A Trio of Triangle Trees

Hi everyone!  Today it's a trio of triangle trees x 3.  I've been meaning to make some triangle trees and now is the time, seeing as how I'm inspired by some Christmas-themed challenges which I'll list further down.

I think the white is my favorite, but I do like the kraft cards as well.  All the card bases are 111 lb wood grain cardstock.  The trees are made from some of my first ever dies -- Spellbinders Nested Pennants.  The set is a mix of triangles, pennant shapes, and flags.

The peace words are three layers for dimension.  The stars are cut from glitter paper.  I used scraps for the trees and mixed them up.  Sparkle and glimmer shown below:

The challenges:

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #20.  It's anything goes, but an inspiration board is always provided.
Snippets Playground Challenge #433 -- Christmas in July.  Everything but the card bases are snippets or scraps.  I always go for the smallest available parts.

 

I'm keeping it quick and easy today -- just like the cards.  I'll see you again very soon.  Have a great day!

Dies:  Spellbinders Nested Pennants and Long Classic Rectangles, Memory Box Peace Cheshire Script, MFT Die-namics Stacking Stars  Paper:  Kraft and white wood grain 111 lb cardstock, copper glitter cardstock, Cougar vanilla, Copic X-Press It white, Memory Box Christmas Plaid designer paper

Sweet Nectar

Happy Friday!  Today's card wraps up Creative Expressions Week #1.  I'll do more on this focus another week, but I have a few other things to do in the meantime.  My not-yet-used baskets runneth over.

I think this stamp is so pretty and delicate.  The hummingbirds are make-believe colors because sometimes it's easier to not follow the rules.  I watercolored with Tombow markers.  I could swear the green border was a better match in real life, sigh...  Maybe it's the photo, maybe my memory is faulty (haha, not haha).

The stamp is called Sweet Nectar.  It includes the sentiment.  I added green sprinkles with retired SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds.  It's a simple birthday card, already sent and received.

Sharing my never-before-used Sweet Nectar at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #40.

That's all folks!  Have a sweet weekend!

Stamps:  Creative Expressions Sweet Nectar, SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot pressed watercolor, Memory Box Wheat Grass  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, SU Glorious Green  Coloring:  Watercolor with Tombow markers  Other:  WOW Clear Gloss Super Fine embossing powder, gold trim

Tropical Toucan

Hello again!  Continuing with Creative Expressions week... it's an edger die today -- one of several I bought a few months ago.  This one is called Tropical Toucan.  I've had the most fun with all my edger dies.  They can be simple or you can do more.  With this one I spent a little extra time coloring and piecing.  No fancy coloring techniques, but it really doesn't matter.

After I cut the die I poked out all the little pieces and let them fall in a jumble on a sheet of paper.  It's just like working a jigsaw puzzle, but you color the pieces yourself.  And, yes, there are some very tiny pieces!  I covered the card base with designer paper, glued the die onto that, then went to work with my jigsaw.  The sentiment is Big and Little Reverse Words from Memory Box, cut with it's own die.

Just fun.

I'll share again in Darnell's NBUS Challenge #40 because my Toucan is fresh out of the never-before-used-schtuff basket.

Thank you!  Wishing you a happy, safe, and healthy day!

Stamps:  Memory Box Big and Little Reverse Words  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb for die cuts/80 lb for card base, DCWV Animal Crackers designer paper  Ink:  SU Poppy Parade for sentiment  Coloring:  Copics  Die:  Creative Expressions Tropical Toucan Edger

Birds and Blooms

Greetings!  It's nice to see you at the start of a brand new week.  I've been working with my not-yet-used Creative Expressions stamps in an effort to do another focus week.  It has taken a while -- I made this card in April.  I know!  I've been going through an extensive coloring slump due to some hand/arm pain and other issues.  I'm tentatively thinking the situation has improved somewhat, but not holding my breath.

