Ombré Watercolor Background

Hello everyone! I hope you had a good Monday.  Mine was filled with some cardmaking, but also a bunch of errands and cleaning.  It was really nice summer weather.  Not too hot and not too humid.  Can’t complain about that!  

I have been admiring the stamps that Technique Junkies makes, as I am a long time reader of one of their Design Team member, Beth. I finally decided to make a purchase, and used this gorgeous bird stamp first!

I first created an Ombré Watercolor background with my pan watercolors.  These can be fun to do. You start with a lot of color, and then use more and more water as you go.  After it dried, I stamped right over top.  I then used watercolor markers to fill in the colors, and I blended the colors with a water brush.

The sentiment is one from Power Poppy.  I thought it went right along with this image.  

Supplies: Technique Junkies Watercolor Birds, Power Poppy Woodland Carpet stamp set, Versafine Onyx Black ink, Koi Pan watercolor travel set, watercolor paper, Tombow Water Based markers.

Thanks for visiting today!  I feel like I am back in the swing of things.  How about you?  Have you had time for crafting lately?

Swan Thank You Card

Hello cardmakers!  I hope you are having a nice weekend.  For those of you in the USA, I hope you are able to visit family and friends during this holiday weekend.  We are going to be busy with family obligations all weekend, so this post is actually pre-scheduled.  (Right now, I am probably making a pasta salad for a family cook-out.)

I made this card a couple weeks ago, and haven’t had a chance to share it yet.  I used a sketch and this very pretty stamp set from Hero Arts.  I think they have a stamp artist who does lovely storybook style  drawings, and I would like to own many more of these! I actually wish they would tell us who the stamp artist was for all the stamps. I know some companies do and some don’t, and I’m not sure why and why not.

I stamped, colored and die cut out a bunch of these images.  I then created the main sketch using embossed cardstock and patterned paper.  Over top of the elements, I created my scene.  I am hoping to make a bunch more cards with this set! 

Supplies: Hero Arts Swans and Cattails stamps and dies, Memento Black ink, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, Bo Bunny Early Bird 6x6 patterned paper, EK Success square punch, Elizabeth Crafts Embossing folder.  

Thanks for your visit today!  I will be so happy to read each and every comment, and visit all your blogs when I am finished with the family obligations!  Have a great day!

Hero Arts Cat Stamp - rereleased!

ETA 5/5/19: I was thrilled to be chosen as a Top Pick at the Retro Rubber Challenge!

Hello and hope everyone is having a good start to their week.  It is sunny here, but it was nearly freezing overnight! 

Some of you may have seen that Hero Arts is celebrating 45 years in the stamping business!  If you are like me, your very first stamps were theirs!  They recently asked people to share on Instagram photos of their oldest stamps.  This cat one is one of the ones I shared.  It is marked 1985  (although I think I remember getting maybe in 1988).  Anyhow, I then perused their new catalog and saw that this stamp is one that is being re-released in clear form!!! (See page 32 of their catalog.)

So, I had to get this stamp off the shelf and make a card.  I colored it with alcohol markers, then die cut it and sponged blue ink within the die.  I used a sketch from MojoMonday and a paper pad I just picked up the other day.  I did sponge the blue print with blue ink around the edges.  I didn't want to mat those pieces, so the sponging did the finishing without an extra layer.  

I paired it with a couple sentiments from other Hero Arts sets.  The inside has the second generation stamping in light pink.  

Supplies: Hero Arts Cats on Pillow 1985, CL582 and CL342 clear sentiment sets, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Gina K Innocent Pink ink, Tumbled Glass distress ink, Bo Bunny Early Bird 6x6 paper pad.

I would love to enter Retro Rubber’s Anything Goes Challenge and Mojo Monday #514

Thanks so much for visiting today!!!  What is your oldest stamp?

50th Anniversary Handmade Card

Hello!  Thanks for visiting my blog!  I have a card to share today that I agonized over a little bit!  I wanted this 50th Anniversary card to be special, and I rejected a number of designs before I came up with this one.  Since I used gold, I needed to take several photos to show the shine!

In the end, I heat embossed my wreath stamp over top of a very old piece of patterned paper.  I colored in the flowers with a pink marker.  I went with gold and pink since the bridesmaid dresses in the wedding were pink.

I die cut the numbers out of some foil paper and added a frame of the same paper.  The card was finished by adding four score lines to the card base to represent the couple’s four children.

Supplies:  Hero Arts Flower Wreath stamp, Versamark ink, Recollections Gold detail embossing powder, Anna Griffin patterned paper, Hero Arts Classic Numbers Frame cuts dies, Target dollar spot Valentine foil paper pack.

I would love to enter this in Word Art Wednesdays Anything Goes challenge an the Library Challenge - The Rose Garden.

Please follow my blog using the Blogger tool on the side bar, or on facebook or pinterest, too.  

I appreciate your visit and have a crafty day!

Run for the Roses - Kentucky Derby Inspired

Hello and thanks for stopping by!  I was challenged to come up with a card with a Kentucky Derby theme as a sample for this week’s Free for All Challenge, which begins today.  Well, I don’t have any horse images, and not many to represent the stylish clothes or hats.  So I went off in search of what else goes with the derby.  Beverages would have been a good choice, but I was inspired by the Kentucky Derby logo and flag.

Image credit: derbygifts.com

They have a stylized red rose and many of them had a sort of harlequin design diamonds on them.

I stamped the diamonds in the background and created a flag using a die cut.  My roses were stamped, quickly colored and then fussy cut and arranged on my flag.  I used matting in black and red, which were both colors I saw in a lot of the derby images.  

Supplies: Gina K Better with You stamps set, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Gina K Innocent Pink and Applemint ink, Hero Arts Harlequin Pattern stamp, Spellbinders Labels  Four dies, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers

Thanks for stopping by!

You can find me on facebook or pinterest, too.

Jar of Sweet Treats Valentine

Hello! Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?  I am getting there.  I would like to share this sweet canning jar full of candy hearts.  Although I colored and trimmed out all the hearts before arranging them in the acetate jar, that portion really only took about 10 minutes.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Canning Jar Large, Sentiment Hearts mini cube, Sentiment Unmounted sheet 1, Pebbles Yours Truly 6x6 paper pad, ribbons recycled from gifts, Memento and Versafine black inks.

I would love to participate in these challenges:

Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge - Love is in the Air

***** * *****

Are you near New Port Richey, Fl or Columbia, SC?  Just for Fun Rubber stamps will be at stamping shows in your area the next two weekends.  Stamp Show Information found here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Old Country Roses Card

Hello, thanks for stopping by!  My posts have been wordy lately, so here’s a quick share!

Supplies:  Gina K Designs by Claire Brennan Old Country Roses stamp set, Flowers Ink colors: Gina K Innocent Pink, Passionate Pink, Hero Arts Raspberry Jam, Leaves Ink color: Gina K Applemint, Hero Arts Green Hills, Gina K Christams Pine,  Sentiment Ink Versafine Black, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles dies, Spellbinders Oval dies, Sizzix Moguls Embossing Folder, Gina K Innocent Pink cardstock, other supplies from my stash.

Special thanks to these challenges for helping inspire this card:

Stamp TV January Challenge - Kindness

Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

Have a great day!

Latte Coffee Lover’s Card

Hello!  I know you are so busy, so this is going to be a quick share!  I made this card with Valentine’s in mind - a warm latte to warm your heart in the cold weather!  Main image is colored with alcohol markers, the background stamped in brown ink.

I did use wink of stella glitter on the image, you can kindof see the subtle shimmer in this close-up.  I did keep the card very flat for mailing.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Latte Love,  Coffee Background, Memento Black Ink, Colorbox Chestnut Roan Chalk ink, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles dies, cardstocks from my stash, Spectrum Noir markers

I would love to participate in these challenges:

2017 Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Tuesday Throwdown Anything Goes

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge Stitch It

What a Wonderful World

Hello!  I am sharing another shiny card today, very hard to photograph.  I used a printed acetate sheet with a silver dots on it.  I adhered that to my card base on the left side and then covered that adhesive with patterned paper.  

The card design came about by mistake. I kept changing my mind about how large my black circle mat would be.  It I cut it down 2 or 3 times, thus I had these scraps left.  I decided to use one of them to create this offset circle. I like it!  

Supplies: Our Daily Bread Designs The Earth stamp set, Versafine black ink, Gina K Innocent Pink ink, WeRMemoryKeepers acetate pad, Spellbinders circle dies

I would love to participate in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Color challenge

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Creative Borders

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Wedding Card Challenge

The challenge theme for the Just for Fun Rubber Stamps June challenge is... 

Wedding Time!

What a perfect time to stock up on these special cards.  I made two with heat embossing over some Distress Oxide backgrounds I had made.  The first card was just pink and orange Distress Oxide layered in the background and then I used ivory cardstock and pearls for the accents.  

