2020 S/S Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

It's the end of the 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. So much wonderful inspiration, super sponsors and prizes. Kudos to the organizers and the community they have built!

Today I received this Quietfire Design stamp set for the tea lovers (this blog hop is ecumenical - all caffeine is celebrated!). The entire card (background and stamped images) was made with Distress Oxide Inks.

Head over to the blog and start clicking. Make sure you have a LARGE THERMOS of your chosen beverage as you will be there a while!

Happy Easter Box & Coaster

Happy Easter! I made this box (about 5 inches square) from a Dreaming Tree cut file. It went together easily.

The four flaps on this flat top box open to reveal a marble tile coaster I stamped and sponged with Ranger Distress Archival Inks. I had some black shredded paper from Sephora that I saved and it was perfect as cushioning.

I added a tag with a vinyl sentiment cut from a Suzanne Cannon calligraphy file from the Silhouette Design Store.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your Easter was enjoyable.

Administrative Professionals Day

One of the joys of being a crafter is being able to bless my daughter with custom cards for special occasions. As a new manager, she is keenly aware of the importance of thanking those who have been helpful to her in her career. Administrative Professionals Day is the perfect time to acknowledge just such a person. Trouble is, the only thing I was told was this woman is incredibly helpful and likes British royalty and wine. I input "queen" into my Evernote app and found a few stamps in my inventory that, when put together, seemed to fit the bill.

The Quietfire Design Queen of Everything stamp set has a number of lines to go with "Queen of..." and I thought this was best to convey how much this gal is valued.

I have a Stamp-it cube rubber stamp set with four crowns. I liked this crown because I felt I could add some gems to it to glam it up a bit.

A Distress Oxide Ink sponged background was run through my Cuttlebug with Spellbinders Framed Labels One embossing folder, then I sanded the high points with a sanding block. I used a watercolor brush and water to paint rays inside the label. Because Distress Oxide inks react with water, it sort of "bleached" the background to make soft rays.

Inside the card I stamped a coordinating Quietfire Designs stamp (Thanks Cuddlers) that says "Thanks for all you do."

Thank you for visiting today!

Acrylic Block Stamping

This card features a monoprint technique. Basically you smoosh inks all over an acrylic block (normally used to stamp with) and then press cardstock over the inks to lift a print.

I chose to make a sympathy card. The background was created with regular Distress Inks (dye based). I used the same technique on the heart, but used Distress Oxide Inks (pigment), which provided a smoother blend. I like the contrast of the two mediums. The heart was die cut with a My Favorite Things Stitched Heart STAX die.

I stamped the meadow below and again with the heart in place. A stamp positioner makes exact placement possible.

I clear heat embossed the Quietfire Design sentiment after stamping in black Versa Clair ink. Matted on white, then placed on a pale aqua card. Thanks for visiting today!

Seize the Birthday Floral

Spring is just around the corner! I was pining for some fresh green in my life. Here's a quick birthday card I made for a colleague. I like its simple, fresh look with a bit of glitter cardstock to punch it up.

The background vertical stripe played well against the Avery Elle Petals and Stems bloom that I fussy cut and lifted with foam tape. The sentiment is a stamp from Quietfire Design. It's a set of seven differently-lettered Happy Birthday sentiments. So practical - I reach for it often.

I am entering this card in the Seize the Birthday Anything Goes Challenge.

Stencilled Birthday Card

Over at Splitcoaststampers there was a challenge to create a card with a stencil. Seize the Birthday's challenge is "Anything Goes."

I had wanted this particular stencil for a very long time and once I finally got hold of it - it sat unused. Why does that happen? So this was a good time to get it out.

I layered Ranger Opaque Matte Texture Paste through the Stampers Anonymous stencil onto some very old patterned scrapbook paper that I have been saving for a special card. After it dried, I used Versamark to adhere Perfect Pearls to the flowers and vines for colour and shimmer.

The Quietfire Design sentiment was stamped on a Stampin' Up Word Window Punch tag and tied with a ribbon. Thanks for visiting today.

Sassy Tag

I recently took part in a Sassy Tag swap in a Facebook Group I belong to. This tag is all about dots.

I started out by blending Distress Oxide inks (Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade and Faded Jeans) across a #8 manila craft tag. Then I stamped water onto the tag using a dotted half-tone background stamp. It provided some subtle texture. I stamped the Crafter's Companion Martini Girl separately on white cardstock and cut out and coloured with Copic markers. I stamped the skirt on navy dotted paper and cut two layers to provide some 3D action. I went over the design lines with a white gel pen.

The Hershey's Kiss candy is a Waltzingmouse stamp that I coated in glue and covered in silver leaf.

The fun saying is a Quietfire Design stamp. To finish this tag off, I added more dots - some gold confetti sequins - and a strip of rhinestones, with a bit of ombre ribbon to go with the background. 

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolour Background

Here I am with a Christmas card for Sylvia's monthly Christmas Card Challenge. This is for the month of April (I am playing catch up after a few months of poor health). Sylvia proposed a white snowflake and a watercolour background for a die cut. I used regular Distress Inks for the background with lots of water and some splatters. I tore the edges to fit a 5 X 7 inch card.

I love this snowflake die for its daintiness. I cut it from American Crafts cardstock and it cut like butter in my Cuttlebug and released with ease. 

I added two other die cut snowflakes because you can never have enough. The beautiful calligraphic quote is a rubber stamp from Quietfire Design that I stamped in blue Versafine ink and clear embossed.

I added shimmer with a Wink of Stella clear shimmer pen and a Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen in Crystal Clear. I think, of the two, I prefer the latter. Close up below. I'm entering this in the Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Challenge, The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge, and the Merry Christmas Challenge. Check them out for great Christmas card inspiration!

Freshly Made Sketches #339 X 21!

The Freshly Made Sketch was truly a challenge for me, geometrically speaking. My brain had difficulty getting these triangles just right, as you will soon see:

But I persevered and I made more cards in one day than I have ever made in my life; 21, to be exact! Of course, my favourite ended up being the very last one I made. Go figure.

They are all thank you cards (I currently need a lot), 4.25 X 5.5 inches and mostly different - I was just trying to use up scraps of patterned paper. Some are heat embossed, others are not. Some are more clean and simple and others got fussy. Here they are:

Washi tape strips. Verve stamp. Kaiser Craft paper.

These next cards have a masculine feel so I am entering one of them in the almost-ended Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge.

Waltzingmouse stamps. Memory Box dots and really old Basic Grey designer paper
I have been hoarding saving.

I thought this Waltzingmouse stamp was perfect! 

Memory Box papers, Avery Elle die cut "thanks." 

Stickers my sister gave me and I finally used. 

Lawn Fawn die cut pierced edge.

Washi tape sentiment. Easy peasy! 

The flowers on this paper dictated this flipped layout.

Waltzingmouse stamp, left, and Verve stamp, right. 

Different card bases; this Prima designer paper had so many colours to choose from.

Some glitter washi tape and a Quietfire Design die cut inlaid in card front. I had a mishap
with some StazOn ink so had to add a bit of shading around the top.

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2018 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hello, blog! Long time no see! Here is my card for the 2018:

Today I have a chalkboard card. I forgot how fun these are! I used my MISTI stamp positioner to enable me to stamp and colour, then stamp again and emboss. I chose not to emboss the hearts so they would recede a bit.

I used chalk pencil crayons to add some subtle colour to the flowers and a slight drop-shadow to the "thanks" calligraphy. I drew the border by hand. I used striped washi tape as a temporary guide to help me space my dots in the border like this:

I used a sponge to smudge a bit of chalk ink in the corners and mounted with a few black and white layers to the front of a 5X7 inch card.

Thanks for stopping by. You can see LOTS more caffeinated cards at the official link up blog here. My card is number 860!