Santa and the Mrs

Stamps: Santa and the Mrs. - Unity 

Dies: Labels 9 - Spellbinder

Dies: MFT Snowdrift

Paper: Carta Bella Santa's Workshop

Copic Markers

Hi Friends,

I came home from work tonight and started in on my Santa and the Mrs shaker card. This is for Danni's shaker challenge on Facebooks "There's a Stamp for That"  and Miss Crystal Minkler's "Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers" facebook pages. In fact, Crystal actually gifted me this sweet stamp set! So once again, thank you so much Crystal!!! I absolutely love them. 

I decided I'd had enough circle shaker cards, so I made the frame from the Labels 9 Spellbinders dies. I built up the shaker and the shaker bits are little tiny snowflakes from Stampin Up. Not sure if they are still in the catalog now or not. I also added a few Trinity Rhinestones, just for a bit of bling. 

It is not close enough to Friday friends, lol. First week of distance learning High School for the boys is going really well, but I feel very distracted this week. Well, the weekend will come soon enough. 

Stay well! 

Holly 

Roses For You

Stamps: Roses For You - Simon Says Stamps

Paper - Papertrey Ink Simple Impressions

Copic Markers

Trinity - Crystal Clear Bling

Hi Friends,

Third card tonight! I am in the zone, lol. Actually I am sitting here watching a murder documentary and coloring. I am using my Copic Markers directly on this paper and it's working so well, I just keep going on to the next card. This is the third set of stamps I pulled out to use for Danni's, There's a Stamp for That, challenge on Facebook. It's nice to have some flower cards in my stash ready to send out. I think I am going to try to make another shaker card, but not tonight! lol. 

Earlier today we went to Sam's club for the front line hours shopping....didn't get anything great, no Lysol or Santizing wipes, but we got our weekly bulk shopping done. We needed a few things at the Grocery as well, so we went ahead and did that. I have Basic Life Support renewal this week, so I did my reading and on line testing today. So after all the resposibilities were done and over, it was nice to come over to my desk and make the cards that would normally take me all day to make, lol. Just having fun. I still cannot believe I got this paper for $2.00! Total Score! 

Have a great week. Stay safe and well. 

Holly 

Happy Birthday Bunch

Stamps: Avery Elle - Thanks a Bunch

Memento Ink - Bamboo Leaves, Rose Bud

Copic Markers

Paper - Papertrey Ink - Simple Impressions

Hi Friends,

Hey, another card tonight! While I was searching for my Free Bee (last post), I came across a couple more floral stamp sets to play in Danni's challenge - There's a stamp for that, on Facebook. I bought these Thanks a Bunch stamps second hand and have never inked them up. So I decided I would give them a try tonight. They are a build on eachother kind of stamp set and thanks to my Misty wanna be stamp positioner, I was able to get very close and was happy with the results. I did fill in a little with my Copics but overall, it was very close.  It's my Mother's birthday soon, so this one will be for her. 

I think this paper has motivated me to make more cards, lol. Do you ever do that? Buy something that serves as a muse. Or something stirs up you mojo? I recently made a purchase from Papertrey, I love their 110lbs white and true black card stock. They also have some rustic white and rustic cream that I like to use instead of just plain white or cream sometimes. So while I was paying the shipping anyway, I saw this pack of Simple Impressions card packs discounted for $2.00! So I thought, what the heck, and I bought two packages. And this Simple Impressions has stirred my mojo tonight. I think it might be because it does the card design for me and all I have to do is stamp, lol. 

Okay, I am off to post to Facebook. 

Have a great night. 

Holly 

Free Bee

Stamps: Bee Mine from Honey Bee Stamps

Busy Bees by Honey Bee Stamps

Copics

MFT Circle Die-Namics

Uniquely - Stitched Scallop Circles

Paper - Designer paper from Papertrey Ink 

Hi Friends,

Happy Sunday! I made this shaker card this evening for the Facebook challenges: Honeybee's - show me your free bee and There's a Stamp for that - shake it shake it and flowers. The bee looking straight ahead just kills me, I love him! I got the outside bigger bee for free when I ordered from Honeybee a few months ago, thereby showing them my "free bee".  They have had other very cute bees that they give for a minimum order. I just love them. 

