Much Appreciated

Hello and welcome back!  A quick post with a card made for two great challenges - the sketch challenge at Global Design Project and this week's challenge at Colour Q using Melon Mambo, Blackberry Bliss, Soft Sky, Old Olive and White.  Wow, this color combination was right in my wheel house so I had to join in!

I love both the floral stamps from Helping Me Grow, but this one is a bit more challenging to water color with shading due to the small the flower petals.  However, my third try worked out better (phew!) and after the flowers were dry, I painted a Soft Sky wash in the background.  Using a heat tool, I dried the background then added part of the sentiment.  The word "Thanks" was stamped on a scrap of water color paper, cut out with the Decorative Label Punch, then adhered to the back of the panel.  To really make things pop against the Blackberry Bliss card base, Melon Mambo 1/8" Stitched Ribbon was wrapped around each end of the panel, then popped up on Dimensionals.  Sequins and pearls finished things off.

That's it - pretty simple once the water coloring was complete.  Thanks for looking, and as always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I've added links to both challenges below, so please be sure to head on over and check out all the wonderful inspiration!

#GDP050

cQc #356

Until next time...

Stef

Good Things

Hello again!  A quick post to share a card made for the challenges at Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown.  I wanted to do a simple water color, keeping my card pretty CAS.

The wonky panel in the layout was fun to work with!  I added a black border to make my water colored panel pop against the white card base.  The CTD color challenge was to use Peach, Green, Light Pink and White.  I love the peach and light pink together.  The stamen in the middle of the flower were brightened with a white gel pen and sparkle added with a bit of Clear Wink of Stella.

Thanks for looking and as always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I've added links below to both challenges, so do be sure to click on over and check out all the beautiful inspiration!

FMS 250

CTD 406

Until next time...

Stef



Product details
Stamps:  You've Got This
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Peekaboo Peach, Water color
Ink:  Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Peekaboo Peach, Pumpkin Pie, Pink Pirouette
Other:  Clear Wink of Stella, White Gel Pen, Layering Circle Framelits, Pearl Basic Jewels, Metallic Sequins, 2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes, Basic Black Baker's Twine

Joyful Mice

Today I created another Christmas card with my new Merry Mice stamp set (available 9/1/16 in the new Stampin' Up! Holiday catalogue).  For this card, I used the stamp with a cute trio of mice.

I started out by stamping them on paper that is new to me - Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  It's heavy at 110 lbs and has a very smooth finish.  I used a blender pen to color the mice and the paper allowed me to move the ink around beautifully, far better than regular card stock and without pilling.

The background is from my stash of retired Christmas designer series paper.  It was layered with a diagonally cut piece of embossed Garden Green card stock and the panel wrapped with new Gold Baker's Twine.  Because the stamped images were cut down to fit on the diagonal, there wasn't space for one of the sentiments from the set, but the die cut from Wonderful Wreath worked perfectly.

The awesome sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch was my inspiration for this layout.  I've included a link below, so be sure to use it and enjoy all the beautiful inspiration!

CTS 186

Thanks for looking and, as always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Merry Mice
Paper:  Whisper White (card base), Garden Green, Real Red, Strathmore Mixed Media, unknown dsp
Ink:  Basic Black, Real Red, Garden Green, Baja Breeze, Dapper Denim, Crumb Cake
Other:  Blender pen, Gold Gel pen, Baker's Twine Trio Pack, Metallic Enamel Shapes, Snowburst Textured Impression Embossing Folder, Wonderful Wreath Framelit

Merry Mice for CC596

Hi there!  Today I had a chance to work with the new Merry Mice stamp set that will be available soon in the new Stampin' Up! Holiday catalogue.  Love all three of the images in the set and the fun sentiments.  For this card I settled on this little guy ready to all ready to decorate.

He was stamped on watercolor paper and water colored with reinkers using my new favorite tools - Silver Black Velvet watercolor brushes.  Oh my goodness, talk about control of water and nicely moving the color around.  They are an investment but if you watercolor frequently, they worth the money.

After the image was complete, I decided to add a bit of Smoky Slate to the background - boy, what a mistake!  It looked too dark initially but adding more water lightened it up. I dried the panel with my heat tool, then swept the background with Clear Wink of Stella to give it some sparkle.  You can see it better in the close up below (and also my little gold boo boo on the ornament!).

The background panel was run through the Big Shot with the Softly Falling Textured Impression Embossing Folder, then the Cherry Cobbler striped ribbon and circles of gold thread were added before the main image was popped up on Dimensionals.

The current sketch challenge at Mojo Monday was my inspiration (card #2 this week), although I changed things around and substituted the gold thread for the circle.  I've also made the card for this week's current Color Challenge at Splitcoastampers, where Maura has chosen the lovely combination of Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Pool Party - perfect for Christmas card making!  I've added links below, so be sure to use them to check out all the beautiful inspiration!

Mojo 461

SCS CC596

As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I hope to be back tomorrow with a card using another one of the cute Merry Mice stamps, so stop back by if you have a chance.

Until next time..

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Merry Mice
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Cherry Cobbler, Water color
Ink:  Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate
Other:  Gold Gel pen, Gold and Clear Wink of Stella, Gold Metallic Thread, 1 1/4" Cherry Cobbler Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Softly Falling TIEF

Tuscan Vineyards

Hello and welcome back!  I'm in the process of making a gift set of cards for a friend's birthday next week, and this post shows the third card in the series (the first two are on this post here).  This time I used the largest stamp in the Tuscan Vineyards set which portrays a lovely scene.  If I had a Transporter (any Star Trek fans out there?), I would be there in a heart beat!

The scene was stamped on watercolor paper with Archival Basic Black ink, as I was originally planning to water color it. But as I noted all the detail of the scene, accuracy became important so I opted to use a Blender pen so I could control the ink.  I started by coloring the tall, columnar trees in Garden Green, then moving to Pear Pizzazz for the smaller trees.  I imagined the roof to be tile, so Cajun Craze was used.  For the vineyard, it looked like there is some space between the vines at the closest rows, so after using Old Olive for the vines, a bit of Soft Suede was put between some of the rows.  So Saffron was used for the grounds around the house and the low hills behind it.  Crumb Cake and Tip Top Taupe were added to the mountains and, appropriately, the sky was colored with Soft Sky.  As you can see, it didn't require a lot of shading with color - the stamp itself provided the shaded areas.

Next, I went to work on the base, embossing the Delightful Dijon panel with the retired Pretty Prints Textured Impression Embossing Folder.  A doily and burlap ribbon were then layered over the top, then the oval cut scene mounted on Dimensionals.  I didn't add a greeting so the card could be used for any number of occasions.

Now that I look at the finished card, maybe it seems a bit plain without sequins or jewels, but at least it will be an easy one to mail without requiring additional postage.

The current sketch at Mojo Monday was used for my card layout.  I've added a link below, so be sure to use it to check out all the wonderful inspiration!

Mojo 461

Thanks so much for looking - as always your visit and comments are so appreciated!

Until next time...

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Tuscan Vineyards

Paper:  Watercolor, Cajun Craze, Delightful Dijon, Thick Whisper White (base under the Dijon panel)

Ink:  Archival Basic Black, Old Olive, Garden Green, Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Cajun Craze, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Tip Top Taupe, Crumb Cake

Other:  Layering Oval framelits, Tea Lace Doily, 1 1/4" Burlap ribbon, Pretty Prints TIEF, Blender pen

Flowering Flourish for Fab Friday

Hello and welcome back!  Today I'm sharing a card with a monochromatic color palate of Whisper White and Crumb Cake.  I found a scrap of Crumb Cake designer series paper from Love Blossoms (retired from the 2016 Occasions catalogue), plus one of the Expressions Natural Elements wood sentiments that was unused from another project, and went from there.

I started by heat embossing the Flowering Flourish on a panel of Crumb Cake, the sponged Whisper White Craft ink around the edges.  I used my heat tool to speed of the drying process of the ink so I didn't inadvertently end up with a white thumb print somewhere on the panel (learning from past mistakes :-).  Both the dsp and the Crumb Cake panel were adhered to a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and trimmed down to fit.

I trimmed down a doily, layered a piece of burlap ribbon on top, then glued the Expressions Natural Element on top. Gold Wink of Stella was brushed over the element to add a bit of sparkle, along with the Gold Metallic Enamel Dots and pearls.
Last, a bit of Crumb Cake twine (from a retired 2015 card kit) was wrapped along the seam of where the papers met and the entire panel was mounted on an A2 size card base of Thick Whisper White card stock.

My card today was based on the awesome sketch at the current Fab Friday challenge.  I've included a link below so be sure to use it to visit and check out all the beautiful inspiration!

FabFri93

Thanks so much for taking time to visit!  It's always so appreciated and of course, I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.

Until next time...

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Flowering Flourishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Thick Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Love Blossoms dsp
Ink:  Versamark, Craft Whisper White
Other:  White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Delicate White Doily, 5/8" Burlap ribbon, Metallic Enamel Shapes, Pearl Basic Jewels, Gold Wink of Stella, Crumb Cake twine, Expressions Natural Elements

Wild About Flowers

Hello, I hope your weekend is going well!  For the card I made today, I decided to use a lovely stamp from a set that has been gathering a bit of dust in my craft room.  It's a two step stamp and admittedly, even though it's a clear stamp, it took me a few tries to get it lined up just right LOL!

Originally my color palette was primarily Sweet Sugarplum and Crumb Cake but when putting the card together, adding the panel of Wild Wasabi underneath the stamped flower seemed to add just that needed punch.  The base is Thick Whisper White, and is topped with a panel of Crumb Cake that was stamped in Versamark with the Hardwood background stamp before adding to the base.  The sequins on the card are both the retired Frosted sequins and the new, soon-to-be available in the upcoming Holiday catalogue, Fancy Frost sequins that include Sweet Sugarplum, so of course I had to add a few!  I finished with a bit of Clear Wink of Stella on the blossoms.

Mycard was made for the current challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and the inspiration challenge at Just Add Ink.  I've added links below to both challenges so be sure to click on over and enjoy all the stunning inspiration!

FMS 249

JAI 324

Thanks for your visit and as always, I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!

Until next time...

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Wild About Flowers, Sheltering Tree, Hardwood
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Sweet Sugarplum
Ink:  Sweet Sugarplum, Wild Wasabi, Versamark
Other:  Clear Wink of Stella, Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon, Fancy Frost and Frosted Sequins

Tin of Cards Birthday

Hi there!  I have a card to show you made with colors I really love together - Basic Black, Basic Gray, White and Pool Party.  The Tin of Cards stamp set has the loveliest sentiment fonts and a really nice border stamp, both of which were used on this card.

I pulled out some of my favorite retired designer series paper, cut a couple of squares and mounted them on slightly larger squares of Basic Black.  The white panel was stamped with the pretty border stamp then the squares were adhered on offsetting corners and the panel was wrapped with sparkly Pool Party Glitter Ribbon.  The sentiment piece was then mounted on Dimensionals and decorated with a wee little flower resembling those in the dsp.

I was done, I thought, but then it seemed I needed something more to add some balance to the layout, so I added an unused vellum butterfly that was made some time ago and it seemed to be the right finishing touch.

My card today was inspired by the current color challenge at ColourQ and sketch challenge at Splitcoastampers.  Links have been added below, so be sure to use them to check out all the amazing inspiration!

cQc #354

SC 605

Thanks for looking!  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated.

Until next time...

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Tin of Cards
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Pool Party, Vellum, Sweet Sorbet designer series paper
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Layering Circles Framelit, Beautiful Butterflies BigZ Die, Polka Dot TIEF, Pool Party Glitter Ribbon, Neutrals Candy Dot, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

You're the Best!

Hello again!  Today I have a card that uses a mix of new and retired Stampin' Up! products.  It was made to let someone know how much I appreciate them.  It also gave me the opportunity to use my new Flourish Thinlits again.

I was taking inventory of all my designer series paper that could be used for fall occasion and holiday cards, and came upon this lovely piece of long-retired wood grain design.  The colors include Taken With Teal, More Mustard (both retired) and Chocolate Chip.  I still have quite a bit of More Mustard card stock because, until Delightful Dijon arrived as a new In Color, SU really didn't have any nice dark golden yellows in its color palette.  The flourish flower and leaf stem were cut from More Mustard and Vellum, respectively, and adhered to the dsp.  Next, another element from the Flourish Thinlit dies, cut from Chocolate Chip card stock, was layered horizontally and covered with a piece of retired crochet trim.

The entire panel was wrapped with Linen Thread, then topped with a bow, button and sentiment tag.  The sweet sentiment is one of the reasons I have held onto the retired Happy Home stamp set.  I didn't have any Taken with Teal ink, so after testing a variety of colors, I ended up substituting Tempting Turquoise.

I'm entering this into a couple of card challenges.  I've used the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and also joining Just Add Ink where the challenge is to "Just Add F" (JAI 323).  The "F" for my card are the flourishes.

FMS 248

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a good week ahead!  I've added links to both challenges, so be sure to visit and check out all the beautiful inspiration!

Until next time...

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Happy Home
Paper:  Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Vellum, Autumn Meadow dsp
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise
Other:  Metallic Sequins, Linen Thread, Victoria Crochet Trim, Flourish Thinlits, Tags & Labels Framelit, Gold Basic Metal Button

By the Tide Birthday

Hi there!  Tonight I'm sharing a card made with the By the Tide stamp set.  We have a nephew who is in the Navy, so I usually try to make his birthday card with a nautical/ocean/beach theme.  I decided on a color palette of Pool Party, Sahara Sand and Real Red.  Here's what I came up with:

Starting with a panel of Pool Party card stock, it was embossed using the new Seaside Textured Impression Embossing Folder.  Next, a piece of Sahara Sand card stock, stamped with the Hardwood stamp was layered on top then wrapped with Thick Very Vanilla Twine.  I was rather proud of myself having completed that knot on the second try after finding a tutorial on Pinterest!

The circle was cut with the second largest Layering Circle Framelit, then stamped with the coral and poem stamps and topped with the fussy cut lobster.  The sentiment banner was then slipped under the edge of the circle.  The White Enamel Dots were added for the final touch.

I made this card using the current sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps, the Tic Tac Toe challenge at The Paper Players, and the Nautical Theme challenge at Global Design Project.

SSC 132

PP306

#GDP047

Thanks so much for looking!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  Be sure to use the links above and enjoy all the amazing inspiration at each of the challenges!

Until next time...

Stef



Product details
Stamps:  By the Tide, Hardwood, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Real Red
Ink:  Real Red, Sahara Sand, Pool Party
Other:  White Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Thick Twine, Layering Circles Framelit, Seaside TIEF