HELLO

I've had this adorable Hero Arts stamp set for some time now. I've stamped several of the images, colored them, and cut them out, but then I never used them. Along came this "Hello" die by Poppy Stamps, and I though they were a perfect union! Here's one of probably several cards I'll make combining these two elements:

To make this A2 size card, I first stamped the owl image on white cardstock, colored with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. The hello bubble was then cut out of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Both pieces were then adhered to a 4"X5.25" piece of kraft woodgrain cardstock. That piece was then adhered to my white cardstock base.

To purchase the Poppy Stamps die and other high quality dies, please visit The Fruit of My Hands for a great selection, fantastic prices, and excellent customer service!

Thank so much for your visit!

HOPE YOUR DAY IS AWESOME!

Yep....one more card with the "Tall Taper Candle" die. I really had a lot of fun with this card, and used 2 Memory Box items! Here's my card:

To make this card, I cut a 4"x5.25" piece of white cardstock. Using Memory Box's "Texture Mesh" stencil temporarily affixed to my piece of cardstock, I pounced various colors of Distress Ink over the stencil to create the background. (I used Ranger's circular "Mini Ink Blending Tool"). I loved the look I got when I lifted the stencil!

For the candle, I cut the "Tall Taper Candle" out of white cardstock. The body of the candle and the flame were colored with Copic markers. I outlined the inside of the swirls with a very light gray marker. 

The sentiment was created using Simon Says Stamp's "Tilted Banner" stamps and die set. The banner was adhered to the card front with adhesive foam for some dimension.

To purchase Memory Box and other high quality dies at fantastic prices, please visit The Fruit of My Hands.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

HIS & HERS

I've used this same Memory Box die as in my previous post. I chose to make 2 cards, one for a male and one for a female. Here's the card for "her" (ladies first, right!?)

The patterned paper I used is from My Mind's Eye's "On the Bright Side - One" and "Fiddlesticks".  I cut the die out of a piece of paper from "On the Bright Side". The reverse side of the pieces cut from the inside of the candle were used for the body of the candle on my "guy" card (see below). All other patterned paper (the body of the candle and the dotted background) are from "Fiddlesticks". The stamped sentiment is from this stamp.

Here's the card for "him":

For this card, I cut the candle die out of white cardstock. I inserted the paper cut from the first card into the white candle outline. All patterned paper for this card is from the "On the Bright Side - One" collection. The sentiment stamp was inked with Versamark ink and heat-embossed with white embossing powder.

To purchase the "Tall Taper Candle" die and many other high quality dies, please visit The Fruit of My Hands e-store for great prices!

Thanks for the visit!

SILVER AND GOLD

I recently purchased this brand new die from Memory Box called "Tall Taper Candle". I think this die can be so versatile and used for a number of different occasions. At the time I received it, I was starting to work on my Christmas cards, so I decided to go with a Christmas theme. All my Christmas cards will, in one way or another, incorporate what I believe is the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I really wanted to try cutting a die out of foil, so I chose silver and gold. Here's my cards:

For both cards, I ran the die through my Cuttlebug on gold and silver foil. (The picture of the silver card looks almost two-toned. I think it's because the silver foil was backed with gold foil, and the gold is reflecting off the light onto the silver. Kind of a cool affect!) Then I ran the die through twice and cut 2 candles out of white cardstock. The candle pieces where then inserted into this embossing folder and embossed. After gluing the foil candle outline to my white cardstock base, I then inserted and glued the dry-embossed pieces into the candle outline.

The poinsettia was also cut out of silver and gold foil using this die. Pearls were then added to the center of the flowers.

The sentiment stamp was inked with Versamark and heat-embossed with silver and gold embossing powder.

To purchase the "Tall Taper Candle" die and many other high quality dies, please visit The Fruit of My Hands e-store.

Thanks so much for visiting!!

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Wow!! It's been almost 3 months since I last posted on my blog! Yikes!! I'm going to try and play catch up in the next few days!!

