When I got all my Halloween stamping supplies out I was thrilled to see I still had all those stickers I got a while ago. http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/ has a challenge this week for using stickers, sticky labels or peel offs on your cards. The challenge ends soon so I wanted to get this card in. The last time I played there I messed up and didn't have enough white space. I am learning. I'll share a quick story with you. When I first found stampers on blogs and saw the pictures for the challenges I wondered why they posted such small pictures of their cards because you couldn't really see very much.  I did not realize you could click on them and they would be bigger. See how far I've come! Be kind to one another.

I would like to welcome a new follower to my blog. She is Karen Hasheck of Wisconsin and is a recently retired lady and she is really busy. I hope you will be able to visit her blog at http://karenskreativekards.blogspot.com/.

I got busy and put all the Halloween stamps, dies and embellishments together along with all the papers I have on the dining room table. I don't have a surface in my craft room to keep it all out while I go through the time until Halloween. It is my favorite time to stamp. Then I called the family and invited them for dinner this weekend to celebrate the September birthdays. So I proceeded to haul it all out to the sunroom. It will have to be moved back after they leave. I grabbed one new stamp from Prickley Pear and one new die from Concord and 9th and put a card together. The paper is Graphic 45 but not this years. The greeting is Lawn Fawn and embossed in Zing embossing powder in apricot.  The circles are Spellbinders. Now that the card is finished I wish I had embossed the pumpkin too so it would really stand out. I'll do that next time. I don't know why I always finish a card, look it over and decide I should have done this or that. I hope I'm not alone. Be kind to one another.

This is my second entry for Darnell's NBUS.

I truly did not give you a good picture of what happened with the tornado that touched down in Kokomo. There were 1,002 houses with structural damage, 81 homes completely destroyed and 173 homes with major damage that need serious repair. If that weren't enough yesterday morning a severe storm came through the north side of town and ripped up trees and took down power lines. Many are still without power. Then last night another storm came through and caused major flooding with waist high water and people trapped in cars.  Right now as I type there have been two more serious rain storms go through. I am so over storms. As I am also so over scenes.

I agonized over this card for several days. I knew what I wanted to do. This is not how I saw it in my mind but you will get the gist of it. The cat was supposed to be sitting on a shelf overlooking the fish bowl on the table. This is for my granddaughters birthday and she has a soft yellow cat. I don't know to make a table so I just cut paper from a 6x6 pad of MME pad for the table and shelf. The shelf is cut with a poppy stamp die. The cat is from Tim Holtz mini cats and dogs. I had to make the fishbowl and inked it in DI inks and added the fish from Simon Says Stamp. Added WOS to the large fish and a googly eye to the cat.  Those things to the left of the cat are books in case you didn't recognize them! The shelf looked so bare. The sentiment is SSS also. This is the end of the birthday cards I needed so I'm ready to get all the Halloween stuff out and get started. I am entering this card in Darnell's NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) http://www.djkardkreations.com/. The mini cats and dog set is new as is the SSS fishes set. Even the googly eye is from a new package. Be kind to one another.

I just realized http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/  has a "fish" theme this week so I am entering this card there.

I would like to welcome a new follower, Lia. I don't know her blog or website but I'm so happy you are here. I would be happy to post your blog if you would like.

We really had some terrible weather in our state yesterday. Many tornadoes touched down and caused a lot of damage to the north and west of here. I had wind, rain, thunder and lightning but not dangerous like they had other places. A Starbucks completely collasped. Fortunately there were only 15 non life threating injuries but a lot of homes were damaged or destroyed. That always breaks my heart to see things like that whether it is tornadoes, fire, floods or earthquakes.

I am trying to creat scenes for my cards and this is another one for my sons birthday in Oct. Started by stamping mountains from Hero Arts. Sponged sky (which you can't see) above and lighter blues for lake under the mountains. That could have been darker. Then grass and cattails from Technique Tuesday with DI for land. The deer are Memory Box and the window is Poppy Stamps. The burlap paper is DCWV.  I may have put too much in the scene for such a small window. It's nice to just try it and see what the outcome is and I do like this. He is a big outdoor person so I think he will like it too. Be kind to one another.

It was a sad week. My neighbor across the street passed away and her service was yesterday. She had been a caretaker for her husband with Parkinsons for many years and he passed three years ago. Shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer and went through all her treatments but never really felt well after that. It returned in several places and she went very fast. I never heard her complain about taking care of him or at any time when she was ill. Very sweet lady and a good friend and neighbor. She will be missed by all of us.

This card is for my grandsons birthday next month. I am trying so hard to get ahead of my birthday cards for the family. Seems like I turn the calendar page over and it's time for all three Sept. birthdays and I'm never ready. This is an Avery Elle stamp and I think he will like it. I used a Simon Says Stencil and distress inks for the waves on the card front and a Spellbinders die for the circle. It seemed somewhat bland and I didn't want to add bling to a guy card so I added a gold tooth for him. His teeth are so small it's hard to see. Be kind to one another.

Rain, rain and more rain here. My thoughts are with Louisiana and their floods and for all the people in the midst of California fires. Mother Nature is in a really bad mood and can't seem to get out of it. Todays card is for my girlfriends birthday the end of this month. It is a Hero Arts stamp and the banner is also HA. Black cardstock and a snippet of blue cardstock. I stamped the background with black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then inked in the birds and flowers. I am entering this card in https://a2zscrapbookingblog.com, http://www.cropstop.com/blog/,  http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/. and http://cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com/ Be kind to one another.

Yesterday was a very productive day. Not in a card way but I got a lot done in the house. Below is my newest purchase. It is a Raskog cart from Ikea. I ordered it because it holds a lot but can go in a small space and it's on rollers so it's easy to move around. I think I will store punches in it if it holds together. I say that because "I" put it together. I had heard that Ikea products were hard to assemble but when I looked at the pictures (no actual directions) I didn't think it looked hard at all. In fact it was quite simple. EXCEPT for that middle shelf. The screws barely fit through the tubes then you put on the washers on the inside. I laid it on its side, I stood it up. I turned it over and kicked it. I did not realize I knew so much profanity. Molly, who never leaves my side, took off for the kitchen and stayed there. There was nothing to hold the shelf in place while you put the screws in. But, I did it and I'm very pleased with myself. Molly, not so much. The picture is dark because it is dark and very overcast today with rain forecast. Be kind to one another.

It's been pretty hot the last few days so it's a good time to stay in and craft. This is a card that I decided I would rather give my DIL for her birthday next month. I played around with Inka Gold and used it for the background of this card. I love the shine of it. The coffee rings and splats are a TCW stencil and the cup and sentiment are Mint Owl stamps. I am going to enter this card in http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/ challenge using blue and brown. Be kind to one another.

Okay, so I haven't used my new goodies yet but I did make this card for my son's birthday. He loves to camp and kayak and always makes a fire so I put it all on one card. My next class should be on how to make a scene. I'm not good with depth and need to learn that. He will like it though. The tent is Stampin' Up, kayak is TPC Studio and the trees, fire and flip flops are Lawn Fawn. I sponged DI for sky and sand and added stars with a white chalk marker. I have three signo white pens, none of which work. They must dry up quick. I stamped the trees directly and cut out and glued on the rest. I found a new (to me) challenge at http://twoferschallenge.blogspot.com/ whose challenge is The Heat is On. I hope the fire will qualify. Be kind to one another.

My sister in law and I made the trip to Cincinnati yesterday for Stampaway. The weather was perfect and the trip was easy. We had a great time visiting all the booths and seeing some new things. Just when you think there can't be anything else new, there is more! The highlight of the trip for me was meeting and talking to Heidi Crowl of https://www.simonsaysstamp.com/ . She is very sweet and warm and we had a nice conversation. Shari  Carroll http://shari-design.blogspot.com/ was doing a Make and Take but she was busy so I didn't say hello.  I did get some new stamps and dies and really covered the holidays, Easter, Valentines Day, Halloween and Christmas. Also got the new Tim Holtz Crazy Cats and Dog set. It is pretty overwhelming to see so many gorgeous card samples and all the stamps and dies in one place but I survived with a smile on my face! Now I'm ready for NBUS. Be kind to one another.

I have a busy day today so this is quick. This card today is a birthday card I think I will give my DIL next month. I have another idea that I want to try for her but if I don't get it done, this will be it. It is Lawn Fawn paper, Memory Box Prim Poppy die and SU cardstock.  The little heart was the problem. First I added a clear raised heart that was bling. Didn't like it. Took it off, which was no easy feat. Then I found a Lawn Fawn little heart die and cut some white cardstock. I sponged on DI and I didn't like the way that worked since I had already cut them out. So I sponged DI on white c/s and then die cut hearts. Still didn't like them. I guess I didn't like the color. So I die cut three more from the same LF paper. Then decided to use only one heart instead of three. Three were too many. Who would have thought that one little heart would cause so much trouble! And added so much time to making the card. Here at http://lawnscaping.blogspot.com/ the challenge is to add pattern paper to your card so I am entering this card.  Be kind to one another.



Edited to add: Greta  reminded me about http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ Celebrate so I am entering this card for that. Thanks, Greta.