Congratulations...

 Hello everyone!   I'm popping by today to share a card that I made for my niece.  She is currently in her senior year at the United States Naval Academy.  Along with excelling academically she is an amazing golfer and was name team captain of the USNA woman's golf team!  I am so very proud and excited for her.  So, I had to make a card congratulating her on this huge achievement.  I'm about a month late in getting this card to her as she was named team captain in August, but unfortunately I had to order the Waffle Flower golf dies and then find the time to make the card.  I used the current Freshly Made Sketches layout so I will be sending this off to their gallery.   Let's have a look at what I created. 

I diecut all of the pieces from cardstock using the USNA school colors of white, navy and gold.  Then I assembled the golf bag.  I also die cut the golf clubs from gold metallic cardstock and adhered them behind the bag.  The "golf course" was created using the Birch Press Design Wavy Hills die.  The pieces were then adhered to a light blue cardstock base.   I made the golf ball from white and light gray cardstock and the pennant from light gray and the navy blue.  I adhered all the pieces to the card front and finished with the banner sentiment.  Now to finish the inside of the card with a personal note and get it in the mail!

That's 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!

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 Us Girls - Challenge #776 - Anything Goes with Stencils

 Hello, hello!  I'm back for my final turn as a guest designer for Just Us Girls.  Boy has it been a fun month for sure!  As my blog post title says it is anything goes with stencils.   Let's have a look at what I made using stencils.

Last fall I purchased the beautiful Waffle Flower Sunflower Cluster die and the matching stencils.  I have been wanting to use the two products ever since then.  JUGs provided me with the perfect opportunity.  As you can see, my sunflowers are not yellow, but coral.  I thought since it is spring I would go for more of a gerbera daisy look than a sunflower.  I used distress inks in Saltwater Taffy and Abandoned Coral for the main body of the flower, Scattered Straw for the centers and Mowed Lawn for the leaves.  Stenciling the die cut piece was so easy once I realized I had the die cut upside down, lol!   I die cut several additional clusters from thin cardstock and adhered them to the back of the main piece to give it a bit more substance and dimension.   I found a piece of gingham patterned paper in a similar coral color and die cut it for the background.  I used the Happy Mother's Day sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Timeless Blossoms stamp set so I will have another Mother's Day card in my stash.  I finished with the twine bow and sentiment in the center of the cluster.  Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

Well, that is it for me.  A huge thanks to Vicki and the JUGs design team for having me as a guest designer this month!   You are the best!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

stenciled cards...

 Hey there!  I'm stopping in to share two cards that feature stenciling.  One card is for the current Color Throwdown challenge and the other is for the current Sunday Stamps and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenges.  First up in the card for Color Throwdown.

I love to cross-stitch and I like to stitch on cards, too, so when I saw the Waffle Flower Winter Floral stencil and stitching die set I had to get it.   I thought the colors for the current CTD would be perfect for a non-traditional Christmas card and I was right.  I love how this turned out.  I used distress oxide inks in Peacock Feathers, Wilted Violet and Mowed Lawn for the stenciling.  Per instructions from Waffle Flower I used the stitching die first before stenciling.  Once the stenciling was done I went through my extensive collection of "fancy floss" and found three colors that worked well with the inks I used.  Fancy floss is different from regular embroidery floss in that it is dyed so that there the floss color is variegated.  You can see the variegation the most in the purple fancy floss I used.   I love how it looks.  Once the stitching was done I adhered the card to a light gray cardstock base and then added the pre-printed sentiment that is also from Waffle Flower.  One more Christmas card for my stash!

For my next stenciled card I used a stencil set from Altenew called Daisy Craze.  I watched Jennifer McGuire make a card using the stencils and I loved the unique look so I decided to purchase the set.  I thought the colors for the Sunday Stamps challenge would be perfect and they are!  Let's have a look.

I used mainly Altenew inks for the stenciling.  I don't have any brown Altenew inks so I used a brown ink from Pinkfresh Studio for the flower centers.  I love how bright and happy this card is.  The perfect way to show someone a little gratitude!  After stenciling I die cut the panel down and adhered it to a light gray cardstock base.  The sentiments are from a Simon Says Stamp set called Cozy Autumn Hugs that I got in the fall of last year.  Looking forward to using this set this fall to create cards with!  I stamped those in VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink and die cut them with the matching dies.  The top sentiment has two additional layers behind it and the bottom one a second layer to give them a little bit of dimension.  

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

Joyeux Noel...

