Loss of Beloved Pet

Hello crafty friends.

Today I have a couple cards I made for friends/family

who have lost beloved pets recently.

This is such a sad reason to make a card.

There's a perfect stamp set from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps

called Furry Angels for these type of cards.

When challenged with making difficult subject

cards, I look for sketches to give me a framework

to focus on.  The current Freshly Made Sketches

sketch #382 was perfect for keeping it simple

and yet beautiful.  Both of the cards use it. 

Both images are colored with copic markers & fussy cut.

Here's the first one - I colored it to look 

like my sister's sweet Jack Russell Terrier

named Jackie Ringo.  He was such a sweetie. 

And here's the second for my friend

I'm sharing these cards in the following challenges:

Top card

Alphabet Challenge Blog - A is for Animals

Jo's Scrap Shack Fun Friday Challeges FFC#276 - Always Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges - Animal Antics

The Twisted Challenges #10 - Use Animals and Give Them Wings

Bottom Card

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #25 - April Challenge

Dare2BArtzy - April Challenge Animals

Fab N Funky Challenge #434 - Just Use Ink

Freshly Made Sketches #382 (see below)

Thanks for popping in to visit me today and 

allowing me to share my creations.  Hugs! D

Kraftin' Kimmie Challenges #464 - Flowers

Hello crafty friends - Happy Weekend!

The theme for this week's challenge at

KRAFTIN' KIMMIE CHALLENGES

is.... FLOWERS. 

You can interpret this however you wish...

as long is you include flowers.  You can add flowers 

to your creation, you can make a flower shaped creation,

you can use flowered papers on your creation, or of course

you can use flower images on your card, scrapbook page

3D or altered item.  We just wanna see some flowers

somewhere, somehow on your entry.

And of course, we especially LOVE it when you share 

your creations with us using Kraftin' Kimmie products!! 

My creation is a sympathy card for a friend.

The background was made using the NEW

Happy Hearts Stencil (just released last week) 

with Bubbly Blue hybrid ink.

The pretty blue flowers are from Buds and Blooms

(the green leaves were stamped with Mossy Meadow KKS ink).

The sentiment is from a retired KKS rubber stamp set.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

CAS on Friday Challenge #149 "FLOWERS"

Just Add Ink #440 Add Something NEW

(my new is the heart stencil)

Moving Along with the Times 89 - Have a Heart

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #324 - Clean and Simple

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges (1/16/19) CAS

  Thanks so much for visiting me today. 

Take time to smell the flowers (even the imaginary ones).

Hugs! D

Stenciled Background Sympathy Cards

Hello sweet friends,

I'm sharing a couple sympathy cards I made yesterday

using a beautiful and versatile new stencil called Sweater Weather 

from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. I also used the hybrid inks from 

Kraftin' Kimmie - Bubbly Blue (brand new) for the background, 

Purple Petunia for the setiment, and Purple Pansy for the 

floral image on the second card.  I love these new inks. 

Here's the first card.  I sponged a little "heavier"

on the stencil to get a deeper background color. 

For this card, I wanted the background to be very subtle

so I sponged very lightly through the stencil.

The sentiment on both of these cards is a retired 

rubber stamp set from Kraftin' Kimmie. 

The flower image on the second card is from Stampin' Up.

 I tend to only make sympathy cards as I need to send them out.  

Making sympathy cards seems to be such a struggle for me. The reason 

for them makes me so sad, and yet I know that they are probably

some of the most appreciated cards that I send out. Do you 

struggle with making these as well?   

I was seeking inspiration to help me make these cards and found the 

following card challenge themes to help me 

Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C460 "Use less Stuff Day - One layer cards"

Little Red Wagon Challenges #471 "Just A Sentiment"

I'm also entering the Kraftin' Kimmie Release Week Anything Goes Challenge 

and Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #317 Make Your Mark

Thanks so much for stopping in to visit me today.

Big crafty hugs to each of you! D

Kraftin' Kimmie Challenges #340 - Create a Stamped Background

Happy weekend friends and followers!

Today is the start of another great theme challenge

at KRAFTIN' KIMMIE Challenges and this

week our hostess is the lovely Krafty Girl Martha

who has selected the theme this week of

"Create A Stamped Background".

