Fall Sunflowers

Hello and welcome!  I have a card to share with you that I made for the challenges at Double D, where the theme is sunflowers, and The Paper Players, where the lovely Ann has given us a fun Tic Tac Toe board.  I'm joining the Double D challenge at the last minute and took a look at the new PP challenge and saw that my card worked for it as well (die cut, leaves/pumpkins, embellishments).

Double D - Sunflowers

PP565

I've had this amazing slimline stamp with sunflowers for a while and this was the perfect opportunity to ink it up.

The image was stamped in brown amalgam ink which works with both watercolor and Copic markers, the later of which I used to color the image.  There's so much detail that it actually took me a couple of afternoons to color and complete the card.  After everything was colored, a rectangle die was used to cut down the panel, then I used gold metallic ink to add splatter and a gold edge.  

The hello sentiment was die cut twice from white cardstock and once from gold matte then layered together and added to the vellum shadow.  The vellum shadow was die cut with double sided adhesive on the back so it could be added to the card without any adhesive showing through.  It works so slick!  The colored panel was matted on a kraft layer, then added to the ivory card base with thin foam tape.  The last touch was to adhere a few gold baubles for a bit of bling.

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  Take care!

Stef

PS - scroll down if you want to see my DT card for Sunday Stamps.

Stamps:  Slim Fall Sunflowers (Stampendous)

Paper:  Ivory (Simon Says Stamp), Neenah Desert Storm, Matte Gold (SSS), Vellum

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam

Other:  Gansi Tambi Starry Colours metallic paint, Big Scripty dies (Ellen Hutson), Gorgeous Golden Baubles (Trinity Stamps), Copic markers

Hello Beautiful for Sunday Stamps

Hello and welcome!  I hope you've had a great weekend and if you celebrate Halloween, have fun tonight! 

It's Sunday and that means it is time for a new Sunday Stamps Challenge, where we have this lovely color board to spark your creativity.

Sunday Stamps

 

While we required the use of at least three colors for our color challenges, I was actually able to work in all five colors this time!

Recently my card making has been more oriented towards fall and Christmas, so I thought about making a Halloween card but in the end went with my usual fallback, which is to make a floral card.  The flowers are from the Hello, Beautiful kit from Altenew.  They were stamped then colored with Copic markers and cut out with the matching die.  The sentiment, from another Altenew stamp set, was stamped with black pigment ink then die cut with a circle die.

To create the background, I used a brick stencil and went over it with a light gray ink, primarily covering the upper left corner down towards the bottom right.  It was then splattered with a bit of Jet Black ink spray, then trimmed down and adhered to the black card base when dry.  The flowers and sentiment were added with thin foam tape and that finished things off!

Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it!  Please be sure to use the link above to check out the beautiful cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us for this challenge!

Stef

Stamps:  Craft Your Life Project:  Hello, Beautiful, Circled Sentiments (both Altenew)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Limestone (Altenew)

Other:  Hello, Beautiful die, Nested Infinity Circle die (Hero Arts), English Brick Wall stencil (MFT), Jet Black Ink Spray (Altenew)

Copics:  Y26, 08, 04, 00, YR27, 23, YG67, 17, 05, 03

Selfie Christmas for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello and welcome! It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  This week we're using a tic tac toe board that I created.  I hope you like it and will come play along this week!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining with the Christmas challenge at both Addicted to Stamps and Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge, plus the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. 

ATSC #417

PEOCC #2

For my card, I went across the middle row of the tic tac toe board - critter, green or blue, snow.  The stamp set I used has six fun images so I opted to create a slimline card to include two of those images. My card ended up being 8 3/4" x 3 3/4".

I love Stacey Yakula's illustrations and when I saw this new set from MFT it immediately went into my cart, along with that cute holiday patterned paper!  I started by stamping and Copic coloring both selfie images, using marker colors similar to those in the patterned paper.  When that was complete, I pulled out my splatter box and used white gouache to add the snow.  I was a bit too "enthusiastic" with my splatter, which resulted in too much on the face of the deer, so I did have to use a Copic multiliner pen to reemphasize the eyes.  

