Thinking of You

Hello my crafty and creative friends...

Today I've got a short stack of 4 cards to share with you...

Each created with a wonderful Art Gone Wild stamp set

called FLOWERS....by artist Joanne Sharpe

I created four identical cards.
I stamped the flower image and sentiment with Memento ink.

The images were colored with Copic markers

then die cut with a stitched rectangle die.
I chose a dotted print...and a beautiful blue card stock for matting.
I Positioned the matted image piece with fun foam for added dimension

and finished the card with translucent light green Nuvo Drops

and...

This is what I wound up with...

4 bright CAS cards.

I'll be adding this quartet of cards to my card stash

so I chose a sentiment that can be used for multiple occasions.

Joanne Sharpe's FLOWERS stamp set

 was a fun stamp set to create cards with.
I love Joanne Sharpe's style!
I like that the image has a bit of whimsy

and the sentiment has a casual style

and is the ideal size for a card front.

I hope that you've found a bit of inspiration, here at my blog, today.
I'm still enjoying re-visiting favorite stamp sets that I've created cards with in the past.

I am also in the midst of (yet another) studio purge...

preparing for a big huge crafty garage sale, here at our home

in September.

Creating this short stack of 4 cards allowed me to keep a bit of creativity in my day

which is something that I am always grateful for.

Thank you for visiting today...

Have a terrific Tuesday!
Michelle.

Big Bright Blossoms

A few days ago I shared eclipse cards

created with the smaller blossom image from

Paper Smooches BLOSSOM BUDS stamp set

Today...I am sharing a short stack of cards that I've created with

the larger blossom image from the same stamp set.

Each of today's cards is very CAS...

I chose bright Copic Marker colors to color each image.

I chose colors of dotted print paper that went well with each colored image.
All of the print and image layers were matted with green card stock.
Each matted image piece was positioned with fun foam,
for added dimension.
The sentiments are from IO (Impression Obsession)
Mudra, Hampton Arts and Stampendous (Fran's)
I finished each cards with orange, pink and yellow Nuvo Drops...
(Colors that went well with each cards color palette.)

When all of the parts and pieces were put together...

This is what I wound up with...

(3 Happy...Bright CAS cards!)

I'm a lover of dotted print paper

and am happy with the dotted colors that I chose for today's cards.
This orange print works well with the blossom colors, I think.
I'm also happy with having chosen green for all of the matting.
(Sentiment: Impression Obsession)

 

The pink doted print adds a big pop of color to this card

and picks up the pink tones that I used when coloring this image.
(Sentiment: Hampton Arts and Mudra)

I don't use yellow often when creating cards...

But yellow was the way to go with the dotted print on the third card.
(Sentiment: Stampendous (Fran's) )

I enjoyed re-visiting this favorite Paper Smooches stamp set

I love floral images...and this one has a fun casual look..

which  bring a happy and cheerful tone to this short stack of cards.
It's so nice when a stamp set has multiple images that you really like!
Imagine!....ALL of this card making loveliness from one stamp set!
(And I didn't even use the sentiments...which are equally as nice)

and...
The cards that I shared a few days ago...created with the smaller blossom image.

I'll still be re-visiting some other favorite stamp sets

in the days to come...
I hope that you'll join me, here at my blog

as I share the cards that I'll create with a few more stamp sets from my stash...

that I love.

Thanks for visiting today...

Wishing you a fabulous Friday!
Michelle

A CAS Eclipse Card

Hello my crafty and creative friends!

Today I've got a CAS eclipse card to share with you.

If you've visited my blog before...

you already know that I am a true blue CAS card maker.

To add to my love of CAS cards...lately, I have been loving white backgrounds.

And so...I've been amping up the CAS look

of my recent cards with lots of crisp clean white backgrounds.

For today's amped up CAS card I started out with

Paper Smooches BLOSSOMING BUDS stamp set.

I chose the smaller blossom image .

