Love You More

We are having a horrible rainstorm today but I have new stamps from Impression Obsession to play with, so some migraine drugs and a nap and I got a card for the challenge done. This time the IO challenge was "Love You More". I had been trying to get my Christmas cards done and almost forgot about the challenge, but my new stamps were on my desk just waiting for ink.
IO makes a heck of a lot of stamps and it was so hard to narrow down my never-ending wish list ! I thought the Floral Frame (L16054) would be fun to paint and it was!

I used Spun Sugar Distress ink on my stamp, but used a black Pitt Big Brush pen on the frame section of the stamp and it worked perfectly. I used my Distress markers and a paint brush to watercolour the flowers.The word stamp is another one of my new stamps and it fits perfectly in the frame. That stamp is called Live Every Moment (C5533) and I think it is lovely. I just added some Washi tape down the side and some Stickles to finish the card. Nice and flat for mailing!

IO- Season's Greetings

My friend loaned me her IO Poinsettia Wreath stamp ages ago, and I finally stamped with it about a day or so before she dropped by and picked it up. So I didn't do much with it :(

I just used watercolour paint, stickles and the IO Small Bow die (DIE057-AA).
Can't seem to control my urge to use watercolours! My husband passes by very quickly when he sees that green Kuretake box!
This is for the Impression Obsession Season's Greetings challenge.
Hope everyone had lots of fun shopping the IO sale. I know I sure did !!!

Say Something Nice #2

Here's my second card for the JustRite Say Something Nice Challenge.

I used the following JustRite Stamps:
Black-Eyed Susan Vintage Labels Two  (floral image)
Grand Sentiments (Dear Friend)
Ticking Stripe Background Stamp
Burlap Background Stamp

This is the other image from the Black-eyed Susan set and I painted a few of these. What you can't see is that I painted over the top with Shimmer Spritz then covered the image with TH Distress Glaze. OMG! I love that stuff! Now I don't have to worry about the paintings getting wet ( me spilling stuff) and getting ruined. I also added some distress Stickles to the flower centers. (My other card had no sparkle, I can only control myself for so long! )
You also can't really see the Burlap B'Ground stamp, I used Antique linen ink for it. I just wanted it to tone down the white. It's hard to tell from the photo but the card is not as bright in person, so I was really pleased with the way that stamp worked.
Thanks for looking, and please join in the next JustRite challenge!

Say Something Nice

The JustRite challenge is " Say Something Nice". I actually managed to get two cards done, which as usual I am posting at the last minute. No matter how much time I have, I always seem to wait until the end !

I am a bit obsessed with one particular JR stamp set lately, Black-Eyed Susan Vintage Labels Three, it is so much fun to watercolour the images from it. I also combined two other JR stamp sets to make my sentiment, Grand Sentiments and Extra Grand Sentiments. I used Spellbinders Diamond Effects to make the card front.

Thanks for looking!

Thanks!

Just a quick card that I almost forgot to enter in the Impression Obsession Give Thanks challenge. I just did a regular Thank-you card as Thanksgiving is in October here.

I used watercolor crayons and IO's Floral Lace Heart ( DIE054-S). I hand cut a banner to put the Thanks diecut on. The "Thanks" is from the IO Greetings die set ( DIE174-W).

Feeling Blue -Roses

I like stamps that you get a lot of use out of, and Impression Obsession's Beauty Rose (F8842) is a stamp I love to use. This time I used it for the IO "Feeling Blue" colour challenge.

I love watercolours and this time I used Reeve's and Faber Castell watercolour pencils to colour my blue roses. I used Peerless paints to watercolour the background. I cut a frame with Spellbinders Romantic Rose die and also used that set to cut the card base out of 100 lb Navy blue card stock. The base is a top folding card using the hinge method.
Thanks for looking!

Feeling Blue - Christmas

I can't spend much time on the computer, I think it contributes to my migraines, but I still like to see what Impression Obsession has for a challenge. I also haven't been doing much crafting, but this latest IO challenge really appealed to me, and now that I can use two hands again, I made a few cards.
The challenge is called "Feeling Blue" and it's a colour challenge. I love blue, so this was easy!

My first card is a Christmas card.

The card front is made from watercolor paper, which is painted with Twinkling H2O's. The colour is Ocean Wave, and I painted it from light to dark, and added water drops and sprinkles of white paint. I die cut the sentiment from the IO Holiday Top Word Edgers set (DIE232-M). There is a piece of acetate behind the words joining the two front pieces together. The front is raised on foam tape, so the acetate provides support for the letters.
The larger deer was cut out of the front and inlaid back in white. I had meant to inlay the tree as well, but I got distracted and forgot, so I ended up cutting the deer shape out of the tree so I would get a perfect fitting tree around the deer. The second deer is raised up. The deer are from the IO Small Deer set (DIE117-C) and I never get tired of finding ways to use them. The tree is from the IO Evergreen Trees set of three (DIE217-E).
All in all, a pretty simple card that will be easy to mail.

Feeling Blue - Patterned Paper

I LOVE patterned paper, and it is #1 on my No Buy list. I have way too much and I don't have a clue as to what I'm ever going to do with it! I have piles of 6x6 pads, that I thought I would make beautiful cards with, and I almost never use it. I actually prefer to make my own backgrounds. Every card I make with patterned paper has been a struggle. I love the papers, but I really just don't know what to do with them! I am determined to use up some of paper. I swore I would use patterned paper on all my Xmas cards, so naturally the first Xmas card has a painted background. *sigh*
I have a sweet Impression Obsession die set that I hadn't used yet, and I decided it would be perfect to use with patterned paper for the Impression Obsession colour challenge "Feeling Blue". I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. (Although that may not be about the finished card, it could just be because blue makes me happy!)

 I used a very old K&Co paper pad and cut all my patterned pieces from it, including the coffee pot and cup from the IO Coffee Set (DIE198-Q). I reversed the direction of the cup, so I could get the flower on the paper to be right side up and match the pot, but it would normally face the other way. The coffee beans were cut from that same die set. I was going to add a sentiment, but I think I'll hold off until I want to use this card. I have too many cards that don't work for what I want them to.
Judging from the miniscule amount of paper I used on this card, I'm going to need to live another 100 years in order to make enough cards to put a dent in my stash!

Watercolor Watering Can

Here's just a quick post of the card I made one-handed (due to injury ) for the JustRite Back to Nature challenge. I used the JR Black-Eyed Susan Vintage Labels Five and JR Garden Tools.

So happy that JustRite is back!!

Fall Floral

Here's a last minute card that I did to enter in IO's Fall Florals Challenge. I used four IO dies on this card.
Watering Can DIE155-A
Fall Leaves DIE095-D
Sm. Spiral Flowers DIE042-I
Stems and Leaves DIE150-D

Thanksgiving Card and the Return of the JR Challenges

It's been a long time since I even tried to put a card together. I seemed to have a harder and harder time getting motivated after the the JustRite challenges ended. I finally managed to make one on the weekend, but I have a whole garbage can of failures, so I don't think my card making days are back, even though  JustRite has returned, and brought back their Friday challenges.
I made this card with one of my older JustRite stamp sets, Autumn Words, and one of my newest JR sets, Extra Grand Holiday Sentiments. I love the font in the Extra Grand Sentiment sets!

I stamped all the leaves on one piece of cardstock using Kaleidacolor Ink pads. (Thanks to Nicole at Nika's PaperArts for reminding me how awesome those pads are.) I used Spellbinders Matting Basics A&B to cut up the stamped card and then matted each piece on brown cardstock. I put foam tape under both middle layers and heat embossed the sentiment with copper EP. So, a super simple card with the pretty ink pads doing most of the work, the only hard part was remembering to stick the layers on the right way! It looks pretty funny if they don't match up. Don't ask me how I know. ;)
I got to know so many wonderful talented card makers through JustRite. I am very glad JR is back!

The first new challenge is found here:
JR Challenge #127 Holiday Cheer 

Unexpected Beauty

A long drive along one of the main highways here can be pretty dull, trees, rocks and more trees. There are two times of the year when it's not so boring, Fall and Summer. All those trees look amazing in the Fall, but in the Summer, it's not the trees that liven up the drive.
I was driving along one of those boring stretches of highway, when suddenly I'd come across a bank of Lupins in all their summer glory! There are patches of Lupins growing wild all over the province and they symbolize summer in Nova Scotia to me. I love how you can turn a corner and see a whole field of these beautiful flowers.

I was inspired by these flowers and had to try another mixed media page for my book. I have a wonderful Lifestyle Crafts die that I've had for years, and it always makes me think of Lupins.

So I covered the chipboard with a rough coat of Gesso, and made the background with blue and green Gelatos. It's hard to see the colour variations in the photo, but it is quite obviously a hill and sky in person. ( I am not loving Gelatos, I prefer paint!!!) I used a paper that I've had for years to die cut the lupins. It's a thicker textured paper, without the stiffness of card stock. I wish I had more, it was lovely to work with. I painted the Lupins with Peerless watercolour paints and shaped them with a ball stylus. I wasn't sure if I could get the flowers to hold the rounded form, but they did ! Happy Dance!
I put a coat of Gel Medium on the base, lay the diecuts on, and then covered them in more Gel Medium. I LOVE how they turned out.

I know that most mixed media projects have lots of stamping and stenciling on the background for depth and texture, but I love the flowers so much that I couldn't bear the thought of adding much else other than the leaf diecut and the butterfly. I did use a darker green Faber Castell big Brush pen along the die cut flowers, and although subtle, it does add some depth.
The words are rub-on letters. Some paint splatters might be nice, but I just wasn't brave enough to try it. :(
What do you think? Should it have splatters, and in what colour? White? Opinions are welcome!! I'm new to this and need all the advise I can get.



I'm entering this in the following challenges;
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge : Summer
Allsorts Challenge: How Does Your Garden Grow
Mixed Media Monthly Challenge : Summer Days

Pushing Through!

Years ago I bought a pile of chipboard books and sheets to make books ( I have a Cinch). Mini books were all the rage and they always looked so easy and fun to do. Problem was that I was afraid that they wouldn't turn out as pretty as anyone else's, and didn't know what I'd do with them anyway. I feel the same way about art journals and yes, I know that they are just for one's self, but even though I don't ever need to show another soul, the truth is that once I have the background done, I am lost with where to go from there. So I'm pushing through my self limiting excuses not to try what looks to be a wonderful form of self expression and I'm going to use that collection of chipboard books to do so. If I don't like something I can just chuck it without remorse and grab a new piece.
The second part of my plan is to find ways to incorporate my old stuff. I have so many things that have been sitting around collecting dust, purchased for whatever project I had optimistically dreamed of doing. I know that I'm not the only one!!!
So here's my first step into the abyss, er, my new creative journey.

This is a 6x6 piece of chipboard that will (hopefully) be the cover of my book. I used torn bits of tissue paper, paint and Modge Podge to create the textured background. Different blue TH Distress Stains were used for colour with a bit of purple gelato rubbed in. I pounced gesso through a Prima mask to make the white spots and used Dreamweaver Pearlescent embossing paste and part of a large Kaisercraft stencil to make the vines. I sprinkled purple and green glitter on the paste while it was still wet (as if the paste wasn't shiny enough on its own ). I used white Molding paste and the same Prima stencil to add the word Dream.
I made the butterflies using Angelina Fibres and a TH Movers and Shapers Butterfly die ( I love this and I had completely forgotten that I had it), as well as a butterfly from a Heartfelt Creations set. I found some old bling in a drawer and glued a few on with Glossy Accents, Wasn't sure how well it would hold the beads to the embossing paste, but I's say that they are on there forever! I
I had some trouble with the stain coming off even though it was sealed with Modge Podge. I wasn't sure what I'd do, as the cover was completed. I remembered that I had purchased a jar of TH Distress Glaze and so I rubbed that on. Problem Solved !! No more blue fingers!

I probably won't share much of my creative journey, but I thought that by committing myself to this in public, that maybe I would keep on going and not add this to the UFO (un-finished objects) graveyard!

I'm entering this in the following :
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge : Use Paste
I used Embossing and Molding Paste.
Simon Says Stamp: Favorite Technique and/or Product
I love embossing paste and stencils, and the paste has to be my favorite product.

