A single layer of snowflakes

Hello everyone!  Happy Friday!  I hope your weekend will be wonderful!

I made this card for today's limited supply challenge on SCS, which was to only use white cs, no designer paper, only white or clear embellishments, and only one color of ink, plus limit the layers.  I combined it with this week's Stampin Sisters in Christ challenge, which was to use a gift on our card.  Well.... my "gift" is the sentiment. Truly this is the greatest gift of all... the gift of God's Son, which we celebrate on Dec. 25th but  rejoice over  all year long, because truly the gift is indescribable!  When I think that the Creator of the Universe loved us so much that He sent His Son... perfect and sinless to pay the price for our sin so that we could be reconciled to Him and live in relationship with Him, and eventually spend eternity with Him in heaven, I am truly awestruck!

I used two Newly Released Our Daily Bread designs sets: "Peace and Joy" for the big snowflake image and "His Gift" for the sentiment.  I have wanted to make a window card with this image since I saw it, so today with my limited layers was the day!  I placed the largest die cut snowflake from Spellbinder's Create A Flake where I wanted my window and ran it through the Big Shot.  I embossed the large snowflake and centered on the inside of the card right behind and lined up with the die cut opening.  When the card is closed, the stamped image actually fits well in the cut out.  I embossed the sentiment and tucked it in to the snowflake cut out.  It is removable as a bookmark or even a verse to put on your frig.

 

I used many die cut snowflakes that I glittered with Dazzling Diamonds for the front, sponged the matting for the inside snowflake with Brilliance Silver and added a snowflake ribbon by Make it Christmas.

On the inside I have my embossed snowflake which I edged with Silver Brilliance Ink, and then I matted that on a white square I had sponged with the same ink to give a little definition.

 

How about that!!! I made a card that really is ONE single Layer!!! I need to mark this date! LOL!  Most of you know I'm not comfortable without several layers, but this has it's own charm.

Thanks for looking and have a blessed weekend!

Our God, we Thank You and Praise Your Name!

Today's limited supply on SCS was to make a card using any combination of oranges, browns, blacks, purples, halloween type colors but it didn't have to be halloween. Well... I don't even own any halloween images and don't make halloween cards but I still love fall! So I tried a more country look than is my usual style... but it was fun and quick!

I ran a piece of SU! Kraft paper through with the CB pumpkins embossing folder. Then I lightly sponged on some orange (Rubber Stampede), Olive (Our Daily Bread designs) and THoltz Distress Ink, Tea Dyed. Then I used a CB die cut/embossing combo to cut the larger pumpkin out of Kraft and sponged as above. I stamped my sentiment verse from Our Daily Bread Designs "Give Thanks" set on Kraft with Archival Jet Black and sponged around the edges with Olive. I used Bazzill for my base, then a layer of olive which I punched with my new MS edge punch (Leaves). I also punched a few boughs to tuck under the pumpkin. Added a little hemp twine from SU! and done! Quick, limited in supplies and yet I have to admit I kind of like the finished product! Stepping out of my usual style is a good thing once in a while!

Have a blessed weekend, and don't forget to thank God for all He has done! Check out Women to Women for a little more inspiration!

Beyond all Blessings Blessed

Hello everyone!
I got to play a little this morning and managed to get a few challenges into one hurried card. The limited supply challenge on SCS today was to use only food related images AND colors. Well.... that proved the be the challenge! I had to think a bit... but looking at all the SU! colors, it seemed the most colors that were food related were in the Earth Tones family, so that led me to fall images, and I thought this Our Daily Bread designs set would be perfect. I also made this card for a little group of friends who do a weekly challenge, and today's was to case a card of Deb's. I cased this card: Country Church. I used her basic layout but did add a layer and a couple of metal doo dads which made it qualify for Flourishes Timeless Tues. Challenge (FTTC27) to use metal in some way. I also added a sentiment panel.

I stamped the image onto water color paper and watercolored with the following Markers and/or inks: Pumkin Pie, Creamy Caramel, So Saffron, chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, Cranberry Crisp, Adirondak Latte, Pesto, Butterscotch and Ginger. Whew!!! I think I kept all the rules! LOL!

The tiny sentiment on this is from the Rubber Stamp Tapestry Co. I cut my panels with Nestabilities Lg. Deckled Rectangles, used a Chocolate ribbon and Chocolate CS from Papertrey. The texture is a Sizzix embossing folder. There are Stickles on the flowers and some white highlights made with a Signo Gel Pen, but those things never seem to show up in a photo.

This was a real rushed card but I'm so glad I got to play a bit! I hope you have a blessed day and a totally terrific weekend! Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to have a look at my blog candy!

Sailing the East Coast

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

I made this with my new Clear Dollar May release set "Smooth Sailing". I had a blast playing with this set and there are so many fun little pieces to it I've yet to use! You can find it at the Clear Dollar Store. I also made it for today's SCS Limited Supply, though I didn't add the charms until later so that it would qualify for only one embellishment... the shells.

Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Smooth Sailing
Cardstock and Paper: Bazzill Textured, K&Co (East Coast), My Mind's Eye (Playground Stripes) Aquarello H2O
Ink: SU! Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel, Close To cocoa, Archival Jet Black
Tools,Accessories and Embellishments: SU! Hemp, Naturals 10 lb. hemp, Naturals shells, Brass Charms from Clear Dollar Stamps, Nestabilities Classic Ovals and Scalloped Ovals, SU! Punch, Brass Brads unknown

I stamped the sail boat with Archival onto H2O paper and did a light wet on wet watercolor using inks in the lids. I then coated it in one coat of Mod Podge for a bit of texture and to give it a little more sheen than the background. I used a piece of corrugated cardboard I had saved from a candle gift... it is so "kraft" looking and I loved it. It made me think of the piers at the beach. I tried my hand at sewing for this one... had to unclog my machine from the tension problem it had after doing some upholstering. It's still not perfect but short of taking it in for service it's as close as I can get. Anyway.... I've been resisting sewing because I knew my machine was messed up so I challenged myself to try it. I'm not the perfect sewer... that's for sure! LOL!

I love this new set! I have so many ideas running through my head for this and I think it will be a great guy stamp and great for the summer cards.

Thanks for taking a peek! Have a blessed weekend!

What's Buggin' Ya?

Last Week's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS was to use a bug on our card. Since I was away... I wanted to do the challenge today, so I used my Whipper Snapper Lady Bug image, stamped in Memento Black ink, then colored with Copics. The stipulations of the limited supply challenge were that we could not use designer paper, and no more than four layers. So.... I kept it simple! My sentiment is from See D's, and the image and sentiment are layered on basic black. I used the SU! slot punch and three different ribbons as my only embellishment.

I couldn't help think about my daughter and son in law who just moved to the mountains of TN this past week when I saw this challenge. In the mountains, they grow lots of Christmas Trees, and for some reason, they had brought in tons of Lady Bugs to help control some other kind of bug or disease I guess??? Anyway... it was done for a purpose, but now the lady bugs are everywhere (apparently they are quite prolific) and they drive my son in law crazy! They get into the house and at any given time you can find several inside. I thought I'd send this card to them.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I don't have all the Copics I need to do the recommended style of shading and highlighting, so I thought I'd show you the colors I used on this card. You'll see that I have very few that are just the perfect couple of steps apart. To do my blending, I first color with my lightest color, then using that marker, I take a bit of ink off the darker one to shade, if I have a darker shade. If I don't, I just add layer on layer of the same color until it looks darker. I'm no pro with Copics.... I'm still learning... but I have found these few things to help. Hope they help you too!

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and please sign my guest book near the bottom if you haven't already!

The Will of God Embraces Life

OK... so I told you I was going to change the sentiment on my Limited Supply Embrace Life card below. I stamped this wonder-

fully inspirational sentiment from the Sweet 'n Sassy set called The Grace of God. It just took a couple minutes to stamp this, add one more mat and mount it on top of the old one.

This something I often do.... when I make a card for a challenge, I either use no sentiment or make sure that the sentiment panel is easily changed, so that I can personalize it better when the need arises.

Hope you've enjoyed this little comparison... I'd love to know what you think! Have a blessed weekend!

Embrace Life with Limited Supplies

Hello again! It's raining today and I'm having fun in my craft room! Today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS was a very limited list of allowables. We HAD to make our own designer paper, and could not use any other designer paper. We could ONLY use one set, so the background had to come from the same set as our main image and our sentiment. I struggled with the sentiment, because in all honesty, this is not a sentiment I am likely to use, so I made the panel large enough to add another layer to it with a sentiment more appropriate for the need. Also limited were the use of accessories and embellishments. We could only use Nesties or punches on the sentiment panel, nothing else, but we were allowed to cut out any images by hand that we wished. The embellishments could only be brads and ribbon.

Whew... when there's such a specific list I always worry I'll miss something and be "illegal"! LOL! But today I think I got it covered. I used Very Vanilla for my main panel and for the flower images. I stamped my bg with VersaMark and stamped the leaf image from Embrace Life on that. I used Archival Jet Black to stamp three of the flowers from that set, and stamped with VersaMark on the sentiment panel with the smaller floral branch image in that set. Then I overstamped the sentiment with Archival. I did use Nesties to cut the oval sentiment panel and the scalloped oval in very vanilla. I lightly touched just a tad of pastels to my flowers and then painted them with Twinkling H2Os.. in French Vanilla.... sounds yummy, doesn't it? This gave the flowers a pretty shimmer. I went over the stamens with a gel pen to highlight. I plan to add stickles to the stamens later, but that was not allowed for this challenge.

I used two ribbons and did not use the allowed brads. It's a simple layout but one of my old faithful standbys... I use this layout a lot.

Hope you like it and hope you are having a wonderful day!

A Gift Bag and Matching Card

Today's Limited Supply Challenge over at SCS was to stretch ourselves and do something we don't usually do. I have never decorated a gift bag before, nor have I used buttons on my cards... nor have I sewn! I do sew... just not on cards! Well... today I made a matching card and gift bag that I needed for a good friend. I used my 5/8" square punch to punch all these little squares of various Provo Craft Designer paper. I mounted them on a chocolate background. I used my Nesties to cut out the heart and also the label 2 on the card. I sponged Creamy Caramel around both sentiment panels. The bag is stamped with a Great Impressions Stamp in Chocolate Chip, the sentiment on the card I made up and printed on the computer. I could not for the life of me get a good photo of the set so I'm uploading them separately, but you can get the idea I'm sure! I did another first on the bag... I tore a piece of fabric from my quilt stash and tied it into a bow on the handle, along with some raffia.

My very first post

Well, here I am blogging and I don't have the first idea of how to do anything. I wanted to first set up a pretty page with a pretty banner and all that stuff, but I can't find anything that works, so obviously I have a LOT of reading to do first. Today I thought I'd just show you the card I made for the Splitcoast Stamper's Limited Supply Challenge. The challenge was to not use any stamps on the front of the card other than the sentiment. This is what I came up with.

Here's what I did: I used a base of chocolate chip, then some yummy Basicgrey designer paper from the Sultry pack. I stamped my sentiment which is a Whipper Snapper Stamp in Chocolate Chip, and layered on regal rose and then chocolate chip. I added a few layered flowers, attaching with sparkly brads, and finally added the vellum butterfly, which I purchased from Michael's in the bridal department! It was one of the quickest cards I've ever made, but it is bright and springy... and many of us are ready for spring, right? Welcome to my blog and thanks for taking a peek! I'll be learning more about this process, and hope you'll come back to see me again!