Romance

This week's card is a multi-layered card, featuring beautiful romantic images, butterflies, roses, tags, and handwriting. Mindy with you to share this card using various layers of paper from the Romance Paper Bloc by Joy! Crafts. I collected the sheets I loved, then cutting various sizes and shapes adhered the block of papers in a pleasing manner to my card front.  

On a sheet of white pearl stock, I then stamped the Dream in Beauty Stamp from Heartfelt Creations and used the Botanical Wings Die Set also by Heartfelt Creations to die cut the butterfly from the stamped image. My Tim Holtz Distressed Markers were used to color the butterfly, and Joy! Foam Pads- Large were placed under the butterfly wings to give the card dimension.

To complete the card I stamped some handwritten phrases on the front of the card, and placed a few Sleek Strips Pearls- Le Creme from Want2Scrap for a little shine.

Have a wonderful day, full of joy and romance.

Treasure

Our challenge this week on the Classy Cards n' Such Blog is # 82 Cloudy Day, where we must use clouds on our cards. Mindy here, with a special card containing clouds, a rainbow, butterfly and LOVE!

I started by using a sheet of watercolor paper to stamp my sentiment, Love Becomes a Memory from Verses in black permanent ink. I then used the Modern Cloud Cover stencil by Memory Box with some Dreamweaver Regular Embossing Paste and an old credit card to add the paste clouds around my sentiment. When the paste was dry, I used my blue watercolor pencil, and my Tim Holtz Water Brush- Broad nib to paint a thin blue layer of sky around each cloud.  Again when this was dry, I cut the watercolor paper to fit the front of my card base. I also added a small rainbow and butterfly before adding a frame, using the Rectangles 6-in-1 Frame Die by Impression Obsession.

I used the Joy! Foam Pads- Small to attach the frame to the card front, then used my Clear Glitter Pen from Wink of Stella to paint around the clouds and sky to give it a little twinkle. I also added a couple of tiny pearls just to give the card a little more texture.

I hope you have enjoyed my card, and will participate in our card challenge this week. Thanks for stopping by~

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Cherry Blossoms

I have seen many beautiful pictures of the cherry blossom trees blooming, and hope to see them in person someday. It's Mindy with you today, sharing a card with these beautiful blossoms.  I hope you like it, and are inspired by it's beauty.

There are so many dies and stamps in the Classy Cards n' Such Online Store, I'm sure you will find many to add to your collection. I started with the Cherry Blossoms die cut set from Spellbinders and cut the largest flower die from pink paper ribbon.  This is a twisted paper that forms a cording, but can be unfurled then die cut. I like it because it is textured and thin, but many card stock brands will work as well. I have even used paper coffee filters before.  

I embossed a sheet of yellow card stock with the Dazzling Sunburst folder by Ecstasy Crafts and mounted it behind a die cut circle cut in my card front.  I assembled the branch and flowers with Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive then attached it to the circle edge and spread it across the opening.  After attaching a cute butterfly near the flowers, I die cut a tag from the A 2 Filigree Delight Set also from Spellbinders. I shaded the tag and added the phrase from Just the Right Words by Becca Feeken for JustRite Stamps.  The tag was adhered using foam tape below the opening to complete the card.

Spring Dogwood

I have always loved the dogwood tree, although it does not grow well where I live.  Years ago, when I owned my own flower shop, I would purchase silk dogwood stems to add to my arrangements. I think I owned every beautiful color they came in, but in nature I have only seen the white/cream and pink flowers. Mindy here with my challenge card titled Spring Dogwood. I hope you enjoy it.

To begin my card, I stamped the Dogwood 3 stamp from Impression Obsession twice, on watercolor paper.  I wanted a very soft coloring of the dogwood flowers, so I colored the image with colored pencils. I then fussy cut one set of the blossoms and shaped them with my Susan's Garden Tool Kit and adhered them with Joy! Foam Pads- small to the colored base image. I matted the stamped image with some of the Star Dream Rose Quartz Metallic Paper before adhering to the printed card base.

I then stamped a banner with a phrase from Just the Right Words by Becca Feenken for JustRite Clear Stamps to add to my card front. I also added a small bow and Sleek Strips Pearls- Le Cream from Want2Scrap.  I dabbled a few Liquid Pearls in the center of the flowers for texture and dimension.

Thank you for visiting with me today, and please join in our challenge this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Joyful Bouquet

A Joyful Bouquet just for you!  This is Mindy with a water colored card that's made just for you.

