It's Wedding Time

I seldom have the need for a wedding card, but this summer one of my college roommates from 100 years ago is getting married.  She's been single a long time & I'm so happy they found each other.  I found 2 ribbons in my collection that are very close to the colors on the announcement.  One layer cards are not something I usually make & I didn't actually plan it for this card.  Sometimes things work out better without too much thinking about it. Penny Black makes the most gorgeous background stamps & I chose "peacock feathers" stamped in Encore! Ultimate Metallic Silver with clear embossing powder.  Love the soft silvery shine--not overpowering for this simple card. The sentiment is from Penny Black's "lace delight" set.  The beautiful font was just what I wanted & stamped perfectly in Memento Gray Flannel.  Three white sequins finish it off.  

I used Penny Black's "the bride" for the inside greeting & added just a small row of the "peacock feathers"--leaving room for me to write a personal message.  I put off making this card for weeks--not sure why.  This was a really fun card to make & I hope Cindy will like it.  Thanks for taking time out to visit my blog & hope you've found something to inspire you.

Be sure to check out the Penny Black blog for a new contest with 3 prizes! 

Thinking of You

Spent the morning working in the yard with hubby.  He had pruned the arborvitae & some tree branches.  He raked & I picked put the debris into the bin.  It's always nice to finish a project where you see the results of your hard work.  Figured I'd earned some crafting time, so put off the housework--nothing new for me--LOL!  


Decided to combine the Play Date Cafe Challenge colors of cream, melon & cantaloupe with the Impression Obsession Pack Your Bags challenge.  I had to get creative with this one, so let me explain.  My next trip is going to be a visit to my cousin & his family (& hopefully some cardmaking friends!) in Indianapolis.  One of the city's nicknames is Circle City.  My folks were married in the church on The Circle.  Now you know why my card is made with circles created with Lifestyle Crafts dies.  My cousin lives on a beautiful street with large lots & many trees.  I used my IO tree die, DIE006V & stamped it with the coordinating stamp from Solid Tree, 3115-XL.  After stamping with Versafine Vintage Sepia, I sponged on some green ink & then covered it with Versamark & clear embossed it.  I die cut a second tree from thin cardboard & attached it to the stamped tree to make my own chipboard.  The green circle is stamped with the IO Screen Cover-a-Card, CC049 & the cream card base is embossed with a Sizzix folder.  I have been thinking about my Indiana family, so this sentiment from the Solid Tree stamp set was perfect. I finished it off with a bit of cream twill & some green gems.  I hope your weekend was enjoyable & thanks so much for stopping by. 

Watercolor Birthday Card

Thank you all for the caring & hugs.  It means a lot to me.

This week's PTI MIM video showed how to watercolor an image & then over stamp after inking just the outer edges of the image.  I don't have PTI flowers like Erin used so I chose Harvest Berries--one of my favorite sets.  Love that it has matching dies & I used one for the small image.  I actually found my one small watercolor set that hasn't been used in years. Instead of a coordinating ink color, I used gold & the effect is beautiful in person.  All the edges are also inked in gold.  The sentiment is from PTI Quilled Elegance & is stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia.  I used a Sizzix embossing folder on the kraft panel & all the layers are mounted with foam tape.  I didn't plan it, but I think this could be for a guy.  I'm also entering the Birthday Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World & the Birthday Celebrations challenge at A Passion for Papertrey.  I love hearing what you think, so thanks for leaving a comment.
Edited to add: I'm adding this card to the challenge at Seize the Birthday.

Cardmaking is Therapy

Said goodbye yesterday to our sweet puppy dog, Keesha.  She had a long & happy life, but it's never long enough.  I know some of you have furbaby family members & understand the sadness & empty feeling.  I was off today, thankfully, & spent some time concentrating on making a card.  

The beautiful sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch! gave me the perfect opportunity to use my new Penny Black stamp, with flourish, 40-241, which coordinates with Spellbinders Labels 16.  I inked the stamp with a Faber-Castell big brush & immediately poured on embossing powder.  The pretty hat & sentiment are from Penny Black's lace delight, 30-115.  I paper pieced the hat & colored it with the big brush & some COPIC markers.  The roses are brushed with Shimmer Spritz & Stickles was added to the lace.  Foam tape is used to attach the top of the hat & give it shape while the brim is glued flat with the lace edge slightly bent up.  I like the aqua, lavender & gray color combo.  Hope you do, too.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  I'm still catching up & will visit you soon--not used to Feedly yet.

Summer Splash Blog Hop

We had a short camping trip on my days off so no blog posts for a few days.  I'm so glad to be back today with a summery note card using all DeNami stamps for my participation in this month's Blog Hop.   Deb Fischer just provided some inspiration if you're going in order.  To see the entire line-up & details about prizes head over to the DeNami Blog. 

I don't use a lot of yellow in my crafting, but it is perfect to convey the feeling of summer.  I paired it with some brightly colored butterflies.  I seldom use my Liquid Pearls so it was fun to find that the gold was just right for the bodies & it gave some texture, along with Stickles on the wings. This is my first card using the Solid Leaf Sprig & I was delighted to find that it makes a great background.  To cut the opening in the panel for my sentiment, a Lifestyle Crafts oval die was used. Yellow pearls finish off my simple card.  Hope you like it.  Next stop is one of the incredibly talented DT members, Dana Seymour. Enjoy the hop!

  

It's A Good Day

  

I really wanted to enter the current MFT challenge as it's been awhile & I love the sketch.  I hadn't had a chance to use this beautiful pink felt, so decided on pink, white & gray for my colors.  I framed the MFT sentiment using the negatives of the MFT Framing Flourishes.  The flower is made with MFT dies: Layered Rose & Prima Donna Petals.  Hoping it is a good day for you!

Playing with Gesso

Alexandra's Diary

Alexandra's Mask

The current PTI MIM challenge is to make custom paint with Gesso & reinkers.  I knew immediately I wanted to use my paint with a stencil as I've been inspired by Alexandra's use of them.  You can find one example in this post & here are just a couple pictures of her project--click to enlarge the pictures. 

I've actually bought several stencils lately & found the one I used today in the bottom of a drawer.  I mixed some Gesso with a Marvy Pale Violet reinker & got this lovely soft shade.  I used a piece of watercolor paper & brushed it over the stencil that has very small squares.  In places where it was heavily applied it made little mounds which I then spread with a brush.  I actually liked the effect this created for a background.  I stamped PTI Background Basics: Text Style in black that had been stamped off & then softened it more by adding Gesso randomly with my finger.  Next I stamped an image from PTI Turning a New Leaf in Fresh Snow.  It's very subtle, but effective in person.  PTI Lovely Layers dies were cut in felt, attached together & to a small Martha Stewart doily.  The sentiment from PTI Lovely Leaves & the focal image were attached to the background piece which is attached to a vellum panel & then to the card front.  I added a single pearl as the only embellishment.  I'm also entering the current challenge at A Passion For Papertrey since Alexandra's use of stencils inspired me.  I'm really glad you stopped by & hope you have a great week.