Christmas and Friendship cards

I'm back sooner than expected to show you a few more cards.  First is a fun Christmas card inspired by the AAA Card Challenge theme to have everything in a 1 inch strip.  I've been wanting to use the Flora & Fauna die set called Festive that I got in the after Christmas close out 2 years ago at a local craft store. 

I scored a 1 inch strip near the bottom of a slightly smaller white card.  The die cuts were colored with Copics B02, G02 & RV21--kinda fun! 

I added dots of Stickles, used a W&W sentiment & added 3 tiny clear gems.  Can't wait to use these cute dies again.  I'm also entering Rudolph Days.

I really enjoyed pulling out Rosie Posie & RP Step 2 for the ITP PTI challenge to add embossing powder accents. 

The stamping was done with Blueberry Sky & Enchanted Evening inks.  Not sure I've ever used all 4 dies in Sentiment Splits: Curve Vertical.  It's designed for the sentiment to go in the curved space, but I think this works, too.  The sentiment is from ITP Effortless Beauties.  

I have 2 drawers of powders, so had plenty of choices.  I noticed one very old jar of sparkly blue powder that appears to be completely full.  It's so beautiful!  Hope you can get an idea from the photo.

I've been wanting to enter the Stamplorations Things with Wings challenge.  Finally, I played around & came up with this card using their Trendy Butterflies stamp set, W&W Rugby Stripe stencil & SSS Painted Hugs die. 

I actually started by making the plaid using Distress Oxides twisted citron & candied apple.  Instead of using a small brush or masking, I used a regular size blending brush to get a sketchy plaid.  Fun to see what a different look you can get by doing that.  I picked the twisted citron because I thought it was a close enough match to some foil I have, but wasn't happy with it.  Since I liked the plaid, I blended some of the ink on a white scrap & used it to die cut the sentiment which is stacked & brushed with a shimmer pen. 

The butterflies were stamped in candied apple & fussy cut.  I brushed them with a shimmer pen--the reason the design is so subdued.  Then I covered them in Nuvo Glaze & added tiny black pearls.  These days I've been making pretty flat cards, but decided the panel really needed to be popped up.  I have a sheet of black fun foam which worked great.  I'm also entering Stamplorations April Stencil challenge, SSS Flickr Challenge 174 & SSS Wednesday.

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

More Cards

I plan to write a post about every week so I don't loose touch my friends.  I know I won't do it more often as I can enter most challenges through IG.  Speaking of which, here's a card I entered for an ITP PTI challenge to use old & new products. 

I featured yellow to enter the April color challenge at Piece Craft Love.  Pink is still my favorite color, but I do like this cheery friendship card.

Here's another card with yellow.  I made it to enter the ModSquad challenge to use the Pantone Colors of yellow & gray.  

It also qualifies for the Piece Craft Love color challenge & Color Hues which is a challenge I don't think I've ever entered.  The stamp set is Gina K A Big Hello, the stamping was done with Versafine Clair Morning Mist & the splatters are from a gray Zig.  Haven't sliced a panel like this in a long time--fun for a different look.

Here's a card for the monthly challenge at PFS.  The theme is gold, which I love.  However, it's taken me almost all month to come up with an entry.  

I found a scrap of beautiful gold glitter paper, so I started by die cutting the PFS Circle Frame with Botanicals. That die was a gift from a friend & it happens to be on sale right now, if you're interested. This is my favorite paper in the old PFS Felicity paper pack, but it isn't doing any good in my drawer--haha!  

I used a gold gel pen to color the centers of some of the flowers & added gold Stickles to the flower centers on the sentiment sticker from the collection. The wooden heart from the collection was inked in Delicata Golden Glitz & I added gold thread to the side. I'm also entering The Snippets Playground.

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

Catching Up

If I didn't know better, I'd think it was summer!  We're not supposed to be in the 70s in April!  All that sun has everything blooming.  My lilacs are about to open--hurrah!

It's been forever since I posted here, so will catch you up with a few of the cards I've recently made.  I'm not going to include many details, but let me know if you have any questions.
I'd much rather make a card to have a chance at a gift certificate than to leave blog hop comments.  So I've been making lots of cards for the ITP PTI challenges.

Here's an Easter card ready for next year.  I used PTI Tag Sale: Quilted & Lovely Layers with the sentiment from Winnie & Walter.  Fun to use some of my MFT felt.

Next is a Christmas card I made for a challenge to make a heat embossed stained glass element on a card.  I used Liquid Platinum EP, PTI Botanical Blocks IV, Zig Watercolor markers & Nuvo Glaze.  Love the Soft Stone card front instead of white for this one.

Next is my entry for the April Poppystamps challenge: Sending Rainbows.  I had fun making a Copic marker background for Poppystamps Stitched Bloom Trio die cuts.  I brushed them with a shimmer pen & added Nuvo White Blizzard drops used like glitter glue to the inside sections.  The sentiment is from Grateful Heart.

