May 2023 Card Chain Reveal

Welcome to another Card Chain Challenge Reveal - they seem to roll around quickly!! You can see the full May reveal featuring cards from thirty-two amazing players HERE. I sent my card to Joanne (Slices of Life) in Connecticut:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; Tim Holtz gold metallic;

BoBunny dotted; Paper Studio Navy A2 card

Stamps with Dies - Hero Arts Friendly Messages Bundle

Dies - Altenew Mix and Match Frames

Hero Arts Nesting Oval Infinity Dies

My Favorite Things Torn Paper Edges,

Stitched Flowers & Sunflower Wreath (flower center)

Our May options:

Color Palette Option

Sketch Option

Theme Options: Hats / Flowers / Friendship

Product / Technique Options: Embossing Powder / Ripped Edges

I used something of every category this time! While the photo of the color palette shows a yellow, it says gold so I used a gold metallic oval on my card. Loved the sketch with rips! My "ripped" edges were done with a die - very handy! I first die cut a torn paper edge rectangle (Altenew die) from both navy and turquoise dotted papers. Then I used the MFT torn paper border die to cut the lines into the turquoise panel. Next I glued the pieces to the navy panel, then glued it to the white dot border panel. I die cut an MFT flower from the same navy dotted paper and a white center. Stamped and die cut the sentiment - it comes as one line but I snipped it into two parts for the sketch. Assembled the card, popping the sentiments with foam tape.

My dear friend, Gundi (papierelle) sent me this gorgeous card from Germany. I just love the gold embossed butterfly and her stunning coloring! She also included some fun ephemera and her envelope was posted with a bunch of colorful stamps since she knows I collect them. Thanks Gundi!!

Gundi & I like to exchange book recommendations - I just finished the new Nora Roberts book "Identity". Love her books - the protagonist of this one had her identity stolen but it had a happy ending. Please share in your comments what you're reading, if you like!

There's still time to sign up for the June exchange - check it out HERE by June 6th, if desired.

Thanks for visiting!

Ink Blended Columbines

Hello! Happy June!! The Group of Seven Cardmakers always inspires and for the May 28th technique they have featured ink blending on colored cardstock. I've not had a chance to play along with them yet - it's past time! So I got busy this morning with a fave Hero Arts outline flower stamp:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio A2 card &

Paint Shop cardstock

Stamps - Hero Arts Wild Columbine Bundle

Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Salty Ocean, Broken China, 

Chipped Sapphire, & Black Soot; Versamark; Memento Blue Danube

Other - Ranger Princess Gold ep; Darice sequins;

Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Mist

I had a piece of blue card with a subtle water splotch print on it. Thought it would be perfect for this technique. Prepped it with a powder tool, stamped my outline florals twice with Versamark, and gold embossed. Next I ink blended the edges and toward the center with blues, then finished with black. Flicked some shimmer spray on there - hard to tell in photo. Adhered the panel to an A2 card base. Stamped and fussy cut a sentiment from the Columbine stamp set; popped it onto card. Added some sequins - done!

They have a linky up to share so I'll add there. And since I used a flower, I'll link up to the Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero's Dance of the Flowers Challenge too.

Thanks for stopping & have a crafty day!!

Last Day of Diva Tic-Tac-Toe

Welcome everyone - didn't the month of May fly by?! 

Today I'm part of the end-of-month post with Die Cut Divas for our May Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge. We're using products available at Frantic Stamper, our May sponsor, but you can use any supplies. Just remember to include a die cut or embossing folder & use a row from the board in your design. Here's my card:

 Supplies: Paper - Neenah White; Paper Studio Brights;

MFT black; Paper Studio Paint Shop patterned; American Crafts striped

Stamps - Hero Arts Key to My Heart (available HERE 

at Frantic Stamper; matching dies at FS HERE)

Stencil - Hero Arts Petal Burst (HERE at Frantic Stamper)

Dies - Hero Arts Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies (HERE at Frantic Stamper);

A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set

Other - Reflections gems; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark ink;

Ranger Sea Foam White ep; upcycled clothing ribbon

  

I had fun with the middle horizontal row of the tic-tac-toe board (Ribbon, the word Love, Heart), pulling out some newer Hero Arts with an old fave. I die cut a heart & stamped the word LOVE & white heat embossed it. Added some stenciling with my new Petal Burst. I stamped & fussy cut the sub-sentiment, stamped then die cut and colored the heart lock and key. Covered the gold with clear lacquer. Die cut some rectangle layers in red, black and print. Added some ribbon & done! 

