Tissue Box Recycle

This is a card I made from a recycled tissue box panel. I liked all the circles and thought it might make a fun card, so I cut the panel using a Top Note die, adding a strip of color coordinating cardstock to the center. The sentiment stamp was borrowed and cut with a SU! die. The red brads were from my stash, and the blue striped background dsp is from recollections. The card base is navy blue.

I'm sharing this over at MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #294 which is to make a "mostly blue" card. In 2016 the challenge will have a new name and schedule. Check here for details.

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

Mostly Red

Here's another card added to my stash this year that makes use of a Memory Box pine needle border die. I embossed the PTI sentiment in white on a red background, die cutting with Lil Inker stitched rectangles. I added some punched ornaments and ribbon, put this on a green card base and called this one done!

I also have a little tag I made from scraps that's mostly red.

I'll enter these into MFP Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge #291 which is "Mostly Red."

Thanks for stopping by today and make it a great day!

Carol

I'm No Quitter!

In yesterday's post, I played along with MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #287 which included a tutorial for water coloring with a stencil. My card turned out well enough, but the background strayed from the posted tutorial. I decided to give it another try, so this time I used a different stencil, and it turned out better......in spite of my covering it up with an image and sentiment! lol

I sponged the cardstock with Fired Brick, Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar distress inks, and spritzed water through a mini flames stencil by TCW. The stamped image and sentiment are both by MFP and those mini hexagon accents were negatives from a border die cut. The image was colored with Copics.

This will be heading over to the Speedy Fox & Friends challenge#287 for a 2nd entry. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!

Carol

Masculine Card

I made this card for the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #287. They posted a link to a water-colored stencil tutorial to be used for the challenge. 

I started with some Distress inks - Mermaid Lagoon, Pumice Stone, and Twisted Citron, sponging them randomly on the cardstock. I placed a SU! star stencil on top and misted water through it, and let it dry. What resulted was no stars on the inked background - just big round spots (like the one on blue in the lower right hand corner.) I suppose maybe the stencil openings were just too large for the technique, so I replaced the stencil on top of the dried, sponged panel, and sponged some Brilliance Platinum Planet ink through the stars and now I can see them. I added some MFP stamps, along with some Tim Holtz stamps to make a masculine card for either a birthday or encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!

Carol

You're a Hoot!

I made time to play along this week with the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #283 which is to "have 3 panels." I cut the 3 pattern paper panels from a LilyBeeDesigns Autumn Spice paper pad with a MFT horizontal die, then cut the circle with a MFT stitched circle die. The owl was paper-pieced with the dsp and colored with Copics too. For the final touch, I added 3 mini brads in matching colors. The owl image and sentiment are both from the MFP Owls 2014 stamp set.

I'm also sharing this over at Pixie's Snippets Playground #198 since I used random bits of paper to put this together.

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

A Pair of Nutcrackers

Today I have a card made for the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #279 which is to use both silver and gold on your card. I'm using a MFP stamp set called "Nutcracker" that I recently won by playing in a previous SF&F challenge and today is the first time I've had a chance to use it. Aren't these guys cute?!?! I embossed one with gold ep on black, and the other with silver on light grey card stock. I fussy cut each one and placed them on top of a red card base that was embossed with a Tim Holtz ef with assorted old-fashioned Christmas images. The sentiment was embossed with gold (I LOVE those fonts!) and layered on a silver embossed panel, adding 2 black mini brads. For the final touch, I switched the silver and gold "jewels" on their hats just to coordinate one with the other. The ends of the sentiment panel were done with a SU! mosaic punch to add another little "old world" touch.

I'm also sharing this over at Darnell's NBUS challenge #5 which is to use some "never before used schtuff" - the stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Carol

Sympathy in Vanilla

When I saw this week's MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #277 was to make a sympathy card, I immediately went to work making one. My stash of sympathy cards is just about depleted.

I went for an elegant look with this one, using a HA sentiment embossed in gold and placed on a SB labels 25 die cut, edged with a gold paint pen. The MA ribbon was done up in a big bow with the Bow Easy, and I embossed the background with a TH/Sizzix damask ef. For the final touch, I added some gold mini hearts randomly to break up all the vanilla color.

 We'll be watching the national/international championship game of the Little League World Series finals today, and we're so proud of the RedLand team from PA for winning the national championship game last night! They'll face Japan today after they defeated a wonderful little team from TX yesterday. The coaching, talent and sportsmanship between PA and TX was phenomenal and so much fun to watch! The attendance for yesterday's game was over 46,000 - more than some major league ballparks! Awesome!!

