Peace I Leave with You...

 Hello!  Popping in with a card that I made for the current Just Us Girls challenge which is anything goes with stencils.  I recently purchased two different stencil sets from PaperTrey Ink and really wanted to get something made with both and I actually did!  I'm thinking I will share the other card for the November JUGs stencil challenge.  Anyway, let's look at what I made.

Another recent PTI purchase was the Reflections:  John 14 stamp set.  I thought it went perfectly with the background that I stenciled using the PTI Leafy Garden stencil set.  I used Altenew inks in Frayed Leaf and Sugar Kelp.  Sugar Kelp is a dark green with a brown undertone that I thought would look good with Frayed Leaf and I was right.  I love it.   After all that stenciling I didn't want to totally cover it up so I used vellum for the verse and heat embossed it in gold as I thought that would look nice with the green inks I chose to use.  The stenciled panel and the embossed panel were die cut with PTI Rounded Rectangle Stitched dies.  For additional interest I wrapped a piece of twine around the larger panel and secured it in place with washi tape.  I then tied a bow with the same twine and glued it in place.  The vellum panel was place on top using foam squares which I discovered don't show through when placed behind the lettering!  Love this verse and love how the card turned out.  Simple, but effective!

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

this card isn't for everyone, lol!

Hello!  Popping in to share a card that I willing admit is not for everyone.  In fact I'm not sure it is for anyone, lol!  But here I am to share it.   It will be heading over to Freshly Made Sketches, Color Hues and Just Us Girls (stencil week).  Let's have a look at what I created. 

I have taken to calling this one "camo leaf" because it does look like camouflage to me.   Making this card was definitely a challenge when it came to the color combo!   I used the Simon Says Stamp Oak Leaf stencil and die set.  And I will admit it took me at least three tries to get the colors I was going for.  As you can see from the Color Hues badge artichoke has a gray undertone.  I don't have any inks in that color, but I think combining the purple with the closest green I had to artichoke provided me with a green more in line with artichoke.  All the inks I used are from Altenew.  I even inkblended on white cardstock so I could die cut out the word "blessed" in the same shade of purple I used on the leaf.    I decided to go with an embossed background (Simon Says Stamp Whirlpool Spinner).   Let me you what you think of my "camo leaf"!

 

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

A Tale of Two Cards

 Hello, hello!  I'm back with more to share.   And as my post title indicates it is two cards.  Both made using the same sketch from Freshly Made Sketch.  Both are Christmas cards, but one is more traditional while the other is quite quirky and moody.  The more traditional card will be heading off to Freshly Made Sketches, the Paper Players (colors), and CAS Christmas challenge.   I will add the moody card to Just Us Girls (second entry)  Let's have a look.

This card isn't super simple, but it is rather clean in the design and elements.  So, I hope it passes muster with the CAS Christmas challenge.   As you can see I did use the Paper Players colors of aqua, teal, red and tan (I used kraft cardstock).   All the dies are Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies.  Specifically, Dash Away All (a Diecember 2021 exclusive) and Christmas Cutouts.   The sentiment is a Memory Box foiled sentiment tab.  I didn't exactly follow the FMS sketch as I was working from memory, but I think I'm still pretty close.   

Now for the quirky card.  Again, the take on the FMS sketch isn't exactly spot on, but still pretty close, I think.  I decided to add this one to Just Us Girls as it is die week and it is anything goes.   The idea for this card came about when I was looking through my patterned paper stash and saw 49 and Market's Starlight Dreams paper pack.   I thumbed through the pack and came across the piece I ended up using.  A nighttime sky with moody clouds and a scattering of stars.  I found coordinating papers in that sort of yellow for the moon and light blue.  When I did all the die cutting I originally die cut the peace sentiment out of the yellowish paper and Santa from the light blue.  I put everything together and didn't like, at all.  Not one bit!  So, I decided to die cut Santa and sleigh from black glitter cardstock and the peace sentiment from the same patterned paper as the background.  Liked it much better but still wasn't super happy with the card.  Added the black glitter stars and still wasn't happy, but the more I look at it the more I like it.  Because I wasn't wild about this card I decided to make the second card that you see above.  Let me know what you think.

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

grateful to call you friend...

