Flourish for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at the Paper Players and since it's the fifth Sunday of the month, that means Tic-Tac-Toe.  The amazing Ann is hosting and has given us a great board from which to draw inspiration.  

Paper Players

 

For my card, I went diagonal from top left to bottom right - die cut, flowers, layers.

I'm also joining in at Just Us Girls for their Anything Goes Stencil Week challenge.

JUGS #816

This card was pretty quick and easy to create because I used stenciling for both the floral image and the background. 

 

The pinks are from the Altenew Blushberry Bliss quad - Strawberry, Dusty Pink, Blush Rose and Raspberry Sunset.  The flowers were colored with Strawberry, Blush Rose and Rasberry, and then I used a light application of Dusty Pink on the stenciled background panel.  

The floral image was die cut then layered on two additional die cuts. It was added to the stenciled panel after it had been cut with a diagonal stitch rectangle die.  I trimmed off the overhanging parts of the floral image after adhering it to the panel, which was then added to the card front.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  The final touch was to add several sequins.  

It'll be fun to see which column or row everyone chooses to use.  For more inspiration, I encourage you to visit the challenge blog, where my wonderful teammates have some gorgeous inspiration for you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 3rd at 3pm EDT.  I hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• Altenew Scripted in Bloom stamps, stencils and dies
• Altenew Elegant Swirls Stencil
• Altenew Featured Sentiments die
• Pinkfresh Studio Diagonal Stitched Rectangle die
• SSS Moonlit Snow Embellishments
• Altenew inks other than the pinks - Redwood, Mossy Meadow and Reindeer Moss  

Everything Wonderful for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Well, here we are at the first of March and therefore it is time for a new challenge at Color Hues!  The amazing Karen is hosting this time and has chosen a beautiful color combination!

Color Hues

I think this combo would be perfect for St. Patrick's Day/leprechauns/four leaf clovers, but instead, I had a beautiful leafy image in mind to use.  

This is from the Altenew Arched Foliage Craft-Your-Life bundle.  I mulled over many ways to use this leafy arch, by cutting it  to create various layouts but then I saw this video by Mindy Eggan aka "master ink blender" and knew I had to use her design.

To start, the die was used to cut the leafy arch, then it was stenciled with three greens (Jade, Eucalyptus, and Forest Fern) from Altenew's Frosted Foliage quad.  It's one of my favorite green color combos.  Next the die cut was embossed with the matching folder, then adhered to a second layer for more stability.  

A panel of white was then inked blended with the same colors, fading off to white on the left side, and then added to the card base.  I used foam tape to add the leaf die, cutting off anything hanging off the edge of the card.  For the gold splatter, I used Altenew's Metallic Paint set.

The stamp set has some wonderful greeting stamps, but to be honest, I was being lazy about heat embossing it in gold, so I used one in my stash that I'd previously foiled and die cut.  And, it's a lovely sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by and I encourage you take a moment to visit the challenge blog to see all the gorgeous cards by the other design team members and our wonderful guest designers Donna and Darnell.  The challenge will remain open until 9am EDT on Saturday March 14th.  I hope you'll join us!

Stef

PS - In case you missed my DT post for the Paper Players, you can find it here.   Also, I'd love it if you'd come back by on Thursday, when I have a very special surprise post! 

• Altenew Arched Foliage stencil, die and embossing folder
• Spellbinders Everything Wonderful Sentiments Betterpress plate and die
• Altenew Metallic Gold Paint
• Altenew Frosted Foliage ink quad

Take Care for Color Hues

Happy New Year, friends!  To start off 2025, we have a new challenge at Color Hues, where the lovely Sheri has chosen a beautiful combination of red and kraft.

Color Hues

I thought I would use an older illlustrated panel by Emily Midgett for this challenge. I don't believe Emily sells these anymore but she has many, many stamps she's illustrated for Simon Says Stamp and other companies, which she shares through her blog posts (blog linked HERE).  At any rate, rather than have these panels continue to collect dust (figuratively - they're stored in a cabinet lol!), I decided I would use them more frequently, when I could, and this color combination was a perfect place to start.

Using three different groups of reds, I colored the two flowers and the grapes with Copic markers and one Olo marker.  I used Olos for the leaves because the light browns are much closer to kraft than I could achieve with my Copics.  I love the drama I can get when coloring with those reds.

