CAS Watercolour Feb. 2020 - Red & Black

Hello friends.  I'm hosting this month at CAS Watercolour and I do love a good color challenge, so I thought February would be a good month for RED & BLACK!

I have a Twofer for you today, because I wasn't sure I liked the 1st card I did...anybody else out there their worst critic??!!  I made a 2nd card that I liked, but the more I stared at my first card, the more I liked it!  Let's just say my water coloring is a little abstract and maybe a bit of Impressionistic!  Haha...works for me!

I used Rubbernecker's 4 Red Poppies stamp and colored directly onto the red rubber with SU! markers and then spritzed with water before stamping onto my water color cardstock.  I used Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, & Merry Merlot markers on the stamp several times and a tiny bit of black to get the (kind of) definition of the poppies.

I did a simple matting with black cardstock and then adhered both to a white card base before adding my sentiment (Altenew's Best Sentiments).

Here's my 2nd card...

I used SSS's Poppy Frame and die cut it twice...once from black cardstock, and once from water color cardstock and then water colored the pieces with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints.

Once my pieces were dry I inlaid them back into the black frame and attached to a layer that I had cut with The Greetery's Nordic Frame Dies.  My sentiment is from an older PTI set.

Make sure you check out all the lovely inspiration from the DT and our special GD Michele, and then play along with us right HERE.  Remember to keep your cards CAS and use RED & BLACK (neutrals are fine).  We can't wait to see what YOU come up with!  (this challenge is open till the 24th)

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

12 Kits of Occasions Jan. 2020 - LEFTOVERS

Hello friends.  It's the last day of the month and that means it's time for the 12 Kits Of Occasions post!  We're doing a little bit of changing up this year, so figured January would be a good month to use up some of our leftovers from previous months.  I've only been on the team for a little over a year now, and I certainly have LOTS of leftovers, so I can only imagine how much some of the ladies who've been on the team for years and years have leftover in their stash!  All that to say, you're in for a treat this month with lots of creativity and FUN and you can find it all right HERE.

I'm not going to post all the details on each card, but if you have any questions on products used, just shoot me an email!  So let's get started...

This first card was made with leftovers from Lisa's kit, and I just love this sweet bunny image!  She had included a few of these images in the original kit, so I'm so glad I saved one as it was a lot of fun to color up and layer onto the pretty DSP's.

This card came from leftovers of Kim's Friends & Foods kit.  Our oldest daughter LOVES donuts, and I thought I could get away with the snarky sentiment since the card was so cute!  I love that the box for the donuts has a slit in it to tuck the donuts in too!  I added a bit of dotted tissue paper to the box and used 3 of the dotted DSP's from Kim's kit for the background.  Hopefully my daughter will appreciate the humor in this card...especially if I bring her a few donuts too!

 

This card used leftovers from Jeanne's Good Fortune kit, and I'm not sure why I never used these little Ninja's the 1st time around, but they were just too CUTE to not use this time!  I love the embossed background that Jeanne included and I just die cut a circle out so I could add another die cut circle of the DSP...made a perfect backdrop for the white die cut pagoda and my Ninja's.  Think this card will be going to my grandson...he'll love it!!

This card came from leftovers of Kara's For The Graduate kit, and I switched it up a bit by making it into a birthday card instead of a graduation card.  I loved these images and the DSP and I never seem to have any kids cards on hand, so that's why I switched it up a bit and just used a sentiment from a SU! set I have.  I'll put the number on the inside when I figure out who the card is going to!

This fun card came from Nancy's Party In The Park kit, and since I'm a bit low on birthday cards this was a perfect card to put together!  I love this little die frame with the opening shutters that Nancy included and can remember thinking that I didn't want to use it and save it for something special...I think in real life terms it's called hoarding!  What better way to use it though than on a birthday celebration card?!

And speaking of hoarding, these plaid papers from Tracey's June Celebrations kit were definitely HOARDED!!  I absolutely LOVE these plaid DSP's (Lawn Fawn) and have saved every tiny scrap!!  I never used the feathers the first time around, so a Father's Day card seemed perfect and I'm ahead of the game for at least one celebration this year!!

And I had to use a tag from my kit leftovers because I'm still hanging onto Christmas this year and just can't seem to put it all away, and also because I am completely hooked on this Geo Snowflake Stencil from SugarPea Designs that Kara got me hooked on, and it's just too pretty to put it away yet!  I still had extra tags die cut and also a few of the small bears from MFT's Polar Bear Pals set, so it made a quick and easy tag and I'm another step ahead for next Christmas!

I still have so many leftovers from the other kits and just ran out of time to create more, but this was such a FUN idea that I hope we do it again...like maybe once a year?!  Let us know what you all think after visiting the other gals (HERE) and if this is something you'd like to see each year.  I mentioned at the beginning of my post that there are some changes coming to the 12 Kits of Occasions, and sadly a few of our beloved members are stepping down for the time being...Lisa, Lindsey, and Kara.  They will all 3 be definitely missed, but we know the friendships forged through this team will remain strong and lasting.  Changes can be wonderful too though, so make sure you come back next month to see what's in store...we won't disappoint you!!

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

Penny Black Thank You's

Hello friends.  Just a quick post today with a couple Thank You cards I made for 2 sweet friends using ADORABLE Penny Black images!

This first card went to my sweet friend Patti who graciously stamped and die cut oodles of a few different images for me, including this adorable little Eskimo girl from the Cozy Cuteness stamp set.  The image has gifts piled on her sled, but I chose to cut them off as this was for a thank you card and not Christmas.  I also only colored her face so as not to detract from the background which was made with Lindy's Magicals and shimmers like crazy!!

