The topping at Seize the Birthday Challenge now is “Framed.” This pretty coneflower (again!) is definitely framed, but framed from behind the coneflower. I noted the same technique among some the designers for the challenge as well as some of the current entries. Even if it doesn’t qualify as “framed,” there’s always the option at Seize the Birthday to use the “Anything Goes” prompt. 

This is the last of the Altenew Coneflowers that I watercolored a week or so ago. I didn’t want to post it until my friend received it for her birthday.

This is my favorite of the cards because of the framing which came about in a rather haphazard way. When I went to dry emboss Papertrey Ink’s “Border Bling: Tin Stiched” it slipped in the die cutting machine. I didn’t want to throw it out so I cut it down and then used the center piece to add some dimension for the coneflower.

I added both to a card base of Amethyst Allure and then added the coneflower that had been die cut as well as another sentiment from The Ton’s “Easy Expressions: Birthday.” I’m quite sure I’ll cut down more of the Border Bling frames in the future. 

I’m throwing this in the Happy Little Stampers: Die Cuts and Watercolor Challenges, both of which are Anything Goes.

 A quick post to enter a card in the Just Us Girls current challenge: Script. Many of my favorite fonts are script, but my newest sentiment set from The Ton combines print with a lovely script that you can highlight thanks for The Ton’s innovative “grouped layering” stamps. You won’t be surprised to see another Altenew Coneflower, either. (There’s still one more to come.)

This is one of the coneflowers I watercolored, using my Daniel Smith watercolors. The card base was created with a piece of cardstock that had already been cut. Sadly, I can’t find a match for it anywhere in my cardstock collection so I can’t tell you where it came from nor can I order any more of it! It’s  a little brighter than most of the magenta cardstock I own.

I do like these sentiments from The Ton, Easy Expressions: Birthday, and recently ordered “Easy Expressions,” which includes sentiments for many other occasions.  I added a thin gold mat and three gold embellishments to finish the card. 

I’m also entering this in the Happy Little Stampers: Watercolor challenge for July which is “Anything Goes.”

I’m really enjoying my new Altenew “Build-a-Flower: Coneflower” stamp set, and when I saw the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge come up with this sketch, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I’m also entering this in the AAA Birthday Challenge: Flowers.

I colored this image with Copic markers last night while I listened to a video (no need to watch!) Finding the patterned paper I wanted was the most time-consuming part of the process, but when I remembered my folder of (very old) AMuse papers, the card came together quickly.

I die cut the gingham paper with a Simon Says “Stitched Square” die and added it to a pre-embossed square card. I added the coneflower with some dimensional tape.

The sentiment came from my favorite Pink & Main “Special Day” set.

Off to tackle the HUGE pile of things on my desk that need to be dealt with. I’ve been super busy with church business the last few days, but think I tied up most of the tasks for that today. 

Seize the Birthday has a new challenge up: Use an Embossing Folder. It’s a favorite technique of mine when I need some interest for the background of a card. 

I used part of a lovely birthday gift certificate to Altenew to order the “Build-a-Flower: Coneflower” and the matching dies. I stamped multiple images of the two outline images, some on watercolor paper. This is the first of three cards I made with them.

After embossing some cream colored cardstock with one of Tim Holtz’s Alteration embossing folders, I decided it was best to cut it down which added just the right amount of texture and contrast with the brown textured card base.  

I watercolored the flowers with my Daniel Smith watercolors. The watercolors weren’t moving as well as usual, and I couldn’t figure out why until I remembered I was using a piece of Simon Says watercolor paper that had come with one of the card kits. I’m not a fan. Although the final outcome was acceptable, it was much more difficult than it should have been. 

The sentiment,”Easy Expressions: Birthday,” is also a new acquisition, and I love it! It’s from The Ton, and has 10 sentiments. I stamped and embossed all ten at once, and then added the black sentiments. When that was done, all 10 are die cut at once. The Ton has a variety of stamp and die sets that are grouped with guides that make it so easy to line every thing up perfectly. For someone who has difficulty with layering stamps and dies, this is one fabulous set. 

Since all the stamps and dies are new and have never been used, I’ll be linking this up at NBUS as well.

One of my stamping goals each month is to enter My Favorite Things Outside the Box Challenge if I have the appropriate stamps. This month the theme was balloons, and yes, I have the right stamps. I started the card over a week ago, and then got busy, so here I am posting my entry at the last minute again. This card is for my granddaughter, Maddy, who will be six years old in July.

I started by stamping and coloring four sets of the “Balloon Bundle” by MFT as well as the cute little girl holding the cupcake and a couple of gifts from the “Sweet Birthday Wishes” set.  I have the dies for the balloon bundle, but fussy cut the little girl and the gifts. Next, I die cut the pieces to create the “Outside the Box Level Up,” die cutting the decorative stitched insets for the outside of the box from a piece of patterned paper from the “Birthday Brights” paper pad (also by MFT.)

Deciding where to attach all the pieces takes me longer, and this time I used some clear acetate to stabilize the balloon bundles as well as the little girl since I wanted her shoes to show. The sentiment is also a die cut from the “Box Card Greetings” die. In the next photo, you can see that the card folds flat so it can be mailed. Typically it would fit in a standard envelope, but in fact, the way I attached the balloons, the ones in the back extend above the top of the box just enough that it will require a slightly larger envelope. This one isn’t going through the mail in any case.

I do enjoy putting these together, and hopefully Maddy will enjoy it as well!

There are three current challenges all looking for flowers. Two of them are also CAS challenges, and I’ve got a card for them: The Flower Challenge, AAA Birthday, and CAS on Friday.

This fabulous die cut is from Altenew–Spring Rose. The roses here are just gorgeous right now. Although we have many different flowers in our yard, we do not have any roses. As soon as Tracy finishes staining our fence, we plant to put in one or more climbing roses. To create this rose, I watercolored a panel in pinks and greens. I lightly penciled in where the rose and leaves would be and it came out pretty well. 

Then I die cut the rose again in the center of my white panel as well as the watercolored piece and inlaid them onto the white panel. After stamping the sentiment form Pretty Pink Posh’s “Everyday Greetings,” I added some dimensional foam to the back and adhered it to a white card.

Hope your weekend is off to a good start. We’re having friends here for dinner tomorrow night. Entertaining was one of the things I missed the most during the pandemic. Hopefully, it will be nice enough to spend some time on the patio.