Buzzing by to say, HI.

I'm going to make 10 cards out of this kit. Here are numbers 7 and 8! I have another kit and another "die of the month" waiting to be played with, so I'm determined to bring it home!

The first card used the Honey Bee stamp's embossing powder in the darkest color, Bee True. Both the bee image and the sentiment are embossed with the sparkly dark powder. Too bad I couldn't photograph it better. Speaking of photographs, there is no coloring on this card but I left the Zig markers in the photo. Oops.

The next card uses an alcohol inked background, cut into a honeycomb. The sentiment is a combination of an old Lawn Fawn set that said  "Flying by to say Hi". I stamped the word "Buzzing" using an old Alley Way Stamps' alphabet set called "Express Yourself". Ugh, now I remember why I'm not excited about alphabet stamps anymore.  This set had 3 fonts and only one Z in each.

These bees are stamped in Versafine Sepia ink and colored with Zig markers. 

Happy Bee Day

I am hoping I can make 10 cards from this kit before I move on.  By my calculations, this is card # 7.  It's the Simon Says Stamp card kit of the month for July, 2019 called "Bee Yourself".   I am using a teal colored card base that has a white interior. I dry embossed another piece of the teal, and added it to some of the patterned paper from Honeybee Stamps, and put a couple of the hexagon die cuts and bees for a focal point.  The sentiment is from the My Favorite Things' set that came out last year called "Meant to Bee".

I don't know, I'm thinking the bees should be wearing party hats, what do you think?

I used some bee themed washi tape on the inside. I don't pull out the washi tape often enough and this one is perfect for these cards.

Side note : yes, those are 2 of my favorite Fiesta plate colors. In real life the plate is more yellow than orange. I still haven't figured out how to edit the colors right in Photoshop. I really do love this color combination.

Thanks for bee-ing there.

I can't seem to get enough of these bees from the July 2019 Simon Says Stamp card kit, "Bee Yourself".  In the above card I used some of the original group of bees colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers on Bristol smooth card stock. I had clear embossed them, so coloring them was easy!

I used a honeycomb embossing folder on the dark teal cardstock, and pieced the other papers in horizontal rows, then added my gang of 3 bees. They look like they are flying in formation, right?

For this one, I had stamped the bees with Versafine Sepia ink, both first and second generation stamping. Then I colored them in with my Zigs.  The background was stamped with My Favorite Thing's Bundles of Blossoms background stamp and white embossed. I then blended on some Distress inks in a couple of yellows and blues and sprinkled water over all.

The "thanks" diecut (from Lawn Fawn) was covered with the Wow/HoneyBee yellow embossing powder. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it is sparkly and shiny. I then mounted it on a strip of vellum. Everything is glued flat to the front, there are no foam dots on either card. The only dimension is provided by the sequins and Nuvo drops.

More bees!

Another card from the Simon Says Stamp card kit of the month for July, 2019, "Bee Yourself" The twiggy flowers were die cut from unbranded dies and covered with embossing powder from Honeybee Stamps (and WOW).  The yellow embossing powder looks very much like pollen in the little container. Don't sneeze!

The bee was colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers on Bristol Smooth card stock with black Versafine ink and clear embossed. 

Funny thing, after I finish these bee cards I feel the need to eat something with honey. 

And a beary happy BD to you!

Today's card is for the latest My Favorite Things' sketch challenge, # 428:

I used MFT's Town Bear, and had them peeking through the peek-a-boo windows.  They are colored on mixed media paper with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.

It's always flower time in Florida.

True story: I let my best friend go through my finished card box and take everything she wanted. She took a stack 6 or 7 inches high, and it barely made a dent. But here's where I can get philosophical about the cards I make. Almost every card she left me had critters on them. Except for a very few that had other images involving cartoon people or food. Coffee cups and coffee/tea/cocoa themed cards especially.

That means she took almost every generic flowered card (one sympathy card was left).  So my stash of finished cards is in need of flowery, non-critter type cards appropriate for people who just don't "get" them. You guys know who you are and we love you, anyway. Heck, now I'm pretty sure my friend is one of them!

So, in honor of simple, flowered thank you notes, here are a couple of quick cards I made yesterday using a tried and true and possibly overused layout.  I am particularly fond of peach, so I ran with it.

Please excuse the color cast on the photos, I swear they are on identical paper. The bottom one is closer to reality. The bases are My Favorite Things' Peach Belini cardstock, and the diagonal stripes are from an older MFT stripes and dots paper pack.

I water colored the flowers on Tim Holtz watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The top card features flowers from Simon Says Stamp's Even More Spring Flowers stamp set, and I colored them with my Clean Color Real Brush markers. The bottom card features a big bloom from MFT's Fancy Flowers set. I painted them with my Mission Gold water colors.

