Honey Jars

 This is the sweet Honey Jar stamp and die set from The Greetery that my niece gifted me last year.  I had all the bits and pieces stamped, ready to go - and have finally put together a couple of cards.

The Honey Bees dies are also from The Greetery, which I coloured up in Copic markers.  I wanted a bit of a homespun feel to my cards, so I've pulled out the Farm to Table papers by Carta Bella from my stash, trying to simulate a patterned tablecloth, and sweet gingham jar topper.

Sympathy Cards

 I always need a stash of these at work, so put together four of these.  My love of patterned paper, means that I have plenty of pretty papers on hand, and this is the perfect way to use them.

Stamp set is Verve, die is Pinkfresh Studio, paper is One Canoe Two.

More Pies...

 Two posts in one day!  I couldn't stop making cards with my Perfect Pies products.  Since I had die cut so many pieces, they were fairly quick to assemble, and once I was on a roll...  I used October Afternoon papers that I've been hoarding for years - I always love creating with them:

Perfect Pies

 Oh, my goodness!  Be prepared to see a lot of these dies over the next while... These are the Perfect Pies stamp and die collection from Spellbinders.  I've always thought they were adorable, especially with the cute sayings in the stamp set, so was happy to use a few gift cards to purchase the collection.

I can't tell you how many tiny little diecuts I created this weekend!  There are all kinds of tiny pieces, and I pulled out cardstock scraps and cranked out multiples of everything - it's the kind of set where you want to have pieces ready to assemble when you need a card, so I created quite a pile.

The card design is simple, as the diecuts are the star of the show, so I pulled out some patterned paper that I've had for a while, and used the Spellbinder's Hemstitched Rectangle dies to decorate the edges.  The pie crust pieces have been ink blended around the edges to simulate a nicely browned crust!  This is definitely a fiddly type of card to put together - but SO worth it!

Southwest Scene

I made a scene with a bit of a Southwestern feel for this week's Watercolour Weekend post on the Art Impressions blog.

I coloured the stacked pots image from 5569 - Handcart Set in Tombows #969/565, and stamped it onto my Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  I left off the lower leg on the stool, so that I could add in the little mouse from 5599 - Mini Mice & Squirrel Set, and then added the rocks from 5055 - WC Sitting Places Set on the opposite side.  I used the 5528 - Desert Succulent Set to fill my pots, doing plenty of masking to tuck some of them in behind.  After pulling out the colour with a damp brush, I used #947/N79/373 to paint my pots, keeping them lighter in the middle, and adding several layers to build up the colour more towards the sides to give them a rounded appearance.  I painted a bright version of #373 onto the stool.  I used different shades of green on the cacti: #126/177/228/312, along with hints of #772/606/565 for some two-toned effects.  I used a warmer grey #N57 on the mouse and rocks, and added a few spots of colour to make them interesting.  #565 was used to add shadows to the pots, and under the stool, then was painted as a wash for the sky.

The panel was die cut with 5063 A2 Double Stitched Rectangle Dies, and a sentiment from the retired Exclusive Roses Set was stamped in the top corner.  I adhered my panel to the card base with 3D foam adhesive.  Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Diane and Tricia have created!

Stash Building

 I love giving packs of cards as gifts, so I have seriously depleted my stash!  I pulled out pretty papers that I've had on hand for a while to put a couple of fairly quick no-stamping cards together:

I love this Lawn Fawn word die!  Happy to have these in my stash.

Simple Valentines

 I haven't been posting much, but I have been creating!  Bits and pieces, doing some stencilled backgrounds, prepping dies and doing some painting.  I have had a chance to put together some valentines for my family, though:

This "love" CTMH die is the star of the show this year!  I die cut a bunch of hearts, and created a few different backgrounds.  The first is using a 3 layered die from Pigment Craft Co.

This leafy background stencil is from The Greetery - my first effort using it!  Can hardly wait to keep trying it in different colour combos.

And finally, I had leftover striped from the recent slimline that I made, so I layered them on a diecut banner, and stitched it down to my background.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Little Truck

 I am using the 5576 - Little Trucks Set from the Art Impressions Watercolour Journal line today:

I coloured the truck with my #969/565 Tombow Dual Brush Markers, and stamped it onto my Canson XL Watercolour paper.  After softening the lines with a damp brush, I painted in layers of #526 until I got the blue colour that I wanted, making sure to leave highlight areas where the rounded areas would pick up the light.  I used #N55 to paint in the tires, and add grey touches to the metal details.  Using the grey, I painted in the suggestion of a person sitting in the cab, then added a few dabs of colour as reflections on the truck.  I used the tiny flower and foliage images from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set in #993/856/569/126 to create my flowers, and after touching them with my brush, I added #177 in, directly on the paper.  #565 was painted as a wash for the sky, and used to add shadows under and around the truck.  I added the suggestion of a dirt road with #947, and added a little strip of grass.  The sentiment is from 5136 - WC Sentiment Set 2.

Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Diane & Tricia have to share.