Twofer Challenge #37 - LEAVES

Hello friends.  It's that time of month again and we have a new challenge for you here at The Twofer Challenge, and this month we'd like to see you use the same stamp, die, or stencil of a LEAF/LEAVES to make your TWO distinctly different cards.

I had gotten a new (to me) stamp set for Christmas from my sweet friend Sue that ended up being just perfect for this challenge...Altenew's Leaf Clusters.  Here's both of the cards together that I created using the same stamp from that set:

I made a "Just a Note" rainbow card using all the leaf clusters in the set, and then made a birthday card using just one of the leaf clusters.  (The red leaf cluster is the same stamp I used to create the green cluster on the birthday card.)

I went in rainbow order (ROYGBIV) stamping the different leaf cluster stamps around the outside perimeter of my panel, and then matted with a thin black layer and attached both to a white card base.  Next I stamped and die cut the "Just A Note" from The Greetery's Opposites Attract stamp set, and also die cut two extras to give some dimension to the sentiment.  A little bit of black & white bakers twine finished off this easy and colorful card.

 My 2nd card came out a bit different than what I had originally planned in my head.  I had envisioned covering the whole front of the card with green leaf clusters, and then die cutting smaller circles (maybe 2 or 3) from the covered card front and placing little monkeys behind the cut out circles...like they were swinging around from branch to branch.  Just one little problem...I couldn't find any monkey stamps in my collection!!  After digging for what seemed like hours I finally found one stamp from waaaaaaaay back when that had never even been opened from Stampendous called Changito Cheer.  Only problem now was that the monkey was too big for my original idea and he was already holding onto the pom-pom and megaphone so that it would have been a bit tricky to cut those off and still make it look like he was gripping the tree limbs!  OK, on to plan B!  I just stamped the leaf cluster at the top of my white panel and then colored the monkey with my Copics, fussy cut him out, and then pop dotted him to look sort of like he was swinging through the trees doing a birthday cheer!  The "celebrate" was stamped and die cut from The Greetery's Birthday Blooms stamp set.  I added a piece of foam to the back of the panel and then adhered that to a top folding white card base.  Not what I originally planned but I still think it came out cute!!

The possibilities are limitless with a prompt like LEAVES, and we can't wait to see what YOU come up with!  Make sure you check out what our talented DT and Special GD have come up with this month to inspire you, and then play along with us!  You can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #15 - Pink & Green

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with the Color Hues Challenge today where they are looking for PINK & GREEN as the focal point on our cards.

I've been having fun with a new and whimsical stamp set from the Ink To Paper (it will ALWAYS be Papertrey Ink to me!) company called Prominent Petals, and came up with this card...

I started by stamping and die cutting the flowers and leaves using different shades of pink and green inks from Pinkfresh Studios.  Next I die cut a frame from Papertrey Ink using the Bold Borders: Polka Dot Die in white cardstock and adhered it to a white card base for a white on white look.  

It's really hard to see in my photos, but I took the little center rectangle die cut and ink blended very lightly some pink ink and then inset it back into the polka dotted frame before arranging my flowers around it.  My birthday die cut is from Gina K's Lace Flowers set.  I finished my card off with a few pink gems from Pinkfresh Studios.

You can check out all the beautiful cards from the DT right HERE and play along until the 14th.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Inspired By #168 - I Carrot About Spring

Hello friends.  There's a beautiful inspiration photo over at the Inspired By Challenge that definitely says Spring to me!!

I was inspired by the colors in this beautiful spray and also the vertical design, and came up with this card using a Gina K stamp set called Wild Blossom.

My colors came out a little more peachy than orange, but I still love the light and Spring-y feeling to this card.  I used a technique Gina showed in one of her video chats to achieve a 2 step look by inking up the stamp in one color and then adding a 2nd layer of coloring using a marker (I used some of my old SU! markers) directly onto the stamp before stamping onto your cardstock.  I did this with both the leaves and the flowers to create the layered look.

Here's a closer up so you can see the stamped layering a bit better.  I finished this card with a birthday die cut from Gina's Lace Flowers stamp set and also added a few Disco Ball sequins also from Gina K.  A pretty simple card but love the soft and delicate look to this one.

Lots of absolutely GORGEOUS inspiration from the DT and you can check it all out right HERE to play along.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

CAS Christmas April 2021 - RAINBOW

Hello friends.  Welcome back to another challenge at CAS Christmas where this month we have a really FUN prompt for you...RAINBOW!  Yep, we want you to create a CAS Christmas card using RAINBOW colors.

Trina is our host this month, and her and the rest of the DT have some AMAZING inspiration for you if you're not quite sure where to start with this prompt, but I'm thinking the ideas will be flying this month!  They sure did for me!!  

Here's what I came up with:

I started with one of the sweet little polar bears from MFT's Polar Bear Pals stamp set, and because I wanted his RAINBOW scarf to stand out, I chose not to color the bear (well except for a little pink chalk blush on his cheeks...I mean it is COLD out there!!).  I used my Copics in RAINBOW order (ROYGBIV) to color his scarf and then die cut him out and pop dotted him to a circle die cut that I ran through an older Darice snowflake embossing folder.  My sentiment comes from an older PTI stamp set called Think Big Favorites: #20 and I thought it was pretty fitting for this sweet and colorful little guy!

