My July Favorites

 Here are my favorite cards that I made in July.

A real mix this month - summery flowers, a bit of Christmas, and a cow!!

Summer Coneflowers

 Our coneflowers started blooming earlier this month, which reminded me about these pretty paper ones!  Here's this year's version.

supplies: Cream, kraft, pale yellow, light coral, and green cardstock, a script printed paper, markers to shade, Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers Coneflowers dies, Spellbinders Picot Edge Oval die, Simon Miss You die, adhesive foam squares

I wanted to give this a bit of a vintage feel, so I used a script background and a lovely oval to set off the flowers. Each of the 4 flower layers is separated with adhesive foam for lots of dimension.  

I used the reverse (solid) of some BoBunny Double Dot 12" cardstock for my flowers and leaves today.  Since so many scrapbook stores have vanished, I wonder if these are even available anymore?  I used to get mine in a store in Florida when we would be snowbirds each winter, but haven't been back since 2018, I think, thanks to Covid.......

Thanks for stopping by - have a great weekend!

Simon Says..... Anything Goes!

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

It's Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring our exclusive Simon Says Stamp products.  You don't have to use this brand to enter the challenge, but if you do own any Simon products, we'd love to see them being used.

supplies: white cardstock, Sunny Studio Gingham Pastels yellow gingham, Simon You Shine clear stamp set, Stitched Rectangle die

I stamped out most of the lemon elements in this set, cut them out, and played with them until I had an arrangement that pleased me.  I love them paired with yellow gingham!

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!

 

Flourish Glimmer Tree

 Here is my last card that uses the new Christmas release from Spellbinders.  This one features their Flourished Tree glimmer plate and some green glimmer hot foil.  I kept the design CAS and let the foil be the star!

supplies: white and kelly green cardstock, Spellbinders Flourished Tree glimmer plate, sentiment from Merry Glimmer Sentiments, Viridian Green glimmer foil, gold sequins

Part of the design of the tree is tiny little diamonds - I used those as places to add my sequin "ornaments".  I chose to to use a green foil for this first time using this plate, but I think it would look really elegant done in gold foil on a cream background, too.  Once again, I used the glimmer sentiments; the size of them is perfect!

I think I'm finished for this month with Christmas designs, but I'll have some more in August!

A Summer Card

 With all the Christmas stuff I've been posting lately, I felt a real need to return to present day, so today's card feels like summer to me!  There have been lots of lemon-themed cards showing up lately, which reminded me about this washi tape.  Love this sweet shade of yellow, too!

supplies: yellow, white, and metallic lavender cardstock, (retired) Lil Inker Circles and Diamonds cover plate, Pink Fresh Studio Ornate Oval Frame and Lemons and Blueberries washi tape, Memory Box Just Because die, adhesive foam

This Ornate Frame is new to me, and I think it's the perfect vehicle to pair with all of the washi tape sprigs that I have.  I cut my sentiment from a foiled lavender kraft cardstock to bring out the blueberries in the design.  I wanted to pop the frame above something subtle and this cover die that is sadly retired fits the bill perfectly!

My mouth is watering thinking about some sweet concoction that blends lemons and blueberries!  I have a story to share about a baby blueberry bush that our oldest son brought home from a nursery that he was working in for the summer, probably 28 years ago.  We planted it, but probably in not the best location at the time.  Over the years it has come back year after year and gotten bigger and bigger, but until this year it's never produced any fruit.  This year it did (it's in a sunnier location now)!!  Now all I need is a lemon tree - unlikely in our northern location here in Ohio!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Winter Welcome Sled

Today I'm playing with another fun set of dies recently released by Spellbinders this month as part of their Celebrate the Season collection.  I've always wanted a sled die set so I was thrilled to get this one!

supplies: white, grey, kraft, red, green, and pool cardstock, gingham dp for bow, Spellbinders Winter Welcome Sled dies, sentiment from Mix and Match Holiday Greetings, bow from Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations, a snowflake embossing folder

This die set consists of the sled parts plus a nice mix of winter greens to decorate it with if you'd like to.  The wood parts of the sled (those in red here) are even incised with woodgrain, such a nice little touch!  I brought in the little bow from the Mail Box set that you saw earlier this month, cutting it from gingham.  "Joy" is what I remember feeling as a child when we sledded down our hill at home, so that was my choice this time for a sentiment.

Many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing these new sets with me!

Simon Says.......For a Child

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

 This week our theme is "For a Child" and the team is featuring Lawn Fawn products.  You don't have to use this brand to enter, but if you do have this brand, we'd love to see you using it, too!

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, Schoolhouse Red, and black cardstock, Doodlebug Buffalo Check dp, Lawn Fawn Woodland Critter Huggers and Fancy Scallop Rectangle die, Tim Holtz Sentiments label sticker

I found a video to make this cow from my old favorite Woodland Critter Huggers that I've used many times before. Jess of Jess Crafts had lots of other unique animals to stretch these dies into!  How fun that she used flower dies for the cow's spots!  

I put mine against some black and white buffalo plaid and added a red heart to reinforce 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!

Holiday Blooms

 Here's another new set of dies from Spellbinders' Christmas release.  They're called Holiday Blooms, and I mixed them with some gold foiling and another new set of Holiday sentiments.

supplies: cream, red, pink, various greens and metallic gold cardstock, Spellbinders Holiday Blooms and Mix and Match Holiday Greetings dies, Essential Glimmer Rectangle, gold glimmer foil

The Holiday Blooms set has 26 pieces, containing these poinsettias, pines and greenery, plus other flowers and even some cattails!  I placed my little arrangement against a base that I had first foiled with a glimmer rectangle, and then cut one of the Holiday Greetings from metallic gold cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Sympathy Card

 I received my August card kit from Simon yesterday, and decided to use one of the lovely patterned papers and a beautiful script sentiment for today's card.  These somber colors lend themselves to sympathy cards.

supplies: Simon Smoke notecard, foiled paper from Craft Consortium Wildflower Meadows, sentiment from Vintage Garden clear stamp set, embossing ink pad, ultrafine silver embossing powder

That foiled piece of patterned paper is coming through navy, but it's actually a dark charcoal color, which really makes the foiling pop.  And I'm in love with the font on all of the sentiments in this set!

Here's the rest of the gorgeous kit for this month.

It comes with a sweet pink mesh bag, rose gold metallic cardstock, and a gorgeous 3D embossing folder called Picnic Floral!  As always, lots of bang for your buck!  

Spellbinders Parcel & Post Christmas

 I was thrilled to be able to play with this new suite of products from Spellbinders called Parcel & Post.  It consists of a set of dies to make a darling mailbox, plus dies to use for Christmas or Everyday.  I chose the Christmas suite, and here is my card.

supplies: red, kraft, various greens, gold metallic cardstock, Parcel & Post Mailbox, Christmas Mailbox Glimmer Greetings, Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations, Plaid Tidings Background glimmer plate, Red and Speckled Aura hot foil glimmers

I constructed the mailbox, added the gold glimmer sentiment, and then had fun filling it to overflowing with the various decorations!  The mailbox door is hinged so that you can pop in your decorations easily.  The glimmer sentiment is one of 4.  And the mailbox set comes packed with flowers and leaves (which I didn't use this time) so that this set can be used for lots of occasions besides Christmas.

I put everything against the new Plaid Tidings Background Glimmer Plate, which I foiled in Red.  From across the room the foiling adds a lovely shimmer!

Many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing this collection with me!

Spellbinders Christmas in July!

 Spellbinders is releasing their Christmas collections this month.  

Here's a card using a cover die from their Stitchmas Christmas collection.

supplies: white, pink, and silver glitter card, Spellbinders Stitched Petal Diamond Background, embroidery floss in 2 pinks, sage green, and pale yellow, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings dies, pearls

Here's a closer shot to see the pretty font of the sentiment dies:

I love this new cover plate - you can do as much or as little stitching as you like.  Here I took these as poinsettias and made them pink, with a bit of sage green to break it up, and a glitzy sentiment in silver.  The Mix & Match Holiday Greetings is a set of 16 different words that you can combine any way you like, and in a great size, too.  I'll bet it becomes a classic!

Here's a 2nd card using this stitching plate, this time in more traditional Christmas colors.  I put them against a kraft background for a country feel, and this time, I did far less stitching than on my first card.  You can see what a different look results.

supplies: kraft and red card, Stitched Petal Diamond Background, rich red, pine green, and bright yellow floss, Merry Glimmer Sentiments, red glimmer hot foil

I used 3 strands of red floss for the flowers, but 6 strands of green and yellow floss for the rest of the design - using more makes the motif show up stronger.  This time my sentiment is foiled, from another fun set called Merry Glimmer Sentiments. It comes with 8 glimmer sentiments and 8 matching dies so you can cut them out like I did here.  I cut out a total of 3 deep to make them stand out against all the texture of the stitching.

I'll have lots of Christmas-related cards coming up this month - stay tuned!

Simon Says......Make Your Own Background

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

This week we want you to "Make Your Own Background".  The team is featuring Picket Fence Studios products.  You don't have to use this brand to enter, but if you do have any of their products, we'd love to see what you do with them!

I chose a gorgeous Lavender Frame Cover die and made 2 cards with it, since having this die practically makes the card by itself.  I have a dawn version and a dusk one.

supplies: white cardstock, Lavender Frame Cover die, shaded lilac, saltwater taffy, and squeezed lemonade oxide inks and blender brushes, Simon Leafy Frames sentiment, embossed in white

This cover die cuts out a frame that goes outside the left edge, which really appealed to me!  Here's the dusk version, just switching to black cardstock and darker colors.

supplies: black cardstock, Lavender Frame Cover die, wilted violet, salty ocean, and peacock feathers oxide inks, blender brushes, Simon Miss You die

The other thing I really liked about this die set was that it also has 3 separate smaller sprigs of lavender, so for all you get, I think the price point is excellent.

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!

And don't forget our Kids' Summer Vacation Challenge, ongoing all this month, for kids 16 and under.

Ornate Wreath and Painted Flowers

 Altenew's Painted Flowers stamp set is still a favorite of mine, and they recently brought out a little add-on flower.  And I finally got myself this pretty Ornate Frame from Pink Fresh Studio - here's their first play together.

supplies: white and slate cardstock, an unknown patterned paper from a card kit, Altenew Painted Flowers multi-step stamp set, Painted Flowers Add-on stamp and matching die, (retired) Flower Arrangement Hello die, Pink Fresh Studio Ornate Oval Frame die, Pink Fresh Studio mini ink cubes in Rise & Shine and Fairy Dust, Simon Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio #15 (Spring, Dublin, and Lucky) inks

Thanks for stopping by - have a great week!

Combining Stitching Dies

 I'm ashamed to say that I have only used this pretty background die once before.  Recently I was looking for something else and came across it and thought it would make a lovely match to my new flower dies that also have lots of stitched details.  So I chose my favorite blue and here's what I came up with.

supplies: white, pale green, and Cornflower Blue card, other blues from Memory Box Ocean Blue collection, Concord & 9th Stitched Blooms dies and Stitched Blooms stamp (sentiment element), blue and green inks, Pretty Pink Posh Spring Foliage dies, blue marker

Thanks for stopping by today - hope your weekend is a great one!

Some Floral Wreaths

 I finally brought home this Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath die after seeing my teammate Karin's cards recently, and have been having a ball playing with it.  I like it because it lends itself to straight coloring, but there are additional dies so that you can paper-piece it, also.

I have 2 cards for you today.  First is the paper-pieced version.

supplies: white, Green Apple, aquas from Memory Box Fresh Aqua Collection pad, retired My Favorite Things Tiny Check paper pad, Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath dies and Fancy Scalloped Rectangle die, sentiment from Simon Garden Greetings, Aqualicious ink, aqua pearls

Next I cut the wreath from white cardstock and used my markers to color in the details.  I liked these colors against cream, and added some texture with a subtle cover die which repeats the circle theme.

supplies: Cream cardstock, Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath, Simon Detail Ringlet cover plate and Bold Hello die

I have 4 other already-colored wreaths finished, so you'll be seeing more of this soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says........Back to School

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

 Our theme this week is "Back to School", and the team is featuring Memory Box products.  You don't have to use this brand, but we'd love to see you using them if you have any.

This was a true challenge for me, and I ended up taking it literally once again.

supplies: retired Simple Stories Smarty Pants patterned papers, Memory Box paper collections in Fresh Aqua, Sunny Orange, Berry Red, and Lush Green, black cardstock, Tim Holtz Varsity Alphabet dies

I cut each letter out first in black for the detailing, and then used colors from the pencils  for my colors.

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!

Summer Hollyhocks

Happy 4th of July!!

Here's my first play with the new Hollyhocks Botanicuts from The Greetery.  These flowers have lots of memories for me from my Gramps' garden, (I remember using the blossoms to make little dolls!), but I haven't had much success growing them myself, so I'm pleased to be able to grow some paper ones!

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, coral, orange, and yellow card, The Greetery Hollyhocks Botanicuts dies, gren ink for leaves, markers for detailing flowers, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge Rectangle die, Perfect Sentiments foiling plate and matching die, gold glimmer foil

I inked the leaves and stems, but used colored cardstock for the flowers this time, with some simple marker detailing in the centers.  The flowers are easy to assemble, and the multi layers makes a nice dimension.

Betsy's shipping is A+ - I ordered these new dies last Wednesday and had them in hand on Friday!  Can't do much better than that!

Short week this week - enjoy!