Some Quilt Cards

Betsy at the Greetery is in the midst of a weekly release of new goodies for the holidays, and when I saw her Capsule Quilt Shop group from last week, I couldn't resist them.  As a former quilter, I think these stencils and embossing folder make a beautiful paper quilt!  Here are my first 3 cards with them.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Capsule Quilt Shop embossing folder and 5-piece stencil set, salvaged patina, peacock feather picked raspberry, kitsch flamingo, spun sugar, and pistachio distress inks, Capsule Quilt Shop dies for banner, stamped sentiment from My Favorite Things Essential Messages, adhesive foam squares

I hope you can see the dimension that the embossing folder gives everything, just like real quilting!  Here's another example, using Betsy's suggested colors: bundled sage, rustic wilderness, lumberjack plaid, worn lipstick, and tattered rose distress inks.

same supplies as above, with a stamped sentiment from Spellbinders Lots of Wishing You Sentiments

And how about blue and yellow?  I used Altenew inks from their Lapis Lazuli and Pocketful of Sunshine collection.

supplies: same embossing folder and stencils, Altenew inks above, sentiment from Spellbinders Happy Hello Floral stamp set (August 2023)

These make a 5 X 7 inch card, and I think they'd be pretty in a frame, too.  They may be part of a Christmas release, but with a change of colors and sentiment, I'm planing on making them for lots of occasions!

The matching dies cut out every single one of the elements that you see, so that the border, for example, can be used on a completely different card.  So many wonderful details to mix and match!  By the way, this weekly release is called Noel Needleworks and also includes a stamp set of teeny quilt patterns called Quilt Block Ruilder, and an embossing folder that matches.  It's on my wishlist!

Wishing You Blessings This Season

Here's a simple design for a card; I got the idea from Heather Hoffman.  I like it for when you have a stamp image that you just don't feel like coloring.  Heather added colored cardstock stripes to her design; I chose to use a stripe stencil and some colored inks.

supplies: cream  and red cardstock, /wplus9  2010 Beautiful Bouquets Mums stamp, Altenew 2017 Watercolor Stripes stencil, gold, orange, and green inks, sentiment from Hero Arts 2016 Color Layering Grateful Leaves set

I started by trimming my inner cream panel and then stencilling 3 colors of stripes diagonally onto it.  Next I overstamped the floral image.  To finish I stamped and fussy-cut the sentiment on red cardstock to use as a 4th stripe.  Then the panel was affixed to my cream card base.

As much as I adore a detailed design, it's nice to have options like this when you're in a hurry or lacking mojo!

How is your week going?  Octoger is zipping by quickly, a little faster than I'd like!

I'll also share a picture of a mum that was given to me by my friend Sandy.  It's called Clara Curtis, and seems to like our clime here in NE Ohio.  Sandy's original cutting grew into a giant plant that we divided several years ago.  Now both of them are huge once more, maybe a yard across, and will need dividing again in the spring.  

It started blooming this year the first week of October and goes on forever!  Which also makes this a great plant to get bouquets from.  It has a pleasant smell, too, not as "in your face" as some mums are!  They start out kind of peachy and gradually fade towards pale pink.  Bugs don't bother them, either; I'd consider this as about as easy to care for as it gets!

Do you have a favorite for this time of year?

Quiet Wonder

 Today I'm CASEing a card that I made back in 2018.  

supplies: white and pale gold cardstock, Scattered Straw and Broken China distress inks, Taylored Expressions Birch Tree cutting plate, Spellbinders leaf and sentiment from Autumn Whim stamp/die (September 2025 kit), adhesive foam

After cutting out my cover die, I added some details with grey markers.  I also brushed an A2 panel with blue and pale gold distress inks before popping the trees on top.  I had already attached some leaves and the sentiment.

Love this sentiment!  As I do the birch trees; I've gotten alot of use from them.  They are, of course, retired by now, but I noticed that the latest release at Simon Says Stamp has something similar, called Interlacing Trees.

Birch trees really appeal to me for some reason.  A birch tree was the deciding factor for me when we were hunting for our house.  It lasted many years, and I enjoyed it in all seasons.

Once again, I thank you for visiting today.

