The Challenge #93

Hello friends.  Playing along with The Challenge over at Always Playing With Paper, where this week it's a "Keyword Challenge"!

I managed to include all of them except for the monochromatic by using MFT's Beast Friends.

I minimally colored one of the Beast images with some Copics and then added a butterfly from MFT's Tweet On You set.  I did some light blending around the Beast, and then die cut him in a circle using a Gina Marie Designs die.  Layered him on a kraft layer and attached to a white card base, and then stamped my sentiment from the Beast Friends set.  A couple yellow hearts (SU!) to match the yellow butterfly finished off this quick and simple card!

Check out all the great inspiration from the DT and then play along.  You can find it all HERE.

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

Make It Monday #292 - Color Blocking

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make It Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink where Laurie Schmidlin shows us 3 different ways to color block our backgrounds.

I needed a masculine birthday card and decided to try Laurie's technique of adding 3 colors of ink directly to an acrylic block, spritzing with water, and then pressing into your cardstock.  I had a "happy accident" while doing this technique that thrilled me!  My one large acrylic block had some goo on one side, so I applied my 3 colors (Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, & Classic Kraft) to the side of the block that had grid lines on it for help in lining your stamps up.  And this is what happened:

Doesn't that look so cool with the grid lines on my cardstock?!!  I love it!  I never realized the grid lines were actually etched into the acrylic block, so the ink never got into those crevices and left the lines to show up.

The stamp set Hands Of Time has been around for  quite awhile now, but I just ordered it a couple months ago and had not used it yet.  I ordered it specifically for masculine cards and so this seemed like a perfect time to use it!

I stamped my sentiment first, and then splattered a bit of black ink onto the card front.  Next I die cut the clock face from kraft cardstock and then did a little embossing with copper embossing powder.  I stamped 2 smaller clock faces in black to even out the balance of the card.  I mounted the top layer to a kraft card base and then added a piece of black bakers twine to finish off the card.

Check out Laurie's great video and 3 BEAUTIFUL cards (I especially LOVED her butterfly card and would have liked nothing better than to completely CASE it, but I controlled myself!) right HERE and then play along!

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

Papertrey Ink's July 2017 Blog Hop

Hello friends.  It's the 25th and that means it's time for Papertrey Ink's Blog Hop!  This month Nichole gave us a beautiful inspiration photo done in all soft blue's and white...take a look:

While I'm assuming this is a wedding invitation, I went a little off direction towards creating a stationery set and using the soft blues (Blueberry Sky) and white, gold, seam binding ribbon, and flowers.  

I made a set of 4 single sided note cards using the new Stemmed Statements set and then clear embossed them before blending a bit of Blueberry Sky ink over the flowers.  The sentiment (from Winter Woods) was embossed in gold and I also embossed the edges in gold before mounting to a Blueberry Sky base.  I made matching envelopes with the Blueberry Sky DSP, and because I had strips of the DSP left over, I added a small strip to the left hand side of each of the note cards.

And of course I had to stamp the flower on the outside of the coordinating envelope so it all matched!

I used one of the clear plastic boxes that PTI sends their stamp sets in to house my set of note cards, and then did a belly band of the same Blueberry Sky DSP along with a piece of seam binding ribbon and a little lace flower that I dipped in Autumn Rose ink.

And now I have a beautiful little set of note cards ready to be gifted to one of my friends who has a birthday next month!  Nothing like being a little a head of the game...love it!!  :0)

Now it's time for my favorite part of the blog hop...to go hopping and see how everyone else was inspired by this month's beautiful photo!  You can check it all out right HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do!  And pssssst...today is my 1000th POST...that's a LOT of cards since I started my blog back in the Fall of 2012!!  Happy times!!

Black & White And A POP Of Color!

Hello friends.  Playing along with two different challenges today...The Challenge #92 and the Double D Challenge.  Both challenges are asking for black & white and a POP of color!

Had a new WPlus9 stamp to play with (Beautiful Bouquets: Mums) and I think it worked out perfectly for both of these challenges.

I embossed the image in black on a piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock and then used a yellow Zig marker to color a little bit in the middle of the flowers and then used an Aqua Painter brush to move some of the color to the outer edges.  I did use a tiny bit of gray on the leaves as I didn't want to leave them white and figured since it is a neutral color it would be ok.  I finished by matting it on some black and then attached to a white card base.  A little bit of black bakers twine, a small banner (PTI's Stemmed Statements), and a few Rainstones finished off my card.  Here's a closer up:

Both challenges are open for a little bit yet and absolutely GORGEOUS inspiration on both sites!  You can check out The Challenge #92 HERE and the Double D Challenge HERE.

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

Happy Birthday Birgit!

Hello friends.  It's a special birthday for my dear friend Birgit ( Crafting While I Wait ) and I couldn't let this day go by without sending some special wishes her way!

Sometimes I think I am the queen of buying stamp kits and then after opening them up, I put them back in the box and up on the shelf...mostly because I am overwhelmed by all the pieces!  But in honor of Birgit's birthday, I persevered and finished a card using PTI's Make It Market Kit: Market Street!

Once I got going I really had fun and am pleased with the way it turned out!  And now that I know how all the pieces work together, I will definitely make some more with the kit...especially the apples and pumpkins for this fall!

So happy, happy birthday Birgit!  I hope you have a truly wonderful day that includes some gifts and chocolate and maybe a birthday cake too?!!  And most of all I hope God truly blesses you in this coming year!!  

Make It Monday #291 - Emboss Resist Shadow Sentiments

Hello friends.  Playing along with this weeks Make It Monday challenge where Ashley shows a great way to make a shadow under your sentiment using a emboss resist technique!  I love how Ashley's yellow blended background really made her sentiment pop, so I copied just a teeny bit and came up with this:

Strawberries come out in June here in Michigan, but I hadn't taken the time to get this sweet set out (Strawberry Patch) and use it yet this summer, so this seemed like a great opportunity to stamp with it!  The "sweet" sentiment in the Strawberry Patch set isn't that big, so I substituted the "sweet" from the Sweet Holiday Wishes set and embossed in black and then offset and clear embossed the "sweet" again.  I blended my background with Bright Buttercup ink and also added a banner with "summertime" embossed in white.  I used my MISTI to stamp the strawberries, leaves and flowers so I could add a little shading.  I fussy cut along the top and then added some foam to the back before adhering to my card base.  Here's a closer up:

I finished with an enamel dot, some sequins and bakers twine, and it definitely looks like a summertime card to me!!

You've still got a couple days to play along, so check out Ashley's fabulous card and video and then play along right HERE.

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

 

CAS Watercolour July 2017 - #2

Hello friends.  While looking through a drawer full of wood mounted stamps, I found a butterfly stamp that I don't think I've ever used, and since there's still a few days left to play with the CAS Watercolour  challenge, I thought I would try this stamp out!

The stamp is from Savvy Stamps and this is what I came up with:

I started with a small piece of water color cardstock and water colored some orange from my Kuretake Gansai Tambi (#33) paints.  After it was dry I stamped my butterfly image in black...the stamp is made to look like it is already water colored and I love the look it gave over the orange!  Next I splattered a little bit of gold.  Here's a closer up:

I mounted this to a black layer and then layered it onto piece of "ghosted" paper I had made with DOX inks and a Gina Marie Designs stencil.  I layered it all on a 5 x 5 card base and added a simple embossed sentiment from PTI's Choose Joy stamp set.  I don't feel like this is my normal style at all, but I really like how it turned out!  Kinda artsy!!  :0)

For this card I water colored, stamped, stenciled, splattered, and embossed.

This challenge is open till the 24th, so still time to play along.  Check out all the beautiful inspiration and then play along right HERE.