I love making these wonderful cards suitable for many techniques, including watercolor. I die cut the outline image from the Joyful Bouquet die from Memory Box from watercolor paper, pale yellow card stock, and popped out all of the innies of the die-cut.   Then using several of the Tim Holtz Distress Markers from Ranger, including Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, and Seedless Preserves, colored each of the flower petals cut from watercolor paper and blended them out with my Tim Holtz Water Brush.  I then attached a strip of Scor-Tape sheet to the back of the flower frame and placed the colored sections back inside the frame, like a puzzle.

 I then fussy cut around the flowers, removed the paper backing and adhered them to a layer of patterned paper from the Romance Paper Bloc by Joy! Crafts. I framed this background paper with a layer of black card, before attaching it to a gold embossed kraft card base. I also die-cut one of the Tremaine Squares by Memory Box from watercolor paper and colored it with my Distress Markers before adding some bling for sparkle.

My vase is one of the Wooden Flourish Vases by Kaisercraft.  I used a bit of lavender wax paste and sparkle paint to color the vase before finishing it in a clear gloss coating.  I adhered it to my flower stems and then attached the flower's leaves using white glue.  A banner with my thoughtful phrase was then added to complete the card.  Enjoy!

I Appreciate You

Welcome friends, it's Mindy with you for this weeks card challenge #80 Rainy Days. The challenge was to make a card, including an umbrella in it's design. I saw a video last week where a couple was making a door decoration for their home with a closed umbrella, tied with a pretty ribbon, and then stuffed with beautiful fresh Spring flowers. That idea is what I used as a basis for my card today.

I started with a delicate umbrella die from my stash and trimmed it down to look as if it were closed. I used the Dries Clear Adhesive from the Art Institute to adhere the trimmed off pieces to the bottom of the umbrella. While it was drying, I pieced my background to the card base. I used the New Watercolored Memories 6"x 6" paper pads from Ken Oliver Designs, now in the Classy Cards n' Such Online Store. These papers are so pretty, they are bright and vibrant colors on one side, and soft muted colors on the other. I layered a strip of vellum paper and two strips of the Grass Border from Impression Obsession on top of the watercolor print, before attaching my umbrella with Joy! Foam Pads- small.

I then added layers of flowers using asters, and blooms from the Birds and Blooms Stamp set from Heartfelt Creations flowing out of the umbrella. I also added a few small leaves from the Leaf Cluster die by Impression Obsession, and the Large Bow also from IO.  I stamped the banner with a phrase from Just the Right Words stamp set from JustRite Stamps. A few Stickles to add sparkle were added to the centers of the flowers.

I hope you enjoy this card, and will join us for our weekly challenge on the Classy Cards n' Such Blog that is featured on Mondays each week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Floral Birthday

Happy Monday Friends!  I have a birthday card to share, that is created using one of the hottest trends in card making today, watercolor!

I started with a 4"X 5.25" sheet of watercolor paper and stamped flowers from the Hennah Elements stamp set from Altenew with Ranger Archival black ink. The flowers in this set are so bold and vivid, and they have such interesting elements included in the set. I then heat set the ink to make sure it was completely dry.  Then using my watercolor pencils and my Tim Holtz water brush, I colored the flowers and blended the colors on each.

I usually watercolor adjacent flowers and then dry them before moving on to the other flowers. That keeps the flowers from bleeding into each other.  Of course, I highlighted one flower with a shadow, then stamped another on a scrap of watercolor paper, colored it in, fussy cut around it, then added it to the previous layer with a foam square. This adds dimension to the card, along with popping up the sentiment banner with foam tape after stamping Happy Birthday with the Large Fancy Sentiment stamp from JustRite Stamps.  I also added texture to the card by glossing over the purple small flowers with irRESISTible Pico Embellisher in clear.  It makes them shiny and glossy and really helps the color to POP!

To finish my card I adhered it to a pink A2 card base then added Yellow Liquid Pearls and Yellow Stickles to the centers of the flowers to add a little sparkle. I hope you have enjoyed this card, and will stamp and color one of your own today. Have a great week, and visit with me again soon.

Mindy 

Dream in Beauty

One of the New stamps from Heartfelt Creations is Dream in Beauty. I stamped it twice on white card stock, then using the Botanical Wings die cut the Butterfly out of one print and adhered it's body to the other print.  I colored the images with Copic markers, along with a little sparkly paint to make the butterfly twinkle.  I added three Water Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest, and a strip of tiny hot pink rhinestones to make the image sparkle.  I also added two tiny Joy! Foam Pads Small under the two wings to help them pop-up just a bit.

I then mounted the butterfly image to a sheet of So . . .Silk Fabulous Purple stock before adding it to my lavender card base.  I completed my card by adding a strip of cotton lace to the top and bottom of the card to add texture and dimension.

I love the butterfly!  It is a flying flower, and to me, symbolizes Spring and new growth. I plant special seeds in my garden each year whose flowers attract the butterflies.  Happy Spring to all, I hope your gardens flourish this year.

Mindy

Yellow Rose

This week's challenge at Classy Cards n' Such blog is Simply Yellow.  We are to use the color Yellow as our focal image, so I thought of  the Yellow Rose of Texas. It is an iconic remembrance of The Lone Star State, along with the title of a great song.  Mindy here, with a rosy wish from my home state.

The focal image of my card is from the Rose stamp set from Stacy Stamps. It is a diagonal stamp that reaches from corner to corner which I colored with Distress Ink Markers, including Peeled Paint, Squeezed Lemonade, and Mustard Seed.  I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then blended the marker colors within the rose shape using my Tim Holtz Water Brush from Ranger.  After the watercolor was dry, I touched each with a little gold and sparkle to really make them shine.

For the background, I cut the largest stitched rectangle from the Blueprints 13 Die-namics from My Favorite Things, and topped it with a metallic card stock embossed with the Daisy Flourish Embossing Folder by Crafts Too! I then attached the Roses cut with Joy! Foam Pads-Large, and tucked a die-cut tag of the state underneath with The Yellow Rose of Texas printed on it. To complete the card, I tied a piece of twine around the Panhandle and added a couple of the Poinsettia Dew Drops by the Robin's Nest for accent.

I hope you are inspired by my fellow design team members to create an entry to our weekly challenge.  We would love to see what you create.

An InLinkz Link-up

Spread Sunshine

Blue skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face! Spring is just around the corner, and the birds are starting to sing around my house. It's time to fill the bird bath and welcome the birds back from a cold, hard winter. Mindy here with a card that celebrates the sunshine and all the sweet little birds.

When I saw this lovely  Bird Bath Wooden Flourish by Kaisercraft in the Classy Cards n' Such Online store, I had to order some.  I love birds, and have so many bird stamps and dies I knew I needed the bird bath flourish.  I used Distressed ink in Brushed Corduroy, Antique Linen, and a little Mustard Seed to sponge on and color my birdbath. When it was dry, I covered it in Glossy Accents to give it some shine.

I then started on my card background.  I knew I wanted to use the New Sue Wilson die of Delicate Fronds- Finishing Touches with the bird bath, so I used a layer of wax paper between the delicate die and my card stock and ran it through my Cuttlebug machine. After removing the card stock and wax paper from the die, I had a negative die cut of the fronds in the wax paper.  I placed that on the card and spritzed Brushed Suede and Frozen Lake Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels through the negative space. I then dried that layer and sponged some of the sprays around the edges of the card for dimension. I also stamped a sun, and added Copic coloring to it, on the top left of the card.

I then started layering my embellishments, the wax paper fronds along with the decorative card fronds, the wooden bird bath, and three small birds stamped from the Birds and Blooms stamp set from Heartfelt Creations colored with Copic markers.  I added a few White Pearls to the Delicate Fronds for sparkle and the banner with the sentiment to complete my card.

Have a wonderful day!

Bunny Hugs

Our challenge for this week at Classy Cards n' Such is Bunny's Rule, and with Easter just a few weeks away, the bunnies, eggs, and candy are #1 on every one's mind.  Mindy with you today sharing my bunny with beautifully decorated eggs in soft pastel colors.

I knew I wanted my Filigree Egg die by Memory Box to be the focal point of my card, but knew I needed a bunny to deliver them.  I had a cute bunny stamp from Inky Antics on my desk, so I used him in my background along with the soft pastel printed  paper from the Romance 6X6 paper pad from Joy! Crafts adhered with some borders of coordinating paper solids.  I backed the Filigree eggs with other scraps from the Romance pad, then decorated them with tiny Pink Rhinestones from Want2Scrap.

I added the Easter Greetings die from Impression Obsession to my card, and then popped up the decorated eggs with Joy! Foam Pads- large to give the card more depth and dimension.  I hope you will join us for our Bunny's Rule challenge this week!

An InLinkz Link-up