BetterPress!!

I had been holding out investing in the BetterPress system from Spellbinders, but it is included in the current Spring Cleaning sale ending tonight at midnight, and that tipped me over!  So today I'm sharing my first attempt using this system.

supplies: pebble cotton cardstock, floral Press plate, black BetterPress ink, all included in Better Press starter kit, sentiment from Sentiments of Wonder, Zig markers, pale green cardstock as a mat

Yes, I had that "Ohhhhhh" moment when the pressed image was revealed, just like everyone else has!  I chose the darkest pebble (pale grey) cotton cardstock included in the kit, and was so pleasantly surprised with my results!  No smudges and  a lovely crisp indention of the image, even that teensy sentiment!  And it couldn't be any simpler to achieve!!  

As I'm not good at coloring, I decided to use my Zig markers to just follow along the details of the design and add a bit of color.  They are water-based, which is what is recommended with the system.

For those of you who may wonder as I did, will this system work with our own cardstock and favorite inks?  So after I made my first printing above, I used my usual Hammermill white cardstock, Premium Color Copy Color, 100#, first with the included black ink, and then with my own VersaMark Onyx Black ink, which is my go-to black ink.  Both gave a perfect print, but there was no impression made on either attempt. In essence, the plate acted like a stamp.  That's just my experience so far, and you can make your own decision on whether you will want to use the plates   I think the amazing details that the plates can make are a plus, and don't forget that you can also use them with glimmer foil in your hot foil machine with just as crisp an image (see my results with that HERE).

Hope this will be of some help to you if you're also considering the BetterPress system.  If you'd like a little help with the price, it's on sale tonight until midnight Eastern, along with some of the BetterPress plates, inks, and cotton card.

Woodblock Wednesday: Dots & Flowers

 Here's my card for this month's Woodblock Wednesday over at Amy's blog!  I chose a background stamp dated 2009 from Hero Arts called Dots & Flowers.

supplies: white cardstock, a woodgrain dp, Hero Arts S5213 Dots and Flowers woodblock, embossed in white, Memory Box (retired) Daisy Silhouette dies, natural twine, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiment stamp and matching die, Fluttering Butterflies washi tape and matching die

 

I'm so glad Amy is keeping her Woodblock Wednesday challenge going again this year - otherwise I'd probably just be admiring these treasures from afar!  Thanks, Amy!

Folkart Flower Turnabout Cards

 Here's the latest Turnabout design from Concord and 9th - I can't seem to resist any of them!  I made 2 cards with it today.

For my first card, I stamped the design, then die-cut the word happy from it, added the script sentiment, and popped the panel above a solid A2 coral panel.

supplies: white, black, and coral/orange cardstock, Folkart Flower Turnabout stamps, abandoned coral, ripe persimmon, mustard seed, and mowed lawn oxide inks, (retired) MFT Happy die, Spellbinders Smooth Lines Mix and Match sentiment die, adhesive foam

I switched to cool colors for my 2nd design, and stamped a sentiment on a trimmed down panel.

supplies: white, green apple, and audrey blue cardstock, Folkart Flower Turnabout stamps, twisted citron, salvaged patina, mowed lawn, and peacock feathers oxide inks, sentiment from Harvest Wreath turnabout stamps

I love the colorful panels that you can create with these sets, and it's fun to find colors that work together.  Today I used all oxide ink colors.

Thanks for your visit today - hope you're having a great Sunday!

Birthday Wishes

 You can never have too many birthday cards, so I pulled out some older dies and made a feminine pastel one.  The flowers and leaves were all cut from paint chips!

supplies: white and baby blue cardstock, paint chips in pinks, greens, and yellows, Altenew Garden Picks and Rose Flurries dies, PTI Scallops Mix & Mat dies, Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate and die set, rose gold glimmer foil

After constructing my flowers and leaves, I arranged them and glued them to the pretty lacey panel, then lifted the whole thing above my pale blue card base.  I used rose-gold glimmer foil for my sentiment.

I really enjoyed putting this together; thanks for visiting me today!

Blackout Embossing Technique

 I have been wanting to try the Blackout Embossing technique where you emboss a design with your folder, turn it around so that the design is debossed, color in the details, then swipe a black ink pad over the whole thing.  It's a scary scenario, but the results I've seen have been pretty amazing.

