Birgit & Marcia's July 2016 Challenge - In Bloom: Eva's Favorite Flowers

Hello friends.  It's that time of month again where BIRGIT and I challenge ourselves, and this month we are using Winnie & Walter's In Bloom: Eva's Favorite Flowers.  In order to stir up a bit more commenting on our blogs during these challenges, BIRGIT and I have both decided to offer a giveaway, so make sure you read to the end!  :0)

So let's get started!  I got this stamp set as part of the 1st Stamp of Approval (SOA) box set over a year ago, and am ashamed to admit I had never even opened the package.  Then last month BIRGIT posted a couple cards on her blog using this set, and saying how much she loved it and how versatile it was...ok, then I felt like even more of a slacker!  It seemed like a good idea to ask if this might be a good choice for our next challenge, and BIRGIT readily agreed.  And of course once I got started, I ended up loving the set too!

I used the Curtis background stamp (Casual Fridays) in shades of blue, and then added a couple of the flowers that I fussy cut, along with a few leaves, sequins, and a Casual Fridays die cut sentiment.

I used a SSS Gingham background stamp and Real Red ink to stamp the lower third of this card, and then added the leaves and tulips (my favorite flower in the set!) that I also fussy cut.  My sentiment is from WPlus9 Hand Lettered Hello.

I think this is my favorite of the 5 cards I made.  I used Smoky Slate and black inks to stamp the different flowers, and then added a simple die cut frame that Birgit had sent me (I believe it's from an IO die?).  I love the way the simple pop of color sets this card off.  The die cut "You" and sentiment are both from Casual Fridays.

I have to admit I kinda like the way this card turned out too!  My photograph doesn't really do it justice, but I love the look of stamping with white (pigment ink) on kraft and then stamping over it with color when the white dries.  The banner is a die cut from Catherine Pooler with a SU! Think Big Favorites sentiment embossed in white.

My last card is just a very simple collage of some of the flowers in the set using some brighter colored inks.  The sentiment is from SU!'s Rose Wonder set.

Make sure you stop by BIRGIT's blog to check out what she has done with these same stamps...I know she will blow you away with her creativity!  Make sure you leave her some love too and you could win!

We would both LOVE to hear from you in our comment section...let us know what you think of our monthly challenges, if you'd like to play along with us, and if you have any ideas to challenge us with too!  We are both giving away a little collection of die cuts to one random lucky winner from each of our blogs, so make sure you comment to win!  Here is a photo of the die cuts I'm planning to give away:

I have been going crazy over these Gina Marie Designs (www.WHOLESALECRAFTINGSUPPLIES.COM), so here is a small sampling of some of my recent die purchases from them.  If you'd like to win these, just leave a comment...easy peasy!!  We'll each choose a winner next Monday morning (August 8).  :0)

EDITED TO ADD WINNER:  Because I couldn't figure out how to use Random Generator I did this the old fashioned way and put all the names on a slip of paper, folded them up, added them to a bag, and had my daughter pick a slip of paper from the bag.  And the name she chose was: (Add drumroll please!)  Loll Thompson  Congrats Loll!  I'll be sending out your die cuts this week!  A BIG thank you to all who commented on Birgit and my blogs for this challenge...we loved hearing your thoughts and hope you'll all stop by the end of this month when we play again!

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

Double D Challenge - Shades of Purple



Hello friends.  The latest challenge over at the Double D is to use shades of purple, which is no hardship for me as I LOVE purple!



 

 



Here is what I came up with:

I'm still on a bit of a gingham kick, so I used my SSS Gingham background stamp and Lovely Lilac ink (SU! - retired) to create the background of my small notecard from PTI's Don't Forget to Write kit.  The background circle is also from the Don't Forget to Write kit, and is stamped with Royal Velvet ink.  The tea cup is also PTI (Fancy Tea Cup die) and is shaded with Amethyst Allure ink and edged with a bit of gold embossing.  The flowers were stamped and die cut using the Don't Forget to Write kit with Amethyst Allure, Royal Velvet, Simply Chartreuse, & Spring Moss inks.  A small tag (PTI's Tiny Tags) and a few gold nailheads (Gina K) finished off my card.

There's still 4 days to play along with this challenge, so if you love purple, play along!  There is some absolutely beautiful inspiration from Diane and Darlene (and their teams!), and from the other players, and you can check it all out right HERE. 

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

SAF 2016 - Impressionistic Flowers with Melissa Phillips

Hello friends.  Found time to play with one last challenge over at Papertrey Ink's Stamp A Faire with Melissa Phillips and her Impressionistic flowers!  This was such a fun challenge for me, and I loved playing with the Floral Sketches stamp set for the first time.  I used basically all Melissa's same elements in my card, but changed up my colors a little and switched my jar and flowers to the left side of the card instead of the right like Melissa's.  Here's what I came up with:

There were a lot of steps to making these flowers, but again, a lot of fun!  I wasn't sure about the double embossing because it was hard to see where I was placing my stamp the 2nd time, but Melissa was right in that it doesn't matter and that this is kind of a messy technique...the end result looks so cool though! 

Check out Melissa's video and gorgeous card, and all the other lovely cards in the gallery right HERE.

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

July 2016 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop!  The inspiration photo this month was lovely, and I was inspired by the quatrefoil design of the rug and of course the colors...Soft Stone, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, & Aqua Mist.  (There was a hint of Blueberry Sky in the photo too, but I just couldn't seem to add that color in and have it look right.)

And here's what I came up with:

I used a Soft Stone background with the Cover Plate: Quatrefoil die in white to mimic the rug in the inspiration photo, and then used the flowers from Vintage Linens to decorate my card.  The bird is from Winter Woods along with the sentiment.  A few sequins and bakers twine finished off my card.

Make sure you check out all the cards in the gallery inspired by this lovely photo right HERE.

And I know this has nothing to do with the blog hop, but I was so tickled with how my Tiny Town: Sweet Shoppe turned out, I just had to add a photo!

I thought the little church was going to be my favorite, but I have to admit that this little sweet shoppe is just as fun to make and oh so cute!  I've got lots of ideas spinning around in my head for these little houses and upcoming holidays!!  :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have fun blog hopping!!

SAF 2016 - Water Color Like A Master With Kay Miller

Hello again.  I just watched Kay Miller's Water Color Like A Master video twice (mostly because I loved listening to her Southern accent!!) to make sure I didn't miss anything as I have been in awe of Kay's water coloring skills since she joined the Papertrey Ink team!  Decided to stick with Kay's basic layout and just change up my flower (Mum's The Word) colors a tiny bit...substituting Scarlet Jewel ink for the Summer Sunrise ink that she used, and came up with this:

It really looks kind of like I know what I'm doing right?  I loved this technique and will definitely be practicing again and again! 

Make sure you check out Kay's fabulous video and card right HERE, and then play along!

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

SAF 2016 - Starry Night with Amy Sheffer

Hello friends.  Was out of town yesterday when all the Stamp A Faire celebrations and challenges were going on, but figured I'd pick a couple today to play along with, and the Starry Night with Amy Sheffer was one of them that really intrigued me!  It looks like a lot of other people thought so too...SO many beautiful cards in this gallery!  I kept mine very simple because of time, but totally love how this background came out...thank you, thank you Amy for all the tips and techniques for achieving this look!

,

My background was blended (and water colored) with Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening, Amethyst Allure, and Hibiscus Burst inks.  Acrylic white and gold paint spattered made up my stars, and my sentiment was embossed in gold using the O Holy Night stamp set.  My two black trees and hill were die cut using In The Meadow dies.  Very simple, but didn't want to distract from that beautiful background!  :0)

Make sure you check out Amy's video and beautiful card, and all the rest of the lovely starry sky cards right HERE.

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

Stamp - A - Faire 2016: Friday Night Gallery Reception

It's time for the 2016 Stamp-A-Faire over at PAPERTREY INK, and to kick off the gala, they are asking us to post our favorite Masterpiece from this past year.  Oh, decisions, decisions!  I've narrowed it down to two, and now can't make up my mind!

The first card was from a recent Create Along With Us challenge, and I was so inspired by Kay Miller's card.  My 2nd card was from a Make It Monday challenge from just a few weeks ago where Amy Sheffer challenged us to use string on our cards.  I really love how both of these cards came out, but maybe the 1st one just a tiny bit more!  :0)

You can check out everyone's Masterpieces right HERE.  And now let the fun begin!!  :0)

Make It Monday #256 - Spritzed Stamps

Hello friends.  Melissa Phillips shares her tips on this weeks Make It Monday video on how to get a water colored look with spritzing your stamps with water.  This has been a favorite technique of mine for some time now, but if you've never tried it, you definitely need to check Melissa's video and beautiful cards out!

I used Maile Belle's  Splits: Just A Note stamp set and came up with a set of 4 note cards in a very short time.  Take a look:

I used Hibiscus Burst and Orange Zest inks and then embossed the sentiments in black.  (I did use the "thank you" from one of the other Splits stamp set)  Then I simply layered each panel with a piece of Hibiscus Burst and Orange Zest card stock, and then mounted that to a white card base.  A few enamel dots finished off each of these CAS cards, and that quickly I now have a nice little set of note cards to give one of my girlfriends next month for her birthday!  :0)

Still time to play along, so check out Melissa's video and beautiful cards right HERE and play along!

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

Ghosting Technique

Hello friends.  Last week I made a couple cards using a technique called "ghosting" that I learned about from Loll Thompson and a fabulous video she did that you can watch right HERE.  Know what I love most about Loll's video's (besides the beautiful cards and great technique's)?  They are short and sweet, and direct to the point!  Her video's are usually only 2 - 4 minutes long, and yet she manages to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to try that technique and be successful!  So anyway, here's what I came up with:

 
Isn't that leaf gorgeous?!  Anyone that knows me, knows how much I LOVE leaf images and am always on the lookout for new leaf stamps and dies!  This particular die comes from Gina Marie Designs (WWW.WHOLESALECRAFTINGSUPPLIES.COM).  My background using the ghosting technique was done with Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint distress inks and a Winnie & Walter stencil.  My sentiment is from PTI's Keep It Simple: Praying For You.  Here's a close up view:

My next card uses the same ghosting technique for the background but with different colors (Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feathers) and another Winnie and Walter stencil.

When I was blending my distress inks on for the background, I did the Picked Raspberry in circles, so I thought using the Pattern of the Rings stencil was perfect to use for this ghosting technique!  This time I added a butterfly (Memory Box - Vivienne Butterfly), sentiment (PTI's Keep It Simple: Thinking Of You), and enamel dot.

Hard to tell in my photo, but the butterfly is really sparkly, thanks to my Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen.

If you have 4 minutes, make sure you go check out Loll's video and beautiful cards...it will definitely be time well spent!! 

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

Tag You're It! Challenge #51

Hello friends.  Getting in just under the wire again at the Tag You're It! challenge, but couldn't let Donna Mikasa's inspiring tag go by without playing along!  I loved her water colored background and beautiful blended flower...so bright AND delicate looking!!

I pretty much CASE'd Donna's card because, well, why mess with perfection?!  

 
Donna has a light background and a bold colored flower on her tag, and I went the opposite, with a bold background and light colored flowers.  The reason I switched mine around was pretty simple...I found a stash of water colored panels that had been meant for the trash can, and for whatever reason, I saved them...SO glad I did now!  I die cut my tag (PTI's Tag Sale #8) using just a portion of a panel that had been colored with Cobalt Blue Brusho's...love the depth of color that was on just the one portion of the panel and how perfect it worked out for the tag!  The flowers (MFT's Funky Flowers) were embossed with white and fussy cut from another water colored panel that as a whole piece I hadn't liked, but worked out just perfect for the 2 small flowers!  The leaves (PTI's Songbirds) were actually done for another challenge with embossing paste and ink painting that I thought at the time was too messy looking, but after fussy cutting them out, they didn't look too bad!  So anyway, this whole tag just about came from stuff meant for the trash, and came out great in my humble opinion!  A strip of washi tape, a few rainstones, and a seam binding bow and button finished off my tag.

This challenge ends tomorrow, but if you're quick you can still play along!  You can see all the beautiful tags and be inspired right HERE.

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

Colour Q Challenge #350

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Colour Q Challenge this week, where they have an awesome palette of colors to work with!

My first thought was a baby card, but since I already have a couple on hand and don't even know anyone expecting right now, I went with a floral and came up with this:

Actually now that the card is finished, it reminds me of Spring and Easter with these colors!  I started with a Pool Party base, and added a strip of gingham (can you tell I'm loving gingham lately??!!) stamped with Pool Party ink and a SSS background gingham stamp to the bottom.  I added a row of hearts from PTI's Heart Border die, and then used PTI's Just the Pint jar stamp and Friendship Jar Flowers stamp and die set to create my card.  A jute bow, a tag from PTI's Tiny Tags, and a few sequins finished off my card.  Oh, and I also added some shimmer with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen to some of the flowers and the heart on the tag.  :0)

You have till Monday to play along with this weeks challenge over at colourQ, so check it out and play along!

I'm also adding this card into the Double "D" Challenge, where they are asking for gingham...hope they're not tired of me yet, but they did say you can enter 3 times, and I really, REALLY do like gingham!!  :0)

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

July 2016 Create Along With Us

Hello friends.  Playing along with Papertrey Ink's Create Along With Us challenge this week, and while there is always oodles and oodles of inspiration to be found from all the DT every month, I was completely blown away by Dawn McVey's card:

 
SO simple but SO striking!  I absolutely LOVE the colors!!  How does she do that where she just knows what colors will look great together?!!  I never would have chosen these 4 colors (Pale Peony, Hibiscus Burst, Berry Sorbet, & Melon Berry) to go together, but they totally work!  I wanted to completely CASE Dawn's card, but thought I should at least try to put my own spin on it!  So I kept mine simple too, used the same color cardstock, used the Mighty Bloom cover plate die, and flipped mine upside down, and came up with this:

Very similar, but just enough of my own spin on it.  I still can't get over how perfect all those colors are together...love, love, LOVE!!  My sentiment is from Winter Woods, and I also added a rainstone to the center of the bloom.

Check out what everyone else is being inspired by, and play along over on Nichole's blog right HERE.

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

Little Hedgie

Hello friends.  Hedgehogs seem to be a big thing right now, and I guess I'm not immune to their cuteness either...found a Hedgie die and HAD to have it!  And look at what cuteness came out of it:

Is he not the cutest, or what?!!!  He comes from a Gina Marie Designs die and a scrap of kraft cardstock that was sponged with some Walnut Stain distress ink, a black Nuvo Crystal Drop for the eye, and a smudge of pink chalk on his cheek.  I added a strip of gingham at the bottom of my card base, and then worked upward to create my little scene with grass (Impression Obsession die), trees (MFT's Die-Namics), and clouds (Memory Box).   My "Sending" die cut is from PTI's Wet Paint III die collection.  I should have taken a picture of the inside where I stamped "Hugs...because you can never have too many" and also another strip of the gingham at the bottom, but forgot...old age and all, ya know!  :0)

I'm linking my little Hedgie up to the following 2 challenges:

HLS July: Anything Goes With Dies   Some really cute cards over at Happy Little Stampers, so check them out and play along this month!

Double D Challenge: Simply Gingham  5 more days left to play along with this challenge, and if you like gingham, you're going to LOVE all the inspiration going on over there!





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

July 2016 CAS Mix Up Challenge

Hello friends.  I spent the weekend playing around with an old and beloved stamp from Endless Creations called Weed Patch.  (You know they're old when they're red rubber and mounted to a wooden block!!)  It's a perfect stamp for this month's challenge over at CAS Mix Up where using markers is the focus.  I simply used some of my SU! markers directly to the stamp, misted with water, and then stamped on mixed media paper (thanks Loll!).  I came up with 3 cards...take a look:

I think the 1st card is the most CAS, but I really like the 2 with the water colored backgrounds too!  The 1st card uses dies from MFT's Blueprints #27 and Gina Marie Designs, and PTI's Tiny Tags.  The 2nd and 3rd cards are water colored with Peerless Sky Blue, the sentiments from PTI's Choose Joy, and dies from Gina Marie Designs and Lil Inkers. I can't decide which one I like best...what do you think??

 
There's still a lot of time to play along with this challenge, and some absolutely beautiful inspiration to get you started...you can check it all out right HERE.

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