Spring Bird House Card with Ephemera and Stamps

 Hello and Happy Monday!  Spring has definitely sprung so it is time for a bird card!

This was for another challenge in my Artsy Inkers online group where we needed to use three different embellishments.  That was a little hard for me but I did come up with this.

This uses Stampin Up Birds and Branches stamps and dies.  K&Company Antique Garden 6x8 patterned paper pad and Ephemera pack.

Hope you are having a good day! Thank you for visiting and all your kind comments. 

Old-Timey Silhouette Stamped Card Set

 Hello everyone! I hope you are having a good weekend!

I recently was playing with this set of stamps from the I Brake for Stamps store simply called Silhouettes #1.  It has a variety of old-timey, maybe Victorian silhouette images. I find them so charming!  I had out this set of watercolor-look modern patterned papers, and I decided they were going to work together!  I think they did!

The sentiments are from Half Sheet 138B. (As always, you can used my affiliate code to save 15% off your order and I would receive a small percentage as well.)

I simply stamped the images over top of the patterned paper.  Some I die cut and some I added a little sponged ink.  The purple card was put over top of a watercolor background I had made with Shimmer Colorbursts.  The green card was put over a background that I created with the flourish stamp in the set. 

This last card I decided to make a mini Slimline card and the image was just the perfect size!  I also added some bakers twine as trim. So cute! I really like how these turned out.  

It was fun to create several cards all at once using the same set!  Hope you have a great day!

You can also find more inspiration at the links below:

The Blank Page Muse- https://blankpagemuse.com/

FB Fan Page- https://www.facebook.com/groups/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Shop- https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Blog- https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuseblog/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/BlankPageMuse

Pintrest- https://www.pinterest.com/blankpagemuse/boards/

Stashbuster Patterned Paper Challenge - The last bits & pieces!

 Okay, friends!  This is the end of that pack of patterned paper!  There really are no useable pieces left!  And the funny thing is, that I really like these cards made with scraps so much!  I did make an effort to have some that were masculine because I realized that many of what I made were more feminine.

 

Here are the stamp sets I used:

Technique Tuesdays Swanky Sentiments

Gina K Birthday Blessings

Gina K Whimsical Spring

Thanks so much for coming along with me to use up my patterned paper.  I ended up making 25 cards in total!  I think that wasn’t bad.  I already donated lots of them, but I also kept some for my stash and there are a lot of birthdays in my family in the next couple months!

I have some more of my stash I am going to bust next! And some new purchases to use!  Have a good day!

Stashbuster Patterned Paper Challenge - Part 5 - Nine more cards!

 Hello everyone!  I have NINE more cards to share from my Stashbuster challenge.  This is the 5th post in my series to finish up this OLD patterned paper pack.  

I would say one of the most rewarding things about this project is not just using up things, but also being able to choose old and new stamps from all throughout my stash to go with the papers.  It feels great to use lots of things!

Here is a list of the stamps I used:

Gina K Designs Stenciled Spring

Unity Stamps Butterfly Birthday Cake

Stampin Up Birds & Branches

Gina K Designs Birthday Go-Round

Gina K Designs Birthday Blessings

Unknown Altenew flower stamp?

Hero Arts Happy Stamp n Cut set

Tim Holtz Wildflower and Stems thinlets

Unity Unknown coneflower and circle frame stamp (got these in a grab bag once)

Gina K Designs Happy Birthday To You

I Brake for Stamps Hummingbird

Studio G Shirt Stamp

This brings me to 21 cards!  But I have one more post coming up to use up the bigger scraps.  There really isn’t much left.  Many of these will be donated so I am super happy to have made a lot of cards quickly!  They won’t go to waste!

Thanks for stopping by!  What is the next thing in your stash you want to use?

Patterned Paper Stashbuster Challenge - Part 4 - Bee Birthday Edition

 Hello!  More cards using up patterned paper!  The 4 cards in this post bring me to 12 cards from the remnants of OLD 6x6 patterned papers.  I do have more paper left, although the pile is much smaller, and more scraps.  At the end I can give you a sneak peek of how I am working with them!

