Some New Goodies!

 When I saw PTI's Build a Bouquet dies, I knew I "needed" them!  They are a wonderful set, with lots of different flowers and leaves to mix and match each time.  After constructing my bouquet, I decided to set it against this lovely Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder.  So this is a mix of something old and something new.

supplies: white, black, and colored cardstock, Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder, PTI Build a Bouquet dies, sentiment from Spellbinders, adhesive foam squares to raise bouquet

I'm getting lazy already in my "retirement"; I really did try to find the source for the sentiment die I used.  But it was in my scrap basket, and after spending about 5 minutes searching, I decided that it was probably already retired anyway, so why bother?  Whatever it is, it was just the right size!

As always, I thank you for stopping by today - hope you have a good day!

Woven Ribbons

 Today I have a card that uses a new-to-me stencil set called Woven Ribbon.

supplies: white cardstock, Altenew Woven Ribbon Builder stencils, Altenew Baby Pink, Fuschia, Lavender Fields, Deep Iris, Lime, and Fresh Leaf inks, Spellbinders Floral Spray, Pink Fresh Studio (retired) Curvy Leaves, and My Favorite Things (retired) Sending Hugs dies, green enamel dot, adhesive foam

I love the way this turns out, using 3 stencils that are layered, then turned 90 degrees and layered again, so that you can use up to 6 inks.  Today I used 2 shades of 3 colors.  The effect is almost 3D!  (or would be if I'd gotten mine lined up exactly right).  I used one of the pinks to color the center of my flower, and adhesive foam dots and strips to lift up my floral and sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Cards from the Garden

 Time to replenish my birthday card stash, so I pulled out this favorite Hero Arts Flower Garden fancy die and made a couple cards.

supplies: black and white cardstock, Hero Arts Flower Garden cover die, markers, Simon Painted Happy Birthday dies, irridescent gems

I have used this cover die lots and lots, but not with a black background until today; I am always astounded how much the colors pop against it!  I layered the sentiment 3 times to make it stand out against all the busy-ness behind it.

Here's another one, going pastel this time.

supplies: white, yellow, pink, lavender, and green cardstock, Flower Garden cover plate, My Favorite Things (retired) Stitched Mini Square Square Stax die, sentiment from Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments, adhesive foam squares

For this card, I cut the Flower Garden twice, attaching the first one to my pieced pastel backing, then cutting the 2nd one apart and coloring it to match the backing colors.  I attached the floral clusters to my sentiment square, then popped the whole thing above the card front.

It's amazing how different these cards can look!  That's why I love this cover die so much!

Thanks for stopping by - have a wonderful day!

A Spring Hello

 I used some favorite little dies for today's card, and a mix of companies again.

supplies: white and dark green cardstock, Distress Grey Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock, Lawn Fawn Magic Iris Floral Wreath Add-On, bird from Magic Iris Birdhouse, Fancy Scalloped Rectangle dies, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf cover plate, My Favorite Things (retired) Home Tweet Home birdhouse, sentiment from Newton's Nook (retired) Woodland Spring stamp set, adhesive foam squares

This wreath has extra flowers and leaves to affix to the main image, but today I just used some markers to color a white cut of it, then added the birdhouse and bird popped above a bit.  And this time I set it against a subtle leafy background.

Are you seeing any signs of spring in your neck of the woods?  My husband put out our birdhouses last week and we couldn't believe the birds they attracted immediately!  

Petal Pushers

 Here's a beautiful set of goodies from The Greetery that needs some love.  I used some pretty pastel colors for spring.

supplies: white and mint cardstock, The Greetery Petal Pusher Background plate and matching stencils, Pink Fresh Studio Sparkling Rose, Lemon Whip, and Sky Blue, Altenew Sweet Leaf mini ink cubes, gems and glittery stickers in flower centers

This cover plate cuts out the design as you see it, but the flowers and leaves are not cut all the way through; you can pull up their edges for dimension while the centers remain attached.  The 5-piece stencil set  colors everything.  

