Time to Catch Up

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

We all have those times in our lives where no matter how much planning and preparation we do, life happens and little things like coffee with a friend have to be cancelled. 

Sometimes life happens a lot. 

This was the inspiration for today's card.

To create this card, I used two of the coffee cups from Lawn Fawn's Love you a Latte stamp set on Copic friendly paper and coloured them in. I also used the little steam stamp on a couple of the open cups in a soft grey ink, and I used second generation stamping for the scattering of coffee beans around the background.

I used the small stitched rectangle die and CTMH's etched alphabet stamp set to create the banner.

I really wanted to have matting that coordinated with the card for both the panel and the greeting banner, so I used my darkest teal colour from the card and coloured the paper edges to create my own.

I didn't have a sentiment that I wanted to use on the inside, so I created my own; using Martha Stewart's typeset sentiment creator. I also used some of the smaller stamps from the Love You a Latte set to decorate the inside of the card (something I very rarely do).

I hope you all like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Chocolate Coffee Cards: Anything Goes Challenge

Hang in There

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

When I got the Happy Harvest stamp set from Lawn Fawn I had so many fall and Halloween ideas, but now that it is spring, I really didn't want to put the set away. I thought that he would make a super cute encouragement card, but was unsure on how I wanted to do it.

I love using my copic markers to colour in images, but not so much for backgrounds. I knew I wanted a one layer card, so I decided to go with watercolour for the whole thing.

To create today's card, I stamped the scare crow and flowers from Lawn Fawn's Happy Harvest set using a water resistant ink. I then covered them with a liquid mask. Once that was completely dry, I was able to start on the background.

I wanted really intense colours for the sky and the foreground, so I wet the paper and used Distress re-inkers with very little water and dropped the colour in. I did this for both the sky and the grass area. I could have used my heat gun to speed up the process, but I really prefer the way it looks when it air dries. Because of the amount of water, this card actually took two days to make.

Once the background was completely dry, I removed the masking and watercoloured the images, using Distress markers and mini Distress ink pads.

The greeting was stamped using the same black ink with an etched alphabet stamp set from CTMH.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes

Thanks a Daisy

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

Generally I like to use my MISTI to create batches of thank you cards, because they are ideal for box sets (which are ideal for gifting). Today, however I really wanted to use a focus pop technique, to make the daisies stand out.

To create this card, I stamped the image on Copic friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it with Copics. I then used the two smallest dies of the stitched squares and cut three squares, and set them aside.

For the background, I masked off the top third of the card and used CTMH ink to sponge through a stencil. I stamped the image a second time and did not colour it in.

I adhered the squares with foam tape over top of the image on the card base to create three focus squares. I then stamped the greeting using Lawn Fawn Black Licorice ink, (my favourite for stamping greetings and sentiments).

I hope you all like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.


Today's card is for:

The Muse Challenge #154. 

This challenge is inspired by Jenni's beautiful card:

Happy Day - Happy Birthday

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

Isn't it funny how you think you're ahead of the game, then all of a sudden you need so many cards, none of which you've been stocking up on? That's what is happening to me right now.

I have been working so hard to replenish my "Thank You" card stash, and somewhere along the way, I ran out of birthday cards. Oops!

To create this card, I used an old technique that is new to me. I stamped the flowers on medium weight cardstock, then used ink pads and a blender pen to colour them in. At first it looked terrible, but once the blending solution dries, the flowers took on a soft look that I was super pleased with.

I heat embossed the greeting using white embossing powder on a piece of vellum. I adhered it down across my panel, and then used foam dots to pop up the flowers.

I thought the card needed a little something extra (shocking, right?) and added a scattering of yellow sequins.

I hope you all like the card for today and are inspired to create something of your own.


Today's card is for:

The My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge 268.

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 16

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

As it turns out, I was far more inspired by the sketch challenge than I expected. So here is a second sketch card and the sixteenth in the 2016 Valentine's Day series!

To create this card I die cut two tags out of regular layering weight cardstock. I then adhered them together to give them a bit more stability. I wanted to make sure that this tag would hold up when I added layers of ink. 

I used three shades of distress ink to create an ombre look. After the tag was completely dried I stamped the little "I love you" greeting.

I stamped the elephant on heavy weight cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and coloured him with copics. I don't have coordinating dies for this set, (are there coordinating dies for these guys?) so I fussy cut him out, and popped him up on foam tape.

The heart is from a previous project, I covered it with clear Wink of Stella and then with glossy accents. The string is a bit of sparkly thread that I tied around the bottom part of the balloon and wound loosely behind the elephant.

I hope you all like the card for today, and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

MFT Sketch Challenge #267

Spring Thank You

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

Today's card was inspired by Anita Bowden's lovely card (shown at the bottom). I loved the clean and simple flowers with the greeting, and knew exactly what I wanted to do. The only thing that I really had to decide on was what type of card I wanted to create. I settled on "Thanks" because I can always use thank you cards.

To create this card, I stamped the upper flower and masked it off, I then stamped the second flower and the leaves to create a one layer look. The masking allows you to create the look of dimension without actually having dimension.

The flowers and leaves are coloured with copics.

I die cut the greeting using Lawn Fawn's "Thanks" die, three times and stacked them together. I coloured it using the darkest orange from the flowers and adhered it in place. To create a matching boarder, I used the same orange and just coloured along the edges of my layering piece to tie the card together.

I hope you all like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge #152 

This challenge is inspired by Anita Bowden's Card

Valentine's Day Series 2016 - Card 15

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

To create this card, I die cut a bunch of different size hearts from some scrap papers to use as masks. I arranged the first layer how I wanted them and adhered them with some removable adhesive.

I then gently sprayed the paper with Worn Lipstick spray and allowed the sheet to completely dry.

Then I removed the masks and arranged the next layer and sprayed again.

I repeated this process a couple of times, allowing the panel to dry completely between every layer. The greeting and heart were die cut from a deep red cardstock that was also used as the matting layer.

If I were to create this card again, I would definitely use a watercolour paper or a much heavier weight of cardstock. The paper didn't really like all that water very much and the panel itself is now very delicate. I also noticed that by the time the final layer was dry, it looked more like sponging than spraying, which was kind of disappointing because the spraying looked awesome for the first two layers. Live and learn, I suppose.

I hope you all like the card for today and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Spritz and Spray

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 14

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

When I saw the sketch inspiration for this week's MFT Sketch Challenge, I instantly knew what I wanted to do. This card came together incredibly quickly, which was fabulous because generally I have to mull over a challenge for at least a day.

While most of my cards have stamping and colouring, glitter, gloss and shine, I really loved how clean this card turned out.  And really, you can't go wrong with black, red and white.

To create this card I die cut a tag from deep red cardstock. From that I cut out a heart piece and set that aside for another project.

I die cut the butterflies from black cardstock and adhered them down to appear as though they were flying away.

For the greeting, I used a CTMH stamp and then cut down the white piece. I then layered the strip on the same red and black cardstock to give it a bit of dimension.

I hope you all like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.


This card is for:

MFT Sketch Challenge #267

Little Birthday Shaker

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

When I began this card, I had originally planned to make a Valentine's Day card. However, things don't always work out the way we planned. Which is one of the things I like best about art and card making. I enjoy when a project seems to take on a life of its own.

It doesn't mean that the original plan was a bad one, it just means that the creative gears took it in a different direction. The plan is still there in the back of my head and perhaps I will still make a Valentine's Day card that is similar, but for now I have this lovely birthday card.

To create this card, I began by using the stitched cloud boarder as a mask and sponging upward to create the clouds. I worked from the top of the panel downward. I then used the grassy boarder die to create another mask, and sponging with green to create a grassy area. 

I used Mowed Lawn and Bundled Sage to give the illusion of depth, unfortunately I think there was a bit too much of a difference in the colours. 

After the panel was dry, I used the heart balloon die to create the area for my shaker, I saved the cut out piece so I could put it behind the window to make the balloon look clear. I used the fuse tool to create the shaker pocket. 

I stamped the girl with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. 

The balloon string is a piece of black baker's twine.

I hope you all like the card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

MFT Sketch Challenge #266

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 13

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

When I got this hearts in a heart die I was so excited. It had been out of stock for ages and I finally got my hands on it. When I started the Valentine's Day series I totally forgot all about it.

Until now.

To create this card I used the hearts die on a piece of black paper, and set all the hearts aside. I then used the die on this red panel and placed two way tape of the back to allow for easier inlaying of the hearts.

Pro Tip: Keep the hearts that you are using for inlaying (the black ones in this case) in place for where they are to be set. It was a nightmare to figure out where they all went. While they all look of comparable size. They don't all just fit wherever you want. So that took some time.

I used the Love You die on both colours of card stock as well and inlaid those the same way. I didn't like the way the bottom looked so I added the 1/8" white satin ribbon for a bit of interest and dimension.

I hope you all like the card for today and are inspired to create something of your own.

Don't forget to follow this blog in the right sidebar.


This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Have a Heart

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 12

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

This card was so much fun to make, and quite a deviation from what I normally do (stamp, stamp, stamp....).

To create this card, I used the large stitched cloud boarder from Lawn Fawn to make a mask. I then used Tattered Rose distress ink to sponge upward to shade. I started from the top and worked my way down toward the bottom of the panel.

The hearts are cut from regular cardstock and then sponged with Victorian Velvet and edged with Worn Lipstick distress inks.

I had considered raising the hearts on foam tape, but I couldn't find my foam tape, and I'm kinda glad for it, because I ended up liking it better without the dimension. The different sizes of hearts gives the illusion of dimension and that worked well enough for me.

The matte is just the actual card base sponged with Worn Lipstick distress ink to match the edges of the heats.

I hope you all liked this card and are inspired to create something of your own.

I'd like to enter this card to the following challenges:

1. Fusion Challenge: Paper Hearts

I used both the inspiration photo of paper hearts and the sketch for this card.

2. Time Out Challenge: Love is the Flower you've got to let Grow

I thought the size differences in the hearts was a nice parallel to the growth as well as representing the love.

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 11

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

Today I have the eleventh card in my 2016 Valentine's Day Series. I honestly didn't think I would get the last couple up, everyone has been super sick the last couple weeks so it has been really difficult to get the creative gears going.

To create this card, I used the negative space from a heart die cut that was used on another project. I then took the small gears from Lawn Fawn's "Beep Boop Birthday" stamp set and stamped them randomly in different colours. I used the tiny little heart to fill in some of the blank spaces.

I had to do a bit of masking to make it look as though the robots were holding hands. I coloured them with copics, added some clear wink of stella and covered them with glossy accents. I don't have the coordinating dies for this set, so I fussy cut them out. Which I guess I would have had to do anyway since I changed the arm positions and had them touching. Both robots are raised on 1/8" foam squares.

I used a black gel pen to add some stitching detail around the heart. 

For the greeting I used a small CTMH alphabet stamp set and then banner cut the strip. To finish it off I matted both the greeting strip and the front panel on some deep red cardstock.

I hope you all enjoyed this card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for the Lawnscaping Challenge: #123 Sending Love, sponsored by Ellen Hutson

Don't forget you can follow my blog using the blue button in the right sidebar.

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 10

Hi everyone, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day!

Today I have the tenth installment in my Valentine's Day 2016 Series.

When I first saw this Newton set I fell in love instantly. These two are just about the sweetest little things I have ever seen and when this week's Newton's Challenge came up it was perfect!

To create this card I stamped the two kitties on 110lb cardstock and coloured with copics. I fussy cut them out and mounted them on the red heart.

I used my black gel pen to add a stitched look around the heart to make it stand out. That wasn't part of the original plan, but after it was mounted I felt it needed a little something extra to help it stand out.

The background is a lovely heart pattern paper. Though the picture doesn't pick it up very well (unfortunately) I used clear wink of stella and glossy accents on a few of the white hearts. In real life, they really shine!

This card is for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge: #28 Love Theme.

Sympathy Silhouette

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all having a great day.

This card, and this post, are dedicated to my wonderful friend, Kathi. I found out the other day that Kathi had passed away in her sleep, and once again I'm at a loss. The world is darker for her passing and I think about her every day.

Kathi was one of the first friends to support and encourage my card making when I decided to move past creating cards for family. She was the first to like my facebook page, and one of the first to place an order. She was a constant source of support and "picker-upper-ness", especially when I felt things were bleak.

To create this card, I used an ink blending tool to sponge on Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire distress inks. I then used the water droplet technique to pull away splotches of colour and pressed with a clean paper towel. The droplets were much larger than I had originally planned, but as I waited for it to dry they looked more and more like tears. And that was fitting.

Once the panel (140lb coldpress watercolour paper) was fully dry, I used my MISTI to ink (and re-ink) the silhouette stamp and the greeting. If you are going to do this technique I highly recommend that you use a waterproof ink for the black. If your background is even a tiny little bit damp any ink that is not waterproof may bleed and ruin your project.

I then mounted the watercolour panel on a piece of layering weight black cardstock with super strong adhesive. I mounted that onto a white card base and added the micro gems. 

I hope you all liked the card for today, and are inspired to create something of your own.

Don't forget you can follow me using the blue button in the right sidebar or by clicking the facebook link above.