Sunday, December 27, 2020

Big Hugs for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends and welcome back!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.  It is time for a new color challenge at Sunday Stamps!  The color board reflects beautiful choices of a light grayish blue, a dark navy blue plus three shades of green. 


I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is sparkle and shine, for which an aqua pen was used on the letters of the sentiment for some nice sparkle.

These colors are so lovely, and while they would work well for a Christmas/holiday/winter card, I decided to go a different route.  I did use a background stamp that was part of a Christmas release last year, but I think it could be used for any season and many occasions.


The Leaves and Berries background stamp was inked up with Versamark, stamped on a Seaside Spray card base and heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  Three Zig markers were used to color it, a dark blue for the berries then medium and dark olive greens for the leaves. I decided to forgo any blending because I didn't want the cardstock to pill, so I just randomly alternated between the two greens when coloring the leaves.


With the background complete, I moved onto the sentiment, were the word "hugs" was die cut from navy cardstock 4 times, adhered together then added to the white shadow layer.  I added some double sided adhesive to a sheet of pearlescent vellum, then die cut the heart.  After the heart was added to the card base, the sentiment was adhered over it and the letters painted with the shimmer pen.  A few beautiful sapphire jewels were added for the final touch.


Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a fun week ahead as we usher in 2021!  

Be sure to use the link above to check out the challenge and all the beautiful cards by the other DT members.  I hope you'll find time to join us!

Stef


Stamps:  Leaves and Berries Background (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Soft Navy (SSS), Seaside Spray (SU), Pearlescent vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Ink:  Versamark; Olive Green, Mid Green and Peacock Blue Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers
Other:  Detail white embossing powder (SSS), Hugs Dies (SSS), Nesting Hearts Infinity dies (Hero Arts), Dark Sapphire Mix Jewels (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Poinsettia Christmas for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello friends and welcome back! It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge.  Claire is our host this week and has brought us the fabulous board which is especially great for making those last minute holiday cards. This will be our final Tic Tac Toe Challenge for the year so the team can take a well deserved break for the holidays.  We'll be back on January 14th to start a new year of fun challenges!  

For tttc095 I went across the center - red, die cut, poinsettia.



I'm also joining the current Double D challenge where the theme is poinsettia.


To begin, I stamped a number of poinsettias on a large sheet of white cardstock, then colored them with Copic markers.  For the centers and the "berries" a metallic Sharpie was used to add silver, then they were all cut with the coordinating dies.


To create the card, a panel of pink cardstock was die cut with a Slim Lacy Layers die with pretty scallops.  I then masked off the scallop edge and applied white pigment ink through a really beautiful diamond motif stencil. I went to grab my die cut sentiment and found this one already completed in the packaging, so that made putting the card together that much easier, although it was pretty easy anyway.


The pink layer was matted on a larger panel of white die cut with a stitched rectangle die from the same set, then it was layered on a white card base.  The sentiment was adhered then the flowers grouped around it.  The flowers were painted with an aqua shimmer pen, which seems a bit overdone in the picture above, but IRL it is nice and subtle.  I just got a new lighting system for photos and evidently I need to fiddle with the level of lighting a bit LOL!  The final step was to add a few jewels.


Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're remaining safe and healthy and have a wonderful time this holiday, even if you can't physically be with those you love.

Be sure to use the link above to check out the beautiful cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us this week!

Stef


Stamps:  Poinsettia (Waffle Flower)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Cotton Candy and White Glitter (both Simon Says Stamp), Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Hero Arts Unicorn White
Other:  Poinsettia matching dies, Large Written Merry Christmas die (SSS), Slim Lacy Layers dies (WF), Diamond Motif stencil (Pinkfresh Studio), Silver metallic Sharpie, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Bridal Mix jewels (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)
Copics:  R39, 37, 35 43, YG97, 95, 93, 67, 17, 03

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Be Jolly

Hello friends and welcome back!  I have a quick post with my final Christmas card for 2020 and joining the current Inkspirational Challenge where the theme is snow.  This is my second entry to this challenge; you can find my first one here


For my card I used one of the latest stamps from Purple Onion Design by Stacey Yacula.


I adore these cute critters and their friend Frosty!  The scene was colored with Copic markers, then splattered with white gouache with both a paint brush and an old tooth brush to achieve the snowy effect.  After it dried, the panel was die cut with a square die and matted to a slightly larger blue square.  


For some subtle texture behind the main image a panel of white was embossed using a snow embossing folder, then adhered directly to the card base.  The main image was then added with foam tape, as were the two sentiments.  The card still needed a little something more so I added a few snowflake embellishments.


Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful Christmas!

