Color Hues #102

 

Today I'm sharing a card made for our second Color Hues challenge of 2025.  Stef is our hostess this fortnight and she has chosen the duo of Navy and Lime.  This is such a beautiful color combination. I really should turn to it more often.  

Everything (sans cardstock) used on my card today is from Spellbinders.  The background is embossed with a 3D folder.  The focal point was cut and matted with one of my favorite die sets.  The sentiment was stamped on the upper and lower 2/3 of the oval.  The sub-sentiment was heat embossed in white onto matching navy cardstock and adhered in the center.  The florals were all die cut from matching cardstocks.  I had planned to adhere this to my standard A2 card base however the dimensions were off.  I solved this by adhering it to an A7 (5x7) base but ended up trimming off a 1/4" on the top and bottom.  It just looked more balanced this way.  (Finished card dimensions are 5" x 6.5")

And because this is the first time I've used this stamp set I'm sharing this with Darnell.  I'm guessing she's swamped this time of year.

  *Sorry, not sorry*

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Kaleidoscope Arch sentiment set

Spellbinders - Modern Oval die set

Spellbinders - Deco Holiday embossing folder

I invite you to come play along with us on the blog!!!  The overall winner of each challenge is invited to guest with us on the Color Hues blog.  

Thanks so much for your support!

Jules

Challenge Cards

 

I have two crafty resolutions for 2025.  The first is to use and empty my NBUS bins.  The second is to play along with blogs other than my current design teams challenges.  Today I'm sharing two cards.  The first one was created for the Inspirational Challenge blog and the second was made for the January Simon Says Stamp Instagram Challenge.

Up first is Inkspirational where the first challenge of 2025 is Pretty Quilts.  I am not a quilter however I think the pattern of the background die I used gives that sort of warm cozy feeling.

I chose papers from an older My Minds Eye paper pack to do some inlaid die cutting on the front panel.  I set off the die cut sentiment by adhering it to a postage die cut which I popped up on the panel with foam tape.  (The alpha letters came from my NBUS bin.  Yay me!)

Supplies:

Pigment & Co. - Mosaic Flower cover die

Unity - Postage Stamp die set

Sizzix - Alpha die set

My Mind's Eye - 6x6 designer paper pad

The prompt for the Simon Says Stamp IG challenge is White on White.  I love the look but boy was this one hard to photograph.  

 

This one is a mix of Spellbinders Brushed White cardstock along with Neenah Solar White.  The Brushed White background was embossed with a folder.  I chose to feature the debossed side of the pattern.  The floral background is double layered in Neenah while the HI is layered four times, the final layer being the Brushed White.  I added a few white pearls as adornment.  (The floral HI die set also came from my NBUS bin.  I'm on a roll baby!)

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Floral Hi die set

Spellbinders - Loops embossing folder

Honeybee Stamps - Cool Pearl stickers

And we can't forget to flood Darnell's blog with our NBUS creations! 

 

I'm hoping to juice up my creativity with some new and fun challenges.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Jules

 

Seize the Birthday #297

 

Welcome to a new year of Seize the Birthday challenges!  We are starting out with a challenge chosen by Cathy, our hostess.  This one should be very easy for most all of us.....Use Something New.

As I mentioned in my recent post, I have a whole BIN full of NBUS products.  Darnell better get ready!  (If you aren't familiar with Darnell's challenge I encourage you to check her out and upload your cards to her monthly gallery.)

I closed my eyes *wink* and pulled out this die set from Spellbinders.  I used a bunch of scrap cardstocks to create the elements and followed the design on the packaging.  The background was embossed and the sentiment is a pre-printed strip. 

Supplies:

Spellbinders - I Dance die set

Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment strip set

Spellbinders - Meandering Floral embossing folder

Trinity Stamps - pearls

I invite you all to visit our blog for more inspiration from the team.  We have Amanda as our Surprise Party Guest for the next two months.  Also joining us in today's challenge are Denise and Valerie, two of our past winners.  Play along with us in the gallery for a chance to guest with us in the future.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today!

Jules

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #258

 

I hope the new year is treating everyone well so far.  The Sistahs are back with our first challenge of 2025.  We are encouraging you to use some of your Virgin Supplies.  Aka, NBUS.  Aka, NEW STUFF....or at least new to you.  I have a whole bin that fits that bill but today I chose this trio of nutcrackers.  (Don't you wish crafty goodies had that fresh new smell like opening up a new jar of peanut butter or brick of coffee?)