Next the sentiment was die cut twice from white card stock and once from red foil paper, then layered for some nice dimension.  Because the patterned paper is 6x6, which wouldn't cover length of the card, I die cut two patterns of the paper, adding one on each end of the card base, then covered the middle with a panel of light blue embossed with snowflakes.  The critter panels were die cut and layered on a slightly larger square, then added with thin foam tape.  With the sentiment glued to the center, my last step was to add a few white snowflakes around the card.

Thanks for taking time to visit, I really appreciate it!  I hope you'll use the link above to check out the fabulous cards by the other DT members.  We'd love it if you would join us this week!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Selfies with Santa (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Real Red (SU), Mist (Hero Arts), Cool Colab 6x6 paper pad (MFT), Red Polished Foil (Memory Box)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Merry Christmas dies (MFT), Modern Embossed Frame Panel die (Trinity Stamps), Essential Squares dies (Ellen Hutson), Filigree Snowflake embossing folder, white gouache

Copics:  BG78, 18, 72, 70, R59, 46, 27, 14, 00, E37, 35, 33, 31, 30, 000,0000, W3, 1, 0, T8, 6, 4, 2, N4, 2,0

Merry & Bright

Hello and welcome!  I'm working on those Christmas cards and the challenge at As You See It gave me inspiration to use less traditional colors for this one.  (This is my second post today - click here or scroll down if you want to see my card for Inspired By)

Challenge #261

I love purple and green so it was fun using those colors to create with some new goodies.

This card came together super fast.  The sprigs were stamped, colored with Copic markers and die cut with the matching dies.  The sentiment shadow was die cut from Blackberry Bliss (such a yummy color), then the sentiment was die cut twice from white cardstock and once from silver holographic cardstock, and layered together onto the shadow.  I used a cover plate die to cut out the background - it has lovely swirls that I thought looked rather festive - then it was adhered to the card base.  The sprigs were adhered to the front then the sentiment tucked in between.  Glossy Accents was used to give a nice shine to the berries on the sprigs, then the final step was to add a few silver and crystal baubles.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Holiday Sprigs (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Blackberry Bliss (SU), Silver Holographic (Tonic Studios)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Merry and Bright dies (SSS), Detail Swirls Plate die (SSS), Holiday Sprigs dies, Crystal Collection-Night Sky (Little Things by Lucy's Cards), Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Copics:  V09, 06, 01, YG67, 17, 25

Peace Joy Hope Love

Hello and welcome!  I have a card to share that I made for the current Inspired By Challenge, using their Christmas inspiration board.

IBC192

I'm working on my Christmas cards, as I'm sure many of you are as well, and I was inspired by the soft, muted colors of the board that I thought would work well with one of my Stamping Bella stamps.

The sweet image was stamped on a panel of white then, without masking, the background was stenciled using the Peace Joy Hope Love stencil with Polar Bear ink and using a light hand.  I also took the blending brush and lightly went over the background going around our cute little Bundle Girl and the bird, but I also wasn't too worried as I knew the Copic markers would cover up any unwanted ink. Copics are typically not muted colors but I found a salmon pink marker (RV42) I bought last summer and had never used that worked for a less saturated pink.  It also went well with the muted blue greens used on her scarf, boots and the snow as well as the inked background.

When the coloring was complete, I put the panel back in my Misti where I'd left the stamp and reinked it with black pigment ink to get a better outline.  I've seen many a YT crafter do this but I rarely remember to do it myself, so I'm glad I did here as it made a difference.

Next the panel was trimmed down to be layered on the slightly larger white scallop panel but I thought it needed a mat to make it stand out a bit more.  A white panel was cut slightly larger and colored around the edges with one of the blue green markers then all the layers were adhered together.  After adding to the card base with foam tape, Glossy Accents was used to bring a nice shine to the star and tree ornaments.  I was going to add a sentiment on the front but I didn't want to cover up the stenciled words, so I left it as is.  What do you think?  Should I add a sentiment before sending out?

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!  I'll be back later today with another post, so drop back by if you have a chance.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Bundle Girl With A Christmas Tree and a Birdie (Stamping Bella)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White,

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Polar Bear (Altenew)

Other:  Peace Joy Hope Love stencil (Simon Says Stamp), A2 Scallop rectangle die (Honey Bee), Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Copics:  Girl - E11, 21, 51, RV93, 42, R30, 20, E11, 21, 51; Bird - BG72, 70; Tree - BG96, 90, YG93, E44; Star and ornaments - YR23, 21, E09, R46

Jingle All the Way!

Hello and welcome! For this blog post, I'm sharing a card that I made for the challenges at Color Hues and Freshly Made Sketches.

TCH28

 

FMS 508

I love that both the colors and sketch worked perfectly for making a fun Christmas card!

This Birdie Brown stamp set had always been on my wish list and when MFT opened the vault to her stamps and dies last Spring (I think), I made sure I picked up this set!  Santa was first colored with Copic markers then die cut with an Essential Arches die, then layered on a larger die arch die cut from Desert Storm.  Next a panel of red was stamped with a Christmas text background using white pigment ink and when that panel dried, it was cut down with a rectangle die.

I took a strip of embossed Desert Storm and adhered it to a white card base.  Next the red panel was added with foam tape, then our joyous Santa panel was added with thin foam tape.  The sentiment was white heat embossed on red cardstock, then die cut and added below Santa with thin foam tape.  I thought I was done, then decided to add three white snowflakes for a little added interest.  So fun!

So glad you took time to visit!  Take care and enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  Jingle All the Way, Christmas Background (both MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Real Red (SU), Desert Storm

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Unicorn White (Hero Arts)

Other:  Magnetic 3D embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), A2 Rectangle Stax die (MFT), Essential Arches dies (Ellen Hutson), Fishtail Foundations die (MFT), Snow Flakes (ret. SU)

Copics:  E11, 21, 51, R59, 46, 27, 14, 20, T2, 0, C7, 5, 4, 3, 1, 0, Y26

Hugs and a Birthday

Hello and welcome! In this blogpost I'm sharing two different cards for two separate challenges - the CAS birthday theme at The Paper Players and color week at Just Us Girls.

I'll start with the card for The Paper Players.

PP563

I made a fun card for a young great niece and used some nice, bright colors.

I started by coloring the giraffe who is obviously having a great time at the birthday party!  I used a rainbow assortment of colors for the balloons in the background but made sure to include a bright pink one to match the card base.  Next the colored panel was trimmed down and adhered to a polaroid die cut where the sentiment was stamped.  The card base was stamped all over using Versamark ink with a balloon bundle stamp.  Lastly the main image was mounted on the card base with foam tape.  Quick and easy!

Next up is the card for Just Us Girls.

JUGS 606

This card is also very CAS although it took longer to make because I used colored pencils for the flowers rather than my usual Copics.

After the flowers were stamped, I used the stencil that accompanied the stamp set to ink on a base color for the leaves and flowers.  Then I used a yellow and two reddish browns to add some depth and contrast to the flowers and a couple of greens for the leaves.  I know I need to spend more time using my colored pencils so I can get better at adding contrast, but admittedly I am not the most patient person in the world lol!  Still I thought the soft look was fine for this type of card (comfort or sympathy).

Next I took a 3D embossed white panel and gently ink blended two shades of turquoise, trying to keep the ink just on the top images for a very subtle effect.  It was trimmed down and adhered to the white cardstock, then the die cut flowers and leaves were glued directly to the embossed panel before adding the layered sentiment.  The last touch was to add three sequins.

If you've made it this far, I appreciate it!  Thanks for taking time to visit and take care!

Stef

Card #1

Stamps:  Picture Perfect Party Animals, Balloon Bundle (both MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Magenta Madness (SU)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Versafine Clair Black

Other:  Polaroid Shaker Frame die (MFT), Copic markers

Card#2

Stamps:  Craft Your Life Project-Rose Garden (Altenew), Perfect Sentiments (Pinkfresh Studio)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Warm Sunshine, Frayed Leaf, Sea Breeze and Turquoise (Altenew)

Other:  Garden Rose dies, Garden Rose 3D embossing folder, Perfect Sentiments die, Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils

Autumn Birthday

Hello and welcome!  For my 2nd post today, I'm sharing a card that started as an experiment and it turned out pretty well, so I am sharing it with the challenges below.  (If you're looking for my Sunday Stamps DT card, you can find it here)

STB #225

IB191

FS-Anything Goes Fall

The Four Seasons Challenge is new to me and I love the concept!  Of course it is the brainchild of Diane and Darlene from the Double D Challenge and Peace on Earth Christmas challenge and looks like it is equally as successful.  

So, on to my card.  A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to score the Tim Holtz Halloween Distress Mica Stain Sprays trio (unfortunately it was a limited time offer - they are now sold out but the regular Distress Stain and Distress Oxide sprays are still available) and I decided to experiment with them and here's one of the results.

I began with a sheet of Stonehenge Black Watercolor paper and a leaf stencil.  I used 4 different colors of sprays and let them mix a little bit but not too much so one can see the orange, green, yellow and a little bit of the brown.  This is the first time I've used sprays through a stencil and I love the texture and kind of artsy finish.  It's really impossible to capture the sparkle from the sprays on black but it almost has a velvet look to it.  After the panel dried, I trimmed it down to fit on a mini slimline card.

Finishing the card was pretty easy.  The sentiment was die cut three times from black cardstock and once from gold matte cardstock, then layered together and adhered to the vellum shadow.  I also cut two thin strips of the same gold paper and added it to the top and bottom of the leaf panel before adhering to a black card base.  The vellum sentiment shadow had double sided adhesive on the back so it was easy to adhere to the front of the card.  The last little touch was to add some gold satin baubles.  While they are a different shade of gold than the gold cardstock, it seemed to mesh nicely with the background colors.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!  I hope you're having a good weekend.  Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  None

Paper:  Black, Matte Gold (Simon Says Stamp), Stonehenge Black Watercolor, vellum

Ink:  Jack O'Lantern, Flickering Candle, Bubling Cauldron and Crooked Broomstick Distress Mica Stain Sprays

Other:  Tim Holtz Autumn stencil, Big Happy Birthday dies (SSS), Trinity Stamps Gold Satin Baubles

Snowflake Christmas for Sunday Stamps

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this time Heidi has given us this great sketch to work with.

Sunday Stamps

  

I'm also playing along the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.

WWC326

POEC #2

When I saw Heidi's sketch, I narrowed my choices to leaves or snowflakes...and snowflakes won out because I wanted to use a couple of the gorgeous new Tim Holtz Mica Stain Sprays.

For starters, I took an oversized piece of multi-media paper that could withstand water and sprays, and had a fun time creating this background.  I used two of the green blue colors (my photos pick up more of the blue shade - IRL it turned out more of a teal shade), sprayed in spots on the panel, sprayed with water to mix it, then heat set it.  I did this a couple of times then set it aside to dry overnight.  The next day, I die cut the panel with a rectangle die, splattered it with white metallic paint, which was a bit too faint, so I went to white gouache for a brighter effect.  As with many shiny applications, the beautiful shimmer of the mica sprays unfortunately isn't discernable in the photos.

For even more sparkle, the snowflakes were die cut from white glitter cardstock.  I used Liquid Platinum to heat emboss the sentiment, trimmed it down, then added more embossing around all the edges.  The sprayed panel was added to the 5" x 7" white card base with foam tape, then the snowflakes were adhered with just a touch of liquid glue at the centers so I could get some lift on the outer portions of the flakes. The sentiment was popped up with thin foam tape and the final touch was to add a few sequins.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the fabulous, clever cards by the other DT members and hopefully be inspired to join us!

Stef

Stamps:  Holiday Greetings Mix 1 (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Vicki Boutin Multimedia, White Glitter (SSS)

Ink:  Versamark

Other:  A7 Layers Rectangle die (Waffle Flower), Daphne, Lia, Kaydn & Rina Snowflake dies (SSS), Snowflurries and Frosted Juniper Mica Stain Sprays (Tim Holtz), white metallic paint (Altenew), White Gouache, Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder (Ranger), Antique Gold sequins (Altenew)

Snow Globe Deer

Hello and welcome!  Today I'm slipping in on the final hours of a new challenge - the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.  It's twice monthly and brought to us by the tireless (this is their 4th blog!) and oh-so-talented Diane and Darlene!  I just found out about it today (thanks Michele) and saw that I had a couple of hours left to join in.  Be sure to head over there and check it out.  From the participation, it looks like they have another hit on their hands!

Peach on Earth Christmas

I made this card a few days ago just for fun, so it was great to have on hand for the challenge. I used a cute new Stamping Bella stamp set with a snow globe and three sets of critters that can be stamped inside of it.  I decided to go with the darling little deer. 

Didn't I say they were cute?  These are very tiny images, so I did very simple Copic coloring, including the background and the base for the snow globe.  And of course, what's a snow globe with out snow? I created the snow using a white gel pen.  When the coloring was complete, I fussy out the image.

Next a panel of white was sprayed with some shimmer spray (photos don't pick that up unfortunately), embossed with a snow embossing folder, die cut with on of the Altenew Mix and Match Frames dies, then mounted on the navy card base with foam tape.  The sentiments, which are from a different stamp set, were white heat embossed on navy then trimmed out.  First the globe was added to the panel with thin foam tape, then the sentiments were added, also with thin foam tape to finish things off.

Thanks for taking time to visit, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above and check out this fun new challenge!

Stef

Stamps:  Design a Globe (SB), Santa's Sleigh Ride (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Soft Navy (SSS)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Other:  Softly Falling embossing folder (ret. SU), Mix and Match Frames die set (Altenew), Detail White embossing powder (SSS), Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spray, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  E37, 35, 33, 31, 42, YR20, 000, R39, 37, 35, G46, 43, Y28, 15, C5, 3, 1, 0, B39, 37, 14 12

Frankie Wants Candy for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge and the fabulous Claire has created this board that is just in time for Halloween.  For my card I went diagonal from left to right - bat, orange, embossing.

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I love making Halloween cards, and while not everyone likes scary/creeping kinds, my grandkids do so I used this kinda scary yet cute stamp for this card that will be going to one of my grandsons.

I think ol' Frankie is pretty funny - I mean you can't be too scary if you have hearts on your socks, for heavens sake! I started by stamping him on small panel of Bristol paper, then masking it off for the ink blending.  I cut a second, larger panel of Bristol and ink blended them both with Distress inks.  Then I used some painter's tape to adhere the small panel in the middle of the larger one, then stenciled on the bats with some black pigment ink so they'd pop off the background.  

With the ink blending complete, I peeled off the mask and colored Frankie with Copic markers.  The sentiment was cream heat embossed on black cardstock, then I hand trimmed it and added it to the panel with thin foam squares.  It really makes me chuckle!

Next the larger panel was cut with the Deckled Rectangle die, adhered directly to a black card base, and the smaller panel added with thin foam tape to complete my card!

Thanks for taking time to visit, I appreciate it.  Be sure to use the link above to check out the cards by the rest of the DT members and hopefully join us this week!

Stef

Stamps:  Monsters Reunion (Tim Holtz)

Paper:  Black, Strathmore Bristol

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Versamark; Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge and Black Soot Distress

Other:  Deckled Rectangle Frame die (Waffle Flower), Cream embossing powder (Simon Says Stamp), Layered Bats stencil (SSS), Copic markers