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!  

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!

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?

Some Masculine Cards

 I have 3 birthday cards to make for February, all of them for men.  So here's a share of 2 of them.  This first one's a CASE of a card that Hannelie made a few years ago - what a gorgeous design!

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Altenew Watercolor Stripes stencil, Sea Shore inks, Prim Heart die used as a mask, leaves from Verve Bloom & Grow, sentment from Simon Says Stamp Joys of Spring, aqua enamel dots

And the 2nd one uses my go-to elements for masculine cards, leaves and woodgrain.

  

supplies: brown and several green cardstocks, a wood design paper, leaf dies from Tim Holtz, Neat and Tangled, and a cute little freebie from Taylored Expressions, I think, sentiment from Hero Arts Sending Love Mail and matching die, bright green embossing powder, circle die

I'm pleasantly surprised with the new update from Apple that I got back in January.  I took this picture just after our monster snowstorm and the skylight in the room I always take pictures in was completely snow covered, and thus much darker in there than usual, but the photos were amazingly bright without any tweaking!

Do you have a "recipe" for making certain kinds of cards?  

For Thanksgiving

I haven't played with Altenew's Garden Picks dies in a long while, and thought they'd make a nice card for Thanksgiving.

supplies: ivory, Memory Box Sunny Orange and Fresh Aqua Collections cardstock, Altenew Garden Picks dies, sentiment from Simon/Clearly Besotted Autumn Blessings stamp set, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die

Each of these lovely flowers is at least 4 layers deep, so I'm so glad I invested years ago in the Memory Box 6" paper pads of solid cardstock!  

I've decided going forward not to link any of my supplies anymore; getting lazy in my old age!  Most of them are retired anyway.  You can just google them if you're interested.  

Thanks for coming by today - enjoy it!

Blessed Fall Wreath

 It's September!  That means I get to play with all my beloved fall goodies!  Today I thought I'd bring back the Woven Ribbons stencils, this time with an autumn feel.

supplies: cream, kraft, orange peel, red, gold, and dark green cardstock, Altenew Woven Ribbon layering stencils, barn door, festive berries, ripe persimmon,fossilized amber, and mustard seed distress inks, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath, Spellbinders bow and berries, Honey Bee Bitty Buzzword sentiment, adhesive foam squares

These stencils are a set of 3 that you use once, then turn them 90 degrees and stencil with them again.  Since the background is so busy, I wanted something pretty simple, so this wreath with a big sentiment worked for me.  I popped them up with little adhesive foam squares.

You may notice that I'm posting a lot less than I have in past years.  After many years of blogging, sometimes posting every day, I'm going to slow way down, and plan to do only 1 card a week, plus my Spellbinders and Hero Arts assignments, and I may enter a challenge again once in awhile.  We'll try this out from here through the end of the year, and then reassess.

Thank you for stopping by today!

I'm entering this into the September Stencil Fun challenge and the September Four Seasons challenge.

Ditzy Flowers for Fall

I just love this Altenew Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper layering stencil set!  It's a garden on a card, and I can't think of any occasion it wouldn't work for.  So here it is again, colored for the season.

supplies: white and dark orange cardstock, Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper stencils, Altenew and Pink Fresh Studio inks, sentiment from Taylored Expressions (retired) Handlettered Thanksgiving, a postage die, adhesive foam squares

This time I trimmed the panel just a bit so that I could have a mat, and then cut out a postage-edge rectangle from the center.  That was stamped with my sentiment, matted, and then popped back up onto my card front.

Do you have a favorite set of stencils?  I'd love to hear - enable me!

I'll enter this into the current Simon Wednesday Challenge: Layer it Up; the stencils are layered, as are my elements. Also entering the September Stencil Fun challenge and the Four Seasons Challenge.

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!

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!

Peony Smiles

May is peony season here, though this year, I have a knockout rose that bloomed before the pink peonies did - it's been a weird spring!  We have old-fashioned peonies, transplants from a neighbor, in white, red (really dark pink), and pale pink, but I've seen pictures of yellow ones, so today I brought out an old favorite die set that is amazingly still available and made a card with them.

supplies: white, blue, yellows, and greens cardstock, blue gingham dp, Altenew Peony Dream dies, Pink Fresh Studio (retired) Phrase Builder Sending dies, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle dies

Peonies are one of God's miracles!  The amount of petals in a single flower blows my mind!  Here's a photo of one of our white ones.

Have a lovely day!

Just a Note

 I've used this sketch before, but with all stamping.  Today I thought I'd play with a favorite floral layering die set.

supplies: white, shades of aqua, yellow, and green cardstock, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster dies, The Greetery Opposites Attract sentiment, Lil Inker (retired) Circles and Diamond Stitched Pattern cover plate

After assembling my floral cluster, I trimmed down some white cardstock and stamped my sentiment, then used the cover plate over that.  Then I matted the panel, attached it to my card base, and added the flowers.  

