Anniversary Card

Playing Music is the current theme for Time Out Challenges.  It inspired this anniversary card.

I die cut a panel of old sheet music my neighbor gave me using GK Master Layouts 1.  The edges were brushed with Distress Oxide vintage photo and I matted it with a glossy black rectangle also die cut with the GK set.  Alex Syberia Quirky Hearts dies were cut a couple times to get the narrow outlines.  The flowers are Poppystamps Little Layered Asters. The hearts were brushed with Distress Oxide aged mahogany.  I layered the flowers putting one brushed with aged mahogany on top of one brushed with vintage photo.  The centers are black enamel dots.  The Alex Syberia word shadow was die cut from PTI Classic Kraft and the letters from glossy black.  Happy Anniversary is stamped inside the Classic Kraft card.  The husband this card went to plays music and the wife loves gardening, so that was the idea behind this design.  I'm also entering SSS Monday and WAW.

Our almost 13 yr old Standard Schnauzer, Fritz, had sudden neurological symptoms a few days ago.  He spent 3 days at the vet.  We're hoping it's Old Dog Vestibular Syndrome which has a great prognosis with full or nearly full recovery.  He is improving, so we are hopeful.  He has to be in his crate or one of us is next to him with the leash attached at all times.  Otherwise, he can try to move and hurt himself.  His walking is improving, but he still looses his balance easily, so we have to hold the leash of his harness taut to keep him from getting hurt.  We take turns getting the basics done.  I sleep in my recliner with his crate next to me.  Very grateful he's handling that well.  I had this post mostly done before we brought him home.  I'm not on-line much and not sure when I'll be able to do any cardmaking.  Thank you for your thoughts and understanding.

Christmas, Anniversary and Birthday

I decided to make a card from a leftover 2024 tag.  I added a gold glitter layer to the poinsettias from TH Seasonal Sketch dies.  I removed a green cord bow and left the TH Funky Wreath on vellum with Scrapbook.com words as it was. 

The focal point was attached to a circle dry embossed with TH Texture Fades Poinsettia folder.  That was attached to a slightly larger circle card.  Have to say, I like the card much better than the tag because of the glitter poinsettia layer and the dry embossing.  There's still time to join Jo and me at Christmas Kickstart: Wreath it Up.  I'm entering Word Art Wednesday.

Our 46th anniversary is next week and I wanted to make something different for hubby's card this year.  I HAD to have TE Create in Quads: Mistletoe, but hadn't yet opened the package. 😊 Thought mistletoe in his favorite colors would be perfect!  

The Altenew inks are Grass Field, Mountain Pine, Caribbean Sky and Sapphire.  I die cut AJVD "love" die from a vellum panel to use as a guide for where to place the die on my stenciled panel.  The word was stacked 3 high, covered with glaze and glued in place.  I die cut MB Parker Lowercase Alphabet letters to spell "you" and stacked them 3 high.  The card front edges were inked to match.  If you look close, you'll see 2 tiny Gina K white heart embellishments where a bow often goes.  Fresh and simple with interest, so I'm happy and think hubby will like it, too.  I'm entering Just Us Girls and SSS Wednesday.

I saw that my cardmaking friend, Linda, is the hostess at Seize the Birthday.  Her theme is Black & White, which I haven't done in quite awhile.  Always fun to combine challenges and FMS gave me a great layout.

The black and white mats were die cut with Gina K Master Layouts 1 & 2.  I used partial diecutting with a long stitched AJVD rectangle die to get the size I needed for my flowers which are from PTI Simple Stems.  I actually used acrylic blocks and Versafine Clair Nocturne ink for the stamping and had no problem.  The card looks very crisp and clean in person.  Took a bit, but I finally found exactly the sentiment I wanted in Uniko's Simply Said Blocks.  I added a tiny clear gem at the base of each bloom. 

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

Uniko, Altenew, Memory Box

Sharing 4 recent cards, so feel free to just scroll down and look at the pictures.  First up is a card that made me sooo happy!  I've struggled to use Uniko's Ink N Flip stencils, but finally made a panel that didn't go in the trash!

