You Are Spell-tacular!

Hello friends!  I had some crafty fun this weekend and made a card for the current challenge at Time Out Challenges, which is The Movies.

TOC 321

 

When I first saw the theme, I didn't think I had anything that would work, but then the proverbial light bulb came on, and I remembered a set from Stamping Bella that I bought last year that I thought would work great for this challenge.

These are the Tiny Townie Witch and Wizards in Training stamps.  I became a huge fan of Harry Potter thanks to my grandchildren, and I've read all the books and seen all the movies (multiple times), so I was quite pleased to see Stamping Bella come out with this trio of stamps.

There are no dies for these images, so after the Copic coloring was complete, they were fussy cut.  There is a backdrop stamp by SB that accompanies these three, which I have, but I was running short of the time it would take to color the whole scene, so I opted to put them in front of the Forbidden Forest lol!

I created the background panel by ink blending a dark sky and full moon, then adding a bit of white splatter for "stars".  I then die cut the "forest" using the Simon Says Stamp Arched Forest Die and embossing folder with dark brown card stock.  After embossing, I went over it with both Black Soot and Scorched Timber Distress inks to darken the appearance.  

With those two layers adhered together I added our wizards and witch with layers of thin and thick foam squares.  The sentiment is from the Wicked Words SB set and was white heat embossed and die cut with a small rectangle die.

I hope you like my fun card about one of all-time favorite movies series. I had a blast making this and it even prompted me to open up the first book and start reading it again. 

Thanks for taking time to visit!

Stef

Winter Cheers for CH140

Hello friends!  It's hard to believe but today is the first of September!  Wow!  While the year seems to be rushing by, the good news is that we have a new challenge at Color Hues.  This time the lovely and amazing Nancy is hosting and she's chosen a really nice, subtle color pairing.

Color Hues

When I saw this color combo, immediately my mind went to a die set that I'd purchased on sale last winter but never had a chance to use.  As such, I'll be sharing with Darnell's NBUS challenge.  

NBUS

It's kind of fun, when it's the last, hot dregs of summer, to think of cooler days to come, which my card reflects.  

I used three different dusty blues from Spellbinders for the sweater and cocoa cup, although my camera made the colors a bit more vibrant than they are IRL.  I wanted to use white for the gloves, so I went with a tan background and a very light gray for the "steam" coming off the cup.

I did some ink blending on all the die cut pieces for a bit of dimension before assembling.  The background was embossed then I went over the raised areas with a white pigment ink pad so all the pretty snowflakes could stand out more and to break up the solid brown.  

The greeting is from the coordinating sentiment set.  It was stamped and die cut, then added to the blue layer.  After everything was adhered, I used Stardust Stickles in the centers of all the snowflakes, including the one on the cup of cocoa.  You may be able to see it a bit better in the photo below.  It just adds a little bit of a sparkling finish to the card.

Thanks for stopping by.  I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog to see the beautiful cards created by the other DT members and our amazing guest designer, Michele Ferguson.  The challenge will remain open until Monday, September 14th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us!

Stef

• Spellbinders Mugs & Mittens dies
• SB Stay Snuggly sentiment stamp set
• Simon Says Stamp Snowflake Visions embossing folder
• Altenew Featured Sentiments dies
• Stardust Stickles
• Altenew Icy Water and Winter Lakes inks
• SSS Flannel ink

Spectacular Santa for PP800

Hello friends!  It's an exciting day over at the Paper Players as we celebrate our 800th challenge using our very first sketch from back in August 2010!  The talented Ann is hosting and has recreated the original design from PP3. 

I was always looking for challenges for card making inspiration and I discovered the Paper Players in 2011, playing along my very first time with PP61.

But enough memory lane from me!  Here's our commemorative sketch!

Paper Players

I'm still working on building my Christmas card stash, so I used this sketch as an opportunity to play with a new Santa die.  

Isn't he cute?  He's the Spectacular Santa referred to in the blog title and he's rockin' his red and white spectacles, don't you think?  He's part of a bundle from Spellbinders with four different images.  Here's a link to a July blog post where I used the polar bear and penguin on 2 cards.  There's also a deer/reindeer but I haven't had a chance to play with him yet.

This card is sized at 5" x 7" so I could include all the sketch elements.  I dug through my limited stash of Christmas patterned paper and found the perfect design for the background.  After assembling Santa, he was popped up on a snowflake embossed panel, and a strip of green was layered below.  The sentiment is from the same bundle.  

To balance the design, the double layer snowflake was added to the left side of the green strip, and I used a trim die for the white scallop along the bottom.  The last step was to add Stardust Stickles to the center of the large snowflake as well as to all the snowflakes and snow dots on the embossed panel.  It added a lot of sparkle to the card.

Thanks for visiting and I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog to see all the fantastic cards by my talented teammates!  The challenge will remain open until Friday August 28th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join in this week to celebrate such a big milestone for the Players!

Stef

• Spellbinders Spectacular Santa die set and Holiday Sentiments stamp and die set
• SB Sparkling Snow ef
• SB Ribbon & Trim die
• Simon Says Stamp Lea Snowflake die
• Honey Bee Stamps Gingerbread Village patterned paper
• Stardust Stickles

Cozy Up for PP798

Hello friends!  Today I'm hosting our new color challenge at the Paper Players, and I chose a color combination that I really like!  As a reminder, you may also use neutrals along with the challenge colors.

Paper Players

I'm also joining the current Anything Goes Die challenge at Just Us Girls.

JUGs #835

Initially, I chose these colors with a water or beach scene in mind but ended up going a completely opposite direction with my design, which just shows you that there are plenty of design options with these colors.

As I was preparing to make the card for this challenge, I received some items that I'd ordered from Spellbinders.  In that order was this darling reindeer, which was the club stitching die of the month for July 2026. At that point I realized I could use the challenge colors just as well for a Christmas card as a summer scene card.  So why not? ;-)

As the name suggests, there are dies are made for stitching - the scarf as well as the sweater front.  But rather than stitch, I used a white paint pen to create faux stitching.  I don't mind the idea of actual stitching, but I don't have the right needles or floss...yet lol!  

All the deer parts and pieces were die cut from colored cardstock with the exception of metallic cardstock for the strings of lights wrapped around his (her?) antlers.  Everything went together so easy although the strings of lights were a bit fiddly to wrap around the antlers.  Rather than die cut the cheeks, I used a light red Copic marker to create some color in the embossed cheek area on the face.  The set also has either a gift or a coffee cup for the reindeer to hold.  I chose the coffee cup because it seemed perfect for the sentiment I used.  A white paint pen was then utilized to add polka dots.  

The ivory embossed panel was matted on a red A2 panel, then adhered to the card base.  The last step was to use foam tape to pop up both the reindeer and sentiment.  I think he's adorable!

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it!  I encourage you to take and moment and visit the challenge blog to see the fabulous cards with a variety of designs created by the rest of the design team.  The challenge will remain open until Friday August 14th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• Spellbinders Sweater Weather Friend Stitching Die OTM - July 2026
• SB Spectacular Holiday Sentiments Stamp
• SB Festive Greetings Embossing Folder OTM - July 2026
• SSS Sentiment Label die
• Posca 0.7mm white paint pen

Merry Christmas for CH138

Hello friends!  Today marks the beginning of a new challenge at Color Hues!  This time the lovely Karen is hosting and has chosen a beautiful color combination.

Color Hues

Thinking I wanted to create at holiday card with the color combo, I envisioned a stamped image with ink blending in the background.  But then I happened upon a small stamp set that I received 2-3 years ago as a gift with purchase and changed course with my plan, although I still made a card for Christmas.

As soon as I spotted that sweet little bird opening its gift, I knew I had to create with it.  Because it's a mini stamp, I created a mini scene.

After stamping the image I started with the night sky, using a lighter blue Copic around the bird and package and create the "snow" line, intentionally making it a bit bumpy like snow would be.  Two other blue markers were used to create the dark part of the sky then I blended them into the lighter portion.  After coloring the bird and package, I used a gold gel pen to color the ribbon and the stars on the package, then white splatter was used to create a light snow.  

The scene was cut with a small, notched corner rectangle then I use the same die and a smaller one to create a gold frame.  The background panel was created with a larger notched rectangle die, then embossed with a snowflake folder.  Everything was layered on a panel of navy, including the foiled sentiment.  The final touch was to add three gold stars in the sky, just because the left corner seemed a little bare.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll take a moment to head over to the challenge blog to see the fabulous creations by the rest of the design team and our wonderful guest designer, Rachel Ball.  The challenge will remain open until Friday August 14th at 9 am EDT.  I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Stef

• Colorado Craft Company/Anita Jeram Thoughtfulness Bird (CCC doesn't carry AJ products anymore but I saw many CCC/AJ sets on Ebay.)
• Simon Says Stamp A2 Notched Rectangle dies
• Spellbinders Comfort and Joy Sentiments Foil Plates & dies (ret).
• SB Sparkling Snow embossing folder

Spectacular Christmas

Hello friends!  I popped in to see what the new challenge was at Inkspirational and saw that the word prompt was Christmas in July.  I had recently received my Spectacular Christmas bundle from Spellbinders and knew I wanted to use a couple of the images for this challenge.

