Winter Borders

 Today I'm sharing 2 cards I made with a new Spellbinders Border set called Winter Borders.  There are 8 different borders in this set, several of them stitches, a little scallop, and 2 seasonal borders.  

For my first card, I chose the snowflake border to work with. 

supplies: white, and blue glitter cardstock, a blue snowflake patterned paper, Winter Border snowflake die, a Mix & Match Holiday Greetings die, Eliza snowflake die

For my 2nd card I used 2 more of the border dies: a tiny scallop and a tile design, and layered them together on my card front, then embossed my sentiment in gold and added the spray of Christmas greenery and a gold bow. 

supplies: white, green, and metallic gold cardstock, 2 Winter Border dies, Parcel & Post Christmas Decorations, Pink & Main Holly Jolly sentiment, VersaMark ink and gold embossing powder

There are also 3 different stitched borders that can be used at any time of the year, which I know you'll be seeing me using here often!  Many thanks to Spellbinders for sharing these with me!

Simon Says......Card and Matching Envelope

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

This week we want you to make a matching envelope for your card.  The team is featuring Altenew products.  You don't have to use that brand to enter our challenge, but if you have any of their products, we'd love to see you using them.

supplies: Cream, Cotton Candy and 3 other pinks, Mint and 3 other greens cardstock, Altenew Mini Flower Cluster dies, Simon Mini Slimline Lattice die, Pink Fresh Studio Sending Frame Builder dies, Simon Cotton Candy Mini Slimline Envelope, Cotton Candy ink

I cut a partial lattice die at the same time I cut the one for my card, then used it as a stencil on my envelope in the lower right corner.

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!

 

Christmas Flea Market Finds

 Spellbinders sent me a pad of paper and some ephemera packs from the new Cathe Holden Christmas Flea Market Finds release!  Here are my cards - these were so fun to make!

supplies: cream cardstock, red patterned paper from Home for the Holidays paper pad, ephemera from Jingle Bells and Christmas Pines packs, adhesive foam squares, my own wood button

I started with a cream card base and an old Spellbinders label die, and just layered ephemera on top, then put the whole thing onto one of the new papers.  The bird was popped up a bit from everything else.

My next 2 cards are much simpler in design.

supplies: white and metallic gold cardstock, teal patterned paper from Home for the Holidays paper pad, stocking and jingle bell ephemera from Jingle Bells and Christmas Pines packs, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings dies, Essential Glimmer Rectangle plate, gold glimmer foil, natural twine

I added some metallic gold accents with my dotted glimmer rectangle, mat and sentiment, and popped up one of the jingle bell ephemera, along with a twine bow.

My final card uses 2 more papers from the pad - I fussy-cut this lovely bunch of red flowers, added it to a plaid background, and then finished with another Mix & Match Greetings sentiment  and some gold sequins in the center of 3 of the flowers.

supplies: cream cardstock, plaid and red floral papers from Home for the Holidays pad, Mix & Match Greetings dies, gold sequins

Many thanks  to Spellbinders for sharing these lovely products with me.  If these interest you, be sure to check out the rest of Cathe's release HERE.  The rich colors in her designs make it a real standout!

Christmas Flourish

 Today's card makes use of a new embossing folder from Bekka Feeken's Christmas Flourish collection, which launched a few days ago.

supplies: Cream, Schoolhouse Red, green, and a kraft white core cardstock, Holly Flourish embossing folder, Mix & Match Holiday Greetings dies, holly leaves dies from Joy die set, tiny red pearls

I decided I wanted to make this into a mini slimline, so I cut out my white-core kraft panel, ran it through the new embossing folder, and then gently sanded the details to bring them out.  Then I just framed it up in red, put it onto a cream card base, and added my sentiment, holly leaves, and pearl "berries".

This new embossing folder measures 5 3/4" X 8 3/4", so making a slimline card with it is a nice option to our usual A2 ones.  Big thanks to Spellbinders for sharing it with me!

Simon Says.........Little Critters

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

This week the theme is "Little Critters", and the team is working with Lawn Fawn products.  It's September, so I'm going into fall mode now!

supplies: Cream, kraft, and white cardstock, Lawn Fawn Magic Iris Fall Leaves Add-on dies, Spellbinders Little Chickadee dies, Simon's Autumn Blessings dies, Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder, microdot adhesive, and foam squares

My "critter" is a bird.  I enjoyed working with another Magic Iris add-on earlier this year, so I wanted to play with this Fall Leaves one, and it didn't disappoint!  I cut it and a few extra leaves from white cardstock, then colored them with markers.  That was affixed to an embossed woodgrain background, and then I added the sentiment and popped up the bird.

And may I sing the praises once again of Simon's Microdot Adhesive sheets?  This dainty sentiment die would have been much harder to work with if not for them - they make everything so much easier, and I highly recommend them!

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!

 

Some Countryside Cards

 It's taken me a whole year to get this Tim Holtz Countryside cover plate home!  I had a fun afternoon playing and here are my first 2 results.

supplies: Cream, Schoolhouse Red, Cornflower Blue and kraft cardstock, Tim Holtz Countryside die

Not much to explain here......I cut the plate from 4 different cardstock colors, then pieced the scene back together using cream as my base.  

I did the exact same thing with my next card, but after finishing it, I "quilted" it with an embossing folder.

supplies: Cream, Schoolhouse Red, various kraft scraps, and Hero Arts Pool cardstock, Countryside cover die, Sunny Studio Quilted Hearts embossing folder

There is something about tiny houses that gets me every time!  I saved all the extra pieces I didn't use and will at some point make my own little scene....

Have a great day!

Thankful Leaves Turnabout

 Today I have 3 cards that all start with the same Turnabout set called Thankful Leaves.  I haven't played with it for ages, and today I thought I'd stamp it with colors I haven't used before.  

supplies: white and a lilac from the Vibrant Violet paper pad, Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp and a sentiment from the same set, Turnabout Jig, Wplus9 Blossomsberry and Wild Mango, Simon Audrey Blue and Khaki inks, espresso distress ink, embossed in clear, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die

I love the effect the hemstitch rectangle die adds to a plain card front!  I got this color mix from one of my Pinterest boards.

After stamping the panel for this next card, I cut out a leaf shape and them popped the stamped panel above a solid backing, adding a stamped sentiment inside.  I like this mix of warm and cool colors.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp, Turnabout Jig, sentiment from Harvest Wreath Turnabout set, peacock feathers, carved pumpkin, salvaged patina, and abandoned coral oxide inks, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, (retired) Neat & Tangled Maple Leaf Thanks die, adhesive foam to pop up stamped panel

And finally, my last card was made with a guy in mind.  The desert storm and kraft helps to tone down the bright colors I used on it.

supplies: kraft and desert storm cardstock, Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp, Turnabout Jig, peacock feathers, ripe persimmon, mowed lawn, and mustard seed oxide inks, retired Winnie & Walter In a Word: Hello die

Turnabout stamps are some of my favorite things to play with when I'm low on mojo - they practically make themselves, once you've chosen colors!

Berry Wreath cards

You know how obsessed I am with wreaths.  The Berry Wreath die set was the one thing from STAMPtember that I had to have, so as soon as it arrived, I spent the long Labor Day weekend playing with it.  Here are my 4  results.

I started by choosing some "different" colors.  I made all the wreaths first, and then found sentiments and backgrounds to go with them.

supplies: kraft, purples, greens, and glitter gold cardstock, Simon Says Stamp Berry Wreath dies, Christmas Blessings die, Tim Holtz Lumber embossing folder, The Greetery Fit to be Tied bow die

I really like these dull colors against kraft cardstock.  I may be the only one, though - my husband didn't like this version.  So next I tried blues and browns.

supplies: kraft, rusty brown, and light and dark aqua cardstock, Doodlebug Gingham dp, front and reverse, Craft Consortium Wood Textures plank dp, Simon Says Stamp Berry Wreath dies, Hero Arts sentiment from Sending Love Mail, Pink Fresh Studio (retired) Partial Cut Bouquet and Bow dies

This time I used a patterned woodgrain background, and added some gingham to the mix, using its reverse for the sentiment strip.

My last 2 cards are seasonal.  This next one has a leafy embossed background.

supplies: Cream, kraft, gold, yellow, and orange cardstock, Berry Wreath dies, Sunny Studios Autumn Greetings sentiment, (retired) Taylored Expressions Leafy Vine embossing folder

I was going for a bittersweet look, so I added red dots to the berries with a marker after they were attached to the wreath.

And finally, a Christmas version, with a music background.

supplies: kraft, Schoolhouse Red, a pinky red, and 2 green cardstock, red metallic kraft cardstock, music patterned paper, Berry Wreath dies, (retired) My Favorite Things Joy die

I cut my sentiment from metallic kraft cardstock; sorry I couldn't capture the soft shimmer in my photo.

This set sold out pretty quickly, so I evidently wasn't the only one who fell in love with it!  But it will be restocked as soon as possible: Sept. 29 at the time of this writing.

Thank you for your visit today.

Simon Says........Stamp It!

Welcome to our weekly challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!

STAMPtember is a very special month in the Simon Says Stamp calendar, and this week we're showcasing some fabulous new STAMPtember products.  You don't have to use them to enter the challenge, but if you have any we would love to see them used.

I received a clear stamp set called Happy Faces, which has, besides lots of happy sentiments, some circles.  So I went with a polka dot/circle theme for my card this week.

supplies: white cardstock, Happy Faces clear stamp set, Audrey Blue, Khaki, and Wplus9 Blossomberry, and Wild Mango inks, Medium Dots stencil, Stitched Scallop Circle die, leaves from my scrap basket, enamel dots

After stamping the large solid circle all over my card front, I stamped my sentiment in the center.  To reinforce the circle theme, I attached a dot stencil overtop and embossed it, and also added a scalloped circle, cut 3 deep. I felt my card needed something else, so I added a leafy embellishment and some enamel dots.

I used this same stamp set HERE earlier this month, if you'd like to see another idea for using 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!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Dainty Plaid

I've always been a big fan of plaid, so the combination of a stamp and layering stencils intrigued me.  And I was not disappointed - this Pink Fresh Studio Dainty Plaid set is wonderfully engineered so that you can put together lots of color combinations to your heart's content!

I used my first attempt to make a birthday card in cool colors. 

supplies: white and Mint cardstock, Pink Fresh Studio Dainty Plaid cling stamp and matching layering stencils, prize ribbon, cracked pistachio, broken china, and faded jeans oxide inks, (retired) Lil Inker Boxed Up Birthday die

I used the cling stamp and prize ribbon ink to lay down the overall pattern, then the front and reverse of each of the 3 stencils to add 3 other colors.  Then I matted the panel and added 2 layers of the birthday die.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  For those of you in the States, enjoy your Labor Day and have a great week!

Spellbinders September Glimmer of the Month kit

 This month's Glimmer of the Month kit may be one of my favorites all year!  It had me at these fall leaves, and then adding some copper foiling put me over the edge!

supplies: Cream and Audrey Blue cardstock, copper metallic kraft cardstock, September Glimmer of the Month kit, copper glimmer hot foil, copper sequins, adhesive foam squares

Here's another shot so that you can get an idea of the foiling a bit better.

This set consists of a leafy glimmer plate and a matching die which you foil twice and put together to form a diamond.  I constructed my leafy frame, colored it, lifted it above my foiled sentiment, then added some berry sprigs and flowers to it.  All of what you see is included in the set, including the sentiment, and there's also a tiny leaf to foil, with a matching die, which I didn't use this time.

You can find all the information you'll need HERE to get this fun kit for yourself.  You'll have until September 28 to join the club, and you can "unjoin" at any time.  And don't forget that each month you'll also get a roll of glimmer foil!

Hugs Wreath

 I wanted to make another card using Concord and 9th's Autumn Hues turnabout stencils, and today's the day!  I used the wreath one and fussy-cut it out after it was done.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and Doll Pink cardstock, Autumn Hues turnabout wreath stencil, picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, peacock feathers, and mowed lawn oxide inks, Spellbinders Falling Leaves embossing folder, Simon's Big Scripty Hugs die, enamel dots to match, adhesive foam squares

This colorway was inspired by a challenge in October, 2010 at Cath Edvalson's Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger challenge - she gave us the picture below as inspiration.  At the time I had never thought to add bright pinks to traditional autumn colors, but I've embraced it ever since!

It's STAMPtember!!!

I'm excited today to be participating in a STAMPtember Blog Party!  This is NOT a hop, just a blog celebration of friends who are excited to show off the new STAMPtember goodies that were released yesterday HERE.  Each of us will have a promotional banner to share with our followers - we want you to have fun and see all the different promotions available throughout the party!  There are 13 different ones - 1 for every year we've had a STAMPtember!  Mine is up above - a Dream Big die set, free with any purchase of $30 or more, now through tonight at midnight!  Just use the code RM2MD1GK.   

Everything starts at the Simon Says Stamp Blog. Visit there every day, as throughout all of September we will be celebrating with exclusive collaborations, contests, prizes, promotions and lots of surprises!!  

I was sent the new Happy Faces clear stamp set.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Happy Faces clear stamps, yellow and black ink, Stitched Circle die, hat from (retired) Party Like a Panda clear stamp set, tiny sequin star

I glommed on to the happy face icon, which comes in a large version and a tiny one in this set, along with lots of fun sentiments.  So I repeatedly stamped the tiny face as a polka dot background, then centered the larger one inside a stitched circle and added my sentiment 4 times around it.  To finish I stamped, colored, and cut out a little party hat from an older stamp set, and added a teensy gold star sequin.

Thanks for coming by today.  If you haven't already, head over to the Simon Says Stamp Blog to see a complete list of others participating in today's party.  

And don't forget our STAMPtember Gallery for lots of examples using all of the new goodies.  Enjoy!

My Favorite August Cards

 Here are my favorite cards made in August.

It was a mix of Halloween, Christmas, summer and fall this month.  

Happy September and Happy STAMPtember!  Thanks for stopping in today!