Beautiful Day

Happy Saturday - hope you're enjoying the weekend! This week I had fun hopping from blog to blog on several different Blog Hop's - Hero Arts on Monday, Altenew's on Thursday and Simon Says Stamp yesterday. So much inspiration in one week!! My friend Barb participated in two of them and her post on the SSS hop inspired me to get out some neglected embossing folders. I loved her designs with the simple images atop the embossed backgrounds.

Supplies: Stamps - Altenew Apple Tree and Floral Frame (sentiment and dots for the "apples")

Paper - Core'dinations kraft card, Tim Holtz Kraft Stack, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Distress Inks - Lucky Clover, Twisted Citron, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs; Distress Oxide - Crushed Pistachio; Distress Markers - Candied Apple, Mowed Lawn & Gathered Twigs

Other - 3M foam tape; May Arts string twine; Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

I just received my first Altenew order yesterday, thanks to a $15 gift card win on Virginia's blog. When I ordered, Altenew offered a free Apple Tree layered stamp set - cute as can be, isn't it? I couldn't resist giving it a play after I cut and colored a Floral Sprig (you'll see that in an upcoming post).

After I did the stamp layering, I did some shading and detailing with markers and then blended a bit with a water pen. I thought it was a great idea to use the little bubble stamps from the Floral Frame set as "apples" on my tree. I stamped in Festive Berries and then colored them in with a Candied Apple marker. So fun! The Tim Holtz kraft stack has Distress ink colors with a kraft core, revealed when sanded after embossing - love this paper!! It's Day 11 of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge and I'll be coloring some more Altenew flowers and sprigs later today.

Have a crafty day and thanks for stopping by!!