CASE-ing LaVon

 I saw a card recently made by LaVon on Instagram, that checked all my boxes, and immediately pinned it.

Today I have a card that CASEs it.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, aqua, 2 green cardstock, Woodgrain cardstock, Spellbinders  Perfect Touch rectangle and Woodland Tales Fern dies, Tim Holtz Speckles stencil and Detailed Butterflies dies, tumbled glass distress ink, Hero Arts (retired) woodblock script stamp from Artistic Windows, Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiment, tiny heart sprinkles

I love cards like this where we can use all our creative supplies!  Thank you, LaVon, for the inspiration!

Inspired by a Kleenex Box?

 As I was changing out an empty box of tissues, I noticed the colors on the empty one and decided to snip out one of the sides to use for inspiration.  These are colors I certainly would never have come up with on my own!

The backing is a very dark green, and I liked the golds, oranges, and a bit of pale pink that were in the mix.  After thinking about what set of dies I could use, I settled on a favorite set from Spellbinders: Club Blooms; it has lots and lots of flowers and leaves.   Here's what I came up with.

supplies: 3 greens, orange, gold, red, and pale pink cardstock, Spellbinders Club Blooms, Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers sentiment, Hero Arts square die, adhesive foam squares

I hadn't planned at first to use the square sentiment, but I like it; it's another thing I don't usually do with my flower cards. 

Here are the inspiration and my card, side by side.

 

Thanks for stopping by today - hope your day is going well!

Thinking of You

 Recently Jennifer McGuire showed us how to hinge a simple stencil in order to have white elements against a colored inked background.  I couldn't wait to try this!

supplies: white cardstock, Gina K Designs Floral Stencil, tumbled glass and squeezed lemonade inks, Altenew Grass Field and Shadow Creek green inks, sentiment from Simon Says Stamp (retired) Joys of Spring

Basically, you hinge your stencil to a piece of white cardstock, then flip the stencil away and ink the back with a light color (tumbled glass for me).  Then flip the stencil back into place over the white card, and run it through your machine with an embossing mat and plate.  You can repeat this as needed to attain your background color.  This adds the color to the background, plus lightly embosses the design into your card.  Then you use your stencil as usual to add color to the details of the design, in this case the leaves and the centers of my flowers.  

What a great idea!  I inked my background twice and kind of like the woodgrain look I got.  A different kind of ink may have given me a more solid look, but I'm pleased with this first try.  These flowers look like gardenias to me, so I wanted to keep them white, and just color the leaves today.

Thanks for stopping by; have a good one!

A Simple Window Birthday card

 Here's a card that couldn't have been easier to make.

supplies: white cardstock, My Favorite Things Peek a Boo Window and Wonky Rectangle dies, Pink Fresh Studio washi tape, Hero Arts woodblock Happy Birthday Message, adhesive foam squares

Unfortunately, almost everything is retired, except maybe the washi butterfly.  The Hero Arts woodblock sentiment is one of a 2001 4-piece set, and it fits perfectly into this fun MFT window die.  After cutting it from an A2 white panel, I then trimmed it with the wonky rectangle die, then popped it above the stamped sentiment before adding the flowers and butterfly.  

Love this design, because it could be varied with whatever you have in your scrap basket!  

A Country Christmas

 Annie Williams has a new collection being released today; it's called Country Christmas.  Here's a card I made using the Country Snowman dies.  Annie gave her snowman a bit of a cowboy feel - how fun!

supplies: white, kraft, and colored cardstock, Country Snowman dies, sentiment from A Merry Little Christmas glimmer plate/die set, red glimmer foil, snowflake embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

Isn't the bunny cute?  Annie showed the bird feeder full of seeds, and I followed suit, using markers to simulate them.  There's also a broom for the snowman to hold, which I didn't use this time.

The rest of the Country Christmas Collection is just as cute, with dies for a rocking chair and teddy bear, horse-drawn wagon, a barn, a big star, an embossing folder, and a sentiment set.  

I thoroughly enjoyed putting together this little scene, especially during this hot spell we've been having!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Spellbinders Club Kits for July: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs

 The July Club Kits from Spellbinders are now available for new subscribers, through July 27!  The theme this month is all about winter: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs.

My first card today features the Large Dies, Mugs and Mittens, and the 3D embossing folder, Starry Snowfall.

supplies: red, white, green, and kraft cardstock, vellum, Mugs and Mittens dies, Starry Snowfall 3D embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

The dies are a 22-piece set, and include a tiny snowman and a Santa face that fits in the cocoa cup, too.  The "Warm Cocoa Wishes" sentiment that you see here is also included.  I especially like that we get 2 curvy dies to help us make the steam coming from the mug - I used vellum to make mine.  

I used the mittens and the large snowflake from the large die set along with the 4-piece stencils for this month called Warm & Woven for my next card.

supplies: white, pinks, and mint cardstock, silver glitter cardstock, Warm & Woven stencils, pink and mint inks, Mugs & Mittens dies, sentiment/die from Stay Snuggly, adhesive foam squares

There's also a 5th stencil included, which makes a knit pattern, to be used all on its own. 

And finally, here is the BetterPress kit called Festive Press, and the Caboodle die: Ginger Sip. 

supplies: white, kraft, and red cardstock, silver glitter cardstock, Festive Press BetterPress plate, red ink, Ginger Sip Caboodle dies, sentiment from Stay Snuggly, adhesive foam squares

I didn't use the mug elements this time to show you that all of these dies can stand alone without the handles.  And there are 2 sentiments included in the BetterPress Kit, but I liked this one from the Clear Stamps and Dies better for this particular card.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers 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, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!  

July Spellbinders Club Kits: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs!

The Spellbinders Club Kits for July are now available for new subscribers!  This month's theme is Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs.

The small dies of the month are called Cocoa Greetings, and consist of 18 dies to make some cute mugs.  To begin this month, I made up 3 mugs which you will see being used today and in the next few days with various backgrounds.  I thought I'd show you them all together first.

supplies: Cocoa Greetings dies

As you can see, their hats can double as whipped cream dollops!  There's also a snowflake die in this set.

My first card mixes the Stitching Kit, Frosted Stitch, with the little deer mug above, and the sentiment is from the Glimmer set.

supplies: white, cream, pale peachy pinks, tan, and black cardstock, Frosted Stitch, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, Cocoa Greetings dies, Arctic Glimmer sentiment, silver slimmer foil, adhesive pearls, adhesive foam squares

The deer mug was my favorite of the 3, so I chose these pale peachy-pinks and white for my stitched card to use as a background with it.  It is a really lovely design.  Here it is all alone before I added the mug.  I especially like the 6 dainty snowflakes in the center!  I made this into a shaped card by cutting an extra white shaped base, scoring it about an inch down from the top, then securing that to my stitched panel with strong 1/8" adhesive tape.

supplies: pale peach and white cardstock, Frosted Stitch dies, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, adhesive pearls to match

Next I mixed the Santa mug with the Glimmer kit, Arctic Glimmer, and a sentiment from the Stamps and Dies: Stay Snuggly.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Santa Mug, Arctic Glimmer glimmer plate and silver glimmer foil, sentiment from Stay Snuggly stamp/die, adhesive foam square

The Clear Stamps/Dies this month are sentiments to fit this month's theme, plus various snowflakes.  This sentiment is one of the larger ones.  Silver glimmer foil is included in this month's Glimmer kit, and enhances the snowflakes nicely. 

And finally, here is the Penguin mug, along with the Embossing Folder, Frosted Stitch, with another sentiment from the Glimmer kit.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Penguin Mug, Frosted Stitch embossing folder, sentiment from Arctic Glimmer 

I'll be back in a few days with the rest of my cards from this new release.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers 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, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!

Butterfly Hugs

Happy 4th of July to my stateside friends - hope your day is a fun one!

I've been wanting to revisit a postal collage set of stencils that I got earlier this year, and use it with the other postage collage goodies I already own.  Butterflies are certainly a July thing, so today is the day!

supplies: white and black cardstock, Waffle Flower Spring Breeze stencil set, Altenew and Pink Fresh Studio inks, Postage Collage stamps, Postage Collage and Postage Collage Blocks dies

The stencil set consists of 5 stencils, 2 for the butterflies, 2 for the flowers and leaves in the background, and a final one for small details: butterfly bodies and flower centers. But when you cut the large collage die from the finished panel, you lose alot of the floral and leaf details, so today I decided to use everything and paper-piece it back together.  First I cut the postage-edge panel from the stencilled panel and also from a plain white panel.  Next from the first cut I used the Postage Collage Blocks die to cut out the 6 individual panels, then pieced them into the plain white postage-edge panel.  Next I stamped on the black details to make these look more like postage stamps.  Then I very closely framed that with a black panel, and finally popped it above the background that I had saved. 

