Peace, Hope, Love

Again I am using leftover scraps from other cards I had made and making some great Christmas designs. I combined some leftover Oxide Ink Distress backgrounds and some smaller foiled pieces. I used a Gina K. Designs Foil Mate dotted image and foiled it with some older foil that was a deep pink in color that I no longer had a company name for. It had been purchased several years ago and I did not keep the outer wrapper for it. But it seemed to be the perfect match to this background on which I added more stenciled poinsettias from the Tim Holtz Collection 19. I also added more poinsettias and a bit of the foiled leftovers to the inside too.

The sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Festive Frames set. The darker shade poinsettias are inked up with Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart ink and the card base is Dusty Rose card stock from the Gina K. Designs line too.

Since this used foil on it I will also enter this in for my final entry into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge.

Well, I am so happy to have a few more Christmas cards added to my supply. I am  having fun working with the Christmas images too. I hope your week is a great one for you as well and that you are having some crafty fun. Thanks for the visit and wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Foil It Up!

I am working with leftover scraps and so this card is one I did with some of them. I used Oxide Distress Inks and regular Distress Inks and also Gina K. Designs Red Velvet ink. The sentiment was from the Holly Jolly stamp set by Gina K. Designs. And, the Fancy Foil used was Turquoise Sea and the striped design from the Foil Mate Stars & Stripes set. The Fancy Foil and the Foil Mates are from the Gina K. Designs line.

The holly design was done using a Tim Holtz stencil from Collection 19. I not only stenciled the background but I also stenciled extra portions and fussy cut them out to place along the sentiment. My layers were all cut out with the Cottage Cutz Double Stitched Rectangle Die. And the last step was to add red rhinestone gems to the holly and pop them up along the upper left side and the right lower side. 

This card will be used as an entry in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge which is entitled Foil It Up!

Thanks for the visit and lovely comments and I hope your week is off to a great start.

God bless,

Verna

Psst.....

I was just working on several Christmas cards using the darling stamp set called Elf Peeker from Sparkle N Sprinkle. And, one of the cards I made I used some leftovers from another foiling project which seemed to work just great with this little cutie!

The image was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and then colored in with my Zig markers. I added the strip of foiled design which used the Gina K. Designs Foil Mates Stars & Stripes and also Gina K. Designs Fancy Foil Wild Dandelion. The panel was then die cut with the Memory Box Cross Stitched Border die and placed onto a red card base. Inside I added a panel of white card stock so that I could write a message or stamp an inside sentiment.

I just love how he seems to be peeking out from a curtain or a wall. I hope you like it too!

This will be entered into the Mod Squad Blog Challenge in which we are to use foil.

Well, back to my Christmas card making. I hope all are having a super great day.

God bless,
Verna

Reminder

Just wanted to remind you that there is still time to send cards for the Cards for Little Hearts Drive which is ongoing now until August 25th. Please look at all the details first though and follow the guide lines. These cards are for the hospital staff to give to their patients to try and brighten their stay with them.

I have been busy with garden produce preserving and other things so not a lot of card making being done. However, I did stamp several images out for a mass production of Christmas cards one of these days. I know I have to get moving on those if I will make my deadline by the end of November.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you can find time to make a few cards for the kids who have congenital heart disease.

God bless,
Verna

Black, White and a Pop of Color

I already had my Gina K. Designs Lovely Lilies stamp set out and so I decided to try and make a mostly black and white lily with just a pop of color in it. I wasn't at all sure it would be even feasible to do that but half the fun of doing things is the trying. And, I am happy to say I love the look. And once again I made it a sympathy card.

Besides the Lovely Lilies stamp set I took a sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Sentimental Calla Lily set. My inks were grays and black for this lily. The pattern paper I used is unknown but I thought it was just enough color to dress up the design a bit more. On the white card base I added some splats of black ink thinned with water by flicking it off from a paint brush. And, since the stamen I stamped in the lily did not show up as well with the golden yellow ink like I wanted, I used a Pearl Pen to make them stand out with a bit more dimension.

This card seems to fit the theme for the Double D's Blog Challenge to use black, white and a pop of color so I will enter this card design into that challenge.

I am so happy with this beautiful multi-step lily set and am having a lot of fun with it. It is quickly becoming a favorite for me.

Thanks for the visit and I hope your day is going well.

God bless,
Verna

Lily Sympathy

I am adding another sympathy card to my stash as I have needed two so far this week. For this card I chose to use images from Gina K. Designs. The sentiment is from the Frame & Flowers 1 set and the lily is from the Lovely Lilies set. The lily is a multi-step design and I had to struggle to get it right as my eyes were all messed up from getting drops in them as I had my check up today. And everything is still okay. 😄

Then when I wanted to upload the photos from my camera I had to figure out the new way of doing it as they did an upgrade and I am  having to relearn how to do so many things again. It's as bad as getting used to a new computer. But finally I got my photo loaded. 

