Simple Thinking

The One Layer Wednesday challenge last week was to use Cream, Black and just a hint of Bling.


Here is what I came up with.

I think this took about 10 minutes.   I stamped the feather and sentiment in Jet Black StazOn, colored a Basic Rhinestone with a Turquoise Sharpie and stuck it on the feather. Rounded off opposite corners with my Corner Rounder punch and was done.

Just wanted to add that Ann from KingstonMamaCrafts honored me with the Liebster Blog Award.

What is the Liebster Blog award?  Here is a quick explanation.  "Liebster" is German for 'dearest.'  The award is a 'share-the-love' arrangement, given to inspirational bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (based on Google followers).

And, come to think of it, I believe that Kim of Joyful Creations with Kim honored me with this award a while back and I never got it posted.

Thank you so much ladies.  Your blogs are such inspirations and I always look forward to visiting with you too.

It's hard for me to choose 5 blogs to  honor.  There are so many that I visit daily.  I'll try to update my blog list on the sidebar soon.

I'm so glad you stopped by.  I hope you come again soon.

Enjoy!

Turtle Trouble

Hi Stampin' Friends.  Anybody have an idea how to get followers back?  I seem to have lost your pictures.  What's really wierd is that if I go to my blog from my hubby's Google Chrome, everybody is there smiling at me!  Maybe this is an Explorer issue?  I found out how to fix the comment snafu.  Hopefully this will be an easy fix without having to use the Google Chrome.

I finished my gift sets for the Stamp Club last night.  I'll share them with you next week since I don't want to spoil the surprise.  And yes, I've been poring over my new catalog. I did preorder one set.  Maybe next week I'll get a chance to mount it and give you a peek.

I've been working on this troublesome turtle for a few days now.  For some reason, after the ink dried, he looked kind of red!

I stamped this guy with Early Espresso and used some Soft Suede and a blender pen to color the shell.  Then I thought I'd shine up his shell and went over it with my VersaMarker, sprinkled some clear embossing powder and heated him up.  Maybe he didn't like being cooked!
I used some Crumb Cake to sponge the ground beneath his feet and on his underside.

Then I masked the pesky little guy and stamped the berries behind him.

I won't even tell you what happened the first time I tried to do this card.  It was pretty disgusting and it went headlong into the trash bin!

The colors are from the ColorQ challenge this week.

And for some added interest, I added paper piercing which is the Ways to Use It challenge this week at SCS.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Nature's Nest, Pocket Silhouettes

Ink:  Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

Paper:  Very Vanilla

Accessories:  VersaMarker, Clear EP

All those followers out there, I miss seeing your smiling faces, but I'm still enjoying your comments.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enjoy!

Black with a Touch of Color

Today's One Layer Wednesday Challenge over at Simplicity is to use black with a spot of color.

This is my set to go to for black & white. I love this feather and the dragonfly in this set.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the placement of the feather. Sometimes that little gadget is really handy!

I let the ink dry and put a drop of glue in the center and sprinkled a tiny bit of Olive Fine Supernova glitter. After that dried, I put a little bead of glue around the glitter and sprinkled the Aqua Fine Supernova glitter.

I drew some lines around the design and I was finished! Quick and easy if you don't count the stamping I did first and discarded!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Nature's Nest, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Whisper White
Acc.: Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Fine Supernova Glitter, Black SU Marker

Now I need to go and clean up my mess! And judging by the time, I need to start some supper.

I had fun today. Hope you did too. Thanks for stopping by. I love hearing what you think.
Bonnie

At the Beach

Hello and welcome.

I am not an artist as you can see, but I love trying new techniques and think that just maybe, with trial and practice, I can come as close to an artist as God wants me to be.

After watercoloring 3 pieces to look like the beach, I decided to try sponging. I have admired so many sponged cards but have never used the technique much. I love the soft pastel look of it.

I used Naturals Ivory for the base card and cut a piece from scrap computer paper to give the shape of the beach. I laid it down and used 1/6 of a sponge (p. 195; 2010-2011 SU catalog) to dip in the Bermuda Bay (you can use Marina Mist instead) ink pad and sponged on the card. Oh, I also laid the straight edge of the rest of the scrap paper to leave room for the sky.

I like how the sponging has many shades of blue. It just kind of happens that way.

Then I punched a 1" circle from the sky mask and sponged Crushed Curry for the sun. (You can use Daffodil Delight if you don't have the Curry.)

Then I laid the circle down over the sun and sponged some Dusty Durango very lightly around the horizon to look like the sky at sunrise. Finally, I lightly sponged Bermuda Bay on the rest of the sky. (These 3 colors were the Color Challenge this week on SCS.)

To finish the scene off, I sponged a little Crumb Cake on the beach to give it some depth. I used an eye shadow sponge to add some Crumb Cake at the edge of the shore and a little whisper white on the ocean.

The shells, from Nature's Nest, were stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. When they cooled, I colored them with a Dusty Durango marker. They were a little dark so I painted them with some Frost White Shimmer Paint. The photo doesn't show how well they shine. They are a little big for the scene but they will have to do.


I hope you enjoy this little trip to the beach. I'll be back with another post later.
Bonnie

Darla the Dragonfly

Hello Stampin' Friends. Today I have a card for Mother Mark's Teapot Tuesday challenge. There is a story that goes along with this. You can read it here. You really need to read it to believe it! You probably still won't believe it, but that's ok. At least you won't be totally lost!

Have you read it? OK, this is Darla the Dragonfly's advice to her DD (Darling Daughter) Dingle Bell Berry.

She can show her a meadow of beautiful flowers that happen to be some of the colors of this week's color challenge. I love the Cameo Coral & Ruby Red with the two-step stamping. I'm going to miss these colors! Darla & Dingle have their turquoise dresses on. That covers all the colors for this week.

It was hard to think of critters that wouldn't eat dragonflies. I didn't want to take any chances so I made some little ladybugs. They're too small to do much damage I think.

I decided to try an Easel Card. I have been admiring them on Splitcoaststampers and for some reason last night, I just had to try one. Here is the link to the tutorial.

Darla & Dingle were stamped with Whisper White Craft ink on Vellum Card Stock, embossed and cut out. Directions for the ladybugs are in yesterday's post.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Greenhouse Garden, Nature's Nest

Paper: Ruby Red, Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Tempting Turquoise, Vellum Card Stock

Ink: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Acc.: Tempting Turquoise & Crushed Curry SU Markers, White Embossing Powder, Scallop Oval & Wide Oval, & Scallop Trim Border Punches

I hate to tell you how long it took me to make this card. I usually stick with the Quick & Simple. Every now and then it's fun to experiment and go all out. I will do more of the Easel Cards. They fold flat for mailing then display so nicely.

Hope you enjoyed Darla and Dingle. I'm glad you stopped by. Come again, ok? And don't be afraid to leave a comment. I love comments!

Bonnie

Hope

Hello Stampin' Friends. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Did you get some ink on your fingers?

I had the most wonderful surprise last night. My niece Cindy, who I haven't see since she was 6 yrs. old, called me. If she were here, she would be wrapped in the biggest hug! I am so proud of the person she has become. God is so good!

Today's CAS challenge is to do a card with a quote, verse or saying. The TLC challenge is to get personal and use a favorite technique. I love this quote from a poem by Emily Dickinson. Today it made me think of my niece. Stamping is my favorite technique. I think this will qualify for both challenges. Don't you?

The feather was stamped in VersaMark, heat embossed in black and cut out. The quote was done on the computer.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Elements of Style, Nature's Nest

Paper: Pale Plum, Whisper White

Ink: VersaMark, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum

Acc.: Black Embossing Powder, Big Shot, SU Top Die Bigz Die, bling, computer

Hope you get a chance to tell someone you haven't seen in a while that you love them.

Bonnie

Dragonfly for Dad

Hello Stampin' Friends. Today I am sharing a remake. The main design of this card is one of the Stamp A Stack cards we did last weekend. I always enjoy the Dragon Flies/Darning Needles that fly around my Dad's yard. Their tails are the most beautiful shade of blue. So this design seemed perfect to use for a Father's Day card for my Dad and since he is a big man, I wanted a card that's a little bigger than normal.


The card base is 5" x 7" made from Naturals White. The layout is from this weeks Sketch Challenge. It worked perfectly for what I wanted for this card. I used a piece from a Patterns Pack for the top third. (I thought it was Basic Gray, but I had written Always Artichoke on the front of the pack. It looks like dark gray.) On the bottom third, I stamped some dragonflies in Going Gray.

The main design piece is Taken with Teal that was embossed with the BIG GUY and the Square Lattic Folder from the Summer Mini Catalog. I used a Sending Love Notes Kiss piece from the Occasions Mini Catalog. It has been spritzed with the Color Spritzer Tool and a marker. The dragonfly is embossed in black EP and the tail is colored with a marker.

The belt was embossed with my whacked Finial Press Embossing Folder. I ran it through two times and adhered the ribbon in the center. I distressed the bottom edges with my fingernail. Then I inked all the front edges with Black.

Hope he likes it.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Nature's Nest, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Naturals White, Basic Black, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Sending Love Notes Kiss, Patterns Pack
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black, Going Gray
Acc.: Big Shot, Square Lattice & Whacked Finial Press Embossing Folders, Color Spritzer Tool, SU Marker, Modern Label & Word Window Punches, Black Gingham Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by to visit. Do come back soon.
Bonnie

Blushing Shells

Hello Stampin' Friends. I hope you had a nice weekend and that this was a good Monday for you.


I spent Sunday afternoon reorganizing my stamp room (which doubles as the guest room). I ended up with a pile of card pieces. Today I put them together. It's always a challenge to find homes for those odds and ends!

You may remember that a while back I did some sea shells and I told you that the shells I did in Blush Blossom weren't quite what I wanted to use that day. Well here they are. They found a home.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Nature's Nest

Paper: Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla Textured

Ink: Whisper White

Acc.: White Embossing Powder, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon

I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, hope you get some ink on your fingers.

Bonnie

Anniversary Shells

Kelli & Matt's 5th anniversary is today.

This is their anniversary card. I hope they like it. I think they would rather have a trip to the beach.

I should have saved the sand their son brought home from the park today. They would have thought they were at the beach! tee hee

Happy Anniversary Kelli & Matt. May your marriage be blessed with love and happiness.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Nature's Nest, Teeny, Tiny Wishes

Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, DSP

Ink: Whisper White, Basic Black

Acc.: White Embossing Powder, Heat tool, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Bonnie

A Feather for a Friend

This is one of the cards we will do at Donna's workshop on Saturday. She requested that all the cards be black & white.

This peacock feather was perfect for this workshop.

I snuck in a little bit of color though. I like to tease her by doing that. The picture doesn't show it well, but there is a little aqua & olive Supernova Glitter in the eye of the feather. I got the idea from Sandi MacIver. You can visit her blog here. She embossed her feather. I like the light and airy look for this card.

The background has been embossed with the SU Background Texturz Plate 1 and the BIG Guy.

There's not a lot of stamping on this card, but there sure is a lot of punching.

Hope they like it.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Nature's Nest, Watercolor Trio
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Acc.: Big Shot, SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate, Supernova Glitter, Corner Rounder, Ticket Corner, Large Oval & Scallop Oval Punches

Thanks for stopping in to visit. Come again real soon, ok?
Bonnie

Triple Challenges

Hello fellow stampers. I have been busy as can be as you can see. I have not one but three cards for this weeks challenges.

This first one is for the Technique Lovers Challenge and uses the Natures Nest stamp set. (I used the shell stamp from it on Tuesday's post for the CAS challenge.) This challenge is to use paper piercing.

