20th Anniversary

This past week my husband and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary! Before I made a card I searched blogland for some inspiration and found it in the current Muse, Anita Bowden. From her beautiful, soft card I used the white embossing, the watercoloring, the colors, and the messy thread. I'll show you her card first:

And here is mine:

Stamps: Hero Arts (chevron), SSS (sentiment)

Dies: Memory Box (large numbers), SSS (banner)

Only after it was done, I realized that with the pastel colors (even though, I used mostly blue), the messy thread, and the pink heart gems, it wasn't a very masculine card... I am happy to report that my husband took it in stride! 

Challenges:

Muse Challenge #134 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "No Designer Paper"

Simon Says Work It Wednesday STAMPtember "Use a stamp"

Thanks for your visit! Hope you'll come back!

Hugs,

Susanne

Feathery "Thinking of You" for the Muse

Hope everyone in North America is enjoying their long weekend! It's very hot and dry here, feeling more like summer than fall!

When I saw Carol's card for the Muse Challenge #131 I was immediately inspired to bring out my feathers from STAMPlorations again! Since we had company I only had a chance to make a card this afternoon, entering in the last minute! But that's nothing new, right?

Here is Carol's fabulous card

and my take on it

Stamps: STAMPlorations (feathers, sentiment), Hero Arts (background strip)

Other: Caran d'Ache (watercolor crayons)

I used the same feather set as Carol, almost the same layout and the same colors! 

The background was made with watercolor crayons scribbled on a piece of card stock and blended with a moist baby wipe. It's quick and easy and I like how it looks. Added a strip of background paper that I found in one of my snippet boxes (yes, I have several - don't you?) and mounted everything on a blue card. 

Challenges:

Muse Card Club Challenge #131

Pixie's Snippets Playground #193

(where Sarn is prefect this week and I heard there was lots of chocolate to be found...)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Make It Colorful"

Wishing you a fantastic week,

Susanne

Graphic Friend Card

Remember this card? I didn't use all the tinted Liquitex Heavy Gloss Gel and couldn't just wash it down the drain! So I quickly grabbed another stencil and sheet of card stock. This weekend I made this card from it.

Stamps: SSS (sentiment)
Dies: SSS (you)
Other: Stencil (Hero Arts), Liquitex Heavy Gloss Gel, Marvy Ink


Challenges:


Time Out Challenge #37 (Friendship is Golden)






a2z scrapbooking (August Challenge - Texture)
Use at least one main image from Hero Arts - stencil
The texture is from the gel and the die cut



Muse Challenge #129 
Fabulous card by Anita Bowden






Pixies Snippets Playground Week #190
The "you" is cut from a snippet and the golden strips are also snippets!


Click on the links to find out all the details and get inspired by wonderful design teams and galleries!

Thanks for taking time to stop by! Your visits and comments always make my day!

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse #101 (take 3) / Inkspirational #74 "Ombre"

This is my 2nd post today! (As far as I know I can't link two cards from one post to the same challenge, therefore I had to do two different posts.)

Stamps: JudiKins (Delft tile cube), Penny Black (sentiment)


In real life the colors look more ombre than on the screen!

Challenges:

Muse Challenge #101

Inspirational Challenge #74 "Ombre"

Thanks for checking in!

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse #101 (take 2)

I am back so soon with another card for this week's Muse. Actually I made two more so watch out for another post soon. Marion's crisp blue and white card reminded me of Delft tiles and that I had a stamping cube from JudiKins called "Delft tiles". And you know how excited I get when I have an opportunity to use my long neglected (LN) stuff! I embossed three of them with JudiKins embossing powder "Denim" (also LN) and foam mounted them on navy cardstock. I didn't add a sentiment because Marion's card didn't have one either.

Stamps: JudiKins (Delft tiles cube)
Other: JudiKins (Embossing Powder)

Muse Challenge #101

See you again soon!

Muse Challenge #101

I immediately loved the colors on Marion's card this week.

Blue and white looks so crisp and fresh. Instead of embossing I used dies but did emboss white on white on the heart.

Stamp: Hero Arts (background)
Dies: Memory Box (border), Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps (heart)

This goes to the Muse Challenge #101.


A warm welcome to two new followers:

Sid from "Harpies Crafty Corner"
Hazel from "My Card Attic"

Lots of fantastic artwork and inspiration to be found on their blogs so take time for a visit!

My welcoming quote to thank you for following my little blog is from Anne Bradstreet:

If we had no winter
spring would not be so pleasant.

Now, isn't that true? And hopefully a little consolation for those of us who can't wait for winter to end.

Thanks for your visit and your kind comments! They brighten my day!

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse Challenge #92

Happy Sunday to you all! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

I made a card inspired by the Muse this week "Vicky Dutcher". This is her card

and here is my take on it

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp (birthday)
Dies: PTI (Headline Alphabet)
Other: Cuttlebug (embossing folder), Marco's Paper (silver cardstock), Distress Inks

I still love to use embossing folders as background stamps with distress inks spritzed with water! Cut out the HAPPY with my NBUS dies from PTI from matte silver cardstock, embossed the birthday in silver, mounted the panels on foam tape and really liked the result! Hope you do, too! It's always good to have some guy cards ready, right? (Although if someone would send me a similar card I would be delighted. Even though I love flowers, butterflies, bling, etc. I also like this type of cards.)

Help me give a warm welcome to my new follower Karren J. from "Karren J - Stamping Stuff"
Why don't you visit her blog, let yourself be inspired by her wonderful cards and leave her some love?
Karren, my welcome quote for you is from Wassily Kandinsky:

Color is a power which directly influences the soul.

