a card... and a kitty...

Hello!!  A quick share of a card that I made using the Viva La Verve week 5 sketch.   I think I will pop this into the current Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge, too. 

When I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to use my Top Dog Isabella Fan die for the half circle portion of the sketch.    I used papers from the My Mind's Eye Now and Then Mildred 6x6 pad.  The stamps are from the Verve set "On Occasion".  After diecutting and stamping everything I inked up all the edges with Ranger Old Paper distress ink.   The edges of the main panel of patterned paper was distressed a bit more using my fingernail.   I layered everything up and finished off the flower by adding a BasicGrey enamel dot to the center of the flower.

Now... for the second part of my blog title... my kitty, Cleo.  Cleo is 18 years old (yes, 18!) and that means that time with her is more than likely quickly slipping away.   The average life span of a house cat is about 15 years, although indoor cats can live up to 20 years.  Like her mommy (me) Cleo has a thyroid problem (I had mine taken out about 12 years ago) and has to take thyroid medication.  I hate putting that pill down her throat every night, but it is helping to keep her healthy so that is a small price to pay.  Yesterday she took a little stroll outside and so I decided to take a few pictures of her and thought I would share one.  I'm biased, but I do think Cleo is a pretty little kitty and definitely doesn't show her age!   A fun fact:  By the time cats are 2 years old they have aged the equivalent of 24 human years!  (Some sources say it is 18 years.) 

Thanks for stopping by.... 

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Sweet Blush, Soft Stone; Stamps:  Verve; Inks:  Stampin Up! Coastal Cabana, Memento Ladybug, Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink; Dies:  Top Dog & My Favorite Things (fishtail flags); Enamel dot:  BasicGrey

thank you...

Hello!!  Popping in with a card I made using the Viva La Verve week 4 sketch and the colors from Color Throwdown.  I think I will pop this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge... anything goes, as well.

Used two Verve sets for this card:  Lean on Me and Better Together.  The pointed flower die was used, as well.  To create the bottom portion of the sketch I used the sort of grungy/stripy image from the Better Together set and stamped that in Pacific Point.  The flower was die cut from some BasicGrey Highline paper that is somewhat similar to Crushed Curry and then stamped using Rich Cocoa ink.  Sequins were added to the center of the flower.  The tag and banners are also Verve dies: Tagged Rectangle and Pennant Trim.  Finished off the card with some enamel dots and a little twine bow.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  TPT white, SU! Old Olive; Stamps:  Verve:  Lean on Me and Better Together; Inks:  SU! Pacific Point and Memento Rich Cocoa; Dies:  Verve; Twine:  Hemptique, My Minds Eye enamel dots; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh clear (4mm) and Lawn Fawn

time out challenge guest designer!!!

Hello!!  I'm so excited to be guesting with the fabulously talented Time Out challenge team!  I was picked as the winner of the Home Sweet Home (challenge #10) challenge.  And seriously when I saw I was the winner my mouth fell open, lol!!  Anyway... the new challenge is "Inspired by Words" and the sentiment is "if Music be the food of love, Play on".   All the challenge details can be found here.  For my card I focused on the music aspect of the sentiment and came up with this:

I used the Penny Black set Butterfly Symphony, as well as the Hero Arts Music Background stamp and played around, again, with some simple watercoloring.  I stamped the swirl on watercolor paper using VersaMark ink, applied white embossing powder and then heat set.  The same thing was done with the butterfly.  Once I had my cardstock embossed I got to work adding the colors.  For the main piece I used Ranger Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean distress inks and the butterfly I used Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon.  After the main panel dried I stamped it with the Music background stamp using SU!'s Coastal Cabana ink, the sentiment using black ink and then the piece was matted with black cardstock.  I adhered the butterfly, added the rhinestones to the body and then adhered the piece to my card base.

Popping this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:  Anything Goes, as well as the Simon Says Stamp August Work It Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by... and thanks to the Time Out team for giving me the opportunity to guest design with them!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white and black; Ranger watercolor paper; Stamps:  Penny Black & Hero Arts; Inks:  Ranger distress inks; VersaFine black; SU! Coastal Cabana; Rhinestones:  Stampin Up!

precious remembrance shop...

