Summer Flowers

On our morning walks each morning, the fields have been overflowing with wildflowers.  Right now the colors are bright yellow/gold and different shades of purple.  That inspired me to make today's card.

supplies: white and mint cardstock, The Greetery Spring Mix stencils, stamps, and dies, inks in purples, yellows, pink, and green, enamel dots, adhesive foam squares and strips

This is a set from 2022 that I've only used once before (see HERE),  You cut out the floral design, then use the stencls to make the flowers and leaves, and lastly use some stamps for details.  I popped up some of the flowers and added some enamel dots to some of the flower centers.  The sentiment is one of several included in the stamp set.

Here's a recent picture of the fields along our walk.

                    

This week on 2 different days we've also seen some deer!  There's always something new to find!

Hope your summer is going well, too.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Just a Note

 It is such a joy to play again with The Greetery's Petal Pusher suite!  This time I used all 3 parts: the cover die, the matching stencils, and the matching dies.

supplies: white and rose pink cardstock, The Greetery Petal Pusher cover die, stencils, and Petal Pusher Blooms dies, distress inks in wilted violet, kitsch flamingo, mustard seed, twisted citron, and mowed lawn, Simon Hurley Must-Have Sentiments foiling plate/die, gold foil

The cover plate cuts out the design, leaving the flowers and leaves attached so that they can be pulled up for dimension.  I did just that with all the pink flowers, and then used some of the matching dies to add an extra layer to the purple flowers.  

The cutting plate also cuts out the tiny dots in the background, and this time I chose a rose pink color to back it with and to bring in some more pink to the design.  This is such a pretty design that I never want to cover up any of it with a sentiment, but this small one from Simon Hurley was just right.  I popped it up with adhesive foam so that it didn't get lost.  

I used some softer inks for a spring feel.

This is putting me in the mood for shopping for some baby flowers!  The best time of year is almost here!

Spellbinders December Club Kits: What Matters Most

This post will be my last as an influencer for Spellbinders.  It's time for me to slow down here; I've been going full-tilt for 20 some years, and I want to be able to do this only for enjoyment now.  You'll still see me posting, but far less than in the past.  I"m so grateful to Spellbinders for allowing me to play with their amazing products, and I've enjoyed every minute!

The December Spellbinders Club Kits are now available, through Dec. 27!  The theme this month is What Matters Most.  Traditionally, the December kits are made with Valentine's Day in mind, and this year the hearts are more subtle than some kits in the past, but they're there.

My first card pairs the Stencil Kit, Where Love Lands, with the embossing folder, Sweet Stems, and a sentiment from the BetterPress kit, I'd Pick You.

supplies: white and pink cardstock, Where Love Lands stencil set, pinks, blues, greens, yellow, and tan inks, Sweet Stems embossing folder, I'd Pick You BetterPress sentiment, adhesive foam squares

After finishing my stenciling, I decided to fussy-cut out the image, and popped it above the hearts and flowers embossed panel.  The sentiment is perfect for the image!

Next I mixed the Stitching kit, A Perfect Blend, with the 3D folder, Unlock My Heart.

supplies: white, red, aqua, and pale grey cardstock, A Perfect Blend Stitching dies, white embroidery floss, Unlock My Heart 3D embossing folder

Once again this month, there is minimal stitching; only a bit on the half-hearts.  There's also another sentiment in the set.  

Next, here are the Dies of the Month, Better Together and the Glimmer Kit, Soft Hearted.  I also used a sentiment from the Stitching Kit and an Essential Heart die.

supplies: cream, kraft, brown, green, yellow, several pinks, and black cardstock, Better Together dies, Essential Hearts die, Soft Hearted glimmer plate, included Bright Pink glimmer foil, sentiment from A Perfect Blend stitching kit

I really like the Bright Pink glimmer foil!  I foiled it on a medium pink cardstock to use as my background.  After I constructed the pair of owls, I saw that it was pretty busy for them, so I used a heart to separate them.  The sentiment is a die that is included in the Stitching Kit.

This Better Together kit also includes a cute little otter and some sentiments to use with him.

