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Wednesday, September 30, 2020

*Large Die Cut Birthday*

 Happy Wednesday my crafty friends....  I hope that the end of September is treating you all well.  It's been beautiful here in Calgary the last few days... sweater weather, but certainly not cold!  I hope it stays like this for a while longer!

I wanted to let you know that with being back at work full time, my time to create has been limited... and when I have time to create I often have other things I need to be doing or my mojo decides to not show up.  I am almost at the end of my stockpile of created cards which means I won't be posting every day.  I hope to pull out my Christmas supplies in the next week or two so hopefully the mojo will come rushing back, but for now, posts will be happening every few days instead of every day.

When I first saw the die I used below on the Catherine Pooler website, I *had* to have it... and now that I have it, I have no idea what I want to do with it!  I will need to do a Pinterest search to see if I can get some inspiration!



Tuesday, September 29, 2020

*CAS#375*

Good morning all... and welcome to another challenge with the team at CASology!  We are a group of clean and simple card loving people who love to see what other people come up with using our bi-weekly themes.  For this challenge, our sponsor is Your Next StampLink up your clean and simple creation for your chance to win a prize from Your Next Stamp and to have a chance to be a guest designer on a future challenge!


The theme for the next two weeks is SPICE.  I had a couple of ideas in my head thanks to my sister and my good friend, however I decided to go this way based on what I had in my stash.

Items Used:
  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Cinnamon Cider
  • Images:  Lawn Fawn Simply Celebrate Winter; Simon Says Stamp Clean Line Christmas
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Dies:  Lawn Fawn Simply Celebrate Winter
  • Tools:  Gemini Jr; coloured pencils
  • Embellishments:  Green and Christmas Red Stickles
  • Etc:  foam tape


Monday, September 28, 2020

*Celebrate Large*

I will admit that way way way back when, I wasn't a fan of using patterned papers on cards.  I thought it was a cheat, a copout...  you could make your own patterned papers with stamps, of course!  But now, I like patterned papers on my cards... 

This card using a quarter inch strip of Catherine Pooler patterned paper to add a little colour and fun to an otherwise monochromatic card.

Items Used:
  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black
  • Patterned Paper:  Catherine Pooler
  • Dies:  MFT Celebrate
  • Tools:  Gemini Jr; Perfect Layers
  • Embellishments:  Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen


Sunday, September 27, 2020

*AAA#175*

 Happy Sunday Everyone!  It's time for another clean and simple challenge with AAACards!  Our guest designer (chosen from all of the entries from a previous challenge is Stephanie!  Up for grabs for challenge #175 is a prize of a credit at your favourite online store as well as a chance to be a guest designer on an upcoming challenge.  Please follow the link to AAACards to share your clean and simple creations with the rest of the design team!


I am not a coffee drinker... I wish I was.  It sounds like such a grown up thing to do.  The same goes for wine.  My tastebuds are still that of an 11 year child, sadly.  But I do like playing along with the optional twist more often than not, so I grabbed some stamps that I hadn't inked up yet and went to play!  This card went together very quickly.... one layer for the AAA Challenge is nothing extra on the card... no die cuts (perhaps an inlaid die), no embellishments.... so you have paper, stamps and ink (with a little Stickles for interest)

I figured I could use this as a winter birthday card.... 

I look forward to seeing what you create!


Saturday, September 26, 2020

*Little Birthday Balloons*

My Favorite Things comes up with some of my favourite 6X6 patterned paper pads.  I love buying the 6X6 size for making cards as the patterns are scaled for the size rather than trying to use a large pattern from 12X12 cardstock on my cards.  Of course, I do still buy some 12X12 paper but it often sits without being used because the scale of the images is just too much.

This went together really quickly... patterned paper, my Perfect Layers tool to get that little 1/16" border of black at the top, stamps and dies by Lawn Fawn.


Friday, September 25, 2020

*Random Acts of Cardness - Wreath*

I'm back with another card for the September calendar of Random Acts of Cardness with Scrap 'n Stamp Canada.  For today, the cue word is wreath.

I know that when I think of a wreath, my first thought is Christmas... so I wanted to make a wreath that wasn't for Christmas.  I LOVE the Gina K Wreath Builder stamp sets and Guides to use in your stamp positioning tool.  I have seen everything from Christmas wreaths, to floral wreaths, to circular designs using hearts and gnomes and leaves and whatever else you can think of.  It's a fun tool to use... pick your colours and just play!  There are LOTS of tutorials out there on how to use the Wreath Builder.... open up YouTube and search for Gina K Wreath Builder.  There is even a great one by Jennifer McGuire who shows you how to use the Wreath Builder in a way that doesn't involve a perfectly centred wreath on a square card (which is what I've done here...  square card and perfectly placed LOL)

Items Used:


Thursday, September 24, 2020

*Make A Wish*

 I really love this Studio Katia Birthday Greetings stamp set... there are so many great options in it for your cards!  I love when designers mix together different fonts in a greeting... and this one, to me, is perfect.  I paired the greeting with the Catherine Pooler Party Fans stamps set and some Catherine Pooler Ink, and finished it all off with a little hint of pink layer using my Perfect Layers Tool



Wednesday, September 23, 2020

*Blue Striped Birthday*

Another quick post from me... not only do I have less time to create cards since I went back to my full hours at work, I also have a lot less time to blog!  I thought I had SO many cards made (and I did) but I am down to my last few to blog.  I hope to have my free time and mojo line up again soon so I can get creative!!

I am looking forward to playing with this striped background die with some Christmas colours in the coming weeks... maybe even a Halloween card?!  Who knows!



Tuesday, September 22, 2020

*A Pile of Gifts*

I had fun colouring this image from the Catherine Pooler YAY Gifts stamp set.  I cut them out with the matching die and layered them on to a white card with foam tape  I added some glitter highlights with the Lawn Fawn Glitter Pen.



Monday, September 21, 2020

*Awesome Party Fans*

Another card using the awesome Party Fans stamp set from Catherine Pooler.  This one is just stamps and ink with a little bling on a one layer white card.  I love this colour combination!



Sunday, September 20, 2020

*Cheers*

 Have you ever absolutely LOVED a card when you made it and then, a few weeks later, you look at it and wonder what it was that made you love it?  That's me with this card.  I loved how the Glimmer Paste looked on this card when I made it.  But now, I look at this card and wonder what I thought was so wonderful about it.  It's not a "bad" card, but it's no longer catching my eye.  I just don't love it the way I did when I put it together.



Saturday, September 19, 2020

*Birthday Balloons*

Another card using some fun Catherine Pooler products.  I stamped the image on my card and then again with pieces of patterned paper that I cut out by hand.  I added the strings and the sentiments and voila, a card!



Friday, September 18, 2020

*Pinwheel Celebrate*

I love these pinwheel stamps from Catherine Pooler... so many options with them.  You can play with the layers, play with colours, cut them out, just stamp them.  So fun!



Thursday, September 17, 2020

*Best of Luck*

I really love love love the idea of these three step stamps but only stamping them twice.  I love hint of colour it leaves on the flowers instead of them being a solid colour.

Items used:
  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Granny Apple Green
  • Images:  Altenew Fabulous Florets; Gina K Grand Greetings
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Sweet Sixteen, Tiara
  • Tools:  Misti; Perfect Layers


Wednesday, September 16, 2020

*Where Flowers Bloom*

It's been a cloudy/smoky few days in Calgary and I am hoping we see the sunshine soon.  Thankfully the smoke from wild fires in BC and in the western US is high in our atmosphere so we aren't smelling it, but it has blocked the sun from us for the last few days.  I will admit that so many days without sun has left me feeling a little "off".... I need some sun!

Items Used:
  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Grey
  • Images:  Stampin' Up! Thoughtful Blooms; Gina K Where Flowers Bloom
  • Ink:  Catherine Pooler Twilight, Pink Champagne, Rouge
  • Tools:  Perfect Layers
  • Embellishments:  Studio Katia Arctic Breeze Pearls


Tuesday, September 15, 2020

*CASoloy #374*

 

The team at CASology is back with another clean and simple challenge for you all!  We sure love to see what you create based on the cue word every two weeks!  Link up your card on the CASology site for your chance to win a prize from STAMPlorations as well as to become a guest designer on an upcoming challenge!

I had a bit of a challenge coming up with an idea with the Vacation cue... I'm thankful that we can interpret these cue words any way we want to.  I decided a beachy-theme was a good way to use that Vacation cue.  I'd love to be on the beach, watching the sun set with a wonderful fruity drink in my hand...

I used a circle die to create a template for the ink blended circle on the front of my card.  I used a 1/4 sheet of cardstock to create the mask so that I was sure I wouldn't get ink where I didn't want it.

Items Used:

  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 100lb
  • Stamps:  Your Next Stamp Happy Hour
  • Ink:  Distress Ink in Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, Candied Apple; Gina K Amalgam; Copics
  • Dies:  Spellbinders circle die; Your Next Stamp Happy Hour
  • Tools:  Tim Holtz Blending Tool; Misti
  • Embellishments:  Frosted Lace Stickles
  • Etc:  foam adhesive

Monday, September 14, 2020

*Another in the Series*

And yes, another Sympathy card.  To be honest, a friend asked me to make her a handful of them so that she'd have them on hand for whenever the need came up.  I should have made two of each so that I'd have a little stash of them for my own use should the need arise.  It's not always easy to make a sympathy card when you actually need it.

This card looked a lot better in my head...

Items Used

  • Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Gumball Green
  • Patterned Paper:  Stampin' Up! laser cut paper
  • Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Warmest Regards
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Dies:  Stampin' Up! Layering Ovals
  • Tools:  Gemini Jr

Sunday, September 13, 2020

*AAACards #174*

 Welcome to another two week challenge with the team from AAA Cards!  We are a group of crafters who love clean and simple cards.  Every two weeks, we have a new clean and simple card challenge with an optional twist... and we love for you to play along!  

For challenge #174, we are being sponsored by Crafty Scrappers...  Link up your card for your chance to not only win a prize from them but to also be considered for a chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!

Our Guest Designer for this challenge is Maria!

I am really happy with how my card turned out...  

Items Used:

  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb
  • Images:  Trinity Stamps Nutty Squirrel
  • Ink:  Gina K Amalgam; Copics
  • Tools:  Misi
  • Embellishments:  Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Pen
  • Etc:  foam tape

Saturday, September 12, 2020

*Stampin' Up! Sympathy*

Other than the cardstock, this card is all Stampin' Up! products.  This shade of green lends itself perfectly to a sympathy card.

In retrospect, I should have spread out these sympathy cards instead of doing so many posts of sympathy cards in a row... But hey, it looks like I followed a theme.

Items Used

  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Pear Pizazz
  • Patterned Paper:  Stampin' Up!
  • Images:  Stampin' Up! Warmest Regards
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Tools:  Stampin' Up! punch; Perfect Layers

Friday, September 11, 2020

*Foiled Floral Sympathy*

One more sympathy card for you... this foiled paper by Stampin' Up! is so great to leave on it's own or to colour up as I did a few weeks ago.  A very versatile product!

Items Used:

  • Carstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black
  • Patterned Paper:  Stampin' Up!
  • Images:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Dies:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips, Simple Strips Backer
  • Tools:  Perfect Layers

Thursday, September 10, 2020

*Floral Sympathy*

In my opinion, the colour blue is very calming... so perfect for a sympathy card.  The ribbon was not originally in the plan for this card....  but I had a smudge of ink I couldn't get rid of so I needed to cover it up.  

Items Used:

  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Brocade Blue
  • Images:  Alte New Flower Vine; Stampin' Up! Warmest Regards
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tombow markers
  • Embellishments:  ribbon from my stash
  • Tools:  Perfect Layers

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

*Critters*

Welcome to Wednesday all... and another day of the Random Acts of Cardness prompts with Scrap 'n Stamp Canada!  Todays word is CRITTER!

The team wants you to share your cards featuring CRITTERS on the Facebok Challenge Page!  We love seeing your ideas!  You can also share it to your Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter or other groups with the #SNSChallenge hashtag!

I had a few ideas floating in my head for this card.  I am not one who likes to "waste" time or supplies but when coming up with my card for today, that's exactly what I did.  I tried a few things that just didn't work out... and while I was a little annoyed that I had "wasted" time and supplies, I was also proud of myself for just playing with my stash instead of worrying too much about it.  I don't know why I expect my first attempts to always be perfect... because they never are LOL!

Did you know that you can blend coloured pencils with just a lighter coloured (or white) coloured pencil?  I left a few spots with the "rougher" look but did a bunch of blending as well.  I find it's best to lay down a layer of the white, the a light layer of your chosen colour, back with the white, back with more colour... layering it to get the depth of colour you want.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Gina K Black Onyx
*Images:  My Favorite Things New Best Friend, Picture Perfect
*Tools:  Gemini Jr; heat tool



Tuesday, September 08, 2020

*Vanilla Sympathy*

No one ever wants to have to make a sympathy card... but I honestly think that they are the most important cards to have on hand and to send.  I think it makes a difference to the family of the deceased to know that they are in your thoughts.... and that the person who has passed meant something to you as well.

For me, a sympathy card should be quiet and simple.  No bright colours, nothing too busy.  Understated.  Pretty.  This may not be true for all of you, but that's what I feel comfortable with.

I hope I accomplished that with this card.

Items Used:
  • Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Very Vanilla, laser cut paper
  • Stamps:  MFT Essential Sentiments
  • Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Die:  no idea but it created a great rectangle window


Monday, September 07, 2020

*Awesome Birthday*

Happy Monday everyone... here in Canada it's Labour Day, which means it is a long weekend.  My office is always closed on Mondays so it's a regular weekend for me.  But since I only work a 4 day week anyway, every weekend is a long weekend :-)

The weather in Calgary was stunning on Saturday.  29C, mostly sunny... I got home from work and spent the afternoon on the back deck in the shade with a cold drink and a good book.  Today is a completely different story.  It's about 7C as I'm writing this and it's raining.... and there's been a little white stuff mixed in there as well.  It's supposed to warm up to 18C tomorrow so this isn't going to last, but brrrrr!

This was a super quick card to throw together thanks to my Misti.  I placed the one stamp and stamped it four different times with four different inks, moved the stamp and did it all again.  I then stamped over it all with the sentiment.

I'm thinking now I should have added a little sparkle to it...

Items Used:
  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
  • Images:  AlteNew Splash of Color; Studio Katia Birthday Greetings
  • Ink:  Gina K Passionate Pink, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Grass Green, Blue Raspberry, Turquoise Sea, Wild Lilac; Versafine Clair Nocturne
  • Tools:  Misti


Sunday, September 06, 2020

*Make A Wish*

I went off on an adventure this morning...  two and a half years ago after finishing treatment for stage 2 colon cancer, I got a large tattoo on my back of a blue gerber daisy (my favourite flower in the colour for colon cancer) and the words "F*&% Cancer" below it.  It's not visible to anyone unless I show it to them or am wearing a bathing suit (which happens very seldom) but it was the first tattoo that I got that is just for me.  It wasn't to honour someone else.  It wasn't to celebrate a relationship.  It was just for me.  Today, to mark my colon cancer now being stage 4, I went to get that tattoo added to.  I can't wait to see how it looks once it's healed!


My card today is one layer with some coloured and cut out images put on it.  I wanted to do a true one layer but it's impossible to do with Copic markers since they do soak through the paper.  

Items Used:

  • Cardstock:  Hammermill 110lb Premium Color Copy Cover
  • Images:  Gina K Where Flowers Bloom; Studio Katia Birthday Greetings
  • Ink:  Gina K Amalgam; Copics; Micron pen
  • Dies:  Gina K Where Flowers Bloom
  • Embellishments:  Studio Katia Sparkling Crystal

Saturday, September 05, 2020

*More Sparkle*

Another day, another sparkly card.  I truly love this Nuvo Glimmer Paste.  The Moonstone is fabulous since you can use it on anything to create a custom colour.  You could even add colour to it to create something custom to play with.  I am on my third jar of this stuff (and I've used it all up instead of throwing it out because it dried up!).

Items Used:


Friday, September 04, 2020

*Live Love Lavinia Blog Hop*

It's the first Friday of the month which means it is time for a new Blog Hop with the design team from Scrap 'n Stamp Canada!  This month we were all given some Lavinia Stamps to play with.  

Now, let's be honest...  while the Lavinia Stamps images are gorgeous, they are not my style.  I chose some stamps that I thought I could work with, but I still struggled a bit.  But in the end, I really like the card I came up with... and I'm pretty sure it will completely different than what the rest of the team created LOL!

Items Used:

I hope you'll play along with us... share your creations on the Scrap 'n Stamp Challenge Page... and be sure to leave comments at each stop along the way for your chance to win one of THREE prizes from Scrap 'n Stamp!  And, until Sunday at 11pm edt, all Lavinia Stamps are on sale at Scrap 'n Stamp!

Now, go check out what the rest of the team has created!!

Thursday, September 03, 2020

*Stenciled Bursts*

I had a vision for this card... and while it turned out OK, I don't think it was quite in keeping with my vision.  I don't know that I can describe what I was trying to achieve, I just know that it's not quite what I wanted.  Not to mention it's a whole lot of "busy" for my clean and simple tastes.

I used the small fingertip sponge daubers to ink up each of the pinwheels so that I was able to get the colour where I wanted it.  I cleaned off the stencil when I was done and then carefully put it back in place so I could cover it with the Nuvo Glimmer Paste.  I didn't quite get it exact so up close, it's not quite right.

Items Used:


Wednesday, September 02, 2020

*Bright Balloons

I had some fun playing with Distress Inks and the Neat & Tangled Balloon Duo Stencil for this card.  When the Distress Inks first came out, I avoided them like the plague.  I thought "distress colours" aren't my thing.  I'm so glad that they branched out to use the same ink in colours that are more my style because they are fabulous for blending!

Items Used:


Tuesday, September 01, 2020

*CASology # 373*

Starting this month, CASology is back to challenges every two weeks instead of the once a month we were doing over the summer.  I am in awe that today is September 1st, kids here in Calgary are heading back to school, the days are visibly shorter and summer is over.  

It is fitting that our challenge for this first day of September is "September".  We want you to link up your cards with a clean and simple September theme for your chance to win a prize from Lawn Fawn!


For my card, I decided to play with my Silhouette and the Foil Quill that I "just had to have" about a year ago and have barely used.  I found a design in the Silhouette Studio store and played with it to get the size about where I wanted it. I think I would have preferred it to be a bit smaller, but I think being much smaller I would have lost a lot of the details in this pretty leaf.  I used copper foil with this image, imagining how the leaves will be turning in the very near future (sniff sniff... I am a spring and summer girl!)

Items Used:

  • Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Basic Black
  • Tools:  Foil Quill; Silhouette; Perfect Layers
  • copper foil