Stenciled Christmas

 In my stamp group our Christmas challenge for August was to use Stencils on our cards, I didn't realize how many I had until I started going through some older Advent calendars that I hadn't used.

These first two cards I used Glitter paste that was in the Diamond Press advent calendar last year.

• Echo Park - Christmas Wonderland Stencil
• Diamond Press - Glitter Paste Iridescent
• Kraft Paper
• Hero Arts - Oval Woodgrain Frames die
• Tim Holtz - Large Funky Festive and Funky Festive dies
• Memory Box - Valley Deer trio die
• Taylored Expressions - Evergreen die

• Echo Park - Christmas Wonderland Stencil
• Diamond Press - Glitter Paste Iridescent
• Kraft Paper
• Spellbinders - Tweet Cardinal
• Tim Holtz - Large Funky Festive and Funky Festive dies

• Simon Says - One Layer Winter Floral stencil
• Distress inks and Gold ink for flower centers
• Spellbinders - Holiday Sentiment dies, layered on Vellum and fussy cut

This next one was from the Crafter's companion advent calendar, the tree was in the center of the little square stencil and then the Merry & Christmas were off to the side.

• Crafter's Companion Advent Calendar Tree and Sentiment stencil one layer stencil
• Sizzix - Tags Rounded die
• Hot off the Press - 63 thin line border stickers

The last two was a 3 layer stencil. I added Nuvo drops to the first and Gold paste to the second cards bow. The stencil was purchased at Michaels last year.

• Recollections - Wreath 3 layering stencils
• Distress inks 
• Nuvo Crystal drops - Autumn Red
• Diamond Press - Happy Holidays sentiment stamp set

Close up to show the red dots, I don't suggest using the nuvo drops on the stencil unless maybe you go much faster than I did because it was hard to clean it off the stencil compared to the paste.

This last card I did not realize I didn't get enough paste on the bow until I was getting them ready to post just now, I will have to go back and do that but I wanted to get these loaded today and didn't want to wait for drying time.

• Recollections - Wreath 2 layer stencil
• Distress inks
• Lunar Paste - Slippery When wet (on bow)
• Hero Arts - Merry Christmas message stamp set

So that is it, I got my 6 cards done for the month of August :)

Hope you are enjoying your weekend,

Connie

Autumn

 I am pretty excited about making Autumn cards again, since it is my favorite season.  Our stamp group got together for our monthly teams meeting on line and we did a fold and a technique.  We started with watercolor paper and sponged on some Distress Oxide inks, then we took leaf stamps (I used clear stamps and my stamp positioner) covered the whole background with them, spritz the stamps with water and then stamped, pushing down a little bit and letting sit for a few seconds to let the water settle well into the paper. 

 I will have to say that you do want a good quality watercolor paper, because the others turned out really nice and you could barely see mine, I used Artist Loft brand watercolor paper. They suggested I try a thicker paper, and I did have some Tim Holtz mixed media paper and that worked well as you can see.  So just a tip if you want to try this and if it doesn't seem to work well, try it with another paper. It gives a nice ghosted background and I used lined stamps, not solid like it looks.

• Crafter's Companion - Tumbling Leaves stamp for background sentiment heat embossed w/gold
• Distress Oxide - Lucky Cloves, Candid Apple, Rusty Hinge and Spiced Marmalade for background
• Tim Holtz - Leaf Fragments cut from smooshed background
• Gold Paint splatters

The inside is a fold, we added a die cut piece to either side of the fold, and then added our stamped images to that, also added a die cut on the left and on the right I will hand write my sentiment.

• Spellbinders - Foliage die set and Labels 20
• Crafter's companion - Tumbling Leaves stamp and die set
• Scrap strips of paper at the fold

I had done the inside before added the front panel which was a mistake because I applied my front panel with the card upside down so my stamped leaves are upside down, I wanted them the other way but I guess it works. At least I added the fern last so that is facing the way I wanted it too :)

I was just watching some youtube video's after posting my card and this looks like the same technique we did HERE

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

Connie

Layer Stencil

 Playing with more goodies from last years advent calendar. This time a 3 layer stencil from Diamond Press. I did the stenciling in the middle, using cutting dies to layer stitching lines above it and then adding a piece of paper with a die cut bow and string to the base, just a different way of using these smaller stencils. This card looks like it should have come together quickly but boy did I run into all kinds of troubles and it ended up taking me almost 3 hours, you just never know looking at a card how long it took to make.

• Diamond Press - Advent Calendar, 3 layer Stencil
• Memory Box - Country Stitches
• Impression Obsessions - Tied Line die
• Crafter's Square - Sentiment Stamp

I would like to share my card with Stencil Fun Challenge Optional Trees or leaves

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

Connie

Pretty Papers

 Oh wow I saw this card kit at the Stamp store in Missouri and thought is that ever pretty, I am a sucker for pretty card kits :)

• 3 Quarter Designs - Delicate Harmony Card Kit
• Seam Binding

What did I tell you, all those pretty blues just caught my eye. The seam binding is some my Mother had when she passed away, I added it to the bottom and then tied a piece into a bow, all the papers and ephemera and sentiment were all in the kit.

I would like to share my card with the Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge Summertime

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

Connie

Masculine

 When I saw the Seize the Birthday challenge that was no flowers, the first thing that came to mind was a masculine card, although my hubby has told me that men can too enjoy a pretty flower :)

• Basic Grey - Periphery Paper
• The Greetery - Wood slice die
• Tim Holtz - Funky Foliage dies
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny Words Birthday sentiment stamp

I was also in need of a thinking of you card, so I kind of kept with the same theme for my second card.

• BasicGrey - Periphery Paper
• The Greetery - Wood Slices die
• Tim Holtz - Funky Nature dies
• PPD - Stitched Banner die
• Gina K - Tag Lines sentiment stamp

We are actually enjoying color days now, it feels so good to be able to be outside in the garden and get things done it was looking a bit overwhelming out there with the weeds and my wildflower garden needed a bit of thinning out, our peppers and tomatoes are coming in good so we have been enjoying all the goodness from the garden, so thankful!

Thanks So much for taking the time to stop by today, I hope you enjoy a great weekend!

Connie

Super Star

 I am giving more love to those stamps we all bought at Michaels years ago when they had them out by the check out stands for $1 or was it $1.50?  I can't even remember anymore. The star border is from stamps in the same set.

• Studio G - Stamp
• PPD - Mini Stitched Square die
• DieVersions - Stitched Nesting stars dies
• Darice - Nesting Wavy Squares die
• WeRMemory Keepers - For The Record paper

I also have a card to share that I gave a friend recovering from surgery. Used a coloring card on this one.

• Christian Art Gifts - Psalms in Color, colored w/markers
• Memory Box - Stitched Rectangle Layers die

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and say Hi,

Connie

Believe

 Masculine birthday for today, I haven't used this bird in forever it was time to let him come out and shine again.  Added some feather die cuts with him.

• Studio G - Bird Stamp
• Spellbinders - Labels dei
• Taylored Expressions - Fine Feathers dies
• Martha Stewart - Circle punch
• Stamps of life - Minis 4 circles stamp
• Carta Bella - Metropolitan Girl paper

I am sharing my card today with Triple B Challenge 

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Difficult time

 I have had to make a lot of sympathy cards here lately, this time our good friend lost her Dad, it was a hard road for him, he had been in and out of hospital and rehab centers and they thought he had finally come through and then went down hill fast.

I did a bit of ink smooshing onto water color paper, then stamped the flowers. I added some stickles to the flowers since the detail of the stamping wasn't so good on the watercolor paper.

• Unity Stamp - Insightful Meadows stamp
• Stickles - Diamond
• Taylored Expression - Care & Comfort II sentiment stamp
• Ink smooshed on watercolor paper for background

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

Simply Clean & Simple Blog - Optional Cute animals

Word Art Wednesday

Sisterhood of Crafters Encouragement

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

Connie

Loving Memory

 My friend I have known all my life just lost her last furbaby, she had 3 cats and now she has an empty house. I took a picture from her facebook and asked hubby to do another AI, it was kind of hard because most of her pictures were all close ups or she was in the picture too and I wanted just the cat.  She was very touched by it, so that is what matters.

