Spring has Sprung at Four Seasons Challenge

The cold winter months are (mostly) over and we are switching seasons at the Four Seasons challenge blog. It's time for all things Spring!! As always we have a fabulous mood board to inspire you but it is  optional to use as Anything Spring Goes.

March Mood Board:

And here is what I made:

I was inspired by the bottom left image which was the reason I chose this cute digi stamp. This is another image from LOTV stamps which came as part of their Christmas Sale last December. 

I first colored with Copic markers then decided to add some shading using a colored pencil. That turned into me using even more colored pencils and took quite some time to finish too and I could have easily spent at least another hour adding more pencil coloring but it was getting late and I was getting tired. I really love the look of pencils over copics but it can be so time consuming!

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Around the bottom part of the image I used my most used stencil Feather Leaf by Lavinia. I cut the image panel out using an old die from Sizzix, framed with some dotted patterned paper and then mounted this onto green SU cardstock. The sentiment is part of a retired SU set and I used a retired Whimsy Stamps label die to cut it out but I trimmed the die cut on top and bottom to make it fit into that space. Jute twine is by May Arts. Butterflies die cuts are by Penny Black.  It's hard to see but I added Stickles glitter to all the flower centers.

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

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I plan to share with these challenges:

• Alphabet Challenge - W for Wings
• Digi Choosday - AG
• Just Us Girls - AG with a Stencil

Always Anything Goes Challenges/Link Parties

• Ally's Angels 
• A Perfect Time To Craft
• Crafts Galore Encore
• DL.Art Linky Challenge
• Talk About it Tuesday at Slices of Life
• The Paper Funday

Thanks so much for visiting and hope to see you joining us at Four Seasons!

Romance and Music for Allsorts Challenge

I am back with a second post today. My first post was scheduled to go live just a couple of hours ago, you can see it here or simply scroll down.

Today is the start of a new Allsorts challenge. Our host is Gail who selected the theme of Romance and/or Music, along with the option of Anything Goes. Our prizes for this challenge are a wonderful selection of stamps and stencils from AALL and Create. 

Right around Christmas Lily of the Valley Stamps (LOTV) had a sale I couldn't resist, where you purchased the newly released set of digis and then receive ALL of their previously released digital stamps. I had an old wishlist with several of their stamps on it, I hadn't purchased them because I sort of quit using digis for the most parts, but I could not resist this sale. So today's card features the first digi I decided to color up from this sale and I thought it was the perfect choice for the theme. Birds and music go hand in hand along with romance, don't you think?

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I used Copic markers for coloring and then I used Lavinia's Feather Leaf stencil around the image with Peacock Feathers Distress ink. I found the little die cut heart in my box of extra die cuts but I can't remember which die set it came from. Probably something from Penny Black as most of my dies are by PB. The sentiment was computer generated. I have this same quote as a stamp but it didn't work for this layout as it's a larger stamp and I wanted it to be just one line. The music notes are from a retired Hero Arts stamp kit. I used a corner rounder punch at the bottom for some interest and added stickles glitter to the flowers and hearts for some sparkle. And I used some coordinating twine to finish off the card.

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

As a reminder, Allsorts challenge now runs for 2 weeks so you have a little extra time to make something and join us. You may also enter up to 5 times now. The linky tool for this challenge can be found at the challenge blog.

 

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I plan to share with these challenges:

• Cardz 4 Galz - Anything But Square
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Something New (new to me digistamp)
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Cut It Up - Have a Heart (and a die cut)
• Digi Choosday - AG
• Fab n' Funky - Include an image
• Hearts Quest Challenge Blog - include a pink, purple or white heart
• Krafty Chicks - AG
• Talking about it Tuesdays - Anything Goes
• TIME OUT Challenges - Pick 2 from Stitch, Layer, Heart, Food, Love, Warm (I chose heart and love)

Thanks so much for visiting!

Four Seasons April Challenge - A Little Spring Mouse

Happy first day of April and thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you had a nice Easter holiday weekend with a little bit of sunshine too. It's been chilly over  here but the sun did peak out so that was nice. 

Today is the start of a new Spring challenge at the Four Seasons challenge blog and all are invited to join us with your spring creations. There is a fun mood board as always but it is completely optional to use.

Here is what I made inspired by the pretty daisies and some colors from the mood board. 

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

April Mood Board

This pre-colored digi is brand new to me. I stumbled onto it while looking for another image on the LOTV etsy site. While I wasn't lucky with that other image, I fell in love with this cute scene so into the shopping cart it went. I love the wonderful artistic pencil coloring it comes in. I've not been doing too well recently with coloring  (I always feel short on time) so this was just perfect. 

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I added a grass border which I simply cut by hand (I used to have a grass punch but somehow it's gone missing!!) I also added the die cut daisies which were done with a really old die from Whimsy Stamps and it is no longer available. I wanted to add something to the background for a little more interest so I got out Aall and Create's Miniatures stamp set for that wonderful quote. I didn't want the words to overpower the cute image so I stamped them with light gray ink. "Create your own magic" is from another Aall and Create set. Before I added the grass border I used the large wonky stitches border die (sold out). And I added a little bit of glitter to the butterflies and flowers. Btw. this image is also available in line art for your own coloring. 

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I plan to share with these challengese:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Classic Design Challenge - Four Legged Friends
• Crafting From the Heart  - AG
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• Crafty Animals - AG
• Crafty Gals Corner - AG
• Creative Fingers - AG
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• Die Cut Divas - AG Spring with Die Cuts
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Little Red Wagon - Animal Antics
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• The Creative Crafters - AG

October Card Chain Challenge Reveal Day

It's been a while since I joined the Card Chain Challenge as I started renovating my kitchen cabinets in the spring (still working on that!!) but I ended up clicking on the CCC recent post and saw one of the challenge options was bears so I decided to join in once again :) 

My recipient for October was Michaela from Austria and this is the card I made for her and was so happy to hear that she liked it :)

As always, we are given a nice selection of themes and I wanted to use the "bears" option because it's been a while since I used this cute Lili of the Valley stamp. 

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I kept the card in a CAS style. The image has been stamped on Bristol Vellum and colored with distress inks first. But it turned out a bit more pastel than I wanted so I added some Faber Castell Polychromos pencil coloring. I added a die cut border with some natural jute twine, then the sentiment from Penny Black. The little flowers were done with a Martha Stewart punch. 

This post may include some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!

If you are a card maker and would like to join in then you can still sign up for the November challenge for a few more days. You do have to make and mail a card to your recipient to be received my the end of the month. All details can be found here.

I usually share a picture of the card I received but unfortunately it didn't arrive yet.

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I plan to link up with these challenges:

• Use Your Stuff - AG
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Ally's Angels - AG
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG

PS: Still plenty of time to sign up for the Papercrafters Year in Review 2023 hop where we share our favorite creations of the year. If interested, please visit this post where I shared all the info about it at the end of that post. 

A Baby Card for Twins with a Button and Lace

Hello and welcome! I'm sharing a special card today made for a dear friend's daughter who is expecting twin girls. It's my first ever twins baby card and it was fun trying to come up with a design for twins, choosing the right image, etc.

Some affiliate links may be used in this post. This means I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you! Thanks so much for supporting this blog!

I decided to use a digital image from LOTV I've had for some time. I did have to tweak it just a little bit by erasing what was inside the sign (the set I have comes with two images, one with baby girl and one with baby boy written on the sign) but I erased that part and instead stamped "precious" inside the sign using a retired stamp from Stampin Up.

The image  has been printed twice on Neenah 80lb card stock, I printed it twice because I wanted to add a second pacifier to the image.

