Heart Smiles

 Happy Wednesday!  Today's card is a remake of one back in 2020.  I'll be sending this to my sister for her birthday.

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supplies: Hobby Lobby plank paper, Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder, Tim Holtz Wildflower die, yellow and green inks,  Small Talk sentiment sticker, natural twine, Altenew enamel dots, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkle, adhesive foam to raise flowers and sentiment

Growing up, we had an old shed on our grandpap's property and there were flowers growing everywhere there.  I'm hoping this will bring back that memory for my sister, too.

I'll be entering this into Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

We have some nice cool breezes and intermittant sunshine here today - lovely!  Hope you're having a good day, too!  Thanks for stopping by.

Four Seasons: Autumn

 Here's another card using some dies and press plates from the new All Seasons Collection from Spellbinders, this time with an autumn theme.

supplies: kraft, Surf Blue, and fall colors of cardstock, a blue plank design paper, Four Seasons dies, All Seasons Autumn press plate/die, Autumn Leaves dies

This time I used the press plate as it was intended, with black ink.  

If you want to see the summer press plate, I used it HERE (2nd card) with Yana's Poppies dies.  Each of the plates has 6 sentiments specific to the season it represents.  I like that you can "print" them all out at one time, then use the matching die to cut them out and use for separate projects.

Thanks for visiting today - I hope you'll come back soon to see my card using the Spring set.

October Birthday cards

 Here are some birthday cards for October.

supplies: kraft cardstock, plank dp from Hobby Lobby, DecoFoil Endless Leaves clear toner sheet, orange foil, laminator, Simon stamped sentiment from Best Year Yet

I cut this aqua plank design paper into 4 A2 pieces with the planks running horizontally, foiled the leaves toner sheet, and glued it directly on top.  Then I used another trimmed piece to stamp my sentiment, and then paper-pieced it into place over the foiled piece. 

Here's another card that is a CASE of this one, but done in Candy Corn colors for fall.

supplies: white and orange cardstock, Hero Arts (retired) Leaf & Floral Background cling, Altenew Chamomile and Marigold inks, sentiment from (retired) Essential Messages, Winnie & Walter (retired) In a Word Happy die, cut 3 times and colored with markers to match inks

I'll have the a couple more cards for birthdays up in a few days.  Hope you'll stop by then.

Heart Wreath

 June is the month for weddings, and therefore anniversaries.  We have our fair share in our family, and today I have a card that would work for an anniversary, or just any "thinking of you" occasion.  I mixed some favorite stamps for this card.

supplies: white cardstock, Impression Obsession Wooden Plank cover-a-card cling stamp, Wplus9 Silver Lining ink, (retired) Simon You Have My Heart wreath, Tri-blend markers in Magenta and Jade Green, sentiment from Avery Elle Loads of Wishes, small adhesive foam squares

I stamped the wreath partially a 2nd time just to get an impression of the large flowers in it, so I could color and cut them out and add them to the wreath.  Since my card is so simple, I thought it needed a bit more distribution of color.

Thanks for coming by today - I hope it's a good one!

Simon Says.......Fun With Dies!

 

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

The theme this week is "Fun with Dies", and the team is showcasing My Favorite Things products.  I chose an old favorite die for today's card.

supplies: Doll Pink, Audrey Blue, and kraft cardstock, Craft Consortium Wood Textures dp, My Favorite Things Heart Tree die, sentiment from Simon Beautiful Flowers, Doll Pink ink, tiny heart dies from Simon Holiday Shapes die, Altenew Fine Frames die

I cut the tree from white cardstock, also kraft, aqua, and pink.  I punched out all the tiny bits from the white and used it as a mask to paper-piece the elements from the other colors directly onto woodgrain design paper, adding some falling hearts and stamping my sentiment.  Then I framed it.

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!  

