Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Cutting Garden


If I have a sunny spot in my garden, I like to plant flowers that will be good for cutting bouquets. For just a few dollars and a couple packages of seeds, I can plant some easy growers like zinnias and cosmos.


I would plant sunflower varieties, too, but the squirrels and rabbits seem to love those too much.


I save salsa jars, syrup jars, and jam jars and use these as vases. Tie a ribbon around them, and you have an adorable bouquet to give as a gift.

I've already gifted two bouquets this week!

I should have plenty of flowers in the coming weeks, too. The butterflies, bumblebees and goldfinch get first dibs, of course. But they don't seem to mind sharing.




Blessings, cafe friends!

Monday, August 27, 2018

Our Bob Ross Summer


It's been a Bob Ross Summer here at the cottage. I've been dabbling in watercolor, and Sam finally broke out his Bob Ross painting kit.


Fun fact: Did you know that Bob Ross was a Ball State University alumni? That's where his shows were filmed, too! My oldest son, Luke, is a Ball State alumni, too!



Bob makes it look so easy on his videos, doesn't he? Happy trees and fluffy white clouds!


Sam is making great progress. Stay tuned! I will show you the masterpiece when it is finished!

In the meantime, here are a few flowers I worked on this summer!





I'm anxious to see what colors I can capture this autumn, too.

Sam is brave to put something on a canvas. It feels a lot more permanent than paper somehow. Maybe I will get brave and attempt that at some point in the future.

Blessings on your Monday, cafe friends!

Thursday, August 23, 2018

MFT Summer School 2: Ombre


Good morning! Welcome to the cafe! It's my last day of summer school at MFT, and the final lesson is ombre. I used the ombre technique I learned from Betsy Veldman, using inks applied to watercolor paper and then lightly dragged down with a flat brush.


Wings and Things is such a fun stamp set! I made the ombre background in shades of green to mimic the lush greenery in the woods right now.


We have an owl that patrols the neighborhood at night. I saw him swoop over our deck and perch on our neighbor's roof last month. He was quite the large, intimidating owl, too. Not like this cute little pair!


{Today's Brew: Wings and Things stamps and dies (MFT), MFT Blueprints dies, Lawn Fawn papers, Simple Stories enamel dots, Prisma markers}

Thanks for stopping by the cafe today!

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

MFT Summer School 2: Visual Triangle


Back to school! Summer school, that is!

Today's card uses the lesson of visual triangulation!


Yay! Autumn's approach means that I can use the Harvest Mouse stamp set with full abandon. tee hee hee! I love this little guy.


Here, the mouse, apple basket, and button form the visual triangle.


{Today's Brew: Harvest Mouse stamps and dies (MFT), SU papers, ribbon, button, button twine, Prisma markers, MFT cross stitched oval frame}

Thanks for stopping by the cafe today!

Monday, August 20, 2018

MFT Summer School 2: Monochromatic




Good morning, cafe friends! I have another MFT Summer School lesson today: Monochromatic!

I admit, this one is tough for me because I want to use more colors. But I restrained myself, and decided to choose only Golden hues for this card.



I used a ziploc baggie smooshing technique for the background. I sprayed the baggie with water, added a few drops of re-inker, swirled it a bit with a wet paint brush, and then smooshed the card stock onto the baggie. After this dried, I flicked a few splatters on top, stamped a few dots, and it was done.



{Today's Brew: MFT stamps and dies, PTI inks and card stock, PTI Rustic Twine}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Sunday, August 19, 2018

MFT Summer School: Rainbow


Hello, friends!

It's another day here in MFT Summer School. Today's challenge was to incorporate a rainbow in the design.

I gotta confess. I'm not a rainbow gal. I don't do unicorns or mermaids, either. I am a mother of sons. We do space and stars and nature, where other households might be about Barbie and glitter.

I love rainbows in nature! And I love how the Word tells me that rainbows are a sign that God keeps His promises to us.

I just don't own a lot of rainbow-type stamps or papers.

So for this card, I decided to use a background paper that was striped, in an assortment of autumn colors. It might not be ROYGBIV approved, but it's a close as I could get!


I forget to use my Pure Innocence stamps more often. I sold off a few some years back, but held on to my favorites. And this cutie holding the pumpkin? Adorable. It's so fun to paper-piece her dress, too!


I added a little Wink of Stella to her shoes, barrette, and heart. Okay, maybe I do like glitter...in moderation. lol!


{Today's Brew: Pure Innocence Lil Pumpkin stamps (MFT), MFT dies, SU paper, Prisma markers, Wink of Stella}

Blessings on your Sunday, cafe friends!

Saturday, August 18, 2018

MFT Summer School 2: Focal Point


Hello, cafe friends!

It's time for Summer School, session 2 at My Favorite Things!

Today's lesson: Focal Point!


I made the Hedgehogs the focal point of this card in several ways. First, I used the sunshine stencil to draw your eye, and second, I clustered the images together.


This one is in the mail for my sweet Mom, who has had a tough month with health issues. It's just another good reminder of why we moved back home to Michigan to be closer to family. She is such a blessing to me, and it's nice to have opportunities to bless her right back.


{Today's Brew: Hedgehogs stamps (MFT), MFT sunshine stencil, PTI inks and card stock, LF paper and grass die, Prisma markers}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Thursday, August 16, 2018

PTI Create Along With Us August 2018


Hello, friends!

Long time, no craft!  I know, I know. It's been a while since I went down to the studio and did some real card making. The end of summer has me doing so many other things...working in the garden, visiting family, getting Sam ready to start high school in a few weeks.

I was inspired by the new August release at Papertrey Ink. Autumn! My favorite season! I love all the colors, sights, sounds, smells and tastes of autumn.

I was inspired by this card that Heather made:


Oh my! I forgot how much I love the Twig Wreath stamp set!  I loved how Heather kept it simple with the stamping, just layering the die cut words and gourds over the top. I kept my stamping simple, too.


This morning, I was washing my Longaberger mugs, and I put them on top of my new drying mat from The Pioneer Woman (Walmart). Yep! I guess I do love this color combo a lot!



I used the colors for this card!


{Today's Brew: Twig Wreath stamp set (PTI), PTI inks and card stock, PTI die cut word, LF stitched frame}

Can you see the crab apple tree in the background? On the right? It's leaves are starting to turn golden. Eek! Autumn will be here soon!

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Summer Sale! Edited on 8/16, a few new items added!

Hello, cafe friends! It's time for a summer sale! Please email me or drop me a line in comments if you are interested in any of these items!

HUGE Simple Stories Planner Lot! $40, includes priority shipping. This lot includes items from both the SNAP collection and the Carpe Diem collection. Tons of planner stickers, two stamp sets, washi, inserts, and more. Most of these are brand new, with only a few items (the occasional sticker) missing.








WPlus9 Pretty Patches Tree and dies, $5 includes shipping.


Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here and dies, $10 includes shipping



PTI You Are Loved $5


Stampin Up in DVD case $7


Stampin Up in DVD case $7


Mama Elephant stamps, $10 each!




For the locals! If you live in the southeast Michigan/Northwest Ohio area, I am selling a lot of SU clear mount DVD style cases. About 80 in total, these retail with SU for $120, but I am selling the lot for only $75! In great condition. Pick up only.





Thanks for looking! My email is: maryrosescafe@gmail.com