ArtNudge#325D and Freshly Made Sketches#679 and NBUS#72

 Hello and Welcome!

Having some fun today with the Art Nudge challenge and the Sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

First the Sketch: FMS#679

The Art Nudge Inspiration photo: ArtNudge#325D

Here is the card that I created for these 2 challenges:

I was inspired by the colors of the inspiration photo and of course (chickens which lay eggs).

My starting point was this fun stamp set from Unity Stamps:

Impeckable Silhouettes and the fun patterned paper from Unity Stamps: Cluck and Bloom.

Card Base is: Lost Lagoon (SU). Then the layer of designer paper cut with a Unity Scallop/Rectangle Die.

The chicken was stamped with Calypso Coral Ink on White cs and cut with a Unity Scallop/Circle Die.

I cut a fishtail tag (MFT) on Old Olive cs and used a Chicken wire embossing folder.  I added another strip of designer paper (don't those dots resemble eggs).  The sentiment was stamped with Memeto Tuxedo black ink. I also used Petal Pink Paper and ink for the small chick and the circle under the chicken piece.  

This is my first time using this stamp set and paper so it's going in for NBUS#72 as well.

Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate your visits and comments very much.  Happy Stamping.

St. Patrick's Day Cards and a Bonus card from way back.

 Hello & Welcome.

Today I'm sharing a couple of St. Patrick's Day cards that I managed to make and mail out!

First up was a card based on this card that I did many years ago(2007) and decided to use the same layout:  I don't know if this card was ever featured on this blog or not so you get to see it along with the one I did for St. Patrick's Day.

This uses an old retired SU set: Heartfelt Thanks.

The colors featured in this card were : Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery (*retired colors) and Very Vanilla.

This is the inside of that little tag on the front:

So now onto the current St. Patrick's Day card I made using that same idea:

So for this card I used: Pumpkin Pie for the base of the card.  Then I stamped a strip of Basic White with a large shamrock and a small shamrock from a retired Close to my Heart stamp set (Lucky You).

I used Garden Green ink and card stock.  Since I no longer had the set with the dot featured in the above card I used the eraser on a pencil stamped onto the Pumpkin Pie ink pad to create the same look.

The small stamped heart image on the tag panel is from a Studio G stamps set.  I colored in the clover with Wink of Stella for some shimmer.

Inside of the tag: & card pictured below: Click to enlarge.

Finally the 2nd St. Patrick's Day card I made:

This one used:  Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Twist card stock.  The Hat is a wood block stamp from: Rubber Stampede that I've had for forever.  The sentiment is from Studio G and was also featured on the card above.

Other details: Image colored with pencils, cutout and mounted with foam tape. Dies from Unity Stamps, Enamel Dots.

I also used this sketch:

Which I was to late to enter but wanted to show it anyway.

Hope you have enjoyed these cards.

PP727 and NBUS72 - Spring Flowers

 Good Day - Hope the start of your week is going well.

Today I'm finally sharing a card! - I started this card on Saturday and when I saw what the Paper Players theme was this week I knew that I was going to post it for that theme.

Here is the theme this week:  PP727

Here is the card that I created:

Since this is brand new stuff I'm also going to share it with NBUS#72

I wanted to use one of the images from Unity Stamps February 2025 KOM (the sweetest spring)

This is a rather large image so it will cover most of an, A2 Card.

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink twice on Basic White card stock.  Then I cut out a portion of it with a Unity Circle die. This is called the, Spotlight technique.

I colored the circle portion with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol.  I also splattered some white dots using a White Luster Brush (Scrapbook.com).  The main image was cut out with a Unity Scallop Rectangle die.  I used a piece of patterned paper (source unknown) to cover the front of a A2 Card of Granny Apple Green.

The sentiment was stamped in the black ink and cut with an Oval die (MFT) - Then I used a Q-tip to brush real red ink around the edge.

I punched out some small photo corners (EK Success punch) in Granny Apple Green and mounted them with foam tape.  The flower panel was also mounted with foam tape over the main image.  To finish the card off I added some red enamel dots.

I hope you enjoy this little touch of Spring.

Freshly Made Sketches#671 and NBUS#71

 Hi,  So happy you've stopped in for a visit. - Please know that I appreciate each and every visit and comment made.  - For some reason lately Blogger will not let me reply back unless I know your e-mail address.  So if you don't get a thank you personally from me that is the reason why.

