Flourishes Floral Finesse Challenge

It's almost time for another Flourishes release! In anticipation of the release, Flourishes is hosting a Floral Finesse Challenge. The challenge is to use your favorite flower color as inspiration for your card. As you can tell from my blog's name, I love violets. I have them in my garden from fall through spring. And the first Flourishes set I purchased was Sweet Violets. So I had no problem choosing the inspiration for this card. I colored the violets with Prismacolor pencils. I gave my card a vintage feel with the trim, and what a find that button was! When I finished the card, it reminded me of my grandmother. I think my love of gardening comes from my grandparents who grew beautiful flowers and had such a neat little green house.


While my violets are struggling right now in the cold, they still have some blooms along with a the camellias (of course, I have to have camellias--my given name is Camellia). The violets' smiling faces make me happy when I look out the kitchen window.

Cammie

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Violets (Flourishes)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Paper: Plum Pudding, Vintage Cream (PTI)
Other: Trim (Wrights). ribbon (Hobby Lobby),Button -Plum Pudding Vintage Buttons(PTI)

Flower Fairy Christmas Tags

Good Monday morning. How are your holiday preparations progressing? I haven't finished my shopping. I still need to find gifts for my sister and a few for my husband. His main gift is a new driver that he ordered.
I needed to make some more Christmas tags since I gave my sister all that I had made. Yesterday I finished my Christmas cards, did a little more Christmas decorating, and then made a few tags using these delightful images from The Graphics Fairy.

I have always been fascinated with fairies. I even searched for a fairy ring in Ireland as I explained here. After printing the images, I used Nestabilities to cut the images and the bases. I aged the tags using Antique Linen (Ranger).A Gelly Roll pen adds shimmer to some of the berries. The sentiments are from Mixed Messages, Mega Mixed Messages, and Signature Christmas (all PTI) and stamped in Pure Poppy ink (PTI). The holly was cut from gold glittered card stock from Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for stopping by,
Cammie

Sugar-Coated Saturday

Sugar-coated trees. Cotton-flocked shrubs. Our first snow of the season fell this morning. Although paved areas are clear now and the ground is peaking through its white blanket, the woods are a wintry delight, while I'm cozy inside with one cat curled in a chair and the other patiently perched on his table, watching Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal dine at the snow covered bird feeder. A perfect day to finish the Christmas decorating and to make some cards.

This card is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge. This week's host, Maki Jones, challenges us to make a clean simple card. I love this Flourishes stamp, Winter Bouquet, which I colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cammie

Supplies:

Stamps:Winter Bouquet (Flourishes), Vintage Labels (PTI)

Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)

Paper: Vintage Cream, Berry Sorbet, Holiday Vintage Prints(PTI)

Other: Holly Punch,Glitter (Martha Stewart), Craft Board(Ellen Hutson), Satin Ribbon (Hobby Lobby)

Flashing Mouse

I guess it really is time to seriously start the holiday planning. I love making lists and checking off items.
These are holiday planners that I am going to give my female guests on Thanksgiving. This will be especially perfect for our niece who after dinner likes to go through the all the ads from the newspaper and plan her shopping for the weekend. Do you shop on Black Friday? While I love a sale and bargains, I rarely shop the weekend after Thanksgiving. I'm not into shopping with crowds. So I think I'll be home decorating for Christmas.

Now about today's post title.

One of the benefits of living in a log house is never having to worry that your house is so air tight that harmful gases will be trapped inside. Ha! Ha! Even though we have caulked and filled in gaps with insulation and foam, there are still small openings for fresh air and critters to enter our house. So it is not uncommon for little mice to visit us. A good sign before the obvious tell-tale signs is our cats will start to hang out in the kitchen and want to check out the cabinet under the sink. Last week our uninvited guest had visited a drawer in the kitchen. I have my HRT, for you youngsters, hormone replacement, stored in a tray in the drawer. It is packaged in the bubble format with foil. Well, as I prepared to pop my pill from the pack, I noticed the plastic on one of the pills was open and on closer inspection noticed part of the pill was missing. Then I noticed another and another and another and another. That little mouse had nibbled on about 10 pills. (On my last doctor's visit, my doctor had mentioned I might want to try taking hormones every other day, so I decided this was the month to go every other day.I couldn't imagine telling the pharmacist that a mouse ate my Prempro.) I hope the little mouse's hot flashes were less severe right up to the point where she sprung the trap two days later. Poor little mousie.

