Live Salty for PP795

Hello friends!  It's Clean and Simple week over at the Paper Players.  The lovely LeAnne is hosting and has chosen a theme of going to the beach.

Paper Players

I'm also playing along with the current Time Out Challenge, with the theme of Water and with Just Us Girls and their Summer Fun Mood Board.

TOC #317

JUGS #832

I made a fun birthday card using some Waffle Flower Postage Collage products.  Take a look!

I started with the PC die that cuts a 4"x 5.25" panel with six different postage "stamp" sections and then used the beach stencil and some coordinating stamps to create the individual scenes.  The whole thing about Finding Nemo (mine! mine!) and the fun sentiment had me smiling the whole time.  

As you can see, I cut apart the stenciled sections then chose the three I liked the best to go with the sentiment and our beach theme.  The sentiment was stamped then fussy cut.  The background panel was cut with a postage rectangle die, ink blended with a light blue ink and attached the to the card base, then the stenciled sections and sentiment were added with a mix of glue and foam tape.  

Thanks for visiting!  Please be sure to pop over to the challenge blog to see the fabulous cards my talented teammates have created.  The challenge will remain open until 3pm EDT Friday July 24th.  I hope you'll join us!

Stef

• Waffle Flower Postage Collage die
• WF Postage Collage Beach Day stencil
• WF Postage Collage Beach Days and Inquisitive Seagulls stamp sets
• SSS A2 Postage Rectangle die

Flamazing Day for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  I'm back with my card for this week's challenge at the Paper Players.  It's color week and LeAnne has chosen a beautiful combination that offers lots of options for creativity.

Paper Players

What immediately leapt to my mind with these colors was a tropical scene of some kind and below is what I came up with.  I didn't have all the papers and/or inks in these colors, so I tried to come as close as possible. 

As soon as I saw Flirty Flamingo as one of the colors, I knew I had to use this fun flamingo die from Ellen Hutson.  It was cut from Flirty Flamingo cardstock, then I used a bit of ink blending on the body and top wing but it doesn't show up well in the photo.  I cut a second flamingo from white, colored the legs with yellow Olo markers, removed the pink legs and added the pink body to the white die cut.  The beak was cut from white and colored the same as the legs, then the black die cut piece was layered on top.

The arch panel was ink blended with Distress Inks to simulate a beach scene, then I stamped the sentiment and added the flamingo.  I used a tropical leaf die that had a larger and smaller leaf, cutting it four times from what I think is Coastal Cabana cardstock, used some Distress inks for shading, adhered them around the edges of a white panel, then added the beach layer.  This really was an easy card to make thanks to all the dies and using some colored cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll do the same over at the challenge blog (linked above) where my talented teammates have some wonderful inspiration for you!  The challenge will remain open until Friday, Feb 14th at 3 pm EST.  Hope to see your card in the gallery!

Stef

• Ellen Hutson Flockstar die and Inner Flamingo sentiment stamp
• Simon Says Stamp Tropical Leaf Bunch die
• SSS Nested Domed Arches die
• Evergreen Bough, Peacock Feathers, Squeezed Lemonade and Antique Linen Distress Inks
• SU Flirty Flamingo and Coastal Cabana (?) cardstock

 

Beach Time for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  Today at The Paper Players we have an appropriate theme - Beach Time!  I'm hosting this week and would love to see your beautiful cards depicting time at the beach.

The Paper Players

I'm also playing along with Time Out Challenges and their words of inspiration "It's always summer somewhere"

TOC #269

I love the beach on the Oregon Coast, where I've spent lots of time, but today my card has a more tropical vibe and I would love to spend time on this beach too!

Isn't that little beach house the cutest?  It's one of three beach houses included in Honey Bee Stamp's Lovely Layers: Beach House die set. It also includes to two smaller palm trees; the larger one is from the Lovely Layers: Hammock set.

To start, every piece was die cut from white cardstock, then I used my Copic and Olo markers to color everything.  It's a bit more work but I find I get more texture in things such as the palm trunks and fronds.  Plus, many of the pieces are so small I find it easier to color than ink blend.  With the coloring complete, everything was assembled and I moved onto the background.