The Layering Flower stencil was used with CN9 Aqua Sky, Harbor, Tidepool, Grapefruit and Pink Lemonade.  The sentiment from Simply Said Blocks was stamped in Versafine Morning Mist.  I used 3 clear low profile dots for embellishment.  Please don't buy Ink N Flip stencils from any company but Uniko.  Beverley came up with this concept and designs all her own products.  I'm hoping the American company who plans to offer their version this summer will think better of it.

Next is my entry for Uniko's 12 Days of Christmas Challenge.  I used the branch from Season of Beauty with GKD Wreath Builder Template and tiny berries from Rustic Wreath.  

The inks are Versafine Clair Green Oasis, Grass Green and Strawberry.  The background was made with Heidi Swapp white Art Screen Ink through the Winter Foliage stencil.  Love the beautiful shimmery texture which you can see in my IG video.  

When I saw the colors for Altenew's July Inspiration Challenge are blue, green and beige, I decided to make an anniversary card for my sister and her hubby.  She loves blue and he's fond of green.  

I do love wreaths, including Altenew's Wonderful Wreath stencil.  This time I did 4 layers for the top wreath and 2 for the bottom one.  The Altenew inks are Lime, Limeade and Persian Blue, with Lime also being used for the splatters.  The little flowers from Layered Floral Elements die set were brushed with the blue ink darkest in the centers.  I added Stardust Stickles to the petal tips and the darkest Deep Sea Sapphire Gem Sparkles to the centers.  You can see the sparkle in my IG video.  The sentiments are from Flower Vine.  Really love the look of the beige cardstock panel on the white card.  

My final card is for the July Memory Box Challenge: Summer Vibes.  I used MB Backyard Floral Stems for the focal point along with Friends and Family stamp set for the sentiment.  The vellum butterfly is the smallest one in Birch Press Simple Butterfly Contour Layers. 

I purposely used one of my white cardstocks that give this somewhat textured look when brushed with any inks.  Here I used Distress Oxide Prize Ribbon with the MFT rectangle stencil to represent a summer sky.  Fun to use Altenew Tropical Fiesta Watercolor Brush Markers to color the focal point.  I used 2 greens, red, purple, yellow and orange--summery colors to me.  The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Blue Belle.  I added little blue gems and tiny white pearls.  I'm entering Word Art Wednesday and TTTC274 as my card fits several rows, including Die Cut/Free/Butterfly.

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 Anniversary

I used a favorite Altenew stamp/die/stencils set to make a card for the Altenew June Inspiration Challenge.

The Altenew inks are Fresh Lemon, Maple Yellow and Sunkisseed.  I also used Distress Oxide crackling campfire, Memento Pistachio and CN9 Artichoke.  The cardstocks are cream and Classic Kraft.  I stacked the bouquet 3 high and Altenew Essential Sentiment Strips Happy Birthday was stacked 2 high.  The background has a light coating of Distress Spritz Vintage Photo and the focal point has brown splatters.  You can get a better look in my IG video.  I finished off with yellow gems and green pearls.  I'm also entering SSS Monday.

My next card was inspired by 2 challenges:  Time Out photo inspiration and Die Cut Divas color challenge.  Instead of seashells, my heart was made with Poppystamps Potpourri Flower Set and I filled the center with SSS Leaf Tumble embossing folder.  

DCD requires the use of at least 3 of the colors.  I used 4 starting with the card, PFS Nested Diagonal Stitch Square and embossed square done with GKD Whisper cardstock.  I made my own colored cardstock for the flowers by using direct to paper (Bristol) with VersaMagic Pink Petunia and Red Brick plus Altenew Velvet.  The sentiment from Altenew Sweet Bouquet was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  I added tiny clear gems in roughly a heart shape to help your eye see the heart.  What do you think? 😊 It was fun to make an anniversary card that's a little different. 

Edited to add:  Also entering Tic Tac Toe 273 using anniversary, free, square. 

I'm improving, but the strained muscle is still slowing me down.  Sometimes it doesn't bother me and other times I just have to lay back in my recliner.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Friendship and Anniversary

I was delighted to find PFS Artistic Bows die set at a bargain price from someone purging supplies.  Thought it'd work great with a small bouquet made from SSS Cosmos Stem and Beautiful Buttercup die sets.  

The inks are CN9 Nectar and Grapefruit with Altenew Pink Sand for the stems.  Love the font of PTI Essential Sentiments and the hello word fit perfectly.  So glad I got SSS Dibble Tile embossing folder.  It adds interest and texture, but more subtly than some others I have.  I'll probably cry if I ever run out of Lucy's Iridescent Gems--so beautiful!  I entered SSS Wednesday via Flickr.

Next is my entry for Time Out Challenge #287.  Here's the photo to use for inspiration.

I did have to think about this one for awhile, but I kept coming back to the costume on the right.  I see shiny green fabric with pink flowers that have burgundy centers and green leaves.  The pink card display board made me think of a very old Sizzix embossing folder I have.  

I began by covering white cardstock with Fake Plant Lunar Paste.  When it was completely dry, I used the embossing folder--came out great!  I found some green cardstock just a bit lighter than the background and used it to die cut the branch from Altenew's Fresh Flowers.  PTI Into the Blooms II had the perfect bloom and center to use with textured light pink cardstock and plain burgundy cardstock.  Took a ton of pictures and couldn't get the flowers to look very pink, but they truly are not white!  Memory Box Hello Friend Posh Script was die cut from the same pink and burgundy cardstocks.  I covered the words with a shimmer pen.  You can see the shimmer and sparkle in my IG post.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

I wanted to enter the stencil challenge at Just Us Girls and I need an anniversary card next month.  SSS Heart Mandala stencil caught my eye.  It's really beautiful, but I've had trouble coming up with how to use it.  This time I thought it could work to just ink blend a circle, starting in the middle of the stencil.  Really love how it turned out!  

The Distress Oxide inks are aged mahogany, fired brick and candied apple.  Boy does Bristol smooth cardstock make blending so much easier!  I did cut the panel down so it would be framed by the white card front.  I also couldn't help but give it a spray of Distress Spritz fired brick.  The shimmer is really beautiful and you can see it a bit in my IG post.  I used AJVD heart dies and a sentiment from Altenew's Flower Vine stamp set.  A couple cardstock layers raised the panel off the card.  I may end up making something like this for hubby, as I really love the look.

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 Birthday

I missed posting my card for last month's Woodblock Wednesday, so had it ready to go for the August challenge.  DeNami was one of the first companies I discovered when I started stamping.  I still have and love many of them, including this one from 1999.  

I stamped in Versafine Clair Green Oasis and PTI Pure Poppy.  Birch Press Handwritten Merry Christmas and Outline was die cut from vellum and cardstock I inked with Pure Poppy.  You can see the green and red Stickles in my IG post.  I love how beautiful elements let you create a simple card that is pretty and festive, but flat for mailing.  

Finally finished my card for the August Stay Crafty with Hero challenge.  I was the lucky winner of May's card kit which has a beautiful cake image.  I've been telling myself to use my Zigs, so gold embossed with HA powder on Bristol paper.  

The images are are pretty small, so not as intimidating for me to color.  I learned from Amy Tsuruta that Zig makes a blender brush.  Oh boy does it work great!  The cake plate was colored with Spellbinders gold pen, although here it looks brown.  I used a gold gel pen to cover the white edges after diecutting.  The kraft mat and card front were splattered with gold watercolor.  

The Gina Marie rectangle diecut was in the bag where I store the ones waiting to be used.  Usually I forget to check it!😊 I found just the sentiment I wanted in the 2011 HA set called Congrats and it stamped perfectly with one try.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday and Allsorts challenge to include a sentiment, hosted by my friend Brenda.

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