Seize the Birthday

The current Seize the Birthday challenge asks us to use metallics. I foiled the background using a hot pink color of foil and also backed the sentiment with Chrome Silver mirror cardstock. Bottom line...this card was really hard to photograph! 😬  I had the foiled background in my leftover stash so this came together very quickly with only die cutting the sentiment and stars.

PAPER: Raspberry Fizz, Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink); Hammermill Premium Copy Paper (used for foiling); Silver Chrome mirror cardstock. 

DIES: Happy Birthday Frame (Lil Inker Designs); Stars, Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Delicate Circles hot foil plate (PTI).

Thanks for stopping by and commenting! ~Wanda

 

 

Freshly Made Sketches

Hello crafty friends! One of my favorite challenges is the Freshly Made Sketches challenge, and this week, Narelle has a really great layout for us! I wanted to play with the new Taylored Expressions What's Cookin stamp set with a different fun sentiment. They pair up so well with the retro kitchen accessories in the Bake Me Happy die set.

STAMPS: What's Cookin' (Taylored Expressions).

INK: Versafine Clair Nocturne pigment ink.

PAPER: Cool Collab 6x6 pad by My Favorite Things; Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White (PTI).

DIES: What's Cookin, Bake Me Happy (Taylored Expressions); Love to Layer: Squares, Love to Layer: Scalloped Circles (Papertrey Ink). 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  ~Wanda

 

Color Throwdown #795

 

Good Wednesday everyone! It's time for a new Color Throwdown challenge and Susie is our hostess with a palette of patriotic red, white and blue. My blue is a dark indigo and shows up almost black in the photos. I needed a thank you card for a couple at church who spearheaded a beautiful landscaping re-do at our church. Curb appeal has been greatly enhanced! 

I recently acquired the new Diagonal Shortcuts dies from Concord & 9th. They formed the background for the Into the Blooms: Poppies dies from Papertrey Ink. I color blended Pure Poppy dye ink with Barn Door distress ink on the flowers. Leaves and stems were blended with New Leaf and Ripe Avocado dye inks (PTI). Florals were splattered with water drops. I'm using some "neutral" greens once again - haha!

STAMPS: Effortless Beauties (Papertrey Ink).

INK: Pure Poppy, Dark Indigo, Honey Nut, New Leaf, Ripe Avocado (PTI); Barn Door distress;

PAPER: Bristol Smooth Surface; Stampers Select White, True Black  (PTI).

DIES: Diagonal Shortcuts (Concord & 9th); Love to Layer: Ovals, Into the Blooms: Poppies, Effortless Beauties (Papertrey Ink).

OTHER: Moonshine sequins (PTI). 

 

We'd love to have you join us in the challenge, so hope to see you in the gallery!  ~Wanda

Life's A Beach!

I finished this card for the Just Us Girls challenge #727 where it's moodboard week. The beach tote and hat especially inspired my card using dies from Papertrey Ink's Go To Gift Card Holder: Beach Bag die set. This is such a fun group of dies with so many different elements to fill and accessorize your beach bag! (I see the Linky list is closed so I missed the boat on this challenge!). 

STAMPS: (I will add sentiment to inside of card later).

INK: Aqua Mist, Classic Kraft (PTI).

PAPER: Sunkissed 6x6 pad by Doodlebug Design, Inc.; Vellum; Green Parakeet, Fine Linen, Bright Buttercup, Raspberry Fizz, True Black, Stampers Select White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Brushed Silver.

DIES: Go To Gift Card Holder: Beach Bag, Elegant Edges: Fresh Cuts, On the Border: Sunburst Border (PTI). 

Thanks so much for stopping by! It was up in the 80's today in VA so it felt very much like beach weather! ~Wanda
                                                                                                           

 

Color Throwdown #794

 

Happy Wednesday friends! It's time for another Color Throwdown challenge with the delightful woodsy combo of gray, olive and white - thanks to this great personal photo from Amy Rohl. I immediately thought of a leafy background, so that was my starting point.

 

I used W Plus 9's Autumn Leaves stamp set which has both the solid and the outline stamps. I went with distress inks - Crushed Olive, Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke - for everything but the "thankful for" which was stamped using Versafine Clair Nocturne pigment ink. It's hard to see, but, I used an old retired French Script background stamp and also splattered with Crushed Olive ink. I added a trio of moonshine sequins for embellishments (PTI).

DIES: Skinny Frames: Diagonal Border (Papertrey Ink); Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things); You (The Stamp Market).

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! Hope that you can join us in this challenge!  ~Wanda

Rooting For You!

Good Monday friends! I thought I'd play along with the Sunday Stamps Challenge to use colors from their mood board (I used 4). I'm also playing along with the Paper Players challenge to create a CAS card with lots of laughs. I love puns so this punny plant set from Taylored Expressions came to mind immediately!

 

STAMPS: The Insiders: Love Grows Here (pre-printed cards that are an addition to the Shelf Control sentiment stamp set) by Taylored Expressions.

INK: Canyon Clay, Terracotta Tile, Fine Linen, Dark Chocolate, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Vintage Jadeite, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Green Parakeet, New Leaf dye inks by Papertrey Ink.

PAPER: Stampers Select White, True Black (PTI); Vintage Love pad by Honey Bee Stamps.

DIES: Let It Grow (Taylored Expressions); Love to Layer: Rectangles (PTI); Stitched Rectangle and Stitched Banner Flags STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Let It Grow stencil collection (TE).

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!  ~Wanda

Seas the Day!

 

I decided to whip up a birthday card while watching the PGA tournament in the background. I'm playing along with the Seize the Birthday challenge which has a beach theme this week. I pulled some old favorites from Papertrey Ink - Salt Air: Flora & Fauna stamps and dies.

 

The smooshed light blue background was from my leftover stash and am guessing I used Tumbled Glass distress ink. I die cut multiple elements then arranged them in a collage over the Shape Shifters Oval 2 die. The entire oval was then popped up on the white A2 card base using foam tape.

STAMPS: Salt Air: Flora, Salt Air: Fauna, Salt Air: Sentiments (Papertrey Ink).

INK: Spring Rain, Blue Sky, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, Fine Linen, Honey Nut, Fine Linen, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado (PTI).

PAPER: Stampers Select White (PTI).

DIES: Shape Shifters Oval 2, Salt Air: Flora, Salt Air: Fauna (PTI).

OTHER: Word Punch (Stampin' Up); Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things); Dew drop embellishments. 

 

It was a beautiful Sunday with clouds and rain finally disappearing and the sun came out this morning! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!  ~Wanda

Bowl of Blooms

 

I wanted to play along with a couple of challenges this morning while the rain is steadily coming down! The Inspired By challenge has a floral theme plus I was inspired by the blue striped pot. I am also entering this into the Freshly Made Sketches challenge where Cecile has a unique, fun sketch that I loosely interpreted with this twig sided frame die.

STAMPS: Bowl of Blooms (Reverse Confetti).

INK: Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Lost Shadow distress inks; Classic Kraft, Dark Chocolate dye inks (Papertrey Ink); Versafine Clair Nocturne pigment ink.

PAPER: Bristol Smooth Surface; Stampers Select White (PTI).

DIES: Bowl of Blooms (Reverse Confetti); Border Bling: Twigs, Cover Plate: Quilted (Papertrey Ink); Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics, Blueprints 27 (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Clear embossing powder.

I smooshed distress inks onto my glass mat then used brushes to watercolor the pot and flowers. The image was first stamped with black pigment ink then embossed with clear powder. Thanks so much for stopping by...hope your weekend is going well!  ~Wanda

Color Throwdown #793

 

Happy hump day! It's time again for a new Color Throwdown challenge. Broni is hosting with an awesome color palette of orange, purple and aqua. Once again, I used the layered stencil set called Rose Tapestry from The Greetery.

I layered the sentiment over Spellbinders' Stitched Medallion cutting dies. You can faintly see the quilting details in the background.

STAMPS: Comforting Commands (The Greetery).

INK: Apricot, Clementine, Persimmon, Candy Violet, Lavender, Regal Kiss, Ocean Breeze, Aquamarine, Mermaid Cove, Tidal Pond, Eucalyptus (Pinkfresh Studio).

PAPER: Only Orange, Marvelous Magenta (retired by Stampin' Up).

DIES: Stitched Medallion (Spellbinders); Comforting Commands (The Greetery); Cover Plate: Quilted (Papertrey Ink); Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Rose Tapestry stencil collection (The Greetery). 

 

This verse hits home during this difficult time of treatment for my husband's multiple myeloma diagnosis. Stem cell transplant is set up to begin last week in May and then it's a long process of him building up his WBC's, RBC's, platelets, healthy stem cells, etc. It will be quarantine time for about 100 days! It will be like eating an elephant...one bite at a time!  Thanks for stopping by...  ~Wanda

Just Us Girls

Hello everyone! It's a drizzly Saturday which means it's a good time to get inky! I wanted to initiate some new stencils for the Just Us Girls challenge where it's word week: GARDEN. 

I did not start out wanting to cut up the images into separate postage stamps, but my die slipped before I ran it through my Big Shot. I did not want to re-stamp everything so I went to Plan B. The background is a beautiful new cover plate by Papertrey Ink which I layered over New Leaf paper then cut two green frames for added dimension.

STAMPS: Postage Collage (Waffle Flower).

INK: Mimosa, Mango Sorbet, Fruit Punch, Persimmon, Meadow, Key Lime, Doe (Pinkfresh Studio); Versafine Clair Nocturne.

PAPER: Stampers Select Whtie, New Leaf (Papertrey Ink).

DIES: Cover Plate: Cross-Stitched, Skinny Frames: Diagonal Border (PTI); Postage Collage (Waffle Flower).

OTHER: Postage Collage Wild Flower Stencil (Waffle Flower); Black enamel dots.

That's all for today. Have a great weekend...especially all you mothers!  ~Wanda

 

Freshly Made Sketches #635

Remember the days of Pyrex dishes in every kitchen? Guess I'm dating myself but they seem to be making a comeback for collectors of vintage kitchen items! I recently bought these stamps and dies from Taylored Expressions and thought they'd be fun for a variety of occasions. I'm using the sketch for the new Freshly Made Sketches challenge and will add this to my birthday stash.

Aqua screams vintage and gingham is also a country, cottage pattern I associate with retro scenes.

STAMPS: What's Cookin' by Taylored Expressions.

INK: Versafine Clair Nocturne.

PAPER: Stampers Select White, True Black (Papertrey Ink); Sending Love pure luxury paper by Gina K. Designs. 

DIES: What's Cookin', Bake Me Happy (Taylored Expressions); On the Edge: Scallops Collection, Skinny Frames: Diagonal Border: Papertrey Ink. 

 

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping and commenting!  ~Wanda

Cards for Grads!

A friend commissioned me to create a couple of cards for her daughter-in-law who completed her BA degree recently. Her college colors are purple and gold so that inspired my color choices. Stamps/dies/stencils are all from Papertrey Ink.

STAMPS: Bright Future (Papertrey Ink).

INK: Opulence, Olive, Sweet Mustard (Pinkfresh Studio).

PAPER: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron (Stampin' Up); Stampers Select White (PTI).

DIES: Bright Future, Love to Layer: Hearts (PTI); Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Stencil from Pro Stamper's Box: March (PTI).

 

Last is a gift card graduation gown die set from Papertrey Ink. I added an adhesive strip to the bottom of each sleeve and to the bottom of the gown. The opening at the top allows the cap to be pulled up to reveal the gift card.

Tiny flowers are a freebie die gift from The Greetery.

That's all for today. So thankful for all the recent rains we've gotten. Much better than having to hand carry water to outdoor flowers!  ~Wanda

 

Color Throwdown #792

 

Happy hump day! It's time again for a new Color Throwdown challenge and Kelly has chosen some great colors! I took some liberty to add what I call "neutral green" - lol!

The April release at Papertrey Ink had these Into the Blooms: Mushrooms dies that are an absolute blast to play with! (I see they are already out of stock at PTI).

I cut all the mushrooms and leaves from white cardstock then color blended and assembled the layering pieces. Aren't those tiny dots such a sweet detail?!

STAMPS: Tuck It Sentiments (Papertrey Ink).

INK: Limeade Ice, New Leaf, Fine Linen, Honey Nut, Classic Kraft, Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky (PTI); Versamark.

PAPER: Rustic Cream, Vintage Cream, Stampers Select White, Classic Kraft, True Black (PTI).

DIES: Love to Layer: Torn Edges, Border Bling: Tin Stitch, Into the Blooms: Mushrooms (PTI); Stitched Rectangle STAX and Blueprints 27 Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Jute twine, Dew drops, Wonderful Watercolor stencil collection (PTI).

 

That's a wrap for today. Hope you can play along with us at CTD this week. Happy stamping!  ~Wanda