Go RedLand!

Carol

Christmas Candle Two Ways

I stamped this SNSS candle image and colored it with Copics, then added some Glossy Accents for some shine. After matting it with dark green and red, I matted it with a piece of Authentique dsp, and added a KaiserCraft Merry Christmas diecut sentiment done with shimmery gold cardstock. I added 2 gold round brads for a little balance and interest at the top.

I made this one slightly different, adding striped dsp along with some gold ribbon on the sides that perfectly match the gold sentiment. The accents are square gold brads.

I'm entering these over at the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #276 which is to use a candle, and I'm also entering them into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is anything goes.

Merry Christmas everyone :) It'll be here sooner than we think!

Carol

Spooky

There's a new challenge at MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #275 and it's to "border punch both sides. I pulled out an old EK pumpkin border punch and punched 2 strips of black cardstock, and lined them with orange to show up the pumpkin faces. I stamped the MFP thankful pumpkins image and embossed it with clear, doing a little paper piecing of the stems and leaves. I added some stamped weeds around the pumpkins, some flying bats, a MFP black cat at the bottom, and a panel of burlap and black ribbon for some contrast. The word Spooky was done with an Inkadinkado stamp and the background paper is from Bazzill Basics.

Here's wishing you a fabulous Monday. Stay cool!

Carol

Beachy Birthday

I made a birthday card for my SIL with this unknown stamped image I had in my stash. I lightly colored the image with pastel pink and blue Copics, and added some pink and blue pearls and gems for fun. The papers are all from a Graphic 45 paper pad called Tropical Travelogue, including the word "beach." I used Lil Inkers stitched rectangle dies along with a SNSS sentiment done in Island Indigo ink. My SIL loves the beach so this one will make her smile I'm sure.

I'm sharing this over at Marks Finest Papers Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #271 which is to create a beach scene.

Have a fabulous weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Cowboy Birthday

Today I have a masculine birthday card which I'm dropping into my last OWH box of cards before they close the doors on August 1st.

I used a MFP Southwest Cowboy stamp set for the images and barbed wire, and a SNSS sentiment. The images were stamped with Versafine Onyx black and embossed with clear detail embossing powder. I die cut each panel using a set of Lil Inker stitched rectangles, then sponged the smaller stamped pieces with scarlet, orange and yellow ColorBox pigment inks. I mounted the pieces on a piece of black, and tied some matching twine around the lower edge. The dsp is from K&Co Que Sera Sera, and I stamped 3 rows of the barbed wire with really rust ink.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

MFP Speedy Fox and Friends #264 - follow the sketch

                                               

Words2ScrapBy#18 - it's a man's world

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - make it masculine

Mod Squad Challenge - make a birthday card

Thanks for stopping by and happy trails to you!

Carol

Cocoa Mouse Likes Colors

Today I have a fun card using a SNSS Cocoa Mouse image and sentiment, along with a pre-printed digi remnant of notebook paper I found in my box of assorted doo-dads. I colored the image with Copics, and added a few bright colors of cardstock, along with stars, hexes, hearts and mini brads 

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #263 - card must have 7 layers

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes

Snippets Playground #178 & 179 - must use snippets

I hope you're having a great day and I'll be back again soon :)

Carol

Patchwork Birthday

I've been working on eliminating my stash before buying anything new, and today I'm using lots of snippets of some retired BG Wisteria dsp to make the background for this birthday card. I glued all the 1" squares on a scrap of cardstock, then die cut the whole piece with a Top Note die. After it was cut, I ran it through the Big Shot with a CB decorative tiles ef to give it a quilt look. The final touch was to punch some flowers using SU! punches along with some pale plum, and plum pudding cardstock and attach them all with a purple brad. The sentiment is from SU!

I'm entering this into the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #262 - make a background with inchies.

I'm also sharing this over at the Snippets Playground #177 - to use snippets.

Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you a happy Sunday!

Carol

Herringbone Background

Today I have a fun card with a cute little Penny Black image that I've had in my stamped images box for ages. I used some strips of Echo Park Country Drive dsp to make the herringbone background, and then embossed the entire thing with a CB decorative tiles ef.

I colored the image with Copics, adding some glossy accents to the pink boot the hedgie is sitting in. I added some Punch-a-Bunch butterflies along with some negative do-dads from a border die cut, and put them up in the sky for that wee hedgie to look at. I die cut the image panel with a Lil Inker stitched rectangles die.

