FSS - Emma the Cat - Halloween Card

It's really hard for me to believe that Halloween is right around the corner already.

The inspiration for my card started with this week's sketch challenge from Eat, Sleep, & Stamp Blog.

I then chose this fun decoupage image from Fred She Said called Emma the Cat. This really was so fun to make because it is an entire decoupage sheet. The Purple background sheet and the orange plaid stripe were also included.  Then there is the pre-colored images of Emma and layered pieces printed several times for fussy cutting and layering.  You really can't see all the layers in the photo, so here is a close up of the many layers.

I love Hand stitching on my cards but this one was a little too busy for that so I just hand stitched around the edge of the card with a simple back-stitch.

The leaves were cut using a sizzix die then shadded with some copic markers for a little dimension. The flower was cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge exclusively through Close to my Heaert. I added some purple faux flower soft to the center of the flower.

The Trick or Treat sign is held up with a Foundry Pin Clip also from Close to my Heart. I added a small bow with purple bakery twine.

Other Challenges for this card:

Secret Crafter - Halloween

Wee Memories - Favorite Technique - Hand Stitching,Shading within Nestie Die, Decoupage

Frosted Designs - Fussy Cutting

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Halloween

Srampin for the Weekend - What a Cutie

If the shoe fits...Scrap it! - Inspiration Photo

Stampin' Bee's - Halloween

Stamp Insanity - Photo inspiration

Come and Get It - Halloween

Corrosive Challenge - Purple Passion

My Grafico - Halloween

One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi

Paper Sundaes - Lots of Layers

Pile it On! - Do it for Fun

Sentimentsl Sunday - Stitching + a sentiment

Paper Creation Ink - Black and/or Orange

Stamp with Fun - Halloween

The Pink Elephant - Trick or Treat

Victorine Stamps - Halloween

Anything Goes - Die Cuts or Punches

Clear It Out - Halloween

Colorful Creations Sketch Challenge - Pumpkins and Sunflowers

I have a fabulous sketch challenge and card to share with you today. I had been asked to be a Guest Designer this week at Colorful Creations Sketch Challenge. I feel so honored to be asked to be a  part of the  fabulous designers of this group today. Here is the sketch. Come on over and play with us.

For my card, I used a gorgeous pre-colored image from Fred SheSaidcalled Pumpkins and Sunflowers.  The pumpkin image was printed three times then two of them were fussy cut and layered with foam tape for lots of dimension.  The sunflower at the bottom was actually from a scrap left over from a card I made a few days ago. That was also fussy cut and layered with foam tape.

The papers, ribbon and pearls are from Close to my Heart.

The green swirlies at the bottom of the card were cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge which is exclusive to CTMH.

The worrd "Thankful", also from the pumpkins and sunflowers digi set is attached to the card using a "Foundry Pin Clip" from CTMH.

The Hand Stitching around the card was done with matching Embroidery Floss.

A few other challenges this card was made for:
Crafts 4 eternity - Anything Goes
Frosted Designs - Fussy cutting
Delightful Challenges - Pearls and Swirls
Dolce Stamps and Cards - Fall Colors
Dutch Dare - Bingo - Ribbon, Flowers, Die Cuts
Paper-Crafting Journey - Die Cuts
Southern Girls - Anything Goes
Die Cuttin Divas - Vintage or Shabby Chic
Stamping Boutique - Change of the Seasons
Creative Craft World - Autumn/Fall
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - Anything Goes
Fab 'N' Funky - 1 ribbon, 2 dp's, 3 gems
Freshly Brewed - Fall/Autumn
Inky Impressions - Punches or Dies
All Sorts - At least 5 flowers

Sweet Moments

This card is far from my normal style of card making. All of my cards have been larger cards with hand stitching on it. This one is your standard 4.25 x 5.5 card. I sometimes have a hard time making these small cards but have decided to add some smaller and less expensive ones for my etsy shop.


Anyway, this card was inspired by a sketech from Market Stress Stamps Sketch Challenge .
All products used are from Close to my Heart. There are lots of layers here that you can't see on the picture.
I used the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge to cut out many of the shapes.This cart is exclusive through CTMH.  I added two small brown flower buttons and some jute to adorn the card and the stamping is done using the Sweet Moments Clear acrylic stamp set. I can see a lot more cards coming out if this set.

Other Challenges this card was made for:
Die Cuttin Diva's - Shabby Choc or Vintage
Paper and Such - Recipe - Designer paper, twine, 2 buttons
Sarah Hurley - Vintage

Fred-She-Said Fabulous Fall Blog Hop

Welcome to the Fred-She-Said Fabulous Fall Blog Hop. Hop along with us and not only will you see some amazing artwork from the Design Team but you could win some fabulous prizes.

Here's how to play along: Start here at the FSS Blog . From there you will visit the next blog as designated there, leave a sweet comment for each of us and pick up the secret word. Then continue to the next person and do the same throughout until you reach the challenge blog where you will be given final directions for your secret sentence.

Here's what you could win:
$15 Gift Voucher to Bearly Mine Designs.
$10 Prize Package of yummy goodies chosen by Judy from PizzazzAPlenty
$30 Gift Certificate to Fred She Said Store.
Entries close on Friday September 30th at Midnight EDT and winners will be announced Saturday October 1st.
So, now lets get on with the hop. If you've come here from Debbie's Blog, you're on the right path.

My card today was inspired by a sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.

The Gorgeous Sunflower pre-colored images are from Fred She Said. The set is called Sunflowers and Thankfulness. This is such a beautiful set. I wish I could have made cards with every image and sentiment in it. However, I was having some printer issues so I had to stamp the Thinking of you.

The papers are from the Dreamin Paper pack from Close to my Heart. I'm having a bit of trouble getting away from this paper. I just love it but I think I've been making too many cards with it lately. But, it is perfect for Fall Cards.
The Hand Stitching was done with Matching Blue Embroidery Floss.

My word for you is "Autumn". Now hop on over to Robin's blog for her fabulous artwork and her secret word.

Yellow Hollyhocks

Happy Labor Day

Today I'm posting my last Hollyhock card. I had so much fun making these cards durting our power outage now I have to get down to other business.

The inspiration for this card came from the August Verve Sketch Challenge.
I used the Yellow Hollyhocks from the Hollyhock collection from Fred She Said.
I also used the Ornate Butterfly Digi from FSS.

All papers, ribbon, Half Pearls and the Thinking of You are from Close to my Heart.

The Hand Stitching was done with Matching Blue Embroidery Floss.

Vintage Pink Hollyhocks

Here is day four of my Hollyhock cards. The inspiration for this card came from the Verve August sketch challenge.
The image used is the Hollyhock collection from Fred She Said. This collection comes in a digi form and pre-colored. I used the Vintage Pink color for my card.

The papers, ribbon and half pearls are all from Close to my Heart. I added just a drop of glitz glitter gel to the center of each flower for just a little sparkle.
The Hand Stitching was done with matching Embroidery Floss.

Purple Hollyhocks

Happy Labor Day Weekend. I can hardly believe the summer is over already. I wouldn't mind all of the seasons flying by so quickly if I wasn't getting older along with it! *Ü*

Here is the 3rd of 5 cards I made during my power outage. The sketch is from Verve August sketch challenges. This card is purple and green. I used the purple pre-colored holly hocks from Fred She Said and the Ornate Butterfly Digi which I colored with Copic Markers to martch. I added light green sparkles to the butterflies' bodies. White half pearls adorn the rest of the card along with Matching Embroidery Floss for the Hand Stitching in the corners of the card.

All papers, pearls and sparkles are from Close to my Heart.

White Hollyhocks

Here is day 2 of my Hurricane Irene power outage creations.
This color combination is one of my favorites. It's Twilight and sweetleaf. All papers, ribbons, half pearls, stick pins, and tag cut from the exclusive Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge are all from Close to my Heart.

The image is from the Fred She Said Hollyhock collection. These  images come in a digi form or 8 pre-colored versions. I had so much fun playing with five different colors.

The sketch is from the Verve August sketch challenge.

The Hand Stitching was done with white Embroidery Floss.