 Hello!  Hope you are staying cool in your part of the world.  It has been pretty warm in my corner of the world, but things are supposed to cool down a bit this week.  I hope so!   Anywhoo, I have a card to share for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

In a recent order from Scrapbook.com I got the super cute and very tiny Waffle Flower die and stencil set called Postage Poinsettia so I just had to use it.  And given that the CTD colors are red, yellow and green it was absolutely perfect for the challenge.  I stenciled it three times, stamped each one with postage images from the Waffle Flower Postage Collage stamp set and then die cut each one with the matching die.  I embossed a white cardstock panel with the Simon Says Stamp Holly Branch embossing folder and then used my Waffle Flower 0+ blender brushes to add green to the holly leaves and red to the berries.  I turned the sketch on it's side to create a landscape card rather than a portrait one and attached the three "postage stamps" using thin foam squares.  I finished with the sentiment that I found in my stash that I foiled several years ago using red foil.    Now I have one more Christmas card to add to my small stash!

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

Waffle Flower Grip Mats Re-Release!

 Hello everyone!  I popping in today to share my thoughts on the recently re-released Waffle Flower Grip Mats.  Waffle Flower sent me what they call the Stamper Bundle of grip mats to try out.  The Stamper Bundle consists of two grip mats.  One mat fits the Mini MISTI and measures 4.7 x 6 inches.  The other mat fits the original MISTI and measures 6.5 x 8.5 inches.  Just like the original grip mats these mats also come with grid sheets that can be placed on one side of the mat to help with alignment.   Full disclosure I did not use the grid sheets as I did not use my grip mats in the MISTIs that I have, but placed them directly onto my Tim Holtz glass mat.  I most likely will continue to use them this way because I did not have much success in getting the grid sheets to adhere correctly to the old grip mats that I have.  Here is a direct link to the Stamper Bundle.   Let's take a look at what I created using the mats.

Along with the grip mats Waffle Flower generously also sent me a few other products to use with the mats.  Included in my package was the super fun Oversized Daisy Die-n-Stencil set.  I used the products to create this shaped card that I will be sending off to my great niece who is turning 8 at the end of this month!   

In the above photo you can see my grip mat positioned on my glass mat with the die cut pieces placed on to.  I was using the 4.75 x 6 inch grip mat and all the pieces fit nicely with room to spare.   I then used different oxide inks to ink up the flower. 

Here the stencil is placed on the flower and you can see how the stencil is being gripped by the mat below it.  I didn't have to hold anything down with my free hand which was so nice!  I stenciled everything very quickly resulting in the flower that you see in the first photo.  Once I had the stenciling done I created a card base for the flower by using a folded white cardstock base and then using the large daisy die to cut out the base.  I also cut out a second single white flower to add to the back for a clean look.    I finished the card by sandwiching the leaves inbetween the back of the stenciled flower and the front of the card base and then adding the pre-print Waffle Flower sentiment strips.   I'm going to add this to the Time Out challenge to be inspired by a quote.   You can see the quote in the graphic below.

For the second card I used the Postage Collage Blocks stencil that Waffle Flower also sent me.  For this card I made a Christmas card using several different Waffle Flower products that I already have.  I used the Layered Poinsettia die set, the Mistletoe Branch die, Small Ornaments die set and the Merry Christmas stamp set.   I used distress oxide ink in Antique Linen to ink up the openings.  I used a Christmas paper from Echo Park to die cut all the different pieces, adhered them together and then added them to the card front after I stamped the sentiments.  I don't own the Waffle Flower postage collage die so I found a rectangle die to cut the panel to size and adhered it to the kraft cardstock base. 

As you can see even though the stencil is larger than the grip mat, it still adhere nicely to the mat allowing me to stencil the panel fairly quickly.  

I used the new Tim Holtz tiny ink blenders to do precise ink blending of the openings and they worked like a charm!  

Overall, I have to say that I like the new grips mats alot and plan to use them frequently.  In a few weeks I will be sharing how they work with stencil pastes and two cards that I made so stay turned.  I hope that the information I provided was helpful.  Here are graphics showing the grip mats that I used and the full bundle. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

tiny trees...

 Hello friends!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for the current Color Hues challenge of red and gold.  Classic Christmas colors and so I made a Christmas card!   I used a Waffle Flower Crafts stencil called Duo-tone Christmas Tree and the 0+ blender brushes.  

The stencil is unique in that you stencil a set of trees and then shift the stencil over to the open area and stencil a second set of trees to fill up your card front.  For my card I used Lumberjack Plaid distress ink to stencil the trees and then added some Aged Mahogany to the bottom of each tree.  I then moved the stencil over and added the second set of trees using Ranger Lunar paster in Slippery When Wet (a bright gold).  I removed the stencil, cleaned it off and let the panel dry.  Once dry I die cut it with a Memory Box arched rectangle die.   The large Merry Christmas is also from Waffle Flower and that was stamped using Lumberjack Plaid and then Aged Mahogany pounced on in certain areas of the stamp and then layered on the Lumberjack Plaid.  Gives it a bit of an ombre look.  I die cut dark red cardstock with a rectangle die, adhered it to my white cardstock base and then adhered the arched panel.  The sentiment was added along with tiny gold stars to the little red trees. 

If you are on Instagram I'm having a giveaway of a sample set of Waffle Flower's new blender brushes over there.  The giveaway is sponsored by Waffle Flower.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birthday Wishes...

 Hello friends!  I back to share a card that I made for a few challenges:  Paper Players (sketch), Color Hues (colors) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).    I'm also going to share more thoughts on the new Waffle Flower Crafts 0+ shader brushes.  Here is what I made.

I don't know about you, but sketches that involve one of the elements being set slightly askew (like in the Paper Players sketch) give me fits.  I think it is because the off kilter panel makes it hard for me to put the sentiment on straight.  Anyway, I persisted and this is my card, lol!   I started by die cutting the Memory Box Backyard Wren die from white cardstock.  I then used one of the 0+ shader brushes to add kraft colored ink to the layers of the bird.  I really liked that with the small shader brush I was able to get the depth of color I wanted where it was needed.  I was also able to add more color to the bird's head after I had put the bird together and I didn't get the ink everywhere.  Waffle Flower sent me one of their little sampler brush packs that you can see in the photo.  I used the 0+ shader in the pack, as well as the larger 1+ shader.  I used the 1+ shader brush for the body of the bird.   While larger than the 0+ shader brush you are still able to ink up your die cuts with precision.   Once I had the bird done to my satisfaction I worked on the branch that it is sitting.  The branch is from the Birch Press Design Hillside Branch and Bramble Contour Layers die set.  I inked them up with the kraft and yellow inks and then layered them.  I die cut the rectangles from yellow gingham and white woodgrain cardstock.  In her introduction video about the new shader brushes Nina talks about how they pick up much more ink than the original brushes (or other brushes for that matter) and she isn't kidding.  I had to use a blender brush from another company to ink up the edges of the woodgrain panel.  I had to work twice as hard to get ink on that blender than I did for the Waffle Flower shader brush!  To finish the card I layered everything onto another panel of the white woodgrain cardstock.  I thought I had die cut down the panel, but when I went to adhere it to my kraft cardstock base I discovered that I had not!  Yikes... too late to trim it down so I just adhered it to the cardstock base as you see.   The last piece was the sentiment.  I got it on, but it wasn't easy, lol!

I hope I was able to share some additional good information with you about the new Waffle Flower shader brushes.  I can tell you that I plan on getting a set of 1+ brushes in the near future.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

hey there...

 Hello!  I'm popping in today to share a simple card I made using a new product from Waffle Flower Crafts.  Waffle Flower was so kind and sent me a package of their brand new Shader 0+ brushes to try out and give my thoughts on.   I used the mood board/color combo from JUGs for my colors and the new Waffle Flower Pop Up Fall Leaves panel die and the coordinating Fall Leaves stencil which Waffle Flower generously sent to me, as well.  

You can see the shader brushes I used on the right hand side of the photo.  How cute are they?  Even though slim in size they fit nicely in your hand.  I die cut a piece of white cardstock with a rectangle die and then die cut the pop up leaves from that.  I selected the following distress ink colors based off the JUGs color palette:  Ripe Persimmon, Wild Honey, Aged Mahagany and Fired Brick.  I layed the stencil on top of the die cut panel and started blending on the ink.  I had initially thought I would blend two ink shades together, but I realized that I could achieve the shaded look I wanted with just one color.   It is very simple shading, but I like the more graphic look that I achieved.    

Because the brushes have a slight slant to them I found that for me what worked best for me was using a stroking motion instead of the usual circular motion that is used with most blending took.  You can blend with them that way it is just that the other way worked better for me.  And even for their small size they pick up a lot of ink.   Waffle Flower also sent me one of their sampler packs to try out.  I hope to have a few more cards to share made with these new brushes.  Life has been a bit of a struggle this past week.  My oldest was in a car accident that thankfully he emerged from with only lacerations, scrapes and bruising.   We are also thankful that he was driving our Subaru.  They have one of the best safety records and now we, as a family, can attest to that!   I think from all the stress I caught the cold my youngest had and that has knocked me for a loop.  I'm feeling better, but still lacking energy or drive!

