CAS Christmas Star

Hi all - just a quick post in this busy season! Technically I'm supposed to be finishing the insides of all the Christmas cards I made throughout the year. Reminder - do the insides when you do the card fronts next year!

Today I'm sharing an entry for this month's CAS Christmas Challenge to include a star:

Supplies: Paper - Recollections (Michaels) Pearlized Gold A2 card;

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio glitter paper

Stamps - Hero Arts K5958 Music Star (retired)

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-manics Blueprints 20 (retired);

Recollections Mini Words Stamp & Die set

Other - Hero Arts gold embossing powder; Gathered Twigs Distress Ink;

 Darice sequins; Recollections gems

My favorite star is a 2014 wood block star from Hero Arts. My trick on this one is I used a shade of brown distress ink for my embossing (my embossing ink pad was a bit dry). You'd never know it once the gold powder is heated!! I played around with a bunch of ways to add the sentiment but ended up with a simple word die, embellished with a silver sequin star & gem.

That's it for today - thanks for stopping, friends! Back to my Christmas card finishing and mailing!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving to those in the great USA who are celebrating today!! I'm helping my dad make Elegant Chicken - once again turkey is off the menu due to all the wild turkeys running through their yard every day. Gotta admit I don't enjoy eating turkey anymore either - LOL!

Last week I shared a Thanksgiving card for the Twofer Challenge - see it here if you missed it. That one will go to my brother and sister-in-law when they join us for dinner. Here are 5 more cards I made for family and friends:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle Jewel A2 card; Target glitter paper;

Trio Window card by unknown; scrap of orange;

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; BoBunny 

Stamps - Lawn Fawn Happy Feast (retired)

Taylored Expressions Many Minis - Holiday

Dies - Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Dies & Autumn Icons

Spellbinders Floral Oval Etched Dies

Other - Copic Markers; recycled Hallmark card; Target bronze twine

The card at left has the same Lawn Fawn smiling foods as my Twofer card but I put them in a card with a trio of precut circles. I always feel there's something missing when I use these cards so this time I added frames to the circles plus two layered sentiment circles. The card at right uses a background paper and sentiment I cut from a Hallmark thank you card I received. I just loved the card and thought it would be great for Thanksgiving. Luckily it was an A7 size so I could cut a stitched rectangle and still trim off the sentiment. I cut the Hero Arts pumpkin from glitter paper and backed it with some plain orange. Then I added some shading with a brown pencil. For the vines on top, I cut just the end portions of the Spellbinders flower vine die.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 cards; BoBunny, Authentique

Stamps - Taylored Expressions Many Minis - Holiday

Deep Red Horn of Plenty

Dies - My Favorite Things - various retired Blueprints

Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Dies

Tim Holtz Stitched Framelets

I've had the Deep Red stamp for a while but hadn't used it for Thanksgiving cards yet. The color washed out a bit on the bottom card but I did use more muted colors on the cornucopia. I liked the darker, warmer version better, I think.

I'm grateful for so many things in my life, including wonderful crafting and blogging friends like you!! Thanks for stopping!

CAS Christmas - Santa

Hi all - time for a play at this month's CAS Christmas Challenge to use Santa. I just love Santa images and have a bunch. Wish I could find that vintage woodblock Santa, though - he's around here somewhere.... Without that stamp, I decided to use a Santa head Silhouette image by Lori Whitlock.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;
Authentique Colorful Christmas; scrap of BoBunny dotted red

Stamps - Hero Arts CG211 Magical Background & CL618 Holiday Conversation (both retired)
Embossing folder - Taylored Expressions Subway Tile
Silhouette Design - ID 69522 Santa Claus
Other - Copic Markers, Glossy Accents, Puffy Embossing Powder

I started out by cutting four sets of the Santa head out of white paper. Next I colored, stamped or embossed the bits as desired. Once that part was done, assembly of the Santa head went quickly. I embossed the subway tile background on a white card and tried the Santa head alone - ugh. Decided to give him a circle body - much better but then he needed some ground to stand on! Quickie sentiment bubble. Done!! Hope this is CAS enough - any foam tape I used was ultra thin....

