Brew Up Some Fun

Hi!  Today was a blah day.  I'm still in a funk, but as much as I was tempted to just mindlessly scroll through social media tonight and get nothing else accomplished, I resisted.  Along with a few household chores, I also sat down to craft for Day 6 of my 13 Days of Halloween.  Of course, I'm late posting it, but not by much.  And in my defense it's still the 24th in some time zones!  *wink*

Day 6: Brew Up Some Fun

I colored one of the adorable witches from the Happy Boo To You clear stamp set by La-La Land Crafts.  I then fussy cut the image and mounted it on foam squares.  I created a little Halloween scene using all LLLC dies for a fun card in traditional Halloween colors!  The sentiment is from a LLLC set called Trick or Sweets.

I will try to get a couple more cards in before the baking frenzy begins but it's now the weekend before Halloween and there's lots going on!  Stay tuned to see what my Halloween loving heart is up to!

{hugs}
Regan

Haunted

Day 5: Haunted

Hello. I had hoped to do some crafting to share with you for today, but I'm afraid all I have is a coloring.  And a sad story to share.  It's been a rough week.  Our Syrian hamster, Dark Matter, hadn't seemed well lately and appeared to be getting worse.  I took him to the vet for a check-up yesterday.  We were devastated to discover that he had a tumor in his stomach.  We made the difficult decision to say goodbye to him today.  Let me tell you when I said "yes" to my son's pet store request on a whim 8 months ago, I had no idea I would fall head over heels for a rodent.  But I did.  And today my heart broke.  

He was such a sweet little hammy. So full of personality.  I would let him run around my son's room every night and he'd scamper over and around me.  He was a climber. - the comforter, clothes, the curtains.  He would succeed on occasion and then climb into my hands to get down again.  And I wasn't even mad when he climbed into the bookcase and I found he'd chewed my childhood books.  I KNEW he was too quiet that day!  Most days he ate better than we did!  He was so so loved and will be missed immensely.  For one so small, he made a big impact and has left a big emptiness.  My son has taken it hard as well.  He's only 10 and DM was his and a source of comfort in his room.  It's so hard to watch your child experience the death of a beloved pet.

I guess I'm sharing because it's therapeutic for me to write.  It's my favorite season and only a handful of days from my favorite holiday.  I would normally be giddy with excitement, but today I'm just - haunted.  The vet said it was nothing we did or didn't do and we couldn't have known or prevented it.  Still, I can't help feeling guilty, wishing we'd made more of the time we had with him.  Just wishing we'd had more time.

Here are some photos of Dark Matter (aka DM) and where we buried him at my parents' house.  I'm also sharing the image I colored the other night when I was sick with worry over him and could't sleep.  She's called Wraith Mae from Some Odd Girl.  If there is somewhere we go after death, I hope he's happy there.  And if not, I hope at least he wasn't in pain at the end and that sweet nothingness brought him peace.  Either way I hope his little hamster brain somehow knew how very very much we loved him.  People will say "It's just a hamster" but our pets are family and grief is grief.  It's real and it is not diminished or less real or important because it was an animal that left us.  We love you, DM!  

Thanks for reading and I hope to be back with more creative posts soon.

{hugs}
Regan

Happy Fright Night

Hey!  Hope everyone is having a good week so far. Mine isn't going quite as planned, but I'm hanging in there.  I'm cutting it close, but I'm here with Day 4 of my 13 Days of Halloween!

Day 4: Happy Fright Night

I have been enjoying making Halloween cards with the Some Odd Girl images I had already colored in my stash, but last night I couldn't sleep so I got up and colored two more images.  Today's card features one of them.  This is Vampiress and I gave her blue hair because I can and she seemed cool like that.  All dies are La-La Land Crafts EXCEPT the awesome coffin is from Michaels' Recollections brand, the "fright" is from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits set called Vintage Spirits, and Drip Edge is also a Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits die.  I created the sentiment by combining stamps from a Michaels Recollections set with the diecut word.

