Triple B Challenge June 2023

Hello friends.  Getting in on the tail end of the Triple B Challenge for this month where they are always looking for Birds, Butterflies, & Blooms.

No birdies in my card today, but I do have blooms and a butterfly.  And no roses like the inspiration photo shows either, but lovely Wild Blooms (a PTI stencil) that I was inspired by from one of PTI's DT members Leanne that you can find HERE.  I just loved the more earthy tones she used for the blooms and had to CASE her!  Here's what I came up with...

Even though the colors are more earthy, they still look Summery to me.  I stenciled the blooms with Lemon Tart and Honey Nut inks (PTI) and the leaves with Gina K's Fresh Asparagus ink.  There is also a touch of Amethyst Allure ink (also PTI) on the little dotted flowers, but most of them were to the far left of my panel and got cut off when I trimmed it down to fit in the Border Bling: Scalloped Frame (PTI).

Once my stenciling was done, I stamped the Psalm Reflections: May (PTI) verse over the top and then finished off with a few gold tinsel gems (SU!) and a tiny butterfly that is 2 layers...bottom layer is white cs heat embossed in gold and the top layer is vellum that was heat embossed in gold as well.  I used a couple Copics to color in both layers of the butterfly before attaching to the card.  A pretty simple card but I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!!

Only one more day to play along with this months challenge, but boy is there some BEAUTIFUL inspiration for you to look at from the DT and all the players in the gallery!  You can find it all right HERE.  

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

Double D - Color Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Double D Challenge where this time around they're doing a COLOR CHALLENGE featuring a fun mood board using Summertime drinks in 4 different colors.

 Definitely looks like Summer, doesn't it?!!  I couldn't decide on one color, so I chose 3 and decided to make a set of notecards featuring Summertime fruits that make up these yummy looking drinks.  Let's start with my favorite fruit right now as strawberries are in season in Michigan and they are oh so good this year!!

I started with an old PTI Scalloped Tag Die for all 3 cards and cut 2 for each one, scoring the tab on the 2nd one and gluing it to the 1st one at the very top so the card could open and close and stand up like a regular card.  Next I added a square of Pure Poppy cardstock and piece of Bitty Big Pattern DSP in Pure Poppy for my background, and then added my die cut strawberries from The Greetery's BotaniCuts: Strawberries.  I die cut everything from white and then ink blended all the color on to the strawberries, leaves, and flowers.  The sentiment is from SU!'s Sweet Strawberry set.  A piece of red gingham tied at the top and a few metallic pearls for the flower centers finished off this 1st card.

   My 2nd card uses PTI's Harvest Gold cs and dsp for the background and then the lemons are from The Greetery's Lemon Blossom set.  I added some glitter to the centers of the lemon slices for a little sparkle, and then finished with my heat embossed white on black sentiment and a couple tinsel gems from SU!.

I used PTI's Blueberry Sky cs and dsp for the background on my 3rd card and the blueberry image is from SU!'s Berry Blessings stamp set.  Hard to see in my photo, but I used my WOS glitter pen on the leaves and that adds a nice soft shimmery touch to them.  I finished with more of the black & white gingham ribbon and a few blue tinsel gems from SU!.

Here they are all 3 together, and you can see that I used red, yellow, & blue...I left out the purple from the mood board, but I was ok with only making 3 cards this time around.  I think this set will be going to an older friend of mine who doesn't get out much anymore, but still loves sending out cards to family and friends, and I know she will appreciate this small gift.

Lots of colorful inspiration for you from the DT and you can find it all right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Sunday, July 2nd @ 8:00PM.

Editing to Add:  I am also adding this post to the Word Art Wednesday Blog.

P.S.  I have added a new follow.it button at the top of my blog IF you are interested in getting an email notification each time I publish a new blog post.

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

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #42

Hello friends.  Still trying to keep up with my Christmas cards and playing along with the Peace On Earth Challenge.  The have another wonderful mood board to inspire us...

This might sound a little goofy, but I was inspired by the SHINE of the ornaments in the top right and bottom left photos on the mood board, and although you might be saying "What SHINE?" when you see my photos, in real life this card really does SHINE!!

I used an older technique I learned from Jennifer McGuire where you mask off all four sides of your panel (I used washi tape) and then ink blend the opening and then "paint" on Perfect Pearls over the ink blending.  I used a couple shades of red (Gina K inks) and then the perfect pearls over top.  Next you remove the washi tape and then run the panel through an embossing folder...I used SSS's Holiday Greenery.

Next I stamped and Copic colored my image from MFT's Santa's Elves and fussy cut him out.  I did use some of the perfect pearls on the ornament, and again, in real life it really SHINES!!

 To finish I simply stamped one of the sentiments from the stamp set and pop dotted the elf image.  Pretty quick and easy and I'm loving all the SHINE!!

The talented DT has some awesome inspiration for you, so check it all out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Thursday, June 29th @ 8:00PM.

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

The Flower Challenge #81

Hello friends.  Playing along at The Flower Challenge today where they are asking for our FAVORITE flower.

I have many favorites...Tulips, Dahlias, Roses, Daisies and many more, but today I think I'll focus on Poppies!  There's something so simple about Poppies compared to all the other flowers out there, but it's the shading of the colors that gets me every time with these sweet little flowers!  I have 2 cards for you today...one stenciled and one die cut.  Let's start with the stenciled one using my all time favorite stencil from The Ton called Precious Poppies.

I used PFS's ink to stencil the leaves and the 3 different colored Poppies, and then also went over the leaves with a Polychromos pencil to give a bit more definition.  Next I used PFS's Simply Diamonds coverplate die to die cut my stenciled panel and then placed it all back on a top folding white card base.

I finished my card with a die cut and embossed sentiment from Honey Bee's Bitty Buzzwords dies and stamps, and a few white crystal gems from PFS.  Pretty simple really, but I love the way it turned out!

My 2nd card used scraps of cardstock and inks from SU! along with dies from Honey Bee's Lovely Layers Wildflowers.  I've had these dies since last Fall and am just getting around to using them...seriously need to quit buying and start playing with what I have!!  Maybe...

 My sweet friend Leslie gifted me with a bunch of frame die cuts from Spellbinders (Infinity Punch & Pierce Plate Dies), and I thought this black one framed these Poppies beautifully!  I added a foiled sentiment (also Spellbinders) and that was all it needed.

LOTS of absolutely beautiful inspiration from the talented DT to inspire you to play along right HERE, so check it out.  This challenge is open till June 25th @ 5:00PM.

I'd also like to enter my die cut Poppy card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge since I've had these dies waaaaaaay longer than I'd like to admit before finally using them!

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

Color Hues Challenge #66 - YELLOW & GREEN

Hello friends.  It's the middle of the month, and that means it's time for a new Color Hues Challenge!  Karen is our wonderful hostess this time around and she is looking for cards with YELLOW and GREEN.

This is such a bright and fun color combination that I couldn't stop at just one card, so I have a twofer for you today!  My first card is really more of a Spring card than Summer, but it just looked so pretty in the yellows and greens that I couldn't resist.  My sweet friend Michele foiled me a couple of her Spellbinders Wonderful Tulips, and let me use the coordinating stencils too.  I did it up in the yellows and greens and came up with this...

Isn't it so pretty in the gold foiling and all the shades of yellow?!!  I love how the coordinating die cuts just the right side of the tulip cluster too!  If I would have thought ahead when I was at Michele's house I would have used the die to cut the card base too, but in the end it was easy enough just to trace around the edges lightly with a pencil on my folded cardstock to make a matching base and glue the foiled and stenciled part onto the card base.

I used Pinkfresh inks for the stenciling, and then finished the card with a few yellow gems from PFS and one of the sentiments from the Wonderful Tulips set.

This card actually started out with the Spellbinders Seamless Floral Background embossing folder that had just come in the mail and I wanted to try it out.  I had also just received a freebie stamp set (The Stamp Market's Meadow Fresh Florals) from Michele who had mistakenly ordered the set a 2nd time, so perfect time to try it out with my new ef!  I die cut a circle opening into the embossed panel and then layered a piece of PTI's Bitty Big Green Parakeet dsp behind the circle opening.  Next I stamped and fussy cut 2 of the smaller flowers in the set and the coordinating leaves and tucked them into the circle opening.  I added foam strips behind the embossed panel to give a bit of dimension.

My sentiment strip is from Spellbinders Everyday Sentiments II Hot Foil Plates and was foiled with Aura foil (sure wish I could have captured the sparkle and shine!!).  I finished with a few gold metallic pearls from PFS.

The DT and our Special GD Michele all have some AMAZING inspiration for you to get started, so check it all out right HERE and play along with us!  We'd love to see YOU in the gallery!!  This challenge is open till June 28th @ 9:00AM. 

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

Double D - Lemon-Ade The Yellow Color Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Double D Challenge where they have a FABULOUS mood board featuring my favorite color YELLOW!!

I don't know how anyone could not be inspired by this mood board filled with sunshine and the happy color of YELLOW!!  I hadn't made a pocket card in a looooooong time, so I got out my yellow cardstock, inks, dsp, & stamps and dies and went to work and came up with this...

I started with a piece of white cs cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and then scored at 5 1/2" and again at 9 1/2", then folded the cardstock in half, and then folded the 1 1/4" piece forward to create a flap.  You can glue the inside side edges down if you wish, but I just used a piece of ribbon to hold mine closed, and that makes the pocket.  

My lemon slices are actually orange slices using dies from The Greetery's Dried Citrus Slices, and I die cut them from white and added yellow ink around the edges.  I also added Glossy Accents on all the little segment pieces, and it gives a really nice shine in real life.  My gingham dsp is from My Favorite Things and the black and white strip is from PFS's Lemon Lush background stamp that I stamped in black and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The sentiment and green leaves are from SU!'s Sweet Citrus stamp set, and then ribbon, black twine, and gems are all also from SU!.  This card will definitely work for a Summer-y birthday and there are LOTS coming up between family and friends this Summer!

On a personal note, we had a baby shower this past weekend for our youngest who is expecting her first in August, and I was finally able to get a picture of all 3 of our daughters together!

Our oldest who has 3 children is on the left, and our middle daughter is on the right...and obviously our youngest daughter is in the middle.  We are SOOOO excited to have another grandchild and this one will be local...YAY!!!  God is good!!

And now back to my card...you can play along with this challenge right HERE and there is LOTS of inspiration from the talented DT to inspire you to play along in this fun challenge.  It's open till Sunday, June 18th @ 8:00PM.

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

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #41

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge where they have the most gorgeous mood board to inspire us along with all the FABULOUS cards from the DT!  Here's the mood board...

Such an elegant mood board!  I love white Poinsettias, so I had to go with the top right photo as my inspiration, and using a Waffle Flower stencil called Layered Poinsettia came up with this...

I tried to use a very LIGHT hand with the light green for the flower leaves to differentiate them from the regular leaves so they still had a white look and feel to them on the white background.

Here's a closer up so you can see the leaves a bit better.  I used Gina K's Master Layouts #2 to die cut my panel and then back it with a layer of gold mirror cardstock, before attaching to a white card base.

I finished this card with a die cut sentiment in the gold mirror cardstock from Memory Box called Special Merry Christmas, and a small die cut Poinsettia from Waffle Flower's Layered Poinsettia Die that I also lightly blended a bit of green ink to on the centers.  Pretty simple but I love the way it turned out!!

Make sure you check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT over at the Peace On Earth Challenge site and then play along to get going on those Christmas cards...you know it will be here before you know it!!  This challenge is open till Thursday, June 15th @ 8:00PM.
   

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

Color Hues #65 - RED & AQUA

Hello friends.  Time for a new challenge at Color Hues and our hostess Jules would like to see RED & AQUA on our cards for the next two weeks.

I love this color combination, but have to tell you that I mostly use it for Christmas cards!  Thought about doing a Christmas card, but then thought, this is a challenge, so let's make something else.  I tend to only make sympathy cards when I need one, and if I do make a few ahead, the ladies in my bible study group tend to snatch them up when I'm asked to bring my card box in!  So anyway, I challenged myself to make a RED & AQUA sympathy card using a PFS set I borrowed from my friend Michele called Wonderful In Every Way.  Take a look...

I started by stenciling my background using PFS's Diamond Motif Stencil with the ink that was left on my aqua brush, using a very light hand.  Next I stamped the floral image in black and then embossed it in clear before using the coordinating stencils with a couple shades of red ink and aqua for the leaves.  I die cut the image out and after placing it over the stenciled background, decided it looked too plain, so I added Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Die (also PFS) in Turquoise Sea cs (Gina K)...much better!

 I stamped and die cut one of the sentiments that comes with the Wonderful In Every Way set, and then finished with a few aqua gemstones from PFS.  Hopefully I won't need it and can just enjoy seeing the pretty color combination on something other than a Christmas card!

Once again the DT and our Special GD Ineke have outdone themselves with amazing inspiration for you right HERE and we would love to see YOU in our gallery!  This challenge is open till June 14th @ 9:00AM.

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