The background on this card started out a few weeks ago when I die cut the background piece using a new unbranded die. It sat in a basket for a while as I didn’t have any ideas on how to use it initially. Then I wondered if I could use it as an ocean themed background so I inked it with some blues and added the green marbled pp behind it. Once again it sat in the basket while I worked on other things. The two challenges I’m linking it to called for blue and green in one and just blue for the other. I decided to see if I could make the card work for both and instead of doing an ocean theme the die cut dots made me think of bubbly and I reached for a Joy Clair drink stamp set. No champagne glasses but a martini seemed a good substitute and this card is the result. I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the elements and added green olives to the bottom of the glasses. I cut a tiny slit in the top part of the glass edge and added the slice of lemon, then I went over the whole glass with Nuvo Crystal glaze to make it look more like glass. to ground the glasses I added a small piece of blue CS underneath the stems and using a leftover blue die cut circle I stamped the words in dark blue. I’m not sure I like the background, although it isn’t terrible, and believe it would be better as part of an ocean related theme. Have a great day and thanks for looking.

This mood board had so many ideas to choose from and essentially combined two of them into my card. Obviously the bear was one and the 2nd was the mailbox. I used a variety of stamps from different sets as well as a Sissix folder. The main stamps are from Unity Stamps (mailbox) and the little bear is a very old stamp by a company I’m not sure is around any longer, Petaluma. The trees and mailbox decor are from some GKD sets and the sentiment is from Kaiser. The mailbox and decor were fussy cut. The bear was also fussy cut and is wearing a hat by Hero Arts and a bow from a Sissix Tim Holtz set. To ground the bear and the mailbox I used a Distress crayon that I smoothed with my finger and then added a bit of water. I coloured with glitter pens, inks and Inktense pencils. Although it doesn’t show I added a small amount of glitter, using a pen, to some of the falling snow here and there. Initially when I started this card I didn’t really have a specific design in mind so I let it evolve as I worked. I quite like the result. Have a great day!

I decided to try a technique recently shown by Gina K. where one embosses each end of the CS leaving a space in the middle. My folder is a leaf pattern but I have no idea which brand it is. As an after thought I swiped a small amount of ink over the raised leaves but as I had already added some elements I had to be very careful. This layer was then added to a black layer to give a slight border. The stamp set used is from GKD and I stupidly forgot I had the dies for this set and fussy cut the bird myself. He was stamped onto mixed media CS and then coloured with Inktense pencils and Sakura Glaze pens. The sentiment is from the same set and is one I am quite fond of so have used a few times. I added some dew drops to a few leaves and some small silver beads to the sentiment section. I quite like the result and shall try this embossing method again soon.

After going through my paper scraps I picked out several different shades of yellow and using a new Spellbinders die set called Be Leave Me, I proceeded to die cut the elements. I paper pieced the flowers to fit the challenge as well as adding the largest element to a black piece. I wanted some contrast between the flowers, leaves and background so I chose a cream yellow for the leaf outline and added it to a yellow green paint swatch. Using a glitter paper pad from Scrapbook.com I found a yellow green that works for the background and I dry embossed it using a brocade folder. I also cut a flourish from the same glitter pad and then added some gold gems for the center of the flowers. As I’m not sure yet of how I will use the card I’ve left off a sentiment and, in fact, may just add something inside rather than on the front.

Thanks for sharing some time with me today.

This card started out as a different idea, but as I messed up the stamping twice I got frustrated and decided to cut out the part that was okay and discard the mess. I had originally intended to stamp all over the black cardstock and then add colour. In the end I only used part of the image and then added metallic watercolours to it, and in reality it looks pretty, but the photograph doesn’t do it justice. Once the paint was dry I fussy cut the piece and popped it up on the yellow layer. That in turn was added to the striped layer and before I added it to the card front I added the yellow ribbon. In retrospect I probably should have dry embossed the yellow layer but so many interruptions today, left me scrambling to finish it and I forgot. The sentiment is from Joy Clair and gems from Trinity stamps. I love these little gems as they change colour in the light but they also pick up colour from the project.

Thanks for looking.

The Four Seasons mood board has a lot of pink but I chose to use mostly green on my creation. I did choose some blossoms but left them almost white with a hint of shimmery rose gold here and there and I also used some rose gold along the edge of the border die piece. The dies used are from Memory Box, Spellbinders and Gemini. The embossed piece uses a new to me mini folder from Gemini called Lattice panel. Sentiments are from 2 different sets, one is Altenew and the other SSS and both are probably from discontinued sets as they are really old. Gems and bow are from my stash. I had fun putting this together and am pleased with the result. Have a great day everyone.

This card came about because I had made a mistake on a previous one (for a graduation) and I didn’t want to waste the CS. It was already cut, scored and had the white triangle shapes adhered, which is where the mistake occurred, as I had them in the wrong place for the original design. As I had the DSP sitting on my desk I decided to add it to the white triangles and then it sat there for a day or two. Yesterday I saw that the challenge at As You See It was a beverage one and this morning the reminder for Paper Players showed that it too is for beverages or food. The little mug die cut is from Trinity Stamps and was a gift in my last order. I paper pieced the white cup frame with more DSP and added it to the card front as you see. Using a gold pen I added the indication of steam and from an older GKD set I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it. Even using the magic bag I still get the powder where I don’t want it and the camera always picks up the specks. I added the gold embellishments, from Trinity Stamps, to finish the card. It is a small card only three and half inches high but it works and was a good way to use up the CS.

Thanks for spending time with me today.

Above photo is the outside of the box and the one below is when you lift the flap.

This card has been made for an ex boyfriend, who has remained in my life as a good friend. He is a classical guitarist as well as being a doctor and I thought making a card that looks like a record player decorated with a classical guitar was perfect for his birthday. We go back many years so the nostalgia of a real record player works well for both of us.

The idea for the card came from MFT and is basically a box shape that flattens for mailing. The PP is from a paper pad in my stash, the musical notes are stickers I’ve had for ages, the guitar is an unbranded die that came in two sizes and I used the larger one on this card, the sentiment is from GKD and the turntable is all from MFT. Once I had the box shape done, I added all the other elements until I was happy with it. Hope you like it and thanks for taking time to look.

Well I may be able to create cards with, in some cases, a few being pretty good, there is no way I can call myself an artist based on my painting skills. On this card I hand created the rainbow effect in the background but the result isn’t what I expected. That said, it works for behind the focal part so I have used it here. I did add some sparkle to it before adding the circle. The sentiment used is from an older GKD set and the focal image is from a free digi stamp that I had saved on my computer and never used until now. I chose not to colour the entire image but instead just colour the paint brushes and the palette, kind of like a spotlight technique. The bling is from my stash. I forgot to cut the panel down so I could add a border behind it so I went around the edges with a sponge the same as I did on the die cut circle.

Thanks for looking and hope you all have an excellent weekend.

I was fooling around with some dry embossing and having seen a card that used this idea, I decided to create something similar. My dies are an old Spellbinders set called Moroccan Motifs. I die cut one of each size and ran them through with an embossing folder that had snowflakes. Then I put them together using foam squares under each layer. I dry embossed the layering panel with a brocade folder cut it down a bit then added it to the white card front. After which I added the other elements. The little red bird is something I saved from a received Christmas card and he seemed perfect for the corner. The greeting is from a Spellbinders mix and match set and I added ink and then versamark before heat embossing clear. This works as a Christmas card even though the die is not a snowflake design. Thanks for looking and have a great day.