Happy 2021

Hello and welcome!

Wrapping up the year with this fun New Year's card to be sent to my fun cardmaking friend, Joan.

 

The festive frog is from SugarPea's Everyday Is Christmas stamp set. It is one of my favorite sets with so many uses year round. The "happy" is a die cut by Die Versions. The numbers are CutUps by The Cats Pajamas. This card is based on a sketch on the SugarPeas blog.

This card is entered in:

• Mix It Up Challenge 74 at SugarPea Designs

              

• The December Meant To Be Sent Challenge at SugarPea Designs
  

• The "Holiday Fun" Challenge at Dare 2B Artzy

               

• Your Next Stamp Challenge #174 "All Wrapped Up"
  

• The "Sparkle and Shine" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY NEW YEAR at long last,

-June

Butterfly Thank You Card

Hello and welcome!

Making thank you notes for all the generous Christmas gifts this year.

The Thank You die is from Simon Says Stamp (czd74). The glittery gold frame is a Nestabilities by Spellbinders. The sparkly butterfly is a die by Cheery Lynn. The background was created with acrylic paint applied with a brayer.

This card is entered in:

•  The "Sparkle and Shine" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thank you for stopping by. Happy holidays!

-June

Merry Christmoose Tag

 Hello and welcome!

Gifts always look so much more festive with homemade tags on them.

I used Memory Box's Stitched Circle trees and Poppy Stamp's Whittled Moose dies on this tag along with white glitter and gold metallic papers.

This tag is entered in:

• Memory Box Challenge #67 "Trees"

             

• Poppy Stamps Challenge #75 "Anything But a Card"

             

• The December Challenge at Kat Scrappiness
  

• The "Sparkle and Shine" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by. Happy holidays!

-June

Jolly Santa Card

 Hello and welcome!

Love this time of the year when I can bring out some of my favorite stamp sets and create. I made this fun card for my son to send to one of his friends.

I used Gina K.'s Season's Greetings stamp set, which is one of my favorites for the holidays. For the Gina K tic-tac-toe challenge I used the 1st column: circle die cut - heat embossing - vellum.

This card is entered in:

• The December Monthly Mix Challenge at Gina K. Designs
  

• The "Celebrate!" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays,

-June

Twin Snowmen Card

 Hello and welcome!

I found some fun left over backgrounds and dies cuts in a box, so I decided to create with them. Here is a card I created for my teenage son to send to his friend:

The fun die cuts are Simon Says Stamp's Picture Book Snowman.

This card is entered in:

• The "Holiday Fun" December Challenge at Dare 2B Artzy
  

• The "Celebrate!" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays,

-June

Fun Tag

Hello and welcome!

I found a box of "left over" card pieces and decided to start creating with them. Here is a fun tag:

 Gerda Steiner's All Cats stamp set was use to create the kitty and bird. They were colored with Zig watercolor markers.

This tag is entered in:

• Gerda Steiner's December Share Your Designs Challenge  

• The December Challenge at Kat Scrappines

• Your Next Stamp Challenge #154 "All Wrapped Up"

• The "Celebrate!" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Christmas Critters" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays,

-June

A Beary Merry Christmas

 Hello and welcome!

It is getting down to the wire for mailing Christmas cards. This card is going to a very dear friend who could use a smile.

I used My Favorite Things adorable Bitty Bears stamp set and colored them Zig watercolor markers. This card is based a sketch and color combination from the MFT blog.

This card is entered in:

• Wednesday Sketch Challenge 520 at My Favorite Things

              

• MFT Color Challenge 155 at My Favorite Things

              

• The "Holiday Fun" December Challenge at Dare 2B Artzy
  

              

• Your Next Stamp Challenge #154 "All Wrapped Up"
  

• The "Ice Cold" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Christmas Critters" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a merry Christmas,

-June

November COVID Chronicles

Hello and welcome!

We knew a second wave of the virus was coming, but we did not expect this! A month ago we didn't know anyone with COVID-19; now we know several. We are still safe and staying home, but it is wearing. Pandemic fatigue is real.

I used Photo Play's Living The Quarantine Life collection and added some sequins.

This page is entered in:

• The December "Mask Up" Challenge at Scrap Our Stash

              

• Challenge YOUrself #84  

             

 

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe,

-June

Yay It's Your Birthday!

 Hello and welcome!

December is a big month for parties here at the Swart household, as we are not only getting ready for Christmas, but we celebrate Aaron's and Shara's birthdays! Here is a fun card I created for Shara:

I used My Favorite Things "Yay For You" stamp set and circle dies. The pattern papers are "Birthday Wishes" by Echo Park. The sequins are by Simon Says Stamp. This card is based on a sketch and inspired by the color combo from the My Favorite Things blog.

This card is entered in:

• Wednesday Sketch Challenge 518 at My Favorite Things

              

• MFT Color Challenge 154 at My Favorite Things

              

• The November Birthday Project at My Favorite Things
  

• The "Fun with Dies" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Thank for stopping by,

-June

June Covid Chronicles

 Hello and welcome!