Hello!!  Popping in with a quick little post to let you know that I have a project up on the PRS blog.  I hope that you will take the time to check it out.  Here is a little peek:

Thanks for stopping by....

delight in this day... {pti august blog hop}

Hello!   Here with a card for this month's PTI blog hop.  I almost didn't participate, but then decided to have a go at it and made this using stamps and dies from the Beautiful Brushstrokes Make it Market Kit, as well as one of the polka dot images from Polka Dot Basics II.  Also, I'm going to pop this into the Pretty Pink Posh Cutting Edge hop.  I took inspiration from the polka dots and the dark pink color. 

 

I started out with the idea that I would die cut the largest feather from the Beautiful Brushstrokes die set and then cover each feather with polka dots in black, pink and gold.  But I really didn't like how it looked and so I just stamped the feathers in the three inks.  Added the border of polka dots in gold (Delicata Golden Glitz was used for the border, as well as one of the feathers) and then the sentiment using black ink.  Some of the little raindrops from the kit were added and a little dark pink baker's twine bow.  Mounted everything on a black card base.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white & black; Stamps and dies:  PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up! Melon Mambo, Delicata Golden Glitz, Tuxedo Black; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery; Raindrops:  PTI

for you...

Hello... here with a quick share of a card that I made for three challenges:  ColourQ, Freshly Made Sketches and Avery Elle AEI{heart}U (sequins).  Since this has die cutting on it I will be posting it to the Cutting Edge blog hop, as well.

 

I used (again... but I love the set!!) the AE set Petals & Stems, as well as the matching Petals & Stems dies.  The sentiment is from the AE set Oh Happy Day.  Patterned paper is from a Stampin Up! designer paper pack released a few years ago.  I almost used the AE Dotted Die to cut my main panel, but gave it a little break!  Finished things off with some Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins (6mm & 4mm sizes). 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Smoky Slate; Stamps & dies:  Avery Elle; Inks:  Stampin Up!; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh; Tombow Glue pen

thanks a bunch...

Hello!!  Created a little card to share that I will be posting to several different blogs/challenges.  Loved the current (and last, sadly!) sketch from Seize the Sketch so I made another card.  This one uses the color combo from this month's Reverse Confetti color challenge.  And since it is full of die cutting I'm also posting this to the Pretty Pink Posh Cutting Edge blog hop.

I, again, used my Avery Elle Dotted Dies to cut the main panel.  Save to say that I think that is my new favorite die!!  I then die cut two little tags (yes... those are tags under all the other die cuts, lol!) using the Reverse Confetti Tag Me die set.  The flowers and sparkly bits were die cut using the Reverse Confetti Petals n' Posies Confetti Cuts die set. After stamping all the flowers with the coordinating Petals n' Posies stamp set) I adhered the tags to the main panel and layered everything on top.  Finished by adding a hand cut banner (after all that die cutting I was a bit worn out, lol!) stamped with the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Night of Navy; Stamps:  Reverse Confetti; Dies:  Reverse Confetti and Avery Elle; Ink:  Stampin Up! Real Red & Night of Navy; SU! glittered cardstock; My Mind's Eye wooden dot

Top Dog Dies Guest Designer... and a Giveaway!!

{for my PRS blog hop post, please click here}

Hello everyone!!  Have some fun news to share!  Today I am guest designing on the Top Dog Dies blog.  If you haven't heard of Top Dog Dies here is some information about them: 

Top Dog is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer thin and steel rule dies, along with dies from brands that you already know and trust including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cherry Lynn Designs.  Top Dog Dies is also the leading retailer in the US for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

I have one project to share here on my blog and I have a project that I'm sharing (with a quick tutorial) over on the Top Dog Blog.   Top Dog Dies was kind enough to send me some really wonderful dies and for this project I used the Signature Antique steel rule die, as well as the wafer thin Isabella Fan die.   The Signature Antique steel rule die is perfect for making cards or creating a mini album.  I made a quick little card.  I created a standard A2 size card by cutting my 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock at 5 1/2" and then scoring at 4 1/4".  The folded edge was placed right up against the flat side of the die, taped in place using some washi tape and then run through my die cutting machine to create my card.  I die cut some patterned paper using the die and adhered it to the front of my card.  I cut my fan from additional patterned paper and then very carefully scored and then folder the fan.  One of the things that I really liked about the die (aside from the fact that it is beautiful) is that when you die cut your paper or cardstock little dotted lines are created that are the perfect guide for scoring and folding!  I kept this simple because I wanted the fan to take centerstage.  So I simply adhered the fan and then added the ribbon and flower embellishment.   Here is a little peek of the project I'm sharing on the Top Dog blog:

Thanks for stopping by... please make sure to head over to the Top Dog blog to check out my other project and because Top Dog Dies is having a month long guest designer giveaway!  The winner will receive $50 worth of exclusive Top Dog Dies (winner's choice!!).  Simply click over to the Guest Designer post and register via the Rafflecopter app on the page.  Deadline to enter is Sunday, August 31st at midnight CST.  Good luck!!

Precious Remembrance Blog Hop!!!

Hello!!  Today is an exciting day because Precious Remembrance Shop is releasing a brand new stamp set and with fall fast approaching this new set called "Fall Colors" is the perfect "go to" fall set!!  Dyane has done it, again, by creating a set full of beautiful leaves and lovely sentiments. So we are having a hop to celebrate and as with our other releases you will have a chance to win this new set!  If you got here from the PRS blog, then you are on the right track!  If not, head over there to start from the beginning.  This set is so beautiful that I just had to make more than one card.  Here is a look at this fabulous new set:

My first card puts the focus on just one of the leaf images.  I first stamped the little rectangular background image on my rustic white cardstock using a kraft colored ink.  I then inked up the oval leaf using a sunflower yellow ink and rolled the edges in a rust colored ink before stamping.  This piece was trimmed to size, the edges inked and matted with some burlap.  I then layered that on an angled piece of cardstock that I partially embossed with my woodgrain embossing folder.  Everything was mounted on a kraft card base.  I created the sentiment banner using the label image and one of the sentiments.  It was trimmed out, adhered and then a small binder clip was added.

My second card I decided to do some easy watercoloring.  I first embossed the leaves using white embossing powder.  I used yellow, rust and red inks to color up the leaves.  I started by layering on the yellow and then adding in the other colors.  After I got the look I wanted I let the piece dry and then added the sentiment and little dots using brown ink.  To make the colors pop I mounted the piece on a deep red cardstock base.

As I indicated above you have a chance to win this beautiful set and here are all the deets:

Subscribe to the PRS blog
Follow/like PRS on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram
Share the new stamp release with your crafty friends through Facebook, your blog, Pinterest, etc.
Hop along and leave a comment at each blog.

The winner will be chosen randomly and announced next week on the PRS blog.  Commenting closes on Sunday, August 24th. 

Thanks for stopping by... you next stop is the blog of the super sweet and super talented Lisa!

Supplies:  Card 1:  Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Cardstock:  PTI rustic white and kraft; Ink:  Close to My Heart Barn Red, Sunflower, Bamboo, Autumn Terracotta; Mini Binder clip:  Stampin Up!; Embossing folder:  Stampin Up! woodgrain; Die:  PTI Tipped Top die; Burlap ribbon

Card 2:  Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Ink:  VersaMark watermark ink; Memento Rich Cocoa; yellow, red and rust reinkers; Cardstock:  Stampin Up! dark red; watercolor paper;

java a great day...

Hello!!  Squeezed in some time today to make a card for this week's CASology challenge, as well as the current (and last... boo hoo!) Seize the Sketch challenge.   When I saw this week's cue word I just had to play along.  I'm not a coffee drink (my elixir of choice is a tall soy Chai from Starbucks), but I do happen to have some cute coffee inspired stamps (and dies) from Clearly Whimsy Stamps. 

I happen to still have out my BasicGrey Highline 6x6 pad and some I used some papers from that pad to make my little "to go" coffee cups.  After die cutting all the pieces I adhered them together.  Adding the heart to one cup and the sentiment to the other.  I stamped a little heart up in one corner and then adhered the cups to my cardstock piece that I die cut with my brand spanking new Dotted Dies set from Avery Elle.  I absolutely love the look of this perfectly cut panel!!  Since this is a pretty clean and simple design I'm going to also post this card to the current Addicted to Stamps and More challenge:  CAS.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Clearly Whimsy Stamps Coffee Break; Dies:  Clearly Whimsy Stamps and Avery Elle; Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa & Tangelo; Patterned Paper:  BG Highline

happy adoption...

Hello!!  Here with a quick share for this week's Less is More challenge.  The challenge this week is to use an animal on your card and initially I wasn't going to play along.  But as I was working on several other projects that I will be sharing later this coming week, I remembered a card that I made for a recent submission call for CardMaker magazine.  I really loved how the card turned out, but unfortunately the editors at CardMaker didn't love it and it was rejected.  So, here I am sharing it with you!

