Stencil backgrounds

 Our stamp group had our skype meeting a couple weeks ago.  The first card I am sharing is what I made that night with what I had ready. My sister in law had just lost her sister so that card went to her. We ended up doing 3 backgrounds each.  The next day I made a second card for a friends birthday, but had no idea what I wanted to do for the last card.  I guess I just need to have someone in mind in order to make a card and on Sunday I was talking to a guy at church and he told me of the passing of his sister, we had a long talk and I felt so sorry for the circumstances I ended up using the last card to make him a card.

I believe, April who shares a card technique with us every time said that she saw Gina K doing this technique.  We cut away a chunk of the front of the card, and masked off the edges with some tape and then stenciled both the front and that bit of the inside that was cut away. Remove the tape and you have a border all around. I share a picture of them laying down flat and then standing up.

• Fun Stampers Journey - Starburst Lines stencil
• Heartfelt creations - Flower stamp and die set
• Pebbles - Rub on sentiment 

• Simon Says - Freestyle Flowers stencil
• Pizazz Aplenty - Butterfly die
• StarForm - Silver text stickers, colored w/brown ink
• Brown pearls

• Crafters Workshop - Mini Believe Script stencil
• Gemini - Torn Edge Circle dies
• Crafters companion advent calendar 2020 - Stamped leaves and stamp and die dragonfly
• Spectrum noir - Clear sparkle on the wings
• Taylored Expressions - Many minis occasions sentiment stamp

Sorry so long, just thought they would be nice to post all together.

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

Connie

Jersey

 My great nephew that this card went to is in many sports, I picked his Football Jersey to replicate for his birthday card this year.  I had won a gift certificate to Creative Worship ( Sweet n sassy) and I ordered this stamp set with this Library stamp in it to use in my Junk Journal but thought it might go neat with this Jersey die :)

• My Favorite Things - Jersey Die
• Taylored Expression - Whimsy #s
• Creative Worship - Your story stamp set (Library card stamp)
• Stars from other die cuts

You can see the embossing the die does on the jersey a little better in this close up.

Well we are back to Extreme heat again, so not much outdoor things will be done this week, more time for crafting :)

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

Connie

Best Ever

 I just had to play with my 49 and market goodies for the next birthday card I needed, I love picking the papers and then looking through all the ephemera and seeing what would work well together. These are my favorite colors. I know these are mostly meant to be for scrapbook pages but some of their sentiments work great for birthday cards too! I did a little tearing and inking of the paper.

• 49 and Market - Avesta artoptions 6x8 papers, Avesta Ephemera bits (frame and sentiment) Avesta Laser Cut elements (flower)
• EK Success - Circle punch, added Nuvo Crystal glaze to give it a enamel dot feel

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

Connie

Retirement

 My girlfriend retired recently so I had to make her a card to Congratulate her.  This paper pack had some neat ephemera pieces to stamp and write on, I made a list of things she will enjoy now that she doesn't have to drive over to St. Louis everyday!

• We R Memory keepers - For the record papers
• Gina k designs - Tag lines sentiment stamps
• Wintertime crafts - Sticker book ( Faux stamp)
• Paper clip

I would like to share my card today with Simon Says Monday Challenge Add a sentiment

and Word Art Wednesday 

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

Connie

New Baby

 My nephew and his girl friend just had a baby. I saw these stickers just before they had the baby so I kept them in mind for when she had it to use them. I just placed it on a die cut layered onto another one and had this cute baby paper to put it on and added a few little sticker gems. Stamped sentiment.

• Susan Branch - Baby stickers
• Paper Trey Ink - Hodge Podge papers
• Spellbinders - All Occasions sentiment stamp
• Starform - Transparent Glitter gold stickers

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

Connie

Special day

 I hadn't used my coloring calendar images in quite sometime so I pulled this spray out of my collection for the next birthday card I needed.  I fussy cut it out and paired it with a doily and more of the ribbon my sister gave me :)

• Coloring for Calm 2018 calendar image - fussy cut and colored w/markers
• Spellbinders - Delicate Doilies die
• My minds eye - Quite Contrary paper
• Stickles - Vintage Photo for flower centers
• Gem and Ribbon

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

Connie

Daisy

 I usually cut these type dies out completely and then put them on the front of my cards but this time I cut into my front panel, and added a yellow piece of paper on the inside of the card so that the flowers would stand out better, I think you can see it better on my close up picture.

• Gemini - OX Eye Daisy die, cut directly into the front of the card, colored with both inks  through the die and then markers for the stem
• Penny Black - Sprinkles and smiles sentiment stamp

I would like to share my card with The Flower Challenge Blog Birthday

Thanks for all the kind thoughts with our flooding situation.  I can't imagine what people go through that have their whole house flooded.  We are very close to having our crawl space pumped out and most of the garage is done. Prayers for all those going through floods, fires and anything else unexpected.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Connie

Tag in a card

 I think this card came from working on my Junk Journal this month, I make all kinds of tags and pockets and such for that so when I went to make my friends birthday card that was on my mind :) I used quite a few different pattern papers, and stamped my tag, adding more pattern paper at the top.  It is hard to see but I also used some die cut flowers on the front of the pocket I made to insert the tag into. I used more of the pretty trim my sister gifted me on the pocket.

• Raspberry Road designs - Love lives here papers
• Trim from my sister
• Hero Arts - Nested tag shapes die
• Crafters companion advent calendar - Flower and leaves die cuts
• Impression Obsession - Birthday stamp set (birthday)
• Dollar store stamps - Flowers, leaves and Happy

I would like to share my card with the following challenges:

Love those Pretty Papers Challenge Triangle

Simon Says Monday Challenge Layers

I am a little late posting because we had severe flooding in our area, the shopping center we always go too was under water and the animal shelter had to be evacuated, they were wading in waist deep water trying to get them all out.  Through Facebook we are seeing many others that were impacted too.  I am so thankful that the rain finally stopped just before our 4 foot crawl space was up to the floor boards.  Our garage got a couple inches of water, so we have been working on pumping out water and cleaning up everything in the garage.  A damn in a city about an hour away burst and many people in the path of it had to be evacuated too.  

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

Connie

Wish Big

 There has been a new Challenge called Word Power and when I came across his dimensional sticker I have had from the dollar store for years I thought I would give the challenge a try for my great nephews card.  I decided to break out some of my alphabet stickers and add the word BIG to the sentiment. The stars on the bottom half were in my cup of unused bits from other cards. Added a strip of Washi tape across the center.

• Dollar store - Dimensional Wish sticker
• Echo park - Fine and Dandy papers
• Washi tape
• Creative Imagination - Basic ABC stickers
• Spellbinders - Large deckled Rectangle die

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

Connie

For you

 I had seen a few cards on Pinterest of people rolling papers back to make an opening, I am sorry I have tried to go back and look for them but can't find where I saw them, I took an oval die and just laid it on top to give me an idea on how much paper to roll back.  I stamped on a separate piece of cardstock and colored with markers.  There is a little sentiment on the tag in the stamped image so I didn't add another.

• Power Poppy - Short Stacks stamp set, colored w/markers
• Crate Paper - DIY Shop paper
• Tearing back of paper and inked with Old paper distress ink
• Sequins

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

Connie

Hello

 Using some new things on my card today.  I bought this Impresslit folder that die cuts and embossing all in one run through the die cut machine, well just like my 3D folders from them I don't seem to get a good cut for some reason in my Gemini machine, I have tried all kinds of plate configurations trying to get it to work but this was my best try so I went with it for a border on the top of my card.  I also bought these flower stickers through Amazon for my Junk journaling but thought this one would be pretty for the main image on my card.

• Sizzix - Lace Border Impresslit die w/ Lunar Paste - Gold Rush on raised areas
• Spellbinders - Labels One dies 
• Amazon butterfly and flower sticker
• Crafters companion - sentiment die
• Basic Grey - Picadilly papers

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

Connie

Christmas part 2

 I forgot after my last post to finish with the rest of the cards I made for June challenge, using a base plate die for our background.  Like I said I don't have any Christmas theme ones so here are more using my everyday ones.

For the first two cards I cut it out of two different papers and then switched up how they are used.

• Spellbinders - Infinity Punch & Pierce plate
• Paper studio and paper from magazine
• Tim Holtz - Funky Festive dies (Pinecone & Bow) Large Funky Festive dies (Flower and Branch)
• Simon Says Stamps - Tiny words Christmas

• Spellbinders - Infinity punch & Pierce plate
• Crafter's companion - Sentiment die (cut twice)

This last one I used ephemera pack for the images and some stickles for the center of the background piece.

