*Happy Birthday Diane*

 Today we are celebrating my friend Diane with a birthday hop!  I hope you'll head over to see her Instagram profile to wish her a happy birthday.

I was inspired by Diane's two favourite colours... orange and teal! Not in my wheelhouse, but I like how it turned out!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  Altenew Stamp a Splash of Colour; Concord & 9th Big Birthday Wishes

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Tiki Torch, Aquatini; Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Embellishments:  Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Clear Drops

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Pattern Paper Instagram Hop*

 I am in love with the simplicity of the card I'm sharing today, a card I made following the Christmas in July theme for the Pattern Paper Instagram Hop... I used some simple embossed lines, a simple die and some pretty pattern papers... 

Card Info

*Paper:  Carta Bella Merry & Bright

*Stamps:  Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Catherine Pooler Jolly Trees; Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Tools:  Scor-Buddy
*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers Christmas in July

*My Favourite Instagram Hop*

 This week for the My Favourite Instagram Hop, we are playing with our favourite tree themed items.  I will admit that this is not my favourite tree themed item from my stash, but the ideas I had for my favourite tree stamp weren't working out for me.  Instead I pulled out this stencil to create a simple sympathy card.

Card Info
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Grey

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Twilight, Black Jack, Midnight

*Stencil:  Artplorations Slimline Trees

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*CAS on Friday #332*

 Hello creative friends... I am here as the host for the current challenge at CAS on Friday.  We are sharing sympathy cards with this challenge.  Always a difficult reason to make a card so I like to have a few on hand in case I don't feel like creating one when it's needed.

I have two things I like to do with sympathy cards... My only rule (for myself... not you!) is that most sympathy cards should be subdued in colour.  It just feels "right" to me.  I get it.  Others feel differently.  I also love butterflies in sympathy cards... something beautiful, something that comes from a change in life.  I honestly believe my Mom visits me in the form of a butterfly.

I stamped these grungy stripes using the same coloured ink... but for two of them, I did a second generation stamping (meaning I inked up the stamp, stamped it off on scrap paper and then stamped it on my card front).  I stamped the butterfly on top of it.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black
*Stamps:  Paper Rose Studio Cleo Floral Butterfly; MFT Something for Everything; unknown stripes
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Stone Blue
*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #332

*Mini Slimline Instagram Hop*

 Such a quick mini slimline card for you today, made for the Mini Slimline Instagram Hop.  I used a scrap of pattern paper that is like 15+ years old.  I cut the front of my card a little smaller to create a little interest... 

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Paper:  Imganisce Chatty Cake Chatty Cake

*Stamps:  Catherine Pooler Yay Gifts!

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies: Waffle Flower Nesting Circles, Additional Circles

*Just One Layer Instagram Hop*

 The theme for this months Just One Layer Instagram Hop is paste...  I only have one paste in my stash but I was able to make it work!  

I started by using a layering stencil and inks on my card front.  I left one of the layers until the end and used some Stencil Butter with that layer instead of ink.  Once it was dry, I stamped my sentiment directly on to the card front.

Card Info

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Samba, All That Jazz, Grape Crush, Mardi Gras

*Stencil:  MFT Flower Fusion

*Embellishments:  TCW Pearl White Stardust Butter

*Challenges:  Just Us Girls #812; Inkspirational #362; Just Add Ink #780

 

*Embossing Folder Instagram Hop*

 I will admit, I almost skipped this month for the Embossing Folder Instagram Hop.  I have some embossing folders and I LOVE how they look... but I don't have all that many of them.  At least not enough to make a card with a "luck of the Irish" theme... or so I thought.

I pulled out some green cardstock and embossed it with a leaf embossing folder and swiped a little gold ink along the raised parts of the embossing. I matted a lucky sentiment with some gold cardstock and wrapped the front layer with a gold cord before adding it to my card base.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Bazzill gold mirror; Stampin' Up! Garden Green

*Stamps:  LDRS

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Gold; Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Embossing:  Spellbinders Leafy

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Etc:  gold cord

*My Favorite Instagram Hop*

 This week on the My Favorite Instagram Hop, we are playing with my favourite woodland scene. I don't do much with scene stamping, but I wanted to play along.  I sure hope that this works for the theme!

Card Info

*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic Grey

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Twilight; Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Stencils:  Artplorations Trees

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*CAS on Friday #326*

 This week for the CAS on Friday Challenge, we are playing with the theme of MONOCHROME.

Monochrome can be any colour as long as you only use shades of that one colour.  I've been fascinated by shades of grey in card making lately so I chose to do that for my card today...  I used two shades of grey ink using them at different intensities  for the different layers of my stenciled image and finished it off with black highlights.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  Visible Image Best Birthday Ever

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Twilight, Black Jack

*Stencil:  Recollections Spatter

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #326

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 For January, we are playing with the same theme every week for the This or That Instagram Hop.  We have to choose between OLD and NEW.

