Merry Monday #294 - BARN

Hey Merry Monday fans...Leanne is our hostess this week and she would like to see a BARN on your Christmas cards.

I didn't have a single BARN stamp or die, but my dear friend Birgit helped me out with a die cut one and I came up with this card:

The BARN is an Elizabeth Craft Die (retired) and after getting all the trim glued on and the doors put on right side up (I had them upside down...they are meant to be sliding doors, but until Birgit showed me a picture, I didn't get how they went together.  Once I saw the picture it all clicked into place!!)it looked pretty good.

I lightly sponged the top 2/3rds of my background with Salty Ocean Distress Ink to look like a cold December day, and then started adding trees that I die cut from a couple different AliExpress sets.  I did ink up the edges of the trees and also added some Shabby White Embossing Enamel to make them look like snow had fallen on them.

My last steps were to add the black silhouette of the horse and sleigh from PTI's In The Meadow die set and a small wreath from a Bo Bunny Holly Jolly stamp set.

The DT has some absolutely GORGEOUS cards to inspire you this week, so check them out and then come play along with us.  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with this week using a BARN on your Christmas cards.  Check it all out right HERE.

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

Color Throwdown #496 - Black, White, & Aqua

Hello friends.  Another FUN challenge at the Color Throwdown where the colors this week are Black, White, & Aqua.

Now that photo definitely says SUMMER, doesn't it?!!  I had a new stamp from Impression Obsession that makes me think SUMMER too, so that was my starting point for my card.

Isn't that just the sweetest image of the little boy and girl on the bicycle together?!!  

I kept my card pretty CAS and after stamping the image in Versafine Black Onyx ink, I added a strip of black and white stripes (PTI) and a die cut border in Aqua from PTI's Super Star.  

You can see better in this close up that I added Elizabeth Crafts Super Fine Glitter on the insides of the stars to add a little bling!  I also added a few of the tiny stars from the centers of the border randomly around the card and sentiment which is from PTI's Penned Elegance.

Check out all the amazing Black, White, & Aqua cards from the DT to get inspired and then play along right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #324 - Lot's O Dots

Hello friends.  Michelle Leone is up for this week's Make It Monday challenge, and she is showing us how to add LOTS O' DOTS to add dimension to our cards this week.

I have 2 cards to share with you today...using Nuvo Drops for dimensional dots is very addicting!!

LOTS of DOTS going on in this card!  Between the Amethyst Allure Bitty Big DSP, the Shape Shifters: Circle 2 die, the berries from Beautiful Berries: Winter set, and the Nuvo Drops, there are all kinds of dots on my card!

I had a lot of fun blending my colors too for the chubby little birds from the Brushed Birds set.  I know they're not too realistic looking, but they sure are cute!!

Here you can see the blending a bit better and my sentiment is from the Banner Style set.

My 2nd card was inspired by last week's Throwback Thursday (or maybe it was the Thursday before that...) and Lexi Daly's cards using the In Bloom stamp set.  You can check out Lexi's cards HERE.  I loved Lexi's CAS approach to using this stamp set and had to try one for myself!

I used the Quatrefoil Cover Plate die to make a stencil and then lightly stenciled my background using Smokey Shadow ink.  I embossed my flowers and leaves in black, and then water colored them with Aqua Mist reinker and Smokey Shadow ink for the leaves.  After they dried, I fussy cut them out and adhered them to my stenciled background.

I added my sentiment from the In Bloom set, and then added quite a few Silver Lining Nuvo Drops all around the card.

Check out Micelle's BEAUTIFUL cards and her video right HERE.

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

Merry Monday #293 - ANGELS

Hey Merry Monday fans...Linda is our hostess this week and she would like to see ANGELS on your Christmas cards.

I don't have a lot of angel stamps and dies, but I did find one stamp that I don't think I've ever used from STAMPENDOUS called Manger.

I used my Copics and WOS to color it up and then die cut the scalloped circle from Gina Marie Designs around the image.  I love how the smallest angel is leaning over to give baby Jesus a kiss...so sweet!

Hard to see, but I WOS'd the angel wings twice for an extra shimmer, so it really shines IRL!  My sentiment is from CP's Winterhaven Collection.

We can't wait to see what you come up with this week using an ANGEL on your card.  The DT has some amazings cards to inspire you this week, so check them out and then play along with us right HERE.

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

CAS Watercolour June 2018 - OCEAN

Hello friends.  This month at CAS Watercolour, Bonnie is hosting and she has chosen the theme of the OCEAN.

I have a "twofer" for you today, as when I was creating my OCEAN background, I didn't like what I came up with at first.  After completing another that I liked, the rejected one kept staring at me...so I worked with it and actually like what I came up with!  But first one first:

I used my Kuretake Gansai Tambi water colors to paint my beach and water and then stamped my sweet image from an old wooden stamp by Great Impressions (F366).  I used a simple oval cut frame over the water colored image, and thought about adding something else, but in the end left it as it was...CAS.

As a young girl we took a family vacation for 2-3 weeks every Summer and visited a lot of the U.S. as my dad was a big history buff...especially going out east as he really loved anything to do with the Civil War.  To keep my brothers and I happy, he always included trips to the ocean and I remember those as magical times.  Hence, I went with a bit of a whimsical sentiment on my card that started out as a oops...

You may be wondering where the oops is...before I added anything, I didn't like the darker blue in the center of the background.  I don't know why...I just didn't!  But anyway, after I added the die cut cattails and grasses and seagulls (both AliExpress) and added a die cut circle frame, it wasn't so bad.  And then after adding the sentiment from MFT's Seaside Seagulls, I liked it even more!  Guess the moral of the story here is DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!

You will be blown away by what the rest of the DT has to inspire you with, so check it all out right HERE, and then play along with us.  Make sure you also check out our Guest Designer Robyn this month...she is amazing!!  This challenge is open until the 24th.

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

Color Throwdown #495

Hello friends.  The colors for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge are so rich...Navy Blue, Burgundy, and Gold.

I could definitely handle a bedroom done in these rich and royal colors, however I went a little whimsical this week as I've seen several people use MFT's and Birdie Brown's Recipe For Happiness stamp set the past few weeks and I wanted to play with it again too!

For some reason the chef's in this stamp set always make me think of pizza and Italian food, and restaurants with brick walls, sooooooo.....  I started by using Merlot and Cobalt Blue Brusho's to create my background, and then when dry, I ran it through a brick embossing folder.

I used MFT's Peek-A-Boo rectangle die to make a frame over my brick background and then adhered my chef that I colored with Copics and fussy cut.  His buttons on his coat are Pale Gold Crystal Nuvo Drops.

My sentiment is also MFT and I stamped it using Delicata's Golden Glitz pigment ink...I love the shimmer this ink gives with out having to emboss it!

There are some FABULOUS cards from the DT to inspire you this week, so check them all out right HERE and then play along!

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

Make It Monday #323 - Cascading Die Cuts

Hello friends.  This week Stephanie Gold is hosting the Make It Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink, and she shows us how to make a beautiful card using Cascading Die Cuts.  You can check out her video and GORGEOUS card HERE.

I still had the Bitty Butterflies Cover Plate die sitting on my desk from a previous card and I thought cascading butterflies would be really pretty!  Take a look:

I started by making a blended background using Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry DOX inks and then did a little water splattering on it.

Next I die cut a piece of vellum using the Bitty Butterflies Cover Plate die and attached it over my blended layer.  A strip of Hibiscus Burst card stock hid my glue to hold down the vellum to the background layer and was also the spot for my sentiment from the Bitty Butterflies stamp set...I think this sentiment is just perfect for graduation cards!!

Before attaching my cascading butterflies, I added a little glue to the edges and then dipped them into some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  I also added a piece of thick pink bakers twine at the top of the card, which also served to keep the top of the vellum attached to the card without unsightly glue showing through.

This was a fun challenge, so check out Stephanie's card and video HERE and then play along!

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