Last Leaves of Autumn

 I don't know if it's the same with you, but seeing it on my planner really did cause a stir. Thanksgiving is a week away! How did that happen? 

I've been enjoying fall more this year as I am no longer in the North Carolina Sandhills which mainly has pine trees. Our move to the Charlotte area was good in many ways. We especially enjoy the beautiful colors in fall! The last of the leaves are hanging on. 

Today's card features a bit of watercoloring, a newly tried technique, and the Scripture verse that has been a special comfort. 

I began with stamping PB's Autumn Gala image in black onto watercolor paper. I used Distress reinkers and a damp paintbrush to color. The technique I tried was using Distress Glaze from Tim Holtz over the watercolored image, then heat embossing.  He suggests adding more detail with Distress Crayons on top. I went with adding a pale watercolor wash to the background and a few more details on the leaves with the reinkers over the slick glaze. Here's a photo so you can see the effect is like crystals. 

Putting the card together, the embossed panel is from the Variegated folder, and the verse is from Blessing: both by Penny Black. 

Blessings! That's what I'm wishing you today. I am so glad that you could come by. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 
              Make something beautiful!  

Snow Flurries

 I'm here for just a minute. Catching my breath during a fun week of creating. I'm cranking out Christmas cards that others have designed right now, and it's helping me learn some new things and stay busy trying to keep up! 

I made a shaker card that I just wanted to share today. I love shakers! 

The snow globe works well in many styles. Using some DSP I made a scene inside mine. 

Hope you are having a great day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Challenges: 
Just Us Girls - Winter 
NBUS - the snow globe set is new from           Concord & 9
Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge

Thanks with a shot of Hugs

 Happy day, it's Monday again, I hope you had a great weekend. Last week I enjoyed wearing short sleeve tees at the beach where we spent two lovely nights! Today the fleece top is coming out and I'm liking my hot tea even more than usual with the chilly temps we're having.  I'm only a coffee person when it comes to today's card. 

I spent a bit of time re-watching an online card class and Jennifer shared a Pop up Christmas card. What makes this special is the window die cut out of the card front and the image popping to thie inside when opened.  It's so easy to do and adds a bit of fun for the recipient. 

Combining the old goodies of C9 Cup of Kindness stamps and dies and the new-to-me SSS Curvy Background stamp helped give me a fresh take for the card front. Maybe it's a tad busy but I just had to think of coffee with those swirls! I think they will work with snow scenes as well. 

I adhered the floral die cuts on the cup, then ran it through the machine to cut out the cup. It flattens the flowers to mimic an inlaid look. 

Speaking of Online Card Classes, I'm beginning the So Very Merry Class today. More Christmas cards to come!

That's all for me, thanks for taking time to visit. 

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Adding this to the NBUS Challenge

and the special challenge at Just Us Girls #800  

Saying Thanks with a Sunflower

 Greetings to you on a new day! I'm happy to turn the page to a new month too. That is always the case, but I love fall and November so much! 

I've made a fall thank you greeting combining a watercolored sunflower and some papers. 

This came together quickly because the image was already painted in my stash. In fact, I don't even know if I still own the stamp, and don't remember the name or company. It looks lovely and it's good I put it to use! The DSP is from SU and the frame from Penny Black. 

The theme is from The Paper Players,

the elements chosen from the grid offerings at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge  of  Thanks sentiment, FREE and Kraft cardstock  

 

and I've used for the first time a new set from Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments so I'll link this with Darnell and friends at NBUS. 

Simon Says Stamp and Word Art Wednesday say Anything Goes.

I say a big thanks to you for stopping in. Enjoy your day!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

You Make Christmas Special

 Hi there blog friends! I was delighted to see the sketch from Linda at Freshly Made Sketches and I just had to play along with one of my favorite stamp sets from MFT. Sadly, they have closed their business but I have these lovely Christmas critters lined up to greet you today. 

My Copic skills are a bit rusty but I pulled them out to color. Discovering that the fox had been colored -quite a bit of time ago- made that task easier. 

The sketch focused on 3 shapes or items but I couldn't resist adding the cute bird into the picture. 

Thanks for visiting today, I really appreciate you spending time to do that with me. Hugs!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Another joined at:
Christmas Kickstart 

Under the Tree

 Hello and welcome to my blog on this cold, rainy day. A perfect kind of Monday to get creative with some new wintry die cuts to make a card for the sketch at The Paper Players. For winter and Christmas I seem to have acquired three new packs of DSP so I set out to use some for a snowy scene. 

I love to make snow men IRL but rarely have the chance since I'm living in SC. Making a die cut snowman brings fond memories of childhood play. Aren't all snow men just a little bit wonky? This one sure is. 

The new-to-me supplies are the papers from Doodlebug Design 6x6 Snow Much Fun pack; Snowcapped Tree Die from Waffle Flower, and Festive Snow Globe Dies from Concord & 9th. The sentiment is from a favorite from PB -  the Jolly Snippets set. 

Simple embellishment details come from Glossy accents added to the carrot and the hat, an iridescent white cord bow, and Stickles added to the snowflakes.

Here's the lovely sketch providing inspiration by the Paper Players.

 Also adding this to NBUS and the Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

Thanks so much for coming by, hope it's been a great day for you!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

ETA: what makes this snowman wonky? Well, the googly eyes for one thing. Secondly, the die doesn't include arms for this guy! So that he fits in the snow globe, I'm guessing. 

Sending Hugs with Build A Wreath

It's been a long week, I'm still under the weather with vertigo, unfortunately. I think it's caused by allergies. Hopefully the cooler weather will come with showers to make everything fresh and new again, including me! New and feeling much better would be a great forecast to me. 

I couldn't decide if my wreath would be for fall or Christmas. In all, I ditched the fall-ish one and went with my take #2 which has a more evergreen vibe, possibly for Christmas. You will have to see what you think. 

I used my lovely Concord & 9th card stock in colors of Artichoke and Juniper for the leaves, and Nectar and Sorbet for the bow and card panel. I really love the way the greenish blue and the olive colors combined nicely for the wreath. The etched Build A Wreath Dies and Garden Wreath Add-ons from Spellbinders were used to create a variety of twigs, sprigs and leaves meticulously arranged for the wreath. Berries were added with Gold Luxe drops from Nuvo that have iridescent shine.

Although I like the result, this card was a bit too fiddly to create. It is my first time using the dies, so as NBUS (never-been-used-schtuff) the card will be heading over to the gallery at Darnell's. I was also inspired to play at Tic Tac Toe challenge where I chose the options of Wreath, Free, and Matching Envelope. 

It was enjoyable coordinating the envelope, and not something I usually think about. 

That wraps up my week, hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Be yourself

         Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!