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

Brushed Flowers

Hi there!  I have more Rubbernecker today, but a complete about face in style from Monday's card.  I've long been a fan of the RN Brushed Flowers but I think they're all being discontinued.  I think.  Honestly, I have a hard time with the Rubbernecker site as the categories and the search field don't always seem to jive.  Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, I found these Brushed Flowers in the clearance category back in January.  They're easy to color and work nicely for clean and simple cards.  I masked and sponged a corner of each image panel, then stamped the flower image lightly for a background effect.  Coloring was done with Copics.

Cool colors on the first card.  The hello die is also Copic colored.  I added little dots of white acrylic paint to the flower centers.

Warm colors for this one.  Actually, both flowers are colored almost exactly as shown on the stamp packages.  It makes for easy color choices.

The inside of each card is finished in a similar fashion with this sentiment, which is also a never-been-used Rubbernecker stamp.

There's more info regarding colors, etc. in the recipe below.

Once again I'm taking my Rubbernecker cards over to the NBUS Challenge #37 where Darnell has provided us with a good reminder to keep plugging away at all our never been used schtuff.  Thanks, Darnell!

I will try to get back here by Friday.  I always have the best intentions, but once I get on with my day it's hard to get back to the computer.  I'm sure you know how it is.  Take care of yourselves and have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Rubbnecker Brushed Flower #1 and Brushed Flower #4  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, SU Almost Amethyst and More Mustard  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, More Mustard  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  SU Subtle 3D embossing folder, Paper Smooches Hello Words

Fox Friends

Monday greetings, friends!

How about something fun today?  I'm always organizing and reorganizing my stamps... the truth is, I simply enjoy being in my room whether I'm creating or organizing or just looking out the window.  In this case I was looking through my NBUS baskets and I took a notion to bag them up by company.  That led to card making and and some real quality time with my Rubbernecker stamps.

These critters are from a set called Fox.  I can't help but smile at them.  They're colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits.  There are matching dies which I did not buy because I could see how easy they are to cut out.  The frame is put together with parts from my card parts drawer.  I hand drew the dotted butterfly flight trail and added the blue dots to the background with an oldie SU stamp.  Everything is listed below.

I'm sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #37 (never before used schtuff).

More Rubbernecker coming this week.  I have lots in that bag and I just kept pulling from it.  We had a good time together.  Wishing you a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Fox Set, SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, Echo Park Happy Summer designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Brocade Blue  Coloring:  Prismacolor pencils with Gamsol odorless mineral spirits  Dies & other:  Impression Obsession All-In-One Frames-Square

Easter Bunny

Hi again!  Sharing one of very few Easter cards I made this year.  When I realized how I was struggling with them I decided to call it good enough.  This stamp is not an Easter image but, hey, it's a bunny and it's a pretty thing with all the flowers.  Add an Easter sentiment and it works, I think.

I watercolored with Twinkling H2O's, added sequins and a scalloped edge.  There are dots of white acrylic paint in the flowers.  A simple enough card, but the coloring took forever with the Twinks on such a detailed image.

I'll be playing along in Double D's Easter Challenge today.
Also, the bunny stamp is fresh out of the package so I'll join the rest of the NBUSers in Darnell's NBUS Challenge #37.

Thanks bunches for stopping by today.  I'll see you again soon!

Stamps:  Creative Expressions Running Free  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, 49 and Market Sage designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Watercolor with Twinkling H2Ox  Other:  Sequins, SU Subtle embossing folder, Impression Obsession Easter Joy die, Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One, Sue Wilson Pierced Flags

Wisteria

Hi there!  I made a card "just because".  Isn't that the best reason?  I saw a picture of wisteria recently and it reminded me of this Beeswax Small Wisteria stamp I've had in my collection since 2014.  Not the first time I've used it, but it's been a while.  I was surprised to see there is still a Beeswax site with this stamp available.

The wisteria is stamped in Memento London Fog and colored with Copics.  I wanted a no-line look but it wasn't easy to see the detail.  Very frustrating and I almost scrapped it.  In the end I'm glad I persevered.

  

Before commencing with the coloring I loosely masked the wisteria and stamped the brick wall (another old stamp).  I hate to tell you how poorly that turned out.  No matter how many times I stamped I couldn't get the bricks anywhere near the wisteria.  Finally, I removed the mask and stamped the brick wall one more time right over top of the wisteria.  Thank goodness for the MISTI. 

The frame is popped up.  The Bird Scroll corner was gilded by pressing in my Versamark pad and then embossing with Ranger Queen's Gold.  The sentiment was gold embossed as well.  The photo below shows more of the golden shine.

Spring is coming along beautifully here, but you know how fickle she can be -- warm and sunny one day, cold and wet the next.  However, I'm looking out my windows and seeing blooms and fresh greens no matter the weather, and that is a happy sight!  Wishing you a happy spring, too!

Stamps:  Beeswax Small Wisteria, Son Light Impressions (Cornish Heritage Farms) Brick Wall Backgrounder, Hero Arts Flowers are Poetry  Paper:  Neenah 80 & 110 lb white, SU Perfect Plum textured  Ink:  Memento London Fog & Toffee Crunch, Versamark  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles, Bird Scrolls, misc rectangle for sentiment  Other:  Ranger Queen's Gold embossing powder, foam mounting tape

A Mouse for Two Seasons

Hello again!  I want to say first how I appreciate all your comments on my previous post regarding to blog or not to blog.  I'm never sure what each day will bring, but isn't that the way for all of us?  Truthfully, it's my connection with this crafting sisterhood that keeps me coming back here.  I'm really not sure what I would do without you, so for the time being I carry on and today I have two cards I made with my edger dies.  These cards were made in either January or February, sheesh.

They're subtly patterned with very little contrast.  It's what I was feeling at the time and I still like them.  When favor endures it's a good thing.  I've always found that, for me, simplicity and subtlety have longer lasting appeal.

The first is for springtime.  This Toadstool Mouse Edger die is probably meant for fall, but I think it looks right at home with the daffodils and yellow (my favorite color).  The mini-slimline measures 3 1/2 x 6.  The paper on this one is 49 and Market Sweet Reflections - Butter.  I applied some old-timey self-adhesive rain dots for embellishment.

The next card feels more like fall and is one of the first I made when I was experimenting with design ideas.  Ultimately I decided less is more and even the string and tag feel like too much.  Each to her own, right?  Most of my fun with these edger dies comes from combining them with designer papers.  Some work better than others.  On the card below are older papers by Prima.

Even though I made these cards a while back, it was a first time use and today is a first share, so I will send a picture over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #37 for the month of April.

Additionally, I'm playing in a new-to-me challenge:  Colorful Options.  It's a color challenge and this month they're asking for yellow!

 

I wish you all a happy spring.  It's so good to see the flowers blooming!  Till soon...

Easter Cupcake

Hello!  It's good to see you after all this time.  My apologies for being away so long.  I've had some other things on my mind and sometimes wonder if I'll be able to continue blogging at all.  Today I'm giving it another try.  You are kind souls to bear with me.

'Tis the season for Easter cards.  I do not have any new Easter stamps or dies, but I've always been partial to this oldie Impression Obsession Happy Wishes cupcake which I've probably only used once before, tsk tsk.  I colored with Tombow markers and blender, then nestled into a pretty Tutti Butterfly Oval which I'd cut from a previously made background piece.

The Greetings sentiment is twinkling with Wink of Stella.  I added clear gems, a silver self-adhesive border strip, and extra flowers cut with the Tutti die.

I'm going to join the April Spring challenge over at Four Seasons.  Anything goes spring, and that includes Easter!

Thank you for sharing your time with me.  I'll be back soon, I hope.  Take good care till we meet again!