The following card was made as part of a 90-minute scramble on the Hero Arts Flickr site. We were celebrating the 4th year of the scramble, so the theme was to create a "celebrative" card. Here's mine:

To create this A2 size card, I used this stamp by Hero Arts. The stamps (both the balloons and the sentiment) were inked with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and stamped on to white cardstock. The balloons were colored with Copic markers. The final touch was the purple bow out of American Crafts twine.

Thanks so much for taking a peek!!

FLOWERS & STRIPES

I recently hosted a 90-minute Scramble on the Hero Arts Flickr group. What a blast!!! My theme was flowers and stripes/plaids/checks. These were 2 of the cards I made as inspiration.

CARD #1

For this A2 size card, I used Hero Arts "Tall Flower" stamp and Hero Arts "Canvas Stripes" stamp. First I inked the flower stamp with black ink, stamped it onto white cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. Then, I fussy cut around the bottom of the flowers to use only that portion of the stamped image. I inked the canvas stripe stamp with "Faded Jeans" distress ink and stamped onto a 4x5.25" piece of white cardstock which was then adhered to my white card base. The flowers were adhered to the card front with foam adhesive. The "Absolutely" and "Amazing" are from this die/stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. The blue strip behind "Absolutely" was made by swiping my "Faded Jeans" Distress Ink pad across white cardstock so that it would coordinate with my canvas stripes. The "Amazing" sentiment was also inked with "Faded Jeans" Distress ink.

CARD #2

For this card I used Hero Arts "Large Line Flowers" stamp and Hero Arts "Tweed Pattern" stencil. I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 4x5.25". I used white embossing paste to stencil a portion of the tweed pattern onto the left hand side of my card. The flowers were made by inking my stamp with Versamark ink, stamping onto vellum, and heat embossed with white embossing powder. Then I fussy cut out 3 of the flowers. The stenciled kraft piece was adhered to my white cardstock base. The flowers were then added along the right side of the card, and finally embellished with gems in the flower centers.

MORE FROM MY "PRIZE" STAMP

So....when I started playing with this stamp, I stamped the image several times on gray cardstock to use as a background on my cards. Then, I experimented with fussy cutting the flower image, combining with patterned paper, and other elements. Here's a couple more cards I came up with:

CARD #1

Other than my gray background, there was no other stamping on this card - just a combination of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline "Fiddlesticks". I LOVE this paper!! The decorative brad at the bottom right of the card is from the coordinating Fiddlesticks "Lucky" brad set.

CARD #2

This card is also using some patterned paper from the "Fiddlestick" paper pad. For this card, along with my gray background, I also stamped the flower image on white cardstock and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. The flower was colored with Distress Inks (misted with water). The colors used were: "Victorian Velvet", "Worn Lipstick", "Aged Mahogany" and "Peeled Paint"

TIME TO CELEBRATE

I'm beginning to really love the combination of florals and stripes. This A2 size card was super easy to put together because of this wonderful patterned paper!! A piece of this 6x6" patterned paper was trimmed to 4.25x5.5" to use as the background of my card. This butterfly stamp was inked with Versamark, stamped on 2 different coordinating pieces of patterned paper (all from the same paper pad) and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I cut out the butterfly, then cut out just a portion of the second stamped butterfly image for the yellowish portions in the middle of the butterfly. The center of the butterfly was colored in with a black sharpie. This was attached to my card front with foam adhesive and the butterfly attennas were drawn with a black sharpie. The sentiment stamp was inked with Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. (I actually overheated my embossing which is why theres a slight yellow hue to my sentiment.) :(  Three adhesive pearls were added as the finishing touch.

Thanks for stopping by!!

YOU MAKE ME SMILE

To make this A2 size card, I inked this flower stamp with black ink, stamped onto white cardstock, colored the image with Copic markers, and fussy cut the image. The denim patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye "On The Bright Side - One". This piece of paper was trimmed to 4x5.25". This sentiment stamp was inked with Versamark ink, stamped onto my denim background, and heat embossed with white embossing powder. Twine was wrapped around the bottom portion of the paper. Then the denim piece was adhered to my white cardstock base. The flower was attached to the front of the card with foam adhesive.

Thank for looking! Come back any time!!

MY "PRIZE" STAMP

The stamp used on the card I made here (Hero Arts CG403) was in a prize package I received in the last 90-minute scramble hosted on the Hero Arts Flickr site.This stamp creates such a beautiful background for a card. The individual flowers can be cut out and used by themselves too. Here's my card:

To make this A2 size card, I inked the stamp with white ink and stamped onto a piece of gray cardstock trimmed to 4x5.25". After cleaning off the stamp, I inked it with Versamark ink, stamped it on white cardstock and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then colored it with "Milled Lavender", "Shaded Lilac" and "Dusty Concord" distress inks. (I pressed the stamp pad on my nonstick craft sheet & misted it with water to create my "watercolors".) I used "Mowed Lawn" for the leaves. Then, the flower image was cut out. The flower was attached to the gray background with foam adhesive. I wrapped a piece of white satin ribbon, then silver ribbon along the left-hand side of the gray base. All this was then attached to my white cardstock base, and gems were added for the finishing touch.

Thanks so much to Laura Norris for the beautiful stamp!!

MEMORY BOX BUTTERFLY ARCH

I recently received these brand new dies from Memory Box: "Delicate Butterfly Arch" (#98982) and "Solid Arch Background" (#98992). Here's 3 different cards I made with them:

Card #1

For this card, I cut 2 of the "Delicate Butterfly Arch" and joined them together. Then I cut 2 of the "Pippi" Butterflies and applied glitter to them. The Pippi Butterfly is the same shape and size as the main butterfly on the "Butterfly Arch", but the details are slightly different. However, you have to really look closely to tell the difference! These were adhered to a kraft background and then to my white A2 card base. Then I added some blue gems to the center of some of the flowers.

Card #2

I cut the butterfly arches for this card out of thin wood paper. I love the richness of the darker wood behind the lighter. These were adhered to my white A2 card base. Then I added the sentiment and some gold metallic dots for accent.

Card #3

For this card, I cut the "Delicate Butterfly Arch" out of kraft cardstock. I also cut out an extra butterfly. The solid arch was cut from a piece of patterned paper from the Fancy Pants "Country Boutique" 6X6 paper pad. The main background of the card was also cut from coordinating patterned paper from the same pad. The sentiment stamped was inked with Versamark ink, stamped on kraft cardstock, and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The final touches were the placement of the extra butterfly and gold metallic gems.

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit 
www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I participated in another 90-minute Scramble with the Hero Arts Flickr Group. I love the challenge of creating, photographing and posting a card based on the hostess' theme...and all within 90 minutes. It's always so much fun!! Here's my card:

To make this A2 size card, I stenciled the star onto a 4x5.25" piece if white cardstock. I made the stencil using my Silhouette Cameo. The stencil was sponged with "Squeezed Lemonade" and "Mustard Seed" Distress Inks. My "Polka Dot Person" stamp was inked with Hero Arts "Soft Stone" Shadow Ink, stamped onto white cardstock, cut out, and adhered to my white panel with dimensional foam adhesive. The stamp used for the sentiment was Hero Arts "Calico Border". I inked the stamp with Versamark, stamped onto a yellow strip of cardstock, and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I adhered my white panel (with the stenciled star and polka dot woman) onto a 4.25x5.5" piece of yellow cardstock, then onto my white cardstock base. The sentiment strip was adhered along the side of the card. Gems were added randomly for the finished touch.

Thanks so much for taking a look! I hope you come back again!

BUTTERFLY FLUTTER

This card incorporates the Memory Box Butterfly stencil set, which includes "Butterfly Flutter" (#88560) and "Butterfly Delicate Butterflies" (#88561):

To make this card, I stenciled the "Butterfly Flutter" stencil onto a piece of 4x5.25" white cardstock. I used Distress Inks in "Peeled Paint", "Peacock Feathers", "Salty Ocean" and "Mustard Seed". For the detail of the butterflies, I inserted the "Butterfly Delicate Butterflies" stencil inside the "Butterfly Flutter" stencil so that I knew where my detail would be. I then used the same colors of Distress Inks which darkened the main part of the butterfly and made the details look lighter. For a few of the circles, I colored the inside with "Spiced Marmalade" Distress Ink. Then, I distressed the edges of this white piece with "Salty Ocean" Distress Ink and adhered it to a bright yellow 4.25x5.5" piece of cardstock. This was then glued to my white cardbase. The sentiment banner was made using Simon Says Stamp's "Tilted Banner Sayings" and coordinating die. For the final touch, I added some coordinating gems.

To purchase the Memory Box stencils used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

BIRDS ON A BRANCH

I was playing with a couple more Memory Box dies and came up with this card:

For this A2 card, I die cut the branch out of wood veneer paper using the Memory Box "Woodland Branch" die (#98187). The birds were cut out of red cardstock using the Memory Box "Resting Birds" die (#98527). To assemble the card, I "washed" the front of my card with a watercolor wash using Distress Inks to make it look like the sky. I cut an oval out of the center of a 4.25X5.5" piece of white woodgrain paper and attached it to the front of the card with foam tape. Then, the branch and birds were adhered to the card front. A simple sentiment could easily be added to the card (I'd put it in the bottom right corner), or the card can be left plain.

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

WATERCOLOR CARD....AGAIN!

This card uses the same stamp as in my previous watercolor cards. I had forgotten that I had pre-stamped the image on a piece of watercolor paper and it was just SHOUTING to be colored in! So here's another card:

I have to say that I really, really like this one. I was a bit more patient with the drying and was able to accomplish a deeper intensity in the color of the center of the flower. I had made too many smudges on the watercolor paper, so I cut out the image, leaving a small white border. This was then glued onto a 4.25"x5.5" piece of white woodgrain paper and adhered to my A2 size card base. The sentiment (Hero Arts #CL173) was inked with Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

Thanks for looking!!

THANKFUL FOR YOU

Here's another card I made using the same glitter technique as demonstrated in Jennifer McGuire's video here.

For this card, I used the Memory Box die "Perky Poppies". Memory Box has some absolutely gorgeous dies that incorporate poppies.  To purchase the Memory Box die used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

YOU'RE SPECTACULAR

This card and video by Jennifer McGuire was my inspiration for this card. At one time, glitter would have been my absolute last choice of medium to use when creating a card. However, I was so impressed with Jennifer's card and the look of the fine glitter on a die cut that I thought I'd give it a try. So here's my card:

I apologize for the poor lighting in the picture. I made this card for my niece in celebration of her college graduation and I had to get it in the mail. It was night time, so I tried to rig up a cheap light box. This was the best I could do.

I used the same technique as Jennifer did in her video. The die I used was Memory Box's "Blissful Butterfly" die. To purchase the Memory Box die used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

BOUNTIFUL SUNFLOWER

Poppy Stamps just came out with a beautifully incredible die set called "Bountiful Sunflower" (#'s 1006 and 1007). Of all the dies I own, this has to be my favorite. Here's my first card with this die set:

To make this A2 size card, I cut the dies out of watercolor paper, then colored it using Distress Inks stamped on my craft mat, then diluted with a water-dipped brush.

I can't wait to play with this die set some more!!!

To purchase the Poppy Stamps die set used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

MEMORY BOX DIE & STENCIL

Memory Box has come out with some amazing stencils and dies that can be easily incorporated together. Here's my card:

And...here's how I did it:
First I cut a piece of white cardstock 4"x5.25". I used the Memory Box "Garden Umbel" stencil (#88512) and colored it with a light color Distress Ink ("Antique Linen"). I only used portions of the stencil. Then, I swiped "Broken China" Distress Ink over the whole surface of the card front to make it look like a sky. The very edges of this piece were distressed with "Salty Ocean" Distress Ink. This was then adhered to a 4.25"x5.5" piece of kraft cardstock, then adhered to my A2 size white card base.

Next, I cut the flower out of white cardstock using the Memory Box "Graceful Silhouette" die and colored it in with Copic markers. This was then adhered to my card front.

To finish the card, I stamped the sentiment in black ink and added a few adhesive-backed gems.

