Elegant Rose

I couldn't resist this set of stencils from Simon's April release, You Are My Favorite, especially after seeing Heather's idea using them mixed with embossing folders. I needed 2 cards for anniversaries this month - here's the one I made for my husband - it was 54 years this year!

supplies: white, yellow, and cream cardstock, Simon Elegant Rose stencil set, squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, fossilized amber, and mowed lawn oxide inks, sentiment from Waffle Flower Sweet Lattice Sentiments, an unknown heart embossing folder

Heather embossed her blank panel first, then stencilled it, and I did the same, using oxide inks.  Doing it this way vs. the reverse makes you work a little harder to get the color down, but I love the results!  This design is so large that all you need is a sentiment.  

Next I made another card in coral inks for our son and daughter-in-law.  This time I used a pierced cover plate that leaves a much smoother surface on which to stencil, smooth enough to stamp the sentiment at the end.

supplies: white and coral cardstock, Elegant Rose stencil set, spun sugar, saltwater taffy, abandoned coral, and mowed lawn oxide inks, sentiment from (retired) Tammy Tutterow/Spellbinders Tiny Sentiments, Simon Detailed Ringlet cover plate, tiny heart sprinkle

This is a lovely design, easy to line up, and will work for so many occasions!

Thank you for coming by today.

An Anniversary Card

In this month of weddings and anniversaries I wanted to share a card I made for my husband. Earlier this month, we celebrated our 53rd anniversary.  This card is a CASE of one I found on Instagram.

supplies: white, pinks, and greens cardstock, Spellbinders Floral embossing folder, heart die, leaves from Spellbinders Mini Blooms and Sprigs, (retired) Simon heart dies, sentiment from (retired) The Craft's Meow Side by Side

We had a lovely day in Cleveland, taking advantage of the University Circle museums and gardens, with a nice dinner in Little Italy.  

Are you enjoying your summer?  It's been a good one here so far!  Thanks so much for visiting.

Anniversary Roses

 I took advantage of a Memorial Day Sale at Birch Press Design and brought home this lovely.  In my opinion, you can never have too many roses!

supplies: white, 3 peach shades, and 2 green shades of cardstock, Rose Bunch Contour Layers dies, leaves from Altenew Garden Picks dies, (retired) The Crafts Meow Sweet Sentiments

On her wedding day, this bride carried shades of blush roses.  These new dies are a perfect size, needing nothing else but some leaves and a sentiment.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Love You

 Our 52nd anniversary was earlier this week, and I wanted to share the card I made for my husband this year.  I carried yellow roses on our wedding day.

supplies: Cream, Bazzill Gumdrop green, Green Leaf, several yellows, and Matte Gold cardstock, Simon Love Is Background cling, Vintage Photo distress ink, Honey Bee Lovely Layers Rose, The Greetery Love die

This lovely rose die has almost too many layers - I used 6 of them for the main flower, with 3 colors of yellow cardstock. 

Thanks for coming by!

Blue Bells

 Here's a card using another of my new The Greetery dies recently released.

supplies: white, cornflower blue, paler blue, and green cardstock, The Greetery Blue Bells Botanicuts dies, Altenew Fine Frames die, Hero Arts (retired) Old Letter Writing woodblock stamp and sentiment from (retired) Forever cling stamps, partial Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Eyelet Lace die,micro-dot adhesive, Doodlebug tiny heart sprinkle

I love any flower that's blue, so this one was a must-have die for me.  I thought I'd make a vintage-feeling card using some old Hero arts stamps along with more modern supplies.  Once again, the micro-dot adhesive came to the rescue to help secure the teensy frame and the skinny flower dies - makes everything SO much easier!

After cutting out my scalloped panel, I masked off an area to stamp the script background.  Then I added the skinny blue frame, and stamped the main sentiment.  Lastly I added my blue bells, and then popped up the panel above a white card base.

My husband and I celebrated our 51st anniversary earlier this month, and here's the card I made him; it incorporates these bluebells along with some older The Greetery dies.

supplies: white, cream, kraft, green, and 2 blue cardstocks, The Greetery Wood Slice Hearts, Blue Bells Botanicuts, Love die, and sentiment from Love Is, faded jeans distress ink

This is a take on some cards I made for Valentine's Day last year.

There's also a similar Botanicut set released at the same time that is Lavender - it's on my wishlist!

Thanks for stopping by - have a great day!

A Wedding Card

 June is the month for weddings, and although I don't have one this year to attend, it's always good to have something "just in case".  I decided I wanted to make a white-on-white design, and use vellum and embossing.  I took this first picture against a bouquet of white peonies.

supplies: white and Cream card, vellum, Simon Beautiful Flowers and Thankful Flowers (leaves) clear stamp sets, clear embossing ink and white powder, Tammy Tutterow/Maker's Movement Sweet Petite Sentiment, Simon Blossom Field embossing folder, Hero Arts Nesting Rectangle dies, micro dot adhesive

I'm thrilled with the new micro dot adhesive - it is PERFECT for adhering vellum elements!  

Here's a 2nd photo taken in my usual way, inside under our bathroom skylight.

Thanks for stopping by 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!

A New Venture for Tammy!

Hello friends!

Tammy Tutterow is debuting a line of dies and stamps from Maker's Movement!  I was thrilled to receive them, and will be sharing with you as I play with them.  Today I have some cards and tags using some of her new designs.

supplies: black and pink cardstock, dps from Carta Bella Botanical Garden paper pad, Tammy's Nested Square Tags, sentiment from her new Sweet Petite Sentiments clear stamps, my own green leafy ribbon and a paper rose

Do you have lots of 6" paper pads like I do?  These nesting dies are perfect to use a couple of coordinating papers and make a super simple tag for any occasion.  I thought this one would work for a wedding or shower.  In order to separate the patterns a bit, I cut each tag a 2nd time from a solid cardstock, then trimmed the printed one just a tad on the sides so that the solid would "frame" it and let each pretty pattern show up better.  

Next up is a birthday tag.

supplies: Lipstick Red, Green Leaf, Sunshine, Orange Peel, and Burnt Orange cardstock,  a plaid and a neutral design paper, Tammy's Nested Round Top Tags, her Petite Posy dies, and a sentiment from Sweet Petite Sentiments, enamel dots 

Here I used the largest and smallest of the nested dies, first cutting out the large one from a plaid patterned paper, and then from that I cut out the small one.  I also cut a 2nd large tag as a lining (and a place to adhere my heart).  I glued that to the back of the large plaid tag.   I added flowers on both tags, stamped my sentiment on the smaller one, and added the heart (which comes in the tag set) to the backing for the large tag.  These poseys and the prim heart are Tammy's signature designs, and happen to be favorite motifs of mine, too!  I just used one of the poseys and 1 leaf, but the Posey set contains 20 different pieces!

If you're wondering about size, the largest of each set are about 2 3/4 inches wide by 4 3/8" long, a perfect size as a stand-alone, or to mount onto a card front.

Next I have a baby card using a darling stamp set.  Again I mixed it with some patterned paper.

supplies: white, Mint and Cotton Candy cardstock, floral patterned paper, Tammy's Little Feet stamps (onesie and sentiment), tiny pink buttons

This is a sketch that I've used before.  I love that the sentiment is part solid and part outline, so that the colors you use can be brought in there, too.  

And one more.

supplies: white cardstock, dps from Doodlebug, Sweet Petite Sentiments stamps and matching dies, a heart embossing folder

These dies consist of an oval that will hold any of Tammy's Sweet Petite Sentiments, and a larger scalloped oval to frame it, plus a selection of 3 posies and some leaves.  

Be sure to check out Tammy's entire release - I know you'll find something there that appeals to you! Thanks for coming by today!

Some Anniversary Cards

June is the month for anniversaries, and we have an abundance in our family!  Here are 2 anniversary cards I made earlier this month.

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug patterned papers, MFT Stitched Blooms dies, Simon Happy sentiment, yellow enamel dots for flower centers

A simple design, I just chose some pretty colors of patterned papers, cut my flowers and leaves and arranged them around my sentiment.  

I used the same sentiment set for my 2nd card.

supplies: kraft, white, and Lipstick Red cardstock, Ribbon Heart Sidekick Frame and Stencil set, sentiment Simon Happy clear stamps, heart die from (retired) Simon Heart Flowers, adhesive foam strips

This die and stencil set is one of a few Sidekick Frame sets that Poppy Stamps has introduced this year, and I was lucky to win this one!  There is a stencil included so that you can easily add some color to the die.  And the skinny foam strips are perfect for lifting the die above my card base!

We celebrated our 48th anniversary this month with a trip to see our Grands and a stopover in one of our favorite places - Asheville, NC and it's gorgeous environs. After the heat of Texas, the Smokies were literally "a breath of fresh air"!

