by the water...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with two cards for two challenges and both feature water, sort of, lol!   First up is my card for the Paper Players.   Their challenge is "by the water", thus the title of my blog post.  Here is what I made.

Last week I was able to make a day trip to the Washington coast with my boys and when I saw the challenge at the Paper Players, it had me thinking about my trip and seashells!   A few months ago, I was able to purchase a die set from Waffle Flower that features seashells that fit perfectly inside their postage collage die.   I die cut all the images and then used just three colors of oxide inks to ink up my shells and starfish.  I die cut the postage collage and then inked up each little panel with Salty Ocean and Antique Linen oxide inks and the coordinating stencil to create a sandy beach with water in the background.   The sentiment is also from Waffle Flower and that was stamped in one of the postage openings.   The small "sending" is from a Simon Says Stamp set.  I stamped it and die cut it with small strip die.  Everything was arranged on the panel and then it was added to a kraft cardstock base.  

My next card is for Color Throwdown and uses a die set from the most recent Birch Press Design release.  This one is called Koi Duo.   Here is what I created. 

One of my favorite places is Kubota Garden in the Seattle neighborhood of Rainier Beach.  My mother-in-law was friends with the granddaughters of the creator of the garden, Fujitaro Kubota.  It is so serene and peaceful there.  There are several ponds and all of them have koi swimming around.  It is kind of relaxing watching them moving slowly through the water.  So, that is what I was thinking when I created this card using the CTD colors.   The water element is represented by the grouping of black hexagons.  I used another Birch Press Design die called Honeycomb Cutout.  I used glossy black cardstock to give the hexagons the look of wet tiles.   I wasn't sure how the koi would turn out done in hot pink, peach and green, but I think I was able to create a harmonious look.    Let me know what you think.   Arranged everything on a white panel and finished with the small sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set. 

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

Simon Says Stamp Happy Camper Blog Hop - Day 2!

 Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to be taking part in the Simon Says Stamp day 2 blog hop celebrating the new Happy Camper release!  I have three cards that I will be sharing that I created with the super sweet Cute Campers stamp set.  For the release Simon Says Stamp has a promotion going on.   Purchase any item from the Happy Camper release and receive the brand new, never been release Sunflower Dance stamp set!  This promotion runs through August 3rd at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.  Also, one lucky commentor on this blog post will receive a $25 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate!  YAY! (Winners will be contacted via email by Simon Says Stamp.) You should have gotten here from Karin Akesdotter's blog.  Now, let's have a look at what I created. 

For this card I did several different techniques:  masking, ink blending and coloring.  I don't often do a lot of masking, but this fun little stamp set is made for masking!  I figured out where I wanted all the images and then created the masks.   Once I had all the images stamped I covered them with their respective masks and did some ink blending for the sky and ground.  I did create additional masks for the horizon line so there was a defined line between sky and ground.  Once the ink blending was done I colored the images with Copic markers.  I did remask the fire so that I could ink blend the glow from the fire.   I die cut the panel, stamped the sentiment and then added the "stars" with a white gel pen.

While I'm super pleased with how the first card turned out, this card is my favorite of the three I made.  The clean and simple scene that I created is more my style.  I started by stamping the main scene image across a panel of kraft cardstock using kraft ink for a tone on tone look.  I die cut the panel down using a Simon Says Stamp A2 frames rectangle die.  I did some selective inking of the large scene stamp so that I only had the two trees, bush and camper.  I stamped that on a white cardstock panel and then die cut it down with a tag die.  The little puppy and fire were stamped on a scrap of white cardstock.  I colored everything with Copic markers.  The puppy and fire were fussy cut and added to the tag along with a twine bow.  I adhered the background panel and tag to a card base and then added the fun sentiment that I die cut with a little banner die.  

My last card was made in a similar manner to the second card.  I inked up the portion of the largest image that featured the tent and stamped it.  I also stamped the little critter.  He looks like a little chipmunk to me.  I then water colored the images with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  Once dry I fussy cut them out.  I used a piece of left over water color cardstock to create the background.  I thought it would be fun to have him sitting beside a little lake or stream.  Once the panel was dry I die cut the panel with a smaller A2 frame die, stamped the sentiment and then adhered it to a kraft cardstock base.  I then added my little scene. 

Well, that's it for me.  I'm the last stop on the hop.  If you started with me, the entire blog hop link list is below.   Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win the $25 gift certificate.   

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Suzy Plantamura

Cathy Zielske

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Lisa Addesa

Emily Midgett

Heather Ruwe

Sandi MacIver

Tina Smith

Hanh Nguyen

Barb Engler

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Karin Åkesdotter

Rosemary Dennis

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Patterned Paper Play...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card for the Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge that closes in just a few hours!  Here is what I made.

Used lots of papers from the 49 and Market Kaleidoscope collection for the card.  I stamped the entire image on one piece of patterned paper and then the flowers on another.  Die cut them out and then layered them.  Used the PFS elegant circles and rectangles dies to layer behind the flowers and then die cut white cardstock with the largest PFS postage edge rectangle.  Stamped the sentiment, die cut it and then layered all the elements on a light green cardstock base.  

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

Christmas wishes...

 I didn't do much in the way of "Christmas in July" this year.  Just wasn't feeling it.  But I recently purchased a stencil and die set from Simon Says Stamp called Festive Swag.  When I saw that it was stencil week at Just Us Girls, I decided to put my new products to use.   

I paired the stenciled piece with patterned paper and a pre-printed sentiment from the 49 and Market Evergreen Season collection.  I used distress oxide ink in Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid, Evergreen Bough, Rustic Wilderness and Pine Needles for the swag.  I used the Pinkfresh Studio Postage Edge dies for the two patterned paper layers.  Now I have one Christmas card ready to go!

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

Birch Press Design Blog Post

 Hello!  Wow... July is just whizzing by!  My second Birch Press Design post is up on the BPD blog today.  Here is a little peek.

Hope you will check out the post.  Thanks to for stopping by and have a great day!

three cards...

 Hello!  Popping in with three cards today.  And each card is for one challenge each!   First up is a card that I made for the current Color Hues challenge.  Let's have a look at what I made.

This card was made using the Altenew Craft Your Life Watercolor Flowers stamps and stencils along with sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Sweet Birthday stamp set.  A few weeks ago I think I mentioned that I had been looking through my Altenew products and came across the Watercolor Flowers stamps and dies.  I had thought I had also purchased the coordinating stencils and embossing folder, but couldn't find them.  Well, I found the stencils and the embossing folder a few days ago.  YAY!   What was lost has been found, lol!  I used Altenew inks to stencil the flowers and leaves after I stamped the image.  I was going to die cut the image, but decided to just leave it as is and just die cut the panel.  I adhered the panel to a white cardstock base, stamped the two word sentiment and die cut them.  I did die cut additional layers for the words.  I adhered them together and then added the words to the card front.   A simple, but elegant card, I think.

Next up is a card for the current Just Us Girls challenge.   This week it is mood board week and it is a pretty one.  This is what I made.

 

When I saw the mood board I immediately thought of a Simon Says Stamp set that I got in a card kit called Cozy Autumn Hugs.  It had leaves in it that are similar in style to some of the images in the mood board.   I used to it create my own version of the mood board.  I tried to use what I thought were some of the colors found in the mood board, as well.  Not sure if I totally hit the mark with the colors, but I love how the card turned out.  I arranged all the leaves and berry stems around the sentiments that are also from the stamp set.  I adhered all the leaves flush to the card base.  The sentiments were stamped and die cut and then I die cut additional layers of each word to adhere behind the words so there was a bit of dimension.   Did I hit the mark?  Let me know what you think.

The final card is for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of cute critters.  Are whales cute?  I think the ones on my card are, lol!

I created this card using more new dies from the latest Birch Press Design release.  The fun whales are from the Block Print Whale Duo set.  The waves are another new die set called Corner Waves.  I also used the Wavy Hillside die set and a sentiment from the Vintage Everyday Greetings stamp and die set.  I die cut the whales and then added some ink to give them a little more depth and dimension.  I had wanted both whales to be a little more tucked behind the waves, but I wasn't paying attention when I added foam tape to the bottom two waves resulting in me not being able to tuck the whales down behind the waves.  I added the hillside in the background and then did some inking on the remainder of the white panel for the sky.    I added the sentiment to finish things off.  I think this will be a good card to send to my brother for his birthday.  

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

Birthday cards...

 Hello!  Stopping in to share a couple of birthday cards that I made using products from the 49 and Market Summer Porch collection.  It is one of my favorites.   Let's have a look at what I created.

I will be sending this one off to Freshly Made Sketches.  It is a very simple take on the sketch facilitated by the fact that I could use patterned paper to create the corner elements on the sketch.  The center portion was easy as I just added a frame, the flower pot and butterfly laser cuts.  The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set that I stamped on a scrap of Summer Porch patterned paper and die cut with the matching die.  

The second card is for the JUGs challenge.  This week is word week and the word is water.  Let's have a look.

This card is on it's way to Scottsdale, Arizona.  My niece recently graduated from the University of Washington - Tacoma with a finance degree and got her first job at an organization located in Scottsdale.  She starts her job on July 14th and her birthday is July 15th!  I'm hoping this card reminds her a little bit of the Pacific Northwest.   For this one I used the largest postage edge die from Pinkfresh Studio to die cut the patterned paper from the Summer Porch collection.  I added the postage stamp in the one corner and the leafy stem, berries and butterfly in the other.  The sentiment is from the same Simon Says Stamp set I used for the first card.  I finished off the inside with another sentiment.  Another super simple card.  

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

July Birch Press Design Post

 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 of what I made.

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

Ocean Wonders...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made using the FABULOUS new Birch Press Design release!   This release is huge and while I do two monthly posts on the Birch Press Design blog (one coming on Wednesday July 9th) I will be sharing lots more here on my blog.  Let's take a look at what I made.

This first card using the new Block Print Deep Sea Fish set of dies.  Isn't that a cool fish?  Honestly, the whole release just makes me think of Finding Nemo!  I have so many ideas, lol!  I used the colors from Color Throwdown for my little scene.  I inked up sections of white cardstock with distress oxide inks in carved pumpkin, seedless preserves and frayed burlap.  I let them dry a bit and then die cut all my pieces.  Using the ink left on the blending brushes I added different colors to each of the pieces.  I love how the fish turned out.  The layout is from Sunday Stamps.  I will admit that I took a bit of license with the sketch.  I thought the top and bottom fins added those two additional elements on the sketch.  The kelp was die cut from a scrap of white cardstock and then inked up with the seedless preserves and carved pumpkin.  I added everything to a white cardstock base and then remembered I needed a sentiment.  Thankfully it stamped correctly, lol!  I used one from the Birch Press Design stamp set called Classic Sentimental Wreath.   Three clear sequins in three sizes were the finishing touch.

On to my second card.  This one is for the Paper Players to use circles.  Let's have a look.

I absolutely love the new Block Print Floating Jellyfish!  This card came about because I just wanted to figure out how the jelly comes together.  I die cut it from a dark blue cardstock and then worked out the layering.  I put the piece aside and worked on the first card.  After I finished the first card I really started looking at the blue jelly and realized I could make a card with it.  I added some ink to parts of the jelly.  The bottom legs of the fish were inked up with seedless preserves.  The middle layer was kind of left alone and then I really darkened up the top layer.  I die cut a circle from light blue and then added some ink to the circle as well.  The kelp was die cut from a bright green cardstock and then inked up with green and teal inks.  I used oxide inks and basically used what ink remained on the blender brushes to add the color.   The sentiment is one I hot foiled months ago using the Birch Press Sugar Scripts Sentiments 2 set.  I layered the kelp on the circle and then added the jelly.

In this close up you can see some of the ink blending a little better.  I added the circle to a white cardstock base.  Adhered the sentiment and then added all the little sequin "bubbles".  The sequins are a silvery blue.   I decided to add the panel to a bright green cardstock base and love how it makes the jelly really pop.   

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

wishing you a beautiful day...

 Hello!  Popping in with a card for a few challenges:  Altenew monthly challenge, Just Us Girls - Stencils and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.   Let's have a look at what I made.

I went back and forth as to whether or not I would try to make something for the Altenew challenge as I wasn't really feeling the colors.  Don't get me wrong, I do like the combo of orange, green and kraft, but nothing was inspiring me.  I was going through my Altenew products and came across the Daisy Craze stencil set.  I decided to challenge myself to see if I would make that combo work and I think I was able to make it work!  I used Pinkfresh Studio inks in the kraft and orange and Altenew's Forest Glade ink for the green.  I used two shades of orange to give the flowers a bit of variation.  I used a sentiment from the Altenew Craft Your Life Watercolor Flowers stamp and die set.   I added the bit of twine around the card so the sentiment wouldn't look so lonely, lol!   Let me know what you think.

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

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release!

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made with a background stamp from the Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You release.  Simon was so kind and sent me the Dahlia Background stamp to create with.  It is so beautiful!   You can check out the enter release here.  Let's look at what I made.