I'm a self-proclaimed patterned paperholic but I think that 

making your own background (or patterned paper) is SUPER FUN! 

There are so many awesome Kraftin' Kimmie stamp sets

that can be used for this - either individually or combined,
as I'm sure you'll see if you visit the blogs of the other
Krafty Girls who have made creations to inspire you this week.

Today my card features the stamp sets called

"Totally Paw-some " and "Sincere Sympathy" which
I used to make a card for a friend who recently
lost her dog (her first baby).  

I'd love to enter this card in the following challenges:

Fab N Funky Challenges #313 - Add a Sentiment

Craft Your Passion Challenges #320 Always Anything Goes

Ruby's Rainbow Challenges #133 Make Your Own Background

Come play along with us this week - we LOVE to see 

your creations in our gallery and oh by the way you

also have a chance to WIN a $20 gift card to the KKShop

for playing along (see challenge post for details).

Have you joined the Kraftin Kimmie's Krafty Friends fb group?
It's the best place to keep up with all of the goings on as well as
sharing YOUR creations and getting inspired by other
Krafty Friends' creations!

Time is almost out! If you want in on the
Surprise Christmas Krafty Guest Kit,
you'd better pop on over and order NOW!
This weekend is your LAST CHANCE!!
While you're ordering your kit, take advantage
of the Frugal Friday sale! It ends on Sunday too!!

Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge #297 - With Sympathy

Hello sweet friends and followers! 

It's Saturday and you know what that means at 

KRAFTIN' KIMMIE STAMPS

a new weekly challenge!

But here's a couple special announcements first...

Did you hear about the Krafty Koffee Krop this weekend?
There is a LIVE event at Kimmie's place and four SPECIAL ON-LINE challenges.
There are some amazing sponsor prizes for these challenges - so make sure
 to check it out between 8AM and 4:00 PM EST to play along.
Join us on the Event Page for some fun chatter & challenges
 with prizes from some great sponsors!

To celebrate the Krafty Koffee Krop, all stamps on sale for 20% off!!!
All you have to do is use the code KOFFEE when you check out!
FINE PRINT... when using the code, please only have stamps in your order.
If you'd like to also order non-stamp items, please place a 2nd order for those
items.  The sale starts today and ends Sunday night!

Today the NEWEST Sentiment set called SINCERE SYMPATHY 

(designed by Becky) is being released.

Isn't it gorgeous?  Such beautiful sentiments and fonts!

Here's a card I made with it:

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenges - September
Crafting from the Heart Challenge #76 - Anything Goes

We always enjoy your creations so be sure to submit them so you
 can have a chance to WIN a $20 gift card to the Shop!! Show us your stuff!!
Til next time peeps...hugs!! D

Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday - Anything Goes

Hello wonderful crafty friends it's Wonderful Wednesday time

again at KRAFTIN' KIMMIE!!

And as it always is on Wednesdays the theme is ANYTHING GOES!! 

Break out your Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and get krafty and come join the fun.

I should be focusing on Summer right now as it isn't going
to last a whole lot longer. But I've been in a bit of a
fall and halloween mood lately and decided to play
with the Halloween Trinkets for my card today - take a peek:

That fun sentiment is heat embossed and punched out with
a circle punch and then layered on another stitched
circle die for more texture and dimension.  I also have some dry
embossing going on with that fun spider web panel.
Do  you see all the fun little spiders in the background paper??
That's the ONLY time you will hear me say that a spider is cute - LOL!!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
CAS-UAL Chic CCC01: Embossing
Tip Top Tuesday - BINGO
(I used embossing, sentiment & punches/dies)

Have you seen our new challenge called the Krafty Skrappy Challenge 

AND the NEWest Stamp set?!? Click >here< to check it out and to see some 

samples using our NEW Scrapbook Essentials set!

Also the Linkie Party is also still open, click >here< to find out how 

you can join and play along with some Krafty Friends! 

Kimmie is offering some awesome and special prizes!  

Every 10 entries goes into a new prize drawing.

You have until August 2nd to link up.  

  

We want EVERYONE to be able to play along so your submission 

can use ANY stamp and can be any theme, any style, any design 

and it can be a card, a scrapbook page, an altered item....you name it!!

 It must be a NEW creation though and you can enter until July 28th at midnight! 

