leaves, Leaves, and more LEAVES

Well hello there,

Fall is everywhere but here!!!

I'm in Phoenix, AZ and we have finally gotten down to mid-80's, but it sure doesn't feel like Fall yet. I'm finding I miss that. Especially the leaves turning colors. I've lived most of my life in Michigan and the Fall colors are truly beautiful. I'm not going to miss shoveling the snow, but walking through crunching leaves is a lovely memory.

So I have chosen to participate in some challenges that are all about leaves. 

Here's my card:

I used Neenah Solar White cardstock and stamped it with an old wooden stamp I have that has a French script on it. I love that stamp and have used it many times before. I used a grey hybrid ink.

Next I used a stencil that has several leaf images on it. You get to pick and choose the ones you want to use and where to place them. In the picture the leaves look tan, but they are actually three different shades of sage. Apparently not dark enough to show that off. I'm having trouble getting my pictures to show the true colors (or even close). Going to have to work on that. 

Then I used a digital image of a butterfly that I colored. It's really large and the colors came out a lot better. Maybe because of the black that was already on the image. Added some sequins and small beads and done.

I made this for my daughter for her birthday.

Here's the challenges I am entering:

Leaves

Anything goes

Wings
Occasions

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Please leave me a comment. I would love to know you stopped by.

Hugs!!

I love the smell of sage...

Hello there,

Our color theme at the Rainbow Card Challenge, for the month of November, is sage... I know, it's the color, not the plant. But, every time I say it, I can't help but smell the sage at the Thanksgiving table. 

I love the color too. 

It seems so warm and welcoming. 

Like a wreath on the door.

Or sprigs of sage as place cards on the table.

Or wrapped around pumpkins.

Ok, enough daydreaming... Let's get on with the challenge:

Beautiful, isn't it???

I love all the different shades. 

Here is my card:

Again, just like last month, the pictures turned out to be much lighter than in real life. I am so disappointed. Going to have to work on that. 

As you can see in the close up, I printed a script first and then layered the leaves on top. The print is an old stamp on wood, but I still love it. It's a very pretty script. The leaves are a new stencil I bought and I just love it.

The "Blessed" is a cut from my Silhouette Cameo machine. 

I sent this card to a missionary couple in Puerto Rico that our church sponsors. I hope they enjoyed it.

So that's it for me,

thank you for coming by,

please leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Hugs,

It's still October

Hello there, 

I'm a little late with my post for the "Goldenrod" card for October.

Our Rainbow Card Challenge for this month has been "Goldenrod" and I got my DT card into the challenge in time, but I didn't get my post done. 

Aren't those colors beautiful???

So many variations. Feels like Fall.

Here is my card: 

I had a hard time getting the yellows to show up well. 

What was in my head and what came out in the photo was not the same.

So, I had to leave it at that and use a different technique next time.

I used watercolor pencils for this and I think they are not a strong enough medium to really get that yellow to shade well.

We live and learn, right????

Thank you for stopping by,

September card in PLUM

Hi there. Welcome to the September challenge at the Rainbow Card Challenge. 

Every month we pick a monochrome color challenge, except for the months of June and December, which are to use all the colors of the rainbow in any way you like!!! Fun, right???

So September is this gorgeous color of plum. There are so many shades and textures that can be used. Of course the problem is, finding the shades you want!!!

But, you're here, and that means you love a challenge!!!

Me too!!! It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. I have this (new to me) Tim Holtz die for these wildflowers and I really wanted to use them. I had seen them on Pinterest a lot and it took me a while to chase down who made the die. Once I got that I was good to go. One of those "got to have this" moments.

Of course, most of us in this crafting world deal a lot with those moments and we try our hardest not to actually BUY everything we want, until it's something we know we will use more than once. That's why I like the digi stamps. They're a lot cheaper and most are not too hard to use.

Anyway, here's my card:

As you can see, I went back to some of the older techniques we used to do. I had not done those for a while, but I needed some texture interest in this card. And it was fun to revive some old tricks of the trade. First of all, I scraped the sides of the cardstock. Then I tore the layers to give the bottom some character. I love the outcome. It's been a long time since I did a card like this. But in the world of art, nothing ever really goes out of style. We just kind of forget some things because there is always something new to try. Most of it comes back in style after a while.

For my colors, I used a really good plum cardstock that I had. Both of the flowers have glimmer and shine on them. I just couldn't get a good picture to show that up. The centers are "plummy" micro beads. I love micro beads for centers of flowers. They are really eye catching in real life. And they seem to blend with colors as long as you're in the same palette. Near the bottom, on the stems I added a leaf die cut that's really shiny, and then some thread glued and topped by a rhinestone. 

