12 Kits of Occasions Oct. 2020 - Fall Splendor

Hello friends.  It's the end of another month and time for a 12 Kits of Occasions post, where our hostess this month is the SWEET Birgit, who has sent us a kit full of all things FALL related!

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make...I AM A PAPER HOARDER!!  I know, shocking, right??!!  The reason I am telling you this, is because normally when we get these kits each month, I sit down and make at least 5 or 6 cards or more, and this month I only have 3 cards and a bookmark.  Not because I didn't have time or any mojo...but because I just couldn't bring myself to use the DSP Birgit included in the kit!  It's from Carta Bella and called Fall Market, and is the sweetest paper ever!!  I made 2 smaller cards (3 1/2 x 5 1/2) and a bookmark (because I am a bookworm and really do LOVE to read!!) because I could get away without using too much of the DSP, and then one A2 size card that didn't use any of the DSP!  All definite signs of a paper hoarder, NO??!!  Ok, confession time over and let's get to the cards I did make!  I channeled my inner Melissa Phillips with the 2 smaller cards that also have a nod to Birgit who loves all things vintage!

  I did use 3 pieces of the DSP for this card, but all smaller pieces so I still have lots left!  I distressed everything with Walnut Stain DI to give it the vintage vibe, including the sweet die cuts Birgit included in her kit.  Isn't that little deer sitting amongst the pumpkins and mushrooms just the sweetest?!  I love the little Friendship Farms label that Birgit included in the kit too...it totally ties everything in together!!

Where the 1st card featured pumpkins, this 2nd card focuses on apples.  Is this DSP not just the cutest?!  I love the trucks carrying the apples, and the die cut basket filled with apples totally made me smile!  This card has a lot of distressing too like the 1st card...the DSP just screams vintage country to me!

Sweet Birgit had sent me the twig heart a while back and I hadn't had a chance to use it yet, and it seemed the perfect time to add the colorful leaf die cuts Birgit included in the kit, and also that adorable little bunny too!  My background is from another sweet friend (thanks Michele!!) and is Altenew's Dotted Swirls cover plate die.  My sentiment is one I use often every Fall and is from Clearly Besotted's Autumn Flowers.

Back to vintage again with this bookmark where I used PTI's Basic Bookmark #2 to die cut from another piece of the DSP.  More distressing and finished it with a small piece of gingham ribbon and twine, and also a small copper acorn from SU!.  As I mentioned before, I love to read so this bookmark is already being used!

Here are all 4 together.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the DT did with this FABULOUS DSP and die cuts, and whether they're hoarding like me or used it all up!!  You can check it all out HERE to see what the rest of the team came up with.  Thank you, thank you Birgit for such a lovely kit and such special DSP...I loved every minute spent playing with this amazing kit!!  :0)

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

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge - Oct. 2020

Hello friends.  There's a new challenge in town started by the lovely ladies from the Double D Challenge and it's exclusively about HALLOWEEN, and called the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge.  It's going to be around every month and will be anything goes as long as it's Halloween related!

I'm going to share the two cards I made for two of my grandbabies (the 3rd grandbaby is literally a baby (7 weeks old) and I will share her card next month) using a Double Z Fold technique...

Here they both are folded flat.  Just about everything I used on these cards are from SU! including the DSP (Spooky Night), the spider web embossing folder, the little spider tag, and the cat word stamp on the inside.

This one is going to my granddaughter, and she just loves cats, so I think this will make her smile!  This technique is a great way to use of scraps of DSP and is so simple to do!  It's basically a 11 x 4 1/4 piece of cardstock that you score in half (5 1/2) and then score again at 2 3/4.  The strip piece is also 11 inches long and scored at 5 1/2 and again at 2 3/4 and attached the opposite direction from card base piece.  The strip can be any width you like...mine measured at 1 1/2.

This one will be going to my grandson who loves anything with wheels!!  Figured a truck filled with pumpkins would fit the bill nicely and not be too scary for a 3 year old!  

Here is the mood board Darlene and Diane have for inspiration for this challenge...

Obviously I was inspired by the cat and the pumpkins, but again, anything Halloween goes.  This challenge is open till the 28th and you can play along right HERE.

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

ZOOMING With Friends - October

Hello friends.  I had the chance to play with some special friends via ZOOM a few weeks ago, and we had fun exploring different techniques to use with embossing folders.  

My first card uses a technique call Faux Patina...

 I used a Tim Holtz 3D embossing folder on a piece of white cardstock, and then you use a light colored ink sponged over the embossed area (I used Crumb Cake) and then a blue ink, a green, ink, and lastly a dark ink (I used Soft Suede).  

