altenew september challenge

Squeak. Squeak.

Squeaking in with an entry for the Altenew September Challenge. This is the inspiration. I went with the colors.

A girlfriend (who loves to read) is having a birthday today and I thought I'd make some bookmarks for her. Pulled out Papertrey's Half and Half die and cut three strips of Neenah white CS. Also cut PP strips to adhere to the reverse. Forgot to photograph the cuteness.

Stamped the first with Altenew Watercolor Wonders using SSS blues and Altenew reds and yellows. Then I stamped one with Winter Cardinal using Altenew reds. And the last was stamped with Aha Arts and Studio Calico (both designed by Ashley Goldberg I believe). All sentiments were heat embossed to give the bookmarks a little finger pleasure ;) Here's the set.

I'm taking these to the Altenew Ultimate Challenge blog hop too. Such fun to honor all those great challenges.

And I'm hooking up at Simon Says Stamp Wednedsday where it's Anything Goes this week.

Thanks for visiting. Have a fabulous weekend. It's gonna be grape harvest time for me!

first concord and 9th creation and giveaway reminder

A few Concord and 9th goodies came home with me this summer. Not really "celebration" related, which is the theme of the first challenge over at Where Creativity Meets C9. But I needed a fall birthday card for my neighbor to go with the Yankee Candle (Autumn Wreath "flavor" for those of you interested) I brought back as her present. So I improvised.

Recognize this stamp set? Did a little stamp surgery on Painted Thank You and heat embossed the "you" with glittery bronze embossing powder. I think that's pretty celebratory! The inside sentiment reads "have an amazing birthday". I stamped two feathers from Grateful, then filled in around them with little flowers and leaves using Distress Inks (Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmelade, Forest Moss and Fired Brick) which I spritzed with water before stamping.

A little Tumbled Glass added to the feathers and then splattered onto the panel finished things off. Oh and a couple Doodlebug enamel dots and a strip of Pebbles PP!

I'm playing at:
Mod Squad - Falling Leaves
Cards in Envy - Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall
Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday September - Red, Orange, Yellow and or Brown
Where Creativity Meets C9 - #1

Last but not least - I've got a giveaway happening in honor of my 1000th post over here if you're interested. There's still time to leave a comment ;)

spotlight on galaxy backgrounds

You've probably seen lots of galaxies being created around blogland lately. I'm adding my galaxy in today's Spotlight post over at STAMPlorations if you care to see how I made mine ;)

STAMPlorations inspiration #97

Back in the fashion mode today. Check out this photo from the ASOS catalog which inspired today's card for our STAMPlorations Inspiration post.

Couldn't resist pulling out STAMPlorations City Girl and a previously sprayed and splattered piece of cardstock and giving the model two different fashion looks. With some masking and Artsy Tribal Doodles I was able to give the B/W image stamped on the cardbase a Marimekko look. Then I stamped her onto the sprayed piece, trimmed a strip of it and adhered it over half of her. Strips of PP and washi in fabric-y looks finished up my design. I heat embossed the sentiment.

Hope you enjoyed. Check out the rest of the DTs lovely creations here and remember to leave a comment to be in the running for a GC. BTW, I have a giveaway to celebrate my 1000th post here if you're interested.

I'm playing at:
Cherrylana designs - #23

AAA challenge - #74

Addicted to CAS - #97 (since my theme is fashion there would be lots of stitching involved ;)

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday - August

pti september blog hop

It's that time of the month again! Papertrey Ink's blog hop time, that is. And I must admit when I first saw this photo I wasn't all that enthused. But it really grew on me. Really.  "modern nature" meets cinammon sticks!

And since it's coffee time of year, you know, the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop time courtesy of the lovely Amy T., please meet "modern nature" meets coffee.

Dies and stamps from Papertrey. Laurel Wreath die from Essentials by Ellen. Sentiment from STAMPlorations. PP from Fancy Pants. Basta.

Seems to me that coffee goes best with Fall :) Already made my first batch of this Pumpkin Spice Latte syrup! Enjoy the hop. I know I will.

fall coffee lovers blog hop - take one

Sharing my first coffee card with you today. Joining the fun at the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop along with a gazillion other coffee enthusiasts. Or cardmaking enthusiasts pretending to be coffee enthusiasts. At one cup per day, I kinda consider myself in the latter category. But don't tell Amy.

I had a marbling session a while back and this was the "plainest" specimen of the whole bunch. When I was looking at it I thought it looked like it could pass for steaming coffee. Enter the cup from STAMPlorations Sketchy Coffee Cups dressed up with a pattern from Artsy Border Maker and fussy cut. And then the sentiment from STAMPlorations Fond Expressions 2 caught my eye. Now, how perfect is that?

I adhered the mug with foam adhesive in the middle and matt medium around the edges. Gives it a nice curved dimension.

This card is on its way to one tough lady who has had one tough time. And to CAS Mix Up where this month it's about

I've got stamping, marbling, some die cutting and some heat embossing. Lots of beautiful projects in the gallery over there. Can't wait to see all the yummy fall coffee projects. See you in the lineup!

more altenew fun and giveaway

When making yesterday's card, I made a second one at the same time. Well, actually using up some extra pieces I'd punched. Trying to do this more often and it's quite fun. The second card tends to take on a life of its own, but it's still quicker than starting from scratch. Carson R.'s fabulous debut post as leading lady at Winnie and Walter inspired me to give this modus operandi a try.

Meet my second card.

I used some autumnal images from Thankful stamps from Essentials by Ellen (see GIVEAWAY below) and Striped Florals from Altenew. Go together nicely, don't they? One image is stamped in brown. Heat embossed a few images gold. Added some aqua Gansai Tambi messy watercolor and then punched squares.

My sentiment is a portion of Essentials by Ellen Many Thanks die cut from gold foil. The colors are truer in this next photo - and you can see the gold sparkle.

Arranged the squares in a wonky pattern this time and adhered them with a dab of matt medium. I'd added Delicata gold stripes to the cardbase prior using Papertrey Ink Watercolor Wonder. Again I was inspired by the Pin-Sights challenge over at Ellen Hutson.

I'm also joining the fun at:

Addicted to Stamps and More - #212 Make your Mark (I did. With watercolors)

Papertrey Make it Monday - #261 Using Florals on a Masculine project though I'm not so sure about the gold for a guy. Probably depends on the guy ;)

And the Ultimate Challenge blog hop sponsored by Altenew. 

GIVEAWAY!!!!!
Recently I wrote my 1000th blog post. Whoddathunkit? Well, because I'm so Thankful for you, my friends, coming by to say hi and keep me keeping on, I've got a Thankful stamp set for one of you. Leave me a comment on this post telling me what you're most thankful for right now.

I'm incredibly thankful to all of you for your support ♥. I'll announce the winner on Sept 30th.

MMCC #27 - reminder

CAS, fall harvest and aqua. That's what moved me to create today's card.

There's still time to join the Harvest Basket challenge at the MMCC September challenge. I've got splatters, heat embossing, watercoloring, embossing paste through a stencil and raised squares going on here. How's that for texture, dimension and technique?

I used some autumnal images from Thankful stamps from Essentials by Ellen and Striped Florals from Altenew. Don't they go together perfectly? I stamped a couple images in brown. Heat embossed a few images gold. Added some aqua Gansai Tambi messy watercolor and then punched squares.

My sentiment is incorporated into the design by using pearlescent embossing paste through STAMPlorations Hello and Co stencil onto a punched square which I then gave a wash of watercolor.

Arranged the squares in a pleasing pattern (using a t-ruler) and adhered them with foam adhesive. I'd added splatters of aqua to the cardbase prior. Cuz I was inspired by the Pin-Sights challenge over at Ellen Hutson.

I'm also joining the fun at:

The Paper Players #313 - CAS Fall

Addicted to Stamps and More - #212 Make your Mark (I did. With watercolors)

And the Ultimate Challenge blog hop sponsored by Altenew. Have you checked it out? 18 of our favorite challenges all hopping along with tons of inspiration.

STAMPlorations inspiration #96

Wow - #96. We're nearing 100 inspiration posts and I bet Shery will have something up her sleeve to celebrate! Hope we're still inspiring you too!

I was totally inspired by May Park's hip card for my card today. Bold layers/brush strokes of Gansai Tambi watercolors for the BG and a whimsical reindeer from Shirley's Christmas Reindeer for my focal point.

