Wednesday, November 22, 2023

The Card Concept #201 -- Fall Leaves

I'll have to admit that the leaves drew me in to The Card Concept #201
Check out the gorgeous inspiration photo.
 
 
Here's how I was inspired--I may have been a bit too literal.
 

Assorted leaves from Honeybee Stamps were cut from Bristol card stock and inked with
Concord & 9th inks, then spattered with black ink. 


A black panel was embossed with Altenew's Organic Linen folder and adhered to a black
card base. The leaves were adhered to mimic the photo and finished off with a gold
embossed sentiment.

The card style is definitely Clean and Layered as i tried to follow the inspiration photo
with layering of the colorful leaves.
 
 Wishing those who celebrate a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you snag some
Black Friday deals! Thanks so much for stopping by!

* * *


Edited to add: My card was chosen as the winner of the challenge!
Thank you to The Card Concept! 
 
 

Monday, November 13, 2023

A Kind and Magnificent Friend


My dear friend Michele Ferguson chose today, World Kindness Day, as our Playing Cards 
with Friends date and I accepted in a flash. 

 The "rules" for our play date is to make a card for someone who has done something 
kind. Not necessarily for me, nor does it have to be someone in our card making 
community. Just an act of kindness that deserves notice.
 
Well, duh, it was a no brainer to choose my playmate and creative card maker
as the inspiration for my card.
 

 
I'm not sure when I "met" Michele. I always wondered about this gal whose blog was called
"I Card Everyone". She would stop by and leave the sweetest comments on my blog.
 
 She has since sent me annual Christmas and birthday cards as well as "just because" cards
which are the very best kind. We managed to FaceTime just once, but it's an event 
I'll always cherish and hope to do it again!



For my card, I purchased Spellbinders Stitched Etched Alphabet Dies and didn't think I 
would be doing any stitching. But I did some for Michele. I watched Yana Smakula's video 
on Analogous Colors and found a color palette that reminds me of Michele.
 
The stamp set has matching adjectives for each alphabet and I only wish hers was
"kind hearted". But she's magnificent just the same.
 
She decided to keep photos of our cards a secret from each other so I'll join you over
at her blog to see her masterpiece. I can cross "playing cards with Michele" off of my
bucket list now. Thanks so much, kind friend--it was tons of fun!

* * * * *

If you want to learn more about World Kindness Day 2023, visit this helpful link.
Personally, I think there needs to be more kindness in the world, not only today, 
but every day 💗


Saturday, November 11, 2023

Inspired by Challenge #262 -- GNOMES

When I saw that this week's Inspired by Challenge #262 was all about GNOMES, I was in.
And just look at the adorable inspiration!
 

There's even a sketch by Laurel.
 Here's how I was inspired.


I assembled two gnomes with (retired) Photoplay papers and added a red heart
 on each of their hats. A woodgrain embossing folder was used on the background 
panel and the gnomes were adhered over it. The card was finished off with a red 
die cut sentiment. 

I don't know why but gnomes always make me smile. Supposedly they're not the
cleanest in terms of hygiene, and have grumpy personalities. I guess they become
as cute as we can make 'em!

Thanks for stopping by!

* * *

Edited to add: My card was chosen as the winner of the challenge!
Thank you, Laurel!
 

Friday, November 10, 2023

Hello FALL -- 2023 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

 Thank goodness for Daylight Savings as I have extra time to enter the
2023 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop with a few hours to spare.
 


I went with a fall theme and I mixed and matched products from four companies.


The cups are Mama Elephant's Boba Shaker Dies, cut from different colors of card stock.
I ran the band through a corrugator before adhering it to the cups. The background is
the new Basket Weave Card Front from Concord & 9th.


The leaves are from Papertrey Ink, die cut from white card stock and colored
with dye inks. I attached three leaves and a twine bow to a cup, then adhered 
all three to the card. A gold embossed sentiment finished off the card.

Thanks for stopping by--I'm off to link this up!