Friends Like You for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome!  I'm back with my reminder card for Christmas Craft Creations.  This month our theme is CAS and my goodness, both the launch and reminder design teams have some beautiful samples to inspire you!

CCC August - CAS

For my card, I used a sweet little Bundle Girl from Stamping Bella.

It's easy to keep my cards clean and simple using the Bundle Girl stamps, as they are just so adorable on their own.  This cutie and her friend the blue bird were colored with Copic markers.  I also used a white gel pen to add highlights on the berries and polka dots on her scarf.

Next, I searched through my Christmas sentiment stamps and was so pleased that this one from Poppystamps couldn't be more perfect.  I centered it and stamped in black pigment ink, then the panel was die cut with the stitched modern rectangle die for a nice bit of additional interest.  I cut two more panels with the same die, layered them up and adhered it to the cardbase to finish things off.

Now that it's getting to be time to get serious about making holiday cards, we'd love to have you join us and add to your stash at the same time!  The challenge is open until September 12th, so there's still plenty of time to play along.

Take care!  

Stef

Stamps:  Stamping Bella Bundle Girl with a Winter Branch, Poppystamps Christmas Sparkle

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  MFT Stitched Modern Rectangle STAX die, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  R89, 59, 29, 27, 21, 20, W3, 1, 0, G28, 09, 05, 02, E11, 21, 00, B26, 24, 21, 91, Y38, BG000, 0000

Just a Note for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends!  It's time again for a new Sunday Stamp Challenge.  This time Heidi has created a wonderful sketch for our inspiration.

Sunday Stamps

For my card I tried to create something CAS (at least by my standards lol!) so I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is CAS.

I started by creating the flower image, coloring with Copic markers then die cutting with the companion die.  Next I used a rectangle stencil and ink blended a rectangle on the white card base to represent the smaller rectangle in the sketch.  However, I used a pretty light hand with the light aqua ink and the left side was sooo light the camera didn't pick it up.  But I promise you it's there!

I chose to use a foiled and die cut sentiment that I'd made some time back, so I decided to add some gold metallic splatter to bring the gold foiling into the design.  I splattered the card base and the floral image separately before adhering together.  While that dried, I used the companion die to cut two more layers of the floral image, then when everything was ready, added them to the colored image, which was then adhered to the card base, along with the sentiment.

Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Please use the link above to see the lovely cards my fellow DT members created and hopefully are inspired to play along!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Altenew Blossom & Bloom 

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Hammermill

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Salvaged Patina

Foiling:  Spelbinders Everyday Sentiments II Hot Foil plate and Matte Gold Glimmer Hot Foil

Dies:  Blossom & Bloom, Altenew Featured Sentiment die

Other:  Gansi Tambi Starry Colors Gold Metallic paint

Copics:  YR27, 24, 16, Y38, 17, 15, 11, YG67, 17, 03, BG78, 75, 72, 11

Hello, Sunshine for Color Hues

Hi friends, welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at Color Hues and this time I chose the combination of red and yellow because it is just so summery.  However, as you'll see if you pop over to the challenge blog, my amazing teammates used these colors in a wonderful array of designs!  

Color Hues

I had many possibilities running through my mind when I chose these colors, but ultimately I just had to go with sunflowers!

When Simon Says Stamp released both the Bountiful Sunflower and the Little Sunflower Bloom in June, I knew that's what I'd be using for this card.  The flowers were die cut from Distress Watercolor paper, then colored with Distress Watercolor pencils.  However, the colors just weren't vibrant enough for me, so I added color and shading using Copic markers.

After toying with various different options for the background, I ended up using a trellis cover plate die cut in white over a panel of dark brown card stock that was adhered to a white card base.  Before adhering the background together, the panel of brown along with the three sunflowers were lightly splattered with gold metallic paint.  While the paint dried, the sentiment was die cut from matte gold paper and added to a white shadow die that had been layered on two additional die cuts.  The card was then assembled and I called it done!

So what will you be inspired to create with these colors?  I hope to see your card in the gallery - the challenge remains open until 9:00 a.m. Monday, August 28th.

Take care!

Stef

Dies:  Simon Says Stamps Bountiful Sunflower Blossom, Little Sunflower Bloom and Hello, Sunshine sentiment dies; Altenew Garden Trellis Cover die

Paper:  Distress Watercolor, Neenah Solar White, SSS Dark Chocolate and Matte Gold

Distress Watercolor Pencils:  Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Lumberjack Red

Copics:  YR27, 24, Y15, 11, R59, 46, 27, E59, 47

Other:  Gansi Tambi Starry Colors Metallic paints

Mondo Hydrangea for The Flower Challenge

Hi friends!  It's mid-month and time for our reminder post at The Flower Challenge.  This month we're asking you to add spots or stripes to your floral card.

The Flower Challenge

For my lily card at the beginning of the month, I used spots on the lilies.  This time I'm adding strips with an oldie but goodie cover die.  In fact, all of the card elements used are items I've had for probably two or more years.  