This postage collage idea from Waffle Flower is a fun one, and I'm so glad they continue to add to it! 

July Hero Studio - Road Trip!

 The Hero Arts Studio goodies for July have been released, and I have 3 cards to share with you today.  The collection is called Road Trip.

The Card Kit this month includes a stamp set with layering landscape images and sentiments, and dies to match, plus 2 separate die sets that follow the Road Trip theme.  One makes the car dashboard and mirror, and the other adds details like the arms and legs, shoes, and coffee cup, plus more that I didn't use (fuzzy dice, sunglasses, and a pine-scent to hang).

supplies: white cardstock for stamping, blue, greens, and grey inks, various colored cardstock for dies, Road Trip Studio Card Kit, adhesive foam squares

The Studio Stencils are 4 pieces, 3 for the lettering.  I chose a colorway of teal, blue, and purple.

supplies: white cardstock, a blue patterned paper, Just Keep Going stencil set, teal, blue, and purple inks, Stickles Galaxy glitter gel

I used glitter gel with my 4th stencil to add a bit of glitz.

And finally, here are the Studio dies of the month: Mix Tape.

supplies: black, lime, and yellow cardstock, Doodlebug design papers, Mix Tape dies

I chose the backing panel because of our theme this month, then pulled the colors from it for my die-cut elements.

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  This is subscription-based, discounted from retail, and includes FREE shipping (for US customers)!  

You can subscribe anytime and cancel hassle-free.

Currently the Studio includes 5 separate kits: a Card Kit, Layering Stencils, Fancy Dies, a Cling stamp, and a Clear Set of Stamps and matching Dies.  You can also get The Whole Studio, which includes all of the kits at a discount, plus a bonus item each month.  

A really nice bonus is that, once you subscribe to any of the kits, you also will get free shipping on all orders that you make at Hero Arts between the 1st and 5th of each month!

Butterfly Birthday

 I recently got myself a new Doodlebug pad of paper called Butterfly Kisses, and when I saw Sheri's sketch using lots of patterned papers, I wanted to use my new ones to CASE her cards.

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, dps from Doodlebug Butterfly Kisses and other Doodlebug dps from my scrap basket, Sunny Studio Fancy Frames Circle die, Simon Stitching Butterflies dies, sentiment from Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

This is a great sketch to show off a variety of patterned papers - thank you, Sheri!  For me, using these sweet little papers is a carry-over from my quilting days, when I collected fat quarters of fabric just as I do papers now!  And Doodlebug is a wonderful source for them!

Have a lovely day!

Ditzy Wallpaper Flowers

 Here's a new set of layering stencils from Altenew called Ditzy Wallpaper Flowers.  The set is 7 parts, 4 for flowers, and 3 for foliage.

supplies: white and green cardstock, Altenew Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper stencils, Pink Fresh Studios Fairy Dust pinks, Rise & Shine yellows, and Morning Sky blues, Altenew Green Valley greens mini ink cubes, Hero Arts (retired) sentiment from Made with Love, Spellbinders Perfect Touch Rectangle die, (retired) Martha Stewart? butterfly punch, peridot gem, adhesive foam squares

I love how this turned out, and that's why I chose the sentiment I did, even though it's long gone.  

Stencils are a miracle for those of us who don't color very well!  I'm so glad the industry continues to make such lovely designs for us to play with!

Woodblock Wednesday!

 "Tis the season for picking posies from my garden to bring inside to enjoy and I often pop them into a canning jar to sit on our kitchen table.   So this month I chose a Stampendous stamp dated 2013 and a Hero Arts sentiment dated 2009 for my Woodblock Wednesday entry!

supplies: white and pale aqua cardstock, Stampendous Jar Bouquet, Hero Arts To Be So Nice woodblocks, Spellbinders Perfect Touch rectangle die, Winnie & Walter (retired) Audrey's Cutaways scalloped rectangle die, tiny punched butterfly from my scrap basket

 I really enjoy seeing these wood treasures being used again.  I hope you'll play along too!

You can see all the other entries at Amy's blog HERE.

Elegant Rose

I couldn't resist this set of stencils from Simon's April release, You Are My Favorite, especially after seeing Heather's idea using them mixed with embossing folders. I needed 2 cards for anniversaries this month - here's the one I made for my husband - it was 54 years this year!

supplies: white, yellow, and cream cardstock, Simon Elegant Rose stencil set, squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, fossilized amber, and mowed lawn oxide inks, sentiment from Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments, an unknown heart embossing folder

Heather embossed her blank panel first, then stencilled it, and I did the same, using oxide inks.  Doing it this way vs. the reverse makes you work a little harder to get the color down, but I love the results!  This design is so large that all you need is a sentiment.  

Next I made another card in coral inks for our son and daughter-in-law.  This time I used a pierced cover plate that leaves a much smoother surface on which to stencil, smooth enough to stamp the sentiment at the end.

supplies: white and coral cardstock, Elegant Rose stencil set, spun sugar, saltwater taffy, abandoned coral, and mowed lawn oxide inks, sentiment from (retired) Tammy Tutterow/Spellbinders Tiny Sentiments, Simon Detailed Ringlet cover plate, tiny heart sprinkle

This is a lovely design, easy to line up, and will work for so many occasions!

Thank you for coming by today.

Dreamy Florals

 Here's the other stamp and stencil suite I got back in April from Pinkfresh Studio.  You know me, I can't resist some pretty posies, and I thought these were a nice mix of flowers.

supplies: white cardstock, soft gingham from Honey Bee Stamps Giddy for Gingham pad, Pinkfresh Studio Dreamy Florals stamp set and matching layering stencils, Blushberry Bliss, Sunkissed Delights, Enchanted Garden, and Jade Dreams inks, Pinkfresh Studio blending brushes, Ornate Oval Frame die, Spellbinders Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate/die set

I have a pretty heavy hand when it comes to stencilling, and I wanted these colors to be paler than my usual, so I used Pinkfresh's little set of 6 blending brushes to do my stencilling, and was very pleased with the results!  I also used the lightest shades of the inks.

These are designed so that the stamps (3 separate groupings) are all connected, and the 5 layers of stencils color them all at the same time, too; a nice time-saver.  I used the largest and the smallest of the floral designs today, and have another single flower finished for next time.

Pinkfresh makes a die set and hotfoil plate to match, if you so desire.  

Thank you so much for stopping by today - have a lovely one!

Woven Ribbons

 Today I have a card that uses a new-to-me stencil set called Woven Ribbon.

supplies: white cardstock, Altenew Woven Ribbon Builder stencils, Altenew Baby Pink, Fuschia, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris, Lime, and Fresh Leaf inks, Spellbinders Floral Spray, Pink Fresh Studio (retired) Curvy Leaves, and My Favorite Things (retired) Sending Hugs dies, green enamel dot, adhesive foam

I love the way this turns out, using 3 stencils that are layered, then turned 90 degrees and layered again, so that you can use up to 6 inks.  Today I used 2 shades of 3 colors.  The effect is almost 3D!  (or would be if I'd gotten mine lined up exactly right).  I used one of the pinks to color the center of my flower, and adhesive foam dots and strips to lift up my floral and sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Detailed Leaf

 Back in April I took advantage of a great sale at Pinkfresh Studio, and got myself 2 sets of stamps and matching stencils to color them.  Today I have 2 cards using the Detailed Leaf set.

supplies: white and mint cardstock, Spellbinders (retired) Branching Out embossing folder, Pinkfresh Studio Detailed Leaf stamps and matching layering stencils, Green Meadows inks, sentiment from Spellbinders All You Need Sentiments glimmer plate/die

This nice big leafy branch is all you need for a card, and I plan to use it mainly for masculine ones.  Back when it was first released, someone did it in pinks and greens, and I love that idea, so that's how my next card went.

supplies: white cardstock, Pinkfresh Studio Detailed Leaf stamps and layering stencils, Green Valley and Blushberry Bliss inks, Pinkfresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamp and (retired) die, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

There are several plants that I can think of that mimic this colorway.  We have a bush in our bird garden that comes out pink, cream, and green in the spring, then fades to all green, and my Mom used to have a Hoya indoor plant that had these colors.  Anyway, adding this soft peachy-pink brings it back into feminine territory if you want!

