Metallics, Die Cuts and Bling!

Metallics, die cuts and bling. Oh my! 
Today's card features all of the above and is way out of my comfort zone. There were many twists and turns as I sought to combine these elements and three challenges. 

Totally different from the idea I began with! In the end I really like it and have reminded myself that the surprise factor is why I like challenges so much. 

Spattering and smooshing Distress Oxide inks to color the flower and leaves were the most fun parts of this creative process. All supplies used are part of the Simon Says Stamp September card kit. I really love the Metallic papers.

Thanks so much for visiting today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Playing in the challenges at 
Just Us Girls 

The Paper Players

and Simon Says Stamp. "Bling it on!"

Farm Fresh for you

Simple Copic coloring and a hello fresh from the farm for you today. 

Took these critters on a road trip this summer and colored away in the car. Time to put them together for a punny greeting today. 

The Critters on the Farm stamps from Lawn Fawn were used and then fussy cut. A cute little scene inspired by the crew at CAS(E) This Sketch. I added Nuvo Drops in black to anchor the piggy.

Hope you have a great day! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

You Matter

Good morning! Welcome to a new week. I am ready for some delightful fall days and I've begun by enjoying the sunshine as I type here on my porch. Not cool weather yet, but it is coming! 

My card today is clean and simple and inspired by two challenges. I began by stamping the background stamp called You Matter (SSS) onto white card stock and adhering it to a white card base. 

The leaves are loosely (WPlus9 Autumn Leaves) painted with Zig Markers and spattered with a bit of black, also added to the background. I love that thanks to the text stamp this card can be for encouragement or a birthday and is gender neutral.

I assembled it thanks to the great prompt and lovely samples at Freshly Made Sketches

and Time Out Challenges. 

I am happily going to get on with my day now. Some cooking prep and a pile of laundry await. Hope your day is wonderful!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

The Greetery - Cotton Comfort

Hello friends! I hope your day is going very well.  I've not felt well the past few days but time in the craft room sure helps. So do new stamps and I'll bet you've noticed the fun I'm having with my new sets. The "Cotton Comfort" set is one of my favorites. Here's my first card made with it.

I blended a background with DOX inks in Aged Mahogany and Tea Dye, adding a bit of Melon Berry (PTI) and a few spatters. I love the softness of these colors to add subtle contrast to the pale grays and browns in the cotton stems. They were stamped in layers and die cut. Keeping the card simple in style I added one frame and a sentiment on white card stock. Both are on foam pieces for added dimension.

The sentiments in this set are perfect for many occasions. I especially love this one for a sympathy card. 
I also found a new challenge that inspired my card at Inspire.Create.










Hope you're glad you came by! I sure am. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: The Greetery - Cotton Comforts and the dies

Paper: Strathmore Bristol Smooth 

INK: SU - Early Expresso (sentiment); for the cotton - WPlus9 - Warm Wool, Fairy Dust, Coconut Husk and (SU) - Smoky Slate

Accessories: PTI - Pierced Feature Frame Dies: Rectangles; 

The Greetery - Bountiful Wreath

Hi everyone!
I've been inking up the beautiful Bountiful Wreath set designed by Betsy Veldman and available in her new store, The Greetery. The gorgeous designs for summer and fall have really kicked my mojo into gear! 

I love wheat for fall! The variety of wheat and greens, mushrooms and berries suggest a wholesome goodness. Inking the wreath in layers was made much easier by the wonderful acetate template that Betsy is now providing with her layered sets. I added details and some shading to the stamped images with my colored pencils. 

The wreath is die cut and raised. For the area inside the wreath I used the Knit Wits stencil (The Greetery) with Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment is stamped in brown.

For sparkle and shine, I used clear drops from Nuvo on the berries although they took on the light red shade of the ink. I cannot get enough of the Nuvo Crystal Gems. I want to add them to everything. On the closeup the lower two gems give you an idea of how they shine, it's almost like rainbow colors!

I had created this wreath previously, but decided it fits in very well to the challenge this week at Color Throwdown. I added the Garden Green panel and a yellow ribbon.

Thanks so much for visiting today. I hope your day is filled with goodness!

Copic Coloring and a Doodle Doodle Doo

Something new, something old and a doodle doodle doo! 

The song "Bushel and a Peck" is old, but it's still one of my favorites! My grand baby was tickled to laughter when I sang this for her recently with all the doodle oodle oodles!

The stamp set from Honey Bee (of the same name) is new to me - of course I just had to have it! I had fun with some Copic coloring of a stamped background full of apples and leaf images from the set.

I stamped hearts and black dots to fill in the small spaces, adding Crystal Effects to make the die cut sentiment and tiny heart shine. 

I was inspired by CAS(E) This Sketch and will also enter again at Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It challenge.  

Hope you have a fabulous day. Thanks for visiting! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Emboss Resist with a Twist

Hi, welcome back! 
I am honored to be joining the group at Retro Rubber Challenge as guest designer today! This challenge is to use the colors red, orange and brown for your card. Definitely put me in the mood to make a fall card.

I used the emboss resist technique with a twist. Beginning with Distress Oxide inks in Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral and Candied Apple, I blended a background onto Bristol Smooth card stock. Next the leaves were stamped and embossed with clear powder. The twist, is to use a damp brush over the inked background and blot with a paper towel to remove some of the color. This leaves a soft wash while the stamped images retain the contrast of the darker color underneath. 

The stamps from Clearly Besotted have been on my shelf for at least 4 years. I love the variety of leaf images and they are perfect for making backgrounds.  Playing at Retro Rubber has opened my eyes to new ways to use my older stamps and I am always surprised to find new color combos or techniques for using them. It's  a win - win! We hope you will play along too! Give those older stamps a chance to shine again.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Leafy Accents, PTI - Colorpop Autumn MIM sentiment die 

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Bristol Smooth, DSP from my stash, Gold foil

INK: WPlus9 - Coconut Husk, Gala Red, Versamark

Accessories: Bold Banner Die, gold cord