Make It Monday #305 - Love Of Layers

Hello friends.  Laurie has a wonderful video for this week's Make It Monday challenge on using layers...LOTS and LOTS of layers!

I still had the Quoted: Favorite Things stamp set laying out from making tags, so when this challenge came up and I looked at the stamp set, the idea was born.  I may not have used LOTS and LOTS of layers, but I used a few!

I loved on Laurie's card how she kept most of her layers in the same color, so I decided on kraft cardstock as my color of choice.  I layered on a piece of striped DSP from the Kraft Pattern Pack that I had inked up the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to my kraft card base first.  The sentiment was stamped also onto kraft cs with Soft Suede ink and then die cut with the largest Brushed Off Rectangle.  I stamped the center part of the saying with Early Espresso ink onto another piece of cardstock and pop dotted it on top of the bottom layer.  I added some string and then pop dotted that whole layer onto the striped DSP layer.  I loved how the "very merry" from the Tiny Tags stamp set fit perfectly onto the tiny, tiny tag that comes with the Quoted: Favorite Things stamp set!  My tree from the In The Meadow die collection was also distress inked around the edges and then I also added some gold embossing to the edges and also some Frantage Shabby White Embossing Enamel to the center of the tree.  And of course the star is the darling little mouse from Christmas Critters.

Isn't he just the sweetest all dressed up in his Christmas sweater?!  And I loved adding some black Nuvo Drops for his eye and nose!  Hopefully this photo also gives you a better look at all my layers!  This was definitely a FUN challenge for me!  As much as I've come to appreciate CAS, I do love layering too!  :0)

Check out Laurie's beautiful card and video right HERE and then play along! 

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

25 Days Of Christmas Tags 2017 - Bonus Day

Hello friends.  Just when I thought all the fun over at Tracey's 25 Days Of Christmas Tags challenge was all over, she gave us a BONUS DAY!

Day 26 was sponsored by High Hopes and oh my gosh do they have some absolutely adorable images!!  I was inspired by all the designers from the DT as they all used the whimsical images beautifully!  I totally fell in love with the reindeer from Donna Rudy though, and since I don't have any High Hopes stamps (yet...I placed an order yesterday!), I used a new MFT die called Deer Love as it is pretty whimsical too!

Don't you just love those racks on them with the colored hearts?!  And of course I had to add a little red Nuvo Drop to their noses!

This challenge is still open till Dec. 1 at 12:00AM, so there's still time to play along.  You can check it all out right HERE.

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

Merry Monday #267 - A Color Challenge

Hello friends.  This week at Merry Monday is a color challenge, so dig out your blues, greens, and white, silver, or vellum!

 Here's what I came up with:

I had fun doing a technique I saw Jennifer McGuire do a few weeks ago using Alcohol Inks, blending solution, and a cotton ball.  (You can see Jennifer's video HERE)  I used Botanical and Pool colors and was hoping my colors would be a little more intense, but am still happy with the way the background came out.  I used an AliExpress die in white and added a silver embossed sentiment from PTI's Ways To Say: Merry Christmas.  CAS and FUN!

Can't wait to see what YOU come up with this week using these colors.  The DT has some beautiful inspiration too, so check it all out and play along with us right HERE.

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

25 Days Of Christmas Tags 2017 - Days 23, 24, & 25

Hello friends.  I made it to the end of the 25 Days Of Christmas Tags challenge and have tags from days 23, 24, & 25 to share with you today!

Day 23 is being sponsored by Pretty Pink Posh and although I don't have any stamps by them (I have LOTS of sequins by them though!!), I loved the square scalloped tag that Heather Hoffman used and all the cute animals on her tags.

I hadn't had a chance to ink up this cute little Polar Bear from Avery Elle's Winter Woodland Wonders, so he's the star of this cute little kraft tag that I die cut from PTI's Quilted: Winter and stamped and embossed with a mixture of different snowflake stamps.

Day 24 is being sponsored by Right At Home stamps, and again I have no stamps from this company, but was inspired by Holly Endress's kraft and plaid tag with the greenery.

Really like the way this one turned out!  I die cut my tag from kraft cs and then used Concord & 9th's Plaid Background stamp with Baked Brown Sugar ink.  The pine bough is from SU!'s Ornamental Pine stamp set and inked in Gumball Green ink.  The little pinecones are from PTI's Holiday Greens and the sentiment is from PTI's Christmas Blessings.  I finished with Nuvo's Woodland Green Crystal drops.

Day 25 is being sponsored by Pink & Main (another company that I do not have any stamps from!) and I was inspired once again by one of Tracey's tags with the cute little Santa image.

I have always loved this little Santa image from MFT's Jingle All The Way, and love the sentiment too!  I colored him with my Copics and added a little Dazzling Diamonds and then pop dotted him to my tag.  Easy peasy!!

This has been an amazing 25 day challenge, and now I have oodles and oodles of new tags for gifts this year (I always make 3 or 4 of each tag every day).  So THANK YOU Tracey for putting this all together...I am in awe of how you do this year after year!!  If you like making tags and need some inspiration, take the time to check out this challenge right HERE...definitely worth the time!!  :0)

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

Papertrey Ink November 2017 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop challenge!  Nichole gave us a beautiful inspiration photo this month - take a look:

There are so many gorgeous elements in this photo, and yet it still looks so CAS to me, so that is the direction I took on my card.

 

I started with an ivory card base and panel to start the CAS look, and then added a small strip of Canyon Clay plaid DSP and a small strip of kraft to the bottom of my panel.  At this point I used the Counting My Blessings die set and used the "blessed" die to die cut over the added strips and then inlaid them.  To bring in the gold that was used on the inspiration photo's centerpiece, I embossed the fern from Holiday Greens and then die cut it and added it to my card front along with a pumpkin that was die cut using more of the Canyon Clay DSP and Ripe Avocado DSP.

 
You can see the gold of the embossed fern a little better in this close up and also the Honey Gold Nuvo Glitter Drops I added as a finishing touch.  I kept wanting to add more to this card as it seemed so plain, but yet I didn't want to detract from the beauty of the few simple items I had added to this card like the inlaid die cut sentiment and the gold embossed fern.  I had to keep telling myself that CAS is CLEAN AND SIMPLE!  :0)

It is always so much fun to blog hop and see how everyone else interpreted the inspiration photo, so that's what I am off to do!  You can check it all out and play along too right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #304 - Photo Ornaments

Hello friends.  This weeks Make It Monday challenge is brought to us by Lexi and she has a wonderful tutorial on making photo ornaments.

My first thought was to make ornaments of my 2 adorable grandbabies, but then I remembered all my photos of them are on my phone and not printed...grrrr!  So Wednesday afternoon while I should have been doing more Thanksgiving prep (I had a wonderful Thanksgiving...did you?!!), I went through an old box of photos of our 3 girls when they were young and spent a wonderful trip down memory lane...can't believe how much I enjoyed that!!  But anyway, I picked 3 photos I thought would work and made them into tags that I am going to put on the girls Christmas gift this year.  I think they are going to get such a kick out of these tags!!

I used the same Limitless Layers: Hearts dies that Lexi used, but cut mine from gold mirror cardstock, and then added a holly die cut also in gold using the Holly Jolly dies.  A few drops of Nuvo Red Berry Crystal Drops and gold cord finished off my sweet tags.  Our oldest daughter Caitlin had a real love affair with umbrellalella's (as she called them!), and loved to twirl and dance with them...I think she will get a real kick out of this photo!  Our middle daughter Colleen was the most photogenic baby and I just had to use a photo from her baptism day...I miss holding that beautiful little baby girl!!  And our youngest daughter Calla loved to pose for the camera...her 2 older sisters used to cry when I'd ask them to pose for a picture, but not Calla!  She would smile away every time!
This was such a wonderful challenge for so many reasons, so thank you Lexi for taking me on this trip down memory lane!  I may just have to get that same box of photo's out on Christmas day and let the girls take a little trip too!

There are still a couple days left to play in this challenge, so check out Lexi's wonderful video and adorable photo ornaments, and then play along.  You can find all the details right HERE.
 

