Pretty Pansies Notecard Set

Sharing a set of cards created using my Pretty Pink Posh Stamptember 2018 Pansies stamp and die set.  The pansies were stamped onto Bristol cardstock and then colored with my Inktense watercolor pencils which I did use water to blend out. 

I paired these beautiful pansies with a ink blended, stenciled background stitched rectangle and a WPlus9 Hand Lettered Hello stamp and die cut sentiment. 

I love how the different color combinations were able to create very different look and feel to the cards.  The stencil changes also helped to create a different look.

Yellow is decidedly not my color, but I am loving these yellow pansies.

One last card featuring all the leftover bits.  Definitely a fun set of cards to make.  Hooray for using old stamp sets (nearly 10 months without seeing the ink?!?) and making something pretty.

Happy Birthday Mabel

Today I'm stopping by to share the card I made my grandmother to celebrate her 91st birthday.  Navy blue is her favorite color and I couldn't resist making it the centerpiece for this card.  Also, a little gold embellishment never hurt either. 

The peonies are white heat embossed onto watercolor paper and I used my Mission Gold watercolors to add color the paper.  I was real pleased with how these turned out.  I found some greenery pieces from the stash and used my SSS Stitched Rectangles dies to make a white frame.  The sentiment is gold embossed - on the outside and on the inside.  I mixed two different sentiment stamps to make this inside sentiment.  She really is fabulous and I super hope that she feels special today, her actual birthday.

I scheduled this post as I am currently in the process of hosting a dinner celebration at my house.  It's getting late for my grandma, so we'll be wrapping up soon - which means she won't get a peek at her card before she opens it.

Happy Birthday, Grandma.  I love you so.

Celebrating 50 Years!

I'm terribly late in posting this card made for my hubby, Dan, who turned 50 years old this year.  I decided on a very formal, masculine shaker card highlighting silver, gold and black.  The sentiment is from a set of foam mounted black, glitter stickers.  Simple, elegant and enough to let the man know I care about him on his 1/2 century mark.

What milestones have you celebrated recently?

City Crafter Challenge #300 - Polka Dots Making a Card Set

I'm back again with my last card for the month long guest designer spot at the City Crafter Challenge Blog.  This month has flown by, but I can say that I've been challenged and inspired.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to join.  For this last challenge, my card is a little more abstract in the take on the inspiration.  The challenge is to create a card or project and add polka dots to your project (patterned paper, stamps, etc.).    We've this inspiration photo to work from:

I went shopping in the Scrapbox and found this blue embossed cardstock.  Once I made the original card for the challenge, I knew I wanted to replicate the design and cread a card set that I could give as a gift.  Thus, the two cards I am sharing with you today were born.

Just like the challenge card, I started the image by stamping the container onto Strathmore watercolor paper.  I followed the techniques in this video to soften the color and place and soften the flowers from the Flower stamp set.  The grass was created using the Foliage stamp set.  All images were stamped using Distress Inks (Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick, Faded Jeans, and Seedless Preserves).  I have a small size 3 watercolor brush I used for all the images.  I used my SSS Stitched Rectangles dies to die cut the image and the grey mat.

I'm not as big a fan of this large barrel, but I think I made it work, don't you?  The Art Impressions stamps are so easy to use - anyone can make a beautiful work of art using these stamps.  My cards are proof!  If you haven't given them a try, I highly recommend the entire set.

Please come join the City Crafter Challenge Blog for another challenge- what inspires you from the photo?  Be sure to use polka dots somewhere on your project.  I can't wait to see you over there.

I decided to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes.   Come join the fun.

City Crafter Challenge 300 - Polka Dots

I'm back again with my last card for the month long guest designer spot at the City Crafter Challenge Blog.  This month has flown by, but I can say that I've been challenged and inspired.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to join.  For this last challenge, my card is a little more abstract in the take on the inspiration.  The challenge is to create a card or project and add polka dots to your project (patterned paper, stamps, etc.).    We've this inspiration photo to work from:

I super love grey and mint green.  However, I decided to go in a different direction when I couldn't find just the right color of mint color.  Instead, I went shopping in the Scrapbox and found this blue embossed cardstock.  It definitely has polka dots and I used the color to inspire my focal point image.

I started the image by stamping the container onto Strathmore watercolor paper.  I followed the techniques in this video to soften the color and place and soften the flowers from the Flower stamp set.  The grass was created using the Foliage stamp set.  All images were stamped using Distress Inks (Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick, Faded Jeans).  I have a small size 3 watercolor brush I used for all the images.  I used my SSS Stitched Rectangles dies to die cut the image and the grey mat.  Turns out I was also somewhat inspired by the colors in the image.

Please come join the City Crafter Challenge Blog for another challenge- what inspires you from the photo?  Be sure to use polka dots somewhere on your project.  I can't wait to see you over there.

Making Cards Out of Card Fronts

I colored these images a while back and finally decided to get around to matching them up with some printed paper and creating cards with them.  I relied heavily on a couple of different stitched die frames to keep the finish simple, yet effective.

On the inside - I simply used a variety of sentiment stamps.  Some neutral to leave the card more a note card and others specific birthday, etc.

These stamps are old, but I think the watercoloring transcends the style.  I am keeping these kinds of cards in the stash to wrap up as Christmas gifts.  I figure we all don't really need one more thing, but if my friends and family don't have to purchase cards this year, things are going well for me.  Less in my stash and more reason to keep buying new tools and supplies.  What do you do with your works of art - send lots of cards? Stash the finished product too?

A Fun Halloween Treat

I'm posting this Halloween treat and a few photos to jump into some last minute challenges.  I've mentioned before that the ladies at work got together and decided to encourage one another with small gifts and treats throughout the year.  We're each assigned one person to specifically bless, but usually end up blessing the group.  These treats were made for just such a purpose and handed out this week at work.  

The orange piece is cardstock cut at 3.5 inches wide and then I used my stitched rectangle die to cut the window.  I scored the piece a .5, 4.5, and 5.5m to create the "envelope".  I folded the first score mark and cut the 1/2 moon shape with a 1" circle punch.  This provides the hole for the treat bag to fit through.  A swirl stamp on the front with black ink created something interested as a backdrop for the tag.  The tag was from a Michaels seasonal kit and I used black modeling paste through an extremely old Sizzix stencil to create my creatures on purple cardstock.  I fussy cut them out since I didn't have a matching die (no such thing back then!).

A little black and white twine and some candies and this treat was ready for sharing.

 

I just couldn't resist the opportunity to share my friend Kyles fun Halloween creature.  She works at a school library where they are having a pumpkin engraving contest.  Meet the Grouchy Ladybug.  Her take was from a children's book.  I think it turned out fabulous.

I'm going to enter my treat in the following challenges :

City Crafter Challenge : Creatures of the Night

Word Art Wednesday's : Challenge #207 Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge : Simon Says Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge : Throwback I'm throwing back to the 10/27/14 challenge Treats.
Lastly, I'm going to link up to Our Beautiful World's challenge Boo! with my picture of the Gorouchy Ladybug.   Come join the fun!

A Set Of Notecards

I decided to try my hand a new use for my Brusho water color crystals.  Today I die cut this leafy branch using my Cricut Straight From the Nest cart.  I cut this from white cardstock at between 4 and 5 inches.  I then used my Yellow, Leaf Green and Brown Brusho water color crystals, strategically sprinkling them onto the die cut.  I liberally spritzed water from a spray bottle over the die cut and let it do some magic.  With these die cuts, I used a lot more water to create the blended look typically seen when using watercolors.

I used my SSS Stitched Rectangles die to create the white cardstock background, embossing the sentiment with gold embossing powder.  To create a thicker result, I sprinkled embossing powder over the image while still hot from the first time I melted the image and re-heated to melt the new powder.  This technique can work to fill in and enhance the image, creating a rich look.  I also used the same technique on the cardstock background, edging the paper with my embossing ink and sprinkling with the embossing powder, adding bits as I went to create a shiny edge.  I really like this technique.

You'll notice some hexagonal glimmer on the cards.  Depending upon the light and angle, they look different colors, but are really gold.  I simply glued these sequins in place to add some interest to the page.  Another nice card set that I'm setting aside for Christmas gifts.  I'm collecting quite a stash and anticipate needing all of them as small gifts to acquaintances at work and otherwise.

How about you?  Any Christmas shopping yet?  It is a tough thing to think about, but time is shorter than we think.  I hear Christmas carols as we speak...

I'm linking up to the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge Wonderful Watercolor

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge # 205 Anything Goes

Virginia's  View Challenge #19

Come join the fun or stop to be inspired.

Sending a Very Happy Birthday

Popping in to say a quick hello and share this fun shaker card I made for my nephew's birthday.  He was 9 this year - that funny age where he is too small to cherish a card from Auntie and too big to like something juvenile.  So, I made this card to have fun.  Here's the details:

• The hat was cut using my Cricut cart Straight From the Nest out of watercolor paper.  There are layered pieces (the red at the top and the green fringe at the bottom).  I used my Brushos to create the watercolor look to the hat.
• The shaker window was cut using my SSS Stitched Rectangles die.  I love the simple, yet crisp look this die gives.  The shaker window was created following the same process that of Jennifer McGuire's video.  The shaker is filled with blue sequins, clear acetate stars and red and blue bling pieces. 
• The sentiment inside and out are from Penny Black's Sweet Wishes stamp set using black Archival Ink.

A couple of the attendees were like - "Oooh, sweet card".  That was enough for me.  I got the boy a Stomp Rocket.  Now that solicited a "cool!" from the birthday boy.  I'm a happy Auntie.  If you haven't given the shaker card a go, I suggest trying.  They are fun and cool new (to me) technique.

I'm linking up with the following challenges :

Our Beautiful World chall6:  #115 Assorted.  It is rare that one of my cards fits the word prompt, but this is such a time.  The word is Assorted and my shaker card does contain an assortment of shiny bits.

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge : Love This Technique.  I am certainly enamored with the shaker card right now.

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #201 Anything Goes.  The entries in this challenge are so varied that I am always inspired when I click through.

Come join the fun!