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

Color Throwdown #451

Hello friends.  Yes, two posts in one day!! ( If you're looking for my post from The Challenge, look HERE).  The Color Throwdown challenge has a beautiful color combination this week and I just couldn't resist making a card for it!

The challenge is to use a dark pink, a light pink, green and white.  I had done a flower from PTI's Especially You a few weeks back and had not used it on a card yet, but it fit the colors for this challenge perfectly, so I finished it off and came up with this:

 

I have also been having a lot of fun making backgrounds with the ghosting technique (DOX inks and stencils), and this one fit with my flower perfectly!   (The stencils are Altenew's Layered Medallions A & B)  The flower was embossed in gold and then water colored with my Zigs.  The lattice die cut is from the latest Catherine Pooler SOA box and really helped to ground the flower against the similar colored background.  I finished with a simple sentiment using SSS's Love die and stamp set in black and gold so it would stand out, and then added a few iridescent sequins.  Here's a closer up view:

I'm getting this card in under the wire, but if you're really quick, there's still a few hours left to play along.  You can check it all out right HERE.

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

The Challenge #91

Hello friends.  Playing along with The Challenge (#91) where a sketch is what we are being challenged to use this week.

I still had MFT's Seaside Seagulls stamp set out on my desk and came up with this card:

Don't the faces on those birds just crack you up?!  They're so simple but speak volumes!!  Anyway, colored them up with some Copics and then added them to a background where I used DOX inks and a stencil from PTI's Sun & Surf stencil collection.  The sentiment was embossed on a banner from MFT's Blueprints #27 and the Seaside Seagulls set.  A few of Lucy's gems from the Rainbow Mix and some baker's twine finished off this fun little card.

There's still a few days left to play along with this challenge, so check out all the fabulous inspiration from the DT and then play along right HERE.

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

CAS Watercolour July 2017 - Butterfly

Hello friends.  Playing along with this months CAS Watercolour challenge, where the focus is on butterflies!

I'm a little hooked on DOX inks, stencils, and water right now...they create the most FABULOUS backgrounds, so that was my starting point for this card.

 

I blended Broken China and Cracked Pistachio DOX inks together and then misted a Gina Marie Designs stencil before laying it on top of the blended piece.  I followed Jennifer McGuire's tutorial (HERE) and put a piece of paper towel over the stencil and then something heavy over top of that and then left it for a few minutes before uncovering.  The water and the DOX inks react beautifully together and give such a clear image!  Here's a closer up image:

I almost hated to cut my background piece down, but I knew I needed to leave a white border to be considered a CAS card.  I added a simple white frame border from PTI's Cover Plate: Pretty Frame die and then added my smooshed butterfly (also from PTI - Life Is Beautiful).  The bottom layer of the butterfly is smooshed with the Broken China and Cracked Pistachio DOX inks and the top layer is vellum that I embossed with a little silver embossing powder.  My sentiment is embossed and is from PTI's Life Is Beautiful also.

For this card I water colored, die cut, stenciled, embossed and stamped.

There is still time to play in this challenge (open till the 24th) and there are incredibly BEAUTIFUL cards from the DT and in the gallery to inspire you to play along.  You can check it all out right HERE.

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

Create Along With Us - July 2017

Hello friends.  Another month of beautiful new stamps, dies, and GORGEOUS cards from the DT over at Papertrey Ink.  And once again it's hard to pick just one card that I want to re-create, but since I am really loving the new Infinity Frames, I chose this card by Laurie Schmidlin to re-create:

I love the simplicity of her design, the colors on the kraft cardstock, and of course that lovely white frame!  Here's what I came up:

I used the bird from Winter Woods, the branch and flowers from Spring Woods, the sentiment from Petite Pots, and the white frame is from the Shakers & Sprinkles kit.  I added a few gems from Lucy's Little Things and done!

Make sure you check out all the inspiration from Nichole and the DT and then pick your favorite to re-create and play along right HERE.

