Thanks a Latte!!

 

 Today is the start of the 2018 Spring / Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. I have a very simple card to start off with for this hop. I needed a quick thank you card for a fellow coffee lover. The My Favorite Things Blueprints 29 die set made this card quick and easy.

I filled the rectangles with sentiments and an image from Super Sponsor Joy Clair's Coffee Love stamp set (and svg files). These stamps were part of a prize I won on a previous Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. I used a heart die cut from another Super Sponsor, Lawn Fawn, to add an embellishment to the cup. The heart was coated with Wink of Stella and then Nuvo Crystal Drops. The latte cup was popped up over the panel.

Supplies:
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific (white), Bazzill (teal)
Stamps: Joy Clair (Coffee Love) clear stamp set and coordinating SVG files
Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), VersaFine (Onyx Black)
Tools/Embellishments: Copic Markers, Nuvo Crystal Drops, Lawn Fawn Heart Dies, Wink of Stella (clear), My Favorite Things dies (Blueprints 29)

I am also entering this card in the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use more than one stamp (I used 3)


Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Our Guide

Happy Wednesday!! It's time for another challenge at Word Art Wednesday. Psalm 48:14, "For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death," is the verse we are concentrating on this week. I just love knowing that God is the same "yesterday, today and forever." I can be fickle, change my mind, be happy one day and mad at the world the next, but God isn't like that. He is consistent and unchanging. Once we accept Him as Lord and Savior, He will guide us for the rest of our lives...all the way thru the gates of death until we join Him in Heaven. The world is such an uncertain place, I'm so thankful to have a loving and  knowledgeable Guide. As Warren Wiersbe says, "to trust and obey a Lord who is 'our God' and 'our Guide' is to have a future that is secured and blessed."

For my card today, I used one of my favorite sketches: Papertake Weekly #80. (This sketch challenge site is no longer operational but thankfully they have kept the sketches available.) This sketch allows the focus to really remain on the Scripture verse. No foam tape was used this time so that I could keep the card flat and easy to mail. I love cards that mail for one stamp! The punched butterflies embellish the sentiment panel. Stickles on the flower centers and butterfly bodies are the only other embellishments. I used a stitched rectangle die to add some texture and interest to the sentiment and large patterned paper panels.

Supplies:
Cardstock: The Paper Studio Heavyweight cardstock (white for cardbase), Georgia Pacific (white for sentiment panel), Recollections (Kraft)
Patterned Paper: Echo Park (Have Faith 6 x 6 pad)
Stamp: WORDart by Karen
Tools/Embellishments - Fiskars Punch (butterfly), Stickles (Stardust), Our Daily Bread Designs dies (Double Stitched Rectangles)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Cards in Envy - Feeling Sketchy (Use Favorite Sketch)
Crop Stop Linky Party #39 - Use item/brand found in the Crop Stop Store (I used Fiskars, Scotch, Spellbinders, Stickles, and Tombow)
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge - Anything Goes
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge Blog - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Die Cuts and/or Punches (I used die cut panels on my card front and used punched butterflies as embellishments)
Dare 2B Artzy - Dreaming of Flowers

Thaks for visiting with me today. I hope you'll come back again soon. Don't forget to stop by the Word Art Wednesday blog to pick up your free digi and to see lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Birthday Butterflies

I am so honored to be Guest Designing for the Crop Stop Blog today. I found a simple Step Card tutorial by Loll Thompson on Pinterest and used that for my card base. I decided to make this a birthday card for a friend who likes purple and also likes butterflies. I really enjoy this step card design because it still allows room to write a message on the interior.

After following the tutorial to make my card base, I cut solid cardstock slightly smaller to mat patterned paper. I inked the edges of the patterned paper with Distress Ink for extra dimension. The green patterned paper strip across the bottom front of the card was embossed with an embossing folder. After inking the edges of this strip, the embossing was also highlighted with ink to really help it pop.

The sentiment on the right side was stamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. A Spellbinders circle die was used to die cut the sentiment which was then matted on a Spellbinder Picot Edge Circle die cut. After adhering these to the panel, the circles were embellished with clear bling. The sentiment on the left was stamped directly on the patterned paper and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The small butterflies were punched from dark purple cardstock with a Fiskars punch. The centers of the butterflies were accented with Stickles. The large butterfly was die cut with a Momenta die from cardstock and then from vellum. The vellum layer was also embossed with the coordinating embossing plates. The vellum layer was adhered to the cardstock layer only in the middle. After adhering the large butterfly to the card, it was accented with clear bling.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill (dark purple for butterflies), Taylored Expressions Vellum, Unknown {Pealized (cardbase), Lavender}
Patterned Paper: Recollections
Stamps: My Sentiments Exactly clear stamp set (Inspirational Birthday Innies & Outies)
Ink: Tsukineko Versafine (Onyx Black), Ranger Distress Ink (Dusty Concord)
Tools/embellishments: Scor-Pal scoring board, Scotch ATG gun, Fiskars (Trimmer and Butterfly punch), Momenta Butterfly Die, Spellbinders dies (Standard Circle Small, Picot Edge Circles), Bling (The Paper Studio, Gina Marie Designs), Simon Says Stamp embossing powder (Clear), Stickles (Star Dust)

Thanks for visiting, I hope you'll come back again soon. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Crop Stop for letting me Guest Design for them today.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's time for another challenge at Word Art Wednesday. This week we are focusing on Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." As those of us in the US anticipate celebrating Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I find this verse very appropriate. I think fatigue and wondering if anything we're doing is really making a difference are pretty universal. So much of mothering is repeating the same actions over and over such as being consistent in training, taking time to listen, and reinforcing hygiene routines ("yes, Sweetheart, you do need a bath," "Have you brushed your teeth today?", and my personal favorite, "take a shower and be sure to use soap." LOL). It takes a lot of energy to teach and practice Biblical principles. However, this verse is an encouragement that if we remain faithful, we will reap a reward. Just like all sowing and reaping, it takes time for what is planted to grow and reach maturity. So it is with our children. We sow good habits, Biblical principles and godly character traits in them and after a long growing season, then comes the harvest. I'm at the "empty nest" stage of life and can see this in our children. We certainly weren't perfect parents, no one is, and we made LOTS of mistakes. No, they are not perfect adults. However, by the Lord's grace to us, I do see the benefits of our years of training because they are responsible adults that seek to please the Lord. For those of you that still have littles at home, be encouraged. This stage won't last forever, and they really are absorbing more of what you are trying to teach than you think they are.

I've been seeing the "Impossible Card" floating around YouTube lately. With my love of fancy folds, I had to give it a try. What makes it impossible? The card base, including the stand up display area, is made from a single piece of 4.25" x 5.5" cardstock. It's actually very easy to make. I have two versions for you. Both use the tutorial I found on Dawn's Stamping Thoughts YouTube channel. Both started out with a base made from pearlized cardstock that was given to me several years ago.

This first card has this week's WORDart on the display panel and a sentiment from the Mother's Day Sentiments Digital Stamp Set from one of our sponsors, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Some heart die cuts and bling embellish the card front.

My 2nd card uses two digis from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I used the same "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment on the crossbar and use the Proverbs 31:30 Digital Stamp on the display panel. I used the same heart die cuts and bling.

These cards are so simple to make and give you a lot of bang for your buck. They are also a great way to use up some of those scraps you have piling up (or is that just me?).

Supplies:
Cardstock - base unknown brand, Georgia Pacific (white cardstock), Bazzill teal cardstock, Unknown brand pink cardstock
Patterned Paper - Card #1 - Recollections, Card #2 - The Paper Studio
Digi Stamps - WORDart by Karen, Sweet 'n Sassy Digital Stamps (Mother's Day Sentiments, Proverbs 31:30)
Tools and Embellishments - Gina Marie Designs (bling), Lawn Fawn dies (Heart), Spellbinders dies (Classic Squares Large and Small)

Thanks for visiting with me today. I hope you'll come back soon. The Word Art Wednesday blog has lots more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and a free digi.