more clean and simple mixed media...

 Hello!  I'm back and like the title of my post says I have more cards created in a clean and simple style that feature some mixed media!  Love combining things that don't seem like they belong together, lol.  Let's have a look at what I made.

This card is for Freshly Made Sketches and I just love how it turned out!   I used lots of distress mica sprays and I think the Fossilized Amber distress spritz for the leaves.  The whole thing started when I created the tag I used on this card.  I had alot of the sprays left over in my splatter box and so I decided to grab a piece of watercolor cardstock and soak up all the leftover sprays.  The end result was a brownish color.  Once it was dry I added some additional mica spray in Mulled Cider and Harvest Moon (I think, lol).   I let it dry and then die cut the leaves using a leaf die from A Jillian Vance Design and a set of leaf dies from Simon Says Stamp.   A piece of off white cardstock was die cut with a rectangle die and then I worked on the arrangment of the leaves.   When I had that done to my liking I took a picture so I could get the placement just right.  I glued down the leaves and then added the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Cozy Autumn Hugs stamp set with strip of foam tape.  I finished with the little bow.  

This next card is for Color Throwdown and I will also be adding it to the Just Us Girls gallery as I added a little bit of stenciling.   Take a look.

The CTD colors this week are orange, cream and kraft.  I thought the newly released Birch Press Design Splendid Cosmos Contour Layers die would look pretty in those colors.  I die cut the main flower from off white cardstock (PTI's Rustic White) and then added orange ink (Pinkfresh Studio Apricot) to the center of the flower extending it out on the petals.  Got a little too much on that one bottom petal, but I think it looks fine.  I die cut the center pieces from kraft cardstock and then added a little bit of the residual orange ink on my brush to the pieces.   Everything was then glued together.  I originally had another ide for the card, but when I tried it I just didn't like it.  That happens sometimes, right?   So, I decided to sleep on it and in the morning pulled out a brick pattern stencil from MFT Stamps and added the partial brick pattern to a kraft cardstock panel using Picket Fence Studios Luxe Paper Glaze in gold.   Once dry I adhered the flower and then added the sentiment that I had hot foiled on cream cardstock in matte gold.   Again, clean and simple, but with a little touch of mixed media.  Try it sometime!

I was sad to learn of the passing of Color Throwdown team member, Barbara Anders.  She never failed to amaze me with her gorgeous cards!   Her talent will be greatly missed.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

halloween greetings

 Hello!  Popping back in with another card for a few challenges:  Color Throwdown, Just Us Girls and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   Let's have a look at what I made.

It's pumpkin season and I am here for it!  I LOVE PUMPKINS!! And making card with pumpkins on them, lol!  Couldn't resist using the Simon Says Stamp Pumpkin die set along with the CTD colors and inspiration from the JUGs mood board.  I die cut the pumpkin from orange cardstock and then added some light inking with distress oxide ink left on the blending brush I use with orange oxide inks.  I die cut the stem and leaves from aqua and green cardstocks and did the same thing with them.   Black cardstock was die cut with a rectangle die and then embossed with the spider web embossing folder.  I adhered that to a light gray cardstock base, added the pumpkin and leaves and finished with the sentiment that was stamped in black on the same light gray used for the card base and die cut with a tag die.  To tone down the gray I used the residual ink on my black soot oxide blending brush.   Another Halloween card to send to one of the littles in my life!

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

two cards...

 Hello, hello!  Can't believe that it is already August!   Where is the time going?  Anyway, I'm here to share two cards that I made.   Uusally I combine my two favorite challenges into one card, but this time I have a card for Freshly Made Sketches and a separate card for Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look at the FMS card. 

My love affair with 49th and Market's Summer Porch line of products continues, lol!  I recently purchased a package of their laser cuts.  I used several of the laser cuts, as well as pieces of patterned paper to create my card.   Not much to explain other than I cut the pieces of paper to fit the sketch and adhered them to the front of my card base.  I then chose the laser cuts I wanted to use and adhered them together using liquid adhesive.   I stamped the sentiment down in the lower corner and then added the focal element using thin foam squares.   The leafy branch and the berry stems are separate laser cuts that I layered together for a fuller look.  Going to add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes, as well. 

Now for the Color Throwdown card.  This color combo was a little bit of a challenge for me, but I decided that stamping was a good way to go.  Take a look.

I used a very old Concord & 9th stamp set called Beautiful Branches.  I stamped the branch and leaves using light brown and light gray inks.  I then stamped the little flowers in the challenge colors of purple, orange and yellow and arranged them on the panel after I had die cut it with a rectangle die.  I then stamped the sentiment using the light brown ink.  I finished with the little bow and enamel dots in the center of each flower.   

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

two simple cards...

 Hello and happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone here in the US.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and Memorial Day.  Our weather isn't so great this weekend (unfortunately typical for the Pacific Northwest!), but we will still have a good time!   I'm popping in to share two pretty simple cards that I made for a couple of challenges.   Let's have a look at card #1.

This card is for Color Hues (use coral and teal) and the Pinkfresh Studio May challenge of flowers.  I don't often make two cards for challenges hosted by papercrafting companies, but I had just gotten the pretty Pinkfresh Studio Amazing Things stamp, die and stencil set.  I'm on a mission to use products at least once right after I get them and so here we are, lol!  I stamped the image and then stenciled the flowers with Pinkfresh Studio inks in Coral Reef and Passionfruit and distress ink ink Abandoned Coral.  The leaves were stenciled with Pinkfresh Aquamarine and Teal Cave inks.  I used a PFS scalloped rectangle die to cut light gray cardstock and then adhered the stem to the frame before adhering it to the white cardstock base.  I finished with a sentiment from the Amazing Things stamp set that I die cut with the matching die and popped up.

This next card for the current Color Throwdown challenge is super simple.  I don't think I have made a card this simple in a very long time, lol!

  The colors for this week's CTD challenge are olive, grey and white.  Perfect for a masculine card.  I make birthday cards for my mom to give to her grand and great-grand children so this one will be going to her to give to my son who is turning 18 in just a couple of weeks.   I can't believe he will be 18!  Seems like it wasn't that long ago he was heading off to kindergarten!  Time sure does fly.  Anyway, I did direct to paper inking with Crushed Olive and Weathered Wood distress inks to get my colors.  I have been going thru my craft supplies, again, to determine what I need to purge and came across this little circular die with the trees in it from Simon Says Stamp.  Don't know the name of it, but it sure is cute.  I die cut the trees from the Crushed Olive panel and then die cut that with a square die.   I used the same square die to cut the Weathered Wood panel and then adhered the two together using thin foam squares.   I added it to a white die cut panel and then added the Memory Box birthday sentiment tab.  Like I said, super simple!

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

you are loved...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a card for several challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and the Tic Tac Toe challenge.   I don't think I have ever participated in the Tic Tac Toe challenge, but when I saw Lisa from My Paper Tales' card for the challenge I had to play along!  This is what I created:

The CTD colors this week are so bright and pretty.  I mean who doesn't love pink, yellow and green together?  It just says spring and so does the pretty You Are Loved stamp and die set from PaperTrey Ink.  It was one of my purchases when I won a gift certificate during the February release.   I used Pinkfresh Studio inks to do all of the stamping.   For the tic tac toe portion of the challenge I went with the bottom row of foliage, embossing and critter.  My critter is the tiny dragonfly perched on the wreath.  Hope that is sufficient!  I hadn't originally planned to emboss the background, but like I said I was inspired to do it because of Lisa.  I used a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder Blossom Field for the background.   The FMS layout calls for a square, but I rarely do square cards so I went with my usual A2 size.   

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

oh, happy day...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card that I made for Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   Also going to add this to the Flower Challenge to use layers. Let's have a look!

The CTD colors are aqua, teal and olive.  I went with light values for my aqua and teal and did some simple Copic coloring.  The aqua flower is the one on the right and the teal is the one on the left.  The stamp set I used was the collaboration set by Memory Box and Simon Says Stamp for Stamptember 2023 called So Kind.    I tried to find cardstocks that were a fairly close match for the colors in the magnolia flowers.  I used the Memory Box Arched Capped Pinpoint dies for the elements from the FMS layout and then added the magnolias and sentiment on top.  Very simple, but I like how it turned out.

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

two cards to share...

 Hello!  I'm popping to share two cards that I made for a few challenges.  First up is a card that I made for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Hues.  Couldn't pass up that pretty combo of green and copper and my in real life friend, Greta, is guest designer this go round.  Just had to participate!

Before Christmas I was able to purchase a couple of die sets from Simon Says Stamp with a winter/Christmas sort of theme to them.  I wanted to use them and thought the Color Hues combo was the perfect opportunity.  I started by inking up some cardstock with Rustic Wilderness distress oxide ink.  I thought I had just the regular distress ink in Rustic Wilderness, but I don't.  Have to remedy that situation, lol!  I die cut the holly branch from that.  I then used Rustic Wilderness distress spray stain and Tree Lot distress mica spray to color some white distress heavy stock.  As that panel was drying I dipped the holly leaves in the little puddles of ink in my spray box to give a mica shine to the leaves.   The pine branches were die cut from the panel I created with the sprays once it was dry.  I used some copper glitter cardstock to die cut the berries and the strip.   I die cut the squares and the main panel from white woodgrain cardstock and layered them on a kraft cardstock base.  I had some fine copper thread that I used to create the messy loop of thread securing it with glue.  Then I layered on the holly branch and pine.  The sentiment was stamped in black ink, die cut with a label die and adhered with foam squares.  

My next card is super simple.  Take a look.

After I made the first card I thought I would make something for Color Throwdown, but struggled to come up with an idea.  I had been trying to think of something to make with recently purchased dies, but it just wasn't happening.  I almost threw in the towel on this one, but then decided to just do some simple stamping.  I used a tried and true favorite (and very old) Stampin Up! set called Kinda Eclectic.  I stamped all the images using the inks from the CTD combo and then finished with the sentiment in gray and three clear sequins.  Clean and simple!

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

Jewel Snowflake

 Hello!  Popping in with a card for a few challenges, Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge.    For the PFS challenge I went with the theme of a Christmas/holiday card. Take a look at what I made:

A few months ago Pinkfresh Studio had a Christmas/holiday release and they introduced the beautiful Folk Snowflake stamp, stencil and die set of products.  I love a good snowflake and had to get this one.  I had been waiting for the right situation to come along to make something with this set and the color combo from CTD is what set everything in motion.  I just love the beautiful jewel tone colors in the combo and it worked out perfectly that there were three colors (plus gold) and three layers to the snowflake.  I just love the snowflake in those bold colors.  I stenciled the snowflake first using PFS inks in Royal Kiss, Olive and Sapphire, stamped it with the outline stamp and then die cut it.   I had previously die cut the gold rectangle using the PFS Folk Rectangle dies set.  I layered that on a white panel and then used the smaller scalloped rectangle die for the piece I layered the snowflake on.  To make the scalloped rectangle and the snowflake substantial I adhered several layers behind each before adhering them to the panel.  I finished with one gold glitter embellishment to the center of the snowflake and the greeting that I had hot foiled in black a long time ago! 

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

More Christmas cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple more Christmas cards to share.  The first card is for the Paper Players challenge to create a clean and simple card with a tag on it.  I also used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches so will post it there.  Take a look.