Thank you for becoming a follower! I also want to thank everybody who has signed up to get my posts through email and all of you visitors! Hope you continue to like what you see here!

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse Challenge #82 / AAA Cards #18 / SSS Wednesday Challenge

Just a quick post to show you the card I made for the Muse Challenge #82 which closes soon. The dotted swirls and colors on Bobby's gorgeous card really spoke to me. Look at it

Mine didn't quite come out as I envisioned it...

Stamps: Inkadinkado (Swirls), Stampin' Up (flower circle), Lockhart Stamp Co. (dotted dream)


I made a watercolor background with my watercolor pencils (IRL it doesn't look as streaky but more like a watercolor wash - don't know why my camera has changed it like that) and will therefore also send it to AAA Cards, a new challenge for me. I added some splatters and a yellow gem in the flower center.

Also entering the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes".

I am very happy to welcome a new follower. Her name is Maarit and her blog name is "Violets Corner". She has been blogging for a long time so if you need some inspiration hop on over and check out her wonderful creations!
My welcome quote for you is especially fitting for us crafters with so many new products coming out all the time. At least I should repeat it to myself every day because my wish list gets longer and longer...

Never let the things you want
make you forget the things you have!

Hope you all have a good week! Thank you for your visit and if you feel like leaving a comment you would make me very happy!

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse Challenge #78 / SSS Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! I have the house to myself and plan to do as much crafting as I can! Last night I made a card for the Muse Challenge #78 where sweet Bev from Happy Dance is this week's Muse. Look at the beautiful card she provided for our inspiration:

I have been wanting to make a card featuring one of those popular polaroid frames for a long time! Thank you, Bev, for providing the motivation! Besides the frame I also used striped DP and the scalloped edge from her card.

Stamp: My Sentiment's Exactly

Paper: S.E.I.

Dies: Nestabilities (Squares), My Favorite Things (scalloped edge)

Embellishments: McGill (butterfly punch), Prima (flower), Making Memories (Brad)

It's so easy to match papers when you use a paper pad because designers did all the work for you! Since I don't have a polaroid frame die I used a square die and then cut around it. The brad was a lucky find from my stash. Had to add the butterfly because I felt that big flower needed some balance...

This one also goes to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes".

And now, as promised, a few impressions of Venice. Despite being overrun by tourists it is breathtakingly beautiful and has an unique charm! We all loved it! The last photo was taken by my niece (hope you don't mind, Ines) and shows my sons and I (or is it my sons and me - I never know!  Help, English majors/teachers!).

And, no, they are not (yet) as tall as I am; we were standing on an arched bridge...

Off to link up and make another card...

So glad you came by,

Susanne

Baby Boy Card

Needed a card for a baby boy and this is what I came up with

The colors are a little lighter in real life. Watercolored some stripes, the sentiment is from Hero Arts, the baby is from Stampin' Up, enamel dots from Recollection, tissue paper, thread, done. I quite like how it turned out. Love that "messy thread" trend.

Will enter this in the Muse challenge and the Dream Valley challenge.

I am in the midst of preparing for our annual trip to Bavaria. While I am gone my time on the computer will be very limited and I will probably not comment and post very much. Just in case you would be wondering...

Thanks so much for your visit and for all you sweet comments.

Hugs,
Susanne

Muse Challenge #69

My friend Cornelia is the Muse this week with this cool card

which inspired me to make this very CAS card

It's even a one layer card (well, for me the "happy" die cut is an embellishment, not a layer) which I don't make very often!

Sending this to the Muse Challenge #69 and to Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes".

Have a wonderful weekend,

Susanne

Stamps: Mama Elephant (arrow border),  Simon Says (sentiment)

Die: Simon Says (happy)

Another masculine card without embellishments...

... although I know plenty of women who like geometric shapes and shades of blue (myself included)!

This one is for CAS-ology where the cue word is "Triangle" and for MUSE challenge #43 where Theresa Clavird provided this beautiful card for our inspiration. 

I used her diagonal layout which I really like and will certainly use again. As I mentioned above I didn't use any embellishments but I did raise three of the triangles with foam pads - can you see? Click on the links to find lots of inspiration. For both challenges you have until tomorrow (Sunday) to play!

As always, thank you so much for your visit and your comments! They make me so happy!

Wishing you a restful and creative weekend,

Susanne

Stamps: Mama Elefant (Trifecta), My Sentiments Exactly (Birthday Sentiments)

Inks: Versafine (black), Memento Dew Drops 

Muse Challenge # 40

Happy Saturday!

This is already the 40th challenge at the Muse Card Club where everyone can vote for their three favorite entries but it's the first time for me to play! But how could I not? This week's muse is the one and only Darnell and not only did she provide a beautiful card to inspire us but also wrote a thought provoking post. Take some time and read it here. So how could I not make a card? First Darnell's inspiration:

And here is my card:

I wanted to use torn paper, not only because I love the look of it (at one time I was know amongst my stamping friends for the torn paper look) and hadn't used it in a while but also because of the symbolism that Darnell wrote about in her post. The vellum I used once covered some chocolates and I just couldn't throw it out. It is not wrinkled like it looks on the photo but has a pattern on it. (Wish I would remember which chocolates they were...)

Have a great weekend and hope you take some time to create something, maybe even for the Muse challenge...

Susanne

Die: Simon Says Stamp flower die, colored with Pearlescent Chalks from Pebbles, Inc.