I colored the image with Copic markers...

and used Stampin Up Alphabet dies to die cut the word  HAPPY.

I added a small "Birthday" sentiment by Mudra

to the lower right of the card.
I die cut the image piece with a stitched rectangle die.

Next. I chose a print that went well with the colored image...

and a deep violet colored solid card stock for matting.

I rolled glue dots to  position the HAPPY over it's negative space.

The image piece was positioned with fun foam for dded dimension.

and...

wha-la!

This is what I wound up with!

I love the look of this card...

It's bright...and colorful...and the white background adds to the CAS factor!
I am also happy with the print that I chose...

which came from a large generic 12x12 paper pad. 

My card stash is always in need of birthday cards...

I'm happy to add two of this CAS eclipse card to my stash.

This Paper Smooches stamp set has a larger image...

Similar to the image that I used for today's cards.

I've got a few of them stamped out...

Colored...

and waiting to become cards.

I'll be sure to share them here when they're complete!

Thanks for visiting today... 

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!
Michelle

Pink Carnations

Hello my crafty and creative friends...
I'm still finding lots of enjoyment in re-visiting some favorite floral stamps

and creating some crisp and bright CAS cards.

Today...I have a few cards to share with you...

each created with Technique Tuesday's Greenhouse Society CARNATION stamp.

(*I should note that I've had this stamp set 

and have been enjoying it for quite some time. 

I'm not sure if it's still available )

About today's cards:

The images were colored with Copic Markers

and they were brushed with Clear Wink of Stella.

I used a double stitched die to die cut each image piece.
I chose print(s)...and then I matted the image and print pieces.
The front of the card base was trimmed to create the floating image panel
and the image piece is positioned over the edge of the trimmed front

to create the card front as you see it.

The matted print was adhered to the front of the card base.
I created two Happy Birthday cards and one Thank You card.

The sentiments are from the Penny Black SNIPPETS stamp set.

You can see the offset image panel in this photo. 

I like with the crisp look of the bright pink carnations 

against the white background. 

(Lately, I've been creating lots of cards with white background...)

Lots of shadows in this photo...

(sorry....the sun sets on my studio windows 

and sometimes creates lots of photo shadows and color variations in the photos)

I'll always love creating cards with floral images...

so...re-visiting favorite floral stamps that I have used and loved in the past

is always a pleasure for me.
Lately, I've also been liking white backgrounds

even though I also enjoy inking and blending colorful backgrounds.

For now, though...

I think that for a while...I'll be sticking with white backgrounds.

As always...

Thanks for visiting...

I hope that you've fund a little bit of inspiration here at my blog today

and find some time to re-visit a favorite stamp set in your stamp-stash...

to create a few cards of your own!
Have a terrific Tuesday...

Michelle.

BEARY MERRY Giveaway.....Alternate Winner

HI Friends..

Thanks to the winners who responded 

by sending their mailing info to me prior to Sunday (Yesterday)

The Creative Vision BEARY MERRY stamp set hasn't been claimed

and so...

I've picked an alternate winner...

CONGRATULATIONS to

Kelly'sKardsFL
You are the winner of Creative Vision's BEARY MERRY stamp set!

Please send your mailing info to me at:

tobellissimacards@gmail.com

prior to Tuesday evening (July 24th)

Re-visiting a Floral Favorite

Yesterday,

I shared 3 cards that I created with a favorite Penny Black stamp set

that I have used many many times in the past.
The stamp set...BOTANICAL GARDEN... 

is one of those stamp sets whose images are ALL wonderful.

So while I created the cards that I shared a few days ago...

I also had my eye on the larger image in that set...
(again...a stamp that I have used countless times)

and so...I thought that I'd create a few cards with that stamp as well.

Today's cards are Copic colored...
Once colored..I brushed each bloom with Clear Wink of Stella 

for a soft shimmery look.
I die cut the images with a stitched rectangle die...

matted the die cut piece...

chose a soft water color look print for the largest layer...

Matted the print...

and

positioned the matted image piece with fun foam for added dimension.
I created the small matted sentiment  pieces to complete each card
using the Penny Black SNIPPETS stamp set.

and...

 this is what I wound up with...

I never have enough birthday cards on hand...

so I created 2 identical birthday cards to add to my card stash.

I am also always running out of Get Well cards 

so I created one Get Well card.

and then...

I created one multi-purpose card

with a general "Just for You" sentiment.

I almost always create multiples of a card design...

with the same image...sometimes in an assortment of colors..sometimes the same color
and usually, with an assortment of sentiments.
For me..this is an enjoyable process.

I enjoyed creating this short stack of cards
with this favorite stamp
and I'm happy to add this little stack of cards to my card stash.

Thanks for visiting today...

I hope that you've found a little bit of inspiration here at my blog...

and I hope that you'll re-visit some of your favorite stamp sets...

and find time to create with them...again.

Have a wonderful day!
Michelle.

CAS Floral Cards...

Like most card makers

I am always falling in love with new stamps...

building a wish list...

ordering things on my wish lists...

and enjoying creating card with new-to-me stamps.

But..

I also still have a genuine love for lots of stamps 

that I have had for a long time.

Every so often, I go through my stamp drawers...

and pull out stamps that have caught my eye...
Sometimes, they're new sets...
and sometimes...they;re stamp sets that I've enjoyed using in the past.
I pull out sets that make me feel excited to ink up...and...

I keep them on the studio worktable...

so that I'll remember to  create a few cards with them...again.

This time...I went browsing through the "Floral" drawer
and a whole bunch of stamp sets caught my eye
and now...they're waiting to be the start of some creativity and card making!
(Which is how today's cards came to be)

I have a few CAS (Clean And Simple) floral cards to share with you...

created with one of the images from 

Penny Black's BOTANICAL GARDEN.
I colored the images with Copic Markers and Prismacolor pencils.

When the coloring as complete...I went over the blooms with Clear Wink of Stella.

I chose sentiments from PTI and Impression Obsession...

and assortment of prints for layering.
I matted the image pieces and prints...

added metallic thread to each card

and positioned the matted image pieces with fun foam for added dimension.

and...

This is what I wound up with.

The sentiment on this card is by PTI
I really enjoy the process of choosing prints that work well with the colored images.
This print, I think...is a good match for this rose colored image.
I used silver metallic thread to finish this card.

This card focuses more on orange and yellow tones.

I used the same PTI sentiment set...

but switched it up a bit.
I finished this card with gold metallic thread.

For this third card...

I chose to have the image in the lower right of the card front...

with an Impression Obsession sentiment stamped in the upper left.
I did some dark outlining on the bloom to make it "pop" a bit.

Gold metallic thread was used to finish this card.

You can see the subtle shimmer of the Clear Wink of Stella

in this photo.

I enjoyed creating this short stack of cards 

with this favorite Penny Black stamp set

and am glad that I opted to go with white backgrounds.

I love inking and blending ink for backgrounds...

but lately..I've been feeling like a crisp clean white background is the way to go.
I'm glad that I pulled this stamp set out (again)....

I actually have my eye on another image from this set...

and will, most likely, create a few cards with that stamp very soon.

(Another favorite that I have created cards with many many times in the past)

Thanks for visiting today, my crafty and creative friends...

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Michelle.

Creative Vision Stamps Week and Giveaway Day #5: July New Release Re-Cap and Giveaway Winners

Wow!
This week went fast!
and...
I had a GREAT time creating and sharing cards with you along the way.

Creating cards with the July New Release from Creative Vision Stamps

was so much fun.
I enjoyed creating cards with each of the 4 new stamp sets

and...

I appreciated and enjoyed ALL of the comments shared by YOU...

here at my blog.

Today...I'm sharing a recap of the cards that I created and shared this week...

and...

at the end of today's blog post 

l'll share the names of the 4 GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

If you haven't visited the Creative Vision web site yet...
You can see the new release stamps & all of their fabulous goodies
HERE

If you MUST have the entire July release...
be sure o check out the July 2018 Bundle
(The price is awesome!)

So...here we go!
The re-cap...of this week's cards...

BEARY MERRY
(and the Beary Merry card making video)

ELF THIS

PET MONSTERS

STICK WITH IT

Are you loving this Creative Vision Stamps July release

as much as I am?
(You can browse and shop for these wonderful new stamp sets HERE

at the CREATIVE VISION STAMPS web site

and now...

THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS

(Winners were chosen at random...the "old fashioned way...

By picking  name(s) out of a hat!)

***WINNERS: Please send me your mailing info 

PRIOR TO SUNDAY....JULY 22nd

You can send your mailing info to me at: tobellissimacards@gmail.com

NOTE: If a winner doesn't provide their mailing info prior to Sunday...

a new winner will be chosen for that particular GIVEAWAY Stamp Set. 

Okay....here we go

The BEARY MERRY winner is...

CAROLE LOVILL

The ELF THIS winner is...
VERNA ANGERHOFER

The PET MONSTERS winner is...

KAT WUBBENHORST

The STICK WITH IT winner is....
CHERYL W

CONGRATULATIONS 
CAROLE ...VERNA...KAT and CHERYL!
Don't forget to send your mailing info to me (prior to Sunday) at:
tobellissimacards@gmail.com

Thanks so much my crafty and creative friends for following along this week
as I shared all of the cards that I've created with Creative Vision Stamps new release!
Thank you for all of your kind comments...
I hope that you found a little bit of inspiration here at my blog
and that you find time to enjoy some card making of your own!
Have a fabulous Friday!
Michelle.

Creative Vision Stamps Week & Giveaway Day #4: Stick With It

I can't believe that it's already Day #4 of

Creative Vision Stamps Week and Giveaway, here at my blog!

(GIVEAWAY info is posted at the end of this blog post)

I've had the best time creating (and sharing) this week's cards!

Today I've got a few cards to share with you...

created with one last new release stamp set.

"STICK WITH IT" is a fun...and cute stamp set 

that includes and assortment of great images and sentiments.
For today's cards, I've chosen two of the images...

and two of the sentiments

to create two cards!

I colored both images with Copic Markers...

Created backgrounds with inking and stenciling...

Die cut the image pieces

Created inked, hand cut sentiment banners
Chose background prints that have a water color look...

 I positioned the image pieces with fun foam to add dimension to the card.

and...

 this is what I came up with...

This first guy was fun to color and create a card with...

I kept the colors soft and earthy

and used Clarity Stencil Brushes to create the blended ink backgrounds

of the sentiment piece..and the image piece.

I used the rectangle die as a stencil to create a clean edged background

around the image. 

This card was crated with the largest image in this wonderful stamp set.
I added a stenciled cloud background to the image piece and the banner piece.
The image piece was also inked with Clarity Stencil Brushes.
The Deckled Edge die did double time....

firstly to cut the image piece...

and then it was used as a stencil while inking the sky and grassy areas.
Like the prior card...

The image piece was positioned with fun foam.

This stamp set...

like each of the Creative Vision Stamps July New Release stamp sets...

was lots of fun to create cards with.

All of the July release stamp sets offer the opportunity to color...
and create varied backgrounds...

as well as lots of mix and match image/sentiment options.
These new release stamp sets have carried me through the seasons.....

PET MONSTERS for Halloween cards....
and BEARY MERRY and ELF THIS for Christmas cards...

They've also given me the opportunity to create some multi-purpose

note card style cards with the STICK WITH IT stamp set.
All of this leads me to say that this is a versatile new release!

and now...

A little bit about the (4) GIVEAWAY(S)

The giveaways are opened to those who have USA mailing addresses.

Commenting to enter: There will be 4 giveaways....one for each new release stamp set.

You can post one comment per blog post....(Monday through today...)

(There are 4 blog posts...You can leave a comment under each...

for a chance to win one of the 4 giveaways.)
Comment period ends at 10 pm tonight (Thursday July 19th)

The 4 winners will be chosen at random...

and the winners will be announced here at the blog on Friday, July 20th 

(That's Tomorrow!)

So now...

Don't forget to leave a comment below all 4 blog posts...
and...

come back tomorrow to see a recap of all of this week's cards...
Each created with Creative Vision Stamps July new release stamp sets.

Thanks for visiting today!
See you here tomorrow for the re-cap 

and announcement of the giveaway winners!
have a terrific Thursday, my friends!
Michelle

PS...If you didn't see the BEARY MERRY card making video...
You can see it HERE (at the Day #1 blog post)

Creative Vision Stamps Week & Giveaway Day #3: Pet Monsters

I can't believe that it's already Day #3

of Creative Vision Stamps Week & GIVAWAY here at my blog!

(*GIVEAWAY details shared at the end of the blog post)

The Beary Merry and Elf This stamp sets 

that I shared on Day #1 and #2 

had me thinking of Holiday cards.

And now...I've switched gears and I'm in full Halloween mode

after creating cards with today's featured stamp set...PET MONSTERS

which is one of 4 new stamp sets in Creative Vision's July Release

I think that you're going to love the images in the PET MONSTERS stamp set!
They're TOO cute...they're different...
and they're fun to create cards with.

Here's a peek at the stamp set...
(*And...THIS is the stamp set that I'll be giving away today...WooHoo!!)

(You can find it at the Creative Vision Stamps web site: HERE

Here's some info about the cards I've created with this fun and fabulous stamp set...

I colored all of today's PET MONSTERS images with Copic markers.

and inked each of the background 

by lifting ink off of an assortment of ink pads 

with Clarity Stencil Brushes.
I chose dies that were used to die cut the image pieces...

as well as being used as stencils for the background inking.
I chose an assortment of Halloween prints for today's cards

and matted the layers with coordinating card stock colors.
Each matted image piece was positioned with fun foam...for added lift and dimension.

For the sentiments...I stamped and inked the sentiment pieces...

hand cut the banners...and matted each sentiment

So now...here we go...
I've got 4 cards to share with you...

How cute is this cat?

I love his snarky expression...

He looks totally annoyed about wearing the candy corn costume!
He just cracks me up!

and...

How about this guy!
I love that he is in a dinosaur costume!
Again...TOO CUTE!

and...

Another cutie!
I love his fangs and the way he is holding his cape out

in true vampire style!

and finally...
This guy....who is channeling Frankenstein!

(Love the neck bolt and his stitches)

I've got plans for this stamp set and these adorable images.

I'll be creating more cards...

and some goodie bag toppers

I hope that you've enjoyed seeing today's cards....

as much as I've enjoyed creating them!

Coloring and creating with Creative Vision's new PET MONSTERS stamp set

was lots of fun.

The idea of putting costumes on pets is wonderful, I think!

GIVEAWAY!

How about some giveaway info now!

One of each of Creative Visions new release stamp sets 

will be given away here at my blog.

Four winners will be chosen....One stamp set per winner
(Winners will be announced here at the blog on Friday...July 20th)

To be "in" on today's PET MONSTER giveaway
you'll need to have a USA mailing address.

and...

you'll need to post a comment below.

(To be "in" on all 4 giveaways...be sure to post a comment at all 4 blog posts...

Day #1...Day #2...Day# 3....and tomorrow...Day #4

So now...before you head off to post a comment below...

Let me say thank you...

I'm glad that you visited today

and look forward o you visiting again tomorrow...

when I'll be sharing cards created with another new release stamp set

from Creative Vision Stamps.

Have a great day, my crafty and creative friends!

Michelle.