Sunday Stamps #134, Simon Says Stamps Work it Wednesday August 2016 and NBUS Challenge #7

Happy Hump Day!! Just a quick post for a few challenges.

I am officially back to work as of yesterday. Today was the first official day of school for the high school where I work and it went pretty well. If my schedule remains the same, this year will be good.

Today I sharing a card that I created using Hero Arts "Marianne's Flowers" set that I had gotten this past spring but did not ink it up at all. It has the prettiest flowers on it!! I used the Sunday Stamps Sketch #134 as my inspiration.

Here is the sketch:

I began by stamping the lilies on a piece of A2 sized Copic Marker paper with Memento "Tuxedo Black" ink. I then colored the flowers in with Copic markers.

I mounted the panel on an A2 sized, white, top folding card. I then added a piece of green/white twine across the top.

Using the My Favorite Things "Stitched Banner Alphabet," I die cut the sentiment out of green and yellow card stock. I took the green letters out of the green banners and adhered them into the yellow banner pieces.

I then used foam adhesive to pop the alphabet over the twine on the card.

I completed the card by creating two bows out of the twine and using Ranger Multi-Matte Adhesive to adhere them to the card.

I have to admit that this card is extremely simple but I LOVE how it came out. The coloring of the lilies was an experiment. I had looked up a photo and tried to get the colors from there. The greens are really dark but I like it.

I am entering this into Darnell's "NBUS" challenge and Simon Says Stamps August 2016 "Work it Wednesday" theme-stamping.

I thank you for stopping by!!

CAS(E) This Sketch #187 and Paper Smooches

This is my second post for today. I just wanted to pop in and share another card I created yesterday during my creative afternoon.

I used CAS(E) This Sketch #187. Here is the card I came up with:

Here is the sketch that I used as my inspiration.

My card was very deliberate in how I constructed it. I used Paper Smooches "First Aid Kit" stamp set to stamp the heart "band aids" with "Jet Black" Ranger Archival Ink onto some patterned paper by Craft Smith. I was making this card for my Uncle who had a stent put in his heart on Wednesday. These hearts were PERFECT to use and using patterned paper made it quick to create!

I fussy cut each heart out and mounted them onto some gray paper that I had stenciled a chevron pattern onto with WPlus9's "Fairy Dust" ink. I stamped the sentiment with My Favorite Things "Red Hot" ink using Paper Smooches "Sentiment Sampler." I then mounted it on matching "Red Hot" card stock.

I covered each heart with my new Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Marker and then with Glossy Accents. I am so excited with how this card came out as at first glance, I hadn't a clue on what kind of card I was going to create for this challenge!!

That is all for now. I thank you for stopping by today to peek at my card. Have a great day!!

Stamping Smiles Design Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge Inspiration #16

Happy Sunday everyone!! It is my turn for some inspiration over at the Stamping Smiles Design Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge Blog for some more inspiration for Challenge #16.

Here is a sneak peek of my creation:

Hop on over to the blog to see how I created it!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Gratitude Cards and a VERY Busy August!

Happy Saturday everyone!! I have not posted much this month. August has been busier then I predicted and since it was super hot, I didn't feel like crafting much. I also didn't buy any craft supplies, either. Now THAT is a miracle that needs to be repeated for the rest of the year!!

I spent all day in my craft room today. I had some cards I required myself to make to get out on Monday and I needed some regenerative time due to a memorial I went to today. A woman died unexpectedly that I worked with last week. Her kids (whom were 30 and 34) gave a eulogy that was just heart wrenching. It made me think about my own death and losing my mother at 23. Anytime someone loses a mother, it always makes me reflect.

One thing I learned from my mother dying young is to do the things I want to do now rather then waiting for "someday." We are not promised that someday. If you want to do something, do it. Laundry can wait. Your house can wait. Spend time with who you love and live your life to the fullest. Some can say they can not afford to do what they want but you don't have to have money to be present in others life and take pleasure in the little things.

That being said, I created some gratitude cards today. I totally CASEd Betsy Veldman's design she created ages ago using the PaperTrey Ink "Beautiful Butterflies" set. I really was not in the mood to think so copying Betsy's basic design helped me get what I needed to get done.

I stamped different butterflies in a sort of rainbow along the edge of the card of a white piece of card stock measuring 4 1/4" by 5 1/2." I then stamped the sentiment in black.

I die cut each panel using the My Favorite Things "Blueprints #13" die and mounted the stamped card front onto different colored A2 sized card stock.

I tried to match the colored card stock to a different corresponding butterfly for each card. 

I left the card rather plain and flat, very unlike me, because I just wanted something simple to send out. Sometimes flat cards are better. It kills me NOT to put sequins on it or add some mist spray but I talked myself out of it each time I was tempted to. 

I also stamped an envelope for each card with a red butterfly in the bottom left hand corner.

I created two other cards today as well but they are drying so I cannot photograph them yet. One was a challenge so I want to get it up before the challenge passes. Maybe tomorrow!!

Thank you for stopping by tonight. Have a fabulous night!!

Supplies:
Paper-PaperTrey Ink "Orange Zest" and "Aqua Mist,", My Favorite Things "Red Hot," Simon Says Stamp "Duckling," Recollections White Card Stock
Ink-My Favorite Things "Red Hot" PaperTrey Ink "Orange Zest," Simon Says Stamp "Duckling," Hero Arts "Soft Pool," Umbrella Crafts "Amethyst," and Ranger Archival Ink "Black"
Stamps-PaperTrey Ink "Beautiful Butterflies"
Dies-My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13"
Other-Big Shot, MISTI, Scotch ATG Gun

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Mon Ami" Stamp Set with Prima Oil Pastels

Hi everyone!! Today it is my turn for a little CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Inspiration on their blog today. I chose to use the "Mon Ami" stamp and die set to make a pretty card.

I started off by heat embossing the flowers from "Mon Ami"stamp set in white on watercolor paper and then die cutting the flowers out with their matching die. I "colored" on the flowers using two different purple pastel oils from Prima. I used a watercolor brush and water to blend them together.

While the flowers were drying, I cut a piece of patterned paper into a 4" by 5 1/4" panel and used my score board to score some lines at random intervals. I adhered the scored paper onto a "Soft Stone" A2, top folding card.

I die cut a tag using the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps "Tag Buddies Fri-Dies" to die cut a tag out of gray scrap paper. I adhered it onto the card front using foam adhesive. I originally was going to tie a silver bow at the top of the tag but decided to make a thread nest instead. I adhered the dried flowers over the nest with foam adhesive and added some Silver Stickles for the flower centers.

I then used foam adhesive to mount a sentiment strip that I had stamped with the same set. The last step was to add a few sequins around the tag.

I hope you enjoyed this card today. It was the first time I had used this stamp set and the oil pastels. I will be using both again soon as I love how this came out!!

If you would like to shop for this stamp set, use the code NORA16 to get 15% off your next shopping spree at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

I thank you for taking the time to stop by today. I hope you have a FABULOUS Weekend!!