I received Altenew's Delicate Primrose stamps and dies in the mail yesterday and have finally learned that a new stamp set often needs some "getting to know you" time.  I stamped four of the smaller primroses and tried out ink combinations and practiced alignment.  This set was a dream to stamp.  The alignment guide was extremely helpful and all but the first image looked great.  The color and alignment were both a tiny bit off, but the other practice primroses found a home on this card.  The gingham background stamp is from Echo Park, and the pretty oval is a PTI Shape Shifter. 

Thanks for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Word Art Wednesday
SSS Wednesday Challenge

What a beautiful inspiration photo (and lots of inspiring designs) on the Sunday Stamps blog! 

This card is for a rather uncommon occasion, so did not include a sentiment with Altenew's Garden Picks.  They are layered over a softly inked scalloped panel and are accompanied by a scattering of lavender sequins.

Hope you are enjoying a restful Sunday,
Christine

Linking to:
Sunday Stamps
Word Art Wednesday
SSS Wednesday Challenge
PIP  Challenge

Happy Friday!  It's time for another Fun Friday Challenge at Jo's Scrap Shack where the theme is always Anything Goes.   This week the design team is showcasing  images from Little Blue Button Stamps.  I worked with Whimsy Flower, one of my favorite LBBS images.  I printed the flower at a larger scale and fussy cut it, layering with some of the leaves from the image.  A whole new look for this pretty floral!

Please take time to see the design team's samples and to link up your own creations.  It's always fun to see what you have to share!


Thanks so much for taking time to visit,
Christine

Laurie's Fabulous Favorites challenge is to create a shaped card.  Mine uses Shape Shifters Oval 1
with a few flowers from Farmer's Market, a little soft blue ink blending, and a trio of clear sequins.  The card has a very delicate look, and I am so pleased.  It won't stand up for a photo, though!

Thanks so much for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Laurie's Fabulous Favorites
Word Art Wednesday
SSS Wednesday Challenge

I colored Newton's Rainy Day with Marco Raffine pencils to meet the current Inky Paws Challenge, adding a sunny card base and a few rain-colored sequins.    Lots of relaxing fun.....

Thanks for taking a look,
Christine

Linking to:
Inky Paws Challenge
Word Art Wednesday
SSS Wednesday Challenge

Working with the Mojo Monday sketch is always rewarding!  This evening, my exhausted brain was especially thankful for the measurements included with the sketch!

The papers are  a Tuesday Morning treasure:  a stack called Mayberry, and I used a bit of watercolored panel to cut the MFT Stitched Flowers.  The sentiment is part of Verve's Cake and Candles collection (retired).

Thanks for taking a look,
Christine

Linking to:
Mojo Monday
SSS Wednesday (A/G)
Word Art Wednesday
PIP Challenge

So glad to have finished my "to do" list and to have started on my "want to do" list.  I am thankful for a little time to play along with the Mod Squad challenge to include stencil work on a card.  I love Altenew's Watercolor Stripes stencil and had part of one in my scrap collection.  It was just right for the center panel of PTI's Scalloped Stackers die.  The roses were cut from watercolored panels using Altenew's Garden Picks dies.

Thanks for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Mod Squad Challenge
Word Art Wednesday
PIP Challenge

Yes...tomorrow is Easter, and I just finished my (hand-delivered) cards!  This scripture is one of my favorites, and it really does apply to Easter, because the resurrection of Jesus is our strength and hope! 

The sentiment was heat embossed in gold on watercolor paper.  The watercolor wash features Prima Pastel Dreams, and the cross is a Reverse Confetti die cut from vellum.

Thanks for visiting,
Christine

Linking to:
SSS Wednesday (Spring)
Word Art Wednesday 

I just received a PTI order including a couple of items I've wanted for a while:  Gran's Garden stamps and Shape Shifters Oval 4, and I couldn't wait to play!  The dies for Gran's Garden are out of stock, at present, so I fussy cut the flowers and stamped the foliage in the background.  This set is a delight!

Wishing you all the joys of Resurrection Sunday,
Christine

Linking to:
SSS Wednesday Challenge (Spring)
Word Art Wednesday

I love PTI's new challenge called Laurie's Fabulous Favorites.  What's not to love about seeing an inspiration piece from Laurie and having the opportunity to choose a favorite technique or product to play along?

 This week's challenge is to choose a favorite coloring medium, and I LOVE to heat emboss florals and to watercolor with either pan or brush watercolors and a water brush.  I just received an order from PTI yesterday and the "With Love Mini Stamp" was included.

I stamped it a twice using Versamark  white EP, watercoloring both with Arteza Real Brush Markers and a water brush.  This attempt did not die cut perfectly (my bad!), so I hand trimmed the flowers and scattered them over a piece of paper that was dry embossed with SS Oval 1.  I added a little messy green watercolor to the background leaves and assembled the the card on a 2.5 x 4 inch base.  It will make a super cute gift enclosure.

Thanks so much for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Win It Wednesday:  Laurie's Fabulous Favorites (coloring technique)
Word Art Wednesday
SSS Wednesday (Spring)

Happy Wednesday!  Today is the day the the AHSC design team members share their interpretations of Michelle's sketches.  The Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge is set up in such a fun way:  a new sketch is posted each Monday, and design team inspiration is show on Wednesday.  That way, participants can choose to play either before or after being influenced by the DT's interpretations of the sketch.  Such fun!  Hope you will visit the AHSC Blog and play along!

I rotated the sketch and used the amazing Garden Picks 3-D dies  from Altenew to create the rose in the center.


Thanks so much for taking a look!
Christine

Linking to:
Word Art Wednesday

DH needs a birthday card for a co-worker, so I die cut  the smaller Garden Picks flowers from the last bits of paper I watercolored Saturday morning.  These dies are such a pleasure to use, and I love adding glitter as a finishing touch.  The florals are layered over an oval die that was embossed using a tan mat.  The sweet Verve sentiment is stamped on a Tall Tag from Reverse Confetti.

Thank you for visiting,
Christine

Linking to:
SSS Wednesday (No DSP)
Word Art Wednesday (A/G)

The current Laurie's Fabulous Favorites Challenge is to create a card using your favorite style.  Like Laurie said, it's hard to choose just one.  I'd have to describe my favorite style as clean and layered as I mail lots of cards to my out-of-state family members.  There are many  pretty things to add to cards, and I do add them at times, but flat is best for mailing.  This card gets its style from Papertrey Ink's shape-shifting oval die, a scripture that includes several accent stamps, and a pair of Doodled Feathers.  In the background, a strip of patterned paper has a touch of metallic gleam and a lightweight floss bow accents the feathers.  Nice and simple.

Best of luck in your challenges this week.  I was blessed with a win at PTI and had such fun shopping!

Thanks for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Laurie's Fabulous Favorites
Word Art Wednesday

After doing a little cleaning and organizing in my craft room, it looks great, and I couldn't resist squeezing one more card into my Saturday afternoon.  This one features Altenew's Garden Picks cut from painted watercolor paper.  After viewing this video on how to revive a Wink of Stella pen, I rejuvenated mine and  gave the blooms and leaves a good dusting of glitter and added a trio of dewdrops as accents.

Thanks for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
Kat Scrappiness (pastel)
SSS Wednesday Challenge (no DSP)
Word Art Wednesday (A/G)
Mod Squad (Design in Threes)

Planning a little birthday celebration for next week ..... I decided to have a little crafting fun with Garden Picks Dies from Altenew. I created the layering papers for the florals by watercoloring four shades of red and pink from Winsor and Newton and Prima Pastel Dreams palettes and adding a bit of splatter with the darker shades.  The leaves were also watercolored, but I sprinkled them with table salt to create a mottled look.  That's one of those "magical" crafting processes that is such fun to watch happen!

The tag die I chose was just a bit too big for the MFT sentiment, so I cut off the edge with a die that has a pretty pierced design.

So thankful for a little crafting time and for your visit,
Christine

Linking to:
Kat Scrappiness (pastel)
SSS Wednesday Challenge (no DSP)
Word Art Wednesday (A/G)
TTD (A/G)

Happy Friday!  It's time for another Fun Friday Challenge at Jo's Scrap Shack where the theme is always Anything Goes.  I enjoyed creating with  the Beautiful Rose images from Cutting Cafe.   I opted to paper piece the beautiful bloom using this set of digital papers.

Please take time to see the design team's samples and to link up your own creations.  It's always fun to see what you have to share!

A friend requested four "teacher cards" for her children's end-of-the-year thank-you notes.  Verve's Teachers Count is one of my favorite sets ever.  I made two more traditional cards with chalkboard sentiment panels, red apples, and school prints.

This week's Mojo Monday sketch led me toward a non-traditional look with this sweet sentiment and a sprinkling of hearts.  On the second card I tucked a couple of hearts behind the vellum panel, and it's a cool look in real life.  The bow adds a little shimmer and hides the adhesive behind the vellum.

Anyway, I spent a fun evening crafting and hope the recipients know just how very special they are!

Thank you for visiting,
Christine



Linking to:
Mojo Monday
Word Art Wednesday

Hello Crafty Friends,

I am so thankful that we had our first really spring-y day:  warmth, color, and birds singing. How wonderful!

Wanting a birthday card with a spring-y feel, I brushed Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide Ink through Altenew's Watercolor Stripes Stencil and layered on a trio of flowers cut with Garden Picks Dies.  Having learned to practice even the simplest of techniques to avoid wrecking a card, I practiced splattering black acrylic paint with a brush.  I need to research how much to thin the paint, but I was pretty pleased with how and where the splatters came to rest.

Thanks so much for visiting,
Christine

Linking to:
Mod Squad (Stenciled Backgrounds)
Kat Scrappiness (Pastels)
Word Art Wednesday (A/G)

Playing along with the Laurie's Favorites Challenge  on the PTI blog has been on my to-do list since Wednesday. This week's challenge is all about inspiration, and I found mine yesterday at a Ladies' Retreat.  The table decor was simply gorgeous, and I thought, "card design!" I should have taken a photo, but was able to find something similar on Pinterest.  I used PTI's Farmer's Market Florals for my birthday card.

Thanks so much for stopping by,
Christine

Linking to:
PTI Laurie's Favorites Challenge
Word Art Wednesday

This  quick masculine birthday card was created with an adorable "freebie" that came with a My Favorite Things order a while back.... The small set doesn't appear to be available now, but it includes some whimsical barnyard critters and punny sentiments.  The grassy area was masked with a sticky note and the clouds were sponged on using a hand cut template.  The card came together easily and was fun to create!

Thanks for visiting,
Christine



Linking to:
MFT Sketch Challenge
SSS Wednesday Challenge (animal antics)
Word Art Wednesday A/G

Happy Wednesday!  Today is the day the the AHSC design team members share their interpretations of Michelle's sketches.  The Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge is set up in such a fun way:  a new sketch is posted each Monday, and design team inspiration is show on Wednesday.  That way, participants can choose to play either before or after being influenced by the DT's interpretations of the sketch.  Such fun!  Hope you will visit the AHSC Blog and play along!

I let Reverse Confetti's Banner in Bloom do all the work on this card.  The image was heat embossed in gold and colored with Arteza Real Brush Markers.  It was adhered to a pink panel with foam tape for dimension.....a very CAS card for me.


Thanks so much for taking a look!
Christine

Linking to:
Word Art Wednesday