Since the heart stamp set is getting first play here, I'll add my card to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge.

For my bonus today, I thought - what the heck - I'll do a "cover all" checking all the boxes! 

Supplies: Paper - BoBunny Penelope 6x6; Neenah white;

Paper Studio A2 card and Paint Shop 12x12 patterned

Stamps with dies - Hero Arts Garden Critters Bundle (HERE at Frantic Stamper)

Stencil - Hero Arts Petal Burst (HERE at Frantic Stamper)

Dies - Hero Arts Window on Love Confetti Fancy Die

Other - Copic Markers; upcycled ribbon; Recollections gems;

Vicki Boutin Warm Wishes stickers; Alex Syberia flowers from Marianne

I used a heart coverplate & die cut some chocolate colored patterned paper. Adhered it to a paint print pattern with some subtle gold spotches. Next I stenciled with cocoa ink using a petal stencil over the entire thing & adhered to an A2 card. 

Marianne (Marianne's cards 'n stuff) sent me some stamped/stenciled/die cut floral panels from Alex Syberia's Spring Garden set. Thanks again, Marianne! I'd cut one of them into two pieces & found one part worked perfectly as the flowers. Shaded them a bit with some Copics and a pencil, then added a bow of the upcycled white ribbon. 

I used a LOVE sticker by Vicki Boutin with a bitty YOU for my sentiment. I stamped, colored and die cut a couple butterflies and added a gem to each, plus 3 yellow gems to the big flower. Done!

Thanks for stopping and we hope to see you in the May Diva gallery by 9p Pacific today!!

Purple Winter Gnome

Hi everyone! If you were celebrating, hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Dad wanted to go to Menards for some hanging baskets and citronella. Took him shopping, bought two of each and put them on the deck for him; they look so pretty! 

I was sorry to miss the April Christmas Kickstart Challenge, especially when I'd select a gnome to use. I decided to pop in with a second entry to the May Christmas Kickstart Challenge and use my gnome with the gorgeous May inspiration board/colors.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; Paper Studio Solids & A2 card;

Recollections Celestial Skies

Dies - Spellbinders Dancin' Gnome;

A Jillian Vance Designs Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes,

Stitched Hillside Borders, & Stitched Labels

Stamps - Hero Arts Color Layering Snowflake Bundle

Other - Copic Markers; foam tape

I was shopping at Michael's on Sunday with a coupon & got this 12x12 celestial print paper pad for free! Can't beat that!! Thought one page had all the colors to be a snowy background evoking the sky in the inspiration photo (die cut with a stitched rectangle). Another paper matched the ombre dots but was too blue... More of another page was used to cut some of the details on the gnome and stump; I added shading with some BV Copics. Here's a quick pic of the paper pad:

 I love to find paper pads with unusual patterns that are fun to fit into my projects! Next I die cut another stitched rectangle in white and cut into two Lawn Fawn snowy hills. The sentiment (from a new to me snowflake set) was stamped onto a LF label and added to the scene. Next I diecut a bunch of the bitty snowflakes in LF's Mini Snowflakes set to add to the celestial sky. Assembled and done!

Thanks again to Jo and elf Gundi for a fun color challenge! I'll add my card to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge since the gnome is getting first play, along with the sentiment. Note - I previously used the stump but figured I could add the card since I'm first using the gnome. :)

Happy crafting & thanks for stopping!!

Pair of Birthday cards plus more poinsettias...

Happy Monday! Hope you had as productive a weekend as I did! I'll get to those cards in a bit, but first, a couple of May birthday cards - one sent to my friend Heather (Stamping and Stitching) and one to another friend Betty (created by bjk). Each reported receiving her card timely - yay! First up, Heather's card:

Supplies: Paper - Lawn Fawn patterned (retired)

Paper Studio pastel A2 card; Neenah white

Stamps with dies - Unity Many More Birthdays (die not available)

Dies - Hero Arts Delicate Butterfly &

Altenew Mix and Match Frames

Other - Paper Studio gems

Heather loves blue so I went that route, adding some grey & yellow to coordinated with the Lawn Fawn pp. Next, Betty's card - filled with a cuts from a Spellbinders flowers set which I used for the first time (adding to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge for that reason):

Supplies: Paper - Park Lane A2 Card; BoBunny Double Dot;

various solid, watercolored and patterned scraps;

Neenah black & white; Tim Holtz gold metallic

Dies - Hero Arts Nesting Ovals Infinity Dies;

Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms &

Layered Mix and Match Sentiments (retired)

Other - Copic markers; Hero Arts Sparkle clear lacquer

I had fun die cutting and assembling these flowers, adding some Copic details here and there. I decided against adding gems or pearls on the dotted background but popped a pair of dragonflies on there instead. Was very happy with the look. 

