Spellbinders Stained Glass Bouquet Collection

Becca Feeken has done it again!  Just look at these ornate dies she's created for her latest collection called Stained Glass Bouquet! 

My first card uses the Tulip Trio set of dies.

supplies: black, ivory parchment, and watercolor cardstock, Tulip Trio dies, oxide inks and water, Hero Arts retired sentiment

I thought the best way to achieve a mottled stained glass look was to make my own colors using distress oxide inks.  Each of these colors started with the smooth side of watercolor card, then I sponged on various shades of the color I was going for, spritzed with water, and dried, continually adding droplets of color until I was satisfied.  I'm very pleased with the results.  I saw bleeding hearts in the corners, so I added a little more red to the pinks I had used for my tulips for them.

We've had a need for sympathy cards this spring, and I thought this would work well for that occasion. 

Next up is a set called Deco Bloom, which makes a card just a little less than 5 x 7.

supplies: slate grey, ivory, surf blue, kraft, pale green, 2 pink, and 2 yellow cardstock, Deco Bloom dies, Pink & Main Sent with Love sentiment, adhesive foam squares

This time I used a variety of colored cardstock to bring color to this design.  This die set is made of  dies for the border and the wreath, so you can use just parts of it for other designs, and the roses are separate dies that can be placed anywhere you'd like on this wreath. I chose to adhere them with adhesive foam so that they stand above the rest of the card.

I won't deny that paper-piecing these cards took a little time, but I enjoyed every minute.  These dies cut beautifully.  Thank you, Spellbinders, for sharing these with me!

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

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

As always at the end of each month, our theme is Anything Goes!  The team is playing with Penny Black products, but you can use anything you'd like.

I did something I haven't done in years, use water-based markers to color a cling stamp.  

supplies: Distress Watercolor cardstock, Penny Black Daffodil Dance, Zig Markers and water, words from Simon Sending Happy Thoughts and Leafy Frames for my sentiment, Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Eyelet die

Placing my stamp into my Misti, I used Zig markers to color directly onto the cling stamp, spritzing before stamping in some cases.  I took my time and stamped one flower or leaf at a time.  Then I went back in with a damp paint brush to smooth out and fill in some of the areas.  When everything was dry, I overstamped my 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!

Simon Says Stamp Born to Sparkle Release!

Simon's newest release, called Born to Sparkle, is live!

I don't have anything to share with you just now, but here are some of the new things that this flower girl is excited to see: Spring Bouquets and Window Box Blooms clear stamps., the XL Rose Bouquet stencil, and the Floral Centerpiece 3D embossing folder. What are your faves?

Be sure to watch Shari's video HERE where she shows us the brand new Pawsitively Everything Tool!  So fun!

As always, there will be blog hops on Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30, a Facebook Live on Friday, April 30, at noon, and an Instagram hop on Friday, May 7.  So you'll have lots of opportunities to see the new goodies in action.  And don't forget our Born to Sparkle Gallery HERE.

 Enjoy!

A Spring Wreath

 I love this time of year when everything is leafing out - such a lovely lacey green!  

supplies: white, pale green, and 2 pink cardstocks, Taylored Expressions Leafy Vine embossing folder, leaf sprig from Hero Arts Envelope Accessories dies, The Greetery Forget-Me-Nots dies, a Tammy Tutterow sentiment from Tiny Sentiments, pink and white pearls

I haven't made a wreath lately, and this little sprig lends itself nicely to making one; I just layered it, securing each branch only at the bottom so that the rest of it would pop up a bit for dimension.  I thought this embossing folder was a nice match with it, and the forget-me-nots and pearls add just the right amount of color.

Edited to add these pictures of our crabapple out back.  It's such a pretty pink right now as the flowers start to open......in a few days it will turn white.

Hope your day goes well!

Susan's Spring Flora dies

 Spellbinder's kindly sent me 2 sets of dies from the latest Susan Tierney-Cockburn Spring Flora collection.  Here are some cards I made with my new goodies!

