Ink to Paper Challenge - Thinking of You

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the Ink to Paper Challenge where Shauna is looking for THINKING OF YOU cards.

I had just received the Effortless Beauties stamp set this past week, and spent a few hours inking up all the lovely florals in different colors, so I have 2 cards to share with you today as I had LOTS of flowers to use!!  Here's my first one...

I started with a white card base and then used the Bold Borders: Circles die to cut a top layer in white for the white on white look.  Some of the flowers are just stamped and some were inked and then spritzed with water to give a bit of a water colored look.  I also added the latest Feathered Friends Mini #8 ...just love this sweet chubby little bird!!

 

I finished with an embossed sentiment strip (from the Effortless Beauties stamp set), some Distress Glitter, and a few sequins.

 
My 2nd card uses all the same elements, but I changed up the Bold Borders: Circles die cut to Berry Sorbet cardstock and made the card horizontal rather than vertical like my first card.

My sentiment on this card comes from an oldie but goodie set called Bloomin' Button Bits by PTI.

You can check out Shauna's sweet card HERE and play along with a THINKING OF YOU card for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

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

The Flower Challenge #53 and Color Hues #12

Hello friends.  Playing along with a couple challenges today...The Flower Challenge and also Color Hues.

I have been so hooked on Pinkfresh Studios stencil layering sets and now they've come out with coordinating stamp sets to match the stencils too, so of course I had to invest in one of the bundles to try them out, and I chose the Infinite Blooms stamp, stencil, and die set.  Here's what I came up with using Color Hues color combination of PEACH & GREEN:

I started with a white card base and added a die cut panel using Pinkfresh Studios Diagonal Stitched Plaid Cover Plate die and sponged around the edges with Peach Bellini ink (Gina K) to add some definition to the layer.  Next I stenciled using the Infinite Blooms 5 piece stencil layering set with Peach Bellini, Coral Reef, Grass Green, & Fresh Asparagus inks (all Gina K).  I used the coordinating Infinite Blooms stamp set to outline the whole floral image with Versafine Black Onyx ink and then die cut the image out.  I added foam dots to the back to raise it up off the cover plate layer and add dimension.

 A closer up view so you can see some of the detail better.  I added some Distress Glitter and WOS to some of the flowers for a little sparkle and then added a sentiment strip embossed in white from Pinkfresh Studios Modern Layered Florals stamp set.  A few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) finished off my card.

Lots of beautiful inspiration from both DT's that you can check out HERE and HERE and then play along.  SO much fun to create colorful floral cards when there's so much snow and COLD outside!!

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

CAS Mix Up - Stencil Embossing

Hello friends.  Playing along with the CAS Mix Up Card Challenge today, where this month they are looking for cards that are embossed through stencils.

I used a Funky Fossil Designs stencil and came up with this:

I used Distress Oxide inks through my stencil first, and am in LOVE with the color combination that I learned about from Loll using Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves...I mean who knew those 2 colors would look SO good together?!!  I'd tell you the color green I used for the stems and leaves, but I just used a sponge dauber that already had green ink on it and blended through the stencil.  Once my ink was dry, I re-positioned my clean stencil and added Versamark through it, (just over the flowers, and NOT the stems and leaves) removed the stencil, and then added clear embossing powder.  After heating the embossing powder and while it was still hot, I added more clear embossing powder and heat set it again to give a nice thick clear coating.  

 Here's a close up so you can see the clear embossing better.  I used a stitched rectangle die to die cut my panel and then adhered a thin black layer before attaching to a white card base.  My sentiment comes from Gina K's Autumn Silhouettes and was stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink.

Lots of BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT that you can check out right HERE and then play along...this challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Christmas Kickstart #47 - SLIMLINE CARDS

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge today where they are looking for SLIMLINE cards.

I used an older MFT stamp set called Warm & Feathered Hugs for my card and came up with this:

I have always loved these owls from MFT and since there were three of them in the set, I decided it would be easy enough to fit all three on the larger slimline format.  I started with a 4 x 9 white card base and then added a gray layer that I used a Memory Box plate (Pinpoint Snowflake) on.  Because the plate is only meant for an A2 size card I had to run the plate through half way, turn and run through again from the bottom up (hope that makes sense??).  It's not perfectly matched up in the middle, but with the circles die cut through that gray layer, you can't hardly tell...phew!!  Before adding the gray layer, I blended some gray ink onto the white card base and also stenciled some snowflakes from The Greetery's Frosty Flakes.  Can't tell in my photo, but I went over the snowflakes with a WOS pen and they really sparkle in person!

 Here's a closer up of the top and middle owls.  I colored them with my Copics and then die cut them before adding foam behind them for some dimension.

