One background, two ways

While I love patterned papers, I really do enjoy using background stamps to create the background for my cards. 

 I just got this Looped Circle Pattern background stamp from Hero Arts recently. I wanted to give it a try out to see the look it had and can I say, I love it!!!

 After I stamped it with white ink and embossed it with white embossing powder, I used a black spray from Studio Calico. This spray with the white embossing creates a rather chalkboard kind of look that is fun. The lacey heart is a Cricut cut as is the smaller red heart and the "loveU" sentiment.

This card fits the Clean & Simple Stamping sketch.

 

 Here is used that same background stamp again so that I could create a card using the retro sketch and the Colour Q color combination.

 I actually used two background stamps, the Looped Circle one along with a Tiny Spot one.  The cute little hen is cut with the Cricut and my brand new cartridge, Folk Art Festival. I thought the color combination had a Folk Art look to it. The sentiment is also from Hero Arts.

 Here is the Colour Q combo.

 Here is the retro sketch.
And for a few photos...

 I know some of you are dealing with lots of snow, but I went on a walk in my backyard yesterday and these are the cuties that I found.  Acutally lots of these little purple cuties.

 My first red poppy for this year.

 A Gerber Daisy.

 

A beautiful, lacey rose.

I guess spring is really on it's way.

Thanks for visiting, Linda

More stamping fun

Yeah, I got in some play time and what better way right now then with some Christmas cards.

 I have had this embossing folder for a while and found this to be a great time to pull it out. I used The Play Date Cafe color combination on it.

 The sentiment is from a stamp set by WOW! I embossed it with silver embossing powder.

 Here is The Play Date Cafe combo.

 Next up, I wanted to use the color combination at Colour Q.  I used the card sketch at Clean & Simple for my inspiration. I made sure to say "for my inspiration" because it might not really look like the sketch to you, but it really was my starting off place.

 When I saw this snowflake stamp set, I knew I needed it ASAP. It is from The Craft's Meow. Are the colors just yummy!!!

 Here is the Colour Q combo.

 This is the Clean & Simple sketch.

I also put together this little tag the other day. I had recently watched Tim Holtz doing some demo's at a stamp convention and I came home to try a few of the technques he showed. I picked up the Seedless Preserves Distress Stain and needed to use that. The ornament is from Hero Arts. I didn't have any branch stamps so I used the antlers to one of the little reindeer stamps! This does fit in with the Simon Stays Stamp and Show challenge.

For a couple fun photos...

 We had rain the other day (and we even have some this weekend too). This is just unusual for us so we had to go out and find some puddles. I used my Hipstamatic camera and the lens I used turned out this bizarre photo of duplicate pics of my grandson as he was running.

 

This guy loves puddles!

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Butterflies and Reindeer

First up, I wanted to use the retro sketch for this week.

 I printed out some elements from the Be You  mini digital kit from Design House Digital.  Everything on my card is from that kit except the black rhinestones.

 I just printed out several parts of the kit and put them together on my card. 

 Here is the retro sketch.

 Next up is my Kreaxions punch card for my post over at Just Imagine Crafts.  I used the sketch from Clean and Simple for the layout of the card. 

 The black strip is punched with the #922 Kreaxions punch.  I used the punched edge and the piece that would have been discarded.  I also used some Tim Holtz paper tape and added color to it with Distress Stain.  The other elements are stamps from Hero Arts.

 Here is the Clean & Simple sketch.

 This card was created to go along with a challenge at Hero Arts.  The challenge is to use a stamp for a different theme then what would be expected for it.  I just picked up this cute little reindeer and thought it would be adorable on a baby card.  I just stamped it on striped paper and then cut that out. 

The papers are from a set of papers by My Mind's Eye and the label pieces are cut out with the Cricut.  The nice thing about the Cricut for cutting labels like this is that is was so easy to cut it out in three different sizes that mat together perfectly.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)