September Rudolph Days Challenge

Hello friends.  Just a quick post today with a couple Christmas cards I made using a small Impression Obsession stamp I bought last weekend.

 
Two totally different looks by coloring the candy cane stripes differently!  The white area stripes were colored with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen, so IRL they really sparkle!  Which one do you like best??

I'm entering these into the September Rudolph Days Challenge, which you can check out right HERE.

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

Inspired By All The Little Things #65

Hello friends.  There's a little bit of magic going on over at this weeks challenge at Inspired By All The Little Things.

Can't you imagine a little fairy or gnome (or troll) appearing in that picture?!  It's definitely a great one to let the imagination soar!!  I kept with the forest scene and then added a couple of whimsical critters from The Purple Onion company.  Take a look:

 

Started with a smooshed water color background and then added a Gina Marie Designs die cut forest layer over the background.  I colored with a combination of my Zigs and Copics the owl and mouse before adding them to the enchanted forest.  Yes it's enchanted because I added quite a liberal dose of magic pixie dust!  Well ok, maybe not pixie dust, but a generous spraying of Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spritz which is basically the same thing...just doesn't show up well in photos because it's magic!!  :0)  I added the mushrooms and embossed sentiment banner from MFT's Happy Hedgehogs set.  And a little enamel dot as a nod to Amanda Bodine who is the featured Guest Designer this week and likes to use enamel dots (or sequins) to her creations.

I'm getting in under the wire (again!!), so there's only till tomorrow (29th) to play along with this challenge, but it is a fun one, so head over and check out all the FABULOUS cards from Amanda and the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

Tag You're It! Challenge #73

Hello friends.  Getting my tag in just under the wire for the latest Tag You're It Challenge!  Tracey McNeely has a FABULOUS tag to inspire us:

I love Tracey's beautifully blended background and the emboss resist technique she used with her image.  I changed up the colors for my tag and came up with this:

I started by embossing my tag (Avery Elle) with PTI's What The Doodle: Sun stamp set and then blended DOX inks over it (Vintage Photo, Warm Honey, & Spiced Marmalade).  Added some water splattering at this point too.  Hadn't made a shaker tag in awhile and had some lovely yellow and gold sequins and seed beads that matched beautifully, so why not?!!  :0)  I finished off the tag with a die cut sentiment that comes with the tag set and some bakers twine from The Twinery.  Wouldn't this tag look great with a kraft gift bag and bright yellow tissue paper?!

I was totally inspired by Tracey's ink blended background and her emboss resist image...thanks so much Tracey!!

This challenge is only open for another day, but hey, tags are quick and easy and FUN to make, so take a look at all the fabulous inspiration from Tracey and the DT, and play along right HERE. 

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

Papertrey Ink Sept. 2017 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly Blog Hop!  This month Nichole gave us a beautiful Fall inspiration photo by ChristaPiercePaper.

Don't you just love the beautiful Fall colors against the black background?!  The colors just pop so vividly against the black, so that was my starting point for my card.

 I started with a black layer that I used the Mix & Mat: Flourishes die to make the framing of all the little holes, and then started layering on all my images from Give Love (a stamp set I HAD to have and then never used it before now!), Stylized Autumn (background leaves), Gran's Garden, and Stemmed Statements (for the little tag and sentiment).  LOVE how this turned out...nice and bold and vibrant!!

I'm also entering this into Darnell's NBUS #12 Challenge, as I had never used the Give Love stamp set before this card.  Unfortunately I have more than a few of these stamp sets that I HAD to have and then they sit there for months and months (and sometimes even longer!!) before I use them!  Oh well, at least I know I'm not alone...right Darnell?!!!  You have until Oct. 4 to play along with Darnell's challenge and you can find all the info right HERE.

 
I can't wait to see how all the rest of you interpret with beautiful photo!  You can see all the beauty and play along with this month's blog hop challenge at Papertrey Ink right HERE.

