wishing you a beautiful day...

 Hello!  Popping in with a card for a few challenges:  Altenew monthly challenge, Just Us Girls - Stencils and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.   Let's have a look at what I made.

I went back and forth as to whether or not I would try to make something for the Altenew challenge as I wasn't really feeling the colors.  Don't get me wrong, I do like the combo of orange, green and kraft, but nothing was inspiring me.  I was going through my Altenew products and came across the Daisy Craze stencil set.  I decided to challenge myself to see if I would make that combo work and I think I was able to make it work!  I used Pinkfresh Studio inks in the kraft and orange and Altenew's Forest Glade ink for the green.  I used two shades of orange to give the flowers a bit of variation.  I used a sentiment from the Altenew Craft Your Life Watercolor Flowers stamp and die set.   I added the bit of twine around the card so the sentiment wouldn't look so lonely, lol!   Let me know what you think.

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

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release!

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made with a background stamp from the Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You release.  Simon was so kind and sent me the Dahlia Background stamp to create with.  It is so beautiful!   You can check out the enter release here.  Let's look at what I made.

For the first card I went with a soft look using Copic markers.  I stamped the image multiple times because I my big MISTI stamping tool is wonky and I can never get a good, stamped image the first time around with large images.  Anyway, I finally did get it stamped and then colored the image very simply with a light pink and light green Copic.  I used my colorless blender to blend the colors out a little bit.  I die cut the image, adhered it to a white cardstock base and then added the sentiment that I stamped on vellum with VersaMark watermark ink.  Platinum embossing powder was applied and heat set.  The sentiment was then die cut with the matching die.  Adhered that with rolled up glue dots.

For the second card I went for a bolder look.

I stamped the image on watercolor cardstock and then colored it with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  I did use two different colors for the flowers, but the difference in the colors is pretty subtle.  I do like how it turned out.  I die cut the panel with a SSS A2 frame die.  The thin frame was glued to my cardstock base and then the interior panel was popped up for some dimension.  The A2 Frames die set comes with the hello sentiment and shadow layer so I die cut the word from glossy black cardstock and the shadow from vellum.  Adhered them together and then added it to the card front.   Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

Well, that's it for me.  Make sure you head over to Simon Says Stamp to see the full release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

June Birch Press Design Post #2

Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I'm sharing.

Hope you will head over to the blog to see what I created.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Similar Layouts - Different Color Ways

 Hello!  I feel like it has been along time since I last posted!  So, here I am today popping in with two cards.  One card is for Color Hues and the other is for Color Throwdown and Paper Players.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is my card for Color Hues.  The colors this time around are peach and cobalt.  The inks I used are on the darker end of that spectrum.    I did some stamping using the Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers stamp and die set that I found during another round of cleaning out my stash.  The stamp set is so pretty and has lots of lovely sentiments.   I stamped the stem, the two smaller leaves and one heart using navy ink.  The images were stamped directly onto my white panel.  I then stamped the two flowers in coral and die cut them.  For my sentiment I went with grey instead of black for a little softer look.  I adhered the flowers and decided to add a second stamped heart.  This time in coral.  I finished with some Nuvo drops in Morning Dew.

This next card is for Paper Players and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

The challenge at Paper Players this week is one layer and they mean it, lol!  No stamping on a panel and then gluing it to your card base.  That isn't one layer!  As you can see I used the same stamp set and similar layer out.  I changed out the flower and stamped only one heart.  I did add some little turquoise gems for a little more of the turquoise.   It was so nice to just stamp and not have to die cut!

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

wishing you...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick post to share a card for a few challenges.   Those challenges are Color Throwdown, Sunday Stamps and Pinkfresh Studio.  Let's have a look at what I made.

The sketch at Sunday Stamps is a fun one so I couldn't miss playing along. Even though there is a theme for the Pinkfresh Studio June challenge the challenges are actually now anything goes so I went with that and used PFS products.   For the three elements in the sketch, I used the Pinkfresh Studio Beautiful group of products.   The stamp set has two large stamps that contain three floral stems each.  I only wanted to use the floral stem you see on my card, so I cut three strips of white cardstock and then stamped each image that way.  It was simple and very quick.  Then I used the stencils to color my flowers orange and the leaves green.   Once that was done, I die cut each image.  To bring in the turquoise I first die cut a PFS postage edge die and then ink blended the edges with Peacock Feather distress oxide ink.  The flowers were arranged so I could determine placement of my sentiment.   That is from a different PFS stamp set.  Once the sentiment was stamped, I glued on my stems and then added Nuvo drops in Morning Dew to some of the little flowers.   

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

June Birch Press Design Post #1

 Hey friends!  Buzzing in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog.  Here is a little peek of what I made.

Hope you will buzz by the blog and check out what I made.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Wanderlust Explorer Birthday Cards

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards that I made using papers and laser cuts from the 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer collection.  Let's have a look at what I made.

For the last few years I have been making birthday cards for my mom to give to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  So these two cards will be going to her to give to her grandsons (my boys).  I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps for this card.  Pretty simple.  Die cut a piece of patterned paper, roughed up the edges and added a little ink to the edges.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the laser cut pieces.  Finished with a Memory Box tab that I inked up with some ink left on the blender brush I use for brown oxide inks.   Going to add this one to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, too.

Next up is a card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Let's have a look.

Another very simple card.  Die cut patterned paper, adhered it to a panel of off white cardstock that was slightly larger and then cut the panel in to two pieces.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the airplane that was popped up with thin foam squares.  Finished with the banner sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Banner Sentiments stamp set.  Stamped it on a scrap of Wanderlust Explorer patterned paper, trimmed it out and then adhered it with glue.  

Simon Says Stamp Moments in Time Release!

 Hey friends!  Popping in to share four cards that I made with a stamp set from the new Simon Says Stamp release called Moments in Time.    Simon was so generous and sent me the super versatile Banner Greetings stamp set.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is a sympathy card.  The stamp set has two different banners and then sentiments that fit inside. I used the Simon Says Stamp Etched Eucalyptus Wreath and the Blossom Swag embossing folder.  After embossing my panel I splattered it with watered down Bundled Sage distress ink.  The wreath was die cut from a mint green cardstock and vellum, layered and then adhered to the card front.  I stamped the banner and sentiment and trimmed it out.  I wish I had placed the banner a little bit differently, but overall happy with the design. 

I went with a more monochromatic look for this card.  I think it is perfect for a guy or a gal.  I die cut the Etched Berry Branch from dark gray cardstock and adhered it to a panel of light gray cardstock that I embossed with the Simon Says Stamp Geometric Lattice embossing folder.  The sentiment and banner were stamped on the same light gray cardstock as the embossed panel, trimmed out and adhered.  

This card happened because I already had the two little buttercups diecut!  I just needed to put them together, add some patterned paper, the sentiment and I was done.  I did add a little bit of interest by embossing the patterned paper panel with another Simon Says Stamp embossing folder.  I like the subtle look

This final card didn't start out being my favorite, but once I had it all put together I love it!  I started by stenciling a panel of white cardstock with a poppy stencil from Simon Says Stamp.  I used Candied Apple distress oxide ink.  I then die cut the panel with the Simon Says Stamp A2 Nesting Frames die set.  I die cut a panel of white carstock and adhered the frame.  I then die cut additional panels to fit behind the inner panel so that it would be slightly popped up from the frame.  I adhered that to my white panel.  Then I die cut the flower (SSS Sunrise Stem) from white cardstock, inked up just the flower with Candied Apple and adhered the pieces to my card front.  I stamped the banner and sentiment, trimmed it out and then inked up the banner with the residual ink on my blending brush.  The banner was adhered and I was done.  I like the rather striking and unusual look of this card. 

Well, that's it for me.  Don't forget to check out the release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Birch Press Design Blog Post #2

 Hello everyone!  I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today and here is a little peek at what I made:

I hope you will head over to the blog to check out my project. Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

last minute cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards that I made at the last minute for two challenges:  Pinkfresh Studio May challenge and Altenew monthly challenge.  Let's have look at what I made.

My first card is for the Altenew challenge.  Back at the end of April I received a surprise in the mail.  A personalized stamp set from Altenew!  That is the stamp I used for my card.  Sadly as I was stamping the image I realized that there is a flaw in the image.  I was able to fix it so I will still be able to use the stamp in the future.  I stamped the image on watercolor cardstock using VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink, applied clear embossing powder and heat set.  I colored the image with Tonic Studio Aqua Flow pens.   Once the image was dry I die cut it with a Memory Box arched die.  Two more of the arched dies were cut and adhered behind the main one.  I adhered the panel to the kraft cardstock base and then added my sentiment.  I used the Altenew Fancy Thanks die and cut it from glossy black cardstock from Memory Box.   Two additional layers were cut and adhered for a bit more dimension.  Will add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. 

