bright side...

Hello!  I'm back with two more cards that I made with products from the Simon Says Stamp Every Happiness release.  One card will be heading off to the current Just Us Girls challenge (stencils), as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   Let's look at what I created.  (If you haven't yet, please check out my Simon Says Stamp day 2 blog hop post.)

This first card features the new Bellflower Blossoms stencil set, Chunky Ovals dies and a sentiment from the fun Positive Thoughts stamp set.   I stenciled the background using blue, purple and green inks from Altenew.   Once the stenciling was done I die cut the panel with a Chunky Oval die.  I adhered that to a white cardstock base.  Two of the smaller Chunky Oval were used to die cut some polka dot vellum and then the sentiment that was stamped in a dark purple ink.   This is the card that will be heading to the above mentioned challenges. 

For this card I used the new Sunflower Meadow stamp set, as well as the Chunky Ovals.   I also pulled in a die from the Sparkler Scallop frames set from last month's release.  I just love that die set!  I stamped the image on the white panel, die cut it and then used two Chunky Oval dies to create the kraft cardstock frame.  I adhered the frame, added the little twine bow and then finished with the sentiment from the Sunflower Meadow stamps set that was die cut with the smallest Chunky Oval die.

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

Birch Press Design Blog Post #2

Hello, hello!  Can you believe that July is almost over?  Time is flying by way too fast for my liking, lol!  Today I'm on the Birch Press Design blog and here is a little peek of what I made:

I hope you will head over to the blog to let me know what you think.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

I'm So Grateful...

 Hello!   Well, it has been a while, again, since I last posted.  This seems to be my pattern:  Post several cards then disappear for a week or so.  Don't think the pattern will change anytime soon, either.   It isn't that I'm not making things because I am.  I just can't share what I have made yet.  But I'm here today with a "I just want to make something" card.  I will be sending this one off to Color Hues (yellow and black), Freshly Made Sketches and Just Us Girls (moodboard).   So, let's see what I made.

I had been going through some cards that I had made a long time ago and came across a card that I had made using this pretty Memory Box die set called Cottage Flower Stem.  I decided that I need to find that die set and make another card with it.  And here it is, lol!  I die cut just the flower from yellow cardstock and the flower with stem from white cardstock.  I did add a little bit of distress oxide ink in yellow to the flower center and to the bottom layer to provide a little contrast.  For the FMS portion of the card I die cut a piece of patterned paper from the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo Garden using a small rectangle die.  I created the flower and then adhered that to the white flower stem.  The rectangles were layered on a white cardstock panel and then I added the flower.  I thought about having the leaves be black, but decided against that as I felt I had enough black already.  I did add some pale yellow sequins, tho.  Finished with the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp set. I thought about creating a card for JUGs using lots of flowers, but decided that this single yellow flower worked for the challenge.   Let me know what you think.

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

Birch Press Design June Blog Post #1

 Hello, hello!  Can't believe it is already June!  Time is flying by absolutely way too fast!  Today I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog and here is a little peek at what I created.

I hope you will head over to the Birch Press Design blog to see my card.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Guest Designing for Not 2 Shabby!

Hello!  Popping in to share my first of four cards I will be sharing this month as a guest designer for Not 2 Shabby Shop.  They have lots of fun and playful branded products in their shop, as well as products from other companies.   You can check them out here.  I was contacted by them a few months ago about guesting for them and said yes!   This month I will be creating with products from their monthly paper pad club, as well as using some of their preprinted sentiment strips.  Let's look at the first card I created.

 Aren't those little turtles just the cutest things?  This card will be going to one of my great nieces for sure!  I did make a bit of a mistake in that I should have put the smallest turtle (the one with the ice cream cone) in the center, but sometimes you can still make a rookie mistake, lol.   The turtles are from the Sweet & Playful Turtles ephemera pack and the papers are from the Cute Sea Critters and Playful Prints 6x6 paper pads.  I used the layout from Freshly Made Sketches (did flip it upside down, tho) for the card.  Finished with the sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp) that I stamped on the same paper I used for the main background.  I will also be posting this over at Seize the Birthday as it does have the topping of sweet treats!  This card just makes me smile.  How about you?

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

just for you...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for a few challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches (two weeks in a row... yay me, lol!), Just Us Girls (stencil week) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).  Let's look at what I made.

I hadn't bought a Simon Says Stamp card kit in several years and decided to purchase the one for May, 2026.  I was intrigued by the stamp set Long Stem Florals and the stencil that went with the stamp set so decided to save up my money and get the kit.   I was disappointed that by the time I got the kit it didn't include the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Junk Drawer papers, but some very unattractive Tim Holtz papers.  One of the patterns actually looks like a cross section of a lung dyed blue!  Yuck!  Anyway, I have lots of Simple Stories papers that will works so all is well.  Anyway, as you can see, I used the stamp set and stencils, but no patterned paper.  I also used the smallest tag from the die set included in the kit.  I had intended on participating in the most recent Color Hues challenge, but knew I wouldn't have it done by the time the challenge closed.   But I liked the color combo so much (violet and lime green) that I decided to use it anyway.  I thought the stamped and stenciled floral image, as well as the little tag were perfect for Cecile's super cool FMS sketch.  I went with vellum for the tag so you can still see some of the stem underneath.   The sentiment was heat embossed.  I finished with the white twine and some iridescent sequins.

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

Simon Says Stamp Always There Release!

 Hello!  It has been a while since the last Simon Says Stamp release, but they are back and better than ever with the Always There release!  I have two cards to share today that I made using products from this release that SSS generously sent to me to create with.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is this cutie patootie giraffe die set called Fable Giraffe.  I think this card will be going to my pink loving great niece when she turns five this fall.   I also used another new product from the release: Sparkler Scallop Frames die set.  I LOVE this die set and you will be seeing me use it alot in the future!  I die cut the giraffe from pink cardstock and then inked up pieces with Spun Sugar distress ink.  I adhered the pieces and then added Nuvo drops in black to the eyes.  I found some pretty pink gingham paper and die cut that with one of the Sparkler Scallop Frames.  White cardstock was die cut with a larger Sparkler Scallop Frames die and layered together.  I used the smallest die from the set, die cut it from white cardstock and then stamped it with the happy birthday sentiment that fit perfectly inside.  The balloon cluster is from the new Pawfect Together stamp set and was stamped on pink cardstock, some Spun Sugar was added to the balloons and then I covered that up with Nuvo drops in White Blizzard, lol!  I layered everything on a pink cardstock base.  Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

This card ended up being my favorite of the four cards that I made.  This card uses the Timeless Thanks die set and the CZ Design Mod Composition background stamp.  I hadn't done emboss/resist in a very long time and thought the Mod Composition stamp would be perfect for that technique.   I stamped the background on white cardstock with watermark ink, applied white embossing powder and then heat set it.  I used Altenew's Soft Lilac ink to bring out the white embossing.  I love the soft subtle color that was achieved.  For the Timeless Thanks I used a fairly new Simon Says Stamp cardstock called Moonflower.  I love this cardstock.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  I die cut the shadow layer from white and adhered them together.  The sentiment is from the CZ Design Thanks, Mom stamp and die set.  I stamped the sentiment on the Moonflower cardstock with VersaFine Clare Morning Mist ink, die cut it plus a couple other layers and adhered both to the background.  The background was die cut with the SSS A2 Frame dies set.  

That's it for now.  I will be back to share the other two cards that I made with products from the release.  Click here to see the full release or use the link on my sidebar.  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.

More St. Patty's Day

 Hello!  I back with a card for three challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches, Just Us Girls and Color Hues.  It is die week at JUGs and this time the challenge is green/luck so I decided to use the fun Printmaking Clovers stamp set for the card.  I didn't die cut anything from green cardstock, but there is green on the die cut tag so I hope that works for the challenge.  Anyway, let's see what I made.

The Color Hues combo is green and gold.  So pretty together, right?  Sometimes I struggle with this combo, but I think this time around I came up with a good balance for the colors.  I used Altenew Fresh Dye inks in Green Fields and Shadow Creek for two-thirds of the clovers and then VersaMark watermark ink for the final one-third so that I could emboss it with gold embossing powder.  I really like how it turned out.  I die cut the clovers with a Simon Says Stamp rounded top tag.  I die cut a white panel of cardstock, a portion of gold mirror cardstock and then trimmed down a strip of green glitter cardstock.  I adhered everything and then finished with the sentiment that features the word lucky (luck) in the sentiment and a bow made up of metallic gold twine and dark green twine.   I don't often make cards for St. Patrick's Day, but now I have two and so they will be going to a couple of friends. 

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

St. Patty's Day and Easter

 Hello!  Popping in to share the other two projects I made with products from the Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Moments release.  Let's look at what I made. 

This first card was made with the fun Printmaking Clovers stamp set.  I will be honest and tell you that I had a bit of a hard time figuring out exactly how the three different clover stamps in the set went together.  Once I got it figured out I was able to create this panel.  Still need a little bit of work on lining things up, but I like how it turned out.  I used three different Altenew Fresh Dye inks in Firefly, Grass Field and Shadow Creek.  I think this is my new favorite set of green inks!  Once done with the stamp I die cut the panel and then added glossy accents to a lobe of each clover and then poured on Rock Candy glitter.   I used my SSS A2 Frames to die cut green glitter cardstock to make a frame.  A larger rectangle was die cut from white cardstock, adhered to the green cardstock base and then I added the glitter frame.  The image panel was placed in the center and the I finished with the sentiment that I diecut with a banner die from my stash.

I just love how this Easter card turned out!  The Bouncy Bunny embossing folder and matching die are so much fun.  I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the embossing folder.  I then die cut the bunny from the four cardstocks you see (I was thinking pastel Peeps) and then embossed them in the embossing folder.  I die cut the white embossing panel down to a smaller size and covered it with all the little embossed bunnies.  I finished with the sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp Easter set from last year.  Simple, but so cute I think.  Going to add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of make it cute.  

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

Snowflakes and hearts!

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in today with two cards that I made using beautiful papers from Your Paper Insider Box 14!   Your Paper Insider contacted me through Instagram and asked if I was interested in creating with one of their boxes.  Of course I said yes!  Who wouldn't want to play with pretty cardstock and specialty papers?!?  The cardstock and specialty papers came beautifully wrapped in teal tissue paper and included a little sheet that shares information on some of the specialty papers and provides a list of everything in the box.  Boxes arrive 4 times a year (January, April, July and October) and cost just $29.95!  Shipping is included, too!  I think that is an amazing deal.  

The cards I made today will be heading to several different challenges:  Sunday Stamps (sketch), Color Hues (blue and white) and Inspired By challenge (I was inspired by the sketch).  The first card also works for the Paper Players clean and simple winter card challenge.  Let's have a look at what I made with some of the papers.

This card was made with shades of blue.  Specifically, Sapphire Colorplan cardstock, Baby Blue Thai Unryu (mulberry paper) and Blue Moon Cocktail.   I die cut the large center snowflake from the Blue Moon Cocktail.  It has this pretty subtle sparkle to it and is so pretty!  The smaller snowflakes were die cut from Sapphire Colorplan.  I cut a strip of the Baby Blue Thai Unryu and then used my wet fingers to pull off small pieces to give the strip that wispy look.  I do admit that I was worried that the strip would be too light, but it looks so pretty against the white cardstock.  I also like how it provides a nice softness to the overall design.   The sentiment is one that I hot foiled ages ago and I believe it is from Pinkfresh Studios, but I'm not sure.

Here is a shot of the two cardstocks and Thai Unryu paper I used along with the dies.  This card will be going to Sunday Stamps and Color Hues. 

 This card will be going to Inspired by Challenge and as stated above I used the sketch for my inspiration.  I used all speciality papers from the box for the main elements on the card.  The white cardstock used in both cards is what I purchased from PaperTrey Ink.   The papers I used are Magenta Thai Unryu, Magenta Non-Shed glitter and Light Pink Non-shed glitter.   I used two heart dies to cut the hearts from the glitter papers and then layered them using a thin foam square.  I trimmed down the Magenta Thai Unryu and used the same process I used on the Baby Blue Thai Unryu to create the wispy look.  I embossed white cardstock with a puffy hearts embossing folder, layered on the Thai Unryu paper and the hearts.  I finished with the little sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Locket of Love stamp set.  Going to add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to use embossing.

This is a photo of the specialty papers I used for the second card.

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

snow happy...

 Hello, again!  Can't believe I'm back sharing another card, lol!  Guess my "dry spell" is over... ha ha!  Today I have a card for the current Sunday Stamps challenge and a new to me challenge:  Inspired By.  My bloggy friend Lisa shared a cute card she made for the Inspired By challenge and it inspired me to play along!  Let's see what I made.

The die set that I used to create my little snowman face was the DieCember 2024 die set that you got for free with a purchase of $30 of Tim Holtz products.  I had waited until later in the month of December 2024 to make my purchase so I didn't get the set until after Christmas.   I set the die set aside and promptly forgot about it.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that.  Throughout 2025 I found the set, looked at it and then put it back.    When I saw the Sunday Stamps sketch challenge I thought of the snowman face in the set and knew I wanted to combine it with some of the snowflake dies that I have.  I absolutely love how this card turned out!  To keep the snowflake theme going I added a panel that I embossed with the snowflake embossing folder.  Finished with a snow themed sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set that I got a few years ago.  

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

Birch Press Design December Post #1

 Hello, hello!  Popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek at what I created:

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

More SSS DieCember Release Cards

 Hello from really wet and really wild Western Washington!  The rain has been crazy here for the last few days.  Many rivers are at flood warning or have flooded.  Haven't seen this much rain in such a short period of time in many, many years.   Hoping things calm down here in the next few days.  I'm popping in to not just talk about the weather, but to share two more cards that I made with products from the Simon Says Stamp DieCember release.  Let's have a look at what I made. 

This card was made with the new Birds in the Pine embossing folder that also includes die to cut out the little birds.   I decided to emboss a piece of light blue and white patterned paper from Paper Rose Studio with the embossing folder so that the embossed pines are a little more subtle.  I then used a coordinating piece of patterned paper that had a red watercolor look to it to die cut out the birds and then emboss them.  I attached the little birds in their respective spots using glue and just a few areas on the birds so their wings would pop up slightly.  The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp Christmas Cheer stamp and die set.  I stamped the banner and then the sentiment.  Die cut with the matching die and then used thin foam squares to attach it in the center of the card.  You really can't see it in the photo, but I did add glossy accents to some of the pine branches and then covered it with Rock Candy glitter.  It provides a nice subtle sparkle.  

This card was made with the Stitching Holly and Berries die set from the release.  I die cut the holly leaves and then added stitching to them using three strands of a dark green DMC floss.  The berries had glossy accents applied to them and then I covered them with chunky Rock Candy glitter.   The large you sentiment is from a CZ Design Christmas stamp set.  After stamping in red ink and then die cutting I embossed the word with a snowflake embossing folder for a little bit of texture.  I adhered everything to a light gray panel and then finished with the little sub-sentiment.  Since you can actually see the sparkle on this card I'm going to enter it into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of sparkle and shine. 

Well, that's it for me.  I hope the weather is a little bit saner in your part of the world!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Simon Says Stamp DieCember Blog Hop Day 1!

Hello, hello!   I'm so excited to be participating in the day 1 blog hop celebrating Simon Says Stamp's DieCember release!  It is huge and full of wonderful new products!   You should have arrived at my blog from Bonnie Crane's blog.    As you can see from the graphic Simon Says Stamp is offering a free gift with any purchase from the DieCember release and that free gift is an absolutely adorable snowman!  And Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 gift certificate at each stop on the hop!!  YAY!  

Simon Says Stamp was so kind and sent me several different products from the release.  Today I'm sharing cards that I made with a few of those products.   Let's take a look at what I created. 

First up is a card that I made using the really cool Forest Background die.  The die cuts out multiple tree lines and a thin border.  You can create a background like I did by keeping all the pieces together or create more depth to the layers by adding dimensional foam.   I started my card by coloring a piece of watercolor cardstock with Rustic Wilderness reinker.   I squeezed out the color from the bottle on to my Tim Holtz glass mat and then applied it to the cardstock with a wet paint brush.   Before applying the reinker I did wet the watercolor cardstock lighty with water.   I tried to have the bottom darker than the top.  It worked, sort of, lol!  Once my cardstock was dry I die cut it and then placed tape on the back to keep everything in place.   I did discard the top portion of the cut as I had created a second watercolor piece using Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot reinkers.    I let that piece dry and then die cut it with the top portion of the die.   Both pieces were then placed in my splatter box, liberally splattered with Simon Says Stamp white splatter medium and set aside to dry.  For the sentiment I used an older Simon Says Stamp peace die and two sub-sentiments from the SSS Stained Glass Greeting stamp set.  I die cut the word three times from glossy black cardstock and layered them.   To assemble the card I added foam squares to the back of the main portion of the background and adhered it to my card base.   For the top portion I used glue so that portion was flush with the card base giving a little dimension to the card.  I finished with the sentiments placed in the center.

For this card I used the new Radiant Burst die and the poinsettia image and sentiment from the SSS Holiday Gift Giving stamp and die set.  I placed the Radiant Burst die slighty off center on a white cardstock panel and then die cut it.   I stamped the poinsettia with Memento Tuxedo Black and then colored the image with Copic markers.   Die cut the poinsettia, two additional layers and glued them together.  Same was done for the sentiment.  I added some glossy accents to the center of the flower and then covered it with Rock Candy glitter.   I'm trying to be mindful of postage costs so I adhered the Radiant Burst panel to my pink cardstock base with glue.   I then adhered the poinsettia and sentiment.  My card is based on the sketch from Sunday Stamps so I will be adding it to their gallery. 

This card is a duplicate of the first card just with a different image, sentiment and color palette.   I couldn't decide which image I wanted to use for the initial card and so decided to just create two.  That means two more cards for my Christmas card stash.  The image was also stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers.   Diecutting and assembly is exactly the same as the first card.    

Which card do you like best?  I like both versions, but I'm a little more partial to the second card as I like bold jewel tone colors more than softer pastel colors.  

My final card is a departure from Christmas and a move to birthday.  This card was made with the Sweet Treat Critters stamp set and the Scalloped Shaker Shapes die set.   I did some masking to keep my card fairly flat for mailing.  Everything was stamped with Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with Copic markers.  I then die cut the image with the larger scalloped shaker shape.  Pink cardstock was die cut with an SSS A2 Frames die and then embossed with a fun puffy heart embossing folder.  I adhered the pink panel with double sided tape and the image with glue.  I finished with the speech bubble sentiments that were popped up with thin foam squares.  

Well, that is it for me.  Your next stop on the hop is Heejung Hunsberger.    A full list of blog hop participants can be found on the Simon Says Stamp blog.  I also have the list below.  You can find the full release right here.

• Simon Says Stamp Blog 
• Heather Hoffman
• Barbara Tarayao
• Cathy Zielske
• Jennifer McGuire
• Emily Midgett
• Amy Rysavy
• Heather Ruwe
• Lisa Addesa
• Miriam Prantner
• Cheiron Brandon
• Kath Stewart
• Caryn Davies
• Bonnie Crane
• Rosemary Dennis
• Heejung Hunsberger

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the hop!

autumn blessings

 Hello!  I'm back with one more fall inspired card.  This one is for the current Paper Players challenge (clean and simple with foliage) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (also clean and simple).   Let's take a look at what I made.

During Stamptember SSS released a limited edition holiday/Christmas card kit.  As is the case with all of their kits you can buy products contained in the kit separately.  When I saw the Sparkle Season stamp and die set I had to add it to my collection.  I love leaf stamps!  They are so versatile, and my card proves this point.  The leafy stem was design for Christmas/holiday cards, but as you can see, I gave it an autumnal spin by using lots of beautiful distress inks in fall colors.  Specifically, I used Scattered Straw, Aged Mahagony, Carved Pumpkin, Gathered Twigs and Festive Berries.   To get the colors I wanted on the leaves I did multiple layers of stamping.  Some of the leaves were stamped initially with Scattered Straw and then I added more colors.  A few leaves were stamped with Festive Berries and then more colors added.  I used Ranger tiny foam blenders to add the colors to the leaves to get a nice blend.  It did take a while to stamp, but I think it was so worth it as I absolutely love how it turned out.  Die cut with the matching die and then built the rest of the card.   I embossed white cardstock with a leafy embossing folder and then die cut it down further with a SSS tag die.  The sentiment is from the SSS stamp and die set called Cozy Autumn Hugs.  I stamped it with Gathered Twigs and then die cut with the matching die.  I adhered everything to a white cardstock panel.  I created the bow with three colors of twine and did attach it to the top of the tag but didn't like it so added it to my leafy stem.  I liked that much better. 

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

Autumn Blessings

 Hey there!  Popping in to share a card that I made for the Color Hues challenge of rust and yellow.  I'm also going to add it to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge gallery since I think the card is pretty colorful (although maybe not super bright, lol!).  Let's have a look at what I created.