Joy and Wonder

"In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth"

"Standing on the bare ground,--my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space,--all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God."

There are so many quotations by Emerson that I love. These two from Nature are among those favorites. For me, a day in the woods is a day filled with joy. Any concerns and worries are diminished. And the mountains fill me with wonder.

You know I love hiking, and Monday was a perfect day--sunny and temperatures in the 60s. So we headed out Monday morning to Newfound Gap at the Tennessee and North Carolina border,where Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the Smoky Mountain National Park 75 years ago. We hiked along the Appalachian Trail. We talked briefly to a thru-hiker. I say briefly because his pace was much faster than ours as he was hiking his 20 miles for the day. (And I was proud of my 8 miles:)) He started the 1900 miles of the AT in Maine in June and is scheduled to finish in Georgia in 2 1/2 weeks. I so admire those who hike the entire AT, but I am quite happy to hike parts of it.

This is one of those views that fill me with wonder.

This outcrop was our destination.

It's called----

Here's the story behind the name. In 1929, mountaineer Horace Kephart and others stopped at this point. Supposedly, a man named Charlie removed his shoe. When Kephart saw the similarities between Charlie's afflicted foot and the rock formation, he said he was going to put Charlie's bunion on the map.

Here's another view of Charlie's Bunion.

And my husband on top

And me near the top

Some views from Charlie's Bunion

The highest mountain in this next photo is Mount Leconte,at 6,593 feet the third highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

And now a little Christmas joy and wonder.

I adore Webster's Pages Petite Papers. They are gorgeous! I just want to thumb through them, and I feel I can't add anything to the beauty of these papers. But I make myself use them.For this card I stamped a flourish and added a glittery snowflake. Super easy!

I

And a second card to add to the Christmas stash.

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:

Joy and Wonder

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes,Holiday Wishes (PTI)

Ink: Ocean Tides (PTI)

Paper: Petite Papers Holiday Collection(Webster's Pages), Ocean Tides,Stampers Select White (PTI)

Other: Create a Flake 1 (Spellbinders), glitter

Warm Winter Wishes

Stamp: Vintage Christmas (Clear Art Stamps), Stocking Prints, Holiday Wishes (PTI)

Ink: Ripe Avocado (PTI)

Paper: Petite Papers Holiday Collection(Webster's Pages), Sweet Blush,Vintage Cream, Stampers Select White (PTI)

Other: Labels 4 (Spellbinders), Flower Die(Cuttlebug), Smoky Quartz Glitter (Martha Stewart),Vintage Cream Button (PTI)

FTTC -Treat Box

I made this small treat box, using one of Lauren Meader's Timeless Templates,for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge. The Flourishes blog design team is celebrating the Flourishes release this week . One of the new sets to be released on Friday is a beautiful labels set. Therefore, Dee Jackson, the challenge host this week, is challenging everyone to decorate a box or bag.

The box is made from PTI's Ripe Avocado cs. The decorative panel on the box is Flourishes background stamp, Holly, stamped in Ripe Avocado. The 3-d ornament is based on the ones Betsy Veldman made here. I used a stamp from Flourishes All That Glitters set. I colored the ornament with Copics and then went over it with a Stardust Gellyroll pen. (The photos don't adequately capture the sparkle of the ornament.) The top of the ornament was colored with a gold pen. I threaded embroidery thread through the top of the ornament and tied it to the satin bow.

I think I'll tell my husband a lovely small piece of jewelry will fit nicely in this box. LOL!!!

Finally Finished

This is a card I started over a month ago, and then it was put aside. I had a layout all ready earlier. But the other day when I got around to finishing the card, I couldn't remember the layout. Guess I better put more of those sketches to paper. So this is what I ended up with. I didn't have the right shade of contrasting buttons, so I went with green; that little bare rectangle in the lower corner had to have something. (The ornament and the paper match much better than the photo shows) Are you PTI fans getting ready for midnight on Saturday? I checked my shopping cart today, I already have enough for free shipping. I've got some tough choices and some editing to do.
Thanks for stopping by,
Cammie

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Swirls, Mixed Messages, Beyond Basic Borders (PTI)Ink: Ripe Avocado (PTI), Brick Versacraft,Gold (Martha Stewart)
Paper: Rustic Cream, Ripe Avocado (PTI), Graphic 45
Other: Buttons (PTI and Paper Studio)

Flourishes Challenges

This card is for two Flourishes challenges. For the Timeless Tuesday Challenge,Kimberly Crawford is "challenging us to a limited supplies challenge! Our challenge is to combine a colored image, texture or textures, and any shades of neutrals we want. You can pack on the layers and textures just make sure you include an image to color and use only neutral cardstock." I loved Kimberly's card, so I used it as my inspiration. I used a Cuttlebug flourish embossing folder and stamped the embossed panel with Versmark. The edges of the scalloped border are also inked with Versamark. The strawberry basket image is colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.

For the second Flourishes challenge, The Favorite Things Challenge, we must use a line from the song from The Sound of Music. I chose these lines-- "Brown paper packages tied up with strings,These are a few of my favorite things" No explanation needed here, except for the note that strawberries are among my favorite things. Although maybe I should have had used pumpkins instead of strawberries since recently I've been on a pumpkin kick, two loaves of pumpkin bread in the last few weeks and pumpkin waffles for breakfast this morning.

Supplies:

Stamps: Strawberries (Flourishes)

Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Versamark, Antique Linen (Ranger)Paper: Vintage Cream, Kraft (PTI)

Other: Rustic Cream Twine, Pure Poppy Vintage Button (PTI), embossing folder (Cuttlebug), embossing scalloped border punch (EK Success), oval Nestabilities)

A Little Christmas Joy

Happy Friday! Here's another card using PTI's Stocking Prints Stamp and other PTI products.

The stocking was stamped in Sweet Blush on Spring Moss Bitty Dot Basics paper and cut out. The cuffs were paper pieced in Sweet Blush. I used Ambassador Monogram Edition to stamp JOY. After punching each letter, I straight stitched each letter. After stamping Aqua Mist with Polka Dot Basics 1 in Versamark, I drew a wavy line and punched it. I erased the pencil marks, stitched this line, and added Sweet Blush Vintage Buttons. The stockings were attached with foam tape. The aqua panel was attached to a card base of Spring Moss.

The anticipation builds each day with the sneak peeks on Nichole's blog. I like the font for the Wish Big peek. I even drove right by Hobby Lobby yesterday (with my 40% off coupon in my purse), knowing the 15th is just around the corner and my PTI shopping cart will be loaded for checkout then. Will my resolve hold today when I will be near my favorite LSS?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Cammie

Baby's Stocking

This quick and easy card using Papertrey Stamps was one of my submissions to PTI's October GSS. The stocking is stamped in Pure Poppy on Spring Moss Bitty Dot Basics paper and cut out. The baby stamp is from Mixed Messages. The stocking is attached to a scalloped circle stamped with snowflakes from Winter Swirls in Spring Rain ink. This scalloped is adhered to a large scalloped circle of Spring Moss Bitty Dot Basics. The background panel uses Polka Dot Basics stamped in Versamark on Pure Poppy. The card base is Spring Moss. The focal image is attached to Spring Moss Twill Ribbon with Cream Rustic twine with a tiny red jingle bell. It would be easy to add a name and date to the back of scalloped circle. Then the bow could be untied and the circle used as an ornament. What an easy little keepsake for new parents and baby's first Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cammie

Christmas Wreath

A beautiful November to you! A brief post with a couple of Christmas cards using Flourishes Wreath stamps. Because the image stamps so darkly, I thought Copics would be a better choice for coloring that Prisma pencils. However, I have only a few Copics, so my color choices for the greenery were limited as was the color for the pine cones. The first card,using the smaller of the

images is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge to use a border.

The music strip was stamped with Altered Art (Crafty Secrets) in Vintage Sepia(Versafine); the printed paper is The Merry Days of Christmas (My Mind's Eye).

This second card is also an A2 card. Because the image is so big, I chose a simple layout.

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge 18 and Monday's Hike

I love the inspiration and the colors that Dawn McVey chose for this challenge. I'd love to have that fall arrangement at my house.

