Simple Design with Dogwood Blossoms

One more card using the sketch at Stamplorations before the month ends; an easy CAS using a piece of Stamploration's Color Bloom page.

I love this page of dogwoods (probably because I love Dogwood trees which are so beautiful at this time ).  I had a piece that I had printed out a while back so I tore off a strip, added a bit of Copics, then distressed the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink.  After adhering it to the GKD Bubblegum Pink card stock, I added the "thanks" which was cut with a Memory Box die.
Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Time Out - flowers and friends
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Double D - multiple flowers
Die Cut Divas -May  flowers
Words 2 Craft By - Springtime
Stamploration them and sketch

Stamploration CAS

Stamploration Anything Goes

Paw Prints

Here is another card using the challenging sketch at MFT.

Digital image which I colored with Copics.
Sentiment is from Paper and Such.
Paw prints are Stampin' Up.
Strip of dots = Washi tape
Sketch:

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - little critters
MFT - sketch
Simon Wednesday - furry friends
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Ocean - furry friends
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything

Bowl of Violets

Fascinated by the sketch at MFT,  I took time off from kids cards to come up with this one.

The image of violets is by Maxam Made Studios.  Sentiment is Verve.  I only have three Copics in the purple family.  Two were too dark so I went with the lightest.  I was pretty excited when I found a piece of designer paper the exact color.
Sketch:

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Words 2 Craft By - Springtime = partytime
Power Poppy - frame
7 Kids Challenge - anything
Double D - flowers galore
MFT - sketch 

Keeping It Simple

Working on a few cards today - simple, just for fun cards, using up pieces and scraps of designer paper.  Here is one for the SAS4Kids box.

I chose this cute digital stamp years ago when one of my Ghanaian granddaughters was little.  She is too old now to make her cards with this image but I love it so much - that cute round face and braids.  So I use it occasionally for cards that I am sending to the children hospitals.

Kraft card stock base
Left over designer paper
Brads
Copics
Tim Holtz Distress ink

Thanks for looking. 

Challenges:
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Stamploration theme and sketch

 

Stamploration CAS 

Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids Challenge - anything

Friendly Bear

My next box for Send A Smile 4 Kids is almost full so I pulled out a few images from my "left over" box and put together a few simple cards.  These images are by Bugaboo and the letters are die cuts using  MFT dies (Hello set).

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - little critters
Tuesday Throwdown - anything
CardzTV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
SAS4K - bright colors
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Ocean - furry friends
Power Poppy - frame
7 Kids - anything
Joy Clair - anything
Stamploration CAS

Fun New Idea

I saw this idea by Kelly featuring Honey Bee stamps earlier this week and wanted to try it. I found out that I have only one floral stamp set with matching dies.  That was a shocker.  Must do something about that!  LOL  The set I used is by Verve.

It took a bit of doing but I really love how it turned out and will make another sometime (especially after buying another set!).  The "you" die cut is Simon Says.  The sentiment is Unity.
Thanks for looking. 

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - bit of sparkle
Time Out Thursday - CASE
MFT - color challenge
Double D - flowers galore
Die Cut Divas - May flowers
Crop Stop - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids - anything
Words 2 Craft By- Springtime=partytime

More Lilies

Apparently I am obsessed with lilies right now because here is another card with them as the focal point.   This is a digital stamp by Maxam Made.

Don't you just love black and white?
The left edge is a piece of patterned paper.  The "thank you" is Verve,
The frame is made by cutting out an oval (Spellbinder) on the main panel, then backing it with a smaller oval (black card stock).  I really like the layers and like the results when I take the time to do it this way.
Sketch:

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - frame
MFT - sketch
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Ocean - anything
Power Poppy - frame
Our Daily Bread Designs - thanks
7 kids - anything
Stamploration CAS

Lilies in Orange

Playing around with different colors for this lily image by Our Daily Bread Designs. 

I used the same stamp for the corners after stamping off each time.  Added a tiny bit of Tim Holtz distress ink.
The card at Time Out is the card I used as my inspiration.
I made the black frame by using two Spellbinder Ovals.
Sentiment is Verve.


Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Our Daily Bread Designs - thanks
Simon Monday - frame it
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Time Out - CASE
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Oceans - anything
Poppy Power - frame it
Joy Clair - anything (photo inspiration)
7 Kids - anything

Going Western

One more opportunity to post a card as a Guest Designer for the Crop Stop.
Some of the cards I make are for children in hospitals.  It is easy to make cards for very small children but I also try to make some that would be fitting for pre-teens and adolescents.

