Last Card Standing

Hello friends!  Just a short post for you today...I had just won a stamp set by Taylored Expressions and noticed on Taylor's blog that she was having a contest for a guest designer position and some fabulous prizes, so I decided to enter the Last Card Standing Contest! Well...SURPRISE...I made the first cut and am one of fifteen finalists!   

This is the card that got me to round 2:

As you can tell from my blog header...I love hydrangeas and couldn't wait to color this gorgeous Hydrangea Bouquet by Taylored Expressions!

So now it's on to round 2 and I just finished my next entry for the contest.  We had to use a friendship theme for our card and at least one image by Taylored Expressions.  This tree image from the Love Grows Here stamp set, which was the set I won, was perfect.  The sentiment is from the Together Silhouettes clear stamp set by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. 

What do you think?  We'll have to wait and see if it makes the next cut!  I'll keep you posted!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Bridge of Hope

Happy Saturday to you!  Hope you've had a wonderful week and are able to enjoy the last remaining days of summer!  Soon the hustle and bustle of a new school year will begin, or has begun for some of you. This will be my second year of retirement from teaching, and it still seems funny not having to get a classroom ready!  On Monday, the first day of school for children in our district, all the retired teachers will have breakfast together and wave to the school buses as they go by!  :)  In honor of school beginning, I made this card for a challenge on Splitcoaststampers..."No Stamping!"...only cardboard stickers, Washi Tape, and papers!

Now...on to the new sketch at The Sweet Stop!  A friend at church lost her mother after a long illness this week.   I needed a sympathy card for her, so naturally the Sweet Stop Sketch provided the perfect inspiration.  I did need to change the orientation of the sketch to accommodate the image.

Creative Nugget:  Bridge of Hope, a clear stamp set released two months ago by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, was the perfect set to use for my sympathy card.  The serene bridge scene was colored with copic markers, cut with an oval Nestie, and mounted to a scalloped oval Nestie.  The other panels of the sketch were made with a combination of patterned papers by My Mind's Eye and FabScraps mounted on True Black or Vintage Cream.  I can't seem to put my Sew Mini away lately, so stitching was added to three of the layers.  The sentiment was stamped on a Tim Holtz Tattered Banner Die, run through the Big Shot with the Canvas Impression Plate, sponged, and attached to the card.  Some gingham ribbon was also sponged with distress ink and added to finish the card.  I hope and pray this card will bring some comfort to my friend.

I have a Christmas version for you this week!

If you love woking with layers, you will love the sketch this week. Don't forget to check out the other Sugar Babies for more fabulous inspiration.

Sugar Babies

Monika Davis

Shelby Goolsby

Janice Melton

Shannon White

                Chrissy Dickinson

Thanks so much for stopping by...Hope you'll be able to join us this week.  As always, we look forward to seeing your fabulous creations!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Card Recipe

Stamps: Bridge of Hope (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Walnut Stain and Broken China Distress Inks (Ranger)

Paper: Vintage Cream, True Black (PTI), Neenah Solar White (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Sunshine DP (My Mind's Eye), Classic Collection Paper Pad (FabScraps)

Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval Nesties (Spellbinders), Tattered Banners Die (Tim Holtz), Canvas Impression Plate (PTI), Sew Mini (Janome), Gingham Ribbon (SU!), Signo White Gel Pen, Copic Markers BG0000, 53, 72, 75;  G21, 24, 46;  Y11, 15, 35;  E31, 35, 37;  C3, 5, 7, 9