Some Masculine Cards

 I have 3 birthday cards to make for February, all of them for men.  So here's a share of 2 of them.  This first one's a CASE of a card that Hannelie made a few years ago - what a gorgeous design!

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Altenew Watercolor Stripes stencil, Sea Shore inks, Prim Heart die used as a mask, leaves from Verve Bloom & Grow, sentment from Simon Says Stamp Joys of Spring, aqua enamel dots

And the 2nd one uses my go-to elements for masculine cards, leaves and woodgrain.

  

supplies: brown and several green cardstocks, a wood design paper, leaf dies from Tim Holtz, Neat and Tangled, and a cute little freebie from Taylored Expressions, I think, sentiment from Hero Arts Sending Love Mail and matching die, bright green embossing powder, circle die

I'm pleasantly surprised with the new update from Apple that I got back in January.  I took this picture just after our monster snowstorm and the skylight in the room I always take pictures in was completely snow covered, and thus much darker in there than usual, but the photos were amazingly bright without any tweaking!

Do you have a "recipe" for making certain kinds of cards?  

Some Old Favorites for Valentines Day

 When I need to make a card and am out of ideas, I often go back through my blog looking for inspiration.  Today I thought I'd post some of my cards made with Valentine's Day in mind.  You can click on each picture and be taken back to the original post.

Hope they might help to spur your imagination if you're stuck!  I'll have a new one on the 14th to add to the collection - hope you'll come back then!

Thanks so much for visiting.

Hero Studio for December: Soup There It Is

This will be my last post as an influencer for Hero Arts.  It was such a thrill to come full circle with them, as their Flickr group were the ones to teach me and encourage me to start a blog way back in the early 2000s.  Many thanks to Kelly for this final honor! 

It's time for a new month of  Hero Arts Studio Kits!  This month our theme is Soup There it Is.  The kits are available now for subscription, through the 27th.  Be sure to read all the way down my post to the end, where I quote some changes coming in 2026 to the Subscription Program.

My first card shows you the layering stencils, Pop Art Cans.

supplies: white cardstock, Decemer Studio Pop Art Cans stencils, Citrine, picked raspberry, peacock feathers, and white pigment ink, sentiment from Card Kit stamp set, (retired) Sizzix swiss dot embossing folder

The first thing I thought when I saw this stencil set was Andy Warhol, so I did a google search and settled on this piece of art.  I used these same colors for my card.

So I used the main colors here, hot pink, turquoise, and bright yellow.  Each of the first 3 stencils were done in 1 of these colors, and then I used a white pigment ink for my 4th layer.  It was interesting to see the colors that resulted when layering the 3 colors.  I really liked the dots on the original art, so I followed suit, using an old swiss dot embossing folder after my stencilling was complete.   The sentiment is from the Card Kit set this month.

The Card Kit this month consists of a large stamp set and matching dies, called You're Super, plus another set of dies called Big Squishy Hugs.  Here's the stamp/die combo card I made.

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, December Card Kit You're Super stamps/dies

The stamp set has 2 sizes of soup pots, the vegies and accessories you see here, and a total of 9 different sentiments.  And there are dies for everything in the matching die set.  Sick or not, I love home-made soups, so this was fun to put together.

The Big Squshy Hugs dies are next.

supplies: colored cardstocks, December Card Kit Big Squishy Hugs dies and sentiment

This die set contains dies to make the card front in 2 halves, dies to detail the arms, and a large heart to tuck in between them.  I used another of the sentiments from the stamp set from this month, along with matching dies.  In essence, you make 2 slightly different halves for your card front, and then nest them together.  I left my arms loose so that I could tuck in the heart.  Quite a clever design!

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  Currently the Studio includes 5 separate kits: a Card Kit, Layering Stencils, Fancy Dies, a Cling stamp, and a Clear Set of Stamps and matching Dies.  You can also get The Whole Studio, which includes all of the kits at a discount, plus a bonus item each month.  

Before I go, I wanted to direct your attention to an announcement from Hero Arts regarding changes coming in 2026 to the subscription program.

"We want to share a quick update about exciting changes coming to our subscription program. In January 2026, My Monthly Hero is back! We’re returning to two simple, value-packed plans—My Monthly Hero for $45/month and My Monthly Super Hero for $75/month—both offering the inspiring designs you love at better pricing than ever.

As part of this transition, individual Cling, Die Set, Stamp & Cut, and Layering Stencil subscriptions will be retiring. And as an early thank you, December’s Hero Studio pricing for the Card Kit and Whole Studio already reflects the new 2026 rates.

For more information, please check out our My Monthly Hero section on our FAQs page."

Butterfly Heart

 Today I have a Valentine's card using a lovely, but sadly retired, stamp.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Stampendous (retired) Laurel Burch Butterfly Heart cling stamp, sentiment from Hero Arts (retired) Sending Love Mail, tiny colored gems

It's always fun for me to color this one, because everything is so small scale.  This time I added some tiny sparkly gems to the centers of the flowers.

I'll enter this into the new Neglected Stuff Challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is one of my favorite holidays, so I had to have a card to post.  

supplies: white cardstock, Simon Says Stamp (retired) You Have My Heart heart wreath stamp, Hero Arts (retired) Celebrate Everyday sentiment, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf cover plate, adhesive foam squares

Once again, sorry to say, most of these supplies are retired.  I stamped and cut out another little bunch of roses to add to the bottom left of the wreath, just to spread some more color around.

This year I didn't make as many Valentines as I usually do - I only brought a few stamp sets here to Florida, and forgot all the beautiful heart dies at home.  This stamp set is one of my all-time favorites, and I'm glad I have it.  

Hope you have a lovely day!