Autumn Newton Thankful Card

Hello and happy Wednesday! Last month Newton's Nook released a new stamp set called Autumn Newton and I decided it was purrfect for my Thanksgiving cards for family this year. The Newton's Nook design team did an amazing job with their inspirational designs, click HERE. I was inspired by all the inky backgrounds and really loved Maria Russell's design that you can check out HERE. Then Jennifer Jackson created two awesome cards for the Simon Says Stamp Blog that you can check out HERE.

With all this wonderful inspiration I was excited to make my own inky background with distress oxide inks. Colors include: Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo. The colors were sponged onto mixed media paper, blended well and then sprayed with water. The heat gun was used to dry the water and set the ink. I let the panel dry overnight before cutting it to the right size. A Birch Tree die cut by Taylored Expressions was added and trimmed and then the panel was matted to Rich Razzleberry cardstock by Stampin' Up!. Next, the Newton image was colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating die. Everything was adhered flat to the card for easy mailing. A few sequins were added for sparkle and that's it!

This Autumn Newton Thankful Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It!
• Little Red Wagon: Give Us Your Background
• Tuesday Throwdown: Punches and/or Dies
• Crafty Gals Corner: Favorite Colors (used favorite Fall colors)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Painted Harvest Card

A nice cool front came in overnight and it feels a little like Fall this morning. I don't know about you but I'm very ready for Fall/Autumn to arrive and it's only 17 days away. Hooray!

This Painted Harvest Card is my first attempt using the new Painted Harvest stamp set by Stampin' Up! It's new in the 2017 Holiday catalog. This time of year I love seeing sunflowers on the side of the road here in Oklahoma. I've always wanted to plant some in my backyard but never have. Anyway... I love the effect of the layered stamps in this set.

Challenges entered:

• Simon Says Stamp: Stamp It!
• Crafting From the Heart: Anything Goes
• Fashionable Stamping: Use Your Inks

Stampin' Up! supplies used include:

• Paper: Very Vanilla cardstock, Crushed Curry cardstock, Crumb Cake cardstock and Painted Autumn dsp.
• Stamps: Painted Harvest 
• Inks: Crushed Curry, retired Hello Honey, Early Espresso and Garden Green
• Other Stuff: Crushed Curry Twine

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Plant Smiles Card

This summer I had the privilege and joy of watching a baby cottontail rabbit grow up right outside my back window. Although I worried about it everyday because we have several Red-tailed Hawks in our area, I'm happy to say it is still hanging out in our backyard. It brought many smiles to my face and it was the inspiration for this Plant Smiles Card.

The image is from the retiring Garden Whimsy stamp set by Newton's Nook. It's currently on sale and once it's gone... it's gone. Copic markers were used to color the image and then it was cut 3.25" square and matted to a piece of Audry Blue cardstock by Simon Says Stamp. The polka dot and red patterned paper is by American Crafts (2012) and the blue stripe is by Echo Park. Everything was adhered flat for easy mailing and the final touch was the die cut sun by Lil' Inkers. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Newton's Inky Paws: Polka Dots
• Alphabet: M for Make Your Mark
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes

My backyard cottontail rabbit I named Bun Bun sleeping in the sun. It lived in the Sage Bush behind where it's laying. July 2017

Bun Bun peeking in my window after it checked out the freshly planted petunias I planted knowing this cottontail would eat them. June 2017

Etsy Shop Sale

Hello crafty friends! This weekend Etsy is having their first-ever site wide sale. Most items in my Etsy shop are 10% off now through Sept. 5th. All items are handmade by me and custom orders are always welcome. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Items in my shop include:

• Baby Burp Cloths
• Baby Blankets
• Doll Blankets
• Handmade Cards

For You Faux Patina Card

Hello and happy September 1st! I'm always happy when September arrives because that means Fall isn't too far behind. Today is also the start of a new challenge at Simply Create Too and this month the theme is Ribbon and Buttons. The challenge runs through September 29th! You can find all the challenge details and design team inspiration HERE. I hope you will play along!

For my card I decided to use the Faux Patina technique with a button embossing folder by Darice. If this technique is new to you click HERE for a video tutorial. The ink colors used include: Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo all by Stampin' Up! and Tumbled Glass distress ink by Ranger. The embossing powder is by Recollections and the color is Champagne. It's more subtle than gold but I like the way it looks with the colors. The finished faux patina panel was matted to a piece of Island Indigo cardstock and then some retired Pool Party ribbon was wrapped around flat. A stitched die cut square was matted to Island Indigo and then a For You die cut from Bermuda Bay cardstock was adhered and then added to the front with dimensionals. To add some sparkle five sequins were added and that's it. If you've never tried this technique I hope you will give it a try, it's a lot of inky fun. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• 4 Crafty Chicks: Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends: Anything Goes

Cute Bunny Thanks Card

Hello and happy Thursday! Today I'm sharing this Cute Bunny Thanks Card that I made for the post-op nurse who helped me after my surgery. The bunny image is by Unity Stamps from the Patience & Hugs stamp set and the sentiment is from the Newton's Sick Day stamp set by Newton's Nook. All patterned paper is from the Simple Stories Life In Color paper pad. A little twine was added for detail and that's it.

This card is entered into the following challenges: Cute Card Thursday (Too Cute), Crafty Creations (Anything Goes) and Crafty Gals Corner (Anything Goes).

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by!

Friendship Card with Bird

Are you like me and love your stash of older stamps? The current challenge at SU! Only is A Blast from the Past and the Inkspirational challenge is Oldie But Goodie. I was happy to use my older stash to play along. I started as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in 2012, so I dug out that old catalog for inspiration and decided to use the retired Language of Friendship stamp set. It's still a favorite of mine although it hasn't seen much action lately. Many demonstrators will sell their retired stamp sets when a new catalog is launched, but I just can't do it! I usually only buy what I really want and keep it.

Besides cardstock and Night of Navy ink everything on this card is retired. The retired Top Note die was used with retired Flowerpot and Blushing Bride dsp. The Bird Builder and Boho Blossoms punches were used and the finishing touch are three Blushing Bride sequins from the Fancy Frost sequins pack. That's it!

This Friendship Card with Bird is entered into the following challenges:

• SU! Only: A Blast from the Past
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes
• Inkspirational: Oldie But Goodie
• Cards und More: Anything Goes

Sentiment: 

The language of Friendship is not words but meanings. 

~Henry David Thoreau