Color Hues

I hadn't yet opened my Taylored Expressions Create in Quads Mistletoe stencils and I wanted to enter the Blue and Purple challenge at Color Hues. 

I got this stencil set partly because I thought it could be used year round.  I wanted the all over background panel design, so just used those sections of the stencils.  The Altenew inks are Caribbean Sky, Persian Blue, Wisteria and Ultraviolet.  I added some white details with a fine tip Posca marker.  The fun die was a freebie from Scrapbook.com.  I inked with the 2 lighter colors and added the darker ones on the edges.  I covered the whole diecut with Versamark and embossed in Hero Arts Sparkle powder--so beautiful in person!  The card needed something, so I made the white layered flowers from Poppystamps Potpourri Flower Set.  The tiny pearls keep the card flat enough for one stamp and it's already in the mail.  Now I can't wait to use the full stencils for a start on next year's Christmas cards.  I'm also entering Inkspirational.  

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

  

Gift Bag

There's a beautiful Mood Board for Inkspirational.  The little town in the bottom right corner caught my attention.  

My friend, Susanne, made a card a year ago that I loved using a retired Poppystamps village die.  She's one of my many sweet friends who offer to send me diecuts when I admire their cards.  Here's what I did with one of them.  

I painted soft gold scraps to go behind the windows, covered the houses with a shimmer pen and added Distress Snowfall Grit Paste to the roofs and the torn white cardstock strip.  The little trees from SSS Village die set were cut from green scraps and covered with Peeled Paint Distress Stickles.  I cut the little stars from Simply Graphic Starry Arches--trimming them off the arch.  The snow on the black panel was done with a Posca white paint marker.  I've lost track of how many times I've used the little sentiment from an old Winnie and Walter set.  This time it's white embossed.  Hard to get decent pictures, but hopefully you get an idea of what I did.

I saved the beautiful black gift bag the jeweler put my new watch in earlier this year.  Think my little scene dresses it up perfectly for the holidays.  I'm also entering Poppystamps, Snippets Playground (stars, trees & torn strip are from scraps), SSS Monday and 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.  I'm behind on mailing Christmas cards, so may be a little while.  

Time Out Challenge #278

Hard to believe I've been on the Time Out Challenge DT for a year!  I still remember how surprised and honored I felt when Nonni told me I was selected to join the team.  This is our last challenge for 2024 and it is my last post as a member of the team.  I have decided to step down, but I do treasure the opportunity I had to work with these talented ladies.  I'll definitely be a player next year!

We have a fun holiday photo with plenty to inspire you for Time Out Challenge #278.  Check out the blog for a close up.

If you know me, you won't be surprised that the wreath inspired my card.  I do love wreaths!  I used an old woodblock Art Impressions stamp that I still love as much as the first time I saw it.  

The wreath in the photo has a couple shades of green and I actually used 3 CN9 inks:  Clover, Evergreen and Artichoke.  I inked, spritzed with water and stamped on watercolor paper multiple times, until I was happy with the look.  Luckily I still have an old fashioned stamp positioner.  I used the same inks to color the circle mat and added Christmas Red Stickles to the berries.  The little PPP bows were cut from a beautiful red cardstock and I attached them just in the center.  The red cardstock is almost gone, but there was enough for the red mat die cut with a MFT rectangle.  I die cut a tiny gold circle for the center of the bow to tie in with the mat and the Birch Press Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment.  You can find lots of inspiration from our guest designer and my teammates on the blog, along with all the challenge details.  Our sponsor is Gina K, so better check it out!

I'm entering SSS Monday (Stickles) and WAW.

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

A Couple Cards

Here's the card I sent to the UK for the November CCC.  I chose the option of making a white on white wreath card.  This was such fun to make, as I do love wreaths!  

I used branch dies from several different sets.  Each type was die cut from a different white paper and one was clear embossed, another was left plain, another had shimmery watercolor added and another had some glitter.  

The bow is Impression Obsession and the sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio Folk Snowflake.  I used light molding paste and a Magenta brick stencil for the background.  I'm entering SSS Wednesday 

I actually forgot that I bought The Greetery Peaceful Olive stamp/stencils/dies last year.  So glad I finally used these products to make a card.  Luckily, there is an instruction sheet with the stamp set.

You start with the stencils and then stamp the details using the one piece stamp.  The inks for the leaves are Altenew Fresh Leaf, Grass Field and Shadow Creek.  Couldn't get a picture showing the true color of the lightest green.  Trust me, it's not yellow.  The inks for the olives are PTI Autumn Rose and Scarlet Jewel.  I stamped the branch in Altenew Rocky Shore. 