Hopefully you can see a bit of the shimmer in this close up...trust me, it's so pretty IRL!!  I also used the Crystal Frames dies (also Penny Black) to make the frame around the background and this sweet little girl.

My 2nd card is a thank you to my dear friend Sue who also shares my love of stamping and spoils me rotten every Christmas and birthday!  This Sweet Sledder (PB) image was one of my Christmas gifts from Sue this year and I just couldn't resist coloring her up for a thank you card!

She was colored with my Copics and the sentiment is from SSS's Snowflake Builder stamp set.  LOVE this image!!

That's all for today...hope you enjoyed my sweet little thank you cards!!

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

Operation Valentine

Hello friends.  Last week Darnell posted HERE about a 104 year young WW II vet  Maj. Bill White USMC (Ret) who would like to receive some Valentines for Valentine's Day, and being a card maker AND having a son in law who served in the USMC, how could I not send this gentleman a homemade Valentine?!!

Since I had brand new products from The Greetery, I got busy this weekend and came up with a somewhat masculine Valentine!  Take a look...

Rather than using pinks and reds, I stuck with a more "manly" color palette in blues, creams, and reds.  I started with a Night of Navy card base and a Real Red layer, and then added a layer Rustic Cream cs that I had lightly blended a bit of Night of Navy ink on, stamped with the new Windowpane Plaid Background Stamp, and die cut with the Postal Frames Dies.  I did splatter a bit of water onto this layer to give it a touch of vintage before adhering to my red layer.

Next I had fun stamping and die cutting with the new Signed & Sealed set and the Signed & Sealed With A Kiss set.  The envelope has this cool slit in it so that I could tuck the leaf spray and little card into it...that Betsy thinks of everything!!  I finished it with the heart stamp seal that I embossed in clear to give the look of a shiny wax seal and a piece of rustic jute twine at the top rather than ribbon to give it even more of a vintage and masculine feel.  (ALL stamps and dies on this card are from The Greetery.)

If you would like to help out and bring a smile to this 104 year old gentleman, you can send a Valentine (handmade OR store bought) to:

Operation Valentine
ATTN: Hold for Maj Bill White USMC (Ret)
The Oaks at Inglewood
6725 Inglewood Ave.
Stockton, CA  95207

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

MFT's Wednesday Sketch Challenge 473

Hello friends.  Playing along with MFT's Wednesday Sketch Challenge #473 today...

Thought this sketch was perfect for my new (to me...it's actually from The Vault!) stamp Adventure Is Calling from the Pure Innocence line.  I don't usually send out cards to someone going on a trip or new adventure, but it was her sweet hat that kept calling out to me and I just had to have her!

I used the sketch layout to make it look like she's on a BIG boat and is ready to set sail for her big adventure!

I colored her with Copics except for her suitcase which I paper pieced to be reminiscent of older days.  Behind the porthole window I used MFT's Cloud MIX-ABLES STENCIL with some Salty Ocean Distress Ink and a blender brush to mimic what she might see looking out her window at sea.

This challenge is open for a few more days yet, so check it out right HERE and play along.

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #27 - Penguins On Parade #2

Hello friends.  I can't seem to put my Christmas stash away, so I have another card for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge to share with you today.  Until July, this challenge is going to be a monthly challenge (so LOTS of time to play!!) and you can enter up to 3 times, so it really is a great way to get a head start on your Christmas cards.  This month Jo would like to see PENGUINS on your cards.

My sweet friend Patti had sent me some Penny Black images (Bundled Buddies) that included these sweet little penguins, so I colored them up to add to this card:

Aren't they just the cutest?!  I added the trio to a die cut rectangle (Gina Marie Designs) along with my sentiment (SSS's Tiny Words: Christmas) and then attached to a panel where I used SugarPea Designs Geo Snowflake Stencil and blended with red ink.  I got the idea of using red (rather than blue) from my friend Tracey who made this GORGEOUS card (HERE) and I love the way it looks!

I pop dotted my middle penguin and then added some glitter to their hats and then finished by adding it all to a white card base.  Pretty easy card but I think it really packs a punch!

You have till the end of the month to play along with this challenge, so get out those PENGUIN stamps and join the fun right HERE.

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

CAS Mix Up Jan. 2020 - Partial Die Cutting

Hello friends.  Hideko has a FUN challenge over at the CAS Mix Up site where she wants us to try PARTIAL DIE CUTTING.  She's provided a whole list of helpful videos right HERE if you're unfamiliar with this technique.

I've done partial die cutting before, but it's been awhile, so I did have to do some thinking before I started!  I had a new stamp and die set (Reverse Confetti's Butterfly Wreath) that I used to come up with this card:

I stamped and heat embossed my wreath first a little off center, and then did my partial die cutting.  I did have to use my trimmer for the top, middle, and bottom vertical cuts, but the die did all the fancy cutting around the edges of the wreath.

I colored with my Copics, and then adhered a piece of fun foam behind the wreath image, and then attached both to a top folding card base that I added a panel of Altenew's Dotted Swirls cover plate to.  The whole background still looked rather plain to me even with the dry embossed background, so I added a thin strip of cardstock that I colored with my Copic (BV02) to match the butterflies on the wreath.  I finished with a heat embossed sentiment (from the Butterfly Wreath set) in white on a black banner, and attached along with a clear gem.  I have a bridal shower for my niece in a few weeks that this will be perfect for.

This challenge is open till the 24th, so check it all out right HERE and then play along.

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