Happy Fall!

Well, I'm back after a long hiatus.  During the intervening months, my mom suffered a stroke, and passed away a month later.  It's been tough for my family to accept that she's gone, and it's taken a while to get so many things taken care of, both during and afterwards. But she always encouraged us to keep on going ... in  her words, "Buck up and get over it!"  Miss her so much.

In the meantime, I've kept up with my Memory Box posts (except for a leave during the month of July), and have managed to teach a couple of classes ... I will post those cards in the days to come.  Today, I'd like to share a card featuring the Drifting Oak Leaves background stamp from Memory Box, along with a couple of other Memory Box dies and stamps.  This card can also be seen on today's Memory Box Outside the Box blog. 

A little side story … I completed the FIRST version of this card, and was about to photograph it when I noticed that something didn’t look quite right.  It finally dawned on me that I had the background upside down!  There was no way to salvage it without damage, so of course I had to make another one.  It wasn’t obvious at first, but there was no way I was going to post such a boo-boo!   

   

So on to the card.  I stamped the background using Distress Shabby Shutters on a piece of cream card stock cut slightly smaller than the base.  I cut the Autumn Border from cream card stock.  I wanted the leaves to hang down, so I trimmed the border down to two pieces of equal width, and one shorter than the other as shown.  I used daubers to color the leaves with Distress Peeled Paint, Dried Marigold, Rusty Hinge, Fired Brick and Aged Mahogany.  I shaded the open area starting at the bottom with Frayed Burlap, then Rusty Hinge and then Dried Marigold, blending each into the other. I added some Wink of Stella glitter brush to all of the leaves. 

I stamped “Happy Fall” from the Autumn Birdie Set with Versamark Black Onyx ink, and the three little leaves from the same set with Peeled Paint.  I then mounted the shorter piece to the longer one with foam tape. 

I die cut the Tippington Vine from a dark green card stock, snipped it apart at the middle curly-cue and glued it behind the leaves piece, then glued the whole thing onto the Drifting Oak Leaves background.  I mounted the assembled piece to the card base front with foam tape, added a few gem stones, and that was it. 

To those who have checked my blog from time to time, thank you so much.  It means a lot that you haven't given up on me!  Have a wonderful day!

Christmas is almost here! Yikes!

Once again I have gotten behind on posting here.  I'm sure I speak for most everyone, but I honestly don't know where the time goes.  As a way of catching up a little bit, I'm going to show several cards that I posted on the Poppystamps blog. 

I'll start with an all occasion card made with the Claudette Frame.  As can be seen, I snipped off one side to create room for the stem of the Elsa Butterfly Branch.  For the background on the card base and on the smaller piece added to the center of the frame, I used Shabby Shutters Distress Ink to sponge through the Textured Flourish stencil from Memory Box, which is sadly no longer available. There are a couple of new ones though that are just as ornate and beautiful, one called Adornment, and another called Lanthenay, which could also be used for this card.

I cut the Elsa Butterfly Branch from green card stock, and another one from a bright pink card stock.  I snipped the butterfly from the pink card stock and glued it directly over the green butterfly, and also did the same with the two flower buds.  I cut the Elsa Butterfly also from the pink card stock and glued just the center of it on top of the other pink butterfly, lifting the wings for dimension. I found some pretty pinl flower bling to add as shown.

Next is a fall card that was easy and fun to create.  The leaves were cut from white card stock and sponged with Distress Inks: Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Wild Honey, Peeled Paint, and a touch of Fired Brick .  The dies used were the Maple Leaf Border and the Massa Leaf Frame.  I cut a square of white card stock just a smidge larger than the opening in the frame, stamped the sentiment, and then glued it to the back of the frame.  I added mounting tape to the back for dimension, then added the sponged leaves as shown, along with a little bling.  Very quick and easy!

Next is a Christmas card featuring the Small Luxe Poinsettia Outline die and the Small Luxe Poinsettia Background die, the Dianna Border die (one of my all time favorites dies), the Pine Sprigs die and the Frozen Flakes die. 

I first sponged the background using white pigment ink through the Memory Box Textured Flourish stencil.  After removing the stencil, I embossed the background with clear embossing powder, then arranged the poinsettia pieces and greenery as shown.  I cut one of the snowflakes from the Frozen Flakes die cut, curved the piece and added it to the center.  I found some plastic snowflakes in my stash and added them as shown.

I had so much fun cutting up the Frosty Flakes die cut that I ended up with the 3" x 3" card you see below.  I cut another die from a dark red card stock, snipping two of the snowflakes, and added a white one from the previously cut piece used on the card above.  I have friends who just love the little 3" x 3" cards, and honestly I get into another zone making these.  They're so much fun, and they're great to make in sets to give as gifts!

The last card for this time around is a very clean and simple Christmas card made with the same Small Luxe Poinsettia Outline die and Pine Sprigs used above.  I used mounting tape on a white piece of card stock cut at 3.75" x 5" and adhered this to the card base.  I cut a 1.5" x 4" piece of gold foil, cut one end Chevron style, and glued this to the front.  I cut another piece of white card stock, a little wider, same length.  I embossed that piece, and used mounting tape to adhere this on top of the gold, offsetting it as shown.

I cut three of the poinsettias from the gold foil card stock, shaped the petals, and adhered them one on top of the other, offsetting each one.  I glued three of the pine sprigs as shown, and mounted the assembled poinsettia just slightly to the left of the embossed piece.  Added the gold bling and sentiment, and it was done!

I hope you've enjoyed these cards and that you've been inspired to get those Christmas cards made.  It's coming fast!

On November 19th, I will be teaching a class at Ultimate Hobbies using a mixture of Poppystamps and Obsession Impression dies and a Memory Box stencil, so if you're in the area, I'd love to see you in class.  The deadline to sign up is this Friday, November 14th.  If you can't make the class, those cards will be posted on this blog after the class date.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Greetings

Honestly, I didn't take another vacation!  Life has simply been a little nuts.  I'm posting a couple of fall cards that were featured in my classes at Ultimate Hobbies last month, and I thought it would be a good idea to post them on my blog for visitors who haven't yet seen them.

This card features the Leaves Die Set and the Wheat set from Obsession Impression, along with the Grove Branch from Memory Box.  The "Thanks" is an Elizabeth Craft Designs die that fit just perfectly.  I sponged various Distress Inks in fall colors onto the leaves and blended them together to create the turning colors.  I die cut one leaf and the "Thanks" from gold cardstock, and finished it with a bow of gold thread and a red button.  I love how the wheat stalks and the added branch balanced everything out for a clean, simple look.

This next card uses the Pumpkin Set of dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs, and I couldn't resist once again using the Wheat set from Obsession Impression.  The "With Gratitude" words are from a great set of stamps from Paper Smooches called "Many Thanks".

I used a Swiss Dots embossing folder to create the background, and mounted that onto the card base.  I stamped the background of the white pumpkin using the Birch Branch stamp from Memory Box, and cut the leaves from dark green and dark orange cardstock.  I like the way the two layers of the pumpkin pieces fit together to give them texture and definition. 

I have to share one of those "happy accidents" that happen once in a while.  I'm a big fan of the Zig Wink of Stella glitter pens, and I discovered that if you squiggle the brush onto an acrylic block or a craft sheet and pick up the ink with a sponge, you can dab it onto the surface of your die cuts to give them a very subtle mist of glitter.  It's a little difficult to see on these cards, but give it a try and see if you like the look of it! 

Thanks for stopping by!!