Colored with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and I used a clear Wink of Stella glitter brush on the ribbon. Nestabilities dies were used to cut it out and I inked the scallop circle with Tattered Rose Distress ink. The pattern paper is from my stash, I don't remember which brand. I added some cotton crochet lace. Mine is from May Arts, but if you're in the UK, do check out Wowvow for some pretty ribbon and lace. 

The alphabet letters are from an old Alphabet set by Whimsy Stamps (no longer available). To finish off the card I added the second (fussy cut) pacifier and a pink button and a bow tied with natural jute twine.

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I made this card to fit this week's theme at Allsorts challenge which is hosted by Kath. She picked the theme of "Numbers or Anything Goes". The numbers on my card are on the alphabet tiles. 

We have a fabulous prize to give away this week, by Wowvow, hope you'll join us for a chance to win!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

I'm also linking up here:

Anything Goes:

Inspire me Mondays // Spread the Kindness // Encouraging Hearts and Home // Crafty Creations // Creative Moments // Crafty Sentiment Designs // Digi Choosday Challenge // Lemon Shortbread // Through The Craft Room Door // A Bit More Time to Craft // A Perfect Time To Craft // Classic Design  Challenge // Crafts Galore Encore // LeAnn’s World 101 // The Creative Crafters // World Wide Open Design Team Challenge // A Place To Start // Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenges // Crafter's Castle

Themes:

The Card Concept - Welcome Wee One // 2 Sisters On The Blog - Birds // Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Patterned Papers // Crafty Friends Challenge - Birds // Creations in Pink - Use Mainly Pink // Daisy Chain Challenges - Babies or Kids // Happy Little Stampers - Dies // The Crafting Challenge - Die Cuts // Double Trouble Challenges - 3 Layers and Lace //Get Creative Challenges - Use Pink // Incy Wincy Designs - Add a Button // Make The Card Challenge - Circles // Crafty Calendar - Dies and Twine

Candles, Lights or Anything Bright for Allsorts Challenge w/ Anything Goes Option

Hello and welcome! 

It's time for a new theme already at Allsorts challenge! It's Helene's week to host and she picked the theme of Candles, Lights or Anything Bright. We also have the option of Anything Goes for those of you just wanting to share with us, so feel free to link those up if you like to. Our prize is an Ultimate Glue kit by Stix2 that will go to one lucky participant!

Please note: This post includes some affiliate links meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always this is at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog.

I thought this cute stamp from Lily of the Valley was perfect for the theme. While mine is a rubber stamp, LOTV does have an etsy shop now with many of their stamps converted to digis, maybe this one is one of them. 

It's been stamped with Versafine Onyx ink on Bristol Vellum paper and colored with my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Some time ago I purchased a pencil coloring class from Kit and Clowder but really should revisit the class as I've already forgotten some of the tips from there... 

To make the snowy background I used a mask of the same image (I had this mask from when I used the stamp previously) over the image, flicked some masking fluid over the background then, after it was dry, I inked it up using Weathered Wood Distress ink, then rubbed off the masking fluid with a paper towel.

The snowflakes were done with a Martha Stewart punch. My punch is old but there are several snowflake punches or die options. The postage sentiment and die are oldies from my design team days at Whimsy Stamps. I couldn't find anything close to this but do like this Stampers Anonymous Holiday Postmark set and there are a couple of options HERE at Scrapbook.com. 

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I used Forest Moss distress ink to stamp the sentiment, it matches the color of my designer paper perfectly. Paper is from my stash and I don't remember which company it's by.  

A peek inside - I added another strip of patterned paper and inked the edges with Weathered Wood ink as well and I stamped a Christmas sentiment there as well (not pictured). 

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today! Hope to see you joining us at Allsorts!

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I'm linking up here:

Colour Crazy Challenge - Coloring // Craft Rocket Challenges - Christmas // Cute Card Thursday - Wintry // Crimbo Crackers - Christmas // Krafty Chicks - Christmas // Paper Minutes - Postage Stamps // 

Valentine's Bunnies

Please click HERE if you are visiting for Ellibelle's Crafty Challenge.

Hello and welcome! I have one more Valentine's card to share (which I just finished this morning), so I decided to do a quick post.

Most of the items I used today are retired and no longer available. The cute image is a rubber stamp from LOTV. I stamped it with  Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then used my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for coloring. I created a CAS scene by adding a die cut "hill" using one of Whimsy Stamps' Stitched Trio die and retired paper from Stampin Up. 

The sentiment is also by Stampin Up, heat embossed on black card stock. I don't remember which stamp set it belongs to...The little "love you" with butterfly is *I believe* from the Stampin Up set "Happy Heart Day", also retired years ago. The white card stock is by Neenah, and the light blue is Stampin Up's Soft Sky. The image has been fussy cut using my Cutterbee scissors to add to the card. 

I am sharing with these challengs: 

Aud Sentiments Challenge- Love Or Valentine Sentiment 
Craft Rocket Challenges - Feb- Valentine
Crafting With An Attitude - Always Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Wings
Crafting By Designs  - Love is in the Air

Crafty Creations  - Always Anything Goes 
Moo-Mania & More - Love
The Crafty Addicts  - Anything Goes
Die Cuttin' Divas - Love
Always Fun Challenges- Love/ Valentines
Crafting from the Heart -  Anything Goes
CuteNCrafty Challenge Blog- Valentines/ Love 
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist: Critter
AAA - CAS + Optional twist: Love 
Dare 2B Artzy Challenges - Love
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

And that is all for today! Thank you so much for visiting! I will be back again on Saturday with my weekly card for Allsorts challenge. 

This post contains some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Allsorts Challenge 489: Christmas

It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge, Susan is our host and she picked the theme of  Christmas.  We have a great prize to give away from StickerYou , and hope to see you joining in for your chance to win!

LOTV Carolers // Penny Black Nature's Gifts // Penny Black Woodland Beauty // Penny Black Christmas Story Background Stamp // Zig Clean Color Markers // Zig Detailer Brush // Versafine Onyx Ink // Clear Embossing Powder // Peeled Paint Distres s Ink //  Bristol Vellum Paper //
Whimsy Stamps Postage Stamp Sentiment and Die (no longer available)

This was totally not the card in mind when I started, but one thing led to another and this is what it turned out to be...

I started by heat embossing the cute image on   Bristol Vellum paper, then watercolored with my Zig Clean Color markers.Originally I wanted to create a mountain scene in the background by masking, but thought it would be too complicated to fussy cut a mask for the image. So instead I took the pine needle stamp from the Penny Black set Nature's Gifts and stamped it all around the image. But then I thought there was too much white in the background and I decided to use another stamp from the Nature's Gifts Set. I did end up needing a mask, but it really didn't take long to cut out since these masks don't need to be perfect, and just serve to cover up the image. It's hard to see in the photo, but I also used a pine tree stamp from Penny Black's set Woodland Beauty while I had the mask in place. Still thought it needed something else, and that's when I got out the Penny Black background stamp Christmas Story. I first went with antique linen ink, but I wanted it to show up more, so I used Versafine Onyxink instead.

The little postmark sentiment and die I've had for a long time, it's by Whimsy Stamps but no longer available : (  I added a holly leaf button with some natural jute twine. Framed with Stampin Up's Old Olive card stock then used Neenah Linen textured card stock as my card base. Maybe I need to start thinking about using a darker background with the photo tent I purchased, I feel like it's so hard here to see the edges of the card. Wish it came with a vanilla colored background as well....

When I bought this image it was still available as a single rubber stamp, but there were some changes at the LOTV shop and I thought it wasn't available any longer, as they retired so many of their wonderful stamps.  I did find this stamp as part of their Vintage Christmas set, but it looks like it is currently out of stock.


I am also playing along here:
Christmas with the Cuties - For a Child
Daring Cardmakers - Weekly  – Pets
C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Christmas

The Merry Christmas Challenge - Christmas
 Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes
Christmas at Sweet Stampin'  - Anything Goes Christmas

The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz -  Anything Goes
Pause Dream Enjoy   - Any CardsCreative Fingers - Anything Goes

QKR Stampede – Anything Goes 

Crafting With An Attitude - Anything Goes

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes


Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you have a good weekend. It's gotten really chilly over here. Hubby brought a cold virus home from work this week, and as much as I tried to avoid getting sick, I still woke up with a sore throat yesterday and we'll see what today brings.

I've linked to the products available on Amazon for those of you interested. Please note, affiliate links were used, meaning I might earn a small commision if purchase something through the links, at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for your support!

Allsorts 484: Bears

Good morning and happy Saturday! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! We've had A LOT of rain with flooding these last few days, funny how I had just mentioned a heat wave in my last post, but that's how quickly weather changes sometimes here in Illinois...it does look like we'll be back to sunshine and warm weather again next week :)

It's time for another fun theme at Allsorts challenge and this week Kath picked the theme of

"Bears - Any Type of Bears". 

It's been a while since I used a bear stamp, and had lots of fun looking through my stamps to pick the one I wanted to use for today. Did you know ... my very first stamp was actually a teddy bear stamp by PSX :-) And while I don't have that stamp anymore, I still have the first card I ever made with it, because I had made it for my husband many many years ago!


For today's card I used a rubber stamp by Lili of the Valley. Unfortunately this stamp is no longer available.

LOTV stamp (old, sorry no link) // Sweet Wishes by Penny Black // Avery Elle Wonky Stitches Die // Zig Clean Color Markers // Zig Detailer Brush // Bristol Vellum Paper // Versafine Onyx Ink // Clear Embossing Powder // Scotch ATG Glue Gun // Neenah Linen Cardstock

I heat embossed the image on Bristol Vellum Paper using Versafine Onyx Ink and clear embossing powder. Coloring was done with Zig Clean Color markers and my Zig Detailer brush. As you can see the card is CAS. I just added a small strip of patterned paper from my stash, heat embossed the image and finished off with a polka dotted bow. The card front was cut out using Avery Elle's Wonky Stitches Die and then mounted on a white Neenah Linen Cardstock base. The sentiment is from the Penny Black set  Sweet Wishes, also heat embossed.

A little close up ...

Isn't this bear the cutest!!! I don't know why stamp companies decide to retire things, especially when they are this cute, but I guess they need to make room for new things...although I feel like LOTV retired too many of their designs!!

I know my coloring is pretty simple, but as much as I enjoy sitting there and spending time coloring, I just don't have the time for a long coloring session which is the reason why I love these Zig markers. I'm pretty sure this image was colored in about 10 minutes or less.

We would LOVE for you to join us this week at Allsorts challenge! This week we have this cute stamp by Penny Black to give away to one very lucky participant!

My card also fits these challenges:
The Paper Girls

Stamping Sensations - Something beginning with "B" (Bear, Blossoms, Bow, Bird and Bricks)
Little Red Wagon - CAS or One Layer
Simon Says Wednesday - Stamp on it
Simon Says Stamp Monday - Stamp it On
Sisterhood of Crafters -  Blooming Flowers
Alphabet Challenge -  L is for Leaves
Brown Sugar – All Creatures Great and Small
Sunny Day Crafting  - Any Animal
Simply Create Too - Stitching: Real or Faux
CAS on Friday – Flowers
Crafting with Dragonflies - Spring has Sprung (little bear just woke up from a long winter's nap :)
Send a Smile for Kids - Anything Goes for Kids 
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
 If You Gave A Crafter A Cookie... - Anything Goes this time 
Crafty Catz -  Anything Goes 
Dragonfly Dreams - Anything Goes

I am linking to some of the products I used today available at Amazon.com for those of you interested. Please note these are affiliated links, meaning I may earn a small commision if you purchase something through the links, at no additional cost to you!



Thank you so much for visiting!