Beautiful Blossoms Dec 2023

Hi friends! Welcome to The Beautiful Blossoms Dec. 2023 Challenge where we love all things floral. I've made 2 cards, very similar but not quite the same.

Here is our lovely inspiration photo:

I was inspired by the pine cones. I knew I had a Sizzix Thinlit #666067 called Holiday Brushstroke #3 which I haven't had a chance to use yet. I just cut it from red, green and yellow card stock in my stash for a pleasing design.

The pine cones were die cut from Honey Bee Winter Bouquet Honey Cuts out of brown card stock and ink blended a deeper brown around the edges.

The 2 background panels are retired, one from A Jillian Vance Designs and one from MFT Stamps. I layered them over gold glitter card stock.

The sentiments are from my stash, one is foiled and one is stamped in brown and sprinkled with clear embossing powder.

I tried to capture the pretty gold peeking through the dots.

Easy cards to make, but I think they are eye-catching!

Thank you for stopping by, staying to the end and I hope we will see your lovely work at the Beautiful Blossoms Challenge!

I will also be submitting my card to NBUS Challenge for as I mentioned the Holiday Brushstroke #3 is new to me.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

HLS Stencil Challenge

It's December 2023 and as I write this blog, sadly, I understand it will be the last month for the Happy Little Stampers Challenges. The challenge will close indefinitely.

For my last design team card, I choose A Colorful Life Designs Marvelous Masks Deckled Rectangles Stencil. I used the smallest size and ink blended 3 windows with Ranger Ink's Distress Oxides colors: Twisted Citron, Spun Sugar and Salvaged Patina.

Our cuddly little cats and dog are from MFT Stamps Peace Love & Paws with coordinating dies which, as I look now, appear to be retired. I used this MFT set many times. Just love these guys.

Colored with Olo alcohol markers which I am also enjoying for their ease of use.

The sentiment is from Altenew - Happy Holidays which has great versatility!

Thank you for joining us for our last month of a stencil challenge...Have a wonderful holiday and best wishes to all!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Happy 5th Birthday Paper Funday

Happy 5th Birthday to The Paper Funday Challenge!

We are celebrating with giveaways....

I created this card with a stenciled/watercolor project gone bad. Never throw out your mistakes for they can be die cut and turned into something good! I used MFT Stamps Big Birthday Wishes Die-namic for this card. The great thing about a die like this is that you can make 2 cards using the positive and negative. Today I only made one. Shocking, I know!

The balloon die also comes from a retired MFT set called Balloon Besties.

The background is from Concord & 9th - Stitched Stripe Card Front Die.

I love the blues with silver stars!

Happy 5th Birthday Paper Funday and I hope you have many more!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Christmas Hearts

It's December and always a special time of year. I enjoy The Paper Funday Challenges for there is always something fun and unique:

The sponsor I choose this month was Jan's Digi Stamp Shop and the digital image called Caroling:

You know I always make at least 2 cards! That is because 2 digital images fit on one 8.5" X 11" watercolor paper. For the first card both the sentiment and images are from the digital set, but for the second card I used my own sentiments from a Simon Says Stamps Stamptember 2022 set by La-La-Land called Fabulous Holiday (no longer available).

As always, I printed the images with my laser printer onto Ranger Ink's Tim Holtz Water Color Card Stock - the smooth side since I was coloring faces. I don't like the bumpy side for faces.

I colored both cards with my Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers except for the fur - I used Altenew's Metallic Watercolor 14 Pan Set.

I debated about turning these into "lighted" cards with Pear Blossom Lights, but felt they would be too thick to mail without a lot of extra postage. Of course, they would be perfect to give the card in person with a gift.

The die cut stitched edge is from Pretty Pink Posh's Stitched Torn Rectangles Dies. I like not only the torn edge look, but the stitching, too.

Thanks for joining me today and thank you to Jan's Digi Stamps for being our generous sponsor and gifting us with this wonderful image and sentiment!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Beautiful Blossoms with Altenew

Hello my friends and welcome to November 2023 Beautiful Blossom Challenge where florals are always the focal point:

Here is our gorgeous inspiration photo for this month - not required to use, but sure is a good "jumping off" place!

I made 4 cards with Altenew's Beautiful Day Stamp Set. This is an older set that I reach for over and over. It makes perfect "almost" one-layer cards. Here I was inspired by the inspiration photo and used those colors.

I have been loving Ranger Ink's Distress White Heavystock Paper and have been using it for card fronts and card bases. Makes for a really nice sturdy card and can handle inks, sprays, pastes, etc. so well.

