Easter Blessings

 You should have noticed by now that I really love embossing in my backgrounds.  So when I saw this card by Jane Kathryn on Pinterest, I thought I'd do a CASE of it.  I loved Jane's idea because it really forces you to look at the amazing details in the embossed design.  Here's my version.

supplies: white cardstock, Spellbinders/Yana Smakula Amaryllis Garden 3D embossing folder, rectangle die, sentiment/matching die from Spellbinders February 2024 Daffodil Spray Glimmer kit, Polished Brass glimmer foil

I simply embossed an A2 panel, and overlayed it with another plain one that looks like a frame.

These flowers looked like lilies or fancy daffodils to me, and from there I went to our upcoming Easter holiday next week.  I haven't done a white-on-white card in eons, and these 3D folders work beautifully with that idea.  With a different folder and sentiment, this would make a lovely sympathy card, too.  

The foiled sentiment takes it up a step, don't you think?  

Happy Easter!

A Card for Easter

 My friend Mary Anne sent us a beautiful card for Easter, and I couldn't wait to try and make one, too!  Here's my first attempt, using papers from my stash.  I think the floral one is Webster's Pages......

supplies: white cardstock, 3 patterned papers, sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith

This kind of fancy fold card is not my usual, but I did enjoy trying to duplicate Mary Anne's card.  I used 3 different patterned papers.  The finished card measures 3" X 5 1/2", so it looks kind of like a slim-line, except that when it folds down for mailing, you'll still need an A2 envelope.  Here's 1 more picture, to show you the 3rd pattern paper, just a blue dot.

I'm so glad I have this tiny sentiment stamp from Simon Says Stamp - there were several options I could have used.  

If you search "pop-up cross cards", you'll find lots of examples and I'm sure some directions for how to make a card similar to this.  I saw some lovely ideas when I searched!

The Simon Wednesday Challenge is asking for cards using patterned paper, so I'll be entering this card there. 

Happy Easter!

Spellbinders Club Kits for February: Luxe Damask BetterPress

 My BetterPress kit came a little later than my other Club Kits this month, but it was worth the wait!  It's called Luxe Damask; here's what I made with it.

supplies: pink and grey cardstock, Spellbinders Luxe Damask BetterPress Plates, Hero Arts Soft Granite and Charcoal inks, rectangle dies, Be Bold Blooms, Floral Spray dies, enamel dots, adhesive foam squares

This lovely set has a registration template to help place the design all over your card, or you can just center it.  Along with the pretty damask design, there are 3 sentiments: the Easter one you see here, plus one for Spring and a Thank You.  This is a keeper!

After completing my design in grey ink on pink card, I cut a rectangle out from its center, matted it in a darker shade, then popped it back into place with foam squares.  Then I added my flowers and sentiment.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!

Spellbinders February Club Kits: Large Dies, Stitching Dies, and Embossing Folder

 Here are some more cards using more of the Spellbinders Club Kits for this month: Large Dies, Dancin' Happy Bunnies Everywhere, Stitching Dies, Stitched Scallop Card Front, and the regular Embossing folder, Wicker Basket.

supplies: white, blush, and various colored cardstock, a printed design paper, Stitched Scallop Card Front die, white embroidery floss, teeny Peach Blush gems, Dancin' Hoppy Bunnies Everywhere dies

The Stitching set comes with a smaller frame, and a tag.  

Don't you love those flirty little eyes we got this month?  Here's a little boy bunny to go along with her, paired with this month's embossing folder..

supplies: kraft cardstock, various colored cardstock, Dancin' Hoppy Bunnies Everywhere dies, Wicker Basket embossing folder

There are so many fun accessories in this Large Die kit: clothes to dress your bunnies, or bows, this fun chick, a carrot, flowers. I adapted the paint can to a little basket for the bunnies to collect their flowers or carrots. And I didn't even use the eggs that you can decorate!  The bunnies are called "Dancin'" because they are made with a separate die for their legs, with the hinged dancing feature that Spellbinders has used before.  Today I chose not to use that feature, and just glued the legs on to their bodies.

Here are the Kits I used today: 

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!

Happy Easter!

