My Favorite Cards from August

 Here are my favorite makes from this month.

I'm phasing into my favorite season already!  No wonder - STAMPtember begins tomorrow!  See you there!

An Elegant Snowflake?

I have another card to share with you that uses new dies from Spellbinders/Becca Feeken.  She has a new holiday collection out called Holiday Medley, and I used her All is Calm dies to make a glitzy snowflake card.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue card, silver mirror card, Spellbinders All is Calm dies (includes 2 sentiments), a snowflake embossing folder, silver and aqua pearls

When I think of Becca, I think of elegant designs, so I chose some silver metallic cardstock and paired it with aqua for my card.  I paper-pieced in some of the tile design, adding pearls, then cut a 2nd frame from silver and turned it 90 degrees before attaching it to the ornate one to make an 8-point snowflake.  There are 2 sentiments in this set - I chose the snow one and cut it twice from both colors and layered them a bit offset to carry the sparkle all the way down the card.

I also considered making this "snowflake" into a tree ornament by adding a hanger to the top, and that could still be done if the card is dismantled and backed with a 2nd pieced square.  The silver would certainly reflect the tree lights nicely!

As always, my thanks to Spellbinders for allowing me to play with their goodies! 

Boo!!

Here's another new release from the Spellbinder's Halloween Collection this year.  The die set is called Let's Be Frank!  How fun is this big hat and legs?!

 supplies: black, orange, purple and metallic gold cardstock, black flock sheet,  a long-retired Doodlebug printed spider paper, Spellbinder's Let's Be Frank dies, Spooky Boo dies, adhesive foam squares

I cut the hat out of black flock - it has a soft feel and is a good strong black.  The legs and sentiment were cut from regular black card. Details for both were added in orange and purple with gold metallics for the buckles.  This is just about the last of this spider 12" cardstock, bought waaaaaay back when Archivers was alive, if you remember them!  I also fussy-cut a tiny spider from it and popped it above the card - the placement makes it look like it's hanging from the tip of the hat!

This die set is called "Let's Be Frank" because there are also dies to make a Frankenstein!  What a fun set!  Many thanks to Spellbinders for allowing me to play with it!

Sunflower Garden

Today's cards are a result of playing with the huge Sunflower Garden clear stamp set that was included in Simon's September card kit.

I stamped the full image, then cut it apart to make 2 mini slimlines.

supplies: white, black, kraft, and Sunshine card, Sunflower Garden clear stamp set, Happy Birthday die

My sentiment is a mixture of part of the die in the kit (happy) and a stamp (wishes) from the same stamp set as the flowers.

Did you know there are pink sunflowers?  I was googling something earlier and discovered lots of pictures of them.  Now I'll be on the lookout for them in real life, and may even try a packet of seeds next year!  Have you ever seen any?

So since we were given a sheet of doll pink card in the kit, I matched my flowers to that as best I could.  

supplies: white, black, Green Apple, and Doll Pink card, Sunflower Garden image and sentiment, Hello die

Can you believe how fast August has flown by?  Enjoy what little is left!

Simon Says.......Anything Goes

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

It's an Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring My Favorite Things products.

supplies: white, Slate, and Green Leaf cardstock, Memory Box Vibrant Violet and Sunny Orange paper packs, My Favorite Things Stitched Flowers dies, sentiment from Simon Look for the Rainbows, Carta Bella Dot Stencil, grey ink, gold pearls

I masked off an area on my card base and stencilled the dot pattern.  Then I cut out flowers and leaves, layered them, and added my arrangement, leaving room for a sentiment strip.

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!

Give Thanks

 I have another new release set of dies from Spellbinders today.  Nichol Spohr designed 3 sets of dies for her Happy Harvest Collection.  I'm playing with her Welcome Fall set.

supplies: cream, kraft, and fall colors of cardstock, Lawn Fawn (retired) Perfectly Plaid Fall dp, Spellbinders Welcome Fall dies, tumbled glass distress ink, Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox sentiment

Nichol thought of everything we'd need for fall cards - pumpkins, apples, a bushel basket, and leaves!  There's even a wooden sign, which I didn't use this time.  For today's card I paired the dies with a plaid backing, and had a ball making my little harvest scene!

Once again, I thank Spellbinders for sharing these with me!

Sunshine Flowers

 Sunshine Flowers is both the name of the Simon Says Stamp September Card Kit, and one of the 2 large clear stamp sets inside it!  

supplies: white and Surf Blue card, Sunshine Flowers flower spray, Happy Birthday dies, Tim Holtz gold glitter washi tape

I stamped and colored this lovely big spray of flowers, then fussy-cut the right edge of it  That panel was then attached to an A2 Surf Blue card.  To finish I just added the gold glitter washi tape on the left and a double thick sentiment.

