January Rudolph Days - Another Chickadee Card

Hi, Friends.....

I am here to share a card for the January Rudolph Days.  When I played with this lovely stamp a couple weeks ago, I stamped several images and was not satisfied with any of them.  After coloring the first one, it looked better than I expected!  So I was emboldened to color another one and make it into a second card.  

The cardstock I used for this one was a cool beige....as opposed to my first card HERE in warm tones.  I decorated this one with gold sequin waste and net ribbon for a festive holiday look. Which of the two do you like better?  I think I like the warm tones better, but I like the gold on this one. 

Supplies used include:
Lost Coast Designs - Megan's Christmas Bird stamp (wood-mount)
Versafine Ink in Onxy Black
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Gesso
Distress Ink in Walnut Stain
Scraps of patterned paper, ribbon

Thank you for stopping by today.  I am going to be out of town this week so that's why I am getting my Rudolph Days card posted so promptly!  lol...   That gives you time to get yours ready before the end of the month too!  Hope you will join us!

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenge(s):
1. January Rudolph Days

All Nine Lives With You

 

SPECIAL NOTE:  Many thanks to those of you who have dusted off your dragonfly supplies and joined in the brand-new Paper Dragonfly Creative Challenges that I recently mentioned.  See my winter-themed dragonfly card HERE.  Several of you have made a card and linked up already.  So happy to see people jumping in to support this new challenge blog that is all about dragonflies.  ❤❤❤

Hi, Friends......

I am here with a kitty valentine card I'm going to give to my hubby.  Awwww.....  💑😻  To make it seem masculine, I used dark tones, navy and taupe.

I followed the sketch over at the MFT Sketch Challenge #577.

I  am also entering this card in the Lost Coast Designs Challenge - Man Cave with a Masculine theme.

I opened up two fabulous stamps that I had never used before for this challenge: Lost Coast Designs - Star Cat plus a couple of the stamps from the Lost Coast Designs - ATC Lattice Set for background stamping.  The sentiment is from a new set, too: The Project Bin - Feline Good stamp and die set.  Don't you love it??  

I used a piece of cardstock in my scrap bag that looked like it had been the backing from a gummed notepad. I tore the edges of the panels and even managed to tear out a little heart shape that is somewhat recognizable as a heart!!  ❤  My navy blue background is one I had on hand that I had previously splattered with some leftover gesso that I was loathe to just throw out.  :) 

Supplies used include (most of these I already mentioned):
Lost Coast Designs - Star Cat stamp
The Project Bin - Feline Good stamp
Versafine Ink in Majestic Blue
Clear embossing powder
Lost Coast Designs - ATC Lattice Set
Distress Inks
Winnie & Walter - Essentials: Katharine Cutaways die set - retired

Hope you enjoyed my card.  I can post this early since my hubby doesn't visit my blog.  lol...  Thank you so much for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful weekend!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Lost Coast Designs Challenge - Man Cave - Masculine theme
2. MFT Sketch Challenge #577
3. All Sorts Week #659 - Add a Heart
4. Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge #74 - Furrything Goes
5. We Love Stamping January Challenge - Anything Stamped + Opt of Wings
6. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #527-528 - AG
7. TFJB Challenge - Out with Old, In with the New (my stanp sets were new and the paper was an old scrap.) 
8. DL.ART January Linky Party

Rainbow Christmas Tree

 

Hi, Friends.....

I am here to share a shiny card for the Christmas Kickstart - Rainbow Christmas challenge.   

I had to think about this one....how to incorporate rainbow colors into a Christmas card....Hmmmm.  I happened to have a rainbow paper pad out for a different project and leafing through it found a gorgeous foiled piece that I thought would be perfect.  Yes, you heard it correctly.  I pulled out a brand-new gorgeous uncut piece of cardstock to use....not a scrap or snippet to be found on this card!  

One of my crafty resolutions for 2022 is to NOT DIE before I use at least some of the pretty things in my stash!!!!  lol...  I do not always HAVE to use scraps.  I give myself (AND YOU!!) permission to use the pretty stuff.  You're welcome.  ❤

I went rather CAS with this card, but attaching those fiddly thin die-cuts on the embossed background without a bunch of gloozing was harder for me than it looks!  You know what I mean by gloozing...where the liquid glue oozes out from beneath the die cut.  I've tried cutting these out with adhesive sheets, but I get adhesive webs that I have to clear out.  Ugh..reminds me of spiders!!  Eeek.  

The rainbow tree has little mini-dots on it, so I used a dotty embossing folder for the background, too, that reminds me of snow falling.  I love how this turned out. 

