Fall Penny Black Wreath

Good afternoon. It's been a rather overcast day, looked like it would rain, but so far, hasn't. We turned off the air conditioning one evening, and the next evening, the heat went on.

Today was haircut day, then home to do a few house chores. Have a few wreath images I've been working on of late; for some reason wreaths are appealing to me just now. This one is a wooden Penny Black, that is probably a NBUS. For some reason, it was a bit difficult to color. It was hard to pick earth tone colors for the pine cones, that would show up nicely. I was a bit disappointed in this one, but after going back to try to add contrast here and there on the pine cones, decided I best leave well enough alone.

Sentiment - Karen Burniston die set with some seasonal words. White snippets, colored with copics, 3 layers. Added WoS, then some Nuvo Crystal glaze. The fall looks like fau to me once it was laced down. The orange mat of the wreath is raised on white fun foam.

- MS border punch out of some VOS autumn themed 12x12 paper

- leaves are left-overs from a Prickley Pear Pumpkin set, that had a matching die. Didn't want the leaves with the pumpkins, so colored and added them on this card. Again, WoS, and no glaze.

A new card was added to the Cards by Friends page, so hope you can check it out! 

We're expecting some rain tomorrow. Mr has an early morning CT scan....tummy problems again. So not sure what our day will bring. A family wedding on Saturday, so that's pretty much our weekend started. For some reason today, I keep thinking it's Friday, and then catch myself...No, it's Thursday!

Hope you've had a good day. Thanks for joining me, and big hugs!

CAS Watercolor Card Challenge - September

Good evening, and hope you've had a great week. Ours has been fairly busy. Going to exercise classes (or therapy) 3 times a week, keeps us on the go a lot. By the time we spend about 90 minutes doing the routine, perhaps get lunch or run a couple errands, get back home, I'm tired! I feel the exercise/therapy is helping...but it's a slow process. I'm able to do more than I expected to do, and while I'm walking, I'm wearing one of the gadgets on my finger that is measuring my oxygen levels as well as my heart rate. The oxygen level stays up pretty well, but when I walk outside into the humidity, still get quite short of breath. I expect it will improve, in time, and with cooler weather. Gosh, we're into Fall. And the folks at the CAS Watercolor Challenge selected the theme of Trees.

I knew the perfect stamp to try to watercolor, so hunted it up. Did it first with DI markers, then used some zigs to do the same image - just to see the results. Stamped, die cut, and then couldn't find either piece. Soooo....got the stamp back out, and redid again for this card, using DI markers, huffing, stamping with the misti.

Rubbernecker Cling Stamp

PB Snowflake die

- stitched die for the mat (it was handy, and I don't know what set it came from. Thought it would frame the fall tree nicely if I heat embossed it with Brutus Monroe Gilded Gold)

Here's the card and the stamp shown together, and I tried to color the image with the stamp photo as a guide. Couldn't quite get the reds in the foliage just as I wanted, but maybe next time. Put a little more green in there than Rubbernecker did too. 

Got this Rubbernecker stamp at a stamp show some time ago, along with some florals. After I finished this card, picked up something on my desk, and Voila, there were the 2 other images that I had done. I swear, I had looked under all the stuff, and they were either hiding from me, or Pixies live here!!!

There's still a few days to enter the CAS Watercolor Challenge for September. Ya'll have a great weekend, and thanks for visiting. Hugs. 

Mixed Media Fall Birthday

Good afternoon and welcome. We've had several days of overcast & dreary, with some much needed rain. Had to be out of the house on these days, and the temperature felt a lot more chilly than it has been todate, so I guess Fall is officially here in our area. Still have "things" going on, but more the normal day-to-day stuff - thankful to get back to that kind of day.

Neighbor has a birthday coming soon. A few afternoons I did a little experimenting play with some Ken Oliver Mineral Burst  product, Silk acrylic paint, Distress Oxide Ink and colorburst. Used some of these backgrounds for this card.

- Background for the leaves (Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Foliage) was made first. Spread Copper Mineral Burst on watercolor paper (think it was #140 weight). Added some Silk acrylic paint in a gold color (sorry don't remember specific color, but the link will show the texture of this product). While the paper was still quite wet, sprinkled on some yellow & leaf green shades of colorburst, sprayed a little water and let it spread. This piece was quite wet, so placed another w/c on top of it to absorb some of the wetness, and got a two-fer. Let this dry overnight, and then die cut the leaves.

The card background was done using DOX inks -  (just got some fall-ish colors and played with sponging). Used a mister to spray droplets, and then sprinkled some leaf green color burst over the surface. Sprayed again to get the crystals to spread. Once dried, used a Darice Fall EF to dry emboss. Picked this particular one because it had the maple and oak leaf patterns in it. Since the embossed Fall is part of the design, decided to just do the birthday bit on the inside. A S/Binder label die cut a cream snippet of C/S for the interior sentiment, and added one of the oak leaves as well. Thought this turned out ok, and I think she will like it. Used Nuvo Crystal Copper to add the pearls.

There's a new Halloween card added to the Cards by Friends page and also added the DOX definition to the Blog-a-nition page. Saw that used on a blog and don't remember where so as to give credit. Seems easier than typing out Distress Oxide Ink every time it is used!

Here's a couple pics of our Halloween night. We had about 15 kids; some were tiny & adorable. Some were too old to be out after candy. One delightful toddler was fascinated with the lighted ceramic pumpkins and wanted to stay to talk with them. Her parents had to coax her to come collect her candy from where we were sitting in the swing. As she left the porch, she said "Bye Bye punkins, thank you for the candy". She was about 15-18 months old and was the star of the evening.  We had made the pumpkins long, long ago when our daughter was very small. We both worked, so she wasn't able to stay after school for a ceramic class. She was so disappointed that we decided we would go as a family to a ceramic shop to take classes, and that's when we made 3 pumpkins. The owner's husband was DH's friend, so they let us come at night when the day's kiln firing was being done. That's another expensive hobby we got into, buying a kiln, all the supplies. Years later, donated to another person who was getting involved in the hobby.   After it got dark, these pumpkins really showed up quite spookily.

 

My own little pumpkin sitting in the swing ready to hand out candy. We moved the mums off the steps to avoid any stumbles. It got dark right after I took these pics..came down quite rapidly and was a bit chilly too.

Thanks for popping in to visit. Wanted to catch up on all my previous post's commenting before I did another post. Ya'll have a great afternoon and come back when you have time, heah?

Big hugs, God Bless.

Grateful Acorns

Hello, thanks for checking in, and back with one more Thanksgiving card (or this one could just be a fall card).

- card design was done with a PTI Triangle Trio Die. Very easy to make a card front with this pretty die. Embossed the papers after cutting, with various embossing patterns. The triangles didn't fit together perfectly (not sure they are supposed to, or if it be Operator Error). However, found some copper 'lines' from an outline sticker pack, and it covered the spacing just very nicely. If using colored c/s as the card base, this might not have been a problem

- Old Oak Leaves Whispers (DVW-276) die was cut from a snippet of white c/s, colored with copics.

- Die sentiment was cut from the same dp as was the bottom triangle of the card front.

We're having a crisp but sunny Sunday, and the cold front seems to  have sent us air that is more clear this afternoon. The air quality varies from day to day. Hope your day is going just as you wish & need it to do. So glad you stopped by for a visit.

Hugs & Prayers to those of my blog friends are in need of either or both!

Edit: Thanks to Lisa for the heads up on the Scrapy Land Challenge Give Thanks to advise that since  the card has used a Die-Versions die - it qualifies as an entry there. Thanks Lisa. (couldn't find this particular Die-Versions die to provide a specific link!) 

Yep, One More Fall Card

Happy Saturday evening, and today has been sunny, but frightfully windy. It's sounded like a banshee howling round the house all day long.Tonight we're expected to get our first freeze of the season.

Happy to say I've spotted a new follower, but with the way blogger is handling the 'head shots' at the top of the blog, I can't find out who the new friend is. If you've recently become a follower, please do let me know, so I can give a welcome shout-out and a link to your blog if you have one.

Also, I need to qualify my use of the term "crapalanche" that so many of you liked - I didn't coin the word. It's thanks to Hettie in the UK for that delightfully apt description of the pile that all of us have! When I hear an acronym or expression that I really enjoy, I put that in the Blog-a-nitions tab at the top of the blog, and give a link to the person from whom I 'borrowed' it. So anytime you have one you want to share with the world, give a holler, and we'll add to the page!!!

 

- I love quilts (I used to love quilting...errrm...make that buying fabric if I'm bein' honest). So when I see a card that makes me think of quilts, of course I love it. My friend Carol L. does a lot of cards that remind me of a quilt pattern, and some time back, kindly sent me the instructions (and link) for a herringbone pattern. I had been saving a Birds & Blooms magazine with lovely fall leaves on the back cover. Decided to finally cut this baby into strips, add some pattern paper and make sort of herringbone background one night while I was watching The Crown (on Netflix). Since I was engrossed in the series, I sort of ended rather making my own version of this herringbone. However, I thought it made a decent background for the soda can maple leaf (ie, taken from the Crapalanche!).

- lacy circle is a snippet center from a previous die background; thought this looked ok for the punkin patch (think these are Memory box stitched pumpkins, cut from white snippets, colored with copics). Used an MStewart punch & a green snippet to cut the field grass. The circle was much too white, so lightly sponged with DI Tea Die. Left off a front sentiment, just put the holiday wishes inside..

Card base is a pretty orange-y coral, and from a Michael's Recollection pack, think it was 4 packs of 50 sheets, for $10. Good paper for layering...not a heavy weight though.

Ya'll stay warm, and thanks for joining me. Been doing housework today, so a bit tired. Come again when you can, & big hugs. Prayers too, for my friends who need comfort & strength just now.

Oval Cornucopia

 

Good morning - wake up to a scheduled post. We have a very early dermatology appointment (Mr made it, I didn't!) so back here sharing another of the Fall/Thanksgiving cards I've been trying to get finished.

 

 

- Sweet & Sassy clear image stamped & colored with copics, some WoS, white gel pen. Got a smudge by the leaves around the right, bottom pumpkin. The clear set has an extra leaf, so stamped a few, colored & fussy cut out to add over the boo-boo. Think it got hidden pretty well! Die cut with the S/B beaded oval. Used another oval die that would fit the shape to cut teh coral mat (this may have been a faux mat, where the outside was traced and fussy cut...)

