Catching Up

I didn't get to stamp at all yesterday.   Other things seemed to keep interfering with my fun.  I did get some Christmas decorating done.  My goal is to have it done by Saturday when my girls all come to bake cookies.  I think it's our favorite time of the year!

My card today is for the Color Challenge at SCS this week to use River Rock, Old Olive, Real Red and Neutrals of Choice.

I stamped the whole design in River Rock, then I used the blender pen dipped in the Whisper White ink pad for the berries.  I did use a little Garden Green with a blender pen on the leaves so I guess this is not completely within the challenge.

So, here's another card for this challenge and the CAS95 challenge at SCS to use flower accents.

No cheating on this one!  I had a piece of Real Red that I had embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  I punched three 5 Petal Flowers out of it.  (I cut down the one I used on top.)  Then I cut two flowers out of Old Olive for the leaves.

There's Dazzling Diamonds on the lattice and around the sentiment.  It doesn't show up very well in the photo but it sparkles IRL.

Card Recipe (Mistletoe)
Stamps:  A Cardinal Christmas
Ink:  River Rock, Whisper White, Garden Green, Real Red
Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive
Accessories:  Blender Pen, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

Card Recipe (Poinsettia)
Stamps:  Many Merry Messages
Ink:  Real Red
Paper:  River Rock, Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories:  Big Shot, Lattice die, Square Lattice EF, 5 Petal Flower Punch, Dazzling Diamonds, Basic Pearls

Now to get a few more things out to decorate for Christmas.

Thanks for the visit.  I hope you will come back soon.

Enjoy,
Bonnie 

Get Well Flowers

Hello Stampin' Friends.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sorry that I've been away so long.  Our Thanksgiving was delayed for an extra day until we could get my Dad here.  We had a very special day together.  Our girls hadn't seen him in 2 years and he got reacquainted with the older grandchildren and met our darling Emmie for the first time.

Today I made a card is for the OLW30 challenge over at Jennifer Styles' blog.  I used this card for inspiration.

I've been bumped from my stamping room and brought my card table to the study.  It took about 12 trips to get everything I needed to make my card.  Then I had to put everything back.  LOL, maybe I can lose some weight!

This is what I came up with.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers

Ink:  Basic Black

Paper:  Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty EF, Boho Blossoms Punch, Black Gingham Ribbon 

Hopefully, I can continue to make a few cards and get them posted daily.  If I can't, please forgive and don't give up on me.  I'll be back at it as soon as I can.

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Shades of Green

The Just Add Ink Challenge last week was to use River Rock, Wild Wasabi & Chocolate Chip.  I'm getting this in just under the wire.  The River Rock and Wild Wasabi together had me stumped.

After I had put my box of Decorative Paper up on the top shelf of the closet, I had an eureka moment.  I knew that inside that box was some old DSP with River Rock & Wild Wasabi.

I love this piece of Wild W. with the butterflies.  To keep with the butterfly theme, I used the Punch Potpourri and stamped on Whisper White with River Rock and punched it out.  I sponged a bit of Wild Wasabi around the edges, freehanded a butterfly body, and added some Basic Pearls.

I added a piece of 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain and laid a piece of River Rock ribbon over that.  (Both of these ribbons, as well as the paper are retired. Sorry I'm using old stuff, but it needs to be used)

After stamping the sentiment with Chocolate Chip, I added the butterfly with glue dots in the center.

All this was matted on a piece of Chocolate Chip, then mounted on a white card.  Oh, I did round the bottom corners in keeping with the rounded butterfly wings.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Punch Potpourri, Baroque Motifs

Ink:  River Rock, Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi DSP

Accessories:  Butterfly & Corner Rounder Punches, Chocolate Chip Chip & River Rock Ribbons, Basic Pearls

Still waiting for my Dad.  I will be so thankful when I see him! 

Just took an apple pie out of the oven and the house smells yummy!

Enjoy,
Bonnie

I'm a Week Behind

I'm a week behind with this post.  I made this card for last weeks {Made by Me} Wednesday and never got it loaded in.

Sorry Sarah, I hope it will be enjoyed this week.

