Brushed Butterflies and Tulips

Hello, friends, and welcome!  I think I'd better get busy here before you forget about me.  I never mean to be away this long, but you know -- Life.

Everything is okay.  The tree removal went relatively well.  Some fence boards had to be replaced, which our neighbor kindly pitched in and took care of.  The big crane left a large pothole -- more like a crater -- in our driveway.  It will have to wait a bit to be fixed.  The RV is parked over it so it's out of sight for the time being.

Meanwhile, I've still got some cards I haven't shared yet.  Today's makes were a fun play with some Spellbinders sets on loan from my friend (and yours), Michele.  I'm afraid I kept them a little longer than expected.  It's just like all my NBUS -- I dance around it quite a while before I actually sit down and make anything.  Then I wonder what took me so long.

So here we have the first card with Spellbinders Butterfly Burst die set.  The butterflies come with it.  The sentiment is an oldie Hero Arts.  I wasn't very imaginative considering I very nearly copied the picture on the package.

The next card is Spellbinders Artful Tulip.  The sentiment is Poppystamps.  Once again the idea came from the packaging, but I added a bit more because you know how I am.  I love these pretty little tulips.  The fancy frame is Marianne Designs Anja's Oval, an oldie.

I did the coloring with Copics.  I think that pretty much covers it so I didn't provide a recipe, sorry.  I was looking at my draft posts that need to be written up and I'm a little surprised at how many there are, and not a one of them features anything from my NBUS baskets.  I need to turn over a new leaf and start using that stuff!  See you soon!

A Birthday Card

Hi friends!  Life got busy again and I had to set the challenges aside, but it sure was fun while it lasted.  I do have some cards that have been sitting on the back burner waiting to be posted.   Today's card had an important job to do in wishing my friend a happy birthday.

It reminds me of the lake where we camped so often before Rich and Wally's health problems became too difficult.  I blended inks in the background to suggest an out of focus scene with the sun low in the sky.  Stamped a bit of grass in the foreground.  Sponge applicators were used to apply inks to the die cuts, and the sentiment was pressed into my Versamark pad and then clear embossed for a glossy look.

The Cattails and Relax came straight from my NBUS basket so I will share at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #58:

Between my never before used supplies and my well-loved oldies the toybox is bottomless.  I feel lucky to have this craft however much time I'm able to spend on it.  There is always something to be thankful for.

Have a good day and stay cozy! 

Stamps:  Years old grass stamps by D.O.T.S. (original CTMH) and Posh Impressions  Paper:  SU Whisper White for image, Cougar Natural for card base (appears white in photo), Neenah 110 lb for dies  Ink:  SU Old Olive, Brocade Blue, Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Close to Cocoa, Versamark  Dies:  Die-namites Cattails, Impression Obsession Grass Border and Relax  Other:  SU Subtle 3D embossing folder (retired) for card base, clear embossing powder

Snowman Joy

Hi everyone!  How about a little snowman joy today?  This cheerful fella is a Cottage Cutz die set which comes with an optional holly wreath for the "O", but today it's the snowman sending his greeting.  I'll soon switch gears from Christmas cards, but for the time being I'm taking advantage of all the wintry challenges to motivate me to be more prepared this year.

I colored with Copics.  Wink of Stella gave shimmer to the letters, and Viva Ice White pearl pen makes the snow and hat trim.  Perhaps it's a little shiny, but pretty.  In my head I kept hearing the song, "Winter Wonderland", while making this card.  "In the lane snow is glistening...".  Finally, I caught some sparkle and gleam in a photo.  I hand held the card directly under an Ott light.

The two challenges that motivated me to make this relatively simple card are:

Four Seasons - Winter  That little snowman in the red-gloved hands... so cute!

Can You Handle The Pressure - Snow people  My dry embossed snowflake swirl is an oldie 2D folder which I use frequently.  It looks much more defined on the card in real life.  I also used SU Subtle 3D embossing folder on the card base.

