CAS Cutout Christmas

I recently invested in a set of dies that are cutouts. There were six of them in the package and I chose to use just three of them on this clean and simple card today.

I backed the cutouts with some foiled paper that I had done with a "no heat" technique by just taking some sticky paper and just burnishing the foil onto the sticky part. The foil I used is from Gina K. Designs and it has some little flecks in it that really makes it pretty. And, the sentiment is from a Gina K. Designs set called Emily Loggans-A Very Merry Christmas. It was stamped with  black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs.

Dies used:
Impression Obsession Christmas Circle Cutouts
Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Borders

I added some thicker photo double stick tape to the back of the main panel so that it was popped up. I went with several strips on the back to make it quite stable. I chose to do a white on white and I love the look.

I am entering this in the Scrapy Land Challenge #112-Anything Goes.

Well the snow missed us so that is just fine with me. Only a bit of rain too! I think it went south of us again. That just goes to show that the weatherman doesn't always know for sure what is going to happen as we were to be in the area where some of the deeper snow was to fall.

You have a great weekend and God bless,
Verna

I Need Your Opinion

I bought this Di-Versions Flying Santa image and  after making a card with it my husband made a comment that made me decide not to use it any more.

Below is the first card I made with it and the comment my husband made was that it looked like the reindeer was taking a dump and it was heading right towards Santa. And, he also mentioned that the reindeer was way out of proportion to Santa and his sleigh too. So after looking it over I decided he had a point.

So this is what I did with that die. I die cut it like usual but then I did surgery on it and eliminated the deer and the moon. And, I think I might be able to send this card design to someone this Christmas whereas the first design I made will be forever tainted because of what my hubby pointed out. LOL

So what is your thoughts? I am curious if you see what my hubby did as well, And I tried to find a card made with this die on the internet and so far have not found one. So perhaps others found that an issue too. I adhered it so well to the card stock so I can't even loosen it to redo it. A positive of this die is that it cut like a charm so that was good.

Well, that is it for this week and I hope if nothing else that you got a laugh or two from this post.

Have a good weekend and God bless,
Verna

April Rudolph Days Challenge

Time again for the April Rudolph Days Challenge. With that in mind I decided to use a stamp set I recently used before for a Christmas card but this time I went for a totally different look. I love the elegant simplicity of it. With the aid of my Misti and the Kaleidacolor Fruitcake rainbow pad I managed to make a pretty design with the stamp images from the Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouette stamp set.

I die cut the stamped Gina K. Designs Ivory card stock panel with the MFT Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stacker die and then I placed it onto a Gina K. Designs Plum Punch card base. I finished the front panel by adding some gems in coordinating colors. I also die cut another panel to put inside the card.

I really enjoyed working with these solid images. I think the elegance of the designs really make for a gorgeous card.

Well, that was fun and I thank you for the visits. Almost to the weekend again. Predictions are for us to get some snow Saturday. We shall see and if so, hope it is not very much.

Take care and God bless,

Verna

Galaxy Christmas

The Mod Squad Challenge was to use  Stars and/or Galaxy for our entries this time around. So I decided to use a galaxy and use it for a Christmas card. I am a bit on the fence as to whether I like it though but never the less the deed is done. See what you think?

I used Andirondack alcohol inks and glossy card stock to make the galaxy and then while it was still a bit damp I added some Sparkle N Sprinkle Gold Detail embossing powder and  heat set it but tried to leave an open area where I wanted to add the deer design. I wiped a anti-static bag across the surface and then stamped the deer with Versamark. Since I had it in my Misti I did this a couple times so that the design would be well inked onto that glossy panel. Then I added the EP and heat set it. The deer design is from the Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouettes stamp set.

Next I die cut the panel with an Unknown Brand scalloped stitched die and then placed it onto a gold panel. Well, actually it was a white panel but I took some Versamark ink and swiped along the edges and then added gold EP and heat set it so that it would match. The final touch was to add this design to a Gina K. Designs Plum Punch card base.

I think I got a little too much EP on the panel but it does look nice when the light hits it. I don't think I will be making any more like this though.

I plan to be back again later today perhaps with another post. So stay tuned. LOL

God bless,
Verna

Back To Christmas Cards

I am getting back to making Christmas cards as I want to fulfill my monthly commitment to make cards for that season. So with that in mind I pulled out this never before used stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle to create a winter scene,

I stamped the scene with Gina K. Designs Fresh Asparagus ink and then proceeded to color in the trees with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I also added more white to the snowy portions on the tree with a white paint pen. The sky was blended in with Gina K. Designs various shades of blue using the Life Changing Blending Brushes.  And again I used the white paint pen for the snow flakes in the sky. The sentiment was from another Sparkle N Sprinkle stamp set. I die cut the panel with an Unknown scalloped stitch die before laying it onto a panel of Fresh Asparagus card stock. I finished the card by adding it to a white card base.

Stamps sets used:
Sparkle N Sprinkle Tree Scene Stamp
Sparkle N Sprinkle Winter Greetings Bird & Wreath

Well, back to making more Christmas cards. Thanks for the visits and wonderful comments.

God bless,
Verna

April Twofers

Time to catch up and get my Twofers in for Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge #15-Zoo Animals. I chose a darling elephant image and tried to use it two different ways.

First up is the note card featuring that cute elephant image. I also used some pattern paper to go with the design which was colored with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol.

Supplies:
Wild Rose Studio: Bella With Flowers Stamp
Your Next Stamp: Just A Note Sentiment
Wild Rose Studio: Bella Paper Pack
Gina K. Designs: Large Circle Single Stitch Die
Gina K. Designs: Card Stock
Gina K. Designs: Amalgam Black Ink

The second card is also colored with Prismacolor and Gamsol. This time I chose to make it a birthday card.

Supplies:
Wild Rose Studios: Bella With Flowers Stamp Set
Wild Rose Studios: Sentiment from Bella's Party 2 Stamp Set
Poppystamps: Stitchwork Rectangle Frames
Gina K. Designs Card Stock
Gina K. Designs Black Amalgam Ink

I had been wanting to ink up these stamps for a long time and so I am glad this opportunity for using zoo animals prompted me to dig them out and make these cards. I think Bella is so darling.

Well, that is it for me today. I wish all a great evening and thanks for the visit.

God bless,
Verna

Bunny Birthday

I am so glad I figured out a way to use those cute bunnies from Impression Obsession in more ways then for Easter. Using that cute die and others I made a birthday card using some leftover scraps of card stock. The Impression Obsession Challenge is Bunny Love so I thought this would work well for an entry.

Below is the list of dies and stamp set used:
Impression Obsession Bunny Border DIE664-T
Impression Obsession Balloons DIE359-R
Impression Obsession Checkered Frames DIE805-YY
Impression Obsession Life Stuff Sentiments CL491

Thanks for checking in and leaving your wonderful comments. We had a great Easter with wonderful worship services, lots of good eating, playing of games and good visiting. We had great fun with our family! I hope your Easter went great too!

God bless,
Verna

Happy Easter to all! We serve a risen Savior!

This card was made in my past designer days for Sparkle N Sprinkle. So another blast from the past. And, a big thanks to all who visit and leave comments on my blog. I love all of them .

May the Lord bless you richly on this wonderful day!
Hugs, Verna

Black and White

I wanted to make a card but did not want to bring out a lot of supplies so with a stencil, some stamps, black ink, and white and black card stock I made a card that I am quite proud of. I hope you like it too!

Listed below are the supplies used:
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Lace Layering Stencil
Sparkle N Sprinkle Memory In Our Heart Stamp Set
Gina K. Designs Dogwood and  Butterfly Stamp Set
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Gina K. Designs Ribbon
Gems Unknown (from my stash)
Pop Dots
Black and White Card Stock from Gina K. Designs

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Double D's Challenge Black and White
Mod Squad Challenge Use A Stencil

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are having a wonderful week.

God bless,
Verna

Birthday Wishes

I saw where the Impression Obsession Challenge is for the theme Birthday Wishes. I am always needing a lot of birthday cards for my family and friends so I decided to make a CAS design for that occasion.

I had to try out some new dies that I received recently and so I die cut the balloons out of some foiled papers I had previously done so that they resembled the Mylar type. I also used a new frame design and a new sentiment on it as well to make a simple birthday design that would work for any age or gender.

