Happy Birthday

Hello,

I have a bright and very colorful card for you today. The layout inspiration is from the current Sunday Stamps Challenge. I liked the three images along the bottom in the sketch and decided to use these fun flowers from Gina K.

The background is made using the Double Background Stamp 1/Grip Mat from GKD, stamped in black ink on white card stock. The flower set comes with coloring stencils, which I used with blending brushes to add color to the flowers and leaves. I used the GKD Gingham embossing folder on the black strip at the bottom, although it's hard to see the detail in this photo.

On the inside, I used another flower from the same stamp set and a greeting from a new GKD Birthday set.

Thanks for checking in,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Bold Summer Blooms set, Cheers To Another Year set, and Double Background 1/Grip Mat all Gina K Designs

Paper: Gina K Designs card stock

Ink: Gina K Designs

Other: From GKD:  Bold Summer Blooms coloring stencils, blending brushes, Single and Double Stitched dies, black enamel dots, Connect glue

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Happy Weekend Peeps,

Hope your's is off to a good start. I've gotten a couple of cards made this morning, just playing around with some new and some very old supplies, especially with this card. The embossing folder is new, the Spellbinders 3D EF for the December clubs and the first time I'm using it. The dies are very old, from Taylored Expressions. 

I decided to make a Valentine's Day card using non-traditional colors, and I quite like how the card turned out. The colors come from the new Color Hues Challenge, blue and white this time.

The greetings on both the front and the inside are from the Gina K Designs Mini set called Captured Heart. After cutting the heart doily, I decided to try stamping the sentiment along the top curve. It took a bit of finagling, but I managed to get it pretty well centered. It's heat embossed with white EP.

I've used a couple more very old Taylored Expressions doily dies on the inside with a letter image and greeting from the Captured Heart set.

I'm excited to watch the Australian Open opening day matches that start around 4:00 pm here on the Pacific Coast. Most of my evenings for the next two weeks will be spent watching tennis.

Enjoy your weekend,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Captured Hearts Mini set by Gina K Designs

Paper: Spellbinders card stock

Ink: Gina K Designs In the Navy and White craft

Other:Spellbinders Unlock My Heart 3D embossing folder, Taylored expressions doily dies and house die, Gina K Designs paper heart embellishment, Brutus Monroe white embossing powder

Birthday Balloons

Hello,

I'm playing along with LeAnne's color challenge at the Paper Players today with some stenciled balloons. This stamp, die and stencil set from Concord & 9th is called Bunch of Balloons. It's one of my "go to" birthday sets. For this card, I used another C&9th set for the front greeting, which is called Defined.

I used both the blue inks to stencil the balloons then stamped the strings with the Navy ink using an acrylic block. The sentiment is stamped with silver craft ink on Night of Navy card stock and heat embossed with silver EP. I cut it out using the corresponding dies from the set using silver card stock for the mat layer.

The card base is Night of Navy and I couldn't find my Misty Moonlight card stock, (I'm thinking it's one that I took to my mom's house), so I ink blended that layer. The balloons are cut with a SSS die. After layering everything up, I added some Concord & 9th silver embellishments.

For the inside, I used a newer Gina K birthday sentiment and a stamped balloon.

It took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do with these colors and I'm loving how they work with these birthday balloons, and now I have another birthday card for the 2026 stash.

Hope your week's off to a good start. I start PT for my broken wrist this afternoon.

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Bunch of Balloons and Defined sets from Concord & 9th, Cheers To Another Year set from Gina K Designs

Paper: Stampin' Up Navy and white, Spellbinders silver

Ink: Stampin' Up and Lisa Horton Cloud 9 Silver

Other: Simon Says Stamp Nested Domed Arches dies, Concord & 9th silver dots, Gina K Designs silver embossing powder, 

Warm & Cozy

Happy Monday Peeps,

I just returned home from my latest orthopedic doc appointment for my broken wrist. It's 6 weeks this week since the fall and all seems to be healing as expected. I can go without the brace at home, just no lifting more than 1-2 pounds. Now it's Physical Therapy time. I'm happy to get out of the brace, just as I was happy to have the cast removed two weeks ago. As the break is my non-dominate hand, I've been able to do pretty much what I want, it just takes a little longer, and luckily that has included stamping.

Today's card I made for the current Inspired By Challenge. I used the title, Winter Knits, and the sketch, for my inspiration. Most supplies are Concord and 9th. The stamp sets are pretty old, but I like them still.

I created the background using the knit looking snowflakes from the Cozy Christmas set by stamping it diagonally, alternating with Lakefront and Tidepool inks. Per the sketch I created a panel using Sorbet and Nectar card stock and inks, stamping the word COZY for a tone on tone look. The Cozy stamp is also fro the Cozy Christmas set.

