You are Fabulous!

Hi! I am popping in with something modern and fresh today. This card was for my youngest daughter's birthday last year (or the year before? Gosh, the time is flying!).

The flowers are from Papertrey Ink's Doodlie Do set. After stamping, I trimmed out the elements and clustered them together in one corner, to tie in the two black and white patterned papers.

The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s Absolutely Fabulous set.

My daughter currently loves these colors...aqua, black and white. And (no bias here! wink) she is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! She loved the card. :-)

For flower-lovers only

This is a three-fer, folks! There are three cards to share here today.
I was playing with old-but-new-to-me Flourishes Stamps sets (all illustrated by the fabulous Marcella Hawley) and this is what I came up with:

The next one uses skinny strips of patterned paper, which I just could not throw away:

If you're a crafter or cardmaker, too, isn't it a wonderful feeling to lose yourself in the art?  Often, I don't have any preconceived ideas of what to design...it just comes to me as I begin to pull out the supplies. I think that's the part I love best about the whole process. It's organic and natural and soooooo satisfying.

Thank you ever so much for joining me here today!  God bless you!

Gold & Blue Sympathy

Hello friends!  I've got a sympathy card to share today that I made for the shop.  I focused on heavenly colors of white, blue and gold.

The gold frame, stamped in Delicata Gold ink, and sentiment are from Papertrey Ink's Boutique Borders: Sympathy stampset. I diecut the frame twice, once on white cardstock, the other on white craft foam, and layered them together. Beneath that lies a lacy die cut (Memory Box's Amira Flourish), topped with a few pearls.

Thank you for dropping by today, hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy BeeDay

Hello! I've got a 'happy bee-day' card to share today, made with scraps that were on my craft table. The sentiment and bee are from Circle Friends by Simon Says Stamp.

 I added a touch of Wink of Stella to his wings, then covered the wings with Glossy Accents glue. The lace under the jute braided ribbon is, ahem, a bit of my old curtains that had been trimmed down to a shorter size.  I hated to throw away the lace, and thankfully it's been repurposed here. :-)

Thank you for "bee-ing" so sweet!  I appreciate your visit!

Hello, big blue butterfly!

Hi there!  I'm sharing a card that I donated to a local fundraiser last spring.
Shades of mint, French blue and white....definitely spring-like!

On top of a piece of polka-dot patterned paper, I layered a Papertrey Ink Coverplate: Pretty Frame in white. Along the bottom, two Grassy Fields layers (My Favorite Things) create the ground, topped with paper roses (iamroses.com) and some sparkling sequins.

The sentiment is by Paper Smooches Salutations and the butterfly die cut is from Stampin' UP! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz, a seldom-used die in my stash.

Thank you so much for your visit today!  Have a blessed week ahead! :-)

Be Strong...a Psalm stamp done two ways

Psalm 31:24, a beautiful stamp by Verve, was used on two different creations for these encouraging cards.

The first was made with bits and pieces of things lying about on my craft desk:  K & Co. butterfly stickers, a small bit of a doily, a smidgen of green "grass" (actually the negative left behind from a My Favorite Things Grassy Fields) and a stitched rectangle mat.

Ever so subtly in the background, you can see the lightly stamped Inkadinkado Floral Woodcut.

The next card uses shimmery paper from DCWV.  The photo below doesn't show the golden glint, but the next photo does.

I hope you had a good weekend.  Yesterday, I had my hair trimmed and highlights retouched.  Ah, nothing like fresh hair color to lift one's spirits!  I put away some more Christmas decorations, don't mind me, it's a bit slow-going.  :-)  My hubby and girls cleaned most of the house, which is a TREMENDOUS help to me, as I am still doing physical therapy for my herniated discs.  Bit by bit, I am getting better; so thankful!

Snowflake on blue

Hi there!  I'm trying to keep up with my Christmas card stash by making one here and there.  This one is simple but has a nice impact in person, thanks to a glittery snowflake, a strip of silver mirror cardstock, and silvery ink for the sentiment.

The sentiment, stamped in silver, is from Hero Arts' Winter Scene. The sequins next to it are silver, too.

It's a shame this was tough to photograph. The card is much prettier in person.
Thanks for taking a peek anyway!

Birthday Violets

Hello! It's taking me a bit of time to share the backlog of cards here on my blog. Here is a slightly vintage looking birthday card that may or may not still be for sale at Arts Plus Gallery.

The vintage frame stamp is from Inspired By Stamping, along with the sentiment. The violets are from Flourishes Sweet Violets set, stamped on scrap white cardstock, trimmed and added with foam dimensional tape at the corner of the frame.

There's a sprinkling of pearls and sparkling sequins on here, and a Colleen Bow made using Hug Snug "Mottle Brown" seam binding.

Thanks so much for coming by today!  Enjoy your week and God bless you!

Be Mine Always

Hi there! I wanted to share another Valentine card that I dropped off at Arts Plus Gallery recently for sale.

The polka dot heart frame stamp is from Papertrey Ink's Tag-Its #11 set, along with the pale pink heart stamp and sentiment "be mine".  I ran a gold marker around the edge of the circle die cut.  That ties in with a brushed gold strip of cardstock, and matte gold sequins.  The "always" tag is an oldie from Stampin' UP! Too Terrific Tags.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday.  We've had a yummy array of fun snack foods (potato skins, pretzel dogs, fresh handmade guacamole, with queso and chips, and hoagies (for those who live in other areas of the USA, they also go by 'subs' or 'hero sandwiches').

Hope you have a great day!

What to do with patterned paper scraps

Along with many Valentine cards I've shared on my blog today, I wanted to include birthday cards that are fresh and summery.  We've got some gray and cold weather here in the Northeast, so the colors on these cards feel like a breath of fresh air.

Most of the supplies (patterned papers, blue and pink cardstock, sentiment stamp, white twine) are from Stampin' Up! (all were included in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my SU demonstrator).  The Sparkling Sequins are from Pretty Pink Posh, and the white cardstock base is Papertrey Ink's Stampers Select (the only white I use, because of its 'whiteness' and the heft).

Next up, more of the same patterned paper scraps, but used in a different way.  I lined them up vertically under some lace and topped them with a flower built from things in my stash.  The leaves are stamped, from Papertrey Ink's Ruby Reprise.  The sentiment is from Verve's Birthday Phrases.

So glad you could visit today!  Thanks for coming by!

From My Heart

Hello there!  I delivered this Valentine card to Arts Plus Gallery this past weekend for sale. It's got an elegant feel, a bit of drama (red, black, silver and white), and a slight nod to nostalgia (remember handmade fancy-cut hearts?) too.

I used Top Dog Dies Doily Hearts here as the focal point (red for the fancy part, brushed silver in the background), and topped it with:  Gunmetal sequins (M & J Trimming), Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), a Mini Delicate Doilies die (My Favorite Things) behind a Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die cut.  The sentiment is from 7 Gypsies Trousseau.

Thanks very much for visiting here today!  God bless you!