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!

Country Basket

 I received this new Simon Says Stamp die set just before we left for our little trip, so I am just now getting around to paying with it.

supplies: white, parchment, kraft, and various pastel cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Country Basket Bouquet, Simon Hurley Must-Have Sentiments Glimmer Foil Plate/die set, gold glimmer foil, adhesive foam

It was easy to put together, with lots of floral options for filling this cute little basket.  And it's a good size for a focal point on an A2 card - not much else needed.  After arranging my basket, I added some adhesive foam to pop it above the card base.

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

Are You Still There?

So sorry I've been missing in action around here lately.  All is well; we just decided to take a little trip to Florida to get us over the winter hump!  We got to spend my birthday at one of my favorite restaurants in our old stomping grounds on the Gulf Coast and to visit our oldest son for his birthday!  I thought I'd share a few pictures from our trip.

Our son works at Disney, and he is always so generous and treats us to a day or 2 at the Parks.

Epcot was in the midst of their Garden Festival, and I always enjoy seeing the special plantings that they add at this time of year.

Before leaving for the coast, we stopped at Winter Garden's Farmer's Market and got some Honey Bells (oranges) to enjoy.  Oh MAN, are they good!  Juicy and sweet!

Then we spent a week in the Englewood area and were able to check off some boxes of favorite things to do.  Despite being there during Spring Break, we were able to spend a couple of days on the beaches, and though they are much eroded from how we remember them, that beautiful blue water is still there.

We got to go to our favorite restaurants in the area, Farlow's on the Water and Nicola's Italian Kitchen (twice!) in Englewood and Mi Pueblo in Venice for fish tacos.  At Farlow's I had a gorgeous Hogfish garnished with coconut touches, followed by Pina Colada cheesecake!  

We were so pleased to be able to get out and take a nice walk each day, in a different park each time.  The weather was perfect: high 70's/low 80's and we only had rain once, and it was at night!  The house we rented provided views of the beautiful birds that we don't see here at home and even an alligator floating down the canal the day we arrived there!  And the Florida vegetation is always such a lovely change from our "neutrals", to put it nicely, at home at this time of year.

On the way home, we spent some more time with our son, who took us to the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, where I saw my first camellias!

I also found a new plant I'd never heard of before, called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  It starts with purple blossoms which then change to lavender and then to white, and all 3 colors bloom at one time!  

We ate well there, too: his birthday dinner at Jaleo, a Spanish restaurant, and also a German dinner at Hollerbach's in Sanford, something I've been dreaming about since the last time we were there!  They are the only place where I can have Weiss Wurst, a veal sausage.  The guys split a mixed sausage platter and a Jaeger Schnitzel meal.  

We take it easy driving down and back home now, taking 3 days instead of the mad dash we used to do when we were younger.  It was smooth sailing all the way with no major delays or weather hold-ups.  We came home to the beginning of spring here, with greener grass, some trees budding out, and daffodils blooming!

So now I have lots of wonderful memories and pictures, too.  Can't wait to do it all again!  Thanks for allowing me to share a bit of it.