New Year 2026

 Hello All and Happy New Year!  

It is hard to believe we are closing out 2025 (wasn't it just Y2K??).  I am trusting in God's faithfulness and looking forward to big changes in 2026.  

I am finishing up my month of guest designing with Creative Worship Stamps and the year 2025 with this card, which uses my most requested sentiment on it.  

As I so often do, I watercolored a single layer panel; I used the roses from the Sketched Roses Stamp Set and my Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  And, as I often do, I did not like the results so fussy cut around a portion of the rose to make a partially die cut panel.  I stamped a background with one of the leaf images from the set using a light grey ink.  The sentiment is from the Precious Poppies Stamp Set.  

Happy New Year, Everyone! 

Lee Ann  

Fluttering Cup

 Hello Again!  

I can't seem to get away from the I Like Big Cups Stamp Set.  I really enjoy filling the cups with unique things.  For today's card, I kept the card very CAS with just a bit of stenciling on the background panel.  

This time I filled the cup with butterflies!  I used the ones in the Vintage Nature Elements Stamp Set, colored them with Copics and fussy cut them out.  After stenciling a few dots from the Blotchy Dots and Hearts Stencil from Creative Worship Stamps, I adhered the cup and saucer and added the butterflies in various positions flying out of the cup.  

I added the sentiment (from the Timeless Hymns Stamp Set) and some sequins to finish off the card.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Bouquet for Valentines

 Hi Friends!

With Christmas over, I am moving on to Valentines cards.  I used the Creative Worship Stamps Sketched Roses stamp set for this card.  

The flowers were colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  For the vase, I repurposed the cup sleeve in the I Like Big Cups Stamp Set and turned it into a vase for my floral arrangement.  The simple sentiment is from the Love Wordfetti Stamp Set . 

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge,  Add a Sentiment.  

Sketch and Scrap~ Throwback sketch challenge

Color Dare- Pastel Color Challenge

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Lee Ann  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, 

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Products used

• Creative Worship Stamps Poinsettia Greetings 
• Creative Worship Stamps Christmas Pine
• Penny Black Baroque embossing folder
• Watercoloring- Ken Oliver Colorbursts

I am linking my card up to the following challenges~

Word Art Wednesday

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge (I turned the sketch)

Sparkle and Shine Challenge- Poinsettia

The Flower Challenge~  

Wishing you a blessed and peace filled Christmas!

Lee Ann  

Life in a Cup

 Hi All!  

I've played around with mixed media lately but today I had to get back to a good, clean card with a lot of white space!  I used several Creative Worship Stamp Sets and the Blotchy Hearts and Dots Stencil.  

I stamped the cup and saucer from the I Like Big Cups Stamp Set onto patterned paper and fussy cut it out.  I bit of grey Copic shading added depth to the cup.  

Next up, I stamped, colored and fussy cut out images from the stamp sets Colors of Fall and Vintage Nature Elements.  I tucked them into the cup along with some grass I die cut with the Tall Grass Die Cut.  

For the background panel, I used the Blotchy Dots and Hearts Stencil and some blue distress ink.  Once I inked the circles, I offset the stencil over them and then stamped the Typewriter Text Background Stamp through the stencil.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment from the Timeless Hymns Stamp Set onto the background.  

I just love how this turned out.  I am linking up to the following challenges~

Tic Tac Toe Challenge- I used the middle vertical row, free, blue, stencil.  

Inkspirational- Use Stencils

And, Art Nudge Challenge~I used the colors in the top right photo.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a Merry Christmas!

Lee Ann  

Grow in Him

 Hello Again!

Today's share uses more of the background from my last project, but this time I have used this gorgeous rose for my main image.  

The rose is from the Creative Worship Set, Sketched Roses.  The rose is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  I also colored and cut out some leaves.  

The background was made with distress spray stain, distress oxide inks, the Creative Worship stamp set Vintage Nature Elements the CWS Grunge Dots Stencil and DecoArt Crackle paste.  I adhered the mixed media background to a light grey background.  The Vintage Ledger Page Stamp was stamped in a dark teal ink and then die cut with a circle die.  I adhered the florals to the circle and the circle to the card base.  

I tucked in the sentiment, Grow with Him, in the leaves, added a bit of twine across the card and added a few sequins for sparkle.  

I am linking up to Word Art Wednesday.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Mixed Media Mushroom

 Hello Friends!

Mixed.  Media.  Mushroom!  Aaand, we have to throw some butterflies in there as well.  I have another card to share using these beautiful Creative Worship Stamps.  

I find that one of the best places for me to worship God is in nature, so combining this old hymn sentiment from the Timeless Hymns Stamp Set and these nature stamps from the Vintage Nature Elements Stamp Set was a no-brainer.  

The images were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  Prior to cutting out, I did put the main butterfly back in my MISTI and usedVersafine Claire black ink to intensify the black color.  

