Giveaway--Blog Post 100!

Hello friends.  I made it to post 100 & I have 35 followers--time for a little giveaway!  I so appreciate all the encouraging comments & your friendship.  Decided to practice for my future DT duties (it's a goal for someday!) with a challenge for you.  This dress, surprisingly, has been one of my summer favorites--a little bold with some colors I usually don't wear.  By adding a brown sweater it's also working for the transition to Fall.  Here's the challenge:  use this dress to inspire your work.  Remember, you can click on the picture to get a better look.  Leave a link to your card in a comment on this post.  I will copy a picture of all the entries for the post where the winner is announced.   My hubby will be the judge.  He has always liked art & has a good eye for color & design (at least I think so!)  Sometimes it's nice to get the opinion of non-cardmakers--not just the "experts."  
I focused on the border for my card to get you started.  It was fun to just grab a variety of stamps & inks:

• HA, Impression Obsession, Penny Black, Autumn Leaves, JudiKins, PSX
• Memento Bamboo Leaves, Versafine Vintage Sepia, ColorBox Apricot, Distress Inks ripe persimmon, pine needles, festive berries 

Hope you'll join in & have fun with this--you truly are special!  I can't wait to see your cards.  The deadline is midnight, Pacific Time, Saturday, Oct. 13th.  

Fall Wreath

Busy week--not used to working so many days anymore.  Makes me know moving to part time was the right move!  Finally did have a chance to make a card & it's for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge--Fall theme.  I happened to have a floral advertisement on the table showing a bouquet with 2 big yellow sunflowers & that inspired me to take out this wreath from Wreaths of all Seasons.  I embossed it in gold on vellum, fussy cut & then colored it from the back with Distress and COPIC markers.  I mounted it to a piece of cork that was die cut using the top part of the Flourishes Classic Keyhole Template Label die.  The wood embossing folder is Tim Hotz & the scalloped circle is Spellbinders.  Hard to see, but the wreath is stamped on the circle in VersaMark ink.  Love this beautiful Fall paper by K&Co, so used it to cover the front of my card after sponging some Distress barn door on the edges.  Twine & square brads finish it off.  I think this will be a Thanksgiving card for my cousin & his wife.

Have to share 1 more late season rose picture--White Delight.  Isn't it gorgeous with the delicate pink?  I can't take credit as all I do is water & clip them--didn't even get them fed!  












We had a big birthday at our house this week.  Keesha turned 14!  We almost lost her 3 years ago & here she's outlived all our dogs so far.  She's almost deaf--see how high she holds her ears up trying to hear?--we call her The Flying Nun (those of you who remember that old TV show will understand)--& she has problems with her back legs, but she doesn't let anything bother her--just as feisty & playful as ever--keeps her brother in line!  I always think people can learn a lot from how dogs adapt & seldom complain.  Thanks so much for coming by--your comments always make my day.

Christmas Tag

The September challenge at Penny Black & more at Allsorts is to make something for Christmas.  Decided to enter the tag I posted on Flickr.  I used one of my favorite Penny Black stamps, christmas star.  After heat embossing, I cut it out, colored w COPICS & added Stickles. The sentiment is from PB winter wonders & is stamped in VersaFine, punched out & edged w the COPICS. The frame was already on my table & I liked the poinsettia on top of it, so only decision was what to use for the base. I chose Spellbinders Lacey Circle which was stamped with PB poinsettia script. To get a color to go with my COPICS I inked the stamp with Mementos Lilac Posies & then Adirondack Cranberry. All the layers are attached with foam tape & good thing I always buy bling on sale or with coupons! Fortunately, I had the right shade of ribbon--totally justifies having hundreds of yards (that's a guess!) to cover whatever might be needed for a project--right?!
We've had an unusually dry & warm summer, but the feel of Fall is really in the air now.  That means I won't have roses much longer.  Yellow is not my favorite color, but I do love my Oregold rose & even late in the year it had this beautiful flower.  Thought you might like to see it.  Thanks for coming by.

Home Decor

I've wanted to expand my stamping to include things like home decor.  So far I've just done some candles, candle holders & a candy dish.  Years ago I bought blank porcelain ornaments & coasters (stamp company no longer in business) & a clock to be decorated/stamped.  Don't want to ruin them, so there they sit with nothing done.  However, I found a plain $2 tile on sale, so ruining it didn't scare me.  I also decided to stamp on paper & then attach it--could be redone as many times as needed.  Turned out, I just did it once & am pretty happy with the result.  This is my entry for the Stampendous! Sept Challenge to use heat embossing.  When I began stamping years ago, I heat embossed almost everything & I still love it.  I began by painting the tile with one of my neglected Lumiere metallic acrylic paints--Pewter.  The stamped piece started with white cardstock with VersaFine Smokey Gray added with a small foam tool (don't know what it's called).  Then I very lightly stamped Stampendous! Elegant Borders image in the left upper & right lower corners with the same ink--can't really tell now.  Next the vintage image from the cling Cold Pair set was heat embossed in black & the words were stamped in Memento Nautical Blue.  Memento Elderberry was very lightly & randomly sponged on the piece & then a thin coat of Glue & Seal was painted over it.  Stampendous! boss gloss ink (just got a bottle for $1.50 at the "garage sale" my LSS puts on!) was daubed onto the edges of the tile & the stamped piece so that Stampendous! aged silver embossing enamel could be added & heated.  Love the look!  After I attached the stamped piece to the tile, I added a little more of the enamel & then swiped it with StazOn Jet Black.  Final step was to die cut the Cuttlebug snowflakes, ink them with the same colors, add some Distress Stickles Rock Candy & the Rain Dots & glue them to the corner.  The Michael's ribbon was just right for the hanger since it isn't a bright silver.  Now I wish I'd bought more tiles--guess I have to go shopping again--LOL!  I always look forward to hearing your thoughts, so thanks for taking time to share them with me.  Hope your day is going well.

Fall Wreath

I love wreaths, so no surprise I was drawn to this picture in Pinterest to use for my Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge card.  You have to understand--I don't do Facebook or Twitter--I know, hard to understand in this day & age!  I did find that you can view some things on Pinterest without joining.  I found this picture yesterday & simply copied it into Word, which , of course, is not the right format to put a picture into your blog.  So, today I printed the document out of Word & then took a picture of it.  I apologize for the poor quality, but hopefully you can tell that this really did inspire my card.  I used one of my all-time favorite Flourish stamps--this wreath from Wreaths of all Seasons.  It's stamped with Distress Ink gathered twigs.  I used a small paint brush to draw lines of water around it to guide my tearing of the cardstock.  The bow from the same set was stamped on peachy shimmer cardstock, cut out & mounted with foam tape.  The same cardstock was cut with a Spellbinders square for the mat.  I had fun adding a variety of pearls--maybe my favorite embellishment.  The wreath square is mounted to brown cardstock cut with Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares.  I could use any tips you have on getting the cardstock out of an intricate die after it's cut.  That was the most time-consuming part of making this card!  I die cut 2 more of the plain squares to make the card that the Fleur de Lis is attached to.  Fabulous to have a chance at winning Flourishes new release, but regardless, I love how this turned out, so that's a win!  Hope you're having a great week.  I appreciate you taking time to stop by.

Grateful

It's almost a week since my last post, but in case anyone remembers--I'm happy to report there is no sign of the Memento Elderberry flower on my white jeans--hurrah for bleach!
I did get a card made for the Moxie Fab World Asymmetry Challenge.  
I was inspired by this beautiful card made by Julie Koerber.  