An Old Favorite

Today's card uses a retired Taylored Expression suite called Fall Foliage Background.  It is so pleasing to work with.  Today I started with a Foil It card, which I foiled first in gold, using a laminator; it gives the details of each leaf and the surrounding dots a little glitz.  Then I followed with the 3 stencils to add the leaves, using lots of distress inks.  There are 3 stencils, but that doesn't mean you can't use more than 3 colors; there's room on each stencil to change up your colors.  So I used yellows and golds on one, oranges and reds on another, and browns, greens, and burgundies on the last.

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supplies: white and burnt orange cardstock, Taylored Expressions Foil It Fall Foliage card, gold foil and a laminator, Fall Foliage stencils, distress inks, Hello Bluebird sentiment from Pumpkin Time, circle and scalloped circle dies, natural twine

If you'd like to see more cards I've made in the past with this design, click HERE.

Hope your week is going well; thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Making Memories

I was going through my bin of supplies for the fall season and made a card of these scraps (embossed panel with a leaf cutout, and a colored leaf) that I found there; all I had to do was press a sentiment!

supplies: cream, rust, and black cardstock, Spellbinders Falling Leaves embossing folder, Simon Says Stamp Stitched Grand Maple die, Neat & Tangled Maple Thanks stamp and die, Spellbinders Happiness Sentiments BetterPress plate/die set, adhesive foam

I chose this particular sentiment because of memories of times spent with my parents each fall when we'd pack a picnic and drive into the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania for a day spent hiking and enjoying the season.  I'd usually come home with some pretty leaves, maybe an acorn, as a souvenier of the day.  Dad loved the woods and instilled that in me; oh what I would give for another of those days with them!  

Hope you can get out and make some memories during this wonderful season!  

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your weekend.

Make a Wish

 Here's a birthday card for my cousin.  I used some goodies from a 2024 Spellbinders collection called Woodland Tales.

supplies: cream and brown cardstock, Woodland Tales printed vellum panel and a sentiment from Woodland Tales Die-Cut Sentiments ephemera pack, 2 rectangle dies to make frame

This is a quarter sheet of a gorgeous printed vellum from the collection.  I added a thin brown frame over it so that I could use that to glue it to my card base, adding glue only along the frame on the reverse.  Then I just added the ephemera sentiment, which is foiled in gold.  

Dave is a hunter and loves the woods, so I thought he'd enjoy this scene this year.  I got off easy this year, as this couldn't have been easier to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

CASEing Donna

My friend Donna posted a card on IG that made me run to my craft room to try and CASE it.   Evidently she was inspired by a Jen McGuire card.  Love how the inspiration keeps on flowing among us all.

Here's my version, based on packets of mixed sunflower seeds that we used to plant in our garden.  By this time of year they were showstoppers.  I loved the variety!

supplies: autumnal cardstock colors, The Greetery Botanicuts Sunflower dies, sentiment from Sunny Studio Autumn Greetings

I used Donna's layout, but my own sunflower dies and sentiment stamp.  She trimmed her edges so that her card would fit into an A2 envelope; for now I'm leaving mine hang over.  Amazingly, both of these sets are still available!  

Fall is slow to arrive here in NE Ohio, except for a tree here and there that has turned.  So we have lots to look forward to!

Thank you, Donna, for the inspiration!

World Card Making Day!

 It's the 20th Anniversary of World Card Making Day!  It was created to kick-start the Holiday card making season.  I don't think I've done them all, but this has always been a fun day of creativity, and I wanted to join in the fun today.  I pulled out some dies from Tim Holtz that I got last year, I think, and here's what I came up with.

supplies: dark teal and dark plum pink cardstock, rose and teal metallic kraft cardstock, Spellbinders Holiday Flurry embossing folder, Vault Seasonal Sketch and Christmas Ribbon dies, enamel dots

The embossing folder is one from a monthly kit from Spellbinders last year, containing snowflakes, pine sprigs, and holly branches, small enough to make a nice background.  I used regular cardstock for the poinsettia and holly bases and Tim's foiled kraft cardstock for the detail layers, securing the top layer only in the flower centers and at the top of the leaves, so I could pull the foiled layer up for dimension.  The sentiment was fussy-cut from the smallest of the Christmas Ribbon set, and then I just added some enamel dots in groups of 3s.

The foil parts add a nice festive feel!  