I finished the card with a Waffle Flower sentiment that I foiled in gold and die cut with the matching die.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Waffle Flower Crafts Grip Mat Giveaway!

 Hey friends!  Popping in to let you know that Waffle Flower Crafts has given me the opportunity to give away a 4.5 x 5.5 grip mat!   If you haven't seen the grip mat, you can check out the Waffle Flower blog for information and videos on how it works.  Here is a link to the introduction video put together by Nina of Waffle Flower Crafts.  Here is a link to a playlist of videos created by different crafters using the grip mat.

I have really enjoyed using the new grip mat.  It makes inking up die cut pieces so easy.  Because the mat is made out of photopolymer cleaning it up is easy, too.  I have just simply wiped mine down with my Lawn Fawn stamp shammy.  The mat comes with two acetate grid sheets, as well, that allow you to align your cardstock when stamping images or sentiments.   Waffle Flower has recommended keeping the acetate sheets that the mats come on.   It is my recommendation, as well, especially if you have not decided (like me) if you will be keeping them in your stamping tool, ie MISTI, etc.   Here is a link to a blog post I did showing how I have used the grip mats that I received. 

Leave me a comment by July 30th, for a chance to win.  This giveaway is open to everyone.  Those outside the US will receive a gift card.  Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

birthday wishes

 Hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I created using the brand new Waffle Flower Grip Mats.  Waffle Flower generously sent me two different sizes of the Grip Mat.  For today's card I used the larger 6.5 x 8.5 grip mat.  I do show a photo of the smaller 4.5 x 5.5 grip mat in it's new home, my mini MISTI.  I haven't decided if I will put the larger grip mat in my regular size MISTI, but most likely I will.   My card today is for the Paper Players. I went with anything goes. 

The Paper Players challenge is a color one of two shades of pink, a teal color and black.  I used the Waffle Flower Layered Box die set, Small Prints stencil and a sentiment from the Subsentiments Birthday die cut set for the card.  The background was embossed with a Spellbinders embossing folder.  I die cut the bows for the presents from glossy black cardstock.

Below are photos showing the grip mats and how they work.  The grip mats are made from high quality photopolymer, just like your clear stamps.  If you have a glass work surface like a Tim Holtz glass media mat the grip mats will grip onto the glass surface and not move.  In my photos I place a piece of white cardstock behind the grip mat so you could see the grid.

These are the two that Waffle Flower sent met.  There are two more sizes to pick from.  If you decide to try out the grip mats I would suggest watching a video that Waffle Flower put together for the launch of the Grip Mat.

This shows how I set up my grip mat in preparation to do some stenciling.  The grip mats come with two clear grids.  The grid is actually smaller than the Grip Mat.  Waffle Flower did this so that the mat can grip onto whatever surface you are using.  In my case the Tim Holtz glass media mat.  When you remove your mat from the packaging the mat is sandwiched between two clear sheets.  Hang onto the sheets to provide extra protection for your mats.   As you can see I laid my white cardstock on the mat and then place the stencil on top.  The stencil didn't move one bit!

Here you can see the stenciling after I finished.   The grip mat held everything tight and I didn't get any color seeping underneath.  I used Spun Sugar distress oxide ink for the dots, Kitsch Flamingo distress oxide ink for the stars and Mermaid Lagoon distress oxide for the stripes.   The next photo shows the tops of the presents on the grip mat after I inked them up with the same inks.   They held in place nicely.

Cleaning up the mat was pretty simple.  I just used my Lawn Fawn stamp shammy to wipe off the ink.  I haven't used dye ink on my mat yet, so cleaning that up maybe a little different. 

Final photo shows the smaller mat inside my mini MISTI.  The grip mat replaces the piece of black foam that is in the MISTI.   I added one of the grid sheets to the back of the mat before placing it in my MISTI.  I placed the second one on top to keep the mat clean. 

Overall I really like the grip mats.  I will say that it was my experience that the mat doesn't seem to work well with textured cardstock.  I needed to stamp on some watercolor cardstock and decided to try it out.   Even after pressing the cardstock firmly onto the grip mat, it would stay in place.  But I was still able to get the images stamped, as you can see. 

Thanks for staying with me for this long.   Have a wonderful day!

