July Challenges

One last post before my shoulder replacement surgery.  I realized our anniversary is early in September & I needed to make hubby's card while I can still use both arms. 

Woodblock Wednesday inspired me to use an old favorite heart stamp which still has the price tag, but no indication of what company made it.  I white embossed it several times using my old fashioned stamp positioner.  In the same stamp drawer I saw the love stamp made by an Oregon Company, Embossing Arts.  They've been out of business for years.  I black embossed that stamp, scored a frame & taped it off.  

I ink blended Distress Oxides lucky clover & broken china, as hubby's favorite color combo is blue & green.  The little heart was "colored" with a Gelly Roll Clear Star pen & I added black splatters.  Simple one layer card I think hubby will like.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday & WAW. 

The July Pinkfresh Studio challenge theme is Go Geometric.  Circles & half circles are considered geometric, so gave me a chance to use Slim Braided Circles Panel.  I knew I wanted to use my favorite Lush Vines background stamp and thought this textured green cardstock would be perfect.  It's actually a brighter kelly green in person--so pretty.  I white embossed on Bristol paper so I could use Zigs for the loose watercoloring.  This stamp is perfect for that technique, in my opinion.

The 3 sprigs from Dainty Blossoms were die cut from a white scrap embossed with HA Sparkle powder.  The sending hugs diecut from Perfect Sentiments was already black embossed & fit perfectly on this card.

Decided not to add any embellishments & just tied on a white crochet thread bow.  I'm also entering SSS Wed via IG. 

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  Hopefully, I'll get back into a routine of leaving comments when I'm released to use my left arm.  

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.

Caffeinated Christmas Guest Designer

I'm delighted to be one of the July Guest Designers for the Caffeinated Christmas Challenge.  This month's theme is Stars to use with coffee, tea or cocoa.  Don't forget, we want to see a Christmas card, not just one for winter.

I had so much fun stamping the background for my coffee cup that is probably filled with a peppermint mocha!  The stamp sets I used are all from Precious Remembrance Shop & the inks are Memento.  

I stamped the tree from Oh Christmas in Cottage Ivy, the date from Sketchy Christmas & dots from Fall Colors in Rhubarb Stalk and the sentiment from Oh Christmas in Rich Cocoa.  Then I embossed the panel with Tim Holtz Tiny Stars Texture Fade folder.  The travel cup from Coffee Love was stamped in Espresso Truffle & then Versamark so I could use clear embossing powder.  I colored it with Copics G07 & R29, purposely not blending away the horizontal lines.  The top was colored with Rich Cocoa & the image was fussy cut.  The big star from CAS-ual Fridays & the little stars from Jillibean Soup were colored with the Copics.  I added an extra cardstock layer behind the cup & inked the card front with Espresso Truffle.  Always good to have another Christmas card ready ahead of time!  Hope you'll join the challenge which is sponsored by A Colorful Life Designs. 

Edited to add: I'm entering Inkspirational's Christmas in July challenge, SSS Wednesday & WAW.

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

Last Minute Entry

The color combo for the Altenew June Inspiration Challenge really appeals to me & it's always good to use some products sitting on the shelf! 

I pulled out 3 Altenew dies:  Dotted Swirls Debossing Cover Die, Climber Flowers Die Set & Essential Sentiment Strips Die Set.  I didn't have the right shades of cardstock, so looked through my ink pads.  The blossom die cuts were inked with CN9 Fig & Altenew Fuchsia.  The leafy die cuts were inked with Altenew Limeade, Lime & Fresh Leaf.  I didn't want any yellow, so used a gray marker to color the stamen.  For the sentiment strip, I die cut a white scrap that was big enough to also use for a strip inked with Fig & glued behind the letters.  I used foam tape & rolled glue dots to attach the strip.

Usually I put most of the embellishments around my focal point, but this time I added purple Memory Box Fairy Jewels to the blooms & green to the leaves.  Maybe I shouldn't think as much about what to do--haha!  I didn't have much time to get this card made & I really like how it turned out.  I'm also entering Snippets Playground with all the diecutting done from white scraps, SSS Wednesday & WAW.

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

End of the Month

Challenges are about to end with July just around the corner!

First is my entry for the Sunshine theme challenge at Pinkfresh Studio.  Unfortunately, I missed the deadline.  They included "bright, summery colors" when talking about what would qualify for the challenge.  I used Copics for my bright rainbow of colors along with some beautiful flowers that bloom with the summer sun.

My favorite PFS Dainty Blossoms were die cut from white scraps & brushed with shimmer.  Love the font of PFS Perfect Sentiments & this cute little black embossed "hi" was just right for this card.  I added a crochet thread bow & some white sequins.

Next is my entry for the Just Add Foil challenge at Poppystamps.  My good friend, Rosemary, inspired me to emboss watercolor paper with BirchPress Prem Layer C die & to add a flower to Poppystamps Dream Butterfly.  

The butterfly was die cut from PTI Dark Indigo cardstock & I used the matching ink to stamp the sentiment from Altenew Painted Greetings.  I restamped in Versamark so I could add clear embossing powder.  I die cut Poppystamps Layered Lovely Flowers from a gorgeous blue foil cardstock in an old paper pad.  Just seemed like too much white, so I splattered Hero Arts blue metallic watercolor which happened to exactly match the blue foil cardstock. 

I lifted up the petals & added a tiny gem in the center.  My sister's favorite color is blue & she loves butterflies, so this one is being saved for her. 

My last card is for the Memory Box challenge to use dies for the focal point of a card.  One of my latest MB purchases was Floral Bud and Stems die set.  I'm trying to use up some of my old single cardstock sheets kept in a plastic tub.  I found the orange & teal that made for a summery bouquet.  

The background was made with Memento Dandelion ink brushed through SSS 2013 Moroccan stencil.  The frame is Poppystamps Double Stitch Scalloped Rectangle Frame stacked 2 high.  I stamped the sentiment from Poppystamps Grateful Heart in Versafine Clair Nocturne. 

Orange Stickles add a bit of sparkle to the petals & I brushed Poppystamps Grosgrain bow with shimmer.  Finished off with 3 Memory Box yellow Fairy Jewels.

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

Butterfly Note Card

I haven't entered a JUGs challenge in awhile, but the current color combo inspired me to make this card.  

MFT Brilliant Butterflies have such a beautifully unique look, but I've had trouble lining up the layers.  It worked great this time!  Just needed to take time to stamp on scrap paper, line up the diecut negative, insert the diecut & stamp.  The inks are Hero Arts Cornflower & PTI Amethyst Allure.  The fancy wing design is embossed in HA Sparkle ep.  The background is Memory Box Blooming folder embossed on PTI Soft Stone cardstock.  I used a light hand to do direct to paper with a white pigment ink pad.  It made a subtle difference, but is really pretty in person.  You can see it in the video in my IG post, along with the sparkle on the wings.  I die cut MB Just a Note Posh Script from vellum & black cardstock covered with packing tape.  I'm entering JUGs, TTTC211 (Butterfly, Die Cut, Embossing) & 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

More Cards

Hard to believe it's June!  Luckily, Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero Dance of the Flowers Challenge is still open.  I pulled out the HA Paper Layering Dandelion die that my friend, Betty, gave me long ago.  

I die cut twice from a scrap of cardstock & spritzed one with Tattered Angels Caribbean Blue & the other with Meadow Green.  The shimmery metallic is so beautiful!  I also splattered them with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain to tie in with the leftover PFS Small Butterfly which I colored with Spellbinders silver metallic pen.  There's a video in my IG post showing the shimmer & sparkle.  The sentiment from a 2009 HA clear set was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist a couple times on a white scrap & cut with a PTI flag die.  Love the white on white background using HA Bold Graphic Confetti cover plate & the look of droplets from PTI Rainstones.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday & Snippets Playground.

I've participated in the CCC card exchange for many years.  It's fun to send & receive cards from all over the world.  Last month the optional color combo was 2 shades of blue plus gold.  I made it 3 blues so I had 4 colors to stamp C&9 Botanical Turnabout stamp.  The Hero Arts inks are Cornflower, Soft Sky & Soft Pool.  I heat embossed the gold layer & added gold splatters.  

Gotta say, I really love this combo which I probably would never have come up with.  I used dies that came with the set to make the gold embossed frame decorated with a bloom & leaves.  Here's a close up to try & show the gold embossing.  It looks like a different card, but it's not.

The Poppystamps sentiment was stacked with white, blue & a gold embossed layer.  I found a stamp with the word "Friend" that I could trim for the sub-sentiment.  

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