My November Favorites

 Here are my favorite cards made in November.

Thanks for stopping by!

Woodblock Wednesday November

Time for another Woodblock Wednesday!  This month I chose a PSX stamp with no name, from the year 2000.

supplies: cream and kraft cardstock, wood plank design paper, PSX #K-3096 woodblock, Taylored Expressions sentiment from Handlettered Thanksgiving, adhesive foam to pop up wreath

 I look forward to finding a woodblock stamp each month!

Hope, Wonder, and Joy

I wanted to do another design with my little house sets that was much more clean and simple, so when I saw Rachel's card (2nd one) that I had pinned last year, I decided to CASE it.

supplies: white, red, green, and black cardstock, trees and lamp post from Gina K. Designs Winter Wonderland dies, stitched slope from PTI's Bring Home the Holidays, bird from Hero Arts Neighborhood Houses, sentiment from Simon's Inside Holiday Greetings, stamped bow from Simon's (retired) Big Holiday Wishes, Seaside ink and a blending brush, white acrylic paint for snow splatters

I wanted little touches of red, and achieved that end with the red birds and the bow.  It was fun looking through my old supplies for just the right sentiment!  Thank you, Rachel, for the inspiration!

I love the effect of splattering, but I don't always get the best results - I just used diluted paint and a fairly fine paintbrush for this.  Does anyone have any hints for me so that I don't get those big splats, but instead nice little splatters?  

Rose Bunch Miss You

 Just playing today.  This reminds me of an old-fashioned hand-painted pin in times long gone.

supplies: white, peachy pink and green cardstock, Birch Press Design Rose Bunch Contour Layers dies, leaves from Altenew Rose Flurries, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments foiling plate, gold foil, matching die, Spellbinders (retired) Hemstitch Oval die

The floral die is just 3 pieces and 3 colors of the same shade.  Some of the pieces can be a little fiddly, but if you take your time, it's a lovely result!

Thanks for your visit today - have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

 Here's a simple card for Thanksgiving, to wish all of my American friends a safe and blessed holiday.

supplies: kraft and Color Blend cardstock, Gina K Designs Tapestry embossing folder, sentiment from a (retired) Fun Stampers Journey/Spellbinders Thankful Friends cling set, (retired) Impression Obsession Leaves die, nested rectangle dies

Enjoy your turkey!!

Wreath on a Window

 I had lots of fun putting together today's card!  

supplies: white, kraft, red, green, and bright yellow cardstock, snowy dp from Whimsy Stamps Blurry Flurries pad, Tim Holtz Window Frames Baseboard pack, pine wreath from a September 2016 My Monthly Hero kit, church and lampost from Gina K. Designs Winter Wonderland set, bow, snowflakes, and twigs from Spellbinders Build a Wreath Beautiful Wreaths, Garden Wreaths, and Christmas Wreaths, sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Christmas 2023 sticker book

Here's one more picture, just because I'm so tickled with how this came out - just about how I'd envisioned!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Merry & Bright

 I watched Jennifer McGuire's video HERE earlier this week - I don't think I've ever combined a stenciled design with an embossing folder, so  here is my first attempt.

supplies: white, black, orange peel, lipstick red and schoolhouse red cardstocks, Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly layering stencils, twisted citron, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, abandoned coral and festive berries distress inks, blending brushes, retired snowflake embossing folder, Spellbinders Tweet Cardinal dies, sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Christmas 2023 sticker book

I first did my stenciling - this set is made so that the first 2 of the 3 stencils is turned 180 degrees, switching colors, to complete the design.  Then I embossed the trimmed panel.  I didn't mean to, but the snowflakes are pressed INTO the paper as opposed to the usual, and it works fine that way, still visible, but a bit more subtle.  To finish I just constructed my cardinal and popped him above the panel, adding a sticker sentiment.  I really like how this turned out!  More and more, I'm preferring an embossed background.

Thanks for stopping by.  How are your holiday preparations going?  

Peace On Earth

 Playing once again with the other big word in Tim Holtz's Big Tidings die set, I remembered THIS card that I made in 2015, and decided to try and redo it using this die.  Here's the result.

supplies: white and blue cardstock, Tim Holtz Big Tidings Noel die, Penny Black (retired) Peace and Joy doves from 2013, sentiment from Simon's Tiny Words Christmas set, broken china distress ink and a blending brush

I stamped the doves on a trimmed white card panel, then masked them and brushed some broken china distress ink around them to make them stand out.  Then I cut out the inner Noel word of the set.  I cut it out also from some blue cardstock to offset it, and twice more in white, then glued them all together and attached them back onto the card base. 

This is pretty understated, I kept wanting to add something glitzy, but in the end decided to leave it as is.

How are you coming on your cards for Christmas?  

Joy to the World

 I'm finishing up on making Christmas cards.  Here's a clean and simple one that is a fun mix of lots of supplies!

supplies: white and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, a scrap of red checked dp, Tim Holtz Big Tidings Joy dies, sentiment from The Greetery Opposites Attract Holiday stamps, leaves and berries from Taylored Expressions Wreathed in Joy stamps, stencils, and die, Honey Bee Pierced Fancy Flakes cover plate, adhesive foam to lift central motif

I wanted to see if the small wreath from Wreathed in Joy would work where the "O" is in Joy, and unfortunately it won't.  But I had previously stamped and stencilled these leafy berry sprigs from that same wreath set, and thought I could try to use them to accessorize the word.  I think they play nicely together, and here is what resulted!  

This card would be fairly easy to make in multiples, also.  

Thanks for stopping by today.

Mini Slimline Thanksgiving Cards

 I really enjoy working with Taylored Expressions stencils!  Today's cards are made with their Triple Slim Falling for You set and matching Foil-It panels.

supplies: white and fuschia cardstock, Falling For You stencil set and matching Foil It panel, picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, cracked pistachio and vintage photo distress inks, Honey Bee Bitty Buzzwords sentiment dies, gold foil, laminator

supplies: white and orange cardstock, Falling For You stencil set and matching Foil It panel, fall colors of distress inks, sentiment from Impression Obsession (retired) Early Sunsets clear set, copper foil, laminator

For both cards, I started with the Foil It panel and foiled it in my laminator.  This gives a sparkle to the skeletons of the leaves.   Then I used the matching stencils to color in the details.  Each panel was matted on a colored cardstock and the sentiment was stamped or die-cut.  I always have fun deciding on which colors of inks will work with each other.  Almost anything usually works together - this time I loved the bright cracked pistachio mixed with the hot pink and orange on the first card!

If you enjoy stencilling I highly recommending giving Taylor's stencil sets a try - she has lots of them to pick from! 

Kaleidoscope Arch Collection

 I was pleased to receive a stamp set and a die set from the new Kaleidoscope Arch Collection, and I made 2 cards with them!

supplies: cream, 2 peaches, yellow, and sage green cardstock, Kaleidoscope Arch dies and Kaleidoscope Sentiments stamps, Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder

I used 2 of the arch dies, the flower and leaf dies, and one of the large sentiments from the stamp set, along with a stamped banner sentiment, arranged, and placed over my favorite floral embossed background.  I really like the way the large sentiments fit into the arches!  There's another one, too, that says "Thanks So Much", plus 2 other smaller supporting sentiments to fit on the banner. 

On the 2nd card, I used only the dies.

supplies: white, blues, aquas, purples, and green cardstock, Kaleidoscope Arch dies

As you can see, there's 1 stitching die included in this set, which can be added to the main arch, and there's also a die-cut sentiment: "From Me to You".  Since I did my first card in warm colors, this one got cool ones.

The collection also includes a new stencil and a press plate, so do be sure to check them out, also.

Let's enter both these cards into Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Thinking of You!

Thanks for visiting today - hope your day is a crafty one!

Spellbinders November Club Kits: 3D Embossing Folder, Stitching Dies, and Clear Stamps and Dies

 The November Club Kits are now available!

Today I have 2 cards.  The first shows you the 3D Embossing Folder: Criss-Cross Motif, with a sentiment from the clear stamps of the month, Sending Sentiments.

supplies: 2 shades of orange, gold, green, and brown card, Criss-Cross Motif embossing folder, gold-embossed sentiment from Sending Sentiments, (retired) Daisy and leaf dies

The Stitching dies this month are called Grand Stitched Blossoms - well named!

supplies: royal blue, yellows, orange, and green cardstock, Grand Stitched Blossoms, 3 or 4 strands of matching embroidery floss, sentiment from Sending Sentiments, Splish Splash embossing folder

I was thoroughly taken with the colors in Annie's card HERE last month and wanted to try them myself.  I've got to get some more of that royal blue - I love it with these warm colors!

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 November Club Kits: Large and Small Dies, Embossing Folder, Clear Stamps and Dies, and Glimmer Plates

 The November Club Kits are now available!  

I combined several clubs for my cards today.  First up is the Large Dies of the Month: Towering Blooms.  The sentiment is one of the set from this month's Glimmer Kit, All You Need Sentiments.

supplies: white, bright yellow, green, and black cardstock, Towering Blooms dies, All You Need Sentiments foiling plate and die, black glimmer foil

This is such a unique design that I followed the example that was shown. There are 3 large words included that can be die-cut, but instead I used a foiled sentiment from this month's Glimmer Kit, which is a large selection of sentiments and a multi-banner die to cut them out separately.  I used black foil for this sentiment.

The Small Dies of the Month are called Build a Card Hello, and I combined them with the embossing folder of the month, Meandering Floral. On these, I did not follow the sample given, as there are enough dies in this set to make multiple designs. The floral motifs in this set worked nicely for paper-piecing, which I enjoy doing.  

supplies: white, greens, pink, and blue cardstock, Build a Card floral spray and sentiment dies, another of the foiled All You Need Sentiments, pink glimmer foil,  Meandering Floral embossing folder 

I cut the large motif from white card, then glued it onto a panel of pale green.  Then I cut the flowers and larger leaves from pink and green card and inlaid them back into the design.  There is a separate die to cut the tiny blue flowers.  I thought this design was close to the embossing folder design, so I paired them together for this card, and added another of the foiled sentiments, in pink this time, along with the Hello included in the Small Dies kit.

My last card uses the Meandering Floral embossing folder, and a sentiment made from the stamp and dies of the month club, called Sending Sentiments.  I like the font on these this month!

supplies: white cardstock, vellum, Meandering Floral embossing folder, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, spiced marmalade, and mustard seed distress inks, blending brush, white pigment ink, Sending Sentiments clear stamp and die of the month, clear ink and white embossing powder

I ink-blended some distress inks, then embossed that panel, highlighted with white pigment ink, then just added my sentiment stamped on vellum.

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.

Leftovers

Last year I made these 2 card fronts but never finished them into a card.  They were waiting for me in my fall bin of supplies this year.  So I found some sentiments for them and put them onto a card base.  Both started with Taylored Expressions "foil it" panels.

supplies: white, fuschia, and peacock cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fall Foilage Foil It panel,  Fall Foliage layering stencils, fuschia, lagoon, and fresh lemon altenew inks, Foil It (retired) Hand Lettered sentiments, (but you can get the same sentiments in a cling set HERE),  summer rainbow foil, laminator, circle and scallop circle dies

I used the same rainbow foil to foil the leafy panel and also the sentiment, and then chose my inks from those colors plus lagoon.

supplies: white and Orange Peel cardstock, Taylored Expressions Falling for You Triple Slim layering stencils and a matching Falling for You Foil It panel, gold foil, laminator, various fall colors of inks, sentiment from (retired) The Craft's Meow Autumn Borders, Spellbinders (retired) Mini Slimline Envelope Card Creator die

After stencilling the foiled panel, I attached one of the stencils and ran them through my die-cut machine with a rubber pad and embossing plate to emboss some of the leaves. 

Thank you for stopping by today!

Harvest Blessings

 I have slowly been collecting little house dies and I currently have several sets of them, plus a Tim Holtz cover die. Amazingly, they are all sized so that they can be mixed and matched!  I've seen lots of winter scenes using them, but not many ones for fall, so here's my contribution to that category.  I was envisioning a New England village.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, Green Leaf, kraft, and 3 other green cardstocks, little houses from Gina K Winter Wonderland (church), Papertrey Ink Bring Home the Holidays (houses, pines, and hills), Hero Arts Neighborhood Houses (colored trees), and Tim Holtz Countryside cover plate (skeleton tree), markers to color trees, sentiment from Newton's Nook Autumn Newton

Next time I think I'll try to color the houses a bit more to show the details of them better.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope your day is a lovely one.

Mixing It Up!

 I realized that the Spellbinders Sealed floral and leafy sprigs would be a great match for Papertrey Ink's Tuck It stamps and dies, so last month when there was a great sale at Spellbinders, I scooped up a couple of the older Sealed sets and had a play.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and Green Apple cardstock, Spellbinders Sealed Blooms dies and Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, PTI Tuck It die and dotted scallop stamp, Clearly Besotted sentiment from Sweet Little Sentiments

I think it's so charming that you can "tuck" flowers into a sentiment that is partially die-cut; kind of like making your own little nosegay for someone!  I've used this set before - see HERE and HERE for some more ideas.  I like that these new Sealed products are etched with details, and I'll be watching for more sets that can be mixed and matched with the ones I already have, so that a bigger bouquet can be built.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day!