More Lilacs

 Just sharing a card I made for my sister for Mother's Day, this time using stamped lilacs.

supplies: white, mint, and an aqua/grey cardstock, Sunny Studio Lovely Lilacs, Altenew Spring Bouquet and Green Meadows mini inks, sentiment from (retired) Simon Mom & Dad Icons, Hero Arts (retired) Watering Can die, Spellbinders (retired) Branching Out embossing folder and Hemstitch Rectangle die

My Dad gave us starts of lilacs that are these pink/purple color; he just called them double reds, so I tried to find inks that would approximate this color.  After inserting them into the watering can, I tried out various colors for a background, and ended up with this mint - always refreshing!  It's a shame this leafy embossing folder has been retired - I find myself reaching for it often.

Hope your week is going well - thanks for stopping by!

For Mother's Day

 Happy Mom's Day to all of you out there!  Hope it's special for you in every way.

Our Mom has been gone 3 years now, but lilacs are forever connected in my mind to Mother's Day because of her.  So I pulled out these dies and made a card for the occasion.  I was going to put "miss you" as the sentiment, but couldn't find one that was just right, so I'm leaving a sentiment off for now.

supplies: white, pale and medium aqua cardstock, Sunny Studios Frilly Frames Eyelet Lace dies, The Greetery Botanicuts Lilacs, Simon Says Stamp Pretty Bows die

These lilac dies are the most realistic of any I've seen - Betsy gives you individual florets to add to the body of the lilac flowers to add dimension and more color.  They are a treasure!  This year I added a new Simon bow to this sprig of them, popped up with a tiny adhesive foam piece.

Thanks for stopping by - have a lovely day!

Spellbinders March Club Kits: Embossing Folder, Large Dies, Stencils, and Stamp/Die sets

 Today I have 2 cards using the embossing folder, Mosaic Memories, as my starting point.

supplies: white and pastel colored cardstock. Family & Friends Vignettes floral and arch dies, Mosaic Memories embossing folder, Nearest & Dearest sentiment, adhesive foam strip, tiny enamel hearts

The Family & Friends Vignettes is the Large Dies set for this month, and it has 3 different "scenes", if you will, to choose from to frame up with the arched piece.  I chose the florals, but there's also a puppy and accessories, and a dinosaur!  

My next card shows off the embossing folder along with its matching stencils.  I thought it was so pretty that I used just a tiny sentiment from the stamps of the month, Nearest and Dearest, and some flower sequins to accessorize it.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Mosaic Memories embossing folder, matching Mosaic Memories stencils, sentiment from Nearest & Dearest stamps/dies set, adhesive foam strip, tiny yellow floral sequins

Here are the new kits that I used for my cards 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 Mother's Day!

 Here's a card for Mother's Day.  I said in an earlier post that I associate lilacs with this day, so this time I made them in 3 different colors and put them against some blue gingham.

supplies: white and blue violet cardstock, Doodlebug buffalo check dp, Pink Fresh Studio Ornate Oval Frame, The Greetery Lilac Botanicuts, distress inks in shaded lilac, wilted violet, blueprint sketch, picked raspberry, seedless preserves, antique linen, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness, finger daubers, MFT Essential Messages

If you're a Mom, I hope you get to spend the day with your kids!  Mine live too far away, so I look forward to some nice phone calls today!  

Adding this to the Simon Wednesday challenge: Use Die-Cuts.

In the Garden

Oh my, I love my new set of stencils from Taylored Expressions!  They are one of their Triple Slim Layering sets, and they are perfect for this time of year!  It was fun to make some mini-slimline cards again, too.  

These sets are designed to make 3 different designs all at one time, using these large stencils, then cutting the large finished panel into thirds.  Here are my results.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, In the Garden stencil set, mini inks in Pink Fresh Fairy Dust, Rise & Shine, and Morning Sky, Altenew Lime, Fresh Leaf, Lavender Fields, and Snapdragon, blending brushes, Simon Says Stamp (retired) Best Mom Ever sentiment

supplies: white and lavender cardstock, In the Garden stencil set, same inks as above, Winnie & Walter (retired) Big, Bold, and Happy sentiment stamps

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, In the Garden stencil set, same inks as above, Simon Says Stamp Vintage Garden sentiment

Isn't the font on this last card beautiful?

These came just in time to make some Mother's Day cards, with an extra that will work for many occasions.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Lilac Clusters

 I got this lilac embossing folder maybe a year ago, but then was a bit intimidated by it.  But I was encouraged to give it a try after seeing Caly's beautiful results.  Here's my first play with it.

supplies: white cardstock, Lilac Cluster embossing folder, distress inks in shaded lilac, wilted violet, blueprint sketch, salty ocean, mowed lawn, and tumbled glass, sentiment from (retired) Simon Joys of Spring, a Pink Fresh Studio washi butterfly

May is the month for Mothers here in the states, and I will always associate lilacs with it.  My Mom has been gone for 2 years now, but it's nice to remember her with a card like this.  

