Papertrey Ink December 2015 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's time for the monthly Blog Hop over at Papertrey Ink and this month was no exception when it comes to beautiful inspiration photos...absolutely loved this one!

Because I take everything so literally, of course my starting point was circles and the blackboard technique!  I used the Tag Sale #4 die to make a card and 3 tags.  Take a look:

I used Melissa's Choose Joy stamp set for the sentiment and the little flourish on the top and bottom of the tag, stamping it in white first, and then using a few Copic markers (G24 & YG67) and Scarlet Jewel ink to stamp over the white on the flourishes (just like Dawn McVey showed us a few weeks back in a Make it Monday video). 

Did basically the same thing for the 3 tags I made, using the "Peace" from Think Big Favorites: #21, the "Love" from Heart 2 Heart #11, and the "Joy" from the Enclosed: Bell stamp set.  I used the same flourish as I did on the card, and then also added the holly and berries from the Enclosed: Bell stamp set.  I really love the look of the color over the white on the black background.  Take a look:

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have fun hopping around to all the other blogs to see how they interpreted the lovely inspiration photo.  You can check it all out right HERE.

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing you ALL a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Listen to the Wind

Hello friends.  Just a quick post today to let you know I'm still around...just busy, busy, busy!  Why do I always wait to the end to wrap...grrrrrr!!  Anyway, took a quick break to make a couple cards, and this one is a very simple one using a Penny Black paper pad (holiday trimmings) and a Impression Obsession (F17068) stamp.  Take a look:

Don't you just LOVE paper pads with coordinating paper that takes all the guess work out of what goes together and matches?!!  All I basically did was cut the DSP, and then stamped that sentiment on the snowflake paper!  And isn't that sentiment SO fitting with the snowflakes??  Love it!  Added a snowflake die cut from CASual Fridays (SOA Holiday) in silver cardstock, and added a bakers twine bow to finish off this quick and easy card.

Well off to finish wrapping the dogs presents (yes, they deserve gifts too!) and then start on some food prep for tomorrow.  Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0) 

Parade of Holiday SOA Cards

Hello friends.  Many of you have seen me using different stamps all season long from the SOA Holiday Box Set (especially the snowflakes...I LOVE those stamps!!), and now Catherine Pooler of Stamp Nation is having a contest that YOU can vote on for your favorite card(s).  Just click on this LINK to find all the cards starting tomorrow night at 6:00PM (Sunday Dec. 20th) through 11:55PM on Tuesday Dec. 22nd, and click on the little red hearts of each thumbnail photo that are your favorites!  (Not gonna lie...hoping you'll click on my card!!)  And here it is:

 
The background on my Smoky Slate card base uses the Winnie & Walter stencil Pattern of the Rings from the first SOA box, and then all the snowflakes are from Casual Fridays Bring on the Snowflakes and Snowy Sayings, with the sentiment from Bright Baubles by Neat and Tangled.  I stamped the sentiment on an angle and then cut around it to give it a little more definition.  The silver die cut snowflake is from Casual Fridays also. 

Remember to click on this LINK to play along and to vote, starting tomorrow night (Sunday, Dec. 20th at 6:00PM).

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

Happy Little Stampers December 2015 Christmas Challenge - Star

Hello friends.  Sorry for the lack of posting lately...just been crazy busy and not much time to stamp!  I do have a card to share with you today that I made a few weeks ago, from an adorable little LOTV image my friend Judy sent me.  Take a look:

Is this little angel praying among the clouds and stars not the sweetest little image ever (thank you, thank you Judy!!)??!!  I just adore her little crown of ivy around her head...too sweet!  I used my Copics to color her, and added some Dazzling Diamonds to her wings, and colored the stars with a Gelly Roll Clear Star pen (they really sparkle IRL!).  I cut the image out with a Lil Inkers Stitched Circle die and added her to a white card base that I also added some DSP (Bo Bunny Altitude Collection) to and a bit of silver metallic cardstock.  I also used the silver metallic cardstock to die cut the two snowflakes from Casual Fridays "Bring On The Snowflakes" die set (SOA Holiday Box).  I thought about adding a sentiment to the front of the card, but figured it was busy enough and left it with out one.