This one was a lot of fun!  Hopefully I'll have more Halloween goodness to share with you tomorrow!  Have a fang-tastic day!

Thanks!

{hugs}
Regan

Sinister Sweets and Chalkboard Art

Hi again!  My son wasn't feeling well today so he stayed home from school.  I was presented with an unexpected day off and I used it for self care as well.  Working six days, my Sundays are usually full of dishes and laundry.  Today I watched a movie and took a nap.  I had hoped to get some coloring or papercrafting in but it never happened.  I did however, do some holiday baking.  And a very basic, and somewhat lame, attempt at chalkboard art.  But hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Day 3: Sinister Sweets

I made pumpkin bread mini loaves.

And creepy finger sugar cookies.

Here's that chalkboard "art".

I should probably stick with papercrafts!  Lol My baked goods taste good, but are never much to look at.  And the chalkboard was a quick doodle.  Thanks for having a peek and hope your day was creep-tastic!

{hugs}
Regan

Bride of Frankie

Hi!  Back with my second day on our countdown to Halloween!

Day 2: Bride of Frankie

Mini Bride of Frankenstein is another Some Odd Girl image I had colored awhile ago who is finally finding a home on a card!  All dies are from La-La Land Crafts.

I was Mrs. Frankenstein for Halloween the year my son was little Frankenstein.  He was only 2 years old and the cutest Frankenstein I've ever seen!  It snowed that year (usually early) and, if memory serves, we had at least a foot of white stuff on the ground for Halloween.  Some communities had downed trees and/or lost power.  Trick or Treating was delayed in many communities because of it.  I was not too happy, Halloween being my favorite holiday, but it worked out.  We ended up going trick or treating twice!  I couldn't find any pictures of me in my costume but here's Kayne as The Monster.

Thanks for taking a look!  I'm off to be productive and maybe get my Halloween crafting in so I have something to share with you tomorrow!  Hope your day is frightfully fun!

{hugs}
Regan

Wicked

Hello!  I've been in a crafting slump this year!  To attempt to revitalize myself I am challenging myself to post a Halloween coloring, card, or creation (baking counts too) for the next thirteen days as we countdown to Halloween!

Day 1: Wicked

I colored Witchy Mae some time ago during one of the Some Odd Girl coloring challenges (which I was too lame to participate in this time) and I'm finally getting her on a card! Dies are a mix of La-La Land Crafts, Spellbinders, SugarPea Designs, and Stampin' Up.

Halloween is my favorite holiday and even though I was tired from a long work week it made me happy to create this card!  

I'm almost ready for Halloween!  Are you?  I've been decorated since late August but I keep adding things!  Costumes were finally sorted today and candy was purchased for those who visit our house on Halloween night!

Do you have your costumes planned in advance? Or are you last minute kind of people?  I drive my son nuts when I start talking about costumes in July, but it has to be done!  Lol

Have a Spook-tacular day!  Check back tomorrow to see how I do with my challenge...

{hugs}
Regan

Halloween Swap

Hi!  I haven't been blogging much.  In fact, I have been rather terrible at it lately.  But I did want to share the awesome Halloween Swap I did with the fabulous Godiva's Dream!  (Her cards are exquisite, by the way!) We each agreed on a dollar amount and then purchased some Halloween goodies for the other.  We were to each include a handmade card as well.  I received my box first.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint!  I literally squealed with delight at the entire contents of my package!  Besides her card, I think my favorite item was the witches brew cauldron mug! Here's a photo of my spook-tacular goodies!

I sent my box off a week late (typical! Lol) but it arrived in less than a week to the UK so now I can share what I made and sent!

We both love artist Annie Rodrigue who creates the Moonlight Whispers line of characters.  It's no surprise we chose to create with her images!  I made a card featuring clear stamp Pumpkin Brains.  She is colored with Copics and fussy cut.  All of the dies used dies are from La-La Land Crafts.  The sentiment is from a retired set called Ghoulish Label by My Favorite Things Stamps.  

I also made a fun little banner using two more of Annie's images.  I colored and fussy cut digital image Witch & Wine and retired Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps red rubber image Magical Mathilda.  The dies are a mix of My Favorite Things Stamps and La-La Land Crafts.  I must confess, after I hung it on my mantle to photograph it I had a moment or two where I was tempted to keep it for myself!  Haha!  I guess that means I need to make another one!

I tried to include crafty goodness that I thought she would enjoy.  I shipped off two 6x6 Halloween paper pads, stickers, glitter, a coffin die, socks, a lanyard, and candy.

I had so much fun doing this swap!  Halloween is my favorite holiday and it was such a treat to share it with someone else who is as obsessed as I am!  Lol 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a frightfully fabulous day!

{hugs}
Regan

Back to School

Hi!  It's September 1st and for me that is the symbolic start of the Fall and Halloween seasons!  Confession time: I have actually had Halloween decorations up since last week!  Lol Hey, life is short.  Find joy where you can!  

School started here last week too.  My son entered 5th grade!  Where IS the time going?!?!  Our tradition is to have a big back to school breakfast every year.  He had bacon, pancakes, strawberries, the works!  I also make him a special card to kick off the school year.

This year I selected Laptop Tobie from Some Odd Girl.  Tobie is colored with Copics and cut using the Double Stitched Squares die from La-La Land Crafts.  The papers came with my Lawn Fawn order as freebies and happened to be fun patterns with perfect colors to coordinate with the 5th grade sticker I used. I love serendipitous things like that!

I used Sketch #165 from Sweet Sketch Wednesday for my layout.

I have a goal to clean and organize my craft room this month so I can get back into the swing of things.  I'll keep you posted!

{hugs}
Regan

MFT Stamps Camp Create Day 3: Background Bonanza

Hello!  Well, I'm down to the wire and it's looking like Days 4 and 5 of My Favorite Things Camp Create will be a no go for me with the deadline looming in less than 30 minutes.  But I did want to sneak Day 3 in there!  The theme this time is Background Bonanza!

I used the Staggered Paw Prints stencil to create my background with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink.  The cute image is from the Lucky Dog stamp set.  She is colored with Copics to look like my brother's new puppy (my new furry niece)! The sentiment is a combination of sentiments from the retired Baby Onsie stamp set and the Sweet Die-namics.  I also used the Stitched Rectangle Frames and Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips Die-namics as well.

Thanks to MFT Stamps for getting me off my couch and into the craft room!  Even though I wasn't able to participate in all 5 days I had fun with the challenges I did join in!

Thanks for visiting!
{hugs}
Regan

MFT Stamps Camp Create Day 2: Magnificent Masking

Hi again!  Whoa, two days in a row!  I'm back with my project for day two of My Favorite Things Stamps Camp Create. The theme is Magnificent Masking.  This is also not a technique I do often so more out of comfort zoning going on!

I masked off a spot in the center of my card stock panel using a circle die cut.  Over it I then stamped one of their background stamps, the retired Star Celebration, in Versamark ink and heat embossed the image using gold embossing powder.  Once that was set I replaced the mask and used Distress Oxide Inks to create a night sky.  I removed the mask, stamped my sentiment, and colored and fussy cut my image from a separate piece of card stock.  Both the image and the sentiment are from the Witch Way Is The Candy? Halloween stamp set.  I die cut the Sweet Hello word die and paired it with my sentiment.  The finishing touch was a stitched cloud border at the top, popped up with foam squares, along with my image, to give the card some dimension.

Too cute to spook, right?  I'm enjoying these challenges! There are three left but I'm running out of time!  We'll see what I can get done before 10pm tonight!

Thanks for visiting!

