Follow Your Bliss…

Happy Friday! Sorry for my lack of posting the past few days. I’ve been fighting a nasty sore throat/flu type thing, very tired, etc. I’m feeling some better today, but have some congestion now. I rarely get sick, so I can’t complain!

When working with Rubber Soul and Wordsworth images, I tend to keep it simple. It’s been a little while since I’ve made single layer cards, and thought these two images would work nicely. This first card, using Big Pine (801-N), is for my landscaper. He did such a great job, and I wanted to thank him.

I began with a Fabriano Medioevalis note card, stamping the tree in the center of the card with Adirondack pitch black ink. I cut a reverse mask with my oval Nestability die, placed it over my tree, and airbrushed the sky and ground with Copic markers B21 and YG63. I colored the tree with E27, E47, YG63, YG67. To give it a rustic look, I sponged Ranger Distress ink in antique linen and vintage photo all around the cardfront. A small “thanks” sentiment (V-024), and some linen thread complete this masculine design.

This second card uses the same reverse mask/airbrush technique as the tree card. I used Copic B00 for the sky on this card, and colored the Love Birds (M081)with B21, B23, YR14, R02, and shading with W3. Sentiment is from the Heart Sing (7008-v) set. The birds and heart are covered in Stickles, and a bit of May Arts ribbon tied across the top.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Oh I’ve been having fuuuun with my Rubber Soul/Wordsworth stamps! This little chickie is from the “It’s Your Day” set. I did something different with her.

This Memory Box Sugar cardstock is high on my list of favorites. I know–I have a lot of favorites, but it’s true! I had several pieces of scrap, so decided to use them in a patchwork layout. I machine stitched them to a coordinating Memory Box notecard, and set it aside.

This little chickie was stamped on the small floral pattern in Versamark ink, and embossed 3 times for a thick, glossy look. I cut her out, and colored in her eye with my black Copic Multiliner pen. Here’s a detail shot:

I used 2 more patterns for the circle, cutting and embossing it with my Nestability dies, and matting it with a scalloped panel. I added the sentiment, and adhered the chickie on dimensionals. The pink houndstooth panel was looking a little “blah” to me, so I added 3 Martha Stewart vellum flowers to liven it up a bit. I finished it off with some Michael’s ribbon, tied through 3 punched holes on the left.

This card has a lot of patterns going on, but I think it works? I hope so, LOL! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day!

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

I needed to make a card for my nephew’s graduation, but realized I didn’t have any graduation stamps! Sheesh. I was digging through my stash of Rubber Soul and Wordsworth sets, when I spied the word “graduation” in this Happy Everything set. YAY!

I chose some great masculine paper from Basic Grey’s Archaic line, also using the solid distressed green, and distressed cream color from the pad. I cut and embossed a narrow scalloped rectangle with my Spellbinders Nestability die, then airbrushed it with the die in place using my YG06 Copic marker. When I removed the die, it left the cream edge, which makes it look like another layer. Cool!

I stamped the sentiment, then colored it in using Copic YG17, and B95. I added some shadows with W3. This Martha Stewart ribbon is masculine enough, so I didn’t feel badly adding it to the card. Some aged copper brads, and dimensionals under the scalloped panel complete the design.

I think this works for a young man graduate~~do you?

Oh gosh, y’all know how much I love this Rubber Soul/Wordsworth owl, don’tcha? I decided to give him some love last night. He looks cute in pink!

Been dyin’ to use some of my Basic Grey Sugared collection, and when I saw this flower print, it was all the inspiration I needed. The owl and branch are stamped with Clearsnap fluid chalk ink on shimmery cryogen white cardstock, then trimmed out. I added some pink AMuse bling for his eyes, and set aside.

I worked on my sentiment next, stamping it on the same cardstock with Adirondack espresso ink. I used my new long rectangle Spellbinders Nesties for this, cutting and embossing, then airbrushing with Copic Y21 to bring out some warmth and tie in with the yellow in the patterned paper. (I used this to color in his tiny beak, too.) I matted it with a Prism frosted azalea scalloped panel, and added some narrow May Arts striped ribbon.

I assembled the card, using a Rubber Soul cocoa notecard for the base, and adding all my layers. The owl and sentiment panel are popped up on dimensionals. It needed a little something else, so I added a couple tiny Primas in the top left corner, and some cinnamon Stickles for the flower center.

Rubber Soul, of course!

Here’s a couple more of my designs I created this weekend! More fun with those “Valentine” stamps!

Hi Honey!

This is a rather simple design, but I am pleased that it came out exactly as I planned it! The cardbase is a Fabriano Medioevalis notecard that was “stamped” with bubble wrap. I smooshed my Adirondack butterscotch inkpad on a piece of bubble wrap, then laid it atop my notecard, and pressed. It created this cool “honeycomb” for my honeybee! The chipboard letters are Cosmo Cricket Souvenir, that were colored with my black Copic marker, then covered with black diamond Stickles. They look *way cool* in person! I cut and embossed the tag with my Spellbinders tag die, sponged with a teeny bit of black ink, and added Stickles to the bee’s wings (Honey bee 1684-G).

You Float my Boat

Oh man, when I saw this boat, I couldn’t wait to do some paper piecing on the sail! It’s from the clear polymer set called Love is in the Air. As I was looking through my *NEW* Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo 8×8 paper pack, I saw several solid colors that would work perfectly for sky and water. Then when I saw the striped pattern I knew it would be perfect for the sail! I cut a rectangle of the light blue solid, then freehand cut the 2 layers of waves. I stamped the boat on the water, then again on the striped pattern paper. I cut the sails, black solid boat, and flag, and layered onto the boat already stamped on the water. It’s matted on the solid red paper from the back, and a couple of silver brads were added. The cardbase is Prism mystic medium. To finish it off, I added Stickles to the waves and flag.

As you can see, these stamps are quite versatile, and definitely not just for Valentine’s Day! I hope my “out of the box” designs helped you to see these stamps in a different light!

Thanks for stopping by! I’ve got 4 more cards to share from my weekend stamping spree! Be sure to check back, OK? ~~HUGS!!~~

Hey everyone! I hope you’ve all enjoyed your weekend! I got a LOT of design work done Saturday night and most of today. I was able to complete 12 cards, which is unheard of for me! LOL! I got them all photographed and watermarked, too! WOO HOO!

So I bet you’re wondering what the deal is with my subject title, huh? Well, when I am working on multiple designs, I like to limit my focus. I have SOOOO many different patterned papers, which can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. For these Rubber Soul designs, I decided to use my Basic Grey Phoebe 6×6 pad. I hardly used any of this paper when I first got it, so it was nice to flip through the pages and choose the patterns I wanted to use.

Kiss Me!

I had such a blast creating these cards, The fun colors and patterns from this Phoebe pad just made me happy, and they worked so well with Rubber Soul’s images! I had received several Valentines Day stamps at the beginning of February, but due to CHA, I was unable to use them. Now that the holiday is long past, (can you believe it’s almost April? where on Earth does the time go?) I thought it would be fun to show how versatile these stamps really are. These darling giraffes and sentiment are part of a clear polymer set called Love is in the Air. Wouldn’t this make a cute anniversary card?

Supplies: Basic Grey Phoebe, PaperTrey white cardstock, shimmery cryogen white, Adirondack espresso ink, Copic markers (E11, E34, E57, RV34, RV17, W2), Stickles, sponge, sewing machine, white thread, Prima Hydrangea, square blue bling brad (making memories), dimensionals, pop-up glue dot.

Heart Trio Friend

When I work with Rubber Soul stamps, I try to keep things simple. That isn’t easy for me. I love to add a bunch of layers, color, sponge, airbrush, embellish, etc. I used the flower heart (1673-I) stamp for this design, stamped in 3 colors: Adirondack salmon, mountain rose, and juniper. The “friend” is embossed in white. It’s from the Friends (V022) clear polymer set. To add the ribbon (Martha Stewart), I used the craft knife to cut slits at the “f” and “d”. A little stitching, some Bazzill brads, and Stickles finish off the design.

Birthday Smirthday

This sentiment absolutely cracks me UP! LOL! I use this expression all the time…“work shmirk”, “stamping shmamping“. This sentiment is from the Tiny Words (V026) clear polymer set, and I also used the cupcake with cherry (2516-H) stamp . It’s colored with my Copic markers: (E47, E79, YG03, YG17, RV17, RV34, B00). I used cinnamon and star dust Stickles on the cupacke, and some Ranger glossy accents for the cherry. (Prism frosted mint cardbase) YUM!

Love Hearts Trio

Here’s another design using a “Valentine” stamp (love heart 1674-J) that could easily be used for an anniversary card, or just because you want to tell someone you love them. More Phoebe paper, which provided my color palette for the hearts. I used Adirondack citrus, and pool. The hearts are stamped on cryogen white cardstock. I used some of my new SU! silver hardware, as well as a green bling brad, and some stiched grosgrain.

Monkey Laugh

How cute is this monkey? He’s cut and embossed with my oval Nestability die, and matted with an oval scalloped mat. I added a tiny Prima for him to hold, and I used a tiny Queen & Co. brad for the center, and covered it with Stickles. The sentiment is from that same Tiny Words set. Some rough zig zag stitching in the corners finish it off.

Ruffled Feathers

Here’s my last design with this paper pack! This image is from that same clear polymer set Love is in the Air. Those are some funny chickens! LOL! They are colored with my Copics (RV34, RV17, YG03, YG17, YR14, B00). The scalloped border is an EK Success corner punch, used with the corner guard off.

So what do you think? I have more Rubber Soul designs to share with you tomorrow, so be sure to check back! Have a good night!

Hello!

Lindsey got her newest March issue of Paper Crafts, and let me know of my 2 cards that are published! I am so happy about these 2 cards, as both of them are my favorite Wordsworth birds! Here’s a peek at one of my cards:

I know you’ll also see Julia, and Michele in this issue, too! I haven’t received my copy yet, but can’t wait to see all the other eye candy!

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did! Thank you all for your kind comments about my dogs. I have worked very hard training them, and they are truly my little angels. Shelby is continuing to do well, also.

Today’s favorite is Memory Box Patterned cardstock! You have seen me use this on many of my cards here, and there’s a reason for that…it rocks! It truly is cardstock weight, and comes in so many beautiful designs! Some of the packs are double sided, and some are single sided. Either way, you are going to love the look and feel of this! It’s very smooth, and the colors are so vivid! There is also a wide variety of styles. There are fresh and funky styles, cute and fun, classic and traditional.

I made 4 designs for Rubber Soul and Wordsworth using the Enlighten paper pack yesterday. These first 2 cards use Cherry Blossom Memory Box notecards, Rubber Soul Chick with flower, skinny oval, and Wordsworth Tiny Wise Words collection.

You Bless Me

Both cards use different types of stitching as an accent, and Halloween Dew Drops. The chickie was stamped on Neenah solar white cardstock, then cut and embossed with my circle Spellbinders Nestability dies, and matted with a mellow moss petite scallop panel. I used Moss taffeta ribbon, and the white taffeta was custom colored with my pink Copic marker. (notch for ribbon is a Debbie trick!) I colored chickie with my Copic markers, and added a tiny pink AMuse bling to the flower center. All supplies in bold can be purchsed in Ellen’s store!

Using the same paper pack, I created two more cards with Wordsworth’s Pussywillow image, and Rubber Soul’s Heart Sing set with the Wordsworth’s Thanks collection.

How about some distressing? This design uses Ranger’s distress ink in frayed burlap, old paper, and peeled paint. A dill Memory Box notecard, poison ivory cardstock, and WeRMK brass hardware accents. I created the puffy white pussywillows with my white Sakura souffle pen for some great dimension. It’s colored with the following Copic markers:

Last but not least, my favorite bird on a branch:

So Kind

I think this is my favorite card of the bunch. I love the print in this cardstock! I created some depth to this design simply by adding shadows with my Copic W3 marker around the bird, branch, and words. I used Colorbox Fluid chalk ink Queues in Chocolate and Blueberries, and Rose Petals. Some more Dew Drops, Primas, and Cinnamon Stickles finish off the design.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a great weekend! Don’t forget that Jacksonbelle Embellishments’ big sale ends tonight midnight Pacific!

I had some fun creating some more Christmas cards today! Yes, that’s right…I haven’t mailed my cards yet! LOL! I decided to use this darling Holiday Whimsical set by Rubber Soul. All of these cards use essentially the same supplies, so it made for some quick and easy cardmaking. I also really wanted to use my Christmas patterned paper from SU! that I purchased a couple months ago.

Wintergreen Tree

I love the fresh, cool colors from this Wintergreen paper. I paired it with this funky little tree that was colored with my SU! markers, and accented with Stickles. It was cut and embossed with my Spellbinders rectangle die, and a bit of shadow was added with my Copic marker. Since I didn’t have brads small enough, I used platinum Stickles in each corner for a “faux brad” look.

Using the same patterned paper pack, and basic layout, I created this card using the penguin:

Snowy Penguin

His hat is popped up on a dimensional, and accented with liquid applique. Card base is Memory Box.

Next up is Rudolph, paired with SU! Dashing patterned paper, and a Memory Box Dill notecard.

Rudolph & Dots

I thought these dots looked cute with Rudolph’s shiny red nose! Several different Stickles were used: gold, Christmas red, cinnamon, and star dust.

And last, but not least, another card using the Wintergreen paper, paired with the Rubber Soul Joy to the World set, and a Spellbinders 3-layer snowflake in vellum:

Snowflake Joy

I used blue bayou with this design, as well as some accents with Liquid Pearls. The scalloped and basic circle panels were cut with my Spellbinders Nestability dies, and sponged with blue bayou.

I hope you enjoyed today’s 4 designs, and I thank you so much for visiting today!

As I was creating some samples for Rubber Soul & Wordsworth last night, I reached for my pack of Arturo notecards. It occurred to me that I never used them for my Friday Favorite entry! So, today I want to tell you about these gorgeous notecards!

This line of fine Italian stationery is designed exclusively by Cartiera Magnani, handmade from 100% cotton. This company is over 600 years old, and supplies some of Europe’s royal families and governments. As an interesting fact, Napoleon Bonaparte selected this mill to create a specially watermarked paper for his wedding announcement! They also produce the Fabriano Medioevalis line of notecards, which you all might be familiar with.

Arturo and Fabriano have a perfect weight, and a soft, deckled edge which gives it a hand-torn effect. The texture of this paper is similar to a watercolor paper-it is not ultrasmooth. Since it has this beautiful texture, it is an excellent choice for watercoloring! It is hands down the most luxurious paper I have ever touched.

It is available in 8 colors: white, soft white, buttercream, lavender, celadon, pale blue, pale pink, and stone grey. I purchase my colored Arturo through Ellen Hutson —> HERE. For my Fabriano cards, I buy them from Cindy Lyles in her store—>HERE.

Here’s one more design I created last night, using the same Rubber Soul set in today’s earlier entry. It features a pale blue Arturo notecard, Copic markers, Stickles, May Arts ribbon, and WeRMK hardware!

Check out some of my other designs using these beautiful notecards:

Girly & Pearly, So Kind, Wishing You Well, Many Thanks, With Sympathy.

I encourage you to buy a pack of these notecards, and give them a try! Since Ellen is having her sale this weekend, now is the perfect time!

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!!!