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! 

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!  

Coastal Escape

 Hey there! I realized that a week had gone by without a post so I'm here to rectify that! I had a bit of time to pull out another not used yet set to make this card before summer is over. Here's the beach scene!

I've been doing some watercolor landscapes, and this scene began with a scrap I'd painted practicing clouds. . 

Blended inks were used to color the pretty cuts from Spellbinders Coastal Escape View Etched dies, providing the palm trees, waves and shells. For embellishments, I added pearls, a twine bow, and white Nuvo drops to accent the portholes. I cut those with gold card stock here's a closer look. 

I am so glad you made time to visit today. Wishing you sunshine and smiles!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

For challenges, I'm joining Tic Tac Toe  where I chose: Beach, Blue and Ink Blending

and the challenge at NBUS where I'm using Spellbinders dies and Sending Sunshine Sentiments stamps. 

Happy Summer to you

 Hello crafty friends! I'm stopping in to post a quick share on this hot summer day. It's good to be back after a busy holiday week. I have another week busy with family visiting and there's nothing I'd rather do than spend time with loved ones. 

The first card I posted (HERE) using the Eclectic Garden dies (Concord & 9th) was a CASE. Today's card is my original design.

Instead of die cutting the florals from colored card stock, I used white and sponged on color using Distress Inks to create a softer look. I will really enjoy using these florals.

An embossed layer was also inked lightly for the background. The sentiment is formed by the Happy Edger Die and the text from Penny Black. It makes a bold statement. Finishing the card off only needed a few pearls for embellishment. 

 I'm playing in the Tic Tac Toe challenge using the left vertical row: Foliage, Layers, Flowers, or the middle horizontal row: Layers, Free, Summer Colors. I really love the options in the grid challenges!

Also adding to SSS Weekly challenge: Sending Flowers

That's all for today! I'll keep staying cool. Take care. See you soon. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Gentle Thoughts with Pinkfresh

 Hello, happy June! It sure has been a while since my last post. I'm on again and off again with stamping as we're having gorgeous weather and quite a few activities. I did pull out the Magnificent Magnolia suite from Pinkfresh Studio and inks from Altenew for a creative session  this weekend. 

I am smitten with these gorgeous florals. I stamped in pale gray ink and used the stencils to fill in pastel shades of yellow, pink and green. The die cut bouquet is a lovely size for a focal point on a card. I layered foam tape behind it for dimension and mounted it on The Classy Frames die from Penny Black. For the card base I used the stand alone cut Sparkling Diamonds (PF) on C&9th card stock. Nectar. It's my favorite of their colors, although it's sure hard to pick just ONE. 

That's it for me today. I'm entering several challenges, listed below. Thanks so much for coming round to visit me!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 
NBUS where we use our new stuff!
Tic Tac Toe - I used the bottom row; Ink Blending, Floral, Sequins
 Double D - asked for Frames 
Just Us Girls - Layers
Pinkfresh Studio  - Monthly Challenge for June

The Flower Challenge - Count Your Blessings!

 Welcome to The Flower Challenge! Our theme for Challenge #95 is to use a stamped flower on your card.  So pull out those pretties and put some ink to paper! 

I've been going for the less is more vibe lately, and Penny Black's tulips from the Overflowing clear stamp (31-062) gave me a kickstart to a clean card. 

I watercolored using re-inkers from my Distress Inks. Adding TWO pearls (colored with Copic markers) seemed a good way to emphasize the "twice" in the sentiment. Am I the only one that thinks of these things?

Thanks so much for your visit today! Please come and visit us at the challenge blog where fabulous floral designs await to inspire you! 

I'm adding this to these challenges: The Penny Black Saturday Challenge,  and NBUS where I'm using the stamp and die for the first time. Time Out Challenges asks for cards of encouragement/friendship.

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Other Supplies from Penny Black:
Blessed Builder Clear set (30-996)
Berry Basket Dies (51-796)

Flowers for You at Penny Black

 Hi there friends.

