Happy "Love" Day!

 TGIF Peeps,

It's a very drippy, but not really rainy, day here in San Diego today. Too drippy for my daily walk. I've been doing a little cleaning and a lot of crafting. 

This week is die week at Just Us Girls and Lisa is looking for heart dies. I'm sure we all have many to choose from in our die stashes. I decided on a few older Concord & 9th sets and made two cards.

This first one is a die set called Enchanted Hearts. So many ways to use it. I simply cut everything from white card stock and then cut some strips of colored card stock and glued those to a background panel so they show through the cutouts. The sentiment dies are from two other C&9th sets. I cut them from black card stock twice and layered them, then brushed a thick layer of Nuvo clear glitter gloss over them followed by some Glossy Accents. After they dried, I glued them to the front. Also, it's a little difficult to tell from the photo that I popped the large scalloped heart up with foam tape matching the stripes as best I could.

Here's the inside of this card with a sentiment from the C&9th Paper Bouquet stamp set.

 

The second card also uses the same Enchanted Hearts die, with a different layout and some different stamps. Again, all are from C&9th. I made a shaker card with this one. The card stocks and ink colors are the same on both cards.

And the inside of card two.

Wishing everyone a happy and relaxing weekend,

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps and Main Dies: All Concord & 9th: Enchanted Hearts Die set, Happy Heart set with dies, Sweet Talk set with dies, Paper Bouquet set with dies, Pop Up Heart Turnabout set, Scattered Hearts Turnabout set

Paper: Concord & 9th card stock  in Pink Lemonade, Honeysuckle, Sea Glass, Juniper, Clementine and white

Ink: Gina K Designs Black Onyx, Concord & 9th Pink Lemonade, Honeysuckle, Sea Glass and Juniper

Other: Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 and 12 die sets, Nuvo Clear Glitter, Glossy Accents, Misc shapes and sequin for shaker, Acetate, foam tape, Connect glue

Love You

 Hello all,

I have another very pink and bright Valentine's Day card for you today. I was watching this Jennifer McGuire video and decided to give the technique a try. This video is  part 2 of 2. Part 1 is the same technique using embossing folders, which I also tried and made several cards with the backgrounds I produced.

I'm playing with the current Color Hues Pink and Red challenge, and Ann's Theme challenge, Love is In The Air for the Paper Players.

All of the supplies for this card are from Gina K Designs. They include the heart sentcil, Script background stamp, focal dies, paper and ink.

As with most inking techniques, it's hard to stop, but even with the door open to the outside and the over head fan on, the alcohol fumes got to be a little much. But, I got some nice results from both the stencils and the embossing folders. Like Jennifer, I found that the Simon Says Stamp Pawsitivitly Saturated inks gave a little better result, but the Gina K dye inks still worked well. I'm assuming most dye inks would work. I used a Tim Holtz sponge ink applicator instead of blending brushes to apply the ink and blend the colors. I thought that a heavier ink application would probably work best.

Here's the inside of this card. Also using GKD stamps.

The following cards are made using backgrounds from the same technique, but with embossing folders. The embossing folders are from SSS, SU, and Spellbinders. The die sets used to finish the cards are all from Spellbinders. Inks are all SSS Pawsitively Saturated inks.

If you're looking for a fun inking technique, watch Jennifer's two videos and give this a try. I love picking the blending colors.

Enjoy your week,

Colleen

Supplies for Challenge Card

Stamps: Elegant Script Background Stamp and You Are So Loved set by Gina K Designs

Paper: Gina K Designs card stock Cherry Red, Passionate Pink, Innocent Pink, and Heavy Weight White

Ink: Gin K Designs Passionate Pink, Bubble Gum Pink, and Cherry Red

Other: Gina K Designs Layering Hearts Stencil (I used only the open heart stencil), Gina K Designs Master Layouts 1 dies, small heart from the Stitched Circle die set, and Ornate Love You dies, Tim Holtz sponge applicator, rubbing alcohol in mister bottle, red enamel heart, foam tape

The Cat's Pajamas

 Hello all,

Yesterday was the final Wednesday for January which means it's time for the January edition of Wood Block Wednesday. Probably the only time many of us actually pull out our wood mounted rubber stamps. I try to play along each month  when I'm not away from home.

For this month I have a Valentine's Day card and I've used the new Freshly Made Sketch to help with my layout.

I hope you're a pink fan, LOL.