• Picture that has been AI'd
• PPD - Wavy Stitched Rectangle die
• Memory Box - papers
• Taylored Expressions - Care & Comfort II stamp set
• Altenew - Nature's wonder enamel dots

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

Connie

Thinking of you

 More cards for my friend she asked if I could do a couple Thinking of you cards too, so I did very similar layouts on these cards. On the first card I cut out of white cardstock then colored the die cuts and put the little pieces back into the center of the flower, the leaves had a bit of inking on them too.

• Memory Box - Zinnia Bouquet and Distressed Baptisia collage dies
• Stampendous - Orchid Greetings stamp set

This second one I just cut the flowers out of Vellum, I added them to the background by putting a little bit of glue on my craft mat and then taking a sponge and dipping it in the glue, and sponging off a little to the side and then sponging the glue onto the back of the vellum, it dried pretty clear and I can't see the glue as much that way, but you want to make sure you use a glue that dries clear, I used the Nuvo glue.

• Memory Box - Bella Bouquet and Distressed Baptisia Collage dies
• My Sentiments Exactly - Thinking of you sentiment stamp

We went to Michigan this past weekend, I didn't get any pictures, even of family, I totally forgot, so sad. It was so Hot that we even didn't do our normal go somewhere for the last day, we just came straight home.

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

Connie

For Friend

 A friend of mine asked me if I could make some cards for her, she wanted all sorts and this first one I wasn't sure what she would want to use it for so I didn't add a sentiment.

• Graphic 45 - Steampunk Debutante paper pack and image, butterfly fussy cut and added to top
• Martha Stewart - Border punch

This second card uses some papers and tag from a magazine and a pack of sentiments.

• Hot off the press - Cardmakers' Card Quotes
• Scallop die unknown
• Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine - Country Diary of Edwardian Lady, paper and tag
• Brad
• EK Success - Flower punch w/ Liquid Pearls, copper for center

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

Connie

Sketch

 When I was looking through Pinterest the other day a sketch came up with 3 overlapping circles and I had these cardstock circles in my scraps from some project I didn't end up using them, and thought I could use them on the next birthday card I needed, I just had to come up with a third circle, what should I use, then I thought about a flower, which led me to my ephemera pack that I new had flowers in it and found one that was just the right size to use :) Of course saw this bird too that I thought would be nice.

• Paper Studio - Die Cut flower and bird ephemera
• Scrap circles
• Crafter's Square - 24 piece sentiments
• Paper Studio - Wildflower sticker pack (dots w/nuvo crystal glaze added)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, Have a great weekend!

Connie

Vintage

 For those of us in the U.S. Michaels has been selling some of their own brand of ephemera, embossing folders, dies, I have bought a few of them and this ephemera pack was just my style, it  has a Vintage feel to the ephemera and it is both images like this bird and the pack also had acetate pieces like this lace piece that I mounted onto some cardstock that I did a little faux stitching on.

• Recollections - Ephemera pack
• Spellbinders - A2 Matting basics A dies
• Crafter's Companion - Advent calendar paper

Just incase you decide to go looking at their new stuff, the backs of the packs show a few pictures of what is inside, but there are many more that they don't show.

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

Connie

Vase of Flowers

 For the next birthday card I needed I thought it was time to use more from my Advent calendar, I have a lot yet to use before the next one comes out :)  I found this vase with flowers that I thought would be very pretty.  I had recently had a box with some nice corrugated and thought I hadn't used that in a long time on my cards, and I like the look, I left some of the pieces of white that was over it and inked it up a bit.

• Teresa Collins - Tell your story papers
• Spellbinders Advent calendar 2024 (flowers and vase dies) sentiment banner
• Enamel dots
• Torn cardboard, bits of paper left on with some inking

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope you have a great week,

Connie

Distressed Florals

 Oh my goodness when I saw this paper pack I kept telling myself I don't need any paper but the bad side of me kept saying but you love this look, LOL!! So yep I bought some more paper, I just loved the vintage look of it. I also had to use the new little birdie I got, isn't he cute with his chubbiness :)

• Crafter's Companion - Distressed Florals paper
• PoppyStamps - Nordic Petalpoint bird die
• Recollections - Bling on a roll
• Gemini - Opulent Swirls die
• Spellbinders - Advent calendar sentiment die

I hope you all are enjoying the start of your weekend, we certainly are, we have made a break in those terrible temperatures, we have been enjoying our time outdoors once again!!

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

Connie