I started off by using my Copics to color that beautiful Mondo Hydrangea from Ellen Hutson, using purplish blue colors for the flower petals and a light green for the center.  The leaves are a separate stamp, which I stamped twice and colored with yellow-greens, then everything was die cut with companion dies.

The cover die cut from white was left unused from another project and I thought it would work great for the stripe theme.  The word thanks was already die cut from white and I simply die cut the shadow die twice from a light green and layered them together.  Rather than have white on white, I wanted a colored cardstock panel under the striped cover die, so I tried a variety of colors and settled on the pretty light blue.  After everything was adhered to the card base, the final step was to add drops of Stardust Stickles to the flower centers.  You might be able to see the little bit of sparkle in the photo below.

I love how this card turned out (can't always say that about every card I make lol!) and I hope you do to!  Please be sure to take a minute to see how the other DT members used this theme on their stunning cards and hopefully find time to join us - the challenge is open until the 25th of August.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Ellen Hutson Mondo Hydrangea

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Concord & 9th Sprout and Powder

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne (restamped the images after the coloring was done)

Dies:  Mondo Hydrangea, MFT Bold Strips Cover-Up die, Hero Arts Nested Rectangle die, Simon Says Stamp Script Thanks dies

Other:  Stickles

Copics:  B69, 66, 63, YG67, 17, 05, 03, 01

Super Sunflowers

Hi, friends!  Thought I'd pop in with a quick post sharing my card for the current challenge at Color Throwdown.

CTD 755

These colors worked perfectly for a new die set I received earlier this week!

I am so smitten with the delightful Simon Says Stamp Super Sunflower Plate.  Love all those cute sunflowers!  Initially I planned to use Distress Watercolor pencils for coloring the sunflowers, so I die cut a panel from Distress Watercolor cardstock.  But after testing the colors on a scrap, I just wasn't achieving the vibrance that I wanted, so I ended up using my Copic markers, which work fine on w/c paper.

 

For the background, I ended up die cutting a trellis cover plate from Neenah Desert Storm (sorry, it looks gray in the photos), adhered that to the card base then added the sunflower panel.  I then used the Super Sunflower die to cut another panel from white cardstock, snipped off everything (which I saved), leaving just the frame.  It and the die cut sentiment were colored with a red Copic marker, then the frame was stacked on card front.  Glossy Accents was added to both the frame and sentiment, and when dry, the sentiment was added to the card front atop a vellum shadow.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great weekend.  I'd love for you to come back on both Wednesday, where I'll have a reminder card for The Flower Challenge, and Thursday, where I'll share another sunflower card for the new challenge at Color Hues!  Hope to see you then!

Take care!

Stef

Dies:  Simon Says Stamp Super Sunflower Plate and Hello, Sunshine dies; Altenew Garden Trellis Cover die

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm, Distress Watercolor, Lawn Fawn Pearlescent Vellum

Other:  Ranger Glossy Accents

Copics:  R46, YR27, 24, Y15, 11, E59, 37, YG67, 17, 03

Ocean Silhouettes for Sunday Stamps

Hello, friends!  We have a new challenge for you over at Sunday Stamps and this time we bring you a colorful palette to spark your creativity!

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Summer.  

After thinking a bit about the colors, I felt they would work well for a tropical sky just after sunset, using the turquoise, yellow, orange and a little bit of purple. So here's what I came up with.

I started with an A2 sized panel of Ranger Distress Heavystock, which is wonderful for ink blending, and masked off where I wanted the horizon line to start and inked up the sky.  I began with a light yellow ink and went from up about 2/3rds of the way, then came down with the orange, and blending back and forth so I had a thin line of light yellow up to the dark orange.  I then blended some purple into the very top of the orange to add a bit more depth to the color.  Next, I reversed the masking and used a beautiful turquoise color for the ocean.

The panel was then place in my Misti and I used black pigment ink to stamp the lovely scene and sentiment with Gina K's Ocean Silhouettes stamp set.  When the ink dried, I used a white gel pen to create some waves in the water, minimally trimmed down the panel, then adhered directly to a black card base.  Ta da!  All done!  I love this silhouette stamp set - I used it for a couple other cards that I hope to share in the future.

I hope this has given you a bit of inspiration and for even more, please head over to the blog where my talented teammates have a bevy of beautiful creations to share with you!

Take care.

Stef

Stamps:  Gina K Ocean Silhouettes

Paper:  Hero Arts Pitch Black, Distress Heavystock

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp Surf and Orchid, Altenew Lemon Ice, Citrus Burst and Mandarin, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  Sakura Gelly Roll White Gel pen

Dreamy Daylilies for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  As we enter August, it becomes time for a new challenge at The Flower Challenge.  This month we have a choice to add either spots or stripes, or both if you're so inclined!

The Flower Challenge

Some sad DT news - our dear TaeEun has had to step away from the challenge and our dear Cara will also be leaving after October.  Also, both Vivien and Aileen, who started the challenge nearly seven years ago, will be leaving us after the October challenge that will celebrate our seventh birthday.  Their intention was to close the challenge at the end of October, but happily the amazing Karren Johnson will be stepping in to take over the challenge.  I am so grateful for Karren agreeing to run the challenge and know she will do a fantastic job!  Also, ironically, Karren is our guest designer this month!

I'm also joining the current Stencil It challenge at Inkspirational.

Inkspirational #295

At home, my flower beds have gone from peonies to lilies, with multiple colors, and one was the inspiration for my card today.

The new Altenew Dreamy Daylilies worked beautifully for this card.  I started by die cutting the image from white cardstock, then popping it into the embossing folder.  The set has two coloring stencils and I went from light to dark pink on the petals so I could attempt to keep the flower centers white.  When the stenciling was done, I used a Copic marker to randomly add spots on each petal.

Next an A2 panel of white was embossed with Altenew's Masonry Wall 3D folder then adhered to a card base.  After adding the flowers to the front, I trimmed off the overhanging bits, added the white embossed sentiment and the card was complete!

I've added a couple of photos of the lilies that we enjoyed over the last few weeks, including the one that inspired this card, with the caveat that I am not the best photographer lol!

Thanks for stopping by, and for some amazing inspiration, please be sure to head over to the challenge blog, where my talented teammates and our wonderful GD Karren have oodles to share!

Take care.

Stef

All products are from Altenew unless noted otherwise.

Stamps: Sentiment Strips

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up Black

Ink:  Versamark; Baby Pink, Fuchsia, Magenta, Maple Yellow, Marigold, Limeade, Lime and Fresh Leaf

Dies:  Dreamy Daylilies, Featured Sentiment die

Embossing folder: Dreamy Daylilies 3D, Masonry Wall 3D

Other:  Simon Says Stamp Fine Detail Embossing Powder, RV06 Copic marker

Party Like a Flock Star!

Hey, friends, just popping in with a quick post.  I made a fun birthday card with my new Inner Flamingo stamp and die set from Ellen Hutson and thought I'd share it over at The Paper Players, where they have a very fun Tic-Tac-Toe challenge going on.

PP651

I ended up going across the top row - flowers, green and embossing.

I'm also sharing this over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week is Summer.

I totally love these cute flamingos!  I did some very basic Copic coloring of them, along with the drink glasses and party hat.  A gold gel pen was used to color in the spots on the hats as well as the birthday girl's crown.  The leaves and flowers are also by EH, from their Tropical Foliage stamp and die set, and were stamped using a few Simon Says Stamp ink pads.

Because I wanted to make this a little tropical party scene, the card base ended up being 5x7".  I trimmed down a separate panel slightly smaller than the base, lightly ink blended it with Concord & 9th Aqua Sky, then adhered it to the base.  After gold heat embossing the sentiment (which totally tickles my punny sense of humor!), the strip of paper was added to the panel with foam tape, then all the other elements were adhered.  The flamingos were layered on two additional die cuts to give them some dimension.  I want to give credit to the card samples at EH (by Julie Ebersol?), which is where I got the idea for the placement of the drinks.  So clever and fun!

Lastly, I added Glossy Accents to the glasses, the gold spots on the party hats and the crown, and used gold glitter gems for the flower centers.

Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Take care!

Stef

Stamps and dies:  EH Inner Flamingo and Tropical Foliage

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, CutCardStock Super Smooth White (Amazon), Hero Arts Pitch Black

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturn, Versamark, C&9 Aqua Sky, SSS Seafoam, Limelicious, Fairway and Sherbet

Other:  Altenew Gold Gel pen and Antique Gold embossing powder, Ranger Glossy Accents, Studio Katia Gold Glitter Gems (not sure if they're still available)

Copics:  R11, 01, 00, YG05, 01, YR16

Hello for Color Hues

Hello and welcome!  A new month, a new challenge at Color Hues.  This month the hues of color are orange and teal, a lovely combination chosen by the lovely Sheri.

Color Hues

I went for a clean and layered look, with a small bit of splatter too, just because. ;-) I was definitely on the struggle bus trying to photograph my card.  I'll spare you the details, but please forgive any quality issues you might notice (like the blurry sentiment - arrrgh!). 

I started with one of the pretty flowers from the Altenew Hello Beautiful set, coloring it with Copic markers then using the coordinating die to cut it out.  I also colored some additional leaves and ended up adding two behind the flower.

A retired Stampin' Up embossing folder was used to create the textured background.  It was trimmed down and then lightly splattered with Altenew Jet Black ink spray using a small paintbrush.  When the panel dried, it was adhered to an orange card base, then the sentiment and floral image were added to complete the card.

What do these luscious colors inspire you to make?  We'd love to have you play along, you'll have until August 14th at 9:00 am EST.  In the meantime, my lovely teammates have some amazing inspiration to share with you, so pop on over to the challenge blog and check it out!  

Take care.

Stef

Stamps:  Altenew Craft Your Life Project Kit:  Hello Beautiful

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Ranger Distress Black Heavystock, Concord & 9th Clementine

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Altenew Jet Black Ink Spray

Dies:  Altenew Fancy Hello and Hello Beautiful coordinating die

Embossing folder:  SU Bark

Copics:  YR18, 09, 16, Y38, BG78, 49, 13, 11