Almost March!

Wow--getting down to the wire for February challenges!  I finally came up with an idea for the Pinkfresh Studio Monthly challenge.  Most of the time I use the theme as I have trouble figuring out how to combine 4 or 5 colors on a card.  But using PFS Small Butterflies made it easy because they have 4 stencils for coloring. 

I pulled out pink, peach & 2 green inks for stenciling along with a soft yellow cardstock.  The butterflies were gold embossed before I stenciled & die cut them.  Decided to try my first grid card & finally got 6 of the butterflies laid out on the yellow panel. 

I stamped the 2 words from Delicate Wreath, covered the butterfly bodies with green Stickles & added tiny black gems to the antennae.  I'm also entering Die Cut Divas & SSS Monday.

Next is my entry for Memory Box Challenge 92.  I die cut the Pigment Craft Co cup from soft pink cardstock in the Memory Box Vintage Pastel Mirror pad & dry embossed it with Memory Box beautiful Blooming 3D folder.  

Poppystamps Scribble Hello was die cut from the the same mirror cardstock & white cardstock to give dimension.  The old MFT flourish was die cut from silver glitter paper.  

I scored a frame & brushed a bit of tan ink to ground the cup with the impression of a table.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

My final card is made with another blue cardstock from a very old inexpensive paper pack.  This time I embossed with another favorite folder--SSS Refracted.  You can't really tell, but I swiped over the raised areas with a white dye ink pad.  It did slightly soften the look & I mounted it to a panel die cut with AJVD pierced rectangle.  

SSS Happy Birthday Brush Script is going to get a lot of use!  The size is perfect for cards & I love that the words come out in one piece, including the dot for the i!  I used the same blue cardstock & embossed with Hero Arts Sparkle ep.  That powder gives beautiful shine & shimmer without changing the color of the cardstock.  

I used white scraps for the shadow & SSS Etched Laurel Leaves.  Decided to add a vellum layer on top of the branch.  It looks lovely in person with glue just on the stems.  I love the look of clear drops for embellishments as they add something without being distracting.  I'm entering SSS Flickr 208 & 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.

A Few More Cards

First up I want to share my card for Time Out Challenges, Case the Designer.  I love Gina K's beautiful stenciled rainbow card.  I used her basic layout & also inked over a stencil in rainbow order.

My stencil is Stamplorations Petals 3 & the Distress Oxides are candied apple, spiced marmalade, fossilized amber, lucky clover, faded jeans & wilted violet.  The sentiment from PTI Scripted was stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne & I added black Pico Embellisher dots.  I sent this card to a friend going through difficult medical treatment.  A big surprise & honor to be chosen by the team as the winner! 

Next is my entry for Poppystamps February Challenge.  I heat embossed the intertwined hearts from Poppystamps Grateful Heart stamp set multiple times to get thick, shiny lines.  Then I colored with a very old red WOS pen which is a somewhat muted red rather than super bright.  That's what I wanted since this will be for hubby & he's not that big on red.  He did have a candy apple red car as a teenager & I think this is fairly close to that color. 

I hadn't planned to fussy cut the image, but managed to get a bit of color outside the lines of one heart, naturally!  Very easy to cut & I actually like it better because that let me attach it with foam tape to the background panel made with Poppystamps Heart Pattern Plate--a gift from a friend.  

I also covered the hearts with Shimmer Pico Embellisher for a lovely shimmery shine.  The little heart dot embellishment has been in my stash forever.  I also entered SSS Wednesday.

My newest embossing folder is Altenew's Rose Bouquet.  It is absolutely gorgeous whether you use colored or white cardstock.  I used to buy cheap packs of colored cardstock at a local store, but most of it never got used.  Many of the colors just weren't my favorite shades.  Recently I moved a blue pack so that I'd see it.  Thought it'd work for embossed panels I send with cards.  You should have seen my face when I took the first panel out of the folder.  I couldn't believe how beautiful it was with the embossed roses!  

I did several different colors & they all looked great, so this folder is a keeper!  For this card I swiped over the edges with my very old Brilliance Pearlescent Ice Blue ink pad giving a wonderful soft shimmer.  

The SSS Happy Birthday Brush Script die is also a recent purchase.  The size is great for cards & I love that the words come out in 1 piece, including the dot for the i!  I used vellum for the shadow & added a few white sequins.  I'm entering SSS Flickr, SSS Wednesday & Time Out Challenges. 

