fall leaves...

 Hello!  Fall is on its way.  I can feel it in the mornings when I walk the dog, but by mid-morning summer has come roaring back, lol!  Weather here in the PNW has been all over the place this year!  However, despite it feeling like summer I am ready for fall and with that in mind created this card for Color Throwdown and Just Us Girls - anything goes with dies.  Let's have a look at what I made.

A few weeks ago I received the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Leaf Fragments die set in the mail.  It has been sitting on my desk waiting for me to make something with it.  I thought the CTD combo was the perfect vehicle.  I started by spraying a panel of ivory heavystock with distress sprays in Festive Berries and Rustic Wilderness.  I was careful to let each layer dry first before adding the other color and I didn't do a lot of overlapping of colors.  Meaning if you saw the panel I created one side was mostly red and the other side mostly green.  Then I spritzed on bits of green on the red side and bits of red on the green side.   If there was excess color on one side I dabbed it up and pounced it on the other side to get the mix I wanted.   I finished with a light spritzing of Harvest Moon distress mica spray.   Once the panel was completely dry (ie the next day) I die cut my leaves.  I die cut the entire panel so that I had enough leaves to determine which ones to use. I tucked the extra leaves into the envelope with the dies to use in the future.   As I was determining the layout I thought about a very old Tim Holtz/Sizzix die set I have called Mixed Media.  I pulled that out and decided to use one that you see in the background.  As I was die cutting the kraft panel the washi tape I used to hold the dies in place pulled off some of the cardstock.  I decided to go with it and roughed up the corners where the cardstock was damaged with a distressing tool.   I determined where the panel would be placed and then spritz more Harvest Moon on to my card base for more yellow.  The sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp stamp set was stamped in the corner using VersaFine Clair Acorn ink.  I then glued the panel to my card base, added the leaves and the yellow twine bow.  Also going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to stamp it since I did stamp the sentiment. 

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

It's a STAMPtember Blog Party!!

Hello, hello!  Can you believe that it is already September?  And with the arrival of September that means STAMPtember has also arrived!!  Today I'm participating in a BLOG PARTY hosted by Simon Says Stamp to celebrate the start of STAMPtember. And because it is a celebrate there are party favors!  I have a code to share that allow you to get a free word die with ANY PURCHASE!  Check out all the deets in the banner at the end of this post.  Simon Says Stamp was so kind and provided me with the super adorable Best Witches stamp set to create with.   You can kind all the new STAMPtember products right here.  Let's have a look at what I created with the Best Witches stamp set.

When I pulled the stamp set out of the mailer it arrived in, I saw the stack of books and thought how fun it would be to create a little scene with one of the critter witches (that's what I call them, lol) sitting on top of the stack.   I love this card turned out.   A little side note, thanks to Simon Says Stamp I have done more masking and coloring of images in the last two months than I have done in the last FIVE years!   I figured out my scene, created my masks and then stamped all the images.  Once stamped I colored everything with Copic markers and then die cut the panel with a SSS A2 Rectangle frames die. I stamped the little book in the magic spell (or at least that is how I see it, lol!), colored it and then trimmed it out.  To finish the card I placed the masks back on the images and then used some distress mica spray in Harvest Moon in the approximate spot where the little book would be floating.  Once everything was dry I stamped the sentiment and then added the little book.   

As you can see, there is a bit of similarity between the two cards.  This card is the one that I actually made first and it gave me the idea to keep going in the same vein with the card shared above.   I created the tag using the largest Simon Says Stamp Label Tag die.  I stamped the little critter witch on the tag and colored it with Copic makers.  I then made a mask of the little critter witch, covered up my coloring and spritz the tag with distress mica spray in Bubbling Cauldron and Fortune Teller.  I stamped and colored the bubbling cauldron with Copics, trimmed it out and then adhered it to my tag.  To keep the sparkle going I trimmed down strips of purple, bright green and black glitter card stock and adhered them to my rectangle panel.  The tag was added to the card front along with a bright green twine bow.  I stamped the sentiment, die cut it with a sentiment strip die and adhered to the card front. 

That's it for me!  Make sure you check out the full release at Simon Says Stamp.  There is a link in my sidebar that will take you directly to Simon Says Stamp.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

two cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards.  One card is for the Altenew August challenge and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  The other card will be heading off to the current JUGs challenge and Color Throwdown.  Let's look at what I made.

I often think I would like to participate in the Altenew monthly challenges, but then the month goes by and I don't.  I decided to make sure that I did participate in the August challenge and here I am, barely getting it in on time, lol!   Only took me four days to get the card done!  I used the Japanese Mum Build a Flower stamp set (Does Altenew even still have that line of stamps?  I don't know because all my Altenew products are several years old!).  It is a favorite.  I paired it up with one of their dotted impression plates (don't know the name because it is old, too, lol!) and a sentiment from their Versatile Greetings 2 die set.  That isn't super old having been released in 2023.  All the inks are from Altenew, as well.   Won't win any prizes, but I thought it turned out well.  

It is stencil week at JUGs and lucky for me I got the PaperTrey Ink In the Meadow stencil set this week!  I immediately put it to use with the Color Throwdown colors to create this card.  The sentiment is the January 2023 Psalms Reflection stamp.  This is one of my favorite Bible verses.  Sometimes when I'm having a not so great day, I remember this verse and it makes me feel so much better!   So you could still see all the stenciling I did with Altenew inks in reds and aquas I embossed the sentiment in white on vellum.  It was a bit tricky to get the panel adhered, but I think it turned out okay.  

That's it for me.  Don't forget about the sales at Birch Press Design and Poppystamps.  You just might find something fun to buy.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Labor Day Sales at Birch Press Design and Poppy Stamps!

 Hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that Birch Press Design and Poppystamps are having sales this weekend to celebrate Labor Day!

Both sales feature 25% off your order, free shipping (US only) and a FREE GIFT!  Make sure you check out both sales.  

Birch Press Design August Post #2

 Hello, hello!  Popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I created:

Hope you will head over to the blog to check out the full project.  Does it remind you of anything?

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

fall themed thinking of you card...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a card for the August Pinkfresh Studio challenge.  The theme is pattern play and I thought that meant patterned paper.  Oops, I was wrong, lol!  Good thing the challenge is anything goes.  Have a look at what I made.

Because I thought the theme was playing with patterned paper I immediately thought of my nice stash of 49 and Market papers.  Fall is coming (even though it is kind of warm here in the PNW!) and that is where my mind went.  So, I got out my 49 and Market Vintage Orchard patterned paper as it has a fall feel to it.  The next product I pulled was my PFS Berry Branch stamp, die and stencil suite of products.  The stamp set is actually a Christmas themed one, but I think I have used the stamp for more fall themed card than Christmas ones, lol!  I love that the stamp is versatile like that.  I stamped the image using PFS Doe ink and then used distress inks in Bundled Sage, Forest Moss, Scattered Straw and Aged Mahagony for the stenciling.   Once the stenciling was done I die cut the image with the matching die.  The patterned paper was die cut using a PFS Folk Art Rectangle die and then layered on a card base.  The sentiment is from the PFS Amazing Things stamp set and was stamped in the Doe ink.  I die cut the sentiment and additional layers to give the sentiment a bit more stability.  Simply layered on the elements and I was done!

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

majestic heron...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card that I made for the Paper Players challenge to make a clean and simple card with a critter.  I will also be posting this to the Memory Box August challenge since I did use a Memory Box die on the card.  The other dies are from Birch Press Design.  Let's have a look.

The most recent Birch Press Design release is beyond amazing.  I have been having a ball creating cards with the dies.   Most of the dies are aquatic in nature, but there are several different bird die set.  Two featuring cranes and one featuring a majestic heron.  We have herons here in the Puget Sound region and it is always fun seeing them slowly moving through the shoreline looking for little fish swimming in the shallows.  That was what I was going for when I created my card.   For my heron I used direct to paper inking to get the colors I wanted.  Once I was happy with the colors die cut the pieces, let them dry and then assembled my heron.  For his "shoreline" I die cut white cardstock using a Memory Box Curved Cap Pinpoint layer die and then inked the bottom with Broken China and Tumbled Glass distress oxide inks and the top with what Broken China ink was left on my brush.   The little shore waves were created by using the Sea Kelp die.  I then inked up the pieces with the residual ink on the brush used for the Tumbled Glass.  The little fish are also from the Sea Kelp die set.  I inked them up with residual oxide ink from my green brush.   Everything was adhered to my background piece and I finished with a sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp stamp set.  

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birch Press Design Post

 Hello, hello!  Can't believe that August is almost half over!  Time sure is flying by.  I'm stopping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I created.

I hope you will head over to the blog to check out what I made.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

a circle card...

 Hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for a couple of challenges:  Just Us Girls (die week - floral dies) and Sunday Stamps (color challenge).   Simon Says Stamp has a challenge on Instagram this month to make a circle card and since I haven't made a shaped card in a long time I decided to go for it.  Here is what I made.

I used the super pretty Memory Box Gentle Blossom Watercolor Floral die set.  Full disclosure I almost destroyed the smaller floral die.  I wasn't paying attention, had my diecutting sandwich ready to go and then placed a second plate on top of the sandwich.  Tried running it through my diecutter, then realized that it was alot of work trying to get it through.  Caught my mistake, but I had already bent the die.  Thankfully I was able to bend it back into shape and it still cuts fine!  Disaster averted, lol.  Anyway, back to the card.  I used direct to paper inking to create the layers of colors that I wanted for the flower and leaves.   Diecut everything, created the flower and leaves and set aside to dry.  Die cut a circle card from white cardstock.  Die cut a second white circle for the front of the card and then embossed it with a pretty SSS embossing folder called Wistful Leaves.   I'm pretty sure that my sweet friend, Greta, gifted me this lovely embossing folder.  It has been on my desk for along time so glad that I was finally able to take it out for spin!  After embossing the circle I used the leftover ink on my purple blending brush to add a tiny bit of color to the leafy stems.  Finished with the sentiment from the SSS stamp and die set called Sweet Birthday. 

by the water...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with two cards for two challenges and both feature water, sort of, lol!   First up is my card for the Paper Players.   Their challenge is "by the water", thus the title of my blog post.  Here is what I made.

Last week I was able to make a day trip to the Washington coast with my boys and when I saw the challenge at the Paper Players, it had me thinking about my trip and seashells!   A few months ago, I was able to purchase a die set from Waffle Flower that features seashells that fit perfectly inside their postage collage die.   I die cut all the images and then used just three colors of oxide inks to ink up my shells and starfish.  I die cut the postage collage and then inked up each little panel with Salty Ocean and Antique Linen oxide inks and the coordinating stencil to create a sandy beach with water in the background.   The sentiment is also from Waffle Flower and that was stamped in one of the postage openings.   The small "sending" is from a Simon Says Stamp set.  I stamped it and die cut it with small strip die.  Everything was arranged on the panel and then it was added to a kraft cardstock base.  

My next card is for Color Throwdown and uses a die set from the most recent Birch Press Design release.  This one is called Koi Duo.   Here is what I created. 

One of my favorite places is Kubota Garden in the Seattle neighborhood of Rainier Beach.  My mother-in-law was friends with the granddaughters of the creator of the garden, Fujitaro Kubota.  It is so serene and peaceful there.  There are several ponds and all of them have koi swimming around.  It is kind of relaxing watching them moving slowly through the water.  So, that is what I was thinking when I created this card using the CTD colors.   The water element is represented by the grouping of black hexagons.  I used another Birch Press Design die called Honeycomb Cutout.  I used glossy black cardstock to give the hexagons the look of wet tiles.   I wasn't sure how the koi would turn out done in hot pink, peach and green, but I think I was able to create a harmonious look.    Let me know what you think.   Arranged everything on a white panel and finished with the small sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set. 

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day.

Simon Says Stamp Happy Camper Blog Hop - Day 2!

 Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to be taking part in the Simon Says Stamp day 2 blog hop celebrating the new Happy Camper release!  I have three cards that I will be sharing that I created with the super sweet Cute Campers stamp set.  For the release Simon Says Stamp has a promotion going on.   Purchase any item from the Happy Camper release and receive the brand new, never been release Sunflower Dance stamp set!  This promotion runs through August 3rd at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.  Also, one lucky commentor on this blog post will receive a $25 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate!  YAY! (Winners will be contacted via email by Simon Says Stamp.) You should have gotten here from Karin Akesdotter's blog.  Now, let's have a look at what I created. 

For this card I did several different techniques:  masking, ink blending and coloring.  I don't often do a lot of masking, but this fun little stamp set is made for masking!  I figured out where I wanted all the images and then created the masks.   Once I had all the images stamped I covered them with their respective masks and did some ink blending for the sky and ground.  I did create additional masks for the horizon line so there was a defined line between sky and ground.  Once the ink blending was done I colored the images with Copic markers.  I did remask the fire so that I could ink blend the glow from the fire.   I die cut the panel, stamped the sentiment and then added the "stars" with a white gel pen.

While I'm super pleased with how the first card turned out, this card is my favorite of the three I made.  The clean and simple scene that I created is more my style.  I started by stamping the main scene image across a panel of kraft cardstock using kraft ink for a tone on tone look.  I die cut the panel down using a Simon Says Stamp A2 frames rectangle die.  I did some selective inking of the large scene stamp so that I only had the two trees, bush and camper.  I stamped that on a white cardstock panel and then die cut it down with a tag die.  The little puppy and fire were stamped on a scrap of white cardstock.  I colored everything with Copic markers.  The puppy and fire were fussy cut and added to the tag along with a twine bow.  I adhered the background panel and tag to a card base and then added the fun sentiment that I die cut with a little banner die.  

My last card was made in a similar manner to the second card.  I inked up the portion of the largest image that featured the tent and stamped it.  I also stamped the little critter.  He looks like a little chipmunk to me.  I then water colored the images with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  Once dry I fussy cut them out.  I used a piece of left over water color cardstock to create the background.  I thought it would be fun to have him sitting beside a little lake or stream.  Once the panel was dry I die cut the panel with a smaller A2 frame die, stamped the sentiment and then adhered it to a kraft cardstock base.  I then added my little scene. 

Well, that's it for me.  I'm the last stop on the hop.  If you started with me, the entire blog hop link list is below.   Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win the $25 gift certificate.   

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Suzy Plantamura

Cathy Zielske

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Lisa Addesa

Emily Midgett

Heather Ruwe

Sandi MacIver

Tina Smith

Hanh Nguyen

Barb Engler

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Karin Åkesdotter

Rosemary Dennis

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Patterned Paper Play...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card for the Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge that closes in just a few hours!  Here is what I made.

Used lots of papers from the 49 and Market Kaleidoscope collection for the card.  I stamped the entire image on one piece of patterned paper and then the flowers on another.  Die cut them out and then layered them.  Used the PFS elegant circles and rectangles dies to layer behind the flowers and then die cut white cardstock with the largest PFS postage edge rectangle.  Stamped the sentiment, die cut it and then layered all the elements on a light green cardstock base.  

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Christmas wishes...

 I didn't do much in the way of "Christmas in July" this year.  Just wasn't feeling it.  But I recently purchased a stencil and die set from Simon Says Stamp called Festive Swag.  When I saw that it was stencil week at Just Us Girls, I decided to put my new products to use.   

I paired the stenciled piece with patterned paper and a pre-printed sentiment from the 49 and Market Evergreen Season collection.  I used distress oxide ink in Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid, Evergreen Bough, Rustic Wilderness and Pine Needles for the swag.  I used the Pinkfresh Studio Postage Edge dies for the two patterned paper layers.  Now I have one Christmas card ready to go!

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Birch Press Design Blog Post

 Hello!  Wow... July is just whizzing by!  My second Birch Press Design post is up on the BPD blog today.  Here is a little peek.

Hope you will check out the post.  Thanks to for stopping by and have a great day!

three cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with three cards today.  And each card is for one challenge each!   First up is a card that I made for the current Color Hues challenge.  Let's have a look at what I made.

This card was made using the Altenew Craft Your Life Watercolor Flowers stamps and stencils along with sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Sweet Birthday stamp set.  A few weeks ago I think I mentioned that I had been looking through my Altenew products and came across the Watercolor Flowers stamps and dies.  I had thought I had also purchased the coordinating stencils and embossing folder, but couldn't find them.  Well, I found the stencils and the embossing folder a few days ago.  YAY!   What was lost has been found, lol!  I used Altenew inks to stencil the flowers and leaves after I stamped the image.  I was going to die cut the image, but decided to just leave it as is and just die cut the panel.  I adhered the panel to a white cardstock base, stamped the two word sentiment and die cut them.  I did die cut additional layers for the words.  I adhered them together and then added the words to the card front.   A simple, but elegant card, I think.

Next up is a card for the current Just Us Girls challenge.   This week it is mood board week and it is a pretty one.  This is what I made.

 

When I saw the mood board I immediately thought of a Simon Says Stamp set that I got in a card kit called Cozy Autumn Hugs.  It had leaves in it that are similar in style to some of the images in the mood board.   I used to it create my own version of the mood board.  I tried to use what I thought were some of the colors found in the mood board, as well.  Not sure if I totally hit the mark with the colors, but I love how the card turned out.  I arranged all the leaves and berry stems around the sentiments that are also from the stamp set.  I adhered all the leaves flush to the card base.  The sentiments were stamped and die cut and then I die cut additional layers of each word to adhere behind the words so there was a bit of dimension.   Did I hit the mark?  Let me know what you think.

The final card is for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of cute critters.  Are whales cute?  I think the ones on my card are, lol!

I created this card using more new dies from the latest Birch Press Design release.  The fun whales are from the Block Print Whale Duo set.  The waves are another new die set called Corner Waves.  I also used the Wavy Hillside die set and a sentiment from the Vintage Everyday Greetings stamp and die set.  I die cut the whales and then added some ink to give them a little more depth and dimension.  I had wanted both whales to be a little more tucked behind the waves, but I wasn't paying attention when I added foam tape to the bottom two waves resulting in me not being able to tuck the whales down behind the waves.  I added the hillside in the background and then did some inking on the remainder of the white panel for the sky.    I added the sentiment to finish things off.  I think this will be a good card to send to my brother for his birthday.  

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Birthday cards...

 Hello!  Stopping in to share a couple of birthday cards that I made using products from the 49 and Market Summer Porch collection.  It is one of my favorites.   Let's have a look at what I created.

I will be sending this one off to Freshly Made Sketches.  It is a very simple take on the sketch facilitated by the fact that I could use patterned paper to create the corner elements on the sketch.  The center portion was easy as I just added a frame, the flower pot and butterfly laser cuts.  The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set that I stamped on a scrap of Summer Porch patterned paper and die cut with the matching die.  

The second card is for the JUGs challenge.  This week is word week and the word is water.  Let's have a look.

This card is on it's way to Scottsdale, Arizona.  My niece recently graduated from the University of Washington - Tacoma with a finance degree and got her first job at an organization located in Scottsdale.  She starts her job on July 14th and her birthday is July 15th!  I'm hoping this card reminds her a little bit of the Pacific Northwest.   For this one I used the largest postage edge die from Pinkfresh Studio to die cut the patterned paper from the Summer Porch collection.  I added the postage stamp in the one corner and the leafy stem, berries and butterfly in the other.  The sentiment is from the same Simon Says Stamp set I used for the first card.  I finished off the inside with another sentiment.  Another super simple card.  

Well, that is it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

July Birch Press Design Post

 Hello!  Popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I made.

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Ocean Wonders...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made using the FABULOUS new Birch Press Design release!   This release is huge and while I do two monthly posts on the Birch Press Design blog (one coming on Wednesday July 9th) I will be sharing lots more here on my blog.  Let's take a look at what I made.

This first card using the new Block Print Deep Sea Fish set of dies.  Isn't that a cool fish?  Honestly, the whole release just makes me think of Finding Nemo!  I have so many ideas, lol!  I used the colors from Color Throwdown for my little scene.  I inked up sections of white cardstock with distress oxide inks in carved pumpkin, seedless preserves and frayed burlap.  I let them dry a bit and then die cut all my pieces.  Using the ink left on the blending brushes I added different colors to each of the pieces.  I love how the fish turned out.  The layout is from Sunday Stamps.  I will admit that I took a bit of license with the sketch.  I thought the top and bottom fins added those two additional elements on the sketch.  The kelp was die cut from a scrap of white cardstock and then inked up with the seedless preserves and carved pumpkin.  I added everything to a white cardstock base and then remembered I needed a sentiment.  Thankfully it stamped correctly, lol!  I used one from the Birch Press Design stamp set called Classic Sentimental Wreath.   Three clear sequins in three sizes were the finishing touch.

On to my second card.  This one is for the Paper Players to use circles.  Let's have a look.

I absolutely love the new Block Print Floating Jellyfish!  This card came about because I just wanted to figure out how the jelly comes together.  I die cut it from a dark blue cardstock and then worked out the layering.  I put the piece aside and worked on the first card.  After I finished the first card I really started looking at the blue jelly and realized I could make a card with it.  I added some ink to parts of the jelly.  The bottom legs of the fish were inked up with seedless preserves.  The middle layer was kind of left alone and then I really darkened up the top layer.  I die cut a circle from light blue and then added some ink to the circle as well.  The kelp was die cut from a bright green cardstock and then inked up with green and teal inks.  I used oxide inks and basically used what ink remained on the blender brushes to add the color.   The sentiment is one I hot foiled months ago using the Birch Press Sugar Scripts Sentiments 2 set.  I layered the kelp on the circle and then added the jelly.

In this close up you can see some of the ink blending a little better.  I added the circle to a white cardstock base.  Adhered the sentiment and then added all the little sequin "bubbles".  The sequins are a silvery blue.   I decided to add the panel to a bright green cardstock base and love how it makes the jelly really pop.   

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!