Adding to my Christmas cards

I'm making an even more concerted effort this year than usual to have a lot of my Christmas cards made before the holiday season begins.  When I saw the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge to use an item found around the house, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  Years ago I saw a cinnamon stick used on a card (can't remember exactly how) & have wanted to incorporate that idea ever since.  I never quite got to it last year & I didn't make any cards with the wonderful Flourishes Peace & Joy set.  Determined to remedy that situation, I did get a card made. The ornament is watercolored with Memento inks after being gold embossed.  A Cuttlebug folder is used for the card front & Spellbinders dies for the circles.  The sentiment is from another Flourishes set called A Gift For You--beautiful font!  Crystal Laquer worked great to glue on my cinnamon stick.  Last chance to win the new Flourishes release, so fingers crossed!  

Our 14 1/2 yr old puppy dog, Keesha, has an infection--a rough Friday, but she seems better today.  Thankfully I have the weekend off as hubby really thinks the nurse in the family should be available whenever someone is sick--LOL!  We never expected to have her this long so are thankful for every day, but it's still so hard to think of loosing her. I know some of you will understand.

Thanks for coming by today & hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy!

Missed all the Flourishes Release Week Challenges, so had to enter Timeless Tuesday for a chance to win the new sets.  I don't have a Flourishes stamp set with a yummy treat, so my focal point is a Martha Stewart dimensional sticker.  I changed the appearance from country cute to more elegant by coloring over it with COPICs RV19 & BG05 to get a deeper, more elegant look.  I added Frosted Lace & Magenta Stickles to the icing & topped it with a pearl.  Flourishes Medallion Motif is white embossed & cut out with Spellbinders scalloped circle.  The sentiment from the same set is stamped with Memento Teal Zeal.  The layers are popped up & the card base is Spellbinders Circles behind the scalloped magenta mat.  Hubby's daughter is about to have a birthday, so this will probably go to her. Thanks for stopping by.  Your comments are always appreciated.

I haven't forgotten about my challenge.  I'll post the winner later today or tomorrow, so be sure to check back.  Enjoy your day!

Fall Wreath

Busy week--not used to working so many days anymore.  Makes me know moving to part time was the right move!  Finally did have a chance to make a card & it's for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge--Fall theme.  I happened to have a floral advertisement on the table showing a bouquet with 2 big yellow sunflowers & that inspired me to take out this wreath from Wreaths of all Seasons.  I embossed it in gold on vellum, fussy cut & then colored it from the back with Distress and COPIC markers.  I mounted it to a piece of cork that was die cut using the top part of the Flourishes Classic Keyhole Template Label die.  The wood embossing folder is Tim Hotz & the scalloped circle is Spellbinders.  Hard to see, but the wreath is stamped on the circle in VersaMark ink.  Love this beautiful Fall paper by K&Co, so used it to cover the front of my card after sponging some Distress barn door on the edges.  Twine & square brads finish it off.  I think this will be a Thanksgiving card for my cousin & his wife.

Have to share 1 more late season rose picture--White Delight.  Isn't it gorgeous with the delicate pink?  I can't take credit as all I do is water & clip them--didn't even get them fed!  












We had a big birthday at our house this week.  Keesha turned 14!  We almost lost her 3 years ago & here she's outlived all our dogs so far.  She's almost deaf--see how high she holds her ears up trying to hear?--we call her The Flying Nun (those of you who remember that old TV show will understand)--& she has problems with her back legs, but she doesn't let anything bother her--just as feisty & playful as ever--keeps her brother in line!  I always think people can learn a lot from how dogs adapt & seldom complain.  Thanks so much for coming by--your comments always make my day.

Fall Wreath

I love wreaths, so no surprise I was drawn to this picture in Pinterest to use for my Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge card.  You have to understand--I don't do Facebook or Twitter--I know, hard to understand in this day & age!  I did find that you can view some things on Pinterest without joining.  I found this picture yesterday & simply copied it into Word, which , of course, is not the right format to put a picture into your blog.  So, today I printed the document out of Word & then took a picture of it.  I apologize for the poor quality, but hopefully you can tell that this really did inspire my card.  I used one of my all-time favorite Flourish stamps--this wreath from Wreaths of all Seasons.  It's stamped with Distress Ink gathered twigs.  I used a small paint brush to draw lines of water around it to guide my tearing of the cardstock.  The bow from the same set was stamped on peachy shimmer cardstock, cut out & mounted with foam tape.  The same cardstock was cut with a Spellbinders square for the mat.  I had fun adding a variety of pearls--maybe my favorite embellishment.  The wreath square is mounted to brown cardstock cut with Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares.  I could use any tips you have on getting the cardstock out of an intricate die after it's cut.  That was the most time-consuming part of making this card!  I die cut 2 more of the plain squares to make the card that the Fleur de Lis is attached to.  Fabulous to have a chance at winning Flourishes new release, but regardless, I love how this turned out, so that's a win!  Hope you're having a great week.  I appreciate you taking time to stop by.

Just A Note--at last!

Back from our mini vacation at the lake just in time to work the w/e.  We had a great time--gorgeous weather, wonderful clear water for swimming & an awesome cabin (I'd call it a house!) with no one around & a great view!  I've missed my crafting time, so today after work while doing laundry & trying to finish our tapes of the Olympics, I also made this card for Flourishes challenge HERE to have 1 more chance to win the August release.
Kraft works well with so many colors & I hadn't used blue for awhile.  The stamps are both Flourishes--Botanical Bookplates & Taglines.  This is the first time I've used the Spellbinders embossing folder & the Just Imagine Crafts little butterfly punch.  Thanks for coming by.  I'm going to catch up on all your blogs soon!

Monogram Note Card

Have you seen the new Flourishes set Letters in Blossom HERE?  It's on the top of my wishlist as I've always loved fancy letters.  The one I used here is an old one from a company that went out of business.  I stamped it with Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate & then clear embossed it.  The flowers are colored with Memento Markers & a dot of Stickles is added to each center.  The leaves from Flourishes Magnolias set is stamped with the chocolate ink on the white circle.  The circles are Nesties & are attached with foam tape to the panel embossed with my new folder by Cuttlebug, which I love!  This is my entry for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge HERE.  Hope you've had a nice weekend & are ready for whatever the new week brings.  Thanks for visiting--I always appreciate hearing from you.  

White, White, White!

Loved the chance to make a white card for the Flourishes TT Challenge HERE.  The only other requirement was to use lace or pearls--both I love, so of course I used both!  The sample card included gray, which I thought my card needed, too.  I embossed in white the lovely flower from the Magnolias set.  It's die cut using Spellbinders Labels 4.  The branches are a Sizzix die & the embossing folder is by Sizzix for SU.  The sentiment from the same stamp set is die cut with Spellbinders oval.  Memento Gray Flannel is sponged on the flower & is used for the sentiment.  Shimmer Spritz frost is painted on the leaves & the Magnolia--love that shimmer!  The doily was a gift from my friend Nat & was just what I needed for this card.  I had fun making the row of pearls in a pattern with 2 different sizes.  The flower & sentiment are attached with foam tape.  Took me awhile to figure out that it was OK to let the sentiment cover part of the flower--funny how the light suddenly goes on sometimes--LOL!  This may be the most layers I've put on a card--I found it much easier using all white.  (Surprised you, Sue, didn't I?!)  Thanks so much for visiting my blog & letting me know what you think.  Enjoy the rest of your w/e & stop by tomorrow for the DeNami Blog Hop if you have a chance.

Addendum:  Recently found the Make It Monday blog through Meihsia's blog (she's a DT member).  This is not a challenge blog, more a friendly place to share your creations and find some inspiration.  Being a pretty new blogger, decided this was the perfect blog for me.  I'm going to link this post next week.  You might want to check it out.

Win Some, Loose Some

My last 4 submissions to publications were not picked up.  Rejection is never easy to take even though you know they had hundreds of great cards to choose from.  I looked at my cards again & I'm actually happy with them.  Everyone has different taste, so just have to keep trying.  At least I had some luck, though--my name was drawn for the May Stampendous! challenge--first time I entered one of theirs.  Today is my friend's wedding & still need to wrap the gift, so I'll get to my card.  Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge is to create a thank you card HERE.  That worked out well since I was already going to make a card for our neighbors.  There aren't too many people who would loan you a power tool to cut the hedge & their utility trailer to haul away old appliances, but that's what Dan did.  He always offers to help & never asks for anything in return.  I got them some sparkling cider & goodies & here's the card.  First time I've used the wreath from Flourishes Mother's words of wisdom set (sentiment is from Taglines).  I colored it using mostly Brushstix with a variety of Distress Inks--not trying to stay within the lines.  3 of the flower centers have glossy accents to attach tiny clear, glass marbles--always wanted to do that.  The dies are Spellbinders & the layers are mounted with foam tape.  I used a COPICS marker to color the clear dot stickers.  Thanks for coming by & letting me know what you think.

Pink-A-Licious

Just realized I can't wait to post this card tomorrow for Flourished TT HERE since I won't be home from work in time.  I'll keep it short and sweet.  My mom died 20 years ago & I still miss her.  This would have been a perfect card for her since she loved pink.  In fact, the grandkids called her "Pink Grammy" since 90% of what she wore was some shade of pink.  The butterfly & greeting are from Flourishes Butterflies & Blossoms set.  I embossed the butterfly in white & then sprayed it with Tattered Angels mists: Snow Angel, Creme de Rouge & Wheatfields.  All the edges are sponged with Golden Glitz.  The patterned paper covering the card & used for the die with the greeting is from K&Co Watercolor Bouquet--another pad I got in close-out.  Eyes want to close, so off to bed.  Wishing all of you a great week.

Butterflies: self propelled Flowers

Do you ever start a card not having any idea what you're going to do?  Well, it's not all that unusual for me, I have to say--This is just one example.  I've been working on Christmas cards to submit for publication, but took a break to do a butterfly card for Flourishes TT HERE (a challenge I try to participate in each week).  I knew I wanted to use the images from Fanciful Flourishes (one of my top 2 favorite sets).  I paged through a stamping magazine to get some inspiration & decided to do some sort of strip near the bottom.  Today when I picked up my Delicata GoldenGlitz ink pad (oh my goodness--it's so gorgeous!) at my LSS I also found these wonderful flat back "tin pin" embellishments & was happily surprised to see that darcie heater designs is from a tiny town here in Oregon!  I did second generation stamping with Memento Rich Cocoa to approximate the color of the design on the pin.  VersaMagic Aloe Vera matched the scrap of green cardstock in my stash, so I used that to stamp the solid butterfly image.  The flourished image is the same second generation stamping.  The edges are sponged with Distress Ink old paper which is also lightly pounced around the butterflies.  The punch is MS, the panels are mounted with foam tape & pearls finished off the card.  Sorry for the funny angle of the picture--hard to keep shine off the pin.  This turned out to be a card I really like--hope you do, too.  Thanks for visiting my little spot in blogland.

It's a glorious day!--plus a card

Amazing April weather--feels like summer!  We took the doggies for a day trip to check out the lake where we boat.  The docks are in water & the marina will open very soon.  The 2 open loops at the campground had a lot of people & we were surprised by how many boats were in the lake.  The water would be freezing, but guess they were fishing.  Thought you might like to see a picture of me with Blitz & Keesha.  You can see the top of snow-covered Mount Jefferson in the background.

Now for my card.  I used the vibrant colors from PDCC128 HERE to make my Flourishes TT card where the challenge HERE is to use your favorite stamp set.  Not sure I can say I have a favorite from Fourishes, but the Medallion Motif ranks way up there!  It's one of the stamps I knew I wanted as soon as I saw it in the pre-release post.  The image is colored with COPICS RV19 & YR04 after being embossed in black.  The same markers color the butterfly from the Butterflies & Blossoms set.  The butterfly is covered with Distress Rock Candy Stickles.  The Recollections hard molded flowers are also edged with the same markers & Stickles.  I haven't used this All Night Media punch in ages, but glad I didn't get rid of it now.  The center dies are Spellbinders Labels 9 & a circle.  I had to trace & cut the Flamingo Pink one by hand for the size I needed.  The gems are also colored with RV19--love being able to do that!  Foam tape is used to attach the Medallion panel & die cuts & tiny pearls finish off the card.  I appreciate your visiting & leaving me a comment.  Wishing you a great week.

A Spring Birthday Card

This week's Flourishes TT Challenge "here" is to create a birthday card.  I pulled out one of the March release stamp sets that I was lucky enough to win--Botanical Bookmarks.  The background is another one made with COPICS (see the inspiration here) using Y02, Y21, V12, V17, G02, G07.  I stamped the flowers with VersaFine Black Onyx, brushed them with Shimmer Spritz & cut the piece with Spellbinders Labels Nine.  It's matted with a piece of light yellow cardstock cut with the largest die & then embossed with TH Stripes folder.  The same flowers are stamped on the green textured cardstock using VersaMark.  The diecut piece is attached with foam tape & the gems are colored with Y02.  I've liked cards using parts of a diecut, so decided to do that here.  The greeting is from Flourishes Tag Lines--a super versatile word set.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.  Thanks for stopping by--I love hearing from you.

Shabby Chic

 

My 3rd post today--only because the computer goes for a tune-up in the morning & I can't be sure when we'll get it back.  I didn't want to miss Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge "here"  which is a sketch this week.  Decided to try & use some of my printed papers.  I tend to buy it & not use it, but I've been inspired by so many cards lately that incorporate beautiful papers.  Shabby Chic is not my style, per se, but thought I'd give it a try for a soft, feminine card.  The papers are Colorbok and the lace with pearls was on super sale when the Joann's moved to their new building.  Just wish I could have gotten more of it!  I used the 2 step butterfly from Flourishes Fanciful Flourishes set and the Ivy die is by Memory Box.  I inked all the edges & there are Stickles on the butterfly & the background roses (sorry I couldn't get it to show taking the picture tonight.)  Hope you've had a lovely weekend & thanks for visiting my blog--I appreciate each of you!

Celebrate and a tip

I hate to miss Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenges FTTC159 & it had to be done today, so I looked again at the inspiration picture.  The card must use at least 3 of the colors & I chose light & dark yellow, a shade of orange, light green, black & white.  Color challenges are good for me, since I tend to stick to ones I'm comfortable with &  neither yellow or orange would be one of them--LOL!  However, how can you think of Spring & not have yellow in the picture?   I thoroughly enjoyed putting this card together & hopefully someone will be happy to get it.
Stamp set:  Flourishes Fanciful Flourishes
Inks:  Brilliance Pearlescent Yellow, Vivid! Yellow, VersaMagic Mango Madness, Versafine Onyx Black
Die:  Flourishes Classic Keyhole made by Spellbinders
Gems:  Queen & Co Grass Green
Ribbon:  Michaels Basic Basic









Almost forgot--here's the tip:  I've read that to get the best image with clear stamps, you should put something like a mouse pad under your paper.  Today I couldn't get a large wooden stamp to give me a complete, crisp image.  So, before I used up the whole ream of paper I decided to try the mouse pad trick.  Sure enough--worked great! Now, maybe it was just a coincidence, but give it a try if you're having trouble--even with a wood mounted rubber stamp.  Thanks for stopping by--I love to hear your comments.  Wishing you a great week, friends.

Country Comfort

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge here this week is to make a card depicting Country Comfort.  Country to me is a white farmhouse (represented by the Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder) with lace curtains & fruit trees.  Here's my first card using the wonderful Flourishes Pears stamp set that I won.  As some of you know, coloring is not my top skill (not even close!), but decided if I don't try I'll never be able to do it.  I used Memento markers dandelion & new sprout and COPICS Y21 buttercup yellow, R20 blush, E35 chamois.  I did have to discard my first attempt, but didn't give up this time.  The image is cut out with Spellbinders labels one & edged with Distress Ink antique linen.  Vellum was punched with MS classic butterfly & colored on the back with the same yellow markers.  Added Stickles star dust to the blossom centers & the butterflies.  The ribbon & pearls are from Michaels.  The layers are mounted with foam tape.  I used the Card Patterns sketch here for inspiration--fun to enter a challenge I haven't done in a long time.

Thanks for stopping by & suggestions for improvement do not hurt my feelings--how else do we get better?!  Happy Sunday everyone.