Miss You and Enjoy

Hi and happy Tuesday,

I'm having lots of crafty time this week as work is pretty slow. I feel so fortunate that I have my hobby to keep me busy during these strange times.

Yesterday evening I made a couple of cards for a couple of weekly challenges. This first uses the sketch for the current CAS(E) this Sketch!

I'm using some of the new SU 2020-2022 In-color card stock and inks, a new SU stamp/die set as well as an older SU stamp set here. I've made a Slim-line card.

The new stamp and dies set is called The Right Triangle. There is a small die that cuts out tiny triangles and I used it to cut the vertical element. I noticed that the way I used it, some of the triangles looked like they made flowers, so I cut it from a scrap piece of white card stock and glued some of the tiny white triangles inside the cutouts in the Bumblebee paper. The Bumblebee piece is backed with Just Jade. The large square is two of the triangles in the stamp set stamped next to each other and cut out with a SU square die. It's backed with the scalloped layering die. The gold flower is from an older SU set called Flower Shop. The flower is punched out using the corresponding SU punch. The sentiment dies are SU Well Written dies, cut x 3 from SU Basic Black card stock and stacked together with liquid glue. I added some SU Shimmery Crystal Effects over the tops of the words. Finally, I've used some of the new in-color enamel dots for embellishments.

Here is the inside of the card.

The second card uses the sketch from the CAS on Sunday Challenge. I wanted to use the new in-colors again and decided that the new Concord & 9th Scattered Dots Turnabout set would make a good background.

The coffee cup is from the C&9th Coffee Blend Turnabout set. As you can see, I angled the center square, I liked it better with the large coffee cup.

Here is the inside of this card. I've used another C&9th Turnabout set called Retro Petals for the sentiments.

Thanks for checking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: SU The Right Triangle and Flower Shop sets, Concord & 9th Coffee Blend, Retro Petals and Scattered Dots Turnabout sets
Paper: SU Bumblebee, Misty Moonlight, Just Jade, Basic Black, and Whisper White card stock
Ink: SU Bumblebee, Misty Moonlight, Just Jade, Cinnamon Cider
Other: SU The Right Triangle, Well Written, Square/Scalloped Square dies, Die-namics Stitched Square die, Concord &9th Coffee Blend dies, SU Flower Shop punch, Misti, Gemini Jr, SU in-color enamel dots, SU Shimmery Crystal Effect, liquid glue, Gina K foam squares, SU mini Dimensionals

Just Saying Hello

Happy Monday peeps,

I recently received my order of some of newly released products from Pretty Pink Posh. I love the stencils and the stamp sets! And the dies. Can't forget the dies! For my first card using some of the new goodies, I used Claire's sketch for this week's Paper Players Challenge.

The card base is Gina K Lucky Clover card stock. I used one of the stencils and a blending brush with Lucky Clover ink to ad the Jungle leaves and flowers. The second panel is also made using new stencils from PPP, Gina K inks and blending brushes. The flowers and berries are heat embossed with clear EP. The new stitched leaf border die is cut from the same Lucky Clover paper and sponged with Fresh Asparagus ink and glued with liquid glue. The monkeys are stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored with Copics, cut out with the set dies, and arranged on panels cut using Hero Arts nesting dies. The greeting is embossed with white EP on SU Poppy Parade paper. Finally, I added a few red pearls along the leaf border.

Here's the inside of the card. The sentiment here and on the front are from the new PPP set called Simple Sentiments.

These stamps couldn't be any sweeter! Thanks for stopping in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Monkey Friends and Simple Sentiments sets by Pretty Pink Posh
Paper: Gina K Lucky Clover, SU Whisper White and Poppy Parade card stocks
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark, Gina K Lucky Clover, Fresh Asparagus, Ocean Mist, Red Hot, Wild Dandelion, Key Lime ink cubes
Other: PPP Monkey Friends dies, Stitched Leaf Border dies, Hero Arts Nested Rectangle dies, clear and white embossing powders, heat tool, PPP Stencils, TE Blending brushes, Misti, Gemini Jr, Gina K foam squares, red pearls

Hello

Hi peeps,

How was your weekend? Hoping it was relaxing and filled with lots of crafty time. I did "chores" yesterday, grocery shopping, the cleaners, laundry, etc. Then we had a "social distance" happy hour with friends in the evening which was fun. Today, I did spend several hours stamping and making cards for challenges.

