Autumn Greetings

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick share of a card that I made using the Color Throwdown colors (sort of?).  I will also be posting it to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to add sparkle and shine.   Here is my card.

The colors at CTD are rust, amber and kraft.  I thought I had picked an ink that would provide a more rusty color, but it ended up being more dark orange.  But I think it will still pass muster.  I used the Greetery Autumn Sketch stamp and die set.  I die cut the branch first and then lined up the stamps and it worked perfectly.  I also stamped the little berry(?) image as well as additional single leaves.  I used an MFT rectangle stencil to add some kraft ink to the one corner of my off white panel.  I then stamped the greeting using the dark orange ink.  I added all the images.  The branch was popped up with thin foam squares and the berries and leaves were adhered with glue.  For the sparkle I added tiny Memory Box fairy jewels in dark orange and amber. 

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. 

Happy Monday!

 Hello everyone!  Popping in to share a card and a tag that I made with a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp's Stamptember release.  I was supposed to be part of a blog party today, but for some reason Blogger flagged the post as against community guidelines.  I got it republished, but then they flagged it again.  So, I finally deleted the post.  So very frustrating to say the least as I was never in violation of their community guidelines!  Anyway, I did want to share what I had made so here they are.

The stamp set they sent me is called You Matter and it has two pretty floral images and several individual images.  One of the image is rather long and so I decided to make something other than a A2 sized card with it.  At first I was going to make a slimline card and then I decided not to as I honestly don't like making slimline cards.  So I got out a #8 distress heavy stock tag and created what you see.  I got some of the new distress spritz sprays in a Simon Says Stamp card kit so I used those on the tag.  I laid the image on the tag so I could figure out where to spray each color of spritz, removed the image and sprayed the tag.  I let it dry and then stamped the image and the sentiments with VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink.  I applied clear embossing powder and heat set.  A piece of cream heavy stock was also spritzed with each color, dried and then stamped with the individual images with Nocturne ink, embossing powder applied, heat set and trimmed out.  I layered those images on the tag, added the ribbon and I was done.

For my card I placed the smaller image in my MISTI toward the bottom of the panel and stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I then flipped the panel and stamped the image again leaving a nice opening in the center of the panel. I stamped individual flowers on a piece of cardstock with the Tuxedo Black ink and then colored all the images with Copic markers.  The individual flowers were trimmed out and popped up.  I stamped the sentiments, trimmed out the "you" and then die cut the "matter" with a sentiment strip die.  Those were popped up in the center.  So glossy accents were added to the flower stamens and to the little berry like images.   Going to add this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day.

Bee thanks...

 Hello, hello!  I'm back with a card for this week's JUGs challenge.  My bloggy friend, Lisa, is the host of this week's challenge and she put together a fabulous mood board featuring bees!   I pulled out the one stamp set that I know I have (I could have others, lol) that has bees in it along with another stamp set and got to work.   Let's look at what I made.

Both of the stamp sets I used are from Hero Arts monthly card kits from back in 2021.  The one kit featured a beautiful floral image and the bees, but the floral image from that kit didn't fit with the idea I had so I used the image (above) from the other kit.  I stamped the image in Memento London Fog and then added just a light wash of color to the image using Copic markers, except for the center of the flowers.  For that I used the stencils that came in that kit and used a light brown ink for the stenciling.  Since the bees were already a little bit bolder than the background I colored them with a bolder yellow combo.  A light gray was added to the wings along with some Rock Candy Stickles.   I also went bold for the sentiment using glossy black cardstock to die cut the word thanks and then layering it on the shadow layer that was die cut from thick vellum.    Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, too. 

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.

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!

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!

Waffle Flower Grip Mats Re-Release!

 Hello everyone!  I popping in today to share my thoughts on the recently re-released Waffle Flower Grip Mats.  Waffle Flower sent me what they call the Stamper Bundle of grip mats to try out.  The Stamper Bundle consists of two grip mats.  One mat fits the Mini MISTI and measures 4.7 x 6 inches.  The other mat fits the original MISTI and measures 6.5 x 8.5 inches.  Just like the original grip mats these mats also come with grid sheets that can be placed on one side of the mat to help with alignment.   Full disclosure I did not use the grid sheets as I did not use my grip mats in the MISTIs that I have, but placed them directly onto my Tim Holtz glass mat.  I most likely will continue to use them this way because I did not have much success in getting the grid sheets to adhere correctly to the old grip mats that I have.  Here is a direct link to the Stamper Bundle.   Let's take a look at what I created using the mats.

Along with the grip mats Waffle Flower generously also sent me a few other products to use with the mats.  Included in my package was the super fun Oversized Daisy Die-n-Stencil set.  I used the products to create this shaped card that I will be sending off to my great niece who is turning 8 at the end of this month!   

In the above photo you can see my grip mat positioned on my glass mat with the die cut pieces placed on to.  I was using the 4.75 x 6 inch grip mat and all the pieces fit nicely with room to spare.   I then used different oxide inks to ink up the flower. 

Here the stencil is placed on the flower and you can see how the stencil is being gripped by the mat below it.  I didn't have to hold anything down with my free hand which was so nice!  I stenciled everything very quickly resulting in the flower that you see in the first photo.  Once I had the stenciling done I created a card base for the flower by using a folded white cardstock base and then using the large daisy die to cut out the base.  I also cut out a second single white flower to add to the back for a clean look.    I finished the card by sandwiching the leaves inbetween the back of the stenciled flower and the front of the card base and then adding the pre-print Waffle Flower sentiment strips.   I'm going to add this to the Time Out challenge to be inspired by a quote.   You can see the quote in the graphic below.

For the second card I used the Postage Collage Blocks stencil that Waffle Flower also sent me.  For this card I made a Christmas card using several different Waffle Flower products that I already have.  I used the Layered Poinsettia die set, the Mistletoe Branch die, Small Ornaments die set and the Merry Christmas stamp set.   I used distress oxide ink in Antique Linen to ink up the openings.  I used a Christmas paper from Echo Park to die cut all the different pieces, adhered them together and then added them to the card front after I stamped the sentiments.  I don't own the Waffle Flower postage collage die so I found a rectangle die to cut the panel to size and adhered it to the kraft cardstock base. 

As you can see even though the stencil is larger than the grip mat, it still adhere nicely to the mat allowing me to stencil the panel fairly quickly.  

I used the new Tim Holtz tiny ink blenders to do precise ink blending of the openings and they worked like a charm!  

Overall, I have to say that I like the new grips mats alot and plan to use them frequently.  In a few weeks I will be sharing how they work with stencil pastes and two cards that I made so stay turned.  I hope that the information I provided was helpful.  Here are graphics showing the grip mats that I used and the full bundle. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

you are loved...

 Hello!  I'm popping in with a card for several challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and the Tic Tac Toe challenge.   I don't think I have ever participated in the Tic Tac Toe challenge, but when I saw Lisa from My Paper Tales' card for the challenge I had to play along!  This is what I created:

The CTD colors this week are so bright and pretty.  I mean who doesn't love pink, yellow and green together?  It just says spring and so does the pretty You Are Loved stamp and die set from PaperTrey Ink.  It was one of my purchases when I won a gift certificate during the February release.   I used Pinkfresh Studio inks to do all of the stamping.   For the tic tac toe portion of the challenge I went with the bottom row of foliage, embossing and critter.  My critter is the tiny dragonfly perched on the wreath.  Hope that is sufficient!  I hadn't originally planned to emboss the background, but like I said I was inspired to do it because of Lisa.  I used a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder Blossom Field for the background.   The FMS layout calls for a square, but I rarely do square cards so I went with my usual A2 size.   

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

oh, happy day...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card that I made for Freshly Made Sketches, Color Throwdown and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.   Also going to add this to the Flower Challenge to use layers. Let's have a look!

The CTD colors are aqua, teal and olive.  I went with light values for my aqua and teal and did some simple Copic coloring.  The aqua flower is the one on the right and the teal is the one on the left.  The stamp set I used was the collaboration set by Memory Box and Simon Says Stamp for Stamptember 2023 called So Kind.    I tried to find cardstocks that were a fairly close match for the colors in the magnolia flowers.  I used the Memory Box Arched Capped Pinpoint dies for the elements from the FMS layout and then added the magnolias and sentiment on top.  Very simple, but I like how it turned out.

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

bunny kisses...

 Hey there!  Popping in with a card for Color Throwdown and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  I used a new Simon Says Stamp and die set called Bunny Kisses to create a little scene.  Take a look.

The CTD colors this week are peach, sage and cream.  I focused more on the peach and sage colors, although I do think my peach is more of a pinky peach than an orangy peach.  I used Pinkfresh Studio Coral Berry to stamp the larger (momma) bunny and then Stampin Up! Flirty Flamingo to stamp the inside of the ear, nose and cheek.  The smaller bunny was stamped using Bundled Sage distress ink and the inside of the ear was stamped with PTI's Ocean Tides.  Originally I had the nose and cheek for the smaller bunny stamped in the Ocean Tides, but I changed it to Coral Berry.  I think it looks better.  I used an MFT cloud stencil to add the background clouds using a warm grey ink and then an MFT grass line stencil to stencil in the grass using Bundled Sage.  I used a very light hand with both colors.  The little hearts were also stamped in Coral Berry.  I added little pom poms to the bunnies' tales for a little bit of fun.  The sentiment was stamped, die cut and adhered with thin foam squares.   Simple, but cute I think.  This will be going to one of my great nieces for Easter.

red magnolia...

 Hello and happy Friday!  I'm back to share a card that I made for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.   The color combo at CTD is red, kraft and white.  I challenged myself to use the colors in a sort of unconventional way and I really like the outcome.  Take a look. 

I just love the Magnolia  Blooming Bud die from Memory Box and as I was casting about for ideas as to how to use the CTD colors I thought it would be interesting and a little unconventional to color my magnolia blossom red and the leaves kraft color.  I die cut all the pieces from white cardstock and then used Waffle Flowers 1+ blender brushes to add the colors to the pieces.  I used Lumberjack Plaid for the magnolia blossom and Tea Dye for the leaves.  I did use Gathered Twigs for the stem to provide a little contrast to the leaves.   I used Memory Box white woodgrain cardstock for the main panel and the oval.  Memory Box kraft woodgrain cardstock was a very close match to my ink blended leaves so I used that for the stripe element.   To make the stripe stand out more I ran a line of glue along each side and then added the red twine as it closely matched the ink blended magnolia.   I finished with a little sentiment from the Memory Box/Simon Says Stamp Stamptember collaboration set called Kind Flowers.   I added dimension to the flower and leaves by popping up certain parts with different thicknesses of foam squares.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

tiny trees...

 Hello friends!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for the current Color Hues challenge of red and gold.  Classic Christmas colors and so I made a Christmas card!   I used a Waffle Flower Crafts stencil called Duo-tone Christmas Tree and the 0+ blender brushes.  

The stencil is unique in that you stencil a set of trees and then shift the stencil over to the open area and stencil a second set of trees to fill up your card front.  For my card I used Lumberjack Plaid distress ink to stencil the trees and then added some Aged Mahogany to the bottom of each tree.  I then moved the stencil over and added the second set of trees using Ranger Lunar paster in Slippery When Wet (a bright gold).  I removed the stencil, cleaned it off and let the panel dry.  Once dry I die cut it with a Memory Box arched rectangle die.   The large Merry Christmas is also from Waffle Flower and that was stamped using Lumberjack Plaid and then Aged Mahogany pounced on in certain areas of the stamp and then layered on the Lumberjack Plaid.  Gives it a bit of an ombre look.  I die cut dark red cardstock with a rectangle die, adhered it to my white cardstock base and then adhered the arched panel.  The sentiment was added along with tiny gold stars to the little red trees. 

If you are on Instagram I'm having a giveaway of a sample set of Waffle Flower's new blender brushes over there.  The giveaway is sponsored by Waffle Flower.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Pink Poinsettia

 Hello friends.  I'm popping in to share a card for the November Altenew challenge.  I love the pretty color combo that is offered and challenged myself to use them with one of my favorite stamp sets, Altenew's Festive Poinsettia.  

To color the poinsettia I pulled out my Altenew gouache paints.   I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination when it comes to coloring with different mediums, but it is fun to try your hand at something outside your comfort zone.  I wanted to see if I could manage to combine the pink and soft purple colors in my poinsettia and I think I achieved that goal.   It was definitely interesting coloring with the gouache paints as the color seems to be a bit flatter to me than with watercolors.   To create a bit more separation when some of the bracts overlapped each other I used a medium pink Polychromos pencils.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!