CAS Christmas June 2026 - BIRD

Hello friends.  I'm so excited to once again be playing along with Loll's CAS Christmas Challenge that she's brought back to life, and even though life has been crazy busy lately, I couldn't let the opportunity to play along with this first challenge slip by!  And it's a fun one for me...BIRDS!!

 I have quite a collection of bird stamps, but one of my all time favorites has to be from PB's Winter Wonderland set...it's an oldie but definitely a goodie!!  There's 3 birdies in this set (and a few other critters!), and I couldn't resist using all 3 birds!  Here's what I came up with...

  Aren't they just the cutest chubby little birdies all decked out in their Christmas hats?!!  I stamped them in Versafine Black Onyx ink and then heat set with clear embossing powder before coloring them with my Copics.  After fussy cutting them out I added them to a stamped branch from The Greetery's Winter Sketches stamp set (using Soft Suede ink - SU!), using foam tape behind the middle birdie for a bit of dimension!

 I did add TH Rock Candy Glitter to the brims and pompoms of the birdies hats and then finished with an older W Plus 9 sentiment (Hand Lettered Holiday stamp & die set) that I die cut from a piece of Real Red cs (SU!).  I did add a bit of pink chalk to the birdies cheeks as it's pretty COLD here in Michigan at Christmas time!

Lots of BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and their Special GD Bobby to get you started, so play along and get started on those Christmas cards!  And a BIG thank you to Loll for bringing this challenge back...I couldn't be happier to be playing along!!  This is a month long challenge that's open till June 30th and you can check it all out right HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues Challenge #134 - PINK & TURQUOISE

Hello friends.  Can you believe it's June 1st already!  This year is flying by for me!  We have a new challenge here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Bonnie would like to see PINK & TURQUOISE on our cards!

Such a pretty and FUN Summer color pairing, don't you think?!  I had so much fun I couldn't stop at just one card!  Actually I've been trying to use some sets that haven't seen ink in awhile, and picked out 3 PFS sets that I thought I'd try and then show you the one I liked best.  Well, I think they all turned out pretty great in this lovely color pairing, so I just decided to show you all 3!  Here's the first one...

This 1st card used one of my all time favorite PFS sets (Daisy Wreath) and it was foiled with turquoise foil and then stenciled with residual ink from my pink & turquoise brushes.  I die cut it with the coordinating die and then attached (with foam) it to my background that was done with PFS's Stitches coverplate die.  

You can see the turquoise foil a bit better in this close up.  I finished with a small butterfly (SSS), a few PFS gems & a strip sentiment that I embossed using Gina K's All At Once Greetings.

 
My 2nd card uses PFS's Grow Wild stencil and once again I just used residual ink from my blending brushes, using more pressure for each graduated color.  It was pretty as is, but I felt like the background was too bare, so I used SSS's Feather Spiral ef over the stenciled bouquet.

 I matted my stenciled layer to a piece of Turquoise Sea cs (Gina K) and then adhered both to a white card base. I added my sentiment from PB's blooming barrel stamp set and then finished with 2 pink gems.

 My last card uses PFS's Reason to Smile Wreath and die and mounted it with foam tape over a Dotted Postage Square die (PFS) that I ink blended with my turquoise blender brush.  The stencil set also comes with many different sentiment options and I chose the "HELLO".

I did add glitter to the sentiment and also a bit to the edges of the butterfly (same as card #1 from SSS's Flourish Butterfly Trio. I attached both layers to a 5 x 5 inch square card base and added a few Cream Puff Embellishments from SSS.  I had so much fun using these 3 older (and almost forgotten!!) sets and it was a good reminder to not always be looking for new, but to use what I do already have!

The DT and our Special GD Kim Miller have some beautiful cards to inspire you with, so check them all out right HERE and then play along with us!  We can't wait to see YOU in the gallery!!  This challenge is open till Sunday, June 14th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #112

Hello friends.  It's been awhile since I've made a Christmas card and figured I better get crackin' before the holiday is here!  I know, I know...it's 6 plus months till Christmas, but it really will be here before we know it!!  So anyway, I loved the critter mood board at the Peace On Earth Challenge and decided to play along!

Aren't they all so sweet?!  I was inspired by the kitties in their Christmas hats on the top left photo and pulled out an older Anita Jeram set called Christmas Hats for my card...

He's all decked out in his Santa hat and his Christmas offering of the Holly branch (probably a gift for his girlfriend Claudia!) and was colored with my Copics and fussy cut before adding to the scalloped arch die cut.  I did use an older brick die from The Greetery at the top of the arch die cut and then stamped my sentiment towards the bottom in Real Red ink (SU!). 

I did use foam tape on the back of the arch (to make the bricks stand out more) and also the kitty cat, and then added even more texture and dimension by adding an embossed panel using SSS's Snowflake Visions ef.  Pretty simple card but I really like the way it turned out!

Make sure you check out all the awesome cards from the talented DT over at the Peace on Earth challenge site and then play along...it's never too early to get started on those Christmas cards!!  This challenge is open till Thursday, June 4th @ 8:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Picado Birthday

Hello friends.  I know it's been awhile since I posted anything but DT cards (which were made months and months ago during the Winter), but it's been crazy busy around here and not much time to play!  We moved my 94 year old mom to a retirement home and then had to clean out her house and put it on the market. Thankfully it sold after only 4 days on the market, and I'm hoping I'll have some time to play now. As long as the mojo returns too...

