Just Us Girls Challenge #829 - STENCIL WEEK

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at JUGS where the sweet hostess Lisa is bringing us STENCIL WEEK.

I'm still hooked on The Greetery's Pretty Picado stencils and embossing folder, and although I never really send out 4th of July cards, I really wanted to try the Pretty Picado stencils in red, white & blue.  I think they turned out pretty cool, so let's take a look...

 Here's the red version.   I used 2 shades of red and 2 shades of blue (SU! inks) to stencil with the 4 stencils and then used the embossing folder to add dimension.  Much more noticeable in real life!!

I used the Capsule Basics dies and embossing folder for the red card base, and the "happy" is from the Opposites Attract stamp and die set (all from The Greetery).  The #4 is from the Delightful Digits dies, also from The Greetery. I finished with a bit of WOS on the #4 and a few red gems from PFS.

  Here's the blue version with the colors just switched around.

Done almost exactly the same as the red version except that I used more of the Capsule Basic dies to add a bit more dimension to this one.

And here they both are together.  Do you have a favorite?  I like them both equally and am happy with the way they turned out!!

Lots of BEAUTIFUL stenciled cards from the JUGS DT that you can find right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Wednesday, July 1st @ 6:00PM.

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

Freshly Made Sketches #742

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge where DT member Amy has a sweet and easy sketch for us to follow...

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

This card features the stamp and die set from SU! called Spotlight on Nature that I've had for a couple years and never used.  Why??  I honestly don't know.  But I did have fun playing with it and am really happy with how this CAS card turned out.  I started by putting the main flower image in my MISTI and then stamped onto a top folding card base. Next I placed the die cut circle (part of the set) and sentiment strip over top of the stamped image, and then restamped. I hadn't moved the stamp in my MISTI from the 1st stamping, so it stamped right over in the same place and just added the image to the circle and part of the sentiment strip.

 I colored only the smallest bloom and leaves with my Copics and left the other two blooms and leaves black & white.  The sentiment is also from the stamp set and I love that font...so pretty!!  Next I stamped the butterfly from the set on vellum and fussy cut it out and then colored on the back of the vellum with my R83 Copic.  To finish I added a twine bow and a couple PFS pink gems.

Amy and the rest of the DT have some beautiful cards to share using the sketch and you can find them all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, June 29th @ 3:00PM. 

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

Freshly Made Sketches #741

Hello friends.  After seeing a couple cards by friends using SB's Sunflower Serenade, it gave me the inspiration to pull mine out and have a play.  Narelle over at Freshly Made Sketches had a perfect sketch to use the sunflower dies with, and here's what I came up with...

I used Magenta Madness (SU!), Orange Zest & Summer Sunrise (both PTI) cardstocks to cut out my sunflowers and placed them on small rectangles that I ink blended on using the matching inks.

My background looked too plain, so I added a panel that I embossed with Altenew's Organic Linen ef and a better press sentiment from SB's A Little Message Sentiments.  A little WOS was added to the flower centers to finish off the card.  

 Lots of wonderful inspiration from Narelle and the talented DT, and you can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Monday, June 22nd @ 3:00PM.

Also adding my card to the Just Us Girls Challenge where they have a beautiful and colorful mood board full of blooms...loved it!!

The JUGS challenge is open till Wednesday, June 24th @ 6:00PM.

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

Double D Challenge - TROPICAL

Hello friends.  I had just made a trio of birthday cards for 3 of the 5 grands who have Summer birthdays with new products from The Greetery that will fit the new challenge at the Double D Tropical Challenge...

I used the Hey Honeycomb Fish and Hey Honeycomb Crab dies and the Making Waves embossing folder and coordinating stencils to make these 3 cards.  A bit picture heavy for this post, so sit back and be transported to the beach...

 I started this one by masking off 3/4" on all 4 sides of my panel before I started stenciling the waves in pink & orange. Removed the masking and then embossed with the coordinating folder.

Next I die cut the fish and fins in pinks and oranges and then assembled the honeycomb with the extra pieces that I had embossed with the sentiments and instructions and ended up with this...

I added WOS to the fins and then trimmed the embossed panel down a bit and added a layer of pink before adhering to a white card base.  Don't those honeycomb balls take the card to the next level?!  

This cards background was done with blues and turquoise inks and left the background whole.  The actual ef is large enough to fit a 5 x 7 card, so even this one is cut down a bit.

This background was also sprayed with Sheer Shimmer Mist, so it really sparkles IRL!  I die cut the fish and fins from blues, turquoise & green and added her towards the bottom so you could see more of the big waves.

And here she is in all her puffed out honeycomb glory!  I did add a few clear gems (PFS) to look like water bubbles.

And last but not least...Mr. Crab!  I did this background all in shades of blue as I knew it would work well with the red.

In this photo you can see that I did a bit of ink blending on Mr. Crab and then also did a bit of splattering with white acrylic paint.  I love those eyes and think my 3 year old grandson will love him!!  (Can also see him ripping off the honeycomb ball, but we'll see...maybe he'll be a grownup 3 by the time his August birthday rolls around. Hahaha!!)

And last photo (I promise!!) with Mr. Crab ...a handsome dude if I do say so myself!  These were so much fun to make and I definitely think they hit the TROPICAL theme!

The DT has some awesome cards to inspire you to play along and you can find them all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, June 28th @ 8:00PM. 

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

Color Hues Challenge #135

Hello friends.  Time for another Color Hues Challenge and our wonderful hostess Carol would like to see us use the color pairing of YELLOW & BLACK. 

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

I know, I know...I used more gray than black, but I just really love the way this one turned out, and gray is a hue of black, so I'm calling it good!  I used SSS's Elegant Rose stencil with PFS's shades of yellow ink and gray for the leaves.  I cut off the bottom 3rd of the panel with The Greetery's Snowhill Dies and then attached with foam to a background that I stamped with SSS's Nature in Bloom background stamp.

I finished with a strip sentiment (white embossed on black) from Gina K's All At Once Greetings and a few clear gems from PFS.  

The DT and our Special GD's Barbara & Diana all have wonderful inspiration for you that you can find right HERE, so check it all out and then play along with us...we'd love to see YOU in our gallery!!  This challenge is open till Monday, June 29th @ 9:00AM.

 

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

Freshly Made Sketches #740

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge hosted by my sweet friend Michele, and she has a fun scene sketch for us to follow!

CAS and easy to follow, right?!  My card isn't exactly CAS, but I don't think Michele will mind as it really does follow the sketch. Well kinda. Take a look and see what you think...

I made this card quite a while ago but never had a chance to post it.  When I saw Michele's sketch, and Donna's card, I knew this cutie patootie Rooster from PTI would be a perfect fit!!  The background is stenciled using an older set of stencils from The Greetery called Stencil Scapes: Autumn. I used brighter colors to make the background more Summery than Autumn like, and decided it was a bit too bright and busy looking to add the rooster to, so I added a piece of vellum over the background to mute it a bit before adding my rooster.

The Rooster bundle (dies & stencils) comes with 3 stencils, but I used a Gina K stencil called Ornamental Fans and Real Red & Cherry Cobbler inks (SU!) and then used foam tape on the back to give him some dimensions over the vellum background.  The sentiment is from Gina K's So Many Sentiments and fit perfectly in the white space before I added the vellum.  I loved the way this card came out and hope the DT doesn't think I've strayed too far from the sketch!

Check out the marvelous cards from Michele and the rest of the DT right HERE and then play along!  This challenge is open till Monday, June 15th @ 3:00PM.
 

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

Freshly Made Sketches #739

Hello friends.  Been awhile since I've played with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge, but trying to get back into the swing of things and Karren had a fun and easy sketch to follow...

I pulled out The Greetery's BotaniCuts Geranium dies and the Pretty Pot die and came up with a trio of terra cotta pots instead of circles.  Take a look...

I started with a piece of Bitty Big DSP (PTI) to ground my pots on and then assembled the pots, geraniums, and leaves on top of the DSP.  I did a bit of ink blending to the pots, blooms and leaves for a bit of definition.  I don't have much of a green thumb, but I do manage to keep Hostas and Geraniums alive and love having pots of different colored Geraniums on the front porch each Summer! :0)

  My sentiment came from Michele on one of our playdates, but I can't remember who makes it.  I finished with a bit of glitter in the flower centers, a few clear gems and a couple little ladybugs (WF) for a bit of whimsy.

Mom is finally settling in at the retirement home and has even made a few new friends, which makes me so happy!!  Now if we could just get everything lined up right for the sale of her house...too much to go into here, but it's always something, isn't it?!!

Check out all the fabulous cards from the DT over at Freshly Made Sketches and play along if you have time today...challenge ends at 3:00PM.

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

 

CAS Christmas June 2026 - BIRD

Hello friends.  I'm so excited to once again be playing along with Loll's CAS Christmas Challenge that she's brought back to life, and even though life has been crazy busy lately, I couldn't let the opportunity to play along with this first challenge slip by!  And it's a fun one for me...BIRDS!!

 I have quite a collection of bird stamps, but one of my all time favorites has to be from PB's Winter Wonderland set...it's an oldie but definitely a goodie!!  There's 3 birdies in this set (and a few other critters!), and I couldn't resist using all 3 birds!  Here's what I came up with...

  Aren't they just the cutest chubby little birdies all decked out in their Christmas hats?!!  I stamped them in Versafine Black Onyx ink and then heat set with clear embossing powder before coloring them with my Copics.  After fussy cutting them out I added them to a stamped branch from The Greetery's Winter Sketches stamp set (using Soft Suede ink - SU!), using foam tape behind the middle birdie for a bit of dimension!

 I did add TH Rock Candy Glitter to the brims and pompoms of the birdies hats and then finished with an older W Plus 9 sentiment (Hand Lettered Holiday stamp & die set) that I die cut from a piece of Real Red cs (SU!).  I did add a bit of pink chalk to the birdies cheeks as it's pretty COLD here in Michigan at Christmas time!

Lots of BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT and their Special GD Bobby to get you started, so play along and get started on those Christmas cards!  And a BIG thank you to Loll for bringing this challenge back...I couldn't be happier to be playing along!!  This is a month long challenge that's open till June 30th and you can check it all out right HERE.

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

Color Hues Challenge #134 - PINK & TURQUOISE

Hello friends.  Can you believe it's June 1st already!  This year is flying by for me!  We have a new challenge here at Color Hues, and our sweet hostess Bonnie would like to see PINK & TURQUOISE on our cards!

Such a pretty and FUN Summer color pairing, don't you think?!  I had so much fun I couldn't stop at just one card!  Actually I've been trying to use some sets that haven't seen ink in awhile, and picked out 3 PFS sets that I thought I'd try and then show you the one I liked best.  Well, I think they all turned out pretty great in this lovely color pairing, so I just decided to show you all 3!  Here's the first one...

This 1st card used one of my all time favorite PFS sets (Daisy Wreath) and it was foiled with turquoise foil and then stenciled with residual ink from my pink & turquoise brushes.  I die cut it with the coordinating die and then attached (with foam) it to my background that was done with PFS's Stitches coverplate die.  

You can see the turquoise foil a bit better in this close up.  I finished with a small butterfly (SSS), a few PFS gems & a strip sentiment that I embossed using Gina K's All At Once Greetings.

 
My 2nd card uses PFS's Grow Wild stencil and once again I just used residual ink from my blending brushes, using more pressure for each graduated color.  It was pretty as is, but I felt like the background was too bare, so I used SSS's Feather Spiral ef over the stenciled bouquet.

 I matted my stenciled layer to a piece of Turquoise Sea cs (Gina K) and then adhered both to a white card base. I added my sentiment from PB's blooming barrel stamp set and then finished with 2 pink gems.

 My last card uses PFS's Reason to Smile Wreath and die and mounted it with foam tape over a Dotted Postage Square die (PFS) that I ink blended with my turquoise blender brush.  The stencil set also comes with many different sentiment options and I chose the "HELLO".

I did add glitter to the sentiment and also a bit to the edges of the butterfly (same as card #1 from SSS's Flourish Butterfly Trio. I attached both layers to a 5 x 5 inch square card base and added a few Cream Puff Embellishments from SSS.  I had so much fun using these 3 older (and almost forgotten!!) sets and it was a good reminder to not always be looking for new, but to use what I do already have!

The DT and our Special GD Kim Miller have some beautiful cards to inspire you with, so check them all out right HERE and then play along with us!  We can't wait to see YOU in the gallery!!  This challenge is open till Sunday, June 14th @ 9:00AM.

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