I used my new Cuttlebug Geometric Rings embossing folder on the top of a kraft panel & scored vertical lines at the bottom.  The edges are swiped with Memento Peanut Brittle & yellow trim attached to brown ribbon is secured where the 2 designs meet.  The panel is attached with foam tape to the front of the kraft card.  I wanted to use the bird image from Flourishes Snow Wonderful set, but I wanted a circle image.  Then it hit me--punch out what I need with a circle punch!  Love "stretching" my stamps, which I usually don't figure out to do--LOL!  The image is colored by sponging on these inks: Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy & Chocolate, Memento Peanut Brittle & Morocco & Color Box Canary.  A slightly larger scalloped circle is punched from green cardstock.  I mounted the image with thick foam tape over the ribbon & added the 2 green Maya Road stick pins (darkened the green with a COPIC) by sticking them into the foam tape--trick I read somewhere.  The sentiment by Impression Obsession is stamped with Pearlescent Ivy, edged with Peanut Brittle & added to the left top of the card for balance, but I'm not sure if it's exactly right.  I do like this card, though, & now I have another Thanksgiving card made--yah!

As some of you know, hubby & I recently celebrated our 33rd anniversary.  Here's a picture of us at the marina after a day of boating.  Very appropriate, as we were also at a lake 33 years ago saying our vows as we looked out over Lake Tahoe.  Thanks for coming by.  Enjoy your weekend!

9-4-12

9-4-79

 

MAXI FUN TO MAKE A MINI

Penny Black is having a weekend challenge--yah!  Even better--I figured out what I wanted to do & finished it in plenty of time--well, it did mean staying up late last night since I had vacation laundry & pruning roses to get done before I could start on it.  I'm happy with the results & that's always a plus.  The challenge is to make a mini card.  Decided to see if I could do basically the same thing I would for a regular size card but in miniature.  I love layering big flowers, so started by stamping the 3 little ones in the "sentiments" clear set on PB mix & match cardstock in Memento Elderberry.
(I love Elizabeth Allan's TIP/HINT section of her posts, so thought I'd give you one today:  Do not stamp wearing your favorite white jeans!  That's the other reason I was up late making this card--LOL!)
I added a touch of Stickles to the ends of the petals & then stacked them on top of each other using foam tape.  Next I found my old wood block PB "mini leaves" & stamped them twice on mix & match cardstock using Memento Teal Zeal & added Stickles to their centers.  It was fun to actually use the 2 smallest dies in the Spellbinders Lacey Circles set to cut the same cardstock.  I tried several stamps for the background & discovered a small bold stamp detracted from the flowers, but these lines made of tiny dots from the "salutations" set was just right.  I stamped them in each ink color--very easy since the rows are far enough apart to stamp in between with the second color.  The sentiment is from that set also.  The scallop punch is Fiskars.  The edges were all inked & then the pieces were attached to the 2 1/4" x 2 1/2" mini card--Twinchie Plus.  Added the tiny gems & it was done.  I loved this challenge--first mini card I've ever made.  Have to say, trimming out the tiny leaves & flowers did take awhile, but it was worth it.  Elizabeth had a great tip for how to mail mini cards: "Tip/Hint: Create a pocket in a rectangular envelope with adhesive applied to the inside left and right envelope edges to prevent the shifting of a smaller size card."
Thanks so much for coming by & leaving me a comment. Wishing you a great, crafty week.

PS--Cathy has an awesome giveaway right now--you might want to check it out.

Boo!

Sure feels like summer around here--in the 90s & the air conditioner is running!  However, cardmaking has moved to Fall & I'm joining in with my card for DeNami's September challenge, Anything Goes.
I promised a gal at work that I'd make a Halloween card for her this year.  We used to work together & of course, I made cards for everyone in the office.  She's kept every card I made for her--pretty special for a non-cardmaker, I think.  Now I'm back working at the same hospital where she is & can give her cards without needing to mail them.  I got out my stamp positioner for the face from a DeNami set of 4 little stamps I received in a give-away last year.  The dotted scallops is from Retro Borders 1--love using a non-holiday stamp for a holiday card--inked with Memento Tangelo.  Double-sided 1/8" red line tape was put between each panel & glitter was added before the rows of black pearls were attached.  The glitter was also added to the dots of the scallops.  A black Glaze pen was used to go over the faces.  Boo! is from the same set & was hand cut into the tag & matted with the orange shimmer & black cardstock, same as the card.  (In reality the oranges go together, in spite of how they look in the picture.)  The glitter also outlines the tag.  I added 3 of the pearls, 2 loops of ribbon & popped it up to finish off this cheerful Halloween card--I'm not really into scarey.  Since Halloween is a Fall holiday, I'm also going to enter this card in the DeNami National Stamping Month Challenge #2--Fall.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Just back from vacation celebrating our anniversary, but needed a break from laundry, so decided to post this card I finished right before we left.  May have some pictures to share soon.  Enjoy your weekend & I'll soon be checking your blogs to see what I've missed!

Shimmery Watercolor Look

I keep missing the PDCC, but finally got a card done in time!  I was intrigued with this week's colors, as I would never have put the 2 shades of green together.  Decided it was time to pull out my neglected Penny Black flower amongst flowers stamp which I  embossed with black ink & clear ep on white cardstock.  Then I pulled out 3 Distress Inks that were close to the challenge colors: evergreen bough, worn lipstick & crushed olive.  When the inking was done, I sprayed the piece with my favorite glimmer--Tsukineko's Sheer Shimmer Spritz Frost--& let it dry.  Then I cut the image into 4 equal sections, matted each with black cardstock & mounted them with foam tape to a mat cut from gray shimmer cardstock.  That was mounted to the black card with foam tape.  I added Glossy Accents to the centers of the big flowers & tiny black pearls to small flowers.  I love seeing all the various design styles in our craft, but my eye still loves clean, uncluttered, symmetry.  Hope you do, too.  I won't have my computer for a few days so it'll be a little while before I catch up with all of you.  Please know how much I appreciate your encouragement & sweet comments.  Have a great week!

National Stamping Month

I knew World Card-making Day was in October, but turns out we get a whole month to celebrate stamping & DeNami has 4 challenges.  Today's card is for the the first challenge--Monochromatic Color.  Guess the changing of the seasons is on my mind as I've just purchased some MFT felt & wanted to use it for my card.  I've had all 3 DeNami stamps for years--never tire of them!  Decided to give stamping on felt a try after seeing some samples recently.  Distress Ink peeled paint is used for the tree & the branch that is stamped on the card front using first, second & third generation stamping.  I used spray adhesive to attach the felt to cardstock (as suggested in the PTI video by Melissa Phillips) before die cutting it with Spellbinder's Reverse Wonky Rectangles.  The sentiment is heat embossed, cut into a banner by hand & scored so the center is raised & mounted with foam tape.  I sponged the peeled paint ink on the card & banner edges & added the matching pearls.  Think it's time to get some Fall cards made--I'm ahead of schedule on Christmas cards for a change!  So glad you stopped by.

Black, White, Rose

I've wanted to play along with a Simon Says Stamp challenge, so decided the current Anything Goes (with DT using Hero Arts) was a good time to do it.  I had layering in mind when I bought the Hero Arts Circle Design stamp a long time ago.  The image is stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black 3 times.  Each image is die cut with Spellbinder's circles & is lined up & attached with foam tape.  Took awhile to line them back up as I failed to keep them all in the same position as I cut them--live & learn--LOL!  I saved the doilies that came under our soup bowls at a local restaurant & love how it mats the image.  The rose is MFT mini rolled roses cut out of their English Rose felt.  The sentiment is also Hero Arts from the Find Joy clear set & is stamped with Distress Ink victorian velvet.  Sheer black ribbon, black pearls & tiny pink gems finish off the card.

 I'm also entering the Moxie Fab World Focal Point Challenge. My sis has a birthday coming up, so this might go to her.  Hope you're enjoying the weekend & thank you for stopping by my blog.