"Wishing You" was stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn and "Peace" was inked with Scarlet Jewel at the bottom, Autumn Rose at the top and was stacked 3 high.  I added soft gold watercolor splatters and carefully drug my brush around the edges of the panel.  The letters were covered with Shimmer Pico Embellisher.  The mat is SSS Matt Champagne metallic cardstock.  I'm entering JUGS and Christmas Kickstart.

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

Christmas Cards

I always love making Christmas cards and that goes for this year, too.  Here are some of my latest cards.

I used my BD discount in February to get Starry Arches from Simply Graphic.  Cecile Ribon always inspires me and I had seen a few cards she made with it.  The first card I made used the negative die cut along with the little birds from Poppystamps Nordic Majestic Bloom.    

I covered the wings with shimmer and used a fine line gray pen for the eyes.  A couple little branches also die cut from white scraps were placed under the birds.  Starry Arches was die cut from the inside of a Mama Elephant frame diecut.  The panel is backed with silver metallic cardstock and the Winnie and Walter sentiment is stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist. 

Finished off with white crochet thread tied across the card top, inspired by my friend, Stella.  I'm entering AAA Cards and SSS Wednesday.

Here's the card I made with the positive Starry Arches diecut which I glued to a small red panel.  The trees from CN9 and SSS were die cut from Memory Box green glitter cardstock.  

The sentiment from The Greetery's Peaceful Olive hadn't been used until now, as I got it after last year's cards were done.  The red ink is PTI's Pure Poppy and the green is Versafine Clair Green Oasis.  

I used scraps, except for the card base, so I'm entering The Snippets Playground.  

Apparently, I'm on a red, green and white kick!  Here's my card for Woodblock Wednesday using Penny Black's 2013 Christmas Reds & Greens and an old Impression Obsession sentiment.

I stamped in Versafine Clair Green Oasis and then went over the berries with a red pen followed by Christmas Red Stickles.  The little bow is from an old Pretty Pink Posh die set and the dotted rectangle is from AJVD.  

I love the fresh, classic look and didn't even add splatters this time!  I'm also entering PBSC.

One more card using the same color scheme.  This one is for Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero.  The challenge theme is to make a card to send to a family member.  My card is for my late cousin's wife. 

She likes traditional holiday colors and has several Christmas trees in her house.  I die cut the tree from an older Hero Arts card kit, colored the star with a gold shimmery gel pen and covered the embossed dots with Christmas Red Stickles.  I stacked the tree 3 high and glued it to the SSS Frames diecut.  I cut it from red and from white so I could have a thin white frame around the red. 

Luckily, I had enough of the green cardstock scrap I used for the tree to cut a small rectangle.  The sentiment from an old HA set called Christmas Messages was stamped in PTI Pure Poppy.  I photographed this card on a plate we received years ago filled with homemade Christmas cookies made by my cousin's wife.  

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

Altenew and Pinkfresh

I have a couple shimmery cards to share.  One uses Lunar Pastes and the other uses Lindy's Magicals.  First is my entry for Altenew's Inspiration Challenge.  Susan inspired me to use my Lunar Pastes for a custom metallic panel to emboss with Altenew's Perfect Poinsettias folder.  The colors are Game Over, Fake Plant and Slippery When Wet.  You can see the shimmer in my IG video.  

I lightly rubbed over the embossing with a black ink pad and thought I'd ruined it.  Luckily, I was able to smooth out the ink with a cloth and saved it.  Of course, I added some black splatters!😊 Altenew's Mini Christmas was gold embossed on black.  I also gold embossed the edges of the panel and the sentiment.  I used Altenew's Layered Floral Elements to make a poinsettia colored with the same Lunar Pastes.  Altenew matt gold sequins and a Pinkfresh gem finish it off.  I'm also entering DCD.

Here's my card using Lindy's Autumn Leaves Magicals.  I tend to over blend the colors, but I still ended up with a beautiful shimmery panel.  You can see the shimmer in my IG video.  I stamped the wreath from PFS Delicate Wreath in Versafine Clair Pinecone and embossed with Hero Arts Sparkle Powder.

The sentiment from PFS Perfect Sentiments was stamped in Pinecone on brown cardstock, which I also used for the front of my card.  Tried out several embellishments and really liked the look of PFS Ombre Sparkle gems.  I'm entering Pinkfresh Studio November Challenge, SSS Monday and 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.