A Holiday Thank You

Good Evening !     I've finally had a day to 'work' in my craft room and decided to create a card for this week's Challenge at Outline Stamps - "A Holiday Thank You".    You can find all the details and beautiful Design Team samples here at Outline's Blog 

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a "Holiday Thank You" for all your visits & comments here at my blog.   I appreciate all your kinds words.    I've truly enjoyed blogging this past few months and meeting friendly & very talented bloggers !       It's so wonderful that we can share ideas across the world so easily !

I also took this opportunity to try out the new stamps that I received with a recent Outline challenge win !    I used Outline Round Posies H-1037 X Lg, G-1038 Lg. & E-1039 Med and also F1049 Posy Greeting Centers (Thank you) to create this card.

I also used Designer Papers from my supply/stash.   A couple are from Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium Collection (Christmas 2010) and the dark green is from BoBunny A gift of Love (also from Christmas 2010).     Unfortunatley I don't have much of these left as they are gorgeous.    

I stamped & embossed in gold the X-Lg & Lg posies on dark green designer paper and also on a gold/cream.   I stamped the Med. Posy once on the gold/cream paper.   I cut the outside edge from the dark green and layered onto the gold/cream as shown in the photo above.   I cut the outside edge from the gold/cream on the Med. Posy and used as the final layer and then added the Thank You Posy Greeting in the Center.  

The flower was layered onto BoBunny Dark Green designer paper and then onto Graphic 45 with the holly design and the final layer is dark green card stock.      A few Gold Metallic Leaves and Gold Ribbon along with a small flower charm that matches the design of the posy were the final touches.

In spite of a huge stash of ribbon I just didn't have the right red to co-ordinate.  I thought it would be a nice touch with red, but the gold blends in with the rest !

Thanks for stopping by and have a very Happy New Year !
Cheers
Shirley

Seasons' Greetings with a Doodle Poinsetta

Season's Greetings !      I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season !

I'm posting a Christmas card today that I created with one of my new 'Shirley Doodle' stamps !  Crop Circles are getting closer to launching their new website that will feature a web store and their new line of stamps including 'Shirley Doodles'.       

Early in 2011, I brought a few of my 'doodled' cards into Crop Circles and the owners Ted & Helen thought the images would be fun if they were rubber stamps.     I don't feel that I'm an artist - I just like to 'doodle' and the images are simple & whimsical.   I had no thoughts of turning them into stamps.    It's been 'surreal' to have stamps made from my Doodles.   The focus this past fall was understandably Christmas images but there are more to follow.  I especially love to Doodle flowers with ink pen, colour with Tom bow markers and then create simple cards with them.

This poinsetta is one of 3 Shirley Doodle poinsetta's that are available at Crop Circles.  

The background for this card was created with Impression Obsession's Cover a Card CC053 Holly.  (I love those stamps !)   I stamped it on white card stock with Versamark Ink and embossed with gold.   I used Distress Inks Aged Mahogany & Bundled Sage to colour over the embossing.   The Poinsetta (Shirley Doodle) was stamped three times and embossed with gold.    I used the Sage Distress Ink on one flower and Aged Mahogany on the other two.    I also used Tom Bow markers to add dimension and Diamond Stickles for sparkle.     The flowers were cut out and layered as shown above and matted with burgundy & green card stock.   A few rhinestones were added for the finishing touch.   I also used Spellbinder Nestabilities:  S4143 & Cuttlebug Folder:  Divine Swirl.

Thanks for stopping by and Season's Greetings !
Shirley

Pretty & Pink Snowflake with Impression Obsession

Good Evening !     It's such a busy time of year, it's getting harder to find time for blogging, but I couldn't resist this week's Pink Challenge at IO.   You can find all the details and beautiful design team samples here at Impression Obsession's Blog .

I recently purchased IO's beautiful Damask Snowflakes and was anxious to try them out so I decided to create a pink snowflake  !

The following Impression Obsession Stamps were used to create this card:  F2259 Sm Damask Snowflake, F2258 Damask Snowflake & C8280 Joyous Season.  

I created the background using smooch inks- Taffy, Moonlight & Cherry Chocolate.     To create a smooch background, start by covering white card stock with Versamark ink.  Next using a colourbox stylus with the black moldable foam tip, add smooch inks starting with the lightest colour.   The smooch inks give a beautiful sheen that I love.   I've been using these inks for a year & half and while the bottles appear small they seem to be bottomless.  I stamped the small Damask snowflake with Brilliance Platinum Planet Pigment Ink randomly onto the background.

I stamped & embossed in silver, the large Damask Snowflake onto watercolour paper.   I used Tom Bow marker #757 directly on the paper and added water with a small brush to blend out.   I only used the one marker.    I carefully cut out the snowflake and added the brad (by Bobunny) to the center.   I layered onto the card as shown with dark & light pink card stock.  I added ribbon along the edge of the pink strip under the snowflake.   Spellbinder Nestabilities S4143 was used for the label & the sentiment was also embossed with silver.   A little holograph glitter,  pink & white dot ribbon and pink rhinestones were the finishing touches.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the Season !
Shirley

Get Your Shine On Challenge

Good afternoon !   It's still snowy here, but nice & sunny !   We've had a fun weekend with friends & family and enjoying lots of food & Christmas cheer and are just chilling out today.   So here I am entering another challenge.   They are fun and I've won some nice shopping sprees, so it's all good !

I'm entering this card into a challenge at webstore Dolce Stamps and Cards.    The challenge details and beautiful Design Team cards can be found here at their Blog:  Get Your Shine On.

I also have quite a stash of stickers hanging out here !    This card was created mainly from stickers and Micro Fine Glitter so it has some sparkle & shine for this challenge.   The ornaments are Elizabeth Craft Stickers which I used 2-way transfer sheets to place onto doubled sided tape by Sookwang.     I peeled off half of the little sections with a small knife and added Ocean Spray Micro Fine Glitter.   After removing the balance of little pieces I added Rose Copper Micro Fine Glitter.  I stamped F605 Evergreen Bough (by Rosewood) twice as it wasn't long enough for this card onto blue/green card stock and embossed with silver.  I used tiny border stickers for the 'hangers' and added a little Merry Christmas sticker by Starform.    I added the ornaments with pop dots and then layered with co-ordinating designer paper (sorry don't have the name but it's from a Basic Grey mini-pad), Metallic Rose & Blue Green cardstock.    I also added Starform holograph border stickers and rose stickles.

You can use this technique with lots of Sticker Designs.   If you are interested in trying out Micro Fine Glitter, Ellen, a Design Team member for Dolce Stamps and Cards has an excellent tutorial on using Glitter if you click onto her card at Dolce Stamps and Cards Blog.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Cheers !
Shirley

Penny Black - Pink Poinsetta

Good morning !  

We have a light snow here, winter has arrived and it looks much more 'Christmasy' !     It's a busy time of year and harder to find time for blogging,  but I will do my best to add a few more posts this year !    

I'm posting a Christmas card that I created with a gorgeous Penny Black stamp.   It's a great stamp to use for cutting and layering which I enjoy so much with my card designs.    I find the cutting very relaxing.  I also really enjoy creating my own backgrounds from inks & stamps but I still have a 'passion for paper'.   I have a 'stash' of designer papers hanging out here.   A fellow blogger recently wrote how she liked to 'hoard' papers and I laughed to myself as I can relate.   Why do I feel that I might run out of paper ?   I have to tell myself that there will always be other papers that I will fall in love with too !  So I need to keep using my paper !   

The background on this card is actually not Christmas paper but it works well.   It's from Graphic 45's, Once Upon a Springtime collection.      I also love their Christmas lines.

I stamped Penny Black's Christmas Star 4104K twice and embossed with gold on white paper that is suitable for watercolouring.   I used Tom Bow markers (with water on my non-stick craft sheet)  to colour  both flowers.   I cut them out, but didn't use all the petals from the 2nd poinsetta and layered them as shown above onto the designer paper.   I also stamped the flower on burgundy card stock in gold ink that you can see on the edges of the mat under the designer paper.     The sentiment (by Craftsmart) was also embossed with gold on co-ordinating card stock.    A gold bow, green stickles and burgundy pearls are the finishing touches !

Thanks for stopping by !
Shirley

Christmas Peacock

I hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend.   We had a wonderful dinner last night at one of our neighbour friends.  We had so many different courses we don't need to eat much today !  Christmas is such a great time.

My friend asked if I could make her a card that featured a Peacock, but it also needed to be for Christmas.  I had just treated myself to a beautiful sheet of stamps from Chocolate Baroque that features Peacocks, feathers & fans so here is what I came up with ! 

The stamp comes from the Chocolate Baroque set Peacock Fan, UA4SP0183.   I stamped the larger peacock from the set, embossed in gold and painted with my Tom Bow markers.    The sentiment which was also stamped and embossed in gold is from a from Tina Wenke that I found at Crop Circles.   I used my Cuttlebug & Spellbinder dies for the sentiment & purple labels and my Cuttlebug snowflake folder for the embossing.   The snowflake designer paper is from a K&Company mini pad that has been hanging out in my stash for a while.  The finishing touches include mauve ribbon, starform border stickers, stickels on the feathers and some little pearls.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

A Butterfly named Candra

Good evening !

I was working on more cards for Designs by Ryn this week and posting these which feature a butterfly stamp named Candra !  (CM-B6).   Candra is really a moth !   These are another diversion from Christmas Cards !

The background for the above card was created with Tombows, water & salt !  The stamp is by Designs by Ryn - Candra CM-B6.  I stamped the butterfly and the sentiment 'Dream' by Kaisercraft in Colorbox Pigment Ink - Harbour and embossed with clear.

To create the background of the above card,  I stamped Impression Obsession Cover a Card - CC025 Tapestry 2 on blue/green card stock with Gold Brilliance Ink and then embossed in clear.  The combination gave a neat shimmer to the background !   Candra was stamped and embossed twice in black on watercolour paper.   I coloured with my Tombow markers using water on the paper.   I cut out both butterflies, but just the center of the 2nd one and popped them up as the photo shows.    I added a little left-over paper from the first card onto the background along with hand dyed silk ribbon and a crystal heart charm.

Again the above background was created by using Tombow markers, Water and salt.   Candra was stamped & embossed with gold and painted with Tombow markers.  

I guess it's going to be a long time before we see real butterflies (or moths) again in our garden but here is a gorgeous photo of a  'real' one that my step-mom Ann took.   I love this photo and thought I would share it !

Thanks for stopping in on my Blog and have a great day !
Shirley

Ornaments with Outline Stamps

Hi everyone, I hope you are having a great day. 

Our granddaughters were here for the weekend and we had a great time Christmas shopping, watching movies and making Christmas cards & ornaments.   I did the stamping & embossing for the girls, but they had fun picking out their colours and then cutting and decorating !   They were SO excited to show my step-daughter & son-in-law their creations !

I also managed to create an ornament for the Outlines Challenge this week.   All the information is here at: Outlines 'Hang it up' Challenge.   No cards -  only ornaments qualify !  

The Outlines Website has great instructions to create various ornament toppers.    Refer to the link above for all the info and to see the beautiful ornaments by the Outlines Stamp Design Team.

I used Outlines Jewel Topper I-1067 stamp to create my ornament.   I stamped & embossed in gold twice on blue and three times on platinum metallic card stock.   I used Mica Colour - Interference blue paint to add shimmer to the blue card stock (hard to see in the photo).     

It was fun putting the ornament together by cutting out the pieces and layering as the photo shows.   I added some large rhinestones and then used a Viva Decor Pearl Pen - Cream to add most of the 'jewels'.  I also used Pool Smooch Ink at the top of the ornament. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

Flowers & Lace

Good morning !     I worked on some cards for Designs by Ryn this week and thought I would post one today that is a diversion from Christmas cards !    This card was created using an inking technique (smooshing) that I learned in a Cathie Allen class last month.   

The stamp I used is Flower Lace which is beautiful with the delicate lace around the flower.   This stamp is great for backgrounds, but I also used it for the main image.

I used a heavy white card stock and stamped out the flower (by smooshing) with first ice blue, then wisteria and finally blue iris chalk inks.   The final images were stamped using Midnight Blue pigment ink and then embossed with clear.  I stamped an extra flower with the midnight blue ink, embossed with clear,  cut it out and popped it up.    I added a few rhinestones, pearl spray and the Best Wishes sentiment (I used distress ink to colour) for the final touches !

Colourbox Inks:  Petal Point chalk set - Blossom Pastels and Midnight Blue Pigment.
Distress Ink:  Milled Lavender 
Spellbinder Nestabilities : Labels Twenty-Three S4-348
Stamp:  Flower Lace 2 CM-T5 by Designs by Ryn

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by !
Shirley

White Harlequin Christmas Again !

Hi everyone !  I hope you are enjoying a great day !   While it's getting colder here, it's nice & sunny !   Love it !

Sorry but this card is a repeat as it was on yesterday's post along with my first entry into Chocolate Baroque's White Christmas Challenge .    The more cards that are entered into this challenge the bigger the prize becomes !    I had 2 cards on yesterday's post and Glenda, owner of CB, suggested that I enter this 2nd card into the challenge as there is no limit ! Yay !    So this is my 2nd entry but it required a separate post to work with the link.  

Again this card was created using one of the stamps from the beautiful Harlequin Christmas Set - SP0282 from Chocolate Baroque.    I used Gold Embossing and gold metallic & white cardstock for a simple & elegant card.   I hope you agree !     I've also used this stamp with different colours of ink & embossing,  it's versatile.

By the way, Chocolate Baroque is located in England, but they have great service shipping to Canada !   I recently ordered another sheet of stamps from them with no problem getting here !     You'll probably see some CB Peacocks appearing on my blog !

Have a great day & thanks for stopping by !
Shirley

A White Harlequin Christmas

Hello !   It's looking a little like Winter here this morning !  We had freezing rain last night..... lots of ice everywhere !   A good day to stay home and work on cards ! :)    

Today's post is my entry into Chocolate Baroque's Challenge !   You can find the details
here at Chocolate Baroque's White Christmas Challenge.      The more people that enter the challenge the bigger the prize becomes !  

The challenge is open to interpretation but to me White Christmas means snow !    The beautiful Christmas set that I have from CB is Harlequin Christmas and it doesn't feature anything with snow.  However I decided that I would use as much white as possible in my card.   I love gold with white, so it's became a white & gold card !

If you saw my post of November 18th, I used Chocolate Baroque Harlequin Christmas  - UA4SP0282 as well but with more vibrant colours !      I used four of the seven stamps from the set to create this card.

I used white embossing on the background & then blended a little Tattered Rose Distress Ink to highlight the design of the background.  The rest I embossed with gold and added no colour.  Adding no colour is the challenge but I think white & gold make an elegant card and I hope you agree !    I layered everything onto gold metallic and then white card stock.   White ribbon, a little holograph glitter, white pearls and a pearl spray were the finishing touches !

While creating this card I also embossed in gold one other stamp from the set.  I've had fun using this with various inks & embossing but it looks simple & elegant with just gold & white !   I thought I would add this as well to show another stamp from this beautiful set  !

Update on November 24th.   Glenda the owner of Chocolate Baroque suggested  I enter this one into the challenge too as there isn't a limit to the number of entries !  Yay !  So I've created a new post featuring this card. 

Thanks for stopping by & have a great day !
Shirley

An Artful Christmas Tree

Hi everyone !

When I first started making cards I didn't understand what the attraction to rubber stamps was.     It seemed that it was too easy to take a stamp, stick it into black ink and stamp it on paper.  I thought that was it !   Obviously I was very wrong and once again while in Amsterdam, my Aunt & Cousins showed me that it's much much more  !    I quickly got hooked on stamps, inks, embossing powders and what you can do with them !   

I used this great stamp from the Artful Stamper.   (CM1133R Christmas Tree)

To create this layered tree !

I stamped the tree twice on a medium green card stock and embossed with gold.   I used Mica colour Interference paints to add shimmer.    I cut the tree in 4 places and then popped the 5 layers onto the first tree with clear adhesive caulk (from a hardware store).   The pattern paper is from Memory Keepers - Peppermint.   I used liquid pearls & stickles for the ornaments on the tree.    A sentiment, ribbon, a pearl cluster and Starform border stickers are the final touches.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

Harlequin Christmas !

Good Evening !

I'm posting a Christmas card that I created with a beautiful set of stamps called "Harlequin Christmas" from Chocolate Baroque in England.   What a yummy company name and what gorgeous stamps they have.     My sister who lives in Amsterdam, generously gave this set to me as a gift while on a visit here recently. 

I've been following Miranda, a talented lady who is on the design team for Chocolate Baroque and Posthumas stamp store in Amsterdam.    I love the Posthumas store as they have a huge selection of art stamps along with gorgeous card samples.  You can find Miranda on my Blog list under  'Mir'acle art Inspirations.  She recently posted cards that were designed using this set which inspired me to create with them.

I used 3 stamps from the set of 7 to create this card.  

I embossed the background with Ruby Pearl powder and then blended on some Bundled Sage Distress Ink.    The top panel and ornament were embossed with a deep purple (Eggplant) powder.     I added some distress inks again.   I highlighted the triangles on the top panel with Mica colour Interference paints to create a sheen to make them stand out.    I also added some of these paints to the ornament along with some glitter.   I cut out the ornament and popped it up, added a bow, layered with co-ordinating card stock.    I'm anxious to experiment with other ink & embossing powders with this beautiful set.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting !
Shirley

Stamps Only and it's all Purple & Silver !

Good morning !   I hope everyone is doing well and finding time to "work" on Christmas Cards !

I'm entering this Purple & Silver card into Impression Obsession's challenge for this week.   The challenge is to use stamps only, no pattern paper.   You can find the details here at Impression Obsession's Blog.

The colours in this photo are a bit different than the actual card.  I used dark plum & mauve metallic card stock.  The plum appears almost black and the metallic mauve card stock tends to look more silver than it actually is.   Sometimes I find it difficult to capture the exact colours.  Possibly a light box will help? 

The stamps I used are all from Impression Obsession:   Cover a Card - CC053 Holly,   Poinsettia Tree - F2412 and the Sentiment is Joyous Season - C8280.  

The Cover a Card stamps by Impression Obsession are a lot of fun to use to create patterned paper.    I stamped the Holly CAC onto dark plum card stock and embossed with silver.  
 
The tree & sentiment were also embossed with silver.    I stamped the tree twice on white glossy card stock.   Both trees were coloured first with Milled Lavender Distress Ink and then I used Tom bow markers to enhance the flowers and candy canes on the tree.   I cut out the larger poinsettia's on the 2nd tree and attached with pop dots for dimension.   I distressed the sentiment with the Milled Lavender Distress Ink using the spellbinder die as a mask. 

I also popped up the tree and the metallic mauve card stock that was cut with a rectangle die and embossed with a CB folder.    I layered the tree onto Mauve Metallic and Dark Plum card stock.   White Opal Liquid Pearls, a big bow & the sentiment were added for the final touch !

Spellbinder Nestabilities:   S4143 & S5019.  CB Folder:  Divine Swirl

Thanks for stopping by
Have a great day !
Shirley

The Leaves have Fallen !

Good morning !  I'm looking out my craft room window at our back gardens and can see that all the leaves have fallen !   We always enjoy getting fresh air & exercise raking them.   They also inspired the theme for this card.!

I had a lot of fun with these stamps from Designs by Ryn - Leaves set - CM-F5.   I love the movement in the leaves.

Once again I used Smooch Inks (Pool & Pumpkin) to create the background.  I used the smallest leaf in the set to stamp onto the Smooch Inks with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.    

I stamped out all 3 leaf sizes onto white glossy card stock, embossed with gold and then coloured them with Pumpkin & Ocean Soul Smooch Inks.   A colour-box stylus with the black moldable tip works well to  blend these pearlized inks which add a beautiful sheen..      I cut the leaves out and attached them in a pattern that just might be on our lawn !

I layered the background onto co-ordinating card stock and added the sentiment from Kaisercraft - Life Sentiments.   The finishing touches include gold border stickers by Starform, ribbon and a cool little leaf charm that matched in design.

Thanks for stopping by.
Have a great day !
Shirley

It's "Snow" Much Fun with Impression Obsession !

Hello !

I'm entering this cute Snowman into this week's IO's challenge.   You can find all the information and DT creations here at  Impression Obsession's Blog.    It's getting close to the cut-off for this challenge.   I  didn't have any IO "Snow People" or any other IO snow things except their large snowflake Cover a Card.

However, while I was at Crop Circles yesterday,  I found this cute snowman by IO hanging out in the store !  Of coarse he came home with me.   He looked familiar and now I know why !  One of the Design Team members has already featured him along with another person entering this challenge !     So this guy is making another appearance !

To create the background I used Impression Obsessions Cover a Card - CC035 Snowflakes.   This is one of their 'negative' backgrounds where the image is actually not inked !    They are so cool !    I stamped using my Mega Block & Versamark and then embossed with white.   I blended a little Aged Mahogany & Tumbled Glass Distress Inks over the embossing.  So the image picked up the red & blue ink.

I stamped the Snowman - Impression Obsession G7640 and embossed with Silver.    I stamped out the hat a 2nd time and also embossed with silver and then embossed again with Kaleidoscope to add extra thickness and sparkle.  I painted his ornament, scarf, carrot nose and a bit of trim on his hat with Tom Bow markers.   I cut out the snowman and the extra hat was popped up.     After the card was put together, I added lots of glitter.. holograph, red & mermaid stickles and then some chunky glitter around the edge of him for a glitter-snow effect !    You can see all the glitter better in the close-up below.

I'm also a little short on IO Christmas sentiments.   The one I have would have worked well, but it would have covered up more of the background and I wanted it to show !   

Thanks for stopping by !
Have a great day !
Shirley

A Butterfly named Tsuki

Good morning !    It's another beautiful sunny morning here in Ontario and I'm looking forward to more time outside.  The leaves are still falling and I'm still cleaning up the gardens.    I'm thinking about butterflies with our sunny days, but sadly they have already left us for warmer climate in the south.      Fortunately I have butterflies hanging out in my craft room :)

I had fun creating cards with the beautiful Tsuki Butterfly CM-B5 stamp from Designs by Ryn.   

To create the background for this card I blended the following Smooch Inks:  Plumberry, Pool, Grape Soda and then added a little Silver Fox.    I used a letter Background to stamp first with Brilliance Platinum Planet and then again with Colourbox Boysenberry Pigment Ink.

The Butterfly was stamped and embossed with silver on white card stock.  I coloured it using Tom Bow markers 452, 636 & 665 and then cut it out.  I popped it up and curved the wings down a little.

The sentiment was stamped with Colourbox Midnight Pigment Ink and then embossed with clear.     I added some hand-dyed ribbon that was in my stash and layered with co-ordinating card stock.

Stamps used:  Designs by Ryn - Tsuki CMB5, Penny Black 1999L - Letter Background, Kaisercraft Life Sentiments

I had fun with the background for this card !   I've seen this watercolour technique and often wondered how was it done ?    Fortunately I met Ryn, a talented artist who had beautiful cards on display using this technique.  She took the time during a busy show to describe what to do !     Tom Bow markers, water & salt are the 'secret'.     I will be 'playing' more with this technique !

The Tsuki butterfly and sentiment were both stamped over the background with Colourbox Midnight Pigment ink and then embossed with clear.     I didn't think this card needed anything else as the background is the 'art' and the butterfly image compliments it.   I just added a few rhinestones and layered with some navy & teal card stock.

One more photo today !   My step-mother Ann, who is a great photographer, often takes the time to send me beautiful photos.    I thought I would post this one as it's inspiration for butterfly cards !  Thanks Ann for sharing so many of your wonderful photographs !!! 

That's all for today !
Thanks for stopping by & have a great day,
Shirley

Christmas Peace Dove

Good morning !   I'm entering this Peace Dove card in Outlines "Friendly Fliers" challenge this week.  You can find the information and the Design Team creations at Outlines Blog .

I used Outlines G1117 Peace Dove and F1124 Posy Winter Greetings to create this card.  The Peace Dove is a beautiful stamp that I wanted to start using to create some of my Christmas cards for this year !   I stamped and embossed the image twice with gold.    I used Tom bows to colour the images and cut-out an extra wing & star which are popped up for a little dimension.   The paper is from Memory Keepers - Peppermint and Kaisercraft - Mary.   Liquid Pearls, Xmas Red & Diamond Stickles, Starform border stickers & ribbon were added for the finishing touches ! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

A Stylized Tree

Good evening !    I hear we are going to enjoy a bit of  Indian Summer tomorrow !   I'm working but hope to take some time to enjoy the warm weather and get out into the gardens !

I'm posting a card tonight that I created using stamps that were designed by Ryn, who is a very talented artist. 

The stamps used are Designs by Ryn - Stylized Tree Set CM-C12.   I love creating backgrounds with Smooch Inks and used them again!   I blended Pool, Ocean Soul & Kiwi on white card stock.   I stamped the smaller tree from the set with Platinum Brilliance Ink.   The larger tree was stamped and embossed with a metallic bronze powder.  This embossing powder by Judi Kins is a blend of copper, gold & silver.    I blended a bit of Kiwi smooch ink around the tree.     I layered with co-ordinating card stock, added a little ribbon and it's done !

Thanks for stopping by !
Have a great day,
Shirley

Happy Birthday Jeanette !

Good evening !     I made this card for my friend Jeanette who celebrated her birthday this week !    Jeanette is a talented crafter who has been so kind and generous to host a group of us almost weekly at her place.    It's such a relaxing atmosphere and wonderful time to work on stitching, knitting or cards and to share ideas and stories with each other.  Thank you Jeanette for all the fun & inspiration !   We hope you had a great Birthday!

The background on this card was created with an IO Cover a Card stamp.   I have quite a few of  these background stamps, you can do so much with them !   I stamped the flourishes with Versa Mark ink and embossed with clear on brown card stock.

I stamped and embossed the gift and bow twice with copper powder onto white smooth card stock.  I coloured in the first  image with Broken China Distress Ink and added Smooch Ink to highlight the circles.

On the 2nd image I coloured just the ribbon & bow with Tea dye Distress Ink.  Once again I added Mica Colour Interference paint for the shimmer !    I cut out the ribbon and bow and popped them up a bit over the package.

I used my Cuttlebug and a die from Nellies' Frames to cut out the square which was adhered behind the gift.  Blue ribbon, Happy Birthday and some bling were the final touches !

Stamps used:   Impression Obsession Cover a Card - Flourishes CC027,  The Artful Stamper - Present and Bow 1264P and the sentiment is from a Inkadinkado - Personal Impressions - 96614

Thanks for stopping by !
Have a great day,
Shirley

Pretty in Pink - Outline's Challenge

Good evening !   I couldn't resist Outline's Challenge this week - "Pretty in Pink" as I could visualize a pretty & pink smooch ink background !   The details for this challenge are on Outline's Blog.  They also show beautiful cards by the Design Team. 

It's hard to see the detail of the 'smoochy' background, but it has a nice sheen !     I used my new Outline stamps:   D96 Swirly Flower Med and D97 Swirly Flower Sm and the cool J988 Izzy Background to create this card.

I used Snickerdoodle & Taffy Smooch ink, blended on smooth white card stock to create the background.   I stamped Izzy with Colour Box, Metal extra Platinum Ink.   The flowers were stamped and embossed with a metallic bronze embossing powder.   I also coloured the flowers with the smooch inks.   To blend smooch inks you need a Colour box stylus with a curved moldable foam tip.    It's easy & fun !    I popped up the flowers, added ribbon and used bisque liquid pearls and diamond stickles for the finishing touches.  

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day !
Shirley

Christmas Candles

Good morning !   It's a beautiful sunny Fall day here in Ontario !        I had a great time teaching at the "Christmas Doodles" class on Saturday at Crop Circles with the creative & fun ladies.    They made 8 cards with the new "Shirley Doodle" stamps, it was busy !  I'm posting a Christmas Card today that I designed for Crop Circles.   

I used a new Spellbinder Nestability to cut the shape and stamped and embossed the Candles & Holly with gold and coloured them with my Tom Bow markers.     The Christmas Candles image is a Shirley Doodle stamp.   I distressed around the image using the die as a 'mask' using "Old Paper" Distress Ink.     I used the Cuttlebug to emboss the green mat.  I used Impression Obsession's Cover a Card Flourishes CC027 with gold embossing on Basic Grey's 'Wassail' paper.   I also added some of the striped paper from that collection.    A bow and some red stickles were added as the final touch.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley