Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Granny Squares
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Plants and Vases
I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last blog post. It seems like I get on a roll for a little while but I can't quite stick with it. Oh, well. I'll just try to pick it back up again. Today I have a quick post to share a couple of cards made with the Plants and Vases stamp and die set from Altenew.
The stamps in the set include several different branches and sentiments, and the dies are two vases with embossed designs. For the first card I made with this set (the card on the right), I used the product packaging for inspiration. I stamped the branches in four different colors on a white panel. I added a strip of kraft card stock along the bottom to ground the vases, which I die cut from two different colors of card stock. I stamped "happy birthday" in the upper right corner, cut out the panel with a deckle-edge die, and added it to a dark brown card base. The finishing touch was a few sequins.
For the second card, I inked just one of the branches with a berry-colored ink. I stamped the image on a panel of white card stock and then stamped it a couple of more times -- once on either side of the first image -- without reinking the stamp. I added a kraft vase and matted the panel with kraft card stock. I used a berry card base to coordinate with the branches and added a piece of ribbon. Using foam tape, I adhered the panel a bit to the right of the center of the card base. I finished the card with a few enamel dots.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
June Christmas cards: Forest flora mixed media
Once the summer solstice hit, Mother Nature took her job seriously. It's been horribly humid, and last weekend we had excessive heat warnings. But that gave me the perfect excuse to stay inside and work on my Christmas cards for June. I used the Forest Floor 2 stamp set from Tim Holtz as the starting point for a group of mixed-media cards.
I tried a few different embellishments and settled on some confetti sequins because they're neutral and subtle but still add a little more sparkle.
These cards were more involved than what I usually do for holiday cards, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, June 22, 2025
CAS First Communion card
I know I've mentioned before that I don't often make religious cards. I can't always avoid it, though, when there are religious celebrations in my extended family. Last month my cousin's son celebrated his First Communion, so I created this clean and simple (CAS) card to send him.
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Gel print collage cards
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Secret Garden: Part II
As I mentioned in my last post, here are the rest of the cards I made with products from the Secret Garden collection (Carta Bella). Well, it's not all the cards; I didn't take pictures of all forty-something cards. But I did take pictures of a reasonable sample. I think you'll get the idea. :)
I'm not going to include details since this will already be a long post. So if you have questions, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer.
There you have it! I still have a few bits and pieces left of these beautiful papers, along with lots of the stickers, so I'll make a few more cards some time. After making more than sixty cards with these products, I needed a little break. :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, June 16, 2025
Secret Garden: Part I
In March I ordered a subscription box from A Cherry on Top that was packed full of spring-themed products, including several items from the Secret Garden collection by Carta Bella. There was the collection pack (which included twelve double-sided 12" x 12" textured papers and a sheet of card stock sticker elements), chipboard stickers, die-cut tags and frames, and a package of embellishments. I absolutely loved the prints and the texture of the papers, but I didn't want to hoard them. So I decided to use as much of the coordinating items as I could to make cards.
Over the course of several weeks I ended up making more than sixty cards. (I found coordinating card stock in my stash and also added in some different embellishments.) I had wanted to use some of the cards to send spring/Easter greetings to family and friends, but I missed that boat. So instead I created four card sets to give as gifts and forty individual cards that I brought in to work to share with the teachers and other school staff.
I didn't take pictures of all the cards, but I do have quite a few photos, so I'm sharing the card sets in this post and some of the individual cards in the next post. For the first group of photos each picture includes two cards with the same layout/papers but different focal images. These cards I split into two card sets (one card from each photo went in the first set, and the other card went in the second set).
These are obviously a pretty simple layout, but I really wanted the pretty papers to stand out.
For the last photos, each picture is one card set. I used stamped quotes and gold die-cut foliage for the focal points on these cards, but again, the two sets use the same layout.
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Deco Florals
Today I'm sharing a few cards made with the Deco Florals stamp set (Pink & Main). I made these cards last autumn and never posted them, partly because I wasn't crazy about them. They're not bad, just not favorites. But I decided I should post them anyway, so here goes.
With these two cards my goal was to make masculine and feminine cards with the same layout and using the same images. I chose a neutral leaf to stamp on the focal panels and a graphic-style image for the backgrounds. For the feminine card I added a scalloped square behind the focal image as well as some metallic watercolor paint splatter. I embellished both cards with clear droplets.