 Well, hello!  It has been a while since I last posted.  Ten days in fact.  I don't think I have ever gone ten days without posting something.   I had thought I would post the card I'm posting today last week, but I didn't get around to making it until earlier this week.  I will be posting this to Just Us Girls (anything does with dies), Color Hues and Pinkfresh Studio August challenge.  So, here we go, lol!

A few months ago I purchased the Pinkfresh Studio Art Deco Floral Arch stamp, die and stencil set.  It was one of those buy the stamp set and get the stencils and dies free.  Couldn't pass that deal up now could I?  I used the Color Hues combo of navy and teal for arches, stems and flowers.   The challenge for the PFS August challenge is beautiful backgrounds.   The PFS background die I used is no longer available (I think it is called Sparkle Diamond), but I absolutely love it and think it makes a beautiful background for the floral arch.  I used some of the navy blue ink that was left on my blending brush on the top of the panel before adding the die cut arch.  I die cut a second blank arch and adhered to the top one to provide a little more stability.  I stamped and die cut the sentiment (cutting a second blank for the sentiment, as well) and adhered it to the card front.  I finished with some tiny dark blue gems that I had in my stash.  The inks used are from Altenew.  I used navy (appropriately), Galactic Stream (dark teal) and Teal Cave (medium teal).

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

bright side...

Hello!  I'm back with two more cards that I made with products from the Simon Says Stamp Every Happiness release.  One card will be heading off to the current Just Us Girls challenge (stencils), as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   Let's look at what I created.  (If you haven't yet, please check out my Simon Says Stamp day 2 blog hop post.)

This first card features the new Bellflower Blossoms stencil set, Chunky Ovals dies and a sentiment from the fun Positive Thoughts stamp set.   I stenciled the background using blue, purple and green inks from Altenew.   Once the stenciling was done I die cut the panel with a Chunky Oval die.  I adhered that to a white cardstock base.  Two of the smaller Chunky Oval were used to die cut some polka dot vellum and then the sentiment that was stamped in a dark purple ink.   This is the card that will be heading to the above mentioned challenges. 

For this card I used the new Sunflower Meadow stamp set, as well as the Chunky Ovals.   I also pulled in a die from the Sparkler Scallop frames set from last month's release.  I just love that die set!  I stamped the image on the white panel, die cut it and then used two Chunky Oval dies to create the kraft cardstock frame.  I adhered the frame, added the little twine bow and then finished with the sentiment from the Sunflower Meadow stamps set that was die cut with the smallest Chunky Oval die.

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

Flowers...

 Hello!  I'm popping in on this day before the 4th of July to share a couple of cards that I made for a few challenges.  One card is for the Just Us Girls challenge and Sunday Stamps.  The other card is for Freshly Made Sketches.  Let's have a look at the cards.

This card is for the JUGs and Sunday Stamps challenges.  The JUGs challenge is to use a die set that hasn't seen love in awhile.  Sadly, I have way too many of those in my stash!  But I was able to settle on this one from Simon Says Stamp called Sunrise Stem.  I die cut the flower and stem from scraps that I had on my desk from a few project that I had made recently.  I did add some blue inking to the flower center to give it a bit more depth.  I didn't add any additional color to the stem or the flower center.  I diecut the rectangles per the Sunday Stamp sketch using rounded corner rectangle dies and then used the largest in the set for the background.  I adhered everything to a white cardstock base and then finished with a sentiment from the 2023 Memory Box/Simon Says Stamp Stamptember stamp and die

set called So Kind.

I recently bought a set of products from the 49 and Market Faded Memory Lane collection and have been wanting to use them.  Finally, the FMS sketch gave me that opportunity.  I used laser cuts, cello tape and a tiny piece of patterned paper for all my elements.  The sentiment is also from the So Kind stamp and die set.  Super simple card.  Die cut off white cardstock, add the cello tape and then glue on the elements per the sketch.  Finish with the stamped and die cut sentiment.

Well, that's it for me.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

I'm So Grateful...

 Hello!   Well, it has been a while, again, since I last posted.  This seems to be my pattern:  Post several cards then disappear for a week or so.  Don't think the pattern will change anytime soon, either.   It isn't that I'm not making things because I am.  I just can't share what I have made yet.  But I'm here today with a "I just want to make something" card.  I will be sending this one off to Color Hues (yellow and black), Freshly Made Sketches and Just Us Girls (moodboard).   So, let's see what I made.

I had been going through some cards that I had made a long time ago and came across a card that I had made using this pretty Memory Box die set called Cottage Flower Stem.  I decided that I need to find that die set and make another card with it.  And here it is, lol!  I die cut just the flower from yellow cardstock and the flower with stem from white cardstock.  I did add a little bit of distress oxide ink in yellow to the flower center and to the bottom layer to provide a little contrast.  For the FMS portion of the card I die cut a piece of patterned paper from the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo Garden using a small rectangle die.  I created the flower and then adhered that to the white flower stem.  The rectangles were layered on a white cardstock panel and then I added the flower.  I thought about having the leaves be black, but decided against that as I felt I had enough black already.  I did add some pale yellow sequins, tho.  Finished with the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp set. I thought about creating a card for JUGs using lots of flowers, but decided that this single yellow flower worked for the challenge.   Let me know what you think.

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

just for you...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for a few challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches (two weeks in a row... yay me, lol!), Just Us Girls (stencil week) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).  Let's look at what I made.

I hadn't bought a Simon Says Stamp card kit in several years and decided to purchase the one for May, 2026.  I was intrigued by the stamp set Long Stem Florals and the stencil that went with the stamp set so decided to save up my money and get the kit.   I was disappointed that by the time I got the kit it didn't include the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Junk Drawer papers, but some very unattractive Tim Holtz papers.  One of the patterns actually looks like a cross section of a lung dyed blue!  Yuck!  Anyway, I have lots of Simple Stories papers that will works so all is well.  Anyway, as you can see, I used the stamp set and stencils, but no patterned paper.  I also used the smallest tag from the die set included in the kit.  I had intended on participating in the most recent Color Hues challenge, but knew I wouldn't have it done by the time the challenge closed.   But I liked the color combo so much (violet and lime green) that I decided to use it anyway.  I thought the stamped and stenciled floral image, as well as the little tag were perfect for Cecile's super cool FMS sketch.  I went with vellum for the tag so you can still see some of the stem underneath.   The sentiment was heat embossed.  I finished with the white twine and some iridescent sequins.

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

Go Navy!

 Hello!  Can't believe it is already May!  Time is just flying by and honestly, I don't like it!  But what can I do?  Not much.  I'm popping in today to share two cards that I made for someone who is graduating from the United States Naval Academy on May 16th of this year.   I have a niece who is currently finishing up her junior year at the Naval Academy, and it is her boyfriend, Frank, who is graduating.   My sister (my niece's mom) asked if I could make a card for him from the family and I said, yes!  Then she told her daughter and suddenly I was making two!   It was a little nerve wracking to come up with an idea for the second card, but I accomplished the task.  So, let's see what I created.

First up is the card that I made that is from the family.  A couple of summers ago I purchased some 49 and Market products called Summer Porch.  They have a nautical theme and I thought for sure I could find something to use on the card and I was in luck!  I knew that Frank rowed for one of the Naval Academy crew teams so I was excited to see the set of oars in a pack of chipboard images.  There was also the anchor!   I die cut some of the more nautical themed patterned paper using the postage edge dies from Pinkfresh Studio as a background.  I used dark blue patterned paper to die cut the USNA and 2026.   The little blue rope was from a pack of ephemera.  I adhered the USNA and 2026 to one of the postage background pieces and then stamped the "class of:" in between.  I then layered on all of the various pieces.  I finished with the Naval Academy motto Ex Scientia Tridens (which in Latin means From Knowledge, Sea Power) and Semper Fidelis.  I included Semper Fidelis because Frank will be commissioned as a Marine Corp officer instead of a Naval officer when he graduates.  I will be adding this one to the current Die Cut Diva's challenge of celebrations. 