The white tops were cut with MFT edge dies, and finally they both got some orange and clear sequins.

Now I need to come up with some clean and simple cards appropriate to send to guys. Those all got taken too, apparently. (Did I have any to begin with?)

Birthday Gang

Well, it started off as an entry into a challenge, but before it was done it disqualified itself.

All of these critters had been previously colored and cut, and were sitting in my "critter bowl". All of them are from various My Favorite Things stamp sets. The challenge, from MFT, was to use stamps from 3 different sets. No problem there. I had most of it glued together when I realized I had used another company's sentiments. These are from TAWS. Also, that tall spiky grass is from a die I cannot ID by company. And, I'm sure the paper is from Lawn Fawn.

Oh well, when I mix it up I really mix it up. I should have put the shark in, after all.

The giraffe, lion and monkey are from MFT's Sweet Safari. The frog is from Witch Way Is the Candy, the llama is from Llama Love, and the moose is from Warm and Fuzzy Friends. Most of the animals were colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, except the llama, which I really don't remember how he's colored.

I still have a lot of critters in the bowl. I have room for another short critter there on the left, so I may be back with a revision, later. Watch this space.

My Punny Valentines

Yes, I love puns.There you have it.

These are from Simon Says Stamp's Foodie Friends stamp set, which came in the Limited Edition Valentine's Kit (January/February 2018).  These tiny images were colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers on mixed media paper, and cut with my Brother Scan N Cut. I put them on small white panels that had a smear of Distress Oxide color and stamped with the coordinating puns that came with the set. I used a few of the heart stickers from the set on the "Soda-Lightful" card, but the others were mounted on a ripped paper die and then layered with some black and white accent paper.

I am almost avoiding talking about my buyer's regret with this kit. The main part of this kit, aside from the stamp set, is the large sheet of card-stock stickers. So far I've made 2 cards featuring the stickers and I'm completely under-impressed with them.

Back when I was first making cards I learned about the phenomenon of "sticker sneeze"", where stickers were put down seemingly at random.  Want to see an example? Here you go:

The group of flowers in the lower right are part of the patterned paper, and the 3 big images are stickers.  I'm totally unimpressed with this one, alright?

MFT Sketch Challenge 367

Wow, 2 sketch challenges in a row! I must be on a roll here.

This is for My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge 367. Here is the sketch:

I used My Favorite Things' Meant to Bee stamp set, with a beehive, clouds, and bees. I used a kraft card base of 100 lb Neenah Desert Storm card stock, and used an old background stamp from Red Rubber. The bees and beehive are colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. The white frame is from MFT also. The background is stamped directly on the kraft with Versamark. This background stamp is a few years old, and isn't big enough to cover the front of an A2 sized card. That's why I was excited to see MFT had a full-sized honeycomb background. You could say that it was a companion stamp to the Meant To Bee set.

Here's my whine:

I tried to get a couple of MFT items in mid-December, but I hesitated and they went out of stock. But wait-- they are in stock over at Simon Says Stamp! So I ordered from them on December 9th.  That was a big mistake since they were out of stock on at least 2 of the MFT items I ordered from them. Did their online store mention this? No. Long story short, they cancelled 2 of my items, and the ones they didn't cancel came in on January 11th.  Yes, one of them was a Christmas stamp, which I'm betting wasn't one of the ones they were holding up for. So, that'll show me, don't be so impatient or it will come back to bite me. My impulse purchases don't always work out.

Fun fact:

My brother is a beekeeper and I got the BEST honey from him, ever.

Sketch challenge part 2 (and maybe 3?)

Here is another entry in My Favorite Things' Sketch Challenge # 366. I love this challenge! The dogs are stamped and heat embossed on water color paper, then colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. They are then cut with the next-to-smallest of the MFT Wonky Stitched Circle dies. The patterned papers are from MFT also. The dogs are from the Lucky Dog stamp set, and the sentiment is from Top Dog. I chose the sentiment from Top Dog since it is not so tall and would fit on the skinny strip from Blueprints 27.

Do you chose sentiments based on what fits? Or do you decide ahead what you want and then design it to fit?

I didn't want to cover up much of the bottom dog, so I went with a skinny strip.

Anyway, here is a bonus card based on the same sketch, but featuring the cute bugs from Waffle Flower Craft's Rock On stamp set. I used MFT patterned paper for this one.

I also decided to put the sentiment IN the last element and skip the strip altogether.

You are my number one!

More cute bugs from Waffle Flower's Rock On set. Colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers on Fluid Hot Press paper. The background is blended Distress Oxides in a radiating rays formation. What can I say, but "Cute".

Christmas chalkboard greetings

I have an explosion of die-cuts and bits and pieces on my work desk. I cut several wavy snow banks a few weeks back and used one for this Santa card, and used the Paper Smooches Ivy die for the simple "happy holidays" card. The Santa,which is from My Favorite Things's Happy Everything, is colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. The chalkboard sentiments are from a paper pack I got at Michael's last year. I cut the panels around the obvious sentiments.

I have enough Christmas cards to take care of my whole list, but I don't want to stop making them. Should I sent multiples to family and close friends? Or hoard the extras?

Bear and frog thank you

Here's a simple card I made for a young friend who lives in Arizona. He doesn't get back to Florida very often, and of course, I miss him.

The bear is from My Favorite Things' Warm and Fuzzy Friends, and the frog is from MFT's Witch Way is the Candy. The sentiment is from the Warm and Fuzzy set, too. The bear was colored with my Spectrum Noir markers, and the frog was colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  Both images were attached flat onto die cuts that have been on my desk for months. 

I miss my friend a lot, but this card is really all about checking his address. I don't know if he's moved since last Christmas, and I want to know for sure before I send out my holiday cards. 

Halloween Hello

Hello all!  Here's just a little card using the bat from My Favorite Things' "Witch Way Is the Candy" set. I haven't used the townscape from Sizzix in years. The houses are still funny to me.

The oval panel behind the bats has been lightly brushed with Wilted Violet and Black Soot Distress Oxide Ink. The bats were colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.

And to think, before I started making cards I didn't know Halloween was a card-giving occasion. Silly me.

Halloween candy? Witch way?

OK, it may be hard to believe, but I got this set for the frog, and the pumpkins. So, the first card I made with the set was with the cat and the little girl. Go figure.

The witch, pumpkin, and cat are from My Favorite Things' "Witch Way is the Candy?" set. I colored them with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, and cut them with my Brother Scan and Cut. (Which needs a new blade. I ended up "helping" the cuts with my scissors.) I had previously embossed the spider web and had applied Distress Oxide Ink.

See those googly eyes on the cat? That is totally covering up where I smeared the enhanced eye dot with the black glaze pen. He had golden eyes before I wrecked them.

Edited to add: This card was featured on the weekly "You've Been Spotted" feature on the My Favorite Things Card challenge website. 

I'm so thrilled!

Next up: The Bats!

Yay for you! Here's a Hug!

Aren't these bears the cutest in their little Polaroid frames? These are almost the last of the My Favorite Things "Bitty Bears" that I had colored up a couple of weeks ago. Only one more left!

Both patterned papers are from My Favorite Things, and the Polaroid Frames are from Pretty Pink Posh.  The colored backgrounds behind the bears are inked with Twisted Citron and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.

Small card, big thanks!

More of the Bitty Bears from My Favorite Things. When I stamped them, I did all of them, and colored them with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, and cut them with my Brother Scan and Cut. Would you believe I still have a few of them to use?

I mounted them onto the white tags, then onto the patterned paper, which is also from MFT, called Roses All Over. I had no idea when I bought this paper that it would be so hard to use. I need more solid white panels to go over it, I suppose.

I put one of the little bears inside, too. 3 more bears to go to use all of them!

Thanks a Ton!

I love this little elephant from My Favorite Things' "Sweet Safari" set. Why they retired this set is beyond me, but I was happy to get it in the big retirement sale a few weeks back!

This guy was colored on heavy watercolor paper with Zig Real Brush Clean Color markers. The background was water colored over a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop Designs by Jaime, with watered down Distress Oxide ink.

I discovered, when I made the banner, that the heavy 110 lb cardstock from Michael's cuts fine with a die, but maybe doesn't emboss and fold so well. Yes, the greeting is crooked, and I don't care.

Sticking your neck out, again?

Here's a little card I made for a sketch challenge that was completed the day after the challenge closed. Yay me, always behind!

These critters are from My Favorite Things' "Sweet Safari", and are colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. The patterned paper is also from MFT, and it's on a kraft card base.

Bitty Bears, again

It went so well I decided to do it again. Once again I used the My Favorite Things Sketch 350. They are also drinking a hot beverage, which must be coffee. This will also go into the Fall Coffee Lover's Bloghop.

Yes, the bears were so cute I did it again! This time the My Favorite Things' "Bitty Bears" sit on leaves from the same paper pack as the plaid, from Lawn Fawn.  Again, the cups are from MFT's "Our Story", and the sentiment is from MFT's "Perk Up".

I have a lot of bears left, so expect to see them again, very soon!