Making a set of cards

Hi all!

I wanted to pop in and share some cards I've been working on. One of the things I've been trying to do is not just make one card at a time. I'm trying to find ways to make several cards at once so that I can stock up on cards. And, unfortunately, one type of card that's always needed is a sympathy or "praying for you" type of card. So, I have been making tons of them. Here's a couple of them:

 First, a MISTI tool is a wonderful thing! I truly don't think I'd be able to get so many cards done if it weren't for the MISTI. I used the Altenew stamp set "Thankful Peonies" and I can't say enough good things about this set! I LOVE it! It makes stamping look elegant yet it's very easy to do!

Second, the sentiment is from Hero Arts. Again, using the MISTI makes it so easy to stamp the sentiment quickly.

Lastly, the little sequins are also stamped. They're from a Hero Arts "Congrats" set. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the sequins but they are super cute!  Adding these little sequins finishes the cards. I think I've made close to 30 of these now in different color combos. They're on black cardstock and ready to send out.

I'll be entering the cards into 2 challenges--both of them "anything goes" challenges.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge and Word Art Wednesday. Still time to play along!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Pat

A dog-filled birthday

Hi everyone!

Yes, it's been MONTHS since I've posted anything. It's also been MONTHS since I've truly spent time in my craft room. Summer was busy and I've been working on organizing the room a bit more. So, I'm sharing a card I made a few weeks ago for my brother and I'm hoping to start sharing more and more cards soon.

Here's my card:

I was blessed to receive MANY stamps this summer from a dear friend and this stamp was in the pile. Isn't it adorable?! My brother has a dog and I thought it'd be cute to send him a card with his family pet pictured. I colored in the images with Copics and then colored in some grass by hand. I also outlined the dogs with blue markers just to help them stand out a bit more and to give the illusion of a sky behind them. I had some tiny flower stickers, too, so I added those to the grass. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp! and I finished off the card with some twine.

I'll be entering the card to the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday--Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Pat

Distress marker watercolor

Hi all!

Popping in really quick to share a card I made for a friend. I received the stamp from a friend who is no longer stamping and I knew I wanted to try a different technique with it. Here's my card:

I love the look of watercolored images...but I am not artistic enough to draw them myself. This stamp, however, allowed me to fake the look. I used my distress markers to color right on the stamp. I then misted the stamp with water, which activates the distress markers, and stamped onto watercolor paper. There was still so much ink on the stamp that I was able to get two panels from one coloring. I love that the stamped image looks like I used shading on the leaves and trees...in reality, it was just the way the water pooled that adds the different shades. Super fun technique! I added a strip of orange along the side and mounted it on gray cardstock. The sentiment (Simon Says Stamp!) was also stamped in gray. Although you can't see it on the card, the flowers also have some shimmer on them (Wink of Stella) and that helped blend them out a bit, too. Easy card--and you can easily get 2 done in one sitting!

I'll be sharing this card in a couple of different challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Pat

Coloring Book Poppies

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their first weekend of summer! Things in our household are much calmer now with homeschooling done. So, I can finally blog some of the cards that I worked on months ago! First up, a card I sent to my sister-in-law for her birthday...it was late...but better late than never, right?!

Here's the card:

One of the things that I've really come to enjoy is coloring with Copics. Also huge this past year? Coloring books! So, I decided to combine the two. I found a small coloring book at Barnes & Noble that had tons of flower images and I took my Copics out. I LOVE making cards with these pages. Yes, they need to be trimmed down. But they are so different than just you stamping an image. It's a great way to take a mini-break from stamping but still enjoy coloring and using the pages to send a card to someone.

Once the coloring was done, I added the sentiment in white and then added some sequins. I did add some white pen accents to the centers of the poppies just to make the centers pop out a bit more and to tie in the sentiment more, too.

I'll be entering the card at the following sites:
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Use Pattern Paper (coloring books count, right?)
Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to be back a bit more regularly during the summer.
Pat

You COLOR my world card

Hi everyone!

I'm here sharing a card I made for a cute little girl...I've never met her but she's on social media because of her mom and this little girl makes me smile every time I see her! She's just so stinking cute! Her smile lights up my Instagram feed and it's been my joy to send her a card on her birthday for a couple of years now. Here's my card:

My original thought for this card didn't work out the way I wanted so this card is plan B. I had already die cut a bunch of crayons (Lawn Fawn) and used my Copic markers to color them in. I decided to write out Lila's name on the crayons and then simply add them to the base of the card. I stamped the sentiment and then added a "Happy Birthday" sentiment inside. Once the card was done, though, I felt like it needed more color. So, I used my distress inks to add some flecks of color all over the front. I know Lila loves to color and I thought it would be perfect for her to receive a card with tons of colored flecks on it.

Now that my kids are almost done with school, I'm hoping to start creating and posting a lot more. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Pat

I'll be entering my card in the following sites:
Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge--a great site where you can create cards for kids and even donate them and they'll be shared with kids at hospitals.
Word Art Wednesday--Anything goes

"Many Thanks" peonies

Hi everyone,

Happy Memorial Day! I'm popping in quickly to share a card I made a couple of weeks ago. It's always nice to be thanked for a job well done and this particular person worked very hard this past school year to provide great opportunities for my boys. I'm very grateful.

Here's my card:

Ever since #Altenew released their Peony Bouquet stamp set, I have been dying to get my hands on it. I stamped the flowers and leaves using Hero Arts Ombre ink in purples and greens. This saved a bit of time from going to another ink pad since the ombre ink pads have several shades together. I then added some light blue "sky" with distress ink. I kept the sentiment simple and white heat embossed it on a banner. Simple yet elegant card...

Thank you for stopping by,
Pat

I'll be submitting this card to the following sites:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes

Thinking of You

Hello!

It's been a really long time since I've been able to post a card on my blog. Life has just been super busy these last few months. I'm hoping things are settling down soon since homeschooling is almost done for the school year. Today, I'm sharing a card I made for a friend...a "Thinking of You" card for no reason...I love giving cards for no reason. It lets the person know they were on my mind and that I wanted to share a smile with them.

Here's my card:

I LOVE this image from the Gorjuss stamp company. The image is so fun to color in with Copics--although I'm sure it's fun to color with other mediums, too. Her dress and hair bow has polka dots so I did add some white color with a uniball signo pen.  I wanted the image to be the main focus so I simply added a sentiment, a strip of pattern paper, and a small strip of black card stock.

Hoping to send more cards out this summer and share some smiles with friends across the miles. I'd encourage all of us to do that...seems the world could use more kindness right now.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to be back soon,
Pat

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Wed Challenge--Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes