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!

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.

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!

believe in yourself...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a clean and simple card for the following challenges:  Paper Players and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  Both are asking for "things with wings".  Let's have a look at what I created.

Once, again, I looked to my collection of 49 and Market papers and ephemera pieces to create my card.  This time I used the Kaleidoscope collection.  I die cut the light blue patterned paper, added it to a cardstock base and then picked out the pieces I used for the card from the Kaleidoscope chipboard pack.   The layout I used is kind of a "go to" layout for me when I want to make a quick clean and simple card.  I added twine to the tag and then adhered all the pieces.  Super quick and super simple!

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

Having Fun With 49 and Market...

 Hey friends!  I'm popping in with two projects that I made with some newly purchased products from 49 and Market.  I will be posting one project to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (birthday) and the other project will be heading over to the Paper Players (travel) and Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge (tag it).   So, let's get to it!

My first project is a birthday card that I made using laser cuts from the 49 and Market Starlight Dreams collection.  When I purchased the Starlight Dreams laser cuts I didn't think I would need the patterned paper pack, but now I have decided that I do need it, lol!  I'm not really into celestial motifs, but I couldn't resist the gorgeous designs in the laser cut pack.   For this card I used a set of angel wings, a floral piece, some feathers and butterflies.  For the background I used a light blue cardstock that I embossed with a layering die from Birch Press Design.  The sentiment was hot foiled and is also from Birch Press Design.    Pretty quick to put together once I figured out what pieces I wanted to use and the arrangement. 

This next project is a tag that I created for the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and the Paper Players using another new line from 49 and Market called Wanderlust Explorer.  What sold me on this collection was the ability to make masculine projects like birthday cards.    I used a few Tim Holtz Idea-ology products with this tag.  Namely, a #8 thick board tag, a thick board scalloped trim, a window frame base board and crackle paste.  I trimmed out some of the patterned paper to fit the tag and adhered it with collage medium.   I covered the scalloped trim and part of the window frame with crackle paste and let it dry.  Once dry I applied paint in a soft teal and orange wiping some of the paint off.  I trimmed down the scalloped piece and then applied collage medium to the trim and window to seal them.  Ground Espresso distress crayon was added to all the pieces I picked out, as well as the tag and then I got to layering everything.   I used glue and thin foam squares to add my pieces.  I finished with the little sentiment that is also from Tim Holtz.   I love how it turned out.  I was, again, inspired by the super talented Emma Williams who is a member of the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge design team.  

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

birthday flowers

 Hello!  I'm back with a card that I made for Color Throwdown and the Paper Players.  Let's have a look at what I created. 

I'm still in birthday card mode so I made another one, lol!  For this one I used the Pinkfresh Studio Beautiful Blooms stamps and dies.  I stamped the images on watercolor cardstock with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink and then applied clear embossing powder.  The images were heat set and then I did very simple watercoloring using a Tonic Studio Aqua Flow pen in Aqua Splash (teal) and then Jane Davenport watercolors in pink and green.  I die cut the images with the matching dies and arranged them on white cardstock that I die cut with the Pinkfresh Studio Dotted Fancy Frames die.   I went with a patterned paper background that had all the colors from the ColorThrowdown palette in it.  I really like how it looks.  I finished with a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp EZ Strips Birthday stamp set.  Will be adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

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

Noel... deer?

 Hello!  I'm popping in to share a card for the Paper Players challenge.  This week they are asking for card featuring a deer.  My card takes a bit of license with the idea, but I think it still fits. ETA:  I think this card also works for the current Tic Tac Toe challenge.  I'm going with the white on white, embellishment and die cut.   Let's have a look.

