Christmas In July-Cheery Lynn Style

Yup! You guessed it! The Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge for this week is Christmas In July. I decided to try it even though I don't have a lot of Christmas dies from them but did manage to make one with the help of pattern paper from Gina K. Designs.

Cheery Lynn Dies used:
B131 Christmas Light Swag
B162 Lace Corner Deco B
B146 Pine Branches
XM-11 Coved Rectangle-Scalloped

The sentiment is an old one I purchased when I first started my stamping career and it is from a discontinued Arlington, SD company called Gingerbread. After assembling all together I added a ribbon bow to finish the design.

Well, I think that will be all for me this week. I have company coming again so I best put the crafting goodies back in their stalls. LOL They seem to always get out every week if they get a chance. But it is a good feeling to have a start on my Christmas card making now. I am getting more and more in the mood.

Everyone have a great rest of the week and thanks for stopping in and commenting.

God bless,
Verna

Another Spud Christmas Tree Card

Hahaaa! In case that is not a familiar term to you, here in our neck of the woods we sometimes call a potato a "spud". Thus the title of my post. While the carved potato tree stamp was still fairly fresh I took it and stamped out a whole bunch of them on a white sheet of card stock and will use them for future Christmas card designs. I enjoyed doing that card yesterday and also today when I made another design with it.

This time I fussy cut around the tree leaving a slight white border. I decorated it with some red rhinestones and then popped it up on a red die cut circle using a Cheery Lynn Designs die. That was added to a Spellbinder scalloped circle cut from green card stock.

I found some scraps and used them to make a background strip using the pattern paper from Gina K. Designs and some red card stock. I blinged it up with some red rhinestones. Then I popped the layered tree design to the card.

I finished the card by adding the sentiment which is from the Sparkle N Sprinkle Stamp Set 507 Christmas Holly. I just love that sentiment.

Since I have another card using a veggie I will enter this one too into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which we were to make a Christmas card using a veggie if we wanted to. It is not required but if you do you get an extra entry. So why not? It is a challenge for sure then.

Another lovely Sunday here. I hope you enjoyed the day as well.

God bless,
Verna

Christmas With a Twist

When the challenge at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog was posted I was hoping I would find time to make at least one entry for it. Just check it out! The twist is that you can use (but not required) a vegetable and carve a design on it or use it somehow for a stamp on your project. Doesn't that sound like fun? I feel like a little kid again carving up my potato into a stamp.

I also used the sentiment from Sparkle N Sprinkle from the Christmas Holly stamp set 507. I thought it worked in so well. I used a red Galaxy Marker to make red bulbs on my trees made with a potato stamp. Once it was layered to red card stock I then added the gingham ribbon and placed it on the base card of white card stock. I also added a tree to the inside and decorated it as well so that it would be tied to the front design. My ink colors were Gina K. Designs Cheery Red and Fresh Asparagus.

Well, it has been a wonderful weekend so far. Today I got to baby sit with my almost one year old granddaughter Anna and even got some stamping time in. Little Anna always makes me happy with her giggles and grins.

I hope your weekend is going great too. And, thanks for stopping by.

God bless,
Verna

Remembering Dad

My Dad passed away a long, long time ago but I still think of him every Father's Day. To me he was a big man who was tenderhearted and fun to be around. And, patient! He would sit in his easy chair when he should have been resting and he let his little girls comb, curl and put ribbons in his hair. And, he had very broad shoulders too! Much like a big old oak tree when he held his arms out as it was a place of shelter for me.

One day I fell down and scraped my knee and he took the iodine and got me laughing so hard when he not only covered the sore area but proceeded to write my name all down my leg. And, it was a Saturday and when my Mom saw what he had done she was so upset as she didn't think she could get it all cleaned off in time for church the next day. But she did get it cleaned off.

Anyway, this card is one which features a big tree on it and I think it represents how it felt to be sheltered in Daddy's arms.

The background is done with Blue Bisters and then I took a stencil called Grunge Tree by Sheena Douglas and added that with dark brown ink. The sentiment is from Stampscapes. My DAD was computer generated.

Well, the internet is in and out so hopefully I can get this posted yet tonight. I am entering this is the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week.

God bless,

Verna

Faux Foil Thank You

Good Monday morning to all! After a stormy night we now have bright sunshine and just a gentle breeze and not the strong winds like we had during the night. So it is a beautiful morning and I hope where you are you can say the same.

A few months ago hubby got a red mylar balloon after he finished cardio rehab as part of his graduation from the course. Well, after the balloon deflated I saved a portion of it and glued a square onto some card stock to try an experiment with it. Yesterday I finally got to try it and first I tried to dry emboss it but it did not seem to hold the embossing very well but it did give it texture so I used it to make this thank you card.

My card stocks of choice were a deep pink and white for the base card. I cut the B540 Thank You 2 die from Cheery Lynn Designs with the foil for my sentiment and put it aside until it could be glued to the deep pink panel.

I then took some of the flowers from the Doodle Flowers set by Inkadinkadoo and after applying an anti static bag over the card stock I embossed the doodle flowers with Stamp-n Stuff Tinsel Red embossing powder. (I am not sure if that brand is even made anymore because it was one of the first powders I ever purchased so it is very old.) With a Ranger White Opaque gel pen I colored in the flowers.

Now that all the heating was done on the card I finally glued on the Thank You sentiment. I did not want to risk melting the mylar as I am pretty sure it would do that since it is sort of like plastic.

My last step for this card was to add the focal pink panel to another layer of the mylar balloon covered card stock before I layered it onto the white card base. I had a small strip of the mylar covered card stock left so I added that to the inside to tie it to the front design.

I am entering this CAS card into the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge for this week which is Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is off to a great start.

God bless,
Verna

Card Making-Grandson Style!

Today's post will feature the background and card that my four year old grandson made for his Mom. This came about because the bouquet of wild Russian Lilacs he picked for his Mom died and withered and he was very upset when Grandma threw them in the trash. So to appease him we had him make a card for his Mom with flowers that won't wilt and that she can enjoy every day.

First he made the background for his card. It had to dry overnight so we finished it the next day. His tools to use for it were water colors.

And here is the finished product after he added all the various elements to the card design.

The painted background was added to a blue card stock base. Then he added the flowers with Grandma's help. Grandma also had to add the ribbon bow for him. Once this was done the finishing touch was to add some gold glitter to each corner of the card. Voila! A beautiful card for his Mom.

Well, have a great weekend everyone. We thank you for stopping by.

God bless,
Grandma Verna and Mathius

Keep It Krafty!

Guess what the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge calls for this week? Yup! It is to use Kraft paper so since I love to use Kraft paper with any color range I figured I best try and make a card for the challenge.

This is the card I created while the little one went with Grandpa to town. I found a time to be alone for a bit so I decided to make good use of it.

I used Gina K. Designs Kraft and Christmas Pine card stocks for the card as well as the Christmas Pine ink from Gina K. Designs.

My background on the Kraft card stock was a Cheery Lynn Designs Embossing Plate E143 Leaves to which I added the Christmas Pine ink before I ran it through the Crossover. This made a great background design which I think is so pretty. I layered this onto Christmas Pine before I adhered it to the Kraft base card.

Next I cut out a Christmas Pine Cheery Lynn Designs XL-12 French Flair-Classic die cut for my outer layer and the inner layer was cut with the same set using the Kraft card stock. On the inner layer I stamped the Gina K. Designs sentiment.

Along the bottom of the card my Cheery Lynn B122 Ribbon Eyelet Border Die was cut with the Christmas Pine card stock. I opted to not add the ribbon to it and use it just as a border.

The last step in finishing my card was to add a coupe of  stacked Prima flowers to which I added a button in the center. The button was originally a shank type but I cut that off so it would lay flat on the bloom.

Well, thanks for stopping in and I must say it was fun to be a little "krafty" today. LOL

God bless,
Verna

Beyond the Sea

I again worked on a simple tag card with a masculine theme sporadically this week in between other tasks and finally finished it today. I am entering this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week in which one is to use a tag.

I used a strip of leftover glossy card stock to which I had added Blue Bister powders and then spritzed with water. I always felt this was a great frothing sea water in my mind so I decided to make it a sea scene on the tag.

The ship image which was originally by Ink Blocks is now owned by I Brake For Stamps and the sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Beyond the Sea 2 set. I stamped the ship with adding two different shades of brown to it. I layered light blue and brown card stocks against the main card of ivory. My tag uses twine on it and was also layered onto the light blue card stock. I then added a few blue rhinestones here and there on the brown layer. The card was finished with the addition of the wood ships steering wheel.

Well, I have dishes awaiting me and then it will be time to start on the evening meal plans. Have a great weekend everyone.

God bless,
Verna

Perch Scene

Well, what do you know? I found time over several days to complete one card design. LOL Most of my creative time has been spent taking care a family of four instead of two these days so that means more cooking and more laundry. But it is a joy to have company during the summer months. I spend my free time mostly resting until I start in again with the next meal. But at any rate, I did get this card completed. I hope you enjoy seeing it.

Again my background was made with the Color Burst Crystals of blue, green and a bit of purple. After I placed the crystals on the water color paper I then spritzed it with water and let the magic begin. I made a couple sheets with the same colors. On the first sheet I stamped the Perch scene which is a stamp from SutterStamps.com. It was stamped with Momento Black Ink and then I took a brush and bleached away quite a bit of the color. Once I had the bleached fish dry I then took my Bic Mark-It alcohol ink markers and added more color back in. I also added extra lines to simulate more underwater plants.

This scene was then placed on an ivory card stock panel before I added it to a base card of denim blue card stock. For extra embellishment I then took one of the three Cheery Lynn Designs B161 Lace Corner Deco A dies and cut them out from the other piece of water color paper using the same colors of Color Bursts. They were glued to each corner of the underwater scene.

I am entering this in the Cheery Lynn Designs Blog challenge for this week in which corner treatments are to be used.

Thanks for looking and I hope your week is going great.

God bless,
Verna

Hanging Birdcage Birthday

I had to play with a new die today which I purchased from Die-Namites recently so I decided to make the card according to the Die-Namites Sketch and Dare Challenge they were having for June.

Below is the sketch they wanted me to follow and I must admit I was a bit confused at first on how to do it but I think I did a fairly good interpretation of it. I went at it from a different angle but I think the concept is still there. My layering should have been done differently. But even though I messed it up somewhat  I will still enter it.

My background was made using the Color Burst crystal granules on water color paper. Colors used were blue, green and purple. I tried to place the colors strategically before I spritzed with the water and then I sort of used a broad brush to push the colors around on the panel where I wanted them. To add more dimension to the background I also used a fine paint brush to pick up extra purple color to make streaks upwards on the bottom to try and get the effect of some greenery below the tree and birdcage image.

I cut the background at an angle similar to the one in the sketch and then layered it to black card stock with two edges only showing. Next I took some pattern paper from the Gina K. Designs Here Comes the Sun paper pack and backed this onto that before I added it to the A2 size black card base. 

Here is the die I used for the card front:

I cut the die from black card stock and glued that over the background. I think that die is so pretty and works so well to create a more masculine looking card but also would work for many occasions.

The sentiment is from Embossing Arts and that brand is available at I Brake For Stamps. I am not sure if it is retired or not as I purchased mine many years ago. I stamped that in black ink to try to match the die and layering.

And the finishing touch was to put a white sheet inside the card so that a message can be written there.

Besides the Die-Namites challenge I am also entering this into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge which calls for a birthday card.

Well, that is all for me this week and perhaps for a couple weeks as I am having two grandsons spend a couple weeks with us and I think most of my creative juices will be spent cooking and baking. But that is okay too.

Thanks for stopping in and taking a look at my blog. I appreciate each and every one that comes to visit it.

God bless,
Verna

Masculine Sympathy

A neighbor of ours who was in the farming profession died suddenly so I created this card in hopes it would bring comfort to his family during this time of grief. I wanted a card that reflected the countryside and I ran across this older set from Cornish Heritage Farms called Sympathy Collage which I thought seemed perfect for my card.

I stamped the lower grasses with two colors of green ink and then just a portion of the stamp was done in black towards the bottom. I then stamped the butterflies in black ink and colored them in with my Bic Mark-It alcohol ink pens. The last part of the scene was to sponge on some light blue for the sky.

This panel was then layered to black card stock and added to a white card base. My sentiment from the set was stamped in black and sponged with blue. I then added it to a black layer of card stock before I placed it on my card.

I again used some of the grass and one of the butterflies to add to the inside of the card to make a connection between the outside and the inside.

This card will be entered into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week which calls for masculine cards.

Thanks for looking and as always I love to see your comments.

God bless,
Verna

Happy Birthday With Color Bursts

Brrr! For June 1 it is sure cold here in South Dakota this morning. It looks to be an overcast day again and of course, the never ending wind. But it is still a wonderful day as it is the birthday of my sweet hubby today. I am sharing the simple card I made for him. The only bad thing about him turning that old is that I am only two years behind him. Yikes! I am sure we will get used to that first number overtime but it still looks a little shocking to me right now. LOL

I took the Color Burst purple, blue and green and sprinkled the water color crystals onto the white card stock. Then I spritzed them with water and took a drinking straw and blew the colors around as much as I could with it to create a splatter affect. I then cut the design to the size I wanted, layered it onto black card stock and then placed the die cut Happy Birthday Corner Concepts DVCR-001 from Die-Versions cut with black card stock in the upper left corner before I added it to the A2 white card base.

My next step was to go to the computer and generate the 70th in black and I printed it on white card stock. After I fussy cut it out leaving a border of white I then added it over the big splat of color. Since I had some of the pattern paper I had created with the Color Bursts left over I took a strip and layered it to black and added it to the inside of the card to create a matching element of design.

Well, no birthday cake for him but I did bake him a special rhubarb coffee cake with Splenda so that he can enjoy eating it without feeling so guilty. After all he deserves to have a little something special done for him on his special day. Oh, and I plan to share in eating it too. We both thought it smelled delicious. LOL

Have a great day everyone. And, thanks again for taking a look.

God bless,
Verna