two cards to share...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a quick post sharing two cards that I made for a few challenges.  Both use products that I recently purchased!  Yay for using new products right when you get them!  A list of affiliate links will be 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.   Lets take a look at my first card.

This first card is for Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches.   You know I love to combine those two challenges, right?  Anyway, this week the sketch is brought to us by Cecile.  She always has a fun clean and simple sketch and this one is no exception.  I just had to play along.  As I stated above I had recently gotten some new products and I was determined to use them as soon as I could.  This card uses the new Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers stamp set from the May card kit.  I used Pinkfresh Studio inks for the heart and the little leafy image.  The flower was stamped using Scattered Straw distress ink to get the shade of yellow I wanted.   I don't have the dies that match the stamp set so I just fussy cut out the little flower.  That was popped up on the card after I stamped the images and the sentiment.  I finished with some sparkling clear Pretty Pink Posh sequins.  

This next card uses a stamp and die bundle that I purchased from Stampin Up!  Stampin Up! was one of the first companies that I bought stamping products from and I still love their products today!  This set is called Artistically Inked and it is just lovely!

This card will be going to the Sunday Stamps challenge (a sketch) and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of feminine.  I used pretty inks from Pinkfresh Studio for all the stamping.  I'm not sure that I really like the banners on the card, but maybe it will grow on me.  Let me know what you think!

Affiliate linked supplies used:

Platinum 6 die cutting machine

Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers 

Pinkfresh Studio Heartbeat ink cube collection

Pinkfresh Studio Indian Summer ink cube collection

Pinkfresh Studio Starry Night ink cube collection

Pinkfresh Studio Garden Stroll ink cube collection

Pinkfresh Studio Over the Hills ink cube collection

Bearly Art Glue

VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne Ink

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

a happy rainbow...

 Hello!  Hope everyone is having a great week.  My younger son is on spring break this week so we have been trying to get out and about.  In between those little trips I have managed to create a card.  This one is for... yep... Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches!   Take a look:

I really love the Rainbow of Happiness bundle from Stampin Up!  It is just so fun.  I have been wanting to make another card with it and the above-mentioned challenges were the perfect vehicle.   I found sequins in the CTD colors for my shaker rainbow.  Since there are only three colors in the CTD combo and there are four arches in the rainbow I added in some iridescent sequins in the fourth arch.   After cutting out my rainbow from white cardstock I decided to add some interest by embossing it with the April Spellbinder embossing folder.   I love the fun sunray effect it gives the panel.   I trimmed down an acetate piece and adhered it behind the openings.  Then I added strips of foam adhesive.  I carefully filled each section of the rainbow with the sequins.  Not gonna lie... this took along time!  Because I knew it wouldn't be easy to adhere the shaker element to the card base I opted to add some patterned paper to the back.   I used patterned paper from Stampin Up! that coordinates with the Rainbow of Happiness bundle and I used that.  I finished off the card with some twine tied around the top of my shaker element and the sentiment from the set stamped in black ink and die cut with a banner die. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

a kind word...

 Hello!  I'm popping in today with a card for a couple of challenges:  Sunday Stamps and the Paper Players.  The challenge at the Paper Players is clean and simple with flowers so I just had to play along. 

I used the color combo from Sunday Stamps to color up my Honey Bee Stamps tulip bouquet with Copic markers.  I was able to use most of the Sunday Stamps color, but I did add in a little bit of blue.  I hope that is okay.  I used my Birch Press Pinpoint Radial plate to add interest to my background.  The sentiment was stamped in VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink and die cut with the matching die.  I die cut the bouquet, popped it up on the background along with the sentiment.  To fill in the background a little more I added lots of sparkling clear sequins. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

more leaves...

 What can I say?  It's fall... there are leaves falling and I love leaves!  So here is another card featuring leaves.  October 2nd was world cardmaking day and I did spend some of the day making cards.  One that failed spectacularly  and the one I'm sharing.  Turned out pretty nice I think! 

I used the colors from Color Throwdown (I already entered the card there through Instagram) and the layout from Freshly Make Sketches.  Originally I was going to use the leave die from the Concord & 9th Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp and die set, but the leaf was just too big to have two of them on my card front.  I suppose I could have made the card 5x7, but I generally don't do cards that big.   Then I took a look at my Grand Leaf Trio die set.  This is one of my most favorite die sets and I use it all through out the year!  I pulled out some watercolor paper and my Altenew 12 pan watercolor set and created to areas of color that combined the CTD colors.  I made on area yellow/brown and the other purple/green.  It was hard to keep the purple and green from getting too muddy, but in the it worked!  Once everything was dry I die cut the leaves, my panel and adhered the leaves.  The sentiment is from Sweet Sunflower stamp set.   I heat embossed it in gold on vellum, trimmed it down and adhered it to the leaves.  I finished with some sparkling clear sequins.  Going to add this to the SSS world cardmaking day link up and to the SSS Wednesday challenge. 

graduation cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of graduation cards that I made for two nieces that are graduates this year.  One has already graduated from high school and the other graduates in a few days.  I used the layout from Freshly Made Sketches for both cards.  First up is the card that I made for my niece who has already graduated.  She graduated from my alma mater Stadium high school.  Stadium is probably the most unique high school in the United States.  It looks like a French chateau!  I find creating graduation cards difficult sometimes so to make it easier I like to use the school colors.  Stadium's school colors are blue and gold.  Since this card is for a girl I went full glitter!   When I saw the FMS layout I thought running the word congrats down the side would be a fun take on the sketch.  I die cut the letters from gold glitter cardstock and dark blue cardstock.  I then layered the blue cardstock behind the gold glitter offsetting the two slightly so that the blue peeks out.  I made the cards mini slimline in order to make sure all the letters and the exclamation point fit.   I largest mini slimline die from the AJVD mini slim die set and cut white cardstock.  I then adhered all the letters.  The medallion on the front was created using two circle dies from AJVD, as well as the class of image and the 2021 from the AJVD Watt's Next stamp set.  The set has all kinds of fun graduation sentiments.  The class of image was stamped in Delicata Golden Glitz and the 2021 in VersaFine Clair Twilight ink and then die cut it with a circle die.  The same blue cardstock used for the letters was used to cut a slightly larger circle, layered them together and then adhered it to the card front.  I also finished the inside with a die cut panel and sentiment.   

All the elements are exactly the same on the second card I just changed up the colors.  The niece who is graduating in a few days goes to a school with school colors of red, white and blue.  Her graduation announcement only used a little bit of red so I decided to do the same thing and just had a little hint of the red.  That was achieved by layering red letters behind the blue letters and then using VersaFine Clair Tulip ink to stamp the 2021.   I thought the card looked a little stark for a girl so I added some Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins.  

I hope the girls like their cards!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!