I hope you liked my retro look for this card. I sent it to my friend Dee. We challenge each other by going through the alphabet together. We are now on the letter "P". And P is for Plum (the color). I haven't got hers yet, so I don't know what she did. 

Thank you for visiting.

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here!!!

A TEAL card for August

Hello there,

I am so glad you stopped by.

It is August and hopefully, our last month for the temps to be in the triple digits every single day!!! I know it doesn't come down quickly, but it should get a little more comfortable as we get into Fall. We moved here last year in November. And the weather was just beautiful most of the time until we got into the heat in May. So I am really looking forward to the months ahead.

I have been really struggling with my mojo for the last few weeks. Nothing seemed to spark my interest. The color for our challenge is teal... and I just couldn't think of anything that would work with that. I didn't want to do flowers in teal (not that you can't, it just didn't seem to work for me). So I looked, and pondered, and looked some more and then I saw this giraffe!!! What???? A giraffe in teal???

No... a giraffe WITH teal!!! That's the ticket!!! And here it is:

The giraffe is a new digital image from Alex Syberia. She has a LOT of beautiful digi images (and stamps too). I really like digital images because they are so much cheaper than real stamps. Of course, there are many times when you really need a real stamp to work with. But then there's those times that you get a digi image because probably, you are not going to use it that much. AND, it's just too cute!!!

The idea for this card was in my head and it seemed very simple. However, it didn't turn out to be simple at all. First of all, I realized that I couldn't adhere the giraffe under the frame because I had made it thick with 3 die cuts AND added foam tape. That was the first hurdle. 

Then, how do you get the giraffe's head through the frame and on top of it without messing up the frame by it sticking in all the wrong places. 

Other than that, it's a peace of cake...right???

In the end, I got it all together by cutting the giraffe's neck right next to the corner of the frame and then wiggling the frame until it stuck correctly (almost, I had to trim some spots). What started out to be a simple card turned into a frustrating afternoon of trial and error and calling it good!!!

If you know any easier way to do this, please let me know. I am going to practice and practice this card again until I find how to do it better!!!

Thank you for being here,

I appreciate it a lot.

July Rainbow Card Challenge

Welcome all you paper lovers, 

Here it is July already... Can you believe it??? 

It is really hot here in AZ. This is our first summer here and when people  told us that summers are brutal... they meant it!!! The hardest part is that it doesn't cool down in the evenings. We lived in TX and that was hot too but it cooled down somewhat when the sun went down. Not here... I try to walk my dog in the evening and it's still over a hundred out there. Oh well, we will survive this. We live with air conditioning and all complaints stop here. I cannot imagine having to work outside or be homeless during the summer months. that would be BRUTAL!!!

This has been a busy month for me. I live with my daughter and son-in-law and they built on a casita for me so that I could have my own space. I am so appreciative and grateful for their generosity and love. God has blessed me with a loving family. The plans were started way back in January. It took until March to get all the paperwork through all the channels and jump all the hoops that had to be traversed. So now, finally, I am moving in. I spent June making plans for what I needed because, of course, nothing that I had fit my little space. The casita is only 16ft by 18ft. Just a good sized room. But it has a kitchenette, a bath, a large closet, and room for a bed... not the queen size that I had... this has to be a full size. But I'm not complaining... this is great FUN.  I love every moment of it. And all the planning and shopping is JOY TO MY SOUL!!!

I did get a card made for this month's challenge. 

It's one of my favorites!!! 

Several years ago I took some card making classes and it included Iris Folding.

I have not seen it around for a long time now but I happened across my patterns while I was cleaning out my stash and remembered how fun it was. The color for July is cherry red and it seemed perfect for the iris folding technique. Iris Folding lends itself to a lot of images but you have to have a pattern for it. It's a great way to use up scraps of paper that we all stash away for a later date. I remember I made a bookmark with a boot for my granddaughter and it was really cute. I had some leather like paper and different brown papers that fit together so well. I am really getting in the mood here to make some more... we'll see what happens.

So here's my card:

This will be perfect for my daughter in law. I want her to insure that she knows she is truly loved!!!

I am not going to try to explain how these are done. If you are interested, you will have to look it up on YouTube. Lots of tutorials and patterns available. If you like fussy work with paper, you will love this. And, since it hasn't been around for a while, you might really enjoy it.

Thank you for coming by and checking this out.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

It's wonderful to be part of this loving community.

Hugs,

Elena

The Rainbow Card Challenge for June

Hello all you lovely peeps out there in blog and...

Two months out of the year (June and December), we get to use all the colors of the rainbow!!!  That's exciting to me. I love those beautiful monochromatic colors for all the other months. But it feels like such a special occasion to use all the colors together. I guess we're very human, in that anything that is out of the ordinary is extra fun!!! 

