2019 Stampin'-Up Paper Pumpkin Kit. The designer papers that were part of the kit were so pretty I didn't want to cover them up. So I kept the card on the CAS side. I also used the colors from the color challenge #832 on Splitcoaststampers. The colors were blackberry bliss, garden green and rich razzleberry. 

The succulent background designer paper had the colors for the challenge. My card base is rich razzleberry. The light gray layering panel is a card base from the kit.

I stamped my sentiment and added the blackberry bliss bow and this card is complete. I needed a simple thank you card and the kit worked out great.

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

card details:

Stamps: blissful blooms (Paper Pumpkin Aug 2018)

Paper: rich razzleberry, garden green, Paper Pumpkin Kit (Feb 2019)

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

Ink: rich razzleberry (Stampin'-Up)

Accessories: Paper Pumpkin Kit Feb 2019, Blackberry Bliss Bakers Twine (Stampin'-Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Paperminutes has a keep it simple challenge. 

2.  A Bit More Time to Craft has an anything goes challenge. 

3.  Crafts Galore Encore has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge is anything goes. 

5.  Love to Craft Challenge is anything goes. 

Hugs and Thanks

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog this Sunday in March.

 

Well it's the start of daylight savings time so hope you all remembered to turn the clocks ahead I hour. It's always difficult losing an hours sleep and getting up to it being dark again in the morning. But, we will have an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day, and I love that!!!

 

Our church was a bit emptier this morning. I am guessing that had to do with the time change?

We had a brunch after church and the food was delicious. Lots of breakfast foods as well as lunch dishes.

The group that put it on made a Rueben casserole and was it ever delicious. I love Rueben sandwiches so this was perfect for me. I ate way to much so I definitely will be taking a walk this afternoon. Need to walk off some of those calories.

 

Now let's move onto my card for today. This one I made for the color challenge #724 on Splitcoaststampers. Karen was our hostess and she chose cherry cobbler, old olive and crumb cake (kraft) for her color trio. 

Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

I needed a thank you card for a friend that gave me some coffee themed gifts. So these colors worked out fine for me. On my card background, I used the new Stampin'-Up Corrugated embossing folder.

 

The ribbon is also Stampin'-Up - it's their Christmas burlap trim. I found some older Christmas designer paper from Stampin'-Up that had the challenge colors in it. It's their "jolly holiday" collection. I didn't think it looked like Christmas so I went ahead and used it. 

 

For the dies, they are all from CottageCutz. I used the cocoa & sweet treats die for the coffee and donut image and the sending hugs die for the word phrase. The stamped sentiment is a set from MFT.

 

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

Stamps: kind words (MFT)

Paper: old olive, cherry cobbler, crumb cake, choc chip, very vanilla, jolly holiday dsp (Stampin'-Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: tuxedo black (Memento)

Accessories: cocoa & sweet treats, sending hugs dies (CottageCutz), striped burlap trim, corrugated embossing folder (Stampin'-Up)

I am also entering: 

1.  A Gem of a Challenge is anything goes.

2.  Sweet Stampin' has an anything goes + option of Shrove Tuesday.

3.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge.

Peeking Snowmen

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

Wow - I have been absent on my Blog posts for awhile. We went away for 4 days last week to San Francisco. And prior to that I was busy getting my DT commitments finished before I left.

We went out to visit with my son and his family. My precious 8 year old granddaughter is playing basket in a YWCA league. The team members are from her 2nd grade class. They don't keep score and have very limited rules. But it was fun just being able to watch her play and have fun.

Then of course we played with her babies all the rest of the time. It's non-stop baby adventures from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed. She only takes breaks for lunch and dinner. She tells her Mom that no one plays babies like Grandma (lol)! I guess that's part of my role. And this wont last much longer maybe a couple of years at the most.

Now I am back home and getting back into the swing of things. It's a sunny but cold day here so I do want to try and get a walk in at some point. But before that I want to share my card for today.

This one I made a couple of weeks ago as a thank you for a gift that a friend gave me. The colors were from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #722. I was the hostess and I chose gray granite, mango melody, and rich razzleberry for the color trio. Optional was to use designer paper.

gray granite, mango melody, rich razzleberry

 I started my card by embossing the background with the Stampin'-Up "softly falling" embossing folder. My fence is from the CottageCutz "peeking puppy" die and the snow accents are from the "snowman lane" die.

For the snowmen hats, I used mango melody and rich razzleberry designer paper. I decided to use a cloud to carry my "thanks" sentiment. I cut it from rich razzleberry cardstock.

Well that's my card for today. So until next time...…...God bless.

dies I used to create card:

I am also entering:

1. Joy of Sets has a tic tac toe challenge. I chose rectangle, nature and sparkle. 

2.  Crafter's Castle is anything goes w/option of glitter. I used glitter paper for my snow banks.

3.  PolkaDoodles has an anything goes challenge

 

Cocoa Thank You

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

 

It's the first day of February already. Hard to believe that January is in the history books. All of my to-do's didn't seem to get accomplished so hopefully in February.

