A Snowflake Card

Hello Again~

Today I am joining the CAS Christmas July Challenge. Missed last month, so am happy to have finished another one for my stash.  It has been really hot and humid lately here in Minnesota. Snowflakes would be welcome. :-) Really!

Look see - a snowflake!

I tried really hard to get a nice picture to show the sparkly paper and intricate snowflake. This was the best of many takes. A close-up is below.

This large snowflake is from a set that I have never used before, although the Stampin' Up! Snowfall Thiniits die set has come and gone. It was a limited edition offer back in 2018 that I snagged. Two of the dies, the largest one and a small one for the center were combined to make my card. Lots of poking to get all the little pieces out! Whew! I cut 3 each of the snowflakes out and adhered them together for some dimension. Stick It adhesive helped a lot. I cut into a piece of hoarded Sky Blue glitter cardstock from Best Creation Inc for my simple background. It does look aqua in the photo, but in real life is a pretty blue. I stamped the SU sentiment with Encore Silver and VersaMark ink, then heat set it with WOW Silver embossing powder. The wishes stamp is from the SU Ornamental Pine set. I was trying for extra shine. In retrospect, I should have just used white embossing powder. The SU bling in the center of the smaller snowflake finishes off the card. A lot of work went into this simple card but I am happy with it!

Here's a close-up of the snowflake so you can see the intricacy of it. Thanks so much for visiting me. I love comments, and love to visit you too! Hope you are having a nice summer!

Three Cards Done

Hello and Happy 4th of July to All Who Celebrate!!

Three cards this time. I've been busy since my trip to California. I had a wonderful time but am glad to be home.

First up I am joining the salute to Darnell (djkardkreations) in honor of her birthday. Oops, there is no water coloring on my card, so I cannot join the CAS Watercolour challenge after all. I've sent Darnell another card, so if she sees my blog, she'll see this one too.

I was thinking of Darnell as I made this card and I did follow the rules asking for a bouquet. This oldie but goodie stamp has been in my collection for years, and I don't think I have ever used it. The wooden stamp is marked Rubber Stampede 1993. It is by Cynthia Hart and called Victorian Quilt Stitchery Bouquet.

On a piece of white cardstock, I heat embossed the flower image and sentiment using VersaMark and Ranger fine gold embossing powder, I took several Stampin' Up! markers to color the flowers. I have not used markers in ages. It was really fun to use them again. The colors I used are Barely Banna, So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Wild Wasabi and Stampin' Chalk. To color the bow I got out my Spectrum Noir Metallic markers in Antique Bronze and Burnished Copper. The sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink set called Wonderful Words Congrats. The card base is SU's Creamy Caramel. Several of the above colors are retired, but I love them anyway. Am really pleased with this card.

My second card was made as a thank you to my bestie in CA who gave me the trip out to see her. Beth and I saw a wonderful quilt exhibit and she is thinking of learning how to quilt. Thus this card.

So I got out my never-before-used SU die set called Quilt Builder Framelits. Following directions I found on-line or on YouTube, I die cut to get the small pieces using Night of Navy card stock and some pretty patterns from the retired Garden Impressions 6 x 6 DSP also by SU. After laying each piece (snippets) individually to make the design, I embossed the whole focal point with the SU Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder. I think that makes the card look quilted. Can you see it? The card base and frame are in SU's Melon Mambo and So Saffron. The colors used are all still available as is the die set. Sorry the picture doesn't show the quilting very well. The sentiment is from the SU retired Wetlands stamp set. The little heart from my stash completes the card. I hope Beth gets this card before she sees this post!

Because I used lots of snippets I am entering this card to the Pixie's Crafty Workshop Challenge #355.

My third card tonight is the real birthday card sent to Darnell. It too was fun to make and I hope she likes it. It is a lot prettier in real life.

The background piece was made using Viva Turquoise Metallic Stamp-Paint and Inka Gold smooched onto card stock. It is really shiny. Experimenting with my NBUS Gina K Mini Wreath Builder template, I stamped the shapes in complementary colors to the background piece. Can you see the embossed front of the card base? Made that with a SU embossing folder called Oh My Stars. The happy birthday sentiment is from Impression Obsession Dies, and is called Greetings Top Edgers. I cut it with a snippet of green cardstock.

