Joyeux Anniversaire, Anita!

Anita from mypapercraftworld is celebrating her birthday today (the 18th) and I would like to wish her a year filled with love, laughter, beauty, fun, friendship, good food and drink, health, strength, and lots of time to create!
She is one of the sweetest people in blogland and always leaves such warm and well written comments. If you are just crawling out from under a big rock and don't know her yet, please take time to visit her blog. You won't regret it because she is also a very inspiring cardmaker!

Oh, you would like to see the card I made for her? My inspiration came from that sweet card of her that we are to CASE over at STAMPloration.

Stamps: Winnie & Walter (sentiment), Lawn Fawn (heart)

Other: Embossing Folder (QuicKutz), Washi Tape

I was inspired by the colors Anita used, the dots, the W&W sentiment, and the hearts.

Inked up selected dots of the embossing folder, spritzed with water, "stamped" on Mixed Media paper, added splatters (some of them shimmer), stamped the heart, added Glossy Accents to it, stamped the sentiment (the happy is embossed), added washi tape to card, adhered panel to card.

This card wants to play at

CASEplorations February

of course! See graphic above

Check out how the DT and Anita CASEd this sweet card!
ETA: This card was a winner!

and at

Happy Little Stampers February CAS Challenge "Embossing Folder Stamping"

Love that technique!
ETA: This card was a winner!

And since you are still here I am showing you a Valentine's card using another one of the panels (because, of course, I had to make several panels using this technique, right?).

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hugs,

Susanne

Two Valentine's Cards

Happy Valentine's Day!

So delighted that you stopped by for a visit! I baked some cookies - would you like one?

I know, I know, you are really here to see some cards and I have two for you today. Now that they have been received, I can show them to you.

Stamps: Hero Arts (stems), Technique Tuesday (tiny dragonfly), Michaels $1 bin (sentiment)
Other: Grosgrain ribbon, Brilliance ink (for the dragonfly), Markers


Challenge:

Time Out #49  'Love is the flower you've got to let grow' 

And this is the second card:

Stamps: Inkadinkado (sentiment)

Die: Impression Obsession

Other: Precut panels, glitter card stock, gems

Challenges:

Simply Create Too #102 "Love or Valentine's"

Stamping Smiles TicTacToe Challenge #3 

(I picked the first row: Love/Add Shimmer/Hearts)

With the fabulous Darnell as Guest Designer!

Stamps/Ink/Paper Challenge #34 "Love"

And in case you didn't see this in my last post:

A new feature on my blog!

I am so excited because I figured out how to add social media buttons. If you get this post via email or a reader you have to go directly on my blog to see them (on the right).
I have decided to put all my cards on my Pinterest account to make it easier to look for a specific card. Also I am planning to use my Instagram account to post cards. And Keep In Touch has a facebook page (also not very active so far). Check it out and follow me!

Thank you for your patience! I will let you get back to eating some more chocolate...

Hugs,
Susanne

Asian Bird

Today's card is for The Male Room Challenge #28 "Oriental".
Don't use mulberry paper very often any more... Still like the look, though. Do you even know what mulberry paper is? Raise your hand if you still have some in your stash...

Stamps: Picture Show (bird frame), calligraphy unknown

ETA: This card won Honorable Mention at The Male Room!

And now I have the pleasure to welcome a new follower:

Hettie from Hettiecraft

If you don't know her already, go and visit her blog. Check out her Friday funnies - they always put a grin on my face!
My welcome quote for you, Hettie, is by Lao Tzu to match the asian them of today's card:

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.


A new feature on my blog!

I am so excited because I figured out how to add social media buttons. If you get this post via email or a reader you have to go directly on my blog to see them (on the right).
I have decided to put all my cards on my Pinterest account to make it easier to look for a specific card. Also I am planning to use my Instagram account to post cards. And Keep In Touch has a facebook page (also not very active so far). Check it out and follow me!

If you made it this far - thank you so much!

Wishing you a fun filled weekend,
Susanne

Flowers on wood background

The Pin Sights Challenge over at Ellen Hudson and Marika's card over at Time Out inspired me to make this:

Stamps: MFT (wood background), Avery Elle (sentiment)
Dies: Ellen Hutson (flowers & leaves), SSS (heart)


Die cut the flowers and leaves (NBUS) from watercolor paper and then watercolored them (to avoid the white edges). Stamped the background (NBUS) and the sentiment. Die cut the little heart, watercolored and applied WoS and foam mounted it.


And now look at this gorgeous inspiration board! Don't you love all that deep red! I was inspired by the red flower bouquet on the top left and by the layout of Marika's card.




