I used three of the snowflake stamps from Winter Swirls to create the background. I like that they match the snowflakes in the tree, also from Winter Swirls. Oh, of course they don't really match because no two snowflakes are the same. :) The sentiment is from Holiday Wishes.

The result is a fun Christmas card.

It's been a good day--laundry finished, bathrooms clean, pumpkin bread baked, and a trip to Hobby Lobby( My husband wanted to go to Lowe's to buy a new leaf blower, and I hated for him to go alone.Ok, Ok, I didn't mind if he went to Lowe's alone; there is a Hobby Lobby next door, and that 40% coupon needed to be used. I got the 1 3/4 circle punch I've needed.)

I seem to have recovered nicely from yesterday's hike on Rich Mountain (8.6 miles). After hiking for 30 minutes we began our ascent. After 45 minutes of going up the mountain, I was asking why I liked this hike. Oh, it's the 1 1/2 hours after the beginning when the hellish steep climb is over. The leaf color is still good but nearing the peek. It took us about 4 1/2 hours with only about 15 minutes of sitting. I was thrilled to see the car when we made it back to the parking area. Don't get me wrong, I love hiking, but, man, it sure was good to sit down on that padded car seat and take off those hiking boots.

A few pictures from the hike.

These views are worth the climb!

Aahhh! A level trail.

Cammie

Supplies:

Stamps: Winter Swirls (PTI), Holiday Wishes

Ink: Vintage Cream, New Leaf,
Raspberry Fizz (PTI), Rich Cocoa (Memento)

Paper: Kraft, Vintage Cream, Raspberry Fizz (PTI)

Other: New Leaf Twill ribbon, Raspberry Fizz Vintage Button, Cream Rustic Twine (PTI), Fiskars scalloped border punch, Spellbinders Nestabilities

PTI Blog Hop

Hello everyone! How fast the last ten days have gone. It's seems like we were just busy with the PTI release party and anxiously awaiting our orders. Then suddenly here is Blog Hop night. I was so certain I would have this post ready in advance. Ha! I made these favor boxes with the Tucked Away Timeless Template this afternoon.

I plan to make these favors for Christmas Day when my husband's family gathers at our house for dinner. Each Christmas, I make cookies, a tradition which began when I was a little girl. It just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make cookies. One of the favorites are bite size nut wafers. A few cookies in these boxes will be the perfect favors for everyone!

I won't get into Christmas planning mode for a few more weeks. I know Christmas decorations have been in some stores since July. And most stores will be in full Christmas mode after Halloween. However, I need the calendar to be a little closer to Thanksgiving before I pull out the Christmas-to-do list. When do you start preparing for the holidays?

I'm looking forward to checking out all the blogs tonight for some great holiday ideas.

Cammie

Supplies:

Stamps:Mega Mixed Messages(PTI), Holly(Flourishes)

Ink: Spring Moss, Pure Poppy

Paper: Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream(PTI)

Other: Christmas Red Stickles, Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities,

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

More Halloween

A few Halloween goodies to share today.

This first card is for the Crafty Secrets Challenge at SCS which is hosted this week by Pammyjo who challenged us to use a mask on a card and for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch. I had this cute image from Halloween Images and Journal Notes that met the requirement. You may need to click on the photo to see the little boy is holding a mask. The sentiment and tiny bat are also from Crafty Secrets Clear Art Stamps-Halloween. The orange cs was stamped with Polka Dot Basics(PTI) in Versamark.

The next two items are from the All Hallow's Eve workshop with Lisa Pace. Not being a big crepe fan, (I've seen too much bad decorating with crepe paper) Iwasn't that excited to see that many of the projects used it; however, after I made this ornament, I like the vintage look of it. And know I will use it more for a vintage look.

However, for the next project, an altered bingo card(Jenni Bowlin), I used ribbon instead of crepe paper.

The large image is from Halloween Images and Journal Notes and the smaller image from the workshop. A good source for vintage clip art is Vintage Holiday Crafts.

This last item is a small postcard based on Crafty Secrets Halloween Postcard kit which includes chipboard,vintage images, and a small stamp set. I used Spellbinders Label 4 die, a vintage image, and stamps to create this small postcard. This will fit in an A2 envelope. I think this is a good way to send a Halloween greeting and give the recipient a little holiday decoration. Wouldn't this look cute hanging from a cabinet or door knob?

