An itty-bitty bouquet!

I had the tiny little wrap from Lisa sitting front and center on my desk and couldn't rest until I found a bouquet of flowers to wrap it around!  I think I found the perfect fit...

Sometimes you just have to look for the supporting characters in those big sets!

This little cutie comes from Altenew's Fresh Bloom set - and thank goodness

the coordinating die cuts the entire bouquet!

Pinkfresh Studio's Essential Braided Oval dies, and a sweet scripty sentiment

from My Favorite Things to Say set of stamps - I didn't know there was a second set but

I'll be adding it to my stash, too.

The friend and little green hearts part of the sentiment comes from 

The Stamp Market's Sardine Greetings.

Time to get this one in the mail ... hope your hump day is more happy than bumpy!

=] Michele

Thank you, Friend!

I am a very lucky girl to have many generous crafty friends - today I have to share what I received last week... 

Thank you, sweet Lisa, for this darling floral wrap and bow!

It was even more fun seeing your smiling face on my phone screen

while putting together that bow!

I tucked in three Altenew Lavender Bud sprigs, and a little tissue paper to

fill it up then foam mounted it to a Pigment Craft Cozy Stitched base.

Thanks, is also part of the Altenew lavender bud set.

I have a bit of sunshine today - yay!!  Sure makes laundry day a little more fun!  Your visits make Monday darned right enjoyable - thanks!

=] Michele

Spellbinders' way to paint a sunny day!

 It's been the gloomiest, grayest of all weeks.  As much as I love the color gray, I draw the line there.  I was so happy to receive two darling little die sets from Spellbinders* - they quickly made my days sunnier!

Artful Tulip - Pinkfresh braided tag, and stitched rectangles

Copics for 'paint' on the bristles

Butterfly Burst is a beautiful way to paint the sky!

This time, I used patterned paper from Honey Bee for my 'garden' and brush bristles, and butterflies!

Pinkfresh Mini slimline bundle and classic edgers as supporting characters

That's it for my week!  Tom and I are having our first-since-Covid movie night - AT OUR THEATER!!  I'm not gonna lie - I'm hoping it's empty!  lol

Thanks for dropping by - happy weekend-eve!

=] Michele 

* Norine made me do it!

Something new?

The Garden Roses from Pinkfresh Studios is a gorgeous set.  I have the stamps, dies, and layering stencils for coloring.   I love the look of layered stenciling - you can see that here on my first playtime with the set.  

But today, I used those layering stencils a bit differently... I'm not sure if this is something new - I've not seen it done before!  You'll let me know if you have, won't you?

Here's a closeup of my card - 

... would you believe I water colored those Garden Roses through the stencils?    

Here's how: 

1. Start by heat-embossing the outlines onto watercolor card - I used Ranger Princess gold.
2. I chose three Distress inks to 'paint' with
3. Grab two blending sponges, and a small dish of water
4. Smoosh the ink onto an acrylic block, or a palette
5. Dip the sponge into the water and blot off onto paper towels - you'll quickly know how much water is needed - practice is a good thing - then into one of the inks
6. Sponge/dab color through the stencils in the proper order - I did NOT use the base stencil 1 today - love that bit of white for a proper watercolor look

I only used one green for both layers of the leaves - 

just used less water for the detail layer.

I used spiced marmalade for the first layer of the roses, and picked raspberry on the second - because I didn't dry between, they married into a lovely peachy color for the shadow layers.

I allowed them to air-dry, then used the coordinating dies to cut them out.  Here is the finished card:

I love my newest frame - Altenew Leaf Frame Cover die!  the sentiment 

if part of the Garden Rose set, and Altenew also makes the Label dies.

So.  Have you seen it, done it, watched someone else do it??  All I know is I hadn't and couldn't wait to share it with all of you - hope you enjoyed and will give it a try!  If you do try it let me know, won't you?  It certainly would work with ANY layering stencil set and might be just the trick for those of you who only think you can't watercolor.  