I stamped the flowers, from the Silhouette Sentiments Level 1 Hostess set, on a scrap of Whisper White.  Scalloped one corner and rounded the others with punches.  Matted on Rich Razzleberry, More Mustard DSP, and whisper white.  Then put it on a Razzleberry card base.

Some of the Tiny Butterflies from the extra pieces box fit really well in this garden.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Silhouette Sentiments

Ink:  Pumplin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, More Mustard DSP

Accessories:  More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry Butterflies, Scallop Trim Corner & Corner Rounder punches

Happy Thanksgiving.

May your blessings be many and may you enjoy all your blessings.

Bonnie

Vintage Skaters

When I saw the ColorQ60 challenge this morning, with those beautiful handmade mittens, I knew I had to pull some stuff back out and do a card.

With Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Early Espresso & Vanilla as the colors, this skating pair was perfect.  Usually, when I see a card this vividly in my head, it turns out to be a big disappointment.  But this time, everything went together just as I visualized.


I stamped the pair with Early Espresso on a scrap of Very Vanilla and painted using SU markers and a blender pen.  A scrap of Early Espresso cut 1/8" larger than the design piece made the mat.  I found this piece of Vanilla already embossed in my stash and thought it was perfect for the vintage feeling I was looking for.

I used Early Espresso & Cherry Cobbler markers to ink the sentiment then punched it out with the Wide Oval punch.  The oval mat for the sentiment is 2 ovals punched from Early Espresso and overlapped a bit.

All this is on a Cherry Cobbler card base.  A piece of Very Vanilla on the inside of the card, with the snowflake from this set inked with More Mustard, stamped off twice and stamped over the sentiment finishes it off.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Winter Post, Bells & Boughs
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Soft Suede & Early Espresso SU Markers
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Wide Oval Punch

I hope you like this card as much as I do.

My Dad has still not arrived.  He had a bit of a problem with getting lost yesterday.  He is determined to make it down here though.  Tonight he is safe in a motel and hopefully will make it the rest of the way tomorrow.   I think it's more nerve wracking for all of us than it is for him!  I guess it's probably his last great adventure and I can't begrudge him that!

Stay safe and I hope I will be able to post something tomorrow.  If not, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and time to truly count your blessings.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Sponging the Trimmings

Happy Monday stampin' friends.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and today was a good start to the holiday week.

This card was done for the CAS challenge over at SCS today to use sponging.

I stamped this lovely ornament with Cherry Cobbler ink, smacked it with VersaMark & clear embossed it.  It's one of my favorite techniques for ornaments because it gives them a sheen like glass ornaments.  I cut it out and adhered it to a 3 3/8" x 4" scrap of Whisper White.

I laid the large oval from the Bigz Ovals die over the ornament and sponged with Pear Pizzazz around the oval, then used the Color Spritzer Tool & the Cherry Cobbler marker to spritz some red speckles.

The design piece was mounted on a piece of Cherry Cobbler cut 1/8" larger and adhered to the embossed piece with dimensionals after wrapping and tying the ribbon.  All this was mounted on a Cherry Cobbler card base.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Tree Trimmings
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, VersaMark, Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer Tool, Cherry Cobbler Marker, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Basic Rhinestone

I don't know how much stamping I'll get done this week. My Dad is on his way to spend the week with us. He'll be getting here tomorrow, Lord willing. (He's 89 years young and insists on driving the 800-900 miles.) We're praying hard that he makes it without any "incidents".


He'll be staying in my stamping room so the only stamping I will be doing is what I can get to easily after everything is packed up. Besides, I want to spend as much time with him as possible. We may not have many more opportunities.


Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will come back soon.  I have some cards that haven't been posted that I'll be bringing out this week. 

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Online Spectacular

Start your Christmas shopping early!

  Between now and November 30 you can take advantage of some Stampin' Up! special pricing on select items.

Plus you get free shipping on orders of $150.00 or more!  Plus with a $150.00 order you get to choose a Level 1 Hostess set & free merchandise!

You can download the PDF here to see the items on sale.

You can order directly from my website here.

And while your at my website, check out the other specials on bundles & Demonstrator starter kits!

It's a great time to shop Stampin' Up!

