Bunny Latte Entry #14

Well there was one more free digital stamp set that I wanted to use and finally I took a few minutes to make a quick design using the image from the Craftin Desert Divas Bunny Latte set. I think this is so cute and so I was hoping I could work in a design. And, of course, for some reason I had issues uploading the photo so finally opted to the solution of restarting my computer and thank the Lord it worked. So this will be my last card in the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

I used Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol to do my card. I also did some sponging of light blue around the edges of the die cut design. I combined the two circle images for an off set frame and layered this onto a My Favorite Things plaid paper. I also used elements from two different die sets. The plaid paper and the sentiment banner are cut with the Die-Namics MFT-914 Blueprints 29 set and the circles are die cut with the Gina Marie Designs stitched circles set. I added some pearls from Gina Marie Designs to the sentiment banner and once it all was assembled I added it to the white card base.

Thanks so much to all who joined in and came to visit and comment. I have really enjoyed this venture and I hope you have as well.

God bless,
Verna

Entry # 13 A Baker's Dozen

Well, I have been eyeing all the wonderful cards that were made with the free Verve Rise and Shine Digital and so I took a bit of time to make a simple card using that digital set. I am so happy with it and think I may use this set of stamps a lot more for card making. Maybe I am finally getting onto this digital thing. Ya think? Anyway, this card will be entered into the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. 

I again took the images and put them on a Word Doc. and then printed them off. I colored them with the Zig water color markers. I chose card stock scraps that were pretty much matching in color to my Zigs and added two strips of that to a black and white gingham background which was placed on the pink card base. I then fussy cut the cup and die cut the sentiment. They were then popped up over the gingham and the green and yellow strips. I carried the theme over into the inside too.

Dies used on this card are the following:
Cheery Lynn Designs XM-4 Circle Classics
Die-Namics MFT 914 Blueprints 29

I hope you have seen a little sun your way. We saw a bit of it but for the most part it was off and on today. And, I think we will get down to freezing again tonight. But it was in the 50's during the day time. I wish all of you a great evening and I thank you for visiting and for commenting.

God bless,
Verna

Coffee Easter Basket Entry #12

Once again I am using images from Gina K. Designs. I chose the basket images from the Springtime Baskets set and the cup was taken from the Coffee Therapy set. This card will also be entered into the 2017 Spring Time Coffee Lovers Blog Hop which is ongoing now. Just click on the link and learn all about it and perhaps you can work up a few cards and enter as well. Lots of fun prizes and if you do the hop you can find all sorts of free digital sets and more chances to win.

I used my MISTI and a masking technique to make the basket of eggs as the basket can be filled with lots of different things. I chose to add some eggs this time and I colored them in with Zig water color markers. I took a Zig marker and made a border to sort of look like a table top surface. The cups were stamped with ink from the Hero Arts Ombre Spring Brights ink pad. I then fussy cut them out and popped them onto the card along each side of the basket so that they appeared to be sitting on a table surface as well. Each layer was die cut with a Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stackers die set. After they were attached to each other I added them to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting. I think I am almost done with my Easter cards but I still might make a couple more if time permits. But soon I have to get to baking and cleaning as it takes this old body a long time to do those chores these days. And I love and thank you for your comments too.

God bless,
Verna

Entry #11 Coffee Happiness

I really had no plans to make any more cards for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop but I ran across this background I had made earlier using a stencil a friend gave me which was from a Silhouette cut. So since I had some Gina K. Designs coffee stamps already out I proceeded to make a card using her Coffee Therapy set.

The stenciled pattern was done with a Hero Arts Ombre Spring Brights ink pad. This was die cut with a Cottage Cutz Double-Stitched Rectangle Set. And, after I had the sentiment done I die cut that also with a die from this same set but left an open area at the one end where I popped up the cup that was stamped with inks from the Hero Arts ink pad. The card was completed by adhering all the layers and then placing them onto a yellow card stock base.

I really like the spring feel to this card with those awesome colors. When I saw a friend use that ink pad I knew it was one I had to own as well. I am sure loving it.

To join in on the challenge fun go to my link above and also the dates are posted on the side bar. There are lots of prizes to be given away and if you join and do some commenting you can find some fantastic digis as well that are free.

Thanks for visiting and for your wonderful comments. And, I apologize to anyone who did not see their comment posted as I accidentally deleted three wonderful comments from some of my previous cards. And, guess what? Once they are gone, they are gone. I was really disappointed in myself for doing that. I think I was getting too tired at that point to think straight. So I am very sorry if your comment was one of them.

Take care and God bless,
Verna

Springtime Coffee Entry #10

Okay, as far as I know now this will be my last entry this time around into the 2017 Spring Coffee Lover's Blog challenge. I have enjoyed making all of these cards and this one was fun to do as well but I was a bit disappointed as it seemed the computer ink for this digi wanted to smear a bit. But we shall just pretend it is some extra special look to create the look of chick fuzz. It is a cute image from Limited Runs and it was a free digital as well. The sentiment below was part of the digital image.

I tried to color it with Tombow markers and they smeared even worse with the ink so then I did another one with the Bic Mark-It pens which seemed somewhat better. When it was all colored I die cut it with a Cottage Cutz double stitched rectangle set. I also cut a bit larger panel in black card stock. And, this time to shake it up a bit I went wonky with the layering. All was then placed onto a card base of Gina K. Designs Apple Mint card stock. The finishing touch was to add some darker pink rhinestones.

I am entering this into the Word Art Wednesday Challenge too which is Anything Goes.

Well, I hope your weekend is going well. It has been a rather cloudy and dreary one here but still I am happy that it is finally Spring. Take care everyone and thanks for visiting my blog to leave so many wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Coffee Cup Easter Entry #9

As you know I have been taking part in the 2017 Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop and one of the sponsors is Jessica Lynn Originals. That stamp company offered a free digital image and that is what I am using for this card.

I went really simple with this card. After I had moved the digital image to a Word Doc. I then sized it to my desire and printed it out. In fact, I printed out a whole sheet of them as I think this could work for many types of cards. I used the Bic Mark-It Pens to color in the image. Then I die cut it with a Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle set. I also die cut another layer with the die using black card stock to make a frame. After they were all adhered together I added it to a white card base. I originally was not going to add a sentiment but since I needed more Easter cards I opted to add a greeting from a Gina K. Designs set called Springtime Baskets.

I really am happy the way this one colored for me. Sometimes I find that my printer ink will smear when I use any type of markers so most of the time I go with colored pencils when using digis. I think I lucked out with this one.

I am also entering this in the Word Art Wednesday Blog Challenge.

Well, I hope some of your will try to enter a few cards into the challenge as there are oodles of prizes being offered. And, there are lots of free digis so even if you don't win a major prize you still get some thing wonderful.

Well, I am almost done with my Spring coffee offerings. I think I have one more to go and then I plan on just doing the hop. I hope  you are having a great weekend too.

God bless,
Verna

Finding Coffee Entry #8

Stamplorations was so gracious to gift those who are doing the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop a free digi so I used it to create this simple note card design. I added the digi to a Word doc. and then sized it how I wanted it for my card. It was originally square but I made it more of a rectangle design.

I used Prismacolor pencils to color this creation. Once it was colored I cut it out and placed it on a light lavender card base. It is a reminder to me of the coloring books images that are so popular now. I also added a sentiment at the bottom which is from a Stamplorations set called Coffee Happy.

Normally, I don't work much with digis but some of these offered free on this hop are so wonderful that I just had to download them. So even if we don't win any big prizes doing this hop we at least can have fun with the freebies.

I am also entering this into the Stamplorations Never Ending Goes Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

God bless,
Verna

Teacup Kitty Entry #7

I recently ran across this older stamp of mine of a kitty sitting in a teacup. That image and the sentiment I used are from Sutter Stamps. I decided that this card I created with them would be used for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop.

I stamped the image with black Versafine ink on white card stock and then colored it in with Prismacolor pencils. Then I fussy cut the image out. I die cut a light blue circle for a background and a black circle for a border using a Gina Marie Designs die set. After layering them together I then placed the kitty in the teacup image on top of that. It just so happened that I had some pattern paper from the Gina K. Designs Garden Tour pattern paper pack that was almost a perfect match for the way I colored the roses on the focal image. So I fussy cut around some of the pattern paper in a swirly design and then backed that onto some black card stock to create a border. These were all placed on a base card of white card stock. Next I added the focal image and stamped the sentiment. The finishing touch was to add some black gems.

If you are interested in the hop you can check the hop link above to read more and also the side bar of my blog for an image with the dates on it. There are lots of great prizes offered and not only by the sponsors but also by many of the blog participants as well. So I hope you would join in and perhaps be one of the lucky winners.

Thanks so very much for visiting and I love to read all the wonderful comments you leave me too.

God bless,
Verna

#6 Entry Jesus and Coffee

Last year I ordered several sets of stamps from Jillian Vance Designs and I am using two of those sets for this card design on this entry in the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

Those two sets are called Simply Said: Coffee and Jesus and Simply Said: Happy Daisy. The sentiment and flower were both stamped with Momento black ink onto white card stock. I colored them in with Tombow markers. Both were cut out and laid aside until I could make a background on my blue card base. I used a silhouette die cut stencil that a friend gave me and made a design using the black ink and a sponging tool. The sentiment was then layered onto black card stock and added to the stencil sponged card base. And, the flower I popped up to give it a bit more dimension.

I hope you are not getting too tired of my coffee and tea designs. Just a bit of warning that there will be a few more to come too. LOL And, thanks for visiting and for your wonderful comments. I hope that many of you will join in on the fun as well. For more details see the side panel and also click on the link.

God bless,
Verna

Coffee Cups Wedding Card Entry #5

This card for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is a wedding card. I found this set from Penny Black called You + Me this winter so I figured it would be perfect for a wedding card and also for the coffee hop. I am very pleased at the way it looks too. This is a set that would work up well into anniversary card designs as well.

I used small ink  pads from Gina K. Designs to add the colors to the solid image cups and doves. I very carefully tried to ink up only the cup with blue and then the coffee and steam with the brown. I did the same with the birds inking their bodies with blue and their beaks with black. The pattern paper I used is from My Favorite Things. I die cut the design with a Gina Marie Designs stitched circle die and placed that over the gingham and darker blue paper panel. Then all was added to a white card base.

I hope you are enjoying all the coffee and hop inspiration. I know I am. And, thanks so much for visiting and for all the great comments.

God bless,
Verna

Pansy Teacup #4 entry

I have been having so much fun creating cards for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I always enjoy the fun that goes with entering and also viewing and commenting on what others have done as well. And, there is lots of inspiration believe me from all who join in. If you would like to join check out the link for it and also there is a logo on my side bar showing the dates of the hop too.

This time I chose to use an image and sentiment from the Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp set called Teacup Pansies Set #833. I thought immediately that this would be a wonderful set for the Spring hop. I can just see a pansy planted in a tea cup for a great spring time gift.

I stamped the image and sentiment with Versafine black ink. Then I colored the image in with Prismacolor pencils. I then die cut it with a Gina Marie Designs stitched circle die. This was again layered onto a darker blue die cut circle before adding it to the gingham pattern paper. All was placed onto a base card of white card stock and finished with the addition of the sentiment.

I am also entering this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge with a theme of Plant Kindness.

Thanks so much for visiting and for all the great comments you leave. I very much appreciate them.

God bless,
Verna

#3 Entry - Java Easter

Here is the third card I made for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. I went with a cute Easter design and used a set of stamps I got from the Stamplorations line called Big Grins by Becca Cruger called Bunnies 'N Beans.

I stamped it with black Versafine ink onto light blue card stock and then colored in the rabbit with Prismacolor pencils. I also stamped several of the flowers below the bunny image and more onto a separate piece of paper. The ones on the separate paper I fussy cut out and popped up over the others below the bunny. I then die cut the image with a Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle set. This panel was again layered onto black and then placed onto a base card of the same blue colored card stock.

I am also entering this into the Stamplorations Never Ending-Anything Goes Challenge.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope your day is going well. I love all the comments too. Thanks so very much for each and every one of them.

God bless,
Verna

2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Hop #2

Here is another card I made with the Verve Limited Edition digital stamp set called Lucky Day. I used glossy card stock for much of this one as well. I made this up ahead of time so that I could use it for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I was told green was a very spring thing, so I took Amy at her word. And, the blog is advertised on the side of my blog if you care to join in on the fun.

I am not very knowledgeable about using digital stamp sets so please excuse this novice's approach to using them. But I at least gave it a try.

I swiped ink across the pattern paper I created by doing a copy and paste to a Word doc. I used glossy card stock again. After I had swiped on the ink I added more color to the shamrocks with Tombow pens. And, I layered it onto a lighter green card stock, then added my sentiment and the nice cup image that also came with the digital set. By adding a few gems I completed my design.

Thanks for looking and for your great comments always.

God bless,
Verna

2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop #1

Recently I was so lucky to be able to get in on a limited edition digital stamp set with St. Patrick's Day designs and upon further inquiry I was told they would be okay to use for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop which begins today. Apparently green is very Springlike. The digital stamp set is called Lucky Day and is from Verve Stamps. It was available free for a limited time and I am glad I opted to get the file.

I made a  background using the shamrock from the set and then printed it onto glossy card stock. I swiped a medium blue stamp pad across the design and then over that I colored in the shamrocks with Tombow markers. This panel was die cut and layered onto another die cut panel of dark green card stock.

Then I took the sentiment and also printed that onto the white glossy paper and added just a bit of color to the design using the Tombows. This panel in turn was die cut with a rectangle die also and again added to the die cut panel of dark green.

I staggered these layers onto an A2 size card base and then I popped up the Lucky cup design which was printed on glossy paper and colored with Tombows to the lower left corner. I also added some dark green rhinestones to finish the design.

Die used:
Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Borders Style No. 99124

Other supplies:
Glossy Card stock
Gina K. Designs Christmas Pine card stock
Scor Board
Crafter's Companion Glue Tape
Tombow Markers
Gina K. Designs Blue Lagoon Ink

Well, thanks for stopping in and I so appreciate all of you wonderful comments.

God bless, Verna

Spring Wishes

Happy first day of Spring. In honor of the occasion I tried to make a spring like card design and I used something new for me called Chalkboard Embossing. You can view the post at the Crop Stop Blog to see how it is done. Very easy I might add. All you need is black card stock, an embossing folder and some white chalk. Luckily I had a stash of white chalk which had been in my craft drawer for a long time and today I finally found a purpose for it other than writing on a chalk board. Yippee!

Nothing says Spring like a spray of flowers. For my flowers and sentiment I chose stamps from the Gina K. Designs Warm Spring Wishes set. They were all fussy cut and that took me quite some time to do but I am glad I did them this way as it was easy to build my design later on. Both the chalkboard panel and the light green panel were die cut using the Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle set.

I placed all of the layers and flowers on a base card of white card stock. The card was then finished by adding some black rhinestones.

Other supplies used were my Scor Pal, Scor Tape and a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Floral Fantasy.

This will be entered into the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge as well as the Crop Stop Linky Party Challenge #26.

Well, we had another gorgeous day but it sounds like we are going into a cooler mode again for our weather and another chance of rain or snow. But then that is the way Spring begins. It is always a mix of weather so that is no surprise to me.

Well, take care and thanks for the visit and comments. Happy Spring to all of you as well.

God bless,
Verna

Trees

I remembered the poem I learned in grade school called Trees and so I decided with that inspiration I would make a card. The poem goes like this.

TREES

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast.

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray.

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair.

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
                                        --Joyce Kilmer

On ivory card stock I stamped the scene with my Versamark black ink pad. I then colored the tree  scene in with Tombow markers, but the sky was done by sponging on inks. This image comes from the Gina K. Designs Farm Life stamp set by Theresa Momber. The sentiment is from a Gina K. Designs set called Sympathy Duo. Once I had my scene complete I then die cut it with a Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle set. As the die had a nice double stitched border I decided it did not need to be layered further.

Well, this was a fun way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We have reached the 60 degree above zero mark today. But not surprising at all, the wind is traveling at a pretty good speed. Even this morning when we went to church it was 40 degrees.

I hope your Sunday is going well too. Thanks for your lovely comments.

