Notecards Featuring Altenew's Garden Picks Dies

I so enjoyed the process for creating these beautiful flowers using Altenew's Garden Picks dies that I made far more blowers than I'd expected.  This led to far too many cards featuring the flowers, though I did get to mix and match the flowers because of the variety.  I'm pleased with how these cards turned out!

Popping Up to Wish a Happy Mother's Day

I picked up one of the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Card Pop-Up die because Nicole Spohr is so very inspiring.  I thought the first best use would be to make some Mother's day cards and here's my effort.

I used my Simon Says Stamp's Spring Flowers stamp.  I white heat embossed the flowers on some watercolor paper and used my Mission Gold watercolors to color them before fussy cutting them out.   The sentiment is a combination of stamps and my SSS Tilted Banners die.

The dies make it so easy to put these cards together.  I look forward to making more cards from this die set and then filling them with various different themed die cuts.  So fun.

I added these to those cards for the card sale and imagine the purchaser's excitement and the recipient's joy.

I'm linking up to the following challenges:

For a Special Lady
Word Art Wednesday's Challenge 280/281 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp's Simon Says A Hint of Pink

A Butterfly Card Set

I am just loving my Prickly Pear Mini Butterflies die.  I so adored the card I made last week that I just couldn't keep myself from making a couple extra.  I'm stopping in today to show you the fruits of that labor.  The concept is the same, but I choose different color and pattern combinations.  Do you have a favorite?  I think of all the cards I made the one above is my favorite.  Of course, that is true until I look at the next one- then that one is my favorite... and on and on it goes until I've looked through all six of the combinations that I made for this set.

I'll probably tie these up and give them as a gift. They will brighten someone's day.  Thanks for stopping in and seeing my production line card set.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamps: All Things Bright and Beauitful

Wordart Wednesday's Challenge # 169: Anything Goes

100% Fantastic Card

At the CKC Scrapbook convention in October, I picked up the Prickly Pear Mini Butterflies die.  I've so enjoyed working with the die and stamp set.  This card was inspired by a Pinterest pin.  Not a direct take, but the Simon Says Stamp Tilted Banner die and stamp set played a huge part in making this card fantastic.  A few pearl accents and these fluttering little butterflies landed on a CAS card.  100% Fantastic!

You Simply Sparkle

I've a few blog friends that I just adore.  This card was made to brighten the day of Jessica over at Errant Scraps.  She inspires me with her prolific scrapbook page creating.  All of her projects have multiple layers of goodness and I find her works to be more art than science and my own work sometimes seems more science than art.  She inspires me.  I thought that maybe I would string some pretty papers together and brighten her day.  Here's the details:

• All papers are from KaiserCraft's Miss Empire collection.  The pictures don't due the colors and pattern justice.  This paper is gorgeous!
• The frame is cut using my Spellbinders Labels 17 out of the patterned paper.  I cut another frame from a smaller die out of a coordinating piece and cut the piece in half hiding part of it at the end of the orange frame.
• The frame comes from a patterned paper filled with various vintage tags.  The rose comes from the same piece, just a different tag.  
• The flower is cut from glassine paper using my Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret.  This paper crinkles and colors as I shaped it.  So gorgeous and a perfect fit with a pearl accent right in the center.
• The sentiment is from a Market Street Stamps set stamped in brown Archival Ink onto a Tilted Banners die cut.  I then edged the banner with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

It does seem as though time passes quickly.  I've been meaning to send a card for some time.  I thought a new die cut from my Heartfelt Creations Once Upon a Time stamp and die set would fit nicely on the inside.
  















Yeah, it seems to work here.  I've long delayed posting this card in hopes that it would reach her.  Then, life got away from me, so here we are.  Yay for blog friends and encouraging others, no matter the delays we allow to slow our progress!

I'm linking this up over at Word Art Wednesday's Challenge # 125: Anything Goes.  They always have such a variety of projects on display.  Come join the fun or just stop by for a look.

A Happy Birthday Card

Today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for my mom.  Her favorite color is blue and one of her favorite patterns is plaid.  I turned to my 6 x 6 paper pad of Simple Stories Summer Fresh patterned paper.  Since my Online Card Class, Pattern Play I've really tried to play with patterned paper more. 

I used my Cricut to cut that medallion out.  I didn't write down what I used and so I've utterly lost sight of which cart the cut came from.

The flowers were cut using my Heartfelt Creations Posy dies.  Ultimately, I decided to use a few light blue posies I'd stamped with some Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  That's a bit of green FlowerSoft in the center of those tiny posies.  The sentiment comes from my Tilted Banners stamps and dies set. 

When I'd put together all my patterned elements, I realized that the medallion needed an anchor so I cut a strip of burgundy patterned paper from a scrap and placed it right down the middle of the card.  It really helped and so I ended up with a card that I liked. 

On the inside, I wanted something a little decorative.  I settled on this piece of patterned paper.  The sentiment stamped in Faded Jeans Distress Ink comes from my Stampin' Up Apothecary Art stamp set.  A tiny swirl from one of my sets and a little posy and I think the inside is finished in a lovely manner.  She enjoyed her birthday card and the gift (it was tea- she drinks lots of hot tea even in our 120 degree summers!).

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I've linked this up over at Word Art Wednesday: Challenge #105- Anything Goes .  Come join the fun.

Happiest of Birthdays

This lovely card was built around the Stampin' Up stamp and die set, Apothecary Art stamp set.  The flowered frame was stamped with black Archival ink and the sentiment in the same ink.  The flowers were colored using my Distress Markers (Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick, Stormy Sky, and Peeled Paint).  A little Scattered Straw was applied to the frame and then cut with the Apothecary Framelits.  The framelits set didn't come with stacking dies, so I fussy cut the piece of pink cardstock to frame my sentiment.  The flowers come from a Making Memories set of paper flowers that is likely at least 3 years old.  I random pearl accent in each center adds to the romantic feel as does the bling swirl out of the flowers.  I used my Scor-Pal to score the eight lines framing the front of the card and then sanded the paper with an emery board.  I really like this technique to frame the card front and with the bold pattern of the paper, it works very well.  The leaves were cut using the Cricut my Picturesque cart and shaped and inked to create dimension. 




The inside begged for a finish.  Here I die cut a Tilted Banner and stamped with the matching sentiment stamp inking the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  A layer of the same patterned paper creates a decorative inside. 







Just a couple tiny pearls to accent the sentiment and the inside is done.  This card was made for my boss' birthday from the team.  We needed a black Sharpie to write on that patterned paper, but she knew who we were and it worked lovely.  Happy Birthday, Nancy!

I've entered this card in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog: Stamping All-Stars and  their Wednesday Challenge blog: Anything Goes.  They are always good fun, come on over and join us.

I've also entered this card in The Shabby Tea Room's Week #182 Sweet Summertime.  Check it out.

A Huge Flower Soft Thank You

On a recent night of bff fun, Brandy brought a bunch of her Flower Soft products.  Quite some time ago, she had become enamored with their products and purchased a wide variety of kits and supplies.  Oooooh the fun to be had.

One of the supplies they offer is their pre-printed card toppers.  This beautiful lantern is just one such product.  The kit comes with several of the same card topper, so Brandy generously offered me a couple to play with.  She also had some duplicate containers of Flower Soft, so I received some Flower Soft to play with.  You've seen some of that product on cards recently posted.  I didn't get around to doing anything with the card toppers until recently.

I randomly applied the Flower Soft to the card topper and rubbed a little Scattered Straw Distress Ink into the flame.  Completing the topper took very little time, but resulted in a sophisticated result.  The patterned paper is from Carta Bella's Traditions collection. I fussy cut the scallops from a piece of the paper and coordinated with a red/orange cardstock.  The sentiment stamp was done with my CTMH Cranberry ink and cut using my ancient CM oval cutters which are like a decade old.






White ribbon was inked using Scattered Straw Distress Ink to create the bow.  I simply pressed the ribbon directly onto the ink pad using a scrap of paper.  It took a couple of passes to get this rich color but it works well with the color scheme.






The inside was decorated with patterned paper and a border stamp with some Scattered Straw Distress Ink.

This card made it into the stash.  I don't often use this size card, as it intimidates me.  However, I sure am pleased with how well it turned out.









The second (and sadly, last) topper I received as a gift is this lovely birdhouse.  To highlight the amazing versatility of Flower Soft's product, the same Flower Soft Spring mixed color was used on this card.  At first glance, this mix looks heavily yellow and leans towards the warm colors (thus the color scheme chosen for the card above).  However, this topper leaned heavily toward a soft pink rose theme.  I simply used a bit less flower soft, randomly dotting the pre-printed vine that winds itself up the post. 







If you look at this close up, you can see the yellow/warm color influence.  However, it really works in the final product.

The sentiment was created using my Tilted Banners die and stamps.  I simply trimmed the white banner to match and fit on the die cut pink banner.  The ink used was a small Brilliance Ink. 




The inside was dressed with a small Vintage Floret stamped flower and a piece of the white ribbon.  Another card for the stash.  Yeah me, I'm really feeling the using up the stash these days...  Thank you, Brandy.  Your generosity was put to good use.

Some More Flower Soft Fun

I'd mentioned that Brandy shuffled some duplicate containers of Flower Soft product my way.  One of them was a container of Flower Soft- Spring.  This mixed color Flower Soft is versatile.  I knew just the supplies I wanted to combine to create a card set.

I started these cards with a set of 10 Hallmark gift cards that I'd picked up at a clearance sale.  The entire box cost something like $1.25.  They came with embossed envelopes and were an off-white color.  Next I sought out a La Blanche stamp I'd picked up for a smokin' deal a couple years back.  I've tried to use this stamp a couple times, but my combinations just didn't work and I ended up abandoning the work I began.



These cards started with the framed flowers being stamped with brown Archival ink onto some white cardstock.  Because I was shooting for the antique look, I used my Ink Blending Tool to apply some Scattered Straw Distress ink to the interior of the frame and some Vintage Photo Distress ink to the edges of the frame.  After applying the ink with the blending tool, I fussy cut the frame and colored the flower with either Worn Lipstick or Scattered Straw Distress ink.  I wanted a soft water color ink so I actually smeared the ink pad onto my craft sheet and applied the color with a water pen.





After the images were colored, I used some Glossy Accents to dot thin lines and splotches of glue on the stem and leaves portions of the image and quickly applied some pre-fluffed Flower Soft.  I pre-fluffed the Flower Soft into a kitchen bowl being sure to loosen any clumps that may have existed from the storage container.  After applying the glue, I simply sprinkled the Flower Soft over the bowl and let the extra drop into the bowl.










The sentiments were first die cut using my Tilted Banners Die and then stamped using the Titled Banners Sayings stamps.  They were also colored using Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo Distress inks applied with the Ink Blending Tool.  The sentiments were stamped with brown Archival ink. 

Some green patterned paper was located in the stash and used as a background for the frames, all edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I ended up sending a set of 5 of these cards to my Grandma who still does a fair bit of correspondence via the mail.  I thought she might be able to put them to good use.  I kept a set for myself and intend to use them to great effect in my own card sending.

I've linked one of these cards up over at Make It Monday: #154 and Word Art Wednesday's: Challenge #94.  Come join the fun!

Just Saying Thanks

Just playing around with my MME Ooh La La For Her 6 x 6 paper pad.  I don't regularly create cards that open from the bottom like this one, but the design really works.  I recently picked up a Sizzlets die set Decorative Swirls.  The green cardstock swirls were cut from one of the dies in the set.  The flowers were stamp and cut from my Heartfelt Creations Posy stamps and dies set using coordinating paper from the paper pad.












The sentiment was stamped and cut using my Tilted Banners set.  I spritzed some Glimmer Glam over the patterned paper and I think it really ties in the polka dots from the bottom later of paper.  I layered paper from the paper pad on the inside to add a decorative touch.  This was a quick card and it's already been sent off to my grandma.  She's always being thoughtful and I can't ever say thank you enough.  She's of the old school who corresponds regularly with folks through the mail (though the older she gets the fewer folks are around to correspond with).  I know she looks forward to receiving mail so I never miss an opportunity to make sure she's getting some mail.

I'm linking this up over at Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #91: Anything Goes and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.  Come join the fun!