Beauty of Autumn

 Hello crafty friends, happy Thanksgiving!!

I used some old dies from Memory Box to create this tunnel view of an autumn scene.  My DRS stamps today are Autumn Leaf Pile and One Line Beauty of Autumn.

I created the tunnel of trees with foam between each layer except for the first layer which was glued directly to a frame I made with a Rubbernecker inverted scallop die and a larger piece of cardstock.

I sponged orange ink to the inside of the frame and around the arch sentiment that I made 

with the stamp and 2 circle dies.

Each layer of trees was sponged with a progressively darker gray color ink.

I imagined the trees were one of the white trunked trees like aspen or birch.

I stamped the pile of leaves multiple times then cut out the top slightly to make an uneven leafy surface for the deer to stand in. I sponged the leaves with 3 colors and then used 

Painty Pens to give more detail to some colors.

To get the sentiment to arch nicely, I snipped the rubber top and bottom as if I were sewing an arm into a shirt armhole opening. Going around curves with fabric is impossible without first snipping the curves.  Red rubber does not bend without snipping to allow the curve (don't worry, it doesn't affect your stamp image or words when straight stamping is desired).

That's about it!

Thanks for visiting today!

Robin

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Missing You!

 Hello friends!

Today I'm wishing to be somewhere much cooler than where I am so the only place guaranteed to be at least 20 degrees cooler than here is the coast.

Leonard is flying his kite where it is almost always windy (he has been here before and always brings his kite with him!).

I used DRS stamps: Missing you Pig Time, Leonard Flies a Kite, Sea Grass, Sailboat, Seaside Dock, and 4 in 1 Ocean Designs.

I actually did not have to mask anything except when coloring the sky with ink-blending brushes.

I stamped the sentiment separately and die cut with an HC die then fishtailed the end.

I also stamped Leonard separately so that I could pop him up. I then took a ruler and drew a new kite string for the kite.

I used some white gel pen on the closer birds and on the waves around the boats.

I also used some paint pens on the water reflection to help the color show more.

The images are colored with a combo of Copic Markers and Olo Markers.

Thanks for visiting today!

Robin 

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Happy Bees!

Hello crafty friends!

I am on a bee kick so, of course, I have bees today.  Lots of them!

I used Bitzy Bumble Bee and Happy Bee for the bee swarm. 

The sentiment is from Love You To the Moon Greeting.  Fun and easy.  Did you notice the bees all have a bit different face?  Did you find Elvis?

Hope your week is going well.

Hugz, 

Nancy

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Deepest Sympathy In Colors

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I am sharing a Sympathy card made with the fabulous Brush In Deepest Sympathy and the Brush Pussy Willows images. 

First, I stamped the images and then sponged on the 4 colors on the two panels.  The green on the bottom is from SU! but my sponge had on some Tim Holtz Ground Expresso Distress Ink so it came out a bit brown.  The two middle colors are Peach and Paprika from Close to My Heart, and the top is Broken China Distress Oxide (TH). 

After the sponging, I colored in the white fluffs with white gel pen and added Stickles to the base of each one.  I had a little ink spot after stamping the Brush Pussy Willows so I added lots of white and black dots to blend it all in.  It is like there is a spirit arising or the fluffs are crying - seems to work with the theme. 

Hope you are having a fabulous week.  

Hugz,

Nancy

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Spooky Thanks...

Hello Crafty Friends,

Today, I am mixing Halloween and Thanksgiving together.  I am practicing drawing and painting skulls - it is supposed to help you draw faces better - lol.  When I went to do a sentiment for this skull, I spotted the new Always Thankful Greeting and immediately wanted to use it. 

This combination makes me think of unusal things to be thankful for:  good bone structures, our ancestors, teeth, that we have hard skulls to protect our brain, forensic science, and the gift of life. Can you think of more?

I did this one with two colors of Daniel Smith watercolor on regular white cardstock from Michaels.  The sentiment is stamped with Close to My Heart Black and all the paper is edged in Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo and Black Soot mixed together on my sponge.  

Hope you are finding things to be thankful for this Halloween.  

Hugz,

Nancy

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Giving Thanks For Wheat

Hello Crafty Friends!

I love a good CAS card, but they are difficult for me. This week, I was inspired by THIS card by Renata Joyner.  I sponged a background similar to hers, then water distressed it.  I stamped the Long Tall Wheat multiple times along with the Give Thanks Bible Verse Greeting.  To finish it off, I stenciled in some small dots.

I read an article about the difference between truly happy people and everyone else.  The number one difference was that the truly happy people were grateful and thankful about everything. I think that is some powerful information.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I am thankful you dropped by. 

Hugz,

Nancy

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A Bit of Spooky

A bit of spooky fun today.  

I started by sponging the background with some distress oxides, and then I added the Silhouette Grave Yard and the Accent Bats. 

On a seperate paper, I stamped the Bubbling Beaker, Leaning Ghost and Small Trick or Treat Greeting.  When I cut the greeting, there was a wobbly bottom and I kept it to add a bit more spooky.  The beaker was colored with distress inks mixed with a little water. 

