Birthday and Easter

I seldom make shaker cards, but here's my second one this year!  Arlene recently posted a card made with a large balloon die.  That reminded me that I have an old one by Winnie and Walter.  I didn't use her design for this card, but that will be coming.  I got a wonderful surprise when I pulled out my die set.  Stuck to the back was a small poinsettia die set I lost at least 3 years ago.  I accepted that I'd never see it again and now it's back in my stasht!  I have several poinsettias, but I was really sad to loose this one because it's size is just right for many cards.

Anyway, my shaker is for Time Out's In the Clear Challenge.  I wanted more of an elegant look, so I die cut the balloon from SSS Matte Champagne cardstock. 

The background is a beautiful printed paper a friend gave to me.  I used an assortment of goodies for the shaker element and a piece of packaging for the cover.  

The bow and the Altenew Essential Sentiment Strip were cut from a scrap of the same printed paper.  Now to make something with the pretty metallic balloon diecut!

I'm also entering SSS Wednesday and WAW.

This is one of the quick Easter cards I made using the other panel of gorgeous Washi from The Ton that my friend Betty gave me long ago.  

I used a scalloped Elizabeth Craft Design rectangle die, SSS butterfly die cut from vellum and Poppystamps Proper Happy Easter.  I'm entering SSS Monday since I heat embossed the sentiment letters with Avery Elle Rose Gold powder.

Thank you for taking time to visit my blog.   If your blog address is in your profile or comment,

I will return the favor.

Birthday Cards

I like to have some birthday cards made ahead in my stash and most of the ones left I don't really like.  So, I'm working on fixing that.  I seldom make shakers, but really had fun making this one for Poppystamps January Challenge.  Think my sister-in-law will enjoy something different than I've sent her in the past. 

Poppystamps Soaring Tree Frame was die cut from white cardstock and colored with a gold sparkle pen and green and brown Faber-Castell markers.  The leaves were covered in Peeled Paint Distress Stickles.  I ink blended Altenew's Just Green and Persian Blue for the background which was covered with clear packaging and filled with Shaved Ice and a brown bead mix.  You can see the shaker in action in my IG video.  Poppystamps Nordic Bunny Trio was in my last order and think this cute fellow was the perfect addition to my card.  I added a tiny bit of color to his ears and feet.  The sweater was colored with blue ink left in my brush and a dot of Stickles was put on his tail.  The gold foil chipboard sentiment is from Memory Box.  SSS Dibble Tile folder gave me just the texture I wanted.  I'm also entering Word Art Wednesday. 

Recently a friend gifted me PFS Botanical Bunch stamp/die/stencils.  I was in the mood for a monochromatic card--maybe because of my new Altenew Sea Shore ink cubes.  

I first gold heat embossed the image and then used all the inks in the ink set with the stencils.  I added small gold splatters.  The darkest ink was used for the sentiment from PFS Perfect Sentiments.  The panel was die cut with PFS Postage Edge Rectangle and matted with gold metallic cardstock.  I attached the sentiment over a nest of gold thread and added a few Sea Shore enamel dots.  So happy with how this turned out.  I'm entering PFS January Challenge using April Floral Frenzy and September Monochromatic Magic.  Coloring stencils for stamps and embossing folders are lifesavers for me, as coloring is not one of my talents.  Using matching stencils has become one of my favorite techniques, so I'm also entering my card at Time Out Challenge 305.

Edited to add:  Also entering NBUS since this is the first card made with the floral stamp, coloring stencils, ink cubes and enamel dots.  

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

Time Out Challenge #274

Time Out Challenge #274 is a great photo challenge which you can also think of as a theme challenge.  Our blog owner, Nonni, took this picture during a visit to New York City.  Our generous sponsor is Newton's Nook.

You can use any of the words or objects in the photo.  There's lots of inspiration from our GD and my teammates on the blog, along with details about our challenge.

I used just the word "coffee" as inspiration to open my Stamp Simply A Cup of Java die set.  Nonni's card for our last challenge actually gave me the idea to use the coffee cup negative for a shaker--so fun! 