 

That's two more of Darlene and Diane's challenges.  I've already missed the Peace on Earth challenge, oops, but there will be another this month.  I don't think I'm going to manage my self challenge to do all of them.  Our backyard tree removal is happening this week, starting Monday.  They'll be using a crane to lift large chunks of an ailing giant Fir over the house to the street -- eek!  Our power will be off during the operation and I'm sure the whole week will be disrupted.  Hey, it's been a good effort and lots of fun.

I'll catch you again as soon as possible.  Take care!

Double D Challenge: Sparkle and/or Shine

 

The Double D blog is sparkling and shining today!  That's our challenge to you.  Glitter or gleam, your choice.  Just look at the pretty inspiration board:

Gosh, I wish I could show sparkle the way it's depicted in the inspiration photos.  It will glitter spectacularly in person, and sparkle beautifully through the camera lens, but by the time it's translated to the computer it's mostly gone.  Try to imagine a shimmery white base, glossy black oval, glittery silver fancy oval, and a sparkly black resin dot.  It's just so darned pretty in real life!

I pulled from my spare parts, friend shares, and oldies but goodies to make another Christmas card for the 2024 stash.  The only thing not ancient is the Spellbinders sentiment banner.

The prize offering for this challenge guarantees plenty of sparkle for a random winner:

Will you be a random winner or a creative winner?  Either way, we hope you'll play along just for fun because it's a treat to see what you make.

Take care and enjoy your day!

Paper:  Shimmer white, Neenah white, silver glitter cardstock, glossy black  Dies:  Spellbinders Classic Ovals and Elegant Ovals, Wild Rose Studio Lacy Snowflake, Spellbinders Make it Merry Sentiments  Other:  Doodlebug Sprinkles sparkly resin dot, Sizzix Snowflake #8 embossing folder, foam tape to pop up sentiment

Glazed Vintage Rose

Hello there!  I'm playing in another of Darlene and Diane's challenges today.  This one is Triple B -- Birds, Butterflies & Blooms.  Choose one or include all three.

I chose blooms because I love the frosty pink rose in the inspiration photo.  My rose is pink, but not frosty.  However I did add a touch of sparkle and an icy glaze.  I suppose I got a bit carried away.  Not sorry.  I dry embossed the Lisa Horton Peony Rose Stem on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers and homemade blender solution.  The soft stenciling in the background was mostly covered up with the wet embossed edging.  It was more edging than I'd intended but I decided to be okay with it and call it "vintage".

 

Continuing along the vintage lines, I smooshed the whole panel with Versamark ink and heat embossed with ultra-thick embossing enamel.  After it dried I bent and cracked it, then smeared with Memento Toffee Crunch ink to accentuate the cracks.  Wiped off excess ink.

The die cut sentiment is embossed with Ranger Enchanted Gold powder.  There is more sparkle to it than shows in the photo.  I shadowed the sentiment with brown cardstock then adhered to the glazed panel with Aleene's Tacky Glue applied with a plastic toothpick.

I've used this folder many times with and without the die and I think I like it best without.  After all this time I finally ordered more Lisa Horton 3D folders and hope to use them without delay when they arrive.  The best intentions... it's one of my plans for 2024 to not let the new things sit so long before I use them.

I'm happy this one helped with the Triple B challenge.  I'm thinking on which of Diane & Darlene's challenges I'll do next.  As you probably know, it's my personal goal to do all of them this month.  I'm not sure how that's going to work out but a girl can try and have fun doing it.

Thank you for visiting today.  I'll see you again very soon!

Stamps:  None  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press, Cougar 80 lb natural for card base and sentiment die + scrap brown layered under sentiment  Ink:  Versamark, SU Certainly Celery for stenciling, Memento Toffee Crunch for rubbing into cracks  Coloring:  Tombow markers and homemade blender  Other:  Lisa Horton Peony Rose Stem 3D embossing folder, Impression Obsession For You, Dylusions Leaf it Out Small stencil, embossing powders - Ranger Ultra-thick, Enchanted Gold, my own mix

Cool Fox

Hello again!  I'm back with another of Diane and Darlene's challenges.  Remember, my goal is to do all of their NINE(!) challenges this month.   Can You Handle the Pressure is one of the Two D's bi-monthly challenges and I'm hoping to do both this month.  I love my embossing folders!

The optional twist this time is "winter".  I always try to do the twist.  This could be just a winter card, but I made it into a Christmas card.  Inside it says, "Enjoy the wonder of it all.  Merry Christmas".  The rush of the Christmas season is a good time to stay cool and enjoy the wonder of it all.

The fox and sentiment are from a 2020 Power Poppy clear set.  The inside sentiment (sorry, not photographed) is from another Power Poppy set.  Even though Marcella is no longer making stamps I continue to enjoy my Power Poppy often.  The digis and a few of the stamp sets are still available in the Power Poppy Shop.

Coloring was done with Copics.  Most important to this challenge is the Snowfall embossing folder.

Many thanks to Diane and Darlene for this fun challenge that helped me get a start on my 2024 Christmas cards so I can "stay cool and enjoy the wonder of it all"!

Can You Handle the Pressure with optional twist of winter.

I'm glad we could visit today.  Take care and we'll do this again soon!

Stamps:  Power Poppy Forest Fellas  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# & 110 lb  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Stickles Stardust glitter glue, Tim Holtz Sizzix Snowfall embossing folder, Impression Obsession Tree Landscape Layers and Small Snowflake Set

Playing Along in the First Word Power Challenge

Hello friends!  I'm back so soon because there's not a chance that I was going to miss playing along in the first of the brand new Word Power challenges from Darlene and Diane -- the same crafty duo who brings us Double D and 7 other challenges.  That makes 9 challenges altogether!  Wow!

The idea is to make the sentiment the focus of the card, whether a phrase or just one word.  I generally use an image as the focal point so I wasn't sure how this would go for me, but in the end I like how it worked out.  I happily played with several of my crafty toys, and they're all there just to support the large sentiment which is clearly the star of the show.  Very fun!

That's designer paper behind the leafy background, and the polka dot flowers are cut from the same paper pad.  I added punched flowers and white gems to their centers.    The Penny Black sentiment was stamped in Versamark and embossed in black.  I edged the scalloped mat with a darker blue Copic so it would stand out from the background.

I have a goal to play in all nine of Darlene and Diane's challenges this month.  That's two down, seven to go.  I looked at my archives and that's a lot of cards for me.  We'll see how it goes.  Short term goals are best for me.

Word Power Challenge #1

I hope to see you again soon!

Stamps:  Penny Black Birthday Love  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, SU Bordering Blue, My Mind's Eye retired designer paper  Ink:  Versamark, Copic for scallop outline  Dies:  Creative Expressions Leafy Frame, Spellbinders Classic and Big Scalloped Ovals, Elizabeth Craft Bunch of Flowers 4  Other:  Small flower punch, Honeybee white gems, WOW superfine black embossing powder

Double D Challenge: 8th Birthday/Anniversary

Happy new year everyone, and happy birthday/anniversary Double D!  It was 8 years ago this month that Diane and Darlene started this challenge and it's been going strong ever since.

The 8th anniversary is bronze so that's a suggestion, but only a suggestion.  The main theme is birthday or anniversary.  Diane has prepared a beautiful board for inspiration:

Prize is for ONE winner:

Altenew Floral Frame Stamp set & project sheet
Spellbinders Hand Drawn Scallops embossing folder

Scrapbookdotcom Glitter Brush Marker

Everything on my card is metallic, but the closest I could come to bronze was copper.  I have a copper embossed flower from the Lisa Horton Peony Rose Stem embossing folder/die combo.  There's chocolate shimmery metallic cardstock, and a base of pale gold metallic.  Even the sequins are metallic.  It's so much prettier in real life with all the texture and subtle shimmer and shine.

I would like to thank Diane and Darlene for all their efforts in presenting this challenge over the years, plus all the other challenges they're giving us now, too.  Something for everyone!  It has to be a monumental effort and I know we all appreciate it greatly.

Speaking of all those challenges, watch out for yet ANOTHER brand new challenge blog from Darlene and Diane!  Tomorrow, January 4th, starts the first Word Power challenge.  I know!  Is there no stopping these girls?  I think it's going to be fun!

I hope you can join us in our celebration at Double D.  Have a wonderful day!