Hello friends again! I have two posts going up for today, so please see my post for the Mix It Up Challenge details in the above post when it goes live or click HERE.
I’m so excited to have been asked to be a guest for this month’s Pearly Sparkles Challenge! I always love playing along in challenges and supporting them when I can as I always find inspiration in using my supplies when I play!
So for May’s Challenge, they would like to see: BLACK, WHITE PLUS ONE OTHER COLOR in your project(s). Here’s the card I made for this theme to inspire you:
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for this, but I thought you couldn’t go wrong with some flowers. I pulled out a long forgotten stamp set from Taylored Expressions called “Picked Posies” (no longer available) and black heat embossed the images over watercolor paper and used one pink watercolor brushed over the petals. I die cut each flower with the coordinating die.
I made the rest of the card layout with all black and white elements. I stamped the TE Checking In Background stamp in black ink over a white panel, placed this over an A2 sized top folding black card base. I also used the TE More Easy Edgers die to cut an additional piece of white cardstock and placed it over the stamped checkered background. I also used some more of the elements from the flower stamp set and stamped some more black images on that background before I attached the watercolor flowers on it. I centered each flower with a black rhinestone.
Thanks so much for stopping in today and I hope you’ll check out this challenge to see what the rest of the team has to inspire you with so you can play along too!
Hello friends! Here we are again at the end of another month! Although I’ve been really busy this past week, I think I’m ready for March to be over with! Mainly because of this crazy weather and another because I’ve been busy doing things other than crafting! LOL (Must be time for that organizing…er as I like to say “agonizing”!)
Today is our monthly AJ page with my crafty friend Carol (from Crafty-Stamper) who is collaborating with me to “SMASH OUR STASH”! We get creative trying to use up our never-ending stash piles along with a prompt for each month. I know she always has great inspiration to share, so please check out her blog too! Here’s my AJ page with the “SMASH OUR STASH” March prompt of “Favorite Things”:
I’m sure you might’ve guessed that one of my favorite things to do is obvious on this page! (This craft room actually looks a bit more organized than mine is currently!) I did have so much fun with this one! I’ve usedSO many of my favorite things on here: old stamps, mixed company favorite stamps, foiling, heat embossing, coloring (Copics and watercolor), ink blending, die cutting, fussy cutting, using old paper stash, mix of papers, favorite colors, the subject of stamping, my favorite room, wearing sweats, crafting while sun going down, etc, etc, etc. Honestly, this was easy, but it could be because I enjoyed putting it together.
For the background: I used a standard white cardstock base measuring 5.5″x8.5″ and then took some very old Stampin’ Up! paper (Porcelain Prints) to cover the entire size so that I could get the look of wallpaper. I then used some textured woodgrain cardstock from my stash for the floor, the window and the shelves. (The shelves were popped up with a foam strip) I die cut a scallop border in white for the trim above the floor and also die cut a frame for the wall hanging. The sentiment for the wall hanging was gold heat embossed and placed behind the frame. (I sponged some white clouds in there too.) The border at the top was printed off my computer and I used another scallop border die to cut it out. I sponged some brown ink around the edges of the page and added all of the elements.
The stamper girl image was from an old company called “Hambo Stamps” (went out of business several years ago), but I think it’s so cute and funny! This is where the gold embossed sentiment came from as well. Had fun coloring her up with my watercolor pens.
For the window, I used the Taylored Expressions Foil It-Dreamscapes along with the coordinating stencils that I received from Virtual Stamp Joy earlier this month. (I will share my projects in another post later on.) I also used the TE Arch Windowpanes die set to cut out a frame in the woodgrain cardstock over one of the ink blended panels.
And lastly, the little crafty items on the shelves and floor came from the Lawn Fawn Just Add Glitter stamps & dies. I stamped and colored those up with Copics to place on the shelves. I also thought it would be fun to add some glitter spilling from the gold glitter bottle and dumping onto the floor…always a fun thing to happen in the craft room while you ignore it because you’re so intently working on something!
All this page did for me was to remind me that I really need to do more organizing! I hope you’ve enjoyed my page today and take a hop on over to see Carol’s inspiration too! Thanks so much for stopping in today!
(P.S. I’m currently away and it will be a few days before I can reciprocate your comments, but I truly appreciate your kind words of support.)
Hello friends! Just popping in with a quick post to share a card I’ve made for a few challenges.
This year, I’m going to try and “shop my stash” instead of buying and buying and buying all the things. YES…I know it’s easier said than done, but I’ve joined a fellow crafter that I’ve known for a long time to join in her monthly challenge prompts in her group on FB (This & That With Danni’s Dreams) to help keep me motivated in spending less. I’m sure she’d love you to join her, so check it out. Her monthly prompts are from her “Use Your Stash” challenges that she just started this year.
Her themes/prompts for January 2025: gnome(s), embossing folder, border die/punch, heart(s) and 12×12 paper. (You can choose one, several or all.) Here’s the card that I’ve made “Using My Stash” with ALL of the prompts:
I think gnomes are cute and I happen to have several stamps, so it was no problem finding one of those! I’ve used an older gnome set from Whimsy Stamps Gnome One Like You. I colored him up with Copics, but I fussy cut out the gnome and the heart balloon to pop up over the image on the circle that I’ve stenciled some pink clouds on.
The background has an older Sizzix embossing folder not sure of the name, but it’s a 3D embossing folder with hearts piled up. The embossing folder and hearts was another two of her prompts. I splattered some gold watercolor over the background before placing it over an A2 sized top folding cream card base. I also used a corner chomper to round the edges of the right two corners.
I’ve used some very old 12×12 papers from Stampin’ Up! called “Fan Fare”. I hoarded it for a long time and even wrote the coordinating colors on the back of the package! It’s high time to use some of it up…even if it’s a small strip! I’ve also taken the Whimsy Stamps Basic Border dies (not available any more) to cut a mirror gold strip along the edge of the papers. (The remaining of her other prompts used.)
I gold heat embossed the sentiment from the stamp set over a piece of the cream cardstock. I cut it out with a banner die and sponged some light pink ink around the edges. Lastly, I covered the heart balloon with a glitter pen and added a couple of tiny sequin hearts around the gnome.
I had a great time pulling out items from my stash and it felt good to be using them! I certainly plan on doing more of these every month! So stay tuned for more posts to help “Use Your Stash”! Thanks so much for dropping in! See you again soon!
Hey friends! Just poppin’ in with another card I made and wanted to get it in before the deadline ends…which I normally don’t always do!😁
I have been playing along (with the exception of the last few years) with the Coffee Loving Papercrafters “Coffee Lovers Blog Hop” which has been going on since 2014! It’s hard to believe it’s been around that long, but looking back at the posts that were shared recently for “a look back”, I had a different blog platform and there I was playing along 10 years ago! Really appreciate all of the fun that Amy has provided to us through the years as well as the many sponsors that have been apart of it.
I’ve pulled out some stamp sets from one of the sponsors (Newton’s Nook) new and older from my stash in honor of this occasion:
That is the cutest cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte that I’ve ever seen! I’ve used the NN Newton’s Mug stamp set with coordinating die to stamp, color and cut him out. He was popped up with foam tape over the background. For the pumpkin image on top of the mug, I’ve used an older NN stamp set called “Love a La Carte” (No longer available). I just stamped, colored and fussy cut the image to place over the mug. I also added some gold glitter on the heart above it.
For the background: I cut a piece of paper with the NN Frameworks die set and pulled out some watercolors for the background and then splattered some gold after the background was dry. I layered this over the brown cardstock. I also used a piece of that brown cardstock to white heat emboss the sentiment which came from an older STAMPtember collaboration set with NN called “Talk Turkey“. I cut it out with a banner die and attached it to the side of the scallop panel. The leaves under the mug and over the watercolor panel were from the NN Autumn Mice stamp set and coordinating dies.