God bless,
Verna

One Layer With a Pop Up

The Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week was to make a one layer card and then add one popped up image on it. So this was the design I came up for this challenge.

I have developed a fond love of stencils of late so I went and found one in my stencil drawer that had never seen ink before and used that. It is a Sheena Douglas one called Distress Grid. And, I just recently bought a rainbow type pad from Hero Arts which is called Ombre Spring Brights which I used to ink up the stenciled design using some finger daubers. I also stamped flowers randomly with that ink using a set also by Sheena Douglas and called Just Truckin'.

One of the flowers I stamped onto a separate piece of white card stock and fussy cut that out. I laid that aside and then took and placed two strips of Washi tape masks on the card with approximately a 3/8ths opening. In that opening I sponged on some black ink to make it look like a ribbon. After removing the tape to reveal my faux ribbon I then popped up the fussy cut flower over the top. I added a black gem to the center of that popped flower and stamped a sentiment from an Altenew set called Painted Inspiration to finish the card.

Well, I got some unexpected company today which was my daughter and granddaughter. And they brought me some beautiful coral colored roses. I was so surprised. They stayed for lunch and some visiting until it was time for them to travel back to their home.

Well here's wishing you all a wonderful rest of the weekend. It sure was a nice sunny day here. And, thanks for visiting and for all the great comments you leave.

God bless,
Verna

Easter Garden

This is my second post of the day and I was inspired by a quote I ran across on the internet and had to create a card to go with it. Easter is my favorite holiday. What a wonderful thing to know that He Lives!

"See the land, her Easter keeping,
Rises as her Maker rose.
Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping,
Burst at last from winter snows.
Earth with heaven above rejoices. --Charles Kingsley

I used images from the Gina K. Designs Springtime Baskets set which is illustrated by Claire Brennan. For quite awhile I had it in my mind that I wanted to make a simple garden scene and when I ran across that quote I just knew it would be perfect. So I proceeded to put daffodils in my garden and then added a little butterfly flitting around too!

I stamped my simple scene and then colored it in with Prismacolor pencils. I also masked off below the daffodils so that I could create a green lawn line in which they are growing. By simply adding a butterfly from the set and the sentiment I had a clean and simple garden. I had this scene on white card stock so I then die cut it out and added it to another layer of darker green card stock with one of my favorite die sets from Memory Box called Cross Stitched Frame Borders. Once all the layers were assembled I added it to the base card of white card stock.

Well, this was fun and I am so happy I have another card for my Easter giving. I will be entering this in the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Bits O' Green
Double D Challenges: Things That Fly
Scrapy Land Blog Challenge #62-Favorite Holiday-Used a Memory Box Die Set

Thanks for visiting and for your lovely comments.

God bless,
Verna

Happy St. Patrick's Day! #Verve

I wish all of you a wonderful St. Patrick's Day today. We don't celebrate it ourselves but I know a lot of people do. So for that reason I wanted to make a quick card today using a free digital set from Verve called Lucky Day. If you go to the site I think you can still download it. But hurry!

I am not too good at doing things with digitals so for this one I simply did a copy and paste of the shamrocks and put them onto a Word doc. Then I printed them out. Next I took a Hero Arts stamp pad called Ombre Meadow and swiped it across that printed design. I added a bit more coloring in by using some shades of green Tombow pens.

Once that was done I layered it onto some die cut rectangle layers with the Die-Namics MFT 839 Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stackers and placed it on a light green card base. My sentiment was printed out as well from that digital stamp set and I layered that before I added it to the main designed panel and finished it off with another shamrock which I popped up.

Well, blessings to you and I hope whether you celebrate or not that you have a great day.

God bless,
Verna

Stamping Up the Sixties!

I recently ordered several stencils from Crafter's Companion which have a 60's theme. I just had to have a few of them and on this card I featured the one called Just Groovy. I made the stenciled background first with various colors of Gina K. Designs inks using sponges and sometimes they blended together to create newer colors. Once I had that done I proceeded to add the stamped images from the stamp set.

I stenciled and stamped on a piece of white card stock and when it was done I added it to the front of a white card stock base. I did pop up the records and guitars to add a bit of dimension to the design. They were also embossed too. And, I was very happy how it turned out. The quote for this card by Bob Marley fit the theme perfectly.

The stamp set I used is Gina K. Designs Live Life Loud set which was illustrated by Tami Mayberry. I think if I am not mistaken that this set is discontinued now. I am so glad I was able to get it before that happened as I have used it several times in the past too.

I had a lot of fun working with all of those bright colors and I am looking forward to using more of the 60's themed stencils I purchased in the near future. This was the era in which I was a young adult. Although I was not very much of a hippie! LOL No drugs or protests for me!

I hope your week is going great and that yours and our weather will get to being more Spring like. According to the forecast it should for the weekend at least warm things up. Hopefully, we will melt all the snow we accumulated too.

Thanks for stopping and for your wonderful comments. I think they are all so groovy!

God bless,
Verna

Color Me Krafty

Yesterday I told you how I was gifted some Silhouette cut stencils and this one I used today was of a dotted design. So I used that for the background of my card and combined it with some wonderful stamps from Gina K. Designs.

I chose to use only black and white on my kraft card stock. My background was done by first applying Gina K. Designs white ink onto the stencil which covered the kraft paper. Then the next step to creating the look I wanted was to move the stencil slightly so that I had an overlapped design of a black dot. In between where they overlapped it was a lighter shade of black or almost like a gray. I love the way it turned out. It is always so surprising and exciting to see what the result is after doing a stenciled background.

My butterflies were stamped with Versafine Black Ink and then I used a white Prismacolor pencil to add the white to them. This panel was then die cut with a Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle set. I backed it onto a thin layer of black card stock. I also die cut the stenciled background with a die from Die-Namics called Blueprints 29. It did not have the double stitching but I thought it would match quite well regardless. This was also layered onto a thin black card stock. My sentiment was stamped with the Versafine black ink and also die cut with the Cottage Cutz set. And, again I added a thin layer of black. I thought the addition of the black made the layout more pronounced and better looking. After all the layers were done I assembled them together to make the finished product.

Supplies:
Scor Pal
Scor Tape
Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle CCB-021
Die-namics MFT-914 Blueprints 29
Gina K. Designs Stampers Favorites stamp set
Gina K. Designs White Ink
Versafine Black Ink
Stencil-Silhouette cut from a friend
White Prismacolor Pencil

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Crop Stop March Linky Party #26-Scor Pal, Scor Tape
Simon Says Monday Challenge-Make Your Own Background

This is an easy way to create a great looking card. And, I think this is a design that would work for a man or woman.

Well, we are getting snow today and lots of wind. A good day to craft and make some cards. I hope your Sunday is going well too!

God bless,
Verna

For a Friend

This card I made today is going to a friend who cut some stencils for me with her Silhouette and gave them to me as a gift. I just could not wait any longer and had to create a card using some of them and some Hero Arts stamps. I had the most fun making this card for her too. I hope she will realize that I am very pleased with them and that I appreciate the gift she gave me.

On white card stock I first added the brick wall with the stencil design using a Hero Arts Ombre Autumn ink. Then over that I applied Gina K. Design Sweet Corn ink to create the sunshine beaming onto the panel. This was the background for the rest of the card. I die cut the panel with a double stitch border die. With my MISTI I stamped the solid leaves and stems with Gina K. Designs inks. The little flowers were stamped onto a separate white card stock with black ink and then I colored them in with my Tombows. After fussy cutting them I added them to the leafy stems and some I popped up and others I did not. This gave a more dimensional look. In the center of the flowers I added some yellow pearls. This panel was layered onto a thin black border of card stock before placing it on the dark pink card stock.

Supplies used:
Hero Arts CL751 Dauber Bunch Stamp set
Hero Arts AF366 Ombre Autumn stamp pad
Cottage Cutz CCB-021 Double Stitched Rectangle Set
Card Stock-Gina K. Designs
Gina K. Designs Inks Black Onyx, Grass Green, Christmas Pine and Sweet Corn
Tombow Markers
Scor Pal
Scor Tape
Gina Marie Designs Yellow Pearls

This will be entered in the following challenges:
a2zScrapbooking March Monthly Challenge-"Playing With Stencils"
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: For a Special Lady
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Make Your Own Background
Crop Stop March Linky Party #26 (Scor Pal, Scor Tape)

Well, here it is Saturday evening and the weekend is whooshing by so fast. And, remember to turn your clocks ahead. I can hardly believe that it is the time to do that already. I am not a fan of this at all. I know that hour of sleep I will be missing for several days to come.

