Saturday, April 30, 2016

Card for a Mother

I made another card in honor of Mother's Day which is a week from this coming Sunday. It is hard to believe that it should be that time of year already. Where does the time go?


For this card I used images from Alltenew Wild Hibiscus stamp set along with some die cuts and Zig water color markers. I first stamped the floral image with Versafine Black Onyx ink on white card stock. I also added my sentiment with the black ink. I took the Zig water color pens and colored my floral image. I then cut the white card stock as a 2 1/2 inch strip.

Next I took the double scalloped border die and cut two of them from Eggplant card stock. I adhered the floral strip on a base card of Lovely Lavender and then added the die cut strips along the edge above and below.

After die cutting the leafy flourishes in Eggplant card stock I then added them to the top of the card base. I added some coordinating colored rhinestones to the card front. And inside I added another floral image to tie it to the outside card design.



Cherry Lynn Designs Dies used:
B465 Double Scalloped Border
B117S Mini Fanciful Flourish

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn Designs Blog Challenge
Mod Squad Blog Challenge

Well, we have a partly cloudy type of day and still sort of on the cool side. And, that wind is back once again. So that makes it feel even cooler. But other than that it is a great Saturday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

God bless,
Verna

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Tulips

My only tulips left living came up again this year and they are always so beautiful with their yellow blooms. However, the strong winds have raised havoc with them this spring. Almost every day we have strong wind so I took a photo of them as they won't last very long.


On a humorous note I will relate this conversation I had this noon with my husband.

Verna: "Oh, I did a blog hop and won a goodie package from Simon Says! So I am hoping to see that arrive in the mail one of these days."

Hubby: "Well, you better be careful hopping around so you don't hurt yourself. Some days you can hardly walk now!"

I broke into laughter at that remark and then explained to him what I meant by hopping. Then  he laughed too!

It is nice to know he is always looking out for me. LOL

I am in cleaning mode. An insurance guy wants to go over some policies with us tomorrow so we need the kitchen table cleared off so he can layout all his information. Since the kitchen table is my crafting area, you can just imagine what a bunch of things were on it. It is slowly looking better.

Take care everyone and we are still getting April showers now and then. But that is okay. It is good to know it will be better for the crops to get some moisture built up.

God bless,
Verna

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Trashy Treasure

The Monday challenge at Stamp TV was to take something you normally throw out and make a artfully designed treasure from it. So I had to join this challenge and my first step was to shop in my waste basket. Inside I found a mesh bag from some Halos and several Dove chocolate wrappers and that was a big part of the design of my card today.


I used a base card of ivory and with a sponge tool added light blue color by using the Halo mesh bag like a stencil. Then I took the flourish from the Gina K. Designs stamp set which is in the Catherine Pooler Stamp of Approval collection and randomly added that image with Versafine Onyx Black ink. The sentiment is also from that set.

Next I made my flower. But first I glued the Dove wrappers onto red card stock and let it dry well before I die cut them with the Die'sire Forget Me Not 3D flower design. I made two of the larger die and one of the smaller one. They were then fastened together with a brad. But I popped the middle layer up with some pop dots to create more dimension. I then added this to the bottom intersecting flourish images. The last step was to add some red rhinestones randomly and more flourish design inside the card.


To better see the dimension and a little closer view I also added the photograph below of the card creation.


I rather like the Dove wrapper flower myself and I really like that flourish image. I am sure I will get lots of use from this awesome set of stamps.

Well, it is another rainy day but I am not complaining. We were so dry and this is just what we needed.  Thanks for stopping by and I so appreciate all your wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Monday, April 25, 2016

Mother's Love

I made another card filled with beautifully handmade flowers using dies. I decided this would be a Mother's Day card as that special day is fast approaching too!


I also used an embossing folder to make the oval center design. In order to make it that way I had to use another accompanying tool which blocks off areas of the embossing folder so that only certain parts are embossed. The embossing folder called Frame It and the tool are both from Inside Out Embossing Plates. The embossed area was on the ivory panel.


I made the flowers from various colors of card stock so as to give the feel of a bouquet of beautiful blooms. I used rhinestones to add more decoration to each flower center. And the sentiment was stamped in black to match the black layer which outlined the panel of ivory card stock. This sentiment is from the Wild Hibiscus set by Altenew.

The Cheery Lynn Designs dies used are:
B181 Build a Flower #1
B117S Mini Fanciful Flourish

The photo below shows more of the dimension of the card elements.


