A Sketch for the Paper Players

Hello friends! I'm back with a quick post today. I wanted to watercolor so I pulled out the images from this older set called "Just Breathe" from WPlus9. I love the image of the bird perched on the pretty peony that you see as my focal point. For this card, I created a background panel by randomly stamping only the flowers and leaves onto watercolor paper.

I stamped with Memento Toffee Crunch ink, and used Distress ink re-inkers to watercolor. I left this as a work in progress for a day or two. Then, inspired to join The Paper Players Sketch Challenge, I cut my panel in half and layered the focal image on the All-in-One Hexagon Die (Penny Black.)   

 Here's the sketch I followed. I really like the way cutting the panel worked out.

That's it for me today! Hope your day is going well. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

Simple Joy

Hello, happy National Dog Day!  I didn't have a clue about that when I made this card featuring a super cute canine and a sentiment that I really like! Over the weekend I brought out a mixed bag of supplies and just played for fun. 

Rummaging through my background stamps I found one from Tim Holtz that is all sentiments, many are out of the ordinary. It's called Tiny Texts and I thought this one was perfect for this image. Ignoring the cake or card that looks birthday-ish, I love that this pooch has prepared a perfect cup of tea and has flowers and fixings to enjoy his day. 

Sipping my cup of tea is an ordinary joy that I savor every morning with thanks for a new day. I love the smile on this little guy. Wish I was so cute! (early in the morning...) The pup image is fussy cut from the Good Times set (Penny Black).

Paper scraps, enamel drops, and simple coloring with Zig markers. 

Makes me happy today. What is your ordinary joy? Thank you for stopping by! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 
Little Red Wagon - Circle of Life
Penny Black Saturday Challenge -  ATG, Embossing (the black circle is dry embossed but the photo doesn't show it. )
Neglected Stuff Challenge - I haven't used my ZIGs to color for a long time!
Krafty Chicks - Clean and Simple

Tweet-est Friend!

 A new day and a new month and I am GLAD! Hopefully our high heat and stormy afternoons will give way to more pleasant weather soon.  In the meantime, while I had all the Tweet Friend supplies out, I gave it another go. Hope you enjoy my shaker card. You know I love them! 

I love the versatility of the sentiments and being able to die cut them and mix the smaller phrases in is a plus. I think the mailbox will be what I grab for often, but the flowers are pretty in their own right and the bird bath is great for any season. 

Copics were used for coloring and the stencil (Gina K Cropped Circles) was sponged over with Ranger inks on two corners. I'm happy these two feathered friends are having a bit of fun in the sun! 

No challenges today, just a quick share! Thanks for coming by!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Bunny Birthday

I for one don't think bunnies just come out for Easter, so I hope you don't mind me popping in with a bright one for today's card.  It seems that I've had bunnies on my back porch along with the birds that are busy at the feeders. My talented blog friend Leslie has been inspiring with her bunny posts this month and I ordered a fun new die she used so that I could make my own. 

It has some fiddly pieces to get the folksy inlays, but I think it turned out cute! Someone special had a birthday wish for a bunny, so this card is for her! I think the real animal will arrive soon, I can't wait to see it! 

I hope that you've enjoyed this quick post. I've listed some supplies for you below, and entered the Wednesday Challenge Bright & Cheerful at Simon Says Stamp. Have a great day! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 
Die:  Cottage Cutz - Folk Art Rabbit
Sentiment die: Whimsy Stamps
DSP - Stampin' Up!, Scrapbook.com - SHERBET smooth card stock
White Nuvo drops for the bunny tail 

Birthday Wishes

 Another card today ready for my birthday card stash.  I pulled out die sets for this bird and spring blooms from W+9 that I've had for over 2 years but had never used yet! 

I really like the details on the bird die. It will be fun to change the colors of the layers.

The scallops and stitching on the oval die (from Penny Black) and a few pearls are the only embellishments. 

