Crisp Coral Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  I have some exciting news to share - I have been asked to join the Splitcoaststamper Color Challenge as a guest design team member for the month of June!  So be sure to check back each Tuesday this month for the latest color challenge and my card.  Here's a link to the SCS Color Challenge forum, where you just need to look for the thread for CC533 (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/color-combinations-f43/).

This week our colors are Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral and Basic Gray - love these colors together.  The "dessert" is to add leaves and sky.  While I didn't technically have a scene to which to add a sky, I applied a light wash of Soft Sky ink around all the background.

I decided to use both a retiring hostess set and a new hostess set from the Stampin' Up! 2015-2016 catalogue going live tomorrow.  The sentiment was first heat embossed with clear embossing powder after inking up the stamp in Versamark then Basic Gray.  The flowers were stamped in Jet Black Stazon then water colored with an Aqua Painter.

After all the water coloring was complete, a piece of Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Trim was added along the left side, then adhered to a Calypso Coral panel.  Everything was popped up on Dimensionals on the Basic Gray card base.  Somehow it just didn't seem finished; adding pearls to the flower centers seemed to do the trick.

This card was also made for Friday Mashup, where this week Holly has given us a sketch where you can mash it up by water coloring.  It's also for the challenge at Paper Players, where Laurie has a terrific Tic Tac Toe challenge for us this week.  I went straight across the middle with this card.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

As always, I so appreciate your visit and comments!  Be sure to use the links above to join the challenges or at least visit and enjoy the inspiration!  Have a great week!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Happy Birthday, Everyone!, I Like You
Paper:  Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Watercolor
Ink:  Basic Gray, Versamark, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Jet Black Stazon, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky
Other:  Clear embossing powder, Aqua Painter, Blender pen, Corner Rounder punch, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Trim, Basic Pearls

Hooray It's Your Day

Hello again!

Today I'm sharing a couple cards I made a few weeks ago with the Hooray It's Your Day Project Kit from the Occasions catalogue (only 3 days left to order it!).  It has awesome decorative masks and embellishments to decorate the variety of card bases and tags included in the kit.  Summer brings a large number of family birthdays so these cards, for my granddaughter and youngest grandson, are part of my stash so that I'm not making cards in a last minute fire drill!

Isn't this a fun card!  The sun rays were made with one of two decorative masks in the kit, using Daffodil Delight and a sponge dauber on a 4" x 5 1/2" panel of Whisper White card stock, which was then layered over the card base.  Bermuda Bay washi tape was adhered to the right hand edge of the card base.  The paper clip and wooden stars along with the number stickers were applied to the front and a bit of Coastal Cabana twine wrapped around the inside edge.  All of the embellishments and washi tape, excluding the twine, were included in the kit.

This card just shouts "girly girl" which is perfect for our 10-year old to-be.  I started with a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of Whisper White card stock, then created the pattern used the second decorative mask in the kit and a stamping spritzer filled with rubbing alcohol mixed with a bit of Melon Mambo reinker.  It took a couple tries to get relatively even coverage, but that says more about my unfamiliarity with the technique than the products.  This panel took some dry time and because anything that gets that wet will warp, strong adhesive was used to attach it to the Whisper White layer underneath.

The tag, the wood sentiment and glitter strip were also included in the kit.  The Hooray It's Your Day stamp set, available separately, was used for the sentiment on both cards.

Thanks for the visit!  I'd love to hear what your thoughts are about card kits - have you ever bought one?  If so, do you end up using everything in it or does it get pushed aside as a future to-do?  I have plans for additional cards but have not gotten back to the kit since I made these.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Card #1
Stamps:  Hooray It's Your Day
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay
Other:  Hooray It's Your Day Project kit (star paper clip, wood stars, sun decorative mask, sticker letters, washi tape) Coastal Cabana twine

Card #2
Stamps:  Hooray It's Your Day
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink:  Melon Mambo
Other:  Hooray It's Your Day Project kit (scallop decorative mask, tag, wood "Hello", glitter strip)Strawberry Slush twine, Crushed Curry Baker's Twine, Frosted Sequins, Crushed Curry washi tape

Coastal Thoughts

Hello again!

This week's color challenge of Coastal Cabana, Old Olive and Very Vanilla at Splitcoaststampers is so lovely I just had to join in with a card.  I have a friend from work who is in the hospital and this card is for her.

The Field Flowers stamp is a two step stamping process.  The "petal" stamp was inked up then stamped off once to get a lighter color.  Next the outline stamp was inked up in full color, and stamped over the first image using a Stampamajig. I've spent way too much time in the past trying to get these stamps lined up in the past, and finally decided to get smart, just pull out the tool up front and make it easy!!  After stamping, the flowers were cut out with my Paper Snips and popped up on Dimensionals.  

 As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated! Do use the link below to go check out the color challenge at SCS; there's no time limit so you can join in any time.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Field Flowers, Thoughts & Prayers
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Coastal Cabana
Ink:  Old Olive, Coastal Cabana, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Eyelet Border punch, Honeycomb TIEF, Coastal Cabana twine, Paper Snips

Wild Birthday

Hello again!

A quick post to share the card made for this week's sketch challenge at Paper Players.  It offers a lot of options and was perfect for the masculine birthday card I wanted to make.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

I decided to use the quail image from Walk in the Wild, which was the perfect size to use as the focal point in the sketch.

The base is one of the new In Colors, Tip Top Taupe.  After using it for this card I am in love with this neutral!  I stamped it with the Hardwood stamp in the same color, then used my Stampamajig to line up and stamp the sentiment.

The quail was stamped on Watercolor paper, then the background laid on with an Aquapainter.  After that dried I added the grass and used a marker to create more "grass" in the background.  A Blender pen was used to color the detail on the bird and stump.

The water color image was layered with Basic Black and Soft Sky card stock.  The black really made the image pop.  Antique brads were then added to the horizontal piece of Basic Black as a finishing touch.

Thanks so much for the visit! I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Be sure to use the link above to join in the fun at Paper Players, or at least pop over and enjoy all the great inspiration!  Take care!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Walk in the Wild, Wetlands, Hardwood, Bring on the Cake
Paper:  Tip Top Taupe, Basic Black, Soft Sky, Watercolor
Ink:  Tip Top Taupe, Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Craft Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz
Other:  Antique Brads, Blender Pen, Aquapainter, Stampamajig

Tulip Kindness

Back again!

The card I'm sharing now was initially made for the Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  Each week, a member's gallery at SCS is featured, and those participating in the challenge CASE one of cards in the Featured Stamper's gallery.  This week's FS loves CAS cards, so the card I entered into the challenge followed suit.

I started with a Basic Gray base and adhered an embossed panel of Melon Mambo.  After coloring with Blendabilities, the flower image with layered on a slightly larger piece of Basic Gray then adhered to the base.  Very easy and the flowers are definitely the star of the show.

However, I wanted to have on hand a stepped up version, so after entering my CAS version into the challenge, I decided to rework the card by adding some ribbon and pearls.  I have several colors of Stampin' Up! satin ribbon and decided a lovely white satin ribbon would look pretty on this card.

That's it for today.  Thanks for taking time to visit and I'd love to hear from you if you have time to leave a comment!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Love is Kindness
Paper:  Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Spring Flowers TIEF, Wild Wasabi and Melon Mambo Blendabilities, Basic Pearls, Whisper White Satin Ribbon

Tropical Birthday

Hi there!

The card I have to share today was made for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I love the curved layer and knew it would be a super easy Clean and Simple card to make.

http://www.sweetsundaysketch.blogspot.com/

It's been so gray and dreary this weekend, I wanted to make something colorful.  The circle is perfect for a layered flower from Flower Patch and I chose Sweet Sorbet designer series paper to give a "tropical" feel.

The dsp was adhered to a same size panel of white card stock then the corners were rounded.  None of my dies gave me a large enough circle to use as a guide so I pulled out my old protractor to help me at least get evenly rounded corners : - ). A bit of ribbon was tied on, then the panel was popped up over the Pool Party base.

Before the panel was added, I used a Stampamajig to properly align my sentiment.  Once that was done and the panel added, the card was finished off with the big flower and some rhinestones.

Simple and easy, I like that!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the great inspiration at the SSSC.  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I will be back later with another post, so do drop by if you have a chance.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flower Patch, Simply Sketched
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party Sweet Sorbet dsp
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Flower Fair framelit, Paper Snips, Sycamore Street Pool Party satin ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Stampamajig, protractor.  

Silver Lining

Welcome back!

Today's card is a sneak peek of some of the stamps in the new Sprinkles of Life stamp set and the matching Tree Builder punch, both of which will be available when the new Stampin' Up! catalogue goes live June 2.  It also uses a couple of products from the Hooray It's Your Day Simply Created kit that is still available in the Occasions catalogue also until June 2.

I started with a 3 3/4" square of Whisper White paper, using a stencil from the card kit to create the rays of sun with a sponge dauber inked up in Daffodil Delight ink.  A circle of card stock was then punched and also inked up to increase the intensity of color.