Finally, I signed up for the free Altenew class, All About Layering 6, Dies Addition. I don't have the sets used in the class, so I pulled out Wild Rose 3D for the first lesson's homework.

Lydia used a hibiscus leaf to make the lacy look on the bottom of her card.  My leaf was much smaller & it felt like hours to get them all die cut--haha!  Luckily, I love the look, so it was worth it!  I used my old Penny Black cardstock that came with 3 shades of each color to die cut the focal point.  The sentiment is from Floral Frame.

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

Happy Easter

Wishing everyone a lovely Easter.  We've had plenty of sunshine already, so the neighborhood has lots of budding trees & flowers.  Here's a picture of my sister & me from a few years ago--haha!  Love the hair decorations & surprised to see I'm wearing gloves!

I've seen some cards with embossed crosses & decided to make one without having a die.  I just cut 2 strips of white cardstock & embossed them with an old Cuttlebug folder.  

I trimmed the pieces until I thought it looked good.  The center of the card front was lightly brushed with DO speckled egg.  MFT Blue Skies wool felt is a pretty good match.  I die cut 3 flowers from PTI Gathered Garden & 3 circles for each center.  The Impression Obsession sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  This one went to my sister & I'm entering SSS Monday & SSS Wednesday.

Next is my entry for the current ITP PTI What Do I Do With This challenge to use embossing powder.  My good friend, Rosemary, made a gorgeous card with pink cardstock & Rose Gold foil.  That gave me the idea to stamp & emboss with SSS Rose Gold ep on PTI Friendly Flowers die cut from Sweet Blush cardstock.  Just love the look!  

The leaves were die cut from Weathervane cardstock & stamped in Smokey Shadow.  The background is ITP Herringbone cover plate & the sentiment from ITP Just Sentiments: Hugs was die cut with 2 PTI banner dies.  

The top flower was attached with foam & I added PPP Rose Gold sequins.  I'm also entering The Snippets Playground (the blooms were all cut from scraps of Sweet Blush cardstock) & SSS Wednesday via IG.

Edited to add: Also entering Time Out Challenges. 

Last is my entry for the current ITP PTI The Great Cover-Up challenge.  I've been wanting to make a pastel rainbow, so that's what I did by lightly brushing on Distress Oxides kitsch flamingo, spiced marmalade, squeezed lemonade, cracked pistachio, speckled egg & shaded lilac.  

I die cut the panel with the inside die from PTI Scalloped Stackers: Small, rounded the corners & splattered with HS white Color Shine.  When it was dry I white embossed the flower from PTI Wildflower Garden & stamped the sentiment in Weathervane.  

I added some pink & white sequins for embellishment.  I'm also entering Retro Rubber (stamp set I've had at least 2 years) SSS Wednesday via IG & WAW.

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

ITP/PTI and Stamplorations

We've both had our vaccinations now--such a relief!  Hubby had a sore arm & was tired after his second shot.  In 2 weeks we can have family at our house, according to the current guidelines.  Hope you're staying well & can soon get vaccinated, if you're not already.

I love that ITP/PTI are having frequent challenges & think I've only missed one.  Here's my card for the first What Do I Do With This? challenge.  

I loved heat embossing the first time I saw it over 20 years ago.  I have a huge stash of embossing powders, so had lots of options.  Decided to finally make a card I had in mind a long time ago using a tree from PTI Enchanted Forest.  I stamped the base layer using Cocoa Bean, Ripe Avocado & Simply Chartreuse.  Then I stamped the top layer in white pigment ink & poured on a mixture of white & Diamond Sparkle powder to look like glistening snow. 

The sentiment is from the same set & I used a scrap of Ripe Avocado for the mat.  The plain white card just wasn't the look I wanted, so I dry embossed with the Richard Garay Pine Needles folder--just right!  I'm also entering Rudolph Days & CHNCC.

Next is my card for ITP/PTI The Great Cover-Up.  A local craft store had Distress Oxide ink pads on sale for buy one get one free.  Couldn't pass that up since I've been wanting kitsch flamingo & one of the brown shades.  Oh my goodness--I love that new pink!  I combined it with squeezed lemonade & lucky clover for a Springy looking panel.  

It's been a long time since I used Splits: Just a Note & I really do love it.  After the panel was completely dry, I heat embossed the image in gold powder & the sentiment in Egyptian Gold which has sparkle.  

The edges were gold embossed & I splattered the card front with Distress Stain Tarnished Brass.  I'm also entering WAW.

Last is how I used my cardstock stencil die cut from Stamplorations Bloomtangled 1 die to make the card in my last post.  I trimmed it until I liked the look & attached it to a white card.  

Then I "colored" the flower with a shimmer pen & added Nuvo Glaze. 

The Stampendous sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist & I added white Pico Embellisher dots.  I'm entering Stamplorations CAS Challenge & Anything Goes.

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