Happy Shoppin',

Bonnie

Dove of Peace

I have a few minutes before my class so I'll try to sneak a blog in!

This is another card that I did with the W.I.S.H. or smoosh technique earlier in the week.  I was inspired by a card by Sandi MacIver.   She used a different background technique. (I would like to try that one too.)

The colors of re-inker used for the background were Baja Breeze & Pear Pizzazz with a little Frost White Shimmer paint dropped on there for good measure.

The dove was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with White Embossing Powder & cut out.

I stamped the word with VersaMark and embossed with silver Embossing Powder.  I dragged the edges over the VersaMark pad and also embossed with silver.  (It works best to do this one long & one short side at a time.)

The branch in the bird's mouth is from the Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch with 3 of the smallest rhinestones.  I used a piece of last year's silver elastic cord (wish they had brought that back!) knotted 3 times and taped to the back.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Peaceful Season, Wonderful Words (Sorry, it's a retired stamp set)
Ink:  VersaMark
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Scrap of Garden Green
Accessories:  White & Silver Embossing Powder, Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Silver Elastic Cord

Hope you have a peaceful weekend.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Greenhouse Garden Framed

I've been busy setting up for a class tomorrow but  wanted to do a quick post.

My wonderful, talented daughter made this and gave it to me a couple of weeks ago, just because.  I love unexpected surprises!

She recently discovered that she could create some new, inexpensive art for her home with her stamps (and some of mine too).  This is one of the flowers that she did.

I think the Saffron & Black are so elegant together.  Don't you?

Picture Recipe
Stamps:   Greenhouse Garden
Ink:  So Saffron, Basic Black
Paper:  Whisper White, So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories: Picture Frame

I want to express my deepest thanks for all your kind comments.  It makes me happy to know that you are enjoying my creations and finding some inspiration here.

Enjoy,
Bonnie 

Pink Wedding Cake

Today's card is for the One Layer Wednesday challenge that's over at the Simplicity blog this week.  Susan challenged us to be inspired by some beautiful wedding cakes.  You can see the choices at the Cake Wrecks site.  I was going to put a picture of the inspiration cake here, but either my server or theirs wouldn't let me.  It's the pink one, the 8th picture down.

I used Blushing Bride and the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, leaving a strip at the bottom without the embossing.

The sentiment is stamped with Whisper White and embossed with White.  It doesn't show up very well.  I think it needed some more smooth space!

I used the White Satin Ribbon and gave it a bit of a twist.  I gathered another piece of the ribbon to make a flower and topped it off with a pearl from the Pretties Kit.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Kind & Caring Thoughts
Ink:  Whisper White
Paper:  Blushing Bride
Accessories:  White Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Elegant Lines EF, White EP, Pearl

I'm not totally satisfied with this card.  I'm going to try another one if I can find the time.

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Peace, Love, Joy

Hello again, Stampin' Friends.  As promised, here's a card with this neat technique.  MariLynn at SCS calls it the W.I.S.H technique.    It is very similar to Catherine Pooler's Smoosh technique that I saw last winter.

Basically, since I don't remember where I hid the markers after Luke tried to change the color of my couch to green, I had to use the reinkers for my color.  I used Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz and some Frost White Shimmer paint.

In case you don't want to check the links, here's a quick rundown.  I used a sandwich bag and cut the sides.  I opened the bag up and put some drops of Baja & Pear re-inker on one side.  Then I caught a little Shimmer paint in the top of the bottle and dripped it with the re-inker.  I closed the bag and "smooshed" it around.  (Warning, it can get very messy!)  Then I opened the bag and layed a piece of Whisper White on one side, pressing it and smooshing the paper onto the ink.

It makes a very pretty background doesn't it?  You can't really see the shimmer paint in the picture, but it gives it a nice pearly glow.

The layout is for the CAS93 challenge at SCS.

The colors, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz & Perfect Plum are from the CC297 also at SCS.

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  All Holidays

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black

Paper:  Whisper White, Perfect Plum

Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle & 2 1/2" Circle Punches, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads

It was really messy but well worth the effort.  By the way, I folded the bag up and smooshed again twice and had 3 backgrounds from one inking. 

I tried it later with the Perfect Plum and evidently got too much of the darker inks.  It was very muddy looking.

That's it for tonight.  Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope you will come back soon.

Enjoy,

Bonnie

In the Queen's Court

Whoo hoo! ColorQ chose my Pocket Full of Colors card to be one of the Queen's Courtiers.

You can go see the Queen's card & the rest of the court by clicking here.

I am so honored! There were so many beautiful cards entered for that challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back in a bit with a new card for you using a really neat technique!

Enjoy,
Bonnie

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Delightful in Gold

The Just Add Ink Challenge last week was to do a Christmas card. 

This is the card I'm entering there.  It's one of my favorites and I couldn't use it for a class because I didn't have enough gold.  We did one in Vanilla with Cherry Cobbler.  It was nice, but I love the gold.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Delightful Decorations
Ink:  VersaMark
Paper:  Brushed Gold, Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Gold Embossing Powder, Organdy Ribbon, Gold Cord

I hope you have had a wonderful Monday and that you got to stamp some.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Golden Peace

I seem to be on a gold kick today!  Actually, I made this card last month, or the month before, for a One Layer Wednesday challenge, and I don't think I ever posted it.  I really made a mess of it and didn't think it was worth posting.

My daughter thought otherwise so let's see what you think!

I believe the challenge was to use something metallic on the card.  I stamped everything in Encore Gold and embossed  with gold.

I thought it needed something around the edge, so I edged it with the gold and embossed that.  Got a smudge in the top left corner!  Aaargh!  I hate it when I do that!

Looking for something to camouflage the smudge, I found the little dot stamp from the retired Bird on a Branch set, inked it in gold and stamped in the corners.  I didn't really like it any better than the smudge!

Today's Free for All Challenge on SCS was to use a silhouette stamp.  Everything is packed up for tomorrow's Stamp Stack, so I'm going to put this in, since the bird is in silhouette.

If nothing else, it's a lesson in camouflaging your mistakes!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Peaceful Season, Bird on a Branch

Ink:  Encore Gold

Paper:  Shimmery White

Accessories:  Gold Embossing Powder

As Luke would say, it's time to get out of the computer Nana!

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Golden Bells

This weeks layout for the Sketch Challenge at SCS was perfect for this set.  We did a similar card at last month's Stamp Stack.   I had some pieces left over and I'm always glad to be able to use those parts instead of throwing them in the UFO box!

The bells are stamped with Black StazOn on Shimmery White cardstock.  I colored them with SU Markers and a blender pen, then punched them with the Extra Large Scallop Circle punch and laid that on a 2 1/2" Circle punched from Real Red.

The background is Wild Wasabi stamped with the holly bough in the same color.

Instead of another layer, I drew a line all around the green piece with a Real Red Marker.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Bells & Boughs
Ink:  Black StazOn, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi
Paper:  Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Shimmery White
Accessories:  2 1/2" Circle, Extra Large Scallop Circle, Wide Oval, & Scallop Oval Punches, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, SU Markers (Wild Wasabi, Old Olive, Real Red, More Mustard), Blender Pen

Hope you have plans for a wonderful weekend!  One where you can stamp!

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Pocket full of Colors

When I saw the Colors for the ColorQ challenge this week, Espresso, Cajun, Saffron, Artichoke, Kraft & White, I immediately thought of Pocket Silhouettes.  This wonderful set of little foliage stamps works so well with multiple colors.

Then when Jennifer posted the One Layer Wednesday challenge and said to use at least 5 different colors of ink, I had the colors all lined up!

Now the challenge was to get them all on a one layer card.

I made a mask and sponged an area on the front of the card with So Saffron.  Then I stamped the different flowers & foliage in Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft), Always Artichoke & Cajun Craze. 

The Early Espresso went toward the sentiment.  I must confess, it took three tries to get it somewhat straight.  I can stamp it straight on the scratch paper, but not on the card.  Go figure! 

Then I used an acrylic block to guide my Espresso Marker around the design, leaving the design area kind of hanging free.  It's still not perfectly straight but it is handmade after all!

Card Recipe:
Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes, Three Little Words
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Early Espresso SU Marker

Now to go leave it off at ColorQ & Styles Ink.
Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you come back soon.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Baroque Butterfly

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Isn't this bright?  The colors for the Color Challenge on SCS this week are Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise & White with a butterfly for dessert!

The butterfly box was still out from yesterday's card and I just happened to have one in Tempting Turquoise.  Imagine that!  Usually there wouldn't be one in the color that I needed!

The swirls from Baroque Motif stamped off the side and some Itty Bitty punched flowers with tiny pearl centers made a bright design.

The card is 4 1/4" square.  I only had a small piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock, so that determined the size of the design area.  The Whisper White is 3 7/8" and the Turquoise a scant 1/8" larger.

Again, it's not a color scheme I would have ever come up with, but I think I like it!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Baroque Motif, Because I Care
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Early Espresso
Paper:  Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Accessories:  Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Pearls, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Oh, and I put a couple of the tiny die cut butterflies on the inside.

And I almost forgot.  I'll be sending this over to {Made by Me} Wednesday at 2pawsdesigns.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today. 

Enjoy,
Bonnie

I've got to brag a little.  I entered this card in the ColorQ#57 challenge last week and my card was one of 6 chosen for the honor of being a Color Queen Courtier!  I am so honored and excited!



And almost as exciting, 2 of my blogging friends received honors too.  Emily is also a Courtier and Colleen is the QUEEN! Whoo, hoo!!

Go on over to ColorQ and check out all the beautiful cards there.

I'll be back in a bit with another card.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Butterfly Tango

In case you're getting sick of Christmas Cards, here's the card I did for the clean&simple #115 challenge.  There's some great inspiration over there.  Follow the link and take a look.

I used my new Punch Potpourri stamp set and stamped the largest flower with Tangerine Tango.  I colored in each flower with a blender pen dipped into in the top of my ink pad.  I had this pretty Pacific Point butterfly.  Would you believe that I have a whole container of butterflies?  The embosslit does 5 butterflies at a time and I rarely use them all!

I use the Basic Pearls to adorn the butterfly and Basic Rhinestones for the center of the flower.

Paper Piercing was my border of choice for this card, but oh, oh!  I forgot the sentiment.  Then when I added the sentiment, in the wrong place, I stamped it crooked!  Aargh!  That Word Window Punch saved me on that one.

There's a little sponging on the edges.  I used Baja Breeze for that.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Punch Potpourri
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze
Paper:  Pacific Point, Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Word Window Punch, Basic Pearls & Rhinestones, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Blender Pen

Thanks for checking in today.  I hope it's a good day for you.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Almost No Ink

I've had the sketch for the Just Add Ink42 challenge sitting next to my stamping table for a few days now.  I'd keep looking at it and wonder what I could do, then go on with getting ready for the upcoming Stamp Stack and Creative Arts tomorrow.

This morning I looked at the CAS92 challenge at SCS, saw that it was a color challenge to use Pale Pink, Olive, Kraft, White and optional Marina Mist.

So I combined the two and here's what I came up with.



I had this piece of Blushing Bride already embossed so I trimmed it up.  Had a piece of Whisper White that needed just a bit of trimming to fit on the Crumb Cake.  The stem was in the "punched and not used box".  I punched the bird out of a scrap of white embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  I sponged a bit of Marina Mist on him & punched a teeny circle for his eye.

I love it when I can use some of these bits and pieces that were rejected from previous projects!

As a final touch, I drew a line around everything using a clear stamp block. (I did have to shift it over a bit but the length was perfect.  Too bad my hand isn't!)

Card Recipe

Stamps:  All Holidays

Ink:  Crumb Cake,  Marina Mist

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Old Olive

Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice & Vintage Wallpaper EF, Sweetest Stem Embosslit, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Crumb Cake Marker, 1/16" Circle Punch,

Did you know that you can dye white taffeta ribbon any color you want by dragging it through your ink pad while holding it with your bone folder.  Just let it dry and clean your folder.  It will save some messy smudges later!

I'm over half way through with preparations for the Stamp Stack.  I finished one Audiobook, Night Fall by Nelson Demille and started Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.   I sure am enjoying the book!  I love it when I can read all day and make cards!

