Four corners

 Thankfully before the Covid hit I was able to get one challenge done from one of the other girls.  If I am feeling up to it, I am going to try to do another challenge this afternoon, usually afternoons are my best time, and I know how much getting in the craft room is a good thing for me most days, I will let you know how that goes.

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and especially prayers for me, my hubby having it to now is a bummer, we just take turns taking care of each other :)

The challenge is to take a 8x10 1/2 inch paper, stamp down the middle both ways then cut the paper into 4 sections at 4x 5 1/4, that gives you 4 card fronts.  I have been sending out and needing a lot of thinking of you cards here lately so I made all of these in those to have on hand. Did a little splattering, sentiment and gems.

• Inkadindado - Garden Delight stamps
• Distress oxide - Rusty Hinge
• Archival inks - Fossilized Amber, Fern Green, Red Geranium
• Gold Paint splatters
• Mama Elephant - Butterfly kisses sentiment stamp

The last two I put on a lighter cardstock base and went with Stampendous - Sincere Sentiments stamps

Thanks for stopping by,

Connie

Busting out

 Hey everyone I just wanted to let you know that I have caught covid, it has really knocked me out, feeling a little better today in my lungs so I think I may be on the up swing of this, just very exhausted yet, so I am hoping later today I will be able to come an visit your blogs. 

I had a card already to go for another challenge for my group.

I just went with a picture I saw so I really can't give any dimensions for you. I stamped my image and then found a die that was close to the size, I marker the corners around that die and then took my metal ruler and an x-acto knife and cut from one corner to the other in an X and then pilled that back and attached with a brad.  I did add a little foam tape underneath to keep it lifted.

• ODBD - Morning glory stamp, colored w/markers
• Graphic 45 - Botanical tea papers
• Recollection brads

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

2 for I

 My stamp group is holding another week of challenges starting today, we each challenge each other to a technique or style of card and the others show what they come up with. When I saw This card HERE, I just wanted to give it a try so I thought it would be neat to see what the others come up with.  Instead of doing a the card the way she did it I decided to turn my card around.

So neat to get two cards for one.  I stamped the image on both white cardstock and a kraft cardstock, coloring only the one I stamped on the white, when done I put the two cards together and cut them at the same time to make sure I had them equal, instead of adding my sentiment between the two panels I just added a strip of paper and added my sentiments to the kraft part of the card.

• Simon Says stamps - Flower Garden stamp, colored w/pencils
• Spellbinders - Happy Birthday die, cut twice and layered

Simon Says stamps - Flower Garden stamp, colored w/pencils

Die-Namics - cross-stitch die

Cardmaking and Papercraft - Sentiment

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

Connie

Hope for Tomorrow

 I love this sentiment for anyone going through a rough patch in their life. The bird image comes from the same paper pack as my card base paper. I use my punch around the page punch and did a little inking of it to give it a more vintage look and added some little flowers that I shaped and added some stickles to the centers to bring a touch of spring to it!

• DCWV - Primrose Stack paper for image and paper
• Martha Stewart - Punch around the page punches
• EK Success - Flower punch, shaped and layered
• Stickles - Scattered Straw to centers
• Simon Says Stamps - Tiny words Faith sentiment stamp

I would like to add my card to the Four Seasons Challenge which is Spring.

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

Connie

Layered Trees

 I bought this die last year on sale and never got around to using it so I just had to get it done, it took me a few days of being in my craft room to get all these cut and then put together.  I used different color combo's together in different layers trying to figure out which one I liked the most, you will have to tell me which one is your favorite.

Instead of going with the little circles that came in the die set, I chose to go with another die set for all the ornaments. The presents did come with the tree die set, I cut those out from pattern papers.

I only took a side view of one of them because they are all the same I put foam tape behind the tree and some presents.

• Sizzix - Layered Christmas Tree die
• Marianne Design - Craftable Christmas tree ornaments dies
• Graphic 45 - Christmas emporium papers
• Gold paper strips

•  Sizzix - Layered Christmas Tree die
• Marianne Design - Craftable Christmas tree ornaments dies
• Echo park- Christmas collection kit papers

I would like to share my card with the Peace on Earth Christmas challenge 

There are 4 done for this month :)  I think I am a bit behind but I am sure I will make them up sometime.

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

Connie

Spring Flowers

 I was going through my picture folders and realized that I hadn't shared all the cards I had made while I was one the Splitcoast  dirty dozen team.  These were done last May so I am trying to remember what the theme was but I think it was flowers.

