Sparkly Autumn Leaves

 Autumn is just beginning here where I live in PA and it's my favorite time of the year. I love watching the beautiful tree leaves change color and enjoy the cooler, crisp air of the season. Today I made a card with some autumn leaves. I used Spellbinder dies to cut the leaves, sponging them with lots of assorted autumn-colored inks, then covering them with glossy accents and sprinkling on some GinaK glitter for sparkle. I popped them up on foam dots on a SSS Orange Peel piece of card that was die-cut with a GMD scalloped die, then framed it with a larger die cut from white. The background was a random piece of autumn themed paper I got from Tuesday Morning years ago. The sentiment is from SNSS.

I will enter this into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - make it sparkle

Tuesday Throwdown # 467 - make it sparkle

Craft Rocket Challenge #75 - add sparkle

Dies R Us Challenge #154 -a/g using dies from their store (Spellbinders)

Thanks for stopping by and my wish for all of you is to have a healthy, happy day.

Carol

Z-fold Anniversary Card

My neighbors and friends celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary recently, and this is the card I gave them (along with a home-made cheesecake). I have hoarded this SU! retired Haiku dsp for much too long and forced myself to use a few snippets to make this card. The sentiment on the front was die cut several times and coated with glossy accents for some sparkle, and I dotted the coral dsp with liquid Nuvo drops to add more sparkle. The inside was done with some I.O. die-cut numbers, placed inside of a die-cut stitched heart. The sentiment is from SU!. I hope they enjoyed the card because it wasn't even mentioned amid the raves for the cheesecake LOL

I'll enter this into the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #465 - anything goes

I wanted to offer an apology to those who commented on the previous post and didn't get their comments published. I had a spammer leave a very long advertisement, and I hit delete, but apparently I was hitting the delete button for the comment below it, as the spam comment kept showing again and again. I finally realized after 3 or 4 showings of that comment, that I was  clicking on the delete icon for the comments below it instead of deleting the actual spam comment. I'm sorry - the only excuse I have is that I'm old and had a serious senior moment, so I'm very sorry. I will be more careful next time, but I wish these spammers would just get a life and leave me alone. Not only here, but on the telephone in my house! It's endless annoying harassment on a daily basis.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and have yourself a fantastic day!

Carol

 

Soft Summer Flowers

Hello and a very happy Thursday to everyone. Today I have a card made with an older Impression Obsession stamp that I haven't used in years. I put the Copic-colored flowers in front of a soft summer sky that was done with Taylored Expression sky stencils and some TH Tumbled Glass distress ink. I wanted a summery feel and I think I accomplished what I set out to create. I used a SU! (2009-10) teeny tiny wishes sentiment, stamping it on a piece of pale blue and backing it with a piece of grey that matches the card base. The 2 sentiment pieces were done with MFT label dies in different sizes. I covered all the flowers with a Wink of Stella glitter pen but my camera doesn't capture the subtle shimmer very well. The final touch was to add a few gold Geo Sparkler stickers for that added touch of sparkle.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

the Tuesday Throwdown #465 - use a stencil

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - midsummer blues

the Flower Challenge #47 - add sparkle

the Retro Rubber Challenge #141 - a/g using stamps older than a year

Blogger seems to be playing nice today and I'm grateful for that! I've been spending less time on the computer to avoid frustration so maybe things will improve now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a fantastic day.

Carol

 

Autumn Birthday Card

I recently treated myself to this GinaMarieDesigns leaf quilt die, and gathered some snippets of autumn colored papers and cardstock to put this together. It's on a pumpkin pie card base, while the die was cut with early espresso, pumpkin pie, and random papers from my stash. After inserting all the negative pieces, I just added a sentiment and called this one done.

I'm entering this into the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #461 - polka dots

Also entering into the NBUS #16 - never before used schtuff (leaf quilt die)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope things are going as well as can be in your part of the world. 

