JOY

I love designs with an image replacing a letter.  Poppystamps Seed Snowflake Joy die has it already done for you, but I just had to add a couple shimmery Pinkfresh Layered Snowflakes on top.  

The blue glitter paper is from Memory Box and the embossing folder is SSS Fanciful Flurries.  I used a very small circle die to make the blue glitter dot for the snowflake center.  

Now I need to use the silver metallic J and Y for another card!  I'm entering JUGS Word Week and DCD.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Blue Bird

My friend and fellow Schnauzer mom, Carol, picked Gold, White and Blue for JUGS Color Week Challenge.

It caught my eye because I tend to reach for silver when I'm using blue.  Decided to make a winter birthday card with Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch.  

I found a sheet of double sided blue cardstock in my plastic box of papers from years ago.  The bird body was die cut from the darker side and the wing from the lighter side.  I brushed the edges with slightly darker blue inks.  Originally, I was going to add gold embossing to the edge of the blue wing, but thought it might work to just layer it over a gold edged wing.  Really like how it turned out.  I used a tiny gold pearl for the eye.  I've hardly used my Grit Paste, but maybe now I will think of it more often.  Gives a bit of sparkle and texture and a wintry feel to the branch with the look of glistening snow.  

Last time I had my Gansai Tambi gold watercolors out, I splattered a few panels.  This one with gold splatters on white cardstock made the perfect background.  I tried all three colors for the PTI Skinny Diagonals Frame and gold won, hands down.  My sweet in-person friend, Rosemary, shared some Memory Box chipboard gold foiled sentiments with me and this round one fit perfectly.  Decided against adding any embellishments, which I seem to be doing more often these days.  I'm also entering TTTC 260 with the middle vertical row of Snow/Foliage/Metallic Element.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Friendship and Christmas

I've been wanting to make a card with Alex Syberia's Elegant Peony die set.  Color Hues Red and Black challenge inspired me to get out my box of red scraps and start diecutting.  Here's what I came up with.  I don't understand why the picture looks so much better on my phone than on my laptop.  You can check my IG post.

I attached the layers in the center and gently lifted the petals.  The stem and leaves were die cut from a fairly heavy weight vellum and the tips of the leaves were also gently lifted.  

The sentiment from Altenew's Morning Glory was stamped in black and heat embossed in clear powder on the same red cardstock I used for the card front.  Three black enamel dots embellish the flower center.  I'm also entering WAW.

I wanted to make a Christmas card in traditional colors, so started by embossing a green panel with SSS Forest Border folder.  I lightly rubbed the top edges with a white ink pad and then couldn't decide what else to do.  

After it sat on my table a few days, I came across the red and white Birch Press Design Vintage Merry Christmas I put together awhile ago.  I added Shimmer Pico Embellisher to the letters.  Then I remembered my IO deer which were just the right size.  

I colored them in brown ink mixed with white metallic watercolor left on my surface.  A simple, easy to mail card, but I like it.  I'm entering DCD and WAW.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Time Out Challenge #276

The weather has definitely changed in my part of the world.  I do prefer cooler temperatures and we need the rain.  So Time Out Challenge #276: Be Cozy seems very appropriate.  

Hubby loves to wear his plaid flannel shirts when it's chilly, so my first thought was to use plaid in my card.  But I came across the Tutti Designs Winter Cottage die I won several years ago and had never used.  

We love the mountains and cross country skiing was my favorite winter activity.  I would have loved to stay at this cottage!  The white glitter paper is so beautiful in person and makes it stand out from the background.  Speaking of the background, it's simply a white panel embossed with SSS Forest Border folder.  Luckily, I didn't discard the little snowflakes that pop out of the diecut so I could add them across the top.  The little sentiment from Winnie and Walter was stamped in PTI Weathervane and matching cardstock was used for the panel and sentiment strip mats.  Hubby loves the card, so maybe I can come up with something slightly different for his December birthday card.  