I'm entering this into the Penny Black Saturday challenge for May which is "trees or nature." (tree images in the dsp, plus butterflies and a flower)

I'm also entering this into the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #261 - to use strips of paper at an angle.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

MFP SF&F #260

Here's a quick card I made for the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #260 challenge. The challenge this week is to follow the tutorial posted at the link above which shows us how to make ric-rac/chevron panels. I used 3 strips of cardstock and dsp snippets to make my chevrons, and snipped them off on the ends to give a tapered look. The sentiment is from MFP and I layered it on a hand-cut mat, attaching it with some yellow & white twine. The card base is daffodil yellow and the embossing was done with a CB swiss dots ef. The only thing I'd do differently the next time would be to emboss the chevrons after cutting - just to hide all those score marks.

I'm sharing this one over at the Snippets Playground 175 & 176 too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Carol

Cowboy Silhouette

While sorting through my box of stamped images, I found this one that I stamped at my LSS probably 2-3 years ago. The stamp was so old the rubber was worn and it didn't stamp well at all, with white spots inside of the silhouette image. There was no manufacturer name on the wooden block so I have no idea who made the stamp. In spite of the poorly stamped image, I hung onto this because I loved the cowboy image. I decided it was time to try to save it, so I took a few black markers and darkened the spaces where the ink didn't show. I added some clouds with peacock feathers and tumbled glass inks, cut the Bermuda Bay card base and image with Lil Inker rectangles, and called this one done.

I'm entering this into the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #259 which is to "use only the center."

Wishing you all a great Wednesday with a day filled with sunshine and happiness.

Carol

Black & White Thanks

Today I have a couple of quick and easy thank-you cards done with a black & white color scheme. I used a SU! scalloped top punch for the tag and rounded the bottom corners. I stamped the SU! sentiment and die cut it with a Lil Inker diagonal strip die, and affixed it to the tag, adding a punched flower with a little pearl in the center and some twine. The dsp was a random piece from my stash, and I'm not sure who makes it.

This one uses another SU! sentiment and some black & white twine, along with a piece of dsp from BG. I left the flower off to give this a more masculine feel.

I'm entering these cards into the following challenges:

MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #258 - use colors of black & white

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers SOSS32 - Q is for quick - make a card in less than 10 minutes

Snippets Playground #173 - must use snippets

That's it for this Monday, so thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

Gold Embossing for a Hero Card

There's a challenge going on over at MFP Speedy Fox & Friends #257 which is "gold embossing." I made this card for an OWH hero, and heat-embossed the retired SU! image with gold ep on a snippet of black cardstock. I knew I was going to mat with red, so I took a red colored pencil and lightly colored the background for a subtle touch of color. The larger gold mat was white cardstock, embossed with the same gold ep and matted with a red card base. I added 6 black brads for accents and hand-wrote a message inside to thank one of our heroes for serving.

I'm also sharing this over at the Snippets Playground #172 because all of the mats were snippets of cardstock.

Thanks for spending a few moments of your day with me today! Make it a great Tuesday!

Carol

Thinking of You

Today I'm using another watercolored background along with a matching snippet of matching dsp by Cosmo Cricket for my card. The MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #256 is to make a cut-out panel card. There's a tutorial link on their website so you can learn to make one too. I used a MFP owl image, and colored it with Copics, while the sentiment is from another MFP stamp set. The watercolored panel was done with wc crayons and an aqua brush, and it was a great match to that snippet of dsp. Instead of popping up the card front on the strip of dsp, I popped up the completed panel with dimensionals after die cutting with stitched rectangles to give it a more finished look.

I'm also entering this into the Snippets Playground #171.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Monday!

Carol

Bokeh Technique Birthday Card

I decided to jump on the technique bandwagon and give the Bokeh technique a try. I used a piece of watercolor paper, and "painted" it with an aqu brush and a mixture of reinkers and water - using shades of pink and blue. I spritzed it with water, and let the colors spread, blend, and completely dry - then sponged on white circles in different sizes.  After nearly ruining my circle punches trying to punch through acetate to make the template, I decided to use post-it notes as templates instead. It worked! I added some white die-cut prim poppies and a punched butterfly in pool party blue, then added a LOTV white heat-embossed sentiment. The final touch was to add 3 tiny pink gemstones to the butterfly. I wanted the background to show through, but the white flowers seem to get lost in all that color now that it's finished. lol

I'm taking this over to the MFP Speedy Fox & Friends challenge #255 which is to make a birthday card with a butterfly.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully we'll all be seeing some spring flowers one day soon!

Carol