Pinkfresh Poinsettia

Hello, friends!  I have more Christmas cards today and it all started when my friend, Nancy, let me borrow her Pinkfresh Poinsettia set for a while.  I got busy and stamped a bunch before she reclaimed her set.

All were stamped in Versamark and embossed with Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder.  The first card with the wreath turned out to be my favorite.  "Noel" is from an older Stampin' Up set, and I perched some Poppy Whittle Birds on the letters.

I colored each with the same color Copics, using a loose brushstroke technique.  No shading, just trying to make sure some white space shows.  It's a super easy way to color in quantities.  Nancy did not leave the dies so I hand cut all the Poinsettia parts.  After cutting I rubbed the backsides with a fat-round-blunt stylus shaping tool.  Not sure what it's called but I always use it for flower shaping and things like this.

The wreath and word are popped up on thin foam mounting tape.  I used Spellbinders Devine Eloquence dies on each card.  It's an older set that still gets a lot of love from me.

Next up I cut three separate Poinsettia pieces and arranged them in an arch over the die cut greeting.  The poinsettia at the peak is popped up.  There's an embossed panel in the background, and gems for "i" dots.

Finally, above and below the greeting with three little gold pearls and another embossed panel.

These cards are so much prettier in real life, but you know how that goes, don't you?  It was apparently not a good day for photos.  I have lots more Poinsettia pieces to work with and I plan to continue with variations along these same lines.  One day at a time...

Sending thanks to my local forever friend, Nancy, for sharing with me.  See you again soonish!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Poinsettia  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, color scraps  Ink:  Versamark  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Spellbinders Devine Eleoquence and Labels Twenty-Eight die sets, Poppy Whittle Birds, Cottage Cutz Greetings, Memory Box Warm Christmas Wishes, Stampin' Up Wonderful Wreath Noel die  Other:  Self-adhesive pearls and gems, Darice Sheet Music and Cuttlebug Candy Cane Stripe embossing folders, foam mounting tape

Toucan Play

Hi, friends!  I hope you're all well and happy and safe and keeping cool as we move through July.  It's been quite a summer in regard to the weather.  We've been okay here, working and playing close to home inside and out.  Of course, a lot of the inside play happens in my stamp room.

It's looking tropical on the blog today.  I've used one of my new-to-me birds -- in this case a Toucan by Marianne Design.  One day I went online hunting for bird dies and ended up with several from here, there, and everywhere.  Mostly older, possibly retired.  If they weren't older and retired when I bought them they probably will be by the time I get around to using them at the rate I'm going.

I have a busy stenciled background and lots of color.  It was tons of fun to make this card!  The Toucan comes with the branch and plain leaves, and I added some MFT Die-namics Wild Greenery.  All coloring was done with Copics.  The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set -- one word in a die cut circle, the other hand cut and glued to a rectangle.  I made every effort to help the Toucan and the sentiment stand out from the busy background, and in the end I think it works.

I'm sending my Toucan over to the Triple B challenge today.  You can use birds, blooms, or butterflies for this challenge.

Additionally, my new-to-me Toucan and I are heading over to Darnell's NBUS challenge #52.

  

Thank you for visiting today.  It's feeling good to spend some time in my happy place.  Take care!

Stamps:  Power Poppy Vibrant Thanks sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, SU Tangerine Tango  Ink:  SU shades of blue and green, Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Marianne Design Toucan, MFT Die-namics Wild Greenery, Spellbinders circles and rectangle  Other:  Carta Bella Wander & Find stencil

Double D Challenge: Christmas in July

Hi, friends!  It's time for Christmas in July at the Double D Challenge and Darlene has given us a darling inspiration board for a spark.

When you look at my card you can see I was drawn to the snowman.  My guy is perhaps not the most handsome snowman ever, but you can't judge a book by its cover.  I'm sure he has a good heart and he certainly looks friendly.  He's welcoming us with joy to his snowy alpine home.

