Congrats card

 I needed a Congratulations card for a coworker, so I pulled out the Folk Floral Stem set to make a card for the staff to sign.  I used a very different colour combo for me!  I rarely stamp on anything but white or cream, but this time I tried it on a peachy/pink colour, and stencilled over it with darker shades.  I used the same colour for the card base, then layered the Stitched Scalloped Rectangle dies twice in a darker pink, and did the same with the floral, layered it twice for a little more stability before adhering it with 3D foam adhesive.  I used the Perfect Sentiments stamp and die set - again on the pink cardstock, and finished off the card by adding a little Wink of Stella to the blooms for some glimmer.  All supplies are Pinkfresh Studio.

I am entering this into the March Pinkfresh Studio Challenge which is layers!

Birdhouse Village

I'm sharing several of the newly released stamp sets from Art Impressions to create a little spring scene that will be on the Ai blog this Saturday for the Watercolour Weekend post. 

Using Tombow Dual Brush markers #565/969, I stamped the 5739 - Birdhouse Village Set on my Canson XL Watercolour Paper, then added my bunny from 5737 Bunny & Chicks Set, a little lower so that he's looking up at the bird.  I made sure to leave plenty of room for flowers, and started with the little circle of heart flowers from 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 using #993 and #725 to create the floral bunches, then used #933/158 to stamp the long stemmed flowers from the same set.  Using the small sprig from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set and #158, I tucked in foliage around and behind the flowers.  After touching everything with a damp brush, I used my markers directly on the paper to add some darker shades to the flowers, and then added the small grass stamp from 4051 - WC Foliage Set in #173.

The birdhouses were painted in #565/933/173/407/725, in layers to build up the colours.  The wood bases were painted in #969, and it was used along with #992 to paint the bunny, keeping the top of his head, ears and haunches lighter, and deeper tones were used on the parts that are further from the sun.  The bird had a touch of #993 and 565 as his feathers, and finally a wash of #407 was painted as the sky.  All areas that needed shadows were painted with #565.  The scene was diecut with 5061 - Square Double Stitched dies, and the sentiment from 5734 Friends Sentiment Set was stamped in Versamark ink and diecut with 5132 Tag Stitched Dies.

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

Bookmarks

 It's Spring Break in my neck of the woods, so the library that I work at will be hopping all week.  I brought out my new-to-me Dream Big stamp and die set from Lawn Fawn to make a bunch of bookmarks that staff can give out to some of the kids that come in to visit.  I made a bunch that I coloured with Copic Markers, and then realized how great these would be to leave plain so that kids could colour them themselves, so I made even more :-)  We'll see how long they last!

Floral Invites

 I had some bits and pieces of stamped images leftover from previous projects, and decided to colour them up this afternoon.  These are two of the most under-used Art Impressions stamp sets, in my opinion!  The images (Floral Invites) and sentiments (Greenery Invites) are gorgeous.  I picked a soft palette to colour them up with my Copic markers, and using some older Lawn Fawn papers, I diecut a frame with the Stitched Square dies, and the rectangle with the A2 Stitched Rectangle dies.

With Sympathy

 I've somehow gotten 8 Sympathy cards made in the last month?  But I find when you come up with a card that works, it's best to make multiples, as they're something that you need to have on hand.  So here are this week's efforts - I was able to make four of these, using the pretty One Canoe Two papers, Verve die and sentiment, Spellbinders edge die and leafy die from Pinkfresh Studio.

Easter Basket

Easter will be here before we know it, so I have pulled out several of the newly released sets to create a little scene for this Saturday's Watercolour Weekend post on the Art Impressions blog.

All of my main elements are coloured in Tombow #969/565, and stamped onto Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  I began with the single chick from 5737 - Bunnies and Chicks, masked her up, and stamped the basket from 5738 Easter Basket just behind.  Again masking the basket, I added the egg images inside and around the basket, and finally I used just the bird from 5739 - Birdhouse Village Set, to sit on top.  My stamp positioner was invaluable to get everything placed just right!  

After pulling out the colour with a damp brush, I picked a fun, bright palette of colours and painted the eggs in: #173/725/990/933/493/565, starting with a light wash, and layering colour to create darker tones towards the lower part of each egg.  For the chick, I began with #990, then added #933 and #947 to create warmer, darker tones as shadows.  #493/565 were painted on the bird, and #725 was used for the bow.  With #173 and the small grass from Foliage Set - 4051, I added grass around the eggs, and then chose two sprigs of greenery from 5476 - WC Foliage Set 5 which filled in behind my scene, coloured in both #312/346.  A wash of #533 was painted in as the sky.  My scene was cut out with 5061 - Square Double Stitched Dies, and adhered to my square card base with 3D foam adhesive.

Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Tricia and Diane will be sharing!

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.

Allie's card

 I always want to make something special for my niece whom I share my crafting passion with, when it's her birthday!  It's an all-diecut card this year - with my new Eucalyptus and Citrus Slice dies from The Greetery, with a whole bunch of ink blending to add some interest, and ink spatters in blue, black and gold.  It needed a little something more, so I tucked some pine boughs that I had on my desk in behind.  I adhered it all to a desert sand piece of cardstock that I added a little Speckled Egg to, and tied some twine around the stems.  Happy Birthday, Allie!

Block Alpha Valentine

You all know how much I love the 5072 - Block Letters Die Set from Art Impressions... and word die cards are very popular right now, especially as valentines.  I wanted to do another colour strip card, so combined the two ideas to make a slimline card:

 I did some ink blending on my white textured card stock, using Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide ink, fading it upwards, then cut out my shape with Studio Katia's Dotted Slimline die, and centered my L, V, E and heart die before running it through my diecut machine again.  I used a Pinkfresh Studio stencil and some Festive Berries ink to add a little something to my background panel, then added 1/4" strips of my six cardstock colours, and adhered the white panel down with 3D foam adhesive.  A few irridescent blue jewels added a little sparkle.

Valentine Mailbox

For the next Watercolour Weekend post on the Art Impressions blog, I'm doing a simple scene to show you how to make a Valentine by using the stamps you have.

I stamped the mailbox image from 5575 - Mailbox Birdhouse Set in Tombow #969/565 onto my Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  And used the same markers to add the bird from 5561 - Birds and Bugs Set.  I wanted to create a bunch of hearts spilling out of the mailbox, so with a pencil, I sketched the hearts, making them smaller as the floated away.  I also drew one tilted sideways in the bird's beak.  I used three of the blooms in 5008 - WC Flower set 3 coloured in #856/177 and stamped my flowers around the base of the wood stand.

After pulling out all of the colour with a damp brush, I used #761/856 to paint the hearts, keeping a lighter highlite area.  #993 was added to the flag, and shades of #969 were painted in streaks to suggest woodgrain on the base of the mailbox.  The sweet bird was painted with shades of #528, with a little #565 on the wing tips and as shadows.  With the two grasses in 5476 - WC Foliage Set 5, I added them under the flowers in #177/126, and blended them with my damp paintbrush.  I just lightly touched each bloom with my paintbrush to enliven the colour a little, but not enough to lose the definition of the petals.  A wash of #565 was added to the sky.  I hope you'll pull out some of your regular stamp sets and make them into something sweet for Valentine's Day!

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

Folk Floral Stem

 When your daughter needs an engagement card... you dive into your new supplies from the Papercrafter's Workshop's Boxing Day sale and get down to business.  It was the perfect excuse to pull out the Floral Folk Stem stamp and stencils - so quick and easy to get great results.  I used the Perfect Sentiments set and a few irridescent jewels to glam it up.  All supplies are Pinkfresh Studio.

I am entering this into the January Card Challenge on the Pinkfresh Studio blog... which is to revisit a challenge from 2022.  I'm going with May's "Anything Spring" challenge.