Last Friday I made a poinsettia card for the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge & my friend Cat (Cat Luvs Paper) suggested I make more. Between loads of laundry yesterday, I did just that & churned out another pair. Same supplies as the previous card. If you care to, let me know which of the three poinsettia cards you like best. Of course, my fave is the purple one! :) Note: the oval at right plus the flower centers are from TH bronze metallic cardstock - just reads more orange in the photo... The solid petals of the flowers are more red in real life too - the photo reads salmon, oh well. The patterned paper in the background is a gorgeous watercolor printed 12x12 paper with foil and splatter accents - so pretty in many fun shades and I got it 40% off at Hobby Lobby last week! I used a page with yellows and oranges for the flowers at left. Couple more cards for the Christmas stash which I definitely need!!

That's it for today, friends! Thanks for stopping by!!

Diva Tic-Tac-Toe, Anyone?

Hello everyone - I hope you're enjoying May! It's my day to post at Die Cut Divas for some inspiration. We Divas are having loads of fun with a Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge. We're using products available at Frantic Stamper, our May sponsor, but you can use any supplies. Just remember to include a die cut or embossing folder & use a row from the board in your design. Hope to see your card in our gallery!

 Supplies: Paper - Neenah White; Paper Studio Brights;

BoBunny patterned; Tim Holtz metallic; MFT vellum

Stamps - Hero Arts Abstract Butterfly Wing Background

(available HERE at Frantic Stamper)

Stamps with Dies - Hero Arts Beautiful Butterflies Bundle

  (HERE at Frantic Stamper) & 

Friendly Messages Bundle 

Dies - Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity Dies &

A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set

Other - Darice sequin; Hero Arts & Memento inks

I chose the bottom horizonal row from the board because I wanted to use bling and butterflies! Frantic Stamper carries a wonderful selection of butterfly items, including all the latest from Hero Arts as well as some hard-to-find oldies. I went with stamps from Hero's February release - a background cling stamp that I hadn't used until now, plus a butterfly clear set with coordinating dies. I stamped the butterflies on patterned paper, a popular technique for many years (see an example from 2010 before I began blogging HERE). Most of the time when I use a butterfly image, it gets bling of some sort - usually gems - but this time I popped a sequin on it.

I stamped the background in black ink and blended orange and yellow inks over it. Die cut it with a stitched rectangle and glued to an A2 card. Stamped the butterfly on patterned paper and the sentiment on white paper, then die cut. Die cut a circle from metallic card and a bigger one from vellum. Assembled and added a sequin to the butterfly. Done!

And here's a bonus using a Frantic Stamper brand flower die and the top horizontal tic-tac-toe row. I interpreted "chocolate" to be a brown color and stenciled with it. 

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; scrap of brown;

Paper Studio pastel A2 card; Bazzill green

Stamps - Frantic Stamper Spring Bold Sentiments

(coordinating dies HERE)

Hero Arts From the Vault Cute Animals

(Here at Frantic Stamper; coordinating dies HERE)

Dies - Frantic Stamper Botanical Daffodils;

Hero Arts Thorn Tree and Grasses (Here at Frantic Stamper)

Stencils - Hero Arts Stripe (Here at Frantic Stamper)

Inks - Hero Arts Tangerine and Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black

Other - Copic Markers; Hero Arts Sparkle Lacquer; foam tape

I took a pastel blue A2 card and stenciled some stripes in brown on the left edge, shifted the angle & did a few more, then a third angle lightly with orange. I die cut two of the FS daffodils (love these so much!) and colored with Copics. Stamped a bee from Cute Animals, colored with Copics & die cut. Added sparkle lacquer to the wings. Stamped and die cut the sentiment, plus two layers of white for dimension and a brown shadow layer. The Hero Arts Thorn Tree and Grasses die set is another oldie but goodie that's still available at Frantic Stamper - love this set! I cut two layers of grass and put one set of daffodils behind each & layered. Some flowers were popped up with foam tape. Assembled & done!

I will add the butterfly card to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge since the abstract background is new.

Thanks for stopping and have a crafty day!

Unusual Colors for Christmas - Gorgeous!