This post has my card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge. I love how this card turned out so I made three more.

I really wanted to use this Concord & 9th Turnabout flower set even though the circle is a little larger than the sketch image, but I think it works okay. The background stamp is from Concord and 9th, as is the sentiment die. For the die, I cut three for each card, glued them together and covered them with Glossy Accents. For embellishments, I added several Pretty Pink Posh gems to each card.

Here are pictures of all four cards, and the insides of the cards. The inside sentiments are from the Dahlia Turnabout set. All four cards are the same designs in different colors.

Thanks for looking in,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: DahliaTurnabout set, Brushed Stripes Background set both by Concord & 9th

Paper: SU Whisper White, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Magenta Madness, and Basic Black, TE Blue card stocks

Ink: Various Gina K ink cubes, SU Magenta Madness, SU Taken With Teal, Altenew orange and gold inks, Memento tuxedo black

Other: Hello die from Concord & 9th Forever Flower set, Hero Arts Rounded Corner Nesting Rectangle dies, Spellbinder Circle dies, Gina K foam squares and Connect glue, Pretty Pink Posh gems, Misti, Gemini Jr

Thank You

Hi peeps and Happy Thursday evening,

I hope all are doing well.  I for one am looking forward to the weekend. I had a fairly busy week for work this week, spending the last two days doing training. It's really too much talking!

I have a couple more Thank You cards for Joanne's them challenge at the Paper Players. These are made with the Concord & 9th Big Thank You stamp and coordinating die set.

For the rainbow card, I used blending brushes to blend the rainbow colors on a piece of white card stock. I cut the die from the front of a side folded card base, trimmed the rainbow panel to fit and glued it to the back of the card front. I used the tiny strips that were trimmed down the sides. The two greetings on the front are from the same stamp set.

For the second card, I decided to make a more masculine card by using the "thank you" cut from the first card. I cut another thank you from patterned paper and glued it to the first. The card base is made from Neenah Desert Storm and I ran the front of the card through the SU Pinewoods Planks Dynamic embossing folder. I sponged some Gina K kraft ink over the front before gluing the die cut on.

Who remembers Hodgepodge Hardware? I was looking for something else and ran across the tin and thought I'd use some on this masculine card. I really like how this card is CAS but with some great texture.

As I usually post the insides of my cards, here they are. I'm sure you can figure out which is which, LOL.

Thanks for checking in and have a fab Friday!
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Big Thank You set by Concord & 9th
Paper: SU Whisper White thick and regular, Basic Black, Neenah Desert Storm
Ink: Gina K ink cubes in rainbow shades, amalgam black, kraft, and warm cocoa; VersaMark
Other: Big Thank You set dies, white embossing powder, heat tool, Gemini Jr, Misti, TE Blending Brushes, SU Hodgepodge Hardware, Gina K Connect liquid glue

From the Bottom of My Heart and One Cool Pineapple

Hello Stamping Friends,

Happy Monday. I had a very productive weekend making cards and had a fun time doing so, which is kind of the point. I decided to get on the Slim Line band wagon and make  a couple of tall and skinny cards. I've ordered some dies for this size card, but they haven't arrived yet. These two happen to be one layer cards.

Both of these were made yesterday afternoon for Joanne's CAS challenge for the Paper Players. I had made the pineapple card first and decided it really didn't fit all of the CAS characteristics, so I made a second card that has more open "white" space, and still one layer.

This white card is made using the SSS set called Hello Darling. It's all just simple stamping on a Whisper White thick card base measuring 3.5 x 8.5 inches. The sentiments are stamped on strips of Whisper White and Basic Black and glued under the bike. That is the only added layering on the card.

This pineapple card I really like. The images from the SSS One Cool Pineapple set are stamped randomly with Memento tuxedo black ink and then colored with Polychromos colored pencils. After the coloring was completed, I covered all of the sunglasses with Glossy Accents to make them look glassy, and the little hearts are brushed with Wink of Stella. The card base is the SU retired Barely Banana card stock cut to 3.5 x 8.5 inches.

These were fun to make. Looking forward to the dies that I ordered to make more.

Thanks for looking in and have a nice and safe week,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: All Simon Says Stamp; One Cool Pineapple set, Hello Darling set, Thankful Flowers set (inside greeting on yellow card)
Paper: SU Whisper White thick, Basic Black, Barely Banana card stock
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark, Gina K cubes in various pinks, peaches, reds, greens and yellow shades
Other: white embossing powder, heat tool, Misti, Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils, Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella

Let's Celebrate

Hello,

I hope your Saturday has been relaxing. Mine certainly has. I've been playing in my craft room most of the day. I did some coloring using colored pencils on Kraft card stock and I've made two Fourth Of July cards.

Here is one of the Fourth Of July cards that I made. I've used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for my layout.

The stamp set is a very old Stampin' Up set called July 4th. I stamped the three fireworks stamps using two shades of blue and two shades of red randomly until most of the front of the card was covered. The star stamp is from this same set. I stamped two in the lighter shade of blue and punched them out using the SU medium star punch. These are layered onto slightly larger star dies cut from SU Poppy Parade paper. The sentiment strip stamp and the sentiment are from Avery Elle. I added several silver sequins and tiny clear rhinestones to the centers of the fireworks images.

The images for the inside are from the 4th of July Wreath set by Taylored Expressions.

I'll post more of the cards that I made today in the next few days.

Have a nice Sunday and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: July Fourth set by Stampin' Up, Happy 4th of July Wreath set by Taylored Expressions, Banner Bits by Avery Elle
Paper: SU Whisper White, Poppy Parade, and Brilliant Blue card stock
Ink: Gina K ink cubes Blue Raspberry, Blue Denim, Red Hot, Cherry Red, VersaMark
Other: SU star die, SU star punch, white embossing powder, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, sequins, rhinestones, Dimensionals

Life is Better. . .

Happy Friday all,

My work computer is being updated this morning so while it's unavailable, I have a chance to post my Paper Players Challenge card for this week. I'm just squeaking it in, LOL.

A few days ago I watched another of Jennifer McGuire's technique videos called Faux Die Cut Monoprinting and decided to give it a try. I made several attempts, some worked pretty well and some, not so much. But, one that did come out pretty cool is the background for today's card.

In the instructions, Jennifer recommends using inks that are water sensitive such as Distress or Distress Oxide. Since this week's PP challenge is a color challenge, I wanted to see if the SU inks would work. I had good luck with the Real Red and the Tranquil Tide, but the Basic Gray inks is clearly a different formula. As you can see in my picture, no color for the Basic Gray ink transferred using this technique. I tried it a few times with always the same no color transfer.

The die that I used is the Taylored Expressions Quatrefoil Cutting Plate. For this particular background, after running everything through my die cutting machine, and before removing the die, I used purple tape over the  whole back side so that I could pull the pieces out still in their original formations. I then used this whole piece as the mono print. It really is a pretty cool technique.

The flower dies and the stamped sentiment are from the SU set called Peaceful Moments. After gluing everything in place I added some silver sequins to compliment the gray card stock.

For the inside, I used the large stamp from the new Blossoms in Bloom set, stamping off to get a light image. The sentiment stamp is also from this set.

If you are looking for a new technique to try, head over to Jennifer's blog and check this one out. I think you'll have fun.

