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Sunday, June 30, 2019

Turning the Page July 2019

Time to turn the page on our calendars to a new month.

I make calendars each year for my desk and my family.

I thought I'd set up a regular post on the last day of each month to share them.

I hope you enjoy my “Turning the Page” posts.

Here's our July page.


By the way, the calendars are clipped together and can be displayed on an easel
or hung on a push pin or magnetic hook.  We all have a different way to display them.

If you would like a word document with the calendar, email me
and I will be glad to send it to you so you can design your own.
Email link is on the sidebar.



Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!




Friday, June 28, 2019

Peaceful Scene for Rudolph Days

Hello crafty friends.

Today I have another Christmas card.
I love how my stash is growing!


I had the pleasure of meeting Maureen last month while I was at the retreat.
She graciously shared some winter die cuts with us.
This is from one of them.  I actually cut the die cut and made two cards. 
I'll share the other one at a later date.

Maureen holds the Rudolph Days Challenge every month from the
25th until the end of the month.
The challenge is Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas.

I've simply added the die cut to a small piece of
Re-inker and Frost paint Smoosh then popped a die cut
piece on top to frame it.

The tiny snippets of yellow in the windows will let me into


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Christmas Sentiments (PB)  
Ink:   Not Quite Navy (SU), 
Paper:   Neenah, Daffodil Delight (SU)
Other:  Winter Village Die (PB), Re-inkers (Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Not Quiet Navy), Frost White Paint, Snowflake Die (IO), Double Pierced Square Die (Avery Elle), WOS


Thursday, June 27, 2019

Happy Birthday Loll

Today is a special day.

It's my dear friend Loll's birthday.

A few years ago I wished her happy birthday on my blog and had the wrong date.
I've been afraid to do that again so I've kept quiet.
But this year I'm throwing caution to the wind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRIEND!


While at the retreat, Trina let me use her new Memory Box Rose Bouquet stamp.

I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder,
then with some borrowed Zigs, I colored.  What a wonderful image to color!

I used part of the image for this card and embossed the sentiment on vellum.

I couldn't not use the other part of the image....


Hmmm.  I'm thinking I need this stamp in my collection.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Rose Bouquet (MB), Special Wishes (PB)
Ink:   Versamark
Paper:   Neenah, Vellum, Mixed Media 
Other:  White EP, Zig CCRBM, Rectangle Die


Monday, June 24, 2019

More Twofer Bees

Hi there.  I hope you are doing bee-utifully!

I went wild with that bee stamp this month.



My onefer....

The sunflower is the die cut I used for a stencil for this card.
It was too pretty to toss and my UFO box is so full.

The background was a leftover from the other card on the same post.

I stamped the sentiment too high for that design.
It worked well here. 

I love when I can use those leftovers right away!


A dry embossed honeycomb and a little stamping made a quick
home for this bee.

We recently visited my hometown in Vermont.
It's been so nice to be in my beloved Green Mountains.
Here's the view from our deck.


It was so nice to be there and spend time with family!


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Dragonfly Dreams (SU), Banner Sentiments (PB)
Ink:   Archival Jet Black, So Saffron (SU), Mustard Seed, Gathered Twigs (DI)
Paper:   Neenah
Other:  Black EP, Copic Y18, Sunflower Die (IO)

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Dragonfly Dreams (SU), Fancy Sayings (Clearly Besotted)
Ink:   Archival Jet Black, So Saffron (SU)
Paper:   Daffodil Delight (SU), Neenah
Other: Black EP, Hexagon EF (SU)


Saturday, June 22, 2019

Bleached Ombre

Hello friends.

I'm having a great time using the ombre technique.


Another card from our retreat.

This one uses a combination of  Linda's blending technique and Susan's
bleach technique.  I love this stamp but I don't know where it came from or
what it's called.   It comes from a Clearly Besotted stamp set called
Friend's Forever. (Thanks Colleen).  It doesn't seem to be available now
which is a shame because I would love to have this set.
Money saved!

With Linda's instruction and those blending brushes, I was able to get a rich,
smooth  background for the first time ever!

We stamped and heat embossed an image.

I loved the open flower but it kept calling to me to use bleach on it.

So I did and was I sorry!

I think I was too heavy handed with it or didn't blot fast enough.

I thought I'd ruined the whole piece.

But then I remembered that Susan had said we could go back in and
watercolor over the bleached part.

So with nothing to lose, I pulled out my watercolor pencils and a damp
waterbrush and went to work.

I think I saved it.

I hope I can save the other sample I did, but that was
enough stress for one day!

