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Showing posts from 2022

Paper Woes and Carousels

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   I have a lot of patterned paper.  A LOT.  I was a Stampin' Up demonstrator for over 10 years and accumulated so much beautiful paper that I didn't stand a chance of being able to use it all.  And I refuse to get rid of it because...  well that is a problem for another day.  So, when I saw a YouTube post by Justine Hovey to use up a paper stack, I decided to try it.   I pulled out a paper pack that I absolutely love, but never found a reason to use - Stampin' Up Cupcakes and Carousels 6 x 6 designer series paper stack from 2017.  It is an eclectic mix of fun bold pastels and there is a cute sheet with carousel horses on it that I just KNEW I would use.  Ahem... (Thanks to Brian King for use of photo from his blog)    So I spent a day putting together a large stack of 36 cards.  Once I got going I just couldn't stop!   I used SU Hand Penned Petals with Penned Flowers dies, Nature's Harvest stamp set with Harvest dies, Iconic die set, Seasonal Sentiments die set,

Oh, nuts!

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   Happy fall, y'all! To celebrate the changing season, I pulled out a tried-and-true favorites: Hello Bluebird Pathway and Oh Nuts stamp sets.        I stamped the images on X-pressit Blending Card with Momento tuxedo black ink. I knew I was going to make a slimline card, so before I started coloring I mapped out what sections of the background I was going to use in the final project.  I very lightly marked them on the background in pencil and started coloring!      These are the Copic colors I used for this project.     I cut out the squares....       Then I die cut the slimline, colored the frame, and assembled the background.  Note to self: cut the squares a little bigger than your pencil line to fill the whole hole!     Next, I stamped the squirrels on the inner remnants of the die, because why waste good paper!       I colored and die cut the squirrels.     And pieced it all together with foam tape.  Lastly, I colored the outline of the pieces to blend in with the background

Grateful for Everything

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   I am so excited to share today's cards with you today! I have been working on my Copic coloring and wanted to show you this beautiful stamp and die set, Grateful for Everything by Concord & 9th.  I wanted to do a "practice" and then a "real thing" side by side, but I ended up liking them both for different reasons, so I included both.         I started by stamping the main image on Xpressit Blend white card stock in Whisper Gina K Designs Amalgam ink.  I colored the flowers (Peonies?) with Copic  RV69, R59, R39, R37, R35.  It is not your imagination that the flower on the right is lighter.  I added a little RV19 to brighten it up. I love love love the detail and dimension came out!  Then I dripped water on the card, which smeared one image.  I'm not one to waste a little "oopsie", and I figured I would cover it somehow, so I moved on. The next step was the leaves. For the larger leaves I used YG17, YG15, and YG11.  The small leaves were done

Beginning to Feel Like Fall, but Not Really

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Last night the outdoor temperature was lower than our indoor temperature.  I know that sound strange, but here in Texas it's a real seasonal milestone. At our house we keep our thermostat at 75 at night (78 in the day) so when it finally gets low enough the we can consider opening the windows at night it's a day of celebration. It finally starts my mind moving toward fall.  Then this afternoon it is 92, so we go back in summer mode. I have been looking through some not-as-old stamp sets and found this true classic set from fall 2021 by The Greetery - All Blessings Flow.  The beautiful sentiment is so full of depth and meaning for me and I love the wreath-building greenery that accompanies it. I decided to stamp the sentiment in Stampin' Up Shaded Spruce ink on heavy weight white card stock. I stamped the stems on the same paper in Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, and Shaded Spruce inks and fussy cut them with EK Tools small precision scissors.  I have had these s

Poppy Cards for All Occasions

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 I was looking to make a stack of flexible cards, so I turned to the beautiful Tonic Studios Compassion and Poppies stamp set and dies to help me out. I love how they turned out! I stamped the poppies and leaves on X-pressit blendable card stock in Gina K. Designs amalgam ink for a border-less blending look.  The flowers are all colored with Copic and Stampin' Blends alcohol ink markers and cut with the set dies. For the backgrounds I kept it simple to keep the flowers the focus of the card -  Stampin' Up Poppy Parade and White card stock and Hardwood background stamp in Basic Gray.  Then I stamped the sentiments on Stampin' Up Basic Black and Basic Gray card stock with Versamark watermark ink and Stampin' Up white embossing powder. These were a lot of fun to make and now I have a nice little stack for any occasion!

Hugs for Friends

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Happy Labor Day, Crafty Friends! Many parents, me included, said goodbye to their college freshmen over the last few weeks. It was a day of excitement and tears and anxiety for everyone!  That last hug before you walk away is the hardest one of all and you count the days until you see your dearest again.  This card is meant to remind friends that we are all in this together. I started with A2 size (5.5" x 4.25") Stampin' Up heavyweight white paper and did an ombré background with SU Blackberry Bliss ink. I cut the SU Potted Succulents die in white SU card stock and glued it down with Tombow Aqua Mono Liquid Glue. Then I cut the pot and plant from the same die set in white and Cinnamon Cider cardstock respectively, and colored it with Cinnamon Cider, Just Jade and Blackberry Bliss Stampin’ Blends alcohol ink markers.    The sentiment is from the Tonic Studios Compassion & Poppies set, stamped in Pinkfresh Studio detail black Hybrid ink.    Wishing you all a great week!