My Two Favorite Holidays

My favorite reason to make cards is Christmas & right behind is Valentine's Day.  For today's post I made one of each with very old stamps & they both turned out one layer!

The Christmas card is one of my favorite DeNami stamps which I embossed in gold. Then I wet the inside of the trees, lightly sprinkled on Ken Oliver Pthalo Green Color Burst & lightly misted with more water.  When dry, I added Stickles Frosted Lace to give a glistening, snowy look. Finished off with  splatters of Distress Stain Tarnished Brass.  I'm entering the new Tic-Tac-Toe challenge (top row), One Layer Christmas Card challenge, SSS Wednesday, ATSM Holiday & Merry Monday. 

Next up is the Valentine made with this wonderful Hero Arts stamp.  I embossed it with JudiKins Black Diamond powder & watercolored the large heart with Distress Ink Festive Berries.  I colored the hearts with the same ink full strength.  The sentiment is by A Muse & is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black. 

The big heart & all the white hearts are covered in Wink of Stella.  Finished off with black gems around the big heart & a few tiny red ones. Kind of makes me think of the adult coloring books you see everywhere right now.  I'm entering these challenges: a2z Scrapbooking, Chouxchoux, SSS Monday & Word Art Wednesday.  Thank you so much for taking time to visit my blog.

First Christmas Cards of 2016!

I haven't made a Christmas card this year & it's almost February!  Decided to take a break from Valentines & participate in these challenges: SSS Flickr, Merry Monday & One Layer Christmas Card.  

This is actually take 2. The tree is a very old wooden stamp & I tried to skip using my stamp positioner--bad idea!  I did salvage the tree & used it for my second card.  The tree is embossed with Zing Green Metallic powder & the sentiment from Clearly Besotted Tiny Trees (used my gc from Tracey's Tags challenge) is gold embossed. I used the SSS Falling Snow stencil with embossing paste & Rock Candy Distress Glitter. Love how this turned out & it's flat for mailing! 

Decided to immediately make use of the tree I cut out of the messed up card with a Spellbinders oval. It's backed with fun foam & attached to a Spellbinders scalloped oval.  I used a piece of Washi (only 2 miles more to go--haha!) & added the Savvy Stamps sentiment. I rounded all the corners & decided to keep it very CAS with no embellishments.  For some reason, I like it that way.  I'm entering SSS Wednesday, The Playground, Rudolph Days, Stamping Sensations & SSS Work It Wednesday (new Washi Tape).  Thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog.

Winter Thank You Card

I've had this SSS Snowflake Block die cut laying on my desk for a couple weeks.  I had soaked up the Distress Inks from smooshing projects on scraps of cardstock & watercolor paper & added a bit of Ken Oliver Color Burst.  The other pieces are waiting to be used, but I cut this from the watercolor piece the same day.  Finally decided to use it for a thank you I need.  The die cut is backed with a piece of Heidi Swapp glitter paper & the front of the card is embossed with my new Darice snowflake folder which I'd wanted forever & finally got with a coupon. The thanks die is also new--part of a big sale at the end of the year.  It's by Elizabeth Crafts & I love it's small size & how easy it cuts.  I stacked several & clear embossed the top one. This design would work for Christmas cards with a different sentiment & it's flat for mailing!  I'm entering these challenges:  SSS Flickr, AAA Cards & Happy Little Stampers CAS.  I so appreciate your visit--thank you.
 

Gilding Flakes

I love when a challenge theme helps me use a product or technique on my "to do" list, so a big thank you to Twofers Metal Heavy or Not challenge!  I've had a little metal box of gilding flakes for many years & I don't think they were used until now.  I cut the MB Grand Heart from black self-adhesive fun foam & it worked great.  I also used a long neglected Flourishes heart stamp with Delicata Golden Glitz on ivory cardstock. The scallops are cut with a Spellbinder die & I used score tape to attach 2 small pieces of the beautiful lace--no need to have it covered up by the heart! Same with the black gems which were only $1, but I've now used over 1/2 of them & wish I'd bought 2 packs. Finally decided how to position the PTI love die on the heart & the inside says "to call you my friend." I'm also entering Chouxchoux, SSS Monday, Word Art Wednesday & The Playground.  We've got a break from the rain, so better take Fritz for a walk!  Thanks so much for taking time to check my blog.

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge

Plato said "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."  Today's PTI Blog Hop inspiration is a perfect example.  Isn't it great that we all have different taste? Honestly, when I first saw the photo I thought this might be a Blog Hop I had to skip.  Of course, that really wasn't an option for me--haha! Last night I decided to see if I could come up with something using PTI Watercolor Wonder. When I dabbed Canyon Clay & Hawaiian Shores on my scratch paper they were really pretty together, so I chose 2 images & started stamping.

I added the sentiment from Flower Fusion #8 in Versafine Onyx Black. Still needed something, so added black splatters.  Not sure I'll ever send this card, but it's growing on me--haha!  

I'm also joining in at Word Art Wednesday.  Enjoy the hop & thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog.

Shades of Blue & Green

Hoping everyone in the path of the big winter storm is staying safe & warm & maybe enjoying a craft day!  Not to make you jealous, but somehow we're having 12 hours of Spring before the rain hits again & Fritz has had 2 sunbaths on the deck so far!
We need a card for a lady having knee replacement surgery & thought the beautiful color combo for the MFT Color Challenge would be perfect.  I don't have MFT inks or cardstock, so came as close as I could using PTI products.  The background is made using the MFT Concentric Circle stencil.  I inked the stencil with Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Spring Rain & Blueberry Sky, spritzed with water & laid my wc panel on top--one of my favorite ways to use a stencil.  I did add a light layer of Gesso around the edges & watercolored with the same inks to soften everything. Hard to tell I used 4 ink colors so I pulled out the matching cardstock & cut MFT Layered Rose & Layered Leaves plus Prima Donna Petals for the flower center.  All the pieces except the top layer of the leaves were brushed with Wink of Stella.  I stamped my old sentiment from Just For Fun in Brilliance Starlite Black. The final touch was splattering Heidi Swapp white Color Shine, even letting some go on the flower & leaves.  The mats are done by sponging the 2 darker inks on cardstock.  It gives a softer look than colored cardstock & ties in with the background.  I'm thinking this is close enough to enter the MFT Sketch challenge & I'm joining the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media challenge. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Shimmery CAS Thank You

I try not to miss the SSS Flickr challenges & finally got something made just in time. One Layer cards are challenging for me so I went with my tried & true technique of masking an area for sponging.  This time I used Distress Inks peacock feathers & evergreen bough.  The sweet images from my new SSS stamp set called Hello Friends were stamped in the same 2 inks & brushed with Perfect Pearls.  The tape was removed & the sentiment from the same set was stamped in Memento Gray Flannel.  I added Stickles to the dots & sentiment & added some white dots with my gel pen. This is a late Christmas thank you, so gotta get it in the mail. I'm also entering at ATSM & a new challenge called Paru's Card Making Challenges.

Wanted to also share my wonderful retirement cards from blogging friends.  I feel so blessed to have all of you in my life--thanks for visiting!

More Valentines!

First is another shaker using the "Greta Shaker Mix" of Stampendous! Shaved Ice, Clear Seed Beads & White Sequins. Gotta say, putting foam tape around straight lines is way easier, but I do love the look using my Memory Box heart die. The circles are cut with a Lifestyle Crafts die.  I finally have a Paper Smooches stamp set thanks to a recent sale. I used 3 images from Friendly Flowers with PTI inks Berry Sorbet, Hawaiian Shores, Plum Pudding & Limeade Ice to meet the requirements of the current challenge.  The sentiment is also from the set & is stamped in HA Wet Cement.  I trimmed the white & SSS Fog cardstock flags & added Stickles to the open letters--so fun!  First time to cut the PPP bows (thank you again, Cat, for the blog candy!) & used the Fog cardstock. The card front was a bit plain, so dotted it with the Stickles.  I always say I don't need to buy anything, but if I sure do go through foam tape & doubly so with shakers!  Entering at Memory Box, Paper Smooches, Chouxchoux & CropStop.

First time making matchbooks & oh what fun! Love the PTI MIM challenges--learn so many new things!  I'm heading to Girl's Night Out with my 2 friends & it's been months since we've gotten together.  I'm taking them each a mini York Peppermint Patty in a matchbook made with images from the PTI set Tag It's 3 inked in Memento Love Letter & VersaMagic Pixie Dust. The sweet Martha Stewart Washi tape is in a set of 4 I bought years ago & have barely used.  A bit of Stickles for sparkle--very simple & quick once you figure out the measurements. I'd make one for hubby's Valentine, but not sure it'd work too well as a carrot wrapping & candy is off limits--haha! I'm also entering at SSS Monday. Thanks so much for your visit--I know there are tons of blogs you could choose.