What I Do Instead of Laundry

I love poppies.  Every time I see a poppy stamp set, I am drawn to it.  I've had my eye on this set from The Ton for a while, and I was lucky enough to borrow it from a friend.  It is really easy to line up the layers, and I love the realistic look. The sentiment is from Right At Home , and I happen to really love the quote and its  author .  He really did.  I'm so glad.

I made this birthday card for my sister, and I love how it turned out.  This large stamp is from Concord & 9th, called Hello, Lovely .  I colored it with Altenew's new markers , then added touches of a gold Wink of Stella marker.  I didn't want the sentiment to compete with the image, so I embossed it in gold on vellum.  Beautiful stamp!

Here's another background I played with on my crafty retreat-- SSS Flora .   The first is heat embossed, then painted with Zigs, with a PTI die and a sentiment strip. For this one, I heat embossed, then I used one color of Distress Ink (Blueprint Sketch) for a gradient effect.  Avery Elle die. So fun to play!

I just discovered a cover plate I couldn't live without.  A friend of mine had this Flower Burst Trio die, and I had to use it.  It's so easy, but it packs a punch.  I layered it over some MFT Berrylicious and Steel Grey cardstocks, then finished it up with a sentiment strip (PTI) and some sequins.  I love easy cards!

Crafty retreats are the best!  I recently stayed with some really lovely women for a few days, and we crafted, ate, laughed and laughed some more.  One of the perks of crafting with friends is sharing their stuff.  I borrowed this Simon Says Stamp Elizabeth background stamp and had fun with different techniques. First up is heat embossing in white on Bristol Smooth cardstock, then coloring with Zig Clean Color Markers.  Here's a closeup:  Next is the same layout, but with Distress Ink blending.  Then we have heat embossing in white, then Copic coloring over the top.  I usually don't go this bold, but I thought I'd try it out. Last is basic heat embossing in silver, with a sentiment strip. Enjoy your day, everyone!