Wishing You Joy for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  Today's card is for the reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations, where this month we're asking participants to use an embossing folder or stencil.  Easy-peasy, right?

Christmas Craft Creations

I tried a new technique that I saw Jennifer McGuire do, and while the technique results weren't very satisfactory, I did mange to salvage the card and I like how it turned out.

I started with a panel of Tim Holtz White Heavystock, which can take a lot of water and covered the front of my panel with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink.  The technique entails adhering a stencil over the card stock, misting with water, then absorbing the activated ink through the stencil.  This can be done as many times as you'd like until you're happy with the amount of ink removed.  You then dry the panel thoroughly, put the stencil back in place and use a lighter color of ink through the stencil were the ink was removed.  

Well, as I applied Picked Raspberry DOX through the stencil, it just didn't seem vibrant enough, so then I tried the same color in regular Distress ink and it was too dark!  Awwkkk! So my only alternative at that point was to apply some white glitter glitz gel through it and it did turn out beautifully.

After the glitz gel dried, I trimmed the panel down and added directly to a white card base.  The Joy sentiment and sub-sentiments were silver heat embossed then adhered to the card front with thin foam tape.  For additional the final touch, a few holographic stars were added, including one in the middle of the O in Joy.  I was very happy that I managed to save my card and add it to my holiday card stash!

We would love to have you join us, the challenge stays open until Tuesday, March 12th at 6pm GMT.  

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

Stef

• Gina K Stellar Snowflake Stencil and White Glitter Glitz Gel
• Simon Says Stamp Stained Glass Greetings stamps and die and Sentiment Labels die
• Trinity Stamps Oh My Stars Holographic Confetti Mix
• Villainous Potion DOX, Picked Raspberry DOX and Distress ink, Versamark

Happy New Year for Just Us Girls

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new Just Us Girls Challenge, where I am honored to be a guest designer for the month of January.  This week is Trend Week where we are to use inked or sprayed backgrounds.

Just Us Girls

I'm also joining the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the Time Out Challenge, where both have the theme of "New", along with the New Year Challenge theme at Fusion, where I was inspired by their Bokeh moodboard.

TOC #204

Fusion - It's a New Year

My card is a Happy New Year card with a Bokeh, ink-blended background.

I started by ink blending Distress Oxide inks in purples, blues and black on a panel of white card stock. When that dried, I added the Bokeh effect with white pigment ink, using a handmade stencil (die cut from acetate) and a small ink blending brush, then finishing up with smaller spots using a sponge dauber.  After it was complete, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out since I haven't used this technique in ages.

Next, both the frame and the sentiment were die cut twice from white cardstock and once from Gold Pearl Mirror cardstock, then adhered together.  The champagne bottle was die cut from green cardstock then entirely covered with Glossy Accents so it would appear shiny when dry.  The cork and label were both die cut with the same gold mirror cardstock.

Once the ink blended panel was completely dry, the frame and sentiment were adhered, then the panel added to the navy card base.  The label was added to the bottle, which was adhered to the card front along with the flying cork, then I added a few "bubbles" on the bottle with a white gel pen as a final touch.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the gorgeous cards by the Just Us Girls DT and hopefully be inspired to play along this week!

Stef

Stamps:  None

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Soft Navy (SSS), Shaded Spruce (SU), Gold Pearl Mirror (Tonic)

Ink:  Milled Lavender, Wilted Violet, Prize Ribbon, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot DOX, Sharktooth White (Ink on 3)

Other:  Happy New Year Script (Pretty Pink Posh), Scallop Stitched Frames die (Poppystamps), Wine Bottles die (Waffle Flower), Glossy Accents, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Spooky!

Hello and welcome!  Today I'm sharing a card that I made for Halloween to be sent to my granddaughter this year.  I'm sharing it with two challenges with Halloween themes - the Paper Players and Just Us Girls.

PP561

JUGs 604

For this card I turned to one of my favorite stamps from Stamping Bella and I decided to CASE this card I made with it last year, with a few changes and additions.

Love those crazy pumpkins!  First step was to ink up and color the pumpkins with Copic markers. I determined where the moon was going to be on the panel, stenciled the bats in black ink and clear heat embossed them, then masked the pumpkins and the moon so the background could be ink blended.

Distress Oxide inks were used to create the background, then I removed the moon mask, inked the circle up with Fossilized Amber, then used a moon stencil to create the "craters".  The sentiment was cut twice from black and once from purple glitter paper, layered up and adhered to the vellum shadow.  The vellum has been covered on the backside with a piece of double sided adhesive, so it could be securely adhered to the inky background.  After using the deckle rectangle die to cut the panel, it was adhered to a piece of fun foam then added to the orange card base.  

I debated about whether or not to splatter the panel with water drops for that cool oxidization and opted to do so, covering up the moon and the sentiment before splattering. I think I got a bit carried away lol!, but I do have to say IRL the water spots are more subtle than in the photos.

Thanks for taking time to visit, I really appreciate it!

Take care and stay safe!

Stef

Stamps:  Oddball Naughty Pumpkins (Stamping Bella)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Burnt Orange (Simon Says Stamp), Black, Frosted Glitter Paper  (Memory Box), vellum

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne; Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Crackling Campfire, Seedess Preserves, Chipped Sapphire, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain and Black Soot DOX

Other:  Deckled Frame die (Waffle Flower), Spooky dies (SSS), Layered Bats stencil (SSS), Moon Stencil (Tim Holtz), Copic multiliner, Ultrafine Clear embossing powder.

Copics:  YR18, 09, Y38, 17, E29, 37, YG 97, 95, 93, C3, W9, 7

Special Delivery

Hey friends, I hope you're doing well!  I have a card to share with you that was inspired by the current challenge at The Paper Players.  Joanne has chosen a fun theme of cards for boys, which I never have a enough of, so this worked perfectly.

PP539

I'm also joining Addicted to Stamps, where the current challenge is any occasion.

ATSC #404

My husband and I have two great nephews that are young, so I'm constantly looking for fun stamp sets appropriate for their age.  Recently I found a cute space themed set at Ellen Hutson, which worked well for this theme.

I began by making an easy galaxy background.  I used Distress Oxide inks to blend the colors, starting with the lightest in the middle and working my way out to the darkest.  Next a Distress sprayer was used to add water drops to simulate stars, then I added white gouache splatter for good measure, with both a small paintbrush and a toothbrush for the smallest size dots.  I set that aside to dry and went to work on all the stamped images.

The rocket ship and planets were colored with Copic markers and cut out with the coordinating dies.  The thing that probably took me the longest was deciding what sentiment to use.  The stamp set has several fun sentiments but none for birthdays so I pulled out several other sets and finally settled on "special delivery", which it would be if it were from space, right?  

After the ink blended panel was dry, it was die cut with the deckled rectangle die and adhered to the white card base.  Next, all the images were positioned on the panel, adhering the planets directly to it, then popping up the rocket ship with foam tape.  The main sentiment was die cut then the birthday greeting sentiment strip trimmed down and both added with foam tape.  I still wanted more stars, so I tried making white dots with a white gel pen but it didn't stand out as well as I'd hoped.  Then I remembered I had some fun holographic stars, which ended up being the perfect final piece.  You can see them really well in the closeup below.

Thanks for coming by and taking a look!  Take care and have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  Space Out (Ellen Hutson), Pickup Lines (Honey Bee)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol, Sentiment Strips (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Oxide

Other:  Space Out and Pickup Lines matching dies, Deckled Frames die (Waffle Flower), White Gouache, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Oh My Stars Confetti Mix (Trinity Stamps)

Copics:  R59, 46, 24, B28, 26, 24, 23, 21, 18, YG67, 17, 03, YR18, 09, 16, 21, 31, Y17, 06, 00, C5, 3, 1, 0

Beautiful Wings

Hi there, friends!  I hope you're doing well!  Today I'm sharing a card made for two challenges - a color challenge from the lovely Jaydee at The Paper Players and a great sketch challenge at Fab Friday. 

PP 528

FF 207

I decided to go with pink, black and silver, and loosely based the card design on the sketch, but adding an offset layer of silver foil.

I started by using a rose stencil on a piece of white heavyweight cardstock, using the new Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide ink for the roses, then adding a soft layer of Spun Sugar DOX over the entire panel, almost giving it a look of vellum in the photos.  Both this panel and the silver foil one were cut with a deckled rectangle die then added to the black card base.

Next, the large dragonfly and the sentiment were heat embossed on black cardstock, then die cut.  A strip of silver was adhered directly to the stenciled panel, then the sentiment and the dragonfly both adhered with foam tape.  The last step was to add a few silver and crystal baubles for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  Take care and have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  Beautiful Wings (Gina K)

Paper:  Black, Silver Foil, White Heavystock (Tim Holtz)

Ink:  Kitsch Pink and Spun Sugar Distress Oxide, Versamark

Other:  Beautiful Wings coordinating die, Bed of Roses stencil (Trinity Stamps), Deckled Frames rectangle and A7 Labels small rectangle dies (Waffle Flower), Crystal Collection Night Sky (Little Things by Lucy's Cards)

Selfie Birthday for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps!  This week we have a sketch challenge by yours truly.  I hope you like it and will join us with your fabulous creation!

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current challenge at Double D, where they are celebrating their 5th anniversary with cupcakes!  Congrats to Darlene, Diane and all the fabulous DT!

Double D - Cupcakes

My card is for a young, soon-to-be 7-year old.  I used the cupcake eating lion from the fun Picture Perfect Party Animals stamp set.

Mr. Lion has got himself quite a mouthful and is a bit messy as well, which I think is perfect for a kid card LOL!  I stamped him on a panel of white and colored him with Copic markers, then trimmed it down to a square. A bit of detail was added with a white gel pen and shimmer was added to the frosting.

From another panel of white, two "polaroid" panels were cut, one of which was stamped with the sentiment, then they were adhered together with the colored image in between.

Next, a panel of Ranger White Heavystock was ink blended with two Distress Oxide colors then splattered with water and white gouache.  When dry, it was die cut with a Wonky Rectangle die and adhered to the white card base.  The "polariod" image was then added with foam tape and I found some old Stampin' Up silver stars and adhered those for the little "something extra" that the card needed.

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it sooo much!  You can use the link above to check out our current challenge and all the beautiful cards by the other DT members.  And I hope to see you in the gallery!

Stef

Stamps:  Picture Perfect Party Animals (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Ranger Heavystock

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Mermaid Lagoon and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide

Other:  Polaroid Shaker Frame die (MFT), Silver Stars, White Gouache, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copic markers:  E59, 57, 55, 29, 37, 34, 33, 31, 30, BG07, 05, 02, B00, YG23, 01, 00, Y26, 08, 13, 00

Spooky Pumpkins for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello friends!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge!  Claire is hosting this week and has brought us this fun board to play with.

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

For my card, I used the right hand column - pumpkins, orange, fall.  I decided to play with the fun Oddball Naughty Pumpkins stamp from Stamping Bella.  

Aren't they a hoot?  I began by stamping the image on a panel of white card and then decided I wanted to ink blend the background, so I had to cut masks for everything.  It wasn't too fiddly except for some of the teeny leaves.  But I persevered and got it done.  I used Distress Oxide inks in Crackling Campfire, Wilted Violet and Black Soot for the sky and some walnut stain for the ground.  Once done, it was splattered with lots of water to get that awesome oxidation and I think it made the background even a bit more spooky looking.

While the panel dried, I die cut the word spooky from white card three times and once from Pumpkin Pie to give it some dimension.  All those layers were then adhered to the black shadow.  I love that look!  The rest of the sentiment came from some CZ Design sentiment strips.  

Once the panel was dry, it was die cut with the wonky rectangle die, then I used Copic markers to color the pumpkins and leaves.  I used the SB packaging with Elaine Hughes' coloring of the image to get the shading detail.  She is genius!  If you like to color with Copics or colored pencils, I definitely recommend visiting her blog linked here.  Yup, I'm definitely a fan girl!  

But I digress.  With the coloring complete, the panel was adhered directly to the black card base, then the die cut sentiment and sentiment strips added to complete the card!

Thanks so much for visiting, it's always greatly appreciated!  I hope you continue to remain safe and healthy and have a great upcoming weekend!

Be sure to use the link above to join us for this fun challenge this week and also check out all the  fabulous cards by the other team members!