After the coloring was complete, I used a rectangle die to trim down the panel.  I added some Latte ink blending around the edges, then followed that by edging with gold then adding splatter.

While that dried, I die cut the sentiment from gold and layered it on a second white layer for just a tiny bit of dimension.  It was adhered to the vellum shadow die cut then added to the now dry panel.  I added two additional panels of scrap cardstock under the colored image for a small amount of lift off the white card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I do hope you'll make time to join us for our first challenge of 2025!  I encourage you to visit the challenge blog (linked above) to see the stunning creations by my oh, so talented teammates and our guest designer, Stephanie Severin!  The challenge will remain open until 9 am Tuesday 1/14.

Take care!

Stef

• Emily Midgett Illustrated Panel
• Altenew Stylish Greetings die set
• Simon Says Stamp Latte ink
• SSS Matte Gold cardstock
• Gansi Tambi Starry Colors gold metallic paint
• Copics - (R39, 37, 35, 32), (R59, 46, 27, 14), (R89, 59, 85)
• Olos - YO 4.6, 4.3, 4.1, and RV 1.7 for the grapes

Hugs for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  This is a special day because it is The Flower Challenge's 7th birthday!  The theme is Anything Goes plus we have a number of previous Design Team members joining us for this month-long celebration, along with our latest new DT member Judy Rozema. Woo hoo!

The Flower Challenge

Sadly, this is Viv and Aileen's last challenge as part of the DT, and Cara as well.  We wish them all the best and hope they come back to play along once in a while.

For my card I stepped out of my comfort zone and did some water coloring using Distress Watercolor Pencils.

In February I attended a class led by the amazing Jenn Shurkus where she taught us some basic skills for using Distress Watercolor Pencils, so I decided to apply some of what I learned using a page from the Altenew Watercolor Coloring Book.  I painted in layers then when the flower and leaves were done, I used Speckled Egg to go around the outside of the image, then added splatter in Seedless Preserves, Black Soot and metallic gold paint.

The panel was trimmed down to 3.75" x 5.75" from it's original A7 size, matted with Stampin' Up Blackberry cardstock and added to a lavendar panel that was embossed with the Gina K Lattice folder using a bit of thin foam tape.  The sentiment from Altenew Versatile Greeting was die cut from matte gold and layered on a vellum shadow.  The last step was adding it to an A7 Ivory card base.

We sure hope you'll join us in celebrating TFC's 7th birthday!  In the meantime, please head over to the challenge blog where the DT and guest DTs have some beautiful inspiration to share with you!

Take care!

Stef

Paper:  Altenew Watercolor Coloring Book, Simon Says Stamp Lavendar, SU Blackberry Bliss, Hero Arts Antique Ivory, SSS Matte Gold, Lawn Fawn Pearlescent Vellum

Dies:  Altenew Versatile Greetings, Waffle Flower A7 Layers dies

Embossing:  Gina K Lattice folder

Watercolor:  Altenew Metallic watercolor pan set; Distress Watercolor Pencils in Shaded Lilac, Seedless Preserves, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Folssilized Amber, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Black Soot and Speckled Egg

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

Delightful Day

Hello friends!  Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Karren's fabulous sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.

FMS 582

I had just received Altenew's new Delightful Day stamp set the day before and it worked perfectly with this card design.

This set is a layering stamp set and specifically made to be used in Altenew's new Stampwheel.  It has the four  (or three for the leaves) layers on one stamp that you simply rotate to create the layers.  It took me a couple of tries to feel comfortable using it, but for me, it certainly beat trying to line up the individual layers, which I always had trouble with.  After stamping the flower, leaves and the sentiment, they were all die cut with the matching dies.

Next, a panel of SSS Sea Glass cardstock was embossed using Spellbinder's Beveled Diamonds 3D folder, then adhered directly to the white card base.  The circles were die cut with the Folk Edge Circle dies from Pinkfresh Studio, adhered to the embossed panel, then I added the floral image with thin foam squares.  I also used foam squares under the part of the sentiment that was hanging off the edge, then finished things up with a few Bridal Suite Jewels from Lucy's Cards.

I hope you are having a delightful day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

Inks:  Altenew Obsidian, Baby Pink, Fuchsia, Magenta, Honey Drizzle, Lime, Fresh Leaf and Green Opal

Smile for Color Hues

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new challenge at Color Hues and this beautiful combo of purple and green is brought to us by the amazing Cindy.  Perfect for spring flowers!  We're also fortunate to have Amanda Mertz as our fabulous guest designer for this challenge.  

