Rainbow Folk Hummingbird

Hello everyone!  Well, I didn't get to do as much in my stamp room this week as I'd hoped.  Sometimes there are just too many other things that come up... you know how that goes.  The week is not over, but the rest of the days are full.  However, I did manage to color something and, gosh, it sure does look bright.

 

The stamp set is Pinkfresh Folk Hummingbird -- just something I came across and loved when I was scrolling through the Pinkfresh site.  I stamped the flowers directly, but the hummingbird was cut with the coordinating die and popped up.  The flowers were watercolored with Stampin' Up! inks and the bird was colored with Tombow markers and my homemade blender solution.

The frame is just two Tombow marker colors -- a lime green and sort of a tropical blue scribbled onto a large acrylic block, spritzed with water, and then the frame was smooshed into it repeatedly.

I made this card with a number of challenges in mind:

• Double D - Birds.  Can be birds, bird nests, birdhouses, bird cages.  Bird stamps and dies are one of my many weaknesses.
• Colorful Options - Pretty Pink.  I tried to use more pink, but it just didn't look right, so I'm hoping my hummingbird represents a rainbow of color, which is the other option.
• Four Seasons - May Spring Challenge.  I believe this looks like spring.
• NBUS Challenge #38.  First time to ink up this Folk Hummingbird set.  Thank you for the challenge, Darnell!

I'm not good at playing multiple challenges, so this is a lot for me.

I sure do appreciate your visit and comments.  I know blogger has been eating a lot of comments lately and that's a sad thing because we all want to know when our friends stop by.  Wishing you good health and happiness!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Folk Hummingbird  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, other white for card base  Ink:  Palette Noir (image), Memento Tuxedo Black (sentiment)  Coloring:  SU inks for watercolored flowers, Tombow markers and homemade blender for bird  Other:  Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Wildflower Bunch

Welcome to a new week here at Running With Scissors!  I hope all the lovely mothers out there received the special treatment you deserve on Mother's Day.  It was a very nice day at the Miller house and I was not neglected.  I even got extra smooches from Wally and LuLu.

I'm hoping to play in some challenges this week.  Today's card is for the Four Seasons May Challenge which is "Anything Goes Spring".  There's a mood board which you can see further down, and it inspired me to finally color this never-been-used Deep Red Wildflower Bunch.  I don't know if these can be considered spring flowers, but they sure are pretty!

I chose Copics on Neenah white for the coloring as I felt it would be easier with the detail.  There's a lot of sketchy shading in this stamp, which is one of the things that makes it so pretty once colored, but it can be hard to follow if the image is not crisply stamped.  Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah super smooth white gives a nice, crisp image.

I'm not sure a close up photo is value added, but an extra dose of pretty can't hurt... so here you go:

I mixed up different dies which are all listed in the recipe.  The circle is popped up.  The white fence in the inspiration photo led me to the white die cuts.  I have a weakness for lattice so I used one of my old favorites.

Four Seasons May Challenge - Anything goes spring

NBUS Challenge #38 -- My Wildflower Bunch is a first time use.  I believe it's been in the basket less than a year, so not as long as many of my other poor, neglected NBUS.

Enjoy yourselves this week and I hope you find plenty of reasons to smile.  Sending hugs to all!

Stamps:  Deep Red Wildflower Bunch, Lawn Fawn Wavy Sayings  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80 & 110 lb, years old CTMH Summer Cloud Blue  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Joy Crafts Square Frame, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, Lawn Cuts Fancy Wavy Banners, Scotch branch foam mounting tape

California Poppies

Friday greetings, friends!  Today's card will wrap up the Rubbernecker for this week.  Next week, if stamping happens (and I'm pretty sure it will) I'll do something different.  However, I still have another week of Rubbernecker to share later.  I know!  I let things pile up, but this idea of sorting my NBUS by company and staying focused on one company at a time has really helped make a difference in the overflow of those baskets.

Today I'm using Poppies, which was another clearance item.  I did not have any sweet little poppies like this so was happy to add them to my collection.  They're  colored very simply with Tombow markers and blender.  The sentiment is also Rubbernecker, but one I've had for many years.

I did outside the box die cutting, then popped up and tied the ribbon.  Feeling good about using that ribbon.  No big bulky bow to hinder mailing, so this works for me.  The card base is vanilla on vanilla, with the layer partially embossed.

I'll be sharing my poppies at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #38 again today.  Pretty sure I'll never run out of NBUS no matter how hard I try!

I'll also share again at Can You Handle The Pressure?  I did not use the optional "pastels" twist, but the embossing is a prominent part of the card.  I really appreciate how this challenge has nudged me toward my embossing folders more often.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Enjoy your weekend!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Poppies, RN Just Because sentiment  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor, Cougar 100 lb vanilla, pale green Bazzill  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Tombows and blender pen  Other:  Gingham ribbon, linen thread, Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls embossing folder, miscellaneous rectangle die, foam mounting tape

Fox with Hearts and Flowers

They say "to plant a tree is to believe in tomorrow", and I figure the same goes for making Valentines in May.  Purple Valentine hugs.

Continuing with the Rubbernecker cards, I'm using another of the fox critters I colored in April.  It was their first time out of the package and before I put the set away I colored the whole bunch with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits.  The heart paper is 110 lb printed cardstock, a nice weight for a simple card, and I had just the right shade of purple for the die.

Inside is a friendship sentiment from the Fox set, with the addition of a Valentine sentiment from an older SU set.  I decorated with more of the heart paper.

