Here Comes Christmas!

 I've got all my assignments finished, so now I can play!  I need to get my act in gear and make some Christmas cards.  Here is one that mixes some new (to me) goodies with some oldies.

supplies: cream, 2 greens, tans, and Lipstick Red cardstock, vellum, Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers Vintage Reindeer, Simon Charming Berry Branch, Taylored Expressions (retired) Winter Flurry embossing folder, Hero Hues Sunset enamel dots, Spellbinders Handwritten Holiday Sentiments dies

I've had this "Bambi" on my list since it was released, and decided I'd better grab it now before it disappears.  It also has lots of acessories for the deer: a scarf, Christmas lights, holly, and tiny ornaments.  The Berry Branch is fairly new - Jen McGuire made me buy it to make wreaths.  And the smallish "Merry" sentiment fit in just right after everything else was glued down.  It's nice that each word in that sentiment set has a shadow die to match; makes a smaller die easier to get straight on your creations.  I can't seem to make a card anymore without an embossed background, and I like the spacing and size of the snowflakes here.

Thank you for stopping by today!

July Spellbinders Club Kits: Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs!

The Spellbinders Club Kits for July are now available for new subscribers!  This month's theme is Mugs, Mittens, and Sweater Hugs.

The small dies of the month are called Cocoa Greetings, and consist of 18 dies to make some cute mugs.  To begin this month, I made up 3 mugs which you will see being used today and in the next few days with various backgrounds.  I thought I'd show you them all together first.

supplies: Cocoa Greetings dies

As you can see, their hats can double as whipped cream dollops!  There's also a snowflake die in this set.

My first card mixes the Stitching Kit, Frosted Stitch, with the little deer mug above, and the sentiment is from the Glimmer set.

supplies: white, cream, pale peachy pinks, tan, and black cardstock, Frosted Stitch, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, Cocoa Greetings dies, Arctic Glimmer sentiment, silver slimmer foil, adhesive pearls, adhesive foam squares

The deer mug was my favorite of the 3, so I chose these pale peachy-pinks and white for my stitched card to use as a background with it.  It is a really lovely design.  Here it is all alone before I added the mug.  I especially like the 6 dainty snowflakes in the center!  I made this into a shaped card by cutting an extra white shaped base, scoring it about an inch down from the top, then securing that to my stitched panel with strong 1/8" adhesive tape.

supplies: pale peach and white cardstock, Frosted Stitch dies, 3 strands of white embroidery floss, adhesive pearls to match

Next I mixed the Santa mug with the Glimmer kit, Arctic Glimmer, and a sentiment from the Stamps and Dies: Stay Snuggly.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Santa Mug, Arctic Glimmer glimmer plate and silver glimmer foil, sentiment from Stay Snuggly stamp/die, adhesive foam square

The Clear Stamps/Dies this month are sentiments to fit this month's theme, plus various snowflakes.  This sentiment is one of the larger ones.  Silver glimmer foil is included in this month's Glimmer kit, and enhances the snowflakes nicely. 

And finally, here is the Penguin mug, along with the Embossing Folder, Frosted Stitch, with another sentiment from the Glimmer kit.

supplies: colored cardstock, Cocoa Greetings Penguin Mug, Frosted Stitch embossing folder, sentiment from Arctic Glimmer 

I'll be back in a few days with the rest of my cards from this new release.

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!

Simon Says......Little Critters

Welcome to our weekly challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog!

 "Little Critters" is our theme this week, and the team is featuring Mama Elephant products this week.  You don't have to use this brand to enter, but if you do have any of their products, we'd love to see you using them too!

I chose this cute stack of critters and because they were tall, I went with a mini slim line card this week.

supplies: white card, a mini woodgrain patterned paper, Mama Elephant You Raise Me Up clear stamp set, tiny heart sprinkles

There are 4 sentiments in this set (plus another adorable grouping of animals), but I just had to use this one, as I loved the song of the same name!  In order to fit it onto a slim card, I cut up the words and spaced them down the right side of the design.

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........Animal Antics

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

Our theme this week is Animal Antics, and the team is featuring Lawn Fawn products.  I made a hugger bear and gave her a bouquet of daisies for someone special.

supplies: Surf Blue, Green Apple, white, brown and tan cardstock, Lawn Fawn Woodland Critter Hugger dies, Impression Obsession birch tree dies,  black pearl eyes and yellow enamel dots, sentiment from Heffy Doodle Bold Banner Sentiments stamps and matching dies, adhesive foam squares

I changed up the ears for my bear by using 2 sizes of oval dies.

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!

October

 It's October, my favorite month of the year!  Here's my card to celebrate it!

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Fir & Foliage 1 multi-step stencil set, Hello Bluebird Pumpkin Time fox, tiny leaves, and sentiment, Simon's Clouds for Days stencil, distress inks for stenciling and markers to color fox, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

I've wanted this adorable Pumpkin Time stamp set since I saw it last year, and finally managed to snag it back in August.  My favorite thing about it is this sentiment from Anne of Green Gables, because it perfectly expresses my feelings for this time of year!

What's your favorite month?

Simon Says...........Animal Antics!

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

This week our theme is Animal Antics, and the team is playing with Doodlebug Designs goodies.

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug Design Hey Cupcake 6" papers, Party Llama Doodle-pop, Simon Party Like a Panda tiny sentiments

Doodlebug has a wonderful selection of what they call Doodle-Pops, which are layered stickers, and they had lots of animals to choose from.  I chose this cute llama, and the coordinating papers to work with.  

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........Animal Fun!

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

Our theme this week is Animal Fun!  

I searched through my stamps for some animals and decided to use this set, as it's only been inked once before.  It came out for fall use, but with some different colors, it will work for any season.

supplies: Bristol paper and white cardstock, Hello Bluebird Deer Friend, Nuvo markers, Simon Clouds for Days stencil and sentiment from (retired) Birthday Flowers, distress inks for background

As you may know, the Simon Says Stamp store is accepting new orders, but will have longer shipping times, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  With this in mind, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our prize gift cards for now.  But we will continue our challenges each week, and we'd love for you to play along with us.  We're all in this together!

Now it's your turn!

Woodland Spring

Last year, Newton's Nook released this adorable Woodland Spring stamp set that I fell in love with.  It took me awhile to get it home, long past spring last year, so I just tucked it away for this year.  Here's a card using one of these darling spring cuties that I hope will make you smile and take your mind off the present for a little while.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, and Cotton Candy cardstock, Woodland Spring fawn and sentiment, Nuvo Creative Pens to color fawn, (retired) Sizzix embossing folder, Zig markers and water to color embossed flowers, Sunny Studio Fancy Frames Circle, Simon Stitched Circle, and Spellbinders Scalloped Circle dies, adhesive foam squares 

I stamped and colored the image and sentiment and then cut them both out into circles.  I was originally going to pop them above my embossed background, but at the last minute, I popped the backing up and recessed the fawn.  

I took my time and watercolored most of the little embossed flowers, leaving a few of them white. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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.......Interactive Christmas

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

This week we're asking you to make something for Christmas that is interactive.  The team is playing with Lawn Fawn goodies!  

I pulled out my Woodland Critter Huggers that I bought earlier this year, added the Winter Add-Ons, and made 2 cards.  Today's post is pretty photo-heavy, but I wanted you to see the possibilities with these fun dies!

First up, a slider card and a fox.  Here it is as it will look coming out of the envelope.

When his arms open, up he's holding a Joy banner.

And when you pull the tab upwards, he slides up to reveal a hidden message.

supplies: white, cream, Dark Chocolate, Burnt Orange, kraft, Schoolhouse Red,  Cotton Candy, Surf Blue, and Audrey Blue cardstock, a tiny blue plaid dp for his scarf and hat, wood plank dp as background, Woodland Critter Huggers and Winter Add-Ons dies, MFT Blueprint 20 banner and letters from Hero Arts Alphabet Uppercase dies, sentiment from Simon's Holiday Greetings Mix 1, Lipstick Red ink, MFT Slider Surprise dies, Lawn Fawn twine, white pom pom

My 2nd card is more traditional.  This time I made a deer holding a wreath.

And when his arms open wide, there's a tiny message inside.

supplies: white, kraft, cream, Dark Chocolate, Green Leaf, and Lipstick Red cardstock, a snowflake dp from a past cardkit, Sunny Studio Classic Gingham dp, front and reverse, Woodland Critter Huggers and Winter Add-Ons dies, PTI Mix and Mat die (birch frame), PinkFresh Studio wreath, Hero Arts metallic dots as berries, Simon's Tiny Words Christmas sentiments, Lipstick Red ink, white embossing powder, white pom pom

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.......Animal Antics

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

Our theme this week is Animal Antics, and we're featuring Hello Bluebird products.  

supplies: white and kraft card, dps from Sunny Studio Gingham Pastels and Doodlebug Floral Graph Rainbow Petite Prints pads, Hello Bluebird Deer Friend clear stamp sets, Tonic markers, Concord & 9th Bitty Burst Turnabout, Altenew mini inks, Doodlebug Tiny Hearts sprinkles

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!