The card is a 3 1/2" x 6" mini slimline.  I've combined Tim Holtz and Impression Obsession dies.  I'll list them all at the end.  It's my second time this season for the Alpine dies.  Not bad for me.  I think I'll be using them a lot.  It comes with the three trees on the left, but the other tree is built into the IO Tree Landscape Layers.  I cut the trees in both green and white, then offset the layers.

White acrylic paint for the snow splatters.  I smudged some up at the top, oops.  I'm not worrying about it much as it's overshadowed by all the other fun stuff on the card.  There's glitter, too, but I've not had an easy time getting it to show lately.  The sparkle is delightful in real life.  

You know the drill -- the team will vote on creative favorites, plus there's a prize for a random winner.

Treat yourself to a peek at the Double D blog to see all the team's samples.  I hope you'll be inspired to play along.  See you soon!

Paper:  Neenah white, SU Ballet Blue, other scraps of colored cardstock  Coloring:  Gray shadowed areas are Copics  Dies:  Tim Holtz Sizzix Papercut Christmas #2 (snowman), Alpine, Holiday Words: Script; Impression Obsession Tree Landscape Layers, Small Snowflake Set  Other:  White acrylic paint for snow, Stickles Diamond glitter glue for sparkle

Clematis

Hi everyone!  I made a card for a purple-loving birthday girl.  On screen it appears more blue-violet, but to the best of my recollection it was as purple as all get out.  Ah, well, life is too short to worry about such things.

It's a Woodware stamp called Clematis Trio, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and clear embossed.  I watercolored with Tombow markers.  A clean design.  The sentiment is an oldie from Stampin' Up.

White acrylic paint was used for the anthers.  Iridescent sequins for embellishment.

Do you ever feel like you have enough not-yet-used stamps, dies, and what-not to last you the remainder of your days?  That's me.  It's so easy to be tempted, but I really need to hold off the shopping for a while.  Famous last words, right?

Before I close I'd like to thank everyone for your kind comments on my post and in emails and cards regarding our LuLu's passing.  I'm still having a hard time and don't feel quite myself.

In the meantime, we celebrated our Wally's 14th birthday on June 27th.  Like most big dogs, Golden Retrievers don't have a real long life span and we always said we'd be happy if he made it to 14.  Well, here he is, not as perky as he once was, but still loving life and making us smile.

Thanks for coming to visit.  It really means a lot to me.  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Woodware Clematis Trio, SU sentiment (2001)  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, purple textured (either Bazzill or SU)  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Coloring:  Watercolor with Tombow markers plus white acrylic for flower anthems  Other:  Detail clear embossing powder, iridescent sequins

Double D Challenge: The Great Outdoors

 

Presenting another Double D challenge.  This time it's anything to do with the outdoors.  Think canoeing, camping, traveling, gardening, fishing, and so on.

The characters on my card are experiencing the great outdoors safari style.  This Gerda Steiner Go Wild stamp set has been sitting in my never-been-used basket for over 3 years.  I was beginning to wonder if its time would ever come, but here it is.

Images are Copic colored, hand cut, and arranged on a card covered with designer paper.  A few dies help build the scene.  I sponged the edges of the card with brown ink.  Inside is the sentiment, "It's your birthday.  Go Wild!"  I was going to send this to a friend who went on a photo safari years ago, but her birthday is still a long way off.  In the meantime, a non-stamping friend grabbed it up and was loathe to let go so it has found a different home and that's okay, too.

In addition to creative winners, there's a darling prize for a random winner:

I enjoy the outdoors and all the fresh air and activity.  Nature has a way of putting human problems in perspective.  I hope you'll visit the Double D blog, see the awesome team samples, and have fun crafting along with us.  Take care!

Stamps:  Gerda Steiner Go Wild  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth 110 lb white, scraps colored cardstock, Bo Bunny Zoology designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Close to cocoa for sponging  Coloring:  Copics  Dies:  Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One and Big Scalloped Ovals, Impression Obsession Grass and Grass Border