New card still using a recent order that keeps coming in bit by bit. This is the Simon Says Stamp: Wild Cuddly Critters Stamp Set, colored with Copic Markers in rainbow hues. The paper is from Lawn Fawn Rainbow Collection and Fall Collection. Dies used are MFT Scallopy Borders for the clouds/sky and Lawn Fawn Meadow Border for grass.

And below is take two on the same card. I was trying to get the lion's coloring right but still had troubles with it. Probably because I just grab the markers while looking at the caps. 

Mother's Day Cards

This card was made using Lawn Fawn's Guava and Storm Cloud paper with their Scalloped Rectangle Stackables for a frame. The stamp set is Jessica with her Horse from Your Next Stamp Company and is colored with Copics colors. 

I entered it in the Color Throw Down Challenge #ctd439 for this week but I did take liberties with the colors...pink for red and brown for orange and had to add green for the leaves and grass of course!

This is take one of this card for design. I have about four more to go and plan to make them all slightly different in design though similar in color and stamp set.  I'm enjoying making slightly bigger cards than normal. This one measures 5 x 6.25 and will get mailed in an A7 envelope. 

Card Variation Two using a background made with Distress Oxide Ink...very easy! I may or may not have gotten a bit carried away with the dots on the horses face :)

This third card is very simple. Light pink base with a warm grey accent to match the horse. Jessica and her horse are popped up on the card over the fence. I added some Pretty Pink Posh sequins. This card is sweet and gentle. 

My 4th Mother's Day card using this stamp set is below. I used an action wobble spring behind Jessica and the horse stamp. I propped up the fence separately to meet the height of Jessica and her horse. I used a MFT heart stencil and broken china and wilted violet distress oxide ink to sponge through the stencil in layers using broken china first but not drying between layers. Then I spritzed water over the ink and dabbed off with a paper towel Lastly I found a smaller Mother's Day sentiment in my Lawn Fawn stash to stamp on the top. I rounded the corners of the stenciled layer and the bottom of the doll pink base cardstock. This card is the exact opposite in final effect as the one above, bold, colorful and celebratory. 

Variation five on my Mother's Day cards. This one is sort of a gate fold card but the opening does overlap and is not centered. I made a belly band with a heart clasp to keep it closed and used Avery Elle's Dotted Border's Die three times for the trim effect on the outside. Inside I plan to write a personal message in the side panels and add a silver heart to match the trim around the picture. This card took the longest for two reasons: One I  had no idea how to make a gate fold ish card and how to keep it closed. Two when I stamped the sentiment I accidentally got black ink on Jessica's face and had to redo her part of the image.

Okay... I promise this is my last one: Variation six of my Mother's Day cards. A window card with silvery trim. The sentiment on the front says Hope your day is Amazing. I used MFT stitched Oval frames dies and stitched oval dies.

Valentine Cards 2017

I added a Daddy bird and another baby bird so that this card fit for my daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren for valentine's day. This is a Unity Stamp

I also sent a few Valentine's Day cards for other family members. Last year I made a goal to make cards for everyone in my family and extended family for their birthday's. That kept me scrambling for a whole year and by fall I was consistently sending out belated birthday cards.

This year's goal is to send out special day cards and thinking of you cards out of the blue. I started with Valentine's Day cards and around Easter I sent out Thinking of You cards and encouragement cards.

Here are a few other Valentine's Day cards sent out this year:

Dreamercraft Stamps and copic markers

Another Dreamercraft Stamp and dies by Mama Elephant plus Copic Markers

Your Next Stamp and Zig Clear Clean Real Brush Markers

Simon Says Stamp and MFT Scalloped Border Die.

First off for today, a card made with another new stamp set. this time from Your Next Stamp's "Stacked with Fun".  Plus of bit of sponging with Distress Inks. Not my best design or color combination.

A surprise success was a card I made out of random parts I had sitting around from other projects.

Color Layering Technique

Hi Card Makers!

Still going through my newest purchases here. My next challenge was to use the Hero Arts Color Layering Goldfish Stamp Set. It was really easy to use maybe because it was two layers and then the face was the third layer. I used the Your Next Stamp "Whatnot Sentiments Nine" for the Sentiment, masking off the "w" for the word "wishes" so I could add the "F" by hand for "fishes". I just used a black sharpie for the F and hand wrote it in.

The background is sponged with distress inks: Tumbled Glass and Mermaid Lagoon. Then I spritzed with water and Shimmer Spritz from Imagine Crafts in Sparkle to give it a light peal sheen. Inside I stamped Love You from the same sentiment stamps set and added one more fish and and the three plants for background.

The inks I used for the fish were Ranger Cheese Puff Dye Ink and Lawn Fawn Dye Ink Sunflower with Simon Says Blank Intense Dye Ink for the black accents and the sentinent. The plants were made using Hero Arts Ombre Pool to Navy Dye Ink.

I used Pretty Pink Posh Clear Droplets in two sizes for the bubbles.

Three cards I made using my favorite color combinations. 

I have more yellow-green, blue-green and grey cards than any other kind. 

The top two cards are made using My Favorite Things stamps. 

The fish card is made with Hero Arts Paper Layering Koi Fish with frame 

and Nesting Postage Stamp die.

For that card the sentiments are hidden under My Favorite Thing Interactive Oval Die cuts.

Sophie, my "Chaos Coordinator" and sometimes
Producer of Chaos.

This is my Chaos from which all things cards emerges. 

The longer I work on a project the more cluttered this room becomes
since I can't stand to put anything away until I'm done.

Cards not yet sent out...

Here are a few cards I made at the end of March and beginning of April, 2017. The first four cards were for a My Favorite Things Color challenge which really made me go far out of my usual yellow green and light blue comfort zone into cranberry and rust colors with a dark teal.

Then I couldn't resist and added some stamps in my usual colors. 

Hubby and I have been talking about going to London for awhile now so I bought this London skyline die. Distress ink and My Favorite Things Stamps/dies.

Still working through my newest stash which turned out to be quite a haul when it was all said and done. Don't you just love stamper's lingo?  I realized this time around that I suffer from something I'm calling, "Stamper's Shipping Dilemma".

Shipping is always a funny thing for me. I can NEVER just buy one stamp set because of the free shipping deals you receive if you buy a certain dollar amount of product. This is true for pretty much every online stamp company/store. The discounts are wonderful but they usually get me over-stretching my purchasing budget. Not only that, I also usually over-whelm my creativity budget too, because then I stress over when I'm going to have the time to actually use all these new products. If I put the new products away then I worry that they won't get used for a long time.

Unfortunately, I don't like to have things laying about in my craft room, waiting to get used. It makes me feel like the whole house is cluttered if my office/craft room is cluttered. For me it's a stampers' shipping dilemma. Fortunately, much of what I ordered was back ordered so the products are coming to me in nicely spaced installments. So, I've been working my way through my "newest stash". I had time this weekend to create one more card made with a few more stamps, dies and paper that were sitting on my desk. I made a party in a box:

I used all Lawn Fawn products: Paper, Stamps and Dies.
They are colored with Copic Markers.
This card is entered in this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.
#lawnfawn #copic #ssswchallenge

Happy Easter Everyone! Made this card with My Favorite Things Distressed Pattern Stamps, Beautiful Butterflies stamps and dies and Hero Arts Nesting Postage Stamp dies. Lawn Fawn sentiment from an easter stamp release last year I believe. Lawn Fawn and MFT inks. Fast Quick Card using supplies on my desk...



Working a bit harder but faster on making cards these days. Here a few recent cards I've made. I'm not good at posting to my website and usually forget to do this after posting to facebook and instagram. Here they are using #mftstamps and entered in #ctd438 #colorthrowdown...

First Mother's Day card this year:

I made this box card using:
 Lawn Fawn Pop-Up Scallop Box Card Die,
rainbow papers and Easter stamp set,
Along with MFT stitched flower dies
 and Stamping Bella's Hoppy Poppy Thank You stamp
#LawnFawn #MyFavoriteThings #StampingBella #Copics