POINSETTIA TAG

Every week I intend to enter Inspired by All the Little Things challenge and the week flies by and I don't get it done.  So here I am at the last minute finally getting something made.  Bought some Yupo paper so I could play with alcohol inks and just did a small sheet of reds and another of green by smooshing and dropping the inks on the paper.

Stamped the EH poinsettia and leaves with HA black ink and clear embossed (use the heat gun sparingly, keep it moving and don't get it too close!!) - fussy cut - die cut the TH holiday greens.  Arranged on some music paper, added a bit of gold thread and Nuvo gold - done and dusted!

Am also entering this in The Flower Challenge (special occasion) and Loll's Twelve Tags of Christmas (mixed media).

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

CHRISTMAS WISHES

It's another collaboration with Cat - this month she sent me a kit of wonderful die cuts, embellishments and papers to create two cards with a winter/Christmas theme.  Well, there was enough to create about twenty cards at least!!!  My plan is to make as many as I can to sent to the Caring Hearts Drive that Vera Yates and Jennifer McGuire promote every year to send cards to those in nursing homes all over the world.  It was difficult to photograph all Cat sent but you can get an idea from this array.

For my first card I used the SSS birch tree die cut with some OI deer die cuts.  The printed vellum in the background is from Cat as well as the sequins.

My next card uses the prize stag from Ellen Hutson - I had the EH wreath die, so cut that from some paper Cat sent and smooshed it in some distress ink to give it a little something extra.  Layered the sentiment dies for some added texture.

Finally I used a Jennifer McGuire technique using printed papers, some of my own snowflakes and sequins and the sentiment from the kit.

The sideview shows the pretty snowflake patterned paper inside the card.

Cat certainly knows me - blues, greys, gold, vellum - all right up my alley - loved every bit of what she sent - it took me almost three weeks to start using all this goodness - it's the stuff for hoarding!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out Cat's post using the same materials.  

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

UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Finally had some time for a Make It Monday card this weekend.  The challenge theme is to "decorate your door" and my front door decor always has a swag of pine branches - but had a hard time with my pine branch stamps so went with a simple mistletoe swag embossed in gold and colored with my Zigs.

Used my HA dies to cut perfect rectangles (love, love those dies!!!), added a gold twine bow and some glitter enamel dots and done!  Will add this to my pile of cards to send to the Caring Hearts Drive - may even make a few more as it's a pretty easy card to mass produce.

Will also enter this in Hero Arts Holiday challenge.  A Blog Named Hero also has a holiday theme challenge - and ten prizes are up for grabs (one from each of the design team members including me) - so enter your card here and also leave comments for chances to win.  Look for my posts on the 13th and 26th.

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

WATERCOLOR THANKS

This is one of those cards that just didn't go the way I had envisioned.  Began by watercoloring several background pieces with pearlescent watercolors in copper, rose and gold.  Just didn't love the results of any of them, so ended cutting one of them with a frame die. 

Added some foam tape to the frame part and mounted that on my card base and then inserted the inside piece.  Die cut the wheat and painted them MS metallic gold paint and added over the frame.  Die cut the sentiment from copper metallic paper and used bits of foam tape to keep it all even over the frame and wheat.  Popped a few sequins here and there for little sparkle and done.

I am entering this in the Concord & 9th watercolor challenge as I used their Layering Leaves dies for the wheat.

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

GIVING THANKS

More inspiration for A Blog Named Hero's October challenge

Circles, rectangles and a square all in a Thanksgiving card for your inspiration.  Check it out here and enter our challenge here.  The wonderful new Color Layering Grateful Leaves is this month's prize so be sure to add your entry by 29 October!

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your comments.

 

GOLD POLKA DOTS

The Curtain Call challenge this week is "Glittery Gourds" and couldn't resist making a glamorous pumpkin card.

 

Die cut and embossed the pumpkin and painted it with some MS gold metallic paint.  Then added some white Pico dots.  While that was drying, I adhered the PTI gold dotted piece backed with some fun foam to a white card base and added the sentiment. Added my pumpkin and done!

 

 

Thanks for visiting and love to read your comments.

 

 

PINK LILY

A friend asked me to make some blank cards - sometimes that is so difficult 'cause often the sentiment balances the whole design.  But managed to produce them and this is one of my favorites.

The card base had been in my stash for awhile with that cut out circle - no clue what I had originally wanted to do with it! First I backed the circle with another larger circle of printed vellum.  Used a glue pen to attach the vellum and it didn't show at all.  Stamped the layered lily with my new Altenew pink inks, spattered the front with some gold, added the flower and a few sequins and done!  Am entering this in the new Flower Challenge and also CAS(E) This Sketch #194.

 

Thanks for stopping by today and your kind comments make me happy.

 

MERLOT

This theme for Just Add Ink #333 challenge is "G" - so have a gold and gray wine card to share today.  Haven't made a wine label card in ages so made several and this is one of my favorites.

I stamped the mondo hydrangea in Altenew morning frost ink on the two card base corners.  Backed the label with some lovely shiny gold and added the little petals which were stamped in Versamark and gold embossed.  A few sequins and done.  I have a very old stamp that says "Like fine wine, you have aged to perfection" which is on the inside.  

By the way - have lots of lovely wine labels and would be happy to share - email me. 

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

COPPER LEAF

The other day as I was out walking, I found this leaf and couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Then I remembered a favorite  poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer. 

So here's one more card for CAS Watercolour Challenge.  The background piece was loosely watercolored with Kuretake Gamsai watercolors.  Die cut the leaf from some of my Target copper paper and then embossed.  Added a little sentiment embossed in copper metallic and some vellum leaves.  To paraphrase Kilmer -

Cards are made by fools like me

But only God can make a leaf. 

I am also entering this in Virginia's October challenge where she asks us to use a focal point and Paper Players CAS leaf challenge.

Thanks for visiting today - your comments make me happy.

 

PUMPKINS & GEOMETRIC

Have a post over at A Blog Named Hero today - the theme this month is

We're using Hero Arts products this month and the challenge prize is the new Color Layering Grateful Leaves!!!  Actually I have two cards to show you for inspiration - and be sure to check out all the other design team posts for a grand variety of inspiration!  Enter here.

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your comments!

 

GHOSTING

For this month of Halloween, "ghosting" is a fitting technique.  CAS Mix-Up challenge wants us to use it, stamping and a choice (die cut).

I used distress inks for both of my cards - tried other watercolour backgrounds and none gave the effect I wanted.  On my first card I sponged iced spruce, evergreen bough and peacock feathers and used Artplorations mini leaf stencil - spritzed with pearlized water (although it can't be seen in the photo).  Put the piece behind a stitched frame and added my copper leaf and the little sentiment.

I used abandoned coral and dried marigold inks and a leaf stencil for my second card.  Die cut a section with a stitched frame die and then put it all back together adding a piece of vellum to the center to soften the color.  Added the copper die cut leaf and a sentiment and done.  The die and stencil are from Memory Box and are discontinued.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy reading the wonderful comments you leave!

 

GRATEFUL

Several weeks ago I was browsing thru the $ bins at Target and found a 6x6 paper pad with gorgeous copper and kraft paper, notecards in navy and copper, embellishments, tags, etc.  All too enticing to pass up.  I used one of the notecards and some paper from the pad to create my card for Color Throwdown.

I die cut one of the notecards and the two mats with HA Rectangle Infinity Dies and added all to a kraft card base after stamping some leaves with Versamark in the upper right corner for a little added interest.  Cut the leaf and the little sentiment tag from some copper metallic paper.  Added a few copper gems and done.  I am entering this in the Color Throwdown challenge for this week.

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

GOLDEN PUMPKIN

It's a glorious fall day here in Nebraska - the sun is shining, there's not a cloud in the sky, my windows are open - love, love it!!  After sweeping out the garage, having a guy paint all the eaves on the house, and other various little chores around here, I headed down to the studio to make a couple of fall cards.  Have been wanting to make pumpkins and leaves by coating them with gold metallic paint, so here's my first attempt.

I first created the watercolour background with my Kuratake Gamsai watercolours using my own mixture of the oranges with some gold metallic.  Spattered the background and the pumpkin with more of the gold.  The die I used for the pumpkin is a very old Sizzix die that came with it's own little embossing folder.  The sentiment was also painted with the gold.  I used my new HA Infinity rectangles for the main piece and the mat - I can't say enough good things about these dies - no more measuring to have perfect mats.  To give some definition to the pumpkin and the sentiment I added black offset.

I am entering this in CAS Watercolour Challenge and also Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies, Addicted to CAS - Watercolour and A2Z Scrapbooking (Layer It).

Thanks for visiting today and your lovely comments always make me happy.