Santa Suit Gift Cards

I cannot take credit for the idea for these cards since I saw a larger version similar to these two on an email that came in from Pinterest. I was in need of some gift cards since I am wrapping today so I took inspiration from that card and created my own. I just wanted to share them with you.

Oh, and a great way to use those pop-top tabs. I used some black stitched ribbon that I purchased from Gina K. Designs. I liked the stitching but you could use ribbon without the stitching as well.

Sorry I have been missing in action but this is a busy, busy time for me. Between doctor appointments and getting ready for the holidays I just have no time for blogging or stamping. But I hope everyone who sees this has a great week and if I don't pop in again, have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year.

God bless,
Verna

Sympathy Card

This week I heard that the mother of a classmate of mine passed away. She was such a wonderful and talented lady! When she became a widow she started up her own florist shop and the bouquets she arranged were out of this world beautiful! I remember one time she did a gorgeous bouquet of red roses and evergreens as it was during the Christmas season. So I decided that my card would carry a similar bouquet in memory of her.

The roses are from the Gina K. Designs A Year of Flowers 2 set and the sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Sympathy Duo set. I used a masking technique to create a multiple set of roses and then colored them with Copics. I used the evergreen bough die from Diemond Dies to add my greenery behind the popped up roses. I just love that beautiful evergreen die and will be finding many occasions for it's use I am sure.

Well, another week is gone again! Time goes so fast it seems but then I guess that is always the case when one is busy! I hope your week was a great one.

God bless,
Verna

Shimmer and Shine With Use of Die Cuts

I found a few spare minutes again today so proceeded to make another Christmas card. I am sure it will be winging it's way out of here before too long as I got way behind on my card making. So I am trying to make them on an "as needed" basis. I wanted to get a festive look and do it in a clean and simple way and I think I achieved that with this design.

I used this Top Dog Dies Ornament 1 Die using some Stardream brown card stock and some gold mirror card stock. I hung this pretty ornament then from a pine bough cut out from Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine card stock. That pine bough is a die from Diemond Dies. I just love how fine and realistic looking it is. My sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Wishing You Joy Stamp TV kit. My card was completed by adding a few red rhinestones randomly on the Gina K. Designs Ivory card base.

This card will be entered in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which we were to use two or more dies in our art work.

Well, it has been a long, long day! I did make some Christmas goodies but I am afraid even though they tasted good, they don't exactly look so great. But guess what? I bet it will all be eaten anyway. I sure like it. Really yummy and fattening! Good reason for me to put it in the freezer as soon as possible or it won't make it to the celebration.  And, I seem to have no problem putting on weight at holiday time. It goes on a lot faster than it comes off! Oh, well! We have to celebrate Christmas in good fashion and we always seem to have goodies on hand.

I need to decorate the tree and house too yet! But that will wait for another week I think. Time has a way of flying by so fast each week!

You have a good night now.
God bless,
Verna

CAS Winter Wedding/Anniversary Card

I found myself in need of a winter wedding card and my Christmas stamps were all handy and waiting on the table to be used when I spotted the pair of mugs image on the Gina K. Designs Season's Greetings set. The thought occurred to me that the image represented a couple, so I searched for a sentiment to use with them. I was so tickled when I saw on the Gina K. Designs Fabulous Holiday Fillers set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger the perfect combination of sayings which could be used for just this purpose.

To finish my CAS card I simply added some Rouge Liquid Pearls randomly which were a close match to the Gina K. Designs Cherry Red dye ink that I used on the sentiment. Adding the pearls made it a bit more shimmery and festive looking I thought. My mugs and the inside snowflakes were stamped with Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine dye ink.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week. I know mine has been busy writing out Christmas cards to mail and then when I ran out I had to make a few more. I am sure my time will now be spent doing a few extra cards on a "as needed" basis and hopefully, I can get some Christmas baking done as well. It is a busy season and also in between the hubby and I have check up appointments to deal with too.

Thanks for stopping by to see my posts.

God bless,
Verna

My friend Karen Has A Great Give Away

My friend Karen Hasheck is giving away a fantastic prize package on her blog. In fact, here is the grand prize which is only one of several she is giving away. You can check out her blog post here: http://karenskreativekards.blogspot.com

There is a side photo to click on like this one and from there you can learn how to enter and have a chance to win. Good Luck!

God bless, Verna

Bisters & Bokeh Effect

I made a Bisters watercolor granules background several weeks ago and had not gotten to use it yet, so I decided today was the day to find a way of making it look even more awesome. For this background I used blue Bister granules but as you can see it took on the shades of green and blue as well as some brown. I liked it though. So that was my base for the background I created for this card.

To make a Bokeh Effect on this background I simply took two sizes of round sponge daubers and randomly stamped them down using white pigment ink from Gina K. Designs to create the effect. It looked quite well that way too, but I decided it was to be a snowy design so after the pigment ink was well dried, I then added various sizes of snowflakes from Gina K. Designs. I inked them with the white pigment ink and then added Gina K. Designs white detail embossing powder and heat set it. My background was now finished.

My little snowman is also from Gina K. Designs and I colored him with the Spectrum Noir markers. He was fussy cut out and popped onto the background. My card base is Gina K. Designs Red Velvet card stock. That little snowman image always reminds me of Frosty the Snowman with that top hat he wears! So cute!

Next I took an old sentiment which is from Stamp Towne Ladies, a company which I think is no longer in business and stamped that in Gina K. Designs cherry red dye ink onto white card stock. After layering it to some red velvet card stock I adhered it to the background. I then took two snowflake shank buttons, clipped off the shanks and with a glue dot added them to the sentiment for an embellishment.

My card was completed with the addition of some Wink of Stella on the snowman and also on the snowflake shank buttons.

I am so glad my friend Karen Hasheck posted how to do the Bokeh Effect on her blog. I know this will be something I will certainly enjoy doing again and again to create a fun look!

I am going to submit this to the Mod Squad Challenge for this week in which they wanted snowmen used on the projects.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day and thanks for always coming by to see what I have been up to in my card making adventure.

God bless,
Verna

Awesome Weekend

Well, we are still reliving and remembering all the fun we had this weekend with our family when we celebrated our family Thanksgiving. One of the most enjoyable things of course, was playing "Pass the Baby". Our little Anna is at the cute stage where she smiles and responds to you with some "cooing talk" of her own. Needless, to say there was always someone eager to play with her.

Then earlier this week I wrote the Christmas Letter which I insert into my cards I create. That took some thinking and re-writing but finally I had a draft that was acceptable to both myself and hubby!

Today I got back to some card making as I am still finding myself a bit short on designs. This one I made with the negative part of the deer family die cut which I had used earlier in a card design. It is the Deer Family die from Diemond Dies. It originally was cut out of kraft card stock, but after I got done with it you can not tell that it ever was kraft card stock unless you looked on the back.

I cut the panel with the deer die cut to the size I wanted it and then took some Gina K. Designs white pigment ink and inked up my snowline. I then added some Gina K. Designs white detail embossing powder and heat set it.

I masked off the snow and then took some Versamark ink and inked all over the rest of the panel to make my sky. Once I had it well covered with ink I added Sparkle N Sprinkle Blueberry fine detail embossing powder and heat set it.

I backed this up with a panel of black card stock, layered it to some red card stock and then again onto my white card stock base. I finished by adding my sentiment from the Peace and Joy set from Gina K. Designs which I stamped in Versamark on red card stock and embossed with the white detail embossing powder.

A very simple scene but I do love making use of a negative image to create a great looking card too!

I hope you are having a great week so far. Mine has been going great as well. Thanks to all who stop in and take a look at what I did today too!

God bless,
Verna

Something Old, Something New!

Well, just by reading the title of this post one would think I was referring to a wedding. But this is not the case. For the Monday challenge at Stamp TV we were to take an old card and grab something off of that and combine it with something new to make a different card. It could be a previously  handmade one or a purchased card.

For my card design I took a part of the design from the inside of a purchased Christmas card from the past. It had a golden brocade look to me and I thought it would work wonderfully as a refurbished Christmas card.

So since it used gold in the brocade part which I put on the top and bottom of the white card base, I decided to implement gold embossing powder in the elements I added to it. So I stamped the poinsettia from the Gina K. Designs A Year of Flowers set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger twice with Versamark ink. I then added Gina K. Designs gold embossing powder and heat set it. I colored the first poinsettia image in with my red tones and fussy cut it out. But the second one I colored only the inner part in the red tones and fussy cut just that portion and was careful to save some of the outer petals so that they could be colored in with the green. I layered all of this by using pop dots to give the flower dimension.

Along each border I added some green rhinestone lines. My greeting is from the Gina K. Designs Festive Frames set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger and was stamped with Versamark ink and then embossed with gold embossing powder too!

I am so glad I took the time to search back through some of the last year's Christmas cards and discovered that beautiful embossed design. I think with the elements I added I created a fantastic looking Christmas card. Yes, I know! Tooting my own horn a bit but I really love the look! I hope you do too!

Well, it was a cold and blustery day but I hope that all who are traveling today and throughout the weekend have a safe trip. Take care all. And, Happy Thanksgiving!

God bless,
Verna

One Layer Holiday---Seven Minutes Too!

Well, I know I said I would take more time to make a card and I did. This time I used up seven minutes to create this card design. The snowflakes and the sentiment are from Rubber Stampede. I have had these stamps a long, long time so I am not sure if they are still available or even if the company is still in business. But I am sure there are many companies who have similar stamps that would work as well.

First of all I used an anti-static pad over my card stock. Then I masked off the lower left to right corner. I used Versamark ink to stamp the snowflakes and then added silver fine detail embossing powder and then heat set it. Next taking a round dauber sponge I added Cranberry Tart ink from Gina K. Designs over the top of the embossed area. With a paper towel I removed as much of the ink from the snowflakes as I could so they would pop more. I then stamped the sentiment also in the Cranberry Tart. I finished the card by adding a row of rhinestones along the colored area and a silver metallic cord.

This is going to be also entered in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week which calls for a one layer card in as few minutes as you can make it. In other words, a race to the finish. LOL

One good thing about these quick card designs is that I got more made this week then I originally thought I would. So I am happy. I might make my goal yet!

Have a great weekend everyone!

God bless,
Verna

Less Than Five Minute Christmas

I had been dying to use this awesome little scene image from A Little Bit Festive Line by Sheena Douglas which I purchased at Crafter's Companion last year already. So since there was a challenge to do a one layer card in under five minutes at the Mod Squad Blog Challenge this week I thought perhaps I should try to use that on a quick card. I did it in a couple seconds under five minutes but I tell you I never colored so fast in my life. And, yes, I see it sort of shows too. Not as neat and precisely blended like I might do normally. The sentiment is from the set too, but I got it crooked and also did some smudging so I tried to add some dots. That sure did not help matters. LOL

I used heavy white card stock from Gina K. Designs and colored the image in with the Copic markers. That card stock is heavy enough so that the colors do not bleed through. I like that a lot for a one layer look especially since I don't have many water based markers anymore.

Well, I think I have rushed enough cards through for this week. Just got done with the cleaning too! That is an awesome feeling. I am not a fan of housework! Might do some baking yet this weekend or early next week still. But I am pretty much done and ready except for last minute details for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Take care everyone, have safe traveling if you are journeying to Grandmother's house, and count your blessings! Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

God bless,
Verna

Under Five Minutes Card

Well, making a quick card and having it look fairly good is always a great challenge. And, when it has to be a one layer one that makes it even more interesting. For this card I had it made in 4 3/4 minutes. Now being it went that fast, it may not be my best work but still I thought it a nice CAS design.

I used only two colors of ink for my card. They were the Momento Cottage Ivy and Rhubarb Stock dew drops pads. The sentiment is from the Season's Greetings set from Gina K. Designs. The small holly are from the Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set by Theresa Momber and the dotted lines are from the Gina K. Designs Lots of Dots set by Theresa Momber. I finished by adding some red rhinestones to the berries.

This is to be entered in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge. I had my stamps out yet and so decided to work up another design for this week. I sure enjoyed it too.

Take care and enjoy your weekend!

God bless,
Verna

Ten Minute Card

At the Mod Squad Challenge Blog we were challenge to make a one layer card as fast as we could. Well, if I had not started with the jewels it would have been done in six minutes but adding those made it ten minutes. But I think the jewels add so much to the design. This time frame included folding the card and collecting some of the elements needed for it too!

I used the ornament and sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Season's Greetings set. The pine sprig is from the Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set illustrated by Theresa Momber. Gina K. Designs inks used on this card are Christmas Pine and Cherry Red. I used Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury heavy based white card stock for the card so that I could use my Copics to color in the cones without it bleeding through. Worked great! I finished the card by adding jewels to the ornament.