For the first card I went with a soft look using Copic markers.  I stamped the image multiple times because I my big MISTI stamping tool is wonky and I can never get a good, stamped image the first time around with large images.  Anyway, I finally did get it stamped and then colored the image very simply with a light pink and light green Copic.  I used my colorless blender to blend the colors out a little bit.  I die cut the image, adhered it to a white cardstock base and then added the sentiment that I stamped on vellum with VersaMark watermark ink.  Platinum embossing powder was applied and heat set.  The sentiment was then die cut with the matching die.  Adhered that with rolled up glue dots.

For the second card I went for a bolder look.

I stamped the image on watercolor cardstock and then colored it with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  I did use two different colors for the flowers, but the difference in the colors is pretty subtle.  I do like how it turned out.  I die cut the panel with a SSS A2 frame die.  The thin frame was glued to my cardstock base and then the interior panel was popped up for some dimension.  The A2 Frames die set comes with the hello sentiment and shadow layer so I die cut the word from glossy black cardstock and the shadow from vellum.  Adhered them together and then added it to the card front.   Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

Well, that's it for me.  Make sure you head over to Simon Says Stamp to see the full release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

June Birch Press Design Post #2

Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I'm sharing.

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

Similar Layouts - Different Color Ways

 Hello!  I feel like it has been along time since I last posted!  So, here I am today popping in with two cards.  One card is for Color Hues and the other is for Color Throwdown and Paper Players.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is my card for Color Hues.  The colors this time around are peach and cobalt.  The inks I used are on the darker end of that spectrum.    I did some stamping using the Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers stamp and die set that I found during another round of cleaning out my stash.  The stamp set is so pretty and has lots of lovely sentiments.   I stamped the stem, the two smaller leaves and one heart using navy ink.  The images were stamped directly onto my white panel.  I then stamped the two flowers in coral and die cut them.  For my sentiment I went with grey instead of black for a little softer look.  I adhered the flowers and decided to add a second stamped heart.  This time in coral.  I finished with some Nuvo drops in Morning Dew.

This next card is for Paper Players and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

The challenge at Paper Players this week is one layer and they mean it, lol!  No stamping on a panel and then gluing it to your card base.  That isn't one layer!  As you can see I used the same stamp set and similar layer out.  I changed out the flower and stamped only one heart.  I did add some little turquoise gems for a little more of the turquoise.   It was so nice to just stamp and not have to die cut!

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

wishing you...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick post to share a card for a few challenges.   Those challenges are Color Throwdown, Sunday Stamps and Pinkfresh Studio.  Let's have a look at what I made.

The sketch at Sunday Stamps is a fun one so I couldn't miss playing along. Even though there is a theme for the Pinkfresh Studio June challenge the challenges are actually now anything goes so I went with that and used PFS products.   For the three elements in the sketch, I used the Pinkfresh Studio Beautiful group of products.   The stamp set has two large stamps that contain three floral stems each.  I only wanted to use the floral stem you see on my card, so I cut three strips of white cardstock and then stamped each image that way.  It was simple and very quick.  Then I used the stencils to color my flowers orange and the leaves green.   Once that was done, I die cut each image.  To bring in the turquoise I first die cut a PFS postage edge die and then ink blended the edges with Peacock Feather distress oxide ink.  The flowers were arranged so I could determine placement of my sentiment.   That is from a different PFS stamp set.  Once the sentiment was stamped, I glued on my stems and then added Nuvo drops in Morning Dew to some of the little flowers.   

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

June Birch Press Design Post #1

 Hey friends!  Buzzing in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog.  Here is a little peek of what I made.

Hope you will buzz by the blog and check out what I made.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Wanderlust Explorer Birthday Cards

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards that I made using papers and laser cuts from the 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer collection.  Let's have a look at what I made.

For the last few years I have been making birthday cards for my mom to give to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  So these two cards will be going to her to give to her grandsons (my boys).  I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps for this card.  Pretty simple.  Die cut a piece of patterned paper, roughed up the edges and added a little ink to the edges.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the laser cut pieces.  Finished with a Memory Box tab that I inked up with some ink left on the blender brush I use for brown oxide inks.   Going to add this one to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, too.

Next up is a card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Let's have a look.

Another very simple card.  Die cut patterned paper, adhered it to a panel of off white cardstock that was slightly larger and then cut the panel in to two pieces.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the airplane that was popped up with thin foam squares.  Finished with the banner sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Banner Sentiments stamp set.  Stamped it on a scrap of Wanderlust Explorer patterned paper, trimmed it out and then adhered it with glue.