Make It Monday #302 - Twine & Ribbon Wraps

Hello friends.  Playing along with Stephanie's Make It Monday challenge where she's using twine AND ribbon on her card.

Not sure I met the challenge exactly, but I was bound and determined to use my Mix & Mat: Pinked Edge dies, and did wind the twine through the leaf die cut...just a little hard to see!

I started with a white leaf embossed panel (Thanks Bonnie!!) and then mounted the Mix & Mat: Pinked Edge die cut in Honey Nut cs on top with dimensionals underneath to prop it up a bit.  I wound my twine underneath and came up through the top where the Tiny Tag is.  The leaf on the tag is from Autumn Scarecrow.  I added a cup of hot cocoa (sorry, NOT a coffee lover!) from Sunny Studio (Mug Hugs) that was blended with Blueberry Sky Ink and then embossed another leaf in copper from the Autumn Scarecrow set.  A rust colored ribbon was tied around the handle of the mug to incorporate some ribbon.

You can check out Stephanie's beautiful card and FUN video and play along right HERE.

I am also entering this card into the Inspired By All The Little Things #70 challenge, which is what inspired my colors, the leaves, and the mug on this card.  You can play along HERE.

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

Merry Monday #263

Hello friends.  This weeks challenge at Merry Monday is a photo inspiration one, and we'd love to see how you interpret this:

Since I tend to take things quite literally, I went with the hot cocoa and mugs in the photo and came up with this:

I started by stamping my sentiment (Mug Hugs by Sunny Studio) repeatedly on the card base using Pool Party ink, and then added a strip of Classic Kraft Pattern Paper and POW Red Glitter Paper to the left side of my card.  I stamped and fussy cut my mug out and then paper pieced the mug with some more Classic Kraft Pattern Paper (PTI) and lightly colored the marshmallows with a Copic C1 marker.  I colored the larger heart with a BG13 marker and pop dotted it to the mug, along with a smaller red glitter heart.  The candy cane was stamped with Real Red ink and also fussy cut out, and then added to the mug.  I finished the card with a little wooden snowflake (SU!) and some red & white bakers twine.

How will YOU interpret this inspiration photo??  Check out how the DT was inspired and then play along with us!  You can find all the info you need right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #301 - Matting With Glitter

Hello friends.  This week's Make It Monday challenge has Lizzie Jones showing us an easy way to make a glitter frame for our cards.  Well kind of easy...well actually not easy for me at all, but I think I'm Stick-It paper challenged!!  But I persevered and managed to come up with a pretty card that's also VERY sparkly!!

 I started with the Cutaway Tags: Winter stamp and die set and paper pieced the flowers and holly leaves with Pure Poppy and Simply Chartreuse cardstocks.  I did stamp the little dotted veins for the leaves to add a little more dimension to them.  After gluing them down to the white base, I embossed the sentiment in gold and then added the berries using Autumn Red Nuvo Drops.  I used an old Spellbinders scalloped die for my glitter matting, and because I couldn't get the Stick It paper to cooperate with me, I just ended up spreading glue all over the die cut scalloped circle and then adding some Martha Stewart gold glitter.  It dried beautifully and I loved the look of it under the cutaway tag!

I added some Kraft and Simply Chartreuse DSP to my card base and then sponged the edges with Cocoa Bean ink.  I also stamped the flourish from Autumn Adornments in Cocoa Bean ink and a couple holly leaf sprigs from Tag-It's #9 in Simply Chartreuse ink.  I finished off with some dark red seam binding ribbon and gold sequins.  Really LOVE all the sparkle to this card!!  :0)

Still a couple days to play along with this challenge, so check out Lizzie's beautiful card and then play along right HERE.

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

Papertrey Ink October 2017 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th, and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly Blog Hop!  I have to admit that I struggled with this month's inspiration photo from Nichole.  I have struggled with other one's too, but after looking at them long enough, I usually come up with something to love about them!  Sadly, this month I just could not!  Even the colors didn't thrill me, which is usually what I gravitate to when the subject matter or theme isn't something I care for.  But I couldn't not play, as I don't think I've missed a monthly blog hop in over 4 years!

I ended up using the colors and came up with this:

I blended Blueberry Sky and Enchanted Evening inks onto my background and then used one of the stencils from Modern Background Stencil Collection with Enchanted Evening ink, starting light at the bottom and working up to darker towards the top.  Next I made a frame from the Mix & Mat: Pinked Edge die from white, so that my leaves, berries, & pinecones (Holiday Greens) would stand out from the background.   My sentiment is from Winter Woods and I finished with a few sequins and some heavy white bakers twine.  It's definitely not a bad card, and I followed the colors (although my Americana ink and cs look a little darker than the reddish pink that is in the inspiration photo!) and also the stencil lines that mimic the triangles in one of the little squares, so I'll call it good.  I know once I start hopping I'll see all kinds of fabulous cards with ideas that make me wonder why I didn't think of that and why I struggled so!  Sometimes I think I just OVERTHINK things and should just go with the flow!  Happy hopping everyone!  :0)

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

Double D Challenge - "Leave" It To Me

Hello friends.  Haven't played along with the sweet ladies over at the Double D Challenge in awhile, and right now they're focusing on LEAVES.

And here's what I came up with:

I masked off the edges of my cardstock first, and then made an ink pad with one of my acrylic blocks using Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks pressed into the block.  I used a leaf image from an older GinaK set called Fall Foilage and pressed it onto my acrylic block and moving it around a bit to get both colors on the stamp, and then spritzed it with water before stamping the image on my cardstock.  After my leaves were dry, I water colored in the background using a mixture of Harvest Gold and Bright Buttercup inks (PTI).  Once the background was dry, I removed my masking and then stamped my sentiment from Impression Obsession (C14672).

Other than waiting for the drying time, this was a pretty quick and easy card, and I love how bright and happy it turned out!

There's still time to play along with this challenge and also LOTS of great inspiration from the DT and in the gallery already, so get out those leaf stamps and play along!  You can find all the info you need right HERE.

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

Merry Monday #262 - GIFTS

Hello friends.  This weeks challenge at Merry Monday is being hosted by Linda and she would like to see some GIFTS on your Christmas cards.

I used a combination of three different MFT sets (Cool Day, Santa's Elves, & Polar Bear Pals) and came up with this:

I kept my card mostly white except for the GIFTS, the bears hat & scarf, & the North Pole sign.  The starry sky and tree are Gina Marie Design dies, and the snow hills are PTI's dies.  I thought the sentiment from MFT's Polar Bear Pals was especially fitting for this challenge!  LOTS of glitter added to this card and all my coloring was done with Copics.

Can't wait to see what YOU come up with using GIFTS on your Christmas cards!  If you need some inspiration to get you started, check out all the great cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

CASEing Myself for Tag You're It! Challenge #75

Hello friends.  I had so much fun making the tag for the Tag You're It! challenge, I thought I would CASE myself!

I kept with the Fall/Autumn theme and used MFT's Harvest Mouse stamp set to come up with these 2 tags:

I used Gina Marie Design dies for the tags and then stamped and colored the images with my Copics.  The colored DSP behind the tags is PTI's Orange Zest Patterned Paper.  

Hope you'll join in with playing along with us at Tag You're It challenge...you can find all the details right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #300 - Build A Wreath

Hello friends.  This weeks Make It Monday challenge has Melissa showing us how to build a wreath using different images from different stamp sets!  It's always a delight to see what Melissa comes up with and she showed 3 FABULOUS cards to inspire us this week!

Here's what I came up with:

I started with a 3 3/4" by 5 1/2" card base like Melissa likes to use and added some plaid Canyon Clay DSP from the Bitty Big pack to the bottom third of my card base and then a strip of Honey Nut cs before starting to build my wreath.  I used Twig Wreath for my actual wreath, and then started embellishing using the swag from Autumn Adornments stamp set.  I just love those bitty pumpkins and acorns!  I also stamped and cut a few leaves from the Twig Wreath set with Honey Nut cs and then also stamped a few of the twig images in Canyon Clay ink.  I stamped my sentiment in Cocoa Bean ink using the Year Of Psalms: August stamp set.  To finish I added a seam binding ribbon, twine, & button, and then also added some Autumn Red Nuvo drops to the berries for a little extra added pop of color.

This was such a fun challenge to play along with and there's still lots of time to join in!  You can see Melissa's BEAUTIFUL cards and find all the details to play along right HERE.
 

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

CAS Watercolour October 2017 Reminder

Hello friends.  Just a reminder that you have until the 24th to play along with this month's CAS Watercolour challenge.

It's so much fun to be playing alongside all the talented designers this month as a Guest Designer!!

And here's what I came up with for this reminder post:

I had a brand new die from Poppystamps to play with...Gentle Leaf Collage.  I die cut the leaf image and then on a separate piece of watercolour cardstock, I used my Gansai Tambi watercolours in reds, oranges, and pinks, and just a tiny bit of purple.  Once dry, I adhered this layer to my card base, and then pop dotted the die cut leaf layer over the top of that.  I added an embossed sentiment banner using PTI's Ways To Say: Thinking Of You.  The small pink enamel dot added another pop of color to this CAS card.

For this challenge I watercoloured, die cut, embossed and stamped.

Don't forget this challenge is open till the 24th, and also that this is CAS Watercolours 1st Birthday, and 2 prizes are up for grabs...one for the challenge winner and one random draw lucky winner.

You can check out all the lovely cards from the DT for inspiration right HERE and then play along.  We'll look forward to seeing you in the gallery!!

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

Merry Monday #261

Hello friends.  This weeks challenge at Merry Monday is brought to us by Kelly, and she would like to see you use an ORNAMENT on your card.

This was a perfect chance for me to play around with a new set by PTI called Brilliant Baubles, and here's what I came up with using some non-traditional colors:

I started by stamping the 3 different ornaments in Aqua Mist, Hibiscus Burst, & Green Parakeet and doing a little bit of edge blending with Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, & New Leaf inks.  I embossed in silver the ornament tops, strings, and sentiment, and then finished by adding silver die cut bows, sequins, and rhinestone gems.  Pretty bright colors for a Christmas card, but hey, artistic license and all that you know!

So dig out your ORNAMENT stamps and dies...we can't wait to see what YOU come up with for this weeks challenge!  You can check out all the great inspiration from the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

Tag You're It Challenge - October Guest Designer

Hello friends.  I'm so excited to have been asked to be the Featured Artist over at the Tag You're It Challenge this month!  And since the weather is turning cooler and the leaves are starting to fall (at least here in Michigan anyways!), I decided on this little cutie from Penny Black to share with you.

When I was growing up, raking leaves was a family affair as we had SO many Oak trees in our yard and the leaves just kept falling and falling!  Back then we were allowed to burn the leaves and while I know now that it's not good for the environment, I still remember quite fondly the smell and all the emotions that smell brought with it!  Now with all our leaves, we have to bag them and the recycle truck picks them up.  All to say, this little girl brought back many memories!

The image and sentiment are a little set called Hello Autumn, and I embossed them in black and then used my Zig Clean Color brushes to color the little girl and leaf.  Once my image was dry, I masked her and then blended Salty Ocean distress ink lightly all around her and then used a Gina Marie Designs die to cut out my tag shape.

We can't wait to see what you're inspired to come up with, so check out all the inspiration from the DT, and then play along right HERE.

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

Colorthrowdown #464

Hello friends.  Playing along with this week's challenge over at Color Throwdown, where the colors are orange, taupe & black.

I had a Impression Obsession image already colored up that worked perfectly for this challenge so all I had to do was make it into a card!  Take a look:

Isn't this a great image?!  (sorry my card isn't straight...I think my head was on crooked!)  I colored the pumpkins and bench/table with my Copics and then matted it to a piece of Bitty Big DSP (PTI) and then layered that to a white card base.  The sentiment is from PTI's Wreath For All Seasons.  I also sprayed quite liberally the image with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spritz, but of course it doesn't show up very well on camera...grrrrrr!!

There are so many BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and in the gallery for inspiration, so check it out and play along right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #299 - Sentiment Windows

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make It Monday challenge where Dawn McVey shows us how to make a beautiful card using a die cut window to frame our sentiments.  I made a very simple card but absolutely LOVE how it turned out!

 
I started with a white card base and a piece of Pure Poppy Bitty Big DSP, and then cut my window opening with a rectangle die.  I stamped my sentiment next from O Holy Night and then finally got out my Beautiful Berries: Winter and had fun stamping the 3 different size sprigs with Olive Twist, Pure Poppy, & Scarlet Jewel inks.  After placing the sprigs on my card, I still felt like it needed something, so I added a bird from the Winter Woods set and it totally finished off the card IMHO!

This whole card just feels so bright and cheery and I love how well the Bitty Big DSP and the sprigs and bird go together!  I might have to make a few more cards similar to this.  Thank you Dawn...a GREAT challenge!!

There's still time to play and you can check out Dawn's lovely card and video right HERE.

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

CAS Mix Up October 2017

Hello friends.  This month's challenge at CAS Mix Up is all about layering more than one stencil down on your card.

Took me awhile to wrap my head around this challenge (that's why they call them "challenges", right??!!), but once I got going it was fun to see what stencils I had that would look cool layered together.  I ended up using a Winnie & Walter stencil called Pattern Of The Rings and then made a stencil using a small snowflake die from Impression Obsession (DIE100-F).

Here you can see the half I didn't use and practiced on with stenciling in the snowflake.

And here's what it ended up looking like after I stenciled both layers (with Ocean Tides ink) and then put the card together.  I matted my stenciled layer with a piece of Ocean Tides cs and adhered to a white card base that I added a die cut from Memory box called Loopy Rings.  I love how this die cut kind of mimicked the Pattern Of The Rings stencil I used.  I also added 2 of the small Impression Obsession snowflakes by the die cut circles and then added a main snowflake die cut in gold mirror cs from PTI's Silver White Winters.  My sentiment is from PTI's Cutaway Tags: Winter and is stamped in black on a Ocean Tides banner.

There is still time to play along with this challenge (closes the 24th) and lots of GORGEOUS inspiration from the DT.  You can check it all out and play along right HERE.

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