The focal images, girl and sentiment, are from the Winter Wear set. They are stamped with black ink and colored with Copics, with the sentiment heat embossed with white EP on black.

The inside is super simple with just a couple of C&9th sentiments from the mini stamp set called Lots To Say, also an oldie.

The colors are the C&9th January combination called Rosewater and includes Sorbet, Nectar, Lakefront, Tidepool and Plumberry.

Have a great week!

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Cozy Christmas, Winter Wear and Lots to Say sets by Concord & 9th

Paper: Concord & 9th

Ink: Concord & 9th, Gina K Designs White craft, Copics

Other: Concord & 9th enamel dots, Concord & 9th Hearts card front die, Brutus Monroe white embossing powder, MFT Stitched Oval die

Cherish, Dream, Live

Hello and TGIF!

It's Word Week at Just Us Girls and Elizabeth's challenge word is "Encouragement." I have no shortage of sets with really good encouragement sentiments that I could have used, and I decided to go with this Gina K Designs mini set called Wonderfully Made. I paired it with this week's Freshly Made Sketch by Amy and some retired SU DSP.

I made two cards, one in green and blue shades, and one in purple and lavender shades.

 

The inside of both cards are finished using the same sentiment and images, again from other GKD Mini sets.

Do you have any weekend plans? I'm not sure if we do. Maybe dinner or the Wine Bar with friends tonight. 

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps:Wonderfully Made, Beautiful Sketches and Little Garden Silhouettes Mini stamp sets by Gina K Designs

Paper: Gina K Designs card stock and SU DSP

Ink: Gina K Designs and Copic Markers

Other: Gina K Designs Master Layouts 3 circle dies

Love You

Happy Weekend Peeps,

Today I have another Valentine's Day card to share. This one uses inspiration from two challenges. 

It's Die Week at Just Us Girls where Elizabeth's challenge is to use a cover plate die. For my card, I've used a Spellbinders Glimmer plate, but I've used it to dry emboss the background instead of hot foiling. In addition to using the Glimmer plate, I've also used another Spellbinders die set for all of the images on the card front.. 

The second challenge is the new Color Hues challenge where Bonnie's colors are gray and red. Perfect for our VD cards.

To make the background, I first ink blended Soft Stone and Red Velvet inks onto a white panel and then ran it through my die cutting machine with the Glimmer plate, using a silicone mat for embossing. After I used a Stormy Sky ink pad to highlight the raised areas.

The die cut images are all from the Spellbinders set called A Perfect Blend, a stitching die set. The large sentiment is included in the set and after gluing in place, I went over it with some Iridescent Glossy Details to give it some sparkle.

The inside of the card is very simple with just a couple of stamped Spellbinders sentiments.

 

Thanks for checking in and have a relaxing weekend!

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Simply Said and Sentimental Greetings sets from Spellbinders

Paper: Gina K Designs

Ink: Gina K Designs

Other: Spellbinders Soft Hearted Glimmer plate and A Perfect Blend die set, blending brushes, white embroidery floss, Concord & 9th Glossy Details, Connect glue and foam squares

You're the Cat's Pajamas

 Happy New Year all,

It's been many weeks since I've posted a card. Partly due to being on the east coast for a month and partly because of a broken left wrist. Yes, while on the east coast, I fell and fractured my left wrist. After 4 weeks in a cast, the cast was removed this past Monday and I'm in a brace now while it continues to heal. As long as I don't put much weight on it, I can manage to do some things, and luckily, I am right handed.

As yesterday was the last Wednesday of 2025, I wanted to participate in Amy's Woodblock Wednesday Challenge. Using the layout from the current Freshly Made Sketches, I made my first Valentine's Day card for 2026.

The background is made using the SSS Holiday Grid Stencil Pack. I only used the grid stencil to make the pink and peach squares. Then using some small Stampassions Valentine's stamps, I randomly stamped hearts and sayings in the squares.

After stamping and coloring the cat image, I fussy cut it and added it as the focal image per Narelle's sketch.

There was a column of the grid left over after trimming it for the front of the card so I used it for the inside of the card along with a very old SU greeting.

Here are the wood mounted stamps used for this card. FYI, this Cat's pPajamas stamp is one of my all time favorites, and I use it almost every year.

I hope everyone had a good holiday season and I'm wishing you all a Happy and Crafty 2026!

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Woodmounted Cat from Uptown Rubber Stamps and Heart and Greetings from Stampassions Art Stamps

Paper: Gina K Designs

Ink: Simon Says Stamp Positively Saturated inks and Gina K Designs

Other: Simon Says Stamp Holiday Grid stencil, blending brushes, Gina K Designs paper heart embellishments, Gina K Designs circle dies,