blog break . . . .

until 2014!  I am leaving next week for Colorado and will not be back until the 30th.  This will be my last post here until the new year.  I will be busy with family and friends and also doing some baking before I actually leave.  However, I will still be checking out other blogs and commenting when I have some time.

One more Christmas card before I go, which I will enter in the Magenta December challenge:

The background was made by sponging Brilliance pearlescent jade ink through a stencil that I bought at Walmart.  There were 3 sheets of stencils with four designs per sheet.  For $2.97!!!!!  Now, they are small, but you can re-position the stencil to cover a larger area. 

I used three Magenta stamps on this card - the holly, the tiny tree and the Joy.  Some doily sections and sequins were added and I called it done. 

May your holidays be filled with love and joy and may 2014 bring many blessings your way!

radiant orchid?. . . .

Well, not quite, Virginia!  (insert giggle)  But, Ranger's Adirondack wild plum dye pad is pretty darn close and I decided to use it for this card for a few challenges:

The stamps are from Hero Arts.  I embossed the greeting with platinum embossing powder and it is so pretty IRL.  And, the sequins match the ink almost perfectly.  I am not far from Lowe's and Home Depot, but it is so, so cold this week and I'm not hankerin' to travel out and about just for paint chips!!  :) 

Hope you like my version of the newest Pantone color of the year.

Challenges:

Less is More

Casology

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge


one more:

Addicted to CAS
thanks, Barb!


TFL!

my secret santa card and ATC. . . .

have arrived at Cindy's house in Canada:

I used one of Shari's trees for the card and the little tree from Snow Much Joy for the ATC.  The ornaments on the trees are cut out and punched from glitter paper.  I added some extra circles punched from white glitter paper to emulate snow.  The snowflake punch is from Martha Stewart.

I forgot to take a photo of the "presents" I sent to Cindy.  We were to spend $10 and it was hard to choose something because I don't really know what she has or doesn't have.  But, it was fun being a secret Santa! 

playing . . . .

with a new stamp set from The Craft's Meow.  I was the lucky winner of Lisa's final blog hop for her company and am now the happy owner of some of her very nice stamps.  So sad that she had to close up shop.

Anyway, here is the card I made for a friend's birthday:

So simple and so easy, but so pretty, too!  This particular stamp set has stamps that can be used with the Spellbinders Labels Fourteen die and I like the shape of it very much. And, the embossed layer is a Spellbinders M-bossabilities folder called Elegance.  These have two designs to choose from - quite a nice feature.   I love this cornflower blue ink from Hero Arts and actually have cardstock that matches perfectly. 

Sending this card to the challenge at Seize the Birthday and also to Word Art Wednesday.

Can you believe Christmas will be here in 16 days?  Time truly does fly.  I hope you take things slowly during these last days leading up to the big day and enjoy each and every moment spent with family and loved ones. 

TFL!

a background. . . .

created by sponging through a paper doily for the 
Simon Says Stamp challenge:

All die cuts except the sentiment from Penny Black.  A bit of Stickles glitter.  Simple but I like it. 

Cold and snowy here today - a good day for making cards!  Stay warm, my friends.

one down. . . . .

and about 30 to go!  I will be using this card for most of my Christmas cards.

I have been hoarding this glitter cardstock for several years and have it in a lot of colors. Of course, the photo doesn't do the glitter justice, but it is very pretty IRL.   A friend gave me this Memory Box die in August as an early Christmas present.  I should have started cutting them then so that I wouldn't be rushed.  Oh, well, that's half the fun, isn't it??

Sending this over to the anything goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp and also to the current challenge at Die Cut Divas.

Happy December to you!

Christmas Joy. . . .

I have a lot of "Joy" stamps.  In fact, I have a four shelf unit that is full of them.  And, now there are several more clear/cling sets that include them. 

I decided to use this beautiful Penny Black stamp for a few Christmas cards, paired with the sentiment from Hero Arts.  I also used some patterned paper from the 6x6 MME Merry Little Christmas pad.  It has some very pretty pastel prints in it.  The scalloped die is from PTI.  I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and  added some Stickles glitter.  The red and white baker's twine and tiny red gems were all the embellishment it needed.  I knotted the ends of the twine - a trick I've seen Julie Ebersole use several times.  (love that gal!)

Sending this over to Simon Says Stamp for their anything goes challenge.

Have a great weekend!

one more fall card. . . .

for the November challenge at Magenta, which had totally slipped my mind. 

The leaf spray is a Magenta stamp that I have had since 2001.  It is actually signed by Nathalie!  I took a class from her and she signed any stamps that we bought that day. :)

I heat embossed the leaves and applied distress inks over the panel.  The die is a Labels 14 nestie.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession - one of my favorites.  The colors of the card in real life are much deeper and more vibrant that this photo shows.  So frustrating.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to all who observe the holiday.  So thankful for so many blessings - my cup runneth over!

my local stamp club. . . .

meets on the last Monday of each month.  We take turns making card kits for the members to make at the meeting.  Yesterday was my turn:

This is similar to another card I posted a couple of weeks ago.  The gals liked the card and it was not hard to make; just a lot of steps.

Now I have just one more ATC to make for a swap and then I can really get busy making the rest of my own Christmas cards.

I hope all of my USA friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving with their loved ones this week - I can't wait to get that turkey in the oven!!

a fun folded card. . . .

inspired by Dawn at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts.  I rarely try anything too involved when making a card for fear of making a mess of it.  However this one turned out pretty nicely and I may make a few more for Christmas:

Here is the first opening:

And, here is the inside of the card:

I had some patterned paper left over from my stamp club project for this month and decided to use it for this card.  The Joy stamp is a very old one from a company called Westwater Enterprises.  I purchased it in 1998!  But it did fit in the opening and had holly to match the paper, so it was definitely the one to use.  The inside greeting is from Hero Arts.  I used some Stickles on the outside frame to jazz it up a little. 

I've been busy this week working on some swaps that are due by the end of the month, so haven't had time to make more cards.  Still working on the last swap; then it's full speed ahead on my Christmas cards!

Thanks for stopping by. 

my first attempt. . . .

at creating a sunburst card.  I have never tried this, but am happy with the results.

Since I will need another masculine birthday card soon, I think this will be appropriate.  It can easily be made more feminine with different papers/colors. These papers are from the MME The Station 6 x 6 pad.  I love the shape of this Spellbinders Nestabilities die.  I tried making a frame by using the next size die, but it was much too wide for my liking.  So, I just used the same size die and cut it in half to add a bit of contrast on each end of the sentiment piece.

The only challenge I know to send this to is Word Art Wednesday. 

edit:  will submit this to the Seize the Birthday with texture challenge, too.  Thanks, Theresa!

Have a wonderful weekend!

just wondering. . . .

if this card is clean and simple enough for the CAS(e) this Sketch challenge?

I always get confused when I use patterned paper and there isn't much white space.  But, I will submit it anyway and leave it to the powers that be to accept or reject it.  :-)  Anyway, here is my card:

A very loose interpretation of the sketch, but it is still close enough I think.  Patterned paper is from Bo Bunny and the sentiment is from Hero Arts. 

And, of course I will be sending this over to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge and Word Art Wednesday, too.

Hope your day is a good one!

a birthday card for a friend. . . .

which I will also submit to the Word Art Wednesday challenge which is always anything goes:

Several patterned papers, some flower trim, a butterfly punch and one Penny Black stamp were used for this card.  I also added some enamel dots for a bit of embellishment.  Something I used to do a lot and am now trying to do more often is line the envelope to match the card when possible.  Thought I would show it here.

Thanks for visiting.

blue, white and kraft. . . .

are the colors in this inspiration photo for the  City Crafter's current challenge:

I love these colors, so wanted to find time to get a card made before the deadline:

The flower is a premade one from a pack I got at Michael's - maybe from Recollections, however I can't be sure.  Memory Box leaf sprig die and the sentiment is Hero Arts and was white heat embossed with Hero Arts embossing powder.

Once again, I will send this over to the Simon Says Wednesday challenge for clean and simple.  Doesn't hurt to try, does it?  LOL

Thanks to everyone who visits my blog and for your sweet comments on my feeble attempts at these challenges! 

brown. . . .

is the challenge at Casology this week.

Here is my card:

I used three brown distress inks to color Tim's tattered leaves which were die cut from white cardstock and placed on a kraft card.  The rest is pretty self explanatory.  Sentiment is from Hero Arts.

Sending this over to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, too!

Have a good weekend.

a Thanksgiving card. . .

to be added to the few I have made for this year.  I do send about a dozen cards for Thanksgiving, so I have to make a couple more. 

The leaves and sentiment are Hero Arts stamps.  The crackle stamp around the edges is from Magenta.  I colored the leaves with Prismacolor pencils (my go-to for coloring images).  There is a tiny bit of Stickles glitter here and there which is hard to detect in the photo.

Sending this over to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is clean and simple.

 

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend - we are in for a chilly one!

 

 

another masculine birthday card. . . .

for a friend:

The tree panel was created with an Art Impressions stamp which is just a single tree.  I used markers to add color to the stamp and stamped it three times.  Then I went back and inked it with just a brown marker and stamped it twice in between the others.  Sponged some wild honey over the trees and added a few dots with the markers here and there.  This is mounted on a nice gold-colored card, but it   looks very washed out in the photo. ( I should have remembered that from the last time.)

I'm sending this over to the Simons Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, the Seize the Birthday challenge and Word Art Wednesday challenge.

Hope your weekend is a good one!

one layer wednesday. . . .

is calling for cards with orange on them:

These stamps are from Hero Arts and were colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I made this a smaller card - 4 x 4 1/4 inches.  Go to Karen's blog to check out this fun challenge.

Have a great day!

autumn. . . .

is really the prettiest season, isn't it?  Even though I am not excited to welcome the long winter months, I do love these beautiful fall days.  Here is a card I made for a couple of challenges:

The stamps are from Flourishes.  I used Prismacolor pencils to color the images and added some black and white twine.  The Less is More challenge is to use twine for a CAS card.  I am also entering this card in the City Crafter challenge which calls for pumpkins on the card.

Thanks for visiting my blog and for all of your sweet comments.

orange, purple and black. . . .

for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:

The leaves are Tim's tattered leaves die, the sentiment is from Impression Obsession and the faint background leaf stamp is from Hero Arts.  (I glued two of the small ones together and popped it up for a bit of dimension in the middle.) 

To make the leaves, I used the sponge applicator tool to apply distress inks (spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon and tea dye) to white cardstock.  Then I die cut the leaves.  Added walnut stain around the edges.  Using the applicator tool, I tapped just the edge of it on the walnut pad and then made some marks on the leaves for the veins.  Some flicks of water added more distressing to the leaves.  A narrow strip was trimmed from the bottom front of the card and black cardstock was added to the bottom inside.

Thanks for visiting and welcome to the new followers of my blog!  Have a great weekend.

another Christmas card. . . .

for my collection.  I loved this Hero Arts stamp set when it came out last year, but didn't get it.  Found it at Michael's on sale a month or so ago - yippee!  Of course the matching dies were not with it, but it is actually very easy to cut out:

I used Penny Black's Madison paper pad and a cuttlebug embossing folder. Some red Stickles glitter glue for the berries and I added a Starburst glitter pen over the green and red colored portions.  Very hard to see in a photo.

I will send this to the current Hero Arts challenge.

Hope your day is a good one.  It is a chilly fall day in Ohio, but the sun is shining and that makes it better for me.  :)

my first Christmas card. . . .

for this year:

I used an older Hero Arts stamp set for this one, with some Basic Gray patterned paper and a pretty snowflake sticker from my stash.  I am going to try to make a variety of cards this year and use up some of the things I already have in my supplies.  This one will be entered in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Hope your day is a good one.

an autumn birthday card. . . .

for my son:

I love fall and the beautiful colors to be seen everywhere you look this time of year.  I made the background of this card using distress inks spritzed with water on a craft sheet. The trees were heat embossed.  This is one of my favorite tree stamps - I have quite a few in my collection.

We had a lovely trip to North Carolina.  Lots of eating, shopping, eating, visiting and, did I mention eating?  I don't think I need to eat anything for at least a month!

Thanks for stopping by.

Sending this card over to Word Art Wednesday.

more dots and a photo share. . . .

one more thank you card and entry for the SSS Wednesday challenge blog:

I used the same MME 6x6 Market pad for this card and only one stamp from the Hero Arts many thanks stamp set.  I love polka dots and this paper has some pretty designs on some of the sheets that are easy to incorporate into a card.  The Prima flower is actually the same color as the dots but didn't photograph as such!  :(

Last week, I drove to Parkersburg WV to have a pajama party with three gals who graduated with me from high school.  Two of them drove from VA and the other was gracious enough to have us as her guests.

The others had been there since Sunday and I arrived on Tuesday. (I'm the only one who no longer colors her hair!)   We drove to a very nice outlet mall for the day and then back to Barb's house for an evening of sharing memories, photos and lots of laughs!!  I had not seen these gals for at least 25 years, and it just seemed like we picked up where we left off so many years ago!  We stayed up late and woke up to the smell of bacon.  After a very hearty breakfast we loaded up our cars and headed back home.  This was such a fun event and we are planning another for the same time next year.  BTW:  We graduated in 1956!!  Yes, I am ancient. . .

Have a good day and I'll see you again in a week or so!

a few dots. . . .

for the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge blog:

I need several thank you cards, so I am trying to get them done before I leave for North Carolina.  If you watched Vicky's video on Sunday, this card was inspired by her card.  I really liked her design and wanted to try to make one in a similar way.  The patterned paper is from MME's 6x6 Market pad.  There are some tiny dots in the paper used for the frame and the leaves were paper pieced with the same paper.  The flowers were stamped on a semi-solid sheet of this paper and I added some extra color with a Prismacolor pencil here and there.

Thanks for visiting!

hello. . . .

Finally found some time to make a card or two!  My life has been very busy for a month or so.  And, I will be leaving this week for a short trip to North Carolina, so my blog will be dormant again for awhile!!  Anyway, here is a card I made for the My Favorite Things weekly sketch challenge:

And, here is the sketch.  I took some liberty with my interpretation of it but I do like the way it turned out.

The WCMD frenzy was quite the event, wasn't it??  I didn't actually make any cards but took some time to check out a few of the sites that were participating.  Fun!

Have a great day. . . 

another birthday card. . . .

for a friend.  Seems that I have a lot of cards to make in the month of September.

This is a terrible photo - I tried several different angles and locations.  The card is actually a pretty gold color and the colors in the image are quite off here.  Grrr!

Both stamps are from Magenta and I will enter this card in their September challenge.  Also, the Flutterby Wednesday challenge which is anything goes as long as there is a butterfly on the card. 

TFL!

paper piecing. . . .

is always fun to do and I should remember to do it more often.  Here is a birthday card I made for a friend whose birthday is this week:

I used the Lost & Found Sunshine 6 x 6 pad for the Hero Arts Pom Pom flower stamp.  It kinda' looks like the pretty fall mums I am seeing everywhere now.  I also used liquid enamel dots for the centers and accents on the tabs.  They were made using a Stampin' Up punch I acquired recently. 

This card will be sent over to Word Art Wednesday for their challenge which is anything goes.

Hope your day is a good one!

a one layer get well soon card . . . .

for Week 137 at Less is More  

using the colors from the current Duo Dynamics challenge: 

The Hero Arts classic rose stamp is so beautiful when used as a single element on a card:

I added a few stickles and a splatter stamp from Denami Designs.  (purchased in 1999).  The sentiment is from Hero Arts also.

Have a wonderful day!

ric #44. . . .

Isn't this gown breathtaking??

I needed to make a birthday card for a friend and her favorite color is blue (as is mine), so I had to give the current  Runway Inspired challenge a try:

I used the Mojo Monday 311 sketch for this card - rather loosely, I admit.  But the overall design is there I think.  And, the scroll stamp from Hero Arts reference the swirls in the beautiful dress from RIC.

This card was made with just stamps and cardstock, with a few sequins and liquid pearls for accent.  I am pleased with the results.

Thanks so much for visiting.

use a rubber stamp. . . .

is the challenge for week 135 at Less is More and they are featuring Penny Black stamps.  Here is my card:

For some reason, I have been using a lot of pink on my cards lately!  I used an older Penny Black brush stroke stamp called Bliss and an even older PB sentiment for this card.  I colored the image with distress inks and then spritzed with water.  I love the way the 2nd and 3rd generation "ghost" stamping looks.  Just a few tiny gems to add some sparkle.

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing Labor Day without much labor!!

circles. . . .

are the main design for this card:

 

The stamps are from Hero Arts.  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.  The dies are Spellbinders Nestabilities.  Since I am always short of time to actually sit down and create several cards at a time, I am just going to enter this card into a few challenges, listed below:

Word Art Wednesday

Flutter by Wednesday

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

I hope your weekend is a great one - I can't believe it is going to be September on Sunday!!!

paper. . . .

is the challenge at Casology this week:

I don't know how to make many things using origami folds, but I love this kimono and have used it a lot over the years:

The rubber stamp in the corner is from Red Pearl and was stamped with Delicata gold ink.  The meaning of it is written on the side of the wood mount:  "I know too much to be sure of anything".  I added a gold border with a Pilot gold metallic pen and layered the panel to a green card base.

Happy Sunday!

a one layer card. . . .

for Magenta's August challenge:

All of the stamps I used on this card are from Magenta:

I added some light sponging for the background and the border was drawn by hand with a Pitt pen.  The flowers were colored with Prismacolor pencils.  There are touches of glitter on the flowers and wings of the dragonflies, but this doesn't show up in this poorly taken photo!  :)

Hope your weekend is a good one!

another sketch. . . .

for Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge #191:

Here is my card:

Basic Gray patterned papers, Nestabilities, a sweet stamp from Hero Arts and some enamel dots with a touch of bling, too.  Pretty much a literal take on the sketch.

I will also enter this in the Word Art Wednesday challenge.

Have a great day!