 

- background started as kraft c/s that was left from another project. Taped TH Mesh stencil (a gift from a sweet blog friend) in place. Dry embossed with the Big Shot, then used 'orangey' shades of DI to sponge over the embossing. The kraft color shows in the stencil pattern.

 

- 1/4" scor-tape added top and bottom, then covered with Orange Glitter Ritz, burnished very well.

 

- added some of the soda can metal leaves. Might be too many leaves with the boo-boo fix ones, but hey, it is what it is. Didn't think about this until I saw the photo! Am I the only one that does this???

 

An old sunflower button was on the crapalanche pile, so thought it might make a fitting embellie. Used Dark Walnut Nuvo Crystals to cover the center (where the button eyes are). Had to appy 3 layers of the Nuvo. When it dried, it would sink into the depression where you'd sew the button on. Finally after the 3rd time applying, it stayed raised up. This will definitely need some padding when it goes into the mail.

 

- stitched tag cut out the sentiment that is in the same small set...another one ready for an insert.

 

Ya'll enjoy the day. Thanks for joining me  here. I'll try to get back this afternoon to post a tag.

Big hugs and prayers for those friends who are in need of comfort & strength just now.

 

 

Autumn Thanks Fall

Good afternoon, and welcome. Here's the 2nd card created with the Echo Park Autumn Thanks die. The inlay part comes from this card;

- Background sponged with DI Peacock feathers, then die cut with Echo Park die. Adhered this to a white card base, then using some liquid glue on the die letters, inlaid the positive letters back into the negative openings. The tiny bits in the top of the 't' got lost and so added some marker in the white space. Don't think it is too obvious.

- Oak leaves were made using soda can metal, alcohol inks in fall shades, and die cut with the Sizzix Thinlets 660955 die. This die has 2 sizes of various leaf shapes, and I found mine at our local Hobby Lobby on sale (30% off...rats! I couldn't use my 40% off coupon then!!)

Other than losing the tiny bits of the inner t, this was a fast card. Another one for the stash. Now just need to make some inserts, get these in the mail!

Thanks for stopping by. Hugs & come again when you can.

Autumn Leaves Heat Embossed and Inlaid

Good evening...on this our first day of the new Eastern Standard Time. After all the reminders to set the clocks back I still nearly forgot to do that this morning! Fortunately some of the electronics do it automatically. We still have a bunch of clocks that have to get manual attention though.

Thanks for all the sweet comments about the fall photos I shared. This is quite a pretty neighborhood...feels a bit rural, although it is not really. We are about 4 miles away from most of the important things we need! (like restaurants and Walmart!!!). Thanks too for the kind comments about the porch decorations. We do enjoy that porch, especially these last few weeks, when it has been such super weather. We have coffee (my #2 brother & myself...DH is an herbal tea drinker) on the porch many mornings.

Have been trying to work on finishing up some Fall/Thanksgiving cards, since I was so negligent with sending out any Halloween cards. I hope you don't get sick of seeing fall motifs! Here goes with one:

 

 

- Heartfelt Autumn Leaves background (cling). Tried to find a picture of this at Heartfelt Creations, but was unsuccessful. It may have been discontinued. The link should take you to a picture of what this pretty stamp looks like. Inked with versamark, then heat embossed with Nuvo EP Glacier White...which gave a very nice coverage. Not really 'glacier white' as I think of that color, but between a nice white and sort of vanilla shade. Is pretty with the DI colors sponged over it. Since this EP had no glitter in it, it sponged smoothly.

 

- Echo Park die sentiment. When this was ordered, I didn't realized how large it was. I'm always looking for small sizes to use instead of stamping an extra bit on the front. This size lent itself to a bold treatment on the front of the card, so sponged another white c/s with DI Peacock Feathers. Used the die on both the leaf design & plain sponging, reversed the inner cuts. This one only 1 area of  tiny center bits were missing,(up at the 't') so used a tiny marker to color in, and think it's not too, too obvious.

 

Looked a bit like it needed another embellishment. Used soda can metal, played with some brown, orange and yellow shades of alcohol inks to color the metal - let dry between coats, sponged again, with various other colors of AI until I got a 'fall leaf' look.. Used a Sizzix Thinlets 660955 to cut quite a few leaves from the altered metal, which cut quite nicely with the special metal plate shim in place. This should have had embossed veins in the leaves, but it's not showing up. That may require an extra embossing step that I didn't do.

 

Hope you like this one. I share the links so that if you're interested, you can see what the product looks like. It may not be where I purchased the one I used. I do try to find these products on sale if possible.

 

Take care, start the week off happily & healthily, and thanks for coming to visit. Hugs & Blessings.

 

 

An ODBD Cornucopia

Good evening, and welcome to the ending of another beautiful South Carolina fall day. We have just been having the most lovely weather this past 4 weeks. We could use some rain, but we've certainly enjoyed the bright sunshine, the cooler days - even when it warms up mid-day, the air still has that cool fall quality to it.

Finished up a card that's been in the works. Also have added some wonderful new cards to Cards by Friends Page.  Hope that you have time to check them out.

Also at the end of this post, have shared some pictures of our surroundings - photos were taken about a week ago. Just had to find time to edit. Now on to the card:

- ODBD Cornucopia cling stamp (small set) - stamped with Memento Espresso Truffles, colored with Copics, WoS - & a few highlights done with a Sakura Silver Star gel pen. Edged with DI Tea Die while still in the stitched die.

- Another set of plain thin rectangle dies was used to cut the 2 outer frames from white card stock. Sponged the inner frame with Persimmon (lightly) and then a heavier sponging with Carved Pumpkin. Outer frame is just Persimmon, heavy layer of sponging. The photo doesn't show much difference in the colors of the 2 frames, but IRL it's quite apparent.

- Heartfelt leaves background die was heat embossed Sparkle n Sprinkle Sienna Star, a very sparkling color, which is coppery with lots of glitter. Had never used this color of EP and thought it might look 'autumn-y'. It does, but the sponge pads used to color the leaves  did collect some of the glitter bits and got on the ink pads. Don't think it will be a problem, though, as it should just wipe off. The effect looks quite nice I think - just hard to see in the photo, plus the image & frames cover a good amount of it.

- Sentiment is a snippet from the box, no idea what company or even when it was stamped!
Since I was so negligent with Halloween cards this year, I'm trying to get a few Thanksgiving cards ready. Or for the international readers, we'll just call them 'Fall' cards!

Here's the neighborhood piccies:

Front yard

Maple in side yard

Back corner yard

Neighbor's yard seen from front porch

Front corner of side yard

Scarecrow by front door(turkey wreath has been hung from the old mailbox)

Opposite side of Front door

Looks better hanging!

Thanks for joining me this evening. Hope that you have a wonderful Friday, and are looking forward to a pleasant weekend. Hugs to all those who are feeling under the weather, prayers for those who are in need of some uplifting (will not call out any names...you will know who is meant)...and many thanks for stopping by this evening.

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

The day is pretty much over by the time I write this post, but I hope you had a great day, spent with your loved ones and all the things that make you happy. For my non-USA friends who don't celebrate the day as we here Stateside do, it's still good to reflect on the blessings in your life for which you are thankful! Any of us can & should do that. I'm thankful for my family, and all the many blessings that have been/still are in my life. I'm also VERY thankful for the wonderful friends I've made during the Blog Community - many in places I shall never see. It's fun to learn about these lands though.

 

Here's one more card that didn't get finished in time for Thanksgiving, but with no sentiment - it could be used for any fall occasion. The stamp is a very old wooden stamp that I've always loved.

 

 

 

 

Image stamped on black card stock with versamark, Queen's Gold EP heat embossing. Colored the images with an old pearlescent/metallic watercolor set, being very careful with the water, since it was just plain ol' cardstock. Tried to do a little shading. It looks nicer IRL. Cut out with scissors so that it could be placed on a created background.

 

- the background started with Tsukineko frost paint dabbed with cling wrap squeezed into a ball, dipped into the paint..and just smooshed around the surface. It dries and acts as a resist..(where you see the white). Then using shades of blue reinkers and sprays puddled on the craft mat, dragged the paper through the puddles... until something appeared that I liked. Let this dry.

 

When making this card  I was trying to find a frame die that would work. It's not always easy to see that a die is not going to cut the center portion so that it falls out - especially if you're in a bit of a hurry. Anyway, this one seemed too labor intensive with the kraft knife to remove the center for the Northwoods fall card, so saved it for another project. (yep, it's on the messy desk). The pumpkins happened to fall upon the blue surface and I rather liked the punkins and the blue, so there you go.

The die is S/B Tranquil Moments . Adhered the die piece to a dull gold, patterned snippet, and glued _that_ onto a kraft side fold card base. That's it.

 

Don't forget: the last Rudolph Day for 2015 is open, and there's already lots of entries.

There's also an extra prize available this month, and I'll bet you still need to make at least one more Christmas Card. So why not join in the fun, and maybe win a super die or two!

 

Thanks for popping by. Big hugs. 

 



Northwoods Fall Vase

Good evening. Hope that your day went well and was either relaxing or productive - just as you needed it to be. Help me shout out a big warm welcome to Ksenija of Sweet Kobylkin. Ksenija was a most enthusiastic participant in the HLS November Christmas Tag Challenge, which is how I got to enjoy her wonderful work. She had so many unique & lovely tags...I was amazed at the diversity of styles, each one more lovely than the previous ones! So give yourself a big inspiration treat and pop over to say Hello to Ksenija.
Here's another card using one of the pretty Northwoods stamps...

- Image was colored, and then got mixed up under some other things, and got a bit crumpled. After putting under layers of something to try to straighten it out a bit, just die cut with the S/B Labels 8 and made a shaped card. Used some DI Weathered Wood around the edges, and Voila, it's done. Think this might be Mr's Thanksgiving card this year. Have another one that is in the works, but it might not get finished. Don't you love sunflowers? They are always so cheery on fall days I think.

Posted another pretty card to enjoy on the Cards by Friends section, which I hope you'll have time to enjoy with us. It's such a blessing to have talented friends who are thoughtful enough to send a pretty card to cheer you up. I am feeling better each day, but low energy levels. Trying to keep up with the commenting & it's a joy to enjoy all the lovely cards on everyone's blogs. Brightens the day immensely.

Thanks for visiting & big hugs.

Don't forget the fantastic sale over at DeeDee's Digis.

 

 

More Northwoods Fall Scenes

Hi, and back with another scheduled post. I hope you're not getting tired of seeing Fall motifs and Northwoods images. I just love these stamps, and usually they are such fun to color. Enjoyed coloring this one, but as I see the photo, doesn't look as though there is enough contrast in it, to show it off as well as might be. My eyes just don't seem to like strong contrast.

 

But first, a warm welcome to Olga of Creating with Olga and I'm so pleased to have a new friend. Olga is another lovely new blogger, so I'd appreciate it if you take time to pop over and welcome her to our wonderful Blogging community. There's a delightful Snowman with smooshed background to enjoy at the moment. Olga, thanks for becoming a new follower here.

 

 

Back to the card:
Of course the image was colored with copics, WoS, some white gel pen to highlight.

The frame was done with S/B Diamond Effects from a created background. The aperture was not quite as wide as I wanted. Actually this die does NOT cut out the center - I  had to do it with an exacto knife (not one of my best skills). It required teeth holding tongue tightly so that I didn't slip with the blade!. This is just such a pretty fall motif, it was hard to resist the stamp. Northwoods was a vendor at the August Stampaway Show we were fortunate to attend, and got a lot of my business. Their stamps are all wood mount, so storage considerations can be a factor. However they stamp out so crisply, and are such nice images, it's hard to resist them, even though the images are a bit large.

Card base is just orange, sidefold. A few rhinestones add in the corners. The tiny top & bottom swirls are cut-outs from a die used here. (on the trim embellies).

Hope you like this one. Thanks for visiting, and Blessings to you along with big hugs.

Don't forget the sale over at DeeDee's Digis.
 

DeeDee's Digis - Autumn Harvest Basket

Hello, Happy Sunday. Hope the weekend has been nice for you so far. Today's scheduled post is another DeeDee's Digi card...so very easy to do cards with these cute images. This one has some mixed media 'schtuff' on it;  just shows that these well designed digis can work in so many versatile ways.

In case you've not had time to check this out, there's a super sale over at DeeDee's....if you like these designs, NOW is a good time to build your collection.

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Harvest digi set (now just 69cents!) fussy cut the precolored digi, just a tiny bit of copic shading, some stylus shaping. Ready to pop on a card.

 

- Used a THoltz Harlequin stencil with Viva Décor paste that has some gritty bits in it, (and not really easy to spread either, but not so thick as that glitter paste I used recently). Let that dry overnight.

 

- Blue background piece from a created background - think this was done with smooshing reinkers, Tsukineko paint, and had been cut with a S/B frame die. Didn't work for the project intended, so cut in half to use here.

 

- corrugated cardboard had been on the table, got oversprays, hmmm...looked ok when combined here (at least _I_ thought it did!). Just tried placing elements to see how things looked. Decided to cut some stitched small leaves, colored with copics, tucked under the digi basket...and done! A rather neutral card, but I think the blue background & the bright leaves perked it up a bit. Before the cold & snuffles arrived, had been trying to use up some bits of stuff.

 

The sentiment is from the same package chipboard used on yesterday's card. Colored with copics.

 

Thanks for stopping in this afternoon, and Big Hugs back to you. (I've been trying to be very careful to stay away from Mr. so he doesn't get contaminated. At first I wasn't sure if this stuff was some of my allergy problems, or just a cold. So far, it's just been a cold, and stayed in my head. So I'm very thankful for that).



DeeDee's Digis - Stitchy Fall

Good evening! First - help me give a big welcome to Amanda of Flutterbies and Heffalumps. Amanda has a new blog (which I found via another blog friend), so please pop over to welcome Amanda to this wonderful community of friends that we enjoy. You're in for a nice treat.

Also, check out the Cards by Friends tab, to enjoy 2 lovely card received this week. Did they ever brighten our day. I've been fighting a cold all last week, so not feeling like being on the computer much. Doing better this evening, but will probably get behind in commenting again, so will say Sorry up front! These cards were a happy spot on days that I felt miserable! So thanks to both sweet & talented ladies.

This evening the card has a DeeDee's Digi image, called Stitchy Fall. (pssst....there is a TERRIFIC sale going on at DeeDee's just now. If you want some fantastically cute images at a super price, do go check it out!). Not only are the designs cute as can be, there's pre-colored, line art - so you can choose your own colors, sentiments, and many sets include digi papers. This set had it all, but I chose to just use some of the precolored images, resized to fit what I wanted, and easy-peasy card. What is so nice about these cute sets, is you can combine images from sets, picking & choosing just what YOU want to use, how you want to use the elements.

OK..printed the pumpkin twice, cut out one, did a little shading and shaping with a stylus after fussy cutting. Bottom layer was cut with a S/B classic circle, edge sponging done while in the die. Leaf & acorn sized accordingly, with a little additional shading added with copics, fussy cut, some glossy accents added to the buttons on all the images, which makes each button look very 3D I think. Glued the fussy pumpkin over the circle punkin,... done.

- Background created with brusho-s (a brown - would you b'lieve brown can look like this?). Wet the paper, sprinkled the brusho crystals, let it spread around. The sprinkled some very scant amounts of the crystals & used a pipette filled with water to move around. This was something I'd seen done in a youtube - works great to fill in spaces where more color or pattern is desired.

The blue swirly piece at the top is another created background - forget how I did this one - but decided to use the leftover shapes - fit together to add a little pop of color behind the leaf & acorn. (snippet!). Still have some swirly pieces that will show up on other cards.

- sentiment was cut from a thin piece of chipboard that came from a package - used a ?Taylored Expression? set of dies. Wasn't sure how well this would cut since the media was thick-ish, so added the Sizzix Precision Plate to the sandwich. Did a few passes, checked. Cut ok for the most part, but helped just a tiny bit with Cutterbee scissors that have a fine point to get into tiny places. Used copic markers to try to get to the same shade of the blue snippety piece. Not exact match, but worked ok.

Easy card, and much fun to make. Ooops, forgot to say that after the background piece had dried overnight, used a Sheena Douglas Chevron EF to emboss.

My next posts will be scheduled posts. Thanks for coming by to visit, and big hugs & blessings to you.

Northwoods Fall & Pumpkins

Hi, and welcome! Today is all about Fall. And another Northwoods image, which was fun to color with copics.

- If I think about it first - as I start to color, I find that coloring the background with the BG0000 or B0000, whichever I think will look better with the colors I plan to use, makes it easier to do the background. The blues are light enough, if color gets into the motif, it's easily covered by other later coloring. So it's faster to do it before anything else is colored and not worry about getting the 'sky' ink where it doesn't belong. A white gel pen added some highlights.

- Die cut with the S/B Deckled Mega Rectangle (not certain if this S/B set is still available), matted with a matching scallop rectangle.

- created a background using a small flourish & WOW Champagne Gold heat embossed, then sponging DI Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters and Wilted Violet over the embossing. Die cut this with a S/B D-Lites Reflection Oval (S2-145)and split the die cut to form a top and bottom embellie for the rectangle piece.

- Taylored Expression sentiment die cut the word fall from the same piece as the medallion, and that's it!

Even though these Northwoods stamps have a lot of detail to color, they are usually fun & easy to do, as the image stamps out so distinctly. Some images I have to peer at to decide "What is this...is it part of that or is it supposed to be ????". Then after coloring it, then I find it really wasn't what I first  _thought_ it was, and have to try to fix it.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today. Apologies for not getting round to visit last week, but it was a busy week for us...Additionally, we had some nice weather, and outside chores needed to get done before the nasties set in again. My 'return visits' list got behind so many days, that I knew I'd never catch up, so decided to just start again from scratch. This week _should_ be quieter, so I'll attempt to do a better job! But thank you to all who visited, and didn't get a visit back from me. I appreciate you all.

Big hugs & lots of blessings.

Northwoods Autumn Sunflowers

Good afternoon and thanks for popping in. Today's card is another of the wonderful Northwoods stamps...so let's go:

- Stamped using Bonnie's Best Speedball Stamp Press because this is a largish, fairly detailed stamp, and got a crisp image, first try. Let me say, this Stamp Press beats the plastic Fiskars one, hands down. DH bought it at a show, and it's been worth the cost. Works great on large stamps, but also on clear ones, that may not stamp out as sharp as desired.

- copic coloring, with some white gel highlights, die cut with a Sue Wilson Canadian Collection Vancouver (outer die). Faux matted with the same die, in bright yellow c/s, edged with DI Fossilized Amber.

- background created with the smooshing technique using green & gold shades of Silk acrylic paint, Viva Décor Inca gold, some green sprays (Dylusions Pesto and Lindy's Stamp Gang). The background didn't have enough contrast when the image was put over it, so thus the addition of the Pesto & Lindy's to create a deeper shade. (see this card - background created at the same time. ) Adding the sprays after the background dried overnight, got a deeper contrast for the sunflower image.

- Dabbed some of the Golden Mica Flakes with a finger, around the edges to create a little glimmer and some rustic texture. The sentiment stamped as part of the image was outlined using a Slicca .8 mm gold pen.

 

 

The Gold Mica flakes are a new product to me. Had a rewards coupon from A C Moore (it's a store like Michaels, Hobby Lobby). ACM is sadly not keeping pace with the latest & greatest, so sometimes it's not easy to find something to spend my 'rewards' on...then I go into the art department and browse. Saw this product along with one that is pearlized, so decided to see what it does - the rewards & a coupon made it cost effective to try a product which I had no idea of what it was. Think it would work well to add to modeling paste, etc.

 

Hope you enjoyed this card. Come again when you can...Blessings & Hugs. Have a great week. 

 

 

 

 

 

DeeDee's Digis - Raggedy Fall

Hello and welcome. It's been a bit dreary in our Upstate South Carolina for several days, but it's a quiet Sunday afternoon and we can have a little chat, right?

Wanted to share the link to a new follower that I welcomed earlier, but didn't have the proper link, so let's say Hi again to Henriette van Mierlo of Card Creations....made by Me. Hope you will find a few minutes to surf in to enjoy Henriette's cool and clean style of cards and let her know I sent you over to say hello.

Also will be adding a wonderfully crafted card to the Cards by Friends secion;  DH received this one from an extremely talented cardmaker. Anne channels Tim Holtz better than anyone I know, and DH always loves to see what Anne shares at Halloween (both of them love the holiday!). To our surprise, this week's mail brought an amazing work of art, and he was just delighted, as this is the first card HE's ever received from one of my blog friends. Well, it was really for the both of us, but I told him, it could be his!! So do be sure to check out the Cards by Friends tab, and enjoy this treasure with us.

Now, on with today's card:

- DeeDee's DIgi Raggedy Fall very simply & quickly printed out, absolutely nothing else done, except die cut with a S/B Oval Bliss die. No shading at all, just a light touch with a dauber of DI Fossilized Amber around the very edge of the die (only because the ink & a dauber were already out!) DI Antique Linen very lightly sponged inside the oval while the image was still in the die. Got a little smear at the bottom edge...a boo boo necessitated cover up..hence the addition of some other fall objects. But...until the little oopsy, this was still looking pret-tee good.

- Impression Obsession leaf dies, apple bucket cut from white snippet, colored with copics, WoS added for some apple gleam. S/B Pumpkin (from years ago, not sure if this die is still available), also copic colored. Covered up the oopsy very nicely, yes? Life & lemons, lemonade - that sort of thing!

- MB Leaf border cut from previously created spray background. Actually this was a mop-up from where some colors & different inks were being tested. Thought the border would cut solidly, but it's 4 individual leaves - which worked out nicely. Can't find a picture of this die to link - it's probably a couple years old.

- Background created using Silk & Viva Décor Inca gold products, greens & golds...spritz with water and smoosh. Lots of fun doing this, when one doesn't feel like doing something else. It's therapeutic and something pretty results - whatever products are used. (but be careful not to create 'mud' - I try to keep the puddles of different colors from 'touching', then swipe the cardstock. Glossy paper will yield different looks, as will sopping up the puddles with some cling wrap and dabbing it on the cardstock in a twisting motion). Fun!

DeeDee's has a new winter themed Digi of the Month Challenge going on, open until November 29 Pacific Time. The set is just adorable & fun, and the challenge is a progressive one. (look here for the very easy rules). So DO check it out.

Now, everyone knows I'm for all things cardinals. Thought you'd enjoy seeing the bedspread that goes on, for the holiday season. This year it went on a bit earlier..just because....

The story behind this years-ago purchase: There's a restaurant chain in parts of the USA called Cracker Barrel. It's a place we like to stop for lunch when we're traveling, as the food is consistently good, pretty much the same in all the different areas, reasonably priced and usually very tasty. The decorative scheme is old-fashioned, with lots of displays hanging on the walls to enjoy as one eats..plus some shopping. Had been eyeing this set in our local C/B, but didn't want to pay full price for something 'seasonal'. I've always loved any star quilt pattern, and if it's got cardinals embroidered, well, it's dang nigh irrestible to me. So I was exercising a lot of discipline to wait for a sale.  Fast forward some time--. On a trip to New England, we stopped in a Virginia C/Barrel, and the bedspread was marked 40% off, as was the throw. Decided to get them...but no pillow shams were available. On the way back home, stopped at C/B in another state, found 2 'regular sized' matching shams. We have a king sized bed, so with just standard shams, it needs 3 to look right. Some time later, after an early morning doctor's appointment, we were having breakfast in the local C/B (which is always delicious!), was browsing among the quilt display - and of course the hostess asked if I was looking for something specific. Explained about the previous purchases..etc -  and she got on the computer, found one in another store, about an hour north of us...Had it shipped to the local eatery, with no additional shipping charges. Also got it for the 40% off! Is that good customer service or what?!!! I said "it was meant that I have this set!". We always laugh about this when the birds go on the bed!!! (Incidently, that year for Christmas, DD got us a set of red bird patterned flannel sheets, but it's not been cold enough to break out the flannels yet).

We have a busy week ahead, so look for some scheduled posts later on. Also remember: there is an HLS November Tag challenge in progress, as well as a

12 Tags of Christmas over at Stamping with Loll. Hope you can find time to look in at each of these fun places, and enjoy some awesome Holiday Tag inspiration. Remember, you'll be needing tags for those Christmas packages!!! Might win a fab prize too!!

Thanks for joining me this afternoon. Big hugs & blessings too.

DeeDee's Digis - Rustic Leaves

Good afternoon, and Happy Monday. Back again with another card using DeeDee's Digis - the Rustic Leaves set. This one proved to be so very easy to use with a created background and a Memory Box border die.

Before sharing the card, let me first extend a warm welcome to a lovely new follower:

Caz S (Bunny) of Bunnys Bits n Bobs

 

Thanks so much for  becoming a follower here, and I hope you'll enjoy what you see! Also encourage my readers to pop over to say a big hello to Bunny, and check out her blog. Always so nice to meet a new friend.

 

Now on to the card:

printed the precolored leaves and used a S/B square die that fit the motifs to cut out. Used a dark blue Copic marker to go round the edges, as there was not room on the card front to add a skinny mat behind these squares.

- Memory Box Contempo Circle border (sorry, can't find this one to provide a link) - die cut from some Reflections Blue C/s. This die cuts off the edges, and there's a scalloped edge waste - which I decided to fit back over the 'holes' to create a defined border above the leaf squares after I saw that it looked better this way.

- background created using Tsukineko All Purpose Champayne Mist and some wadded cling wrap - daubed around on the card stock, leaving lots of clear spaces. Then put out some small dabs of Silk acrylic paint in a dark fall green and some orange. Spritzed all the paint with water to make puddles, then swiped some 140# w/b paper through the puddles, repeating until all the puddles were used (with just a few blobs, 4 backgrounds were created...as the ink is used, more water sprayed and of course the backgrounds get lighter). It's really quite a pretty look. This background was embossed with a leaf motif folder (Paper Studio A2 Leaves).

- Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves - smaller leaves) were cut from a snippet of another created background which had been done earlier. Sentiment is from the Falling Leaves digi set and printed on the computer, die cut with a S/B label and sponged lightly with Shabby Shutters DI. Once I decided what I wanted to do with these pretty fall leaves, this card came together very easily.

Don't forget to check out the fall & winter digis that you can find over at DeeDee's Digis, as well as some pretty Christmas sets.

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope your week is off to a good start. This will be another busy one for us, but at least the weekend gave us a little breather. Hope the weather is nice where you are. Come again when you have time! Big hugs.

DeeDee's Digi of the Month Pumpkin Patch

Hi, and welcome....This post features DeeDee's October Digi of the Month. Therea few days left for you to join in the  October Digi of the Month challenge. There's lots of entries already, and for  those who haven't given the  Digi of the Month challenges a try yet, why not? It is so easy to join in, and for making and sharing just one project means you get a whole new digi set to play with for FREE! :-) .

If you participated in last month's challenge, you should have already received this set in your email. (If you participated but didn't receive the set, please contact  deedeesdigis@gmail.com -- sometimes things do go wrong with email). If you did not participate in last month's challenge, you can still purchase this set for just $1.25 this month HERE in the shop.
 So here's my entry:

- the pre-colored digi was printed and die cut with a S/B Labels 15. Used copics to shade the background sky, and add a little dimension on various portions of the digi. Ranger Distress Inks sponged on the edges to add a little color as well.

- Frantic Stamper scarecrow die cut from a snippet of white, colored with copics and pens.

- Impression Obsession bird house die - white snippet - colored with copics. WoS added to certain areas to add some sparkle.

Martha Stewart grass punch cut the grassy border from another snippet left from spraying over some white embossing swirls. Some tan dp with leafy designs was embossed with a C/Bug Oak EF, and the sentiment is part of the DeeDee's Pumpkin Patch set. Hand trimmed and edged with DI Frayed Burlap. Added some vintage buttons from my stash - these are flea market finds & gifts from friends when cleaning out behind sewing members of the family. Some of the buttons in my collection came from my Mom, and were from her Mother.

Hope you enjoy this fall card, and do be sure to check in on the DeeDee's Digi of the Month October Challenge.

Also check out the Cards by Friends tab and see some new cards that we've been blessed to receive recently. Thanks for joining me here, and hope you're all set for a wonderful week. Big hugs.

DeeDee's Digis - Cornucopia for Thanksgiving

Welcome on a Monday afternoon, after a gloomy rainy morning; now the sun is beginning to peek out. Hope you had a lovely weekend. Ours was quiet and the temps got some colder, so we were happy to just cozy down and enjoy being inside. Did some Netflix watching, napping and both of us just generally being lazy. (well, I've gotten in the habit of that I'm afraid!). Saturday night we went out to a fish restaurant for dinner with about 8 other couples from our subdivision...that was fun - noisy too!

Help me say a big Hello to a new follower: Hazel Kinvig-Paul of My Card Attic. Thanks for joining as a new follower, Hazel.  Just popped out to get the link for Hazel's blog and she has a stunning winter scene card to share today. Hope you'll find time to go check it out, make a new friend & tell her I sent you for a visit.

Here's the card for today:

 

 

- DeeDee's Bounteous Blessings  image and sentiment. Usually I do some shading on the printed precolored image, but this one is so pretty, all I did was die cut with a S/B circle, add some Memento Desert Sand shading around the outside. A S/Binder scallop circle did the scant mat in a snippet of rusty orange.

 

- Paper Cuts circle shaped card (found while doing some straightening up last week..had a pack of various colors that turned up LOL). Used a Dots EF.

 

- Shimmer sheetz snippet (from another project not yet shared) was just the size to emboss with a border leaf folder. MFT Stitched Scallop die cut snippet was cut to fit at either side of the focal image, then 2 pieces joined top & bottom on each side. After I had put this on the card front, I realized I should have covered the 'joins', so the maple leaves were my creative solution to hide the separation! However, that covers up the border leaf embossing.

 

- Elizabeth Craft die 763 Tags cut the maple leaves & acorns. (more snippets just big enough to cut these leaves. This die has various sized small tag, holly leaves and maple leaves with the acorns. )

 

- DeeDee's Bounteous Blessings sentiment was die cut with a S/B rectangle die, embossed & edged with the Desert Sand, popped up on dimensional foam.

 

The precolored digis sure come in handy when one doesn't feel like doing any coloring. This one has been very lazy & laid back of late, so I'm loving these marvelously easy-to-work-with digis. Give 'em a check out, and you are sure to find something that you just have to have. There's a big selection of  holiday motifs, not to mention a really cute Snowman Soup freebie available until November 21. You certainly won't want to miss a chance to add this one to your collection for the holiday season.

 

Thanks for joining me this afternoon. Thanks also for all the lovely comments on the blog make-over. I'm so pleased you like it. Kylie worked very hard getting it all set up just the way I wanted it!

 

Come again when you have time to visit. It's a little chilly to sit on the porch, but we could enjoy a cup of something inside where it's cozy & warm. Big Hugs.