My Favorite Cards Made in February

 Here are the cards that I enjoyed making the most this month, a real transition from winter to spring!

As always, I appreciate your visit.

It's Your Day

 Just sharing a card that I made for a special birthday recently.

supplies: 2 yellow, Audrey Blue and Surf Blue, Green Apple and Green Leaf, kraft and brown card, Hero Arts heart die,  Lawn Fawn Knock on Wood and Watercolor Washes dps, Spellbinders Sweet Birds on a Branch dies, Tim Holtz Sentiments Label Sticker, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

I tried to make this as spring-like as I could, given the fact that in February we are craving color!  These little birds are a nice size to work with, not too big or small, with just enough accessory pieces to give them definition.  And they come along with the dies for the branch and the leaves, a nice plus in my eyes!

Are you seeing any signs of spring yet?  Here it's one step forward, and 2 steps back.  

Is It Spring Yet?

I've got major cabin fever here, so I pulled out some pretty daffodils and made myself some spring!  Hopefully we don't have too much longer to wait until we can feel some warmer breezes and see some pretty colors again!

supplies: white, green, and yellow card, Sunny Studio gingham patterned paper, Simon Daffodil Stem die, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge rectangle die, sentiment from Newton's Nook Little Lilies stamp set

What's cheerier than a daffodil, and a daffodil against some happy yellow gingham is even better!  I cut the flower from a green and a yellow card, then did some minor shading with  markers before piecing it back together.  

Here's another daffodil card, featuring Newton's Nook sweet set; this one's a little daintier in scope

supplies: white, Green Apple and Bright Yellow card, Newton's Nook Daffodils image and sentiment from Little Lilies, Spellbinders Hemstitch Oval die and Lawn Fawn Fancy Scallop Rectangle die

Hope these brighten your day as much as they did mine!

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

Welcome to the new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog!

It's an Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring Hero Arts products!  You don't have to use this brand to play along with our challenge, but if you do have any of their products, we'd love to see them used.

These Neighborhood Houses dies jumped right into my cart the instant they were released late last year.  I thought I'd use them this time to make a little paper quilt, inspired by THIS ONE on Instagram.

supplies: white card, Hero Arts Neighborhood Houses dies, markers to color, Simon Detail Ringlet Cover Plate, (retired) Lawn Fawn sentiment

HERE are 2 more cards that I made with these dies when I got them last year, if you'd like some other ideas for their use.

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!

 

A Birthday Card for Spring

 I have a card today using one of the new Hot Foil Glimmer Be Bold Sentiments..  I decided to make a birthday card for spring,  using teal glimmer foil.

supplies: white and shades of aqua and green card, Happy Birthday foil plates and matching dies from the Be Bold Glimmer Sentiment set,  Teal Glimmer hot foil, Hemstitch Rectangle die, flowers and leaves from Bonjour die set, pale green enamel dots and aqua heart sprinkles

This glimmer set is part of the just-released Spring into Glimmer collection at Spellbinders.  The sentiments are a perfect size, small enough to tuck into a card, and large enough to build a card around, as I did today.  

If you're looking for a glimmer sentiment set, this may be the one!  This set includes 4 different sentiment glimmer plates and matching dies to cut them out with, in this font that has become so popular lately.

Susan's Garden Favorites

Susan Tierney Cockburn is releasing some new dimensional flower dies this month at Spellbinders, and I was lucky to play with 3 of them.  I chose these because they are all sentimental favorites of mine.  I used colored cardstock for all of my cards

First up, Trillium.  I got to know this woodland wildflower up close and personal, as it grew in the woods near our house here in Ohio.  Sadly, that area has just recently been developed for condominiums, so the huge swaths of trillium there are no more.  I was able to transplant a few to our gardens, however.

supplies: cream, bright yellow, and 2 green cardstock colors, Susan's Garden Favorites Trillium dies, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, Simon Miss You die

Next up, Lilac, everyone's sentimental favorite.  We had a long line of these growing along the driveway at my Grandfather's house, and we have a double red variety (similar in color to the lilac below on the left) on the south side of our house now, a transplant from my Dad's garden.  Who can resist their unmistakable fragrance?  

supplies: 2 purple, green, kraft cardstock, a script pattern paper, Susan's Garden Favorites Lilac dies, branch from her Dogwood set, (retired) Hero Arts cling sentiment stamp, twine, vintage photo distress ink

I thought this faint script background and the sentiment made a good fit with this spray.

And finally, Dogwood.

supplies: kraft, cream and green cardstock, a watercolor patterned paper, Susan's Garden Favorites Dogwood dies, (retired) Simon sentiment from Beautiful Day, (retired) Hero Arts tiny pale green pearls

This is another plant that I grew up with.  Another native tree, it comes in this classic cream color, also in pinks, and has a lovely graceful way of spreading its branches.  A sign of spring for sure!

Many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing these with me!  

Good Luck Charm release!

 

Simon's newest release - Good Luck Charm - is live now!

As always, the collection is well-rounded, with lots of dies, stamps, stencils, sentiment strips, sequins, and new colors of Pawsitively Inks and mesh bags! 

Blog Hops are planned for Friday, February 18th and Saturday, February 19th, a LiveStream on Wednesday February 23rd at noon, and an Instagram Hop on Friday, February 15th as well.

And be sure to check our Gallery for lots of ideas using the new goodies - enjoy!

Simon Says.......Slimline Card!

Happy Wednesday!  Time for a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog!

This week our theme is Slimline Cards, and the team is featuring Whimsy Stamps.  You don't have to use these products to play along, but if you have any we'd love to see them being used.  I chose their Tweetie Pie set of clear stamps for my card today.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue card, Tweetie Pie stamps, tiniest snowflakes from Lots of Snowflakes, glue pen, prisma glitter, tiny sequins

Though full-size slimline cards (3 1/2 " X 8 1/2") are hard for me to photograph, I chose to make my card this size so I could use all these adorable little elements on it.  There's still another bird in this set, along with lots of fun sentiments.  After stamping and coloring, I went back in and added some glittery snow and some tiny snowflakes, and then some sequins for some winter sparkle.

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!

 

Spring into Glimmer!

 Spellbinders is releasing a new collection today that they call Spring into Glimmer!  I used the new Glimmer Edge Flowers set for my cards today.

supplies: white, black, and metallic pink kraft card, Spellbinders Glimmer Edge Flowers, sentiment from the February 2022 Glimmer Hot Foil kit, Essential Glimmer Rectangle glimmer plate, Pink glimmer foil, pink sequins and enamel dots

The Glimmer Edge Flowers set includes 3 glimmer pieces and 7 cutting plates to coordinate with them.  On this card I foiled the flowers, and cut the remaining elements from pink metallic card.  I also foiled the sentiment and the border.

Here's another.

supplies: ivory and polished gold mirror card, Glimmer Edge Flowers and Essential Duo Lines Ovals Glimmer plate, gold glimmer foil, and gold sequins, a retired Tammy Tutterow stamped sentiment, gold embossing powder

Here I layered the 2 sizes of foiled flowers and the foiled leaf sprig, and cut everything else out of gold foil card, adding some sequins.  I centered my arrangement in an oval foiled design, with a stamped  gold-embossed sentiment.

I had loads of fun putting these cards together!  Many thanks to Spellbinders for allowing me to play with these new goodies!

A Spring Hello

 It's been a little bit since I've made a card.  Today I was determined to jump back in with both feet.  Here's my result.

supplies: white and peacock card, Simon Laurel Leaves Background cover plate, Layered Birdie die, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf plate, sentiment from Newton's Nook Woodland Spring, tiny black pearl for bird's eye, cracked pistachio and mowed lawn distress inks, blender brush

I used distress inks to color a white panel before cutting out the laurel leaves, and alcohol markers to color the bird parts.

Right on schedule, winter is getting to me, so I decided to make my own spring until it arrives for real.  We have goldfinches here all year round, but in winter, they fade to a dull brownish gold.  One of the miracles of spring is when they change back to their brilliant coloring for the rest of the year.  I set my little bird amidst lots of leaves.

Simon is having a wonderful 20% off sale this weekend on any of their exclusive products: this bird and the cover die would qualify.  Use code 20YRS22.

Simon Says........Emboss It!

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

Emboss It! is our theme this week, and the team is featuring exclusive Simon Says stamp products.  Here's my card this week, using the beautiful Snowflake Visions embossing folder.

supplies: white card, Simon Says Stamp Snowflake Visions embossing folder, Sophie Snowflake die, and sentiment from Warmest Wishes clear stamp set, distress inks in cracked pistachio and shaded lilac, blending brushes, white pigment ink, adhesive foam squares, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder

After brushing on my mix of distress inks, I put the panel inside the snowflake embossing folder, and embossed it, then rubbed it gently with white pigment ink to make the flakes stand out more.  I cut the snowflake die twice, and layered it to make it especially lacey, separating the layers with adhesive foam, and finished with my little sentiment inside a circle, which was inked with the same inks and embossed in white.

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!

February Hot Foil Kit:

February's Hot Foil Glimmer of the Month kit is full of sentiments, 6 of them, to be exact!  

My first card uses Lavendar Petal foil with one of the script sentiments.

supplies: white, yellows, purples, and green card, February Glimmer of the Month Anytime Glimmer Sentiments plate, Lavender Petal glimmer foil, Mini Blossoms and Sprigs etched dies, and an (unnamed) oval doily glimmer plate

I was looking through my supplies trying to decide what I wanted to pair with this sentiment, and found this panel that I had embossed with the oval doily glimmer plate that came with my Glimmer machine.  So I just foiled the sentiment inside, and added some pretty posies in Easter colors to embellish it.

For my 2nd card I chose a birthday sentiment and paired it with a Mini Rainbow Stripe Glimmer foil.

supplies: white card, rainbow plaid from Sunny Studio Rainbow Bright paper pad, February Anytime Glimmer Sentiments plate and Mini Rainbow Stripe glimmer foil, felt flowers and yellow enamel dots

I foiled the sentiment with the stripes running horizontally and so each line of the sentiment has a different color - a happy coincidence!  I trimmed it out into a rectangle, placed it over this bright design paper background, and added my big flower embellishments - what could be easier!

You can find all the information you'll need HERE to get this fun kit for yourself.  You'll have until February 24 to join the club, and you can "unjoin" at any time!  Each month you'll also get a glimmer foil!

You'll be seeing more of these sentiments going forward, I'm sure - they really cover all occasions!

Simon Says.....With Love!

Welcome to the new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog!

Our theme this week is "With Love", and the team is showcasing Gina K. Designs products.  I used a favorite stencil from Gina K for my card today.

supplies: white, black, and Lavender card, vellum, Gina K. Floral Stencil, Altenew Hydrangea and Grass Field inks, blender brushes, Simon Love Is Background cling stamp, VersaMark and white embossing powder, Paper Rose Lace Heart Frame sentiment dies, Hero Arts Nesting Rectangle dies, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

After stencilling the design, I overstamped it with the text cling stamp, then cut out a rectangle from the center, and framed it and it's "frame" in lavender card, popping the inner one above the card base.   Then I just added my sentiment and some tiny hearts.

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!