Also had the chance to meet fellow blogger Michele Ferguson this weekend at the Papercrafting Roadshow.  What an absolute delight to meet this sweet, sweet lady...so fun and an absolute hoot to boot!!  :0)

 

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

Merry Monday #258 - Penguin

Hello friends.  Colleen is our hostess for this weeks challenge at Merry Monday and she would like to see a PENGUIN on your Christmas card.

I have a new Avery Elle stamp set called Brring On The Joy that I've been having a lot of fun with lately, and it also worked out perfectly for this weeks challenge!

I started with a white card base and then layered a piece of Aqua Mist card stock that had been die cut with a Gina Marie Design die.  Next I stamped and colored with Copics the two penguins holding the wreath and the piece of ice they're skating on.  Hard to tell in the photo but I used Dazzling Diamonds around the edge of the ice piece and used my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen on all the little star die cuts in the background.  My sentiment banner is from MFT's Tag Builder Blueprints #5 with the "holiday cheer" from PTI's Tag-Its #9.

I know I'm going to get a lot of use with these cute little guys...look at what cute tags they make too!

I mean seriously...how can you resist such cute little faces?!!

So grab your PENGUIN stamps and play along with us this week!  Christmas is coming quicker than you think friends, so let us help you get a head start!  For more inspiration, check out all the great cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with for this weeks challenge!

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

A Spooky Halloween Shadow Box

Hello friends.  I have been seeing so many cute and fun Halloween cards and projects out there in blogland lately, and decided I'd get on board.  I've been hooked on a really cute shadow box from Lawn Fawn that makes the 3D boxes that fold flat for mailing and finally gave in and purchased it!  (I think it's a little pricey but so much fun and easy to make that I'm glad I splurged now!)

I decided to make the outside of the box from DSP (PTI), which as cute as it is, I think I will use regular cardstock next time for more support...the DSP is flimsier.  The box is also only 3 1/4" X 2 3/4", so you do need to think about the stamps and die cuts you will use to put in it.  My first thought was to put in some little Halloween Owls I have, but they are too big to use it the box, so FYI, the smaller your images, the better they'll work for this project.  Take a look:

The very back of the inside box has a piece of orange cardstock that I die cut with a Gina Marie Design Starry Sky die and then I cut it again with some silver mirror cardstock and glued in all the little silver stars.  I also added a spider web die cut from Lawn Fawn (Cute Cobweb) to the back piece.  Other than the spider that is hanging from the front top of the box, all the rest of the pieces are die cut from PTI's Tiny Town: Spookville Manor (tree, ghosts, bat, pumpkins, & fence).  The little green hills are part of the shadow box dies.  My sentiment and pumpkin on the back of the box are both from Kay Miller's Spooky Smiles (PTI).

This was definitely a lot of FUN and I'm sure my granddaughter is going to get a kick out of it!  I also love that it folds flat for easy mailing and will pop right back up once she opens it!  :0)

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

Make It Monday #297 - Mixing Florals

Hello friends.  Color me happy!!  Dawn McVey is up with this weeks Make It Monday challenge and wants us to try mixing our floral stamp sets together!  Right up my alley as I LOVE flowers and mixing the stamp sets together was so much FUN!!

I chose to work with Sunflower Harvest, Beautiful Berries: Autumn, Leave It Be, & Stylized Autumn.  I started with a piece of Ripe Avocado DSP on the bottom third of my card, and a small strip of Cocoa Bean above that, and then stamped my sentiment above that from Keep It Simple: Thinking Of You in Cocoa Bean ink.  After that it was just a matter of arranging my florals and leaves until I achieved the balance I wanted and then finished up with a few iridescent sequins.  Don't you just LOVE the colors of Autumn?!  Already starting to change here in West Michigan...now if we could just get the temperatures to go down a little!  (I don't think 90's and air conditioning is Fall weather!)

Check out Dawn's beautiful card and video right HERE and then play along.