The clouds were stamped in Smoky Slate on the same color card stock, then punched out with the Tree Builder punch. Are they not cute?  You can also use them as mounds of ice cream on top of a cone stamp also included in the stamp set.  Lots of fun to be had with this set!

The "silver lining" was created with Encore Silver pigment ink and a blender pen.  I had to go over it a couple of times to get the appropriate intensity, as the pigment ink seemed to fade as it dried.

I used this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers as the basis for my layout.  I had to flip the little flags to accommodate the rays of sun.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

Thanks for the visit today!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Do use the link above and check out all the amazing creativity using this sketch at SCS.

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Sprinkles of Life, Distress Dots
Paper:  Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray
Ink:  Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Versamark, Encore Silver Pigment ink
Other:  Tree Builder and 1 3/4" Circle punches, Blender Pen, Sponge Dauber, "Hooray It's Your Day" Simply Created kit (sun stencil, Bermuda Bay Washi tape)

Button Trio Birthday

Hello again!

I've made a card based on the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts and inspired by Friday Mashup, where the challenge is to to use lace and mash it up with butterflies.

http://www.palspaperarts.com/

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I decided to make a vintage/distress style card.  I wanted to use buttons for the trio of images in the sketch, so they ended up on top of the horizontal banner rather than underneath.  I layered some lace under and on top of the banner, then added the buttons.

I started with a base card of the new In Color Watermelon Wonder.  Isn't that a luscious color?  Next I took a single panel of the same card stock and layered a piece of retired First Edition dsp on top after being stamped with various images from Butterfly Basics, then distressing and sponging with the new Tip Top Taupe (also a new In Color).

Well, I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!  I hope to be back in a day or two with another post.  As always, your visit and comments are so very appreciated!  I've included links above to both PPA and FM; don't miss that opportunity to play along or at least visit and check out all the gorgeous inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Butterfly Basics
Paper:  Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, First Edition designer series paper
Ink:  Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe Pear Pizzazz, Delightful Dijon, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Bitty Butterfly punch, Venetian Crochet Trim, Very Vintage Designer Buttons, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Basic Pearls

Bokeh Birthday

Hi there, hope all is well with you!  Tonight I have a card to share that I made using the Bokeh Watercolor Technique.  I've seen lots of examples of this beautiful technique in the last few months and finally made time to give it a try last weekend. Splitcoaststampers has a terrific tutorial (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/watercolorbokeh/) that will take you step by step how to create this effect.  I used this week's awesome sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for the card layout.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

 
I started with a rectangle of watercolor paper, thoroughly covered with water using a Stampin' Spritzer full of water, then used an Aquapainter to apply Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz and Bermuda Bay ink onto the paper.  After covering all the white space, I dried it with a heat tool.  A plastic sheet with various size holes punched through it was then laid on top and Craft Whisper White ink was randomly applied with a sponge dauber.

After all the ink was dry, the sentiment from the Happy Birthday, Everyone was heat embossed with black embossing powder.  This is a sneak peek of a new Hostess stamp set that will be available June 2nd in the new upcoming Stampin' Up catalogue.

At first I was going to watercolor a flower to use for the circle image on the sketch but the Bokeh looked so festive and elegant, I wanted to make it a bit fancier.  I decided to use one of the retired Frosted Finishes embellishments I still had on hand, which was layered on top of Silver Foil and Basic Black punched circles.  A bit of Bermuda Bay ribbon and rhinestones finished it off.

As always, your visit and comments are so very appreciated!  Please be sure to use the links above to see all that great inspiration at FMS and also check out the Watercolor Bokeh tutorial at SCS.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Happy Birthday, Everyone
Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Watercolor, Silver Foil
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Craft Whisper White, Versamark
Other:  Aquapainter, Sponge Dauber, Frosted Finishes embellishment, 1" and 1 1/4" Circle punches, Bermuda Bay 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Black embossing powder.

Butterfly Love

Hello, hope your weekend is going well.  We are enjoying some lovely weather, with temps around 80 degrees, at least for another day, then back to normal Northwest rain.

Today I have a card to share with you that I made for three challenges:  The weekly Color Challenge and Ways to Use it Challenge (Butterflies) at Splitcoaststampers (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/) and this week's sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch.

http://casethissketch.blogspot.com/

The colors for the SCS Color Challenge are bright, bright, bright - Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango and Melon Mambo. Because they are so bright, I decided to use the colors sparingly with a large amount of white.  The neat sketch from CTS was perfect to do just that.

