Everything Wonderful for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Well, here we are at the first of March and therefore it is time for a new challenge at Color Hues!  The amazing Karen is hosting this time and has chosen a beautiful color combination!

Color Hues

I think this combo would be perfect for St. Patrick's Day/leprechauns/four leaf clovers, but instead, I had a beautiful leafy image in mind to use.  

This is from the Altenew Arched Foliage Craft-Your-Life bundle.  I mulled over many ways to use this leafy arch, by cutting it  to create various layouts but then I saw this video by Mindy Eggan aka "master ink blender" and knew I had to use her design.

To start, the die was used to cut the leafy arch, then it was stenciled with three greens (Jade, Eucalyptus, and Forest Fern) from Altenew's Frosted Foliage quad.  It's one of my favorite green color combos.  Next the die cut was embossed with the matching folder, then adhered to a second layer for more stability.  

A panel of white was then inked blended with the same colors, fading off to white on the left side, and then added to the card base.  I used foam tape to add the leaf die, cutting off anything hanging off the edge of the card.  For the gold splatter, I used Altenew's Metallic Paint set.

The stamp set has some wonderful greeting stamps, but to be honest, I was being lazy about heat embossing it in gold, so I used one in my stash that I'd previously foiled and die cut.  And, it's a lovely sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by and I encourage you take a moment to visit the challenge blog to see all the gorgeous cards by the other design team members and our wonderful guest designers Donna and Darnell.  The challenge will remain open until 9am EDT on Saturday March 14th.  I hope you'll join us!

Stef

PS - In case you missed my DT post for the Paper Players, you can find it here.   Also, I'd love it if you'd come back by on Thursday, when I have a very special surprise post! 

• Altenew Arched Foliage stencil, die and embossing folder
• Spellbinders Everything Wonderful Sentiments Betterpress plate and die
• Altenew Metallic Gold Paint
• Altenew Frosted Foliage ink quad

Magical Day for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  The weeks just fly by and here we are on the 1st of March!  This week at the Paper Players the amazing Christy is hosting, and she has chosen a really fun theme of Mythical Creatures. Think fairies, elves, leprechauns, dragons, aliens (I guess?), unicorns, mermaids...anyway, I think you get the picture!

Paper Players

I have a few "mythical creatures" in my crafty stash but I've been working on cards for children and teens to contribute to the Cards for Cubs card drive for children in the foster system, so I pulled out an old favorite stamp and die set from MFT (which is now closed, sadly).

I love this cute dragon flying with the little child on his back.  I decided to go with a purple dragon just for fun.  I like this image because child could be a boy or a girl.  

After coloring and die cutting the image, I added some fun dots on the dragon with my white gel pen.  The next step was to create a background.  Oh boy, did I fuss around with this, but finally decided to crop the stenciled cloudy sky background down with a circle die, then adhere the dragon and child directly to it.  I wanted a little bit of texture on the card base and found this panel already cut with a cover die.  I wasn't sure if I liked it or not but, in the end, thought it worked okay, especially in the light green color. Let me know what you think. 

The sentiment is from an old Lawn Fawn stamp set.  It was cut with a label die then I fished tailed the ends.  Both it and the circle were then added to the card front with foam tape, and I finished things off with a few purple enamel dots.  

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge!  For more ideas and inspiration, take a moment to visit the challenge blog to see the fabulous cards by my talented teammates. The challenge will remain open until Friday, March 6th at 3pm EST.  

Thanks for visiting and if you have a chance, please come back by later for my new DT post for Color Hues.

Stef

PS  I'd also love it if you'd come visit on Thursday, March 5th, when I have a very, very special post to share!

• MFT Birdie Brown Magical Friends stamp and die
• Lawn Fawn Fairy Friends Sentiment stamp
• MFT Mini Clouds stencil
• Hero Arts Nested Circle die
• Pinkfresh Studio Stitched Diamonds cover plate die
• Copics - YG67, 17, 03, E29, 37, 33, 04, 21, 000, B39, 37, 34, 01, 000, 0000
• OLOs - V2.7, 2.6, 2.4, 1.1
• Altenew Shades of Purple Enamel Dots

Charming Daisy for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  This week at the Paper Players the lovely Jan is hosting our monthly sketch challenge, and she has created a really good one.

Paper Players

As soon as I saw Jan's sketch, an image popped into my head and that was it, no other idea seemed as good.  Take a look.

This Charming Daisy die set from Simon Says Stamp certainly lives up to its name, at least to me.  Along with that die set, I also used the SSS Fiddly Leaf die for some additional foliage.  All the pieces were cut from white cardstock then I used my Copic and Altenew Artist Markers to color it.  

As an aside, I recently (finally!!!) did a very big craft room purge of things I hadn't touched in years, then started reorganizing.  One of the things I rediscovered was a bunch of Artist Markers that I'd tucked away.  I don't have many, only about 30, but I look forward to using them more, as they are different colors than my Copics or Olos.

Okay, on with the card info!  The daisy print patterned paper is from Moda Scraps and I'm guessing it's retired because I've had it for a few years.  The panel was cut with a fun scallop rectangle die.  The yellow strip was embossed with a basket weave folder and layered on the card.  I cut a strip of white and gently inked with in light blue before adhering the flower and leafy branch.  I mulled over several sentiments and decided to forego one, and instead wrapped twine around the card front. I like the additional texture it brought and I can always add a sentiment later.  

Jan's sketch certainly provides a lot of design leeway, so I hope you'll find time to join us this week.  In the meantime, be sure to head over to the challenge blog to see all the gorgeous creations by the rest of the design team.  The challenge will stay open until Friday, February 27th at 3pm EDT.  Come play along us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• SSS Charming Daisy and Fiddly Leaf dies
• C&9/Kristina Werner Kristina's Essential dies scallop rectangle
• SSS Basket Weave ef
• Lawn Fawn hemp twine
• Copics - YG67, 17, 03, YR23, Y15, 00
• Artist Markers - Sunshine Valley Garden greens

Just For You at Color Hues

Hello friends!  The first half of February feels like it has just flown by; does it feel the same to you?  But the good news is that it brings us to a new challenge at Color Hues. This time the amazing Jules is hosting, and she's chosen one of my favorite color pairings.  

Color Hues

I used the Altenew Majestic Roses stencils to create my card with these colors.  The result with these stencils is so amazing!  Take a look.

The set has four stencils for the flowers and three for the leaves and it more than fills an A2 card, as you can see.  When the stenciling was done, I decided not to trim down the panel and instead use a frame.

I used Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Metallic Classics Kraftstock in glossy black. It has a kraft backing, which seems to be a bit sturdier than my other metallic and glossy cardstocks.  

The sentiment is from another Altenew set, the Lovely Rose Peony. It was black heat embossed, then layered on two additional die cuts before adhering to the card front. The final step was to add three Spellbinders Onyx gems just around the sentiment.  A super CAS card for me but those gorgeous roses don't seem to need much more to carry the card!

Please be sure to take a moment to visit the challenge blog for more inspiration by my wonderful teammates and our fabulous guest designer Gundi.  The challenge will remain open until Friday Saturday February 28th at 9 am EST.  I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

Wild Birthday for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at the Paper Players and this week I am hosting.  It's our CAS challenge, were we want to see limited layers and embellishments plus plenty of "white" space. In addition, we're making birthday cards with balloons (or balloon).

Paper Players

For today's card I brought out a previously unused stamp and die set along with an unused background stamp, so I'll also be linking up with Darnell's Never-Before-Used-Schtuff (NBUS) challenge.

NBUS

I'm also sharing my card over at Seize the Birthday, where Glenda has chosen a topping of CAS with Dies.

STB #320

All the images in the stamp set are so cute but only one had a balloon, so that's what I used for today's card.

Isn't that little tiger so cute?  I used Copic and Olo markers to color everything, then die cut the tiger and the sentiments, which are from the same set.  I then used a white gel pen to make some highlights and also add some white fur around the ears, head, tail and feet.  You can see it better in the larger photo below.

For the background, I used two colors of blue ink and blended them right on the front of the white card base.  I then used white pigment ink and stamped a large birthday text background stamp onto it.  The white pretty much absorbed the ink color, and it came out quite subtle, which is what I was going for.  After drying it with my heat tool, the little tiger and sentiments were adhered after layering them on a couple of additional die cuts.

What do you have in mind for this challenge?  Before you head off to your crafty space, be sure to pop over to the challenge blog for some amazing inspiration by the rest of the design team.  The challenge will remain open until Friday February 20th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll be able to join us!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Wild Birthday stamps and dies
• SSS Scripty Birthday Background stamp
• SSS Cadette and Royal inks
• Honey Bee Stamps White Pigment ink
• Copics - YR18, 09, 07, 16, Y35, W4, 2, E0000
• Olos - YG 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, B0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.3

Time for Valentines!

Hello friends!  I finished making and mailing my grandchildren's Valentine cards and thought I'd share them with three challenges.  My grands are all adults now but they still like getting cards from their grandparents. 

I'm joining in over at Time Out Challenges (1st card - I used sparkle, pink, heart), Just Us Girls and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I'm sharing the two styles of cards I created.  The first one is for my granddaughter.  

I used the Kirstina Werner Jumble of Hearts stencil to create the background.  One of the wonderful things about it is that one of the stencils masks the hearts and colors in the background.  I used the Altenew Rose Petals quad to ink blend the hearts and used one color, Purple Wine, for stamping the sentiment, which is from KW's Love & Adore You stamp and die set.  

