Emboss Resist Holly Card

I am not sure if I like this card or not but none the less it is what it is. So I am posting it on the blog regardless. I used a new stamp set from Gina K. Designs called Holly Jolly and it is supposed to be used with foiling but I thought I could get some use from it without using a foiling technique.

I embossed the holly using Versamark ink and clear embossing powder. One could also use white and have it work as well. Then I simply sponged on colors to the background. At first I just colored up the areas of the holly but I found that too dull. So I decided to add some shades of yellow and it did brighten it up some. And, adding the ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon and the sentiment helped as well. I used a red card base and added a white liner inside. The main panel is die cut with a My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched rectangle die and the sentiment used both the Gina K. Designs large and small circle stitched die sets.

Sorry I have not posted much but I accidentally cut my thumb while trying to cut up a great big squash so that I could bake it. So I had a hard time doing things as any little pressure on it hurt like the dickens. I am now able to put more pressure on it. Who knew a thumb could bleed so much?

Well, I hope your week is off to a good start. Take care and thanks for the visit and lovely comments.

God bless,
Verna

Rudolph Days

Time for the September Rudolph Days Challenge so I made up this card using an elf image from the Creative Visions Elf This stamp set.

The image was colored in with Copics except for the sky to which I sponged a bit of light blue and then die cut using a Cottage Cutz double stitched rectangle die. I also  used that die set on the green layer. Oh, the layer with the image was added to some white card stock to create a thin border. I added all of these panels to a red card stock base and then used some snowflake die cuts from CAS-ual FRI-Dies called Funky Flakes for embellishments. Inside I added a sheet of white paper so that I can stamp or write a message,

Some Wink of Stella was added to the snow and flakes but I could not get a photograph to show that for some reason. It might be due to the bleak and dreary day we are having. It is supposed to be cold for quite a few days with below normal temps. And, in the western part of our state in the Black Hills area they are to get some snow. I am not quite ready for the white stuff here though. Maybe around Christmas Eve, LOL

Well, I am so happy you visited and I love the comments. Have a great day! And keep the snow away!

God bless,
Verna

Acetate Thank You Card

I and my niece were the lucky winners recently at White Rose Crafts LLC and were given a June Kit filled with great summer themed elements including papers, printed acetate, ribbons, buttons, stickers, stamp sets and more. And, I know it is no longer summer but I still had to make a card using some of the goodies from that kit. So I made a thank you card. I hope you like it.

I used one of the stamp sets to stamp the design at the top and the bottom of the card and in between those areas I added the acetate. I just loved that pink polka dotted acetate and knew right off I wanted to make a card like this. And the thanks sentiment is a sticker from the kit.

Here is what it looks like inside. The pattern paper that covered up the back of the stamped papers were also in the kit. I thought they matched up with the Hero Arts Ombre ink pad I used for stamping the designs. I also added a bit of the stamped design inside the card too! The little leaves I stamped with a green ink pad from Gina K. Designs. Since the sentiment was in green I had to find a way to add some to my design so I picked out that little leaf design and used that. All of these stamped designs are from the same stamp set from Docrafts Creativity Essentials called Paisley. It is a set that can be used as a multi-step or otherwise.

Anyway, I had fun this rainy and dreary afternoon. And, it is getting colder again after a nice warm weekend. And, the furnace repair man did not come like he said either and since it is late in the day already I doubt he will make it. So I am not looking forward to the cold temps in the house tonight  But if it gets too cold we still have some wood to burn which will heat it up for awhile so we will get by. It did not even pay to open the drapes today and let the sun shine in as we never saw the sun at all.

But my wish for you is that the sun is shining brightly on you and that you are off to a great start for this week. At least I was able to play a bit. And, we had a great time with our company this weekend.
I have to share a photo with you showing Jack and Anna who went to visit the local pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. They are both growing up so fast. I can't believe that Jack is seven months old already. The prayers you said for him sure paid off as he is doing great now.

Until next time take care and may the Lord bless you.

Hugs, Verna

The Witch Is In!

This was a quick Halloween card I made one evening while working on an evening meal. We call it supper! Anyway, I simply sponged on the colors I wanted and left a lighter colored area where I figured I could stamp the spooky old house. Then I added the other images with black. Voila! It was done. So easy but I still like it a lot. I used Gina K. Designs heavy weight white card stock. It is a no layer card.

I only had to color in some yellow and orange in the house windows and the moon. Also the tree was not filled in so I added some black marker to that. I even did an outline with the marker on the sentiment as well as I wanted it to show up well. These are images from an old (retired) stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle called Halloween-RIP. It was a stamp set I acquired when I was on their design team a long time ago. I still love that set a lot and have used it many times. So if you wanted to get some of those images I am afraid you are out of luck unless you can find it on Ebay.

I just wanted to share that even though I had not posted much this week that I was still trying to work on some cards for the upcoming Halloween holiday. I had to work with lots of garden things again and also do some emergency baking.

Let me explain the emergency baking. My wonderful hubby went to town and so I told him to pick up a few groceries of which some eggs was part of the order. Well, when he was bringing the groceries in from the car he dropped the eggs. And, so that day for a noon lunch we had some scrambled eggs. The other cracked ones I used for baking some Dump Bars. I do love the Dump Bars so I was not too disappointed that I had a good excuse to use them. Well from an 18 count carton of eggs we managed to have five of them come through the ordeal unscathed.  So just in case you drop some eggs and need a recipe that uses quite a few of them I am giving the recipe for Dump Bars for you next.

Dump Bars

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

5 eggs beaten

1 cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips. "Dump" into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips (or butterscotch if  you prefer) on top. Don't stir them in. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Depends on your oven.

And, here is a another tip for you: Yesterday I made a card using an acrylic block background and then stamped on some ballet slippers. Well, let me tell you that Hero Arts Ombre Ink would not scrub off with water from that acrylic block. I did not know what to do and then I thought about the Clorox Wipes I had for disinfecting and decided to try that. With a little elbow grease it got that block looking just like new again. So if you have some stubborn ink stains this might be a good thing to try on your blocks too.

Well, I best get my sink full of dishes washed up and also do another load of laundry. Hubby has been working on some machinery and changing oil on vehicles and he sure has some dirty and nasty items I need to take care of. One thing you can always expect is every day clothes with grease and grime on them.

I wish all of you a great rest of the week and weekend. I have to clean my house tomorrow so I won't be posting for awhile again. Thanks for coming by and commenting too.

Take care and God bless,
Verna

Well, it is footwear!

I saw that the Double D Challenge this time was to use some sort of footwear as the theme is If The Shoe Fits! Well, I am afraid I am not finding a lot of success with footwear but did remember I had this one and some cowboy boots or work shoes. Well, I decided to girly it up a bit and use some ballet slippers or at least one for my card. And, I had an acrylic block design handy that made for an easy card design.

I used an Hero Arts Ombre stamp pad for the background. Then I stamped the ballet slipper and the sentiment with black ink over the dried background. I used my MISTI so that I could re-stamp it if needed as I wanted a good printing. Good thing I did too as I did the slipper and the sentiment three times. Then I added it to some Dusty Rose card stock and finished by adding some black rhinestone gems. I also added a white panel inside the card.

The ballet slipper image is by Stampitcrazy and the sentiment is from CAS-UAL FRIDAYS. I could not find any sentiments that involved dancing or ballet but I thought this one would work okay too.

Well, sorry I have not posted much. I have been very busy again with garden work. I did get some Halloween cards finished though in between but have not had time to post about them. Maybe another day I will find time. And, I think I am getting company for the weekend so I better clear the kitchen table off again. LOL

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments and I always love to hear what you have to say. Take care and we will visit again another time.

God bless,
Verna

September Twofers

Time again to do my Twofers for Darnell's Twofer Challenge #9. This time we are to use a leaf two different ways or for two different types of cards. I chose to do a Fall one and a Christmas one with my leaf. The leaf used was one from the Gina K. Designs Fancy Flowers set.

For the Fall card design I masked off the area I wanted to sponge color on. I chose to  use shades of yellow for the main sponged area. Next I then took the leaf and using a Hero Arts Ombre Autumn ink pad I stamped the leaves. After I had all the leaves on my design like I wanted them I then took a black ink marker and with a ruler drew a faux layer along each side. The sentiment was stamped in black and it is from the Joy Clair Harvest Blessings stamp set.

The card base for my Christmas design is white but I used the Gina K. Designs Diagonal Stripe  background stamp to create a plaid design with the green and red colors. I took a sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Holly Jolly stamp set and stamped that onto a rectangle that I had die cut using Gina K. Designs single stitched die. That die cut was added to another larger rectangle from the same set in the green color. The sentiment was then placed onto the lower right corner. For the poinsettia I used a masking technique to make it and then cut it out by hand and popped it  up onto the upper left corner making it so that it slightly overlapped the sentiment panels.  The last thing I added to the card was some yellow pearls on the poinsettia center.

I did not think I was going to get to finish my Twofers today as we discovered that we had several cantaloupe that needed to be cut up and refrigerated. There were so many that I went online and found a recipe for Cantaloupe bread but instead of making it into loaves I opted to make it into one carb choice muffins. Not bad tasting too. And, a great way to use some of the over ripe melon.

Well. that is enough activity for today. I think I will take the lazy route and fix a pizza in the oven for supper. Along with some lettuce salad it should make a good meal. I hope your day went well and that you got some productive crafting in. Thanks for the visit and until next time take care.

God bless,
Verna

Dirt Road at Dusk

Hello again! I hope your day is going well. I got a late start but finally got to working on a birthday card for my cousin who is an elderly farmer and I thought this scene might be to his liking.

I was trying to make it look like the edge of night. I am not too sure I achieved it but I still think it is a nice card. I know it is a great scene and it is a Blue Knight rubber stamp called The Dirt Road.

I used Gina K. Designs white layering weight card stock and stamped the image with Gina K. Designs Jet Black Amalgam ink. I then  used a combination of Copics and ink sponging to color in the scene. Sponging was mostly done on the sky area but I did carry a bit of the blue down into the lower scene to depict it getting darker as the day goes on. It really was an easy card to make. I added a Happy Birthday sentiment from Gina K. Designs.

Well, I think that does it for me today. At least I got one card done. And, I have a lot of ones to do yet this week if at all possible. Oh, where does the time go every day? Hahaa!

Take care and thanks for visiting and commenting.

God bless,
Verna

Humorous Writing

Good morning all!

A local gal named Terri writes a blog and also a column for a newspaper. She is also a wonderful card maker and was instrumental in getting me into the stamping game as she owned the store next door to where I worked that had all those tempting stamps and supplies for sale. Anyway, I am just loving the funny articles she writes and I thought if any of you need a dose of humor to brighten up your day that you might want to check out her blog too.

I hope your morning is off to a great start. Until next time.

God bless,
Verna

Blast From The Past

I ran across this photo I took years ago when I had my design and poem published in Scrap & Stamp Arts. I thought maybe you might like to see it. I sure do miss that magazine as it was one of my favorites.

The images  used are from Sutter Stamps. This was done in the earlier days when I did not have many sentiment stamps and when I was into writing poetry. I seldom write poems now. I mainly just make cards. But I was really proud when they published my card and featured it all on one page. It was in the Inklinations column in the May/June 2005 issue.

Please forgive the bad photo. I tried to enhance it as much as I could. But I think you get the idea and can read the small print.

I should get back into more scene stamping as I used to love it a lot.  Maybe soon. In the meantime you have a great afternoon.

God bless,
Verna

Caroling Penguins #pbcreativechristmas

This afternoon I decided to make up a quick Christmas card and I used a really cute and delightful stamp for my card using the Penny Black Caroling Penguins set. There is also some sentiments with it so I chose one to add to my card.

I recently purchased some wonderful ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon called Vintage Christmas so I tried to use the same colors in my penguin design. I think I got the Copics to match quite well too. After coloring the penguins and adding the ribbon I simply added it to a Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart card stock base. I also added a piece of the white card stock inside so I can stamp or write a message.

