more clean and simple mixed media...

 Hello!  I'm back and like the title of my post says I have more cards created in a clean and simple style that feature some mixed media!  Love combining things that don't seem like they belong together, lol.  Let's have a look at what I made.

This card is for Freshly Made Sketches and I just love how it turned out!   I used lots of distress mica sprays and I think the Fossilized Amber distress spritz for the leaves.  The whole thing started when I created the tag I used on this card.  I had alot of the sprays left over in my splatter box and so I decided to grab a piece of watercolor cardstock and soak up all the leftover sprays.  The end result was a brownish color.  Once it was dry I added some additional mica spray in Mulled Cider and Harvest Moon (I think, lol).   I let it dry and then die cut the leaves using a leaf die from A Jillian Vance Design and a set of leaf dies from Simon Says Stamp.   A piece of off white cardstock was die cut with a rectangle die and then I worked on the arrangment of the leaves.   When I had that done to my liking I took a picture so I could get the placement just right.  I glued down the leaves and then added the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Cozy Autumn Hugs stamp set with strip of foam tape.  I finished with the little bow.  

This next card is for Color Throwdown and I will also be adding it to the Just Us Girls gallery as I added a little bit of stenciling.   Take a look.

The CTD colors this week are orange, cream and kraft.  I thought the newly released Birch Press Design Splendid Cosmos Contour Layers die would look pretty in those colors.  I die cut the main flower from off white cardstock (PTI's Rustic White) and then added orange ink (Pinkfresh Studio Apricot) to the center of the flower extending it out on the petals.  Got a little too much on that one bottom petal, but I think it looks fine.  I die cut the center pieces from kraft cardstock and then added a little bit of the residual orange ink on my brush to the pieces.   Everything was then glued together.  I originally had another ide for the card, but when I tried it I just didn't like it.  That happens sometimes, right?   So, I decided to sleep on it and in the morning pulled out a brick pattern stencil from MFT Stamps and added the partial brick pattern to a kraft cardstock panel using Picket Fence Studios Luxe Paper Glaze in gold.   Once dry I adhered the flower and then added the sentiment that I had hot foiled on cream cardstock in matte gold.   Again, clean and simple, but with a little touch of mixed media.  Try it sometime!

I was sad to learn of the passing of Color Throwdown team member, Barbara Anders.  She never failed to amaze me with her gorgeous cards!   Her talent will be greatly missed.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

merry & bright...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a card for Freshly Made Sketches that I made using products from Evergreen Season by 49 and Market.   I think this also fits the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to add texture.  I have lots of texture in those layers, lol!  Let's have a look!

I haven't had much time lately to make cards because my son is learning how to drive (finally!) and I the one spending the time in the car with him as he learns.  He is a good driver, but the process is taking longer than I thought it would.   Very different from when I learned to drive.  Anyway, being short on time I turned to the laser cuts and ephemera pieces from Evergreen Season along with pretty patterned papers to get my card made.  Yes, there is a tag underneath all the greenery, lol!   I die cut the two pieces of patterned paper with a rectangle die.  I then used the same rectangle die on the angle to cut the top piece and layered the two together.  I added the red twine to the tag, added thin foam squares to the back and then adhered it to my card front.  I layered on all the laser cut elements and the merry & bright banner.   It doesn't show well in the photo, but I did add glossy accents to the pine cones and then sprinkled on some Rock Candy glitter.  

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

fall cards...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with a couple of fall themed cards to share.  I thought our normal wet and dreary fall weather had arrived the other day, but nope!  We are back to sun and relatively warm temperatures.  It's a little annoying as I really want to wear my warm and cozy tops, but some days it is too warm!  Oh well, I'm sure the wet and cold will be here soon enough, lol!   And I should not be complaining anyway, my corner of the world has not faced the devastation that the southeast has!  Absolutely sickened by the response of the current administration, as well!   Anyway, you came here to see cards, so here they are.

This one will be heading off to Freshly Made Sketches.  I generally don't make cards as busy as this one, but felt in the mood, lol!  All the papers, stamps and dies are from a Simon Says Stamp fall themed card kit I got last year.  Finally putting it to good use!  I used distress oxide inks for the leaves.  I inked up the leaves using the tiny distress ink blenders and they worked like a charm.  I pounced on one color and then was able to add the secondary color exactly where I wanted it to go!  To make things easy on myself I die cut all the images first, left them in the cardstock and then lined up the images.  It worked perfectly.   I trimmed down the background paper, added some additional pieces behind it for strength and adhered it to my card base.  The gingham paper was die cut with a tag die from the kit, the leaves adhered along with the sentiment.  I finished everything off with the two little bows.  I really like how it turned out.  Will add this one to the current Time Out challenge, as well.

This card is for Color Throwdown and as you can see I used that pretty tag again!  It was right there at my finger tips so why not?   The mushrooms are from a die set from the Greetery.  I inked them up with distress oxide inks and then adhered them together.  I had the embossed background panel on my desk as well so decided to use it, too.  I went with the debossed side as sometimes I like that look better than the embossed side.  The embossing folder is from Simon Says Stamp and came in the card kit that I used to make the first card.  I die cut the tag from off white cardstock, inked up one corner with distress oxide ink that was left on the blending brush and then added the mushrooms.  The sentiment is from the Greetery Oakwood sentiment set.  I finished off the card with the double bow at the top of the tag.   More my usual clean and simple style!   Adding this card to the Simon Says Stamp World Card Making Day line up.  

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

cozy hugs...

 Hello, hello!  I'm back with another card that I made using one of the laser cuts from the 49 and Market Vintage Orchard set.   When I saw the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this particular laser cut immediately came to mind.   Let's have a look at what I made.

As you can see the card is very simple.  I die cut kraft cardstock with a rectangle die.  I added splatters of  Gilded foundry wax and then heat set the splatters with my heat tool.   Sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp Cozy Autumn Hugs stamp set and was stamped using VersaFine CLAIR Acorn in.  I used thin foam squares on the back of the laser cut and placed it on my panel.

I stamped the second sentiment on kraft cardstock with the Acorn ink, as well and then adhered that to the laser cut with tiny foam squares.  The panel was then added to a kraft cardstock base.   Making cards has been a little hard for me to do lately due to not having the time so it is nice having the laser cuts to help me quick and pretty cards!  So this card will be going to Freshly Made Sketches and to the current Time Out challenge to be inspired by a quote about autumn.  My friend, Greta, is on the design team.  The card she made is absolutely amazing.   Also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

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

you got this...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick share of a card that I made for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.   I will also add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  Let's have a look at what I made.

I used products from two different Simon Says Stamp card kits.   The sentiment and the die cut flowers are from one kit and the embossing folder is from another.   I believe the kits are the August and June kits, but I'm not entirely sure, lol!  Anyway.  I did some inkblending on the die cut flowers using Pinkfresh Studio Lemon Whip and Sparkling Rose inks.  I used Pinkfresh Studio Grassy Knoll for the stems.  I adhered the flowers together using thin foam squares and liquid adhesive.   The little "string" tied around the flowers is from the Greetery and was die cut from patterned paper, as was the green love and the strip along the side.  All the papers are from P13's the Four Seasons: Summer 6x6 pad.   For a little more interest I embossed the white panel using and embossing folder from the Simon Says Stamp June kit.  I finished with a sentiment from the August kit stamp set and a few little sequins in green, yellow and pink.

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

two cards...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made recently.  First up is a card for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

I used the pretty CTD combo of light blue, kraft and cream with the Greetery Bittersweet Bouquet stamp set.  I thought it would look pretty stamped in the light blue with a light brown and I was right.  Once stamped I die cut the panel with a rectangle die and then trimmed the panel into three pieces.  They were adhered to my card front using foam squares.  I die cut the Greetery bow from the same cardstock used for the panel (PTI rustic white) and then blended some of the light blue ink in the center.  I finished with a sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set and a few light blue and clear sequins.

This card is for the Pinkfresh Studio August challenge to use washi tape and for the JUGs challenge of anything goes with stencils.  Now, you might ask where is the washi tape?  Well, the entire background is washi tape!  I adhered it to thin white cardstock and then die cut it with a rectangle die. You can't see it in my photo, but I added some glossy accents to the fur on Santa's hat and sleeve, to the tree he is holding and some of the leaves on the left side and then added Rock Candy glitter.  I stenciled the Pinkfresh Studio Berry Branch image, stamped over the stenciling with the coordinating stamp and then added Rock Candy glitter to the berries.  The sentiment is from the PFS Folk Snowflake (I think that is the name) that I stamped in the same light green I used to stencil the berry branch and die cut it with the matching die.  I added the panel to my card base and then adhered the stamped image with glue.  Another Christmas card to add to my stash!

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

hello... friend

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with a quick share of a card I made for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.    Will also be adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  Let's have a look.

I got a "bug" to do a little organizing the other day and went through many of my craft supplies.  One of the things that has been sitting around for way too long was a Simon Says Stamp card kit that I bought LAST YEAR!   The kit has a fall theme to it, and I think I got it at the last minute.  Obviously once I got it I didn't make a card with it, lol!  But now that has been remedied... YAY!   I inked up the leaves with yellow ink, stamped them.  I then used a blender brush to add green ink to the stamps and added that to the leaves.  I finished with the veining that was stamped in brown.  Die cut with the matching dies.  The kit came with a set of three tag dies.  I used the middle sized die for the label element in the sketch and added some twine through the hole and then the leaves.  Before adding the leaves to the tag I did apply glue to the veining and then added Rock Candy distress glitter to the leaves.   During my little organizing stint I found a couple of pieces of burlap and decided to trim off a piece for the background strip to add a little texture to the card.  The card is pretty clean and simple so I really love that little bit a added rustic texture.  I thought about stamping the sentiments in black, but decided to keep with the colors from the CTD palette.  

 

I'm in a card making mood, so I may be back with another one!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Joyeux Noel...

 Hello!  Hope you are staying cool in your part of the world.  It has been pretty warm in my corner of the world, but things are supposed to cool down a bit this week.  I hope so!   Anywhoo, I have a card to share for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

In a recent order from Scrapbook.com I got the super cute and very tiny Waffle Flower die and stencil set called Postage Poinsettia so I just had to use it.  And given that the CTD colors are red, yellow and green it was absolutely perfect for the challenge.  I stenciled it three times, stamped each one with postage images from the Waffle Flower Postage Collage stamp set and then die cut each one with the matching die.  I embossed a white cardstock panel with the Simon Says Stamp Holly Branch embossing folder and then used my Waffle Flower 0+ blender brushes to add green to the holly leaves and red to the berries.  I turned the sketch on it's side to create a landscape card rather than a portrait one and attached the three "postage stamps" using thin foam squares.  I finished with the sentiment that I found in my stash that I foiled several years ago using red foil.    Now I have one more Christmas card to add to my small stash!

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

two cards...

 Hello, hello!  Can't believe that it is already August!   Where is the time going?  Anyway, I'm here to share two cards that I made.   Uusally I combine my two favorite challenges into one card, but this time I have a card for Freshly Made Sketches and a separate card for Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look at the FMS card. 

My love affair with 49th and Market's Summer Porch line of products continues, lol!  I recently purchased a package of their laser cuts.  I used several of the laser cuts, as well as pieces of patterned paper to create my card.   Not much to explain other than I cut the pieces of paper to fit the sketch and adhered them to the front of my card base.  I then chose the laser cuts I wanted to use and adhered them together using liquid adhesive.   I stamped the sentiment down in the lower corner and then added the focal element using thin foam squares.   The leafy branch and the berry stems are separate laser cuts that I layered together for a fuller look.  Going to add this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes, as well. 

Now for the Color Throwdown card.  This color combo was a little bit of a challenge for me, but I decided that stamping was a good way to go.  Take a look.

I used a very old Concord & 9th stamp set called Beautiful Branches.  I stamped the branch and leaves using light brown and light gray inks.  I then stamped the little flowers in the challenge colors of purple, orange and yellow and arranged them on the panel after I had die cut it with a rectangle die.  I then stamped the sentiment using the light brown ink.  I finished with the little bow and enamel dots in the center of each flower.   

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

fun, bright cards...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a couple of fun, bright cards that I got a chance to make.  The first one is for Freshly Made Sketches.  Take a look.

Back in May I purchased the Simon Says Stamp June card kit as I thought it would be a fun one to have for making birthday cards for my little nieces and nephew.    This card will be going to my little niece, Mia, who turns three in September.  I used the Simon Says Stamp Instagram colors of aqua, pink and green for the card.  I stamped the cupcake and candle images on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic markers.  I stamped the heart shaped swirled sucker on to a die cut rectangle with Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copics, as well.  I stamped a confetti image from the stamp set over the sucker with VersaMark watermark ink, sprinkled on a glitter embossing powder and heat set it.  I then layered on the cupcake pieces and candles using liquid adhesive and thin foam squares.  Finished with the sentiment stamped in black.   Perfect for a little girl, don't you think?