Til next time...hugs and happy kraftin'! D

Kraftin' Kimmie May Release Peek Day TWO - Sincere Sympathy

Welcome to Day TWO of the peeks from 

Kraftin' Kimmie's NEW Release for May, 2015.

Today we are featuring another amazing sentiment
set by artist Becky Pearce called "Sincere Sympathy".

Sympathy cards are sometimes hard to make but it really helps
when you have thoughtful and loving sentiments to choose from.

Here's my card for Day TWO peeks
using one of these beautiful sentiments and the May sketch

Here's the fabulous May sketch that I used

Are you planning to join us for our LIVE ONLINE RELEASE PARTY? 

 Hope you can join us for all the fun and excitement and prizes 

Saturday night beginning at 6pm EST!! Hope you can come 

hang out with the Krafty Girls and Guests!

Thanks so much for stopping in to visit me today.  Don't forget to 

go visit the rest of the lovely Krafty Gals and Guests (see links below)

for more AHmazing inspiration.  Til tomorrow...hugs and happy kraftin'! D

My Time to Craft #291 - Sympathy

Oh hey...thanks for popping in to visit me today!

Today I have a sympathy card to share with you 

for the current challenge at 

MY TIME TO CRAFT #291.

Sympathy cards are the hardest for me to make and

yet I think that they might be the most appreciated ones to receive.

Here's my card using an older stamp from my stash
and some beautiful blue papers. 

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenges -"Let's Get Sentimental"
Sister Act Card Challenges #105 "Anything Goes"
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenges - May "Anything Goes"

I hope that you will join us this week at MTTC.
The rest of the lovely ladies have made some very beautiful
sympathy cards to inspire you as well.  Please go visit them.

Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D

Praying for You - ATSM #97 Make Your Mark

Hello friends! Time for another great challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!

This week ATSM Challenge #97 is Make Your Mark.  

We have an awesome sponsor - Eureka Stamps with an awesome prize for our Top Addict.

Check out the official challenge to learn more.

 For my DT card this week I've used one of the sponsor images - take a look:

I had so much fun coloring this gorgeous image.

I even tried my hand at the subtly dotted background again.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit a butterfly habitat area

that was in the Smithonian Museum.  It was the most amazing experience to 

have all these beautiful butterflies floating around.  I'll never forget it.   

I've had a crazy last couple of weeks so I'll keep my post short for today. 

But I'm sure glad that you came by to visit me and I hope that you will 

also go check out the lovely creations that my fabulous DT pals

over at ATSM have made for you to as well.  You'll be really glad that you did!

Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting! D

'ABC' Challenges #44 - Sympathy

Hello dear friends and followers - Happy Monday to you!! Time for another challenge at 'ABC' Challenges.  Before I tell you about this week's challenge I would like to say that I was completely blown away by the amazing entries last week for the Use Your Markers Challenge - thank so much for continuing to support us and share your talents with us!  I came across a couple of blogs and talent that I just have to share with you at the end of this post.   So...back to this week's challenge ABC#44 - Sympathy.  Here's my DT card to share with you:

Sympathy cards are not something most of us think just to make - but sadly we do seem to need to have a couple on hand from time to time. I have found that it's very nice to have one to grab and send rather than try to make in a hurry (especially as my heart is breaking for someone for their loss).

 

I kept this one kind of subtle and added just a couple embellishments.  The background is made from a retired piece of Stampin Up DSP that I ran through the BigShot and the square lattice texture folder.  The paper was thin enough that the fibers came through so I sanded it a bit more to give it a uniform texture.  This is the first time I had used this particular stamp.  The flowers were a bit tricky for my tired eyes to color in but I like how it turned out.  Hope you do too. 

 

If you would like to have a sympathy card on hand to share with someone, please consider joining our challenge this week at 'ABC' Challenges.  The other ladies on the DT have also made some beautiful sympathy cards to share with and inspire you.

