Bird on a branch

 Die-cut bird with color sponged on. To create the "branch," I took a length of thin brown ribbon, doubled it, and tied a series of knots. (I tried this many years ago and totally forgot about the technique until I recently saw a photo the card I made.) Sentiment is gold embossed. 

This card is entered in these challenges: 

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- things with wings

Triple B  -- must use bird, blossom or butterfly

The Paper Funday #83 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2603 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #736 -- anything goes

 

Digi Chooseday -- anything goes 

 

 

Wintry Fun

This card features stamps from Stamplorations, which is back in business after the owner took a long break due to health issues. The scene is colored in pencils with accents of Wink of Stella on the snow. It's framed by a Polaroid style frame that I stamped with snowflakes in blue ink. The main image is mounted on a blue-gray embossed card. 

This card is entered in these challenges:

Stamplorations -- anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- emboss it.

Inkspirational Challenge # 359 -- winter blues 

The Paper Shelter #663-- Winter

Word Art Wednesday #734 --anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2603 -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #238 -- use an iamge

Polkadoodles -- anything goes 

Birthday wishes

 How about a birthday card. My card features an adorable set of stamps/dies from Studio Katia, including the punny sentiment of happy bear-thday. The images are colored with pencils and displayed on a die-cut stitched square from I-O.  For even more fun, I added some puzzle-shaped pieces that have other birthday-related words. (I'm not sure where I got these puzzle pieces originally -- possibly at a yard sale -- and I'm not sure of their purpose. They are thin, like strong foil, and have no adhesive, so I don't think they were intended for this kind of use. And I don't think they'll actually fit together as if you're making a jigsaw puzzle, so they're a mystery to me. If you have any ideas, drop a comment, please.) The main square is sponged with blue ink, and a few acrylic dots finish the card off.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Double D -- birthday

Word Art Wednesday #734 -- anything goes

Pammie's INky Pinkies #2601  -- anything goes

The Paper Funday #83 -- anything goes

Creative Inspiration -- anything goes

Gem of a Craft Challenge -- anything goes

 

Kitty Exercise

 

 I played with a new image I got from The Paper Shelter called Kitty Acrobatics. How fun is that. I paired it with several pieces of patterned paper that I've had for ages -- so a bit of new and old. I used the orange/green/blue color scheme from the plaid when choosing colors for the image. The main image is cut with a circle die (using the out of the box technique) and mounted on another die-cut circle. I created and printed out the sentiment on my computer, then die-cut it with a stitched rectangle die.

This card is for these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- something new

 Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- something new

Die-cut Divas -- use a new item

Double Trouble #207 -- 3 colors, 2 shapes, 1 sentiment

Word Art Wednesday #734 -- anything goes

The Paper Shelter #662 -- in with the new, in with the old 

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2601 -- anything goes

Polkadoodles Digi ChooseDay -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #238 -- use an image

 

Happy New Year

 I am in a swap group that does themed swaps. One of the January swaps focuses on symbols of the new year, and the swap organizer listed birches as one of the symbols. Apparently birches are very resilient so they are considered a sign of rebirth and the new year. 

With that new fact in mind, I decided to use my new, never-been-used birch dies to create a care. I die cut the trees from watercolor paper and watercolored the bark to create the traditional dark gray patches. To create the background panel, I watercolored a blue sky and left the bottom third of the paper white to be snow. After placing the trees on the background, I painted two birds and added some shadows with gray paint, then added a sentiment.

This card is entered in these challenges:

NBUS #82 -- NBUS item is the birch tree dies

Crafts Galore Encore #143 -- anything goes

Colorful Options -- blues, whites and grays

Die-cut Divas -- use a new item

Word Art Wednesday #733 -- anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- add a sentiment 

Rocking a Christmas theme

 I'm just tying up the loose ends and finishing up a few last-minute Christmas cards. One of the things I've had fun with this year is rocker cards, which are so quick and easy yo make. They are also super versatile. For this one, I went with a Christmas goodies theme, including gingerbread and hot chocolate. Yum!

This card is entered in these challenges:

ABC Christmas -- Y is for Yummy (Christmas treats)

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Christmas

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2550 -- anything goes

CRAFT #770 -- Christmas

Word Art Wednesday # 730  -- anything goes

Christmas Kickstart # 105 -- Christmas

 

Creative Inspiration -- Tis the Season 

Shimmer and glittter

 Another Christmas card. I'm really happy with how it came out.

For the snow scene, I splattered white shimmer white watercolors on navy cardstock  and cut it with the IO die. I then took a piece of white shimmer paper, cut a curved edge for the snow pack, cut it with the IO die, and glue it on the blue panel. Added white Stickles to the die-cut pine tree. Before gluing the tree, I marked where the trunk was going to end and stamped the sentiment in navy ink, then placed the tree. 

This card is entered in these challenges:

Die Cut Divas -- Christmas/winter

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- dies

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- dies

A Cut Above -- use a die

Christmas Kick Start #105 -- anything Christmas

Word Art Wednesday #728  -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies 2548 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore -- anything goes

Creative Inspiration -- Tis the Season