Warm Holidays

Hi everybody! Hope your week has started off with a bang! Our weather is beautiful here in NC. The sun is shining and the temperature is in the high 60s, low 70s.

This is a very simple card I created over the weekend. It's one of my first Christmas cards created for the 2016 Christmas holiday.

The stamp and die set came from Gina K Designs and is called 'Tis The Sea-Sun. Gina had a tremendous release a week ago, and this was part of it. You ought to go check it out!

I thought this penguin was appropriate since I live near the beach (about 5 miles). The images were die cut and colored with Copic markers. There are two other penguins that go in this set who are warmly wrapped in winter hats and scarves.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Boo!

Hello everybody! How's your day coming along? Our weather has finally turned the corner, and the sun is shining. Goodbye Hurricane Matthew! Thankfully, everyone is safe & sound. No worries here.

Refusing to cave into boredom during the storm, I began creating more Halloween cards. Using my new Playful Patterns-Haunted paper pack from Taylored Expressions, I die cut a few different patterns and adhered them to my base, cut from Sizzix Stand-Up frame dies. (I know that was a long sentence but it told you everything you need to know for this card, didn't it? lol)

I love the patterns in this paper pack. It's my first time buying from Taylored Expressions, and I'm very happy with my purchase.

Below is another card I created using more products from them.

This card has more patterned paper from the same paper pack I used in the previous card. I'm not sure where the web came from but the embossed background was created using an embossing folder, also from Taylored Expressions. I colored some of them black so they would make more of an impression.

The sentiment used and images used on both of these cards came from the stamp set at Gina K Designs called Wicked.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Happy Halloween!

Hello everybody! Hope you're safe and dry! I'm waiting on Hurricane Matthew, expected to hit later tonight and into tomorrow, as well as the next day. Living in the Carolina's among the East Coast is at times a risk. I've done all I can to prepare, so now I wait.

Can't just sit here without making a card! I've had this stamp set, Happy Scenes, from Stampin Up! for about a year and have lately been anxious to use it. I also have the Hearth & Home Framelits Dies to go with it. That's how I cut out the window. The patterned paper is from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. I colored the scene with Zig watercolor markers and Copics.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

You've Got A Friend

Hi everybody! Finally, we're at Challenge #4 for Stamp TV's World Card Making Challenges. For this one, we're to use a stenciled background. It's been a while since I pulled out a stencil, but I always enjoy it when I play around with them to see what I can do.

This stencil is from Gina K Designs, and I used her ink in various Fall colors to go along with the trees in the main image, including Faded Brick, Fresh Asparagus, Honey Mustard, and Prickly Pear. This piece was layered onto green cardstock.

I thought I had not gotten this card done in time for the World's Card Making Challenge's deadline, but due to technical difficulties on the site, Gina extended the day and time it's due. YAY! I got all four cards done for the four World Card Making Day Challenges. Now, we'll see if I can get anymore cards created before this next deadline.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Happy Holidays

Hi everybody! As promised, I'm back with the card I made for Stamp TV's World Card Making Day Challenge #3. This one was the most fun to create.

We were supposed to use unusual colors for a Christmas card. Well, I hadn't even started to think about Christmas cards yet because I still have to finish Halloween and Thanksgiving cards! Oh well, I wanted to play in the Challenge, so I dug through some Christmas kits I had from last year and even the year before. Voila! Found one I could use.

The background of this piece of Foil-Mates with the snowflakes was inked with Bubblegum Pink ink from Gina K Designs.  Then I stamped the image in black and colored the booties (socks?) and scarf in hot pink. That was die cut into an oval shape and then layered with black before adding to the background. All that was layered onto black again and then adhered to the pink base cardstock.

This was the last card I got done before the midnight deadline on Sunday, but Monday morning I made another card for #4 Challenge.What can I say but I'm slow! It's all the thinking about perfection that makes me create at a snail's pace. Ha! That's funny.

Thank you for stopping by (again) today. I appreciate your comments and visits today, and I hope to see you again real soon ~ #4 is coming next!

With Love

Hi everybody! I decided to post the rest of the cards I made for the World Cardmaking Day Challenge at Gina K Designs' Stamp TV.

For this card, Challenge #2, I followed the directions to use foiled background and sentiment. It was created by using a Foil-Mates piece of cardstock with the design on it and Rainbow Foil. Before I ran it through the machine, I added Fossilized Amber and Carved Pumpkin inks (by Tim Holtz). You can kind of see the rainbow effect from the foil on the oval with the sentiment. I just happened to find that gold ribbon piece in my stash, and it matches perfectly! WooHoo!

I appreciate you stopping by today. Your comments and visits mean the world to me, and I hope to see you real soon ~ Challenge #3 and #4 are next!

Happy Fall!

Hi everybody! Hope you had a wonderful World Cardmaking Day! I  had hoped to post this yesterday on the actual day of celebration, but it just didn't happen. So, today is the next best thing, right?

For this card, I joined the World Cardmaking Day Challenge #1 at Gina K Designs Stamp TV. She posted Challenges all day for us to try for a $50 Gift Certificate win. I'm in!

Watching a video by Gina K, I created this background using the Carved Wood technique. You first use your scoring board to create the lines (every 1/2 inch), then you use ink pads (Kraft, Dark Chocolate) across the paper. After it dries, you emboss it with an embossing folder that has vines. Lastly, you swipe white or ivory (I used white because I didn't have ivory) ink across the embossed paper. Suddenly, the design of the embossing folder shows up!

For the images, I die cut pumpkins and a squirrel from the recent Give Thanks Stamp TV Kit and then adhered them to the embossed background. I popped up the squirrel with pop dots and added the sentiment across the top.

This was a fun Challenge to join. I had never tried the Carved Wood Technique with the embossed background. I was skeptical, I'll admit, but I'm happy with the result.

Before I close, I want to thank you for your support. My health comes & goes (today it's a go!) and I never know what's next, but this blog helps me to stay positive and move forward. Your support goes a long way with that.

I appreciate you stopping by today. Your comments and visits mean a lot to me, and I hope to see you again real soon ~ there are more challenges ahead from World Cardmaking Day!