My next card is for the Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge that is closing tonight!  Yikes... talk about last minute, lol!  Let's have a look.

The challenge at PFS is frame it up so I pulled out a couple of my favorite PFS stand alone dies and the pretty Amazing Things suite of products.  I used the Fancy Rectangle Frames and Nested Rectangles:  Postage Edge dies to frame up my floral image.  I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black and colored it with Copic markers.  I layered up the frames and then added the die cut image and the sentiment.  The Fance Rectangle was die cut from pretty white glitter cardstock from Simon Says Stamp.

Well, that's it for me.  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.

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!

Just Us Girls Challenge #775 - Mood Board

 Hello!  I'm back for more fun with the JUGs team!  This week is mood board week and Carol picked a fun one.  I do have to admit that when I first saw it, I was a little stumped, but eventually I think I came up with a good take on the mood board.  Let's have a look at what I made.

Since the mood board has a crafty theme to it I looked through my stash to see what I had that would relate to that.  I found an older Simon Says Stamp set called Crafty Friends.   There are small images of a pencils, paintbrush and marker in the set, but I decided to go with the diagonal striped image to create my row of color.  I focused on the red/pink/yellow/orange colors and the heart shape.  I used Pinkfresh Studio inks in my chosen colors in two shades.   Once finished with the stamping I die cut the panel and then die cut the heart from the center.  I stamped the sentiment from the Crafty Friends stamp set inside the heart and then assembled my card.  I used thin foam squares for the main panel and then slightly thicker ones for the heart.  I finished off the card with three tiny Trinity Stamps Rainbow Fish pearls.  

Well, that's it for me.  I hope you enjoyed today's project and will take the time to play along at Just Us Girls!  Have a wonderful day. 

 

Birch Press Design Post

 Hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I created.

Hope you will head over to the blog for a look.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

two cards...

 Hello!  I got some time to make a couple of cards and I'm here to share!  One card is for Freshly Made Sketches and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  The other is for Color Throwdown.  Let's see what I made.

What do you do when you want to make a card, but you just aren't feeling some of the supplies you already have on your desk?  You turn to pretty patterned papers and ephemera!  Or at least that is what I did for this card.  I pulled out my pack of 49 and Market Birdsong patterned paper and laser cuts, rummaged around for a bit and came up with this card.   I die cut the patterned paper and then layered on all the elements that I chose.  I finished with the pre-printed sentiment.  Even the little bow is a laser cut.   

I made this fun little card with a cute stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp that was a free gift with purchase.  I got the offer around my birthday, so I decided to go for it and made a small purchase.  It has been on my desk since it arrived in early December!  I thought the CTD colors were perfect to create a birthday card that I will probably save to give to my great nephew on his birthday later this year.  The stamps are all one piece and the birthday is a separate stamp.  I stamped the stamps using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored the images very simply with Copic markers in the CTD colors.   I then die cut the image with the matching die.  The die cuts everything out as one piece so in order to have 5 individual stamps I had to cut them apart.  The birthday was stamped using VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink and die cut, as well.  The happy sentiment is from another SSS birthday stamp set.  I layered all the stamps using just glue as I wanted to keep the card as flat as possible for mailing.  

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

JUGs challenge #774 - Word Week - Fruit

 Hello, hello!  I'm back for week 2 of my guest designer turn at Just Us Girls!  This week is word week and the word is fruit!   I must admit I wasn't even sure that I had anything in my stash that would work, but thankfully I remember a Simon Says Stamp stamp and die set that I have that features lemons.  Let's have a look at what I made.

I stamped all the lemon images in the stamp set in VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink, applied clear embossing powder, heat set and then watercolored them with just two Tonic Studio Aqua Flow pens:  yellow and dark green.  The same was done for the butterfly.   Once dry I die cut all the images.  The stamp set happened to be part of a card kit that I had purchased and so I used some of the patterned paper from the kit.  The paper is from Simple Stories, but unfortunately I don't know which paper line.  I die cut the paper, arranged my lemons and then stamped the sentiment from the kit.   The panel was added to a white cardstock base and then I attached the butterfly.  I'm super happy with how this card turned out. 

I hope to see you playing along with this week's challenge.  All the information can be found on the JUGs blog.   Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

yellow bird...

 Hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, Color Hues and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  Let's have a look at what I made.

