GILDED LILIES

This past week I received some new stamps from my friend Lisa Haines, who is selling many of her dies and stamps here at very good prices.  She is adding items all the time, so check it out often.  Many are unused and still in the package.  One of the sets was Altenew's Layered Lilies and I did a Pinterest search to get some ideas on how to use this set.  One of the ways was by Marika in this video.  I basically followed her technique of watercoloring, but since I'm no where near the talent she is, I kind of did my own thing in slightly different colors.  

The distress inks I used were pumice stone, victorian velvet and gathering twigs.  Instead of adding detail with colored pencils, I used my gold Kuretake watercolors and added strokes around the stamen and also spattered with the gold.  The sentiment was stamped with gold embossing powder - added a few sequins and done.

Thanks for visiting today - love your kind comments.

RAINBOW FLOWERS

I'm using my new Layering Flowers stamps over at A Blog Named Hero today.  Our challenge theme this month is  

and I did my flowers in rainbow colors.  I have always had a hard time remembering these colors and found a mnemonic to help me - "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain" - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.  Love the new flower layering Hero Arts stamps - easy peezy to line up!

Hop on over to A Blog Named Hero and check out my card - and there's still time to enter the rainbow challenge and a chance to win a prize from Avery Elle.

Thanks for visiting today and love reading your comments.

AQUA EGG

Last week I was delighted to learn that I had won Color Throwdown#383 and consequently am their guest designer this week.  And how lucky I am to create a card in my favorite colors - wouldn't you just love to be having your cuppa in that gorgeous mug??

I smooshed a piece of watercolor paper with Ranger salty ocean and broken china spritzed with water.  While that was drying, die cut the egg in Michael's gold metallic paper.  Attached a piece of acetate to it and then cut out 3 more eggs which were then glued together.  Sprinkled some MS glitter in this and adhered the watercolor piece to it.  Carefully cut away the excess watercolor paper and was left with my lovely blue egg.  Finished with a stitched rectangle for a mat.  My inspiration was the shape of the scallops and glittery bits in the cup photo - and of course the colors.

Check out Color Throwdown#385 and join their challenge this week.  Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.

MERRY MONDAY SILVER

Silver, grey and black are the colors for this week on Merry Monday's weekly challenge - and I'm just getting this in under the wire - life was a little complicated last week!

Stamped the trees in various shades of grey and added some clear WOS on top for some shimmer.  Added the silver metallic Neenah card on the bottom with more silver WOS to define some snowbanks and then the sentiment stamped in black and clear embossed.  Die cut that piece and a piece of black for a mat, popped it onto the card and added a few silver sequins and done.

Thanks for visiting today and your kind comments.

CONGRATS

Our sponsor this month at A Blog Named Hero is Avery Elle and I got to play with one of their newly released stamp sets, Hats Off!.  Since my grandson is graduating from university this May, I used the graduation cap from the set.

There's a great selection of hats in this set and lots of potential for creating variety of cards to fit special occasions.  The challenge for this month is "rainbow" so check the blog often for rainbow and Avery Elle inspiration from our design team - and enter the challenge here for a chance to win a great prize from Avery Elle.

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your kind comments.

BOLD BLOSSOMS

I have been spending a lot of time coloring the Bold Blossoms from PTI - they are so easy to color mainly because they are large images.  I used my Kuretake watercolors for this card to enter in the Color Throwdown #383.  I am also entering it CAS(E) This Sketch challenge.

The gold and stripe papers on the side were scraps and the sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.  MME enamel dots and some Pico dots finished the card.

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your kind comments.

NBUS & NBUT

Darnell has had a challenge going for the past ten days or so and everyday I meant to do something for it - finally today I had a play day with "never before used stuff" and a "never before used technique.

My first card involves NBUS.  Around Christmas my blog friend Hazel was using some stuff called Sparkle Gel from Imagination Crafts which is in England.  It comes in tons of colors and Hazel was working on buying them all:-)  Problem for us in the USA, they only sell in the UK.  So while in London for Christmas I HAD to buy some - decided on the diamond as it's pretty pricey when you add postage even over there.  Brought it home and never touched it, until today!!  What a dream it is for spreading on through a stencil.  It takes a bit to dry but after it was, I die cut it with the stitched rectangle.  Mounted it on my card with fun foam and added the flower arrangement (used a variety of Altenew inks) and sentiment and done.  You can see how sparkly that stuff is in the closeup!

My second card is a NBUT. 

I have had some foil for ages and finally gave it a try using glue and a stencil.  Believe me, I wasn't going for the messy look, but decided to work with it anyway.  I used the sketch from MUSE challenge and also camouflaging the sentiment.  It took a bit of fiddling around but figured out a way to get the look.  The sentiment was stamped in black and clear embossed.  Not too sure about this foiling technique, but glad I gave it a try.  Used some gold foil cardstock from Michael's for the bottom half of the "birthday".

Had a fun play day and am pleased with how my NBUS and NBUT turned out.

Thanks for visiting today and love your kind comments.

BUTTON BUTTON...

do I ever have buttons!!!  Haven't used buttons on cards in ages and really tend to hoard the pretty ones.  So dug out the stash and found these lovely vintage buttons.  First I die cut the tree from silver metallic paper.  Arranged everything and stamped the sentiment with silver embossing powder.  Glued the buttons with glossy accents.  Doubt whether they'll hold up in the mail tho.  Voila! a CAS card for Merry Monday's button challenge.

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your kind comments.

PEARL HYDRANGEA

Can't seem to stop making cards with this hydrangea and when I saw Happy Little Stampers faux mother of pearl challenge, I got it out again.  Actually it has never left my desk since I got it!!

I white embossed the flower and then sponged distress spun sugar all over it having it darker in some places.  Then I used some cling wrap and frost white ink and added the mother of pearl effect.  Using the spun sugar ink, I made a watercolor shadow all around the flowers and stamped the sentiment  in black ink and embossing in clear.  Lastly, sequins were added for a little bling.

I am also entering this in Ellen Hutson's  mix-it-up challenge to use EH stamps and Pretty PInk Posh sequins.

Thanks for stopping by and all your kind comments.

MARCH CARD CHAIN CHALLENGE

This month I"m sending my card to Greta for Deb's card chain challenge.  I chose to do an Easter card in the colors and loosely interpreted the sketch.

For the background, I cut down one of the Happy Hues cards from Concord & 9th - these cards are a wonderful value and make such a quick and easy background.  Die cut the wreath and then added the floral arrangement.  I used Laurie Willison's technique of using Press 'n Seal to keep my arrangement in place for gluing onto the wreath.  This is such a slick way of attaching little flowers like this.  Before putting anything down permanently I used my MISTI to add the sentiment.

Thanks to my friend, Becca, I am also entering this in Caseplorations challenge for Betsy Veldman's card.  

 

Thanks for visiting today and love reading your comments.

EASTER HYDRANGEA

A new challenge blew in with the March winds yesterday (at least that's the kind of weather we had in Nebraska!) - it was started by two wonderful cardmakers/bloggers, Bonnie Klass and Loll Thompson and it's called CAS MIX UP.  Their first challenge is use stamping, watercolouring and your own choice of a technique.

The hydrangea was stamped with Versamark and white embossed.  Then I colored the flower and leaf with Zig clean brush markers (lt. carmine, tea rose, mid- green) and used a wet brush to blend the colors.  The background piece was made with the embossing folder technique in seedless preserves and a bit of water and then die cut.  The sentiment was also stamped with Versamark and silver embossed.  Finally added a little bling with clear sequins. 

I am also entering this in the LOVE challenge "Bring the Spring Bling".  

Thanks for visiting today and your kind comments.

A BIT OF SPARKLE

This month the challenge at A Blog Named Hero is 

and I created a card using Hero Arts hydrangea which is an all time favorite of mine.   Here is a sneak peak:

Head on over to A Blog Named Hero and check it out.  There's still time to make a sparkly card and enter it this month's challenge here - and a chance to win a prize from Simon Says Stamp, our sponsor for this month.

Thanks for stopping by.

SILVER BELLS...

Silver Bells...it's Christmas time in the city - I think that the way the song goes anyway!  So today it's silver bells for Merry Monday's "bells" challenge.

A friend gave me these PTI bells ages ago, but they were cut from patterned paper - so I smooshed them with Versamark and embossed with HA silver.  The bow is from the same set and also smooshed, but embossed with Stampendous aged aqua metallic.  Cut the pine boughs from Neenah white gold metallic cs and then daubed with tumbled glass distress ink.  The watercolor background was more smooshing with tumbled glass ink.  Put it all together with Neenah metallic silver cs for the mat and sentiment and added the sequins here and there.  Done and dusted!

Thanks for visiting today and your comments make me so pleased.

 

FEBRUARY CARD CHAIN CHALLENGE

This month I sent my card to a friend in New Zealand, Dawn, who was one of the first card making friends I made on the CCC.  We have kept in touch ever since and that is such a neat perk from joining in this challenge.  The colors this month were fuschia, dusty blue and eggshell, the sketch had leaves and the theme I chose was friendship.

I stamped the gingko leaves in black and embossed in clear - then watercolored around them.  The sentiment was a scrap leftover from another watercolored piece and also stamped in black and clear embossed.  Added a few sequins, gave it a black mat and then onto an eggshell base.  And off it went across the world.

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.

IT'S THE BERRIES

The theme of Merry Monday's challenge this week is berries and I wanted to do something a little different than just an ordinary wreath.

I started by watercoloring a large piece with various greens.  When dry, I cut out a bunch of stitched holly leaves in three sizes.  I embossed a circle on the card front and played around a bit with a few ideas.  Finally glued on the gold cord and just added a few holly leaves with gold sequins for the berries.  Die cut the joy sentiment and done.  The holly leaves are all sparkly with WOS.

Thanks for stopping by and always enjoy reading your comments.

 

WARM WINTER WISHES

This month A Blog Named Hero is collaborating with Simon Says Stamp.  If you follow me you know that little children are not my forte - in fact I don't think I've ever created a card with little kids on it.  Well, there's always a first for everything!!  When I was like around 10 years old, I loved to design clothes for paper dolls - well, in creating this card I felt like I was 10 years old again!!  These little guys are so cute and come with hats and mittens and scarves and are the "funnest" ever!  Penguins in December and little children in February - what next???  Vintage?  Ten layers of stuff? Bright bold colors?  Anyway, head on over to my ABNH post and check out my card.  The challenge for the month is "sparkle" and there's lots of that there too.  You have all February to enter a card with sparkle here.

Thanks for visiting today and love reading your wonderful comments. 

LAYERED HEART

Happy Little Stampers has a challenge this month to design a card using the embossing folder technique.  If you are unfamiliar with this there are multiple links on their blog challenge.  CAS on Sunday's challenge is "valentine" and this will qualify for them also.

For the ef technique, I sponged abandoned coral and picked raspberry distress inks onto the folder, spritzed with water and pressed the paper onto the folder.  When dry, I die cut the hearts.  The Concord & 9th Layers of Love dies come with the both the floral outline and the stripe.  Adhered the stripe to the back and then popped it all up with some foam tape onto the card base.  Carefully inserted some clear sequins under the stripes and done.  Had never tried this technique and it really is a fun way for a different watercolor look.  

Thanks for visiting today and love reading your comments.  

Betty

HOLLY JOLLY

I'm the guest designer on Merry Monday today as I won their challenge a few weeks ago with this card.  The challenge for this week is to use the chalkboard technique - if you're not familiar with it, google it and you'll find lots of ideas - there are several ways to achieve the "look".

I first white heat embossed the sentiment on the black cs.  Then I took my white pigment ink and lightly sponged the edges and swirled around a bit more on the card to give it that chalkboard look.  Gold embossed and colored the holly leaves with my Zig brushes and fussy cut.  Then went looking in my stash for some paper for a mat and finally settled on the polka dots with a tan card base.  Put it all together and popped up the leaves and added the red enamel dot berries.

Hope you join in their challenge this week - the chalkboard technique is a few years old but still a fun, easy and great look.  So hop on over to Merry Monday and check out all the other wonderful inspiration from their design team.

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments. 

HERO ARTS SCRAMBLE

I am hosting the Hero Arts 90 minute scramble today on the HA discussion group.  I have an inspiration photo and the theme is "love" - lots of leeway in the challenge so hop on over to the post, check out the details and create a card to enter. It's a 24 hour challenge meaning it's open until Sunday 7 February but you have to create your card in the 90 minute time span (honor system) from start to finish including photographing it and posting.  I have a nice prize for the winner and Tami Hartley from Hero Arts will also have a digi prize from HA.

Inspiration Photo and my cards

I used HA die, sentiment and sequins, MB branch and oval die in the first card and my Fuze tool for the shaker.  In the second card I cut the HA die twice, then layered it on the card base and added some sparkle with the sequins.  

Hope you have some time to create a card for this scramble - it's really fun to see what you can do in 90 minutes!

On another note - how do you like the new look for the blog?  My friend Loll Thompson was my coach who was super helpful and patient with all my fumbling around and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.  The free header photo is from Clementine Creative. 

All for now - thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.