Are you playing along today?

Gather Together

This embossing folder was a giveaway with purchase during STAMPtember, and I couldn't resist it.  Here's my first play with it.

supplies: white and orange cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Deluxe Bouquet embossing folder, white pigment ink, white adhesive pearls, Spellbinders All Seasons Autumn press plate and die

With all those different leaves framing the flowers, this will make a great background for a floral centerpiece!

Happy October!

Piped Floral Lace

I've been ogling this Altenew embossing folder for months, and finally brought it home a little earlier this month.  Then we went on vacation before I could play with it.  Today I finally finished a card using it; I thought these Bold Bloom Flowers mimicked the embossed ones nicely.

supplies: cream, greens, and golds, oranges, and rust cardstock, Altenew Piped Floral Lace 3D embossing folder, rectangle dies, Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms flowers and leaves, sentiment from Hero Arts Happy Thanksgiving, 2007

Before embossing my cream A2 panel, I used a rectangle die to cut out the center, then inserted it back together and embossed it. I used 1 size larger rectangle for the mat, and that was my background.  I love the Be Bold Blooms dies, so I made a little arrangement of them and then attached them to the bottom right of the smaller rectangle, and added my sentiment, along with a few teensy peach blush gems.

I love to use these colors at this time of year!  

Hope your day is going well, and that your week will be a good one, too!  Thanks for stopping by.

 

Nasturtiums

Awhile back I came across a gorgeous card on Instagram that was made by Inderjeet at cottage.cards, where she used the Mini Flower Cluster dies to make a kind of frame around her card.  Since the calender has turned to September, I've been itching to start using fall colors, so I thought I'd try her idea, using the colors of nasturtiums for mine.  They have always been a favorite in our gardens, since their colors work right through from summer into fall.

supplies: colored cardstocks, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster Layering dies, Spellbinders/Susan Tierney-Cockburn Thoughtful Garden Gate sentiment, adhesive foam squares

After constructing 6 groups of flowers, I placed them around the edges of an A2 panel, then used the Press n' Seal method to hold them together and then add leaves under and on top of the arrangement.  After stamping my sentiment in the center of the panel, I used adhesive foam squares to lift them above the card.

Since some of the leaves go outside the edges of my card, I needed something to hold it up above my background for a picture, and found that something in a little garden bench on which a little Teddy Bear sits.

Nasturtiums make pretty cut flowers, and are also edible, so I often pop a couple on top of my potato salad in the summer!  They are peppery tasting.

These flower clusters are some of my favorites and are so versatile.  Here and here and here and here and here are some other cards made with them.

It sure doesn't feel like September at the moment - it was 92 degrees here yesterday!  Enough!  

Playing with some Oldies

I saw a card on Instagram recently that made me remember a card wrap die from Simon Says Stamp, and I wanted to play with it once again.   In the past I've used it to make only square cards, but I thought Sharyn's card was interesting in an A2 size.  I also incorporated some old washi tape into the design.

Here it is all put together, with the wrap around a green card base.

supplies: white, green, pink, and peach cardstock, Simon Modern Flowers Card Wrap, a large circle die, Pink Fresh Studio Joyful Bouquet washi tape, Simon Says Stamp Pretty Bows die

And here it is when you slide the card out from the wrap.  On the front of the card I used some smaller elements of the same washi set, and a Spellbinders banner sentiment foiled in gold to bring out the gold foiling on the washi.

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I wanted to line the lacy details, so I cut out a big circle in pink, cut it in half, and glued it under the lacy parts of the wrap.  Then I glued the washi bouquet to that, and a bow.  I trimmed my A2 card just a bit in width to make it very easy to slide the wrap over it.  

This was fun to put together, and makes for something just a bit different!

It's almost September!  Enjoy your week!

Last Summer Roses

 After making my last card, I was putting it away with my other Altenew goodies, and go to looking at what else I had.  This Bountiful Bouquet layering stamp set had only been used once before, so I thought it was time to give it some love.

supplies: white cardstock, Hobby Lobby music patterned paper, Altenew Bountiful Bouquet layering stamps, Sun Kissed Delights and Green Valley ink sets, PinkFresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamp/die, adhesive foam to lift up sentiment

I'm beginning to feel the changeover from summer to fall, and these shades of golden yellow gave me a slightly autumnal feeling today.  

The finished flower spray was easy enough to cut out to layer over the music paper, and I popped the sentiment above everything.  

Hope your week is going well!  Thanks for stopping by.

Softly Sketched Blooms

 Here is a Build a Garden set recently released from Altenew that I fell in love with from Jen McGuire's blog.  The bundle includes a stamp set with sentiments, a die set, and matching stencils.  Here are 2 cards I made with it.

supplies: white cardstock, unknown pre-embossed background from Michelle, Softly Sketched Blooms bundle, Altenew Blushberry Bliss, Jade Dreams and Coffee Break inks, pewter pearls

These colors were inspired by some in the accompanying information in the bundle.  They remind me of hydrangeas at this time of year.  I used inks that I had to approximate the colors.  The sentiment is one of several small ones included in the stamp set.

Next I used an idea that Jennifer showed us, using only the stencils and partially cutting the bottom only of the bouquet.

supplies: white cardstock, Softly Sketched Blooms stencils and die, Altenew Lapis Lazuli and Green Valley inks, an unknown sentiment from my scrap basket, sparkly gems for centers of flowers

As always, Jennifer makes it look easy, but at least this time, I found it a bit difficult to get everything lined up nicely without the stamp to guide me.  There are 5 pieces in the stencil set, and several of them have more than one step on them.  I'm sure it will get easier as I practice.  I do love the results!

I hope you are enjoying the last of summer wherever you are.  This week the humidity has disappeared and the temps are much more forgiving.  But I'm still looking forward to fall soon!

Thanks for coming by!

Summer Flowers

On our morning walks each morning, the fields have been overflowing with wildflowers.  Right now the colors are bright yellow/gold and different shades of purple.  That inspired me to make today's card.

supplies: white and mint cardstock, The Greetery Spring Mix stencils, stamps, and dies, inks in purples, yellows, pink, and green, enamel dots, adhesive foam squares and strips

This is a set from 2022 that I've only used once before (see HERE),  You cut out the floral design, then use the stencls to make the flowers and leaves, and lastly use some stamps for details.  I popped up some of the flowers and added some enamel dots to some of the flower centers.  The sentiment is one of several included in the stamp set.

Here's a recent picture of the fields along our walk.

                    

This week on 2 different days we've also seen some deer!  There's always something new to find!

Hope your summer is going well, too.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Heart Smiles

 Happy Wednesday!  Today's card is a remake of one back in 2020.  I'll be sending this to my sister for her birthday.

- 

supplies: Hobby Lobby plank paper, Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder, Tim Holtz Wildflower die, yellow and green inks,  Small Talk sentiment sticker, natural twine, Altenew enamel dots, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkle, adhesive foam to raise flowers and sentiment

Growing up, we had an old shed on our grandpap's property and there were flowers growing everywhere there.  I'm hoping this will bring back that memory for my sister, too.

I'll be entering this into Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

We have some nice cool breezes and intermittant sunshine here today - lovely!  Hope you're having a good day, too!  Thanks for stopping by.

Coastal Cuttings

The Greetery just had a new release and I couldn't resist this die set called Coastal Cuttings.  I needed 2 more birthday cards for this month, so the timing was perfect!

supplies: colored cardstock, The Greetery Coastal Cuttings dies, a Spellbinders Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate/die, adhesive foam

And here's a 2nd version, this time with an embossed background and pastel colors.

supplies: colored cardstock, The Greetery Coastal Cuttings dies, Spellbinders Curved Sentiments press plate/die, Taylored Expressions Damask embossing folder, adhesive foam

We had several nice rains today here in NE Ohio!  Brought down the temps a bit and gave everything outside a nice drink and a bath.  

Hope you are enjoying your summer; thanks for stopping by!

For Peter

 If I had my way, all of my cards would feature flowers.  Too bad that lots of my recipients are males, so for them, I usually use leaves or birds.  Today's card features both.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Spellbinders Sealed Birds dies and Branching Out embossing folder and Essential Arches die, sentiment from Simon Say Stamp Joys of Spring, adhesive foam squares and strips

I've done a card like this before; this time I changed up the embossed frame.  It may not be visible from my photo, but the frame and central motif are popped up with foam.

How are you all doing?  It's been SO hot here recently, more like August weather, and today we have a heavy presence of smoke from the Canadian wildfires, maybe the worst I've seen in recent years.  So we took our walk at 7:30 this morning before it got hot.  There was a slight bit of smoke at that hour, but it's really increased as the hours have gone on today, and the smell is undeniably smoke!  No rain until Saturday, when the temps will go down to more normal ones.  I hope that will rid us of this stuff!

Stay safe!  

Butterfly Time.and Some Wildflower Shares!

I wanted to make another card with this old favorite Hero Arts woodblock stamp called Heart Winged Butterfly, ca 2009.  I made this design a few times before, and I like the butterfly stamped over a small ditzy floral pattern.   Today's card is in honor of those pretty blue swallowtail butterfles.

supplies: unknown blue print design paper, Lawn Fawn  Spring Fling dotty yellow dp, Hero Arts Heart Winged Butterfly woodblock, Spellbinders Postage Edge die, sentiment from Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice sentiments, Altenew Lapis Lazuli enamel dots

The butterfly is stamped twice, fussy-cut, then stacked, securing them only along the body, which allows the wings to be bent upward.  Then I use the same floral print as my card edging.

My husband and I have been trying to walk everyday at a county park very close to us that used to be a 36 hole golf course.  When the owners retired, their kids decided to donate most of it to the park systems here, and over the years, the parks have sprinkled wild flowers everywhere.  Not a day goes by that we don't discover something new.  I take my phone with me, and if I don't know what the plant is, there's an identifier on the phone that usually does a pretty good job of telling me what it is.

Here are some flowers we've seen so far this year.

Dame's Rocket

This is a little lupine!  I was thrilled to find patches of these; I didn't know we had these in Ohio!  They're about 6 to 8 inches tall.

Spiderwort

A tree swallow.  These birdhouses have been placed all over the property and, though we've seen a few bluebirds, this is what we see most often.  Look at that gorgeous irridescent blue!

According to my identifier, these are foxglove beardtongue.  There are great swaths of these in several areas.  

Just in the last few weeks, coneflower, butterfly weed and milkweed have been opening.

The bees were all over these today and they smell wonderful!  AND we've seen several deer now and again.  No fawns yet, though. 

Right now the park has 3 trails, some using the old cart paths from the golf course in places, augmented with mown grass paths and gravel ones, and sprinkled with woods, all going up hill and down dale!  We are SO lucky to have this!  You'll be seeing more pics going forward.

A Bouquet of Hugs

 This card is for someone who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  I hope the pinks make her smile.

supplies: ivory, various pinks, and green cardstock, The Greetery Botanicuts Sunflower dies, stems and ribbon from PTI Build a Bouquet dies, Simon Says Stamp Daisy Floral Field embossing folder and sentiment from Garden Greetings, ancient Spellbinders Label die, green enamel dots, adhesive foam to pop up bow and one of the flowers

I put together the bouquet and then set it aside for a day to think about how I wanted to present it.  Then I remembered this big fancy label from years ago and it just fit!  So after adding the bouquet to it I placed it against an embossed daisy background.  

We are having a gorgeous June, with blue skies, big fluffy clouds, cool breezes, and temps in the 70s!  Wishing the same for you!

Lots of Texture

 June is the month of roses, and that was a good excuse to make a card featuring them.  I pulled out my Altenew Antique Rose dies for this one.  The details are amazing, aren't they?

supplies: white, 4 pinks, and 3 teals cardstock, Altenew Antique Rose layering dies (includes leaves), Spellbinders Floral Expressions 3D embossing folder

The roses are 4 layers and the leaves are 3.   They would be pretty against a plain white background, but I wanted more, so I put the on a large floral embossed background that is sadly retired. The roses are still available, though!  

Since this will work for many occasions, I decided to leave off my sentiment until I need it.  But I think I'd choose a banner die placed across the flowers.

HERE and HERE are some other cards that I've made using these dies.

How are you enjoying June?

A CASE

Back in 2014 I took one of Jennifer McGuires's online card classes called Stretch Your Stamps 2, and Shari Carroll was one of the instructors.  I CASEd one of Shari's cards then and have always wanted to do another one in a different set of colors.  Here's that card, only 12 years later!

supplies: white and watercolor cardstock, vellum, (retired) Hero Arts Flower Bird Garden cling stamp, picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, and mustard seed distress inks, Simon/CZ Design With Love die, adhesive foam squares, tiny pale pink and peach adhesive pearls

Here's my original card.

