Freshly Made Sketches #733

Hello friends.  Jen T has a new sketch for us over at Freshly Made Sketches challenge...

This fun sketch gave me an opportunity to use a cut & foil die set from Trinity Stamps that I've had for a few years now and never used.  Here's what I came up with using the Beautiful Betta foiling die...

I used Speckled Prism foil (SB) on the Betta and then used blue and green ink (residual ink from my blending brushes) to ink blend over him.  I added a crimped circle die cut in Spring Rain (PTI) behind the betta per the sketch and then added a small rectangle of Spring Rain DSP behind a portion of the circle & Betta.  The white background was embossed with SB's Splish Splash ef.

I finished with a strip sentiment from Gina K's All At Once Greetings and a few clear iridescent gems (PFS) over the bubble circles on the Betta.  

Make sure you check out all the inspiration from the DT right HERE, and then play along.  This challenge is open till Monday, April 27th @ 3:00PM.

I will also be adding this card to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #85 since this little Betta has been hibernating for almost 3 years!!

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

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #106

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Peace on Earth Christmas challenge where they're looking for deer and basically "Anything Goes Christmas".

I have LOTS of deer stamps and dies, but for today I chose to use a sweet NBUS moose die from Cottage Cutz.  They have BIG sales a couple times a year and I can't resist filling up my cart when they do...the trouble starts then as my Mount NBUS pile grows and it takes some time to get to them all!  But anyway, Moose-mas Moose is making his debut today, and here he is all ready to play with friends out in the snow.

  Isn't he a cutie?!!  Because Cottage Cutz dies come as one main die, there is a bit of cutting to do, but I just cut twice...once from kraft cs and once from white and then Copic colored the white pieces. I did a bit of ink blending on the actual moose (Walnut Stain - DI) before assembling him with his hat, scarf, eyes, hair, hoofs & birdie friend.  My background was done with Boho Blue (SU!) and embossed with SSS's Snowflake Visions and then rubbed white pigment ink over the raised snowflakes.

 I did die cut a hole in the background before I embossed it, and then placed a die cut circle from PB's stitched square & circles behind the embossed layer.  Added the moose at this point and then added 2 snowflakes (one cut in half) and a Tiny Tag (PTI) for my sentiment hung from one of his antlers.  

Because this moose is making his debut today, I'm going to add him to Darnell's NBUS challenge.

The DT over at the Peace On Earth challenge have some fabulous inspiration for you, so check it out and play along...you'll be glad you did when December rolls around!  This challenge is open till Thursday, Feb. 26th @ 8:00PM.

 

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!

Market Place Christmas

Hello friends.  I've been a little obsessed this past week (I know...hard to believe me being obsessed about anything, right?!! Haha!!) about The Greetery's Market Place Dies!  It took me awhile to make the 1st one (lots and lots of die cutting!!), but I was totally head over heels in LOVE with how it turned out that I just HAD to make a 2nd one...and then a 3rd, and a 4th, and even a 5th!  Am I done? I honestly don't know! These little European Market Place buildings all decked out for the holidays are so addicting, and once you get going it's kinda hard to stop!!

 Don't they look so pretty all standing next to each other?!  Makes me wish I had a fireplace mantle to line them up on to decorate for the holidays!!  I have lots of close ups so you can see all the details better, so sit back and enjoy!

They were basically all made the same with the Market Place Die No. 1 (There's also a No. 2 and a No. 3 set of dies) and I just switched up the colors on all of them. I used the Market Place Holiday Sentiments stamp set for the names on each of the shoppes (aren't they fun?!) and used the Market Place Holiday Festoons die set for all the wreaths, bows & garlands.

On the North Pole Ice Cream Shoppe and the Kringle's on Main Shoppe I used a brick wall stencil to make it look like the shoppes were made from brick before adding all the window and door frames and decorations...I'm loving that look!  

  The ice cream shoppe was the first one I made and it took the longest as I learned what to do (and not do!) as I went along.  I love the door on this one using more of that sandable cs I've been hooked on lately...it really gives the door an old time feeling. I did place a very light yellow cs behind all the windows and doors to give that soft warm glow from inside the shoppes.

 Most of my shoppe names were embossed in white and adhered to the buildings with foam tape for dimension.

