CAS Christmas April 2020 - Christmas Song

Hello friends.  I am thrilled to announce that I am now a part of the CAS Christmas DT, and if you've followed me for any length of time, you know I LOVE to make Christmas cards...all year long!  So this is a perfect fit for me and I couldn't be happier!  This month the challenge is to make your cards using the theme CHRISTMAS SONG.

Not only do I LOVE making Christmas cards, but I also LOVE Christmas Carols!!  (well actually I LOVE everything about Christmas!!)  My favorite carol is O Holy Night, but I went in a different direction and used my favorite tree die from Tim Holtz called Woodlands...

I found an ugly piece of Alcohol Ink paper in my scrap bin because suddenly it didn't look so ugly when I thought about how it might look cut out as a Christmas tree...and I was right!  I think it looks just perfect with all the green shades and touches of blue (think snow).  I made a frame using the 2 smaller dies from The Greetery's Nordic Frame Dies and then marked off the edges on my background layer with the frame so I would know where to stamp the O'Tannenbaum from PTI's O'Tannenbaum set.  I used my MISTI to help me stamp the song title straight in a light gray ink, and then added the Nordic frame with foam tape on the back for some dimension.

I added my background layer and frame to a white card base and then lastly added my Christmas tree.  I thought about stamping the song title again in a darker ink to add to the card, but then thought that I really liked how it looked with it just being there subtly in the background.  So there you have my CAS Christmas card featuring the SONG O'Tannenbaum.

What's your favorite CHRISTMAS SONG and how will YOU make it into a Christmas card?  We can't wait to see YOU in the gallery!  Make sure you start by checking out all the FABULOUS inspiration from the rest of the DT and then play along with us right HERE.  Remember to keep your cards CAS and have fun showing us your favorite CHRISTMAS SONG!!

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

CAS Watercolour April 2020 - Spring Flowers

Hello friends.  This months challenge at CAS Watercolour is being hosted by Susan and she would like to see SPRING FLOWERS.  So not just any flowers like roses, daisies, etc., but SPRING flowers!  Think Snowdrops, Daffodils, Tulips, Crocuses, Dogwood, Cherry Blossoms, etc.

One of my favorite Spring flowers are Lilacs.  Not only their wonderful smell, but I just love the beautiful purple colors and the tiny, petite little blossoms all clustered together with the green foliage!  Here's what I came up with using an Impression Obsession stamp (H8731):

I started by stamping the image in black Versafine and then heat embossing in clear.  I used Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape inks and my Aqua Painter to water color the flowers and then used a Polychromos pencil to add a little detail to the centers of the flowers.  The leaves were water colored with Old Olive ink.

My sentiment is a 2 part die from Pinkfresh Studios called Sentiment suite: hello and I used vellum for the back piece and black for the top piece.  A few clear sequins finished off my CAS Spring card.

Make sure you check out all the beautiful inspiration from the rest of the DT and our Special GD right HERE, and then play along with us!  We'd love to see the gallery flooded with SPRING FLOWERS!  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Inspired By #117 - Yellow Makes Me Happy

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Inspired By challenge where it's all about YELLOW!

I love yellow and it always makes me think of Daffodils.  I have some little peeks of green leaves poking up through the ground in my front yard, so hopefully I'll have some bright yellow Daffodils to enjoy soon!

For my background I tried a new (to me) technique called Bubble Painting that I learned about from Karen, one of my teammates at CAS Watercolour.  I'm not sure mine really turned out the way it is supposed to look, but I still really like it!  I used Daffodil Delight re-inker for this technique and taped off all four of my edges before putting the cardstock into the colored bubbles.   Here's a closer up:

I stamped and masked the Daffodils from SSS's Friendship Blooms in black ink, and then added my sentiment on vellum so you could still see the stems and leaves underneath.  A very simple card, but I really like how it turned out!

Only a couple days left to play with this challenge, but I think we could all use some sunshine in our lives right now, so this is a good one to play along with!  You can check it all out right HERE to play along.

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

My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge #482

Hello friends.  Like many of you I've had extra time to play in my craft room lately, so I've been playing along with the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge and using some of my stamps that haven't seen ink in quite awhile!

Here's what I came up with using this sketch and the Tweet Friends stamp set...

These little birdies with the flowers just melt my heart, and if one of them is cute, then 3 of them are even cuter together!!  I colored them with my Copics and then did some layering with The Greetery's Crimped Frame Dies.

The sentiment is also from the Tweet Friends stamp set, and I finished off my card with a few enamel hearts and some clear sequins.  Figured this card would be another great one to send off to someone who needs a smile and a little "happy mail"!

You can play along with this challenge right HERE and maybe even win a $50 gift certificate to the My Favorite Things store.

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

Penny Black's Free Spirit

Hello friends.  Hope you are all hanging in there and not going too stir crazy!  I've been doing a lot of stamping, knitting, reading, and most of all praying!  The unknown is always scary, and I have to remind myself that I'm not in charge, and never have been!  It's all in my Saviors hands and I have to trust that He will get my family and I through this and to trust in Him implicitly!  Faith over fear!  Faith over fear!  Faith over fear!!!  OK, I think I've got it!!  :0)

A while back I had ordered some new Penny Black stamps and had used all of them except for one called Free Spirit.  It's funny that it was her wild hair that drew me in in the first place, and then it was that wild hair that kept me from inking her up right away because I was intimidated by it!  Once I started coloring her though (Copics), my inner FREE SPIRIT took over and I think her hair turned out just fine!  Take a look...

Isn't she a cutie with that wild mane of hair?!!  She actually reminds me of all 3 of our daughters who took dance classes while growing up and they all 3 had very fine hair that never did what you wanted it to do!  And now my granddaughter Addy who is also taking dance, has the same kind of wild hair!!  Haha...runs in the family!!  But anyway, this little fairy dancer was stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink and then clear embossed before I used my Copics to color her. 

I also used WOS on her wings, so in real life they really sparkle!  I added a crimped frame (The Greetery - Crimped Frame Die) using some very old DSP from LOTV called Promises.  I used foam tape behind the crimped frame to add some dimension.  The sentiment that comes with this stamp says "Create your own Sunshine" and I used it on the inside of the card as it was just too perfect not to use, but there wasn't any room on the outside of the card for it!  I think this will make a perfect encouragement card for someone during these trying times.

Hope you are all staying safe and practicing your social distancing...it's important to remember that this isn't just about us but everyone around us too.  Take care my friends and know I'm thinking of and praying for us all!

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

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #481

Hello friends.  Playing along with this week's MFTWSC481...

Had fun using this sketch and the Bundles of Love stamp and die, and came up with this CAS card:

I love coloring up these sweet little Pure Innocence gals with my Copics, and with her basket of colorful flowers, it seemed the perfect choice to use for a Spring encouragement card!  My diagonal strip of pink polka dots comes from the Lucky Prints 6 x 6 Paper Pack and my tag that I used the Cloud stencil on is from a retired Tags Die-namics set.

I finished off this card by stamping a few of the bee's and the sentiment that come with the stamp set.  Easy, quick, fun, and CAS and hopefully will bring a smile to someone's face during these unsettling days we are living through right now.

Check out the inspiration and play along right HERE for a chance at a $50 gift certificate.  :0)

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

Double D Challenge - Welcome Spring

Hello friends and Happy 1st Day of Spring!  Gray and cloudy skies here and COLD too, but it's bright and sunny here in my craft room and I'm more than ready to celebrate Spring!  Take a look at the lovely mood board the gals at The Double D Challenge have posted to inspire us to create SPRING...

I've been working on a lot of encouragement cards this week to use my gift that God gave me to bring some sunshine in what seems like pretty dark days lately.  I was totally inspired by the flowers and all the pink in the photos, so guess what color my card is??  Yep, it's pink!!

I started with a piece of Lovely Lady cardstock (PTI) and stamped Catherine Pooler's Cottage Garden background stamp with It's A Girl ink (CP also).  Next I stamped the flower image from Pinkfresh Studio's Just Because set and then water colored it with pinks, yellows, & greens.

After die cutting the image, I adhered it to my panel along with a few sprigs from The Greetery's Inside & Out Berry Branch die and a sentiment from The Greetery's Signed & Sealed stamp and die set.  A few clear sequins from PPP finished off my Spring looking card.

There's still lots of time to play, so check out all the BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT over at The Double D Challenge and then play along!  It's a perfect time to welcome Spring and send some "happy mail" and encouraging words to those around us who are struggling right now.  Stay safe and choose FAITH over fear my friends.

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