A Mix of Old and New

 Here's a card that started with a find in my scrap basket, these Greetery Fleur Imressions layering stamps.  I thought this mix of blue and yellow would be nice for this time of year.

supplies: white, yellow, and blue cardstock, Spellbinders Floral Expression 3D embossing folder and Hemstitch Rectangle die, The Greetery Fleur Impressions layering stamps, blues, yellows, and green inks, Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design With Love die

The new is the sentiment die, but everything else is retired.  I love the florals mixed with the big floral embossing behind them, and once again, the hemstitch design adds just the right little detail to break things up a bit!

How is your spring going?  Ours is 1 step forward, 1 step back: highs in the 70's one week, and the 20's the next!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Sunshine!

 It's been a very cool, rainy spring this year, but I think, if the weatherman is right, we have finally turned the corner!   So here's a card to welcome back that big yellow ball in the sky.....

supplies: white, yellow, and green cardstock, washi tapes, My Favorite Things (retired) Blueprints 20 heart strip die, The Greetery Botanicuts Sunflower dies, sentiment from Technique Tuesday (retired) Bring on the Sun, Hero Arts Soft Granite ink, tiny yellow heart sprinkles

This is a CASE of a card I made 10 years ago this month.  Amazingly all of the washi tapes were still usable (can't say that for many of them anymore).  The yellow dot is a Doodlebug one, I believe.  I changed up a few of the supplies from my original card, using die-cut flowers instead of stamped ones, and substituting a heart strip for the original cross-stitch one, but it's like finding buried treasure to bring out the oldies and show them some love once again.

These are technically sunflowers, but I made them white so that they look more like daisies - love all the layers.  I used scraps of whites and off-whites for them.  Such a happy flower! 

Hope you're able to get outside wherever you are.  Wonder what summer will look like this year?

Peony Smiles

May is peony season here, though this year, I have a knockout rose that bloomed before the pink peonies did - it's been a weird spring!  We have old-fashioned peonies, transplants from a neighbor, in white, red (really dark pink), and pale pink, but I've seen pictures of yellow ones, so today I brought out an old favorite die set that is amazingly still available and made a card with them.

supplies: white, blue, yellows, and greens cardstock, blue gingham dp, Altenew Peony Dream dies, Pink Fresh Studio (retired) Phrase Builder Sending dies, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle dies

Peonies are one of God's miracles!  The amount of petals in a single flower blows my mind!  Here's a photo of one of our white ones.

Have a lovely day!

Sunny Thoughts

 Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a challenge blog named The Play Date Cafe.  One of my favorite recurring challenges there was called "Black and White and a Splash". Here's a card inspired by that challenge.

supplies: white and bright yellow cardstock, Winnie & Walter (retired) Audrey's Cutaways scalloped rectangle, Honey Bee Stamps Daisy Layers Bouquet stamps and matching stencils, yellow inks, a Simon reverse sentiment strip, adhesive foam 

The stamp set includes 2 stamps, the large one which makes the full bouquet, and a smaller one which duplicates most of the flowers in it.  I stamped each of them on white card, then colored in the smaller with the matching stencils and 4 yellow inks.  This sentiment strip continues the black and white theme, but it's nice and skinny so that it doesn't cover up much of the design!

Wishing you a sunny day!

Nature's Blooms

 I recently got a new die from Papertrey Ink called Nature's Blooms Elegant Edges.  Here are  some cards I made with it.

supplies: white, blue, and green cardstock, PTI Elegant Edges: Nature's Blooms dies, The Greetery Tartan Builder Diagonal stencils, tumbled glass, cracked pistachio and prize ribbon distress inks, Pink Fresh Studio Phrase Builder Sending sentiment dies

The plaid panel was already stencilled and in my scrap basket, so I just had to find some cardstock to match the colors and a sentiment.  I really liked using a plaid with these dies as I saw Brenda Noelke do when they were introduced at the end of December.

I wonder when they'll figure out how to make a blue rose?  I'll be the first in line to have one!

Next I matched it up with an embossing folder.

supplies: pink and white cardstock, PTI Elegant Edges: Nature's Blooms dies, Tim Holtz (retired) Roses embossing folder, Simon Sending Smiles die

I used the edging die to cut an extra piece of pink cardstock to line the white detailed panel, which was then put atop the embossed roses panel with a large sentiment die. and the negative die-cut of the long leafy sprig.

And one more, because I like mixing stripes with florals, and I had to have some yellow roses.

supplies: white, yellow, green cardstock, unknown green stripe patterned paper, PTI Elegant Edges Nature's Blooms dies, Spellbinders A Little Hello Sentiments stamp/die set 

Thanks for hanging with me for this long post today - have a good one!

Bayfair Hugs

I wanted to play again with the lovely Bayfair floral dies and I added the new woven lattice to the mix, too, this time.  I used a favorite color combo of blue and yellow.

supplies: white, blues, soft navy, pale yellow, and greens cardstock, Spellbinders Floral Spray dies, Woven Lattice dies, and retired sentiment from Log Cabin and Flower Mini Quilts dies, yellow enamel dots

As you can see, the flowers can be layered many times over if you wish, mixing and matching elements.  If you're looking for a versatile flower set, this may be the one for you!

Hope you're having a great day - thank you for your visit today!

Blog Hop - My Favorite Spellbinders 2023 Club Product!

 Welcome to my stop on the Spellbinders Blog Hop featuring our favorite 2023 Club Products!

To celebrate, we are giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to 3 lucky blog readers, selected from the comments on the Spellbinders Blog!  The Giveaway closes on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 11:59 PM MST.  Winners will be announced on the Spellbinders Blog Hop post the following Wednesday, Dec. 12.  Winners are responsible for shipping costs, duties, and taxes.

You should have arrived here from Michelle Woerner's blog, and your NEXT STOP will be Alanna Moses' blog.

If you know me at all, you'll know that I'm a flower girl, and so I've chosen the January 2023 Large Dies of the Month as my favorite club kit from this year.  They are named Club Blooms, and I've chosen this set because of the lovely variety of elements Spellbinders has provided us in this set.  The single flowers are lovely and can be used singly or layered, and there is a wonderful variety of leaves, but I really enjoyed having the berry sprig and the mini-flower sprig to work with!  

For my new card today, I used a dark background embossed in a favorite 3D folder, and a favorite color scheme of blue and yellow.

supplies: Soft Navy, Cornflower Blue, light blue, Green Apple, and 2 yellow cardstock, Club Blooms dies, sentiment from Snowflake Wishes Stamp/Die set, Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder

I'm also sharing 2 cards using this set that I've previously blogged back in January when this set was released.

supplies: white cardstock, Club Blooms, Spring Bouquet and Chamomile mini ink cubes, finger daubers, January Embossing Folder of the Month: Stylized Trellis, sentiment from Sentimental Greetings clear stamps

supplies: cream, yellow, pinks and greens cardstock, Spellbinders Club Blooms, Embossing Folder of the Month: Stylized Trellis, and sentiment from Log Cabin and Flower Mini Quilts

The complete list for the Hop can be found HERE at the Spellbinders Blog.  Thanks for visiting me today, and enjoy the Hop!

Autumn Blessings

 Looking back through my older supplies, I was horrified to see that I've only used this pretty bottle only once before!  So now's the time to give it some love.

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Tartan Builder Diagonal, (distress inks in squeezed lemonade, saltwater taffy, and picked raspberry distress inks), All Bottled Up, Budding Beauties Autumn, and (leaves from) Autumn Sketches, Altenew mini ink cubes in pinks, yellows, oranges, olive, and brown

After stamping and cutting out the bottle, berry sprigs, and leaves, I arranged them onto a trimmed white panel, sponged in the center with some yellow ink.  I was originally going to just put this over a white card base, but found this plaid that I had made last year some time, and thought it was perfect!

LOVE it when that happens!  The little label is a mix of sentiments from the bottle set and the Autumn Sketches - it reads "Autumn Blessings from me to you".  I decided that would stand for my sentiment.

I really enjoyed working with these colors - a nice change from the traditional fall colors!  

One Big Hug

 I was in the mood for some turnabout stamping, and pulled out this Blooms Turnabout.  I did it in pinks and yellows this time.

supplies: white, Green Leaf, Green Apple, Doll Pink pale pink and pale yellow card, Concord & 9th Blooms Turnabout stamps, sentiment from (retired) Simon's Happy Every Day set, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, squeezed lemonade, and mustard seed oxide inks, Altenew Lime and Fresh Leaf inks, Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms dies, Winnie & Walter (retired) Noel scalloped rectangle die, adhesive foam squares

This turnabout set actually has 2 turnabout stamps, one for the leaves, another for the flowers!  The turnabouts are fun to play with and always give pretty results, no matter what colors you choose!  And I think this Be Bold Bloom flowers are a nice match with the floral stamps..

Thanks for stopping by today - have a good one!

Brushstroke Blossoms

 I've been trying to use supplies that have been neglected.  Today's card uses some Tim Holtz Brushstroke Flowers dies, and I used solid cardstocks from some ancient 6" paper pads.

supplies: white, 2 yellows, 2 peaches, 2 greens cardstock, Lawn Fawn Rainbow Watercolor Wishes dotty patterned paper, Brushstroke Flowers 1 dies, a Tim Holtz Sentiments Label Sticker, Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangle

This big fluffy flowers look like summer to me, and the dotty paper in the same colors makes a nice background for them. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Daisy Days - 2 Birthday cards

 Here's another hardly used set of stencils with matching stamps, dies, and even background papers that I have neglected.  I made this first one for a birthday in May, and enjoyed the processs so much I made another in a different colorway.

supplies: slate cardstock (for sentiment), The Greetery Daisy Days Fill-in-the-Blank paper in grey, Daisy Days stamp/stencil set, The Greetery Daisy Days die set, Pink Fresh Studio Rise & Shine and Altenew Green Valley inks, small blending brushes, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail sentiment

I made the 2nd card for a birthday, too, using another of the Fill-in-the Blank papers.

supplies: white and bright pink cardstock, same supplies as above (Fill-in-the-Blank pale blue paper), Simon Trio 15 Greens and Carnation and  Altenew Pocketful of Sunshine and Silverstone inks, blending brushes, Simon Birthday Circle die, adhesive foam to pop up daisies, scallop rectangle die from (retired) MFT Blueprints 20 die set

I decided I wanted the biggest flowers to be actual daisies in white, and to mix up the other elements with different colors.  After doing the "berries" in Carnation, I decided to use that color again for my sentiment.  And this time I die-cut the panel with a small scallop edge so that some white from the card base shows, to reinforce the white daisies.  I think this has a fun fresh feel with these colors, almost tropical!  

I'd like to enter this last card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Vacation, since the tropical vibe it gives off makes me think of summer. 

As always, thanks so much for visiting - hope I've inspired you in some way.

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!

Daisy Layers - Spring, Summer, and Fall

 I fell in love with these Honey Bee Stamps Daisy Layers, and finally got them home to play with!

First I used the stamps and the matching stencils together.

supplies: white cardstock, Honey Bee Daisy Layers stamp set and matching layering stencils, Pink Fresh Studio Fairy Dust pinks and Rise and Shine yellow mini ink cubes, mowed lawn distress ink, sentiment from Tammy Tutterow/Spellbinders (retired) Happy Grams cling stamp and die, Lawn Fawn Fancy Scallop Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares

I like the combination of this pretty spring bouquet with the lacey edging!  

Next I switched to fall colors and used alcohol markers to color the stamped images.  There is a 2nd bouquet of fewer daisies, no greenery, that duplicates the larger image.  That can be cut out and lifted above the main image for dimension, so I did just that, lifting the layers with foam, then adding a simple birthday sentiment.  And I used a different edging die this time, too.

supplies: white and pumpkin cardstock, Honey Bee Stamps Daisy Layers stamp set, Pink Fresh Studio Folk Edge Rectangle die, sentiment from a retired Simon set called Birthday Flowers, adhesive foam squares

It's nice to have the stencils when you want a quickly colored design, but I also enjoyed the freedom of coloring the flowers and greenery with markers to get more colors into the design.

And one more time, really simple this time, making the daisies white for a summer card.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, vellum, Daisy Layers flowers and sentiment, alcohol markers in various greens and a pale grey, yellow enamel dots, Simon (retired) Detail Ringlets cover plate

I used both floral stamps once again for this card, fussy-cutting them both so that I could add the bouquet to the pierced quilt pattern on a blue panel for my background.  The sentiment is one of many from the stamp set - I liked the mixed font.

No matter how you treat this, this is a gorgeous design!  Thanks for coming by today.

Happy Mother's Day!

 Here's a card that would work for this special day, or many other occasions.

supplies: white, several pale yellows and pinks, Green Apple and Green Leaf cardstock, grey woodgrain dp, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster dies, Paper Rose Sending Love and Hugs die

Happy Mother's Day!

Pink Dogwood on Plaid

Happy May!!

Playing still with some plaid backgrounds that I made earlier this spring.  I paired this one with a branch of pink dogwood.

supplies: white, kraft, Cotton Candy, Banana, and Green Apple cardstock, vellum, (retired) Tammy Tutterow plaid stencil, (retired) Winnie and Walter Scenery Stripes and Kitchen Sink Gingham and Plaid stamps, spun sugar, squeezed lemonade and vintage photo distress inks, Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers Dogwood dies, Spellbinders scallop oval die, sentiment from Newton's Nook Little Lilies, microdot adhesive

I cut 2 layers of the scallop oval from vellum to serve as my base for the dogwood branch, and to dull the background there a bit.  Microdot adhesive held everything together.  

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Blue and Yellow Roses

I have had this Altenew Antique Roses dies set on my wishlist forever, and finally brought it home!  They are a dream to work with, and I spent a fun couple of days making these in several colors.  I even used some blue paint chips, and here is the card I made with them.  I've always loved this particular shade of  blue and yellow together.

supplies: white, Green Leaf, 4 shades of yellow cardstock, blue paint chips, The Greetery Diagonal Tartan Builder layering stencils, squeezed lemonade distress ink, Altenew Eastern Sky and Ultramarine inks, Altenew Antique Rose Craft a Flower dies, sentiment die from Spellbinders Hugs 

The only problem I have is finding 4 shades of a color in cardstock to make these come alive.  As you can see, I'm still on the plaid-making wagon, too!  It's another pleasing activity......

It's Friday!  What do you have planned for your weekend?  Hope it's a great one!

Simon Says.........Anything Goes

 Welcome to this week's new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge!

This week the challenge is Anything Goes, and the team is using Hero Arts products.  You can use any supplies you'd like, but if you have a product from Hero, we'd love to see it on your entry.

Today is bittersweet for me, as it is also my last post as a design team member for the Wednesday team.  I remember the excitement I felt when I was chosen to be on the team waaaaaaaay back in June of 2012, so it's been almost 11 years!  In that time, I made 830 cards for this challenge (you can see them all HERE on my Pinterest page).  It's been a fantastic experience, but it's high time I stepped away.  Many, many thanks to sweet Heidi, Steph, and Lols for being so kind and generous.  My card today represents my thanks to them and to the rest of this team, current and past members.

supplies: white, yellow, Green Apple, kraft cardstock, Doodlebug yellow Gingham petite print and a text dp, Hero Arts Boutique Accessories and Envelope Accessories dies, Sending Love Mail sentiment, natural twine

These die sets and matching stamps were originally part of a card kit and were so popular that they have been brought back separately.  They certainly are some of my favorite Hero Arts products!

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!  

Lemonade and Cotton Candy

Happy Easter - He is risen!! 

I've been in a plaid mood, and you'll be seeing more results later, but for today, here is a card that screams spring to me! (and the colors are kind of Easter-ish, too!)

supplies: white, kraft, Banana, Cotton Candy, and Green Apple cardstock, Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms dies, Hero Arts (retired) Made with Love sentiment, The Greetery Tartan Builder Diagonal layering plaid stencils, squeezed lemonade, spun sugar, and vintage photo distress inks

I made my plaid using all of the stencils except for the first one, because I wanted some white to show in my design.  The distress inks I used are a perfect match for these Simon cardstock colors!  My sentiment is an old favorite from a Hero Arts clear set from 2011.  I stamped it in a dark brown ink and clear embossed it to make sure it showed up on the busy background.  

Hope your Sunday is going well; thank you so much for your visit here today!

Simon Says........Slimline Cards!

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

This week we want to see your slimline cards!  The team is featuring Whimsy Stamps products.  I found an adorable slimline embossing folder that really makes a statement.

supplies: white and yellow cardstock, Whimsy Stamps Daisies slimline embossing folder, white pigment ink, Tim Holtz Wildflower Stems 1 daisy die, green ink for stems and leaves, finger dauber, Simon Happy Wishes die, Doodlebug heart sprinkles, natural twine bow

What's happier than daisies?  These teensy ones in the embossed design are really detailed!

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!  

 

Blooming Flower Bed

 I fell in love with this little set of flower stencils from Altenew as soon as I saw it!  Here are 2 easy cards using them, one cool, one warm.

supplies: white and periwinkle cardstock, Altenew Blooming Flower Bed stencils, blue mini inks from Lapis Lazuli, purples from Enchanted Garden, Simon Dublin green ink, sentiment from (retired) 2013 clear set called Happy Every Day, adhesive strip

My small blending brushes from Simon are the perfect size for stencils like this, so that you can use more than one color per stencil as I did today on both my cards.  Since this is such a simple design, I layered the flower stencil back on top after all coloring was finished and ran it through my die-cutting machine with embossing pads to give it some subtle dimension.  I did the same on my next card.

supplies: white and green cardstock, vellum, Altenew Blooming Flower Bed stencils, Simon Rosie Cheeks, Teeny Bikini, Duckling, Melon, Spring, and Dublin inks, Just Because dies, micro dot adhesive

Layered stencilling has become one of my favorite techniques, and I always love the results - bless the designers of these products!

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day!