Valentines

I'm still working on Valentines.  Luckily, cardmaking friends appreciate happy mail whenever it arrives.

First is my card inspired by Color Hues Red and Pink Challenge.  Finally pulled out Uniko Layering Flower Fusion stencil set and I love it just as much as Picked Posies.  

My inks are CN9 Honeysuckle and Poppy plus PTI Weathervane.  I used Versamark through the flower centers stencil so I could silver emboss them.  SSS Layered Bird Bunch has just the right size little birds.  I colored one by brushing the pieces alternating with the red and pink inks--red being the head.  I used Stamplorations circles cover plate for added interest.  I flipped the cut down panel so the bird could be popped up on the branch next to the Alex Syberia die cut word.  I used vellum for the shadow and silver cardstock for the word.  The Valentine sentiment is inside.  I'm also entering SSS Monday and DCD, if I didn't use too much gray.

My next card was made with Gina K Wreath Builder Template and Sketched Wreath Builder stamp set.  Hadn't used the template in awhile and it really is such a fun technique.  

The inks are CN9 Sweet Pea, Ballet Slipper, Parsley and Sprout.  Even though I stamped the tiny hearts 3 times, they were barely visible.  So, I stamped over them twice using PTI Sweet Blush and got the look I wanted.  The embossed panel was done with a very old folder that has tiny hearts at each intersection of lines.  Love the difference it made compared to using a plain white panel.  I'm entering Time Out Challenges using the words Pink and Heart.  I have light pink hearts and darker pink flowers, plus the tiny white hearts in the embossed background.  

Last is another Valentine using a paper pad given to me long ago by my sweet friend, Cat.  I love the gold and kraft papers, but I struggle to use printed paper.  So glad I watched Juliana Michaels' Craft Your Stash video recently.  Again I used her basic sketch and this time covered the seam with a strip cut from one of the papers with the reverse side up.  

Couldn't come up with any additional colors I liked with these papers.  I found a yellow vellum that looked like gold and used that for the shadow of  SSS Simple Happy Valentine's Day.  The words were cut from the reverse side of the paper, like the strip.  Clear embossing the words let them stand out and perfectly match the card.  Gotta say, I love how this turned out, although I wasn't so sure in the beginning.  By the way, did you see the SSS tip to cut down a silicone basting brush to use with glue?  Check this out!  Someone recently gave me 2 of the brushes, so I tried it out.  Worked great to attach the words to the shadow.  I'm entering 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.

Christmas and Valentine's Day

Since pink is my favorite color, I couldn't miss Christmas Kickstart Dreaming of a Pink Christmas!  I've been wanting to use the little PTI angel in place of an O and here's the result. 

My sweet friend Maria gave me Poppystamps Seed Snowflake Joy a long time ago and I love how versatile it is.  The J and the Y can be used with the snowflake or separately.  I die cut the angel from CN9 pink glitter I've hoarded for years.  It's gorgeous when the light hits it!  You can get an idea from my IG video.  I brushed the white letters with Memento Angel Pink and stacked them 2 high.  I glued the angel to a vellum oval and then attached everything to a panel embossed with SSS Holiday Greenery folder.  The thin mat was inked to match.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Years ago another sweet friend, Cat, gave me a wonderful American Crafts Valentine pad.  I love the papers and have used some, but I struggle using printed papers.  A video by Juliana Michaels for the current Craft Your Stash event gave me just the inspiration I needed.

I pulled out 2 papers I liked together and cut them like she did.  The seam was covered with white and pink thin grosgrain ribbon--also in my stash for years.  Love SSS Simple Valentine's Day die and knew it would work for this design.  Tried a few options and decided on a shimmer vellum shadow with light pink letters stacked 2 high.  Then I pulled out various flower dies and thought the smaller one from SSS Dreamy Daisy Layers worked best.  The solid layers were inked light pink and the detail layers were die cut from the same shimmer vellum.  I attached the layers purposely not lined up and added the white centers brushed with a shimmer pen.  Really love how this one turned out!  I'm going to use some of the other papers while I remember what to do with them. 😊 I'm entering SSS Monday and Word Art Wednesday.

Edited:  Something was bothering me about this card.  I pulled it out 2 days later and immediately realized that the flower centers needed to be red to tie in with the text paper.  Easy fix and now I love it!

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

Birthday Cards

I like to have some birthday cards made ahead in my stash and most of the ones left I don't really like.  So, I'm working on fixing that.  I seldom make shakers, but really had fun making this one for Poppystamps January Challenge.  Think my sister-in-law will enjoy something different than I've sent her in the past. 

Poppystamps Soaring Tree Frame was die cut from white cardstock and colored with a gold sparkle pen and green and brown Faber-Castell markers.  The leaves were covered in Peeled Paint Distress Stickles.  I ink blended Altenew's Just Green and Persian Blue for the background which was covered with clear packaging and filled with Shaved Ice and a brown bead mix.  You can see the shaker in action in my IG video.  Poppystamps Nordic Bunny Trio was in my last order and think this cute fellow was the perfect addition to my card.  I added a tiny bit of color to his ears and feet.  The sweater was colored with blue ink left in my brush and a dot of Stickles was put on his tail.  The gold foil chipboard sentiment is from Memory Box.  SSS Dibble Tile folder gave me just the texture I wanted.  I'm also entering Word Art Wednesday. 

Recently a friend gifted me PFS Botanical Bunch stamp/die/stencils.  I was in the mood for a monochromatic card--maybe because of my new Altenew Sea Shore ink cubes.  

I first gold heat embossed the image and then used all the inks in the ink set with the stencils.  I added small gold splatters.  The darkest ink was used for the sentiment from PFS Perfect Sentiments.  The panel was die cut with PFS Postage Edge Rectangle and matted with gold metallic cardstock.  I attached the sentiment over a nest of gold thread and added a few Sea Shore enamel dots.  So happy with how this turned out.  I'm entering PFS January Challenge using April Floral Frenzy and September Monochromatic Magic.  Coloring stencils for stamps and embossing folders are lifesavers for me, as coloring is not one of my talents.  Using matching stencils has become one of my favorite techniques, so I'm also entering my card at Time Out Challenge 305.

Edited to add:  Also entering NBUS since this is the first card made with the floral stamp, coloring stencils, ink cubes and enamel dots.  

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

Coffee and Snowflakes

The cup from Stamp Simply's Cup of Java has been waiting to be put on a card.  I die cut both cups in the set from this beautiful paper a long time ago, but only used the larger one.  This cup was perfect for the thank you going to a friend along with a Starbucks card.  

I added glitter glue to the flower centers and used a shimmer pen on the steam and Elizabeth Craft Designs word.  Surprise, surprise--I had pink cardstock to match the little flower! 😊 So proud of myself for thinking of the coffee beans layer in the Miss Ink Stamps Coffee Time stencil set.  It's actually designed to go around all the little cups, but I easily repositioned it several times to get beans where I wanted them behind my cup.  I used a finger dauber with CN9 Ballet Slipper ink.  I'm entering Just Us Girls, SSS Wednesday and Word Art Wednesday.

Lots of people are dealing with snow and ice, but it's just cold and sunny in the PNW.  So, I made paper snowflakes!  I pulled out blue cardstocks I thought went together well and used SSS Snowflake Block die and SSS Fanciful Flurries 3D folder. 

I sprayed the diecut with Lindy's Stamp Gang Fairy Fluff which is beautiful when a light shines on it.  I used a white paint pen to color the tiny dots.  Didn't like the look of adding a sentiment, so I'll just put one inside.  Not sure if this will be a Christmas or winter BD card.  I love the fresh, clean look and decided against embellishments.  I'm entering Color Hues and Inkspirational.

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

Valentine and Christmas Card

Continuing to escape the awful reality of my country's leaders by making and sending cards.  Here's my second Valentine and this time I used AJVD hearts.  

I inked them with Altenew's Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart and Purple Wine.  Love their ink sets, so I don't have to guess about shades that go together.  Couldn't resist brushing the hearts with a shimmer pen--so beautiful in person.  You can see the shimmer in my IG post.  Taylored Expressions Swiss Hearts embossing folder was used for the background.  I inked a gray panel and Alex Syberia Friend diecut with Versafine Clair Morning Mist.

I'm entering WAW.

The JUGS Mood Board challenge inspired me to stamp an Evergreen forest using three Trinity Stamps silhouette trees with Altenew Hunter Green and Fresh Leaf ink pads.  The photo second from the left in the bottom row of the mood board is what caught my eye.    

I spread Tim Holtz Snowfall Grit Paste at the base of the trees and added snow with a white paint pen.  My new Waffle Flower sentiment shadow was die cut from vellum and the words were die cut twice from white cardstock.  Hard to see, but they were layered so that the lighter green is visible on the left side of the letters.  The top layer was covered with glaze. 

I finished the card with a variety of translucent green enamel dots.  A simple card that is just my style! 

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

Valentine and Birthday cards

Slow going getting Valentines made this year, but I did make a sparkly one inspired by the All that Glitters challenge at Time Out.  I have tons of glitter products, including Elizabeth Craft Designs loose glitter in quite a few colors.  They're truly amazing as they become totally smooth, beautifully sparkly and non-shedding after you burnish them.

Balloons are fun for any occasion and I thought the cute very old little heart balloon die from Penny Black would work great.  I covered some cardstock with double sided adhesive and die cut the balloon 3 times with the adhesive layer on top.  Then I simply removed the adhesive liner and poured on Purple, Champagne and Ocean Spray glitter.  The Spellbinders Label and the sentiment strip were die cut from PTI Soft Stone.  The Tim Holtz bow was covered with Frosted Lace Stickles.  Decided to see if I could add the glitters to the edges of the mat using a Quickie Glue pen and a ruler.  

It actually worked pretty well.  My pen was juicy, so got a bit more glue than needed in a few spots.  I'm still happy with the look.  Check out the video in my IG post to get a much better idea of the beautiful sparkle.  I stamped the very old MFT sentiment in Versafine Clair Nocturne.

Love that Altenew continues to have the monthly inspiration challenges.  They push me to use some of their products in my stash.  The January color combo is right up my alley and worked great for the wonderful White Cap Peonies stencil set.  

The Altenew inks I used are Rose Quartz, Purple Wine, Cosmic Berry and Lime.  I love the Deck Planks embossing folder which I used with tan cardstock.  Hard to see in the pictures, but I lightly rubbed over the raised edges with a slightly darker ink pad.  It adds detail that is noticeable in person. 

The splatters are done with Altenew gold metallic watercolor which has gorgeous shine that you can see in my IG post video.  The gold embossed sentiment is from Sweet Bouquet and I was delighted to find old enamel dots in my stash that are a great match.  I'm also entering 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.