There will be cherries...

 ... but that's later in the year. Now in spring there are these gorgeous cherry blossoms.

I stamped the blossoms onto  craft cardstock. I think pencils take a really interesting look when used this way. I layered color in many shades and tried to work out depth by using white partly behind the branch and blossoms. I highlighted the stamen heads with a white Posca pen.

The text reads: Enjoy little moments.

Entering this in these lovely challenges:

We Love Stamping: Spring 

Addicted to Stamps &More: #466 Make your mark

As You Like It: Clean or fussy - and why  I like making both types of cards, it depends on the subject and my mood. Today I went for a more impressionistic, fussy, look with the many shades of colors that I used.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes

Happy happy

 Today it is a happy happy birthday card which I made from strategically cut gelli plate pulls. The text stamp is an old one, wishing Double Happiness.

I am entering this into challenges that inspired me today:

Woodblock Wednesday: July challenge - this inspired me to pull out my old Paper Source stamp

Simon Says Monday Challenge: We can see clearly - I put the sentiment on vellum.

We Love to Create Mixed Media: #7 AG 

Addicted to Stamps and More: #451 make your mark

 

Thank you for your visit and comments, I truly enjoy reading them.

Life is wonderful, says the cat

 There are a few challenges again that collide in the nicest possible way and provide a lot of inspiration. The basic idea for the card comes from a tic-tac-toe row of die-cut / stencil / own choice (=stamping). Now when it came to the die cut I remembered another challenge which wants to see four-legged friends (my choice is a cat). And because Humor is always high on my list I chose to stamp fish and a sentiment that gives a humorous spun to the card.

Both the sentiment stamp and the fish stamps were purchases from two years ago. The speech bubbles are much older. When you add up everything this is what I got:

The text reads "Life is wonderful".

Entering this in:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #211 Tic-Tac-Toes! - I selected diagonal "your choice - die cut - stencil"

Friendship Challenge: #89 Tiere / Animals

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Four legged friends

The Alphabet Challenge: H is for Humour 

Addicted to Stamps and more: #450 Die cuts and/or stencils- I used both

Pastels

 Today I was inspired to combine two challenges, one asking for embossing and butterflies and one presenting a beautiful pastel color palette. The embossing folder had just come in in the mail, so it was fun to try it out right away. I ink swiped it after embossing.

It became a birthday card.

Entering it in:

Global Design Challenge: #401 Color palette 

Can You Handle the Pressure: AG/ twist: Butterflies

Addicted to Stamps and more: #449 Any Occasion - mine is for birthday 

NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) - Challenge #52 - I broke out all my recent purchases for this one: leaves, embossing folder and the butterfly stamp.

Thank You for your visit and comments - I love reading them.

Snippets for CAS

 Why is CAS - clean and simple - so hard to pull off??  When elements are reduced and the background noise is not there everything else has to sit.

I am in awe of this style and wanted to try my hand at it again. 

The vase is stamped directly onto the card base, the floral arrangement of golden twigs was actually a snippet of golden craft paper put to good use. It's a birthday card. I handwrote the text ("Armfuls of happiness").

Entering it into the challenges that inspired it:

We Love Stamping: June AG / or CAS - I was inspired by the CAS option

Crafty Chicks Challenge: #668 CAS

Addicted to Stamps: #448 Birthdays

Snippets Challenge: #456 

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

This little happy hen says 'hello' to you

 My most recent purchase is this adorable hen stamp by Perlenfischer (here - change the language to English). Hen come to the focus of attention just about now, spring is all about new everything: new grass, new little chicks, new leaves, blooms...

I attempted two color stamping and fussy cut the image. Previously I had pulled a doily through cold coffee and let it dry. I also die cut a delicate piece of lace and some letters.

Yes! The hen is speaking Finnish - I have no idea what they would say in English. I might make another with hens speaking in several languages - that would be fun. Please let me know in comments what they say in your language.

Entering this in:

Allsorts Challenge: #670 Any "real" animals

Paperminutes: #737 Buchstaben / Letters 

Addicted to Stamps: #426 Make your mark - I hope coffee-dyed doily and two tone stamping count!

Country View: Spring is coming

AAA Challenge: #211 Anything CAS + Spring animal 

Happy happy

 Inspired by the spring light I made an exuberantly happy birthday card for a dear recipient.

I started off by pulling a page on my gelli plate using blue, white and some lemon yellow. I love the technique using stencils, as you can combine colors and get  positive and negative aspects of the stencil. I used very dry color as to texturize the background and give it a slightly distressed look.

Then I pulled another gelli print, this time just with a few colors (yellow, green, turq) but not a stencil. When it was dry I stamped the butterflies and fussy cut them.

I had quite a fun time combining stamped words. The three smaller ones are from a scrapbooking set, the bigger ones from Stampers Anonymous CMS 325 sheet.

 

entering in:

We love Stamping:  Anything (stamped) spring

Addicted to Stamps and more: #424 Any occasion

We love to Create: Anything mixed media

Beyond the Blue: BB57 Texture 

Through the Purple Haze: #190 It is Sweet

Follow your heart

I love die cuts. Especially the kind I make from scratch by stenciling, gelli printing or just painting the papers I use. You can see

Today I selected a background from an ancient stack of papers by Crafty Individuals. It has the same feel of gelli print, and incorporates colors that I had selected for my die cuts.

The sentiment "follow the voice of your heart" fitted the occasion. Someone standing in the crossroads of life can use some gentle encouragement. I just bought this stamp for the occasion.

 

Entering in:

Allsorts Challenge: #644 I love... 

Addicted to Stamps: Die cuts and/ or stencils

Alphabet Challenge: M is for motivational / encouraging sentiment

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes

For you

 I have a new stamp set from which I selected one stamp. I stamped it several times with Distress ink (Dried Marigold), then painted the flowers with purple watercolor. To make them look really crisp I painted first every other petal, then went in and painted the petals in between. That way every petal had its own watercolor outline, too. When you combine orange and purple you get brown - look at the overpainted Dried Marigold, it's so gorgeous.

I fussy cut the flowers and adhered them onto a background that I made recently with my Gelli plate. The card needed little else. I wound a length of silver thread around the card base and added "For you" in black die cut letters.

Entering in:

Happy Little Stampers: August Watercolor Challenge AG

Try it on Tuesday: Keep it simple

Addicted to Stamps and More: #411 Make your mark 

 NBUS Challenge: #29 August