A few years ago my friend, Greta, gave me with fun noel die.  I don't know who the manufacturer is, but as you can see the word noel has deer antlers and the drop out pieces from the "o" allow you to turn that into a nose of sorts.   I wanted to participate in the Paper Players challenge, had several options and was about to go with another when I remembered this fun die.  I thought white on white with a touch of red (thinking Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!) would made for a fun card.  I love how it turned out.  I die cut four pieces and then glued them to a white rectangle.  The "noses" were die cut from dark red and added to the words.  I added a dollop of Nuvo drops in Morning Mist to create a shiny red "nose".  I wanted to keep the noel theme going so I used the Joyeux Noel sentiment that I die cut with a small banner die.   

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

sending joy...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with a card for several challenges:  Just Us Girls (word week: Joy), Color Hues (Pink and Aqua), Sunday Stamps (sketch) and Paper Players (clean and simple Christmas).  Lets have a look at what I made.

It is rare that I make a card for four different challenges, but this card is one.   It started out that I was only going to make it for Sunday Stamps and Just Us Girls, then I saw the color combo at Color Hues and had to add it to the mix.   Then I saw the challenge from Paper Players and couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a clean and simple card!   Several years ago I purchased a pretty Stampin Up! set called Joy of Noel.  I had used a few of the dies from the set, but never the stamps.  I pulled it out for this card.  Stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with Copics in shades of aqua and pink.    The die cut "joy" is a very old Simon Says Stamp die that I cut from white cardstock three times and adhered together.  I then colored the top layer with the light pink Copic marker I used to color the berries.  Embossed a white rectangle with the pretty holly swirl embossing folder.  I trimmed that panel down a little bit and then added the aqua cardstock strip to the one side.  I tried to use a strip of pink cardstock on the card, but neither color I tried worked with the Copic colors I used.  So I used sparkly silver glitter cardstock!  Really like how it looks.  Layered on the colored image and the sentiments that are from an older Simon Says Stamp set that I just love.  One more Christmas card to add to my stash!

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

autumn frame...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick share of a card that I made for Color Throwdown and Paper Players.  Will also add it to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  Let's have a look.

I used the Simon Says Stamp Autumn Frame stencil and inks from Altenew (Terracotta) and Pinkfresh Studio (Doe and Sweet Mustard) to create the autumn frame.  Once down with the stenciling I die cut it with a rectangle die.  The sentiments are from the SSS stamp set Cozy Autumn Hugs.  I stamped them with the PFS Doe ink and die cut with matching dies.  I die cut additional layers and layered them behind the sentiment.   I added the panel to a kraft cardstock base, adhered the sentiments and then added some tiny gems. 

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

hey pumpkin...

 Hello, again!  Here to share a card that I made for the current Paper Players challenge to create a clean and simple card with a tag on it.    I'm also going to post it to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of Halloween.  Let's have a look at what I made.

The elements of this card got started when I was making the card with the big pumpkin on it.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to use the big pumpkin die set or this Simon Says Stamp die set called Stack o' Pumpkins with the CTD colors.    I die cut the Stack o' Pumpkins from the orange cardstock, as well as the aqua cardstock I used for the other card, but as I played around with the die cuts I just didn't like what I was coming up with.  So, I set Stack o' Pumpkins die cuts to the side and made the other card.  Then I saw the challenge at the Paper Players I thought I could use the other pumpkins on a tag.   While this card is pretty clean and simple I went in a mixed media direction with it.  For the tag I sprayed some white cardstock with Fossilized Amber distress spritz, let it dry and then spritzed on some Fallen Acorn distress mica spray.  I die cut the tag and then used what was left over to back the open ares of the jack o' lantern pumpkins.  I added a bit of distress oxide ink in Gathered Twigs to the tops of each pumpkin.  I didn't want to waste the aqua colored die cut pumpkins so I glued them behind the orange ones.  I stacked all the pumpkins on the tag starting with the bottom one.  I used thin foam squares on that one and then glue for the other two.   I recently purchased a package of Penny Black Beautiful Branches stick and shine so I used one of the branches along with bronze Deco Foil in the upper left corner of a white cardstock rectangle.  I added the tag and then finished off the card with the twine bow and the sentiment.   I didn't have twine in the brown color I wanted so I used some cream colored twine and spritzed it with Gathered Twigs distress stain and Fallen Acorn distress mica spray.  I really like how it turned out.