Waffle Flower Sneak Peek Club Inspiration Hop & Giveway!💕

*****GIVEAWAY CLOSED*****

***WINNER IS:  BUNNY! ***

Bunny please contact me with your full name, email address and mailing address.  Waffle Flower will send your kit out to you.

 Hello everyone!  Have you heard that Waffle Flower now has a new subscription club?  It is an innovative concept in that unlike most clubs that send you a themed kit the Waffle Flower sneak peek club allows you the subscriber to get the chance to receive not yet released products.   How fun is that?!   Each kit cost $29.99 and consists of select products that will be available in an upcoming release.   You can find out all the details regarding the club here on the Waffle Flower website.   

Today I am sharing projects that I created with the sneak peek kits that Waffle Flower generously sent me.    This blog post is part of an inspiration hop and link party put together by Waffle Flower and I will be giving away a sneak peek club kit to one commentor! Commenting to win closes on January 30th.  I will announce the winner of the kit on this blog post on Tuesday, January 31st.  Please make sure to check this blog post on January 31st.  I do need to let you know that unfortunately this giveaway is only open to commentors here in the US.   Let's take look at what I created.

The sneak peek kit contained a super cute die set called Bunny Ears and a stencil set called Layered Bow stencil.  I used both products on the first card.   Both of these products will be available for purchase from Waffle Flower on February 5, 2023.  When Waffle Flower created the Layered Bow stencil set, they added an outline for an A2 sized card.  Adding the outline makes it so easy to line up the stencils.   For my background I started with the second layer of the stencil and inked up that layer with Shabby Shutters distress oxide ink.  I used some Nuvo Glacier paste in Pineapple Delight for the top layer.  Once the background was dry, I die cut it with a rectangle die.  All the pieces of the bunny ears dies were cut from Memory Box glitter cardstock in a very light shade of yellow and an off-white.   I layered everything up and then added them to my card front.  The sentiment is from the Waffle Flower Anemone stamp set and was stamped with the Shabby Shutters distress oxide ink and die cut with the matching die.

I had so much fun creating the first set of bunny ears that I decided to do a pink set.  I used two shades of pale pink glitter cardstock from Memory Box.  The sentiment is from the Waffle Flower  Hey There hot foil plate and die set.  I foiled the sentiment using matte gold foil.  Even though it says hello friend I think this would make a super cute Easter card.  

I hope you enjoyed my projects and don't forget to comment for a chance to win the same sneak peek club kit that I shared in today's post.   One additional note:  Waffle Flower will hold the kit for the winner until February 15th.  

Waffle Flower July Release Blog Hop!

 Hello everyone!  I am so excited because today I am hopping along with a fabulous group of talented designers sharing projects created with new products from the July Waffle Flower release.   Thank you to Nina, the owner of Waffle Flower, for having me as a guest designer for this release!  You should have arrived here from Dana Kirby's blog.  If you just dropped in, please head to the Waffle Flower blog to start at the beginning of the hop. Waffle Flower is giving away 3 gift certificates to the Waffle Flower store.  Leave a comment on the Waffle Flower blog and each blog on the hop for a chance to win.  You can find all the details on the Waffle Flower blog.   I have four cards to share with you today.  (I have an affiliate linked list of supplies at the end of this post.  Using my links allows me to earn a small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.)   Let's get started.

This first card was created with the new Layered Winter Bird die set and a sentiment from the Merry Christmas Duo stamp and die set.  Love this new stamp set.  So very versatile.  There are two large Merry Christmas sentiments in the set and both have matching dies.  Many of the sub-sentiments can be used on their own like I did with this one.  I decided that I was going to have my birds be cardinals so I die cut them from red, yellow and dark brown cardstock.  I assembled them and then added a bit of shading with a dark (actually called Cardinal!) red Copic marker.  The little branches they are sitting on are part of the die set.  Those were cut from dark green cardstock.   A panel of kraft cardstock was die cut with a rectangle die, the birds arranged where I wanted them so I could place the sentiment and stamp it.  I used VersaFine CLAIR Acorn ink for the sentiment.  I adhered my birds and branches to the panel and then added it to a red cardstock base.  A few little red gems were added for a bit of sparkle. 

For this card I used the new Layered Poinsettia stencil set.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I inked up one layer using Delicata Golden Glitz ink and the other with my favorite red ink, Cherry Cobbler from Stampin Up!  I made sure to let the Golden Glitz ink dry before adding the red ink so there was no smearing.  I finished off the card with the scripty Merry Christmas sentimetn from the Merry Christmas Duo stamp and die set.  I stamped the sentiment in watermark ink on vellum, applied gold embossing powder and heat set.  I then die cut it with the matching die.  May add a sub-sentiment at a later date. 

This card uses the new Layered Ornament die set as well as the new Pine Branch Panel die.   Again, I used traditional Christmas colors of red, green and gold.  I had all those supplies on my desk so I just decided to keep going with them.  That is until you see my last card!    I die cut the panel and the ornament from the various cardstocks you see.  I put the ornament together and then I was a bit stumped as what to do next.  A traditional shaker?  Nope... a edge to edge shaker!   I used some patterned paper from the Waffle Flower Half-Half Dot Christmas 5.5 x 8.5 pad.  I trimmed out the piece I wanted and then created my edge to edge shaker around it.  I added red and gold sequins and then sealed up my shaker.  I adhered the frame using glue just around the edges so the little pine branches pop up slightly.  I added the ornament and a die cut sentiment from the new Essential Christmas foiled die cuts.  

Now for my "odd duck" card, lol!

For this card I went with a blue, white and silver color scheme.  The stars background was created using a new hot foil plate called  Scattered Stars.   There is also a Scattered Stars die.   It doesn't look like it in this photo, but I did foil the stars with blue foil.  I have a photo below that captures the blue foil perfectly.  After foiling my white cardstock I die cut it down with a smaller rectangle die.   Aren't those little ornaments adorable?  They are from the new Small Ornaments die set.   There is a solid ornament and then an ornament with the detailing so you can layer them.  I used silver for the solid and dark blue for the detail layer.   The string were cut from silver.  I adhered my ornaments and then added a sentiment from Merry Christmas Duo that I embossed in silver on vellum.  I used the smallest Waffle Flower Nesting Rectangle Frames die to create my label.  

There is all the pretty blue foiling.  Your next stop on the hop is Jung AhSang.  I also wanted to let you know that all orders placed at Waffle Flower through Thursday, July 7th will receive a mystery gift.  No code required!   Waffle Flower also has a Last Chance sale category.  Make sure you check that out for savings up to 25%Thanks so much for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Affiliate linked supplies:

Spellbinders Platinum 6

Spellbinders Glimmer hot foil system

Spellbinders blue foil

WF Scattered Stars Hot Foil Plate

WF Merry Christmas Duo Stamp and Die combo

WF Layered Winter Birds die set

WF Pine Branch Frame die set

WF Layered Poinsettia Duo stencil set

WF Layered Ornament die set

WF Small Ornaments die set

Bearly Art Glue

Spellbinder Essentials Rectangles

Waffle Flower Half-Half Dots Christmas paper pad

Spellbinders Cosmic Sky cardstock

Wow Gold Embossing Powder

Ranger Super Fine Silver embossing powder

VeraFine CLAIR Acorn ink

VersaMark watermark ink

Delicata Golden Glitz ink

Wagner Heat Tool

Have a wonderful day!

joy...

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards that feature the word joy!  First up is a very clean and simple design for Freshly Made Sketches and the Waffle Flower monthly challenge.  Last month I got the honor of being a guest designer for the challenge.   The challenge is the "most wonderful time of the year".  Each week they have a different inspiration idea and I decided to go with the week 2 inspiration challenge of non-traditional colors.  

I decided to go with a light creamy yellow and gray combination with lots of white.  I die cut the Oversized Joy die from light gray cardstock, the shadow from white and adhered them together.  I die cut the smallest poinsettia from the Layered Poinsettia die twice from white cardstock that I had inked up with Antique Linen distress oxide ink to get the creamy yellow and adhered the layers.  I trimmed down two strips of the light gray cardstock and adhered the thinnest one to my panel.  I then placed the sentiment from the Oversized Joy stamp set above the strip and stamped it in gray ink.  I added the second strip and the die cut joy.  I added some glitter and a dot of Nuvo drops to the center of the flower before adhering the flower.  

The second card is for the Paper Players and Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge.  The Pinkfresh Studio challenge is to use a wreath on your card.  The Paper Players challenge is to use white, silver, gray and black.  I created my wreath using the smallest die from the Curvy Leaves die set and white and silver metallic cardstock.   I used my well loved Stitched Scallop Rectangle dies for the main panel and the Fancy Oval Frame die for the central area to place my little wreath.  I finished off the card with little black enamel hearts and a sentiment I foiled in black using the Perfect Sentiments:  Holiday hot foil plate and matching dies.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!