Simon Says..........Wedding/Anniversary

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

Our theme this week is Wedding/Anniversary, and we're using Simon Says Stamp exclusives for our cards this week. 

Here's my card.

supplies: Tonic White Pearlescent and silver pearl cardstock, vellum, Modern Flower Card Wrap, Love Is background cling, Congratulations clear stamp sentiments, Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder and VersaMark ink

Here's a little photo journey to show you the way this card was put together.  I cut 2 4" wide rectangles of white pearlescent card and die-cut the Modern Flower Wrap from each end.  Starting with a 4" X 8" silver pearlescent card, I scored it to make a 4" square card, stamped the Love Is background on the front, and embossed it in Liquid Platinum.  Inside, my sentiment is "Wishing You Lots of Happily Ever After", from the Congratulations clear stamp set.  I also made a vellum band using another of the sentiments from the same set.

The stamped card was glued to one of the die-cut panels, and then that panel was attached to the 2nd die-cut panel, turned 90 degrees from the first.  

Then I used the vellum band to wrap the entire card.  It was mid-May when I made my card, and we just happened to have some Lilies of the Valley in our gardens to use for a pretty prop!

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!

Happily Ever After

Tammy Tutterow has a set of stamps and dies in the newest Pink & Main release!  I was tickled to receive them, and here are some cards I made, just in time for June weddings!

supplies: white and Surf Blue card, Bristol paper for my bouquet, Happily Ever After bouquet and sentiment, Zig markers and water to color, matching bouquet die, Sunny Studio Quilted Hearts embossing folder, foam adhesive to pop up bouquet, Doodlebug tiny white heart sprinkles

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this sweet heart.

supplies: white and Cotton Candy cardstock, Bristol paper, Happily Ever After heart and sentiments, heart die, Zig markers and water, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle dies

And another very similar design, just changing out the sentiment and the framing. 

supplies: white cardstock, Bristol paper to stamp and cut heart, Happily Ever After heart and sentiment, heart die, Zig markers and water to color, Paper Smooches Fab Frame die

The matching die set has dies to cut out all of the images - and in the stamp set, there's also a wedding cake, 2 bubbling champagne glasses, and 2 other smaller floral designs, along with 3 other sentiments that I didn't use.  Everything you'll need to make lots of fun wedding cards!

Shadowbox Collection from Becca Feeken

Recently I received some Becca Feeken Shadowbox dies from Spellbinders.  Here is my first play with some of them. 

First up, I used her Layered Sweet Birdie Thanks dies.

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, Surf Blue, and Green Apple card stock, Layered Sweet Birdie Thank You dies, sentiment from Mandy's Flowers, 3D Botanical embossing folder, adhesive foam strips

I die cut the 3 layers from 3 different colored card stock, then separated them with some adhesive foam strips and popped that above my dry-embossed and stamped card base.  Love the fun dimension!

As soon as I saw these next dies, I thought "wedding card".

supplies: white and Rose Gold pearlized card, Spellbinders Becca Feeken Callista Rectangle Shadowbox Frame dies, Simon's Congratulations sentiment, Tattered Rose distress oxide ink, Hero Arts retired heart pearls

I hope I was able to capture just a bit of the lovely glimmer that the rose gold pearlized card gives, perfect for a festive occasion like a wedding.  I was happily surprised to see that the oxide ink matched it nicely.  To finish I cut another of the dies from the rose gold and added them to the sentiment area of my card, and added just 2 pale pink heart pearls to them.

I'll be back again soon with another of the new dies from Becca.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happily Ever After

Here's another set of gorgeous dies that Spellbinders sent me - I paired it with a damask embossing folder for a wedding card:

supplies: white, cream, and silver metallic card stock, Spellbinders Layered Happily Ever After dies, Taylored Expressions Damask embossing folder, silver brads for flower centers, adhesive foam

I first cut an A2 panel in white card, and from that cut out the arched shape; then that panel was embossed with the folder.  On my white card base, I affixed a cream bride and groom diecut in the center.  On the embossed panel, I added the sentiment die cut in silver, and then popped that panel above my card base with some adhesive foam.  The flowers were also cut from cream card to make them stand out a bit better from the white background, and I added tiny silver brads to their centers.

What a great set to have for weddings!  Going forward, I think I'd use the bride's wedding colors for some of these details.......