I chose a 3D folder called Floral Harmony.  Here are my results.

supplies: white cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Floral Harmony 3D embossing folder, alcohol markers, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, Spellbinders Heartfelt Scallops die, and Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate and die, black glimmer foil

It's a WOW moment when you swipe your colored image with a black ink pad!  I didn't get perfect coverage in some places - perhaps my ink is getting dry?  But it's certainly a wonderful tool for us to have to get more mileage out of our embossing folders!

If you're interested HERE is my use of this folder in the normal way.

If you've tried this, I'd love any hints you may have.  What black ink do you use?  

Thanks for your visit!

Lilacs From Me to You

I have loved lilacs forever - they bring back so many memories of growing up, probably enhanced by their magical scent.  Here's another play with my new goodies from The Greetery.

supplies: white and periwinkle cardstock, The Greetery Botanicuts Lilacs, distress inks in shaded lilac, wilted violet, blueprint sketch, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness, finger daubers, Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangle, Hemstitch Rectangle, and sentiment from Curved Everyday Sentiments Glimmer Plate and die set, champagne glimmer foil

This is a set that I know I'll use for as long as I make cards!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stampendous All the Sentiments Release

A few days ago Stampendous had a new release called All the Sentiments.  There are sentiment sets for sympathy cards, birthday cards, and 1 for all occasion.  Today I have 3 cards that use sentiments from 3 of these new stamp sets.

supplies: white, black, pale yellow, and pale green cardstock, All the Sentiments stamps and die set, Criss-Cross Motif 3D embossing folder, white pigment ink, a daisy die, gold enamel dot

I particularly like the font on the script sentiments in this set, and that the accompanying/finishing sentiments are in block print - makes for a nice mix! 

It's a good idea to have a set of sympathy sentiments in our arsenal, as these cards are so hard to make to begin with.  Having an appropriate sentiment is a big help!  This particular set also includes this leafy sprig stamp, too. Here I colored it a bit like a forget-me-not, and tucked it behind the sentiment.

supplies: white and pale blue cardstock, new Stampendous Sincere Sentiments, Essential Arches dies

And lastly, I mixed some sentiments with some other Stampendous pre-printed images that I fussy-cut to add to my design.

supplies: white, black, and dark coral cardstock, new Birthday Messages stamps, Hope of Spring Background (coneflowers and butterfly), Postage-edge dies

You can never have enough sentiment stamps - I hope you'll give these new ones a 2nd look!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Spellbinders Glimmering Flowers Release

 Spellbinders is releasing a new collection called Glimmering Flowers!  I was excited to get a little suite of products from it: a glimmer plate and stencil bundle called Glimmering Peonies and a set of glimmer sentiments and a die to cut them out called Curved Everyday Sentiments.  Here's what I did with them.

supplies: white, doll pink, and gold foil cardstock, Glimmering Peonies plate and matching stencils, Cherry Blossom and Green Valley mini ink cubes, Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plates and matching banner dies, Champagne glimmer foil

Peonies are everyone's favorite flowers!  I used the 5 stencils to color mine in soft pinks and greens after foiling the image using Champagne glimmer foil - I love this subtle gold!  The sentiment set has 14 different sentiments for all occasions - I know it will become a staple!  I also like that you foil 7 sentiments at a time, then use the included die to cut them apart - so much easier than foiling them one at a time!  I used the die to cut out some extra banners from gold foiled cardstock, and used 2 of them to frame up my sentiment before popping it above the panel.

This collection also includes a similar suite featuring buttercups, if you're so inclined.  I hope you'll give this collection a look!

A Birthday Card

 I need a birthday card soon, and remembered this Simon stamp set from a card kit - I liked the sentiment stamp that could be colored in, so that's where I started.  Since this is for a man, I kept my colors on the cool side, and liked the idea of adding a leafy embossed background.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and green cardstock, Simon Let's Celebrate stamps, markers to color, Spellbinders Branching Out embossing folder, swiped with teal and green inks

Since "Happy Birthday" is the theme over at the Simon Wednesday Challenge, I'll be entering this card there.  It's their 15th birthday!

Thanks for stopping by - will you be watching for the eclipse today?  We're in a good area for watching, except that at this time of year, getting a clear day is not something I'd expect, so time will tell!

Spellbinders Club Kits for April

The Spellbinders Club Kits are available now through April 27.  The theme this month is stitching!

My first card uses both the Glimmer of the month: Sew Amazing and the Stitching dies of the month: Stitched Wall Hanging.  I was sent some Moondust glimmer foil, so that's what dictated my colors for this card.  

supplies: white, aquas, and green cardstock, Sew Amazing glimmer plates (background and sentiment), Moondust glimmer foil, Stitched Wall Hanging dies, 3 strands of embroidery floss in 2 aquas and a green

The glimmer plates this month include these 6 stitching panels, which I lined up vertically on white cardstock and foiled with Moondust glimmer foil.  I also foiled and reverse-foiled all 4 of the sentiments in that set, and cut them out with the included banner die.  Then I stitched flowers and leaves and cut out some leafy branches and buds from the Stitched Wall Hanging set, and arranged them around one of the reverse-foiled sentiments.

Next, here is a card that shows more of the elements in the Stitching kit.  I placed the finished image onto the new 3D embossing folder called One Stitch at a Time, and added a needle and thread from the Large Dies of the Month: Pins and Needles Jar.

supplies: kraft, peach, white, yellow, mint, and green cardstock, silver and gold foiled cardstock, peach embroidery floss, Stitched Wall Hanging dies, One Stitch at a Time 3D embossing folder, needle and floss from Pins and Needles Jar 

Here is a mix of the Large Dies, the Clear Stamp/Dies, and the regular embossing folder.

supplies: white, cotton candy, pastel green, yellow, silver, and gold foil cardstock, Pins and Needles Jar dies, Happy Stitching clear stamps and matching dies, and Faux Stitched Petal embossing folder

It was fun to put together these pretty scissors and make a couple bobbins of embroidery floss!  You can see the needle and thread I used in my previous card once again.  These are just a few of the Large Dies for this month - the kit includes a large jar with a pin cushion top and lots of things to fill the jar with: floss skein, buttons, a thimble, safety and straight pins.  This set would make a great shaped card!

My next card features the Small Dies of the Month: Faux-Stitched Sentiments and Floss, with return appearances of the 3D folder and the Clear Stamp of the Month.

white, black, coral, green, yellow, and gold foil cardstock, Faux-Stitched Sentiments and Floss dies, One Stitch at a Time 3D folder, and a sub-sentiment from Happy Stitching stamp set

These dies include 6 dies to make the embroidery floss skeins, plus 5 large word dies with stitching details.  I stamped the sub-sentiment before embossing my white panel.

And finally, here are the Stencils of the Month: a 5-piece set called Rainbow Floss Background.  I used my favorite current colors of ink to make them.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Rainbow Floss Background stencils, Caboodle Bonus Pins & Needles Sentiments dies

I used one of the Caboodle Bonus  dies for this month as my sentiment.  

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 each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, saving 60% AND get the free bonus dies by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!  

Yana's Floral Celebration - 3 ways!

 I really liked Yana's latest release, in particular her Floral Celebration bundle, a Press Plate and a set of stencils to color it.

I don't yet own a BetterPress system, so I thought I'd get this plate and use it with glimmer hot foils just to try it, and I was thrilled with the results!  Here are 3 samples using it with its matching stencils, each with a different color of glimmer foil.

supplies: white cardstock, champagne gold metallic kraft, Floral Celebration plate, Champagne glimmer foil, Floral Celebration stencils, inks in pinks, yellow, orange, and greens, Thanks Enclosed sentiment die

After foiling and coloring the panel, I sliced it about 2/3 of the way down, then lined the bottom and top of the resulting panels in a metallic champagne strip and adhered them to my card base to frame the sentiment die, cut from the same champagne metallic.

Next I foiled my panel using Cobalt Blue glimmer foil and colored it in cool colors, then just added a die-cut sentiment.

supplies: white cardstock, royal blue metallic cardstock, vellum, Floral Celebration bundle, Cobalt Blue glimmer foil, inks in blue, purple, and teals, Simon Happy Wishes dies

And finally, some soft pastel colors with Black glimmer foil, which is matte, and adding some interest with flower dies.

white, black, melon, Cotton Candy, Banana, and 2 green cardstocks, Floral Celebration bundle, Black glimmer foil, Four Scoops mini ink cubes, Club Blooms dies, (retired) sentiment from Simon's Happy Every Day 

After foiling and coloring this panel, I sliced it into 4 pieces and placed them onto a banana backing, then added some flowers and leaves to reflect the ink colors I used, and my sentiment.  This one may be my favorite.

I used Hammermill premium color copy cover white for all my starting points, and each of these foils came out perfectly, no overfoiling, no underfoiling!  I take that as my okay to try more of these beautifully detailed press plates!

Lilacs in a Jar

 One of the new dies released at the Greetery recently were the Botanicuts Lilacs, and because we were travelling back from Florida at the time, I wasn't able to get these until later in March, but they were SO worth the wait! 

Here's my first card using these dies, mixed with some older goodies from The Greetery.  I made a mini slim-line card.

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, white flocked cardstock, Honey Bee Giddy for Gingham dp, (retired) Spellbinders mini slimline scallop rectangle die, The Greetery Just Mason Around, Botanicuts Lilacs and Pussy Willows dies, shaded lilac, picked raspberry, seedless preserves, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness distress inks, finger daubers, pale grey marker to shade pussy willows, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail sentiment

I colored and constructed the lilacs and pussy willows, then pulled out my Mason Jar stamp set, to find this already completed and cut-our jar!  I love how this turned out, and it was fun to make a mini slimline card again!  If this doesn't scream spring, I don't know what does!

Both of these Botanicuts sets are easy to put together - cut first, then leave the dies in their backing and color them with a variety of inks.  If you're a lilac girl like me, you HAVE to have them!

Thanks for coming by - enjoy your day!

Happy Easter!

 I recently "discovered" this lovely cling stamp from Penny Black in my supplies, and decided to give it some love!

supplies: white and pink cardstock, (retired) Penny Black Easter Basket cling stamp from 2011, (retired) Hero Arts sentiment from Celebrate Everyday, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle stackable die

I know the main elements of this card are retired, but it is just too pretty of an image to ignore!  

I'm entering this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes.

Hope you have a blessed Easter!

Some Garden Path Cards

 Concord and 9th recently brought out a stencil pack with stamped sentiments to coordinate, called Garden Path.  I had a fun time playing with them, and have 3 cards to share today!

The unusual thing about the stencils is that there's one that inks in a background.  For this first card I used twisted citron for that.

supplies: white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (twisted citron, saltwater taffy, worn lipstick, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, mowed lawn, black soot), blender brushes, Garden Path stamp set, pale pink sequins 

Next I wanted to go a little more monochromatic, and so used blues with a bit of yellow and left the largest flowers uncolored except for their centers.

supplies: white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (tumbled glass, broken china, squeezed lemonade, evergreen bough), blending brushes, Garden Path stamp set 

And lastly, I used the background stencil to emboss the design from the back, then colored in the rest of it using the rest of the stencils, varying my colors.  Here you can see another of the 4 sentiments from the stamp set, and I added some enamel dots to the centers of the flowers.

white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (saltwater taffy, worn lipstick, scattered straw, broken china), Altenew inks (lime and fresh leaf), Simon Pawsitively Saturated inks (cantelope and sherbet), blender brushes, Garden Path stamp set, various enamel dots

I used the background stencil to emboss all of my cards and give a bit more definition.  If you do this, be sure to emboss BEFORE adding your sentiment, or you may get some black ink where you didn't intend it!  

These stencil sets are perfect for those of us who aren't into coloring - hope you'll give these a look.

I'll be entering these into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge for this week: Anything Goes.

Thanks for visiting today!

Woodblock Wednesday

 Time for Woodblock Wednesday!  The particular one I chose for this month has only been used once before - bad on me!  

supplies: white cardstock, cloudy sky dp from MFT Happy Patterns 6" paper pad, Memory Box Hope Collage woodblock, Spellbinders Sweet Birds on a Branch die, light magenta marker

Memory Box had a whole series of these collage woodblocks.  I got this one sometime in 2013.  This time I stamped it on a cloudy patterned paper, then colored in the flowers and added a bird.

Be sure to visit Amy's blog to see all the other entries for this monthly challenge - it's always a fun walk down memory lane!

It's Anything Goes week over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, so I'll be entering this card there.

Thinking of You

 March is the month of daffodils, and I try to feature them during the month every year.  Here's this year's version!

supplies: white, green, yellow, and pale orange cardstock, The Greetery Sprinkled with Kindness layering stamps and die, Spellbinders Rainboot Bouquet daffodil dies, Sunny Studio Eyelet and Lattice Frilly Frames dies, (retired) Tammy Tutterow Sweet Petite Sentiments, adhesive foam

So pleased to see that these daffodils fit into the watering can perfectly! 

Adding this to the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Spring/Easter.

Thanks for visiting! 

Spring Blessings

 Still on a bird/spring kick here.  I put together some Spellbinders goodies for today's design, and used the same embossing folder from Simon from my last post.

supplies: white and surf blue cardstock, Spellbinders Sealed Birds dies , Lily Arch sentiment and matching die, Essential Arches die, Simon Blossom Field embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

This Sealed Birds die is so dainty and easy to color in with markers.  The birds are cut separately to add to the branch.  I used adhesive foam to lift the embossed panel and the leafy branch above the blue background.  The diminutive sentiment works perfectly with the scale of the branches!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Is it spring yet where you live?

Adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Easter/Spring.  And, thanks to Lisa, I'm linking it also to the Just Us Girl's Challenge: Birds., which is collaborating with the Time Out Challenge!

Spring Robin

 Our weather has taken a decided turn to the chilly side lately, which makes me yearn for spring all the more!  So here's a card to help us be patient until it gets here.

supplies: white, bright pink, yellow, brown, and rust cardstock, Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly stencils, twisted citron, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness distress inks, 2 Pink Fresh Studio Fairy Dust pink inks, blending brushes, Simon Blossom Field embossing folder, Layered Birdie die, sentiment from Spellbinders Pocket Full of Spring Stitching dies, adhesive foam to pop up robin

This layering wreath stencil set was actually brought out in the winter, but I think that making the berries pink gives it a more spring-like feel.  And I put a robin on it because to me, it's a sign of spring.

Sorry I haven't been around lately, still getting back to normal again.  I'll try to do better!  

Just found that the Just Us Girls Challenge is "birds", and they are teaming up with Time Out Challenges, so I'll be entering this card in both of them!!

Inspired by Jennifer

 Hello!  Today once again I have a card that was inspired by one that Jen McGuire did back in January.  I've been loving all the cards lately that have bright colors against a black background, and she showed us how to do that using layering stencils, black cardstock, and acrylic markers.  

Here's my version!

supplies: black and island blue cardstock, Simon's Layered Flowers stencils (4 parts), Altenew Acrylic Markers, vol 1, Happy Wishes die

LOVE the way this turned out!  I need to be a little more careful when stencilling smaller areas, but the effect is fantastic in my eyes!  Now I'm hoping that Altenew will come out with more colors of acrylic markers, especially more pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges!  

We're back home from our snowbird excursion to Florida in January and February, to be met a few days after returning with a little bit of snow and frigid temperatures - but also the start of some daffodils!  I'm finding my way around my home computer again; amazing what I forgot in just 2 months!  But I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove now that I have all my supplies at hand again.  

Yana's Peony Celebration

Yana is releasing a new collection called Let's Celebrate!  I have a card that uses one of the die sets from that collection, called Peony Celebration.

supplies: white, cream, black, and a peachy-pink cardstock, Yana's Peony Celebration die, markers in green and coral, Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops dies

This set contains a detailed die and a shadow die.  My card uses only the detail one, cut from white and pink cardstock.  I colored the leaves on the white die-cut, then paper-pieced the pink details back into the overall design, adding a bit of detail with a darker coral marker, and following the incised lines in the die.  I placed it over a cream background so that the edges of the flower would show up better, then just added a simple die-cut sentiment.

Yana's collection includes a little bit of everything: 4 press plates, a layering stencil set, and a wax seal design!  She has such a way with flowers, you will love them all!

Thank you for coming by today - hope your day is going well!