I was trying to also follow along with a fun sketch from the Inky Paws Challenge (see below) and so I’ve pulled out some more papers from the NN Coffee House Stories paper pad that I thought went with the coloring on my cup and attached it to an A2 top folding brown card base. I also added a strip of gold glitter paper to bring out the touch of glitter on the tiny heart above the pumpkin.
That’s it for today! I hope you’ve enjoyed my coffee card or have been inspired to create something fun too! I’m off to check out all the other entries for more inspiration! Have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Challenges:
Coffee Loving Papercrafters – #fallwinter2024clh 2024 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Hop using coffee, tea, cocoa, and/or apple cider
YAY! I’m back…but a tad bit late for my monthly AJ post! (So sorry about that Carol!!) I’m trying to get back into crafting again as it feels like I’ve been away from it for a long time! It was a fun, crazy, beautiful time away and there a few photos below this post if you care to see….
BUT FIRST, TODAY (BETTER LATE THAN NEVER)….is the monthly Art Journal Page collaboration with my crafty friend, Carol (from Crafty-Stamper)! We get creative trying to use up our never-ending stash piles along with a prompt for each month. I know she always has great inspiration to share, so please check out her blog too! Here’s my AJ page with the “SMASH OUR STASH” September prompt of “TEXTURE” (anything to create texture):
Texture is something that I really enjoy using, but sometimes when you’re making cards, you don’t always want that texture or bulk adding to your design because you want to be able to slide it into an envelope to mail out. Doing an art journal page with lots of texture and bulk is something I can do because it’s my own piece of art to keep and it’s fun to play with lots of media from my stash to create it!
For the background: I started with my usual 5.5″ x 8.5″ heavy weight watercolor panel with pre-punched holes at the top using my Bind-It-All machine. Starting with some media paste and my “go to” dotted stencil, this was a quick way to add texture to the background. I then pulled out some watercolor in blue tones and covered over the background with it and sprinkled some sea salt over it, let it dry completely and then brushed it off. This leaves some cool effects to the watercolor and it creates some texture as well!
Moving down the page, I have die cut lots of pumpkins and leaves! These are all die cut sets from Taylored Expressions that I’ve had in my stash for a few years now. All the pumpkins were cut from orange cardstock. For the largest pumpkin, I’ve used my Copic markers to give it some dimension/texture. The other pumpkins had another piece that I cut from a darker orange cardstock. The stems all cut from green cardstock. I decided to splatter some brown, gold and white paints all over them for even more texture. Before attaching the pumpkins, I used some printed tissue paper that was sprayed with color and scrunched up and attached to the bottom of the page with media paste. Lots of texture going on at the bottom here!
For the leaves, I die cut them out from kraft cardstock and ink blended over them in various fall colors. You will notice around the edges of the leaves as well as the textured paste background on the page, that I’ve used some gold wax and rubbed around the edges and over the texture. I then arranged all of the leaves and pumpkins at the bottom of the page with some popped up with foam tape. I’ve also taken some green wire and curled it to use for a couple of the pumpkins that were attached to the back of them.
Lastly, I’ve added the sentiments that were die cut, gold foiled and attached at the top along with the thin strip of orange cardstock. The “FALL” letters were popped up with foam tape as well as a portion of the leaf on the side of it.
Really hope you’ve enjoyed my art journal page today! It was fun getting messy and playing around with crafting again! I really missed doing it!
Here are just a couple of photos to share on our time away. We started by flying to Seattle as we’ve never been and visited the Space Needle. We took a bus to Canada where we boarded a Cruise ship that took us into Alaska to see the glaciers! We sailed for a week, but went further up to Denali Park in Alaska where we stayed an additional week and made our way back home. This was certainly a once in a lifetime experience that we’ll never forget! The photos look nowhere close to how gorgeous it was to see in person.
While we were traveling on our way back home, it seems that one of our pieces of luggage decided to take a trip to Mexico! So once we figured all that out, got our luggage back and tons of laundry, cleaning, groceries to get, done….I had an appointment to get an impacted tooth removed the other day! Been feeling a little overwhelmed, but starting to get better!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT, COMMENTS AND COMING TO VISIT ME HERE! I’VE MISSED CRAFTING AND CATCHING UP WITH ALL OF YOU! HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND AND SEE YOU SOON!!
Hello friends! I hope that your week has been going great! I had planned on posting earlier in the week, but I got so focused on completing my classes that I ran out of time! (Check out the gallery below…LOTS of cards!) I thought while I’m working on laundry today, I’d make a post sharing some things I’ve been doing…so grab yourself a beverage and take some time to enjoy! First up is my art journal page:
Remember that I’m a guest host over at Art Journal Journey this month and the theme that I’ve chosen is “LIGHT“. I hope you’ll stop over to see all of the wonderful inspiration that everyone has been creating with this theme and join in the fun!
This so reminds me of Summer! Remember as a child going outside in the dark and seeing tons of those flashing lights going off?! I was always amazed that when I ran over to chase that flashing light, it disappeared on me and I was forever trying to capture those lights!
For the background: I’ve chosen some Bristol Smooth cardstock in 5.5″x8.5″ pre-punched holes at the top cut with my Zutter machine. I have started with stamping the jar and placing it where I thought it needed to be and then stamped those fireflies around it. Starting with the fireflies, I dabbed on some yellow where they emit light and then used some soft blue around them working out with darker shades of blues as I reached the edges. Bristol cardstock works great for ink blending with Distress Oxides. To make sure that the yellow light was showing over the dark ink (without smudging it), I took some yellow paint and the end of my paint brush to make various sized yellow dots for the look of those fireflies in the distance.
I decided to take a leaf branch to generation stamp it along the edge for the illusion of a tree being there. Although it looks black, I die cut a grass border in very dark green cardstock for the bottom portion of the page. I also added another firefly at the bottom that was die cut and popped up with foam tape. I used yellow ink for underneath his light glow. The firefly wings have been covered with a glitter brush pen.
For the bottom lettering: I printed it off my computer and then cut out each word, added some color with inks over them and then doodled around each word with a pen. These words and this AJ page was totally inspired from a song called “Fireflies” by Owl City. If you’re interested in listening to the song, check out the video below:
I learned that this song artist has insomnia and came up with this song during one of those times he had trouble sleeping. I can relate and so it inspired my light page.
Next, I would like to share with you a card class event that I took part in called “Celebrations Delivered” provided by Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine. It was a one day event with virtual live learning class videos and each instructor provided at least 3 different projects. I have listed below each photo who the class instructor was.
If you are on my website, just click on each photo to enlarge it and see the details about each one underneath the photo. I have made 15 total cards from this:
Cathy Zeilske card 1Cathy Zeilske card 2 – embossed background with a stencilCathy Zeilske card 3 – windows have glitter brush over themMindy Eggen card 1 – my glitter paste made ink color look off and it dried opaque…didn’t like that. (I chose the product – not class or Mindy’s fault!)Mindy Eggen card 2 – masked flowers and ink blendedMindy Eggen card 3Meghann Andrews card 1 – embossed with die cut (I changed mine around from hers)Meghann Andrews card 2Meghann Andrews card 3Meghann Andrews bonus card 1 (changed slightly from hers)Meghann Andrews bonus card 2 – shaker card & ink blend backgroundMeghann Andrews bonus card 3 – (changed colors and style from hers)Jennifer McGuire card 1 – flaps on all sides to tuck in with belly band & fits 5×5 envelopeJennifer McGuire card 2 – shaker house and die cut shape cardJennifer McGuire card 3 – unique card making creative use of dies
Really had fun making these and using the products provided to us. This also reminds me that I have more classes coming soon that I’ll be doing and that I’ve also forgotten to share some things that I had done last year, but hadn’t posted! If anything else, you can hopefully enjoy or be inspired in some way as I post! But more will come soon if my arms don’t fall off!😉
Thank you so much for stopping in today and I’m happy you’re here! I will be dropping around to see what everyone is up to and I will be back on Saturday for our “Smash Your Stash” AJ inspiration! Have a wonderful day!
Good evening friends! Tomorrow is about “LOVE” for Valentine’s Day! I hope that whatever you’re doing that you spend it with those that you love or at least tell someone how much they mean to you! I have a special post this evening that is dedicated or inspired by love. ❤️
First up is my art journal page with the prompt/theme of “LIGHT/KEEPING IT LIGHT” that I’m guest hosting this month for the Art Journal Journey Challenge. It’s been so fun to see all of the wonderful art created so far!
This page was inspired by not just the “light” prompt for the challenge, but it was also inspired by the love of my life. We have spent many moons together and have enjoyed our time in the moonlight as we both love nature and have spent some time traveling and seeing some beautiful things. I’m so thankful to have had these special memories with him.
For the background: I started with a 5.5″x8.5″ watercolor with pre-punched holes at the top with my Zutter machine. I used my watercolor to create the blue sky background with an idea of where I was going to place the moon. I left that area to watercolor in the yellow rather than the blue. I then used some white opaque copic watered down and splattered over top for stars. The “moon” was die cut in white with a heart shaped die and I added a moon stencil over top to make it look like a heart shaped moon and glued it in the center of the watercolor background.
The bottom portion was made with just ripping some cardstock and ink blending one with the greens and one with greys and black. I die cut the trees in black and glued them in place and then added the ripped layers over top.
I stamped the Lavinia Stamps “Star Gazers” stamp in black in and fussy cut it out. I colored the rocks they were sitting on as well as their wings and popped them up on the grey ripped border. I also hand drew more rocks around them and used a white gel pen to highlight. I added some glitter to the wings. Lastly, I wrote over black cardstock with a white gel pen, cut them out and attached to the ripped green border. I then used a black pen to doodle around the words.
Next up are a few Valentine cards that I’ve made. I’m actually really bummed because I would’ve shared another two cards that I made, but I forgot to take photos of them before I sent them out! I used a pizza theme and they were so fun!
This first one is for my husband and I’ve used the Craft Roulette #201 parameters to create it:
We had to make an easel card, so I decided to make a heart shaped one. I’ve used the cute skunk from Lawn Fawn with all of the “sweets”. (which was also one of the parameters) My husband loves his sweets! I also had to use “quiet” colors and some sort of bokeh, so I’ve made a bokeh background and used a solid heart stamp in white over the blended colors. It reminds me of those conversation hearts. This skunk makes me smile!
This is another fun card that I’ve made for a friend! I couldn’t wait to use this fun mosaic heart from Taylored Expressions. It came as a freebie for a limited time with a Valentine release. I like that it comes with the solid heart backer which makes putting it together easier. I ink blended a panel in two shades of pink and then die cut the heart with the pieces. I used the frame cut in white and then popped in the ink blended pieces inside the frame.
The embossed heart background was made after cutting out a piece of Bubblegum cardstock with the postage rectangle die. I stamped and die cut the sentiment over top of the heart and added some gold rhinestones.
And this card was done for the Inky Stamper FB challenge which was to create a square card. I have made this one 4.25″ square and used the cute Snail stamp set along with some Doodlebug papers which you can also find in their store.
I just stamped, colored and cut out the images, added a border at the bottom and cut out a scallop square in white and stenciled some clouds at the top. More pink papers onto a white square card base and called it done! There’s nothing better than getting snail mail!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my heart-filled post today and you’ve been inspired in some way! Thanks so much for stopping in and I’ll see you again on Thursday for a new challenge to try! Happy Valentine’s Day!
