Bleach and Gingham

Wow! Not a spectacular card like a lot of card makers make but for some reason this card took me forever and in the process I forgot to stop for lunch. So guess that is the next thing on the list for today. Well, I need to do some household things too, but they are always on the back burner if crafting is more enticing to me. LOL But eating always seemed to be at the forefront too. And, I can tell as my tummy is growling now.

Well, anyway here is the card I did today. It was made for a special friend who is soon leaving to move to another state and I wanted her and the family to know we will miss them and wish them the best in their new home. I hope they like it.

Gina K. Designs card stocks used on this card were Wild Orchid, Bubblegum Pink and Black. The balloon stamp and the sentiment are from the True Friends Duo set by Gina K. Designs. I used bleach to lighten the balloons using a brush. I placed the focal panel onto a frame made from the Spellbinder A2 Fancy Weave die. My card was finished by adding the pink and white gingham ribbon and some lovely black pearls which I received in a prize package. I adore them and they worked perfectly with this card design.

I have entered this card in the Mix It Up Monday challenge at Stamp TV in which we were to use bleach and in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge in which gingham was to be used.

Once again I want you to know how much I appreciate your comments on my cards I make. It means the world to me.

God bless,

Verna

Butterfly Thoughts

The April release party challenge at Stamp TV was titled "Winging It".  One was supposed to use wings from either a bird, butterfly, airplane, angel or whatever. This was the card I made for the challenge.

I chose the butterfly stamp from the Gina K. Designs Petals & Wings set and colored it in with Copics. And, the sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Assorted Greetings set. Notice that the sentiment is curved! I love the fact that a clear stamp can be shaped somewhat and I tried to make it appear as the flight trail of the butterfly.

My pattern paper choice was taken from the Watercolor Flowers paper pack by Gina K. Designs. I layered onto Gina K. Designs Red Velvet card stock and then added some ribbon and red rhinestone bling to complete the card.

Oh, I had fun again making this card. And, having such nice pattern papers helps to make them look so very lovely too!

Thanks for stopping in and looking. I hope all have a a blessed weekend and coming week.

God bless,
Verna                    

Spring Planting!

Well more than likely most of you think of spring planting as putting in your garden and adding to your flower beds. Well, here on our farm the first thoughts are to getting the crops in and then we think about the garden elements. And, we are so thankful we got the wheat planted before the welcomed rains arrived this week. So here is my card and it was made with my hubby and all other farmers in mind.

All the stamped images including the tractor, sentiment and the gingham background paper are made from stamps from Red Rubber Designs. I thought since we mostly have the Case IH tractors on our farm I would make the tractor in the red and white colors. And, as soon as I saw the gingham background stamp from Red Rubber Designs I knew it was one I wanted to use on this card. A background like that comes in so handy when one needs a certain color of gingham. Oh, did I mention I love gingham! LOL

I colored in the images with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers. My background was stamped with Gina K. Designs Blue Raspberry dye ink. Blue is my hubby's favorite color.  And, I also used a sponge to sponge in a bit of the same blue ink for the sky but made sure it was not too intense in color first. Other Gina K. Designs ink used to stamp the sentiment and the tractor image was her black dye ink. My design was finished with the addition of some red pearls in the lower left corner.

This card will be entered in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week as our challenge was to use gingham in some form of the other. I chose it to be my background. And, this card will be either a Father's Day card or a birthday card for my handsome man.

Thanks for stopping again and for all the wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Celebrate Lee!

Today is Lee Murphy's birthday and she is a moderator at StampTV. So today's Mix It Up Monday challenge hosted by Nancy Leppek was to make a birthday card for Lee. But you also had to follow a sketch and use lots of pink in it as that is Lee's favorite color. So I had some fun and enjoyed my adventure in making this card.

I used a Martha Stewart punch to make the fancy edgings. The pattern paper is from the Gina K. Designs Sunshiny Day paper pack. The flower is one you assemble and is from Studio 18, but the leaves are made from a custom design die template made for Heartfelt Creations by Spellbinder. The pink square card stock was embossed with the Cuttlebug Perfectly Paisley embossing folder and layered onto Gina K. Designs Dark Chocolate card stock. And, the sentiment is from Gina K. Designs and is a duo set called Birthday Label. I also used some Fresh Asparagus and Bubble Gum Pink card stock from Gina K. Designs. The lighter green card stock is some I had purchased many years ago. My card was finished by adding some pink heart shaped pearls.

I certainly had fun Nancy with this challenge. Lee I hope your day is awesome. And, thanks to all who stop by and leave comments. I so appreciate each and every one.

God bless,
Verna

Covered Bridge

I have always been a fan of the scene images from Stampscapes and so today I brought out my stamps from Kevin's beautiful designs and made a simple scene card. I tried to use colors of spring in it as well.

I stamped the scene with black ink from Gina K. Designs and then proceeded to color it in with various shades of Gina K. Designs inks with makeup sponges and finger daubers. I also used a gray Copic marker to add color to the rocks. I have no method to my coloring as I just keep at it until I feel it is the way I want it to look.

My Gina K. Designs black card stock frame is made from a Spellbinder die called A2 Polka Dots. I added the framed scene to a card base of Gina K. Designs Lovely Lavender card stock.

I did not add any sentiment as I like to have some cards on hand that are generic so that they can be used for multiple occasions. I find scene stamps are particularly lovely for masculine types of cards too.

I am entering this card into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which they have you use at least three of the color choices for your card or project. I used several more than that, so it should qualify.

Thanks again for looking at my blog postings. And, I wish all of you a most wonderful Easter too.

God bless,
Verna

Card for Lauryn

Today my mission was to make a card that would appeal to a little girl who is very ill with Leukemia. She is the granddaughter of Linda Payne who is very well known in the stamping and card making world. Today there is a "card making drive" underway to make cards for this little sweetie and send them to her. This is the card I made using some oldies but goodies along with some other more modern dies and elements.

That cute little dog with the daisy is an oldie and most likely no longer made from The Rubbernecker Stamp Company. The sentiment is from Printworks and is by Annette Watkins. I am not sure if they can be purchased any more either. I used a Spellbinder oval to cut out the image and then after coloring it I layered it onto another Spellbinder die called Floral Ovals. And, the pretty flower is from the Manon's Wedding Garland set by Cherry Lynn Designs. To make it more colorful I layered the white flowers over some pink card stock and fussy cut them out. And I used several brads to add the center to the daisy bloom. The pattern paper is from Gina K. Designs. 

I hope this will bring some smiles and love to a little girl and her family as well. I want them to know I am keeping them in my prayers too. 

If you would like to make her a card here is the address as to where you can send them.

Children's National

Hematology/Oncology RM 437

Lauryn Newsome

111 Michigan Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20010

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a wonderful week. 

God bless,

Verna

Trifecta Robins

The challenge for this last Monday at Stamp TV was to do things in threes or in an other word Trifecta. Now that was a new word to me but I soon learned what it meant.  Here is my latest entry into the challenge for this last week.

I used stamps from the Gina K. Designs Spring Blessings set which is part of the Shabby Spring TV Kit. I also used Gina K. Designs inks and papers to create the card. I really like that TV kit and I am so glad I ordered it.

 I tried to create a design that would work for either a man or woman and I think this will work quite well. It is also a more versatile type of card with that simple greeting in that it can be used for several occasions.

Well, happy Sunday to all of you and I hope your week is a wonderful one. Thanks for stopping in to look and comment.
God bless,
Verna

Spring Blooms

I used stamps from the Sparkle & Sprinkle Stamp Set 399 Spring Background to make my pretty spring creation this afternoon.

First I took an acrylic block and swiped Gina K. Designs Fresh Asparagus ink all over it and then spritzed it with water before placing my white card stock panel on it to capture the washed out look. Then with some blow pens (remember those?) I blew some pink, green and purple specks over this. Finally I took the huge background stamp from the set and inked it with the Fresh Asparagus ink and stamped it over the top. Some of the leaves were not solid but more open so I took a Bic Mark-It green marker and filled them in. This completed my background.

I layered this background panel onto a layer of Fresh Asparagus card stock. I took some Gina K. Designs Wild Orchid card stock and with the Spellbinder A2 Fancy Weave die made the frame. But before I added the background panel I added some white ribbon to fancy it up a bit more. Once this was all layered together I added it to the white card stock base. 

The flowers were stamped with Gina K. black ink on white card stock and I colored them in with my Bic Mark-It pens. Once I had them colored I fussy cut them out and arranged them over the front panel. This completed my Spring Blooms card.

I am entering this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week. We were to make our own pattern paper and then use spring colors. I believe this qualifies.

Thanks again for stopping in and checking what I have been doing this afternoon and evening. I did it in spurts but got the job accomplished.

Have a nice night and God bless, Verna

Easter Lily

I finished up my cards which I will be sending out to the shut-ins for Easter. It seems Easter is not very far away and I wanted them to have their cards before that day. And many like to display them to add a bit of decoration to their living quarters.

For this particular card I created a background paper using a small triplet of solid dots image from Sparkle & Sprinkle for my handmade pattern paper. I stamped them in the darker shade of green and then stamped them again so that it looks like different shades of green. I also added a white speck with a gel pen to each so that they might have a little more detail in the pattern paper design. The lily is one of Michael Strong's and I received this image as a prize from a good friend of mine. It worked perfectly for this card. I colored in the leaves with Copic markers and for the white lily just added a light blue shadow to make them more pronounced.  The sentiment is from Stampitcrazy.net.

I am adding this card to the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week. We were to use at least three shades of spring colors so mine will be the two shades of green, white and the blue. I also added some yellow to the center of the lily. Another part of the challenge was to make one's own pattern paper.

Thanks for checking out my posts. I always love to have you visit.

God bless, Verna

Liebster Award

Thanks so much to Penny Odell for selecting  me for this award.  I was very surprised and I feel very honored. This award is given to those who have blogs with less than 300 followers. 

Rules for participation in the Liebster Award Nominations

• Thank you Liebster Blog Award presenter on you blog and answer the questions they presented.
• Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
• Copy and paste the pink Liebster Award logo to your blog.
• Nominate 5 blogs to receive the award who have less than 300 followers. 
• Create a new list of 11 questions for them.
• Inform them of their nomination.

Here are the questions that Penny asked me.

 What or who was your inspiration to start crafting?
  My mother was my inspiration! She was a quilter, made artful pictures using seeds to design her work and also liked to write a bit.
 What is your favorite crafting item?
  Oh, most definitely any rubber stamp works for me.

 When did you start crafting?
  I started crafting as a child and loved especially to make my own designs for my paper dolls.

 What is your favorite style of crafting?
  My favorite style is clean and simple card making.

 How much time do you spend crafting each day?
  Not much time. I try to do a little each day, but being a farmer's wife I am sometimes busy helping him. Usually it is a few hours in the afternoon.

 Do you have a favorite craft store?
  Not really as there is only one little drug store in our town that has a few crafting items. Mostly I buy online and right now I would say it is Gina K. Designs, Sparkle & Sprinkle and I Brake For Stamps online stores.

 What is your favorite food?
  Oh, my! I love food and have many favorites but I would say I am a fan of pasta and meat and potatoes.
And it shows! LOL

 What do you do to relieve stress?
  I try to turn my problems over to the Lord and let him worry about them. In other words, I put my trust in Him to help me through the tough times and I try to go about my day as normally as I can.

 If you could only choose three craft items to make a card what would they be?
  I think I would choose stamps, inks and my scissors.

 What other hobbies do you have?
  Occasionally I do read a book and I have been known to do some writing. Mostly children's stories for my grandchildren to enjoy! Not for publication but just a personal gift from grandma.

 Who was the first crafter you saw?
  I would say it was my Grandma Leah as she was a fantastic crocheter. She made gorgeous doilies. She even taught me a few simple stitches but sad to say, I have forgotten most of what she taught me.

My nominees for this award are: Sharon Underwood, Shona Erlenborn, Brenda, Joyce Erb, and Sharyn Polesel.

Thanks again Penny for nominating me. I really appreciate it. And, thanks to all who stopped in to see my post.

God bless, Verna

Joy Fold Card

In the May/June 2014 issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine Karen Hasheck had an article and art work showing sympathy cards for those who have lost their pets, but what really intrigued me the most was that she made some into Joy Fold cards. I decided since she had some measurements for her work I would try and make my own version of that type of fancy fold card. I did succeed but had a few glitches along the way.

I stamped my own backgrounds with stamps from Gina K. Designs. I used images from the Spring Blessings and Warm Spring Wishes sets and also some bling looking trail image from the Bring the Bling set. I also used a stipple brush on the inside of the card to add color. On the outside I use a tool that many times is begun by accident (in fact this time) and that is my finger to dab on a bit of color here and there. LOL

The butterfly in the bottom left corner is popped so that the panel can fit under and be held against the card.

This is an open view of the inside. I added more flowers inside the card to connect it to the outside design. It opens up quite large but when closed up makes a flat square card design which can be easily slipped into a card and mailed.

I am going to enter this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which one is to make their own designer paper. I think this will qualify. 

And special thanks to Karen for the inspiration from her article.

Have a great day everyone and we are having wonderful weather now...nice and warm and sunny! Thanks for stopping by.

God bless, 

Verna

Last Call for Kitty

Just a short post to say that the winner Kitty has not contacted me as of yet and if I don't hear from her by Monday I will be picking someone else from those who commented on my Give Away post. You can contact me at arlinverna at tnics dot com.

Have a great weekend everyone. Hugs, Verna

Bingo Dauber Designer Paper

Well, I have my new computer along with a new printer and today I did create a card but now the good question is whether or not I  can upload it to my blog. I guess we shall soon see. Hahaaaa!

Well, looky there! I think I did it, but for some reason I could not put it in the file I wanted it to be located on my computer. 

This designer paper background on the card was made with bingo daubers. I just spotted them all over white card stock and overlapped here and there. When I was done I thought it looked like balloons so I decided to make a birthday card using the background over blue denim card stock which I punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I placed this on a white card base. I popped a birthday cake image from the Gina K. Designs Party On stamp in the left bottom corner. Then on the white card stock base bottom I added the streamers which are also from the Party On set and a sentiment from the Blossom Set by Gina K. Designs. Inks used were Gina K. Designs Passionate Pink, Turquoise Sea and  Blue Raspberry. I thought they matched colors of the daubers quite well.

I am entering this into the Mod Squad Challenge Blog challenge which for this week was to make a "do-it-yourself"background for a card. I think this will qualify. 

Well, this will be my only post for this week. More company coming and also another wintery/spring storm on the way too! Hope all in it's path are safe and out of the elements.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless, Verna