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Mother's Day!

 Here's a card that would work for this special day, or many other occasions.

supplies: white, several pale yellows and pinks, Green Apple and Green Leaf cardstock, grey woodgrain dp, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster dies, Paper Rose Sending Love and Hugs die

Happy Mother's Day!

Simon Says.......Use Dies/Punches

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

For this week, we'd like you to use dies or punches.  The team is featuring Memory Box products.  Here's my card.  What Mom doesn't love a hand-picked bouquet of daisies?

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, patterned butterfly paper from Carta Bella Flower Garden pad, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf plate and Daisy Silhouette dies, sentiment from Simon (retired) Mom & Dad Icons set, PinkFresh Studio Adore Alphabet dies, pink sprinkles, 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!  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!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are Moms!  I look forward to hearing from our sons today, and talking to my own Mom, who is 95 year old this year.  It's been a difficult year with the pandemic, and we've been staying away from her for her safety, relying on my sister, who lives closer than we do.

Since we can't be with my Mom this year, she's getting multiple cards.  Here's one of them.

supplies: white and black cardstock, (retired) My Favorite Things Flashy Florals stamps and Wonky Stitched Rectangle die,  Altenew mini ink pads, Pink Fresh Studio Adore Alpha dies, sentiment from Hero Arts (retired) January 2020 card kit, Hero Arts gems for large flower centers

I've seen some similar cards on Instagram, (one made by my Simon teamie, Kim),  and loved the big colorful flowers - I know Mom will, too.  

Here's another that I sent to my sister this year.  This sweet heart wreath full of flowers and butterflies is such a pleasing design!

supplies: white and black cardstock, Stampendous Laurel Burch Butterfly Heart cling, Nuvo Creative markers, sentiment from Simon (retired) Mom & Dad Icons set

I stamped the butterfly separately, cut it out and popped it above the heart with the wings pulled upward.

Will you be lucky enough to be with your Mom this year?   

Celebrating Mothers Card Kit

I couldn't resist the Mother's Day Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp!  Here are 2 cards using just a few of the supplies inside.

supplies: white cardstock, floral dp from Memory Box Cottage Meadow pack, new Mom's Meadow stamp set, Nuvo markers, tiny Roses are Red sprinkles, all included in kit, adhesive foam to lift flower spray and butterfly

Each of the patterned papers have 1 side full of flowers against various colored backgrounds, and their reverse is a solid background with just a spray of flowers in one corner.  

My next card uses the reverse of the same paper that I used above.  

Here I grouped together the separate flowers and leaves from the stamp set for my focal point.

As you can see, there's a ton of things in this kit that I haven't even touched yet! I'm excited to foil the acetate panels next!  For more card ideas, be sure to visit our Gallery HERE.  

Happy Mother's Day

Here are 2 cards for Mother's Day.

supplies: white cardstock, dp from Echo Park Spring Dots & Stripes pad, The Greetery Fleur Impressions, Altenew Rose Petal and Just Green mini ink cubes, Hero Arts sentiment, Sunny Studio Fancy Circle and Winnie & Walter Audrey die, Rainbow Hearts sprinkles

supplies: white, 3 shades of pink, Mint and a green card, Altenew Fantasy Floral flower and Rose Flurries leaves dies, MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle die, Simon Best Mom Ever sentiment, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkles, adhesive foam strips to separate flower layers

Wishing a beautiful weekend to all the Moms out there!

Simon Says.......For a Special Lady

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

Our theme this week is "For a Special Lady", and we're playing with Altenew products.  You don't have to use these products to play along, but if you have some of their goodies, we'd love to see you using them.

I just received this Garden Picks layering die set in time for this challenge, so here's a card in my favorite colors.  This sentiment allows me to use this card for lots of occasions, Mothers Day, a birthday, even a wedding card!

supplies: white, 4 shades of blue, 3 shades of yellow, Green Apple, and Green Leaf cardstock, Hero Arts retired Circle Doily cling, embossed in white, Altenew Garden Picks dies, Wplus9 Doodle Buds sentiment, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkle

I wanted to make a sort of nosegay of flowers and this Hero Arts Doily cling stamp from 2010 was the perfect pairing!

Next up, a card using layering stamps.  This one's for my Mom - she loves bright colors, and especially pink, so that decision was easy!

supplies: white, pink and black card, Altenew Beautiful Day stamps, Altenew Rose Petal and Tropical Forest mini ink cubes, Simon Stitched Alphabet and Mom & Dad Icons stamps, Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam strips

I stamped 5 of these lovely Beautiful Day flowers across a panel of white card stock, then masked them and added leaves from the same set.  The panel was trimmed with a stitched rectangle, matted in black, and then mounted on a pink card base.  

Then I stamped and fussy-cut my letters and popped them above the card, adding the black stamped sentiment on top of them.  

