Merry Christmas!

Hello!

I wanted to share some of the Vingette boxes that I made as gifts this year.  In all I made 8 boxes.  They took a little time to make but I loved making them.  My daughter is in love with bottle brush trees and I am kind of obsessed too!  lol  I took that obsession and made these:

Most of the supplies used were Tim Holtz Idea-ology.  I used lanterns in some boxes and little strings of lights on some of the trees in other boxes.  

Be back soon.....

CAS(E) this Sketch: # 249

I saw this sketch and knew I had to enter CAS(E) this Sketch #249 this week.  I loved the design and this is what I came up with.

I stamped the first bulb then masked it and did the same for the rest of the bulbs, then I colored with copics.  I applied Wink of Stella to the bulbs for a little shine, although you can't really see it well. :)


This is the sketch this week:

Thanks for stopping by....

Supplies:
Stamps: Power Poppy-Simple Joys and Paper Smooches-A Holy Holiday

Halloween Cards

Just popping in to share a few of the cards I made for Halloween!

I made this using stamps from Purple Onion, designed by Stacey Yakula.  I also used Lawn Fawn dies to make the grass and the background is blended with Distress Oxide inks (love)!

I made this using the Lawn Fawn Scalloped box die.  I love this die and have used it a lot and still have many ideas for using it in the future.  The images are from Essentials by Ellen and Tim Holtz. They were all colored with copics.

 I made this shaker card using Essentials by Ellen stamps and dies.  The background is Distress Oxide inks.  Images are colored with copics. 

Thanks for stopping by...Happy Halloween!

OCC Merry Making Day 5 Holiday Watercolor

Day 5 already!  This lesson was all about watercolor techniques.  Watercoloring is my favorite coloring technique.

I used Zig Clean Color markers to watercolor this image and added glossy accents to the bulbs on the tree.  I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder.

I love this stamp and it has other images on it too.

Supplies: Stamp: Penny Black Gather Around
Zig Markers
SSS Rectangle Stitched Frames

OCC Merry Making-Day 4 Holiday Die Cutting

The lesson was how to use die cuts on your holiday cards.  Julie E. demonstrated a card that I loved! So I set out to make it.  For some reason I had a lot of problems, and it was all my fault, it was explained  very succinctly , but I think I just couldn't concentrate.  I had my yearly flu shot yesterday, and wow, it hit me hard.  I never had a reaction to a flu shot like that before! Anyway, today I was feeling better but still a little out of it.

I love this technique!  After stamping the card front, I die cut the word die from the front and stacked it.  It should have been pretty simple, but I kept making mistakes.  Anyway I loved the way this came out (finally)!

See you soon....

Supplies: Stamp set: Simon Says Stamp Holly Berries
Die Cute: Wplus9 Christmas Tag die

OCC Merry Making Day 3 Non Holiday Stamps

Today's lesson demonstrated using non holiday stamps to create holiday cards.  This is a great alternative if you are on a budget and aren't able to purchase a lot of holiday stamps.

I attempted Gina K.'s card creation today.  I used a leaf stamp and stamped in a circle to create a wreath.  I didn't have a stamp that wasn't an outline stamp, so I colored the leaves with copics.
I added some berries and applied glossy accents.  I am happy with this card and I think the coloring added some depth.

See you soon.....

Supplies: Leaf Stamp-Altenew Hello Sunshine, Sentiment-Avery Elle Comfort and Joy
Inks: Momento Pear Tart, Hero Arts-Field Green

OCC Merry Making-Day 2-Holiday Stamping Techniques

I really loved the card that Shari C. demonstrated today.  She demonstrated so any techniques in that one card!

This is what I made following what Shari did.

I didn't use acrylic silver paint because I didn't have any :( but wanted to see if embossing powder would work and I think it did! But I am going to get silver paint and make a card with it using this technique.  I really liked the way this came out.  I did use a lighter color palette, because I tried it with the original colors Shari used and it was just too dark for me, I am not sure if I had a heavier hand or what.

I'll see you soon....

Supplies:
Sentiment: Lawn Fawn-Let it Snow
Trees: Penny Black-Prancers
Background: Technique Tuesday-Verbose
Distress Ink: Evergreen Bough,Shabby Shutters, Antique Linen
Ranger Platinum Embossing Powder
Deer:Simon Says Stamp

OCC Merry Making-Day 1 Backgrounds

I am taking the new Online Card Class, Merry Making, which is the Holiday Card Series.  I didn't get a chance to view the class until last night and then around 11:30 p.m. I got an idea to make a card from the lesson.  You know that feeling right?  You have to make it right now! I made this:

I made this emboss resist panel using an older Penny Black backround stamp. I  heat embossed a piece of Bristol card stock with white embossing powder,  then I used Distress Oxide Candied Apple ink over the embossed panel. The die cut tree is a  Memory Box die called Sketchy Tree   Once die cut I added snow to the tree limbs with a snow pen.  I put the tree on a round piece of vellum and then attached it to the card front.  I didn't put on a sentiment because I didn't really think it needed it, the backtround stamp said it all.  

Now I am going to watch lesson 2, see you later......

OCC Rainbow Maker-Day 6

I didn't have a lot of the supplies that were used in class today, so  I decided to go with an emboss resist card today, I had this in the works and set it aside and finished it up today.

This stamp is from Lil' Inkers, it is a fantastic stamp with a lot of different accessories.  I can see this  stamped in different colored inks and some areas colored with pencils or makers. After I stamped this with Versamark, I heat embossed in white and then blended with Distress Oxide Inks in rainbow order.   The Oxides blend beautifully, my favorite for blending for sure. To finish the card  I added a few enamel dots.

This was the last class today, I enjoyed this class and I learned many different techniques.

OCC Rainbow Maker-Day 5

The lesson today was all about rainbow stenciling mediums.  A lot of beautiful examples were demonstrated today.  I did not have a lot of the product that was used by the demonstrators,so I used what I had. :)  

I tinted Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste with Ranger Distress inks and applied them on white card stock with a stencil by Simon Says Stamp-Making Waves. I think that this stencil worked well for this technique.  I did unfortunately cut a little too much off the top where the red was, oh well, shorter card. Ha! Be sure to give this lots of time to dry, I touched it too quickly and made a couple of marks, I am impatient. I think it took so long because I applied it a little thicker than I normally do. 

 The bird die cut and the word die are from SSS.  I die cut three white birds and adhered them together but the white didn't look quite right, so I die cut a black bird and adhered it on the white ones and that worked.  Also adhered about four black 'hello's' and then used Judakins Iridescent embossing powder, sorry, it's hard to see. :(  Added a few rainbow sequins and that was it!

See you soon.....

OCC Rainbow Maker-Day 4

Hi!  Today's lesson was rainbow water coloring.  Since water coloring is my favorite color medium I was eager for today's class, and it didn't disappoint.  Lots of great projects today.

The card I made was inspired by an example for Kristina W., she created a bright vibrant card.

I really like how this came out, the colors photograph differently, they are much brighter in IRL.   I used Winsor & Newton water colors on a piece of Strathmore Cold Pressed water color paper.  The light bulb is from a SSS stamp set, as is the sentiment.  I white heat embossed the bulb on vellum,fussy cut and then applied it to the card front with Ranger Multi Matte Medium, (mouthful, huh? ) lol! I also added clear droplets from Pretty Pink Posh, these are one of my favorite embellishment. The sentiment is white heat embossed on black card stock.

My niece just left for graduate school in New York, and I want to make lots of encouraging and happy cards to send her, since this is the first time she has been this far from home. :)  I will be sending her this card.

See you soon......

OCC-Rainbow Maker-Day 3

Today the lesson demonstrated rainbow die cutting.  A lot of good information happened today! I liked all of the demonstrations, but the technique by Nicole S. really caught my eye. :)

I colored my rainbow stripes with copics. I made so many I probably have enough for another card, but ran out of time to make it today. The only trouble I had with this card was I used Stick It, like Nicole, to adhere the strips together and it didn't work as well as I would have liked, I ended up using several pieces of 1" Scor-Tape and that worked well.  I used an embossing folder for the background. I cut the stars and the word die from Paper Smooches out of the rainbow paper I made.