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

Autumn and Christmas

 Hello!  Popping in to share two cards that I made for the Sunday Stamps and Paper Players challenges, as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  One card features autumn and the other features Christmas.  Both were made with products from 49 and Market.  First up is the autumn card. 

This card features 49 and Market Vintage Orchard collection.  I have fallen in love with 49 and Market products.  They are absolutely gorgeous!  For this card I used a beautiful piece of floral patterned paper for the background.  The tag was die cut from another piece that features a more mixed media look.  The floral piece, as well as the butterflies and bee are what they call laser cuts.  They are more substantial than regular thin die cut pieces of a similar style and I love them!  I popped the floral piece with thin foam squares and then added the butterflies and bees with glue.  The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp birthday set.  I wrapped the green twine around the background panel, pulled the ends through the hole in the tag and tied the bow.  I then flipped the tag over, added thin foam squares and adhered it to the background.   This is going to Sunday Stamps and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. 

The next card is for the Paper Players challenge and features the 49 and Market Evergreen Season collection.  Let's have a look.

I started with a white cardstock panel that I embossed with a Spellbinders embossing folder with a Christmas/holiday theme.  I decided to go with the debossed side for this card.   The tag featuring Santa and the floral cluster are from the Evergreen Season Ephemera Bits and just like the laser cuts they are made from a very high quality cardstock that is super substantial.  I pulled out a piece of plaid paper and trimmed it down per the sketch.  That was adhered to the white panel and then I layered on the tag and floral cluster.  The sentiment is also from the Ephemera Bits pack.  I finished the card with the green twine bow and some Rock Candy glitter to the center of the white flower.  One more Christmas card for my stash!  I'm also going to add this to the Peace on Earth challenge.  They have a fun inspiration board, but I just went with anything goes. 

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

just a note...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick share today of a card that I made for the September Pinkfresh Studio challenge to use a wreath and for the Paper Players challenge of a clean and simple design with either plants or animals.  I went with plants.  Have a look.

I don't know about you, but I like getting a deal and getting something free.  Scrapbook.com has deals and freebies on a weekly basis.  This card was made with several different freebies from Scrapbook.com that are also Pinkfresh Studio products.    With the theme of wreath at Pinkfresh Studio I decided to use a set of PFS circle dies that I had recently purchased.  I think they are the Folk Circle dies set.  Anyway I used several of the dies to cut the circle as the base to layer on the floral vellum pieces that were one of the PFS/Scrapbook.com freebies.   The other freebie is the sentiment.  I layered up all the vellum elements on my wreath base and then added it to a white cardstock panel that I die cut with the PFS Sparkling Diamonds cover die.  I finished with the sentiment.  Clean, simple and super quick to make!

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

i'm smiling...

 Hey there!  A quick post to share a card that I made for the April Pinkfresh Studio challenge.  I will also be posting this to the Paper Players and the Simon Say Stamp Wednesday challenge.  Here is what I made.

The Pinkfresh Studio challenge closes soon so I went with a very simple design that uses a sweet little Pinkfresh Studio wreath die for the circle element called for in the challenge.  I also used one of the colors choices:  pink.   The layout is from the Paper Players.   I also used the PFS Curvy Foliage die.  Along with all the white I threw in a bit of gold metallic cardstock.  For the little squares in the back I die cut the PFS Sparkling Diamond cover plate from white cardstock and then die cut individual squares using a small square die.  The sentiment is from a PFS stamp set called Charming Floral Border.  

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

a spring flower?

 Hey there!  Popping in to share a card that I made for two challenges:  Paper Players and JUGs.  The JUGs challenge is a mood board challenge and it closes in just a few hours so I'm cutting it close for that one.  The Paper Players challenge is a clean and simple challenge to use spring flowers.   Take a look.

