Bird on a Wreath

Still playing with Christmas goodies and using them for everyday cards.   Today those goodies are a stencilled wreath and a bird, both part of Holiday sets.

supplies: white, yellow, pinks, and greys cardstock, Spellbinders Christmas Bird Poinsettia bird, Sealed Blooms flowers, and (retired) Branching Out 3D embossing folder, (HERE's a similar one), Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly layering stencils, distress inks in twisted citron, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, saltwater taffy, and abandoned coral, adhesive foam squares

I started by stencilling the wreath, then ran the panel through a leafy embossing folder.  Next I constructed my bird and flowers and added them, popping the bird up with adhesive foam squares.  I pictured him as a mourning dove.  

I tried several die-cut sentiments, but didn't like any of them, so I'll push that decision off until I use the card.  

As always, thanks so much for stopping by today. 

Just Because

Here's another set that was meant for Christmas, but I wanted to get some more mileage out of it, so I changed up the colors.  

supplies: various oranges, blues, and greens cardstock, vellum, Concord & 9th Festive Blooms dies, Memory Box Just Because posh script die

Blues always make me happy, so I borrowed the colors from THIS card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Washi and a Turnabout!

 It's gardening season!  From now through June is the best time of year for enjoying our gardens, before they get to the "jungle" stage!  Recently I was in the mood for making a turnabout background, but then set it aside until now, when I paired it with some washi florals.

supplies: white and green cardstock, Concord & 9th In the Garden Turnabout stamp set, Sunny Studio Fancy Frames Circle die, Hero Arts Infinity Nesting Circle die, Waffle Flower Full Bloom Sentiments, Pink Fresh Studio Fluttering Butterfly Washi and matching die,  (retired) English Garden washi, adhesive foam squares

I don't use circles enough, so I chose this pretty scalloped one and one from a nested set to use as my focal point.  After stamping my sentiment, I added the bits of washi, then lifted the whole thing above my garden background.

Are you a gardener?  My husband does all the hard work, and I just choose the flowers and admire them!  Thanks for stopping by!

Postage Collage and Harvest Wreath

 Here's another play with my new Postage Collage bundle.  This time I started with a Turnabout wreath, and then cut the individual stamps apart.  

supplies: white and Doll Pink cardstock, Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangle dies, Oak Forest 3D embossing folder, Concord & 9th Harvest Wreath turnabout stamps, picked raspberry, vintage photo, carved pumpkin, and dusty concord distress inks, Postage Collage Coloring stencil, Postage Collage die, Postage Collage stamps, Newton's Nook Autumn Newton sentiments

My card measures a bit over 4 3/4" X 6".  I wanted to make my card itself into a big postage shape!  

Here's a picture of the panel before I cut it apart.  I used my Turnabout Jig to position my panel, and one of the Postage stencils before stamping the design.  I wanted to use some untraditional fall colors this time.  You get a completely different look when you cut the individual stamps apart, don't you think?

The object of this whole exercise was to see what I could do with the basic bundle of Postage Collage goodies, and now I think even more that it is a very versatile set.  I look forward to incorporating them into future projects in all seasons.  That's not to say that I will not add to the collection with more of Waffle Flower's stencils and stamps to fill in these tiny little canvases!

Thanks for stopping by - hope your day is a lovely one!

Some Wreaths for November Thanks

 It's November!  This month is for being grateful, and so I thought I'd start it out with a couple wreath cards for that occasion.  

Both of them start with cream card bases, and use Concord & 9th Turnabout products and the same 4 colors of distress oxide inks.

My first card uses a turnabout stamp set called Harvest Wreath.

supplies: cream and Audrey Blue cardstock, vellum, Concord & 9th Harvest Wreath Turnabout stamp set, Turnabout Jig, mustard seed, ripe persimmon, peacock feathers, and vintage photo oxide inks, Sunny Studio Autumn Greetings sentiment, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge Rectangle die

These stamps make such a pretty design, that I never want to cover them up, so I stamped and clear embossed my sentiment on a strip of vellum this time.  It reads "Wishing You a Season of Blessings".

The second card started with a turnabout stencil called Autumn Hues.

supplies: cream cardstock, Concord & 9th Autumn Hues Turnabout stencil, Turnabout Jig, same inks as above, sentiment and circle from Gina K. Designs Autumn Wreath Builder, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

These Turnabout goodies are pure fun, in my opinion; I always enjoy the process of working with them!  For those of you who haven't tried them yet, you position the stamp or stencil in your Misti with the help of the included acetate alignment aid, choose a color of ink, stamp or stencil, then turn your cardstock 1/4 turn to the right and choose another ink color, repeating this twice more to complete the design using 4 colors. I always use the Turnabout Jig to make sure my paper is positioned correctly to get the design centered perfectly on it. 

