Altenew, Pinkfresh, Poppystamps

Short month, so I'm posting 3 cards today for challenges.  First is the Altenew September Inspiration Challenge.  The inspiration photo is a branch of beautiful apples, but the color combo of red, green and brown made me want to create a Christmas card.

The shade of red is not one I would have thought to use, but really like it.  I found a cardstock in my stash that was very close to the color in the graphic and used it for Altenew's Poinsettia 3D die set.  I brushed the petal edges with Coral Red and added a bit of shimmer with a pen.  The flower center and Fancy Peace sentiment were die cut from scraps inked with Mocha followed by Versamark so I could emboss with clear sparkle powder.  I found green cardstock in my stash that was very close to Fresh Leaf and embossed it with Altenew's Perfect Poinsettia folder.  I inked the edges with Fresh Leaf, but it was too similar.  So I used Olive Grove to deepen the corners and edges--does make a difference.  I inked the card front with Mocha to tie it all together and decided against any embellishments.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday, TTTC 302 (Diecuts, Free, Embossing) and WAW.

Next is my entry for the September Pinkfresh Challenge using 3 favorite PFS products:  Delicate Wreath, Layered Wreath and Perfect Sentiments.  

I stamped the wreath in CN9 Artichoke, purposely making some random areas darker.  Then I overstamped in Delicata Golden Glitz for a beautiful shimmer.  I used the same inks for the card edges.  I colored a scrap with CN9 gorgeous Plumberry ink and then used it for the berries die from Layered Wreath.  After gluing down the berries, I covered them with glaze.  A long time ago I cut apart the one piece Perfect Sentiments so I could stamp directly onto cards.  Here I used Versafine Clair Acorn and then embossed with a matte clear powder.  Finished off with Artichoke splatters.  You can see the shimmer and shine in my IG post.  I'm also entering Color Hues and WAW.

I'm posting my September CCC card early.  It reached the recipient and I want to enter Poppystamps September challenge and WAW.  I used the colors and the sketch.

I masked off the area I wanted to ink blend with Altenew's Pinkalicious, Purple Wine and Ruby Red.  Then I dry embossed the panel with Altenew's Flower Bed 3D folder.  Poppystamps Layered Pointy Petals were inked in the 3 colors and I added Stickles.  The white branches are from CN9.  Poppystamps Scribble Hello was stacked and also covered with Stickles.  You can see the sparkle in 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.

Friendship, Birthday and Christmas

We've been fortunate not to have any wildfires close to us.  So heartbreaking to see the destruction.  The smoke did finally make our air unhealthy the last few days and it's been too hot for me.  Fritz doesn't understand why I won't let him lay on the deck like usual.  I also had a sick day and haven't been motivated to blog.  But today I feel better, so here are a couple cards on my way to catching up.

First is the card I sent to Julia for the CCC July exchange.  I used the beautiful color combo of kraft, pink and gold.

SSS Leaf Tumble embossing folder was used with gold metallic cardstock.  It really gives a beautiful result and I've never had issues with cracking.  The flowers are a set from Pigment Craft Co that I've hardly used.  I stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Brown and added gold Stickles to the centers.  You can see the beautiful sparkle in my IG post.  The sentiment is from Alex Syberia and I can't remember which branches I used.  The tiny pink butterfly is Poppystamps.

Next is a winter birthday card using 2 Waffle Flower dies for the first time:  Frosty Texture and Small Snowflake.  

I inked the snowflake with Altenew Volcano Lake which is a close match to the beautiful teal glitter tape I've had for years.  I attached the tape to cardstock and then die cut the dots and Altenew Essential Sentiment Strip Happy Birthday.  I usually think of navy blue for snowflakes, but really like the soft, pretty look of the teal.  These products will be great for Christmas cards, but I enjoyed making a birthday card first.  I'm entering SSS Monday via IG, SSS Wednesday, NBUS and DCD.

Here's the last card I made for Christmas in July.  Didn't get nearly enough done, so I'm also planning to do Christmas in August.😀 Actually, I usually make Christmas cards every month, as they're my favorites. 

This one uses the wonderful CN9 Boughs and Holly stencil pack.  The inks are Altenew Firefly, Grass Field, Cherry Sweet and Coral Red.  I inked the branches from a CN9 die set to match and added red and green splatters.  Waffle Flower Cardinal Duo diecut was colored using the matching stencil with Altenew Rhodolite, Cherry Sweet, Coral Red, black and PTI Honey Nut and Weathervane.  I used a glue pen to add touches of fine glitter to the bird, berries and branches.  You can see the sparkle in my IG post.  Birch Press Vintage Sentiment letters were stacked 2 high and inked with Cherry Sweet before being glued in place on the vellum shadow.

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

Birthday and Friendship Cards

We're very grateful puppydog Fritz is improving.  He can't walk without one of us holding onto his leash since he still frequently looses his balance.  But instead of every other step, now it tends to be when he turns fast, turns his head fast, shakes or is sleepy.  Hoping he can soon be on his own.  Just have to take it a day at a time.  

Luckily, I stenciled this birthday card weeks ago and hadn't posted it yet.

The stencils are HA Autumn Splendor and the inks are Altenew Moonlit Twilight--4 shades of purple.  I love being able to use products for any season, just by changing the colors.  The panel was embossed with SSS Refracted 3D folder.  PTI Love to Layer: Soft Ridges was die cut from vellum.  It covered up my imperfect stenciling and kept SSS Stitching Butterflies and Happy Birthday Brush Script from getting lost in the background.  I added shimmer to the sentiment and attached a few matching enamel dots.  There's a short IG video HERE.  I'm entering JUGS and SSS Wednesday.

Here's the first card I've made since Fritz got sick.  Finally, I felt relaxed enough to think about what to do for the PFS May Challenge and hubby offered to be on "dog duty" so I could work without interruptions.  I knew I had to keep it simple, so I pulled out my old favorite Delicate Wreath stamp set.  

I first inked it in Versafine Clair Grass Green.  In order to add variations in color, I added Versafine Clair Green Oasis by getting the ink on a finger cot and tapping it onto areas of the stamp before restamping.  Worked great--no harsh lines.  Then I did the same thing to add some Versafine Clair Blue Belle.  Using 3 colors really does make a difference in real life. 

I die cut the panel with the largest PFS Nested Diagonal Stitch Square and matted it with silver metallic cardstock.  The sentiment from the stamp set was silver embossed.  I added silver splatters and clear gems.

Great timing for my laptop to give up the ghost.  The PC is in another room where I can't keep track of Fritz.  Hubby watches him so I can have a few minutes to do things I just can't manage on my phone.  I'm getting better at blog reading and leaving comments, so I'll visit you as I can.  Your positive thoughts and well wishes are so appreciated.  

Birthday Cards

I embossed white cardstock and yellow vellum at the same time using SSS Blossom Swag folder.  The pieces were attached together and trimmed with scissors to fit on the card.  

There's Yellow Stickles in the flower centers and Frosted Lace on the berries.  The birds from Poppystamps Nordic Majestic Bloom were inked with PTI Spring Rain and Blueberry Sky.  I brushed the wings with shimmer.  You can see the sparkle and shimmer in my IG post.  Fun to use the PTI patterned paper for a different look.  The sentiment from Altenew Modern Dahlia Bunch was stamped in Versafine Clair Blue Belle and embossed with matte clear ep.  I brushed the sentiment diecut and the card front edges with PTI Lemon Tart.  Finished with a few tiny blue pearls that matched.  I'm entering Die Cut Divas, SSS Wednesday via IG and SSS Flickr.

I often use generic sentiments on the outside of cards, like the Hello from PTI Essential Sentiments.  That way I can use the card for any occasion.

In this case, I knew it would be a birthday card, but none of those sentiments fit as well as Hello.  Stencil Week for JUGs inspired me to get out my favorite Taylored Expressions Modern Eucalyptus.  I have Foil-It cards that go with the stencils, but I've used up the one with circles.  Decided to see if I could make my own using a circle die and Sparkle Pop gold pen.  Have to say, I love the result!  I also used the pen on the darkest green sprigs and the flower centers.  You can see the gorgeous sparkle in my IG post.  The inks brushed through the 4 stencils are Altenew Silver Sprout, Sagestone, Olive Grove and Mossy Granite.  Poppystamps Little Layered Asters were brushed with Altenew Strawberry and Dusty Pink.  Hello was stamped in Olive Grove, die cut and stacked 2 high.  I brushed the card front edges with the Olive Grove.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday and Color Hues.  I'll let the CH team decide if my flowers are close enough to a soft coral. 