First up, a card featuring one of my favorite flowers: Lily of the Valley.  Here in NE Ohio, ours bloom right around Mother's Day, so I framed them with a pretty doily.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Lily of the Valley and (retired) Floral Oval Doily dies, oxide inks to color leaves and stems, sentiment from Newton's Nook Woodland Spring

Aren't these a wonderful representation of this sweet flower?  I didn't do the best job getting the petals cupped correctly; they should look like little bells.  I need to practice some more....

Since my first card is so feminine, I made a masculine card next with another set of dies, called Ferns and Ivy.

supplies: beige and kraft cardstock, Ferns and Ivy dies, sentiment from Sept 2018 Large Die of the Month, mowed lawn oxide ink, Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder, vintage photo distress ink

I only used 1 of the fern dies for my card, cutting it 5 times; the set also has 2 other fern dies and an ivy one too!   I chose the set because I think it will be invaluable for masculine cards like this, but also the ferns or ivy will work beautifully with any floral die.

Many thanks to Spellbinders!

Spellbinders New Cardmaker Stamp Collection

Spellbinders is launching a new stamp collection, and they very kindly sent me 2 of them to play with!  Here are some cards that I made with my new goodies.  

The first uses their new Love Block set.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Love Block set, Hemstitch Rectangle die

This has so many possibilities!  Here I used all pinks, but wouldn't it be pretty in a mix of pastels?  Great for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, or "just because"!  The set also includes 4 sentiment words to pair with the main image, and a separate little spray of posies, that I added in the corners.

Next is the new Hello Sunflowers set.

supplies: white and gold cardstock, a bit of brown gingham dp, Hello Sunflower set, Quilted Hearts embossing folder

I stamped, colored, and cut 3 of the smaller sunflowers, then arranged them atop a panel that holds the sentiment.  Who doesn't love sunflowers?  This set also has a large sunflower as well as 2 other sentiments.

As always, many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing these with me! 

Simon Says...........Sending Hugs

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

 This week our theme is "Sending Hugs"!  There are lots of ways to interpret that, and I'm looking forward to your ideas!  The team is featuring Impression Obsession products this week. 

supplies: white and black cardstock, Impression Obsession Floral Lace Heart die, markers, colored pearls, Simon Scripty Big Hugs die, Penny Black Stitched Stacker die

I cut the heart 3 times from white cardstock.  Using the first, I attached tape to the back of the panel while it was still attached to the die to hold everything together.  Then I used pastel markers to color in the details.  From the other 2 die-cuts, I punched out only the outline of the heart, and glued them together.  The colored panel was trimmed with the stitching border die, then I added my extra heart outlines and my sentiment.  The panel was then lifted above my card base, and I put pearls in the centers of the flowers, and a heart pearl near the 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!

Hello

 Just a quick share today, playing again with my Colorize Blooms.

supplies: white, Memory Box Vibrant Violet and Lush Green cardstock pads, Tim Holtz Colorize Bloom dies, sentiment from Big and Little Words, Simon Detail Ringlet Plate die

Nothing to explain, just put together some leafy branches and flowers, then made an arrangement of them and glued it to a background with a little subtle design, along with a simple sentiment.  These violet colors are really appealing to me this spring!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Sending Sunshine

 April started out so beautifully, with warmer temperatures and lots of blue skies and sunshine, but lately it's moderated to it's usual dreary rainy self.  So I decided to make a card to reflect the sunny and the grey.

supplies: white and grey cardstock, Doodlebug grey Buffalo Check dp, Wplus9 Doodle Buds stamps, Zig markers and water, Simon Sunshine and Scallop Stitches dies, enamel hearts and dots

These Doodle Buds flowers always make me smile, and I'm glad they haven't been discontinued like so many things.  

It's Friday!  Enjoy your weekend!

Simon Says........ Clean and Simple

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

This week we're asking you to make Clean and Simple cards.  The team is featuring Hero Arts products.  

supplies: white and black cardstock, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail clear stamp set, Fancy Cuts Boutique Acccessories and Envelope Accessories dies, oxide inks and blender brushes

All of the flower, leaf, and butterfly dies have incised details in them to give more detail.  Here I tried to separate and lift the petals on the flowers for a little dimension, and I popped the butterfly's body up. 

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!

You Make Me Smile

 Who remembers this old Hero Arts sentiment stamp - it's a long-time favorite for me, and I thought it was time to play with it again.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Doodlebug petite papers from their Gingham, Floral, and Dot Rainbow pads, Hero Arts (retired) sentiment, My Favorite Things Stitched Blooms dies, Simon Stitched Rectangle dies, Doodlebug sprinkles

I've used this purple/aqua/blue combination before - something so pleasing about it to me!

Thanks for stopping by today - have a great week!

Fresh Aqua Climbers

Here's another card using a combination of Altenew layering dies and Memory Box solid cardstock.

supplies: white cardstock, solid papers from Memory Box Fresh Aqua and Lush Green collections, Altenew Climber Flowers layering dies, a patchwork embossing folder, and sentiment label sticker from Tim Holtz

This floral layering die set is easy to put together; it reminds me of Morning Glories a little bit.  This time I placed it over an ancient embossing folder for more fun texture, and then just used a sentiment sticker to finish.

This pad of aqua tones is another lovely one from Memory Box; it contains 12 different shades of this lovely color!

Hope your Sunday is a lovely one!  Thanks for stopping by. 

Spellbinders Glimmer Essentials collection!

 I was kindly treated to a new hot foil plate set from the Glimmer Essentials line.  Here's a card I made with it, also using the new Mini Rainbow Stripe glimmer foil that was in my package.  The bright happy colors of this foil are perfect for a birthday card!

supplies: white  and a green foiled cardstock, Spellbinders Essential Duo Lines Ovals Hot Foil Plates, Mini Rainbow Stripe glimmer foil,  Glimmer Hot Foil machine, flowers and leaves dies from an April 2019 Small Die of the Month set

I chose a medium oval from this glimmer hot foil set and foiled it with the stripes going horizontally over white cardstock.  The Happy Birthday plate, included with my machine when I bought it last year, was foiled with the stripes going vertically.  Next I applied more of the foil to a sticky-backed cardstock, then cut out my flowers and layered them, separating the layers with adhesive foam.  

I've always been drawn to ovals, but don't have many, so I'm thrilled to have this now going forward!  The set has 8 different sizes, which can be used alone or combined any way you'd like!

I have 1 more little bonus card today to better show you the new Mini Rainbow Stripe glimmer foil.  

supplies: white and aqua shimmer cardstock, Spellbinder's Floral Embossing Folder, Scattered Hearts Glimmer Plate, Mini Rainbow Stripe Glimmer foil, Hemstitch Rectangle die, and a (retired) sentiment from Tammy Tutterow's Sentiments 2 cling stamps and matching dies, markers to color letters

Glimmer is a perfect description for the way these foils work - always a lovely soft effect!  

Thanks for stopping by today!

Simon Says........Happy Birthday

 

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

It's Birthday #12 for this Wednesday challenge, and so of course, we'd like to see some birthday creations!  The team will be featuring our very own Simon Says Stamp products.  I have 2 cards today.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Simon You Have My Heart floral, Detail Ringlet Plate die, and sentiment from Big Scripty Greetings, adhesive foam squares

After cutting out the floral spray, I added a light blue to the inside of the spray so that it looked better against the blue background.  The sentiment was stamped BEFORE I cut the background panel; this gives a better stamped image than if I'd tried to stamp after I'd die-cut the design.

It took me months to get this next embossing folder home, so here's another birthday card.  The folder is one of the new 3D folders that Simon is now making, and it's a keeper!

supplies: white and yellow cardstock, Simon Floral Field embossing folder, white pigment ink, Tim Holtz Sentiments Label sticker and Wildflower Stems 1 die, Hero Arts Nesting Rectangle dies, sparkly enamel hearts, adhesive foam

First I cut a small rectangle out of an A2 sized yellow panel, then reinserted it, and embossed them both at one time  The next step was to lightly rub some white pigment ink onto both pieces in a circular motion, to bring out the wonderful details of the folder.  Because there's a deeper impression made with these 3D folders, it's quite simple to lightly rub on ink directly from the inkpad.

The small rectangle was framed in white, and added to the larger "frame", now affixed to my card base.  Then I cut my daisy silhouettes, put a heart in the center of each, and added my sentiment.

Now it's your turn!  Because it's a special day, we have 2 prizes for 2 lucky winners this week: one will receive a $50.00 gift certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store, and the other will get a May Card Kit, which will be released next Wednesday! 

I can't wait to see what you all make!

Sweet Friend

 Simon restocked their Memory Box solid paper pads recently and I grabbed a couple more color-ways of them before they sold out again.  Here's a card using the Vibrant Violet collection, which ranges from mauvy pinks to pinky purples.  They are scrumptious colors!

supplies: white, black, Memory Box papers from Vibrant Violets, Lush Greens, and a pale yellow from Sunny Oranges collection pads, Altenew Garden Picks layering dies, sentiment from Wplus9 Hand Lettered Hello, Sunny Studio Lattice Frilly Frame dies, adhesive foam squares

The main flowers use 4 shades of a color, so I mixed up various shades leaning towards pink, and used the purples for the tinier flowers.  After arranging everything to my liking I used a sheet of Press 'n' Seal to hold it together, then flipped it and added foam squares to the reverse.  Then I just placed it over my lattice background, peeled away the Press 'n' Seal, and added my sentiment.

Using these papers for layering dies are exactly why I got these solid paper pads, and I am really impressed with the lovely range of colors in each one!  They are a little more expensive than other pads, but you get 4 sheets of each of 12 shades of color in each one, so I think it's a fair price.

Thanks so much for coming by today.

Friendly Flowers

Happy Easter - He has risen!! 

The Friendly Flowers stamp set from the Simon Says Stamp April Card Kit is full of floral goodness!  I wanted to make something with the large spray of flowers.

supplies: Lavender and Cream cardstock, Friendly Flowers spray and sentiment stamps, markers to color, sequins

I don't do well coloring large images like the main flowers, so today I left them cream and accented them with an edging of cream with green centers.  As I said recently, my preference has always been cream over stark whites, so having this lovely cream cardstock is a good thing!  There are individual stamps for the 2 large flowers, which is what I used to pop over the large spray image for dimension.

Have a great day!

Birds and Hugs

I knew I "needed" this new Simon Says Stamp bird set the moment I saw it!  Here's my first play with it.

supplies: white cardstock, blue dotted dp from Bright Blooms paper pad, Simon Says Stamp Spring Birds stamps, My Favorite Things Sending You Hugs die, adhesive foam squares

This design really pleases me, as it has so many of my favorite things: birds, the color blue, dots, and the name of my blog!  The birds are a perfect size for A2 cards, and the little leafy branch was a nice addition to the selection of birds in this set.  And birds are a good thing for masculine cards, so I know this set will be used often!

Next, thinking along the line of simple masculine cards, here are 2 more ideas using the same supplies, but adding in some texture for the background.

supplies: white, Green Leaf, and Audrey Blue cardstock, Simon Spring Birds, MFT Sending You Hugs die, Taylored Expressions Leafy Vine embossing folder, Lime mini ink cube, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate

I first cut out the words, then did my embossing or a further die-cut to get the leafy details.

Thanks for stopping by - happy April!  Are the birds singing up a storm where you are?