Let It Snow - KSS Monday

As hard as it is to believe, the weatherman is predicting the possibility of another snowfall in Victoria, Texas on or near Christmas! In my entire life, I have had a white Christmas exactly once and that was 14 years ago on my first Christmas in town. Just over a week ago we had about 3 inches of snow, and I felt we were done for at least another 20 years! Now this!! We are all anxiously watching the sky and keeping our fingers crossed.

We certainly won't be doing any ice skating or sleigh riding, but I know if we get even three inches again, there will be snowmen galore!!

So, of course, the weather report is the inspiration for this week's Kitchen Sink sponsored design!

I have entered it in the Splitcoaststampers' Clean and Simple challenge today which is titled White Christmas!!

Images used on today's card come from the following

Kitchen Sink Stamps Sets:

Icy Pond Multi Step Clear Stamps 

Snowy Cabin Multi Step Clear Stamps 

The sentiment was made with Winter Thinlits by Sizzix

Visit Maria's blog to see her latest KSS creations:

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

Christmas Favorites from the CCEE Team - CCEE1750

This week's challenge will be the CCEE Stampers last challenge for 2017 as we all want to take a little time to concentrate on family and friends. Of course, we will be back on the 4th of January to start another year of fun challenges!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support of our challenges every week. We love that you play along with us.

Wishing you all a Merry and Safe Christmas and New Year.

Our hostess Joanne Grzelak, has asked that we keep things simple for our final challenge for the year. She requested that we use our favorite holiday stamps to create a card.

Well, I have many, many favorite holiday stamps, but my favorite which I added to my collection this year is Winter Pine by Gina Marie Designs. I hope you like how I used it to create today's Christmas card design.

I mixed it with several of my favorite dies from Gina Marie Designs, Stampin' Up, Taylored Expressions, and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

For more beautiful holiday designs, look in on the rest of the CCEE Design Team today:

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Cozy Christmas - KSS Let's Make a Scene

Who would have thought that this south Texas girl would wake up on Friday morning and look out her window to see the ground and trees covered with snow? It has been 13 years since we have seen snow in my neck of the woods so, of course, it was the inspiration for this week's Let's Make a Scene design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps.

To create this scene I used images from the following KSS sets:

Basket Multi Step Clear Stamps

Holly & Mistletoe Multi Step Clear Stamps

Snowy Pine Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps

 Winter Cardinals Multi Step Clear Stamps

Build a Garland Multi Step Clear Stamps

The die cut window is from Poppy Stamps and the lacey punch is by Martha Stewart.

Be sure to check out Maria's latest creation using her amazing stamps:

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

Here is a look at the snow event that inspired today's Let's Make a Scene card!!

CCEE1749 - Christmas Carols

Now that the holidays are almost upon us, do you find yourself singing or humming along with the Christmas music blasting from every speaker? For our challenge this week, our hostess Joanne has asked that we take our inspiration from any Christmas Carol.

Singing Deck the Halls for my inspiration!!

The images on my design are from Merry Patterns by Stampin' Up.

Find out which holiday carols inspired the rest of the CCEE Stampers!!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Playful Christmas 2 - KSS

Today's simple Christmas design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps was created with images from their Playful Christmas 2 Multi Step Clear Stamps. The tree was stamped with Versamark and embossed with copper glitter by Zing! The star was die cut and also embossed with copper glitter. For the sentiment I used Brilliance Cosmic Copper ink. The designer papers are by the Paper Studio.

Take the time to look in on Maria's latest creations below:

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE 1747 - Weddings and Babies

As the last of our celebratory month, Joanne would like for
the CCEE Stampers

to make a baby card OR a wedding

card......our choice.

She suggested that if we have lots of time, we could make both....lol!!!)
Time I don't have so I made a fun card to welcome a new baby girl.

The Dachshund is from
Gina Marie Designs.

I wonder who made baby cards and who made wedding cards?

Let's Find Out!!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams

Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Peace to All - Let's Make a Scene - KSS

For this week's Let's Make a Scene design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps I have created a card for the holiday season using images from Snowy Pine Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps and Birch Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps. The sentiment is from Kitchen Sink Stamps' Playful Christmas 1 Multi Step Clear Stamps. The moose was created with a moose die from Gina Marie Designs.

Multi Step Snowy Pine Trees

Multi Step Birch Trees

Playful Christmas 1

Color Recipe 

for the snowy pines

Layer 3 Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow

Layer 2 Stampin' Up Old Olive

Layer 1 Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade

Color Recipe

for the birch trunks

Layer 2 PaperTrey Ink Dark Chocolate

Layer 1 PaperTrey Ink Classic Kraft

I used a brush to add Peacock Feathers Distress Ink for the sky.

View more beautiful creations using

Kitchen Sink Stamps

when you visit

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator
of Kitchen Sink Stamps

CCEE1747 - Holiday Stash

This week Joanne has the CCEE Stampers making a card for our holiday stash.  She said it can be a Christmas card, a New Year’s card, or a winter card…..whichever one we think we most need for our stash.

I am frantically trying to get my Christmas cards in the mail before December 1 so mine is a Christmas card, of course.

This card was created with Stampin' Up's Night in Bethlehem.

See the cards the members of the CCEE Design Team are adding to their stashes this week!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Roses of Sympathy - KSS

A dear friend lost her sweet mother on Saturday so for this week's design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps I have used their Heart & Roses Multi Step Clear Stamps set and their Words of Comfort & Joy Clear Stamps to create this feminine sympathy card.

Color Recipe for the Rose

Layer 4 Memento Rhubarb Stalk stamped 3 times (using my MISTI, of course)
Layer 3 Memento Rhubarb Stalk
Layer 2 Memento Love Letter
Layer 1 PaperTrey Ink Hibiscus Burst

Leaves
Layer 3 Stampin' Up Old Olive
Layer 2 Memento Bamboo Leaves
Layer 1 Memento Pistachio

The embossing folder is Rose by Anna Griffin for Cuttlebug.

Check out the latest autumn beauty created by

Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

of Kitchen Sink Stamps

CCEE1746 - Floral Birthday

Happy Birthday to our beloved CCEE hostess, Joanne Grzelak!!  In honor of her special day, this week's challenge is to make a feminine birthday card with flowers.  In addition, Joanne has asked the CCEE Stampers to honor her on her birthday by doing a random act of kindness.  She has asked us to call a friend who might need cheer, pay for someone's coffee, or give a hug, .....try to make a difference.

The sentiment is from Happy Birthday, Everyone by Stampin' Up

The Die Cut Wildflowers are by Tim Holtz

Here are the floral creations from the rest of the CCEE Stampers honoring Joanne on her birthday!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams

Frances Byrne
Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Thanksgiving Blessings - KSS LMS061

I have been struggling with computer issues in recent days and have finally gotten this post to load. Later this morning, it is off to the repair shop where I hope they are able to fix all the computer problems I have been having for the past week.

For today's Let's Make a Scene design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps, I have made a card of thanksgiving. It includes images fro the following Kitchen Sink Stamps sets.

Turkey Trot Multi Step Clear Stamps
Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps
Birch Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps
Pumpkins Multi Step Clear Stamps

Check out Maria's blog below for more

Kitchen Sink Stamps inspiration:

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE1745 - Masculine Cards

Our CCEE hostess, Joanne, says that she never seems to have enough masculine birthday cards.  She has therefore declared this a week for the guys. We are to make a masculine card of any type….does not have to be a birthday card.

I am always in need of masculine cards of encouragement to send for members of my church. I made a half-dozen of these this week to add to my church stash.

The deer image is from Gina Marie Designs and the sentiment is from New Mercies by Verve. The woodgrain background was stamped with Hardwood by Stampin' Up.

See more wonderful masculine designs
by the CCEE Stampers:

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

KSS - Into the Forest

I created today's card sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps for Clean and Simple Challenge 454 - Into the Forest at Splitcoaststampers. Tricia's description of the challenge in a nutshell: Make a card that features either creatures that would live in the forest (birds, raccoons, deer, fox, squirrels, wolves, etc.) or the forest itself. (Trees, branches)

This card went together so quickly and easily. It is basically a one layer design with cut out birch tree trunks glued over the stamped background.

Kitchen Sink Stamps images used came from:

Turkey Trot Multi Step Clear Stamps
Birch Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps
Honey Bunny Multi Step Clear Stamps (for the grass)

Find more Kitchen Sink Stamps inspiration below:

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE1744 - Cards of Thanks

This month our CCEE hostess, Joanne Grzelak, is going to keep it simple.  The holidays are coming, and times will be busy.  This will be a month of celebrations.  This week she would like us to make a Thanksgiving card OR a card of thanks.

Mine was created with the Thanks a Latte Impresslits by Sizzix.

See what the rest of the CCEE Stampers have created:

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Splash Watercolor Background for Christmas Florals - KSS

I didn't plan to, but somehow I got caught up in Splitcoaststampers' Falliday Fest and find myself today two cards short of completing all 30 challenges and 7 bonus challenges. For this card sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps, I used today's Try a New Technique Challenge from Splitcoaststampers seen here. The background for this floral Christmas design was created on watercolor paper using Fossilized Amber and Wild Honey Distress Ink. After they had dried, I stamped the spray of roses and greenery on top. I like the rough look of the stamping over the colored watercolor background. I hope you do to!

I finished the card with a die cut sentiment from Sizzix's Home for the Holidays.

Kitchen Sink Stamps used for this design include:

Heart & Roses Multi Step Clear Stamps
Holly & Mistletoe Multi Step Clear Stamps
Build a Garland Multi Step Clear Stamps

Now I only have one more card to go!!

The Kitchen Sink Crew also includes:

Lisa Somerville - designer

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE1743 - Black Cat Day

Apparently October 27 is Black Cat Day and October 29 is Cat Day. So for the CCEE Challenge this week our hostess, Frances, has asked the CCEE Stampers to include a cat on our creations … black or not.

I need to get Halloween treats in the mail tomorrow for the grands so black cats it is for me!

