Double D Challenge - Things that FALL

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Double D Challenge where they are looking for Things that FALL.

It was easy for me to decide which way to go with my card from this mood board as I had just received from The Greetery's recent release the BotaniCuts: Apple dies, and came up with this...

I die cut all my apples first from white cardstock, and then used my sponge daubers and DOX inks to color them up.  I thought they turned out looking like the Fuji apples my hubby loves so much!  I made my crate from the Shiplap Builder Dies (The Greetery) and some gray and brown inks to give the weathered look.  

I used the Windowpane Plaid Background stamp (also The Greetery) with kraft ink on white for my background panel, and then used the Frosted Frames die (The Greetery) with Kraft and Real Red cardstock and adhered it over the plaid background.  Both were mounted to a top folding card base (Kraft) and then I added my apples and crate to the card front.  I also added a piece of twine to look like a carrying handle to the center of the crate and then attached a Tiny Tag (PTI) with a greeting from the Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You stamp set from The Greetery.  A simple red enamel dot (SU!) above the sentiment finished off this FALL looking card.  

You can check out all the FABULOUS inspiration from the talented DT right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Sunday, Oct. 2 @ 8:00PM. 

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

Color Hues #49 - YELLOW & BROWN

Hello friends.  Playing along with the current Color Hues Challenge where they are looking for cards with YELLOW & BROWN.

I had 2 ideas for this color combination, and couldn't decide which one I liked better, so you get a twofer today!  Here's my first card...

I am still in LOVE with this stencil from The Ton called Precious Poppies Layering Stencils, and think it turned out beautiful in shades of yellow and brown!

There is actually a 3rd poppy on this stencil, but I chose to only ink up the bottom and middle one so it would fit better on my A2 size card.  After I finished ink blending, I ran this layer through with SU!'s Tome Worn embossing folder and then matted it with a piece of Early Espresso cs and a white card base.  My little tag is an oldie from PTI's Stemmed Statements and I finished with a bit of twine and a few Sparkling Champagne Metallic Pearls from PFS.

My 2nd card uses another favorite stencil...TCW's Mini Joyful Sunflower.  (You might want to go get your sunglasses before you take a look at this one!)

After blending with my yellow and brown inks, I got my glass bead gel out and spread a thin layer over the stencil and then lifted it off to clean before it hardened.  The hardest part of using glass bead gel is the waiting for it to dry...usually a good 12 - 24 hours!  That's hard for someone like me who's very impatient!!  

I ended up cutting off quite a bit of this panel (started with an A2 size panel) so that I could layer it with a piece of Early Espresso cs and still have a nice wide white border from the card base.  I embossed in white on the bottom of the Early Espresso panel my sentiment that comes from The Greetery's Sentiment Suite: Birthday, and that finished off my CAS birthday card.  

I'm leaning more towards my 1st card as the favorite, but all that SHINE on the 2nd card still calls out to me!  What do YOU think??  Lots of BEAUTIFUL inspiration from the DT using these 2 colors, so check it all out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till the 28th @ 9:00AM.

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

The Flower Challenge #72 - Add Sparkle

Hello friends.  I am playing along with The Flower Challenge where they would like us to add SPARKLE to our flower cards, and I definitely have sparkle on my card AND everywhere on my desk!  A little sparkle goes a looooong way!!  Haha

 

I used a couple older die sets from The Greetery to come up with my sparkly card...

I started with a piece of Misty Moonlight cs (SU!) and embossed it with SSS's Vine Canopy embossing folder.  To make the design show up a bit bolder, I used my brayer and white pigment ink and rolled it over the embossed layer very lightly so as only to make the raised parts highlighted with the white ink.

Next I began working on my sunflowers (The Greetery - BotaniCuts: Sunflower) and die cutting them from white cardstock and then blending color on with my blending brushes.  Once I had the amount of color I wanted on each layer, I glued them together and then added TH Distress Glitter.

 I used The Greetery's Market Basket Dies cut from matte silver cs (Gina K) to place my sunflowers in, and also added a liner to the basket using some really OLD tissue paper that has a slight wax sheen to it to supposedly help your dies release easier...it never really worked for me, but I kept the roll anyway and it has come in handy for different things a couple different times!

My little "oh Happy Day" sentiment comes from a little add on set for the basket dies from The Greetery.  With all this SPARKLE, this card will surely give someone a Happy Day!

There is all kinds of inspiration from the DT and their special GD, and you can check it all out right HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till the 25th.

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

CAS Christmas September 2022 Reminder - Sparkle and/or Shine

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with us at the CAS Christmas Challenge, where this month our hostess Hideko is looking for CAS Christmas cards with SPARKLE and/or SHINE.

                                               

                                                                  

The past year or so I have fallen in LOVE with the foiling techniques, and the fabulous SHINE it gives to a card!  It is so different than the shine you get from embossing with gold or silver, and unless you really see it in person, photographs don't really do it justice!  With that being said, I still made a card with foiling, and you're just going to have to trust me that the SHINE factor on this card is incredible!!  Take a look...