Stef


Stamps:  Sweet Snow Friends, Holiday Messages Sentiment Set (both Purple Onion Design)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Pacific Point (SU)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Claire Nocturne
Other:  Softly Falling embossing folder (ret. SU), white gouache
Copics:  BG000, B39, 26, 24, 32, RV69, 66, 63, R20, V22, 20, YG67, 23, 01, BV29, 25, 23, 20, E34, 31, 30, C2, 0

Friday, December 18, 2020

Holiday Cheer

Hello friends and welcome back!  Today I have a cute card to share with you.  I'm joining the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, where Jen has given us this fabulous, wide open sketch to work with.



I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week is Christmas Critters.

For my card I used some stamps by Stacy Yakula from Purple Onion Design to make a snowy Christmas scene. I love her whimsical critters, which she names individually.  The little raccoon below is Flannel. 


Flannel pulling his sled was stamped on a panel of white cardstock, then I masked off the top of his head and that of the package so the background trees and hills could be stamped behind him.  Once that was complete, the scene was colored with Copic markers.  


The panel was cut with a deckled rectangle die then I used a white gel pen to add "snow" over the entire panel.  I normally splatter watered down white gouache for snow but this time I wanted a bit more control.  Strips of red card stock were added to each side of the main image, then the entire thing mounted to the white card base with fun foam.  The sentiment is one long sentence, but I cut it in two to fit the panel.  Once it was added with foam tape, my card was complete!


Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you're remaining safe and healthy, and have a wonderful holiday season! Like many, my husband and I will not be joining our families for Christmas but I am hopeful that this time next year, we will all be able to share time with those close to us.

Take care!

Stef


Stamps:  Mountains, Flannel (raccoon with sled), Holiday Message Sentiment Stamp (Purple Onion Designs)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Lipstick Red
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Other:  Deckled Frames rectangle die (Waffle Flower), White gel pen
Copics:  B63, 60, 45, 32 BV23, G28, 09, 02, E27, 23, 21, 33, C6, 4, W5, 3, 1, T6, 4, 2, 0, R39, 37, 35, 22, 20, YR24, 23, Y15, 11, 00

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Winter Anemone for Color Hues

Hello friends and welcome back!  The card I'm sharing today is for the new Color Hues challenge and I am joining as a guest designer.  I love this color combination, there are sooooo many options with it for the holidays and winter.



I decided to use the beautiful Winter Anemone stamp from Honey Bee Stamps for my card.


The floral spray was stamped on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers in the challenge colors, plus two cool gray colors for the flower center.  I always love good contrast, which I find hard with lighter colors such as the blue used for the flowers, so I decided to pull out a couple of my Polychromos colored pencils in dark blues and use them to deepen the shadows.  When the coloring was complete, I used a blending stump and baby oil to blend the colored pencil work.


The next step was to use a white gel pen for the stamen ends and a silver metallic gel pen to color the berries.  When those dried, the panel was die cut with a rounded rectangle die and matted with the silver foil layer.  This was then added to the front of the blue card base with foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped in black and cut down with my paper trimmer, then I used an old corner rounder punch on the corners so it would look cohesive with the main panel, adhering it to the card front with foam tape.  Finally, a few silver baubles were added to finish things off.


Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it so much!  I hope you're continuing to remain safe and healthy and do so through the holidays!

Be sure to use the link above to check out the challenge and all the gorgeous cards from the DT.  Thanks to Nancy for inviting me to be a guest DT for this challenge!

Take care!

Stef


Stamps:  Winter Anemone (HB), Merry Christmas sentiment (unknown company - I've had it for years)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Island Blue (SSS), Silver foil
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Other:  Rounded Rectangle Infinity dies (Hero Arts), Silver metallic and White Gelly Roll pens (Sakura), Corner Rounder punch (ret. SU), Polychromos Colored pencils, Crystal Collection-Night Sky (Little Things by Lucy's Cards)
Copics:  B02, 00, 000, BG0000, G28, 09, 02, 000, C3, 1
Polychromos: Helioblue Reddish #151, Dark Indigo #157

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Joy to the World for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this week Melissa has brought us this great sketch to play with!

I'm also playing along with Festive Friday, using evergreen trees, ornaments, red and green from the Inspo List.


And also with Inkspirational Challenge, where the current word prompt is "Snow".


I think this card is one of my favorites I've made for Christmas this year and such fun to create.


Since there are no coordination dies for these stamps, I first stamped the little group of holiday singers then masked them before stamping the Christmas tree.  Using Copic markers, I first colored the trio then the tree, and finally the sky. Then I used gold metallic paint to color the tree ornaments and the star. Yes, a labor of love because it took a long time but definitely so satisfying when done.