I kept the background very simple to keep the focus on the die cut images, just ink blending what might be perhaps a little lagoon away from the main beach, then adding the sand and the sky. I used a white gel pen to create the gentle waves and add a bit of detail to the flag.  The sentiment was stamped and then the scene was created.  I had created a second beach house but the scene just seemed to busy to I will hold onto it for another card, maybe on a 5" x 7" size - this one is 6" x 4.5".

So what do you enjoy when you're at the beach?  We would love to have you share your beach-y themed card this week.  The challenge stays open until noon Friday 8/9.  In the meantime, my teammates have some fabulous cards to inspire you at the challenge blog, so I encourage you to pop over and take a look.

Also, if check back later, I'll have a second post with my card for The Flower Challenge.

Take care!

Stef

• Honey Bee Stamps Lovely Layers: Beach House and Lovely Layers: Hammock
• HB Sunkissed Summer Stamp Set
• Altenew Sea Glass, Sea Breeze and Turquoise inks
• Simon Says Stap Latte Ink
• Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
• Olo markers - R2.4, 2.2
• Copic markers - BG07, E75, 55, 37, 33, 31, 30 YR23, Y13

Summer Fun for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  I am thrilled to be here with my very first card for The Paper Players as a new member of their design team!  Also joining the team are the super talented Elizabeth Stewart and Jan Clothier.  After spending a year as a Guest Designer a few years ago (as did Elizabeth and Jan), it's a wonderful moment to be back as a permanent part of the team with the amazing ladies that have inspired us all for many years! ❤️ 

So, shall we get on with the challenge?  The lovely Claire has chosen Summer Fun for Theme week.

The Paper Players

So many options for that theme and I chose one of my favorite things to do in summer, which is hanging out by the ocean.

I decided to use a fun Anita Jeram illustrated stamp set to create a beach scene.  I began by stamping and coloring the images, including the buried cat and the sandcastles, then cut them out with the coordinating dies.  The sentiment was stamped and fussy cut.

The background was masked off as I created each section - sand, water, and sky.  Copics were used to color the sand so they would match the buried cat and sandcastles, then I used a light, medium and dark in Distress ink to create the sky and water, deliberately not fully covering the sky to give the illusion of clouds.  The water was enhanced with a couple of blue Copic markers, then I used a white gel pen to create the "seafoam".  

The row of walking friends was adhered directly to the background, then the buried kitty added with thin foam tape.  The sandcastle was then popped up on regular foam tape.  The sky to the left looked a bit empty, so I added three die cut birds and called it finished.

Won't you come join us and show us your version of fun in the summer?  We'd love to see what you're inspired to make!  The challenge will remain open until open until Noon PST on Friday, July 12th.

Take care!

Stef

• Anita Jeram/Colorado Craft Company Beach Life stamps and dies
• Hero Arts Cloudy Sky Scene Fancy Dies
• Tumbled Glass, Broken Chine and Salty Ocean Distress Inks
• Copics - CATS - YR27,24, 23, 31, N4, 2, 0, R21; NECKTIE and HAT - B16, 12, R39, 29, 24; DOGS - E27, 23, 21, C7, 5, 3, 1; SAND - E37, 35, 33, 31, 30; OCEAN - B26, 16, 12, 000; SHOVELS - YR26, 08, B16, 12; BUCKETS - R39, 29, 24, B16, 12, Y26, 08

Magical Birthday for Seize the Birthday

Hello friends!  I'm very pleased to share my card as a Surprise Party Guest for Seize the Birthday!  The challenge is always to make a birthday card and optionally add "toppings" which this time is Beach Theme.

Seize the Birthday

I had several options for this theme in my craft stash, but decided to use a heretofore unused stamp set illustrated by Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company, so I'm sharing over at the lovely Darnell's NBUS blog.

NBUS #62

I'm diving deep into my Copic markers to make this wonderful stamp set come to life!