Other Challenges this card is submitted to:
Stampin' B's - Use a clip or a pin.
Cuddly Buddly - Vintage, Distressing & Flowers
Sisterhood of Crafters - Flower Power
Stamp Something - Get Your Digi On
All Sorts - Blue & Green

Red Hollyhocks

Well, we had an earth quake and Hurricane Irene all in the same week with a four day power outage. So the cards I post in the next five days are what I created while there was nothing much else to do.

This card was using a Verve Sketch Challenge.
Fred She Said just recently released the Hollyhock Digi and pre-colored images. Today I am using the Red Hollyhocks which I teamed up with Red, White and Blue papers from Close to my Heart.
I added red sparkles to the flowers above the Thinking of you as well as to dod the "i"'s. The I added light blue sparkles to the centerds of the Hollyhocks.

The Hand Stitching was done with Red Embroidery Floss.

Challenges that this card was submitted to"
Cute Card Thursday - Use at least one punch
Charisma Cards - Anything Goes
Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog - Bling and Sparkle

Butterflies & Blossoms-2

Well, I'm finally back from four days with no power due to a power outage from Hurricane Irene. 


I made a card before the power went out for a challenge at Flourishes Birthday Hop Challenge but never got to post it.
So here is it. I'm trying to make this quick since I don't know if the power will stay on or go out again.

My card was made with Flourishes stamp set "Butterflies & Blossoms". This set is gorgeous. I'm in love with those Butterflies. .The images were stampede and colored with Copic Markers. The flowers and butterflies were stamped and colored several times them then cut out & layered for more dimension.

The papers are all from Close to my Heart . The glitter on the Butterflies is from Martha Stuart.

The Hand Stitching around the card was done with my own unique design and  matching Embroidery Floss.

Butterflies & Blossoms

Today I have a card for you made with Fourishes Butterflies and Blossoms Stamp set. This card was made for the Page Maps Blog Sketch Challenge where flourishes is one of the sponsors along with Basic Grey. The prize is to die for. You can never have too many of these gorgeous stamps. I sure wish I had more.

The paers, ribbons, stick pins and glitter gel glitz are all from Close to my Heart. 
The Flowers and Butterflies were stamped with Memento Black Ink then heat embossed with Clear Detail Embossing Powder to give it a little added dimension. They were then colored with Copic Markers.
The Butterflies were stamped and colored twice, then cut out and layered with foam tape on the wings for more dimension. I touched their wings with stardust glitter gel glitz.
I added some Faux Flower Soft to the centers of the flowers
I had these stick pins fro a few years and never used them before. I thought they aded the finishing touch to this card. I just wish I could get my pictures of my cards to look as good as they do in person.

The Hand Stitching was done with matching Embroidery Floss.

Other Challenge Blogs this card was made for:
Flutterby Wednesday - Anything Goes - Butterflies
Freshly Brewed - Emboss It
Sisterhood of Crafters - Flower Power 
Truly Scrumptious - Rocked Up Pink
Whimsie Doodle - Anything Goes
Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes
Die Cut Dreams - Pink, Green & Coffee

Thanks a Bunch Roses card

Well, I had my first experience with an Earth Quake yesterday. I live in Eastern PA and there was a 5.9 Earth Quake in Virginia. Which they say was felt as far north as Toronto Canada and East to Chicago. I was sitting out on my deck with the grandkids, who were quietly eating a frozen yogurt pop. All of a sudden, the deck started swaying and the table and my laptop shook. There was a slight breeze blowing and I thought, “Oh my, this isn’t good.” I never even thought of it being a quake until my daughter emailed me and asked if I felt the quake.

So, that was my excitement for yesterday. Now Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the East Coast later this week. They expect this to be the worst hurricane to hit the New York and surrounding area since the 1940’s. I sure wish I would have invested in a generator.

So, here is my card for today. I killed two birds with one stone. This card was made for the Flourishes’ Timeless Tuesday Challenge, All About Your Sentiment. I used the sentiments from the Flourishes Zinnias Stamp Set. Then to fulfill my DT obligation to Fred She Said, I used the Roses from the Hearts and roses set and the Summer Roses Digital Papers by Bearly Mine.