Changing Seasons

Recently I was looking through my "To Inspire" Pinterest board and found something that I wanted to mimic on a card. I'm always drawn to birch trees, and putting them against a wood plank background really appealed to me! Here's my result.

supplies: white and Lipstick Red cardstock, aqua plank dp from Hobby Lobby, Taylored Expressions Birch Tree cover die, Spellbinders Sealed Birds dies, Hero Arts 2015 woodblock Beauty of the Season

The planks on this paper were a bit too wide, so I simply used a t-square and a black marker to draw lines to make them skinnier. 

I've done many takes on this theme of cardinals in birch trees down through the years, and I will continue to do so each year, I think.  Thanks for indulging me once again!

Here's the pin that inspired me.

Inspired By.......

 Being an old quilter, I follow quite a few quilting sites on Instagram.  A few days ago, THIS popped up and I was blown away by the colors, especially the use of that pink with the usual fall colors.   Here are two cards I made inspired by that quilt.

supplies: cardstock in Doll Pink, Orange Peel, Sunshine,  Green Apple, Green Leaf, plus a burgundy, a paler yellow, and an orange sherbert, plank patterned paper background, Simon Stitched Maple Trio dies and Christmas Blessings die, twine, hot pink enamel dot, adhesive foam to lift wreath

I used an old retired twig wreath die for my base to attach the maple leaves to, then backed the wreath with foam squares and popped it above my card, adding a twine bow and the sentiment.

I wanted to use a darker grey background, and remembered this leafy stitched cover plate, which looks a bit like quilting in the background.

supplies: same cardstock colors as above, plus Slate and Fog Grey, gold metallic cardstock, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf plate, The Greetery Boxwood Heart base and details dies, Fit to be Tied bow die, twig die and Spellbinders Welcome Fall berries die,  My Favorite Things (retired) thanks die

I brought in that magic pink this time in only the berries, along with the sentiment. 

Here's just one of the many quilts made with this Fall Breeze Quilt pattern by Vanessa Christenson.  Amazing, isn't it?

Thanks for visiting today!

Simon Says.......Stencil It!

 

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

This week we want to see your work featuring stencils.  The team is playing with Pink Fresh Studio products, but you can use anything you'd like.  I chose a set of layering stencils and made 2 cards with them.

supplies: white cardstock, grey plank dp, PinkFresh Studio Daisy Wreath stencil set, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, cracked pistachio and lucky clover distress oxide inks, blender brushes, sentiment from Simon Beautiful Butterflies, pink enamel dots, adhesive foam

After stamping my wreath I fussy-cut it into 2 parts and layered them over an oval on which I'd stamped my sentiment, then lifted it above the card base.

For my 2nd card, I stamped the flowers in 2 colors, overstamped a sentiment, then trimmed the panel.

supplies: white cardstock, PinkFresh Studio Daisy Wreath stencil set, Altenew mini ink cubes (Hydrangea and UltraViolet, Chamomile and Snapdragon, Lime and Fresh Leaf), sentiment from Simon (retired) Beautiful Day, Penny Black Stitched Stackers framing die, yellow enamel dots

I love these layering stencils because I don't have to do any coloring, which is not my strong point.  With some pretty inks, you can bring these to life!

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!

More Greetery Valentines

 Today I'm playing with Boxwood Hearts, both stamped and die-cut.  First up, a stamped one, so easy to put together!

supplies: white and Lipstick Red cardstock, a wood plank design paper, The Greetery Love Is layered  heart stamps and Fit to be Tied bow die, 2 green inks, sentiment from Hero Arts Sending Love Mail stamp set and matching banner die from Boutique Accessories Fancy Cuts, Doodlebug heart sprinkles, adhesive foam to lift heart

I stamped the heart wreath in 2 shades of green inks, then used the Boxwood Heart Base dies to cut it out.  I popped it above the shiplap background, then added a bow, some hearts, and a sentiment banner.

Next I turned to the Boxwood Heart Detail dies.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Boxwood Heart Base and Boxwood Heart Detail dies, various green inks, Banner & Bough flowers, 2 red inks, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail sentiment and Boutique Accessories banner die, an unknown heart embossing folder, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

The detail dies are meant to work with the base die, and, with the "cheat sheet" that Betsy provides, go together easily.  I like the dimension you get by leaving the ends of each layer of leaves unglued.