I'm adding this card to Happy Little Stampers December Christmas challenge, which is to use a star on your card.  You can check out all the great inspiration from the DT members and all the other players right HERE. 

                           

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

Create Along With Us - Dec. 2015

Hello friends.  Just popping in with a quick card for Papertrey Ink's Create Along With Us challenge.  I loved Erin Lincoln's card that she made using snowflakes and the new Gemstones set, and while obviously not having the Gemstone set, I do have plenty of snowflakes and other sentiments...and this is what I came up with:

What drew me to this CAS card most of all was the frame...such a simple addition, but what a punch it packs!  I used the snowflake stamps from Quilted: Winter and the die cut snowflake from Fancy Flakes and Spring Rain ink and cardstock.  The frame is a Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle die that I also cut from Spring Rain cardstock.  I added a few sequins and some glitter to the edges of the popped up snowflake to finish this quick and easy card.

 There is LOTS of inspiration to draw from this month at all the PTI designers sites, so if you're behind on your Christmas cards, or even need some thank you cards, make sure you check these gals wonderful cards out...you won't be disappointed!!  You can also find all the info you need to play along with this challenge right HERE.

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

Merry Monday #183 - Candy Cane

Hello friends.  This week the challenge over at Merry Monday is to use a candy cane on your card.  I'm using a peppermint stick instead as my candy cane supply is extremely limited, and I just love this stamp from Walter & Winnie's Holiday Trimmings (Holiday SOA).  Take a look:

 
I used the "smooshing" technique with Salty Ocean distress ink for my background, and then added my cut out peppermint stick and one of the little birds from Penny Black's Winter Wonderland set (colored with R29, R39, & E31 Copics).  My sentiment is from Neat and Tangled Bright Baubles.  I decided to add some water spots at the last minute, and my Aqua Painter must not have been very clean, because the spots came out kind of green looking, but they're kinda growing on me!  I finished with a few sequins and some glitter on the birdie's Santa hat.

There's still a few days left to play along with this challenge, so if you haven't finished your Christmas cards yet, this is a great challenge to help you finish up!  You can check out all the info to play along and find some great inspiration from the DT (and players) all right HERE.

I'm also going to enter this card over at HLS December CAS Challenge, where they want you to use your favorite technique on your card...hands down "Smooshing" and watercoloring has been a big favorite of mine this past year!  You can find all the info you need to play along with this challenge right HERE.

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

Make it Monday #234 - Embellishing with Felt

Hello friends.  Playing along with Ashley and her Make it Monday challenge where she shows how adding felt to your cards really dresses them up.  My selection of felt is a little limited, but I actually really like what I came up with using the Songbirds stamp set (this one's for you Helen F.!).  Take a look:

I started with a Tag Sale #4 die and stamped the background with a retired SU! (En Francais) stamp in gold ink, and then layered my tree branch and bird from Simply Chartreuse, Scarlet Jewel, and Aqua Mist felt on it.  I wanted to pull a little more of the Aqua Mist into the card, so I created a little strip of DSP using Polka Dot Basics and the Snowflake Sparkle stamp sets, and then layered that to the card base that I had covered with a scrap of DSP from my stash.  I also distressed most of the card with Antique Linen ink, and then lastly added the banner with the music in Scarlet Jewel and a few sequins.

Make sure you check out Ashley's beautiful cards and her video for tips on working with felt...you WILL be inspired!  You can find it all right HERE. 

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

Tag You're It! Challenge #36

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  It was a productive weekend for me and I finally feel like I just might get everything done! :0)  And I even had enough time to make a tag for the current TYI! challenge...even though it was at 11:00PM Saturday night!!  But anyway, Joyce has a great tag to inspire us this time around, and I used the gray, red, & blue colors as my inspiration.  Take a look:

 

I used a Casual Fridays die for my tag and SU!'s Holiday Home for the houses and Santa and his reindeer.  I started by distressing the background with Smoky Slate and Faded Jeans inks.  Next I stamped the same house 3 times on Smoky Slate cs and fussy cut just the tops of the 3 homes.  I did the same thing on Real Red cs, but only cut one and pop dotted it to the middle house.  I stamped Santa up near the top and also added a little wreath to the red house.  I used my white gel pen to add some snow to the sky, and then finished with some bakers twine and a couple jingle bells.  I love how this turned out, so thank you Joyce for the inspiration! 

This challenge just started, so hopefully your cards are done and you'll have lots of time to make some tags to go on your gifts!  You can find all the info you need to play along, and see more great inspiration from the design team right HERE.

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

Merry Monday #182 - Birds

 

Hello friends.  Finally had time this week to play along with the ladies over at the Merry Monday challenge, and this week we are to add a bird to our Christmas card.  This was perfect timing as I had wanted to play with my new Winter Woods set (PTI).  I used the layout from the current December  Sketch challenge over at HLS, and came up with this CAS card:

I started with a white card base and then used a Lil Inkers Stitched Circle die to cut the circle out.  I used distress inks (Tumbled Glass & Salty Ocean) to color my background, and then added some splattering to mimic snow.  I used Smoky Slate to stamp the branch, Real Red for the berries, and Smoky Slate and black inks for the bird, which I pop dotted for some dimension.  I WOS'd the berries for a little glimmer and shine, but unfortunately I can never seem to pick that up with my camera!  My sentiment and the little snowflakes are from Neat and Tangled's Bright Baubles.

                                
                                           
                             

There's still time to play along with the Merry Monday challenge, and you can find all the info you need right HERE.   There's also the whole month of December yet to play along with the sketch challenge over at Happy Little Stampers, and you can find all the info you need to play along there right HERE.

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

Make it Monday #233 - Splattering

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make it Monday challenge where Danielle Flanders shows a few different technique's on adding splattering to your cards and tags.  Danielle made the prettiest Christmas tags and I so badly wanted to just copy her, but my Christmas card stash needs some serious help, so I made a card instead.  Actually 2 cards...yeah for me! :0)  I'm still seriously in love with the Spruce & Sprigs stamp set, and also the Holiday Plaid patterned paper collection, so that was my starting point.  Take a look:

I took my color cues from the plaid...Pinefeather, Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, & Scarlet Jewel.  The sentiment is from O Holy Night (another favorite I'm getting a LOT of use from this season!!) and I stamped it using Delicata Golden Glitz pigment ink.  For my splattering I used Aqua Mist refill and a little bit of water to lighten it up just a bit, and then used my Aqua Painter to spatter it on.  I love the way it gives my card a nice full look! :0)

Make sure you check out Danielle's cute, cute tags and her video, and then play along.

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

Tag You're It! Challenge #35

Hello friends.  A 2nd post from me today as I'm sneaking in under the wire for the Tag You're It! challenge.  Tracey McNeely has a super bright and fun tag for inspiration this time around, and I was really drawn to her polka dotted background, the word "joy", and the holly leaves all incorporated into her tag.  This is my fun little version:

I used PTI's Tag Sale #5 die and some retired SU! DSP (Seasons of Style) with all the fun dots to start my tag, and then added a fun little bird from Penny Black's Winter Wonderland stamp set that I colored with my Copics and fussy cut.  The holly leaves and berries are from PTI's Enclosed: Bell stamp and die set, and the joy was cut from Cherry Cobbler cs with a Lil Inkers die.  I added a white tag for underneath so I could stamp the "to" and "from" on the back of it as the back of the DSP is a red/white stripe.  Quick, easy, and fun! :0)

Here's Tracey's cute, cute tag:

There's still 2 days to play along, so head on over to the Tag You're It! site right HERE.

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

Birgit & Marcia's Holiday Watercolor Challenge

Hello friends.  BIRGIT and I are back with our monthly challenge, and this time we decided to work on holiday cards with watercoloring.  I absolutely LOVE the look of watercoloring, but it's one of those technique's where control (or should I say "lack of" control) is really hard to come by, at least for me!  It's one of those that I feel sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't...grrrr!  But anyway, I have 3 cards to share with you today, so let's get to it!

For this card I started with a piece of watercolor paper, and then sprinkled Cobalt Blue Brushos on, and then spritzed with water.  LOVE how these backgrounds come out with this stuff!!  I used some Casual Friday's die to cut out my snowflakes, and then attached that layer to a white card base.  I embossed in black the "merry" from WPlus9's Hand Lettered Holiday set, and added the little banner with the "& bright", along with a couple black enamel dots.

Next up I used the "smooshing" technique for my red background with Pure Poppy ink.  Then I layered on a Comic Strip Frame (PTI) and a bunch of different die cuts that Birgit had mailed to me. (Having stamping friends is just the best, because they share with you...thank you, thank you Birgit!!)  I just love how fun this card turned out!  Oh, and the sentiment is from PTI's Think Big Favorites: #21.

I think this one is my favorite, as it involves flowers, and is just so soft and pretty.  My background was done with a Tim Holtz stencil (Speckles TH5021) and Smoky Slate ink.  I simply inked up the whole stencil with my ink pad, spritzed it with water, and then layed my card stock down on it.  It turned out in reverse of how the stencil is supposed to be, and I just really, really like how it turned out.  Next I used PTI's Painted Poinsettia's stamp set and embossed the flower outlines with white embossing powder, and then used my Aqua Painter and Wisteria Wonder and Perfect Plum inks to water color the flowers and Mossy Meadow ink for the leaves.  I fussy cut them out, and then glued them to my background piece.  I stamped some of the flourishes from the Painted Poinsettia stamp set with Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink, and then matted this layer to a piece of holographic silver cs, and then matted those layers to a Wisteria Wonder card base.  It really came together a lot quicker than it sounds, and is just one of those cards that really makes me smile to look at it! :0)

Make sure you check out Birgit's creations right HERE.  I know she will have many cards that will WOW you, so take the time to check it out and leave her some love too! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and cheering me and my dear friend Birgit on...we love hearing from you, so don't be shy and let us know what you think of our cards and our little monthly challenges. :0)

Make it Monday #232 - Layered Stamping on Kraft

Hello friends.  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving?!  I did! :0)  Today I'm sharing my 2nd card (did not like my first card!!!) that I made for this weeks Make it Monday challenge with Dawn McVey.  Dawn has a great video on how to make colors pop on a darker cardstock like kraft, by using white ink first.  I've seen this technique before, but had never tried it, and for me, there was a bit of a learning curve.  I tried my first card with the new Winter Woods stamp set, and it just did not thrill me.  Dawn talked about this being a great technique to use with flowers, so I went back to a favorite from this Falls release - Twig Wreath.  Much better result...take a look:

   
I started with a kraft card base and then a piece of plaid from the Holiday Plaid papers, and then distressed both with Walnut Stain ink.  I used a Basic Bookmark #3 die also cut in kraft, and then stamped my sentiment from O Holy Night, before stamping the wreath from Twig Wreath.  Next came the fun part of adding the flowers, and I purposely after starting with the white ink, offset my Pure Poppy layer more than a little off center because you could see more of the contrast that way. For the little greenery around the flowers I used Ocean Tides and Aqua Mist so it would coordinate with the colors in the plaid.  Next I embossed the centers of the flowers with gold, and also some gold embossing on the leaf die cuts (Songbirds) that I added behind the bookmark.  A little seam binding ribbon and gold cording finished off this very vintage looking Christmas card.

Make sure you stop over to NICHOLE'S site to check out Dawn's video and beautiful card, and also to get all the info to play along.  

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

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th of the month, and that means it's time for the monthly blog hop over at Papertrey Ink.  Nichole always finds the most beautiful pictures for inspiration for us, and this months photo was no exception. 

I chose to work with the colors, and while I would have picked Enchanted Evening and Blueberry Sky for the blues in the photo, Nichole mentioned using Tropical Teal and Hawaiian Shores for the blues, along with Simply Chartreuse and Silver...so I followed Nichole's lead and came up with this small (4 1/4 X 4 1/4) card:

I used the Scene It: Bethlehem dies with white cs, and then blended the Tropical Teal and Hawaiian Shores on the starry section, and Simply Chartreuse on the tree section.  I had always used distress inks for blending, but recently watched a Laura Bassen video where she said she still loves using PTI inks to blend with because they blend like butter.  She was right! I loved blending the 2 blues together...it was practically effortless!!  Next I embossed in black part of the manger scene from Petite Places: Nativity and then added Perfect Pearls over the whole top.  I tried so hard to get a photo where you could see the glimmer of the pearlescent shine on the card, but no luck...IRL though, it really does shimmer!  I added a circle of silver glitter card stock behind the scene so the cut out stars would show through, and then added it to my white card panel with the simple sentiment from the Petite Places: Nativity stamp set.  I added a layer of white fun foam behind this layer and attached to a white card base.  CAS and a sweet little card to add to my Christmas stash! :0)

If you'd like to check out all the inspiration gleaned from the above photo, you can check it all out right HERE.

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

CCCB #289 - The Snow Queen

Hello friends.  For this final week of my being the Special Guest Star over at  City Crafters Challenge Blog, the theme is "The Snow Queen".  I took my inspiration quite literally from the photo and came up with this scene featuring snowy/iced trees.  I could have taken my inspiration from right outside my window this weekend, as this was exactly how it looked in my neck of the woods...I believe Winter has arrived in West Michigan!  Take a look:

I'm not a real outside snow person, but I can appreciate the beauty of it from inside my nice warm house!  I started my card by using an oldie but a goodie, SU!'s Lovely As A Tree, and embossing it on my card panel with white embossing powder.  Next I masked off the top and bottom of my card panel and a 3/4" circle for my moon, and then blended with distress inks (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Stormy Sky, & Faded Jeans). After removing my masks I used a PTI die (Wonderful Words: Holiday Die Collection) and taped it lightly over a portion of the inked background and then die cut it.  With just plain white card stock I die cut the word 5 more times and glued them all together, using the first one I die cut from my panel to put on the top.  I love the two toned dimension this gives a card!  Easy to do...just takes a little time to glue all the layers together! After stamping "ON EARTH" below the die cut, I mounted this panel to a white card base, and then even finished the inside of the card!!  (It's getting to be that time of year where I really need to finish the insides, so I'm not frantically trying to do the insides of 100 plus cards at the last minute!!  Anybody else out there do that, or am I the only procrastinator???)

  
If you'd like to play along with this challenge, you can find all the info you need and great inspiration right HERE.

I'd like to take a moment and thank Kirsty and her lovely and talented design team, for inviting me to tag along this month over at the City Crafters Challenge Blog.  It has been a delight to work with all of them this past month, and I thank you for this wonderful opportunity from the bottom of my heart!! :0)

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

For Emily

Hello friends.  Many of you in blogland know Jennifer McGuire, and all month she has been sharing posts about kindness and small acts we all can do to make someone's life brighter.  Last week Jennifer shared about 2 young children fighting cancer and the card shower she wanted to throw for them.  You can read all about it right HERE.  My heart was so touched by the little girl Emily's story, who is a 6 year old who has been battling Neuroblastoma since she was 4.  Because I have 3 healthy daughters, I could not NOT make a card to share with Emily!  So hopefully this card will bring a smile to her face!

This little egg shaped snowman from Paper Smooches Warm Hearts set just melts my heart and I hope it will Emily's too!  Emily's favorite color is dark pink, so I blended Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, & Picked Raspberry Distress inks over my back ground that I had first embossed a few snowflakes on in white.  The "sending" "Hugs" were stamped and die cut from PTI's Big Hugs set.  The silver candy cane stripes on the sides were stamped from Winnie & Walter's Holiday Trimmings stamp set.  I really like how this simple card came out and hope Emily will like it too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and am hoping we can all take time this week to reflect on all we been blessed with..."Let our lives be full of both THANKS and GIVING"! :0)

Warm Hearts Card and YES, More Tags!

Hello friends.  With all the tags out there for inspiration, there's been a lot of drooling on my part at new stamp sets that I'd love to have, and a certain one in particular I just couldn't seem to hold back on!  I absolutely LOVE the little egg shaped snowman from Paper Smooches called Warm Hearts.  I still had my LOTV DSP pad out, so this card and tags came together quite easily.  Take a look:

Doesn't that little guy just make your heart melt?  And bring a goofy smile to your face?!!  Both the card and the tags were so easy to do (or EZPZ as Darnell would say!!).  Just a matter of some quick coloring with my Copics and then fussy cutting the simple shapes out for the snowman and bird, and then attaching to my card base and tags that I layered with the DSP.  A little bit of twine and a sentiment and done! :0) 

Going to add these tags to Tracey McNeely's  25 Days of Christmas Tags and also Happy Little Stampers November Christmas Challenge .  Click on the highlighted links to play along, or even to just sit back and relax while gazing at oodles and oodles of great Christmas tags!

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

Merry Monday #180 - Reindeer

 

Hello friends.  Playing along with Merry Monday and the challenge this week is to use a reindeer on your card.  This card came together so easily (like maybe 5 minutes!) and I really liked how it turned out.  Then I realized I had used a deer die cut, and NOT a reindeer...grrrr!  So it's been sitting on my desk all week staring at me, and the more I look at it, the more I like it, so I'm going with it...just pretend she's really young (and that's why she doesn't have any antlers yet) and is mesmerized by her first snowfall! 

I used a white card base and added a  DSP (LOTV 6x6 pad) layer that I cut using a SSS die (Wavy Scallop Stitches).  I die cut the deer from a TH Movers and Shapers die with kraft cs and then sponged it with Tea Dye and Walnut Stain Distress inks.  My sentiment (PTI's O Holy Night) was stamped with Early Espresso ink.  A piece of bakers twine (The Twinery) finished off this oh so simple card.   
                                 

          

There's still a few days to play along, so check out all the great inspiration and play along.  You can find all the info you need right HERE.

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

More Tags???

Hello friends.  I seriously can't stop making them!  I see SO many cute ones on Tracey NcNeely's blog where she's doing the 25 Days of Christmas Tags, and then I'm hooked!  And Colleen of One Smile Lifts a Spirit, who I love to follow has been playing along with the tag challenges too, and she is always making such cute tags that I have to follow along!  So thanks Tracey and Colleen...no seriously, I mean THANKS!  I've been having a ball!! :0)  I have a couple to show you today using Lawn Fawn and Sweet & Sassy stamps.  Take a look:

I started by stamping and coloring all my images with Copics and then fussy cutting them out.  Next I die cut the circle tags (Lawn Fawn set of 3 dies) from white and then again with scraps of DSP, which I then cut again with a SSS die to take off about a third of the DSP so I had white space to look like a snow hill and also a space to stamp a sentiment.  The Alpaca is from Lawn Fawn and the snowman and bunny are from Sweet & Sassy.  The "be merry" and "holiday cheer" sentiments are from PTI's Tag-Its #9 stamp set.  I pop dotted the Alpaca's and snowman so they would stand out a bit from the DSP, and then finished with some red & white bakers twine.

Tracey's challenge is still going on, so if you need some more tags to add to your stash, you can check out everything you need to know to play along right HERE. 

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