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!

Edited to add: I'd like to enter my first blue card with the embossed doily into The Flower Challenge #32: Embossing (Heat/Dry).

Happy Mother's Day

Here's a last Mother's Day card that was made for my sister.

supplies: white and black card stock, PTI lacy rectangle dies, Simon's Best Mom Ever sentiment, Altenew Build a Rose stamps and dies, Cherry Blossom and Tropical Forest mini inks

This rose is the perfect stamp set for Mother's Day.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cross Stitch Rose

I took my own advice from yesterday and looked on the internet until I found a small cross-stitch design.....I printed it out larger and used that printout as a pattern.  This one uses 3 pinks, 2 greens, and a brown, again done on 14-count perforated paper in ecru.

supplies: rose and Green Leaf card, rose x-stitch pattern, ecru perforated paper, embroidery floss, sentiment from Jane's Doodles Mom's Flowers ( retired), Spellbinder's Oval and Circle dies, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die

Again, I have an aching back from leaning over the pattern while I was stitching, so I decided to make this into a Mother's Day card for my 93-year old Mom.  She loved cross-stitching in her younger days, and she'll appreciate the work that went into this.  This little Jane's Doodles sentiment is the perfect size for this card!  I inked the circle along the edges in a green that helps it to stand out a bit better.

I need to get myself some nesting oval dies......can anyone recommend a set?  Having stitching on them would be a plus for me.  And I guess while we're at it, how about a nesting scalloped oval set that will work with the plain oval set?  If I continue with this cross-stitching, a pretty oval frame that can be done in different sizes would set them off nicely.

Simon Has a New Release!

.......and it's called "Mothers, Fathers and Florals"!  I was sent one of the clear stamp sets and here's the card I made with it:

supplies: Simon's Mom & Dad Icons, dps from Crate Paper On Trend and Echo Park Celebrate Easter (pink solid), Simon's Wavy Scallop Stitches die

This particular shade of pink is a favorite of my Mom's, and so that's where I started.  I looked through all my paper pads to find a small floral that was the right scale to paper-piece the letters, and unfortunately the one that worked the best is long discontinued.  I thought the straight edges needed some feminizing, so I used a scallop die to add some curves.  I added some punched hearts to finish my design.

You can see all of this new release HERE.  What's your favorite?  There's a nice mix of cling and clear stamps, dies, some ink cubes, and sequins!

Simon Says..........For a Special Lady

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

Our theme this week is "For a Special Lady", and the team are highlighting Penny Black products.  

My first card shows an all-over floral design, and I colored it with my Mom in mind - these are her colors:

supplies: watercolor paper and black cardstock, Penny Black Bed of Roses, Zig Watercolor markers, sentiment from Simon's Best Mom Ever

Since there is a lot of black details in the outlines of this stamp, I framed the panel and stamped the sentiment on black.

Next up, put on your sunglasses, I used fluorescent markers for this next one.

supplies: bristol paper and white cardstock, Penny Black Centerpiece cling stamp, sentiment from the Friendship set, Zig markers and very little water this time, Simon Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares

Now it's your turn - I can't wait to see what you create!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

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

Simon Says.........Make it Girlie

It's Wednesday and that means a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our challenge this week is "Make it Girlie", and my teammates and I are using Hero Arts products.  I made 2 very different cards today:

supplies: cream, kraft, and 2 Doodlebug pinks cardstock, Hero Arts Classic Tea Rose, picked raspberry and mowed lawn distress markers, Molotow masking fluid, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle Layers dies, Old Letter Writing, tea dye distress ink, Hello Stamp & Cut die, Heart Accent Pearl, natural twine, lace

I inked the flower stamp using distress markers, then stamped it onto a panel and lightly brushed it with a damp brush to spread the color out.  After it was dry, I used masking fluid to cover the flower before overstamping the script background, and sponging on a little more tea dye distress ink around the flower.  The masking fluid was then rubbed off, and I trimmed the panel with a pinpoint die, framed it in a skinny kraft frame, then again in a Doodlebug pink.  Since the challenge this week is "girly", I went all the way and used some old lace trim to frame the panel one more time, then added my triple-cut sentiment, a twine bow and a Hero Arts heart pearl.  

After all the layers and detail on the above card, I wanted to make a much simpler design for my second card.

supplies: white, periwinkle, and dark aqua cardstock, Bold Floral Stencil, blueprint sketch, mermaid lagoon, and lucky clover distress inks, Happy Stamp & Cut set, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Borders die, Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways scallopped frame die, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins

For this card I inked directly onto the stencil using distress inks, then spritzed it lightly before "stamping" it onto white card.  I trimmed the panel, adhered it to a periwinkle card base, then added my sentiment and sequins.

Now it's your turn!  I can't wait to see what you make!  We have a $50.00 gift voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store for one lucky random winner of our challenge!