Happy Holidays and JOY

 Happy Sunday peeps,

I've been spending some quality time in my Craft Room making Holiday cards. I have a long way to go still, but I'm making progress. I have two to share today. One uses the current Freshly Made Sketch, and the second uses the current CAS(E) this Sketch! 

On the first card, I used some retired SU DSP and a SU embossing folder. The images are from a Lawn Fawn winter drink holiday set. I think my favorite part is the heart shaped "marshmallows." I followed Jen's sketch pretty closely, as I like this sketch and I'm planning on using it a few more times to get more Holiday cards made. It's also a great way to use up patterned paper, which I certainly need to do.

The inside of this one is super simple with just a greeting from the same Lawn Fawn set.

This second card is made following another one of Jennifer McGuire's techniques. This is super fun to do and I made several "letter press" images using the die cut. You can see Jennifer's video in this blog post.

The tree die is from a C&9th 2020 Holiday set. I used Distress Oxide ink to sponge over the vellum top layer of the die cuts. My photo doesn't show the dimension that I got using this technique, but IRL it's really pretty cool. The Peace, Love, Joy stamps are from Paper Smooches as is the JOY die cuts. I cut the large JOY dies in Real Red card stock and again using SU gold glimmer paper. The gold gems are from Pretty Pink Posh, and the snow falling background is done with a MFT stencil and a blending brush.

Here is the inside of this card using sentiments from another Paper Smooches Holiday stamp set.

Today's stamping will be all about birthday cards. Beginning in November and going through December, I have many family and friends with birthdays. 

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping in,

Colleen

Supplies Card 1:

Stamps: Thanks A Latte set - Lawn Fawn

Paper: SU Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock, SU Quilted Christmas DSP

Ink: Gina K Black Onyx, Copics, SU Real Red, Blushing Bride

Other: Lawn Fawn dies, SU Quilted Embossing Folder, Misti, Gemini Jr, SSS heart embellishments, Dimensionals

Supplies Card 2:

Stamps: Christmas Sampler and Spreding Joy sets - Paper Smooches

Paper: Tim Holtz water color, SSS thick white, SU Jade, Real Red, gold glimmer card stocks

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide, Gina K Black Onyx and Sea Glass, SU Real Red, Copics

Other: Concord & 9th All The Merrys dies, Paper Smooches Joy die, Gina K Master Layout 1 die set, Gemini Jr, Misti, Pretty Pink Posh gold gems, MFT Snow Falling stencil, blending brushes, Connect glue

MOCHACHOCALOVEYOUALATTE

Hi'ya peeps,

It's time for the 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I had to make a card for the first day. In between taking calls and fielding emails (my mgr is on PTO and I'm the "boss" today and next week), I managed to put together a card. Besides the blog hop, I'm posting to a few more challenges too. The sketch is based on  the current Mojo Monday sketch, and the colors come from the new As You See It challenge where Joanne has picked Daffodil Delight, Call Me Clover, Lovely Lipstick and Soft Suede.

I've used mostly Paper Smooches goodies to make my card today.

To make my card front, I started with the Paper Smooches Essential Stencil houndstooth pattern and Daffodil Delight and Call Me Clover inks using blending brushes to make the design on the left side of the card. I stamped the two greetings from the PS Caffeinated set onto white card stock and cut them out with a Die-namics Circle die and a Spellbinders Scalloped Circle die. The to-go coffee cup is stamped with Memento black, colored with SU Soft Suede Blends markers and a light beige Copic and cut out with the corresponding die. The design on the cup is made using the same essential stencil, only the scalloped design. The coffee circle label is an image in the stamp set and is stamped with Lovely Lipstick and cut out with it's die. After glueing everything in place, I decided it needed a bit of embellishing. I remembered the PS Cozy Coffee dies had the little coffee beans. I cut 5 out of Soft Suede card stock and then added two layers of clear embossing powder over them for a nice and shinny look.

For the inside of my card, I again used the houndstooth stencil this time with Daffodil Delight and Lovely Lipstick. The greeting comes from the PS Caffeinated Two set.

As I've said before, I don't drink coffee (I don't even like the smell) but I love to make these coffee themed cards. Go figure!

Happy Memorial Day holiday to all. Thanks for looking in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Paper Smooches Caffeinated and Caffeinated Two sets
Paper: SU Call Me Clover, Lovely Lipstick, Soft Suede and Concord & 9th white card stocks
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark, SU Call Me Clover, Daffodil Delight, Lovely Lipstick, Soft Suede, SU Soft Suede Blends markers and Copic E43 marker
Other: Paper Smooches Stencil, Die-namics and Spellbinders Circle dies, Paper Smooches Caffeinated set dies and Cozy Coffee dies, clear EP, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, Diemensionals, liquid glue

Spring Card Camp Day 10 Projects

Happy Friday afternoon peeps,

I was on a roll yesterday evening making cards. I made four cards! Two of them are for Day 10's project for the Spring Card Camp 2020.

This class was taught by Lydia Fiedler. She showed us how to use sparkly paste with stencils. I just happen to have 5 new tubs of the Rena K Designs Electro pop glitz.  One of the cards is made with a large circle cut into a piece of card stock with a circle die and the other is made using a Rena K stencil.

Aren't these fun and bright. The flower card is made with a Rena K stencil and a Rena K stamp and dies set. The inks are also Rena K electro pop inks. The kitty cat card is made with Paper Smooches stamps and dies.

Using a craft palette knife, I smoothed a fairly thin layer of the glitter gel over the stencils. After they were throughly dry, I trimmed the panels for the card layouts, then added the stamped and die cut images. The flowers have bright yellow enamel dots for the centers. I choose to leave a sentiment off the front and just go with one one the inside. The images are all from the same Rena K stamp set.

Here is the inside of the kitty card.

I'll be back with a couple more cards that I made last night later.

Thanks for stopping in,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Sending Sunshine set by Rena K and Nine Lives set by Paper Smooches
Paper: SU Pink Passion  and Whisper White card stock, Taylored Expressions light pink textured card stock
Ink: Rena K Electro pop inks, Memento tuxedo black, Copics
Other: Rena K stencil, Rena K Poppin Pink Glitz gel, Rena K and Paper Smooches corresponding dies, Spellbinders circle die, enamel dots, Misti, Gemini Jr, Diemensionals

Hello

Hi again,

This is my second post today. I have a card that I made last night using a brand new Paper Smooches set that I think is super fun. It's got that mid-century modern vibe, so right up mine and Mr. Personal Chef's alley. We have our living room and in-kitchen dining area decorated in the style.

The sketch comes from this week's Freshly Made Sketches.

The card base is a side folding note card of thick Whisper White card stock. I dry embossed the front with a We R Memory Keepers EF. The horizontal element is a piece of Rina K Electro-pop Neon Flock in Screamin' Green. So Fun! 

The PS images are stamped on regular WW card stock using Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics using colors appropriate for the mid-century modern design. I fussy cut them out and used Dimensionals to pop them up per the sketch. The sentiment is part of the set and it's stamped using Rina K Electro-pop Screamin' Green ink and cut out with a small oval die. I added three little candy dots for embellishment.

On the inside I've used the other two images from the PS stamp set. The sentiment here is from Gina K. and fits the theme of the card perfectly.

I cut a very small strip of the flock paper to use as a base for the pot and plant. I angled the sofa slightly and free hand drew in the wood floor. 

I really love how this card turned out. 

Thanks for looking in, and again, everyone stay safe and well!

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Abode set by Paper Smooches and Scripty Encouragement set by Gina K

Paper: SU thick and regular Whisper White card stock, Rina K Electro-pop Neon Flock

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics, Rina K Electro-pop Screaming' Green

Other: Misti, We R Memory Keepers embossing folder, Hero Arts Infinity Die, Gemini Jr, Dimensionals, Candy dots, liquid glue

Enjoy this Day

Good morning to all,

After we finished dinner last evening, I sat down to make a card for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. I had in my mind to use bees for the three little elements and went looking through my sets to find something appropriate. I ended up combining two sets, one from Paper Smooches and one from Honey Bee. I paired the bees and butterfly images with some older flowery DSP from SU to make this rather cheerful card.

The insects are stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored with Copic Markers. The largest bee was stamped on a scrap piece of card stock and fussy cut out to pop up over the edge of the patterned papers. I added some Wink of Stella to the wings and three little enamel flowers for embellishments.

On the inside of the card I used the bug image from the Paper Smooches set and the inside sentiment is from Concord & 9th.

I had another piece of the DSP left over so I made another card with the strip of DSP down the side. In this case, I cut the length down to make a square 4.25 x 4.25" card. The stamp image and sentiment are from the C&9th set called Forever Flower, one of their newer sets. The big flower is stamped using Hero Arts purple ink. The sentiment is heat embossed with white EP and I've added gold twine and gold sequins for embellishments.

And the inside of this card. The sentiment and heart image are from the same C&9th set.

As far as work today, I did go to visit one of my labs here in San Diego this morning, but came home as soon as I was finished with their requested task. The highways are very light with traffic. I guess with no schools and many folks working from home it's to be expected, but even knowing this, kind of surprising.

Have a great Tuesday evening, and thanks for looking,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Bee Hive set by Honey Bee, Flap Happy set by Paper Smooches, Lots to Say and Forever Flower sets by Concord & 9th
Paper: SU Thick and regular weight Whisper White, Basic Black and Floral District DSP
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers, Hero Arts Grape Juice and Bubble Gum Shadow ink, VersaMark
Other: Wink of Stella, enamel flowers, gold sequins, SU gold twine, white EP, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, SU Stitched Rectangle die, dimensonals

ERR MAH GERD

Hello,

Some before dinner stamping today. I combined a couple of sets from two different companies to make today's card. The coffee cups are from Paper Smooches and the background images are from a Concord & 9th Turnabout set.

I started by stamping the cups randomly on a white panel with Gina K amalgam ink. Then I used the corresponding set die and cut 6 masks from some Gina K Masking paper. (Love this stuff. It works way better than post-it notes). After masking, I used the two turnabout stamps in the Holly Berry Turnabout set to make the background. Next, I removed the masks and colored the cups with Copies. The sentiments are from the same Paper Smooches set and they crack me up. They are heat embossed with white EP.

Of course, this will be posted to both the 30 Day Coloring Challenge where it's day 7 and to the Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I think today is it's last day. (sad face).

I kept the inside pretty simple using the same coffee cup and more images from the Paper Smooches set.

Thanks all and have a great evening and a very pleasant Friday,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Caffeinated Set by Paper Smooches and Holly Berry Turnabout set by Concord & 9th

Paper: X-Press It Blending, SU Rose Red and Call Me Clover card stock

Ink: Gina K amalgam black ink, VersaMark, Copics, SU greens and Rose Red

Other: Misti, Paper Smooches die, Gina K masking paper, SU white EP, heat tool, foam tape, Gemini Jr, gold sequins

Chai Adore You

Hello peeps,

With my trusty assistant, who was visiting this afternoon and pictured below, I made another card for three challenges. The sketch comes from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch!, the theme from the Fall and Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, and I'm also trying to play along as much as I can with Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

Using some new Paper Smooches stamps, here is my winter tea themed card.

 

The winter themed patterned papers are from one of the SSS monthly kits from last year, I think. It's from Echo Park. The cup is stamped using Gina K Amalgam ink in black and colored with Copics and paper pieced with the patterned papers. It was cut out with the Paper Smooches set corresponding dies. The sentiment is heat embossed with white EP.

Here is the inside of the card. The cup, saucer and spoon are from Lawn Fawn. The sentiments are from Paper Smooches.

Thanks again all for stopping by,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Caffeinated and Caffeinated Two sets by Paper Smooches and Love You a Latte by Lawn Fawn
Paper: Whisper White thick and Night of Navy card stock, Echo Park patterned paper
Ink: Gina K Amalgam ink, SU Night of Navy and Real Red, Copics, VersaMark
Other: Paper Smooches dies, Die-namics Stitched Square die, Lawn Fawn dies, SU white EP, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, Paper Source snowflake sticker, foam tape

My assistant this afternoon:

Ewe are as cute as can Bee.

Hello to all,

I hope your Sunday has been nice and relaxing. I am having a great Sunday afternoon doing two of my favorite things. Stamping and watching baseball. So far, my team is loosing, but then I'm used to that as they are never very good, but I'm still a loyal fan. Who knows, it's early and maybe they will turn it around before the game is over.

On the other hand, I love how my card turned out!

I bought a gorgeous tapestry while on vacation in Peru a few weeks ago. They make wonderful weavings and embroidery pieces that are vibrantly colored. I found one that I had to have and honestly, they are very inexpensive for the amount of work that goes into them, especially the handmade ones. I used a quilt hanger to display it above the sofa in my craft room. So, what does all this have to do with my card? I used my new tapestry as design inspiration for my card today to play along with Joanne's theme challenge at the Paper Players.

Here are a couple pictures of the tapestry. (you can click the picture to make it larger.)

and here is my card.

One of the reasons that I loved this tapestry was because of the llamas. There were many llamas walking around Machu Picchu when we were there, and when I saw this in a shop in Lima, I bought it.

For my card, all images are stamped using SU archival black ink onto water color paper using the Misti. They are water colored using Zig Real Brush water color markers and an aqua painter. Once the painting was finished, I used this week's sketch from Sunday Stamps to assemble the card. The oval element is made with Distress Oxide inks and an ink blender, cut out with a Die-namics Stitched oval and Stitched Hill dies. After assembling everything, I used Liquid Dimensional Pearl paints to mimic the french knots on the tapestry. Finally, the sentiment is stamped using VersaMark ink and heat embossed with white EP.

I'm also linking up to Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge. She's on day three today.

I really had fun designing and crafting this card. I'm not sure I'll send it out. I may just keep it displayed in my craft room, LOL.

Have a great Sunday evening and thanks for looking in,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Curious Cuties, Curious Cuties 2 and Best Buds sets by Paper Smooches

Paper: TE red and black textured card stock and Strathmore water color paper

Ink: SU Archival Black ink, Zig Real Brush water color markers, VersaMark, Distress Oxide inks

Other: Die-namics Stitched Oval and Stitched Hill dies, Die-namics Fishtail Flag die, Paper Smooches Curious Cuties dies, white embossing powder, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, Liquid Dimensional Pearl paints, gray Baker's twine, SU mini dimensionals, Crystal Stickles (bee's wings), ink blender tool

Whale, hello

Hi all,

My Saturday chores are progressing well and I'm almost finished already, because I woke up really early this morning. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and got started. I have just some laundry left to do. I hope you have fun plans for the weekend, and also have time to relax. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I will be watching my little friend Nic play in his championship Little League Baseball game at noon today. Before that, while my laundry is spinning, I plan on doing some coloring and watching some of the French Open Tennis matches.

I made two cards yesterday afternoon. Yesterday's post has one and here is the other. This one is made using this week's Freshly Made Sketch by Jen B. It's a fun and unique one this week with lots of creative possibilities. Here's what I came up with using the Huge Hugs set by Paper Smooches.

I kept things fairly simple using all card stock. It's a SU retired color called Cool Caribbean. The ocean waves are stamped with a large background stamp from Honey Bee Stamps called Ocean Borders. It's stamped in two colors, SU Island Indigo and SU Bermuda Bay. I cut the panels down to match the bottom design elements and glued them to the card base. The whale is stamped on X-Press It Blending card stock with MFT Hybrid black ink using my Misti in order to get a really dark image. VersaMark ink is used as the top layer,  then it's heat embossed with clear EP. After it cooled I cut it out using the set's corresponding die. The greeting is also heat embossed. Dimensionals are used to attach the whale, using a double layer under his head to make him appear like he's coming out of the water. The photo doesn't really show this, but IRL it looks like he is. Finally, I added three enamel water drops upside-down over the top of the big guy to mimic a waterspout.

Here's the inside:

The stamps are from the Huge Hugs 2 set which are sentiments to go along with the Huge Hugs set. They are stamped in the same two colors, then on the bottom I used the other border stamp from the Honey Bee set, stamped with SU Pool Party, and a strip of patterned paper from my stash.

Thanks for looking in, and have a fab Saturday,
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Huge Hugs and Huge Hugs 2 sets by Paper Smooches; Ocean Borders set by Honey Bee Stamps
Paper: SU Cool Caribbean and X-Press It Blending card stock
Ink: SU Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, MFT Hybrid Black, VersaMark
Other: Huge Hugs dies, Misti, clear EP, heat tool, enamel shapes, Gemini Jr, dimensionals

Thanks A Lot

Hello and Happy Monday evening all,

I'm back in the Los Angeles area for the week for work. Santa Monica to be exact. If one must work in Los Angeles, Santa Monica is not all that bad of a place.

I have another of the challenge cards that I made on Saturday. This one for the Sunday Stamps color challenge. I've used the super cute Paper Smooches set called Best Buds. The flower image is stamped using Memento Tuxedo black onto X-Press It Blending card stock and colored with my brand new Faber-Castel Polychromos colored pencils. I splurged and ordered the 120 pencil set. They are so pretty just setting in their box!



I pulled out pencils matching this week's color challenge and colored the flower images. I thought the panel with the bright blues and purples would look nice on a black card base, as well as the focal sentiment element.

I left the inside mostly blank with space to write a nice thank you note. 

I really like the feel of these new pencils. I have a mis-matched set of Prismacolor pencils that I've been using and they are pretty nice, but they don't have the smooth feel that the Faber-Castel pencils do. Not that I'm an expert, LOL.


Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone and thanks for looking in!
Colleen




Supplies
Stamps: Best Buds set by Paper Smooches
Paper: SU Basic black and X-Press It Blending card stock
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Other: F-C Polychromos colored pencils, MFT Die-namics Stitched Oval die, Paper Smooches Best Buds dies, the Big Shot, purple and blue rhinestones, dimensionals

Have a Tremendous Day!

Hi again, peeps!

One more post tonight to play along with this week's Freshly Made Sketch. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make and while looking through some of my new patterned papers I ran across some super cute SU DSP with dinosaurs on it. I got it when I ordered my new catalog pre-order and I haven't used it yet. It goes really well with the Paper Smooches Dino die and Huge Hugs stamps and dies.

The Dinosaur die is cut out with black card stock and the SU Pick A Pattern DSP. I placed him (or her) on some Basic Black and Crushed Curry card stock that is cut out with Die-namics Pinking Edge Circle dies. The Crushed Curry layer is embossed with the TE Burlap EF. I used some Lawn Fawn banner dies for the horizontal/sentiment element, stamping the greeting partially on the embossed circle. I framed the card with the Die-namics Stitched, Scalloped Rectangle frame in Basic Black and finished with the black rhinestones per the sketch.

On the inside, I used the Dino stamp from the PS set Huge Hugs, more SU DSP and Die-namics dies. The Dino is stamped in Memento tuxedo black and colored with Copics. The sentiments are again from Huge Hugs 2 set and stamped in Memento black.

The Paper Smooches Challenge for July is "anything goes, " so I'm linking up there as well.

This will make a good stash birthday card for a little one.

Thanks!
Colleen

Supplies
Stamps: Huge Hugs and Huge Hugs 2 sets by Paper Smooches
Paper: SU Crushed Curry and Basic Black card stock, X-Press It Blending card stock and SU Pick A Pattern DSP
Ink: Memento tuxedo black and Copics
Other: Paper Smooches Dinosaur die, Die-namics Pinking Edge circle, Stitched Oval, Stitched, Scalloped Rectangle and Oval Frame dies, Lawn Fawn Banner dies, Taylored Expressions Burlap embossing folder, black rhinestones, the Big Shot, dimensionals

Love You BIGLY

Hi again,

It's rare that I post during the work week, unless I've done timed posts, so it's super rare that I'm making a second post on a work day. I finished re-configuring my work computer after the server migration quicker than I expected, so I had some free time this afternoon. What better way to spend it than stamping?

Did you see THIS post by Jennifer McGuire earlier this week? I loved the look of her monochromatic coloring technique that she demonstrated in the video. Since I have most of the tools and stamp sets that she used, I gave it a try that evening and made 4 pretty cute cards using the Avery Elle Punny Pantry set. I haven't taken any pictures of those cards yet to share them, but since it was so much fun, I decided to try it again and made this card this afternoon.

As you can tell by the graphic below my card, I used Linda's new Freshly Made Sketch. The challenge this week is to put together two of anything. Hopefully, this Dino and greeting element fit the challenge. The colored card stock is SU Lucky Limeade. I stamped the sentiment and Dino from two new Paper Smooches sets called Huge Hugs and Huge Hugs 2 in VersaMark and heat embossed them with white EP. The dino is cut out with the corresponding PS die and the sentiment is cut out with a Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Border die. As in Jennifer's technique video, I used Prismacolor white colored pencil and blender pencil and a VersaMark marker to "color" the dino. On the frame, the inside of the stitched line is "colored" with the VersaMark marker and the outside with the white colored pencil. The frame is popped up with foam tape as is the dino. There is a tiny heart in the set and I stamped it randomly with Versamark ink and then placed white enamel hearts next to them for embellishment.

I went a completely different direction on the inside doing some water coloring.

This is a super fun and quick card making technique. I highly recommend you give it a try.

Finally, since the March Paper Smooches Challenge is to use green, I'm linking up there too.
I plan on sending this off to my nephew who's in college in Saint Paul. I do love him BIGLY!

As always, thanks for checking in!
Colleen


Supplies
Stamps: Huge Hugs and Huge Hugs 2 sets by Paper Smooches
Paper: SU Whisper White and Lucky Limeade card stock, water color paper
Ink: VersaMark outside and SU Archival black and Zig Real Brush Pens on the inside
Other: SU white EP, heat tool, PS Huge Hugs dies, Die-namics dies, Prismacolor white colored pencil and colorless blender pencil, VersaMark marker, foam tape, Pebbles enamel hearts, the Big Shot