Mandarin Wreath

Hooray, my first Christmas card of 2020!  I hope this simple card has finally broken the ice so I can get busy and make more.  I've been lagging.

The stamp I used is a digital from Power Poppy -- Wreath:  Boxwood and Cranberry.  However, my version is neither Boxwood nor Cranberry.  I chose to make it with the little Mandarin oranges that seem to be at their yummiest best around the holidays.

Seriously, look how simple this is to color.  It took minutes.  A person could make a bunch.  I printed in full strength gray scale on X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copics.  It's not the least bit fancy schmancy, but that's just what I need right now.  The Mandarin wreath has a nice Christmasy warmth to it, don't you think?

I'm joining up with other Power Poppy designers today, and I encourage you to drop over to the Power Poppy Blog to see a variety of samples that are just pure eye candy.  It'll be fun!

Christine
Gloria
Leslie (you are here)
Nancy
Lisa
Stacy
Barbara W.
Allison

Thank you so much for dropping in today.  I wish you all a nice weekend and hopefully I'll be back soon.  Take care!

Sweetest Thank You

Hello, friends!  I was beginning to wonder when I was going to get around to playing in my room again, but I did finally manage a little something.  It's simple and sweet and I love it to pieces, which reinforces my belief that simple is best when my mojo's gone missing.  If I don't have time to slow down, I won't do a good job with coloring anything complex.  In fact, I did color something, but I'm not thrilled with how it turned out, so I'll be going back to the drawing board on that one.  In the meantime, today's card makes me happy!

I've been at The Scrapping Cottage again, shopping for bargains in the retired and overstock categories.  Most of my Cottage Cutz dies are for Christmas, but this one kept calling me back until I finally dropped it into my cart.  I thought it made a cute thank you card.  The die set is Kitchen Chef.  Simple coloring was done with Copics.

More new things:  The green trim is Poppystamps Double Scallop Oval and Border, and the gingham card base is Park Lane printed card stock which I found at our local JoAnn's.  I was pretty thrilled with the card stock -- a pack of 5 different designs, 10 each, 110 lb weight.  I've already cut and folded every sheet.  That's a lot of cards!

I hope you all are having a good week.  As for me, I'm enjoying myself and will just have to let card making happen when it happens.  Thanks for dropping in today!

Peaceful Blue Heron

Well, hello again!  Something a little different today... a super easy and quick watercolor.  I spent a LOT more time on the frame than I did on the image, sheesh.

The stamp is by Magenta -- Reflective Blue Heron - a gift from my blog friend, Christine.  I've waited a ridiculously long time to use it, but that's how it goes with me.  I dance around a stamp quite a bit before I decide what to do with it.  Christine made it look so amazing when she used it, and then I was intimidated, but, hey... I finally went for it.  The stamp pretty much does it's own thing as the reflection is already there, which is what I thought was so awesome about it.

As mentioned above, I watercolored, going for a sunrise look.  After that I was totally stumped as to what to do with the rest of the card.  Not sure I'm crazy about the black.  The colors look tropical to me -- unintended, but pretty.

As for the frame, I layered Memory Box Oval Master Frame over Poppystamps Thicket Frame and tucked some Impression Obsession Grass into the corner.  Layered a Power Poppy sentiment over that.  Love this sentiment set, Good Thinking: Renewal.  Hmmm... just noticed it's on sale.  More on the inside:

That's all this week.  We've been busy with different things at the Miller house, especially because the sun came out for most of the week.  Got lots done in the garden -- trimming and such.  Still too wet for digging.  It actually looks like spring out there, but the rain isn't done yet, sigh.

Till I see you again... have a lovely day!

Shimmering Flight

Hello on a Monday, friends!  Sharing a new Power Poppy digital set today -- Shimmering Flight.  Marcella has outdone herself once again, I think!  My version is cropped and enlarged, then watercolored with Tombow dual brush markers.

I'll give you a little peek at the whole set and some of its gorgeous options.

Two options on the turquoise image... I challenged myself to color it with the dragonfly, making up my own variety I'm sure, but you can do that in your own little coloring world.  I did my best to make the wings appear just a little bit transparent, even though they are not that way in the drawing.

I think I need another go at this one, but Marcella also released the beauteous digi -- Time to Fly -- on the same day and I'll want to color that one pretty soon, too.   If you haven't been there already I'll link you up with Marcella's post on the Power Poppy Blog where she tells all about her new digi releases and shows some gorgeous team samples.  Eye candy, for sure!

Thanks much for your time today!  Stay well and happy, and I'll see you again as soon as possible.

Swim at Your Own Pace

Hey, there!  More fun and frivolity today.  Can't help it, a stamp like this gives me grins and giggles as it's coming together and there's a good deal of value in that.  Whatever floats your boat, right?

It's a Stampendous stamp called Turtle Fun.  I bought it last summer (?) when I was on a mission to add to my practically nonexistent collection of nautical or beach-themed stamps.  I wasn't sure I'd use either of the two sentiments with it, but as it turns out I needed a retirement card and the sentiment expresses a favorite aspect of retirement.  Plus, she likes cute cards, so all the better.

I watercolored with Tombow markers on Fabriano Artistico Bright White 140 lb hot press WC paper.  Trimmed the top edge of the image panel with Memory Box Big Splash Border (2013), and adhered to a 4 3/4" square card which I'd covered with some sunshine yellow designer paper.

I'm off to see what kind of trouble I can get into.  You take care and have a very happy day!

Paws-itively Love These Cats

Hello, and welcome to a brand new week!  I have two cards today, one colorful, one soft, and both using my Gerda Steiner All Cats stamp set with miscellaneous dies in the card designs.  This was a fun play on a day I didn't feel too great, so smile cards were definitely in order.

Designer paper, dies, and a lightly stenciled cloudy sky background on the first card.  I'm happy to have used my new-ish Cottage Cutz Birdhouse with Vine again.  All dies and such are listed below the picture.

(Heffy Doodle Cloudy Skies stencil, Cottage Cutz Birdhouse with Vine, Paper Smooches Foliage 1, Hero Arts Wood Frame, Poppystamps Stitched Landscapes)


Inside, an encouraging kitty friend is holding the sentiment:

Next is for a birthday.  Could be for the littlest girl next door, or for a grown up girl who likes kitties.  Brand new to me is the Poppystamps Scribble Daisy Heart Frame.  I cut it once from soft yellow, then again from matching designer paper.  Trimmed out just the heart and layered over the plain yellow.  Added punched hearts.  Simple.

Closer, just because it's soft and cute and I love the Scribble Daisy Heart Frame.  More to come with that in the near future.  I do have a coordinating heart die for the center.

Inside... love how this stamp adds yet more happy to the inside.

Sharing at Gerda Steiner Designs Share Your Design February Challenge.  Always anything goes with Gerda Steiner stamps.

I have five more Gerda Steiner sets not-yet-used, so I'd better get a move on.  I did go nuts for these stamps!  Have yourself a very happy day!

Sunshine in a Cup

I've colored some sunshiny yellow Buttercups today.  Scrolling through my Power Poppy digi files, looking for something I haven't colored in a while... suddenly this just seemed like the right thing to do -- sunshine in a cup!  The digi stamp is Cuppa Buttercups.  I lightened the image before printing, then watercolored with Tombow dual brush markers.

I love that I could make the image large enough to color easily, yet I still had room to play with paper, which is one of my favorite card making things to do.  I mixed up four different patterns from an old DCWV Lemon Flower Stack -- a 12 x 12 pad and, yes, I have acres of it yet unused.

The sentiment on the front is one of three in the set.  There's another one on the inside:

Well, that was fun!  I hope I can stop back soon.  There hasn't been a lot of time in my stamp room lately and I'm having withdrawal symptoms.  I must get back in the groove or who knows what will happen!  A girl can only go so long...  Wishing you a lovely day!

Stamps:  Power Poppy digital Cuppa Buttercups  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot pressed watercolor, Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, DCWV Lemon Flower designer paper  Ink:  Printer  Coloring:  Watercolored with Tombow dual brush markers  Dies:  Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets

Pretty Bird and Winter De-Clutter

Monday greetings, friends!  It's been a few days since I did any actual card crafting.  I've been on a wintertime stamp room de-clutter binge.  The last significant clean out was in 2017, so it was time.  OMGee, did I ever clear out a lot of ribbon!

There was a time I could hardly make a card without ribbon, and now I can hardly make a card with it!  So why was I keeping so much of it around?  Well, after I cleared out a shocking amount of it I tried to make a card with ribbon... then another... and another...  I just couldn't get happy.  Today's card is the best I could do and, honestly, after all that struggle I cleared out a whole lot more ribbon.

It's pretty enough, and the ink and ribbon are a nice match, but I'm never going to use enough ribbon to justify the space it was taking up.  Remember, I have a cupboard full of designer paper, too, and that would have been so much easier.

In the end, I cleared out 2 medium-size bags of ribbons and trims.

It gave me a lot more free space in my stamp room, including three additional drawers for stamps, which is really where my heart is.

I still have a lot of ribbon, but it's pared down to a single drawer now.

I also have a shoe box-size container of trims.  Seriously, how does it come to this degree of excess?  Most of this will go eventually, but it's all I could bear at this time.  More photos of my whole stamp room after the 2017 clean out can be seen here.  There was a lot more ribbon then.

About the card:

Penny Black Peaceful Time bird stamped in Distress Tea Dye ink and colored with Copics, then cut with coordinating die.  Background is Distress Oxide Peacock Feathers, Poppystamps Leafy Sprigs Border (2014), and Offray ribbon which is now in one of those bags to be given away (sob).

I hope to get back to stamping and coloring, but I also have a lot more de-cluttering to do.  Glad to have the ribbon chore behind me.  It really knocked the "mo" out of my "jo"!  Have a happy day!