I used a couple sheets of beautiful printed paper I picked up in a close out.  They're more for spring or summer, but I wanted to use some of the beautiful shaker filler given to me by my dear friend, Rosemary.  And besides, it's Spring in the southern hemisphere!  I used PTI Sweet Blush cardstock for the handle and covered it with Nuvo Glaze.  The steam was stacked a couple high and covered with a shimmer pen.  The Mama Elephant sentiment die was cut twice from white cardstock.  I inked the top one with Olive Twist and used the other one as a slight shadow which made it stand out much more from the floral paper.  PTI Olive Twist cardstock was used for the mat.  I don't make many shakers, but this was pretty easy and I love the result.  It's a great way to use printed papers, especially ones that are from the same collection so I know they go together.  

I'm entering SSS Monday Snippets Playground (all scraps except the paper showing through the shaker), DCD and WAW.

Edited to add: SSS WCMD Challenge.

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

Time Out Challenge #260

I learned a lesson--don't try to use your phone with blogger when you're tired!  I accidentally deleted my post before I went to bed, thinking I had changed the publish time!  So, I'm late to tell you that for Time Out Challenges #260 we challenge you to be: Striped.  Once again our generous sponsor is Lawn Fawn.

My card was inspired by ones Carissa Wiley made recently for the Cardmakers Success Summit.  I don't make shakers very often, but wanted to use her idea before I forgot.

I pulled out 5 colored cardstock scraps I liked together and die cut them with PFS Color Block Stripes die.  After glueing the strips in place, I splattered with gold watercolor.  Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Circle Stackables worked great for my shaker window which I filled with sequins and glitter.  

I wasn't happy with the plain white, so colored the stitches with a gold gel pen.  It was so easy to do and made a huge difference.  The old Impression Obsession sentiment was die cut from gold metallic cardstock.  Check out the inspiration from my teammates and our Guest Designer.  Hope you'll join us.

I'm entering Die Cut Divas 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.

Time Out Challenge #260

Here's my card for Time Out Challenges #260 where we challenge you to be: Striped.  Once again our generous sponsor is Lawn Fawn and they are giving the winner a $25 gift certificate to their store.  

I was inspired by Carissa Wiley's cards for the recent Card Maker Success Summit.  I seldom make shakers and wanted to use her idea before I forgot!  

I picked out 5 colored cardstock scraps that I liked together and die cut them with PFS Color Block Stripes die.  I attached them to the card, rounded the corners and added gold splatters.  Lawn Fawn's Small Stitched Circle Stackables worked great for a shaker window filled with sequins and glitter.  

The circle looked too plain, so I colored over the stitches with a gold gel pen.  It was very easy to do and made a huge difference!  The gold metallic die cut sentiment is an oldie from Impression Obsession.  Hope you'll check out Time Out Challenges blog where you'll find more inspiration from our GD and the rest of the DT, along with all the details.

I'm entering Die Cut Divas.

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

It's Been Awhile

I didn't intend to stop blogging, but that's just the way things worked out.  Luckily, Memory Box & Poppystamps challenges are monthly.  I already posted them on IG, as that's so much faster for me.  Before I get to the cards, thought I'd give you a brief update.  

I wouldn't even know I had a hip replacement 6 months ago.  I now am back to walking normally with no pain.  Unfortunately, my arthritic left shoulder pain has become much worse & steroid injections are no longer helpful.  So I will be having left reverse total shoulder replacement on July 31.  I'm so fortunate to be right handed, but I'm still dreading going through this.  Everyone is different, so hopefully I'll be one of the people with less discomfort & a faster recovery.  I'll be in a sling 99% of the time for 6 weeks--only allowed to do the prescribed exercises to prevent elbow, wrist & finger stiffness.  Then I'll begin going to physical therapy twice a week.  Typing will be challenging, but I plan to make a fresh start visiting your blogs.  There will be a few GD posts I've written before surgery, so my blog won't be totally quiet.

It worked out that I got to have a fun time before surgery, which I really needed.  5 years ago I met Betty Keefe in person when we went together to the Taylored Expressions Stamp Joy event in Iowa.  I just returned from seeing her again & we had a great time just visiting.  I embossed a lot of panels with her folders I don't have & she taught me how to make 2 different cards.  Such fun!  