Color Hues

I'm also joining the current challenge at Addicted to CAS, where the theme this time is Garden.

ATCAS #235

I chose to color some pretty violets to use with these colors.

The Gina K Blue Violets are just so pretty and delicate, I really love this stamp.  I chose an orientation in the lower left corner so I could stamp the stems off the bottom of the panel.  I colored them with alcohol markers (listed below), then trimmed down the panel with a Hero Arts Rounded Rectangle die.

Next I used gold paint from the Altenew Metallic Watercolor paints to color the flower centers then added just a light bit of splatter.  The Altenew Vertical Greetings die set had fortuitously just landed in my mailbox, so I die cut one of the sentiments from SSS Matte Gold along with two additional layers of white, adhered them together then onto a white shadow die.  I wrapped some gold twine around the panel to anchor the sentiment, popped it up with thin foam squares then used more foam to add the panel to the card base.  

Now it's your turn!  But first, stop by the challenge blog to be see the amazing cards by the other DT members, they are fabulous!  I hope to see your card in the gallery - you have until 4/28 at 9:00 am to play along.

Take care!

Stef

Copics:  G28, 09, 02; Sketchmarker Brush Pros:  V60, 61, 62, 54

Special in Every Way for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  I'm back with my reminder card for The Flower Challenge.  This month the theme is die cuts and/or stencils with flowers as the primary images and the challenge is open until Saturday 3/25.

The Flower Challenge

My card today uses a floral stamp from a new-to-me company - Alex Syberia Designs.  I was familiar with her from the past as a designer and illustrator, plus I believe she sold digital images, but now she has her own line of stamps and dies, and they do not disappoint!  All products on my card are from this company.

This stamp set is called Life is Good and the sentiment is also from the same set.  As usual, I stamped and colored the image with Copic and Sketchmarker Brush Pro markers.  I was really in the mood for some vibrant colors when I sat down to make this card, so I used some different marker combos to brighten things up.  When the coloring was complete, the image was die cut with the coordinating die.  The sentiment was white heat embossed on black and also die cut with a coordinating die.

Next - more die cutting.  I used the Classic Foliage die set to cut out leafy branches from Lawn Fawn Pearlescent vellum. Next, a panel of white was die cut with the Modern Stripes Cover die, then adhered to the white card base.  The foliage was arranged to stick out from behind the main floral image, then everything was adhered directly to the card front.  Lastly the sentiment was added with some thin foam squares.

I think most of us do have stencils and/or dies, so I do hope to see your card in the gallery!  In the meantime, the link above will take you to the reminder post so you can see the absolutely gorgeous card by my talented teammates!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

Copics:  YG67, 09, 05, 01, YR24, 23, Y08, 04, 02, BG15, 23, 10, RV69, 00

Sketchmarker Brush Pro markers:  V111, 114

A Bit of Sunshine for The Flower Challenge

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new challenge at The Flower Challenge and this month we are adding hearts to our cards.  I hope you'll join us this month!

The Flower Challenge

For my card, I found a really lovely layering stamp with flowers in the shape of a heart from Kitchen Sink Stamps.   

I just love the depth the layering stamps give to the final image, although next time I might use inks that produce even more contrast.  But I used what I had for yellows and I think it's just so sweet.  I started by testing out a number of yellow and brown ink combinations until I found the one I liked.  And I have to say lining up the four stamp layers was a breeze using the stamp layering guide.  When the stamping was complete, a light blue ink was blended all around the image, then the panel was die cut with the Chunky Scallop die.

I decided to keep things fairly CAS, so I die cut the trellis from white cardstock and adhered to the white card base.  The sentiment, from the same stamp set, was stamped in brown and die cut with a label die, then I added the second part of the sentiment inside that says "to brighten your day".  The main panel was added to the base with foam tape, the sentiment attached with thin foam squares and a few crystals added for a little bling. The final step was to add shimmer to the flowers with an aqua shimmer pen, which of course doesn't show up in the photos  :-( .  

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  Be sure to use the link above to see all the gorgeous cards by the other DT members and don't forget to come back here on the 15th when I'll have another card to share for this challenge.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Sweetheart Daises (KSS)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Versafine Clair Acorn; Carmel Toffee, Chamomile, Citrus Burst and Sea Glass (Altenew)

Other:  Chunky A2 Scalloped Rectangle die, Garden Trellis Cover die (Altenew), Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen, Studio Katia Ocean Wave Crystals

You Are Loved for Sunday Stamps

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this week I've created the sketch for this challenge.

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Color Throwdown challenge, where the challenge colors are purple, sage green and cream.

CTD 686

You'd think since I created the sketch, that it would be easy to make my card, but oh, no, I ended up having so many ideas I had to take time to sort them out.  However, when I saw the pretty CTD colors, I settled on this pretty floral.

I started by stamping and Copic coloring the large dahlias, then fussy cutting as there are no coordinating dies.  It's a relatively easy image to fussy cut and I left the section in the middle, because first of all it would be tricky to cut out, and secondly, I knew I'd be mounting the florals on a white circle so it wouldn't be obvious.  The next step was to emboss at panel of Natural White (which is a nice ivory/cream color) and die cut the scalloped strips from white.  The skinny strips of green were die cut from a scrap of white cardstock that I colored with a couple of green Copic markers, in order to have it match the flower stems.

With all the components ready, I put the card together, adhering the embossed panel to the white card base, adding the scallops and green strip, then layering two white die cut circles in the middle before popping up the floral image with foam tape.  The silver foiled sentiment was one of many left over from a prior foiling session.  It was glued to the floral image except for a couple letters hanging off the right side, which had foam tape added to them.  The final task was to add a few silver baubles and I was done.

Well, there you have it!  The team has created some lovely cards, so be sure to head over to the challenge (link above) for more inspiration and hopefully play along with us!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Dahlia Bright Eyes (Altenew), Celebrating You (Pinkfresh Studio)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Natural White

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Blossom Field 3D embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), Slim Lacy Layers die (Waffle Flower), Stripes 1 die (SSS), Nested Infinity Circle die (Hero Arts), Celebrating You Hot Foil Plate and matching die (PFS), Silver Glimmer Hot Foil (Spellbinders), Silver Baubles (Trinity Stamps)

Copics:  BV08, 17, 13, 01, 01, 000, G28, 46, 24, 21, 20

Awesome for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge!

Hello friends and welcome back!  I have some exciting news to share!  I have been asked to join the Design Team at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge!  I am thrilled to be a part of this immensly talented group of card makers! If you're not familiar with this challenge, you must use the link below and check it out!  Every week there is a new challenge filled with great inspiration to get your creative juices flowing.

This week, the lovely Jeanne is hosting and here is her fun challenge:

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where this week's theme is something bright and cheerful. I think my card definitely qualifies with all the happy colors!

For my card, I went across the middle with flowers (no surprise!), stripes and stencil.  This card is composed of lots of bits that I had previously made and stashed away so it really cut down on the time to make it.

I almost always start by choosing my stamp set, then building the rest of the card.  Low and behold, in the set I decided to use there was this lovely flower all colored up with Copic markers and die cut, so all I had to do was stamp, color and die cut the leaves.  Next, for the background I searched my stash and found a panel already ink blended with Distress Inks that happened to match the flower beautifully!  I pulled out a stripe stencil and went over the panel with the same inks, splattered it with water and when dry, sprayed it with shimmer spray and splattered it with a pearl metallic acrylic paint.

When the panel dried, it was trimmed down and adhered to the scallop rectangle die, then added to the card base.  I decided on the sentiment stamp set I wanted to use and there was the sentiment already stamped and heat embossed with clear ep! Wow!  Happy dance!  I had to cut it in half to have it fit on the panel along with the floral image but I was pretty stoked to put together a card composed mainly of "found" elements LOL!  The final touch was to add a few sparkling sequins.

Thank you so much for visiting, it's always greatly appreciated!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the fabulous cards by the rest of the DT and join us for tttc071 this week!

Stef


Stamps:  More Spring Flowers (Simon Says Stamp), Label Love (Altenew)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne (sentiment), Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade and Squeezed Lemonade Distress inks
Other:  More Spring Flowers matching dies, A2 Scallop Rectangle die (Honey Bee), Tsukineko Sparkling Sheer Shimmer Spray, Ranger Pearl Metallic Acrylic Paint, Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Sparkling Clear sequins (PPP)
Copic markers:  RV09, 25, 23, 21, BG49, 15, 11, YG67, 17, 03