Today I set out my terra cotta jack o lanterns along with a big metal Jack. Even though we haven't had any trick-or-treaters in over twenty years, I still like to do a little decorating on the front porch.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cammie

Here Comes the Sun and an Uggs Day

What?! A shadow...dappled leaves...a blue sky. Here comes the sun!. Kitties can find a sunny place to nap.

Yesterday was the coldest in a succession of gray, dreary days. I just couldn't get warm. So

I pulled out the Uggs (my winter flip-flops). Uggs and a cup of coffee and before long I was toasty.

I know, another post with this little witch from Halloween (Crafty Secrets), but I just love her, and I had to use this velvet ric rac I found at Michael's. This one is for my sister. I had to include the black cat, since I have a black cat, Gus, and we had a black cat, Inky, when we were growing up. I have a paper that my mother kept when I was in the first grade. (I won't go into how long ago that was.) Anyway, one of the sentences I printed on that special lined paper was "Inky is as black as a Halloweew cat." No, that is not a typo; that's how I spelled it when I was six. My sister and I still laugh about it. Now when Gus wakes, stands, stretches, arching his back, he looks just like a Halloweew :) cat, only with a much sweeter face.

Now a switch to Christmas and a softer card.

I stamped the santa from Vintage Christmas (Crafty Secrets) in Vintage Sepia ink on Rustic Cream cardstock(PTI). The music stamp is also from Vintage Christmas. I stamped it on a tag punch which is distressed with Antique Linen (Ranger). The snowflakes from Winter Swirls(PTI) were first stamped in Antique Linen and then stamped again in Versamark Dazzle Frost to add a little shimmer. The felt tree was cut with Spellbinders Shapebilities. The patterned paper is K and Co. Finishing touches--a few pearls, buttons,and twine.




Inside I used the sentiment from Holiday Wishes (PTI), the holly from Vintage Christmas, and Vintage Labels (PTI).

Enjoy the day!

Flourishes Make it Sparkle Challenge

This card shimmers more than sparkles, and I can't say that I am all that pleased with it. In fact, I made a second card for the challenge, but like it even less. My embossing powder skills need some refining, so I am going with this card that uses Martha Stewart gold ink and some Tattered Angels Mist to add the sparkle. I used Thinking of You stamps (Flourishes), white and ocean tides cs (PTI), and Spellbinders Nestabilities and Impressabilities.

I'm looking forward to tonight's Flourishes release; there are some absolutely stunning Christmas images. I especially like the Santa, wreath, and holly background stamps. You can see them here . Yep, I believe I am going to have to do some shopping tonight.

Well, it's a gray cool day here, so I'm headed to the kitchen to make a pot of chili.

Have a good weekend.

Pink-FTTC35

This week's Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge is to use pink since it is October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I know everyone has been touched in some way by this disease. Iwas twelve when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and fourteen when she died in October of my freshman year in high school. Oviously, such a profound loss affected me in many ways and for many years. It is so hopeful to see the ever increasing education, support, and research today.


For this card I stamped Gerbera Daisies (Flourishes) in Rich Cocoa, colored with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out. The plaid and polka panels are mounted on Sweet Blush (PTI).A little twine around the stem completes this bouquet of daisies perfect for a friend.

Ellen Hutson Challenge-EHWCMD 7

I can't believe how many posts I've made today, trying to get in some of the challenges sponsored by different companies. I think this will be the last one. This challenge was to create a Christmas Card. My inspiration was Mary Englebrecht. I love the vibrant colors she uses.

I used PTI's Vintage Picnic, one of my favorite stamp sets. The picnic basket was stamped on kraft cs, cut out, and raised with foam tape. The tree, wreath, and gift are colored with Prisma pencils. Certainly this is not a typical Christmas card, and honestly, not one I will give this year.

PTI WCMD Challenges 1 and 2

The first PTI challenge for WCMD is to create a card inspired by Japanese culture.

I chose a very simple layout and image. The image and sentiment are from Life(PTI).

The second challenge uses Mexico as the inspiration.

I chose the vibrant colors of this culture for the inspiration of my Christmas card. I used Winter Swirls stamp set. I stamped the stars in Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, New Leaf (PTI) and London Fog(Memento).

Thanks for stopping by.