Peace On Earth #12

Hello friends.  Been awhile since I posted a Christmas card, and since it still feels like Winter here in my neck of the woods, figured it was a great time to play along with the current Peace On Earth Challenge!

Notice in the top two photos the sleds?  That's where the inspiration took me and a chance to play once again with a really cute image from Penny Black/Mo Manning - Sweet Sledder.

Isn't she a cutie?!  I stamped and clear embossed my image first, and then colored her and her teddy bear with my Copics.  

I stamped the sentiment that comes with the set, and then decided to make a shaker by adding some snowflake sequins (a free gift with one of my Greetery orders) and a few clear tiny beads, before adding the top layer that I die cut using Penny Black's Crystal Frames.

I'm also going to add this card to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where Snowflakes are Winters Butterflies.

There are still a few days to play along with the Peace On Earth Challenge (ends March 31st) and today is the last day for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge (nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh??!!).  Either challenge is a great way to get a head start on those Christmas cards friends!!  :0)

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

Double D Challenge - Something With A HANDLE

Hello friends.  The Double D Challenge has a fun one going on right now...Something With A HANDLE!

My HANDLES come from a sweet little basket die from The Greetery (Market Baskets Die) that I filled up with some Spring flowers.  Take a look:

I started by lightly blending a bit of soft blue ink on a white panel, and then die cut the panel with the Nordic Frame Dies (The Greetery) before attaching to my kraft card base.  Next I die cut the basket from some silver matte cardstock (Gina K), and backed it with a piece of kraft Patterned Paper DSP (PTI).  

I used 1/8" score tape on the back sides and bottom of the basket to adhere it down to the background and then started filling the basket with BotaniCut: Crocus and BotaniCut: Pussy Willow die cuts that I inked up with DOX inks.

I'm in love with these new BotaniCut Dies from The Greetery, and how you can make them so 3D looking on your cards.  To finish off my card I added some Distress Glitter to the green leaves from the Crocuses, and also a few Disco Ball sequins from Gina K.  There are all kinds of tiny sentiments you can choose from to stamp on the label of the basket, and I chose the "Happy Birthday" one to make this a perfect card for a Spring birthday, of which we have sooo many in my family!!  

There is so much BEAUTIFUL inspiration to inspire you for this challenge from the talented DT, so check it all out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open til April 3rd.

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

The Flower Challenge #66 - Take 2

Hello friends.  I'm playing with The Flower Challenge AGAIN, because remember that pile of white SCRAPS that I told you I had a LOT of??  Well I got a new die set that fit some of those scraps just perfectly, so I decided to play again!

I just received the new BotaniCuts: Crocus dies from The Greetery this week, and had to have a play with them.  And as I mentioned above, I had a LOT of pieces of white scrap cardstock that would work perfectly with these new dies, so this current challenge is working out perfectly for me to use up some of these scraps!!  My design comes from Angelica Conrad who made the most beautiful card using these dies HERE.  I changed up the color of my Crocus's, my sentiment, and frame, but the actual design is the same as Angelica's...it was just too pretty not to CASE!!  Take a look:

I die cut all my pieces, and then ink blended them with several shades of yellow and green inks (PFS) before gluing them all together.  Next I lightly blended some blue ink onto the front of my card base, and then began gluing down all the flowers and some extra leaf blades.  Once I had them all in place, I die cut a Nordic Frame Die (The Greetery) and added foam tape to the back so it would add dimension over the die cut flowers.

I used some matte gold cardstock (Gina K - also a scrap) to die cut my "Spring" sentiment and attached it to the frame with liquid glue, and then also added a white (scrap) sentiment strip with the word "Happy" stamped on it.  The flowers were a little time consuming, but I was definitely in my happy place making them, and I just love how the card came out!  (If you're reading this Angelica, thank you, thank you for the BEAUTIFUL inspiration!!)

Make sure you check out what the talented DT came up with using their SCRAPS and then maybe use up some of your own!  Be quick though...this challenge ends on the 25th at 5:00PM.  You can check it all out right HERE.

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

Color Hues #37 - YELLOW & PALE TEAL

Hello friends.  Playing with the current Color Hues Challenge where they are looking for YELLOW and PALE TEAL.

I have to be honest and tell you that I struggled with this color combo.  They are both beautiful colors and make me think Spring and Easter, but I kept wanting to add a 3rd or 4th color to balance everything out!  The 1st card I made didn't thrill me at all, and while it's not terrible, it just didn't make me happy.  I know, I know, we're all our own worst critics!!  I'll show it to you at the end, but decided to try again for a 2nd card, and came up with this one:

I stenciled my plaid background using PFS's Diamond Plaid Stencil, and then adhered it to a die cut Postal Frame Die from The Greetery.  (My background is actually quite a bit lighter than what the photograph is showing!!)  Next I stamped and die cut PFS's Modern Layered Florals using stamped off Tropical Teal (PTI) and Buttercup (C&9) inks, and then added foam tape to the back before adhering to my background.

My little bunnies were Copic colored with C01 and W1 using CCC's Snuggle Bunny stamp set and then fussy cut and added to the stem area of the flowers.  I finished with a gold embossed "Hello" from PFS's Perfect Sentiments and a few PFS gems for some bling.  This still isn't what I would consider one of my better cards, but I definitely like it better than I did my first try!  Here's the first try:

Again, it's not terrible, but it just plain doesn't thrill me!  I donate a good many of my cards to bringsmilestoseniors.com and I'm sure the happy yellow color will brighten someone's day, so don't worry...it won't be wasted!

The DT had NO problems coming up with beautiful cards using this color combo, so check it all out right HERE and play along.  This challenge is open till the 28th. 

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

The Flower Challenge #66 - USE SCRAPS

Hello friends.  The Flower Challenge is asking us to use our SCRAPS this month and I definitely have NO shortage of scraps in my craft room!

And here's what I came up with...

I started with my background and used scraps of white (I have TONS of white scraps!!) to die cut all the leaves from PTI's Into The Blooms: Dahlia and then glued them randomly all over my card front for a white on white look.  My flower (Altenew's Sweetest Peas) was stamped in black and then heat embossed with clear before I paper pieced it with scraps from SU!'s Expressions In Ink dsp.  

I used Gina K's Master Layouts 2 to die cut the stitched rectangle and black mat, and then added foam tape behind the flower layer to add some dimension from the background.  My sentiment comes from Memory Box's Just A Note Posh Script die and I cut both layers from scraps for this too!  In fact, other than my card base and the black enamel dots, the whole card was stamped, die cut, and fussy cut from scraps!  :0)

Check out all the BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT using their scraps right HERE and then play along to use up some of your own scraps...we ALL have them!!  Haha!  This challenge is open till the 25th of this month.

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

Playing Cards with Michele - March 2022

Hello friends.  It's been a loooooong 3 months since Michele and I have played cards together, and even though we only live an hour apart, we do have to play by Winters rules!  Grrrrrr!  But, when we do finally get together, it's always the best time!!  

We both had different stamps/dies of each others that we wanted to play with, but decided that Papertrey Inks's Feathered Friends #19 was the common denominator this time around, so here's what I came up with using this sweet & chubby little feathered friend!!

   Michele gifted me the sweet little frame from Altenew, and I layered two of them together for a bit of dimension on top of a panel that I embossed with SU!'s Subtle embossing folder.  My little Feathered Friend #19 was stamped in shades of blues, and then also layered up for even more dimension.

My sentiment is a Gina K sentiment strip from her last kit, and I also added a few Rainstones (PTI) to finish off this CAS card.

Michele brought her PFS's Folk Art Print stencils, and I ink blended a couple up...this one in my favorite greens (SU!'s Evening Evergreen & Soft Succulent) and then pinks and oranges (Gina K).  I added a stacked scalloped frame die (PFS), and then another one of those ADORABLE birds stamped in the pinks and oranges to match my background.

My gold embossed sentiment is also from PFS and finished off this colorful card quite nicely!  (Although you can't see it, I also added WOS to the little birds feathers!)

Michele had made a card awhile back using a Lisa Horton embossing folder (Foxglove) that I absolutely fell in love with, so she brought that along for me to play with!  I tried inking up the inside of the folder first, but wasn't happy with the look, so I just embossed and then added a very light inking with blender brushes...purple and green.  The color is so subtle, but I wanted the beautiful embossed texture to be the star of the card!!

I finished this card with a die cut sentiment from Memory Box (Posh Script Thank You) that I popped up on foam strips, and a prisma foiled butterfly (PFS's Small Butterflies) that I stenciled with a light and darker purple to coordinate with the Foxgloves.

I have a couple other cards that are works in progress, and I'll share those at a later date.  I can hardly wait to see what Michele has made with some of my goodies and how she used that sweet and chubby little bird too!  Thank you, thank you Michele for another wonderful play day...I still don't get out too much, so these play days and your friendship mean the world to me!!  And of course you sharing your goodies with me too!   Friends...one of Gods greatest gifts!!  :0)

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

The Great Cover-Up March 9

Hello friends.  I'm still having fun pulling out some older PTI sets and playing along with their The Great Cover-Up Challenge.  This week Kelly made a couple of ADORABLE baby cards using different DSP's, so the challenge is to use MULTIPLE PRINTS on your card.

I'm still pretty hooked on these new Spring Carrots dies, so that was my starting point for my card...

I pulled out the Garden Variety stamp and die set to make a seed packet for my carrots...had forgotten how much I love this set and it worked perfectly to showcase the medium and smallest Spring Carrots dies.  I used PTI's Rustic Cream cardstock for both the seed packet and the carrots and then added color with my inks.

My background was done with different prints from the Kraft and Simply Chartreuse Pattern Packs DSP.  The Simply Chartreuse DSP was die cut with the two leaf dies from the Into The Blooms: Dahlia die set.  I used a piece of seam binding ribbon to cover where the two Kraft DSP's meet, and then stamped my sentiment (from Just Sentiments: Spring Blessings) below the ribbon.  The seed packet was added with foam tape for dimension, and I added a few sequins and some WOS to the top carrot for a little bit of shimmer and shine.  

This challenge is open till Wednesday the 16th, and you can check it all out right HERE...it's a great way to use of some of that DSP that we all hoard!!  :0)

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

The Great Cover-Up (March 2)

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with Papertrey Ink's The Great Cover-Up where they are looking for birthday cards that use lots of layers!

I used a combination of NEW and OLD to create my card and came up with this:

Can you spot the OLD and NEW??  The NEW is the large Picket Fence Die and the OLD is all the rest of my card elements.  I started with a piece of Aqua Mist Bitty Big DSP for my background, and then used foam tape on the back of my kraft die cut Picket Fence piece for added dimension. (I also added a bit of Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink on the edges of the fence)

Next I worked on my flowers (Prominent Petals) and the sweet little birdies from Joyous Holiday.  I used Harvest Gold, Aqua Mist, & Kraft Bitty Big DSP for both the flowers and the birds, and even paper pieced the birdies.  (Pulling out my inner Melissa Phillips here!!)

I die cut my leaves from plain Aqua Mist cardstock and then glittered them up with Distress Glitter (Tim Holtz).  Once the flowers, birds, & leaves were arranged over the picket fence, I added my birthday greeting from the Penned Elegance II stamp and die set, and then finished with a few of my precious and hoarded Rainstones!  My style has evolved over the years into a more CAS style, but I have to admit that I totally enjoyed adding all these layers and using some of my Bitty Big DSP and older stamp sets!

Only one more day to play along with this challenge, but if you love layers, give it a go and you might win a $25 gift card...I did a few weeks ago and it paid for my new fence die and a few other goodies!  You can check it all out right HERE. 

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

Color Hues #36 - GREEN & GOLD

Hello friends.  Playing along with the other part of the challenge over at Color Hues, where they are looking for a wee bit o the GREEN & GOLD on our cards.

Since our youngest daughter's birthday is just a few days past St. Patrick's Day and she loves the color GREEN, I thought this challenge would be the perfect time to break out my CCC's 4 Leaf Clover stamp set and make a birthday card for her.  (Can't believe I actually have a card made ahead of time instead of the last minute!!)  Take a look:

 I made a mini slimline using Gina K's Master Layouts 9 for my green & white layers, and then added a gold scalloped die cut frame from PFS that was layered 3 times for a bit o dimension.  My sweet little image from Anita Jeram (CCC's 4 Leaf Clover) was colored with my Copics and then die cut and inlaid under the scalloped frame.

My "birthday" die cut comes from Gina K's Lace Flowers kit and I used the same gold mirror cardstock as the scalloped frame.  I finished with a few PFS green gems to add a wee bit o bling, 'cause all girls like a little bling on their birthdays, right??!!

This double challenge is open till the 14th, so check out all the FABULOUS YELLOW & BLUE cards and all the GREEN & GOLD cards from the DT, and then play along right HERE.

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

Color Hues #36

Hello friends.  Like all the rest of you, I am brokenhearted about what is going on in the Ukraine.  There has been bad in this world since the beginning of time, but instead of learning from our mistakes, I feel as though we are becoming more and more uncivilized with each passing year!  And that just breaks my heart!!  But........I do know how the story ends, so at the same time I am filled with HOPE.  HOPE for a better tomorrow.  HOPE for peace.  HOPE for kindness.  HOPE for LOVE and not hate!  HOPE that good will come out of this bad.  HOPE.

The Color Hues Challenge along with its regularly scheduled Green & Gold challenge is running a Blue & Yellow challenge (#cardsforukraine) to support all those living in this nightmare.

 

 I have seen so many different shades of blue being used by everyone...from a true blue to a more lighter aqua blue.  I have chosen to use a more aqua blue as I wanted to foil my background, and the only blue foil I had is more of an aqua blue.  Take a look:

 I foiled my background with PFS's Heart Grid foil plate, and then added my ink blended roses from PFS's Rose Garden stencils, stamp, & die.  (The roses have foam tape behind them to raise them up off the heart background)  

 During hard times, my faith is what gets me through, and I thought this sentiment from PB's Inspirational Sentiments was very appropriate.  I finished with a couple foiled Small Butterflies from PFS and a few aqua colored gems too.

I will continue to pray and HOPE for a miracle to end this madness for the Ukrainian people who do not deserve any of this, and I HOPE you will too!  In the meantime, check out all the BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and players over at the Color Hues Challenge HERE.

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