Sunflowers

 

How about a fall-ish card?  Not because it's feeling like fall yet,, although the leaves are showing a little red (probably due  to stress from 4 inches of rain one week, then none for a couple weeks).

I started by grabbing some snippets in green and yellow, as well as white to stamp on. (see photo on left; I pulled a couple of shades of each color so I could choose what to work with.) The sunflowers are from Clearly Besotted, with the flowers stamped in Chalk inks and the leaves in dye ink. The sentiment uses the same ink as the center of the sunflower.

The green layer is embossed with a leafy folder, and the yellow layer is stamped with a background pattern stamp in the same yellow ink used for the sunflower. Added a fall-ish ribbon and sentiment to finish it off.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Snippets Playground #468 -- use snippets

Die Cut Divas -- use embossing

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- add a sentiment

Can You Handle the Pressure -- machine embossing

Word Art Wednesday #661 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2432 -- anything goes

Paper Funday #68 -- anything goes

 

 

Snowman through a window

 I love it when a card just falls together. I knew I wanted to use this image, and I knew which die I wanted to use for the aperture to begin with. Using the snowflake EF was a last minute decision that worked out perfectly, with the red base caed for contrast. I used a ton of foam tape to hold up the embossed layer, but it's not super thick tape, so hopefully this will mail easily.

This card is entered in these challenges.

Can You Handle the Pressure -- use an embossing folder.

Double Trouble #171-- all 3 parts -- aperature/snow/partner site

Jingle Belles -- Dashing through the snow

Word Art Wednesday #657 -- anything goes

Rudolph Days -- anything Christmas

Patties Creations #220 -- use any image

Watercolored posies

 This is a very simple card using something I painted when playing with watercolors recently. I used a few snippets on the base card, then added the painting and an embossed sentiment. Can't get any simpler than that.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Double D -- basket of posies. (Just posies this time; I did a basket card earlier)

Simon Say Stamp Monday --Add a sentiment

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- beautiful blossoms

Word Art Wednesday #657 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2429 -- anything goes

Basket of Apples

It might be only the middle of July, but the school buses are out practicing their routes here, so I'm taking that as a sign that fall is on its way. And what says fall better than an apple?

I used a digi from Beccy's Place as the central image, colored with pencils and die-cut with a circle die and a bit of out-of-the-box cutting on the lower right side.  The red panel is embossed with a folder from Poppy Crafts. The sentiment is from Purple Onion.  A few small gems were added for a little sparkle.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Double D-- basket of posies: I just went with the basket option

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- add a sentiment

Can You Handle the Pressure? -- use an EF

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2429 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #657 --anything goes
 

Dotty snowflakes

 How's that for a non-traditional Christmas card? I used non-holiday prints (polka dots), embossed the panel with snowflakes, and added an acrylic strip to have the die-cut snowflakes "floating",

This card is entered in these challenges:

Jingle Belles -- embossable

ABC Christmas -- N is for No stamping

Can You Handle the Pressure -- use dry embossing

Word Art Wednesday #657 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2428 -- anything goes

Sweet birds

 

These are supposed to be mourning doves -- I know, their necks are too thick, but this is the bird die I have, so roll with it. To create this scene, I die-cut the birds from a snippet of light gray card stock and die-cut the light blue circle from another snippet. (You can see the leftovers in the photo to the right, along with the last bit of the patterned paper snippet I used.) Among my envelopes full of shapes I've already die-cut I found some greenery and another, larger dark blue circle that worked well to frame the circle and create a little scene with the birds.

The patterned paper is an ancient piece from Anna Griffin -- I remember loving it when I first got it, and I was happy to stumble upon what's probably the last snippet I have of it.

The theme for Die Cut Divas this month is "your favorite die cut shapes." While I have many dies I like of all shapes, I have to say the circle is by far the most generally usable and versatile shape. I'm pretty sure the first dies I purchased were nesting circles, and I still use them regularly. I really like the stitched look, so this stitched circle is also one of my faves.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Die-Cut Divas -- favorite die cut shape

Snippets Playground #483-- Use snippets

Word Art Wednesday #653 -- anything goes

 Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2425 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore #124 -- anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

Flowery minislimline

 I haven't been feeling creative lately, and sometimes I find that entering a challenge will give me the inspiration I need to make something. I find the push with the Double Trouble challenge to make a mini slimline care (something I rarely do) and use a floral image (something I like to do).

I chose an autumny-looking image from From the Heart (It has oak leaves and acorns), and  found a snippet of patterned paper that could provide some ideas for colors (since I knew I wanted a purple flower). The flowers are colored in pencils, and the panel was edged with lavender ink. Lavender baker's twine is wrapped the panel, which is popped up  at a slight angle on the patterned panel, which also is edged in lavender. For a little sparkle, there are three clear sequins on the bottom part of the card and three clear sequins on the top part.

This card is being entered in these challenges:

Double Trouble #169 -- slimline, flowers, partner site

Ellibelle's I Spy with My Little Eye #16 -- Something blooming lovely

Snippets Playground #482 -- use snippets

Pattie's Creations #219 -- use an image

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2424 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #653 -- anything goes