My October Favorites

 This was a busy and prolific month, thanks to the generosity of Spellbinders, so it was a little harder to make my choices this time.  

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Halloween!

 Here are 3 cards for Halloween that are made of almost all long-retired goodies.  I started with this black cat silhouette from die a 2018 Spellbinders club kit.

supplies: black, Green Apple, Orange Peel, Doll Pink, and Royal Purple cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Color Block Diagonal Stripes cover plate die, Spellbinders Trick or Treats die set (Large Die of the Month from September 2018), a scalloped square die, Hero Arts Happy Halloween sentiment, Cuttlebug embossing folder

I haven't done this strip-piecing technique for a long time, and rarely using solid papers.  Having the stripe cover plate saved me lots of time this time around - I used to just slice my papers in random sizes and widths.  I had seen a Halloween card using oranges and bright pinks, so I started with those colors and then added the traditional orange and lime green to the mix. I thought adding the swirly embossing made it a little creepier, but not scary.

This was fun, and I ALWAYS like it when I can use old supplies!  I'm not a big Halloween fan, but once I make one Halloween card, I always have to make 2 more so that none of our Grands feel slighted.  They are getting a bit old for my kind of Halloween cards, so this may be the last ones they'll receive going forward.

So, here are 2 more for this set, using the same strips, just changing up the main motif, and doing a little paper-piecing within each one.  There are sentiments built in for these, so I didn't need to add any more.

supplies: black,  Green Apple, Orange Peel, Sunshine, and Royal Purple cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Color Block Diagonal Stripes cover plate die, Spellbinders Trick or Treats die set (Large Die of the Month from September 2018), a scalloped square die

I kept these strips all going the same way for my final one.

supplies: white, Green Apple, Doll Pink, and Royal Purple cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Color Block Diagonal Stripes cover plate die, Spellbinders Trick or Treats die set (Large Die of the Month from September 2018), a scalloped square die

Thank you for stopping by!

Sending Warm Wishes

 Here's another set from The Greetery that can be used all year long, but I made it into an autumn card today.

supplies: pool and white cardstock, plaid dp from Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid Fall, woodgrain plank dp from SN@P Wood and Notebook Basics, The Greetery Cozy Cup layering stamps and matching dies, Cozy Cup Coaster, stamped flower from The Greetery Banner & Bough, Altenew mini inks

After choosing my pattern for my coaster, I chose colors that matched it for my stamping.  The sentiment reads "sending warm wishes".

This is the perfect season for enjoying a cup of coffee or cocoa or tea with a friend, isn't it?  

Woodblock Wednesday for October

This month I used 2 Hero Arts woodblock stamps from 2009: Traditional Pumpkin and Tall Pumpkin.

supplies: black dot and halloween stripe dps, white cardstock, Doodlebug orange tiny prints, Hero Arts Tall Pumpkin and Traditional Pumpkin, faces from Clearly Besotted Boo to You and Pink and Main Hey Pumpkin, bat and Boo from Spellbinders Hey Boo die set, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die 

Hope you'll join us this month!

I'll be adding this card to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes.

More October Birthdays

Here's some more birthday cards for this month.

First, I used the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit from September once again, this time working on kraft as my background and bringing in a magenta/color in place of the red I used last time.

supplies: kraft cardstock, Simon pink/apricot Color Blend Pastel cardstock, Hero Arts September Card Kit: window wreath die and stencil set, Simon Joys of Spring sentiment, Gelli Roll white pen

Next is a much simpler design, letting design paper and a large die do all the work.

supplies: kraft and cream parchment cardstock, Paper Rose Autumn Plaid design paper, My Favorite Things Big Birthday Wishes die

I trimmed the plaid paper and cut out the large die, then mounted it onto a cream cardstock matted with kraft.  Since this is for a guy, I decided to keep it simple and just finished by paper-piecing the letter details back in. 

Hope you're off to a great week - thanks for visiting!

October Birthday cards

 Here are some birthday cards for October.

supplies: kraft cardstock, plank dp from Hobby Lobby, DecoFoil Endless Leaves clear toner sheet, orange foil, laminator, Simon stamped sentiment from Best Year Yet

I cut this aqua plank design paper into 4 A2 pieces with the planks running horizontally, foiled the leaves toner sheet, and glued it directly on top.  Then I used another trimmed piece to stamp my sentiment, and then paper-pieced it into place over the foiled piece. 

Here's another card that is a CASE of this one, but done in Candy Corn colors for fall.

supplies: white and orange cardstock, Hero Arts (retired) Leaf & Floral Background cling, Altenew Chamomile and Marigold inks, sentiment from (retired) Essential Messages, Winnie & Walter (retired) In a Word Happy die, cut 3 times and colored with markers to match inks

I'll have the a couple more cards for birthdays up in a few days.  Hope you'll stop by then.

Festive Flowers from STAMPtember

 Here are 2 cards that I made with my new Simon Says Stamp/Concord & 9th collaboration stamp called Festive Flower released during STAMPtember.  It sold out, of course!

First I stamped it in traditional Christmas colors and put it against a pine embossed background.

supplies: white and red cardstock, Festive Flower stamps and sentiment, 2 shades of red and 2 shades of green ink, Spellbinders In the Pines embossing folder, adhesive foam

Next I made it in pinks and teals and added some frosty snowflakes and a bit of glitter on the pines.

supplies: white cardstock, Festive Flower stamps and sentiment, 2 shades of pink and 2 shades of teal inks, a retired Simon Snowflake (Hand Lettered Winter Wishes) embossed in white, spun sugar distress ink, clear rock candy distress glitter, adhesive foam squares

I chose this set because of the large poinsettia stamp.  It can carry a card all by itself.  And I thought the other accompanying sprigs in the set were nice additions, along with the variety of sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tim Holtz Big Tidings

I loved all of Tim's new Christmas dies from Sizzix this year!  This set of Big Tidings is the first of them to come home with me, and I made a card with each of the big words, first in traditional colors and a woodsy theme.

supplies: cream, Lipstick Red, and green cardstock, woodgrain and buffalo plaid patterned papers, Big Tidings (word, shadow, and bow), Mini Holiday Greens (pine sprigs), and Funky Festive (berry sprigs) dies, sentiment sticker from Idea-ology Christmas 2023 sticker book

And the second is in frosty cool colors.

supplies: white, glitter white, 2 shades of aqua cardstock, Tim Holtz Big Tidings Noel and star dies, Plaid stencil, sentiment from his collaboration with Simon Says Stamp in 2013, pine needles distress ink, a retired snowflake folder

I really liked the effect that stencilling on the words has - got that idea from several of Tim's Makers when this set was first introduced last month.

So many wonderful possibilites with this new set of dies!  

Poinsettia Bells & Border

 Spellbinders has an exclusive Christmas collection just released. one of which is this Poinsettia Bells and Border 3D embossing folder and die set.  It's unique because the folder also includes a die so that you can cut out an edge of the design!  I made 2 cards with it, first using just the folder..

supplies: white and red metallic kraft cardstock, Poinsettia Bells and Border 3D embossing folder, Snowflake Wishes die and stamp set, red ink

Aren't the details beautiful?

Now here is the part of the folder that has a cutting die for the edge.

supplies: red and white cardstock, Poinsettia Bells Border and matching die, white pigment ink, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings sentiment dies

This section of the folder is slightly oversized from the rest of the design, and all it took was a couple gentle swipes of white pigment ink to make these details come forward.  

These designs will be great for mass-producing!

Thanks for visiting today!

Petite Blooms

 Today's card features an embossing folder and a set of floral dies from the new Merry and Bright Collection.

supplies: white, pinks, aqua, and pale green cardstock, Peppermint Stripes embossing folder, Petite Blooms and Sentiments dies, pink enamel dot

These dies are on the small side, so I decided to make a quilt-inspired design with them, and then simply placed it on an embossed striped background.  The stripes add interest without detracting from the overall design, and I like these pastels for a change.  This design could be used for lots of occasions.  There's also a cute little "For You" tag included in the set.

Thanks for stopping by today - have a good one!

Beautiful Wreaths Collection

 Spellbinders has just released a gorgeous new collection by Suzanne Hue that features wreaths!  I was so pleased to get several of the sets, and I have 2 cards for you today.

supplies: white and colored cardstocks, Spellbinders Build a Wreath and Christmas Wreath Add-Ons die sets, sentiment from Snowflake Wishes stamp and die set

The basic Build a Wreath set has various sizes of twigs and pines which I used to construct my wreath.  Then I used the Christmas Wreath set to add the darling snowman and some snowflakes.  

Next I made a floral wreath.

supplies: white, pinks, greens, and yellow cardstock, Garden Wreath Add-Ons set, sentiment from Happy Hello Floral clear set

The Garden Wreath Add-On set has lots of leafy branches and individual flowers and this bow.  

Each of the sets has a different bow, which is really going to come in handy when I make other wreaths!  

There are a total of 5 wreath sets in all, the others being a Halloween one, and a Birthday one!  If you're a wreath nut like me, you may want to have all of them, and Spellbinders has put them all together into a Bundle, and saved you some money if you buy them that way. Suzanne has thought of every possibility - I honestly can't think of another thing you'll need when you make your own wreaths!

Winter Critters, Festive Circle Crew, and Festive Ornaments

 Here are some more of Nichol Spohr's Christmas die sets from her Merry Mugs and Circle Delights Collection that was just released at Spellbinders this week!  I used them to make paper ornaments for my tree, but these would also work as tags, don't you think?  

Everything starts with a circle die that is included in the Festive Ornaments set - it measures 2 1/2" in diameter.  First, some cute woodland critters!

supplies: lots of creams, beiges, krafts, and browns, plus reds and greens cardstock, metallic cardstock (for ornament hangers), Whimsical Winter Critters (bear and fox), Festive Circle Crew (reindeer), and Festive Ornaments (base circle and ornament hangers) sets

Nichol has thought of everything!  There are different ears and muzzles for each creature, and even a little bell for the reindeer, plus hats and scarves.  And I haven't shown you the half of it - there are 2 different snowman, a man and lady gingerbread people, Santa, plus a raccoon, a bunny, and a penguin!  How fun it would be to use these to decorate a little table-top tree!  And of course, just one of these could be the star of a Christmas card - just leave off the ornament hanger, and build a little scene around him!

Next are the Festive Ornaments, and for these I used glitzy glitter cardstock to construct them.

supplies: silver, gold, white, bronze, red, blue, and green glitter cardstock, and metallic cardstock for the ornament hangers, Festive Ornaments dies

These would be equally gorgeous using metallic cardstock, too.  Again, I only did 3 ornaments from this set - there's also a Santa body (to go with his head from the Circle Crew set above) and one with little colored lights!

These all have PDF instructions to show you how to put everything together - I think it would be a great activity to share with your kids!

Thanks for stopping by today - hope I inspired you!

Merry Mugs

Nichol Spohr has just unveiled her new collection at Spellbinders that she calls the Merry Mug and Circle Delights Collection!  I was so pleased to get most of these dies, and I'll try to share what I made with them over the next few days.   

Today I have a fun card that uses her Merry Mug dies.  This set consists of a mug to piece, plus various supporting dies to embellish the cup AND things like whipped cream, peppermint sticks, marshmallows!  The cups are so easy to put together that I couldn't stop at just one, and made a stack of them.

supplies: white, reds, greens, and aquas cardstock,  Merry Mugs dies (poinsettia and leaves are not from this set), sentiment from last year's Spellbinders Christmas Card kit

You could go on and on with these if you put them onto a slimline card!  

I hope to see you again tomorrow - thanks for stopping by!

Serenade of Autumn

 There's a new collection at Spellbinders released earlier this week called Serenade of Autumn.  It's a large collection, containing 18 different items, from papers to dies and everything in between.  I was lucky to get to play with a stencil and a set of sentiment dies from it!  Here's my card.

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Layered Sunflower stencil, Serenade Sentiments, (retired) Postage Edge Rectangle dies

There are 6 layers to this die, all of which are on an 8 1/2 X 11 stencil which has marks to help you line up the layers.  The sentiment set has 9 word dies, among which are this thankful and also grateful, with shadow dies for each.  The words are large enough to make a statement without overpowering the main motif.

I hope you'll give this collection a look - I know you'll find something there that you'll like!

Snow Glad

 Did you know that you can now get Stampendous goodies at Spellbinders?  The latest release from them is called Cool Fransformers - these clear stamps are made so that they can be stretched and reshaped into lots of different variations!  I chose the Snowy Friends set - here's my card.

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Snowy Friends clear stamps, markers to color, tumbled glass distress ink, glue pen and Clear Rock Candy distress glitter

I love snowmen and these are pretty cute, don't you agree?  I have been on the search for a tall skinny one and this set did the trick!  I stretched the bottom of the largest snowman downwards, and while I was at it, I stretched the smaller snowman's body horizontally to make him shorter and fatter!  I also like that there are a fun variety of sentiments and smaller elements to allow us to build our own little scene!  Today I used the snowy house on a hill, a weed, and some snowflakes.  After stamping and coloring everything I used a glue pen to outline the shadows under the snowmen and along the hill and the snowflakes, and then tilted on some glitter to add some fun sparkle!

Here's a sketch of what the stamps look like when you get them:

Thanks so much for coming by today - I'll see you again very soon!

Autumn Blessings

I have such a lovely collection of stamps for the fall - here's a combination of goodies from The Greetery that haven't seen much love lately.  

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Just Mason Around,  Altenew Sea Shore ink cubes, Mason Jar Fillers stencils, Budding Beauties Autumn, Autumn Sketches, and Bittersweet Bouquet stamps, Altenew Golden Sunset, Warm & Cozy, and Coffee Break ink sets, also Just Green and Heart Beat ink cubes

I REALLY like the combination of the Sea Shore inks mixed with the yellows and oranges of the leaves and berry sprigs!  

Are you enjoying the season?

Spellbinders October Club Kits: Glimmer of the Month and Stitching Dies of the Month

 The Club Kits for October are now available!

Here are my cards made with the Glimmer Kit: Bouquet Full of Joy with Blush glimmer foil and the Stitching Kit: I'll Be Home for Christmas.

supplies: white and red cardstock, Bouquet Full of Joy Glimmer Kit for October, Blush glimmer foil, adhesive foam square

This month the Glimmer kit includes, besides, the main image, a big bow to glimmer, 3 sentiments in circles, and dies to match.  I put one of the sentiment circles into the center of the bow and lifted them above the bouquet.

The Stitching Dies of the Month are called I'll Be Home for Christmas.

supplies: metallic gold, cream, various pinks/reds, and green cardstock, I'll Be Home for Christmas Stitching Dies, metallic gold thread, pink gemstones

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 card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to the kits separately, but there are also lots of ways to combine several of them (scroll down and look under Value Clubs).  And you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty.  

Spellbinders October Club Kits: Small and Large Dies of the Month

 The October Club Kits are now available!  

Today I have cards that feature the Large and Small Die Cuts of the Month: Christmas Boutique and Big Jolly Santa.  This month there is a small add-on sentiment stamp set that works with the Small Dies.

Here is my Christmas Boutique project.  It measures 5 1/4" wide by 4" long, so it fits easily into an A2 envelope, but what I think I'm going to do with it is add a string hanger and use it as a Christmas tree ornament.

supplies: white, greys, pale blue, reds, greens, yellow, and metallic gold cardstock, Christmas Boutique Large Dies of the Month

The picket fence has score lines on the ends so that it can be tucked and lifted above the rest of the design for some fun dimension.

Here's the Small Die of the Month: Big Jolly Santa.   I used one of the add-on sentiment stamps for my sentiment.

supplies: white, red, dark grey, aqua, and kraft cardstock, white flock cardstock for this beard, mustache, and eyebrows, white glitter paper for the trim on his suit, Big Jolly Santa dies, Big Jolly Santa Sentiments add-on stamp set

The dies make incised lines so that it's easy to paper-piece Santa.  Even his mitten is cut so that the handle for the sign fits inside it. 

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 card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to the kits separately, but there are also lots of ways to combine several of them (scroll down and look under Value Clubs).  And you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty.

Spellbinders October Club Kits: Clear Stamps and Dies and Embossing Folders

 The Spellbinders Club Kits for October are now available!

The Clear Stamp of the Month is darling!  It's called Festive Penguins.  As always, there's a matching set of dies, too.

supplies: white and bright pink cardstock, Festive Penguins stamp of the month for October, markers to color, glue pen and prisma glitter

I love the idea of a pile of penguins, and colored them in some non-traditional colors.  Because there's so much black and white, I chose bright pink, lime, and turquoise, and added sparkle on their hats and the star.  I enjoyed working with this set!  It includes 2 more separate penguins, and a total of 3 different sentiments.  

Here are my cards using the 3D embossing folder: Flowering Christmas Tree Burst, and the Embossing Folder of the Month: Christmas Tile.

supplies: red and kraft cardstock, Flowering Christmas Tree Burst 3D embossing folder, festive berries distress ink, Make It Merry Sentiment die 

The sentiment reads "Tis the Season".

And for my last card, I combined another of the penguins with the Embossing Folder of the Month called Christmas Tile.

supplies: red and white cardstock, Christmas Tile folder, swiped with red ink, Festive Penguins stamp and matching die, tiny white pom-pom, circle and scalloped dies, puffy sentiment from this year's Make It Merry Christmas Card Kit

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 card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to the kits separately, but there are also lots of ways to combine several of them (scroll down and look under Value Clubs).  And you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty.  

Falling Leaves

I have a big bin where I keep all of my fall stuff: older stamps, old die-cuts, anything I've made and not used yet, and I love to pull it out at this time of year and mix and match with anything that may be newer since last year.  This next card uses a Foil It Fall Foliage panel that I got on sale at the end of last year, mixed with an ancient Impression Obsession clear sentiment stamped with a variegated ink pad.  

supplies: white, burnt orange, and orange cardstock, Foil It Fall Foliage panel, gold foil, laminator, Fall Foliage Background layering stencils, yellow, orange, and burnt orange inks, Impression Obsession (retired) Early Sunsets sentiment, Inkadinkado (retired) Harvest Rainbow ink, adhesive foam to lift sentiment panel

The foil it panels are meant to be used with the heat-activated foils like Deco Foil, and a laminator.

Here is a photo that I tilted to show you the foiling better.  The skeleton of each leaf picks up the foil and gives it such a fun subtle sparkle!

I love these background sets - so fun to try different colors!  I could do this all day!

Entering this card into Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Stencil Fun.  Thanks for your visit! 

Spring Meadow

 These stencils and dies were released back in the spring, but somehow I missed them until I saw THIS card from Donna, and knew I "needed" them for myself!

Here are my 2 cards, 1 in warm colors and the other in cools.

On the first I stencilled onto an A2 white panel, then trimmed it with a Lawn Fawn scallop rectangle, stamped a sentiment, and popped on some extra die-cut flowers (which are included in the matching die set).

supplies: white and tangerine cardstock, The Greetery Spring Meadow layering stencils and matching dies, Altenew Golden Sunset, 2 greens, and mocha inks, Spellbinders (retired) Hello Sunflower sentiment, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle die

And for the 2nd card, I stencilled, cut out the entire bouquet with the matching die, then glued it and my sentiment to a white card front. 

supplies: white cardstock The Greetery Spring Meadow stencils and matching die, Altenew aqualicious, hydrangea,, enchanted sky, lime, and fresh leaf inks, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamp and matching die

I like that Betsy added some extra flower dies to the die of the main image so that we could add some extra dimension.  And the stencil set has 3 different flower stencils so that you can have different colors or shades of a color - a nice option, also!

Entering these into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes.

Hope you're having a good week - thanks for stopping by!