I hope all of you are having a great week and will have a great Thanksgiving too! And to all who are traveling, have a safe journey!

God bless,
Verna

Square Christmas Card

Normally I do not make square cards at all, but since I had this die cut out, I went with it and proceeded to make a square card with the frame that was made with the Die'sire-Decadence die from Crafter's Companion. I had used the center portion earlier in a card and this was still waiting to be used. So when I ran across it while cleaning I thought I might as well use it ASAP before it got lost.

I lined the Gina K. Designs Blue Denim card with white card stock. Then I stamped some snowflakes from the Gina K. Designs Fabulous Holiday Filler set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger in Blue Denim ink from Gina K. Designs around the steaming cups stamped with Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart dye ink. The cups are from the Season's Greetings set. Next I stamped the Merry Christmas from the Season's Greetings set over the top of the snowflakes.

I finished the card by adding some gems here and there. A clean and simple card which was made more elegant with the wonderful die. And this is a 6 x 6 size card so it is big!

I am still in the process of getting ready for the holiday weekend. So my posting to the blog will be pretty sparce. So forgive my absence.

Have a great week.
God bless,
Verna

Winter Deer Scene and More

Hi all,
Well, it has been quite a week for us at the Angerhofer household. I had this scene done earlier and was going to post it on the blog when my husband developed chest pains and of course, nothing else mattered but to get him to treatment and hospital care. Thank goodness we sought help right away as it prevented a heart attack. He had to have an angiogram and angioplasty done and now has two more stents in his heart  and he is doing so much better. Praise the Lord for that!  So I am sorry I have been missing in action. And, no doubt this may be the last posting until after Thanksgiving as I am way behind now on my cleaning. But I wanted to share this card with you first before I delve into that.

Shortly before this all happened I got an order of new dies in from Diamond Dies and I had to work up a card right away. I love the deer dies which in fact, is a whole family. And, isn't that a great tree? Perfect I think for fall and winter scenes. Along with the dies I used the snowflakes and sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Fabulous Holiday Fillers illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. And, my snow bank was fussy cut and using a sponge I added a little ink along the top to show the shadow of the snow bank.

With a Uni-Posca white paint pen I added some snow to the tree and also added a bit of white on the tail of the deer. Using a brown marker I also colored the antlers and put in some eyes. The deer was cut out of kraft card stock.

My snowflakes were stamped with Gina K. Designs white pigment ink onto Gina K. Designs light blue card stock and the sentiment was stamped with Gina K. Designs Red Hot dye ink onto the snowbank. To finish the card I simply added it to a base card of Red Hot Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury card stock.

This was an easy card to complete and do. I find it so fun to have some dies that work wonders for a card. Normally, I go for more the decorative type frames and backgrounds but I am so pleased with the look of this that I might have to invest in more of this type.

Anyway, now you know what has kept me occupied. But all is much better now and I am so very grateful and happy to have my man back home where he belongs. And, the Lord rode with me and helped me travel those icy roads for sixty miles to where he was hospitalized too.

I hope all of you have a great week and if I don't post again, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I have much to be thankful for indeed!

God bless,
Verna

Snowy Nativity

There is an awesome frame stamp from Gina K. Designs which is a great  base for doing a gorgeous card design and it can be done for any occasion. I chose a Christmas theme. This frame stamp is available in the Fabulous Frames set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. I chose to do some piecing with pattern papers from Gina K. Designs and also to do some stamping of the nativity scene images from the City of David set from Gina K. Designs.

The nativity scene was stamped directly on to the pattern paper. I stamped those silhouette stamps in Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine dye ink.  With an oval die from Cheery Lynn Designs I cut out the sentiment which is authored personally by me and printed out with my computer. Then around the sentiment I added Mini Gem Lines stickers to frame it. I think those tiny little gems are hard to place by my arthritic fingers as it seems I got them sort of crooked. But, that is okay too! I still like it.

My inside of the oval design and the outer parts of the frame were colored with Bic Mark-It alcohol ink pens.

We are still waiting for the wind, cold and snow to arrive. I thought I would work on a Christmas card today instead of baking. I wanted to use this City of David set again even though I used it many times last year and the year before. It is a favorite of mine as well as the new frame sets.

I hope you are having a good Saturday. I know mine is going quite well and I seem to be in a holiday mood as well today. But I resisted putting the Christmas CDs on. I will try to wait until after Thanksgiving to do that. LOL

Take care and God bless,
Verna

Lily Sympathy

I don't know if this is an issue for you or not, but I sometimes find it hard to make a sympathy card that will be elegant and subtle enough for such a somber occasion. And, sometimes as in my Rose for Clarence card I did a while back, that card was done for him personally, so it was easier for me to go to more brighter hues on his card. But for the general population I like to go with more subtle colors when doing sympathy cards.

Today I did a clean and simple card design using a lily image, some greenery and a sentiment from the Gina K, Designs Elegant Florals set illustrated by Theresa Momber. And, I am not sure how to color a lily which is predominantly white in color and have it show up that way. I debated between light blue shades and yellow and finally went with the yellow.

I stamped the lilies with Black Momento Ink and colored them in with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers. My greenery was inked with Green Asparagus ink from Gina K. Designs and stamped over the top of the lilies after I had them colored in. I then added the sentiment and did some sponging in blue around the edges of the card front. The final steps were to layer it to green asparagus card stock and then onto the main card of light yellow. I also added some little yellow pearls randomly on the card front.

I did this quite quickly while my Cranberry Nut Bread was cooling. So it really was quite a simple card to make. But sometimes the simpler the design, the better they look! LOL

Well, hope all of you who are in the big freeze that is headed in my direction stay nice and warm. I can already feel it in my bones! At least we are nice and cozy inside today and for the most part we did have some sunshine but lots of wind too! Anyway I hope you got to enjoy one last day of warmth.

God bless,
Verna

Doily Birthday

The challenge at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog this week is to use a doily in your card or project design. Well, I just could not resist the challenge even though I should be doing other things and made a birthday card. I had a design in mind but it seemed to evolve into more than I had originally planned on. But that is okay as I am liking what finally became the finished design.

I used Gina K. Designs file borders cut from Fresh Asparagus card stock and pattern paper from her Wisteria Lane paper pack. Along the cut file borders I added a line of pearls in each scallop.

The doily was originally a white purchased one but I wanted it to be more in the purple shades so I covered it with Versamark ink and added Hero Arts Violet embossing powder and heat set it. In fact, I did two coats of the embossing powder on it.