Here's another close up of the middle owl (again) and the bottom one.  For my sentiment, I added embossed thin strips of red cs along with SSS's Tiny Words: Christmas.  And another one done for the Christmas stash...YAY!!

Check it out and play along with Jo and her guest elf Arlene right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 28th. 

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

CAS Christmas Reminder - DOGS and/or CATS

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with us at CAS Christmas and we're looking for DOGS and/or CATS on your Christmas cards.

Here's what I came up with...

My sweet little puppy image is from Penny Black's Merry Delight stamp set and I did a little bit of Copic coloring on him and then fussy cut him out.  I ink blended an evening sky with Gina K inks and then stamped Santa and his reindeer in black using PTI's City Scene Christmas Sentiments for a silhouette look, and then framed it with a panel that I die cut using MFT's Rectangle Peek-a-Boo die.

I pop dotted my little pup staring up at Santa (in hopes of a big bone and some new chewy toys to destroy!) and then added my sentiment from SSS's Furry Christmas.

Check out all the sweet inspiration from the DT and our special GD Jane and then play along with us right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

I'm Playing Cards with Michele

Hello friends.  I have a special treat for you today!  One of my sweetest friends is Michele Ferguson of I Card Everyone, and she has invited me to "play cards" with her!  Michele is doing this once a month and inviting special friends to play along with her, and I'm the lucky gal for February!!

This picture was taken the first time I met Michele in person, and that quickly we were bestest friends!  

We set up the following parameters for our challenge this month:

Birdie Brown - Warmest Wishes (both Michele and I LOVE these MFT stamps!!)

Make it a Valentine

Copic Coloring

Here's what I came up with:

I started by doing a little emboss resist with a Heidi Swapp heart stencil and then ink blended some pinks and red distress inks over the embossed hearts.  For that sweet little girl catching the heart (snowflakes) with her coat, I stamped and colored her with my Copics, and also added a few white polka dots to her pink scarf and mittens, and then fussy cut her out.

I adhered my blended and embossed panel to a Pinkfresh Diagonal Stitched Rectangle die cut in Real Red cardstock, and then adhered both to a top folding white card base.  I pop dotted my little Valentine girl and then added a sentiment strip from the Warmest Wishes stamp set, and finished with some black & white twine and a few clear sequins.  This sweet Valentine card will be going to my oldest granddaughter Addy who is 6.  :0)

And because you know I love to do Twofers, and because of course I HAD to make a card for sweet Michele, here's one more using this adorable Warmest Wishes set:

I started this card by embossing with clear onto Basic Gray cs SSS's Heart To Heart Background because, well...everyone knows Michele LOVES gray!!  The rest was simply coloring this sweet little gal with my Copics again (Michele, did you notice her Uggs and tights are gray too?!) and then fussy cutting her out, and adding her to the background along with the sentiment (part of the Warmest Wishes set) and a few die cut hearts from MFT.

I hope you get this in time for Valentine's Day Michele, and that you and your sweetie have a wonderful day together!!

Now that you've seen what I've done with the Birdie Brown - Warmest Wishes stamp set, you need to hop over to Michele's BLOG and see what she has done with it...I know she won't disappoint and I can't wait to see either!!  Thanks so much Michele for inviting me to play along...I love playing cards with you my friend!!  :0)

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

Twofer Challenge #35 - BALLOONS

Hello friends.  It's time for another Twofer Challenge and this month the prompt is Balloons.

Everyone has Balloon stamps, stencils, and dies in their stash (right??!!), so this should be an easy and fun challenge for all of us!  Remember that you need to submit 2 cards using the same stamp, stencil, or die, and that both cards need to have a different design and be for different occasions.  If you have any questions about how this challenge works, then please refer to the side bar on the Twofer Post where Darnell has done an awesome job of explaining exactly how this challenge works.  Sorry to keep bringing this up, but you'd be amazed at the number of entries we get each month where the cards are for the same occasion, or the design is the same but the colors are different.  OK, glad we got that out of the way!  Now onto the FUN!!

I am absolutely in LOVE with a small stamp set from Papertrey Ink (technically it's now called "Ink to Paper", but they'll always be Papertrey Ink to me!) called Lift Me Up that I purchased a couple months ago, and because it has Balloons in it, it worked perfectly for this challenge!  Take a look:

 
I made a Valentine's card and a birthday card and both cards use the same heart Balloon!  Let's look at the Valentine's card first:

This card is going to our youngest granddaughter Maddy (aka Eunice Cornelia or "Uni-Corn" as her big sister wanted to name her!), and she'll only be 5 months on Valentine's Day, but you can never start them out to young with a shaker card, right?!!  I started by inking up a pink cloud background using A Colorful Life's Cloud Edger stencil and then building my shaker over the cloud background.  I stamped the upside down teddy bear and heart balloon onto Lovely Lady cardstock (PTI) and then die cut them with the coordinating dies.  The sentiment is from a PB set (flying by) and the rest of the sentiment is inside:

The inside sentiments are from MFT's Sweet Celebrations and then I repeated the teddy bear and heart balloon.  Pretty CAS but it gets it's punch by being a shaker card!  :0)

For my birthday card I stamped a row of the stick figures included in the stamp set across the card, and then die cut a row of rainbow heart and regular shaped balloons so they each had one to hold.  I stamped the heart shaped balloons with Happy Birthday (The Greetery) and pop dotted the 2 regular balloons and then tied each with a piece of black & white twine.  I also used The Greetery's Crimped Frame Die on the stamped panel and then layered with a piece of Summer Sunrise cardstock (PTI) and attached both layers to a white card base.  Another pretty easy card, but I really, REALLY like the way this one turned out!!  And it could be used for a child or adult, and guy or gal!  A win, win!!

We're really looking forward to seeing our gallery filled with lots of colorful balloons, so check out what the rest of the DT and our Special GD Greta have to inspire you right HERE, and then play along with us!  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Inspired By #160 - Krafty Love

Hello friends.  Nothing like joining in at the last minute, but I really did like the inspiration photo for this past weeks Inspired By Challenge!  

Aren't those just the sweetest little hearts?!  I would love to have a drawer full of these as sachet's, or maybe even a few hanging in my craft room!  I was totally inspired by the hearts, the colors (kraft and light pinks), and the lace and ribbons, and came up with this card inspired by the photo:

 I started with a kraft base, then added a light pink panel and an embossed (SU!) white layer, before adding two hearts that I die cut using kraft (embossed with SU!'s Tasteful Textile) and DSP that I've had FOREVER and have no idea who makes it!  I added some cream colored lace to the larger heart and a skinny piece of light pink seam binding ribbon to the smaller heart.  I stamped a strip with the sentiment from The Greetery's Pretty Postmarks stamp set and then finished with a couple clear gems.  One of the ladies in my bible study is a real vintage loving gal, and I think she will love receiving this for Valentine's Day!

This challenge closes shortly, so not much time left to play, but it's still worth the time to check out all the BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and those in the gallery already, and you can find it all right HERE.

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

It's All About the HEARTS

Hello friends.  Playing along with a couple challenges today that are celebrating Valentine's Day!  Color Hues Challenge is looking for Red & Pink and the Double D Challenge is all about VALENTINE LOVE.

I had fun creating this CAS card using some new products from The Greetery and came up with this:

I started by lightly blending some Spun Sugar Distress Ink onto my background, and then did a light splattering of Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.  I layered with a panel of Real Red cs and adhered both to a top folding white card base.  Next I added 3 pieces of "shiplap" using The Greetery's Shiplap Builder Dies, so I would have a grounded space to add my heart.  The heart was stamped with CP's It's A Girl and Rocket Red inks, using The Greetery's Mini Boxwood Heart stamp and die set, and then pop dotted to the shiplap.

I finished by adding the die cut "love" (The Greetery - Let's Have a Word: Love Die) in black so it would stand out, and then also added a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) to finish off this simple card.

   

Lots of awesome inspiration from the DT's at both challenges, so check the Color Hues Challenge and the Double D Challenge to play along and see some amazing cards!!

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

CAS Christmas Feb. 2021 - Dogs and/or Cats

Hello friends.  It's time for a new challenge at CAS Christmas and our hostess this month is Susan and she is looking for DOGS and/or CATS on our Christmas cards.

We are dog lovers in my family, but I used a cute stamp from SSS that has both dogs and a cat on it (Furry Christmas).

I stamped my image in Versafine Black Onyx ink and then heat embossed over it in clear embossing powder.  Next I used red, green, & kraft dotted dsp (PTI) and stamped the image again and then fussy cut the hat, scarf, and antler hat and paper pieced them to the dogs and cat.

I stamped the Ho Ho Ho sentiment below (also from the Furry Christmas stamp set), and then die cut the panel using a Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die.  I matted this panel to a Real Red layer and attached both to a top folding white card base.  Pretty easy card, but it's CAS and I love the way it turned out!

We can't wait to see what you come up with using a DOG and/or CAT image, and if you need more inspiration, the DT and our special GD JANE have got you covered...just check it all out right  HERE.  Remember to keep your cards CAS and you can play along till the 24th. 

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