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

For The Love Of Leaves - A New Design

Hello friends.  I have a 5 year blog-aversary coming up on September 30th, and one of my dear friends Loll Thompson asked me if I'd be interested in a blog re-design in celebration of 5 years of blogging.  Those of you  who have followed me for any length of time know that while I love making cards, computers and anything technology related are just not my thing!  Because there are only so many choices that blogger offers for blog design, I have been limited to what they had, so the offer of a new design that is totally what I want was FABULOUS news!!  I have always loved LEAVES and have many, many leaf designs in my home, so I mentioned that to Loll and the fact that I love earth tones, and she did all the rest and I couldn't be more pleased!  Thank you, thank you Loll...you really are the best!!

To celebrate my new design, I made three new cards featuring...yep, you guessed it...leaves!!

For this card I dry embossed a couple Gina Marie Designs leaf dies with a rubber mat, so that I would get the impression of the leaf, but not have it cut.  I also lightly tapped my Versamark pad over the top of the leaf dies before dry embossing them, and then used copper embossing powder that only picked up on the outline details.  Next I masked off the edges of my cardstock and then did some acetate smooshing with Fired Brick, Orange Marmalade, & Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  My sentiment is from PTI's Keep It Simple: Thank You.

I had hoped to capture the shine of the copper embossing in this close up, but no such luck!  I do however love the way the colors of my smooshing came out!!

This next card shows off much better in person!  I double embossed the leaf die cut (Gina Marie Designs) in copper and the double embossing really gives it a solid and lovely look!  Behind the open side of the leaf I blended the same colors as the first card, but in DOX inks...a much deeper and solid color!  I also did some water splattering and then sprayed the colored piece quite liberally with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spritz...in real life this whole card just shines and sparkles!!

For my last card I wanted to do something that reflected my new design, so I gathered a couple leaf sets (PTI's Leaf Prints and Leave It Be) and had fun playing around with colors and the different leaves.  After fussy cutting them all out, I die cut a dotted frame from PTI's Mix & Mat: Flourish and then arranged my leaves along the bottom and up the left side.  My sentiment is from the same PTI set (Keep It Simple: Thank You) that I used on my 1st and 2nd cards.  My card base is a piece of Soft Suede cs.

I hope you've enjoyed my little tribute to LEAVES and again, a BIG THANK YOU to Loll for all the work you did (even though you said it was fun and NOT work!!).  I am totally in LOVE with my new blog and just can't believe I am lucky enough to have a blog this cool looking!

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

Merry Monday #257 - Use A Tag On Your Christmas Card

Hello friends.  Susan is hosting our challenge this week at Merry Monday and she would like you to use a TAG, TEXTURE, BLING, & DIE CUTS on your Christmas cards.

Sometimes I get so excited to start a card and challenge that I forget to read all the fine print, so that is why I highlighted all the different things to include on your card, in case you're like me!  Yep, my card didn't quite start out like I first started it, but that's ok because I really like how it turned out after all the revisions!  Here's what I came up with:

   

For my TAG, I used PTI's Basic Bookmark #3 die and am also using this for my DIE CUT too.  I embossed my image and sentiment (PTI's Botanical Blocks IV) in gold (that's BLING right?!!) and then colored in my image with Copics.  I am also using my gold embossing as TEXTURE.  For my background I used a beautiful piece of DSP from Penny Black's Festive & Frosty paper pad on one side and stamped some flourishes from a retired SU! set called Priceless.  I added a strip of gold glitter paper (more BLING) between the DSP and flourishes, and then added my tag on top.  I also added some gems and a gold ribbon for a little more BLING, and also a little sparkle with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen on the pink berries and flourishes.  So I actually think I did quite well on the BLING component of this challenge!!  :0)

We can't wait to see what YOU come up with for this week's challenge, so dig out all those TAGS, DIE CUTS, BLING and TEXTURE and play along with us!  Check out all the fabulous cards from the rest of the DT, and then play along right HERE.

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

 

CAS Watercolour September 2017 - Silhouette

Hello friends.  This months challenge over at CAS Watercolour is all about using a SILHOUETTE on your card.

I took a class a few weeks back at my local stamp store and learned a new way of "smooshing" that I have totally fallen in love with!  Usually when you "smoosh", you put your ink down on a craft mat, spritz it with water, and then "smoosh" your cardstock down into it and more or less end up with a surprise when you turn it over.  The way I learned at class gives you a little more control on where your color goes, which is great for control freaks like me!

I started by masking off the edges of my water color cardstock and then started from the top down adding color one section at a time.  You take a smaller piece of acetate and smoosh your ink onto it (my first color was Stormy Sky Distress Ink), spritz with water, and then carefully turn it upside down and "smoosh" it onto your cardstock.  Because the acetate is clear, you can see where you are adding the color!  Used my heat tool to dry my top section and then added Scattered Straw Distress Ink to my acetate, spritzed, and "smooshed" the middle layer.  I repeated the process with Tea Dye Distress Ink for the bottom layer, and when dry, removed my masking around the edges and then stamped my image.  I used an older Penny Black stamp from 2006 (wood mounted of course!) called Asters for my silhouette with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and then added some foam to the back before mounting to a white card base.   I embossed my sentiment (PTI's Keep It Simple: Sympathy) in black on some vellum so you could still see the watercolours and the silhouette.  This "smooshing" technique is a lot of fun and very addictive, so for all you control people out there, I urge you to give this technique a try!

For this card I watercoloured ("smooshed"), stamped, & embossed.

There are SO many BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and in the gallery to inspire you this month, and the challenge is open till the 24th, so check it out and play along right HERE.

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

Create Along With Us - September 2017

Hello friends.  It's release week over at Papertrey Ink and that means it's the Create Along With Us challenge where we get to choose something we're inspired by from one of the DT and CASE their work.  September is hard for me because it's ALL Christmas, and I love EVERYTHING Christmas, and that makes it very hard to choose just one thing!!  But anyway, our daughter's are grown now and so gift cards seem to be the norm now...hence I love the new gift card die and ALL the examples the DT has been showing with it!  I finally narrowed it down to Melissa's beautiful and vintage card holder:

Is that not just the sweetest card holder?!!  Love the sentiment and the kraft cardstock, the music DSP, the clothespin and tag, and of course the twine!!  Here's what I came up with since I didn't have the exact supplies as Melissa:

I used an older PTI die Gift Card Greetings Die to cut my holder from kraft cardstock and then used some very thin tear n tape on the long sides to close it up so it was more like an envelope with a flap.  I did stencil it with a dot stencil in Scarlet Jewel before taping the sides, and then distressed the edges with some Cocoa Bean ink.  I used the Tiny Tags die and stamp set to cut out my tag and stamp the sentiment, and also added a little sprig of Holly from the Tag-Its #9 set in Spring Moss ink.  And of course I tied it up with twine and added the clothespin along with the tag to finish it up like Melissa's.  I have to tell you the flap on this is hard to fit in the rounded slot, so the new die will work a lot easier and is definitely going in my cart tomorrow night!  Here's a closer up view:

  

Still lots of time to play along with this challenge, so check out all the amazing work by the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

Inspired By All The Little Things #63

Hello friends.  Today I am playing along with the Inspired By All The Little Things challenge where this beautiful photo is our inspiration.

Don't you just LOVE those colors together and the soft background?!  These colors make me think Spring, but I'm in the mood for Fall, and just by using a much loved and older set from PTI, I think I achieved the Fall look.

I used Peekaboo Peach, Pool Party, & Crumb Cake inks along with Mum's The Word stamp set for my flowers on a piece of Rustic White cardstock, and also used the "Donna" technique, where I repeatedly stamped each flower moving the stamp just aa tine bit each time.  Here's a closer up view:

The "Donna" technique according to my SU! demonstrator was coined by Donna when she accidentally dropped her inked up stamp and tried to fix it by repeatedly stamping over the dropped image.  It gives the stamped image a very subtle shading and really is fun to do!  I also used an older SU! background stamp (En Francais) for the script on the side, and then stamped my sentiment from the Mum's The Word set on a Rustic White piece of cardstock and pop dotted it.  A small twine bow on the sentiment banner finished off my card.

There's still lots of time to play along with this challenge and some GORGEOUS inspiration from the DT, so check it out and play along right HERE.

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