I realized that there was this paper in the set that was too pretty to cut previously and would work well for a Bee theme!  So I went through my stamps and pulled out anything that would go with a Bee!

The yellow on my last two cards looks like plain cardstock but it is actually a watercolored background from my stash.  It does look more watery in real life!

Here is a list of the stamps used on my cards:

Our Daily Bread Designs Honeycomb Mini and Mini Bugs set (not sure if that is the real name)

Our Daily Bread Designs Rose Bouquet stamp set (Happy Birthday Sentiment)

Gina K Designs Happy Birthday to You stamp set

Gina K Designs Birthday Go-Round stamp set

Close to My Heart Cute as a Bug stamp set

I would like to enter the last two cards in the Inkspirational Challenge - Free or Gifted.  The bee and honeycomb stamp sets from Our Daily Bread were gifted to me from Cheryl Scrivens YEARS ago. I have made good use out of them as that bee is super cute (and there are some other bugs in the set as well).  

And here is a sneak peek of the setup for my next batch of cards using this same patterned paper.  Do you ever set things up like this? I don’t always stick with the plan, but I find this helps me pick and choose what papers will go together and also what stamps will fit in the space I have for a focal point, etc.  I’d love to know your process too!

Thanks for reading and commenting today!  Have a good day!

Patterned Paper Stashbuster Challenge - Part 3 - More Birthday Cards

 Hello!  I am back with more cards I made using up my pack of OLD patterned paper.  I have three more cards to share.

I did a little coloring, a little paper piecing (which is a great way to use up scraps and I think I may do a lot of it for this challenge!) and some simple stamping too.  All these are simple layouts but I like how they turned out.

Here is a list of the stamps I used:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Birthday (THMB012)

Unity Stamps Life’s Short…Eat cake! Stamp set

Close to My Heart It’s Your Day to Sparkle Stamp set

I would like to link these to Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge.

Patterned Paper Stashbuster Challenge - Post Two - Birthday cards

 Hello everyone. I am continuing to make good headway using up a pack of patterned paper.  

Let me back up a second.  I have a lot of 6x6 paper pads.  I had three that were similar colors, but all nearly used up so I had been keeping them together in one quart size ziplock bag.  So I basically took all of these and cut A2 cardfronts from any full pieces, and kept all the scraps, as well.  I am working on using up the entire thing as quickly as I can.  (If I ever figure out what the names of these pads are, I will add the info.  Two were from My Mind’s eye and one was Crate Paper??)

Why?  Just as a motivator as I love buying new paper, so it is good to clear some out.  The other thing I noticed is that I often keep the pieces I like best (because they are too pretty to cut up) and that is just silly!  

I am especially trying to rebuilt my birthday card stash!  When I have enough, I will be donating many to a local nursing home.  

This first card is pure silliness on my end. I had the images totally stamped and colored, even that strip of patterned paper was already attached. I just needed to add the sentiment and finish up the card.  

The second and third cards are fairly simple.  I went through my stamps and pulled out ones that I thought might possibly look nice with the paper.  It was a fun way to give new life to stamps I might not have used yet or hadn’t seen love in a long time!

I have more cards coming!  I bet I can make at least 15 cards from this paper.  With the two Mother’s Day cards I recently posted, and these, that makes 5 so far!  What are you working on lately? 

Here is a list of stamps I used:

I Brake for Stamps Mostly Mice (as always you can use my affiliate code BPMHeidi to save 15%)

Gina K Designs Birthday GoRound

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Birthday set (THMB012)

Unity Stamps Life’s Short Eat Cake! set

Thank you for visiting and have a good day!

Mother’s Day Bear Hug Card - Using Up Patterned Paper Packs - Stashbuster

 Hello and Happy May!  I can’t believe how fast April flew by!  

Today I am sharing these cute Mother’s Day cards.  I am pretty sure I have used this image before, but I always thought it looked cute for Mother’s Day or a baby card.  I need to get these sent out ASAP!

I just today decided that I was going to make a concerted effort to use up some of my old 6x6 paper pads.  I got out two of my oldest My Mind’s Eye pads (they were both similar color schemes) and I cut up all the papers into card fronts.  I kept the scraps and am going to just push through them and make as many cards as I can.  There is a local birthday card charity that I can donate to so I may do a lot of birthday cards.  

I usually design a card around a stamp, but I thought it would be interesting to see what I come up with focusing on the paper!  

So fair warning, you will be seeing a bunch of cards with similar paper this month. I hope to get them all done quickly but we will see.  

Stamps sets used: Close to My Heart Bear Hug, and Close to My Heart For You Darling.  

Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments!  Are you doing any sort of craft personal challenge right now?

Autumn Leaves Thank You Card

 Hello everyone!  I am back with a design team post!  I had a productive time making cards the other day and this one was my absolute favorite of the bunch!

I frequently just make backgrounds so that I just about always have things to start from.  For this card, I decided to stamp the leaf on two watercolored backgrounds.  One was a plain green, and the other was brusho sepia.  After I fussy cut these, I sponged some Tea Dye Distress ink around the edges to add depth. I also used tool to curl up the edges of the leaf.  

Then I stamped this lovely flourished Thank You and die cut it.  I masked off the frame of the die cut and then stamped the little thicket stamp over top in a very light beige ink, and I also sponged over the edges with Speckled Egg Distress ink.  I really liked how that turned out.  

The stamps I used here are from Blank Page Muse.  I have a code that will give you 15% off your BPM order, OR at the sister store I Brake for Stamps.  

BPMHeidi

Fancy Thank You Stamp

Fall Rubber Stamp set by Pam Bray Designs (stamps also available individually)

You can also find more inspiration at the links below:

The Blank Page Muse- https://blankpagemuse.com/

FB Fan Page- https://www.facebook.com/groups/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Shop- https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Blog- https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuseblog/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/BlankPageMuse

Pintrest- https://www.pinterest.com/blankpagemuse/boards/

Scrappy Christmas

 If you saw my post the other day, you saw I used patterned paper to make Christmas cards with barely any stamping. Well, when those cards were complete, I had a few scraps on my desk. I decided to use up every bit of those scraps for these three cards.

Thanks for visiting again!  

Patterned Paper Christmas Cards

Thanks for visiting!

 It happens to me most years. I am making out my Christmas cards and I don’t have enough. To the rescue is almost always some super quick cards made with 6x6 patterned paper packs. I love using those odd sheets with large images for my focal points. 

These were made with Recollections Holiday Homestead paper pack, which is really certifiably pretty paper!  I used just cardstock scraps for matting and an odd half done project piece or brad here and there.  There is a pretty stamped sentiment inside but I didn’t photograph it.

These are not difficult, but I share them anyhow just to show we don’t always have to craft the hard way!

Hope your week will have a great start!  It is raining here but we expect snow this week too.  

Christmas Cute Birdies Cards

 Hello everyone!  I hope you are doing well.  I am continuing to work on Christmas cards and here are two more, with my favorite subject, birds!

I had previously stamped, colored and cut out the birds, so I just needed to figure out how to use them.  I decided they looked nice in a circle, and with this patterned paper.

The second card, I changed it up and cut a circle in the patterned paper, and then put glitter paper behind it.  I left the piece large enough so that the glitter paper would also be the matting.  I think they are both pretty cards, but I do like the glitz of glitter for a Christmas card (and it looks really neat in real life.)

The stamps are mostly Elizabeth Crafts Reindeer & Birds, but one sentiment is from Power Poppy.  The paper is Moda Scrap.

Thank you for visiting today!

Masculine Duck Card

Hello! Coming here with a masculine card to share today!  This is the time of year I start looking for baby ducks in the local ponds, lakes and waterways.  They are fun to watch.  Thinking of that made me want to use this fantastic duck scene, called Mallards.

I colored this with markers, but I was thinking as I went along that it would be a good stamp for an easy, loose watercolor look, also.  I used some neat, outdoorsy papers for the background.  I have a lot of male relatives that would like this for a birthday card, but I left the sentiment off, just in case I need to use it for a thank you instead.