 I used a Spellbinders hot foil plate called Holidays Floral Background and Aura Foil on black cardstock, and the colors this foil gives when the light hits it is SO pretty!  In very little light it looks silver, but when you turn it just right, or the sunlight hits it, it goes into this multi-colored image that's like looking at colored lights on a Christmas tree at nighttime. I matted my foiled image with white and then adhered to a black card base (4 3/4 x 4 3/4).  Really a very easy card to create and I love the dramatic look of it!

Make sure you check out all the beautiful inspiration from my talented teammates, and then play along and get going on those Christmas cards!  Just remember to keep it CAS and also to add some SPARKLE and/or SHINE to your card.  We look forward to seeing YOU in our gallery!!  You can play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

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

Peace On Earth Challenge #23 - Anything Goes

Hello friends.  It feels like just the past couple days we've turned a corner and now so many posts are Christmas related...so I'm jumping on the bandwagon since my card stash is seriously LOW this year, and playing along with the Peace On Earth Challenge.  

This is an Anything Goes challenge, but of course the HOLLY jumped right out at me!  Here's what I came up with...

I stamped my sentiment first, which is from Penny Black's rejoice with joy stamp set, and then started stamping and masking my holly leaves, pine branches, and berries using an oldie (but a goodie and still FAVORITE stamp set) from PTI called SPRUCE & SPRIGS.

I used a variety of green inks and a couple of red inks and the rock n roll technique to blend some of the colors together.  I finished by adding my stamped panel to a top folding white card base and added a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) for a bit of shine.

Lots of beautiful inspiration for you from the DT, so check it out and play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 15th.

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

Color Hues #48 and Seize the Birthday #246

Hello friends.  It's BIRTHDAY time over at the Color Hues Challenge where they are celebrating their 2nd birthday, and to make their celebration even bigger, they've invited their sister challenge to join in on the fun to over at Seize the Birthday Challenge!  Sounds like a party to me and the colors are Navy & Lime Green.

I had a brand new Pure Innocence stamp set (Apple of My Eye) from MFT that I made work with the colors and came up with this birthday card...

Isn't she a cutie picking her Granny Smith apples?!!  I stamped her in versafine black onyx ink and heat embossed with clear so I could use my Copics without any smearing.  After die cutting her with the coordinating die I adhered her to a card base of Parakeet Party (SU!) that I added a die cut layer of Starry Sky (SU!) using a cover plate die from PTI called Lotty Dotty.

 I did add a small rectangle of white card so my sweet little apple picking girl didn't get lost among all the navy and lime green dots.  I did put foam tape behind her for a little separation too, and then added my birthday banner that I stamped on a die cut strip of Parakeet Party cs.  I finished with a couple clear gems from Trinity Stamps.

You can check out all the fabulous inspiration from the DT's at Color Hues HERE and Seize the Birthday HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till the 13th.  And a very HAPPY, HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY to all of you at the COLOR HUES CHALLENGE!!!

 

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

The Four Seasons Challenge - September 2022

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Four Seasons Challenge, where for the month of September, it's Anything Goes - FALL!

Don't you just LOVE Fall and all the beautiful colors and warmth of the season?!  Fall is definitely my favorite season here in Michigan...I think it showcases God's artistry so beautifully!!  I recently had a play day with my sweet friend Michele, and she let me borrow some of her stamps, stencils, and foil plate from the recent Papertrey Ink release and I came up with a "twofer" from one foiled and stenciled piece of A2 cardstock.  (WARNING...I used very untraditional colors!!)  Let's take a look at the first one...

  I know, I know...not very realistic Autumn colors, but I just couldn't help myself!!  I started by foiling the Fallen Leaves: Hot Foil Plate (PTI) on a piece of Hammermill cs with a piece of Aqua Spellbinders foil and then used the coordinating PTI stencil (Fallen Leaves) with my blending brushes and Gina K inks in purples, aquas, magentas & reds.  (Most of the ink came from what was already on my ink blending brushes and not a lot of new ink.)  At this point I cut off a 1 1/4" strip to use on my 2nd card.  

Here's a closer up photo and if you look towards the top you can see some of the aqua foiling a bit better.  I attached my foiled piece to a top folding white card base, and then added a skinny strip of black cs to ground the foiled piece.  I finished with the die cut "Fall" (Larger than Life: Fall - PTI) that I mounted with foam tape for dimension and a coordinating sentiment from PTI's Larger than Life: Fall Sentiments that I die cut with a couple circle dies.  A few light aqua pearls were also added.

My 2nd card uses that 1 1/4" strip that I had cut off from the 1st card and I attached it to a card base that I had embossed using a FSJ Falling Leaves embossing folder

Once again you can just see the aqua foiling towards the top of the card...trust me that in real life these cards are SO pretty with that aqua SHINE!!  I finished this card the same as the first one except the Fall die cut was inked up in black, and used a different die (SU!) for the coordinating sentiment.  A few silver metallic pearls were added to this one.

 Here they are both together.  Do you have a favorite??  I like them both equally as well and sure had a FUN time making these!  Thanks so much Michele for letting me borrow these goodies!!

I would also like to add these "twofers" to Darnell's NBUS Challenge since these are "new to me" products and never been used before (by me!).

There is LOTS of beautiful inspiration over at the Four Seasons Challenge if you'd like to play along...this challenge is open till 25th.  This is also the Four Seasons first anniversary, so I'm happy to play along and help them celebrate this milestone!!  CONGRATS Four Seasons!!

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