 

P.S. here are a couple of blogs that I visited last week that I really enjoyed:

 Nicole from Nicole's Craft Nook (thanks Nicole for being my newest follower too)

Lisa from WishCraft Cards 

Pam from Expressions from the Heart

and Pia from Pias Papir og Perler

 

Thanks so much for stopping by, I'm sure glad that you did! Hugs always and special hugs to dear Jeanette. D

 

 





    

Retrosketches #65 {Praying for You} cQc #190 and Paper Players #147 {with Sympathy & Love}

Hello again dear friends and followers.  I stayed up a bit late last night making cards because I get the day off work due to the Memorial Day holiday.  Sadly two ladies that are dear to my heart have lost loved ones very recently, so I used that time to make a couple of Sympathy cards.  I used the sketch at Retrosketches as inspiration for this card (see below). I never seem to have a sympathy card on hand when I need it.  It's just not a theme that I look forward to making when I'm designing and entering challenges.  I hope these cards brings a bit of comfort and peace to my friends when they receive them though.

My inspiration for the second card I made is from the colors at ColourQ #190 and the sketch from the Paper Players Sketch Challenge #147 (although it's a loose interpretation of the sketch as I have flipped the components of the sketch quite a bit).

Gotta get going for now. I'll go visit my Grandpa's grave site and spend some time with my Grandma playing cribbage today. This is always a tough day for Grandma.  Maybe we can share some laughs to help make it easier. We bet a quarter per game.  Raided my piggy bank in case I lose a few games.   Thanks for letting me share these with you today. Wherever you are - make it a great day and celebrate your blessings and loved ones. Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D

Retrosketches #38 and Dynamic Duos #29

Hello dear blog friends.  Tonight I have another card to share with you.  Sympathy cards are hard for me to make. Somehow it just never seems as if I know the right thing to say or can adequately convey my feelings for those folks who have lost a loved one. One of my dear friends recently lost her Mom to a lengthly battle of illness.  She fought valiantly but finally gave in.  It was very hard for me to see the sadness that my friend felt while watching her dear Mom keep slipping away - the end was inevitable, but I don't think that it is ever easy when it comes, even knowing that there is no more pain or suffering.  This friend is very dear to my heart, as if she were my sister, and I'm so sad for her. The wonderful person that she is is a testiment to the wonderful person her mom was.  I hope that this card will help ease her sorrow somewhat.

How fortunate we are as crafters to have a way to express ourselves creatively and genuinely by sending someone a handmade card to express what we may not be able to say in words. I think it shows how very much we do care.  Thankfully having a sketch or color theme to focus on while making a sympathy card seems to help me in completing the task.  In this case I used the sketch at Retrosketches #38 (see below) and the color combo challenge at Dynamic Duos #29.   

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - I'm very glad that you did.  Til next time - hugs and happy crafting!!

FMS#38 and Dynamic Duos #6 {Praying for You}

Hello once again.  I am combining two fun challenges for this card today.  The colors for the card are from the Dynamic Duos #6 challenge (Regal Rose and Basic Grey) and the layout (which I flipped on its side) is courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches #38. 

I chose to make a sympathy card for these challenges (or it could also be an encouragement or hope card too with this sentiment). Thankfully I don't need sympathy cards very often - but I also don't make very many so I don't usually have on on hand when I do need one.  This card could just as easily be a Happy Birthday, Mother's Day, Friend or Thank you card by changing the sentiment.  The colors and layout would work perfectly with those themes as well.

A trend that I've come across recently is sending your handmade cards with the option for your recipient to pass it forward one more time.    How this works is that you put your own personal sentiment on an insert inside the card (with a note on the back that the card can by recycled and shared again) and leave the inside base blank for the next use.  If you provided a couple extra sentiments (like I mentioned above) then the recipient could then pop their new sentiment on top of the original one and add their message inside to forward to the next lucky, and loved, recipient.  I'm not completely on board with this for myself as I keep every handmade card I am given. However, I do know that not everyone is a saver like me and I do like the idea that someone might like the card I made so much that they would want to pass it forward and share with someone else (sharing the love is nice too).

Hope you enjoyed today's card.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit - I'm sure glad you did!  The design team samples for both of these challenges are amazing and full of inspiration - I highly recommend that you go visit there as well.  Have a most wonderful day won't you?! Hugs!

Supplies (all from Stampin Up!): Cardstock - Regal Rose,Whisper White and Basic Grey.  Stamps - Thoughts and Prayers.  Ink - Basic Grey and Regal Rose (to get the two colors on the image I used my Stampin Write markers).  The tiny punched flowers are from one of the punches in the Bitty Punch Pack.  Patterned paper is from the Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack in the Neutrals collection.