It turned out so pretty I didn't want to cover up anything with a sentiment, so I've left that off for now. 

This satisfied my need for spring for at least 1 happy afternoon!  Hope it makes you smile, too!

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!

Birthday Wishes

 You can never have too many birthday cards, so I pulled out some older dies and made a feminine pastel one.  The flowers and leaves were all cut from paint chips!

supplies: white and baby blue cardstock, paint chips in pinks, greens, and yellows, Altenew Garden Picks and Rose Flurries dies, PTI Scallops Mix & Mat dies, Curved Everyday Sentiments glimmer plate and die set, rose gold glimmer foil

After constructing my flowers and leaves, I arranged them and glued them to the pretty lacey panel, then lifted the whole thing above my pale blue card base.  I used rose-gold glimmer foil for my sentiment.

I really enjoyed putting this together; thanks for visiting me today!

Petal Pushers!

 Here's a suite of products that the Greetery released last year.  I had such fun when I first got these that I wanted to repeat the process.  They're called Petal Pusher.

supplies: white, pink, and pale aqua cardstock, Petal Pusher background die and matching layering stencils, Altenew Four Scoops and Frayed Leaf inks, blending brushes, sentiment from Spellbinders Pocketful of Spring kit

The background die cuts out the edges of most of the flowers and leaves, leaving the centers intact so that you can pull them up for dimension.  The other thing that appeals to me is the many tiny dots in the background that pop out so that you can line the panel with another cardstock color, in this case a pale aqua.  Maybe the only drawback to this design is that it's so packed full of detail that there's not much room for a sentiment!  I chose a tiny strip for mine this time.

HERE is a blog post from last July when I first got this suite, that has 3 more cards using these elements.  I have yet to use the dies only - that's my next project!

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day!

Petite Blooms

 Today's card features an embossing folder and a set of floral dies from the new Merry and Bright Collection.

supplies: white, pinks, aqua, and pale green cardstock, Peppermint Stripes embossing folder, Petite Blooms and Sentiments dies, pink enamel dot

These dies are on the small side, so I decided to make a quilt-inspired design with them, and then simply placed it on an embossed striped background.  The stripes add interest without detracting from the overall design, and I like these pastels for a change.  This design could be used for lots of occasions.  There's also a cute little "For You" tag included in the set.

Thanks for stopping by today - have a good one!

Simon Says........Spring/Easter!

Welcome to a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!

Spring or Easter is our theme this week, and the team is featuring Spellbinders or Stampendous products.  I chose my current favorite Spellbinders embossing folder for today's card.

supplies: white and green cardstock, Spellbinders Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder, Simon's Spring Blessings die, pastel markers,  Altenew enamel hearts

These 3D embossing folders raise the design up so that it is not hard at all to color in the details with alcohol markers.  I used the same markers to color my sentiment die, too.

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!  

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of spring!  Here's a shaker card to celebrate!

supplies: white cardstock, a scrap of acetate, Lawn Fawn Floral Wreath die, alcohol markers to color, circle die, Simon Detail Ringlets cover plate, a scalloped die,  Disco Ball sequin mix, foam adhesive strips, sentiment from Newton's Nook Woodland Spring set

I added some of the same sequins to the centers of the largest flowers in the wreaths, too.  

Let's hope that we can get some warmer temps soon!

Butterfly Birthday

 I really liked the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero February card kit!  Here is my first card using it.

supplies: white cardstock, Hero Arts MMH Feb kit: layering stencils and die, variety of Pink Fresh Studio and Altenew mini ink cubes, Mama Elephant Paola's Wishes sentiment, enamel dots

The kit sold out, of course, but it consists of 4 layering stencils, and an oval die that cuts out the center of the design, and leaves areas around the edges so that the butterflies and flowers can be semi-popped up - a fun effect!

This will make a great design for lots of occasions, and I want to try it cut from an ink-blended panel with no stencilling - maybe in a metallic?  

Thanks for visiting!

