more pastel plus graphic

Did you see my sympathy card with a rainbow bridge theme? If you've made die cut rainbows before, you know that if you cut colored cardstock to make your rainbow (you can cut white and color it but I didn't think of that in time!) you end up with a lot of rainbows. And when you create the one you were aiming to make (in my case, with more blue for the sympathy card) you end up with leftovers that make some rainbows that follow the ROYGBIV order, like card #1 and some that end up being  more fantasy, like card #2.

Meet card #1. 

 Simon Says Stamp Plank Background

Simon Says Stamp Smile die

MFT Dienamics Rainbow

washi

And card #2.

 Simon Says Stamp Plank Background

Simon Says Stamp Be die
Simon Says Stamp Happy die
Simon Says Stamp Solar Burst stencil

MFT Dienamics Rainbow

WPlus9 Clouds/Heart

For these birthday cards, I stamped the Plank Background background stamp in black and sliced the panel on the diagonal. I stamped it again in yellow on the card bases so it would line up with the sliced panels.

On #2 I also applied yellow ink over the Solar Burst stencil over the stamped background to imitate the sun peeking out behind the rainbow! See?

 Again I was inspired by The Card Concept challenge for these clean and layered cards.

Plank Background is a STAMPtember release by Simon Says. I missed the big STAMPtember party but  you can check out all the SSS goodies as well as their collaborations with other stamp companies here!

I'm also playing at:
Seize the Birthday - Die Cuts or Punches
Happy Little Stampers - September AG with Dies

The Paper Players - #411 (#1)

pastel rainbow bridge

A friend lost her best buddy, her four-legged hiking partner, so I revisited this design to create a sympathy card with a rainbow bridge theme.

 Simon Says Stamp Plank Background

Technique Tuesday So Sorry sentiment

MFT Dienamics Rainbow

WPlus9 Clouds/Heart

washi

alphabet stickers

I was inspired by the current challenge at The Card Concept to use the cool background stamp called Plank Background that was released this STAMPtember by Simon Says. I missed the big STAMPtember party but  you can check out all the SSS goodies as well as their collaborations with other stamp companies here!

I'm also playing at:
Happy Little Stampers - September AG with Dies

The Paper Players - #411

simon says stamp diamond pattern - create a pattern 3

Thanks, Simon, for sending me a Diamond Pattern background stamp from the new release, Friendly Frolic, to play with. Continuing my search to see what I could come up with in terms of patterns, I came up with this idea to fill those empty spaces. This time with more stamped images.

SSS Diamond Pattern stamp

Sweet Stamp Shop Sparkle and Shine stamp
MFT border die
WPlus9 hello die
Lifestyle Crafts diamond die

Prismacolor colored pencils

Heat embossed the diamond pattern with sparkly powder. Stamped some solid sequins and embossed them too. Stamped the jewels and embossed with silver powder. Colored the jewels. And since I definitely had a sparkly, jewel thang going on, I die cut a sparkly border and sentiment and popped the sentiment onto a diamond shaped die cut!

Bling, bling!

Hope you've enjoyed my makes with this simple BG stamp. Check out the Simon Says Stamp blog for all the products in this release and tons of inspiration too. Thanks for visiting.

I'm playing at:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - AG
Just Add Ink - Twist (I've combined a BG stamp and small stamps to create my original background)

guest designing at cas on friday

I'm joining the talented ladies over at CAS on Friday today for this fortnight's challenge which is "Tag It". I decided to use a tag along with the spotlight technique for this wedding card for a friend's daughter.

Altenew Sketchy Floral stamp

WPlus9 Timeless Tags die

Ellen Hutson Congrats die

Altenew inks - Blush, Grapevine, Paper Bag, Deep Iris

So this wonderful stamp does nearly all the work for you. And as lovely as it looks colored, it's also pretty amazing in B/W, especially with a small portion colored for interest. I used Altenew inks and my water brush.

And take that interest up a notch by popping it up a notch. I stamped the image onto CS and die cut the tag shape, then adhered it with foam tape in the appropriate spot. I added a sentiment die cut from rose gold foil CS. On the inside I stamped the bride and groom's names (with this great alpha set) and a strip of washi.

I chose my colors from the Pantone Quietude palette over at Ellen Hutson.

Thanks for having me, CAS on Friday. I hope you'll play along. Happy weekend!

tags for 25 days of christmas - part 4

Well I went and missed the deadline, but here are four more tags to top my neighbor gift Christmas card sets. Inspired by Tracey M's 25 Days of Christmas Tags. So much inspiration in gallery to check out if you haven't yet.

For Day 21 with Uniko I was inspired by Bev's simple but oho red tag and Tracey's holly leaves.

WPlus9 Timeless Tags, MFT Hand Lettered Holiday

MFT Tag, STAMPlorations Layered Holly, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

For Day 22 with STAMPlorations maybe it's not surprising that I was inspired to make two tags - first inspired by Lynne's, then Tracey's.

 STAMPlorations Luggage Tag and Christmas Flower, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

(Used Gansai Tambi watercolors to color it, shading where the darker areas of the image are. Easy Peasy!!)

MFT Tag, Charlie und Paulchen Kleiner Weihnachtsgruss, Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

I'm taking this last one over to Addicted to Stamps and More - notice the deer peeking in at the right side of the photo? Once again, thanks for the wonderful inspiration from Tracey and all her guests!

tags for 25 days of christmas tags - part 2

Another break from Christmas card sets to bring you three more tags I made to go on the wrapping of my neighbor gift Christmas card sets and what luck that Tracey M's 25 Days of Christmas Tags is happening right now.

So without further ado, here are my tags.

For Day 12 with Lawn Fawn I was totally inspired by Nichol's wreaths and had to run right out and make one just like it, right down to the black gingham ribbon. This one's gonna go on my Fa La La set of Christmas cards.

Papertrey Rustic Wreath, MFT Beautiful Bows, WPlus 9 Timeless Tags

For Day 13 with Neat and Tangled I combined Elena's plaid-bottomed-tag and Lindsey's colored angel for my tag.

STAMPlorations Luggage Tag die, N &T Little Angel

For Day 18 with Avery Elle, Michele had me at wreath. I made this to accompany my gnomes card set.

Papertrey Tag Sale 4 die, Avery Elle Winter Wreaths stamp and die

Three more tomorrow then it's back to card sets. Thanks for the wonderful inspiration Tracey!

happy world card making day!

Two fun facts for "our breed"...

World Card Making Day has been around for 11 years!

World Card Making Day was created by Paper Crafts magazine!

Whoddathunkit?

I'm stoked to be part of the festivities today over at Simon Says Stamp, celebrating the "World" part of World Card Making Day. You may or may not know that I'm a Michigan gal who's been living in Germany for almost 30 years. Came for a job, stayed for a guy ;)

I've made two cards that I think represent two "typical" Christmas card styles you would find in Germany. The first is graphic and modern. And made with non-Christmas supplies, BTW.

Supplies: 

Altenew Bold Alphabet die
Honey Bee Brush Grunge Alpha stamp

I did use some Christmas PP. And added a tiny Christmas tree from STAMPlorations Trendy Christmas Trees to reinforce the sentiment.

My second card reflects the never-ending German infatuation with all things Scandinavian. I did use Christmas stamp sets for this one, but kept it very Scandinavian simple.

Supplies:

WPlus9 Pretty Patches Tree stamp
Winnie and Walter Winter Woodland stamp

In case you were wondering, you find "Merry Christmas" on many items in Germany. If you live in a non-English-speaking country I'd love to hear if people use "Merry Christmas" in your country too!

There's a big ol' lineup of designers sharing holiday cards if you're up for a virtual trip around the world. Check it out over at the Simon Says Stamp blog. Better yet, hook up your own holiday card for a chance to win a $50 GC to the store or a year's subscription to Scrapbook & Cards Today!

Or you can hit the next destination on the trip directly by visiting the amazingly talented Vicky Papaioannou's blog.

Thanks to Simon for having me. Thanks to YOU for stopping by. Hope you're getting your craft on today too.

I'll leave you with a parting shot of our Mainz Christmas market...

source: inkwire

slow-blogging or fast-blogging?

I've a card for you today, cuz that's what I do, but before I get to it I've got something on my mind.

If you're reading this post, chances are you're a blogger too. And chances are you've asked yourself this question. Are blog readers becoming extinct?

If you're a blogger AND a blog reader, you'll definitely want to read this post I stumbled across. It's why we read blogs. For the good stuff like this post "The Death of Blog Comments".

I'm pretty new at it but loving Instagram - all those pretty pics - but I'm not contemplating giving up the blog. Yet. Though I've seen some are doing that, going strictly IG. Fast-blogging. Cuz slow-blogging does take more time.

But I enjoy binging on your blog posts. And I assume you like reading mine.

Therein lies the potential problem. One should never "assume" anything, remember. Do you actually read my posts? We'll see ;) So a request for my readers today. All seven of you.

Why do you come here? What do you like about my blog? What don't you like/need?

Do you come here only for the photos? Would you like more? Do you actually read my paragraphs about what the steps were and supplies I used? Are step by steps necessary or just tips about the tricky stuff? Do you like the personal stuff? Since you're the ones reading my blog, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

So did anyone come here looking for a card?!? First some (more) words. See, this is why I slow-blog, so I can blab to you about my cardmaking process ;) The onslaught of beautifully colored flowers in cardmakingland lately finally moved me to get out some flower stamps and some markers. Zig clean color brush pens to be exact. And face my demons. Cuz I can't color like the pros. And the demons won. Meet my card.