 Lastly you lightly rub Versamark ink over the raised areas and add embossing powder (I used gold), and then you have a piece that really does look patina'd.  I add a couple die cut trees from Penny Black (tall trees) using a gold shimmer paper and also added a layer of the gold behind my embossed panel.  I left a sentiment off as I'm not sure if this will be a Christmas card or a sympathy card.

My next card uses a technique where you simply use your ink pads pressed into the inside of your embossing folder (you'll get two different looks depending on if you press the ink pad into the raised or recessed side of the embossing folder).  For this card I used Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, & Peeled Paint DI and pressed them into the recessed side so that the leaves remained white.  Once you have your folder inked up, you spritz it with water, lay your cardstock onto the inked surface, fold the folder closed and gently rub to transfer the ink to your cardstock.  The background on this card is actually a 2nd pull as I still had ink on the folder after the 1st time, so I just spritzed it again and put in another piece of cardstock.  The embossing folder I used on this card is from Spellbinders and called Changing Seasons.  The die cut leaf is from SU!'s Love Of Leaves and my sentiment is from Clearly Besotted's Autumn Flowers.

My next 2 cards are ones I did before we met after watching a Jennifer McGuire video (HERE) using a couple new Altenew 3D embossing folders and DOX ink...

    I love how this one turned out!  I used Altenew's Beautiful Berginia ef with Salty Ocean DOX ink lightly applied to the inside recessed area of the folder.  My bird was die cut using PTI's Feathered Friends 4 die (I used a scrap piece for the tail that I had used Brushos on) and the JOY is from PTI's Bold Borders: Flurries die.  The holly was also cut from the scrap of Brushos and was die cut from a Penny Black die set called Christmassy.

This card was done the same way using Altenew's Flowers & Leaves 3D ef and Squeezed Lemonade DOX ink.  The flowers are from Altenew's Painted Poppies stamp set and the sentiment is from PTI's Winter Woods.

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I came up with using some different techniques for embossing folders, and check out what the rest of the group came up with by clicking on their names below.

Loll

Nancy

Colleen

Julia

Linda

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

CAS Mix Up Oct. 2020 - Tone on Tone

Hello friends.  The new challenge at CAS Mix Up is a TONE on TONE challenge using a stencil, and I had fun using a SSS stencil (Winter Floral) and DOX ink in Iced Spruce.

In real life this card is a lot more green than gray, but I couldn't for the life of me get a better photo...sorry!!  I started by blending the Iced Spruce all over a piece of white cs, and then added the stencil and used the same Iced Spruce DOX ink over the stencil to create the tone on tone effect.  Super easy and such a striking outcome!

My sentiment is from PTI's Stylish Sentiments: Holiday and was embossed in gold on black cs.  I attached the sentiment to the bottom of my stenciled piece and then layered with a piece of gold mirror cs.  I added a piece of foam to the back of the layers for some dimension and then adhered to a top folding white card base.  Very simple card but I love the way it turned out!

This challenge is open till the 24th, so check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and their Special GD right HERE and play along.

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

Twofer Challenge #32 Reminder Post - SILHOUETTES

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with The Twofer Card Challenge where this month we are looking for SILHOUETTES on your TWO cards.

Here are my two cards using Gina K's By The Sea 1 and some more ink blending (I think ink blending is my most FAVORITE technique of all and especially with silhouettes!).

And here they are separately:

My friendship card uses a masked and blended circle and the lighthouse image that I used on both cards.

I masked off the top and bottom of my panel before blending all in blue shades, and then embossed in white for my silhouettes.  I think this makes a great masculine birthday card!

We'd LOVE to have you come play along with us...just remember to make 2 cards for 2 different occasions, using the same stamp, die, or stencil.  You can check it all out right (HERE) and play along until the 24th.  We are looking forward to seeing YOU in the gallery!!

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

Christmas Kickstart #40 - PINK CHRISTMAS

Hello friends.  The new challenge over at Christmas Kickstart is called PINK CHRISTMAS and I couldn't be more excited to play along!!

I had fun using some old and some new products for this challenge and came up with this...

Lots of light and dark pink on this card and I'm loving it!!  I started with one of my new products which is the Border Bling: JOY Frame die from PTI, and I cut it from white card and then blended Victorian Velvet DOX ink all around the edges...it's a very dusty rose looking color and I'm loving it!  Next I stamped my sentiment from Penny Black's yuletide wishes stamp set towards the upper part of the center of the frame.

 My Poinsettia's are from PTI's Pleasing Envelopes stamp set and I stamped them in Autumn Rose and Merry Merlot inks for the flowers and Ocean Tides and Christmas Pine for the leaves.  The flowers and leaves were all fussy cut since I didn't buy the dies.  Once I had my flowers placed where I wanted them I added Distress Mica Flakes and a few clear gems that both really make this card sparkle!

This challenge is still open for a little more than a week, so get out those pink inks and Christmas stamps and get a head start on those cards...Christmas will be here before we know it!  It's a balmy 34 degrees here this morning (brrrrrrrrr!!), so it definitely feels like Christmas is getting closer!  You can check out all the details to play along with this current challenge right HERE. 

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

CAS Christmas Reminder - Birds

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with us at the CAS Christmas Challenge and we're looking for a BIRD(S)  on your Christmas card.

I decided to make a light hearted card this time around and went with one of the owls from MFT's Warm & Feathered Hugs stamp set.

I colored up this sweet little sledding owl with my Copics and die cut him out before attaching him to a background of dots using Echo Park's Hello Winter dsp with a Wobbles (Hampton Arts Mini Action Springs).  The little spring makes him look like he's flying down the hill!! 

I attached my dsp to a piece of Basic Gray (SU!) cardstock and a top folding white card base.  For my sentiment I used another piece of Basic Gray cs and embossed in white, and then added a foam strip to the back for some dimension.  Quick, easy, CAS, and FUN!!

You have about a week left to play along with us (challenge ends on the 24th), so check out all the inspiration from the DT and our Special GD right HERE and then play along with us...we'd love to help you get those Christmas cards done on time!!

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

The Flower Challenge #49 - Circle/Circles

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with this month's Flower Challenge where they are looking for a CIRCLE/CIRCLES along with a flower on your card.

I chose to work with Altenew's Handpicked Bouquet and came up with this card...

I started by stamping my image from the Handpicked Bouquet with black ink and then temporarily adhered a 3" circle over the center of my stamped image before stamping again (with the use of my MISTI).  I used shades or orange (Gina K inks) to stamp my flower so it looked a little more Fall-ish and obviously greens for the leaves.

  At this point I removed the circle and added my splatters so that the circle was left with just the stamped image and no splatters (makes the circle stand out a bit more).  I added a black mat and adhered both to a top folding card base, and then added my sentiment (also from the Handpicked Bouquet set) and a few clear faceted gems.

You can check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and play along HERE.  The Flower Challenge is also celebrating their 4th birthday, so there are prizes to be won this month if your card with a Flower and a Circle on it are chosen!  Happy Birthday to all of you at The Flower Challenge!
 

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

Twofer Challenge #32 - SILHOUETTES

Hello friends.  Time for another Twofer Challenge and this month it's all about SILHOUETTES!!

I LOVE doing silhouettes because to me that means ink blending too, and it's one of my favorite things to do!!  Today I'm using a Penny Black stamp set called soulful silhouettes (perfect name, huh?!) for my Twofer, so here's what I came up with...

Pretty colorful, right??!  Well it is Fall and we definitely have a LOT of color here in my neck of the woods during Fall, so I figured the brighter the better for my "Just A Note" and "To Brighten Your Day" cards!

So let's start with my ink blended card.  I used Gina K inks and started with Passionate Pink, then Tangerine Twist, followed by Wild Dandelion.  There are 5 different silhouette images (plus two butterfly images) in this Penny Black set, and I used 3 of them with my Versafine Black Onyx ink and my MISTI to stamp over the blended ink.  I also added one of the butterflies for a little more interest, and then matted with a black layer and adhered to a white card base.  My sentiment comes from The Greetery's Just Mason Around stamp set and I embossed it in white on a black strip with foam tape behind it.  The blended layer also has a foam layer behind it for added dimension.  CAS and should definitely brighten someone's day!!

My 2nd card starts with a water colored background using Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks, and then I used the same image from the center of my first card on this card, stamped 3 times and then die cut with a circle die.  I die cut the same circle die on a white panel that I also embossed with SU!'s Subtle ef, before adding to a white card base.

Just a little close up so you can see the detail better.  I inlaid my stamped circle into the top embossed layer and then added my sentiment from The Greetery's Signed & Sealed stamp set.  A few orange enamel dots finished off this card. 

Silhouette cards are so much FUN to make and especially at this time of year!  There are so many great images you can use...think leaves, pumpkins, ghosts, florals, haunted houses, etc., etc., etc.!!  Make sure you check out all the FABULOUS inspiration from Darnell, the rest of the DT, and our special GD's Carol and Shawna right HERE, and then play along with us!  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with!!

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

MFT Sketch Challenge #510

Hello friends.  Playing along with the current MFT Sketch Challenge today and using a fun Halloween set from last year called Spooktacular Friends by Stacey Yacula.

I colored the sweet little mouse and extra pumpkins with my Copics and pop dotted them to my background made with a leaf stencil (TE) and embossed background (SU!).  

The sketch shows the 3 sentiment strips at the bottom rather than the top, but I liked the looks of the sentiments at the top better, so artistic license and all that!!  :0)  The embossed sentiments are also all from the Spooktacular Friends stamp set.  

You still have a few days left to play along with this challenge, 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!