Fragrant Florals

 When I saw this Altenew Craft Your Life kit, I was head over heels!  I loved the idea that the stamps, stencils, embossing folder and die were all the same size and can be used interchangeably together.  So here is my first play with my kit.  I hope they continue this idea for future kits!

This first card used the embossing folder, stencils, and the die.

supplies: white cardstock, Fragrant Florals embossing folder, matching stencils, matching die, gold pearls, adhesive foam to lift 

I first embossed the design, then used a variety of Altenew mini inks and blending brushes with the stencils to color this pretty bouquet.  Then I die-cut it, ran it through the embossing folder one more time, and popped it above my card base with adhesive foam, along with one of the sentiments in the stamp set, and some gold pearls as flower centers.

Here's card 2, using the outline stamp, the embossing folder, and the stencils.

supplies: black and white cardstock, Fragrant Florals outline and another sentiment from the stamp set, matching embossing folder, matching stencils, various Altenew mini ink cubes

I trimmed my panel and matted it in black before mounting it onto my card base.  The embossing shows up better in real life, but it is more subtle than the first card.  

I LOVE that I don't have to color these flowers with markers; that is not my strength, especially when the areas to be colored are this large.  Stencils to the rescue!

I believe this kit sold out, but I also believe that Altenew will bring it back again.

Thanks so much for stopping by - enjoy your day!

Pastel Stitching

 I promise I'll put this die set away for awhile now, but I have one more card to share using it.  I'd NEVER have thought to do this, but Jennifer McGuire had a similar card  and I loved her results, so I had to try it too!

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Spellbinders May 2021 Large Dies of the Month, pastel embroidery floss, PinkFresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamp and matching die, LDRS Creative Slim Line die, shortened, adhesive foam strips

I cut the cover die and an extra flower and leaf.  The cover die was then trimmed so that I had only 2 opposite corners to stitch.  They were attached to my framing rectangle and then popped above the card base with adhesive foam strips.  To finish,  I just added the extra flower and leaf, left of the sentiment.  I LOVE how this turned out - Jennifer is a genius!

Happy July 4th!  Hope those of you in the states are enjoying your long weekend!  Thanks for taking the time to visit today!

Happy Anniversary!

I've been wanting to make a white-on-white card, and today is the day!  

supplies: white cardstock, white glitter cardstock, vellum, Taylored Expressions Damask embossing folder, PTI Scallops Mix & Mat die, Simon Says Stamp Leanna and Chrissy butterfly dies, pastel pearls, adhesive foam strips to lift lacy panel

Fifty years ago today, my Denny and I were married; it was a Sunday, then, too, the day after I graduated from college.

The ceremony was in the college chapel, and our reception was cake and ice cream outside in the chapel gardens.  My bridesmaids wore pastel shades of yellow, pink, green, and lavender, and our Moms wore aqua and yellow.  It was HOT and we had a thunderstorm, but it held off for most of the time.

"Way back in the dark ages" they didn't do digital photography yet, so I don't have a good quality photo to show you, and the pictures we do have have faded over time - just like us!

My dress was ivory lace, long-sleeved, with tiny satin buttons all the way down the back; thus all the lacy detail on my card today.  I added pastel pearls to the centers of the flowers in the colors of the dresses, and a glitter and vellum butterfly for new beginnings, with an ivory pearl for mine.

What's our secret?  Lots of laughter.  

Thanks for coming by today!

Simon Says...........Sending Hugs

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

 This week our theme is "Sending Hugs"!  There are lots of ways to interpret that, and I'm looking forward to your ideas!  The team is featuring Impression Obsession products this week. 

supplies: white and black cardstock, Impression Obsession Floral Lace Heart die, markers, colored pearls, Simon Scripty Big Hugs die, Penny Black Stitched Stacker die

I cut the heart 3 times from white cardstock.  Using the first, I attached tape to the back of the panel while it was still attached to the die to hold everything together.  Then I used pastel markers to color in the details.  From the other 2 die-cuts, I punched out only the outline of the heart, and glued them together.  The colored panel was trimmed with the stitching border die, then I added my extra heart outlines and my sentiment.  The panel was then lifted above my card base, and I put pearls in the centers of the flowers, and a heart pearl near the sentiment.

