Q is for Quote

Hello friends! I hope that all of U.S. friends celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have a couple of scheduled posts while I’m away for today and tomorrow. It’s a busy time of the year and I’ll try to keep up with my “blog duties” the best I can.

Today is a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog! Our next letter is “Q”, and this time it was my turn to pick a theme with this letter and I’ve chosen “Quote” I hope you will join in the fun with us! *Please remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter.* Here’s the project I’ve made for this challenge:

I’ve always loved using quotes for things and you can catch me with my kids saying quotes from movies all of the time. We can say a quote and know exactly where it came from. Some people don’t understand what we’re talking about which makes it even funnier!😉

I’ve pulled out a Catherine Pooler stamp set called “Notable & Quotable” that I don’t remember where I purchased it from, but I fell in love with the quotes in it. It also came with the flower images in the set too.

For the background, I used a My Favorite Things “abstract” stencil and blended over it with several different colors. I then took a couple of the floral images from the stamp set and stamped over the stenciled “blobs”. I then white heat embossed one of the quotes from the stamp set and cut it out with a stitched oval die and then layered another stitched oval vellum layer behind it. I popped it up with foam tape over the center of the background and then attached the entire layer over a white top folding A2 card base. Lastly, I added some clear sequins with Stickles in the center of each one.

Thanks so much for stopping in today! I hope you like my card and will come join in the fun with us! I’ll be back again tomorrow with my monthly Art Journal Page!

Thank You for Sparkles Monthly

Hello friends and happy weekend to you! As we inch closer and closer to Thanksgiving at the end of this month, I think this is a perfect time to create a few thank you style cards to use throughout the year!

This brings us to a new monthly challenge over at Sparkles Monthly and we have the theme of “Thank you Card” this month. I look forward to seeing all of the projects in the gallery for this one. Here’s what I came up with:

I thought I’d try out a mini slim sized card for this one and the tall larger flower was a great fit for it! I used the Taylored Expressions Natures Canvas Card kit (no longer available).

For the background panel, I embossed a kraft cardstock piece with the TE Sketched Plaid embossing folder and the went around the edges with the same color ink and then added some brown and white splatters before attaching it to a mini slim top folding card base. I also die cut a frame from the TE Mini Slim Frame in Frame dies out of white cardstock to place over the embossed layer.

I stamped, hand colored and die cut the flower. I used one of the greeting panels (from card kit) to gold foil and cut out the coordinating sentiment with it to pop up with foam tape over the flower stem. It was then finished off with some gold gem/rhinestones.

I hope you’ve been inspired by my thank you card and will join in the fun with us this month for the challenge! **NOTE** This will be my final project for the Sparkles Monthly Challenge as a design team member. I have enjoyed my time and wish Caz all of the best for the challenge blog in the coming year as well. Thank you!

Challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore – #141 Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create – Anything Goes with optional: Thank you
Triple B – Birds, Blooms &/or Butterflies (bloom)
Penny’s – #609 Anything Goes using Paper
Crafty Catz – #704 Anything Goes/Thanksgiving/Thank you
Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2545 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Thank you

O is for Oval with One Word

Hello friends! Happy Friday and happy Halloween too!🎃 I might be having a few treats tonight, but hopefully without any tricks involved! 😉

Today is a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog! Our next letter is “O”, and our hostess, Helen, has chosen “Oval with One Word Sentiment” I hope you will join in the fun with us! *Please remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter.* Here’s the project I’ve made for this challenge:

I usually make cards with a specific theme, but I rarely make cards with just an “any occasion” involving a simple sentiment like “hello”, so I went with this in mind for the challenge.

I started with a Taylored Expressions Foil It-Framework panel (one of the panels had a nice oval shape), and foiled it with a gold foil. While I was foiling, I also decided to foil the sentiment from the TE Foil It-Timeless Greetings and cut it out with the coordinating die.

After foiling, I pulled out the TE Masking Stencil-Framework (coordinates with the foil panel) and used it to stencil the center oval with the TE Mini Slim Stencil-Trellis in light blue ink. I then took the left over ink from the blending brush and lightly went over the entire inside oval shape. On a separate piece of white cardstock, I stenciled the TE Cottage Charm Stencil & Die Combo and attached the floral spray on each opposite ends of the foil oval. I was trying to go for Autumn style colors for the flowers, but the red tone looks a bit more pink in the photo now that I’m looking at it. I still like it though.

I attached this panel onto a light blue A2 side folding card base, popped up the gold foil sentiment in the center with foam tape and added a couple of gold gems.

I hope you like my card today and you will pop on over to the challenge blog to see the inspiration from the rest of the design team. Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

Thanks so much for dropping in and I’ll be back tomorrow with another post and challenge!

Challenges:

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2543 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes
Krafty Chicks – #792 Anything Goes
Triple B – Birds, Butterflies, Blooms (must use at least 1)
The Creative Crafters – #93 Anything Goes

A Single Flower at Sparkles Monthly

Hello friends! Welcome to the start of a new week for mid-September! I think Summer actually DID come back to us as we’ve set record high heats for this time of the year! I think I’m ready for those cooler temps to come back! Ugh! I know it won’t be long now and we can start enjoying trips outdoors as we look forward to picking apples and all Autumn festivities that we do!

Today is time to share a new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly and we have the theme of “USE A SNGLE FLOWER (floral image)” this month. Flowers seem to be everyone’s favorite. Here’s what I came up with:

Mine is a single sunflower image. My husband planting them in our backyard this year and they were so pretty! Of course, I forgot to take a photo of one before they died off.

The items I’ve used came from an older card kit from Simon Says Stamp including the stamp set called Sunflower Fields. There is a single sunflower image that I thought would be perfect for this challenge, plus I can use more items from my stash!

For the size of the flower image, I wanted it to stand out, so I used a tag and twine from the kit and decided to make this a mini slim card size.

For the background: I used a piece of watercolor cardstock and gold heat embossed the “Romantic Script” background stamp (retired) from My Favorite Things and then used some oxide inks swiped on glass with spritzed water to make a “smooshed” background. I also used these same colors to watercolor my flower with. (except the green, I only used that for the flower) I also used some gold watercolor to splatter over the tag. I only splattered the tag because I didn’t think it would show very much over the card background.

I cut the smooshed watercolor panel to fit over a kraft side folding mini slimline card base. I die cut the flower and the sentiment to attach over the tag, added some twine and then used foam tape to pop it up over the ink smooshed background. Lastly, I’ve added some yellow sequins to finish it off.

I hope you will take some time to pull out a single flower and join us in the challenge this month! Looking forward to seeing your creations! Thanks so much for dropping by!

Challenges:

Creative Inspirations – #30 Anything Goes
Ellibelle’s Garden Party – #7 Anything In or From a Garden
Creative Fingers – #307 Anything Goes
Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends – #261 Anything Goes
Penny’s – #605 Anything Goes Using Paper
Love to Craft – #88 Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore – #139 Anything Goes

Mix It Up with a Fancy Fold

Happy September friends! Can you believe we’re getting ready to get into the Autumn season already?! It seems like the summer flew by, but I have to say that I’m so very ready for the falling leaves and all things Autumn to start up now…especially cooler temps!

Today also brings us to a new challenge over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog. The challenges always run for 6 weeks so there is plenty of time to enter. The theme given for us this time is: Fancy Folds or you can always do the ‘Anything Goes” too. Here’s the card that I came up with for the challenge using the theme:

This is a something I came across a while back and saved the tutorial for later to give it a go. This is called a “Faceted Vertical Easel Card” and this is a 5″x7″ size. I would give you a link to the tutorial, but when I started creating half-way through to come upon the layers, I noticed the measurements were not quite right, so I had to figure out an adjustment to make it work correctly. I do love the look of it with its unique faceted design. It’s basically just an easel style card with a bit of a design in the center fold area and going vertical instead of horizontal. (If I make another again, I’ve decided another easier way to work it.

Since I was in the mood for the Autumn season, I decided to make my design with that in mind. I started with a kraft cardstock base measuring 10″x7″ with all of the different scores/cuts for this design as well. For decorating it, I’ve pulled out some Autumn papers by Photoplay in my stash and added a layer of glitter gold cardstock. To make square aperture with the pumpkins, I pull a cardboard cutout from the paper pack to use with it, and then white heat embossed a sentiment and die cut to place on the bottom right of card. Lastly, I’ve added some gold gems to both panels as well as the square panel in the center of the card.

I think what I like most about this is that it folds completely flat for mailing in an envelope. Once the recipient receives it, you can slide it open to catch the strip on the right side of the card and it will stand up like the first photo in this post.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my fancy fold card today and you’ll hop on over to the challenge blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with. I look forward to seeing the gallery and what fancy folds will be in there!

Thanks so much for stopping in today! Have a great day!

Challenges:

Creative Creases – #106 Anything with a fun fold
Penny’s challenge – #604 Anything Goes using paper
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes
The Four Seasons Challenge – Fall
The Crafter’s Cafe – #322 Anything Goes optional: Use Pattern Papers
The Creative Crafters – #91 Anything Goes

Clean & Simple at Sparkles Monthly

Hello friends! We’re still having some very warm temperatures with humidity making it worse. With seeing the kids starting back up at school, I am so ready for Autumn weather to get here! Notice I didn’t mention the “W” word…just Autumn! LOL Hope your able to have stable conditions wherever you are.

Today is time to share a new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly and we have the theme of “CAS (Clean & Simple)” this month. I always find this theme great for making a quick card when you need one. Here’s what I came up with:

Although I’ve only used one flower image for my card, I’ve also added a few die cuts and simple foiling on the sentiment to elevate the design a bit.

The flower image is actually the July “freebie” from Taylored Expressions when you place any order with them. I quickly colored it up with Copic markers and then die cut the panel out with the TE Petite Scallop Gallery Builder die set and cut out another panel for the scallop frame around it with TE Blueberry cardstock.

For the sentiment, I used the TE Foil-It Sundry Sentiment panels and used the coordinating die set to cut it out. I then used some silver Deco Foil over it.

Here’s a closer view of the flower and foiled sentiment pieces. I forgot to mention that I’ve also dotted the center of the flowers with a silver gel pen.

For the finished card design, I used a regular A2 sized top folding horizontal white card base and then I cut an additional white card front piece from the TE Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets dies. I also used the TE Diagonal Stitched Rectangle Stacklets dies to make the slanted stitch marks on the inside of the scallop panel. (this doesn’t cut anything out, it just makes those lines around the edge.)

I placed this panel along with the flower and sentiment pieces over top to finish the card.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my card today and that you’ll stop by the challenge blog to see what the rest of the design team has come up with. You have a whole month to join in the fun with us! Hope to see your creation in the gallery!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore – #138 Anything Goes
We Love Stamping – Flowers
A Cut Above – Anything Goes with Die Cut(s)
Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2532 Anything Goes
Penny’s – #603 Anything Goes with Paper

G is for Girlfriend

Hello crafty friends! Happy Friday to you! Hope that you’re having a great Summer and a great start to your July month. We’ve been busy doing lots of things and I got to visit my new grandson again which of course was wonderful!

I’m swinging in today to share a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog! Our next letter is ‘G‘ and the hostess has chosen “G” is for GIRLFRIEND *Remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter* I hope you will find some time to play along! Here’s what I’ve created:

Isn’t this the cutest image! I found this adorable image called “Emmy and Wryn-BFF” from the Tiddlyinks store on Etsy. I have always loved this artist’s images and I hope to be coloring up more of them soon!

I colored the image with Copics and then black heat embossed the sentiment at the bottom and cut out the entire panel with a stitched scallop square die. (P.S. Have you heard that “My Favorite Things” has closed?) Both the sentiment and die came from MFT.

I had a package of these pretty papers from another crafty friend laying around, so I pulled them out to use for this card. I loved the flowers, so I cut a few of them out and popped them up in the corners with foam squares. I added another strip of the papers in the center of the design behind the image panel that was also popped up with foam tape.

I finished with details on the images using a black gel pen for their eyes and a white gel pen for highlights. I added some colored gems over top.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card today and that you’ll stop on over to the challenge blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with. Thanks so much for dropping in!

Challenges:

Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends – #257 Anything Goes
Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2527 Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore – #137 Anything Goes
Penny’s Paper Crafty – #600 Anything Goes Using Paper

Lots of Stamp Joy and Summer School Sessions!

Hello friends! I hope you’ve had a wonderful week and looking forward to a great weekend coming up! We are having a heat advisory for the next several days over my way, so I thought it would be a great idea to stay indoors and craft! I also thought this would be a great time to catch up with some posts sharing some things that I’ve worked on the first part of this year that I hadn’t gotten a chance to share with you.

LONG POST – pull up your chair with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

I thought I’d share the Taylored Expressions Virtual Stamp Joy that I did back in March. I actually spent the weekend attending the classes and creating as I followed along. I managed to get all of the projects done the day after the event was over, but failed to post all of what I had made due to the fact that I was busy helping two different people move…and then life just got really busy after that as well! LOL

*I also have added an additional event from Taylored Expressions this last weekend called “Summer School” which concentrated on foiling techniques. Although I’ve done foiling before, I sure enjoyed seeing new products and learning a few new techniques too! (These four cards are at the end of the gallery photos below)*

If you’re on my website, just click on the images below to enlarge the photos and view any details underneath each one. ENJOY!

Dimension Class-ink blending and splattering die cuts

I always love to learn new things with stamping/crafting along with all of the fun new products that come out too! I know I REALLY don’t need to purchase more things, but when cool stuff comes out, it’s really hard to pass it by! I think doing these classes and joining in on different challenges help me to use these fun things up!

So I hope you’ve enjoyed my post sharing all of the things that I’ve been doing! I will have another post sharing more things that I haven’t shared yet too! In the meantime, I’ve also been working on a scrapbook which has been fun and something that I haven’t done in a really long time! A baby can do that to you! LOL

Thanks so much for stopping in today my friends! I’ll be seeing you soon! Have a great weekend!😊

E is for Embossing

Hello and happy Friday! Thank you so much for the congrats from my last post about the baby! I look forward to meeting our new family member soon! It’s starting to get really warm over my way, so it’s a great time to be indoors with the cool air and craft.

Today starts a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog! Our next letter is E and the hostess has chosen “E” is for Embossing (heat or dry) *Remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter* I hope you will find some time to play along! Here’s what I’ve created:

I absolutely love to emboss! I first fell in love with stamping because of the magic of heat embossing and then fell in love again when those embossing folders came out! So I’ve decided to do both versions for my card.

I haven’t had a chance to use this Drifting Flowers embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp. I thought it was so pretty! I wanted to emboss in black and try out my Lisa Horton Interference Inks with it, so after I embossed it, I used my finger to rub white ink over the raised areas. I then used the LH Interference Inks over that once it dried. (I can’t remember exactly what colors I used, but it basically started as an experiment and I had several pads open!) I also used a silver ink pad to rub the centers of each flower minus the large one.

I should also mention that some of the white ink was very slightly rubbed over the open areas as well because I got a white streak on it…so I just continued to rub all over those areas until blended in. I didn’t mind the look.

While the inks were drying, I silver heat embossed the sentiment and cut out it with the coordinating die. I additionally cut out two more for added thickness and attached to the panel. I layered this embossed panel onto a mirror silver layer with both of these layers getting rounded on two ends with my corner chomper. I added these onto a chomped top folding A2 black card base. Lastly, I added some silver sequins.

Please be sure to stop by the challenge blog to see the inspiration from team as well! I look forward to seeing your embossed projects in the gallery. Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you like my card. See you soon!

Challenges:

Crafty Calendar – Add a Sentiment
Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2523 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Fur, Feather and/or Flowers
As You Like It – Favorite: to add a sentiment or not and why? (I most always have sentiments on my cards because I feel it’s important when sending a greeting card to someone and it’s hard for me to leave it blank.)
The Flower Challenge – #103 Embossing (heat/dry)

Flowers for Sparkles Monthly!

Hello friends! I hope that you’re enjoying this month so far! The weather has really started to warm up now and it’s been nice and sunny to be outside. I have so many projects that I’m working on, so my blog has been a bit neglected lately. I will be able to share with you all of the things that I’ve been working on later…but for now, let’s talk about flowers!

Today starts a new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly and this time it’s my turn to pick a theme and I have chosen “FLOWER(S)” for this month. Flowers seem to work for so many occasions which is why I chose it. Here’s the project that I came up with:

I needed a card for Mother’s Day this last weekend, so I thought I’d pull out my stash of die cut flowers from Taylored Expressions and create several pieces in different colors to place inside my wheel barrow.

I’ve die cut several pieces from the Fresh Cut Flowers die set in pineapple, guava, dried fig, chocolate truffle (centers) and green tea (stems and leaves). I used the same color of ink to sponge a bit of dimension over the centers and then splattered some white Copic ink over just the flowers and the toffee background that was stamped in toffee ink with the Weathered Words Background stamp.

I arranged all of the die cut flowers and leaves behind the Farmhouse Wheelbarrow die cut from chocolate truffle, toffee and woodgrain textured cardstock. I also used the Building Blocks Happy Additions to white heat emboss over a piece of chocolate truffle and cut out with the coordinating die. The toffee background was placed over an A2 sized top folding white card base and then I added a white frame die cut from the A2 Thin Frame Cutting Plate for an “anchor/ground” for the wheelbarrow to sit on. The sentiment greeting was popped up with a foam strip and then I’ve added a few enamel dots including in the center of the wheel.

Thank you so much for stopping in today! Hope you’ve enjoyed my card and that you will stop by the challenge blog to see the rest of the inspiration from the team. I look forward to seeing what floral creations you share in the gallery with us!

Challenges: