Hello, Yellow!

Isn't this a happy card? Look at that yellow, and the bright flower. It's my hope that whoever receives this will smile.

The sentiment is from The Ton Stamps' Fresh Cut Peonies.  This font reminds me fondly of my penmanship class when I was young! You had to make perfect loops on your L's, or you'd get points off. I've always had a penchant for handwriting. I'm surprised the latest brushstroke calligraphy craze hasn't hit me!

I used some goodies from a Stampin' Up! scrap bag to help create that flower. The circles (check out the golden circle on top!), scalloped circle and biggest flower layer were all in there, and seemed to go quite well together as a blossom. I added greenery from Spellbinders Foliage, and a few golden sequins.

I'm so glad you came by today.  You are special, and don't you forget it! :-)

Autumn Leaves Get-Well

Happy Monday, everyone!  We had a SCORCHER of a day on Saturday.  All I can say is, thank God for air conditioning!

I'm channeling autumn, even though it doesn't really feel like it outside yet. I've got leaves made with dies, coffee filter paper, and spray inks as my focal point here, and they are set on a handmade (not by me) piece of green cardstock. Love the imperfections on that paper!

A closer look at the focal point shows sequins in gold, copper, and espresso, nestled beneath a snippet of braided jute ribbon.  A "feel better soon" sentiment tops the jute.

The cream card base is embossed for even more interest, albeit in a subtle fashion.

This past weekend, I added more cards to my Etsy shop, CDietrichDesigns.  You can find Halloween and autumn selections in the mix now, and I will continue to add to the shop soon.

I also dropped off cards to Arts Plus Gallery this weekend before heading to lunch with a good friend. We had delicious food at Seasons 52. I chose a Grilled Salmon salad, and boy, was it yummy!

Thanks so much for coming by here today!  God bless you!

Preppy Baby Dress

Happy Friday, everyone! It was great to have a slightly shorter work week, thanks to a holiday this past Monday. Somehow, even a shorter week can feel extra long.  How does that happen?

The card I'm sharing today is quite obviously for a baby girl. I stamped a dress (Inspired By Stamping - Oh Baby!) on a piece of paisley-patterned paper from Stampin' Up! and trimmed it out.

The striped pink and green paper is also from SU, and was cut with a Mini Scallop Circle die by My Favorite Things. Pearls were added to the dress, and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink Daily Designs Sentiments goes beneath the circle. I had an urge to add more 'stuff' to the card, but in the end decided it really didn't need anything else.

I'm so glad you came by today.  Have a WONDERFUL weekend, filled with things that make your heart happy!

Lemons

Hi there!  The card I'm sharing today uses an old Flourishes set called Life, Love & Lemons.

The set was illustrated by my friend, Marcella Hawley of Power Poppy. I admire Marcella's work, and she is full of enthusiasm for life. That zeal comes through in her writing, whether on her blog, or shop website, or Instagram. She is such a cool lady!

I colored the lemons with Copic markers, and added an extra leaf and blossoms, which are popped up on foam dimensional tape. A sprinkle of Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh) added just a little extra something.

These lemons didn't need much else.  Didn't want them to get lost on a busy card.

Thanks so much for coming by today!  Be blessed!

Fancy French Florals

Hello!  I'm sharing a card today that has an abundance of feminine touches.  From the rose-filled patterned paper (Webster's Pages) to the pearls, Eiffel Tower, and delicately-stamped fleur de lis and touches of pale pink, this is definitely a girly card.

Here's a close-up look at the fleur de lis stamped image (Technique Tuesday's Mon Ami Paris), which I hand-trimmed and popped up on dimensional foam.

The Eiffel Tower is from the same stamp set by Technique Tuesday.  The sentiment (Tiny Tags - Papertrey Ink) waves atop the tower on a mini pennant die cut banner (My Favorite Things).

On an already-busy piece of patterned paper, I added subtle coin stamped images (also from the same stamp set) in a pale linen ink.

I really like how this one came out! I enjoy getting my shabby chic vibe on sometimes. :-)

This past weekend I began to load cards into my Etsy shop, Colleen Dietrich Designs.
More listings coming soon!

I'd love for you to take a peek!  I'm very nervous, and very excited. :-)

Hydrangea Heart

Anyone who stops by my blog knows how much I love hydrangeas! When I got my hands on this retired Flourishes set, Hearts & Flowers, my heart did a little flip.  

It's such a beautiful heart, isn't it? Marcella Hawley illustrated this, and I just love it. Right away, I knew I had to do it up in blues.

The embossing folder is Sizzix Ornate Frame, and the sentiment is from Delightful Dahlia Additions by Papertrey Ink. I've got both Marshmallow and Sparkling Clear sequins on here, too (Pretty Pink Posh). 

I'd give this to myself for my own birthday, if that wasn't so weird. LOL

Thanks for your visit today!

A Custom Creation: Virginia Tech Congrats

Get your sunglasses out, this card is bright!

My co-worker's daughter enters Virginia Tech this fall.  He asked me to make a card for the party that his family hosted not too long ago.  The party celebrated her high school graduation and the new chapter that lies ahead.

I looked up Virginia Tech on the Internet and found the school's colors....then set about finding cardstock in my stash that would be a close match.  I used Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' Up!) and an orange from DCWV.

The congrats die is from Papertrey Ink, and I used PTI's Luxe Gold cardstock to die cut the word.  Used the same die with a piece of craft foam, so the word has some dimension.

I die-cut, then embossed the smallest Razzleberry panel, and added the sentiment and a sprinkle of bright gold sequins.

Cheers to this young lady, and her hopes of becoming an architect.  I hope all her dreams come true!

Ahoy, baby!

Here I am, making a scene again!

In a frame, that is. :-)

It's a nautical scene for a brand new baby boy. This little sailboat is from a Hero Arts set called Precious Baby Boy. After coloring it, I added Glossy Accents to the sails. It doesn't look so glossy in the photo below, though! It was very hot and humid in my attic craft studio the day I took this photo. (I have since gotten an additional air conditioner up there, and it's MUCH more comfortable now!). 

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Inside & Out Baby.

Those Catch A Wave dies from My Favorite Things make me smile. :-) Paired with the white fluffy clouds (Papertrey Ink), it almost makes me feel like getting out on the water. 

Have a terrific day!

Drifting Seagull

Before summer is out of here soon, I'd like to share my seagull card. I'm proud of this, and I'll tell you why.

This bird die cut (Papertrey Ink's On The Farm dies) is actually a DUCK. I felt pretty clever! (wink)

I decided to make the duck into a seagull by using a light gray marker for wing color, and added him to some ocean waves (My Favorite Things Catch A Wave dies). I already had a "frame" pre-made (from die-cutting a rectangle out of a scrap piece of white cardstock), so I created a little scene IN & OUT of that frame.

The sandy scene at the bottom of the card was made with burlap, seashells from an OLD All Night Media rubber stamp set, and splatters of "sand" from Itty Bitty Backgrounds / Stampin' UP!

OH, and I did add some Sand sequins, too, from Pretty Pink Posh. They give it that little extra something, I think!

The stocking was hung by the chimney

I love making cards that feature a little scene. I think it must have to do with my early love of miniature doll houses. :-)

Lawn Fawn's Cozy Christmas stamp set has the most adorable images. The fireplace and letter to Santa were stamped in black ink on scrap white cardstock, colored with Copic markers, then trimmed out and glued to the card base.

The golden wreath with tiny sentiment inside is a sticker by Jolee's Boutique, and so is the green glittery wreath. 

I lined the open area of the fireplace with a piece of patterned paper in a shade of charcoal.  

Purposely, I left out the color red on this card. Red and green, so common for Christmas. I thought I'd go with green and neutral shades instead.

Thanks so much for coming by today! I appreciate you!

You're An Angel

One of my coworkers asked me to make a custom card for his wife several months back. She loves angels, so I dug into my stash to see what I could find.

The angel and fleur-de-lis are from an old TPC Studio set, Classic Icons. It's not a set I use much, but I'm glad I didn't get rid of it: I needed this angel for this special lady's birthday!

The Verve Celebrating You sentiment...I mean, how perfect is that for this card??

Oh, and my coworker's wife's favorite color is purple, so I found a couple of patterned papers that worked well together: one lighter lavender, one a deep rich plum. 

I hear she liked the card...yay! Adding special, personal touches to my handmade creations gives me a happy heart. :-)

Berry sweet

Clean and simple card lovers, come take a peek! This fruity number is heavy on the white space. :-)

The stamp set I used is Fusion Berry from Papertrey Ink, paired with two doily die cuts (My Favorite Things Decorative Doily Duo). 

The only additional embellishment is one sparkling clear sequin, from Pretty Pink Posh.

Thanks so much for coming by today! Have a berry wonderful day!

French Country Rooster

If you're into French Country style, you must be familiar with rooster images, and sunflowers, too.

This Graphic 45 patterned paper (I don't know the name, sorry!) was the jumping-off point for the card's design. I bought a pack of the paper at Tuesday Morning, and it's got like 24 sheets in the pack...and all the same design.  Ha ha. It's going to last me a while!

The rooster image is from Fiskars' Vintage Farmhouse.  I used the script stamp from Stampin' Up!'s Rustic Rooster behind the little guy, in a light ink. The yellow die cuts behind the rooster panel were created with a die (cut twice) from this Spellbinders set, Fleur De Lis Motifs (right column, second one down):

There is a sprinkling of Espresso sequins, surrounding the focal point, as well as some jute braid, crocheted trim, and a teeny tiny tag with a Tiny Tag sentiment (Papertrey Ink).

I also dressed up the patterned paper with a couple of postmark stamps, in dark brown ink, near the bottom left corner of the card (Pink Paislee London Market / Vintage Impressions). The pattern of the paper is quite busy already, but I felt it needed something subtle.  Kind of like a, "Where's Waldo?" thing. ;-)

Thanks for coming by! You're wonderful and don't you forget it!