Tuesday, February 20, 2024

A Valentine's Day Play Time with Michele

Hello friends.  Michigan Winter weather played nice with us this Valentine's Day and my sweet friend Michele was able to come over and spend the day playing.  We did our usual hugging, laughing, talking and eating, all without consuming any calories!  Well, kinda...  We had veggies, fresh fruit, and for dessert, more fruit!  And veggies and fruit don't have any calories, RIGHT??!!  Of course the veggies were on a crust with cream cheese and ranch dressing and the fruit dessert was on a pie crust with a crumbled topping, so maybe a few calories.  But hey, when you're with friends, they don't count!  That's my story and I'm sticking with it!!  

We did manage to get some stamping and stenciling done, and started with a new to me stencil set from Altenew called Stencil Art: Playful Watercolor Flowers.  


 The flowers and leaves really do look watercolored, don't they?  I used shades of coral ink (PFS) for the flowers and a couple shades of green for the leaves (also PFS).  


 I ran my panel through with SU!'s Cane Weave embossing folder before matting it to a panel of Berry Sorbet cs (PTI) and a white card base.  My little label die cut is from a Spellbinders die set that Michele had brought called Essential Four Petal Label Dies and the sentiment is from a Greetery set.  I finished with a piece of bakers twine and a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K).


Same stencil set for this card, just different colors...light, medium & dark orchid inks (Gina K) for the flowers and Eucalyptus & Green Tea inks for the leaves (CP).  I fussy cut off the right side of the panel and added foam tape to the back before adding it to a card base that I had stenciled using Gina K's Brick Wall stencil and Green Tea ink.


I finished this one off with a silver foiled sentiment on black using Spellbinder's Everyday Sentiments II set and a few PFS gems.


 Michele pulled out my Kaleidoscope stencil (PFS) next, so we both had a play with this too.  This stencil was part of a Create & Connect Christmas event 2 Christmas's ago, so I decided to keep the card Christmas like using the Modern Snowflake Die & Stencil & Stamp set from this past Christmas from PFS.  I heat embossed in silver the snowflake twice and then stenciled it in the same turquoise and teal inks that I had used for the Kaleidoscope background.  


 I die cut one of the snowflakes from Tranquil Teal cs and sandwiched it in between the two embossed and stenciled snowflakes before adding it to the stenciled background, along with a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set.  It is a little busy, but my last card is pretty CAS, so it makes up for the busyness of this one.  (Don't you love how I justify things??!!  Haha!!)


I started by once again using the Kaleidoscope stencil and inking it very softly with light blue, light turquoise & light purple, and then die cutting a star shape from it.  I used The Greetery's Rustic Star Small die to place over the die cut star that I had stenciled, and then slipped a little die cut Baby Face Swaddle Die underneath a part of the star.  


This close up is a little washed out from enlarging it, but it shows the dimension of the Rustic Star die cut better.  I used a holographic cs for the inside silver star part that really shines when the light hits it.  I finished this card very simply with a sentiment from The Greetery's Baby Face Stamp Set and called it good.  I need to do another one in pinks and then I'm good for either a boy or girl if I need a baby card.

I know this was a loooooong post and I hope I didn't lose any of you, but when Michele and I get going, the ideas start flying and there's just no stopping the fun!  Sure hope you enjoyed tagging along and I know you'll be blown away as usual by what Michele created from our play day...you can find it all right HERE.  As always, thanks again for another FUN play day Michele and for your YUMMY cherry and blueberry fruit pizza too! :0)       

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


11 comments:

I Card Everyone said...