Here's my entry for the Memory Box "It's Not Easy Being Green" challenge.  Wayfarer Leaves dies were cut from 4 different panels, each sprayed with a different green Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  The shimmer & shine is so beautiful in person.  I ended up only using the larger size leaves, so I've got a lot more diecuts ready for another card.  The embossed background panel was done with SSS Refracted Folder which I lightly rubbed with a green ink cube.  Poppystamps Happy Birthday Poe Script was stacked 2 high, covered with glaze & colored with a green Copic.  Always love using leaves for masculine cards & this one will be perfect for my plant loving brother-in-law.

I wanted to do something different for Poppystamps July "Rainbow" challenge.  It's been quite awhile since I made a shaped card & never one that was also a shaker.  

Finally, I decided to use Little Kindness stamp set from 2017 & stamped one of the very small flowers in a rainbow of inks:  CN9 Poppy, Buttercup, Clover, Blueberry & Fig with PTI Orange Zest.  The cute little bee in the stamp set fit perfectly in the center.  The panel was diecut with a circle & attached to the front of a card base made with the same die.  I used the same circle die & a smaller one to make the black frame.  The shaker bits are clear seed beads & 2 different kinds of glitter.  

Thought a simple "hi" went with the kinda funky floral background, so I stacked the letters from Memory Box Parker Lowercase Alphabet 3 high & covered them with glaze.  Simple little card to brighten someone's day.

Just had to use one of the beautiful SSS embossed snowflake panels I made at Betty's.  I sprayed the debossed side with Midnight Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist & boy is it gorgeous!  I'll have a video on IG soon, if you want to check it out. 

The Winnie & Walter word die & PFS snowflakes were cut from silver glitter cardstock scraps.  I already had a white Noel diecut with the die & really liked the look using it for a narrow shadow.  Finished off with tiny gems I colored blue with a Copic.  I'm entering The Snippets Playground & MFT Ready, Set Christmas.  

Thanks for catching up with me.  I'll do what I can to stay in touch.  Your friendship does mean a lot to me.

Memory Box, PTI, Uniko

With pink being my favorite color, I couldn't miss the February Memory Box Tickled Pink Challenge!  I started by brushing Distress Oxide spun sugar over the MB Texture Distressed Grid stencil.  

I lightly stamped an old favorite text stamp, added a bit of black soot Distress Ink on the edges & splattered with white gouache & the black ink.  I die cut MB Moonlight Butterfly 3 times from white scraps & randomly stamped them with a flower from Poppystamps Friends & Flowers in Distress Oxide kitsch flamingo.  Then I lightly brushed on Distress Oxide spun sugar, edged them with black soot & added Stardust Stickles to the wings.  The bodies were brushed with kitsch flamingo & covered in Shimmer Pico Embellisher. 

The sentiment from the set was stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne.  I attached the butterflies gluing only the bodies & lightly curving the wings down.  The pretty little gems were a gift long ago that I've decided to stop hoarding!  

The Feb 18 PTI Challenge is to make a BD card with a wow factor.  Decided it would be a good time to try an edge to edge shaker panel.  There are a lot of videos, but here's the one I watched.  I really like the fun PTI set called Your Beautiful Birthday. 

I stamped the layers in Lovely Lady, Blueberry Sky, Winter Wisteria & Green Parakeet.  The dots, candles & little stars from the Balloons & Banners set were stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer.  The flames are done in Bright Buttercup & Terracotta Tile.  The cake plate & words are stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne.  I also added silver embossing to the edges of the panel, not thinking about the shaker elements pretty much covering it up!

Then again, I may have gone a bit overboard in adding confetti, sequins, seed beads & Shaved Ice--haha!  Good thing I heat embossed the words so they show up better.  Hopefully, it will make the recipient smile.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

My last card is for Uniko's 10th Anniversary IG challenge & CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge 458.  When I saw the sketch it made me think of ink cubes, so that's how I started.  Altenew Forest Glades was pressed & rubbed on an acrylic block in the pattern you see, spritzed lightly & "stamped" onto the card front.  

Then I stamped the beautiful larger branch from Uniko's Season of Beauty which has lovely modern poinsettia images & great holiday sentiments.  Love that the branches work for many kinds of cards all year long.  Happy Birthday from Uniko's Floral Vines was stamped in Forest Glades & Versamark so I could clear emboss it.  

Since this is a card for a guy, no embellishments.  I may end up adding some splatters, but left them off for now.  Just realized I can also enter this at Time Out where they're celebrating 8 years--congrats!

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