I used my MISTI to get a good stamping and I am glad I always rely on that tool. It is a lifesaver with me not being able to stamp well anymore due to my arthritis.

I am entering this into the Penny Black Creative Christmas Challenge.

Anyway, I wanted to share it and I especially want to thank my friend Patti for giving me the stamp set too. I love it!

I hope your Sunday is going great and that your new week will be a great one.

God bless,
Verna

Let's Pop a "Wheelie"!

The title is the theme for the Double D's Challenge this time around and I must say when I made this card I "wheelie" had a good time doing it too! It was such a fun image to work with and I added it to another acrylic block background.

I used images from the Gina K. Designs Face To The Sun stamp set which included the sentiment and the girl on the bike image. I put the acrylic stamped design into my MISTI and then stamped the image and sentiment. Both needed to be re-stamped so I was so glad I had the MISTI working for me again. It seems I don't have the strength to get good impressions like I used to do. So that tool is a real asset for me.

I did not have a sun stamp so I took a snowflake from the Gina K. Designs Holiday Wreath Set as I thought it sort of resembled the rays of a sun. I tried my best to get some yellow in the upper corner for it when I did the acrylic background and I guess enough showed up so that it worked okay. I had to mask off the corner first though before I added the snowflake image.

Well, that will do it for me until next week I think. I worked most of the day with garden things and then I managed to finish this up. I had started it yesterday but ran out of steam. LOL I hope all of you are having a great weekend. We are having more Fall like days now with cool nights and moderate days with highs in the low 70's. Very nice weather in my opinion. Well, I will see you next time. Take care.

God bless,

Verna

Autumn Wreath

Using another of my acrylic block backgrounds I decided to make a wreath using the Gina K. Designs Autumn Wreath Builder set. I first stamped the basic wreath using the flower and leaf design using the MISTI. Then I took and hand stamped the leaves and pumpkin around that basic wreath oval. And the final addition of the sentiment was done by placing it back in the MISTI. Good thing I did that too as I had to re-stamp it more then once to get a good impression.

I cut by hand around the acrylic block design quite closely leaving only a small border of Ivory card stock. Then I placed it on the black layer and fussy cut around that as well. The final step was to add it to an Ivory card base. Really an easy design and I am quite pleased with it too!

I am entering this in the Mod Squad Blog Challenge which calls for an acrylic block stamped background. I sure have been enjoying working with these backgrounds and I hope to share another one with you tomorrow as well.

Have a great evening and please drop in any time. I love to see you visit and leave such wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

Stamp Your Block!

Another card using a background by adding ink to an acrylic block and stamping it onto card stock. I am concentrating more on Fall cards and so I thought this color scheme looked like some apple harvest colors. So I went with using apples  from the Harvest of Wishes stamp set by Gina K. Designs. I am entering this in the Mod Squad Blog challenge too!

Once I had my block stamped and the designs stamped in black onto it I then cut it down a bit of the edges and layered it to black card stock. And, for the card base I chose to use Gina K. Designs Jelly Bean Green card stock. I don't know about you but I always like to incorporate the least used color as a base for a card with the exception of black, kraft, white or ivory which are always great ones to use. So since the Jelly Bean Green matched the splotches of green from the block stamping I went with that for my card base.

I originally used the Red Velvet, Red Hot and Jelly Bean Green inks from Gina K. Designs for ink on my block and then spritzed with water before stamping it down on the Ivory card stock. I re-inked it again and stamped again as I did not get as much coverage as I wanted with the first stamping. So keep that in mind if you are not liking the way it looks the first time around.

Even though the Jelly Bean Green card base was quite light in color and could have shown off a stamped or written sentiment quite well I still decided to add an insert of the Ivory card stock to that as well. And, before I added all of the design to the card I took some black and white gingham ribbon and placed that along the right side. I love gingham ribbon so I tend to use it a lot.

Well, here it is Friday already and I hope your week went well. I wish all of you a wonderful weekend and I thank you for always being so kind with your comments.

God bless,
Verna

Acrylic Block Background

The Mod Squad Challenge this time is using an acrylic block to make a background. I chose to use Gina K. Designs inks and then I spritzed the block with water before stamping it down on my card stock. My choice of card stock for this panel was Ivory. I repeated the stamping until I got the design I wanted.

I tried to use a mix of colors that would work well for an Autumn color scheme. I think I succeeded with this background. I cut around the stamped panel to leave an Ivory border.

The stamps  used on it were from the Gina K. Designs Grateful Heart stamp set. I just love the great patterns on those leafy branches.  They were stamped with Versafine black ink. So was the sentiment which is also from that same stamp set. Then I placed this on a layer of Plum Punch card stock before adding it on the Ivory card base. All card stock is from Gina K. Designs.

I did not have pearls in the colors I wanted so I took Copic markers and colored them with what I thought were a close match to the inks incorporated in the background.

I made up several acrylic block panels so look for more designs to be forthcoming. I love this look and one never knows exactly how the panels will look too. That is the exciting part when you see what has developed.

Well, thanks again for stopping in and taking a look at what I have been doing. I love your visits.

God bless,
Verna

Masculine This Time!

This card is more of a masculine style and I chose to use a stamp from Blue Knight Rubber Stamps called Country Life. I thought this was a great card for a guy and especially for those who live in my neck of the woods. LOL This would be a typical scene many times where an old truck was chucked out in the field and left to rust.

I stamped the image with Gina K. Designs Jet Black Amalgam ink. I then used sponges for adding color to the scene. However I did take a marker to define areas where a sponge just would not work efficiently. I tried to match the sponged on colors. After I had the scene all colored I placed it back in my MISTI where I had kept the stamp in position and stamped it again in the black ink to bring out all the details which had been smudged by the sponging.

I then added this scene to a layer of black card stock and then placed it onto a white card stock base. I on purpose did not add any sentiment as I want to keep my options open as this could be a card for a birthday, get well or even a sympathy one.

I am entering this in the Double D's Challenge which calls for using something with wheels on it. I believe this old pick up truck qualifies.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your evening is a great one. And, I love all the comments you leave me too.

God bless,
Verna

Make It Feminine

Well, this diva certainly oozes her feminine side with this wonderful image that I got as a freebie with an order from Crafter's Companion. She is from the Scuffy Little Cat line and her name is Francesca. When the Penny Black and More September Challenge came  up with a theme of Make it Feminine I decided this was a perfect image to use for it.

I stamped the image with Gina K. Designs Jet Black Amalgam Ink and then colored her with my Copics. I then proceeded to die cut around the image with a Spellbinder Timeless Rectangle die as I thought it had more of a feminine look to it then just a plain rectangle. I mounted this panel to black card stock and then placed it on a light blue card base. The finishing touch to the card was to add some rhinestones to the necklace she was dangling from  her hand.

This was a "just for fun" card and I had been meaning to use this diva image for quite some time but just had no idea exactly how to go about it. So I am glad another NBUS (never before used stamp) had seen some love.

I hope your day is going well and I so appreciate your comments and visits.

God bless,
Verna

Thanksgiving Blessings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day holiday. We had a good visit with some of our children and their families so we enjoyed that. We played some fun games too! That is a nice change of pace.

Today I got an order from Gina K. Designs and so I grabbed a few of those stamps and decided to play with them and create a Thanksgiving card. Before we know it that time will be here as well, so I think it best I get busy with those and Halloween cards.

I recently bought a set of Fall colored ribbons from Really Reasonable Ribbons and so I chose to use one of each color to create a background. Then I took a leaf image from the Gina K. Designs Skeleton Leaves set and stamped one in each color to sort of match the ribbons. The sentiment is from the Gina K. Designs Autumn Wreath Builder set. All of this was arranged on a piece of Ivory card stock. The card base is black so I stamped the sentiment in black too and added three black sequins. Inside the card I added another Ivory piece of card stock for the sentiment or message I will be adding.

Really a simple design and the fussy cutting of the leaves was not that difficult as it was a fairly simple outline to follow. I hope you liked my quick and easy card I made after lunch. Thanks so much for visiting and I hope your day is going well.

God bless,
Verna