This is the card that I made for my niece to give to Frank.  I hope that she likes it.  My sister did so that is a good sign!  I'm going to put this card into the current JUGs challenge because it does have a big die cut sentiment.  I used the Naval Academy colors of navy and gold for the letters and numbers.   I die cut both and then adhered them together offsetting so that the gold showed.  I was very careful when positioning everything using my T-square ruler to keep everything straight.   I used the computer to generate the word "ACADEMY" printing it in dark blue and then trimming it down and backing it with the same gold cardstock used for the lettering.   I added the Naval Academy motto (also computer generated) as well as the "class of:".  The finishing touch was the anchor charm and the little gold heart.  The charm was a bright shiny silver, but I was able to tone it down by adding some distress foundry wax in the color Gilded.  I heat set it and then wiped most off it off.  Love how it turned out.   I really hope that Frank likes the cards.  

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

Just Us Girls Guest Designer - Week 4 - Anything Goes with Stencils

 Hello!  I'm back to share my final project as a guest designer for JUGs this month.   Once, again, I had a lot of fun guesting with the JUGs team!  They are amazing.  Thanks so much for having me.  This week is stencil week and that means anything goes with stencils.  I had so many ideas for stenciling but had to settle on one.  For my card I used Waffle Flower Crafts Postage Collage Butterfly stencils and the Postage Collage die.  Let's see what I created.

My card for word week with JUGs featured stenciling and so I had alot of inks out on my desk as I decided what colors I would use.  When I made this card, I had spring on my mind and was thinking about the beautiful daffodils that bloom around here.  When I finished this card, I realized that it was actually giving off a fall vibe!    I used Altenew inks for the butterflies and then when I was finished with the ink stenciling I added some Ranger texture paste in transparent matte to the butterflies using the final stencil that adds the bodies and wing details.  I removed the stencil and then poured on Rock Candy glitter.  I do want to note that I did die cut the panel first with the Postage Collage die.  This made lining up the stencils so easy!   I finished with the sentiment that is also from Waffle Flower. 

That's it for me.  I hope you will pull out your stencils and join the fun at JUGs this week.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Just Us Girls Guest Designer Week 3 - Moodboard

 Hello, hello!  I'm back to share my project for this week's JUGs challenge.  This week is mood board week it is a pretty one!   Let's have a look at what I made.

Of all the cards I had to create for this month's JUGs challenges this one was the easiest by far. Initially I thought it was going to be hard because I don't have much in the way of umbrella themed products.  But as I was thinking about what to do I was also going through my crafty stash and came across these pre-printed cards that I had gotten in a Simon Says Stamp card kit several years ago.  I idly flip through them and saw this one with the cute little chick and her umbrella.  Perfect for the challenge as the mood board features umbrellas!  Problem solved - YAY!   The image is printed on watercolor cardstock so I pulled out my Jane Davenport watercolors and got going painting this cute little image up.  Once I was done with the watercoloring and the image was dry I added a bit of gloss to the little raindrops using glossy accents.   When the glossy accent drops were dry I die cut the panel and adhered it to a yellow cardstock base with foam tape.   I love it when a card comes together like that!

Well, that's it for me today.  I hope you will take up the challenge of this week's mood board and play along at JUGs.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Just Us Girls Guest Designer Word Week - Spotlight

Hello everyone!  It is word week at JUGs this time around and the word is spotlight technique.  I have to be honest and tell you that I was thrown for a bit of a loop when I saw the word.  Had to go look up the spotlight technique to make sure I knew what I was doing, lol!   It also didn't help that I was struggling with a bad head cold!  Thankfully I was able to persevere and get something made.  Let's look at what I created.

I hadn't used any of my Altenew products in quite some time and so I decided that I wanted to use them for this card.   I searched through what I had and settled on the Sweet Lilies stamps, stencil and die set.  I looked through my collection of Altenew Fresh Dye inks and settled on a grouping of light purples and light pinks for the flowers and darker greens for the leaves.  I then determined what size of circle die I was going to use for the spotlight portion of the card.  I picked a circle die that would include as much of one of the lilies in it as possible.  Then I stamped the image twice.  One for the spotlight portion and one for the full image as you see on the card.  Then I stenciled the flowers and the leaves.   Once I had the majority of the image that I would need stenciled I die cut it and then adhered it to the background panel with thin foam squares.  I finished the card with sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp set.  I had been able to purchase the matching dies and used those as well.   

Well, that's it for me.  I hope you will play along with this week's technique.  It really is a fun one and there are lots of directions to go in.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

JUGS Guest Designer - Die Week - Easter or Spring

Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to be guest designing for Just Us Girls for the month of April!  Thanks so much for the JUGs team for having me.  It is week die week this week with a theme spring and/or Easter.  I went with Easter.  Let's have a look at what I made.

Since Easter is just a few days away I decided to make an Easter card for my pink loving great niece, Mia.  She absolutely loves pink!   You will pretty much always see her wearing something pink.   For the card I pulled out the super cute Bunny Ears die set from Waffle Flower.  This set is no longer available, sadly.  I die cut the majority of the pieces from white cardstock and then the ear fold over piece and the bow from a pink cardstock with little polka dots in it.  I added some Spun Sugar distress oxide ink to the interior piece and then adhered them to the main bunny ears, along with the fold over piece.   There is a little arched piece that covers up the bottom tips of the interior pieces and that was adhered with glue, as well, and then I added the little bow.  I used the Waffle Flower Happy Easter Duo stamp set for the large sentiment that was also stamped in pink ink (don't remember which one).  The sentiment was die cut with the matching die and then layered with two additional die cuts.  I also added two more layers to the bunny ears to give them a bit more substance.   For a little more interest and fun I embossed a white cardstock panel with the Simon Says Stamp Bouncy Bunny embossing folder and added it to a pink cardstock rectangle.  That was adhered to a white card base and then I added the bunny ears and sentiment.  I think Mia will love it!

Well, that is it for me!  I hope you will play along with JUGs this week and actually for the whole entire month of April.  They have a really good line up of challenges!   Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

just for you...

 Hello, hello!  I hope that everyone is doing well.  Spring is here and with the arrival of spring I got the worst cold I have had in about four years!   Knocked me on my butt cold!  This whole week has been a struggle to get anything done, but I did manage to make a card for a few challenges... only took me two days, lol!  I will be sending this card off to Freshly Made Sketches, JUGs (stencil week) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).  Let's look at what I created.  

When I saw it was stencil week at JUGs I immediately thought of several Waffle Flower stencil sets that I have but have not used.   One of the sets is called Painted Flower.   I thought it was a fun and unusual looking flower when I purchased the stencil and die combo.    The large center element on the FMS sketch looked perfect to create using two of the flowers.  So, I pulled out some coordinating Altenew Fresh Dye inks and got to work between blowing my nose, lol!  I used additional Waffle Flower products to complete my card:  A preprinted sentiment strip, some patterned paper and A2 frames die set.  Simple, but given my week I think I did pretty good!

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

Bold Colors...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a couple of cards that I made using new products from Birch Press Design and some very bold colors!   Let's have a look at what I made.

This card will be heading to Freshly Made Sketches and Color Hues.  The Color Hues combo this time is a pretty bold one of purple and marigold.  Not colors that I normally use, but it is a challenge and so I gave it a go, lol!  I inked up some smooth bristol cardstock with Altenew Deep Iris and Snapdragon inks and then used the new Block Print Lovely Flowers die to cut the main flowers and round centers.  I used vellum to cut the stamens.  I then layered everything as you see.  I used an older Birch Press die set called Foliage Bunch to set out little stems from vellum.  I arranged everything on my card front and then finished with a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Inspiration Quotes stamp set.  Pretty bold, but it is growing on me, lol.

My second card is for the current Just Us Girls challenge which features a fun mood board of painted rocks.  I obviously didn't go with a rock theme, lol, but went with some of the bold colors found on the rocks, as well as the darker gray.   To create the peacock I die cut the feather portion from a white cardstock panel and then removed all the fall out pieces.  I die cut another set of feathers and used that as a stencil to ink up the feathers with different colors of ink (Altenew's Deep Iris, Shadow Creek, Blue Horizon and Galactic Stream).  Once the stenciling was done I trimmed out the portion I needed, added glue to the piece and then aligned it with the feather openings.  The body of the peacock was die cut from white cardstock, inked with the colors used for the feathers.  To darken up the body a bit I blended on some black ink.  I assembled the body using glue, added the highlights and then adhered it to the panel.  I finished with a sentiment from the Birch Press Elegant Sentiments stamp set and adhered the panel to a dark gray cardstock base.

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