Inkspirational #372

The bundle comes with a bear, a penguin, a deer and Santa Claus.  I decided to use the first two for my cards.  Here are both finished cards.

Aren't they so cute?  I adore them.  I started with all the die cutting after I figured out what color combinations I wanted to use.  Initially I thought I would put them both on a landscape 5" x 7" card but changed my mind, instead opting to use the Color Block Accent Arches die along with the Essential Arches dies.  

The dies were easy to assemble, although the glasses with the Ho Ho and adding the earmuffs onto the penguin was a bit fiddly.  The package she's holding is from this month's stitching die set but all the other accessories and the cupcake the bear is holding is from this bundle.

The background on both cards uses the Sparkling Snow embossing folder.  After embossed the arch panels I gently rubbed white pigment ink across the raised portions.  It was very subtle on the light-colored cardstock so after the cards were assembled Stardust Stickles was added to the centers of the stars, snowflakes and dots.

I could have added the finished arches to a larger rectangular card base, but I like the look of the shaped cards.  After white heat embossing the sentiments, they were die cut with a label die then trimmed down to fit the bottom of the embossed panel, after which the critters were added, all with foam tape.

Do you have a favorite critter or color scheme? Personally, I can't pick a favorite, I like them both.

Thanks so much for taking time to visit, I appreciate it!

Stef

• Spellbinders Spectacular Bear and Penguin die sets
• SB Sweater Weather Friend Stitching DOM (gift package)
• Spectacular Holiday Sentiments
• Essential Arches and Color Block Accent Arches dies
• Sparkling Snow embossing folder
• Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Labels die
• Spellbinders cardstock - Mulberry, Orchid, Carrol, Seaside, Teal Topaz, Peridot, Blush, Truffle, Matte Silver
• Stardust Stickles and Glossy Accents
• Tonic Shimmer Pen

La Dolce Vita Birthday for PP794

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at the Paper Players and this week the amazing Jaydee is hosting.  This is color week and Jaydee has chosen a gorgeous combination.

Paper Players

My card uses products that have been languishing in my unused bin, so I'll be sharing this at Darnell's NBUS challenge.

NBUS

I'm also joining the Anything Goes option at Seize the Birthday and the Summer Vibe challenge at Inkspirational.

STB #330

Inkspirational #371

I had so much fun creating the first card that I ended up making two.

I started by cutting the lemons, flowers and leaves from colored cardstock that coordinated with Jaydee's challenge colors and then enhanced them with some ink blending.  

The embossed background was made using Shortbread cardstock from Concord & 9th.  It appears a lot lighter in the photos - in person it is the yummiest warm color between ivory and light yellow.  It was trimmed down and added to a black matte.

The sentiments are from a coordinating Betterpress set, which I inked up in black then used the coordinating dies to cut them out.  As someone who doesn't speak Italian, I always thought ciao was goodbye, but learned it can also mean hello.  So the greeting reads hello beautiful and I like the versatility of that.  Paired with the sub greeting above, I can use it for a birthday or many other occasions.

For the second card, I kind of when overboard with the flowers lol! 

This time I die cut everything from white cardstock then ink blended them for a slightly different look.  I used the same embossed background but added the arch panel as a landing spot for all the die cuts.  The sentiment is from the same Betterpress set and I finished this off with a few opal gems.  

Do you have a favorite?  I like them both, but I like the look of the ink blending on white for card #2 a bit better.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to take a moment to visit the challenge blog, my talented teammates have some amazing cards using these colors in a variety of ways.  The challenge will remain open until July 17th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us!

Stef

Card #1

• Spellbinders Citrus Spritz die set
• SB La Dolce Vita Betterpress plate and die
• SB Lemon Fresco embossing folder
• SB Blush, Tutu and Rainforest cardstock
• C&9 Buttercup and Shortbread cardstock

Card #2 (same die and sentiment sets, and embossing folder)

• SB Essential Arch die
• Simon Says Stamp Shell, Salmon, Coral, Guava, Watermelon, Limelicious and Pearfection inks
• SB Opal gems

Toucan Birthday for PP792

Hello friends!  I'm here with my card for the new sketch challenge at the Paper Players.  This week the fabulous Joanne is hosting and has given us a wonderful sketch.