The rehab for my new total hip is going very well.  Only a couple more sessions with Physical Therapy & I'll be on my own continuing to build strength in that leg for about 6 months.  Thanks so much for all the well wishes.  I truly appreciate your taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Birthday & Hello Cards

Finally sitting down to post 3 cards.  I'll start with my second card for the Uniko 11th Birthday challenge.  This time I used the wonderful Nature's Treasures II stamp set for a masculine card.  

The inks are Pigment Craft Co Eucalyptus, Aloe & Balsam with Altenew Dusty Rose for the berries from Rustic Wreath & the sentiment from Floral Vines.  I haven't entered The Male Room in a very long time, so happy to see the current theme is Nature.

Next is the card I entered in the PTI Birthday Sweet challenge.  I only have 1 PTI stamp set that fits the theme & it's called Your Beautiful Birthday.  Such a unique, fun set I should pull out more often. 

I had someone in mind who loves blue, so I used Blueberry Sky & Enchanted Evening inks & cardstocks.  The cake plate & flames are stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer & Soft Stone.  I used a small paintbrush & diluted ink to connect the 2 cake layers.  Fun little sentiment from Scripted which fit perfectly.  I used Mix & Mat Flourishes die for the dots & backed the panel with silver metallic cardstock. 

The frame is Pierced Feature Frames & I used a Quickie Glue pen to add fine glitter to the dots & flames.  I also entered SSS Monday Frame It challenge & Time Out 9th BD challenge.

Next is my entry for the Altenew February Inspiration Challenge.  The photo this month is of a strikingly beautiful sky.   I decided to see if I could use the colors for my neglected Fantasy Floral dies.  I have tons of white cardstock scraps, so I just die cut a bunch of the flower layers & leaves.  After going through all my ink pads & markers, I finally decided on Copics R81, RV04 & RV19 for the flowers & C3 for the leaves.  After trying out all the layers in each color, I chose this one as my favorite.  

Some of the practice diecuts may still end up as flowers by using different colors for the other layers.  I splattered white gouache on the flowers & leaves which really does make a difference in the look.  Before putting the card together, I took time to do some foiling.  I couldn't wait to see if the new Poly Glaze sheets really do completely foil without missing areas which often happens with the toner sheet designs--at least in my experience.  Oh boy--what a game changer for those of us without foiling machines!  I did 2 of the designs & both came out perfectly.  As I was looking at the pink one, I realized it would be a great background for my roses.  

The beautiful Altenew Fancy Hello was die cut from white & silver metallic cardstock scraps so I could stack it 3 high.  When I first put the roses together, I wasn't sure that I liked them.  But now that the card is finished, I actually love it!  I'm also entering The Snippets Playground & TTTC 197 using the diagonal row of word die/pink/flowers.

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

Friendship & Birthday

My rehab is going well.  Today I was released from having to use the walker, so it's up to me.  Even though I limped for at least 3 years, my gait is already nearly normal.  I'm faithful with my exercise program & now am also concentrating on my gait.  Rain is on the way, but I got out for a short walk this afternoon--just in front of our house.  Felt good!

Here's the card I made before surgery for the January CCC exchange.  I love The Stamp Market Layered chrysanthemum die set--totally different than any other florals I have.  

This time I inked the blooms with DO aged mahogany, kitsch flamingo & spun sugar.  I can't remember what gray ink I used for the stem & leaves, but think it was PTI Weathervane.  Poppystamps Playful Hugs & the flower tips are coated in Distress Rock Candy glitter.  I die cut Pigment Craft Company's Dashed Diamonds cover plate from PTI Soft Stone cardstock.  I was in a hurry to get everything done before surgery.  The card was ready & hubby was about to go to the post office.  I hurried up & addressed the envelope & totally forgot to sign the card!  Luckily, it just made Marianne laugh.

Uniko is celebrating their 11th birthday with a BD card challenge.  No way I was missing this, so it became my next project.  I've always admired Bev's talent & ability to run a one woman business while also being wife & mom.  I have a fair number of her products, including my unused Flower Power #8 stencil.  

I blended Pigment Craft Company Tajine in the center & Blush on the ends fading out to almost no color.  Gotta say, a beautiful image really doesn't need much, so I just added a Spellbinders gold dot.  The Simply Said Blocks sentiment was stamped in Tajine, trimmed & matted with a gold embossed strip & mounted with thin foam tape.

I cut down the panel so the gold embossed card edge would show & added a couple more gold dots.  This really is my kind of card, although I love seeing a variety of styles.  I'm also entering Seize the Birthday without the topping.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  I'm continuing to catch up on your blogs.  Thank you for your patience.