My base card is from Stampin' Up card stock and is called Wisteria Wonder. Along the right edge I placed some Gina K. Luxury layering weight white card stock. I then placed the doily over that. And, next the pattern paper trimmed with the cut file borders was placed along the left side of the base card. I also added the sentiment Birthday Wishes which is from the Gina K. Designs Elegant Florals set by Theresa Momber. I stamped it in Gina K. Designs Wild Lilac ink.

To finish the card I made a bow of purple and white chiffon ribbons with my Craft-Dee BowZ bow maker and added some small gems in the upper and lower right corners. Those rhinestone gems were clear but I took my Spectrum Noir pens and colored them to match.

It is always good to have some birthday cards on hand. Sometimes I get so busy I forget to make a special card for a family or friend so this way I am a little more prepared. And, once again this is a more feminine design. I just could not figure out a way to add a doily to a masculine birthday card and still have it look appropriate.

Well, thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is going great!

God bless,
Verna

Deck the Halls!

Today I brought out an older set from Gina K. Designs called Deck the Halls and it is illustrated by Beth Silaika. Well, it is really not that old of a set. It was from 2012. But for this week's Mix It Up Monday we were to use older sets to create cards and since I am still working on my Christmas cards I figured this would be a nice set to use. This card was made to show how decorating a tree and our home is a big part of the Christmas holiday.

I stamped the Christmas lights in various colors onto the string so that they would be ready to put on the Christmas tree. I also stamped the sentiment on white card stock and then with the Oval Stackers Nesting Dies from Cheery Lynn Designs I cut it out. I cut out a larger one with red too. Once I had the two sizes of ovals layered together I then added some pine branches which are also cut from a die by Cheery Lynn Designs. I added jewels of all shapes, sizes and colors to resemble all the pretty balls put on a tree. The outside of the card was connected to the inside by stamping a corner with part of a string of lights.

Well, it seems blogger is acting up so hopefully, I will get this post ready soon. I have never had this happen before. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is going well too.

God bless,
Verna

Sparkling Blue

Today I got out some old embossing powder which looked more like a glitter. And, the thought occurred to me that it might work into a beautiful Christmas card design. But when I looked at the embossing powder I realized it was really old. Get this! It says on the container to stamp with ink, then add the embossing powder and  place it over a lit light bulb or warm iron to emboss the image. Amazingly enough it still worked and I am very happy about that.

To make my background I took some red liner tape in two different sizes and laid them onto the white card stock. I then took off the red liner and added the glittery embossing powder and proceeded to make my background. Thank goodness I have a heat gun! I also happened to have some mini gem lines from Glittrazzi which I added in between the red liner tape strips

On white card stock using Versamark I stamped the swirly tree image from the Gina K. Designs Joyful Holiday set illustrated by Theresa Momber. I also embossed the tree with the glittery blue embossing powder. I then fussy cut around it and popped it over the top of my background using pop dots.

I placed the completed panel onto a base card of Blue Raspberry card stock. I finished the design by adding rhinestones to the tree. A sheet of white paper was added to the inside so I can have a stamped sentiment and write a short note.

Well, guess what? I think I have a blue sparkly looking kitchen floor now too. Maybe it is time to sweep but it does look rather attractive. LOL

I am entering this into the Mix It Up Monday challenge at Stamp TV and also in the Mod Squad Challenge for this week in which we were to use blue.

Thanks for coming by and I appreciate all your comments.

God bless,
Verna

Blue Christmas

Well, here I am again today! I thought I had to help the hubby but the neighbor did it for him so I was free to work with the Blues again! And again I will enter this into the Mod Squad Challenge for this week in which we are to use Blue on our cards.

I used the same image as the card I did in the previous post but expanded the scene by using another small scene image from De-Stempelwenkel and this time I used Gina K. Designs Blue Denim ink to stamp the images. I placed the scene inside the Spellbinder Fleur de Lis frame which was cut out from Blue Denim card stock, but for some reason it appears to be more navy looking in the photo. My sentiment was once again from Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set which is illustrated by Theresa Momber.

This is a very clean and simple card design but for me it seems to be more lovely than the way I used the blues in the previous post. I would like to hear what you think as well.

Well, that's all folks. See you next week! And, don't forget to turn those clocks back! For me it would be okay if they just kept it the same all the time. It just confuses my body!

God bless,
Verna

Winter Blues

The challenge this week at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog is to use blues for a Blue Christmas! So I went with a wintery scene for mine.

I love that little scene but I think it is almost too overwhelmed with the die cut square from the set called Decadence By Die'sire available at Crafter's Companion.  Never the less I made it this way and I still will use it for a holiday card. The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set. I added it to a Spellbinder oval die and then mounted it onto a Spellbinder ribbon oval label. I added pearls and rhinestones to dress up the card to make it a bit more festive.

And I think the next time I use that stamped image I will stamp it in a darker color. I believe it will show up much better. I guess that is how we learn. Not getting quite the outcome we had hoped for might mean we can do it over in a better way. But that is for another day I think. Time to put the toys away and do other things on this windy Saturday. I hope the weekend is a good one for you. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I will be able to do a different card with that image.

God bless,
Verna

Just Two

Yes! That was the challenge at the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday this week to use just TWO colors! And  neutral colors were included so it made it a bit more limiting! Now for some reason I did find this a challenge, but I think I managed to pull this one off at least.

I did some embossing but I think it was not a good day with the humidity higher, but this was the best I could do considering that. Because there were mini flecks of white embossing powder, which for some reason I could not remove as they seemed to fly back on, I also added some bigger flecks by using pearls.

I chose the pine image and the sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set illustrated by Theresa Momber. I stamped them in Gina K. Designs White pigment ink onto Cranberry Tart card stock and used some white embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle. Inside the card I added a white sheet of card stock and also stamped the pine cone image and a sentiment with Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart dye ink in order to tie the inside and outside together!

I seem to be into a pearl or sequin sort of frame these days. I can see where ones of various sizes sure can dress up a pretty clean and simple card.

Well, that's all folks! I did my usual card a day. I might get done by the time it comes to send cards at Christmas! LOL

Have a great day! And God bless all of you!
Hugs, Verna

A Rose for Clarence

Today I heard the news that my good friend Clarence died this morning. He and his wife Phyllis were my bosses for 13 1/2 years and were the publishers of the Grant County Review. As a young girl I was employed shortly after high school. When all my children were out of the nest I went back to the work at the newspaper and spent another 10 1/2 years working for them. They were not only my bosses but my mentors and good friends.