As I said, I liked the foil color this month, so I used it again on the BetterPress plates, called I'd Pick You.  It's a sweet clean and simple design - simply foil the press heart plate and one of the sentiments from the Glimmer kit, then add a bow die-cut from pink metallic cardstock.

 

supplies: white and pink cardstock, pink metallic kraft cardstock, I'd Pick You BetterPress plates, sentiment and matching die from Soft Hearted Glimmer kit,  Bright Pink glimmer foil, Garden Wreath bow

Here is my card using the Large Dies, Wrapped in Care and a sentiment from the Stamp/Die set, Simply Said.

supplies: white and colored cardstock, Wrapped in Care dies, sentiment/die from Simply Said, Sweet Stems embossing folder

And finally, my last card features the Caboodle dies, Unwind.

supplies: white and shades of softr peach cardstock, Unwind caboodle bonus dies, sentiment/die from Simply Said, Tiny Heart Scallop 3D embossing folder

I went with soft peaches this time.  And since the caboodle bonus dies are titled Unwind, I used that sentiment from the clear stamp/die set for this month.  It is a sentiment set, containing 14 different sentiments, with dies for each one.  The embossing folder that I used for my background is from a year ago.

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!

Fanciful Flowers stencils

 Remember when I ordered from Memory Box back around Labor Day?  One of the free goodies they included with my order was this set of floral stencils from Poppy Stamps called Fanciful Flowers.  I'm just now getting around to playing with it; wish I hadn't waited so long, because I love it!  It makes the perfect ditzy flowers background.

supplies: white, black, and Doll Pink cardstock, vellum, Poppy Stamps Fanciful Flowers stencil set, distress inks in picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, mustard seed, vintage photo, cracked pistachio, mowed lawn, and rustic wilderness, Just Because posh script dies

The stencils are 7 pieces, 4 for flowers, and 3 for leaves.  I used a favorite old color combination.  I like this sentiment because it's cursive, somehow more feminine to me.  

Hope this helps to brighten your day a bit - have a good one!

Spellbinders November Club Kits: Charmed Life

 The Spellbinders Club Kits for November are now available, through November 27.  The overall theme is Charmed Life - all things girly!

My first card shows you the Large Dies of the Month, Charmed Life.  It makes a partial purse with some fun charms attached: a teddy bear, cherries, and a flying pig!  I mixed it with the Glimmer Plate, Luxe Links, foiled with Blush glimmer foil.

 

supplies: cream, tans, browns, and pinks cardstock, rose gold metallic cardstock,  a dotted pink dp, Charmed Life dies, flying pig from the Caboodle Bonus, Luxe Links glimmer plate, Blush glimmer foil. foiled sentiment from Paws in the City BetterPress kit

I started by foiling a piece of chocolate cardstock with Blush glimmer foil (included in this month's kit), then used a die in the Charmed Life set to trim it into a partial purse shape.  That was affixed to a cream A2 panel, then I made my charms, tied a scarf around the handle, and added a sentiment from the BetterPress kit, Paws in the City.  There are more charms to choose from, as well as ways to hang them.  The little flying pig is the Caboodle Bonus for this month!

Next up is another purse, much smaller this time, that doubles as a puppy carrier!  It's made from the Stitching dies, Fur-ever Fabulous, and I popped it above the 3D folder, Petite Tuft, and added another sentiment from the BetterPress kit.

supplies: white, black, tans, brown, pinks cardstock, Fur-Ever Fabulous stitching dies, camel embroidery floss, 3 strands, Petite Tuft 3D embossing folder, sentiment from Paws in the City BetterPress kit

The stitching kit this month has very little stitching, only on the purse, to give it some dimension.  I popped the whole thing above my background, and used yet another BetterPress sentiment.

The Clear Stamps and Dies are called Go-To Girl.

supplies: white cardstock, aqua printed paper, Go-To Girl clear stamps and matching dies, Nested Tree Frames rectangle

This kit contains what you see here, plus another girl, some accessories, and 3 more sentiments.  And there are matching dies for the main images and all of the sentiments.  

