Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Hello!  I made a couple of cards today that I'm entering in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

I had a lot of fun making these cards because I got to use some new products!

For this card I used the new stamp set Big Bloom from Winnie & Walter and Simon Says Stamp for the STAMPtember celebration.  You know me and flowers, I never met a flower I didn't like and this big bloom is perfect for so many techniques I just had to have it :)  To make my bloom I first laid down some color using a rainbow of distress stains on white paper, then I embossed the flower using gold glitter embossing powder and fussy cut.  For my card base I added some of the same glitter embossing powder to the edges of the card, and on the white base I did a bit of watercolor in a very light blue.  The words you and sparkle are also from Winnie & Walter.  I added some Pretty Pink Posh clear gems to the center of the flower, and on the top and bottom of my card. 

This card uses the October Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.  It's really a gorgeous kit and I can't wait to create more cards with it.  I embossed the heart in gold and used some distress stains to watercolor.  Everything on this card except for the panel the heart is on are from the kit, that panel was cut with a die from PTI.

That's all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by!

What's Brewing?

Today is National Coffee Day, so I made another card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!  This  card has a Halloween feel to it (or at least I hope it does, that was my intention!)  I used Reverse Confetti's Quick Card Panels from their last release, and they definitely have a fall/Halloween color palette and vibe.

The cute little coffee cup is from Simon Says Stamp, as is the sentiment.  The tag was cut with a Reverse Confetti die, and as I mentioned above all of the patterned papers are from RC.  I love how this card came together, the colors make me so happy :)

Have a wonderful, COFFEE-LICIOUS day!

Hey, how are you?

Hello!  I made another card for the Fall Coffee Lover's Blog Hop.  I have quite a few coffee stamps, and I don't use them often enough, so this hop gives me the perfect opportunity to play, yeehaw!!

I love my Coffee Love stamp set from Precious Remembrance Shop!  The coffee cup is perfect for paper piecing, which I did here using American Craft's Autumn Crisp 6X6 paper pad.  I would love to have a plaid coffee cup like the one I made here, wouldn't you?!  The "hey, how are you?" stamp is from the Coffee Love stamp set, the word "smile" is from PRS's Positive Thoughts stamp set.

I'll be back tomorrow with another coffee card that I really love, see you then!

The Challenge #44

Hello!  We have a fun, colorful, birthday themed challenge for you today at The Challenge!

I wanted to use monster stamps on my card but I don't own any, so instead I used something else with pointy teeth, an alligator (or is that a crocodile, I'm not sure lol!)  He's holding a balloon in his mouth, headed to celebrate a party!  I used various patterned papers, glitter paper, and dies to add the festive mood of the card, including the banner die from Reverse Confetti and the balloon die and "hooray" word die from Papertrey Ink.  The alligator is from Newton's Nook Beach Party stamp set.  I stamped it on green patterned paper and fussy cut.  I added some glossy accents to his glasses and spots, and some Copic marker to various parts of his body.  The sentiment under the Alligator is from Simon Says Stamp's Big Birthday Wishes stamp set.  The card is finished with some Pretty Pink Posh clear sequins.

Be sure to pop over to The Challenge blog and see what the other design team members have created!

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Sky is the Limit

Hello!  I have a card to share today that I'm entering in 2 challenges, the MFT Color Challenge 30, and the Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge, which is to NOT use designer paper on your project.

So I was playing around with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors this morning and decided to try a combination of the spearmint, tropical teal, and gumdrop green colors (Kuretake #50, 57 and 51 respectively) to make a background.  I had it in the back of my mind that I'd never used the moon die from MFT's Sun, Moon, & Stars Die-namics on a card, and I thought the lemon chiffon color would work well for that, so that's how my card came together.  I also used some of the Kuretake white and silver to make splatters on my panel, and coated the moon and stars with a bit of the shimmery silver, although it's hard to see on the photo.  The sentiment is from Blue Skies Ahead. 