Images from Ghouls & Goblins by Inkadinkadoo

Cat Dies by Impression Obsession

Circle and Rectangle Dies by Spellbinders

Arch Dies by QuicKutz

Grass Tufts Dies by Gina Marie Designs

Check out the CCEE Design Teams cards with "cattitude"!!!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Splitcoaststampers Falliday Fest 2017

I thought at first that I wasn't going to be able to join in the fun at the Splitcoaststampers 2017 Falliday Fest due to all the busy work I had to tackle with purchasing and installing three new appliances and lining up contractors to complete my Hurricane Harvey damage. The tree trimmers finished on Monday and I am so thrilled with the results! Next comes the new fence and the new roof!

Here is a quick look at my wonderful oak trees! They stay green through the winter and drop their leaves in March.

The day the Falliday Fest started was a slow day for me so I jumped on the challenges and got started. On the days after, I seemed to pick of steam and plowed on through. The results are that I am on track to be a Yeti having completed all of the 30 challenges. All that remains is to complete 7 of the daily challenges before October 31.

I won't bore you with all 30, but today I am sharing with you a few of my favorite cards from the challenges.

Home for the Holidays Dies by Sizzix

Sunshine Girl and sentiment by Unity

Winter Cardinal by Altenew and Sizzix Dies

Ghouls & Goblins by Inkadinkado, Trick or Treat by Newton's Nook Designs

Spellbinders and Impression Obsession Dies

Stella - Santa Called by Bugaboo

Sizzix Dies

Calm Christmas by Stampin' Up

Globe and Snowflakes Dies by Sizzix

Autumn View - LMS - KSS

I had so much fun creating this week's Let's Make a Scene design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps using all these rich, beautiful colors of autumn. Although we have had a cool breeze or two through here is the past few weeks, I am still anxiously awaiting the first true Texas Norther! I am so ready for sweater weather!!

To create my window on autumn I have used images from the following Kitchen Sink Stamps sets:

Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps

Autumn Squirrel Multi Step Clear Stamps

Tree Friends Multi Step Clear Stamps

Owl & Autumn Moon Multi Step Clear Stamps

Words of Comfort & Joy Clear Stamps

The chair was created with a die by Impression Obsession.

The grass tuft was created with a die from Gina Marie Designs.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. It's always great to see you here!!

Kitchen Sink Crew:

Lisa Somerville - designer

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE 1741 - Acetate

Our CCEE October hostess, Frances, has challenged the CCEE Stampers to create cards that include acetate in some way. Shaker Cards; Magic Color Slider Cards; Gap Cards; Acetate Windows etc.

I have chosen instead of a card to make a Christmas treat box. It is really easy and fun to do.
You cut an acetate card box in half and construct a cardstock lid. Then add the treats of your choice and decorate for the holidays. You end up with a cute, quick, and inexpensive treat for friends or coworkers.

Take a look at the creative ways the CCEE Designers have added acetate to their projects!

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

Autumn Get Well - Kitchen Sink Stamps

Today's card sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps is one of the cards I have created for the Falliday Fest over at Splitcoaststampers. You can see all of the challenges in this thread.

For the Block Party Challenge hosted by Ceal participants were to use an acrylic block to stamp a background for the design. I put Carved Pumpkin, Fossilized Amber, and Tea Dye Distress Ink on my acrylic block. After spritzing it with water, I stamped in on my white card front. I then added the leaf from Big Leaves Multi Step Clear Stamps by KSS.

Here is the recipe for the leaf:

Layer 4 Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate
Layer 3 Stampin' Up Baked Brown Sugar
Layer 2 Memento Morocco
Layer 1 Memento Cantaloupe

I then stamped on the sentiment from Make a Big Statement Clear Stamps using Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate.

I finished the card off with a splattering of Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Kitchen Sink Crew:

 Lisa Somerville - designer

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator

CCEE 1741 - Old Farmers Day

Did you know that today is "Old Farmers Day?"  Frances, our CCEE hostess for October, has asked that the CCEE Stampers show their appreciation to our farmers by creating something farm related today.

I have used images from

Horses by Inkadinkado

Landscape Silhouettes by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

and

a sentiment from

Scripture Medley 5 by Verve

Check out what the CCEE Stampers are doing down on the farm:

Joanne Grzelak

Anne Harmon

Vicky Gould

Lois Bak

Liz Williams
Frances Byrne

Maryann Einam
Kelly McKown-Santi

KSS LMS59 - Autumn Squirrel

Two things have been showing up in my yard a lot this week: squirrels and acorns. They were the inspiration for this week's Let's Make a Scene design sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps!

Images used came from the following Kitchen Sink Stamps Sets:

Autumn Squirrel Multi Step Clear Stamps

Snowy Cabin Multi Step Clear Stamps

Birch Trees Multi Step Clear Stamps

Color Recipe for the Squirrel

Layer 3 Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate

Layer 2 Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Sepia

Layer 1 Stampin' Up Creamy Caramel

The sentiment is die cut using

Shine Thinlits by Sizzix

Find more KSS inspiration in the work of the Kitchen Sink Crew:

Lisa Somerville - designer

 Maria Colosimo - owner and creator