More Garden Flowers

 Hi! This morning I'm popping in with a few more flowers from my garden of stamps and a card for you! I gave some thought to the colors they're suggesting for us at The Paper Players new challenge. 

I decided light washes of color would work best so I began searching my stash for stamps and inks. Inking up a cling stamp with brush markers gave the result I was looking for.  I spritzed it lightly before stamping, then used a damp brush to soften some of the lines. Once I'd colored the panel, using nesting hexagon dies framed the bouquet nicely. A shaped card is a nice change for me and I like it! A few tiny gems and a bow dress it up a bit.

Challenges: The Paper Players, Penny Black Saturday Challenge

You are so kind to come and visit. We'll do it again soon! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: 
Penny Black stamp - Garden Variety Cling Stamp, Blooming Sentiments

Card Stock - Concord & 9th Lilac

Flowers for the Soul

 Hi there, friends! You can never have too many flower stamps, right? I'm back with another recent purchase from Pinkfresh made into a sweet birthday card. Truly dainty and feminine, the Flowers for the Soul set is beautifully designed by Dawn Woleslagle. 

What I love about PF dies is that they cut several groups of images with one run through the machine.  Once I die cut there were many images in various sizes to play with. I used just a few for today's card. 

I stamped the flowers and heat embossed them with gold powder. Using a rainbow of DOX ink colors and the stencils, I added color. 

For my background panel, I sponged using the same colors lightly. Then embossed with a folder for added texture. Using gold designer paper and gems for the accents ties the focal point together. I used a narrow panel of white card stock. Having the sentiment hanging over the edge doesn't bother me! I wanted more of that background to show. I can't wait to make another one!

Thanks so much for your visit today! Hope this summery card brings a smile to your face. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies used:
Dies - Crimped Frame (The Greetery); Leaves - Altenew; Birthday - Buzzwords (Honeybee)
The EF is from Spellbinders
Inks: Rnager Distress Oxide - Salvaged Patina, Worn Lipstick, Cracked Pistachio, Carved Pumpkin, Fossilized Amber

I'm adding this to the Monthly Challenge at Pinkfresh 

Clean and Simple Birthday

 Well, hello friends. It's been a busy week but I did manage to create one card. On my last post (HERE) I used the Fresh Flowers Dies from Altenew to make a pastel and elegant birthday card. I wanted to show the versatility of these flowers, so I'm bringing you the clean and simple version of these dies today. 

Cutting the blooms from colored card stock and assembling them with the Immense ENJOY die from Penny Black made this quick as well as easy! The colors were chosen by the ladies at Color Throwdown who wanted to inspire an Americana vibe. There is still time to play! I'm glad to have this in my stash for a late summer birthday. 

Making it a quick post. Wishing you a fabulous weekend! 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

A Very Special Person

Hello, happy Tuesday! It's amazing how you can begin to make a card with one thing in mind and it turns out to be way beyond what you expected! Both in the making and the result. That's what happened to me this week. 

Over the weekend, I started out wanting to use a die cut flower for the JUGS challenge. What began as a simple search for the right flower, turned into looking at past classes to remember how to use the chosen flower. And then realizing that my aunt - the last remaining of my mother's family is having a 98th birthday soon. Thus, my title: A Very Special Person. Here's the card! 

Ample ink blending provided the background panel and all the colors of the flowers from Altenew's Fresh Flowers Die set. I used Fresh Dye Inks in Teal Tempest, Honeydew Melon, and Blush Rose. It's amazing how you can blend the Honeydew Melon - a greenish yellow with the teal and get a new shade of pale green. ALso used the melon to tone down the pink on the petals.

The sentiments are from the Cascading Flowers stamp set.  Embossed in gold. I tried so many different sentiments out but ended up liking this best. The big happy Birthday will be inside. 

