Wildflower Fields

 Simon's new Wildflower Fields is my favorite new thing!  Here are 2 cards that I will be expanding into a set using other pastels.

supplies: white and a green from Memory Box Lush Green Collection paper pad, Simon Wildflower Fields embossing folder, white pigment ink, Just Because die, white pearls

My first thought was to use this sage green, and after finishing it, I think I'll try it in lots of different colors, just switching up the sentiments.  Here's a pink version.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Wildflower Fields embossing folder, white pigment ink, Sending Smiles die

For both cards, I embossed the colored cardstock, then gently rubbed on white pigment ink.  The hearts in the daisy centers are part of the sentiment die.  I added white pearls to the green card.

Envision this in yellow with a Hello Sunshine sentiment.

Hope you have a great day, thanks for coming by!

Simon Says........Animal Antics

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is Animal Antics, and the team is featuring Lawn Fawn products.  I made a hugger bear and gave her a bouquet of daisies for someone special.

supplies: Surf Blue, Green Apple, white, brown and tan cardstock, Lawn Fawn Woodland Critter Hugger dies, Impression Obsession birch tree dies,  black pearl eyes and yellow enamel dots, sentiment from Heffy Doodle Bold Banner Sentiments stamps and matching dies, adhesive foam squares

I changed up the ears for my bear by using 2 sizes of oval dies.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Playing with the Tartan Builder

I've always loved plaids, so when The Greetery brought out its Tartan Builder stencils last month, I was in!  Here's my first play with them.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Tartan Builder set of 5 layering stencils, oxide inks in faded jeans, mowed lawn, and black soot, Memory Box Antique Corner Rose Label die and Big and Little Words sentiment

I spent a fun afternoon playing with these layering stencils, trying out different colors and combinations of these stencils.  This one turned out to be my favorite, probably because I tried to approximate my family tartan (my Dad's side is Scot).  I left a bit of the design white, and then used white elements to finish the card, popping up the sentiment die to create some dimension.

Here's a picture of some of the backgrounds I made in this first go-round, using oxide inks.  These layering stencils were part of a masculine release, and I was trying to use anything but masculine colors.

These tartan stencils also come in a diagonal version, too, for any of you who would like to be enabled; they're already on my wishlist!

Thanks for visiting today - enjoy your weekend!

Simon Says.....Create a Scene

It's Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week we'd like you to "Create a Scene"!  The team is showcasing Lavinia Stamps this week, and I had such fun that I made 2 cards.

I envisioned this Faith Fairy in a garden, of course, so I chose some pretty floral colors to simulate that. Since she is a solid image, I decided to make my own oxide background and put everything in silhouette.

supplies: watercolor and black cardstock, kitsch flamingo, wilted violet, and squeezed lemonade distress oxide inks and water, Lavinia Stamps Faith fairy stamp, Your Next Stamp Mini Flower Splatter stamp, and sentiment from Impression Obsession In a Garden, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, flower sequins, glue pen and prisma glitter

I added some glitter to her wings for some sparkle.

Next I went with an evening mood.

supplies: watercolor and black cardstock, salty ocean, mermaid lagoon, lucky clover, and blueprint sketch oxide inks and water, Lavinia Stamps Faith fairy stamp, Impression Obsession Full Bloom Hollyhocks, Tim Holtz Small Talk sentiment sticker, clear irridescent sequins

Isn't this Faith Fairy lovely?   As above, I added some irridescent clear sequins to the centers of the hollyhocks.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Happy Anniversary!

I've been wanting to make a white-on-white card, and today is the day!  

supplies: white cardstock, white glitter cardstock, vellum, Taylored Expressions Damask embossing folder, PTI Scallops Mix & Mat die, Simon Says Stamp Leanna and Chrissy butterfly dies, pastel pearls, adhesive foam strips to lift lacy panel

Fifty years ago today, my Denny and I were married; it was a Sunday, then, too, the day after I graduated from college.

The ceremony was in the college chapel, and our reception was cake and ice cream outside in the chapel gardens.  My bridesmaids wore pastel shades of yellow, pink, green, and lavender, and our Moms wore aqua and yellow.  It was HOT and we had a thunderstorm, but it held off for most of the time.

"Way back in the dark ages" they didn't do digital photography yet, so I don't have a good quality photo to show you, and the pictures we do have have faded over time - just like us!

My dress was ivory lace, long-sleeved, with tiny satin buttons all the way down the back; thus all the lacy detail on my card today.  I added pastel pearls to the centers of the flowers in the colors of the dresses, and a glitter and vellum butterfly for new beginnings, with an ivory pearl for mine.

What's our secret?  Lots of laughter.  

Thanks for coming by today!

Simon Says.........Masculine

Welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week we'd like to see your Masculine cards.  The team is featuring Tim Holtz products. 

supplies: slate, kraft, and white cardstock, Tim Holtz Feathered Friends and Wildflower Stems 1 dies, lucky clover, rustic wilderness, ripe persimmon, mustard seed, gathered twigs, and black soot distress oxide inks,  Lumber embossing folder, Wplus9 sentiment

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

My May Favorites

 Can you believe how fast May whizzed by?!  Here are my top 9 favorite cards that I made this month.

I'm in full floral mode!

This morning, I "think" I installed a new program to replace blogger's "Follow by Email" widget, which is going to disappear sometime in July.  It's over there in the right sidebar, entitled Follow Me!.  So for a month or so, you may be getting 2 emails, one from feedburner (disappearing soon) and one from follow.it.  I apologize.  And if you don't already, and want to get an email every time I post here, please fill in the new form with your email.  Let's see if this works!

