The challenge at Just Us Girls is to make a card with NO stamping. Hmmmm. How do I do that? I’m a stamper. Oh, wait – I just got this gorgeous pattern paper pack called Blossom by Graphic 45, so it made creating cards without stamping a breeze. The problem with these designs is, both sides are so pretty it’s hard to know which one to use. I cut one of the small images of the pink dahlia, then cut the full size sheet for the background. I had several other scraps and used two for mats – the green stripe was the reverse of the dahlia. The Hello die came with my Gemini Jr. This is the first time I’ve used it and it VERY intricate. I got a lot of other cards made today using this pack and I’m glad to have some cards for my stash.

I was stressing over a card to make for a surprise 80^th birthday party. My husband said, “Well, you know he used to work on planes. Didn’t you say you had an airplane stamp?” That reminded me that I’d gotten the Fancy Airplane Die that was an add-on for the May 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit. Then I remembered a card Jennifer McGuire did, so I used her card for inspiration. I colored the plane with Copics: R37 and R27 with B0000 for the windshield and N7 for the tire. I used a silver Sharpie for the propeller section. I colored one to see how the colors would work together and that was a little messy. Then I colored what I thought was my final project, but when I tried to fix something, made it worse. Third time’s a charm. I cut two other planes to glue together for dimension – TIP: I was able to cut 3 planes out of a quarter piece of CS, but the last plane had a few tiny edges that ran into the previous cut – that was OK because I sandwiched that between the top and bottom layers. After assembling I used my markers to color the edges of the plane – if I were doing this again, I’d edge the uncolored pieces before gluing together. I used the Fancy Cloud die cut from white, then used the negative piece to use as a stencil to create clouds using Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink on an Ocean Mist Card base. The sentiment is from Birthday Essentials by Newton’s Nook. It fit perfectly on the cloud and I didn’t have to worry about it being straight. On the inside I used a sentiment from the same set that says “Don’t think of it as being older, think of it as becoming a classic.” I’m entering this in the following challenges:

 As You See It Apply the Y Challenge

Stay Crafy With Hero Challenge #24 For the Guys

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Create a Scene

I love the new Shells Fancy die from Hero Arts. They are so detailed. I experimented with coloring methods and decided I liked using Distress Oxides the best – Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Frayed Burlap, Fossilized Amber. The Ocean Mist panel was partially embossed with the Forest Branches EF. I swiped a new juicy VersaMark pad across the bottom and added Sand EP from Hero Arts – it really does look like sand. The sentiment was cut with a die from JustRite and was also embossed with the Sand EP. I added some shell PP as a mat layer – unfortunately it doesn’t show well, but it does show parts of a couple of starfish which is the recipient’s favorite sea creature. I added a tiny Kraft twine bow to the starfish. I’m entering this in the As You See It Recipe Challenge – I think I got all the ingredients.