For the background, I played around with some new goodies, Distress Spray Stain in Evergreen Bough, Salvaged Patina and Tarnished Brass.  I started with a large sheet of paper and spritzed the stains randomly.  When the spray was dry, I used some DecoArt Media Crackle Paste with the Grunge Dots Stencil to add some texture.  Lastly, I stamped the small butterfly image on the panel using Distress Oxide Inks in Crushed Olive and Fossilized Amber.  

I selected a section of the mixed media sheet that I wanted to use for this card and stamped the Vintage Ledger Page Stamp in Versafine Claire Black Ink and then cut it out.  I stamped a couple of the small sentiments on the background as well.  

The images were grounded on a circle die cut and then adhered to the card.  The stamped sentiment strip was popped up and adhered as well.  A few sequins finish the card.  

I am linking up to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge using blue, free and stencil.

I am also linking up to Word Art Wednesday- Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by during this busy holiday season! 

Lee Ann  

Mixed Media Nativity

 Hello and Happy Holiday Season!  

I have the privilege of guest designing for Creative Worship Stamps this month of December.  With Christmas being 24 days away, I had to start out the month with a Christmas card.  

Today's card features my all time favorite Christmas Stamp- Born This Day from Creative Worship Stamps, formerly Sweet n Sassy Stamps.  

The main image was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  Dies are available, but I am one of those odd ones who likes to cut!  

I had fun with my mixed media background; initially, I stamped one of the pine branches from the Christmas Pine Stamp Set in Versamark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder.  Next up, playing with the CWS Blotchy Dots and Hearts Stencil- I inked up the dots side of the stencil with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink and spritzed it with water, then smooshed it onto the paper.  By the time I was done, you really could not make out the dots, by I ended up with a nice blotchy background.  

Next up, I placed the dots stencil on the dried background and spritzed it with Salvaged Patina Distress Spray.  Once everything was dry, I stamped the sentiment from the Holly Christmas Stamp Set adhered the main image and added  some sequins for sparkle and called it done.  

I am linking up to the following challenges~

The Four Seasons Challenge

The Paper Players- I have used multiple rows-white/Christmas/die cuts, white/stenciling/sparkle, stenciling/trees/embossing

Just Us Girls- Anything Goes Stencil Week

Just Add Ink- Just add dies and/or stencils

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Lee Ann    

PB Polar Bear

 Hello and Happy Fall!

It's been a bit again since I have been here,  but I have been busy working on Christmas cards when I can.  I got the new PB Polar Bear (Penny Black, not peanut butter) and had to give him a go.  

I initially stamped the image in a light blue gray color and then colored with Copics.  After coloring, I stamped the packages and facial features in black ink.  I used the Freshly Made Sketches sketch for the card.  

I turned the sketch upside down and then used a strip of a gel plate print for the background.  The sentiment is from Creative Worship Stamps.  

I am also linking up to Simply Clean and Simple- anything goes and Sparkles Christmas Challenge, Nontraditional Christmas Colors. 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Lee Ann  

Fresh Flowers and a Celebration with Freshly Made Sketches!

 Hello Friends!  

If you have been around a while, you may remember that several years ago I had the pleasure of designing for one of my favorite challenges, Freshly Made Sketches.  This week, they are celebrating their 700th sketch!  Past designers have been invited to join in and of course, I was honored to say yes. 

Here is this week's sketch~

We are also sharing the very first card we made as a member of the FMS design team.  I still love this monochromatic baby card!

Back to today's card.  This floral image from Penny Black was a 'must have' and I colored it with Copics and fussy cut it out.  The background panel was embossed with a Penny Black embossing folder.  I then layered die cut squares and a die cut circle on top.  I finished off with the flowers, adding some dimension to the flowers.  The sentiment is an oldie but goodie from Creative Worship Stamps.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to join in the fun at Freshly Made Sketches!  

Lee Ann

Blue CHRISTmas

 Hello, Hello!

Well, summer is just about over when you go by the school year calendar (I know officially we have over 4 months to go before Christmas).  Christmas cardmaking has been in full swing here since July.  

I used the sketch at Jingle Belles for this card~

I played with all the things for this card- my very favorite Christmas image-from the Born This Day Stamp Set at Creative Worship Stamps, my new die set from PTI, stenciling with the Diamond Tile Stencil from CWS and Distress Ink.  Image colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  The sentiment is from another favorite CWS set, Holly Christmas.  

I am also linking up to Stencil Fun- anything goes for August as well as the Peace On Earth Challenge-anything goes. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann   

What Candycane?

 Hello Friends! 

I have another Christmas card to share from my weekend crafty get away.  This cutie always gets a laugh! 

I've been around long enough to have many old, retired products.  That includes everything for today's card.  The stamp is retired Stamping Bella, the stencil is Stamplorations (out of business), the scalloped edge is MFT(oob) and the embellies are SU.  

I also used a stencil to emboss with for a bit of texture on the card front panel as I forgot to bring embossing folders with me to the retreat.  

I am linking up to Jingle Belles -tic tac toe.  I used animal, red and die cut.  

I am also linking up to Christmas Kickstart- challenge 100, Merry Go Round.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week! 

Lee Ann  

Beary Christmas

 Hello!  

I am back from a crafty retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains where I was creating Christmas cards-yep, Christmas in July.  

I was inspired by several challenges, including Color Dare Challenge.  I was wanting to get away from traditional Christmas colors and these colors fit the bill perfectly.  

I am also linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More- Christmas, Just Add Ink-Christmas in July, Just Us Girls-Stencil Week.  

The adorable image is Penny Black and is colored with Copics.  The sentiment is from Creative Worship Stamps and the stencil is from the now closed Stamplorations company.  A few sequins and some Crystal Effects on his nose finish the card.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week! 

Lee Ann  

Geo Giraffes

 Happy Summer Crafty Friends!  

Do your summer plans include crafting?  Travelling?  Projects around the home?  I am ready to catch up on all the things.  

Baby cards are on the agenda so I pulled out an oldie, yet never used stamp set from Altenew.  I was inspired by the Festive Friday Challenge~

I used masculine colors, textured cardstock, and geometric design for this card.  

Mostly I did a lot of fussy cutting after stamping the image on 3 different colors of cs.  I used an old, old SU embossing folder and the sentiment is a retired SnSS set.  

I am also linking up to Can You Handle the Pressure- Zoo Animals and Inkspirational Challenges- Celebrate.  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Lee Ann  

Rose on Black

 Hello, Hello!  

The crafting rut has struck so I am really relying on challenges and techniques, etc that I have not done in a long while.  I loved the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and for a while there it was very trendy to pop up parts of a background and use the negative space.  That fit this week's sketch perfectly. 

I added some yellow in the way of patterned paper behind the background panels and rose.  This card was a 'bits and pieces' card- things leftover from prior projects.  The rose has been in my stash for about a year.  The leaves are probably about 8 years old-yep!  The patterned paper scrap, well, we all have those stashes of little bits of paper hanging around.  

The rose is from Creative Worship Stamps, the leaves are from Heartfelt Creations (no longer in business) and the embossing folder is my newest one, from Penny Black.  

Some gold threat and sequins finish the card.  

Here is the Freshly Made Sketches sketch~

My colors are from Color Dare Challenge~  

As well as Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes.  

Thanks for visiting!  

Lee Ann

Red Tulips

Hello Crafty Friends, 

I am making lots of cards- flower and more flowers.  My friend asked for thank you cards, so that is what is on the craft table.  

I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday.  

I took liberties with the diagonal strip and instead used a die cut with a diagonal edge at the bottom.  

I am also linking up to Can You Handle the Pressure and The Four Seasons Challenge- Spring.   

My image is an old Power Poppy image (thank you Marcella for a beauty) which is colored with Copics and fussy cut out. I used a MFT edge die along the bottom of the blue panel and then embossed the panel with an old SU ef.  The flowers were added to a banner and the sentiment, which is from The Ton, was stamped with Versaclair ink.  

I am not getting fancy with photography these days, so the picture is not the best.  Less time with camera= more time crafting! 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Lee Ann  

Girlie Colors

 Hello All, 

The school year is winding down and I am ready for summer!  We have had lots of rain and I am looking forward to sunnier days.  Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! 

Today's card color palette was inpired by the Inspired By Challenge.  

The sketch is from Sunday Stamps~

The background stamp is from Impression Obsession (now closed) and the floral image is from Creative Worship Stamps.  I stamped off once with the background image to get a distressed, vintage look.  

The image is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  

Circle die cuts are SSS and base layer die cut is MFT.  

I am also linking up to Word Art Wednesday and The Four Seasons Challenge.  

U is for Umbrella

 Hello, Hello!

Today's card uses the absolute sweetest image from the now defunct Lil' Inker Designs.  I loved their vintage images.           

I paired the image with a sentiment from Creative Worship Stamps.  

For the background panel I swiped an ink pad down and across the panel.  The image was colored with Copics ( umbrella was paper pieced) and fussy cut out.  I grabbed a frame in my leftovers stash and assembled the card.  Several clear sequin 'raindrops' finish the card.  

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Whatever the Weather.  

I am also linking up to Inkspirational for their 'Seasonal" challenge~

Lastly, I am linking up to the Alphabet Challenge- U is for Umbrella~

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Blue Blooms

 Me Again!  

Yep, I worked in another card this weekend, using the color palette from Color Dare~

Here is the color challenge~

Old and new.  I used both on this card- my new dies from Penny Black and an old peony stamp from The Ton and even older patterned paper from Stampin Up. The background panel uses a die from Altenew.  

I am also linking up to the Triple B April Challenge.