Butterfly hugs - Remembering Melissa

Hello everyone. Today's post is a tribute to one of my AAA team mates who passed far too early, Melissa Lane. I never got to meet Melissa in real life but she was always so nice and supportive of everyone in her comments across all the blogs and also in our conversations on the AAA Cards blog team page.  

This is from today's AAA Cards post:

Today AAA Cards is joining in with STAMPlorations to celebrate and acknowledge the artistic and creative talents of Melissa Lane.

Last October 2, Melissa (https://honeybeelane.wordpress.com) passed away. She was a talented cardmaker/crafter/artist, a mother of 4, wife, and servant of Jesus. Melissa loved to garden and she loved photography. Her favourite colour was red, and she loved butterflies -- so much so that many of the cards and other projects she made had butterflies in them.

She was a valuable part of the STAMPlorations Mixed Media team and AAA Cards CAS team.

If you knew Melissa when she was alive -- maybe you were on the same design team(s) or you were bloggy friends -- however you knew her, we'd like to invite you to join us in celebrating her life by creating a butterfly card in her memory.

You may blog about the card you make as a tribute to her or not, but either way, you can add your card to Melissa's Butterfly Gallery (an InLinkz linky) that will be found on the STAMPlorations tribute post. The linky will be open until October 31.

And should you wish Melissa's family to have your card, you can mail it to the address below. Shery Russ (STAMPlorations owner and Melissa's friend) will collect the butterfly cards, put them in a box, and mail them to Melissa's family.

Mail your butterfly cards to:

Shery Russ

20147 Road 192

Strathmore, CA 93267

USA

***Important: Stamp or draw a butterfly on the envelope so that it doesn't get opened accidentally. Make sure the envelope is sealed tight and/or the edges are reinforced with tape.***

Finally, here is a message from Melissa's husband, Chris. He posted this as a comment on Melissa's blog but he gave Shery permission to pass it on in any way that it can reach a wider audience.

"Hello everyone. This is Chris, Melissa’s husband. I have been blessed by the outpouring of so many people. I know it is difficult to mourn from long distance. If you’d like join the community going through this together, please go to our farm Facebook page @Mainepromisedlandfarm. Gardening and planting flowers were Melissa’s other creative passions and she had worked hard to get our farm to where it is today in just a short period of time. Please read along as my family and I walk through this trial and be able to encourage us as we encourage you with what God is doing to get us through. Blessings, grace and Peace.
Chris"


Thank you so much for visiting today. Make sure to hug those close to you as often as you can.
 -Cheryl

AAA Cards #126 - Moonlight

Hello. I am happy to be back with a new challenge at AAA Cards. The theme for this challenge is moonlight.

 

Here is my take on the challenge.

I used a background I made from alcohol inks in purple, blue and silver to die cut the little boy sitting in a crescent moon. I adhered it to the front of an A2 card and drew in the fishing pole. Then I stamped the sentiment and used versamark ink to stamp a few star clusters around the moon.

Supplies:

Stamps and dies: Hero Arts - MMH kit Aug 2017

Inks: Alcohol inks (I made this background awhile ago and didn't write down the colors); Versamark 

Our sponsor this week is Uniko who is giving away an in stock stamp set of your choice. Hope you can play along with us and thanks for visiting. 

Elf on the shelf - Sparkles Challenge #93

Hi again :) It is the first of the month and time to think about your holiday cards. This month Sparkles Christmas challenges is looking for cards for kids. For my card, I thought of the tradition of Elf on the Shelf.

I stamped the elf and then masked him off to stamp the shelf. I colored the scene in with copics and then used a rectangle die cut (my original stamping was off center and crooked, lol). I added the sentiment underneath and layered it on patterned paper.

Supplies:

Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Little elves; Hero Arts - Celebrate Everyday

Inks: MFT - Black licorice; Copics

The holiday season is coming up soon! Hope you can join us with your holiday cards :)

Thanks for visiting!!

