The Greetery Pot-pourri

Hello everyone! How is your week going so far?  
Just one more quick post from me this week. I fiddled around with the cute pots and fun plant options in the Pot-Pourri set from The Greetery and this is what I came up with. Betsy's designs are so clever and creating with them is a blast. 

I kept the card simple by using a kraft base and a white frame; letting the die cut images steal the show.  I added the tiny tag with a foam mount and a twine bow onto the planter. The sentiment was stamped on white card stock, then inked to match the green pot. 

Layered stamping and die cutting with these images is a dream! They are easy to use and leave a very thin border. 
Thanks for coming by! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Just a quick Hello!

A quick hello....How often I start an e-mail or text this way, especially when the hello is overdue. Don't know how I missed posting this week as I had some cards ready to go. 

I recently pulled out some designer papers to use and today's card was planned around the pretty floral pattern from the Beau Jardin paper pack from Penny Black. I rarely use black as a background but decided it was about time to! Love the dramatic effect. 

Using the My Whole Life stamps and dies and the Welcome dies from WPlus9 made it easy to create the focal point.

I stamped a few black dots - meant to be flower centers - to anchor the sentiment die. The sentiment continues at the bottom of the card with "I just miss you" from the Hello and Thanks set. 

That's it for me today, hope your summer is going wonderfully! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Circle of Love Watercolor

Hello, how are you today? 
We had a fun and busy weekend but in between the activities I found some moments to watercolor. I have two cards to share with you today.

I fell in love with the Circle of Love set from Papertrey Ink.  I know I'll enjoy using the solid fill-in images for this floral bouquet on future projects. My desire was to be able to watercolor the images and feel pleased with the results. It's a very humble beginning!

The first card is a CASE of this card done by Betsy Veldman. Nothing like trying to imitate a master, right? Stamping in pale ink, I used the no line watercolor technique, with loose coloring. What you see is my second attempt at this, and I am pleased enough to post it. Number one was for the trash can. 

I added a few sequins, keeping the card very simple. 

For the second card, I embossed the image in gold and then watercolored. While this was easier, I'm not as pleased with the result because the embossing seems to stand out more boldly and the colors seem to get lost. I paired the die cut image with some patterned paper, and added a bow from gold thread.

I chose the Oh happy day sentiment because the card could be for a birthday, wedding or anniversary depending on the greeting inside.  Stamping the trio of hearts was a fun addition. 

I am so grateful to be able to share here on my blog. Many thanks for coming by to spend a little time with me today. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  Circle Of Love and coordinating dies

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Canson Cold Press watercolor paper, DSP from Penny Black - Beau Jardin 

INK: Versamerk, WPlus9 - V.I.Pink, Bloomsberry, Fairy Dust 

Accessories: Watercolors - Kuretakd Gansai Tambi, sequins

Framing Summer Citrus

Do you love lemons? In your tea, in water, in a pretty bowl on your table? I do!

I bought the Summer Citrus set when it first came out last year. I googled lemon illustrations and although I found amazing ideas, I never got around to using them. You could say the card with this set and color combo has been steeping on the back burner of my mind for a year. 

Turns out I really like how it turned out. I call it SWEET when that happens!

I've been focusing on appreciating and using what I have. The result?  I've never had more fun creating projects.

Achieving the right mix of Hero Arts inks was important for the lemons to look real and bright enough. I stamped each image repeatedly to add more color and detail.

I took a second photo in better light today so you can see the tone on tone background stamped on the Night of Navy card stock. Thanks for your visit! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: WPlus9Designs - Summer Citrus, Tropic Fever, Welcome Wreath

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Night of Navy

INK:Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, SU - Night of Navy; Hero Arts - Butterbar, Lemon; Plus 9 - Wild Mango

Accessories:  WPlus9 - Welcome Die 

 

Get Well Gang

Hello,  welcome to a new week and a brand new month! 

I had such a wonderful weekend. A happy surprise when our 4th grandchild was born Saturday - a sweet baby girl! I love being a Mimi - it's one of life's greatest blessings. I don't do photos of the little ones for privacy's sake, but just had to tell you the news!

On another topic, I've needed and found a great new (to me) set for get well wishes, the Get Well Gang from WPlus9 Designs. I find these critters to be adorable and the sentiments are just what I need for someone recovering from surgery or an accident. 

 

I got busy creating, coloring the animals with Copics and using the matching die cuts. I was playing with the sketch at MOJO but I'm posting too late to enter the challenge. 

Isn't the sketch cute? For my take on it I pulled out these dies; the WPlus9 Clear Cut Stackers: Hexagon dies, and Bold Banner and Basic Labels Dies. I sponged the sentiment and hexagon panels with Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide ink, and surrounded them with Nuvo drops.

Hope your day will be delightful. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Layers of Ink - A Blending Technique

Hello, welcome to my blog! 
I have two cards to share with you today. I love ink blending but for these cards I took it just a step further. 
Both were done the same way using the same colors, but the fun of this layering ink technique is that no two cards will look the same! 

I began with Bristol Smooth white card stock, and added a light layer of inking in Twisted Citron and Tumbled glass Distress Oxide inks. Next I stamped and embossed clear the leaf images over the inked panel.

 Lastly, I added deeper shades of the first inks, plus Peacock Feathers over the first inking, and spatters of ink and water. I achieved a wonderful textured background rich in color variations. 
The second card has even more depth of color and the embossed resist design highlights the image details.

The leaf images are from PTI's Meadow Greens stamps. Sentiments are from PTI Inspired Prayer, and  WPlus9 Modern Pansies.

I have to say, the second card is my favorite. You know I love my sequins!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Mixed Bouquet for Papertrey's Favorites Challenge

Hello, how have things been going with you?

I've been absent for most of March and April for happy reasons but I've been missing my stamping and sharing on my blog!

 Nothing like a challenge to help me get back in the game. For Laurie's Fabulous Favorites challenge she asked us to make a card with a different shape or size. I made a note card, using a scalloped edge note card die. 

On top I placed a shape cut from Shape Shifter's Circle 4 Die and layered flowers stamped in yellows and shades of purple with the Mixed Bouquet Stamp set. 

The sentiment was added from the Huge Sentiments stamps and die. To balance things out, the sweet butterfly I added is from Stampin' Up!'s embosslit called Beautiful Wings. It's been forgotten in the drawer for way too long, and it's really such a pretty embellishment.

I really enjoy challenges and I'm happy to have a card ready for someone special. 

Hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks for visiting. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Stitching Garden: A favorite

Hello, and welcome!
I am posting today as part of Laurie's Fabulous Favorites Challenge at Papertrey Ink. Who could resist the challenge to feature one of our favorite sets? It was a hard choice, I love all the florals, but Stitching Garden is hands down my favorite. 

 I layered the beautiful Scalloped Stacker Frame over Bitty Big paper in Green Parakeet, and built my florals on top of a layer sponged with polka dots for added softness. I bit of pink luster drops highlight the flower centers.

It's rainy here and I'm ready for a stay at home day today after a busy weekend. Hope your week is getting off to a great start!

My Monthly Hero January Card Kit 2019

Hello! Happy Friday. I can't believe one more week has gone by! 

I created three cards over this past week using the monthly kit from Hero Arts, and I have to tell you how much I love this kit! The stamps and dies are super fun but you get many other supplies as well that make it a terrific value. I began by stamping the images, coloring them with Copics, and then die cutting them. 

The stamps involve a fabulous floral shop display that I featured in the first card. I just love that bicycle image, I know it will be handy for many types of occasions. 

The second card was inspired by the patterned paper in my stash. Framing the three images with die cuts, I added only small hearts and some ribbon from the kit as embellishments. This one is so simple but you know what? It's my favorite. 

For the last project I created a shaker card using the heart-shaped balloons for a Valentine's greeting. 

As always, I thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you have a really wonderful day. 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Merry and Bright

YAAY! Happy Friday! 

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm back again today with Take 2 of the sketch from CAS(E) this sketch. I took a more literal approach using bold stripes and a hexagon window. 

 The reindeer from the Merry and Bright stamp set (SSS) was colored with Copics. He is surrounded by two trees die cut of white card stock and also colored with Copics.  I arranged the scene on an inked background and topped it with the stamped sentiment banner. 

In case you need a refresher of the sketch, here you go! 

I'm pleased to be on a roll with stamping this week and happy to have quite a few Christmas cards finished. I hope you feel glad to have stopped by today. Enjoy your weekend!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: SSS - Merry and Bright

Paper: Neenah Solar White, red foil card stock

INK: Simon Says Stamp - Intense Black, WPlus9 - Gala Red

Accessories:  Hexagon dies - Plus 9, Copic markers, Glossy accents

Hang in there, friends!

It's been such a rainy week but the sun is peeking out making me think I need to be super quick with this post so I can get outside while the going is good. 

It's Takeout Thursday and I made this card recently to use up bits and pieces that were waiting to be made into a card. They include the WPlus9 Summer Friends stamps and dies and a background sponged and spritzed with Distress Inks. Does anyone else color images and ink up backgrounds and then leave the pieces for another day, or month.... or longer? 

I love this pup and colored him in with Copics, popping him up for dimension. I also added tiny die cut hearts to the kite, his collar and the sentiment. 

My dog Josie is snoring in her bed as I write this. 

 I'm thinking it's time to get both of us up and moving. Have a great day, friends!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

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Welcome to What I love: Waterfront

Hello crafty friends, happy Wednesday!  Today is the day I share on the theme of what I love. I live near a beautiful lake and I love being near or on the water every day, so it's no surprise that the Waterfront set from Stampin' Up! made it to my craft desk. I am loving it!

Creating water or mountain scenes with this set will be a breeze. I made two cards to get me started on a few cards for men's birthdays that I'll be needing next month.  I can't believe June is almost here! I have a birthday of my own coming up. 

 I began by lightly sponging a background for each of the cards using Distress Oxide Inks in Antique Linen and Broken China, and sprinkling on a few fine dots of water. Stamping the scene for the first card involved lots of layers to make the row of mountains and trees and a bit of additional sponging with greens

 to fill in the blank spots.

For the second card, I kept the stamping much simpler and placed the scene inside an oval frame with a die cut window. 

This set is still on my craft table so I think you'll be seeing it again soon with the beach-y version! 

I hope good things and good times are on their way to you today. Thanks for visiting!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Papertrey Ink May 2018 Blog Hop

Hello, it's been a busy week! 
I'm posting just in time to play along with the Blog Hop happening today!

 Here's our inspiration photo. 

Isn't this a great photo for a theme of camping or glamping? 
 I just returned from a few days in the mountains but I couldn't wait to stamp something so whipped up my creation this afternoon. 

I was inspired to showcase lots of green and cascading flowers. I added a bold element with the striped die, mimicking those gorgeous gingham tablecloths.  Lastly, I used a yellow gingham patterned paper to complete the frame and provide a gingham butterfly. 

The flowers are from the Seasonal Borders Spring stamps and dies. 

Thanks for visiting today. Be sure to hop on to see the lovely creations that can be found on the PTI blog. You'll be inspired!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Take out Thursday: Colored Pencils on Kraft

 Welcome to Take Out Thursday 

When I serve up something simple and easy.

Take out a stamp set for a spin, spice it up.

One of my reasons for Take Out Thursday is to use a 

set or product without having to re-invent the wheel.

Take Out food is not gourmet, it is fun! 

Designed to get you out of the kitchen quickly.

Hello friends! 

Today for Takeout I picked up this design that I colored last March when we were gone for a few days. It's been--yes, you guessed it, sitting on my craft table! 

I must begin by saying that colored pencils are a difficult media for me to use. I really appreciate the beautiful results others achieve but believe me, I am very much a beginner here. I gave it a try after seeing THIS gorgeous card by Debbie Hughes. 

Now Takeout sometimes means a CASE by my definition. 

I die cut the panel into an oval. Running white card stock through my Gemini Jr with the embossing folder that came with it ( from Crafter's Companion) gave me this deeply etched design. I just love this texture!

I added details and stitching lines with a white gel pen and wrapped linen thread as a simple accent.

The stamps are from the Bouquet of Thanks set from Simon Says Stamp. 

Thanks for visiting today! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!