Paper Players

I'm also joining the Anything Goes portion of the current Seize the Birthday challenge.

STB #329

I had recently attended The Weekender Goes Wild retreat and created a card with some of the products.  I did take some liberties with the sketch, but I'll explain that below.

The retreat is all about tropical animals and environments.  This is Tiki Toucan and the branch upon which she is sitting, which extends across the panel and has vines and flowers hanging from it, represents the horizontal strip in the sketch and the larger leaf and flower on the left represents the heart.  Unfortunately, I had to move the sentiment up above so it wouldn't cover up many of the flowers and vines.

I started by die cutting all the parts of Tiki, along with all the other elements, from colored cardstock.  Since I'd already used the toucan twice in the class, putting her together was easy.  I did find a Toucan reference photo on the internet and the one with a similarly colored beak had blue feet!  So, of course I had to use that. ;-)

For the background I used the Tropicana Texture embossing folder. It is sized at 5.5" x 8.5" and creates two different A2 patterns, which is so handy!  I used one half which was layered on a lighter piece of green cardstock, then all the scene elements were added, and I thought I was good.  Somehow, though, it looked unfinished to me, so I ended up layering it on a larger black panel, with the card ending up at 6.75" x 5". The black really made Tiki pop and I had a better place for the sentiment.  I love how this turned out, and I hope you don't mind how I riffed a bit on your sketch, Joanne!!

Thanks so much for visiting and I encourage you to visit the challenge blog to see how my amazing teammates used this sketch.  The challenge will remain open until Friday July 3rd at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• *Items from The Weekender Goes Wild 2026 Craft Kit.  The kit and the retreat (on video) is still available on the Spellbinders website.
• *Tiki Toucan die set
• *Jungle Blooms die set
• *Tropicana Texture embossing folder
• Spellbinders Just Add Cake sentiment set (from the Just Add Cake card kit)

Cupcake Birthday - Surprise Party Guest for Seize the Birthday #327

Hello friends!  I'm thrilled to say that I'm the Surprise Party Guest for the new challenge at Seize the Birthday.  My card was the winner of STB #325.

The "toppings" option for the next fortnight is "Sweet Treats". 

Seize the Birthday

 

There are plenty of creative options with this topping.  Here's what I ended up making.  Warning!  Pink alert!

It's oh, so pink and very glittery!  The cupcake dies, sentiment stamp and die, and the embossing folder are all products from Spellbinders Just Add Cake card kit.  I was inspired to use this layered design after seeing Billie's card on Instagram.  

Three shades of pink, two of aqua/teal and a dark brown cardstock were used, along with the magenta glitter cardstock, for the background layers and the cupcake elements.  The larger flowers and a couple of the leaves are from another Spellbinders die set, but the rest of the elements are from the Light the Candles dies in the kit. I really love those candles! 

The pink background panels were first cut out with rectangle dies, then embossed with the kit folder and adhered to the larger glitter cardstock layers.  Sparkly gems were added to the flower centers and then I finished things off by using an aqua glitter pen to add more sparkle to the flower petals and the candle flames.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I encourage you to take a moment to visit the challenge blog for some wonderful inspiration by the design team.  

Take care!

Stef

All products are from Spellbinders unless noted otherwise.

• Light the Candles die set
• Just Add Cake stamp and die 
• Be Bold Blooms die set
• Confetti Drop EF
• Essential Arches dies
• Concord & 9th Dragonfruit, Carnation, Ballet Slipper, and Cocoa cardstock
• C&9 Rainbow Collection Glitter Paper 
• Honey Bee Stamps Aurora Borealis gems

Ravi-Best for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new CAS challenge at the Paper Players and this time the lovely Ann is hosting.  She is asking us to use food on our cards.  

Paper Players

I have a very fun card to share for this.  I think the older I become the more I like silly and playful cards.  Don't get me wrong, I will always love my florals, but I enjoy doing something totally different too. However, in the process of making this card, I did forget that this was a CAS challenge, so my card is a little borderline. ;-) 

Aren't they so fun?  I was giddy as I was die cutting all the parts from both the Pasta Friends and Ingredient Buddies die sets from Spellbinders. I ended up spending a couple hours die cutting from both sets, then worked on layouts. The raviolis are so darn cute plus I adore their little bows, the chef's hat and the fork, along with the ability to make one of them look like he was jumping up in the air!  I saw that on a cute card from Jennifer Kotas here.

