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

Sunday, November 3, 2024

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!


Wednesday, October 30, 2024

spooky manor...

 Hello everyone!  Happy day before Halloween!  I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but I just couldn't resist creating a somewhat spooky scene with the new Birch Press Design Littletown Spooky Manor and Wavy Hillside dies.  Today would have been my day to post on the Birch Press Design blog, but the blog is still down so I'm posting here.  Let's have a look at my card.


Lots of inkblending going on with this card!  I started by die cutting the Wavy Hillside die from dark green Memory Box cardstock and then inking up the edges with Forest Moss distress ink.   For the sky and the moon I used more distress inks.  Scattered Straw for the moon and Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord and Scorched Timber.   With all the inkblending done I let everything dry.


The pieces of the Spooky Manor and trees were die cut from purple and black Memory Box glitter cardstock.   Yellow glitter cardstock was just for the light in the windows.  I saved the arched fall out pieces from the window to create a little graveyard scene up on the hill.  So fun I could use the pieces for that! 


I layered the hillside pieces on to the background using two heights of foam squares and liquid adhesive.  At this point I decided to add splatters of foundry wax in Gilded to the sky.  So I used masking paper to cover up the bottom and splattered away.  I then heat set it with my heat tool.  Now it was time to add the "tombstones", trees and spooky manor.  I finished with a computer generated sentiment that I die cut with a banner die and inked up with ink from the blending brushes. 

I really like how it turned out.  I will be adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.


Friday, October 25, 2024

more clean and simple mixed media...

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


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



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


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




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

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

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!


Sunday, October 20, 2024

halloween greetings

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


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


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

Friday, October 18, 2024

celebrate today...

 Hello friends!  I'm popping in to share a card that was supposed to be posted to the Birch Press Design blog on Wednesday, October 16th.   Unfortunately, the BPD blog was hacked and Dave, the owner of Birch Press Design was forced to remove the entire blog!    I decided to share what I made here so those of you who aren't on Instagram or don't want to go to the BPD Facebook page can see what I made.  So here we go!


I used the recently released Meadow Berry Branch Contour Layers and Evening Moths dies set for my card.  I wanted bit of a fall/rustic feel for the card so I used orange Memory Box cardstock for the berries and two red Memory Box red cardstocks that are more on the coral side of red.  


I used glossy accents on the berries and moth and then sprinkled on Rock Candy glitter for some subtle sparkle.  I used a Poppystamps circle die set for the two circles in the background.  They were die cut from cream Memory Box woodgrain cardstock.   The background rectangle was die cut from Memory Box kraft woodgrain cardstock.  


After adhering all the pieces as you see, I finished the card with the Celebrate Today Noted Script hot foil plate that was foiled using matte gold foil.   A little side note about hot foiling.  I haven't done it in ages so I was a little worried that I had forgotten how.  Thankfully I remembered and my foiling turned out perfect!  

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