Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Sweetheart Daisies for Color Hues

Hello friends!  I'm here with my card for the new challenge at Color Hues. This time the amazing Nancy is hosting and has chosen a gorgeous color combination.

I have to say, I love this pair of colors so much!  I should have titled this post "Oldies but Goodies" because much of what is used to create this are things I've had for years.  And I'm so happy I pulled out the Sweetheart Daisies stamp from Kitchen Sink Stamps (sadly closed in 2024), because it is a stunner.


The stamp is a layering stamp, which was one of the big things Kitchen Sink Stamps was known for.  I have always found layering stamps rather intimidating, so I only have two of the KSS stamp sets in my collection. I bought this stamp in 2021, used it once in 2022 here and it's just been waiting for this occasion.

The Altenew trio of Magenta, Fuchsia and Baby Pink was used to color the flower, along with Tanzanite for the navy color.  It almost looks like a photo IRL.  Once the stamping was done, the panel was cut with an arch die.

I found one sole piece of Navy patterned paper from a 2017 Simon Says Stamp card kit in my stash.  It was just 3" x 5.5", so I trimmed off a small amount on the side, then added a strip of matte gold cardstock on each side to finish it off nicely on the card front.

The search for a sentiment to fit the space at the bottom of the heart yielded another older product, this time a SSS thanks die from 2017. It was cut once from gold and layered on a second die cut in white, then adhered to the arch panel.  The panel was then added to the card front with foam tape and a few gold sequins finished things off.


How do these colors inspire you?  For more ideas, please take a couple of minutes to visit the challenge blog to see the gorgeous cards created by my talented teammates! The challenge will remain open until Tuesday April 14th at 9am EDT.  I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

  • Kitchen Sink Stamps Sweetheart Daisies layering stamps
  • SSS A2 Arches die
  • SSS Strips die
  • SSS Script Thanks die
  • Altenew Magenta, Fuchsia, Baby Pink and Tanzanite inks
  • SSS Stay Gold confetti sequins

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Flourish for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at the Paper Players and since it's the fifth Sunday of the month, that means Tic-Tac-Toe.  The amazing Ann is hosting and has given us a great board from which to draw inspiration.  


For my card, I went diagonal from top left to bottom right - die cut, flowers, layers.

I'm also joining in at Just Us Girls for their Anything Goes Stencil Week challenge.



This card was pretty quick and easy to create because I used stenciling for both the floral image and the background. 



 
The pinks are from the Altenew Blushberry Bliss quad - Strawberry, Dusty Pink, Blush Rose and Raspberry Sunset.  The flowers were colored with Strawberry, Blush Rose and Rasberry, and then I used a light application of Dusty Pink on the stenciled background panel.  

The floral image was die cut then layered on two additional die cuts. It was added to the stenciled panel after it had been cut with a diagonal stitch rectangle die.  I trimmed off the overhanging parts of the floral image after adhering it to the panel, which was then added to the card front.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  The final touch was to add several sequins.  


It'll be fun to see which column or row everyone chooses to use.  For more inspiration, I encourage you to visit the challenge blog, where my wonderful teammates have some gorgeous inspiration for you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 3rd at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

  • Altenew Scripted in Bloom stamps, stencils and dies
  • Altenew Elegant Swirls Stencil
  • Altenew Featured Sentiments die
  • Pinkfresh Studio Diagonal Stitched Rectangle die
  • SSS Moonlit Snow Embellishments
  • Altenew inks other than the pinks - Redwood, Mossy Meadow and Reindeer Moss  

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Rustic Layering Flower for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's the fourth Sunday of the month and that means it's time for a new sketch challenge at the Paper Players.  The lovely Claire is hosting and has created at good one with plenty of design options.

I was all set to use this sketch for a Christmas card to add to my stash, and I did make a card.  In fact, I made two but as I went to create my blog post I realized I forgot a very important part of the sketch - the vertical piece under the focal image.  Oops!  But that's okay, now I have 2 more holiday cards completed!

So back to square one and I shifted to spring because I was inspired by the challenge at Seize the Birthday, where the topping is to use primarily green on your card.


And here's what I came up with...


I chose to use the Simon Says Stamp Rustic Layering Flower and thought a pop of yellow on my otherwise green card would look nice.  I used Copic and Olo markers to color it.

For the horizontal bar, I wanted scallops but don't have any edger dies like that.  However, I remembered I had a slimline die set with a die that would work perfectly. Happy dance!  

To go along with the scallop design, I used one of the scallop layers from the SSS Layered Scallop Tags dies and die cut it from white.  I did some partial die cutting so the length could be extended and I added a green hole tab at the top.  

The scallop strip was added to the panel that had been embossed by the Spellbinders Tiny Dots folder, then mounted the tag with foam tape and adhered the flower. I found the sentiment in with the MFT Stylish Sentiments stamp set and it was already stamped and die cut with the Altenew Featured Sentiment die, which was a happy discovery.  

The last element was the twine bow.  I put a foam square underneath the green hole tab, then secured the bow onto the foam square through the hole.  

All in all, I'm pleased with how this turned out after having to pivot and make a new card lol!  


So how are you inspired to use this sketch?  For more ideas, please head over to the challenge blog to see all the fabulous cards by my wonderful teammates.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, March 27th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll have a chance to join us!

Monday, March 16, 2026

Clematis Hello for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Here we are in the middle of March already and time for a new challenge at Color Hues.  This time the lovely Marcia is hosting and has chosen a beautiful color combination of purple and marigold.

