Hello Stamplings!
How are you? I hope you had a good week and that you were able to see the remarkable night sky over the weekend when five planets were visible with the naked eye! There were three in the west just after sunset (Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury) and then hours later, two in the east just before sunrise (Saturn and Mars!)
The amazing event fell on the night of a new moon when the sky was the darkest, so if you were really lucky, you even saw the Milky Way! We only saw Venus, Jupiter, and (maybe?) Mercury, but then we had to put pajamas back on our eyes and go to bed!
Onefer
It is E = Embossing week on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar and the NBUS embossing folder featured here is called, "Quilted Daisies" from Scrapbook.com.
The floral spray die cut is NBUS from Concord & 9th, designed by Kristina Werner and called, "Daphne's Flowers Inlay." The nice thing about this flower die is that Kristina has numbered the bits to make it easy to make the leaves and flowers any colors or patterns you want. Mwah!
And, yup, I used more of the gorgeous pp from Craft Consortium, all swirly and shot with gold. It loses a bit of its gob-smacki-ness when it's used for teeny blossoms, but I like how it turned out and I do enjoy inlaying. That's different laying than napping-laying, but I do enjoy that, too.
Entering: Allsorts ~ Anything Grows From the Garden; Seize the Birthday ~ Anything Goes option; and Snippets Playground (I used lots of pp scraps to die-cut the flowers).
Twofer
As we speed towards July, I hope to make my Twofers as Christmas designs from now on.🤞
I also used a NBUS e/f for this card. This one is from Simon Says Stamp called, "Tiny Tufts." The thing is, what kind of tufts are they? Olives? Carnations? I pulled out my Artistic License and decided to make them Christmas berries.
I used my brayer and red ink on the bumpy embossed side and, as usual, it looked like leftover pizza, so I turned the panel over and brayered the debossed side. It sort of looks like fabric because of the textured watercolor paper.
To give it more pan ache, Stanley suggested we scallop the edges with a die from PTI. Then it was a matter of finding dies that I could use for stems and berries to decorate the sediment while not obscuring the background. Yay for "Up Goes the Tree" from Penny Black! I painted the berries and stems with my Ziggies and then Hammy carefully glossified the berries, et Violet! The sediment (also from SSS) is called, "Elegantly Modern Christmas."
(If you're wondering, the scalloped borders are up-lifted because I accidentally trapped a piece of Timothy hay under the panel. When I turned back to my desk after looking through my dies, I found Stanley madly nosing his way all around the edges of the card, trying to find a way to get under the panel! I had to distract him with a strawberry to get him to stop, but after all that, I decided to leave it and call it a design feature! Never a dull mo!)
Entering: The Card Concept ~ Christmas in July. I was inspired by the colors and the white and red balls on the Christmas tree in the photo. (Love the little beagle!) Also entering: Krafty Chicks ~ Christmas, and The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up ~ Anything Goes.
*Life is too short!
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They are both so pretty, Darnell xoxo
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, we didn't see the sky show. Glad you were able to see some of it! Your cards are simply lovely, Darnell. Your posts are a treat to read and a great way to start the week. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteDarnell, both cards are fun. YOur first is so bright and eye catching. I love the die cut on the embossed panel. Great combination. Your second card uses a technique I have been wanting to try. Maybe this will be the push to get it done.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cards Darnell, the inlaid flower card is stunning and like the embossed background with them, your Noel card is beautiful, like that background, image and design! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteTwo lovely cards, and I'm really loving the first with it's pretty background and gorgeous flower bunch. However that is not to say that your mistletoe branch isn't gorgeous too! As for the edge, Hammy gave it quite the new technique, one for the Memory Book 😂
ReplyDeleteSo pretty!
ReplyDeleteGreat die for the flowers, and I love the EF!
Thank you for joining us at Allsorts!
Two very pretty cards, Darnell! I could see a bit of the pretty patterned paper. The tufts look like olives to me--but I think they can be anything you want them to be. I wish we'd seen the planets--I don't think we even knew about that celestial event. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteTwo pretty cards and the inlaid flower die is just beautiful, perfect for our theme at Allsorts, many thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteB x
Two beauties, Darnell!
ReplyDeleteGeez, I didn't even know about the sky show let alone see it, tsk. I'm happy, though, to see your beautiful inlaid flowers on the daisy embossing! Love all the color and texture. I'm loving the accidental design feature on your Christmas card, too! I may have to see if I can do that on purpose. The brayering on WC paper does look like fabric and, whatever those tufts are, they look just right as a Christmas background. Pretty! Love your funny at the end, too. No shame!