AAA #125 - Inspired by a TV show

Hello! It is time for another challenge at AAA Cards challenges. For this challenge, we are looking to see how you are inspired by a TV show.

 

My card was inspired by a TV show that I used to watch as a kid, Home Improvement :)

This was my take on how Mr. Wilson, the neighbor, always greeted the family over the fence but you never got to see his face. For my card, I stamped the fence first and then masked it and added the little boy's face. I colored it in with copics and then stamped the sentiment next to it.

Supplies:

 Stamps: W plus 9 - Garden buddies; Cloncord & 9th - Perfectly penned

Inks: MFT - black licorice; Copics 

Hope you get a chance to play along with us.

Thanks for visiting! 

AAA Cards #124 - Imagine

Hello again! It is time for a new challenge at AAA Cards and the theme is Imagine.

With school starting for my kids, there are lots of activities going on and kids coming and going from my house. The imaginations of kids are amazing and one of the things that I hear them talking about lately is Halloween planning. So with that and our current theme, I decided to make a Halloween card :)

 My kids have been helping me color a bunch of these little costumed kiddos. These two were colored with tombows and then cut out with the matching dies. For the background, I cut a rectangle out of masking paper and used the negative portion to mask everything but the interior. Then I used distress inks to add some color to the background. I adhered the die-cut figures to the front and added some star sequins to the witch's outfit. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment under my image.

 

Our challenge this fortnight is being sponsored by Winnie and Walter. What does 'imagine' bring to mind for you? Hope you can join us for our challenge!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Fall Greetings - Be-Leaf Sparkle blends

Hey all! I am back with another of the new sparkle blend releases from Doodles Paper Playground. It still feels like summer here but now that it is September and school is starting, I feel like it should be fall, lol. I made this card with the Be-leaf sparkle blend. These colors scream fall and cooler weather so mice jumping into a pile of leaves was a perfect fit.

To start my card, I took a piece of white cardstock and stamped and colored leaves all over it. Then I stamped my mice and leaves (these are from last Stamptember) on a top folding A2 card and colored them with colored pencils. I cut out a dome shape on the leaf panel and used a dome shaker pouch from MFT in the cutout portion with the sparkle blend in it. For the sentiment, I stamped it on a piece of kraft cardstock and cut a banner shape around it. The last touch was using a few leaf sequins from the blend and adding them to the sentiment. Check out the closeup below. How gorgeous are those leaf sequins?

Supplies:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp/Neat & Tangled - Hello, Pumpkin; Create a Smile - Unfrogettable

Inks: Prismacolor pencils, Hero Arts - soft granite

Dies: MFT - Snow globe

Embellishments: Doodles Paper Playground - Be-leaf; MFT - dome shaker pouch

I am sharing this in a few challenges:
A bit more time to craft #75 - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Flickr #105 - Falling for Fall 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

AAA Cards #123 - Sketch

Hello! I am back with a new card for the AAA Cards challenge. This one was Jane's choice and I have to say that I love sketch challenges :)

 

Here is my take on the sketch.

 I took a top folding A2 white card and die cut a circle out of the front. Then I stamped flowers on the inside, using some masks, and picked a few to color in with Tombow markers. I picked a simple sentiment for the front so I can use this card for just about any reason.

Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Doodled flowers; YNS - Puddles of fun

Inks: Tombow markers; MFT - Black Licorice

Dies: We R Memory Keepers - Circle stack

Our challenge is sponsored by Happy Little Stampers and is giving a $20 gift certificate to the winner. Our design team and guest designer, Alex, have some beautiful cards for inspiration. Do you like sketch challenges too? If so, I hope you get a chance to play along.

I am sharing this card in:
Addicted to Stamps & more #307 - Make your Mark
SSS Wednesday - Anything goes
Watercooler Wednesday WWC185- Anything goes

Thanks so much for visiting!