Your Next Stamp - Preview Day 1!

Hi friends!

I'm super excited to be a Guest Designer for Your Next Stamp!

And there's a fun week ahead!

New Stamps!

New Dies!

Lots of chances to win YNS prizes!

The May 2021 new release arrives in the YNS Store

this Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Today we have the previews  of all the new items on the way

so head over to the YNS blog for the start of the fun!

Today we are showcasing a few of the new stamps and dies

and for my stop on the hop, I'm introducing Go With The Flow.

                  

                 Oh my ~ how I adore this stamp and die set!

It's super groovy and reminds me so much of my 70's childhood!

I've made 2 cards for you - and a small video !

Here is one of them ...

Card #1:

I've made a reveal wheel lava lamp card 

and added the die cut to the cardstock as the changing lava!

I first stamped the lava lamp onto acetate so that I would have a

clear impression of the stamped image for the colors to show through.

When the wheel is turned, the lava flows in a rainbow of colors!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO-cuUUJLYf/

I'll be back tomorrow with another fun card!

Be sure to stop by the YNS Blog and see the new stamps and dies

as well as the designer cards for today's previews.

They are a delight!

Thanks for stopping by!

Made to soar ....

Hi friends!

Happy Saturday :)

I hope the start of your weekend is filled with wonderful plans

and you'll be enjoying it in all ways that make you smile!

You may remember that my word of the year for 2021 is Soar 

and I invite you to read my blog post here on how it found me :)

I was equally excited to see earlier in the year that Altenew

had released a stamp set with this exact word!

I knew instantly I had to order it ~ and yet I think this may be

only the second time I've used it this year!

And ......

I'm using it now for the Inspiration Challenge at SCS

and this is the photo that inspired me to create this card.

I kept the overall idea the same and did a quick watercolor wash background and ran that through the Big Shot when it was dry.

I popped it up onto a simple white frame background

and then stamped/die cut the birds to mimic flying.

 

Wishing you all things wonderful as you head into the weekend!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Flying by with a Friday hi!

 

Hi friends!

Happy Friday!

My week has gone by in an absolute BLUR!

School is ending, projects are popping and Scouts has us scurrying ~

and that's just the tip of the iceberg 'round here!

Is it summer yet?

Today's card is for the Free For All challenge at Splitcoaststampers

 from last week or so and the theme was: texture!

For the texture part of my card,

 I colored the adorable Gus and Gertie from Taylored Expressions 

and added to the embossed panel of the card.

I ran it through my die cut machine and then embossed it, 

and popped up a smaller same sheet of embossed cardstock

 on the top of that.  So a double layer :)

Wishing you a WONDERFUL start to your weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hot Mess = Success: Ice Cube Painting!

 

Hi friends!

Today's card is for the May Hot Mess = Success card challenge.

The idea is to create a card using any very messy technique.

And this month just might have been the messiest YET!

Normally, I. do. not. like. messes.

Nope.

Not here, not there, not anywhere!

But, with artwork and crafting, there is a type of enjoyment in the process

of creating art that are way, WAY outside my comfort zone!

The messy technique:  Ice Cube Painting!

I've known about this type of painting for years and years

and gave it the 'ol college try once I had the 'ingredients.'

I bought a set of ice cube trays at the Dollar Tree

and used some of my acrylic paints in just random colors.

            How It works:   mix 1/2 part acrylic paint to 1/2 parts water 

                                   and freeze - it's that easy!

I added mine to a freezer bag ( I think I would have had heart failure

if this would have spilled out in my freezer - acrylic paint? NO!)

I also left it there for about 2 months because I didn't have time :/

Once it's frozen, I let it set for about 30 seconds and popped them out

of the tray onto a plastic surface.

Note:  THESE MELT FAST!

Have your paper ready and just swipe and color and paint.

Oh - did I mention .... you will need gloves?!

As you "draw" and "paint", it's also melting ... 

so the cubes don't last that long but they are SUCH a joy to color with!

HERE IS THE VIDEO!

I think I was able to paint about 20 backgrounds

and they do take several hours to dry because it's acrylic paint.

But once they dried, I was so in love with how unique 

and bold and different each piece was.

The first one, I did a simple stamping onto the painted background,

ran it through the die cutting machine and popped it up onto a card.

And here's another look at my card:

Was this month a success:  YES!

Would I do this technique again? 

Absolutely I would!  I think it's my  favorite messy technique so far!

Here are the other friends getting messy this month:

Barb

Carol

Darlene

Jeanette

Terry

Be sure to check back again for the video tutorial of this messy card

and, of course, next month with another mess! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Stamps What?! ~ Chicken in!

 

Hi friends!

Just chicken in on this Monday!

Today's card is for the Stamp What?! card challenge

which was started by my son.

You can read how it got the name and beginning here!

It's a whole lot of fun and a great way to get to use some older

stamp sets that have been sittin' around collecting dust!

He choses the stamp set without me seeing it

and then hands it to me unseen and I make the card - like this one!

For May 2021:  Best of Cluck

circa 2005

My friends Barb and Jeanette are joining me in this challenge

again this year and you can see their cards on their blogs today.

AND, I had a wonderful stroke of good luck today!