 I recently "discovered" this lovely cling stamp from Penny Black in my supplies, and decided to give it some love!

supplies: white and pink cardstock, (retired) Penny Black Easter Basket cling stamp from 2011, (retired) Hero Arts sentiment from Celebrate Everyday, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle stackable die

I know the main elements of this card are retired, but it is just too pretty of an image to ignore!  

I'm entering this into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes.

Hope you have a blessed Easter!

Spellbinders February Club Kits: Clear Stamp and Die and Stencils

 The Spellbinders Club Kits are now available, all with a spring/Easter theme!  Today I'm starting with a card I made using the Stamp and Die Kit: Lily Arch.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Lily Arch clear stamp and sentiment, and matching die, 2 sizes of Essential Arches

When I looked at this floral image, I though "Easter Lilies", and so the coloring on this card was simple; just a bit of green for the leaves and stems and yellow for the flower centers.  The matching die makes a nice cut, preserving the arch shape, but cutting out enough of the background so that a piece of colored cardstock works for showing off this lovely spray of flowers.

I used an Essential Arch die to cut out the background, and the largest arch of the same set to cut my card base to make a shaped card.  The stamp set has lots of different sentiments, 2 of which are arched, so I chose the Easter one and added it to the top.  

The stencils of the month  this time are 4 different background stencils: Spring Stencil Backgrounds.  Here are 3 of them.  On each card, after doing my stencilling, I used the stencil with an embossing plate and mat to emboss some dimension.

supplies: white, lavender and purple cardstock, Spring Background stencil, 3 shades of purple inks, (retired) Butterfly Dies from a February 2019 large die of the month set: Bonjour

supplies: white and black cardstock, Spring Background stencil, yellows and orange inks, sentiment from Punch & Pierce April 23 Large Die of the Month

supplies: white and Doll Pink cardstock, Spring Background stencil, Pink Fresh Studio Fairy Dust quad of pink inks, blending brush, Smooth Lines Mix & Match Sentiment

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!  

Spellbinders Club Kits for February: Dies of the Month and Embossing Folders

 The Spellbinders Club Kits for February are now available!!  The overall theme this month is spring and Easter, and the products are amazing!  

My first card features the Dies of the Month: Rainboot Bouquet.  The card base is embossed in the new Swirling Blooms folder.

supplies: white, greens, yellows, cream, pinks, blue and kraft cardstock, (new) Rainboot Bouquet dies, (new) Swirling Blooms embossing folder, sentiment and matching die from  (new) Lily Arch stamp/die of the month, adhesive foam squares

I adore spring flowers, and this set has them........daffodils, tulips, and what I thought looked like forget-me-nots.  And how fun to be able to put them into these cute rain boots!  I chose pink for mine,  but wouldn't they be cute in a ditzy floral print?  

Next up is the Large Dies of the Month kit.  They're called Floral Bunny Basket.  I couldn't wait to play with these once I spied that bunny butt!!!

supplies: various colors of cardstock, plus white and kraft, Floral Bunny Basket dies, new Easter Egg Hunt 3D embossing folder, sentiment and matching die from new Lily Arch clear stamp and die set

My basket covers up most of the embossed background, so here's a card that uses that Easter Egg Hunt 3D folder as the focal point.

supplies: white and purple cardstock, Easter Egg Hunt 3D embossing folder, white pigment ink, foiled sentiment and matching die from this month's hot foil glimmer kit: Daffodil Spray, Champagne glimmer foil

Now you can see more of the amazing details in this 3D folder.  I simply embossed it on colored cardstock, then gently swiped white pigment ink across it to help the elements stand out better, then added a foiled sentiment from the new Hot Foil Glimmer kit (you'll see that here in the days to come)

And finally, I love the sweet little lilies of the valley from the Floral Bunny Basket set and used only them to make a little bouquet.  The Swirling Blooms embossing folder even mimics them!

supplies: white, Green Apple, Audrey Blue, and Cotton Candy cardstock,  Floral Bunny Basket dies, Swirling Blooms embossing folder, sentiment from Lily Arch Stamp/Die, embossed in white, bow from Garden Wreath Add-Ons die set

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!  (and this will also get you a free bonus that will coordinate with the theme each month!)