Thanks for hanging in there with this post. I am going to leave these supplies out in a prominent place so I use them again before I forget how!  Have a great day. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

 Challenges:
Just Us Girls Die Week - flower die
Beautiful Blossoms - ATG
Triple B - Birds, Blooms and Butterflies

More with Butterfly Blooms Take 2

 Hello, happy Saturday! Spring has brought very warm weather our way, and lots of blooms! One downside for me is that I now am experiencing vertigo, probably related to allergies. Limiting my motions helps keeps the worst dizziness away, so I am making use of some of my stamping supplies. Butterfly Booms to the rescue! 

This cute and simple card was fun to make and will be flat to send. I kept trying to  add embellishments or some thing to even out the layout - is it the vertigo or just me, that thinks the balance is OFF just a bit. Ha!

I used the card kit contents from SSS in April, including the stamps, stencils and washi tape for the horizontal panel. Altenew inks provided the colors and my scissors
cut everything out. 

I hope your world is not spinning and you are steady on your feet. Thanks for your visit today!  Come back soon!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges listed:

Freshly Made Sketches

Beautiful Blossoms Anything Goes Florals

JUGS Just Us Girls Stencil Week 

More with Butterfly Blossoms

Hello friends, I hope your day is going well and your week too. 

Here are two more of the cards I made with Butterfly Blossoms. The pretty papers and vintage vibe of this kit from Simon Says Stamp make card designing a delight.  Today's cards are clean and simple. One is elegant, while the other is a bit playful. 

Using two sheets of DSP and an ornate frame works for the birthday card.  I stamped the sentiment slightly to the side. I didn't want to cover up the butterfly in the center.  Like the cards I shared yesterday (HERE in case you missed them) I cut flowers from some of the paper to use as embellishments, with pearls. 

The next card uses two frames and a sheet of DSP adorned with twine and a couple enamel accents. They were a freebie for first time subscribers to the monthly card kit. I love the bit of whimsy from the "just soar" element. 

I'm still working on cards with this set! It amazes me how much gorgeous inspiration there is for this kit online. I looked at all of it! While there is some pressure when designing with a kit to make a card that is totally unique or different from the others - the possibilities with this kit seem endless! Apart from these that I've posted, I will make four more cards that completely CASE some of the wonderful ones designed by others with what's left of my supplies.

Thanks so much for joining me today and for your kind comments. Happy crafting to you! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Butterfly Blossoms

 There's something new in the house! I've been so excited to get my April card kit from Simon Says Stamp. Many of you made the cutest cards with last month's kit that I was inspired to give this month's kit a try. It includes stamps called Butterfly Blossoms and the prettiest of papers! 

I made four cards with the supplies today, and here's a look at two of them. For my cards, I used some of the dies I've purchased recently to add unique details. 

For the first card, the patterned paper is the star. I highlighted the flowers with Nuvo drops, and added gems to butterflies fussy cut from the paper. I made paper with strips of washi tapes included along the bottom of the card. 

I really like the neutrals and soft green shades. Soothing for a sympathy card, I think. 

The second card uses collage paper which I adhered to a panel and then die cut to make the background. I love the texture, it's like tissue paper.

I used the stamps for the floral images and butterfly, which I also fussy cut. Pearls, ribbon and sparkle paste (on the butterfly!) add the finishing touches. I hope you've enjoyed my post today! It feels good to me to be back for a visit. I'll share more tomorrow! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

I'm adding this to challenges: 
One of my favorites is with Darnell, at NBUS where we use our      never been used stuff!
Addicted to Stamps & more is asking for die cuts.
                                                 

Floral Delight

 If the jonquils and birds I see out my window are telling it, spring is here in my backyard! A perfect time to bring out the pretty Floral Delight papers from Stampin' Up! I love yellow and these papers are so bright and happy. My card is simple today, featuring the pretty gingham and blooms. 

I fussy cut the blossom from the paper, added foam tape for dimension and tied it with a twine bow.  I've been inspired by these challenges today and it feels good to play!

