Make a Wish (DTC #224 )

Double Trouble Challenge #224 is up on the blog awaiting your projects. This biweekly challenge runs through Sunday, September 13, 2026. 

As is customary, Trouble Maker has a required 3-2-1 Recipe ready to follow. Because National Trail Mix Day, aka GORP Day, fell on Monday, August 31, 2026, she is looking for a yummy mix of elements.

Here is how I completed Thing 1's REQUIREMENTS:

AT LEAST

3  -  Patterned papers

Two panels on the front of the card and the yellow butterfly make up three different patterns.

2  -  Colors

My card is primarily blue and pink.

1  -  Image

Each butterfly is an image.

THING #3 OPTION

Twisted Sister noticed that September is National Sewing Month. Her "twist" is to include stitching on your project. Doubling up the two oval dies created a stitch-like appearance.

THING #2 OPTION

Above is Sketch #703 from our sister challenge, Try a Sketch on Tuesday, effective on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. If you use the sketch, you will earn additional chances in our random drawing. This sketch inspired my card, and to adhere to back-linking rules, I will submit a new card to TSOT.

The inside of the card was lined with a white cardstock panel, then decorated with a few small fussy-cut leaves and coordinating paper. 

The Design Team invites you to visit the Double Trouble Blog to enjoy their cards and review the challenge guidelines.

Melanie

Curious Cats (CD #718)

Welcome to my blog! Today is the beginning of a new biweekly color challenge at Color Dare. This challenge runs through Thursday, September 10, 2026.

The color board is below. You must use at least three of the colors shown. Neutrals are also permitted, including black and white, and you are free to add metallic silver or gold. Colors outside of these limitations are not permitted.

I recently went through a forgotten box of patterned paper in my stash and found a packet of delightful paper - depicting my favorite domestic pet - the Felis catus, or Feline. (I love dogs, too.) 

The black cat images and green paw prints were printed on the white background, and after fiddling with the dimensions, the result was a scrap of patterned paper perfect for a Slimline card front.

Looking at the color board, the paws in two tones of green on the patterned paper closely matched the required green. I punched a few bright butterflies from yellow patterned paper, and cut a tiny yellow collar. A grape-colored collar is depicted with enamel dots. For something different, I added a small die-cut silver metallic bow to one of the cats. Additional enamel dots create a more festive vibe. I will add a sentiment to the card later. 

Thank you for visiting. Please visit our blog to view the array of cards created by the Color Dare Design Team. I would appreciate your comments as well.

Melanie

Materials

Cardstock: SU Basic White, Basic Black, Old Olive & Silver

Patterned Paper: "Cats" (unknown source), Ink 'n Splatter "Honey Sweet"

Die: Little Bow

Punch: SU "Itty Bitty Butterfly"

Misc.: Enamel Dots from stash

Size/Style: Slimline

Celebrate (TSOT #702)

It's time for another great sketch challenge over at Try a Sketch on Tuesday. This biweekly challenge runs through Sunday, August 30, 2026, at noon ET.

This sketch is the perfect choice for almost any occasion as well as for a variety of patterned designs and colors. The image can be stenciled, die-cut, or stamped, and there is sufficient space for a sentiment.

The card was made using scraps from my stash. The plant image is comprised of two identical die-cut images, with the white adhered behind the black. The sentiment was stamped direct-to-paper, and a few gems were added. The inside was decorated with a few butterflies fussy-cut from the paper.

The TSOT Design Team has created an array of lovely cards, each with its own interpretation of the sketch. Visit the TSOT 702 Blog to view the cards and guidelines.

Double Trouble Challenge #223 is also open. If you use the TSOT sketch above and enter your work at Double Trouble, you will earn a chance in their random drawing. Just be sure to read their guidelines before creating your card. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Melanie

Materials

Ink: SU #139471 "Birthday Blossoms" (sentiment)

Cardstock: SU Basic White, Basic Black; SBC "Fresh Duo" (mat)

Patterned Paper: Vicki Boutin "Where to Next?"

Specialty Paper: SBC Rainbow Glitter (orange butterfly)

Die: Sizzix Thinlits Wildflower Stems

Punch: SU Itty Bitty Butterfly

Misc.: Dot stickers from stash

Size: A2

Techniques: Stamping, Die-cutting

Happy Fall (DTC #223)

Here in the southeastern USA, it's still very much summer, but I wanted to get a start on a few Autumn cards before throwing my energy into the winter holidays. Double Trouble Challenge #223 presented an opportunity with Trouble Maker's 3-2-1 Recipe.

Because this challenge includes the fifth Monday of the month, you get to make all of the recipe decisions. Here's how I incorporated my elements to meet the open requirements and optional twists.

REQUIREMENTS

3  -  Three elements were used to decorate 

the front of my card.

2  -  I used three patterned papers. 

Only two were required.

1  -  One sentiment was added.

OPTION - THING 3

Twisted Sister loves to thrift shop. She is ready to go right now! In fact, she is humming a tune, "Thrift to uplift," so that's what we'll do on our projects. Her option is to include at least one item on your project using foam tape or multi-layering to lift it up.   The three leaves on my project have been adhered using two different foam tape heights. 

OPTION - THING 2

Above is Sketch #702 from our sister challenge, Try a Sketch on Tuesday, effective on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. If you use the sketch, you will earn additional chances in our random drawing.  This sketch inspired my card, and to adhere to back-linking rules, I will submit a new card to TSOT.

