Time for Love and Cheer

I used a tag die by Gina K, a glitter star cut with a die by Spellbinders, and a sentiment by Papertrey Ink for this simple Christmas card. The embossing folder is by Tim Holt for Sizzix and was embossed on shimmery silver card stock, then inked with an ink blender. Some really old metallic silver rick-rack from my sewing stash adds a bit more sparkle.

CHNC challenge 495
Christmas Kickstart challenge 32, use a tag 

 Crafty Mo's June Rudolph Days challenge
Simon Says Stamp AG
ABC Christmas challenge, L is for Love. I used a sentiment with the word Love in it.

Love At Christmas

I used a stamped image that was sitting in my stash, and added it to a tag by Sizzix for this simple Christmas card. The punched hearts are by Fiskars, the embossing folder is by Cuttlebug, and the stamped sentiment is by Papertrey Ink.

CHNC challlenge 495
ABC Christmas challenge, L is for Love
Creative Crafters challenge #29: AG
Let's Craft and Create #160, use punches
SSS Wednesday challenge AG
Christmas Kickstart Challenge 32, use a tag

Kitty Love

We don't have a cat anymore, but I've had 5 cats over the years and every one of them was a rescue. My favorite cat was Bailey, who was a really beautiful charcoal gray tuxedo cat with plush fur and round eyes like an owl. I used this Spellbinders die set to make a kitty that reminds me of Bailey. The cat die and grass are from Besties Forever by Spellbinders, the clouds are by Paper Smooches, as are the hearts, and the stitched rectangle is by Lawn Fawn. I used a punch for the butterfly.

Cut it Up challenge 202, perfect pet
Let's Craft and Create challenge 160, use punches
Hero Arts Stay Crafty challenge #10, build a scene
CHN June PP challenge
SSS Wednesday challenge AG
Creative Crafters challenge #29: AG
Color Dare 398, I used Row 1: candy apple, sweet leaf, lemonade, and lagoon

Birthday Floral

As part of my resolution to use up at least some of my very, very old odds and ends that have piled up over the years, I distressed the edges of this panel which was stamped with a leafy flourish and then added paper flowers. The background is stenciled with a brick stencil by Winnie and Walter. I kept waffling between brick red, and more neutral ink colors and neutral won out. I've been playing with a lot of stencils this week and having a blast...so it was nice to combine new-to-me stencils with really old stamps and flowers.

Papercraft Challenge 59, geometric.
Stamplorations June Stencil challenge

The Creative Crafters challenge 29

Christmas Wreath

Here is another card that I made last night. I used a partially prepared card base, which I made months ago, and added the die cut wreath and banner die cut by Spellbinders, and Nuvo drops for the berries. The fancy label die is also by Spellbinders. When I looked at my design, I felt it was a little plain, so I used my scoring board to add an embossed frame all the way around the card front.

Pixie's Snippets challenge 380. Not only did I use a lot of snippets on this card, but that wreath die was a prize from the Snippets challenge from several years ago.
CHNC challenge 495
Cardz TV challenge 117

Christmas Bunting

I make cards all through the year to donate to a couple  of nursing homes and senior residences, and they always ask for masculine designs. As we all know, a lot of the cards we often design are feminine in design, so I try to remember to include the guys every chance I get. I made several multiples that use dark, natural tones and a string of pennants hanging across the front. The sentiment is by Papertrey Ink, the papers are DCWV, and I used staples to attach the bunting to the card front.
A few Nuvo drop embellishments finishes this one off.

CHNC challenge 495, Christmas
CHN June PP challenge
Cardz TV challenge 117

Punched Deco Squares

I mentioned that I have been taking old stash and turning them into cards, so here is another one. The deco-square is made using tiny heart punches that form a flower. A brad in the center, and matted, punched squares make the focal point.
I added a nested die by Spellbinders and heat embossed sentiment. The embossed flourishes around the flower were dry embossed with a brass stencil and embossing pen. Yes...I'm using a lot of my old tools and supplies!

Let's Craft and Create, use punches. I used heart punches and square punches.
Cardz TV challenge 116
CHN June PP challenge
Word Art Wednesday

Get your Happy On

I've been pulling out stamp sets that I hadn't inked up yet and making cards with them lately. I can't believe I hadn't used these cute cactus images until now. I combined a set by Art-C and Craftsmart to stamp this background. I combined a sentiment by CAS-ual Friday stamps, which I heat embossed on a strip of black card stock. All it needed was some bakers twine and a little inking around the edges.

I've found that I needed more flat cards that are easy to mail, and this design fit the bill perfectly.

Lost Coast Designs challenge 100, celebrate

Time Out challenge 163, proust quote. I was inspired by the reference to gardeners. Time Out Challenge 163, Proust quote reference to gardeners and blooms. My grandmother had a huge cactus garden while I was growing up.

Cardz TV challenge 116 
Penny Black and More June challenge, favorite stamp. The sentiment stamp by CAS-ual Fridays, and all the cute cactus stamps are new favorites! 
Word Art Wednesday

Just for You

As part of my craft room cleaning and reorganization, I have found a number of embellishments that I made years ago, as part of a scrapbooking swap. I made a number of layered squares that can be decorated any way you wish. These happen to be embellished with punched flowers, with eyelet centers. I had SO many of these...yikes! I gave some of the punched flowers to my daughter to use and still had a ton left over. So, I dug deep into my stash of paper scraps and used bits of patterned paper that coordinated with thes squares. Apparently, mint green was popular way back when I made these, and fortunately, I had some paper scraps from the same era. I used a round sentiment stamp by Studio G, and threaded some thin white twine through the eyelets.

I made a series of cards with these flower squares and just changed the papers and sentiments. I still have some left over, but I may actually just go ahead and toss them because the eyelet centers are really strange colors (like orange...what was I thinking?).

Creative Fingers challenge 187 
Time Out Challenge 163, Proust quote. I was inspired by the garden and flower reference
Let's Craft and Create challenge 160, use punches
CHN May PP challenge
Cardz TV challenge 116
Word Art Wednesday

In the Garden

I've been going through all of my craft supplies lately and I keep finding things I didn't know I had. One thing I've found are bags and bags of extra stamped images and doo-dads that I apparently made in quantity some years back. When I first started stamping I didn't have many sets, so my friends and I shared with each other. I would borrow a few sets and stamp multiples to keep on hand. Well, those multiples got used once or twice, and then went on to gather dust in my closet. This is one of them. The image is a very, very old Stampin' Up image, but is still a favorite. I die cut various Stampin' Up papers with a flag die set by LDRS, and added a sentiment by Winnie and Walter. A little bit of jute twine adds some texture. I used up all my extra images and made 5 cards with these. Even used up a lot of paper scraps in the process as well.

Pixie's Snippets challenge 379. Everything except for the card base is a snippet from my stash. Even the twine was a left over from a previous project, yay!
Time Out Challenge 163, inspired by Proust quote: garden
Creative Fingers 187, AG
CHN June PP challenge
Word Art Wednesday