Now on to today's card.  

I'm participating in Freshly Made Sketches #671  and NBUS#71

Here is my card:

I finally got to use my brand new Unity Stamp set: Purr-ty Cats and the new designer paper, (Atomic Kitty Cat)  there is also a die set that goes with the stamps but I have not purchased that "yet."

So for this CAS card I used, Basic Black cs,  Calypso Coral, Basic White (all SU)

I stamped the cat image with Mint Macaron (retired SU) ink.  I added strips of the designer paper and reverse embossed the coral paper with a chevron pattern embossing folder.  I added some light coral enamel dots and used circle dies from both SU and Unity.   I embossed the sentiment with versamark ink and black embossing powder. The cat image was mounted with foam tape.

Thank you again for stopping by.

ARTNUDGE125A and NBUS#70

 Welcome - Well the year got off to a difficult start with the passing of my niece, Krissy on New Years morning.  -  Thank you to everyone who offered condolences and prayers.  She will be greatly missed.

Today I'm sharing my first ever card for the Art Nudge challenges.

This one is for ARTNUDGE125A

Here is the Inspiration Photo:

Here is the card that I created:

For this card I chose (Frosty & Feisty) from the (pissy kitty) line of Unity stamps. - This is my first time inking it up.

I started with a White card base that I brushed on some chalk to distress the edges. - The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with chalks and a Q-Tip.  I then sprayed with hairspray to seal it.  I added some white paint splatters and decided they were to faint so I also used my Lustre Brush to add more white splatters which showed up better.

To mimic a sweater pattern I used an embossing folder (Herringbone) on some Not Quite Navy card stock. I panel out first with a (Scallops/Rectangle) die from Unity Stamps and then did the embossing folder.  I cut the image out using an SU Stylish Square die and added a larger piece of Only Orange (retired SU) cart stock that I distressed with a distressing tool (also retired SU).  I mounted that over the embossed panel with foam tape.

The sentiment was also stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and distressed with the chalk.  I used a fishtail die (MFT) and added an old SU button that I put a small piece of pink card stock as the thread and glued it down with a glue dot.

Everyone who knows me well knows that I am NOT a fan of winter so this card is something I can relate too.  I hope you find it as amusing as I did.

Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate your visit and comments.

On A Break

I will be on a blog break for awhile.  Had an unexpected death in the family New Years Day.  Thanks for your understanding.

Wrapping up Christmas - Part 2

 Thanks for stopping by.

Well here we are at the end of another year.  I'm sharing today the last 2 Christmas cards that I made for 2024

Card #1

First up is this wonderful Nativity card - (Unity Stamps - Born For Us).  

Card Base: Gorgeous Grape, Patterned paper is from an old pad I've had for years.

Image Stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink & colored with pencils.  Added white snow splatters and some sharing.  Stars in the sky have tiny gems on them. - Added a piece of green/gold rimmed ribbon and mounted with foam tape.  

Dies: Rectangle & fishtail.

Card #2

This was a super CAS card done using: Unity Stamps (Guided by Grace) and sentiment is from an old SU set: (For Unto Us)

Card Base: Night of Navy

Image was stamped on Basic White card stock with Versamark Ink and embossed with Cobalt Tapestry embossing powder.  It's a dark blue with flecks of gold in it. - The sentiment was stamped with Gold ep from SU.  I added some dark blue gems to the sides of the card.  Great for a quick yet elegant looking card.

Happy New Year & I'll be back soon in 2025 with new cards to share.

Wrapping up Christmas - Part 1

 Welcome.  I'm wrapping up Christmas cards from 2024 today and tomorrow.

Starting off with a couple of Nature themed cards:

Card #1

For this card I started out with the patterned paper for my inspiration.  It's from Unity Stamps, (Rustic Christmas line)

Next I used 2 stamps (Merry Christmas & a Plaid Stamp) both are from Unity Stamp KOM

The card base was Early Espresso. I cut out the patterned paper with a Unity Scallop/Rectangle die.  Circle Dies were used for the sentiment.  That was stamped on Soft Sea Foam cs and embossed with Gold Glitter embossing powder.  The plaid was stamped with Shaded Spruce ink on Garden Green card stock.  I added some pinecones, leaves and a small poinsettia that were punched with various dies and topped it off with a piece of sparkly gold ribbon and a tiny brown pearl.