Carol

(To Bonnie who left a comment/question on this post. If you leave another comment with a way to contact you, I'll try to answer your question. I'm not sure what card you're referring to, but if you could share the date it was created, that would help me to answer your question.)

89th Birthday Card

I made this birthday card for a friend of mine who turned 89 years young a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to use up the paper pads I've held onto for much too long, and the elements for this came from an Authentique  Season's Summer paper pad. The 2 die-cut panels had been previously cut and placed back in the paper pad, so I based the card design on them. I used the SSS gnome die and created it by using more snippets, coloring the beard lightly with a Copic marker. The balloons were done with a MS punch, and I used die-cut numbers from IO to represent her age. I tied some twine into bows and dangled more twine for the strings. The lower border was done with a retired SU! punch, and I added little bits of gold mirror card into the centers to coordinate with the gold bits in the gnome's outfit. The sentiment was done with a SNSS stamp set, and the lower portion was die-cut with a labels four die from Spellbinders, popped up on foam. I added a couple more gold dots just for fun. After I looked at the picture, I straightened the "hugs" panel as it was obviously crooked.

I'm entering this into the Pixie's Snippets Playground challenge #379

Also sharing with the Tuesday Throwdown #458

CraftyGirl Designs Color Combo

Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a wonderful day!

Carol

Snippets Make Fun Cards!

I recently pulled out a little bag of Lawn Fawn and MFT plaid, striped and polka dot snippets and made a herringbone panel for a background. Once it was finished, I die-cut the center of it with a Lil Inker Stitched rectangle die, which left a narrow outer frame that I used on the card below. For this card I chose a stamped image I've had for years that someone sent me, and I have no clue who makes it, so if you know, please leave a comment and I'll give credit where it's due. EDIT: Janice M let me know in a comment that this image was by Elzybells - a company no longer in business - thanks Janice - I thought you sent me this one but wasn't sure) I colored the image with fluorescent and pastel Copics, adding some yellow glaze pen on the chick to look like feathers. The sentiment is from SU! Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I will share this card with the Make My Monday #119 challenge - to make your own background paper

Also sharing with the Tuesday Throwdown #454 - anything goes

Cute Card Thursday #628 - anything goes

For my 2nd card, I used the outer frame that was left from the die-cut panel in the above card. I also made a smaller piece of herringbone with the smaller strips and a snippet of white card. I die-cut this piece into a stitched tag, cutting a larger tag with a snippet of matching dsp to mat the main one. I added my last piece of lavender gingham ribbon which was just long enough to make a little bow, along with a sentiment made up of a stitched die-cut circle, an I.O. hugs die (cut and layered 3 times) and a few little gemstones and assorted stamps to make up the sentiment.

I will share this with Pixie's Snippets Playground #375 - must use snippets

Also sharing with A Place to Start April 2020 challenge - use ribbon or twine

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2014 - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day whatever you do!

Carol

Pink Valentine

I found this black die-cut heart in my box of snippets, and with Valentine's day just around the corner I decided to make a card with it. It's a die bought from Ebay and I placed a heart on the top right that was cut with a SU! framelit die and some SU! glittered card stock. The card base is Lawn Fawn pink, and I embossed it with a brand new Sunny Studios quilted hearts embossing folder. The ribbon is from Walmart, and the little tag was done with a very old retired SU! stamp, colored with a glittered pen and layered with SU! retired large and small tag punches. I added a little twine bow to the tag just for fun.

I will enter this into the following challenges:

Crafty Calendar Challenge for January 2020 - add a tag

Tuesday Throwdown TT448 - use something new (embossing folder)

Not Just Cards Challenge for January 2020 - anything goes

Thanks for checking in with me today, I always appreciate your visit and taking time to leave comments :)

Carol

Mummy Wrapped Giraffe

I won this pre-colored Paper Shelter digital image called "Giraffes on Holidays" quite a while ago, but every time I see it, I get a good chuckle all over again. I love the little pumpkin he's holding for treats LOL I printed it out; adding glossy accents to his eyes, then placed it on a snippet of dark grey card stock. I had to add that snippet of Halloween dsp by Heidi Grace Designs that includes a "matching" mummified child, then matted with some orange card stock. I placed it on a kraft card base, added a Tim Holtz sentiment and called it done.

I'm sharing this with the Tuesday Throwdown #441 - Anything Goes challenge that's being sponsored by the Paper Shelter.

 Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a day filled with giggles and grins :)

Carol

Winter Card

I recently won this Just for Fun image and then read yesterday that they decided to close the monthly challenge. Oh well, things change and we've got to roll with the flow.

I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a leftover snippet of water colored card, then immediately heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder. I fussy cut the image and placed it on some white card, then used some Echo Park Winter Wonderland dsp to cut 3 scalloped borders with SNSS scalloped dies. I added a few sparkly Nuvo drops to indicate the wet, snowy weather outside the window, and added a warm hello sentiment.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #29 - use a critter

Tuesday Throwdown #437 - furry friends

Love to Craft Challenge Blog #37 - August anything goes

Thanks for stopping by as always and I wish each and every one of you a day of happiness.

Carol

Easter Bunnies

 I've made a card with this fun digital image by ScrapHappyPaperCrafter and colored it with Copics, sponging in some clouds with Tumbled Glass distress ink and adding a double grassy border done with a SNSS die (retired) and some Grass Green card stock.  I used some fluorescent Copics for the bunny collars and Easter eggs, and colored the little droppings with a black marker. I'm not sure if they're black jelly beans or bunny droppings, but you can decide. Either way, I don't think I'd be eating them! LOL The bunny tail has a bit of liquid applique that was puffed up with my heat gun.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown #429 Kitty Bee - anything goes

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #337 - make your mark 

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #189 - Easter is on its way!

Cuttlebug Mania Challenge - Egg-cellent - use an Easter egg on your project

Thanks for checking in with me today and I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday filled with a few smiles :)

Carol

Falling Hearts

Today I have 2 valentines made with a Nellie Snellen 2-hearts Filling Die. I die cut the hearts from a piece of lipstick red card stock, then die cut one from white, inlaying the white hearts outline into the card front. I took the pieces from inside the heart and embossed them with a Sizzix Curlique & Hearts embossing folder and inlaid them into the white negative heart outline. I die-cut the Lil Inker stitched sentiment panel from white and stamped it with a retired SU! sentiment. With alternating the colors, I had enough to make a 2nd card...

 and here is that version. Made the same as the first, only I used a SU! falling petals embossing folder to create the pattern in the white hearts.

I'm entering into these challenges:

 Cuttlebug Mania "Be My Valentine" challenge.

the Tuesday Throwdown #425 "Falling Hearts"

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a fun and fabulous Tuesday!

Carol

Masculine Christmas Cards

I used up just about all the Christmas designer paper I've had in my stash this year, so I recently treated myself to a few new sheets that I found at my local scrapbook store. This Sasparilla/Gold Rush plaid by October Afternoon caught my eye right away and I thought it would make some great masculine  cards. I  had quite a few snippets of sparkly gold and black card stock on my table, so I used a Frantic Stamper Deer Bust die to cut a piece of black and sparkly gold  and placed the black negative into the gold panel and vice/versa. I cut both the image and mat with stitched ovals and added a piece of that gorgeous plaid paper for the background, placing it all on a Soft Stone card base. The sentiment was done with a very old retired SU! stamp, heat-embossed with white ep on a basic gray panel, then die cut with a stitched circle die and a matted with a black punched circle. I wanted the sentiment to be small to let the deer bust take center stage.

I decided to make that 2nd card right away since I already had the deer bust cut and inlaid into the black panel. I wanted a slightly different look, so instead of stitched ovals, I used stitched rectangle dies to cut the image panel, plaid panel, and Hello Honey card base. The sentiment was done with a very old wooden stamp (no name) that I've had since I began stamping years ago. I heat-embossed it with white ep on basic grey card stock, and fishtailed the ends with a hexagon punch. The sparkly gold paper sheds pieces of glitter every now and then, so just ignore those random sparkly dots on both cards! They're like magnets to the card stock :)

I'm going to enter these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp It's Christmas Card Day

Snippets Playground #341 - must use snippets

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper December 2018 Challenge - use patterned paper

Just For Fun December 2018 Challenge - card for any holiday

Tuesday Throwdown #420 - anything goes

The Male Room Challenge #100 - celebrate

Inkspirational Challenge #175 - designer's choice anything Christmas

Happy Little Stampers December 2018 anything goes with dies

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a great week ahead!

Carol

Wheeee!

My card today was made with a Whimsy Stamps digital image called "skiing penguin" that I recently won. Isn't he the cutest? I colored him with many different markers, glaze pens, and paint pens, and added glossy accents to his goggles along with some liquid applique to the fur on his cap. I die-cut a Lawn Fawn stitched hillside panel and covered it with frosted stickles to create the snowy hill he's skiing down, and added some sparkly snow behind his skis with 3 different colors of stickles. The sentiment was done with an old G Studio $1 stamp I got from Michaels many years ago, and I used circle punches to cut it along with the turquoise mat. I added a big piece of turquoise bling in the center just for fun. The cardbase and mats are turquoise, and the 2 different designer papers are old ones from Memory Box.

I'm sharing this with the following challenges:

The Tuesday Throwdown #410 - add some texture

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Bling it On

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #174 - add 3+ layers

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #403 - a/g Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge for September 2018 - use dsp

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope your Thursday is filled with all things good and kind :)

Carol

Dahlia Birthday

 I have a birthday card made with some SU! dsp and cardstock in the colors of Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz. I saw this sketch over at the Tuesday Throwdown 405 and just had to play along.

The flower in the center was done with 2 dies from Simon Says Stamp called Outline and Delicate Dahlia. The white circle was done with a MFT stitched circle die. The leaves were done with a strip of pear pizzazz cardstock that was scored and folded in the center, and then fussy cut into pointed ovals and run at an angle through a paper crimper while folded. The sentiment is by Taylored Expressions. The enamel dot in the center is also by Taylored Expressions and was darkened just a bit with a Copic to match the rich purple color.

I'm also sharing this with the following:

Craftyhazelnuts August 2018 patterned paper challenge - use dsp

The Happy Little Stampers August Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Carol

Get Well Card

I was fortunate enough to win an incredibly cute stamp set called Doggie Kisses by Art Impressions from the Snippets Playground, and it arrived just in time to make this card which is going into the mail today to Darnell's grandson. You can read about his unfortunate accident in this post.

I colored the dog with Copics and added some white gel pen (for slobber) along with glossy accents on his tongue and slobber puddle :) I used a SU! scalloped top tag punch and corner rounder to create the tag and used some yellow gingham ribbon from my stash. All the papers are by Teresa Collins from a long-time favorite paper pad called Every Day Moments, and I matted with navy cardstock. The sentiment is included in the stamp set and was done with navy ink.

I'm sliding in on the seat of my pants to get this posted over at the Tuesday Throwdown TT#404 before it closes in a few hours. The challenge is anything goes.

Stay safe out there and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Thank You in Lavender and Green

This card started with the background piece. I sponged it with wilted violet distress ink and added droplets of water which gave it some white spots. After it dried, I stamped it with white craft ink using a SU! stitched background stamp. I wanted to add more, so I stenciled with some citron distress ink and a TH burlap stencil on 2 corners, and then sponged a little antique linen ink lightly over the stenciled corners. As a final touch, I embossed the panel with a WRMK next level gemstones ef. 

Next I stamped the SU! blended bloom flower twice, fussy cutting the center portion and popping it up with dimensionals over the lower portion of the flower. I colored the flower with Copics and gel pens. The leaves were done with a Hero Arts stamp on some granny apple green striped dsp from SU, fussy cut, and popped up on dimensionals after being curled around a glue stick. The white stems were done with a SU! bouquet Bunch framelits die and 2 dies from a set of dies by Precious Maricke called Leaves. The ladybugs were done with a Memory Box set of dies enhanced with a white gel pen, and the sentiment is by Lawn Fawn, embossed with white ep on black. For the final touch, I added some Nuvo clear sparkle drops to the leaves and placed this on a granny apple green cardstock base by SU!

This will be going into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - make your own background

Double D challenge Don't Bug Me - use bugs

Happy Little Stampers August 2018 Watercolor challenge - a/g - option to use flowers

JFF August 2018 challenge - stripes

Tuesday Throwdown #403 challenge - stenciling

Thanks so much for the visit, it's always great to welcome you! Do have yourself a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend as well!

Carol

Summer Birthday Dress

I made this card for a friend who celebrates her birthday in July using some very old retired SU! dsp called Haiku - along with a retired SU! framelit die set called Dress Up. I love the shades of orange, yellow and green with those big flowers which all remind me of summer. I used some artichoke green for the dress stand, adding some tiny pearls for a necklace. I found some hot orange twine to tie around the waist and added a Sweet'n Sassy sentiment panel done on some daffodil yellow cardstock. The background was embossed with a CB decorative tiles ef.

I'm going to enter this into the Tuesday Throwdown #402 - "heatwave" (use hot colors)

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day whatever you do!

Carol

Field Flowers

I pulled out a retired SU! stamp set called Field Flowers and decided to give it some ink. I inked the flowers with Squeezed Lemonade distress ink and some SU! Tangerine Tango for some 2-step stamping, while the stems were done with Wild Wasabi ink. I pierced the image panel edges with a template, and then used a fine line marker to add faux stitches all around the outside edge. The sentiment is from another retired SU! set. I added 2 wasabi borders done with a MS doily punch, and added 2 black notched border dies done with a MFT die and placed it all on a pumpkin colored cardbase.

I'm going to enter this into the Tuesday Throwdown challenge #401 which is "stitching - faux or real.

Thanks for buzzing by and I hope your day is fantastic!

Carol

Father's Day

I think there are some dads out there who like trains so I decided to make a father's day card with a train image. I pulled out a SU! set of stamps called "Happiness is a Journey" (now retired) and heat-embossed the train image with white ep on a piece of turquoise cardstock. I die-cut it with a rectangular postage stamp stitched die, and matted it with a piece of black cardstock that was die-cut with a Lil Inker stitched rectangle die. The background panel was a piece of silver mirror cardstock that I embossed with my Big Shot and a Cuttlebug diamond plate ef and splattered with some black ink for a rustic look. I used a piece of retired SU! ribbon along with 3 honkin' big silver brads and added a computer generated sentiment to finish this card.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

the Tuesday Throwdown #395 - "what a guy"

Cardz 4 Guyz challenge #196 - "father's day"

Shopping our Stash #357 - "my favorite things" 

(my stitched rectangle dies are a favorite)

Cuttlebug Mania challenge - "frame it"

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Wednesday is fabulous! Enjoy!

Carol

Purple Valentine

Here's a purple Valentine, made with a hand-crocheted medallion a sweet friend was kind enough to send me. I added a royal purple mat along with a white circle embossed with a Sizzix hearts ef, and placed the Hero Arts fussy cut heart on top, along with the word L.O.V.E. for a sentiment. I sponged a piece of water color paper with Wilted Violet Distress ink and spritzed it with water and let it dry, then stamped the heart and sentiment panels on that before cutting them out and placing them on the medallion. I cut the border twice with a Sweet'n Sassy stamps hearts border die in plum and white, and I swapped the white hearts back into the plum die for some contrast. I placed everything on an elegant eggplant card base.

I'm entering this into the Tuesday Throwdown challenge #377 - favorite color.

Can you tell my favorite color is purple???

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day whatever you do!

Carol