With the coloring complete, white gouache was splattered with both a paint brush and a tooth brush to get varying sizes of snow.  I got a little carried away and had to use a Copic Multiliner to redraw the eye of the mouse as well as one of the bunny's.  When that dried it was die cut and matted with a larger die cut in white. The main image was added to the navy card base with foam tape, then the embossed sentiment was adhered to the front, also with foam tape, and that completed the card!


Thanks so much for visiting, I always appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead.  Less than two weeks until Christmas (oh, no pressure LOL!).

Stef


Stamps:  Snow Crooners and Sparkle Tree (Purple Onion Designs)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Soft Navy
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versamark
Other:  Elegant Rectangle Stax dies (MFT), Fine Detail White ep (Simon Says Stamp), White Gouache, Starry Colors Metallic paint (Gansai Tambi), Copic markers

A Merry Little Christmas for The Paper Players

Hello friends, and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  This week the fabulous Claire has chosen a beautiful and sophisticated color combo for us to play with!


This is the final Players challenge for 2020 and marks the end of my time as a 2020 Guest Designer.  It has been an amazing experience to create beside all these wonderful, supportive and talented women!  

Now, onto my card, which was very simple but Claire's color combo certainly dress it up!


I weighed several design options, including making a Happy New Year's, which would work perfectly with this color combination, but I kept coming back to this sweet Christmas stamp.  I started with a panel of black cardstock and heat embossed the stamped image in detail white embossing powder.  


Next I used my FineTec metallic paints to create the silver color, mixing two paints in the palette, a pearl silver and blue silver, then painting select areas of the birds, flowers and leaves.  It is such lovely paint and easy to use even on regular cardstock because the amount of water used needed.  I also used the side of my paintbrush to add silver around the panel edges.  It dried quickly and was then mounted on a black card base.  The final step was to add some pretty crystals for a little bling.


Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful week ahead!

I've added a link to the challenge above and to all the DT members below, so you can enjoy all their beautiful creations!

Take care!

Stef





Stamps:  Merry Little Christmas (PinkFresh Studio)
Paper:  Black
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Fine Detail White ep (Simon Says Stamp), Night Sky Crystal Collection (Little Things from Lucy's Cards), Pearlescent Colours Metallic paints (FineTec)

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Poinsettia Christmas

Welcome back friends!  I think I'm in the home stretch for getting my Christmas cards completed, including the card I'm sharing today, which was made for the current challenge at Color Hues.

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the current theme is "Let it Snow".


I started with a panel of Distress White Heavystock and ink blended a light blue over the entire panel, concentrating the most color in the bottom right.  Next I used a snow stencil and Distress grit-paste to add snow in the upper left part of the card.  While that dried I worked on the poinsettias.


The flowers were stamped on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  I absolutely love this color combination of magenta and blue! For the flower centers, I used a gold metallic sharpie. After coloring, they were die cut with the coordinating dies. The stenciled panel was trimmed down then the flowers added to the corner, layering with foam tape.  The sentiment was also adhered with foam tape, then to finish things off, a few matte gold sequins were added and the flowers painted with a shimmer pen.


Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it so much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy!

Take care!

Stef


Stamps:  Poinsettia (Waffle Flower), Holiday Greeting Mix 1 (SSS)
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Distress White Heavystock (Tim Holtz)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Sky Blue (PinkFresh Studios)
Other:  Poinsettia matching dies, Distress Grit-Paste (Ranger), Falling Snow stencil (SSS), Gold matte sequins, Gold metallic Sharpie, Aqua Shimmer pen
Copics:  RV69, 27, 55, 52

Happy Holidays for the Tic Tac Toe challenge

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge and the amazing Tenia has created this fabulous board to spark our creativity.


I decided to go down the left column for my card (snowman, red, green).


This cute little snowman, the blustery background and the sentiment are all from the latest My Monthly Hero card kit.  I started by stamping the background with two shades of PinkFresh Studio blue inks for a subtle ombre look.  The snowman was stamped on a separate panel of white, colored with Copic markers, then die cut with the coordinating die.


For the background, a panel of white was embossed with a snow embossing folder then die cut with the deckled rectangle die.  It was adhered to the red card base, then the blustery background, snowman and heat embossed sentiment were all added to the base with foam tape.  Easy peasy and super for a bit of Christmas card mass production, so I made a few for my stash.  The last step was to add some Glossy Accents to the buttons and his nose.


Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy, and have a great upcoming weekend!

Take care!