I started out playing with the idea of NEW, grabbing a new stamp set I got before Christmas... but then I added some super old pattern paper and glitter paper and now it's both an OLD and a NEW card LOL!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  unknown glitter

*Paper:  MFT Birthday Brights

*Stamps:  Kraftin' Kimmie Birthday Bash Sentiments

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Cummerbund, Pucker Up

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Clean and Simple Instagram Hop*

 This month, the creators playing along with the Clean and Simple Instagram Hop are working with the theme of BLUES.  Think the colour, the music genre, the winter blues... 

I decided to play with the colour and chose some smokey blues to create my card today.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Secret Seas

*Stamps:  unknown stripes; MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Stone Blue, Cover Blue

*Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Big Happy

*Challenges:  Addicted to Stamps and More

*CAS on Friday #323*

The CAS on Friday challenge that starts today is Christmas themed... super easy for me to do!  In case you haven't figured it out already, I LOVE making Christmas cards!

I kept my card pretty simple, using some texture along with only white and gold (and a little black in my sentiment).

Card Info

*Cardstock:  unknown gold glitter

*Stamps:  the Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Catherine Pooler Jolly Trees; Ellen Hutson Essential Circles; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up! Soft Waves

*Challengs:  CAS on Friday #323

*Atlantic Hearts Sketch #657*

 Another fabulous sketch from Atlantic Hearts to play with this week.  

I chose to play with an idea I saw on Instagram where you take two papers, cut them in to even rectangles and then cut those rectangles in half to create two quilted panels.  I used all papers from one paper pack as well as a simple stamped sentiment.

Card Info

*Paper:  Simple Stories Winter Wonder

*Stamps:  Catherine Pooler Nice List

*Challenges:  Atlantic Hearts #657

*Addicted to CAS #296*

 A wonderful new clean and simple challenge is coming your way today at Addicted to CAS...

I decided to make my sweet element some candy cane stripes, along with a cute little sentiment...  

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Real Red

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Peaceful Prints

*Stamps:  Catherine Pooler Nice List

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  MFT Stitched Rectangles; Waffle Flower Nesting Circles, Additional Circles

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  Addicted to CAS #296

*{BYSHC} Sketch #63 Take 2*

I love the simplicity of this months' sketch at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers. You can choose to make a more detailed card, but it totally fits in with my clean and simple vibe!

For this card, I did go a little less clean and simple by using an all over patterned paper for my biggest layer.  I love using papers from a paper pack because they always coordinate so well!  The elf elements were in my bin of extras, already coloured up and ready to go!

Card Info

*Paper:  Photoplay Gnome for the Holidays

*Stamps:  Catherine Pooler Nice List; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics

*Dies:  Catherine Pooler Nice List

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers  #63

*CAS Colours & Sketches #573*

 There's a very holiday inspired colour challenge this week at CAS Colours & Sketches... although you could choose to do something completely different with these colours if you wanted to!

I chose to use these colours in sparkle cardstock.  I found three different shaped tree dies in my stash and made a super simple card.  

Card Info

*Paper:  assorted glitter papers

*Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Clean Line Christmas

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Catherine Pooler Jolly Trees; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Tools:  Misti

*Challenges:  CAS Colours & Sketches #573; Just Us Girls #800; Simply Clean and Simple

*Build Your Stash Instagram Hop*

 This month, we are playing with gift card holders or gift tags for the Build Your Stash Instagram Hop.  I had some scraps left over from some other recent cards and decided to make a couple of Christmas gift tags.  I don't tend to make a lot of tags any more... maybe this is the year that will change.

Card Info

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas

*Stamps: Poppy Stamps Art Deco Christmas

*Ink:  Catherine Pooler Gold

*Embossing:  Stampin' Up!

*Dies:  Waffle Flower Nesting Circles

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*My Favourite Instagram Hop*

 This week on the My Favourite Instagram Hop, we are each playing with our favourite stencil.

I'm not sure that I have a favourite stencil, but how could I resist playing with these beautiful snowflakes!  This is a Taylored Expressions Create In Quads stencil... a multi-layer stencil that you use on a full sheet of cardstock to create several different panels.  What a great idea!

Card Info

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Christmas

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Black Jack Skylight, Samba

*Stencil:  Taylored Expressions Create in Quads Snowflake

*Etc:  Nuvo Glimmer Paste Moonstone

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*CAS Colours & Sketches #570*

 It's a rare month that we ended up with an extra Tuesday so there is another challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  And it's still my month for hosting so the sketch is something I dreamed up...

My first thought when I revisited this sketch was what I went with... a Christmas card.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  assorted glitter paper; Bazzill Gold Foil

*Stamps:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Holiday

*Ink:  Verafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Holiday; Catherine Pooler Jolly Trees

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenge:  CAS Colours & Sketches #570

*Mini Slimline Instagram Hop*

 I gathered up some of my Instagram Friends and created a new Instagram Hop.  Each month, on the first Wednesday of the month, we will be sharing mini slimline cards!  You all know that I LOVE a mini slimline, so this hop idea was the perfect fit for me.

For my card today, I am using the left over part of a stencilled panel that I created for THIS card that I posted a few weeks ago.  It was so pretty that I couldn't let it go to waste...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  MFT Something for Everything

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Catherine Pooler Twilight, Black Jack

*Stencil:  Uniko Picked Posies

*Tools:  Perfect Layers