Well my guys start distance learning high school tomorrow. Ready or not, here we go! My son's algebra teacher flaked and got her packets turned in late. Which means we don't have one and I have to run out to get that tomorrow. My husband has to take in my truck to the truck doctor, the "check engine" light is on, and he has a meeting with a client. So guess who is taking the day off to take on half the chores and make sure the boys get off to the right start tomorrow? yep. It's a Holly-Day.  Those used to mean something entirely different years ago, lol. 

I got a lot done this weekend. I managed to re-organize my scraps into like colors and place them into sleeves. Having them color coordinated means I am more likely to go into them and seek out a scrap for a small piece. I pulled out the yellow for this project....easy peasy.  I am slowly but surely re-organizing all my things. It's not so bad when it's small projects here and there and then I get to play afterwards, lol. I still have my desk top relatively cleared off. I have to have a little creative clutter to keep me going. But not having a cave-in is sure nice. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and good luck to all of us with kids restarting school tomorrow - distance or not distance, it's a thing. 

Stay well and Safe, 

Holly 

Killer Birthday

Stamps: MFT Sharky Sentiments

Dies: MFT Baby Shark and Lawn Fawn Alphabet

Hi Friends, 

I made 10 of these cards tonight. A direct case from Heidi Bergman Brawley. I made mine just slightly different but overall it is her design. 

I have all kinds of new make up brushes to blend colors together, sorry but I cannot see paying a lot of money for these blender brushes when they are esentially the same thing for a lot less.  I'm still trying to get the hang of blending colors. I did see a youtube video that suggests getting the brushes wet before use and it went a lot smoother. But it's an ocean scene, so it's okay, lol. 

These shark dies are so fun to put together. And the cards came together rather quickly in stages. I have no idea what that note for 8:20 is all about but by the time I realized it was there, I had stuffed the envelopes, lol. 

I hope you are well and staying safe. 

Holly 

Wish

Hi Friends,

Using an old Paper Pumpkin Box today. I got 8 cards out of this and there is still more to work with. There are also gift boxes but I will stash those in case I need them later.  At least the ink cube was still juicy in this one! lol. Not much cleaning or organizing today, but I will clean up this little mess and call it a day.

Thank you for checking in,

Holly

The First Paper Pumpkin

The Very Fist Paper Pumpkin

Hi Friends, 

Yes, Stampin Up started their Paper Pumpkin kits years ago. I let six of them stack up before I decided I was not going to be able to get to these projects and stopped my subscription. Well, this was my clean up day and I decided to pull this box out and finally use it,lol. 

OMGosh I love these kits! In the first kit, I had a D size block and the In Color markers, along with the contents to make four of these cards. The stampin spot was bone dry, lol. There is something truely joyous about having a kit, the instructions and everything you need to make it included. It's a no brainer and there is enough to make a few cards. No hauling everything out or making decisions about how you want the design. I would sign up again, but there are 3D projects that I am not that insterested in making. But this was fun. 

Okay, I have to be up in a few hours so I had better go to bed, lol. It's fun to stay up late and play. 

I hope you have a great day, 

Holly 

Random Cards

Hi Friends, 

In my previous post I mentioned that I cleaned off my desk today. While I was clearing and cleaning, I came across a packet of card projects that a friend sent to me years ago. I have shuffled and moved this packet this whole time. I finally set it on my desk to use or make some decision about. So right in the middle of cleaning and organizing, I pulled the partial projects out and took a look at them.  

The first card was easy to figure out. You can probably guess by the paper and stamped image how long I have had this, lol.  I love the cute shopping bag and there is room there for a small sentiment or I can add one inside. Such fun colors. I did color the bag with my copic markers. 

The second card had everything but the Humming Bird, that was sitting on my desk from a previous card. So I just popped my Hummingbird on the label. 

The last card I'm not sure how her original design went but I thought these lined out okay. I colored the cute flowers with my Copic Markers and assembled. Quick and Easy. 

