Make it Monday #219 - Texture Kissing

Hello friends.  This weeks Make it Monday has Lizzie showing us the "kissing" technique to add texture to our cards.  I'd learned this technique a loooooong time ago, but haven't used it in a long time, so it was fun to do again.  I hadn't had a chance to use my Vintage Linens stamp set yet, but didn't have much luck with the kissing technique and the flowers...so I tried it with the leaves.  Even though they remind me of watermelon, I really like how they turned out!  Take a look:

Well, are you hungry for watermelon now??  I used the smallest chevron stamp in Background Basics: Super Chevron to kiss my leaves with, and then also used the Chevron Cover Plate to tie the two together.  I used Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Canyon Clay, Hibiscus Burst, Autumn Rose, & Old Olive inks to stamp the flowers and leaves.  Added a few condensation drops with my Glossy Accents on the jar and also my sentiment from Keep it Simple: Just Because.  A little piece of gray and white bakers twine around my jar finished off my card.

Make sure you check out Lizzie's great video and card, and all the other entries over on Nichole's blog right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Merry Monday #167 - Hearts

Hello friends.  The challenge over at Merry Monday this time is to use hearts.  For some reason Hearts and Christmas make me think vintage, so that was the starting point for my card.  Take a look:

Although there's not a lot of stamping on this card, I did have a great time going through all my Christmas scraps of DSP.  I started out making a whole circle of the small triangles of scrap DSP, but when I centered the heart over the center of the circle, the pieces of DSP were just tiny slivers, so I ended up moving the heart die further to the edge of the circle. (hope that makes sense!!) This way I was also able to cut out 4 hearts, so I can make another 3 cards like this! :0)  I used PTI's Limitless Layers: Hearts to cut out the heart and scalloped heart that borders the heart.  The tag, heart border, and holly dies are all PTI.  The hardest part of this whole card was tying the thin gold thread in a bow that attaches the tag to the ribbon! 

There's still time to play along with Bonnie's challenge...I am loving the 2 week challenge timeline, since it gives me a little more time to mull over what I want to do! :0)  You can check out all the inspiration and info to play along right HERE.

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

Happy Birthday Birgit

Hello friends.  I know I've mentioned before how wonderful I think the stamping/blogging community is, but just have to say again how blessed I feel to have so many blogging friends out there!  One of my newest friendships is with Birgit Norton of Crafting While I Wait, and she celebrated a birthday last week.  Of course I had to send her a hand stamped card, right??!!  Take a look:

 

I've been challenging myself to use some of the stamp sets I've HAD to have and then they sit on the shelf.  I HAD to have Choose Happiness (SU!) and then it sat for quite awhile, so Birgit's birthday card seemed like a great time to break it in!  I just love all the stamps in this set...especially the bird stamp!  I used So Saffron, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, & Soft Suede inks, and also PTI's Tiny Tags and Background Basics: Gingham stamps to create this card.  The ribbon and button are from SU!'s Sale a bration this year, and also a little bit of bakers twine from The Twinery.  Oh and a little bit of lace from my stash and a few enamel dots. 

 

Here's a look at the inside:

 

 

 

Even decorated the envelope too, but forgot to take a picture of it...sorry!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Monday!  And Happy Birthday again Birgit...hope your day truly was special!! :0)

   

Papertrey Ink July 2015 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's that great time of the month again and time to play in the monthly blog hop challenge over at Papertrey Ink!  The inspiration photo was just full of butterflies, so I made a little set of notecards using Life Is Beautiful and Flower Favorites stamp sets. Take a look:

I started with a piece of cream cardstock and stamped the rows of butterflies using the base butterfly stamp from Flower Favorites in Fine Linen ink.  I lightly stamped a Heidi Swapp background stamp in Classic Kraft ink, and also added some spattered dots in the Classic Kraft ink.  At the top I stamped the "Just a Note" from Think Big Favorites: #22 in black ink.  Next I "smooshed" a piece of cream cardstock with Winter Wisteria, Plum Pudding, and Lavender Moon inks and then cut out my top layer of the butterflies with the die from Life Is Beautiful.  I added a bit of gold embossing powder to the top layer of the butterflies, although I think I got a little carried away with it in places so now it's a little hard to see the water color smooshing.  The bottom solid layer Lavender Moon cs and stamped with Plum Pudding...you can see the stamping best in the 2nd picture.  I added some gold thread behind each butterfly, and also a few iridescent purple sequins to the centers of each butterfly. 

You can check out all the butterfly goodness over on Nichole's blog right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a great time blog hopping...I know I will!! :0)

Make it Monday #218 - Watercolors with Die Cut Stencils

Hello friends.  Lexi Daly is hosting this weeks Make it Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink, and has a great video on how to make stencils using your dies and then watercoloring over them.  Lexi did share the importance of making sure that the underside of your stencil is adhered firmly to your cardstock before watercoloring, and I thought I did that using a two way glue pen, but obviously not!  Oh well, only my "c" in the word "Congrats" didn't come out so clear, but I think you can still make out the word pretty well.  Take a look:

I probably used a bit too much water too, and that seeped under the stencil and caused the watercolor to bleed through.  Anyway, it is what it is!  I used the balloon stamp from Birthday Style, and Wonderful Words: Congrats is the die I used for my stencil.  Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain, & Limeade Ice were my ink colors.  A little bit of bakers twine and a few sequins finished this quick and easy card.  My brother in law turns 62 and retires next week, so this will be the card I send him.

You can check out Lexi's video and great cards, and all the info to play along with this challenge right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

HLS CAS Challenge - July 2015

Hello friends.  So I couldn't stand it anymore and jumped on the bandwagon...the Tim Holtz Bird Crazy bandwagon that is!  These bird stamps just crack me up!  They're cute, but at the same time just SO funny looking that you can't help but fall in love with them!  And also SO much fun to watercolor!  This first card I made I kept very CAS, so figured it would be perfect to enter into the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge for July.  Take a look:

Isn't she so cute AND silly looking?!!  I've named her Penelope.  I embossed her in black on watercolor paper, and then colored her using my Aqua Painter and Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral inks.  A simple banner sentiment (PTI - Think Big Favorites: #22), an enamel dot, and a few sequins finished off this quick and easy card.

There's still time to play along with this challenge, and you can find all the info to play along with right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!! :0)

Stippled Blossoms

Hello friends.  Stippled Blossoms (SU!) is one of those stamp sets that was in the catalog for forever, and I always wanted it, but until it went on the retired list this year, I kept putting it off.  Guess I got my hand twisted by SU!, but I'm glad I did get it, as it is a beautiful set!  Took me a few practice tries to get the flower and leaves lined up (a 2 step stamp)...I've gotten so spoiled by clear stamps where it's a lot easier to line things up!  But anyway, here's the card I came up with:

I used a Heidi Swapp background stamp with Smoky Slate ink for my background, and then fussy cut the roses and leaves that I stamped with Real Red (stamped off), Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, and black inks.  I finished with an embossed sentiment banner (PTI's Keep it Simple: Thinking of You), an enamel dot, a few rainstones, and some bakers twine.  I think the part that took me the longest (after my lining up practice that is!) was the fussy cutting...otherwise it was a pretty simple card, and I think the red, black and white really makes it one of those impact cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0) 

Merry Monday #166 - Penguins

Hello friends.  Playing with Merry Monday and the challenge is to use a penguin.  I only have 2 penguin stamps, and wasn't too motivated to use either one.  But I did really like how Katie Melhus used her SU! Owl Punch to make a penguin and decided to give it a try!  Take a look:

I asked my daughter and her girlfriend what kind of bird they thought this was, and they both replied "penguin" right away, so I guess I did it right!  A quick and easy card!  Here's my supply list:

Stamp sets:  Christmas Story (Penny Black), Winter Wonderland (Penny Black), Phrase Play #9 (PTI)
Inks:  Real Red (SU!), Memento Tuxedo Black, R29 & C1 Copic Markers
Accessories: Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (SU!), Diamond Dots (Michaels), Bakers Twine (Michaels)

 

 

 

You can check out all the details to play along right HERE.