You know what's funny, this watercoloring might be total CRAP, I'm not an art critic, but when I create stuff like this it makes ME feel like an ARTIST, and I love that feeling!  And I guess that's what matters, right?  I love how it turned out, and wish there were more hours in the day just to PLAY :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Today is a Good Day

Hello!  I made a card today for the Fall Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!  When they had the blog hop this past summer I was at the beach and unable to participate, but there was no chance of that happening this time around.  I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I used my new Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp collaboration stamp set for this card.  I bought this stamp set mostly because I couldn't resist this coffee cup and sentiment, although the other images in the set are great too.  But I'm a coffee lover through and through so I had to have this.  I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush watercolor pens to color the image.  The patterned paper is from American Crafts Autumn Crisp 6X6 paper pad.  This card was very quick and easy to put together!

Thanks for popping in today, see you again soon!

Thinking of You

Hello and happy Friday!  My card today is for CAS(E) this Sketch #142 and Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge.

I used the Denim & Daisies and Blissful Banners stamp sets from Paper Smooches to make my card.   I stamped the swirled pocket stitch detail stamp several times along the border to make a "vine" of sorts, then I stamped a few of the little polka dot leaves on the "vine".  Next I used my blending tool and some Tumbled Glass distress ink to add some color before adding my die cut flowers.  The sentiment is stamped with Wplus9 Falling for Blue ink.  I finished the card with some clear sequins.  Super simple card but I love how it turned out :)

Hope you have some fun weekend plans, thanks for stopping by!

I'm So Grateful

Hello, I'm here today with a card that I made for the current MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #247, and the Simon Says: No Designer Paper Wednesday Challenge.

I used the beautiful Fall Florals stamp set from MFT to make my card, stamping the log with brown ink to make a border, and using distress inks to make my leaves and branches.  I used some Heidi Swapp gold Color Shine spray to make some splatters, and the sentiment, from Thanks So Very Much, was embossed in gold on vellum.  I mounted everything on a brown card base. 

The weather has been delightful this week here in PA (for which I'm VERY grateful) and I hope it continues like this well into November (no unexpected early snow please and thank you ;)

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time!

It's All Perspective

Hello!  Finally, after several YEARS of wanting to own some of the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous blueprint stamps, I bit the bullet and bought the new set that's a collaboration with Simon Says Stamp for their  STAMPtember celebration!  The cute frappe cup is what pushed me over the edge to buy this set.  I didn't use that on today's card but I guarantee I'll be using it soon :)  I'm entering my card in 2 contests, Freshly Made Sketches and Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and STAMPtember blog hop.

I started my card with a base of patterned paper from the Crate Paper Style Board 6X6 pad.  I've been wanting to use this camera paper for a long time but never had just the perfect card for it, until now.  I pulled out some of the colors from the paper and used those to make a border at the top with SSS's Wavy Scallop dies.  The fishtail banner dies are from MFT.  The camera is stamped with Wplus9 Bo Peep ink.  I stamped the image several times and cut out a few of the individual pieces and popped them up on foam tape to give the camera dimension.  This was a quick and simple card to make and I really like how it turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Serendipity Stamps Guest Designer Part 2

Hello there!  I'm delighted to be back today guest designing for Serendipity Stamps September Challenge, "Stamp Your Own Background". 

For my card today I chose what I consider to be a perfect background building stamp set, "Retro Starburst".  This set so so versatile!  For my card today I chose to simply stamp the various images in an eye pleasing pattern and color palette, leaving a space where I wanted to stamp the sentiment.  I used Wplus9's inks, Cockleshell, Bo Peep, and Beanstalk, and Hero Arts Mint Julep and Fresh Peach.  A tip for you, when I want to stamp a pattern such as this one I almost always use a piece of scratch paper cut to whatever size my card is going to be and "practice" stamping the design.  I think I practiced the above card 3 times before I got it exactly like I wanted it.  This can help with card stock waste.  I can't tell you how much card stock I've wasted sitting down and going straight to my stamping without being sure how I wanted it to look!  By practicing first you can eliminate that problem, and it really doesn't take a lot of extra time.  The sentiment is "And I Think To Myself", stamped in black and framed with a gold die cut.  I think this happy, positive sentiment is just perfect with the fun, retro stamps.  I trimmed my main panel and added it to a black card base; I felt it needed a strip of black on the side to "balance" the card.  I added some gold sequins to finish the design.

