Twofer Flowers

Hi Again~

As I have a huge number of flower stamps, the month of May Twofer Card Challenge #27 - Flowers was a no-brainer for me. However, choosing a stamp to use was a big dilemma for me. The decision was made easy as I had the rosebud stamp still on my very messy desk top.

The herringbone design card was partly done and also lying on my desk as I was had been trying out a new to me technique showcased by Di at Pixie's Crafty Workshop. So I finished up that card and then needed to come up with an idea for the second card. The bud stamp is from Stampin' Up! in the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set. I know, I know, you have seen me use this rosebud stamp recently, but I love it! Roses, by the way, have long been my favorite flower.

So here is my Twofer card with the individual cards and more details following.

What a struggle getting these two cards to play together nicely so I could photograph them. Both wanted to open up when they were standing and then kept falling down. Therefore, I had to lay them down. I took 9 or 10 shots. I wonder if all of you bloggers have to do that to get just the right shot. I sure used a lot of green on these two cards, but then Spring has sprung here in MN!

For the first card, the herringbone pattern topper was made with SU Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper. I cut 1/4 inch strips of several of the set papers that are all two- sided. That is how I got my strip pieces to make the pattern. I made some design boo-boos, so in the end I covered up the middle with white and Mossy Meadow rectangles, then stamped the bud on a Petal Pink striped piece. I confess, no snippets on this card, except maybe the striped piece. The white cardstock is all Whisper White. The card is A2 top folding. It was a lot of work making this, but it was fun!

The partially open rosebud is from the Good Morning Magnolia bundle that I just had to have, LOL. Luckily the bud has a coordinating die. For the yellow one, I colored it using a retired Barely Banana marker. The dark purple rose was done in Fresh Fig a fairly new color. With some masking, I made two roses together and colored them in Real Red. Fussy cut out that image. The leaves in all three are done in Wild Wasabi as is the background piece. The fun picture frame die is by Lawn Fawn called Peekaboo Backdrop. I found it available on several web sites. Another often used birthday sentiment that I hand cut around, completes this card. It is from Birthday Blooms also a SU stamp set. This card uses several snippets, so am entering it in Pixie's Snippet Playground Challenge #378. Only the frame and background are not done with snippets of paper!

There you are. A Twofer completed before the deadline. I appreciate all my blog visitors. Thanks!! I hope you all will stay well. Bye bye.

                                    

CAS Christmas for May

Hello!  Today I am submitting my entry to the CAS Christmas May 2020 Challenge. I had quite a time choosing which stamp to use, I have quite a few with berries. I chose an oldie-but-goodie stamp that I don't think has seen some love before. Oops.

To make the card, I first stamped the 2011 Penny Black Berry Wreath stamp with Encore! Silver pigment ink. My thought was to make a gold and silver wreath. After looking at it, I went in another direction. I took my Zig Writer in Pure Green and colored over all the silver twigs. Next, I made the berries red by using an ancient bottle of Stickles. I was surprised and pleased that it had not dried out. The card came together quite quickly after covering all the berries individually.

To frame the wreath, I used my Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles die, which is still available several places. The greeting is from Stampin' Up! Holly Berry Happiness set using SU Emerald Green ink. Both of these, unfortunately are retired. I like using the older things from my collection, don't you? Anyway, the final touch for the wreath is the bow (from the same set) that I stamped, backed with fun foam, and fussy cut out.  I added a red pearl gem from Kaisercraft just for fun. The card based is Emerald Green cardstock.

I am quite happy with how this card turned out, if I can say so myself. Another Christmas card done for my stash!

Please stay well. I hope you are safe and happily creating, my friends. Thanks so much for visiting.

Taking A Class...

Hi There!

I've been taking a class from the Online Card Classes Spring Card Camp and have loved most of the lessons. I take the ones that interest me the most and have skipped some of the others. I haven't made and photographed each project, but will over time. What is wonderful, is that you can watch the videos over and over again for ever.

Anyway, here are the two cards I made from Day 4's lesson. The video lesson is by Julie Eborsole. Am quite proud that I finished them and like how they turned out, if I say so myself.

 The 1st card:

Julie showed how to take a stamp that has a matching die and make two cards. The trick was to die cut the image from the front of the card, stamp through the opening, and make a surprise on the inside.

This rose stamp is from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set and the matching die is from the Magnolia Memory Dies set all by Stampin' Up!  

I colored the roses with SU markers in Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, (all retired) with Granny Apple Green and a bit of Crumb Cake. The sentiments stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink are from SU's Birthday Blooms set. I use it a lot. Love it.

See the inside? Utilizing a mask, I stamped two more roses around my first one and colored them the same.

The card base is my usual Papertrey Ink Linen. I like the subtle dimension so much. To finish, I tied a velvety black ribbon with scallops from American Crafts along the left side.

The 2nd card:

Pretty easy to make. To start, I colored up the die cut from the first card. I placed it on a snippet of black cardstock that I dry embossed with an old stand-by from Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots. For dimension, the rose is popped up with SU Dimensionals. The white frame is a left over from another project and the base card is solid black. A piece of 4 x 5-1/2 white c.s. is inside so I can write a note. These challenging days, I like to send cards with a note. Do you do that?

So that is it for now, my stamping friends.

Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you all stay well and are having fun stamping like I am.

           

Happiest of Birthdays

Hello!

I am almost too late to enter a card to the Snippets Playground Challenge #376 at Pixie's Crafty Workshop. It is so much fun seeing all the cards from all over the world, and of course Di's creativity. Just finished my card today after coming up with an idea last night.

Here is my card: 

Snippets I found in my drawer were used to make the lovely flower in the frame and the sentiment. Simon Says Stamp! still has this die available called Carnation Frame. A snippet of white cardstock was just the right size for this die. I cut two more and glued them together for some dimension. I used Connect Glue from Gina K which has such a nice tip. It was quite tricky gluing them, as again I didn't remember to use sticky back paper. 😬 A small piece of black c.s. was found that was just the right size for the sentiment from Stampin' Up! Sorry, the stamp set called Birthday Blooms is retired. I used VersaMark and Zing Gold Embossing Powder for the birthday wishes. Heat embossing is still one of my favorite techniques.

The card base of Papertrey Ink Kraft cardstock was in my to-do drawer. I had folded it incorrectly, so had an half inch below the top showing. Just for fun I used my mother's pinking sheers to cut along that edge. Inside I just put a piece of 4 X 5-1/2 c.s also by PTI for writing a note. To complete the card I put some Glitter Dome bling by Crystal Stickers. I do not remember the last time I added bling.  Bet these stickers are 10 years old. 

That is all for now. I am crafting a lot and buying too. The SSS die is a NBUS. My April budget is shot! lol 

Stay healthy and safe, my friends. See you next time.

A Well Loved Christmas Song

Hello Fellow Crafty People!

Jingle Bells is indeed a much beloved song. When I hear it I am reminded of my young students singing it and adding some extra lines to the traditional song. :-) Anyway, here is my card for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge for April.

To be honest, I spent literally days trying to figure out a card using my small Nutcracker stamp on a CAS card. However since my printer died, I couldn't print out a generated title. So I did take the easy route and made today's card. I am pleased with it and happy to have captured a bit of the shine in the photo. Sorry it is a bit blurry.

I started with a white piece of Papertrey Ink's Linen cardstock for the base. Next, I took a piece of retired Emerald Envy c.s. by Stampin' Up! to cut the frame. The curvy frame is from Impression Obsession I.O. Dies, called Rectangle 6-1 Frames. The die makes six sizes of frames, so I have lots left over for another day.

Next, I dug out a NBUS stamp set from I.O. which I won in one of their challenges. By Sherry Russ, the Jingle Bells stamp set is still for sale. I stamped my favorite bell with VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad and embossed with Zing Silver embossing powder. To fill in the bell and bow, I used Gelly Roll Metallic pens in silver and red. The sentiment from the same set is also silver embossed. The card is quite CAS and will join my stash for December.

How are you all doing? Staying home and crafting? I am, and my messy craft desk shows it! I've done some organizing, but not much. Yet. I hope.

Oh, I am also sending this card to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #13, my second entry. It's fun to use something new.

Take good care and thanks so much for stopping by.

A Puppy From Snippets

Hello Again~

Having lots of staying-at-home time to play at my craft desk, I decided to finally use my NBUS Cottage Cutz die. I think the pup looks a bit like Dudley and my Willie. Though, of course, I didn't have snippets of cream, tan, or black and white handy in my to-do drawer. But had lots of snippets in two shades of gray and small black and the pink pieces too. Naturally, I am entering this card in the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #375.  Here is my card:

Isn't he cute? Boy, did I struggle to glue down the parts and have him look somewhat normal, LOL. I used a Quickie Glue pen thinking that if I used double sided adhesive paper, I would have the many small bits stuck (more) to my fingers. This die is still available and is called Puppy w/Ribbon. The snippets of cardstock are all from Stampin' Up! The two frames were in my pieces drawer all cut with Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Mats: Rectangles. On my traditional A2 size side-folding card, I dry embossed the front flap. This embossing folder is by Darice, called Paw Prints, and it can be found at many places. I could not decide what to use as a sentiment or greeting, so left one off for now. I think one of my dog lover friends will get this card.

That's it for now. Thanks so much for visiting. I am so pleased that many of you leave comments. Thank You! Stay well, my friends.

Lots of Purple

Hello - Hope  You Are Staying Well!

I am just fine, thank you, and so is my family. Trying to stay busy,  I thought I would make a card to add to the TIME OUT Challenge #158  and Darnell's new NBUS Challenge #13.

Taking the easy route, I cut a piece from the Stampin' Up! dsp paper called Lovely Lily. I have a sample pack with just one 6 x 6 piece of each painting. Because the challenge asks for purple, I chose this fantasy purple water lily pond scene. I do have the stamp set, called Lovely Lily Pad,  which is my NBUS. However, as I don't have the dies from this years Sale-A-Bration, I fussy cut out the flower and its pad.

My card base is A2 side folding and cut from My Favorite Things Basic White. I use that cardstock a lot as it is smooth and sturdy and a nice bright white. I used snippets of the paper for the flower and the greeting too. They were stamped in SU Blackberry Bliss ink. The pad is colored with Garden Green and retired Emerald Envy combined. I popped up the lily for some dimension and just tucked in the lily pad and sentiment. This greeting is from the MFT Well, Hello stamp set.

All in all, I am quite pleased with this card and will send it to a friend. I miss seeing friends, don't you?  Take care and keep creating. Thank you for visiting.           

Two This Time

I'm Back!

I've been creating so much more being closeted in, but it has been fun! Hope you have been sheltering in place, staying well, and creating too.

First card:

This card uses several snippets, so am making an entry into the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #374. Snippets of white cardstock were used for the butterfly and the sentiment label.

I wanted to make a card to remind me of the coming Spring and Summer, and to also do an encouragement card. Since I love sparkle, I dug out some long neglected little jars of Silk Microfine Glitter from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

To make the butterfly, I first cut two pieces of cardstock with Papertrey Ink Life is Beautiful butterfly dies. Using the smaller set, I backed each with clear double sided adhesive also from ECD. Using a coffee filter, I sprinkled the solid butterfly in Blue Green glitter and the design layer with Cool Diamond. I followed directions found online to burnish in the glitter with my finger. Yay, it doesn't come off! Here is a close up so you can see the sparkle.

The butterfly is popped up only along the body so I could pop up the wings a bit. I die cut the frame from Stampin' Up! Bermuda Bay cardstock using PTI Pierced Feature Frames. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Monarch Butterfly stamp set, stamped in the same color. Thank heavens for the Misti so I could get the words on the small label centered. Lastly, everything was assembled onto a A2 side folding card of my trusty PTI basic white cardstock.

Second card:

Following some card ideas by Vicki at her blog called Heartwarmers From Vicki. I finally used up some designer paper. This paper is from a Lawn Fawn 6x6 pad called Fall Fling. I liked the colors and the darker small print on the opposite side of the flowers. The flower focal point is a Memory Box die called Prim Poppy. I lobbed off part of it for my design here. I made two layers for some dimension. The white frame again is by the die set mentioned above which adds even more dimension. On the inside I die cut the same flower out of the small print. I will add a sentiment when I get ready to send the card.

All done for now. Back to creating tomorrow. Take care and please visit again!! Thanks! 💖

Spring Flowers

Hi There!

Tonight I am again posting a card just created for the Just Us Girls Color Week # 528 Challenge. I am getting anxious for Spring, and love the colors they chose. The blue is pale, however, the yellow and green are bright.

 

To make the card first I took a stamp from my NBUS Stampin' Up! set called Painted Poppies. Stamped it with VersaFine Onyx Black ink onto a card base of SU Bashful Blue. I so wish they had not retired that color! I love this line drawing images of the flowers and stamped it several times to cover the whole card width.

Not having a bright yellow marker, I searched my stash and found my Faber-Castell Gelatos. First time playing with them. I used the bright yellow to color the flowers springing up from new grass. Never having used Gelatos before, I just colored away using a tiny brush and a wooden stick dipped into the paint tube. It did not dry so I belatedly looked up directions and found that Gelatos on cardstock have to be sealed. One suggestion said to cover with Multi Medium Matte. Luckily I have some by Ranger. So I dabbed some on each flower with another tiny brush and let it dry, Worked just fine. YAY no smearing. 

To complete the card I hand drew some grass with a Zig Writer in Pure Green along the bottom. Then I made some clouds with a white pencil from Primsmacolor. I had borrowed a set of the pencils from my friend Pat, a non-card maker. The sentiment is from a retired SU set named Easter Blossoms that I had taken out to make Easter cards. To make the sky look more finished, I drew in a couple of bird outlines.

Another card done. I like doing one layer cards like this one because they are so easy to mail. This card will go to a person self-isolating herself.  I have been reading that we crafters should mail cards to elderly people staying shut in, so it will go out in the morning to a friend. 

Bye bye and thanks for stopping by. Keep well. 

                                     

A Pretty Mandala

Here I am again!

I have again taken an image from my to-do box and made a card from it. Am not sure when I made this, but the note on the back says only "embossing paste." Funny, I have three jars of embossing paste. Don't ask. I do know that I bought the stencil in November of last year from A Colorful Life Designs. It is called Layered Mandala and is still available. I wanted to add the card to the CAS Stencil March 2020 Challenge, but realize the challenge asks for heat embossing and my stenciled flower-like mandala was not.

Can you see the sparkle? So pretty in real life. I believe I had used a sparkling glitter that I got years ago at a garage sale. Still labeled 50 cents! It looks like several colors are mixed together...green, gold, blue, yellow, silver and who knows what else.

To compliment the gold sparkle, I did heat emboss my sentiment with Gold embossing powder from Ranger. Sure have used that a lot, lately. The hello stamp is also from my often used Clearly Besotted set called Sweet Line Sentiments. The black cardstock the mandala is stamped on is a snippet also from the box. To finish the card, I just mounted the piece on a card base from Stampin' Up! in So Saffron. Truly one of my favorite colors of yellow plus I do enjoy using colored bases. I think I will send this card off to a friend to say hello.

I appreciate all who visit. Hugs and stay safe and well. I plan to, and will keep creating to stave off boredom. 😉

Just Us Girls Challenge and More

Hello Again!

So I have been looking at all the entries for the Just Us Girls Trend Week #527 which is asking for a card with a black background. This is my first time entering at JUGS but I've been lurking for ages.

I heat embossed this lovely flower and leaves stamp with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder onto a snippet of black cardstock. The color looks gold, doesn't it? I do not recall how the curved edge was made, but I like the look and had saved the piece in my to-do box. The flower outline stamp is from a Stampin' Up! set called Birthday Blooms. It is available several places on line. My photo does not show how shiny the bloom image is in real life. The black piece is attached to a top folding Kraft A2 size card base from Papertrey Ink.

The birthday wishes sentiment is from the Gina K Designs set called Vertical Greetings & Things. I have had my set for years, but it is still available. So very useful, I think. I stamped directly onto the card with VersaMark and Versfine Onyx Black inks and embossed with Ranger Clear Super Fine Detail embossing powder.

Because I used a snippet, I am also entering this card in the Pixie's Playground Challenge # 373.

Another card done as I stay at home crafting. I miss being with people, don't you?

Thanks for visiting. Let me know and I will visit you too.

                   

 

Congratulations Bees

Hi!

I hope you are well and are creating to take your mind off the Covid-19 news. I am, while mostly staying home. My normal gatherings have been all been cancelled but I have gone out for fast food just to get out of the house. LOL

Here is a card I made for my daughter Stephanie who has recently closed on the  purchase of a new home after moving to California last Fall. I am so proud of her! I thought the bees were more fun than a just a house stamp. :-)

Not my best photo, I know, but the card has been sent. This card, like my last one was started at Kelly's with the Stampin' Up! bees stamped in Basic White onto a black card base. At home I finished the card adding my own DSP, a simple sentiment, and a bit of coloring.

The cute bee paper is SU from a paper sample pack. The gold congratulations is cut with a die from Impression Obsessions in DCWV Metallics Mat Stack Foil Cardstock. Why, oh why do I forget to use double side sticky paper behind my sentiment dies. Sigh. I had to use my Quickie Glue pen and it worked fine. I colored the bee's body with a Gelly Roll Metallic gold pen. Inside I wrote a note and I think, stamped a single row of houses. More senior moments. Anyway, Stephanie liked the card. I hope to visit her before too long.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Stay well, my friends.

CAS Christmas Card Challenge March 2020

Hello There~

The CAS Christmas Card Challenge for March asks for a winter flower, so I looked through all my poinsettia stamps and dies to came up with this lovely stamp.  I bought the stamp set after seeing Darnell use it last Christmas. Thanks and I mean that.

My Card: 

I heat embossed the framed flower stamp with Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder in Gold  which is from Papertrey Ink. The set is called Botanical Blocks IV. I colored the flower with Karet Aquarell Watercolor Pencils by Staedtler. The red pencil is labeled 23 and the green 5. After coloring I carefully used an aqua pen over the pencil marks. It is fun to me how the pencil strokes go away and water color appears. I like the shading too, although unintended!  :-) The white cardstock is my usual PTI Basic White.

After cutting down the focal piece and matting it with snippets of Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler and a an unknown piece of green c.s., I realized the card front looked too bare just on a white top folding card base. So I dug out an old and retired embossing folder from SU called Boughs and Berries to use as a nice background. Worked well, IMO. It is available online at several places. The flower stamp set at last check was on sale.

I feel the card is just fine without a sentiment on the front. Inside I stamped Christmas Wishes from the same set surrounded by a red frame to match the front. I do hope the card is CAS enough.

Done and I am pleased.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please visit again.

                  

Made With Snippets

Hi Again!

This next card is a combination of the creative idea by Stampin' Up! demo Kelly Emerson and me. It uses snippets of things from both of us. Really? I'll explain. First here is the card. I am entering it in Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #372.

At a crafting meet-up at Kelly's, she had the lace, tulip bloom and square of yellow checked paper all ready for us. I had to leave early, so tried to gather all the other stuff, the leaves, stem and sentiment to complete the card at home. Miss-placed those pieces, so had to complete the card with snippets from my own stash.

The leafy stem is made from a snippet of white c.s. and is from the retired SU Terrific Tulips wood stamp set from 2001. One of the first sets I ever bought.😀 I fussy cut it out. A square snippet of Old Olive card stock is used to back up the flower. The tulip bloom which I colored in pretty yellow Daffodil Delight ink and a water pen, is a die cut from one of the newest SU sets called Timeless Tulips. I enhanced the flower outline with a Calypso Coral marker. My sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink Spring Hills set. This set is available still and on sale! I think I will send my card to a friend who has an April birthday. Not my best card, I feel, but I love the color combinations.

Till next time. Have a good first week in March. Spring will be coming!

CCC February 2020

Hello Friends!

Today I am sharing the card I finished and mailed to Canada for the February Card Chain Challenge.

I chose the theme option, the moon, and the technique option, calling for glossy accents or something similar. What do you think? My glossy things are the background which I rescued from my to-do pile and the moon that I made just for this card.

The background is part of a bigger piece that I used on a card back in July. I had used Viva Turquoise Metallic paint and Inka Gold which were smooched together with plastic wrap and left to dry. This piece is quite warped, but I wanted to use it anyway.  Even my strongest glue and a tape runner couldn't flatten it completely. Oh well. The Hello Friend sentiment is by Jillibean Soup, from a set called Handwritten Sentiments.  I found it for sale several places on line. It's a great set, IMHO. Trying to match some of the blue night sky, I combined Altenew Desert Night and Dusk inks together on the stamp before stamping. The card base again is white linen. By the way, did you know you can re-constitute dry Inka products with water and lots of patience?

Jutta has received her card, so I can post it now. She liked it. Yay! Thanks for visiting, my friends. Till next time...😊

CAS Christmas Card February 2020

Hi There!

Happy Valentine's Day! I've sent my cards to my grands and I posted them earlier, so am writing about the card I made for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge for February. I do hope it is CAS enough.

I promised I would post a card with my new puppy stamp and here he is, bringing me joy. Isn't he the cutest?

The pup is from The Stamps of Life, a Stephanie Barnard Design. You can find out more and see some really fun stamps at a new site for me called TheStampsofLife.com.

