Peace On Earth #70

Hello friends.  Slowly getting back into the swing of things here in blogland and trying to get going on Christmas cards before December gets here!  Playing along with the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge where I was inspired by their beautiful mood board!

The top left photo of the snowy Christmas trees inspired me to get out my Lindy's Magicals and a press plate from Spellbinder's (Season's Greetings Evergreens).  I have two cards to share with you, both using the same press plate but different green Magicals on each one.  Here's the 1st one...

 I started by tapping the Ponderosa Pine Olive Magicals onto my cotton cardstock and then spritzing with water to get all colors and shine from the mica flakes moving.  I so wish it showed up better in my photos as the gold shimmer mixed with the shades of olive green really is magical.  Once it dried, I used my Betterpress system with black ink and pressed the line of trees into the colorful background.  

You can see a touch of the shimmer here in this closeup, but nowhere near how bright it is in real life!  My sentiment is also pressed using Delicata Gold ink, and that is also really shimmery IRL.  I matted my panel with a piece of matte gold cardstock and an off white card base to finish.  Kind of an artsy card, but I really like the way it turned out!

My 2nd card was made the same way as my first except I used a different Magical (Lucky Shamrock Green).  I also did a bit of splattering with both white and gold acrylic paint to give the scene a snowy and magical look.  I cut the panel down and added a thin layer of black matting before adhering to a off white card base that I also tore the bottom edge and added a strip of black cardstock to so that the card could stand upright.  Lots of shimmer and shine to this one too IRL!!  The sentiment and black enamel dot are both from Gina K.

Lots of beautiful cards to inspire you from the DT that you can find right HERE if you'd like to play along and get started on those Christmas cards.  This challenge is open till Thursday, Aug. 29th @ 8:00PM.

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

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge August 2024

Hello friends.  It must not be too early for Halloween cards since the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge goes year round, and I have a new die set from Spellbinders that I just HAD to have and play with!

I fell in love with Spellbinders Woof or Treat die set and made two cards for my youngest grandson and youngest granddaughter.  Take a look...

Isn't this pooch wearing the ghost costume just the cutest?!!  I started my background with A Colorful Life's Cloud Edger and my orange blending brush, and added just a touch of pink in the middle since this one is for my granddaughter.  Next I stamped my silhouetted trees from Lavinia Stamps (Forest Scene & Small Trees) in black (can you see my masked full moon behind the tall trees?) and then also added a few bats from Waffle Flowers Happy Halloween stamp set.

I die cut my little pooch from different scrap colors and ink blended around some of the edges too, before adding foam tape to the back and adding him to the card panel.  I added the panel to a black card base and also added a bit of WOS to the eyes, nose & mouth of the pumpkin.  I think Miss Maddy (she'll be 4 in a couple weeks) will be tickled with this card that looks like her pup Oy Boy. :0)

I apologize for the color on this 2nd card...no matter how many times I edited it and re-took the photos, I couldn't get the color to show up on the rays!  They are more the color of the sun all the way to the edge!  But anyway, I think this one turned out pretty cute too and this pup is a dead ringer for my youngest grandson's dog Vinny!  

The stencil for my background is Gina K's Sunshine stencil and I used orange and yellow inks that were already on my blending brushes.  The bats are once again from Waffle Flower's Happy Halloween stamp set, and the "boo" die cut is from SSS's Boo Word Die.  

So two of the four Halloween cards I need to make for the grands done and it's only August...I'm quite proud of myself!  Haha!!  Yes, I am typically a procrastinator!!  Lots of fun inspiration right HERE, and this challenge is open till Wednesday, Aug. 28th @ 8:00PM.

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

Warm & Feathered Hugs

Hello friends.  I really slacked off making Christmas cards earlier this year, so it's time to get crankin' here, and I'm playing with an oldie but a goodie from MFT called Warm & Feathered Hugs.  I stamped the 3 main images in the set and planned to include them all in one card, but just couldn't seem to come up with a layout that I liked.  I ended up making a trio of cards and am happy now that I have 3 more cards to add to the stash...YAY!!

I colored all 3 images with the same Copic colors and Boho Blue cardstock (SU!) and just changed out the embossing folders on each card.  This one uses SSS's Icy Snowflakes, and after embossing it I ran my brayer and white pigment ink lightly on the top to give a bit of a frosty look.  I even used the same ef to emboss a piece of vellum that I placed behind the circle opening before adding my sledding owl.  The Merry Christmas die cut is from Waffle Flower's Merry Christmas Print Die and silver glitter cs and vellum.  

 My 2nd card uses a book-binding fold and SSS's Forest Border embossing folder. (Also did a bit of white ink splattering to mimic snow on this one.)  My sentiment strip is from Gina K.

My 3rd card uses SSS's Filigree Snowflakes embossing folder and I also ran white pigment ink over the embossing to give that frosted look once again.  My sentiment is another pre-printed one from Gina K and I also added a tiny scalloped border around the oval for a little somethin, somethin extra.  

And here they all are together.  Do you have a favorite?  I ended up loving them all!!  I'm going to add all 3 of these cards to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking for ANIMAL ANTICS...animals playing in the snow!  I think I definitely covered the SNOW with all 3 cards and the different embossing folders, and my first little guy is having a blast on his toboggan in the snow, and the 2nd & 3rd little owlets are definitely dressed for Winter time fun!

This challenge is open till the end of the month, so join Jo and her Special Guest elf and play along to get going on those Christmas cards...it really will be here before we know it!!

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

Color Hues #93 - ORANGE & YELLOW

Hello friends.  It's time for a new challenge at Color Hues and our sweet hostess Tracey would like to see ORANGE & YELLOW on our cards.