The JUGs mood board features soft muted colors and pictures of a flower, friends, coffee and a scene of the ocean.   I went with the flower and the ocean scene to create my card.  I tried to pull out a color from the color palette, but it turned out to be a little too dark.   I'm trying to use up different products that I have in order to free up space on my desk.  To that end I have been using my Tonic Studios Aqua Flow pens to watercolor things.  I used several for my flower that I die cut from watercolor cardstock, including a color called Cameo Pink.  Had I not used such concentrated color it might have been more muted, but I still like it.   The flower die is from Simon Says Stamp.  For the ocean I used a very old Hero Arts sea scape stencil to create the waves using Salty Ocean distress ink.  I then pulled out my distress grit paste and added some swipes of the paste to create "foam".   I made a boo-boo at the bottom of my panel so I created some "sand" by tearing a strip of kraft card stock and then adhering it to the panel.  I finished with a sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set called Brushed Flowers.  The set has matching dies for some of the sentiments which comes in handy!

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

masculine... feminine...

 Hello and happy Wednesday!  I'm popping in with two cards to share today.  One is masculine and the other is very feminine.   First up is my masculine card for the current Altenew April challenge.  Take a look.

The inspiration photo for the April Altenew challenge is of the ocean/beach at what I believe is sunset.  The colors in the photo range from a fiery orange and yellow to white, gray and black.  There are also several different textures present and I tried to capture all those elements with my card.  Starting with the stamping I used Altenews' Terracotta and Snapdragon Fresh Inks to stamp the two Triangle images from the very old Trigonometry stamp and die set.   For one triangle I used the Terracotta at the top and the Snapdragon at the bottom, making sure to blending the colors in the middle.  I did the reverse for the other triangle.  I stamped both triangles using an acrylic block because I wanted a less than perfect image to sort of mimick the broken up look of sky/clouds in the photo.  I then used Altenew Industrial Diamond and Pure Graphite inks for the other triangles using the same technique done for the first two.  I die cut with the maching die.   To bring in the look of the beach with the snow, as well as the ocean I used the Altenew Dotted Waves cover die to emboss a panel of white cardstock that I then die cut down with a rectangle die.  A larger panel of light gray cardstock was die cut, as well.  I layered the panel on a white cardstock base and then added the triangles.  Originally, I had the triangles arranged so that the terracotta/snapdragon triangles were next to each other with the other triangles as their silhouette below.  But I didn't like how it looked and so I decided to arrange them the way you see.  I liked it much better.  I finished with a Memory Box happy birthday sentiment tab.

 Obviously, my next card is the feminine one.  Let's have a look at it.

At the end of March I was the lucky winner of a Waffle Flower Sneak Peek kit!  The kit contained the pretty Wild Flowers four piece stencil set, Small Sentiments Bloom stamp set and Subsentiments Bloom die cuts.  The stencil set is so easy to use and Waffle Flower even provided a color combo etched into the stencil.  I didn't go with the color combo as I wanted to use the colors from the current Paper Players challenge.  So that is where this card is headed.    The color combo at the Paper Players has four colors in it so I just made sure that I tried to keep the colors I used for the flowers in a pleasing arrangment.  I used Altenew Teal Cave for the Bermuda Bay color and then Pinkfresh Studio inks in Sweet Mustard, Marigold, Grassy Knoll, Sparkling Rose and Bubble Gum for the rest of the colors.  Once the stenciling was done I used a Waffle Flower frame die to cut out the frame and the center rectangle.  I adhered the frame directly to my cardstock base and then popped up the center panel with foam tape.  I made a mistake.  Can you figure it out?    I finished off the card with a sentiment from the Small Sentiments Bloom set and some pretty diecuts my friend Greta sentiment.  The diecuts were originally white and I colored them by simply using the residual ink left on the blending brushes I used for the stenciling.  I love how they look with the stenciled background.   I'm also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of stencil it.

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