The blue background was embossed with the SB Al dente 3D folder, trimmed down and added directly to the white card base. All the die cuts were arranged and adhered before adding the cute sentiment from the Stay Saucy sentiment set.  

So, what type of food will you have on your CAS card?  I look forward to seeing your card in the gallery but before you head off to your crafty spot, check out what my talented teammates have created here.  The challenge will remain open until Friday May 22nd at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

Cheers to You for Color Hues

Hello friends!  We have a new challenge for you over at Color Hues and this time I am hosting!  I've chosen one of my favorite color combinations for the challenge.

Color Hues

As a reminder, you may use any hue of the two challenge colors, so lighter, darker, whatever tone, as long as it's a yellow and a blue.  Neutrals are also welcome (black, white, gray, ivory, brown, kraft and metallics).  So sorry, but green is not a neutral lol!

I'm also sharing over at Seize the Birthday for their Anything Goes portion of the challenge.

STB #325

Okay, let's get to my card! 

For a long time I knew precisely what I was going to create for this challenge, but then...Spellbinders released their Just A Cake Birthday Card Kit and I went in a completely different direction.  Take a look!

As I am always in need of masculine birthday cards, I chose to use the Birthday Brew die set from the kit, Confetti Drop embossing folder and the Just Add Cake stamps and dies.  In addition, I used the Essential Arches and the Color Block Accent Arches, which are not part of the kit.

I love that color block look in yellow and blue!  For the beer mug itself, it was die cut from both light blue and vellum.  Between those two layers a piece of acetate was added to give the look of glass with the beer behind it.  

The watch was easy to put together, once I decided on the colors of metallics to be used.  Sandwiched between the face and band of the watch is a die cut circle of gray to make the watch hands visible.  

The background arch was cut from white, embossed with the Confetti Drop folder, then a yellow ink pad was swiped across the raised elements so they would be more visible, plus give more contrast between it and the beer "foam". I used partial die cutting to create a top-folding arched shaped card base.  The final step, after everything was assembled, was to add a few small clear dew drops for an effervescent look.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Please take a moment to visit the challenge blog for more inspiration by my incredibly talented teammates and guest designer Greta.  The challenge will remain open until Thursday, May 14th at 9:00 am EDT.  I hope you'll join us, I'd love to see your card in the gallery!

Stef

Beautiful Day for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's the fourth Sunday of the month and that means a sketch challenge over at the Paper Players.  I'm hosting this week and I've created a sketch that should give you lots of options for your card.

Paper Players

I'm also sharing my card over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where they are looking for feminine cards.

I really love wreaths and thought the wide-open space on the right side of the sketch would work well for one.

The wreath is from Concord & 9th's Briar & Blooms die set and the banner sentiment is from the matching stamp set.  The wreath, along with the layering leaves and flowers, was die cut from colored cardstock, then I did some ink blending to give them more depth and dimension.

I took my color inspiration from the strip of plaid paper, which was part of an old paper pack from MFT.  The light purple paper was embossed with a floral design, then both pieces were adhered to the card base, with a strip of white to cover the seam.

I had to chuckle because this is my sketch and I almost forgot the shape at the lower right.  I wanted something small, which I found in an older Mama Elephant sentiment set.  The smallest die from a Hexagon die set worked beautifully to die cut the sentiment.  

After gluing the wreath to the card front, a bit of foam tape was added beneath the large purple flowers and also the center of the banner.  The happy birthday was also popped up with foam tape. Then, to finish things off, tiny little gems were added to the tiny little flowers for some pretty sparkle.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to take a moment to visit the challenge blog for some wonderful inspiration by my talented teammates!  The challenge will remain open until Friday, May 1st at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Stef

• Concord & 9th Briar & Blooms stamp and die sets
• Mama Elephant Mini Everyday Messages stamp set
• Simon Says Stamp Tiny Flora embossing folder
• SSS Strips die
• Pinkfresh Studio Nested Hexagon die
• MFT Plaid Patterns Paper Pack
• Spellbinders Fairy Tale, Lavender, Beeswax and Saffron cardstock
• C&9 Sprout and Parsley cardstock
• Inks - SSS Honey and Iris; Altenew Fresh Leaf and Mountain Pine; Versafine Clair Mountain Mist

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.

Paper Players

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.

STB #322

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!