So those little scraps are no longer going to be moved around and it is so funny that it took me less than an hour to make all of them. 

I hope you are having a great day, 

Holly 

I Will Sit With You

Miss Ink Stamps - In the Dark

Distress Inks

Make Up Brush

Gina K - White Pigment

Brutus Monroe - Alabaster White Emobssing Powder

Hi Friends,

I saw this Card by Ali Farmer on Instagrams Miss Ink Stamps and knew I had to make one. Mine is a tad bit different in the colors but it's definetly her card design. I have seen spotlight cards before but this is my first attempt at making one. I had to cut the word stamp in half....EEEK, I'll never get used to doing that, lol. So this is the second one I have cut. I just had to cut slowly and methodically. 

There are so many people who are hurting right now. Sometimes you cannot sugar coat the situation and many of us do not know what to do. Just letting that person know you will sit with them in the dark and support them, means the world to them. That is something we can do to help, just being there. I plan to make a few of these in case I need them. 

Mental health issues are just magnified when one is faced with too many changes not in their control- can be incredibly difficult ❤
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression.

NAMI, The National Alliance on Mental Health has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

I've been watching videos on youtube trying to figure out what I am doing wrong with my blending. One person recommended using water and saturating your sponge.....oh. I also saw someone using blending brushes. I have purchased some cheap make up brushes just to give it a try and I did find it so much easier than using sponges. I might bite the bullet and get better brushes but in the mean time these cheap make up brushes (purchased at Walmart for like $6.00 for a set of four - Moda). So I put some ink down on my blending surface and added a little water to the side. I put the brush in the water and then in the ink and then mixed them up. I cut a cone and put some removable sticky on it and adhered it to the card front to make a mask. Jennie McGuirre recommended Koh-I-Noor Bristol Smooth and I did find some on Amazon. So this was my first time using it. Between the paper and adding water to the brush, my whole blending experience changed. Now I still need a lot of practice but I'm off to a better experience. I added black soot first, then a blue. I lifted the mask and added yellow and a darker green. Then I embossed the words and then stamped the chair. I water colored the chair with the black and blue ink I was using. 

Today I cleaned off my desk. Now I still have a stack up but it's so much less than it was and I think that inspired me to go ahead and get out a bigger project. Sometimes you just have to clean off the desk, lol. 

I hope you are well and happy, 

Holly 

Truckin Towards a Birthday

Stamps - Deep Red Stamps Classic Pick-Up

Copic Markers

Doodlebug Washi Tape - on the road

Hi Friends,

I made this card today using the My Favorite Things sketch challenge for the week. As soon as I saw this sketch, I knew I wanted to ink up this Classic Pickup and use the washi tape sitting on my desk. 

I am making this card for a young man who is turning 22. He has autism. This is such a hard mental health issue to deal with. It affects so many lives. And in a pandemic, it is so hard to make everyone feel special on their birthday, so a group of us are showering him with cards this month.

I feel a little guilty using other images for a MFT sketch, but this one is important and time sensative. And the sketch was perfect for this.

Thank you for looking in. I hope you are well and stay safe.

Holly

Rona?

Hi Friends,

I made this for yet another co-worker who had to stay home to rule out Covid. I colored this cute Ink Road stamp up with my Copics and did a light blending with a Stencil for the back ground. Easy peasy and super quick. I just love baby Yoda.

I hope you are well and stay safe!

Holly

Hooray!

Hi Friends,

Here is a little card I made for a co-worker. I used Mama Elephant image and Hooray die cut. We were celebrating her returning to work after being out for a rule out Covid. I colored the image with my Copic Markers.

I hope you stay well and safe!

Holly

Playful Pets

Hi Friends

I had to come back to this adorble paper and make more cards! The top one is my SU demo's design and the rest are some variation of Pinterest finds. The die cut words are from kat Scrapiness, except "Sassy" that one is no longer available from the maker.  I just spend time fussy cutting and it's all dies and paper. I added some Glossy accents to the words and some enamal dots. They were fun to make and I did not feel like coloring, so it was perfect. 

I hope you are all well and stay safe! 

Holly