Feel Better Soon!

Hi all - TGIF!! It's very gloomy here today with possibility of severe weather, though it'll probably stay further south. I'm popping in with a few cards made while sitting in front of the television. First up, a bouquet for a friend who broke her foot (a different friend than a previous post - we're accident prone, I guess):

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

Betterpress Porcelain; scrap of black

Stamps - Spellbinders Celebrate Everything

(exclusive freebie in Issue #253 of Simply Cards and Papercraft)

BetterPress Plate w/Dies - Spellbinders You Are Everything Sentiments

Dies - A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set

Other - Copic Markers; foam tape

I just did some simple Copic coloring on the floral image which I'd stamped on Neenah. Die cut it with a stitched rectangle. Adhered to A2 card & added a pressed sentiment w/shadow. Since the stamp is newly used, I'll add to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge, plus this is my card for her IDEAS program (see Darnell's inspiration HERE) - A=Anything Goes this week.

Next, a couple of sympathy cards I needed for this week. A cousin passed on Tuesday and one of Dad's Arizona neighbors lost their son to longtime illness. I went with a  couple Spellbinders sets ( Essential Floral Reflection & Floral Reflection) that I used before HERE and really love. For these I added a layer to the label and really liked it that way. Another Betterpressed sentiment finished them off. 

Which one do you prefer? I made the one on the right first but liked the deeper colors of the second one on the left.

Thanks for stopping & have a crafty day!!

Spring Storytime

Welcome everyone - I have a Diva post today with some inspiration for our April Die Cut Diva Challenge - Make a Spring Card! We have RAM Stamps as our fabulous sponsor this month; Rachelle Anne Miller designs just adorable images & I've enjoyed coloring them!! 

Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio A2 card; 

Hero Arts Bermuda; Neenah white; scrap of yellow

Digi Stamp - RAM Stamps Storytime

Clear Stamp - Hero Arts Sky's the Limit (c2009 - retired)

Embossing Folder - Spellbinders Checkered Scallops (EOM-Mar24)

Dies - Kat Scrappiness Never Ending Square Dies

Other - Creative Expressions Wordies Hello Spring;

Copic Markers; foam tape

RAM Stamps is offering a prize of a $10 gift certificate for our 

random winner drawn from eligible April entries.

I see Spring because the tree seems to be sprouting its new leaves. To reinforce the theme, I used a spring sentiment. The printed digi (thanks Arlene!) was colored with Copics, die cut with a square and matted with another square. In keeping with Darnell's IDEAS (E for embossing), I decided to layer it onto an embossed panel. First time that folder got used (just 1 month from receipt, fantastic!) so I'll add my card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge. A stamped/fussy cut sun & a preprinted sentiment strip finished the card.

Now for a bonus using a fave image of the Divas - Friendship Mouse - such a cutie!!

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

Michael's green

Digi Stamp - RAM Stamps Friendship Mouse

Dies - Elizabeth Craft Designs Stitched Rectangles (retired)

Other - Creative Expressions Wordies Hello Spring;

Copic Markers

We hope to see you in the April Diva gallery with your Spring creation! Just remember to include a die cut or use an embossing folder in your design &, if it's not obvious, share why your project evokes Spring.

Thanks for stopping & happy crafting!!

Pair of Birthday Cards

Hi all - I'm back with a pair of birthday cards made yesterday. First up - card # 3 (and final) for the current Day of the Month Card Club #62 National Look Alike Day (two of something):

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white & black;

Ms Sparkle pastel A2 card

Stamps - Sentimentally Your Fabulous Florals (a magazine

freebie with Creative Stamping Issue 130)

Dies - A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set

Memory Box Wishing You (exclusive for Simple Pleasures)

Other - Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink;

happy sentiment strip from stash (maybe SSS?);

black & white gel pens; foam tape

Was shopping at JoAnn yesterday and picked up a UK magazine with some freebie stamps. One was the corner flower arrangement so I stamped it in two corners, inspired by Gundi's gorgeous card HERE. Colored both images as similarly as possible and die cut with a stitched rectangle. Adhered to a black mat, then a pastel A2 card and added a sentiment. The "birthday" was the other 1/2 of the die cut sentiment used on my brother's bday card - used the "happy" there.