I made the tag several years ago for Ellen Hutson's annual Christmas tag challenge.  I used one of her stamp sets for the images.  I don't know which one because I was too lazy to dig through everything and find it, lol!  Anyway, I stamped a starry background on watercolor paper and then did a galaxy background with watercolors.  I die cut the tag from that and then added a little snowy hill for the deer to stand on.  The deer was stamped, embossed and then watercolored, too.  Die cut with the matching dies.  I stamped and embossed the moon on vellum.  Die cut it and then added some sparkle with glitter glue (I think!)  Finished with the sentiments and some sparkly eyelash twine.   For the sketch I added some strips of patterned paper from La La Land Crafts that went well with my tag.  The back panel was embossed with a Simon Says Stamp snowflake embossing folder.   Adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to make it sparkle.

My second card is for the Color Throwdown challenge and I used a Stampin Up! stamp and die set that I recently purchased.  Take a look.

I stamped the sentiment using Memento Pear Tart and then applied the same ink to white cardstock to create matching cardstock.  That was die cut with a Memory Box arched die.  The smaller arched die was cut from dark green cardstock and stamped with an image from the stamp set using a dark green ink.  I adhered the sentiment and then added the little pine branches that I die cut from black metallic cardstock using a die from the coordinating Stampin Up! die set.  The little berries were also die cut from the cardstock that I created with the direct to paper inking.  I added some glossy accents to them for a little shine.

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

Happy Christmas...

 Hello!  I'm back with a clean and simple little card for the current Color Throwdown challenge.  Haven't played along with that challenge in weeks.  The colors for the current challenge really pulled at me so I had to make something.  A few new products from Simon Says Stamp arrived in my mailbox this week and one of them was the Wonky Tree-O die set.  I just had to use the dies for my card.  My card works for the JUGs challenge so I will be adding to their gallery.   I used two of the colors (pink and green) and my card features trees.

I diecut the trees from white cardstock and inkblended on Pumice Stones, Spun Sugar and Evergreen Bough distress oxide inks.  I die cut the little tree stands from kraft.  I used a very old Memory Box die to create my little snowy background, die cut the bottom with the same Memory Box die I used to die cut the woodgrain cardstock and adhered the two together.   The trees were added and then I decided that I wanted to add a little Rock Candy glitter.  So I dapped on some distress collage medium and then poured on the glitter.  I added some Snowfall grit paste around the bottom of the trees and to the sentiment for an extra little touch.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

fallish wreath...

 Hello!  Can't believe that September is almost over.  Fall is definitely in the air here in the Pacific Northwest.   The rain is falling, the wind is blowing and that means I had to get out my warm coat when I take our dog for a walk.   I don't walk when it raining hard, but I do love getting out once the rain has passed as the air is so fresh, clean and full of the smell of falling leaves!  Anyway, on to my card.  It is for Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches.   Will also add it to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes. Take a look.

As I have stated in the past, Scrapbook.com often has freebies and about a week ago they offered this die wreath.  I couldn't resist so I made a small purchase.   When I saw the FMS sketch I thought the wreath would be fun to use.  I die cut mossy green and rust colored cardstocks with the wreath then glued them together.  The is a separate circular die that I cut from kraft cardstock and stamped with the sentiment from a Simon Say Stamp with VersaFine CLAIR Acorn ink.  I die cut off white cardstock with a rectangle die and then adhered the wreath and sentiment.  I found a piece of mossy colored twine that I wrapped around the panel and tied in a bow.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

two cards...

 Hey!  Look at me posting two days in a row, lol!   That hasn't happened in a very long time.   Today I have two cards to share for two challenges that I normally combine:  Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.    First up is the card for FMS.

