Keeping Christmas All Year Long

           Today is the 25^thof the month!  Some posts on my Instagram feed – dloates2005 – inspired me to combine two challenges today.  The first is from this week’s Win It Wednesday Laurie’s Fabulous Favorites over at the Papertrey Ink blog. The second is the Keeping Christmas 2019 blog hop that happens on the 25^thof the month.  I thought it would be fun to combine the two.  One of my favorite color combos for Christmas is Classic Kraft and Pinefeather for the holidays.  I just used those to make my husband’s anniversary card last week which is my previous blog post.  I love pine greens and pinecones around the house.  We use it in our home décor around here!  So, it just made sense that I would combine the two colors for this challenge.  Here are the details of my card! 

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Sentiment Staples: Merry Christmas SS & Holiday Greens Borders SS 

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Pinefeather; Versamark – Watermark Pad

·      Paper:  PTI – Classic Kraft

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Holiday Greens Borders Die   

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  PTI – Gold Filigree Detail Embossing Powder; Tonic – Nuvo Glitter Drops

I like the way my card turned out.  It’s simple but effective.  I wish it had been sunny when I took the photo, but stormy weather is on the way for us here in the piedmont of NC.  The gold embossing looks so pretty in person.  The red glitter dots are my ornaments on the pine boughs. I love red as well especially for the Christmas season!

Have a great week!  Thanks for stopping by to see me!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Anniversary Greens

We are talking greens here!  No, not the kind you eat, but greens from pines.  My husband and I are getting ready to celebrate our 14^thwedding anniversary next week.  Long before anyone was doing pine and pine cones in home décor, we had lamps and pine green swags in our home that have been there since he bought our townhome while we were dating.  I just recently got this stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  It’s one of Dawn McVey’s Raspberry Suite Design sets.  I loved it, and they are having a sale of a lot all of their inventory so it was on sale or so I justify!  Haha!  They’re making some changes which means that Dawn’s sets as one of their out-going designers will eventually disappear.  I had to have this one!  (And many others before they disappear!) I thought that this set would make a good late winter early spring anniversary card.  I think that I was right!  Here are the details!

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Holiday Greens Stamp Set 

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Pinefeather, Dark Chocolate

·      Paper:  PTI – Classic Kraft; Stash – Metallic Gold cardstock

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Holiday Greens Die; Frantic Stamper – Happy Anniversary Die; Honey Bee Stamps – A2 Double Stitch Frames Die

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Pretty Pink Posh – 6 mm Sand Sequins; Wink of Stella – Clear

Making cards of any type for males is a difficult task for me.  I’m really a lover of flowers!  Flowers just don’t come across as masculine to me for anniversary or birthday celebrations for the men in my life.  I think this card pulls it off for a successful anniversary card for a man.  A little bit of bling of course since it is after all a celebration.  The die cut pine boughs and pine cones give some texture, and the gold die cut sentiment gives it some casual elegance.  But it’s not feminine.  Just what I was wanting to accomplish!

Thanks for stopping by to visit a while and reading my “inklings” about my card!  Stop by anytime.  You’re always welcome!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Sunshine On My Mind

         I’ve had a busy month.  My youngest daughter has spent much of the last year doing medical mission work in Africa or here in the states working to pay her bills while overseas.  While stateside, she has living here with us.  I put her on the plane yesterday for Conakry, Guinea which is on the coast of West Africa.  This is her third trip to Africa to do medical missions work there.  I’m so proud of her!  She will spend 12 weeks aboard the Mercy Hospital Ship as a pediatric ward nurse.  I’m sending her a card with a package that didn’t make it here in time to go with her. This is what I came up with today. A little different from most of the cards I do as my florals are usually stamped and colored not cut out with dies like I did here.  I really like how this turned out and deliberately chose bright colors to become a part of Rebecca’s wall art while on board the ship!  Here are the details of what I used to make it!  I really am loving the Yellow Sunshine stamp set I've used here.  Great sentiments for all types of occasions. 

·      Stamp set(s):  Papertrey Ink – Yellow Sunshine Stamp Set & New Every Morning Stamps Set 

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, Harvest Gold

·      Paper:  PTI – Terracotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse, Melon Berry, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Harvest Gold, Ripe Avocado Gingham, Rustic White 

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  My Favorite Things – Little Flowers & Fresh Cut Dies

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Pretty Pink Posh - Autumn Harvest Sequin Mix

This was so nice to share some time with you today! I hope you’ve had a wonderful Sunday. I’m gearing up here to make several more cards before I pack up my “studio” a.k.a. craftroom for my move to Greenville, SC in early May to be closer to my oldest daughter.  My husband and I need a place to live near relatives as we grow peacefully into our senior years!  

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting today!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Balloon Birthday Bash

Over on the Papertrey Ink blog yesterday, Laurie’s Fabulous Favorites was all about a favorite sentiment.  I’ve always thought that PTI did flowers and sentiments very well – you should see my stash!  It was hard to pin down a favorite for me, so I took my need for a birthday card for my son-in-law to the next level with one of my favorite designer’s birthday die. I love Dawn McVey’s Say It Simply series, and the Lovely Birthday die is a favorite of mine.  So, I did this card for both Joshua and for the Win It Wednesday challenge and contest.  I used some masculine type colors (I checked with my daughter about his favorite colors other than Duke blue!) and added a bright yellow birthday balloon to pop off of the mellower tones of blue and green balloons.  I liked how my card turned out.  I just couldn’t resist a bit of bling on this great sentiment die though. Sorry Joshua!  Your mama-in-law loves her bling!

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Birthday Balloons Stamp Set, Birthday Strings Stamp Set (inside)    

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Fresh Snow, Lemon Tart, Bright Buttercup, Stormy Sea, Pinefeather, Aqua Mist, Tropical Teal, Weathervane

·      Paper:  PTI – Rustic White; Paper Studio – Aqua glitter paper

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Say It Simply:  Lovely Birthday Die, Birthday Balloon Die

Thank you for stopping by my blog and taking a look. I do so enjoy making cards for my family and friends.  I have an anniversary card to do for my husband – we share our anniversary with our son-in-law’s birthday.  I’ll also be doing a birthday card for my granddaughter.  She is turning 4 years old next month.  I’ve gotta do a special one for her.  So be on the look out for some more eye candy coming your way! 

Inside Sentiemtn

Many Blessings,

Donna

Blue Dahlia Turnabout

A sympathy card is always a hard one to make.  A friend just needed some encouragement at this time.  I had been meaning to pull this set out and use it. I’d gotten it last year and had never gotten around to using it so I thought that a flower would do well for this kind of occasion.  Gosh, it’s not really an occasion like to celebrate but a time to remember and reflect.  I like simple for this type of card.  Not a lot of frou-frou, glam or glitz for this one. Just a simple statement of understanding and encouragement to let my friend and her family know that we are thinking about them.  I include scripture, too, which I did on the back of the card above my “Handmade by…” stamp. It’s sort of my trademark if you will. Papertrey Ink has some great stamp and die set combos (Inspired: Hope stamp set was used on the back of this card.) that I frequently use on the back – as well as the front of cards, too. Here are the details. 

·      Stamp set(s):  Concord & 9^th– Dahlia Turnabout stamp set;  PTI – Ways to Say: Sympathy   

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening, Dark Indigo

·      Paper:  PTI – Stamper’s Select White, Spring Rain, Dark Indigo

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Paper Studio – Gold/Silver Enamel Dots

I did add just a little bit of glitz on the card front with the silver enamel dot.  I wanted something to go there, and the yellow enamel dots in my stash were not quite what I wanted.  I liked the way this dot picked up the blue from the card itself which toned it down a bit. Simple but effective.  I did experiment and make other dahlias with other colors.  They may be coming to a blog near you soon!  Have a great weekend!  And don’t forget to get crafty.  It’s good for your blood pressure!  HaHa!

Many Blessings,

Donna

Blooming Beautiful Blooms

Can you tell that I love red?  Especially Papertrey Ink’s Pure Poppy?  It’s been showing up in several of my latest posts but it just is such a happy color.  We need happy here in the south where we’ve had so much rain over the last year or so.  And this red is so cheerful particularly when you pair it with Concord & 9^th’s Bloom Fill In stamp set.  I love the red, white and blue I used here.  It’s so clean and crisp.  I got the idea of cutting a card front on the diagonal from Jennifer McGuire when she used this same stamp set in a post and video several weeks ago.  (By the way, she said that this is a very forgiving stamp set, and I agree.  If you look closely you’ll see where I had some difficulty lining up one of the images.) I’ve cut them both horizontally and vertically to give them different looks.  The horizontal cuts allow for a bigger and bolder sentiment to be placed across the card front.  These big and bold sentiments from MFT Stamps fit the bill to a “T”!  I did some clear embossing over the “get well soon” sentiment. I had intended to do the “happy birthday” sentiment as well but took the stamp off my MISTI before I got to it.  I didn’t want to mess up my card with getting it slightly off center on the Enchanted Evening stamping.  I waited until I had mounted the red stamped panels to stamp my sentiment to get it just right.  Sooo, note to self – don’t be in such a hurry to move stamps off your MISTI! Haha!!!

• ·   Stamp set(s):  Concord & 9^th– Blooms Fill In Stamp Set; MFT Stamps – All Occasion  Sentiments 
• ·      Ink(s):  PTI – Pure Poppy, Dark Indigo, Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, Enchanted Evening, Prairie Grass, Olive Twist
• ·      Paper:  PTI – Stamper’s Select White  
• ·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  PTI – Clear Detail Embossing Powder; Verve – Signature Sequin Mix  

Thanks for stopping by my blog to take a look. I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit. I’ve enjoyed having you here, too! (I do track my stats!  Haha!)  Have a really blessed day where ever you are! 

Here's a look at the vertical cut card I did in black and pinks.  I liked this one too, but i have to admit that the red does it for me!  What about you?  Vertical, horizontal or both?  Thank you, Jennifer McGuire for this terrific idea! :-)

Many Blessings,

Donna

Mighty Blooms of Encouragement

These dies are more of Papertrey Ink’s designs that I’ve been wanting for a while.  Since they are reducing their inventory, I ordered them when they came back in stock. I just love the graphic look of these dies.  I thought that they paired well together.  The inlayed look really makes the card pop and gives it that extra special touch!  I really like how these two cards turned out and will probably use this design again.  The word dies are just perfect when paired with the stamp set’s sentiments either on the card front or inside!

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Counting my Blessings Stamp Set         

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Pure Poppy

·      Paper:  PTI – Stamper’s Select White, Pure Poppy, Limeade Ice

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Counting My Blessings Dies & Coverplate: Mighty Blooms Die 

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Paper Studio – Red Enamel Stickers; Pretty Pink 

Posh – Raspberry 6mm sequins

With card number two, the cardstock colors are reversed with the inlay and a different die-cut word is added.  With the change in colors, I also switched the orientation of the card for a different look as well.  I also changed the color of the cardstock I used for the die cut sentiment.  My cards came together fairly easily and quickly once I got into the rhythm of putting the “leaves” into their places but PTI made that easy by making all of the leaves the same size other than the ones at the edges of the cover plate.

·      Stamp set(s):  PTI – Counting My Blessings Stamp Set (inside sentiment)   

·      Ink(s):  PTI – Smokey Shadow

·      Paper:  PTI - Stamper’s Select White, Limeade Ice, Smokey Shadow

·      Dies & Embossing folders:  PTI – Coverplate: Mighty Bloom & Counting My Blessings Die

·      Embellishments/Other things of note:  Verve – Sequin Mix; Eyelet Outlet – Enamel Dot Black

Two cards, different look, beautiful results yet they’re still clean and graphic.  These cards are great for most occasions and the word dies are just perfect for encouraging friends and family!

Many Blessings,

Donna