Festive Blooms

 When I saw this Concord & 9th Festive Blooms bundle, I practically fell over myself ordering it!  And it does NOT disappoint!  I spent a happy couple of days playing with it; here's what resulted.

supplies: various cardstock colors in aquas, jade, peacock, pink, white and silver metallic and silver glitter, Festive Blooms die set and stamp set, adhesive foam squares

I really like the banner dies that come in this set - they're a plus that can be used with other sets, and all but one of the sentiments fit inside it.

Part of the set is a pinpoint design that you die-cut into your background, which then acts as a pattern to place the other elements.  I think it's pretty all by itself, so for my 2nd card I cut it on a Mint base and then used fewer of the elements to make my own little arrangement, with another of the sentiments from the stamp set. I used reds and creams with gold accents this time.

supplies: Mint, cream, greens, red, and gold glitter cardstock, Festive Blooms dies and sentiment bundle

These were fun to put together, and I look forward to using these again as Christmas gets closer!  Thanks for stopping by!

Tim Holtz' Festive Wreath

 Tim recently had a release of Vault dies from Sizzix and I wanted them all, but decided on this Festive Wreath set, I think because of the candles in it.  And you know how I am about wreaths.........

supplies: colored cardstocks, green plank paper from a Spellbinders Christmas Card kit, Vault Festive Wreath dies, Holiday Words Script die

I cut the bow, wreath and the word twice, just to make things fuller.  

Here's a second card; a very simple design; I thought I'd put the candles and some greenery on a mantle.

supplies: parchment, red, and various greens cardstock, a piece of wood panel dp, Vault Festive Wreath dies, Stampendous Christmas Blessings Sentiments

I cut the candles in red this time and made 2 sets of them, since they are the focal point for my card.  then I just surrounded them with various greens from the set, and added this lovely sentiment.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa Horton's Essential Holiday Collection: Essential Tags

 Here are 2 more products from Lisa Horton's collection at Spellbinders: Essential Tags dies and Essential Tag Accessories Press Plates/dies set.

supplies: white and red cardstock, striped and pine design papers, Essential Tag Accessories Press Plate/dies, red and green inks, red glimmer hot foil, Essential Tags dies, red gems, red twine and ribbon

The Press Plates have 7 different sentiments in various sizes, plus this pine bough, this little bow, and a bunch of holly. And there are dies for the bow and 2 vertical sentiments.  The tag set includes 4 sizes of tags (I've used the smallest and the largest), 4 long skinny banners, and dies to make a hole at the top of your tag and a reinforcer for it.  The largest tag is 2 3/4" long by a little over 1 3/4" wide, so these are truly tags that you will use to add to your packages.  Because these are press plates, you can also foil them for some extra sparkle, as I did on the Ho Ho Ho one.

I hope I've given you a few simple ways to use these dies!

Lisa Horton's Essential Holiday Collection: Nested Tree Frames and Holiday Background Panels

 I have a couple of cards today using some of the new releases from Lisa Horton's Essential Holiday Collection.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, black and other colored cardstock, Lisa Horton Nested Tree Frame dies, Holiday Background Panel press plate, Moondust glimmer hot foil, Essential Tags dies, Christmas Wreath Add-ons Snowman dies, Handwritten Holiday Sentiment dies, baker's twine bow, adhesive foam squares

I started with the Holiday Background press plates.  There are 4 separate ones in the package; I chose the snowflake one and foiled it with Moondust glimmer foil.  Then I used the largest of the stitched rectangles in the Tree Frame set to cut it out.  That was glued to the Tree Frame, and the whole thing was centered on my card front.  Then I constructed my snowman and used a chopped tag from the Essential Tags set to carry my sentiment.

Here's another card that uses almost everything in the Nested Tree Frame set; I just kept on layering!

supplies: white, kraft, 3 green, and pale aqua cardstock, Nested Tree Frame dies, Holiday Background Panels falling snow panel press plate, Opal glimmer hot foil, Sending Joy Sentiments press plate, Green glimmer hot foil, tiny clear gems

I really like the idea of the small rectangle backgrounds in the BetterPress set - it's nice to have all these options that fit inside this interesting frame!  Here I used opal glimmer hot foil and the falling snow panel on a pale aqua cardstock.

I'll be back again in a few days with another creation using other new goodies from this collection!

Woodblock Wednesday

 My card for this month's Woodblock Wednesday uses a favorite big woodblock stamp with a favorite motif for this time of year, a wreath.

