Easter Parade

Hello friends!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Barbara is hosting and has chosen Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo and Pineapple Punch with a dessert option of spring or Easter.  I was in need of a few more Easter cards, so that's the direction I went.  I used the darling Bundle Girl with Chocolate Bunny stamp, coloring it up with Copic markers similar to challenge colors plus those similar Stampin' Up neutrals Mossy Meadow and Early Espresso. I also used this stamp for my Paper Players design team card last week, with a different layout and colors. Here's a link to that card.

After stamping the image in Copic friendly ink, the first step was to create the background sky, using the lightest blue green marker.  Next I colored up the image with my Copics.  I gave her bright yellow boots, because that grass might be wet (!) and thought it went well with her cute blue green outfit.

For the grass I used a light green to color in the entire base, then flicked darker greens over the top.  When the coloring was complete the panel was trimmed down to fit within the scallop panel stitching and a white gel pen added polka dots to her little bonnet.  Flirty Flamingo card stock was used for the base, which was stamped in white pigment ink with a floral background stamp.  After that dried, the main image was added using fun foam for some nice dimension, as was the sentiment.

Thanks so much for visiting, I truly appreciate it!  I hope you and your families remain safe and healthy, and if your time and mojo allows, it would be wonderful if you could join us for the Color Challenge this week!

Stef


Stamps:  Bundle Girl with Chocolate Bunny (Stamping Bella), Modern Rose background (Simon Says Stamp), Crazy Talk (Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Flirty Flamingo, Neenah Solar White
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne (sentiment), Hero Arts Unicorn White
Other:  Scallop A2 Rectangle die, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Copics:  Y08, 04, 000, RV43, 32, 20, 000, BG49, 13, 32, 11, 10, 000, G99, 94, 82, YG97

Blossoming Cherry for The Paper Players!

Hello friends, I hope you are staying safe and well!  It's Sunday and time for a new challenge at The Paper Players.  It's Tic-Tac-Toe week and the lovely Joanne is hosting.  She's offered lots of great choices to spark your creative energy!

The Paper Players

I'm also joining up with the make your mark challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More, and the anything goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Addicted to #382

SSS Wednesday Challenge

I love Tic-Tac-Toe challenges because they definitely help when my mojo is lagging.  I chose the left column elements (ribbon, die-cut and pink) for my card. I had this lovely Power Poppy digi image printed and ready to go, and what's better for pink than cherry blossoms?

I started by coloring the background in my lightest blue Copic marker, then worked on the cherry blossoms in the pinks.  There are definitely a lot of blossoms to color in this piece but it was rather meditative and I enjoyed the process.  When the coloring was complete I trimmed down the panel to fit on the white die cut scallop rectangle.  Before doing so I used my Misti to help align and stamp the sentiment on the colored panel.

Sorting through options of neutral card bases, Fog ended up working the best.  A separate A2 panel of Fog card was stamped with a woodgrain background stamp in the same color of ink for a suble tone-on-tone look, then wrapped with a piece of ribbon and added to the base.  After adhering the main image to the card base with some fun foam, a few jewels were added for that little bit of sparkle!

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you have a good week and stay well!

Stef


Stamps:  Blossoming Cherry (Power Poppy digi), Delicate Flowers (sentiment, Simon Says Stamp), Woodgrain background (ret. SU)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Fog (SSS)
Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne, Fog
Other:  Ocean Wave Crystal gems (Studio Katia), Iridescent Jewels (Lucy's Cards Little Things), White Satin ribbon (ret. SU), Scallop A2 Rectangle die (Honey Bee)
Copics:  E47, 44, 42, RV69, 09, 14, 13, 00, B0000

Time To Celebrate for Seize the Birthday!

Hello, friends!  It's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! The "toppings" for this challenge is cards for kids, super fun!  Just remember to keep it a birthday theme.

Seize the Birthday

I decided to use a fun Penny Black stamp set with various critters to make a birthday card that will eventually go to our niece's young son.  I began by stamping the images on a 4.5" x 7" piece of Bristol paper with Copic friendly ink, then masking them off so I could ink blend the background sky and green hills.

With the ink blending complete I colored the images with my Copic markers. When the coloring was complete I thought my hills looked a little bare, so I added some grass and a few fluffy bushes in the background.  Separately I stamped and colored the gift down by that cute pooch, fussy cutting and popping it up on foam tape. The polka dots on both birthday presents were colored in with a white gel pen

After trimming down the main panel, the sentiment was stamped, then the panel was layered on a piece of yellow card before adding to the blue card base with foam tape.  The final size of the card ended up being 4.25" x 7".  The last detail was to add some sparkle to the balloons.  I was also going to add crystal glaze to the balloons but I forgot to do that before I took my photos.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above and join this fun challenge at Seize the Birthday!

Stay healthy and safe!

