Critters in Yosemite

Hi, blogging Buddies!

We have just returned from several days in Yosemite with our Hiking Group. With all the rain we have had this year the falls were extra-spectacular. We also had amazing weather, so the trip was simply terrific.

When we go on these excursions with the Hikers I like to make a little something for everyone.

Normally I do not do mass-production, but these folks are special so I cranked up my die-cutting machine, grabbed my Lawn Fawn "Woodland Critter Huggers" die set and went to town! They turned out so cute that I keep smiling every time I see them. I had a bit of a problem cutting out the eyes so I tried making a stencil from cardstock with the dies and using it with a Sharpie Pen to draw the eyes onto the faces. It worked like a charm and it saved me some time. I made a total of 30 of these critters and tucked some Dove dark chocolate pieces into them.

Everyone loved them and had a great time hiking. It was such a memorable time.

Thanks for the visit and happy hiking,

Stencil Me In!

Hello, Bloggin' Buddies!

Today I thought I'd share a card a made awhile ago but never posted. It was a struggle for me, but I do like the results and actually recently used it for a Mother's Day card.  It is watercolor with a stencil (Penny Black Sun Catcher). I used Distress Inks for the watercolors. To be truthful, I used my sentiment strip to hide a boo-boo! I diecut the word using the same creamy kraft cardstock as I did for the card base. I used the Simon Says Stamp "Hello You" set for this sentiment.

I didn't like it when I first made it, but I have to say that this grew on me.

I'm entering this in the current Simon Says Stamp  Challenge which is "Stencil It". Thanks to Simon for challenging me so many times.

Hope you are having a great week full of Spring. Thanks for the visit,

Cinco De Mayo

Hola, Bloggin' Budies!

Well, as you can imagine, there are lots of celebrations here in California today. What a colorful culture! We are heading to a fun neighborhood dinner.

I made this card for the hostess. Lots of fun. I used the Lawn Fawn Everyday Pop-Up Dies for the card base and the new Hero Arts "It's Fiesta Time" stamp and dies set for the cute pop-ups. These were so much fun to color with Copics. I added some colorful banners and some small flowers from my stash.

I've been having such fun with these Lawn Fawn pop-up dies. They add such a fun dimension to cards. It does add some extra time to the process because you have more surfaces to decorate, but for a big impact it is so perfect.

Have a colorful day and thanks for the visit,

Put a Flower On It!

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

Today I have another Hero Arts creation using a layering floral set, "For You Flowers". It isn't always necessary to use all the layers of the layering sets. I only used them for the focal image, which is stamped with Distress Oxide inks. I softened the layers up a bit with an aqua brush.  I added a sentiment from an old (2011) favorite, "Sending Smiles Messages", which is heat-embossed.

I appreciate that the challenges and Design Team at At A Blog Named Hero inspire my creativity. Though I am typically not much of a "flower gal" (although I was a Flower Child in the 1960's!), it is fun to stretch out of my normal style. Today's card is headed to the current challenge, "Put a Flower On It". The challenge ends May 10th, so try to play along.

Thanks for the visit and have a great weekend!