After the images and greeting were popped up, I framed the scene and base purple layer with black.  

I love fall and Halloween.  I just got some faux grave markers for my yard, and my grandsons keep asking me to put the out. 

Hugz,

Nancy

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A Little Stamp Surgery Fun

It's stamp surgery for me today.  I took these images:

Doggie Dilemma Dog with Fence

Let's Play Puppy

Happy Cat Sitting

I stamped them three times and, then, off with their heads!  I even sponged them instead of coloring them as I was being lazy.  

To create the bottom panel, I cut a paw print off the Dog Paw Background (real stamp surgery) and stamped it all around my sponged panel.  

A card this fun has to have a fun sentiment so I used the Dogs Have Owners Greeting.  I think most everyone one will agree it is true.  And, yes, the cat wins tic-tac-toe!

Do you like this funfold?  I cased  it from THIS fabulous card by Lisa Curcio who was the Splitcoaststamper.com Featured Stamper this week. 

Hugz,

Nancy

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Frog Legs Wishes

The frogs in our pond are doing overtime these days, and they have inspired me to play with the new Diving Frog Legs.

I stamped the legs all over my main panel, and ran it through a wood embossing folder (it was the one out on my counter - lol).  I then sponged on some Distress Oxide and added a bit of Stickles.  The card was finished off with the super fun Frog in your Pants Greeting.  Fun and quick.  The boys in my family love this card.

Hope your week is going really well and you are not finding any frogs anywhere you don't want them!

Hugz, 

Nancy

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Sending Sunshine

 Sending cards is like sending sunshine don't you think?

This card is sure to make someone smile as the Big Mouth Bass looks so happy jumping for a bug that just came out of the tangle rushes (made with the Sea Grass image stamped over and over). I wanted the grass to look super full so I also stamped my favorite Script Font Background in too (this image is retiring soon so if you don't have it already, I highly encourage you to get it).  I stamped the script in the water too using the same distress oxide ink that I dragged over the paper to give the effect of water. I sponged in some yellow to add in some sunshine (in the sky and the water for a bit of reflection).

The card was finished off with a few scribbles on the bottom of the rushes and the Sending you Sunshine Greeting. 

I hope your week is going well so far!

Hugz, 

Nancy

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Patriotic Sympathy

Hello crafty friends.

Taking a little break from Fall and Halloween to make two sympathy cards for the recent loss of a soldier.  He was assigned to the US/Mexico border and contracted Covid.  Young, healthy, and with many dreams of a fabulous future.  So sad.

I wanted to do a patrotic card as he died while on assignment and the family is so proud of his miltary service.  

I started with tea bags that had been brewed, dried, emptied, and placed on paper with gesso.  Then I used water color paint to paint loose stripes.  After the paint dried, I stamped on the Silhouette Soldiers and Brush In Deepest Sympathy. 

The first one was only lightly distressed and had Stickles added in the blue for the feeling of stars. 

The next one was more deeply distressed and had more wrinkles from the tea bags. 

This idea would work well for Veteran's Day which is just around the corner (November 11th) and celebrated by many countries to honor their Veterans. 

Hope you are having a wonderful and crafty week!

Hugz,

Nancy

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Thanksgiving Blessings/Food

Hello Crafty Friends!

In celebration of my love of humor and food, I have this fun card to share today.

It features the new Blessings for You Thanksgiving greeting and the Tipsy Turkey image. I was just going to add the food, but the little turkey was staring up at me so I tucked him in there too.  Of course, he is hoping you do Thanksgiving Vegetarian style this year or consider ham - lol.  

The card bases were done with Ink, Spray, Smash and the Ink Swipe techniques. 

Hope you are having a great week!

Hugz,

Nancy 

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A Juicy Halloween

Happy Wednesday!

My card today is a collage of several fun images

*The new Halloween Crow/Witch Frame

*Script Font Background (my favorite stamp)

*Empty Spider Web

*Iron Fence and Gate

*Silhouette Halloween 3 In 1 Tree

I started off sponging some pink and yellow Distress Oxide Inks on my panel, and then I splashed on some water.  I was going for a pink and yellow lemonade look, but the pink and yellow mixed turned orange and resembled orange juice instead - lol.  After it all dried, I stamped the images, and masking the main panel. 

I love making Halloween cards - they are so fun!

Hugz,

Nancy 

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It's July, but Fall is Coming!

I am so ready for Fall so I thought I would share a Fall card today to change up from our Summer cards.   

I started by stamping the Wood Grain Background in Vintage Photo Distress Ink, then used a SU! circle punch to make three openings.  I lined up the circles on another piece of card stock and stamped these three images:

* Winter Trees  (I added in Fall colored leaves to make it Fall Trees instead)

*Long Tall Wheat 

*4 in 1 Harvest Design  (just the sunflowers)

After water coloring the sunflowers, I added in some gold microbeads. A bit of sponging around the wood and a few words from Goodbye Summer Hello Fall Greeting, and I was done. 