Here's one more card using them, in a slightly non-traditional color scheme.

supplies: white, pinks, Sea Glass, Surf Blue, and Audrey Blue cardstock, Simon's Detail Bohemian Plate cover die, The Greetery Boxwood Heart Base and Detail dies, Forget-me-Not Botanicuts, Tammy Tutterow sentiment, white pearls

Here I used a more subtle background, and built my heart from a pale blue base and 2 darker shades for the layers.  And brought in the new Forget-me-Not Botanicuts in pink.  With these colors and sentiment, this card could be used for lots of occasions.

Do you send out lots of Valentines?  

Christmas Blessings

  I enjoyed making this one!

supplies: red glitter, green, and Peacock Teal cardstock, dp from SN@P Wood and Notebook Basics pad, Simon's Christmas Foliage and Christmas Blessings dies, bow die, Christmas Red stickles 

I used a small kraft circle as a base to attach my foliage arrangement, then popped it above the card base. The red glitter cardstock for my sentiment and bow, and stickles as berries make this so festive!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings

 Today's card is a variation of one I made last year - I like these elements together.  This year I added some metallics to the mix.

supplies: ivory and Tim Holtz Rose Gold Metallic Kraft cardstock, plank dp from Craft Consortium Wood Textures pad, Simon Stitched Grand Maple and part of Christmas Blessings sentiment dies, Spellbinders Falling Leaves embossing folder, rose gold sequins, adhesive foam to lift top panel

When I got this new plank pad of paper, I wondered whether I'd ever use this particular one - it looks like someone used the side of a barn to clean his paint brushes!  But I think it worked nicely for this card.  The pinks in it were one reason I chose the rose-gold accents.

And one more shot.  It's unusual to find an embossing folder with various leaves on it like this one.

As always, thanks for stopping by today!

Endless Leaves

 I don't think I've done a foiled card for fall, so when I saw these Endless Leaves clear toner sheets,  I jumped!  

supplies: turquoise woodplank dp, DecoFoil Endless Leaves toner sheet, Gina K. Designs Dazzling Orange foil, laminator, sentiment from (retired) Neat & Tangled Maple Thanks clear stamp set

I love orange and turquoise together!  This foil looks just shiny in some lights and more glittery in others; hopefully you can see both on these photos.  The toner sheets are printed on clear acetate.  It cuts beautifully and I just put dots of glue under the most solid parts of the design, and it's holding well to the plank background!  It's a real steal, in my opinion - you can make 16 cards with the package!  

The sentiment is a scripture quote, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, just stamped on a scrap of the plank paper and glued over the foiled panel.

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope your week is a lovely one!

For You

I love the dies and stamps from The Greetery!  Today I'm playing once again with Betsy's canning jar stamps and her sunflower dies.  I made my flowers peachy for a change.

supplies: white, kraft, 3 shades of peach/coral, 2 shades of yellow, 2 shades of green cardstock, Craft Consortium Wood Textures dp and a retired MFT plaid dp, The Greetery Botanical Sunflower dies, and Just Mason Around stamps, Tammy Tutterow sentiment, heart sprinkles, twine bow

I love this sentiment, as it can cover all kinds of occasions!

Thanks for coming by!  Be well.

3 Wreath Cards

I've been trying to use supplies that have seen little action, and came across this PinkFresh Studio Floral Elements clear set.  It's a big one, with a lovely floral wreath (HERE is a card using it) as the main element, but there are also 11 much smaller floral stamps in this set.  I decided to stamp and color up most of them and see what I could do with them as a starting point.

Turns out I like them to dress up wreath dies.  Here are my results.

supplies: white, black and green cardstock,  MFT (retired) Spring Wreath die, Floral Elements and matching dies, Memory Box Big and Little Words, Tim Holtz (retired) Doily embossing folder

It's such a shame that this doily embossing folder has been discontinued - I love the subtle effect it has to make a lovely frame around something on the smaller side like this wreath die. BUT, if you have a doily die, you could emboss it for the same effect!

I always like a wreath against planking, so that's where card #2 went.

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Craft Consortium Wood Textures plank dp, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath die, Floral Elements and matching dies, Memory Box Big and Little Words 

This grapevine wreath cut from kraft and the planked background gives this a bit of a masculine look.

This last card is definitely not masculine!

supplies: white, dark green, and pink cardstock, Sunny Studio Eyelet Frilly Frame cover dies, Tim Holtz Funky Wreath, MFT (retired) bow die from Spring Wreath set, Floral Elements and matching dies, Memory Box Big and Little Words

The wreath I used on this one is from the same Tim Holtz Funky Wreath set, except it has leaves, so I cut it in green again.  And I added a little die-cut bow to the mix on this one.

I had a fun couple of days putting these together - do you have a favorite?

Knock on Wood, part 2

I was really inspired by our theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, so much so that I have 2 more cards for today following that theme.

Both of my cards today use wood plank design papers as an element. This first one is very similar to Wednesday's card, I just changed up the elements.

supplies: white cardstock, woodplank design paper, Tim Holtz Wildflower Stems 1 dies, colored with distress inks and a sponge dauber, Lumber embossing folder, sentiment sticker, twine bow

I thought these daisies would look good against this wood plank design paper, and I embossed it too, thought it doesn't show up very well in my picture.  

Next, a spray of little flowers dies, also against a wood plank paper.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, Craft Consortium Wood Textures paper pad, Tim Holtz Funky Foliage dies, plus 2 yellow flower dies from my scrapbag, distress inks to color, Simon Stitched Circle and Small Hello dies, aqua and white pearls for flower centers.

I cut a circle from the woodgrain paper, mounted it on my card base, then constructed a little flower swag around part of it.  As above, most of the flowers and ferns were cut from white cardstock, then colored with distress inks.

Thank you for stopping by.

Simon Says.........Knock on Wood!

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

Our theme this week is "Knock on Wood!" - use anything that looks like wood or is wood-related: embossing folder, patterned woodgrain paper, wood embellishments, or stamps. We are highlighting Tim Holtz products today, a perfect match for this challenge!  I had such fun with this one - I made 3 cards!

For my first card I used Tim's Lumber 3D texture fade for my background, and some wildflower dies as my focal point.  

supplies: kraft and white cardstock, Lumber 3D embossing folder, vintage photo distress ink, Wildflowers dies, sponged with distress oxide inks, Small Talk sentiment sticker, twine

After embossing the woodgrain into my kraft paper, I swiped a vintage photo ink pad along the top lightly to bring out the woodgrain details.  That panel was then trimmed a bit, darkening all the edges before attaching to the card base of the same kraft.  Then I cut out the wildflowers from white cardstock and used a tiny blender brush and oxide inks to color each one.  I used some Press and Seal to hold my arrangement together until I could add some glue dots to the back of it, then attached it to my card, allowing the tops of the flowers to stand out a bit.  Next came the sticker sentiment, and finally a twine bow.

For my 2nd card, I started with a wood plank paper, and inspired by Michele, I stencilled over it with oxide inks before framing it up.  

supplies: fog, smoke, and worn lipstick cardstock, woodgrain plank dp from SN@P Wood & Notebook Basics paper pad, Floral Layering stencil, worn lipstick and cracked pistachio, with touches of abandoned coral, mustard seed, and evergreen bough distress oxide inks, small blender brushes, Simon Sketched Flowers sentiment, a Winnie & Walter Audrey Cutaways rectangle die

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!

Simon Says........Use Some Green

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

This week we want you to Use Some Green!  The team is showcasing LDRS Creative products.  

supplies: white cardstock, Craft Consortium Wood Textures plank dp, LDRS Heart Wreath, colored in all 6 shades of Nuvo Emerald Seas and Woodland Greens (berries in Rich Red) creative pens, banner and sentiment from Simon Woodland Whimsy, adhesive foam to pop up wreath and banner

For the most part, coloring isn't usually my thing, but I really enjoyed taking my time and randomly coloring in the leaves in various shades of green.  Maybe it's large expanses that I don't like to color?

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!