I always enjoy the stencils each month; here's my card to show you them.  They're called Cherry Chic, and I had to use the cherries from the Charmed Life set, of course!

supplies: white, red, green, aqua, and a red gingham patterned cardstock, Cherry Chic stencils, inks in 2 aquas, red, and green, cherries from Charmed Life, sentiment and die from All Seasons Summer press plate/die set, (retired) Postage Edge Rectangle die

As always, there are 5 stencils in the set, 2 for the stripes, and the remaining 3 for the cherry details.  I used a sentiment from last year.

Almost done!  Here are the Dies of the Month for November, Let's Do Brunch, and the embossing folder, Luxe Lattice.

supplies: colored cardstock, Let's Do Brunch dies, Luxe Lattice embossing folder, swiped with white ink

This fun die set contains brunch foods! (I didn't include toast or champagne). And the little arms and legs are a fun addition.  There are 2 other sentiments included, too.  I used the Luxe Lattice swiped with white ink as a kind of tablecloth for them.

And finally, here is my card using the BetterPress kit, Paws in the City.

supplies: white and red cardstock, black and white diagonal stripe dp, Paws in the City BetterPress Plate (includes sentiment), Perfect Touch Rectangle die

The set includes an acetate registration sheet to help you place the images.  And there is a die that will cut out all the sentiments at once.

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 our10 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!

Hero Studio for November: One More Chapter

It's time for a new month of  Hero Arts Studio Kits!  This month our theme is One More Chapter; all about books!  The kits are available now for subscription, through the 27th.

I've been a reader all my life, so I think this is a great theme!

My first card uses the Stencil Kit, called On the Shelf.  The 4 stencils make a little library!

supplies: white cardstock, On the Shelf stencils, brown, aqua, and green inks, Hero Wax in gold (included in the Card Kit), sentiment/dies from Card Kit Professional Bookworm

I used 3 colors of ink 1 for each of the first 3 stencil layers, then Gold Hero Wax for the 4th layer.  This was my first time using the wax, and I was pleasantly surprised how creamy and easy to spread it was.  I threw my stencil and tools into a bin of water when I was finished, and it cleaned up easily, too!

I added one of the many sentiments and matching dies from the Card Kit, popped up with some adhesive strips.  

Next are the Fancy Dies: Book Bag.

supplies: white and colored cardstock, Book Bag dies, another sentiment from Card Kit Professional Bookworm stamps

Isn't this one cute? Love that bookworm that's included!  Because there are little flowers here and there, I used an old retired embossing folder with little flowers, too.

The Card Kit has 3 die sets and 2 coordinating stamp sets, plus cardstock and that wax I used on my first card.

My card features one of the Card Kit die sets called To Be Read Pile.  It has a stamp set to match.  This one was really easy and fun to put together!

supplies: cream, beige, kraft, and darker colors of cardstock, To Be Read Pile dies and matching stamps for book bindings, embossing powders in gold, silver, pewter, and clear, a sentiment from the Card Kit Professsional Bookworm sentiment stamps

This die set consists of 1 large die that forms the stack, and 8 smaller dies, 1 for each of the books.  Then I used the matching stamps and various embossing powders to put a design on the spine of each book.  How clever!  The stamps also include ones with sentiments on them, but I kept only to the patterned ones, and finished my card with yet another of the Professional Bookworm sentiment stamps in the Kit.

Lastly, here's the other set of the die in the Card Kit: Happy Place.

supplies: colored cardstock, Happy Place dies and sentiment from Professional Bookworm stamps, both in Card Kit

There are lots of other dies in this set that I didn't use here: sleeves for her arms, more flowers, and a  head of hair for a boy.

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  This is subscription-based, discounted from retail, and includes FREE shipping (for US customers)!

You can subscribe anytime and cancel hassle-free.

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.  

A really nice perk is that, once you subscribe to any of the kits, you also will get free shipping on all orders that you make at Hero Arts between the 1st and 5th of each month!

New Wendy Vecchi Collection - Tabbed Classics

I was lucky enough to get some of Wendy Vecchi's newest collection from Spellbinders!  I really love her 3D folder, matching dies, and stencils called Thank You Bouquet.  You can buy them as a bundle, or just the folder/dies set.  They are easy to work with and I love the results, so I made 2 cards with them.

supplies: white cardstock, Thank You Bouquet bundle, sentiment from (retired) Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate

The embossing folder includes this bouquet, plus 5 separate flowers and a sentiment that can be layered on top.  I added a large flower popped above everything else.  There are matching dies for everything.