Version 2 has a oval body and a diecut Merry (not sure of brand - it was laying on the craft table) with a stamped Christmas from Hero Arts (Merry Stamp & Cut). I simplified the Santa hat by leaving off the puffy embossing powder. The paper for the oval is from Pink & Main's Jolly collection. I trimmed the subway tile panel and mounted to a green card.

Two more sets of Santa heads left to use and then I'll have four quick cards done for the stash! Not much time before I'll have to start readying my cards for mailing. Once again I procrastinated on getting the insides of my cards done so I'll have to start working on that....

Thanks for stopping & I hope you have a crafty week even with all the Thanksgiving prep!!

Twofer Wreath Challenge - Take Two

Couldn't resist doing another pair for this month's Twofer Card Challenge featuring wreathes.

My common wreath element is a beauty from a Spellbinders Wreath Stamp & Die set. I colored one in more summery colors and the other in mostly dark reds & greens. For the Christmas card I added pine needles to some of the wreath's twiggy branches. Here's each card separately with supply list:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; 

DCWV Ms Sparkle pastel card

BoBunny Serendipity; Graphic 45 Botanical Tea

Stamp & Die - Spellbinders Love, Peace, & Hope Holiday 2017 SDS-093

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-namics various Blueprints

Other - Copic Markers; Michael's gems; Hero Arts pearls;

Memento Rich Cocoa Ink

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio Glitter;

Lawn Fawn Spruce Notecard; Poptone Black Licorice

Stamp & Die - Spellbinders Love, Peace, & Hope Holiday 2017 SDS-093

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-namics Joy

Other - Copic Markers; Stickles; Michael's ribbon;

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

I'm adding the Christmas card to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: All That Glitters is Gold. With a friend on the Design Team (Lin) and friends playing along (Sally, Darnell & Heather as of this post), how could I not contribute?! Besides the gold bow and hanger, I used gold Stickles on the flowers. My Lawn Fawn is the card base - just love these smaller top-fold cards; I have oodles of them!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a crafty week!!

  

Twofer Wreath!

Hi all - the November Twofer Card Challenge was announced yesterday and I was eager to play along since I missed last month. Darnell and company are using wreaths this month - yay!

Something new this month & ongoing, stencils are allowed as the common element. So - two cards, two different occasions, same stamp, die or stencil. I'm working on Thanksgiving cards now so it made sense to start there. For my second card, I decided to get in another Christmas card. Since Merry Monday ended, I haven't kept up on my production quota - woe is me!! My common element is a twig wreath die from an old Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit - long sold out, unfortunately.

Here's each card individually with the supply list:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 card; scraps of colors &

scrap of Authentique Thankful (2012)

Target glitter paper

Stamps - Lawn Fawn Happy Feast (retired)

Gina K. Designs Autumn Wreath Builder

Dies - Hero Arts September 2016 My Monthly Hero kit

Other - scrap of ribbon; Gathered Twigs Distress Ink

Copic Markers

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 card; scraps of colors & glitter;

Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft

Dies - Hero Arts September 2016 My Monthly Hero kit;

Dee's Distinctively Wreath Builder; 

Whimsy Stamps Build a Poinsettia; Impression Obsession Merry Christmas

Other - silver gel pen; orange Stickles; Pine Needles Distress Ink

Neither photo of the Christmas card captures the beautiful jewel tone blue of the card base. I was shopping (big surprise?) yesterday at JoAnn and they had boxed cards 60% off - practically free! Well, I have many of these boxes in the stash but allowed myself one box of the DCWV Ms. Sparkle Jewel cards. Five great colors and I started using the pumpkin colored ones right away for my Thanksgiving cards. When I was trying different card bases for the Christmas card, the blue caught my eye - what do you think? The scripty sentiment was a pain - so delicate! I layered a white one under the silver one (a second white one became a hopeless tangle) - of course, glue got all over. I covered up some glue drips on the blue card with some strategic silver dots, then added a bunch more dots.

