Hello

 

Happy Friday! Today's card was created for the latest Color Throwdown card challenge. I have to say that clean and simple have never been my style when it comes to cardmaking. It's not that I don't love it when I see it. I've never been comfortable with that creative style. But I do have to say that I love this card. I started with a white card panel that I stamped the floral images from CTMH's Thoughts Of You stamp set using Gina K Designs basic black ink. I stamped the coordinating petal stamp using tempting turquoise, tangerine tango, and perfect plum inks from Stampin' UP. I filled in the stems with a C1 Copic marker for a little bit of contrast. I die cut a Hello sentiment using Stampin' UP black cardstock and adhered it to the focal panel. I die cut the panel using a stacking stitched rectangle die from My Favorite Things and popped it up off of the card using foam tape. I finished the card off by adding a bit of clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen to the petals. Unfortunately, my camera didn't do a good job picking that up on screen. Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Hello Honey-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and Happy Father's Day! For this month's Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb we chose bees as our main theme for our cards. To create my card I started by layering some basic black cardstock onto my white A2 card base and then stamped the bee onto some white cardstock using Hampton Art Hello Honey stamp set and Memento tuxedo black ink. Using one of the foliage stamps in the set I created an oval wreath around my bee, stamped the sentiment above and below the bee, and added some honey comb elements in the corners. I colored all of the images using my Copic markers and die cut that panel using a Paper Rose stitched edge stacking die. I mounted the focal panel onto my card base using 3M foam tape and then finished the card off with some Wink of Stella clear shimmer pen onto the wings and some pretty gems from the Honey Bee Stamps Fresh Brewed gem collection. 

My coffee selection this month is kind of coffee themed. I went this past week to St. Louis with some friends and stopped at a local restaurant that microbrews their own beer. I couldn't turn down this amazing maple coffee stout, especially given how hot it's been here in the Midwest this past week. This stuff really hit the spot! Now be sure to stop by Debra's blog to see what fun she created this month! 

 

 

Your Wishes Will Come True

 

Today's card was created for the latest Cards 4 Galz card challenge. The challenge was to create an Oriential themed card. To create my card I started by layering some pretty green polka patterned paper from the Studio Calico Sundrifter 6x6 paper pad onto my A2 white card base. Using some Pink & Main A2 stackable rectangle dies I die cut a white panel using Copic friendly cardstock and then a slightly larger black one using Stampin' Up's basic black cardstock. I stamped the lanterns from the Lawn Fawn Lunar Lights stamp set using Memento tuxedo black ink. I colored them using my alcohol markers, added some white gel pen for highlights, and went over all of them with clear Wink of Stella for a pretty shine. I then stamped the take out box, fortune, and chopsticks from Lawn Fawn's Good Fortune stamp set. I colored them, fussy cut them out, and popped them up off of the card using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. For a final touch I added some small black sparkling gems by Ki in each corner. 

Happy Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and happy Sunday! Welcome to the August collaboration of Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb. This month Deb thought it would be fun to create a birthday card. I was pretty happy about that since these are the cards I send the most. This month's card was a Pinterest inspired card. I have seen numerous washi tape candle cards on the site, but have never made one. I have a large collection of washi tapes but admit to rarely using them for anything other than sealing my envelopes. So, I cut a panel down to 4 x 5.25 and adhered several pretty washi tapes to it cutting them at various angles at the top. I trimmed the bottoms off and then added a hand-drawn wick to each candle using my dual tip Memento tuxedo black marker. Using my Copic markers I added flames to each one. I die cut a sentiment using black cardstock and adhered it directly the panel over the candles. I added a black A2 panel to my white card base and then popped the panel up using 3M foam tape for some dimension. To finish my card off I added clear Wink of Stella to the flames and then topped them off with Glossy Accents for some pretty shine and dimension. I love how this turned out. Will have to try this with more masculine washi tapes. 

For my coffee this month I opted for a nice chilled Matcha. Our little cool streak we had last week is gone and we are back to steamy hot, humid days here in Southeast Missouri. This beverage hit the spot while I was out doing my obligatory errands! Now, be sure to pop over to Deb's site and see what fun she created this month for our birthday collaboration. 

 

Seize The Cupcake

 

My card today was created for the latest Watercooler Wednesday card challenge. To create my card I started by die cutting a focal panel of kraft cardstock using a stitched scalloped edge rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I added white gel pen around the stitching lines for some added interest to make the panel pop against the white A2 card panel. I stamped the cupcake images from the Hero Arts Cupcakes stamp set onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored them using my alcohol markers. I fussy cut the images out and edged them all using my Memento tuxedo black dual tip marker to make them look clean and crisp. I popped them all up off of the focal panel using some foam squares and then added some Clear Wink of Stella to the frosting on all three cupcakes. To finish my card off I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set and added some pretty sequins I picked up at my local Tuesday Morning. Love how fun and whimsical this card is!

Happy Birthday-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and welcome to another Coffee and Cards with Celeste and Deb collaboration. This month Deb picked this beautiful inspiration photo. Isn't it gorgeous? To create my card I started by layering some pretty patterned paper from the Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful 6x6 paper pad onto my white A2 card base. I then die cut the scalloped stitched edge rectangle using a Gina Marie Designs die. I stamped the beautiful floral images from the Stampers Anonymous Flower Garden stamp set directly onto the panel and colored them to match the inspiration photo using my alcohol markers. I stamped the sentiment from the Reverse Confetti's Beautiful Banners stamp set at the bottom right using Versafine onyx black ink. For a little added embellishment I added the dots from the Stampendous Sunny Flowers stamp set all around the flowers using Stampin' Up's sahara sand ink and a little clear Wink of Stella to the flowers. 

As for my coffee selection I opted for a big cup of Seattle's Best French Roast coffee with a little white chocolate mocha creamer mixed in.  

Now pop on over to Deb's blog and see what fun and gorgeous project she whipped up for our collaboration today!

Wishing You A Harvest Of Blessings

Hello, and welcome to my blog! It's finally fall here in Southeast Missouri and I thought it would be fun to create a card that reflected the season. I will be entering this card in the current The Paper Players card challenge. To create my card I layered a piece of sage cardstock onto my A2 white card base that I had cut a circle out of using a Spellbinders circle die and embossed using a Richard Garay sweater embossing folder. I stamped the adorable images from My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse stamp set onto white Copic-friendly cardstock, colored them, fussy cut them and mounted them onto the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto the card and also onto a piece of black cardstock and heat embossed it using Recollections detail embossing powder in snow. To finish the card off I added some clear Wink of Stella to the leaves, the apples, and the mouse's sweater. Love how cute this turned out. If you like my card be sure and leave a comment. I appreciate them all!

Butterfly Happy Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Watercooler Wednesday card challenge. To create my card I started by cutting a piece of Stampin' UP basic black cardstock into a pretty decorative border using a Stamplorations Cutplorations decorative edge die. I adhered it to some pretty patterned paper from the Studio Calico Atlantic 6x6 paper pad and layered it onto my standard white card base. I then stamped the sentiment from the Winnie & Walter The Big, the Bold, and the Happy stamp set directly onto the card base using Versafine onyx black ink and my mini-Misti to ensure nice, crisp lines. I stamped the butterfly image from the Bo Bunny Flutter Stamp stamp set onto some Canson watercolor paper using Versafine onyx black ink and heat set it using some Zing clear embossing powder. I watercolored the image using some Tim Holtz distress ink and attached it to the card using some glue dots and some foam dimensionals. I added a few clear rhinestones from Recollections and some clear Wink of Stella glitter to the butterfly for a nice finishing touch. Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend!

Hop Hop Hop

I got up and ran 4 miles with some friends today and it's still quite chilly and windy here, so making springtime cards seems strange to me. But I love sending cards to kids in hospitals. It brightens my day thinking about one of them smiling when they get a handmade card. So, that being said today's card was created for the latest Send A Smile 4 Kids card challenge. This week the challenge is to create a card celebrating Easter. I just picked up the latest Stampendous Spring Short Stack stamp set at my local Hobby Lobby during a sale and knew it would be the perfect stamp set to create a sweet and simple spring card for the kids. I started by stamping the rabbits onto some Copic-friendly white cardstock, coloring with my alcohol markers, and then fussy cutting them out. I die cut another piece of white card stock using the stitched rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs and then stamped the sentiment from the Alley Way Stamps Spring Has Sprung stamp set onto the panel. I hand drew and colored some grass onto the panel and the popped my adorable little bunny images up off of the panel using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I then cut down some patterned papers from the We R Memory Keepers Simply Spring 6x6 paper pad and adhered them to my card base. I finished the card off by adding some black dashed lines around the outer edge of the cardstock and some clear Wink of Stella to the bunnies outfits and ears. I hope you like my card and thank you for visiting today!

