Happy Hello

A happy hello crafty friends! It's a lovely weekend and it's fun for me to begin it by sharing a new card. I no longer have any Halloween stamps, but you know the colors of orange and purple can be good for a fall floral. That's just the creative mood I was in. 

 I love messing with inks, embossing folders and sandpaper. That's a good summary of how I created the background. Sponging and blending the colors of orange and purple came first, then I ran it through the folder. I lightly brushed sandpaper over the panel to expose the white underneath on the raised portions. 

It's not too late for daisies! Cut from white card stock, the flower centers and leaves were inked then layered with the petals. 

I'll list supplies and the challenges I'm participating in below. Thanks so much for your visit today, I hope your day will be rich with beauty. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Freshly Made Sketches
NBUS  the embossing folder and daisy stem die are new

Supplies: 

SSS - Margot Tile Embossing Folder, Jaunty Sunflower, 

Etched Layered Daisy Stems

Altenew - Soft Blossoms stamps

Inks - Distress Oxides Carved Pumpkin, Wilted Violet, Dried Marigold

Magical Christmas

Happy day to you!   

Making that first Christmas card for the coming season is magical! Also magical is the Flourish Bear die (SSS) that has been in my stash for months, just waiting for his moment to shine. 

It's time for a new challenge at Tic Tac Toe for Team X, and I had the fun of creating the board as your host.  

I began with a top folded square card. Next I created the home base panel from white card stock and blended inks in shades of blue, aqua and violet. Two more squares were added, one of turquoise glitter paper, and the other of deep navy card stock. The Radiant Burst Wafer Die (SSS) seems like a star that the bear is gazing at. I added one gem in the center and another on the bear's flower. 

Details were added to the bear with gel pens and a marker. 

I chose the middle row across, Animal, Glitter, and Square Card. It will be wonderful to see what you choose to use on your card! I gave some fall-ish choices and for fun the polka dots or stamped silhouette. Please be sure to see the fabulous samples of the team and the ones that we hope you will be adding to our gallery HERE.  

I am so glad you've stopped by! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: the sentiment is from Penny Black stamps Sleigh Ride
Inks:  from Altenew -  Aqualicious, and Distress Oxides in Chipped Sapphire and Wilted Violet

Blessed Beyond Measure

 Fall is such a season of blessings! Each day of my favorite season is bringing more delights! Today the pumpkins return in a clean and simple design. 

Again, I used the 3D Pumpkin Wreath embossing folder (SSS) and added it's rich texture to kraft card stock. A light sponging of white craft ink highlights the wreath design. 

I embossed the same design on orange card stock, die cut the gourd and positioned it over the wreath for the focal point. 

I really love this wreath, and I think it too will become a favorite! 

I'm playing with the CAS theme chosen by lovely Stef at The Paper Players.  Making this was so much fun!  Time Out Challenges where they have an inspirational photo; ATG at Word Art Wednesday.

Inspiration Station Challenge has this cute prompt. 

May your day bring to mind some of your favorite things and a few smiles. It's been great spending this bit of time together!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 

Simon Says stamp - Pumpkin Wreath EF, Harvest Heirloom Wafer Dies

the sentiment is from Penny Black - Blessings Builder

Inking the Pumpkin Wreath

 Hi everyone! I hope you're having a lovely fall weekend. This has been a wonderful Carolina day here with cooler weather and sunshine. I still have pumpkins on my mind and today was a fun play inking up the SSS Pumpkin Wreath for a monochromatic card.

I began with a panel of burnt orange card stock and embossed with the Pumpkin Wreath folder. The design - by itself - was beautiful! Adding inking began with Carved Pumpkin Distress Oxide on the pumpkins, using a small brush and repeated inking so the lighter color would show on the darker card stock. More colors were added for the leaves in Dried Marigold, Rusty Hinge and Aged Mahogany. The berries were lightly tinged with white craft ink. 

With Walnut Stain, the corners and edges of the panel were brushed for even more contrast. 

