Wishing well

When I saw this stamp at the yard sale I just thought it would make a great birthday card :) Colored it with my Spectrum markers and added the flower and leaves and a border punch and I was done.
I used This sketch for this card.

Here is just the image:

Stampendous -- Wishing well stamp, colored w/markers
Basic Grey -- Picadilly papers
Memory Box -- Stitched Rectangle layers and Fabulous Phlox dies
Martha Stewart -- Vintage floral border punch
Ek Success -- Flower punch
Liquid Pearls -- Chestnut (flower center)

With all the rain we have been getting again my garden is full of weeds, so I am going to get out there and weed before it gets too HOT :)

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and let me know you did :)

Connie

Life is Beautiful

I started by embossing with gold embossing powder my flowers onto patterned paper, we all know we need to use up our stash of papers :)  Going through the paper pack was this panel with the sentiment on it and I thought it would be a great backdrop to the flowers. I also cut the leaf flourish out of the same paper pack.

To go with the gold embossing of the flowers I decided to take my stencil and apply versamark ink right from the pad through the stencil onto the top portion of this panel, it already had some splotches of ink so I thought it would work great and tie it all together.

Trying to get more of the shimmer of the embossing with the next picture, another gloomy day here so it didn't turn out as well as I would like.

Recollections -- Mixed Media Paper
Autumn leaves -- Flowers embossed w/gold embossing powder
Cheery Lynn -- fanciful flourish die
Tim Holtz, stampers anonymous -- Stencil Blossom THMM107 versamark and gold embossing powder

As we take time this weekend to have fun with family and friends and start off our summer, I hope we all take out the time and reflect on those men and women, who gave of themselves for our country and to the families they left behind.  Even if we may not be happy with the way our country is going right at the moment, I can still say I feel so blessed to be an American!!

Thanks so very much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Circus Elephant

Do you see on the news that the circus has had it's last show?  I only went to one, shortly after we were married, it was so exciting and fun. I understand why some wanted it stopped, another end of something that we grew up knowing, how times have changed since I was a kid.

My great nephew loves animals and so I thought I would do a circus themed birthday card for him.
I received this set of Coloring images day by day calendar and this is the first I have used out of it, you can find it HERE. It is cheaper on Amazon :) It comes with a set of pencils but I thought I would try using my Spectrum markers on them and see how it works and I think it did quite well, since it is thin paper I glued it to a piece of cardstock before cutting it out to add to the card.

The first picture showed quite the shine from the sparkle pen I used on the sun, so I took a side view picture of it also.

Day by Day Coloring Calendar image-- Elephant, colored w/ Spectrum markers
Sassafras - Apple Jack paper
Spellbinders -- A2 matting basics A and Lg. classic inverted scalloped circle dies
Fiskars -- grass punch
Spectrum sparkle pen -- clear on sun

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, love hearing from you when you do,

Connie

Smack down Technique

In my stamp group one of the girl's challenges for this month is a technique you can see the Video HERE on how it is done .

I used this stamp set for this challenge for both the background and the flowers I used on top.

I used first the top left flower in a tan and I loved the pebble look it gave to the background, I wish I would have just stopped their but I also used the outline to that stamp on top.

I went with a touch of color using some new altenew inks for the blue flowers and fussy cut them out along with the leaves. Banner I cut myself.

Here is a side view of the card, hoping to show off the background techniue a little better.

Hampton Art -- Flower Amaze stamp set
Gina K -- tag lines sentiment stamp set
Doily
Ki-- Gems

Well that's it for today, off to do my running around, hoping not to get caught in too heavy of a rain storm :)

Hope your week is off to a good start and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, I know how busy summer's can get :)

Connie

Wonderful day

I needed this card quickly so I went with already to go goodies.  The embossed background and die cut came from David Tuttera package, I haven't seen them at JoAnns in awhile, that is where they came from a few years back, I have used these flowers that my sister sent before they are already colored and made out of very delicate tissue type paper, I just added a tree limb die cut with them and stamped the sentiment onto a ribbon banner die cut.

I do enjoy making my own flowers and die cuts but when time is of an issue it sure is nice having these items ready to go :)

David Tuttera-- Celebrate embossed background and die cut
Spellbinders -- Cherry Blossom stem and Ribbon Banner dies
Amaco -- country garden flowers and leaves
Gina Marie stamps -- birthday words sentiment stamp set

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, I am off to enjoy a day of no rain :)

Connie

Mystic Garden

I bought the Mystic Garden kit awhile back, it included the stamps, papers, butterfly stickers, step card bases and envelopes and some foiled diecuts that I didn't use on today's card. After stamping I fussy cut the butterfly on the left and around the bird cage so it would fit better on the card.  I decided to stamp the other directly onto the piece of paper, and add it to the middle step.

