Catching Up (a little)

Hello friends!  It's been quite a while since we met here.  Life has been biz-zee!  So busy!  I've been making masks, and cards, and decorating for autumn, and selling things on Mercari...and also the usual upkeep of a home.  But I really wanted to pop in and share at least some of my backlog of cards.  There is much more I need to show you, but time is short so here we go with this batch today! 

Inspired By Stamping - Graceful Hydrangea small flower cluster stamp; Papertrey Ink Inside & Out: Birthday II sentiment stamp; Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch; clear dots; Sizzix Sweet & Donut Thinlits word dies

Stampin' Up! Butterfly Basics sentiment, postmark and flower stamps, Floral Background stamp; K & Co. pale purple flourish die cuts

Stampin' Up! Watercolor Trio solid flower stamp in background, 'friend' on die cut from scrap bag; Gina Marie Designs Small Butterfly die; button; clothing tag (floral with lace); twine; doily; L'il Inker Designs Stitched Rectangle die; Spellbinders Parisian Motifs die (a small section below tag)

The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday; My Favorite Things Falling Leaves dies; All Night Media small maple leaf stamp; Stampin' Up! Sanded Background stamp; gold cardstock circle

Lawn Fawn Little Bundle stamps and matching dies; pink and white twine; Spellbinders Scalloped Squares die; DCWV Luxury Stack patterned paper

This one was easy peasy.  The heart and sentiment from Stampin' Up were already stamped and embossed (from a scrap bag).  I just die cut it with a My Favorite Things heart, added a white glittery sticker from the craft store, and added pearls and clear sparkling sequins. 

Stampin' Up! 'wish big' sentiment (from a scrap bag, unsure of the set) and patterned paper from Good Neighbors paper pad (oldie); My Favorite Things Mini Wavy Pennants die

And we've come to the end of the show for today! 😁

I do have another post coming soon.  Looking forward to showing you those cards as well.

God bless you,

Guesting with Inlovearts

Hello friends!  I have the pleasure of doing a guest post today, with a craft company called Inlovearts.  They asked me to try some of their products, and I chose some really cool dies from their collection.  I am excited to show you what I created with them!

The first card features Hollow Scissors Heart dies.  Love, love, love!  The fancy scissors and half-trimmed heart remind me of old-fashioned Valentine cards that feature handmade hearts and doilies.  I also think of that impressive paper crafting technique of scherenschnitte, a centuries-old art of paper cutting into intricate designs.  I did an internet search of examples of scherenschnitte to show you, and just take a quick peek at some of the beauties out there!  

Back to the Hollow Scissors Heart die set.  They cut absolutely beautifully.  I use a Sizzix Big Shot with all of my dies, and since these dies are more intricate, a Sizzix Chrome Precision Base Plate helps get the best cut possible.  

Inlovearts Hollow Scissors Heart dies; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Love sentiment stamp; pearls; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents flower punch; My Favorite Things Pierced Traditional Tags tag die

The shot below shows better the silvery paper I used for the scissors.  Love how they turned out!  I used a mauve-pink shimmery paper for the heart, and I think it has such a romantic feel.  When I made the choice to use a pink heart, with silver scissors, that's when I knew this needed to be a Valentine's Day card. 😀

The next card has me dreaming of our next season:  autumn!  It's my favorite season. 💗  I used the Multiple Leaves die set. Although there are five beautiful leaves in the set, I chose only three to showcase in wheat, deep rusty orange, and mossy green cardstocks.  I set them against a deep espresso background to make those colors really pop! 

Inlovearts Multiple Leaves dies ; Stampin' Up! So Many Shells sentiment stamp; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles die

The Pattern Tie die set contains three men's ties and I like how bold they are!  This card is an A2 design, so it's 4.25" wide by 5.5" high.  The tie takes center stage (well, left stage!  LOL) and it only needed a sentiment to complement it.  I used a plaid patterned paper as a background base as well as the 'fabric' for the tie.  It's a little hard to see in the picture, but the tie has a stitched look all around.  It's a subtle but nice touch.

Inlovearts Pattern Tie die; Inspired By Stamping Guy Sentiments sentiment stamp

My last card showcases Stackable Hearts Nesting Dies and again, I found myself using the color orange!  I noticed this common thread after I made all four cards; so funny.  There are six hearts in the set, and used half of them on my size A2 card.  The smallest heart was die cut with ivory cardstock and stamped with a sentiment.  Each heart has pretty scallops all the way around.  So feminine!  And with pearls being one of my favorite accessories, they seemed a natural match for these dainty, girly hearts. 

Inlovearts Stackable Hearts Nesting dies; Hug Snug Mottle Brown seam binding; pearls; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday sentiment stamp 

The kind folks at Inlovearts are offering a 15% discount to you!

 

Discount code:   G-20398   

Thank you all so much for your visit today!

God bless you. 😃

Christmas in July 2020 - part 2!

Hello everyone!  I am popping in quickly with a bunch of Christmas cards I have made over the last 7 or so months.  It's super hot here again; the high today was 93 degrees F.  It's humid too, which makes it feel even hotter.  All I can say is, thank you God for air conditioning!

Hopefully this batch of cards will make you feel cooler, if it's hot where you live too.

Stampin' Up! Peaceful Boughs pine cone, branch dies, ombre ribbon, silver snowflake vellum specialty paper; pearls

Stampin' Up! Bells And Boughs poinsettia stamps; Wplus9 Clear Cut Stackers: Stars dies; rhinestones

Stampin' Up! panel from scrap bag (stamped with 'good tidings of great joy, music notes, holly); pearls

Papertrey Ink Silver White Winters snowflake dies, Silent Night sentiment; rhinestones; Verve Glad Tidings snowflake stamp; Webster's Pages green lace trim  

Stampin' Up! silver snowflake vellum specialty paper; SEI silver and white winter die cuts; rhinestones; Verve Glad Tidings single stamp; Kat Scrappiness Wonky Wave Stitched Rectangles die; silver cord

Stampin' Up! patterned paper collage found in scrap bag; Inspired By Stamping Christmas Postcard Add-On stamps (postage, postmark); white enamel dots; red rhinestones; natural twine; Martha Stewart Branch punch; Papertrey Ink snowflake 

I usually shy away from such bright colors all together, but this panel of different Christmas patterned papers had a base for me to work with.  All I had to do was add different collage elements (postage stamps, leaves, a star/snowflake, gems, and a postmark.  It made the card really easy to make, and fun to do!

Martha Stewart Branch punch; Stampin' Up! elements from scrap bag (panel stamped with 'joy' sentiment, snow fall, white glitter stars, silver embossed snowflake)

Stampin' Up! Peaceful Boughs pine cone stamps, pine dies; pearls, rhinestones; Memory Box Breezy Wreath die (cut into pieces for greenery); Verve Glad Tidings sentiment 

Stampin' Up! elements from scrap bag:  die cut stars, mercury glass acetate, swirl/star die cut, embossed background; Papertrey Ink Tag Its #8 Mini sentiment stamps; rhinestones 

Stampin' Up! Bells And Boughs bells, holly stamps; Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blessings: Holiday sentiment stamp

Papertrey Ink Garden Gild leaves stamp and matching die, Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical Die frame; Stampin' Up! Snowfall Thinlits snowflake dies, Sanded background stamp; Verve Glad Tidings sentiment stamp; white crochet thread; rhinestones

Stampin' Up! Snowfall Thinlits snowflake dies; rhinestone; SEI silver and white winter die cuts

And that's it for now!  I will have another {shorter} post this week.

Thank you for your visit, and God bless you!

Christmas in July 2020

Hello crafty friends!  Here on the East Coast - man, it's HOT!  It's 97 degrees right now, and humid, and I'm incredibly grateful for air conditioning.  Thought I'd show some Christmas cards to you all today, so we can think cool thoughts.  LOL

I'm playing in another challenge today, one that is new to me.  It's 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and the current challenge theme is 'Santa'.  I've got one Santa card, and a whole bunch of other Christmas cards to share today!