Card #2

This was one of my favorite cards I made this year.  I started with a base of Old Olive Card stock.  The stamped a piece of Very Vanilla with the pine cone image from the (Festive Flair - Nov. 2023 KOM)

with Memento Tuxedo black ink.  I used retired chalks from SU to color the pinecones and sprayed with hairspray.  I tore a piece of Old Olive and distressed the edges with Old Olive ink and layered that over the pinecones and cut it out with Unity Postage Dies.  Next up I splattered the image with Antique Bronze Distress Spray and mounted that on the card base. - Finally I used the smaller postage dies and Embossed the sentiment with Copper embossing powder and also distressed the edges and splattered the same spray on it. That was mounted with foam tape on top of the stamped image.

It was very shimmery in real life.

Card #3

This one just made me smile as I knew who it was going to right off the bat. So for this I started with a card base of Cherry Cobbler.  Then I found this cool piece of plaid paper in the little goodie bag from Unity and decided to use it for my card.  I also picked out a piece of designer paper (Unity Rustic Christmas pack) but from there I took a snowflake image from the (Wander and Wonder - Sept. 24 KOM) and some Crushed Olive Distress ink and stamped on top of the designer paper.  I tore the edge, layered it over the plaid piece and cut it out with a Scalloped Rectangle die.

The cat image is from Unity (Ho Ho No Pissy Kitty).  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Basic White card stock and colored with pencils. Cut it out with SU Stylish Die and mounted it over a piece of Old Olive card stock.  Stamped the sentiment on a Fishtail die and added some red enamel dots to complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow I will be wrapping up with my final 2 cards that I made for Christmas of 2024.

More Christmas cards.

 Wow it's almost Christmas! - I hope by now you have everything done that needs to be done.

Today's cards:

First up is this adorable mouse image from Unity Stamps September 2024 KOM (Wander and Wonder) Card Details: Ink used, Memento Tuxedo Black. Card Stock - SU Real Red and Basic White,

Dies: Unity Rectangle dies. Pattern paper was from my stash. Snowflake was from a Tag and Snowflake die I received as a free gift with an order from Scrapbook.com I colored the image with colored pencils and blended with Gamsol.  Added some sequins to finish the card off.

Next up is this sweet little deer image, Unity Stamps, (Little Love Deer). The sentiment for this card and the one above are from another Unity set, (Artic Joyride). Card details: Card Stock, SU Old Olive, Cherry Cobble, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla. Punches are from a set I have so not sure of the source.  Image colored with pencils.  Embossing Folder, Swiss Dot. Also used some green enamel dots, a fishtail die and foam tape.  I lightly brushed a white pigment pad over the embossed panel as well.

Next we have this sweet Penguin image from Unity Stamps, (Artic Affection).  The sentiment was a freebie from Unity in one of their awesome little goodie bags they send with orders. Patterned paper is also Unity (Rustic Christmas).  I embossed the image with Versamark and Detail Black embossing powder and then water colored the images with various SU inks.  Card Base was, Garden Green and I also used some Pretty in Pink card stock as well as Basic White.  Circle Dies and Rectangle dies are from Unity.  I added some pretty glitter and a pink heart gem to complete the card.

Finally finishing off today's cards with another darling deer image:  

For this card I used Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Basic white card stock.

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with pencils blended with Gamsol.  The patterned paper is from, Scrapbook.com Holiday patterned collection.  I also used Unity Scallop and Rectangle dies. Swiss Dot embossing folder,  Unity Grunge Cut tag dies, a small punched star and some baker's twine.

I hope you have enjoyed this group of cards.  I had a lot of fun creating them.

Non-Traditional Christmas

Hello,  Hope you are enjoying the last few days before Christmas - It's such a busy time of year.  

Today I'm featuring a trio of Christmas cards that are not quite as "traditional" as they feature metallic colors.

First up is a card that I made using scraps left over from a this card from 2020

Here is this years version using the same color scheme.

So for this card I used the same patterned snowflake paper but added an embossed white panel. They used my new Joy die (Unity Stamps) and some paper from SU that has silver lines on it.  Circle dies are also Unity. Added a small shimmer pearl to the center of the snowflake. Sentiment panel is raised using foam tape.

This one is much prettier than the picture shows.  It's done in White and Copper Colors.  The embossing folder was a gift from a friend.  I added copper color splatters to it and some copper toned gems.  The stamp is from an old SU stamp set.

Finally a card featuring Navy, White & Gold for the color scheme.

Patterned paper was purchased at a JoAnn's store.  Snowflake die is from Momenta and I added stickles to it.  Used Gold Embossing for the sentiment which is from an old set from, Lizzie Ann Designs that I've had for years.  Added some tiny gold gems in various places.

All these card really sparkle and shine but it's hard to get good photographs of that.

Santa Claus has arrived

 Hello and welcome.  Yes it's been a hot minute since I've posted here.  I've "finally" finished and mailed my Christmas cards.  Today I am featuring a series of (Santa cards) that I made this year.  You've seen this one already:

I made that way back in November.  Here are the other 4 cards I made using the same stamp set:

All cards feature the stamp set: Simon Hurley - Silly Santas and matching dies.

Traditional Christmas colors were used.  If you need information on papers, etc..that I used feel free to message me.  In the interest of time on these cards I'm leaving out all that information.

Joy and Peace at Christmas - NBUS#68

 Hello and Welcome.

Today I'm sharing the 2nd card I created based off Lisa Arana's cards:

This one was inspired by the card on the right side of the photo (click to enlarge all photos).

Unity has some awesome paper packs and I really like the one that Lisa used but don't have that one.  Instead I used another of their great paper packets for my card and yes it's a more traditional color palette for Christmas.

I'm using new to me paper and dies for this card so will be including this on NBUS#68

I really liked the distressed feel of Lisa's card and of course that awesome little tag.  So here is what I created using her card as my inspiration:

For this card I layered a piece of (Rustic Christmas) patterned paper onto an A2 size piece of Garden Green (SU) card stock. - I wanted to add a little texture to my card so I changed up my design by adding a strip of Garden Green card stock that was embossed with the Pine branch embossing folder from (Spellbinders).

For my tag I used (Grunge Cut) tag dies from Unity. These are very popular and it looks like they are sold out again.

The sentiment is from an older 2023 KOM (festive flair).

I cut my tag out on Basic White card stock and distressed it with Red paint spritzed with a little water and brushed on randomly with a paint brush. The sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo black ink on another piece of card stock and glued on top of the tag.

I cut out my pine branches, berries and pinecone with Garden Green, Real Red and Chocolate Chip*retired card stock.  The dies are from a set I have from (Momenta).  Then I distressed them with some white paint.  I didn't like how the paint dried so I decided to add some sparkle using Versamark ink and some White Diamond embossing powder.  I used glue to hold them down onto the tag although some pieces are raised up.

Next I tied some silver twine around the tag and used foam mounting tape to raise the tag up on the card.  -  Grunge usually isn't my style but I like how this turned out and hope you do as well.

Again a big thanks to Lisa for sharing her wonderful cards and inspiring mine. - Happy Stamping.

Poinsettia Magic and Wonder

Welcome! - Today I'm sharing another Christmas card with you.  I took my inspiration from this card:

The card on the left.  -  These cards were created by Lisa Arana from Unity Stamp Company.

I liked the look of the craft cardstock but decided that I wanted color on my card so while I was inspired by her card it is totally different than hers.

See I told you it was quite different.  The things I was inspired by from Lisa's card,  Kraft Card stock, Distressing, Poinsettia, Speckles.

So for my card I used a different poinsettia stamp since I don't have the one she used.  Mine is from the Unity September KOM (wander and wonder).  I stamped it twice on Kraft (Crumb Cake - SU) card stock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then I colored the image with 2 Prisma Colored pencils.  One pink one and one mint green one.  I blended the color with a blending stump and Gamsol.  Next up I splattered it with white paint diluted with a little water and used a tooth brush to splatter by running my finger down the brush (messy but fun).  Next up I also added some splatters of Antique Bronze Distress ink (Tim Holtz) using the toothbrush but no water this time.

Finally I added some Nuvo Dream Drops (Cloud) and sprinkle on some clear white diamond glitter to the center of the flowers.  I let that all dry before assembling the card.

My sentiment is done the same way and is from the same KOM. I used a Banner die (MFT) and layered it with foam tape over the image panel.