Both cards use the same cling stamp called Flower Bird Garden, a 3" by 3 1/2" negative background.  Inking it allows the details to come through as white (or whatever color of cardstock you use to stamp on), and colors the background.  Shari's idea was to ink it in several distress inks, spray it lightly with water to help the inks blend, and then stamp it on watercolor paper.  Then you cut it into 1" squares and mix them back up to make a more random background.  In order to get enough squares, I had to stamp twice, and after cutting them apart into 1" squares, randomly popped them above a backing panel, which was then attached to my white card base.  Then I just added a die-cut sentiment and embellishments.  

If you wish further details on the older card, it's linked at the top of this post or you can also click on its picture here to be taken back to the original post.

How are you all doing?  We've been enjoying the cool sunny weather lately, taking a walk daily.  Thanks for stopping by!

Graduation Card for a Girl

It's the time for graduations, and here's one that I made for a girl.   

supplies: red and white cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Extra Large Congrats die, Reverse Graduation Sentiment Strip, Picnic Floral embossing folder, Spellbinders Mini Blooms & Sprigs flowers

I used the colors of the university she will attend, and made it girly with the embossed floral background and the little flowers.

How goes it with you?  I think spring has finally arrived here, though the temperatures are all over the place.  Still waiting for 2 of our 3 peonies to open their blooms.

Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by today!

Yay for Doodlebug!

Hi Crafters!  Today's card couldn't be easier.  I've long been a huge fan of Doodlebug goodies, in particular their patterned papers and lately their doodle pops.  This one combines them.

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug Designs My Happy Place 6" paper pad, Fall Bunch doodle pop, a Simon Says Stamp reverse sentiment strip, adhesive foam to lift central panel

I've used this sketch before; it's a great way to mix several of the patterned papers in these collection pads.  They usually contain a page or 2 of small stripes which you can cut apart and use to separate the larger panels.  The Doodle Pops are 3 or 4 layers deep and make an easy focal point, and then I just pull papers that work with the colors in the Pop.

It's May!  We took a trip to our Amish Country yesterday to visit several greenhouses, and got just about all we need for our plantings for this summer: tomatoes, herbs, some Gerberas and zinnias!  Can't plant them yet until our frost date has passed, but that time will be here before we know it.  

Amazingly, the prompt for this week's Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Make It Colorful, and they're using Doodlebug, too, so of course I need to enter this over there!

What are you up to these days?

Some Birthday Cards

Our son and oldest grandson have birthdays pretty close together at this time of year.  Here are the cards I made for them this year.

This first one is a CASE of one by my Hero Arts and Simon teammate, Sarah Moerman.  I took the easy way and used a patterned paper for my background instead of her beautifully pieced one.

supplies: black and white cardstock, patterned paper from Doodlebug Cute & Crafty 6" paper pad, Simon Says Stamp Birthday Circle and You dies, a stamped and white-embossed "to", Doodlebug heart sprinkle

supplies: white and black cardstock, striped pattern paper from Doodlebug Hello Again 6" paper pad, Simon/CZ Design Happy Birthday dies, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

I wanted to emboss the surround of the big heart on this one, but refrained, figuring that, for a guy, simple is best.  And, I was glad to be able to use a bit of my large collection of patterned papers on both these cards. 

How's it going for you?  Thanks so much for stopping by.

From Me to You

Looking back at some older cards on my blog, I had completely forgotten about this (retired) Pink Fresh Studio Partial Cut Bouquet and Bow die set.  I've been seeing lots of wild violets in our lawn and where we walk, so I decided to make this little bouquet into them.

supplies: white cardstock, green and purple markers to color flowers, Doodlebug Gingham design paper, Spellbinders/Tammy Tutterow Simple Line Border cling stamp (2016), Pink Fresh Studio Partial Cut Bouquet and Bow dies (2019), Spellbinders A Little Hello Sentiments stamp/die set, purple gems

My picture doesn't show it very well, but the die cuts the flowers and stem out from the background, but leaves it attached at the place where the bow is placed, so that you can pull the stems outwards.  The 3-piece bow die is inluded in the set for even more dimension.  Before doing my die-cutting, I stamped the Line Border Frame onto a trimmed piece of cardstock, then cut out the bouquet.

