Happy Memorial Day ~ 2021!

 

Hi friends!

Happy Memorial Day!

I'm getting a late start to my post because I've been enjoying

 time with my family and took a few days off of social media :)

It's been amazing to get so much done around the house, 

completing some projects AND have fun, too!

The more serious side of today is celebrating the meaning

behind Memorial Day.

Growing up in a military family, and having my older brother

still serving and stationed far away in Europe,

this day makes my heart swell with pride.

The sacrifices made for me and my family is humbling

and I carry a strong sense of gratitude for our miliary!

So ... naturally one of my favorite Altenew stamp is this one:

Land of the free.

I paired it one of the backgrounds I made from the ice cube painting

(see! It was fun AND practical! You can see the video version here :)

I used Bearly Art glue to hold the firm, thick acrylic paint background

to the cardstock and added the die cut eagle and stars as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

However you are spending your day today,

I hope it's amazing!

One Plus Twelve - May

 Hi friends!

I hope you had a terrific weekend!

Ours was so wonderful, enjoying the kids being home

 and outdoor events and activities and way. too. much. food!

I also got in a wee bit crafting - yay!

Today's card is for my very FAVORITE series - One Plus Twelve!

This is where I take a (1) stamp 

~ and only one stamp ~

and use it one a month (12) in a creative way :)

For 2021, I am using Altenew's Build-A-Flower Magnolia stamp.

This month, I tried the tie-dye background

using distress oxide inks.  

This was crazy fun!  

I tried it on two panels and this was one of the two ~

so I added a plain white flower with sparkly Wink of Stella for glitz.

This was such a fun technique to do - 

although mine didn't turn out so well, it was still wild to try :)

You can see Barb's card here and Jeanette's card here

with this same card challenge.

And be sure to peek at my blog in one more sleep

for something NEW on the blog!

I can't wait to share it with you.

Thanks for stopping by!

One Plus Twelve - April

 Hi friends!

Happy Easter ~ He is Risen!

I hope today is a sweet day for you all :)

My card today is for my April card challenge called One Plus Twelve.

It's where I take one stamp 

- and just one -

and use it creatively twelve different ways!

The stamp I chose for 2021 is Altenew's Build-a-flower Magnolia

and this is my April card ↓

I love coming up with creative ways to use this ONE stamp!

Sometimes it's hard not to stamp it twice or repeat stamp

but I am personally sticking to the challenge 

and just using the magnolia once.

There are so many techniques and ways to create a card.

I love that it's a challenge to be so out of the box creative

AND keep the intrigrity of the challenge :)

For April, I'm using a technique called Wrinkle Free Distress 

(you can see how it gets it's name here)

Instead of using the distressed background as just that,

I stamped directly to the background and die cut the flower out of it.

And that's my card :)

If all goes well, my May card is already thought out and planned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Entered to: Beyond the Blue: wrinkle free distress 

https://beyondthebluechallenges.blogspot.com/?m=1

One Plus Twelve - February

 

Hi friends!

Today, I've got the blues ...

as in blue inks, blue paint, blue cardstock!

February is usually all about the reds,

but my card today is a wintery, shimmery pop of blue.

This is my February card for my One Plus Twelve card challenge ~

where each year I pick just one stamp, use it twelve times!

The idea was a creative way to stretch my stamps

and not just use them 'one and done.'

2021's stamp is Altenew's Build-A-Flower Magnolia,

my very VERY favorite flower :)

My card had a little outfit change.

I started with the card base and stamped the magnolia onto vellum:

I was most unimpressed!

I knew immediately it was a mistake and thought this card was done :(

Once you glue vellum done, it rips the paper taking it off.

I quickly stamped out another magnolia onto vellum (again)

and also one on white cardstock - neenah solar white.

I used my markers to color the white cardstock 

and placed the new vellum on top of it - to give it a subtle look.

The sentiment is from anothe Altenew sentiment stamp set

and could not be more true for me.

These words were just calling my heart!

This is my 3rd year doing this fun challenge ~

and my friends Barb and Jeanette are joining me, too.

I love all the tags I've gotten so far of people telling me they 

are joining in ~ it's a thrilling experience to choose 'the one'

and find so many different and creative ways to use the same stamp!

I found a new to me stamp company last month

and, if I'm still doing this challenge, 

 I may have already found my stamp for next year ...

11 months early!

Thanks for stopping by!

One Plus Twelve - January!

 Hi friends!

It's offiically time for my absolute favorite card series:

One Plus Twelve!

This is my 3rd year of doing this personal card challenge,

designed to stretch the use of my stamps in a creative way.

I chose a stamp

- and just one - 

and use it all year long for each of the 12 months.

You can peek here to see how it all started :)

Let's get started with January!

The stamp that stole my heart while on vacation

and whispered I'm the one ...

Altenew's Build-a-flower Magnolia!

Magnolias are my very favorite flower ♥

The moment the sweet aroma of a magnolia in bloom

drifted through the breeze on our trip, 

I knew what my stamp would be!

 So officially for me, it's an #Altenewyear :)

For my January card, I purposely repurposed :)

We were boxing up from the holidays

 and I wanted to use part of 2020 to create in 2021 ....

so the small corrugated piece of a box became my card base.

I added a base layer of gesso, let it dry, and followed it with

a coat of white acrylic paint and let that dry.

Going for a distressed kinda look, I took sandpaper and distressed it.

Next, I used a stitched die to cut the shape -

but keep the integrity of the ridges and texture - that was tough! :)

The look I was going for was take something (trash) 

and make it something else - like a phoenix rising from the ashes!

I added a circle of vellum paper for the backdrop of the magnolia

which I used with inks and alcohol markers to layer the colors.

Magnolias are pink, purple, white and even yellow

 but I'm pretty sure you'll see quite a few colors this year ;)

The sentiment is from the stamp set Amazing Things 

as it's a wonderful reminder at the start of a new year!

I am DELIGHTED that I'm seeing this creative idea take off

and friends AND friends of friends creating with One Plus Twelve, too!

My friends Barb and Jeanette will be joining me again this year 

as we tend to have a lot of fun doing card challenges together

~ I love when my middle-of-the-night ideas turn into fun-ness!

If you're joining in, let me know so I can vist your blog/gallery ~

let's connect!

Thanks for stopping by!

Card entered to:  Word Art Wednesday