Added some splotches and splatters of gold watercolor and some gold embossing - including the sentiment from Oh Christmas Tree. And gave Rudolph a red sequin nose.

You can check out what the rest of the DT created here.

Check out these two fun challenges too. I'm taking my Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer there:
Happy Little Stampers Christmas - Song

Challenge up your Life - Inspired by Music

card set with altenew watercolor wonders

16:04. 6:39. 4:52. 5:44.

The time it took me to make cards one, two, three and four. Cuz I was in Watercolor Wonders mode. And I needed to make a set of cards for a girlfriend. And wanted to participate in the Pretty Pink Posh 10 Minute Craft Dash which is part of the Ultimate Challenge Blog Hop over at Altenew.

(I'm taking the two birthday cards over to Seize the Birthday too. Did you see the lovely cards the DT  created for the Ultimate hop?)

Ask my kids and they'll tell you one of my favorite Mom phrases is "Practice makes perfect."
CUZ IT'S TRUE!!! Don't believe me? Take a gander at those times again...

Meet card one. 16:04. The splatters were even added afterwards to fill the empty space up top!

DI - Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch

On this card, Tasnim stamped  and then used a paintbrush to apply water before stamping the next layer. So I did that too. Obviously time consuming cuz meet card two...

DI - Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon

OK, so here I had my sentiment on an acrylic block ready to go beforehand which saved time, but I switched my modus operandi. Only used the large layer stamp. Inked it pink, spritzed it with water and stamped. Partially inked it orange, spritzed and stamped. Then pink and stamped. Then the leaves. 6:39!

Feeling cocky, I decided to try two blooms. Meet card three.

DI - Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmelade, Festive Berries

And then card four.

DI - Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet; Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries

For three and four I inked up a layer, spritzed it, stamped and left it laying while I inked up the next layer and spritzed it. Pulled up the previous one and stamped the next. Yes, like a robot. But I even got some extra layers onto the leaves. I'm happy. And much friendlier with Watercolor Wonders now ;)

So friendly, that I made four more cards. For my stash! Finally following Jennifer McGuire's suggestion to make multiples while your supplies are out!  Have a great weekend.

CUTplorations christmas release blog hop - day 3

Welcome back for day 3 of our Christmas Release blog hop. If you missed the beginning (or are looking for the Flash Diecut Linky Party) you can find day 1 here. Remember to leave comments here and over at the STAMPlorations blog for your chance at some awesome prizes.

Today we are introducing some wonderful word dies, just perfect for creating Christmas projects. I love these things. Again today, I kept my projects simple and easy to recreate. I pulled out a couple STAMPlorations stamp sets. And I used up some PP stash! Sound good? Let's have a look.

Use fun color combo PP with a cute stamp for a fun feel...

using Santa is Here

Use traditional colors (red, gold or green) with more traditional stamped images for a more serious feel...

using Christmas Bells,  Sentiment Builders: Christmas & New Year and Oh Christmas Tree

using Joyful

Take it all up a notch by using gold pigment ink and gold CS for a more elegant feel ...

using Born to Roam and stars from the new Christmas Reindeer

Can you imagine how quick and easy the above designs would be to reproduce with a MISTI?!?!?!?! The most time consuming part is adding glue to the die cuts! TIP: add enamel dots OR some twine along the top edge OR dry emboss a frame into the cardbase if you want to add "something more" to the design.

The next card is a little bit more time consuming, but perfect for those friends who don't celebrate Christmas. I used the die to cut a foam stamp from craft foam and then randomly stamped my BG with pigment ink!

using Christmas Reindeer and Oh Christmas Tree

 Don't ya just love how a red bead is the perfect size for the reindeer's nose?

And finally, please meet the new ATC/Gift Card Envelope die. I cut it from kraft and stamped it. Topped it off with some baker's twine and a tiny tag.  This envie and its contents could be yours... just keep reading.

using Joyful and Christmas Reindeer

If you'd like to win the envie filled with the die cuts you see above (each word die I used in today's post cut 1x from PP and 1x from white) follow me on instagram and leave me a comment there telling me how you might use this envie die. I'll pick a winner from those comments on Sept 21!

Whew! That was a long one. But hop along. Check out what the rest of the team made! You'll find links to all our projects here. Thanks for coming by.