• ODBD - Quarterfoil die (cut from vellum)
• Simple Stories - Bits & Pieces - Simple Vintage Dear Santa 
• Stampendous - Star Chain Brite sticker
• Distress Stickles - Shabby Shutters ( on Vellum background)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today

Connie

Lighthouse

 We grew up in Michigan and as long as we have been away we still feel like that is home :)  Whenever we go back we like to get to the water at least once, it doesn't always happen but we do like to go see the lighthouses and Michigan has many of them to visit.  My friend loves them too so this was her birthday card.

• Gray Wolf Graphics - Point Bestie Lighthouse stamp, colored w/ markers
• PPD - Stitched Postage Stamp rectangle die
• Impression Obsession - Small grass die
• Raspberry Road design - Love lives here papers
• Stamps of Life - Postmarks2stamps, sentiment stamp
• Martha Stewart - circle punch

I would like to share my card today with the following challenges:

Four Season Challenge Summer

Double D Challenge Nautical

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by today,

Connie

Plant Love

 A friend moved out into the country side a couple years ago and she has done an amazing job with her planting of flowers around her home and has a lovely garden too, so I thought a garden theme birthday card would be great for her this year.  I had all these stickers for a very long time and thought they might make a nice wreath and went with oval to be a little different.

• Hero Arts - Oval Woodgrain Frame die
• Joy Marie - Garden stickers
• Martha Stewart - Flower border punch
• Cloud 9 designs - Christy & Friends papers

I would like to share my card today with Sisterhood of Crafters In the garden challenge

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you all in American had a safe 4th.  It was too HOT and humid for us so we stayed at home and once again so many in the neighborhood were setting off big fireworks so it was like we went to see them :)

Connie

Sis Birthday

 I always try to find a new technique, fold, or use a new product for my sisters birthday card.  This time I went with a fold I hadn't tried, It was one Esther had done.  I used my Graphic 45 goodies on this one.

The first picture is of it laying down.

• Graphic 45 - Bird watcher 8x8 paper pack and Bird watcher Ephemera Assortment

The second picture is of it standing up.

 This last picture is of the inside before I wrote my message, sorry the picture is blurry but if you go to Esther's blog she shows how she finished hers off, I either write too much or too big because I usually fill up the inside with my writing :)

I am sharing my card today with the Triple B challenge  

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

Connie

Christmas in June

 I was supposed to have these posted by yesterday but we had the most beautiful weather yesterday, a break in the heat and humidity, so it was very much enjoyed instead of posting cards.  We are so happy to have another beautiful day today!

Our challenge in the stamp group was to use our Die cut base plates for our backgrounds, at first I was thinking I don't have any Christmas ones but I found some that would work even though they aren't Christmas themed :)

I just recently found these ephemera pieces at Hobby Lobby so I had to pick them up and the deer worked great, I just added a little wreath to his neck :)

• Taylored Expressions - Birch Tree cutting plate and Door to door Decor (wreath) dies
• My Favorite things - Cloud stencil
• Poppystamps - Stitched Landscape die
• Floracraft - Diamond Dust (snow)
• Stampendous - Geo shapes sparkler stickers (berries on wreath)
• Paper Studio - Ephemera (deer)

After finishing this one I knew I had another die cut deer so made a second card.

• Taylored Expressions - Birch Tree Cutting plate and Birch tree accents (sign & deer) dies
• Poppy Stamps - Stitched landscape die
• Flower soft - Polar white
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words Christmas

• Tim Holtz - Simple Plaid Cutting die 
• 49 and market - Christmas Spectacular Ephemera (wreath and sentiment)
• Nuvo Crystals Glaze on berries on wreath

This next one I kept getting reflection of the pink shirt I was wearing when I did a straight on picture so I am just sharing the side view.

• Memory Box - Starry Night Background die
• Taylored Expressions - Bethlehem Border die
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words Christmas sentiment stamp
• Pink & Main - Sentiment strip die

Last for today because I have a few more but have a lot to do today so need to finish.

This one ended up not being as big as I thought when I was pulling all my dies out that I thought would work so I ended up making it into a mini slimline card but a little shorter because the die wasn't quite long enough to fill the card.

• Spellbinders - Symmetry in Space die
• Tim Holtz - Christmas Botanicals Layers ephemers (flowers) 
• DCWV - Foiled Cardstock
• Echo park - Christmas magic ephemera (sentiment)

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

Connie