Thanks for looking in and have a great Friday!
Colleen


Supplies
Stamps: Peaceful Moments set and Blossoms in Bloom set by Stampin' Up
Ink: SU Basic Gray, Real Red, Tranquil Tide, VersaMark
Paper: SU Thick Whisper White, Real Red, Tranquil Tide and Basic Gray card stocks
Other: Misti, Gemini Jr,  Big Shot, TE Quatrefoil Cutting Plate, SU Peaceful Moments dies, white embossing powder, heat tool, liquid glue, dimensionals, sequins

Treat Yo'self

Hi peeps,

It's a gloomy Monday here on the San Diego coast. I'm home because my car is in getting a new tire. I had a flat yesterday when we were heading to meet friends for dinner. It's always something!

Dinner was early so there was plenty of time to make a card before bed. I love the colors this week on the Sunday Stamps Challenge. Using those with the current Freshly Made Sketches layout, I made this bright, summer themed card.

The stamp set is the Cool Treats Turnabout set by Concord & 9th. It's a really fun summer set with great matching dies. The inks are mostly from SU. The brightest blue is from Hero. After cutting and stamping the snow cone and popsicle I used some Wink of Stella over each to give them an icy look. As usual, that doesn't photograph well. The sentiment is heat embossed with white EP.

Her is the inside. This is made using the largest popsicle die and more sentiment images from the stamp set.

I hope your Monday is a good one. Thanks for stopping by,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Cool Treats Turnabout set by Concord & 9th

Paper: SU Watermelon Wonder, Balmy Blue, and Blueberry Bushel card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock, Neenah Desert Storm card stock

Ink: SU Watermelon Wonder, Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel, Hero Summer Sky cube, VersaMark

Other: C&9th set dies, Die-namics Stitched Square dies, Waffleflower Nested Rectangle dies, Misti, Gemini Jr, white embossing powder, heat tool, Wink of Stella, dimensionals

Sending Birthday Joy

Hello,

Since I was home and on PTO today due to our bathroom remodel, I had a chance to do some stamping. I also did some drawer reorganization in my craft room. Last night, I was playing around with some Gina K ink cubes by applying the ink directly to some paper to make a variety of squares. Using my SU 1" punch, I punched out the squares and glued some of the them down on a piece of white card stock. I set it aside until I figured out what to make with it and this afternoon, I used it for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch!

Using the Misti, I stamped one of the flowers from the Altenew Wallpaper Art set with Gina K black amalgam ink. I stamped it several times to get a darker image. Next I cut a flower mask from Gina K masking paper and then stamped the leaves. After the stamping was completed, I matted the panel with white and black card stocks. On the card base I stamped the same flower image with Gina K Red Hot ink, matching one of the colors used to make the squares.

The large sentiment is heat embossed with white EP onto black card stock, and the smaller sentiment is stamped with Red Hot ink onto a white strip. The sentiments are from the SSS Leafy Frames set.

The inside is super simple. I heat embossed the sentiment using white EP on a panel of Poppy Parade card stock.

I bought a new toy. I use a label maker quite a bit for organizing my stamp sets and dies. My old one finally wore out. The tape cut mechanism quit working so I have to pull the tape out far enough to cut it with scissors. That is a major waste of the tape, so I decided to buy a new one. I got the P-touch Embellish machine. It does a lot! They have patterned wash tape cartridges and ribbon cartridges. Tons of fonts too. Very fun!

Have a nice Monday evening and thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Altenew Wallpaper Art set, Simon Says Stamp Leafy Frames and Sketched Flowers sets
Paper: SU Whisper White thick and regular card stock, SU Poppy Parade card stock
Ink: Various Gina K ink cubes in reds and pinks including Red Hot, Gina K black amalgam ink, VersaMark
Other: Misti, heat tool, white embossing powder, SU 1" punch, Gina K Masking paper, foam tape and Dimensionals

You Radiate Kindness

Hi peeps,

I hope your weekend was nice and relaxing. Mine certainly was and I enjoyed it. Since it's Sunday, it's time for a new Paper Players Challenge. This week Anne Marie has a fun and colorful theme challenge called Sunshine and Rainbows.

I decided to try something different using the Concord and 9th Sunshine Turnabout stamp. Instead of using four colors appropriate for sun rays, I wanted to use it to radiate rainbow colors. In order to do this, I stamped it as you normally would with four colors and then labeled the rays with both numbers, 1-4, and with the rainbow colors. Using this "map," I was able to stamp the rainbow colors in the appropriate red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet order.

