Dogwoods in Bloom

I was looking through my box of extra printed digital images and spotted this beautiful bloom.  I was thinking it was a dogwood, one of the many things in bloom right now.  But when I posted this, I realized - this isn't a dogwood, it is magnolia.  Oh, well.  I love both.

The EF is by Cuttlebug.  The pink scalloped borders were cut with  MFT dies. The circle and scalloped circle are Spellbinder.

Challenges:

Die Cuttin Divas - Garden
Scrapping4fun - anything with ribbon
Little Claire's Digital challenge - flowers

Picking Flowers

My desire to do any gardening is decreasing each year, but I so enjoy the results of our labor.  It is wonderful to have enough flowers in our flower beds so we can pick them to enjoy in the house and yet still have enough to enjoy outside.  We also enjoy sharing.  Yesterday I filled two vases with Lilacs; one for me and one for someone else who was getting heady with the scent when she came for a visit. Last week it was tulips.  Next week it will by Rhodies.  I can hardly wait for the Peonies.

For this card, I started with the sketch at Sketch Saturday, using one of my new die cuts from MFT.  The image is Bugaboo which I colored with Copics.  The cluster of flowers in the left, lower corner were cut out with a Cuttlebug die.  I used Liquid Pearls in the center of each of the flowers in the cluster and on the image too.
Even with the Washi tapes, something seemed missing - the cardbase was too boring so I stamped tiny flowers with a stamp by SU using Versamark .

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion - anything
Paper Takes - Cute as a button
Die Cuttin Divas - garden
Pink Gem - Spring
Scrapyland - pearls ( I used Liquid Pearls)
Dies R Us - hamemade flowers
Little Claire's Digi challenge - flowers

A Background of Color

So many lovely flowers in bloom right now.  It just makes me want to use flowers on my cards.  So many to choose from and so many colors.  This beautiful background stamp by Hero Arts has endless color possibilities.  So fun to color.   It is so beautiful by itself, I didn't want to cover up much of the flowers or colors.  But I did add a tiny little tag to say Hello.

The little tag is cut out with a Spellbinder die from the Shapeabilities Labels and Tags set.  And the beautiful ribbon is seam binding that I wet and crinkled.
Hero Arts is giving one lucky person two stamp sets if their card is randomly chosen at the Die Cut Divas Challenge.   This month the theme is In The Garden.  There are still two weeks to play.


Challenges:
Craft Dee Bowz - anything
Craft Your Passion - anything
Scrapping4fun - anything plus ribbon
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Die Cuttin Divas - garden 

Friends and Flowers

What would we do without friends?  I have many acquaintances but only a few close friends.  Unfortunately, my closest friend lives over 2000 miles away now.  I hope to see her this summer and made this card with her in mind.

I used a lot of products from the Kraft Outlet on this card.  The card base is Light Kraft.  The light panel is Buff Ivory on which I sponged some distress ink.  The crumpled flowers are made out of BrownKraft Text.  I cut them out with Spellbinder large scallop dies then sponged them with two different colors of distress ink.  "Friends" is stamped on a Small Grungy Prim Tag.  I love how the center of the tag is not stained and seems to highlight the word.
I wish you could see the embossing on the paper lace.  It is cut with a die and has the pretties pattern.  The other die I used is the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish for the green flourishes and leaves.   The Black Eyed Susan stamp is Mark's Finest.
The challenge at the Kraft Journal is to make a card with the theme of Anything Girlfriends.  We would love to see your entries.

Challenges:
Dies R Us - flowers
Scrapping4fun - lace or ribbon (paper lace)
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration - use a stamp and a # of things (3 flowers)
Little Claire's - use Kraft
Scrapyland - pearls or lace (paper lace)

Double Inspiration

So much beautiful eye candy this week on the blogs I follow.  I wanted to CASE a card I saw on one site, Stamplorations,  but before I got going on it, I saw a sketch I wanted to use.  So I combined the two.
First my card:

I love all the daisies on Shery Russ' card, the one I wanted to CASE.

When I was going through my stamps for a daisy image, I decided to use one by ODBD.  That caused me to go to the ODBD blog to check out the challenge. That is when I decided to use the sketch and use the stamp as a BG stamp.  (This sound like the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie..." !)
Here is the ODBD sketch:

Here is the stamp I used

I stamped the lower right corner of my white cardstock then turned the stamped and stamped the lower left corner using Always Artichoke ink.  After stamping again on a separate piece, I cut out the butterfly with the matching die.  Coloring was done with Copics.
The moss colored piece is embossed with a SU embossing folder and the yellow piece with a Cuttlebug folder.
The verse in the center is cut with a Spellbinder Curved Rectangle.  It is one of the verses from the Word Art Wednesday blog.  They have a verse each week you can download for free.

So that is the evolution of my card. 
Hope you like it.

Challenges:
Stamplorations - CASE
Simon Monday - in the middle
Dies R Us - flowers
Simon Wednesday - make your own BG
Party Time Tuesday - anything
Simon Work It Wednesday - use a stamp
Our Daily Bread - sketch

Just Monkeying Around

Okay, I finally did it.  I have been telling myself to make a shaker card for days,weeks, months.  I finally did.  I have only ever made one other one so it was almost like doing it for the first time.  Now I need to get some more sequins. These were a okay in a pinch.

The image, paper, and sentiment are by Doodle Pantry.  Usually I use the pre-colored images but I am slowly adding colors to my collection of Copics and really love coloring now.
I made the frame with Spellbinders Labels One. 
Sketch is Sketch Saturday:

Challenges:


Pile It On - fancy frames
Simon Monday - in the middle


Die Cut Divas - zoo
Crafty Sentiments - anything
Tuesday Throwdown - use something clear
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Di's Digis - include an animal




 

Thinking Outside the Box

My husband asked me to make a thank you card.  He caught me in a creative mood.  Here is what I came up with and we both liked it. (that is always a plus!)

On the front of the folded pink cardstock, I cut out an oval with a Spellbinders Oval die.  On the inside I glued an oval so that the opening was "framed".  You can see it in the next photo.  The "thanks" is a die cut. (memory box I think) which is just glue on the top under the "t" and the "s"  and the ornate corners are made with a Cuttlebug die.  Boy, I haven't used those corners for years!
Here is what the inside looks like:

The gorgeous, large flower is Hero Arts which I colored with Copics.
I really do love the way this turned out.  The only problem is there is no room to write a note unless he writes on the back of the card.  (I still love it- haha)
The idea for this card came from the sketch at Stamplorations:

Pile It On - fancy frames or borders
Simon Monday - in the middle
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Simon Wednesday - flowers
Party Time Tuesday - anything
V's Sweet Ideas - anything
Sweet Stamps - pink
Paper Creators - flowers