Gender Neutral Valentine's Day Card

          It’s finally here!  The first official posting to our brand new Etsy Shop – Cotton2Craft.  I’m doing this in partnership with my youngest daughter, Rebecca who curates vintage clothing for our “Cotton” side of our brand!  While I do the “Craft” side!  These should go up in the shop on New Year’s Eve – a big day all around since it’s my birthday as well!  No info about my age will be given out at this time!  But I am a grandmother so you guess!  LOL

         For the first cards for the Craft side of our shop, I wanted to put up a card that is gender neutral so I chose a stand-by for me – kraft and green which has a more woodsy feel to it while the Cherry Red ink from Gina K gives it that traditional color associated with Valentine’s Day – just  around the corner!  Here’s the enabler list!  Big shout out though to Gina K.  The Sketched Wreath Builder set was free with an order I placed during a sale earlier this month.  I love this stamp set!  So many possibilities!  

·       Stamp set(s):  Gina K – Sketched Wreath Builder SS, Love Is All You Need SS (inside); Concord & 9^th – Love Notes SS; PTI – New Every Morning SS (back)

·       Ink(s):  Gina K – Cherry Red, Jelly Bean Green, Fresh Asparagus;  PTI – Fresh Snow Pigment Ink

·       Paper:  Gina K – Kraft, Fresh Asparagus

·       Dies & Embossing folders:   Gina K – Double Stitched Small Circles Die; Spellbinders – Standard Circles Large

·       Embellishments/Other things of note:  Pretty Pink Posh - Sequins 

Be sure and stop by our Etsy Shop – Cotton2Craft, from time to time to check out our progress!  Rebecca has such a good eye for the real deals in Vintage Clothing.  So much so that I was her first customer!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Grateful Blessings

I continue to enjoy using Gina K Designs Wreath Builder stamp sets.  This will probably be my last autumn cards (other than what I’m working on right now for the #thedailymarker30day challenge!)as I need to get going on Christmas cards. Someone on my feed is reminding her followers that it’s a bit over 50 days until Christmas!  YIKES!!!

         While I was playing with the Autumn set I made these cards that I’m sharing here today. Even though I love red, I think the orange card if my favorite as it seems a bit brighter!  Maybe I was making these cards on some of our dreary rainy days we’ve had recently.  At any rate, here’s what I used to make these 3 cards!

·      Stamp set(s):  Gina K Designs – Autumn Wreath Builder Stamp Set

·      Ink(s):  Gina K Designs – Coral Reef, Wild Dandelion, Black Onyx, Cherry Red, Honey Mustard, Red Velvet, Charcoal Brown

·      Paper:  Gina K Designs – Kraft, Black Onyx, Cranberry Tart, Cherry Red

·      Dies & Embossing folders:   PTI – Counting My Blessings Die; Spellbinders – Standard Circles Large; Gina K Designs – Circle Small Double Stitch Dies

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Tonic – Nuvo Crystal Drops Gloss – Ebony Black; Ranger – Glossy Accents

These were easy to make even with the stacked grateful die cut – I did shadow the color of the cardstock for the bottom layer of the grateful die cuts to add a bit more depth and definition to the overall card!  I love these big sentiment words from this set! If Christmas is a bit over 50 days, just think we are far closer to Thanksgiving! Better get those cards done soon!

That’s it for now.  Have a wonderful weekend.  After a stormy day yesterday, we have glorious fall like weather that I am loving!!!  At last it’s getting cooler but not cold like my IG friends are experiencing in other parts of the US!  The fall colors are just beginning to happen here in the Upstate of SC.  

Many Blessings,

Donna

Trio of Christmas Wreaths with a Twist

     

I’ve been playing a lot recently with these wreath builder stamps and dies from Gina K.  It’s been such fun getting ready for the upcoming holidays!  I decided to do something a bit different with these cards and turn them into wreaths that I cut out into circles.  I think if makes it look more like a wreath and the largest die from my Spellbinders set worked well.   I did trace around the circle to make a template on each 4” square so that I could stay pretty well within the circle for the wreath.  I used all Gink K inks and cardstock for the cards I made.  The inks stamp so beautifully.  I only needed to stamp once to get these pretty images. More details are below!

·      Stamp set(s):    Gina K Designs – Holiday Wreath Builder SS

·      Ink(s):  Gina K Designs – Cherry Red, See Glass, Blue Lagoon, Tranquil Teal, In the Navy, Fresh Asparagus, Christmas Pine

·      Paper:  Gina K Designs – White Heavy Wt. Base Cardstock, Sea Glass, Cherry Red

·      Dies & Embossing folders: Gina K Designs – Circle Double Stitched; Spellbinders – Standard Circles Lg Dies  

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Nuvo – Glitter Drops Ruby Slippers, Crystal Drops Silver Lining 

Of course, a card is not a card without a touch of bling or shine to it.  The Nuvo products I used worked beautifully with the rest of my project to give each card that bit of sparkle!  I also made 4.5 x 4.5 envelopes for each card from some Christmas cardstock pads that I got on sale at Michaels earlier this week – buy 1 get 2 for free!  Now that’s a good sale!  While the blue patterned paper was not as good of a match as the red, it had sparkles and snowflakes on it to go with the snowflakes on the wreath. That’s a win/win in my book!

That’s it for now!  Getting ready for the 30 Day Coloring Challenger that starts tomorrow and hosted by @kathyrac starting a few years back on Instagram!  Getting my Copics ready to go!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Fall Themed Wedding Card

We have a wedding go to this weekend!  Since it was kind of a last-minute thing – our invitation didn’t make it through 2 change of addresses, I was pressed for time but still wanting to make a lovely fall themed card.  Summer Sunrise is one of my favorite colors that PTI has, and it’s just perfect for a fall themed card!  So here is a quick and easy fall card.  But this stamp set isn’t just for fall – imagine lovely bright spring greens or deep green for a spring of summer card!  Love this stamp set!  This set makes quick and easy look so elegant!  It’s one of my favorite all time sets!  All the details are below!

·      Stamp set(s):    PTI – Text & Texture: Leaves; Make It Market Mini: Garden Gild (inside sentiment); Verve – Scripture Medley 3 (back)

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Summer Sunrise; Nuvo Glitter Marker - Copper

·      Paper: PTI – Summer Sunrise

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  Heffy Doodle – Imperial Stitched Rectangle Dies

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Ranger – Glossy Accents

That’s it for now.  Busy week but I just had to get this lovely card out there for you to see! I love the look of this card!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Gourd-eous Fall Birthday!

Fall has finally arrived here in SC – at last! A family birthday is happening tomorrow so this fall themed birthday card from stamp sets from PTI’s fall release last year seemed just perfect!  I loved these gourds then, and still think they’re gourd-eous!  Hahaha!!!

·      Stamp set(s):    PTI – Simply Gourd-eous SS, Seasonal Borders: Autumn SS, & Never Enough Birthday SS

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Summer Sunrise, Spring Moss, Olive Twist, Pure Poppy, Cocoa Bean, Dark Chocolate

·      Paper:  PTI – Classic Kraft

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Simply Gourd-eous Dies & Seasonal Borders: Autumn Dies 

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  PTI – Gold Filigree Detail Embossing Powder; Paper Sweeties – Sequins

This is now my second card in a row that I’ve put here on my blog made with Kraft cardstock!  Might be a trend for me!  But seriously, Kraft cardstock does give a fall vibe to the card.  I kept it fairly simple design wise so that these two stamp sets would be the focus.  I love them together, too!  That’s it for now!

Love the sparkle of the embossing powder!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Blissful Fall Duo

I have two cards for you today!  I know it’s been a while since I posted here.  We are in our forever home here in Greer, SC at last. We still have some boxes to unpack but most of it is done.  I’ve told my girls that I will not be moving again.  This is it!  I’m staying put and if I need to move, they will have to do it!  We are now close to family and love being near the mountains!  We can see them from here.

Both cards feature ink blended backgrounds using my newly acquired Taylored Expressions blender brushes!  I love these things.  The handles are so colorful and they lend themselves to keeping the ink colors into families just by using the handles as a guide.  How clever is that?!?!  Not to mentions that they blend the inks just like warm butter on hot pancakes!

My first card features the Greetery’s Botanicuts Sunflower dies and a new to me stencil company – A Colorful Life Designs that I picked up at Technique Junkies’ booth at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour (SSAT) here in Greenville, SC this past weekend!  All the info for this card is below!

·      Stamp set(s):    PTI – Never Enough Birthday (inside) & Garden of Faith Stamp (back) Sets 

·      Ink(s):  Gina K Designs – Kraft & Warm Cocoa

·      Paper:  PTI – Classic Kraft, Harvest Gold, Bright Buttercup, Summer Sunrise, Honey Nut, Cocoa Bean, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  The Greetery – Sunflower Botanicuts Dies; MFT – Happy Birthday Die

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  A Colorful Life Designs – Splatted Grid Stencil; Nuvo Crystal Drops – Ebony Black and Crystal Glaze; Taylored Expressions – Blender Brushes

My second card is also fall themed and features an ink blended background and a sweet set from Papertrey Ink, a stencil from Taylored Expressions and those awesome blender brushes!  Here are all the details!

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Enclosed Leaf Mini SS  

·      Ink(s):  Gina K Designs – Red Velvet, Wild Dandelion, Tangerine Twist; Versamark Pad

·      Paper:  Gina K Designs – Red Velvet; PTI – Classic Kraft

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Enclosed Leaf Die & Skinny Mini Banner Die

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Taylored Expressions – Feathered Stencil & Blender Brushes; Nuvo – Crystal Glaze; PTI – Gold Filigree Embossing Powder; The Paper Studio – Hemp Twine   

I have really enjoyed using my new #TEblenderbrushes!  I highly recommend that you go their website and place an order.  They are on back order due to the high demand for them but they are worth the wait!  And once your name comes up, they ship them really fast!  Great customer service!  And you’re supporting a woman owned small business too!  

I had a lot of fun back here in my restored – from moving twice in 3 months – craft room playing with all of these lovely things.  It was also nice to put away some of my stash of  – well let’s face it, hoarded 12 x 12 papers.  I made some cards for a realtor friend at our new church here with some of these classic papers.  I have no idea how old they were but I still loved them as much as when I first bought them! This is it for now.  Be on the look-out for the announcement that my daughter and I have launched our own Etsy shop later this fall where I’ll be selling some of my creations!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Stepping It Up with Wreath Builder Stencils

Everywhere you look on-line having to do with papercrafting we are seeing Christmas in July.  It’s still hot around here but Christmas will be here before we know it.  So, I pulled out Gina K Designs Holiday Wreath Builder SS and my 4” stencil from the series and went to work.  I made one card that I liked but as usual I got so involved in the stamping that I neglected to look deeper into what I wanted to do with my finished wreaths.  The first one I turned out was OK but it just lacked a polished feel to it – sort of blah! But by the time I really looked at it, the glue was dry!  Too late to undo what I’d already glued down.  I decided to step it up and remake my basic card and add some layers and interesting background to it.  The second card is the finished and much more polished result.  Here are the details for my cards!

·      Stamp set(s):  Gina K – Holiday Wreath Builder SS   

·      Ink(s):  Gina K – Christmas Pine, Charcoal Brown; Versamark – Watermark Pad

·      Paper:  Gina K – Heavy Weight Base White CS; PTI(ITP) – Pinefeather & Fresh Snow Linen CS

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  Gina K – Circle Small Double Stitch Design Dies; Spellbinders – Standard Circles Large, Classic Scalloped Circles Large; Sizzix – Herringbone EF

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Gina K – Wreath Builder 4” Stencil; WOW Embossing Glitter – Singing in the Rain; Pretty Pink Posh – 4mm & 6mm Sparkling Clear Sequins

I used a new to me product on these two cards!  A while back, I won an Instagram giveaway from @jenccards.  She does a lot of product intro for WOW and the prize package contained the embossing glitter listed above.  I hadn’t used it much as my crafting time has gone down since our move to SC.  (Things should be back to whatever normal is after we close on our new home early next month and move in by the end of August – hopefully if all the work can be done by then!)  I love the results of this Embossing Glitter.  It doesn’t hide the color beneath – it just adds bling to it!  It really makes that sentiment I embossed pop and sparkle!  Absolutely love this stuff!  Thanks Jenny! I’ll try to remember to tag you when I post on Instagram with these projects!

That’s it for now.  I’m going to try to post this on my blog as well as on SplitcoastStampers before I tidy up for the day!  The before picture and picture of the embossing glitter are below.  You've got to see this embossing glitter in person.  Order some and start playing. It's addicting!

Before I stepped it up with some texture and layers!

See that hit of glitter on the sentiment!  It's better in person!

Many Blessings,

Donna