Hark the Herald

It's Merry Monday time again.

This week it was my turn to choose the challenge.

Here is my choice.

I have so many favorite Christmas carols.

And I love them any time of year.

This is actually my DH's favorite...
Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

I hope you'll share your favorite Christmas carol with us at
Merry Monday

All that embossing and shine didn't want to cooperate with the camera.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Rejoicing with You, The Newborn King (both retired SU)

Ink:  Encore Gold

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Gold Foil (SU)

Other:  Gold EP (SU), Frantage EF (Stampendous)

Best Easter Wishes

Rejoice!

He is risen!

Wishing you a blessed Easter!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Love Art (PB)

Ink: Distress Markers, Basic Black

Paper: Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. hot press)

Other:  Aqua Painter (SU), MISTI (My Sweet Petunia), Sequins (SSS)

Easter Bunny

I had so much fun putting this card together!

The background is a Brusho background.

The egg is punched from a smooshed background.

I stamped some grasses with my NBUS Penny Black Nature's Paintbrushes stamp.

Used some snippets to die cut grass, bunny and bow.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

COME RAIN OR SHINE

I love how the Brushos made a sunshiny corner!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Nature's Paintbrushes (PB)

Ink:  Crumb Cake (SU)

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press)

Other:  Brusho Crystals, Stitched Bunny Die, Stitched Mats Rectangles (Lil' Inkers), Grass Die (Poppystamps), Egg Punch (Punch Bunch)

Love Art Daffodil

Daffodils are among the first signs of Spring in NC.

Their bright sunny faces are always a welcome sight.

I thought I'd like to transfer some of that joy to paper.

Alas! My endeavors were lacking and my trash can filled up quickly.

God can make daffodils.  I can only make a weak imitation.

This one made it onto a card.

This beautiful stamp is  from Penny Black's new Love Art set.

I stamped it with Whisper White ink and heat embossed it
on a piece that had already been embossed with the tulip frame.

I colored the image with an Aqua Painter using ink squished onto the lids of the inkpads.

Then I sponged a bit of Soft Sky ink around the bloom.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

EASTER

and a CAS Mixed Media card.

Watercolored daffodil, sponging, dry embossing, stamping.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Love Art (PB), Something to Celebrate (retired SU)

Ink:  Whisper White, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi (SU)

Paper: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White (SU)

Other: White EP, Aqua Painter (SU), Tulip EF (retired SU)

Snowy Church for Merry Monday

It's a Merry Monday morning.

Wendy chose our challenge this week.

I didn't have a church stamp, but my friend Ruthann had bought one

when we went to a scrapbook show last Fall.

I borrowed it and went to work.

First couple of tries didn't make the cut.

But stamping with white and embossing did the trick!

Then I added some chunky embossing paste and heat set it from underneath.

Check out the fantastic inspiration pieces the Design Team has come up with.

Hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps: Church/Trees (Rubber Cottage), Wonderland (SU)

Ink:  Whisper White, Night of Navy

Paper:  Solar White (110 lb. Neena), Night of Navy (SU)

Other:  White EP (SU), Chunky EP (Stampendous)

Birthday Splash

I had so much fun playing with Loll's Splash Watercolour Technique!

This time I used some bright colors.

I love how it turned out!

Folding the vellum around the panel and adhering in the back
solves the problem of adhesive showing through.
This vellum is the heavier cardstock vellum and kind of bowed.
It was a happy accident.

Don't you love happy accidents?

I haven't played at Seize the Birthday for a long time.

  

and I think I can claim the toppings since my vellum piece divides the panel.

and

CAS Mix Up

I have watercoloring, dry embossing,  heat embossing, vellum and a little bling too.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Friendship Messages (SSS) tip: I cut this stamp in half. I can use it as intended or easily put it on 2 lines.

Ink: Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed (Distress), Whisper White (SU)

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press), Cardstock Vellum (SU)

Other:  White EP (SU), EF (Bringing Crafts to You), Sequins (PPP)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I made this for a friend who has a birthday today.

Isn't it cool to have a birthday on a holiday?

I'm not Irish, but I do love those Irish blessings.

I did the blessing on the computer and stamped on it after stamping off on scrap paper.

The clover was cut from Wild Wasabi and 
the flowers were sponged with the same color ink.

I embossed a frame that was in my embossing box.

Hope you have a festive St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Enjoy (PB)

Ink:  Wild Wasabi (SU)

Paper:  Wild Wasabi, Whisper White (SU)

Other:  Meadow Clover (MB), Plaid EF (Sizzix)

CAS Mix Up Reminder with a Splash

We've reached the mid-point of the month and there's still plenty of time to 
join in at CAS Mix Up.

Loll (Stamping with Loll) has a new video with a fun watercolor technique.

I'll bet you'll want to give it a try!

I used it on this card which fulfilled the requirement for
watercoloring. I also have the required stamping and added
 die cutting, sponging and shaping (on the flower).

We are so excited to see so many amazing entries in this challenge!

Do go over and check out that gallery.

I'm going to take my snippets over to
Pixie's Snippet Playground

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Friendship Messages (SSS)

Ink:  Shabby Shutters, Scattered Straw (Distress), Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive (SU)

Paper:  Watercolor (Strathmore 140 lb. cold press for base, Arches 140 lb. cold press for splash), Snippets of Daffodil Delight, Old Olive (SU)

Other: Bashful Die (PB), Stitched Squares Die (Lil' Inkers), Sponge dauber

Lovely Tree for Merry Monday

Good Merry Monday morning.

Sue is our hostess this week.  I love what she chose.

I used what I call Watercolor Splotch technique

and dropped some gray watercolor in.

When it was completely dry, I stamped the tree and sentiment.

Then I stamped some snowflakes and stars over the splotch.

I tried to emboss the stars.  

I also tipped the branches with a white gel pen.  It doesn't show up very well.

Since I have watercoloring, stamping and heat embossing,

this fits the CAS Mix Up March Challenge too.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Holly Jolly Greetings (SU), Mixed Christmas Sentiments (HLS)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Encore Silver

Paper:  Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press), Basic Black (SU)

Other:  Watercolor (Koi), Silver EP (SU), White Gel Pen (Signo)

Basket of Easter Wishes

I'm going to take my 3rd and last hop, skip and jump over to 

Darnell's NBUS Challenge

Not only is there an amazing gallery of more than 350 entrants

but she's wowed us with her awesome creations along the way.

and

Since I used my NBUS Memory Box Woven Basket, I can whisk over to

Memory Box Challenge #10

where they're looking for Blossoms and Bunnies.

and

My little Leafy Sprigs from Poppystamps will get me in at

Poppystamps Challenge #18

Spring Fling

If eggs are more to your fancy, here's some eggs in the basket.

I actually used some of that DSP hoard collection I have.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, All Holidays (both retired SU)

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party (SU)

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Perfectly Artistic DSP (SU)

Other:  Woven Basket Die (MB), Leafy Sprig (PS), Anytime Tags Die, Stitched Bunny Die (Lil' Inkers), Egg Punch (Punch Bunch), Hydrangea Punch (MS), Border EF (Cuttlebug)

Fun with Inka Gold

I had such fun today.

My friends Jan and Josie came and we played, ate and played some more.

We missed you Nance.

First we played with Inka Gold.

We each researched techniques so we had lots of ideas.

Some things we learned:

Inka Gold spreads better with your finger than a latex glove.

Baby wipes don't get it off your fingers.  It spreads it.

The more you spritz it with water, the less it shines.

(But it still has some shimmer.)

Sponge brushes work well to spread it with stencils.

That beautiful metallic shine doesn't show up well in photographs.

It's an awesome product and makes beautiful backgrounds 

and color to die cuts.

I wanted to make another card for my friend Darnell's NBUS challenge

so I pulled out my NBUS box.