I really enjoyed making this card, it was actually kind of relaxing.  I could have used colored card stock but I wanted this look, it seemed more colorful to me.

See you later......

OCC Rainbow Maker Day 2

The lesson today demonstrated Rainbow Stamping.  Beautiful creations today, especially the plaid designs by Laura B.  I love plaid cards and I decided that I was going to try to attempt it. This is my first try and it took a little time but I liked the way it turned out.  I need to get more solid stripe stamps though, so I can try more patterns.

After creating the rainbow plaid panel I die cut it with a Postage Stamp Die from SSS and mounted it on a fun foam piece and then to a kraft card base. I die cut the 'hi' that is from  Lil' Inker Design. then I applied rainbow sequins.

See you later.....

OCC Rainbow Maker-Day 1

Today's lesson demonstrated Rainbow Inking.  It was a great lesson and I learned quite a bit.  Julie E. demonstrated a technique that I really liked.  After I did this card I want to try it again soon with different colors. :)

After I finished the rainbow panel, I used fun foam on the back and adhered it to a white card base.  I used a die cut from SSS, cut out three times and adhered together to make it thicker.  I didn't think this card needed much more so I stopped,  I really liked the way this came out.

Be back soon.....

CAS(E) this Sketch #232

Hi,
 I am entering this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #232.  I love this weeks sketch!  Here is my card.

I used a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp, called Fingerprint Doodles.  As soon as I saw this set I thought it was the cutest and you could use it in so many ways.   I blended Distress Oxide Broken China, on the card front.   I held off buying the Distress Oxides, but then I caved and got the first release of 12 colors which are wonderful! I masked off the stamping area with Post It tape and then stamped the fingerprint stamps in various SSS inks and then the animals in Versafine black. I did add subtle highlights to the animals with a black glaze pen and copic markers.   The sentiment is from the stamp set and it is heat embossed on black card stock.

Here is this week's sketch:

Hope you like and thanks for stopping by......

CASology 5-Year Anniversary

CASology is having a blog hop and giveaways for their 5th Anniversary.  Here is a link if you want to do the bloghop. Click here

The challenge is a card featuring balloons.  I adore these stamp sets from Ellen Hutson Essentials and made this card for the challenge.

Stamp sets used are All Inside and  Bear Wear.  I used copics to color.  After coloring the balloon I applied glossy accents  for some shine.

 Thanks for stopping by, see  you soon.......

CAS(E) this Sketch #229

I have been making a lot of cards lately, just haven't had time to post them to this blog! :)    I decided to enter the CAS(E) this Sketch #229 challenge this week.

I watercolored the background using Distress Inks.  I just smooshed ink onto my craft sheet, spritzed it with water and then laid the watercolor paper over the ink and moved it around.  I like the results a lot. I used an SSS die, that I have had for a few years but I love this die for all the possibilities it has.  I die cut a bunch of circles from different patterned papers using the die and then inlaid them inside the die frame.  I stamped the sentiment with an Avery Elle stamp set, Shine Bright Clear.  I love this stamp set and have used it a lot so far this summer.

Here is the sketch:

Thanks for stopping by, see you later....

CAS(E) this Sketch #226

Hi, I decided to enter this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #226 challenge.  Here is my card.

This is an Avery Elle stamp that I had gotten recently.  I love the beach-y look of it.  Also I think depending on how you color the houses they would have a lot of uses other than a beach scene.I water colored with Distress Inks (seriously not sure what I would do without Distress Inks)  I have several sets of water colors but usually end up reaching for Distress inks.  The beachball stamp is from an Essentials by Ellen Hutson Bare Ware. I did coat the beach ball with glossy accents AND you can actually see some shine! :) I stamped the background with a Just Rite Woodgrain background stamp on kraft cardstock.

Here is the sketch:

See you soon......

CAS(E) this Sketch #223

I really liked this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #223 sketch.  Here is what I made.

I used an Art Impressions stamp and water colored with Tombow markers.  The frame is made with SSS Oval Stitched dies.  I stenciled the front with a Tim Holtz stencil in Fossilized Amber distress ink.  The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted, which is white heat embossed on dark grey cardstock.

This is the sketch:

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon........

CAS(E) this Sketch #222

The sketch for CAS(E) this Sketch #222 really kind of looked like it wanted a floral design and well I wanted to do something different.

Sorry the stamps are pretty old and I don't know who made them.    I used Simon Says Stamp inks to stamp and the border die was also from SSS.  I used glossy accents on the arrows around the sentiment.

This is the sketch....

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon......

OCC Sparkle & Shine-Day 6

Finally got a chance to view the lesson for day 6.  😊  The card I made was demonstrated by Julie E.

I water colored a PaperArtsy stamp with Zig markers. I then applied Versamark ink, bonding embossing power and then glitter.   The glitter shows up a little but IRL it is very pretty.  I heat embossed the sentiment on pink cardstock and used some Nuvo drops to accent.  I mounted the card using fun foam cut to the size of the card and adhered to the back.  I also framed it using SSS Rectangle Stitched dies.

See you soon......

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 5-B

The second card today was made using Nuvo Mousse-Peony Pink.

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I used a Tim Holtz mini stencil on a tag.  I know this is a little hard to see.  It is cloudy here again today, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow. 😃

I applied Twisted Citron distress ink to the leaves, and the mousse to the flowers. It is a very pretty effect, subtle shine.   I also used some Nuvo jewel drops on the card front.  The sentiment is from Altenew.

See you tomorrow.....

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 5-A

Todays lesson, Paste and Mousse, was a lot of fun!  I tried a card using Nuvo Glimmer Paste-Blue Topaz. 

'
I applied the paste to the stencil included in this month's Hero Arts kit.(All of elements on this card are from the contents of the kit)   I cut an oval frame (SSS Oval frame dies) and laid it over the stenciled sheet. I applied  silver Cosmic Shimmer paste to the seaweed (on the sides).  I expected a different result, but what I got I loved!! I die cut and copic colored the rest of the images.   Seriously love how this card turned out!The shimmer pastes were super easy to use.

See you later with another card from today's lesson.

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 4-B

Second card for this lesson. Debby Hughes demonstrated how to apply Perfect Pearls.  I really needed this lesson.  I have had Perfect Pearls in my stash and really never knew what to do with it!  I did watch videos but I still never tried it.  Debby really explained it well and I wanted to try.

I used a background stamp from Hero Arts and the original Perfect Pearls.  The die is from Spellbinders.  I white heat embossed vellum and  attached it to the back of the die cut and added flowers and greenery.  This was hard to photograph too.  The glare of my light put a bright spot on the card every time.  It was cloudy outside so I couldn't depend on natural light.  But I do like how this turned out.

See you soon.......

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 4-A

Today's lesson was Shimmer, Pearl and Flakes. I made a card using shimmer paints which Kristina W. demonstrated.  I used a stamp from Simon Says Stamp and painted with Gansai Tambi Starry watercolors. I clear embossed the images so I could paint them.

It was hard to photograph, so this is the best I could get.  It looks..richer? in IRL.  Not sure how to describe.  It is very pretty though.  I used Ranger Gold Embossing powder for the sentiment and added some sequins. I should have stamped  more stars but hindsight is everything. All in all I really like this technique.

I did another card today and will post soon......

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 3

I did two cards today for the lesson, this is my second card.  I just adored Lydia Fiedler's technique, making rain drops/dew drops with glossy accents.  I couldn't wait to try it, but as they were glossy accents, there is some drying time involved.

This is the stamp from the February Hero Arts kit, that I water colored with distress inks  I applied glossy accents as rain.  It doesn't photograph well. :(  I also applied it to the puddle at her feet. BUT it's there and looks really good IRL!

I really like this technique (I think I said that already, lol).

See you tomorrow.....

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 3

This is my first card from this lesson.  I am waiting for the glossy accents to dry on my second card. :)  The lesson focused on liquid application, which was shimmery or shiny liquid products for instance Wink of Stella or Glossy Accents.  I was introduced to a lot of products.  This is one of my cards.

This is a Hero Arts stamp set that I just love.  I stamped all of the elements and applied Wink of Stella to the beret, sunglasses and heart, then I applied glossy accents over them and also on the lips.  For once when I photographed it some of the glossy accents showed up.

Really enjoying this class, I am going to post another card in a little bit.

OCC Sparkle & Shine Day 2

Today's lesson was Foiling.  I have never done this technique before, and I have really wanted to learn.  I tried the technique Julie E. demonstrated.  I seriously had a lot of issues.  I did this card a couple of times and am still not totally happy with it.

The bird is a die cut from SSS, I tried a couple of liquid adhesives recommended and they really didn't work for me, I ended up using Stick It and it worked the best.  I used Deco Foil, after trying a couple of other brands, and this actually worked the best too.  Knowing all this I think my next project will go a little smoother.

See you later....

OCC Sparkle and Shine Day 1

Today's lesson was all about glitter.  I am not one to use glitter, I always found it pretty messy and the results weren't anything I really liked a lot.  This is why I decided to take this class to learn new ways to use glitter so it wasn't a hot mess. I decided to try my hand at the technique taught by Jennifer McGuire.  She used die cuts and applied glitter in the background.  This is what I made.

I only have a few die cuts that cut out a scene like this that I could use the glitter in the background.  This was really pretty easy, now that I know what I am doing. lol It is a little hard to capture the glitter-y-ness, but this is really pretty IRL.  This is a SSS die cut and I used WOW glitter called SeaHorse.

See you latter....

CAS(E) this Sketch #220

This is what I made for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #220 challenge.

This Unity stamp actually faces the other way but I wanted to use it for this sketch.  I inked up the stamp and stamped it on a piece of acetate to create a mirror stamp. Then I turned the acetate over and pressed it onto the cardstock.  This created a pretty good impression, then I colored it with copics and also stamped some foliage and flowers.  The die cut is from Lil' Inkers. 

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.....

CAS(E) the Sketch #219

I saw the sketch for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #219 and had an idea right away, just didn't have the time until now to make a card.

I die cut colored vellum with a Simon Says Stamp die, for the waves.   The boat is from a stamp set, also from SSS, and colored with copics.  The sentiment is from Altenew.  I added a few wooden stars to finish it off.

This is the sketch for this week's challenge.

Thanks for stopping by, be back soon.....

Easter Cards

I have been  busy, my daughter wanted me to make a set of cards to gift her employer and that took some time.  I had used all of my surplus cards to give as Christmas gifts, so I needed to make quite a few.

I wanted to share some of the Easter cards that I made this year.

Watercolored  Altenews Floral Sprig on cold press water color paper using distress inks.  The greeting is a wooden stamp that I am not even sure how old it is. :)  It is heat embossed on slate card stock using white embossing powder.

The background is a stamp from the SSS March kit.  I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white on Tim Holtz watercolor paper.   I watercolored using distress inks. The greeting is from the same stamp set, heat embossed in black on vellum.  I did another version of this using Prismacolor pencils to highlight but forgot to photograph before I sent it. :(  I did like that version too.

These are Stacey Yakula stamps from Purple Onion Designs.  I love her stamps.  These images are Copic colored.

Thanks for coming by and I'll be back ........

Grown With Love

I wanted to get a post done for the last day of The Daily Marker 30 Day Color Challenge #thedailymarker30day.  I am going to post this card on Facebook tomorrow, but had to do my blog post today because I will not have access to a computer tomorrow.

For most of the card I used the images from the March Hero Arts Card Kit.  The images were water colored with Zig Color markers.  The background was colored with distress inks.(Tumbled Glass & Mowed Lawn).   The sentiment (which I love), is from Altenew and is heat embossed in white on slate cardstock.   Everything but the fence is adhered with foam dots.

Thanks for stopping by, be back soon......