Stef


Stamps:  MMH112020 (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Real Red
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Summer Shower and Sky Blue (Pink Fresh Studio), Versamark
Other:  MMH112020 matching die, Snow ef (ret. SU), Deckled Rectangle die (Waffle Flower), Fine Detail White ep (SSS), Aqua Shimmer pen, Glossy Accents (Ranger)
Copics:  R39, 37, 35, G17, 14, Y08, 17, YR68, BG0000

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Bright Christmas

Hello again!  Yes, I'm back with my third post today and this time it is for the current Double D Challenge, where the fun theme is Santa Hats!  I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week is "Fun With Dies".


Don't you just love the cat in that mood board???  For my card, I went Slimline with Santa out enjoying a little bit of surf and sun.


I started by stamping all the images on one sheet of white card stock, colored them up with Copic markers then die cut them with the coordinating dies.  White clouds were also die cut from the same paper.


Next came making the scene.  I kept it pretty simple, masking off the water to ink blend the sand and sky, then reversing that to add the ocean.  My handy white gel pen was used to add waves and a little foam at the waters edge, and also to Santa's stylish shades for a little reflection.  I laid out all the die cuts to create the scene, then used a Copic marker to add a bit of shading and some dots.  The sentiment was stamped, then the panel was added to a Desert Storm base.  The last step was to adhere all the images, some of which were popped up with foam tape for dimension.  Such a fun card, I think!


Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you're staying safe and healthy, and that you have a great week ahead!

Stef


Stamps:  Sun Lovin' Santa (MFT)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm, Distress White Heavyweight (Tim Holtz/Ranger)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Antique Linen Distress, Sky Blue and Seaside (PinkFresh Studio)
Other:  Sun Lovin' Santa matching dies, Cloud Cover dies (MFT), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Copics:  [R59, 27, 24][RV25, R43, 20][B05, 02, 01, 000][YG67, 17, 03][E57, 55, 53, 51][E13, 11, 21, 51][Y26, 06] Y17 [C9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 0]

Crazy Dog Birthday

 Hello friends and welcome back!  I have a fun card to share with you, one made with the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  I'm also joining the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme this week is "Fun With Dies".


I had to take a break from finishing up my Christmas cards to make a birthday card for my nephew.  I kept it very CAS and I also took a little liberty with the sketch layout by moving the focal panel down down a bit due to its size.


I love that grumpy looking bulldog and he was so easy to color.  I used some toner gray Copic markers to add shading since he is a white dog, but also a bit of brown for his muzzle.  I then colored his collar to coordinate with the plaid paper layer he was to be layered on.  A silver metallic marker was used for the metal bits on the collar and the dog tag. He was then die cut with the matching die.


I took a small rectangle of white and colored the ground with the same browns used for his muzzle and added a bit of light green-blue in the background, then the dog was popped up with thin foam squares.  With the plaid paper adhered to the base, the main image was layered on with foam tape.  The sentiment is from Crazy Talk (both stamp sets are from Tim Holtz) and fit perfectly on a leftover black label, which was attached to the left side of the card base. 


Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I hope you're remaining safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead!

Stef


Stamps:  Crazy Dogs, Crazy Talk (TH)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black, Plaid Tidings
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Other:  Sentiment labels die, Sakura Silver Metallic pen
Copics:  T8, 4, 2, 0, BG78, 49, 45, 10 E47, 44, 43, 42, 41

Winter Wonderland for The Paper Players

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  This is theme week and the lovely Joanne is hosting.


Perfect for those of us still racing to complete our Christmas cards!  For my card, I used another of my favorite stamps, this time from Power Poppy.


I chose to use a muted color palette for the beautiful flowers and leaves, with a pop of brighter color for the berries.  The stamped image was colored with Copic markers and I really focused on leaving a good highlight area. I love these colors together!


The coloring took quite a while, but once complete, the card came together quickly.  The main panel was trimmed down and matted with a lovely panel of cardstock from Hero Arts that seemed to compliment the leaves.  The matted panel was added to the card base with foam tape, then the sentiment strip trimmed down and adhered to the card front with foam tape as well.  Lastly, I painted the flowers and leaves with a shimmer pen and added a few aqua crystals for just a touch of bling.


Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much.  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy!

Be sure to use the link above to check out the challenge as well as the links below to enjoy all the gorgeous creations by the other DT members!

Stef




Stamps:  Winter Wonderland (Power Poppy)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Adriatic (Hero Arts Hero Hues), CZ Design Sentiment Strips-Reverse Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam
Other:  Ocean Wave Crystals (Studio Katia), Aqua Shimmer pen (Tonic Nuvo)
Copics:  RV99, 95, 93, 91, 66, 55, 52, V25, 22, 20, BV08, 04, YR23, Y26, 23 E44, 43, 42, BG 18, 72, 70, YG17, 03, 01