I'm entering these into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

Thanks so much for stopping by today - have a great one!

Festive Blooms

 When I saw this Concord & 9th Festive Blooms bundle, I practically fell over myself ordering it!  And it does NOT disappoint!  I spent a happy couple of days playing with it; here's what resulted.

supplies: various cardstock colors in aquas, jade, peacock, pink, white and silver metallic and silver glitter, Festive Blooms die set and stamp set, adhesive foam squares

I really like the banner dies that come in this set - they're a plus that can be used with other sets, and all but one of the sentiments fit inside it.

Part of the set is a pinpoint design that you die-cut into your background, which then acts as a pattern to place the other elements.  I think it's pretty all by itself, so for my 2nd card I cut it on a Mint base and then used fewer of the elements to make my own little arrangement, with another of the sentiments from the stamp set. I used reds and creams with gold accents this time.

supplies: Mint, cream, greens, red, and gold glitter cardstock, Festive Blooms dies and sentiment bundle

These were fun to put together, and I look forward to using these again as Christmas gets closer!  Thanks for stopping by!

Folkart Flower Turnabout Cards

 Here's the latest Turnabout design from Concord and 9th - I can't seem to resist any of them!  I made 2 cards with it today.

For my first card, I stamped the design, then die-cut the word happy from it, added the script sentiment, and popped the panel above a solid A2 coral panel.

supplies: white, black, and coral/orange cardstock, Folkart Flower Turnabout stamps, abandoned coral, ripe persimmon, mustard seed, and mowed lawn oxide inks, (retired) MFT Happy die, Spellbinders Smooth Lines Mix and Match sentiment die, adhesive foam

I switched to cool colors for my 2nd design, and stamped a sentiment on a trimmed down panel.

supplies: white, green apple, and audrey blue cardstock, Folkart Flower Turnabout stamps, twisted citron, salvaged patina, mowed lawn, and peacock feathers oxide inks, sentiment from Harvest Wreath turnabout stamps

I love the colorful panels that you can create with these sets, and it's fun to find colors that work together.  Today I used all oxide ink colors.

Thanks for your visit today - hope you're having a great Sunday!

Some Garden Path Cards

 Concord and 9th recently brought out a stencil pack with stamped sentiments to coordinate, called Garden Path.  I had a fun time playing with them, and have 3 cards to share today!

The unusual thing about the stencils is that there's one that inks in a background.  For this first card I used twisted citron for that.

supplies: white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (twisted citron, saltwater taffy, worn lipstick, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, mowed lawn, black soot), blender brushes, Garden Path stamp set, pale pink sequins 

Next I wanted to go a little more monochromatic, and so used blues with a bit of yellow and left the largest flowers uncolored except for their centers.

supplies: white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (tumbled glass, broken china, squeezed lemonade, evergreen bough), blending brushes, Garden Path stamp set 

And lastly, I used the background stencil to emboss the design from the back, then colored in the rest of it using the rest of the stencils, varying my colors.  Here you can see another of the 4 sentiments from the stamp set, and I added some enamel dots to the centers of the flowers.

white cardstock, Garden Path stencil pack, distress inks (saltwater taffy, worn lipstick, scattered straw, broken china), Altenew inks (lime and fresh leaf), Simon Pawsitively Saturated inks (cantelope and sherbet), blender brushes, Garden Path stamp set, various enamel dots

I used the background stencil to emboss all of my cards and give a bit more definition.  If you do this, be sure to emboss BEFORE adding your sentiment, or you may get some black ink where you didn't intend it!  

These stencil sets are perfect for those of us who aren't into coloring - hope you'll give these a look.

I'll be entering these into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge for this week: Anything Goes.

Thanks for visiting today!

Spring Robin

 Our weather has taken a decided turn to the chilly side lately, which makes me yearn for spring all the more!  So here's a card to help us be patient until it gets here.

supplies: white, bright pink, yellow, brown, and rust cardstock, Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly stencils, twisted citron, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness distress inks, 2 Pink Fresh Studio Fairy Dust pink inks, blending brushes, Simon Blossom Field embossing folder, Layered Birdie die, sentiment from Spellbinders Pocket Full of Spring Stitching dies, adhesive foam to pop up robin

This layering wreath stencil set was actually brought out in the winter, but I think that making the berries pink gives it a more spring-like feel.  And I put a robin on it because to me, it's a sign of spring.

Sorry I haven't been around lately, still getting back to normal again.  I'll try to do better!  