Another Anniversary card

......this one for my husband this year.

supplies: kraft, blue, Green Leaf and Green Apple card stock, (retired) MFT Spring Wreath die, (retired) Memory Box Perched Reed Bird, Simon's Happy clear stamps, heart punch, twine, faded jeans and abandoned coral distress oxide inks, Colorbox Frost White cat's eye ink pad, tea dye distress ink

This bird die has always been a favorite of mine - it fits into most wreaths or branches, so I first cut out 2 of him from desert storm kraft card and inked them to resemble bluebirds.  I cut 2 shades of green for my wreath, and, influenced by Pam's 2nd card in THIS post, sponged some tea dye distress ink around the wreath and the edges of my card.   

It's been 47 years for us - how about you?

Simon Says............ Anniversary/Wedding

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

Our theme this week is Anniversary/Wedding, and we're playing with Impression Obsession goodies.  And it just so happens that today is my own 47th wedding anniversary, too!

I have 2 cards using the same stamp set:

supplies: white, black, and Lavender card stock, Bristol paper, pink gingham dp,  Impression Obsession Floral Heart set, Simon's Happy sentiments, Daniel Smith watercolors (Shari Carroll palette), adhesive foam squares

I stamped and watercolored the flower sprigs on Bristol paper, and the heart on pink gingham, then cut them out and arranged them on my card.  The sentiment was added to finish.

Next up, I used one of the flower sprays, colored a little brighter, and the same sentiment set:

supplies: white card stock, Bristol paper, BoBunny dotted pattern paper, Impression Obsession Floral Heart, Simon's Happy sentiments, and (retired) large heart doily die, Pretty Pink Posh Scallop Borders 2 die, Zig markers to color 

Now it's your turn!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

White on White Focal Point

The Altenew June Inspiration photo made me think immediately of weddings, and since they're asking for a white-on-white focal point also, I wanted to throw my hand in.  I decided that I'd use vellum that is white embossed, and that's how this started.

supplies: cream cardstock and vellum, Altenew Beautiful Day (flowers) and Garden Treasure (leaves) stamps, sentiment from a retired The Craft's Meow set called Side by Side, Wplus9 silver ink, Zig markers, (light carmine, wine red, yellow, and light green), Sizzix Ornate Frame embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

I clear stamped, embossed in white, colored them with Zig markers, and fussy cut the flowers, leaves, and sprays from vellum.  While they were drying I dry-embossed the panel and stamped my sentiment.  Then I trimmed the leaves and sprays to look like they were behind the large flower, and affixed them to the embossed panel only at their bases, allowing the outer parts of each to stand away a bit from the base. The big flower has a 2nd layer - if you look really close you can see the foam adhesive, but I don't think it's very obvious, and I wanted it to stand up above the main flower.  This main panel is also popped above the card base.

Here's the inspiration photo:

Love is.......

Today I have another card using a Tammy Tutterow cling stamp.  It seemed appropriate for this month of weddings and anniversaries.

supplies: Bristol paper, Tammy Tutterow Rose Border, sentiment from Penny Black Love Chapter, by Nina Brackett, VersaMark ink and Simon white fine detail embossing powder, Zig markers, broken china distress oxide ink, adhesive foam squares

On Bristol paper, I stamped and colored the gorgeous Rose Border, then cut it out so I could pop it above the card base, which was stamped, white embossed, and sponged with broken china distress oxide ink.

This card is part of Tammy's bi-weekly post where my teamies and I get to show off our work using her amazing products.  I hope you'll pop over there to see what they've done this time!

One more Wedding Card

I've seen several people use metallic/pearlescent watercolors on black cardstock, and I wanted to throw my hat in the ring, too.  The main floral image from Simon's Floral Bliss stamp set is the perfect vehicle to try this technique.

supplies: black cardstock, platinum glitter paper from DCWV Glitzy cardstock stack, pink dp from Echo Park's Wedding Bliss collection, Simon's Floral Bliss stamps, embossed in Ranger Liquid Platinum powder, and painted in with Yasutomo Pearlescent watercolors, clear sequins in centers of large roses

I also stamped and platinum embossed one of the single flowers in the stamp set on 2 pink slices of paper, to pull all the glitz all the way across the card, and added 3 clear sparkly sequins for a tiny bit more.  These watercolors are lovely against black - I only wish I could capture how pretty they really are, but I have a dreary day here, so I had to wing it!  If you want to see more examples of this technique, be sure to visit Simon's June 2017 Card Kit Gallery HERE, and look for Amy's and Nichol's gorgeous cards.