The butterflies for the Ways to Use it Challenge were colored with Crushed Curry and Tangelo Twist.  I was amazed to find that I did not have any Tangerine Tango ink but the In Color filled in perfectly.

With such a big white space in the sketch, I thought the embossing folder with floral stems would add to the spring feel of the card.

Thanks for your visit today, it's so appreciated!  I always love to read your comments, so please take a moment and say Hi! I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri, Express Yourself
Paper:  Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo
Ink:  Craft White, Crushed Curry, Tangelo Twist, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Elegant and Bitty Butterfly punches, Spring Flowers TIEF, White embossing powder, Basic Rhinestones, Aquapainter, Blender Pen

Birthday Sail

Hello again!  In efforts to continue to build my store of masculine cards, I decided to use the Sail Away stamp and create an ocean scene.  It was also created for this week's challenge at Paper Players to use a form of transportation, and used the sketch from Retrosketches.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/

http://retrosketches.blogspot.com/

The background was water colored with reinkers and an Aquapainter.  To create the ocean, the Aquapainter was used to spread water, then Pacific Point, Marina Mist and Night of Navy inks were added, pushing them around with the painter to try to create the look of movement.

The sky was created using Soft Sky ink, deliberately spreading it around non-uniformly with the intent of creating a hazy sky look.  After the watercolor panel dried, I used a blender pen and White Kraft ink to create some white caps on the top of the waves.  It was then layered onto a piece of Pacific Point.  The Night of Navy base was embossed with the Stylish Stripes TIEF.

As always, your visit and comments are sooo appreciated!  Be sure to use the links above to check out all the great inspiration at each of the challenges.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Sail Away, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Watercolor, Pacific Point, Night of Navy
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Soft Sky
Other:  Aquapainter, Stylish Stripes TIEF, Naturals Designer Button, Linen Thread

Lacey Pairs

Hello again and welcome back!  I had fun with the challenge at Friday Mashup this week, where we have the choice to use the sketch or use retiring/retired Stampin' Up! products or mash it up and do both.  Which is what I did, and am sharing with you tonight.

http://www.fridaymashup.com/

I have many, many stamp sets on the retiring products list (sniff, sniff), but one of my current favs is the Hostess set I Like You.  I've had a lot of fun coloring the flowers with the discontinued Blendability Markers.  I used this color combo with this set several weeks ago and loved it so much I decided to use it for this card too.

The Whisper White base was stamped in retired Pretty in Pink ink with the Something Lacey background stamp.  After embossing with the retiring Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder, a Wild Wasabi panel was layered on top.  The tag was cut from retired textured Melon Mambo card stock, with one end cut with the Scallop Tag Topper punch (NOT retiring, thank goodness!).

The flowers were colored with Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Wild Wasabi Blendability markers (no longer available) then mounted on the tag.  To top the tag, Strawberry Slush Thick Twin was tied into a bow around a few pieces of white twine from the Painted Blooms Cotton Twine collection.

A banner with the sentiment from Petite Pairs and Wild Wasabi Candy Dots was the final touch for the tag.

Thanks for taking a look!  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!!  Be sure to use the link above to check out all the great inspiration at Friday Mashup.

Hugs,

Stef

Shabby Birthday

Hello again!  Tonight I'm sharing a card that took me forever to complete!  I love the stamp but I just couldn't get my creative "mojo" going for some reason.  Finally I finished it this afternoon so I thought I would share with you.

I started by stamping the flower on Shimmery White card stock, then coloring with a blender pen and reinkers.  Choosing this beautiful designer series paper helped determined the colors used in coloring the stamped image.  After coloring was complete, I used my Paper Snips to fussy cut it.  It was then adhered to a Confetti White oval that had been layered over a larger Soft Suede oval.

The Soft Suede base was layered with a Soft Suede panel covered with two pieces of the retired Beau Chateau dsp, then everything was distressed and sponged with Crumb Cake or Soft Suede.  White Jute ribbon and Linen Thread were then wrapped around the card the panel before adhering to the base.  It was finished off with Basic Pearls.

I used this week's sketch challenge at Paper Players for my inspiration, although I changed it by replacing banners with ribbon.

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  I'll be back later this weekend with another card to share.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy yours!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Indescribable Gift, Express Yourself
Paper:  Shimmer White, Confetti White, Soft Suede, Beau Chateau designer series paper
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Timber Brown Stazon
Other:  Ovals Collection framelits, Jute ribbon, Linen Thread, Basic Pearls, Cutter Kit, Paper Snips, Blender Pen