{hugs}
Regan

MFT Stamps Camp Create Day 1: Inlaid Made Easy

Hi all!  I have been MIA again, I know.  I haven't been doing much in the way of crafting.  My mojo seems to have taken the Summer off! (Wish I could have!  Lol)  With my favorite holiday on the horizon and school starting next week I thought it might be a good time to get back into the swing of things.

My Favorite Things Stamps is hosting the second session of their version of summer camp!  It's called Camp Create and each of the 5 days has a different fun technique or theme.  Day 1 is Inlaid Made Easy.  I had never considered using a die this way, but it was fun to create outside of my comfort zone!

I needed a wedding card so I decided to work with the retired Abstract Heart die.  I die cut the heart 3 times.  The first from a sheet of white card stock, the second from a piece of navy card stock, and finally from silver glitter card stock.  This last one required multiple passes through my Gemini Jr and then I still had to use a craft blade to get some of the pieces out.  Below is a photo of my work in process as well as my finished card.

The sentiment, from the YAY for You stamp set, was heat embossed and die cut with Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips.

The deadline for the challenges is tomorrow so I'm not sure if I will get the remaining four finished in time, but this was fun none-the-less and a good push towards spending some quality time in my craft room again!

Thanks for stopping by!

{hugs}
Regan

Classic Dad

Hi!  Stopping by with another quick card I made featuring My Favorite Things Stamps products.  This was a card for my son's father for Father's Day.  I enjoyed working with the Soda Pop Bottles so much that I broke them out again!

This time I used the one that looks like the Coke bottle.  I cut it from dark brown card stock and created the label from white with red ink.  I cut a straw from vellum.

I based my card design on sketch #393 from Freshly Made Sketches.

Products Used

Soda Pop Bottle Die-namics

Bottlecaps Die-namics (retired)

Bottlecaps Letters Die-namics (retired)

Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips Die-namics

Soda Pop

All About Dad (retired)

{hugs}
Regan

Nurses Are Angels on Earth

Hey there!  Look at me, on a roll!  Here is my 3rd post this week!  I have been in the craft room a bit recently, and I've realized just how much I've really missed it!  Father's Day and the end of the school year have sort of forced me to create as I didn't have anything suitable in my stash.  The fact that my arm is feeling better and I have two new toys in my crafty arsenal (a Misti stamping platform and a Gemini Junior electronic die cutting machine) hasn't hurt either!

This card was made using Nurse Marci from La-La Land Crafts.  She was originally in the February 2016 Club La-La Land Crafts kit.  I needed a card for the school nurse at my son's school so she was perfect to color up.  She is colored with Copics and fussy cut.  I added the Wings die found in the January 2019 club kit to make her an angel on Earth, as the sentiment says.

The background is made using the Hearts Forever background stamp.

Products Used

Nurse Marci rubber stamp

Hearts Forever background stamp

Scalloped Rectangles die

Heart Wreath die

Long Flags die

Wings die

Copics Used

Skin: E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, E50, R00, R20, R22

Hair: E43, E84, E87

Clothes: R27, Y28, C0, C1, C3, W0, W1

Thanks for taking a look!  Have a great day!

{hugs}
Regan

Soda-Lighted

Hi again!  I'm back with two posts in one week!  I had to make a couple of cards for the end of the school year, and I wanted to share the one I made for my son's teacher.  I loved the sentiment in the Soda Pop stamp set from My Favorite Things Stamps and knew I wanted to combine it with the matching Soda Pop Bottles Die-namics.  I then caught of glimpse of their current color challenge and thought it was the perfect combo for my project!  Fruity flavored seltzer anyone? 

There's still time to enter MFT Stamps Color Challenge 119 if you are so inclined.  It was a great palette to work with!

Die-namics used:

Wonky Stitched Rectangles Stax Die-namics

Thanks & Hello Die-namics

Essential Slanted Sentiment Strips Die-namics

{hugs}
Regan

Picture Perfect Dad

Hello!  Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!  We spent the day with mine, celebrating with a cookout.  I have been feeling much better, eating healthier, and trying to get some walking in every day.  Still easing back into the crafting, but I did make a card for my dad for Father's Day.

I'm loving all the My Favorite Things goodies I've acquired in the past few months and I have been trying to participate in their challenges when I can too.  Today I decided to play along with their current sketch challenge.  Here's my take on sketch #441.

I colored up the cute monkeys from the Picture Perfect set.  The sentiment is from the retired All About Dads stamp set.  All dies used are from MFT too.  The Dad one is also retired.

Die-namics Used:

A2 Stitched Stax Set 2

Polaroid Shaker

Dad 

Copics Used:

Monkeys - E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, E34, E35, E37, E39, E50, R20, R22

Background - BG10, BG13

Thanks for stopping by to see my latest creation!  Have a fantastic week!

{hugs}
Regan

Magical Dragons, Birthday Bears, and Cocktails

Hi there!  It's been a while. Sometimes you need a break to recharge.  I finished with all of my design teams earlier this year and with no commitments looming I was looking forward to easing off paper crafting a bit and enjoying some books and TV in the evening.   I didn't mean to disappear completely, but a pinched nerve causing some severe neck and arm pain waylaid me for three months!  An MRI and physical therapy later and I'm starting to feel up to dabbling in the craft room again.  I've made a few CAS cards during my hiatus, but I'm looking forward to finding my mojo again and getting back in the swing of things.  

Luckily my injury didn't impede my ability to shop for crafty items!  ;-) . So I have lots of new goodies to play with!

I thought I would use this week's sketch from My Favorite Things Stamps.  I had colored up this adorable dragon from their Magical Dragons clear stamp set and thought he'd make a great birthday card!  Here is my take on sketch #439:

Isn't he darling?!?!  If you want to see all the entries for this challenge you can visit the MFT Stamps blog HERE!  If you want to shop, go HERE!

I've made a few other MFT Stamps cards as well. I'll share them here for the sake of getting caught up.  If I continue to feel good maybe I can start crafting and posting a little more regularly again.

I made a quick and cute birthday card for a co-worker with this retired Birdie Brown Birthday Bears clear stamp set.  All of the dies are from MFT Stamps as well.

The next card two cards have no coloring and feature only a stamped sentiment and die cuts.  The first was a Mother's Day order.  It was a last minute request so I threw a little something together after I was told she loved Cosmos.  Cheers!

This last card was another birthday card for a co-worker for his big 3-0!  Simple yet fun, right?

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope all of you out there have been well!  Have an awesome week!

{hugs}
Regan

Oldie But Goodie

Hi!  It's been a quiet month craftwise.  I seem to have pinched a nerve in my neck or some such nonsense and despite multiple chiropractor visits I am still having pain in my right arm, wrist, and hand.  Being right handed, this is a bit of a bummer.  I haven't felt much like doing anything.  Writing and typing for long periods are troublesome.  After work, I want to rest my arm as much as I can so I haven't been coloring.  But today was my boss' birthday and he always springs for cake on ours so I had to make him a card.  It required no coloring and I got to use a few of my new My Favorite Things Stamps products!  Bonus!

I used the new Turntable Die-namics to make this card.  The sentiment is from the coordinating stamp set, For the Record.  The sentiment was die cut using the Essential Slanted Sentiments Die-namics.  I layered the A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax Set 2 Die-namics over my card base.  The background was made using the Card Sized Confetti Stencil Set.

Thanks for stopping by!

{hugs}
Regan

Margarita Time

Hello!  Popping in to share another My Favorite Things Stamps card!  This one was made for my best friend for her birthday.  She loves a good margarita so I couldn't resist using the Margarita Shaker Window & Frame Die-namic!  The coordinating Margarita Shaker Pouches make creating a shaker card super easy!  I even threw in some Frosty Ice Cubes!