I am entering this in the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge
Double D's Blog Challenge
Scrapy Land Blog Challenge

Tonight is my Dancing With the Stars program so I won't be doing any cards then. For some reason I like that show a lot. And my Monday has been a good one as we got over an inch of rain this weekend. Still no sunshine, so sounds like we may be getting some more before the day is through. I hope you had a great Monday as well.

God bless,
Verna

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Cherry Blossom Birthday

The need for another birthday card prompted me to make this card using the Cherry Blossoms set by Inspired by Stamping. I also chose to use my Color Bursts to water color the design. I did this by putting a bit of powder of the chosen colors on a palette and then just dipped my brush in water and picked up the color.


I used Tim Holtz water color paper for the main design which was cut out with a cross stitched stacker die. I also die cut another panel of black card stock to use as a mat for the focal panel. Both of these panels then were added to a pink card base. I finished the card by adding a die cut Happy Birthday. To make a bit more dimension in the cherry blossoms I also added some white using a Uni Posca white paint pen.


Dies used:
Cheery Lynn Designs Happy Birthday CARA-10
Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Borders Style No. 99124

I will be entering this card in the following challenges:
Scrapy Land Challenge
Mod Squad Blog Challenge
Double D's Challenge

It is always a pleasure to read your comments and I want you to know I so appreciate you stopping in and looking at what I have created. Have a good evening!

God bless,
Verna

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Sending Flowers

I am using some NBUS (Never Before Used Stuff) today. I purchased the stamp set, and dies quite some time ago and since they had never been used before I figured today was the day they would see some creative action. It is just a simple scene but I like it and I think I know some people who would enjoy getting it as well.


The cat, flower blossom and sentiment are from a plate of stamps from Stampenback which can be purchased at I Brake For Stamps. I also used a Teardrop Punch Border die from Die-Versions. I thought it would look like rain drops. And, the cloud die is from Die-namics by My Favorite Things.

I used my MISTI to stamp the designs except for the stems, leaves and grass which I hand drew with some water color pens from Zig. After the main panel was assembled I lined it with black card stock before I placed it on a light blue base card. I also added some bling to the centers of the solid image flower blooms.


This card will be appreciated by cat lovers and those who love flowers too.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Mod Squad Blog Challenge
Double D's Blog Challenge

And we did get some April showers here. We garnered about 7/10ths of an inch which is way more than we had previously gotten. So we are very happy for that.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for stopping in and I wish you a great week.

God bless,
Verna

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Thinking of You Sunflower

My card is mostly done with die cuts today. I did however stamp the sentiment which is from the Gina K. Designs Simply the Best stamp set. I made it into a Thinking of You card so that it can be used for many occasions. I chose the Gina K. Designs card stocks and inks in the colors of Edible Eggplant and Lovely Lavender.


I know these are not the traditional colors for a sunflower but I thought that it would look more similar to a huge daisy instead. And, since I only had holly leaves I used them for my leaves on the flower.  The butterfly is an embossing die cut so in order to have the embossed design show up more I first inked it up before I die cut it. And, I used that elegant looking card cover for the background and added the sentiment which was stamped onto another oval die cut. After all was assembled I added some bling to the butterfly, flower and the sentiment oval.

I forgot to add that the sunflower is made from some background paper I made with the wax embossing resist technique in which I sponged on Lovely Lavender ink.


I know this second photo shows up being more like navy but it is indeed the same card and try as I might I just could not get it to show the true colors. But maybe seeing the card from a different angle might show off more of the dimension of the die cuts used.

I used the following Cheery Lynn Designs dies:
Card Cover Maker #4 CAFR-11
DL 121 Sunflower
B183 Holly Leaves
XM-7 Oval-Classic
D130 Butterfly Bundles

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Scrapy Land Blog Challenge
Cheery Lynn Designs Blog Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and as always I so love to see your comments. They are all so appreciated.

God bless,
Verna

Saturday, April 16, 2016

She's Back! Miss Daisy is in the building!

I must confess I have never been so thrilled in a long time with a stamp as I am with this big daisy background from Cornish Heritage Farms. This time I inked the stamp up with Versamark ink and added white embossing powder and heat set it. Then I took my Color Bursts shades of purple and blue and added the color with a paint brush. I like the look of this as well.


By using white embossing powder I think it looks more like a white daisy. I mounted this onto a white card base and my last step was to add the die cut sentiment which is from a combo die and stamp set from Hero Arts called Prayers. The hearts and inside sentiment are also from that same set of stamps.