I didn't have the greatest lighting when taking these pictures and once again, put the card in the mail before seeing how the pictures turned out, it is amazing how they can look good in that little screen on the camera and then you download and oh wow they are bad.

Here is a close up of the stamps, I added a little clear glitter pen to the butterfly, I think that is what that comes out looking a bit shiny. The close up is a little more like the colors I remember it being, LOL!

Hot off the press -- Mystic Garden, Paper and stamps, butterfly dazzle, step card base
Recollections -- Lace
Wink of stella-- clear glitter pen on stamped butterfly

We had quite the storm that went through early this morning, high winds a bit of hail and heavy rain.  We seemed to make it through ok but there are reports of a lot of down limbs, 50,000 people are without power and a semi was toppled over because of the high winds and it closed down Interstate 70.  Hope all those in line of this storm make it through ok.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and I hope you have a lovely weekend!!

Connie

New colors

Spectrum Noir came out with some new colors of markers and Consumer Crafts was having a sale on them so I splurged and bought them.  Some of the new colors went very well with this cardstock so I used them on this stamp.

I had noticed on a few blogs and some girls in my group were making cards by just using what they found in their scraps bin of items they never ended up using on other cards, so I challenged myself to do just that.  I made two cards but forgot to take a picture of the other one before my hubby gave it to a co-worker that gave him a lilac bush in remembrance of his Dad.

The background piece already had the sentiment stamped on it and the flowers were already stamped on this die cut, all I had to do was color the image.

Memory Box -- Distressed Baptisia Collage
Stamp- colored w/spectrum noir markers
Stampendous -- Birthday Assortment

Do you have left over items that you need to use up too?

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!!

Connie

Frame

I was going to name the post Happy Mother's day but it is just about over so I decided not to.  I hope all you Mother's had a very nice day.

Today I am sharing a frame I did for my girlfriend's birthday.  Once again I can not find the paper I wrote down the items I used.  I started out with a wooden frame that I found at the craft store, I can't remember which one it was, I bought them awhile ago and had in my stash for awhile.  I first painted with a base coat of paint.

Then I took Distress crackle paint on the top layer of the frame. It had dried up a bit so I added a little water to it to get it to a texture I could paint with. Here is a close up of the crackle.

The frame all finished.

I do remember that the flowers are Tim Holtz tattered flowers die and I shaped them using a stylus and a mat. Added some pearls to the centers.  The corners are Spellbinders die as are the leaves.

I didn't like the picture that came with the frame so I printed off a picture my hubby had taken.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and I hope that the week ahead is a wonderful one!!

Connie

Flower Challenge

Poppystamps is having a flower challenge, you can read all about it HERE.  I went looking through my dies and I can't hardly believe but of all their dies that I have this is my only flowers.  All the rest of my flowers are from Memory Box.

My cardmaking group is also doing a color challenge of Aqua, so that is what took me into this direction for this card. I couldn't find cardstock in the right color so I used my Spectrum marker BT4 to color the cardstock before cutting out with my die.

 I also used Poppystamps Eyelet stitches die for the bottom border of the card, using the largest border die and then using the smallest in the set I cut out a strip for the center of the card.  The sentiment was once again done with the My Favorite things sentiment stamps.

Poppystamps -- Stitched Bloom trio, Eyelet Stitches and Pinpoint Main street tags dies
Cosmo Cricket -- Everafter paper
My Favorite things -- Label maker sentiment stamp set
Recollection-- Pearls
Twill
Twine
Hole punch for tag

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, and saying Hi :)
Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!

Connie

Tag thanks

I used some of the steel gray paper I got through the My Favorite things package I won for the base of my card, the cardstock is a great weight for a card base.  Punched a border for the tag added some washi tape. To keep the sticker sentiment straight since all the letters are separate, I added a sticky note to the bottom half of the letters and lifted them off the sheet together and applied them to the tag then lifted off the sticky note and the letters stayed put.  The tag covers most of it up but I stamped the banner I made in the background with a stamp with gears. To finish it all off added some buttons I found at a flea market and added jute to them as well as twill and jute to the tag.

My favorite things -- Steel gray card base
Paper company -- Tag
Fiskar-- botder punch on tag
Paper stuido -- Washi tagpe
Hot off the press -- Tiny words and phrases sentiment sticker
Distress ink -- Hickory smoke around tag
Inkadinkado -- Neo Victorian inchie bundle stamp set for banner
Buttons
Jute
Twill

There is a giveaway over at The Cropstop Blog such pretty things she is giving away, you have to go check it out.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today.  Hope you are enjoying a nice week!