Stef


Stamps:  Time to Celebrate (PB), Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Daffodil Delight and Pacific Point (SU), Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks
Other:  Mini Cloud stencil (MFT), Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Copics:  W5, 3, 1, 0, N4, 2, 0, B39, 26, 24, 21, YR07, 15, 21, Y28, 08, 02, 00, YG03, 07, 17, 67, G28

Mondo Wildflowers

Welcome back, friends!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  I'm the host this week and have chosen Melon Mambo, Grapefruit Grove and Blushing Bride with a dessert challenge of flowers, because, well, I love to color flowers, and it's Spring, and hopefully it will bring some cheer to your day!  You may also use any of the Stampin' Up neutrals.  I've used colors similar to Mossy Meadow and Crumb Cake this week.

For my card, I used a new-to-me stamp called Mondo Wildflowers from Ellen Hutson.  It is a dream to color these pretty images.

The flowers were stamped on white card with Copic friendly ink and colored up using colors similar to those for the challenge.  To help the flowers look a bit grounded, I used the lightest peachy pink marker and went around the edge of the entire bouquet, then added white gel pen to the ends of the stamen.

I decided to frame up the floral image, so I used a butterfly embossing folder on an A2 sized panel of white card, then die cut a large oval from the center.  I trimmed down the colored piece and then added the frame with foam tape.  After adhering to the white card base, I painted the flowers with a shimmer pen plus added a few jewels for lots of sparkle.  I opted to wait to add a sentiment until I send the card.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you'll be able to join us for the Color Challenge this week!

Please take care and stay safe & healthy my friends!

Stef


Stamps:  Mondo Wildflowers
Paper:  Neenah Solar White
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam
Other:  Oval Collection framelit (ret. SU), Fluttering embossing folder (ret. SU), Tonic Nuvo Shimmer pen, Bridal Mix Jewels (Lucy's Cards Little Things), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Copics:  RV09, 06, 02, R32, 20, 30, 00, 000, YR68, 01, E33, 31, 29, 27, 23, G99, 94, 82

Happy Easter for The Paper Players!

Hello friends and welcome back!  I hope this finds you safe and healthy!  It's sketch week at The Paper Players and the lovely Claire has created an excellent and versatile one.

The Paper Players

I'm also joining the current Anything Goes challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Addicted to Stamps #381

With Easter coming up, I thought this sketch would work perfectly for my cute little Bundle Girl and her BIG chocolate bunny!!

Isn't that adorable?  After stamping with Gina K Amalgam ink I used Copic markers to color up the scene.  The colors are similar to those on the packaging picture, except I switched them around a bit.  The picture is also a great guide for shading, taking some of the guess work out of it.

Next I used a large oval to cut out the image.  Because it is so large, I had to adjust my card size to 4.5" x 5.75" (fortunately I have an envelope punch board, so I can make a custom envelope).  I also die cut an A2 sized scallop rectangle to layer beneath and found some long retired textured card stock in Early Espresso for the strip elements.

I decided the pink layer looked a bit too plain so I found some sweet little leaf, berry and floral images with which to create my own background, using white pigment ink to keep it very subtle.  You can see it in the bottom right corner in the photo above.  Much of it is covered up with the other layers but it just adds that "somethin', somethin'" that I felt was missing.  Lastly, the oval was added to the main card with fun foam, then I stamped the sentiment in brown and layered it on the oval with thin foam squares.

Thank you for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  Take care, stay healthy and I hope you'll be able to take your mind of the current state of affairs and join the Paper Players' challenge this week!

Stef


Stamps:  Bundle Girl With Chocolate Bunny (Stamping Bella), Woodland Whimsy (Simon Says Stamp), Crazy Talk (sentiment, Tim Holtz)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Cotton Candy (SSS), Textured Early Espresso (ret. SU)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Hero Arts Unicorn White, Versafine Clair Pinecone (sentiment)
Other:  Scallop A2 Rectangle die, Ovals Collection Framelit (ret. SU)
Copics:  RV91, 21, 10, 00, BG72, B01, 00, 000, E47, 74, 71, 11, 01, 000, Y23, 21, 02, YR23, YG25, 01, W3, 0

Birthday Bloom

Hello friends!  I hope you're able to cope with our crazy world right now.  I know things are difficult so I hope taking a look at my card for the new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers offers a moment of respite.  Karen is hosting this week and has chosen the soft combination of Purple Posey, Highland Heather, Balmy Blue and Soft Seafoam, with a dessert option to use polka dots.  I've used the sketch from the current SCS Sketch Challenge as well.  Both challenges can be located on the SCS front page using the link above.

These colors worked well for coloring flowers which, if you follow me you know I love, and I decided to use one of the stamps from the Stronger Together stamp set.  I stamped it in Copic friendly ink on Ivory card and colored it with Copics similar to the challenge colors.  I added a touch of blue to the tips of all the flowers and was so pleased at how well it blended with the light purple.

With the coloring complete, the sentiment was added, then the panel was trimmed down and adhered to a Balmy Blue scallop rectangle.

The card base was made with Purple Posey card stock, then I added a vellum banner that was embossed with a polka dot embossing folder.  The main image was adhered on top of the vellum banner with fun foam for a bit of dimension, with the final touch a few sparkly jewels.

I'm so happy you visited and hope you'll use the link above to check out both challenges!

Stef


Stamps:  Stronger Together (SSS), Mini Everyday Messages (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Purple Posey, Balmy Blue, Ivory (SSS), Grafix Platinum Vellum
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne (sentiment)
Other:  Scallop A2 Rectangle die (Honey Bee), Polka Dot embossing folder (ret. SU), Bridal Mix jewels (Lucy's Cards Little Things)
Copics:  V17, 15, 01, 000, B000, G24, 21, 20

Field of Tulips for The Paper Players!

Hello friends!  Time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week the lovely Joanne is our host with a CAS challenge I am loving!

The Paper Players

I'm also joining the current "Use Some Green" challenge at the SSS Wednesday Challenge and the photo inspiration challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Addicted to Stamps #380

SSS Wednesday Challenge

For my card I decided to use one of my favorite tulip stamps, taking my color cues and field design from two photos of tulips and the light blue/aqua sky photo in the inspiration piece.

The tulips were stamped across the bottom of a panel of white card with Copic friendly ink.  I started by coloring in the sky with a couple of light blue-green markers and putting in some duller light greens behind the tulips to give the effect of a field, using brighter yellow-greens for the flower stems and petals.  For the flower color, I used a medium fuchsia color, one of my favorites.  After the coloring was complete, the panel was trimmed down to 4 x 5.25" and die cut with the frame die, which was also used to cut the white frame insert.

After adhering the frames and the center piece onto the white card base, I used the sentiment from another stamp set that fit perfectly in one of the smaller scallop rectangles from an A2 scallop die set.  Since the remainder of the card was adhered directly to the card base, I thought giving the sentiment some dimension would provide some additional interest.  Of course, the final touches were painting the tulips with a shimmer pen and then adding just a few jewels, because there should always be a bit of sparkle, IMHO!!

I'm so glad you took the time to visit and I do hope you'll join us at The Paper Players this week for Joanne's wonderful challenge!

Stef

Stamps:  Tulip Queue (Penny Black), Sketch Tulip Bouquet (sentiment, SSS)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne (sentiment)

Other:  A2 Frames die (SSS), Scallop A2 rectangle die (Honey Bee), Bridal Mix jewels (Lucy's Little Things), Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Pen

Copics:  G46, 21, 20, YG67, 17, 13, RV17, 55, 52, BG000, 0000

Wild Meadow for Seize the Birthday!

Hi there friends!  It's my pleasure to be the Surprise Party Guest at Seize the Birthday for the next two months!  Woot, woot!  I love this challenge and hope you'll join us for the fun!

The toppings option for the current challenge is to use a touch of green and given the time of year (spring, St. Patrick's Day, etc.) it's perfect for making a great birthday card!

Seize the Birthday

I decided to go with a spring themed birthday card and pulled out a stamp set perfect for this challenge, with lots of green foliage.  I stamped it and then had fun using different Copic color combos for the multiple leafy images, including one that's more on the yellow-tan side to break things up.  Once the coloring was done, the image was die cut with the coordinating die and set aside while I worked on the background. 

I used Bristol paper, ink blending a yellow and two green Distress inks then splattering with water.  When dry, the panel was die cut with a stitched rectangle die.  After adhering to a white card base, I die cut the sentiment three times from white card, layering them up and adhering to the panel.  Next the foliage image was adhered to the bottom of the panel with foam tape. At this point I realized I had my ink blended panel upside down, as I planned to have the light yellow at the top and the darker green at the bottom.  However, the sentiment was already adhered, and I wasn't about to start over LOL!

Finally, I added a few sequin and jewels, and an aqua shimmer pen was used to add sparkle to all the leafy images and the sentiment. And despite flipping the blended panel, I still like how it turned out.

Thanks you for visiting, I appreciate it so much!  I hope you'll join us at STB for this fun challenge!

Stef


Stamps:  Wild Meadow (Mama Elephant)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam; Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks
Other:  Wild Meadow Matching die, Happy Birthday Script and Stitched Rectangle dies (Simon Says Stamp), Rainforest sequins (SSS), Iridescent Jewels (Lucy's Cards Little Things), Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen
Copics:  G28, 17, 03, 46, 43, 40, YG67, 17, 03, 01, 00, BG49, 15, 11, YR23, 30, 000

Paper Hug

Hi there and welcome back!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Jeanne is hosting this week and has chosen Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral and Seaside Spray with a dessert option to use washi tape.  No dessert for me this week, as I don't have much washi tape and what I have wouldn't match these colors.  I'm also joining the current Ways To Use It challenge at SCS, where the theme is to make a sympathy card.  Both challenges can be located by using the link above to the SCS main page.