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

The Challenge #90

Hello friends.  Feels like forever since I last posted, when in reality it hasn't even been a week!  We lost power for a few days after some storms rolled through our area, and there was not enough light to stamp (I totally depend on my OttLite!!) or do a whole lot of anything at home!  But anyway, yesterday I got back on track and had some fun in my stamp room!

After seeing the inspiration photo for The Challenge, I knew I was going to have to play along!  Take a look!

This chair would match absolutely nothing in my home, but I still want it!!  In fact, I would love to have it in my craft room and use it to just sit and brainstorm ideas for cards...I have to believe a chair like this would create a lot of positive energy!!  :0)

I was totally inspired by the bold and bright colors of the flowers and the black and white stripes on the arm rests, and came up with this:

I hadn't had a chance to play with my new Garden Party (PTI) stamp set yet, and also some new circle dies from Gina Marie Designs, so I lightly penciled in a circle and began stamping the flowers in the pinks, oranges, yellows, and greens from the inspiration photo.  Cut off a little more of my flowers than I thought I would when I used the circle die, but I like the look of the Raspberry Fizz cardstock showing through with a space large enough for my sentiment from WPlus9's Hand Lettered Hello.  I also used PTI's To The Point Edgers dies for my stitched and scalloped edges to draw attention to the black & white striped DSP below.  I finished up with some black & white bakers twine and also a few Lucy's Little Things Jewels to add some sparkle.

 

There's still a couple days to check out this challenge and play along.  You can find all the GORGEOUS inspiration from the DT and info to play along right HERE.

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

Make It Monday #290 - Combining Stenciling & Masking

Hello friends.  Betsy is up this week with the Make It Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink and has a beautiful 1 layer card that combines stenciling and masking.  

Betsy made this technique look so easy, and I suppose if I had the stencil from the new Herb Garden kit that Betsy used, it probably would have been a lot easier!  I tried to make my own from cardstock, and I think it was too thick to let me do the masking and stamping.  Or maybe I'm just too picky and want everything precise!  (probably the later!!)  But anyway, this is what I came up with:

I love the colors I used and an old favorite stamp set (Simple Sunflower), but wasn't thrilled with the way the left edge stamped and then tried to repair it, and not thrilled with that either.  But it is what it is, and I do love that sentiment from Beautiful Berries: Spring that Betsy used on her card too!  

At this point, I thought why not just try using the same set as Betsy since I already had it out for the sentiment anyway.  I changed up my colors from Betsy's card and I do like the colors, just not the framing again!

I still had fun playing and they are both still a card that I would mail out, so not a total loss!!  I also think I will try again at some point with a thinner cardstock too, as I really do like the look of the stenciling and masking together!!  :0)

There's still time to play and you can check out Betsy's GORGEOUS card and video right HERE.

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

CAS Mix Up July 2017 - Tissue Paper

Hello friends.  This month's challenge at CAS Mix Up is all about using TISSUE PAPER!

This was a really FUN technique to play with (although a bit messy...my fingers are still orange and pink!!) and one I will definitely use again!  My first card was one of those that didn't really translate into what I had envisioned in my mind:

I had this idea of using silhouettes from the latest Catherine Pooler SOA Wild Garden, and while I love how my background turned out (Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberries Distress Inks and Copper embossing), the silhouettes just didn't look as striking as what I thought they'd be.  It's not a bad looking card...just not what I'd pictured in my head.  

My 2nd try I am absolutely in love with!  I used a Gina Marie Designs die that I've had for a loooooong time but never used and it worked perfectly with my other half of my background!

I die cut twice...once with the background and once with a piece of black cardstock, and then inlaid the pieces together.  I stamped my simple sentiment from PTI's Keep It Simple: Birthday and it was finished, and I'm completely happy with how it turned out!

So which one do you like best?  This was such a great technique to play with and Loll and Bonnie and the rest of the DT have some absolutely GORGEOUS inspiration to get you motivated this month!  The challenge is open till the 24th, and you can find all the info you need to play along right HERE.

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