 I was inspired by the sketch at Seven Hills Crafts and the colors at House of Cards.

Used Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquet Ranunculus and Hello die, which are wonderful. As is the sparkly embossing powder. My watercoloring, not.

But. I'm not giving up. Come back tomorrow for my next attempt with the Zigs. And have a great weekend. I really do appreciate your coming by here. Let's hope slow-blogging might go the way of slow-food...

And that President Trump will slow it down a little before hitting "Tweet"...

layered CAS

Howdy. Sharing a "clean and layered" card today I made at DD's request. "For a horsey gal" was the only tip she gave me. Infatuated with The Card Concept's inspiration photo, I did this.

Went with the colors of those peonies, added some gold with the leaves, the gold embossed sentiment and the die cut up top, and brought in the black in the form of the sentiment snippet and those hoof tracks! Not my standard way to make a cool B/W pattern, but I think it works!

Lots of layers here thanks to masking and stamping. Even brought in some stamp kissing (the stripes on the "m") and watercoloring (dabbing at the rose center with a wet brush to soften up the ink).

Have to share this... I was just tickled when I was looking for a scrap for "girl" and found that little one with the portion of a gold heat embossed/watercolored leaf on it. Recognize it (ha ha)? It's a leftover from this card that's literally been collecting dust on my workspace. I think it makes this card with that touch of teal! Well, it and that cool gold leopeard print acetate (new to me).

Supplies:
Stamps - rose (Viva), m (Technique Tuesday), horse hooves (Stabenfeldt), birthday (PTI), girl (Stampendous)
Inks - Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks, Delicata gold, Memento black
Die - hello (Technique Tuesday), cloud (WPlus9)
Acetate - We R Memory Keepers

I'm playing at:
Penny Black and More - Anything Goes
Craft Stamper - Take it Make it January Anything Goes
Card Mania #88 - Layer it (I've layered mostly stamps, but some snippets too!)
Danipeuss Kartenchallenge #034 alles neu
A Blog Named Hero - January

MMCC #26

This month at the Mixed Media Card Challenge the theme is sure to please - Rainbow!

Now my card may not be real mixed media-y, but I used stamps (ok, one) and ink and have texture and dimension and technique for ya! Want to see how I used dies to achieve it?

First off I raided my leftovers to find ROYGBIV color scraps. Die cut them with MFT Rainbow die. Die cut small cloud from white CS with WPlus9 Hearts and Cloud die. Then I used the cloud dies to deboss - once onto a black cardbase and once onto a white CS panel that I'd stamped my PTI Hello Sunshine sentiment on. Simple but with a little oomph!

Please take a look at the rainbow-y beauties the DT created and then join us in the gallery with your over the rainbow creation!

mix it up - take one

Have you seen the current Mix It Up at the CLASSroom over at Ellen Hutson? It's time to pair Essentials by Ellen and Neat and Tangled products. What a great match. Here's what I did.

Well, first I saw the Little Tangles inspiration photo. Then I made my card.

My brain was already at Lake Huron (where I am now) and the upcoming Port Huron to Mackinac sailboat race. When I saw those umbrellas lined up I saw sails. So out came some striped PP and a WPlus9 die.

I watercolored aqua stripes and then stamped over them with spritzed Broken China ink using Neat and Tangled's On the Strip. My sentiment is from Essentials by Ellen Bold Blooms. A strip of green washi on the cardbase is a nod to the grass in the inspiration.

I'm also joining the fun at:
Challenge Up Your Life - Watercolor

I've got another card coming soon. Funny story behind it... Thanks for visiting.

and more fish

But this is the last. I promise ;)

Here are the last cards I made with the stamped panel I created for this card. This version is probably my favorite/standard design for randomly stamped backgrounds. Just give it a heat embossed sentiment (from Mia's Stempelkueche) on a contrasting color and voila! I actually added a bit of Tim Holtz Mixed Media die cut too. And dry embossed the stamped panel with Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle die.

Went for a twofer with the last panel. Sliced it in half diagonally and added PTI Happy die cuts, accompanied with a stamped or a sticker sentiment. The netting BG stamp is CHF.

Sure enjoyed working with WPlus9 Fish More - it's a set you really should have in your arsenal ;)

I'm taking these cards to:
Cards in Envy - No Girls Allowed
Lawnscaping - Off Kilter

Craft Stamper - Take it Make it June - Let's Get Inky

more fish

More of those fish comin' at ya today. From the 8 1/2 x 11 panel I stamped with WPlus9 Fish More. I've made two more cards inspired by sketches.

Recognize the sketch? It's this week's CAS(E) this sketch! I added a Winnie Walter Thanks die cut.

And this is using Freshly Made Sketches #239.

I cut the stamped panel with Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle die and added WPlus9 Nautical Notions sailboat. Heat embossed my PTI Keep it Simple Birthday sentiment. My color scheme is from ColourQ.

Thanks for looking!