Some Easter Cards

 Happy Monday!  I have a pretty little Easter die that I haven't used nearly enough, so today I pulled it out and made 2 cards.

supplies: white cardstock, Simon's Center Cut Flowers cling stamp, markers to color, The Greetery Easter Jubilee Easter die and stamped sentiment, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge Rectangle die

I centered and stamped the floral circle on white card, then colored it with markers. Next I centered the Easter die and cut it from that panel.  Separately, I cut the word again from a white scrap and inlaid it back into the design, then stamped my sentiment.  Then I remembered this Folk Edge Rectangle and used it to border my panel - I think it picks up nicely on the details in the letters.

Next I tried to think of a different way to use this die.  I came up with cutting it from some washi tape and making it into a mini slim-line card - here's the result.

supplies: white and light coral card, The Greetery Easter Jubilee die and stamped sentiment, Pink Fresh Studio Hydrangea and Rose washi tape

There is a large element in this washi tape that is the perfect size to fit the Easter die.  So after cutting out my letters, I affixed them to a skinny rectangle, framed it with coral, and then surrounded it with more of the other florals from the same washi set.  This is one of the washis that have gold line accents, so that added feature makes this even prettier in the flesh!

It's a bit early, but I wish you a lovely Easter!

Some Easter Cards

I have some cards for Easter today that I made for my family.   First up, a card using a lovely die from last year.

supplies: white and Lavender cardstock, Simon's Outline Floral Cross die, sentiment from Tiny Words Faith, MFT Radiating Rays stencil, squeezed lemonade distress oxide ink, Nuvo markers to color flowers and leaves, yellow enamel dots

I started with my stencilled panel, then cut the floral cross and adhered it to the panel.  The flowers and leaves were colored and put back into place, then the panel was framed and attached to my card base, before popping up the cross and adding a few enamel dots to the flower centers.

Easter Jubilee is the name of the stencil/stamp/die kit that The Greetery released this year.  Here are 2 cards that I made with it.

supplies: white cardstock, striped dp from Sunny Studio Rainbow Bright pad, Easter Jubilee kit, colored with Altenew mini inks and Nuvo Creative Pens

The set is designed so that you put down the basic layers with stencils, then add details with stamps, and finish it with the letter dies.  I used alcohol markers to color the letters, and then matched those colors as best I could for the stencilled and stamped flowers and leaves.  My sentiment is one of 4 small ones that are included in the stamp set.

Here's another, with softer colors.

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, and pale yellow cardstock, Easter Jubilee kit

This time I left my letters white and added a banner for the rest of my sentiment.  Pink and yellow tulips in these pastel colors have been a favorite of mine for spring since I saw them in a garden years ago.  Tulips are unreliable for us in our gardens; something always eats them!  So I have to be content with making paper gardens.

I think these letter dies are so lovely - I need to sit down and come up with some other words that I can arrange them into, so I get more use from them!  The little banner is also included in this set, and is made to fit the sentiments perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says Stamp Lucky to Know You Blog Hop!

Welcome to the final stop on Day 1 of the Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop, featuring our newest release "Lucky to Know You"!  The release has some really darling things!

You should have arrived here from Bobby Lemanski's blog.  If you have just happened upon me today and want to start the hop from the beginning, go to the Simon Says Stamp blog to start.  We'll be giving away a $25.00 coupon at every stop on the hop, so don't forget to leave a comment!  The winners will be announced at the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog next Wednesday, March 11.

I received 4 new goodies, and 2 of them were gnomes!  Here's my first card:

supplies: white, Surf Blue and Green Apple cardstock, Simon's new Spring Gnomes stamp set, Bold Hello die, Birch Tree Window die, heart sprinkles

My eye went straight to this girl gnome when I opened the package.  On this card I set her just outside of the woods - isn't that where gnomes live?  

Up next, another gnome from the same set - I love that he's holding a bird!  I also added some stencilled leaves from a new set of 4 small stencils, all of them branches of leaves in different configurations. 

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, new Spring Gnomes image and sentiment, Zig markers to color, new Leaves stencils, twisted citron and mowed lawn distress inks, wonky rectangle dies, adhesive foam squares

My 3rd card is a She Gnome, made of dies this time.  Don't you love her braids and the little bows in them? 

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, yellow,  and 2 pink cardstocks, She Gnome dies,  Leaves stencils, sentiment from Spring Gnomes, tiny stamped hearts from Look for the Miracles, Stitched Circle die, peacock feathers, picked raspberry, squeezed lemonade, and twisted citron distress inks

And I used the leaf stencils again -  I chose some distress inks, and scattered them all across my background panel.  I also added some stamped hearts in the same colors, since the She Gnome's dress is full of them.  

And finally, my last card features this big Faberge Egg die set.

supplies: white cardstock, dps from various spring Doodlebug paper pads, Simon's new Faberge Egg dies

This new Faberge Egg die is 2 pieces, a stitched outline for the background and the detailed egg.  I wanted pastel spring colors for this, so I pulled out some Doodlebug Design paper pads, chose the floral for the frame, and then pulled tiny dotted ones to match it. 

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 2 of this Blog Hop.  Again, it will begin at the Simon Says Stamp blog.  Don't forget that each stop on both days will be offering a $25.00 coupon to the store, and if you buy anything on either of these 2 days, you can get a free gift!  Use the code WLY777 to get a free Wooly Lucky stamp set or FLF584 to get a free Color the World enamel pin (see the banner at the top of this post to see them).

Thanks for coming by.  Please don't forget about our gallery HERE where you can find oodles of inspiration for this release.

Here's today's Hop order:

HOP ORDER:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

Lisa Addesa

Heather Ruwe

Suzy Plantamura

Barb Engler

Cheiron Brandon

Lea Lawson

Betty Wright

Bobbi Lemanski

Lin Brandyberry

Easter Blessings

It's March, and another step closer to spring!  Easter is also on the horizon.  I recently received these lovely Easter letters as part of a stamp/stencil/die set from The Greetery, and wanted to stretch their use to something a little different.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Easter Jubilee die and stamped sentiment, Simon's (retired) Friendly Flowers, Altenew mini ink cubes, Penny Black Stitched Stackers die

After stamping the flowers and leaves , I trimmed my panel with the Stackers die, then centered the Easter die (which is one piece) over the stamping and cut it out.  The sentiment was stamped at this point.  I also cut the word out from white cardstock 4 more times, stacked them, added the stamped letters on top, and then reinserted them.

I love how this turned out, and will be looking in my stamps for more solid flowers that will work with this idea.

Thanks for coming by!

Christ is Risen!

I snagged myself one of the beautiful floral cross dies from a recent Simon Fresh Bloom release, and here is what I envisioned when I first saw it.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, Green Apple, and 2 pink cardstocks, Outline Floral Cross and Hemstitch Oval dies, sentiment from Tiny Words Faith, adhesive foam strips to raise cross

I cut the cross, glued it inside my oval, then inlaid the flowers and leaves back into the design.  I plan to make several of these and try some different color combinations.

Enjoy your weekend!

Simon's Fresh Bloom release!

Simon Says Stamp has a new release debuting today,  called Fresh Bloom!  Just in time for spring, it features lots of fun items that you will love!

I was lucky to have been sent a new sentiment set named TINY WORDS FAITH as part of this release, and here's my first play with it.  I paired it with an older Simon set of flowers to make an Easter card.

supplies: white, pale yellow, Lavender and Green Apple card, sentiment from TINY WORDS FAITH, flowers and leaves from More Spring Flowers, Hemstitch Rectangle dies, Zig watercolor markers and water

This set is PACKED with eensy-weensy sentiments that will work for lots of occasions - confirmation, concern,  even a few short bible verses.  Among them are these 3 that I put together for my Easter card.  

Be sure to visit THIS PAGE to see the rest of the new goodies!  I've already added these to my wishlist:  Filigree Heart, Filigree Egg, and Filigree Bunny dies,  and the Pretty Peonies Background.  What are your favorites?

Some Easter Cards

I wanted to share some Easter cards that I made for our Grands.

supplies: white and Green Apple cardstock, (retired) Easter dps from Doodlebug, bunny and sentiment from Simon's Some Bunny stamp set, MFT Wonky Rectangle die

supplies: white, pale gold, and kraft card stock, (retired) Easter dp from Doodlebug, Simon's Oval of Flowers stencil, cracked pistachio distress oxide ink, chick and sentiment from Simon's Some Bunny stamp set

Happy Easter to you!  My blog will be quiet here for a few days, but I'll see you back here next Wednesday for a new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge!