Bear Care

Hi friends, just dropping in with a quick post as I am running up against the challenge deadline for Freshly Made Sketches.  Jen created such a versatile sketch this week I had to play along, but a number of factors kept me from getting this posted until now.

FMS 408

Last week I received the latest Simon Says Stamp card kit and had to use some of the whimsical images for this card.  I decided to use Neenah Desert Storm card stock with my Copic markers, which causes a more muted effect on the colors.

I created kind of a wreath around that sweet bear and then added a few "wind blown" leaves for added color.  The sentiment was stamped on watercolor paper, lightly sponged with Crumb Cake ink and popped up beneath the bear.  I added a piece of the lovely patterned paper from the kit to the desert storm card base, then layered on the main image with foam tape.

Thanks for taking a peek, your visit is always appreciated!  I hope you have a great week!

Stef


Stamps:  Woodland Whimsy (SSS)
Paper:  Neenah Desert Storm, Forever Green patterned paper (Moda Scrap)
Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam ink
Other:  Clear embossing powder (for sentiment), Copic markers

Sending Hugs

Hi there!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers and Mary is hosting this week.  She's chosen the wonderful fall colors of Merry Merlot, Daffodil Delight and Cajun Craze, with a dessert option to make a fall or Thanksgiving card.

I'm also playing along with the current challenge at The Paper Players, where LeAnne's challenge is to make a CAS card with a large sentiment as the focal point.

PP 464

While I did ink blend my background, I think I left plenty of "white space" around the card to be considered CAS.  However, the purists among you may differ with that opinion LOL!  And that's okay, we all have our opinion of what constitutes CAS.

I used the CC colors to ink blend the background on Bristol paper, then splattered with water and set aside to dry.  Next I smooshed the ink pads onto craft mat, sprayed it with water and pulled a couple of panels of watercolor paper through the ink.  After it dried overnight, I cut it with several leaf dies.

To assemble the card, I started by die cutting the word "hugs" three times from Merry Merlot card stock and stacked them, plus stamped and trimmed down "sending".  The ink blended panel was trimmed down then the die cut leaves and sentiment added before finally adhering to the cream card base.

Thanks so much for visiting, it's always appreciated!  Have a great week!

Stef


Stamps:  That is All (WPlus9)
Paper:  Cream (Simon Says Stamp), Merry Merlot, Canson XL, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Merry Merlot, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze
Other:  Fab Foliage (MFT), Elegant Leaves (Sunny Studio), and Script Words dies

Beware the Cat!

Hello again!  It's been over 6 weeks since I last posted and in that time my husband and I moved from Oregon to Idaho.  All I can say is that I'm grateful it's done and hope I never have to move again any time soon!

So this is my first challenge post since moving and my first Halloween card for this year, which I am entering into the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where conveniently the current theme is Halloween. 😄

For my card I used a cute new-to-me stamp from Picket Fence.  I love the sentiment!

I began by using various Distress Inks to blend the background on Bristol paper, then splattered it with water, white gouache and black gesso.  When completely dry, I stamped the cat on the broom stick and bats with black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The sentiment was also heat embossed on the panel but it didn't show up adequately, so it was embossed with purple ep on black and popped up on foam tape below our broom-flying cat. The panel was trimmed down and mounted on a slightly larger panel of black, then added to the gray card base with foam tape.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I'll be back tomorrow night with a card for the new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers, so I hope you'll come by and check it out!

Stef


Stamps:  Wicked Together (Picket Fence)
Paper:  Smoke, Black (SSS), Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Milled Lavender, Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch and Black Soot Distress Inks; Versafine Claire Black Pigment ink
Other:  Hero Arts Ultra Fine Clear and Wendy Vecchi Cactus Flower embossing powders, White Gouache, Black Gesso

Rose Bouquet

Hi there and welcome back!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Chris is hosting this week and has chosen the festive colors of Real Red, Granny Apple Green and Call Me Clover, with a dessert option to include plaid in your design.  This color combo just cries for Christmas but I am packing to move (about 70% of my craft room is in boxes, sniff, sniff), so I just didn't have time this week to formulate a plan a holiday card, let alone with plaid, so I pulled out one of my favorite stencils and put together my card this afternoon.

I used Distress Inks in colors similar to the SU colors used for the CC to ink blend the Rose Bouquet stencil on a panel of Bristol.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but I used the two green colors to blend the leaves.  It's pretty because one is more yellow green, the other with more blue hues.  When that ink dried, the sentiment was stamped over the stenciled image with black pigment ink and the corners rounded with a punch.  The card still seemed a bit spare so I used a gold ink pad around the edge of the panel, then smooshed the same ink on an acrylic block, added water and splattered across the panel.  Once all the ink was dry, the panel was popped up on foam tape on a black card base.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll use the link to SCS above and check out this week's Color Challenge!

Stef


Stamps:  Everything Together (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Black, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  VeraFine Claire Nocturne, Delicata Golden Glitz, Festive Berries, Peeled Paint and Lucky Clover Distress Ink
Other:  Bouquet of Roses stencil (SSS), Corner Rounder punch (SU)

Delicate Flowers

Hello friends!  Tonight I'm sharing a card for the final celebration of the 400th sketch a Freshly Made Sketches.  

FMS400

I was in need of a card of encouragement for a dear friend that is going through chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer and this sketch worked perfectly for the card I had in mind.

I started with a panel of lovely patterned paper and added die cut scallops to each edge before adhering to the card base.  Next I cut a small white cardstock rectangle for layering the flowers upon but it looked rather plain, so a separate panel of white card stock was die cut with a detailed cover die, layered over the small rectangle with the excess trimmed off, then adhering to a slightly larger piece of green patterned paper.  The flowers and sentiment were then added to the rectangle before mounting on the base with foam tape.

Thanks so much for visiting, it's really appreciated!  

Stef


Stamps:  Delicate Flowers (Simon Says Stamp), Adore You (Altenew)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Let Your Soul Bloom paper pack (Moda Scrap)
Ink:  Gina K Jet Black Amalgam, Versafine Claire Nocturne
Other:  A2 Scallop Rectangle die (Honey Bee), Marilyn Cover die and Sentiment Labels die (SSS), Copic Multiliner
Copics:  G46, 43, 40, RV69, 17, 55, 52, T6, 4, 2

Sunny Note

Hello and welcome!  I'm sharing a summer flower card made for the current challenge at The Paper Players where Laurie has given us a lovely sketch to spark our inspiration.

PP #456

I love the long, warm days of summer but I am looking forward to fall because it is my favorite time of year.  To me, a harbinger of fall are sunflowers, and I've created a couple to use on my card.  The flowers and leaves were colored with Copic Markers then fussy cut before adding to the card.

To put my card together, I layered an embossed panel of white card stock onto the base, then tried to decide what paper to use for the horizontal panel.  Looking through some of my designer paper packs, I found this beautiful remnant of a Tonic specialty paper, which worked just perfect to pick up the brown in the sunflower centers.  For the sentiment, I wanted a strip of yellow paper to go with the sunflowers, so I used a Y15 Copic marker to color a piece of white card stock for the color I wanted, then stamped and die cut to add to the die cut circle where the sunflowers and leaves were mounted.

Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a great holiday weekend!

Stef


Stamps:  Summer Flowers (Simon Says Stamp), BB Greetings Galore (MFT)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Tonic Specialty
Ink:  Gina K Amalgam Jet Black and Chocolate Truffle
Other:  Leaves embossing folder (SU), Nested Infinity Circle die (Hero Arts), Sentiment Labels die (SSS)
Copics:  YR27, 24, Y15, 11, YG67, 17, 03, E29, 37, 35, 33

Bloomin' Birthday

Hi there!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Mary is hosting this week and has chosen Gorgeous Grape, Lovely Lipstick and Coastal Cabana for her colors.  The dessert option is a birthday card.

I'm also joining the current challenge at Just Us Girls, where this week is an inspiration photo challenge.  The reds, purples and aquas in the photo go perfectly with the CC!

Just Us Girls #502

While I love the colors in the challenge, at first I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to create with them, so I went with one of my favorite fall backs, using a Suzy's Watercolor print from Simon Says Stamp.  I found a playful floral panel and went to work coloring it up.  While the prints are on watercolor paper, a number mediums can be used to color them, including watercolors, colored pencils or, as I did, Copic markers.

Isn't that cheerful and fun?  After I colored up the A2 panel I decided to crop it down to fit on a scallop die cut layer.  A white gel pen was used to add some dots in the middle of the flowers, and the sentiment strip trimmed down and adhered with a bit of foam tape.  The die cut panel was then added to the card base, also with foam tape and I called it done!

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope you have a great week ahead!

