Sweet Thoughts

Hello!  I made a card just because I had an urge to color something and I have a few not-yet-used Pinkfresh stamps that need attention.  I was able to finish this in a mere week.  I know!  It's been crazy busy here lately.

One stamp and one die does the whole works at once.   This is just part of it.  I colored with Copics and added Diamond Stickles to the flower centers.  Some of the flower parts are popped up, some glued flat.  The heart was punched from gingham cardstock and coated with JudiKins Diamond Glaze.

If I'm slow to visit your blog, please bear with me.  Maybe I'll have a chance to visit and share again soon.  There are reasons, and some of them are good.

  💗

Today I'm sending my card along to Darnell's NBUS Challenge -- My never before used schtuff is the Pinkfresh Berries and Blossoms stamp and die. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Berries & Blossoms, Power Poppy sentiment (retired)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, PTI Aqua Mist, Echo Park Agenda designer paper (older)  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Spellbinders Essential Arches, Scored and Pierced Rectangles  Other:  Heart punch, JudiKins Diamond Glaze. Stickles Diamond glitter glue, Memory Box Fairy Jewels, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Orange Sunshine

Hello friends!  I'd better get this last (for now) citrus card on the blog before I forget.  It's a single orange this time with a mix of dies from my stash.  Again with those improbably bright leaves courtesy of some very old Stampin' Up colors.

I pulled together a leafy background, scalloped border, and a very fun sentiment by Impression Obsession with sunrays from a Cottage Cutz set.  Lots of ink blending and some sparkle on the foreground dies splash against a very white background.

That's all for today.  I've got a lot of different things grabbing my time and attention right now, but you know I'll be back here again soon.  Can't stop those crafty hands!  I hope you all keep on crafting, too.

Group hug!

Stamps:  Impression Obsession Sending You Sunshine stamp & die combo for sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb  Ink:  Stampin' Up Gable Green, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango  Coloring:  Ink blending with brushes  Dies:  Elizabeth Craft Fresh Fruit, Creative Expressions Leafy Frame, Impression Obsession Heart Scroll Valance, Cottage Cutz Hello Sunshine (sunrays only)  Other:  Diamond Stickles, Memory Box Fairy Jewels

Winged Creatures and Gorgeous Paper

Hello and happy Friday!  Yesterday I said I would have one more card today.  As it turns out, I have two.  It's all about the designer paper today, specifically Ciao Bella Sicilia, chosen for these cards because it prominently features lemons and all that beautiful yellow.  You know I love yellow!

Do you see the lemon slices around the edges?  I cut this 6x6 piece down to 5 1/4" square to cover the card, then simply added the die cuts -- Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch, and Sue Wilson Creative Expressions Just a Note.

The second card is another piece that did most of the work, but I did add a border for contrast, and a pretty dragonfly and sentiment -- Memory Box Azure Dragonflies, and Sue Wilson Creative Expressions Stacked Thinking of You.

This wraps up a week of citrus and Christmas.  It's a lot more crafting than I normally accomplish in a week, but I had some extra down time due to back and foot pain.  I'm fine, just had to limit certain activities, and am now feeling quite a bit better.

I'm happy to be playing along in the following inspiring challenge today:

Love Those Pretty Papers -- Anything goes with designer papers, or optional 'birthday'.

I keep saying I'm going to make a point of playing with my paper more often.  The Vast Hoard is overflowing with gorgeousness!

I plan to be back tomorrow with some pics of Sophie and the critters that visit our home on the edge of the woods.  Maybe I'll see you then.  Take care, and have a great weekend!

Orange Slices

Hello and happy day to you!  I've had a few busy mornings in my craft room and today I thought I'd share some of the fruits of my labor before the day grabs hold of me.  A few challenges prompted me to sit down with one of my newest purchases -- Elizabeth Craft Fresh Fruit die set.   One day I said "I need a citrus set", and so here we are.

I took creative liberties with the colors, using some ancient greens that don't come off the shelf very often -- mostly Stampin' Up Green Galore, with a little Glorious Green ink for shading.  Anyone remember those?  I even colored the flower centers green just because I could.

There are lots of choices with this die set from lemons to oranges to grapefruit.  Even a strawberry.  Not selling, just saying.  I'm imagining today's card with a standard orange slice and a little Clementine.

