Merry & Bright

 PTI Card Supplies: 

Make It Market Mini Kit: Holiday Folk (bird)

Rustic Wreath stamps & die

Scallop Stackers: Large die

My last card featured an ink-smooshed and spattered background. I had enough of the panel to die cut a wreath. I stamped a second wreath in black on a green scalloped panel before the die cut wreath was attached. Red glitter Stickles berries jazz up the wreath and coordinate with the red pre-printed bird. The sentiment was gold embossed. A simple but fun layered design. Linking this to Time Out #150.

What to do with the wreath's discarded center? I have a few piles of die cut negative parts in my remnant pile, don't you? Well, I dry embossed the wreath die on a white card front and carefully lined up the inked center to match the appropriate leaves. After making a mask to cover the wreath I splattered distress inks over the card front. This thank you card will go to the recipient of the Merry & Bright card above. Last week we exchanged Christmas gifts and cards and now I need a ty card for her. I wonder if she'll notice.

PTI Rustic Wreath die
PTI Penned Elegance II stamp

MERRY Christmas

How to create a funky holiday card: play with a smooshed ink background by adding splatters and Nuvo Gold Mouse smudges before die cutting the panel. Add a pair of gold bells stacked on aqua to balance the opposite corners' skinny aqua "MERRY".  I wonder who will receive this one?

Card Supplies: Altenew Fine Alphabet dies

PTI Bells & Boughs and Scallop Stackers: Medium dies

Distress Inks, Golden Glitz Delicata

Linked to: Time Out: #150 

Peace on Earth

Isn't Christmas wonderful?

My latest Christmas card combines stamps and dies from several

 companies and is linked to Simon Says: Let's Sparkle

 Supplies List: SS Waves cling stamp

PTI Mix & Mat: Plaid die (center removed with stitched rectangle)

PTI Dash Away All sentiment & die

Thanks for your visit. Have a wonderful week!

happy birthday

Yesterday I brought out my Altenew Polish Papercuts 3D dies for their inaugural cutting and had so much fun. They are a kick! Having several relatives with December birthdays I've been aware that they sometimes feel cheated sharing their special day with all the Christmas stuff. A far-away blogging friend's birthday is next week so I cut yellow and green pattern papers and a bit of red glitter paper for my totally die cut flower. A light DI blending over the Altenew Feathered Leaves stencil adds a bit of depth to the scene. Other than the red glitter hearts, not a hint of Christmas for this December birthday celebration.

The current Seize the Birthday with an additional topping, a touch of red, ends tomorrow morning so this is a late entry for sure!

Linking also to

SS: Anything Goes and Time Out: #149 

Thank you for stopping by today. I'll be in and out over the next month as we begin packing for a move to Portland, a 150 miles away, to live near our oldest son. We're downsizing by more than half which means lots of dumping and donations before we can fill boxes. All of the paper crafting stuff is going (so far).

Thinking of you

Finally posting two cards that I made in September. I love leaf stamps and Altenew's Leaf Canopy has a lot of possibilities for spring through fall.  

Card #1

The outline leaf spray was stamped with distress ink on a white PTI Tipped Tops die cut panel. The solid leaf spray was inked with several distress inks, misted with a light water spray before stamping inside the outline image. A Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You (The Greetery) sentiment in the corner was embossed with Lawn Fawn rose gold. The leaf panel was foam mounted on a larger Tipped Tops panel cut from kraft Bitty Big paper. The two panels were glued to a brown card front.
Linked to SSSMC

Card #2

Both sizes of the outline stamps were stamped in brown and clear embossed on a white panel. Once again I inked the solid leaf sprays with several distress inks, separately stamping each ink until satisfied with the color combinations. I used a wet brush to soften the edges of the colors. A spattering of the same distress inks adds texture to the panel that was trimmed with a SSS stitched rectangle die. Two washi tapes were laid on a white card stock strip and die cut with the Altenew Fine Alphabet letters, totally inspired by Virginia Lu of Yes, Virginia. The washi hello was stacked with two more layers before it was glued on a dark brown banner. The panel was attached to a kraft card.  Linked to: Yes, Virginia's Show and Share

Grateful - Thankful

Sharing one more set of Mondo Hydrangea cards

A stamped, clear embossed die cut bloom from white card stock was popped up on a striped PTI Mix & Mat Postal die cut panel. This was adhered to a white card front. A simple sentiment was added to a small Sentiment Suites banner from The Greetery. 
Linked to Simon Says: Thanks/Thanksgiving

This time I stamped the bloom on light green card stock and sponged  pink ink on a few petals. A red pen accented the petal centers. A large PTI Scallop Stacker die cut was ombre colored using a PTI Woodblock Prints stencil. This was placed on a Bitty Big chartreuse panel covering a white card front. PTI Enclosed: Leaf provides the sentiment.

My last card uses the same technique as the 2nd card but different ink colors. The saffron spice panel was die cut with a SS stitched rectangle, textured with Altenew's Dotted Swirls Debossing Cover Die, with a Greetery sentiment tag on the top. The panel was added to a saffron spice card. 

Linked to AAA Cards: Game #153-One Image


November Sunset

Thinking of You

Today's post features a set of "thinking of you" cards, one of my favorite genres to make. They fit a lot of categories i.e. sympathy, birthday, encouragement. I've admired Julie Ebersole's "mondo" series of stamps for a while and recently purchased the hydrangea and amaryllis mondo stamps and dies.  I'm sharing three of the Mondo Hydrangea cards. Here we go!

I smooshed three distress inks on an acrylic block, misted them before laying down a piece of lavender cardstock. The hydrangea was stamped in black ink, clear embossed, and die cut. It was foam mounted on a piece of pattern paper glued to a white card front. Purple Stickles decorate the flower centers. The Greetery tag and sentiment was attached with a twine bow and a PTI Feature Frame finishes the design. 

The bloom and sentiment were stamped on water color paper and embossed with fine gold EP. After painting the various petals with four distress oxide inks, the bloom was masked and the panel was splattered with more DO inks. It was cut with a PTI Noted Scallop die and directly adhered to an aqua card. It reminds me of cloisonné and is stunning in RL. 

Once again I smooshed distress inks on an acrylic block, misted it before laying white water color paper upon it. The bloom was stamped with DI and clear embossed before it was die cut. A sentiment was stamped on a soft stone panel and an Altenew Dotted Swirls Debossing Cover die added texture to the panel. The bloom was foam mounted to the panel and clear rain drops were added . 

These cards are linked to Simon Says: Thinking of You

This week fog and smoky air gave us this impressionistic sunset.

Time Out Challenge #146 Encouraging

The latest Time Out challenge focuses on encouraging! 

I've loved this sentiment for a long time which encourages with a pun.

Being a bird-watcher's partner, I have more than my share of bird stamp sets. This was one of my first, a now-retired Hero Arts Color Layering Bird on branch. The branch and leaves were stamped on a sponged background with splatters added in the leaf colors. A PTI Pierced Feature Frame cut from woodgrain pattern paper frames the panel. After stamping the legs on the branch I added the fussy cut bird with foam. The panel was glued to a saffron spice card front.

Have a wonderful week. Today we had a chestnut-backed chickadee visit our bird feeder - a fun sighting! 

vikkispapertrailetc

Pink Card Take 2

My next pink card with white embossed resist ink blending was a mixed blessing to create. I have a young 39 year-old Australian friend battling ovarian cancer, a mom of three boys, 12 and under. Her family have been medical missionaries for the past 11+ years in Malawi and immediately returned to a southern California medical school for treatment after her July diagnosis. Her husband's family live in the area and work in healthcare. She's a gem and my hero!

PTI: Doodlie-Do, Fresh Bouquet-sentiment, 

Noted: Scalloped A2 die

Distress Oxide inks and Wow EP

Even though Shar does not have breast cancer, I am

linking this card to time out Challenges, SSSW Challenge

                       

Pink Cards Take 1

Last spring I made several cards from the January 2019 My Monthly Hero Arts Kit but never used the easel die. Jessica Frost-Ballas shared this project during the January countdown. Recently I needed a baby card and thought a pink easel would be fun to try. Jessica's instructions were easy to follow for non-mechanical me.

 Hero Arts MMH Jan 2019 stamps/dies; HA MMH June 2017 (elephant) 

   PTI Forget-Me-Not stamps/dies; PTI Penned Elegance II sentiment

While everything was out I made a second pink easel for a friend's birthday. This die would also make cute table decorations for many occasions with an appropriate sentiment.

 Hero Arts MMH Jan. 2019 stamps/dies; PTI Penned Elegance II stamp; 

Altenew Beautiful Day stamp/die (top spray of flowers)

Glossy Accents and Wink 'O Stella on balloons

These cards are linked to A Blog Named Hero: Inspired by Another Crafter, SSSW Challenge

                       

Happy Birthdays, "Leaves/Trees" and "Geometric Shapes"

 So many beautiful stamp sets, dies and other goodies lead to fun cards!

I've been having a lot of fun with die cuts, scattering them over a textured background instead of layering them. I was inspired to try this after seeing and later ordering the PinkFresh STAMPtember SSS floral frame stamp set. While waiting for their arrival I created two cards using stamps and dies from my stash. 

Card #1

 A mix of Altenew's Rennie Rose embossed in gold surround a Penned Elegance II sentiment popped up on an Altenew Dotted Swirls Debossing cover panel. I fussy cut a green shadow for the sentiment so it would show up better. The geometric shapes forming the florals and leaves should qualify for the Seize the Birthday topping, add a geometric shape. 

Card #2

 Stamped die cuts from The Greetery's Lemon Blossom and Sentiment Suite: Birthday are glued directly on an Altenew Pegboard Canvas panel. The panel was adhered to a lemon yellow card front. I figure the citrus slices are geometric shapes, circle & half circle and the lime/lemon look oval. ;-)

Linking these two to Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes + topping;

 Allsorts Challenge -Trees and Leaves; Simon Says-Anything Goes

Thanks for your visit.

vikkispapertrailetc

PinkFresh Studio STAMPtember cards

I'm dropping two cards on the blog tonight after a month of creating many cards but not posting any! Such a lazy woman, right?

I don't often buy SSS STAMPtember stamp sets but after seeing a project by Nina-Marie using the 2019 collaboration PinkFresh stamp set I made my order with a couple more items.

Nina-Marie's inspiration

The frame was stamped on watercolor paper and gold embossed before loosely watercoloring the images with my Altenew pan set. I finished the panel with a sentiment from The Greetery and die cut the panel with a SSS stitched rectangle. But remembering Nina-Marie's fussy cutting, I bravely fussy cut my panel staying inside of the stitching. It was attached to a green card front which was modified with a PTI linen impression plate for texture. A light rubbing of Delicata Golden Glitz ink around the card edges finished the card with a few clear droplets.

My version

 A second version was stamped in black ink, clear embossed and colored with Altenew watercolors. A SSS sentiment was stamped in gold but clear embossing unfortunately altered the golden sheen. Then I risked the entire project by stamping a PTI grid in light ink with some masking over the sentiment and finished with clear sequins.

Thanks for the visit.

You can find me on Instagram

vikkispapertrailetc