Little Red Wagon - something tiny. (See those adorable tiny gold bees? They are part of the Floral Delight collection.) 
Seize the Birthday - No stamping (optional)
Love Those Pretty Papers
Inspired By - use gingham

Hope your day is sunny and bright. Sending you off with smiles...

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

God's Masterpiece

 Happy to be starting a new week and a new month with a card to share with you. Hi friends, welcome to my blog. 

Spring flowers are starting to pop up here and there outside, and many are flocking to blog land as challenges seek projects decorated with blooms! 

Here's one that I made. 

Using the great layout from Jill that I shared HERE, I've used this rose from the Enchantingly (Clear Stamps) for today's card. The greeting is from Penny Black as well; Inspirational Sentiments. Re-inkers are the medium for watercoloring.

Thanks for your visit!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The challenges I'm joining are: 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - use Penny Black
Try it Tuesday - embossing
Allsorts Challenge -  Clean and Simple
Penny Black Saturday Challenge  ATG

A Classic

 Hello, I'm glad you're here to visit again! If you visit often, you already know that I love card challenges. One I find easy to join is NBUS - Never Been Used Schtuff, but there's a new kid on the block; The Neglected Stuff Challenge. I have lots of both kinds of stuff.  

I was inspired to pull out two of my very first wood block stamp sets purchased from Stampin' Up! for today's card. 

I find that I'm still pleased to see these lovely, timeless images from my first year (2011) as a demo. Stamping the text background was much easier to line up using my Misty. How things have changed in the stamping world!

Simply using just stamps paper and ink felt good! Oh, and two stitched rectangle dies. I think the stamp set was called Natural Beauty. It's a keeper! It is one of the handful of wood block stamps that remain in my stash.

Check out the challenge HERE and give it a try! The goal either way is to use the stuff that we have, right? 

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Wildflower Birthday Card #2

 I hope you're doing well today. How's your crafting going? 

With our recent move, I'm totally having to re-think my crafting process as my supplies are limited and in one small closet. It goes something like this - I bring out the cutter and cut card stock. Put that away after use, and haul the Empress machine to the dining room table. Then come the dies or embossing folders. After those are put away,  some color medium and general supplies for assembling take over the table.

Can you imagine I'm getting a few steps in as I go back and forth from room to room? When the card is complete, it all goes back in the closet until next time. Of course, there are similar steps needed for the photography too!

I know, I know, it's not so bad. Not everybody has a craft room/space! One way I can streamline is to make several cards with the same supplies. So, here is card #2 using the Wildflower Birthday collection from Stampin' Up! 

Oh, how I love these pretty papers! This birthday greeting is for the dear grand who loves pink! All images are from the papers and ephemera. I stamped and embossed the sentiment from the set with gold powder. The clear gems adhered to the cake don't sparkle for the camera, but IRL they shine.

Wherever your steps take you today, I hope you can go with a smile. Sending hugs your way!  

PS. My dear man and I actually love our smaller home and simpler lifestyle. Less time is spent cleaning, lol!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful! 

Wildflower Birthday

Hello friends, it's a new week, welcome to my blog today! One of my favorite things about this hobby of card making that we love, is that you can create what you feel in the mood for and change out colors or techniques according to your whim. 

Lately I've been doing simple cards with clean watercolored images, but you know what? I've been missing playing with paper. So I got my fill of flowers and pretty papers with this card. 

Recently I  was smitten with a couple floral suites from Stampin' Up! This card was created with papers from the Wildflower Birthday Collection. Such pretty pastel peach and blues. I began by embossing white card stock with the Baroque folder from Anna Griffin, and used a die to scallop the bottom edge. The striped tag is part of the DSP, I cut it out and trimmed out the polka dotted blue strip to add vertically.

 The flowers and leaves on the tag are part of the images on the papers that can be punched out. The other panel was cut with a stitched die cut from the set. The lovely loose weave trim is so fun to work with and dressed things up. A sentiment from The Greetery and a few metallic gold pearls were  included for the final touch. That's it for me today, thanks for keeping on til the end of this post. Hope you have a great day!

I'll be linking up with NBUS - Never Been Used Stuff as the papers and die are new; and the lovely ladies at A Cut Above.

Hello, it's Color Hues #97

 Hello, I'm so glad that you've made a visit to my blog today. It's time for a new duo at Color Hues, and Julie P has chosen mustard and olive for us. 

I was inspired to pull out the Fragrant Florals supplies from Altenew, this time featuring the embossing folder and stencils. I just love these shades, I used mostly distress inks to sponge lightly on the leaves and flowers. I did keep adding layers to try to be more mustard-y. Wish the photo did them justice! 

I love the hello sentiment, it's so easy to continue on the inside with a more specific greeting. 

Hello's and goodbye's are very much on my mind these days. On a personal note, my husband and I are in the process of moving to a small home near our daughter's family. I've had to significantly pare down my overflowing craft collections(s)! You know, it's NOT just stamps paper and ink anymore but includes, dies, foils, stencils and ALL the stuff. So, instead of a craft room, I will have a craft closet.

I  may or may not be posting much after the dust settles - but I will see you again for one more challenge at Color Hues. You know you don't need an invitation to play - just make a card using these colors plus a neutral. 

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your creations! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft

               Make something beautiful!  

Purple and Orange for Color Hues #96

 Hi friends, whoa, how has it gotten to be October?  Yikes! Please don't tell me how many days there are until Christmas, lol! You may be getting ready for Halloween, and if so, this challenge is for you! Julie is asking for purple and orange for this month's Color Hues Challenge and I'm sure the gallery will be full of inspiration!

We are delighted to have Trina Pham and Stephanie Lanzalotto as our special guests. Please welcome them!

I took a bold leap with these colors using the Blossom of Life dies from Altenew. I wasn't sure I would like it, but I think the result surprised me. These pretty dies are huge! I used a couple shades of orange card stock, one of purple and a final black layer. The white dots are Nuvo drops.

We are all hoping that you will join the fun and play along at Color Hues! I can't wait to see what you will make.

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The Flower Challenge #95 Reminder

 Hello crafty friends! Have you checked out the inspiration from The Flower Challenge #95? Here I am back with a reminder and I hope it will encourage you to join in this easy going challenge. I'm sure you will have fun creating a stamped flower. Nothing difficult about that! It's even inspired me to look back through my stamps and use an older layering stamp set. 

I pulled out the Wplus9 Builder Rose set and was surprised to find some flowers already stamped. I love when that happens except that I don't remember exactly what inks I used, so I can't tell you! In addition, I pulled out a background that I had made with many images randomly stamped in pale black and spritzed with gold paint. 

I assembled the panel onto a gold mirror background and added a sentiment from Honeybee stamps. 

You will find more DT samples on the blog and a lovely gallery of cards from our participants. I hope that you will be one of them! It's wonderful to see what you make. 

Your visit today is so appreciated. I hope that your fall is going great! I know that I'm loving the cooler temperatures. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

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)

Be Inspired for The Flower Challenge

 Hello, how are things going for you?  For me, it's going to be a busy month for challenge posts, and I'm here to share the new one at The Flower Challenge #94. We'd like you to be inspired by these colors when you create your card featuring flowers. Aren't they beautiful hues? You may also add neutrals. 

I chose to use supplies from The Greetery and Altenew to create this Anniversary card. The supplies are listed at the end of this post. 

The bulk of the flowers are done using the Floral Arches stencils. Details are added with the accompanying stamps. The Arched Sentiment set of stamps and dies provide the greeting. Finally, the A2 arches die cut the sentiment panel. You can find out about all of these elements HERE. 

We hope that you will be encouraged to join us in the challenge! Thank you for your visit today, let's do this again soon! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

The inks I used are from Altenew: Maple Yellow, Blush Rose; Coral Bliss, Heartbeat, Pink Pearl; Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, and Evergreen.