This first card I gave my sister last year for her birthday.

I made rolled flowers in all different sizes and colors and the dragonfly was stamped on cardstock and vellum for the leaves. Topping off with a sprinkling of gems.

This second card I made some quilled flowers using some very thin strips of papers I cut, then rolled up and shaped into different shapes to make up the flowers. The stems I ran through my crimper. It is a 5x7 card.

The very last one I will be sharing was some Faux glass flowers.  I used clear packaging, added some alcohol inks to it, then stamped onto the sheet with stazon ink. Cut the flowers out with Tim Holtz die. Then heated with a heat gun to give them dimension, adding gems to the centers.

I have one more set to share some time but I have finished my Christmas cards for this month so I will probably share those next :)

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

Connie

Green

 Happy St. Patty's day, I thought today would be the perfect day to share a card with a couple challenge blogs that the main focus is green.  Both sentiment tags came from a instant card art pack, I added a piece behind it so it didn't blend into the background paper. The little dragonfly stamp and die combo came in my Advent calendar of goodies, I colored him with markers, and added a touch of shimmer with a sparkle pen.

• Hot off the press - cardmakers instant card art Pretty colors (both sentiment tags)
• BasicGrey - Periphery paper
• Crafter's Companion - Advent Calendar 2021 (Dragonfly stamp and die) color w/markers
• Spectrum clear sparkle pen (dragonflies body)
• Hot off the press - 63 Thin line Border stickers
• My Favorite things - Cross-stitch Rectangle die

I would like to share my card with these Blogs

Colorful Options Green challenge

Sisterhood of Crafters The color green challenge

I just had to change my picture before Spring is officially here because the trees are starting to bloom, even though we are still having below freezing temperatures at night and tomorrows High will only be 34, he said it is acting like it is the beginning of February out there, but the temps are supposed to get better by the middle of next week so I am pretty happy about that.  Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

You are strong

 Wanted to send out some more cards to those that are dealing with Pain and healing right now.

My first card was the cover of the new daily calendar I bought for this year. I had never seen the beautiful artwork of Marjolein Bastin before but she does such beautiful images and it just looked nice and peaceful to me so I thought it might be uplifting for this lady that needs to know that I think she has been very strong through an awful ordeal. I cut around the image and  I added a sticker border and crochet die.

• Marjolein Bastin - Nature's Inspiration 2023 daily calendar image
• Tim Holtz - Crochet die
• Hot off the press - Dazzles 31 white jewel border stickers
• Simon Says stamps - tiny words encourgement stamp
• Pink & Main - Sentiment strip die

On this second card I went with a coloring pad from Spectrum noir, I bought it off of HSN, the pads and the pencils. The pages in this pad have gold embossing.

• Spectrum noir - Natural Beauty Colorista pad colored w/pencils
• My sentiments exactly - Little birdie sentiment stamp
• Me & My big ideas - Gems

The sentiment seemed to blend in with the background, so I added one of the gems near it.

I think next time I will try to blend the pencils with some mineral spirits, I was just worried that may mess up the gold foil on these. I will have to try it on an image I don't like as much :)

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

Connie

Wish

 I was working on another project where I was using paint and I had a good amount on my sponge I was using and instead of throwing it away I added it to the edge of a few pieces of pattern paper I have in my scraps bin.  Today I brought it out to go with another image from my coloring calendar images.  I used pencils to color it. I fussy cut it out and added it to an oval shape, used the same die set to cut out my stamped sentiment and then added some black ink around the edges of the sentiment tag.

• Color for Calm Calendar image - colored w/pencils, fussy cut
• Spellbinders - Scallop Classic Ovals Lg dies
• Scrap paper that I had sponged cream paint around the edges
• Stamps of life - minis4circles sentiment stamp w/black ink sponging

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope you have a fabulous week ahead!

Connie

Thinking of you

 Hubby talked recently with a coworker he had on the last shift he use to work, he is dealing with cancer and we were saying how we need to lift him up in prayer and we also thought I should make him a card, it is always nice to have something on hand to remind you of those that are lifting you up in prayer.

I went with some new papers, rub ons and ephemera from 49 and Market.

• 49 and Market - Vintage artist Serenity, 6x8 papers with butterfly and sentiment tag, Vintage Artistry Wedgewood Rub ons
• Inky Antics - Simple sentiments stamp set

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and hope you enjoy a fun and creative weekend!

Connie

in the woods

 I have a question for you all.  I started this card out as a Christmas card, and as I went on it didn't look very Christmas like to me so I turned it into a card for my nephews birthday.  When I showed my hubby and told him what I did, all he said is I really like that, so I guess it will be ok for his birthday card.  Just one of those cards that didn't turn out like I had intended, so just feels off. 

I love these ephemera images from Tim Holtz, there is even another of this tree just smaller in the pack. I stenciled the plaid background, added the punch grass and die cut the squirrel and birds.

• Tim Holtz - Christmas Botanicals Layers Ephemera
• Folk Art - Background Stencils Plaid
• Distress ink - Rustic Wilderness
• Impression Obsession - Squirrel Set
• Die-Versions - Beautiful Bird Cages (birds)
• Fiskars - Grass punch
• Simon Says - tiny words birthday sentiment stamp
  

I am adding my card to the Double D Challenge which is Green

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

Connie

Lake House

 One of my hubby's co workers has no family near, so I try to do him a special card for his birthday.  I know I appreciate my daughters friends who make her birthday special since we live so far away to be with her on her birthday.

I made a little window by using my square die and added the stamp on the back of the card inside.  I just love these papers for backgrounds to outdoor scenes but I don't have much left now.

• Art impressions - Lake House window stamp, colored w/markers
• PPD - Mini stitched square die to cut window
• October afternoon - campfire paper

Usually the colors are more close to actual on my close up pictures but in this case they are more to the first picture I posted.

Hope your week is off to a great start.  We had a beautiful day yesterday but today it is going to be 30 degrees cooler, and in the 40's for the rest of the week, guess spring is still a little ways off.

Connie

Magnolia

 I am using yet another of the panel dies from Gemini, I used distress inks through the die to color through the die while the paper was still inside and then removed it and finished with more inking and markers to finish the coloring.  I thought it looked pretty against the dark wood in this paper. The tag is in the paper set also and I just added the stamped sentiment.

• Gemini - Magnolia die set, colored w/inks and markers
• ODBD - Vintage Ephemera paper and tag
• Recollections - Button brad

The Our Daily Bread papers have a slick surface to them so there is a bit of shine when you look at a side view of it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

in His hands

 These were very hard sympathy cards to make, my final Aunt has passed away, and with both my parents gone a whole generation has left us, such a weird feeling to have.  My Aunt looked a lot like my mom and since we live so far from one another we kept in contact through letters, this past Christmas I did not hear back from her so I was thinking either she couldn't see anymore or she was poorly.

She lived with her daughter and family for quite a few years and just recently went to live with her son and his family, so I made them both a sympathy card.

I was stuck for what to do so I went looking for challenges that might spark some ideas and this is the first card I came up with.

• My sentiments exactly - Floral Encouragement cards stamp set, colored w/markers
• Kat Scrappiness - Mini Slimline Stitched Rope dies
• Teresa Collins - Tell your story paper

I am sharing this card with these challenges:

Retro Rubber Challenge Tic Tac Toe (Slimline, Pattern Paper and Layers) Stamp is 5 years old

Simon Says Stamps - Slimline card

For my next card I went with another challenge over at Sisterhood of Crafters Dots and or stripes

I went with dots on this card.  My butterfly was cut from a background I had made earlier using Oxide inks.

• Graphic 45 - Botanical Tea papers
• Spellbinders - A2 matting basics A die
• Pizzazz Aplenty - Butterfly die cut from Oxide blended background
• Taylored Expressions - Care & Comfort II sentiment stamp
• Memory Box - Stitched Rectangle layers die

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

Connie

Hello

 I wanted to send a card to my sister in law that just went through another procedure on her heart, she was very nervous about it and now she is thankfully on her road to recovery.

I went with the  Beautiful Blossom Challenge and their pretty inspiration board for my card.

I am getting close to having this paper pack all used up so I have a lot of scraps left but the colors were just perfect for this.  I used a ribbon die to cut pieces to go between the papers and then found some pink and yellow to make my flower.

• Gemini - Cosmos layering flower die
• BasicGrey - Porcelain papers
• Cherry Lynn Designs - Alison's Ribbons die
• Impression Obsession - Classic Corners die
• Gemini - Opulent swirls die (hello)

Here is the beautiful inspiration board they gave us to work with.

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

Connie