 

 

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

Birgit and Marcia's Mini Challenge

Hello friends.  Most of you that spend any time in blogland know that some of the kindest ladies can be found there.  Since I started my blog almost 3 years ago, I have been blessed by some of the greatest friendships, and one of my newer friendships is with the oh so kind and talented Birgit of Crafting While I Wait.  A while back I had posted a card HERE made with WPlus9"s Botanical Bunch stamp set, and explained that I had had the stamp set for quite a while but didn't quite know what to do with it once I got it.  I ended up making a very simple black and white (and gray) card with it that turned out really nice.  Birgit noticed it and sent me a link to the only card she had made with it (here), and admitted she wasn't quite sure what to do with the stamp set when she got it either.  Birgit suggested doing our own little mini challenge to reuse the stamp set again, and I loved that idea!!  I made one card last week, and although I like it, I ended up and made another one this week that I like even better! (I think this stamp set is growing on me!!)  I have been SO inspired by PTI's Vintage Linen's stamp set this week, and that was the inspiration for using the colors on this Botanical Bunch card.  Take a look:

These colors (Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Real Red, Perfect Plum, & Old Olive) were in a old tablecloth my mom had that I still remember (need to ask her if she still has this!!), and that is where the inspiration for this card came from.  I embossed the flower image in black, and then used my Aqua Painter to color in the flowers and leaves.  The scalloped card base is from a loooooooong time ago clearance bin at Michael's (I think).  Although you can't tell from the picture, I used some Wink of Stella on the little plum colored flowers...gives it a little sparkle IRL! :0)  The sentiment is also from WPlus9 called Hand Lettered: Hello.  I finished with a couple thin strips of Real Red and Bermuda Bay cardstock and a few enamel dots.  Really happy with the way this card turned out!

Here is the card I made last week:

I thought this one turned out pretty too, but I still think I like this weeks better.  I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens to color the flowers and leaves with, and also lightly outlined everything with a C1 Copic marker.  I also sprayed the heck out of it with Iridescent Gold Shimmer Mist, so under my OttLite it really shimmers! 

If anyone else has this stamp set out there, and would like to play along with our little challenge, just send Birgit and I a link...we'd love to see what you come up with!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Create Along with Us - July 2015

Hello friends.  Papertrey Ink and Betsy Veldman have come up with a great idea to have a different sort of challenge on the week they have new product release, rather than the Make it Monday challenge.  This new challenge is all about being inspired by one (or more) of the design teams card(s) and creating your own version of it.  I have been loving one of the newer team members designs, and that is Amy Sheffer.  Her cards are always clean, colorful, and just downright beautiful!  This is the one that inspired me this week:

I love the simplicity of this card, and also the bright cheerfulness of it!  And I love how Amy uses the red and pink flowers together!  I never thought red and pink went together, but they look perfect here, and Dawn McVey also uses this color combo a lot and it always works for her too!  So I decided I needed to get over that fear of that color combo, and here's what I came up with:

I used Amy's same layout and colors (Pure Poppy, Berry Sorbet, & New Leaf), and substituted Rosie Posie, Rosie Posie Step 2, and Reasons to Smile for the new Vintage Linens stamp set that comes out tonight (can't wait!!).  I did do some stamping off for the background of each flower, so that there was more definition on each.  I added a few rainstones too, but otherwise just like Amy's, and I love it! :0)

You can check out this new challenge over on Nichole's blog right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!  And make sure you check back tomorrow when I'll be showing a card that one of my new stamping blog buddies and I decided to challenge ourselves on. :0)

Happy Birthday Candles

Hello friends.  Kind of a dark and stormy day here in my neck of the woods, so thought I would share a quick, bright, and fun birthday card with you.  Take a look:

Most of my birthday cards tend to be flowery and feminine, and then I struggle when I need a masculine card, but I think this one would work for both, don't you??  I used several PTI stamp sets for the candles, flames, and "birthday" (Enclosed: Cupcake, Birthday Style, & Embroidered Blooms), and then used SU!'s Hello You Thinlits Dies for the "happy".  The candles are stamped in Spring Rain and Limeade Ice inks, and the flames are stamped in Summer Sunrise ink.  I used my Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle and Circle dies to create the top frame layer.  Quick and easy, and a bright and fun card to boot! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