Thanks to the Twofer folks for a fun challenge! And thanks to you for stopping!!

Happy Halloween!!

Hey there - hope Halloween's shaping up to be a great day in your neighborhood. Looks pretty dreary here but it's supposed to get to 54F.

I didn't make a ton of Halloween cards this year. I always need a card for my longtime friend Denise who has a Halloween birthday. On this one I stamped and masked the haunted house, then stamped the ghost coming out of it. I hand drew a hill and path, then colored all with Copic Markers. My shading around the house and ghost got a bit messy but I decided to think it looks spooky - LOL!

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Layering Paper; Poptone Black Licorice;

Target orange glitter, scrap of Momenta Marbled; 

Neenah Classic Crest; Doodlebug Pumpkin Party

Stamps - Simon Says Stamp Creepy Cute; Hero Arts CL468 Frightful (retired)

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired) and 26

Hero Arts DC197 Halloween Trimmings Stamp & Cut

I usually send a Halloween card to my friend Heather and her family. For 2018 I cut a jumbo BOO on the Silhouette and added a ghost peeking out of it. Simple but fun! I was so eager to get it off in the mail that I forgot to photograph it. Heather sent me a photo this morning so I could blog it today - thanks, Heather!! She sent me a darling card too but she hasn't blogged in quite a while so you probably won't see it. ***Update - she posted it - yay!!**

Supplies: Paper - Michael's green; Neenah kraft; Bazzill purple

A2 lilac card by DCWV 

Neenah Classic Crest; Doodlebug Pumpkin Party

Stamps - Hero Arts CL468 Frightful (retired)

Silhouette text - can't remember the font....

I love how she artfully displayed it with some Halloween decor - you don't see much of that at my house! I'm terrible about decorating for any holiday but Christmas. Anyway - hope you have a wonderful Halloween and don't get sick eating too much candy!! I should try not buying the kinds I like!!

Thanks for stopping!!

It's Been A While!

Hello friends - sorry I've been offline quite a bit in October! Chorus activities kept me busy, as well as visits to family. City of Lakes Chorus had our "send off" show, then we went to the Sweet Adelines International convention & competition in St Louis. After coming home I went to visit my parents and attended the Land of Lakes District convention (Barbershop Harmony Society).  Then chorus began rehearsals for our upcoming Christmas show - I stay busy!

If you're interested, our performances at the competition can be found at the links below:

Semi-finals

Finals

We earned 8th place (same as 2016). Last year was an "off" year as we can only compete every other year, after qualifying at a Regional contest which we did in Spring 2017.

Now on to a card. Last week was my dad's birthday and I was able to celebrate with him. Here's the card I made:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Layering Paper, Poptone Black Licorice

scrap of Authentique blue; Echo Park Reflections 6x6 pad

Stamps - Hero Arts CL661 It's Your Day

DC150 Happy Stamp & Cut

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 13

Other -  black & silver gel pens, washi tape; 

Copic Markers; Stickles

Thanks to my friend Heather for sending me the train and the candle number diecuts!! Several members of Dad's family worked for the railroad and he loves trains - the diecuts came at the perfect time to make his card.

This month I missed a bunch of challenges I enjoy, including the Twofer Challenge and CAS Christmas. Hopefully I can play along again in November! I have also missed commenting on my friends' blogs and hope to get back to you all soon!!

Thanks for stopping and hope you have a crafty week!!