Stef

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Suzy's Watercolor Prints, Sentiment Strips (both SSS)

Other:  Honey Bee A2 Scallop dies, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  R37, 35, 43; BG13, 11; V17, 15, 01; G46, 43, 40

Birthday Blooms

Hello and welcome back!  It's been a hot minute since I've posted anything, due to a number of factors, but I wanted to be sure to share the card I made for the current The Flower Challenge, where we are to use our favorite flower.  As many joining the challenge or viewing this post, choosing your favorite flower is like choosing your favorite child - impossible!  However I decided to use my favorite new floral stamp (which I believe is a stem of roses, which is one of my very favorite flowers) for this fun challenge.

The Flower Challenge #35

I made this card for one of my dearest friends, whose birthday is next Monday, a week after mine, which we celebrated together at happy hour this last Wednesday night.  It's just the best when you're with friends that bring joy! And that she does!

The very large floral image was stamped on an large piece of white card stock and colored with Copic markers.  Due to the size it was a time consuming process but also a labor of love.  I ended up die cutting a panel to fit on an A2 card base.  The sentiment, from another favorite stamp set, was stamped on a separate piece of card stock then die cut and popped up with foam tape.  Lastly I added a small scattering of sparkly jewels to add a festive feel.

Thanks so much for visiting, it's always so appreciated!  Have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  Friendship Blooms (Gina K/Hero Arts), Strong and Beautiful (sentiment/Power Poppy)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  MFT Extreme Black Hybrid, Versafine Claire Nocturne (sentiment)

Other:  Tags & Labels Framelit (Stampin' Up), A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax die (MFT), Sakura White Jelly Roll Pen, Clear jewels (PPP)

Copics:  RV14, 13, 11, 00, G17, BG13, 11, 000, 0000

Woodland Carpet

Hi there and welcome back!  It's been quite a while since I've posted something for a challenge, but Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating their 400th challenge and I wanted to join in.  FMS and the immensely talented DT have been an inspiration to me and many, many others for several years and it's time to celebrate with them!  This is the 2nd week of the celebration and here is the current sketch, a visit back in time to their 200th challenge.

FMS 400

I'm working on a set of notecards for a dear friend for her upcoming birthday and used the sketch for inspiration.  I used one of the beautiful images from the recently released Woodland Carpet from Power Poppy to create my main image.  I stamped in brown Copic friendly ink and went about coloring it up.

I love all the beautiful details, especially the cute mushrooms and snail, but every detail of both stamps in the set are amazing!  It was a bit challenging to color because of the small size of some of the images, but in the end I feel it just helps me become a better colorist.  I started by coloring the sky with two shades of light blue, colored the main image, then used stippling to create some texture around the "ground".  The panel was die cut with the stitched scallop die, then I added a light ink blending of Antique Linen Distress Ink to the bottom of the panel to create more continuity for the ground.  Stamped the sentiment in the same brown ink, wrapped the panel with some Linen Thread and adhered to a card base with Fun Foam.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I've added a link to the challenge above, so be sure to head over and check it out!

Stef


Stamps:  Woodland Carpet (Power Poppy), Delicate Flowers (sentiment/Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm
Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Other:  Card Front Element Builder Stitched Scallop rectangle die (SugarPea Designs), Linen Thread (SU)
Copics:  Sky-B0000, 000; Fern-YG67, 17, 03; Mushroom-R59, 46, 27, 14, E47, 44, 43, 41, 40; Snail-W3, 1, 0, E77, 74, 73, 70; Leaves-G28, 24, 21, 20 Y19 YR21, 18, 16 YG95 Grass-YG45, Y19; Ground-E49, 37, 35, 33, 31, 30; Butterfly-Y11, 13, 15, 17, YR18, 16, BV17, 13, 02, 00; Flowers-BV13, 02, 00, Y17
 

Garden Friends

It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Jeanne is hosting this week and has chosen Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight and Pacific Point, with a dessert option to use an embossing folder. I struggled a bit with this beautiful color combo, but try number three turned out to be a keeper.

I started by ink blending Distress Inks in colors similar to the challenge colors on white card stock.  I achieved the green at the bottom by blending the blue and yellow inks together.  Once done, I stamped the pretty silhouette image with black pigment ink.  I love this IO stamp with the humming bird and firefly checking out all the flora.  After trimming down and mounting on a piece of black cardstock, the piece was popped up on a butterfly embossed panel wrapped with Baker's Twine and adhered to the card base.

Thanks for taking a look, I always appreciate your visit!  I've linked the SCS home page above, which lists all the weekly challenges.  I hope you'll head over there and check out this week's Color Challenge!

Stef


Stamps:  Garden Silhouette (Impression Obsession)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black
Ink:  VersaFine Claire Nocturne; Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Worn Lipstick, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed
Other:  Black Baker's Twine, Fluttering embossing powder, Life Changing Blending Brushes (Picket Fences)
 

Wild Meadow

It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  I'm hosting this week and have chosen Rich Razzleberry, Pineapple Punch, Mango Melody and Shaded Spruce as my color combo, with an Anything Goes dessert option.  My dessert option choice was to use dimension on my card.

I chose these colors with the Wild Meadow stamp in mind, so I could have lots of colors for all the flowers.  I also used a color similar to Mossy Meadow, which is considered a neutral by Stampin' Up.  I colored the flowers and leaves with Copic markers, then die cut with the companion die.

Next I ink blended Squeezed Lemonade and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks onto a panel of Bristol paper and splattered with lots of clear water drops.  Once dry, it was adhered to the white card base and the die cut floral image added with foam tape.  I stamped the greeting and trimmed down with my paper trimmer and also used foam tape for a bit of dimension.  A few clear dew dots were the final addition.

 
Thanks so much for visiting, it's always so appreciated!  I've added a link to SCS above and would love for you to check out this week's challenge!

Stef


Stamps:  Wild Meadow (Mama Elephant), BB Greetings Galore (MFT)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Jet Black Amalgam, Versafine Claire Nocturne (sentiment), Spiced Marmalade and Squeezed Lemonade DI
Other:  WM matching die, Stitched Rectangle die (SSS), Dew Drops, Copic markers
 

Merry Christmas

Hi there and welcome back!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Chris is hosting this week and has chosen the lovely combination of Seaside Spray, Highland Heather and Pool Party with a dessert option to add bling.

This is the final week of the Christmas in July theme for the Color Challenge, so I made one more holiday card for my stash.

I love this Hero Arts cover die and was excited to use it for this challenge.  It was die cut 4 times, 3 out of white card stock and one out of Glitter White card stock, and layered for dimension.  Does it ever sparkle!  To create the blended panel beneath I started with a piece of Bristol paper, and used the challenge colors to blend.  After drying from a heavy splatter of water, it was sprayed with shimmer spray, then splattered with pearl metallic paint to add a brighter snow effect.  After drying, it was trimmed down and adhered to a Highland Heather card base, then the die cut adhered over top.

Thanks so much for visiting, it's always appreciated!  I've added a link to SCS where you can find the link to the Color Challenge, so I hope you'll join in! 

Have a great week!

Stef


Stamps: None
Paper:  Highland Heather, Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol, Simon Says Stamp Glitter White
Ink:  Seaside Spray, Pool Party, Highland Heather
Other:  Merry Christmas Cover Plate die (Hero Arts), Tsukinedo Shimmer Spray, Ranger Pearl Metallic Acrylic Paint
 

Merry

It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  I am hosting this week and chose the colors Pretty Peacock, Bermuda Bay and Silver, with a dessert option to add sparkle.

This month, the SCS Color Challenge DT decided to have the theme of Christmas in July, so in keeping with that, I pulled out an ornament stamp set and went to work.  I heat embossed the ornaments with white embossing powder on Pretty Peacock card stock, then used Finetec Pearlescent watercolor paints to color the ornaments.  Because I colored on regular cardstock, I used just a couple of squirts from my Distress Sprayer into the individual pans to get the paint ready to apply to the ornaments.  I used a blue silver and an aqua close in color to Bermuda Bay.

After the painting was dry, a bit of the same paint in silver was lightly splattered on the panel.  Separately, I stamped the word "Christmas" on white card stock and die cut with a label die then die cut the word "Merry" from silver glitter paper.  Both were adhered to the panel then added to a white card stock base. 

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope you'll join in with the Color Challenge this week!

Stef


Stamps: Ornate Ornaments, Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Pretty Peacock, Silver Glitter
Ink:  Pretty Peacock, Versamark
Other:  Stitched Rectangle, "Merry" and Sentiment Label dies (SSS), Alabaster embossing powder (Brutus Monroe), Sakura Metallic Silver Gelly Roll pen, Finetec Pearlescent watercolor paints.
 

Wonderful Time of the Year

It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Barbara is hosting and has chosen the combo of Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green and Gold, in keeping with our theme of Christmas in July.  The dessert option is to use stars on your card.