This next card is another one for the Altenew July challenge and it was super quick to put together.  Have a look.

It was quick to put together due to the fact that I had created these pieces at the time I made the first card.  I used an Altenew debossing plate for the background and then simply layered on the different leafy pieces.  I finished with a sentiment strip from Memory Box.  Clean and simple!

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

a couple of very different cards...

 Hello!  Hope your day is going well.  I'm popping in to share two cards that couldn't be more different!  Let's take a look at the first one.

This first card is for Freshly Made Sketches and Just Us Girls.  The JUGs challenge is a word and the word is summer.  I think this card says "summer".   Yes, it is rather similar to the card I made for the last FMS challenge!  That is because I loved the 49th and Market Summer Porch chipboard ephemera pack I got for free from Scrapbook.com so much I had to order a paper pack.  Boy am I glad that I did as the papers in the 6x8 pack are absolutely gorgeous! I used three for my card and then several more of the chipboard pieces.  If I keep this up, I may have to actually buy another pack, lol!  Anyway, the card is pretty self-explanatory.   

My next card is for the Altenew monthly inspiration challenge.  I always tell myself that I'm going to try to play along and then the end of the month arrives and I didn't make anything.  I was determined this month and my dear friend, Greta, cheered me on in my effort!  I did some direct to paper inking of the three colors.  Boy are they bold and bright... a real punch in the face, lol!  I used the Altenew Zero Waste Leaf Pattern die, the Dotted Wave debossing die and a sentiment from the Craft Your Life: Watercolor Flowers stamp set.  I thought with the colors being so bright I would keep things simple by layering the three larger stems together and then adding them to the debossed background.  I also kind of turned the stem in to a flower stem by adding the fun little layered centers to each cluster.   Probably not going to win me any prizes, but I like the quirkiness of it.  

So, as you can see the cards are very different.  One is calm and serene while the other is bold and quirky!   Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

beach vibes...

 Hello!  I'm popping in today with two simple cards that have a very beachy vibe to them.  I don't often do beachy themed cards, but after these two I think I will try to do more!  Let's have a look at what I made.

This first card is for Color Hues and Freshly Made Sketches.  The colors at CH this time around are white and aqua.  Nothing says "beach" more than white and aqua.  I had just recently picked up Summer Shells and Just Sentiments: Summer from PaperTrey Ink so I just had to use them for the card.  I die cut all the pieces, placed them on my Waffle Flower grip mat and inked them up with Pinkfresh Studio Turquoise ink.  I die cut the center square using a rounded square die from Reverse Confetti and stamped the sentiment in the center.  Then I inked the edges with the turquoise ink that remained on my blender brush.  I adhered all the elements and then as an afterthought decided to add some Rock Candy distress glitter.  I applied Glossy Accents selectively and then added the glitter.  I let it dry fully before shaking off the remaining glitter.   Love the clean and simple beachy vibe!

Now for my next card. 

This card is for Color Throwdown.  Wasn't sure I would get something made, but then I looked through this coastal/beach themed pack of chipboard ephemera from 49th and Market that I got for free (love that!) from Scrapbook.com.   I have never purchased 49th and Market products before, but the chipboard pieces inspired me to take a look at their product line.  I ended up purchasing some washi tape stickers that they make.  Anyway, the pack had several pieces that fit the CTD colors so I arranged them on a kraft cardstock background and I was done.  Love quick and easy cards like that!

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

birthdays...

 Hello, hello!  Well, we are actually saying "goodbye" to June!  Where is the time going, lol?!  I have been busying doing other things, but finally got a chance to make a card for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.   And since the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is anything goes I will post the card there, too.  Let's have a look.

I pulled out a Reverse Confetti stamp set that I don't think I had every used and colored it up in the CTD colors using my Copic markers.   After I was done I die cut the panel with a rectangle die and then tore off the bottom portion of the panel.  I wrapped a length of black twine around the panel and tied it in a bow.  Before adhering the panel to my cardstock base I stamped the sentiment from another Reverse Confetti stamp set and then adhered the panel with foam tape.  I added some Rock Candy stickles for a little bit of sparkle.

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