Happy 4th!

I don't think I'll ever stop making different versions of cards with this Seaside Bundle from Concord & 9th. I've had a red, white and blue card in mind since the package arrived with these goodies, so I got them out this morning to make one. I probably like the stenciling part of using these products the best, then the stamping and die cutting. I know it is really early to be thinking about the 4th, but we do Christmas in July cards, right?

I am playing along at the April 2026 Stencil Fun Challenge with my card. I've added a photo of the card below with just the stenciling step completed. There are four layering stencils in the set.

Here is all of the stenciling, my first step in the process. The sky and water are stenciled too! I try to add shading to the rooftops and water. I made a hazy white and blue sky and used the tiniest ink blending brush to make the cobblestones slightly different shades of grey. There's a big difference before you add the die cuts and stamping!

I am also playing along at The Card Concept #226. The colors and theme in the photo grabbed my attention right away. Since I used stencils, distress and regular inks, stamping, and die cuts from metallic and regular cardstock my card is mixed media. I also think it is a clean and layered style with the stenciled and stamped elements being one layer and the die cuts being another layer or two. The sidewalks and buildings are left white for the most part and the water and sky are uncluttered.

I die cut a lot of the accessories and added and removed many of them over and over. I wanted a peaceful, simple view of the café and hotel by the water. Wherever this is, the red white and blue live on whether it is a holiday or not with the roof tiles, doors, awning and shutters.

The only thing that isn't by C & 9th on my card is the sentiment from Stampin' Up! a long time ago. I used matte silver cardstock scraps for the table and chairs, the upstairs railing, and the boat mast. They kind of go with the grey cobblestone walkway. I used a variety of inks from distress to regular ink pads.

Well, I'm sure people are making summer plans by now and the patriotic holidays start a month from now. Can you believe it?

Have a happy, restful weekend,

Carol

Breath of Fresh Air

Hello and welcome! Are you ready for some summer or vacation activities on the way in just a matter of weeks? I'm having so much fun with this new Concord & 9th Seaside bundle!! I made a mini slimline size card this time for our Just Us Girls Anything Goes Stencil Week #820, hosted by Vicki. Be sure to visit the team blogs as well as our guest Rosemary's for all of their wonderful card inspiration.

Here is the stenciling before adding all the fun die cuts and some stamping. What a difference!

I used all sorts of inks and scraps of cardstock for the rest of the card. The waves, windows and door details are stamped. The rest are die cut and layered together. You can add a lot or a little to the stenciled scene. So. Much. Fun. Where do you think this scene could be? It's nice to think about that for a while.

We hope you will join us this week with your stenciled cards. There is something magical about a design coming to life as you stencil, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by,

Carol

Happiness Comes in Waves

It's feeling like summer more each day and I am not holding back on bringing it into my cardmaking. The Freshly Made Sketches #732 challenge gave me bird's eye view beach umbrellas and here is my CAS card!

What I used:

• Waffle Flower Beach Umbrella die-n-stencil set, Postage Collage Beach Days stamp set

• Altenew Obsidian Black ink pad

• Pink and Main The Bright Side Glitter Enamel Shapes, Spring Glitter Enamel Shapes

• Ranger Distress and Distress Oxide ink pads

I ink blended the waves rolling in from the west onto white sand beaches. After stenciling the umbrellas and die cutting them, I ran them across the side of my desk to make them rounded, then popped them up on foam tape on the beach. The sparkly enamel shapes are fun in the center of each umbrella top. I stamped the sentiment and was done!

Spring break must be winding down, but the beach is always there for the locals.

Happy spring into summer!

Carol

Hi

It's time for a pretty moodboard at Just Us Girls #819 and Bobby chose this sweet spring inspiration for us all. Will you take elements or colors from it? The sentiment or season? I chose the pastel colors and flowers from the April Showers verse for my little coin purses. My dies are all from The Stamp Market. The purses are from the Coin Purse set and Hi is from Fintastic.

I die cut to my heart's content with shades of pink, blue, aqua, white and orange. It was really fun mixing and matching the purse, flower and clasp closure colors. I did a couple of silver clasps then branched out to the colors I already used. If you look at the orange purse, there is a single stitched flower die (that doesn't cut, it makes the pattern wherever you put it) and I moved it several times to create patterned stitching all over the purse.

Take time to check out the blogs of the whole team as well as our guest Rosemary to read how they were inspired by the moodboard. There are so many ways to go with this one!

Thanks for checking in,

Carol

All Kinds of Happy

Today I have a special card made with a beautiful Faded Botanicals paper gifted by the generous Stamplorations company, our Time Out Challenge sponsor for Challenge #311. I did not want to cut into this amazing paper, so I matted it with a dark grey cardstock to give it a frame.

Our challenge is a Pick Two theme (use at least two of our words in your design) using the following words:

Earth, Rain, Pastel, Hope, Tree, Bloom

I chose the words Earth, Hope, Bloom.

I also used a Spellbinders stamp set called Birthday Unboxing Sentiments and their Many Blooms and Sprigs die set. I added the little white die cut flowers with black centers for some dimension on the card and to go with the big bloom in the paper. My card is 5"x7" size.

Stamplorations is offering a $25.00 gift card to their store for our challenge winner and that person will also be invited to be our guest designer in a future challenge.

Karen Walker is our guest designer for this challenge. Click on her name to go to her blog for all the details on her beautiful card. Her work is always perfectly executed.

We hope you will take some "time out" and play along with us! Thanks for visiting!

Carol

Loveliest Day

I could not wait for these stamp, stencil and die sets to arrive and I wasted no time trying them out. The pink buildings and aqua water were inspired by the Baha Mar Hotel in the Bahamas as well as the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Florida. 

I am playing along with the As You See It Fill in the Blank Challenge #370, "Besides Christmas, I mail more _____ cards than any other." For me that kind of card is encouragement. The kind of card I am talking about says Hello, Just Because, Hugs, Thinking of you, Miss you, Wishing you a nice day, to friends far away. They are happy, surprise cards. That's how I chose the sentiment for my card here.

What I used:

• Concord & 9th Seaside stencil pack, dies and stamp set, Ink pad
• Ranger Distress ink pads
• Stampin' Up! Classic ink pads
• Altenew Obsidian black in pad

It took a while to learn how to use the dies for the first time, but it was still fun to make this scene. I can't wait to make more versions with these products!

Hope you're having a good week,

Carol

Happy Place

I'm playing along at Inkspirational Challenge #365 Visual Prompt Sketch with a window of my happy place. If only we could just wish and have a beachy scene outside the window. So this card is an indoor view looking out. The lamp shines the light on the wish sentiment. 

Here's a view of the acetate in the window.

What I used:

• Stampin' Up! Hearth & Home Framelits dies
• MFT Floor to Ceiling patterned paper
• La La Land Crafts Summer Vacation Designer Paper
• Paper Smooches Get Out of Town stamp set
• Altenew Obsidian Black ink pad
• Acetate
• Black gems

I die cut the window, then added the acetate behind it. I cut the tropical scene to fit in the window opening and put foam tape between the acetate and the scene.

I made a 5" x 5" white card base and cut the "wallpaper" to that size for the front of the card.

The lamp is handmade. I used Post It tape to mask off the light shining down and ink blended yellow below the lamp.

I stamped the sentiment and matted it on black cardstock. It is popped up on foam tape to be at the same depth as the window. A few gems finished it off.

And that's it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol