My Favorite Cards from May

 Here are my favorite cards made this past month.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Ever in Bloom Quads, take 2

Happy Memorial Day for those of you in the States!  Be safe, and remember what we're celebrating.

Here are 4 more cards in a different colorway using the Taylored Expressions Create in Quads Ever in Bloom stencils.

supplies: white, purple, Audrey Blue, and pale yellow cardstock, Ever in Bloom Quad stencils, Altenew inks in Aqualicious, Hydrangea, Fresh Lemon, Forest Glade, Evergreen, and vintage photo distress, various stamps and dies as sentiments, see below

sentiment from (retired) Simon Beautiful Day, embossed in white

Paper Rose Sending Love and Hugs die

Wplus9 (retired) Handwritten Hello stamp, Winnie & Walter (retired) Noelle scalloped rectangle die

Hero Arts Thinking of You Stamp and Cut clear stamp

HERE's a link to my first set of cards, done in warmer colors.  These are so fun to work with, and I love that you get 4 different designs each time you sit down with this set!  All you need is a sentiment to finish!

Thanks for stopping by!

Rose Trellis

 Today I'm playing with a set of stencils from Pink Fresh Studio called Garden Roses.

supplies: white and Mint cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Garden Roses stencils, Fairy Dust and Trio 15 inks, Simon Mini Slimline Lattice die, Pink Fresh Perfect Sentiments hot foil plate and matching die, gold glimmer foil

After doing my stencilling, I fussy-cut apart the rose spray, and rearranged it onto the trellis background.  

Have a great day - thanks for stopping by!

Woodblock Wednesday: Hydrangea

 Here's my entry for this month's Woodblock Wednesday challenge........for those of you who know me well, it was only a matter of time before I used this one!

supplies: off-white cardstock, reverse of a Crafter's Companion Delightful Daisy dp, Spellbinders (retired) stitched label die, overstamped with Tammy Tutterow (retired) Dear Ruby cling background stamp, vintage photo distress ink, Hero Arts Hydrangea woodblock, colored with alcohol markers, Simon (retired) Birthday Flowers sentiment, hand-dyed seam binding

This Hero Arts Hydrangea woodblock stamp is dated 2010, and I have probably used it dozens of times, but not recently.  I used a combination of blue and purple markers to color it.

Here's a photo of the card alone.

And HERE's a link to the Woodblock Challenge - it's such a good idea to get these beautiful stamps out again and give them some love!  Be sure to visit the gallery there to see the other entries, and I hope you'll be inspired to play along, too!

Little Things

I'm not done playing with these PTI stencils yet - I wanted to do them in blue, and emboss them this time.

supplies: white and blue cardstock, PTI Wild Blooms Stencil set, altenew mini inks and blending brushes, Impression Obsession (retired)  Little Things cling sentiment, (retired) Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways stitched scalloped rectangle die

I did a wordy sentiment again as I've done before.  This simple design works well with them, I think.  I don't need too much pushing to use this darling one, and I'm glad when I can!  After finishing the stencilling, I stamped the sentiment, trimmed it into a smaller scalloped panel, then added the large flower stencil over it and ran it through my Spellbinders machine with an embossing pad and plate. It adds a subtle dimension to an otherwise flat card. 

On a personal note, today would have been my Daddy's 103rd birthday!  We had him for 95 years, and there still isn't a day that something doesn't remind me of him!  He sure does take up lots of room in my heart!

Thanks for coming by today - have a good one.

Simon's June Card Kit: Etched Greetings

 The Simon Card Kit for June is a keeper!  I made 3 cards this month with it.

supplies: white and Matte Gold cardstock, Etched Greetings sentiment, Antique Gold embossing powder, rose and leaves from Organic Layers Ephemera

I'm waiting for a stamp and die set that's called Tuck It, from Papertrey Ink, so in the meantime, I thought I'd try to achieve the same effect: a sentiment with slits at top and bottom where you can tuck in flowers and leaves.  After a bit of experimenting, success!  After stamping the sentiment and embossing it in gold, I used my paper cutter to slit it above and below just enough to tuck in some of the ephemera from the kit.  The panel was then matted in gold, and attached to my card base.  

I won't lie, I think my favorite part of this kit are the Delightful Daisies patterned papers.  This next card uses one of them, along with the Thanks die from the kit and my own butterfly, one that was in my scrap basket and matched nicely to the blue details in this paper.

supplies: white cardstock, Crafter's Companion Delightful Daisies dp, Simon's Fancy Thanks die, and a Pink Fresh Small Butterflies stamp and stencils, Lapis Lazuli inks

The papers each have a daisy motif of some kind, usually over a woodgrain background, and the reverses are just as pretty; woodgrain only.  They look very impressionistic, and come in lovely soft colors.

I used the reverse of another of the papers for my final card, stamping and embossing repeatedly using the lovely etched flower, one of 2 from the stamp set.  Stormy sky distress ink was a pretty close match to the blue in the background paper.

supplies: white cardstock, Crafter's Companion Delightful Daisies reverse dp, Etched Greetings flower and large birthday sentiment, white embossing powder, stormy sky distress ink

Here's the kit - I'm betting it will be a sell-out!

Spring Countryside

Last weekend we took a day and spent most of it in our Ohio Amish country, about an hour from home.  We went down to visit the numerous greenhouses there - they have great prices and a good selection of plants that I wanted to add to our gardens this year.  The drive was beautiful, a perfect spring day with the fields full of baby lambs, colts, and calves.  

I remembered these Rolling Hills stencils and couldn't wait to play with them, this time using spring colors.  Here's my result.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Rolling Hills layering stencils, 3 duos of green shades of ink, The Greetery Countryside dies, inks for house and tree details, My Favorite Things cloud stencil, tumbled glass distress ink, sentiment (retired) from Newton's Nook Woodland Spring

The countryside was much like this, with rolling hills and views that went on forever!  We kept to the backroads and meandered here and there.  What a lovely way to spend a day!

If you'd like to see my card done for autumn using these same supplies, please click HERE. 

Spellbinders Hexi-Gems release

Hello!  Today I have a card using product from the new Hexi-Gems release!  I really like this Hexi-Gem shape!

supplies: white cardstock, and gold mirror cardstock, Hexi Gems Essential dies, Hexi Gems Glimmer Bloom plate and matching die, Gold glimmer foil, Zig markers and water to color, Thanks Enclosed sentiment dies

There are a whopping 14 different sizes of these Hexi-gems in this die set, so you can make a shaped card or use the tinier ones to frame up sentiments!  I chose 2 adjacent ones and cut the larger from gold and the other from white.  I also cut 3 extra white cardstock blooms to stack behind my foiled one to lift it up a bit.  

It was fun to use my zig markers again - they have been neglected for awhile.  I think they give a nice springy, pastel look to this card.

Thanks for visiting today! 

Edited to add: If you're a Spellbinders' fan, thought I'd point out that they are having a sale of up to 40% on their dies!  The sale starts today and goes through May 21, Sunday, at midnight.  No codes needed, just click on the picture below or my link in blue above.

Happy Mother's Day!

 Here's a card that would work for this special day, or many other occasions.

supplies: white, several pale yellows and pinks, Green Apple and Green Leaf cardstock, grey woodgrain dp, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster dies, Paper Rose Sending Love and Hugs die

Happy Mother's Day!

Country Wheelbarrow

 Annie Williams has a new Country Road release today at Spellbinders!  Here's a card that uses her Country Wheelbarrow and Garden Builder dies.

supplies: various cardstock colors, Annie Williams Country Wheelbarrow and Garden Builder dies, clouds from Flyby Greetings, my own (retired) sentiment stamp

I hope you can see the incised woodgrain on the sides of the wheelbarrow.  This set was quite the feat of engineering!  And the Garden Builder dies have lots of different flowers and leaves to mix and match to your liking - 22 of them, even a little cat silhouette!

I enjoyed playing in my little garden - if you're a gardener, I think you will, too!  Thanks for stopping by!

Just a Note

 Another card with my new Antique Rose dies, this time in pinks.

supplies: white, mauve, several greens, and Altenew Cherry Blossom layering papers, PTI Border Bling: Dainty Deliveries Frame die, Altenew Antique Rose dies, sentiment from Mama Elephant Paola's Wishes, Altenew Cherry Blossom enamel hearts

I wanted to try the Altenew layering papers, as they have 4 shades of a color in each set.  On first receiving them, I was disappointed, but when I actually layered them with this rose die, I changed my opinion; they give a nice contrast for each layer.  I paired the rose with this floral cover plate - the little posies could be tiny rose buds, maybe?  

This sentiment has a lovely font, and can be stretched for many occasions! 

Have a great week!

Spellbinders May Club Kits

The Club Kits for May are being released today, and they are all birthday-themed!  Here are my sample cards.

First is the Large Die of the Month: Balloons and Birthday Wishes.  This set contains 18 dies to make a large 3-tiered banner, with 7 word sentiments to mix and match, and either balloons or flowers to decorate around it.  

supplies: various colors of cardstock, kraft, and white, May Large Dies of the Month, Floral Frenzy embossing folder

I made the banner white with kraft shadows.  The sentiment was cut from white cardstock, then colored with markers.  After placing it on top of the embossed floral background, I added little groupings of the little flowers also in this set.

Now for the Small Die of the Month kit: Flyby Greetings.

This consists of 13 dies to make a fun airplane and a large banner, with 3 choices for the sentiment.  And there are also 2 sizes of clouds.

supplies: white, 2 reds, pale blue, grey and silver cardstock, May Small Dies of the Month kit

The Stitching Die of the Month is called Stitched Balloon Card Front.

supplies:  confetti design paper, cardstocks in bright colors, 3 strands of embroidery floss to match, Stitched Balloon Card Front die, my own stamped sentiment

This is a simple stitching die this time, just 1 plate that does it all, so I used a printed confetti background as the background.  You just stitch the balloons and then add them to the design, following the markings on the die.

Here are 2 cards using the May Glimmer of the Month Kit: Silhouette Balloon Greetings.  There are glimmer plates for 3 different sentiments, and dies to partially cut each one out, and also dies to form a balloon.  This set is a natural for making shaker cards, so that's what I did first.

supplies: white and red cardstock, a piece of acetate, Silhouette Balloon Greetings Glimmer Kit and Rainbow Confetti Glimmer Foil, sequins

My 2nd card shows that you don't have to make a shaker with these dies; I just added some colorful printed paper behind my foiled panel, and a bow instead.  Hopefully you can see the pretty foil better on this one.

supplies: white cardstock, rainbow dotty dp, Silhouette Balloon Greetings Glimmer Kit and Rainbow Confetti glimmer foil, aqua ribbon

There's also an add-on set this month that has 2 more sentiments and dies to match, called Balloon Greetings Sentiments.

Finally, here are my cards using the embossing folders of the month.

First is the 3D folder: Balloons and Banners.  I mixed it with elements from the Large Dies of the Month club.

supplies: white, 2 shades of aqua, and bright colors of cardstock, 3D Embossing Folder: Balloons & Banners, sentiment, banner, and balloon die from Large Dies of the Month: Balloons and Birthday Wishes, white pigment ink, adhesive foam squares

After embossing on a pale aqua cardstock panel, I applied white pigment ink direct to paper.  Next I cut balloons from colored cardstocks and glued 5 of them into place, then ran the panel again through the embossing folder.  The balloon dies are a perfect match to the embossed ones!  To finish I made a 2-tiered banner and popped it above the embossing.

And my last card features the regular embossing folder called Candles for Every Birthday.

supplies: hot pink and white cardstock, May Embossing Folder of the Month, daubers and bright inks to color, banner from Flyby Greetings and flowers from Balloons and Birthday Wishes

After embossing the candles onto white cardstock, I used some spongy baton blenders to color them with bright inks.  Then I added my sentiment from this month's small dies of the month and the flowers from this month's large dies of the month, leftover from my first card.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each of my cards, you can see the details of each kit.  There are many ways to combine these products, and you can cancel a subscription at any time without penalty.

Daffodil Frame

 Simon Hurley is launching a new collection called Photosynthesis!  I was pleased to get to play with this Daffodil Frame,.  It is the PERFECT size for a mini slimline, but, as you'll see below, it works nicely for A2 cards also.

supplies: Cream, Cotton Candy, Surf Blue, and a pale green cardstock, Daffodil Frame dies, sentiment from Pocketful of Spring Stitching die set

supplies: Surf Blue, Green Leaf, Banana Yellow, and a gold cardstock, Daffodil Frame dies, sentiment from Punch & Pierce Frame & Sentiments (April Large Die of the Month club), my own stamped "sunshine"

I love the size of this set - it measures 5" long by 2" wide.  Daffodils come in so many varieties nowadays, and this set allows us to change up the colors endlessly!  

It's Friday and the sun is shining - have a good one!

More Blues for Spring

Something I really enjoy about this time of year is being able to open our windows and enjoy all the sounds and smells from outside.  Judging by the birdsong I hear, they are just as excited to have Spring back as we are!  So today I pulled a bunch of some of my favorite things and mixed them up for my card.

supplies: white cardstock, Tim Holtz Grey Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock, Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath and bird from Magic Iris Birdhouse dies, My Favorite Things Home Tweet Home Birdhouse die, Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend True Blue and Light Green markers, The Crafts Meow (retired) Happy as a Lark sentiment, Winnie & Walter  (retired) Noelle Scalloped Rectangle die, adhesive foam mini squares

All of these elements have stitching in them, so I went looking for a cover plate die that had stitching also.  I had a few things to choose from, but I liked the scallops on this old Winnie & Walter one.

As always, thanks so much for coming by - have a beautiful day!

Pink Dogwood on Plaid

Happy May!!

Playing still with some plaid backgrounds that I made earlier this spring.  I paired this one with a branch of pink dogwood.

supplies: white, kraft, Cotton Candy, Banana, and Green Apple cardstock, vellum, (retired) Tammy Tutterow plaid stencil, (retired) Winnie and Walter Scenery Stripes and Kitchen Sink Gingham and Plaid stamps, spun sugar, squeezed lemonade and vintage photo distress inks, Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers Dogwood dies, Spellbinders scallop oval die, sentiment from Newton's Nook Little Lilies, microdot adhesive

I cut 2 layers of the scallop oval from vellum to serve as my base for the dogwood branch, and to dull the background there a bit.  Microdot adhesive held everything together.  

Thanks for stopping by today!