Noel for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome!  Today the card I'm sharing is for the reminder post for this month's Christmas Craft Creations, where the theme is metallics.

Christmas Craft Creations

 

For my card, I combined some new and older products.

I started with the beautiful Leaves and Berries Background stamp from Simon Says Stamp, which they released either last year or the year before.  It was gold heat embossed on a panel of C&9 Evergreen cardstock, then die cut with an Altenew Ornate Nesting rectangle die and layered on a larger white die cut panel.

Next came the sentiment and die cut foliage.  The sentiment is from the new SSS Elegantly Modern Christmas stamp, die and foiling bundle.  It was gold heat embossed then die cut with the coordinating die.  The leafy branches were die cut from SSS Matte Gold and C&9 Parsley using MFT's Fab Foliage dies, which are no longer available, but any small foliage dies would work.  The ornate panels were adhered directly to the SSS Schoolhouse Red card base, the the branches and sentiment added to the embossed panel.  To finish things off I added three red gems from my stash.

I love adding metallics to Christmas cards and if you do too, it would be marvelous to see your card in the CCC gallery!  Please us the link above to take a peek at what both the Launch and Reminder teams have created for inspiration and hopefully you'll be inspired to play along!

Take care!

Stef

Happy Halloween for Sunday Stamps

Hello again!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this time the lovely Claire has created a wonderful sketch for our crafty inspiration.

Sunday Stamps

I got a little creative with the sketch and essentially flipped it on the side and it worked well for the Halloween scene I created, using clouds for the banners and a pumpkin for the scallop circle.  Take a look!

I adore this fun pumpkin named Edison!  One could make him a bit more spooky looking but I wanted something more playful than scary.  I used my Distress Mica Stain Sprays along with a couple colors of regular Distress Spray Stain.  The pumpkin, the clouds and the back panel were all die cut from Distress Watercolor paper, then I put them all in my "splat" box and sprayed away.  

When the layers dried, the pumpkin was glued together and the back panel embossed with the Tim Holtz Cracked 3D Texture Fade, then all the scene components were adhered to the panel.  The bats are from different die set and were cut from plain black cardstock.  Finally, the sentiment strips were added then the panel adhered directly to the black card base.  Another one completed for my Halloween stash!

So what are you inspired to make with this sketch?  Be sure to pop over to the challenge blog to see how my talented teammates have created and hopefully join us!

Take care!

Stef

Paper:  Distress Watercolor, Hero Arts Pitch Black, Simon Says Stamp Reverse Halloween sentiment strips

Dies:  Tim Holtz Sizzix Edison dies, Memory Box Haunted Entrance bat dies, SSS Sentiment Labels die

Embossing:  Tim Holtz Cracked 3D Texture Fade

Mica Spray Stain Sprays:  Specimen, Frozen Fog, Phantom Mist, Fresh Balsam, Hollybranch, Fallen Acorn, Crooked Broomstick, Jack-O-Lantern, Flickering Candlestick

Distress Mica Stain Sprays:  Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge

Here for You for The Flower Challenge

Hello, friends!  I'm back with my mid-month reminder card for The Flower Challenge, where this month we're asking participants to use a die.  

The Flower Challenge

If you're looking for my Color Hues post (we started our challenge there a day early for a very special reason!), you can find it here.

I decided to pull out two floral dies that have rarely been used since they arrived in my craft room last year.  And after using them, I had to ask myself why, because they are so pretty and easy to put together.

I started by die cutting the floral images in white cardstock, then used two of each of yellow, orange and green to ink blend them.  Once the ink dried, adding the layers was super easy.  Next a panel of white was die cut with the Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, then cut again with the Altenew's Ornate Nesting die.

After determining the layout, the flowers were adhered, using a thin foam square under each of the smaller ones.  The sentiment was stamped in Simon Says Stamp Cappuccino ink, die cut and added to the front.  Before adding the panel to a Neenah Desert Storm card base, I lightly inked Hero Arts White Unicorn ink around the edges to have it a softer look.  For the final touch, I added some pretty apricot pearls.