Just found that the Just Us Girls Challenge is "birds", and they are teaming up with Time Out Challenges, so I'll be entering this card in both of them!!

Christmas Greens

I wanted to give some love to some older products, and here is the card that resulted.  

supplies: white, Lipstick Red and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, The Greetery Winter Budding Beauties layering stamp set and matching dies, Fit to be Tied bow dies, Spellbinders Holly Flourish embossing folder, sentiment from (retired) Concord&9th/Simon colab Festive Flower, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge Rectangle die

I believe this is the first time I've used these bow dies!  I popped it and the pine berry sprig up above the rest of the card.  

Are you ready for Christmas?   

From Our House to Yours

 Here's another "little house" card, as I think of them.

supplies: white, kraft, pale blue, black, lipstick red, green, and audrey blue cardstock, white glitter cardstock, Concord & 9th Home for the Holidays houses, pines, lampposts, wreaths, and hills, leafless trees from Tim Holtz Countryside cover die, Wild Rose Studio (retired) Snowman Family sentiment, a retired snowflake embossing folder

I chose this set of dies because it enables you to piece the houses, and also because of that TEENSY wreath and bow!  Since I was adding snow to the houses and trees, I did those parts in glitter cardstock so that they would stand out a bit from the white background.

What IS it about miniature things?  I guess I'm not the only one drawn to these little homes, as I see new sets being released pretty often now!

Thank you for visiting today - I hope you have a lovely day.

Merry & Bright

 I watched Jennifer McGuire's video HERE earlier this week - I don't think I've ever combined a stenciled design with an embossing folder, so  here is my first attempt.

supplies: white, black, orange peel, lipstick red and schoolhouse red cardstocks, Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly layering stencils, twisted citron, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, abandoned coral and festive berries distress inks, blending brushes, retired snowflake embossing folder, Spellbinders Tweet Cardinal dies, sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Christmas 2023 sticker book

I first did my stenciling - this set is made so that the first 2 of the 3 stencils is turned 180 degrees, switching colors, to complete the design.  Then I embossed the trimmed panel.  I didn't mean to, but the snowflakes are pressed INTO the paper as opposed to the usual, and it works fine that way, still visible, but a bit more subtle.  To finish I just constructed my cardinal and popped him above the panel, adding a sticker sentiment.  I really like how this turned out!  More and more, I'm preferring an embossed background.

Thanks for stopping by.  How are your holiday preparations going?  

Festive Flowers from STAMPtember

 Here are 2 cards that I made with my new Simon Says Stamp/Concord & 9th collaboration stamp called Festive Flower released during STAMPtember.  It sold out, of course!

First I stamped it in traditional Christmas colors and put it against a pine embossed background.

supplies: white and red cardstock, Festive Flower stamps and sentiment, 2 shades of red and 2 shades of green ink, Spellbinders In the Pines embossing folder, adhesive foam

Next I made it in pinks and teals and added some frosty snowflakes and a bit of glitter on the pines.

supplies: white cardstock, Festive Flower stamps and sentiment, 2 shades of pink and 2 shades of teal inks, a retired Simon Snowflake (Hand Lettered Winter Wishes) embossed in white, spun sugar distress ink, clear rock candy distress glitter, adhesive foam squares

I chose this set because of the large poinsettia stamp.  It can carry a card all by itself.  And I thought the other accompanying sprigs in the set were nice additions, along with the variety of sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Pastel Punkins!

 These 3 little pumpkin dies with the stitched details really appealed to me when Concord & 9th recently brought them out.  I also noticed that one of the designers there made a card with pink pumpkins, so I thought I'd run with that idea and make mine pink, cream, and pale blue!

supplies: ivory, cotton candy, surf blue, green apple, green leaf, and 2 kraft cardstock, The Greetery Tartan Builder Diagonal layering stencils, spun sugar, tumbled glass, and vintage photo distress inks, Concord & 9th Playful Pumpkins dies and stamped sentiment from their (retired) Give Thanks set

After deciding on my main colors, I found distress ink colors that matched to stencil my plaid for a background, then cut out the pumpkins and die and arranged them, popping them above the background after I'd stamped my sentiment.

I remember when I first saw my first white pumpkin years and years ago, in Maine when we were on vacation.  It seemed like it took forever for us to find them here in Ohio, but they are common here now.  If we had the space, I'd love to grow them!

Happy Fall!

I'd like to enter this card into this week's Simon Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

Woodblock Wednesday!