This little cat in her pjs is one of my favorite stamps. It's an oldie from Uptown Rubber Stamps. I was wondering when/why this saying came about. Luckily, we have Google these days so looking it up was easy. Google says its first recording was 1920 as part of the typical vocabulary of the Jazz Age flappers. The term "cat" is slang for cool person and pajamas were just becoming fashionable for women in 1920. The saying was popularized by the cartoonist Tad Dorgan, who is also credited with the phrase, "the cat's meow." 

The large Valentine sentiment and the small hearts are also wood mounted stamps, as is the large heart on the inside. The sentiment on the inside is from an older SU set.

I love looking through the gallery because I recognize many of the stamps used each month, as I have them in my drawers too.

Enjoy the end of the week, and thanks for looking in. I'm off to buy some fabric for  backing and some batting for two quilts I've recently pieced. Retirement is the BEST!

Colleen

Supplies

Wood mounted stamps: Cat: Uptown Rubber Stamps, Valentine Sentiment: Great Impressions, Small Hearts: Rubber Stampede, and Large heart doily: Penny Black.

SU set: XOXO

Paper: Concord & 9th card stock

Ink: Concord & 9th and Copic Markers

Other: Spellbinders Scalloped Circle and Basic Circle dies, white heart embellishments, SU Dimensionals

You're Always In My Heart

Hey all,

I ordered a set of Lisa Horton Cloud 9 inks during Black Friday sales and finally got around to playing with them. They are so interesting in how they react on different colors of paper. After playing. I ended up with two cards with the exact same design and using the same Lisa Horton ink pads. The only difference is the card stock colors.

Elizabeth has the first color challenge for2025 at the Paper Players this week, orange, pink and green and one of my cards works perfectly. 

Notice the bottom of the heart die is orange, then notice that the background panel is green. Both of those are using the same ink pad, Cloud 9 Ripe Mango Shimmer "direct to paper" technique. The ink is orange on white card stock and green on dark card stock. The upper part of the heart is another Cloud 9 color called Tropical Paradise.

The heart die and the sentiment are from Concord & 9th. The sentiment is heat embossed using black EP.

I think that the second card works for this week's Just Us Girls  Word Week "Masculine" challenge. I used the same Ripe Mango ink on this card with three different dark card stock shades from GKD. They are black, dark sage and Christmas green. The die cut heart is the Christmas green after using the ink pad direct to paper. The background black panel is stenciled using the ink and a blending brush, and the mat for the black panel is a piece of dark sage with the ink direct to paper. On this shade, it looks gold, which is why I used the gold accents in the enamel dots and gold embossed sentiment.

Here are the insides for both cards. 

If you're looking for some fun inks, these fit the bill. I didn't mention how sparkly they are, but I think you can see that in the photos. I don't usually do swatches for my supplies, but I did with these inks, stamping each color with a silhouette style stamp on both white and black card stock. I think that will come in handy for future use.

Hope your day is going well. I have a dental appt this afternoon and I'm watching the Australian Open tennis matches.

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Hugs of Happiness set by Concord & 9th and Friendship Hearts set by Gina K Designs

Paper: Gina K Designs and Concord & 9th

Ink: Lisa Horton Cloud 9 Shimmer inks, Gina K Designs Embossing pad and Black Onyx ink

Other: Concord & 9th Stay Cozy stencils and Knit With Care dies, Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 dies and Gold embossing powder, Brutus Munroe black embossing powder, gold and orange enamel dots, blending brushes, Connect glue, SU Dimensionals

I'm a Sucker for You

Hello all,

I'm adding another card to my Valentine's Day stash and playing along with this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge. 

Most supplies are from Concord & 9th.

 

In place of the circle element, I've used this fun candy jar die from the Sweet on You stamp and die set, cut from some Valentine's Day pattern papers. The sucker and heart dies are from the same set. The background is done using the C&9th Stitched Heart Card Front die.

On the inside, I added a strip of the patterned paper down the edge and then stamped the greetings.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and thanks for checking in.

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Sweet on You stamp set by Concord & 9th

Paper: Concord & 9th and Gina K Designs card stock, Crate Paper "Love Notes" patterned papers

Ink: Concord & 9th and Gina K Designs craft white

Other: Stitched Heart Card Front die and Poppy enamel dots from Concord & 9th, Gina K Designs white embossing powder

To the Moon and Back

Hi Peeps,

How about another Valentine's Day card? (Although this one could be for any occasion, I'm calling it a V-day card.)

For the first 2025 Color Throwdown challenge, the colors are black, white and gray. I decided on using this Sun and Moon Letterpress set from Spellbinders. I did some masking to ink the center in black, then again to ink the rays in gray. The sentiment comes in this die set.

The card base is embossed with the Spellbinders  3D embossing folder of the month for December. For embellishments, I've added some GKD silver dots.

I've used the same sentiment from Spellbinders that I used on the card in my previous post. (I like it.)

Happy Monday, and enjoy your week!

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps/Dies: Spellbinders Sun & Moon Betterpress plate and Forever Yours stamp set

Paper: Gina K Designs card stock, Spellbinders letter press porcelain card stock

Ink: Betterpress Black ink, Gina K Designs Soft Stone

Other: Spellbinders 3D Hearts embossing folder, Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 dies, silver dots

Love You

Hi and Happy New Year Crafty Friends!

I'm happy to see the challenge blogs are starting their new challenges for 2025 this week and I'm ready to play along. I managed to make a card that works for three of them. I'm using the colors from Color Hues, Red and Kraft, the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, and the Just Us Girls die cut challenge. 

Since the next card making holiday is Valentine's Day, I'm getting started on my V Day stash.

The stitched letter dies for Love, the You die, and the Strawberry dies are all from Spellbinders, as is the embossing folder. The Stitched square die and the tiny hearts on the strawberries are from GKD.

The word "love" is stitched with red floss but the word "you" is faux stitching that I used a white get pen over. I thought the faux stitching would stand out better. I cut the strawberry elements from white card stock and ink blended the colors for a softer look.

The inside is very simple with just a couple of stamped images, also from Spellbinders.

Wishing everyone a great week. If you're in those blizzard areas, stay warm and safe. We are sunny and dry here in SoCal.

Colleen

Supplies

Stamps: Forever Yours set from Spellbinders

Paper: Gina K Designs Kraft and Layering Weight white card stock, SU Real Red card stock and SU kraft heart DSP

Ink: Gina K Designs

Other: Heart Swag EF, Stitched Love die set, and Faux Stitched Sentiments die set, 2023 Advent Calendar dies from Spellbinders, Double stitched square die and tiny heart embellishments from Gina K Designs, white gel pen, red embroidery floss

Valentine's Day Cards

 Hello and Happy Monday peeps!

It's a wet one here in SoCal and a perfect day to hang in the craft room. I have some plans to play and practice with wax seals, but first I waned to blog a couple of cards that I made yesterday.

I watched one of Gina K.'s YouTube videos from last week on making bokeh backgrounds and decided to give it a try. All were fun, but one is my favorite, so I made two of them for these cards.

This first one uses the current Freshly Made Sketch by Jen T. Honestly, I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with this card, but I do love the colors. There's a variety of supplies used. Spellbinders Heart Stitching die and embossing folder, Simon Says Stamp pierced heart die, Reverse Confetti XOXO die, Gina K Designs card stock and inks, Tim Holtz domed sponge ink applicators to make the background circles, and SU pearls.

I love how this second card turned out with the silhouette stamping over the bokeh background, which is how Gina made her cards in the video. This stamp set is one of her older mini sets. All supplies on this card are from GKD. 

Joanne is hostess for the new Paper Players Challenge with a Valentine's Day theme. While both cards work, I'll use this one for my entry.

Here ae the two together with matching bokeh backgrounds. A fun technique to try if you haven't already.

Enjoy your day and thanks for checking in,

Colleen

Supplies Card 1

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Pierced Flower heart, Spellbinders Stitched Heart Card Front, Reverse Confetti XOXO

Paper: Gina K Designs Dusty Rose, Plumb Punch, Red Hot and Layering Weight White card stock

Ink: Gina K Designs Dusty Rose, Plumb Punch, Red Hot, Soft Stone

Other: Tim Holtz domed sponge ink applicators, Gina K Designs blending brush, embroidery floss and needle, SU pink pearls, Gina K Designs Masking Magic 1/2" strips, Big Shot, foam tape and SU Dimensionals

Supplies Card 2

Stamps: Gina K Designs Mini Blossoms and Hearty Greetings stamp sets

Paper: Gina K Designs Layering Weight White and Black Onyx card stock

Ink: Gina K Designs Red Hot, Dusty Rose, Plumb Punch, Soft Stone and Black Onyx

Other: Master Layouts 2 dies, Masking Magic 1/2" strips, blending brush, Misti, Big Shot, Domed Ink Applicators, Foam Tape

Sending A Handmade Hug

 Happy Monday peeps,

It's a very wet Monday here in Southern California. Today I've been doing some organization in my craft room, trying to get my box of white card stock scraps to a place easier to grab. Of course, one thing leads to another and then you've spent way more time on it than you were planning too.

Joanne has a great sketch for the new Paper Players Challenge, and I made this card last night while watching TV. This a new stamp set from Gina K Designs and new DSP from Stampin' Up. Still making an effort to use my patterned papers.

Here's the inside. The stamps are from a different GKD Valentine's Day set.

I've been working on mostly Valentine's Day cards lately. Here are two from this weekend. These are made with transfer sheets and Deco foil. So shinny! And look, more retired DSP used. YAY!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and thanks for checking in,

Colleen

Supplies (for the Paper Players Challenge card)

Stamps: Lovely Notes with dies and Friendship Hearts sets by Gina K Designs

Paper: SU Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Basic White and Dandy Designs DSP

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers, Gina K Designs Coral Reef

Other: Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 dies, Gina K Designs Rainbow Hearts embellishments, Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Glossy Accents, Misti, Big Shot, SU Dimensionals, Connect glue

Best Friends Forever - Valentine's Day Cards

 Hello,

Happy Wednesday afternoon. I hope the day is going well for you. It's a beautiful clear and warm day in Southern California. The weather app on my phone is reading 77 degrees on the San Diego coast. I made a run to the post office to mail Valentine's Day cards to family and friends, then washed my car and when I finished with that, had lunch. 

Speaking of Valentine's Day cards, I mailed some of these today. This is a small group featuring the Taylored Expressions Gus & Gertie stamp sets and dies. Could there be any cuter BFsF?! These cards also fit Laurie's theme for this week's Paper Players Challenge.

Here is a picture of the group.

For my Paper Players Challenge card, I'm using the Ride or Die card. The perfect sentiment for Laurie's Friendship challenge. This is a 4.25 x 4.25 inch square note card. I stenciled a cloudy sky background using the SSS cloud stencil and a blending brush. Next, I stamped the red heart flowers from a long retired SU set along the bottom, then glued a piece of black card stock along the bottom. I cut it all out using the stitched square die from the GKD ML 3 dies set, and cut the mat from more black card stock. Using a white gel pen, I drew the lines for the bike path. Gus & Gertie are colored with Copics and cut out with the set die. I cut 3 extra die-cuts to stack behind the colored one for some dimension without using foam tape.

These next two cards I sent to two sweet little boys, one my new great nephew who was born just after Thanksgiving, and the other to a friends little boy, who is two. I made each of them a banner using the Mama Elephant Favor Bag Dog Dies. 

This one goes to my great nephew. I did an emboss resist using the stars in the background by first blending yellow ink, then using a sponge dauber with VersaMark and heat embossing with clear EP. The rest of the background is ink blended using lavender and blue shades. I replaced the stars in the die with hearts cut from holographic card stock. This is also a 4.25 x 4.25 inch square card. 

This one goes to the two year old. I used a TE heard background stamp with VersaMark and heat embossed it with clear EP, then blended very light shades of pool and mint inks over it. The white fence and border of flowers are old TE dies.

These are the banners that I made for the kid's rooms. They are made with felt and hot glue. They are basically the same, just different colors and ribbon.

The final card is a mini-slimline style. I used a wave cover plate die to cut masking paper, put that down on white card stock and ink blended many shades of blue ink. The top sun is a stencil from GKD. I added a few clear sequins randomly around the card front. 

I just got the February SCT Sampler package today, so I'm going to see what's there. Maybe make something. Thanks for checking in. Hope you don't mind such a long post.

Colleen

Supplies

Stamp: Taylored Expressions Gus & Gertie sets Best Buds, Ride On, and Gus & Gertie, Heart Bkg stamp,  and Valentine Defined by Stampin' Up    

Ink and Card Stock: Gina K Designs, Copics & VersaMark

Kat Scrappiness Holographic card stock

Other: Avery Elle Waves cover die, Simon Says Stamp Falling Stars and cloud stencils, Gina K Designs Sunshine stencil, Taylored Expressions Fence and Flower border dies, Avery Elle and Paper Smooches small heart dies, GKD Master Layouts 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7 die sets, SU clear embossing powder, heat tool, Misti, Gemini Jr, GKD Disco Ball mini sequins, Connect glue

Banners: Taylored Expressions felt, Stampin' Up Heart dies, Mama Elephant Favor Bag Dog Die set, hot glue and glue gun, ribbon, Big Shot