In June the pandemic took a backseat to the riots after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We live only 12 miles from there. It was scary with all the violence so close. Several days after things calmed down, we drove downtown to see what happened and try to get a better understanding of the situation (but avoided the epicenter out of respect). Here is what we saw...

The quote "I Can't Breathe" will take on a powerful new meaning for years to come. The brick, peace and bird chipboard is by Creative Embellishments. I painted the chipboard with spray mists. This page's colors were inspired by a mood photo at Creative Embellishments.

This layout is entered in:

• The November Challenge at Creative Embellishments

              

• The "Anything Goes" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

May COVID Chronicles

 Hello and welcome!

This page documents some of the ways our lives changed in just a few months. I am thankful that I can still meet with my girlfriends through zoom calls.

I used Photo Play's Living The Quarantine Life collection. This page is based on sketch by Rochelle Spears and inspired by Stacy's tic-tac-toe challenge. I used the last column: word balloons, 2 photos and ephemera.

This page is entered in:

• Rochelle Spears' November Sketch Challenge
  

               

• The November Tic Tac Toe Challenge at Scrap with Stacy

              

• The "Remembrance/Thinking of You" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Thanks/Thanksgiving" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

So Very Thankful

 Hello and welcome!

This is a photo from our Thanksgiving last year. It was the first one with Shara being an official member of the family! We were also excited to have Aaron back for a visit from college in Wisconsin. A lot to be thankful for.

This page is entered in:

• The "Thankful" November challenge at Scrap Our Stash

               

• Challenge YOUrself #83 "Home for the Holidays"

              

• The "Remembrance/Thinking of You" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Thanks/Thanksgiving" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

September COVID Chronicles

 Hello and welcome!

Not sure why this virus has become a political issue, but it sure has! Mask wearers vs. non-maskers. It is crazy and people are gong to extremes. I can't wait until after the Presidential election in November when things will (hopefully) settle down.

It was fun using some of my 4th of July stash to create this page. This layout is based on a sketch from Rochelle Spears blog. It is also inspired by Stacy's tic-tac-toe challenge. I used the third column: word stickers, 1 photo, and ink.

This page is entered in:

• Rochelle Spears' October Sketch Challenge 

              

• The October Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge at Scrap with Stacy

              

• The "Not a Card" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

• The "Layer It Up" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

April COVID Chronicles

 Hello and welcome!

These are some of the strangest times and so many things are changing. It is so important to document events now. Jeff had never worked from home before March 2020. Now he rarely goes back to the office and working from home may be the "new reality." Aaron was home from college for spring break and then couldn't go back to campus, having to finish the term online at home.

I used Photo Play's "Living The Quarantine Life" collection for this layout. This page was inspired by a mood on Scrap Our Stash blog.

This page is entered in:

• The "Hello October" Challenge at Scrap Our Stash

               

• The "Not a Card" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Layer It Up" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

August COVID Chronicles

Hello and welcome!

It has been hard for me to be creative during these difficult times. My blog posts are way down. But I am determined to get at least my monthly COVID chronicles done. So here is my layout for August:

This page is about mandatory mask wearing and dropping Aaron off at college. Photo Play's Living The Quarantine Life collection has made creating this page easy and fun. And Rochelle's and Stacy's challenges added the inspiration I desperately needed to finish the layout. Thanks ladies!!

This page is entered in:

• Rochelle Spears' September Sketch Challenge 

              

• The September Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge at Scrap with Stacy - I used the left column: Cork, Apple Embellishment, and Notebook Paper
  

              

• The "Add a Photo" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

 

Thanks for stopping by,

-June

March COVID Chronicles

Hello and welcome!

I am documenting the changes my family is going through each month. Here is March 2020, the first month when everything changed!

Who would have guessed that we would be so thankful for toilet paper?! I used Photo Play's Living The Quarantine Life collection for this page. The cute TP pups are stamps by The Cat's Pajamas.

 This page is entered in:

• TCP Tuesday #372 "Animals Challenge" at The Cat's Pajamas

              

• Challenge YOUrself #81 "Thankful"
  

• The "Add a Photo" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Animal Antics" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

 Thanks for stopping by,

-June

July Covid Chronicles

Hello and welcome!

Now is the time to scrapbook! So many things happening and changing. Here is the first of my monthly COVID Chronicles documenting the slight opening of business after 4 months of quarantine. The biggest impact was finally getting hair cuts after 6 months!

 

I used Photo Play's Living The Quarantine Life collection. It took me over a month to get these papers after I ordered them because of the problems at the Post Office (but that's another post). This layout is based on a sketch by Rochelle Spears. And I was inspired by Stacy's tic-tac-toe challenge and used the first row: polka dot-clip-tag.

This page is entered in:

• Rochelle Spears' August Sketch Challenge 

               

• The August Tic Tac Toe Challenge at Scrap with Stacy

              

• The "Summer Memories" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

• The "Midsummer Blues" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
  

Stay safe and be considerate,

-June