Gilded Viola

 Memory Box/Poppy Stamps/Birch Press Design have the best sales at the end of the year!  And these companies are so generous!  I placed an order then and they sent along some freebies.  This Gilded Viola stencil set was one of them.  I decided to take the title to heart and used inks for the first 2 layers, and foiled the third.

I tilted this first photo so you could see the gold foiling better.

supplies: white cardstock, metallic gold cardstock, Birch Press Design Gilded Viola stencils set, Simon Violet and Iris inks, DecoFoil Transfer Gel , gold foil, and Stencil Pal tool, laminator, Simon Happy Wishes die

These stencils have a little white border built right into them for A2 size cards, what a nice detail!

And a second shot straight on.

I also wanted to give kudos to DecoFoil; the transfer gel I used is years old, and it was still just as creamy as when I first got it!  That has NOT been my experience with most gels after some time has gone by.  No special attention to it, I just kept the seal as intact as I could, screwed the lid on really tight, and stored it in a plastic bag with a twistie.

I encourage you to foil something if you have the capabilities - sure does give a pretty boost to your creation!

Joy!

I originally saw these Birch Press Design Herbarium Plate dies on my friend Linda's blog, and followed her link after Thanksgiving and got them for myself at an amazing price.  Here's my first play with them.

supplies: white, lipstick red, 3 teal greens cardstock, Birch Press Design Herbarium Plates suite,  Hero Arts Joy stamp and cut die, red metallic dots

This bundle is a set of 3 A2 size plates that you cut from different colors of cardstock and then stack for this lovely design.  I have nothing else like them, and am so glad I was able to add them to my supplies.  I added some hoarded Hero Arts metallic dots for my berries, and a large Hero Arts sentiment.  Everything is retired, I'm sorry to say, from their home websites.

I'm entering this into this year's final challenge at the Simon Wednesday Blog, which is using dies.

It's almost Christmas - are you ready?

Floral Wreath

 It's been awhile since I've made a wreath card, so today's the day!

supplies: white colored cardstock, Spellbinders Little Blooms, Birch Press Design Sugar Script Sentiments Hot Foil Plate and Die, teal glimmer hot foil, Doodlebug mini heart sprinkles

I trimmed my inner white rectangle to 4 X 5 1/4", then lightly traced a circle on it. After cutting out all the flowers and leaves, I formed them into a wreath, following my pencil lines, then just added a sentiment from my scrap box and some tiny enamel hearts in the cardstock colors.

It's August!  Enjoy what's left of summer.   

Rose Bunch Miss You

 Just playing today.  This reminds me of an old-fashioned hand-painted pin in times long gone.

supplies: white, peachy pink and green cardstock, Birch Press Design Rose Bunch Contour Layers dies, leaves from Altenew Rose Flurries, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments foiling plate, gold foil, matching die, Spellbinders (retired) Hemstitch Oval die

The floral die is just 3 pieces and 3 colors of the same shade.  Some of the pieces can be a little fiddly, but if you take your time, it's a lovely result!

Thanks for your visit today - have a great day!

Anniversary Roses

 I took advantage of a Memorial Day Sale at Birch Press Design and brought home this lovely.  In my opinion, you can never have too many roses!

supplies: white, 3 peach shades, and 2 green shades of cardstock, Rose Bunch Contour Layers dies, leaves from Altenew Garden Picks dies, (retired) The Crafts Meow Sweet Sentiments

On her wedding day, this bride carried shades of blush roses.  These new dies are a perfect size, needing nothing else but some leaves and a sentiment.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Joyful Bouquet

 I finally got the last piece of a suite of products called Joyful Bouquet!  I started with the washi tape and the matching dies first, then the stamp set, and just now the matching layering stencils!  Here are some cards using the stencils.

supplies: white cardstock, PinkFresh Studio Joyful Bouquet stamp, layering stencils, and matching die, Altenew mini ink cubes, Simon Small Blending Brushes, PTI Border Bling: Dainty Deliveries Frame die, Birch Press Design Sugar Script Sentiments foiling plate and die set, gold foil     

I think this is a darling bouquet image!  A good size, too.  The set also includes 6 small floral images.  So I stamped and stencilled them, and then did a 2nd batch using only the stencils to see the differences.

As you can see, when you don't stamp, you lose a few details, but I still think they're pretty.  Here are 2 more cards using these once I die-cut them.

supplies: white and yellow cardstock, PinkFresh Studio Joyful Bouquet floral sprigs stamps, stencils, and matching die, Rise & Shine yellows, Heather and Violet purples, and Lime and Fresh Leaf green inks, blending brushes, Simon Blossom Fields embossing folder, Spellbinders Picot Edge Oval die, Mama Elephant Paola's Wishes sentiment

supplies: white cardstock, Impression Obsession Painted Stripes cling stamp, Firefly ink, PinkFresh Studio Joyful Bouquet Floral sprigs stencils and matching die, Mama Elephant Paola's Wishes sentiment, yellow enamel dots

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

Let It Snow!

As much as I complain about winter, it's not the snow that I object to, it's the lack of sunshine.......Since we didn't go south for the winter this year, I've been enjoying the beautiful snow for the first time in years.  So I decided to make a card to reflect the beauty of this season, using this gorgeous snowflake stamp - I love the delicacy of them!

I have a memory from when I was 12 years old or so, and my Mom and I walked home from a Girl Scout meeting at night.  It was a long walk, and the snow was coming down fast, so there were no cars out and I remember the quiet and the sparkly flakes when we'd be near lights.  It was one of those wet snows where the branches of trees get coated with white and everything looks brand new.  Hopefully this card reflects that feeling.

supplies: white and white glitter cardstock, vellum, Hero Arts Hand Drawn Snowflakes cling stamp, white embossing powder, distress oxide inks and water,  Penny Black Snowflake Trio, Birch Press Design Let it Snow dies, silver sequins

I made a galaxy background with my oxide inks, adding some white splatters, and when completely dry, I overstamped and white embossed these lovely flakes.  Then I simply added my sentiment and a snowflake cut from white glitter card, and some silver sequins. To make the sentiment stand out better, I first added it to a strip of vellum, which helps lift the sentiment up a bit and away from the card front.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says........Use a Die or Punch

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week we'd like you to use a die or a punch in your creation.  My teamies and I are using products from Birch Press Design.  You don't have to use them, but we'd love to see them if you have them.

I chose their pretty Just Because die and paired it with a Lawn Fawn cover die and a Simon flower bouquet:

supplies: black, white, and Audrey Blue card stock, Birch Press Design Sugar Script Just Because die, Simon's Center Cut Flowers cling stamp, Nuvo markers: Aquamarine, Sunshine Yellow, and Irish Clover, Lawn Fawn Quilted Backdrop cover die, adhesive foam squares to pop bouquet above card

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

Don't forget about our ongoing Kid's Challenge this month. All details can be found HERE.