I decided to use one of the cute Suzy's Watercolor Prints from Simon Says Stamp for my card.  It was an easy image to color with my Copic markers and a bit of Gilt acrylic paint.

I began coloring by adding a light gray brown to the background, then created the "wood" floor.  Coloring the tree, tree holder, bulbs and candy canes was relatively simple.  Next, I put a small dollop of the Gilt paint on a palette, added a very small amount of water then painted the stars and tree topper.  Once everything was dry I used a Copic Multiliner pen to go over the outlines of those painted images plus the sentiment to make it more prominent. I used a white gel pen to create the "snowflakes" on the tree holder.  The panel was die cut, adhered to a panel of gold foil, wrapped with gold twine and mounted a Cherry Cobbler card base. 

Thanks so much for visiting!  If you'd like to join the Color Challenge or any of the challenges on SCS, use the link above and check it out.  Have a great week!

Stef


Stamps:  None
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Gold Foil, Suzy's Watercolor Prints (SSS)
Other:  Gilt Acrylic Paint (Dina Wakely), Copic Multiliner, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Gold twine, Stitched Rectangle die (SSS)
Copics:  Tree-G29; Ornaments and Candy Canes-R39, 37, 35; Background-E40; Floor-E33, 37, 29; Tree Holder-W5, 3, 1, R39, 37, 35, G29, 24, 21
 

Joyful

It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  This week, Karen is hosting and has chosen the lovely combination of Rococo Rose, Soft Sea Foam and Very Vanilla, with a dessert option to use pearls.

Since Rococo Rose is a new SU In-Color for 2019-2020, I hadn't used it before and was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful pink I got when water coloring with the reinker.  I pulled out an old favorite Christmas stamp set and colored the poinsettia with the rose color, and used the green to create a soft background behind the heat embossed flower and sentiment.

When the panel was completely dry, it was die cut with the scallop border die.  I then used metallic pearl acrylic paint to add splatters to the background, added the panel to a slightly larger piece of the rose card stock, then mounted to the Ivory card base with foam tape.  To finish the card, I added some Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops to the center of the bloom.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll use the link above and check out all the challenges at Splitcoaststampers!

Stef


Stamps:  Joyful Christmas (SU)
Paper:  Ivory (Simon Says Stamp), Rococo Rose, Soft Sea Foam, Arches #140 Coldpress Watercolor
Ink:  Versamark, Rococo Rose, Soft Sea Foam
Other:  Scallop Stitched Rectangle die (SugarPea Design), White Satin Pearl embossing powder (Hero Arts), Pearl Metallic Acrylic paint (Ranger), Tonic Nuvo Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops
 

Birthday Blooms

Happy 4th of July all those in the US!  I'm posting before dinner and all the festivities begin with the neighbors as we gather for fireworks.  I've made a card for the current challenges at The Paper Players and Freshly Made Sketches.

PP 448

FMS 395

I love Tic-Tac-Toe challenges and while my intention was to use the diagonal elements from bottom left to upper right, I also ended up meeting the middle vertical row elements as well.  And Jen's FMS sketch worked perfectly for all these elements!

I started by coloring the floral images from Bloom and Grow with Copic markers.  After using a white gel pen to add white tops to the black stamen in the center flower and brighten the small little pussy willow sprig (?) ends, it was die cut with the matching dies.  I centered the sentiment in the lower part of a die cut circle, then added the flowers on the top of the circle with fun foam.  Daffodil Delight patterned paper was adhered to the white card base, then topped with a horizontal strip of lavender card stock.  I added a smaller circle of fun foam to the bottom of the circle, then adhered to the card front along with a few clear sequins.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Stef


Stamps:  Bloom and Grow, Tin of Cards (sentiment)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Lavender (Simon Says Stamp), Daffodil Delight patterned paper (ret. SU)
Ink:  Gina K Jet Black Amalgam, VersaFine Claire Nocturne
Other:  Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Budding Blooms and Layering Circles Framelits
Copics:  Y26, 08, 04, 00; G09; YG07, 01; V17, 15, 01
 

Rosey Thanks

Hello crafty friends!  I have a card to share for the current challenge at Color Throwdown, where I am their Guest Star Stamper this week!  Because the colors are red, green, black and white I was very tempted to make a Christmas card but in the end decided to do a bit of floral stenciling.

