Bluebirds Love

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

Another card showing flight with watercoloring.

I've punched the birds with an old and well loved punch and added color to them

with ink swiped on a palette and picked up with a waterbrush.

To make the birds seem to be flying, I punched extra wings and placed them in a

fluttering angle.

A bit of watercolor made a soft sky and a frame made with

two stitched rectangle dies finishes it off.

Challenges:

CAS Mix Up - Watercolor Flight

Krafty Chicks - CAS week

 

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Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Snippets (PB)

Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black, Not Quite Navy, Flirty Flamingo (SU Markers swiped on palette)

Paper:   Neenah, Mixed Media (Strathmore 400 series)

Other:  Bird Punch (ret. SU), Heart Punch (ret. SU), Caran d'ache (Ivory Black), Subtle EF (SU)

Sponged, Punched Birds

A few weeks ago, I posted this white on white card.

I wondered how it would look with the birds colored.

What do you think?

These little birds flew off to wish a very special couple a Happy Anniversary.

Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge

I sponged the color on these birds.

Virginia's View Challenge #13

I've got 2 kinds of dry embossing on this card.

Pixies Snippet Playground

I used some snippets for the hearts and the birds.

Glad you could stop by.

Enjoy!

    **********

Card Recipe

Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Calypso Coral

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Shimmery White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer

Other: Treillage EF (Anna Griffin), Square Lattice EF, Scallop Heart of Heart Embosslit (retired), Hearts Collection Framelit Dies, Bird Builder Punch, Satin Ribbon, Triple Heart Punch (retired)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Love is in the Air

Valentine's Day is on the horizon.

Can you believe it's February already?

Lots of challenges this week about love.

This is a card we will be doing in the Papercrafting group later this week.

No stamping, except on the inside, and a lot of embossing.

The Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge 

for February is 

EMBOSSING.

I've used 2 different embossing folders and an Embosslit for this card.

Pixies Snippet Playground

There's quite a few elements made from snippets on this card.

And our own Di, of Pixie fame, is a new member of the 

Design Team at Cuttlebug Mania.

Yay, Di!

Cuttlebug Mania

I {heart} you

is looking for hearts.

I used my Big Shot to emboss and cut the big hearts.

Simon Says Monday Challenge

H is for.....

Heart of course.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge

ANYTHING GOES

Nearly 1000 entries there. WOW!

Hop on over and check out these challenges.

So glad you stopped by!

Enjoy!

    **********

Card Recipe

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Shimmery White, Dazzling Details Glimmer

Other: Treillage EF (Anna Griffin), Square Lattice EF, Scallop Heart of Heart Embosslit (retired), Hearts Collection Framelit Dies, Bird Builder Punch, Organza Ribbon, Triple Heart Punch (retired), Basic Rhinestones

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Punching with Watercolor and Washi

I was looking for something to punch a bird out of and thought of the Watercolor Splotch paper in my UFO box.  What do you think?

This is a shameless CASE of this card by Harriet Skelly!  She's the alumnus that the CAS challenge at SCS is honoring this week.

It took longer to choose a piece of watercoloring than it did to make the card.

Using the watercolored paper for my bird was inspired by my friends Loll Thompson and Nancy Littrell.  Both of these ladies are so talented and constantly inspire and encourage me!

Washi tape is so much fun! It goes down and comes up and goes down again. And I love how these 3 patterns go so well together!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe

Stamps:  None

Ink:  Reinkers

Paper:  Shimmery White, Pacific Point, Whisper White

Other:  Bird Builder Punch, Gingham Garden Designer Washi Tape, Brights Candy Dots, Basic Rhinestone

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a great weekend planned and get some crafty time.

Enjoy!

Merry Monday Punch Potpourri

Lesley's given us another fantastic sketch at Merry Monday.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it at first, but I love the way it turned out.

Here's Lesley's sketch...

From what I've seen from the rest of the design team cards, they'll knock  your socks off!  Be sure to take a look.

Lesley Croghan

Allisa Chilton

LeAnne Pugliese

Nina Forsyth

Wendy Aungst

Narelle Farrugia

Sue Joyce

Sherry Eckblad

Margaret Moody

Gloria Stengel (FD)

It's your turn now.  Christmas will be here before we know it.  Get a jump on those cards and play with Merry Monday.

Since I used quite a few snippets for this, I'm going to Pixie's Crafty Workshop and see if I can get a chance on the swings.

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round's August Challenge is Christmas Extravaganza-make it fussy and fancy. I think this card qualifies for that.

I see that my Christmas Stocking was a Top Three winner for July over there. Thanks so much for the honor, ladies!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Card Recipe
Stamps: Punch Potpourri, Cardinal Christmas (both retired)
Ink:  Real Red
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, DSP (retired), Old Olive
Other:  Bird Builder Punch, Floral Ovals Die (Spellbinders), Kars Snowflake (Cuttlebug), Pine Brand Punch (Martha Stewart), Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Red Rhinestones (?)

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!

Bird in the Wreath?

I wanted to share the other card I made yesterday.  It's one that I really struggled with but finally came to a satisfactory conclusion.  Sometimes cards come so easy and other times they are a mighty struggle!

A couple of my blogging friends are on design teams and I've been wanting to play along with their challenges.  Unfortunately time is limited and I don't always often get to everything that I want to.

Colleen (of Dietrich Designs) is a Designer at The Play Date Cafe.  This was this weeks challenge there....

I think I should have used the Olive Green and maybe I would have liked it better, but somehow I got Always Artichoke in my mind and went with that.

My friend Emily (My Little Slice of Bliss) is a Designer on Stampin' B's Designs and she challenged us to use a banner on our card.

The wreath is the branch from the Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punch.  I found that punching the leaves with just a bit of the branch worked best.  I used a 2 1/2" punched circle with a 1 3/8" circle punched out of the middle as a base.   When I had enough branches punched, I ran the snail over the base and began to stick the branches down. I tried not to adhere all the leaves so I could tuck the next branch underneath.

Once the wreath was finished I needed a door and the Faux Wood Technique seemed like the best choice, especially since I needed gray in my card. I used Going Gray on a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White to do this.  After I scored the piece, I just dragged the inkpad down the length of the card a couple of times.

For the banner, I stamped the Welcome on a scrap and cut the ends.  It needed some defination, so I inked the edges with Basic Gray.  I used 2 dimensionals, one on top of the other in the middle and snail on the ends to attach it.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Punch Potpourri, Warm Words

Ink: Going Gray, Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray

Paper:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Always Artichoke

Accessories:  Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punch, Basic Pearls

I haven't had a chance to stamp today.  I've got an idea floating around in my head too.  I hope to get to my table and play a bit this evening.

You can check on my sidebar for Colleen's & Emily's blogs.  Treat yourself to a visit.

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

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 Post Today

I've got another one for you today.  This is for the Sketch Challenge 304 on SCS this week.  The sketch called for an oval as the front panel, but I don't have an oval that big so I opted for a rectangle.  I meant to round the corners but then forgot until after I had everything mounted.

I'd been thinking about trying a snowman out of my round punches.  It's not as cute as some of the die cuts or stamps, but he turned out ok.  I put a little glue around the edges and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds to make him sparkle a bit.  My whole table sparkles now! LOL!  That stuff hangs around forever!

The hat is a piece of Basic Black that I smacked with VersaMark and clear embossed.  I used the end of the Modern Label  Punch for the top and the Word Window Punch for the brim.  (I did have to cut that down quite a bit.)  The nose is the end of the branch on the Extra Large Bird Punch and the "arms" are from the branch also.  I used my craft scissors to trim the leaves off.  The buttons are some mini beads.

The DSP is from a couple of years ago.  I'm still trying to use up my paper so I can buy some more.  There is a similar pattern in the Candy Cane Christmas package in the Holiday Mini.  And I used the Square Lattice Embossing folder for the white strip.  I just love the dimension that adds!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  None
Ink:  None
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Old Christmas DSP
Accessories:  1 3/8', 1", 3/4" Circle Punches, Modern Label , Word Window & Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punches, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Dazzling Diamonds, Clear EP, VersaMark

Hope you enjoy this sketchy snowman.  As warm as it's been here the past couple of days, this is the only kind of snowman we're going to see!  Cooler weather is promised for the weekend, thankfully.

Enjoy,
Bonnie

Scallops and Scallops

Do you remember that last week my Creative Arts Group was trying to help use up some Designer Series Paper?  After they left, I was all inspired and made this card.

Today's Free 4 All Challenge on SCS is to use scallops.  This was a perfect fit so I just had to share it with you.  All the paper has  been retired but Stampin' Up! has lots of new, beautiful papers available.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Very Vanilla & Chocolate Chip Textured, DSP

Accessories:  Extra Large Bird, Scallop Border, Scallop Oval & Large Oval Punches, Pearl

That's it for today.  I hope to post something for you again tomorrow.

Enjoy your blessings.

Bonnie

Double Play

Surprise! I don't usually post on Saturday & Sunday, but since I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, I had to make an exception.

This is a card I made yesterday for the SCS Free For All Challenge, Cool Summers (green, blue & purple) or Warm Winters (Red, Orange, Yellow).

This is the Cool Card.
I had this leaf in my UFO (UnFinished Objects) box. It had been stamped with the leaves from a 2008 Hostess set called Happiness Always with Kiwi Kiss ink (an In Color that year).

I found a scrap of Bashful Blue Textured card stock and a small piece of blue DSP to punch the bird with the Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punch.

I matted this on Lavender Lace which is matted on the new In Color, Concord Crush. I used a Corner Rounder Punch on all the bottom corners and added some left over sequins that were hiding in my stash. I used one of the little beads for the bird's eye too.

All of this is on a Whisper White card base embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots EF.

Then, since I had this flower from the Watercolor Trio already stamped in red in the UFO box, I decided to make a warm card too.

This was stamped with Real Red & Soft Suede. I used markers to ink the stamp. It is matted on Peach Parfait (a new In Color) and Cajun Craze (a new Regal Color). I really like them together.

I punched a hole through all the design pieces with my Paper Piercer, wrapped the prongs of a Pumpkin Pie Brad around one end of a 3 1/2" piece of Real Red grosgrain ribbon, put the prongs through the hole and wrapped the ribbon around the back of the design element. A couple of little butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit in the upper right corner balanced the design.

The card base is the new Daffodil Delight run through the BIG GUY with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

As hot as it's been here, I am really loving the cool card. I think I'll stash the warm one away til the weather cools!

Hope you are having a great weekend and getting those fingers inky!
Bonnie

Christmas in this Heat?

It's hard to think of Christmas when it's soooo HOT outside. Thank God we have AC and it's working!

Susan chose Christmas for her One Layer Wednesday Challenge this week. You can visit her blog and see what's showing up there by clicking here.

I did two. This is the second one. It took about 10 minutes if you don't count the 45 minutes it took to do the other one that I didn't like.

This was so simple and I liked the way it turned out.

The pine bough is from the Autumn Days set. I inked it with Soft Suede & Garden Green SU Markers and stamped on a Naturals White card. I did use the Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement for this as well as the sentiment. I can still manage to stamped crooked when I use that thing! This time I did pretty good. BTW, the Merry Christmas is from A Cardinal Christmas set.

The bow is from a piece of Christmas wrapping cord tied in a bow and attached with a glue dot.


Now for the one that took so long.

I traced a 1" circle on the Naturals White card with a pencil and stamped the pine spray from the Pines set. This is a retired set that I still use from time to time.

The pine needles are stamped with Garden Green. The berries are from the Autumn Days set and I used a Real Red Marker to ink a few berries and stamped around.

I didn't do a very good job on leaving an opening on the inside and I felt like it needed a little something else, so I pulled out the Extra Large Bird Punch and punched the bird & wing out of scraps of leftover Christmas paper. The sentiment is from the Warm Words set (also retired) and stamped in Real Red. I used one of the tiny pearls that SU offers now for the eye.

Now that I'm finished, the wreath doesn't look so bad but I still like the single spray better.

I've got to go and post this on Susan's blog.

Christmas is right around the corner! Hopefully it will cool off a lot by then!

Enjoy,
Bonnie

A Prayer

This week's Clean And Simple challenge was to only stamp a sentiment on the front of the card. Other embellishments could be used but the only stamping was to be a sentiment. Right down my alley! Since I bought this Extra Large Two Step Bird Punch (p 10 Occasions Mini) I have made a lot of cards without much stamping.

A friend had asked for prayer for her family and I thought I would like to send them a card to remind them that they are in my prayers. I wanted bright and springy colors and the Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry just jumped out at me.

Even though Sale-A-Bration is over (sigh....) I still have some of the Welcome Neighbor DSP and since I still love it and it had the colors I was looking for, I just had to use it. The branches are punched from Cottage Wall DSP in the big Idea Book and Catalog. It has little spots of white and razzleberry. It makes me think of the flowering trees I see everywhere. I guess you could say that the Curry is the pollen. It is everywhere!

I used the Movers & Shapers die with the BIG GUY. It is a little bit bigger than the Curly Label Punch. Just the thing to pop the sentiment out. The little butterfly is from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit die in the Occasions Mini Catalog (p. 24).

I hope this brightens up the day for my friends.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Paper: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Welcome Neighbor DSP, Cottage Wall DSP, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive
Acc.: Sending Love Notes; Hugs, Big Shot, Movers & Shapers, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Curly Label Punch, Extra Large 2 Step Bird Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad

I hope you have had a lovely, sun shining, bird singing day.
Bonnie

Tweet Birdie

That Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch from the Occasions Mini has really gotten a work out. It makes an easy and fun card. This card is a CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of a card by Sandi MacIver. It's a shameful CASE too. It was hard to change anything. The embossing was done with the BIG SHOT machine and the Finial Press Embossing Folder. Sandi showed how to cut the Embossing Folder so it would emboss across instead of up and down. Warning, don't cut it until you are sure you aren't going to need the whole folder in the near future! :>0 Oh my, what a jolt when I realized I couldn't use it as planned for my class!

The Designer Series Paper is from the Raspberry Tart package. It is no longer available but there are lots of other DSPs to choose from. I need to use up some of the old to make room for new! Hope you enjoy this and a big THANK YOU to Sandi for sharing her great ideas. (Link to her blog is on the left.)

Card Recipe
Stamps: Whimsical Words (Free with $50.00 order during Sale A Bration)
Paper: Rose Red, Whisper White, Raspberry Tart DSP, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive
Acc.: Extra Large 2 step Bird Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch (Free with $50.00 order during Sale A Bration), Rose Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Big Shot Machine, Finial Press Embossing Folder.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Bonnie

Yummy Bird

This weeks CAS challenge is to visit a Candy Crate's Retro Candy Store and make a card representing the candy of our choice. The soft brown of this card looks like chocolate Necco Wafers to me. Almost makes my mouth water, and the memories..... I remember going to the movies and having a nickel left for candy. (Does that date me or what? LOL) I loved to get the Necco Wafers because they lasted through the whole movie, unless my brother convinced me to share. My favorite ones were the chocolate and I can remember looking at all the packages to check for the one that had the most chocolate. I liked the yellow and pink too, but not as much as the chocolate. OK, enough down memory lane.

We did a card very similar in the Stamp A Stack on Saturday. I jazzed this one up a bit by adding some color instead of just the neutrals. I like the neutrals too, especially for sympathy cards. (You can see the other one further down on my blog in the Stamp A Stack post.) I love the little scalloped pieces called Hugs. I especially love that they come already scalloped so I don't have to punch them out! They and the ribbon are in the Occasions Mini Catalog on p. 19 & 27.

Recipe for this card

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Whimsical Words

Paper: Kraft, Hugs Notes, Old Olive, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Summer Sun

Ink: Whisper White Craft, Chocolate Chip

Acc.: Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Ancient Scallop Mini from ?, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, 5/8" Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon

Thanks for coming to see me. Have a sweet evening.

Bonnie