As you can see I took a bit of license with the sketch!  I was inspired by the pretty card that my friend, Greta, made to send to a friend through the Card Chain Challenge.  She used the Memory Box Magnolia Leaf Branch die along with a Simon Says Stamp bird die for her card.  I have the Magnolia Leaf Branch die, but hadn't used it.  When I saw her card I just had to use my die.  For my bird I used the Poppy Stamps Nordic Bird die.  The Color Hues colors this go round are yellow and blue.  I had some scraps of yellow cardstock on my desk so I used those for my little bird.  I added some additional color to the bird by inkblending on some distress oxide ink in Mustard Seed.  The branch was die cut from cream woodgrain cardstock.   To keep with the sketch I inkblended distress oxide ink in Salty Ocean in an approximate circle and then layered my branch and bird over that.  I finished with a Memory Box Happy Birthday tab.  

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

Guesting at JUGs - Use a Flower Die

 Hello everyone!  Happy May Day!  I'm so excited to share that I'm guesting with Just Us Girls this month!!  Appropriately the first challenge of May (#773) is to use a flower die on your card.  Let's have a look at what I created for the challenge.

My mom's birthday is at the end of April (28th) and so this card was made for her.  I used a beautiful Memory Box magnolia die for my flower.   I die cut all the pieces from white cardstock and then inked them up with distress oxide inks using the small Waffle Flower blending brushes.   The little brushes provide great control in adding color.   I let all the pieces dry and then assembled the flower.  I decided to go a little outside the box and use some pretty patterned paper from the 49 and Market Kaleidoscope 6x8 paper pack.    The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set called Garden Fresh.  I stamped the birthday sentiment and die cut it with the matching die.  The happy was stamped and cut into a small strip.   Adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

I hope you will take the time and play along with this week's challenge.  You can find all the challenge details on the JUGs blog.   That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Simon Says Stamp You Are My Favorite Release!

 Hello everyone!  I'm back to share three projects I made with the lovely Timeless Blossoms stamp set from the new Simon Says Stamp release called You Are My Favorite.  Simon was so kind and sent me this pretty stamp set to create with!  Let's have a look at what I made.

The Timeless Blossoms stamp set has lot of great sentiments including the Happy Mother's Day sentiment.  With Mother's Day just around the corner I thought it appropriate to make Mother's Day cards.  I used the color combo from Color Hues to stamp my floral heart.  I used two Pinkfresh Studio inks:  Soft Lilac and Ocean Breeze.  The floral heart is comprised of three separate stamps.  The first stamp are the leaves, the second has the lily like flower and roses and the final layer has more roses.  After stamping the first layer using the Ocean Breeze ink I stamped the second layer 6 times with the Soft Lilac in order to get the darker lilac color I wanted.  The third layer was stamped twice with the Soft Lilac.   I die cut the panel and then adhered it to another larger panel of light gray cardstock.  I adhered a twine bow and the sentiment over the top of it.  The tiny sequins are light aqua in color. 

The Timeless Blossoms stamp set also includes a small swag image, as well as one single rose with leaves.  I used those two sets of stamps for the second Mother's Day card.  This time I went with a peach and coral color combo and a pale green for the leaves.   To get the swags stamped equal distance apart I stamped the first layer and then rotated my cardstock 180 degrees and stamped the layer again.  Then I stamped the second layer, rotated the cardstock and stamped the second layer.  Did that one more time for the final layer.  Then I positioned and stamped the single rose and leaves in the same way.  I die cut the panel with a Simon Says Stamp A2 frames die to create the frame and then with a smaller die from the same set to create the interior panel.   I stamped the sentiment in light gray ink and then adhered the panel inside the frame using foam tape.  I finished with tiny clear sequins.

For my final project I decided to create a little decor piece.   I started by stamping the floral heart 

Using a yellow, lilac and olive green color scheme.  Since the image is heart shaped, I wanted to see if it would fit inside of this pretty scalloped edge heart die, I have from another Simon Says Stamp stamp and die set I have called Happy Hello.  I was so excited to see that it was a pretty perfect fit!   I painted a Tim Holtz frame with white paint and added polka dot patterned paper to the back before adhering it to the frame.  The heart was popped up in the center using foam squares.  I then stamped the two little roses and leaves and fussy cut them out.  The sentiment is a from a Simon Says Stamp set that is 10 years old!  I rediscovered it as I was going through my stash looking for the right sentiment.  I think the sentiment is just perfect for this piece!  I stamped it in gray ink, die cut it with the matching die and popped it up with foam squares.   The little corner flowers were also popped up.  I just love how this turned out.   I'm going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge of blooming blooms.

Well, that is it for me.  Don't forget to check out the new Simon Says Stamp release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!