Beautiful Botannicals

Hello! I'm playing along with Make It Monday where Melissa inspires us to stretch our dies by using them to make stencils.  

I  chose the diagonal striped pattern from Mix and Mat: Flourish die and enjoyed creating a softly blended background on the tag that features the Botanical Bounty florals by PTI. To see supply details, they are listed below. 

Make it a great day! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: PTI - Botanical Bounty I and II, Penned Elegance, Stitch in Time Borders and dies

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Bitty Big DSP Hawaiian Shores

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, PTI - Spring Rain; WPlus9 - Shell Pink, Little Piggy, Sweet Gelato, New Leaf 

Accessories: sequins

Christmas Roses in July

Hello and happy Tuesday! How are things going for you? Summer mode means hot and humid days and not much getting done at my house. 

I've had this card made for a couple of weeks and now is the time to share it with you. 

I layered a scalloped border over a striped paper from my stash. The beautiful spray of flowers from the Christmas Rose Bouquet stamps by WPlus9 was die cut and colored with Copics.  

I dotted drops of glue and added gold foil accents to the flower centers. The sentiment was also embossed in gold, and the "you" was die cut in white and gold glitter card stock. 

I really enjoyed creating this card. I always hesitate to pick one style to describe my work, because for me variety is the spice of life! But I have to say that the clean and layered elegant style is one of my favorites. I love how this turned out. 

Now if only my mojo would turn up. You know, I feel like stamping and it just doesn't happen. 

I'm sure you know how that feels too. I am grateful for your visit, hope your day is wonderful!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: WPlus9 - Christmas Rose Bouquet and dies , No One Else

Paper: Neenah Solar White, gold glitter paper, Basic Black

INK: Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, Versamark

Accessories: Copic markers, Gold embossing powder, MFT - Die-namics Stitched Scallop Basic Edges

Color Block Stencils Birthday

Hello! 

Summer means stamping when I can. When a cold front hits North Carolina and the humidity disappears for a few days, it's time to be outside! The weather has been just wonderful and I took every opportunity to enjoy it. 

Today I created a birthday card which began with an ink blended background. 

 Papertrey Ink came out with a new product called Color Blocked Stencils which I explored for this card, sponging the triangle areas then stamping the chevron pattern over them in darker ink. It's a great way to pare down the layers on a card for mailing and was just plain fun!  Especially if you like ink blending as much as

 I do.

I paired it with some die cut flowers, a bold sentiment, and a few glittery  enamel dots. 

That's all for me today, I have one more card to share with you tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful day. Thanks for your visit! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: PTI - Stitching Garden and dies, Sentiment Staples: Sending You; SU - Chevron 

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Basic Black ; PTI - Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Harvest Gold, Hibiscus Burst, Autumn Rose, Pale Peony

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, Versamark

Accessories: PTI - Color Block Stencils, sponges, White embossing powder

Blended Ink Backgrounds

Hello crafting friends! 

Is any one besides me having their days mixed up after our holiday on the 4th? Yesterday felt like Monday to me, my days are all off.  Feels like Tuesday today. Turns out any day is a good day to pop in with a project for Make It Monday! 

Betsy's Make It Monday #327 is all about Ombre Watercolor Backgrounds. (see her video HERE sharing a fool proof and easy way to make blended backgrounds.)

I've got two cards for you today. 

For the first, I blended shades of pink and then washed them with a damp thick brush. After it had dried I used the Stencil Basics: Dots to add tone on tone design.

My second card is clean and simple, using yellows for the background. I added tone on tone stamping with two or three leaf images, and spattered white paint to add texture and detail. Well. I did get a bit carried away with splattering the paint.

For the flowers on both cards, I used the 2108 Anniversary Set: Mixed Bouquet, trimming out the blooms with my scissors. 

I will be uploading this soon. Wishing you a fabulous weekend! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something wonderful!

Inchie Elements for Make It Monday

I had so much fun making a card using Inchies that I'm thinking I just can't wait to make another one! Can you make just one? 

You can find a wonderful tutorial on the Make It Monday video by Lexi. 

I wanted to use different stamps than Lexi did and thought about it all week. Then I pulled out the panel I had on my desk using blended inks (a first attempt for THIS card) and the light bulb went on in my head. Here's my card using the Salt Air: Fauna and Reef Builder stamps and dies. 

 I love the contrast of the stark white against the colorful inchies. For a few bits of sparkle, I added iridescent confetti stars. 

It's a bit too hot here today, I am happy to be staying cool inside. Hope you are enjoying your day. Thanks so much for your visit and kind comments. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Seas the Day

Hello, crafty friends! 

This week seems to have gone by so quickly and now we are officially into summer. I've been enjoying some wonderfully fun family time including time on the lake and boating. When I got a chance to stamp, I was still in BEACH mode and made this card with the Salt Air Fauna set from  Papertrey Ink.

I masked a Bristol Smooth card panel and blended inks for the background,  spritzing with water and white acrylic paint. Coloring the Salt Air: Reef Builders die cuts with Zig markers, I began placing my scene. I placed a layer cut with a curved die and colored it to look like sand.

Except for the die cuts, this is a one layer card. I considered adding sequins but did think it best to omit them. There is some shine from Wink of Stella. I wonder if  a single pearl might be nice?

I just love these elements and can't wait to create more with them. The two step stamping results in great details and dimension. 

Thanks for coming by to visit my blog. Have a great day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Papertrey Ink June 2018 Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog today! 
















I'm joining in with fans of Papertey Ink for the monthly Blog Hop and I'm glad you've come to visit. 

The inspiration photo was luscious and loaded with rich tones in rainbow colors, cascading sweet treats and fruity goodness. Just makes my mouth water!

For my interpretation I focused on the regal color palette, stripes (see them on the frozen pops?) and a cascading floral containing blueberries. 

I stamped directly on the card front and added a card stock panel adhered to foam to raise it higher than the stamping, a technique called set in stamping. I colored the images from the Fresh Bouquet stamps and used the dies to cut out the panel. Choosing Copic markers, I kept the coloring fairly simple and the colors bold. I added a green strip and black twine for that pop of contrast.

Hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!