Nature's Perfection Meets Painted Blooms... and the Retired List

Here's another card for you today featuring Blackberry Bliss.  The more I play with this color, the more I love it.

I embossed my flower with Gold EP and then watercolored it with reinker and my Aqua Painter.

I used embossing on the inside of the card and the envelope and then used some sponging to add color to it.  I've used pieces of our jute ribbon, to get just the right size for my card.  I colored the ribbon with spritzing and then frayed the ends of it after I tied it, to give a fringed texture to it.

TODAY'S BIG NEWS:
It's that time of year... a bittersweet time of year when we find out what will be retiring.  Are you wondering what will be leaving us?

Click here to see the retired list.
Please note --- If you are planning on getting something from the retired list, do not wait.  I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've had customers regret waiting and then, when they tried to order, it was too late.
     When supplies are gone ... that's it.
Now, click here for a quick review.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.  Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

A Little Hello

Here's a cute little card all ready to send a cheery 'hello' to a special someone.  I've used Tangelo Twist for my card base and a Project Life Journaling Card for the top layer.  The little flower is from our Nature's Perfection stamp set.  I stamped it twice and cut one out to attach on dimensionals, for added texture.  I stamped a few flowers onto the envelope, as well. 

My color story is Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow and Whisper White ... clean, crisp, and fun.  This is a pretty easy card to make and it doesn't take a lot of time, either.  However, for the lucky someone who gets it in the mail, it will pack a big surprise. 

I happened to be standing by the door as our Sanctuary Choir passed by on their way into the sanctuary last Sunday.  Three choir members stopped to give me a hug and thank me for a card they'd received in the mail this last week.  This made my day, for sure!  Snail mail is worth the time it takes to make and send a card.  It makes the sender and the recipient happy!  Have you sent any snail mail lately?  Please be sure you do.  It is always a perfect way to make someone's day.  Send some joy in the mail today.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Nature's Perfection in Black and Crushed Curry

As promised, here's another card using the delicious Crushed Curry / Basic Black color story.  This one has a little special sparkle to it.

Instead of sponging Crushed Curry onto a white CS, I embossed directly onto a Crushed Curry piece of CS for the top layer of my card.  I added sponging and embossing to coordinate the envelope.  See the sparkle on the flower focal piece?  I used my 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

I used one of the special ribbon techniques from my Ribbon Techniques Album for this card.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Crushed Curry and Black... a Winning Combo

I love the look of Crushed Curry with Black.  It's just crisp and stunning.  Here's what I did with the combo for this card.

First, I stamped butterflies randomly over the top layer for the card, using VersaMark Ink.  Then, I heat embossed them with black EP.  I heat embossed a few butterflies onto the envelope, as well.
Once the embossed butterflies cooled, I sponged Crushed Curry onto Whisper White CS for the top layer of the card.  I added the same touch to the corner of the envelope.

Then, for an added touch of fun, I spritzed the entire top layer with my Shimmer Mist mixture.  It's always difficult to see it in a photo, but it's beautiful in real life.

I added vellum over a DSP layer for the envelope liner.  I pulled the card together with some taffeta ribbon and then stamped, embossed and cut out 1 more butterfly to attach over the ribbon.

Come on back for my next post and I'll share another Crushed Curry/Basic Black color story.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

A Really Pretty Card

Sometimes, I just like to make a really pretty card.  With Coastal Cabana and embossed vellum, it just has to come out pretty.

I embossed the 3 flowers (with White EP) onto our Shimmery White CS and then sponged over them with Coastal Cabana.  I stamped the same flower on the inside of the card and on the coordinating envelope. 

I could see changing out the 3-D flower images and turning this into a baby card.

I hope I've gotten you inspired to start creating some Spring cards of your own.  It's good for your soul.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Crushed Curry Thank You

This beautiful card has a lot going on with it and it's all pretty, including a bit of water coloring.  I have painted the flowers with an Aqua Painter and I've added some water coloring to the Thank You tag, as well.  The most gorgeous thing of all about it is almost impossible to catch in a photo.  The top layer is covered with a gorgeous shimmer.

I stamped the flowers onto water color paper and embossed them with Gold EP.  I then painted them with an Aqua Painter, dipping it directly into puddles of ink right in the lids of the ink pads.  I used Crushed Curry and Calypso Coral inks for this.  This is my all-time favorite way to color images.  You can do a lot with shading, it's quick and super easy, and you use the inks you already have on hand.  You don't have to do it strictly on water color papers.  You can use Whisper White or Shimmery White CS.  Just don't overdo it with the water (which wouldn't look good, anyway).  I chose to use the water color papers here to add more texture to the card.

After embossing the Thank You onto a scrap of water color paper, I just added bits of color from the Calypso Coral ink pad, using the Aqua Painter.  The top, embossed layer of the card is covered with a gorgeous shimmer spritz.  I used a mixture of White Frost Shimmer Paint and alcohol, in a spritzer.  I got the paint from our Clearance Rack.

Lining the envelope just adds the final touch of elegance.  I really like how it all turned out.  I've enjoyed a lot of extra time in my studio this week and have really been having fun working on all kinds of projects.  Be sure to keep coming back to see what I'm up to next.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.