Tis the Season

Hi friends!! It has been a long time that I have sat down to just make a card for myself, using whatever I wanted. Today I did some cleaning and decided to take a time out create a card for two different challenges.

I created this for this weeks Freshly Made Sketches #512 and The Color Throwdown #669.

I started by doing a bit of ink blending with Chipped Sapphire and Prized Ribbon Distress Ink. I then used a new stencil that I received from Stamperia. My last step was to use Gold Color Shine, Picket Fence and Prize Ribbon Distress Spray Stain.

I used Spellbinders November 2021 Small Die of the Month Club for my ornament. I die cut the ornament out of white and gold cardstock. I used some navy gems for some fun on my ornamnet.

My pine boughs and Typed Christmas sentiment are from Hello Bluebird and the foiled strips are from a DCWV foiled paper pad.

I had SO MUCH FUN creating this card!!! I am so into blue and gold at this moment. I wish I could make it my color scheme but I am not willing to spend money on new ornament.

I am looking forward to seeing my daughter this week. She is coming home on Tuesday and I have not seen her since October. This week is going to be so busy!!! I am having my family and Chris at Thanksgiving this year after not seeing anyone last year.

Well, that is all from me. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by!!! Have a FABULOUS day!!

Using my Stash: Valentines

Hello everyone!! I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted ANYTHING on this blog. Moving my craft room from one floor to the next has taken me forever, since I have had to sort through everything and clean out the upstairs room too. It still is not complete BUT I am getting there!!!

In my sorting, I found some things that I decided I wanted to use. I forgot I even had this little kit from Making Memories and so I put it on my desk to remind me to use it when I had time. Well, this weekend I did!

I didn't use everything but I did pull out a lot and made three cards. I added a few things to it here and there but I love what I created!!!

This first card is my favorite. I used some pattern paper from my stash and added the frame, which was in the kit, that I had fussy cut it out. I then used foam adhesive to pop the "adore" bingo card up over it. 

The little ticket and red twine were also from the kit. I added the xoxo that was sitting in my stash. I think it should have been the opposite, though, right? Oh well, it is adhered too well to pull it off!

I finished the card off with a Valentine sentiment stamped using Taylored Expressions Mini Strips: Valentine.

I am going to enter this card into this month's Color Hues Challenge: Red and Pink. I am also going to enter this into Just Add Ink's Challenge: Pick 2-banner, border bow. I have the bow and am counting the strip as my border!

For my second card I used items from the kit AND a stenciled heart background that I created last year and never used.

The little pattern square and ticket were from that kit. I added a doily and the felt heart, two other things I discovered as I was going through my stuff. Everything old is new again!!

That sentiment strips are from my stash as well. I just paired them together. 

I don't do a lot of heavy layering on my cards because it is a pain to send but I love how this came out too!!!

My last card is a sympathy card.

The heart, the button, the twine and ticket were all from the kit. I added a Prima flower from a HUGE jar that I own, as well as some hearts that were die cut using a retired CAS-ual Fridays die.

The sentiment strips are from my stash. I think they are Taylored Expressions? 

The next two cards are kind of random for this post. I created them last month when I was doing this fun, stenciled/stamped/blended winter backgrounds.

The elves are Mama Elephant Little Agenda Elves that were colored and die cut. 

Other images are a combination of My Favorite Things and Lawn Fawn. To see how I created the background, go to this post. I don't have the energy to write it all down again!!!

The beauty of this card was that I had all the little images stamped and colored ahead of time. I just had to die cut the frame and make the background!!!

The last card is in this winter theme as well.

The snow man is from Mama Elephant's Little Snowman Agenda, the hills are from Simon Says Stamp and the trees/house are from Lawn Fawn.

The sentiment is from Hello Bluebird. Out of all the cards I created that day, this one is my favorite for some reason. 

Did I bore you yet with all my cards? This has been kind of a long post but now I am done!!!

I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a FABULOUS day!!!

Some More Winter Cards...

Happy Hump Day!! 

Today I am popping in with a couple of more cards I created using some old and new stuff from my stash. All the little colored images were stamped and colored in over this past year. This is what I do when I have no mojo. Coloring also helps me relax and we all know we have needed that in 2020!! I added them over some backgrounds that I am OBSESSED with making. 

For my first card, I used a combination of Hello Bluebird and Mama Elephant images.

I started off by masking the background so that only a circle of the panel showed and I blended the background with Ranger Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I then stenciled some "snow" using Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil. I added the Hello Bluebird Holiday Flurries snowflakes stamped with SSS Steel Blue dye ink. 

I used Simon Says Stamps Stitched Hill dies to create two hills and die cut them to fit the circles. I used some gray and blue Copic markers to shade the hills in.

I added a house and tree from Lawn Fawn's Winter Village stamp set. I added a snowman from Mama Elephants Little Snowman Agenda set. 

I completed my card by stamping a sentiment in black using Mama Elephant's Mini Message stamp set and applying some Nuvo Glitter Accents for snow.

I am entering this card into a couple of challenges. Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge-layer it up. I layered the background up with blending, stamping and stenciling. I am also entering this card into this weeks Inkspirational Challenge #230-Mask. I masked the circle background on my card. 

For my next card, I did a series of three circles that I masked and did the same background treatment on as the first card. 

I then layered little bits that I had colored in previously, as well as die cuts, to create my scene.

The elves are from Mama Elephant's Little Elf Agenda. The presents are from My Favorite Things Birdie Brown set Jingle All The Way and the wagon is from the Lawn Fawn's Lets Go Nuts stamp set. I was not lying when I said I mixed a ton of companies together!!

I cannot tell you who made the snowflakes as I have a container filled with them from different companies. I like that I have them ready to take out and use on a whim. 

My sentiment is from the same Mama Elephant set as above. (excuse that little heart you see in the photo on the snowflake. Apparently it was on my desk and stuck to it and I didn't notice until I was going through the photos!)

I am entering this card into some challenges as well. Darling Cardmakers Winter Blessings Badge-I used the snowflake as my inspiration. I am entering this card into Addicted to Stamps and More... Make Your Mark Challenge for all the coloring I did on these images. 

Well that is all from me today. I thank you for taking the time to stop by today. Have a FABULOUS day!

A Successful Sunday With Cards for Some Challenges

 Hello everyone!! Just popping in to post a couple of cards I created for some challenges. 

I had a bit of time today to create. My mojo has been a bit spotty and my energy low so I have not been getting into my craft room as of late. It doesn't help that I really need TO CLEAN because it sure is a mess!!!

For my first card, I used this weeks sketch from the Paper Craft Crew for my card. Please excuse the photo. I could not fix the lighting on it no matter how hard I tried!

Below is the sketch that inspired me. 

I was a little bit liberal with the elements on my card because they wound up being a bit bigger then what is represented in the sketch.

I literally used elements that were previously stamped or die cut for other projects to put this card together.

The flowers are from Altenew and Paper Trey Ink, the circle is from MFT, the envelope was cut from a die from Mama Elephant and the sentiment was from Hello Bluebird. 

This was one of the EASIEST cards I have created in a long time and will be sent out tomorrow to a member of the Union I belong to.

My second card I created using this weeks The Color Throwdown #619 and Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #297.

I knew when I saw the badge for the Color Throwdown that I wanted to use my new Tall Tree dies I bought from The Stamp Market and my Skinny Postage Frames from PTI. These were some of my new toys I bought to try to get my mojo going!!

I created the blue background on this with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and watered down white acrylic paint.

The sentiment is from a stamp set that was gifted to me from Stamplorations.

I absolutely LOVE how this card came out!!! 

My next card was inspired by this weeks Freshly Made Sketches #461 and once again, I used the Color Throwdown colors. 

This card was one I originally designed for The Color Throwdown but I liked the one above better.

I used some paper from my scrap drawer for the background and the greenery is from The Greetery.

The poinsettia is from the Layered Poinsettia from Spellbinders. I used Copic markers to shade it in BUT as I was doing it, I failed to do a color test with my background paper. I wound up having to fix my mistake by using more colors than I wanted so it is more blue than white.

The middle of the flower got muddled too because I was impatient for the Silver Stickles to dry. They were supposed to resemble the tiny flower in the middle of the poinsettia but when I was doing my layers, I didn't let the previous one dry enough!!! 

I will fix it by layering some more over it once the first layer dries.

My last card I created using the Inspired By Challenge #150 and the sketch as my inspiration.

I used a Santa image from Simple Stories Simple Vintage North Pole Collection. 

I keep buying these darn pre made die cuts and never use them but this image was PERFECT for this challenge. 

I actually altered the die cut by cutting some things off this side that just didn't go with this aesthetic. I also covered the fur and hat with a Scrapbook.com Clear Glitter Marker and the hat with some Glossy Accents. 

The snowflakes are from a huge amount I die cut last winter and the sentiment is from Uniko Stamps.

Well, I think that is enough from me today. I thank you for taking your time to stop by and I hope you have a FABULOUS night!!