For this card I used the Darice Woodgrain embossing folder.  After embossing, I added some Tim Holtz Distress Ink.  The horse head is a one of the stamps in an Inkadinkado set.  The two corner pieces are Joy Clair that I fussy cut after coloring them.  All images were colored with Copics.  After cutting out the horse image with a Die-namic Circle, I used  Tim Holtz Distress Marker to make the stitch lines.
The horse piece is popped up with Scotch Foam Mounting Tape.
One thing I find really helpful for adhering ribbon to cards is Scorepal Tape. It hold the ribbon firm and keeps most ribbons from puckering.
Thanks for looking.  I appreciate your comments.

Challenges:

Mailbox Smiles - anything
Deep Ocean - anything
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids Crafting - anything
Cutie Pie - cute stamp and ribbon
Simon Monday - frame
Power Poppy - frame 
Cardz TV - anything 

Digital Frame

After playing around with several dies and several shapes trying to make an attractive frame, I still did not like what I was making.  I guess I wasn't in the mood for creating after all,  so I resorted to digital stamps again.  Both the frame and the verse have been in my files for ages.  I sized the verse to fit into the rectangle frame and colored that frame with a gold pencil.  The circle frame I filled in with black.

The stamp in the left top corner is a Penny Black stamp.  The butterfly is a die by Birch Press.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - frame
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Cuttlebug Mania - wings
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration CAS

  Power Poppy - frame it

Thankful For You

A CAS card with a touch of elegance.

 This beautiful Stargazing Lily stamp is by Our Daily Bread Designs.  The die cut is Spellbinder Stately Lace.  Sentiment stamp is Unity.  They all combine to make an elegant card (in my opinion) and yet very simple to make.  I sponged Tim Holtz  Spun Sugar Distress ink and SU Certainly Celery ink on the edges.  Image is colored with Copics.
Thanks for looking.
 Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - hint of pink
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Time Out - flowers
Deep Ocean - anything
Our Daily Bread Designs - Thanks
7 Kids Crafting - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration CAS

Word Art Wednesday - anything

Mother's Day Card

Each year I try to make my mom a special card for Mother's Day.  For this year I made an accordion card using Elizabeth Crafts Circle Accordion Dies.

On this card I used several of the dies that come with the set.

This is one that I like to use , first stamping an image or sentiment.

The heart around the sentiment is Verve.  The little girl stamp is Pure Innocence.  I used a banner die and wrote the letters MOM .  The large flowers were made using  two dies then forming the petals by clipping and rolling.
I counted up 11 dies and punches for this card - crazy fun.

Thanks for stopping by...I hope I have inspired you in some way today.  Remember to stop by and play along with the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  Use your die cuts to inspire us!

Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

 

click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

 

Mailbox Smiles - anything
Time Out - flowers
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Deep Oceans - anything
Joy Clair - anything (photo inspiration)

ChooChoo Train

It has rained all day (again) which makes me feel lazy so instead of doing indoor projects, I colored and made cards.

Like many of you, I have a ton of patterned paper that just sits year after year.  I'm not sure why I thought of this paper when I saw the MFT sketch but decided to use it to make a few birthday cards to send off to Send A Smile 4 Kids.
Here is the sketch:

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Cuttlebug train die
Stampin' Up stamp

Challenges:
Simon Monday - great outdoors
MFT - sketch
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Joy Clair - anything and photo inspiration
7 Kids College Fund - anything

Bee Balm and Butterflies

Did you know there is no such thing as a pink butterfly?  But there are pink moths.  But in the land of crafts, we can break all the rules, right?  So these winged insects are butterflies. 😉

Darice Embossing Folder

Martha Stuart butterfly punch (designer paper)

Spellbinder Ovals 

Our Daily Bread Design BeeBalm stamp 

Cuttlebug vine 

Copics and Prisma pencils

Tuesday Morning Sketch 

Thanks for looking. 

Challenge: 

Simon Monday  - great outdoors

Simon Wednesday - hint of pink

Mailbox Smiles - anything 

Cut It Up - wings 

Cuttlebug Mania - wings 

Word Art Wednesday - anything 

Die Cut Divas - trees, flowers, etc 

Work It Wednesday - flowers 

7 Kids College Fund - anything 

Tuesday Morning Sketch 

Happy Cake Day

As soon as I received these stamps and dies in the mail, I had to get busy and make a card with them.  They are so cute.  I was asked to be the guest designer at Crop Stop this week.  Since I use many of the products found at the Crop Stop Store, I made this card for today's Crop Stop Blog post. 

The stamps and die are by Paper Sweeties.

Pretty easy card.  After coloring the cut out images, I popped the cake up with Scotch Foam Mounting Tape.  I use Tombow products for most of my adhesives, often using a combination of Mono Adhesive Runner and Mono Multi Liquid Glue.   After gluing everything in place, I added Baby Blue Stickles and Cantaloupe Liquid Pearls to the dots on the cake.  Each time I have balloons on a card, I add a liquid gloss.  The Crop Stop carries Tim Holtz Glossy Accents.
Here is a close up of the dots and balloons.

Thanks for looking.  I appreciate your comments.

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - hint of pink
Deep Ocean - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything 
Mailbox Smiles - anything 

Trying Something New

This week's challenge at From the Heart is to CASE a card by one of the members of the design team.
Lyn Tomlin's card caught my attention.  I loved the background.

For my card I used Tim Holtz Oxide ink on the bottom half, Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress ink on the top and then sprayed the whole front with water.  The mist was more of a spray to I went back over the piece with more oxide ink.

The cup image is by FTH which I cut out with a Die-namics Stitched rectangle.  The stitching around the cut out and around the edge of the main panel is hand drawn with a Tim Holtz distress ink pen.  The splashes are stamps by Joy Clair.  The sentiment is Latina Crafts.
After I colored the cup, I dropped a stamp onto the image. Ugh!  I didn't want to color the sleeve again so I paper pieced it onto a new printing of the cup.
Thanks for looking. 

Challenges:
From the Heart - CASE
Deep Ocean - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Joy Clair - anything

Blossom Time

Even though it is still horrible weather here, the trees are budding and blossoming.  I so enjoy all the blossoms.  We have a flowering plum tree which has grown way larger than we expected so we need to cut off some branches but hate to.

Recently I won a set of stamps by Penny Black.  I was anxious to play with them.  Using the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketch, this is what I made.

I started with a Cuttlebug EF.  The ovals are cut with Elizabeth Crafts Design Stitched Oval dies. The sentiment is a digital stamp by Doodle Pantry.  Now here is the Crazy part (yes, Crazy with a capital C !) - after coloring the blossoms images with Copics, I FUSSY CUT it out so I could place it over the die cuts.  I didn't even know I had that much patience - those leaves and stems are tiny!  But I really like the way it turned out.
(IRL the large oval is not red, it is a dark rose color.) 
Here is the sketch which I turned on it's side:

Challenges:
Simon Monday - great outdoors
Tuesday Morning Sketch
Simon Wednesday - hint of pink
Time Out - flowers
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Ocean - anything
Die Cut Divas - trees, flowers
Work It Wednesday - flowers
7 Kids College Fund - anything

The Pianist

We live away from any large (actually any) city so the church we attend is small but we love it.  There is one young man who has such an incredible talent; it is like being at a mini concert when he plays the piano for us.  I made a card to express my thanks to him and to encourage him.

The stamp of the piano is GKDesigns which I heat embossed.  After embossing the background piece with a Darice EF, I rubbed a bit of distress ink over the musical score.  The note is a Cuttlebug die. The other dies used are Die-namic Circles and Spellbinder Scallop Circles.  Fishtail banner is a piece of designer paper.
Thanks for looking.  I appreciate your comments.

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - anything
All Sorts - embossing
Cut It Up - music
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Joy Clair - anything/ photo inspiration 

Birds, Branches, Pearls

 Good Morning.  I'm here with a card that I am sharing on the Dies R Us Inspirational Blog.
Every once in awhile I make an easel card, especially if I know that the recipient wants to save the card and display it.  One of the tricky parts of making an easel card is how to keep the back propped up.  Let me show you a fun way to accomplish this.
 

 

Elizabeth Crafts Designs has dies that are used to help keep the back portion of your card up.  They are called "stand up helpers". The one I used is Happy Birthday.

First cut the card stock that is going to be used for the base then line up the stand up helper die on the bottom fold:

When you run it through your cutting machine, the die is designed to cut the words but not cut along the fold line:

 I wanted the letters to pop, so I used a piece of white cardstock, used the same die and then trimmed it from the piece of cardstock.  Then I adhered it over the brown letters:

I decorated the rest of the card with Elizabeth Crafts Stitched Ovals,  Die-namites Birds on a Branch, and Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish dies. 

Thanks for looking and I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

 

click below for:

STORE

CHALLENGE BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - anything
7 Kids College Fun - anything
Simon Monday - great outdoors
Joy Clair - photo inspiration
Word Art Wednesday - anything