Feelin' Sketchy

Hello again!  After two-in-a-row Christmas posts (and another coming soon), I thought I'd better do some flowers lest I forget what season we're in.  I kept it quick and clean and simple because I was short on time, but it was as much fun and infinitely more liberating than a fancied up complex card.

I combined my never-before-used, bought-on-sale Pinkfresh Floral Envelope set (sans envelope) with the current Sunday Stamps Challenge -- Feelin' Sketchy.

With minimal layers I followed the sketch to the letter.  Copic colored and cut with the matching dies, I popped up the flowers, but glued the stem and bow knot flat.  I'm loving my Nuvo drops a lot lately and had the perfect color to match.  I like to give the bigger drops a solid thwack on the backside of the card to flatten them, but the teensy drops stay more pearl-shaped.  Cute!

Linking up here: 

Sunday Stamps Challenge 338 -- Feelin' Sketchy
NBUS Challenge #63 -- My never before used schtuffs are the Pinkfresh Floral Envelope and matching dies.

 

That was fun!  Have a lovely weekend!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Floral Envelope with matching dies  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, ancient My Mind's Eye designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Nuvo Neptune Crystal Drops, Scotch brand foam mounting tape, SU retired Subtle embossing folder (on card base, probably not showing in photo), Memory Box Stitched Scalloped Circles, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Poppystamps banner die (from a sentiment set)

Christmas Fun

Hi there!  Just for fun today I'm playing along with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge #87 where the prompt this month is "It's a Gift".  I sure do have a LOT of stamps I could have used for this, but I chose one of my not yet used Penny Black critters because I think it's just so darn cute.  It worked out nicely for a clean and simple card with only the stitched border to frame it.

The critters were stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers and blender.  I added a sprinkling of my new favorite thing -- homemade resin dots.  Per usual I punched 1/4" and 1/8" circles, glued in place, and coated with Diamond Glaze.  In the close up you may be able to see that I used patterned paper for the dots.  The sentiment is retired Power Poppy.  "Oh, what fun" is exactly what I was thinking while making this card!

I'll link up with the two challenges I'm playing in today:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #87 -- It's a Gift
NUBS Challenge #63 -- Never before used Penny Black Christmas Fun stamp

 

I'm so glad you could stop by today.  I do love visitors!

Stamps:  Penny Black Christmas Fun, Power Poppy sentiment (retired)  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot pressed watercolor, scraps designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Tombow markers and blender  Other:  Lil' Inker Silly Stitched Die Set (out of business), 1/4" & 18" punches, Judikins Diamond Glaze

Double D Challenge: Reach for the Stars

It's Double D Challenge time again, friends, and Darlene is asking us to reach for the stars!

I'm sure the board she prepared will have you inspired to make something starry.  There is a very cool celestial stencil up for a random prize winner.  The team votes for creative favorites as well.

 

I was especially inspired by the gold and black starry panel in the inspiration board.  However, you know how it goes... inspiration doesn't mean an exact match, but I came close with white stars rather than gold.  I'm sure you can see how much fun I had making this card.  The reindeer crew is having a rest while Santa rumbles off into the night sky to make his rounds.  Ho ho ho!

I do love my Cottage Cutz dies, especially for Christmas.  Time consuming perhaps, but that's why it's good to start early.  I cut on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers.  The sentiment is an older but new-to-me Sue Wilson die that was probably part of a steampunk collection.  I imagined I'd be covering the gear with small Christmas icons or stamps, but it worked out perfectly as is for Santa and his jalopy.

Come see the team samples at Double D and then show us your starry creation.  In the meantime, enjoy your crafting and have a wonderful day!

Stamps:  None, except inside sentiment not shown  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor for die cuts, black, red, Neenah white  Coloring:  Tombow markers  Dies & Other:  Cottage Cutz Ho Ho Ho Car, Sue Wilson Here Comes Santa, Taylored Expressions Starry Night Cutting Pad, Stickles Stardust glitter glue

Anemones and More

Hi and welcome!  Today's post is definitely one for my "mostly dies" category.  I played with my Memory Box Graceful Anemone and Anemone Bud Duo.  My goal was to keep it relatively clean, if not simple, and to use up some old designer paper.  I have a hard time getting past the "waste not, want not" philosophy and so I keep plugging away at it.  I ended up with rather a monotone-ish card.  Sometimes things just sort of happen on their own.

I cut in white and colored with Tombows, and punched gold mirror cardstock circles for embellishment.  The sentiment is The Ton Easy Expressions stamp set with matching die set.

The following cards were meant to be bonus cards, simply an effort to use the designer paper.  However, I put more time and effort into them than planned and I love them a lot.  The first is with Memory Box Sylvan Sprig, cut in PTI Ocean Tide, then coated with Versamark and clear embossed.  The wave is a Memory Box die, cut twice and layered with the underneath piece upside down.  More of the gold punched circles on this one.

Lots of wavy lines today.  You could get seasick, but I hope you don't.  Bonus card #2, below, has gold paint on the sprig and Diamond Glaze on the punched circles.  I added tiny gold dots with Nuvo Pale Gold Crystal Drops.  Older Spellbinders curved borders on this one.

The next card is fun with lots of homemade resin dots -- punched from the designer paper and coated with Diamond Glaze.  Memory Box Frieda Curve on this one, with a Cottage Cutz sentiment.  The sentiment is clear embossed.

Finally, Memory Box Freida Leaf with Spellbinders curve and Sue Wilson Creative Expressions sentiment.  More homemade resin dots and Nuvo drops.  The sentiment and leaf are both cut from PTI Ocean Tide cardstock, but the sentiment was coated with Versamark and clear embossed.  It's interesting how much it darkens when embossed.

I'll be sending my never-before-used anemones over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #63.

Thanks for wading through this long post with me.  Brand new toys are fun, but it feels so comfortable to sit down and create with the oldies, too.  I love it all.  Have a wonderful day!

Sophie's Good Times

Hi!  It feels like a Sophie kind of day on the blog.  She's growing up fast, as all kids do -- ten months old in a couple of days.  Our adventures are a lot more frequent and enjoyable now that it's not raining as much, although these days it's mostly just me and Sophie tramping the trails.  It's a different experience, just the two of us, but I'm adjusting to the change, giving her a good life, and sharing her joy.

The first three pictures were taken around the backside of a beautiful little lake nestled at the foot of the sand dunes.  Sophie went swimming, but she loved the sand the best.  Just like a little kid.

I lost track of how many times she ran up and down this sand dune.

Bottoms up!

She stopped long enough for me to capture a pic of her happy puppy face.

Next up is a place we go frequently.  It's always best at low tide because there's so much room to run on the clean gravely beach.  She loves to swim here as well, but I keep her close to shore when the tide is changing.

Running on the bay shore.

Pictured below is a favorite place where we can walk (run) for miles.

There is endless fun to be had on the backside of the bay.

Hanging around home is not so bad, either.  Yesterday Sophie played in her backyard pool and helped me plant flower pots.  She's learning her boundaries and is now able to spend more time in the much larger unfenced property as well.   She ran here and there, visiting neighbors and charming all the passersby.  Of course, it was all under my supervision.  It took a long time to plant three flower pots, but as Sophie matures I'll appreciate the time I invested in her puppyhood.

The littlest things can be the most fun.

Playtime on the lawn with neighborhood friend, Lynus.

I'm glad you could stop by for a visit with me and Sophie.  Crafty stuff will resume shortly.  Have a happy day!

Happy Wishes Peony

First, a question:  If you are subscribed through follow.it are you seeing new and annoying ads that pop up in your face when you try to click through to the blog?  It's safe to click "go to article".  I'm talking with follow.it.  More on that later.  Thank you.

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Hello again!  I'm happy to be here twice in one week.  Life is full of busyness lately, but I've got to have my crafty time, too.  The quickest kind of card for me to make is one with a large colored image and not a lot of other detail in the design.  The stamp does it all!

This is a Pinkfresh stamp -- Lush Peonies -- picked up on one of their sales a while back.  It's been waiting in the wings while I goof around with a lot of other stuff both in and out of my craft room.

It's very loosely colored with Tombow markers and blender, then blue ink added through a stencil to help highlight the image a bit more.  The enamel dots are actually 1/4" and 1/8"punched circles coated with Diamond Glaze.  They look more dimensional than they actually are and I love that.  I've done this many times in the past, but suddenly it's my new favorite thing.

I'm not even going to worry about the few times I colored outside the lines.

I won't take up more of your time, but I will link to the challenges I had in mind while making this card.

Triple B has a beautiful blue inspiration board, but they insist that anything goes as long as it includes a bloom, bird, or butterfly
The Four Seasons Challenge has switched to the summer months.  Anything goes as long as it's summer related.  Peonies bloom in early summer here.
Last, but far from least is NBUS Challenge #63.  My never before used schtuff is the Lush Peonies and the Sue Wilson Stacked Happy Wishes sentiment die.

  

Onward to the weekend.  Enjoy!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Lush Peonies  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 hot pressed watercolor, SU Pixie Pink & Pink Passion  Ink:  Palette Noir, SU Bashful Blue  Coloring:  Tombow markers & blender  Other:  Sue Wilson Stacked Happy Wishes, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles (largest die with no hemstitch), Penny Black Background Basics Stencil, 1/4" & 1/8" circle punches, JudiKins Diamond Glaze

Double D Challenge: Pick Three

 

Hi!  Double D Challenge day is here again, and Diane is asking for something old, something new, something borrowed and/or blue.  It does not have to be a wedding card.  Check out the inspiration board and the prize that's up for a random winner.   I'm sure you know we have creative winners, too.

 

I always use a lot of old and new together on my cards, and in this case the oldest of the old is the Bordering Blue Stampin' Up ink which I brushed onto the center oval.  That ink pad is circa 2004, maybe older.  The oval frame and the happy birthday sentiment go back to 2016.  At that time I was new-ish to the world of decorative dies.  I'd used basic shapes, but not much in the way of anything else.  Well, we all know what that led to.

The new (to me) is Memory Box Clara Blooms and Nestled Chickadees.  I don't have anything borrowed on this card, but I do have three shades of blue.  Coloring is a mix of ink blending, water spritzing, and coloring with Tombow markers.

Other dies are listed below my signature.

This is a fun challenge and I hope you can play along with us.  I'd love to see your old, new, borrowed and/or blue.  The team has some inspiring cards to show you at Double D.  I'm eager to hop around and get their back stories, too.

Take care, and have a wonderful day!

Dies:  Memory Box Clara Blooms, Nestled Chickadees, Vibrant Leaf Corner, Oval Master Frame, Poppystamps Happy Birthday Melody