Next I played again with more pastel colors and added the bouquet to a splattered background paper.

supplies: white cardstock, splattered patterned paper, Thank You Bouquet bundle, sentiment from (retired) Sending Sentiments clear stamp/die set

I'd like to enter these 2 cards above into the October Triple B challenge: Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms., and into the Stencil Fun Challenge.

My last card today uses Wendy's Essential Envelope and In and Out Sentiments set from this new collection.

supplies: white, yellow, blue, dark blue, and green cardstock, patterned floral paper, Essential Envelope Everyday Add-Ons, Tabbed In & Out Sentiments stamps

Think of these dies as library pockets, .  After cutting and assembling my design, I centered the pocket on an A2 panel, gluing it only along the sides.  Then I inserted the tabbed card, which I trimmed a bit on each side to ease its sliding into the envelope.  

Here it is with the tab pulled up.

The Tabbed  Sentiments set has has 6 larger words to be stamped on the tab, and then 4 sets of sub-sentiments to be used inside, deeper down.  Here I used 2 tabs, Pull, and Sending, and a sub-sentiment "a huge hug".  And there are matching dies for everything.

The envelope set also includes these dies to make the flower and leaves..

Thanks for stopping by today.

October Spellbinders Club Kits: Glimpses of Christmas

The Spellbinders Club Kits for October are available, now until October 27!  The theme this month is Glimpses of Christmas!

The Stencils, called Frosty Wishes, make a big A2 card-sized snowman!

supplies: white, red, and green cardstock, Frosty Wishes layering stencils, inks in black, grey, red, pink, orange, and blue, Spellbinders holly leaves and berries dies

I added some holly leaves and berries to his hat, and left off a sentiment.

Next I combined the Dies of the Month, Snow Day Friends, with the Glimmer plate, Magical Wonderland, and one of the sentiments from the Stamps, To You and Yours.

supplies: white and colored cardstock, Magical Wonderland Glimmer plate and silver foil, Snow Day Friends dies, To You and Yours sentiment, red ink, gifts from Window Wonderland (large dies of the month)

This was a fun little scene to put together!  The dies also include a snowman, but I chose to use the tree first.  The little gifts are part of the Large Dies of the Month.  The Glimmer Kit includes a roll of Polished Brass glimmer foil, but I thought silver looked better on my blue background.

Here's the snowman from the set, mixed with the Emossing folder, Holiday Flurry, another sentiment from To You and Yours, and a string of lights from the Large Dies, Window Wonderland.

supplies: white and teal cardstock, Holiday Flurry embossing folder, peacock feathers ink, Snow Day Friends snowman, WindowWonderland lights, To You and Yours sentiment, circle die, adhesive foam squares

I started by trimming a white panel, then cutting a circle in the center, then embossing the panel.  I then lightly swiped on some peacock feathers ink, and added it to my teal mat.  The wnowman and lights were constructed and popped above the circle, and the sentiment was added to finish.

My last card for today shows you the Stitching dies, Peppermint Prancer, the 3D embossing folder, Brick by Brick, and another of the stamps.

supplies: colored cardstocks, Brick by Brick 3D embossing folder, Peppermint Prancer stitching dies, red, white, and beige emboidery floss, To You and Yours stamp

Please come back again in a few days to see the rest of the cards I made with this month's Club Kits.

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!

October Hero Studio - Merry Era

The Hero Arts Studio Kits for October are now available through the 27th of this month.  The overall theme this month is Merry Era.

I always play with the stencils first.  This month they are called The Tree.

supplies: white and dark teal cardstock, The Tree layering stencils, pink, silver, and blue-green inks, sentiment and matching die from Merry Era Card Kit, dewdrops, adhesive foam squares

As always, the stencils are 4 pieces, 3 for the tree and 1 for the baubles.  I added some dewdrops over some of the pink areas amidst the branches, for a little sparkle and dimension, and popped up the sentiment for the same reason.  I trimmed the A2 panel just a tad so that I could mat it with dark teal.