These posies have always made me think of flowering fruit trees, but today I chose to make them blue.

Can you believe June is almost here?!  It's still on the chilly side here, and my husband thought we had a light frost a few nights ago!  Still, I'd rather this than the dive into summer temps we've had some years.  We are enjoying a nice slow unfolding of our gardens this year.

Some Valentines, inspired by Tim

It's February, the month for Valentines! 

I was inspired by Tim Holtz's Valentine video last month to pull out my Valentine supplies and make some cards.  

supplies: watercolor cardstock, various pink and yellow cardstock, Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations (retired) Doily embossing folder, Spun Sugar distress ink, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster Layering die set, stamped leaves from my scrap basket, Tim Holtz Sentiments Label sticker

Isn't this embossing folder a treasure?  The dimension is wonderful!  I took Tim's example and inked the flat side of it with spun sugar distress ink before embossing it in my machine.  I wanted to simulate a kind of tussy-mussy, a little bouquet of posies wrapped in a lacy doily, and I think this mini flower cluster does the trick.  Then I just added a sentiment label.  

Next, I left my heart do the choosing, picking things from my stash that have meaning to me: script, gingham, blues, lace, lilies of the valley and forget-me-nots.  

supplies: white card base, unknown script patterned paper, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Lace Baseboard Frame, ephemera from Botanical Layer , SmallTalk Occasions sentiment strip, blue gingham ribbon, blue pearls

After I'd glued the largest ephemera piece to the lace baseboard, I glued the smaller one to the script backing, then added adhesive foam pieces to the frame to make it stand up even more from the card base.  I wanted to accent the blues, so I added a small blue gingham bow and some blue pearls.

These Lace baseboard frames are really lovely, and I'm so glad that they're still available!

Thanks for stopping by!  Will you be making some Valentines this month?

Postage Collage and a Stencil

 Here's another entry into my experiments with the Waffle Flower Postage Collage products.  This time I started with an already stencilled and embossed panel from one of Altenew's Craft Your Life kits.

supplies: white and a mint mat from Scrapook.com Sunshine A2 paper pad, Waffle Flower Postage Collage dies and Postage Collage stamps, Altenew Watercolor Flowers Craft Your Life stencils and embossing folder, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamps and die, adhesive strips

Unlike my 2 other cards, I did not use the coloring stencil.  I just cut the collage die direct from my panel that was previously stencilled and embossed.  Then I just added some postage stamps and lifted up a sentiment stamped in aqua.  

I'm having a ball!  I can see why these products are so popular!  Thank you once again for stopping by.

Festive Poinsettias

 Yana has another gorgeous release at Spellbinders today!  And she's made us another BetterPress plate with matching stencils for the holidays - Festive Poinsettias!  I have 3 cards today.

supplies: white and plum cardstock, Festive Poinsettias Better Press plate and Stencil Bundle, Black glimmer hot foil, Altenew Cherry Blossom, Green Fields, and Rocky Shores inks, blending brushes, Home for Christmas Sentiment/die

The foil plate measures 4 3/4" X 5 3/4", so after foiling it in Black, I matted it on a plum paper, and then onto a 5 X 7 card that I cut down a bit in length.  Yana's new Home for Christmas Sentiments press plates/dies have some wonderful sentiments that will work perfectly on these gorgeous backgrounds.

Next I foiled the design in Matte Gold and cut it down to fit onto an A2 card, changing up the colors to aquas.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Festive Poinsettias press plate/stencil bundle, Matte Gold glimmer hot foil, Altenew Sweet Dreams, Green Valley, and Dark Chocolate inks, sentiment from this month's Glimmer kit, Festive Lights

I really like this color combination.

Here's a third version, done in reds against a black background.

supplies: white and red cardstock, Festive Poinsettia Press Plate/Stencil bundle, Black glimmer hot foil, Altenew Red Sunset, Green Valley, Maple Yellow, and vintage photo distress ink,  Home for Christmas Sentiment Press Plate/die, Matte Gold glimmer hot foil

You can see that this landscape version works just as nicely as the portrait one.

I hope you'll come back again in a few days to see another of Yana's designs from her newest release, called the Amaryllis Christmas Collection.

Love Those Pretty Papers!

 I happened upon a new challenge just starting this month, and loved the premise: to use those patterned papers we've all been hoarding!  I am guilty as charged, so I couldn't wait to have a play.

supplies: cream, pink, and black cardstock, Webster's Pages rose paper, pink and green patterns from my collection, Simon Says Stamp sentiment from Beautiful Butterflies and Stitching Butterfly die, Altenew Creative Edges Lace die, Spellbinders label die

Awhile back, I gathered my many 6" square paper pads of printed papers and went through them, picking out the prettiest papers, then sorted them by florals, ginghams, stripes, etc.  The florals is where I found the gorgeous Webster's Paper rose print and the tone-on-tone pink one, and then went looking for a green print that would work with them.  