The stamps and dies are from Lawn Fawn (my first ever set of stamps and dies from them).  I used papers from the BasicGrey Highline 6x6 pad.  The doily was die cut using a Cheery Lynn doily die and the banners using the PTI Notched Hearts banner die.  An overlay of vellum was also die cut using that same set of dies.  After putting everything together I stamped the sentiment, trimmed the out and adhered them as shown.  Not a ton of white space, but this is still a pretty clean and simple card.  I am also going to post this to CASology as welcoming a new baby into a family is always magic!  Funny... I just realized that the last time I entered CASology I think I used this same set!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI Rustic white; Vellum:  Close to My Heart; PP:  BasicGrey; Stamps:  Lawn Fawn; Dies:  PTI, Lawn Fawn & Cheery Lynn; Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa

friends... forever

Hello!!  Well, we had quite a switch in the weather this week.  We went from hot and sunny to warm and rainy!   I'm not complaining though because the hot weather was starting to wear on me a bit and so I'm enjoying the cool down!   Have a card to share that I made for several challenges:  ColourQ, CAS(E) this Sketch and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (summer... butterflies are all over the place during the summer!).

When I saw the new CTS layout my thoughts went to a couple of different sets, but in the end I settled on the new SU! set Kinda Eclectic.   I stamped the sunburst image using Coastal Cabana and then over stamped it with the polka dot image using Early Espresso.  The butterflies were added using Pumpkin Pie and Kiwi Kiss inks.  The sentiment is from PTI's Wet Paint III set and stamped in black and Early Espresso inks.  Finished things off with some clear sequins on the butterflies and the polka dots.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white, Stamps:  Stampin Up! and PTI; Inks:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh clear 4 mm and 6 mm

much happiness...

Hello!!  Hope your week is going well!  Have a little card that I made that works for several different Verve challenges:  Viva La Verve (week one sketch), Diva Dare (Celebrate Good Times) and Verve Inspiration Challenge (Sequin Stunner).  Also popping this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:  summer... summer is full of flowers!

A week ago I purchased the My Mind's Eye Market Street Ashbury Heights 6x6 pad and had been wanting to use it.  Finally got a chance today.  I used two different Verve sets for my card:  Surely Goodness and Brighter Days.  Lots of die cutting on this one, too.  I love working with patterned papers, but sometimes it can be a problem when you don't have an ink that is a fairly good match for at least one of the colors in the papers used.   After trying a shade of red ink I thought would work and discovering it clashed a bit too much I was able to find a shade of teal ink that worked much better.   After layering everything up on my card base I finished things off with a sequined center to my flower and a scattering of  clear sequins around my card. 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI kraft, black and white; PP:  My Mind's Eye; Stamps:  Verve; Dies:  Spellbinders plain rectangles and long plain rectangles; Verve:  Flag It dies & Goodness Flower Dies; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh 4mm, 6mm & 8mm sparkling clear sequins

tis the season...

Hello!!  Well... it isn't quite the Christmas season, yet, thank goodness!  But as everyone who plays along with Merry Monday will tell you it isn't too soon to start making those Christmas card!  However, this card isn't for Merry Monday (although it just might work except that I don't have any gingham ribbon to throw on it!) it is actually for Less is More (one layer - foliage) and AEI{heart}U challenge (kraft).

I used the Avery Elle set Winter Wreath.  The wreath image was stamped twice. Once in Memento Bamboo Leaves and once in Close to My Heart New England Ivy.  Then I added in all the little bits like pinecones, berries and the bow.  No masking, just layered up stamping.  Initially I wasn't too pleased with how the stamping turned out as some of the leaves on the wreath have a very mottled look, but I decided to embrace the less than perfectly stamped look for a change, lol!  

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock: PTI kraft; Stamps:  Avery Elle; Inks:  Memento and Close to My Heart

a note of thanks...

Hello!!  Well... school is just around the corner for my boys and so I thought I would get a start on making some teacher inspired cards.  My card today is based on the current sketch from Reverse Confetti and the color combo over at Color Throwdown.   And since this is a card for a teacher what set could be more perfect to use than the RC set:  Class Act!

The Color Throwdown combo is grey, red and teal (SU! colors Smoky Slate, Real Red and Bermuda Bay).   One of the images in Class Act is one that features all the letters of the alphabet.  I stamped that repeatedly on teal cardstock using Hero Arts Splash chalk ink and then die cut it with a Spellbinders plain rectangle die.  Love the fun background it provides.  The red strip was embossed and the patterned paper strip punched with the SU! spiral notebook punch before being adhered.  Finished off the card with the little notebook paper and the cute little apple.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; SU! Smoky Slate and Taken with Teal; PP:  SU! Fresh Prints; Inks: SU! Smoky Slate & Real Red, Hero Arts Splash chalk ink; Stamps and dies:  Reverse Confetti Class Act; Punch:  SU!

you can...

Hello!!  Hope everyone had a great week.  Have a card to share that I made for several challenges:  AAA Cards - watercolor, ColourQ, Seize the Sketch and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.
I love the simplicity and versatility of the current sketch from Seize the Sketch.  

I decided to have another go at the AAA Cards challenge and create a card with more watercoloring than I had on my first card.  I pulled out two of my favorite Precious Remembrance Shop sets DIY and Positive Thoughts and got to work.  I stamped the feather image from DIY in watermark ink, applied white embossing powder and heat set it.  I then smooshed some Tempting Turquoise and Island Indigo inks on my craft mat, spritzed them with water and added a color wash over the feather.  I then added some additional stamped images from Positive Thoughts and DIY using the same inks.  The sentiment was added using Early Espresso.   I finished off the card with some Early Espresso twine, clear sequins (for some sparkle) and additional splatters of ink.  In order to work the Summer Starfruit part of the color combo into the design I used Summer Starfruit cardstock for my base.

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock: SU! Summer Starfruit; Ranger Watercolor paper; Stamps:  Precious Remembrance Shop; Inks:  Stampin Up! and VersaMark; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh; Baker's Twine:  Stampin Up!; Embossing powder:  Filigree white

happy birthday...

Hello!!  I'm getting back into the card-making groove and made this little card for a few challenges:  Less is More (colors), STAMPlorations (sketch),  Time Out (celebrations with a twist:  butterflies) and ATCAS (gold). 

 

Recently my bloggy friend, Deepti, showcased a wonderful set of stamps from STAMPlorations and it really caught my attention so I checked out their website.  They have lots of amazing sets and I hope that one day very soon I will be able to pick up a few, but in the meantime I have decided to play along with their current sketch challenge.   For the bottom two angled images I embossed my cardstock with a Spellbinders plain square die.  I then cut the final layer with the same die and stamped it with my butterfly image (from Stampin Up! Backyard Basics) using grey ink.  The splats (from SU! Gorgeous Grunge) were stamped over the butterfly in turquoise and lime green inks.  I stamped some additional splats using yellow ink before mounting my stamped piece.  The sentiment (from Altenew Label Love) was stamped in a dark green ink trimmed out and adhered.  It is hard to tell, but the little dots on either side of the sentiment and the one in the center of the butterfly are gold.  I quite like how this one turned out!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  PTI white; Stamps:  Stampin Up! and Altenew; Inks:  Stampin Up! and Memento; Die:  Spellbinders;  Gold dots:  My Mind's Eye

a little kindness...

Hello!!  I'm back with a card that I made using the current Sketchbook Saturday sketch and the color combo from ColourQ.  I'm also going to pop this into the current AAA Card challenge watercolor.  I hope my splatters of color are sufficient for the challenge.

When the new Stampin Up! catalog came out I was immediately drawn to a set called Kinda Eclectic.  I finally was able to purchase it and picked it up from my SU! demo, Jenna, this morning.  When I got home with it I immediately set about creating my card.  I knew I wanted to layer some of the stamps so I started with the large sun image from the set and stamped it in Early Espresso.  The leafy image was layered on using Certain Celery.  I cut the white cardstock piece and then splattered it with some watered down Real Red ink.  A strip of kraft colored washi tape was added.  The leaf image was inked with the green ink then rolled in Early Espresso and trimmed out.  I repeated the process rolling the image in Real Red and trimmed out.  These pieces were adhered and the sentiment banner was adhered on top.  I split up the sentiment by masking it as needed.  The butterfly was inked with kraft ink and then rolled in Real Red, punched out and adhered as you see.  Finished things off with a large sequin on the body and clear sequins scattered around the card.  Added in a detail shot of the cluster of images. 

 

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:  Cardstock:  Stampin Up! Crumb Cake; white; Stamps:  Stampin Up!; Inks:  Stampin Up! Certain Celery, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Real Red; Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh clear; Die:  Reverse Confetti Tag Me