The stamp set is Creative Expression Nightingale's Song.  I stamped on 140 lb hot pressed watercolor paper, then painted with Twinkling H2O's.  The whole card was sprayed with the last of my glitter spray, but no sparkle shows in the photo, tsk tsk.

I made another card with this set, too, but one is enough to represent.

Since this was the first inking of the set I'll share at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #40.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll continue with Creative Expressions on Wednesday and Friday.  Just trying to lighten the load in those NBUS baskets.  Have a good day!

Santa with Gifts

Hello friends!  Moving right along from Halloween to Christmas... I'm nearly at the deadline for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge.  I thought a simple red on white without a lot of extras might do the trick, but seeing as how I lack the CAS gene (ahem) it turned into more.  Sharing anyway because I've been fooling around with this card off and on for most of the month (believe it).

It started with the Santa which I placed over top of a separate sentiment.  Cut in SU Poppy Parade with edges sponged in the same color ink.  Double layered.  I glued those pieces to a Neenah 110 lb base which I'd dry embossed with a snowfall folder.  That probably would have been okay, but I felt compelled to do more, so I added glittery trim and snow.  Fine.  Left it sit for a while... and then couldn't stop myself from adding the snowflake banner.  I colored it a very light Copic blue, then coated with Versamark ink and heat embossed all sparkly.  By now I've filled up a lot of the white space and it no longer seems very clean and simple.

As if that wasn't enough, it took three separate photo sessions over a period of time to get a non-hideous picture of it.  I almost quit, but here I am with my not-so-CAS Santa card... finally.

CAS Christmas Card Challenge:  Santa

 

Now... I will show you a card I made with this Santa die in 2019.  I loved it but never posted it because it was too near Christmas and there were so many busy seasonal things going on.  It is perfectly CAS and that's why I thought to use it again.  I actually like it better, sigh.  Cute picture, too... sigh again.

We all have our adventures in crafting, right?

Take care of yourselves and I'll see you again soon!

Dies:  Cottage Cutz Santa Bearing Gifts, Impression Obsession Holiday Bottom Word Edgers, La-La Land Snowflake Banner

Halloween Birds

Hi there!  Smack dab in the middle of summer I have a Halloween card.  Go figure.  Well, if I can make Valentines and Christmas cards all year I ought to be able to make Halloween as well.

I'm playing along with the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge with my birds and bats and an ink-blended background of spooky sky and huge harvest moon.  I've had these Magenta birds for many years and in my memory I was thinking they were crows... but then when I got them out to use them I realized they're actually more like Secretary Birds.  You can see them at that link.  Super funky and cool looking birds.

Players can use the mood board for inspiration or we can do our own thing.  I guess I more or less did my own thing, but I was definitely inspired by the fun of this challenge.

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge

Seems like I'm rushing off, but dinner's on as I write this so I must go.  I'll leave you with a wish for a happy day and hope to come back soon.  Take care!

Stamps:  Magenta birds, SU Halloween Backgrounds (bats), Whipper Snapper Spooky Expressions sentiment  Paper:  Neenah White, other black, BasicGrey Eerie designer paper  Ink:  Versamark Onyx Black (birds & sentiment), Memento Tuxedo Black (bats), miscellaneous SU inks for scene  Dies:  Poppystamps Leafy Sprig Border, Memory Box Wrapped Stitched Frames  Other:  Detail clear embossing powder, Heffy Doodle Cloudy Skies stencil

A Flower for a Friend

Hi everyone!  I'm back to flowers today with another card using the Lisa Horton Peony Rose Stem.  It's an embossing folder with matching die.  One of these days I'll use it without the die, but for now I'm enjoying the novelty of the combo.

I've included a decorative frame and some pretty designer paper with this card.  I don't know who makes the frame as it was in a package of die cuts a friend gifted to me.  However, I can say the paper is Zoju Forest Dream and the sentiment is an oldie by JustRite.  I used Distress Oxide inks and an eye shadow brush for coloring.  My die was positioned a little too low when I cut this, but that's my fault.  It actually cuts quite closely when done right (ahem).

Wishing a happy birthday to the sweet friend I sent this to.  She received it a few days early, but may as well start the celebration ahead of time and keep it going for a good long while.

Let's do this again soon, okay?  Take care of yourselves and enjoy your day!

Stamps:  Retired JustRite sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, Zoju Forest Dream designer paper  Ink:  Distress Oxides for coloring, SU Always Artichoke for sentiment  Other:  Lisa Horton Peony Rose Stem 3D embossing folder with die, circle die, frame die (name unknown)

Things With Wings for CAS Mix Up Challenge

Hi there!  I'm glad to see you today.  I've done a little watercoloring for the CAS Mix Up challenge.  They're asking for "Things with Wings" and watercolor must be featured on the card somewhere.  My thoughts went straight to bird stamps because I've got a bazillion of them, and it just happens that the one I used today is seeing ink for the first time.  Yes, it's been in the basket for a while and, as always, I now wonder what took me so long to get around to it.

The stamp is from a Woodware set called Bird Blocks.  I love it.  There's another one in the set that's also very cool and interesting.  It looks black, but actually I stamped in dark gray, then over that with Versamark.  Watercolored with Tombow markers.  The dies are older from my stash and are listed in the recipe below.

Challenges:

CAS Mix Up -- Things With Wings
NBUS Challenge #40

 

Thank you for visiting, and thank you to all the good folks who encourage us through these fun challenges.  Have a super good day!

Stamps:  Woodware Bird Blocks  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Teal Bazzill, SU Basic Gray, textured semi-gloss white  Ink:  Ranger Archival Waterin Can, Versamark  Coloring:  Watercolor with Tombow markers  Dies:  Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Square Set, MFT Die-namics #captions, Dee's Distinctively Sm. Pair of Leaves  Other:  Detail clear embossing powder

Birthday Bird

Hello!  I had a lot of fun with today's card and that's what it's all about, isn't it?  It totally exemplifies "playing in my room".  We crafters have the best toys!  A colorful stenciled background from my stash, dies I've had for a long time, inspiration from Pinterest... it all adds up to a very happy birthday card for a lovely friend!

I don't know what my camera is doing with yellows, but this is not the first time it has electrified them.  The other colors are true, but the yellows... tsk tsk.  Much softer in real life.  No matter.  I like it either way.

This doesn't look much like the card I pinned, but it was a jumping off point and it sure did help move things along.  The striped background was already made and in my spare parts drawer.  The lower half is white cardstock strips which were leftover from cutting odd-size cards.  I cut them to uniform widths, then glued side by side onto the card and trimmed the overhanging ends flush.

Take care till we meet again.  Sending cheer to all!

Paper:  Neenah white 80 & 110 lb, colored scraps  Ink:  Miscellaneous Distress Oxide  Dies:  Paper Smooches Happy Birthday, Memory Box Finnegan Fronds bird, Memory Box Leafy Border  Other:  Altenew Ombre Stripes stencil

Weird Llama

Hi there!  A new month, a fresh start...  I hope we can make it a good one.

I've got a card made with Gerda Steiner's Llama Tell You stamp set today.  I can't say I had an easy time with this card as my brain didn't seem to know what to do.  Too long in the not-yet-used basket?  However, I needed a birthday card for a former coworker, and this particular llama seemed perfect.  I had to add the fluffy pink topknot because it's never certain what color my friend's hair will be next.  She'll understand perfectly.

Colored with Copics.  The zigzag/dotty background is my umpteenth effort at inking up an embossing folder and hoping for good results.  I smeared this one with Distress Oxide Scattered Straw.  It has a messy, somewhat distressed look which is serviceable for a llama card.  I cut the panel with a Spellbinders Hemstitch die.

Sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge (#40).   My Llama set is "Never before used schtuff". 

I hope to catch you later this week.  Some pain issues are making it hard for me to be on the computer.  Nothing to worry about, but it's annoying.  Till soon...