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

The second background was made with pink and orange Distress Oxides and then added Pickled Raspberry Distress ink because I really wanted something brighter. (I am really hoping that Ranger is going to add this color when they expand the line later this summer.  I have a whole wish list including black and blueprint sketch.). I used white for this card base and an older vellum butterfly for my embellishment.

There is a random prize draw for JFF's monthly challenge (and you should know that while you are encouraged to use JFF stamps if you have them, it is certainly not a requirement) so I do hope you will play along!

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber stamps Flora and Fauna sheet, Sentiment sheet 1, Versamark ink, Recollections White detail embossing powder, Distress Oxide inks Orange Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Distress Ink Pickled Raspberry, Gina Marie Loopy Rectangle die set, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched rectangle dies (banner)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sepia Silhouette Flowers

Hello again, stamping friends!  It is a drizzly and dreary day today and I have been stamping quite a bit. This is one of the cards that I finished.

I wanted to use this beautiful silhouette stamp from Purple Onion.  I wish I knew what flower it was supposed to be, but it is definitely pretty.** I used sepia ink to stamp on patterned paper.

Then I noticed the bit of pink in the patterned paper, so I got out a sheet of pink cardstock. The damask stamp was already out with my other Purple Onion stamps, so I naturally reached for it.

Just a few more details till it was finished.  My card recipient won't know about this, but I thought I would tell you.  Instead of stamping on another sheet of cardstock, I just cut my little circle right out of the middle of my background.  :) This probably stemmed from laziness more than frugality.

Supplies: Purple Onion Designs Flower Cluster, Damask Background, Technique Tuesday Little Sentiments, Versafine Sepia ink, Hero Arts Soft Sand shadow ink, Prima Nature Garden 6x6 Paper pad; Spellbinders circle dies, Gina K Designs Innocent Pink and Dark Chocolate cardstocks

I would love to participate in this challenge:

Double D - Silhouettes

Mojo Monday Sketch #493

** (Did you know that stamp is only $2!!? I saw the price when I was looking up the name for my supply list. They have a few that are cheap like that! Wow!)

Valentine and Heart Themed Cards

The last couple weeks, I have been more productive in my cardmaking!  I am happy you are here today to take a look at a few of my recent cards.  I need to get my Valentines in the mail today!

This card was colored with pencils and gamsol. It is sweet and traditional.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

The next couple is much more wild and crazy!  They were colored with water-based markers.

Finally, the other stamp in this set is sooo sweet, but instead of making another Valentine, I made this one a birthday card.  I think either of these stamps would make a good kid birthday card.  The paper was sprayed with Color Shine before stamping the panda. I then paper pieced him.

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Panda/Fox Heart duo, Sentiments also JFF, Archival Jet Black Ink. Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Blue, Green and Gold, Tombow Water-Based Markers, Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Pebbles Yours Truly 6x6 Paper Pad, KI Doilies 6x6 Paper Pad, Spellbinders Fancy Framed Tags Two, QuicKutz Doily die, Fiskars edge punch

I would love to participate in the following challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge
SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge - Young At Heart
SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Cute

Patchwork Valentine

My idea for this Valentine came from my need to use up some scraps from one of my Valentine themed paper pads.  Every time I got it out, the pieces would fall out all over.  (Surely I am not alone in this problem?)




So I decided to make an easy patchwork background with them.

I used a small square die to cut 6 different patterns of scraps.  I could have easily used my trimmer or a punch to cut them, too.  Then, I cut a piece of paper to the size of a cardfront.  I spread glue stick over the paper and then applied a row of squares and repeated the process until the full sheet was covered.  I then trimmed it down to the size I wanted.

Tips I learned in making this card: Choose one of your adhesives, like a glue stick or liquid glue, that has more of an open time to move your square to the exact right spot.   Also, you may want to consider using a sheet of paper for the base that is similar to the colors of the patterned paper. (I used light pink.)  Then if you have some slight gaps, they are less noticeable.

I used a sentiment for my focal point and then some stamped candy hearts for the embellishments.  I really am happy with this card!  It was fun to make and turned out super sweet, I think!

Supplies: Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Be My Valentine, Sentiment Hearts Mini Cube stamps, Versafine black ink, Pebbles Yours Truly paper pad, Spellbinders Heart Circle die, MFT Die-Namics Pierced Squares die, colored cardstock from my stash.

I would LOVE to participate in the following challenges and hope you will check them out too:

DieRUs Challenge #66 - Hearts
Cute Card Thursday - Be My Valentine
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Weeks 267-268

Thanks for visiting today!  I would love for you to comment with your ideas for using bits of patterned paper scraps!

