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.

Blog Followers and a Card

I use Feedly to keep track of blogs I want to follow.  I don't know the significance of hitting the follow button on blogs.  Clearly, the majority of people who have signed up over the years do not really follow my blog.  I also just discovered a spam account that kept leaving me comments had actually signed up as a follower--so maddening!  There no longer seems to be a way to block a follower.  I tried deleting the widget & then adding it back.  They were back the same as before.  I decided to just eliminate the widget so I don't see that spam account when I look at my blog.  I apologize if this caused a problem for you.

EDITED TO ADD:  Thanks to Liz I was able to delete the spam account following my blog.  Thank you so much, Liz!

Onto my cards.  First is another card using Gina K A Happy Hello.  I used my 3 Lawn Fawn inks of ballet slippers, peach fuzz & manatee.  I love the colors together & they stamp beautifully. 

The sentiment from the set is stamped in Brilliance Starlite Black which I've had forever.  I love to use it for a slightly less bold sentiment.  

It's hard to see, but I added pink & peach splatters as well as Pinkfresh Glacier Jewels.  The panel was matted with silver metallic cardstock & a couple extra cardstock layers for dimension.  I'm entering the ModSquad Challenge to stamp a background & make it the focal point.

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

Friendship Cards

PTI The Great Cover-Up challenge theme is to create a tone-on-tone card.  I noticed this old sheet of teal cardstock in a pack I bought years ago & saw that I have old MFT felt almost the same color.  I remember reading that a variety of textures is good to use for monochromatic cards, so that's where I started.  

PTI Herringbone die was cut from the teal cardstock & matted to a matching panel.  I inked the edges with Distress Ink peacock feathers & added black splatters.  My favorite flower dies from PTI Into the Blooms II were cut from the felt & layered.  I added White Blizzard Nuvo Drops to the tips.  The leaves were die cut from PTI vellum which I also inked with the peacock feathers. 

I already had PTI Hello Thick & Thin shadow die cut from vellum & the letters from black cardstock.  So I inked it with peacock feathers & added another layer of the black letters.  Black enamel dots finish it off.

Edited to add:  Also entering The Flower Challenge: Monochrome.

I recently saw Traci Pond's card on IG & it reminded me of Flourishes Letters in Bloom set I'd never used. I got to pick out some of their stamp sets when I was a GD shortly before they closed. I was also thinking about the wonderful sketch for FMS 517.

I began with a white scrap laying on my table & used SSS Grid Play Stencil with PTI Pale Peony ink.  Then I lined up the letters in my MISTI & stamped  in Versafine Clair Nocturne a couple times.  I used a white gel pen on the tiny leaves & a glitter pen on the blooms.  The letters were still in place, so I stamped again.  Then I added the little sentiment from PTI Scripted--love that set.  I trimmed a black scrap to size & matted the panel with Pale Peony cardstock.  Finished off with white Pico Embellisher dots.  I'm also entering Snippets Playground which has a brand new home & Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge 30, Circles.

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

Christmas, Valentine, Birthday

I have 3 very different cards to show you today.  They're all pretty simple, which is really my favorite style.

I love decorative cups/mugs and we have quite a few.  Often that's what we get for souvenirs when travelling.  The Pigment Craft Company cup was die cut from Echo Park snowflake paper & white cardstock.  

I added dots of Christmas Red Stickles to the snowflake centers.  I'd love to drink my tea or coffee from one like this!  I got the old MFT flourish die from my friend, Rosemary.  I've seen her use a flourish for steam coming from a cup, so I copied that idea.  Hard to tell, but the "steam" is covered in Frosted Lace Stickles.  

My friend, Brenda, recently made a card with dry embossed metallic cardstock & I finally remembered to do that.  I used inexpensive silver cardstock from Michaels with a Darice snowflake embossing folder that I love.  Thought this Winnie & Walter sentiment was perfect!  The panel was matted with another piece of patterned paper from the Echo Park pack that was in a giveaway I won.  I'm entering the new Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge, Just Us Girls & DRU.

Here's my 2nd Valentine & I do love how it turned out!  I used a sponge applicator to add PTI Scarlet Jewel ink to the panel embossed with Crafter's Companion Regency Swirls 3D embossing folder that came with my Gemini Jr.  

I varied the intensity of the color to get the look I wanted.  SSS A2 Card Curved Edge die cut the panel.  For the sentiment I used my new SSS Love die & the little words from PTI Scripted.  

Love the little Gina K heart embellishments which I have in black & white.  I'm entering SSS Monday & SSS Wednesday.

As most of you probably know, I love wreaths.  Hopefully a wreath counts for the ModSquad Challenge to stamp a background for your focal point.  I used Gina K's 4 inch wreath maker template & 2 images from Gina K Winter Hugs.  

I used a new to me color combo of Distress Oxides faded jeans & speckled egg--love it!  The sentiment from Gina K Sketched Wreath Builder stamp set was double silver embossed & matted with silver metallic cardstock.  I inked the card front edges to match.  Finished off with silver Pico Embellisher dots on the little berries.  

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

Birthday and Valentine's Day

I didn't let myself do much shopping over the holidays as I'm really trying to use what I have.  My first card is a good example.  

I've had SSS Grid Play stencil & SSS/PPP Damask Greetings stamp set a long time, but neither had been used.  Recently Laura Bassen posted a card on IG that I totally loved.  My card looks very different, but shows how being inspired doesn't mean copying.  I have so many ink pads, I hardly ever pull out my Hero Arts ink cubes.  For this card I used Passion Flower, Ultra Pink & Cornflower.  

The damask images were stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer.  For the sentiment, I combined SSS Painted Happy Birthday word die cut & the little words from SSS Anna's Flowers.  I added black & silver splatters plus black Pico Embellisher dots.  I'm entering SSS Flickr challenge, Stay Crafty with Hero use circles & Time Out New challenge--my newly used products hopefully qualify.

Next is my first Valentine of 2022.  I used SSS Heart Banner die, an old MFT sentiment, Spellbinders Floral embossing folder, red Altenew watercolor marker, Liquid Pixie Dust & Hero Arts red ombre sequins. 

The hearts were stacked 4 high & are really sparkly from adding Pixie Dust to the ink from the marker.

Pretty simple card which took me a whole evening to complete--haha!  At least I'm happy with the result.  I'm entering SSS Flickr.

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

Two Holiday Cards

We're having a quiet holiday week.  With winter weather & Covid concerns, we just stayed home.  I'm always happy to make cards!  

First up is my entry for Inspired By Challenge 200.  I had no trouble picking a previous winning card for inspiration as I love the CAS candle card my friend Rosemary made for IB196.  I used the same colors of light gray, white, red & green. 

I finally opened the beautiful Elizabeth Craft Designs Festive Glow die set.  The sentiment from PTI Framed Out 9 includes the word "bright" as does Rosemary's sentiment.  The mat is Soft Stone & the sentiment is stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  Rosemary's panel was die cut, but I used a die from AJVD to emboss the edges of the white panel.  The bow is die cut from red felt & everything else from white scraps.  

The candle overlay is brushed with shimmer & the flame is covered with Nuvo Glaze.  I used Distress Oxides rustic wilderness, fossilized amber & spiced marmalade.  The sparkle on the branches is from Stardust Stickles. 

Next is a card for Uniko Challenge #68, Let's Squash It #15 (stencil & embossing folder) & SSS Flickr Challenge 191.  I've been wanting to use Uniko's Flower Power #1 stencil & finally came up with this card.  

I inked the stencil with Distress Oxide candied apple, repositioned it & inked with Distress Oxide rustic wilderness.  Wasn't sure I'd like the colors overlapping, but I do!  The panel was dry embossed with a Sizzix Poinsettia folder.  

The poinsettia, branches & sentiment are from SSS Peaceful Christmas. I love being able to use DO inks for stamping to match a background. I decided against bling & just added 3 dots of Christmas Red Stickles to the flower center. I lightly raised the petal edges which really changes the look.

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