Next came the gold splatters. Maybe I got carried away. But then I usually do when it comes to splatters! unfortunately, they show up in the photo looking white. I gold embossed the sentiment from the Greetery on a white die cut. 

I do miss the brighter colors I like to use. Although the colors are darker than I prefer, I enjoyed trying for a more elegant look with the contrasting monochromatic shades. 

Thanks so much for your visit today. I always enjoy hearing from you and I'm sending hugs your way. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges:
Freshly Made
NBUS - the EF is new 

Hey There Panda!

 Hello how are things going for you?

I had a lovely bit of craft time this morning. It felt so good to play around with older supplies as I was challenged to create using Ann's theme at the Paper Players of Nature's Landscape. Forest, mountains, lake, desert or sea?

How about a bamboo forest?

This cuddly panda is an oldie but goodie that seemed just right. One of my grands will probably enjoy this card sometime. I hope you enjoy it too!  

I appreciate your visit so much. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Yeah, I know it's only Thursday, but hey! I'm retired and tomorrow has some fun things planned so I have weekend mentality. Every day. Take care!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Joining  The Paper Players and Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Patterned Paper. 

Supplies: Altenew - Roaming Pandas stamps and dies, Bamboo Branches EF and stencils

Distress inks. 

Postal Dies are from The Greetery

 

Autumn Leaf Frame

 Dear crafty friends, I don't know where this week has gone and how in the world it has gotten to be October already, but, well, here we are! 

I promised a week of pumpkins from the craft room and honestly, I didn't keep up with that promise, unless you count the pumpkin baked oatmeal I cooked and ate all week! With gorgeous weather outside, crafting time has become more scarce, but I have two cards to share today. 

First up is a simple card showing a fall City scene using these lovely papers from La La Land Crafts. This is alas!, the last full sheet. I used the Autumn Leaf Wafer Die Frame (SSS) which includes pretty leaf outlines and a frame in 3 different layers. 

I cut the inner frame from Gold mirror card stock, and assembled it together with the white frame. I didn't want to cover the paper, so I backed the frame with vellum and added a bit of light orange card stock as an inlay in one leaf. 

This provided just a bit of solid color as well as giving me a place to add glue for adhering it to the card. I layered gold and white in the cuts from the Hello die. Bronze colored pearls add just a bit of pizzazz to the scene. 

The next card uses the same Autumn Leaf die, but this time without the leaves, I'm using the outer two layers of the frame. Isn't that detail pretty? 

 

The Thanks, Hello, and Hugs are included with the die set. And here you have the pumpkins! The base layer and pumpkin images  (SSS - Stitched Pumpkins) were cut of colored card stock and shaded with sponged ink. 

It feels good having had this time together, I appreciate your visit!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I am entering this at:
NBUS - The Leaf Die is new! Can you believe it's Darnell's 91st challenge!
and SSS Wednesday Challenge - ATG using LaLa Land crafts

Loving plaids for autumn!

Hello friends!  It's time for a new Challenge at Tic Tac Toe and Betty has some wonderful options for us for this go round. 

Oh yes please, plaid it is for me! I tried my new SSS Stripes and Plaid Builder Stencils and made my own plaid for today's card. Have a look.  

I chose Distress Oxide inks to create the plaid in Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Barn Door, and Mahogany. A skinny strip over the colors is White craft ink. This was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again! 

The middle row across is what I went with: Plaid, FREE, Foliage but I also included Orange, Die Cuts, and Embossing.  The leaves (Penny Black) were die cut of card stock and smooshed to include additional hues. The embossed sentiment (Gina K) was placed atop a tag embellished with a twine bow. 

I can't wait to see what you will make! Thanks for your visit, and be sure to check the great samples Team X has for you. Mostly we want you to have fun!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Loving Pumpkins!

Hi! I'm happy to welcome you to my blog today, it's the first day of fall and I'm enjoying a cool day here in the southeast. Yaay! Time to bring out new fall goodies.  I'm loving pumpkins and I'm declaring it pumpkins week in the craft room. Here's a card for you! 

This great pumpkin is made from the Layered Pumpkin Wafer Die by Simon Says Stamp. I mean GREAT, it is really big! I love the layers and added inking and stenciled patterns to individual pieces to give it even more texture. Also featured is the new Opulent HAPPY Wafer Die from SSS as well. The leaves and Thanksgiving sentiment are from other bits of craft room finds. I experimented a lot for the pumpkin pieces; sorry there aren't more details. My desk was covered with card stock, inks and stencils. 

Some challenges I'm entering: 
NBUS - the pumpkin and Happy dies are new!
Just Us Girls - have a mood board, I was inspired by the pumpkins

Happy crafting, make it a GREAT day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

JOY for Today

 Hi there on a Friday, hope you are doing well. I got a head start on some crafting and I have a card to share using mostly new supplies.  You know, I like mental challenges. Crossword puzzles and board games are fun. You won't be surprised that my favorite and best mental challenges come from -you guessed it- card challenges. 

My clues for today came from Freshly Made  Sketches challenge! 

Choosing papers was the easy part, I loved using the Washi Paper again (La La Land Crafts). Soft inking provides a bit of color on the die cuts of Serene Blooms (SSS), which have such lovely texture! I added a strip of gold mirror card stock  above the paper and die cut gold leaves.

The sentiment was stamped and hand cut, and added in keeping with the sketch. I really love the sentiments included with the new-to-me Today and Everyday Stamps (SSS.)

The sketch helped me come up with a card I never would have thought of. And I really like it! 

I'm adding this also the the SSS Wednesday Challenge - Clean and Simple. and Love Those Pretty Papers - Fall. 

I will be off now for weekend things. Probably taking the last chance to cool off in the pool. Hoping you've enjoyed your visit! I will see you again soon. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Inks used: Altenew -  Heartbeat, and Distress Oxide - Antique Linen and Rusty Hinge

Garden Pail Florals for Fall

 Hello crafty friends, welcome to a new week! The 90-degree temps outside scream summer, but in my craft space we are definitely in fall mode. 

I have a set of wonderful new dies that I've used for today's card. The Garden Pail Florals from Memory Box were a recent "win" from SSS and I couldn't wait to create with them! 

The flowers are so versatile and easy to arrange, I see them being used in lots of different ways on future cards. 

I die cut the florals and greenery with white card stock, and colored them by inking. I wanted again, that soft peachy look, and achieved it with DXO inks in Dried Marigold and just a bit of Abandoned Coral. 

For the pail, I used woodgrain paper from my stash, but added more of the grainy stripes using a stamp for a more rustic look. Recently I bought some brads and decided they were in keeping with the theme. They were added to the sentiment. 

Again, I am happily playing along with the challenges at: 
Tic Tac Toe - vertical row left: Woodgrain, Ink Blending, Metal Embellishment - thanks to Jolanda  for these great ideas!
NBUS - the memory Box dies are new
Just Us Girls - their BOLD challenge includes BOLD backgrounds so      I'm hoping this contrasting BG qualifies 
A Cut Above ATG

Thanks so very much for your visit, as always, I so appreciate you taking the time to come by. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Gifts of Fall

 It's been a low key Saturday and I've had some crafty fun with assorted elements for fall. I'm here to share! 

I've assembled lots of my old and new fall supplies in a box nearby, so hopefully I create with many of them before the next season and Christmas card making is in full swing. 

For today's card, I began with the sketch from Freshly Made. Choosing soft peach card stock, I made the triple panel from the sketch by using two colors and the same embossing folder. The large leaf as the focal point works well, and is backed with a vellum circle. I wish the photo could show the maple leaf's true color - more pink than orange. I had trouble getting a good picture!

I added a few small leaf dies and softly inked the edges. A  rose gold embossed sentiment and liquid pearls are the simple embellishments. 

Hope you have a great day and enjoy the gifts it brings you. Thanks for your visit! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!     

Supplies:
cards stocks are from Spellbinders and Concord & 9
EF - Penny Black, Variegated
The large leaf - The Greetery, small leaves are from C9 Leafy Layers Die
Sentiment is Altenew - Build A Garden Elegant Tulips

Also added to:
SSS Wednesday Challenge  - add texture
The Four Season Challenge 
TicTacToe Challenge 
I chose the middle row: Ink blending ( on the small leaves), free, leaves

Dainty Daisies and Golden Moments

 Greeting you on this fall-ish day with a warm hello! I began wanting to use the Dainty Daisies stamps and dies (Penny Black) for today's card and I envisioned a simple clean card on a white base. As you can see, that is NOT what happened! The Double D asks for vases or pitchers for their challenge and that is what changed everything!

Finally deciding upon the vase I brought in the papers from Golden Moments (PB) to cut it out and then continued with a rusty/gold subtle pattern for the card front. I would not give up on using a vase even though I really didn't have one. Call me stubborn - or let's say tenacious! Altenew's Elegant Tulips supplied the vase and sentiment.

I do really like the daisies and especially the pretty border stamps with this set. Also available from Penny Black is a lovely vase in the perfect style and proportions. Maybe I did need it, laughing now. I did need and enjoyed a good challenge.

Thanks so much, it's been good to see you today! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I will be entering the challenges at:
Double D - Vases or Pitchers
NBUS - first time using the Daisies
Four Seasons - Fall
A Cut Above
Penny Black Saturday Challenge 

Sweet Chickadees

 Hey, isn't it great that September is here! It's one of my favorite months of the year. This morning I sat and listened as the birds were singing on the patio and splashing in the water from the sprinkler. I love birds almost as much as I love stamping. 

Finding a new embossing folder that comes with a die to cut the chickadees was intriguing and here you can see the result! 

I used Hammermill white card stock, and ran it through with the EF. Then using a damp brush and my watercolor paints I washed in a pale blue background around the leaves and branches. After letting it dry, the next step involved watercoloring the leaf images and branches, carefully. Lastly, the chickadees were die cut, then embossed, then colored with my colored pencils. I also used those to add details to the leaves. Popping up the birds adds dimension, and the texture of the embossing is so nice! 

I added Nuvo drops in black to accent the eyes, a banner with pearls and a birthday wish. 

Today is a special day! The birthday cake is in the oven. The family is gathering later. Life is good! Wishing you smiles and happy thoughts today!

I will enter this to:
The Paper Players Challenge, using Texture, Free and Things that Fly

NBUS - love the new EF and dies!
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 
Simon Says Stamp - Chickadee Gathering Embossing Folder and Die
Card Stock from Spellbinders
Banner and Greeting - The Greetery

My Cup of Tea

 Hi, happy Friday to you, hope all is going well! I had a lot going on yesterday, I was preparing a meal to take to a friend who recently lost her husband, and in between cooking I puttered around with a few leftover bits in my craft room for today's card. No stamping, just paper and dies!

As I mulled over Michele's new design for Freshly Made Sketches, I remembered a floral image that I had already prepared with white over embossing and decided to make it into a pretty tea cup.

 The story proceeded from there!  I pulled out those pretty new papers in my hoard and was pleased to find this pattern with the same type of flower as those on the cup. AHA! 

You know my cup of tea always perks me up, so why not feature it on a get well card? Hope you have a great weekend, friends! Wish we could sit awhile over a cup of tea, what a nice visit that would be, especially with cooler weather we've been having. Be back soon. 
Supplies listed below, mostly oldies, I'm happy to say. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Sharing this at:
Freshly Made Sketches
Love Those Pretty Papers
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Waffle Flower

Supplies: 

Card stock from SSS - I Want It All Card Stock    (Moon flower) 
DSP - La La Lands Crafts, Washi Paper
Dies: Frantic Stamper - Get Well Wishes; The Greetery - Cozy Cup Coastal Die; Waffle Flower Tea Cup Die
EF - Altenew - Piped Floral Lace