This die set is from Cottage Cutz and if you're familiar with this company you know that the dies are formed from a single piece of metal.  I love this because nothing gets lost but it can be tedious if cutting from various colors of cardstock.  For this reason I have found it easiest to cut from white cardstock and then color each element using either alcohol markers or inks.  I used dye inks from Catherine Pooler on these cuties.

I cannot lie.  These tiny nutcrackers are extremely fiddly but I enjoy the process.  I chose this sentiment from another company which I thought fit our snarky theme wonderfully.   I heat embossed it in white onto blue cardstock before dry embossing.  I also embossed the kraft cardstock and used a strip of red in between the two.  To keep my trio from floating I added a die cut platform/shadow.  I'm pretty in love with these guys and already know who the recipient will be.  I'll have to send it a few days late to make it look good.  Ha!

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Nutcracker die set

MFT - Squirrel! stamp set

Pink & Main - brick embossing folder

MFT - oval shadow die set

Simon Says Stamp - kaleidoscope embossing folder

We hope you'll join our month long challenge!  Snark is not required to play but it is most highly encouraged.  Thanks for visiting!

Jules

Color Hues #101

 

The Color Hues team is here to welcome you to 2025!  Our first challenge of the new year is Kraft and Red chosen for us by Sheri.  I have a whole bin of NBUS products and I resolve to use each and every one of them by spring.  (Watch out Darnell!)  

My card today uses the Shopping Cart die from Spellbinders.  Personally I like to call it My Target Cart.  And yes, I've owned it for MONTHS and am just now opening the virgin package.

I added in an accessory set to fill up my cart.  I think the bows are actually floral elements but I repurposed them for a cart full of wrapped holiday surprises.  Everything here was die cut in the colors shown.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white onto a strip of red cardstock.  

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Right Facing Shopping Cart die set

Spellbinders - Holiday and Presents die set

Spellbinders - Santa's Sippin' Sayings stamp set

Spellbinders - Stylized Lattice embossing folder

Misc 6x6 paper pads

We have Stephanie guesting with us today.  I invite you all to visit our blog for more colorful inspiration.

A wonderful 2025 is my wish for you.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jules

Postage Style Holiday Card

 

I have another holiday card to share with you, this time using the very popular postage design.  This card will be going into my 2025 holiday stash.

I die cut the postage background, stenciled the edges lightly with pink ink and began a search through my holiday dies for elements small enough to fit within the perforations.  Layering these tiny elements is a bit fiddly but like I've said before, it reminds me of paper dolls and I'm all in.  I really love how sweet this turned .... pun intended.

Supplies:

Waffle Flower - Postage Collage die and stencil

Waffle Flower - Wine dies

Waffle Flower - Shelf Additions dies set

Spellbinders - Santa's Sippin' Sayings stamp set

Miscellaneous - holiday dies...very old (Right at Home, Impression Obsession, Poppystamps)

Happy Holiday Season!  Thanks for visiting!

Jules

One Stencil / Three Ways / Four Cards

 

I took advantage of (too) many Black Friday crafty sales but put a few of my new goodies to use right away.  (Like my justification?)  One of the first things I wanted to try was a layered poinsettia set from Simon Says Stamp.  I used three different color combinations with this one stencil resulting in completely different holiday feels on four different cards.

and my personal favorite....

I used dye inks on the white cards and Distress Oxides on the black one.  After completing the stenciling I stamped over top of each panel using a crackle background with white pigment ink.  It tends to just soften the overall look, something I prefer.  I used different die and stamp sets for the sentiments and added pearls for a finishing touch.  These will come in very handy next year.  

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - Layering Poinsettia stencils

Simon Says Stamp - Crackle Background stamp

Simon Says Stamp - Merry die and shadow

Simon Says Stamp - Noted Holiday stamp set

Simon Says Stamp - Ho, Ho, Hello die set

Simon Says Stamp - Layered Vine embossing folder

Spellbinders - Sending Joy Better Press plate set

Altenew - Notebook Edge die

Neat & Tangled - Gift Card Christmas set

Trinity - pearls

Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Jules