Hey there - I'm not posting too much these days but I had to remember to enter the May Christmas Kickstart Challenge. I missed the April one despite having stuff at my Dad's that would fit, oh well... This month Jo and her elf Gundi have a gorgeous color palette to use - right up my alley!!

Supplies: Paper - MFT vellum; Paper Studio solids & patterns;

BoBunny Double Dotted

Dies - Hero Arts Paper Layering Poinsettia &

Nesting Oval Infinity Dies;

A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop;

Birch Press Design Merry Christmas Sugar Script and Outline

Other - Recollections gems

Here's the inspiration photo and palette:

A couple of my shades may be a bit lighter than the inspiration photo but hopefully I came close enough. I have my favorite poinsettia die set available and thought it would be gorgeous in the challenge palette. Hard to see in the photo but there's a patterned grey paper behind the vellum oval. The background paper has a gold foil running through it but we'll call it a neutral. :)

Thanks for a fun challenge, Jo & Gundi!! Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you stop back on Sunday when I'll be sharing some inspiration for our May Die Cut Diva Challenge!!

I'm also linking up to A Blog Named Hero's May Dance of the Flowers Challenge. Any flowers are welcome - doesn't have to be Spring ones.

Happy crafting!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi there - we're celebrating Mother's Day in the USA today. Still a sad day for me since my mom passed away just over a year ago - may she rest in peace!

I have a couple people left for whom I make a Mother's Day card. My mom's sister Carol (called Tia) and Queen Mum Mary (my friend & the mom to my former quartet's lead singer). I made the card below first, then made a very similar one for my second (won't share that one).

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio pastel A2 card; various scraps, including

some ancient woodgrain papers from Target

Stencils - Taylored Expressions Set the Scene - Clouds Stencil Strips

Dies - Spellbinders Build a Spring Birdhouse &

Sweet Birds on a Branch

Stamps - Hero Arts Holiday Planner Icons &

It's Your Day (both retired)

Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black, London Fog & Summer Sky

Other - Copics for shading bird and leaves; black gem

I love Vicki Papaioannou's (clips-n-cuts) style and was excited to get some of her Spellbinders dies when released. Am just using two of the sets for the first time - typical me...but I had fun with them! I used the TE cloud stencils for the first time too - no idea how long I've had them. I used a TE brush and blended some Memento inks for a dreamy sky on my pastel blue card base.

I will add my card to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge since the birdhouse and bird with branch/leaves dies and cloud stencil finally made it off my Mount NBUS.

Thanks for stopping and Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there!!

April 2023 Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Hi all - Can't believe it's May 2nd already - April flew and we're finally well into spring! I'm popping in today to share my card for the April Card Chain Challenge. Twenty-eight people participated & you can see the entire reveal HERE.

My card went to the amazing Jo (Jo Blogs) in the UK. Jo brightens our lives every month with several challenge blogs in addition to the Card Chain, including one of my favorites - Christmas Kickstart.

Supplies: Paper - Park Lane A2 card;

Lawn Fawn & BoBunny patterned papers; scraps of black

Stamp - Hero Arts Friendship Messages (retired)

Dies - Spellbinders Thanks Enclosed Sentiments

My Favorite Things Sunflower Wreath

Other - Studio G gems

We had the following options for our April designs:

Color Palette Option

Sketch Option

Theme Options: Spring / Umbrellas / Friendship

Product / Technique Options:  Brads / Paper Piecing

Once again I've used the colors and sketch with the theme of friendship. I also did a bit of paper piecing. My initial thought was just to draw black lines on my card base to mimic the sketch. Then I spotted the paper piecing technique and decided to use some patterned papers. I took a piece of floral paper and drew black lines as on the sketch, then carefully trimmed out the two diamond-y shapes. I used the floral top corner piece to cut a similar shape from the dotted paper. I trimmed a couple thin black strips to cover the joining spots. The cute little flowers came from an MFT set I bought last fall but hadn't had the chance to use until now. Finally - a design that came out exactly as I envisioned.

**Update 05/14/23** I received the card dear Marianne (Marianne's cards 'n stuff) sent from Greece. Such a beauty with the stenciled flower spray and background - love it!! Marianne also sent some extra flowers for me to use - can't wait! Thanks Marianne!!

And a bonus - here's the card I made using the balance of the 4.25 x 5.5" paper I had used to trim out my CCC card shapes. The sentiment is another one from the same Spellbinders set - love this set! Had to laugh - I glued the happy down, only to realize I had to put the birthday at an angle for it to fit. Oh well...