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Star Punched Wreath

I love wreaths!  I wish Stampin' Up! would come up with a good wreath stamp.  Competitors have some really awesome ones.  Can I justify buying one?  Maybe I'll just make do and hope they come up with one next year. 

When the Clearance Blitz was going on, I bought the little star punch.  I'd been wanting it and was sorry that I missed getting it.  Then, when I saw that it was still available at a really good price, I snapped it up!

I started out making a Christmas tree out of the stars.  I saw a picture somewhere last year of one.  That's why I wanted the punch to begin with.  I have no idea where that picture is now!  Anyway, my tree morphed into a wreath.  Then I remembered the technique a while back on SCS to do Faux Woodgrain.  I used the technique on this card.  I thought the wreath would really stand out on this background.

All I did was take a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White and scored it at 1/2" and every 1" after that.  Then I took my Going Gray ink pad (You could probably use Sahara Sand but Basic Gray is too dark.) and dragged it the length of the scored piece.  Then I dragged it down again.  Easy enough?

The stars were punced out of some retired SU Christmas DSP.  I just kept punching and sticking until I had a good circle.  I made the bow out of another Clearance find, the red gingham ribbon and punched berries from a Real Red scrap with a 1/8" circle punch.

The little Merry Christmas from Teeny, Tiny Wishes finished it off.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Teeny, Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Going Gray, Real Red
Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories:  Small Star Punch, 1/8" Circle Punch, Red Gingham Ribbon

Oh, and on the inside, I found that the holly stamp from the Jolly Bingo Bits worked perfectly to frame the sentiment.  I think I'm going to find a lot of uses for those delightful little Christmas stamps.

I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend.  Thanks so much for coming by.  Do come back and I love your comments.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Jolly Little Christmas

 The One Layer Wednesday challenge on Simplicity this week is extra special.  It seems that Susan & Jennifer got a letter from a lady who makes Christmas cards for the prisoners in the ND Penitentiary.  Seems the Warden decided that the prisoners can only have one layer cards without any metal, gemstones or pearls, and only minimal glitter.  This lady wrote that the One Layer Wednesday cards have been a real inspiration to her group of stampers.

Isn't it nice to be appreciated?

So Susan challenged us to make Christmas cards that follow the rules for the ND State Penitentiary.  We can send them to this group and have our names entered into a drawing for some free stamp stuff.

Oh,  they will allow flock, embossing, ribbons & punched shapes.

I stuck to the one layer without any embellishments.

I love these clear mount stamps.  You can just line them up on your block and stamp all three at once.

Well this one had to be done in two steps.  Three if you count the sentiment.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Jolly Bingo Bits, Bright Christmas

Ink:  SU Markers

Paper:  Whisper White

Oh, and the SCS Ways to Use It challenge today is to use green.  I think I'll share one with them too.

How are you coming on your Christmas cards?

I've got another class coming up.  Stamp 5 Christmas cards for $15.00.  (Click on the link to see the cards.)  Everything is included.  Classes are November 13, in Roanoke Rapids, and November 21 & 23 here in Cary.  Would love to have you join in.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you didn't mind the long post too much.

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Winter Post Skaters

Hello Stampin' Friends.  Today's card uses the sketch from Sketch Challenge 305 at Splitcoaststampers. It's another square card, which I don't normally think to do.  But they are so cute and Roxie has a put a link to her tutorial on adapting an A2 envelope for a square card.  No extra postage!

 

I stamped the skaters from Winter Post with Black StazOn then colored the pair with SU Markers, stamped the edge of the snowflake from that set in the corners, & used the Color Spritzer to speckle the background a bit.

The snowflakes, from the Northern Hearts set, are stamped in Whisper White and embossed with White.  I'm a real messy embosser.  I should have used the embossing buddy first, but I didn't so there are some renegade flakes floating around there!  Fortunately, with snow, it's not a big deal.  I also embossed one larger snowflake, added a bit of glue and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds, then cut it out.  A rhinestone in the center makes it sparkle a bit more.  I don't think the sparkle shows up well in the photo.  It sure shows up well on my stamping table!  LOL, I'll be sparkling for days!

The white background is Shimmery White, embossed with the Petals-A-Plenty embossing folder and adhered to a Night of Navy 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" card.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Winter Post, Northern Hearts

Ink:  Black StazOn, Whisper White, Night of Navy

Paper:  Night of Navy, Shimmery White, Whisper White

Accessories:  SU Markers (Night of Navy, Garden Green, Real Red), Color Spritzer Tool, White Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Basic Rhinestone, Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty EF

Now I need to use the tutorial to do the envelope.

Thanks for the visit.  Hope you come back soon.

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Bird on the Nest

After that last post and making you think you're eyesight is failing, I though I owed you something else.

Today's color challenge on SCS was to use Peach Parfait, Early Espresso & Cajun Craze.  We could use rick rack for dessert, but I still don't have any.  I'm also going to send it over to SU Only Challenges to use punch art.

I hadn't played with my Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punch lately and I had recently received the Punch Potpourri Hostess Level 1 stamp set.  These colors worked perfectly with the stamp and punch.

I stamped the bird on Peach Parfait with Cajun Craze.  They make a beautiful contrast! I used the filigree from the Vintage Vogue set to stamp Cajun on Peach and punched the wings.  The nest is punched from Early Espresso.

I had a piece of Very Vanilla that had been embossed with the BIG GUY and the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  I used that to determine the size.  That piece is 3 3/8" square. The mat is Peach Parfait and it's 3 1/2" square.  The final mat is Early Espresso and it's 3 5/8" square.  All of that is on a Very Vanilla 4 1/4" square card.

I'll add a sentiment when I decide what to use it for.  I think something from Teeny, Tiny Wishes or Short & Sweet punched with the Word Window punch will work well, don't you?

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Punch Potpourri, Vintage Vogue
Ink:  Cajun Craze
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Peach Parfait
Accessories:  Extra Large 2-step Bird Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Basic Pearl

Colleen Dietrich made this card that inspired me to make a nest out of the branch punch. While you're there, take a look at her blog.  You'll find lots of inspiration!

Thank you for visiting today.  I hope you have found some inspiration here.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Another Thoughts and Prayers

Yesterday I shared a Sympathy Card using the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set.  When I did that card, I was making it for the FTL114 challenge on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog as well as the CAS91 challenge on SCS.

The layout was for a curvy design like on last night's card.  However, I realized, after I had finished it, that it was supposed to be a ONE LAYER card!  Oops!  Back to the drawing board.

This time, to be different, I flipped the design and ran it vertically instead of horizontally.

 I didn't get a clear stamp!  But since I was using the Stamp-a-ma-jig, I restamped.  Guess what?  Either the card or the SAMJ moved!  But, I kind of liked the ghosting.  So I did it 3 times.  Do you know that SAMJ moved every time!  Unfortunately every time it moved it left some ink where I didn't want it!

So, I got out the color spritzer tool and spritzed a little of both colors of ink.  It did a good job of covering up the smudges.  You can't even see them unless you look really, really close.  Then because everything is slightly blurred anyway, it looks like it was done on purpose.  I doubt I could do this again if I wanted to try!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry & Old Olive SU Markers
Paper:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Color Spritzer Tool

Follow the link above to the Clean & Simple Stamping blog and check out all the submissions.  There is lots of inspiration there!

Enjoy your blessings,
Bonnie

Thoughts and Prayers Vine

The CAS challenge on SCS this week is to do a Sympathy card.  

And I checked out the Featured Stamper challenge yesterday on SCS and really enjoyed CherylQuilts gallery.  This card in her gallery inspired my Sympathy card.

I inked the branch with SU Markers and used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to turn this branch into a vine.  I stamped 3 times.

Just simple layering with rounded corners and some basic pearls on a few of the flowers finished it off.

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers
Ink:  Old Olive & Rich Razzleberry SU Markers
Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Corner Rounder, Basic Pearls

I stamped the sentiment on the inside with just the tips of the branch, stamped off once, framing it.  Sorry I didn't get a picture of the inside.

Thanks for joining me tonight.  I hope you found some inspiration and will be back soon.

Enjoy,
Bonnie