This month’s blog hop is all about flowers. I recently found a pinterest post for ric-rac flowers (original post). I had to make them immediately. I never do that – make something as soon as it inspires me.

These flowers were actually pretty simple to make – all 3 took 15 minutes and they are the first three I’ve ever made! I used PTI’s small Ric-Rac die and Melon felt.

I also broke out my Sending You set and die for the first time.

Thanks for stopping by!

So this weekend was VSN at Splitcoast. The theme was pirates – hence my post title (swabbie because I only managed 5 challenges, so definitely not “captain” material and I figured “VSN wench” wouldn’t go over well with my family )

I wasn’t actually going to participate – I have stamping chores to do (and they don’t really work well with challenges). But I got a couple chore cards done earlier today and then I saw a post by Carly (here) and was completely inspired by her cards and figured I had to give it a shot.

First up was a color challenge – aqua, light green, and kraft. I snuck in the craft as the color for the sentiment. The card stock is Aqua Mist and Spring Moss from PTI.

Since the stamps I chose to work with were small, I made a small square card. I really like this card and I can use it to fill one of my stamping chores – bonus!
 
 
 
 

Next up, a challenge to use colorful birds. Of course, there was another part to the challenge which I neglected – making a square card. So this card is already walking the plank!

At least I can use it as one of my stamping chore cards!
 
 
 
 
 

Moving on, another challenge was to use bling. That should be an easy task, you can add a rhinestone just about anywhere! I got the idea to use this dragonfly image because the wings have little open spots on them – perfect for placing rhinestones. The dragonfly has smooch spritz on it too, though the photo doesn’t show that bit very well.

I used die cuts to create the flowers/leaves. I added a bit of sponging to the flower centers before adding the bling. Before I glued it all down, I wasn’t sure whether to leave it on a white card base or not. I tried a few light colors but none of it looked quite right. I need something to anchor the images, so I pulled out a large label stamp. I am quite happy with how that turned out!

I had to do the next challenge because it was hosted by my friend Patty! It was an awesome challenge – and I actually tackled it first because I got an idea immediately.

I’ll be giving my hubby this card on father’s day (if I remember to take it with us on vacation, lol).

Oh, I have to tell you how I did the label – I’m feeling a bit genius about it (not an ounce of humility in me, lol). I don’t own PTI angled labels (yet), but I do have Fillable Frames #9 – which is a cool tag shape. Well, if you cut the tag, then turn the die cut around and put it back in the die, you can trim both ends with the tag shape!! As you can see lining up the stamp image is a bit trickier, but a stamp-a-ma-jig would make it much easier.

This is the last card I did tonight. You can tell my mojo was wanning. One day I *will* find a black ink that stamps perfectly. Until then, I’ll just deal with my meager results.

This challenge was to use sponging. I was going to do a “ray” type sponging, but was just too lazy to cut the masks I would need. I am definitely in awe of Theresa Momber who can work a sponge so amazingly!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Not THAT mouse – a better one: Waltzingmouse Stamps

I so want that little guy from the logo as a stamp!

This month’s theme is masculine. This is always a tough category for me. Thankfully I have the Free Spirit Boy stamp set. There are a ton of images in this set.
 

The medallion was created using Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. I’ve used this stuff before and even done this technique before, but it has been years…and boy it showed. I’m pretty certain I will be finding granules of this powder on my desk for months to come! The idea is to start with a card stock shape and ink it with Versamark. Then you add UTEE and heat it, once it melts, add more powder, and so on until you have a few layers. Then you take a Versamark-inked stamp and press into the goo; wait a minute a pull it out.

Since the medallion is so shiny and I opted for a busy pattern for the “tails” (they started as tails, as you see, they migrated up and out), I kept the rest of the card very simple.

Thanks for stopping by!