I had all kinds of ideas floating around in my head for this color combination, but finally decided on using some Red Hot Poker Orange Lindy's Magicals and a set of new dies from Altenew...Dog Rose Panel A & Dog Rose Panel B.  I ended up with two cards by cutting with each die both the panel I used the Magicals on and also a piece of Crushed Curry (SU!) cs which is a deep yellow color.  Here's the first card...

I used a piece of Pumpkin Pie (SU!) cs for my embossed background panel using SSS's Feather Spiral embossing folder (Thanks for enabling me Bonnie!!), and then placed the two die cut panels that I glued together over the embossed background.  Here's a closer up...

For those of you who have used Lindy's Magicals before, you know the mica flakes added to the powder really SHINES when dry, and trust me, this card really does SHINE!!  I finished by attaching to a white card base and adding a gold foiled sentiment using Spellbinder's Everyday Sentiments II.

This card is just the opposite of the first card and placed on a white embossed background, and another gold foiled sentiment from the same Spellbinder's set that I used in the first card.  Here's another closer up shot...

 Even more SHINE on this 2nd card because the B panel has larger areas that were cut from my piece that I used the Lindy's Magicals on.  I hadn't used my Magicals in quite some time and had forgotten just how pretty they are!  For those of you not familiar with them, they come in a powder form that you sprinkle onto your water color cardstock, and then just spritz with water and watch the MAGIC happen!  Hardest part is waiting for the panel to dry!  Well, for those of us with no patience that is!!  Haha!  (Yep, that's me!!)

And here they are both together.  Do you have a favorite?  I really like both, but maybe the one on the right just a bit more because of how bold & bright it is!

We have lots of wonderful inspiration for you from the DT, and you can find it all right HERE.  We can't wait to see how the ORANGE & YELLOW color combination inspires YOU and look forward to seeing all your creations in our gallery!  This challenge is open till Thursday, August 29th @ 9:00AM. 

    

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

The Flower Challenge #94 Reminder

Hello friends.  Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to play along with us at The Flower Challenge.  This month we would like you to use at least 3 of the colors shown in our graphic with your florals.

I made a mini slimline this time around using The Ton's Climbing Iris Stencil set and came up with this...

 This set has 6 stencils and I just love all the detail it gives these Iris's!  My husbands grandmother had Iris's in these colors and she let me dig up a few many, many years ago, and they still bloom every Summer along the side of our garage!  I used the same PFS inks from my earlier post in Peach Fuzz, Coral Reef, Peony, Sage & Eucalyptus.  I used Gina K's Master Layouts dies #7 to cut the main panel and the layering panel in the Smokey Slate cs (SU!) before adhering to a white card base.

My sentiment is from Spellbinder's Better Press A Little Message Sentiments set and I finished with a few of my favorite Disco Ball Sequins from Gina K.

We have more inspiration to share with you to get you started from the DT and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, August 25th @ 5:00PM. 

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

The Flower Challenge #94 - Be Inspired By Our Colors

Hello friends.  Happy August and welcome to another challenge here at The Flower Challenge.  This month we'd like you to Be Inspired by Our Colors with your florals!

Aren't those such pretty colors?!  I used PFS inks in Peach Fuzz, Coral Reef, Peony, Sage & Eucalyptus to create my card and came up with this...

I used PFS's Miss Your Smile stamp and stencil set to create a slimline card using the challenge colors.  The size is a bit smaller than a traditional slimline card as they really aren't my favorite size to use, but I just couldn't bear to cut off too much of the design!  I do not have the coordinating dies for this set, so I did a bit of fussy cutting along the top of the largest flower and then around the greenery and smaller flowers so that my embossed background (Spellbinder's Stylized Trellis ef) would show.  

 I used a Smokey Gray panel (SU!) behind the embossed layer before adding to a white card base to pull in the gray color shown on the graphic.  I also foiled my sentiment on the gray cs using Prism foil and Spellbinder's Everyday Sentiments II to pull in the gray color again.  I finished with a few Disco Ball Sequins (Gina K) and am really tickled with the way this one turned out!

We have lots of beautiful inspiration from the DT using these lovely colors and you can find them all right HERE.  We can't wait to see what you come up with using at least 3 of the colors shown in the graphic...it's going to be a beautiful gallery this month!  This challenge is open till Sunday, August 25th @ 5:00PM.  

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

Color Hues Challenge #92 - PINK & BROWN

Hello friends.  Hard to believe it's August already, isn't it?!  There's a tiny bit of me that's ready for Fall and cooler temps, but only a tiny part!  (Says the girl who LOVES Fall! Hahaha!!)  But anyway, it's time for a new challenge here at Color Hues and our sweet hostess Stef would like to see Pink & Brown on our cards.

These colors said "critter card" to me, so I picked out a fun CCC/Anita Jeram one called Sundae Funday and came up with this...

I stamped this cute little bunny on a piece of white card and then heat embossed in clear so I could color him up with my Copics.  

 I was hoping the spoon and glass that the chocolate ice cream with pink sprinkles are in would show up better showing the Gelly Roll Stardust pen I used, but no luck!!  After I colored up this cutie I lightly ink blended with residual ink from my pink blender brush all around the little guy.

I used a Gina Marie Designs wonky stitched die on my colored layer and added it to a pink card base where I die cut a rectangle window on the front and then used an older Cuttlebug dotted ef to add some fun and dimension.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white on a strip of black cs and then popped up with a piece of foam.  A fun Summertime card that will probably go to one of the grands.

Make sure you check out all the awesome inspiration from our DT right HERE and then play along with us...we'd love to see YOU in the gallery!  This challenge is open till Wednesday, August 14th @ 9:00AM. 

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