The panel was cut with KW's Essential Dies scallop rectangle and I used the small heart die from the same set. The large white glitter heart was cut using the Simon Says Stamp Nested Rounded Heart die set.  After the card was all put together, I thought it needed a little something more, so I created a fun design around the heart with some Prism Dazzling Gems from SSS.

I used the same design for both of my grandson's cards.  I found some very old plaid patterned paper (SU Plaid Tidings) in black and white, which worked great with red accents.

Both the plaid paper and the red cardstock were cut with Simon's A2 Postage Rectangle dies and adhered together.  Before adding to the card base, I wrapped red Baker's Twine around it.  

The sentiment is from KW's You Are the Best stamp set, which was die cut with a heart die (same set as above) after white heat embossing.  The little hearts were cut using the KW Essential dies set.

That wraps up Valentine's Day for this year (you can see the card I made for my husband here using Stamping Bella's Oddball Cupid).  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Take care!

Stef

Earthenware Vases for the Paper Players

 Hello friends!  Today's card is for the new challenge at the Paper Players.  The lovely and amazing Ann is hosting our color challenge, choosing a gorgeous combination of colors.

Paper Players

This lovely combination had me thinking spring flowers but I pivoted to using a new die set that I received recently. 

The only Stampin' Up! cardstock I had was a piece of Mossy Meadow, the rest are from my cardstock "collection", trying to get as close as I could to the other colors, along with adding some gray and brown neutrals.

The vases and branches are from the Altenew Earthenware Vases dies set.  The blue vase was embossed using the Altenew Textured Blocks 3D folder that came with the die set.  The background is fog cardstock embossed with the Honey Bee Stamps Rustic Brick Wall 3D folder.  It was a bit too textured for layering all the other die cuts on top, so I ran it through my die cutting machine between the plates, which flattened it just enough.  

The "table" was created with the Tim Holtz Lumber 3D embossing folder and the Altenew Elegant Sayings stamp and die set provided the sentiment.  I did use a couple of Copic markers to color two branches and one set of flowers.  I left the other set of flowers uncolored, so it's more of a lighter version of coral.  The card came together quite quickly, once I settled on which cardstock I was going to use.

I look forward to seeing how you use this beautiful color combination, but before you head off, please pop over to the challenge blog here to see all the amazing cards created by my talented teammates.  The challenge will end on lucky Friday February 13th at 3pm EST.  I hope you'll join us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Altenew Elegant Sayings Stamp and die set
• Altenew Earthenware Vases die set
• Altenew Textured Blocks ef
• Honey Bee Stamps Rustic Brick Wall ef
• Tim Holtz Lumber ef
• Simon Says Fog, Stampin' Up! Mossy Meadow, Tim Holtz Kraftstock Neutral, Concord & 9th Lakefront, Spellbinders Coral and Chiffon
• Copics E18 and R22

You're Mine for the Paper Players and Color Hues

Hello friends!  It's time for new challenges at both the Paper Players and Color Hues, so I've created one card for both challenges.  At the Paper Players, the lovely Claire chosen a timely theme and at Color Hues, the amazing Julie has chosen a perfectly complementary color combo.  Check it out!

Paper Players

Color Hues

The obvious choice was to use this opportunity to get one of my Valentine's Day cards completed.  I used a fabulous Oddball stamp set from Stamping Bella for my husband's card.  It's pretty quirky with the Oddball image, but I know he'll like it.

I used a stencil to create pink clouds around the Oddball Cupid, then colored her with Copic markers.  I used red, of course, and also used a combination of markers to color her wings, bow and the arrow feathers gold.  As always, the stamp packaging provided great guidance for shading. These images always humor me because they are so, um, odd. I especially like her boots with wings.

I did give her a landing spot amongst the clouds and since she has wings, of course she can stay above ground. I thought that was a fun way to use Claire's theme of love is in the air... 😉

The panel was cut with a postage rectangle die, matted with a red panel and added to the card base with foam tape.  The sentiment was also added with foam squares and the card was complete!

What are you inspired to create with these two challenges?  I encourage you to visit both challenges for the amazing inspiration by the respective design teams and our CH guest designer JoAnne.  The Paper Players challenge ends Friday February 6th at 3pm EST and the Color Hues challenge stays open until Saturday February 14th at 9 am EST.  Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Stamping Bella Oddball Cupid Stamps
• MFT Cloud stencil
• Simon Says Stamp A2 Postage Rectangle die
• Altenew Baby Pink and Vineyard Berry inks
• Copics - R59, 39, 37, 35, E79, 57, 35, 33, 04, 21, 00, C0, 1, 3, 5, YR24, 23 Y15, 11, T2, 0