Party Time

Impression Obsessions latest challenge is "Party Time". I didn't have a clue as to what I'd do, and it didn't help that I just have no interest in crafting lately. But, I love IO and I love every single thing I've ever got from them, so I figured I could find something in my stash that could be a jumping off point for a card. I decided on a Cover A Card stamp (CC107) and a Happy Birthday sentiment from the Greeting Set dies. Then I just had to decide what to do with them :)  I had a bit of fun and made a juvenile party hat card.

I used really soft coloured Distress inks for the background and the same colours in stronger values for the hat. The hat is made from half a circle folded around for a 3D effect and I split a ribbon into really narrow strips for the top. This was quick and simple, but it's actually really cute in person!

Watercoloured Hydrangeas

There are so many gorgeous watercoloured cards on the Watercolor Blog Hop hosted by Pretty Pink Posh, it's hard not to be inspired!
I got out another one of my favorite stamps, Jumbo Hydrangea Set by Stampendous, and my Peerless paints and had a bit of playtime.

I used the wet on wet method, and dropped blue and purple into the petals, allowing them to blend on their own. The background is also wet on wet, with a blend of blue, yellow and green which I dabbed off with paper towel so it would be very soft. The sentiment is stamped on vellum and heat embossed, with a few sequins for a bit of texture.
The last time I used this stamp, I used it with Kuretake watercolours which are more opaque than the Peerless. Maybe I'll try it with Twinkling H2O's next for a completely different look. :)

Bird Haven Watercolour

I haven't posted in a while and I've been remiss in visiting all my favourite blogs and bloggers. I just couldn't get interested in crafting. I'd look at all the lovely supplies I have and then walk away. I recently came across the 30 Day Color Challenge on the Daily Marker ( http://www.thedailymarker.com/category/30-day-color-challenge/ ) and thought that maybe it could be what gets me interested again. Through that, I found a lovely Blog Hop sponsored by Pretty Pink Posh.



There are the MOST AMAZING watercoloured cards being posted over there. It is really worth seeing!!
http://prettypinkposh.com/2015/06/watercolor-blog-hop.html
Seriously, check it out!

I do love my watercolours, so I decided to share this card which is probably my favourite card I ever made. I used a stamp from Heartfelt creations Bird Haven set.This is a stamp that I LOVE using with watercolours.

I used Peerless watercolour paints, Impression Obsessions rolled flower dies, and Spellbinders Captivating Squares. The woodgrain background was cut with Spellbinders Basic Lattice. The paper flowers were painted and then given a dusting of glitter because I can't resist adding a bit of sparkle.Something I noticed is shared by many others!

Thanks for looking!

Thank-You Card for a Teacher

I hate to miss an Impression Obsession challenge, but wow, this one was hard for me. The challenge is School Spirit or School Colours. It's been a looong time since I went to school and have no clue about school colours.
What I did find was a great little paper pad (in my massive collection of 6x6 pads that I don't have a clue how to use). It is called "Off to School" by Fancy Pants. So then all I needed was something in my IO collection to use with it. I am so happy that I bought the 'Girl with Easter Basket' ) die (DIE260-I). This die is so sweet and can certainly be used for a lot more than Easter. I just trimmed up the die-cut to remove the basket and instead added an apple from another IO die (DIE203-A). I also used the IO All Occasions II stamp set for the sentiment. I think it might be suitable as a thank-you card for a teacher.

The Impression Obsession challenge can be found here:

http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2015/04/new-io-challenge-school-colors.html

Distress Ink and Daisies

Playing with water colour again! This time I used Distress inks to create a a floral background on watercolour paper. I wet the paper with a lot of water and stamped on it using stamps that had been inked with Distress inks. The first layer of stamping was very wet so the stamps created very vague images. When that layer dried some, I re-stamped everything again. This layer was more defined, and a third layer was even more defined. I love the look and the technique is fun to do.
I used a Cheery Lynn doily die to put a sentiment on, and I cut a butterfly with the Memory Box Kaleidoscope butterfly die which I glued on a piece of acetate. I coloured the back side of the butterfly with Sakura Glaze pens and sprinkled white glitter on while the ink was still wet.

I'm entering this in the Simon says Stamp- Make Your Own Background challenge.

Water Colour Hydrangea

I've been playing with different types of water colours and I just came across this gorgeous Stampendous Hydrangea stamp which I thought would be fun to paint. I used 140lb water colour paper and stamped the image with Distress ink in Weathered Wood. I mixed paint from the Kuretake paint set in a palette with enough water to thin it quite a lot. This paint is heavily pigmented and is opaque when used straight from the box. I wanted a more transparent look. I used wet on wet to paint the flowers and then pained the background using the same colours plus blue  in a very thinned down solution. I was going to add a sentiment, but I don't know what occasion I will use this for yet.

I really love this paint, you can get so many different looks with it.

I'm entering this in the Simon Says Stamp - Make Your Own Background challenge

Spotlight stamping

I came across a neat challenge to use up some stash on the Crafty Steals blog. The required elements were washi tape, a journaling card and a punch. I have lots of journaling cards, and I don't use them anymore because I haven't done scrapbooking in ages and I never seem to use washi tape. So I found a journaling card by Fancy Pants suitable for a birthday card and I made some candles by covering cardboard with washi tape. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to put it all together until I remembered a post by Jennifer McGuire using spotlight stamping. I used an EK Success punch to make the flames for my candles. The punch actually is to make leaves, but I thought the shape was great.

I also used a punch to make holes for the twine. The " Happy Birthday to You" stamps are from a JustRite set and the "make a wish" was already on the journaling card.
Here is a picture showing the punch and tapes.

This was a real change for me, but it was fun to use some different products.
The Crafty Steals challenge was called Third Thursday Stash Challenge, and I am going to make a note of it because it is a fun idea and I look forward to trying it again!

Happy Spring Flowers

I can't believe this! It SNOWED again !!! This is the strangest weather we have ever had here. I woke up Sunday morning to see the Magnolia tree covered in snow, and then again this morning! I have photos of it in full bloom in mid April other years. In spite of the warmer temperatures we are getting, there is still at least three feet of snow covering the backyard and the snowbank by the driveway is at least ten feet high. I can tell you that the Toy Manchester Terrier  I am looking after would have prefered her owners to have taken her with them to Cuba than to be here with me. She's not that fond of snow!

I decided to take the photo of my card outside on a deck railing, with a pile of snow behind it. The top of that railing is five feet from the ground and the snow level is higher than that.

This beautiful image filled with happy Spring flowers is an Impression Obsession stamp called "Bird in Flower Pot" (H16003). It would be a great stamp to colour with Copics, but I like to colour outside the lines, so I stamped it with Antique Linen Distress ink and water coloured it using Distress markers as paint.
I've been so obsessed with IO's fun dies lately, that I almost forgot that I have some new IO stamps. This is the first time I used this one and I can't wait to use it again!
I think I owe a thank-you to my sister. I'm pretty sure that this Spellbinders Labels Twenty Three is one she gave me. ( She is responsible for a lot of my SB dies! :D )

I am entering the following challenges:

Impression Obsession - Happy Flowers
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Hiding In My Craft Room -#193 Any Holiday             ( my card is Easter)

OCC Day 3 : Basic Shapes

One of the class videos showed how to make a folded card with a window cut with a basic shaped die. Here's my attempt:

This was fun, but I think it needs a bit more embellishment before I'm really happy with it. I did get to use a very pretty stamp that I haven't used in ages.
The sentiment is from a SSS stamp set.

OCC : Flower Dies

This is based on a design I did before. I used the same Cheery Lynn die and this time the watercoloured piece is behind rather than being the foreground.

The sentiment is embossed on vellum.

Inlaid Die Cuts : Thank-You Card

We just finished cleaning up after being walloped by a major snow storm. Our driveway and walkways are clean right down to the pavement, but I can't say the same for our street. Even thought a payloader was used, there is still only one lane cleared, and it's not very clear.

It is gorgeous out there , if you love snow. We just don't have anywhere else to put it!

We normally have very mild winters, without a lot of snow, and usually none until January and it should be pretty much gone by now. Our snow is so deep, I don't think I'll see my tulips until July! There is more coming this weekend !
Since we really aren't able to go anywhere, I thought it would be fun to take another Online Card Class. This one is about finding ways to get more use from your dies. I think we are up to Day 4, but this is my card for Day 1, which was about word dies. I used an Impression Obsession die from their Greetings set and cut it out multiple times in white card stock and replaced them with ones cut in black.

I carefully used a Swiss dots embossing folder above and below the inlaid part. I stamped, heat embossed. and diecut the flowers from the SSS Summer Garden stamp and die set. I thought I would like the flowers in colour better, but I didn't care for it at all, so all I added was some Wink of Stella. I mounted the front panel on SSS black cardstock, so a bit shows at the top and bottom.
It is much nicer IRL where you can see the shimmer. I'm finally getting one of those photo light boxes, so maybe I'll be able to take pictures that will show shimmer in the future. :)

Bunnies, Blossoms, Birds and Bulbs in a Box

I became enamoured with pop-up box cards because of Karen Amidon's sweet cards using Impression Obsession dies. IO makes great dies that work perfectly for this style of card. Here is my latest using my newest IO dies.

I ordered the Easter boy and girl the day they appeared on the IO site. I fell in love with them and when they arrived I did a happy dance. I paper pieced the clothes and hair on both. I used Core'dinations cardstock for the boy's jeans, so I could distress them. The floral paper is one of my very few pieces of Graphic 45, and the flocked purple paper is some old Doodlebug. Hiding in the branches is a little wood veneer bird. I used flocking on the bunnies and I used Distress markers to paint the tulips before I molded them into a cup shape.

Here's the back with another flocked bunny, IO grass, MS border punch and a felt egg from my stash.
I'll add a piece to this side with the to and from etc.

Here's the front and one side, the other side is the same. The felt egg came from Michael's a few years ago.

UPDATE : I decided to add some more info on this card. 

This card when closed measures 5 1/2 X 6 inches. The cardstock was 6 X 11 1/2 inches to start ( cut from a 12X12 sheet). It was scored at 3 1/2, 5, 9, and 11, and at 3 inches the other way.

I learned how to make this type of card by watching Youtube videos like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYe1W1VecF4

There are lots of things you can use to make the pop-up part, but I am partial to the dies from Impression Obsession. They are the perfect size for these cards and they are VERY reasonably priced. They are available through their website, and lots of Scrapbook stores carry them, including Simon Says Stamp online, and locally here in Nova Scotia, Nika's in Windsor and The Cutting Garden in Halifax.

Posting this happy Spring/Easter card today is very funny, as we are buried in snow! We got dumped on overnight. I think it's the most snow we got all winter. YAY !! Mud Season is a long way off now. I think we got more snow this winter than we've had in years. I'm not complaining, I LOVE the white stuff. I can't share any more bird bath photos now, I can't find the bird bath!

Here's a list of the dies (and stamps) I used :

DIE178-C Small Grass

DIE060-I Grass Border

DIE147-A Tulip Set

DIE150-D Leaves and Stems

DIE055-N Leafy Branch

DIE140-D Tiny Flowers

DIE156-H Birdhouses

DIE043-G Bunny Set  ( Thanks to Carmen for cutting some for me, this set is still on my wish list)

DIE260-I Girl with Easter Basket

DIE261-G Boy with Easter Basket

B14416 Hippity Hoppity

D5643 Garden Animal set

I'm entering this in:

 IO's Think Spring challenge

 Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge- B is For...       ( See blog title for what B is for on my project)

 Curtain Call Jelly Bean challenge

Check out the gorgeous inspiration picture ! LOVE IT !!

Hiding in my Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday  I used nothing but scraps for this card! :)

Birthday Bouquet

WOW ! It's 4 degrees celsius today and the sun is shining brightly. My DH got inspired to clean out the pool and we're having a party. Robin was the first one in, but he was quickly joined by a whole lot of friends.

 Chickadees, Red Polls. Pine Siskins, Goldfinches and Juncos were all lined up just waiting for a chance to get in. I've never seen so many birds in the bath at one time before!