Butterfly Birthday

Today's card was created for the latest Less Is More challenge. I really struggle with clean and simple cards but I do love the color purple, so I had to come up with something pretty but CAS. To create my card I started by layering some dark lavender cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then layered some white cardstock on top and added a few clear Recollections rhinestones to each corner. I then added a focal panel by die cutting a piece of patterned paper from the Authentique Essentials Collection 6x6 paper pad using a cross stitched edge circle die from Gina Marie Designs. I stamped the butterfly from a Hero Arts stamp set and sentiment from Winnie & Walter's The Big, The Bold, and The Happy stamp set directly onto the patterned paper. I stamped the butterfly again onto some white Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it with my alcohol markers in pretty shades of purple. I fussy cut the image, edged it with my Memento tuxedo black dual tip marker, and adhered it down to the focal panel using a glue dot and some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. As a finishing touch I added tons of clear Wink of Stella and a few clear rhinestones to the butterfly's body. I love how this card turned out! I only wish my photo had better exposure. Unfortunately, our area got hit with a nasty ice storm last night and the sun has not really showed itself much today. Anyway, I hope you like my card and thank you for visiting my blog!

Hello Love-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello and welcome back to another installment of Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb! We have yet another fun guest designer with us this month, Michael Trent. Since Michael is our guest this month we let him select a theme that would unify our projects and he chose LOVE. Since I'm still in winter/Christmas card making mode I knew immediately I would have to break out my Unity Stamp Company Hello Love stamp set and create something fun and wintery with it. The sentiment is exactly how I feel about my morning coffee! LOL. 

To create my card I started by stamping the focal image onto some Copic-friendly 110lb cardstock and colored her using my Copic markers. I then fussy cut her out and edged the image with my Memento tuxedo black dual tip marker to clean the edges up. I stamped the image again onto some patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas 6x6 paper pad and then cut it into a small panel. I die cut an oval into some smoky blue grey cardstock from Hampton Art's ki natural cardstock 6x6 paper pad using a Spellbinders die and then adhered the image behind it. I then die cut a scalloped oval using another Spellbinders die into some more of the My Mind's Eye paper and wrapped some sage grey twine from American Crafts around the panel close the bottom and tied it off with a bow. I popped the panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape and adhered it to the card. I stamped the sentiment from the same Unity Stamp Company stamp set onto more Copic-friendly cardstock and colored it in with my alcohol markers to match the colors on the patterned paper. I fussy cut the heart sentiment down and adhered it to the card. To finish off my card I added some sequins from The Ton around the panel, added some clear Wink of Stella to the mittens and scarf on the focal image, and then some dashed black lines around the outer panel and inside the oval panel. I hope you like it! 

As for my beverage of choice I opted for a nice hot cup of black French roast from Seattle's Best Coffee. 

Now be sure to hop on over to Michael and Deb's blogs and leave them some love in the way of a comment!

Merry Little Christmas

I just picked up the fabulous Essentials By Ellen Christmas Scribbles stamp set on a Facebook destash and knew as soon as I saw the newest Just Us Girls photo challenge that I would have to use it! I wanted to keep the card pretty clean and simple, which is a difficult task for me. I like layers and lots of embellishments, but this stamp set made it easy. I started by layering some cherry cobbler cardstock from Stampin' UP onto my white card base. Using my mini-Misti stamping tool I stamped the branches, pinecone, snowflakes, and two ornaments from the stamp set onto some Copic-friendly white cardstock. Using the inspiration photo I colored the images trying to stay close to the color palette. I then die cut the colored piece of cardstock down using a Gina Marie Designs stitched rectangle die and mounted it onto the card using some 3M foam tape. I took another strip of the same red cardstock and heat embossed the sentiment from the same stamp set using Recollections snow white detail embossing powder. I ran that strip of paper through my Cuttlebug using the same rectangle die so the edges would match the panel and mounted it directly onto the panel. To finish the card I added some clear Wink of Stella to all of the stamped elements. I only wish I could have captured all of the wonderful shine it added! I think this would be a fun card to mass produce. I hope you like it.

Hope Your Halloween Is Frightfully Sweet!

