Inspired By #189 - All the Peels/Mistletoe 25 Cents

Hello friends.  Has my title intrigued you??!!  My sweet friend Michele has invited me to play along with her this week for the Inspired By Challenge, and they have 2 FABULOUS inspiration photos for you to choose from!  Will the All the Peels photo or the Mistletoe 25 Cents photo inspire you?

I couldn't help myself and as much as I LOVE Fall and apples, I HAD to choose the Christmas option!  No Mistletoe, but see if you can find what inspired me...

Yep, the different shades of green for the greenery, and the tin containers!  I used a new SU! set called Christmas Season for all the beautiful greenery that I stamped in a array of different green inks, and then fussy cut.  The watering can is from The Greetery's Sprinkled with Kindness stamp & die set.  I used The Greetery's Windowpane Plaid Background stamp to mimic the plaid in the inspiration photo and attached it to a Smokey Slate piece of cardstock that I die cut with The Greetery's Postal Frame Dies.

You can't see it in the photo, but I used some WOS on the berries...it satisfied my need to add some shine to the card!!  My tag is from an older MFT tag die set and the sentiment comes from The Greetery's Budding Beauties Winter stamp set (can you tell I love, LOVE using The Greetery products??!!)  I finished this card with a few SU! enamel dots, and now I have another card to add to my Christmas stash!  

So which option will YOU choose...All the Peels or Mistletoe 25 Cents??  There's also a sketch you can follow if you like...

I love that there are so many options to choose from when playing along with the Inspired By Challenge.  Make sure you check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and then play along...fun, fun, FUN!!  (And thanks for inviting me to play along Michele...I had a blast!!)

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

Inspired By #188 - COLORFUL FALL

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Inspired By Challenge, where they have a beautiful Fall photo to inspire us this week.

All you have to do is look at my header here on my blog (and at the bottom too!) to see that I LOVE leaves, so of course seeing this inspiration photo inspired me!!  The leaves and the colors...I mean, what's NOT to love?!!  Here's what I came up with using an older set of Gina Marie Designs leaf dies and some of my DOX inks...

Aren't the leaves prettyful?!  (Our middle daughter always used to say "prettyful" when she liked something, and the word has just always stuck with me, even though I know it's not an actual word!!)  After die cutting my leaves and using DOX inks on them, I realized the colors were pretty muted compared to the inspiration photo, so I sprayed them quite liberally with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Mist which has a iridescent gold color to it, and really makes these leaves sparkle & shine.  Here's a closer up photo so you can get a better idea of how they really look IRL!

Because of the gold shimmer on the leaves, I decided to add some more gold with a little bit of foiling (really getting hooked on this technique!!).  I used Spellbinders Essential Duo Lines Rectangles for the framing around the base of my card, and then added a dry embossed layer using a FSJ Falling Leaves embossing folder to the inside of the foiled frame.  After adding my leaves to the top left hand corner, I decided to try foiling my sentiment using just a regular die from MB's Just A Note Posh Script and I couldn't believe how perfectly it turned out!!  I die cut 2 more of the background piece of the sentiment die (it's a 2 piece set) for a little more dimension, and then glued all 3 layers to the dry embossed layer.  A little piece of gold twine at the top of the leaf stems, and my CAS card was finished!

Only a couple more days till this challenge ends, but if you're looking for some BEAUTIFUL inspiration for Fall cards, check it all out right HERE.

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

Color Hues #26 - PURPLE & PINK

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Color Hues Challenge today where they are looking for PURPLE and PINK on our cards.

I used an older Pinkfresh Studios die set called Floral Squares and came up with this CAS card...

I started by blending Passionate Pink and Wild Wisteria inks (Gina K) onto a piece of white cardstock and then used the Floral Squares dies to cut out the images, and then die cut again using just white cardstock.  This allowed me to use the ink blended pieces for the background of the squares, and the solid white for the outline images.  

I used SU!'s Subtle embossing folder for my background layer that I attached to a top folding white card base, and then added the die cut squares...the middle square has a piece of fun foam behind it to add a little dimension.  I stamped my sentiment (SSS - Tiny Words) onto the side of the bottom pink square, and then finished by adding a few PFS pink & purple gems.  Pretty CAS, but I love how it turned out!!

Check out all the FABULOUS cards from the DT and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till September 29th. 

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

CAS Mix Up September Watercolor Challenge

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the ladies over at the CAS Mix Up Challenge where they're looking for WATER COLORING and AUTUMN COLORS.

I have two cards to share with you today because I couldn't decide which one I liked better!!  Let's start with my easy peasy one first...

This technique is SO easy but I love how it looks!  You simply ink up an acrylic block (any shape or size) with your ink cubes, and then spritz with water before pressing (gently) into your cardstock.  I used Red Velvet, Tangerine Twist, & Wild Dandelion inks (Gina K), and I just love the way the colors blended into each other after adding the water.  Here's a closer up:

My red almost looks pink after being watered down a bit and I love how it blends so beautifully into the orange, and then how the orange blends into the yellow!  Once it was dry, I used a leaf stamp (Gina K's Autumn Silhouettes) and black ink to stamp the image, and also stamped the sentiment in the black ink (Gina K's The Best Flowers).  I matted this layer to a piece of black and then adhered both to a piece of white card embossed with a SSS Fall Foliage EF.  A white top folding card base and a bit of black & white bakers twine finished up this simple card that definitely says AUTUMN to me!

My 2nd card uses a MFT image from Fall Friends and a background using Lindy's Magicals.  Take a look...

  I started with a heavy piece of cardstock and used Red Hot Poker Orange and Screamin' Banshee Black Lindy's Magicals and water to create my background and then set it aside to dry.  Next I stamped my MFT image in black and then heat embossed in clear, and then water colored using an Aqua Painter brush and SU! ink pads.  Don't have the die for this sweet little gal sitting on her pumpkin, so had to fussy cut her out.  I used a couple oval dies to create my opening for my background, and also used SU!'s Subtle EF for my top layer.  Here's a close up so you can see the background and my water coloring a bit better:

I think water coloring is a perfect medium for Autumn, and definitely need to do more of it!!  My dad was so talented with water colors, and I so wish he were still around to see what I'm up to now...he would have loved it!!  I finished my card by pop dotting the little girl over the Magicals background, and then added a sentiment from the Fall Friends stamp set that I heat embossed in white on a black strip.  

Lots of BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT if you need more inspiration...you can check it all out and play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th 

 

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

Christmas Kickstart #54 - Funny Ho, Ho!

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking for FUNNY, HO, HO!

I don't have a very big inventory of funny or snarky Christmas stamps, but I do LOVE this image from MFT's Christmas sELFies stamp set.  

The one snowman with his tongue sticking out just cracks me up!  I stamped the image in black and then clear heat embossed so I could water color my image.  (used an Aqua Painter and SU! inks)  Once it was dry I die cut the image out and added to a rectangle that I stamped the sentiment on, to make it look like a Polaroid picture.

I added foam strips to the back of this layer and added it to a layer that I embossed using an older Cuttlebug dotted embossing folder, and then attached both to a top folding white card base.  I added a few silver pearls (PFS) and some black & white bakers twine, and then last minute decided to add some glitter to the snowman who has his tongue sticking out...he just looks like the kind of character who would be sticking his tongue to something he shouldn't!  Haha!!

If you need help getting a head start on those Christmas cards, this is a great challenge to play along with!  You can check out Jo's and her guest elf's cards and then play along right HERE.

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

CAS Christmas Reminder - PLAID

Hello friends.  Just a friendly little reminder that there's still time to play along with us at the CAS Christmas Challenge where this month our sweet hostess Colleen is looking for PLAID on our Christmas cards.

I had a small piece of plaid leftover from my card HERE that I used for my card today...

I had used PTI's Pierced Feature Frames dies on my original card and saved the small inside piece, and then cut another frame using plain white to frame the plaid piece.  Then I added a Poppystamps die called Holly Merry Christmas that I die cut multiple times using Old Olive and Mossy Meadow cardstocks.

  Do you know what the hardest part of this simple little card was??  I kept losing those little red glitter dots for the berries!!  I had no punches that size, so I had to die cut the whole sentiment from the red glitter cardstock, and then when I'd go to punch it out of the die, the little berries would go flying...grrrrr!  Had to die cut the sentiment 3 times just to get the 4 little dots for the berries!  I do like that tiny pop of color though, so it was worth it in the end!!

The DT has some great PLAID cards to share with you for inspiration, so check them all out 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!

The Flower Challenge #60 - TURQUOISE

Hello friends.  I made sure I was on time this month for The Flower Challenge, and they are doing a color challenge using TURQUOISE this time around.

I had fun using a stencil and stamp set from Pinkfresh Studio called Floral Focus and came up with this card...

I started by stenciling the flowers and leaves with Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea, Jelly Bean Green, & Fresh Asparagus inks (Gina K) for my background.  Next I embossed just one of the flowers from the background stamp in silver, and then laid the stencils over it to color the flower.  

After fussy cutting the flower out, I adhered it to the background with foam tape to add some dimension.  The sentiment is a die cut from MB called Birthday Mail Posh Script...I have a few of these Posh Script sentiment dies from MB and LOVE them!!  I felt like it still needed something so I added Distress Glitter to the veins in the leaves, and then finished off with a few Turquoise Gems and Silver Pearls from Pinkfresh Studios.  This card sparkles BIG TIME in real life and will be perfect to celebrate someone's special day!

Lots of really BEAUTIFUL TURQUOISE cards from the DT and already in the gallery, so if you need some inspiration, you can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 25th.

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

Color Hues #25 - YELLOW & ORANGE

Hello friends.  Playing along with the current Color Hues Challenge where they are using one of my most FAVORITE colors...YELLOW!!  And pairing it with ORANGE...couldn't be more perfect for the beginning of Autumn (or the end of Summer!)! 

I chose to make my card more Autumnal than Summery, and came up with this card using some products from The Greetery and Pinkfresh Studios.  Take a look...

Almost need your sunglasses to look at this card, don't ya?!!  I started by making my background with Pinkfresh Studio's Layered Sunburst Stencils , using Lemon Drop, Wild Dandelion (Gina K) and Summer Sunrise (PTI) inks.  

I added a white Crimped Circle Die cut to my sunburst layer, and then added a die cut branch from The Greetery's Autumn Sketches stamp set, using the same yellow and orange inks for the leaves and a neutral brown for the actual branch.  I used the same neutral brown (Warm Cocoa - Gina K) for my die cut sentiments (The Greetery - Opposites Attract).  I finished with a few yellow Pinkfresh Studio gems, and a single leaf from the stamp set that I attached with a piece of twine. (Can't really see in the photo, but I added WOS to the single leaf so there is a bit of sparkle to this card!)

LOTS of beautiful cards in YELLOW & ORANGE from the talented DT, so check it out right HERE.  Color Hues is also celebrating their 1st BIRTHDAY this month, and there are prizes up for grabs, so definitely check this challenge out...it's open till the 14th. 

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

Playing Cards with Pinkfresh Studios & Michele

Hello friends.  Back with a fun post today using a FEW of the goodies I received from PINKFRESH STUDIOS back in July after winning their GRAND PRIZE July Release!  Yep, they sent everything from their whole release that month to me...absolutely FREE!  And it was a BIG release!  LOTS of stamps, stencils, dies, foil plates, & even their little silver and gold gems!  It definitely pays to play along with their giveaways each month!  Somebody's gonna win, and I was the lucky one in July!  Of course I do need to give credit to my sweet friend Michele who texted me to let me know my name was listed as the grand prize winner, otherwise I would probably have missed the 2 week deadline to email them (I had a lot going on this Summer with my cancer scare and just wasn't keeping up with much in blogland!) and forfeited the prize!  Thanks Michele for looking out for me!!  

Because there were so many of the hot foil plates in the prize, I invested in one of the Spellbinder Hot Foil machines...I love the look of the foil on the cards, but there is definitely a learning curve to using them!  Michele and I both struggled a bit, but after a few tries (well ok, maybe more than a few!) we got the hang of foiling, and each have a few cards to share with you today.

I started with the Small Butterflies and the Daisy Wreath to come up with this card...

Here's a close up so you can see the silver foiling better...

The shine is so different from embossing with silver...super shiny and so pretty!  I had already had the Daisy Wreath stencil and die, but part of the prize was the matching foil plate...what a beautiful touch it adds to the wreath!!  The little butterfly was also foiled with silver, and then stenciled and die cut.  My background is also a PFS stencil...Argyle.

Another foil plate included in the prize was this Thankful for Friends which I foiled in gold, and then stenciled and die cut before adding to a Spellbinders hot foil frame that I also did in gold.  (Don't look too closely...I was still learning when I used the frame!)

Isn't it so pretty in the deep reds and the gold foiling?!  I pop dotted it to my frame and card base, and also added a few of the gold gems that were part of the prize package.  (The sentiment is part of the stamp set Thankful for Friends)

My next two cards use a background stamp (Sweet Blooms) that I already had, but part of the prize was the matching hot foil plate.  I foiled the plate in silver and had to try several times before I got one that was acceptable to me.  I think the larger the plate, the more room there is for extra foil to appear...grrrr!  I have learned that a sand eraser is a very valuable tool to have on hand at this point as it does a really good job of removing extra foil from spots you didn't want foiled!  There is a matching stencil for this design, but I don't have it, so I just used my Copics to color the leaves and flowers.

Here you can see the shine a bit better.  I also added some WOS to the purple flowers, and a few purple gemstones, so this card really does sparkle and shine!

My last card uses the same background stamp as the last card (Sweet Blooms) that I foiled in gold this time.  Because a good portion of this one was over foiled with gold smudges everywhere, I cut the panel down, and still came up with a really pretty card!

I colored in the leaves and flowers again with my Copics, and then added a small die cut wreath (Leafy Circle which I die cut 3 times and stacked for dimension and colored with the same Copic YG03), and also another one of the Small Butterflies that I foiled in gold.  The Leafy Circle and butterfly also helped to cover up some of the gold foil smudges.  Even though this card started out not looking so great, I think it turned out really pretty after I doctored it all up!

A big, BIG THANK YOU to PINKFRESH STUDIOS for their so very generous prize to me...I am still so blown away by your generosity and kindness!!  Make sure you check out too what Michele did with the Small Butterflies and the first Butterflies set with the foiling...you'll be blown away by her color choices!!  I know this was a loooooong post, so thanks for sticking with me to the end!!  :0)  

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

CAS Christmas September 2021 - PLAID

Hello friends.  It's time for another CAS Christmas Challenge and our lovely hostess Colleen would like to see PLAID on our Christmas cards this month.

                                               

I've been a little hooked on The Greetery's Tartan Plaid Builder stencils, and along with an older PTI die (Pierced Feature Frames) came up with this CAS card...

The stenciled plaid was done using only Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I started blending over the 1st stencil very, very lightly, and with each successive stencil I put a little more elbow into it to make the color get darker.  There are 5 layered stencils, but I only used 3 of them to get this look.  Once I had finished with the stencils, I used the frame die to die cut it, and then added my sentiment and little birdie.

The little birdie is an oldie but goody from Penny Black called Winter Wonderland, and I water colored him with my Aqua Painter and some of my SU! inks.  Once dry I fussy cut him out and pop dotted him above my sentiment which comes from PTI's Think Big Favorites: #20.  A couple red gems and this CAS card was finished!

Make sure you check out all the PLAID wonders from the DT and our Special GD this month right HERE, and then play along with us...we'd love to help you get going on those Christmas cards now rather than later!  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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