Since the magazine freebie stamp is new, I'll add this card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge too.

Once again I was visiting my dad with access to limited supplies but I played along during last night's LIVE of Craft Roulette with Mary Gunn FUNN & this week's guest Kelly Taylor (see the replay of Episode #211 HERE). Here's the card I made during the LIVE:

Supplies: Paper - Ms Sparkle sand & aqua; Neenah white

Stamps - Hero Arts Typewriter Notes (c2013 - retired) &

same magazine freebie as above (coffee rings)

Ribbon - May Arts

Other - Hero Arts & Memento inks; Copic Markers

The roulette wheel spun the following (screen shot during LIVE):

I remembered a box of old clear stamps in the satelitte studio. Found a typewriter to use for the element Mechanical. A website with Summer Color Palettes gave me some color ideas (I went beachy with blues & sand). During the discussion, Good Tidings was thought to include birthday, congrats, etc so I went birthday. For Tie Closed, I went literal and made a gatefold card with a ribbon to tie it closed. The typewriter is glued to one side only so that helps to close the gate too. While I submitted during the LIVE, I took a better photo today for this post.

Made the gatefold with the sand colored paper, then added some panels of aqua. Stamped the aqua panels with the coffee rings and typewriter gibberish (right side got a bit goopey, oh well - handmade, right?!). Stamped the typewriter on Neenah, colored with Copics & fussy cut. Assembled card and tied with ribbon - done! This would work for a masculine card too if I changed the ribbon to twine.

That's it for today - hope you're having a crafty weekend!

Santa with Reindeer

Hi friends - Thought I'd combine participating in Darnell's IDEAS program (see this week's inspiration HERE) with the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Santa and His Sidekicks. I had an extra Santa from a previous card and stamped a couple of reindeer to accompany him. For IDEAS, this week is embossing so I pulled out a 3D embossing folder I hadn't used yet.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; Paper Studio A2 card, 

Patterned paper unk (in scrap bin)

Embossing folder - Spellbinders Criss Cross Motif (3EOM-Nov23)

Stamp with Dies - Hero Arts Mr & Mrs (retired at HA 

but found HERE at Frantic Stamper) & Jingle All the Way (retired)

Dies - Tim Holtz Sizzix Big Tidings

Other - Copic Markers; white gel pen; foam tape; Park Lane red gem

Another simple card - stamping, coloring & die cutting, plus the background embossing. I'll add this card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge too, since the embossing folder got first play here. I have more Spellbinders folders that need some love - hope to get to them later this week.

Now that I think about it, I'll add my card to the current Day of the Month Card Club Challenge too. They're doing Look Alikes and since I have two very similar reindeer, I think my card qualifies!!

That's it for today - thanks for stopping by! Happy crafting!!

Craft Roulette Episode 210

Happy Sunday! Friday night I watched my first LIVE at Craft Roulette - episode 210 (replay here) with Mary Gunn FUNN. Her guest was Carrie Rhoades who does some designs for Trinity and for Spellbinders. I should say I watched part and listened during other parts while I crafted along... I submitted a photo during the LIVE but took a better one in natural light yesterday. Here's the better photo:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah White;

Bo Bunny Blessed; many scraps

Dies - Poppystamps Fern and Daisy Pop Up Easel Set;

Spellbinders Floral Reflection (blue flowers) & 

Fancy Edged Ovals (retired)

Other - printed sentiment (brand ??); various gems

At Craft Roulette they spin the wheel four times for the must-include parameters. I photographed my computer screen to capture them during the LIVE.

The host and guest create their card based on the parameters during the LIVE. Players can submit during the LIVE but have until Sunday night. There's a lot of banter between the guest and host while they're crafting together online; it's fast & fun and prizes can be won randomly from submissions.

I was visiting my dad but I keep a stash of basic supplies at his house (my "satellite studio"), plus I brought a few die sets with me. When the Project came up "Include Action" & the discussion mentioned pop-up cards, I was ready with a Poppystamps set. For Colors, I found this website with all sorts of fabulous Northern Lights photos. I used white, green, pink, blue, purple & yellow for my colors. For Blackboard, I found a chalkboard looking patterned paper with loads of text like a teacher might write on a board. Mary also mentioned using a white on black sentiment strip during the discussion so that worked for me too. For the Random element oval, I was lucky because the pop-up die set I used includes an oval for the center! Plus I had a sweet bitty pierced scalloped oval die that I used to cut a stack of diecuts for the stopper.

Here are a couple other views of this pop-up that I also took in a better light:

If interested, I made another version of this card last year HERE & in 2021 I skipped the pop-up panel and made an A2 shaker card HERE. I'll be sending this card to a chorus friend. Remember I mentioned one who broke her leg? Well, another one broke her ankle! No, we're not normally so accident prone but when you have a large group, things are bound to happen. Anyway, Jen is out until after our upcoming Regional contest which is a shame! Broken Leg Bonnie has healed enough to go home from rehab - unbelievable how lucky she is to recover her independence so quickly!! If you remember, my mom died 2 years ago after breaking her leg (they couldn't do surgery & she just faded away in less than four months).

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!!

A Trio of Feminine Birthday Cards

Happy Saturday!! I'm back to share a trio of feminine cards for April birthdays. Four dear friends all have birthdays in the first couple weeks of the month; I shared a card for the earliest one HERE. First up today is one I made using some darling images from my friend Gundi (papierelle). I used another one of the images HERE.

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio Pastels A2 card;

Betterpress Porcelain; Paper Studio Bright Vintage

Betterpress w/Dies - Spellbinders You Are Everything Sentiments

Other - Kitty images from Gundi - thanks again!

Copic Markers; foam tape; Betterpress Cosmic Sky ink

I colored the kitty images with Copics & fussy cut. Adhered a strip of texty vintage paper onto an A2 card, then popped the kitties up with foam tape. Added a pressed sentiment die cut w/coordinating die and given a shadow. My friend Avis loves cats and she really loved this card! I'll add it to the Anything Goes section of Seize the Birthday.

Next up, a couple quick and easy cards using bits leftover from other cards:

Supplies: Paper - Ms Sparkle A2 card; various scraps;

Neenah white; Betterpress Porcelain, Paper Studio Bright Vintage

Betterpress w/Dies - Spellbinders You Are Everything Sentiments

Dies - Memory Box Plumed Gypsy Butterfly

A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

MFT Blueprints (retired); Hero Arts Nesting Infinity Ovals

& Jan 24 Premium MMH kit (sold out); flower center unk

Other - Foam tape; Cosmic Sky Betterpress ink

This final one has a strip of MFT's Colorful Canvas and a flower panel by unknown, along with a leftover Hero kit flower and Spellbinder's birdie from Sweet Birds on a Branch (retired at Spellbinders but still here as of this writing at Frantic Stamper).

That's it for today! Thanks for stopping & I hope you're having the fabulous weather we're getting (might reach 80F!)

A couple Masculine birthday cards

Hi everyone - TGIF!! I have a couple masculine birthday cards today, made for April birthdays. Both my brother and a former coworker have birthdays early in the month. First up, one that may seem more for a kid but my brother, the big kid, loved it:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio Pastels A2 card;

Neenah white; various scraps;

My Favorite Things Sand, Surf, & Sky

Dies - Poppystamps Whittle Racing Giraffe Kit 

Whittle Lizard & Whittle Panda Pickup Kit;

Hero Arts Thorn Tree and Grasses;

Spellbinders Gnome Drive Holiday

Memory Box Wishing You (exclusive for Simple Pleasures)

Other - Copic Markers; foam tape; 

printed sentiment strip (probably SSS)

I made a card with the whittle pandas (see it here if you missed it) but I didn't use the pickup part of the set. My brother drives a white pickup so I thought it would be fun to do a card with the pickup and add some giraffes. A test cut of the whittle lizard die (enabled by Lisa of My Paper Tales to buy) decided to ride along in the bed. I added grass and a tree from a Hero Arts set that read more African than the tree included in the giraffe set. The sweet whittle clouds came with the giraffes. I fashioned a headlight by cutting one of my gnome car lights in half; the tail light was colored in with a Copic. 

While my brother loved his card, I think my sister-in-law loved it more!! She makes cards too and was fascinated by all the details. I'll add this card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge since the giraffes got first play here. And my card works for the Anything Goes section of Seize the Birthday.

Next up, a quick and easy card:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio Uncharted & A2 card;

Neenah white; Betterpress Porcelain, striped scrap (unk)

Stamps - Hero Arts Past Times (retired)

Betterpress - Spellbinders Swirl Birthday Frame

Dies - A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set

Other - Foam tape; Cosmic Sky Betterpress & Memento Rich Cocoa inks

I layered some map papers, plus a scrap of striped, and adhered to an A2 card. Stamped & fussy cut a plane & used a pressed sentiment (cut with a stitched rectangle, rather than the die in the Betterpress set).

That's it for today! Thanks for stopping & I hope you're having a great start to the weekend!!

Floral Reflection

Hi everyone - I'm nearly back to normal after my hideous virus & luckily, my dad stayed healthy! Since I missed out on last week's IDEAS with Darnell (djkardkreations), I wanted to try to get something done for this week's theme - Dies/Die Cuts. Couldn't do it Monday to tie in to Darnell's fabulous inspiration but here's my card with loads of die cuts:

Supplies: Paper - Ms Sparkle A2 card; 

Anchor Paper (marbled green); lots of scraps

Dies - Poppystamps Fern and Daisy Pop Up Easel Set

Spellbinders Essential Floral Reflection &

Floral Reflection

Stamps - Hero Arts Envelope Liner Background (c2012 retired)

Betterpress - Spellbinders Always and Forever Sentiment Strips

Other - Paper Studio and Hero Arts gems; foam tape; 

Cosmic Sky Betterpress ink; Mermaid Lagoon DOI

I stamped the A2 card with the background using Mermaid Lagoon ink. Die cut three of the largest labels and stacked for dimension, then added to the card. Die cut two of the leafy bases & all the flower bits. Assembled all pieces and added to the label. Die cut a couple small butterflies from the Poppystamps set and added them to the card. Popped a Betterpressed sentiment from the stash onto the center and added gems to some of the flowers and the butterflies - done!

Since my reflection piece has two panels, this card fits perfectly at the current Day of the Month Card Club Challenge National Look Alike Day. And the Floral Reflection die set is getting first play here so I'll add the card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge.

Thanks for visiting and have a crafty day!!

Mr and Mrs Claus

Hey there - I'm healing gradually from whichever virus I had - ugh! Thanks for the get well wishes! Finally felt well enough today to put together a card for the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Santa and His Sidekicks. I decided to go with Santa and Mrs. Claus, using two cute little stamped images from a Hero Arts set I picked up on clearance and hadn't used yet.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah white; Paper Studio A2 card, 

Holiday (dark red) & vintage (patterned holly);

Spellbinders Oct 23 Card Kit (plaid) & Betterpress Porcelain;

My Favorite Things Colorful Christmas Text; scrap of black

Stamp with Dies - Hero Arts Mr & Mrs (retired at HA 

but found HERE at Frantic Stamper)

Betterpress Plate with Dies- Spellbinders Poinsettia Corner (sentiment)

Dies - A Jillian Vance Design Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels

Other - Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Copic Markers;

Betterpress Black Ink; ephemera holly from the Spellbinders kit

Simple card - stamping, coloring & die cutting, plus a bit of Betterpressing. I'll add this card to Darnell's April NBUS Challenge too, since the stamp set got first play here. Next I made a bonus card with Mr. and Mrs. Claus - this time using ephemera from the Oct 23 Spellbinders card kit and another Betterpress sentiment (Merry and Bright Sentiment Strips). I hand cut the chimney smoke with a deckle scissors.

That's it for today - thanks for stopping by! I'll try to catch up on blog commenting...

March 2024 Card Chain Reveal

Hi everyone - welcome! I'm back to share the card I sent as part of the March 2024 Card Chain Challenge. Thirty-five people participated & I sent to Carol (Crafty-Stamper) in the UK this time. You can see the full reveal HERE if desired.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts Pitch Black; Neenah white;

My Favorite Things Colorful Canvas

Stamps with Dies - Whimsy Stamps Hey Ostrich (dies HERE)

Dies - Waffle Flower Postage Collage

Lawn Fawn Lucky Clovers

Other - Copic Markers; Glossy Accents; Park Lane gems

We had the following options for creating our cards:

