Double D Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic

Hello friends.  The gals over at the Double D Challenge are playing with Vintage/Shabby Chic this time around and I couldn't resist playing with them.

I don't usually make vintage/shabby chic cards, but with Valentine's Day just a few days away and some new products from The Greetery, it was definitely a match made in heaven!  Here's what I came up with...

 I started with kraft cs and The Greetery's Rosemal Reflections ef and Capsule Basics dies.  For the outside embossed area I used a white pigment ink pad to make the embossing stand out a bit more.  This part looks to me like I embossed on vellum, and while that was not my intention, I really like the look!  The inside area was ink blended with brown to make it stand out, and then I used matte gold cs to die cut the Capsule Filigree Border Die to separate the two embossed areas.  

At this point I added the Coquette Heart ef to red cs and then added the Filigree Heart Die with the same matte gold cs to match with the filigree capsule and tie it all together.  I also used the matte gold cs to die cut my bow from the Regency Bow No. 1 die and then finished with a Ruby Red Gem (PFS) adhered to the center of the bow.  I left a sentiment off the front as I think it's pretty obvious that it's a Valentine card. 

The DT has made some incredibly BEAUTIFUL vintage cards that you can check out HERE for inspiration.  This challenge is open till Sunday, Feb. 15th @ 8:00PM.

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

Freshly Made Sketches #722

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge where Kim has come up with a wonderful sketch...

Whenever I see a card with strips of different widths cardstock, I think of Laura Bassen and her "strippen it up" cards, and this sketch definitely made me think of that!  I came up with a very CAS card using Kim's sketch...

I started with an embossed background using SB's Heart Blooms ef and then added my 3 strips of pink, red, & pink cardstock.

Next I die cut the red heart from The Greetery's Coquette Hearts die and then embossed with the coordinating embossing folder and added the Filigree Heart die cut on top of the heart.  I also embossed the sentiment in white from The Greetery's Simple Valentine Mini Sentiments and then added a bow using The Greetery's Regency Bow No. 1 at the top of the heart.  A pink gem (PFS) was also added to the center of the bow.  VERY CAS and I love the way it turned out.

Check out all the beautiful cards from the talented DT and then play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, Feb. 8th @ 3:00PM.

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

Peace on Earth Challenge #105

Hello friends.  Trying to keep up with my Christmas stash this year and playing along with the gals over at the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.  

Of course I fell in love with the bottom left photo because of the SNOWMAN, and also the red heart balloon as it's almost Valentines Day.  I had a pkg of SU! dsp laying out for a while now, planning to use it for something that I can't remember now (am I the only one who does that??) and decided it would make a great background for my snowman.  Here's what I came up with...

I probably should have left the dsp uncovered so you could see it (SU!'s PEACEFUL PLACE) as it's really pretty snowy pine trees all in black & white, but I had the idea to make it a shaker card with a Gina Marie Birch Tree cover plate die laying over the dsp.  All the silver glitter flat dots from TK were used as shaker bits.

My snowman is a Cottage Cutz die called Winter Snowman and was decorated up in blacks and reds (scarf is a dsp scrap I think from SU!), before being adhered to the front of the birch trees.  The very merry sentiment on the wooden sign comes from PTI's Tiny Tags stamp set.  A little bit of glitter around the edges of the snowman finished up my card.

Lots of beautiful inspiration from the DT over at the challenge and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Thursday, Feb. 17th @ 8:00PM.

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

Color Hues #126 - Red & Pink

Hello friends.  Time for a new challenge here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Julie would like to see Red & Pink on our cards.

I received some new dies from my sweet friend Birgit for Christmas and figured this color pairing would be the perfect time to try them out!  Here's what I came up with...

Originally, I had planned on using black (neutral) for only the leaves, but after trying the layered arch die cuts (Spellbinders Essential Arches) in different combos of red & pink, none of them had the look I was going for, so a bit more black on this card than I had intended, but I like the way it came out!  l stamped my background first using an older SU! background stamp called Script and then arranged my die cut floral pieces (Spellbinders Gorgeous You Florals) over the script.

