Make it Monday #210 - Using Vellum to Soften Patterns

Hello friends.  This weeks challenge on Make it Monday is with Lizzie Jones, and she shows several different ways to use (and attach) vellum and soften up some of our busier background patterns. I had a lot of fun using my new (to me) Apple Prints stamp set to create my background, and then the Enclosed: Apple Die with vellum to soften up some of my background.  Take a look:

 
For my background I colored directly to the stamp with markers so that I could have the sentiment and apples be both red and green.  For the apple die cut, I snipped out the "thanks" that comes attached to this die, and added the "hugs" from Big Hugs stamp and die set.  A little hard to see, but before I glued down my vellum apple layer, I added a few flat red sequins and glued the apple down while pushing the sides toward the center a bit to create a bit of space between the vellum and my background so that it would work a bit like a shaker card.  (Hope that makes sense!)  I didn't glue the leaf down to the background so that it curls up a bit, and then added a small piece of bakers twine around the stem.  It's kind of a busy card, but I think it will be perfect to send my youngest daughter before she starts exams next week! :0)

 You can check out Lizzie's video and all the other cards over on Nichole's blog right here.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Merry Monday #156

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks challenge over at Merry Monday.  Pinecones, greens, and the word "Believe" are what we are being asked to include on our card, and my thoughts went right to SU!'s Ornamental Pine stamp set.  Take a look at what I came up with:

Can you see how I incorporated the word "Believe"?  I die cut my "Believe" (Serendipity Stamps) 6 times and glued them all together, before inlaying them into the main image.  It's hard to photograph so that you can really see the depth this brings to the card, but IRL, it's an amazing look and fun technique!  The pine branch and pinecones were stamped in Old Olive and Soft Suede inks and then I sponged Tumbled Glass Distress Ink all over my die cut circle (Lil Inkers).  The snow was done by embossing with white and one of the images from "Gorgeous Grunge" (SU!).  I layered with a piece of Real Red cardstock and attached that to a white card base.

                                                           

If you'd like to play along with Wendy's challenge, or just check out all the beautiful inspiration, you can check it all out right here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Tag You're...It Challenge #20

Hello friends.  Haven't played with the Tag You're...It Challenge in a while, mostly because I make the tags and then don't use them.  However, I fell in love with the background colors of Jen Mitchell's tag and decided I'd gear the tag to add to my daughters birthday gift this coming weekend.  The colors in Jen's tag were so soft and Spring like, and I've been waiting for Spring for what seems like forever, so that was my starting point for this tag.  Take a look:

I started by inking my tag (Tag Sale #8 - PTI) with TH Distress Inks in Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, & Peacock Feathers.  Next I lightly embossed in white with a Heidi Swapp background stamp, and then embossed again with black one of the images from Serene Silhouettes - SU!.  I die cut the "you" from Hello You Thinlits - SU! twice in black and white and glued them together a little bit offset, and then pop dotted them to the tag.  A small black strip embossed with white for the "just for" and a few rainstones finished off the tag. 

Here's Jen's inspiration photo:

 

 

You can check out all the other great tags and play along right here.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0)

Papertrey Ink April 2015 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  The inspiration photo for this months Blog Hop at Papertrey Ink highlights a wedding (reception) using the new popular colors of navy blue and pink.  Waaaaaay back when I got married, my colors were dark gray and pink, so I can see the appeal of the navy and pink quite easily!  Here's what I came up with for this challenge:

I had had the Floral Flaps Die sitting on my desk for a while now to encourage me to use them....yes, I had bought them months and months ago, and never used them.  So anyway, with a wedding themed card in mind, I figured this was the time to figure out how to use these dies!  Definitely didn't use them as was intended and cut off the edge strip that is supposed to be folded over to the back of the card.  I then lined them up on a square panel of silver glitter cardstock like a quilt block.  After gluing in one triangle with all the small pink and green pieces, I finally remembered I had a tool my girlfriend Sue had given me for my birthday (pick.me.up by Silhouette) that worked wonderfully for picking up all those tiny pieces and setting them in the right spaces...the last 3 triangle went much quicker!! :0)  Everything was then layered onto a white card base, and then I added a vellum strip that I embossed with the sentiment from Quilled Elegance.  A little bit of silver cord finished off my card.

Can't wait to see what everyone else came up with from this inspiration photo, and you can too by clicking right here. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Make it Monday #209 - White on White Die Cuts w/ a Pop of Color

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make it Monday challenge, where Lexi Daly shows us some eye popping cards using white on white die cuts and then adding just a simple pop of color.  This was a fun challenge and surprisingly easy to do, once you decide what dies to use that is!  I ended up going for a juvenile birthday card using the dies from Sweet Baby and Wonderful Words: Birthday.  Take a look:

I used double layers of the die cut animals, except for the head of the lion where I used 3 layers, and then the word "birthday", where I used 5 layers.  I like the 3 layers on the lion, but I wish now that I had kept the word "birthday" to just 2 or 3 layers too...little bit of overkill there I guess.  My pop of color came with the balloon from Birthday Style which I inked up in Aqua Mist.  Clean, simple, and fun...I will definitely be using this technique again! :0)

You can check out all of Lexi's cards (she made a bunch as examples!), her video, and all the other great entries right here. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do! :0) 

Perfect Dahlia's...I Did It!

Hello friends.  The other day I mentioned that I've been on a bit of a vintage kick, so here's one more for you.  I used PTI's "Delightful Dahlia Additions" for this card, and I have to tell you that I've had a love/hate relationship with this stamp set!  I love it because I love Dahlia's, but I'd hated it because it's a 3 step stamp and I couldn't for the life of me line it up right!  Well, that's over!  Thanks to the MISTI I was able to line up the 3 stamps perfectly!  It really is an amazing tool, and while a little pricey ($50 - $60 depending on where you get it...I got mine at: http://mysweetpetunia.com/ ), it's definitely worth its weight in gold!  Take a look at these beautiful Dahlia's:

Aren't they pretty?!!  And here's a closer up view so you can see how beautifully aligned the 3 shades of pink are:

Before the MISTI, I had never been able to line these stamps up so that you could see so much definition...it's almost like they're popping right out at you! :0)  For the flowers I used Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, and Raspberry Fizz inks, and the leaves are Old Olive and Mossy Meadow.  The "En Francais" (SU!) background and "Flowering Flourishes" (SU!) background were both stamped in Baked Brown Sugar ink, and then the whole card was sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink (TH) to give it that vintage look. I also used a Spellbinders die for the top 2 layers.  A dyed to match seam binding ribbon and a few champagne colored pearls finished off the card. 

I know I should send this card out, but I almost feel like I should frame it just because it's the first time I ever used this stamp set successfully! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I love it when you do!! :0)

Lily of the Valley

Hello friends.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  It was absolutely beautiful here in my "neck of the woods" and guess what?  My Lily of the Valley are coming up!  I know they're a very invasive flower and for that reason some people don't like them, but I love them!  There's just something so delicate and antique or vintage about them, and I love bringing bouquets of them into the house!  And since I seem to be on a bit of "vintage" kick since last weeks Merry Monday challenge, I thought I would share a couple cards this week that I have antiqued up...including this "Year of Flowers: Lily of the Valley" (PTI) card:

I started with a ivory card base, and then added some scrap DSP, all of which I sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink (TH).  I stamped my Lily image with Old Olive ink onto a piece of ivory cs, and then used a Spellbinders circle die to cut it out.  I again distressed it with the Antique Linen ink and then used some "Smooch Pearlized Top Coat" to paint the flowers.  I added a seam binding ribbon, twine, button, and "Tiny Tag" (PTI) to finish the card along with a few champagne colored pearls.  And something I don't do enough of anymore, was to quick stamp a part of the flower image onto my envelope, so that it all coordinates. 

And I'll leave you with a picture of my mom, myself, my oldest daughter, and my granddaughter (who was more interested in her feet than posing for the picture!) from the other day when we visited the Meijer Gardens:

  
I love the fact that this is a 4 generation picture!! :0)

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