I added a few half pearls and the Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

I am also submitting this card for the Crazy 4 Challenges Blog this week where Flourishes is the sponsor.
It's a Bingo Challenge. My card has Die cuts, Ribbon and the sentiments are embossed with clear EP.

FSS Light Blue Hydrangeas

Welcome to my Blog. It's been one heck of a summer. Scorching hot weather and absolutely no time for creating. I’ve been in withdrawal. Not only from creating, but from my stitching.

So, here is the first of many, I hope!!! But, be warned, I may start sneaking Christmas in here too!!!

My card was inspired by the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge.

This card was made using the new release from Fred She Said called Hydrangea Bouquet. You can purchase this as a Digi to color yourself, or as a sets of 7 colored jpegs. I’ve used one of the colored images. Why change perfection!!!
I also used the Ornate Butterfly Digi and colored them with copic markers.

The papers are all from Close to my Heart and the Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

I added a little of the Stardust Glitter Glitz, also from CTMH, to the tops of the flowers and some light green sparkles to the butterflies and tiny blue sparkles to the flourish that was cut out with the NEW Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge from Close to my Heart.
This cart can be purchased as a set with chipboard shapes and three stamp sets that all match cut outs from this cartridge. If you'd like more information about this cart, just send me an email. Or, you can see what all is in it or purchase it at the link above .

Here are a few other challenge blogs I made this card for:
All Sorts - You've been framed
CMC Copic Challenge - Winged Things
Ellephantastic - Add some layers
Paper Creations Ink - Show us your flowers
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes
The Pink Elephant - Stitching
Victorine Originals - Birthday

Fred She Said Favorites Blog Hop

Welcome to another fabulous Fred She Said Blog Hop.

The theme is favorites. It really is difficult for me to pick a favorite Fred She Said image, since I absolutely LOVE them all. So, I picked one of her latest releases as my favorite this time called Sentimental Flower Doodledallion. I used the pre-colored images but you can also get the digi's to color yourself.

So, let's get on with the hop. If you've come here from Robin's Blog, you are on the right track.

If you just happened upon my blog and want to hop along and have some fun and a change to win some fabulous prizes, then go to the Fred She Said Blog so you can start at the beginning.

Fred She Said Favorites HOP - HOW TO ENTER

To ENTER, please leave a comment on each BLOG HOP POST. There will be ONE winner. A random hop post will be chosen and then a comment on that post will be chosen randomly to win. BLOG HOP closes Friday, JULY 29 midnight EDT so please leave your comments by then ;) Commenting on ALL the hop stops is not necessary to WIN... BUT it definitely increases your chances of winning ;) and spreads some LOVE! Please make sure you leave your name in your comment! NOTE: some DT's moderate their comments for evil spam so please be patient if you don't see your comment right away.

THE PRIZE:
£15 Gift Voucher to Bearly Mine Designs
$15 Prize Package of yummy goodies chosen by Judy from Pizzazz APlenty
$30 Gift Certificate to the Fred She Said Store

The WINNER will be announced Saturday morning July 30th on the Fred She Said Blog AND the FSS Challenge Blog.

Now that you know how the game is played, I'd love for you to leave me some lovin and then hop on over to Donna's Blog and see what fabulous artwork she has to share today.

Red Peonies in a Jar and Corner Peony

Welcome to Day 1 of a week long fabulous sale on the Peony in a Jar and Corner Peony Digi's and Pre-colored images over at Fred She Said. You have until June 19th at Midnight EDT to pick these up for 40% off. You need to check out all the gorgeous colors in these sets.

My card today is made with both sets. The fabulous thing about Digi's is the fact that you can print them any size. The original image of the Peony in a Jar has just one flower. BUT, I printed out two more in smaller sizes to make it look like there are three flowers in that jar. Then I printed out the Red Corner Peony for the lower right corner to follow the sketch.

The beginning inspiration for this card came from a Sketch at Ribbon Carousel challenge blog  The papers are from the Wings collection from Close to my Heart. I used the reverse Juniper sides of the two papers but they just looked too plain with this image that I ran them through the cuttlebug embossing folder.

I hand stitched around the card with red Embroidery Floss to help make the images POP!!!
I then added Red Sparkles, also from CTMH, in all the corners.