More Bear Cuteness????

 Oh, yes! I'm still making thank you cards here, so I am adding this to Reverse Confetti's current Stock Your Stash challenge, which is "thank you". I am a huge fan of Reverse Confetti's critters and I reach for them often. 

Again, the weather here is nasty, so the photo isn't great because I rely on natural light - sorry!

For this cute little 4 Bar card I used a sweet bear from "The Bear Up There" stamp and die set. He is centered on a die cut from the Circle With Twist Tag Confetti Cuts and one from the center of the Large Detailed Circle Frame Confetti Cut that I used on yesterday's card. The perfect sentiment is from So Many Sentiments.

I added some Wink of Stella on the cloud and some Stickles on the stars. Love it!

Thanks for the visit and have a great day,

I Love Bears!

It is Christmas and I'm making some thank you cards. I love bears and Reverse Confetti makes some super-cute ones that i wanted to use.  I happened to see their current Stock Your Stash challenge, which is "thank you". How perfect! So, I decided to dust off my blog and play along.

Sorry that the natural light isn't great - we have a storm brewing and I don't have fancy photo equipment.

This sweet card was made on an inky background (Shaded Lilac and Salvaged patina Distress Inks on Distress Heavyweight Cardstock). I used critters from "Heart Pals", colored with Copics, centered in the Large Detailed Circle Frame Confetti Cuts with a terrific sentiment from "Sentimental Gems" (I adore that mix of great fonts!). A touch of sparkle from Stickles and we are all set!

Thanks for the visit and Happy New Year!

Love - we need it!

 Hi, Bloggin' Buddies! 

Just a quick post today to share these mini slimline cards I made (a total of 12 of them!) to spread a little love around. This world sure needs it, things have gotten so nasty and it is so sad.

For these cards I used a great red rubber stamp from Unity and some copper embossing powder.

After watching so many examples of cards made with colored strips of cardstock, I finally gave it a try. A little frustrating but fun! The layers were cut with the Mini Slimline Essentials by Pinkfresh Sudios.

Have a terrific week and spread the love,

Ah-choo!

Now, I love lilacs, but my allergies sure do not!

Inspired this week by #176 - Love the Way You Lilac

 I used an old unmarked wood-mounted stamp that I picked up some years ago at a used stamp sale.

To keep the design clean and simple I added an embossed white background, a colored mat and a tiny black heat-embossed sentiment by Flora and Fauna.

Thanks for the visit,

Inspired by Michelle

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

I have followed a carmaker's blog http://icardeveryone.blogspot.com for a couple of years. I think this gal has such great command of design and color - I just adore almost every card she posts. I often comment on her blog and she has continually encouraged me to share what I make. Thanks, Michelle!

This is for the Waffle Flower Link party: May 2012 Week 3 challenge which is "Travel Around the World". I love the stamp sets by Kamo and I have several. For this I used a piece of handmade paper I've been hoarding for years, the Waffle Flower Ni Hao set, Copic markers and gold embossing powder. 

I used some gold cardstock and decorated the matching envelope with some red washi tape. This was worth dusting off my blog to share.

Thanks for the visit,

mkmermaid@sbcglobal.net

Lincoln, California

A Little Break

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

This Blogger app will be undergoing a major change very soon and I just am not able to learn all of the new intricacies right now. I also need to sharpen my photographing skills. In addition, I need to give some time to some other activities (including some card and jewelry making!) so I will be taking a break from this blog. It is fun and sharing ideas and entering challenges is good for creativity, but right now other things are calling.

Before going I want to share with you a card I made using Lawn Fawn's "Pivot Pup-Up" die, a Hero Arts background stamp and a favorite stamp set from Ellen Hutson. I love this so much!

My church has a rich Japanese heritage so I like to make Asian-inspired cards and I always love combining just the right product from more than one company (although that isn't possible when entering many challenges).

For this card I gold heat-embossed the beautiful background stamp from Hero Arts on the card front. I added serval layers of a "hello" die cut. Then, on the inside I used some beautiful origami paper from my local paper store. The Lawn Fawn die created the amazing pop-up element which was colored by ink-blending Distress Oxide Inks from Tim Holtz. The adorable girls were stamped, colored with Copic markers, die cut and detailed with some paper-piecing from origami paper. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts stamp set.

Products Used:
Avery Elle "Simply Said Hello" die (retired)
Ellen Hutson ""So Macha" stamps and dies by Julie Ebersole
Hero Arts "Kittens in Kimonos" stamps and dies and "Parasol Pattern Bold Print" stamp
Lawn Fawn "Pivot Pop-Up" die

Thanks so much for the visit! Stay well and keep crafting,

My All-Time Fav!

Hi, Bloggin' buddies!

I have a pile of floral dies but, to be honest, I don't use many of them. Of all that I have I must say that this Hollyhock Die is my very favorite and the one I reach for most often. And I don't believe that I've ever actually seen hollyhocks growing!

This die is so versatile! I've used it with watercolor (as I have here, using Distress Inks), as a silhouette against a rich background, colored with markers or pencils, or paper-pieced with cardstock. Love, love, love!

This time I used it on a piece of watercolor paper. I "smooched" some Worn Lipstick and Pickled Raspberry Distress Ink pads and did some loose watercoloring. I love this look.

This is a side-folding card, which is something I never do but I wanted to try it. The great sentiment from Lindsay Ostrom is heat-embossed and some sparkly twine finishes it off.

Impression Obsession Products Used:
Live in the Sunshine D19178
Hollyhocks Die169-R

This is going to the current challenge at the Impression Obsession Blog, "Summer Flowers".

Thanks for the visit and don't forget to smell the flowers!

Barefoot in the Flowers!

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

I have always loved this "Flip Flops #Die183-L" die from Impression Obsession. I reach for it for summer and tropical cards. The flip-flops are so realistic! In this case I cut three layers of the shapes and stacked them for lots of dimension.

To make this card I reached into my flower stash - some die-cut, some embellishments, some stamped. I have been studying the cards that my friend Sandy has sent me - she is a whiz with flowers and arranging them. I, however, am NOT! But, I created a summer garden just perfect for kicking off the old flip flops and romping!

I added a printed sentiment strip.

This is headed for the current challenge at the Impression Obsession blog, "Summer Flowers".

Thanks for the visit and enjoy the fragrant gifts of summer,

He loves me, he loves me not........

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

Today's card features one of the uniquely amazing pixel floral stamps designed for Impression Obsession by Dina Kowal. This is the Pixel Daisy #CC420", but there are several and they all are terrific! They are oversize (5.75 inches square) and versatile and the images are breathtaking.

I stamped the daisy in my MIST with several colors of Distress Oxide Ink, blending the edges with my finger between colors. It is so beautiful that I hated to cover any of it up, so I chose a very delicate die-cut word that I stacked for extra dimension.

This is headed to the current challenge on the Impression Obsession Blog, "Summer Flowers".

Thanks, as always for the visit and stay well,

Rainbow Bird

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!
Continuing on my Paper Smooches rainbow theme, I thought that this bird would be very appropriate, as he is in his rainbow finery - ha! The background is a collection of hearts stamped with Distress Oxides. I have used 3 paper Smooches sets as listed below. I added a Googly
Eye and a rainbow-colored ribbon.

Paper Smooches Products Used:
My Peeps
Sweet Hearts
Quotables

This is headed to the current challenge of the paper Smooches Blog, "Rainbows".

Thanks for the visit and look for the sunny side,