There are dies and a hot foiling plate available in this pattern, too, but I had no trouble fussy-cutting out my branches.

I have one more new-to-me set that I'll show you soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Felt Stitch and Create: Sunflower Bloom!

 I have some projects to share today from Nichol Spohr's Summer Felt Stitch and Create Collection.  I worked with the Sunflower Bloom dies.

supplies:  various warm colors of wool felt, Sunflower Bloom dies, 3 strands of matching embroidery floss, wooden skewers, inked with mowed lawn distress ink

For maybe the last 10 years or so, we've bought a packet of mixed sunflower seeds for the back of our garden, and have been delighted with the variety, so I tried to recreate some of those flowers, along with a traditional yellow/gold sunflower that we're all familiar with.

Here's a closer look at the flowers.

The flowers themselves have very little stitching, just enough to hold the layers together.  As I was doing so, I inserted a wooden skewer, sponged with mowed lawn distress ink, to make the stem for each flower, then tacked on the leaves behind.  Nichol included an innovative die to make the centers; it's easy to use and gives a fun dimension to your flowers!  You just cut it out, fold it in half, roll it up, and glue it to the center of the flower.

Did you know that there are pink sunflowers?  I have yet to see one for real, but I've seen many pictures of them.  That's what I made next, but I was out of brown felt, so the center for this one is yellow.  Which shows you that these really don't have to be sunflowers at all - make them in any color you want!

supplies: pink, yellow, and green wood felt, Sunflower Bloom dies, 3 strands of matching embroidery floss

Glue a pin on the back of this, and add it to your jacket!

HERE is a link to a tutorial video that Nichol made.

Nichol also designed a Beehive, a Strawberry, and an Apple as part of this Summer collection - I hope you'll give them a look, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

June Spellbinders Club Kits: Seas the Day!

 The June Spellbinders Club Kits are now available for new subscribers until June 27!  This month's theme is Seas the Day, all centered around the ocean.

Today I have the Stitching dies to show you. They're named Ahoy Matey, and include a large seagull that just makes me smile!

supplies: blues, grey, white, red, and yellow cardstock, Ahoy Matey stitching dies, 3 strands of grey embroidery floss, Nautical Knots 3D embossing folder, Anchors Away sentiment and die, adhesive foam squares

There is a stitching die for the waves, but today I chose to not use that, stitching only the ship's wheel.  I used the 3D embossing folder again for my background, just because it's so impressive, but another that would work just as nicely is the Summertime Waves folder from last June.  I love how the gull is decked out in his captain's cap and striped shirt!  There is also an anchor in the set for him to hold, if you'd like.

Next I used the same wave dies along with the Caboodle item for this month, Set Sail.

supplies: red, white, kraft, and shades of aqua cardstock, Ahoy Matey Stitching dies, 3 strands of embroidery floss to match, Set Sail Caboodle die, sentiment and die from Anchors Away

Here you can see what the waves look like when stitched; I chose 3 shades of aqua and alternated stitched waves with unstitched ones to cover most of the panel, then inserted the little sailboat and added my sentiment as a kind of cloud in the sky.

My next card is to show you the Embossing Folder: Mariner's Weave.  

supplies: colored cardstock, shingles and stone dps for houses, Mariner's Weave embossing folder, Sailor's Light mountains and houses, Essential Arches dies, sentiment from Anchors Away

"Mariner's Weave"  brought thoughts of fishermen's sweaters, usually done in a cream/off-white color, so that's where I started.  I have such a sweater, made in Ireland, that I wear often in the fall when it gets chilly, and it is cozy!  Then I decided to make a little scene and use the mountains that I didn't use before from the Large Dies of the Month: Sailor's Light.  The houses are from the same set.

And finally, here are the BetterPress Plates: Harbor Weave.  They include this background and 2 sentiments, one of which I used here.  

supplies: colored cardstock, Harbor Weave BetterPress plates, brown inks, Shipmates and Ahoy Matey dies, adhesive foam strips

I couldn't resist bringing back the walrus again, and made him a captain, borrowing the gull's hat (and the ship's wheel) from the Stitching kit above.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers 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, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!