Covering the card base is Tiny Mosaic, an old Cuttlebug embossing folder from my stash.  It looks rather kitchen-y don't you think?  

In the next photo I hope you can see the Diamond Stickles glitter in the flower centers, and the gloss on the orange slices.  The gloss is packing tape -- brush cardstock with ink, then cover with clear packing tape and cut with the inner die that creates the little sections.  Cut again from non-glossy cardstock to create the lighter colored "frame" for the sections.  Maybe that makes sense???

For embellishment I punched 1/8" circles from the glossy orange cardstock.  The three-layer sentiment is from a not-used-until-now Cottage Cutz set.

 

One last thing -- the card measures 4 1/4" x 5".  It's what's left over after cutting a mini-slimline; a cute little size, fun to work with, and it fits in a standard envelope for no-extra-postage mailing.

Sometimes it feels like it takes a lot of words to explain a card, but it's all about the sharing and taking the time to visit with you.

This particular card was totally inspired by the following challenges:

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #275 -- I chose the top row:  Nature, Circles, Foliage
NBUS Challenge #76 -- My never before used schtuff is the Fresh Fruit die set and the sentiment from a Cottage Cutz set.

 

I'm so glad you could stop by.  We'll do this again real soon, okay?  Take care!

Stamps:  None except inside sentiment not shown  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb, Stampin' Up Green Galore  Ink:  SU Tangerine Tango, Apricot Appeal, Green Galore, Glorious Green  Coloring:  Ink blending with brushes  Dies:  Creative Expressions Fresh Fruit, Cottage Cutz Hello Sunshine, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers and Stitched Scalloped Circles  Other:  Cuttlebug Tiny Mosaic embossing folder, Diamond Stickles, clear packing tape, 1/8" holed punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Double D Challenge: Color Challenge

 

Hi all!  A new Double D Challenge is up and ready for you to play along.  It's a color challenge this time and I absolutely LOVE the board Darlene has provided for inspiration.  These fruity drinks look refreshing, delicious, and beautiful:

I went with the red and white so I could use my new-to-me Strawberries die set by Elizabeth Craft.  I went on a search for this die set after seeing Darlene's card here.  I guess I was in a shopping frame of mind and Darlene's pretty CAS card pushed all the right buttons.  The die set appears to be retired, but I found it on Amazon.  It can't matter whether I'm using old or new if I love it.

Dies are cut from watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers.  Where applicable I used just the side of the marker so the debossed areas would stay white.  Then I added a touch of yellow to the berry seeds.

Basketweave embossing in the background, puffy ladybug stickers, Cottage Cutz sentiment dies.  Each word is a separate die set with shadow.  As you can see, I used one with and one without the shadow.  I made the frame by nesting and layering Spellbinders square dies -- one red frame edges the 5" card, the white frame is layered over that.  The whole card was way fun to make!

Here's the prize for a lucky random winner:

The team votes on creative winners.

Come see us at Double D.  The team cards are amazing and now I'm looking forward to seeing yours.

I will also share my card at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #51 because the strawberries and sentiment dies are a first time use.

Thank you for visiting!

Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar white 80 lb & 110 lb, SU Poppy Parade  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Dies:  Elizabeth Craft Strawberries, Cottage Cutz, Sweet w/Shadow and Wishes w/Shadow, Spellbinders square dies  Other:  Darice Basketweave embossing folder, puffy ladybug stickers (older from Joanne's)

Double D Challenge: Lemonade

 

It's Double D time again, friends, and that means there's a mood board to inspire you to make something amazing!  Today Diane is asking for lemons or yellow as focus.  She has created a board that speaks to my yellow-loving heart.

I was feeling fruity so I went with the lemons.  I pulled out my Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries stamp set, thinking I was going to leave the dies alone this time and simply color.  As it happens there was one lone piece already colored and die cut.  I also had a long skinny white panel already embossed and set aside.  So I made a midi-slimline.

The tree came to mind as a whimsical way to frame this die cut lemon cluster.  It doesn't have to actually look like a lemon tree.  After all, this 2013 Memory Box die is called Tree of Wonder.  While we're talking oldies I'll mention the SU Word Window Punch which I've recently decided is useful and wonderful again.  I nested it on its companion punch, the name of which I cannot recall.

Something newer to me is the Spellbinders Seamless Floral embossing folder.  It's a pretty thing, but this piece was almost a throw away as it took a minute for me and the folder to get acquainted.

As always we'll have creative winners and a random prize winner.  The prize is so darn cute:

If you haven't already been there I highly recommend a visit to the Double D blog to see the team's samples.  They're pretty fabulous.

Take care and maybe I'll see you in the gallery!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries with matching dies  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 lb & 110 lb, Memory Box Parsley cardstock, CTMH Sunkiss Yellow, Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb watercolor  Ink:  Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Memory Box Tree of Wonder die (2013), Spellbinders Seamless Floral Background embossing folder, SU punches for sentiment, gold pearls, Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder

Double D Challenge: Fresh Picked

 

It's time for another Double D challenge, friends!  Diane made a delicious and refreshing board to inspire us:

Anything fresh picked other than flowers.

It's the yummiest, and I have a stamp or digi for everything on the board.  Most of them are old-ish, but that's okay.  If they haven't been purged it means I still like them, as is the case with the simple little stamp I used today.  It's from the SU Giggle Greetings set.

I played with designer paper from The Vast Hoard, too, and that was fun.  In 2021 when I did a whole-house declutter I went through my paper pads sheet by sheet and took out all the sheets I was less likely to use.  I ended up with a sizeable give-away pile and considerably more room in my paper cupboard.  Here we are, 2 years later, and I'm full to overflowing again, sigh.  Such is Life.

I layered the image circle onto a same size red circle in such a way that only a single rim of red shows at the lower edge.  Added stamped sprinkles, a branch, and a natural thread bow.  The red base is plain cardstock which I embossed with the SU Subtle embossing folder, retired.

I saved the rest of the sentiment for the inside:

Isn't that the truth?

There's a cute prize for a random winner, plus we'll vote on creative winners.  It's all good fun.

Come see all the fresh picked goodness the rest of the team is sharing at Double D.  I hope you'll share yours as well.  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Giggle Greetings, Itty Bitty Backgrounds  Paper:  Neenah 110 lb Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, SU Poppy Parade, Memory Box green cardstock and Brioche designer paper (old timey)  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Kiwi Kiss for sprinkles  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Linen thread, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, die-namites Leafy Flourish, SU Subtle 3D embossing folder

Lemons and Blueberries

Hello there!  I'm glad you stopped by to start a new week with me.  Or maybe you're here at the end of the week.  At any rate it's good to see you.

I continue in my effort to empty out my basketsful of not-yet-used everything.  I know, it's never going to happen, but I can try.  Today's makes are with the Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries stamp set with matching dies.  It's not brand new and it's been in my basket for a while (hanging my head).  I think the stamps are so pretty!  As you can see I made two cards.

The first has the lemons and blueberries arranged on a favorite old Spellbinders die which I've used only a handful of times.  It's the most gorgeous die with twining vines and a little bit of lattice.  I sponged the edges, then smooshed with Versamark ink and clear embossed.  Layered once for dimension.  I traced and cut a center layer, added a sentiment from the Lemons and Blueberries set, an extra die cut embellishment, and a few gold gems.  Maybe a bit busy but I like it.

The next card is simpler, using the wreath and some mixed and matched sentiments from my stash.  Gold elastic cord for a bow, and more of the gold gems.  I think you can see the texture of the card base.  I embossed both card bases with the SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, but the photo didn't pick it up on the white card.

Well, that was fun!  I used all the stamps (more on the insides) and now the set is tucked away in a drawer.  There is so much to play with in my room, new and old.  I could never run out of crafty joy.

Of course, I'm heading to the party at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #48 where we share our "never before used schtuff".

Thanks for your time!  I hope I'll be back soon but it looks like a busy week.  We'll see how it goes.  Take care!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Lemons and Blueberries with coordinating dies, Power Poppy Big Scripts (smile sentiment), Hero Arts Moments sentiment  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, SU Almost Amethyst  Ink:  Versamark, SU Old Olive and Lovely Lilac  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Other:  Gold elastic cord, Honey Bee Gems, SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, Spellbinders Decorative Curved Square die set

Brand New! The Four Seasons Challenge -- September

There's a new challenge in town and I think you're going to like it!  It's The Four Seasons Challenge, and the idea is that every three months the challenge will change with the seasons.  September, October, and November are the fall months, and so that's our current challenge -- anything fall.  I love fall cards!  We have a different inspiration board each month, but you're not required to use it.  I think a lot of us really do enjoy having that board for sparking ideas.  I know I do!  Have a look at this month's board:

There's a lot of pretty fall inspiration on that board!  I chose apples for my card:

I hope to use this challenge as an excuse to really play with the things in my stamp room.  Today I chose one of the many sketches from my Pinterest board and layered up some die cuts and designer papers to support the colorful crate full of apples (Power Poppy digi).  I even added ribbon (oh, happy day!) and some linen thread.  It's important to note that I used 65 lb cardstock for the card base so I could avoid a too-heavy card with the layers.  I like to keep the overall mailing weight no more than an ounce.

I traced and hand cut the circle with the image going slightly out of the box.  Coloring was done with Tombow markers and my homemade blender pen on watercolor paper.

Come and play with us.  It's going to be fun!  See fabulous team samples on The Four Seasons Challenge Blog, and while you're there do say "hi" to Darlene and Diane -- the blog owners/dreamers/administrators.  Happy fall y'all!

Stamps:  Power Poppy All Things Apples digi and Feeling Fall clear stamp set (sentiment)  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah 110 lb white for chicken wire, SU Whisper White for sentiment flag, Studio Light Wonderful Autumn DP for background, BasicGrey Scarlett's Letter DP for striped panels, Neenah 65 lb white for card base  Ink:  Printer, SU Close to Cocoa for sentiment  Coloring:  Tombow markers and homemade blender, Copic E08 for coloring chicken wire  Other:  Ribbon, linen thread, Cheery Lynn Chicken Wire Frame, Die-namics Stitched Cover Up Companion, Spellbinders Nested Pennants, circle die for tracing image panel

Mason Jar Challenge at Double D

Happy Monday to you!  I have a card today that speaks "summer" in the most refreshing way.  I made it specifically so I could play along in the Double D Mason Jar Challenge.  I have several stamps that could play in the challenge, but glad I remembered this Graciellie digi that's been printed up and sitting in my digi box for... oh, I don't know... maybe a year or so, sheesh.  It's called Mason Jar Watermelon.

It's just a fun stamp you don't have to get too serious about.  I colored it with Copic markers and added a designer paper border with real ric rac.  I'm super pleased about that!  For embellishment I have some cute flower sequins that match the flower print in the ric rac.

Pictured below is the pretty mood board for the Double D Challenge.  They always inspire me!  I'm also sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge because of the not-yet-used Mason jar digi.

Double D Mason Jar Challenge

NBUS Challenge #29 (never before used schtuff)

 

I've been enjoying a little card making the last few days, even though my new desk is not yet put together.  It will be soon.  First I have to clear the floor so we can work on it.  So many things to do!

Stay safe and well, please.  You are loved.

Stamps:  Graciellie Designs Mason Jar Watermelon digi, Power Poppy sentiment (retired)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, My Mind's Eye 'Notable' designer paper  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Ric rac, Queen & Co flower sequins

Power Poppy: Healing Bouquet

Hello again!  I have another beautiful new digi from Power Poppy today.  This one is called Healing Bouquet.  Marcella's art makes my jaw drop.  Girl knows how to draw botanicals!  Have a look:

I used a hand stamped sentiment, but there are also digi sentiments with Healing Bouquet.  My coloring was done with Copics on 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  I chose Copics for this one because I printed on the wrong side of the paper.  Fabriano Artistico extra white has 2 subtly different sides and I seem to get better results on one side.  Maybe it's just me.  I do love this paper when I'm careful to use the correct side.

I encourage you to check out the rest of the team's cards here:

• Julie
• Christine
• Stacy
• Allison
• Broni
• Gloria
• Barbara C.
• Catherine
• Power Poppy Blog

It's been a treat for me to color and share these new Power Poppy digis and I hope you enjoyed looking.  Thank you so much for your time.  Take care!