I do have a couple cards to share with you using 2 new products from The Greetery's Pretty Picado stencils and embossing folder.  

Isn't this such a fun design?!  I stenciled first using Lilac and Turquoise inks (Gina K) and then used the coordinating embossing folder.  I also used a bunch of the dies from The Greetery's Capsule Basics set to cut out the solid Lilac scalloped card base, and also the 2nd skinny layer that I added foam tape to to add dimension.

 

Hopefully you can see that raised section better in this close up...between the embossing and the raised section, there is quite a bit of dimension on this card and it's so pretty in real life!!  My sentiment came from an older Greetery set called Arched Sentiments and was stamped and die cut and then added with additional foam tape.  A couple PFS gems finished off this 1st card.

 My 2nd card was done in brighter colors that are more like traditional Picado designs that are Mexican tissue paper designs usually used in banners.  I used bright pink, orange, green & turquoise inks to stencil first and then embossed with the embossing folder.  These are larger cards so I used a 5x7 card base (easier to stand up) to add my layers to on this one.

 My sentiment on this card also came from an older Greetery set called Opposites Attract and was stamped and die cut and then added with foam tape for more dimension.  A couple clear gems (PFS) finished off this card also.

I am going to add these 2 cards to Darnell's NBUS #86 challenge as the stencils and embossing folder are both new to me and never been used before, and also to the Seize the Birthday challenge using the "Anything Goes" option.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues Challenge #133 - LIME GREEN & VIOLET

Hello friends.  Can you believe it's halfway through May already...where is the time going this year?!!  It's also time for a new challenge here at Color Hues and the lovely Tracey has chosen the pairing of LIME GREEN & VIOLET for us to work with for the next two weeks.

Aren't those such pretty colors to work with?!  I used an older PB set called delicate florals and made 2 VERY simple cards because I couldn't decide which one looked more like violet.  I think the birthday card won, but I'll let you decide...

I stamped the floral image with black and then colored with a sponge dauber and Lovely Lilac ink (Gina K) the rounded flowers. (Not sure what these flowers are, but I sure do like them!!) I used a Copic G14 for the leaves.  

I love how Jill Foster (from Penny Black) adds a mask to highlight certain areas on her cards and did that with a rectangle mask and Antique Linen DI to my card before adding my sentiment (PB - special sentiments).  CAS and one layer...YAY!!

Card #2 is the same except for the flower color (maybe more purple than violet?) and sentiment...

I used Wild Wisteria (also Gina K) ink to color in the flowers on this 2nd card and then finished with a sentiment from PB's inspirational sentiments.

So which one do you think looks more violet? Number 1 or number 2?  Here they are both next to each other...

I think #1, but they both turned out pretty, so I'm happy with both!!  The DT has some BEAUTIFUL inspiration for you to get started, so check them all out right HERE and then play along with us.  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with!!  This challenge is open till Friday, May 29th @ 9:00AM.  

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues Challenge #132 - YELLOW & BLUE

Hello friends.  Time for a new challenge here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Stef is giving us the color pairing of YELLOW & BLUE to work with.

 I have always loved these 2 colors together, so this was a fun and easy challenge for me...thanks Stef!!  I used a new to me but older PFS stamp, stencil & die set called Butterfly Garden and came up with this...

My colors are a little deeper IRL (especially the yellow!), but I'm just so happy with the way this card turned out! My background piece used a PFS cover plate die called Diagonal Stitched Plaid and I wish you could see more of it, but I didn't want to cut down the main focal image any more than I already had.  I stamped the main image with Versamark ink and then heat set with gold embossing powder.  Next I stenciled with the coordinating stencils using shades of blue for the leaves and parts of the butterflies, and yellows for the flowers and butterflies.  I did this process twice so I could die cut the butterflies out and pop up with dimensionals.

I mounted this panel to a panel of Misty Moonlight cs and then adhered both to the yellow card base.  I finished with a simple "Hello" sentiment that was included in the stamp set, embossing it in gold on a scrap of the Misty Moonlight cs and then die cutting it out.  The butterflies from the 2nd stamping were added with foam dots and it was finished.

We have LOTS of wonderful inspiration for you from the DT members and our Special GD Greta that you can find right HERE, so check it out and play along with us! I'm so excited to see the gallery filled with your YELLOW & BLUE creations!!  This challenge is open till Thursday, May 14th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Just Us Girls Challenge - Stencil Week #820

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the JUGS Challenge for Stencil Week...

Those of you that have followed me for any length of time know that I'm a BIG fan of the postage collage stencils, stamps, and dies, and I hadn't used the Postage Collage Spring Breeze Stencils from WF that came out last year since then, so it was time to pull them out!  Here's what I came up with...

It's a set of 5 stencils and I used mostly turquoise, green & lilac inks to stencil in all the sweet butterflies.  Don't think I've ever seen any in these actual colors, but artistic license ya know?!  After stamping the postage amounts and cancellation marks, I adhered the panel to a piece of Almost Amethyst (ret. SU!) cs and a white card base.

  My sentiment is from WF's Love You die and the die cut butterfly is from SSS's Flourish Butterfly Trio set of dies.  A bit of WOS was added to the die cut butterfly and I finished the card off with a few Cream Puff Embellishments from SSS.  This card will be going to my mom in a few weeks for Mother's Day. 

Lots of beautiful inspiration from the DT that you can find right HERE, so check it out and pull out a stencil or two and play along.  This challenge is open till Wednesday, April 29th @ 6:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!