#cardsforukraine adventure

 The situation in Ukraine has weighed especially heavily on my heart and although I realize that thoughts and prayers and making cards aren't enough (or even helpful in any real way), it's all I can offer right now.  I made this card a few days ago in response to the ModSquad challenge Standing With Ukraine and the special challenge at Color Hues.  I posted it on Instagram for my #100daysofdailycreativity challenge but I hadn't posted it here because I didn't "love" it.  This evening as I was catching up on blog posts, I read the options for the World Planting Day challenge at Festive Friday.  The card already had flowers and encouragement, but the addition of an insect was just what it needed:

stamp set - Celebrate Sunflowers; ink - Misty Moonlight, Daffodil Delight; card stock - Daffodil Delight; designer series paper - Beauty of The Earth; Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with Sunflowers dies; other - Bumblebee trinket, sponge dauber, Stampin' Dimensionals

not another CASE adventure

 Really, it's *not* another CASE 😉 I've been working on #the100dayproject again this year and I'm doing well so far, much better than I usually do!  I'm sticking with what's easiest for me, cards, but I've never done one daily for an extended period, and I don't have that many original ideas, so I Copy And Share Everyone else's ideas a lot of the time.  I found an idea I was going to copy for one of my new stamp and die sets, but I wanted to change the colors.  I remembered seeing one I liked but couldn't remember where, so I was browsing through challenge sites - I found it at The Paper Players.  Before I found it again, I found a sketch I really like at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge so I'll save the design I was going to CASE for another day.

 stamp set - Nothing's Better Than; ink - Merry Merlot, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; card stock - Crumb Cake,  Merry Moonlight, Misty Moonlight, Very Vanilla; designer series paper - In Good Taste; Stampin' Cut dies - Love You More Than and Tasteful Labels

adventures with rainbows

 I've been keeping up with #The100DayProject this year, today is day 47.  Some days I have to CASE cards because I don't have an idea and some days ideas pop into my head from the challenge blogs I read.  This card was inspired by Shopping Our Stash #441 The Rainbow Connection (yes, that brings to mind a sweet little green frog!):

stamp set - Ornate Thanks; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Garden Green, Pacific Point, Gorgeous Grape; card stock - Basic White, Basic Black, Gorgeous Grape

While I was putting it together yesterday, I caught sight of the Soar Confidently stamp set and decided there just had to be a rainbow balloon, too.  Today the perfect sketch was posted at Seize the Birthday:

stamp sets - A Wish for Everything, Sending Sunshine, Soar Confidently; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Whisper White Craft, Pacific Point; Stampin' Blends - Poppy Parade light, Daffodil Delight dark, Granny Apple Green dark, Night Of Navy light, Blackberry Bliss light, Balmy Blue light; card stock - Balmy Blue, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point; Stampin' Cut dies - Well Written

Years ago my parents and some friends owned a hot air balloon, and we traveled around a bit to balloon festivals.  The rainbow balloons were always a favorite of mine.

another sketchy adventure

 I created two cards from the Jingle Belles sketch this week!  My first attempt wasn't the traditional color scheme I wanted to use, as that wouldn't have worked well for the images I selected.  It also seemed to work better if the sketch was upside down:

stamp sets - Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowfront; ink - Garden Green, Seaside Spray, Soft Suede; card stock - Basic White thick & regular; Garden Green, Seaside Spray; Stampin' Emboss - Old World Paper

Since I started out thinking of a traditional color scheme, I tried again with different images from the same stamp sets.  This time I kept the sketch right side up:

stamp sets - Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowfront; ink - Poppy Parade, Soft Suede; card stock - Crumb Cake, Just Jade, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla; Stampin' Emboss - Subtle

Last year I put off making Christmas cards until, I think September, but once I started I never stopped and had extras.  This year I've done a bit better, and with the extras, I already have a small stash of twelve!

a sketchy adventure

 I used lots of the Oh So Ombre paper I was working on last month, but most of my posts are on Instagram. It's quicker to put a post up there, and I'm working on making 100 #handmadecards in 100 days for #the100daychallenge.  Then I allowed myself to buy some paper, so this month I'm working on using Hydrangea Hill paper - it's so pretty!  Most of those cards are also on Instagram.  I have a few off cuts from those projects that worked perfectly for Freshly Made Sketch #475:

 stamp set - Many Messages; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; card stock - Basic White, Highland Heather; designer series paper - Hydrangea Hill; Stampin' Cut dies - Messages

another new challenge adventure

Sometime in the second half of 2020 I decided to intentionally spend time every day creating. I was pretty successful, although I didn't document my efforts every day.  In 2021 I actually stated a goal for myself of spending a minimum of 15 minutes every day doing something creative, and I've stuck with it so far!  I may be overconfident now, but I've decided to participate in #The100DayProject as well, with the intention of creating a greeting card every day for 100 days.  The official start of the challenge was yesterday, so I started with an easy self-assignment, a Christmas card inspired by the pillow and the sign on the mantel in the photo inspiration the Jingle Belles posted:

stamp sets - Snowflake Wishes, Itty Bitty Christmas; ink - Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie; Stampin' Write Markers - Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flaming, Pumpkin Pie; card stock - Bermuda Bay, Whisper White regular and thick; Stampin' Cut & Emboss - So Many Snowflakes

The color palette is way outside my "comfort zone" for Christmas cards, but I like it!