Toward the end of November last year I purchased the Greetery Oakwood set of products, but because Christmas card making was in full swing I never used the products.   Recently, the Oakwood products were featured at a 15% discount and it got me thinking about using them.   Thought the Color Hues combo was a perfect vehicle.   I started by using the stencil set to inkblend the leaves using distress oxide inks in Rusty Hinge and Fossilized Amber.   For the stems and acorns I used Gathered Twigs and Frayed Burlap.   After stenciling the leaves, acorns and stems I added the details on the leaves with the stamp set.  I used Gathered Twigs to add the detailing on the leaves and acorns and Black Soot for the stem.  Then I die cut everything with the matching die.  I love the soft matte look the distress oxide ink gives to the leaves. I then stamped the word Autumn using Fossilized Amber and Rusty Hinge and the word blessings was stamped in Gathered Twigs.  Used PTI dies for both of the background layers.  Additional layers of the oak leaves and words were die cut and stacked behind.  I them adhered everthing to the card front.  I finished with a little bit of Rock Candy glitter to the leaves and acorns.

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

Papertrey Ink September Release - Part 2

 Hello!  I'm back to share three more cards that I made with products from the Papertrey Ink September release.   With all these beautiful Christmas themed products to work with I'm sure to get most of my Christmas cards made for the season!  Let's have a look at what I made.

This first card was made with the new Into the Blooms: Snowdrops die set, the This is Big Happy Holidays stamps and dies, the Stitched Snowflakes cover plate die, Rounded Rectangle dies and In Frame: Ovals dies.   I die cut the snowdrops from green and white cardstock and then added a little bit of Broken China distress oxide ink to the white pieces.  The stems were die cut from a medium green cardstock.  I adhered all the piece together with liquid adhesive and thin foam squares in a few places.  I then die cut pale blue cardstock with the largest In Frame: Ovals die.  I kept the two pieces together by securing them in place on the back with washi tape.  White cardstock was die cut with the largest Rounded Rectangle die and then run through my die cutting machine with the Stitched Snowflakes die.  I adhered that to a pale blue cardstock base and then layered on the ovals and the snowdrops.  I finished with the Happy Holiday sentiment.   I didn't stamp the sentiment and then die cut it as I wasn't sure I could get the die to line up correctly.  So, I die cut first, left the die cut in place, aligned the sentiment on top and then stamped using black ink.  Worked like a charm.  I die cut additional layers, adhered them together and then adhered the sentiment to the card front with liquid adhesive and thin foam squares.   A little bit of sparkle was added as well using Rock Candy glitter.   Going to add this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

For this card and the third one I went with a traditional red and green theme with kraft instead of white as the background for a more homespun feel.  This card uses Love to Layer Christmas Tree dies, Fresh Greens hot foil plate, Rounded Rectangle Pierced dies and a sentiment from the Merry Motifs stamp and die set.    I had recently found a sheet of watercolor cardstock that I had used to create this dark green backgound using distress mica sprays.  I decided to use it for my Christmas tree.  I used Memory Box patterned paper from one of their Christmas pads for the garland and little ornaments.  I decided to bring gold into the mix with the star, little sparkle ornaments and the gold hot foiled frame.  The background needed a little something else, so I used one of the smaller pierced Rounded Rectangles to die cut the patterned paper I used for the garland to place behind the tree.  The sentiment was stamped in a dark red and die cut.  I then die cut a second layer from gold foil cardstock and adhered it behind the sentiment slightly off set.  It looks so pretty in real life. 

 I think this final card really has a homespun feel too it.  Again, done in red and green with kraft.  I think I should have maybe embossed the sentiment black, but there it is in white!  This card was made with Build a Christmas Tree dies, This is Big:  Happy Holidays sentiment set and the Rounded Rectangle Stitched dies.  Memory Box plaid cardstock was used for the background.   After die cutting the garland from a red cardstock I decided to jazz things up a bit by using red glitter cardstock for the ornaments.  The kraft bows dial the glitz back a little for a more homespun fell.  After layering everything on the tree and adhering it to the plaid background I stamped the sentiment on vellum and embossed in white.  Again, thinking maybe I should have used black, but what is done is done, right? 

Well, that is it for me.  I have made it through a large portion of the September release, but still have several more products to share.  So, I will be back later in the week with more Christmas cards!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!