I recently bought some Prismacolor pencils to use in a Creative Arts class and decided to give them a try. I used them like watercolor pencils with the Blender Pen. I think it worked out pretty good. DH even said it looked like a turtle. He's probably studied them closer than I have.

I stamped the image with Stazon on Shimmery White cardstock. The base card is Kraft, soon to be called Crumb Cake. I used Chocolate Chip and Sage Shadow behind the image. The sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations set and stamped in Chocolate Chip. I used the Mat Pack and Paper Piercer between the image and sentiment to add some pizzaz. (And so I could post it in the TLC Challenge.)

This card is for the Color Challenge to use Apricot Appeal, Sage Shadow & Going Gray with a neutral of choice. I used Whisper White. The dessert this week is the addition of lace.

I really struggled with this one. The Going Gray is always a challenge for me.

The stamp set is a preview of a set in the new Summer Mini Catalog that you should be receiving any day now. You can't order it until May 1. It is called Watercolor Trio and it has three beautiful little flower stems (actually one is leaves) and 3 beautifully scripted sentiments. I am so glad that I preordered this set. I can see that it will get a lot of use!

I used my Apricot Appeal & Sage Shadow markers to ink the stamps then stamped and stamped off a couple of times on Whisper White. The butterfly is embossed and cut using the BIG GUY and the Beautiful Wings embosslit that is only available until April 30th.

The sentiment is stamped in Going Gray and punched with the Scallop Oval Punch. The Sage Shadow piece behind was punched with the Wide Oval Punch and one corner of each piece was punched with the Corner Rounder Punch.

The lace was in my stash and I wove Sage Shadow narrow grosgrain ribbon through it.

Last but not least.........

Another card using the Nature's Nest stamp set. This was the layout for the Sketch Challenge.

I stamped the Dragonfly/Darning Needle with Basic Black on Whisper White. Then I put a little glue along the body and sprinkled some of the Aqua glitter from the Fine Supernova set (p. 180). I also used the Olive glitter for the eyes. The brad sparkles. I used a glue dot on a silver brad, then dipped it in the Olive glitter. (The brad was necessary to cover a smudge. Make sure your ink is dry before you start handling the piece!)

I used the Mat Pack and Paper Piercer to punch some holes in the top to balance out the brad. Oh my, what creativity one boo boo can cause!

I used Bermuda Bay & Whisper White that had been embossed with the BIG GUY and the SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate. All the pieces are matted with Basic Black.

Didn't I have fun? Now I need to do some housework and probably ought to cook something for supper. I hope all my creativity isn't used up! But first I need to cuddle with that adorable little grandson who just got up from his nap.

Enjoy your evening.

Bonnie

Nature's Sea Shells

I have a new stamp set! Imagine that! I finally got it mounted and decided it was perfect for the CAS challenge this week to make a card inspired by this card by Alanna.

I'm trying to use the card stock that we will be saying good-bye to in June and the Cameo Coral and sea shells just seemed to be a perfect match.


I embossed the shells on Blush Blossom first. They were beautiful but didn't show up very well and I was in the mood to POP! You will probably see them in the future. They were too pretty to throw away.

The sentiment is from Watercolor Trio, a set in the Summer Mini Catalog. Have you received your catalog yet? It should be in the mail. If you are not on my mailing list and would like one, email me and I will put one in the mail. Anyway, the new mini catalog has some awesome stamps and accessories. I can't wait for you to see it.

I know the sentiment is crooked. It was a clear mount and there is no excuse for it. I was hurrying and didn't realize how crooked it was until I just saw this photo. I think I will have to do some a poppin' sentiment on the card before I send it!

Card Recipe
Card is 4 1/" Square
Stamps: Nature's Nest, Watercolor Trio
Paper: Cameo Coral, Very Vanilla
Ink: Whisper White, Basic Black
Acc.: White embossing powder, heat tool, Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Dimensionals

Hope you enjoy this card and take a peek at Alanna's gallery for some awesome ideas.
Bonnie