For the third card I tried to stay kind of neutral, but I think these flower images lean a little to the feminine side. I used a Toffee card base and a large white die-cut stitched rectangle. I stamped the images at the top of the white panel in red, yellow, and blue, and added a dark brown die-cut sentiment at the bottom. I embellished with a linen thread bow and clear droplets.
Thanks for stopping by!
Saturday, May 31, 2025
A few last retreat cards
Today I'm sharing the last few cards that I made at my craft retreat. It's kind of a miscellaneous grouping.
These two cards both used the patterned paper we received in our goodie bags from the retreat organizer. They also happen to be cards that helped me mark off squares on my craft retreat BINGO card. The card on the left used at least four patterned papers -- I used strips of different widths and added a die-cut sentiment in the widest strip. And the card on the right was made using a layout from an idea book. The focal layer seemed a little plain, so I added a doodled border around the sentiment. I really like that extra detail.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Backyard Party
Today I'm sharing two birthday cards from my craft retreat a few weeks ago. I made these cards with the Backyard Party stamp set (Essentials by Ellen).
Saturday, May 24, 2025
May Christmas cards: Shaker stickers
I wasn't sure if I was going to make any May Christmas cards while I was on my craft retreat. I brought a stamp set with me that I wanted to try, but it ended up not working with the other supplies I had. But then on the last morning, I picked up a pack of Christmas shaker stickers my friend had given me and thought they would look really cute with some patterned paper. So I got to work and finished these six cards before it was time to pack up.
I used heavyweight white card bases and two different paper prints. The main pattern (cut to 4" x 4") has words and scenes of winter in the city, and the accent pattern (4" x 1-1/2") is a diagonal red stripe. I rounded the top corners of the larger pieces and adhered them near the top the card bases, leaving a 1/8" border on each side. I rounded the bottom corners of the accent pieces and glued them near the bottom of the card bases, overlapping the top piece and leaving a 1/8" border.
I wrapped twine around each card base where the two patterned papers meet and tied it off in a knot. For the focal layers I cut stitched, scalloped rectangles from white card stock. I stamped a sentiment at the bottom of each rectangle and then added one of the shaker stickers. I attached each focal piece to a card base, overlapping and securing the twine. I finished each card with a few white sequins.
Friday, May 23, 2025
Sketchbook flowers
I'm back with more cards from my craft retreat, and this time it's a group of cards made with the Sketchbook Bouquet and Sketchbook Florals stamp sets from Taylored Expressions. I stamped the images on white and Toffee card stock and colored them with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I also used the coordinating dies to cut out some of the images.
There are several pictures, so I won't add too many details. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.
I think these two are my favorite cards out of the bunch; I love the bright colors with the touch of black.
Friday, May 16, 2025
Field and countryside
I had a hard time deciding what craft supplies to bring on the retreat; every time I decided on something, I changed my mind. I ended up packing a few hours before we left and settled on colored pencils, gamsol, and a variety of line art stamp sets to do some coloring (along with the necessities like card stock, adhesive, etc.). For the first group of cards I made during the weekend I tried out a couple of stamp sets that I've had for years and never used: Field Journal and French Countryside (both retired, Stampin' Up!).
I love the images in the Field Journal set, but I've never been really sure how to use them. So I settled on stamping and coloring two of the images on Naturals Ivory card stock and die cutting them to use as focal points for two cards. For the chipmunk card I used Bordering Blue card base splattered with Shimmer Splash. I stamped a couple of the other Field Journal images on the background in Early Espresso ink and added a piece of neutral ribbon trim and a few die-cut sprigs.
For the mallard card, I used an Early Espresso card base embossed with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder. I stapled a bit of trim to the corner of the focal panel and embellished the card with a few clear droplets.
With the French Countryside stamp set, I tried coloring one of the images and didn't love how it turned out. So instead I made a couple of monochromatic cards. I splattered both card bases with Shimmer Splash and embellished with gold sequins and a hemp twine bow. I also added a touch of blue on each image on the kraft card for a hint of color.
As usual, I am in need of replenishing my birthday card stash, so that's how I used these cards. But they would be good for a variety of occasions by changing or omitting the sentiment.
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, May 12, 2025
Spring 2025 craft retreat
Last weekend I took a couple days off work and went on a craft retreat. It’s my third time at this particular retreat, and as always, I had a great time.
Here is the outside of the cabin. I’m not sure how old the cabin is, but it was built by Amish craftsmen, and it’s beautiful. One of my favorite things is that the logs used for the banisters and railings still have the knots and curves from the trees.