ReplyDeleteThe first card is so cheerful thanks to those bright, vibrant colors. A great card, definitely uplifting. Is it really almost July already??? You're absolutely right that it's time to stock up on Christmas cards. And your card is beautiful.
ReplyDeletehugs,
BożenA xx
Oh how I have missed your stories!! You are a delight to read and I love your creativity and your cards!!
ReplyDeleteI didn’t even know it happened, mind you, in the UK it was probably too cloudy or some such thing. However your two fabulous cards brighten any sky, and I like the design feature!xxx
ReplyDeleteA lovely twofer set of cards with the embossed backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming to play in the Snippets Playground with the first card. See you in the treehouse later - after your nap! xxx
I saw a couple of planets when looking for northern lights. Sadly no northern lights this time. That inlay card is amazing! So many pieces. Love the embossed backgrounds on bioth of these.
ReplyDeleteI love inlay, too. But since it's time-consuming, I don't do it often enough. Of course, that begs the question: Why am I so concerned about time? I'm retired!! Anyway, I love the inlay, and the embossing behind it makes for a really impressive card.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of doing a Christmas card twofer. Wish I had the discipline to follow your lead. I've only made about 20 holiday cards to date. Gotta get crackin'. Thanks for the inspo with your festive card!
Two beautiful cards Darnell. Love the inlaid flowers on the first with the pretty embossed background. Your Chrismas card is lovely with all the texture. I need to get busy on my Christmas cards also. TFS
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I love that first card, Darnell - the embossing folder and the beautiful die, which you used wonderfully! The second card is quite awesome, also. Thanks, Hammy!
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty embossing folder and perfect with the inlaid flowers! I'm loving those bright, happy colors! I think Stanley has the idea with the scalloped edges. It looks like a tray and it makes a great design element! Your inking on the embossing folder sure worked better than I've ever been able to get. I've given up on that technique. Good for you adding to that Christmas stash! Mwah!
ReplyDeleteThe inlaid flowers are delightful, Darnell, and look wonderful with the flowery embossing folder. The background of your Christmas card does look like fabric and the uplifted edges are a great design idea. I thought maybe it was the 'pan' of pan ache. LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to make Twofer Christmas cards - I did this week!! because yes the months are flying by. You've two lovely cards using embossing Darnell - teamed up with some foliage , just perfect. Breezy, dull, cool days over this side of the world ... enjoy your day hugs Robyn
ReplyDeleteFabulous embossing and inlaying - looks so pretty. Thanks for sharing with us at Allsorts. Your Christmas card is such an effective design using the brayered ink and that bright berry stamp.
ReplyDeleteWell done on your twofer! Both cards are lovely! So happy you played along with the Christmas challenge with the Krafty Chicks this week.
ReplyDeleteDiane - DT KCC
Your floral card is so pretty Darnell, love the embossing with the colourful inlaid petals, the stand up scallop on the chrissy card looks gorgeous too, Cathy x
ReplyDeleteTwo very pretty cards! I love the lovely embossing in the first card and how it matches your die cuts so well. Thank you so much for joining us at the Seize the Birthday challenge!
ReplyDeleteI know, I KNOW! It's been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since my last visit! Please accept my apologies. I certainly have missed your fun posts and wonderful cards!
ReplyDeleteThese two are fabulous, Darnell. Especially love the EF and the lovely flower die.on your first card and a big ol' thanks for inspiring me to getacrafting on my Christmas cards!
XOXO Helen
A feast of colour for the eyes and great inlaying on the daisy card! And I'm always happy to see a Christmas card as your twofer. Excellent choice of stems and berries to finish it off.
ReplyDeleteWonderful texture with the pretty embossed card front of your first card. I adds such a great background to show off you pretty die-cut flowers. I am finding that many die sets now-adays have a lot of teeny, tiny pieces to keep track of. I almost always loose at least one and have to cut a second before I can finish my card. :) Your NOEL Christmas card is so pretty. I love the texture from the watercolour paper and EF inking. It's really fantastic. The scalloped edges make it even more special. Yep, I need to up my game with my Christmas card making from now on too! :) xx
ReplyDeleteTwo lovely cards Darnell! Your snippets card is utterly fabulous - love the flowers and all the jewel like colours you used, so pretty.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Di xx