Kitty Sympathy

I had a custom order for a pet sympathy card a few months ago, and lovingly poured out feminine details for the owner's beloved kitty.  Very, very girly.

Simon Says Stamp Large Doily Heart die; Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents flower punch, Lace 3D embossing folder, Nine Lives cat; Papertrey Ink Daily Designs Sentiments sentiment, With Sympathy: Loss of A Pet paw print; pearls

I hope it touched the recipient's grieving heart.

Always so hard to lose a precious fur baby.

Remarkable You

I've got autumn on my mind.  It's definitely my favorite season.  We've had a hot summer, so I am dreaming of what is to come!

Here's a simple card with a feel of fall, featuring a pretty copper maple leaf accent (from Stampin' Up!).  I paired it with a marbled handmade paper scrap sample that came with an envelope order loooong ago.  There's a bold sentiment from Simon Says Stamp, and a little bit of 'distressing' with a stamp in the background.  At first, I put a yellow strip of cardstock above the marbled paper, and it did not look right.  So I took a Krylon 24kt Gold Pen and wiped it down.  It's a shame you can't see the metallic gleam of that, and of the leaf. 

Simon Says Stamp Hand Lettered Encouragement sentiment; Stampin' Up! Artisan Textures distressed dot stamp, copper leaf accent; twine; handmade paper (marble, not by me!); Krylon 24kt Gold Pen

Thanks so much for joining me! God bless you!

Far Away, Missing You

Hello there. 😀 Did you have a nice weekend?  They are usually too short, at least that's been my experience. 😉 

I'm sharing a card I made for my mom, who lives far away from me, to let her know I miss her.  A friend gave me the set by Simon Says Stamp called Loving You From Afar, and it's perfectly sweet for my mom.

Simon Says Stamp Loving You From Afar houses and dotted heart stamps; Stampin' Up! sentiment (?); red and white twine; Kat Scrappiness Stitched Postage Stamp Edge Rectangles die

I paired with the houses and dotted heart image between them, a good sentiment from Stampin' Up!  This was in a scrap bag, already on this tag, so I am not sure which stamp set it came from.  I like how it coordinates with that dotted heart, though!

Since this is my first time using the SSS set, I am entering (again) at NBUS.

Hope your week is wonderful!

Poinsettia Punch

Hello again!  Tomorrow is my last day off from work (been off for a week) and it will be a short work week, with New Year's Eve quickly approaching.  I have enjoyed my staycation very, very much.  😃

I have two cards to share with you, both featuring a beautiful poinsettia from Simon Says Stamp's The Magic of Christmas - and all items used are listed beneath the photos.  

I was going for a dramatic Christmas card with the first one here:

Simon Says Stamp The Magic of Christmas poinsettia, 'Christmas' & 'Blessings' sentiments; Stampin' Up! Peaceful Boughs pine dies; pearls; vintage thread; tag from stash; Papertrey Ink; Ranger Glossy Accents 

I layered some pine boughs beneath that GORGEOUS poinsettia, and I created simple patterned paper by using the 'Christmas' sentiment from the same set, in red on red.

Then I used Glossy Accents as beads of 'dew' on the poinsettia, which was colored with Copic markers.

This is what it looked like, all ready for its close-up, in my photography light tent.  I have a small collection of items and greenery to place around my cards as they get photographed.

I am entering this card at NBUS #21 (thank you for still running this challenge, Darnell!) as the Simon Says Stamp poinsettia and sentiment stamps had not yet seen ink.   

The next card was for my oldest daughter, who looooves bling and shiny things.  😁

Simon Says Stamp The Magic of Christmas poinsettia; Stampin' Up! Peaceful Boughs pine dies; red rhinestones; Ranger Glossy Accents; cream twine; Fiskars Star punch; Papertrey Ink Tag-Its #8 Mini 'joy' sentiment 

It was difficult to capture the gold mirror polka dot patterned paper, so I photographed it two ways. Two kinds of red gemstones were added to the pine greenery, and they look a whole lot better in person, too.

As in the first card, this poinsettia also got the Glossy Accents 'dew' treatment.  If I'd had more time, I might have used Glossy Accents on the entire poinsettia, for some real excitement.  LOL

Thanks so much for your visit, and God bless you!

Glad Tidings, Plaid Tidings & more

Hello friends, Belated Merry Christmas to you!  I hope it was full of blessings for you and your loved ones.  For those who struggle at this time of year, or especially this year, my heart goes out to you.  There are so many complicated emotions that can accompany Christmastime.  

I love this season because we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  💓

As much as I wanted to share these cards with you during the month of December, I just ran out of steam.  LOL  So, here are a bunch of cards that seem to have a couple of themes running through most:  Glad Tidings and Plaid Tidings, with a few other twists in the lineup.

The first card was for my husband.  I got new dies, from Paper Rose - both the stitched tree and the deer (LeAnne, thank you for enabling me!), and they go so well together! 

Paper Rose Stitched Trees, Deer Family dies; gold sequins; Simon Says Stamp Magic of Christmas pinecone stamp; Papertrey Ink Angled Labels die, Silent Night sentiment; Verve Christmas In The Air sentiment in background

I'll be linking this one up to the NBUS challenge #21 (Never Before Used Schtuff), as these dies are brand new!

The next card was for my youngest daughter, using a bottlebrush tree stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  Love how the little trees came out. 

Papertrey Ink Joyful Christmas bottlebrush trees, Christmas Blessings sentiment; Gina Marie Designs Eyelet Elegance Rectangles die; Hug Snug white seam binding; pearls 

Made a second one, and there are very subtle differences between the two, including how the bow was tied.  Hard to see in the photo, though.

The next is for the stash, and was simple to make but has a good pop to it.  The tree was punched from gold and plaid paper (this was in a Stampin' Up! scrap bag I bought).  I added gems to it, and stamped a couple of Verve snowflakes with Distress Ink on red cardstock, to create my own patterned paper.  The effect reminds me of flocked wallpaper from the 1970's.  Ha!

Stampin' Up! tree punch; Verve Glad Tidings sentiment, snowflakes; Papertrey Ink Angled Labels die; red rhinestones

Every now and then, this little Lawn Fawn bunny comes out to play.  I think he's the cutest.  He's sporting a blue-green scarf as he glides over glistening snow-covered hills in the moonlight.

Lawn Fawn Winter Bunny; Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags die; Flourishes Warm Winter Wishes sentiment; My Favorite Things Stitched Basic Edges die; glitter glue; rhinestone; white cotton twine

Our cat, Cristabel, gives my husband a card for his birthday, Father's Day, and Christmas, so here is the card she gave to Dad this year.

Papertrey Ink For The Guys 'dad' die; red rhinestones; Paper Rose Stitched Trees die; Memory Box Large Sitting Cat die 

The next one is for my stash, too, and it's different, and not at all the expected Christmas colors.  This has more of a peaceful, wintry feel.

Stampin' Up! Garden Pleasures birdhouse & bird stamps, Brushed Silver cardstock, patterned papers, snowflake die; rhinestone; Verve Glad Tidings sentiment; Papertrey Ink Angled Labels die; glitter glue

The next four cards have a plaid thing going on, as you will see.  Those little corrugated Christmas trees were in a Stampin' Up! scrap bag I bought, so I had quite a few to play with.

Papertrey Ink Tag-Its #8 Mini sentiment; gold candy dots; Fiskars Star punch; Stampin' Up! tree & star die, patterned paper strips, scalloped oval, snow embossing folder, crochet lace

Stampin' Up! tree and star, scalloped oval, snow embossing folder; twine; gold ribbon; Papertrey Ink Angled Labels die, Christmas Blessings sentiment

Stampin' Up! tree and star, red snowflake felt accents, Brown Sugar twine; Crafty Secrets vintage stickers; crochet lace; ivory candy dots; Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags round tag die; manila tag; Flourishes Christmas Postcard "Dec 25" round stamp

Crafty Secrets wreath sticker; ivory candy dots; Stampin' Up! tree and star; crochet lace

Not sure how I feel about the next card, but here it is for you to see, nonetheless.  Love the Papertrey Ink sentiment, and those sweet Simon Says Stamp mittens, though.

Papertrey Ink Stylish Sentiments: Christmas sentiment; Simon Says Stamp Winter Warmth mittens; white cotton twine; rhinestones; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles

And the final card involves some repurposing.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may recall these candles from 2012.  I plucked off the n, o, e, and l from the candle decorations, and put them on a card front for my mom.  

Spellbinders Persian Motifs die; Inspired By Stamping Fancy Alphabet, Mason Jar Add-On II (label), Festive Frames (holly); red Liquid Pearls; pearls

That's it for now!  I've got another (shorter) post in the works to share soon.  

Thanks so much for coming by today, God bless you!

Cards to Share

Hey there!  How are you all doing out there??  I hope you're keeping busy and keeping your hands washed to keep the germs at bay.  What a crazy time it is right now!  We are doing our part and staying in unless it's absolutely essential to run to the store.  My husband and I are taking walks in the evening, and it feels good to get some fresh air.

I had a little time this evening to photo-edit some cards from a while back, so I'm sharing today:

Stampin' Up! - 'thanks' sentiment (unsure of set); calendar panel; Webster's Pages - silver lace fabric

Papertrey Ink - Inside and Out: Birthday II sentiment; Stampin' Up! - Bloomin' Hearts Thinlits dies

Momenta - Hello sentiment; Altenew - One of A Kind flower stamp; Stampin' Up! wooden flower; Simon Says Stamp - Stitched Circle die; My Favorite Things - Scalloped Rectangle die

My Favorite Things - Inspired By Spring sentiment, Scalloped Rectangle die; Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punch; Stampin' Up!  Itty Bitty Accents flower punch

My Favorite Things - Ewe and Me Forever sheep, flowers; Lucky -  clouds; Grassy Fields dies

The sheep card is definitely 'cutesy', and I had made it for my youngest daughter's 17th birthday.  She has always loved animals, and at the time, this sheep stamp set by My Favorite Things was new to me, so I played around with it and created a scenic card.

The Craft's Meow - Owl Be Thinking of You sentiment, stars; assorted scraps from my desk

Tim Holtz - Tattered Leaves die; Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves oak leaf die; Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin - You Are My Anchor sentiment, Le Jardin Botanique leaf stamp

The last card is my least favorite in the line-up today.  I was trying to use elements that were on my desk at the time, and make it look cohesive.  Instead, it looks a bit busy to me now.  LOL 😆

Thanks a bunch for joining me today.  Stay safe and stay well, and God bless you!

Be My Valentine(s)

Hello there!

We haven't met up with each other here in a while.  I hope you are doing well in your little corner of the world. 😀    How is it that, as the years roll by, we feel busier than ever before?  I wonder about that sometimes.  Do I truly have more on my plate than I did before, or am I just slowing down and am not able to keep up as well?  LOL

With some of the free time I have, you'll find me up in the craft studio making cards, versus blogging about them.  And I have kept myself plenty busy with art therapy, aka card making!  The creations you see here today were actually from last year; that's how behind I am in the realm of photo-editing and blogging about cards.

So glad you came by for a visit, and I hope you enjoy seeing these belated Valentine cards.

PinkFresh Studio cat - Playful Animals 2; Papertrey Ink sentiment - Daily Designs Sentiments;
MME Kiss and Tell patterned papers

Stampin' Up! truck, hearts, sentiment - Loads of Love; Papertrey Ink - Cloud 1 & 2 die

Essentials by Ellen sentiment, bear, heart - All Inside; L'il Inker Designs - Stitched Rectangles die

Essentials by Ellen sentiment, bear, heart - All Inside; Papertrey Ink sentiment - Daily Designs Sentiments

Simon Says Stamp Large Doily Heart die; Inspired By Stamping sentiment - All Year Wishes I; Prima flowers; Cuttlebug Love is in the Air conversation hearts embossing folder

Stampin' Up! Heart to Heart punch, window die (unsure of name); Papertrey Ink sentiment - Tag Its #11 and Tiny Tags round tag die; MME Lost and Found patterned paper

Top Dog Dies Doily Hearts die; Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die; My Favorite Things Essential Sentiments 

MME (My Mind's Eye) Union Square patterned paper; glitter heart sticker

Paper Sweeties Pennant Party banner and sentiment; My Favorite Things Mini Delicate Doilies die; pink glitter heart sticker

Verve Happy Phrases sentiment; red glitter heart sticker;
Stampin' Up! patterned paper

Stampin' Up! A Happy Heart sentiment, Round Tab punch; My Favorite Things Pierced Heart Stax dies;
Stampin' Up! retired patterned paper

Stampin' Up! A Happy Heart tic tac toe sentiment / image; Hug Snug Mottle Brown seam binding

It's 4:30 on a Sunday here, and it's been a wonderful sunny day, with church and then a nap. 😃  I'm washing bed sheets, vacuuming, and of course - visiting here with you.

I hope you have a terrific day, what's left of it!  God bless you!