 Time for my Woodblock Wednesday monthly post!  This time I chose a wood stamp from Stampendous called Autumn Words.

supplies: white, gold, pale and darker orange, and aqua cardstock, Stampendous Autumn Words, inks in Altenew Fresh Lemon, Chamomile, Orange Cream, Ocean Waves, and Dusk inks, blending brush, Spellbinders Autumn Leaves die, sentiment from Concord & 9th Harvest Wreath stamps

This stamp is dated 2012, and it's one I try to use every year.  

Do you have a favorite fall woodblock?  

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

Thinking of You

 Here's another card that started with the same Turnabout stamp set that I used HERE and HERE..

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Concord & 9th Blooms Turnabout stamps, oxide inks in kitsch flamingo, mustard seed, salvaged patina, and carved pumpkin, Altenew inks in Lime and Fresh Leaf, Simon Thinking of You Line dies, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scallop Rectangle die

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great week!

Autumn Birdhouse

Today's card is a mix of lots of companies dies.  I love this Lawn Fawn Birdhouse, but I don't think I've ever made a fall card with it.  

supplies: white, aquas, reds, autumn colors, and 2 kraft woodgrain cardstock, Lawn Fawn Magic Iris Birdhouse Add-On dies, Spellbinders Tweet Cardinal, Sweet Birds on a Branch (branch),  PTI cloud die, Concord & 9th Playful Pumpkins maple leaf die, and sentiment from Spellbinders Fall Thoughtfulness stamp, Simon Cream embossing powder, adhesive foam squares to lift birdhouse

This was fun to put together, and I love it when I can mix and match supplies from lots of different companies.  That cloud die was the smallest in a set that is so old there are no release holes to get it out of the die!  Glad I've kept it all these years, though, as it comes in handy more than you'd think!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Three in One!

It's August, can you believe it?!  Here are some summery cards in citrus colors.  

I got this idea from Carol, who used a stencil mixed with an embossing folder.  I thought this stamped pattern was so similar to the embossed one that they would make great partners.  Like her, I stamped 1 square panel, then cut it into three pieces and matched them with a favorite embossing folder that mimics the pattern.  Here they are.

supplies: white and gold cardstock, vellum, Concord & 9th Blooms Turnabout stamp set, Altenew Golden Sunset, Lime, and Fresh Leaf inks, Spellbinders Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, Simon Happy Wishes sentiment dies

For these first 2 cards, I used the same Golden Sunset inks and blending brushes to color my die-cut sentiments

supplies: white and orange cardstock, vellum, same turnabout set and embossing folder, Just Because dies

And for the last one, I used colored cardstock over vellum shadows for my sentiment.

supplies: same supplies as above, gold and orange cardstock, vellum, Spellbinders Yana's Wonderful Script sentiments dies

I'm adding these to the Anything Goes challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog.

Thank you, Carol, for a great idea!   

One Big Hug

 I was in the mood for some turnabout stamping, and pulled out this Blooms Turnabout.  I did it in pinks and yellows this time.

supplies: white, Green Leaf, Green Apple, Doll Pink pale pink and pale yellow card, Concord & 9th Blooms Turnabout stamps, sentiment from (retired) Simon's Happy Every Day set, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, squeezed lemonade, and mustard seed oxide inks, Altenew Lime and Fresh Leaf inks, Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms dies, Winnie & Walter (retired) Noel scalloped rectangle die, adhesive foam squares

This turnabout set actually has 2 turnabout stamps, one for the leaves, another for the flowers!  The turnabouts are fun to play with and always give pretty results, no matter what colors you choose!  And I think this Be Bold Bloom flowers are a nice match with the floral stamps..

Thanks for stopping by today - have a good one!

Simon Says........Add Some Sparkle!

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

 Our theme this week is "Add Some Sparkle", and the team is working with WOW products.  

supplies: Cotton Candy cardstock, Polished Gold Mirror card, vellum, Concord & 9th Snowflakes Turnabout, Simon Clear embossing ink, WOW Pinkish embossing glitter, Simon White and Antique Gold, and Ranger Silver embossing powders, Simon Circle Sentiments Christmas, Circle die, a small snowflake die (Wplus9?), microdot adhesive

I chose a Turnabout stamp rather than a large cling so that I could get 4 different embossing powders (and colors) on my design, .  So with every turn, I stopped to add a different embossing powder: white, gold, silver, and pink.  The panel was a bit warped after all that heating, so it sat awhile under a stack of heavy books before it was attached to a Mirror Gold panel.  I used more of the Antique Gold powder to stamp my sentiment on vellum.  Once again, that miracle of microdot adhesive comes to the rescue to add the vellum sentiment to my card!

Here's a tilted shot to show you the glimmer.  Here the silver and gold show up the best.  

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!