Double D Challenge: For the Kiddos

Hello there!  The Double D challenge is all about the kids today.  We have a fun board for inspiration...

... and a cute stencil prize for a random winner.  As always, creative winners are by team vote.

The board is full of Disney characters, which I don't have in my collection, but I was inspired by Pooh Bear to pull out one of my oldest stamps by DJ Inkers (or Hooks, Lines, and Inkers -- 1993).  I've used this guy many times in the past, but it's been more than a minute since he last saw ink.  He's just so easy and fun and cute, and he goes perfectly with my Cottage Cutz bamboo frame.

The sentiment is an oldie from Stampin' Up.  The background is a Sizzix 3D folder called Fallen Leaves -- another oldie and one of my most gorgeous favorites that WOWs me every time.  I brushed on yellow and blue inks for a soft suggestion of a bamboo forest.

Just for fun I cut an extra frame and trimmed off a piece for the panda to play with.

The team has some cute cards to share with you on the Double D blog!  If you need a card for one of the kids in your life perhaps you'd like to play along.  We'd love to see you there!

Have a wonderful summer day!

Blue and Yellow

Hello again!  I have a few cards made... some of them came together quickly, but not necessarily this one.  I made it for the Color Hues Challenge, hosted this time around by my friend, Marcia.  She chose blue and yellow, which I quite like, but typical of a challenge, it took me to an unexpected outcome.

Looking through my NBUS basket I landed on this Unity stamp which is near and dear to my heart.  I first saw it shortly after Wally and LuLu passed in 2023, but I was too heartbroken to think about ever using a dog stamp again.

Then along came Sophie.  There's still a crack in my heart that will never heal, but after 21 months with Sophie life is getting better.  These things take time.

Most of what I used on my card is old(ish), but it's all listed in the recipe.  The image is embossed with WOW black powder, and I made the grassy die cuts glossy by applying clear packing tape to black cardstock before cutting.  The card is actually 4 1/4 x 5", cut down to make all the dies fit together more evenly.

It reminds me of the end of a perfect day -- like this perfect day, just a few days ago.  Even my Rich walked a mile and a half, oxygen pack and all.

The Color Hues Challenge #109 -- Blue and Yellow
NBUS Challenge #74  -- My never before used schtuff is the Unity Oodle & Retriever stamp.

 

A lot has changed since since those long treks with Wally and LuLu (April 2012).

Wishing you a perfect day!

Stamps:  Unity Oodle & Retriever Silhouette  Paper:  Copic X-Press It Blending Card for image, SU Brocade Blue, Cougar Natural, black  Ink:  SU Brocade Blue & Barely Banana, Versamark  Dies:  Spellbinders Scored and Pierced Rectangles, Memory Box Tall Grassy Stem Right Corner and Dragonfly Stems Left Corner, Verve A Cut Above Amazing Adjectives, Creative Expressions Leafy Frame (in the background)  Other:  Black embossing powder, clear packing tape, TH Sizzix Lumber 3D embossing folder

Seize the Birthday -- Milestone

Hello!  I'm back again for Seize the Birthday.  This time we're creating milestone cards.

A milestone can be a lot of different things, but remember we're thinking "birthday" here.  If you're not a toppings kind of crafter, then just do a regular birthday card.  We'd love to see it!

The milestone topping stumped me at first.  I knew I wanted to do a sweet sixteen card for a friend's granddaughter, but I don't have number dies or stamps.  Then I remembered my Memory Box Wooden Alpha letters and figured I could just spell it out.  So here you go:

Keeping it very sweet and feminine, a lot went into this card, playing across it's 6 3/4" length.  The letters were cut from a very bright pink cardstock.  Too bright, in fact, so I smooshed over them with my white pigment ink.  Now they're softened with a whitewashed appearance.  Lots of pretty die cuts and papers, too much to mention here so I put it all in the recipe below.    I think you can see the Stickles glitter here and there. The one stamped element is the little violets cupcake.  Did you notice it?  It's a diminutive and pretty Lockhart stamp from many years ago.

Don't forget to say "hi" to the talented team at Seize the Birthday, and then share your own card in the link up.  It's going to be another fabulous players' gallery, I'm sure.  Take care and I'll see you again real soon!

Stamps:  Lockhart Violets cupcake  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, Stampin' Up Pixie Pink, Mintay Lovely Day designer paper  Ink:  SU Pixie Pink, Barely Banana, white pigment ink  Coloring:  Copics for cupcake, brushed ink for other  Dies:  Memory Box Wooden Alpha, Cottage Cutz Sweet w/Shadow (did not use shadow), Elizabeth Craft Bunch of Flowers 4, Impression Obsession Balloons, Memory Box Precious Hearts (for balloon strings & bows)  Other:  Stickles Diamond glitter, 1/4" circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Ladybug and Flower for the Neglected Stuff Challenge

Hello again and welcome!

I'm all excited about the Neglected Stuff Challenge, brand new this month.  It's another of the umpteen challenges run by our friends, Diane and Darlene.  It runs for a month, and all neglected stuff is welcome -- stamps, dies, papers, embellishments, ephemera...  endless stuffs -- anything that's been sitting unused for far too long a time.

My thoughts turned first to the many woodblock stamps I've loved enough to keep through multiple purges.  The one I chose today goes way back to my earliest days of stamping and it's still one of my favorites.  It's been many years since I've used it.

It's a Great Impressions stamp with no name on it.  Alongside is a Heartfelt Creations sentiment which was in my spare parts drawer.  The patterned paper is 2009 BasicGrey Origins which had only been neglected 2 or 3 years until I pulled it out for my previous post.  I have so little of it left that I decided to work on finishing off the pad.

I colored with Copics, created a frame with one of my oldest Spellbinders dies, and embellished with tiny gems.

If I saw this stamp today I would still want to buy it.

I get so intent on using my newest purchases that I skip over some of the best stuff.  I use oldies, but they tend to be mostly sentiments, dies, papers.  It's not often that the focus is on the oldie.  Hoping to change that going forward.

The Neglected Stuff Challenge

Thanks for visiting with me today!  I hope to see you again soon.

Santa is Coming

Ho ho ho!  Time for a batch of Christmas cards.  I played with the Picket Fence Studios Santa Mischief set which I bought solely for the sentiments, but the Santas grew on me so I made a card for each of them.

It's possible that everything on these cards is retired.  We all have a few oldies in our stash that we still love to play with, right?  I stamped all my Santas in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics.

Memory Box Pine Forest Frame, Impression Obsession Ho Ho Ho and Small Snowflake Set,
TH Sizzix Snowfall embossing folder, Darice Corner Scroll embossing folder

I stamped a snowflake background for the next card and added some designer paper borders.  Santa's list needed some writing on it so I scribbled in gray fine tip pen.

Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Spellbinders Long Classic Rectangles,
Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set

The third card has a little scene which I laid out exactly as shown on the stamp package.  I cut a snowy hill, added a snowflake border above, and accented with the little snowflake centers that popped out of the border.  The gentle bokeh sky background is Mintay paper.

Precious Marieke Snowflake Border

My first Santa is going to head over to the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge because, even though he's not a lamb, he does remind me of the red-coated lambs in the inspiration board.

That's three more for the Christmas card box and Santa Mischief can take a rest till another year.

Thank you for stopping by!

Double D Challenge: Basket Full of Posies

Hello, and welcome to another Double D Challenge.  Darlene's theme today is "Basket Full of Posies" -- basket, posies, or both!  See her pretty inspiration board:

 

In addition to our creative winners we have a prize for a random winner:

I love the idea of flowers in a basket, so I'm imagining my posies in a fancy little basket, although I believe it's supposed to be a pot.  No matter, I love it either way.  It's very simple and fun, loose coloring, bright papers, embellished with stamped flowers and punched hearts, loaded with cheer.

I cut a top fold card and embossed the front with a Basketweave folder.  The embossing is deeper than the photo represents.  See the straight stitch along the top of the image panel, and the cross stitch along the lower edge -- I used two different rectangle dies for that.  I miss doing real stitching on my cards, but I love the extra room on my desk top since I put the sewing machine in the closet.

All supplies for this card were pulled from the vault, and they're as much fun now as ever.  The scalloped border was made with the old Stampin' Up slit punch.  We go way back.  It cuts a slit for inserting a tab, but I've always used it for the scallops.

Do pop over to Double D and see the team's pretty posies.  We'd love to see yours, too.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Pink Petticoat Pretty Potties, Hampton Art Celebrate Life sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, scraps designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Darice Basketweave embossing folder, SU slit punch for scallops, 3 in 1 heart punch, Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Borders, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets

Green for a Day

Happy St. Patrick's day, friends!  I made just one card for the occasion.  Nothing but the oldies here.  These stamps and I go way back to the beginning and they still bring me joy.  This is the happiest leprechaun I've ever come across.

The gingham is cardstock so I made the whole card with it -- gingham front and back and a smidgen on the inside as well.  The sentiment inside is an oldie from Power Poppy.  It works for many occasions and I use it a lot.

I just wanted to pop in and wish you a happy day.  Don't forget to wear green... unless you actually want to get pinched.  Whatever suits your fancy.

Easter cards will resume shortly.  Take care!

Birds and Berries -- Three Cards

Hi friends!  I took the time to color all the stamps in Heartfelt Creations' Festive Berry and Birdies set which I picked up before the shop closes (at the end of the year I think).  I don't have a lot of Heartfelt stamps, but have admired many sets and this is one of them.  I purchased the coordinating die set as well, and used it on two of the cards I'm sharing today.

They were all so very easy and quick to color.  All three cards have the Spellbinders Fluted Classics Rectangles in common.  The first has a background covered with designer paper, but the image panel itself is clean and simple.

Just a bit of designer paper peeking around the edges of this next one.  I stamped and colored directly on the paper without using the coordinating die.  Coloring is with Copics.  Keeping it simple.

It was a dark day for picture taking.  Rain, rain, and more rain.

The last card is the simplest of all.  However, it has issues as I'm wearing a wrist/thumb brace and it really gets in the way of the finer maneuvers.  We won't even talk about that as I'm here to have fun and all that other life stuff can take a back seat for now.

Be merry and enjoy your day!

Double D Challenge: Fall Plaids

Hi, there!   Double D Diane is asking to see our fall plaids, and just look at all the beautiful warm colors and patterns in the inspiration board:

Most of my plaid papers appears to be for Christmas or spring and summer, but I found a piece in a Christmas pad and used just a smidgen to set off my brand new-old Heartfelt Creations Rustic Sunflower Bucket stamp with coordinating dies.  When I heard Heartfelt was closing up shop I made a point of picking up a few sets with dies.  The sentiment I used is from another older Heartfelt set.

I stamped everything from the two sunflower sets I bought onto watercolor paper in Ranger Archival Pale Ochre so I could do no-line coloring with Tombows and blender.  It worked out okay, but it does take longer, and I have a lot more no-line sunflower coloring yet to do.

The sentiment and some of the color in the sunflowers picks up the skinny line of burgundy in the plaid.  Get ready for this... the ink pad is 20 year old SU Baroque Burgundy.  I don't even have a reinker for that one.  It's still the original ink in the pad.

The Double D's have a pretty plaid paper pad (say 3 times fast) for a random winner.  Creative winners are by team vote.  You all inspire us!

Pop over to Double D and feast your eyes on the team's fabulous fall plaid samples.  I can't believe I'm saying that word -- fall.  I love the season, but at the moment I don't feel ready to say goodbye to summer.

Sending sunny wishes to all!

Stamps:  Heartfelt Creations Rustic Sunflower Bucket with matching dies, Delicate Aster Vase sentiment  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Cougar vanilla, pre-cut linen texture card base - unknown source, Memory Box Christmas Plaid designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Archival Pale Ochre, Stampin' Up Baroque Burgundy (very old)  Coloring:  Tombow markers and homemade blender solution  Other:  Honey Bee Autumn Afternoon gem stickers, corner rounder, dimensional foam tape, Spellbinders Classic Ovals and A2 Curved Borders One

Sunflowers for August Guest Designing with Triple B Challenge

 

Hi all!  I have the honor of playing along as a guest designer in the Triple B Challenge this month.

This challenge requires either blooms, birds, or butterflies, or you can do all three at once.  There is always an inspiration board, but that's just it -- inspiration.  You are not required to use it.  I could not resist these glorious sunflowers.

I've done no fancy coloring today.  Rather, I simply used this stamp as though I was a kid with a coloring book and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on white shimmer cardstock, clear embossed, and colored with Copics.  All I had to do was stay in the lines.

It's one of those cards you have to see up close and personal.

The Stained Glass Sunflower by Whimsy Stamps is a few years old, but its charm is undiminished.

Come visit at Triple B.  I always love seeing the team's samples and the team would love to see yours.  You have lots of options and all month to play.  Very fun!

Take care, friends.  I'll be back when time allows.

Stamps:  Whimsy Stamps Stained Glass Sunflower, Memory Box Big and Little Reverse Words  Paper:  White metallic shimmer cardstock, SU Daffodil Delight & Really Rust  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Detail clear & detail black embossing powder, SU Subtle 3D embossing folder on card base