For my cards I used mostly Altenew's Crisp Dye Inks. The base was always the lightest layer and then got progressively darker. 

Here they are by Altenew color unless otherwise noted:

Pink:                                                    Blue:

1) Pink Diamond                                      1) Sea Breeze

2) Ruby Red                                            2) Tide Blue

3) Catherine Pooler Rockin' Red                3) Desert Night

4) Obsidian Black Pigment Ink                  4) Obsidian Black Pigment Ink

Yellow:                                                Orange:

1) Simon Says Stamp Lemonade                1) Marigold

2) Simon Says Stamp Sunbeam                 2) Autumn Blaze

3) Simon Say Stamp Citrine                       3) Firebrick

4) Obsidian Black Pigment Ink                    4) Obsidian Black Pigment Ink

Leaves:

Moss, Forest Glades & Evergreen

This is a layered stamp with 4 separate stamps to make one flower. Very easy to line up and if it isn't perfect, it doesn't matter! It's just fun to get out the acrylic blocks and just plain stamp for a change.

I used some Ranger Ink Stickles in gold for the center of the flowers and the stamens.

The Thank you sentiments are from various retired sets: The Stamp Market and Reverse Confetti.

Well that is it for today and thanks for staying to the end. Come join us - the challenge runs for approximately 1 month and we look forward to seeing your work!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

HLS Car Show

Hi my friends and welcome to the Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge Nov. 2023. A month long challenge where "Anything Goes" as long as a stencil is included!

This was the birthday card I made for my husband who is an avid car fan. When I saw these 3 sets from Honey Bee Stamps I knew they'd be perfect for him:

1) Honey Bee Stamps - You're a Classic - the sentiment and emblem;

2) Honey Bee Stamps - Car Show - the $100,000 '63 Corvette Split Window Coupe (or so I am told!);

3) Honey Bee Stamps - Flames Stencil & Mask (Set of 2);

4) Honey Bee Stamps - Car show dies (I didn't use them but nice to have).

I used 3 colors of yellow inks by Simon Says Stamp and one is a bit more orange for the flames. I have trouble finding good yellows and I do like these 3 in particular for ink blending. After that, I simply stamped the car, sentiment and emblem on the front with Altenew's Obsidian Black Pigment Ink, my all time favorite ink. I use it for everything, but be aware you have to let it dry a bit or it will smudge. But it's worth it for the nice crisp black stamp color.

The inside has a personal note, so I won't show it here, but if you have a car lover in your life, these are good sets to have! Thank you for joining me today and break out your stencils and join us!!!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Newton's Nook Cluck

Happy November 2023! I know we always say this, but where did the time go? It's now time for November's Paper Funday Challenge where Anything Goes! The sponsor I choose this month is Newton's Nook and their set called Cluck is well-loved in my craft room...I have both the stamp set and coordinating die:

I've made 3 birthday cards for this post: All stamped onto Ranger Ink Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Card Stock with Altenew's Obsidian Black Ink and heat embossed with Altenew's Crystal Clear Crisp Embossing Powder. They are watercolored with a mix of 2 watercolor sets I keep at my desk at work for lunchtime watercoloring: Altenew's 36 pan watercolor set and The Stamp Market's Color Crush Watercolor Palette. 

For this card, I cut a circle in Tim Holtz Distress HeavyWeight Card Stock. I just bought a pack of 50, since I love this card stock so much! It is 130 lb. and colors beautifully. I've ink blended on it, used alcohol markers and watercolored, too! I am making all of my card bases from it now for I love the weight.

Anyway, I cut the circle, ran it through My Big Shot with Crafty Meraki's Pagoni Mania Meraki Para-Dies. I love the "flame look" and I think it gives movement, too.

Next I made a panel on copy paper with some small cuts of red, orange and yellow card stock. This panel I glued to another white panel of the Distress Heavyweight Card Stock and then ran the complete panel through again with the same cover die. Matched up the design and glued my die cut of the 3 chickens. Sounds more complicated than it is!

The one below is just a stencil from my stash and ink blended and splattered with water. I popped up the panel with foam and another layer of white cardstock. I bit more clean and simple.

This last one I used free with purchase pattern paper from Honey Bee Stamps. I seldom use paper but the color was perfect and the I like the wood design for a hen house.

Love Newton's Nook Designs and their fun snarky sentiments! Thanks for joining me today and let's see your creative work at The Paper Funday Challenge.

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.