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

25 Days Of Christmas Tags 2017 - Days 20, 21, & 22

Hello friends.  Getting to the tail end of Tracey's 25 Days Of Christmas Tags challenge, and I have tags to share from days 20, 21, & 22.

Day 20 is being sponsored by Waffle Flower and I was inspired by the stockings on Tracey's and Lindsey M-p's cute little tags.

Just a simple little tag using Avery Elle's Stockings set.  I embossed the stockings and sentiment in black and then colored with my Copics.  There is shimmer on the middle stocking on the white cuff but the camera didn't pick it up...grrrrr!

Day 21 was sponsored by Uniko and I was inspired by Jane Taylors fun and modern looking tag.

I used the smaller wreath die from Reverse Confetti called Wreaths in Gumball Green cs and the gold tree is from SSS Lined Trees dies.  The red & white DSP and the sentiment are both Papertrey Ink.

Day 22 was sponsored by Stamplorations and I was inspired by Linda Walmsley's sweet little tag with the Christmas trees.

Obviously I changed my tag up from a Christmas tree to using this adorable reindeer from Stamplorations called Christmas Reindeer.  This is such a sweet little stamp set and I fell in love with it last year and had to have it...then never used it till today!  I stamped the largest of the 4 reindeer in the set with Soft Suede ink on kraft cs, and then splattered with white paint like Linda did on her tag.  I added a little red circle over the tag hole opening and added a drop of Nuvo Red Berry Crystal Drops for the reindeer's nose.  Super, super simple but LOVE the way this one came out!

Just a couple more days to play along, and if you're in need of Christmas Tags, this is definitely the place to be inspired!  Check it all out right HERE.

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

Inspired By All The Little Things #73

Hello friends.  The challenge this week at Inspired By All The Little Things has a FABULOUS inspiration photo and I just had to play along!

I'm usually not much of a pastel girl, but I really loved this photo...it just looks magical, doesn't it?!  I came up with a pretty simple card using PTI's Cloche Quarters: Winter stamp set.

I started with a white card base that I cut with PTI's Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical Die, and then layered over that a piece of Pool Party cs that I had stenciled with a Memory Box stencil called Winter Flurry Frame.  The top layer was embossed with a Darice snowflake ef, and then I added the cloche stand (embossed in white on vellum) with the trees and little house.  Little hard to see in my photo, but I used WOW Wanderlust embossing powder on the trees and house, so they really sparkle IRL!  I also added some Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops to the centers of the embossed snowflakes, and then finished with an older wooden snowflake from SU! and some heavy white bakers twine.  For not being much of a pastel girl, I really like how this came out!

There are some BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and Susan Opel (GD), so check it out and play along...this is a FUN one!!  You can find everything right HERE.

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

CAS Watercolour Nov. 2017 - Holiday

Hello friends.  This is a 2nd card for the CAS Watercolour challenge this month.  I had a new Penny Black die and this was a good opportunity to use it!

Here's what I came up with:

The die is called Berries and Leaves and I die cut it from TH Watercolor Paper and used my Zigs and Aqua Painter and inks to watercolour the image.  I used a SU! Music Background stamp for my background layer and added a little bit of color using TH Tea Dye Distress Ink and water to give it a vintage feel.  My top layer I die cut an oval out to frame the leaves and berries, and then added my sentiment from PTI's Cutaway Tags: Winter and also added a few small die cut snowflakes from Impression Obsession (DIE100-F).

There are some absolutely GORGEOUS cards this month from the DT and in the gallery, so be sure to check them out!  This challenge is open until the 24th, so be inspired and then play along right HERE.
 

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

Merry Monday #266 - Santa

Hello friends.  This week's Merry Monday challenge is brought to us by Susan and is all about SANTA!

And here's what I came up with:

I fell in love with this image from Stampingbella called Santa Is Stuck!  I colored it with my Copics and added a little glitter too!  The sentiment is from the same set.  My background was stamped using Concord & 9th's Plaid Background.