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

Valentines

I'm still working on Valentines.  Luckily, cardmaking friends appreciate happy mail whenever it arrives.

First is my card inspired by Color Hues Red and Pink Challenge.  Finally pulled out Uniko Layering Flower Fusion stencil set and I love it just as much as Picked Posies.  

My inks are CN9 Honeysuckle and Poppy plus PTI Weathervane.  I used Versamark through the flower centers stencil so I could silver emboss them.  SSS Layered Bird Bunch has just the right size little birds.  I colored one by brushing the pieces alternating with the red and pink inks--red being the head.  I used Stamplorations circles cover plate for added interest.  I flipped the cut down panel so the bird could be popped up on the branch next to the Alex Syberia die cut word.  I used vellum for the shadow and silver cardstock for the word.  The Valentine sentiment is inside.  I'm also entering SSS Monday and DCD, if I didn't use too much gray.

My next card was made with Gina K Wreath Builder Template and Sketched Wreath Builder stamp set.  Hadn't used the template in awhile and it really is such a fun technique.  

The inks are CN9 Sweet Pea, Ballet Slipper, Parsley and Sprout.  Even though I stamped the tiny hearts 3 times, they were barely visible.  So, I stamped over them twice using PTI Sweet Blush and got the look I wanted.  The embossed panel was done with a very old folder that has tiny hearts at each intersection of lines.  Love the difference it made compared to using a plain white panel.  I'm entering Time Out Challenges using the words Pink and Heart.  I have light pink hearts and darker pink flowers, plus the tiny white hearts in the embossed background.  

Last is another Valentine using a paper pad given to me long ago by my sweet friend, Cat.  I love the gold and kraft papers, but I struggle to use printed paper.  So glad I watched Juliana Michaels' Craft Your Stash video recently.  Again I used her basic sketch and this time covered the seam with a strip cut from one of the papers with the reverse side up.  

Couldn't come up with any additional colors I liked with these papers.  I found a yellow vellum that looked like gold and used that for the shadow of  SSS Simple Happy Valentine's Day.  The words were cut from the reverse side of the paper, like the strip.  Clear embossing the words let them stand out and perfectly match the card.  Gotta say, I love how this turned out, although I wasn't so sure in the beginning.  By the way, did you see the SSS tip to cut down a silicone basting brush to use with glue?  Check this out!  Someone recently gave me 2 of the brushes, so I tried it out.  Worked great to attach the words to the shadow.  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.

Couple Challenges

I made a second wreath card using teal, silver, white and gray.  This time I specifically made it for Color Hues #122.  I like teal, but can't say I use it that often.  Considering this is one of my favorite cards, that may change!

I die cut a TH wreath from gray cardstock.  The little poinsettias were die cut from teal cardstock and the holly leaves from Your Paper Insider non-shedding silver glitter cardstock.  The PFS bow was die cut from the same.  All the teal cardstock pieces, including the mat, were covered with Turquoise Stickles.  The sparkle is absolutely gorgeous in person!  You can get an idea from my IG post.  I used an old TH brick embossing folder for the background.  The sentiment from PFS Folk Snowflake was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  Love using this sentiment on the outside of a card and Merry Christmas on the inside.  

Next is my entry for Altenew's November Inspiration Challenge.  This is one of those cards that was completed over several days. 

I knew I wanted to use the Delicate Magnolia die set for the first time, so I started by inking 3 blooms using Altenew Baby Pink, Fuchsia and Magenta.  I added Stickles to the centers for a touch of sparkle.  I looked through lots of leaf dies and finally decided to use the leafy branch from Sweet Bouquet inked with Altenew Firefly and Grass Field.  I die cut Altenew Branches and Berries from white cardstock and ended up using all but one.  Love what they add to my bouquet which is mounted to a panel inked with Baby Pink.  I've certainly got my money's worth from Altenew Essential Sentiment Strips die set.  I cut Happy Birthday from white and from black cardstock.  Decided for this card it looked best to use the black one backed with white.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday 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.