Camellias

I got the guts to try coloring up this stamp with alcohol markers yesterday after I perused images of Camellias on google.  They are just gorgeous flowers, in so many pretty colors!  I do not think they would grow outside in my area, but I wonder if you can grow them inside...

Click on photos to enlarge.

I decided pink would be the easiest color to try first.  This die was the only one in my collection that seemed to fit the flowers well.  

One item I had not used before was the small tag die with the little heart.  I wanted this to be a Valentine, so I thought this little tag would be perfect.  

Supplies: Power Poppy Simply Camellias stamps set, Memento black ink, Spectrum Noir markers CR1, CR2, PP3, LG1, CG4, BT2, Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles, Spellbinders Labels 18, Avery Elle Stitched Rectangles (the small tag die), My Mind's Eye Bramble Rose paper pad, Fiskars corner punch.

I drew inspiration from all three of these great challenges!  I hope you will check them out!

Power Poppy Winter Blooms

ModSquad Challenge Show Your Love

Darnell's NBUS Challenge #9 (I did not use the prompt this time, but did use NBUS item.)

After I publish this post, I am going to work on trying to change my email address associated 

with this blog (we switched internet to save money).  I tried earlier today but it was getting tricky, so wish me luck!  And thank you SO MUCH for visiting and especially for the really kind comments!  I am really encouraged by YOU!

Pink and Grey Christmas card

Thank you for stopping by.  This is the first Christmas card I have made in 2017.  I took a month off of Christmas theme and now I am ready to try to make a few each month and be ready for the holiday  when it comes!

I colored my sweet penguin image with alcohol markers and framed him with a cute heart die using a dark grey cardstock.  I thought about punching a heart for the penguin to hold, and turning this into a Valentine, but I already felt committed to doing a Christmas theme.  

Textured paper was embossed with snowflakes and then I used a pale pink paper for the background. Nuvo Crystal Glitter drops were used as a subtle embellishment.  

Supplies:  Purple Onion Designs Frost stamp, Elle Studio Sentiment set, Memento and Versafine black inks, Spectrum Noir alcohol makers, Spellbinders Heart Circles die, Martha Stewart Snowflake Embossing folder, Crate Paper Peppermint 6x6 paper pad.

I would love to participate in the following challenges:

Rudolph Days - January

Cards in Envy - Pink and Grey

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday - Anything Goes

Shabby Chic Floral Card

This was a very fun card to make with a lot of stamps and products!  First, I worked on the background.  I sponged pink, green and brown distress inks over a stencil, then immediately I applied whipped spackle over top.  It looks white at first, but then the distress inks mix in and the spackle becomes more opaque and it is pretty when it dries.

Please click on photos to enlarge.

The pink flower was kissed with a script stamp, then I masked that flower and stamped over top with the fern.  I thought that was such a pretty combo.  I did sponge ink on the oval die cut to make it look more shabby.

I finished off the card with some pretty lace and a vellum butterfly. This card is a bit unusual for me, but I really like it and had fun making it.

Supplies: Purple Onion Blossoms Stem, Hero Arts Italian Poetry, Rubber Stampede Fern, I Brake for Stamps sentiment, Avery Elle inks Pixie, Truffle, Mint to Be, Kraft, Distress inks Bundled Sage, Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Tea Dye, Heidi Swapp stencil, Spellbinders Oval and Scalloped oval die, Faber Castell Whipped Spackle, ribbons and butterfly from my stash.

I would love to participate in the following challenge:

SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge - Spread Your Wings

Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes
Inkspirational - Flutter

An Irish Blessing Card

I hope your week is starting off on a good note.  We are having such beautiful weather today! 

I needed to make a card for a little girl's dedication, and I knew just what sentiment I wanted to use!

I first stamped the sentiment and then the angel wings over top in light pink.  The floral paper was embossed and then I ran the light pink ink directly over the embossing just to bring it out a little, so it didn't get totally lost.  You can see the embossing better at an angle, below.

Supplies: Our Daily Bread Designs Sheltering Angel and Holy Angel stamp sets, Versafine Onyx Black ink, Gina K Designs Innocent Pink ink, Pebbles Yours Truly 6x6 Paper pad, white and black cardstock from my stash, Darice Daisy embossing folder.

I would love to participate in the following challenge:
Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes!

I sure do appreciate your visit today, and would be so tickled if you had time to leave a comment.