This kit is gorgeous - beautiful patterned papers, Tim Holtz sentiments labels, a whole tube of  8 different washi tapes, a glue stick, and a bottle of liquid pearls!  

Spellbinders Fall Traditions

Spellbinders very kindly sent me some new dies from their Fall Traditions collection, which is launching today.  I have 2 makes for you today using them.

supplies: cream, kraft, black, brown, Sunshine, Orange Peel, Lipstick Red, and Burnt Orange card, Spellbinders Happy Turkey Day dies, and a retired Thanksgiving die (October 2018 Small Die of the Month)

This was so fun to put together!  He is about 3 3/4" square, and has etched details for his body and feathers.  Don't you love his pilgrim hat?!  

I decided to put him onto a place card.  You would normally put the names of your guests at the bottom, but since I had this retired Thanksgiving die, I used it instead.  Or you could use another sentiment, perhaps "Gobble" would be fun!

This would make a fun project for your kids - provide them with the parts, and let them put them together as they like!

Next, a card that uses their new Autumn Leaves dies.  Once again, the leaf details are etched into each die.  There are 9 different leaves in the set!

supplies: ivory cardstock, a variety of tone-on-tone patterned papers, Spellbinders Autumn Leaves dies, Sunny Studio Autumn Greetings sentiment, gold embossing powder, gold enamel hearts

I dug into my immense collection of patterned papers to cut out these leaves, sticking to autumnal colors.  I've always liked these warm colors paired with a teal or aqua, and this background fit the bill nicely.  I simply gold-embossed my sentiment into a strip, then tucked the leaves behind it.  

As always I so appreciate the opportunity to play with these new things from Spellbinders!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Simon Says.......Add a Sentiment

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

Our theme this week is "Add a Sentiment", and the team is showcasing Clearly Besotted products.

supplies: white cardstock, Newton's Nook Tropical Leaves stencil, mowed lawn oxide ink, Clearly Besotted Some Birdie Loves You clear stamps, adhesive foam squares

I masked off my card front and stencilled the background leaves, then stamped and cut out the birds and some extra leaves.  I added a sentiment strip to the center of my card, then arranged the birds around it and popped them 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!

 

Sending You Love

 Happy new week!  Our temps have moderated back to June-like ones for a bit, hope you are comfortable where you live, too.  This weekend, I was feeling "do-less", as my husband's family says, so I decided to just stamp some pretty flowers and color them.

supplies: white and Surf Blue card, Simon's Mom's Meadow flowers and butterfly, Spring Bouquets sentiment

I originally had planned to cut this out after coloring it, but then I edged everything in aqua, so I just squared up the panel and put it on a 4 /14" square card.  I had previously colored this floral in spring-like colors, but today I used more summery ones.  It's been quite awhile since I've made a card that is entirely stamped without any die-cuts added - getting back to where I came from is a nice feeling!

As always, I appreciate your visit - hope you enjoy the week ahead!

Spellbinders, PinkFresh Studio, Hero Arts, and Taylored Expressions

 How's that for a mix?  Today's card uses elements from all of these companies to make a mini slimline card, 3" X 6".

supplies: Cotton Candy, white, and rose gold kraft cardstock, Spellbinders mini slimline dies, PinkFresh Studio Rose and Hydrangea washi tape, Hero Arts leaf cluster, Taylored Expressions sentiment on vellum (retired: Foil It - Hand Lettered Sentiments), rose gold foil, and a laminator

I just received some mini slimline dies and had to give them a test run, so I cut a large one in Cotton Candy and the next size down in white.  They were affixed to mini slimline cardbase.  Then I foiled the sentiment  which comes as toner ink on vellum, using a rose gold foil, and trimmed it to fit roughly in the center of the inner rectangle panel.  I've seen lots of people using metallic gold leaves to help bring out the gold in the washi, so I cut some from a Hero Arts die set.  And finally, I arranged a few washi tape sprigs with the gold leaves and attached them to the card, adding some sequins, 3 teensy ones in the hydrangea flowers centers at the top, and one larger one in the center of the lower rose.

This washi tape is so lovely with its gold highlights - it makes an ordinary card a little bit more special!

Enjoy your weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says.......Funny/Punny

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

This week we want you to make something that is "Funny/Punny"!  The team had the perfect supplies to play with, as we are featuring Riley & Company!

This particular sentiment stamp from them made me chuckle, as I was a math major in college.

supplies: white and Lipstick Red cardstock, Doodlebug Down on the Farm paper pad and Hen and Chicks doodlepops, Riley & Co. Mathemachicken cling stamp

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!

