Sympathy x 2

 Hello friends!  I've been busy over the last couple of weeks working on a card order for a friend.

Today, I have a couple of sympathy cards for you.  

For my first card, I used a stencil from Gina K.  I had this stenciled since last fall, but it just never made it into a card.  Since I was asked for Sympathy, I went through my partial done basket to see what I could use, and came across this.

Not sure of the inks I used but do believe they were Gina K inks.  Once the flower was stenciled, I left the stencil in place, then laid onto top a dotted stencil and taped it down.  I applied the inks using the same colours and once lifted it provided the dots onto the image.  Gives it a little more interest then just a plain stenciled flower.

I cut out the image using an MFT scalloped rectangle die, stamped the sentiment and then added some small pearls to finish it off.  I was going to add glitter, but decided to leave as is.

For my second card, a little more moodier in appearance, but like the depth of the blue inks. I sponged some Simon Says Positively inks for my gradient look.

I then took the SSS stamp set called Vintage Garden  and stamped the bottom and up the sides with a variety of stamps from this set. 

Stamped the sentiment in the middle also from the same Vintage Garden set.

To finish off I added some bluish sequins.

Thank you for you  visit today, have a wonderful day!

Pauline

Rustic Wood Star

Hello friends.  Can you believe how close we are to Christmas? Can't believe how fast this season came upon us!  We have had no snow yet, just rain, but this morning we have a dusting of snow on the ground, maybe 1/8 of an inch if that. I know other parts of Ontario this week have had freezing rain and lots of snow.

Today, I have another Christmas card to share.  All products for this card are from Papertrey Ink.  This particular set is called Rustic Wood Star.  It's all dies - came together fairly quickly, well that is once I figured what I was doing lol.  The background die is also from PTI - Border Bling Joy Frame -I did not use the 'joy' on this card though.

I die cut the border frame, then sponged a variety of brown distress inks around the edges.  I continued to add until I was happy with the depth of the shading., I then adhered to the card base.

All the die pieces on my card were cut from white cardstock (except for the bow), then added distress inks for the colour.  I tried once with coloured cardstock, but felt I wasn't getting the variation and depth of colour, so switched to white c/s.

The wreath has 2 layers, once distressed, I adhered together just around the center ring, so the outside edges would lay freely.

For the bow I cut the bottom layer from cream c/s, then sponged the edges with distress ink, and top layer of the bow was cut from designer paper and the center cut from some gold glitter paper.

To finish off I added some chunky glitter to the wreath and leaves, and some gold pearls around the star.

I still have a couple of birthday cards to make before the end of the year as well, but Christmas cards are all done and all put in the mail.  Since I still have all my Christmas stamps, papers and dies still out, I think I will work on some more Christmas cards for next year.  

Wishing you all an amazing day, and thank you so much for stopping in today, I really do appreciate your visit. Keep warm, stay safe.

Pauline

Warm Greetings

Hello everyone.  I'm back today to share one of very few Christmas cards I made this year.

When I saw this image released by Penny Black, well you know me, anything nature related I must have. Now I have had this coloured up just before we started our kitchen reno's, but I finally got around to finishing it up a couple of weeks ago, and popped it in the mail to a wonderful friend!

I used my Misti and tombow markers to colour this red rubber stamp, misting lightly before each impression and then continue until  I'm happy with the results.

Then came the hardest decision, how to finish the card.  I didn't want to take away from the image. I layered the image onto some gold mirror c/s, then  pulled out some kraft cardstock for the base, sponged around the edges with some distress oxide brown inks (sorry don't remember the exact colours) to darken it up.  I then used some Gansai Tambi  Starry Colours for the ink splatter.

I stamped the sentiment (Altenew) and then added some small rhinestones.  I love how this turned out!

That's it for me today, off to finish up a few more cards and get them in the mail.  

This coming week is my last week of working before Christmas break.  I took off the week of Dec 19, and don't return until Dec 28, going to be a nice long break :)

Enjoy your day, whatever you are up to. See you soon,

Pauline

Update & PFS floral card

 Hello, it's certainly has been a while since I've posted anything!

We have been renovating our kitchen, just Bill and I.  So with working full time, and then at night and weekends we have been working in the kitchen, which has left not much time for card making.  And even if I did have some free time, I just couldn't get into making cards.

We have gutted the kitchen right down to the studs. We've had to have an electrican come in before we insulated and drywalled, as there were only a couple of  outlets in the kitchen, so we have added more as well as some electrical units for pot lights.  Dry walling is done and painted, ceiling is done, and the electrician is coming back this week, to finish up. We haven't ordered the cupboards as of yet, we did a preliminary drawing of what we want and we visited IKEA, - love their cupboards.  So after Christmas we will take final measurements since the walls are all done before finalizing our cupboard order.  We also have to rip up the old linoleum flooring, level that before laying new. So still lots of work ahead of us,. we are in no rush, but at least the worst of it is completed.