According to my online search, marigold is described as yellow with an overlay of orange.  Having said that, please do not stress on getting a perfect match, simply something close in that hue will work just fine.

Please remember to use just purple and marigold, along with any neutrals (nope, not green!).

For my card, I used a couple of new products from Altenew, so I'll be sharing that over at Darnell's NBUS challenge.

And here's my card...


I was tickled that my new Clematis dies would work so well with Marcia's color choices.  I die cut the petals and stamen from colored cardstock, then did some ink blending for shading.  I was a bit disappointed that the ink dried back as much as it did, but the flowers were already put together so I went with it as is.  

Because of the size of the flowers, my card ended up being A6 (4.5" x 6.25").  While I was trying to decide on the background, I had a lightbulb moment, remembering an old MFT Watercolor Wash paper pack, and the lighter purple worked great.  

The sentiment is from the new Creative Labels Stamps and Dies.  Love the flourished tale on the H!  The finishing touch was to add a few Opal gems.


Thank you for stopping by and I hope you'll take a moment to pop over to the challenge blog to see the incredible cards from the design team and our wonderful guest designer, Chris.  After seeing all that inspiration, I hope you'll decide to join us.  The challenge will remain open until Sunday 3/29 at 3pm EDT.  

Take care!

Stef

  • Altenew Clematis Layering dies
  • Altenew Creative Labels Stamps and Dies
  • MFT Watercolor Wash patterned paper
  • Simon Says Stamp Opal Dazzling Gems

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Regal Birthday for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new CAS challenge at the Paper Players and this week the amazing Jaydee is hosting.  We're looking to see clean and simple floral cards - limited layers and embellishments, plenty of "white" space, etc.  

I know many of you are looking to be done with all the crazy winter weather this year (I'm talking to you in the East and Midwest!) so this is the perfect challenge to think about what will be coming soon - warmer weather and flowers!  



I was looking through some of my smaller floral sets and came across this one from Altenew.  The silhouette image is so elegant, I thought it could easily be the focal image for a CAS card.  I tried heat embossing it in white on a different color of cardstock but much of the detail was lost, so I ended up using black pigment ink on this pretty Honeysuckle pink panel.

After die cutting the panel with an eyelet scallop die, I added a bit of white splatter to go with the white card base. After adhering the dried panel to the base, I added three black onyx gems for that finishing touch.  


What are you inspired to create for this challenge?  For more ideas, take a moment to visit the challenge blog, where my talented teammates have some beautiful inspiration for you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday March 20th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Thanks for visiting!

Stef

  • Altenew Regal Frame Silhouette stamp set
  • Simon Says Stamp Eyelet Layer Frames die
  • SSS White Splatter Matter
  • Spellbinders Onyx gems

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Rainbows and Butterflies for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  We have a fun new challenge over at the Paper Players starting today.  The amazing Joanne is hosting our color challenge week and is asking everyone to use the colors of the rainbow.



You don't have to use an actual rainbow on your card, just be sure it includes all the colors of the rainbow.

For my card, I found some older pattern paper that was a gift with purchase from Honey Bee stamps and it worked beautifully for a rather CAS card.


Isn't that paper glorious?  I love the blend of the colors and how the yellow almost looks like the sun peeking out.  I was loathe to cut much from the panel so I used a fun stitched edger die, then adhered the panel to the card front.

The vellum butterflies were set them in motion across the "sky" then I added black gems for the bodies.  The last element was the die cut sentiment.  I used white on black to so it would stand out against the card base.  Super simple! Not an actual rainbow but all the colors are there.


This is such a fun challenge, I hope you'll have a chance to join us this week!  For more ideas and inspiration, please pop over to the challenge blog and check out the beautiful cards created by the other design team members.  The challenge will remain open until Friday March 13th at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by.

Stef

  • Simon Says Stamp Flickering Butterflies dies
  • Altenew Scripty Sentiments dies
  • Sugar Pea (no longer in business) Card Front Element Builder die
  • Spellbinders Onyx gems

Saturday, March 7, 2026

St. Patrick's Day

Hello friends!  I've been playing around with some new things and ended up making a St. Patrick's Day card.  I usually don't create cards specifically for this holiday, but I thought the set from Simon Says Stamp was fun and decided to add it to my stash.

And when I finished making my card, I saw that it would work perfectly for the new Just Us Girls Challenge.

The set is called Printmaking Clovers and the stamps are layering, so I was able to use three different colors of greens to create the clovers and shamrocks.  The die cuts them out all at once, so that made things easier too.


After creating all the clovers/shamrocks, I moved on to the background.  I used the SSS Falling Shamrocks stencil, inked with the same three greens, then it was die cut with a fun scallop rectangle die.  

The set comes with multiple sentiments and I used the two that worked best with my design, gold heat embossing them on green cardstock and using the matching dies to cut them out.  

I layered a panel of the same green cardstock on the card base, adhered the stenciled panel, then the die cut circle was added with foam tape.  I arranged the clovers/shamrocks around the edges then popped up the sentiment with foam tape.  Super easy card!


Thanks for taking time to visit!  I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for our new challenge at the Paper Players, so stop by if you have a chance.

Take care!

Stef

  • SSS Printmaking Clover Stamps and dies
  • SSS Falling Shamrocks stencil
  • Hero Arts Nested Circle and Scallop Circle dies
  • C&9/KW Kristina's Essential Dies (scallop rectangle)
  • SSS Spring, Dublin and Lucky inks