I hope you did not get too bored seeing more of this daisy. And I have more plans of using that stamp again and again, so be aware it will return often. Don't say you weren't warned now. LOL

I also discovered I have a smaller version of the same stamp which I might have to use again. I had made a lot of thank you cards for one of my daughter's weddings so that one at least has gotten inky. I found an old photo I had taken of the design so an sharing it with you too!



Well, that is it for me this weekend. I am hoping we get some rain as we are so very dry in our part of the state. So please keep your fingers crossed and your hands folded that we do. Have a great Sunday!

God bless,
Verna

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Using Positive and Negative

The Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week is to use both the positive and negative in your card design or project. So I decided I had to join in on the fun too!


I used a Cheery Lynn Designs Classic oval die and cut it out of Tim Holtz water color paper. My floral design and sentiment are from the CAS-UAL FRIDAYS Truth Is set and the Casual Elegance set. I colored my images in with Zig water color pens and also sponged on some Gina K. Designs Dusty Rose ink around the edge of the positive die. The image and sentiment were stamped with Versafine black ink.

The decorative paper is from a Gina K. Designs paper pack called Delicate Essentials. I also layered this all onto a base card of Gina K. Designs Dusty Rose paper. The finishing touch was to add some pink gems randomly on the card.


Well, thanks for looking and may your weekend be a great one.

God bless,
Verna

Love & Prayers

Again I used a background using the wax paper embossing folder technique. In the previous post I added a link to the video showing how this technique is done. And, I also used some negatives from die cutting and am trying to make them look like positives. I hope I succeeded.


My stamps are all from Gina K. Designs. The flowers and leaves are from the Frame & Flowers 1 set. The butterfly is from the Warm Spring Wishes set and the sentiment is from the Scripty Sayings set.


The embossing folder is from the Barkley line from Crafter's Companion and is called Flowers For You. And, the negatives are from an oval die and a banner die from Cheery Lynn Designs.

Once I had my wax embossed design ironed onto card stock I then sponged on Turquoise Sea ink from Gina K. Designs. I also stamped the flowers with that color and the leaves were stamped with Grass Green. This wax embossed panel was then placed behind the negatives and from there I proceeded to assemble the card together. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine black ink.


It took a search to find a suitable negative in my scraps that would work. I really like how this turned out too. And if I can find more I might work up another design using them. It is a fun challenge.

I will be entering this in the Mix It Up Monday Challenge at StampTV  for this week.

Well, more than likely that will do it for me this week. I am getting company this weekend so I better clear the deck a bit so we can not have crafty goodies laying all over. LOL You have a great weekend too!

God bless,
Verna

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Yellow Rose Birthday

Over at Stamp TV Gina K. has a video showing how to do the wax paper embossing resist. I thought her card so pretty that I had to try it for myself. I chose for this card an embossing folder from Die'sire called Ornate Butterflies.

 I purchased this folder from Crafter's Companion some time ago so I am not sure if it is still available or not, but I am sure you can find an embossing folder in your supply that would work as well.


And, the wax paper gives it so much texture that you don't notice the butterflies as much but instead see all the design created from the resist. I sponged my resist background with Gina K. Designs Honey Mustard ink. The roses, leaves and sentiment are from the Gina K. Designs Frames and Flowers 2 set. I first stamped the roses in Gina K. Designs Sweet Corn and then did the over stamped image with the Honey Mustard. The leaves were first stamped with Gina K. Designs Grass Green and then over stamped with Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine. I also used Gina K. Designs Honey Mustard and White card stocks for the card.


The sentiment was stamped in black on white card stock and then die cut with Coved Rectangle Scallop Die. I then die cut a layer of Honey Mustard for it before I added it to the card. The ribbon die was also cut from white card stock and added to the design.


Cheery Lynn Dies  used:
Coved Rectangle-Scalloped XM-11
Allison's Ribbons B335

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Double D's Blog Challenge
Scrapy Land Blog Challenge
Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge

Well, I enjoyed making this yesterday afternoon and evening. But I did not get around to photographing it until today. And, with some household chores needing to be finished first I am just now getting it posted to my blog.

My day is going great and I hope yours is as well. Until next time, take care.