I addded lots of little purple gems all around the flowers for some sparkle.

It's fun to give these sweet oldies some love again! 

Just a Note

 It is such a joy to play again with The Greetery's Petal Pusher suite!  This time I used all 3 parts: the cover die, the matching stencils, and the matching dies.

supplies: white and rose pink cardstock, The Greetery Petal Pusher cover die, stencils, and Petal Pusher Blooms dies, distress inks in wilted violet, kitsch flamingo, mustard seed, twisted citron, and mowed lawn, Simon Hurley Must-Have Sentiments foiling plate/die, gold foil

The cover plate cuts out the design, leaving the flowers and leaves attached so that they can be pulled up for dimension.  I did just that with all the pink flowers, and then used some of the matching dies to add an extra layer to the purple flowers.  

The cutting plate also cuts out the tiny dots in the background, and this time I chose a rose pink color to back it with and to bring in some more pink to the design.  This is such a pretty design that I never want to cover up any of it with a sentiment, but this small one from Simon Hurley was just right.  I popped it up with adhesive foam so that it didn't get lost.  

I used some softer inks for a spring feel.

This is putting me in the mood for shopping for some baby flowers!  The best time of year is almost here!

A Stenciled Birthday Card

Hello friends!  I was in the mood for some stenciling, and pulled out this Gina K. Designs Floral Stencil which has hardly been used.  

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Gina K. Designs Floral Stencil, Altenew Cherry Blossom and Green Valley inks, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, Rectangle die, sentiment from Spellbinders/Bibi Cameron Snowflake Wishes stamp/die set

This stencil is a single one, so I had to do a bit of masking so that my greens and pinks didn't mix, with varying results.  I wanted something subtle in the background, and this pinpoint plate fit the bill nicely.  After doing all of the above, I then cut out a rectangle from the center of the design, embossed it with the stencil and a rubber mat, then matted it in pink, and replaced it back where it belonged.  Then I added the sentiment.  You can never have too many birthday cards!

Hope your week is off to a good start!  

Magnolia Blossoms

 Here are some new-to-me Simon goodies that I recently received.  I liked the way these flowers are constructed, simply, but they show a lot of detail and dimension.  I also got a new 3D embossing folder to go with them.  My post today has 3 cards made with them.

supplies: white, several pinks, and green cardstock, a dark pink Zig marker, Simon Says Stamp Etched Magnolia Blossom dies, Magnolia Branches embossing folder, leaves from PTI Build a Bouquet die set, Spellbinders Curved Everyday Sentiments Glimmer Plate/die, Rose Gold glimmer foil, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkles

Simon is putting their newer dies on a magnetic sheet now, which is a lovely plus!  I used 2 shades of pink for my flowers, and a marker in a shade darker to color the top 2 parts of them, lifting the very center above everything else, and pulling the middle layer upwards.  This set doesn not have leaves to go with it, but these PTI ones worked just fine with them.

We have a Betty magnolia that has wrapped itself around a corner bedroom, making the room feel like it's in a tree house!  This year the buds formed and a few flowers opened, but then we had a couple cold nights, and that was the end of them for this year.

Here's a picture of it in better years.

This type of magnolia isn't nearly as big the as the beautiful Southern Magnolias, but nonetheless a nice option for us here in the north.  

Next I used these dies and made an ivory version to represent the southern variety.

supplies: 3 shades of ivory, gold, and green cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Magnolia Blossom dies and Magnolia Branches embossing folder, stamped sentiment from Vintage Garden

The sentiment is from a 2022 stamp set with the most lovely cursive font on the sentiments.

And finally, my friend Mary Anne sent me a pop-up card for Easter that I couldn't wait to CASE.  I used just one of these flowers as the focal point for my version of her card. It measures 4 inches wide, and folds flat so it fits into an A2 envelope.  There's room on the reverse for a sentiment.

supplies: white, pinks, green, and yellow cardstock, Doodlebug patterned papers, Magnolia Blossoms dies, PTI Build a Bouquet leaves

Hope you're doing well - thanks for visiting me today!