Stef

Stamps:  Oddball Naughty Pumpkins (Stamping Bella)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black (Simon Says Stamp), Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up), Reverse Halloween Sentiment Strips (CZ Design/Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam; Crackling Campfire, Wilted Violet, Black Soot, Walnut Stain DOX

Other:  Wonky Rectangle Die (SSS), Spooky sentiment dies (SSS)

Copics:  YR18, 07, 16, Y17, YG99, 97, 93, C3, E59, 57

Sweater Weather for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week the amazing Claire is hosting Fall Critters for our monthly theme challenge.

The Paper Players

I'm also joining the current Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I chose to use one of my favorite stamp sets that fits the PP theme exactly, with the cute critters from Sweater Weather. Hanging around with their coffee mugs and fun sweaters just cracks me up! 

The critters were stamped on Neenah Solar White and colored with Copic markers, then die cut with the coordinating dies.  The sentiment from another stamp set was stamped on Ivory with Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide Ink, then trimmed down.  Next, a number of Distress Oxide inks were blended in a gradiant on a panel of Bristol paper, then splattered with water and Rusty Hinge and set aside to dry.

The Ivory card base was layered with a trimmed down sheet of Harvest Festival patterned paper.  The frame was die cut three times, the top layer in the yummy Cinnamon Cider card stock, adhered together then glued to the dry and trimmed down blended panel, then added to the card base.  The sentiment and critters were popped up with foam tape and I thought I was finished.  But I thought it still needed a little somethin' somethin' more, so I used three long retired SU wood elements to add that finishing touch.

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it!  I hope you continue to remain safe and healthy, and have a great week ahead!

Be sure to use the link above to check out our latest PP challenge and to the other DT members below for some amazing inspiration!

Stef

Jaydee
LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Anne Marie Hile
Ann Schach
Allisa Steinlicht

Stef Perry (that's me!)

Mary Deatherage

Stamps:  Sweater Weather (MFT), Jack-O-Lantern (sentiment, Honey Bee)

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Ivory (SSS), Cinnamon Cider (SU), Strathmore Bristol, Harvest Festival (HB)

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle; Walnut Stain, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey and Scattered Straw DOX

Other:  Blueprints 27 frame die (MFT), Sweater Weather matching dies, wood elements (ret.SU), Crystal Glaze (owl's glasses)

Copics:  Moose-E37, 35, 34, 33, 31; Sweater YR18, 07, 16, Y17, YR27, 24, Y19, 15; Owl E47, 44, 43, 42; Sweater YR27, 24, Y19, 15; Fox: E19, YR18, 14, 21; Sweater BG78, 49, 45; Beaver: E49, 47, 44, 43; Sweater YR18, 07, 16, Y15

Crackle Birthday for the Paper Players and Sunday Stamps

Hello friends, I hope you are doing well, staying safe and healthy!  It's time for new challenges at The Paper Players and Sunday Stamps and I've combined them both to make today's card.

For the Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee is hosting our theme challenge to make a masculine birthday card.

The Paper Players

At Sunday Stamps we have a new Color Challenge with fabulous Fall colors!

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where this week's theme is to "Stamp It!"

For my card, I decided to use this opportunity to make a card for our nephew's birthday later this month. 

I definitely went towards the grungy side with this one!  To begin, the Crackle Background stamp was inked up in brown pigment ink on a panel of Bristol, then sprinkled randomly with gold embossing powder, then the remainder was covered with clear embossing powder.  After setting with my heat tool and letting it cool I did some controlled "ink smooshing" to layer on three colors of Distress Oxide Ink, the new Crackling Campground, Speckled Egg and Walnut Stain, the last of which came out much lighter than I expected as it melded into the other two colors.  The panel spritzed with water then when dry, splattered with gold metallic paint.

While the panel dried, the leaves and sentiment were die cut, then I rimmed the edge of the leaves with gold paint.  The Cajun Craze base was created to be a 6" x 4.5" card.  The dried ink smooshed layer was trimmed down and adhered to a slightly larger panel of Early Espresso and added to the base with fun foam.  Next the leaves were adhered to the back of the die cut sentiment and mounted onto the base with foam tape.  Even though there's a lot going on in the background it still needed something, so I remembered I'd recently ordered some enamel dots and sure enough there was a color that matched perfectly.  Love it when that happens!

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the links above to check out the amazing cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us at both The Paper Players and Sunday Stamps for these great challenges!

Stef


Stamps:  Crackle Background (SSS)
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Early Espresso (SU), Ivory (SSS), Neenah Dessert Storm
Ink:  Versafine Clair Pinecone; Crackling Campfire, Speckled Egg and Walnut Stain DOX
Other:  Layering Leaves dies (MFT), Happy Birthday sentiment dies (SSS), Antique Gold embossing powder (Altenew), Ultra Fine Clear embossing powder (Hero Arts), Gansi Tambi Starry Colors Metallic watercolor paints, Warm and Cozy Enamel dies (Altenew)

Voices in My Head for The Paper Players

Hello friends, I hope you're doing well.  It's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week our challenge is a sketch brought to us by the lovely LeAnne.

The Paper Players

While I had a concept in my mind for this layout design, I struggled with the execution for a while.  But hey, that's why it's called a challenge, right?  I ended up making a card larger than A2 to fit all the elements!

Starting out I knew I wanted the speech bubble in the upper right corner and the rectangle in the sketch to be an online zoom cocktail party to coordinate with the sentiment.  I began by stamping the computer, dividing the screen into quadrants, then masking off each one as I stamped the ladies and their beverages.  I can't lie, that took some practice and multiple versions before getting it just right, but in the end, I like how it turned out.  I used Copic markers to color it up and once complete, it was fussy cut.

For the background I used larger beverage images and stamped them on a panel of light blue card.  As I worked to put all the elements together on the card base, I realized the card would have to be larger than A2, and finally ended up with a 5"x 7" card.  That meant resizing the speech bubble a few times until everything looked balanced and fairly representational of the sketch.  Sorry LeAnne, I did take a few liberties ha ha! Once the blue and black layers were adhered, the speech bubble was lightly inked blended with Tattered Rose DOX ink, then both it and computer were added with foam tape.  Plus a few sequins...just because.

Thanks for taking time to visit, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to check out the amazing designs by the rest of the DT linked below.  Also, be sure to head over to the blog and join in the fun this week!

Stef

Jaydee
LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt

Anne Marie Hile
Ann Schach
Allisa Steinlicht

Stef Perry (that's me!)

Mary Deatherage

Stamps:  Mini Voices in My Head, Voices in My Head Accessories, Voices in My Head Vol. 3 (Ellen Hutson)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black, Surf Blue (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink: Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Tattered Rose Distress Oxide
Other:  Speech Bubbles die, Sparkling Clear sequins
Copics: [BV08, W5, 7] [V15, E35, 33, 31, R39] [R12,02] BG11 [Y21,00 YR12] [E11, 21, 51, 50 R22] [Y00, B0000] V01 [E29, 27, 23] [V15, 33, 11, R37] [R59, 39, 37] R00 [E33, 25, 50] [E33, 11, 51 R35] [Y38, 35] [E30, 0000] [C5,3,1 YG01, G43, 03]

Woodland Christmas for the SCS Color Challenge

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Karen is hosting this week and she has chosen Cherry Cobbler, Pretty Peacock and Bumblebee, with the dessert option of Christmas in July. 

For my card I used one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets with cute critters.  The images and sentiment were all stamped on white card, colored with Copic markers then die cut with coordinating dies. 

Next I worked on the background.  A panel of Bristol was ink blended with a couple of dark blue Distress Oxide inks, then splattered with water and white gouache (the critters were splattered with a bit of gouache too).  While that dried I hand cut snow drifts from another piece of white card. 

After adding the snow drifts to the Bristol panel, the birch tree trunks were adhered, trimmed down, then the panel added to the card base.  The critters and sentiment were all added with foam tape, then a glitter pen was used on all the berries and the little birdie's hat pompom.  The final step was to use a white gel pen to add more "snowflakes" in the sky and to darken some of those on the animals and tree that seemed to dry back considerably.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it so much!  Be sure to use the link to SCS above to check out the challenge and hopefully play along this week!

Stef


Stamps:  Winter Woodland Wonders (Avery Elle)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian and Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Versafine Clair Pinecone (sentiment), Chipped Sapphire and Blue Print Sketch Distress Oxide
Other:  WWW matching dies, Sentiment Labels die (Simon Says Stamp), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, White Gouache, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen
Copics:  W3, 1, 0, E37, 35, 33, 31, 30, G99, 94, 82, BG78, 49, 15, R39, 37, 35, YR24, Y19, 17, 15