Well, that's it from me for now. My daughter moves this weekend, so it is a busy, busy time for us all. Wish us luck!

Thank you for visiting me!

"Tis The Season

Hi Again~

A quick post as I am getting ready to travel! Yay, heading to San Diego soon. Wonderful friends and weather, although it has been great here lately.

I am entering my card in the CAS Christmas Card June Challenge where the word is gifts. Missed the May challenge because I dd not have a stocking stamp or die. Thanks to Greta I do have a  stamp that works this time. What do you think? Isn't the bear cute?

I think the bird is offering the little bear a gift. Christmas is the season of gifts. My hope is that this card is not too busy to be CAS. Here are some details on how it was created.

The stamp is wood mounted (I love my wood stamps) and is actually called Give Me a Kiss. It is retired from Penny Black. An almost one layer card, I began by tapping my stamp onto a VersaMark pad that is dedicated to using with dark inks. I then quickly inked the stamp with Versfine Onyx Black before adding the clear embossing powder and heating it up. That helped me with the staying within the lines while using my Zigs. Having only the 6 color set, I made the brown by combing the purple, blue and yellow and a little red on a block and picking up the color with a brush. Trying to keep the card CAS, I decided not to enhance the white on his cap and the snow on the chimney. The cloudy sky was made with a sponge and Stampin' Up! retired Bashful Blue. The sentiment is from the Ellen Hutson "Tis The Season set by Julie, stamped in black and punched out with a SU punch. The white card base is from my stash in the no-name paper folder. This was a fun card to make. Thanks for visiting. See you next time!
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Just Us Girls #491 - Trend Week

Hello!

While blog surfing, I spotted an interesting challenge at Just Us Girls asking for a card made using embossing paste. Shown is my completed card.

To make the background, I followed the directions by Karen Dunbrook on her blog called Snippets. I had saved her directions on my computer. Check it out from May of 2017. I used Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers with Distress Oxides Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves mixing them on watercolor paper with added water. An old credit card with the edge dipped in black ink made the lines crisscrossing the paper. When dry, I took out a stencil from Studio 490 - Wendy Vecchi called Perfect Peony. The stencil came with a matching rubber stamp to stamp over ink for dimension, but, alas, I had used the stencil upside down!. Kind of a funny error. Right? Anyway, my NBUS embossing paste is also from Studio 490 in Metallic Silver. I put on the paste thickly and left it that way. Gives texture, I feel. To complete the card, I die cut a frame from stash white cardstock using the largest frame from Papertrey Ink's Pierced Feature Frames set. The card base is an old piece of Bazzill Basics textured cardstock named Rosebud. I find it difficult to find the textured cardstock in colors, so I hoard what I have. :-) If you have any sources, please let me know. Thanks!

This is my first time entering a challenge at JUGS, but I follow several of their designers.


Bye for now. See you next time!

Busy Time Of The Year

Hello and Happy Summer!

I have been really busy making cards for several June happenings in my family. Such fun!

My oldest granddaughter Megan is graduating high school tomorrow night! So happy and proud. Her school colors of navy and yellow were chosen for her card. Here it is.

Megan showed me her hat and gown, which is where I got the idea for the card. I have had the embossing folder by Darice for ages, but I like using it here for texture. The hat with the tassel die is a NBUS. It is from Taylored Expressions, called The Tassel. I cut it out three times from each color for some dimension. The congrats is an oldie die from Papertrey Ink which is probably retired. The stitched rectangle is the center from the PTI Perfect Feature Frames set. A must have set, IMO. I cut out three of the colors which are by Stampin' Up! - Night of Navy and So Saffron to shadow and showcase the sentiment. Inside I stamped Congratulations Graduate! with a treasured PXS stamp from 1999. 

The second important happening is that Maddie, my other granddaughter turns 16 on Saturday. She and her family are on vacation, so she already has seen her card. 

It was fun to make with the birthday kit by Queen & Co. This time the card was fairly easy to assemble, although I had misplaced the directions. Sigh. All the papers, beads and dies came with the kit. The numbers are cut from the same paper using numbers from the above die set. The happy, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black is from my stash. Anyway, Maddie loved her card. We'll go shopping for a present when she returns.  

The third momentous occasion in early June was the first birthday of my twin great-nieces. I really struggled with this card and it is probably not my best effort. I hope their parents like it, though. I bet their big sister liked it. The thought counts, right? The twin girls are adorable!

To make the card I first cut the background with a SurgarPea Designs scalloped die from the Card Front Elements Builder set. The pink dotted paper is from a Text Style pack by PTI from 2008, called Bitty Star Basics. I seldom use pretty paper, but should. The stars are from SU's Stars Framelits die set and I hand wrote with a silver pen the twin's names. The 1, of course, is by PTI. The cute little elephants were cut out with a Poppystamps Inc. die called Small Elephant and attached to the stars with a snippet of twine. Happy Birthday was stamped inside, but I don't recall which stamp I used and the card has been mailed. The 1 is colored with the same silver pen for some shine. 

Blog and cards done for now! Whew. Thanks for stopping by. See you next time! 

My May Twofer

Hello!!

Finally came up with a couple of ideas for the Twofer #16 challenge started by the talented and wonderful Darnell and her friends. The idea of wheels was difficult for me as I had no stamps labeled wheels in my stash. Anyone else use Evernote? Love it to have all my stamps, embossing folders, and dies indexed. Well, except when I label things incorrectly or do not tag every part of a set.

Anyway, here are my cards. The duo is up first showing a masculine birthday card and a card wishing safe travels for a friend going to travel around Europe.

The wheel stamp is from my under-used set by Uniko Studio called Today, Tomorrow & Always Time. I had thought of this stamp as showing cogs inside a clock or watch. Today, I am sure they are wheels. Right? They are round like wheels whatever they are. Right?

Some close-ups for each card next along with some details of how they were made.

For the travel card, the sentiment stamp is part of the Simon Says Stamp set called Safe Travels. Using my MISTI to get a good impression, I positioned the many wheels stamp at an angle using Versafine Onyx Black. It took several tries to get just right coverage. Whatever did we do without the MISTI? I think this makes a nice one layer card for mailing. I like the simplicity too. The side folding card base is Stampin' Up! Sahara Sand, one of the available neutral colors. It looks gray in this photo  but in real life is a grayish tan color.

For the birthday card, I made the background on white cardstock by stamping numerous times until I was satisfied. This is a big stamp which I fit onto my 5 X 6 acrylic block. I die cut out a rectangle with my NBUS SU set called Rectangle Stitched Framelits. It is a nice set with 13 dies. This time I used SU Basic Gray ink. My split focal point areas are on a Basic Gray card base. The card is a CASE of one by Greta at GG Creations. Thank you Greta. The narrow layers are done in a retired color by SU called Takin With Teal. Using the same color, I die cut the happy birthday with a Greetings Top Edgers die by Impression Obsession IO Dies. The letters are free standing attached to the bottom part of the design. Both parts of the design are popped up for dimension.

So that is it for this time. It was fun making these two cards. Thanks for dropping by and your commenting is really appreciated.

        

May CCC and More

Hello!

First Up is the card I made for the May Card Chain Challenge and sent to Joanne in the UK. I sure hope she likes it, as I do!

Here are the details of how I made it. The challenge this month's theme gave theme choices of insects, food and/or friendship. So I went for two of the three. The insect is, of course, a dragonfly. I am loving using alcohol inks and played around with just two colors this time, Ranger Alcohol Inks Stream and Que Peri. I added some Pearl Mixture also by Ranger, trying for some shine. The dragonfly die came from a Stampin' Up! set called Detailed Dragonfly. The card base is Papertrey Ink White that I embossed with the SU retired folder called Cloudy Day. Am not sure that dragonflies actually fly up into the clouds. Taking some creative license here. I wanted some texture and none of my other folders seemed to work.

Since the CCC challenge is for crafters around the world, my sentiment choice seemed just right. It is part of an Altenew set called Crafty Friends. A great set and it is still available.

Up Second is the card I made for my grand daughter Megan who turned 18 the end of April. Am so proud of her.She is graduating high school in June and heading away to college in the fall.

Her mom told me Megan likes sparkly things, so most of these elements were die cut from snippets of glitter paper. Most colors are from SU's Glimmer Paper Assortment Pack which I got in 2017. Three colors used are Bermuda Bay, Sweet Sugarplum & Mint Macaron. The white and gold are also SU, not sure of the names. The pretty balloons are done with the SU Balloon Bouquet  punch which is available. The bow is glued atop some silver and white string I found in my collection of ribbons. Had just enough. The bow die is called Fluffy Bow is from Poppy Stamps. I was pleased to find such big numerals in my stash. They are by PTI. Basic Black cardstock is my card base. I wrote a note inside and enclosed a gas credit card. Meg really liked the card. Yay!

I also am entering the balloon card to Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #352. Lots of snippets of the glimmer paper were used as I hoard the paper and save every scrap!

Last Up are two cards I made for a neighbor to honor her parents. the mother's day card uses SU designer paper from the Garden Impressions pack. Lovely floral papers in this 6 X 6 pack, so it was hard to chose one. The card base is Calypso Coral. I used a Sugarpea Designs element to cut apart the DSP leaving room for the sentiment. I cased my card from one I found on-line. Sorry not to have noted the creator. The happy mother's day stamp is an oldie but goodie SU set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. The father's day card was made with a Dreamweavers stencil called Sailboat. I stenciled with two colors of Faber-Castell Gelatos. Using a stencil brush coated with the blue colors after some strategic masking. Several tries went into the circular file before I was satisfied. The sentiment is also from the above SU set. The dad's card base is Pacific Point, a nice SU blue.

That is it for now. Many thanks for visiting. I'll visit you too! Promise.
 Happy May to you all.

      

CAS Christmas Card Challenge April

Greetings!

At practically the last moment I am entering the April CAS Christmas Card Challenge. To make the card, I had to borrow an elf stamp, and Karen F, a stamping friend from Australia helped me out. Thanks Karen! Right now she is on her way there, although she now lives near me in Minnesota.

I digress. Here is my card.

To make this card, I first embossed the card base with my Softly Falling embossing folder from Stampin' Up!  The folder is still available. Using my MISTI, I stamped in Versfine Onyx Black ink the elf image. After realizing the little elf would be bumpy with the snow, I decided to stamp him again on a scrap and fussy cut him out. Can you see him standing in a snow storm? The stamp set  I used is called Christmas Elf and is labeled  © STM 2009 which I found is from Stampendous. I could not find it to buy except on eBay. I colored the elf in green, red, silver, and gold Gelly Roll Metallic pens. His face and ears were done with a stash skin colored pencil and I added some pink on his cheeks. The white parts of his outfit were colored with a Signo Uni-ball White pen and then I topped it with Wink of Stella Clear. I popped him up on SU Mini Dimensionals. The cute sentiment is stamped on a label punched out with SU punch called Petite Curly. Inside also from the set, is a punched label reading  "...a cozy new year". Truly a CAS card, I think. In retrospect, tho, I should have a shadow under his feet to mimic him standing in the snow.

So glad to finish this card. Thanks for stopping by. Bye for now!


                                        

Twofer #15 & A Card of Snippets

Hello !!

Here I am again to enter Darnell's Twofer #15 that calls for zoo animals. Well, I don't have a stamp or die, but I do know most zoos have a petting zoo area, so that is my excuse for using a lamb. Especially now in the spring, baby lambs are born and need to be petted and photographed. IMO :)

First up are my two cards side by side or top and bottom.

Read on if you want some details on how I made my cards after struggling to find a zoo animal in my hoard  stash. Question - shall I still share how I make my cards, or is it too much information and boring? Personally, I like reading blogs that tell me what supplies they use.

The sweater card was made first after I found my leaping lamb. After using a Stampin' Up! embossing folder called Cable Knit on a snippet of white cardstock, then I die cut out the sweater. This die is by Elizabeth Craft Designs called Winter Sweater. The hanger is in the set too. Used a snippet of silver cardstock for it. The happy lamb is by Rubber Stampede, Inc. called Jumping Sheep. She is stamped in SU Smoky Slate as is the sentiment. I was surprised and pleased that I had no problem stamping the lamb over the embossed sweater. Warmest Wishes, a wooden stamp is also from S U, circa 2002. The card is going into my file for holiday greeting cards.