A sentiment was stamped and added using foam tape. The inside of the card was lined with a white cardstock panel, then decorated with a few small fussy-cut leaves and coordinating paper. 

The Design Team invites you to visit the Double Trouble Blog to enjoy their cards and review the challenge guidelines.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp set: Paper Smooches "Fall Sampler" (sentiment)

Ink: SU Baked Brown Sugar

Cardstock: SU Basic White & Club Scrap (Kraft-type)

Patterned Paper: Dare 2B Artzy "Fall Harvest" & SBC "Harvest Collection"

Misc.: SBC Foam Tape (1mm & 2mm); Dot stickers from stash

Size: A2

Techniques: Stamping, Fussy-cutting

A True Friend Is You (CD #716)

Color Dare opens today with a new biweekly color board for Challenge #716. This challenge is open through Thursday, August 20, 2026.

I had a little trouble deciding if one of the colors was orange, coral, tomato red, or terra cotta. I finally picked a color that's sort of an orange-coral color. For the third color, I selected a retired color, Not Quite Navy, and of course, white is a permitted neutral.

I have had this cute bird die for a while and have been wanting to use it, so this seemed like a good opportunity. I cut out two of them, each from a separate patterned paper, then swapped the wings and leg bases. I added black enamel "gems" for the eyes.

The various layers were cut from cardstock using a trimmer or a die. The tree branch was cut freehand from yet another patterned paper design.  The leaves were also cut freehand and adhered. The card base is white, and the interior is decorated with another die-cut bird. The sentiment was stamped and added to the card front.

Please visit the Color Dare Design Team's card display on the Blog for Color Dare #716. We invite you to play along.

Thank you,

Melanie

Materials; 

Stamp set: Stampin' Up! (sentiment)

Ink: SU Not Quite Navy

Cardstock: SU Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Not Quite Navy (retired)

Patterned Paper: Digi-Doodle Studio, Ink 'n Splatter "Honey Bee Sweet" Collection

Dies: Simon Says Stamp "Standing Whirl Bird" and UNB Stitched Rectangles (w/stepped corners)

Misc.: SBC Foam Tape

Just Because (TSOT #701)

Try a Sketch on Tuesday #701 is up on the blog with a new sketch challenge. This biweekly challenge runs through Sunday, August 16, 2026, at noon Eastern.

To create my card, I die-cut a few fruit images, touched up the colors by brushing on a little ink, and arranged them onto a layered card front using foam tape for dimension. The inside was decorated with a few leaves and extra fruit die-cuts. The sentiment was added to the front of the card along with some stamped splatter.

The Design Team has an array of cards available for your review at the TSOT 701 Blog. We invite you to take a look and hope you gather inspiration to create a few cards as well.

Thanks for dropping by.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Wintertime Crafts "Brush and Splatter"

Ink: SU Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry, & Pretty Peacock

Cardstock: SU Basic White, Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green, Barely Banana, & Tangerine Tango

Sentiment: Paper Rose sentiment sheet

Patterned Paper: Digi-Doodle Ink 'n Splatter "Summer Breeze"; SBC "Ombre" Collection

Dies: SBC Shape Dies "Fruit"; UNB Bow Collection

Misc.: SBC Foam Tape & Honey Bee Gem Stickers

Techniques: Ink Blending, Die-cutting, and Fussy-cutting

Size: A2

Live, Dream, Inspire (DTC #222)

Double Trouble Challenge #222 welcomes paper crafters to another biweekly challenge. This biweekly challenge will end on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at noon Eastern. 

Trouble Maker has layers of sticky, gooey goodness in mind for National S'mores Day on Monday, August 10, 2026. She is encouraging everyone to just add more and more stuff to your project, like you would on your own S'more, while remembering to use the 3-2-1 Recipe. 

To create my card for Double Trouble #222, I fussy cut a few floral images, touched up the colors by brushing on a little ink, and arranged them onto a die-cut hexagon using foam tape for dimension. I repeated the process for the sentiment which is also from the same paper collection. In keeping with the sketch, I added two tiny die-cut bows adjacent to the sentiment hexagon. Medium size gem stickers were added to the flower centers, and tiny coordinating gem stickers were added in little clusters of three. The inside was decorated with a few fussy-cut flowers.

To complete the 3-2-1 Recipe:

        At least three layers were added to the card base.

        Three colors (green, blue, yellow) were chosen from the ROYGBIV color wheel.

        A sentiment has been cut from patterned paper.

For the Options:

Twisted Sister also loves S'mores and has confessed to adding double chocolate for extra deliciousness! She wants to see extra elements added to your project. I added extra floral and foliage images to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Double Dare is offering a sketch from Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge #701, shown below. This biweekly challenge runs from Tuesday, August 4, through Sunday, August 16, 2026, at noon (ET). You will be eligible for yet another chance in the random drawing if you use this sketch for the Double Trouble Challenge. The sketch inspired my card design.

The Design Team has an array of cards available for your review. We invite you to take a look and hope you gather inspiration to create a few cards as well. Thanks for dropping by.

Melanie

Materials

Inks: SU Wild Wasabi

Cardstock: SU Basic White; Club Scrap (soft green-blue)

Patterned Paper:  GCD Studios "Journeys" by Kathy Davis; scraps from stash

Dies: Spellbinders Hexagons, Kokorosa Bow

Misc.: SBC Foam Tape and Honey Bee gem stickers

Techniques: Ink blending, die cutting, fussy cutting

Size: A2