Supplies used include:
Clearly Besotted -Tree and Tinsel dies (retired)
Poppystamps - Fancy Merry Christmas die (retired)
Darice - Dot Background 5"x7" embossing folder (retired)

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you liked my card.  The  Christmas Kickstart - Rainbow Christmas challenge is open for another week and a half, so there is plenty of time to join in!  See you there!!

❤
Janis 

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Christmas Kickstart - Rainbow Christmas
2. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #527-528 - AG
3. DL.ART January Linky Party
4. ABC Christmas - A is for Anything Goes Christmas|
5. Papercraft Challenges #77 - Winter Wonderland
6. STAMPlorations January CAS Challenge (CAS + Opt twist Rainbow)

Happy Birthday Balloons with a Sketch

Hi, Friends.......

Get your shades on......you're going to need them!  I am here with a card using the current MFT Sketch Challenge #576.  I thought of balloons and birthdays when I saw it.

 

I flipped the sketch and turned it into this happy card using some super bright fuchsia and turquoise papers....my favorite colors!!  The balloons have tiny rainbow polka-dots that are just adorable. 

Supplies used include:
Winnie & Walter - Big Balloon Cutaways die set - retired
Winnie & Walter - Essentials:  Audrey Cutaways die set (has scallops) - retired
Inspired by Stamping - Graceful Hydrangea stamp set (retired)
Versafine ink in Smokey Gray

Hope you enjoyed my card.  Thank you so much for stopping by today.  Hope your New Year is going well.

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. MFT Sketch Challenge #576
2. AAA Birthday Game #33 - Two Favorite Colors



3. Cut It Up Challenge #243 - AG with a Die
4. Ally's Angels challenge #54 - AG
5. DL.ART January Linky Party
6. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
7. STAMPlorations January CAS Challenge (CAS + Opt twist Rainbow)

Brand New Challenge - Paper Dragonfly!

 

Hi, Friends....

I am very excited to introduce to you a brand-new challenge blog:  Paper Dragonfly.  I happened upon it when I was browsing Paper Playful.  It is all about dragonflies and run by a gal named Cat....so you know it is going to be a great challenge blog!!  Purr..purr!  lol...

Side Note: Do any of the rest of you visit Paper Playful?  I certainly appreciate the kind ladies that give of their time to keep us informed and up-to-date on the current challenges.  Be sure to comment on their posts every so often to give them a thank you!!

Now....I have to be honest. I am not really into dragonflies.  I am not into bugs or crawlies of any sort.  You might say that dragonflies are not crawlies....and that is correct, but they ARE bugs!!  😨  But even I have to admit that dragonflies are quite intriguing with their beautiful iridescence and the way they zoom around.  Best thing about them, though, is that they are mighty predators of things like mosquitoes!  So I have a respect and grudging admiration for their place in my yard and garden.....same as I do for yellow jackets!  Ha! 

That said....I have a lovely dragonfly die lying unused in my stash that was part of a prize given to me by Mrs. A over at the Butterfly Challenge.  (THANKS, Mrs.A!!)  When I saw this new challenge, I thought that I definitely needed to use it. 

The Paper Dragonfly Challenge #1 theme is Winter Dragonfly.  Well, anyone with even half the winter we usually get here knows that dragonflies don't fly around in the snow!!!!  SO WHAT!  lol....  Cards do not have to reflect reality.  So I put the biologist part of me in a different part of the house and got to work with a winter-themed dragonfly card.  I made two of them and the one that I am showing you first is actually the second one....because I think I like it a tiny bit better than the first one.  But I ended up loving them both.  

This one ended up looking slightly Valentine-ish with the die cut row of hearts.  I used the debossed side of a snowflake embossing folder and a single die-cut snowflake along with my dragonfly cut from some wildly sparkly iridescent cardstock!! 

Now here is the second one............
Same colors, but even more shimmer with three dragonflies.  I sanded the snowflake embossing just slightly to add a tiny bit of contrast....but you can't see it.  lol....  I also added some sparkly gel pen to the centers of the embossed snowflakes.  I used gray card bases for a soft winter snowy sky look.  Which do you like better?

Supplies used include:
Tonic Studios - Rococo Delicate Dragonfly die
Darice - Snowflakes embossing folder
Inspired by Stamping - Graceful Hydrangea stamp set (retired)
Simon Says Stamp - Studio Katia "Fresh Bunch" stamp set (retired)
Versafine Ink in Smokey Gray

Hope you liked my cards.  And I really, really hope you will join us over at the Paper Dragonfly Challenge - Winter Dragonfly.  Let's support this new challenge as much as we can!!  ❤

Stay safe and warm....and watch out for dragonflies flying around in the snow!!  😉

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Paper Dragonfly Challenge #1 - Winter Dragonfly
2. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
3. DL.ART January Linky Party
4. Ally's Angels challenge #54 - AG
5. Double Trouble Challenge #100 - Warm & Cozy Layer Up (I used Thing 1: Layers)
6. All Sorts Week #659 - Add a Heart
7. NBUS Challenge #34 - Use NBUS (my dragonfly was NBUS)

Christmas Chickadee

 

Hi, Friends.....

I noticed a few days ago that Lost Coast Designs was having a "Let's Fly" theme for their challenge blog.  Hmmm....I have just the stamp.  But could I get a card made before the gates closed?????  Wasn't sure.  I decided to give it a try.  It is a "challenge", after all.  Right?

The lovely Jo Avery sent me this beautiful Lost Coast Designs Christmas chickadee stamp some time ago (THANKS, Jo!!), but I had never used it....so it was lying there brand new just waiting to be inked.  It's totally gorgeous but I was a bit intimidated by it.  For one thing it was wood block mounted so stamping was going to have to be close to perfect first time.....no do overs!  Also, it is a large image which compounds the difficulty in getting a great image with no chance to try again.  

I decided to give it a try.  Oh, dear....fail, fail, fail.  I tried several times with paper on top of inked stamp and inked stamp on top of paper using a variety of cardstocks.  None of my impressions was perfect.  Some of the actual images looked pretty good, but I had stray ink marks here and there.  Oh, bother!  (This is what I get for trying to make a card the day before a challenge closes!!!  Eeek!!)

I soldiered on, though, and colored Mr. Chickadee (Mr. Tit, to you Brits and Euros!) He was looking better as I got him colored.  Then I got brave and decided to splatter him with white gesso....so scary!! But it helped. (Note to self: When you have stray ink marks.....add tons of stray ink marks to distract the eye. lol...)

I actually painted over some of the larger ink marks with the gesso, as well as some of the parts of the bird that are supposed to be white.  Then, throwing caution completely to the wind, I decided to splatter him with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink also!!  I hadn't ever tried splattering with two different inks before....new technique!  It worked.....I liked him even better!!  "Hey!" thought I, "this card might actually be okay in the end!"

I distressed the edges of the image and the vintage looking Christmas papers I had picked out.  Then I threaded a touch of gold trim through some red ribbon.  A little sprig of holly sequins finished up my card.  What do you think?

Supplies used include:
Lost Coast Designs - Megan's Christmas Bird stamp (wood-mount)
Versafine Ink in Onxy Black
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Gesso
Distress Ink in Walnut Stain
Scraps of patterned paper, ribbon, and holly sequins from my stash

Hope you liked my card.  I am delighted with how it turned out.  Glad I stuck with it!  

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Lost Coast Designs Challenge #135 - Let's Fly!
2. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
3. ABC Christmas - A is for Anything Goes Christmas
4. We Love Stamping January Challenge - Anything Stamped + Opt of Wings
5. TFJB Challenge - Out with Old, In with the New (I used a new-to-me technique and a "new" unused stamp and some very old patterned papers)
6. DL.ART January Linky Party
7. Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #576 - AG Christmas

Pray Always - Batch Cooking a Baker's Dozen of Cards Using a Sketch

 

Hi, Friends.....

Many of you have enjoyed the challenges that Mary over at CARDZ-TV has hostessed for many years.  It was always a fun place to get inspired and show off our creations.....and she was always so generous with her lovely Cardz-TV stamp prizes!  The challenges have sadly (for us) come to an end, but Mary has started something else on her blog:  Sketch Saturday.  It's not a challenge for prizes or anything, but she shares a video using one of her fabulous sketches (she has a ton of them!!).  

I got inspired to use the one she showcased last weekend.  I pulled out my bag of "blue/green family" scraps and selected several pieces from 5 or 6 coordinating patterned papers to use.  I took a few liberties with the sketch to better fit with the scraps I was using.  Sketches, after all, are inspiration launching points!  

Measure-measure, slice-slice, glue-glue.....before I knew it, I had 13 cards that were all the same....yet a bit different. I give a lot of cards and card sets to friends for them to use. These will be perfect for that.

 

 
I  used a lovely new die my crafty pal Karen Ladd sent me for Christmas. (THANKS, Karen!!) Love this die so much!! I ran out of the flowers I had started using and pulled another kind of flower out that was in coordinating colors. Then I ran out of those, too. (Hey, did you hear that....."ran out" means I am actually using things up!!!...Yay!!) So I scrounged around and found some butterflies to use. I also ran out of the glitter cardstock I was using for the sentiment die cut so I used a different color....which I didn't like as well, but it is okay.

Here's a shot of all 13 of my cards!  I know you can't see any detail.  I think you can click on the image and enlarge it if you wish.  Sorry for the shadow....Old Lady Photographer, here!  lol...

Supplies used include:
Diamond Press - Pray Always Die (247175)
Prima Flowers
Adhesive Gems
Butterflies
Assorted Scraps of Patterned Paper from stash
Solid Cardstock

Hope you enjoyed seeing the batch of cards I cooked up using Mary's lovely sketch!  If you enjoy sketches, be sure to watch for her next one on Saturday at her blog, CARDZ-TV.  

Thank you for stopping by today!  Stay safe and warm!

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
2. Crafty Hazelnut's January Patterned Paper Challenge
3. Creative Fingers Challenge #222 - AG
4. NBUS Challenge #34 - Use NBUS (the sentiment die was NBUS)
5. Ally's Angels challenge #54 - AG
6. DL.ART January Linky Party
7. Hero Arts Stay Crafty Challenge #30 - Use Circles (I used polka-dot patterned paper)
8. Double Trouble Challenge #100 - Warm & Cozy Layer Up (I used Thing 1: Layers + Die, Thing 3:  Prayer is my "Warm and Cozy", esp when I am troubled!)

Guest Designer - Let's Squash It! SEA-sons Greetings

 

Hi, Friends......

I am so honored today to be the Guest Designer over at the Let's Squash It! Challenge blog!  The theme this month is Dry Embossing + Under the Sea.  How fun is that?!!!  Thank you to Jo and Gail for inviting me to join them. ❤

As soon as I heard the theme was Under the Sea, I knew which set I wanted to use.  I won this super-fun and quirky Newton's Nook Designs - SEA-sons Greetings stamp set from Holley Barnhart last year during her February Celebration.  (THANKS, Holley!!)  It had not seen ink yet and it was time!! 

For my background, I pulled out some scraps of sea green patterned paper and die cut them into wave shapes.  Then I used a couple of embossing folders for some texture....one with bubbles and one with waves.  I sponged some Distress Ink over the embossing to give it some definition.  A few fish and sequins and some Wink of Stella for sparkle completed my card.  

Supplies used include:
Darice - Gradual Dots Embossing Folder (retired)
Sizzix Textured Impressions - Waves Embossing Folder
Pink & Main Scallop Waves die set
Distress Ink - Lucky Clover
Newton's Nook Designs - SEA-sons Greetings stamp set (retired)
Lawn Fawndamentals Ink - River Rock
Inspired by Stamping - Fancy Labels 3 Dies (retired)
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Oval STAX die set (retired)
Winnie & Walter - Essentials: Katharine Cutaways die set - retired
Pretty Pink Posh - Sparkling Clear Mix sequins
Wink of Stella clear pen

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you will join us over at Let's Squash It - Under the Sea!  Have a phen-octopus day!! (Sorry...that's the best pun I could think of using octopus.  I should have used a fish image....and then I could have said "fin-tastic".  *sigh*  lol...)

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #419 - Use Snippets
2. Double Trouble Challenge #100 - Warm & Cozy Layer Up (I used Thing 1: Layers + Die, Thing 3:  Mittens....EIGHT of them!  lol..)
3. Creative Fingers Challenge #222 - AG
4. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526
5. DL.ART January Linky Party
6. Hero Arts Stay Crafty Challenge #30 - Use Circles (I used a circle embossing folder)

Merry Christmas

Hi, Friends...

It's been waaaaaaay too long since I have posted anything.  The holidays and winter storms really knocked the stuffing out of me.  I feel like I am finally getting my feet back underneath me.  I have a Christmas card to share with you that I am entering in the lovely Di Wray's Snippets Playground Challenge.

Before Christmas I die cut several of these gorgeous Poppystamps - Grand Pine Trees (sadly retired) for use on cards.  I strategically positioned them so I could use the negatives on a separate set of cards......tah-dah!  :)  I chose some of my layered "strips-o-scraps" backgrounds that I already had on hand to show through the opening.  Love that the patterned papers make it  look like a snow-covered evergreen.  ❤

I went quite CAS with no sequins or snowflakes and just a simple sentiment.  I kept having to resist the urge to put something else on it, but I didn't want anything to draw attention away from the tree.  What do you think?  Too plain?

 

Supplies used include:
Poppystamps - Grand Pine Tree die (retired)
Clearly Besotted - Modern Christmas stamp set (retired)
Versafine Ink in Onyx Black
Extra thick White Cardstock

Hope you like my card!  I have a few more cards that I will be blogging in the near future.  Have a safe and Happy New Year!!

❤
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #418 - Use snippets on a Christmas Card
2. Creative Fingers Challenge #222 - AG
3. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #525 -526