So that is what has kept me busy.  And besides with having a small house and not a lot of extra room as we have no basement, a lot of boxes and stuff are in my craft room, which again doesn't leave much space for crafting.

I was just looking through me pictures of cards that I have made a while ago and realized there are some that I have not posted.

Today's card is one I made for my sister for her birthday last month.

Using Pinkfresh Studio hot foil plate, matching die and stencils as well as a Spellbinders embossing folder.

For my ink blending I used SSS Positively inks - love these inks, they blend wonderfully.

To finish off I used a premade sentiment that came in a pkg from Pinkfresh Studio some pearls and a rhinestone heart.  Very pleased on how this turned out.

Well that's it for me, need to get working on some Christmas cards.  See you soon!

Have a wonderful day.

Pauline

Tall Leaf Spray

 Hello, and Happy Friday.  

Today's card is one I made in which I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.  I have had this leaf die for a while but just never got around to using it.  My card is done with SSS Etched Tall Leaf Spray die, oxide and spray stains, and gold foil embossing

I started by cutting out my leaf using canson watercolour 140lb paper.  I sprayed a variety of distress inks onto my glass mat, then dabbed my leaf into it, picking up various colours, leaving a few of them with the natural colour of the watercolour paper.  

I also spritzed down my slim line watercolour paper, and just spritzed a bit of distress ink and then spritzed with water again, held up right and side to side to have the inks flow across the card.

After everything was dried, I flicked on some gold and copper paints.

For my sentiment I gold foiled a Spellbinders sentiment and cut it out with an Altenew sentiment label die, which was then layered onto the rusty colour c/s.

To finish I added some Bronze mix jewels from Little Things by Lucy.  I also matched up a brown paper bag envelope to go with it.

My second card was basically cased from the one I saw on Pinterest.  I made this one first, and then I created my first card in a different colour.

Well that's it for me today. Happy Labour Day weekend! See you again real soon,

Pauline

Curiosity Moth

Hi!  I have another card to share today  featuring  products from The Greetery.  I am using the Jumbo Curiosity Moth die & stencil as well as Leaves all around die & stencil set.  

I started by using the Leaves all around stencil and applied my inks.  Once completed I used  the matching die to cut it out.  What you see below on my card is only half of the  Leaves all around stencil.  You have the option of using the full die cutout or you can snip in half which is what I did.

I then used the Moth die cut out the pieces.  For each piece I used the matching stencil and applied the inks.  I made this card about a month ago and never noted the inks, but I believe they are SSS Positively inks.

I laid the leaf cut out onto my blue cardstock and traced around the leaves, so I could cut away the blue c/s and leave the white card base showing through.

I adhered the blue cardstock to the base as well as the leaves.  I popped up the Moth for dimension.

I silver foiled one of my Spellbinder glimmer sentiments, then cut it out using a sentiment flag end die.

I applied  wink of stellar clear glitter to the moth and added a navy pearl .

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.  See you again real soon.  Have a wonderful day,

Pauline

Sympathy cards

 Hello there.  I'm back today with a couple more Sympathy cards to share.  It seems like I have made a ton of sympathy this year, but I always like to have them on hand, as I always get asked for them.

These two worked up fairly quickly, as I already had the backgrounds done from a while ago, just sitting in my basket waiting to be used.

My first card, I used a stamp from Stampendous, which was stamped using versafine gray.  I didn't want to use black, as that can be very harsh.  I stamped the sentiment also in gray and used one of my Altenew label dies to cut it out.  Added a layer of thin foam behind the panel to pop it up on my card base.  Finished off with some rhinestones under the sentiment.

My second card features a die from Memory Box - Sweet Bay Collage.  After the panel was die cut with sweet bay collage, I layered it onto a dark green base.  With Sympathy (Creative Expressions) was die cut a couple of times, then adhered together for dimension.  Added some gold rhinestones to finish off. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Pauline

Spring Mix

Hi there!  Hope your weekend is going well.  It' been just to hot here to do anything.  Since Friday feels like 42C roughly 108F, and this is suppose to last until Tuesday, then it drops down into the 80's.  So needless to say, I have been staying indoors.  I got caught up on Season 4 Virgin River, can't wait until Season 5 which doesn't come out to July 2023. Any other Virgin River fans out there? Now we are watching the Rookie, it's so good.  And I have been knitting socks, reading  and dabbling into some card making as well.

For today's card I am  using the The Print Shop - Sporing Mix from The Greetery.  I just love Betsy's products, I just can't seem to get enough of her stuff.  I have another order coming from her latest release last week.  Anything floral or nature related, I'm in! lol

Okay, so the cool thing about this set is that it starts out with multi layering stencils and then you add the little details with the coordinating stamps. And the die is all one piece, just pop it over your stamped image and viola. I always start with the die cut, then I go ahead and do my stenciling.  I find it's easier to line up the stencils that way.  You could also just stencil the image onto your card front for a one layer card, no die cutting needed.

Once all the stenciling was done, I sponged some soft blue's and pinks for the background and then adhered my Spring Mix die cut on top.

I finished by adding some of The Greetery's - Flower Bits embellishments to the centers of the flowers. 

I chose not to add a sentiment to the front, that way it can be used for many occasions.

As always, love when you visit.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Pauline

Birthday Wishes

 Sorry, I haven't posted in a bit, having some health issues.  My RA seems to have flared up again, making my knees very painful to walk, and when you have that type of pain it's hard to concentrate, so needless to say  I have not been in the mood for much.  Feeling better yesterday and much better today.  It's one of those things where you just never know when a flare up can happen.  You just have to deal with it.  It's been about 4 years since my last flare up. Enough about that, lets get on with the cards.

Today, I have a couple of birthday cards to share, using the same stamps but changed up the colours and design.

All products are from Gina K - A little love kit. Love her kits, they come with stamps, dies, sentiments and stencils - so fun.  I also used a die from Pinkfresh Studio which I used on my first card for the gold foil leaves.

I used the stencil in my Misty to create the backgrounds. Once completed, I then used the rectangle stitch die from  Master Layouts 2 to cut out  a part of the stenciled background, leaving enough to die cut an extra floral and leaves.

I added some gold foiled leaves (die from Pinkfresh Studio) in behind my pop up floral.  Sentiment is also from Gina K - stamped in black versafine.  Added some SSS fine glitter to the centers of the flowers and also some pearls to finish off.

For my second card, basically done the same as the first, except I used some of the leaves that I stenciled on the background for behind the popped up floral.  I used the die cut 'love'' from the "A little hello" stamp kit and then stamped the sentiment below.

Glitter was added as well as pearls to finish off.

These were fun to do, I should of kept on creating with different colours, but I didn't. 

 That's it for me today.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Pauline

Two mini slimline cards

 Hello  friends! Today I have a couple of cards to share using some Gina K products. 

Both cards are mini-slimline.  Products used on these 2 cards are elements from the Wastercolouring Spring card kit and Master Layouts 7.

My first one, I used some Watercolour Floral Ephemera, the Botanical Duo dies, and  pieces from the Master Layouts 7. I started by sponging some light grey ink through one of the stencils that came with the kit to give a bit on interest on the background.  Paper behind the 'hello friend' is also from Gina K - watercolour floral pack.

The rest is pretty explanatory, so won't bore you with how I put this together. Added some sequins and a little black heart to finish this off.

For my second card, I used the Bodacious Blooms Stencil.  This is a 3 layer floral stencil as well as a plaid stencil, which I used the plaid in the card above. For this card, I just kept it simple. Used the master layout 7 for the slimline die.  For the sentiment I used one of my extra Spellbinders glimmer foil sentiments I had on hand. Finished off with some rhinestones.

That's it for me for today. As always, I appreciate your visits.  Have a wonderful day and keep well!

Pauline

Hello Spring! ( a little late)

Good morning!  I was going through my card pictures I took back in the Spring, and realized I had not posted a few of them.  

The two that I am sharing today, I made for my friends card order for Easter.  Yes sorry a little late at sharing these.

Both are using the same die cuts from Honey Bee - Lovely Layers - Tulips.  I was hesitant in buying this die as when I saw samples I knew how large this was, but I caved and bought, but love how this floral takes center stage!

I started by using some Canson 140 lb watercolour paper.  I just spritzed using Distress Oxide and Distress inks, along with spritzing water to blend a bit more.  (Sorry never wrote the colours down when creating this). One dried I cut out all the floral parts and then adhered together. I also cut the center of the tulip using some gold mirror c/s.

For my background on the first card I used SSS Detail Bohemian Cover plate, then flicked some green ink onto it.  This was cut out using MFT scalloped rectangle.  Sentiment is from SSS - sentiment strips, which I just trimmed to fit.  Added some gold pearls to finish off.

The second card, I used Honey Bee Spring Leaves A2 pierced cover plate for my back ground then cut it out using a stitched rectangle. I also used a SSS sentiment strips for this and added some pearls to finish off.

Well that is it for me for today.  I hope you have a fantastic day! Stay Cool!

Pauline

Wildflower Spray

 Hello to all! A great way to start the week, as I am on vacation!  Weather is perfect high of 75F today, but gets hotter as the week goes on, but one day at a time right! No plans just glad to be at home and not at work, plan on doing yard work, some reading,  go for walks, card making and just take life easy!

I did a lot of yard work yesterday, took advantage of the partial gloomy day before the sun came out in the afternoon with humidity.  I finished up a couple more cards last night.

Today's card is one of several Sympathy cards I was asked to make for a friend. 

I'm using a 3D embossing folder from Lisa Horton Crafts.  I just love the depth of texture with these folders. I wasn't sure how to colour this as I didn't want to use copics.  I decided on sponging with inks.  I had some small tip brush applicators which worked well in the smaller spaces.  I also went in with my Prismacolour Pencils and added some darker spots in the base of the flowers. Very pleased on how this turned out.  Sentiment is from PTI.

I didn't want to over clutter with any embellishments, so I just added 3 tiny white pearls for accents.

I also cut a narrow strip of the same cardstock as the base and ran a strip along the bottom and up the side for some added interest.

Well that's it for me for today.  See you soon.  Have yourself a wonderful day, whatever you are up to.

Keep well,

Pauline

Gentle Blossom

 Hi there!  Today's card is one I made just to increase my stash bucket, which is pretty much depleted. I really need to get ahead of the game, much easier to pull a card out of your stash when you need one rather than have to make it.

Using products from Memory Box - Gentle Blossom Watercolour Floral, SSS Flickering Butterflies & SSS Positively saturated inks, Pinkfresh Studio - Essentials Mini Slimline dies and Penny Black - Not older, better (sentiment)

I started with some heavy weight white card stock and cut it down to a mini slimline using PinkFresh Studio die.

I then sponged some inks from yellow to pink over lapping in the middle to get the pinky colour, then spritzed with a bit of water and used a piece of paper towel to soak the excess as I didn't want large water spots.

Next, cut the die out of the white c/s, then sponged the same colours on the blossom. I stamped the sentiment first before adhere the blossom to make sure I had enough room.  Added the butterflies which were cut from gold mirror cardstock.

I was going to add some bling, but decided to leave as is.

I really love how this turned out.  I want to try some more but make the blossom in different colours.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Enjoy the rest of your day. Beautiful day here in SW Ontario only a high of 64F, but sunny and very windy.  I'll take this over the 116F days last week!

Keep well,

Pauline

Books & Flowers

Hello!

Today I have a card to share in which I made for my  Daughter-In-Law Anna.  She is both beautiful inside and out, we are so blessed to have her in our family!

I created a Slimline card for this as the image is large.  Stamp is from StudioLight - Books & Flowers.

When I saw this image I knew I had to have it for Anna's birthday card, just so fitting as she is such an avid reader.

I stamped the image onto some Canson 140lb watercolour paper.  I then scribbled some Zig markers onto my palette and picked up the ink with a wet paintbrush.  Continued this until I was happy with the results. 

I then used Pinkfresh Studio slim line dies to cut out the image, as well as the aqua background layer, which is the same size as a Slimline card base.

I wasn't sure if I was going to add a sentiment or not, as the image is quite busy... but I had this large white space, which I just happened to get a smudge, so I needed to cover it up.  I pulled out The Greetery - sentiment suite - Birthday, and used one of the tiny birthday greetings, and cut it out with a flag banner die, added a tiny silk ribbon to the top of the banner.

Finished off with wink of stella clear brush pen and added this to the flowers, also added some small pearls.

It's a beautiful day here in SW Ontario this early morning (7:30 am), sunny and very breezy, not too hot yet, so think I will head outdoors and do some yard work.

Thank you for stopping by today, whatever you are up to today - enjoy!

Pauline

Glimmer birthday card

 Hi there!  Today's card is one I made for my friend Carla's birthday.

I used Spellbinders Glimmer of the Month December - Botanical Crest

I foiled the botanical crest using gold foil and my glimmer hot foil system onto some MFT Sno Cone cardstock.  I then used the inner die to cut out the center. I also glimmered the sentiment which is from SB Yana's Sentiments. Not sure what I was thinking when I did the sentiment but it should of been a bit lower, hence I added the heart rhinestone to fill the space.

I cut some flowers from yellow and pink c/s from the same botanical set and adhered them around the wreath.

For the bottom floral I used Spellbinders Mini Blooms and Sprigs.

As always, I appreciate your visit.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

Pauline