Penny Black Birthday & Anniversary

Hi all - back with a couple of cards made with some new items to my stash courtesy of my extremely talented blogging friend Jean. Many thanks to Jean for the incredibly generous sharing from her stash - it'll take a looong time for me to use all the fabulous goodies!! I started with a darling Penny Black bicycle image over a Poppystamps die that I dry embossed.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black Licorice

Hero Arts Pool Layering Paper

Stamps - Penny Black Touch of Whimsy

Die - Poppystamps Happy Birthday Background

Other - Copic Markers; washi tape; gems

I made this card for my baby sister who had a bday last week. She was delighted with the bicycle because it reminded her of our childhood. I used to pop her little self into my bike basket and haul off to the local swimming pool. We practically lived there all summer - this was back in the day when a 13 year old could roam the city with a 5 year old in tow.... Our other sister plus our only brother (both younger than I) joined us for the fun. Guess you could call me the leader of the pack!

Next I have a card for friends' anniversary. I flipped through more of the PB transparent sets Jean sent and found this darling pair of birdies on a floral heart - perfect!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Poptone Black Licorice;

BoBunny Penelope Collection (green pattern); 

Momenta Marbled Pastels (blue for label)

Stamps - Penny Black All Abloom; Hero Arts CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired)

Die - Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two; 

My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 (retired)

Other - Copic Markers

I created this card today & had to pop it into the mail right away. Please forgive the photo colors - it was an extremely gloomy day here! I had to edit a lot to get a yellowish cast off my white; the big flower was a deeper red in real life.

Thanks again to Jean for the goodies & for her inspiration over the years!! I'm sure I'll be back to post often using fun items she sent. And thanks to you for stopping by. Happy crafting!!

Twofer Challenge Leaves - Guest Designer!!

Hey everyone - I'm excited to be a Guest Designer on the Twofer Card Challenge this month!! I won the July Beverage Challenge with my champagne cards here. This month, get ready for some fun with leaves.

I'm not quite ready for fall so my cards have more summery leaves on them. I actually ended up using die cut leaves from two different Spellbinders sets on both cards:

You probably can spot the leaf die cuts I used - they're around the outside of the leafy wreath at left. They popped up at the end of the branch in the card at right. The sprig of leaves also found its way onto both cards. Here's a closer look:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts pool; Paper Studio yello

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; scrap of vellum

Stamps - Hero Arts CL772 Written in the Stars (sentiment - retired)

Dies - Spellbinders Sweet Tweets, Flower Garden, & Royal Monogram Set

Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Dies

My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints (scalloped border -retired)

Other - Copic Markers; Hero Arts black ink

For this card I started with the leafy monogram frame from the Royal Monogram set (die cut from a green vellum), then added sprigs from the Flower Garden and leaves from Sweet Tweets. Finally added the flowers and a sentiment circle. It was missing something so I added the scalloped panel die cut from some Blueprints set - not sure which one....

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio green and red,

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White,

Lawn Fawn Plaid, scrap of kraft, scrap of marbled Yupo

Stamps - Hero Arts CL342 Everyday Messages (retired)

Dies - Spellbinders Sweet Tweets & Flower Garden

Stencils - Tim Holtz Mini-Stencils Set 10
Other - Copic Markers; Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide ink;
Hero Arts black ink

The die cut pieces to this card are all part of Sweet Tweets, except the sprig in the birdie's mouth. The sprig came from the Flower Garden die set. I die cut the sprig from a scrap of Yupo I had marbled with alcohol inks. To form the card I simply cut two of the scalloped panels and scored the back one to adhere to the front one. I mostly cut the scene bits from white paper, except the roof, leaves and heart. Colored the bird house yellow and then stenciled it with Distress Oxide ink. Also stenciled the branch. I colored the bird to be a bluebird, following a photo from the Internet - sorta looks right?!


Thanks to Darnell and crew at the Twofer Card Challenge for having me Guest Design this month! I just love that challenge and am glad to be sharing inspiration this month! Be sure to stop by and see the rest of the beautiful creations by the team. Hope to see your cards in the pool too!

Thanks for stopping and have a crafty week!!

Wreath for CAS Christmas!

Hey everyone - I'm getting an entry in for the September CAS Christmas Card Challenge. Loll, Bonnie & company would like to see a wreath on this month's card.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio red

Stamp & Die - Spellbinders Love Peace Hope Holiday 2017 (Wreath)

Silhouette for J & Y (can't remember the font)

Other - Copic Markers, Wink of Stella, gold gel pen, Joy Ultra thin foam tape

I was lucky enough to win a $25 Spellbinders prize during a recent blog hop; my comment on friend Virginia's blog was randomly chosen. Yay!! I couldn't resist this delicate wreath (nor a bunch of other goodies - LOL!). Many thanks to Virginia & Spellbinders!!

I cut and stamped the wreath and colored it with Copics, then added Wink of Stella to the roses (hard to tell in photo). What to do with the wreath??? The stamp & die set includes the little words PEACE, LOVE & JOY. Could've used one or all of those but seeing the JOY made me decide to use the wreath as the O. Yes, it's been done by legions but I couldn't resist. I found a font I liked in the Silhouette and cut the J & the Y. Note to self - be sure to write down the name of the font before you cut! I couldn't for the life of me find it afterward, even after trying a bunch of them - sigh... I added everything with my favorite thin foam to a top fold A2 card - done! This would be an easy card to mass produce and it's nice and flat for mailing.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll visit tomorrow when I'll be guest designing for the September Twofer Challenge. You'll see more of my new Spellbinders goodies in action.

Happy Labor Day - Missing Merry Monday!

Hi everyone - Happy Labor Day if you're celebrating in the USA!! It's raining cats & dogs right now but the weather looks better for this afternoon. Today Merry Monday would've returned from summer break, had the challenge continued. I miss it - both the people and the challenges!! Since the September themes had been planned, I thought I'd use them for inspiration this month. Gotta keep up that Christmas card production, right?!

For this week the challenge would've been: The True Meaning of Christmas. I chose a Nativity stamp with a sentiment to match. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White,

Poptone Black Licorice; Paper Studio red & silver glitter,

scrap of Momenta Marble Pastel, & Paper Studio Magical

Stamps - Stampendous Nativity Christmas (retired)

Dies - Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two

Other - Distress Inks, clear ep, foam tape

Because the swirly frame measures 4x6", I made this an A7 card. Bigger than usual for me but I don't mind having a few cards this size. That's it for today - thanks for visiting! If you create a card with this theme, be sure to leave me a comment so I can check it out!!

Java Cafe

Hi all - it's been a while since I've posted anything! I've still been making cards but have been rather lazy about blogging them - oh well....

Since my last post, I've been busy with chorus activities. Our Director has been conducting small group rehearsals on choreography at a mirrored studio - very fun! Then he couldn't do one scheduled session last week so my friend JoAnn & I ran it (we're on the chorus Visual Team). The previous week I joined a group of 13 from chorus to sing at the VA Hospital in St Cloud MN. It was fun to sing for the veterans who've done so much for our freedom! Part of the event was a sing-along and one sweet gentleman got so into it, he started doing a solo of My Wild Irish Rose. The aide with him said she hadn't seen him smile like that in a while :) Another gentleman was dancing to our music, joined by his aide - so great to bring joy to our audience!

Today I'm sharing a card made with a beautiful cafe scene from the August My Monthly Hero kit by Hero Arts.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Momenta Marble Pastel;

Paper Studio yellow A2 card & red; Poptone Black Licorice

Stamp & Die - Hero Arts August 2018 My Monthly Hero Kit

Other - Copic Markers, Joy ultra thin foam

I die cut the scene from white card stock and colored most of it with Copic Markers. I cut it a second time, just the awning portion, in red and then inlaid those pieces into the white. Stamped the sentiment (also from the kit) and hand doodled the cafe sign. Done!

That's it for today. Hope you're enjoying these last days of summer. We've been experiencing a lot of rain but are still behind on our rainfall for the summer. Looks like it'll be a sunny holiday weekend though. Thanks for stopping!!

Distress It & another Twofer

Hi all - just a quick post to get something in for the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Distress It, plus another pair for the Twofer Card Challenge - Geometric. Here's the pair:

I used a Tim Holtz stamp & stencil set I bought at Michael's - don't see it there online but it might still be in some of the stores. Besides the circles, it also has some hexagons. On the card at left I stamped and white embossed the connected circles twice. Then I blended Distress Oxide inks (Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick & Fired Brick) for an emboss/resist background. Spritzed it several times and dried quickly with a heat tool. On the card at right I created a panel with the connected circles, this time I used the center circle as my focal point, overlapping that one when I stamped the circles twice.

Here's each card individually; starting with the distressed background card.

** Update ** Supplies: Paper -  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White & scrap of orange;
Paper Studio Teal; Poptone Black Licorice; scrap of marbled Yupo
Stamps - Hero Arts H4772 Friend Collage (retired);
Tim Holtz THMM101 (circles)
Dies - MFT Blueprints (retired);
Memory Box hello from an exclusive Columbine Frame set
Other - Distress Inks, sequins (no packaging for brand);
Hero Arts White Puff embossing powder; Distress Embossing Ink

** Update ** Supplies: Paper -  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Paper Studio Red; Poptone Black Licorice
Stamps - Hero Arts CM136 Birthday Messages;
Whimsy Stamps Autumn Bonus Bundle (small dots)
Tim Holtz THMM101 (circles)
Dies - Hero Arts DI199 Nesting Circle Infinity Dies
Other - Distress Inks (Fired Brick & Iced Spruce); Hero Arts Black

Thanks for stopping!!

Geometric Twofer

Hey everyone - back with cards for this month's Twofer Card Challenge - #8 already!! This month Darnell and company would like to see geometric shapes on our cards. How fun is that?!

I went with a scribble circle die from Poppystamps. Here's my Twofer:

Many months ago, I die cut the three shapes from Scribble Trio using gold glitter paper. Every now and then I'd pull them out alone or together, move them around a card base, and then toss them back in the UFO box. When I saw the Twofer prompt this month, the light bulb in my brain went off! I'd intersect all three on a horizontal card. Decided to make it a Christmas card so used a green card base & embossed a word in each of them, added sequins, done! Here's a close-up:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 card; Paper Studio glitter

Dies - Poppystamps Scribble Trio

Stamps - Hero Arts CL998 Happy Holly Days

Other - Silver embossing powder; Darice sequins

What to do for the second card? I had knocked a few stamp sets off my table while looking through the UFO box. Spotted the rocket stamp and suddenly I knew another scribble circle could be the rings of a planet. Here's a close-up:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts pool; Paper Studio glitter & teal;

Poptone Black Licorice, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;

scrap of Yupo I marbled with alcohol ink

Dies - Poppystamps Scribble Trio; MFT Blueprints (retired)

Stamps - Hero Arts CL922 Rocket Thanks (retired);

Simon Says Stamp Falling Stars

Other - White embossing powder; Distress spray; Copic Markers

I got a bit wild with the Distress spray and had to wipe a bit off the bottom of my teal panel - oh well. That's par for the course around here. Then I had to take my photos twice because at first I'd forgotten to color the word thanks which stamped in outline. Quickly colored it and photographed all over again. I like it much better colored!

That's it for today. Chorus did a park concert yesterday - it was extremely warm but everything went great even if the audience huddled in any available shade!! We were on a shaded stage but got no hint of the lake breeze - I couldn't believe how hot & tired I got. Didn't help that I stayed up til 1:30 this morning reading!! Will definitely need a nap before I do anything else - LOL.

Thanks to the Twofer crew for a fun challenge and thanks to you for stopping by! Hope you have a crafty week!!

Final CAS tree

Hi everyone - I'm back with my third and final card for the August CAS Christmas Challenge to use a tree. While deep into making a different card today, I happened upon a Spellbinders tree die in my stash. Off I went with it, totally ignoring the other card. Does this happen to you? It happens to me waaaay too often! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;

DCWV Glitter Paper

Die - Spellbinders S4-435 Picture Perfect (retired)

Sentiment Stamp - Avery Elle Snow Much Fun

Other - Copic Markers (C3 & Y19);

Distress Oxide Ink - Iced Spruce & Faded Jeans

Doesn't get much easier than this card! I die cut the tree panel from this yummy silver glitter paper (LOVE it!!), shading some spots with Copics. I also trimmed some houses from above the long row and moved them to below it. That gave me some more white space for my sentiment. I stamped it with Iced Spruce but added Faded Jeans to make it bluer. Done!!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to work on the other card, plus yet another card that I deserted last night - LOL. You'll be seeing those in September when I'm Guest Designer at the Twofer Card Challenge - can't wait! Have a great day!!

Another CAS Christmas Tree

I'm back with another card for the August CAS Christmas Card Challenge to use a tree.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White:

Paper Studio Holiday Red

Silhouette Design 108565 Xmas Tree Stencil

Other - Copic Markers; Heidi Swapp glitter stars;

Joy ultra thin foam squares

I was playing around on the Silhouette with fonts that have trees. ScrapNFonts created a darling set of Christmas trees with a letter in each. Decided it was perfect for this challenge! I cut the letter trees in white and carefully popped the letter out. Colored the trees and the letters, then popped the letters back. Adhered to a white offset mat and then a red one. Popped onto an A2 card with thin foam squares. Thought the trees needed a finishing touch so I added the glittery stars - done!!

I hope to get another card done before the challenge closes on the 24th. Gotta build up that Christmas stash, right?! Thanks for stopping and have a great week!!

CAS Christmas - Tree!!

Hey everyone - I'm here with a card for the August CAS Christmas Challenge! Gorgeous inspiration by the CAS Christmas DT and they've welcomed a couple of friends from my Merry Monday days - Colleen and Linda - congrats!! Since Merry Monday ended, I've been trying hard to play along with this challenge multiple times each month. Hopefully I'm keeping on pace to complete my Christmas card list long before the holidays arrive!!

When I saw the new challenge was Tree, I was sitting in front of the TV playing on my laptop. I headed over to the Silhouette Online store with the idea to use a font with trees. Here's my first effort:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White;
Poptone Black Licorice

Silhouette Design ID 243265 - Hiked it & Liked it Font

Other - Copic Markers; Picket Fence Distress Stickles;

Joy ultra thin foam tape

Funny story - my new laptop isn't as quick on the Silhouette downloads - not sure why but I believe it's because it's considered a secondary machine (old laptop being primary). I'm too impatient so I'm trying to use the new font while it's still downloading - LOL! Not all the letters in the font have trees and some have nothing. From a preview at the online store, I knew the Rs had trees but I wasn't getting them on my design - ugh! Ended up having to close the program and start again.... Finally got the results I expected from the preview of the word MERRY - thought it would make a fun card.

I cut everything from white cardstock as I often do. I didn't find an individual tree that matched the one on the R edge so I cut extra Rs & snipped the tree portion off two of them. Colored the letters and extra trees with Copics and put Stickles on the snowy mountain M. Popped MERRY onto a black panel with foam tape & added to a white A2 card - DONE!!

I already cut another sentiment using a different tree font! Maybe I'll be back with a second CAS Christmas card later this week. Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great weekend!!

Make your own Background

Hey everyone - it's the weekend, yay!! A chorus group sang at a park last night but I had a chance to shop beforehand. Any excuse, right?! I picked up a cute Concord & 9th set so thought I'd play along at this week's Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge.

Simon Says: Make Your Own Background

Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White & Poptone Black Licorice

Stamps - Concord & 9th Furry Friends;

Hero Arts - Thanks a Bunch (retired)

Whimsy Stamps - Autumn Blessings (retired but in a bundle here)

Dies - Concord & 9th Furry Friends - window;

My Favorite Things DieNamics Blueprints 21 (retired)

Other - Joy ultra-thin foam tape; various Hero Arts Inks;

Copic Markers

I started with a 5.5" square white card and, using a MISTI, created my own turn-about pattern. I chose little images from the Concord & 9th Furry Friends set. First I did the outlines four times. Then rearranged and stamped more times. Next I stamped the solid images over the outline ones, not always perfectly aligned. Finally I filled in some spots using a dot stamp from the Whimsy set, then doodled a few more dots.

With my background complete, I cut a stitched rectangle from it and then a window. I stamped the fox head on the piece left from the window (the die cut a frame too which I'm saving). I popped the window back using foam tape and added the little hat which I'd stamped and fussy cut. Stamped "thanks" as the sentiment thinking this would be a fun thank you card for girly birthday.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

More Alcohol Inks

Happy Thursday! I'm continuing to play with alcohol inks and created a sky & lake background.

Supplies: Paper - Alcohol Ink Yupo; Poptone Black Licorice;

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Inks - Ranger Jet Black Archival; Hero Arts Tangerine

Alcohol Inks - Sailboat Blue, Meadow,  Slate & Stream

Stamps - My Monthly Hero June 2018 (birds & chair);

Clearly Besotted A Little Sentimental;

Tim Holtz trees (came in his Alcohol Ink kit)

Dies - WeR Memory Keepers Rectangle Label - retired;

My Favorite Things Blueprints - retired

MMH kit chair die to match stamp

I created a similar card HERE but without alcohol inks - would love to hear which one you like better! The trees I used on that card were a lot taller - I really liked the scale of the smaller trees on this card. Probably should've popped a fish into the "lake" - I sent the card to a fisherman friend who had surgery and has had some challenges recuperating.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Fun with Alcohol Inks

Hey everyone - I'm back today using more of the flowers I stamped for yesterday's guest designer post at a2z Scrapbooking. I had such fun doing that and thank them again for the opportunity!!

What's the old saying "everything old is new again"? That's what alcohol inks are to me - I have a box of them from years ago. They seemed to go out of fashion but now they're back with new products and techniques. I had to dive back in!! I have two cards for you using the techniques Tim Holtz showed here and Jennifer McGuire showed here - really enjoyed both videos!

Supplies:  Paper - DCWV A2 card; Alcohol Ink Yupo

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio glitter

Stamps - Hero Arts CM256 Flowers for Coloring

CM135 Thank You Messages;

Impression Obsession Ornate Floral

Dies - Hero Arts DI503 Flowers for Coloring Frame Cuts,

DI327 Branch Wreath Fancy Die

My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 & 20 - retired

Other - Copic Markers, Joy ultra thin foam;

Hero Arts Black inks; White & black gel pens; 

Broken China Distress Oxide Ink;

Ranger Alcohol Inks from Tim Holtz Kit; Alcohol Lift-Ink

I created the background for card one using Yupo paper with alcohol inks and the new Alcohol Lift-Ink. I used a busy background stamp and couldn't get the detail to show as well as I'd hoped. But I got a usable background, plus a lovely print using the lifted ink stamped onto a plain piece of white cardstock. I used a piece of it for card two:

Supplies:  Paper - Hero Arts Pool Layering Paper,

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Paper Studio glitter

Poptone Black Licorice

Stamps - Impression Obsession Ornate Floral

Dies - Momenta Word Fetti

Other - Hero Arts Pool gem; Ranger Alcohol Inks from Tim Holtz Kit

I'll definitely try this technique again! It's another way to stretch your supplies and get two cards very quickly. Now for one last photo - I couldn't resist sharing. I got this little Tim Holtz storage suitcase years ago and decorated it using alcohol inks. I'm thinking it might have been part of a ScrapFest class? Anyone remember?

Can you see the design in the metal? Fantastic! In the corner it says Tim Holtz by Cropper Hopper. Cropper Hopper is now Storage Studios and they don't sell this item. Ranger sells the Alcohol Ink Storage Tin which has nice slots for the bottles. I'm glad to have the personalized suitcase, even if (as you can see) all the stuff inside is jumbled.

That's it for today - hope you're having a great week. Thanks for stopping!