Thanks so much for your visit today! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm adding this to the following: 

NBUS #72 never-been-used-schtuff is my frequent fav challenge!
Seize the Birthday - anything that flies

Addicted to Stamps & More - Birthday
Krafty Chicks Challenge - Clean and Simple

Have a Nice One!

I felt like making a simple card to add to my birthday stash, I'm happy to share it with you.

This happy guy hauling a load of presents is from Penny Black stamps, called Nice One! I was pleased to find this panel with the image stamped and colored just waiting to be made into a card. The challenge at The Paper Players asks for a clean and simple card using only ONE stamped image. This one fits the parameters and I'm glad to be motivated to addd a bit of DSP and a couple of sentiments to finish it. Sending the same greeting to you - hoping today is a nice one for you! Thanks for your visit. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm entering this at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge also. 

I did a little bit of stamping.....

 Hi Friends! While waiting for the big game on Sunday and staying inside for a couple days of rain, I did a little bit of stamping. Nothing big to share, but here I am again. 

I made three cards that are a CASE of Jill's cards using Sketch #1 Just Frame It. I've been so loving her sketches, especially those shared in January and I wanted to try her system of doing three cards using her batch method. Die cut all three cards first, then stamp and color, lastly add sentiments then assemble. A few more Valentine's are on their way! 

Have a look. 

I learned something. 1. This sweet sketch involves an image in a frame. In this instance, using the frame I had on hand wasn't the best option as it covered up much of the embossed detail. 2. While making three cards at once worked well, I didn't love them  I think using the Penny Black frame (HERE) is much better proportioned and the best choice for this sketch.  3. Ordering is easy! New PB frame dies are on the way to me. I hope you won't mind seeing me use this sketch again, lol!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'm adding this to A Cut Above (using dies),  Double D challenge, asking for hearts and Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

On Your Birthday for Color Hues #91

 It's time for new hues at The Color Hues #91 Challenge.  Our dear Stef has chosen Pink and Brown for this fortnight. Let us see what these colors inspire you to create! 

I'm using some never-been-used Penny Black products to create a birthday card in warm shades of pink and brown. 

Starting with the LOVE Immense Die, I cut two layers out of water color card stock and brushed color on the top layer with Distress ink re-inkers. I colored the bear the same way, the image and the sentiments are from PB Have A Nice One transparent stamp set. After dry embossing white card stock with the Dashed Design EF, I sponged Tea Dye and Vintage Photo DOX inks to add color. The flower is from the Petals metal dies. I felt it needed just a bit more, so I added shimmer to the flower with spray.

I enjoyed keeping the pieces of this card on my desk, and doing just a bit of work on it over several days. That's a fun way for me to play! 

I hope you enjoyed the post, please have a look at the fab samples from my team! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm entering the NBUS Challenge today. 

Cuteness advisory! Penny Black

 Hello crafty friends, it's been a hot minute since I've posted. The busy-ness of June is now behind me, and it was a wonderful wonderful time! Now that we're back and settled into more of a routine we've been hit with the heat advisory. I'm really happy to have had ample  time while I stay cool inside to play at stamping. 

That has included watching these terrific videos from Jill Foster for her new card class series, Permission to Play. This time her videos suggest sketches to make simple cards and they are filled with ideas and the sweetest cards! I highly recommend checking them out!

I'm showing you three cards from the day one sketch. 

For each card, I stamped images on watercolor paper, and colored with Distress re-inkers. 

The next card is my favorite, I just love the Cuteness stamps! 

Lastly, these mice got a bit carried away....

Jill says so often not to compare your cards with others, and that's its OK to make simple cards, or to reuse your fav sketches. I need that reminder.  I've had so much fun doing just that. I hope you enjoyed seeing them! Thanks for taking the time to come by! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supply lists: 
Make a Wish - Time to Celebrate 30 - 414; Critter Party 30 - 013

Love and hugs- Cuteness; Delightful Day

Happy - Critter Party 30 - 013; Smiles and Sprinkles

Embossing Fun for a Sweet Birthday

 Hello every one! I hope that your long weekend was fabulous. We had lots of rain and no plans but to relax a bit. For me that meant catching up on some photo edits and blog posts. Popping in for a quick share today of a sweet card for another granddaughter birthday.

Did you know that Jennifer and Kristina gave a new card class recently on Embossing folders? It was informative, and so fun to pull those folders out to play. 

For this card, I used a 'diffuser' so that I could leave an area without embossing for my images. I've had it forever but never used it. The stamps are also new. These adorable bunnies are from Penny Black transparent set called "Cuteness."

After embossing the outer part of the panel, I stamped the focal point  in the off-center circle and colored with Copics very simply. Then, I used masking to ink the embossed part, using light blended strokes. I was going for a pastel look but got a bit too heavy handed in the top left corner. I know my sweetie will not mind. She's two! 

I loved using this technique and will try it again soon as it makes it easy to dress up a one layer card. 

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: PB Carefree wishes, Dashed Design EF, Distress Oxide inks

Playing in these challenges:

PBSC Penny Black Saturday Challenge 

NBUS 

Color Hues Challenge #86

 Here we go on this happy first day of May with a new challenge at Color Hues!  Our duo of Lilac and Lime comes from Julie, and we want you to play along with this sweet pairing. 

I have a sweet little grand with a birthday coming up, so I came up with a card for her. She loves pandas!

I found this set from Altenew (Roaming Pandas) that's been around awhile. I thought it would make great guy cards. Instead, I loved putting a girly twist on it for her, have a look!  

The Immense LOVE die from Penny Black makes a great spot for this big guy to sit. I rummaged through my stash to find a hat and also die cut a heart for the birthday theme. 

Please be sure to check the inspiration found at the challenge blog. We'd love to have you play along! Thanks for taking the time to visit me today. I always appreciate you stopping by. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Other supplies: card stock is from Concord & 9th, the EF and sentiment are from PB.  

Do you love your four-legged friends?

 Hello! Thanks for stopping in for a visit today. For those in the US, it's a day to take a break from our labors. That's a great reason for me to spend time in the craft room. I appreciate that you spend a bit of your valuable time here on my blog. I am grateful for every one of you! 

I do love my four-legged friends. We are without a dog now, but I hug lots of other people's dogs! We also have deer that come by our back yard every day to enjoy. The Paper Players asked for us to play along with the theme of four-legged friends this week and I did just that. 

I have quite a few new sets from Penny Back that I bought to encourage myself in two ways. First, I want to practice my watercolor skills with paints, and they have so many pretty and cute (like this bear!) line art images. I will practice, and practice some more! 

I stamped the image with Warm Wool ink (WPlus9). This is my favorite ink for a soft outline that looks black. I stamped onto Canson Water color paper, and used Distress re-inkers to color, adding some sponging for the sky, and a few details with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. I did a bit of masking when adding the sky. 

Secondly, I want to try to simplify my stamping processes. I can stamp images in batches, and color them when I have a short span of time, not needing to complete a card in one sitting. I'd LIKE to go more to a clean and simple style, but we will need to wait and see if that happens! 

Entering these challenges:

The Paper Players 

NBUS  Critter Crazy Challenge SSSWednesday Challenge  AAA Birthday - animals and 
PBS Saturday Challenge 

That's it from me for now, have a wonderful day! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft!
                 Make something beautiful!  

Penny Black supplies used: Stamp - Showered in love, includes sentiment; Background Basics stencils

Bring Joy

 Hello, and welcome to a new day! It makes me smile to know you're stopping by.

I saw the fabulous samples at The Paper Players and was inspired to play along! It's been awhile since I've made a slimline card, I had fun creating this one. 

I stamped the bear image in black ink and added clear embossing powder. Using my zigs I added color and fussy cut her out. To create the scene, I lightly sponged blue ink over a clouds stencil and used die cuts to add borders of green grass and stitched clouds. 

The Players featured a tic-tac-toe board. I followed the diagonal row: flowers, die cuts, slimline. Wishing you a wonderful day. Until next time! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The stamps I used are: Meadow 40-900, Happy Builder 40-474, Bring Joy 30-978 

Adding this also to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge 

A Card Makeover

 Hello friends, I hope things are going well for you. I'm continuing to stamp during this heat wave and I'm enjoying a bit of a lull of summer activities. 

Do you ever lay awake at night thinking of all the things you didn't like about a card you made that day? Well it doesn't happen often, thankfully I am a very good sleeper! But yesterday's card (see it HERE) had some definite issues. Not a detailed focal point, and too busy with the papers I used.  I felt it was out of balance.

Here's the re-make! 

I took the same sketch and arranged the papers differently. Even though I like the largest panel of paper best, it really works much better in the background. I pulled out a bear who is happily relaxing and colored him with Copics to be used for my focal point. This time the sentiment was cut right out of the patterned paper. I backed it with card stock and foam tape for a bit of dimension.

What do you think of my card makeover? I'll be entering this again as take 2 at The Paper Players.  My stamps are from Penny Black, Special Day.

Thanks for stopping by! 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

YOU Bring me Joy

 I hope you're doing well and surviving the heat wave. I'm cooling off again in the craft room before heading off to a barbecue this afternoon with friends. It will be 95!  

I haven't really been into rainbows, but I saw the idea of a rainbow made like gingham, so I gave it a try! I used a stencil from CCC and various inks to create a panel on white card stock.  The inks are  a bit more saturated than I would like, the small cubes were juicy! The small cubes were easiest to work with. 

I loved this bear and used an oval die to cut him out after coloring with Zigs. Penny Black stamps has inspired me to buy quite a few of their dies and sentiments that go together, and you will be seeing more of them! 

I realized as I was posting that this is close to the sketch at Freshly Made, so I am joining the challenge! I'm also playing at Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge. 

Hope you have a wonderful day and some joy coming your way. Thanks so very much for your visit! 

Songbirds Make my Heart Sing

 Hey there, friends! It's nearly the end of the week, and soon will be the end of the month, and I've been mostly MIA. I'm here today to fix that! 
I've pulled out a new-to-me stamp set, and was inspired to join a card challenge I've just discovered called Triple B: Birds, Blooms, and Butterflies! Use one or all three in your cards.
I spent a few tries with mediums to color the bird, but liked this one best using Copic markers and made it into a card. 

What I love about this Songbird stamp set (Concord & 9th) is that the bird on the tree branch is a separate stamp, and there are images to add to the branches for each season of the year. I used the flowers and buds for a spring scene. Deciding it needed some texture, I added the border of stitching, and a bit of color randomly dotted with a stencil. A few flat sequins and two butterfly die cuts complete the card. 
Thanks so much for joining me today and taking a peek at this creation! It's been nice sharing a bit of time together, let's do it again soon!  

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Card Supplies: Concord & 9th - Songbird Stamp Set. Lawnfawn - Just Stitching Double Rectangles. Tim Holtz - stencil. Sequins are from The Cat's Pajamas. Stampin' Up! - butterfly dies. 

NBUS Challenge #50 using a new stamp set

and Triple B Birds, Blooms & Butterflies has a lovely mood board. I used all three B's on my card. 

God Will Take Care of You

I've been loving the challenge at The Card Concept this month, where they inspire you with a photo prompt or two, provide fabulous samples from the DT and feature several card making styles. You know I love to change my style up. I'm here to share my clean and layered card! 

Actually, I made two. Once I pulled out the beautiful Masterpieces from Penny Black Stamps, it was easy! 

These are pre-printed designs on lovely linen paper. I combined them with kraft card stock, pretty papers and encouraging faith-filled sentiments. 

For the second card, I embossed lines of stitching for a unique accent. 

I was inspired by the chalkboard, colors and winter snow theme of the photo. 

Sometimes simple is really the best! The stamps I used are from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps. Birds are another thing that I love so I will use this set often.

I hope that you will have a great weekend, friends. No snow in my woods, but we do have plenty of birds! Enjoy the last days of January and be blessed. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm adding this to:

Saturday Challenge Penny Black

Wednesday Challenge at SSS