(It's like weight lifting.)

This was the perfect NBUS to use since Darnell (cough) enabled me to get this die set.

I cut it out and put it over a piece of the Inka Gold Smoosh.

(Did I say that smooshing was a technique we tried?)

Then to really entrench myself in this challenge and since the box was already out

and needed to be lightened before it was returned to it's resting place,

I used the new Stampin' Up! set, Grateful Bunch

to stamp the sentiment and the delightful butterfly.

I'm also taking this over to

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Make Your Own Background

And with the smooshing (Inka Gold with water per Loll's tutorial) 

which is a form of watercolor, stamping, die cuts and bling, this is a

CAS Mixed Media

card for our March Challenge.

And may I add that Loll and I are so excited that so many of you have joined our challenge.

You warm our hearts!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Grateful Bunch (SU)

Ink:  Bermuda Bay (SU)

Paper:  Solar White (Neena)

Other:  Inka Gold (Steel Blue, Jade, Platinum), Distress Windham Collage Die (MB), Moonstone Assorted Sequin Assortment (SSS)

Buttons for Merry Monday

It's Merry Monday time.

Nina (Notes By Nina) is our hostess this week.

Here is her choice.

Since my goal this year is not to have to pay extra postage,

I resorted to used paper buttons.

Actually this tree was all buttoned up and in my UFO box.

It's from a now out of business stamp company.

My buttons were made by pricking 2 holes in a snippet piece then 

punching with a Wal-mart paper punch.

Since I used lots of tiny snippets for buttons and layers, I'm off to 

Pixie's Snippet Playground

Where there's always some fun brewing!

and

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

TOUCHY FEELY

Those buttons add texture.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Tree (retired Outlines Rubber Stamp Co.), More Merry Messages (retired SU)

Ink: Always Artichoke, Old Olive (SU)

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke (SU)

Other:  Distress Stripes EF (Cuttlebug), Paper Punch (Wal-mart), Paper Piercer (SU)

NBUS and CAS Mix Up

This is the birthday card I made for my grandson Luke.

The background was mopped up from the splatter and overrun
of his brother's play with Brushos.

Jack loves the magic spray and I have it contained in a Lucite
box frame to minimize damage to the studio.

The balloons are from a NBUS stamp set and die from Simon Says Stamp.

I covered the balloons with Crystal Effects for extra texture and shine.

Although I think Luke liked his card, he was much more interested in what was inside.


Thank you for your awesome welcome on the
CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Our good friend Darnell opened her
March NBUS Challenge


In case you're one of the 3 people who don't know Darnell,
we are to use some of that stash we bought and haven't used yet.


Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
says Touchy Feely
Add some texture to your creation.
I've got shiny balloons.





Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps: Celebrate (SSS), Sanded (retired SU)

Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point (SU), Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Whisper White, Pacific Point (SU), Watercolor (Strathmore 140 lb. cold press)

Other:  Celebration Time Dies (SSS), Alphabet Sizzlits (retired), Brushos, Crystal Effects (SU)

CAS Mix Up March Challenge

Loll (Stamping with Loll) and I are so excited!

Today is the launch of our first challenge at

CAS Mix Up

Our challenge for this month is

We want to see stamping and watercoloring as well as

whatever other mixed media technique or product you would like.

My mixed media elements:

Die Cutting and Splatter as well as the 

Watercoloring and Stamping.

We have a list of some mixed media techniques and products on the challenge site.

Our Featured Designer this month is Susan Bridgman (Cardmaker's Garrett).

She is a good friend as well as an amazing mixed media artist.

I hope you'll check our our challenge at

CAS Mix Up.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I'll see you in the gallery.

Enjoy!

   

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Fun Birthday Sentiments (HLS)

Ink: Handsome Hunter (retired SU)

Paper:  Watercolor (Strathmore 140 lb. cold press for base, Arches 140 lb. cold press for design), Handsome Hunter (retired SU)

Other:  Watercolors, Ovals Collection Framelits (SU)