Next up are the Fancy Dies, Twinkle Lights.

supplies: white, gold metallic, red, blue, green, and gold glitter cardstock, Twinkle Lights fancy dies, sentiment from Merry Era Studio Card Kit and die to match, circle dies

This is a set of 5 strings of Christmas lights, and dies to cut out the lights themselves.  The sentiment was the one that I thought worked the best from the Card Kit.  I used gold metallic cardstock for the strings and 4 different glitter cardstocks for the lights.

The Card Kit contains a set of dies to make this big disco ball.  It will fit onto an A2 card, but I chose to make a Christmas Ornament out of it.  It is 4 1/4" in diameter, and has a separate die to make a hook so that you can add a thread to hang it by.

supplies: matte and mirror silver metallic cardstock, red cardstock, Merry Era dies

And finally, here are some of the stamps and matching dies featured in this month's Studio Card Kit.

supplies: metallic silver, teal and white cardstock, Merry Era Card Kit, red and grey inks, clear ink and silver embosing powder, prisma glitter and glue pen, adhesive foam squares

The stamp set and dies to match are all about disco balls, so I stamped and embossed with silver against a teal background, then stamped the sentiment and Santa hat in red, adding a bit of glitter on the hat for some more glitz, and popped them up.  The card front is matted in metallic silver.

The Studio Collection is available now through the 27th of the month.  This is subscription-based, discounted from retail, and includes FREE shipping (for US customers)!

You can subscribe anytime and cancel hassle-free.

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.  

A really nice perk is that, once you subscribe to any of the kits, you also will get free shipping on all orders that you make at Hero Arts between the 1st and 5th of each month!

A Card for Fall

We're in my favorite season, so here's a card to reflect that, using a lovely stencil/stamp set from The Greetery and a fun sentiment from Newton's Nook.

supplies: white and orange cardstock, The Greetery Floral Arches stencil/stamp set, Altenew Green Fields and Golden Sunset inks, sentiment from Newton's Nook (retired) Fall-ing for You

The Floral Arches design is made using 6 stencils, then adding details with the stamps included in the set.  I popped up 2 extra flowers that I also stamped and die-cut.  

I have so many favorite supplies for fall; I hope to play some more with them in October!  Are you enjoying the season?

I'll enter this into the Stencil Fun Challenge.

Blessed Fall Wreath

 It's September!  That means I get to play with all my beloved fall goodies!  Today I thought I'd bring back the Woven Ribbons stencils, this time with an autumn feel.

supplies: cream, kraft, orange peel, red, gold, and dark green cardstock, Altenew Woven Ribbon layering stencils, barn door, festive berries, ripe persimmon,fossilized amber, and mustard seed distress inks, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath, Spellbinders bow and berries, Honey Bee Bitty Buzzword sentiment, adhesive foam squares

These stencils are a set of 3 that you use once, then turn them 90 degrees and stencil with them again.  Since the background is so busy, I wanted something pretty simple, so this wreath with a big sentiment worked for me.  I popped them up with little adhesive foam squares.

You may notice that I'm posting a lot less than I have in past years.  After many years of blogging, sometimes posting every day, I'm going to slow way down, and plan to do only 1 card a week, plus my Spellbinders and Hero Arts assignments, and I may enter a challenge again once in awhile.  We'll try this out from here through the end of the year, and then reassess.

Thank you for stopping by today!

I'm entering this into the September Stencil Fun challenge and the September Four Seasons challenge.

Ditzy Flowers for Fall

I just love this Altenew Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper layering stencil set!  It's a garden on a card, and I can't think of any occasion it wouldn't work for.  So here it is again, colored for the season.

supplies: white and dark orange cardstock, Ditzy Flowers Wallpaper stencils, Altenew and Pink Fresh Studio inks, sentiment from Taylored Expressions (retired) Handlettered Thanksgiving, a postage die, adhesive foam squares

This time I trimmed the panel just a bit so that I could have a mat, and then cut out a postage-edge rectangle from the center.  That was stamped with my sentiment, matted, and then popped back up onto my card front.

Do you have a favorite set of stencils?  I'd love to hear - enable me!

I'll enter this into the current Simon Wednesday Challenge: Layer it Up; the stencils are layered, as are my elements. Also entering the September Stencil Fun challenge and the Four Seasons Challenge.