I am entering this card in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge.  

Sorry for the short post but it has been a very busy day. Thanks for visiting and for all the wonderful messages you leave which are always a pure delight to me.

God bless,

Verna

Some Fantastic News

I am so excited finally to announce that today my spot as a guest designer at The Crop Stop Blog goes live. I am happy I was given this chance but I must admit it was a bit daunting for me as I have not had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I did enjoy doing it though and I am thankful for this new opportunity. I don't think I want a permanent job though. I mainly did it just for the fun of it. 😄

I used stamps from Stamplorations called Trendy Spring Blooms as well as a matching die set from their Cutplorations division. These sets are designed by Shery Russ.  For more details and for the supplies I used please check out the full article at The Crop Stop Blog.

This card is being entered in the Stamplorations the Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge.

Thanks so much and God bless,
Verna

Stencil Art

Today I felt like getting inky again so this time I just played with a Gina K. Designs Art Screen stencil called Floral. This is a very CAS card and I simply added a sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Sentimental Calla Lily set.

I layered the front panel onto a layer of black card stock before adding it to the card base. And, the finishing touch was to add some Nuvo Jewel Drops.

Thanks for visiting. I had a great time working with the stencil. I used small finger sponges to add the ink. I wish all of you a wonderful evening too.

God bless,
Verna

Hugs

As I stated in a previous post some of my stamping friends sent me some of their die cuts that would be all ready to place on a card. So when the Dies R Us Challenge #77 email showed up I decided to use one of those die cuts to add to a background I had made with the Distress Oxide Inks and other Distress Inks.

This was a background I had made with the Distress Oxides that I originally did not care much for but when I took a Gina K. Designs Art stencil and sponged the design with an original Distress Ink over the top I was very happy with it. I die cut that panel out with a Memory Box Cross Stitched Border Rectangle Die and placed it on a white card stock base. The big Hugs die is from Papertrey Inks and that seemed to be the perfect addition to the card. I finished the card off by adding some Nuvo Rosewater Jewel Drops which before I added appeared to be a light pink. But as they dried they took on more of an orange hue. I was not so pleased with that but I guess it still looks quite nice.

I am also going to post this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge in which we are to make the sentiment the focus of our card. I do believe this will qualify for that as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me and I hope you have had a lovely weekend.

God bless,
Verna

Focus On The Sentiment

This morning I took another panel I had worked up with Distress Oxide Inks and Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart ink using a Poinsettia stencil from the Tim Holtz Mini Collection Set 19 and combined it with a sentiment from the Sparkle N Sprinkle Set 475 Holiday Foliage.

I had earlier done the water technique using the Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick and Cranberry Tart combination. First I sponged a coat of the Worn Lipstick and then added some of the Cranberry Tart. I thought the Cranberry Tart took too much of the lighter color away so I sponged over the top again with the Worn Lipstick and then used the stencil spritzed with water to make a patterned design. I placed a paper towel over the stencil and held it down so that the water would seep into the panel and create the more subtle poinsettia images. Then I dried the stencil off and then used it again to add just a bit of the stencil design here and there using the darker Cranberry Tart ink.

I just love that sentiment and font and decided to just stamp it with the Cranberry Tart. Next I took a Memory Box Cross Stitched Border Die to cut it out and added it to the card design. I thought the cross stitched design looked like a frame. The main colored panel of the card was die cut with a larger Memory Box cross stitched border die as well. All were added to a base card of white card stock.

I am entering this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge for this week where we are to make the sentiment the focal point. I hope this works well for that challenge.

Well, I am so glad you are visiting and leaving such wonderful comments. I can tell you that working with the Distressed Oxide inks has been a pleasure and I am sure I will be doing many more things with them as I experiment with them. I wish all of you a pleasant weekend.

God bless,
Verna

Holly Christmas

Today I pulled out a set of stamp images from Sparkle N Sprinkle called Holiday Foliage Set 475 to go with some of the Distress Oxide Ink backgrounds I made the other day. I stamped the holly image with Versafine Onyx Black ink and colored the image of the holly in with my Zig markers. I also stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Then using the Out of the Box technique I die cut the panel out with a double stitched rectangle die from Cottage Cutz.

Next I die cut another panel of the same white card stock as a layer for the first stamped panel. All that was left then was to add the background with those panels to a white card base.

I think this is my favorite I have done with the Oxide inks. And, even though it is a CAS design I think it has a certain elegance to it. I am adding this to the Mod Squad Blog Challenge in which we are to focus on the sentiment. I think this qualifies. 

Well, that's all folks for today! I am so happy I have three cards for my Christmas supply. And, this has been so much fun playing with the Oxides. I have several more backgrounds made so who knows? I might be playing again this week.

Thanks for stopping in and as always I love your comments.

God bless,

Verna

Oxides and Foiling

Yesterday I made several backgrounds using Oxide Inks. There was one I really was not so happy with as the water stenciled design did not show up too well, but I did not toss it. Instead this time I added some of the same design using one of the stencils from the Tim Holtz Mini Collection Set 19 using the regular Pine Needles Distress Ink pad to stamp over the background which had been done previously with the Cracked Pistachio Oxide Ink. Now I had both a light pattern and a darker pattern. And, one thing I find with the Oxides. If you don't like what you see just ink over it again when it is dry and redo it.

I paired the panel I had made with some of the Stripes pattern from the Gina K. Designs Foil Mates line that was foiled with her Turquoise Sea Fancy Foils. It was almost a perfect match to the Oxide inked panel. The sentiment is from Gina K. Designs Holly Jolly Stamp set and was inked up with Red Velvet. Each of these panels were then added to a layer of Gina K. Designs Red Velvet card stock.

I finished the card by adding all to a white card stock base. I was going to add more to the design but in the end I decided to keep it clean and simple as I think the foiled background dresses it up a lot.

Well it feels good to have another card added to my Christmas stash. On Stamp TV the theme for the Monday challenge is Christmas in July so I thought that a great incentive for me to get a start on my supply.

We got some much needed rain last night along with some hail and strong winds but the moisture is very appreciated. Thank you Lord!

Thanks for the visit and have a great evening everyone!

God bless,
Verna

Played With Oxides

Finally I got to use some of my Oxide Inks to make a card. I watched a video by Jennifer MaGuire in which she added designs with water using both stencils and stamps on her Oxide Ink backgrounds. So that seemed so interesting to me that I decided to try my luck with it and I was really pleased with the outcome.

For my background I inked up the Gina K. Designs white card stock with Distressed Oxides Fired Brick and Worn Lipstick. Then I took a Tim Holtz poinsettia stencil and spritzed it with water and laid it on my card stock. Next I placed a paper towel over it and left it do it's magic for awhile. I ended up with a gorgeous subtle designed background. The stamps I used for the card are from Gina K. Designs Festive Frames and A Year of Flowers set. The white background was stamped repeatedly with the poinsettia image in Cranberry Tart ink and I also used that ink color to add the sentiment and the popped poinsettia image. The popped poinsettia was colored with Zig markers and  I added additional color using the Worn Lipstick.

The background was die cut with a Cottage Cutz double stitched rectangle die before adding it to the white stamped layer. The card base was of Cranberry Tart card stock and I lined it with a panel of white so I could add a sentiment later on and write a message. The finishing touch was to add some pearls.

This was fun and although I only have six of the Oxide inks I think I may have to play more and gradually add other colors to my supply. I wanted to try them first before investing in a lot of new things.

I hope your week is going well. And, thanks for visiting.

God bless,
Verna

Wedding Card

We have an upcoming wedding in July so I thought I best get busy and work up a card for that happy occasion. For my birthday I was given lots of die cuts from a couple different gals and in one of them was this pretty arch with the bride and groom which is from Cheery Lynn Designs. I thought it a perfect opportunity to make use of it.

I also used a Cheery Lynn Designs die set to add my sentiment which is from Gina K. Designs Arranged With Flowers stamp set. I backed the sentiment panel up with a bit of gold glitter paper from Stampin' Up! This was placed below the bride and groom. 

And then below that I added some flowers from the Frame And Flowers set which were stamped in black and fussy cut out. In the center of them I took a glue pen and then sprinkled on some Gina K. Designs gold glitter. All of these were added to a white card panel and the last step was to add a white and gold sheer satin bow using ribbon from Gina K. Designs.

I am so happy as to how this turned out. And, I love the black and white with just a bit of gold added. I am adding this in the Just For Fun Rubber Stamps Challenge and the Scrapy Land Challenge.

Well, that completes my week of crafting. I don't know if I will do much this weekend. I might just do some celebrating of birthdays for grandchildren instead and just rest and relax. I cannot believe that our youngest one is three years old. They grow up way to fast.

Thanks for the visits and all the comments as well. Have a great weekend.

God bless,

Verna

Smile Everyday

Today I made a card for the Mod Squad Blog Challenge which was to use markers on stamps to do the inking on your card designs. So I used Zig clean color markers to add ink directly to the solid images on this stamp set that I got for a birthday gift. I only know that it is from The Greeting Farm and when I looked up the website for them it was not listed so I am assuming it is retired. But I love the sentiment particularly and think it is a good idea for all of us to remember and implement.

