Autumn Leaves Birthday

I have an autumnal birthday card to share today.  The chocolate cardstock was run through a Big Shot with the Tim Holtz "Acorns" Embossing Folder.  Then I used Simon Hurley Lunar Paste in Gold Rush with my finger to shine up the raised areas of the leaves and acorns.  So pretty in real life.  The paper leaves were made with both coffee filters and sleeves from Starbucks coffee cups, with the Tim Holtz Bigz die "Tattered Leaves."  I used various Distress Sprays to get some color onto two of the leaves.  The final, simple touch is a sentiment from Papertrey Ink "Birthday Basics" and a twine bow.

Thanks for taking a peek!  

Hope your day is wonderful!

A Small Parade of Cards

Happy Friyay!  I have just a few cards to share in a quick post.  Hope your weekend will be a lovely one!

Papertrey Ink - Birthday Basics; Tim Holtz - Tattered Leaves Bigz die; twine

My Favorite Things - All Occasion Sentiments

My Favorite Things - Die-namics LLD Tea Party, Cup of Tea stamps; Papertrey Ink - Tiny Tags die

Stampin' Up! - Butterfly Thinlits; Papertrey Ink - Keep It Simple: Sympathy

Blessing to you!

International Leaves

The Post Script background from Stampin' Up! makes its debut here!  I bought this stamp for a great price at an SU sale a couple of years ago, and finally, I've used it.  You know how it goes, too many stamps, not enough time.  😉

I like the look of it, and should remember to put it into action more. 

Inspired By Stamping Vintage Postcards 'Palermo' postmark; Stampin' Up! Post Script background; Tim Holtz / Sizzix Tattered Leaves dies; Papertrey Ink Keep It Simple: Get Well sentiment; My Favorite Things Slanted Sentiment Strips die; Distress Ink Sprays (assorted)

That top leaf was fun to color up with a whole bunch of Distress Ink Sprays.  

Autumn will be here soon, and I am so ready! 

Remarkable You

I've got autumn on my mind.  It's definitely my favorite season.  We've had a hot summer, so I am dreaming of what is to come!

Here's a simple card with a feel of fall, featuring a pretty copper maple leaf accent (from Stampin' Up!).  I paired it with a marbled handmade paper scrap sample that came with an envelope order loooong ago.  There's a bold sentiment from Simon Says Stamp, and a little bit of 'distressing' with a stamp in the background.  At first, I put a yellow strip of cardstock above the marbled paper, and it did not look right.  So I took a Krylon 24kt Gold Pen and wiped it down.  It's a shame you can't see the metallic gleam of that, and of the leaf. 

Simon Says Stamp Hand Lettered Encouragement sentiment; Stampin' Up! Artisan Textures distressed dot stamp, copper leaf accent; twine; handmade paper (marble, not by me!); Krylon 24kt Gold Pen

Thanks so much for joining me! God bless you!

Autumn-Themed Cards

Hello everyone!  I've been wanting to play in a card challenge, and I was intrigued by the Tic Tac Toe challenge #104.  I picked the bottom row, which features birthday, coloring & yellow.  I put together an autumn-themed birthday card, with a birthday sentiment inside.  Sometimes I like the simplicity of  'for you' on the front of a clean and simple card.

Stampin' Up! Lovely As A Tree oak leaves stamp, patterned papers; Inspired By Stamping Fancy Label 18 frame stamp; Spellbinders Labels 18 die; yellow clear enamel dots; Copic markers 

And while I was in an autumn mood, I went a little crazy and crafted up all kinds of things with leaves.  LOL

Papertrey Ink Autumn Hills sentiment, tiny pumpkin stamps; Stampin' Up! Autumn Harvest pumpkin stamp, brown embossed die cut; Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies; yellow clear enamel dots; Verve Notebook Paper stamp

Top Dog Dies Fall Foliage acorn die; Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies; Sizzix / Tim Holtz Sewing Room dress form die; My Favorite Things Slanted Sentiment Strips die, Falling Leaves dies; Papertrey Ink Keep It Simple: Thanksgiving sentiment stamp; lace; white crackle paint

Sizzix / Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die; natural twine; My Favorite Things Mix & Match Banners die; gold & walnut stain Distress Ink sprays; Papertrey Ink Stemmed Statements sentiment stamp

Sizzix / Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die; gold & walnut stain Distress Ink sprays; Hero Arts With Sympathy sentiment stamp

Sizzix / Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die; gold & walnut stain Distress Ink sprays; Hero Arts With Sympathy sentiment stamp

Papertrey Ink Autumn Hills sentiment; Stampin' Up! Avant Garden flower stamp (for border); Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die; tiny acorn from stash

Hope you and your loved ones are doing well.  My husband has been busy repainting our living room, going from a beige that I am tired of, to a pale warm gray.  The woodwork is white, we keep that standard throughout the house.  I'll try to remember to share a pic or two here when it's all finished.  

One of my teeth fell two Fridays ago (a crown with post) while I was eating.  Ugh.  And of course, it was a Friday, so I needed to wait the weekend to have the problem addressed.  I went to a new-to-me dentist office that was highly recommended, and on Monday morning, lo and behold, my tooth that had been given a root canal, where the crown had been, was yanked.  Thankful for nitrous oxide.  I am now in the process of getting a dental implant.  It will be my first.  I hear good things about them.  😀

God bless you!

Catching Up (a little)

Hello friends!  It's been quite a while since we met here.  Life has been biz-zee!  So busy!  I've been making masks, and cards, and decorating for autumn, and selling things on Mercari...and also the usual upkeep of a home.  But I really wanted to pop in and share at least some of my backlog of cards.  There is much more I need to show you, but time is short so here we go with this batch today! 

Inspired By Stamping - Graceful Hydrangea small flower cluster stamp; Papertrey Ink Inside & Out: Birthday II sentiment stamp; Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch; clear dots; Sizzix Sweet & Donut Thinlits word dies

Stampin' Up! Butterfly Basics sentiment, postmark and flower stamps, Floral Background stamp; K & Co. pale purple flourish die cuts

Stampin' Up! Watercolor Trio solid flower stamp in background, 'friend' on die cut from scrap bag; Gina Marie Designs Small Butterfly die; button; clothing tag (floral with lace); twine; doily; L'il Inker Designs Stitched Rectangle die; Spellbinders Parisian Motifs die (a small section below tag)

The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday; My Favorite Things Falling Leaves dies; All Night Media small maple leaf stamp; Stampin' Up! Sanded Background stamp; gold cardstock circle

Lawn Fawn Little Bundle stamps and matching dies; pink and white twine; Spellbinders Scalloped Squares die; DCWV Luxury Stack patterned paper

This one was easy peasy.  The heart and sentiment from Stampin' Up were already stamped and embossed (from a scrap bag).  I just die cut it with a My Favorite Things heart, added a white glittery sticker from the craft store, and added pearls and clear sparkling sequins. 

Stampin' Up! 'wish big' sentiment (from a scrap bag, unsure of the set) and patterned paper from Good Neighbors paper pad (oldie); My Favorite Things Mini Wavy Pennants die

And we've come to the end of the show for today! 😁

I do have another post coming soon.  Looking forward to showing you those cards as well.

God bless you,

Guesting with Inlovearts

Hello friends!  I have the pleasure of doing a guest post today, with a craft company called Inlovearts.  They asked me to try some of their products, and I chose some really cool dies from their collection.  I am excited to show you what I created with them!

The first card features Hollow Scissors Heart dies.  Love, love, love!  The fancy scissors and half-trimmed heart remind me of old-fashioned Valentine cards that feature handmade hearts and doilies.  I also think of that impressive paper crafting technique of scherenschnitte, a centuries-old art of paper cutting into intricate designs.  I did an internet search of examples of scherenschnitte to show you, and just take a quick peek at some of the beauties out there!  

Back to the Hollow Scissors Heart die set.  They cut absolutely beautifully.  I use a Sizzix Big Shot with all of my dies, and since these dies are more intricate, a Sizzix Chrome Precision Base Plate helps get the best cut possible.  

Inlovearts Hollow Scissors Heart dies; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Love sentiment stamp; pearls; Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents flower punch; My Favorite Things Pierced Traditional Tags tag die

The shot below shows better the silvery paper I used for the scissors.  Love how they turned out!  I used a mauve-pink shimmery paper for the heart, and I think it has such a romantic feel.  When I made the choice to use a pink heart, with silver scissors, that's when I knew this needed to be a Valentine's Day card. 😀

The next card has me dreaming of our next season:  autumn!  It's my favorite season. 💗  I used the Multiple Leaves die set. Although there are five beautiful leaves in the set, I chose only three to showcase in wheat, deep rusty orange, and mossy green cardstocks.  I set them against a deep espresso background to make those colors really pop! 

Inlovearts Multiple Leaves dies ; Stampin' Up! So Many Shells sentiment stamp; Gina Marie Designs Big and Little Chain Rectangles die

The Pattern Tie die set contains three men's ties and I like how bold they are!  This card is an A2 design, so it's 4.25" wide by 5.5" high.  The tie takes center stage (well, left stage!  LOL) and it only needed a sentiment to complement it.  I used a plaid patterned paper as a background base as well as the 'fabric' for the tie.  It's a little hard to see in the picture, but the tie has a stitched look all around.  It's a subtle but nice touch.

Inlovearts Pattern Tie die; Inspired By Stamping Guy Sentiments sentiment stamp

My last card showcases Stackable Hearts Nesting Dies and again, I found myself using the color orange!  I noticed this common thread after I made all four cards; so funny.  There are six hearts in the set, and used half of them on my size A2 card.  The smallest heart was die cut with ivory cardstock and stamped with a sentiment.  Each heart has pretty scallops all the way around.  So feminine!  And with pearls being one of my favorite accessories, they seemed a natural match for these dainty, girly hearts. 

Inlovearts Stackable Hearts Nesting dies; Hug Snug Mottle Brown seam binding; pearls; The Greetery Sentiment Suite: Birthday sentiment stamp 

The kind folks at Inlovearts are offering a 15% discount to you!

 

Discount code:   G-20398   

Thank you all so much for your visit today!

God bless you. 😃

Cards to Share

Hey there!  How are you all doing out there??  I hope you're keeping busy and keeping your hands washed to keep the germs at bay.  What a crazy time it is right now!  We are doing our part and staying in unless it's absolutely essential to run to the store.  My husband and I are taking walks in the evening, and it feels good to get some fresh air.

I had a little time this evening to photo-edit some cards from a while back, so I'm sharing today:

Stampin' Up! - 'thanks' sentiment (unsure of set); calendar panel; Webster's Pages - silver lace fabric

Papertrey Ink - Inside and Out: Birthday II sentiment; Stampin' Up! - Bloomin' Hearts Thinlits dies

Momenta - Hello sentiment; Altenew - One of A Kind flower stamp; Stampin' Up! wooden flower; Simon Says Stamp - Stitched Circle die; My Favorite Things - Scalloped Rectangle die

My Favorite Things - Inspired By Spring sentiment, Scalloped Rectangle die; Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punch; Stampin' Up!  Itty Bitty Accents flower punch

My Favorite Things - Ewe and Me Forever sheep, flowers; Lucky -  clouds; Grassy Fields dies

The sheep card is definitely 'cutesy', and I had made it for my youngest daughter's 17th birthday.  She has always loved animals, and at the time, this sheep stamp set by My Favorite Things was new to me, so I played around with it and created a scenic card.

The Craft's Meow - Owl Be Thinking of You sentiment, stars; assorted scraps from my desk

Tim Holtz - Tattered Leaves die; Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves oak leaf die; Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin - You Are My Anchor sentiment, Le Jardin Botanique leaf stamp

The last card is my least favorite in the line-up today.  I was trying to use elements that were on my desk at the time, and make it look cohesive.  Instead, it looks a bit busy to me now.  LOL 😆

Thanks a bunch for joining me today.  Stay safe and stay well, and God bless you!

Happy Place Leaves

Hello there!

I'm way late in sharing this card.  It's the anniversary card I gave to my husband a couple of years ago.  We were married in October many moons ago, so we're rather fond of autumn and all the beauty that comes with the season.

I had the idea to scatter leaves on a card, all in white, with only one leaf in full color.  Distress Ink sprays were carefully spritzed onto a white cardstock scrap, then die-cut with a maple leaf from My Favorite Things 'Falling Leaves' for that one special piece. 

I worried, as I always do, if my husband would like the card I made.  He liked it just fine. 😌

My Favorite Things 'Falling Leaves' dies - Altenew 'Sentiments and Quotes' - Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins

Thank you for your visit!  God bless you!

Masculine Collage Cards

Collage cards are among my favorites to make.  I appreciate the challenge of taking elements that look good together and grouping them to create a lot of visual interest.  I actually do the same thing to the walls in my home, using different items together to create a cohesive look. 

The cards featured in this post also happen to have a masculine feel to them.  I used earth tones on every single one.  I let the stickers and die cuts influence the color palette.

Hope you enjoy.

Altenew 'Sentiments & Quotes' sentiment - Inspired By Stamping 'Creative Tags' script tag stamp

Tim Holtz 'Tattered Leaves' die - Papertrey Ink 'Tiny Tags' sentiment - Stampin' Up! 'Autumn Fest' acorn

Many of these stickers are years-old, from K & Company.  You can tell they're older.  LOL  Their time has come and gone, but I really wanted to use them on these cards.

Thanks for taking a peek!  God bless you!