"We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

Saturday, January 11, 2020

happiness is...

Happy weekend!  I'm popping in with a card for two of my favorite challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  I always seem to combine the two challenges together, too!  Back in December I was able to make a small order with Concord & 9th thanks to a discount code they sent me (thanks C9!) and I purchased the Feathered stamp and die set.  The set has multiple feather images and I used several to create my feather.  I first stamped the largest image using Catherine Pooler Grass Skirt ink.  I then heat set the image to make sure that embossing powder would not stick to it.  I then lined up three additional images, stamped then with VersaMark watermark ink and heat set using WOW! gold embossing powder.  The feature was then die cut with the matching die.  I die cut two feathers from kraft cardstock using the stand a lone feather die and adhered the three feathers together.  I cut two lengths of dark green and gold bakers twine and then tied a knot in the center.  The ends were tied in knots, as well, trimmed down and adhered to the feathers.  A rectangle of white cardstock was die cut and adhered to a kraft cardstock base using foam dimensionals.  The feathers were adhered and then I added the sentiment that I heat embossed on green cardstock using the same WOW! embossing powder. (I am affiliated with several different companies listed in my side bar.  You can shop for many of the items I used to make my card using those links.  If you do so I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you in advance should you decide to shop through those links.)



Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!  

Thursday, January 9, 2020

cards to share...

Hello!  Popping in today with multiple cards to share.  The first two cards were made with a background stamp called Etched Snowflake from the brand new Simon Says Stamp release called Hey Bestie (you can find the new release here).  I'm always so thankful to Simon Says Stamp for their kindness in sending me product to share with you!  For both cards I used a technique that I have seen the super talented Yana Smakula use on many occasions.  When I received the background stamp in the mail from SSS I knew that I wanted to try out Yana's technique.  It is a very simple one, but it really packs a punch.  You simply embossed your image on colored cardstock and then ink up the panel leaving the center of the panel uninked so that it puts the emphasis on the center of your card.  With the first card I cut a piece of light aqua cardstock and then embossed the background in silver.  I inked up the panel using Distress Oxide ink in Broken China.  The snowflake in the center is also from Simon Says Stamp and I die cut it from silver cardstock.   I die cut my panel so that one of the snowflakes in in the center of the panel and then adhered the snowflake to the center.  I heat embossed the sentiment (also from Simon Says Stamp) in silver (from Tsukineko)on vellum and used a SSS banner die to cut it before adhering it to the center of the snowflake.  The panel was then adhered to a white cardstock base.

For the second card I went with a more tone on tone look by using dark red cardstock that I embossed the background in clear embossing powder.  I then used a red ink (the cardstock and ink are from Stampin Up!) that matches the cardstock to ink up the panel.   For this card I used the Simon Says Stamp Snowflake Tag die set for my center snowflake.  I adhered my panel to a card base made from the same dark red cardstock.  I heat embossed the sentiment (from a Simon Says Stamp set) in gold embossing powder from WOW! Embossing on vellum and then die cut the tag.  The snowflake was die cut from gold mirror cardstock and then adhered to the center of the card.  I carefully applied glue behind the letters of the sentiment and then adhered the tag to the snowflake.  I finished off the card with a bow tied from baker's twine that is in the same color as the cardstock and ink.

My next set of cards I made just for fun with lots of goodies from Spellbinders.  I'm patiently waiting for my January Spellbinders small die kit and while I'm waiting I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make a couple of cards using the Spellbinders December small die kit.   The December kit is a great set of word dies that allow you to make all kinds of combinations of sentiments.  I kept things simple by just using the Happy Birthday and Thinking of You dies.  Several months ago I purchased a Spellbinders card kit (May 2019).  These kits are jammed packed.  You get a die set, a pad of patterned paper, die cut embellishments, cardstock, pre-scored cards and envelopes, adhesive and a stamp set.   The value is amazing!  I had previously made a few cards with the die set that came in the kit and some of the die cut embellishments, as well.  With so much left over I had to get a couple more made.  I layered up lots of different elements including layered butterfly stickers that also came in the kit.  After layering up all the elements I die cut the sentiments from some of the cardstock from the kit and adhered them.  I just love how each card turned out!  I'm going to be posting one of the cards to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to use flowers.


Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Happy Wednesday!

Hello everyone!  Hope you are having a great week.  I have a post up on the AJVD blog and here is a little peek of my card:


Hope you will head over to the AJVD blog to check out my card.  I also want to let you know that AJVD is celebrating 10 years in business and will be releasing new stamps and dies to celebrate! Stay tuned as all the fun kicks off on Friday!  Thanks for stopping by today!


Monday, January 6, 2020

magnolia thanks...

Hello!  Hope your week is off to a great start.  I have a card to share that I made with a gorgeous stamp and die set from Stampin Up!  When I saw the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set and the matching Magnolia Memories die set in the Stampin Up! catalog I knew I had to get it.  I finally made it mine in December!   I will be posting this card to the following challenges:  Sunday Stamps (a gorgeous neutral palette that I have been dying to use!), CAS(E) this Sketch, the Paper Players and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  The challenge at the Paper Players is to use something new, as is the challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   So obviously the stamps and dies are my something new.  I stamped the flowers in VersaFine CLAIR Morning Mist, did some simple coloring with my Polychromos pencils in shades of gray and then die cut them with the matching dies.  The sentiment is also from the set and was stamped on vellum with VersaMark watermark ink and heat embossed with WOW! embossing powder in black.   The large flower was adhered to dark gray cardstock that I die cut with a rectangle die.  The sentiment was trimmed down and adhered over the top of the flower.  I added the smaller flower and some sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.   Super happy with how it turned out.




Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a wonderful week!

Saturday, January 4, 2020

happy birthday...

Hey there!  Hope your year is off to a great start!  So far so good for me!  Got some new goodies in the mail the other day and I made a card with one of them... the Flower Swag die set from Simon Says Stamp.  I used the color combo from Color Throwdown for my card so I will be posting it there, as well as over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to create something new (either using a new product or a card for something new... like the year, etc.)   I die cut some white cardstock with a large rectangle die from A Jillian Vance Design and then used the border part of the Flower Swag set to die cut the bottom.  I then die cut brown cardstock with the same rectangle die and adhered it to the white rectangle so that I would have the perfect amount of brown cardstock showing at the bottom.  I then die cut the flower swag part of the die set from dark red cardstock three times and adhered them together.  The swag was then adhered to the white cardstock piece along the border.  I stamped a sentiment from another Simon Says Stamp set in watermark ink and then heat embossed it in white.  The entire piece was then adhered to a white cardstock base.  I finished with sequins from the Simon Says Stamp Love You sequin mix.


Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun new years celebration last night.  Wow... 2020!  Where is the time going?  I'm kicking off the new year with a post over on the A Jillian Vance Design blog and here is a little peek of my card:


And yes... this one involves lots of sparkle, lol!  But sparkle is perfect for a card celebrating the new year, right?  Anyway, I hope you will head over to the AJVD blog to see the card and to let me know what you think.  Wishing you a very happy and health 2020!