Connie

Sweet bird

I still have more of these chipboard shapes left and I started with that and this is the card it became. Sometimes I have something in mind and other times I just grab something and start with that and make the card from there and that is what happened with this card.

Now I can't exactly tell you how many coats of paint it took to cover this bird but I am thinking it was like 4 or more, and it has to dry between coats, so I tried not to do lay the paint on too thick.  After it was totally dried I rubbed on some gold metallic cream I have, They are from Craf-T, I googled them and found a video showing how they come HERE . I couldn't find them for so long and when I was going through my hubby's art supplies looking for something else,  I found them and took them back :)

The paper strips were in my scraps bin, I stamped the sentiment on one of the strips and felt it still needed something to give it more of a feminine feel to it so I added a punched scallop border and some sequins :)

Studio 18 -- Chipboard Shapes (bird) painted with Jenni Bowlin -- Lemon drops paint w/gold metallic cream from Craf-T over embossed area
Crate paper -- DIY shop paper
Gina Marie stamps -- Birthday words sentiment stamp set
Martha Stewart -- border punch
Sequins

Quick post, I have a very busy day ahead of me, hope your week is off to a great start!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for commenting, so neat to hear from you!!

Connie

Nature thank you

I went back to the good old Distress inks on this card for the background. I stamped the image first in Memento dye inks but I just wasn't getting good coverage, so I searched the internet for best inks to use on clear stamps and ended up going with pigment black ink and that finally gave me good coverage, just in case you find yourself with the same problem :)

Inkadinkado -- Utopiary stamp set
Background -- Distress inks, Tea Dye, Peeled Paint and Tumbled Glass
Hampton Art -- Thank you sentiment
Pebbles -- Glitter Candy dots

We were able to get my 4x4 raised garden put together and green peppers planted, my hubby even made a cage to go over it so that the bunnies, raccoons and such can't get to it but that I can take off and get to the peppers when I need to. Today we hope to get the lawn mowed, we think it is finally dried out and hopefully get some more planting done. The next rain is suppose to hit on Wednesday so we have a few days to get things done, YAH!!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and thanks so much to take the time out of your busy schedule to stop by and let me know you did :)

Connie

Goodies

Before everything happened with my Father in law, I won a great prize from My Favorite Things Stamps. I commented on Debbie Olson's blog and won a $100 gift certificate, WOW!!! I think my heart actual skipped a beat when I found out.  Since I knew I would be heading to Michigan at any time I decided to wait until after I got back to place my order and I received it just in time to make a card for my girlfriend who is turning 60, I gave it to her last night and she just loved it.

I stamped the balloon twice and cut out one to pop it up off the page, with my MISTI I was able to line up the string on the balloon perfectly in her hand, I also stamped and cut out the hat and added that but didn't pop it up.  I gave her some polka dots to her dress by using my blender pen to take away some of the orange in her dress.

My Favorite of all is the die that cuts out a window to add your sentiment behind, isn't that neat. I was so excited to see that the Happy Birthday fit in there perfectly :)

Here is the card laying down so you can see the sentiment through the window a little easier.

My Favorite things-- Cupcake day stamp set, colored with markers, Die-namics -- Word window die and Label Maker sentiments stamp set
Memory Box -- Stitched Rectangle Layers die
Lilybeedesign-- Head over heels

I thought I would share a picture of the goodies I picked out from My favorite things win!  Don't they do such pretty packaging!

As you can see I have a few more fun things to play with :)

We have had rain again all day yesterday and today as well, the ditch behind our house is rising once again but so far it is staying out of our yard.  The amount of road closures are just crazy, and major highways too, but there is hope insight, after it finishes raining, hopefully by tomorrow morning we will see no rain for the next 5 days!!!!!  I hope that gives enough time for all of this to calm down.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Quilted Table Runner

I am a little behind haven't taken pictures of my recent card and wanted to post something today and going through my pictures I found a table runner I made back in December of last year that I never shared.

If you have been with me for awhile you might remember these place mats I made back in 2015.

Well this past December I finally made the table runner to match them.

I was late getting it finished at the last minute per my usual, so I asked my hubby to take a picture real quick while I got around how I was going to wrap it.

The quilt was machine pieced and quilted, I do enjoy hand quilting but just haven't had the time as of late.

We are seeing the sun today!!!! I am going to try and get out and do some more yard work, hopefully the ground is not to saturated. There are numerous road closures and schools closed do to the flooding, thankfully we are doing ok in our area.  Praying for all those that are working tirelessly trying to sand bag and do all they can to save homes and towns.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, so good to hear from you!

Connie