The Merriest Ever

 Hello everyone! Here we are at mid-week again and I'm sharing from my latest rummage through my stash. I had time over the weekend to watch some card-making videos using card kits. You know how wonderful Vicky and Tina (and many others) are with whipping out the most amazing cards with paper and other bits from a kit? I marvel and learn something new about design each and every time. 

Whatever I made today just had to include elements from years past kits and lots of paper play! 

The "merriest" sentiment, the girl and the deer were die cuts from Papertrey Ink's Fairy Tale Christmas Kit.  I also used the pretty ribbon and papers from the kit and the stamped second part of the sentiment.
For the floral spray focal point I combined stamped and die cut images from The Greetery. 

In reflecting, I may have made this card too busy - I find the ten cards gals keep thing much simpler and I will keep that in mind for next time. But you know me - I had to add more than a few gold sequins and clear Nuvo drops to make it shine! 

If you are new to stamping, kits are a great value. I liked having a kit or two on hand when I was traveling for a month at a time. THAT seems like long ago! 

My fav part of this card is the "when we're together"  being the happiest of times. I hope you can find a way to be together with someone special in your life today!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

ETA: Those cute circles with the pinked edges were from dies also included in the kit. It's retired now but shows that with some kits the items are useful long after. 

Color Hues #6 Pink for Christmas!

 Hi and welcome to Color Hues Challenge #6!  We are asking you to use pink and brown as your colors today, isn't that lovely? I have a confession. I've never used this combo. Ever. At all. That's what makes card challenges so fun!!

I was already thinking of Pink for Christmas, but when I saw the Pinkfresh Studio stamp and die called Pop Out Folk Christmas I was ready to go!

I can't tell you how delightful this creative and versatile set is to work with. I have plenty more ideas for using it! 

For today's card, I stamped using brown ink on several colors of card stock, then die cut the images and played with positioning them on the card. I added markings in white gel pen on the deer, and used Nuvo pink glitter drops to accent some of the berries. 

I die cut the deer also out of foam so the dimension helps them stand out. I added a shadow on the doves by layering a white image over the brown.

Please be sure to visit the challenge HERE to see inspiration from the fabulous team! You will not believe the gorgeous-ness! Can't wait to see what you make! 

Thanks so much for joining me today.

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Sentiment is from SSS - Holiday Hellos;

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Pink Pirouette, Baked Brown Sugar, Melon Mambo

INK: SU - Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Suede

Accessories: Banner Die is from WPlus9

Wood Slices and Ribbon for Christmas

 I've missed a few days of posting but I need to get back to building my stash for Christmas. At the same time, I find I'm really enjoying fall, so how about a rustic theme for today's card? Stamping bits and pieces here and there has helped this card come together, using for the first time some fun new-to-me products from the Greetery: Wood Slices Dies, Written in Ribbons sentiments and the Fresh Sprigs stamps and dies. 

I didn't buy these when they first came out - but fell in love with the things I saw all over blogland and realized that I have nothing quite this style in my Christmas collection. For the wood slices, I used Bristol Smooth white card stock, and blended the pieces with Distress Oxide inks. After gluing them together, I spattered bits of brown inks. 

For the sprigs and greeting, I stamped in Altenew inks and die cut the pieces. After assembling the focal point, a bit more spattering with white acrylic paint completed the project. 

I'm playing with Freshly Made Sketches, The Paper Players and NBUS today.

Oops, I sort of missed seeing the silver or gold directive. Maybe the wood slice is golden? Thank you so much for coming by and I hope you are hanging in there with the continuing isolation situation. Stay well. 

Traditional Christmas with a Twist

 We made it to Friday, yaay! Although with COVID many of the days seem the same, I still find myself wanting to do something special for Friday.  I made Grain Free Waffles with buttered apples, bacon and whipped cream for breakfast. What have you been up to? 

And I have a Christmas card to share! Using traditional colors and a great sketch,  here's what I came up with. 

I love these flowers from the Potted Lily set (Waffle Flower designs) and I'm using them for the first time. For a twist I colored them like poinsettias using Distress Oxide inks to watercolor, and colored pencils for extra detail. I added a few Nuvo drops in the centers.

After fussy cutting I arranged the blooms on a banner, embossed with the  Dotted Swirls Debossing Die (Altenew.)  Fortunately I found the Snowday paper pack (Lawn Fawn) to be a perfect match for my coloring.  I like these patterns so much I've bought them twice! The sentiment  (from MFT) is embossed on a black die cut strip and layered over the flowers.  

I am delighted to add this to the terrific challenge at NBUS. Increasing my Christmas stash one card at a time. Thanks so much for coming by today!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Pretty Papers Get Well

 Birdsong. Isn't that a sweet word? Singing birds are one of my favorite sounds in the mornings. The gorgeous paper pack of mintaypapers I used for today's card is called birdsong - - and I just love it! 

I needed a get well card and thought these feminine colors and vintage images were soothing and made a pretty combination. For a focal point, I inked a rose in several layers of colors and surrounded it with subtly stamped leaves. 

I trimmed the scripty sentiment with scissors along the curved lines, and used a die to cut the thin strip of the second phrase. Sequins and Nuvo drops are the simple embellishments. 

Freshly Made Sketches provided the layout inspiration for this design. After all my cute critter cards, it feels good to make something a bit fancy today.  You can be pretty sure I will be back with another post tomorrow. I find it hard to concentrate on many activities lately, how about you? But stamping holds my attention and using my hands to create is better than staring at my phone.

I am so glad that you keep coming back! Have a great day!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Fleur Impressions, The Greetery; PTI - Warm Wishes

Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU - Crisp Cantaloupe, Mintay by Karola - birdsong

Color Hues #5

Hello friends! Welcome to my post for Color Hues Challenge #5!  I can't believe we've already made it to November, can you! 
You will enjoy seeing everyone's take on yellow and kraft for this go 'round. 
Here's mine: 

I made this card for our daughter's birthday. She loves flowers, polka dots and calls herself stripe queen on social media, so you see I had to incorporate those elements. I love bright so I added lots of white to my design.

These colors are fun for fall and I'm sure after you check out the inspiration from the team that you will want to play along! We love seeing what you make! 
Make it a great day! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used:

Stamps: WPlus9 - Autumn Blessings

INK: Colored with Zig Clean Color markers

Accessories: Altenew Cozy Flannel Cover Die, Stampin' Up! Dotted ribbon 

Teacup Snowman

 Yes, it is Thursday, coming to the end of a crazy month and week. I think it may be the calm before the storm, you know? Stay calm and put the kettle on!

I am finding some quiet time and joy in my craft room and decided it's time to play with a brand new die called Teacup Snowman (scrappingcottage).  Two things that I love in one cup! 

I die cut all the pieces in white card stock and used Copics to color each item. Gluing them together was a bit tedious as they are small, but I think the result is well worth it! This cute guy made me smile and reach for my hot drink of choice. TEA! And don't you love that cute gingerbread cookie?

I added detailing with a shimmer pen and clear Nuvo drops on the berries. I'm happy to be squeezing this in to the last day of play at The Paper Players. I loved the sketch provided by Jaydee so this is take two. 

The sketch lent itself to use patterned paper - mine are from PTI and Stampin' Up! This quilted pattern is one of my favs from the pack and I love the cozy feel it gives my card, as well as providing a color palette. 

Thanks so much for coming to see me here at my blog. Keep well and stay well! Remember to smile and...

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!