Merry Monday #220 - How Will You Decorate Your Front Door?

Hello friends.  Bonnie is hosting this weeks Merry Monday challenge, and she wants to see how you will decorate your front door.  Pretty simple for me as I'm just a traditional girl at heart!  Yes, I will decorate my front door with a wreath!!  :0)

I pulled out my FAVORITE wreath embossing folder from Spellbinders and came up with this:

After running my cardstock through the embossing folder and Big Shot, I lightly sponged on Ocean Tides and Pine Feather inks (PTI) to just the raised areas of the wreath.  I matted with a layer of Real Red cardstock and attached to a white card base.  A simple red gingham bow tied with some twine and a simple tag (PTI's Tiny Tags) finished off my wreath card.

How will you decorate your front door this Christmas?  We would love to see what you come up with!  Check out all the inspiration from my fabulous team mates and then play along with us.  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 #265 - Layered Dry Brushing

Hello friends.  This weeks Make It Monday challenge has Lizzie showing us how to do a layered dry brushing technique that gives you a beautiful background.  I used a piece of water color paper for my first try, but did not feel like you could see the look that Lizzie achieved in her card.  For my 2nd try I used a piece of PTI's Luxury Linen cardstock, and was much happier with the result!

I love the look of my background (used Hawaiian Shores & Aqua Mist re-inkers with white acrylic paint), but just not real happy with the rest of my card.  It's not even that it's a "bad" card...it just doesn't thrill me.  I like the individual components of the card like the greenery from Holiday Greens, and the ornaments from What the Doodle: Ornament (stamped in Scarlett Jewel and backed with gold mirror cs), and my ombre sentiment from Wonderful Words: Holiday Die Collection, but the card itself just seems to be missing something.  I tried matting with different colors and adding sequins, but it just isn't doing it for me!  Oh well, it is what it is, and I'm always looking for a chance to win one of those $25 prizes!  :0)

Here's a little closer up view to see the background better:

There are some absolutely BEAUTIFUL cards in the gallery along with Lizzie's video and lovely, lovely card right HERE, so check it out and play along...maybe you'll be the next $25 winner!!  :0)

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

 

October 2016 Challenge with Birgit, Patti & I - AUTUMN

Hello friends.  This past week it has really started to finally look like Fall in my neck of the woods...the leaves are just brilliant shades of reds, oranges, and yellows this year and I am just loving it!  My monthly challenge with BIRGIT and PATTI is very fitting since we decided to do Autumn!

I might have gone a little overboard this month, but I really do LOVE Fall, and my first 4 cards were all made with a piece of leftover cardstock that I had blended with Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, & Peeled Paint.

Card #1:  A Jennifer McGuire technique using a sentiment (Keep It Simple: Thinking of You) and your MISTI and just moving your cardstock a 1/2" every time you stamp the sentiment.  The leaves are die cut from Phrase Play #7.

Card #2:  I embossed with white the image from PTI's Autumn Adornments.  The sentiment is from the same set.

Card #3:  The leaf was die cut (and dry embossed) with an old Cuttlebug die by Provocraft, and then the edges were heat embossed with copper.  The tag is from PTI's Tiny Tags set.

Card #4:  The leaf was die cut with one of my new favorite dies from Gina Marie Designs and the banner was die cut from PTI's Fabulous Frames Die Collection.

Not bad for one scrap of cardstock, huh?!!  :0)

My 5th card was done with a Penny Black stamp called Pumpkin Patch and my MISTI.  Jill Foster showed some fabulous videos using this season's newest stamps and a technique using markers, water, and your MISTI to achieve a really artsy water colored look, and so I decided to try it with this stamp since I hadn't had any success using it last year when I bought it.  I have to say I was pretty pleased with how this came out!  It takes going over and over again with markers directly on your stamp (and some misting, but not too much!!) until you achieve the look you want.  I finished by blending some Salty Ocean and Antique Linen distress inks around the images. 

Card #6 started with a color palette that I had seen on Pinterest of Amethyst Allure, Perfect Plum, Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, & Bermuda Bay.  I know these are not typical Autumn colors, but they were so pretty I just had to try it!  I used leaves from PTI's Leaf Prints and Clearly Besotted's Autumn Flowers (sentiment is also from this set).  The stamped twigs in the back of the wreath are from PTI's Twig Wreath.

Card #7 is a just because I love Birdie Brown stamps (Harvest Mouse), and couldn't resist pulling this little guy out.  I stamped him with Versafine Onyx black ink and colored him with some of my Copics.  A smidge of blending with Salty Ocean distress ink and die cut with a Gina Marie Designs die, and then layered onto some plaid paper I found in my stash.  This card just makes me smile!!  :0)

Don't forget to hop on over to BIRGIT and PATTI's blogs, as I just know they will blow you away with their talent!!  I am always amazed each month at what the 3 of us come up with, and am so honored to be playing along side them!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  We all 3 love comments, so let us know what you think...we'd LOVE to hear from you!!  :0)

Papertrey Ink October 2016 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  Amazing how fast the 25th comes around each month!  But that's ok because it's seriously one of my most favorite days of the month...to play along with Papertrey Ink's Blog Hop Challenge!  Take a look at this months beautiful inspiration photo:

I took my inspiration from the woodgrain background, the music, the orange and yellow leaves, the berries, and the pumpkins.  I didn't have a walnut stamp, so I compromised and used a couple acorns...kind of a nut right??  Anyway, here's what I came up with:

I used a wood grained background stamp (SU!) with Weathered Wood distress ink for my background, and then started adding my different images.  My music was stamped on a piece of cream colored cs and stamped with a Heidi Swapp background stamp, and then sponged with Antique Linen distress ink.  I used the leaf die from Songbirds with Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, & Bright Buttercup inks, the berries from Spruce & Sprigs, the acorns from Autumn Adornments, the one red leaf from Leaf Prints, and my sentiment from Stylized Autumn (ALL PTI).  My pumpkins were blended from Orange Zest, Ocean Tides, & Pine Feather inks and die cut with a Gina Marie Designs die.  A few Rainstones and a twine bow finished up my card.  Here's a closer up view:

Off to hop along and see how everyone else was inspired, and you can too right HERE.

And if you're not tired of looking at Autumn themed cards, stop back again tomorrow and see what Birgit, Patti and I have come up with for our monthly challenge...you won't be disappointed!!  :0)

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

Merry Monday #219 - Use A Bird on Your Christmas Card

Hello friends.  Sue is our hostess this week at Merry Monday and she would like to see a bird(s) on your Christmas card.

I have quite a few bird stamps because I really do love birds (we feed and watch the birds all year long at our house!!), but for this challenge I had to use a new Northwoods stamp I had just gotten featuring a small Winter birdhouse image.  There is a bird in this image...you just have to look really close!!  :0)

Can you see my little sparrow perched on the edge of his snowy house?  Such a simple image, but I just fell in love with it!  I colored it with a few Copics, added some glitter, and then die cut it with a Lil Inkers circle die.  I pop dotted it on to a couple more circle die cuts, and then added to a card base with some Cherry Cobbler gingham and a "merry" die cut from PTI's Wonderful Words: Holiday Die Collection.  Also added a thin strip of red glitter paper and a tiny red bird also from the glitter paper perched on the "r" of my sentiment.  A pretty simple card, but I really like how it turned out!

So how about getting those bird stamps out and playing along with us this week?!  Only 9 more weeks till Christmas my friends...time to get moving!!  And we have all the inspiration you need to get going right HERE!

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

Make It Monday #264 - Die-Cut Stencil Shapes

Hello friends.  Melissa Phillips is up this week for the Make It Monday challenge, and she shows us how to get more mileage out of our dies by using them as stencils.  I made a stencil with the tree die from the Tiny Town: Spookville Manor and then used some gray ink to create the background of my Halloween card.

After sponging in the tree shapes, I sponged in some Amethyst Allure ink for my nighttime sky, and then added the decorated house (also Tiny Town: Spookville Manor), moon & bats.  My sentiment is from the Spooky Smiles set.  This was a fun new way to look at my dies, and I will definitely be using this technique again!

Make sure you check out Melissa's fabulous cards (she NEVER disappoints, does she?!!) and her video, and then play along right HERE.

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

  

Merry Monday #218 - Use Plaid on Your Christmas Card

Hello friends.  Nina is our hostess this week at Merry Monday and she would like us to use plaid on our Christmas cards.

I had a scrap of plaid DSP from Hobby Lobby that I've had for years (I think...maybe longer??) and thought it would make a perfect backdrop for one of my new favorite sets from PTI called Holiday Greens. 

 

I love the black with the red, green and white in this plaid pattern, and thought it worked perfectly for my card!  I used a tag die cut from Casual Fridays and my sentiment from Catherine Pooler's latest SOA box set, and then added the die cut and stamped greenery from the PTI Holiday Greens set.  I did a little bit of blending with the berries, holly leaves, and the "Joyful" with my inks and really like the added definition it gives those elements.  A few iridescent sequins finished off my card.

Only 10 more weeks till Christmas my friends, so keep checking back with us at Merry Monday's each week and we'll help you get those cards done in time with lots of great inspiration!  You can check out all our inspiration using PLAID this week right HERE and then play along!

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

CAS Mix Up and CAS Watercolour Card Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with the challenges over at CAS Mix Up and their new sister challenge CAS Watercolour today.  I think I actually managed to combine both challenges on one card...the CAS Mix Up challenge is asking us to use the "ghosting" technique, and the CAS Watercolour challenge is looking for a water colored card with the focus on Autumn.  Here's what I came up with:

I started by water coloring my background using the "smooshing" technique and Fired brick and Spiced Marmalade distress inks.  Once it was dry I used the ghosting technique with a Winnie & Walter stencil (Pattern of the Rings).  I used one of my new favorite leaf dies from Gina Marie Designs and kept it simple by leaving it white.  A small tag (PTI's Tiny Tags) with a stamped sentiment was tied to the die cut leaf with twine, and then this layer was layered onto a white and black layer, and then to a white base. 

Lots of beautiful inspiration in both galleries and plenty of time to play along too...check it all out right HERE and HERE. 

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

Merry Monday #218 - Vintage/Retro Theme

Hello friends.  This week's challenge at Merry Monday is being hosted by Lori and she would like you to use a Vintage/Retro theme on your Christmas cards.

When I think of Vintage/Retro, I think of the cards that were popular when I was growing up, and my favorite ones were always packed with LOTS of glitter and lovely Winter scenes.  Here's what I came up with:

A lot more die cutting than stamping, but I like how this came out!  I blended my background first with Tumbled Glass distress ink, and then built my scene with TH Woodlands tree dies in Old Olive and white glitter cardstocks, and the church from PTI's Tiny Town: Church die.  My sentiment is from PTI's Christmas Blessings set.  I stamped a little on the garlands over the windows using PTI's Bird's & Blooms set.

Excited to see what you all come up with for this week's Vintage/Retro theme!  If you need more inspiration, check out all the fabulous cards from my team mates, and then play along with us and get those Christmas cards done BEFORE Christmas!  You can find all the info you need to play along right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #263 - Background Building With Frames

Hello friends.  The challenge this week at Make It Monday has Amy Sheffer showing how to use smaller frame die cuts as a part of your background...LOVED it!  And of course Amy's card was fabulous and I wanted nothing more than to completely copy it, but I refrained kind of, and went with the same layout and stamp set, but used Fall colors and different frames.

 
I started by blending Melon Berry and Canyon Clay inks on my cardstock, then did a bit of splattering with water and Canyon Clay ink.  Next I added frames from the Stained Glass set in white...perfect size and shapes for this challenge.  Then I simply stamped and die cut the images from Holiday Greens using Classic Kraft, Melon Berry, Canyon Clay, & Ocean Tides inks from PTI and Baked Brown Sugar and Soft Suede inks from SU!.  My sentiment is from the Inspired: Prayer set, and I die cut and stacked several of the "Prayer" and heat embossed in white the rest of the sentiment on a Soft Suede banner strip.  A couple of PPP iridescent sequins finished off my card.

Make sure you check out Amy's beautiful card and all the rest of the lovely cards in the gallery for inspiration, and then play along HERE.

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

  

I LOVE YOU This Much

Hello friends.  Just a quick post to share a card with you that I made for my hubby for our 29th anniversary yesterday. 

Even though my hedgie is awful cute (MFT's Happy Hedgehogs), it's the tree's that I just love in this card!  I used Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade & Peeled Paint distress inks and blended them all over a piece of white cardstock, splattered with water, and then used MFT's Tree-mendous dies to cut them out.  I'm bummed my camera didn't catch my background better, but I made a cloudy sky using a scalloped border I made and my ink blending tool with Salty Ocean distress ink...you'll just have to trust me that in real life it looks pretty cool.  :0)

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

    

Merry Monday #216 - ELVES

Hello Merry Monday fans!  This week Linda is hosting our challenge and she would like to see an Elf or Elves on your Christmas card.

Don't you wish you could decorate sugar cookies just like this?  I can create with paper and stamps, but unfortunately not in the baking department!  Oh well, I did have fun creating my card for this weeks challenge using MFT's Birdie Brown Santa's Elves.

I kept this card pretty simple using MFT's Blueprints 27 dies and partial images from the Santa's Elves set, and my Copics.  (E00, E02, G05, G07, G14, E13, R29 & R39)  Little hard to tell in my photo, but I also stacked and glued 4 die cuts of the frame to give a little dimension to my card.  The sentiment is from the Santa's Elves set too.

Hop on over to the MERRY MONDAY site to see some more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and then play along with us this week...we can't wait to see what you come up with!

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