I signed on this morning to Splitcoaststampers and 

the CAS challenge was a theme of: chickens!

I don't think in all my years of stamping that's ever happened :)

YAY me!

So my card is ... clean and simple!

What is updated?  Not much, honestly!

The DSP is a newest mat stack as are the stitched dies.

I love the look of gingham for farm cards

and was lucky to spot this small 5 x 5 sheet of red dsp.

Here's my stamp set that's been in my collection for YEARS!

And that's it from me!

Thanks so much for stopping by today :)

3M ~ Daisy Bouquet!

 

Hi friends!

Happy Mother's Day, sweet friends!

If you are a mama, grandma, aunti, fur mama ~

 I hope your day is as special as you are :)

Today's card is for the 3 Musketeers (3M) card group where

Barb, Jeanette and I take turns sending each other a stamped image.

We three make a card, based on that image and

it's always unique and fun and ALWAYS different!

This month, I decided to send them both the actual stamp to keep

instead of just a stamped image :)

And here was the stamp I chose for May:

Rubbernecker Stamps Daisy Bouquet.

You can see what Barb created here

and what Jeanette created here! 

 I thought it would be pretty to have a flower image for May

since April showers bring May flowers :)

My prankster teenage son would say "No it didn't - it brought Pilgrims!"

Did I mention he's quite the comedian?!

 LOL!

That's it for me today - late as it is!

It's been an amazing Mother's Day for me and a truly fun weekend :)

Our home is always guaranteed to be 2 things:

Full and festive!

I'm truly very VERY blessed :)

Thanks for stopping by!

CCEE2118 - Baseball!

Hi friends!

There's a new theme at the CCEE Stampers and it's all about baseball!

Liz is our hostess for the month of May.

She says:  "May 6th is Willie Mays' 90th birthday

 so make a baseball themed card or project in his honor. "

So - I decided to keep is simple 

and use one of my Snoopy stamps :)

Oh, how they are SUCH a treasure!

I think these will be in my collection for.eh.ver!

Head over to the CCEE Stampers blog here

and link up your baseball themed cards, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

24 Hour Blueprints - Round 1!

Hi friends!

There's a new card challenge series on my blog

that you'll be seeing every other month ...

Welcome to 24 Hour Blueprints ~ May 2021!

This was inspired by dear friend, Sheila, 

who had a zoom session with her friends using card sketches.

How it works:

One friend sends the mystery card blueprintss to the others 

and cards are made using those sketches!

BUT!

I'm taking it a step further and included a color palette 

and a theme AND giving only 24 hours to create the cards!

Now that's a challenge :)

First, here are my sketches, colors and theme ...

                         And here are my 3 cards together ...

           To make it fair, I decided NOT to make any cards until

the blueprints were send out with only 24 hours to create.

I could not have known, however, that I'd have

the Mondayest Tuesday ever!

So, I had to create quick and on the fly .. 

and to make it easier,

I chose just one summer theme stamp set:  

Penguins in Paradise from My Favorite Things.

Palm trees, penguins in swim trunks, popsicles?!  

Yes, please!

Here's card #1 based on the sketch:

And card #2 ..

And card #3!

For this one, I took a little creative freedom with the sketch

and flipped it upside down!

I have 2 friends joining me in this new challenge:

Barb and Jeanette 

and their cards on on their blogs as well!

So scrambling last minute aside, this was actually quite fun!

The idea, I think if I'm understanding it correctly,

is to find your mojo, get inspired to create, and just have a lot of fun

during the creative process while joining good friends!

I sure I hope I passed :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

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!

.... beautiful wings

Hi friends!

 I hope your weekend is going superb!

Have you been able to get crafty and make some cards?

Me, too! 

*smile!*

Each month, I try to create a card with a dragonfly ~

not just depicting my love for them,

but also to showcase my 2021 Word Of The Year - Soar!

Today I'm sharing a card using a gorgeous dragonfly 

from Gina K Designs called Beautiful Wings. 

 This stamp and die set

was a gift from my amazing daughter, Victoria :)

 Thank you, baby!

I went with tones of grey and pops of green/purple colors

to emulate the linen dragonfly shirt here for the IS challenge at SCS.

I kept the same color palette and for the necklace,

added a few silver gems.

Isn't this the sweetest sentiment :)

I'll be using this stamp and die set again and again and again <3

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello salvaged patina!

 Hi friends!

Happy May

and hello Salvaged Patina!

The newest Ranger Ink from Tim Holtz has me like *heart eyes!*

This color is absolutely gorgeous

and I'm absolutely smitten :)

So here's my card ....

made with the new distress oxide ink.

It's a beautiful shade of teal-ish blue and Tiffany blue ~

and definitely a welcome color to the oxide inks! 

I've used Sweet Flowers from Altenew and decided to stamp

just the flower with the salvaged patina.

I added Altenew's Lagoon ink for the top, darker highlights.

That's one of the beauties of Altenew's stamps - 

the layering is so easy!

            The sentiment is from their Fancy Greetings stamp set

and I stamped it directly onto the vellum.

And the enamel dots are Cool Summer Nights ~

something I'm definitely looking forward to! :)

                                    Thanks for stopping by!

Card entered to:  SimonSaysStamp - Wednesday AG

Word Art Wednesday - AG