I used my MISTI of course so that I could get great impressions and did the images several times. My card stock of choice was from Gina K. Designs and I used White and Black Onyx. I also used Gina K. Designs pattern paper which is from the Petite Patterns set. And, the beautiful sheer satin fancy ribbon in the gold and black is also from Gina K. Designs. After I had stamped my design I took the small double stitched rectangle die from Gina K. Designs to cut it out. And, then I did a layer of black using the Gina K. Designs large single stitched rectangle die. When layered together it gave just a hint of a black border which I find always to look so wonderful on cards.

I assembled all the layers onto the base card of white card stock and was very happy with the outcome. I love all the polka dots on that design too.

Well, this is just a simple design today but since it is so hot I decided this morning to do a cake as we were all out. Yes, believe it or not! All the birthday cake is now consumed. 😊 I did it the easy way today. I took a yellow cake mix and mixed according to the package and then added two cups of fine chopped rhubarb. Over the top I sprinkled a sugar/cinnamon mixture and then baked it like usual. 

Well, thanks for all your sweet comments. I appreciate each and every one of them.

God bless,

Verna

Calla Lily Sympathy

We found out that Arlin's Aunt Phyllis passed away last weekend so I made a card especially for her family and used more pastel shades on it. I had just gotten a new stamp set in the mail from Gina K. Designs called Sentimental Calla Lily which is illustrated by Chris Dayton. It has a variety of sentiment combinations so it will be a very versatile set to own.

I did some research first on the internet and found out that the Calla Lily comes in all colors and that many of them have white or silver looking spots on their leaves so I added some to my card. I used Zig markers to color in the lilies. I had a white paint pen with which I added the spots to the leaves. The background was done using a Tim Holtz Lace Layering Stencil and using Gina K. Designs Ocean Mist ink. I did the stenciling after I had the main image already colored in. I was just careful that I did not add ink to the stencil in the area where the lilies were placed.

I just love the font on that nice sentiment from the set. This card worked up quite fast since it is a clean and simple design but I love that look for lots of occasions. One could just change the sentiment.

Well I am entering this card into the Double D Challenge in which pastel colors are to be used. My card was a mix of greens, pinks, yellows and white and of course, the blue stenciled design.

Thanks so much for your visit and I love all the comments you leave too.

God bless,

Verna

More Cards for Little Hearts

I thought I would share the last cards I made for the Cards for Little Hearts Card Drive-2017  Winter/Holiday Wishes cards. These cards are for the Heart Center Staff to give to children who have congenital heart disease. The purpose is to try and build them up and lift their spirits. Please check out the link above to read all the guidelines. The drive runs from July 1st to August 25th.

If you decide to make cards have them sent as soon as you can. And all who send cards are in the running for some wonderful prizes as well, but the greatest reward is knowing that perhaps you helped brightened the day of some child.

I am packing mine  up and will be sending them off this week. But there is still time for you to make some. Even one card made could help a child have a better day.

Thanks for stopping in and for the wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

A Happy Hello

This set of stamps called Happy Mail was the free incentive stamp that came with my Gina K. Designs qualifying order. I thought it would be great to add the sentiments to envelopes but I also thought that I might be able to work up a cute little note card using them as well. So this is what I did using the colors of Dusty Rose, Ocean Mist and Lovely Lavender inks and card stock. I also used white card stock and Black inks and all are Gina K. Designs products. My MISTI was implemented to make sure I got great impressions too!

I die cut the stamped design with a Cottage Cutz Double Stitched rectangle die and then also die cut one of the same size in Ocean Mist and Lovely Lavendar. These were then all placed on the base card of Dusty Rose.

My simple design was then finished by adding three gems in each corner. These gems pick up the color of those around them so I thought they were a good choice.

Well, our Fourth is a quiet one and so today I did some stamping. Nothing really tasking but just some simple CAS ones. And, it was fun!

I hope your Fourth of July is going well. And, thanks for visiting and commenting. I love to read all the little messages you leave me.

God bless,
Verna

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and that you will remember what the day actually is for too! I thought this card represented that quite well. This is the design I made which I sent to the shut-ins from church and others who are in nursing homes or home bound.

All images are from the A Jillian Vance Design Cross Stitched Freedom Set and I love that sentiment. I used Gina K. Designs Red Velvet and Blue Denim inks and Gina K. Designs White, Red Velvet and Blue Denim card stock. The dies are the double stitched rectangle ones from Cottage Cutz.

I wish all of you a wonderful celebration of our country's birthday. God bless the USA!

God bless,
Verna