In addition, I'm joining the lovely crew at Just Us Girls, where it is Word Week with the theme "Heal".  The sentiment I used on my card could be used for either encouragement or for sympathy.

Just Us Girls #526

I decided to use one of Suzy's Watercolor Prints that came with the Simon Says Stamp March card kit for my card.  While it comes on watercolor paper, you can use any number of mediums and no surprise, I used Copic markers.  I chose marker colors that were close to the Color Challenge colors although in the end I think my flowers turned out a bit on the red side rather than a true coral color.

I first colored the background with a blue marker then used colorless blender on a textured rag and sponged it on the blue to break up the background and add a little texture.  I colored the flower center and the stem (in a color similar to Mossy Meadow, a SU neutral), leaving the flower petals to the last so I didn't drag the coral into the lighter colors when coloring them.

After the coloring was complete, I trimmed the panel down and added it to a slightly larger piece of black card, and adhere it to the white card base.  I used two sizes of Sentiment Label dies to mount the sentiment which was then added to the card with foam tape.  The final touch was a few sparkling sequins.

Thanks so much for visiting and commenting, I really appreciate it!  Have a great week!


Stef


Stamps and Ink:  None
Paper:  Suzy's Watercolor Prints and Sentiment Strips 2 (Simon Says Stamp), Neenah Solar White, Black
Other:  Sentiment Strips Label dies (SSS), Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)
Copics:  B91, G99, 94, 82, YR23, Y08, 06, 11, R59, 27, 24, 22 20

Friend for The Paper Players!

It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week it's a color challenge and the lovely Laurie is our host.

The Paper Players

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is to make something feminine.  I think my card has enough sparkle and sequins to fall into that category LOL!

SSS Wednesday Challenge

Isn't that a yummy color combo?  I decided to use Distress Inks to watercolor a background, then layer with die cut leaves and the sentiment.  I taped a large panel of watercolor paper to a hardboard, spread clean water over the entire piece, then added Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers and Evergreen Bough to get an ombre effect from dark at the top and lighter at the bottom.

When the panel dried I splattered it with some of the leftover ink along with some gorgeous pearl metallic acrylic paint, and then sprayed it with a shimmer spray.  Next I die cut one leaf cluster from white card and the other from vellum.

When the panel dried, I trimmed it down and adhered the leaf die cuts.  Since they are very large, and I was loathe to cut them, I ended up layering the panel on a 5x7 white card base.  I hadn't really thought through how I was going to add the coral color to my card and settled on a Calypso Coral shadow die behind the white sentiment, which really makes it pop.

With the sentiment adhered, the last step was to add a few sparkling clear sequins.

Thanks so much for your visit and I hope you'll use the link above to check out the fabulous creations by the rest of the Design Team, and also join us for this great challenge!

Stef



Stamps: None
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Tim Holtz watercolor, Calypso Coral, Grafix Platinum vellum
Ink:  Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers and Evergreen Bough Distress
Other:  Big Friend sentiment die, Leaf Cluster die, Detailed Leaf Cluster die, Pearl Metallic Acrylic paint (Ranger), Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spray (Tsukineko), Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Miss You

Hello friends!  The card I'm sharing today is for the current challenge at Just Us Girls, where the theme is Inlay Die Cuts.

Just Us Girls #525

For my card I stamped various leaf and floral images on a white card panel, then colored the images with Copic markers.  Next a piece of patterned paper was die cut with an A2 scallop rectangle die and the word hello die cut from a left over scrap.  The colored panel was also die cut with the word hello, and I kept all the letter interior pieces to reinsert for the inlay.

Both the scallop panel and the colored panel were adhered to the white card base then the purple paper sentiment die cut was inlaid along with the saved interior pieces.

Because the paper color is rather subdued, it didn't seem to stand out sufficiently from the background so I used a shimmer pen to add sparkle and then covered the entire thing with crystal glaze.  This added a bit of dimension but helped it stand out a bit more. 

Next, the second portion of the sentiment was stamped with black pigment ink and added to the card front with foam tape.  And finally a few clear sequins were adhered to add even more sparkle.

Thanks for visiting, it's always greatly appreciated!

Stef

Stamps: Stronger Together

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Spring Flowers Collection (Moda Scrap)

Ink: Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other: Scallop A2 die (Honey Bee), Bold Hello die (Simon Says Stamp), Sparkling Clear Sequins (PPP), Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen and Crystal Glaze

Copics: V15, 01, 000, BG13, 32, 11, G000