JOY at Christmas for the Color Hues

 Hello crafting friends, it turns out that I'm again shocked to turn the calendar and realize that it's the last month of the year. Already! Can you believe it? December 1! Our weather is expected to be at freezing or below all day. Our hearts and prayers go out to you those who had tornadoes yesterday!

You CAN believe that there's another great challenge for us at Color Hues! Nancy has chosen the combo of Navy and Cream for challenge #54 and you have until Dec. 28 to join in! 

I thought these elegant shades were perfect for me to pair with lovely supplies from The Greetery. I used various blue Oxide inks to sponge the pieces of the die cut rose and added gold embossing and accents. Few embellishments were needed with the intricate background and bold floral. I added one blue gem to the center of the sentiment. 

Please check out the wonderful creations from my friends, I know you'll be inspired to play along. 

It's my first time to feature the Elegant Arches set, so I'm entering this at NBUS and the Sisterhood of Crafters who ask for anything Christmas or Winter, and Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Supplies: The Greetery - Elegant Arches stamp,  A2 Arches Dies, BotaniCuts Rose Die

Sentiment: SSS - Stained Glass Greetings

Sending Love at Christmas

To my American friends, did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving? We had a busy fun-filled feast and family time. Now that the holiday is over,  I'm able to get back into the craft room to have some fun. 

I'm still playing with the Sizzix embossing folder, Winter  Pattern, embossing it on Pear Pizzazz card stock (SU!) this time. 

 I embellished using the Layered Poinsettia die (Waffle Flower) cut in cream and gold mirror card stock. The sentiment is from The Greetery. I embossed the top line of script in gold. 

I call this clean and layered in style, what do you think? 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Sunshine and Rainbows

The challenge at The Paper Players is Sunshine and Rainbows. I love that theme! 

I rummaged through my stash and pulled out the perfect frame die. It's retired, I've had it for years! 
I'm really making a point of using a mix of old and new supplies. The frame die includes the hello (positive) and  sunshine (negative.) 
A sheet from JJ Bolton's Rainbow Pad Sampler (Waffle Flower Crafts) provides a colorful backdrop and the stripes in the inlaid word.
All that was left was figuring out what to put inside the frame. I stamped the elephant, and using masking, I created the sky background with Distress Inks. 
I sure hope this card brightens your day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Stamps: WPlus9 - Bubble Talk is no longer available!

Stitch Wish

I hope I got your interest with my title. I used to love sewing and even gave quilting a try, including collecting and hoarding fabrics. Until my love for card making took over all my crafty loves! 

When I went looking for a set to use for this challenge the quilt stamp gave me just the shape I needed and I dug out some retired papers to use with it. Voila! Choose, cut and paste and done. Imagine that!

I love playing along with Freshly Made Sketches and I thought Karren's sketch this time was classic all the way! 

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I've been making today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: PTI - Quilted Summer and dies; The Greetery - Birthday Blooms stamp set and dies for the sentiment

SU - Flower punch

Paper Smooches - Flower Die

Special Day Fresh Floral

Hi crafty friends! I am writing again on a Friday and you know it actually feels like a Friday because I went on some very pleasant errands today. Out to lunch (GASP! a meal that I didn't cook eaten somewhere other than my kitchen!) and to one store as our state opened last week. I was surprised pleasantly by the changes to make things safer and the whole outing was a delight! 

I will now quit chatting and get on with the card I made this morning.

I loved stamping up floral images with the Print Shop: Fresh Floral stamps and dies from The Greetery. Betsy had a great sale for her ONE year anniversary and I went back and bought a few go-withs. Add-ons. The things I didn't THINK I needed the first time they were released! But I did need them, ha! Does that ever happen to you?

My card is clean and simple in sorbet colors. I added a window behind the flowers. Again I was inspired by CAS(E) This Sketch 

although I just now realize that my sentiment is placed differently. 

I will call it good and wish you a great weekend! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Stamps:  The Greetery - Fresh Florals, Sentiment Suites Birthday and coordinating dies

Inks: Altenew

Get more out of your inks!

It's Friday and it's a new month!  I'm continuing with a project from day 19 of Spring Card Camp's lesson on second generation stamping. 

It was fun to re-visit this technique using the fully inked image for one card and the stamped off version for the second card. It's interesting to see the difference in the shades of color you get, and a helpful way to get more out of your inks. Thinking of using this technique when making multiples of cards makes great sense. Thank you, Jennifer McGuire! 

I think the paler flowers looked a bit washed out but adding a pop of gold foil and sequins makes it better! What do you think? 

Thanks to you for your visit! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Stamps: WPlus9 Southern Florals, Waffle Flower Sweet Sentiments, SU - Aida Cloth Background

Rainbows and Sparkle!

Rainbows and sparkles make any day shine a little brighter, don't you think?  I do too! 
On day 11 of Spring Card Camp our teacher was Dawn Woleslagle who shared a lesson on creating a rainbow and cutting it to create two cards. The class gallery is chock full of rainbow cards so I know this was the fav lesson of many, including me! 

I have so many of the same supplies that Dawn used, so my card is an actual CASE of hers. I'm happy to share it here. It was fun and so easy to make that I can't wait to make more. I'm thinking these would be great for a note card set too. 

I appreciate your visit today, please take care! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  Waffle Flower - Sweet Sentiments stamps

Paper: Neenah Solar White, WPlus9 - Fog

INK: Black, WPlus9  - Last Leaf, Wild Mango, Bloomsberry, Sweet Gelato

Accessories: Circle Dies, Cloud Die

Watercolor Background with Roses

Hello to you and happy Friday! 

I am popping in with another take on the technique shared on Day 5 of Spring Card Camp. The card I shared yesterday was supposed to be my practice piece. For whatever reason, I just had to do this again! You all know that I love to watercolor. 

Choosing my Altenew watercolors I combined yellow, greens and orange for my background, generously spattered with gold metallic paint. 

I found that the delicate die cut did't work best as a mask because some of the paint seeped underneath so it's mainly the outlines of the leaves that you see. Of course, I kept adding color and maybe should have stopped sooner. 

I adhered some of the die cut pieces to add interest, depth and to mimic the shapes of the roses. The eye should fill in the rest. Nuvo drops in green and gold were liberally placed as well. 

For the second card using the die cut, I have a much softer background and I like the more delicate look of this card. 

Cutting two roses from the bouquet die cut gave it a better fit on the card front. The sentiment was embossed in gold on a strip of vellum wrapped around the card. For shine and shimmer I added gold sequins. 

I'll list some supplies below for you. Keeping this short as it's a gorgeous day to be outside today. 

I hope that you are staying well where you are. I will probably be back tomorrow or even later today to share more class projects! All this blogging has been a great outlet and I am so thankful for your kind comments!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  PTI - Sentiment Staples: Sending You, and Inspired: Prayer and die

Paper: Fabriano Extra White Water Color 

INK: Versamark, Pear Pizzazz (SU)

Accessories: Memory Box - English Rose Bouquet Die (I can't find this anywhere online - could it be retired already?), embossing powder in white and gold

Budding Beauties Cherry Blossoms

Our flowers and trees are blooming so beautifully right now! Our redbuds and azaleas, and beautiful dogwoods have been so pretty this week.  

I went to clean up yesterday's supplies after posting THIS card and decided to make one more card with this fun stuff before putting it away! 

The Halfsies Diamond die always makes a clean and elegant card, enabling the focal point to shine. I kept that very simple, inking up one cherry blossom branch image, die cutting it and adding an olive green thread bow. 

Another special die cut, *new* to me, is the Brick Layer Die. I placed the die on the card front itself.  The Halfsies panels were inked with Distress Oxides and placed over the card front. Adding an inked panel inside the top of the card adds depth and hides any writing on the inside of the card. Hope that makes sense. 

I wanted the look of warm stucco for the card front, so I let my inking be a bit mottled. I really liked how that turned out, but it was difficult to photograph!

This is my second card made for the Freshly Made Sketches this week. This take on the sketch is much more CAS. 

Thank you so much for your visit and kind words. Take care and I pray that you will stay well.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: The Greetery - Budding Beauties Spring Stamps, Sentiment Suite: Birthday Stamps and dies

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Pear Pizzazz

INK: Versamark, Altenew - Warm Mocha, Rouge, Crimson, Frayed Leaf: Distress Oxides - Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Aged Mahogany

Accessories: Altenew - Rose Gold Embossing Powder, The Greetery Dies: Halfsies, Brick Layer

XO XO XO Spellbinders Dies

I have one more Valentine to share with you today! When I saw the contents in the Truckin' Through the Seasons Large Die kit from Spellbinders, I knew I would use it for many of the cards I send. I also couldn't resist the companion dies that contain additional greetings for the license plate. 

Putting this together for a Valentine wish was a blast! 
Isn't this fun? I even used silver foil to die cut the mirrors. 

The papers are from Honeybee stamps (back to Basics). I used the Sketch from Mojo Monday 

the colors from The Paper Players 

and the theme (hearts) fits with these challenges:

Shopping Our Stash (this one is new to me) and Fusion. Also, Papercrafters Challenge to use two paper patterns on your project. 

Next time I think I'll use less layers so the truck stands out more. This card did get a bit busy!
I am so glad that you could visit today. Sending love and hugs your way. 

Be yourself.   
     Find delight in your craft.                
          Make something beautiful! 

Pretty Mail

Hello and welcome to my blog! Hope your Monday is off to a good start. I'm always amazed at how quickly the weekend is over! 

Turns out I had time to stay warm and cozy and do some stamping with fabulous new products from The Greetery! When I open my order it almost feels like Christmas again. As you will see, I love all the mail themed things from the Love Letters release and much of it came in my package. 

The Pretty Postmarks stamps and dies contain multiple images for postal stamp elements and has tons of possibilities. Although this collection will make delightfully romantic projects, I wanted to try out a different style that could be gender neutral. By combining soft blues and tan I think I achieved a classic look. 

I added spatters in blue to the plaid-stamped panel, a cancelled mail die with black text and a wooden heart and twine as embellishments.

You will be seeing more with these goodies very soon. I can't wait to give them another spin. Thanks so much for your frequent visits, encouraging words and kind comments. I hope you know how very much you are appreciated. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

 

Supplies used:

Stamps: The Greetery - Pretty Postmarks, Windowpane Plaid BackgroundPaper: Neenah Solar White, PTI - Blueberry Sky

INK: Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black; Altenew - Rocky Shore, Desert Night, Sea Glass

Accessories:  The Greetery - Postal Frames Die, Pretty Postmarks Die; twine, wooden heart

Pine Branches Winter Birthday

Hello, friends! 
I have a hard time with masculine cards, but when it came time to make this one I knew I had supplies to make something special. For someone very special, our son. 

I'm sure by now you've realized that there are new stamping goodies in the house! I've been using the BotaniCuts Pine Bough Die (The Greetery) but I'm excited today to have added the Cozy Flannel Cover Die (Altenew). I love being able to create the look of a buffalo plaid so easily.

I began with card stock for the boughs and pine cone cuts and added sponged inks and colored pencil shading. The sentiment is from Uplifting Thoughts (SSS) and continues inside to say, " You are every bit of wonderful." 

I'm happy to have the layout from Cas(e) This Sketch to kick off my stamping.  My entry from last week was a CTS Honorable Mention!

Hope it's the beginning of a wonderful day for you and a great week. 
I appreciate your visit very much. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

          Make something beautiful!

For Someone Special

Popping in again to share a card I made for a very dear friend. I am so glad that quite a few of the cards I've made in 2019 got MAILED this week! 

I worked on this in bits and pieces throughout the holiday season using the beautiful Botanicuts Pine Bough Die. The branches were cut from aqua card stock, and sponged with shades of blue. The pine cones were cut from white, assembled and shaded with colored pencils. I just LOVE the Fit to be Tied die that made the pretty bow cut from deep blue card stock and silver glimmer paper for the topper. The sentiment also comes from The Greetery set called Pine Blossom. There's one more die that's newly acquired by me; the Lawn Fawn double stitched die adds a great embossed detail to the rectangle border. 

Getting back to stamping is happening more slowly than I thought. Lately I'd rather curl up with a good book! Challenges will help. I'm adding this to a new challenge. 

I hope you have a terrific weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Tree Trimmings for Christmas

After my busy week of posting, I've missed a few days.
I've been busy with Thanksgiving preparations, but it feels so good to have time to wrap up the card I've been making and get it posted. The Tree Trimmings and Fir and Foliage 2 stamp sets from The Greetery worked so well together and I love the look! 

Stamping multiple layers for each tree was easy to line up using the Misti. I added the garlands after die cutting the trees, and embossed those in gold. The garland image has small stars, to which I added Nuvo Crystal Drops in Bright Gold. 
Isn't the die amazing? Another new item from The Greetery. I know this one is going to become a favorite. I backed the small panel with gold foil card stock that peeks through the delicate borders.

Happy to be playing along at The Paper Players sketch 

week, and the Just Add Ink Challenge. I chose stars and spots, but in the end there's some sparkle in there too.

Now it's time to get back to the tasks at hand. Wishing those in the USA a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: The Greetery - Fir & Foliage 2, Basic Sentiments: Christmas, Tree Trimmings

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Garden Green and DSP

INK: Altenew - Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Evergreen, Just Green; Versamark

Accessories: Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops, Gold embossing powder, The Greetery - Nordic Frames Die

Holiday Cheer

Hello, it's Monday, here we go again! Ready for another week?  I can't believe our US Thanksgiving holiday is next week and on it's heels will come the fast slide into Christmas. 

I'm feeling more in the Christmas spirit now that I'm getting a few cards made. Today's card again features the Enchanted Forest stamp set (See it here on THIS post).

I really enjoyed inking up the whimsical trees in traditional colors. I used 5 different green inks, ha! The sentiments and dies are from The Greetery, called Basic Sentiment Suite: Christmas stamp set. I really love using the Sentiment Suite stamps that fit into the Sentiment Suite Basics Dies and each sentiment set covers a different theme or occasion.

I'm happy to be sharing today and wishing you a wonderful week! Thanks for spending your time here with me for a little while. I'll be sharing another card made with these stamps soon. I could not put this set away!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!