We're supposed to make the papers the star of the show for this challenge, so I just chose a small sentiment and a butterfly to complete my design.

It feels good to use this lovely paper!  I hope you'll join this challenge, too - it's called Love Those Pretty Papers.

Altenew June Inspiration Challenge

 I'm sneaking in at the last hour with my entry for this month's Altenew Inspiration Challenge.  Those colors were my Mom's favorites, so how could I not play?

supplies: white cardstock, Altenew Beautiful Day flowers and leaves, Rose Petal, Green Meadows, kitsch flamingo and Picked raspberry inks, orange enamel dots, Four Petal Floral 3D embossing folder, Hexi Gems glimmer plate sentiment, Pink glimmer hot foil  adhesive foam squares

The Beautiful Day multi-step stamping set was among my first from Atenew; I love the big abundant flower it makes.  I thought the embossing behind it mimics it pretty well, too, so I could reinforce the  inspiration picture, which had lots of flowers in these colors.  And that orange is a nice addition to them - I used enamel dots for that color.

It just now occurred to me that maybe the reason I love embossed backgrounds is that it's like the quilting on a quilt - wonderful added texture!

Daisy Days

 The Daisy Days suite from the Greetery has been calling my name again.  I had also bought the Fill-in-the-Blank paper set, too, but have never used the black background.  Since black backgrounds have become somewhat of a trend lately, that's where I started this time.  

supplies: fuschia cardstock, black Daisy Days Fill-in-the-Blank panel, Daisy Days stamp/stencil combo, Altenew Spring Bouquet pinks and Chamomile, and Simon Trio 15 green inks, blending brushes, matching Daisy Days dies, Spellbinders Heartfelt Scallop die, Curved Everyday Sentiment glimmer plate, gold glimmer foil, adhesive foam squares

So you start out with the fill-in-the blank panel, and then use 6 different stencils to color in the floral details.  Then there is a matching stamp set that has details to stamp onto the flowers.  I also used the 2 flower dies to cut out 5 extra stamped flowers and then popped them above the finished card, along with the sentiment banner.  I love these colors against black!  But then, I think black makes almost anything pop.......

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend!

Delicate Garden

 I've been lusting after this Delicate Garden Craft Your Life set for a year now, and I finally caught it on sale earlier this month!  Here are some cards I made using this wonderful set.

supplies: white cardstock, dps from Whimsy Stamps Mix-n-Match 2 pack, Delicate Garden embossing folder, stencils, and matching die, Altenew Cherry Blossom, Pocketful of Sunshine, and Green Valley inks, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamps and die

First I used the embossing folder to emboss this image, then the stencils to color it, and finally the matching die to cut it out.  Then I ran it through the folder again to refresh and deepen all the details.  I love dots and stripes, and this paper pack is a great one that has both!  There is a stamp set also in this set, but when using the embossing folder, I don't think you need it.  

The stamp set, stencils, and dies have 2 more floral arrangements in this set.  They are often used together with the above image, but today I wanted to let them shine on their own.

supplies: white and purple cardstock, Delicate Garden stamp, stencils, and die, Altenew Enchanted Garden purples and Green Meadows greens inks, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die, Simon Blossom Field embossing folder, Spellbinders All You Need Sentiments glimmer plate and die, Lavender Petal glimmer foil

supplies: white, lemon yellow, and black cardstock, Delicate Garden stamp, stencils, and die, Altenew Pocketful of Sunshine yellows, Golden Sunset oranges, and Spring Bouquet greens inks, Pink Fresh Studio Floral and Diamond Tiles coverplate, Spellbinders Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate and die, gold glimmer foil

This is certainly a set that gives you your money's worth!  I love sets like these that give you lots of products that all coordinate.

Thanks for stopping by!

Altenew April Inspiration Challenge

I need to be doing more challenges, so I found this one from Altenew, their monthly inspiration challenge.

The beautiful inspiration photo was taken at Gooch's Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine, a place that holds my heart!  We try to get to the area at least once a year.  Here's my entry, inspired by the colors, of course, and the horizontal lines..

supplies: white and slate grey cardstock, Altenew Lush Garden stamps and matching dies, Golden Sunset, Tea Party, and Rock Collection inks, sentiment die from (retired) Flower Arrangement die set, enamel dots, Spellbinders brush stroke stencil

Keep your fingers crossed for me!  And enjoy your Sunday!  I think spring has finally arrived here, and we plan to be outside as much as possible! 

Edited to add: this card was one of 4 winners at the Altenew April Inspiration Challenge!