A Summer Birthday Slimline

 I wanted to play once again with some layering stencils, and August is a big month for birthdays for us, so here's what I made for today.

supplies: white and Doll Pink card, Pink Fresh Studio Floral Notes layering stencils, crackling campfire, picked raspberry, mustard seed, wilted violet, and mowed lawn distress inks, blender brushes, Simon It's Your Birthday sentiment, fine-tipped black marker, Doodlebug sprinkles

I don't have the matching stamp set for these stencils, so I just doodled around the edges of the flowers and leaves with a fine-tip marker.

Happy Sunday - enjoy your summer day!

Glimmer Plate card

 My card today features the Autumn Leaf Border glimmer plate.  I got it primarily to use for fall cards, but I rather like this version using it with a rainbow glimmer foil, for other times of the year.

supplies: white cardstock, rainbow striped dp, Spellbinders Autumn Leaf Border glimmer plate and Mini Rainbow Stripe glimmer foil, Simon Reverse Sunshine and Rainbows sentiment strip, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

This foil is really vibrant.  These materials are made to be used only with the Glimmer Hot Foil system, not a laminator.

I used an old sketch that I remember getting at the Hero Arts blog years ago, and have used often.

It's Friday!  Have a great weekend!

Simon Says.......Summertime Blues

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

Our theme for you this week is "Summertime Blues"!  The team is playing with Hero Arts products.  I used one of my favorite Hero Arts dies for my card.

supplies: white and a variety of blues from Memory Box Ocean Blue collection paper pad, Hero Arts Flower Garden fancy die, (retired) Simon Sea You Soon sentiment, white embossing powder, Doodlebug blue sprinkles

I cut 6 shades of blues into 1/2" strips, and applied them diagonally to a 4 X 5 1/4 panel, which was then attached to my card base.  More of the blue papers were used for my sentiment panel, which was attached to the Flower Garden die before popping it above the card base with adhesive foam pieces.  

This Garden Die is so versatile - I've used it plain in white like this and also I've colored the individual leaves and flowers.  And the price point is very good, in my opinion!

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!

More Washi Cards

 Today's cards feature the largest images from my 2 new Washi Tape sets, Rose and Hydrangea and Blossoms and Berries.  I moved into the greens for both cards today.

supplies: white and Mint cardstock, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate die, PinkFresh Studio Rose and Hydrangea washi tape and Stitched Scallop Rectangle Essentials dies, Winnie & Walter hello die

This one feels really crisp with the mint and white accents.

Next is a wreath mixed with buffalo checks.  Doesn't this look like summer?

supplies: white and Midnight Green cardstock, Doodlebug Buffalo Check dp, Blossoms and Berries washi tape wreath, Simon Script Thanks die, adhesive foam to lift wreath

As always, thanks for stopping by today - have a great week!

Old and New

 I appear to be obsessed with the beautiful rolls of washi tape that PinkFresh Studio has been giving us, and I just ordered and received 2 more of them: Hydrangea and Rose, and Blossoms and Berries.  I pulled out an old oval doily die and mixed everything up for today's cards.

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, and gold metallic cardstock, vellum, Sunny Studio Quilted Hearts embossing folder, Impression Obsession Ornate Oval Frame die, PinkFresh Studio Hydrangea and Rose washi tape and Phrase Builder: Sending sentiment die, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

The Ornate Oval Frame die is 1 piece, but it cuts out 4 parts, plus a negative.  Here I used 2 of the inner elements it cuts, along with the ornate frame.  I just assembled everything, then stacked them, no lifting on this one.  The Washi gives you a total of 7 floral elements - I chose 3 of the small to medium ones for this card, concentrating on the hydrangea parts.  

Next, I started with the negative of the Ornate Frame, added the small oval from it, and some washi elements from Blossoms and Berries.

supplies: white and metallic gold cardstock, a very pale pink dotty dp, Impression Obsession Ornate Oval Frame die, PinkFresh Studio Blossoms and Berries washi and Phrase Builder: Sending sentiment die, gold sequins, adhesive foam squares to lift main panel

This time I used the negative die cut, lifting it and the washi elements above the inner oval and sentiment.  This washi has a little less gold highlighting, mainly just on the roses, so I added gold sequins to bring in more gold.

PinkFresh now has 9 different rolls of wide washi tape like these - I have 6 of them!  Do you think that's enough?  One nice thing about them is that the ones that have mainly pinks in them can be mixed with each other.  And lately, I've found that a matching die is not necessary at all if you enjoy fussy-cutting.  

Thanks for stopping by today - hope your weekend is a lovely one!  Come back tomorrow and I'll have a couple more cards using the largest images from these washi tapes.