 My sentiment was cut from the same red (SU! Real Red) as the blooms using Memory Box's Happy Birthday Posh Script die.  I finished with a bit of WOS on the flower centers and also added a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K). Pretty simple but I love the card being shaped and the red & pink pairing is so pretty together with the dramatic black neutral.

As always, lots of beautiful inspiration from the rest of the DT and also our Special GD JoAnn, and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Saturday, Feb. 14th @ 9:00AM.

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

Freshly Made Sketches #721

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge where DT member Jen M. has a fun and easy sketch to follow...

I had just recently watched and fell in love with a video on rainbow floral card ideas from Therese Calvrid (watch HERE) and decided to try it out using this sketch.  Here's what I came up with...

I used a SSS stencil (Elegant Rose) and did like Therese showed in the video with using basically stripes of color with each stencil. This particular stencil is a set of 4, so each time I lined it up and started with turquoise, then purple, pink, orange and then yellow, ink blending from the top of the stencil to the bottom. You start very light with the 1st stencil and then get a shade darker with each successive stencil.  Really only 3 stencils (the 4th stencil is the leaves), so you basically need light, medium & dark inks.  

I used PFS's Diagonal Stitched Circle dies to cut out my rainbow rose and then inlaid to a white card base. For the strip in the sketch I used Altenew's Organic Linen embossing folder and also cut the half circle from the strip so I could continue with the inlaid look.  Before I inlaid the circle, I used Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spray on it for some shine.  My sentiment comes from Gina K's A LITTLE LOVE stamp set and then finished with a few Disco Ball Sequins that are also from Gina K.  This was actually my 2nd attempt at the rainbow bloom...for my first try I started with the turquoise and purple and then used orange and that made BROWN when blending...remember to use colors next to each other that blend to create another complimentary color.  I guess sometimes we have to learn the hard way! Ha!

The DT as usual has wonderful ideas for using the sketch, so check them out right HERE and play along.  This challenge is open till Monday, Feb. 2nd @ 3:00PM.

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

Double D Challenge - FRIENDS

Hello friends.  We've been buried under so much snow and COLD lately, but I have to admit that it makes for more time in the craft room as I'm not a fan of venturing out in this stuff!  Playing along with the gals over at the Double D Challenge where they are looking for cards with FRIENDS...

Isn't that just the sweetest mood board?!  I've been blessed with so many wonderful friends in my lifetime, including my hubby, and Penny Black has such a sweet image from their cute couple stamp set that I thought worked beautifully for this challenge.  Take a look...

My hair isn't that long anymore and hubby doesn't have ANY hair anymore, but otherwise it's us! I colored the image with my Copics and then used the coordinating die to cut it out.  For my card base, I die cut the one end with a heart border die from PB's stitched xoxo and then added a strip of red cs to the inside of the card...when the card is closed the hearts are red.  Next I masked the heart border and then stamped SSS's Friendship Text Background with light gray ink.

Next I added The Greetery's Heart Arrow Die to the card base and then stamped my sentiment from another PB stamp set called flood of hearts.  Hubby and I were attached with foam tape for a little dimension and then I finished with a few Disco Ball Sequins (Gina K) and some red & white baker's twine.  Hubby won't show much emotion when I give him this card, but he's saved every card I've ever made for him, so they must mean something to him! :0)

The DT over at the DD have some AWESOME cards that evoke friendship, so if you're in need of inspiration, you can check them all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, Feb. 1st @ 8:00PM. 

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

Freshly Made Sketches #720

Hello friends.  I have a very CAS Valentine card to share with you today following Jen T's sketch over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.

Instead of the two circles in the sketch, I substituted two hearts and came up with this...

I've been in LOVE with this red velvet paper (Amazon) lately, and it's so easy to use.  It really feels like velvet, and you just peel off the backing paper and attach it to a piece of cardstock (so it has a bit more sturdiness to it and also makes it easier to die cut).  The velvet paper definitely reminds me of vintage and old time Valentine cards.

I die cut the 2 hearts from The Greetery's Nordic Hearts dies and added the scalloped layer behind them using gold matte cs.  My background was embossed using SSS's Layered Vine ef and matted with more of the matte gold cs, and then both layers added to a white top folding base.