 

Most of them revolve around my craft room. But, I also want to get our file cabinet cleaned out and in order. Then closing out 2017 on my Quicken account. I started in January but didn't get it finished.

 

Then comes the 2017 taxes. We did have someone doing our taxes for us but last year I went back to Turbo Tax. Since we can itemize any longer, it didn't make sense to pay someone to do them. I put all the info together for them anyway. And gathering that information and putting it on a spreadsheet usually took me 2 days. So I will gather the information and let Turbo Tax do the return.

 

Now let's move onto my card for today. This one I created using the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #669. Robin was the hostess and she chose berry burst, daffodil delight, old olive and pool party. Optional was to add some sparkle.

berry burst, daffodil delight, old olive, pool party

 

I needed some thank you cards for gifts that I received from my Pre-School students. I thought a card that had somewhat of a coffee theme would work for some since I received several gift cards for local coffee establishments.

My card is using the SC678 layout from Splitcoaststampers.  Cathy was the hostess and she gave us a great layout for our cards. It worked out well for me.

My coffee cups are part of the CottageCutz Cocoa & Sweet Treats die. I cut them in daffodil delight and berry burst. Stamped my sentiment with the Love Letters set from Lawn Fawn in berry burst.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up "delightful daisy" collection. The bottom rectangle panel is part of the Year of Cheer Specialty designer paper also from Stampin-Up. It is shiny so I covered the optional and also with the wink of stella I added to the snowflakes.

I finished off my card by adding a few snowflakes to the top of the card. I did that to balance it out a bit.

 

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

 

card details:

Stamps: love letters (Lawn Fawn)

Paper: old olive, whisper white, daffodil delight, berry burst, pool party, baked brown sugar, choc chip, basic black, year of cheer specialty dsp, delightful daisy dsp (Stampin'-Up)  

Paper Size: A2  

Ink: berry burst

Accessories: cocoa & sweet treats die (CottageCutz), wink of stella (Kuretake)  

I am also entering:
1.  C.R.A.F.T. Challenge is 3 of a kind.
2.  Crafting with an Attitude has an anything goes challenge.
3.  Cute Card Thursday has an anything goes challenge.

Falling Leaves Thank You

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog this final Sunday in October.

It's a rainy and damp day here in Pittsburgh. I am sitting here typing up my post enjoying a hot cup of coffee. I wanted to turn the fireplace on but I always like my hubby to be here for the first start of the year. We have a gas fireplace so I just like him to turn it on. But, today he is at work so no fire for me.

Yesterday, I had some of my stamping friends over for a fun day of crafting. Everyone was working on different projects. I pulled out one of my Stampin'-Up Paper Pumpkin kits to work on. I was able to make 7 cards. The kit includes a gift box to give the cards away. I plan on giving them to a friend for Christmas.

I will post pictures of those cards later. Today's card is another one I made using a different Paper Pumpkin kit. This one is the September falling leaves kit. I made this one using the colors from CC654. Stef was the hostess and she chose cajun craze, crushed curry and fresh fig as her color trio. Optional this week is metallics.

cajun craze, crushed curry, fresh fig

For my card, I used elements from the September "falling leaves" Stampin’-Up Paper Pumpkin kit. The large background die-cut leaf was already blended with cajun craze. I used the leaf stamp from the kit and stamped the leaf veins in Cajun craze ink.

The 3 smaller crushed curry leaves were stamped on very vanilla cardstock with another stamp from this kit. I fussy cut these leaves. The kit also had gold metallic leaf stickers that I used for the dessert option. Layered the gold leaf on top of the other leaves.

I scattered some sprigs and leaves cut in cajun craze and fresh fig cardstocks. These are from the CottageCutz pine spray die.

On my background I used the Stampin’-Up pinewood planks embossing folder. I splattered some cajun craze ink with a spritzer tool on the embossed panel.

To complete my card I stamped my “thank you” sentiment on the metallic die-cut tag that was also included in the kit. And, that's it for me for today Blogger friends. So until next time.......God bless.

card details:

Stamps: layered leaves (September 2017 Paper Pumpkin Kit) 

Paper: Cajun craze, very vanilla, fresh fig 

Paper Size: A2  

Ink: Cajun craze, crushed curry 

Accessories: September Paper Pumpkin Kit, spritzer tool, pinewood planks ef (Stampin’-Up) Pine Spray die (CottageCutz)  

dies used:

I am also entering:

1.  Addicted To Stamps has an Autumn challenge.

2.  Challenge Up Your Life has a die-cuts challenge.

3.  Polka Doodles has an anything goes challenge.