Two Grumpy Dogs

I guess these cards reflect my state of mind lately with all that's going on in the world 😏 I felt the sarcasm building with each card I made for the final Twofer Challenge #41. I'm sad to see it go, but grateful for having it around for so long to inspire me to use my stash to create cards! Best wishes to Darnell and everyone else who's worked tirelessly to make this challenge so successful for so long! I'll miss you!

First up is Grumpy dog card #1 - from the Tim Holtz collection of Crazy dogs stamps and accessories. I added a balloon, hat and bowtie to make this masculine version, adding a few streamers from a GStudio $1 stamp set (anyone still have any of those?) and embossed them with gold, adding bright glaze pen colors to the confetti bits. The sentiment is a pre-printed one from SSS and the corners were done with an old retired SU! corner punch. I added turquoise/white twisted twine to them for fun. The dsp is retired from SU! and the card base is Island Blue from SSS. My hubby's birthday is next month and I may save this for him just for chuckles since he's been grumpier than me lately! Hah!

I'm also going to enter this card into this challenge:

The Male Room Challenge #153 - make a masculine-themed birthday card

Here is card #2 with Grumpy Dog! I was cracking up laughing as I made this one and found the most appropriate sentiment I could find to compliment his expression! 😊 He doesn't look anything like joyful, which is why I used it! I strung a little bone on some twine and added a little bow - can you tell he's just delighted with his measly "present?" 😇 For fun, I added a die-cut poppy Shasta twig and dotted it with sparkly red Stickles. The plaid paper is from Echo Park and I added some liquid applique to the fur on his Santa hat.

As if the card front isn't funny enough, I added this funny stamped sentiment inside the card for more laughs too. It's by Riley & Co's funny bones collection and I had to have it as soon as I saw it! 

I'm also going to enter this second card into the following challenges:

Dies R Us Challenge #175 - A/G using dies from their store (the Poppy die)

 

NBUS #29 - Never Before Used Schtuff - The Riley & Co sentiment stamp

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Funny/Punny

(They're showcasing Riley & Co products this week)

Thanks for stopping by and I wish everyone a happy week ahead with no grumpy dogs or people to make you frown! It takes less energy to smile than it does to frown anyway 😁

Carol

Twofer #37 - Leaves

The Twofer Challenge #37 for April is "leaves" and I found time to play along this month. I pulled out an older favorite Hero Arts stamp set to create my cards using a leaf from the set.

I used a snippet of Wild Wasabi cardstock and stamped the leaves with Versafine ink, then heat-embossed them with gold and fussy-cut them. The flower is by SU! called Blended Bloom, and I also gold-embossed that image and colored it with Copics. The dsp is by SU! and the sentiment is a SSS pre-printed one. I added some black sequins and added a drop of black Nuvo drops to cover the holes in the centers.

I'm also entering this card into:

 the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #403 - birthdays

 For the second card, I used that leaf stamp to create a border with a snippet of raspberry cardstock I found in my stash. I heat embossed the images with white ep and also white embossed a black panel with a smaller stamp that mirrors the larger leaves and flowers in the set. I broke open a brand new stamp set from Lawn Fawn called "So Owlsome" that I received last year as a gift and made a little thank-you card for a teacher. The set has matching dies so I  cut the glasses from matching cardstock and finished it with Copics and a sentiment from the set. The final touch was 3 tiny heart accents at the bottom.

Since this is the first time I used this Lawn Fawn stamp and matching die set, I'm also entering it here:

 NBUS Challenge #25 - Never Before Used Schtuff

Thanks so much for the visit, I always love to hear from you and hope everyone is doing well in this chaotic world we're living in.

Take care of one another :)

Carol

Christmas and Birthday

Here are my cards for the Twofer Card Challenge #36. I used a Spellbinder Oval die for both cards. For this challenge, the choice is yours!

I found this stag die-cut in my snippet box and placed it on a red die-cut oval, then matted with a black scalloped oval die-cut from SB. The 2 different papers are from a DCWB black & white pad which I separated with a MFT diagonal stitched die-cut in white. I added a SSS heat-embossed sentiment on a black strip and added alternating enamel dots to finish.

I'm also sharing this card with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is to use 2 or more patterned papers

 The second card for my twofer was created with a Crafter's Companion 3D embossing folder in kraft, then swiped with a white craft ink pad. I decided it needed some sparkle, so I added clear Wink of Stella to the trees. I die-cut the oval from red (which I used on the first card) and then used two larger SB oval/scalloped dies to make the frame from white card stock. I heat-embossed the SU! (retired) greeting with white ep and called this one done.

I'm also sharing this card with these challenges:

the CAS Christmas card challenge to use kraft, red, and white

(they are also celebrating their third birthday)

{This is the first time I played along with this challenge as I'm not very good with making CAS cards, but I love the color combination so I gave it a try}

The Happy Little Stampers March Christmas Challenge - a/g

The MLCCB #32 - March anything Christmas goes

That's it for me, so thanks much for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits and time spent to leave comments.

Have yourself a fabulous Friday!

Carol

Twofer Balloons

It's time for the Twofer Challenge #35 and this time the prompt is balloons!

Here's what I came up with for my twofer.

I made a congratulations card, so I can use it for graduation, an anniversary, or any occasion that calls for sending congratulations. The Tim Holtz balloons were stamped with Versamark on colorful snippets of cardstock, then heat embossed with white ep and fussy cut. I used a stick stamp and white craft ink to create some little stars in the background. Then I used assorted glaze pens to draw little dots, and added assorted colors of tiny gemstones for some sparkle. The balloon tails were attached with assorted colors of twine and some glossy accents. The sentiment is also by Tim Holtz and I used a MFT fishtail frame die, adding some yellow cardstock behind it to make it stand out against the black background.

I'm also sharing this card with 

the Snippets Playground #396 - Ruby's Memory

 For my second card, I made a birthday card that I'm going to send to a special little girl this coming spring. I love this cute little girl gnomie die that a dear friend sent to me last year. I die-cut her in black, white, pink, and yellow, adding red ribbon bows for her hair. Again, I used the Tim Holtz balloons, stamping them with Versamark on Lawn Fawn pink cardstock, then using tinsel glitter embossing powder for a little sparkle. I hand drew the balloon strings with a black marker. The sentiment is from SSS and the paper is a snippet from a 12x12 K&Co paper pad that's a perfect match.

I'm also going to share this card with 

the Seize the Birthday Challenge #207 - hearts

Thanks for stopping by and make today a fun one whatever you do!

 Carol

Cards with Flowers

I made a couple of cards with flowers cut with SU! Bouquet Bunch framelit dies. The flowers were already pre-cut and in my snippet box, along with assorted stems, leaves and greens so I decided it was time to put them all to use.

First up is a birthday card. I used 3 of the die-cut flowers and added a die-cut stem and leaf, attaching it all to a die-cut stitched oval, and placing it on a plum colored piece of cardstock. The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set, heat-embossed on black with white ep and trimmed into flag tails with a hexagon punch. I added some Nuvo Crystal drops to the flower centers for a little sparkle

 

Next up is a card with a sentiment from a brand new Gina K designs stamp set that I bought some time ago and never used. I created the clouds in the sky with Taylored Expressions stencils and some Tumbled Glass distress ink. The flower centers were dotted with Black Nuvo drops and I stamped some birds, a dragonfly, and a butterfly with Versafine Onyx black ink. The sentiment was heat-embossed on black with white ep.

Both cards are for the Twofer Challenge #4 - flowers

I'm also sharing the 2nd card with

the STAMPlorations blog January Stencil challenge - a/g

Also sharing with the Happy Little Stampers January Stencil Challenge - a/g

Also sharing with the NBUS Challenge #22 - (sentiment)

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope your week is off to a good start!

Carol

 

Twofer #33 - Stars

The current Twofer challenge #33 has a theme of stars and here is what the challenge calls for:

I used a Simon Says Stamp star border die to create stars on both cards.

First up is the Birthday card, done with snippets of red, white, and blue designer paper, along with a horizontal border of punched stars (using a SU! mini star punch) as well as the SSS star border that was cut in navy and white, and yes, I exchanged all those tiny white stars into the navy for sharp contrast. I find doing that therapeutic - until a star gets lost and I have to find it! Therapy then turns right into frustration! Hah! The larger layered star was done with a Sweet'n Sassy set of star dies and I added a decorative brad to the center. The sentiment is a SSS pre-printed sentiment that I layered with red and called this one done.

 

Next up is the Christmas card, made with a SSS Wishing trees die that was cut with sparkly gold SU! paper, as well as hunter green cardstock. Again I carefully swapped the gold tree negatives with the green ones and placed it on a snowy background done with a SU! softly fallen embossing folder. The little stars were cut from sparkly red cardstock using the SSS star border die, and I added a Memory Box Star of Wonder die-cut star to the largest tree, adding a greeting done with Cottage Cutz dies.

Crafting for me has become diminished as life takes twists and turns that keeps me busy doing other things now. I'm always glad for your visits and sweet comments, and I appreciate your time spent with me here even though it's less than it's been in quite some time. Thanks for your patience :)

Now go have a wonderful day and take good care of yourself!

Carol

Silhouettes Twofer (plus one)

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by today. I made time to play along with the Twofer challenge #32 this month which is "silhouettes" and here are my twofer cards - created with a Stencil Girl Mylar stencil.

For this card, I used the Stencil Girl Mylar stencil on black, sponging on some Platinum Planet ink for a really cool look. If only my photo could capture that metallic shine, but unfortunately it didn't. The clock is a die from I.O. and I cut the fancy parts with GinaK Blue Raspberry card stock. The hands on the clock were cut from gold mirror card. The borders were done with a SU! scalloped edge punch and the sentiment stamp was purchased from a local store that makes their own stamps. The card base is a soft kraft color and the clock and borders were done with vanilla cardstock.

Next up is a bright birthday card with Melon Mambo as the base color. I sponged a piece of white card with the same stencil, covering the entire  card with barn door, marmalade and fossilized amber distress inks. The framed scalloped border is a die from Gina Marie Designs and the butterfly die was a gift from a friend with no mfr. name. The birthday sentiment came from a SSS stamp set and I added a couple of Nuvo black droplets for fun.

 I was having so much fun with this stencil, I created a third card. This time I sponged white craft ink through the stencil on a piece of black cardstock and used a MFT notched border die-cut along one edge. The HUGS is a die from Pink & Main, and the rest of the sentiment came from a SNSS stamp set, broken up and heat-embossed with white ep on some die-cut MFT labels. I seldom sit down to make many cards anymore, but this stencil was so much fun I didn't want to put it down, so this time you get a three-fer instead of a twofer :)

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you the best possible day!

Carol

Twofer #29 - Butterflies

Here are my cards for the Twofer Butterfly Challenge #29. I pulled out a long-overlooked butterfly stamp from the Sweet'N Sassy Polka Dot Silhouettes stamp set and used that to make my cards.

Using Berry Burst cardstock, I stamped a butterfly with Versafine ink, and heat-embossed it with white ep. Next I used white cardstock and stamped a butterfly with Berry Burst ink - then clear embossed it for a little shine. I fussy cut them both. I used a SSS scalloped swirl border die to make the upper panel, then adhered both butterflies, adding a SSS white heat-embossed sentiment panel along with a few Nuvo black pearl dots. I used a fine black marker to draw antennae on each butterfly.

 I'm trying to use up some of my paper stash, so I pulled out some SU! Pear Pizzazz cardstock and matching dsp to create this card. On a piece of the text dsp, I used the butterfly stamp with matching ink to create the background, stamping off once each time to keep the images light. I reversed the dsp to use the polka dot side for the vertical panel, punching the side with a SU! retired spiral punch, and punching the black mat with a SU! scalloped border punch. The main panel was stamped with a Gerda Stein image and colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Gina Marie Designs.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are all coping in today's world. Have a wonderful day if you can!

Carol

Twofer

I played along with the Twofer Challenge #28 this month which is circles/bubbles.

Here are my two cards I made with a round stamp from an old SU! set called "Seeing Spots."

Here's the thank you card, framed with bits from my snippets box, including one frame that was watercolored and spritzed with pinkish/purple inks. I stamped the pink card base with the stamp and versafine ink, then white heat-embossed the images, placing the KaiserCraft die-cut thank you in the center. I added 2 snippets of ribbon and 3 enamel dots to finish this one.

I stamped the image 5 times with black on white, then used MFT stitched circle dies to cut them out. Next I die-cut 6 smaller circles from polka dot yellow dsp, placing them on top, then used an old paper punch to make the flowers, dotting them with black Nuvo drops. The sky was done with TE stencils and Tumbled Glass ink, while the stems were cut from Lawn Fawn papers and the leaves were snipped from a die cut already made. The grassy border was done with SNSS dies and the sentiment is from Mark's Finest Papers (now closed).

I'm also entering the thank-you card into the Just Us Girls Trend week #540 challenge to "Frame it."

Thanks so much for stopping by. I may be MIA for a few more days as I started another 1000 pc jigsaw puzzle that will keep me busy for a while :)

Take care and have a fabulous day!

Carol