There's still a couple of days to join in at
CAS Mix Up


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe 
Stamps:  Forever Friends (ret. Clearly Besotted), Hello Friend (GKD)
Ink:   Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, Seedless Preservs, Spun Sugar, Work Lipstick (DOX)
Paper:   Neenah
Other:  White EP, Bleach, Watercolor Pencils (Caran d'ache #90 Purple, #220 Grass Green, #69 Burnt Sienna, Blending Brushes

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Pink Cosmo

Hello crafty friends.  I'm glad you stopped by today!


I had this stamp set out to use the sentiment.  I've used it lots for the sentiment, but
I don't think I'd ever inked the flowers.

They were so much fun to color.  I don't know why it took so long to play with them!

I put the stamp in my MISTI and used a combination of Distress Ink and 
Distress Markers to ink the outline stamp. 

I pulled color into the petals with my waterbrush and added color where 
I needed extra by picking up ink swiped on my palette.

When I was finished coloring, I pulled some of the pink from the edges
of the flowers to create a soft wash.

I used the stamp again by stamping with embossing ink
and heat embossing with white powder.

Then I blended Distress Oxide ink with my brushes (thanks, Trina).
I colored it dark at the top and faded it out toward the bottom to create an
ombre look.

Then I used a damp waterbrush to lift color from the petals.

I loved the soft contrast!

The centers were done with a Copic marker.


At CAS Mix Up the challenge is
The challenge is open until the 24th.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Cosmo (TT)
Ink:   Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Aged Mahogany, Crushed Olive, Fossilized Amber, Gathered Twigs (DI and DM), Early Espresso (SU)
Paper:   Mixed Media, Basic Black (SU), Neenah
Other:  

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Cosmo (TT), Banner Sentiments (PB)
Ink:   WOW Embossing Pad, Picked Raspberry (DOX)
Paper:   Neenah
Other:  Damp Waterbrush to remove color, Yellow Copic Marker, Pearl Thread, Dew Drops

Monday, June 17, 2019

Santa's Gifts for CAS Christmas Reminder

Hi there.

There's still time to join in at CAS Christmas.


This month, Linda is asking for....

Ho, ho, ho.  You must have been good because Santa has some gifts!

All colored with Copic markers and cut out and layered up.

I hope you'll check out what our fabulous Design Team and our 
Guest Designer, Leslie have done to inspire you.
Then join us at CAS Christmas.
(Christmas will be here before we know it!)

Santa will also go over to
SANTA BABY Challenge.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Jingle All the Way, Santa's Elves (MFT), Bauble Stamp Set (magazing freebie)
Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red (SU)
Paper:   Neenah
Other:  Copic Markers, Stripes EF (SU), Double Pierced Rectangle Die (AE), Dazzling Details (SU)


Sunday, June 16, 2019

Cornflower for CAS Watercolour Reminder

Hello.  We are midway through the month
and midway through the year.
Whew, how did that happen so fast?


This month I chose the challenge at

I have a Cornflower Blue Zig CCRBM and a fairly new die that
my friend, Hideko enabled me to buy.

I cut the cornflowers out of watercolor paper and used my Zigs
to give it some color.

I love this die!  It's so easy to color and shape!

I place it on an embossed piece from the retreat, held my breath as I stamped
the sentiment.  Fortunately it didn't take too long and stamped fine,
except it didn't look great in the sage green.  Bless the MISTI, I was
able to stamp over the sage with the cornflower blue and all is well.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful inspiration cards our
Design Team and Guest Designer, TaeEun have done!
You'll be glad you did.

The challenge is open until the 24th.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Snippets (PB)
Ink:   Bundled Sage Distress Marker
Paper:   Neenah, Watercolor (Strathmore 140 lb. cold press)
Other:  Cornflower Die (Alexandra Renke), Zig CCRBM (#37 Cornflower Blue, #38 Peacock Blue, Diamonds in the Rough EF (Cuttlebug)


Saturday, June 15, 2019

Ombre Fern for CAS Mix Up Reminder

Hello crafty friends.

Can you believe it's the 15th of the month?


There's still time to join in at 

Pop on over and see what our talented Design Team and 
this month's fabulous Guest Designer, Bobby have done to inspire you.

I've sponged an Ombre background using Distress inks and
those fun new brushes that Trina gave all of us at the retreat.
They work like a dream! (Or else rubbing Trina's arm to get her
talent to rub off on me really worked!)

I used two shades of green starting with Mowed Lawn at the top
and Twisted Citron at the bottom and blended in toward the center.

I die cut the fern from Neenah cardstock then used what was left
behind as a stencil.  I used a wet baby wipe to dab at the blended
background through the stencil to get a ghosted look.

The frame was in my stash and seemed a good fit.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Scripty Sayings 1 (GKD)
Ink:   Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron (DI), Versafine Onyx Black
Paper:   Neenah
Other:  Delicate Fern Die (MB), Dew Drops (PPP), Deckled Rectangle Die (Spellbinders)


Friday, June 14, 2019

Twofer Bees

Hello crafty friends.  I'm so glad you stopped by.


Did you guess that this is for Darnell's Twofer Challenge?
 

One of my twofers

A card to brighten someone's day.  This on it's way to a friend that
just had knee surgery.

I die cut this sunflower in frame twice and used one as a stencil to 
sponge ink through with sponge daubers.

I cut the sponged piece to the size of the frame, stamped
a sentiment and glued the sunflower frame on top.

I love the cheerfulness of the yellow card base.

I hope Debbie finds it cheerful


I'm thinking that this one would work for a guy.

Both bees were stamped with Archival ink and heat embossed with 
black powder.  The yellow stripes were done with a Copic Marker.

The Twofer Challenge is open until the 24th.


Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams (SU), Special Sentiments (PB)  
Ink:   Archival Jet Black, Mustard Seed, Gathered Twigs (DI)
Paper:   Neenah, Daffodil Delight (SU)
Other:  Black EP, Copic Marker (Y18), Sunflower Die (IO)

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Dragonfly Dreams (SU), Banner Sentiments (PB)
Ink:   Archival Jet Black, So Saffron (SU)
Paper:   Neenah, Basic Black (SU)
Other:  Black EP, Copic Marker (Y18), Stitched Hexagon Die (MB), Hexagon EF (SU)



Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Bird of Roses Times Two

Hello friends.  I'm so glad you could stop by today!


I love it when I can use a die two ways.

I really love it when I can use it in the same way (sort of)
and get two different cards.

I die cut this bird from a piece of Brusho and popped him on
another piece of Brusho that had been spritzed with more water.

Then I popped a die cut white bird in the shape left from the first cut.


I attempted to call one an out cut, but I'm never sure which is the cut out
and which is the out cut.

When I Googled it to see which was which, cut out means the piece
cut out and the left over piece.

Now I'm really confused!

Honestly, I haven't been in the wine or the Wodka!

At any rate, I was able to get two cards from that one piece of Brusho background.



Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps:  Snippets (PB)
Ink:   Pacific Point (SU)
Paper:   Pacific Point, Soft Suede (SU), Mixed Media (St.), Linen Textured
Other:  Brusho (Ost. Blue), Bird of Roses Die (SSS), Pierced Rectangle Die (AE), Woodland Branch Die (MB)


Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Special Wishes (PB)
Ink:   Tempting Turquoise (SU)
Paper:   Neenah, Mixed Media
Other:  Brusho (Turquoise, Purple), Bird of Roses Die (SSS), Double Pierced Rectangle Die (AE)

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Sweetest Sound Blues

Hello there crafty friends.


After die cutting these sweet birds, I used a sponge dauber to add
color to the tops of each bird.

Then I blended the color with a damp waterbrush, adding a bit
of pink on the underside.  They ended up being ombre colored
don't you think?

I colored the branch with markers and blended with water.

The background was an oops from a class a couple of months ago.
I thought the embossed feathers worked well with the birds.



I hope to see you in the gallery at CAS Watercolour and CAS Mix Up.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!


Card Recipe
Stamps:  Special Wishes (PB)
Ink:   Dapper Denim, Markers (Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery - SU)
Paper:   Mixed Media (Strathmore 400 Series), Dapper Denim (SU), Neenah (110 lb. Solar White
Other:  Sweetest Sound Die (PB), Feathers on the Side EF (Darice)


Sunday, June 9, 2019

Stenciled Flower

Hello.  I hope you are having a crafty weekend.

No crafting here but I'm hoping to get a few cards posted.


This was made from an image done at the retreat.

I used Versamark through a stencil, sprinkled with heat and stick powder
and heated it up.  Then I dry brushed some purple Pearl ex over the flowers and bud, 
and gold Pearl ex over the stems.

I think I missed some of the center area of the flower because it was
pretty blank there, so I swiped some Distress ink on my palette
and added some watercolor to the flower.

I did a wet on wet wash around everything and got a few splatters too.

For a little extra somethin' I added a few score lines.

I'm going to join in at




Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Sprinkles and Smiles (PB)
Ink:   Blackberry Bliss (SU), Versamark, Tumbled Glass, Wilted Violet
Paper:   Mixed Media, Orchid Opulence, Neenah, 
Other:  Happy Flowers Stencil (Stmplrtns), Pearl Ex, Simply Scored (SU), Candy Dot with Dazzling Details on top