Jingle All the Way for PP796

Hello friends!  It's the 4th Sunday in July (can you believe it?) and time for the monthly sketch challenge at the Paper Players.  This week, the amazing Christy is hosting and has created a fun sketch.

I think this is sketch is a neat way to showcase three of something, like little flowers or numbers or quilt block designs.  For my card, I went with Christmas and three icon images.

This card uses images from the 2024 Simon Says Stamp/Tim Holtz Stamptember stamp and die set, including 2 sizes of postage stamp dies.  I first used the set for this card with the larger postage stamp dies, but the smaller ones worked better for this layout.

I was fortunate that the images were already stamped, colored and die cut, so it was a matter of choosing a trio.  But as it turned out, I had plenty of images ready to go, so I ended up making six cards using this layout and one where I changed it up a bit.

I'm not fond of mass production but I couldn't resist since these images were all ready to go!  I used another Tim Holtz Christmas stamp and die set for the sentiments, except for the one on the card at the top with the different layout.  That was a from a TH sentiment sticker book. The snowflakes were die cut from white glitter cardstock and I added a small red gem in the middle.  Some of the icon pieces have Glossy accents for shine.  After assembling, I decided no other embellishments were needed for all these cute cards!  Thanks for the fun sketch, Christy!

Thanks for stopping by and I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog to see all the fabulous inspiration by the the rest of the design team.  The challenge will remain open until Friday July 31st at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll find time to join us!

Stef

• SSS/Tim Holtz Stamptember 2024 stamp and die set, including 2 postage stamp dies
• Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas stamps and SSS Tiny Text dies
• TH/Idea-ology Christmas Noel sticker book
• SSS Sensational Snowflake die
• SSS A2 Postage Rectangles 
• Patterned paper from stash (Honey Bee and MFT)
• Copic markers

Meowy Christmas for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  We have a fun new challenge over at the Paper Players this week!  The amazing Elizabeth is hosting our Clean and Simple challenge and is asking us to use critters on our cards.  

Paper Players

You can use any type of critter as long as you keep your card CAS - minimal layers and embellishments, simple and uncluttered with plenty of "white" space.

I'm continuing to work on my holiday card stash and I also used a stamp set that I've had for nearly, cough, cough...five years and have never used.  I figured it was high time to do so, and I'll be sharing over at Darnell's NBUS challenge.

Having had cats for at least half of my life, I couldn't love that sentiment more!  It makes me giggle, as does that very tense looking kitty (who knows what's in his cup???).  The cat was stamped then I did very simple coloring with my Copics before fussy cutting.  

The frame was die cut 3 times, twice from white and once from red metallic, then layered together on top of the Sea Glass card base.  The white center portion was stamped with the sentiment, layered inside the frame, then the cat was added with thin foam tape. 

I had cut three Christmas lights from another stamp in the set, colored them, then covered them with Glossy Accents. They, along with some torn up pine needles were added to the floor beneath the cat.  (sorry, they're a bit hard to make out; they're more visable IRL) Those darn cats will make such a mess of your holiday decorations if left unattended, as any cat owner will tell you! 

I hope you'll share your CAS critter card with us this week!  Before you head off to your crafty space, I encourage you to check out what the other DT members came up with (they're so talented!).  The challenge remains open until Friday, August 22nd at 3pm EDT.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp/Tim Holtz Stamptember 2020 stamp set (this set isn't available any longer but TH has other Snarky Cats stamps available at SSS or other retailers, if you have a warped sense of humor as I do lol!)
• Tim Hold Mini Holiday Greens die
• Waffle Flower Nesting Piercing Ticket Frames die
• Copics - R59, 37, 35, T4, 2, 0, C3, 1, 0, Y11, B00
• Olos - G1.7, 1.5, 1.4

Merry and Bright for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  Here we are on December 1st!  I don't know about you, but this year has literally flown by.  But the first Sunday of the month brings a new theme challenge to The Paper Players.  The lovely LeAnne is hosting and is asking everyone to use a deer on your card.

Of course, you needn't make a holiday card, but that is the direction I took with my card because I had some fun little stamps I've been waiting to use.

These cute images and the sentiment are all from the Tim Holtz Stamptember stamp and die set for Simon Says Stamp.  There are like 20 small stamps of different iconic holiday images plus a number of sentiments and two sizes of postage stamp dies.  I'm using the largest of the two here and my bonus card below uses the smaller postage die.  

I started by stamping images on four half sheets of cardstock then coloring them all with Copic and Olo markers, plus I used a gold gel pen for the Christmas tree star and garland. The images were all die cut with coordinating dies along with the postage stamp shapes out of white.  

I then put the postage stamp die cuts on a stick mat and puzzle pieced the die over them so I could ink blend them yet leave a white edge.  After using a white gel pen to add "snow", Rudolph, Santa and the Christmas tree were all added with thin foam squares.

Next a panel of red was cut with a postage edge rectangle die and the sentiment was white heat embossed.  White pigment ink was blended around the edges before mounting on the white card base.  The postage stamp images were added with thin foam squares and lastly I tied some red baker's twine around the top.

The bonus card is arranged just a bit differently.

Oh, so much fun and I have loads of images to make more cards!  Do you have a favorite?

What are you inspired to create using a deer?  It could be a holiday/winter card or it could be one for any time of year as long as a deer is present.  We look forward to seeing to your card in the gallery, the challenge remains open until 3pm EST on Friday December 6th.  For more inspiration, be sure to see what my talented teammates have created - the blog is linked above.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

PS Check back later to catch my Color Hues DT post!

• Tim Holtz/SSS Stamptember 2024 stamp and die set
• Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangle die
• Hero Arts Unicorn White and Salvaged Patina Distress inks
• Copic and Olo markers
• Altenew Gold and Silver gel pens

  

Pink Shimmering Season for Color Hues

Hello friends!  I'm back with a card for the final challenge of 2023 at Color Hues.  The lovely Nancy has chosen a gorgeous non-traditional color combination sure to work for any of your last-minute holiday cards!

Color Hues

For my card I used the beautiful Gina K/Simon Says Stamp Stamptember 2023 stamp set Shimmering Seasons.

I started by silver heat embossing all the images on a panel of pink cardstock, then used a darker pink ink to blend around the edges.  I really fussed and debated about the sentiment.  I had one idea in mind, but it didn't look right and then I realized some the of embossing didn't come out well. Rather than toss the panel, I came up with a new plan.

I opted to use a large sentiment die cut from matte silver cardstock but the background was too busy without something behind it plus I wanted to hide the areas where the embossing didn't take properly.  A band of vellum took care of that and was the perfect home for that beautiful sentiment and I really like how the card turned out.  I hope to create some other cards using this stamp set before I'm done making Christmas cards, the images are so pretty.

What are you inspired to create with these colors?  Please take a moment to check out the cards by my wonderfully talented teammates and hopefully you'll be inspired to join us!  The challenge will last all month, so you have plenty of time to play along.  The challenge will close at 9 am EST Thursday December 28th.

I wish you all the best during the holidays!  I'll have a new post on the 4th, so I hope you'll swing by and take a look.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Gina K/SSS Stampember 2023 Shimmering Season

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Concord & 9th Carnation, Lawn Fawn Pearlescent Vellum, SSS Matte Silver

Ink:  Versamark, C&9 Sweet Pea

Dies:  Poppy Stamps Poe Script Merry Christmas

Other: SSS Fine Detail Silver embossing powder

Apple-solutely Wonderful for Sunday Stamps

Hello crafty friends!  I'm back with a card for the new color challenge at Sunday Stamps.  This time the colors are definitely leaning towards fall.

Sunday Stamps

I'm also playing along with Inkspirational, where the current theme is CAS.

Inkspirational #299

After reviewing their definition of CAS (one main focal point, lots of open space, minimal layers and minimal embellishments), I thought my card worked well within those parameters.

A couple teammates and I were tossing around what colors were close to the color board and came up with More Mustard, Pale Papaya or light peach, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler and Basic Gray, which worked for me!

I recently got this cute stamp set, which is a Stamptember collaboration set between Simon Says Stamp and Art Impressions.  If you're not familiar with Stamptember, all month long SSS offers exclusive collaboration stamps with many of the best craft companies and once the sets sell out, they're gone.  It's over now, since today is October 1st but just something to put on your calendar for next year if you're interested.  The other thing is that even if the collab sets sell out, the companies usually have something similar in their lines of stamps and dies. Art Impressions has a large line of fun AI ladies and gents, if you like this style.

Okay, enough about that!  This cute lady was colored up using Copic markers similar to the colors listed above.  I then used my gray marker to give her some ground to stand on, then used two shades of peachy ink to blend the edges of the background, leaving a little halo so I didn't get the ink where I didn't want it.

When the background was complete, I used a Wonky Stitched rectangle die to cut down the panel and mount it onto the white card base with foam tape.  The sentiment was white heat embossed on a scrap of gray cardstock, then I fussy cut it out and added it to the card with foam squares.  The final touch was adding a few highlights with a white gel pen.  I have a friend that absolutely loves puns, so this card will be heading her way soon!

I hope these colors inspire you to join us - the challenge remains open until 6pm EDT Friday, 10/13.  For more inspiration, please head over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates have plenty more inspiration for you!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

Stamps:  AI/SSS Apple Cider Set

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SSS Slate Gray

Ink:  SSS Peachy and Grapefruit

Other:  SSS Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  T6, 4, 2, 0, W1, 0, R39, 37, 35, 20, Y15, 11, 00, YR17, 24, 23, 21, 18, 16, 14, 02, 01, 00, 000, E59, 42, 41, 21, 11, 09, 00

Countless Beautiful Reasons for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello friends!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge and this week Jeanne has created a wonderful board with plenty of inspiring combinations.

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I really thought I was going to make a Halloween card for my DT card, but then I was drawn to a beautiful Stamptember stamp and die set I managed to snag before it sold out.  I was also so inspired by the amazing fall colors that Nichol Spohr used here for her DT sample, that I CASEd her card, using mostly the same colors but a different card layout.

I started by stamping with Copic friendly brown ink, coloring the images then restamping them with brown pigment ink for a nice dark outline.  I left the stamp in the Misti after the first stamping, then slipped the colored panel back in there for the 2nd stamping before die cutting.  The sentiment was also stamped with the brown pigment ink and die cut.

 Next I used a lattice embossing folder on a panel of white, then gently ink blended with a light blue ink on the debossed side, so the lattice indentations remained white.  I trimmed it down then added a horizontal strip of Matte Gold cardstock.  It sure doesn't look very metallic in the photos, but I assure you it is metallic cardstock!  The ink panel was added directly to the 5" x 7" natural white (looks ivory) card base, then the colored images and the sentiment were added with foam tape.  The last step was to use my gold gel pen to color the berries in the flower center.

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the wonderful cards by the other DT members and hopefully be inspired to join us this week!  Also take a minute to pop over to Nichol Spohr's blog, she is such a super talented artist!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Beautiful Moments (Memory Box/Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Natural White, Matte Gold (SSS)

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Versafine Clair Pinecone Pigment, Altenew Sea Breeze

Other:  Beautiful Moments dies, Gina K Lattice embossing folder, Waffle Flower A7 Layers rectangle die, Altenew gold gel pen

Copics:  YR18, 27, 24, 23, 07, 14, 21, 31, E19, YG97, 95, 91

Magic for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello, friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe challenge.  This week I am hosting and bring you this fun board to spark your creativity!  

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining the current challenge at Fusion where the current theme is Purple Night.  I think my card works pretty well for that!

In addition, I'm joining a brand new challenge blog called Two Old Bats Halloween challenge (hilarious!). The fabulous Dar and Diane from the Double D Challenge have created this fun new monthly challenge.  Looking forward to playing in the coming months.

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge

For my card I went along the bottom row of the Tic Tac Toe board (scary, Halloween, purple).  I've had this fabulous dragon from a 2019 Stamptember set from Tim Holtz and decided he would be perfect in purple!

Isn't he just creepily delicious?  My family loves Halloween and I know my oldest grandson is going to love getting this.  I'll be sending my middle grandson the Halloween card here that I made for tttc085.  To begin, the dragon was stamped on Bristol paper and colored with Copic markers.  He was then masked off so the background could be ink blended with Distress Inks, then splattered with water and black gesso.  After the panel dried it was die cut with an oval die and layered on a larger black oval.

To create the background, a panel of Rich Razzleberry was stenciled with plum Nuvo Shimmer paste through a swirling star stencil that came with the stamp set.  Once that dried and was trimmed down, it was adhered directly to the black card base.  Next the main image was added with foam tape.  The sentiment, which I think is so droll it cracks me up, also came with the stamp set.  It was heat set on black, die cut with a label die and adhered to the bottom of the main image.  And that finished things off!

Thanks so much for visiting, it's really appreciated!  I've added a link to the challenge above so I hope you check it out along with all the fabulous cards by the other DT members, and hopefully join in the fun this week!

Stef

Stamps:  Stamptember2019 (Tim Holtz for Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Black, Rich Razzleberry, Strathmore Bristol

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot Distress

Other:  Essential Oval dies (Ellen Hutson), White Detail embossing powder (SSS), Dina Wakely Black Gesso, Star Swirl Stencil, Plum Spinel Nuvo Shimmer paste

Copics:  V09, 06, 05, 12, YG17, 23, 01, 00, Y23, 26, YR23, C5, 1