Valentines and Friendship

I love Cecile's style which is CAS, modern & beautiful!  Her DT card for CAS Colours & Sketches challenge caught my eye, so decided to enter for the first time.  I finally got one of the SSS 3D embossing folders & it really is beautiful!  For once, I knew what colors I wanted before I even started: kraft, white & gold. 

Vine Canopy was embossed on PTI Classic Kraft.  I cut the panel down to the size I wanted so I could have plain cardstock at the top with a narrow gold metallic strip (cut from a scrap) & then the embossed panel.  SSS Etched Laurel Leaves were die cut from the same gold metallic cardstock (another scrap) & were arranged in the Ellen Hutson Hex Frames outline die cut stacked 2 high.  

They were actually die cut long ago & I never figured out what to do with them.  Luckily, I kept them in the package with the dies & it feels great to make use of them!  The sentiment from Altenew Floral Frame was stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn & I added Spellbinders gold dots given to me by my sweet friend, Rosemary.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday via IG & Snippets Playground. 

As soon as I saw AAA Cards Challenge is No Layers with optional Big Sentiment, I knew what I wanted to use.  

I started by stamping the IO sentiment in the corner using Versafine Clair Nocturne.  Then I figured out where to position the IO heart which I stamped in VersaMagic Red Magic.  

Finished off with a tiny red gem & rounded corners.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday & ModSquad.

My second Valentine uses the old, but very cute Penny Black heart balloon die.  I had just enough of a scrap of cardstock covered in double sided Be Creative tape to die cut 3 balloons.  

I removed the release paper & covered them in Elizabeth Craft Regal Red glitter.  After you burnish it, the glitter is super soft, sparkly & no shed.  It's gorgeous in person!  I really should use those glitters more often.  

I already had embossed another panel with Taylored Expressions Swiss Hearts folder, so matted it with black cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment from IO Valentine Hearts in Versafine Clair Nocturne & matted it with a black scrap.  I tied white crochet thread on the balloons & attached them with foam tape.  Finished off with 3 tiny clear gems.  Just right for a friend Valentine, I think.  I'm entering TTTC146 using the bottom row of White, Red, Glitter & SSS Wednesday via IG.

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

Altenew, PTI, AJVD

I totally fell in love with This Project on IG & decided to use the same basic idea to enter the January Altenew Challenge & FMS.  I used painter's tape to mask a rectangle on a white panel & blended Distress Oxides fossilized amber, peeled paint & abandoned coral.  

The images from Altenew Wildflower Doodles were stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne & I splattered with Gansai Tambi Yellow Gold watercolor which has a gorgeous shimmer in person.  

I removed the tape, stamped the sentiment from Altenew Painted Greetings & added a black mat.  

Next is my entry for the PTI challenge to make a love birds card.  Rosemary's white die cut bird is beautiful, but I decided my PTI Feathered Friends 8 needed more definition.  Brushing on Distress Ink pumice stone gave me the look I wanted.  

Into the Blooms II foliage & flower were also brushed with Distress Inks.  For the background, I scored a kraft panel & inked it with 2 different brown pads.  Love the font of the sentiment from PTI Framed in Florals which was stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn.  To make this a winter card, I added snow by splattering white gouache.

The Stamp Market constantly inspires me & recently This Card caught my eye.  To make my version, I  die cut a small heart in the center of a larger one using an AJVD die set gifted to me by my friend, Rosemary.  

After coloring with a rainbow of Copics, I covered them in Stickles.  Oh what beautiful sparkle in person!  

Love Taylored Expressions Swiss Hearts embossing folder & the PTI sentiment from Prominent Petals.  The light gray mat & sentiment strip are SSS Fog cardstock.  Now I'm using the little hearts from the centers to make another card.
Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Valentine, Friendship, Christmas

Sad anniversary today.  Hard to believe my little brother has been gone a year.  I think about him every day & focus on the many happy memories.  

I'm so grateful I find joy in cardmaking.  There's nothing like seeing something come together you really like.  My first card meets that criteria.  I really like how The Stamp Market stacks a die cut word with layers of colored cardstock.  Finally I gave it a try with SSS Love die. 

I pulled out 2 shades of purple, 1 green & 2 blues from my scraps to cut the shadow.  For the detail top layer I used silver glitter tape attached to cardstock.  Really love the look!  

It's attached to the beautiful white Memory Box Bingham heart which is on a Soft Stone panel splattered with Distress Stain Brushed Pewter & attached to a white card.

Next is the card I made for Papertrey Ink's challenge to make a floral thoughts of you card.  I wanted to make a card with a purple background, so I looked up colors to use with purple.  I found an apartment decorated with a purple wall, navy furniture & big glossy green plants.  It worked for a card, too!  

PTI Border Bling: Tin Stitched & Skinny Diagonal Frames were die cut from Royal Velvet cardstock, attached together & matted with a panel of New Leaf.  I die cut Into the Blooms II flowers & leaves from white textured scraps which I brushed with Dark Indigo & New Leaf.  Really love how they look.  Unfortunately, the green is showing up very well in the picture.  I double black embossed the sentiment from Essential Sentiments & splattered everything with white gouache for a little brightness, along with clear gems in the flower centers.

I've loved Spellbinders Joy die set ever since it came out in 2019.  I couldn't resist a clearance sale at the end of last year & I'm so glad I finally got it.  There's the main image, plus the letters & some extra little flowers & branches.  For my first card I die cut the main image & letters from silver metallic & white cardstock.  

I attached the silver image to a gray, textured panel & then inlaid the white letters stacked 3 high.  The top layer is brushed with a glitter pen & is so gorgeous in person.  

The sentiment from Winnie & Walter was stamped in black on a strip from a PFS die & I glued it over the O.  I added a bunch of clear gems & matted the panel with black cardstock.  This is one of those cards I keep looking at as it's just what I love.  The great thing is, it was easy to do.  I purposely used silver & white with neutrals of black & gray so I can enter Color Hues.  Soon I'll show you the card I made with the white main piece & silver letters.  I'm also entering WAW.

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

Stamplorations, PTI, PFS

I'm really good at putting off housework, so I can make cards!  Here are 3 more that I recently completed.

First is another card for the new Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge using the colors for Just Us Girls.  I love the sweet images in Stamplorations Coffee for All Seasons, but don't think I've made a Christmas card until now.  

I silver embossed on a light blue scrap, die cut it into a square & matted it with the gorgeous Spellbinders Fleur de Lis die cut from silver metallic cardstock.  Decided to "color" the cup with a shimmer pen which helps it stand out a bit & is so pretty in person. 

Love this sentiment from Winnie & Walter which I stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  Hard to see in the pictures, but love the look in person of the snowflake from PTI What the Doodle: Snowflake stamped on the card front in Hero Arts Soft Pool.  The splatters are Distress Stain Tarnished Silver & the focal point is stacked 3 high.  I'm also entering Stamplorations Theme & Photo Prompt, Stamplorations Never-Ending Anything Goes & DRU.

I'm enjoying using my old products & for this card I pulled out PTI Friendship Jar Flowers.  I stamped the stems image in Prairie Grass, a darker green I thought would be good for a winter floral card. 

I changed my mind & didn't use the flowers in the set.  Instead, I used one of the small dies from Into the Blooms II with some rose colored felt.  It's meant to be part of a larger flower, but I like the look of it alone with a white felt center.  

The sentiment is from one of my newest PTI sets, Just Sentiments: Hugs.  I stamped it in Versafine Clair Acorn.  The splatters are Prairie Grass & I finished off with Rainstones & brown hemp.  I'm entering the PTI challenge to make a flower bouquet card.

I've had 5 gold embossed PFS Small Butterflies on my table for weeks.  You stamp & die cut 9 butterflies at once.  I had used 4 of them & wanted to make a wreath with these last 5.  Decided to finally sit down & do it for the PFS January challenge.  

You can pick any of the 2021 challenges & I picked the April gold challenge.  However, my card also fits May, June, July & November!  I also had a card made from PTI Rustic Cream on my table & liked the butterflies on it.  For the background I stamped Nested Diamond in Delicata Golden Glitz.  It's so beautiful in person, but doesn't show up in the photos very well.  I wanted a mostly neutral color palette, but decided to add just a bit of color using a rainbow of Memento markers on the butterfly bodies.  Gold Pico Embellisher covers the colored areas giving gloss & texture.  I played around with making the butterfly wreath & decided it would be better to attach the butterflies to the Layered Wreath, one of my favorite PFS products!  I die cut it from white cardstock to go with the butterflies, but painted the tips of the foliage with Gansai Tambi Starry Colors Yellow Gold watercolor--love the look!  

Just for fun I wrapped gold thread around the wreath between the butterflies.  The sentiment from one of my newest sets called Sweet Friend Floral was stamped in Versafine Clair Pinecone & I finished off with yellow jewels.

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

Memory Box and Poppystamps

Often I seem to put off getting entries made for monthly challenges.  Glad to have 2 done for January, so no rushing at the last minute.  Of course, there are others I now need to start working on!

First is a Valentine for a 97 year old lady in an Assisted Living facility.  Darnell requested cards for her at the beginning of the pandemic.  Her mind is clear & she enjoys getting cards.  I send one about monthly.  Such a little thing to brighten her day.  Hope she'll enjoy this one with her first initial.  

It's from the same Flourishes Letters in Bloom set I used for a card in this post.  The heart die cuts are Memory Box Grand Heart & Bingham Heart.  I did some partial embossing using a Echo Park Random Dots folder.  Years ago my friend, Rosemary, used the technique of embossing by tapping the folder with a mallet instead of using a die cut machine.  It let's you put the embossing just where you want it & you can vary the dimension by tapping lighter or harder.  I really like how it filled in the empty space.  

The V is colored with a Spellbinders silver shimmer pen--so gorgeous in person.  I also used a glitter pen on the outline heart.  I'm entering Memory Box Alphabets challenge & Dies R Us.

I have a huge collection of spray mists--mostly Tattered Angels.  The shimmer is so gorgeous in person.  When I saw JUGs challenge theme, I pulled out Caribbean Blue & Meadow Green to use for my entry.  Before spraying the panel, I black heat embossed the images from Poppystamps Little Kindness.  

When the sprays dried, I used Gelly Roll Stardust pen to color the flower centers & added black splatters.  

Really love my new Poppystamps Happy Birthday Poe Script die cuts which are stacked 2 high.  I'm also entering Poppystamps Birthday challenge & ModSquad.

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