On Elf Duty!

Yep--I'm so happy to be Jo's Guest Elf for Christmas Kickstart: Wreath it Up!  If you know me, you know I LOVE wreaths.  I honestly can't even count how many wreath stamps, dies and stencils I have!  And I just got another one! 😄  Plus, I love to use small stamps or individual diecuts to make wreaths.  For today's card, I used one of my newer products: CN9 Boughs & Holly Stencil Pack.

The inks I used are CN9 Evergreen, Clover, Cranberry and PTI Cocoa Bean.  It's a fun stencil to use.  You ink it once and then turn it 180 degrees and ink again.  The bow is from Pinkfresh Artistic Bows which I got for $3 from a crafter's destash sale.  The bow was brushed with a shimmer pen and the berries were covered in Christmas Red Stickles.  I tried several sentiments and decided on this one from PTI Joyful Florals.  I hope you'll check out Jo's card with a darling unexpected image and join the challenge.  I'm entering 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.

Another Quilt for Valentine's Day

After making my red and kraft quilt card, I saw Inkspirational Challenge #332, Pretty Quilt.  I couldn't add my card without exceeding the allowed challenges for SSS Flickr.  Just as well, since it "made" me use my CN9 Poinsettia Quilt Top die for another card!😊 

This time I used pink and aqua Heidi Swapp glitter tape and Bazzill Diamond shimmer cardstock.  The little heart is AJVD and the sentiment is SSS Simple Valentine's Day.  Instead of using the backing die, I fussy cut my quilt and glued it to a white card.  There's a video showing the sparkle and shimmer on my IG post.  

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

Red and Kraft

Happy 2025!  I don't play in many color challenges, as having to use 4 or more specified colors usually baffles me.  Luckily, Color Hues is a 2 color challenge and that I can do.  For challenge #101, Sheri chose Red and Kraft, thinking of Valentines.  It just so happens, I'm hoping to mail more Valentines than usual this year.  Really had fun using CN9 Poinsettia Quilt Top die that I bought after seeing my friend, Betty, use it for birthday cards. 

PTI Classic Kraft is my favorite kraft cardstock.  I used a new sheet for the card base, but used snippets for everything else.  The beautiful foiled printed paper is from an American Crafts pad my friend, Cat, gave me long ago.  The red glitter sections were cut from Heidi Swapp glitter tape I've had for years.  I have several rolls of different colors which I attach to lightweight cardstock scraps for easy diecutting.

The sentiment is made with SSS Simple Valentine's Day.  Couldn't bear to cover up more of the quilt, so I didn't use the shadow.  The kraft corner pieces were covered with shimmer and the sentiment with glaze.  You can see the sparkle and shine in my IG post video.  I tied on kraft twine before attaching my quilt diecut.  I'm also entering JUGs and Snippets Playground.

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.

Surprise, surprise--Cards with Pink!

Most of you know, I love pink.  So you're probably not surprised that I have 2 cards using pink to show you.  First is my entry for JUGS Stencil Challenge.  Layering stencils have my heart right now, along with ones to use for coloring images.  However, I've been wanting to use my retired Honey Bee Poinsettia Background stencil and thought it'd be perfect for the technique I learned in Jenny Colacicco's 2022 On-line Card Classes video.  

Altenew Rose Quartz and Puffy Heart were pressed through the stencil onto a watercolor panel which was then spritzed with water.  You can always add more ink after it dries, if you don't have the look you want.  Distress Spritz in pink raspberry was sprayed through the stencil for a beautiful shimmery finish!  You can see that and the white splatters in my IG post video.  

Love CN9 poinsettia die cut from vellum and Birch Press Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment is definitely a favorite!  This time I used vellum for the background layer and white cardstock for the outline, without adding back in the letters.  So many looks from one die set!  I also can't get enough of Hero Arts Transluscent Enamel Dots and I'd love to have every color! 

Next is my second card for the Altenew August Inspiration Challenge.  My first entry used the colors from the graphic and this one is more the colors in the photo.  

I recently got the Delicate Botanicals Ensemble and already used Sweet Bouquet stamp, die and stencils.  Really wanted to make a card using the other products including Botanical Wreath Builder stamp and die set along with Delicate Wreath 3D embossing folder.  I only used a few of the images, so lots more cards to come. 

The inks are Altenew Baby Pink and Fuchsia, CN9 Parsley and Evergreen.  I inked the edges of the debossed panel with white and green.  Then I arranged my blooms and leaves to fit along the left side. 

Decided to use a Copic to color some clear gems as close as I could to the peachy color in the left, bottom corner of the photo.  The sentiment is from Sweet Bouquet.  I'm also entering WAW.  

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

Christmas and Friendship

Here's my last Christmas in July card.  This one began by spreading fake plant Lunar Paste on a panel which I then embossed with Lumberjack folder.

The poinsettia is CN9 Fresh Cut Florals, retired.  I added red glitter to the petals and used vellum for the evergreen branches.  Thought Birch Press Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment had just the right size and look for this card.  You can see the shimmer and sparkle in my IG post.

I totally switched gear for my friendship card and used beautiful Altenew inks called Persian Blue, Blush Rose and Forest Glades.  

The background was made by randomly pressing the inks through a stencil from a friend, spritzing with water and pressing another white panel on top.  You get 2 panels--one quite a bit lighter.  What I really love is the last step which is lining up the stencil on the panel and running it through a diecutting machine with an embossing pad.  It does change the look and add texture when you see it in person.  

The SSS floral dies are Alstroemeria Stem and Morning Blossom.  I stamped a sentiment from SSS Graceful Flowers in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  Hard to see, but there's Stickles on the blooms.  I'm entering JUGS 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.

Stencilled Cards

As most of you know, pink is my favorite color.  Naturally, I like to enter challenges asking for that color.  The Altenew June Inspiration Challenge photo is a patch of pink and purple flowers.  My first thought was to use the Floral Radiance Layering Stencils, part of what I received to guest design in April.  

Here's a close up so you can sort of see that I used the Dotted Swirls Debossing Cover die over the panel--a look I really love.  Sorry my pictures didn't come out that good.

The sentiment from Timeless Sentiments 2 was attached over white crochet thread.  I added Frosted Lace Stickles to the white letters and black enamel dots for embellishment.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.  

Usually I've made lots of Christmas cards by this time in the year.  That hasn't happened, even though they're my favorite to make.  Color Hues challenge is Sage and Pink--perfect for CN9 Boughs & Holly Stencils.  I used Distress Oxides bundled sage, kitsch flamingo and vintage photo.

I haven't used these stencils very much, so this time I actually looked at the information.  Each stencil is intended to be inked, rotated 180 degrees and inked again.  Boy does that make a big difference from the look I got last time--haha!  I used a light hand for one layer and a bit darker for the other one.  Can't wait to make some more!  The sentiment from MFT is die cut from silver metallic cardstock, also used for the mat.  I also added silver splatters and a few sequins that happened to match perfectly.  I'm also entering Just Us Girls.

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