Color Throwdown

Because my husband and I are preparing to put our house up for sale, I had limited time to create in the last week (clean this, organize that, pack, pack, pack!), so using a stencil for my focal point made putting this card together very easy.  I also used new-to-me Life Changing Brushes in the small size that made using the stencils even easier.

Inks from Altenew in greens and reds were used with the Bouquet of Roses stencil on a panel of white card stock.  The reds were leaning more towards a pinkish shade, so I added some Fired Brick Distress Ink at the center of the flowers to change the hue a bit and increase the intensity.  The panel was trimmed down and added to the card base along with a strip of MFT black and white striped patterned paper.  After embossing the sentiment on a strip of black card stock it was added to the panel along with a few clear sequins.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll check out this week's CTD challenge!

Stef


Stamps:  Brush Stroke Sentiments (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Black, MFT Black and White Basics
Ink:  Versamark;  Altenew:  Ruby Red, Grapevine, Parrot, Olive, Moss; Fired Brick DI
Other:  Bouquet of Roses stencil (SSS), Brutus Monroe Alabaster embossing powder, Sparkling Clear Sequins (PPP), Life Changing Brushes (Picket Fence)
 

A Merry Little

Hello crafty friends!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers!  Jeanne is hosting this week and has chosen the combo of Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride and Granny Apple Green, with a dessert challenge to add stripes.  Also, for this whole month the Color Challenge DT is using a Christmas in July theme, so expect to see some non-traditional color combos for holiday cards!

I'm also joining the monthly SCS Dirty Dozen July Christmas Challenge for Fan Club members, where the theme is "From Antlers to Waddling", which works perfectly for my card.  And finally I'm joining the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

And here's my card!

I picked up this darling Avery Elle stamp and die set at an after Christmas sale last December, so I was excited to use it.  The critters were all colored with Copic markers and die cut.  For the background I blended white pigment ink on the bottom of a panel of Bristol paper, then heat embossed transparent sparkly embossing powder to create snow covered ground.  I masked off the snow then used Distress Inks in colors similar to the SU neutral Night of Navy to blend the sky, which was then splattered with both water, then pearl acrylic paint to create a snowy sky.  When everything was dry, the sentiment was added with white embossing powder.  Then the panel was die cut and adhered to a white card base, then the cute critters added with thin foam squares.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Stef


Stamps:  A Merry Little Christmas (AE)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Amalgam, Hero Arts Unicorn White, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks, Versamark
Other:  Brutus Monroe Alabaster embossing powder, Stampendous Crystal Sparkle embossing powder, Sakura Silver Gelly Roll pen, Ranger Pearl Metallic Acrylic paint
Copics:  RV09, 06, 02; R20, 21, 22; Y17; YG67, 17, 03; BV29, 25; E71, 59, 57, 44, 37, 33, 31, 30, 29; W5, 3, 1; C2, 0
 

Seaside Birthday

Hello friends!  It's time for a new Color Challenge at Splitcoaststampers! Mary is hosting this week and has chosen Real Red, Blueberry Bushel and White with a dessert option to make a patriotic card.  I don't send cards for Independence Day but do need a bunch of cards for upcoming birthdays, so dessert is not for me this week. I also joined the current Free For All challenge at SCS, where the theme is Summer (use the link above to the SCS front page to access both challenges).  And finally, I'm joining the current color challenge at Sunday Stamps, which worked well with the SCS Color Challenge.



SSSC207

I started with a lighthouse scene, stamping in black pigment ink on watercolor paper, embossing with clear embossing powder and watercoloring using SU reinkers in the red and blueberry colors, plus some Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow (SU neutrals) plus brown and gray distress inks.  The Blueberry Bushel reacted beautifully to water, so I was able to get a darker blue for the water and a nice lighter blue for the sky.  Once dry, I used a white gel pen to add some highlights to the windows, then die cut the panel and the larger blueberry layer, along with the heat embossed sentiment.  

The focal point was adhered to the embossed panel, wrapped with some retired Crumb Cake twine, then added to a card base with foam tape.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a great week!

Stef


Stamps:  From the Vault Beach and Sea (Hero Arts), Big on Birthdays (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Ranger watercolor, Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Neenah Solar White
Ink:  Versafine Claire Nocturne, Versamark, Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow; Hickory Smoke and Ground Espresso Distress Inks
Other:  Hero Arts Ultrafine Clear embossing powder, Layering Squares & Stitched  Shapes framelits, Sentiment Labels dies (SSS), Seaside embossing folder, Crumb Cake Thick Baker's Twine, Sakura White Gellyroll pen