This is Autumn Words, from Stampendous, dated 2012.

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Stampendous Autumn Words, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, peacock feathers distress ink, The Greetery Rustic Wreath Basic dies, Rustic Wreath Twigs dies, Honey Bee Fall Bouquets leaves and acorns, Spellbinders berry branches, finger daubers, fall colors of distress inks

After embossing the Words stamp on white, I diluted some peacock feathers distress ink and painted it across the panel to bring out the words.  Then I constructed my twig wreath and embellished it with leaves, berries, and acorns sponged with distress inks.

You can see all the other entries at Amy's blog HERE.

Little Chickadee

 Here's a stamp I picked up earlier this month, one of the STAMPtember collaborations; this one with Ink on 3.  It sold out almost immediately, so I'm so glad I grabbed this little chubby charmer!  I love my birds, and chickadees are a favorite.  I believe this is the first one that I can stamp (others are dies).

supplies: white and pollen cardstock, Little Chickadee stamp set, black, greys, Chamomile, Firefly, and Grass Field inks, Penny Black (retired) Stitched Stackers die

I started by stamping the bird and branch in the center of my A2 panel, then separately stamped and fussy-cut the flowers and leaves, and embossed one of the sentiments from the set in white on black.  The panel was then trimmed with a stitching die, matted with yellow and added to my white card base.  

I love layered stamping sets, and these were easy to line up.  I think this set will get good use for masculine cards, especially by keeping the flowers to a minimum.

Beveled Sentiments Embossing Folders!!

 Here's something new and different!  Spellbinders has released a set of 4 A2-sized embossing folders that use big block letters for a bold sentiment that is the focal point of your card.  The collection is called Beveled Sentiments.  I have 2 cards for you today.

supplies: white cardstock, Beveled Thanks Sentiment 3D embossing folder, picked raspberry and mustard seed distress inks, white pigment ink, sentiment from A Little Hello Sentiments

I started by making a blended ink panel using 2 distress inks, then ran that through the folder.  I swiped the letters with white pigment ink, then attached the panel to a white card base, and added my sentiment.

Next I started with a patterned plaid white-core paper, embossed it, then sanded it.  As you can see, only the very top highlights showed up with this technique, so I felt I should add some white embellishments to it.

supplies: white cardstock, blue plaid designer paper, Beveled Hello 3D embossing folder, flowers and leaves from Mini Blooms & Sprigs, blue enamel dots

If you have a steady hand, you might try embossing one of these folders on white cardstock and then painting in the letters.

There are 2 other sentiment folders in this collection: Happy Birthday, and A Gift for You, so there's something for everyone!

Thanks for coming by today - see you again soon, I hope!

Pink Fresh Studio September Challenge

 I came across this challenge earlier this month and couldn't resist the opportunity to make a wreath.  

supplies: ivory and various challenge colors of cardstock, Pink Fresh Curvy Leaves die, enamel dots in challenge colors, Bitty Buzzword sentiment dies, Pinpoint Leaf cover plate, adhesive foam

The challenge this month is to make a wreath or use leaves, and I also took it as a challenge to use the colors they posted.  I used their smallest Curvy Leaves die to make my wreath, and added more color with some enamel dots. I love when I can use older supplies to make a brand new design!    

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Season of Wonder: Peace Dove

 Here's another card that I made using products from the Spellbinders/Stampendous Season of Wonder release.

supplies: white, silver metallic, and 3 shades of teal cardstock, Peace Dove dies, In the Pines embossing folder

Today I paired these dies with an embossing folder from last year.  This pretty die set contains what you see here, along with 3 other sizes of doves, 1 of which is large enough to make into an ornament!  How clever! 

supplies: white and green cardstock, Peace Dove dies, twine

This set contains a large wing die that is meant to be cut from a folded piece of paper and used with the largest dove, and a little tab to make a hanger.  I cut 2 of everything to make it good and strong and to make it look good from front and back.  It measures roughly 4" long and 2" tall, with the leaf sprig.

Season of Wonder: Christmas Morn Nativity

 Stampendous and Spellbinders have a joint release this month called Season of Wonder.  My card today uses a lovely die set and sentiment from it.

supplies: cream and black cardstock, a Color Blend cardstock, Christmas Morn Nativity dies, Christmas Blessings sentiment, cream embossing powder

The die set creates a lovely silhouette of the Holy Family.  I cut it from black, and the backing from a pre-printed panel that gives the effect of a soft sunrise.  The sentiment set has 14 different sentiments.  I thought a slim-line card would show off them the best; mine measures 3 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" long.

I hope you'll come back here again in a few days to see another die set from this same collection.  Thanks for visiting!

Oak Forest

 I love my embossing folders, and so when I saw this new one from the Spellbinders Falling Leaves Collection, I grabbed it!  It's called Oak Forest, and it will be a workhorse for me in the fall; love the size of the leaves and acorns!  I decided to make a bittersweet wreath to let the folder shine.

white, kraft, gold, oranges, and red cardstock, Oak Forest 3D embossing folder, Build a Wreath, Garden Wreath, and Hiking Through the Meadow sprigs, leaves, and berries, All Seasons Autumn Sentiments press plate/die set, twine bow

Next, I wanted to try the blackout technique.  My Dad loved oak trees the best in the fall - he was drawn to the duller colors.

supplies: white, kraft, rust, burgundy, and gold cardstock, Oak Forest 3D embossing folder, alcohol markers to color, aqua ink for background, Autumn Wonder oak leaves, Fall Thoughtfulness sentiment, adhesive foam squares

I turned the embossed panel over and colored in the leaves and acorns with alcohol markers, then swiped an aqua ink pad over the whole panel to color in the background.  Then I cut an oak leaf from 3 different colors and lifted it above the card, along with my sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Autumn Blessings

 Here's my card for this month's Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge.  We're to use FALL as an optional theme this month - you don't have to ask me twice!!

supplies: cream, kraft, golds, and greens cardstock, 4 design papers from past Doodlebug 6" paper pads, The Greetery Sunflower Botanicuts dies, Simon Autumn Blessings die

I've used this sketch many times before, but never with such varied patterns.  I love the addition of aqua to traditional fall colors.  Even the 2 papers that appear solid in the background are tone-on-tone prints.  

For those of you who might ask, the left upper square is 1 1/2" square and the blue rectangle next to it is 2 1/2" X 1 1/2".  The length of the other 2 rectangles is 3 3/4".

I plead guilty to hoarding pattern papers - it's a disease!  So I'm thrilled to be able to use them for this fun monthly challenge!  Thanks so much, Darlene and Diane!!

Build a Plaid!

 Wendy Vecchi has a really fun new release out at Spellbinders which she calls "Not Your Ordinary Card Collection".  Today I'm playing with a set of stencils that she designed that helps you to make a plaid background.

supplies: cream cardstock, Build a Plaid stencil set, warm colors of distress inks and blending brushes, Fall Thoughtulness stamps and matching dies

The stencil set has 5 different stencils, and you can use all of them or just a few, to build a simple design or a more complex one.  A hint I have for using stencils like this is to start with a light colored cardstock and build on that.  

Plaid is a natural for fall cards, so I added a bouquet of autumn leaves and a sentiment from a set from last year called Fall Thoughtfulness.  

Thank you so much for stopping by today - enjoy your day!

Oh Joyful Day Card Kit

 Here's a pretty Christmas card kit from Spellbinders?  It's called Oh Joyful Day by Rosie's Studio.  I made 4 cards so far using the supplies in the kit.

I really like the soft pinks and mints that are included, along with the traditional Christmas colors. The card kit includes a pack of 6" patterned papers, another of chipboard embellishments, some button embellishments, and a pack of clear stickers.  I also asked for the Diecut Ephemera package and the Puffy Stickers pack, which are sold separately.

supplies: white card base, Rosie's Studio Oh Joyful Day kit, Oh Joyful Day Diecut Ephemera pack, adhesive foam square

I also ordered a package of puffy stickers, sold separately.  Here you can see them as my sentiment and the snowflake circles.

supplies: white cardstock, Rosie's Studio Oh Joyful Day kit, Oh Joyful Day Diecut Ephemera pack, Oh Joyful Day Puffy Stickers, adhesive foam squares

On this third card, I used one of the buttons included in the kit; it reads "JOY".  And since there are touches of gold foiling on some of the ephemera, I used one of the clear stickers as my sentiment; it's also foiled in gold.

supplies: white cardstock, Oh Joyful Day kit, Oh Joyful Day Ephemera pack

My final card made use of the chipboard stickers included in the kit.

supplies: white cardstock base, Oh Joyful Day kit, Ephemera pack

As you can see, there are tons of ways to mix and match all the elements you'll get in this kit. All you need are some blank cards to create on!  I find these kits to be invaluable when I need a card in a hurry!