A new thing

 Wow - it's been a long time since I've updated this blog.  I went off social media at the beginning of the year and am now easing back with instagram.  I also think there are some changes with blogger coming up soon so I don't even know if you'll be receiving emails when I do post.  So if you're on instagram, I hope you pop on over and follow me there at @yourstrulybydiana

The other reason I have not been posting as much is because I picked up another hobby - crocheting and I've become a total yarn addict.  Will I use much of what I make? I actually don't know but I do love making pretty things.  It's also gardening season so there's that also!  

But I did pop into my craft room to make a special card for our BSF teaching leader for her retirement as she starts something new.  I created the verse digitally and then added all my favorite dies to it - the butterflies just went perfectly with the new theme.  Poppystamps and Memory Box always were my favorite butterfly die designers and I never tire of using them.

Challenges I am playing in:

Poppystamps : Flowers and Butterflies

Simon Says: Anything Goes

WordArtWednesday

Bonus: Some of the crochet projects I made: Shawls and mini backpacks

More fall cards but with a deer now

This mini woodland scene is an old die - I don't even know the name of the manufacturer - but I found it was perfect for my fall mood.  Both deers are from a Memory Box set and the Bible verses are also older stamps by Divinity Designs.  I love being able to go back and use older supplies!

The Grateful word die and loose leaves are from this month's Spellbinders Small die monthly club kit.  

For the doe, I added some white dots and the bottom portion of her tail with a Uniball Signo white gel pen.

 

Music expresses

I always wished I had some musical talent - but at least it does not stop me from enjoying music!  And I get to make pretty cards with some great quotes about music - like this one from Victor Hugo.

Initially I only wanted the quote and the music die by Memory Box but as you can see, the music die was just a wee bit shorter than I needed.  It was striking just black and white but also kind of plain.

I added some color using Tim Holtz wild flowers - it also hid the the staff lines that did not make it all the way to the edge of card.

Supplies:

Music Express stamp (from Emerald Creek Designs)

Memory Box Party Music die

Tim Holtz Wildflower dies

 

Every Good and Perfect Gift

Hi, I'm over on the Quietfire Design blog with these cards - hop on over to see how I made them and what I used.

Challenges I am playing in:

Simon Says Flower Power

Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes

Memory Box : Spring Flowers

Ready for those spring flowers

I took a nice long walk and snapped a bunch of pictures of blooming flowers - it felt so good!  And then I got inspired by this card on the Rubbernecker blog.  I had this Arbor die by Rubbernecker Stamps since picking it up at the Scrapbook Expo last year and it never once occurred to me to color it into a wooden arbor.  I just thought white vinyl arbors look so crisp and clean - but I loved it on that card so I tried a similar look.

I tried uploading the video here but it's not working.  You can find it on my instagram @yourstrulybydiana or Facebook page Yours Truly.

I added some Ivy, small flowers, and grass all by Rubberneck Stamps.  The little puppy is the Besties Forever small monthly kit by Spellbinders.

And then I went a little crazy and colored some more. Might as well when you have the right Copic colors out right?  The window is by Lawn Fawn and the wood grain embossing folder is by Tim Holtz.

And then back to the arbor.  Lol!  This time I sponged the background and added a bike by Memory Box.  The sentiment is by My Favorite Things.

Thanks for looking!

Challenges I am playing in: 

Simon Says Spring Mood Board

New Rubbernecker dies getting me out of my slump

We're almost into Week 4 of this new normal of social distancing and staying home.  My craft room has been put back together but I just kind of lost my crafting mojo.  I'm feeling very blah actually.  It was bound to happen - even for an introvert like me.  How are you doing?  How do you get out of the funk?

For me, I took a long walk, took pictures of the evidence of spring around us and tried using some new dies I got from Rubbernecker.  Their shipping was so fast but the dies just sat there for a while - which is strange for me!

I finally got them out and made a couple of really simple cards. The first one I die cut the vases out of white card stock and just sponged them with different colors.

 I also found some paint chips from cleaning my craft room so I used those.  They're quite perfect for the Rubberneck Vases and Shelves dies. I could not think of a sentiment to go with these so they may just stay blank.  They have a rather modern clean look to them.  The branch is a very old die by Memory Box.

By my third card, I'm adding more details and some blooms.  The window by Lawn Fawn was perfect to add behind the vases.  

Which one do you like?  And what tiny sentiment, if any, should I put on any of them?

Be still

Here's another card I made yesterday during World Cardmaking Day.  I used Copic markers to make a blended background from which I die cut the Memory Box Fresh Foliage.  After that, I stamped an old Verve stamp that is a favorite of mine.  Using a gray card base is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. 