The front sentiments are from the same turnabout set and are stamped using Gina K black amalgam ink and heat embossed with clear EP. They are cut out using cloud dies from the Concord & 9th Brighter Days set. I used the B000 Copic to outline around the edges of the clouds then popped them in the center of the background panel using foam tape and Dimensionals.

The sunshine die is also part of the Brighter Days set. I first colored a scrap of Whisper White with a bright yellow Copic and then colored over that using the Florescent Orange Copic before using the die to cut the sun. After gluing it to the back of the cloud die, I used yellow Stickles on the ends of the rays and orange Stickles on the lower parts of the rays. Since you can't have a rainbow without some rain, I added three jewel raindrops as embellishments.

More stamps from the C&9th Brighter Days set are used to make the inside of the card. The sentiment is heat embossed here too.

This was not a quick card to make, but certainly a fun one to make!

We are having a little remodeling done in one of our bathrooms. It is one with a bathtub-shower combination and we are having the tub removed and made into a walk-in shower. Looking forward to  having something new. I hope you all have a nice week ahead. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen


Supplies
Stamps: Sunshine Turnabout and Brighter Days sets by Concord & 9th
Paper: SU Pool Party and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Gina K and Taylored Expressions ink cubes, Gina K black amalgam ink, VersaMark, Copics
Other: Brighter Days set dies, clear embossing powder, heat tool, raindrop gems, yellow and orange Stickles, Gemini Jr, Misti, foam tape and Dimensionals

Heat Wave

Hello,

For my second post this evening I have a card inspired by the current Retro Rubber theme challenge, Summer time, and the current Freshly Made Sketches sketch. I've used this Avery Elle set many times over the years and it's one of my favorite to color. I thought it perfect for the Summer Time theme. I found this fun Hawaiian themed patterned paper in my stash and I thought it would pair well with the stamp set.

I do not have any diamond shaped dies so I used the SU banner die instead. After cutting it from some brown card stocks, I embossed them with the SU Coastal Weave embossing folder. The stamped images are colored using Copics and cut out with the corresponding set dies. The banners are popped up with foam tape and the images are popped up using Dimensionals. For embellishments, I added tiny clear rhinestones to the centers of the two small flowers, and added a few enamel flowers too.

I didn't put a sentiment on the inside, yet, because I'm not sure who and what I'll use this card for. I did add another image from the stamp set though.

I'm not sure exactly how old this set is, but I know I've had it for several years. The retro challenge is to use stamps at least one year old.

Thanks for checking in,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Aloha set by Avery Elle

Paper: TE Gold, light & dark brown card stock, Concord & 9th white card stock, ??? patterned papers

Ink: Gina K Charcoal Brown ink cube, Copics

Other: Avery Elle Aloha set dies, SU banner dies, SU Coastal Weave embossing folder, Gemini Jr, Misti, rhinestones, enamel flowers, foam tape, Dimensionals, liquid glue

You Blow Me Away

Hi peeps and Happy Saturday afternoon,

I was looking around blog-land today for some inspiration and found the latest word challenge on the CASology blog. The word for the current challenge is "wind." I thought this fun to color dragon stamp from SugarPea Designs would be appropriate. Over the years I've colored this image in many colors. Today I choose purple. I used various Copic V shades for his body and greens for his back scales and toe nails. After coloring the dragon and bubbles, I made a mask and stamped the heart background using the Concord and 9th Hugs and Kisses Turnabout stamp using lavender and light pink inks. The card base and the stamped panel are SU Whisper White. I added some dimension by layering a couple of card stock pieces under the stamped panel.

Here is the inside of the card, using more images from the same SugarPea set.

Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Blow Me Away set by SugarPea Designs
Paper: SU Whisper White and Gorgeous Grape card stock
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, Altenew ink spots in light pinks and lavender, SU Gorgeous Grape
Other: Misti, Gemini Jr., SSS rectangle die