I have not colored the pup as the word Joy is the specified focal point this month. The base card is Stampin' Up! Real Red and the white is my trusty Papertrey Ink Linen cardstock. For the sentiment, I used Catherine Pooler Designs Rockin' Red and Grass Skirt inks. Using my MISTI, I stamped numerous times yet the texture still shows. That is OK by me. What do you think? I thought my Pure Green marker by Zig was going to match for the little bow. It doesn't. Still, he is festive, maybe waking me up with joy on Christmas morning? I digress. The words are both from from the My Favorite Things set called Filled With Joy which is still available. Lastly, the sprig of green is from PTI, the Spring Hills set. I was practicing some masking with this stamp, and the set is also available. I popped up the topper on some no-name disks, but just decided they are too thick. If I can, I will remove them and just use glue. Wish me luck.

All done for now. My pup Willie and I have survived the horrible wind chill and temperature the last two days, and will enjoy being outside more the upcoming ones. I, for one, am getting ready for Spring. I shouldn't though, we will have winter in March here in Minnesota!

Thanks so much for stopping by.     
   
*Edited to add badge and let you know I was successful on dismantling my card and did not ruin the base. Yay.

One Card, Two Challenges

Hello Friends!

I have seldom if ever posted one card for two challenges, but the card shown today seemed to fit both. The challenges are CAS Mix Up asking for die cut stencils and Addicted to CAS calling for Ombre.

So here is my card:

I have had in my to-use box this interesting and fun Spellbinders die cut out in green cardstock. The die is 3" x 5-3/4" and is called Kaleidoscope. It is much bigger than all my other dies, so the cut out had languished for ages unused. Anyway, seeing the February CAS Mix Up Challenge asking us to make a stencil from a die, I was all set.

I taped the die cut down with my trusty ICraft Purple Tape onto a piece of Papertrey Linen cardstock. Using Altenew Cool Summer Night ink cubes and two sizes of Picket Fence brushes, I got to work. This set of inks is still available. The four colors of blue lend themselves beautifully to doing ombre. I cut the resulting piece down before gluing so there is more white space for the CAS card. BTW, my card is a CASE of the one by Sue of the design team at https://foleysfriend.blogspot.com/

The card is an A2 side opening card where I used Lil'Inker Designs Stitched Mats: Rectangles to frame the front. Did you know Lil'Inker is closing? So sad. Another die from the same set holds the stamping and tiny greeting. These are both from my NBUS set by Stamps of Life called Birthday4Cookie set. Cute, cute stamps in this set especially the puppy one which I'll use soon! I colored the birthday cake and for you stamps with the blue inks mentioned above.

The Addicted to CAS Challenge #177 chose Ombre this month. I made my ombre piece with the above Altenew colors called Sea Glass, Ocean Waves, Dusk, and Desert Night going from dark to light. I have not been successful doing ombre before, so am quite pleased how this turned out.

So that is it from me for now. I am so thankful for your visits and love your comments.   😊 💖

January 2020 CCC

Hello and Thanks for Stopping By!

This card was made for The Card Chain Challenge for January. I do highly recommend you join these challenges.  It is so much fun getting cards from all over the world and from some of my favorite crafty people.  I just got mine last week from Shaylaa in India. My recipient Christine in Illinois has received this card so I can post it here.

The challenge this time suggested using a bear and had a sketch showing stripes set at an angle like I am showing.  My three stripes colors are the ones put forward for this month. This challenge always gives several choices for using a sketch, colors, and/or theme.

My card is an A2 top folding card in cream cardstock from my stash. I embossed only the front with a folder from Darice called Basket Weave. The stripes are snippets from Stampin' Up! Emerald Envy, Early Espresso and Elegant Eggplant paper.

 I've used this Fredward Bear wooden stamp many times before and still love it. I heat embossed in white the bear outline stamp, then fussy cut him out. I used some NBUS Stamping Mask Paper by Inkadinkado to help keep the sponged colors separate. This is my first time to use that special paper. It sure helps! Using a sponge brush, I colored Fred with Distress Ink Vintage Photo and some Emerald Envy ink for the scarf.

For the sentiment, I heat embossed Hello from the retired SU Watercolor Wishes set using VersaMark ink and some Zing! White Opaque Finish embossing powder. 

Another card finished. I find I am having more fun creating lately, and that is my goal for this year.  Bye for now. Hope you will visit again.

Trying For a Twofer Again

Hello Again!

I have made another two cards for the Twofer Card Challenge #23. This time I followed the prompt: Hearts. Here they are side by side. If you wish, click on any picture to see it larger.

The heart stamp with the doors is by Heartfelt Creations and called Passage to my Heart PreCut Set. I found it only one place on Google, and it was sold out. My set is many years old! The sentiment is part of the set. I fussy cut both hearts out - Yay me. The red and black card is for Valentine's Day, of course, and I feel the brown one could be a masculine V Day card or thinking of you/wishing you well card.

Details are below with an individual picture of each card. 

I stamped the heart stamp in VersaFine Onyx Black ink onto a piece of Stampin' Up! Real Red cardstock. For some dimension,  I glued it to a piece of red fun foam from my stash. The card base in SU Basic Black was embossed with a Darice embossing folder called Hearts, which I found available from several sources on line. I found the computer generated greeting in my parts basket and made the banner.

I like the brown door card the best, I think. I stamped the heart this time in SU Early Espresso ink and colored it in with Ranger Distress Inks Antique Linen and Vintage Photo using a medium size blending brush from Picket Fence Studios. The brushes are my guilty pleasure purchase.😇 Again, I made a background with an embossing folder, This is an old one from SU named Wood Grain. The paper is SU Very Vanilla and I mounted it on a card base of Early Espresso. The sentiment was stamped on a snippet die cut with one of my trusty  Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Mats rectangle dies.  The heart this time is popped up with SU dimensionals.

Done. A labor of love as I could not ignore Darnell and her gang's Twofer blog anniversary. Congrats to you all!

A Christmas Card

Hi There!

It is time for my first entry of the year to  the CAS Christmas Challenge. It really did help having the 12 cards ready last December as I needed only 15 or so more. Here's to 2020! Can you believe it? The year is 2020?

My card today uses almost all Stampin' Up! products except where noted. This January challenge asks for a card with a tag on it. I only have one tag punch, so hunted around for it and got to work. This particular punch is retired, but there is a similar one available. In my snippets of 6 X 6 glossy papers was this pretty copper paper from DCWV named Metallics Mat Stack. I do wish the copper paper looked better in my picture. IRL it is really shiny. I made a background for the tag with an embossing folder called Seasonal Wreath Dynamic Textured. Real Red cardstock is the top folding A2 size base. I put a strip of the copper along the bottom. In my photo the card looks like it is bright pink, again, IRL it really is a nice red. My kingdom for a new camera. LOL The embossing folder is still available.

To complete the card, I stamped Merry Christmas from the retired Better Together stamp set with VersaMark and Ranger Super Fine Detail embossing powder in White.  I still love using embossing powder, heating it, and watching it melt and shine. This technique is one of the first I learned back in the day. The white string on the tag is SU too as is the Whisper White paper inside ready for a message. A narrow strip of the copper paper on the inside bottom matches the one on the front. Another  card done! To be honest, I did make several extra Christmas cards while crafting in late December, so my card stash for the next holiday time is well under way.

Bye for now. Thanks for visiting. See you again, I hope. Be sure I can contact you so I can return the visit. OK?

My Latest Twofer and More

Hi~

Tonight I am entering Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge #23 and the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #369. Saturdays and Sundays are my main long crafting days, so was able to get some cards finished.

Edited to add that I spaced it by not using the same heart on each card. Oh well, senior moment(s) and I realize now this is not a valid entry to the Twofer. Sigh.

First up is my Twofer for the first challenge.

Here are close ups and other information.

The Valentine's Day card base is Real Red by Stampin' Up! I die cut a large heart from a piece of Papertrey Inc. Basic White cardstock. Before gluing it down, I ran it through the Big Shot with a SU embossing folder called Subtle for some texture. The heart die is also SU. My cute friends stamp is Pure Innocence: Better Together, retired from My Favorite Things that I stamped into the opening after some masking. I stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink, the Happy Valentine's Day greeting with a clear stamp called Sweet Celebrations. It is also by MFT that has recently been taken out from the vault and then sold out again.  

Using PTI Linen paper, I made the second of the twofers (the one going to Pixie's Playground) as a sympathy card or as an encouragement card. Notice how the two white paper colors look so different! A snippet in black frames the sentiment that is from a really old SU set called Gifts of Kindness. The card base is black. I debated coloring the two friends but I do like a black and white card, so left it. Another NBUS this time is from Spellbinders, called Hemstitch Rectangles. It is an interesting that this die set that uses two dies, one a nifty border and one plain to make the whole card front (a snippet too) seen here. You can click on these photos to see them better. 

Time to walk the dog and it is snowing! Thanks for stopping by!