       


Also sending this to Uniko where "Anything Goes" with an optional "Love"  (check!)






and Addicted to CAS #80 where the challenge is "Red"







By the way, the card for my sister (see last post) finally arrived after almost three weeks! I guess the postal workers were exhausted after the holidays and took it very easy... But at least it didn't get lost! Hate when THAT happens!

Thanks for your visit and please come back!

Hugs,
Susanne

Warm mittens

I am back with a card I made for my sister. Don't know if she has received it yet but some of the challenges I made it for are closing soon! 

My sister is an amazing knitter! She has knitted all kinds of complicated things for all kinds of different people. For Christmas she bought me some yarn (I got to choose) and helped me make a hat! Isn't she the sweetest?

So I thought these new-to-me stamps and dies would be perfect for her. Since the yarn I picked for my hat was grey and off-white I chose those colors for the card. Then, so it wouldn't look too blah, I added some blue accents. 

Stamps: MFT (background on card), Impression Obsession (background on mittens), Winnie & Walter (sentiment)
Dies: MFT (mittens)


Challenges:

The Card Concept #46 (ETA: Winner!!)
Clean & Simple
Inspired by the knit mittens





Time Out #47 "Birthdays"
Without the twist








CAS on Sunday #74 "Winter"







Shopping Our Stash #234 "Something New"
Stamps and Dies are new!






Seize the Birthday 
I think the card is pretty clean & simple but if the DT disagrees it's without topping






Your visit and comments make my day!

I have a wicked sore throat! Tomorrow the first thing I'll do is call the doc! Hope it's not strep...

Hugs,
Susanne

Mice in Love x 2

Sorry that it took me so long to post some new cards! Besides trying to catch up with everything here at home I have been creating. Some cards I can't post yet because I haven't heard that they have been received... Seems like the post offices are also still trying to catch up after the holiday rush.

The call for "Brads" over at Use Your Stuff had me look through my stash and find those heart shaped ones. The stamp is from one of the sets I won from Virginia. I stamped it twice, colored it, and then made two similar but different cards with it. I didn't add any sentiment as the image speaks loud enough, I think.

Stamp: Penny Black

Other: Stencil (Memory Box), Brad (Gary M. Burlin), Glitter paper (DCWV), Faber-Castell Polychromos

Challenge:

The Card Concept #46 (ETA: Winner!!)

Clean & Layered

Inspired by the heart and the colors

Stamp: Penny Black
Other: Stencil (SSS), Embossing folder (Sizzix), Brads (Recollection), Glitter paper (DCWV), Faber-Castell Polychromos


Challenges:

Use Your Stuff #206 "Brads"






Shopping Our Stash #234 "Something New"
Stamp and Brads are new/never used






Uniko #28 "Anything Goes with the option of love"







Penny Black Saturday Challenge January "Anything Goes"





Thank you so much for stopping by (and leaving me some love in form of a comment)!

Hope your weekend includes lots of creative time!

Hugs,
Susanne

Happy New Year!

Hello friends!

Happy New Year! I know, 2016 is not that new anymore but since this is my first post this year I wanted to wish you a happy, healthy New Year with lots of time to create!

I hope your holidays were enjoyable. We spent them in Germany with my family and it was wonderful! We hadn't been there for Christmas in 11 years and among other things I wanted to show my kids some of the "Christkindlmärkte" (outdoor Christmas markets). My pictures are not the greatest but just to give you an idea:

(My hometown projects images onto the facades of buildings downtown)

Now first some administrative stuff:

You might have already seen it on other blogs that here will be some changes with Blogger:

Effective January 11, 2016 only Google account holders will be able to follow blogs with Blogger. In addition, Blogger will also remove any followers without a Google account from the blogs they are following. For the full announcement from Google click here.

I definitely don't want to loose any of my dear followers! So if you are reading my blog via Google Friend Connect you have the following options:

• You can create a Google Account.  Then you would need to become a Follower again because all previous Followers who did not have an account will be permanently removed from my Follower lists by Google.

• If you choose not to open a Google account, you can still follow my blog via email, bloglovin, or feedly.

And now I would like to do a review of my favorite cards that I posted last year. This year I did not pick one per month but my favorites of all so sometimes there are several in one month and other months are missing. If you want to go to the original blog post click on the dates underneath the photo.

2/2/15

2/17/15

3/19/15

3/26/15

4/19/15

6/6/15

7/27/15

8/3/15

8/14/15

8/18/15

8/31/15

10/9/15

12/23/15

Boy, that was hard. Could have included several more...

If you are interested check out a similar post from last year by clicking here.

I am linking up over at Lyndal Higgins blog.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you stuck with me till the end!

Hope to post some new creations soon and that you'll be back!

Hugs,

Susanne