Hopefully in this really close up you can see the details impressed into the velvet paper hearts...IRL it's so much more noticeable!  I finished with a sentiment strip using SSS's Tiny Words sentiment stamp set and a few gold metallic pearls from PFS.  Pretty CAS and I'm happy with the way it turned out!

There's lots more inspiration using the sketch from the DT and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, Jan. 26th @ 3:00PM. 

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

Just Us Girls #807

Hello friends.  I have a bit of sunshine to share with you today in case you're living in an area like me that has seen nothing but snow and COLD lately.  I'm playing along with the gals over at the Just Us Girls Challenge where my friend Bobby is hosting STENCIL week...

My sweet friend Birgit gifted me a stencil/embossing folder combo for Christmas from Memory Box called Cheerful Floral and I came up with this...

I used the embossing folder first and then stenciled following the detailed instructions. (There are 5 stencils and each stencil has multiple areas to be stenciled with all the different ink colors.) I had to start over twice, but once I figured it out, it came together quite easily.

I embossed it a 2nd time carefully lining it up, and the embossing became even more pronounced...I loved it!!

 In this close up you can see the embossing even more clearly.  I added a layer of black behind my stenciled layer and then mounted both to a top folding white card base. I finished with a simple birthday sentiment (Gina K) and a few PFS Leaf Glimmer Drops.  I love all the definition the embossing gives and the bright sunny colors on this card...this will definitely brighten up someone's birthday!

The DT has some beautifully stenciled cards to inspire you, and you can find them right HERE.  This challenge is open till Wednesday, Jan. 28th @ 6:00PM.
  

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

Another Shameless CASE

Hello friends.  I have another CASE from the oh so talented Kelly Lunceford today with a Valentine card she made last week (HERE).  She used Christmas products from The Greetery with a Valentine's twist, and I had to keep going back again and again to look at it!  Mine is a tiny bit different, but not by much!  Take a look...

I started with the Shortbread Shapes Snowflake embossing folder and die, using red velvet liner (sold  on Amazon) paper.  It is so soft and embosses beautifully!  I also cut a white piece of cs on a fold to make my card base and glued the two together.  Next came the Capsule Filigree Borders die in matte gold...it looks so elegant against the embossed red velvet!

Next I used the inner portion of the Shortbread Shapes Snowflake die and embossing folder on Bubble Gum pink cs and lightly ran my brown blender brush over the raised edges to give a bit of vintage look to it.  From the same red velvet cs I cut the medium heart from the Nordic Hearts dies and again, the embossing on the die shows up so beautifully on the velvet cs.  I layered the heart with the coordinating scalloped border die using the same matte gold cs I used on the filigree border.  

 

  For the flowers I used the Rosemal Reflections Details dies and also the Bigger Holiday Botanicals: Wax Flower dies and cut them both from white cardstock and then ink blended them with pink, red and green.  I used quite a bit of foam tape on this card to add dimension, and then finished with a Regency Bow No. 1 die and the same matte gold cs and a banner sentiment using the Rosemal Reflections Sentiments stamp set embossed in gold on pink cs.  

A pretty fancy card for me, but I had so much fun making it and will be giving it to my mom for Valentine's Day.  I'm going to add this card to Darnell's NBUS #82 challenge since I used so many new (to me) products to make this card.

 

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

Color Hues Challenge #125

Hello friends.  Welcome back to another Color Hues Challenge where our sweet hostess Carol has chosen the color pairing of BLUE & WHITE...perfect colors for Winter cards, don't you agree?!!

These colors definitely make me think Winter, so that's the direction I took, but you do YOU and go in any direction you desire! As long as you only use the blue & white color combination that is (although neutrals are welcome).  I have 2 cards to share with you today because it was such a fun color combo to play with and I happen to LOVE paper snowflakes! (The real ones not so much anymore!!)  Here's my first card...

See how pretty paper snowflakes are?!!  I started with a background piece and ink blended a few blue inks (SU!) onto a piece of white cs and then decided to turn the background into a Bokeh background using a very old stencil with lots of different size circles on it and white pigment ink.  Next I used my SSS Snowflake Visions ef, cut it in half and saved the other half for another card sometime.  I glued it down to my white card base and added 2 thin strips of Misty Moonlight and silver sparkle cs to separate the 2 sides of the card.

For my main snowflake image I used PFS's Radiating Snowflake stencil on a piece of Misty Moonlight cs along with Gina K's Sparkle Gel, and when dry used the coordinating die to cut the snowflake out.  This is such an easy gel to use and the sparkle is incredible...even my photography skills can capture the sparkle!!  I added it to the card with foam tape behind it for dimension and then finished with a sentiment from PTI's Winter Hills stamp set.  And an iridescent gem for the center of the snowflake.  

And card #2...

 I had gotten this PTI LARGER THAN LIFE: SNOW die early last Fall and die cut a few in white and silver right away, and then it got set aside and never used...until now.  I decided to make this a 3 3/4" x 5 1/2" card so that it would fit the snow die perfectly without any extra space on the sides.  I used the same SSS Snowflake Visions ef for the top half of the card and then a piece of gray dsp (SU!) for the bottom half.  Yep, the dsp was gray...

 I used Boho Blue ink and a blender brush over the gray dsp and changed it into a blue dsp, and I love how it turned out.  The tiny white stars are actually silver and it just looks so pretty with the Boho Blue snowflakes.  

 I added my silver sparkle SNOW die cut against the white embossed section, and then added a piece of Misty Moonlight ribbon to separate the embossed piece and the dsp.  The "LET IT" part of the sentiment was embossed in white on a tiny strip of Misty Moonlight cs and then added with a piece of foam behind it to give it some dimension.  I finished with a few PFS Iridescent Gems and called it good!

The DT and our Special GD (and friend) Bobby have some beautiful cards using the BLUE & WHITE color pairing to inspire you, and you can check them all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Thursday, Jan. 29th @ 9:00AM and we'd love to see ALL of YOU in the gallery!!

WHITE

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

Valentine Houses - A CASE of Kelly Lunceford

Hello friends.  I don't know how many of you follow Kelly Lunceford, but she is one of the most creative gals I know, and yesterday she blew me away with these Valentine houses made from The Greetery's Market Place dies!  I HAD to CASE!  Here's the 1st one...

I started with kraft cs and used Gina K's Brick Wall stencil after die cutting the house using the Market Place No. 1 die...I love the brick look to these old time Market Place buildings! 

 

I decorated the house with Pale Peony cs (PTI) and Real Red cs (SU!) using the dies that come with the Market Place No. 1 die set and also The Market Place Holiday Festoons die set.  My sentiment came from The Greetery's Four Square Valentine Tags.  Had so much fun making this one, that I made a 2nd one...same design, just switched the colors around.  

This one started with the Pale Peony cs and then was trimmed out with the red & kraft, and a bit of gold on the sentiment (embossed) and the swag at the top.

I did use WOS on the hearts and red gems (PFS) on the sentiment banners and the bows on the swag. 

I do not have the die that creates the box that you can add to the house front to hold treats, but designed a simple box on my own that I could add to the house.  I cut a piece of cs to 9 1/2" x 5" and scored at 1" on the long side, and then scored on short side at 1/4", 3 1/4" past the 1/4", 1 1/2" past the 3 1/4", and then again at 1 1/2" past the last 3 1/4".  (I hope that made sense?!!)  You do need to snip the bottom 1" pieces to create tabs to fold for the bottom of the box...the top is obviously open.  I used tear n tape on the bottom and the side 1/4" tab.  Before assembling the box, I did use the die that cuts the windows and door so you could see into the box.  Before (or IF) I give these away, I will add some red crinkle cut paper filler before adding the chocolate.

  Sorry for such a loooong post, but here they are together!  These houses were addicting at Christmas and these Valentine ones are just as addicting!  I think next are Easter houses with Spring flowers and bright (or pastel) colors!  

Kelly added so much more to her houses and you can check them all out right HERE.  Make sure you leave yourself some time if you've never visited her blog before...she will definitely inspire you with all the beauty she creates!  Thanks so much Kelly!! 

 

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