You can use my code SAVE10HEIDI to save 10% off your order at the I Brake for Stamps store.

Thank you for visiting today!  Keep on stamping!

I’d love to enter SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Use Dies or Punches and WordArtWednesday’s Anything Goes challenge.

Christmas Cards - Holiday Headstart

Yesterday, my craft group met virtually with zoom. That was a first!  I had just unpacked my bag from the last time we met, and I found some half-done projects in there, including these Christmas trees - all stamped out. 

So I just needed to die cut them and make them into cards. I did add some Nuvo Glitter drops for ornaments.  

I did also work on a few other projects that are now half done. I hope to finish them up soon and share them here.  

I’d love to enter Staying Crafty With Hero Arts Holiday Headstart challenge. 

Have you done any meetings virtually recently?  

Thanks for visiting!

—————————

Christmas Card Goal to Date 2020: 20
Christmas cards completed: 16

Christmas Cardinal Handmade Card

I am having a hard time focusing. Maybe you are too?

 I was cleaning my craft desk yesterday and was thinking of the reports that all paper supplies and essentials are sold out.  I thought of the baby wipes and paper towels I usually use when crafting. I decided to cut some older towels into pieces to use instead, to do my part in decreasing the demand.  (And they are working well!)

I know all business, especially small businesses, are under extreme pressures.  Some of them that close do not know if they will be able to reopen.  I am not going to break the bank, but I am going to try to make a small stamp order.

So, I finally have a card to share with you!  Almost the entire card is made from bits and pieces from either my scrap box or half-done items box.  The cardinal was previously colored with colored pencils.

I’d love to enter Pixie’s Crafty Workshop’s Snippets challenge, WordArtWednesday’s Anything Goes challenge, SimonSaysStamp’s Monday Challenge Bit O Green, 

Thinking of you all during this difficult time.  If you are in an affected area, please flatten the curve by eliminating all non-essential errands.

Stamp on!

Christmas Card Goal to Date 2020: 15
Christmas cards completed: 13

Watercolor Stamped Scenes and a Worthy Card Drive

Hello! I hope you are having a nice start to your weekend!

Today I would like to promote a very worthy card drive and share some of the little paintings I have been doing as I follow along with the Stampendous Watercolor Friday Series.  

I think I told you before that I started out using some of the stamps I already have.  This farm set is very old, as is the background bandana stamp. Not a perfect painting, but I love this country look.  And watercoloring is forgiving.

Then I decided to purchase this scene builder set that is part of the watercolor class.  I have only had time to use the little sailboats so far, but there are many other little stamps that will create other kinds of scenes, and I hope to have time to play with those today.

This scene is from the class, and is very simple.  I decided to use the torn edges and an additional bird die cut to jazz it up.  I think this turned out nicely.  

I am sending these cards to Operation Safelight 2020.  This is a wonderful opportunity to share your creativity with women and men in a domestic violence shelter.  Carole asks for hand made cards, hand sewn makeup bags and money to sponsor spa bags to give to the people who need the services of the domestic violence shelter.  Such a wonderful cause!  Please check it out.  (Oh, there are prizes to be won too!)

So, these cards need appropriate sentiments (check the Operation Safelight blog post for guidelines).  The wise and wonderful sentiment is from Power Poppy, but I stamped inside all the cards I am sending with stamps from this set.  (This set is just retired, but if you are interested, check with your Close to My Heart consultant to see if they still have any around, often they will have some extras.)

Supplies:  Stampendous Scenic sampler, Bandanas Cling Background, On the Farm stamp sets, Close to My Heart Everyday Magic stamp set, Power Poppy Woodland Carpet stamp set, Versafine Black ink, Daniel Smith Essentials watercolor set, Bo Bunny Early Bird 6x6 paper pad, Carta Bella Ahoy There 6x6 paper pad

I would love to enter Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes challenge.

Thank you for spending some time with me today! I hope you have time to leave a comment so I know you were here, and please consider subscribing.