Thanks for visiting and for your awesome comments too. I look forward to reading them.

God bless,
Verna

Daffodils

I have always thought Daffodils were some of the prettiest Spring flowers besides tulips. They always seemed to bring such cheer and delight when I saw them dancing in the wind. And, I was reminded of a song that as a youngster was sung by Doris Day on a program on TV called Hit Parade. The song was Secret Love and part of the lyrics in it went like this. "Now I shout it from the highest hills, Even told the golden daffodils. At last my hearts an open door, And my secret love's no secret anymore.

This card I created is for a special sister-in-law and brother-in-law who are celebrating an anniversary later in March. I thought they might enjoy seeing the pretty daffodils as well as I know she especially is a big flower lover and grows the most gorgeous ones in her garden.

I used the Penny Black Daffodil Dance stamp set as well as a sentiment from the Penny Black You + Me set. The daffodils were colored direct to the stamp with some Tombow markers using my MISTI and doing repeated stampings. In between I applied a light touch of water to spread the colors and blend. Then I did a repeated stamping of the images to get the outline once again more intense. The sentiment was stamped with Gina K. Designs black ink.

The card stock I used for the main panel was then die cut with a Memory Box die and applied to a duplex card base of a spring shade of green with white inside from Crafter's Companion. The duplex card was scored using my Scor Pal which is a tool I use on every card I make almost.

The finishing touch was to add some rhinestone gems for some bling.

Supplies used:
Penny Black You + Me and Daffodil Dance stamp sets
Green/white duplex card stock-Crafter's Companion
White Card Stock-Gina K. Designs
Scor Tape and Scor Board
Tombow Markers
Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Border die
Rhinestones-Unknown

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Mod Squad Blog Challenge-Song Inspiration
Crop Stop Linky Party #26
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-For A Special Girl
Penny Black and More Challenge-March-Anything Goes

Well, here it is mid week already. Sounds like a bit of snow again could dust our area tonight. At least I hope it is only a dusting. But the weekend might bring a lot more. But that is Spring...one day so warm and sunny and the next cold and rainy or snowy. I only know I am sure looking forward to this new season.

Thanks for stopping in and for your wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Magnolias

I had this unused new set of stamps from Altenew called Magnolias For Her and when I saw the inspiration photo for the Altenew March 2017 Challenge I decided that I would try using this stamp set with a bleached out design and then recoloring it. I used the colors from the inspiration photo. Those colors and any type of flowers always remind me of Spring.

I started out my design by first finding some yellow card stock that would allow the bleach to work well. I then stamped the magnolias with Versamark ink and added black embossing powder before heat setting them. With a small paint brush I added the bleach and got white spaces where the bleach was applied.

After the bleach was completely dry on the card stock I then colored in the images with my Tombow markers and used a blending pen to get a more ombre look. I only chose a portion of the colored design and fussy cut out the areas I wished to use. I used a stacker die set to cut out all the panels including the magnolia one but on the one side I flipped the cut out design over the top of the die so they would not cut through. I then remembered I had some cover plate "oops" leftovers so I used a portion of a white one and incorporated that also in the design. After all the layers were assembled I placed them on a white card base.

Miraculously everything seemed to mesh together quite well and although black was not included in the color scheme in the photo I decided after trying several different colors that the black seemed to make the rest of the card more outstanding.

Dies used:
Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Borders
Die-Namics Split Chevron Cover-up

I am also entering this in other challenges:
Double D's Challenge-Think Spring
Mod Squad Challenge-Using Bleach and Coloring
Dies R Us Challenge #68-Something New

Well, this was a fun card to do and I hope that I may have inspired you a little bit with it. And, I thank you so much for all the wonderful comments you leave.

God bless,
Verna

CAS Sponged Scene

I recently purchased a lovely scene set from Gina K. Designs called Framescape Simply Spring which is illustrated by Theresa Momber. And, the Mix It Up Monday Challenge at Stamp TV was to make a single layer sponged scene. So using this stamp set that is what I did.

The first thing I did was take a piece of paper from which I had previously die cut a circle. I used this as a mask so that I could sponge on my grass and sky. This provided the basis for my scene and I proceeded to stamp all of the silhouette stamps from the set using my MISTI and black ink and gradually built my scene. Now I think this is a typical Spring scene around here and especially so in March and April when the first flowers peek their heads out and the trees are finally leafy. And, I remember as a kid and also as a Mom with our kids flying kites during those months.

It sure is a windy one today, but at my age I am no longer in a good enough shape to fly a kite. In fact, I don't have one around here anymore. But this scene did bring back some cool memories for me.

I am also entering this in the Double D's Challenge as the theme is Think Spring.

I hope your weekend is going great. Thanks for stopping in.

God bless,
Verna

Stencil and Stamps

The a2z Scrapbooking March 2017 Challenge is calling for us to play with stencils so with that thought in mind I made this card today to enter into the challenge. And, I love the outcome I got too! I am also entering it into the Double D Challenge in which we are to go with a Think Spring theme. Flowers of any kind remind me of Spring as do the butterflies.

The stencil I used is one I purchased some time ago but just now got around to using it. It is a Designs by Ryn stencil called Hibiscus. I combined that with the Hero Art CL867 Color Layering Butterflies and a Hero Arts sentiment set called SRHA15 Prayers.

I used Gina K. Designs Ivory card stock and used Gina K. Designs inks in the shades of Innocent Pink, Wild Dandelion, Fresh Asparagus, Passionate Pink and Black Onyx. I used the MISTI for stamping the butterflies and sentiments. After all the main elements were added to the single layer card I finished it off by adding some black rhinestones.

This was so fun to do and working with the bright colors helped to make a gloomy weather day feel more cheery.

Thanks for stopping in and for all the wonderful comments you leave me.

God bless,
Verna

Bleaching and Blunders

Well, I almost think that today I should have just left the crafting things in their drawers and done something else instead, but I didn't. I finally got a card that was fairly good looking so I will post it. On this card I used a new stamp set from Gina K. Designs called Springtime Baskets. And, a chevron cover-up die was also a new item that finally got used.

First of all when I stamped the design in black pigment ink it did not seem to emboss like I wanted it to. But I did that again and the second time around it was some better. And when I applied the bleach it only made the blue lighter in color and not white like I had hoped but I it was still light enough so that I could color in the image. First I tried colored pencils and they looked terrible. So I then went over them with some Tombow markers. On the basket however all I did was color over the bleached light blue with some white colored pencil to make it a bit more white looking.

So now it came to the use of my brand new cover die that I got from Die-Namics which I was so excited to use. The first die cutting was a total flop, as was the second. Both were done with white which I really wanted the cover die cut to be but I finally worked with a more golden rod colored card stock and got it to cut through fairly well. And, where it did not cut as well I covered it up with my design.

I was not quite sure what to do with the bleached basket design but at the last resort decided to die cut it with a scalloped die and then add a layer of darker pink behind it. These in turn were laid onto a circle die cut of the blue card stock.

The sentiment was stamped in pink ink on white card stock and then layered onto a layer of blue which was cut with a scalloped scissors. This was then added to a darker pink layer.

I finally got the card assembled then and it was ready to photograph. After repeated tries to get a good photo I finally got one that was suitable. It just seemed the blunders with this card went on and on today. LOL But it is what it is.

Dies used:
Die-Namics MFT-930 Split Chevron Cover Up
Cheery Lynn Designs XM5 XM Scalloped Circle
Cheery Lynn Designs XL-4 Circle-Classics

I am entering this in the following challenge:
Mod Squad Challenge-Use Bleach
Double D-Think Spring
Dies R Us-Something New

Well, I hope your day is going better then mine. Tomorrow is a doctor visit day for a check up and it is out of our immediate area so I won't be doing card making at all. Maybe I need a break anyway after today. LOL Thanks for stopping by and leaving your kind comments.

God bless,
Verna