The background was creating using the Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namic and the Snowfall stencil with Distress Ink.   The sentiment is from the Spirited Sentiments stamp set and I paired it with the Cheers Die-namic.    

She absolutely loved it and I had a blast making it!  I have a feeling more of these kinds of cards are in my future!  Thanks for taking a look!

{hugs}
Regan

Yay! It's Your Birthday!

Hi!  I recently received an order from My Favorite Things Stamps and I couldn't wait to play!  I made this birthday card using their Yay for You stamp set and So Many Yays Die-namics!  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I used the Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips to die cut it.  The star is from the retired Accent It: Rock and Roll Die-namics.  The whole thing is matted with the largest die from the A2 Stitched Rectangles Set 2.

I love to color but am really enjoying making something a little different lately.  The sketch is based on MFT Stamps current Wednesday challenge HERE.

{hugs}
Regan

Valentine Showcase

February is almost over so I wanted to share the Valentine's Day cards I made before we move on to the next season/holiday!  I received some orders for custom cards and here is what I created.

For the first card I colored Bumble Bee Marci from La-La Land Crafts and fussy cut her.  The cute little bee die is also LLLC.  To create the rest of the sentiment I used chipboard words from Make It Crafty.  The Valentine is a layered chipboard, done in white embossing powder on a background colored with a black Copic marker.  

Products Used

La-La Land Crafts Bumble Bee Marci digi

La-La Land Crafts dies - Stitched Nested Hearts, Honeycomb, Build-a-Bee, Heart Garland, Half Doily (September 2018 club kit)

Make It Crafty Chipboard Words - Valentine Adapt-a-Word, Valentine Single Layered Word

Copics Used

Skin-E000, E00, E04, E11, E13, E15, E21, E93, R20, R22

Hair-E43, E47, E49

Wings-B00, B02

Flower-Y15, G94

Clothes-Y11, Y13, Y15, C3, C5, C7

For the next card, I colored Office Pretty from Krista Smith/Saturated Canary.  She is cut with the oval from the La-La Land Crafts Stitched Elements die set.  All the other dies are LLLC as well.

Products Used

Krista Smith/Saturated Canary Office Pretty digi

La-La Land Crafts dies - Stitched Elements, String of Hearts Border, Open Hearts Doily Border, Heart Handles, Hello Tag, Love Always

Copics Used

Skin-E000, E00, E04, E11, E13, E15, E21, E93, R20, R22

Eyes-E25

Hair-E43, E47, E49

Clothes-R32, R35, R37, R39, R89, C3, C5, C7

Up next is Cheerleader Kaylee from Some Odd Girl.  She is pretty in pink and decked out with several dies from My Favorite Things Stamps.  The heart locket die is from La-La Land Crafts and the sentiment is from the Stampin' Up set called 

Products Used

Some Odd Girl Cheerleader Kaylee digi

Stampin' Up Something to Celebrate

My Favorite Things Stamps Die-namics - Cheers, Jumbo Fishtail Banner, Heart Doily, First Place Award Ribbon

La-La Land Crafts die - Heart Locket (January 2019 club kit)

Copics Used

Skin-E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, E93, R02, R20

Eyes-B00, B02, B04

Hair-E51, E55, E57, E59

Clothes-R39, R83, R85

Lastly, I have another Krista Smith/Saturated image. This one is called Baseball Girl.  All the dies on this card are from La-La Land Crafts.  

Products Used

Krista Smith/Saturated Canary Baseball Girl digi

Hero Arts - Valentine's Day Message

La-La Land Crafts dies - Lacy Hearts Border, Lacy Heart, Happy Stitched, Stitched Nested Circles, Long Flags 

Copics Used

Skin-E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, E93

Hair-Y38, YR15, E08, E19, E97

Clothes-B32, B34, B99, R24, R27, R29, R89

Here's to March, St. Patrick's Day, Springing Forward, and hopefully hints that Spring is on its way...

{hugs}
Regan