You can get a lot more inspiration and all the challenge details on the Time Out Challenge blog.  Our generous sponsor is Newton's Nook and it'd be great to see you in the gallery.

I'm entering DCD and WAW.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Pinkfresh and Hero Arts

Here's my ink blended card for the October Pinkfresh Monthly Challenge.  I used CN9 Peacock, Fig and Sweet Pea inks for my circular blended background. 

PFS Folk Snowflake was stamped in black, but I decided to go for a sparkly snowflake instead.  I stamped again in Versamark and embossed with WOW White Twinkle powder.  The sparkle is just beautiful in person and I like the bit of black showing through.  You can check it out in my IG video.

Love the mixed font sentiments in the set.  I picked this one because it works for any winter occasion.

I love wreaths and the Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero challenge gave me a good reason to finally use the old Autumn Wreath set.  I bronze embossed and die cut the wreath.  Then I smooshed with Distress Oxides peeled paint, fossilized amber, crackling campfire and fired brick.  Probably should have done another layer of the colors--next time!  I sprayed Distress Spritz and Distess Mica Stain for some shimmer.

Every Fall I pull out my old Kaleidacolor Autumn Leaves ink pad and brayer the ink for a background.  I added brown splatters which show in my IG video.  

The Greetery diecut bow (from my friend, Rosemary) was embossed with the copper powder, as was the sentiment from another old HA set, Find Joy.  Hero Arts translucent enamel dots are some of my favorite embellishments and I used a green one in the center of the bow.  

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Time Out Challenge #275

We have a fun theme for Time Out Challenge #275:  Baking/Sweet Treats.  Our great sponsor, Lawn Fawn, is giving the winner a $25 store credit.  

I have very few products that would work, but one I really like is PTI's 2018 Your Beautiful Birthday stamp set.  The images make for a kind of funky, artsy cake.  You can get lots of different looks using the layers however you want and with any colors.  

I decided to go with more of an elegant take this time by using a monochromatic color palette and spraying Heidi Swapp white Color Shine over the stamped oval.  The CN9 inks are Aqua Sky, Tidepool and Evergreen.  I used the same inks for the colored strips in the background which were die cut with PFS Color Block Stripes cover plate.  The cake plate, candles and sentiment from PTI Scripted were stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  I used PTI Orange Zest and Harvest Gold for the flame and glow.  It's amazing those tiny stamps haven't gotten lost!  The larger Altenew oval was die cut from PTI Weathervane cardstock.  I remembered that stars are often used for birthday cards, so I embossed Tim Holtz Tiny Stars folder for the background.  

You can find all the challenge details on the blog, along with lots of inspiration from our GD and my teammates.  I'm entering DCD and WAW.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Altenew and Pinkfresh

There's another lovely color combo for this month's Altenew Inspiration Challenge.  

I haven't used Altenew Wild Rose die set for awhile and I thought it would be a good way to use the colors.  

I used white cardstock for all the die cutting and these Altenew inks:  Rose Quartz, Purple Wine, Maple Yellow, Firefly, Grass Field, Shadow Creek and Jet Black.  The white splatters are gouache.  Love Altenew's Deck Plank 3D embossing folder.  I tried it in 3 different colors and decided on white with a black mat.  

The sentiment is from Altenew DD: Modern Dahlia Bunch.  The flower centers have black enamel dot centers and I used white and pink sequins for embellishment.  I'm also entering WAW and DCD.

Next is another entry for the Pinkfresh Studio WCMD Challenge.  I love the look of PFS Modern Layered Florals which I stamped in CN9 Sorbet, Grapefruit, Artichoke and Parsley.  

I used a marker for some details--always scary for me!  But, it made a huge difference, so glad I did it.  The sentiment is from PFS Perfect Sentiments.  I used gold cardstock to mat the floral panel and as a shadow for the sentiment.  Love PFS Ombre Glitter dots--beautiful sparkle, but not distracting.  

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.