No challenges today.  Just me stamping.  I gave the foxes a good run and I'm happy about that.  Flowers coming Friday.  I hope to see you then!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Fox Set, SU Holiday Wishes (Valentine sentiment inside)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White for coloring, Park Lane 110 lb printed cardstock, Memory Box Wisteria  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits  Dies & other:  Poppy Scribble Daisy Heart Frame, Poppy Hugs Heart

Pastel Bird

Hi!  I'm back with another week of Rubbernecker.  I've seriously been having fun with these stamps.  Honestly, what gets into us that makes us wait so long to use our purchases?  You might be the rare person who gets right on them, but I know I'm not alone in my habits.  I'm trying to change my ways.

Today my Rubbernecker is in the sentiment and the dreamy background.  I've had the sentiment and leaves for a while, but the flower is relatively new and not used till now.  I don't do much with silhouette stamps, so I danced around this one for a while and then I found my way.

The background is the Versamark resist technique.  I stamped on glossy white cardstock with Versamark ink, let it set for a day while I was busy doing other things, then came back and blended the inks over top.  The pastel shades gave me a very soft and delicate background for the Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch, which is also being used for the first time.  Colors and other details are listed in the recipe below my signature.

Two challenges today:

Can You Handle the Pressure?  Card must use an embossing folder, and their optional twist this time is pastels.  I embossed the entire Blush Blossom card with a Wicker Weave folder, then swiped the front with a white pigment pad to make the color even more soft and sweet.

I'm also sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge #38 because my Rubbernecker flower and the bird & branch die set are first time use.

I'll be back soon.  Happy crafting!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Smiles and Thinks of You sentiment, Silhouette Flower #4, Rubbernecker Leaves (name?)  Paper:  Glossy white, textured semi-gloss white, SU Blush Blossom, Neenah 110 lb white for bird and branch  Ink:  Versamark, SU Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, white pigment ink (to lighten card base), Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment  Dies:  Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles (image panel), Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets  Other:  Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder, gold cord

Cozy Christmas Cottage

Hello all!  I know you're just dying to see another Christmas card, aren't you?  Okay, maybe not, but I saw the Double D Challenge asking for buildings and wanted to play, so did the wise thing and made another Christmas card for my box.  The days scoot by so quickly and the next thing you know I realized if I don't post it this week I'll be too late.  I have to say this one was pretty fun.

Ordinarily I try to follow the inspiration board more closely, but not so much this time.  My little house is a building.  That's about it.  The whimsical scene was created with several dies, none of which are new, but I'll list them further down.  I was concerned about the weight with the layers, but when all was said and done it came in under an ounce, even with the envelope and cover sheet -- yay!

Double D Challenge:  Buildings

I have to rush off now.  Honestly, things come up out of the blue and I never know what to expect.  We've got the sewer guy coming today (in fact I just heard him pull up), the ant man finally called to schedule, and Rich has the kitchen and dining room pulled apart to install new baseboards.  When it rains it pours!  Enjoy your day!

Dies:  Poppystamps Boddington Cottage, Stitched Landscapes, Stitched Majestic Mountains, Impression Obsession Christmas Icons (snowman) and Small Snowflake Set

White Stag

Hooray, I finally made some Christmas cards!  I set all other stamping aside so I could make a batch of relatively simple cards inspired by the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.  Their board is all gold and silver and we're not required to follow it, but I chose to do so.

There's lots of white and shine on these cards.  I textured the card base with an embossing folder, layered an old timey Spellbinders mat over that.  The wreath is a layer of silver and a layer of gold with the stag a glossy white over black to help him stand out.  A single gold gem for accent.  The wreath is rather plain, but when you're making multiples...

The inside is finished with a gold embossed sentiment and a silver deer.

I made six of these cards.  It's a start!

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge... and their beautiful mood board:

I was afraid I might not get this posted in time for the challenge because it's so easy to get distracted when the sun shines.  We had three sunny days and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

Wishing you a good day.  Till soon...

 

Stamps:  Woodware Framed Trees sentiment front, Power Poppy Heavenly Peace Dove sentiment inside  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 lb, silver and gold mirror cardstock, glossy white, black  Ink:  Versamark  Dies:  Cottage Cutz Majestic Deer, Sizzix Funky Wreaths, Spellbinders Fancy Framed Tags One, Spellbinders Labels Twenty Eight, Dee's Distinctively Deer 2 (inside)  Other:  Sizzix Lumber 3D embossing folder, gold gems, Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder

Coffee

Hi!  I've got one more Rubbernecker card this week.  I know... enough already... but I did enjoy myself.  I even have more RN cards for later, but at the moment I'm working on something else.  Not sure how well that's going...

So... today it's a coffee card.  The sentiment is new to me, but probably not new to Rubbernecker.  The coffee cup stamp is also Rubbernecker, but an oldie and I don't even know the name of it.  I don't know why I thought I needed the coffee sentiment seeing as how I have practically zero coffee stamps, but I like this one.  It sounds like an Irish blessing.

The stamps are embossed with copper EP.  The caramel background was dry embossed and then swiped over with a white pigment ink pad.  It reminds me of the swirls in a fancy latte by a skilled barista.  A border of ancient designer paper, a hand cut glitter mat, and some Nuvo pearl drops finish it off.

That's all for this week.  Oh, wait... one last thing:

Still as precious as ever.  Love to all.

Stamps:  Rubbernecker May Your Coffee sentiment and Rubbernecker coffee cups (name unknown)  Paper:  Neenah 110 lb, SU Creamy Caramel & Purely Pomegranate, copper glitter cardstock, old SU designer paper, vanilla card base not visible  Ink:  Versamark, white pigment  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Copper embossing powder, Nuvo Crystal Drops - Rhubarb Crumble, Cuttlebug Musical Flourish embossing folder