Monday, April 13, 2020

Even More Challenges!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you are all staying healthy at that those of you that celebrate Easter had a nice holiday yesterday. Warning-there are a lot of photos in this post!!

It is rainy here in CT with winds gusts of more than 60 miles per hour. Just praying that our power does not go out!! I usually try to go for a walk but since the weather was not cooperating, today I actually went down and did the elliptical machine. We have had this since my 41st birthday? Not sure but I hardly ever use it. It is harder to pedal than the ones at the gym so I would rather use those! I also did some weights. Hopefully I will be pleasantly sore tomorrow.

Today I am getting some cards for some challenges that I am getting in under the gun. I have "vacation" from school this week so I have time to blog them at the last minute.

The first card I created for Freshly Made Sketches #430.


I used WPlus9 "Fresh Cut Florals", Simon Says Stamp "Thanks and Encouragement Word Mix," and my new Altenew "Fine Frames Diamonds" die set.


The florals were from a pile on my desk that has been there forever. It has been fun challenging myself to do this. I always stamp "extras" when I am doing a project and have SO MANY to choose from!!


I have also been trying to stamp sentiments to have on hand and I had fun looking through them to pull for this card.

The challenges I am entering this card into are:
Happy Little Stampers: Anything Goes With Dies (I was inspired by the pink flowers)
NBUS Challenge (I used my Altenew Frames for the first time)

 

For  my second card, I started out being inspired by two challenges. The first was the Color Throwdown Challenge #588. I usually have a difficult time doing color challenges but I paired it with this weeks CASE this Sketch Challenge #367 for a simple card design. 


I started off my card by using Distress Ink to paint my four lines on a piece of watercolor paper.


I rarely do this kind of technique because I am LAZY and hate to wait for things to dry!! Yes, I could use a heat gun but don't like the way the paper warps when I do that. When the stripes were dry, I die cut the image with an MFT Blueprints 13 die.


The branch is from Paper Smooches and I die cut that from watercolor paper, using Twisted Citron Distress Ink to give it some color.


The sentiment from Altenew's free "Best Sentiments" set that has been sitting in my NBUS pile of things to use. I think I will be inking this stamp up a few times to have in my stash.




I made this card to go in a set for my Aunt's birthday this week.


This card was SO FUN to make!! I stenciled the background and then splattered with a couple colors of Distress Mist.


The large flower and large leaves were stamped using some Altenew dye ink combinations. The smaller flowers I colored with Copic markers. All are from Aletenew's "Beautiful Day" stamp set. This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE stamp sets.


The frame is from Pink Fresh Studio. I cut it in half and used it on another card that I will post later this week. 


I know this card would not be everyone's cup of tea with the background but I LOVED how it came out!!!

On another note, since we couldn't spend Easter with our family we did a Zoom call instead.


My father had a few difficulties at first but it was fun to do. I have been doing virtual happy hour with some of my girlfriends on Saturdays and this has kept me SANE!! Also figured I would post a photo of my pup. He is declining even with all his meds he is on.


He has been refraining from snuggling as of late. I think it is because it is hard to get comfortable on the couch.

That is all from me today. I hope I didn't bore you all!! I thank you for taking the time to stop by. Stay safe and healthy. I think of all of you wonderful cardmakers that I call my friends and love you to pieces!!!


19 comments:

Amy O said...

These are all lovely! The colors and flowers are all so pretty and cheerful. Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Jacquie Southas said...

Great set of cards, Nora! I love the sweet flowers on the first one. Thanks for playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Broni said...

I love all of these! They are SO pretty! Thank you for playing along with the Color Throwdown challenge!

SmilynStef said...

Wow ... hard to pick a favorite, but I think it's the first one (although you got the hues absolutely perfect on the second card) ... fabulous!

Danni Reid said...

Your cards are so pretty! I love your clustering on your first card, your design is so eye-catching! Your birthday card and sending love and hugs card are so pretty too, love your CAS design and your colors on the birthday card are beautiful. Thank you for sharing @ Inspired By this week!

Karren said...

Beautiful selection of cards! Those WP9 florals are still among my favorites and you've combined them with new products perfectly. You wee dog is gorgeous and I'm sorry he is in pain. Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches.

Vicky Hayes said...

These are beautiful cards Nora! The first two especially appeal to my CAS little heart :) Thanks for showing me the altenew dies in your first card - now they would have made my life easier for the FMS challenge! Your frames look stunning decorated with die cut flowers. I love the elegant simplicity of the second card with those painted stripes and fabulous colours. Your third card is a riot of colour! I love your splattered background and bouquet of pretty flowers.
Sounds like you're doing well with sheltering in place. Thank goodness for technology when we can't be with our loved ones. We had our grown up children to dinner on Easter Sunday via zoom and it was lovely to feel as if they were there at the table, chatting with us all. What a sweet photo of your pup. I'm so sorry to hear that he is declining - that is hard to watch isn't it.
Take care, Vicky x

Leslie Miller said...

Hi, Nora! Your first card caught my eye over at NBUS. It's so pretty! Now I see your second card and I think it's my favorite, even though you've got a third that's utterly gorgeous! I'm so sorry about your little dog. I have two Golden Retrievers who are the source of all my smiles. I miss my girlfriends! Hugs!

Stephanie Lanzalotto said...

I love all of your cards, Nora. The first one really caught my eye in the IB gallery. I just love the way you used the WPlus9 flowers with the diamond shape and tucked those little sentiments into your design. Love the bright strips of color in the second, and that luscious purple background for that wonderful frame and flower is fantastic. Awesome art!

Kim Heggins said...

So many beautiful and sweet cards Nora....just love each one!! I love all that beautiful purple, stunning! Thank you so much for playing along with us at Time Out!

Witchcrafted Life said...

Love them all to bits! The flower themed birthday card in particular really stopped me in my tracks and made my heart skip many a beat. It's flat out stunning!

Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life

Marina said...

All these cards are great! I do love those stripes of colour with the leaf - slightly quirky and so memorable. Thanks for joining in at Inkspirational Challenges.

laurie said...

Wow awesome set of cards! They are all lovely. Thanks for joining us at Happy Little Stampers!

Joyce said...

Well, I absolutely love all these cards, and I also love seeing a blog post with loads of cards for loads of challenges, since that is what I often do. Looks like quarantining has provided you with loads and loads of creative energy. Your Easter zoom looked kind of like my Passover zoom! Stay safe and create on!

Shona Chambers said...

Loved reading your post! I've been trying to keep active too by playing basketball with my 13yr old son and trying to replicate some of his moves. I love it too when I'm a bit sore the next day, makes me feel like I've actually done something!! Your card for your Aunt is gorgeous and think the background is fabulous, especially with the different coloured splatters. Such a good idea to use part of a frame and your flowers are stamped perfectly. Always wonderful to see you at TIME OUT and so glad you shared this with us at The Flower Challenge too. Please stay safe!!

Nonni said...

Wow Nora, all of these three cards are absolutely stunning. I love your card artistry, you are mastering so many different styles, it's absolutely wonderful! Your card for TO is surely my cup of tea, I love the rich, vibrant background and your coloring of the Altenew flowers looks superb. Thank you for joining us at Time Out and I hope to see you joining our new photo inspiration challenge!

Bobby said...

You've made three wonderful cards, Nora. Thanks for sharing the last one with us at The Flower Challenge.

Barb Ghig said...

Such a beautiful collection of cards, Nora! I really love the pretty blooms and triangle frames on your first card...in fact, you have inspired me to buy this set of dies...Thanks!
So sorry your fur baby is going through a rough time...God bless him!

Helen said...

What a wonderful set of cards, Nora! I love your first CAS card! So delicate! Such a great feeling when you can use something you've had lying around! Thanks for joining us at HLS Dies Challenge this month!