What will YOU come up with using a RAINBOW this month?!!  We can't wait to see our gallery flooded with lots of colorful RAINBOW Christmas cards...just remember that this is a CAS challenge, so even though we want to see lots of RAINBOW color, we still want your cards to be CAS too!  Again, we've got lots of inspiration for you from the DT and our Special GD, so check it all out right HERE and then play along with us.  This challenge is open till the 24th.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

A Little More Easter

Hello friends.  I have a little more Easter for you today using the Print Shop: Floral Frame from The Greetery.  This set has only one stencil and the rest is all stamps, and it creates the most beautiful cards.  Let's get started...

I stenciled the flowers in light pink and light orange, and then added the extra stamped details in darker pinks and oranges and obviously greens for the leaves.  I also added the bow from Put A Bow On It (The Greetery) and one of the chubby little birdies from Brushed Birds (PTI).

 I also used the Nordic Frame Die on the top layer, and finished with some white acrylic paint splatters, sequins, and a bit of Tim Holtz Distress Glitter.

Used the same stencil and stamp set for this card (for all of them actually!), but just changed up the colors and gold embossed the sentiment which is from PTI's Phrases & Praises stamp set.  I used the Crimped Frame Die (The Greetery) for the top layer of this card and also added a few gemstones for a little bit of sparkle.

I think this one turned out to be my favorite as I doubled the floral frame up just like Betsy did on one of her cards.  I stamped (and stenciled) everything twice, and then die cut just one of the frames and turned it upside down before adhering it with foam tape over the the top panel frame that I did not die cut.  (Hope that makes sense?!)  I also added LOTS of glitter and stamped the same sentiment from the Phrases & Praises stamp set as the the previous card.

Here you can see some of the dimension and glitter a bit easier...Distress Glitter really SPARKLES in real life!!

My last card using this same stencil and stamp set is a bit more muted and I used mostly DOX inks...they give such a smooth and matte finish...it's almost like looking at velvet!!  The sentiment on this card is from Comforting Commands (also The Greetery).

I've had so much fun making Easter cards this year using stamps, stencils, and dies from The Greetery...that Betsy is one talented lady!!  

I hope each of you are having a wonderful and blessed Holy Week and will join with me in celebrating our risen Savior Jesus Christ this Sunday!!

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Inspired BY #167 - SPRING INTO COLOR

Hello friends.  Today I'm playing along with the gals over at the Inspired By Challenge where they want us to SPRING INTO COLOR using this photo as inspiration...

That lovely bunch of color really does make me think SPRING, and I do have lots of Tulip stamps (I mean I am from Michigan and Tulips are a BIG deal around here!), but I went in a different direction...kinda!  Still inspired by color (my favorite color!), and still inspired by Spring flowers, just not Tulips...

As much as I love Tulips, I can't grow them at my house because of those cute bunny rabbits!!  Those sweet little things bite the Tulip heads off and then just leave them laying there!  Grrrrrrrrrr!!  However, they do leave the Daffodils alone and I just LOVE their bright sunny color!  They add such a pop of color to an otherwise pretty gray landscape around here, as we don't really green up here in Michigan till May.  And I just LOVE the color YELLOW!  This image is from Gina K and called Easter Blessings.  I stamped the image in black and then clear heat embossed before coloring with my Poly Chromos pencils and then using Gamsol to spread the color around.  I stamped the sentiment below the flowers and then added a couple score lines to highlight the sentiment.  Finished with a black mat and some black & white gingham ribbon before attaching to a Crushed Curry card base, and then added a few Disco Ball sequins (Gina K) to add a touch of bling.

You can check out all the beautiful inspiration from the DT and play along with this colorful challenge right HERE.  This challenge is open till March 31st.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #14 - Black & White

Hello friends.  Playing with the current Color Hues Challenge today and they are looking for cards that are BLACK & WHITE.

I have a "twofer" for you today using the incentive sets from Gina K's last 2 releases that I hadn't had a chance to ink up yet, and thought they would both look great embossed in white on black cardstock.  Take a look...

These tulips (Spring Tulips - Gina K) were from 2 releases ago, and I simply embossed them in white on a piece of black cardstock, and then framed them with a piece of white cardstock that I ran through with SU!'s Subtle embossing folder.  I matted with a piece of black and attached to a white card base and then decided to leave it alone as it looked so pretty in it's CAS state!

 My 2nd card uses the incentive set from Gina K's last release and is called Watt's Up.  I made it the same as my first card except for using MFT's Peek-A-Boo Rectangle Die to frame around the embossed light bulbs, and because I smudged my sentiment, I embossed it on a black strip and used a strip of foam tape on back to give it some dimension...I sure have become accomplished at fixing up boo-boo's!!  Haha!!

Lot's of fabulous and STUNNING inspiration from the DT using BLACK & WHITE, and in the gallery already too!  You can check it all out and play along right HERE.  This challenge is open till the 29th.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!