We're getting down to the wire here to finish up those Christmas cards, so dig out your favorite SANTA stamp and play along with us.  The DT has some FABULOUS inspiration for you this week, so check it out and then play along right HERE.

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

25 Days Of Christmas Tags - Days 17, 18, & 19

Hello friends.  Still plugging away with Tracey's 25 Days Of Christmas Tags challenge and have tags from days 17, 18, & 19 to share with you today.

Day 17 is being sponsored by Jillibean Stamps and I was inspired by Kimber McGray's cute little snow globe tag.

I used a snow globe stamp that was included in MFT's Merry Christmoose set.  I stamped it both on white cardstock in black ink and then also on vellum and embossed in white.  I colored the snowman's hat and scarf on the back of the vellum with a red & green Copic and then glued both together and placed on a white splattered kraft tag with a piece of washi tape at the bottom.  The little tag at the top is from PTI's Tiny Tags.

Day 18 was sponsored by Avery Elle stamps and I  totally fell in love with all the shaker tags from the DT there, and especially Amy Kolling's tag with the Poinsettia's using the Holiday Bouquet stamp set.

I embossed the Poinsettia's with silver and then used my Aqua Painter and SU! inks to water color the flowers and berries.  I used Avery Elle's Shaker Tags Elle-ments dies to make the shaker part and filled with flat red and iridescent sequins and then pop dotted my Poinsettia bouquet on top of the tag.

Day 19 is being sponsored by Technique Tuesday and I was inspired by Lindsey M-p's Santa tag.

I loved the Santa face that Lindsey used, but since I didn't have that stamp, I used my all time favorite Santa stamp from Flourishes called Santa I Believe.  He is stamped with Soft Suede ink on kraft cs and the white layer is stamped with Reverse Confetti's Sentimental Christmas.  

We're getting closer to the end of the 25 days, but still time to play along, so check out all the great inspiration and then play right HERE.

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

Loll's Twelve Tags Of Christmas

Hello friends.  One more tag to share from Loll's Twelve Tags Of Christmas event.  This is a mixed media tag event, and for my tag I used stamping, stenciling, embossing, and die cutting.

I made a stencil by die cutting a Cheery Lynn Holly design, and then stenciled through it onto my tag with Ocean Tides ink.  Next I lightly embossed in gold the music background using a SU! music stamp.  My Poinsettia's were die cut using a Gina Marie Designs die and then sponged, and wrinkled up, and then somewhat flattened out to give a little bit of dimension and a distressed look.  I also added a few drops of gold Nuvo Drops to the centers of each Poinsettia.

My sentiment was die cut and embossed using W Plus 9's Hand Lettered Holiday stamp and die set.  I also quite liberally sprayed Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spritz all over the tag to make it really sparkle in the light!

Today is the last day of this tag event as far as new tags from Loll and her GD's go, but the linky is open until the 24th if you'd like to play along for the chance at one of the two prizes.  You can check it all out right HERE.

**SPECIAL NOTE** Just a note to let you know my Subscribe by email has been fixed for those of you who want an email notification when I have a new post come up.  I apologize for this glitch...I never knew it wasn't working until a few of you mentioned it.  You should be good to go now...thank you for your patience! 

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

CAS Mix Up November 2017 - Glitter

Hello friends.  Playing along today with the CAS Mix Up challenge, where this month it's all about glitter.

Glitter and Christmas go hand in hand in my book, so naturally I came up with a Christmas card for this challenge...take a look:

I started with a blended background using Wild Honey and Salty Ocean DOX inks, and then did a little splattering with water to give the look of a starry sky.  I stamped and embossed the little Nativity scene using PTI's Petite Places: Nativity and then added the die cut hill and tree's, also from PTI.  Over the top I placed a glittered die cut ornament from AliExpress, and then before gluing it down, I added a white die cut from Memory Box called Blissful Bundle to add a little background interest but still keeping it CAS.  My sentiment is from the newest Catherine Pooler Winterhaven set.

There are some lovely, lovely cards from the DT and in the gallery, and you have until the 24th to play along with this challenge, so check it all out right HERE.

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