Fun Day

Today was a fun day for me.  My neighbor Pat came over to learn how to make a card.  She wanted a pretty birthday card for her mother.  We spent the morning making a bunch of flowers, stopped to have lunch, then this afternoon started working on designing the card.

Pat and I both made flowers but this is the card she design and completed herself. Isn't it gorgeous!  On the aqua background, corners were punched with the Martha Stewart "Swirling Lace Corner" punch.  The pretty doily was die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Sophia's Heart"   die.  Isn't it perfect with the roses.  The large rose was created with the Spellbinders "Spiral Blossom One" die.  I taught her how to sponge along the bottom edge, then "scrunch" up the spiral petals.  She had fun learning how to use the tools from the Flower Tool kit to shape her flowers.  The smaller roses so we used the  Spellbinders "Bitty Blossoms" (medium) die.   The roses were die cut using light weight, white card stock, available from Joan's Gardens, and were also sponged and "scrunched" like the large rose before rolling.  The flourish at the top of the roses was die cut using the Marianne Design "Forest Branch" and small leaves from the Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip" were tucked in under the flowers. The small pink butterflies are from the Memory Box "Butterfly Delights" die.  To complete the front of the card white Kaiser Craft pearls were added to the corners.  

This is the first card Pat has ever made and I think she did a fabulous job.  I know her mom will know it was made with lots of love and will think it is gorgeous.  I think Pat is really hooked on creating pretty flowers and she does plan to come back over to learn more techniques.  We had a wonderful day together.  

All the products we used to create this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One

Spellbinders "Bitty Blossoms

Marianne Design "Forest Branch" (LR0150)

Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip" (B178)

Martha Stewart "Swirling Lace Corner" punch

Memory Box "Butterfly Delights"
Kaiser Craft Pearls

Distress Ink 

Flower making card stock

Flower Tool Kit

Black Flower Shaping Pad

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Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

Are you ready for a new challenge at Joan's Garden. Joan and I decided it might be fun to have you create a "patriotic" card since the 4th of July is just around the corner; therefore, the color theme this week is "Red, White & Blue".  Please go over to Joan's Gardens to see all the rules for this challenge.   

The striped design paper is from the BoBunny "Liberty" Collection paper pad.  I knew I wanted to create some red, white and blue flowers and ended up doing something different than originally planned.  I used the Cheery Lynn "Stacker Flower #2" die for the flowers.  I was going to stack three together to create my flowers but decided to change to a "daisy" looking flower;  the picture below has more flowers than I needed.

I wanted to show you how I created this flower, but did not take another picture, so will explain it to you from this picture.  You can see the Cheery Lynn Stacker Flower die under the end of the flower shaping tool in this picture.   To let you know what I was thinking when I started, I wanted to make the petals "frilly" thinking they would resemble pretty fireworks.  You can see how I cut four times up each petal.  For my card, I folded the flower in half to create the daisy type flower.  These flowers looked really pretty with three layers stacked together, but they were too large to add one of each color.  I even liked them with one flower made with the three colors.  I added a little "Star Dust" Stickles to the center of the flowers.

I used my favorite flower stems/leaves for these flowers.  They are from the Heartfelt Creations "Simple Filler Stems PreCut Set".  I stamped four stems and cut off the leaves from one to add additional leaves.  I had those large gold, flat backed, embellishments in my stash that I added for the center of the flowers.  The fence is the Marianne Design Creatable Fence.  I die cut two of them and sponged each, before taking them out of the die, with gray ink to give them shadows.  The cute little girl is one of the new Marianne Design "Little Sweethearts" stamps.  The lady bug is the smallest lady bug from the Heartfelt Creations "Simple Filler Stems" stamp set.  

The sentiment used is from a new sentiment stamp set by Penny Black called "Gratitude".  You should be sure and check out this great set at Joan's Gardens.  It even includes some really pretty butterflies.  The sentiment was stamped using VersaFine Ink then die cut using one of the Spellbinders "Fancy Tags".  It was attached with dimensional dots.  Did you notice the little heart above the little girl?  That is a piece that fell out of the "Fancy Tag" and landed there.  I liked it there so just glued it down.  I forgot to mention that the grass was cut with the MFT grass die.  

