My October Favorites

 My favorite cards this month look like October for sure, but Christmas is coming!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween!

 I needed one more Halloween card for our Grands - this will be for the youngest one.

supplies: black and Slate cardstock, Echo Park Creepy Bats stencil, black soot distress ink, Hero Arts (retired) Felt Decor pumpkins, googly eyes, Pink and Main Trick or Treat sentiment and Postage die,  copper embossing powder, Spellbinders Spooky Boo bat die

I started by embossing and inking the stencil, then added my other elements.  The felt pumpkins are dated 2010!!  It was fun to add the googly eyes a bit off-kilter.

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

 

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

It's Anything Goes this week, and the team is playing with Stampendous products.  I chose a new Christmas clear stamp set.

supplies: white and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, Authentique Retro Christmas plaid dp,  Stampendous Festive Season clear stamps, Penny Black Stitched Stacker die

I loved the images in this set - there is also a canning jar to make another arrangement, 3 other sentiments, and a flame to use with this birch log to make it into a candle - I know I'll get lots of use out of it!  

I colored it in traditional Christmas colors, and then found this tartan-like plaid to pair it with. 

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!

Fall Fox

 I mentioned in a previous post how much I love Doodlebug products, and when I bought their latest Pumpkin Spice papers, I also treated myself to a couple Doodle-pops that coordinated. This weekend I saw a darling card posted on Instagram, made by cr2designs, and I knew that I wanted to CASE it and use this adorable fall fox!

supplies: white cardstock, leafy and woodgrain patterned papers, Fox and Friends doodle-pop, Simon's Birch Tree Window die, sentiment from Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox, Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Lattice die, adhesive foam to pop up top panel

After cutting my window panel, I trimmed it to fit inside the Frilly Frame, to which I added a scrap of leafy paper.  The dimensional stickers and sentiment banner were affixed next, then the panel was popped above the frame.  Then the whole thing was attached to a trimmed card, a bit smaller than A2 size.

cr2designs made a winter card - wouldn't this idea make a fun seasonal series?  

Some Buzzworthy Cards

Spellbinders kindly sent me a couple of products from their new Buzzworthy Collection, by Fun Stampers Journey!  Here are the 2 cards I made, using a cling stamp set and a stencil.

supplies: white cardstock, FSJ Sweet Honeycomb Stencil, inked with fossilized amber distress ink, Sweet as Honey cling stamp set, markers to color, adhesive foam to pop up flower

The honeycomb stencil provides the perfectly-scaled background for the other card elements, which were minimally colored.  Here's another card, using more elements from the stamp set.

supplies: white cardstock, yellow and black washi tape, FSJ Sweet as Honey cling stamps, enamel heart, adhesive foam to pop up flowers

For this one, I stamped, colored, and fussy-cut the smaller flowers and leaves, then arranged them over my washi panel and popped them above it.  I colored them as daisies, but they actually look more like coneflowers, and could be colored in brighter colors.

I love the little flight details that are included, too!  

Many thanks to Spellbinders for providing me with this fun collection to play with!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

 I adore Doodlebug Designs products, so when I saw their new Pumpkin Spice collection, I dove in!  Here's my first card.

supplies: kraft and parchment cardstock, Doodlebug Pumpkin Spice paper pad, Pumpkin Spice doodle pop, pieced sentiment from 2 Concord & 9th turnabout sets: Snowflakes and Coffee Blend

These papers are so scrumptious, it's hard for me to use them, but I chose 2, and added some kraft and an aqua dot to the mix.  This doodle-pop set had the little hearts included, which went nicely with my sentiment!

It's Friday - hope your weekend is a great one!  We plan to get in maybe our last outside dining for awhile for date night, then we'll be back to take out again.  

Fall Thanks

 My Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit arrived yesterday, and I couldn't wait to play with the beautiful fall spray of leaves and sunflowers!

supplies: white and Burnt Orange cardstock, a patterned paper from P13 The Four Season Autumn pad, Big Thanks Autumn stamp set, copper embossing powder, sequins from kit

This month's kit is packed with gorgeousness - besides what I used today, there are a multi-pack of foils, 3 different acetate sheets to foil, a card of Gratitude sentiment strips, even some adhesive foam strips!

Here's the full kit.

As always, if you add up the individual prices for each element in this kit, the kit price is a steal!  I wouldn't wait too long if you want this one.  If you'd like to see more ideas for using the kit, please visit our Gallery for it.

Simon Says..........Layer it Up!

 

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

Our theme this week is "Layer it Up", and the team is highlighting Paper Rose products.  

supplies: white, peach, and Mint cardstock, watercolor paper,  Paper Rose Ella's Garden Scribble Roses stamps and matching dies, Simon Beautiful Butterflies sentiment, Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Lattice die, enamel dots in peach and mint

I had the Ella's Garden Scribble Roses dies already, so I got myself the matching stamps this time.  I white embossed them on watercolor cardstock, then colored them with Zig markers and water.  I diecut the "frame" of the flowers in white and glued them to the colored images, and also cut some extra leaves from mint cardstock. 

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!

Thankful Wreath

I love making wreaths at this time of year.......here's a card that mixes lots of different companies' products with a gingham background.

supplies: white, kraft, various golds, oranges and greens cardstock, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath, Spellbinders flowers, and Memory Box (?) berry sprig dies, Sugar Pea Fall Fox sentiment, Impression Obsession Gingham background cling

 And once again, it appears that most of these supplies have been discontinued; sorry about that.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

Starting my Christmas Cards

 Last year I didn't have enough Christmas cards, so this year I'm starting earlier!  I recently treated myself to Betsy's Banner & Bough Stamp/Stencil set, and have had a fun time making some cards with it.  Here are some of my results.

I won't go into an elaborate description of how these were done, except to say that there are 4 stencils that you start with, and then add details with a set of stamps that also includes 3 different greetings for the banner.  These were then all fussy-cut and placed on different patterned papers or embossed backgrounds, and I added pearls to the centers of the large flowers, popping most of them above the card base.  I also stencilled the banners separately and popped them above the rest of the design.

Here's 1 final one; no fussy-cutting, just die-cutting the panel with a framing die, then mounting that onto a red card base.

I spent a happy couple of days with this set, and ended up with 10 cards so far.  I'll take a wee break for now, and then do another bunch soon.  It will be fun to find patterned papers to compliment this design!

Hope your weekend is a great one!  I plan to get a final cutting of flowers from our gardens today, as we had a frost here last night.......

Grateful Leaves

 Today I have another card made using the Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage Background stamp and stencil combo.  This set is very addictive, and comes together so quickly!  And although I'm using fall colors again, it would be just as pretty done in several shades of greens, or pastels for spring.  What sets this set apart is the addition of a detailing stamp to give more depth to the stencilled leaves.

supplies: ivory and Orange Peel cardstock, a plank dp, Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage Background set, ripe persimmon, peeled paint, and vintage photo distress inks, (retired) Neat & Tangled Maple Leaf die and an unknown sentiment die

I stamped and stencilled my panel, trimmed it a bit, then die-cut the maple leaf and sentiment dies.  The panel was popped above some woodgrain patterned paper, then my sentiment was centered inside.

Distress inks work really nicely with these stencils - I applied them with a blender brush; and the stencils themselves clean up easily with just water, since these inks are water-based.  If you'd like to see some more color combinations for this set, you might like to go back to THIS POST.  I think this set will become a much-used favorite!

Thank you for stopping by - have a great weekend!

Simon Says.........Make a Card AND an Envelope!

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

This week our theme is Card AND Envelope......make an envelope to go along with your card.  The team is playing with our own Simon Says Stamp exclusives.

I chose a stencil which came out last spring and used candy-corn colors.

supplies: white, Sunflower, and kraft cardstock, Simon's Daisy Bouquet stencil, distress oxide inks in mustard seed, carved pumpkin, vintage photo, and mowed lawn, small blender brushes, Script Thanks die

I stencilled using distress oxide inks and small blender brushes, then, leaving the stencil intact, embossed the panel.  My sentiment and an inner mat are cut from kraft paper.  

For my envelope, I used some paler oxides, squeezed lemonade and twisted citron, down the left side.

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!

Gingham Just Because

 My sweet friend Mary Anne recently sent me a nice assortment of these gingham/buffalo check dps.  Here's my first use of one of them.

supplies: white cardstock, grey gingham dp, Simon's Mom's Meadow and sentiment from Leafy Frames stamps, Stitched Circle die

Since this is such a simple design, I decided to try and do a partial die-cut of the stitched circle, to hold a sentiment.  So from an A2 panel, I laid out the die, then the stamp, and used washi tape to hold the die down and to know where to stop cutting.  I removed the stamp, then ran it through my BigShot.  Then I placed my stamp, colored it, and fussy cut it out along the outer edge.  