So anyway, on to my card.

I used that favorite background of mine of layering several stencils at angles on Neenah White 80lb cardstock. I didn't need anything heavier because all the colors I used were Distress inks and no water.  If you want to see some tutorials on that please go to "Stamping with Klass" blog and Eileen Godwin on YouTube. It's hard to explain, but very easy to do. I make several using different colors and then have them on hand when I want to use a design that needs a background. 

I used 5 different stencils on this particular card, with a different color for each one. The flower is a Penny Black that came out probably a couple of years ago. It's one of those that I color and cut several of and have on hand when the colors fit. It's done with my Zig markers and a few pencils to give that extra dark dimension at the base of the flowers and leaves.

I used yellow Micro Beads for the center of the main flower, and then finished it off with Wink of Stella. 

Thank you so much for coming by, I appreciate every one of you.

Comments are very appreciated.

Praying for YOU...

Hello there, all you crafty peeps.

It's a beautiful day here, and hopefully, it's a beautiful day wherever you are today. Even if the weather isn't cooperating, hope you are having a lovely day anyway!!!

I have chosen Sundays to be my day to blog and show you some of what I have been working on during the week. I always have more in my stash than I can possibly blog about, but it's fun to pick a favorite and kind of show that off.

So this past week I received a stamp I had ordered from Waffle Flower. I wasn't sure how much I would be able to use it, but I loved it so much I just had to have it!!!. Turned out I made 2 cards with it because the image of the little girl praying fit just right for a person in the hospital, and my granddaughter's first job.

So I am sure that I will find other occasions too.

Here's my card:

 

Isn't she so pretty??? I love it!!!

I know it's not a stamp you could use for everyone, but I am a praying woman and sometimes you want people to know that.

I die cut a circle out of the top layer and then ran it through with an embossing folder. I am so glad to see artists using them again. They were kind of forgotten for a while, but I have quite a few from years ago, and this is one of them. They really do add a special interest to a card AND many artists are finding such interesting ways to use them. I can't wait to try those out.

Next was coloring the girl and the flowers that came with the stamp. The flowers were easy peasy. Too small to do any shading. BUT!!! I dread doing hair. I have much more practice to do before I'm good at it, but I think it came out ok. I used pencils, thinking that would be easier than water color, and I think it was. I am starting lessons on pencil coloring from Sandy Allnock. She is so good. Can't wait to put it into practice!!!

Here's the challenges I am entering with this card:

http://timeoutchallenges.blogspot.com/ inspired by something in my home (Bible)

          optional twist: embossing (dry embossing on front of card)

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/  occasions (hospital stay, new job)

https://letscreatechallenges.blogspot.com/ no patterned paper

https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/ anything goes + layering

So this is it for me today... 

Hope you enjoyed your time here.

Please leave me a comment, I would love to know you were here

Elena

I love stencils...

Hello everyone,

It's Sunday, Mothers' Day and it's beautiful here in AZ!!! 

What can you say  about the weather here??? It's beautiful blue skies, sunny and 90+ degrees... You either like it, or hate it!!! But that's what it is almost every day!!!

So about my theme...STENCILS!!! I love them because they're still quite reasonable. They don't do the same thing as stamps of course, but they have a lot of uses, especially for backgrounds. I happen to love backgrounds. Once I got into playing with backgrounds, I just don't want to quit. Of course they're not just for backgrounds, but right now I'm kind of stuck in that mode. One of these days I'll move on and find another technique that I will love just as much! But for now, here's a card I made for a friend and I really liked how it turned out.

For the background, I used 3 different stencils colored through them in different shades of yellow. I love yellow, aaannnddd it plays well with a lot of colors when you want to add flowers. The technique I used for making this background was one I found on "Stamping with Klass" and "Eileen Godwin on YouTube". It explains it really well on YouTube but the card I liked was on Klass' site. I am so thankful for all the designers who share their work on their blogs and YouTube. You never need to run out of ideas... Just scroll around on YouTube and you'll get all you can handle.

The flowers came from a very old stamp from Penny Black. It's a stamp on wood and it's so old that it wrinkled all up when I removed it from the wood to use it on my Misti. I finally had to throw it away and will have to find a new favorite. 

I stamped the image on watercolor paper and cut it out after coloring it.

I used several shades of blue and some purple. It's not visible here but I did add some Wink of Stella on the flowers to give it a little sparkle. I can't make a card without some sparkle!!!

I am entering this card in these challenges:

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/

http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.com/

http://theflowerchallenge.blogspot.com/

Thank you for taking the time to visit me. 

Please leave me a comment so that I know you were here. 

We all love comments.

Blessings on your week,

Elena

May Rainbow Card Challenge

Hello all you lovely crafters out there,

Hope you are having some nice weather and beautiful flowers in your neighborhood. It is just gorgeous here in Arizona. The cactuses are blooming everywhere. I have seen some cactus' in bloom before, but not in so many varieties as these. God certainly knows how to put beauty even in dry desert places. There is a tree that grows here that is different than any tree I have ever seen. The trunk is kind of twisty and branches out quite a lot. It has no bark. It's as smooth as can be and it is the color of bright green. Not quite neon, but almost. It is in bloom right now with very yellow small flowers that just blow and drift all over. I guess quite a few people are allergic to it. At first I thought that someone had painted them but when we started seeing them all over, we knew that wasn't a possibility. It is just amazing to see this bright green tree with yellow flowers in the middle of fields and roadways. God is a great ARTIST!!!

So, on to my card... the inspiration for the month of May is 

Periwinkle is such a beautiful color. I have always loved it, but it is not available in all mediums. So again, I had to mix some colors together and I think it worked out pretty well. It never shows up as nice on the computer of course, so it's hard to tell.

It is better in real life... promise!!!

This is a new stamp for me from Penny Black. I think one of my very first stamps were from PB, way back in 2005. That's when I made my first album for my daughter's birthday. I knew from the start that once I got my head into this craft, I would probably never quit. And that has been true. I have evolved, gotten into cards, multi-media, even grunge for a time, but I just continue to grow and move. It has become my life style!!! My place of joy, peace and sometimes, escape. I know, we've all been there!!!

This is a water colored card on Bristol paper. I like Bristol because it's smooth. I know a lot of people like the bumpy side but I do not, so I stick to smooth paper.

I also like to make my own envelopes. I love designer papers and when I get to use a paper that goes with my card, it makes me very happy. 

The dark centers are actually shiny gems that have different colors of blue in them. I tried to get them to show up in the photos but I just couldn't. They just look dark.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

If you haven't already entered a card in this challenge, please do so.

I would love to see what you created!!!

Blessings,

Elena

Rainbow Card Challenge for April

Hello there crafty friends,

It is April already... spring has sprung and our roses are blooming again!!! 

I love it!!!

We had  5 birthdays in March so I was quite busy making cards for everyone. The first one was for my great-granddaughter who lives in St. Louis, MO. She turned 13 and I thought that was quite a milestone.  Since I don't see her very often, I couldn't get my head around any kind of a card fitting the occasion. I know, I know, I should have been able to just go with something... but I froze!!! So, I went out and bought a card and sent that. Done!!! When my son-in-law found out I bought a card, his words were: "What??? you make cards for those not nearly as important in your life, and you bought a card for your great-granddaughter's 13th birthday???" I couldn't believe that he (being a man) thought that making a card was that important!!! I just always thought it was something I wanted to do but that it didn't necessarily mean that much to people. It was nice, but not really that important!!! 

I now see this differently. It isn't so much what we make, it's that we take the time, the effort and fill the card with love that makes the impression on those we send them to. So my encouragement for all of us in this craft is that we don't make cards to impress people, we make them to love on people!!! The love will come through, and those you love will know you cared enough to spend your time, energy and a part of yourself with them. 

So, aside from all that, here is the card I made for the challenge blog I belong to. The challenge for the month of April is DAFFODIL!! I love yellow, but don't use it very much for a monochromatic card. 

I really enjoyed making this card. I had seen so many cards made with flowers making a frame and the sentiment in the middle. I fell in love with the look. So I gathered my flower stamps, picked the ones I wanted and started stamping around the outside of the card. BUT I decided right away that I wanted the flowers embossed in gold (I thought they would look better)... Well, that was a much harder process. But worth it! I loved the outcome. But I don't think I would do it again. It was way too hard because I didn't have enough flower stamps to just lay them down, I had to stamp them a few at a time, emboss, and then stamp a few more. Quite a process for one little card. I think I'll find an easier way to do that, because I do like the look and want to do it again.

Here is my card:

I used several flowers from different manufacturers

The Misti worked wonderfully to help me place them at the right angles

Embossed in Queen's gold from Ranger

Used Tombow dual brush pens and their blending pen

The sentiment is from a set I bought several years ago

I made my own envelope with yellow paper (I love to make my own envelopes)

I am also entering these challenges:

http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/ Easter/Spring

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/ All About Occasions

http://timeoutchallenges.blogspot.com/ Inspired by Words

So there you have it, 

Hope you will join us in this challenge. Yellow is FUN!!!