I also did lots of splattering with white acrylic paint to make the buildings look like it was snowing, and yes, I have LOTS of white splatter everywhere in my craft room, but it was worth it!!

I made each building into a shaped card by folding a piece of cs and then laying the open large frame die a little bit off the folded edge to create a card base that would stand up, and then glued the decorated shoppe front to the card base.  Just in case I decide to mail a couple of these out, the recipient can stand the card up. That's still up in the air though as I just don't know if I'll be able to give any of them up!  Of course I could make a few more...

And here they all are again so you can see them all at once!  I really think I might NEED the No. 2 and No. 3 dies now so that the buildings aren't all the same!  Yes I am addicted, but who cares?!!!!!  There are certainly a lot worse things to be addicted to, right?! 

I'm going to send these fun little shoppes over to the NBUS #79 challenge as these dies and stamps have never been used before last week, and also over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge #103 where they are doing a "Snow Alert" challenge, and with all the snow splattering I did, I definitely think these little shoppes will fit right in!

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

Ala Michele & Bobby

Hello friends.  A couple weeks ago when I and Bobby went to Michele's house for a get together, both Michele and Bobby had dies that I cut out and brought home to make into cards. Today I have 2 of the cards I made to share with you.

This first card uses a die set from Michele and Concord & 9th called Cherry Nice, and it turned into a perfect birthday card for one of my granddaughters who is turning 5 next week (I swear she was just a baby last week!!).  Take a look...

I thought this turned out so cute, and I think my granddaughter will think so too!  This is a 4 bar size card (3 1/2 x 5 1/2) and the bottom of the card is dsp from PTI and the top white section was embossed with those sweet little cherries from Concord & 9th.  The cherries were cut from red cs and then ink blended around the edges to give them some definition.  The faces are actually from a bumble bee set from SU! and helps to make this card a little sweeter for Maddy!  The leaves and flowers were also a part of the set as well as the "sweet" die.

The BIRTHDAY WISHES sentiment was embossed in white on red cs and the red ric rac is from PTI's Skinny Ric Rac die.  Thanks for sharing Michele and helping me get this birthday card made actually ahead of time!

My 2nd card uses Honey Bees Winter Birds dies from Bobby after seeing her gorgeous card HERE.  I was so in love with the cardinal AND the color of the blue background that Bobby used that I had to try and replicate her card with what I had at home.  I ended up using poppystamps Bird House Pop Up Easel Dies and Boho Blue cs (SU!) to make a resting place for the cardinal.  I did a bunch of ink blending on the cardinal before putting the layers together, and then attached him to the house.

I was hoping my close up would show the glitter on the roof top and the snow on the bird house opening, but no such luck...grrrrrr!  My background was embossed with an older SU! embossing folder called Winter Snow and is still one of my most used ef's for Winter and Christmas cards.

I'm going to add both these cards to the Can You Handle the Pressure challenge since I used embossing folders for the backgrounds on both cards, and also the NBUS challenge since I have never used either of the dies before.

Thank you sooooo much Michele & Bobby for sharing your supplies and helping me with a birthday card and one more for the Christmas stash!  Crafting friends are absolutely the best!! 

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

PEACE*LOVE*JOY

Hello friends.  Even though it's July and hot, hot, HOT, I am still plugging away at Christmas cards this month!  A lot of the online stores are having great sales on Christmas in July stamps, and I recently picked up a few things at great prices from Papertrey Ink, including the Vase Collection #12 stamp and die set.  I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and colors from the Peace On Earth Challenge to come up with this...

It was that milk can vase that pulled me in for this set, and also the simplicity of the greenery and berries!  And I love, LOVE the detail on that bow!  Here's a closer up:

My berries are looking a little smeared, and that's because they are!  I thought adding a little WOS to make the berries sparkle would be a great idea, until I remembered that WOS and RED don't mix...grrrrr!!  And of course they were already glued down, so it is what it is!  I die cut a 5 1/4" by 4" panel with an oval die and then used SSS's Holiday Greenery EF and layered it to a panel of Boho Blue cs and a white card base.  I did use foam tape behind the embossed layer and then replaced the oval piece and built my arrangement inside the oval.  I finished with a sentiment embossed in white on a strip of the Boho Blue cs using PTI's Christmas Blessings stamp set and also added a few red gems from PFS.  Other than the smeared red berries, I'm really pleased with the way this card came out!

You can find all the details to play along with the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge here, and this challenge is open till Monday, July 21st @ 3:00PM.

I'm also adding this card to the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge where I was inspired by the red, white, & blue color scheme on their mood board.  This challenge is only open till tonight (July 17th @ 8:00PM), so if you want to play along, you need to be quick!!

 And one last challenge to add to is NBUS #76 since this is a brand new stamp set to me, although I believe the set has been out for quite awhile!

 

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

DD Beach Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with the DD Challenge today and they are looking for "Going to the beach" cards.  While I think my going to the beach days are long over, the weather here in my neck of the woods has been in the mid 90's with heat indexes over 100, so the beach is definitely the place to be!!

The timing of this challenge was perfect as I had just received some new goodies from Waffleflower that I think fit this challenge perfectly!  I actually have 2 cards to share with you, and the first one uses a stencil that I've had for over 2 years (I think) and never used, and also a small crab from WF's Happy Crabs Dies.  Take a look...

I stenciled the lined circle first (Newton's Nook Retro Sun & Palms stencil) with residual ink left on my pink, orange, & turquoise blending brushes, and then used the 2nd stencil to ink up the palm trees.  

 Isn't that little crab adorable?!  Well, I mean as adorable as a crab can be, right??!  I die cut the pieces from white cs and then ink blended with the same brushes I used for the lined circle.  You can just see the hint of blue underneath the top layer...I was going for a bit of a blue crab vibe here.  He was pop dotted for some dimension and to make him stand out a bit.  The sentiment is one of my all time favorites from Catherine Pooler called Vitamin Sea.  I finished with a few gems from PFS.

My 2nd card uses a few more new WF goodies, including the Coastline Die n Stencil, and the Inquisitive Crab Die.  I stenciled my background first with A Colorful Life Cloud Edger and then added the stenciled and die cut waves.  The ginormous crab was die cut from white cs and once again blended with coral inks from PFS.  I love, LOVE the size of this guy!!

I also added a strip of kraft cs at the bottom for my sandy beach and then finished with another Catherine Pooler sentiment from her Hook, Line and Sinker stamp set.  I also added a few gems from PFS.  

The DT has so many wonderful beach scene cards to inspire you to play along and you can find them all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, June 29th @ 8:00PM.

I'm also adding this card to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #75 since the Retro Sun & Palm stencil is a little older and never been used...cough, cough!!

   

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

Peace On Earth #78

Hello friends.  Just a quick post with a couple Christmas cards that I think will work with the new Peace On Earth Challenge.  Here's the mood board...

I took my inspiration from the snowman in the top right corner and used a snowman stamp and die I received as a gift from my cousin last year (or maybe the year before??) and had never even opened the package!  Too cute not to use though and I paired it up with TH's BIG TIDINGS dies and came up with these 2 cards.

I started with a Boho Blue background (SU!) that I used a SSS Icy Snowflakes ef on and then lightly ran my white pigment ink over the raised snowflakes to make them stand out a bit more.  I die cut the NOEL (TH - BIG TIDINGS) from silver mirror cs and then added my snowman (Marianne Designs - Snowman) that I stamped in black and heat set with clear embossing powder before coloring with my Copics.  The little birdie is also from the snowman set and the tree is part of the BIG TIDINGS die set.  I also added a silver star from glitter cs to the tree and some clear sparkly stickles to look like ornaments also.

I also added glitter to the snowman's hat brim and the pom poms on his scarf.  Pretty simple card but I love the way it turned out!!

My 2nd card was done the same way except that I switched the colors to reds and used the word JOY from the BIG TIDINGS.  

I did do a bit of ink blending with a darker red on the bottom half of the JOY die cut, and the background was embossed using SSS's Filigree Snowflakes ef.  These both came together rather quickly and I'm thrilled that I have 2 cards done for next years Christmas stash!  

You can check out all the awesome inspiration from the DT over at the Peace On Earth Challenge right HERE and then play along if you still need to make some Christmas cards or even work on next years stash!  This challenge is open till Thursday, Jan. 2nd @ 8:00PM.

I'm also going to enter these cards in over at Darnell's NBUS Challenge since the snowman set has sat in my craft room for over a year, or maybe even 2 years.  Geesh...nothing like a little procrastination, right??!!  

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