Inspired By Stamping Christmas Postcard Add-On postage/sentiment stamps; Fiskars star punch; crystal glitter; Kat Scrappiness Stitched Postage Stamp Edge Rectangles die; Stampin' Up! - tag with Santa stamp/trees (in scrap bag, not sure of names), kraft/white cotton twine, Itty Bitty Accents star punch

The card above is my official entry into:

Lawn Fawn Winter Bunny stamp; rhinestones; Papertrey Ink Tag-Its #8 Mini sentiment stamp, tiny snowflake stamp, What the Doodle: Snowflakes larger & medium snowflake stamps; vintage thread; Memory Box Classic Tags tag die

Stampin' Up! Snowfall Thinlits snowflake die, copper metallic paper; Papertrey Ink Beautiful Blessings Holiday 'peace' stamp; twine

Girls' Paperie Tinsel & Twig corner flourish stamp, snowflakes; Stampin' Up! village die cut and sentiment stamp (from scrap bag; not sure of names); rhinestones

Verve Every Heart Plain Jane sentiment stamp; silver glitter paper; Papertrey Ink Fancy Flakes snowflake center die cuts; white glitter paper; rhinestones; Girls' Paperie Tinsel & Twig corner flourish stamp

Papertrey Ink Christmas Tree tree die, Peace word die; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents star punch; gold sequins; clear rhinestones

Papertrey Ink Christmas Tree tree die, Peace word die; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents star punch; gold sequins; clear rhinestones

Papertrey Ink Petite Places: Nativity sentiment stamp; Stampin' Up! village die (unsure of name); clear sequins; 

Martha Stewart Himalayan snowflake punch, black pearl; Stampin' Up! Peaceful Boughs pine cone stamps and matching dies; Hero Arts Winter Scene sentiment

I've got to head outside now to water my flowers.  Even with the sprinklers going off today, things are wilting!

God bless you!

Pen Pals Needed for Country Acres Personal Care Home Residents

Hello everyone!  I'm putting out the word on behalf of Country Acres Personal Care Home from Pennsylvania.  They are asking for pen pals for some of their residents.  I found this on Facebook, and wanted to help out by making personalized cards for them.  If you can see this link, look at the pictures, and you'll see residents holding posters indicating their name and address, and what it is that they would like to converse about.  They are precious! 

Here are my cards going in the mail this week:

For Doris, who likes cooking, I used a piece of an old calendar and stamped some herb names in a light color ink on the panel.  Can you see coriander, parsley, rosemary, thyme?  I added a stamped butterfly, sentiment, and punched flowers.

For Louis, who likes to travel the world, I found a great piece of patterned paper by Teresa Collins, from the World Traveler paper pad.  It's perfect!  I added a sentiment - Follow your heart; it will take you to incredible places - from Stampin' Up!'s Parisian Beauty stamp set, and a circular postmark stamp that says 'Palermo Porto' from Inspired By Stamping's Vintage Postcards stamp set.

For Ellen, who likes to craft, I used patterned paper from Stampin' Up! that features pens, markers, pencils, and a couple of buttons and pretty burlap/scalloped ribbon. 

For Esther, who likes gardening, I found another calendar image to repurpose.  It has a grand bouquet of roses and ferns on it.  I added a butterfly stamp from Verve, and a sentiment from Stampin' Up!, plus a couple of punched flowers. 

And for Mrs. List, who loves cats, I used an Memory Box Large Sitting Cat die, and cut out another cat from black craft foam to help pop him up.  There's a 'hello' stamp from Altenew Label Love, and a sentiment from Stampin' Up! to show Mrs. List that this was truly made with love!

Here is the mailing address for Country Acres Personal Care Home:

2017 Meadville Road
Titusville PA 16354

There are a few other residents I saw that are also looking for pen pals:

- Joe likes anything Italian
- Dave likes sports
- Darel likes science (was a chemistry professor)

Spread the word!  What a great way to make someone's day a little brighter. 😀

Thank you for coming by, and God bless you!