Box Village

I really love the new 6114 - Box Village Template Dies from Art Impressions.  It makes the cutest little house as a box with a shaped journal inside.  I am using just the decorative pieces of the little house to make a card today

I cut the base and door from kraft cardstock, and darkened the roof, windows and door with some brown ink.  I cut the shingles, roofline and door from some white glitter cardstock, and the windows from red and blue.

I pulled out an old grass die that worked really well as icicles, cut it out of the white glitter cardstock, and trimmed it down to add to my scene.  I adhered the house down to my background (papers are from the 5853 - Christmas Magic PP) with 3D foam adhesive.  I decided that it needed a little something more, so added some glittery holly.

Gingerbread tags

These were my second effort at using the Mini Market Place dies from The Greetery.  I once again made them into tags, this time with a gingerbread theme, inspired by Wanda Guess.

These were easier than my last batch of tags, as all the bases were cut from kraft cardstock, and all the bits were cut from white - quicker die cutting, and easy assembly.

The wreaths and bows are from the Market Place Holiday Festoons die set.  Once everything was assembled, I spattered some white paint, then added a white backing to make them into tags.

Skiing By

I made up these cards several months ago, and actually stamped the images several years ago!!  But today I finally added the sentiments and a little glitter to finish them off.

This is the Skiing By set from Pinkfresh Studio.  I think it's long retired by them, but it will be a favourite of mine for years to come.

I decided to try some off-beat colour combos!  I ink blended several Distress Oxide inks on the sky and mountains, and coloured the critters with Copic markers.

I just adore the little trees that are included with the set - kind of a retro vibe to everything.  I added a few ink splatters with Distress Spritz, and some chunky glitter for some shine.

The sentiments are Foilables from Pink & Main, silver on the purple card, and gold on the warm toned one.

A Merry Little Cocktail

 I've pulled out my favourite 'Olive Martinis' set to make some Christmas cocktail cards.

I ink blended on my white card base, and ran it through my die cut machine with the Starshine Background piercing plate for a little subtle texture.  The glass is cut from Brushed Gold cardstock, and all of the other bits (from the Christmas Cocktails die set) were from papers in my stash.

The sentiment is pressed with my Betterpress machine, using the Cheers Sentiments, and I added a glitter halo behind it.  Santa's hat fur and the mint are also cut from white glitter cardstock.  All products are from Spellbinders.

Bright Autumn Cheer

 My second version of the cascading leaves card featured some pretty vibrant colours!  This is the September Betterpress Society plate set, Autumn Cheer:

I ink blended several colours of Distress Oxide ink after masking about a 2" strip over my Cotton Card panel.  The leaves were then pressed with Betterpress Black ink.

I pressed one of the sentiments from the set, and added it with 3D foam adhesive.  A few black jewels finished it off.

You can get a Betterpess Society subscription from The Papercrafter's Workshop.

Cascading Autumn Cheer

My third project with the September Betterpress Society plates, 'Autumn Cheer' was made with a pattern cascading leaves on a Bisque Cotton Card panel.

I began by ink blending an ombre masked strip using several shades of Distress Oxide inks.  The leaves were then pressed over top of it using Lisa Horton's metallic Solid Gold ink.

The sentiment is one included in the set, also pressed in gold ink, and adhered with 3D foam adhesive.  A few gold pearls finished it off.

You can get a Betterpress Society subscription from The Papercrafter's Workshop.

Autumn Cheer without ink

My second project with the September Betterpress Society set, 'Autumn Cheer' is featuring one of my favourite ways to use my Betterpress - without ink.

There are four leaves in the set, so I pressed them multiple times onto a Porcelain Cotton Card Panel - without ink, to just leave the impressions.

I pressed the oak leaf, with three colours of Distress Oxide ink blended on it, and cut it out with the coordinating die.  I adhered it onto a postage edge rectangle, and adhered it to the base with 3D foam adhesive.

I pressed one of the sentiments that is included in the set with Lisa Horton's Solid Gold Metallic Ink and added it with another strip of foam adhesive.

You can get a Betterpress Society subscription at The Papercrafter's Workshop!

Autumn Cheer

The September Betterpress Society plates, are a lovely set of fall leaves, that impress a wonderfully irregular design - so many possibilities!  I'm going to be using these a lot.  My first card, was a take on one made by the talented Carissa Wiley.

I call this a Z fold card, made by simply scoring and folding the front of the card to the left.  I die cut arches to go on both the outside (glued to the half fold), and a matching one to go underneath it on the inside.  I used a brick stencil and some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink to break up the plain background a little.

The leaves were all pressed onto a peachy/melon, a warm yellow and a mocha cardstock with Lisa Horton's Solid Gold metallic ink.  I arranged them on either side of the arch, and also had them peeking out underneath, but adhering a few to the inside arch.

The sentiment is one of the four that are included in the set, pressed in the same gold ink on watercolour paper, and adhered with 3D foam adhesive.  I added a few gold pearls to continue the glimmer.  You can get a Betterpress Society subscription from The Papercrafter's Workshop.

Folk Floral Stem Wedding Card

The Folk Floral Stem set from Pinkfresh Studio is my go-to for wedding cards.  This week I did it in their soft peach/pink tones, gold embossed the outline, and cut it out with the coordinating die.

I used Altenew's Dotted Tile background plate that was inked on the corners, and added the word dies from Spellbinders in metallic gold.

2025 Coffee Lover's Blog Hop

So glad that I stumbled upon the post about the 2025 Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!  I haven't missed one yet since Amy started them many years ago.  Since she stated that 'Hot Cider' was something that could be included, I wanted to use the new 'Cocoa Cozy Cider Additions' sentiment set from The Greetery:

I paired it up with the Warm & Wonderful stamps and dies from a few years ago, that creates the wonderful glass mug of cider, and the added greenery bits.  I used Distress Oxide inks, inking the Cider in ombre style with Speckled Egg/Antique Linen and Rusty Hinge.

Around the edges, I used Vintage Photo and the Frosty Flakes stencil (also The Greetery), just enough to add the suggestion of snowflakes, and add a little rustic feel to the card.  Most of the glass & foliage were popped up with 3D foam adhesive, and a few black jewels add a bit of sparkle.

Thanks as always to Amy for putting together a wonderful event!

Woodland Christmas

There is a new Art Impressions release today, with six new foundation style winter/holiday scenes.  This is 6088 - Woodland Bench Scene.

I have used Copic markers to colour up my image, then spattered some of the PH Martin's white paint to give the look of falling snow.  

I matted the image on some dark grey cardstock that I adhered to my base with 3D foam adhesive.  The two patterned paper pieces are from the 5853 - Christmas Magic paper pack.  Before adhering them, I wrapped the gingham piece with some fine silver thread.

The Merry die cut is from an old Echo Park word die set, that I stacked twice before attaching it.

Cozy Toes

This sweet set is the Cozy Toes stamp and die set from Concord & 9th.  I loved it from the moment I saw it, especially for this sentiment.

The set includes a bunch of options to cut two lengths of adult socks, and a cute pair of tiny ones, all of which you stamp first, then use the dies to cut them out.

The details are so amazing, there are two clotheslines, clothespegs, and even sock details like toes & heels, and frilly tops.

There are several other great sentiments, so you're sure to see more of these from me in the future, but this is my new go-to set for baby cards!

Fall Keepsake and an Ornament

I am on the Art Impressions blog today for their Watercolour Weekend post!

I have a couple of projects featuring some of the newly released sets today!  First is a card using the 6105 - Fall Keepsake Set:

I coloured the images with my N45 Tombow Dual Brush Marker, and stamped them on my Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  I started with the fox, then the toadstool, and added masks to both of them.  The pumpkin and pail followed, and finally the fall bouquet was added to the pail.  After pulling the colour out of the lines with a damp brush, I added a pale coat of #993 to the pumpkins and fox, followed by several layers of #947, and finally a mix of #947/977 to create the really dark areas.  Shades of #N55 were painted on his paws and to the bucket, layering to keep the sides of the bucket and bottom of his paws darker.

I wanted the leaves to be multicoloured, so did sections of #993/947/856/126/346/977, blending them together.  I added #346/126/977 to the stems of the pumpkins, and the stem of the toadstool, and painted shades of #856 on the top of it, touching the dots with a little 346.  I used the N55 to add shadows to the fox's white areas, and finally painted a wash of #126/346 for the grass, and stamped the small grass from 4051 - Foliage Set 1 in #126, and then I used the fine point of the 346 marker directly on the paper to add a few darker lines of grass.  A wash of #493 was painted in as the sky.  I used my Grey Twintone marker to colour in the eyes/features and redefine any areas that needed it.

My scene was die cut using the 5724 - Nested Rectangle Dies, and adhered to a brown mat with 3D foam adhesive.  The word 'hello' is from the 5718 - Mini Journal Template set, cut twice in brown and stacked to be a more stable die cut.  Both pieces of background paper are from the 5838 - Fall paper pack.

My second project is featuring the new 6117 - A Cozy Christmas Set, that creates a sweet little ornament!

I have a lot of photos for you today!  I tried to capture a few steps in the assembly process, but I highly recommend that you watch the Ai video by Kim to see how to assemble it.

In addition to the stamp set, you need to purchase the 6121 - Storybook Template die.  The die cuts out the box (at the top) and you cut three of the inner frame piece.  The images were stamped on Mixed Media paper with #N55, and painted in with #349/993/493/837/N55, and a few touches of gold ink.  Images were cut out using the coordinating dies that are included with the stamps.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from the 5838 - Fall Paper Pack at 3 1/8" x 2 5/8" to act as the background, and glued it to the back of the box.  I fussy cut the fireplace out, and glued it down so that it would appear behind all the other pieces.  Each of the stamped images is drawn along the curve of the oval opening, so each piece was die cut and glued under one of the frames (there is a tab where you can add the glue, see the photo below from the backside).

Each of the frames got pieces of 3D foam adhesive attached to the corners and in a few other spots, and then each of them is layered on top of each other starting with the tree.

After the tree comes the Mama bunny, and finally the baby bunny on the top layer.  *I used 2mm thick adhesive, but there is plenty of room to use a thicker adhesive if you prefer.  I'm happy with how this looks, though.  When you adhere the layers, you want to make sure that the openings are stacked directly over each other.

The Storybook die includes a tab piece which I cut out of some woodgrain paper from the 5812 - Christmas S2 Paper Pack.  I wanted the woodgrain on the outside of the box, so I used the inner frame piece to cut it out, then attached it to the front of the box.  I added pieces to cover the sides, top and bottom also.  The tab is adhered to the top back of the box after it's assembled.  Glue was added behind each of the tabs, the box was folded and attached to the other side, enclosing the scene.