This stamp was such a treat to color but it is a bit overwhelming with all the different elements, so I think that's why I hadn't inked it up before.  I went to Pinterest for inspiration and ideas for how to color the mermaid's hair (not my strong suit lol!) and saw Amy Young's card here (if you love colorists, you definitely should follow her!) which also gave me the idea for the sparkles, plus I'd seen Kelly Taylor (another fabulous colorist you should follow!) do something similar here.

When the coloring of the scene was complete, I used a shimmer pen on the mermaid's fin (?), the stars and some shells, then added the sparkles with a white gel pen.  After using a square die to trim the panel down to 5.25" square, I thought it would look cool to continue the coloring on the outside of the stamped frame, then added sparkles all around there as well.  It was mounted on a 5.5" square card base and a sentiment from a different AJ/CCC stamp set was added in the top left corner.  

Then I created a panel for the interior using a stamp with the same flourishes as the frame, a shell and a starfish, and a sentiment from an old Lawn Fawn set that worked perfectly!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to pop over to the challenge blog, the design team has some fabulous inspiration!

Take care!

Stef

• Anita Jeram/CCC Mermaid & Whale stamp, Watch This sentiment stamp and die
• Lawn Fawn Fairy Friends (interior sentiment)
• Pink & Main Square die
• Sakura White Gelly Roll and Black Glaze (walrus and whale eyes) pens
• Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen
• Copic markers

Let's Chill Soon!

Hello and welcome!  The awesome DT at the Color Hues challenge have teamed up with my friend, the fabulous Michele Ferguson, for a fun Color Hues Playing Cards with Friends!  How could I resist playing along with that match up? 

TCH #44

While not required for the Color Hues challenge, Michele also asked everyone to include stripes and/or stars, so I did manage to get one star on my card.

I don't know why, but I am just smitten with these little beach huts, and this color combination is perfect.  I did add a "kraft" color for the sand and a small bit of gray for neutrals.  I started by ink blending the background with a couple of Simon Says Stamp inks on Bristol paper.  In my first attempt, I tried to add a bit of ocean in front of the huts but it just didn't work for me with the A2 size, so I moved on and just gave this a "beachy feel" to it and you can imagine the ocean is just over the sand waiting to be played in.

I used two colors of blue along with the red to color the huts and towels, then used a small amount of tan and gray markers for the surfboard and fence.  After trimming the background panel to 4" x 5.25", the colored images were die cut and adhered to the panel, some with foam squares.  I used my Misti to line up and stamp the sentiment along with the birds, added the panel to a white card base and I was done!

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Beach Hut (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Koh-I-Noor Bristol

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne (for the sentiment and birds), Marine and Latte (SSS)

Other:  Beach Hut dies

Copics:  B39, 37, 34, 05, 02, 00, R59, 46, 27, 05, E34, 31, 30, W5, 3, 1

Big Birthday Splash

Hello friends!  Today I have a fun card that I made for my great niece's upcoming birthday and I'm sharing it with three challenges - Seize the Birthday, Festive Friday and Double D, all with summertime themes.

STB 241

FF0112

(cat, hearts, tree)

Double D Beach Time

I have four great nieces and one great nephew of various ages, but this card is for the youngest who is turning nine.

Oh my, I had so much fun making this card!  I just can't get enough of that sassy cat struttin' her stuff down the beach lol!  To begin, all the main images were stamped then colored with Copic markers.  After they were die cut, I started working on the scene.  I used masking paper atop a white panel to mark off the sections which were then ink blended, using a bit darker blue for the water than the sky.  A white gel pen was used to create "waves" and foam along the water's edge, and light brown Copic markers to create the dunes and dots for texture.  My wave drawing skills could probably use some work ;-) but I'm pretty sure my niece won't care!

As I was building the scene and adhering the images with foam tape, I used the same brown markers to create shadows.  Then I bravely put the panel in my Misti and stamped the sentiment just under the sun. I did test on a scrap piece of acetate to ensure the sentiments were straight before finally stamping on the panel.  After it was adhered to the white card base, I found some small, bright pink hearts that were saved after die cutting a cover die.  Three were adhered, then I covered them with Glossy Accents for shine and that was it.