Today's card is for him. Normally, I might not use flowers on a card for a man, but Clarence was not only a great newspaper man but he was also a man who loved to grow flowers. He was especially proud of his beautiful roses. Many times during the years I worked there we would see a beautiful bouquet of them gracing the counter in the outer office. So my card was made especially with him in mind today.

The rose is from the Gina K. Designs Stately Flowers set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger and the sentiments used are from the Gina K. Designs Elegant Florals set by Theresa Momber.

I stamped the rose on white card stock with Momento black dye ink and colored it in with my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens. I then fussy cut it out and popped it on a dark green card base with mint green and dark green layers. I stamped the sentiment in dark green ink onto the mint green and placed it on a layer of red. I popped the rose over the top of these layers and then added some red rhinestones of various sizes to give a more elegant look to the card.

I will always feel so blessed to have known this lovely couple and I know after his wife Phyllis died that he was very lonely for her. So I hope they both rest in peace now and are enjoying their reunion in Heaven with their Lord.

Thanks everyone for stopping in and I am always appreciative of your lovely comments.

God bless,

Verna

I Love Big Ribbon!

A few years ago while shopping after Christmas I ran across this beautiful gold embossed chiffon ribbon in the bargain bin! I thought it was so gorgeous that I had to buy it. I had no idea what I would use it for, but today I decided I wanted to create a Christmas card with it.

The ribbon is two inches wide and is so filled with those lovely trees and gold flecks of falling snow. So with the help of the two snowflake border stamps from the Gina K. Designs set called Fabulous Holiday Fillers illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger and the sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Peace and Joy set illustrated by Theresa Momber I created a background. I embossed the JOY with Halo embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle. It has a little extra color with the gold which sort of matched the embossing on the ribbon.

I stamped the snowflakes with Red Hot ink from Gina K. Designs and also used Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury White and Red Hot card stock.

Not sure if this will inspire you or not, but I am glad I picked up that big wide ribbon. I can see where so many of those great ribbons could be used for beautiful and festive Christmas cards.

I am having so much fun making Christmas cards and I think this is my favorite type of card to make. So for this reason I am entering this in the Mod Squad Challenge in which we are to make our favorite types of projects.

Happy stamping everyone! And, thanks for stopping by.

God bless,
Verna

Thank Goodness There is Piecing!

I really like to make cards using the frame template from the Gina K. Designs Fabulous Frames set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. And, Melanie also designed a set called Fabulous Frame Fillers and another new one called Fabulous Holiday Fillers. And, I was doing okay until it came to putting really small images into circles. I messed up almost every one of them. I think being partly blind in one eye messes with me so that I don't see quite well enough to get a good result. But I was still determined to make that frame I stamped into a fairly usable card. And, with some piecing I think I did just that!

Besides using the frame I also used pine and cone image and sentiment from another Gina K. Designs set called Peace and Joy by Theresa Momber.  I colored in my image and the outside of the frame with my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers. I found some pattern paper that I thought worked from the Blizzard Paper Pack from Gina K. Designs. Now I happened to have some ribbon that had dots on it and almost matched the stamped dotted red pattern that I added from the Fabulous Holiday Fillers so I used that. The glare from the lighting does not show the dots really well on the ribbon, but if you look closely I think you can see it towards the bottom. And, yes, it is not perfect, but I think I salvaged it quite well. I might have to resort to more paper piecing as I think this is a very lovely look!

I will enter this into the Mix It Up Monday challenge at Stamp TV and also in the Mod Squad Challenge.

Thanks for checking in and hope your Sunday was a great one. Have a wonderful new week too!

God bless,

Verna

Deer Wreath Christmas Card

I have been so fortunate to win lots of different crafting supplies over the years of my card making career and one thing I won that I had not used up yet was some blank ivory note cards. So this year I decided to use them for my own personal stash of cards. And, again I went with a fairly clean and simple look. And, having the MISTI certainly helped me align up the wreath and the berries correctly too. I used it for adding the sentiment as well. On a separate piece of ivory card stock I used my new MISTI tool for stamping multiples of the deer by just rotating the paper.

I think the hardest thing about creating this card was making the tiny bow with arthritic fingers and fussy cutting out the deer. And, I used up some leftover plaid ribbon that I had won in a grab bag to decorate the card. One could use left over pattern paper easily enough too, but I just adored this ribbon so wanted to add it to this particular one. I simply took a tape runner and ran it along the underside of the ribbon and adhered it to the borders of the front panel.

I used Gina K. Designs images from the Poster Board Christmas set by Rebecca Oehlers. The deer image was from another set from Gina K. Designs called Season's Greetings. Ink colors used were Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine, Warm Cocoa and Cherry Red. My little bow was made with my Craft-Dee Bowz bow making tool.

I am all set up to make five of this design. All that is left is to assemble them. Hopefully, by the end of the day I can have many more cards done for my holiday sending which I usually start to do shortly after Thanksgiving. That way I have plenty of time to do other holiday activities. I am quite a ways from my goal yet though, so look for more Christmas cards in the future on my blog.

This card will be entered into the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday challenge and also in the Mod Squad Challenge for this week which is to make your favorite type of card. By now I am sure many of you know that I prefer clean and simple.

Thanks for looking and have a great day. It is a beautiful one here in South Dakota with lots of sunshine after our rains of yesterday.

God bless,
Verna

Sequins in the Sky! Santa's Coming!

I worked up another clean and simple card design for Christmas giving. To this scene I added some of the home made sequins again to make it look like a starry Christmas Eve.

The Santa and Sleigh image is from Gina K. Designs Poster Board Greetings set by Rebecca Oehlers. And, the trees are from the Gina K. Designs The Northwoods set by Theresa Momber. I sponged on two shades of blue to make the sky. Then I simply stamped the images in black ink. My sequins were made from haliographic paper and this time I used two different sizes of sequins. I added a ribbon from American Crafts which had a Merry Christmas already on it before I layered it to the white base card.

I love to create clean and simple cards. And, I think that Santa and Sleigh work so well for Christmas greeting cards.

This card will be included in the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge and also in the Mod Squad Challenge as well.

Thanks for stopping by. I so appreciate it.

God bless,
Verna

Poinsettia Frame

Today I had to do some baking so I only managed to get one card done for my Christmas supply. I think I will enter this into the Mix It Up Monday Challenge at Stamp TV for this week in which we were to make a Christmas card.

For this card I chose the lovely Festive Frame set from Gina K. Designs which is illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. I stamped it with Momentos Black ink and then colored it in with the Spectrum Noir Markers. Over the top of the panel I applied a good coating of Versamark ink and sprinkled on clear embossing powder. After I heat set this the panel really shimmered. I also think it makes the colors more vibrant too. The photo below shows that shimmer.

I layered the panel onto a layer of Gina K. Designs Red Hot card stock and then onto the base card of Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Ivory card stock. My card was finished by adding a double ribbon bow of Honey Mustard organza.

Well, thanks for looking and I hope all of you had a wonderful day.

God bless,
Verna

Do It Yourself Sequins

I recently saw a video on the internet which showed how to make your own sequins. I had to try it myself. You can see the video here: DIY Sequins. One of the members at Stamp TV linked us to this video and I am thrilled. I made a simple card design and dressed it up with my sequins I made from Haliographic Mirror card stock. That paper picks up colors from it's surroundings too so it is very versatile and works with many projects.

I happened to have some mirror card stock on hand so I knew as soon as I found the time I wanted to try this technique out. I think it is so cool! My images are from Gina K. Designs as are the inks. I have lots of music and guitar lovers in my family so I know this card will be a great collection to my own stash of cards.

I hope you can view the video and find ways of making your own sequins. It is a great way to use up scraps and save money too!

Thanks for stopping by and hope your day is wonderful!

God bless,
Verna

Grow Old With Me

Forty-five years ago I married my soul mate, the love of my life. Sure seems like it should not be that long ago, but that's the truth! LOL And, here we are with four children and five grandchildren later. For the most part we have had a great life together and have been truly blessed.

It wasn't until I saw pictures of him as a little boy that I realized we had seen each other early on in life when we were 10 and 8 years old. We both were visiting my cousin, Jim, who was in the hospital.

It was many years later when we met up again and this time he was with another girl. Oh, I thought she was so lucky. I even told my sister Alice that I hoped that some day I could meet up with him again and marry him or at least find someone else very much like him. He was such a nice young man.

But the timing was not right! It took a couple more years before I saw him again. He was home on leave from the Air Force and I recognized him. So with a burst of courage I went over to him and said "Hello".

He remembered me but did not remember my first name. But he said, "I know you! You are the Brandt girl who drives the blue Ford with a streak of dust behind it." LOL So apparently I made some sort of impression on him.

That was the start of our courtship. We dated for the six weeks leave he had and when he left again for the Philippines and a short stint in Viet Nam we kept up the romance via letters. I wrote him every day. He wrote as often as he could too. In fact, his sister used to look me up on my noon break from work to find out the latest news about her brother. They only got a few letters whereas I had many more. And, those letters meant the world to both of us. I used to read his over and over again until the next one arrived.

When he came home in February of 1969 we kept dating and in June of that same year he proposed to me on my birthday. I was so happy and of course, I had to say "Yes". Since we both grew up on a farm, we decided that was what we wanted to do as well. So after our wedding on a Sunday afternoon in my home church we took a short honeymoon to the Black Hills and on our return moved onto his family farm. And the rest is history. We have lived there ever since and are still farming too!

So my card I created for him is from the Gina K. Designs stamp set called Farm Life which is illustrated by Theresa Momber. I love that set. I think I used it for a card for him another year, but I still think he will like it.

I used the Spectrum Noir colored pencils to color in this scene. I tried to make it look like early Fall with the grass and the leaves changing colors. And, I just love the sentiment. I thought that a perfect addition to the scene,

We are going to go out for lunch today after church and celebrate. Yipppeeee! I don't have to cook or do dishes!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you did not notice that the Happy Anniversary sort of got a bit crooked. Oh, well! If it were perfect you would not know it was a handmade card, right?

God bless,
Verna

Recessed Frame Card

Today I decided to get back to creating Thanksgiving cards. Or should I say one. LOL I seem to take more time and put more effort into things these days, but maybe that is okay too! At any rate I do like my card I created.

Again I went for a fairly clean and simple card but making a recessed frame took me lots longer than I thought it would as I could not find an oval die that would exactly fit my frame so I did the best I could with my best fitting one. It is a Spellbinder die. It was a little longer and not as plump as the frame but I think it doesn't look too bad.

I used Gina K. Luxury Ivory, Tomato Soup and Dark Chocolate card stock. Yummy! That sounds like a good meal to me for a cold and windy day such as we are experiencing. LOL

The stamps I used are from the Gina K. Designs The Simple Things TV Kit which includes the The Bounty of Blessings and The Simple Things stamp sets.

I stamped the pumpkin in the center of a piece of Ivory card stock with Gina K, Designs Dark Chocolate dye ink. I then colored it with Spectrum Noir markers and placed it behind the top panel of Tomato Soup card stock using some pop dots so that the pumpkin image was recessed. My frame was stamped with Dark Chocolate ink also.

I am so glad I have a Misti now as the first stamping of that frame was not completely covered, But now if I use the Misti, it is not a problem. All I did was ink it up again and restamp and this time I got every inch covered. I also did the same thing with the sentiment so that I had a nice dark stamping in the Dark Chocolate ink. That Misti perfectly aligns my images so I don't have a problem eyeballing and it also eliminates the use of a stamp positioner.

I added  some Tomato Soup twine to the Tomato Soup card stock panel and over that placed a little sunflower from Jolees By You from EK Success. I added the black pearl to the sunflower too. The card was completed by adhering it to the base panel of Dark Chocolate card stock and inside I lined it with some Ivory card stock to which I stamped another pumpkin image in the lower left corner along with an inside sentiment.

I am entering this card in the Stamp TV Release Party challenge in which we were to make a recessed frame on our card. I think this was really easy to do too except for the time spent searching for a die.

Thanks for looking and I so appreciate all the comments you leave too. Have a great weekend!

God bless,
Verna

Misti for Making Cards

I was so happy when my Misti arrived in the mail today. That stands for Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented. And, you can find them at My Sweet Petunia. In the upper top there are various links to learn about it. And, since she makes all her own right now, she sells out fast as there are limited supplies. But soon she is hoping to be making them more readily available as she is working on contracting a company to do them for her. To find out when she has more on hand, either join her Facebook page or get her blog through email.

Here is what a Misti looks like.

And with this tool I managed to make five Christmas cards in just a short span of time. In fact, less then 30 minutes once I  had my design figured out and all my supplies on hand. I used some older stamps I had from Posh Impressions and inked them up with the Momento Dew Drop pads. I added some ribbon and then layered my design on pine green card stock. My card base is white so I did not have to add a liner to it. A few little red rhinestones were added to the holly and the holly in the sentiment as well.