HLS July Christmas Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with Happy Little Stampers and their July Christmas challenge today.  The focus this month is on trees, and I made a very CAS little card with a NBUS stamp from IO that I've had for probably over 2 years now...yikes, that's embarrassing!!  Take a look:

I started by using Distress Inks and a blending tool (Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, & Salty Ocean) on a  1 3/4" x 3 1/2" piece of white cs, and then stamped my tree image (IO #E7724) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I added a little bit of snow to the sky by using one of the stamps in SU!'s Gorgeous Grunge set with Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink.  Matted this layer with some black cs and adhered it to a white card base, and finished with the "joy" sentiment from WPlus9's Hand Lettered Holiday stamp set.  Quick and easy and would be a great card to mass produce if you needed a bunch!

 
You've got the whole month of July to play along with this challenge, and December will be here before you know it, and you'll be SO glad you played along then!!  Lots of great inspiration over at this site too, so what are you waiting for????  You can check it all out right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Stenciled Butterfly

Hello friends.  I'm sure like many of you stampers out there, when your mojo starts to fade, you check out Pinterest.  What would we do without that great space?!!  Anyway, my mojo has definitely been lacking lately, so off to Pinterest I went, and was inspired by a card I saw there from hskelly (Splitcoaststampers).  Here is my version:

I used the die from Life is Beautiful (PTI) to create a stencil, and then embossed just the tip of the fern stamp from Butterfly Basics (SU!) with white embossing powder.  After replacing the stencil again after embossing, I used Tumbled Glass and Shaded Lilac Distress Inks (TH) and blended the colors together.  The sentiment and a few iridescent sequins finished off this simple 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" card.

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

Make it Monday #217 - Creating Your Own Custom Borders

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Make it Monday challenge where Laurie has a great video and cards showing how to create your own custom borders with some of your stamps.  I used Doodlie-Do and Big Hugs stamp and die sets and came up with a kind of "electric" card.  Take a look:

I say "electric" as this card is a bit brighter than I normally do, but I kinda like it! :0)  I used some of my Zig Clean Color brushes to color the border and leaves, and then fussy cut them out.  The "hugs" is die cut and the "sending" is embossed with white.  Some simple scoring on the top black layer and a few enamel dots finished my card.

You can check out all the information and inspiration to play along right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!! :0)

HLS Sketch Challenge - July 2015

Hello friends.  Playing along with a new challenge today (new to me anyway!) over at Happy Little Stampers.  This challenge is a sketch challenge, and this is what I came up with:

Just a clean and simple little card, but I like how it turned out!  I used an IO stamp (#E9249) for the tree, and colored it with a few Copics (E15, E37, YG03, & YG63).  I used some Mowed Lawn Distress ink and a blending tool for my grass, and a lt. blue gelato crayon for my background sky.  I framed it with a Memory Box Small Madison Window die, and then pop dotted it to raise it up just a bit.  The sentiment is from WPlus9 Hand Lettered Hello. 

If you'd like to play along, you can check out all the info and inspiration right here.   

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

                                                                            



Make it Monday #216 - Adding Color to Cover Plates

Hello friends.  Laura has a great video on adding color to your cover plate dies this week over at Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge.  I decided to use my new Cover Plate: Waves Die and this is what I came up with:

I started by snipping a couple of the top wave lines off the die cut and then colored the rest of the wave lines with my Zig Clean Color (or as Laura calls them, Ziggy Zig Zigs!) Cobalt Blue and Persian Blue Real Brush pens, and then my Aqua Painter brush to blend them.  For my background I started by blending Salty Ocean (TH Distress Ink) and Hibiscus Burst ink lightly over my cardstock (PTI's White Linen) and circle mask for a moon.  At this point when I placed the cover plate die over top, I didn't like it (it all faded together...probably too much tone on tone color), so I smooshed some more Salty Ocean onto a piece of acetate and misted with water, and then pressed my blended background piece onto it.  I love how it came out!  It added just enough concentrated color to pop against the more muted background!  I finished with the die cut seagulls and anchor and rope from the Ahoy stamp set, and also the sentiment that I embossed on a black banner.  A few Glossy Accents water drops were the last finishing touch.

Lots of great cards to check out already (including Laura's 2 beauties!), so make sure you head over to Nichole's blog and check them out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)