I hope you find this a fun challenge and will join us

Marianne Design Fence Creatable (LR0206)

Marianne Design "Little Sweethearts" (TC0823)

Spellbinders Fancy Tags

Penny Black "Gratitude" stamp set

Cheery Lynn "Stacker Flower #2" (SF-2)

Heartfelt Creations "Simple Filler Stems PreCut Set" (HCPC 3319)

BoBunny "Liberty Collection" paper pad

Stickles "Star Dust"

Botanical Butterfly

I have to laugh while I post this card.   I honestly tried to design a card without adding any flowers.  It was all finished without any, and I just couldn't bring myself to post it.  I decided to add some daisies and now I am much happier.  I don't know what it is with me and flowers!   

To create this card I used two JustRite stamp sets.  The butterfly is from the "Botanical Butterflies" stamp set.  The image, which includes the circle behind the butterfly, was white embossed on aqua card stock and cut out with scissors.  I stamped it again, using a  blue Distress Ink on white card stock, and cut out the butterfly so I could make it dimensional.  Have you seen all the beautiful JustRite border stamps?  I love this one from the "Classic Lace Edges One" stamp set.  JustRite has a lot of new border stamps I'm sure you will love - they are all posted at Joan's Gardens.  This lace edge was white embossed then I sponged on  ink in the center, to help make the white embossing stand out.  

After the border was stamped, I used the new Sizzix "Fancy Frame" embossing folder to create a border around the stamped image.  I lightly sponged color over the raised portion of the embossed frame.  The corners are one of the Cheery Lynn "Corners".  The little daisies were die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Darling Daisies" die.  Kaiser Craft rhinestones were added to complete the card.    Well I am satisfied now that I have added the cute little daisies.  

All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

JustRite Classic Lace Edges One (CR03680)

JustRite Botanical Butterflies (CR02245)

Sizzix Fancy Frame (657197)

Cheery Lynn Corner (B163)

Cheery Lynn Darline Daisies (A196)

Distress Inks

Ranger White Embossing Powder

I would like to send this card to my sister, who lives in Colorado, but I doubt they even have mail delivery right now.  She lives by the Garden of the Gods, in Colorado Springs, where the terrible fire is in Waldo Canyon.  Both her and my niece had to evacuate.  Last I heard, the fire was in the neighborhood where my niece lives and my sister lives not far away.  I just heard that the fire has reached part of the Air Force Academy.  We all need to pray that these fires will be put out soon and everyone will be safe.  It is so devastating to lose your entire house and most of your belongings.  They are worried that the fire will jump the highway and reach the beautiful little suburb of Colorado Springs called Manitou Springs.   My sister told me that the ashes from this fire are the size of half a dollar bill -- hard to even imagine.

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Heartfelt Creations June Alumni Blog Hop

I always look forward to the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop.  This month I decided to create a get well card.  As in the past, if you would like to be in the drawing for the $25 Gift Certificate from Heartfelt Creations, be sure to visit each blog in the hop and leave a comment on each one.  The winner will be randomly selected from one of the designer's blog.  Wouldn't you love to win that certificate!

The flowers I made for my card were created with stamps from the Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Floral PreCut Set".  They were white embossed on light pink card stock and die cut using the matching "Carnation Creation Shapeabilities" dies.  I always love that you can use the Heartfelt Creations stamps to get all the flower detail, then quickly die cut them with matching dies.  

The pretty die cut lace background, above the flowers,  is the Heartfelt Creations "Decorative lace Border".  I attached it to a piece of pink card stock and cut around the outside so the pretty lace would show up on the white background.  That rectangle doily behind the flowers was die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Horizon Coved Rectangle Mega Doily".  

Heartfelt Creations has been coming out with nice, large, sentiments with the most beautiful font.  This sentiment was released this month in the "Bird Haven PreCut Set".  Isn't it beautiful!   I used a piece of the Memory Box "Latchette Border" under the sentiment. The flourishes are die cut using the MFT "Fancy Flourish" die and the little leaves are die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip".  The corners are from the Cheery Lynn (B162) corner die set. The design paper is from the new Kaiser Craft "The Lake House" paper pad. 

Be sure to visit all the designer's  blogs below to see their beautiful cards.  Remember to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win the $25 Gift Certificate from Heartfelt Creations. You have until Friday June 29th, at midnight, to leave your comment.  The winner will be announced Saturday.

Here are all the designers participating in this blog hop:

Olga:   http://craftieodamae.blogspot.com/ 

Carla:   http://carlassstampingspot.blogspot.com/

Lisa:     http://toddandlisacreations.blogspot.com/

Selma:  http://selmasstampingcorner.blogspot.com  (you are here)

Marsha: http://stampingdownsouth.blogspot.com

Kerry:   http://thestampingbug.blogspot.com

Linda:   http://thestampingbug.blogspot.com/

Thanks for joining us for our Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop.  

All the products I used on my card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Florals PreCut Set" (HCPC 3438)

Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Creation Shapeabilities" dies

Heartfelt Creations "Decorative Lace Border" Die (HCD 716)

Heartfelt Creations "Bird Haven PreCut Set" (HCPC 3477)

Kaiser Craft "The Lake House" Paper Pack

MFT "Fancy Flourish"

Cheery Lynn "Corner" (B162)

Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip" (B178)

Cheery Lynn "Horizon Coved Rectangle Mega Doily" (DL193)

Memory Box "Latchette Border" (98294)

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Seems almost everyone in our family has a summer birthday.  This is a card I made for my granddaughter who just turned 15.  I didn't have time to work on a card today so thought you might like to see her card rather than nothing.  This card was made over a week ago and mailed and I did not make a list of all the dies I used.   I used a "retired" Marianne Design embossing folder for the background.  I have a box of previously made flowers that I used along with some Cheery Lynn leaves and Martha Stewart Branches.  The butterfly is from Memory Box and the sentiment is from JustRite.  On the inside, I created a pocket to include a gift card.  

 This is going to be a very busy summer for me.  Since Joan and I are going to CHA next month, we are thinking ahead for her August workshop. We are hoping to have all the projects designed before I leave to go out to see Joan.  After I get back from Indiana,  I will be going on vacation with my husband to visit our sons in San Diego and Phoenix. Since we are not having much sun here, we are looking forward to fun in the sun!   While I am away, there are some new releases I hope to have cards ready for, so if I miss some days posting, you'll know I am still busy designing for future exciting releases.  I hope you are having a great summer.  Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog.

Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

We have a fun a very fun challenge for you this week.  Joan has a new line of stamps from Art Impressions we call "Oldies but Goodies" and we have each created a card with one of these stamps.  Please go over to Joan's Gardens to see Joan's super cute card and all the challenge rules.

The stamp I used is Art Impressions "Golden Oldies".  The images were colored with Distress Markers and the Ranger "Water Brush Detailer".  The top of the images were cut out with scissors.  I wanted to create a lace table cloth on the table they are sitting at so I used a portion of the Cheery Lynn "Polynesian Sails Oval" to create a round table cloth.  For the background I used the Sizzix "Beaded Ribbons" embossing folder.  I embossed half the background, then lined it up on the other side to emboss the entire front.  My card is 5.5" x 6" which is larger than the embossing folder.  

In the upper corners I added a Cheery Lynn "Lace Corner Deco J" corner and on top of the corners I included a flower created with the die that come in the center of the Cheery Lynn "Monon's Wedding Garland" die set.  Pieces of the "Monon's Wedding Garland" were added for corners on the bottom and in the center, between the flowers.  The sentiment is from the JustRite "Your Special Day Medallion Labels" stamp set.  It was die cut using one of the Spellbinders "Petite Scallop Circle" dies.  I used my Tim Holtz Paper Piercer to punch holes in each scallop.  To complete my card, I added a few Kaiser Craft rhinestones.  

Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see all the challenge rules and to see what the prize is this week.  I hope you will join us in our challenge this week - we love to see your cards.

All the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

Art Impressions "Golden Oldies" (UMT1522)

Sizzix "Beaded Ribbons" embossing folder (657137)

Cheery Lynn "Manon's Wedding Garland" (DL218) border and flowers

Cheery Lynn "Polynesian Sails Oval" (DL153"

Cheery Lynn "Lace Corner Deco J" (B175)

Spellbinders Petite Scallop Circle die

Tim Holtz Paper Piercer

Distress Markers

Kaiser Craft Rhinestones

Tim Holtz "Water Brush Detailer" TIP33097

JustRite "Your Special Day Medallion Labels" (CL-03545)

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For Someone Special

As much as I love to design feminine cards, I do have three grandsons and they all have birthdays coming up soon, so I need to create three cards appropriate for them.  I have these Marianne Design Dies from Joan's Gardens that are perfect for a card for one of my grandsons.  The sail boat is one from the Marianne Design (LR0199) die set.  There are two boats in this set.  The lighthouse is a new die Marianne Design (LR0321).  I wasn't quiet sure how I could build a scene out on the ocean with just the dies, so I used a Heartfelt Creations stamp for my background.  I believe this particular stamp has been discontinued but there are other Heartfelt Creations lighthouse stamps you can get.  The scene was colored with Distress Markers.   I placed the die cut lighthouse over the stamped one which gives it added dimension.  When you die cut this lighthouse, it cuts out some of the areas so I die cut it twice so I could insert the red strips on the base of it.  Distress Markers were used to color the top portion. 

Some clouds were part of the stamped image, then I used a cloud stencil to sponge on a blue sky creating more clouds.  The sail boat was colored using Distress Markers.  Both the lighthouse and sailboat were lightly sponged with Tea Dye Distress Ink to tone down the white.  I used a black marker to add some additional "waves" in the ocean.  To give the water some "white caps" I used a new product I am really in love with. You can purchase it from Joan.   It is called "Copic  Opaque White".  It is a thick white liquid that you add with a paint brush.  It is truly opaque.  I can imagine a lot of things I will be using this new product on -- especially when it comes time to design Christmas cards.  I'm sure this is another product you will love having in your supplies.    The pretty sentiment is from another new stamp set from Joan's Gardens.  It is a "Tina Wenke" clear stamp set called "With Love".  

Tomorrow it will be time for a new Challenge at Joan's Gardens.  We have a fun challenge for you so hope you will come back to see what we have planned for you.

All the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens

Marianne Design (LR0199) sail boat

Marianne Design (LR0321) lighthouse

Distress Markers

Distress Inks

Copic Opaque White

Tina Wenke "With Love" sentiments (set of 5 sentiments)

Heartfelt Creations lighthouse stamp

Cloud Stencil

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Visit with Patti

Yesterday Patti Nelson and I finally had the opportunity to meet. This isn't the greatest picture for beautiful hair -- it was raining and my naturally straight hair was  definitely going straight!! In case you don't know, I'm the tall one.  Patti and her daughter drove over to Spokane Valley from Idaho, which was about halfway for both of us.  We enjoyed getting to know each other a little better over a cup of coffee and a Krispy Cream doughnut - yum.  Our visit was short but we plan to get together later for some stamping time.  So fun to get to meet blogging friends.

Pink Flower Tutorial

Are you ready to learn how to create another style flower with a die I have used many other times? This flower was created with the Marianne Designs (LR0 168) flower die. Today I have prepared another tutorial for you.    Also, I have had some questions about die cutting the Marianne Design Anja corners, so I thought I would show you how I do that.  

I use two Anja Corner dies when I am die cutting both upper corners.  You will "flatten" down the embossing on the first corner if you are using only one die to cut both corners.  I tape them down so they are right next to the edge, as shown above.  On this card I am also using the Memory Box "Piestra Tile", along the bottom, and it is also taped down, then run through my Grand Calibur machine.  

This picture shows what the die cuts look like as soon as you remove the dies.  Notice that there are little pieces of card stock still attached around the corners.  You will probably want to clip these off.

In this picture, you can see how I snipped off that little extra piece still attached (corner on the right).  I followed the lines of the embossed design to give it a more finished look.

All the products used to create this card are available from Joan's Gardens and are listed at the end of this post.

Tutorial for creating flowers with the Marianne Design (LR0 168) flower.    

This is a picture showing the tools I used and the finished flowers.

I used five Marianne Design flowers for each completed flower.  On the upper left is the die cut flower and next to it you can see how I used a sponge dauber to add "Spun Sugar" Distress Ink to the center of each flower.  I used the fine spray mister to dampen each one to make it easier to "wrinkle" each petal.  Dampen on both the front and back.  In the bottom left, you can see the difference between the "wrinkled" petal and the two petals not wrinkled.  The last flower is how each flower will look after all petals are wrinkled.

I used the white shaping tool from the Flower Tool Kit to wrap one petal around it.  Hold it on the tip of the petal and down at the base around the tool, then pinch the petal toward the center of the petal to create the creases. This tool is plastic and works great for this technique.  This causes vertical lines down each petal.  Use your heat gun to dry the flowers before assembly.  If you are patient, you can just let them air dry.  They will not shape well (cup up for assembly) if you work with them while wet or damp.

Once they are dry, press each flower down in the black flower shaping mat to "cup" them.  The bottom three are not "cupped" as much as the two center flowers.  Use the largest stylus in the Flower Tool Kit and press down just in the very center and lower portion of each petal.  Don't use the stylus in the area you created the "wrinkles".  One of the flowers needs to be worked until it looks like the flower laying on the right side on the stylus.  The very center flower needs to be cupped up very tightly as shown on the left of the stylus.  The more you push and work the flower down into the mat, the more it will "cup" up.  Use your fingers to close up the cupped flower pinching the very bottom to help hold it's shape.

On the right you can see what the flower looks like with four layers glued together -- the very center of the flower is laying on the right.

Once the center is glued in, your flower will look like this.  Don't you like that pink shading down in the center of the flower!  

I love trying to figure out different ways to use our dies.  There are so many different types of flowers that can be created with a single die or a combination of dies. This technique has created a completely different flower from any others I have made with this die.  Hope this tutorial has been helpful.  I always love to read your comments.  

All the products used for this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

Marianne Design "Anja Corner" (LR0200)

Memory Box "Piestra Tile" (98157)

Marianne Design "Doily and Flower" (LR0168)

Marianne Design "Leaves" (LR0156)

Memory Box "Quinn Flourish" (98267)

Memory Box "Kaleidoscope Butterfly" (98261)

Memory Box "Chloe Stem" (98321)

Pink Silk Bow

Flower Tool Kit

Black Flower Shaping Mat

JudiKins Spritzer

Distress Ink

Small Sponge Dauber

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Welcome to my Home

I promised you I would post a card using one of the new Marianne Design houses.  Today  I used the Victoria House. This was such a fun die to use because you can really get creative to create many different scenes.  Joan's Gardens also has the English Cottage and Scandinavian House dies.  

I die cut the Victoria House using white card stock then sponged on Distress Inks while it was still in the die for the shading on the house.  The doors open and so does the window up in the attic.  All the windows are die cut so you can add design paper behind them.  I added a piece of vellum behind the windows and doors, then added  design paper behind the vellum - it gives a little "interest" behind the vellum.   I really like that effect.   My card is 5.5" x 6".  I sponged clouds on a white piece of card stock that was layered over black.  The tree is the Memory Box "Arboscello Tree".  It was die cut using a piece of dark green card stock then the truck was colored with Distress Markers.  I used leaves from this same tree to create bushes and greenery in the flower boxes.  The flowers were die cuts from the Memory Box "Flower Mound" die.  This is actually a tree topper but the little pieces that fall out resemble little flowers.  The fence is the Memory Box "Wrought Iron Fence".  I used this die cut for the fence in front of the house and also for the flower boxes in front of the windows.  The grass is the MFT "Fresh Cut Grass".  I cut two of the grass borders and they were pieced along the bottom of the card.  I didn't want the grass, or the fence, right in front of the door, so I cut a small piece of gray card stock to place at the bottom of the porch steps then placed both the grass and fence on each side.  

Well I think that completes this card.  I think you will have a lot of fun creating some fun cards with these house dies.  

Hope you have been enjoying Father's Day Weekend.  Today my husband and I went for a ride around Deer Lake which is not far from where we live.  We had no idea it was so large.   It is completely surrounded by beautiful mountains. There are houses completely around it.  Our neighbor owns a house on the lake, and told us we could go up and fish off their pier.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, we think we will take her up on it.  I am cooking one of my husband's favorite dinners tonight then our daughter is taking us out for a Father's Day dinner tomorrow evening. 

All the products used to create this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

Marianne Design "Victoria House" (CR1218)

Memory Box "Arboscello Tree"  (98155)

Memory Box "Flower Mound" (98144)

Memory Box "Wrought Iron Fence" (98164)

MFT "Fresh Cut  Grass"

Distress Inks

Distress Markers

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Daisy

Today I was putting away some of the dies I have been using this week and noticed the Memory Box "Tilth Floral" die and thought I could make a pretty flower using the "discards" from it.  I always like to show you additional things you can do with your dies so they get a lot of use.  

This is the Memory Box "Tilth Floral" die, the die cut from it, and on the far right is one of the pieces from the diecut.  Doesn't that look like a daisy petal!  I sponged some of the ends of these pieces with Distress Ink "Squeezed Lemonade" then lightly sponged on a little "Dried Marigold" Distress Ink for shading.  I then used the largest flower base from the Cheery Lynn "Build A Flower #1" to glue on the petals.  I cut off 3 of the points because I only wanted a "half" flower.  The petals were glued to the other 5 points then 4 more petals were glued on in between the first layer.  To create the center of the flowe,r I used the smallest die from the Spellbinders "Big Scalloped Ovals Sm" dies.  It was cut in half using a pair of "Deckle" edge scissors.  I didn't want that bottom edge perfectly straight so that is why I used these scissors.

This is a 5.5" x 6" card.  I used the Penny Black "Blush" (daisy) stamp for the stem and leaves.  Two shades of green Distress Markers were used to color right on the rubber then it was lightly misted with water before stamping on the card stock.  I didn't want just a plain background so I embossed this piece with the "Swiss Dots" embossing folder.  I placed it in the folder so that the dots would emboss the full length (which would be sideways on this card), then placed the folder back on the unembossed area and ran it through the machine again.  This way I had complete coverage.  

To ground the flower, I used three layers of the MFT "Fresh Cut Grass" border, alternating the blades of grass.  The little butterfly was die cut using the new Heartfelt Creations "Butterfly" die.  It was sponged prior to taking it out of the die. In the center of the butterfly, I used one of the Memory Box Butterfly "bodies"; the bottom portion of that body was cut off so the size fit my small butterfly.   The "Dragonfly" was die cut using the Memory Box "Willow Dragonfly".  The pretty corners are the Cherry Lynn "Corner".  I think this is such a pretty corner.  To finish the card, I added some diamond "Stickles" to the butterfly, dragonfly, and the flower.  Antique Photo Stickles was added to the center of the flower.

I know many of you have purchased the Memory Box "Tilth Floral" die.  I hope this gives you an additional idea for using it.  If you haven't purchased this die yet and would like to add it to your collection, you can purchase it from Joans Gardens.

Today I received another box of "goodies" from Joan and one of the new items are the Marianne Design "houses".  Joan has these posted on her blog so you can go over and see them now.  I am very excited to start work on designing a card with one of these houses for my next post.  They look like so much fun to work with.   

Memory Box "Tilth Floral" die (98320)

Penny Black "Blush" (daisy) stamp (2666K)

MFT "Fresh Cut Grass"

Cheery Lynn "Corner" (B 166)

Heartfelt Creations Spellbinders "Garden Romance" butterfly (HCD723)

Memory Box "Willow Dragonfly" (98319)

Spellbinders "Big Scalloped Ovals Sm"

Distress Inks 

Distress Markers

Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Stickles "Diamond" and "Antique Photo"

Memory Box "Kaleidosope Butterfly" for body of butterfly)

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Birdhouse

Do you love birdhouses?   I would have a yard full of them but they always become "bee" or "wasp" houses so we don't have any.  This is one of the new Heartfelt Creations stamps. Isn't it beautiful.  It is from the "Bird Haven" stamp set.  The little birds and butterflies are from another stamp set in this months "Garden Romance Collection".  You can see all the new Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies in this collection at Joan's Gardens.  

The images were stamped on watercolor paper with Ranger's black Archival Ink and colored with the new Tim Holtz Distress Markers.  I absolutely love watercoloring with these markers; all you have to do is outline areas and use the waterbrush to spread the color.  It is kind of like using colored pencils and OMS but so much easier.  I love the shading you get when you use these makers.  I used the matching Spellbinder dies to die cut the birds and butterfly.  There are also dies for birdhouses but I did not make this bird house dimensional.  

For the background I used a piece of design paper from the Kaiser Craft "Pink Gelato" paper pack.  The embossed panel is one of the Sizzix "Texture Fades"; there are two embossing folders in this package.  The outside edge of the embossed frame looks like a woodgrain and I think it is a great match for this birdhouse.  I had some flowers  I previously created with Spellbinders flower dies that matched really well, so I used them to complete my card.  

All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens:

Heartfelt Creations "Bird Haven PreCut Set" (HCPC 3477)

Heartfelt Creations "Brookside Manor PreCut Set" (HCPC 3480)

Sizzix "Texture Fades" Embossing Folder (657845)

Kaiser Craft "Pink Gelato" Paper Pad

Tim Holtz Distress Markers

Ranger's Water Brushes

Ranger's Archival Ink Pad

I'm looking forward to Monday because I will be meeting Patti Nelson who is a blogging friend.  She lives over in Idaho and we are going to meet halfway.  We plan on a little shopping and lunch.  This is something we have been wanting to do for at least three years.  I am so excited to finally get to meet her.

Have a great weekend.

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Get Well Soon

Today it is time for a new challenge at Joan's Gardens.   The theme Joan chose this week is "Create a card for a child" .  Joan has created two very cute cards plus posted pictures of the two cute grandchildren she created the cards for.   Hope you will join us for this fun and easy challenge at Joan's Gardens.   I'll be creating my card for the challenge later.

Above is a card I created yesterday. I decided to combine a Marianne Design "Cut and Emboss" folder with one of the new Cheery Lynn "Window" dies.  I first used the Cherry Lynn "window A" to die cut the window on the right side of the card then embossed the design on the left side of this 5.5" x 6" card. You have to die cut the window first so you don't "smash" the embossed design.   The design paper behind the window is from the Pink Paislee "Butterfly Garden" Collection paper pack.  

The roses were created with the My Favorite Things "Royal Rolled Rose" die.  

In an earlier tutorial I showed you how I shaded a rolled flower by inking on the bottom of the petals leaving a white tip on each petal.  Today I inked the petals on the outer edge giving a lightly tinted edge. The roses were "scrunched" up for texture then rolled.   Different Marianne Design Leaves were used around the roses.

The sentiment is from the JustRite "Violette Vintage Labels" stamp set.  It was die cut using a small Spellbinders "Lacy Circles" die then placed over the Memory Box "Winged Swirl".  The butterfly is one from the Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" die set. 

Here are the products from Joan's Gardens that I used:

Cheery Lynn "Window A" (FRM  141)

Marianne Design Cut and Emboss Folder (DS0907)

My Favorite ThingsRoyal Rolled Rose"

Marianne Design Decorative Elegance leaves (LR0156)

Marianne Design Anja Leaves (LR0229)

Cheery Lynn Mini Butterfly (DL112)

JustRite "Violette Vintage Labels" stamp set (Cl-03735)

Memory Box "Winged Swirl" (98258)

Spellbinders "Lacy Circles"

Distress Inks

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Heartfelt Creations New Collection

Today is the release of the new Heartfelt Creations "Garden Romance Collection".  This is such a fun collection of stamps and dies that include birds, bird houses, mailboxes, butterflies, blooming peonies, trellises and new landscapes.  There are seven new PreCut stamps sets and one beautiful new exclusive Spellbinders die set that was designed for Heartfelt Creations.  You can order this new Heartfelt Creations Collection from Joan's Gardens.

The above card was designed using the pretty landscape stamp from the "Brookside Manor Precut Set" (HCPC 3480).  I loved coloring this scene using my Tim Holtz Distress Markers and water brushes.  The scene is framed with the Spellbinders "Fleur De Lis Rectangles".  Black Dew Drops were added to complete this card.

There are so many stamps in this collection to create a scene.  I decided to create a rectangle shadow box to make my scene dimensional.  This card will fit into a legal size envelope.  I used stamps from three different sets for this card; "Twining Roses PreCut Set" (HCPC 3478), "Mailbox Surprise PreCut Set" (HCPC 3476), and "Brookside Manor PreCut Set" (HCPC 3480). Distress Markers were used to color this scene.   There are so many great dies in this collection and  were used to die cut many of the items on this card.  I love that pretty fence.  A Spellbinders border was added to the edges.  

Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see all these great stamps and dies in the Heartfelt Creations June Collection.  As she does with each new Collection, Joan always has a great special price for the "I Want It All" collection.

Have A Sweet & Sassy Birthday

My card today is created using another piece of the Kaiser Craft "The Lake House" design paper.The flowers were created using the Spellbinders "Rose Creations" dies and Marianne Design (LR0168) dies. The leaves were die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip".   For the frame behind the flowers, I used the two largest Spellbinders "Labels Two" dies to die cut a narrow frame, then glued the Cheery Lynn "French Lattice Small Frame" to the back and trimmed off the excess.  A piece of darker green card stock was was used to cut the largest "Labels 2" frame and it was glued to the back.  Two smaller Labels Two die cuts were used for the center of the card.  One of the sentiments from the JustRite "Topsy Turvy Cakes" stamp set was used for the sentiment.  The largest of the Cheery Lynn "Two of Hearts" die set was for the white heart.  The butterfly is the Memory Box "Kaleidoscope and Moonlight" butterflies.

Tomorrow is the release of the new Heartfelt Creations "Garden Romance Collection".  Birds, butterflies and blooming peonies,  bird houses, mailboxes and trellises dot the landscape of this new collection.   Be sure to check out all the new stamps and dies tomorrow at Joan's Gardens.  I will have a card I designed with these new stamps for you.

All the products I used on today's card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.  

Kaiser Craft "The Lake House" 6 1/2" paper pad

Spellbinder "Rose Creations" Dies (S5-050)

Marianne Design (LR0188) flower die

Cheery Lynn "Flourish Leaf Strip" (B178)

Cheery Lynn "French Lattice Small Frame" (FRM132)

Cheery Lynn "Two of Hearts" (DL 128)

Spellbinders "Labels Two" die set

Memory Box Kaleidoscope Butterfly (98261)

Memory Box Moonlight Butterfly (98261)

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Count Your Life by Smiles PLUS a Tutorial

This weekend I received some more new products. One of them was a BEAUTIFUL paper pad by Kaiser Craft called "The Lake House".  Oh my gosh -- I love every sheet in this new paper pad.  I wanted to duplicate the little roses and stem in the design paper so created some pink roses that are different from any I have previous made. I love them so much I thought I should do a tutorial on how I created them.  First I want to tell you that I used the beautiful frame from the new Sizzix "Textured Impressions" embossing folder to frame my sentiment.  It was embossed on ivory card stock, cut out with scissors, and lightly sponged with "Tea Dye" Distress Ink.  The butterflies are one of the Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" and matching "Angel Wing"  The butterfly was die cut using ivory card stock and the angle wing was die cut using light pink card stock, then they were glued together.  Before gluing them, I lightly sponged the ivory butterfly with "Tea Dye" Distress Ink.    The sentiment is from the new JustRite "Botanical Medallions and Banners" stamp set.   In case you can't read the sentiment, it says "Count Your Life by Smiles not tears.  Count Your Age by Friends not years".   The green leafy flourish is the Marianne Design "Forest Branch".  A few Kaiser Craft maroon pearls were added to the green branch to match the stems in the design paper and three pearls added under the sentiment.  Below is the tutorial on how I created the roses.

TUTORIAL FOR CREATING SHADED ROSES

I used the Spellbinders "Spiral Blossom One" die for these roses, but you can accomplish the same look using any spiral blossom die.  In the picture above, there are two of these die cuts to show the back and the front after they were sponged.  I used "Spun Sugar" Distress Ink and sponged the first two petals on the top, of both front and back,  because I wanted the center of the rose to be very pink.  I wanted the tips of the rest of the petals to be white so only sponged down along the bottom of each petal on the front only of the rest of the petals.   

Next I used a fine mister to dampen the die cut.  This not only helps spread out the sponged color (so it doesn't look so "sponged on"), but it also softens the card stock so you can add "texture" to the petals.   Let it sit for a couple of minutes then blot off any excess water.  Next "accordion fold" or "scrunch" the petals  from the small end of the petals all the way down to the center.  You don't need to fuss about how it looks because you are just getting a ruffled look.  Once it is all "scrunched" use your heat gun to dry it so it will hold that shape.

Next I used the round nose pliers to start rolling and shaping the rose.  I like using these pliers because they don't create any creases and they are the perfect width for the rolled rose.  You can make it very tight or wind it loosely like I did here for the perfect shaped rose.  When you get it all rolled, cover that round center at the end, which will be the bottom of the rose and hold it all together, with glue.  I like using "Crafter's Pick" glue for this because it is a thick white glue that is very strong.  

Here are the roses I created using the two "Spiral Blossom One" die cuts.  I hope this tutorial gives you some additional ideas on ways to create beautiful roses.

Spellbinders "Spiral Blossom One" S4-351

Sizzix "Textured Impressions" embossing folder (657667)

Kaiser Craft "The Lake House" 6 1/2" paper Pad

Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" (DL 112)

Cheery Lynn Mini Butterflies Angel Wings (DL 112A)

Marianne "Forest Branch" (LR0150)

Distress Ink "Tea Dye" and "Spun Sugar"

Round Nose Pliers

Crafter's Pick "The Ultimate" white glue

Kaiser Craft Pearls

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