I have had the gloomiest week weather-wise.  This little stencil-water-coloring did the trick to raise my spirits!  I'm looking forward to the next time already!

=] Michele

Color Hues #37 - take 2!

 

It was during a playtime with the Pinkfresh Studio Big Butterflies that I realized that stenciling ALL the layers of her wings could be one color - yellow stenciling, over teal foiling?  Yes, please!  For Color Hues #37 - take 2!

Just one of the Folk Art Print stencils was used for my background, too - Stencil #2 to be exact... can you tell it was dry embossed first?

I've tried so many times to get both of these butterflies on one card - I think I finally found the perfect position!  and a happy birthday message delivery method.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

=] Michele

Color Hues #37 - Yellow and Pale Teal

 

Oh yes, these are definitely my favorite Easter egg colors!

Thanks Color Hues #37!

It was a pretty good time to use these colors to stencil-color a favorite from 

Pinkfresh Studio: Miss Your Smile and layering stencils.

You might notice I added a few shadows with a neutral grey marker.

Hope you have a beautiful, Spring-like weekend!

=] Michele

Altenew March 2022 Inspiration Challenge - take two!

 

After a few weeks of studying this photo from Altenew's March 2022 Inspiration Challenge I realized that the grey I saw initially in Therese's photo was reading a bit on the lavender blue side of the color wheel.  Back to the drawing board... and this time, a few springtime daffodils from their Build-a-Flower set!

The rounded rectangle frame was cut from a quarter-sheet of 

watercolor cardstock that I treated to a dry/wet strokes of Caribbean Sky paint from my 36 pan set, and the widest brush from my Altenew brushes.

All set - ready for their gallery! Fingers crossed!

=] Michele

Pinkfresh Studio March 2022 - take two!

 

While foiling those mini butterflies at Marcia's house, I had a thought...

what would happen if I foiled the negative?  You Glimmer-foiling-girls know what I mean ... seemed like such a lot of pretty to throw away!

Guess what?  it turned out pretty cool!  Okay not for use as a cover panel, 

but check out what I did manage ...

What you get when using the solid plate is the outline of the butterflies - to those

you can add any color of the rainbow!  My rainbow just happens to be the colors from the Pinkfresh Studio March 2022 Challenge!

I used their Hexagon Label Frames to cut them out and there were just enough

to fill a Mini Slimline panel nicely.

Here's a little big closeup of that gorgeous Spellbinders Prism foil:

The wonderful sentiments come from the big brother Butterfly set.

They better fly now ... hope you have a great day today!

=] Michele

A Day of Play with Marcia

 Any day is a good day for visiting my friend Marcia - we took our weatherman at his word and planned the only sunny day of last week to get together!  Man am I glad we did - [pardon my French] it all went to hell in a hand basket the day after! 

Enough about the weather - I have SO much to share today and I know Marcia will, too - so let's get into it!

First up - I'm giving you all the bird[s]!  The darling PTI Feathered Friends mini 19 to be exact... 

Here perched on a 'wire' over Marcia's new Altenew Book Cover Engravings 3D folder.

The little sentiment is another from Pinkfresh's Favorite Things to Say set.

Here's another Altenew 3D called Waffled Diamonds... aren't they amazing??

Speaking of...What's not amazing about a bird on a trapeze???

Altenew makes the Speech Bubbles sentiments and dies.

The Stamp Market's Lovely Labels dies were a steal in their retired list at Christmas time.

Then I got all crazy with color and created this next little chick - her name must be Lola! 

she could be a showgirl!!

Recognize this old Wplus9 set?  Happy Birds may have flown their coop, 

but they'll never leave my nest.  A little happy yellow Bitty Big plaid from PTI for my mat.

Next up - I got my hands on Pinkfresh Studio's mini butterflies dies and stencils - but the hot foil plate continues to elude me - Marcia to the rescue, again!!  She even introduced me to a gorgeous new-to-me Glimmer foil color.  Too bad the prismatic colors are impossible to capture well by camera!  That one on the left says it all...

Hey! the background was something new I brought to the craft table!!  

Marcia had first dibs with my Pinkfresh Folk Art Print stencils. 

I got inky with it at home.

Isn't it pretty with those butterflies??  The sentiment is one from a set

Marcia received from the first Pinkfresh Studio virtual Retreat.

I'm sending this one over to the March 2022 Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge.

It's supposed to be about frames - but I think the combination of that circle die from their Mini Slimline Bundle, and their butterflies 'frame' my sentiment perfectly!

Last but not least is this gorgeous Sketchbook Roses from The Greetery... you'll see them again soon!  But I HAD TO share this wonderful orange and grey beauty with you today... 

Pinkfresh Studios - Stitched Scalloped Rectangles, and silver baubles

Catherine Pooler: twilight, Bellini, and mandarin spice inks

The Greetery - Pretty Postmarks peeking out from under their roses

Marcia, YOU do indeed make my life more beautiful!  Thanks so much for letting me come play cards, for the yummy lunch, and all the goodies I got to bring home with me!  I think together we couldn't want for another thing - but let's face it, I can't wait to share the next addition, and the next... you get the picture!

Thanks, my friends for hanging in there with me!  See you next time!  But I can't wait another second to see how Marcia put all her creations together into card - let's go!

=] Michele

The Flower Challenge Reminder #66

 

I hope you've been finding lots of wonderful 'scraps' or 'snippets' in and around your studio!  Here is a reminder from me - and don't forget to check out all the wonderful reminder cards from The Flower Challenge team, and our special guest Juhi have made here.  

Today I am happy to have a few scraps of this wonderful Honey Bee patterned paper left from my love note to the brave Ukrainian people.  I think it makes a delightful backdrop for these darling Waffle Flower Crocuses ... of course they had be yellow!

Check out the special watermark Viv has created for us - so thoughtful, right?

I plan on using it until this horror is over, and the Ukrainian people can come home!

I hope we've given you tons of places where you might find some pretty beautiful scraps.   So how are you coming along with your cards??  I can't wait to see them in our gallery!

=] Michele

Color Hues #36 Green & Gold

Each year I make a St Paddy's Day card and then wonder who will give it to??  This year I have no question... it's for Color Hues #36 Green and Gold challenge!!

I'm grateful for this wonderful matte-gold paper that my friend Hilary sent me!

It's the perfect gold for my clover green inking on this die from The Stamp Market!

=] Michele

thank you, Color Hues!!

Altenew March 2022 Inspiration Challenge

Before I sign off for the weekend, I had a bit of simple water-coloring this afternoon

on an embossed image from Altenew - Therese gave me lots of beautiful inspiration for the March 2022 Inspiration Challenge... be sure to click on that link to see her gorgeous card! 

This Spoon Daisy embossing folder really does all the work... I got all the play using a barely damp brush and Altenew inks.

=] Michele

Altenew: Spoon Daisy EF

Altenew inks:  Butternut, Pumpkin Pie, the entire Rock Collection, and Moss.

Altenew: Dream Big mini set

The Flower Challenge #66 - Use Scraps

 

Hello again, friends!  Yes, it's March and I'm ready to march into Spring - how about you??  With Spring comes Spring Cleaning, right??  The Flower Challenge #66 is giving you a leg-up with that this month by encouraging you to USE SCRAPS!  I've been encouraging the use of scraps/snippets for weeks now!  Here are two cards made with little 'scraps' I found in my studio.

You all must know Kathy Racoosin who encourages us to color several times a year.  I don't always get involved, but recently came across two pieces that I never finished or made into cards!  Remedied that today!

This first was a beautiful, stamped image - for the life of me, I cannot remember whose it is, but it reminds me of a Penny Black design - I water colored it with distress inks and tucked it away.  Today, I fussy cut it out, mounted it onto a creamy card base, and added a sentiment that had already been stamped. 

In the same bin, I found this mondo peony [EH] that just didn't make the cut - I worked really hard to make it something I could share using colored pencils, more water coloring - even a bit of Copic coloring.  Lucky me - I didn't completely ruin it before the day was done!  The additional 'scrap' was this background panel made ages ago while attempting a technique over at CAS Mix Up... today I washed over the raised embossed image with leftover ink from the leaves and just loved the result... hope you can see it!

Found that same sentiment had been stamped onto watercolor paper - it comes from

Altenew's Exotic Tulip set which is just where I found these sentiments saved!

SO!  Now it's your turn to find something you found in your 'scrap' or 'snippets' bins and use it on a card or two!  I'm so excited to see what our guest Juhi and my team has made - let's go see, shall we?

=] Michele

#cardsforukraine take 2

I was so happy to finally find this darling frame available at Altenew - it just had to play at Color Hues #36 #cardsforukraine ...

There is a tiny little sentiment and hidden message here - see if you can find it...

Tears and prayers for Ukraine, her brave leader, and courageous people.

=] Michele

Altenew New Day Card Kit frame [at $2 it looks like they are clearing these - hope they don't - I bought 5 JIC]

Altenew Focus on You bundle

Colorado Craft Co. Wall Words and dies

Playing Cards with Friends - on the other side of the World!

Hello again!  I'm ever so happy to turn the page on my calendar to welcome March, aren't you?   Even more happy that my friend Karren Johnson from NEW ZEALAND accepted my invitation to Play Cards this month!  

Karren is a fabulous card maker, Copic coloring genius, and is on two of my favorite challenge teams:  Fusion, and Freshly Made Sketches!  Her blog KarrenJ - Stamping Stuff is a treasure trove of fabulous cards!  You'll have a blast visiting her blog if you aren't already good friends!  

Okay - let me share our assignment:

Did you know that there is a celebration for National OLD Stuff Day! ?  It's a perfect fit for me - not because I'm old, but because I'm trying to fall in love with all the oldest of my supplies once more!  So, Karren and I had to dig deeply and use a set that is MORE THAN five years old!!  

Believe me, that was a LOT of digging!  You probably already know that Altenew is at the top of my favorites list ... so that's where my dig began.  I think this darling Painted Flowers set c. 2015 is one of the very first layering sets I bought from them - but I won't bet money on it.  

Ready for my card?  Let's do this...

• I've randomly stamped only the line-drawn roses from the set and white heat-embossed them onto watercolor card.
• Then, using distress inks, went about a very loose coloring - adding more inks after drying each layer.  
• Even my sentiment is old - from Paper Smooches who are now out of business sadly - popped onto a little slip of vellum.  
• A little more femininity can't hurt so I've added a little snippet of Pinkfresh Studio who established in 2014! 

There you have it, a very fresh look to some very old, but treasured supplies!  BTW there is another very wonderful friend who shares this name but spells it a little differently - this painting is an homage to Karin a.k.a. Peppermint Patty's Paper Craft blog header!!  I've been wanting to attempt it for years!  

Karren, my friend, thank you SO very much for Playing Cards with me!  I cannot wait one more second to see your card - I've invited all my friends, too - I know you won't mind a bit!

Thanks friends, for stopping by!

=] Michele        

Color Hues #36 Cards for Ukraine

 

I love how supportive our card-making community is!

Color Hues #36 has a special edition with an optional of using Blue and Yellow 

#cardsforukraine which is exactly what I've done today!

It's unimaginably tragic what is happening to the Ukrainian people!

Never fear, Lindsey!  I'll be back for your Green & Gold!

Papers: PTI Bitty Big Harvest Gold, and Honey Bee Over the Rainbow

Dies: Altenew Edged Wildflower now available!  and Apothecary Labels

Sentiment: Pinkfresh Studio My Favorite Things to Say  Stamped with DOX blueprint sketch ink.