It's all about the "B"s!

Welcome, sweet crafting friends!
Can you see me waving all the way from Florida, USA?
The children in our area returned to school on August 10!

Thanks for stopping by for a little Dies R Us Inspiration today!

Today's post is all about The "B"s!

Birds, Blues, Birthdays, Browns, Blooms, BFFs.
*
This birthday card is for a very special, dear friend!

click below for:
STORE

PINTEREST BOARD
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

The following Dies R Us Products are being used:

Memory Box Catalina Border

Memory Box Contempo Birds

Tonic Studios Bird and Birdhouse die set

Tattered Lace Centre Stepper Card die set

Impression Obsession Greetings Top Edger DIE234-M set

Impression Obsession Mini Rectangle Tags 2 set

Cheery Lynn B320 Clouds and Rain set

Poppy Stamps Grassland Border

Let's begin by building a flat, but dimensional birdhouse:

After putting the tape on so the sticky side faces down...

To create flat flowers:

Pretty Pearly Vellum clouds were cut using the Cheery Lynn B320 Clouds and Rain set.

Side view of the center card set - it also folds flat for mailing:

Finally, the back is just as pretty as the front! 

It looks slightly different than the front, but the card could be shown either way!

Hope you enjoyed today's ideas.

On a personal note:

Time for Missy's annual immunizations, so off to the vet we go!

First, she needed to get weighed:

Notice the red basket in the corner, how tightly it hugs the walls:

With the weighing done, the vet left the room briefly.
Normally, I hold her, and reassure her that everything will be ok. But this time, before I could get up...

We heard a funny rustling noise, and I knew Missy was digging a hole:

Jack asked, "Where did she go?"

Missy made herself as small as possible:

As the vet re-entered the room, she looked in all the usual places kitties hide. 

We finally pointed out where she was. It was a first for the vet!

Products used:

• Memory Box Catalina Border
• Memory Box Contempo Birds
• Tonic Studios Bird and Birdhouse die set
• Tattered Lace Centre Stepper Card die set
• Impression Obsession Greetings Top Edger DIE234-M set
• Impression Obsession Mini Rectangle Tags 2 set
• Cheery Lynn B320 Clouds and Rain set
• Poppy Stamps Grassland Border
• Sparkle N Sprinkle: Cerulean Star embossing powder, Waterscape Glitter, Nuvos, Brushable Glue
• Hero Arts Mini Sentiments stamp set
• Penny Black Birthday sentiments
• Ink: Tea Dye Distress, Black Onyx Versafine, Versamark
• Paper: White, Pale Blue, Navy Blue, Patterned

Challenges I'd like to support:

1. Artistic Inspirations Challenges #162 Anything goes 8/13
2. Craft Your Passion #324 Anything Goes 8/13
3. Crafting By Designs (Aug3) Anything Goes 8/26
4. Crafty Sentiments Designs Challenges (Aug 9) "Use Dies" 8/17
5. Inspiration Destination Challenges #98 Anything Goes 8/17
6. The Paper Shelter  #259 "Punches and Dies" 8/17

Thank you for visiting me today!
hugs,

Pretty in Pink

Hello, sweet blogging friends!

I have missed you all very much, and hope to resume leaving more comments soon!

Today I'm sharing a little Dies R Us Inspiration,
featuring the same die to create two different style cards!

click below for:
STORE

PINTEREST BOARD
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

The following Dies R Us Products are being used:

Taylored Expressions Banner Stackets #1

Tutti Designs Poppy Edge

Spellbinders Labels Five, Labels Four

Some tips for the square card:

TIP: embossing folders with the same design as the die cuts can be used together to create interesting background, such as the flourishes shown in the first card:

TIP:

I tried a tip that many bloggers have shared - and what a difference! Several blogging friends have suggested wetting the die cuts and papers before trying to shape them. That's what I did with these flowers! Not only is it much easier (and lots of fun), but when the shape dries, it is somewhat hardened into that contour. I'm sorry it took so long to experiment with this technique, because it really does work! The flowers were inked first, and then spritzed with water and shaped. After drying, they retained their shape beautifully!

For a shaped card, choose a shape that will accommodate the pretty flourish of the die:

Not wanting Black for the sentiment, but desiring something bright and dark, I combined Crimson Red VersaFine ink with a semi-transparent Cosmic embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle. The resulting color came out just right, and is bold and creamy in texture. I used it on both cards:

Check out this find from my Mom-and-Great-Aunt-Agnes stash! Do you see the price on it? Too cute!  The pink was a little pale, so I gently inked it with Wild Plum distress ink:

Thanks for visiting today!

Products Used:

• Taylored Expressions Banner Stackets #1
• Tutti Designs Poppy Edge
• Die'sire Embossalicious Regency Swirls embossing folder
• Spellbinders Labels Five, Labels Four
• Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder
• Craftwell Delicate Dots embossing folder
• WRM Next Level Dots embossing folder (large hearts)
• Life Style Quickutz Hearts
• Sentiment: Hero Arts "You Sparkle" stamp set, American Art Stamp KC6015B
• Sparkle N Sprinkle: Dandy Dandelion Sparkly embossing powder (on brads for flower centers), Strawberry Sherbet Cosmic embossing powder (for sentiment)
• Ink: Pink Sherbet Distress, Wild Plum Distress, Crimson Red VersaFine

Challenges I'd like to support:

1. Cards 4 Galz - #28 Monochrome 8/18
2. Sisters of Craft August Challenge "Anything Goes" 9/1
3. Through the Purple Haze #105 Monochrome 8/10
4. Tinker Dream Bastel-Dream #43 Anything Goes 8/15
5. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #12  "Anything Goes" 8/15

Stamping Hugs,

Sweet Dreamer Besties {Crafts Galore Encore}

Thank you for visiting!

So happy to welcome all my friends today.

Crazy weather, no matter where everyone lives -
so my hope is that you are comfortable, safe, and healthy.

It's time for another Crafts Galore Encore Challenge 

This month our theme is: Anything Goes using a digi or stamp anywhere on your project.
Our sponsor is:
Sherri Baldy's Besties

and the prize is these three images
and our Craft Galore Encore badges:

My projects used the little image on the far right (above).
On my cards, she is posed in different sizes, and in two directions.

Using two other Sherri Baldy Besties images, (IMG205 and IMG376)
I added the heart, flowers and butterflies to the little dreamer girl.

Pretty in Purple - with lots of fluttering butterflies.

I especially like the pink and aqua-turquoise color combination:

In the last card, the frame has been glittered and popped up.

First, I die cut the image using SB Triple Tear die cut, so that the image was perfectly centered:

Then I cut out the frame again, separately, distressed the inside edge with green ink,
and glittered the rest.

Around the edge of the frame are thin pieces of dimensionals.

Then frame was carefully matched with the base die cut:

She is so happy in her glittery habitat!

Thanks for visiting friends! Please be sure to enter the Crafts Galore Encore Challenge this month! You may enter up to 3 times.

On a personal note:

Our garden is rather bleak - it's too hot to grow anything and the bugs are having a field day (literally)!
So today we finished harvesting the "black-eye peas" and shelled them.

For those of you who don't know about them, black-eye peas are a traditional Southern food, and are quite good in salads, side dishes, stews, soups, patties, and more. Field Peas (Black-eye, Zipper, Pink-eye, Creamers, etc) are VERY high in potassium, and high in magnesium and B vitamins, with lots of other nutritional benefits as well. They tolerate the Florida summers rather well.

Products used:

• Sherri Baldy's Besties - darling image - I call her "Little Sweetly Wishing"
• Sparkle N Sprinkle Starfire Glitter G1017, Nuvos, Brushable Glue
• Poppy Hampstead Butterfly Stem
• Sue Wilson Canadian set "Toronto"
• Spellbinders Triple Tear Circle, Petite Circles, Tear Drop Circle, Large Scallop Circle
• Memory Box Quinn Flourish
• Martha Stewart Laurel Leaf
• Stampendous "Thoughful Wishes" set SSC1158
• Penny Black "Sprinkles and Smiles" set
• Hero Arts "You Sparkle" set

Challenges I'd like to support:

1. Artistic inspirations Challenges #162 Anything Goes 8/15
2. Besties International August Challenge Anything Goes 9/1
3. Besties August Challenge UK - Anything Goes or Sparkle/Bling 9/1 two of my cards have lots of glittery bling around the mat!
4. Craft Your Passion #323 Anything Goes 8/7
5. Crafting with Friends #26 Anything Goes 8/10
6. Crafty Gals Corner #82 Anything Goes 8/3
7. Creative Craft Cottage #68 Anything Goes 8/7
8. Incy Wincy Designs challenges (July 31) Anything Goes 8/15
9. Jo's Scrap Shack #149 Anything goes 8/5
10. One Stitch at a Time #267 Anything Goes with dies (please see list of dies above) 8/7
11. Scrapbook Stamp Society Challenge #97 Anything Goes with Option of Summer (my little dreamer is surrounded outdoors in the midst of flowers, grass and her butterfly friends! 8/15
12. Shopping our Stash #262 A Stitch in time (machine stitched the pink layer in the square card) 8/2
13. Simply Papercraft  #34 Anything Goes 8/10
14. The Crazy Challenge #228 Sunshine and Smile ( my yellow card is sunshiny and full of smiles!) 8/15 (sep post a few days after)

hugs,