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!

A Birthday Card

 I saw this idea on Pinterest (unfortunately there wasn't a viable link), and loved it for a friend's birthday.

supplies: white, green, and 2 pink cardstock, Spellbinders Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, Sealed Blooms floral dies, 2 retired hearts (Spellbinders and Simon Says Stamp Large Heart Doily), Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments, heart sprinkles, adhesive foam squares

This makes me think of flowers in the snow, with the white background.  

Popping this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use Dies.

Thanks for coming by!

Mixing It Up!

 I realized that the Spellbinders Sealed floral and leafy sprigs would be a great match for Papertrey Ink's Tuck It stamps and dies, so last month when there was a great sale at Spellbinders, I scooped up a couple of the older Sealed sets and had a play.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and Green Apple cardstock, Spellbinders Sealed Blooms dies and Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, PTI Tuck It die and dotted scallop stamp, Clearly Besotted sentiment from Sweet Little Sentiments

I think it's so charming that you can "tuck" flowers into a sentiment that is partially die-cut; kind of like making your own little nosegay for someone!  I've used this set before - see HERE and HERE for some more ideas.  I like that these new Sealed products are etched with details, and I'll be watching for more sets that can be mixed and matched with the ones I already have, so that a bigger bouquet can be built.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day!

Woodblock Wednesday for October

This month I used 2 Hero Arts woodblock stamps from 2009: Traditional Pumpkin and Tall Pumpkin.

supplies: black dot and halloween stripe dps, white cardstock, Doodlebug orange tiny prints, Hero Arts Tall Pumpkin and Traditional Pumpkin, faces from Clearly Besotted Boo to You and Pink and Main Hey Pumpkin, bat and Boo from Spellbinders Hey Boo die set, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die 

Hope you'll join us this month!

I'll be adding this card to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes.

Woodblock Wednesday!

 I was thrilled to be asked to be a guest designer at Amy's Woodblock Wednesday challenge this month!  

I had fun trying to decide which of my wood stamps to play with, and in the end, I chose this one by Hero Arts from 2010, and updated it by making it into a mini slim-line.  Since it's almost officially the end of summer, I thought I'd showcase this lovely stamp that features a summer hollyhock.

supplies: white card base, peach and black cardstock, Doodlebug peach gingham, and a script pattern paper, Hero Arts Garden Silhouette woodblock, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, peach and green inks, blending brushes, sentiment from Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

Starting with a skinny panel of a script pattern paper, I stamped using VersaMark ink, and white embossed the image.  This particular stamp inks the negative of the image, leaving the details alone so that the background paper shows through.  Then I used small blending brushes to add peach ink to the flowers and green to the leaves and bugs.  The panel was then matted in peach cardstock, and affixed to a mini slimline card base 3" X 6" on which I'd added panels of peach gingham and the same script I used to stamp on.  To finish I added a simple script sentiment embossed in white on black.

Since woodblock stamps are how most of us began stamping, I think it's genius that Amy gives us a forum for bringing back these beauties!    I hope you'll play along, too - you can find more information HERE.

Woodblock Wednesday for July

 Here's my entry for this month's Woodblock Wednesday.  I used one of a set of 4 stamps from Hero Arts called Words & Flowers, dated 2008, and did some easy paper-piecing..

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug floral dps, Hero Arts Words & Flowers woodblock, sentiment from Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

I've always loved text on a stamp, and adding in a flower is icing on the cake!

And a detail photo:

I hope you'll join us and have a play with your woodblock stamps, too - you can find all the info here.  

I'd like to enter this card into this week's Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Get Well Card

 I was intrigued by the Tuck It dies from PaperTrey Ink when I first saw them, but it took me awhile to get them.  I think they'll be a natural with all my posies, don't you think?  The premise of these dies is that they make a partial die-cut so that you can tuck in something behind what becomes your sentiment label.

Here's my first play.

supplies: white cardstock, a green gingham dp, twisted citron distress ink and a blending brush, Memory Box (retired) Daisy Silhouette dies, markers, PTI Tuck It dies and Sentiments (stamped detail on label), Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments, adhesive foam squares to lift flowers

What is more perfect than gingham and daisies to lift your spirits?  

Thanks for visiting today - have a good one!

Floral Harmony

 I am in love with this beautiful Simon Says Stamp embossing folder called Floral Harmony that I recently brought home!  Here are 2 cards.

supplies: white cardstock, Floral Harmony embossing folder and cutting dies set, Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend markers, Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments stamp

This one uses the 3 floral dies that are included in the set.  The embossing folder is so pretty that it really doesn't need a thing.  Next I just embossed it on colored cardstock and then swiped it with white pigment ink; no dies this time.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Floral Harmony folder, white pigment ink, Avery Elle Loads of Wishes stamp

I didn't want to cover up a single inch of these, so I chose sentiments on the small side.  As you can see, you can spend as much or as little time on this - the results are spectacular either way!

Thanks for visiting me today - have a lovely day!

Simon Says......Love is in the Air

Welcome to the new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!

Our fun theme this week is "Love is in the Air", and the team is featuring Clearly Besotted products.  You can use any products you'd like to enter.

supplies: white cardstock, a scrap of heart patterned paper, Clearly Besotted Some Birdie Loves You clear stamps, heart die, adhesive foam

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

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

 

Simon Says......Anything Goes

 

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

It's Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring Clearly Besotted products.  You don't have to use this brand to enter our challenge, but if you do have any of their products, we'd love to see you using them, too!

I chose a beautiful floral set of stamps and went CAS this week.

supplies: white cardstock, Clearly Besotted Floral Spray clear stamp set, sentiment from Simon's Joys of Spring, adhesive foam squares

I simply stamped one of the floral sprays across the top of a horizontal A2 panel, then cut out the lower border, and popped it above my card base on which I had stamped my sentiment.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Simon Says.......Add a Sentiment

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog!

Our theme this week is "Add a Sentiment", and the team is showcasing Clearly Besotted products.

supplies: white cardstock, Newton's Nook Tropical Leaves stencil, mowed lawn oxide ink, Clearly Besotted Some Birdie Loves You clear stamps, adhesive foam squares

I masked off my card front and stencilled the background leaves, then stamped and cut out the birds and some extra leaves.  I added a sentiment strip to the center of my card, then arranged the birds around it and popped them up.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 Here's the card I'm giving to my Mom today; she's 96 and these are her favorite colors.  My order from The Greetery came just in time to make it!

supplies: white and Doll Pink cardstock, The Greetery Flower Market Bouquet stamp and matching die and Fit to be Tied bow die, Altenew mini ink cubes, Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments, Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Lattice die

Wishing all you Moms a very happy day today!

Simon Says.......Besotted with Our Pets

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

The theme this week is Besotted with Our Pets, and the team is showcasing Clearly Besotted goodies!  I come from an animal-loving family, especially my youngest sister........as a child, she had pets ranging from mice to a turtle, 5 baby raccoons, a porcupine named Barney, a squirrel, and as an adult, fish, doves, ferrets, a hedgehog, and always a dog or 2.  We all thought she'd become a veterinarian, but she's a fitting model and a musician!

I've had dogs during most of my life: our Dad's hunting beagles, and dachshunds, then a lab mix when our boys were with us, so I chose this darling Puppy Love set.  Who can resist a puppy?  I couldn't decide which of these I liked best, so I used all 3 of them.

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Clearly Besotted Puppy Love, Cookies & Cream markers to color, Simon's Stitched Circle and MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies, adhesive foam to pop up puppy inside circle

I'm no colorist, but I think you can still see how adorable these puppies are - the sentiment and the paw print are also part of the set, along with more sentiments, a ball, and a bone.

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!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Simon Says........Cute!

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to this week's challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!  

Our theme this week is "Cute", and we're highlighting Clearly Besotted products this week.  I chose a darling bird set and here's my card.

supplies: white card stock, Clearly Besotted Some Birdie Loves You stamps, Tonic alcohol markers to color, Simon's Tropical Leaves set, Altenew Sea Shore and Green Meadow mini inks, Mowed Lawn distress oxide and tumbled glass distress inks, Simon's Stitched Circle die, adhesive foam squares

I looked at a bunch of pictures of parrots to decide how to color these 2 cuties, then colored them and cut them out, along with a couple leaves from the set.  Then I used those colors to find some inks to stamp my background panel of tropical leaves.  That panel was attached to my white card base, and the birds and leaves to a stitched circle, which I popped above the rest of the card.

There are 2 toucans and 3 other parrots in this set, along with a birdcage, a branch, hearts, a flower, the music notes, and 4 other sentiments, so you can have lots of fun with this one!

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!

Simon Says........Let's Get Ready for Christmas!

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

This week our theme is "Let's Get Ready for Christmas", and my teamies and I are showcasing Clearly Besotted goodies. 

supplies: white and green glimmer paper, Clearly Besotted Christmas Sparkle, Simon's Best Ever stripe for trunk of tree, Simon white embossing powder, Crystal Stickles, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle die, snowflake embossing folder

I took this theme at face value - getting ready for Christmas for me means decorating the tree and the house, so I chose this snowflake tree and embossed it and the sentiment in white, then surrounded it with snowflake embossing.

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!