Last Minute Entries

In college, I was the one in the closet typing my term paper the night before it was due--haha!  So guess it's not surprising I have 2 cards today for challenges about to close.

First is my entry for a2z Scrapbooking.  I loved a video using the HA Color Layering For You Flowers set & just had to get it. Thought the pretty leaves done in soft colors would make a lovely get-well card.  The inks are PTI Limeade Ice & Lemon Tart along with white embossed over-stamping. Not sure I've ever used this beautiful sentiment from the old HA Special Note of Thanks set which I stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate with my Mini MISTI to get the coverage I wanted.  The trim is attached to a cardstock strip & extends on each side for a little interest. Finished off with PPP marshallow sequins. I'm also entering Word Art Wednesday.

Next is my entry for Ellen Hutson's Pin-Sights challenge. I was inspired by the pink & peach flowers as well as the gold & individual words. Still have the fun foam stamps I made from EH Bold Blossoms so I used the small flower & leaf to stamp a panel & added some splatters.

My ink shades were pretty bright, so I softened them with a vellum panel.  The die cut word is from Verve's Amazing Adjectives & "friend" is done with clear stickers. Finished off with white coated thread tied in a bow & embellished with a pearl.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday & Time Out.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Guesting at City Crafter Challenge Blog

I'm so honored to be the guest designer at City Crafter Challenge Blog due to being one of the winners of their birthday challenge.  This week the theme is feathers so I pulled out my Spellbinders peacock feathers.  I was excited to get them in a close-out, but they've seldom been used. 

To begin with I smooshed a panel of watercolor paper with Distress Ink picked raspberry, dusty concord & peacock feathers. The splatters are brushed pewter Distress Stain. Then I die cut 3 of the feathers from the panel.  The ends were silver embossed before I brushed on MFT Glitter Glaze. The die cuts were glued back into the panel letting the black mat show a bit.  I used Tim Holtz alphabet stickers for the greeting & embellished with black Pico Embellisher.  Finished off with silver trim.  Hope I've inspired you to join the challenge this week.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

I'm not a photographer, so usually I just admire posts by Kirsty & Ros for Our Beautiful World. However, this week the cue word is "cup" & I have one that I treasure.  This antique (1891-1926) Belleek cup & saucer was given to me by my grandmother.  She wanted me to have it because I'm the only one in the family who visited Ireland. I included the sticky note she wrote.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.

Thinking of You

Very last minute entry for the tone-on-tone challenge at A Blog Named Hero.  I used Distress Ink victorian velvet to color my paper, to stamp the flowers & to make the splatters.  I used the layout at Freshly Made Sketches.  The sentiment is from HA Thinking of You Messages & the flowers & die cuts are HA Bold Pop Designs. I used black Pico Embellisher for the dots in the flower centers.  I'm also entering CropStop.

I don't follow auto racing except for the Indy 500. My folks were both from Indianapolis, I was born there & my grandfather worked at the track as a young man, so it's always special to me.  Quite the race this year with an American rookie winning just before running out of gas--so fun! Enjoy the rest of your weekend & thanks so much for taking time to stop by my blog.

Birthday Cheer

This week's PTI MIM theme is masking a background, which happens to be one of my favorite designs.  In fact, I thought I shouldn't use it again for awhile. So glad now I "have" to--haha! I used a gc to get the last Make It Market kit, but all I've done so far is to use this sentiment from the stamp set.  The scalloped card die was one of the main reasons I was drawn to the kit. Wasn't sure it would be the best choice for the technique, but used it anyway.  

Also gave me a chance to use my new Mint Julep ink along with Spring Rain & Aqua Mist--looks fresh, springy & calm to me. Instead of water splotches I added Distress Stain Brushed Pewter splatters to tie in with the silver thread & sentiment.  The white embossed die cut leaves are from Turning a New Leaf & finished off with some of the precious Rainstones a friend gave me. Think my sister would like this card, so I'll save it for her.  I'm also entering SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday, HLS Anything Goes with Dies, Word Art Wednesday & Dies R Us.  Wishing my friends in the U.S. a happy holiday weekend as we remember those who died in the service of our nation.
Edited to add:  AAA allows more than 1 entry, so I'm adding this to their 2nd BD Bash.

Peace on Earth

I love silhouettes & nativity scenes, so this is one of my favorite stamps.  It's by Stampendous, as is the sentiment which is a separate stamp.  I masked off the sweet bird with an olive branch, but one of these days I need to use that entire stamp for a card.  The CCCB theme is black & white with a touch of gold & it was so fun to use my Mini MISTI to get a good inking of the scene in Versafine Onxy Black & then ink just the star with Delicata Golden Glitz.  I added a tiny Stampendous flat gold sticker to the center of the star & grounded the image using a Zig wc marker. The panel was cut with a Lil-Inker stitched rectangle die before being attached to the card front which is covered with vellum. This would be easy to make as a one layer card for mass-producing, but I have way too many Christmas stamps to do that--haha! I'm also entering these challenges: Merry Monday, SSS Wednesday & Rudolph Days.  

Before I go, just wanted to remind everyone that there's a gc to MFT up for grabs at W2CB.  The challenge closes June 1 & right now there are only 2 entries, so you've got a good chance to win!
Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Time to give in & do the laundry from our camping trip so I can get back to making cards!

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

Back from our first camping trip of the year just in time for the PTI Blog Hop.  Gotta say, this month's inspiration is fun & beautiful.  The elements I used for my card are image repetition, soft watercoloring, splatters & gray sentiment.  I white embossed an image from Happy Hexagons across a panel of watercolor paper--not trying to line them up exactly.  Unfortunately, the cute design doesn't show up very well.  

I used my Zig wc brush markers in pastel shades to color & for splatters. Wonderful Words: Love die was cut from gray cardstock with a shadow of the wc paper & tiny pearls outlining the heart. The white embossed sentiment is from Counting My Blessings.  I love sending cards to my blogging friends, so this one will be mailed soon.  I'm also entering at Word Art Wednesday & SSS Wednesday.

We had great weather at the bay off the Oregon coast--actually more sun than was at home according to our neighbors.  I'll be catching up on my blog reading as soon as I can & I know the hop is full of inspiration--enjoy! 

Another Masculine BD Card

The new challenge at Impression Obsession is to make a masculine project.  I tend to reach for brown, green & nature images to make cards for guys & that's what I did again.  My friend, Alexandra, makes gorgeous cards by inking stamps with Distress Markers & spritzing before stamping.  I thought the IO Brush Tree 1 (E7690) stamp would be a good one to use for the technique & using the mini MISTI worked great! The markers I used are peeled paint, crushed olive, vintage photo & brushed corduroy. I blended a little with a water brush & added some splatters after stamping the IO sentiment (A6977) with the 2 brown markers.  I'm also entering AAA Cards, ATSM, CAS-ual Fridays & CropStop. Thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog.
 

joyeux noel

I got this beautiful SSS die in a sale after Christmas.  Isn't the font beautiful?  I inlaid the words cut from gold metallic cardstock into a dry embossed green rectangle for a classic holiday look.  The gold trim has been in my stash forever & gave just a bit of interest, but still keeps it CAS. The card is ivory which I love with green & gold.  Kept this one pretty flat, so I can even mail it without extra postage--yah!  I'm entering SSS Flickr, Share Joy, & HLS CAS.  

I knew the rain was coming, so cut pretty much all the roses that weren't tight buds.  This is one of 2 very full vases. Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Hello

Keren's Card

I keep changing my mind about what to get with my Winnie & Walter gift card, so I still just have the hello die which I love!  When I saw Keren's card for W&W Rerun #10 it made me think of gorgeous designer paper--although she actually stamped & painted, of course.  I bought lots of single sheets of 12x12 paper when there were several stores near me who sold it.  
This is the perfect design to let it shine! I added a bit of Frosted Lace Stickles here & there. This is double sided paper, so the other side was used for the die cut which is stacked 4 high with a white shadow. It's also covered with the Stickles & a few PPP clear dots finish off the card.  

I pulled out a couple other papers I think will be perfect for this design, too.  I'm thinking it may be close enough to enter Freshly Made Sketches & I'm joining in at HLS Anything Goes with Dies & Lawnscaping Sparkle Challenge--first time to enter there.  

Hopefully you're not tired of seeing my roses as I wanted to show you my latest bouquet. Welcome Home (yellow) is super fragrant which makes up for Hypnotized just being beautiful. Thanks so much for stopping by.