I recently got this fun jack-o-lantern die from Simon Says Stamp.  I wanted to use it for the sketch that FMS featured last week, but I just never got around to it.  Too busy cross-stitching and other things, lol!  When I saw this week's sketch I immediately knew I would be able to use the jack-o-lanterns with the sketch.  And I continued my love affair with distress mica sprays.  I used Harvest Moon and Mulled Cider mica sprays for the jack-o-lanterns.  Once my cardstock was dry I die cut them and then backed their faces with glossy black cardstock.   That was the easy part.  Then I had to figure out the sort of artistic portion of the sketch.   I wanted to use a mica spray, but sometimes things can go awry when trying to get the spray where you want it.  So I tried out a couple of stamped images, but didn't like any of them.   I die cut a piece of white cardstock, placed it in my splatter box, took a deep breath and sprayed.  It came out exactly as I wanted it to the first time!  YAY!    I placed the pumpkins approximately where I wanted them and then stamped the sentiment using VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink.  I thought the card needed a little something else so I pulled the spider web image from the stamp set that the sentiment came from and stamped it with the Nocturne ink.   I piled on the pumpkins and I was done.  I really like how it turned out.  Clean and simple, but with a bit of mixed media!

As many of you know Stamptember is happening right now at Simon Says Stamp.   Lots of different stamp companies collaborate with Simon Says Stamp on limited edition stamp and die sets.  In 2021 Concord & 9th collaborated with Simon Says Stamp to create the stamp and die combo called Double the Thanks.  That is what I used for my card.  I have to be honest and tell you that after I got the products I wasn't really sure that I should have even purchased them.  Do you ever do that?  Get caught up in the moment and buy something that in retrospect you probably shouldn't have?  Anyway, I decided to get it out to make a card using the CTD colors.   And I have to say that I like how it turned out.  To jazz things up a bit I added the background that I embossed with a WeRMemorykeepers embossing folder.   I used all Pinkfresh Studio inks for the stamping.  The finish touch was Nuvo drops in Morning Dew to the center of the flowers.  I had to do the drops in stages on the sunflower as the dot are tiny and very close together!

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

a rainbow and flowers...

 Hello!  Hope all is well in your world.  It has been pretty cold here in the PNW (Pacific Northwest), but thankfully little to no snow!  Hoping it stays that way.  I'm popping in with two cards today.  I'm very proud of myself for making two cards because lately I have not felt like making even one card.    Sometimes I think I suffer from "too much stuff syndrome" (I made that up!).   Because I have too much stuff I get a little paralyzed and can't decide what to do.  Do you suffer from this same syndrome?  Let me know!  Here is my first card for Sunday Stamps:

Birch Press Designs has a new release out and it is full of beautiful floral die sets including the Sprouting Crocus Contour Layers die set.  I love seeing Crocus flowers sprouting up during the early spring, don't you?   I die cut the flowers and the stems from white cardstock and then inked them up with distress oxide ink in Mowed Lawn and Prize Ribbon.  I then assembled the flowers per the little assembly sheet that comes with the dies.  I set them aside to dry and worked on my sentiment.  I inked up some white cardstock with Bundled Sage distress oxide and then positioned the Big Thanks Sugar Script die so that the inking was darkest at the bottom and die cut the word.  I die cut two additional words and adhered them to the inked one for more stability.  There is a shadow die for the work, but I decided not to use it for my card.   For the background I placed one of the flowers along with the word on a panel of white cardstock to determine where I was going to blend on some Speckled Egg distress oxide.  Once I had that figured out I inked up the background and then adhered all the elements.  I decided to add a sub-sentiment to the card.  The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti and was stamped in VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.  I finished with a scattering of Memory Box Fairy Drops.  I think I captured several of the colors in the palette fairly well.  

The next card is for Color Throwdown:

The colors for this week's Color Throwdown had me thinking "rainbow" and so I pulled out the fun Stampin Up! Rainbow of Happiness bundle and did a little stamping.  I used Pinkfresh Studio and Simon Says Stamp inks for the rainbow.  The pink and blue inks are from Pinkfresh Studio and the yellow and aqua inks are from Simon Says Stamp.  I die cut the little clouds from Simon Says Stamp velvet luxury cardstock in snow white.  I layered those on with liquid adhesive and foam squares after I stamped the sentiment in VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.  I added the little blue hearts and some crystal clear sequins.   I will add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.