This flower sprig is just the right size to fit across the width of an A2 card - I decided to have it cascading down this time around.  

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

Modern Tree

 Here's another of the stamp and stencil combo sets from Taylored Expressions.  It's called Modern Tree.

supplies: ivory and Burnt Orange cardstock, Taylored Expressions Modern Tree Stamp & Stencil Combo, ripe persimmon, vintage photo, and peeled paint distress inks, brown and green markers, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die, The Craft's Meow sentiment from Speaking of Fall (retired)

Here's a 2nd version, different border die, sentiment, and colors.

supplies: ivory and kraft cardstock, TE Modern Tree stamp and stencils set, fossellized amber, rusty hinge, and fired brick distress inks, Penny Black Stitched Stackers border die, Sunny Studio Autumn Greetings, brown and green markers

This is aptly named, and it's sized perfectly so that you don't need anything else except a sentiment.....  fun to play with, too!  And it doesn't necessarily have to be a fall tree, depending on how it's colored.

Sure do hope that Taylor will expand on this idea in the future!

Simon Says Stamp Make Merry release!

 Simon's newest release, called MAKE MERRY, is live now!  This month is a mix for the holidays, both Thanksgiving and late fall, as well as Christmas!

I was sent a set of Suzy's Sweater Weather watercolor prints, which include 6 different designs; I chose 2 of them to show you today.

supplies: white card base, watercolor card from Sweater Weather Watercolor prints, Zig markers, antique linen distress ink, and water to color panel, gold seqins

All but one of these designs have a cable knit background - I used antique linen distress ink and water to simulate a fisherman-style sweater.  I darkened the background a bit for my 2nd card.

supplies: ivory cardstock, a watercolor card from Sweater Weather Watercolor Prints, Zig markers and antique linen distress ink and water, adhesive foam to lift sentiment circle

Since there are 2 of the same of each of 6 designs, I was able to cut out the center sentiment circle from 1, and pop it above the design on the other.  These are wonderful quality watercolor cardstock!

To see the entire release, just click HERE, and for more ideas using the new products, I hope you'll visit our gallery HERE.  As always, we have planned 2 blog hops to showcase these products for Friday and Saturday.  

Simon Says......Make it Sparkle!

 

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

This week we're asking you to Make It Sparkle, and the team is playing with Stamping Bella products.  Here's my card.

supplies: off-white and copper glitter cardstock, leafy patterned paper, Stamping Bella Tiny Townie Fay Loves Fall cling stamp, sentiment from Newton's Nook Autumn Newton, quickie glue pen and prisma glitter

I'm sorry I couldn't get a good picture to show you, but I added my sparkle with a glitter-paper mat around my image, and also the old-fashioned way of adding glue pen to the falling leaves, then dusting that with some clear glitter.  

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!

Birthdays in October

 Today I have 3 birthday cards using the same background stamp/stencil combo, just varying the colors and embellishments.

This unique set of a background stamp and 3 stencils for the leaves is really fun to work with!  And easy, just stamp the background, which is the leaf details and little dots, then line up each stencil for a different color of ink - I really enjoyed trying out different combinations of distress ink!

  

supplies: kraft, Burnt Orange, and ivory cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage Background stamp and stencil combo, fossilized amber, rusty hinge, and fired brick distress inks, Lil Inker Boxed Up Birthday die

After making my panel for this card, I just cut out a square and inserted the sentiment die, then popped the panel up above a kraft base with a burnt orange square in the center.  

Next, a card for my girlfriend's birthday.  I used the eclipse technique for this one.

supplies: ivory, Audrey Blue, Green Apple, and a coral cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage stamp and stencil combo, worn lipstick, twisted citron, and peacock feathers distress inks, Winnie & Walter Happy die, Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves die

There are 5 layers of the happy die to make it stand out.

And lastly, back to fall colors.  

supplies: ivory, Sunshine, Orange Peel, Lipstick Red, and gold glitter cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage stamp/stencil combo, crackling campfire, carved pumpkin, and mustard seed distress inks, Simon Stitched Rectangle dies,  Penny Black sentiment die, adhesive foam squares

I cut 3 stitched rectangles from my finished panel for this card, framed each in a different color, and popped up the top 2 layers, then added my die-cut sentiment cut from a dark gold glitter cardstock.

I have 1 other card using this fun new set, but I'll save that for a bit later to share with you.

Thanks for stopping by!