If you haven't joined us thus far this month, or want to add another card to the gallery, you still have plenty of time, as the challenge remains open through the 25th of the month.  We'd love to see your card in the gallery!  In the meantime, be sure to head over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates and our wonderful GD Sonja have some beautiful inspiration to share with you!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Altenew Sentiment Strips

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm

Ink:  Hero Arts Unicorn White, SSS Cappuccino, Lemonade, Citrine, Cantalope, Sherbet, Limelicious and Pearfection

Dies:  SSS Alstroemeria and Blossom Vine, Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, Altenew Ornate Nesting and Featured Sentiment dies

Other:  Lucy's Cards Soft Jellybean Mix pearls

Hugs for Color Hues and a Blog Hop

Hello friends and welcome!  Today, we have a very special Challenge here at Color Hues that we are bringing a day earlier than our normal schedule!  

In conjunction with our normal Color Challenge, The Color Hues Design Team and a few guests, from our sister challenge Seize the Birthday, are participating in a Blog Hop! 

Collectively as a team, we are hopping in memory of our dear friend, fellow cardmaker, and Design Team member, Lindsey Martin-Penny, who sadly passed away last year from a rare and aggressive form of Ovarian Cancer. 

The purpose of this hop will be to honor Lindsey, celebrate her life and all that she loved, as well as spread the word to raise funds for Clear Cell Ovarian Cancer Research.  

How can you Help? You can find all the fabulous details and the start of the hop at Emily's Blog HERE!

In honor of Lindsey, the team has created a variety of cards using her favorite color combo of Purple and Red.

Color Hues

For my card, I wanted to do something different that would made the red and purple colors that Lindsey loved stand out.  I didn't have the privilege of knowing Lindsey, but my teammates and others that knew her make me think she would have been my kind of person; a smart, funny, loving and kind human.

While my favorite flowers are peonies, coneflowers and sunflowers run a close second, so decided to use my new Brilliant Coneflower embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp.  I started by embossing an A2 panel of Stonehenge black watercolor paper.  Next, I dusted off my Altenew Metallic watercolors and painted the flower petals in Amethyst and Garnet.  For the stems I used a dark red called Rhodolite, which I chose because it almost looks like a reddish brown.  For the cones, I used the side of my paintbrush to try to add the Gold Pearl just on the embossed portion so the black could show through.  When that was done I lightly splattered the panel with the same gold paint.

After the paint dried, the panel was trimmed down to 4" x 5.25" then adhered to a black card base.  The sentiment was die cut from SSS Matte Gold cardstock with the SSS Big Scripty Hugs die and adhered to the front.  At this point I toyed with the idea of adding an embellishment but decided the splatter was sufficient.

We would love to have you join us in honoring Lindsey!  The challenge will remain open until 9 am September 28th.  Please take a moment to pop over to the challenge blog, where my incredibly talented teammates and our wonderful guests, Barb and Glenda, have created some stunning inspiration with this color combination.  

Also, more details about the blog hop and a link to the next stop can be found there.

Thanks for taking time to stop by and if you have a chance, I'd love to have you drop back by in an hour when my reminder post for The Flower Challenge goes live!

Take care!

Stef

Fragrant Peony for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  It's the fourth of the month, which brings a new challenge over at The Flower Challenge!  This month we are asking everyone to use a die.

http://theflowerchallenge.blogspot.com/

I'm also playing along with Addicted to Stamps and More where the challenge is to make a birthday card.

ATSM #453

Finally, I'm also joining the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

For my card, I went all in with dies, using the lovely Fragrant Peony dies from Altenew, along with a couple others.

I recently decided to buy a few of the new Altenew Fresh Dye inks and this card was the perfect way to test them out, and quite honestly, they are wonderful.  I love my Crisp Dye inks and they work fine, but I did see a bit brighter results from ink blending and a clearer image when stamping the sentiment.

I started by ink blending the lightest blue, Water Hyacinth and the lightest green, Silver Sage, on white cardstock, then die cut the petals and leaves.  I then used the next two darkest inks from both ink families to add shading to the die cuts.  The center was die cut separately from a scrap of white and blended with Sunray and Yellow Ochre.  Putting the flowers together is easy with Altenew's keyhole design for lining up the layers.

With the flowers and leaves ready to go, I die cut the Waffle Flower Ring Panel die from white and layered it on a panel of Simon Says Stamp Fog cardstock, which was then added to a white card base.  The sentiment, from MFT's Stylish Sentiments stamp set, was stamped in Indigo Skies, the darkest blue, then die cut with label die.  The flowers were arranged around the sentiment and I was done.

No doubt you have a die in your collection and we'd love to see what you create with it.  But before you head off to your crafty place, be sure to check out the stunning array of cards the design team has created over at the challenge blog!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  MFT Stylish Sentiments

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SSS Fog

Ink:  Altenew Yellow Ochre Crisp Dye ink, Sunray, Water Hyacinth, Alpine Aster, Crystal Violet, Indigo Skies, Silver Sage, Jade and Eucalyptus Fresh Dye inks

Dies: Altenew Fragrant Peony and Featured Sentiment dies, Waffle Flower Ring Panel die

Seas the Day for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends!  Wow, didn't August just blow by?  I can't believe it's time for kids to be back in school and autumn just around the corner. At Sunday Stamps our new color challenge presents a palette that can be used for a summer card if you're not ready for fall!  Either way, I hope you're inspired to join us!

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where this week's theme is Anything Goes.

I fussed around trying to make a mountain scene with these colors, but then decided the coast was calling and ended up with this fun little vignette on my card.

This gull trying to retrieve a sea star cracked me up and the sentiment went so perfectly.  I stamped the gull and starfish on the peer and did some easy Copic coloring.  Next I used Simon Says Stamp Morning ink to blend in the sky and Uncharted Mariner Distress Oxide ink for the ocean, then going over it with my B97 and 93 Copic markers to even out the color.  A white gel pen was the perfect tool to create small waves and ripples in the water.  

Next I used that same Morning ink, blending it all around the edges of a white panel, then cutting it down used a deckled edge die .  It was wrapped with some hemp twine and added to the white card base.  The main image was then popped up with more foam tape to finish off the card.  Pretty simple card but I think using dimension adds more interest.

So what are you inspired to make with these colors?  I hope to see your card in the gallery, but in the meantime, be sure to visit the challenge blog where my talented teammates have some fabulous cards.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Colorado Craft Company Seas The Day

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, SSS Morning, Uncharted Mariner DOX

Dies:  Altenew Mix and Match Frames

Other:  Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Lawn Fawn Hemp Twine

Copics:  E37, 35, 33, 31, Y28, 26, 35, 32, Black100, C6, 4, 2, 0, B97, 93

Something Wicked for Color Hues

Hello and welcome!  Another month rolls by and here we are at the beginning of September and a new challenge at Color Hues begins.  This month, the lovely Tracey has chosen the fabulous combination of Tangerine and Violet.

Color Hues

I'm also playing along with Inkspirational, where the theme is clothing/closet.

Inkspirational #297

And finally, I'm joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

For me, these colors could only mean one thing - a Halloween card!  I used the now retired Colorado Craft Company Sitting Witch set from their Lovely Legs series.

I started with a sheet of Tim Holtz Distress Black Heavystock, which has a matte, almost velvety texture to it.  I used it because it is the blackest of black papers.  I used the stamps to figure out my layout, white heat embossed the sentiment, then trimmed down the panel.  The witch was stamped on white, colored with my Copic markers then die cut with the matching die.  However, the die shifted (or more likely it was user error lol!), so I ended up fussy cutting it.  When it came to the spider, which is part of the stamp, I cut as close as I could, covered the stamped portion with white gel pen, then used a black sharpie to color the negative space so there wasn't a white outline.  That was touch and go but phew, it worked out!  When that was done, she was adhered directly to the black panel, then I used a gold gel pen for the buckles on her shoes and belt, then added some sparkle to her shoes, belt and gloves with a shimmer pen.

Next, I created an ink blended layer using Wilted Violet and Black Soot Distress Inks.  I'm disappointed that in the photo it came out looking more blue than violet, but I retook the photo a couple times using different lighting and it turns out to be my camera. Sigh.  So the panel was ink blended, the ends trimmed down using MFT's Torn Paper Edges border dies, then everything was added to a black card base.  Almost impossible to see in the photos, but I did add a few obsidian rhinestones for sparkle - IRL it looks fabulous!

Okay, your turn!  What will you make with this color combination?  Before you decide, pop over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates have made a variety of card styles with these colors for your inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by - take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Colorado Craft Company Lovely Legs:  Sitting Witch

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Hero Arts Pitch Black, Tim Holtz Distress Black Heavystock

Ink:  Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, Wilted Violet and Black Soot Distress

Dies:  CCC Sitting Witch, MFT Torn Paper Edges

Other: SSS Fine Detail White ep, Altenew Gold Gel pen, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Black Sharpie, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Honey Bee Obsidian Rhinestones

Copics:  V09, 06, 04, 01, YR09, 16, Y38, 17, E04, 11, 21,00