I'll be taking a wee break from blogging this first half of June.  You'll see my scheduled Simon Wednesday Challenge posts, and maybe a few other posts now and again.   

A Graduation Card

 School colors are blue and white.

supplies: white and blue foil cardstock, Simon Extra Large Congrats die and Graduation sentiment strips, Your Next Stamp Mini Star Splatter clear stamp, (or part of the Mini Ink Splatter set), blue and white star sequins

I couldn't capture the shine of the blue foil cardstock, but, along with the sequins, this card is appropriately festive!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Block, Take 2

 My first play with this gorgeous stamp set was way too busy, so here's another card done much simpler.  I recently used these same colors on some birthday cards, and I thought the combination was so pleasing that I'd try it here, too.  

supplies: white cardstock, Spellbinders Love Block set, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle die

This time I simply stamped, clear embosssed, and colored the main image, framed it in black, and then placed it on the sweet scalloped card.  No other additions, not even a sentiment.  Much better, in my opinion!

Thanks for coming by today.

Simon Says.........Anything Goes

It's Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is the ever-popular Anything Goes, and the team is featuring our own Simon Says Stamp exclusive products.  

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, vellum, Simon Blooming Meadow stamps and dies, white embossing powder, alcohol markers, Simon Just Because die, Lawn Fawn Quilted Backdrop cover die, pale blue sequins

These Blooming Meadow flowers are some of my favorites this year, so I thought I'd bring vellum into the mix for something different this time.  I love how this turned out!

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Joyful Bouquets

 I treated myself to some new goodies recently. Today's cards show the Joyful Bouquet washi and matching dies that I have been waiting to get.  I love this washi tape!  It was very easy to transfer to some white cardstock, using my stencil pal, and then use the matching die to cut out all the pieces at one time.  Please excuse the wonky shapes on today's cards - I had to tilt them to show you the gorgeous gold highlights.

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, and gold metallic kraft cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Joyful Bouquet Washi and matching die, Stitched Scallop Rectangle dies, The Greetery Love die, adhesive foam to lift central rectangle and bouquet

This Cotton Candy card is the perfect backdrop for the bouquet.  The scalloped stitched framing makes this card definitely feminine, and the beautiful font of the sentiment only adds to that.

Next up is a card that uses the tiny bouquets that are included in the tape.

supplies: white and Cotton Candy cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Joyful Bouquet washi and matching dies, MFT Sending You Hugs die, adhesive foam

On this one I used the negative die-cut popped up above the card base, with several small bouquets underneath the "hugs" and another on top of the card.  The lovely gold is so appealing!  

And 1 more, mixed with a new cover die.  The sentiment dies are a part of that set.

supplies: white and metallic gold cardstock, watercolor dp from Lawn Fawn, Ink to Paper Dainty Deliveries border and sentiment dies, Pink Fresh Studio Joyful Bouquet washi tape and matching die, stencil pal, gold thread and gem

This may be too busy for some people, but I really like this new border die also, for its daintiness.  Because of the gold in the bouquet, I added a gold sentiment and a little bow made of gold thread, secured with a gold gem.  I chose the watercolor background because of the single purple flower in the bouquet, but so many colors will work with this washi.  There are 10 yards on the roll, so this will be perfect for last-minute cards I need in a hurry. 

Thanks for your visit today!

Slimline Hugs

 I fell in love with the recently released Floral Garden clear stamp set; here's my first play with it.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Floral Garden, alcohol markers, a hugs die, ancient Martha Stewart butterfly punch, irridescent sequins

I stamped and embossed the full image.  After coloring in all the flowers, I decided to make it into a slimline, so I trimmed out part of the design (the remainder makes a nice bookmark!).  That was framed in black, then placed on a white card base.  I wanted my sentiment to be at the bottom, which left some space at the top for a butterfly, which I repeated again amongst the flowers, securing them only in their centers so I could pull their wings up for some dimension.  I added some sequins to a few of the flower centers, and also on the butterflies bodies.

These make a nice change from my regular A2 cards, and they fit into a business envelope.

Thanks for stopping by - have a great day!

You Are My Rainbow

 I received the June Simon Says Stamp Card Kit yesterday and dove right in this morning!  I had fun making my card!

supplies, all from the Kit: white cardstock, striped dp from the Doodebug Custom Rainbow patterned papers, Build a Rainbow stencil, ink cubes, clouds and sentiment from My Favorite Color stamp set, Doodlebug Chasing Rainbows heart sprinkles 

I began by stencilling the rainbow using the inks in the kit - love the colors!  Then I trimmed that panel, stamped the clouds and sentiment, and fussy cut the clouds.  I cut small strips from one of the striped patterned papers and edged the card base before attaching my stamped/stencilled panel, then glued on the clouds, popping 2 of them up, and finally added those sweet tiny hearts.

Here's the kit in all its glory - don't wait too long on this one!

Gerbera Daisies!

 This weekend we are adding some annuals to our gardens; with temps in the 80s the next few days, I think it's safe now, although our frost date here is the end of May!  That got me thinking about this pretty Gerbera Daisy Background cling, so here are a couple cards made with it.

supplies: white cardstock, vellum, Simon Gerbera Daisy Background cling stamp, alcohol markers to color, Sending Smiles dies

My favorite color for these flowers in a salmon-pink color.  I filled in the background, what little of it there is, in black.  

And here's the 2nd one: lots of different colors and a white background.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Gerbera Daisy Background cling, Zig markers and water to color, Thinking of You Line die, sequins