Special Reason watercolour effects

Try this: Take the largest daisy image from the Special Reasons stamp set (SU) and color three different colors directly on the stamp. I used Cucumber Crush in the center, So Saffron on the inner petals and Flirty Flamingo on the outside petals. Then using your Stampin' Spritzer, mist the whole thing really well. (I probably misted it too much, but I do love what happened next!)

 

This picture (above) isn't the greatest, but maybe you can sort of see how it turned out. I simply stamped that big flower image three times on three separate pieces of Whisper White cardstock. Each time I stamped I breathed an "Oh-h-h-h!" to myself! Watercolor does that to me every time! You just NEVER know what it will surprise you with.
Using those three images, I created the following cards. See what I mean? From bright and happy to sweet and soft! They cover all moods.
And don't you LOVE how that stem die from the Special Reasons set creates a gorgeous negative space?! I just love everything about this set!

more sunshine and caring

These two cards utilize the Sunshine Sayings bundle (at a 10% savings). I'm just really really loving what all you can create using these dies and stamps together.

love 'n sunshine

The Sunshine Sayings bundle, at 10% off, will get you these two cards!! 

amazing watercolor backgrounds

My favorite 5-year-old co-cardmaker and I once made these backgrounds. They were laid aside for another day and now using the Flourishing Phrases stamp set and Flourish thinlits dies, I created these cards with those backgrounds. It's our version of doodling! Ha!!
By the way, if you purchase this stamp and die bundle you save 10%!!! Let me know if I can grab them for you!!

best fishes

These two cards were made using SU's bundle which includes the stamp set Jar of Love and the framelits dies Everyday Jars. The top card is 3-d with a clear center and gems inside the fishbowl while the 2nd card has the gems adhered on the bottom of the jar.

pedal pushers saleabration

These two cards showcase two new stamp sets. Actually three! Timeless Textures, Pedal Pushers, and Balloon Celebrations. I soooo hope SU keeps Timeless Textures as it's a MUST HAVE set! I used it to give the illusion of ground and sky on both of these cards. It's a little hard to see, but on the floral card, look closely beneath those flowers and you will see another image from those gorgeous textures. And don't even get me STARTED on Pedal Pushers! WOWWWW!!! And you only have till the end of March to get it ABSOLUTELY FREE with the purchase of $60 worth of SU product (before shipping and taxes). Please do grab it! It's soooo fun especially with spring around the corner.

in which we celebrate basic gray and more new stuff!

I know grays are "in". But I've never gotten myself to love gray. It is so, um, GRAY!!! Sorry to all of you who adore "GRAY"!!! I can't wait till the fad is over. But meanwhile....MEANWHILE....here are a few samples of "GRAY" cards I am actually quite proud to show you! I've also managed to use the Bloomin' Hearts die in a way totally unrelated to love and Valentine's and love and hearts and love! (Can you tell I'm also not a fan of Valentines? And I agree that it makes NO SENSE, but that's how it is!)
This card (above and directly below) uses dies from the Circles, Bloomin' Hearts, and Rose Garden I believe. The circle cut-out peeks into the middle of the card. And I LOVE it!! Gray and all!!

I've seen quite a few different versions of the card (below) with the long stemmed flowers. I've only seen it on Kraft and browns so I figured I'd try GRAY!!! It turned out rather pretty, huh? Maybe I'm starting to see a bit of potential in GRAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

Just For You/Botanicals and a New Friend!!!

 I cannot DESCRIBE to you how blest I feel that my friend Linda introduced me to Stephanie! I have a leeeeetle feeling that's what Stampin' Up does for us doesn't it? Helps us find new friends and friendships! Anyway, that's Stephanie's card you see up above! She loves embossing and shading and brayering SAME AS ME!!! We had such a fun afternoon creating and talking a mile a minute. I wonder how many topics we covered!

Here are mine. Let's see, how many techniques did we use? Emboss resist. Sponging. Die cutting. Anyway, I can tell you my two absolute favorite SU products right now are two new items found in the Occasions Catalogue. Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush...canNOT be without this one! Check out the photo below. Do you see the gently subtle shimmer on those petals? BeaUtiful! And far easier to use than loose dry glitter and glue. (Page 24 of the Occasions Catalogue)

And I'm completely in love with the Big Shot Die Brush, page 19 of the Occasions Catty. It WORKS, people! It WORKS!!! Even my fave 5-yr-old friend appreciates it!

And I'm soooo enthused about a new friend! (Hi Steph!!!)

rose garden (my latest crush!)

Okay! I know I fall in love with every new catalogue that comes out, but surely this one is the best yet! Just LOOK will you? Aren't those rose garden dies THE BEST???!!!  I haven't even used the coordinating Rose Wonder stamp set---yet. But I can't wait. It has such lovely caring sentiments to go along with the images. But about these two cards here: I am so glad I kept my Manhattan Flowers TEF from long ago. It coordinates with these dies as though they were made to go together. Forever....sighhhhh......

I water colored the background by misting the water color paper and then just dabbing on a few drops of reinker with my aqua pen and letting them blend naturally. With the circle dies I cut a large-ish circle into the face paper and embossed it. Then assembled the whole thing. Simple really.

This one's my favorite! I just like the colors better for whatever reason!

love....rotary alphabet art

The cards on this post kinda' tug at my heart. When I was young(er) and newly in love I eagerly paced Hallmark aisles in search of cards like these. They were DIFFICULT to find! Short concise quotes that said it all in a few brief words. NOW though, with my SU rotary stamp, I can create them as freely as I want! OOOOHHHH, to be young again and be able to give him these cards!! But seriously, this stamp is my best discovery since---since, well, since I fell in love with the most WONDERFUL guy in the universe!

One of our wedding cards had this quote on it and I've always liked it. So, now I can make this card over and over again!

favorite masculine stamp sets (old and new!)

It was time for another scene. And my "The Wilderness Awaits" stamp set just arrived at the UPS office. So...what could I do but create???
Here are my four favorite stamp sets for masculine cards.

"The Wilderness Awaits"

 

"Lovely as a Tree" 

 

"Moon Lake" 

 

"Wetlands"

 

I used a combination of all four of these on my card (top). In my humble opinion these sets are all interchangeable as they are all related to nature, the forest, the lake...you get the picture.

The Challenge Spark (showcase product from the New Annual Catalogue)

Jane from White Orchid decided the challenge for this week would be "Showcasing New Product from the New Annual Catty". Tara from Country Girl Creates plays along with us and we three take turns choosing our weekly challenge. As soon as I spied this stamp set I KNEW what fun I'd have with this week's challenge! And sure enough, I can hardly quit using it in EVERYTHING!!

This stamp set, "Sprinkles of Life" is one of my very favorites this time. It has two more benefits relating to it other than just the sheer fun of creating with it. 

#1. $3 of every sale of this set goes Ronald MacDonald House Charities and 

#2. There is a coordinating punch for this set! SU really did a grand job of the charity stamp set this year!

I have a sis-in-law who is pure fun...and she's far away in Africa and I miss her like crazy. As good friends often do, we have a senseless li'l joke between us relating to calling each other a Piece in Our Pie of Life. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but it does to us! ANYWAY, this card about the sprinkles on the cupcake of life reminded me so much of our ongoing pie joke that it's gonna fly away to Africa as soon as I get it to the PO!!! 

I'm Thankful for YOU!

I thought I'd use this stamp a lot. I got it last fall right before I got very sick, so I didn't use it on the place-mats for Thanksgiving like they showed us in the Holiday Occasions Catty back then. That was such a neat idea. Stamp it on a Kraft paper place-mats or tablecloths and put pens by each place so your guests can fill in the blanks.

It sat on my shelf idle and unused until yesterday when I struck upon an idea to pair it with my new Little Letters thinlits dies. Once I got past the fall idea I was away!!! A little emboss resist, a little butterfly and a little tearing and it was done!

Just Kidding!

 

This is the funnest coolest stamp set EVER!! SU just released it and if you want it or NEED it as I did, click here to order it!