Bloom

My dear friend Anna recently sent me a lovely card that featured background text, ombre coloring and silhouette images.  As these are all favorites of mine as well, I was inspired to play with the same elements . . .

Some clear droplets to add freshness and a little sparkle and another fun morning at the craft table comes to a close . . . looking forward to tomorrow!

 Cardstock:   Canson Montval Watercolor #140, Bazzill Raven        

Stamps:        Stampington Button Mums, Inkadinkado DH Letter

Inks:               Superior India Ink Black, Distress Tumbled Glass,

Frayed Jeans, Dusty Concord

Dies:              Impression Obsession Large Frame, Karen Burniston

Border Blends – Party, Tim Holtz Wildflowers,

DieVersions font Noodles                  

Doo Dads: Kat Scrappiness Sparkling Clear Droplets

 

Wishes

Here’s the result of my second foray into stamping with an entire eight-piece set of ColorBox Petal Point inks . . .

The advantage of working with a curated set of colors is that they all work beautifully together – no hassles over finding just the right combination.  Happily, I also have a few coordinated ink pad sets by Kaleidacolor and Encore and I’ll be playing with those too.  I think they’ll make great backgrounds for silhouette stamps . . .

Cardstock:   Canson Aquarelle #90

Stamps:        Unknown Wishes Have Wings

Inks:               ColorBox Petal Point set Autumn Pastels, Gina K

Charcoal Brown

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              Spellbinders Hemstitch Squares, Back to Basics Tags          

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute, Viva Pearl Pen Cream    

One of a Kind

In overhauling some of my ink pads, I checked out my ColorBox collection of Petal Point ink pads.  For some reason, I had them out of sight which always translates to out of mind.  Thanks to the neglect, the inevitable happened – some of the colors have dried up and gone to that great Ink Pad Warehouse in the sky.  In  order to quickly see which pads were still viable, I upended the whole container and stamped with it . . .

VOILA!  A fun new direct-to-paper technique!  Only five of the eight petal pads worked but that was enough to suggest a fanciful background for this delightful bird.  I had better luck with the next petal pad set I tried – check it out come Thursday.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Bazzill Green, Canson Aquarelle #90    

Stamps:        Hero One of a Kind (image and text)

Inks:               ColorBox Petal Point set Brocade

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              We Buys Curves, Stampin’ Up Lakeside Framelits

Set (label)         

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll pen White          

Blessed

Here’s a two-fer for you today, folks – enjoy!

I had some more fun with the butterfly die I featured in the last post and came up with two versions of it . . .

The first card is quite similar to my previous layout but I’ve changed the colors and simplified the arrangement.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Rosy, Canson Aquarelle #90        

Inks:            Distress Brushed Corduroy

Dies:            Spellbinders Hemstitch Squares, Memory Box Tall Birch, 

                     Concord & 9th Butterfly, YPP Craft Words set: Blessed              

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear, Viva Pearl Pen Cream  

The second card features a gatefold opening with a magnet closing under the right wing of the small butterfly.

                                               Happy Mother's Day!

Mother’s Day card #2

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Rosy, Canson Aquarelle #90        

Dies:            Cheery Lynn Japanese Lace Pattern, Concord & 9th Butterfly, 

                     Memory Box Butterflies: Pippi, Isabella, YPP Craft Words set: 

                     Blessed, Verve Charming Banner   

Doo Dads:    Metalix Glitter Moondust, Gelly Roll Clear, Jewelry Designer Crystal

Soar

Butterflies being one of my favorite images, I am always up for a chance to play with them . . .

 

This butterfly die set was originally designed to grace the opening edges of a gateway card.  The inside edge of one wing was cleverly slotted to fit into the same arrangement on the other wing which kept the card closed.  I’ll try that on my next fling with this die set.  Meanwhile, I opted to do a conventional card front with the wings, backing them with a hemstitched square to make them stand out.

I plan to try several different versions with this lovely die, so stick around!

Cardstock:   Unknown Blue, Canson Aquarelle #90,

Constellation Rastor-White  

Inks:               Gelly Roll Clear

Waterclrs:     Zig Clean Color Dull Blue, Light Blue

Dies:              Concord & 9th Butterfly, Memory Box Isabella

Butterfly, Spellbinders Hemstitch Squares, Impression

Obsession Bare Branch, DieVersions font Noodles         

Thank You

Time to get those Christmas gift Thank You notes done, folks . . . here’s my version for this year:

A snowy background, a shimmering, flower-bedecked Christmas tree with a star on top, and burgundy colored words of gratitude for the lovely gifts I was given.  I hope everyone’s Christmas was as blessed as mine was . . .

 Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White, Bazzill Rain Forest,

 Scrap Burgundy     

Dies:              Memory Box Flowering Christmas Tree, Savvy

Thank You Cursive           

Emb Fldr:     Sizzix Dots

Doo Dads:    Tim Holtz Mirrored Star, Inkssentials Enamel Accents

White, Metalix Glitter Moondust    

Place Cards

Our group of four enjoys some of the best friendships ever.  As none of our families are nearby, our little group got together for Thanksgiving.  With no one a particular fan of turkey,  nor the all-day cooking hassles, we broke tradition by ordering our favorite Chinese goodies the day before and reheating them on the Big Day.  All of our local restaurants were closed so that’s how we made do.  It was a wonderful event, quite delicious, and a hostess who was actually able to enjoy the party!

I thought some place cards would be fun additions to the festivities . . .

I cut the tag bases twice, scored the second one ½” down from the top and added glue above the score line.  With the two pieces glued together, the tags became stand-up place cards.  Along with the name strip, both the pumpkin and the acorn were popped up for dimension.  Coloring was done with both pencils and markers.

Hopefully, everyone’s Thanksgiving Day was as wonderful as ours!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Neenah Desert Storm       

Stamps:        Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Distress Gathered Twigs

Colorants:    Derwent Inktense Pencils Felt Green, Tangerine

Waterclrs:     Zig Real Brush Light Green, Yellow Green, Orange,

Ochre, Dark Brown

Dies:             Impression Obsession Deckled Tag, Spellbinders Fall

Botanical, Tim Holtz Tiny Type Upper                

Dream

Although the die cut flower spray has plenty of bling, I still wanted hints of sparkle on the rest of the background . . .

My favorite way to make this happen is to use a spray adhesive on the back of the die cut.  After carefully pressing in place with minimum handling, I then scatter glitter over the die cut and press down with a sheet of scrap paper the adhere the glitter.  The misty droplets of spray adhesive always manage to find their way to the inner edges of any die cut and that provides just enough stickum to adhere the minimal sparkle I’m after.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Dark Butter, Strathmore Ultimate White,

Stampin’ Up Vellum

Dies:              Spellbinders Two Way Street, Lil Inkers Stitched Mats:

Rectangles, Mariane Creatables Garden Branch,

Memory Box Moonlight Butterfly, YPP Craft “Dream”                 

Emb Fldr:      Spellbinders Blistered

Doo Dads:    Metalix Glitter Moondust   

Happy

Fun with a Mini Slimline and a couple of patterned paper strips . . .

 I used two shades of green for the foliage on this guy card, which happens to be appropriate for the recipient as he is a grower.  Lots of texture on this one which always makes me smile . . .

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Stampin Up Always Artichoke, Scrap

Light Green, Patterned Papers   

Dies:            Fabbay Flower Frames, Sue Wilson Chantilly Lace

Edger, Tattered Lace Everyday Sentiments          

Emb Fldr:     Taylored Expressions Burlap

Doo Dads:    Adirondack Acrylics Cranberry