There are MANY techniques that you could try with a set such as this.  A couple of my favorites:

1.  Emboss/Resist  Stamp using embossing ink, add clear or white embossing powder and heat set.  Use an ink blending tool and distress inks or other die inks to add color.  You could also use a watercolor medium to add color.

2.  Add distress ink to your stamp and spray lightly with water and stamp.  This will give a watercolor look.  You could also try Distress Stains, these don't need to be sprayed with water.

Be sure to hop on over to the Serendipity challenge blog to see what the talented design team members have to show you!

I want to thank Jeanne for inviting me to guest this month, I've enjoyed it immensely!

The Challenge #43

Hello everyone!  I have some very exciting news today!  The lovely Lesley from the Always Playing with Paper blog, and the creator of The Challenge, has invited me to be on The Challenge design team!  I love challenges and was thrilled to say yes and join in on the fun.  So I'm here today with my first post for Challenge #43 which is a lovely inspiration photo.

 

There's so much to be inspired by in this photo, right?  Let me show you what inspired me.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the beautiful brick wall.  I would LOVE to have a wall like that in my house, wouldn't you?!  I used a Crafter's Workshop brick stencil, PTI Soft Stone ink, and my blending tool, to make my background.  I also splattered it with some of the Soft Stone ink mixed with water.  The next thing I did was pick out some colors from the inspiration photo, the pink and blue, and green from the plants.  I used Winnie & Walter's In Bloom: Lola's Bouquet to make my flowers.  First I added some Worn Lipstick and Broken China distress stains to the back of the flower stamp and stamped that on watercolor paper.  When it was dry I turned the stamp over and used the outline and Wplus9 Silver Lining ink to stamp over the watercolor.  Next I fussy cut the flowers.  For the leaves I used some Gansai Tambi watercolors.  I colored 2 shades of green on watercolor paper and when it was dry I used a PTI leaf die to cut.  The sentiment is from PTI.  When I assembled my card I added some twine under the flowers since there are a lot of textiles in the inspiration photo (I wanted to soften things a bit).  I added some clear Wink of Stella to my flowers, and some sequins to finish things up.

I hope this inspires you to try your hand at this challenge!  I can't wait to see what you create :)

Inky Paws Challenge #25 Halloween Theme

Hello there!  I'm playing along with the current Newton's Nook challenge, which is a Halloween theme.

I don't have any Halloween themed stamps from NN (although I did see after I made this card that they posted a free Halloween digi image on their blog), so I decided to use this cute little bunny in her hula outfit to make my card.  This Reverse Confetti Quick Card panel was the perfect thing to place the bunny on, don't you think?!  The sentiment is from The Stamps of Life, and the pumpkin is from a Schlosser Designs stamp set.   A Winnie & Walter scallop edge die cut and some washi tape and the card was done, quick and easy!

The air has turned crisp and cool here today in PA and I LOVE it!  I threw all the windows open this morning and there's a glorious breeze running through my house!

Have a good one, thanks for stopping by today!

Essentials by Ellen September Pin-Sights Challenge

Hello!  I'm sharing a card today that I made for the current Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge.  Love this fabulous inspiration board!!

As you can see, I was most inspired by that beautiful dark blue starry chart!  I used some Chipped Sapphire distress ink to recreate the look on some watercolor paper, and after it was dry I splattered some of the white glimmer watercolor from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set over top.  The flower and sentiment are from Mondo Magnolia, I watercolored the flower with distress inks.  I wasn't completely happy with the way the flower looked so I added some of the white glimmer watercolor on the inner petals.  I'm still not 100% happy with the flower, although it does look better in person than it does on this picture.  The leaves were done with a die from Wild Garden and I used Cracked Pistachio distress ink to color them.  The thing I love most about this card is the background, love how that turned out!

Hope you have a terrific weekend!

So Much To Be Thankful For

Hello!  I have a fall card to share with you today.  I'm loving the cute pumpkins in Reverse Confetti's Pumpkin Patch stamp set, they're just perfect for this time of year!  I'm playing along with the current CAS(E) this Sketch and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Die Crazy challenges.

I used the Pumpkin Patch stamp set to make the leaves and pumpkin, and all of the papers are from Reverse Confetti's Fall Fun Quick Card Panel pack.  This was my first time trying one of their card panel packs and I really like it, such cute and colorful designs.  The slide die frame die and banner die are from PTI. 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend, thanks for stopping by today!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #246

Happy hump day (Wednesday for those who've never heard that term, don't want anyone to get the wrong idea lol!)  I made a card today that I wanted to share, and I'm entering it in the My Favorite Things Wednesday sketch challenge.

I used some of the tiniest leaves from Fall Florals to fill my shaker, along with gold and clear sequins, and gold micro beads.  The sentiment was made with MFT Label Maker Sentiments and PTI's Birthday Classics (the word October, which I embossed in gold).  The front of the card was stenciled using MFT's Split Diagonal stencil and Antique Linen, Tea Tye, and Vintage Photo distress inks.  I finished my card with a twine bow. 

We have quite a few October birthday's in my family and I love to have special cards on hand for them.

Have a fabulous day, thanks for stopping by!!

CAS(E) this Sketch #140

Hello there!  I have a card for you today that uses some of the new Reverse Confetti products I ordered from their latest release.  I'm entering it in the current CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.

I didn't mean to get so much splatter on this, but since I did that at the end and the card was finished I didn't want to do it all over.  I do love the little "hill" I created with the new banner die from RC, and the Pumpkin Patch stamp set is adorable, love the fun sentiments in the pumpkins!

We've had a couple of cool days here in PA, now we're going back into the 80's (YUCK!)  I'm definitely ready for fall!!

Thanks for stopping by today :)

MFT Card Design Superstar Conetest

Hello!  Today I'm sharing my 5th and final card for the My Favorite Things You Could Be a Card Design Superstar Contest. 

I started my card by embossing watercolor paper with MFT's On The Diagonal background stamp using white ink, then coloring with Tumbled Glass, Faded Denim, and Chipped Sapphire distress inks.  To make my flowers and stems I used Fall Florals.  The frame die is from MFT and I stamped the sentiment from Thanks So Very Much and embossed in gold.  I added a twine bow and some gold Pretty Pink Posh sequins to finish my card.

I've enjoyed making all of my cards for this special contest.  There are some very outstanding entries, so I don't know if I stand a chance of being one of the winners, but I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.  The prize package is fabulous and I'd be over-the-moon thrilled to win it!

Thanks for stopping by today!

So blessed

Hello!  I'm playing along with 2 challenges today, the Wplus9 Get Sketchy Challenge #3, and the Simon Says STAMPtember use a stamp and blog hop challenge.

I received my new Wplus9 inks in the mail today and had to crack them open and play!  I've been hooked on their inks since ordering their Fairy Tale collection last spring.  I used their new fall collection of colors on my card today.  The colors are a bit washed out looking here, blame that on the photographer, not the colors, because they are very rich and vibrant in real life!  Every color on this card, except for the sentiment which is stamped in black ink, is from the fall collection.  I used my ink blending tool to apply color to white card stock for the bottom layers, and the border around the sentiment.  The flowers and leaves are from the Doodle Buds stamp set.  I was so happy to finally get this stamp set recently for my birthday!  The scalloped borders along the bottom were cut from Simon Says Stamp dies.  I added some Pretty Pink Posh sequins to finish my card.  I seem to add sequins to almost every card I make lately, but I can't help myself, my cards don't seem "finished" without them lol!  They're like jewelry to a dress!

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by, hope you have a blessed day!

September Mix it Up Challenge with Impression Obsession

Hello!  It's a rainy day here in PA, but we need it desperately so I'm not complaining.  I'm also hoping the rain will break the heat wave we've been having and cool things off a bit, I'm ready for fall!

I have a card today for the current Essentials by Ellen Mix it Up Challenge.  This month they're mixing it up with Impression Obsession. 

I used the beautiful Roses Cover-a-Card background stamp from IO to start my card.  I embossed it in white on watercolor paper, then used my Gansai Tambi watercolors to add shades of pink, orange, and yellow.  The sentiment, which I embossed in gold, is from Mondo Magnolia, and the stems were cut from the Wild Garden dies.  I finished my card with some gold thread and gold sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.  The scallop die is from Winnie & Walter and the cross stitch dies are from Memory Box.

Hope you're having a great day, thanks for stopping by!

MFT Card Design Superstar Contest

I didn't think I'd be back with another card today, but I had some time this afternoon to make this one and I love how it turned out and wanted to get it entered in the My Favorite Things card contest.  This makes 4 cards that I've made for the contest, one more to go :)

This card was really fun to make!  I used leaves from the new Fall Florals stamp set along with Distress Inks (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, and Mustard Seed).  I inked the leaf stamp with the DI then sprayed with water and stamped on watercolor paper.  For the background I used Antique Linen DI to watercolor and added the splatters with Brushed Corduroy.  I stamped the stems and sentiment (from Thanks So Very Much) with brown VersaFine ink.  To make the banner that the sentiment is stamped on I used the large flag die from Blueprint 13, cutting it down to the needed length.  I punched a couple of holes and added the brown twine.  The card is finished with some gold Pretty Pink Posh sequins. 

It's been really hot here in the northeast and I'm eager for cooler temperatures to arrive (which they should very soon!)  This card reminds me that fall is just around the corner :)

Have a wonderful day!

MFT Card Design Superstar Contest

I'm back today with another card for the My Favorite Things "You Could Be a Card Design Superstar" card contest.  This is card #3.

My card today uses the Dienamics Chevron Cover-up die.

Dies are one of my favorite design elements and MFT has some of the BEST dies out there!  I cut a rainbow of colors from the chevron die and mounted them on foam tape.  I placed the outer part of the die on my card base to use as a guide to place the chevrons, then removed it, leaving just the raised chevrons.  I love this look!  I stamped some of the pretty flowers from Polynesian Paradise and fussy cut them.  For the sentiment I cut the word "happy" from black card stock, and for the word "birthday" which is from the new Label Maker Sentiments I stamped with Versamark ink on black card stock and embossed in white.  I finished the card with some gold thread behind the flowers, and some Pretty Pink Posh gold sequins.  I love the look of the black and white flowers on top of a colorful background, I think it really makes the flowers sing!

Have a fabulous day, thanks for stopping by!

Serendipity Stamps Guest Designer

Hello and welcome to my blog!  I'm very excited today to be a guest designer for Serendipity Stamps September Challenge!  The theme this month is "Stamp Your Own Background", something that I love doing, how about you? 

To make the background for this card, I started with Serendipity Stamps Beaded Strings Background.  Background stamps are a great way to start a card, there are so many different techniques you can do with them.  I first embossed the Beaded Strings on white paper using gold embossing powder.  Next I chose 3 shades of Distress Ink, Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass, and Shaded Lilac, and used my blending tool to apply the ink over the gold embossing.  This is one of my favorite color combos when I want a soft, dreamy look.  Next I splashed some water droplets over the background (the lighter color spots you see on the card).  This technique always adds a bit more interest when you're using Distress Ink.  For the circular sentiment panel I actually used a bit of a different technique, but the same ink colors.  First I embossed the sentiment,  You Make Me Happy When Skies, in gold.  Then I smooshed some of the ink onto my craft mat, sprayed with a bit of water, and used a paint brush to apply the colors where I wanted them.  I added some gold thread behind the sentiment panel, and some white sequins and purple gems, to finish the card.

I think this Beaded Strings background stamp is extremely versatile.  It would look great on just about any type/theme of card!  I hope I've inspired you to try your hand at making your own background if it's something you haven't tried yet.

One more thing before I go, there's a beautiful stamp on sale this month for 50% off at Serendipity Stamps, the Japanese Maple!  Be sure to check it out, in addition to being a lovely focal image it would be fabulous as a background.