There are many things that I love about you and our playdates, Marcia, but it is most fun to see how differently we finish the pieces we start together! And here I am, once again, saying 'why didn't I think of THAT?' over and over! lol
LOve the extra added texture of the cane weave embossing - and I'll be saving that sweet twine trick. SO darling!
You fussy cut your next panel so perfectly I thought you found the die! The subtle brick is just wonderful.
PaPOW! That snowflake is the prettiest I've ever witnessed, my friend - love the extra layers and how it 'at home' it seems on your Kaleidescope background!
Oh, Oh - I forgot about that darling star - back to the drawing board! ha! Such a sweet baby card and now I know how to put that star together - bonus!
When I told Tom we had a pizza party - he was a bit jealous until I told him he had his very own fruit pizza pie at home!
Love your cards - and you, my friend! thanks for inviting me! xx
=]

Bonnie said...

I love the way you justify things, Marcia! A gal after my own heart! You leave me wishing I lived next door. All of your cards are fantastic and I am inspired to use more stencils! The flowers do look watercolored and gorgeous in those colors! You have inspired me to get out that snowflake set and maybe I need to order that kaleidoscope stencil. The baby card is a delight with the beautiful star and swaddled baby! What a fun day you had! Crafty friends are the BEST!

Kristin Sluhan said...

I am SOOO jealous of you and Michelle! How much fun you two had and your cards are beautiful. I love the Altenew stencil...its been added to my shopping card for sure. Soo....how far away are you two from Toledo? Asking for a friend....
Also, thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog, I really appreciate your time and sweet words!

Karen said...

I love all these cards, Marcia! The Altenew stencil is wonderful and created two lovely cards. I'm a fan of that background and snowflake from Pinkfresh--I took those classes, too. I need to pull out the stencil again. And I LOVE that baby card! The Rustic Stars are in my NBUS bin--your inspiration will solve that problem soon!

Leslie Miller said...

Ohhh, a treasure trove of beauty and fun! Altenew does have some gorgeous flower stencils and you know how to use them. Subtle embossing on one and fussy cutting and brick wall on the other. Both so pretty! The snowflake card is amazing how you made these two fabulous design elements work so perfectly together. Love how you layered the snowflake, and the stenciled background is so fun and pretty in these colors. In the end, you've totally captured my heart with the darling baby card. The layered stars are very cool, and the stencil has a whole different look. The baby peeking out from behind is the cutest with that little curl and big smile! There is nothing better than crafty play dates! One of my favorite desserts is entirely healthy with nothing but nonfat fruity Greek yogurt... and Cool Whip and Graham cracker crust... well, it starts out healthy.

JoAnn said...

Love all your cards and the last one is adorable. Glad you had a fun play day with Michele. It is always fun to craft with friends. Thanks for sharing.

Lisa Elton said...

Just like I did over at Michele's blog, I keep scrolling back and forth to drink all of the prettiness in! Wowee, Marcia what a line-up. I love the texture on your first card and that snowflake card is gorgeous. I would take a yard full of those any day!

Loll said...

You and Michele had fun and we get the rewards seeing all these amazing cards you made!! LOVE the stenciled watercolour flowers ... they are now on my list of "must-haves" ... thanks for enabling me! Love the colours you used for your first card (coral it right up there with pink for me!). And then the second one with the partial cutting around the image. So creative and an amazing design. Your busy stencil makes a beautiful backdrop for your card ... and then the second is so soft and subtle for the baby card. So fun!! xx

TK said...

Great fun, I'm sure, to be able to play, eat and create together! I can't wait... But how the two of you seem to make such beautiful things while chatting up a storm just blows my mind! These are all beautiful, Marcia

Bobby said...

I so wish I could have been there when you two were crafting, Marcia. You have such wonderful ideas and made cards that really stand out. The watercolor stencil looks so different depending on the colors and how you arrange them on a card. Both are beautifully done. What a fabulous snowflake and it looks marvelous on the kaleidoscope stencil. That baby card is adorable. I must look up that rustic star. Thanks for all the inspiration, my friend.

Cat Craig said...

Fabulous cards Marcia. It looks and sounds like the two of you had a really good time. So glad you and Michele can get together for fun times. It shows in the cards just a bit. You both make fabulous cards all the time.