PENNY BLACK - Kitty Love die

All of the coloring on this card was sponged.  I started by sponging the Yo Yo Yellow "moon".  (I think I would make it smaller if I did this again.) Then the Old Olive and Pacific Point were carefully sponged on around the yellow.  The outer edges of the kitties was sponged with Soft Suede before adding them to the piece.  I cut the red heart to insert back into the kitty's tails.  The piece was matted with Pacific Point and added to the card base.

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STAMPIN' UP! - "Sheltering Tree"

This was a different card for me to make.  At least I don't think I have ever done one quite like this.  The idea I saw used a square acrylic block that had been inked up with a couple of colors of ink and then spritzed.  The block was then placed down on the card stock for the background.    I have done that before.  After the wet ink had dried they stamped a design onto the colored area letting the design drop down below it.

The next step was to use a square die slightly smaller than the area that had the colored area from the acrylic block.  After matting the piece, they took the cut out area and mounted it back onto the card with foam squares.

I didn't have a square acrylic block that was very big but I found some note card from Hero Arts that I had bought a lot of years ago and not used. They had a watercolor look with the shades of yellow and orange already on the card base.  I cut the front of the card off and then proceeded to do the same thing as the card I had seen.  The matted design was then added to a 5" x 6 1/2" card base.  I'm going to do some more cards like this with different designs but using the Hero Arts note cards that I still have left.

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STAMPIN' UP! - "High Tide" - 2 cards

I saw a card like this on Pinterest and loved it.  I tried to CASE it using the red.  Whoever made the one I copied was able to get a great bold red.  Maybe I just need to re-ink my pad.  I messed up on the word "hope" and got black ink on part of the "h".  Oh, well just kind of a practice card anyway.

This was my second card.  I used the same papers that I saw from a card on Pinterest but the layer with the stamped design on my card is wider.

I really like this stamp set and know I'll be using it more.  Thank you for stopping by today!

HERO ARTS - Garden Fancy Die

This was a very quick card I made using this die that I just received.  I want to do something more with it but this is it for now.  I cut the design out of a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of card stock.  I used a pencil on the front of the card base to determine where to sponge the green for grass and the blue sky.  The pencil marks are under the top layer so they don't sow and didn't need to be removed.  I attached the die cut piece to the card base with a runner of tape and dots of glue on some areas of the design.

The sentiment is from Verve stamps.

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GOD BLESS YOUR NEW HOME

My friend, Carol, who helps make the cards for the nursing home and independent living center, just moved into one of the condos across the alley from us.  We thought it would be fun to send them a card and welcome to our little neighborhood.  I had just received the stamp set from Hero Arts that had these "plants"  The sentiment on the front is not from that set but a wood mounted stamp I've had for a long time and not used.

Thank you for coming by today!  Hope you have a great weekend.  

HERO ARTS - 2 Stamp Sets and 1 Die

The cover die comes with an attached oval.  By using it in that manner, it cuts the entire design out of a piece of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card stock.  I took the negative portion of the cut out to use as a mask to sponge the sand & sky and stamp the rest of the design.  I sprayed the die cut piece with adhesive and then very carefully added it to the colored area.

For this one I removed the attached oval and die cut it into a piece measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  I placed the die cut piece on the card base and then made tiny pencil marks to show where I wanted to add the sponged "sand" and the stamped "water".  After adding the stamped portion of the design the die cut piece was adhered to the card base.

The  "water" is from a separate coordinating stamp set.  The birds, "island" and palm tree are from a set that has a lot of great beach pieces.  It's very versatile.

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ASSORTED FLOWERS (Part 2)

I didn't have any more big enough pieces of designer papers to add these squares.  Instead I took a piece of white card stock and embossed it with the folder from Stampin' Up! that looks like a brick wall.  I'm debating about adding a sentiment in the center with an extra piece of white card stock.

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ASSORTED FLOWERS

I thought these squares would all be connected together but when they are die cut they come out individually.  I matted each one individually with an assortment of coordinated designer papers.  I found it was easier to use a spray adhesive and then add them to a dp that was slightly larger.  It was very easy to trim down the mats to the exact size of the cut pieces.  I have another fun idea for these flowers but need to get some coordinating papers.

The card is actually done on one of the larger card bases that I bought at Michael's.

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UPDATED TULIP CARDS

No big changes but I added a butterfly to the red one and a dragonfly to the pink one.  I have some new designs I'll be posting the rest of the week so I hope you will come back and check them out.

ALCOHOL INK DESIGN FROM GRANDDAUGHTERS

After I cut the design, I wanted to put something behind it that would look like water and sky.  I knew I still had some pieces that the granddaughters had made.  I wish I had taken a picture of the original piece they made because I truly didn't know if I'd ever be able to use it.  They had done multicolored stripes with the inks.

These stripes fit perfectly for the look I wanted.  I don't think I could have planned it much better.  To me it looks like storm clouds moving in.  The mat is as close as I could come to a color that picked up one of the colors in the inks.

This card is being sent to a friend in Florida.

VALENTINES FOR GRANDCHILDREN

Abby

Allissa and Emma

Ashlyn

Taryn

Tucker

AN EXPERIMENT - Memory Box Tulips

I'm NOT crazy about this card.  I cut the die from white card stock and then colored the tulips and frame with Copic markers.  The next thing was to add it to a card and I already had the beginnings of one.  The embossed butterfly piece was already on a card base.  I sprayed the die cut with an adhesive and added it.  I'm not crazy about how busy the background is so I need to find another way to use the flower die.

I really debated about showing it but decided that sometimes it is good to show cards that didn't turn out the way we had hoped.  This is one!

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ONLY USING DIES

This is another card I made on Saturday.  It doesn't need any explanation.  Since the card base is colored, I added a piece of white card stock inside for the sentiment which will be added later.

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PENNY BLACK ROSE

Saturday I was determined to spend some time at my craft table and this is one of the cards I made.  I had a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" cardstock so I first used the die with the circles to that design.  I knew I wanted to add a flower over the circles and found that I already had a white rose cut.  I sponged it with a Coral ink by masking off the green areas with pieces of Post-It notes.  Then I covered the bud with Post-It pieces first sponging a light yellow and then green over it.

I placed the rose over the circles but I knew I wanted a contrast for the circles to show up so I added a piece of shiny gold card stock and taped it down.  After adding the Rose with a spray adhesive, that layer was added to the card base with foam squares.  There was still a lot of white space so I added the flat gold metallic pieces in the corners.

I really like how this card came together.  Thanks for coming by today!

DIE CUT HYDRANGEA

I have three dies that cut designs like this and I love this one.  When I cut the die, I wasn't sure which way to angle the flower.  When I had it cut, I decided to put it on the bottom edge of the 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of card stock.  The flower's stamen is a separate piece.  I carefully colored the outline design with Copic markers and then added it to the front of the card base.  The sentiment was stamped and the card was complete.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TUCKER!

Our favorite (and only) Grandson is celebrating his birthday today.  At least I hope he is because the weather here is awful today!

Tucker is in Junior High now and we had planned on going to watch him in a basketball game but we got ice, wind and snow today.  Our school was canceled.  Tucker's school had classes but the team they were supposed to play canceled their classes......so no game.

He's at an age where I can't make cute "little boy" cards for him anymore.  I hadn't used this die in a while so I did the design in more masculine colors for him.  Unfortunately he's going to receive it late because we had planned on giving it to him in person............and he lives 60 miles away.

Thanks for stopping by today!

STENCILING A DESIGN

A friend of mine recently was in the hospital with pneumonia.  I made this card especially for her.  The stencil I used is from Stamplorations.  Another of my friends had made a card using the stencil which then made me realize I "needed" the stencil too.

I sponged the inks into the stencil design. To control the colors, I carefully blocked off areas using strips of Post-It's.  The card is larger than an A2 size.  I purchased the card/envelope packs from Michael's and really like them for certain designs.

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IMPRESSION OBSESSION - Poppy Pair

Like the card I posted last Friday, this panel had been colored but not used for a long time.  The picture doesn't show it, but I added some clear Stickles to the center of the larger bloom.  I had an envelope laying close by that had been lined with a plain piece of dp. I think I'll use it with this card.

I'm not sure what you think, but when I found the name of this stamp, I didn't think it looked like Poppies.  

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IMPRESSION OBSESSION - Wild Sweetheart Rose

I have several Impression Obsession stamps that are this style.  I bought them a few years ago in Des Moines.  This panel had been colored using Copic markers.  I simply added it to the green mat and then onto the white card base.  The "Wishing You" is from a Verve stamp set. A coordinating "a day filled with happiness" was stamped inside.

Can you believe this is the last day of January already?  I can only hope that February will bring us better weather.  January has not been fun.  Our school system has missed 8 days in a row of classes.  That has never happened here before.  The snow and sub-zero temperatures just made it unsafe to have students and buses out on the roads.

Thanks for stopping by today!