I rarely make a card with a scene, however since I knew I had fence and grass dies, this card came together quickly. The fence came with an unlabeled  group I got at a garage sale years ago and done in Whisper White. The Grass Border die is by Taylored Expressions in SU Gumball Green (I think) as is the card base. To make the sky, I sponged Distress Ink in Faded Jeans softly and used a snippet of paper to make the clouds. The dust is DI Pumice Stone. A happy birthday card, I found this appropriate greeting in an older Papertrey Ink set called Spring Hills.

Lots of snippets of paper used on both cards, but only one can be entered in Di's bi-weekly challenge. So I am entering the sweater card to her Challenge #350. If you don't follow Di, I urge you to check out her Pixie's Snippets Playground.


I truly love having visitors to my blog and love comments too. Thanks!

           

Easter Cards for the Grands

Hello!

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday and today finishing these three cards for my grandchildren. They are all teenagers now, but they like my cards and I will see them on Easter. Because we cannot agree on what to eat, we are having pizza! lol

This one is for Madeleine. She is the artistic one who enjoys creating too, although more into making objects, not cards. She loves pretty things. The flower and greeting were both made with part of a Kaleidacolor Ink pad called Birthstone. The flower is called Parrot Tulip from Hero Arts. It took lots of tries before I was satisfied. To finish the outside, I carefully went over the both images with Clear Wink of Stella. It does show quite prettily in real life. For the frame I used a piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock in Bermuda Bay which is a pretty good match.

Next is one for Megan. It was the most difficult to photograph as the colors are so soft. Here I used the Kaleidacolor pad called Baby Powder, again capturing only part of the colors. The egg stamp is from Northwoods Rubber Stamps dated 2012. Using Versamark, Wow clear embossing powder, and my heat gun, the card sparkles. The same greeting is also heat embossed in Versafine Onyx Black for contrast. The black border is most likely SU Basic Black.

To highlight the almost all purple egg on the right, I chose light purple cardstock from my stash for the card base. I wish you could see this card in person - it is quite pretty. Meg is my oldest grand, soon to be 18!

The last card is my favorite. The card, not the grandkid. Well, he is too - as he is my only grandson. :-)  Gavin loves orange, so the embossing folder from SU called Petal Burst was done first. The bunny in the SU circle die is from my UFO box and I have no recollection where it came from. Maybe it was a gift. Anyone recognize him? I'd love the stamp. I colored him with colored pencils from various companies. His tail is heat embossed using Hero Arts White Puff embossing powder. I found the perfect greeting! It is from a Taylored Expressions set called Little Bits of Spring. Love this set.

So that is it from snowy with grass showing in Minnesota. Typical Spring weather! Thank you for visiting and Happy Spring to you all.

A Couple of Cards & A Challenge

Hello Again!

I am almost too late to join the Pixie's Crafty Workshop Challenge #349. I think these challenges are so much fun and I've gained so many friends from all over, lots in England. I so want to visit England!!

My first card is for the challenge using a snippet of an alcohol inked piece made recently. The hello is also from a snippet of the white card stock left over when I die cut out the postage stamp layers.

The pretty inked layer uses Ranger/Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks Cool Peri, Aqua, Stonewash, and Wild Plum with blending solution onto Yupo paper. It is so much fun playing with alcohol inks. Need to get more colors! :-) The card base is an old Stampin' Up! color that I do not remember what it is called. Am so glad they are showing purple colors again after some absence. I embossed the base with the SU Textured Impressions embossing folder called Houndstooth. Am not sure if I have ever used that before. To make interesting layers, I chose two from a Spellbinders set called Postage Stamps. To finish the card, the die cut hello is from the Concord & 9th Everyday Circle Dies set. I am happy with this card.

The second card was made to send to a friend in Oregon. I miss her and wanted to say hello.

A NBUS used here! The flower is from my really new Altenew Peony Dream 3D Die set. Several colors of SU yellow cardstock were used for the flower and two greens for the leaves. Colors are Gumball Green, Old Olive, So Saffron, Barely Banana, and Mango Melody. with a touch of YoYo Yellow. It was not easy to line up the dies, but the result is wonderfully textured, I think. Just Because was cut using My Favorite Things Label Maker Sentiments in Early Expresso ink on SU Very Vanilla cardstock as is the card base. The sentiment is raised up a bit with SU Mini Dimensionals, but the flower is glued flat for mailing ease. Am quite happy with this card too.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to see you again.

Some Ghosting!

Hello!

Tonight I am posting a card made for the CAS Stencil Challenge for March that calls for a new technique to me. Ghosting. Glad it's not requiring a Halloween card, 'cuz it is way too early, right? I need my Spring and Summer first. LOL

So here is my card:

I admit to CASEing Loll's colors found when I watched her video on how to do ghosting. Thank you Loll! But I really do like Distress ink Peacock Feathers and Vintage Photo together. Otherwise, my card is quite different.

To make this card, I dug through my stencils and chose an ARTplorations one by Sherry Russ at STAMPlorations. This one is called Dots and Dashes. I've never used it before but I think it adds dimension without making the card hard to mail. I cut out a portion of the inked piece with Lil'Inker Designs Stitched Mats: Rectangles. Then I popped up the image on fun foam. Brand unknown. I actually did not have any white, so use some aqua fun foam that matches. A simple white card base from PTI hopefully helps make this card CAS. I die cut the word thanks from Spellbinders Phrase Set One set three times from snippets of the white cardstock so that the word stands out. Because I used snippets, I am also entering this card to the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #348.

Done. The card was pretty simple to put together once I chose which section of the stenciling to use.

Many thanks for visiting. See you next time.

                            

I've Been Busy!

                                                  

Hello Friends!

As you may know, I spend a lot of time reading other people's blogs. Being retired does have its benefits! :) So I get a lot of ideas of techniques and interesting challenges to enter. Today I have three cards finished recently that fit my findings.

A Challenge:  CAS Christmas Card March 2019 Challenge.  This is also the First Birthday Celebration for the challenge. Congratulations. Such wonderful submissions to enjoy each month. I've been lurking for most of last year and joined this year. So here is my submission number 3.

It was easy to choose which one of my stamps showing a deer, as this little fawn and his friends will never leave my stash. He or she is retired from the Stampin' Up! set called Forest Friends. Isn't she adorable?

The background was made quite a while ago with Brusho Black powder sprinkled through the Tim Holtz and Sizzix cover plate die called Birch Trees. The black powder when moistened shows all these other colors; fun! I had used Ranger water color paper so spritzing with water made an interesting forest. The fawn was stamped with SU Early Expresso ink although it looks black in my photo, so I used a thin mat of black to frame the picture. I added some white gel pen for snow under and around the deer to make the card look more like winter. A simple sentiment from Papertrey Ink Botanical Blocks IV set finished off the card. The main image is placed on a side folding A2 card base also by PTI. I do hope it is CAS enough. What do you think? I am really pleased to add this card to my 2019 holiday card stash.

A CASED Card for CCC:

At a SU card workshop I recently made a almost one-layer card designed by Kelly Emerson (who says she saw it on-line somewhere) and tweeked her design by adding the yellow flowers. Anyway, the green and black colors fit the March Card Chain Challenge which asked for lime , bumblebee, and charcoal AND also fits the friendship and spring options. My recipient has her card.

The checkered part is SU Granny Apple Green DSP placed on a 3-1/2x3-1/2 folded black card that opens up instead of the usual whole card opening. Inside is a 3x3 piece of white where I wrote a message to Jerrie. The yellow tulips were cut with a Penny Black die called Tulips with SU retired Yo Yo Yellow cardstock. I colored the leaves with my green Ziggy. The sentiment is also from a SU set named Incredible Like You. A layer of white and the green finished up the card. I love the brightness of this card.

A 3rd Card:

Next I got out my neglected Eastern Palace set from SU that came with many dies, DSP and stamps. This card is the same design as the one just above. This time you can see how the little card opens. The card base is in Tranquil Tide and the medallion is of Dapper Denim cardstock. I again put a small piece of white inside for a message. The Happy Birthday is stamped with a 1992 wooden stamp that I use often. I really must put this whole set to use soon again. It's very special, I think.

Well, that is all for this time. Thank you for stopping by. Please come and visit me again. I love visitors!! 

Lots of Snippets

Hello Out There!

Today I am posting a card for Di's Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #347. I found the suggestion to use a die when I was surfing for ideas on using my NBUS Gina K. Designs Wreath Builder Templates. I like the way the card came together and it was fun to make. Busy, but fun!

I have a one gallon size plastic bag of snippets of paper for each range of colors that I do save or hoard. I probably will never use most of them, but the pieces sure come in handy when I want to join up with the fun Playground gals.

Trying for a rainbow effect I used mostly Stampin' Up! snippets of paper. I die cut these cute bows with my Poppystamps, Inc. die called Fluffy Bow. I used the 4" size GK template and a Sakura Quickie Glue pen to adhere the bows. The placement was easy as I did it all with the help of my MISTI. As others have said, whatever did we do without the MISTI? I cut out the center of the wreath with a circle punch. The happy bows remind me of birthday fun so I found a stamp from a Spellbinders cling set called Birthday Balloons that fit perfectly. I heat embossed the sentiment with 2-3 layers of WOW white embossing powder for lots of shine. My card base is SU Basic Black that I think shows off the colorful bows.

It occurred to me that I could up my photography a bit by finding a new place to set up the card. This was done on top of my tv cabinet where I have a clock and lots of plants right near a window. This worked out, I think.

Thanks so much for visiting. I sure appreciate visitors. Bye for now.

A Furry Friend

Hi All!

Am almost late to the party at CASolody Week 332 to showcase a Furbaby. So here's my little guy. This will be a quick post!!

I have loved the Shih Tzu breed for many years and have had four of my own. At one time I helped rescue and re-home several for a local rescue group. Now I have my own again...Jessie, whom I have written about before.

I do own several wooden stamps of a Tzu and this is my favorite. It is from Rubber Hedgehog Rubber Stamps and I have used it before. After stamping him in Soft Suede, a nice medium brown by Stampin' Up! and adding several colors of colored pencils, I fussy cut him out. I am not happy that the light brown colors look yellow in the photo. Oh well. My kingdom for a photo editing program besides my free one.  Jessie is several shade of brown, white and some black. No, he doesn't have a top-knot and bow. :)

My cut out is mounted on a card base done up with a NBUS embossing folder from SU that is called Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions. It reminds me of how Jessie likes to sleep on my bedspread. The little friend stamp is from Hero Arts. I sponged a bit of the brown around the edges and free cut it out.

Dogs certainly are my best friends. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I love your comments. I'll come visit you too. Promise.

My February Twofer

Hello Visitors!

The last few days and some evenings (I've lots of free time) I've been trying to come up with an entry into Darnell and her gang's Twofer Card Challenge #13 that requests stars. I've lots of  starry stamps, so I thought to go with a stencil that has been neglected in my stash.

Here we go!!



I am quite new to stenciling and find it quite difficult. Am not really happy about either card, but wanted to enter the challenge to challenge myself. My choice is a 2006 Dreamweaver Stencils one called Fireworks. It's a metal one. A lesson I've gotten is that the depth of this stencil, which is so different from plastic stencils, does seem to make it more difficult to neatly get the details. I am posting these two cards anyway.

See the stars? The red, white and silver, err blue card honors America for the 4th of July. I used Ranger Distress Inks in Barn Door red and Faded Jeans blue. The white cardstock is Papertrey Ink Linen paper and the silver is done with a Spectrum Noir Metallic Silver Ingot marker. The sentiment is from an ancient Stampin' Up! set called Happy Fourth! The top folding card is Pacific Point, a bright blue by SU.

My second card honors a graduate. I was thinking of my oldest granddaughter Megan who will graduate high school in June. Oh my stars! Where has the time gone? Anyway, I used the Spectrum Noir markers in four colors here, the Silver again, Gold Nugget, Burnished Copper, Pewter, and Gold Plate. A Basic Black border surrounds the card which is also on the linen cardstock. The sentiment is one of my few and precious PSX stamps. The close-ups show the colors better.

A good learning time for me. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

P.S. Now that I've entered the cards, I note they are not using the stencil different ways, but are only two different occasions. Oops! Oh well.