To purchase the Memory Box die and stencil used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

WATERCOLOR CARDS

The Online Card Class "Watercolor for Card Makers" was an excellent class - as are all the other classes offered online here. Be sure and check them out!!

The technique I used on these cards was part of a lesson on "Faux Hand-Painting" where you ink a stamp with a light color of Distress Ink, then "paint" the image with watercolor paints. (I used Distress Inks). I practiced the technique a few times with the same stamped image and felt comfortable enough to use each image on a card. I'm finding that I still need more practice to get used to the amount of ink and water, as well as drying times!! I'm not a very patient person, so I try to speed things up a bit by using a heat gun. Anyhoo....here's the cards I made using this technique in the order that I did them:

CARD #1

This card was my first attempt. I was pleased with the colors used, but I wasn't as pleased with the flower. The petals looked more like a bunch of blobs. Still, I felt it was worthy enough to make into a card! ;-)

CARD #2

This second card is actually my favorite. I used a different stamp for the flower and I liked the results better. This is one where I dried it with a heat gun in between each step. I actually like the "feathery" look of the flower petals!

CARD #3

I chose to make the flower a little more purplish for my third attempt. It turned out okay, but I didn't allow the petals to dry completely before painting the neighboring petal, so my watercolor "bled" onto the other petals (see the top right corner). Still, I thought it was salvageable!!

CARD #4

For attempt #4, I decided to use more purples and blues for the flower. The color combination is really pretty, but I wished I had made the center of the petals a little bit darker.  It's still a pretty "painting"! (My son actually picked this one as his favorite.)

I am absolutely loving using these watercolor techniques and plan on doing a whole lot more practicing.....actually playing!!!

Thanks for taking a look!

WISH BIG

This is another card I made using a technique from Day 1 of the Online Card Class called "Watercoloring for Cardmakers". If you're interested in the class, you can check it out here!

Here's the card:

For this card, I took a 4"x5.25" piece of watercolor paper and "washed it" with clear water to allow the applied watercolors to blend more freely. Then I applied Distress Inks, mixed with water, and allowed them to "bleed" over the paper. The colors I used were Frayed Burlap and Broken China. When the colors were still wet, I layed the Memory Box "Textured Mesh" stencil over the paper and taped the edges down to hold it against the paper. The stencil kept rising in the middle, so I put an object of weight in the middle to hold the stencil flat. Once dry, I lifted the stencil and it created a really cool background affect.

I cut the Memory Box "Starry Wreath" out of a very thin wood veneer (as well as the strip across the bottom) and glued it to the card. The sentiment stamp was inked with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and stamped onto the watercolor background. Three silver stars were added for the final touch!

To purchase the Memory Box die used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

HI THERE!!

Today is the first day of a new Online Card Class titled "Watercolor for Cardmakers". I absolutely love the look of watercolor, but am a little lacking in the creative side of it in relation to cardmaking. Just from the first day, I can tell this class is going to be EXCELLENT!!

Here's the first card I made:

I used Distress Inks stamped on an acrylic block, then spritzed with water to create the striped affect. Each color was stamped with the ink pad onto an acrylic block individually, spritzed with water, then pressed onto the watercolor paper with the colors slightly overlapping. Each color was allowed to dry before applying the next color. (I cheated and used my heat gun!),The colors of Distress Ink I used are:  Pickled Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn, and Salty Ocean (from bottom to top).

The butterfly and sentiment stamps were inked with black ink and stamped over the watercolor background when it was completely dry.

If you're interested in any of these Online Card Classes, check them out here!

PLAYING WITH POPPIES

I absolutely love poppies and this Memory Box die "Darling Poppies" is absolutely beautiful and so fun to play with. It's a great die to use with scraps of cardstock and/or patterned paper!

Every once in a while, I'll dig through my scrap bin and try to use as many scraps as I can. Recently, I found several scraps of glossy cardstock covered with alcohol inks. I decided to use some of these on cards that incorporated the poppy die. Here's the three I made:

CARD 1:

CARD 2:

CARD 3:

All 3 cards are A2 size (4.25x5.5"). For the blossom portions of the flowers, I colored the outline portion of the die cut with a coordinating, slightly darker color of Copic marker. For Card 2, I also outlined the outline (hope that makes sense!) with an ultra fine point black Sharpie. I'm not too sure what I think about it. What do you think??

I was very pleased with the way the orange poppies looked on the vellum and against the cork background. My general "go to" colors with something red are almost always black & white, which is what I chose for Card #'s 2 and 3. Once I chose my background and lay out for each card, I selected a sentiment that would fit the amount of space I wanted to use on the card. I'm definitely not afraid of open space, and actually prefer that on my cards!

I'm so grateful that you came to take a look!!! Come visit any time!

To purchase the Memory Box die used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

YOU ARE SPECTACULAR

Here I am playing with another Memory Box die again....as well as some other elements that I don't use very often. Here's my card:

The first thing I did to make this 5x7" card was to cut my diecuts. The star wreath was cut out of Birch Wood Veneer and colored with "Faded Jeans" Distress Stain. I love the way this Distress Stain allows me to color the wood, without covering up the woodgrain! Next, I cut some stars out of adhesive-backed cork and a small piece of white cardstock.

I positioned the die cuts (not glued!!) on the Color Mates "Dark Creamy Cocoa" paper (cut in a 4.5x6.5" piece to allow for a 1/4" white border on all sides). I did this to get an idea of how I wanted to proportion the rest of the elements on my card. I also made small pencil marks to mark the center of my wreath to know where to place my stamped sentiment.

I cut a 2"strip of gray corrugated cardstock and tore the long edges. I then wrapped navy twine around this piece and attached it to my "Cocoa" background. This background piece was then attached to my 5x7" white cardstock base. Using my pencil marks for the center of the wreath, I inked my stamps from Technique Tuesday's "Incredible stamp set with Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. Then, I glued my starry wreath and the individual stars onto my card base. The single white star was covered with "Faded Jeans" Distress Stickles.

The "spectacular" sentiment (from the same Technique Tuesday stamp set) was also inked with Versamark onto a vellum strip, then heat embossed with white embossing powder. This was then glued to the card with small dots of "Glossy Accents" (my favorite adhesive!)

To purchase the Memory Box stencil used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  

for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

Thanks for looking!

THINKING OF YOU

I've been having so much fun playing with brand new and never used items lately. I just received the stencil used on this card, and the sentiment "Thinking of you" die has been sitting around my craft room a while now, having never been used. Here's the card I made:

Here's how I made it:
The stencil used is Memory Box's "Garden Umbrel" (#88512). I stenciled the image on white cardstock using "Peeled Paint" Distress Ink and Hero Arts "Soft Purple" Shadow Ink. Some tips for using this stencil:

• Be very careful when stenciling the green "flower" portion of the image. The corner pieces where the flower base portions meet with the stem are not attached to each other, so they lift up easily, causing smudges. I would suggest taping them down slightly above the "joint areas" and stencil that area and the stem first. Then remove the tape and stencil the rest of the flower base, still being extra careful.
• I flipped the stencil over, after cleaning it, to stencil the leaf portion. I wanted it bending toward the stem, rather than away from it.
• When I stenciled the purple portion of the card, I stenciled once, then shifted the stencil slightly up and to the sides a couple of times to get the fullness that I wanted.

After the stencil was complete, I trimmed the white cardstock and distress the edges with "Milled Lavender" and "Dusty Concord" Distress Inks. Before gluing it to the purple background, I tied some purple twine around the lower portion of the image. Once adhered to the purple background, I adhered it to my white 5x7" cardstock base.

The die cut sentiment was cut out of white cardstock using Simon Says Stamp's "Thinking of You" die (#S122).

For the butterflies, I used the Martha Stewart "Classic Butterfly 3-in-1" punch, and flat back pearls for the centers.

To purchase the Memory Box stencil used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

DARLING POPPIES

The California state flower is the California Poppy. When they are in bloom, you see gorgeous fields of these beautiful orange-colored flowers. During our years of living in Canada, it was very evident that the red poppy holds great significance in regard to remembering those who gave their lives for their country. On Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day in the U.S.), everyone wears a red poppy on their lapel, blouse, shirt, etc. as a sign of their gratitude for and recognition of, those who have served in the military.  Poppies have also become popular flowers in crafting - lots of dies, stamps, etc. incorporate the poppy. I recently received this beautiful poppy die (from Memory Box) and was so excited to give it a try! Here's the card I made:

I'm a very simple person, and like simple designs. I've been called a minimalist by friends. (I hope they mean it in a good way! :D)  This die from Memory Box is so beautifully detailed and delicate, I just didn't want to add much else to the card that could take away from it! I'm very pleased with the clean and simple, but elegantness (if that's a word!) of this A2 size card. Here's how I did it:

The die cut was made with white cardstock. I saved the inner pieces of the flowers, colored them red (with Copic markers), then re-inserted them into the die cut. I really like that look better than just coloring in the empty space. The die cut was adhered to a piece of kraft cardstock then adhered, to a slightly larger piece of red cardstock with foam tape. I love dimension on my cards! This was then adhered, off-centered, to my white cardstock base. Then I added a very simple sentiment to the bottom right corner.

The die used for this card is Memory Box's "Darling Poppies" (#98879). To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

YOU'RE SPECIAL

I just received some new items from Memory Box and am having so much fun creating with them!!  Here's the first card I made using a brand spankin' new stencil set:

This is a 5x7" card made with Memory Box's "Garden Leaf & Berry" and "Garden Whimsy Branch" stencils (#'s 88552 and 88553 respectively). This is a double-layer stencil. I did mask some areas of the stencil (shortened a branch and decreased the amount of berries). I think the look that the layered stencils make is soooooo cool!

Here's how I did it:
First I stenciled the "Garden Whimsey Branch" onto a 5x7" piece of kraft cardstock. I used "Frayed Burlap" and "Peeled Paint" Distress Inks. I've found that you have to be VERY careful inking around some of the branches, as some of the areas where the branches join lift easily, making it difficult to stencil without any smudges. (I had to practice a few times before I was happy with the result. There's still some smudging on this one, but they are tolerable!)

Second, I layered the "Garden Leaf & Berry" stencil over my stenciled image. These stencils are made to fit together, so lining it up was quite easy! I then stenciled over the "leaf" areas with "Walnut Stain" and "Forest Moss" Distress Inks. This gave the really awesome two-tone affect of the stencil.  I masked off the berries that I didn't want to use, and inked the rest with "Aged Mahogany" Distress Ink. The sentiment stamp (Hero Arts #CL497) was inked with Memento's "Rich Cocoa" ink.

I trimmed the stenciled portion of the card, rounded the corners, and glued it to a slightly larger piece of coordinating paper. This was then affixed to a 5x7" kraft cardstock base.

For the final touch, I glued flat-back pearls to the card for dimension to the berries.

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.blogspot.com  
for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

Thanks for looking!!

CITYSCAPE HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Here's another card with Memory Box's "Cityscape" die set:

The dies used for this card are Memory Box "Cityscape Nightline" (#98398) and "Cityscape Silhouette" (#98399).

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit 
www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

JUST BECAUSE

I've been wanting to use this Memory Box Cityscape die set for a long time!! I'm trying a few different things, so hopefully there'll be more posts with these dies in the near future!!

The dies used for this card are Memory Box "Cityscape Nightline" (#98398) and "Cityscape Silhouette" (#98399).

To make this A2 size card, I masked off the bottom portion of the card (to leave white for my sentiment). I swiped "Squeezed Lemonade" Distress Ink over the unmasked portion. I punched a circle mask (for my sun), and continued to sponge various colors of distress ink around it to give the appearance of a sunset. Distress Ink colors used were: "Mustard Seed", "Spiced Marmalade", "Fired Brick" and "Chipped Sapphire". 

To purchase the Memory Box dies used here, as well as other high quality craft items, please visit 
www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

THE LORD BLESS YOU

This card incorporates one of my favorite Scripture passages. These verses always bring me so much comfort and peace!

This is a 5X7" card. The poppy die cut is Memory Box "Prim Poppy" (#98310) which was cut out of white cardstock, then colored with Copic markers. The black frame is a piece that I cut using my Silhouette Cameo. The stamp is Stampendous "Shine on You".

To purchase the Memory Box die used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

I MISS YOU!

Lately, I've been playing around with dies and patterned paper. Here's a card I came up with:

I love the look of the spring hillsides with the torn paper. All the paper used is from My Mind's Eye's "On the Bright Side - One" and "On the Bright Side - Two". The die cut horizon is Memory Box "Country Landscape" (#98239). The stamped greeting is from Avery Elle "Handwritten Notes".

To purchase the Memory Box die or the Avery Elle stamp set used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

Thanks so much for visiting!

THINKING OF YOU

This card was inspired by the incredible talented work of Jennifer McGuire, posted on her blog here. 

To make this 5x7" card, I used a white cardstock base. I then cut 1" strips out of a variety of coordinating patterned paper. I lightly distressed the edges with "Peeled Paint" Distress inks, then adhered them diagonally to my card base. The dies used for the floral pieces and butterflies are Memory Box "Blooming Vine", "Pippi Butterfly" and "Isabella Butterfly" dies. 

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

WINTER SCENE

For most of my adult life (up until the last 8 years) I've lived in a colder climate where our winters consisted of very cold temperatures and LOTS of snow! I live in a warmer climate now (can't say I miss the cold), but I do miss the beauty of freshly fallen snow and the way the sun glistens off it making it look like millions of tiny diamonds. This card brought back a lot of memories for me!

I incorporated the masking technique a lot on this card, which was actually pretty fun! First, I masked off the bottom half of my background piece with a torn piece of removable masking paper. I sponged the top half with "Stormy Sky" and "Weathered Wood" Distress Inks to create the sky. I then spritxed it with Perfect Pearls mist to add a little sparkle! Before removing the mask, I stamped the trees (Stampin' Up! "Lovely as a Tree" stamp set) onto the background. Then I used a sponge dauber to add a little more of "Stormy Sky" just along the edge of the mask. To create the "rolling hills", I moved the mask down and to the sides a bit, then sponged the edges only with my distress ink. I then used another stamp from the Stampin' Up! set to add the trees in the foreground. The deer images where cut out of white cardstock using the Memory Box "Deer Trio" die. The deer die cut was then adhered to the background with foam squares to add dimension.

I love winter scenes......but just to look at, not so much to live in!! ;D

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

YOUNG LOVE

I've had this Stamping Bella "Young Love" stamp for a while, and never used it........until I got the Memory Box "Garden Birch Trees" stencil. I thought the two items would be a perfect combo together!

To make this 5x7" card, I sponged over the birch tree stencil with "Faded Jeans" Distress Ink, sponging a little more heavily in random areas for a little more dimension. The stamped image was colored with Copic markers and adhered to the card base with foam squares. The grass was cut with the Impression Obsession die #DIE060-I and sponged with "Peeled Paint" and "Forest Moss" Distress Inks.

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY :D

I have to admit that I'm really pleased with the way this card turned out. It's so bright and cheery!! It puts a smile on my face!

To make this A2 size card, I used the Memory Box "Texture Shine" stencil and sponged over it with "Squeezed Lemonade", "Mustard Seed", "Spiced Marmalade" and a wee bit of "Rusty Hinge" Distress Inks. The stamped image (Little Darlings "Just Swingin'") was colored with Copic markers, cut out, and adhered to the sunshine background with foam squares. The background piece was then adhered to the card base with foam strips.

I hope this card put a smile on your face as well!

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

HUBBY'S VALENTINE CARD

Here's the card I made for my wonderful hubby for Valentine's Day this year.

I used white embossing paste with the Memory Box "Texture Mesh" stencil on a 6"x6" black card base. The red heart was cut with my Silhouette Cameo out of red cardstock and adhered to a white cardstock background. The final additions were the red pearls to add just a touch of accent!

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!