Embroidered Blooms

I have been patiently waiting to pull out my Embroidered Blooms die set from The Greetery, while I finished up other projects.  The large peach flower was simply my test cut of the large die, and I ended up using it in a couple of cards.  All of the floral bits are from the die set, and the sentiment is It's Your Day Betterpress plate from Spellbinders.

The patterned paper is the older "Persimmon" by Basic Grey - the muted tones are not my norm, but I really love the look.

I die cut out the center frame, popped it up with 3D foam adhesive, and matted it with some dull gold cardstock.  A few gold pearls finished it off.

Basic Birthday cards

 I have a whole whack of family birthdays in the fall, so when I make a birthday card, I try to make multiples!  This Happy Birthday die from Lawn Fawn comes to the rescue every time.  It's a great way to make use of some of the patterned paper in my stash, too.

Basic Grey has been gone for many years now... but this is their Marjolaine collection.  I love that it can work for both masculine and feminine cards.  I tried to pick patterns that weren't too busy.  Hmm.  Or let's say, I picked patterns that went together!  I used the 5722 Birthday Journal set from Art Impressions for the cake and presents, that were coloured with Copic markers and fussy cut.

I love putting a shadow die behind this sentiment, to help it stand out a bit more.  The images were adhered with some 3D foam adhesive to make them stand out a bit more.

Four more cards for my stash!  Although they won't last long...

A Mini Monkey

 I made a card for my sweet great nephew who is turning two today!  I thought this mini monkey from Art Impressions would make the perfect card.  I paired him with some bright Basic Grey papers that I've had for a while, and made a circle cutout, as he is a Front & Back style of stamp, so the backview of him can be seen from the inside.

Masculine cards

I've got a couple of masculine cards to share today, for several challenges that have closed!  Just couldn't quite get them photographed in time.  Oh well, I'm sharing them anyway :o)  Both are using the older Marjolaine papers from Basic Grey, and the Happy Thoughts stamp set from Verve.  *I am in time for The Paper Players colour challenge, though!  Scroll down to see the combo at the bottom of my post.  Here is one that was for the Fusion Sketch Challenge:

 And another shot to show how lovely the metallic silver strip is!

And this one was from last week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I used the colours from The Paper Players challenge this week:

More Ai Watercolours

A few weeks ago, I shared a couple of Christmas cards that I made using the Art Impressions watercolour stamps.  I was so happy with how the urn image turned out, that I immediately painted ten more just like it!  I made six of them into some larger 6 1/2 x 5" cards with some Basic Grey papers that I've been hoarding for years...  I made two of each:

 Art Impressions stamp sets used are: WC Ornate Containers, WC Fir Trees and WC Branches - you can find them all on the Ai website here!  I used my Marvy markers and a damp paintbrush to pull out the colour.  I did a little ink distressing and added a few brown rhinestones to finish them off.

Freshly Made Sketches #253

Here is the last card in my tea-themed set.   This time I'm using the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

Patterned papers are Urban Prairie from Basic Grey; Stamp set is One Cup, Verve; Stitched Banner and Circle STAX dies from My Favorite Things; Cups of Cheer dies from Memory Box; Onyx Black ink from Versafine; Your Next Stamp gumdrops.

Mojo Monday #484

I have my third tea-themed card to share today, using this week's Mojo Monday sketch, and Verve's One Cup stamp set:

Patterned papers are Urban Prairie by Basic Grey; Stamp set is One Cup by Verve; Stitched Square STAX die by My Favorite Things; Your Next Stamp gumdrops, Ink is Onyx Black Versafine; Cups of Cheer die, Memory Box.

Viva La Verve - tea card

I have another of my tea-themed cards to share today, this time using the first September Viva La Verve sketch, and the Verve One Cup stamp set:

I flipped the sketch!

Patterned papers are Urban Prairie by Basic Grey; Stamp set is One Cup, Verve; Enamel dots are Your Next Stamp; Cups of Cheer dies are Memory Box, Stitched banner and circle STAX dies are My Favorite Things; Versafine Onyx Black Ink;

Two More Father's Day cards

I made up two more fairly quick & easy Father's Day cards this weekend... I had the Grillfather stamped and ready to go, so picked out some papers and coloured him up to match.  The navy/melon coloured card has been sitting in pieces on my desk since the first Viva La Verve sketch came out in early June - so I finally got it assembled:

Stamp sets are Grillfather & FDMD - both Art Impressions; Patterned papers are Persimmon, by Basic Grey and Caprice, by Close To My Heart; Cardstock is Outdoor Denim, Smoothie, Chocolate, Crystal Blue, Colonial White & White Daisy;  Copic Markers; Tuxedo Black ink by Memento & Onyx Black by Versafine.

Inspired By #16

It's my week to be the hostess on the Inspired By All The Little Things challenge blog!  We're at challenge #16 already - how time flies :o)  I chose a vibrant, artsy photo of a bicycle, in what I'm assuming is a European city?  I'm looking forward to seeing how you all interpret this one... the colours, the graphic shapes, the bicycle?

 Here's what I came up with.  It's easy to mainly see the blue & green in the photo, but if you look closely, the bicycle is red & yellow - so I played up all four colours with some patterned papers (Christmas papers if you can believe it?) and a few sequins.  This is about as CAS as I get!

My guest this week is my wonderful friend, Cheri Bury - who I am lucky enough to be on two design teams with!  She has a wonderful flair for bright colours, and making really fun & interesting cards.  Head on over to the Inspired By blog to see what Cheri & the rest of the Design Team have come up with this week.  And don't forget to link up your creation - you have until Thursday the 26th.