That's it, friends! If you care to join the May chain, the sign-up is available until 5/6 - check it out HERE. You only need to make & send one card, then receive a lovely handmade card - so fun!!

Thanks for stopping & happy crafting!!

Last Day for Watercoloring at Die Cut Divas

Hi everyone - hope all is well with you! Today I'm providing inspiration with the end of month team over at Die Cut Divas. It's the last day for our Water Color Challenge with the amazing Altenew as our sponsor. You have until 9pm Pacific Time to enter. 

We will select a random winner from eligible April entries & Altenew will give that winner an Artists' Watercolor 24 Pan Set!! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio A2 card; Tim Holtz kraft metallic

and Distress Watercolor paper; BoBunny patterned;Neenah white

Dies - Altenew Charming Foliage, Bitty Bloom,

Lacy Doily & Mix and Match Frames

Stamps - Hero Arts Wisteria (sentiment)

Other - Altenew Artists' Watercolor 24 Pan Set

 

Process: Apply watercolors to watercolor paper, let dry.

Die cut flowers and leaves, then assemble.

Die cut doily & a panel of patterned paper.

Stamp a sentiment on a thin strip.

Assemble elements on card.

Here's a photo of the panels I watercolored & used to cut flowers and leaves:

Now for a bonus card using a panel from Altenew's fabulous Florals Coloring Book and Watercolor Bundle. The sentiment is from Creative Expressions:

Thanks for stopping and happy crafting!

Watercoloring with Altenew

Hey everyone - welcome! I'm providing inspiration over at Die Cut Divas today for our Water Color Challenge with the amazing Altenew as our sponsor. I took their collaboration class with Spellbinders back in February, adding new techniques and products from both brands. One of my new purchases was Altenew's beautiful Golden Days Stamp Die Stencil Hot Foil Bundle.

Supplies: Paper - Bazzill A2 card; Tim Holtz Jewel kraft metallic;

Strathmore watercolor paper

Hot Foil Plate - Altenew Golden Days

Stencil - Altenew Golden Days Simple Coloring Stencil Set (4 in 1)

Dies - Altenew Mix and Match Frames

Stamps - Altenew Floral Sprig

Other - Spellbinders Hot Foil Roll - Pewter; 

various Hero Arts Reactive and Tim Holtz Distress Inks; 

water spritzer & Hero Arts Iridescent shimmer spray

 

Process: Hot foil the Golden Days flower onto the smoother side of a 6x8" piece of watercolor paper using pewter foil and a hot foiling system (I used Spellbinders Glimmer).

Stencil the flower using the coordinating stencil set & water reactive inks. Move the ink with water & brushes. Spritz lightly with shimmer spray through the base flower stencil. Let dry thoroughly.

Die cut into two pieces using the Mix and Match Frames deckle die (save one piece for bonus project). Layer onto metallic panel die cut with the dotted frame die. Add to A2 card.

Stamp the thank you sentiment from the Floral Sprig set. Add a few dots from the die cut frame.

Now for a bonus using the other half of the flower panel. Hard to see but I added a clear enamel water droplet in the lower right of the flower. The sentiment is from the same Floral Sprig set. I sent this card to dear Lin (Sending Hugs) for her birthday.

Ready for a threefer?

My first attempt at foiling the Golden Days flower (used gold foil) ended up with loads of over-foiling because I used an unnecessary shim. I set the panel aside and tried a new panel which I used on cards one and two. Then I went back to my first panel - could I save it? I simply trimmed the flower smaller so I didn't have much over-foil to erase. Next I watercolored it freely & let dry, then I used the fourth stencil to add more dark red (in this case Lumberjack Plaid DI) & moved it a bit with water. Finally, spritzed heavily with Iridescent spray. Oh, and I took a damp cloth and went over the center foil that had kinda muted with the watercoloring. Die cut gold metallic cardstock using the 3rd die in the Mixed Frame set, leaving all the bits in (they were anchored well into this heavy cardstock). Added to an A2 card along with the flower popped up with foam tape. Had a tiny white flaw on the card base so covered it up with a gold gel pen & continued dotting! Finally adhered some stamped/embossed/die cut leaves (also from the Golden Days bundle) that I'd watercolored. Could've used more, I think, but I was lazy.... Done!

I'll add card three to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge since the Golden Days plate technically got first play there.

Thanks for stopping and I hope you check out the April Diva Challenge! Happy crafting!