 I couldn't be more delighted to share this news! I've been chosen as the monthly Guest Designer for The Penny Black Saturday Challenge,  so of course I said, "Yes!" I've been loving my Penny Black stamps and supplies, new and old. Actually, the "new" products have been multiplying quickly in my craft area, so I'm glad to use them!

You'll find their challenge to be fun as it's often 'Anything Goes' and this month the optional theme is Flowers. Who'd have thought ????

My very simple card uses the Charisma Transparent stamps and dies. With the addition of circle dies, I cut a framed window and placed the bouquet on top. Using versa mark and one of the floral stamps, I created a subtle background, topping it all off with a sentiment circle. I found it refreshing to use only one stamp set for this card. The floral image was stamped in pale gray and colored with Distress Oxide re-inkers and a brush.

I sure hope you will check out the inspiration at the challenge and play along! I'm so happy that you've visited today. Thanks so much! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Believe for Color Hues

 Greetings to you on this brand new month! On this first day of July we launch a new challenge at Color Hues, where dear Nancy asks us to use aqua and WHITE. Oh my does it ever make me scratch my head when one of our color duos is a NEUTRAL. I'm writing this post ahead of time, so I know that our designers will blow me away with their ideas for these colors. 

I decided on a die cut butterfly, a few flowers, lots of rhinestones and an upbeat sentiment. Here you go! 

I found an embossed bit of card stock in my things-ready-to-go pile. Adding a whoosh of sponged ink brought out the texture a bit. I die cut the butterfly outline from that, adding a delicate vellum die cut inside (both are from Spellbinders.). The leaves and flowers were made with Wplus9 dies, and the sentiment is from Stamp Simply. 

Because of all those gems I will hand deliver this to a friend who needs encouragement and hope she likes it! 

Please do join us to play along with the challenge! If your weather is at all like mine, it's a nice time of year to stay inside with the air conditioning!

Hope you're keeping cool.. Thanks for coming by!

Color Hues: Hope Your Day is HAPPY

 Welcome to Color Challenge #89, can you believe it? It's amazing how the months fly by and so do the color combos! Our delightful hostess Marcia has chosen sage and pink for us to use this time around. 

Pink flowers are the sweetest! I chose a pale pink and a medium pink for this floral card, along with gray greens. I tried lots of pinks to find the ones I wanted to use for stenciling. 

The above photo shows the truer hues of the blooms. The photo below shows the front details from a better angle including the gold embossed sentiment and gold Liquid Pearls accenting the stamen.

Creating this was easy and enjoyable. I'm liking to stencil more and more these days. Using the Bold Bouquet stamp and stencils from Altenew that are brand new stuff! Not yet been used. I will love trying this softly falling bouquet in other combos.

The supply list is extensive so I will add it below. Please do play along with these gorgeous hues. I will love seeing your cards in our gallery. 

I can't thank you enough for your visit today.  It means so much that you keep coming by! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Inks: Old Gold from Wplus9; Iced Spruce and Bundled Sage DOX; Concord & 9th Honeysuckle and Pink Lemonade; Altenew Rose Blush 

Card stock: Concord & 9th Ballet Slipper 

Nordic frame dies (The Greetery) 

Rose Gold Embossing powder and Liquid Pearls

The Flower Challenge #91

Hi there, crafty friends!  

Welcome to our new challenge where we ask you to color your flower or flowers on your card, using whatever medium you prefer. 

It's an easy choice for me, you know that I love adding color to line art. This time I used my Zigs markers to color this pretty sunflower from Penny Black called Pure Sunshine. 

I definitely went with the brights for these blooms, adding a scalloped- edged border. 

The sentiment is also from Penny Black, the Delightful Day set. This is one sentiment that I'll be pulling out often. 

I hope you will  check out the inspiration at the challenge blog, and play along with us this month! I'm so glad you've stopped by, make it a great day!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Showered in Love

 Hello on a Thursday evening! I couldn't resist playing in Claire's theme challenge of Rainy Days at The Paper Players and the time to join is almost up! 

The theme encouraged me to pull out the Rain Boot Bouquet Die from Spellbinders that  I've had in my new items stash and make a card. 

I also have wanted to feature the Concord and 9th Garden Party Paper Pack and was able to combine a few patterns I just love and colors for my boots. I foresee lots of uses for theses dies in many color combos for encouragement cards. The sentiment is from Penny Black. Playing at The Paper Players.

I'm so glad to have popped in with a just for fun project today. It makes me even happier that you've dropped in too. Have a great weekend!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Songbird for The Flower Challenge

Hello again, friends! 

 It's a brand new challenge at The Flower Challenge #89 and we want you to make a SQUARE card. My card uses two of my favorite things, birds, and watercolored flowers! 

The Songbird stamp set from Penny Black was stamped on watercolor card stock with black ink and I used Distress re-inkers as watercolors to color the images in this sweet scene. 

This is my favorite kind of card to make. Simple, but with soft hues. The sentiment is also PB, from the  Happy builder set. These sets include a large greeting and small lines of sentiment to complete them.  Happy thoughts is one of my favorites.

It makes me happy that you've paid me a visit today. Your comments make me smile! Hope you your day is wonderful!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm joining the following challenges: 

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Inspired By

Four Seasons Spring Challenge

Krafty Chicks Anything Goes

Allsorts Challenge

Smiles for The Flower Challenge

Welcome flower lovers! Our mid-month inspiration is up on The Flower Blog to inspire your card making in honor of our 7th birthday!

 

My card features gingham and floral prints from Honeybee Stamps. I've been holding off using them, as I wanted the luscious pattern and colors to shine. I applied strips of the floral over the gingham background, using flower dies and a sentiment from Penny Black for the focal point. Adding color to the leaves with watercolors and a damp brush, I also used Copic markers to add a bit of shading to the flower centers. I love the sense of movement these blooms give, and you will see them again! I wondered if the papers for the background made this too busy, but I went with it!

Please have a look at the DT inspiration and come play along! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

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

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! 

More Penny Black

 Hello on this Friday evening, I hope your week is wrapping up well. 

I did complete another watercolored card using the delightful bear and balloons from Penny Black, Together Forever. Did you ever waffle back and forth with different answers when you were asked what you wanted to be when you grew up?  I feel just the same when I ping pong back and forth with different stamping styles. I usually like techniques, mixed media and layers with a twist towards elegant. Right now, simple and cute is what I'm seeking to do more of. Every card doesn't need to be over the top, right? 

Being able to change styles is one of the things I love MOST about stamping! The immense YOU die (PBS) makes it easy to combine elements and sentiments. I embossed the sentiment in white on kraft card stock, using a stamp from Technique Tuesday. Another card for Penny Black Saturday Challenge. 

I'm definitely wearing my CAS hat today! Thanks for checking in. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Thinking of Blues for Color Hues

Let's say goodbye to Green and Gold and enjoy some blues at the Color Hues Challenge!  For challenge #60 Marcia has chosen Blue and Turquoise for our hues and the DT samples are amazing! 

I never quite know what inspires my stamping or how the process makes twists and turns as I go along. For this card, I began with a gorgeous embossing folder and just fiddled with adding color!

The Spring Burst 3D folder (from Spellbinders) has deeply embossed florals with detailed leaves. I began by coloring the large floral spray after it was embossed, lightly with Copic markers.  I love how the big bloom turned out, but felt the other leaves and blue vine needed more contrast, which I added with colored pencils.

The sentiment (PTI) and black mat, and a few sequins are the finishing touches.  I will continue to experiment with ways to use this pretty folder, the deep texture is fabulous. 

I hope that you've been inspired today and will join us in playing along! 

Be yourself
          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!