Color Palette Option

Sketch Option

Theme Options: On The Farm / Postal / Friendship

Product / Technique Options: Felt / String and Block Stamping

I went with the colors and sketch with a bit of postal in my inchie blocks. I still had some ostrich stamp offs sent from Arlene (A Bit of This & That) for our January Die Cut Diva Challenge using Whimsy Stamps. When I saw the sketch, I just knew I had to use one! Since I planned to color the beak orange, that became my color to add to black/white. The Copic shading on the ostrich body was done with Brick White so I'd stay in the white family. Thought some little 1" square postage stamps would be cute for the grid portion. I wanted to put something atop the squares. When I decided to use the shamrocks, I wasn't really thinking about St Patrick's Day needing green - oh well, orange is on the Irish flag, right? I heard the card brought a smile to Carol and her daughter - yay!

You can see what I did with a few other ostrich images HERE, if desired, plus I have used more that I'll share later... 

My dear friend Gundi (paperielle) sent her card to me this month, lucky me! I just love her interpretation of the sketch using masked circles and stamping! Isn't that floating fox the sweetest too?! Thanks to Gundi for this beauty and for the die cuts she sent!

Gundi also knows I enjoy postage stamps & she always puts a few on her envelopes. I trim them off and add them to my little book (made in a Tim Holtz class years ago).

Want to join the Chain? You just make & send one card, then receive one card! Go HERE by April 6th to sign up for the April chain.

That's it for today, friends - thanks for visiting!!

Happy Easter & last day for the March Die Cut Diva Challenge!

Happy Easter wishes to everyone celebrating today!! Most of my immediate family will celebrate in Arizona but I was going to take my friend/sister by choice Connie and her hubby to Easter buffet at Afton House Inn. We did the Thanksgiving buffet once and it was very good. I ended up coming down with a bit of a sniffle so we'll have to reschedule. Boo hoo!

I'm sharing at Die Cut Divas today along with the rest of the end-of month team. It's Anything Goes for this month at the Divas - just remember to use a die cut &/or embossing folder & get your last entries in by 9pm Pacific time today.

First I have some darling Easter treat boxes made using a new Lawn Fawn die set:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb;

Lawn Fawn Fruit Salad Petite; Graphic 45 Time to Flourish;

Scraps of green

Dies - Lawn Fawn Carrot Treat Box

Stamps with Dies - Carrot 'bout You (coordinating dies HERE),

Carrot 'bout You Banner Add-On (coordinating dies HERE)

Other - Copic markers, Memento Tuxedo Black ink;

Hero Arts Ultra Pink & TE Pumpkin

Lawn Fawn has generously donated a $25 gift card to their online store 

for our random winner. Thanks, Lawn Fawn!

The box was just released for Spring 2024 and so were the stamped/die cut additions. So easy to put together and Kelly Marie has a great tutorial video on the product page. I simply die cut the box from patterned papers and the carrot tops from some green scraps & assembled per the video. Stamped, die cut and colored the bunnies, sign & banner and added to the assembled box. Both are filled with Easter candies - yum!! I'll add my carrot treat boxes to Darnell's March NBUS Challenge since they're new. 

For my bonus today, I made some little chick boxes - so cute for Easter!

Supplies: Paper - Lawn Fawn retired & 

scraps of Neenah white, black and orange

Dies - Lawn Fawn Tiny Gift Box &

Tiny Gift Box Chick and Duck Add-on

Other - White gel pen

Simply die cut and assemble the box following the video tutorial Kelly Marie shares on the product page. Die cut and add the chick elements form the add-on set. These boxes had room for two Dove candies each. I will link my chicks to the current Dream Factory Challenge where no bunnies are allowed on your project. And my yellow chicks fit the current I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge to included something yellow.

And I can't forget to wish Hilary (fiddling about) a happy birthday today! Here's the card I sent her using Spellbinders Spring Reflection (DOML-Feb23) and a bunch of snippets along with a background of MFT's colorful canvas in a fave color of Hilary's - green! The sentiment came from a Betterpress set You are Everything Sentiments. Hilary received the card a while ago (you never know about the post) but waited til today to open it!

Happy Birthday, Hilary!!

That's it for today. Hope to see you in the March Diva gallery by 9pm Pacific time today! 

Thanks for visiting & enjoy your Easter!!