Patterned papers are Peppermint Collection by Crate Paper and 25th and Pine by Basic Grey;  Cardstock is White Daisy, Close To My Heart & Blue by Bazzill; Ink is Onyx Black by Versafine; Sequins are Craft Medly; Banner Dies by Verve; Stamp sets are Just a Number and It's Your Day by Close To My Heart.

Retrosketches #204

I'm calling this Super Tuesday on my blog... since this is my third post of the day, and I have one more still to come!  I've had some fun playing with challenges tonight, so here is a simple thank you card that I made using the current Retrosketches sketch #204, and the Verve February Inspiration graphic:

Patterned papers are Sultry by Basic Grey, Stamp set is Borderline by Verve.

Nephew Birthday card

I have a nephew, brother-in-law and husband all with birthdays this week... so making a few masculine cards was the order of the day.  I pulled out the awesome Hello, Life stamp sets that Close To My Heart came out with for National Scrapbooking Month in September, and made three of these:

Patterned papers are Marjolaine, Basic Grey; Cardstock is Whisper & textured White Daisy, CTMH; Stamp sets are Hello, Life - CTMH: Inks are Whisper, Slate & Pacifica, CTMH; Matte silver sequins, CTMH; Stitched Oval STAX die, My Favorite Things.

Snowmen Christmas

I was still in need of several Christmas cards, so I went for a fairly simple design that I could reproduce easily (I made six of these!).  I picked out some Basic Grey paper from a few years ago, and let the paper do all the talking:

Patterned paper is Figgy Pudding, Basic Grey; Cardstock is Black, Kraft & White Daisy, CTMH; Stamp set is Scandinavian Wishes, CTMH; Let it Snowflake dies, MFT; Matte silver sequins, CTMH.

Simple Christmas

It was a productive day on the cardmaking front!  I was able to complete 6 Christmas cards, and have 2 more cut and ready to assemble - go me!  I am also making an effort to use papers from my stash, so here is a simple Christmas card that is using some Basic Grey paper from a year or so ago:

Patterned papers are Eskimo Kisses and Urban Prairie, by Basic Grey; Cardstock is Ruby, CTMH; Stamp is This is Christmas, CTMH; Ink is Rich Cocoa, Memento; Twine is American Crafts; Vintage Ornament die, Spellbinders.

Viva La Verve

Yay - finally a little me time to work on some personal Christmas cards, and a chance to play along with some challenges!  I've used the November Week 2 sketch from VLV Sketches, and the Rustic Winter theme for the Nov Inspiration Challenge on the Verve Blog:

I used some old Basic Grey papers that were kicking around my craft room, and used my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out the stars.  You can't see in the photo, but I used my clear Wink of Stella on the star and to outline the word "brightly" - gives it a little glimmer.  I haven't distressed a card in a while, so had fun grunging up the edges a bit, and used my sewing machine around the circle & banner.  The stamp set is Verve's Peace on Earth.

Mojo Monday #400 - Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

I am playing along with Mojo Monday today, where Julee is celebrating her 400th sketch!  I decided to team it up with the Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, since Verve's coffee stamp sets are among my favourites.  Here's what I came up with:

 I had a great time putting this together... I started by clear embossing the Coffee sentiment repeatedly on a piece of watercolour paper, and then used two different brown distress inks to add my watercolour background (it's supposed to look like spilled coffee, get it?)  The dark grey/aqua blue/brown colour combo is a little different, but in person it looks quite amazing!  Here's a different angle to show the mocha sparkles a bit better:

 I used a Verve Plain Jane stamp for the inside sentiment:

For her 400th Mojo sketch, Julee went back to her very first sketch from 2007.  I used a little creative license with it, but hopefully you can see the corner element and word background in my card!

Be sure to check out the rest of the hop on the Coffee Loving Cardmaker's blog - it's always inspiring!

Patterned papers are Persimmon, Basic Grey; Stamp sets are Coffee and Simply Irresistible Plain Jane, Verve; Dies are Classy Label Die & From the Heart, Verve; Vintage Photo & Tea Dye distress inks; Rich Cocoa ink by Memento.

Happy Campers

I am sharing a card that I've made using one of the wonderful Ai clear stamp sets available through Michaels stores.  Ever since I first saw this set - I've envisioned it as a pop-up card, and have finally made it happen!  The set includes the four images that I've used, along with four sentiments. 

Isn't she fabulous?  You can tell she'll freely give out advice, when asked or not :o)  I cut one of the sentiments into a speech bubble shape to go with her.  Here's the inside:

I used a background die for the hillside, and manually cut out a chunk of the green to form a lake shape behind him.

I think this would make a great retirement card, or maybe a bon voyage card for someone setting off around the country.  Here's a picture to show you the little cutouts that I made in the green cardstock so that the images would stand up:

I added a little die cut shape to the inside, for a spot to write a message.  I think my bright and cheery colours would qualify it for our current Spring Colors challenge on the Art Impressions blog!  If you haven't already linked up your creation - there's still time.  Happy stamping!

Copics used: Skin tones - E13, E11, E00, E000

Reds - R37, R35, R32, R30

Greens - YG05, YG03, YG01

Blues - B26, B24, B23, B21

Yellows - Y38, Y35, Y32

 Browns - E57, E55, E53, E51, E50

Greys - C7, C5, C3, C1, C00