Thanksgiving

I have a customer who always send lots of Thanksgiving cards. I am beginning her order.
Using sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

Here is my card

The DP is from a discontinued SU pack. The center image is a left over from a card kit from SU. For the corner accents, I punched out tiny flowers that match flowers in the background. Sentiment is an oldie but goodie--I love the font.

Heatwave

We have actually had a couple of days relief from our heatwave. But next week we are meeting our kids and their families for vacation in Hot Springs Arkansas. I''m afraid it will be living up to its name.
Appropriate then that Tuesday Throwdown challenge is "Heatwave--use hot colors".
I hope a Christmas card will cool you off, even if it is made with hot colors, lemon-lime  twist and melon mambo (both by SU).

The image is a From The Heart digi colored with Stampin" blends and glitter pens. Sentiment is also from SU. A WalMart lacy doily is behind the image.
I even photographed my "hot colors" card on a piece of hot colors polka dotted paper. Too much?
I am also entering this in Send A Smile 4 Kids Christmas in July challenge.  Go check out the blog hop they are currently having. Lots of prizes to claim. You can see my entry for that here. There are 2 prizes being offered on my blog.

All Dressed Up

I love making cards for Send A Smile 4 Kids and I know this one will make some little girl's eyes light up.

The image is a digi from All Dressed Up. That is exactly what this little girl is, just patienty waiting to open her gifts. Isn't she darling? I colored her with Stampin" Up! blender pens and Star gel pens. The image is die cut with a stitched rectangle  die by Lawn Fawn. The card base is SU Pool Party. The mats are white and blue glitter paper from SU Myth & Magic collection. As if there wasn't already enough bling, I added some clear sequins to the image. They are magical sequins too, INRL they look yellow. On photography they always show pink.
Here's a close up of that glitter.

Inside a stamped a sentiment from SU, added another glitter strip and star.

Entering in All Dressed Up anything goes challenge

Send A Smile 4 Kids Christmas in July challenge. Go check them out. There is a blog hop and lots of prizes being given with this challenge.

Tuesday Throwdown challenge to use stitching, either real or faux

Christmas in July

I have been participating Send A Smile 4 Kids challenges for some time now and have been in their top 3 picks a couple of times. They are a great charity group that sends cheer cards to children's hospitals. I would wish for there to never be sick children but am so happy I can maybe brighten up their time in the hospital. I am joining SAS4K in the celebration of their 175th challenge! and blog hop. The theme is Christmas in July 4 Kids. It is never too early to start making holiday cards for all the kids in the many children’s hospitals we now serve. We would love for each child to receive a holiday card as well as be able to pick some for special medical staff or loved ones they are missing during the holiday season. 

You may have arrived here from Mary Moisan"s blog. If you want to be sure not to miss any blog, check in and start at Send A Smile 4 Kids.

We have 17 stops in the blog hop and at each stop you have one or two chances at winning just by leaving a comment. You can also earn a chance to win a prize by commenting  on our SAS4Kids blog and  by entering the Christmas in July challenge which starts July 21^st and runs through August 3^rd at noon. There are lots of great prizes available so don't forget to leave comments. 

I am using a Paper Nest Dolls digi for my card.

This little cutie is colored with Tombrow markers, Prismacolor pencils, and a Red Star gel pen. The marble paper is Ms Sparkle & Co. I did the sentiment on the computer. Some red gems add some bling.  Peppermint overdose! Are you dizzy yet looking at all the red stripes and swirls?

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a Tonic Studios Paper Trimmer and a free digi from Paper Nest Dolls.

Here are the rules for this blog hop:

**You do not need to comment on every stop of the blog hop to have a chance to win a prize. One comment on any of the blogs or on the main SAS4Kids blogpost qualifies you to win one of the prizes on that blog. If you leave a comment on each stop, you will have earned 17 chances to win a prize, and if you enter a card in the Christmas in July 4 Kids challenge, you will also earn a chance to win one of 8 random prizes there.

**You MUST have an USA mailing address to qualify to win any of the prizes. We apologize to any of our readers outside of the USA, but this is a requirement to win any of the prizes in this blog hop and in the Christmas in July challenge.

**The blog hop will start July 21^st at 8:00 a.m. CDT and continue until July 31^st at midnight CDT. When the blog hop is done, all the winners will be drawn randomly from the commenters on each blog and on the main blog, and announced on the SAS4Kids blog on August 4th and on each individual blog. If your name is listed as a winner, you must contact Karen at khasheck@gmail.com BEFORE August 18^th at midnight CST with your NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS AND MAILING ADDRESS. If you do not contact Karen before August 18^th at midnight CST, your prize will be forfeited.

**The Christmas in July 4 Kids challenge at SAS4Kids will run from July 21^st until August 3^rd at Noon CST (as is typical of our two week challenges.) You can qualify for one of 8 prizes by entering a Christmas or holiday card appropriate for a child following the rules of all of our challenges found in the page above. The prizes will be awarded by random drawing and announced with the rest of the winners on August 4^th on our blog.

Here is a list of all our wonderful sponsors and the prizes that you could win:

Kitchen Sink Stamps $25 gift certificate
Sparkle N Sprinkle  $5 gift code
Fred She Said $10 gift certificate
Motion Crafts by Uchi's Designs 3 prize packages each with 1 die set and 1 stamp set $35 value each
Bugaboo $12 gift code
Tonic Studios USA Six Tonic Studios Paper Trimmers (159e)
Stampendous Five prizes: CRS5101/DCS5010 Rose Garden Cling Stamps and Dies, CRS5067/DCS5067 Hydrangea Garden Cling Stamps and Dies, DCP1009 Spring Borders Cutting Dies Set, DCP1007 Build a Wreath Cutting Dies Set, DCP1008 Pop Up Stages Cutting Dies Set
Paper Nest Dolls Two prizes of 3 digis each of the winner's choice plus one free digi for a commenter on each blog that uses a Paper Nest Dolls image
Doodles Paper Playground Four prizes of one package of Fairy Dust Sparkle Blends sequin mixes
White Rose Crafts  Gorjuss Tweed Craft Card Compendium (makes 24 cards - retails at $16.99)
Dies R Us $15 gift code
Cheapo Dies (owned by an American I know) $15 gift code
All Dressed Up Stamps - two digital stamps

Janet Bailey - three Stampin' up Stamp Sets

Thank you so much for supporting Send a Smile 4 Kids and our wonderful sponsors of this blog hop. Good luck in the drawings! Leave a comment here and hop for more chances at many prizes.
If you get lost or missed anyone, you can check out the whole list at Send A Smile 4 Kids

THE NEXT STOP IS: 

Dena Hughes

Goblins

Mummies, monsters, ghosts OH MY. Could be scary but these are just too cute to scare anyone.

I know it is early to be doing Halloween cards but for Send A Smile 4 Kids, we have to get them done early enough to get send in time to distribute to the hospitals.
The mummy and monster are from SU. The ghost was cut from a scrap piece of DP. I did the sentiment on the computer. The addition of googly eyes adds some fun.
Layout is the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch!

Autumn

Whoosh! That is the sound of time passing. Can you believe July is 1/2 over already?  Even though it is still summer, thinking ahead I drug out my fall and holiday stuff yesterday. I'm sure some of you already have a start on your Christmas cards. Ugh! I haven't made much progress there.

The image and sentiment are From The Heart digis colored with Stampin" Up! blends. The papers are from SU also.
I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

Summer Twofer

Sunny, Hot, Humid, Steamy summer afternoon. A big tall glass of lemonade is called for. The rage all over Pinterest is food and drink served in canning jars.  That is how I am having my lemonade. I like to top my lemonade with a little bit of Sprite for some bubbly.  Hey, if you are feeling adventuresome, a splash of Vodka might be good also.

Using SU Jars of Love set, I stamped the jar on Vellum then die cut it and stamped Daffodil Delight on the backside.  I cut down a straw and attached it to the card stock with glue dots. Hampton Art umbrella, stamped, colored with Su Blender Pens and fussy card and attached to a small strip of tan with  a punched circle "cherry" on it. The sun is from Swirly Bird set. Oh no, it looks like the "Cheers" sentiment is kink of crooked.  You might think I have already been imbibing! hahahaha! More likely my glasses were a little cock-eyed.

When your lemonade is gone, go out to the back yard and cut some Black-eyed Susans to make a centerpiece for the picnic table.

Same jar stamped with Pool Party for the water. I stamped some stems and die cut 1 stem to give some depth. The punched flowers are attached with glue dots.

These are for Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge

Chillin"

Summertime and we are looking for a way to cool off. How about at the beach with a nice breeze and a cold drink?

This little guy is probably too young for a rum cocktail so we will just say he is drinking a lemonade? Love those tropical drinks with the little umbrellas! Go get your cold drink and find your cool space and enjoy.
The images are from My Favorite Things.
I tried a new technique on the background. I started with a piece of light blue paper by Ms. Sparkle and pounced on color with wadded up plastic wrap. All from SU--Crumb Cake for sand, Pool Party for water, and Daffodil Delight for sunny sky. I love how the soft watercolor look with this technique.
For Just Us Girls challenge

And Send A Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes"

Skateboard Fun

It's summertime and the kids are out enjoying their skateboards.

This little boy is certainly putting on a happy face with his brand new skateboard.  The papers are from my stash. The image is a precolored digi by Dearie Dolls. The sentiment is SU.

Sketch from this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches

Things That Go Zoom

CASology cue word this week is Zoom.

Speaking of zoom--that is exactly what this year is doing. Zooming to the half way point already. You could at least cause a breeze. We could sure use one as it is hot, hot, hot here.
In Indiana, one of the great "zoom" events is the Indy 500 race which is what this card depicts.

The sentiment and image are "Birdbrain Racer", a digi by From The Heart. I colored it with SU Blending Pens. Under the image, I stamped tire skid marks with a Gorgeous Grunge Stamp by SU. B/W striped paper is from my stash. The image part is popped up with foam tape.

An a twofer:
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman. In this case it is a superbird!

This one is also a digi by From The Heart, colored with SU Blending Pens. I fussy cut the image and centered it as though he is "zooming" among the clouds. I punched out clouds and sponged Sky Blue ink behind them.  When I glued superbird down, I left his cape free to wave in the breeze.  The sentiment is from SU.
I am going to add these to my stash for Send A Smile 4 Kids. I know the little boys will love these.

The Tropics

Tuesday Throwdown challenge #399 is The Great Outdoors.
It is surely hot enough and humid enough in my part of the country to feel like the tropics--without the ocean breeze!
If you can't visit the great outdoors on a tropical island maybe you can catch the flamingos at the zoo. I am always fascinated by how flamingos can balance themselves on one skinny leg.

In my background, I used an old unbranded fern stamp along with leaves from SU Botanical Blossom  set. The die cut flowers are from the same set. The flamingo is by Stampabilities. colored with SU Blenders, and adding some Pool Party blue so it looks like the flamingo is standing in a puddle. I used an oval die to cut out the flamingo.

Pastels and Flowers

Not much doing anything outside today. Really hot this am, now it is raining. So I have a quick, CAS card today for Tuesday Morning Sketches. I love the simplicity of this sketch. Will surely use it again.

I cut some 1" squares from Watercolor Pastes papers by Ms. Sparkle. Then punched some blossoms and made centers with a marker. The sentiment is SU.
Here is the sketch design: