Birgit and Marcia's Monthly Challenge - March 2016

Hello friends.  It's that time of month where BIRGIT and I challenge each other, and this month we're using photos from Pinterest to inspire our cards.  I chose 3 photos, and have 3 cards to share with you.  My first card was inspired by a simple photo of some dark purple tulips:

 



I started with a sponged background using Smokey Slate ink, and sponging in strips to mimic what appears to be blinds in the background of the photo.  I used PTI's Tulip Time to stamp and die cut my tulips using Winter Wisteria, Royal Velvet, & Ripe Avocado inks.  My sentiment is also PTI from Think Big Favorites #3.  I left out the vase in my card as I didn't have anything close to use, and decided to just keep it simple.

 

 



I love all the photos of bicycles with flowers in a basket that are popular right now, and this one particularly drew me in as it was such a CAS photo, but still had a lot of visual interest.  I used SU!'s new Sale-A-Bration Pedal Pusher stamp set for my bicycle and sentiment, (bicycle colored with Copics) and the windows are die cut from a Poppy Stamps die (Small Madison Window).  I took a little bit of liberty for the building and used a brick embossing folder (Darice) and white ink. 

My last card is my favorite, and is a take off of a wedding invitation:

 

Isn't that just a beautiful wedding invitation?!!  I still have one daughter that's single (she just turned 21, so I'm ok with her still being single!), and if she decides to have a wedding, I would love to do something like this if she likes it!  For my card I started with a kraft background and stamped my sentiment in white and then overlapped my stamping again with Soft Suede ink.  The sentiment is from one of my newer favorite stamps sets from PTI called Phrases & Praises.  The flowers are from a PTI cover plate die from the Make it Market Mini: Garden Guild.  I used sponge daubers and various colored inks to color the flowers and leaves, and then glued it over the kraft layer.  Lastly I added a very thin frame of gold mirror card stock  over the edges of the card for a more finished look. 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what inspired me lately, and make sure you check out what inspired my dear friend BIRGIT over on her blog too!

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

Make It Monday #244 - Score Lines

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make It Monday challenge where Laurie Willison shows how adding score lines to our projects can add detail and texture!  I have been in love with the Splits: Just A Note set by Maile Belles since it came out and thought it would be a great one to use on this challenge.  This is what I came up with:

I started with blending 2 colors of ink (Dusty Concord & Worn Lipstick) on my background...Kay Miller does this often and I love that look!  Next I scored the layer every half inch to bring some more dimension to my background.  I also ink splattered the background a bit to give just a little more visual interest.  Next I stamped the die cut in black and the sentiment in Dusty Concord, and then pop dotted it to my background.  A few sequins and a white embossed butterfly (What The Doodle: Butterfly) on vellum finished off my card. 

Laurie has a great video and cards showing different ways to add scoring to your cards, and you can check it all out right HERE.

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

Flowers or Rorschach Inkblots??

Hello friends.  Hoping you all had a wonderful Easter with family and friends...we did!  Today I'm sharing a card that I'm a little on the fence about!  Penny Black has had some absolutely beautiful new flower stamps come out this Spring, and my local stamp store is carrying a few of them, so of course I had to grab one!  And of course the picture on the package is absolutely stunning, which made me want it all the more!!  Unfortunately, I am not that talented and tend to forget that when buying some of these stamps!  Don't get me wrong...I do all right with stamping and make some very pretty cards, but.....some of these stamps are just a bit out of my league!!  Anyway, having said that, it didn't stop me from buying the stamp and trying it out!  And this is what I came up with:

The stamp is called Passionate and if you have time, look it up on Penny Black's site to see the actual photograph....there's a tad bit of difference between theirs and mine!  I love the color I used on mine (Royal Velvet - PTI), and I also spritzed lightly with some water before stamping on my cardstock.  After it dried, I couldn't decide if it still looked like a flower or a Rorschach Inkblot?!!  It's hard to tell from my photos, but I used a gold glitter gel pen to lightly add some stamens to the centers of the flowers.  This is definitely one of those stamps I'll have to play around with a bit...

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

Happy Easter

      Wishing all of you a very happy and blessed Easter!!

March 2016 Blog Hop Challenge

Hello friends.  It's the 25th, and that means it's time for Papertrey Inks monthly blog hop!  This month was definitely a challenge for me, as I tend to take all the inspiration photos so literally, and just didn't have a clue what to do with this one at first.  But like all of the challenges, the more I looked at the photos, the more I liked them...especially the colors in the last one.  Now I do need to be upfront and tell you that an embroidery expert I am not, but with that being said, I do have to say that I was quite proud that I remembered how to do French knots, and my own form of satin stitching!  Take a look:

I started with a water colored background with Smokey Slate ink to mimic the backgrounds that Izziyana Suhaimi uses on her designs.  Next I added one of the inside frames from the Cover Plate: Pretty Frame die over my background and then added the embroidered flowers and leaves from the Friendly Flowers set, using embroidery floss colors from the inspiration photo.  The sentiment is also from the Friendly Flowers set.  And because I don't know when to leave well enough alone, I added a few rainstones to finish off my card.  :0)

I'm so excited to see how every one else interpreted these inspiration photos, and I'm sure I'll be doing plenty of "Now why didn't I think of that?!!".  But considering how stumped I was at first, I really like what I came up with, and just may have to try another card or two like this!!  To check out all the inspiration photos and all the cards in the gallery, just click right HERE.

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

CAS Mix Up March Challenge

Hello friends.  A couple more cards to add to the CAS Mix Up March Challenge using a water colored and Inka Gold (LOVE this stuff!!) background.  Take a look:

 
The backgrounds are using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and Inka Gold (Champagne), and of course water.  This was my first attempt (almost a month ago) and I didn't spread the Inka Gold around enough, so it was a little thicker than I thought it should be.  I almost threw the panels I had made away, thinking they were no good, and now I'm so glad I didn't!  After trimming them up and adding the butterflies and sentiments from PTI's What The Doodle: Butterfly set, I think they turned out just fine!  (The "enjoy" on the 2nd card is from PTI's Wet Paint die set...cut 4 times and stacked)  The butterfly on the first card was embossed with white on vellum, and the butterfly on the 2nd card was just die cut on basic white cs. 

Today is the last day to enter this challenge, but I'm sure Loll and Bonnie will have another exciting challenge for us coming up in April!  If you're looking for inspiration in the mixed media area, look no further than right HERE!  Well over a 100 cards were entered for this challenge, so LOTS to see!!

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

Merry Monday #197 - Take Me To Church

Hello friends.  Playing along with the challenge over at Merry Monday today, and this week we are being asked to use a church on our Christmas card.  Perfect reason to use my new Tiny Town: Church Die from PTI!  Take a look:

I stamped a piece of white cardstock with SU!'s Hardwood background stamp and Smokey Slate ink first, and then used the die to die cut the church...really wanted the church to have that old time look of a wooden clapboard building.  I trimmed out the windows and door with white and then inlaid the pale yellow cardstock to mimic light coming from within the church.  I used a small leaf stamp from PTI's Birds & Blooms stamp set to add greenery around the windows and doors with Mossy Meadow ink, and a few red dots for some berries.  I used a Tim Holtz stencil to create the background with Stormy Sky distress ink.  I added a seam binding bow and tag at the top to finish off my card.  While this card doesn't really scream Christmas to me, I still really like how it turned out! 

And while I had the dies out for the church, just had to actually make a 3D version:

Obviously didn't make this one Christmas-y, but I think I'm going to fill it will some jelly beans (that will make my windows look like stained glass, right??) and use for an Easter gift!  :0)

Make sure you check out all the beautiful cards by the DT this week and then 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)

Make It Monday #243 - Ink Blending Over Heat Embossing

Hello friends.  Danielle Flanders is hosting this weeks challenge over at Make It Monday, and showing us how beautiful ink blending can be over heat embossed images.  I blended some Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade distress inks over my heat embossed background using an old SU! stamp called Script.  And then I simply added the Cover Plate: Butterfly over the top of my blended background and came up with this:

I love the crisp clean look of the white cover plate over the blended pink and orange...definitely makes me think Spring!  I used a simple black banner with an embossed sentiment from PTI's Choose Joy and a bright pink enamel dot to finish off my card.

If you're looking for some beautiful Spring inspiration, head on over to Nichole's blog and check out Danielle's great video and beautiful card, and all the other lovely cards in the gallery...you can check it out right HERE.

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

Daisy, Daisy

Hello friends.  A couple really simple cards to share with you today using a new (to me) technique that I found over on Loll Thompson's blog, called Splash Watercolour Technique.  SOOO cool...you've gotta check it out!!  I thought I did something wrong after I did the first color, but once it dried, I could see all the beautiful spots that look speckled, and then of course after adding the 2nd color and then letting that dry...WOW!  Can't wait to do it again with other colors!!  Take a look:

I used Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks for the background...is that not cool looking or what?!!  (can you tell I'm just a little bit excited about this technique????)  I used a Penny Black die for the Daisy called Bashful, and colored it with my Copics.  My sentiments for both cards are from PTI's Winter Woods set.  Here's a photo of both cards:

Don't they both make you think Spring really is just around the corner??  I'm going to add this to the CAS Mix Up challenge for March, as it has stamping (the sentiments), water coloring (the background), and 1 other element (the die cut Daisy).

Lots of beautiful cards in the gallery, so if you need any inspiration, it's a great place to go looking!! 

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

Merry Monday #196 - Black, White, & Gray/Silver

Hello friends.  Playing along with the challenge over at Merry Monday today, and this week they are asking us to use black, white, and gray/silver on our Christmas cards.  What an elegant color combination, and there are some absolutely stunning cards from the DT and in the gallery!  Here's what I came up with:

I started with a "smooshed" water colored background using Smokey Slate ink, and I really like how it turned out...totally makes me think Winter!  Next I stamped in black the trees from SU!'s classic set Lovely As A Tree (are you catching this Dot??  It's a CLASSIC and you do NEED it!!).  I framed around this layer using PTI's Cover Plate: Pretty Frame Die, and then mounted it to a black card base.  I even finished the inside:

The tree is also from the Lovely As A Tree set, and the sentiment is from Neat & Tangled Bright Baubles.  I added a small silver die cut star from that set on the tree and also on the center tree on the front of the card. 

There's still time to play, and you definitely need to check out all the beauties over at the Merry Monday site right HERE.

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

PTI's March 2016 Create Along With Us

Hello friends.  There was SO much to be inspired by this month over at Papertrey Ink, but the one that stood out to me was a simple little card by Melissa Phillips that simply said Summer to me!

It's bright, it's cheery, I love the red gingham at the bottom, the little string bow at the side of the flowers, I love it all!  Here's what I came up with:

I changed up my colors just a bit from Melissa's, but otherwise I kept the layout of the card the same.  My flowers came from Quilted: Summer and my sentiments from Wet Paint.  And don't you love the new Bright Buttercup ink color from last months release?!!  These colors and the red gingham definitely make me think Summer and picnics!!  :0)

Check out all the great inspiration cards on Nichole's blog right HERE and play along!

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

Happy Birthday

Hello friends.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and had time to get inky!  Unfortunately I did not, however, I do have 2 cute little cards to share that I made a couple weeks ago and had forgotten to post.  I'm really in love with this new little die from SSS called Birthday Circle, and also a free little stamp set from SSS that I received for my birthday last month called Birthday Celebration.  Take a look:

Aren't those little elephants in their party hats just the cutest?!!  I stamped and colored the elephants with my Copics, and then fussy cut them and the balloons out.  My backgrounds were smooshed and then attached to coordinating color bases, and then I added the birthday die cuts and elephants.  A few sequins finished up both cards. 

I am adding both cards to Simon's Monday Challenge where you are to make your own background, and what could be simpler than a smooshed background, and also Simon's Wednesday Challenge where you are asked to use a A Bit O Green for St. Patrick's Day.  I figure my Bermuda Bay ink is enough of a green to qualify for the Wednesday challenge.  :0)

You can link up to both challenges HERE and HERE.

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

Merry Monday #195 - Buttons

Hello friends.  The challenge over at Merry Monday's this week is to use buttons on your card.  I have had a package of extremely tiny red, white, & green buttons for years, and decided to use the red ones for berries using PTI's Spruce & Sprigs stamp set.  Take a look:

I am still so in love with this stamp set, and think it makes the most beautiful cards!  I blended Old Olive and Mossy Meadow inks with a blending tool directly onto the holly leaf stamps, and then used Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Cherry Cobbler, & Real Red inks for the rest of the spruce and sprigs.  Can you see those tiny, tiny buttons I glued on to the berries?  The hardest part of making this card was gluing on those buttons because they were so hard to hold on to...if I had been thinking clearer, I would have used my pick-me-up stick!  I gold embossed my sentiment which is from WPlus9's Christmas Greetings stamp set.  I also used Spectrum Noir's Sparkle Pen on the two berry sprigs at the top of the card, so IRL they really sparkle!

You can check out all the beautiful cards with buttons from the design team (and players) right HERE.

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

MAke It Monday #242 - Sponged Stamping

Hello friends.  Feels like it's been forever since I've been on my blog, when it's really only been 4 days.  It's been a loooong week though, as I spent 3 days of it in the hospital with my mom who suffered a mild stroke.  She's going to be fine with a few changes to her meds, but it sure rocks your world when things like this happen!  Otherwise she's been a very healthy almost 84 year old, so I feel very blessed that this was not a major stroke and that hopefully God has many more years here on earth planned for her!  Finally yesterday I had time to play in my craft room, and came up with a card for this weeks Make It Monday challenge with Dawn McVey.  Dawn's example card is absolutely beautiful with the sponged on colors she used on her bird, and using a sponge directly onto the stamp really does soften the blended look of two colors of ink. 

I have a stack of the Petite Places stamp sets that I have never used, and figured this might be a good time to break one of them out!  I chose to work with the Sweet Shoppe set and this is what I came up with:

I stamped my shoppes in Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores and Aqua Mist inks, and used Dawn's sponging technique with the awnings, and then again on the brick embossed background, although it's a little hard to see there as the shoppes ended up covering up the center part where the blended color change is most noticeable.  I think this card turned out really cute, and I can't believe I waited this long to play with this set!

You can check out Dawn's beautiful card(s) and video over on Nichole's blog right HERE.

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

CAS Mix Up March 2016 Challenge

Hello friends.  Today I'm playing along with a brand new challenge from Loll Thompson and Bonnie Klass, called the CAS Mix Up challenge.  This is a monthly challenge where you are using at least 3 different media mediums on your card and still keeping it CAS!

This months challenge is to use Stamping, Watercolouring, and your choice of one other element, and this is what I came up with:

For my background, I used Dusty Concord distress ink, Winter Wisteria ink, and Inka Gold Champagne metal glass paint and the "smooshing" technique.  The Inka Gold is a technique I learned from Loll (HERE), and absolutely had a blast playing with it!  There's a little bit of a learning curve involved with Inka Gold, but the results are SOOOO pretty, and I wish my camera (and my photo skills) did a better job picking up the glimmer of this product!  Here's a closer up photo:

Besides the watercoloured background, I also stamped and embossed my flower image (Flowering Fields by SU!) in black, and then used my Aqua Painter to color in the flowers and leaves with Dusty Concord and Old Olive inks.  I actually made enough background sheets that I made another card using a different flower image from the same set:

   
I thought about adding sentiments to these cards, but in the end decided to keep them as they are, and just use them as note cards.  Totally in love with the way these came out, and will definitely be making more backgrounds like this with the Inka Gold!

This challenge is open for the whole month, so still lots of time to play!  You can check everything you need to know about to play along with this challenge, and also see LOTS of inspiration from Loll and Bonnie, and also the other players, all right HERE.

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

You're My Kind Of Peep

Hello friends.  Just a quick post today to share a Easter/Spring card I made this week with the new Simon Says Stamp My Kind Of Peep set.  Take a look:

The DSP in the background and that I stamped and die cut the peep in is from the Spring 6 x 6 pad from Echo Park.  The tag is die cut from Tag Sale #4 (PTI) and the little strip of bunnies is from Simply Spring Borders (also PTI).  A little strip of silver glitter paper, a pretty pink seam binding bow, and a few pink sequins finish off this little card.

I'm entering this card into a new (to me) challenge called TIME OUT Challenge  that I learned about from Darnell, and their theme for this challenge is Spring and Easter.  They are also celebrating their 2nd birthday, so head on over there to wish them a Happy Birthday, and be inspired by all the beautiful Spring and Easter cards...you won't be disappointed!!

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