I got the message that Operation Write Home was in short supply of Christmas cards and that they extended the deadline. They wanted people to send in at least five cards to take care of the small shortfall for this season. So I decided to try this method. I think it took me longer to get the cards ready for mailing then it did to create them.

I know that this will be a great tool to own. What makes me so happy is that once you have your design ready to stamp, if a bad impression takes place, you can re-ink it and stamp again and it will land right in the same place on the card stock. No more trying to eyeball it or use a stamp positioner.

I recommend you check Misti out and see for yourself what an awesome tool this could be. I know I am happy with it and plan to use it over and over. There are many videos available on different ways of using it as well. I know for me it will be awesome to have for stamping backgrounds. With my arthritis sometimes I tend to not get a good impression, but no worry now! I can always do it again and make it work. This should save a lot of wasted card stock for me.

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed seeing my quick and easy card too.

God bless,
Verna

Anniversary

Today I was in the mood to make a scene card and upon looking through my stash of cards I noticed I did not have any anniversary cards on hand. So I decided to make one with my Stampscape images.

It is a fairly simple scene. I first punched a circle in a Post-It note and placed that on the white card stock where I wanted my moon. I then made another mask for the sky line with a Post-It note. Next I took two shades of blue and sponged on color. I used the lighter color around the moon so that it looked like the shine of the moon lighted up the sky more.

With another mask I then sponged on the green grass. When I had all the color down like I preferred it, I then inked up my Stampscape images with black ink and added them to the background I had created. I finished by adding some stars with a white gel pen and the sentiment.

The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs. Stampscape images used are the couple, sedge filler, oak row and the large elm.

Nothing like a moonlight stroll to promote romance, right? Thanks for looking at my little scene.

God bless,
Verna

Grow Stronger-Stamp Out Cancer Card

This last challenge that I am participating in at Stamp TV wanted us to use lots of awareness colors for several types of cancer but not to use any pink. So this is the card I created to depict it. We all know that there are so many kinds of cancer that strike people every day and this is a good time to bring forth a type of card that would work for any of them.

I used the chevron pattern from the Gina K. Designs Pretty Patterns 2 set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. I also used the butterfly from the Fight Like a Girl set and the sentiment is from the Hope and Strength set.

I used Gina K. Designs ink colors Wild Lilac, Turquoise Sea, Fresh Asparagus, Sweet Mango, Sweet Corn and the butterfly and the sentiment were stamped in Navy. My card stocks of choice were Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury White and Navy.

A very clean and simple card design but still with all those vibrant colors it is very cheery looking too! And, you may note that I used Gina K. Luxury Lovely Lavender card stock in the background because that is the color for all types of cancer.

Thanks for looking and for viewing all the cards I created for Stamp Out Cancer. I was not able to do all the challenges but those I did meant a lot to me and made me more and more aware how a beautiful card can cheer someone up who is not feeling well.

God bless,
Verna

Fight Like a Girl!- Stamp Out Cancer Card

I worked with my new happy mail that came today from Gina K. Designs. I got the new set called Fight Like a Girl as well as the new pattern paper pack also called Fight Like A Girl. And, Gina is so generous that with every order placed with her for these products she will be making a donation to the Cancer Society.  I just had to order so that there would be more money generated for such a great cause.

And I really love all the stamps in the set as well as the gorgeous pattern papers. For the butterfly image I colored it with Spectrum Noir colored pencils and blended it with a Spectrum Noir blender marker. I am out of the Gamsol solution but I found that in a pinch this will work too!  I popped the butterfly on the octagon shaped card which was cut out with Spellbinder dies. I also added some red rhinestones in the center of the butterfly to dress it up a bit and added a double ribbon bow of pink and white satin trimmed organza ribbon. My base card was a deep red and white duplex and I simply added a layer of black and then again the layer of the pattern paper before placing the butterfly on it.

Here is a different angle of the card I created. The challenge this time was to use a card that was not square or rectangle, so I went with the octagon shape.

I hope this will bring someone encouragement when it arrives in their mail box. I am so glad I have a few stamps that will work for such a thing as this. When this disease hits, it means a lot to get some mail from those who are keeping them in their thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for looking and stopping by.

God bless,
Verna

Strength & Hope-Stamp Out Cancer Card

I did a sketch design for the Stamp TV "Stamp Out Cancer" challenge. Every day there is a new challenge and I did manage to get this one in.

I used the butterfly and sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Strength & Hope set illustrated by Theresa Momber. I colored the butterfly with my Copics. The pattern paper is from Gina K. Designs as well but it is year's old and I don't recall the name of the paper pack. The doily die is called Chrysanthemum and is from Di-Versions. I added some ribbon from BoBunny and some pink rhinestone bling to complete my card design.

Having a sketch takes a lot of the thinking out of the design, So this worked up fairly fast for me. I hope you will keep all those who are suffering with cancer in your thoughts and prayers too. Hopefully, one day we will stamp out cancer for good!

God bless,
Verna

Cute Halloween Verse

I immediately was taken with this cute image with the verse embedded in it from I Brake For Stamps. So I ordered the image and that was several years ago. Finally, I am using it in some of my Halloween cards for the people I send cards to. I still love it and that just proves that I have way too many stamps apparently if it takes this long to get to using them. LOL

This is the first one I did and it involved some fussy cutting of the image. It is a very clean and simple card design though. I sponged on color except for a few dots which were from my Copic orange marker. I stamped the image with Ranger Distress Black Soot Ink. After putting all the layers together I simply added a bow and some pearl bling.

Here is another way I used the image.

This time I simply stamped it on the white card stock, sponged on the color except for the dots and the ground area which were done with a Copic marker. I then added a ribbon and layered it to black and white duplex card stock. Another CAS type of card.

So thought I should show you that in between other tasks around this farmstead, I also managed to get a few cards done for my shut-ins and others I send cards too.

Hope your day is going well. Thanks for stopping by too!

God bless,
Verna

Faith

In honor of October, the Cancer Awareness Month I made a card using pink and I also added lilac to it. I am sure that for many who have breast cancer or any type of cancer that FAITH is very comforting for them and plays a big part in their recovery. So I made a card using a Bible verse that was on the Gina K. Designs Wild Flowers set illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. I think it expresses what I am trying to say best!

I used the pattern paper from Gina K. Designs Sunshiny Day paper pack. I showcased the sentiment by using the Spellbinder Opulent Ovals set. I stamped the image in Wild Lilac ink by Gina K. Designs. Card stock colors used were Wild Lilac, Bubble Gum Pink and white, all by Gina K. Designs. After adding the ribbon and putting all the layers together I added a flower to finish the card design.

I am adding this card to the Stamp TV Stamp Out Cancer #3 challenge in which we are to make a card illustrating one word. I am sure you know now that my word is FAITH. I am also going to enter this in the Mod Squad Challenge in which we are to make a card in honor of Cancer Awareness Month.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate all the wonderful comments from my followers.

God bless,
Verna

Halloween Scene

I am back to Halloween card making and once again, only got one completed as I had to go and do some things in the garden before the weather turns colder on the weekend. But I was glad I had time to do at least one card.

I used images from Gina K. Designs for this card. I don't have any Halloween stamps from her but I did have pumpkins and I was able to carve one up suitable for the occasion with my black Copic marker. LOL

The pumpkins and the sentiment are from the Always Autumn set by Theresa Momber. The cute fox image is from the Bounty of Blessings set from The Simple Things TV Kit released in September.

My images were stamped with Black Momento ink and colored in with the Copics. For the sky I sponged on some Gina K. Designs Ocean Mist dye inks. I fussy cut out the fox.

Card stock colors used were Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury White, Black and Wild Lilac. On the Wild Lilac panel I added Gina K. Designs Mango Polka Dot and Lime Dots Wild Washi Tape by starting off with the green in the center diagonally. Then I guestimated the right spacing with alternating the two colors.

After assembling all my layers together I then added the little fox by using some pop dots to give more dimension.

I am so glad I took time to craft this little Halloween design. Nothing fancy but I sure do like how it turned out.

I think since it has a critter on this card I will enter it in the Mix It Up Monday challenge for this week.

Thanks for looking and hope you have a great rest of the week.

God bless,
Verna

Christmas Dove

Well, I did a few Halloween cards earlier this week and then decided to change the pace and get back to Christmas cards for today. I should say "card" though as one is all I managed to get done. I am slowing up in my old age I guess!

Last year I won a grab bag and inside it was this pretty little dove image from The Magic of Christmas set by Gina K. Designs. So I decided to use that on my card. I colored it in with my Copics and then fussy cut it out.

The embossing folder from Cuttlebug called Joy & Cheer was color enhanced by also embossing a sheet of blue Easy Color Dry Embossing Paper with it. I purchased this color embossing paper some time ago from Cheery Lynn Designs and this is my first try at using it. I think I like the subtle colors that were picked up in the embossed design too!

I die cut the Spellbinder Medallion One on red card stock and then backed it with green card stock. After adding a ribbon to the embossed background I then added this medallion. I assembled all my layers to the red base card and popped the dove over the medallion. The card was finished by adding some green pearls.

I am going to use this as an entry in the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday challenge in which we were to use critters of any kind including winged ones. So this certainly qualifies I guess in that respect.

Thanks for stopping by on this cold and rainy dreary day. I hope you are having a good day no matter what the weather is doing. Let the sun shine in your heart!

God bless,
Verna

What's Brewin"?

Well, by the stretch of the imagination I took a fish bowl from Repeat Impressions Plate 9700 and made it into a cauldron sitting on a fire. I added some bats from Sparkle N Sprinkle and computer generated my sentiment for a different kind of Halloween card. I also added a handle and used a silver paint pen for that. I colored it with Copics but around the outside edges I used a sponge and added Gina K. Designs Moonlight Fog, Blue Denim and Navy dye inks. I also used Black Momento to stamp my cauldron.

I don't know why but for some reason I dreamed up this design last night when sleep eluded me. LOL I guess I had Halloween on my mind.

I guess I will enter this into the challenge at Repeat Impressions DCC924-Fall and also the Modsquad Blog challenge which is a word challenge-namely HOLIDAY.

Thanksgiving Card

I decided to get started on my Thanksgiving cards today since it is raining this afternoon. I already did my gardening earlier and got the carrots in the freezer so I deserved a break I figured! LOL

Created by Verna Angerhofer

I used Gina K. Design stamps again from the latest Stamp TV kit called The Simple Things and these images and the sentiment are from the stamp set called The Simple Things.

My card stock choices were Gina K. Designs Ivory and Dark Chocolate. I stamped the brick background with Gina K. Designs Faded Brick ink but I stamped it off twice before actually putting it to the card stock. I wanted a more faded look. The wheat images I stamped with Gina K. Designs Prickly Pear dye ink directly over the brick wall. And, the pumpkin was stamped onto an additional piece of the Ivory card stock with black Momento ink. I proceeded to color the pumpkin in with my Spectrum Noir markers and then fussy cut around the image leaving just a small margin. I then added glue with my tape runner and fastened it over the lower part of the brick wall and wheat background. The card was finished by stamping the sentiment in Momento black ink before I adhered it to the brown layer and the ivory base card.

A fairly clean and simple card again but I really love the results and really adore all those fantastic images in this stamp set. This card will be entered into the Mix It Up Monday challenge at Stamp TV in which we are to use leaves on our cards or creations.

Thanks for stopping by and this will do me for this week. I am having company this weekend so I have to clear the kitchen table of my stamping supplies and dust a bit and mop floors. Yuck! Not nearly as much fun as getting crafty, but it will be fun to have company too!

God bless, 

Verna

Christmas Leaves

Yes, it is true according to Wikipedia that the poinsettia is actually a cluster of leaves and not a flower. It originated from Mexico. So today, I am showing you a beautiful Christmas cluster of leaves.

Again I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss  part of the front panel of the card. This time I used the stamps from A Year of Flowers 2 which is similar to the other set of Gina K. Designs A Year of Flowers but these designs are more whispy looking. I am not sure that is the correct way to describe them, but they are slightly different and I love them. Both the sets are illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. The sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Season's Greetings set.

I stamped the poinsettia with black Momento ink. Then I colored one in the pink tones and one in the green tones. When assembling my card I cut up the green one and placed leaves here and there behind the pink poinsettia. I then added a two tone pink ribbon across the front panel before layering it onto Christmas Pine card stock. The sentiment was stamped in Christmas pine dye ink too from Gina K. Designs.

Anyway, since the challenge for this new week's Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday is to use leaves, I will be entering this card in that challenge.

Have a great rest of the day everyone. Thanks for stopping by.

God bless,
Verna