Hello! I can't believe it's almost the end of October. It seems like summer was just here last week. Honestly, this year is just slipping away from me. I just had to create a fun little card for my granddaughter Journey for Halloween. She (and her mom) love Halloween. They had a fun pumpkin carving party last night and my daughter has been planning their costumes for the past month. To create this fun little card I started by distressing a piece of plain white cardstock using my Tim Holtz distress inks. I created the moon by die cutting a circle out of a piece of masking paper. Using the negative of the die cut I inked the moon using squeezed lemonade ink. After the ink dried I masked the moon itself and then inked the sky using salty ocean, faded jeans, and black soot. Using my MiniMister I sprayed a light spritz of water onto the panel for a nice distressed look and then flicked on some droplets of white using Tim Holtz distress spray stain in picket fence. I then inked a separate strip of white cardstock using mowed lawn and then die cut it using a Paper Smooches lawn die. I adhered the grass onto the panel and then stamped the sentiment from the Darcie's Heart & Home Bootiful Halloween stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink and my Misti tool. I then stamped the bat from an old Stampin' UP stamp set. I adhered the panel onto my white card base. I then stamped the trick or treaters onto some Copic-friendly cardstock, colored them using my alcohol markers, fussy cut them leaving a nice white border, and adhered them onto the card using Scrapbook Adhesive foam squares. To finish my card I added some clear Wink of Stella to the kids and the bat. I know Journey is going to love it! Thank  you for visiting my blog today and if you like my card be sure to leave a comment!

I Pick You

Today's card was created for both the Sunday Stamps and AAA Cards Challenges. To create my card I started by layering a beautiful piece of plaid paper from the Basic Grey 12x12 Olivia Collection paper pad onto my white card base. I then layered on a large strip of turquoise cardstock from Hobby Lobby directly to the center of the patterned paper panel. I added some faux stitched lines using a Memento tuxedo black dual edge marker. I die cut a circle of plain white cardstock using a pierced edge die from My Favorite Things and went around the edge with the marker again to create faux stitch lines. I then stamped the mouse, pumpkin, and leaves from the My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse stamp set onto some Copic-friendly cardstock and die cut the images using the coordinating dies. I colored them using my alcohol markers and adhered them onto my card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I prepped a piece of black cardstock from Stampin' UP with my EK Success powder tool and stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set using Versamark ink. I heat embossed the image using Recollections snow white embossing powder. I cut the sentiment down into a small strip and adhered it directly to the focal panel. To finish this adorable little card off I added some clear Wink of Stella to the leaves, pumpkins, the sweater and boots. I hope you like it and I thank you for visiting my blog!

Happy Birthday To My Bestie

My bestie Alana had a birthday this past week and I wanted to create something beautiful to celebrate her day.  I created this card by stamping the gorgeous image from the Unity Stamp Company's Planner Gal Be A Beauty stamp set onto some Copic-friendly cardstock. I colored the image using my alcohol markers and did a bit of paper piecing on her shirt by using some patterned paper from the We R Memory Keepers Chalkboard 6x6 paper pad. I die cut the image out using a My Favorite Things pierced edge oval die. I layered a piece of patterned paper from the same We R Memory Keepers paper pad onto my white card base using 3M foam tape for some great dimension. I then adhered the oval focal panel down directly onto the card and added some clear Wink of Stella glitter brush and some Stickles to the flowers and leaves in her hair. I die cut the sentiment using some Stampin' UP black cardstock and a die from Blitsy. I adhered the sentiment directly to the card using some Zig glue and that finished up this pretty card. I hope you like it, and thank you for visiting my blog today!

Sending Christmas Cheer

Today's card was created for both the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and The Paper Players challenges. To create my card I started by embossing a piece of white cardstock using a random dot Stampin' UP embossing folder. I adhered that panel directly onto my white card base. I then stamped the adorable little snowman from the My Favorite Things Happy Heart Snowman stamp set onto some Copic-friendly cardstock, colored him using my alcohol markers, and then fussy cut him out. I die cut a snow bank using some more white cardstock and the stitched edge die from the Simon Says Stamp Drifting Stitches Border die set. I stamped the sentiment from the My Favorite Things Cheerful Christmas Greetings stamp set directly onto the snow bank using some Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp look. I went all around the edges of my snowman image with my dual edge Memento tuxedo black marker and adhered him to the snow drift using some snail adhesive. Once attached I popped the entire panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape for some nice dimension. Some clear Wink of Stella on the heart, hat, and scarf finished this card off nicely. I hope you like it and thank you for visiting my blog today!