Colors of card stock used:  Pretty in Pink and Mint Melody (oh I miss that one from SU). Pink and Mint are some of my favorite colors together.  I also distressed the edges of the craft panel using a distressing tool (retired from SU).

Oh I almost forgot the small pink pearls.  I've had these for years so I'm not really sure where they are from.  The little one is super tiny.

                A close-up of the sparkle and shimmer on this card.

That's the scoop on how this card was made.  Come back again as I will be featuring another card inspired by Lisa from the right side of the photo shown at the beginning of the post.

Thanks Lisa for the "inspiration" and thank you for stopping in to check out my cards.  - Happy Stamping!

Simply Holiday Deer - NBUS#68

 Welcome!

 I'm here on the blog today sharing a couple of Christmas cards.  I'm in Christmas card mode right now so you'll be seeing a lot of them in the next few weeks.

I have 2 cards today both made with the same stamp set:

Simply Holiday Deer from Unity Stamps Uniquely Unity 10/24 Kit.

Submitting to NBUS#68 since this is a brand new stamp set and a brand new paper pack on the first card.

Card 1:

Details: Stamp Set - Simply Holiday Deer (Unity Stamps)

Card stock: Real Red and Basic White (SU)

Designer Paper - Unity (Rustic Christmas)

Dies: Unity (Scallops and Rectangles)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Other: Prisma Colored Pencils, Gamsol, White Luster Brush,Tiny Gems, Glitter, Foam Tape.

For this card I made my own snow template and blended on some blue ink to create snow banks.  It's hard to see in the picture but there are also white splatters and glitter accents on the trees and deer antlers.  I colored the image with pencils and blended with Gamsol.

Card 2:

This card used the same stamp set, (Simply Holiday Deer) except for the sentiment which came from Unity (Winter Cheer and Deer)

Card Stock: Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake (SU) and I'm not sure what Green I used but it's from (SU).

Designer Paper - Purchased at JoAnn's - Funny story to follow on the paper.

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Colored Pencils,  White Lustre Pen, Glitter, Circle Punches (SU), Dies from Unity. Ribbon (American Crafts) and some small staples.

Again this card also has glitter on it.

So here's the funny story about the paper.  One day my bowling partner showed up with a shirt that reminded me of the paper I had.  She wore it again this week so I had to get a picture of the paper and her shirt:

Here is my paper:

Here is her shirt:

Very close resemblance wouldn't you say! She got a kick out of it when I showed her the paper pattern.

Halloween Cards

Today I'm sharing the last 2 cards that I made and sent out to people for Halloween this year.

First up a super easy "no stamping" involved card.

 This card was done using Unity Stamps Patterned Paper (Haunted Hues) and ( Chronicles of a Ghost - Ephemera Kraft packet. )

Card Base: Basic Black Card Stock (SU) I then layered that with a piece of the Haunted Hues paper that I distressed with some Crushed Curry ink as the ghosts in the pattern were super white and I wanted them to match the ghost from the ephemera packet.  

I layered the ghost paper over a piece of Pumpkin Pie card stock that I had embossed with Basket Weave Die (Concord and 9th) 

I then used a Unity Scallops and Circle die to cut out the ghost from the Epherma pack .  I also cut out the boo sentiment from the same pack and distressed the edges with some pumpkin pie ink.  I mounted the sentiment and ghost with foam tape and added some gems that were given to me.

Card #2

This one uses a very old Amuse Studio stamp set called, Spooky Boo Day. - I had received a card with this layout from an Amuse Studio demonstrator once and liked the layout.  I did change it up a bit to make it my own.

Card Base: Only Orange (retired SU - which I miss), Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist and Basic White.

I used the Polka Dot circle plate from Concord and 9th and then stamped the bats in Black ink over the top of the embossed piece after I had the rest of the layout in place.

The tree was stamped with Granny Apple Green ink, the owl in Smoky Slate, the Pumpkin in Only Orange.  I added a strip of the Granny Apple Green to the bottom of the tag, some yellow glitter to the pumpkin and some yellow/orange gems to the tree to complete the card.

That's it for today's cards. - I'm working on Christmas cards now so you should be seeing them in the future.

Thanks for stopping in. - Please check to make sure you are not set to (no-reply) for commenting.  Although I am aware that this is a problem with possibly Google.  So if I don't contact you directly when you comment just know I appreciate your comments very much.