Supplies used are:
Impression Obsession Checkered Frames DIE805-YY
Impression Obsession Balloons DIE359R
Impression Obsession Mini Messages3 CL653
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Foiled Papers
Ecstacy Crafts Sticky Specks

Well, so nice to get a little card making in this week. I hope your week is going well too.

God bless,
Verna

April Showers

April showers should bring the May flowers. So on that idea I made a card depicting both the showers and the flowers.

I happened to have a Penny Black Hello frame die that someone had gifted me and used that to showcase the pretty flowers from the Gina K. Designs Hopeful Flowers stamp set which were stamped with Gina K. Designs Jet Black Amalgam ink. I colored the flowers with Copics. I also did some sponging of blue ink for the sky using my Life Changing Blending Brushes. I had to fussy cut around the die frame but it worked out quite well. And, I also did some doodling with a Bic Ultra Fine black marker on the frame as well.

Next I took the Cheapo Die called Rainy Day and die cut it from a royal blue card stock and added some yellow to the umbrella and white to the clouds. I then placed this in the upper part of the card to depict how the April showers bring the May flowers.

Oh I added the dies to the card by picking up adhesive from the Ecstasy Sticky Specks sheets. I love how easy that worked and it was a much easier and faster process in assembling the card.

I am entering this in the Dies R Us Challenge #119-April Showers.

April showers are in the forecast for this week so hopefully, they will help melt the rest of the snow so that very soon we may see some May flowers too. And, my cleaning is pretty much done and now to the baking.

Take care everyone and God bless,
Verna

Throw Back Friday

I am not making cards right now but I read where someone else was looking at things they had made in the past so I looked at my older creations and found one I always liked which is a darling little scene using the image from Sutter Enterprises stamps. It is a perfect Spring design too.

And here is another one I did for Rubber Stampede when I was asked to make cards for them. It was sort of like a designer position as I filled in by making cards for them to display when they had shows. Their regular designers were busy with other things and they were in short supply of samples. In turn they gave me the stamps to work with so I could make cards. At that time I made my own background papers by using stamps. I think this is a cute card myself. LOL No dies either so it was all fussy cutting.

So just for fun I thought I would share these with you. These were taken with a scanner bed before I had a camera. So they may not be so great! We had sun for a bit and now it was spitting snow again. Ahhh! Spring can be a fickle creature I guess. LOL

Take care and have a great weekend.

God bless,
Verna

FYI Post

Just a quick note to let you know that I am still alive and that I also found out the identity of the die I asked you about.

 I finally contacted Scrapy Land and they gave me a clue to the company and by that information I was able to locate it on the web. Thanks to everyone who tried to help me too.

The storm is on it's last leg we hope. We had 12.5 inches of snow yesterday and overnight we picked up another five inches. And, in between time we had some rain. And, now this morning it is snowing again. Hopefully, by noon we will be done with it for the most part. Cleaning out the roads and yard is a hassle though as it is a really wet and heavy snow. And, since the ground was somewhat thawed out before the storm hit it causes the snow blower and plows to scrape into the dirt so easily too. But thank goodness we did not lose any electricity. So we will be fine as time goes on. I hope all others who were hit by this April blizzard fared as well too.

Take care everyone.
God bless, Verna

I Need Help

I am hoping one of you can identify what kind of flower this die is and who makes it. I got it in a grab bag of goodies awhile back and there were three loose dies without packaging in it. I identified the other two but this one I could not find on the internet. Anyone know what it is and who makes it?

I have been organizing a bit and one thing I wanted to do was get names and companies for each die so if you can identify it for me I would sure appreciate it.

Sounds like we are in for a snowstorm coming in tomorrow late in the day or night. And, they said until Friday morning. Maybe 12 inches of snow. So I guess it is a good time to clean house. LOL

Have a good evening.
God bless,
Verna

Christmas Angel

I have another card for you in which I incorporated watercoloring. Only this time I made a background with blues and purples using my Color Bursts. And then simply stamped on some silhouette stamps with Black Onyx Versafine ink. But those silhouettes are awesome. And, the best thing is that I got this Inkdadinkadoo stamp set called Christmas Silhouettes in a clearance area and only paid one dollar for the whole set of five wonderful images.

I know I will be using this set a lot more. It came in the mail today and I just had to do a quick card with some of the images. It took longer to get the background done then to do the card. Once I had my panel stamped I then die cut it with an Unbranded stitched scalloped rectangle die. After adding it to a layer of Wild Lilac card stock it was finished by adding it to a white card base.

I am entering this in the Double D's Challenge-Watercolor.

Thanks for the visits and comments. So until next time have wonderful days.

God bless,
Verna

Dancing Daffodils

I saw the challenge at Penny Black and More was titled April-Springtime so I figured some dancing daffodils would fit the bill quite beautifully. I had to really work on this design and between some Arteza watercolor markers and some Bic markers I finally was satisfied with what it looked like. So if it is a bit bedraggled looking you know why. It was a struggle for me. But I love daffodils so had to keep working at it.

The stamp sets used on this card was the Penny Black Daffodil Dance stamp and a sentiment from the Penny Black Special Wishes set. I used my paper cutter to make the layers.

I am also adding this to the Double D's Challenge which calls for Watercoloring.

Well, don't expect too many posts from me until after Easter. I might post another one besides this. I hate the thought but am going into cleaning and baking mode around here. It takes me so long to do it that I need a good ten days. LOL  In the meantime you all take care.

God bless,
Verna

Stenciled Background

While looking at my stencils I spotted this one from the Crafters Companion Sheena Douglas Collection called Burst and immediately I could see that it would work great for an Easter card with the rays flowing off of a cross design. So I dug out my no longer in business favorite cross die from Top Dog Dies and used it with the burst design to make this card.

On white card stock I laid the burst stencil down and taped it so it would be secure and then I took Deco Foil Transfer Gel and with a palette knife smoothed it over the stencil design. Then I carefully removed the stencil and while the gel was still wet I added Sparkle N Sprinkle Sunny Daze glitter. I thought it was the perfect choice to represent the rays for this Easter design. Before working further on the card I then washed off the knife and the stencil before the gel got too dry.

Next I took the cross die and cut the upper layer in white card stock and the lower layer out of gold glitter paper. I attached them together and then added some light purple rhinestones before laying it onto the white panel. This panel was then added to a Lilac card base. My sentiment die is from Impression Obsession and is called Easter Joy. It was die cut with white and also the gold glitter paper. I placed them slightly out of alignment to give a shadow look and then placed them onto the Lilac card stock and then hand cut around them for an additional layer before adding it to my card design.

Below is a close  up so that you can see all the shimmer and shine with all the glitter used on this card. I was so pleased with it's beauty and I think it makes a wonderful Easter card.

I am entering this in the Mod Squad Challenge in which we are to stencil a background. This card also works for the Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge.

Thanks for visiting. I think I have all my Easter cards done now and will be sending them out soon. Time to get working on other cards. You have a wonderful weekend. Take care until next time.

God bless,
Verna

Thinking Spring!

With Spring in mind on a dreary day I made this card with the use of a stencil and some stamps. I hope it reminds you of Spring as well. I also used some dies with it. And I am delighted with the outcome.

The first thing I did was to take my white card stock panel and with the Gina K. Design Art Stencil called Foliage added colors using two shades of green ink. I used my Life Changing Blending Brushes. After I had the design all blended in the way I wanted it I lifted the stencil and moved it just a shade and then added more very light green to make a shadow effect with the foliage.

My flowers and the sentiment were from the Gina K. Designs A Happy Hello set. I stamped the flowers in various shades of pink and with a small blending brush added a different shade of pink to each blossom. I had the stamps in my Misti so it was very easy to add more color with perfect alignment.

I cut out the stenciled background with a Gina K. Designs Large Single Stitched Rectangle Die. I placed that panel on to a layer of darker pink and then in turn placed that onto a white card base. I was ready then to add the fussy cut blossoms to the card and I placed them randomly on the foliage design. Next I added a pink rhinestone gem to each of them. I felt that something was still missing so I die cut a My Favorite Things Die-Namics Stitched Rectangle Scalloped Frame in the same pink card stock and placed that also onto the white card base.

Here is a photo showing a close up of the stencil and flowers so that you can see the blending a little better. I wanted to get an ombre look and I think this was successful with the method I used.

I am entering this in the Gina K. Designs Monthly Mix Challenge-Ombre Ink Blending. And also in the following challenges:
Mod Squad Challenge-Stencil Your Background
Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge #25-Springtime

Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you are having a great day.

God bless,
Verna

Black Eyed Susan Sympathy

I recently got a few of the Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card background stamps and one that really caught my eye was the Black Eyed Susan one. So today I am showing a card I made with that background.

I put the stamp into my Misti and then inked it up with blue inks and stamped the design onto white card stock. I did this several times to get a fairly good coverage of the blue. Then I took the Life Changing Blending Brushes and added my color into the design. Once it was colored to my satisfaction I then die cut the panel using a MFT Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stacker die. I then placed it to a panel of Gina K. Designs Dark Chocolate card stock before placing it on the white card base. The last thing I added was the Tonic Studios Heartfelt Sympathy die.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Dies R Us Challenge #118-Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Anything Goes

* * * * * *

PERSONAL NOTE:

Yesterday we had some excitement at our farm. Our dog was barking up a storm and so when my husband went to investigate he saw a young man walking into the yard. He was Hispanic and of course, he did not speak English and my hubby did not speak Spanish. But finally the young man pointed towards the road below our house and then my hubby saw what he was trying to tell him. 

His car was on fire. So my hubby and he went with a fire extinguisher to try and put it out but the extinguisher did not work so my hubby then called the fire department out. In the meantime, this man's lady passenger was out in the field far away from the car as she was scared of it exploding. So my husband took both of them into his pickup and they parked far enough away until the fire department came. By the time the department got there the car was fully engulfed in flames. But it sure did not take them long to extinguish the blaze. However by that time the car was a total loss.

And, to top it off there was a small explosion which scared our dog and she ran off to the neighbors home. He was so kind to bring her back to us and of course, keep an eye on all the excitement going on. Another lady arrived to pick up the couple and she and her little daughter could speak some English so that helped with communication. 

Anyway that was an exciting evening for us. I am so glad no one got hurt. Apparently the young man was the nephew of the lady and he was teaching her how to drive a car. And they chose to practice on the country roads where there was not so much traffic to contend with.

Well, thanks for the visit. I hope your week is going well.

God bless,

Verna

Snow Bird Christmas

As you recall I am trying to make a few Christmas cards each month and so with that in mind I remembered I had this Gina K. Designs stamp set called Snow Birds illustrated by Alicia Krupsky which I thought I should ink up. I confess though I had to look up to see what kind of bird this one was that I had used and the more familiar name for it is Titmouse. I also had to check to see what colors the bird were too. What would we do without Google!

The first thing I did was brush on some color to my main panel and I went for an ombre look by using the colors Tranquil Teal and Sea Glass. Then when I had my panel done I used Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs to stamp the bird. Next I grabbed my Prismacolor pencils and colored in the image.

I die cut the bird design with one of the Gina K. Designs Decorative Label Dies but before placing it onto a black panel that was die cut with the Gina K. Designs Large Single Stitched Rectangle die I took some watered out white acrylic paint and with a fine paint brush flicked some specks on it to make it look like snow. After the two die cut panels were together I placed it onto a piece of white card stock and then fussy cut around the edges to make a frame before fastening it to a Plum Punch card base. 

The last steps for my design were to add some sequin snowflakes and the sentiment which was from the Gina K. Designs A Year Of Borders stamp set which was illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger. The card was finally finished with the addition of a white panel inside so that a message can be written or stamped. Oh, I forgot that I did add a bit of snow to the branch using a Marvy Snowmaker pen. After you apply the white paint you puff it up with your heat gun.

I had hoped the white pencil would have made the bird look a bit more white then it did but I guess even so one gets the idea. At any rate, I hope you like my design.

It is a dreary and cloudy day but as far as I know no snow expected. But we could get a few rain showers later today. Regardless of the weather though I am so happy you have stopped by and I love to see what you have to say.

God bless,
Verna