More Spring Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  Today the card I'm sharing was made for the challenges at The Paper Players, where Nance has given us a lovely sketch, and at Color Throwdown, where we are to use Purple, Hot Pink, Mint Green and Teal.  Yum!

CTD 448

PP 350

I decided to use the lovely More Spring Flowers stamp set from Simon Says Stamp for my card, and with Zig Markers and a water paint brush, water colored the rose pink, the crocus purple, and the leaves primarily a mint color after heat embossing on Bristol paper. 

I was a bit disappointed that the purple color was not as vibrant as I wanted once it dried, but I have to say IRL there is more differentiation between it and the pink.  In hind site though, I would probably use the Zig Violet color to get a darker purple.  After die cutting the flowers and leaves, they were adhered to a stitched die cut circle.  To create the background, the Altenew Halftone Stencil was taped down over a piece of white card stock, then Peacock Feathers Distress ink was applied using a Clarity brush, for a nice soft effect.  Once that was done, the black striped designer series paper was added to the left side, then the entire panel was adhered to the card base.

After mounting the die cut circle with the flowers and sentiment, Nuvo drops in Galaxy and Morning Dew were placed around the card and the flowers.

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I've added links to both challenges above, so be sure to visit and enjoy all the beautiful inspiration!

Stef

Product details

Stamps:  More Spring Flowers (SSS), Happy Birthday Gorgeous (Stampin' Up)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Basic Black (SU), Audrey Blue (SSS), Stacked with Love dsp (retired SU)

Ink:  Versamark; Peacock Feathers Distress Ink; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers:  Purple, Pink, Green Shadow, Pale Green

Other:  More Spring Flowers matching dies, Halftone stencil (Altenew), Stitched Shapes Framelit (SU), Galaxy and Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, #4 Black Velvet water paint brush

Happy Birthday Gorgeous!

Hello again!  The card I'm sharing today was made for the current challenge at Freshly Made Sketches as well as the current Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, where this week we are to use patterned paper.

FMS 293

SSS Wed Challenge - Patterned Paper 

I was at a bit of a loss in how I was going to create the partial circle for the sketch because none of the circle dies I have are large enough to cover an A2 top fold card from top to bottom, and I didn't have any other dies that could substitute.  Looking around my craft room, I spotted my humongous roll of Scotch foam tape and immediately knew I could use it to trace on the back of the patterned paper with a pencil, then cut out with my scissors.  Once that was adhered to the card base, I went about creating the die cut sentiment from the new Happy Birthday Gorgeous bundle from Stampin' Up.

Distress inks Citron Twist and Tumbled Glass were blended on a piece of Bristol paper, then die cut.  It was then die cut a second time from thick white card stock and adhered underneath the ink blended piece, just to the side to give it a "shadow" look.  On that ink blended piece of Bristol I also stamped one of the flowers from the set three times, which were then fussy cut.  I ended up only adding 2 to the front, using the third on the inside of the card.  The balloons were stamped on a separate piece of white card stock then cut with a matching punch.  After adding Clear Wink of Stella to the sentiment, flowers and balloons, Glossy Accents was added to the balloons and flowers to give them a nice shiny look. letting that dry over night.

After the sentiment, balloons and flowers were adhered to the card front, some Fancy Frost (Soft Sky color) and Simon Says Stamp Chameleon (green) sequins were added to finish things off.

Here's a close up of the sentiment where you can see the sparkle from the Wink of Stella.

Thanks for your visit!  I've added links to the challenges above, so be sure to head over there so you can enjoy all the gorgeous inspiration.

Stef

Product details

Stamps:  Happy Birthday Gorgeous (Stampin' Up)

Paper:  110# Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol, Lucky Prints 6x6 Paper Pack (My Favorite Things)
Ink:  Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass, Marina Mist
Other:  Fancy Frost (Stampin' Up) and Chameleon (SSS) sequins, Happy Birthday Thinlit, Balloon Bouquet punch, Pool Party Baker's Twine, Clear Wink of Stella, Ranger Glossy Accents, Paper Snips

Crazy Dogs Birthday

Hi there and welcome back!  I thought I would share a card with you that I made for my husband's recent birthday.  It was a milestone one of a sort, so I had to tease him a bit about being an "old dog", and I used the Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs stamp set to create his card.

In full disclosure, while not identical, I was inspired by this post of a card by Laura Bassen that I happened to see on Pinterest here (Tim Holtz - Laura Bassen).

This card was so much fun to create!  I had to make it 5 x 7 inches in order to fit all three dogs onto the front.  I started by first stamping the dogs on Bristol paper, then used Zig markers to color them.  Each one has such a delightful personality, it tickled me to make them come alive with color.  The deflated balloon and party hat are from the Crazy Things stamp set that can be used in conjunction with either the Crazy Dogs or the original Bird Crazy stamp set. 

I chose to use this dog because of the befuddled look, so perfect with the sentiment (how old?)!

This dog kind of has my husband's demeanor hee hee!! (at least on the outside; inside he's an old softy) 

Totally love this little dude, he's a little confused but very excited.

Once the coloring was complete, the dogs were cut out with the matching die set, then adhered on die cut circles of Fog card stock.  A gray Zig marker was used to add shadows at the base of each circle to ground the dogs so they would not appear to be floating in space.  The sentiment was created by using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set, stamping on a scrap of white card stock then using my paper snips to cut out, not worrying about being exactly perfect in my trimming.  I had some wood stars left over from a retired Stampin' Up card kit, which I colored with blue and yellow Zig markers, then added Ranger Glossy Accents to give them a nice shine.  Everything was mounted to a panel that had been stenciled with Distress Ink, then added to the card base.

That wraps up this post!  I hope you enjoyed my card today and, as always, thanks for the visit!

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs and Crazy Things (accessory stamp set), Labeler Alphabet (SU)
Paper:  Thick Whisper White (SU), Strathmore Bristol, Fog (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink
Other:  Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers:  Light Brown, Oatmeal, Brown, Dark Brown, Persian Blue, Lemon Yellow, Green, Black, Dark Gray, Light Gray; Uni-ball Gold Gel pen; Halftone Stencil (Altenew); Stitched Shapes Framelit (SU), Wood Stars, Ranger Glossy Accents, Crazy Dogs and Crazy Things Framelits, Clear embossing powder, Kuretake Water Brush

Sail Away Birthday

Hi there, I hope you're having a good weekend!  Today I'm sharing a card that I made for my BIL's upcoming birthday.  I used the current color challenge at Splitcoaststampers, where Maura has chosen the colors Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and Tempting Turquoise.  I also used the current sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch for my design inspiration.  I had to rotate the sketch for my card to fit the image that I wanted to use.

SCS CC639

CTS 226

The Sail Away image was stamped on watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink.  This older stamp from Stampin' Up has long been one of my "go to" stamps from masculine cards, or in this case, to create a water scene using these color challenge colors.

I used liquid masking fluid to cover the sails before water coloring with Distress inks and a water brush.  Mermaid Lagoon ink was used for the water, initially without using a mask to separate it from the sky.  However, as I started to added Mustard Seed ink to the sky, I realized I didn't want to have a green horizon line, so I added Painter's Tape to mask off the water.  Spiced Marmalade ink was then added to the yellow to get the sunset effect.  The sailboat isn't a solid stamped image, so I ended up using a couple of brown Zig markers with my water brush to color it in and give it more depth. 

A piece of Wood Textures designer series paper was wrapped with some hemp twine then layered on a Dark Chocolate card base with foam tape.  After cutting with a Wonky rectangle die, the water colored panel was still somewhat warped, so foam tape was also used to add it to the card.  The sentiment was stamped, punched out, then layered on a cute little Corrugated Elements oval.   

Thanks for visiting!  I've added links to both challenges above, so be sure to check out all the wonderful inspiration at both.

Stef

Product details

Stamps:  Sail Away, Petite Pairs (both SU)

Paper:  Dark Chocolate (Simon Says Stamp), Canson XL watercolor paper, Neenah Solar White, Wood Textures dsp stack (SU)

Ink:  Early Espresso (SU); Versafine Onyx Black; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers:  Dark Brown, Deep Brown; Distress Inks:  Mermaid Lagoon, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed

Other:  Corrugated Elements, Small Oval punch (both SU), Hemptique twine, Wonky Rectangle die (SSS), Extra Fine Point White Sharpie (water based)

Sunflower Hi

Hello again!  I'm back today with a card made for the color challenge at The Paper Players, and the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to "Emboss It".  I love the color combination that LeAnne chose this week, and it worked perfectly with the sunflower image from the new SSS Summer Flowers stamp set.

PP 348

SSS Wednesday Challenge "Emboss It"

I began by stamping the sunflower in Versamark just off the left side of the watercolor paper panel, then heat embossing with white embossing powder.  Next I stamped the flower again in black ink on a piece of masking paper, which was fussy cut then used to cover the flower so I could layer on the inked flower stem.  Once that was stamped and heat embossed, I started water coloring with Distress inks.

I started by adding Tumbled Glass ink to the background after laying down a bit of clear water.  I didn't try to apply an even cover over every bit of the panel, rather I just used my paint brush to push ink around to touch most areas.  After drying with the heat tool, I then worked on the flower center using Ground Espresso, then moved onto the leaves where I blended Twisted Citron with a bit of Mowed Lawn for shading.  For the flower petals I lightly painted them with Squeezed Lemonade, then let that dry.  Next Scattered Straw was added towards the flower center, then a Squeezed Lemonade was again layered over the whole thing to blend the colors.   

After the panel was dried, it was mounted with score tape onto a panel of Daffodil Delight card stock, and the die cut clouds and sentiment were added.  Hard to see in the photos, but Clear Wink of Stella was painted onto the sentiment and clouds for some nice sparkle.  The white card stock base was layered with a piece of MFT designer paper that delightfully matched the green of the color challenge and the Twisted Citron ink.  Some Delicate Details Lace Tape was adhered across the middle before the top panel was added.  Sequins completed the card.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I've added links above to both challenges, so be sure to head over and enjoy all the amazing inspiration!

Stef

Product details

Stamps:  Summer Flowers (SSS)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Daffodil Delight (Stampin' Up), Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor, Lucky Prints 6x6 Paper Pack (MFT)

Ink:  Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Other:  Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, #4 and #8 Round Silver Black Velvet paint brushes, Lawn Fawn Simple Puffy Clouds dies, MFT Hello There die, Chameleon Sequins (SSS), Fancy Frost sequin (SU), Delicate Details Lace Tape (SU)

Crazy Awesome

Hi everyone and thanks for visiting!  For this post I am joining 3 challenges - Freshly Made Sketches, Stamp, Ink, Paper and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.  I love the sketch by Jen B at Freshly Made Sketches for this week's challenge - it has so many possibilities (okay, most FMS sketches do but I just really love this one).  Immediately I knew what I wanted to make.  For the challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and at Stamp, Ink, Paper, the theme is masculine cards.  While my card isn't specifically "masculine" (e.g. Father's Day) I could definitely see sending it to one of my grandsons.

FMS 291

SIP 102

SSS Wednesday Challenge

I have to say a HUGE thank you to the team at SIP for the blog candy I won at their 100th challenge. Oh my, so, so much goodness (multiple stamp sets, one with matching dies, gift packaging sets, designer series paper stacks and other goodies).  Thank you so much, SIP design team, for your incredible generosity!!

This card was so quick and easy, I could see myself replicating it in the future for multiple occasions.  I started off by trimming down the designer paper from MFT (part of my SIP blog candy) and layering on slightly larger panels of Stampin' Up Soft Sky, which was then adhered to the Neenah Solar White card base according to the sketch.  Next I stamped one of the cute dogs from the Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs on Strathmore Bristol paper with Versafine Onyx Black, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I decided to use my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to color the image because the set I acquired has an amazing assortment of brown colors, and I was able to pick one that complemented the dsp.

Okay, I just I love this pooch image!  When I met my husband many, many years ago, he had a truly crazy but totally lovable female dog named Zeke.  She was a Beagle/Dachshund mix, very smart but very stubborn independent, and loved to (when she was in the mood LOL!) chase balls (in addition to cats and squirrels that would taunt her by wandering into our yard!).  This image really reminds me of her!

The sentiment is from the lovely Big Scripty Greetings designed by Kristina Werner for Simon Says Stamp. It was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder, after which I fussy cut with Paper Snip scissors.  I used foam tape to add the sentiment as well as the dog and ball to the front of the card, and I was done!

Thanks so much for visiting.  I've added links to the respective challenges above so be sure to use them and head over to enjoy so much great DT inspiration.


Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Crazy Dogs (Tim Holtz), Big Scripty Greetings (SSS)
Paper:  #110 Neenah Solar White, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up), Strathmore Bristol, Plaid Pattern 6x6 Paper Pack (MFT)
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Other:  Clear embossing powder; Crazy Dogs Framelits; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers:  Light Brown, Violet, Yellow, Yellow Green, Light Blue, Black; Uni-bal Gold Gel pen, Kuretake Water Brush, Paper Snips

Floral Bliss

Hi friends, and welcome back!  Today I am sharing a card that I made with contents from my new Simon Says Stamp monthly kit.  It included a beautiful stamp set with a large floral bouquet along with additional flowers and sentiments, primarily wedding themed.  However, I used the "Thank You" sentiment from the set because I want to send thanks to Julee Tilman for all the years of wonderful sketches at Mojo Monday.  You see, this is the 500th and final challenge for Mojo Monday challenge (sniff, sniff), as Julee has understandably decided that her family and business require her full attention.  So this card is dedicated to Julee and the Design Team at Mojo Monday. 

The colors and the idea to use the bouquet stamp where drawn from the gorgeous inspiration photo at Inspired By All the Little Things.  I've added links below to both challenges, so do be sure to use them to check out all the beautiful work by both design teams!

Mojo 500

#59 Inspired By All the Little Things

After stamping and heat embossing the bouquet stamp on water color paper, a number of Distress Inks were used to color the image and the background, picking up the bright pink, yellow and blue colors of the flowers in the inspiration piece.  Because of the size of the stamp, I had to turn the card base on its side and also had to cut down the water colored panel in order to work with the sketch.  I ended up fussy cutting around some of the leaves so they could extend beyond the panel.

The SSS monthly kit also included some gorgeous designer paper from Echo Park, two of which I used on the card, including the black polka dot and light pink panels.  The sentiment was stamped in black ink and popped up on foam tape after using a 7/8" scallop punch to cut it out.  After all the layers were added to the white card stock panel and adhered to the Doll Pink card base, Nuvo Ebony Black and Morning Dew Crystal Drops were added around the card and black to the centers of the yellow and pink flowers.

That's it for today.  Thanks for taking time to visit!  And don't forget to check out both challenges.

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Floral Bliss
Products:  Neenah Solar White, Doll Pink (SSS), Basic Black (SU), Canson XL watercolor paper, Echo Park Wedding Bliss dsp
Ink:  Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks:  Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass.
Other:  #4 Round Silver Black Velvet, #3 Round Princeton Art and #00 Round Grumbacher watercolor paint brushes, Polka Dot embossing folder (SU), Nuvo Ebony Black and Morning Dew
Crystal Groups, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch (SU), Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

Bright Birthday

Hi there!  I'm back with a second card that I made after playing around with Distress Ink blending.  This time I used a beautiful stencil from Hero Arts to create a pattern covering the entire panel cut from Bristol paper.

After using repositionable adhesive to secure the Bristol panel to my table, painter's tape was used around the edge of the stencil to keep it in place over the top of the panel.  I started blending in the center of the flower with the lightest ink, Spun Sugar, then worked my way out with Worn Lipstick and then finally Picked Raspberry.  (Love this color combination, as you can tell, since I also used it on my other ink blended card here Wildflower Thanks)   It's hard to capture with my camera, but I sprayed the panel with water mixed with Perfect Pearls and let it dry while I worked on the creating the sentiment.

For the word "Happy" I started with a panel of Neenah Solar White, layered it on a like sized piece of Stick It adhesive, then die cut it three times with the Lawn Fawn Scripty Happy.  I like using Stick It because it makes layering die cuts much, much easier.  The word "birthday" was then heat embossed on Stampin' Up Basic Black card stock, trimmed down and popped up on foam tape.  As with the Perfect Pearls spray, you can't clearly see it in the photos, but the die cut word was painted with Clear Wink of Stella for additional sparkle.  I added sequins from the Simon Says Stamp Little Princess mix, then the panel was adhered to a slightly larger piece of white card stock, then to a card base of SU Melon Mambo.

As with my last card, I'm joining the current "Anything Goes" challenge at Simon Says Stamp, which
I've linked below.

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting!

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  Tin of Cards (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Melon Mambo and Basic Black (SU), Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Versamark; Distress Inks:  Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar
Other:  Hero Arts Large Flower stencil, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, Clear Wink of Stella, Little Princess sequins (SSS), Tim Holtz Mini Blending Tool, Ranger Perfect Pearls, SSS Wafer Stitched Rectangle die

Wildflower Thanks

Hello again!  I've had some fun playing with ink blending again, this time with Distress Inks in bright pinks.  I used the Tim Holtz Mini Blending tool on a panel of Bristol card stock to create the background in Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry.  I keep on hand a mister with water mixed with Perfect Pearls, and used it to spray the panel, add some larger drops, then use a paper towel to absorb the extra liquid.  Next, I mixed some white gouache with water, then used a stiff paint brush to flick the paint on the panel as well. 

When the water and paint dried, I lined up the Tim Holtz Wildflowers stencil on the left side of the panel, then applied embossing paste.  As the paste dries, it absorbs the Distress Ink Colors, which gives it a more muted look.

For the die cut sentiment, I first took a panel of Neenah Solar White and layered on Stick It adhesive.  After die cutting 3 times, I was able to easily adhere the sentiment layers together, then add it to the panel. After adhering the panel to a base of #110 Neenah Solar White card stock, sequins from the Simon Says Stamp Sweet 16 mix were then added for the final touch.

I'm joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which this week is "Anything Goes".  I'm also entering the current challenge at Just Us Girls, which this week is to use a die cut.  I've added links to the challenges below, so be sure to use them to head over to both challenges and check out all the wonderful inspiration!

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

JUGS 396

Thanks for visiting!

Stef


Product details
Stamps:  None
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Distress inks:  Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar
Other:  Winsor & Newton White Gouache, Ranger Perfect Pearls, Tim Holtz Wildflower Stencil, Dreamweaver Embossing Paste, Simon Says Stamp Thanks die, TH Mini Blending Tool, SSS Sweet 16 Sequins