I can't believe school starts back around here in just two weeks!  Where does time go?

Hugz,

Nancy

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Just a friendly note....

 

This whimsical SEA GRASS - 128L is great to add to a card and add some sponged color to represent sky colors.

I embossed the SEA GRASS - 128L in white and added the DANDELION PUFF - 380G also in white embossing. Additionally the FRIENDLY NOTE GREETING - 790D was also embossed in white.

Next I sponged purple at the top, pink in the middle and mustard on the bottom.

Thank you for stopping by to check out my card this week.

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S'mores and Stories

Hello crafty friends.

I am excited that I have been able to do some fun warmer weather activities lately: going to an outdoor concert, walking around town, youth league baseball tournaments, and a picnic.  We didn't have s'mores at the picnic, but  we might have if fires would have been allowed at the park. After last year's lockdown, I am really enjoying building some better memories and that is what this card is all about.

I made a mask out of torn paper, then sponged the "fire" scene.  I stamped and watercolored the Smooshed S'mores - then fussy cut them.  Added the perfect greeting-- Sumer Story Greeting.  

Hope you are having a great week.

Hugz,

Nancy

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Fishing Wishes

I am having so much fun playing with the new Silhouette Fisherman image!

Here I have it paired with the new Best Fishes Hook.  I dipped my paper in ink sprayed with water and then drew some lines around the image with India Ink and a metal nib.

On this card, I sponged some kraft paper and drew a frame.  The base is splattered with India Ink.  I added the Picture Perfect Day sentiment. 

Hope you are having a good week!

Hugz,

Nancy

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New Images and a Dogwood Obsession

Hello crafty friends,

Some fun new designs will hit the store this weekend, and I have a sneak peak card showing 3 of my favorites.  

I saw a fabulous card Julie from our team made for a Splitcoaststamper.com challenge recently where she cut out a lot of holes and colored up her main panel with splashes and splatters.  I thought this would work well to showcase the fun new Billiard Balls (533G).  When stamping them on the base I got a stamp line so I colored and fussy cut the new Pool Cue, Ball, and Rack image (469K) and tucked it in.  There are two new pool related sentiments and I used the Racking Up Birthday Greeting on the front (498D) and the other one on the inside.  

My son-in-law is a big pool enthusiast so these new stamps are going to be a hit with him!

I have been a kick with the Dogwood Branch image and have a few more creations to share:

This one features the Dogwood branch done in a wreath and the new Chick in Nest.  My background is done with sprays and sponging and I water-colored the chick and the flowers using the leftover color to splatter on the flowers and the background. 

I bought a jar new die from CTMH and I doodled on some lines on the jar, tag, and the background panel using a metal nib dipped in India Ink (another new obsession).  I am still getting ink blots, but I am embracing them.  I also used the Happy Mother's Day Greeting on this card. 

And lastly, you can really see my obsession with the dogwood image on my Art Journal page.

I stamped and water-colored a bunch of the flowers and fussy cut them while watching a movie.  Once I assembled the wreath, it still needed something so I added in a Happy Bee.  More leftover ink splatters and a doodled border plus a computer generated sentiment that grabbed my attention this week.  

Hope your week is going well and you are finding new obsessions too.

Hugz, 

Nancy

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Frogs and Flowers

Hello Crafty Friends!

Have you seen the fun new Have I Toad You Greeting that we came out with last month?  I used it with the fun Frog on a Log (one of my favorite DRS stamps), but DRS has a lot of stamps it would look fun with such as the toadstool stamps, Frog Boy Cutie Pie Kid, Friendly Flower Frog, and the Tiny Frog.

My backgrounds were made with heat embossing and I used the Tree Slice Woodgrain stamp for the red background.  The image was colored up with water colors.  I cased a card by Cara Denise HERE when making this card. Her sketch inspired me. 

I also want to share a vintage Art Journal page I made last week with the Dogwood Branch stamp.  The vintage picture was a damaged one where I cut off the damage.  My Grandmother is in the middle in the cute skirt - I am guessing she is about 18 in the picture.  

I water-colored the flowers, sponged the cloud background and did some stenciling.  I just kept adding ink and stencils and paper until the background worked. 

Hope you are having a good week.

Hugz,

Nancy

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Easter Hope

Easter is coming on us fast!  It has snuck up on me, but I am making my cards quickly now!

The new stamps at DRS Designs are fabulous and work together so well!  I used three of them on my first card:  Flowering Bird Branch, Holy Week Religious Icons, and Hope is the Greatest Gift Easter Greeting. 

I stamped the images and lightly colored them with water colors using a very light touch and trying to match my paper colors. I used the rest of the greeting inside.

I had a left over panel where I had stamped the greeting by itself so I quickly stamped the Flowering Bird Branch image a few times and sponged on some Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.  I stenciled in a bit of a frame as well.  

Hope you have all your Easter plans started and that things are going well.

Hugz,

Nancy

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