God bless,
Verna

Monday, April 11, 2016

Sunset On Lake

Well, I was looking to see if I had more acrylic paints and although I did not find any I did find these oil pastels which were purchased and never used. They were a very cheap set but I had to try them. Again, another medium I am not at all familiar with but I understand once you put the colors down you blend them with your fingers. At least that is what I did. I added the colors to a black sheet of Gina K. Designs heavy weight card stock. I then mounted this on a card base but here it is just shown as the original art work.



This was added to a full of sheet card stock folded in half so the card measures 4 1/4 inches by 5 1/2 inches. I was told one should spray it with a fixative and it seems all I had was some acrylic spray which was supposed to be used to save art work, but it did not mention oil pastels so hopefully, it will still work on it. If anyone knows differently, please let me know. As I said I am a novice at most of this artsy stuff I have been doing lately. I think you can tell too. LOL

I tried to scratch off some tree leaves in the upper right corner but they did not look so great. I may not have the right type of scraping tool for that. And I then nixed the idea of adding more tree leaves on the other side. I also scraped off to add my name and the man in the boat taking an evening boat ride. However, the distant shore line and trees was done with a black pastel crayon.

And, please if you are knowledgeable in this art form please give me any pointers on it as heaven knows I need all the help I can get. LOL It was another adventure in creativity for me. And, again, even if it is not that good I still enjoyed it and had lots of fun. I hope you are having a great fun day as well.

God bless,
Verna

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Dabbled With Acrylics

I got the brushes and acrylic paints out again and dabbled a bit with them and created a scene that features an evergreen and lilac bush on our farm. It sort of looks similar to what we see in our yard area.


I am completely out of the white paint now and so I am not sure when I will paint more things again. I would need white as I only had six tubes and had to mix all the time to get the shades I wanted. Good thing I know that blue and red make purple. LOL

And I had a dickens of a time trying to take a photo of it. Again, this is done on the practice sheets. I don't know if I will ever be comfortable enough to try the big canvases. And, when I was done it looked like I had painted my hands as well. What a clutz! As you can see this is outside of my comfort zone. But at least I can say that I did try it!

I got some great news as well. My son and his two boys will be joining us for Christmas. I know....that is a long way off, but since they live in Japan that is a big thrill for all of our family. So we are looking forward to a wonderful get together at Christmas time. Sad though that his wife cannot accompany them as she is working on her PHD and so she is extra busy with that besides her work schedule.

Well, have a great rest of the weekend.

God bless,
Verna

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Congrats Daisy

Using the same daisy stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms I colored it with Bisters and now have a congratulations card which could be for many occasions. I used the colors of blue, yellow and red Bisters. The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs.


Besides the panel of Tim Holtz water color paper with the daisy design on it I also used Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart and Prickly Pear card stocks for the card. I thought those colors matched the Bisters colors as they are more of a darker hue.

Just thought I would share this now that I had it finished. I put the stamp away for the meantime, but I am sure it will be brought out quite often as I have enjoyed working with it.

Have a good evening everyone.

God bless,
Verna

Sunflower Get Well

Looking through my supply I realized I was short on Get Well themed cards so I decided to make one that would be ready for me to send out when the need occurs.


My card stock colors of choice are Gina K. Designs Sweet Mango and Wild Dandelion. I also used the Gina K. Designs sunflower image which is from the Stately Flowers 5 set which is illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger.

My background was done with a Lawn Fawn die cut from Sweet Mango and then placed over a base card of the Wild Dandelion. After I had colored the sunflower image with my Zig water color markers I then fussy cut it out and placed it over that background. I added the die cut sentiment as well. And, I decided I wanted a butterfly so I took one that embosses as well as cuts but first I inked the die up with black ink so that when it was passed through my machine it would have all the embossed area colored.


The butterfly was popped up so that it appears to have its wings uplifted. I thought it looked a bit more realistic. I also added some white paint pen to the center of the butterfly and then added a bit of yellow over the top with a marker to bring a different look to it.


Cheery Lynn Dies used are:
D130 Butterfly Bundles
CARA-14 Get Well

Lawn Fawn Die used:
Stripey Backdrop #LF1144

I am entering this design in the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn Designs Blog Challenge
Mod Squad Blog Challenge
Scrapy Land Blog Challenge
Double D's Blog Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of the week.

God bless,
Verna

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Another Daisy

Here is one more Daisy Backgrounder card which is from Cornish Heritage Farms but this time I used Bisters to color the huge stamp. Again I implemented the use of the MISTI too. And, my colors of choice for this card were mahogany, red, blue and yellow. As you may note the Bisters have a more brown tone to them but I still liked how this looks when stamped with them. Again I used a sentiment from Gina K. Designs too.



Well, I am going to clean up this stamp for now but I know I will be pulling it out a lot more often since I finally used it. I really like it a lot.

Have a great rest of the day my friends.

God bless,
Verna

Yellow Daisy

I just had to play some more with that wonderful Daisy Backgrounder stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. I again used some Color Bursts to create this card with that big stamp and my MISTI tool.


The Color Burst colors of choice this time were yellow, orange, red and blue. I lightly moistened a brush and then picked up the colors and applied them to the big background stamp. Then I pressed it hard with the MISTI onto the Tim Holtz water color paper. I repeated until I was satisfied with the design. I then added the sentiment from Gina K. Designs and placed it on a yellow card stock base.


This stamp is so huge and has so much detail in it and along with the textured card stock I felt there was no need to add more to the card. I just love this and the yellows sure do look bright and cheery to me.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Mod Squad Blog Challenge
Double D's Blog Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a bright and cheery one too. I know it is overcast and looks like rain here but with a card design like this who cares!

God bless,
Verna

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Color Bursts Daisy

I have had this stamp in my stash for ages and even though I loved it I just never seemed to get it out and use it. I often looked at it but being it was a huge stamp I thought it would be a hard one for me to get a good impression with. But now that I have a MISTI it is a breeze as I can redo it several times until I am satisfied with it.


The big Daisy Backgrounder is from Cornish Heritage Farms. I like that you can turn the design around after it is stamped to see which way you prefer to use it. I think I chose the opposite way of which it was intended but I wanted to place the sentiment at the bottom. The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs. I used Tim Holtz water color paper for the front panel and for the base card I used Gina K. Design white heavy weight card stock.



Using very little moisture on the Color Bursts I brushed on my colors to the stamp. The first application was done with the Orange in the center and Ultramarine Blue. After that had slightly dried then I applied more orange and then some Violet but only added these colors to the daisy portion only. To add more color to the inside orange area I then took a slightly wet brush and added more of the orange.

The last step on my panel was to add the sentiment with black Versafine ink. The card was completed by adding it to the white card stock base.

You know? I really like the way this looks. I hope to be trying it soon in different colors as well. I think this is a very attractive and cheery looking card myself!

I hope your day is going well.

God bless,
Verna


Sunday, April 3, 2016

Puddle Duck

I made up another card for the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which we are to use water in our design. I wanted a more cute type of card so I used this darling puddle duck image from the Gina K. Designs Blooming With Blessings set which is illustrated by Rupa Shevde.  I also used the Raindrops for the background which is a stamp image from Designs by Ryn. And the sentiment is from the Sparkle N Sprinkle set 760 called Puddles.


My panel, the duck and the sentiment were all stamped onto Tim Holtz water color paper. I used Color Bursts to make the background panel and my Spectrum Aqua markers to color in the duck. All stamps used were inked with Versafine Black ink.


Cheery Lynn Designs Dies used:
XM-7 Oval Classics
DL303 Pierced Banners

Well, I hope your Sunday is going well. It is hard to believe that we are already into April. The year is off to a fast start I think. But then every year it seems to fly by faster than ever the older I get. Until next blog post, please take care.

God bless,
Verna

Friday, April 1, 2016

Teal Duck

Today I worked with my Spectrum Noir Aqua markers and did a scene using images from the Gina K. Designs The Wetlands set which is illustrated by Theresa Momber. I really love all of Theresa's sets and how she makes her scenes. I hope I did her set justice with this one I made using her stamps.


I used water with my aqua markers so that the colors would appear lighter. I think this worked out well. I colored first and then used a wet brush to lighten them up. I am not sure if this is the right way to do it, but I found it worked for me.

I did not add a sentiment on purpose but there is an open space where one could be added. This can be an all occasion type of card design with a sentiment added or just leave it as is for a scene card,

The Cheery Lynn Dies used:
Card Maker's Stacker Nesting Dies ST 014 Rectangle A2 Size
Royal Scandinavian Boutique Stacker A2 Frame DL 313

This will be entered in the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn Designs Blog Challenge
Mod Squad Blog Challenge

Thanks for looking and I hope your weekend will be an awesome one.

God bless,
Verna

Fluttering By

 First of all I want to wish all my Canadian friends a Happy Canada Day! I hope your day is extra special. This card I am showing uses an Al...