Postcard Christmas

Today's card was created for the latest Jingle Belles Challenge. To create my card I started by layering some kraft cardstock from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I then stamped the wonderful Snowy Postcard stamp by Stampendous onto some Canson cold press watercolor paper using Versafine onyx black ink. I stamped the image twice. Using my Tim Holtz distress inks I laid down a light layer or tea dye onto the base layer and dried it with my heat tool. I popped it up off of my card base using 3M foam tape.  I watercolored the second image I stamped and fussy cut it out around the oval and the holly branch. I edged it with my dual tip Memento marker and adhered it directly to the base panel. I finished this card off by adding some clear Wink of Stella to the snowy caps on the roof lines and around the ground. 

Hope Your Day Is Magical-SAS4Kids

My second card today was created for the latest Send A Smile 4 Kids Challenge. To create my card I started by masking off a small rectangle in the center with painters tape and ink blended some Tim Holtz distress ink in spun sugar using a foam blending tool. Then, using my Misti stamping tool, I stamped the sentiment from The Greeting Farm Magical Day stamp set at the bottom of the inked focal point using Versafine onyx black ink. Using Tim Holtz distress ink in picked raspberry I stamped the tiny hearts from the same stamp set. I then stamped the adorable unicorn from the stamp set onto some Copic-friendly white cardstock, colored it using my alcohol markers, and then fussy cut the image out. To add a bit of sparkle and shine I went over the sentiment with my Sakura clear gelly roll pen and then added some clear Wink of Stella to the unicorns mane and tail. I popped it up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals to complete my card. I hope you like it!

Big Holiday Wishes

Today's card was create for a challenge but I completed it too late to participate. To create my card I started with a piece of Canson cold pressed watercolor paper, smooth side up. Using my Misti stamping tool I stamped the XOXO border from the Simon Says Stamp Big Holiday Wishes stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. The Misti stamping tool came in handy since I was stamping onto watercolor paper and even though I was stamping on the smoother side of the paper it took several stampings to get a good impression. I then stamped the focal sentiment and the strings for my mitten onto the watercolor paper using the same ink and heat embossed it using some Zing clear embossing powder. I did this so I could watercolor around the image and not have the ink dull from the ink. Using Tim Holtz distress ink in faded jeans I watercolored the focal panel and added some splotches and dots using an acetate sheet and the smooshing technique. I then stamped the mittens from the same stamp set onto some plain white cardstock and used Gina K Designs ocean mist ink to stamp the coordinating heart on the mittens. I fussy cut those out and popped them up off of the card using some Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. For a finishing touch I added some clear Wink of Stella glitter pen to the mittens for some pretty shimmer and shine. I hope you like my card! Please don't forget to leave a comment. 

You're Great-Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb

Hello, and welcome to the February edition of Coffee And Cards With Celeste And Deb! This month we decided to do a mood board so I searched Pinterest for my inspiration. I found a beautiful collection of items and decided on a theme of black, white, pink, and gold. We also have a special guest with us again this month...the wonderful Terri Albro Burson. She is fantastically crafty and designs for So Suzy Stamps and is the spokesperson for Adornit! She, Deb, and I have been crafty friends for years and thought it would be fun to have her guest with us this month! 

To create my card I started by layering some beautiful white and gold patterned paper from The Shoppe On The Square paper pad by The Paper Studio onto some basic black cardstock by Stampin' UP, which I then adhered directly onto my white card base. I cut a smaller strip of pink and white patterned paper from the same paper pad and matted it onto more black cardstock and adhered it directly onto the focal panel. I stamped the beautiful floral image from Unity Stamp Company's As We Go Along stamp set onto some Copic-friendly cardstock and colored the flowers in using the colors from the mood board. I added some black and white stripes to the vase using my dual tip Memento tuxedo black marker. I fussy cut the images out and popped them up off of the card using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I added some black Wink of Stella to the black stripes on the base and some Forever In Time gold gel pen to the centers of the flowers for some pretty shimmer and shine. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto the contrast border using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice, crisp look. A few dots of ebony black Nuvo Crystal Drops finished this  card off nicely! 

As for my beverage choice this month I actually opted for a Starbucks Grande Chai Tea Latte. Thank you for visiting my blog today! Now be sure to pop over and visit Deb and Terri's blogs and show them some blog love by leaving a comment!