As you can see, the snow is still right up to the level of the bath, but it is really starting to melt. Thankfully, it will be a while yet before it melts down to mud level. I hate Mud Season!
Well, in spite of all the snow, it does feel like Spring is on it's way, so I made a card loaded with flowers using all Impression Obsession flower dies.

The pink polka dot paper has sparkly dots, and is really pretty. I cut all the flowers out of white paper and painted them with Twinkling H2O's. The sentiment was cut out three times and layered then painted with white Perfect Pearls. I added Liquid Pearls to the centres of all the flowers.
Here are the dies I used:
Spellbinders A2 Floral Ribbon Threader
Impression Obsession : Spiral Daisy DIE071-I
                                     Small Sprial Flowers DIE042-I
                                     Leaf Cluster DIE066-C
                                     Leaves and Stems DIE150-D
                                     Greeting Set DIE174-W

I'm entering this into the following :
Impression Obsession's Challenge, Think Spring
Simon Says Stamp's Challenge, Special lady/ Girly

Trying CAS Again

I`m determined to do lots of cards that are easy to mail and I think I`m getting the hang of it. It`s all about self -control, which is usually not my strong suit. I liked how this watercoloured background worked out, so it was easy to exercise restraint.

After adding the ink ( Peeled Paint & Broken China ) to the background, I used a Cheery Lynn Flourish die to emboss the design into the paper. It was just enough so I could just follow the design with my paintbrush and pretty green Twinkling H20`s.
Okay, now here`s the funny part. I haven`t done a Curtain Call challenge in a long time, and here is the inspiration photo.


The green and the leaves appealed to me, but things kind of went awry when it came to the sentiment. This card just had to be a sympathy card. I used Ranger Liquid Platinum EP on vellum and the gorgeous JustRite Extra Grand Sentiments stamp. I`m thinking that `Lucky` may not suit my card, but then again, maybe it does! MWAH HA HA !!
I`m also entering the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, No Rules
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes

Orchids and Watercolours

I had a lovely day yesterday crafting with my friends. We may have different styles, but we all agree on one thing. We LOVE dies ! It was so much fun to see all the new dies my friend had added since the last time we got together. She has a lot of  Cheery Lynn dies that I don`t have, so I just had to cut some to bring home. It got me thinking about some of my dies that I haven`t used in a while. It`s been ages since I used my Cheery Lynn Orchid die (B280 ), it is such a showy flower that it doesn`t take much to make a nice card with it, and this die makes flowers that can go in a regular envelope ( YAY !!! )

I used Peerless watercolour paints to make my background. I painted the orchids with Twinkling H2O`s for the purple and pearl Perfect Pearls for the white. I find it easiest to assemble the orchids by glueing the petals to a small paper circle. It isn`t necessary to use a circle, but I have a special talent for glueing things to myself and it helps me stay unstuck! ;D
The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp Summer Garden set.
I`m entering these challenges :
Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge : http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/?p=2452
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge; http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-anything-goes-13/

Tulips in the Window

Everything outside is covered in a deep layer of snow. I think it's beautiful, but apparently everyone else is ready for Spring and what says Spring more than Tulips?
For some reason I'm amused by the idea of photographing this Spring card with a snow background.

I used Impression Obsession's CAC Wood Grain  background (CC034) and stamped it on a pale grey cardstock with VersaMark ink. I heat embossed with clear powder and then drew lines with a pencil and then smudged them with an eraser. I cut the IO Large Window with Box (DIE103-ZZ )  and cut out a rectangle in the wood grain  cardstock behind it. I used foam tape on the back of the window and then I used a cotton eyelet fabric as a curtain. 

I used double foam tape to raise the box, and filled it with the following:

Leafy Branch DIE055-N

Grass Border DIE060-I

Leaves and Stems DIE150-D

Tulips DIE147-A

I coloured the Tulips with Distress markers and a water brush and rounded them a McGill stylus. 

I cut the sentiment ( Greetings DIE174-W )from layers of 110lb cardstock and topped it with a gold layer. I  finished by adding a butterfly from the small Butterflies set (DIE 046-A).

I mounted the whole front on a top-folded A2 card in a pretty blue colour. I finished the inside with a piece of white cardstock cut with Labels Eight and added some greenery and tulips. This helps balance out the weight of the card front.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Impression Obsession's Happy Birthday challenge  

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge: No Rules                                                                                           Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge ; Anything Goes                                                            

A Little Sunshine

I'm still in such a major papercrafting funk that if it wasn't for the IO challenge and the fact I have a bunch of IO products that I haven't even taken out of their packages yet (and I got them months ago) I wouldn't even be sitting at my desk let alone making a card. I do adore IO dies, so I lay them out on my desk hoping to find inspiration. The IO Watering Can is what caught my eye and I decided it was time to get it together and try to make a card for the "It Must Be Love" challenge.

I used a journaling card cut from Simple Stories paper for the background with a strip of aqua paper from MME. I used a Glaze pen to accent the word 'sunshine'. I attached the watering can to a canvas heart shape  sticker and then filled the can with flowers and leaves cut with IO dies. I put seed beads in the centres of the flowers and added some sequins and an IO Butterfly. The watering can is covered with Glossy Accents.

Here are the Impression Obsession dies I used :
Watering Can DIE 155-A
Small Butterflies DIE046-A
Leafy Branch DIE055-N
Stems and Leaves DIE150-D
Tiny Flowers DIE140-D

I'd like to add a big Thank-You to Sasha and Jeanne for their quick response to my little problem. There is a very good reason why I am such a huge fan of Impression Obsession. It's not just their products that make it my favourite company !!!!!!

Sparkle and Shine II

Here's my second card for the Impression Obsession Challenge Sparkle and Shine.

It's a shaker card with lots of shiny sequins in the shaker. The sentiment is from the IO All Occasions II clear stamp set and the gorgeous heart is cut with the IO Floral Heart die ( DIE054-S).

Sparkle and Shine

Just stopping in with a couple of Valentine's Day cards. I haven't been doing any paper crafting lately, but I needed a couple of cards for a my little Niece and Nephew. I did a pop up box card for my nephew's fourth B'Day and he loved it, so I thought I'd do another.

I used Impression Obsession All Occasion II clear stamp set for the sentiments on the hearts that were cut from card stock that was stamped with IO's C-A-C Lace stamp (CC052). I also used the IO Leafy Branch die. It's back behind the sparkly Cupid. The cupid is an old Making Memories sticker, and I think that both the red glittered heart and the pink one are also from Making Memeriors. The tag paper and all the main papers are old Fancy Pants ones and the cute Valentine images are from a 6x6 Authentique paper pad.
 I am entering this in the IO Sparkle and Shine challenge :
http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/2015/01/new-impression-obsession-challenge-sparkle-shine.html

IO's "Winter Chill" Part II

Here's my second card for the Impression Obsession Winter Chill challenge.

I painted the background with Twinkling H20's and freehand cut some snow banks. I added glitter along the top of the snow ( there has to be some 'shiny' somewhere). The birch trees and Cardinal are from IO's die set (DIE079-U). I think this is a very popular set, and rightly so, as it is lovely. I added some gray Copic marker on the trees. The sentiment is from IO's All Occasion II set ( CL307). I love using this sentiment with a winter scene :)
Time to clean up my mess and get back to sewing. It's chilly outside and I think I need to sew a nice warm quilt!

IO's Winter Chill I

I hadn't planned to make any cards as I have been more interested in sewing than paper crafts lately. But, I can't resist any excuse to use my IO dies and stamps. I did two quick and easy cards for the Impression Obsession challenge "Winter Chill".
For this first card I used Dylusions spray inks and water on watercolour paper to make a variegated background. I then stamped my new Cover-A-Card, Circle Fusion ( CC109) and embossed it with white EP. I cut the sentiment with the greeting die set ( DIE174-W) and mounted it on white cardstock. I covered some chipboard snowflakes with glitter and added them, then mounted the piece on a 110lb white base.
Quick, easy and fits in an envelope!

I love IO's Cover A Card background stamps, if you haven't tried them you are really missing out! They have a massive selection. It's impossible to just pick one!