A Mix of Old and New

 Here's a card that started with a find in my scrap basket, these Greetery Fleur Imressions layering stamps.  I thought this mix of blue and yellow would be nice for this time of year.

supplies: white, yellow, and blue cardstock, Spellbinders Floral Expression 3D embossing folder and Hemstitch Rectangle die, The Greetery Fleur Impressions layering stamps, blues, yellows, and green inks, Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design With Love die

The new is the sentiment die, but everything else is retired.  I love the florals mixed with the big floral embossing behind them, and once again, the hemstitch design adds just the right little detail to break things up a bit!

How is your spring going?  Ours is 1 step forward, 1 step back: highs in the 70's one week, and the 20's the next!  Thanks for stopping by!

Some Paper Bouquets

It's March!  And until I can have some real flowers, I thought I'd share these little bouquets of paper flowers that I've made down through the years.  You can see the first one I made HERE, in 2019.   All of my bouquets were constructed using Crafter's Edge Beautiful Succulents dies designed by Tammy Tutterow, with button centers.  The tiny flowers surrounding each button are from a PTI daisy die, and the leaves from a TT Posey Flowers 4 set.  All of these are long retired, but with the selection of dies we all own, it would be easy to make something very similar.

After constructing the blossoms, I threaded a long length of floral wire down through the buttons and the flower, then twisted it together tightly and wrapped it with floral tape for the stems, adding a leaf with a glue dot to each flower.

This first one was plopped into a little glass cruet.  I added a silk bow and a little metal disk, also designed by Tammy, that says "Made with Love".  

I made this one in shades of aquas to brighten a tiny bathroom.  It's sitting in a canning jar filled with buttons to match.

And finally, one with a pink gingham bow and another of Tammy's disks

These little arrangements are now scattered around the house, and my Mom and sisters each received a similar bouquet as gifts.  I hope these may inspire you to make something similar.  Please share it with me if you do!

As always, thanks for visiting!

A Winter Card

 As much as I complain about winter, I've been enjoying the snows we've had this year - this is how I remember winters when I was a child.  So when I came across this amazing design by Michelle Peckham that I had pinned, I just had to CASE it!

supplies: colored cardstock, vellum, 3 snowflake dies, hat, scarf, arms, and bird from Lawn Fawn's Build a Snowman dies, snowflake embossing folder, sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Snow Love stamp set, adhesive foam strips

I had such fun finding the right size snowflakes to build my snowman and when he was all put together, I added some adhesive foam to pop him above the card to make him stand out more from the busy background, which was waiting for me in my scrap basket.  And of course, I had to add a little cardinal pal for a pop of red.

Michelle, this design is amazing - thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Now, on to spring!!

Woodblock Wednesday!

It's time for Amy's Woodblock Wednesday and I made 2 cards this month!  First, since February is the month of hearts, I decided to use this little woodblock stamp.  It's unmarked except for a sticker that says "Anita's @2002 Sugarloaf, Lithonia, GA  made in China".  I also used a Hero Arts Simple Frame from 2010.

supplies: white cardstock, dotted pink design paper, Anita's Fruit of the Spirit woodblock, Hero Arts Simple Frame

My next card uses a Hero Arts stamp from 2009 called Silhouette Meadow Flowers.  It stamps a negative image which you then color in to see the details.  I clear embossed it over music paper, then blended in some pink and green inks.

supplies: cream and bright pink cardstock, a Hobby Lobby music design paper, vellum, Hero Arts Silhouette Meadow Flowers, VersaMark ink and clear embossing powder, pink and green inks, Spellbinders Floral Expressions 3D folder, Simon Says Stamp/CJ Design Just a Note dies

The flowers on this stamp looked like roses to me, so I paired them with this lovely embossing folder that features large roses.  Since I used a music background, the sentiment seemed fitting.

You can see more cards using woodblock stamps at Amy's blog HERE.

Floral Harmony

It's quite nice having the freedom to use whatever I'm in the mood for when I want to make a card!  Today I chose a 3D embossing folder with matching dies that were right what I needed to lift my spirits on the snowy day I made it.  When I looked out the window and saw only dull colors, these flowers were the ticket.

supplies: white cardstock, Simon Says Stamp (retired) Floral Harmony 3D embossing folder with 3 flower dies, sentiment from Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

It was a bit fiddly, but I used markers to color in all the smaller flowers first, then after cutting, coloring, and embossing the 3 large ones, glued them into place.  I like this sentiment set because of the feminine font and because it's nice and small and doesn't cover up much of the flowers.  I fussy-cut around it after stamping to conserve even more space.

How is your winter going?  One thing that I'm enjoying is the gradual return of more daylight every day!  

I'll add this to the Can You Handle the Pressure challenge for this month.

Hope your day is a good one - thanks so much for stopping by!

Some Masculine Cards

 I have 3 birthday cards to make for February, all of them for men.  So here's a share of 2 of them.  This first one's a CASE of a card that Hannelie made a few years ago - what a gorgeous design!

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Altenew Watercolor Stripes stencil, Sea Shore inks, Prim Heart die used as a mask, leaves from Verve Bloom & Grow, sentment from Simon Says Stamp Joys of Spring, aqua enamel dots

And the 2nd one uses my go-to elements for masculine cards, leaves and woodgrain.

  

supplies: brown and several green cardstocks, a wood design paper, leaf dies from Tim Holtz, Neat and Tangled, and a cute little freebie from Taylored Expressions, I think, sentiment from Hero Arts Sending Love Mail and matching die, bright green embossing powder, circle die

I'm pleasantly surprised with the new update from Apple that I got back in January.  I took this picture just after our monster snowstorm and the skylight in the room I always take pictures in was completely snow covered, and thus much darker in there than usual, but the photos were amazingly bright without any tweaking!

Do you have a "recipe" for making certain kinds of cards?  

Happy Heart Day!

 It's one of my favorite days!  I have 2 cards today, a girly one and another for one of our sons.

supplies: cardstock in white, yellow, greens, and shades of lavendar and mauve, Doodlebug tone-o-tone designer paper, Spellbinders Lace Heart die, Mini Blooms & Sprigs flowers and leaves, Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, and sentiment and die from Floral Framed Glimmering Heart set, adhesive foam squares

After cutting out all the flowers, I bent them upwards just a bit for some dimension, then covered the heart with them.  This is in honor of my Mom, who loved these colors.

I couldn't find a card for our oldest son, so I winged it.  It couldn't be mushy, but I wanted to let him know we love him.  

supplies: red and kraft cardstock, woodplank design paper, Tammy Tutterow/Spellbinders Primitive Heart die, The Greetery Fit to Be Tied Bow die, sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Just a Love Note stamp set

I wanted to use this woodplank paper for a background, but had only some scraps of it left, so I cut those strips into squares and pieced them back into a kind of parquet design.  And I used a bit more to stamp my sentiment.  

The stamp set is from 2012, and has more tiny Valentine sentiments - such a treasure!

Hope your day is special!

Some Old Favorites for Valentines Day

 When I need to make a card and am out of ideas, I often go back through my blog looking for inspiration.  Today I thought I'd post some of my cards made with Valentine's Day in mind.  You can click on each picture and be taken back to the original post.

Hope they might help to spur your imagination if you're stuck!  I'll have a new one on the 14th to add to the collection - hope you'll come back then!

Thanks so much for visiting.

Some New Goodies!

 When I saw PTI's Build a Bouquet dies, I knew I "needed" them!  They are a wonderful set, with lots of different flowers and leaves to mix and match each time.  After constructing my bouquet, I decided to set it against this lovely Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder.  So this is a mix of something old and something new.

supplies: white, black, and colored cardstock, Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder, PTI Build a Bouquet dies, sentiment from Spellbinders, adhesive foam squares to raise bouquet

I'm getting lazy already in my "retirement"; I really did try to find the source for the sentiment die I used.  But it was in my scrap basket, and after spending about 5 minutes searching, I decided that it was probably already retired anyway, so why bother?  Whatever it is, it was just the right size!

As always, I thank you for stopping by today - hope you have a good day!

Woodblock Wednesday!

I was cleaning for Christmas, dusting the shelves that hold my woodblocks, and found this in the process.  I decided to use it for my card for the first Woodblock Wednesday of 2026.   It's a quilt stamp from PSX from 1994, labeled only with a product number, K-1305.  

supplies: red and white cardstock, PSX quilt woodblock, sentiment from (retired) Hero Arts clear Made with Love set, red ink and white embossing powder, red marker for border

This would be a sampler quilt, made for a special occasion, like a wedding, or to showcase many different blocks at one time.  

You can see more cards using woodblock stamps at Amy's blog HERE.

Cardinals in the Snow

As much as I complain about winter, one thing that is pure joy at this time of year is watching the birds at our feeders.  In the last few years it seems like there aren't as many cardinals as in past years, but when we get a snow, then they appear, almost always in pairs, and 3 or 4 pairs at a time!  They are gorgeous at this time of year, all the redder against the snow!

So I decided to make a card to recreate those times.

supplies: colored cardstock, white glitter cardstock, a snowflake embossing folder, rubbed with white ink,  Spellbnders Tweet Cardinal and branch from Sweet Birds on a Branch, Simon Says Stamp Four Seasons die and stamped Winnie & Walter Big Bold Seasons sentiment, several small snowflake dies

What's your favorite bird to see at this time of year?  I love the chickadees and woodpeckers.

SnowDrops!

Hello!  Long time no see!  How was your Christmas? 

Ours was magical!  We thoroughly enjoyed being with our kids and grands and can't wait to do it again.  They all left by New Year's Eve, and then the de-decorating took some time, but I think we're back to normal now.  It's been strange not working on cards everyday, but I've substituted some reading and doing online jigsaw puzzles.  But in my mind I've been thinking about what I'd like to make for my first card for this year.

Our weather has been all over the place since last we were together, anywhere from the frozen tundra and a decent amount of snow to balmy 60 degrees.  In years past we'd be in sunny Florida for the winter months, but those days may be no more, so I decided to find beauty in what I'm given.  

I thought these sweet little snowdrops reflected the season nicely.

supplies: white, aqua, and green cardstock, retired Honey Bee Stamps Pierced Fancy Flakes cover plate die, tumbled glass ink,  Simon Says Stamp Snowbell Bouquet and Pretty Bows dies, and a sentiment from a retired Spellbinders stamp/die set called Sending Sentiments, Audrey Blue ink

That sentiment will work for lots of occasions, I think.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Looking Back at My Favorite Cards

Every year I do a little round-up of my favorite cards from the past year - it's a good way to look back and remember. 

If you'd like details on any of these, just click on it, and you'll be taken back to its original post.  They are in chronological order, beginning last January.

This year, since I cut way back on the number of posts each month, it was much easier to choose just 1 card for each month.

Still a flower girl - too late now to change that!  Well-loved companies have disappeared, so I'm so glad I have kept all my supplies down through the years, and I intend to use them going forward, retired or not.  I can't possibly think of anything else new and exciting coming down the pike, but I'm sure that I'll be proved wrong, as this community is as vibrant and alive as it's always been!

Edited to add: Here are the Top Nine cards from IG for 2025.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I'm wishing you a happy, healthy, creative 2026!  See you in the New Year!

Woodlbock Wednesday

OOPS I'm a week early here!  The challenge is NEXT Wednesday, Dec 31.  I'm still sharing today, as I have a blog post scheduled for then. Sorry for the mixup this may cause!

Here's my final card for this year for Amy's Woodblock Wednesday.  I chose a lovely Memory Box one called Peace Collage and accessorized it with some Tim Holtz goodies and a new cardinal die from Simon Says Stamp.

supplies: colored cardstock, Memory Box Peace Collage, embossed in white, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath, Mini Holiday Greens, Simon Beautiful Cardinal, 3 snowflake dies

You can see more cards using woodblock stamps at Amy's blog.  They generally come on the last Wednesday of each month.

 Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you a Merry Christmas!