Other Challenges I am playing in:

Casual Friday World Cardmaking Day

Simon Says Stamp World Cardmaking Day

Memory Box Leaves

Scrapy-land Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes

Chevron Cover-ups

I found a few cards I made that I never posted.  They all use the same idea - sponge a background with distress inks, splatter with water, let dry, and then use a background die (here I used the MFT Split Chevron and Chunky Chevron Cover-Up dies).  Can you tell that each background was made into two cards?  

For the first set, I kept all the pieces of the die cut together using Press On seal.  I then added foam tape to many of the chevron pieces.  I carefully laid my gray cardstock on the foam tape and came up with this first card.  By using the negative first, while the pieces were still together, I kept the spacing and location of the pieces intact.  It wouldn't be fun (for me, maybe some of you enjoy puzzles more than I do!) to try to place each piece freehand.  The Happy Birthday dies are from the A Way With Words Collection from Elizabeth Craft Designs (also available at Quietfire Design).  

The pieces that were left I glued onto a white card base for my second card in this set.  I did turn the design upside down but if you mentally flip one of these cards, you can see where the pieces all go together.  I can't help but also add butterflies to my card - this one is from the Butterfly Flourish by ECD and QFD also.

I did the same thing for this next card but I did leave some pieces unused.  I like the randomness of the pattern more.  The Bible verse is a stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs and the flowers are made using a Fiskar punch.  (Do you still use a punch?  I do - I just find them faster sometimes!)  The butterfly dies on the last card are from Memory Box.

Challenges I am playing in:

Simon Says No Designer Paper

Word Art Wednesday

ScrapyLand Challenge #111

Butterfly Curvy Keepsake Box

Way back when - over a decade ago - I was into scrapbooking and a friend gave me a stack of beautiful nursery themed paper.  I prefer digital scrapbooks now and still have those paper - which are actually quite perfect in their pastel prettiness as these little treat boxes with a butterfly on top.

The die is an old one from Stampin' Up - the Curvy Keepsake box - and comes together so quickly and easily.  The Memory Box Darla butterfly is just a bit bigger than the Tim Holtz butterfly so I thought that made a nice solid piecing for the under layer of the butterflies.  It's not quite Easter so this will have to be spring boxes that I must hand out quickly before I eat through all the chocolate!

Scrapyland Challenge #110

Word Art Wednesday

Die Cut Divas

Hippity Hoppity

Some snow attempted to waylaid my monthly crafty play date but we still managed to get in a few hours of play.  My friend brought over this this cute basket and between the two of us, we had enough dies to create this cute little scene.  Memory Box, My Favorite Things,  and Impression Obsession dies were used.  The tiny flower are from Elizabeth Craft Designs' Bougainvillea die and were perfect for replacing the dot of the "i" in the hippity hoppity - I can never find those things after I die cut them!

Challenges I am playing in:

Simon Says Create a Scene

Scrapy Land Challenge #109

Nighttime winter scene with dies

Just popping in to share a nighttime winter scene I actually made a while back.  I sponged a moonlit scene and added a snow bank birch tree dies.  The deer kind of disappeared when they were white so changed them to black.  And I had an extra red cardinal die cut so I added them to the scene.

Creating a winter scene with dies

 It's biting cold today but no snow.  However, there is a forecast of snow on Saturday and Sunday which depresses my kids to no end.  If it's going to snow, it needs to be a weekday so they can miss school.  Haha!

It's not the same but I made a little snow scene myself in the craft room.  I really enjoyed making this and made a little video of it.  Still working on videos so I apologize for bad quality.  

As you can (hopefully) see, the dies work together really well for a sweet little scene.  After I glued everything down, I used a Signo white pen for the snow.

I made a couple of variations of the card - a "thanks" for one and a few with Bible verses for encouragement cards.   

Hope you like it!

CAS Not all who wander

Hi, there!  How crazy has your December been?  Mine is just shy of hectic so when this simple card came together, it gave me such a good feeling.  Sometimes simpler is better - especially in December!

I rearranged my craft room (will share pics later) and I found so much scrap paper - including this bit that I made into a background.  I added the Memory Box Evergreen trio to the front and I just loved how it looked.  It was perfect for one of the quotes from the Every Day is a Journey stamp set.

I'm not one to wander into a forest with just the stars as my guide but this is exactly the feeling this background with the tree silhouettes remind me of - just a sense of wonderment.

The quote was embossed in white on brown cardstock and I had matted the background with a 1/16 matting of white cardstock.  I wish I knew who made that paper - I am thinking a Recollection - Christmas theme paper pack but you can reproduce something similar with any starry night sky inking or stamping.

Hope you like it and that your season has been merry and meaningful!

Every Day is a Journey stamp set.