Blue Dahlia

Hello friends!  I'm playing along in a new challenge today -- Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #1.  Their very first!  It's anything goes with florals as the main theme, but they've provided a very inspiring mood board as a spark.  My card, which went to a special local friend for her birthday, features the same blue as the Beautiful Blossoms mood board.  You can see the board at the challenge link or at the end of my post.

This card has a lot going on.  I started with a designer paper base.  Over that I glued four Tutti Butterfly Corner(s) with their corners meeting in the center.  Then a square frame wrapped with designer paper.  Then all that onto the card base.  That's an oversimplification for sure.

A close up below...  The flower is an older Heartfelt Creations die that cuts many sizes all at once.  Each layer of petals was sponged with ink, then given two coats of ultra-thick embossing enamel.  The leaves are from a different die set.  The heart in the flower center is from the butterfly die.  Pearls for accent.  The Butterfly Corner(s) were layered for dimension and colored with a very light blue Copic marker.

I'm calling this a blue Dahlia, but it looks a lot like a lotus flower, too.

Supplies are listed below my signature.

Here's that challenge.  

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #1 -- Anything goes with florals as the main theme.  Inspiration board provided.

Let's do this again soon.  I love when we get together.  Take care!

Paper:  SU Blue Bayou card base, Neenah 110 lb white, SU retired designer paper  Ink:  SU Blue Bayou, Mellow Moss, Versamark, Copic BG0000 marker  Dies:  Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur, Dee's Distinctively Small Pair of Leaves, Tutti Butterfly Corner, Spellbinders Squares  Other:  SU Subtle embossing folder, Kaiser self-adhesive half pearls, Ranger Ultra-Thick Embossing Enamel

Small and Simple

Hi again!  Here's a shock -- I have a clean and simple card today.  I know!  How did that happen?  Sometimes it just does, but never when I'm really trying.

The Penny Black Saturday Challenge and Darnell's NBUS Challenge prompted me to pull out the pretty Ebullient set and get to work with it.  This Penny Black set is a few years old, but new to me.  It seems like yesterday it was released.  I loved it a lot then and still do.

I stamped on Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers, blending dark/lighter/lightest.  Similar to coloring with Copics, but way easier (for me) and the effect is watercolor-ish.  I used my homemade blender only in a few spots.  The flowers are popped up on the card, but the leaves are glued flat.  The card is only 4 1/4" square.  I've taken to this size now and then in order to utilize the cardstock left over from cutting a midi-slimline (3 3/4 x 6 3/4).  

It was the Can You Handle the Pressure challenge that prompted me to use my old Swiss Dots embossing folder to add extra interest to the card.  I scored to delineate a blank space for the sentiment and embossed above and below that.

A short supply list is below my signature.

I'll leave you with the challenge links and a big thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge -- Anything goes or something new.  Flowers from the Ebullient set are new to me.
Can You Handle the Pressure -- Anything goes with an embossing folder, or a twist of dots.  I used the Swiss Dot embossing folder.
NBUS Challenge #46 -- Never before used schtuff.  First time out of the package for the Penny Black Ebullient stamp.

  

Stamps:  Penny Black Ebullient, Penny Black Carefree Wishes  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico extra white 140 lb hot press watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Tombow markers with minimal use of the blender pen  Other:  Honey Bee gems, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

Double D Challenge: Snow

 

It's Double D Challenge time again, friends!  There's a lot of snow happening in the colder regions, so we're going to try to have a little fun with that theme for our challenge.  The inspiration board has a few ideas for you to consider:

I love that car!  Someone was very clever.  However, I just happened to have a never-been-used steal-of-a-deal die set from Cottage Cutz so I went with that.  The sentiment and two bears are part of the set.  I  added a little extra holiday color and made a cute card for Christmas 2023.

I pulled a plain white frame from my spare parts drawer and wrapped it with designer paper.  There's starry paper for the sky and some colorful snowflakes by Impression Obsession.  The "i" dot is a little star that popped out of one of the snowflakes.  I cut all dies in 110 lb white, glued two layers together, then colored with Copics.  It was a lot of fun!  I've really been enjoying my dies lately.

We'll have creative winners plus a random winner of the prize pictured below.  Get a better look at it on the Double D blog.

The team has great samples to inspire you, and we'd love to see yours as well.  Have a happy day!

Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb, red Bazzill cardstock, Moda Scrap Forever Green designer paper  Ink:  Copic markers for coloring die cuts  Other:  Cottage Cutz Happy Holidays Polar Bear, frame from spare parts drawer, Stardust Stickles glitter glue

Puppy's Valentine for a Friend

Hi friends!  I hope you're well and having a nice day.  I'm feeling pretty good at the moment seeing as how I've been in my happy place again.  Some new-to-me Cottage Cutz dies came in the mail and I got started right away making Valentines.  I generally avoid dies with too many small parts, but this guy was too cute to resist and really not much problem.  Those eyebrows though... thank goodness for my sticky pick up tool.

I colored him with Copics.  Sponged pink on one of the stitched hearts (Tutti dies) so it would stand out from the background.  The dog looked better on white so I layered another heart.  I love that cute little envelope.  I can use it all by itself any ol' time.  The speech bubble is from another Cottage Cutz set.  The paw prints embossing folder is an oldie.  Gee, this card has just about everything I love most about card making.  No wonder it was so fun!

All supplies are listed below my signature.

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

Sisterhood of Crafters --  Something new.  My Cottage Cutz puppy set is new.
NBUS Challenge #46 -- Never before used schtuff.  Again, the puppy is fresh out of the package.

 

Thanks for your visit.  I hope you you enjoyed yourself.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Stampendous Pop Rose Teacup sentiment  Paper:  Neenah white 80 & 110 lb, grocer's kraft, Prima Julie Nutting designer paper (old)  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Pink Pirouette for sponging large heart, Copics for coloring  Dies:  Cottage Cutz Puppy Love Letter, Cottage Cutz Telephone (speech bubble), Tutti Stitched Nesting Hearts  Other:  Rhinestones, Darice Paw Prints Background embossing folder

Joyful Hare in the Snow

Hi again!  I'm back to play in two challenges with a winter theme.  It's the perfect opportunity for another Lavinia card.

Today I have a remake of the very first Lavinia card I ever made (not that long ago).  It had some problems so I didn't share it, but I did learn from it.  I'm still learning.  There's nothing perfect about this card but it was, oh, such fun to make!

 

I used Strathmore vellum surface mixed media paper.  Torn paper masks for the snow, and Stampin' Up inks in Bordering Blue and Not Quite Navy for a monotone scene.  I painted a little snow on the trees with white acrylic paint.  The sky was stenciled and the finished scene was splattered with diluted Aleene's Tacky Glue and then sprinkled with glitter.  It's a little blobby, but very sparkly and magical.  Truth is, there are a few design ideas that came about simply to fix or minimize errors (ahem), but we won't worry about those.

I stamped the leaping hare and added a little shadow under him.  Before I stamped and embossed the white foliage I did use an embossing buddy, but some white powder stuck to the hare in spite of it.  It appears as though the hare is kicking up the powdery snow as he runs.  I like it!

The sentiment is from Power Poppy and really couldn't be more perfect.

With this card I was still working with the first few Lavinia stamps I ordered.  I've since acquired a few more.

Stencil Fun Challenge, January -- Optional theme of winter.
Four Seasons Challenge, January -- Anything goes with a winter theme

 

I hope to see you again soon.  Lately I seem to have more things to do than you can shake a stick at, but a girl has to have some fun, too.  Take care!

Stamps:  Lavinia -- LAV482 Whimsical Hares, LAV524 Forest Scene, LAV489 Small Fairy Fir Tree, LAV431 Moon, LAV505 Spanish Moss Foliage, Power Poppy Cuddle in the Cabin sentiment  Paper:  Strathmore Vellum Surface Mixed Media  Ink:  SU Bordering Blue, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento London Fog (moon)  Other:  WOW Opaque Bright White Superfine embossing powder, Aleene's Tacky Glue, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter, white acrylic paint, stencil from pack of 36 purchased on Amazon

Pink and Gold Floral

Hi there!  Getting right down to it... I felt inspired to create for two challenges.  It's the same Woodware stamp I used on the black watercolor card, but the look of it here is entirely different.  Both cards were embossed in gold and colored with Twinkling H2O's... the difference in the outcome is striking.  The other was impactful, this one gives the eyes a chance to rest.

Just two colors -- pink and gold.  I had to dilute the pink quite a lot to lighten the color, therefore it lacks shimmer.  That's okay because there's plenty of shimmer in the golden leaves.  The card is 3 3/4 x 6 3/4".  I guess I'll call it a midi-slimline.

I used an ancient JustRite sentiment with a circle punch and made it into a tag.  The Wicker Weave embossing is an old folder.  I can hardly make a card without old meeting new.

The two challenges:

Color Hues Challenge #55:  Light pink and gold.  Such a pretty combo.

Can You Handle the Pressure:  Anything goes with an optional twist of snow (I did not use the twist), but the challenge is the reason for the dry embossed lower edge, and the card is better for it.

 

Thank you lots for stopping by.  I hope to see you here again soon!

Stamps:  Woodware Floral Wonder, JustRite A Warm Hello Set (retired & out of business)  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, SU Whisper White  Ink:  Versamark  Coloring:  Watercolor with Twinkling H2O's -- Egyptian Gold & Pink Azalea  Other:  Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, gold cord, 1 1/4" circle punch, Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder

Magnus and the Harvest Moon

Hi!  I have another Lavinia card today.  Still experimenting with inks and the few stamps I have.  For this card I wanted a non-snowy scene and a giant harvest moon.  It could be a sun, I suppose, but I keep seeing it as a moon.  The nice thing about the Lavinia genre is that you can feel free to stretch the imagination.  And, ohhhhh, the colors!  I could just keep on and on with these.

I've listed all the inks and stamps below.  I added a border with a fine tip black marker, plus a Memory Box grass corner die cut.  The sentiment/quote is from Power Poppy.  I should have cut some smooth masks for the landscape as these torn paper masks were intended for snow, but I do still like the look of it.

One interesting note is that I used a lightweight semi-gloss white cardboard for the image panel.  It's the backing piece from a 12x12 pack of Stampin' Up designer paper.  Is it still packaged the same?  I saved all the cardboard backs that came in the collections I purchased.  Just thought I'd try it.  The ink went on very smoothly and the richness of the color kind of blows me away.  I'll try different paper next time.  I'm eager to play with my Lavinia stamps again.

I'll be sharing my card in Darnell's NBUS Challenge #46 as this is the first time I've used Magnus.  Rich tells me Magnus is an Irish Red Deer.  After Googling I would have to concur.

I hope you're all enjoying the new year.  I make no resolutions but there are a few absolute necessities on my agenda as well as all the usual good intentions.  Take care till we meet again!

Stamps:  Lavinia Magnus LAV638, Small Fairy Fir Tree LAV489, Spanish Moss Foliage LAV505, Power Poppy Pure Prairie Spirit sentiment  Paper:  Semi-gloss lightweight white cardboard, Cougar vanilla for card base  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Perfect Plum, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Always Artichoke  Other:  Fine tip black marker for border, Memory Box Tall Grassy Stems Right Corner

Double D Challenge: Anything Birthday Related

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my first post of 2023.  Today is a big deal because we're celebrating the 7th birthday of the Double D Challenge.  Yippee!  Happy birthday Double D, and thank you for 7 years of great fun and inspiration!

Our celebratory challenge asks for anything birthday related, and the DD's have provided you with a mood board full of colorful birthday inspiration:

I focused on the balloons so I could color these cute Penny Black critters.  It's an older set that's new(ish) to me.  I recently purchased a few PB critter sets because I find them especially adorable and collectible.  The birthday sentiment is also Penny Black.  I added grass and splatters with some ages old non-PB stamps from my stash.

The card is one layer, 3 3/4 x 6 3/4 -- not a full-size slimline, but bigger than my usual mini-slimline.  I stamped, then masked the critters so I could brush on an inky background.  I used a curved border die to cut a mask for the landscape.  Used a cloud stencil in the sky.  I tried to keep it simple.  Sponged ink around the edges to add depth and framing to the scene.

Coloring was done with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits.

I hope you'll pop over to the Double D challenge blog to see the team samples, say "happy birthday", and check out all the prizes that are up for random winners.  As per usual the team will vote on creative winners.  I can't wait to see you in the gallery!

Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Penny Black Time to Celebrate and Birthday Love (sentiment), SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds (splatters), Posh Impressions Wild Grass  Paper:  Neenah super smooth 110 lb white  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue  Coloring:  Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits  Other:  Heffy Doodle Cloudy Skies stencil