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 Stamp All the Feels release!

 

Simon's newest release called All the Feels is live!  

I received a CZ Design die called Happy Everything, and for my first card, paired it with a 3D embossing folder for spring!

supplies: white, black and yellow cardstock, Simon Floral Field embossing folder and NEW Happy Everything dies, white pigment ink and a yellow ink for daisy centers, Spellbinder Daisy dies

I simply embossed on yellow cardstock, then rubbed white pigment ink across the surface, and a little yellow ink in the centers of the flowers, then added my sentiment and daisy.

My next card is 180 degrees from the above one, about as simple as I get!

supplies: white, black, Cotton Candy, Banana, Green Apple, Surf Blue, Lavender, and a soft apricot cardstock, vellum, NEW Happy Everything dies, tiny heart die

I did diagonal stripes in a pastel rainbow order, and added some tiny hearts here and there.

To see the whole release, please click HERE, and for ideas on how to use them, I hope you'll visit our Gallery HERE.  As always, we've planned blog hops for Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, and an Instagram hop on Friday, April 9.

Enjoy!  

Sunny Days Ahead Blog Hop, Day 1

Simon Says Stamp has released a new bevy of products, called Sunny Days Ahead!  I'm thrilled to be participating in the first of 2 days of blog hops to show off all the new goodies!

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, April 29.

Today I have 4 cards, 3 of them featuring the new Stylized Tulips die and 1 card using the CZ Design Extra Large Congrats die.

One of the prettiest spring plantings I've seen prominently featured pale pink and yellow tulips.  This first card is inspired by that garden.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, Cotton Candy, Green Leaf and a pale yellow cardstock, Stylized Tulips and Thanks dies, adhesive foam strips

I popped the pink tulip up and paper-pieced the sentiment in the same colors that I used for my flowers.

Next up, I used some subtle prints to piece my tulip in brighter colors.

supplies: white and black cardstock, various Doodlebug patterned papers, Stylized Tulips die, 4 Seasons die and sentiment

And lastly, I added some shading with oxide inks and colored pencils before piecing them back together for this one full of warm sunshine.

supplies: white, yellow, and Green Leaf cardstock, MFT gingham dp, Stylized Tulips and Painted Hello dies, mustard seed and mowed lawn oxide inks with pencil shading

And finally, I have a card using the new  CZ Design Extra Large Congrats die; I decided to use it for a wedding card, using the colors from the invitation we received.

supplies: eggshell cardstock, Simon CZ Design Extra Large Congrats and Elegant Roses dies, stamped sentiment from Floral Bliss,  (retired) Modern Rose Blooms cling stamp, broken tumbled glass oxide ink, a off-white enamel dot, foam squares to lift up rose

This card started with a white-embossed panel of Modern Rose Blooms.  Next I sponged on some tumbled glass oxide ink.  I die-cut the big word from it, and 4 others from eggshell and glued them together, then attached them back into place.  Then I added an Elegant Rose to mimic the background, and a stamped sentiment.

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 for a random commenter, and if you buy anything on either of these 2 days, you can also get a free gift!  Use the code sssink to get a free Intense Black ink pad (see the banner at the top of this post to see it).

You'll be glad to know that the Simon Says Stamp store is shipping again!  For more information, you can watch this video.

Click HERE for all the new goodies, and for more inspiration, don't forget to visit our Sunny Days Ahead gallery.

Thanks so much for coming by today.  Here's today's Hop Order.

Simon Says Stamp Blog   

Jennifer McGuire

Kristina Werner

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

Lisa Addesa

Heather Ruwe

Suzy Plantamura

Kathy Racoosin

Barb Engler

Cheiron Brandon

Lea Lawson

Betty Wright

Bobbi Lemanski

Lin Brandyberry