Snowdrops with Sympathy

 Hello!

I'm popping in with another card, trying to get it posted and make the Freshly Made Sketches #748 by Verena.  I'll admit that while I love this sketch, it had me stumped.  That was until I actually decided to use a die that has been languishing on my desk, and now was the time.  Using this die allows me to also play at Just Us Girls #835 - Die week and NBUS #89.

This will be going my Great Uncle, as my Great Aunt (100!) just passed.  She had a great long-lasting marriage, a loving family, plus she loved the Lord - there's nothing better than that!

A new-to-me embossing folder that I inked before pressing; a new-to-me Snowdrops die that I've been wanting to use forever, inked for dimension,; a new "showcase" die (conveniently snipped into another shape) and a foiled sentiment, using opaque black so it wouldn't be too stark.

It was popped up with a little foam, allowing dimension (like the gals at Group of Seven Cardmakers - not a challenge).  It would also fit into Darnell's IDEAs Calendar (non-challenge, though technically I'm a few hours early, due to making it into the FMS gallery), but you will be reading this on Monday!

 

 

Supplies:

   Alt - Masonry Wall 3D e/f (NBUS)

   PB - Creative Curves (NBUS)

   PTI - In the Bloom:  Snowdrop (NBUS)

   Splb - You Are Everything pp

And now I'll call it a night.  Thank you so much for the visit, plus all the love and support you constantly give me!

Hugs,

TK

Another Year Worth the Ride!

 Hello!

A quick post today, I have a few chores to wrap up and then the day to spend with Hubbs for our Anniversary - 39th!

A new stamp, colored and cut down, a random strip of pp added underneath and sentiment added.

This'll go to Color Hues #138 - Navy & Teal (as my second card), NBUS #89 and IDEAs Calendar - Ink, for coloring, stamping.

  

Supplies:

   UN - One of the Good Ones (NBUS)

   LI - Stitched Rectangles

   HB - 

That's it for me!  Have a great weekend and thank you for the visit!

Hugs,

TK

Masculine For You

Welcome!

Today's post comes from the heart, as all our cards do, but without any challenges.  Well, at least I'm unaware of any due to this being written nearly 2 weeks prior to post!  If I find any when the time comes, I'll be sure to update it... well hopefully.

A card for my dad, turning 89 this year!

Strictly masculine, straight cuts with a bit of embossing and hot foiling.  Hindsight, I wish I would've left the top blue horizontal stripe plain and embossed the top diamond.  As it is, I did such a great job (haha!) of lining up the two layers, that it almost looks like one.  The colors -- kraft, darker blue than it appears, and a lucious flecked cream (from Jaydee, left over packaging that I absolutely could NOT waste).  Due to the muted but masculine color palette, I didn't want gold foiling to look yellow, so I opted to use a satin gold for the embossing.

Simple but effective, eh?

(Yep, I can go there, Dad's from Canada)

I found a similar card on Pinterest, but I could not track down the original, except that it's for sale on Etsy for nearly $8!  Unfortunately, no credit will be given.

Supplies:

   Darice - Argyle e/f (so old, look at this card!)

   Splb - More Sentiments gp

   MFT - BP 27 (my tried and true sentiment cutter!)

Hugs,

TK

Merry Christmas x 2

I'm officially on a roll!  Yay me, getting those Christmas stash cards and keeping on top of the usuals... well, almost!  I have to carve away some time for an Anniversary zooming in!

Today's cards will be visiting a few challenges, but I wanted to say that I've been incredibly fortunate lately.  First, a Runner-Up at Color Hues #136, then I was drawn at the NBUS Mutual Appreciation post to win a GC from Stampin Bella, plus I won a prize at Unity Show n Tell -- so there's at least two more cards to come - lol!  But since I won at Color Hues, and I fell in love with the new challenge colors of Navy & Teal, here's my first card today ~

Stamped in triplicate, colored with Copics (sorry this is the darkest blue I have), inked blending in a sky, framed up, WoS added and glossy to the eyes and buttons.  Then, a close-up to show all that shine & shimmer ~

I kinda love this NBUS sweet guy!  Thanks, Karen, for the great colors and welcome, Rachel!

 

And since I had this sweet guy was already on my desk,  I decided to make another card and join in on Darnell's IDEAs Calendar, where it's Ink week (as if that first one didn't work also - lol) ~

Stamped, colored and winked, he was then fussy-cut.  I then made a forest behind him, matching the dark green cs base, inked in another sky and WoS added for grounding him.  I'm not sure where the sentiment tag cut came from, I found it randomly in my scraps and thought it would be a nice contrast.  Another close-up of the winked shimmer ~

CAS but oh so fun!

Supplies:

   Card #1 - UN Frost Kissed Gratitude (NBUS); PFS Essential Mini SL Frames; Splb Merry Messages bpp

   Card #2 - UN Frost Kissed Gratitude, Simple Holiday sentiments

That's it for me!  Off to pick the garden, then off to visit Mom!

Have a great, fire-free, safe week!  And thanks for the visit.

Hugs,

TK

Farewell to MFT WSC

 Though MFT Card Challenges are going away again, I wanted to make one last card!  With nowhere to post the card (MFT WSC #13), it would obviously be posted here.  I fell it love with the card made by Deborah and I decided to straight out CASE it!  That being said, I still love hers WAY more!

 Since I had no MFT Christmas papers, this green stripey paper was from their Sweet Celebrations pack, and the closest I could come up with.  A borrowed background pp was used from a "freebie" pack, but all other things are MFT.  Here's her card ~

The colors, the sweet images, the pretty papers -- oh my!

Supplies:

   MFT - Winter Songbird & dies, Elegant Rectangle Stax, Blueprints 27, Tasty Greetings sentiment

   Other - HB Christmas freebie papers

That's it for this sweet card, and one more for the stash!  Yay!

Hugs,

TK

Daisies for the Wishes

 Welcome, Friends!

Anybody out there scorching as much as me?  Ha!  A hundred degree temps and plenty of wildfire smoke throughout WA, OR and ID have us wishing for Fall!  I pray that anyone else in the same situation has air-conditioned comfort and breathing relief, along with safety soon.

One would think that today's card came together pretty quickly, but that isn't how my brain works!  Quite a few indecisions along the way make these take way longer than the ordinary person, but I just do what I'm told...

Stamped and colored with a light Copic gray for the center and depth on the "folds", plus Wink of Stella for shine, then masked so I could ink blend the rest of the panel.  It was then cut with an old large rotary cutter that came with an additional scoring wheel and a wavy wheel, which was used.  A secondary, complimentary panel was added and everything placed on a square 5.5" card.  Hindsight, I was given the thought that if I had made this 4.25" square I could mail it in a standard envelope - doh!  Lesson learned, but it is winging it's way to the Birthday girl now.

My close-up was supposed to show the glimmer in the center but it did not...  This is much prettier IRL.

An NBUS stamp (sorry, this had to stay hidden until after your early close), a sketch (sorry, another one missed) and so I came up with sending this to Darnell's IDEAs calendar for Anything Goes and Triple B for the patriotic colors and blooms.

 

 

Supplies:

   UN - Daisy, Defined stamp (NBUS)

Thanks for the visit!  I hope your day is amazing.

Hugs,

TK

Across The Miles

 Winter Greetings!

Oh!  Not yet?  It must be these Christmas cards I've been making - lol.

I started with an idea of using a snowman, an unused stamp, colored it with Copics, added some new patterned paper and ta-da!  Ok, maybe not quite that easy.  The image, pp and base card were all die cut with a dome die, then adhered together.  I love the look of the card, but decided to add glossy accents to the heart, plus stabilize the top "hinge" a bit more by adding pp to the inside.

This card will go to Peace On Earth #116, because I took the antiqued colors from the top two photos, and CAS Christmas challenge!

 

After putting all my stuff away and photographing my card, I decided that I wanted a second card using mostly the same products.  So here's the second card ~

This card uses the same image, a different die, other new pp and a different sentiment.  The heart was glossied on this card too.  This card will visit NBUS #88 - Mutual Appreciation and IDEAs Calendar for Anything Goes this week!

 

Ugh!  I missed NBUS, as I ready it ended tomorrow!!!

Supplies:

   Card #1 - UN Across The Miles stamp and Holiday Encore pp (both NBUS); WF Nested Dome dies and MFT Blueprints 27

   Card #2 - UN Across The Miles; MFT Elegant Stax dies, TE In & Out Christmas sentiment and CB Welcome Winter pp

Hump Day!  We're over the hump and the day is nearing done, I hope your week goes well.

Hugs,

TK

A Tree for a Trio

 Hello and welcome!

Today's card was made for a few challenges but it all started with the thought that I better get in gear with some Christmas cards!  Then, I really wanted to make it into a couple of challenges, let's just say that this card fit quite a few but I'll not be selfish and keep it to three:  Inspiration #372 - Christmas in July; NBUS #88 - Mutual Appreciation; and JUGS #833 - Stencil week ~

A hot foiled tree in champagne, ink blending, partial die-cutting and popped up on a complementary pp panel.  So, do you think it complements?  I know, it's kinda out there and not what I had envisioned, yet it was the panel that I kept coming back to!

And a close-up for the shine.  On the stencils, I did not use the "inner" stencils for more detail, instead I opted to just hand-blend my own depth and I rather like it!  In the words of Vicki D, "yep, it works for me!"

  

 

Supplies:

   PFS - Festive Foliage suite (NBUS)

   Splb - Holiday Florals gp (sentiment)

   HB - Great Outdoors pp

Well, I'm off to see a few challenges?  I hope to see you there!

Hugs,

TK

Celebrate You!

 Good day, Fine Feathered Friends!

OK, so you're not birds but I am glad you're here!

Today's card has been posted and hopefully received ~

I fell in love with the Color Hues challenge Cream & Gold, and couldn't let it go by without another card, even though I was too late to enter so this will be sent to Triple B - July.  It features an older rose bouquet, heat embossed in gold on alabaster cs.  I then used the stencils to use a light cream ink to blend all of it, making the buds a bit darker.  After inking, I quickly applied Gold Perfect Pearls to add color and shine to the buds.  It was added over/under/between a golden glitter frame, in varying heights using glue and foam tapes.

The sentiment was heat embossed as well and popped over the stems.  Another Birthday card wishing someone special a great day!

While using blooms, I obviously opted not for the patriotic content or look on this card.

Supplies:

   PFS - Delicate Rosebuds suite, Fancy Rectangle Frame dies

Thanks for the visit, I'm so glad you stopped by!  Have a wonderful day.

A Sketch - with Cream & Gold

 Hello!

Well, I'll get right to it because I already missed Freshly Made Sketches ~

Yep, you may recognize the sketch even though I scooted mine over to the left to line up with the left side.  A bit of heat embossing, two "frames" cut and then a foiled sentiment brought this one all together.  Next time Freshly Made Sketches!  However, you can see that I used the Color Hues colors, as well.

Sorry my cardstock looks white, it is in fact cream (the exact same as above)!  I blame the photographer - ha!  I loved the colors at Color Hues, so I had to make another card.  This card was heat embossed on cream, frame cut out of Ivory glitter, then the sentiment gold foiled and layered.  This will also go to MFT #11 Sketch Challenge.

For a little something extra, the gold bow and gold pearls were added.  Again, my card looks white but it is not...

Had enough of this color mix?  Not me... I'll have another one soon.  This challenge allowed me to get several cards out that I was going to be needing, all next month!  Check - done - whew.

 

Supplies:

   Card #1 - MFT Roses All Over bg stamp, Elegant Rectangle Stax and Splb Essential Glimmer Sentiments hfp

   Card #2 - MFT Roses All Over bg stamp, PFS Dotted Fancy Frame die and Splb You Are Everything pp/die

That's everything for today!  See you soon.

Hugs,

TK

Aging Is Weird!

Welcome!

Today I have a card for our friend/neighbor's Birthday!  It's one of those milestone Birthdays, yet they are weird, aren't they?  I mean, don't get me started but all the energy is diminished while all the chores have multiplied over the years.  Am I right?

While I took a design help from Gaylynn Martling, I CASEd it and made it my own -- I just thought she created a wonderful, masculine card.

I offset my bird panel and made banners of varying widths/lengths but left the image uncolored.  I can say that I don't believe I've ever left an image uncolored.  I do like letting the masculine papers do the talking.  And now as an after-thought, it might also be fun to do minimal coloring, just to give it depth, maybe I'll try that another day.

This'll be heading to NBUS #88

Supplies:

   UN - Lil Weirdo, Thinkin Out Loud (both NBUS)

   MB - Woodsy Plaid pp

Well thank you for the visit!  I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Hugs,

TK

 

Fishing You a Happy Birthday

 Hello, hello!

Well, I love that title, I do wish I had a stamp to go along with it!  Maybe next time I'll think of it and print it to use...  Anywhoooo, a masculine Birthday card was needed, and since he's a fisherman, I figured this would work perfectly.  I used the sketch at FMS #742 but that one came and went before I could post the card.

This card is pretty simple, it only took me two tries - ha!  I cut a strip of brushed silver cs and embossed it before gluing it to the base to ground the rest of the card elements.  I also cut the hex frame, fishing lure and bobber, then assembled them.  I did a bit of blending to add some depth, then arranged everything to my liking.  This will go to my SIL this Friday.

Supplies:

   HB - Diamond Plate e/f, Fishing Lures dies

   EH - Hex frames die

   Alt - Birthday Greetings sentiment

I seem to be on a roll.  Some cards I had made but not posted, but a few got made during my chaos.  I'm glad to be finally getting everything posted but hope I can continue creating too!

Have a great Fourth of July but stay safe!  I know the fires have started here already, and we're aware of a HUGE fire on the UT/CO border, that is somewhat near and visible for family members' homes.  Our prayers are with everyone for safety!

Hugs,

TK

No Ordinary Day

Welcome, Friends!

My family has been going through a lot lately, but today is no ordinary day, so let's celebrate it like we mean it!

Today's card is for the illustrious Darnell, and we all know that means it's no ordinary day.  What's better than celebrating someone else, so we can push all the ordinary (life) to the background, and have some fun?!

Ok, first of all, I used the beautiful Color Hues challenge colors (gray is a shade of black), but not in time to get it into the gallery -- I'm perfectly ok with that!  The NBUS sentiment & images were stamped, colored with Copics, detailed with a fine liner, plus black and gold shimmer added to the center of each flower.  Everything was cut and then the design decisions...  I found that Penny Black's challenge is to optionally use patterned paper - check; then I decided I wanted more yellow so I used a scrap of yellow (perfect size I might add), and rounded the lower corners to mimic the bottom swag.  A couple silver pearls were added for pizzazz.

I love this card!  (are those polka dots magic?)

So there it is, Happy Birthday, Darnell, and many more unordinary/extraordinary Birthdays ahead!  And I hope it brought you that smile...

 

Supplies:

   PB - Floral Smile stamps/dies

   MFT - Dots & Stripes pp

Hugs, Everyone, and have an Unordinary/Extraordinary Day!

TK