I hope you're having a great week and are able to get yourself out and enjoy some summer activities!  Thanks for taking time to stop by!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Beach Best Friends (MFT), Rain or Shine (sun image/MFT), Summertime Birthday (sentiment/Colorado Craft Company)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Distress White Heavystock (Tim Holtz), Polished Pink (SU)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Latte and Marine (Simon Says Stamp), Tumbled Glass and Antique Linen Distress

Other:  Beach Best Friends dies, Heart Cover Plate die (Gina K), Rain or Shine die, Glossy Accents (Ranger), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  Y26, 19, 15, 11, G09, YG07, 01, B05, 02, 00, RV06, 04, 02, 00, R59, 46, 27, 05, E37, 35, 34, 33, 31, 30

Cheers for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge and this week Claire has created this fabulous board to spark your mojo!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining The Paper Players, where Anne Marie has chosen the theme of food and/or beverages, and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with a theme of Bright and Cheerful.

PP594

I went down the right column of the Tic Tac Toe board - drink, bright colors, circle.

Claire's board certainly is evocative of summer, so I took this as an opportunity to use my new Birdie Brown Penguins in Paradise stamp set.  Probably everyone in the stamping universe that likes MFT stamps has this stamp in their collection, but I didn't so I bought it recently when MFT opened the Birdie Brown "vault" and made it available for sale.  SO darn CUTE!  Anyway, with drink in hand, this little penguin was perfect to be the main figure in my little scene.

Originally the scene included another penguin and a beach ball (which was to be the "circle").  I stamped it out using masks, die cut a couple of cloud masks as well, then ink blended the sky, water and sand. When that was done, I realized something had put a dent in the paper right above the head of the other penguin and no matter how I tried to disguise it, nothing worked to my satisfaction.  So I Copic colored the rest of the scene, then trimmed it down as you see it now. But the trimming also removed the beach ball, so now I had to come up with another circle, hence the large polka dot embossed background!  With those two layers complete, I decided to stamp and die cut the sentiment to leave room for the hibiscus, which I colored then fussy cut.  The last step was to use my white gel pen on the drink glass for a reflection.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  The other DT members have fabulous cards to inspire you, so be sure to head over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge and hopefully join us this week!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Birdie Brown Penguins in Paradise (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Magenta Madness (SU)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Sand Dunes, Sea Breeze and Ocean Waves (Altenew)

Other:  Large Polka Dot embossing folder (ret. SU), Cloud Cover dies (MFT), Featured Sentiment die (Altenew), Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  E29, 37, 35, 34, 33, 31, 30, 0000, RV20, V04, YG67, 17, 05, 03, BG0000, YR18, 16, Y17, 38, 35, FY1, FV2, FRV1

Sunshine and Love for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello friends and welcome back to a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  This week our board has some great options for creating summer themed cards!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining Double D Challenges, where the current theme is Signs of Summer.

Double D Signs of Summer

For the Tic Tac Toe challenge I went diagonal left to right (beach, big sentiment, red).

I had a hard time deciding which way to go - underwater scene, sailboat, etc. and finally decided on this lighthouse scene because it worked well with the big sentiment from the same stamp set.  I stamped and colored the scene with Copic markers, then used my Misti to stamp the sentiment straight onto the panel.

I decided to keep things CAS. The panel was die cut with a rounded rectangle die, leaving a wide border for the Desert Storm card base.  I upcycled some nice twine that had been used for a clothing tag, cut it in half then wrapped both around the back of the panel where I secured them with tape.  The panel was adhered to the card base with foam tape, then for the final touch I used a white gel pen for the ocean waves and a silver gel pen for the top of the lighthouse and some of the railing.

There you have it, my super CAS card for this week's Tic Tac Toe Challenge!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the fabulous cards by the other DT members and hopefully play along with us this week!

Stef

Stamps:  From the Vault Beach & Sea (Hero Arts)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  Rounded Rectangle die (HA), Marvy Reminisce Silver gel pen, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, twine

Copics:  B37, 34, 000, 0000, R46, 24, 14, G29, 21, 40 YG45, E47, 44, 43, 27, T2, 0