Merry Monday - Red and Gold

I think I'm just barely squeaking in on the Merry Monday Challenge for this week.  The goal was to create a card with red and gold.  I didn't realize how difficult that would be.  I've struggled with it!!

The word Merry is a die cut from PTI and the word Christmas is from a Tim Holtz die set.  I cut both words from shiny gold paper.  The "merry" is inset into the red card base, and the "Christmas" is adhered on top of the red card base.  The swirl was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold.  I also rounded the right corners with a small corner chomper. I added some faux stitching to the edges of the card.  

Using some of the same shiny gold paper, I cut the word "merry" from the gold, then inserted the word I had cut from the card base of the previous card.  I added red and gold borders to the gold and cut around the letter "y" for a fun look.  The "Christmas" was from a PTI set, stamped in Versamark, and heat embossed in gold.  I used the deco corner chomper on the right corners.  I must say...photographing this shiny stuff is TOO difficult!

I almost didn't post this one, as I'm not to excited about how it turned out.  I cut the "joy" sentiment with my Cameo, from both gold and red.  It's difficult to see on this, but I off set the two pieces slightly, then adhered them to the card base.  The "wishing you" is from Winnie & Walter.  I added some dashed lines around the "joy" strip...I think I liked it better BEFORE I added the red dashes!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

One Layer Simplicity Challenge - A Multitude of Gratitude

This month's challenge at the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge is a Multitude of Gratitude: make thank-you or gratitude cards for any purpose or occasion.  Well, I've made a couple of cards, but I'm sure I'll need several more before the year is over.

I used this same stamp in the previous post for the "fire" challenge at Less is more, only this time I made it a one layer card.  I stamped the Hero Arts image on a white card base, colored it with Copics (Y17, YR18, R46 and R59) and added a touch of gold to the center of the big bloom.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I rounded the corners with a corner chomper.  This card is actually only 3.75 x 5 because I managed to get a giant smudge of ink on the top edge...so...I just made a smaller card!

The flowers on this card are from Flourishes.  Sadly, I don't believe they are in business any longer.  I colored the image with Copics.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I rounded the bottom corners with a corner chomper.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM 249 - FIRE

This is the first Saturday of the month, so the challenge at Less is More is a color challenge. The challenge this week is FIRE.  We can use any colors that can be seen in fire with any additional shades being kept to neutral or metallic shades.  I made a couple of cards for this challenge.  Don't know which is my favorite...I really kinda like them both!

The stamp I used on this first card is from Hero Arts.  I stamped it in Memento black then colored it with Copics - Y17, YR18, R46 and R59.  I added just a touch of  the clear Wink of Stella to the petals. Then sentiment is from PTI.  I added Versamark to the edges of the front of the card base and heat embossed it in gold.  It would have been a quick card if I only colored a little faster! 

This is the card I thought of when I saw the challenge for this week.  I thought I had a large leaf die...and I did...it just had a stem connected to it that is part of the die and I couldn't figure out a way to cut the leaf and not the stem. It would have been perfect if the stem was attached to the leaf, but it wasn't.  This was a really old die from back in the Quikutz days!  So, I decided I could do basically the same thing with my Cameo.  I designed the card panel with the sentiment (from a quote I found on Pinterest) and leaf right where I wanted them, then I printed the sentiment on the card stock,  Once I printed the sentiment, I put the card stock through my Cameo and cut the large leaf.  I backed it with acetate, then created my shaker card using foam tape.  In retrospect, I should have used two layers of the foam tape, because the shaker items are a little snug.  I used some small leaves punched from several "fire" colors of card stock, then added a few clear beads.  The background for the leaf was made using spray mists in shades of yellow, red, and a touch of gold.  I made it large enough to also be a border around the white panel.  I adhered the panel to a white card base. 

Which card is your favorite?  Here's the sentiment I created if you'd like to use it.  You should be able to right click on the sentiment and copy the image.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

CASology 170 - Heart

I thought I'd play along with CASology this week.  I love the "heart" challenge! I've made a couple of cards....so here we go....

This first card was actually the second card I made.  I like both of them, but I think this one might be my favorite.  I cut the large heart frame using two dies from Lifestyle Crafts.  I cut it out three times. I taped the dies together so that all the frames would be the same. Using the inside smaller heart die, I cut this heart from a white panel (4 x 5.25).  I adhered all three of the frames together and adhered them to the card front. I made to hearts to adhere to the card base and colored them with Copics.  I added foam tape behind the acetate window and added my shaker items then adhered it all to the card base.  The white frame looked kind of plain, so I added some of my Zentangles around the edges and a little graphite shading which makes the edges of the frame look rounded.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz.  

This card was made mostly on the computer.  I printed out the heartbeat line and the "with every beat of my heart" sentiment, then cut the card base out.  I cut a red heart using a die from Lifestyle Crafts and heat embossed the sentiment (PTI) in white.  I popped the heart over the heartbeat line.  I round the right corners with a 1/4 corner rounder.  Super quick and easy!

Which is your favorite card?  Would you have added something more to the first card?

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM #248 Paper Piecing

This week at the Less is More Challenge is a "lucky dip" week which only happens when there are 5 Saturdays in a month.  Our challenge this week is to create a card using paper piecing.  I kind of struggled with this one, because it's not a technique I use very often.  Here's my take:

I used one of the Prima (Julia Nutting) dolls that I haven't used on a card before.  Most of the dolls are too big for a A2 card, but this one fits nicely.  Stamped the image on navy for the overalls, a green stripe for the shirt, some flesh colored card stock for the face and some brown for the hair.  I colored the shoes with Copics.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I love these dolls, but am I the only one that is bothered because they don't have faces?  That's just weird to me! I cut panel with the image with the SSS stitched rectangle, then backed it with some of the navy card stock before adhering it to a white card base.

I know you're probably surprised that I only have the one card...me too! Maybe I'll have a better idea later in the week!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Addicted to Stamps and More #167

This week's challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More is one of my favorites - Make your Mark.

I've been practicing with my Copics and wanted to try the no-line coloring, so this is what I ended up with....

I used the Penny Black Blooming Garden poppy stamp and stamped it in HA Very Vanilla ink before coloring it.  I colored it with Copics in several shades of yellow.  The sentiment is from a small set of stamps from SSS which also includes the die to cut out the word "prayers".  I love this stamp set.  Been needing one like this for a while.  I cut the word "prayers" from white card stock, then colored it with the same shades of yellow that I used on the poppy.  I mounted the colored panel on a piece of yellow card stock and then adhered it to a white card base.  The coloring took a while, and I still need LOTS of practice, but I really enjoyed giving this technique a try.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Merry Monday 171 - Frame it!

The challenge this week at Merry Monday Christmas Challenge is to create a card with a frame on it. 

 

I've had this idea floating around in my head for the past few days, and this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

I cut an oval with the largest of the small Spellbinder ovals for my card front.  I inked up a sky on another piece of card stock and also masked off a moon before inking up my sky.  The trees were cut with an Impression Obsession die that I've had for almost a year and have never used! Shame on me! I cut a couple of curved pieces for hills and adhered them over the sky background, then put the trees in the snowy hills.  The deer is a SSS image that I cut from black card stock, then just cut off one of the deer to use on this card.  I positioned him behind one of the trees.  I added a few stars/snow? to the sky with a silvery gel pen. The sentiment is from PTI and is stamped in Versafine black ink.  I lightly colored the sides of each of the trees with a C-1 Copic marker and added some stardust stickles on the edges of the snow and around the oval frame.  The oval frame is popped up over the scene and then adhered to a white card base.  It sounds like it took a while to make this card, but once I got started, it was super quick to make!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Muse Challenge - #137

I don't often play in the Muse Challenge, but this week's inspiration sparked an idea for me.  

I found a cover plate that I just had to have...and decided it would be perfect to recreated a card like this one.

I cut the cover plate of hearts from white card stock, then cut it again with red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.  I put pop dots behind each of the hearts...then I lightly adhered the white heart panel over the card base and put the hearts back in the openings with the pop dots raising them up.  After adhering all of the hearts, I removed the white cover plate background. I added a strip of black card stock to separate the sentiment from the hearts.  The large red heart was punched and the sentiment on the heart is a PTI sentiment.  I added some white dots around the edge with a white Signo pen. The "big hugs" sentiment is from SSS.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM 246 Masculine Card

This week's challenge at Less is More is to create a masculine card...easy, right?  Not so much. I make a LOT more feminine cards than I do masculine cards...because they're easier!   Here's my take on the challenge.

I had no idea where I was going with this card when I started it, but I'm happy with the results.  I used the largest Spellbinder labels 10 die to cut the rounded bottom.  I adhered the dark brown piece to a Kraft card base, then trimmed the Kraft base to have the same rounded bottom.  I added a strip of stark white card stock where the two pieces joined and stamped the image in HA Cup of Joe ink.  I added a touch of color with some Prismacolor pencils, then using a very old grass stamp I added a bit more brown grass below the image.  The Sentiment is from Hampton Arts.  I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it in white.  I don't know about you....but I have a VERY difficult time photographing Kraft card stock.  For some reason I get spots of blue or purple in the photo...very aggravating!

This second card was an idea that bounced off the first card.  I had some curved edges cut with the Spellbinder die, so I decided to make a card with a "short" front.  I cut the right edge of the front of the card with the same Spellbinder die I used on the first card, then added the dark brown border.  The butterfly was die cut into the front of the card base, then I cut both the solid butterfly and the lacy butterfly (Clearly Besotted dies) from white card stock and colored them with Copics before re-inserting the solid butterfly back into the card base and adhering the lacy blue butterfly on top of the brown solid butterfly. The sentiment is also from the Hampton Arts set as the previous card and was heat embossed with Liquid Platinum embossing powder.  I stamped the inside right side of the card base with an Impression Obsession herringbone background stamp.  Added a little faux stitching....done!

These next few cards were actually made for last week's LIM challenge...I just never got them posted!  I tell you...I just don't know where the time goes!

Leaves are from Flourishes.  Last week was a one-layer challenge. I inked the right side with several shades of DI, stamped the leaves and then added just a touch of shading with Prismacolor pencils. Sentiment is also from Flourishes (I think).  I added a thin gold edge with a metallic gold pen.

Once again, this is a Kraft card that was a pill to photograph.  I stamped the leaf four times down the left side of the card base, then colored it with Prismacolor pencils.  The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and is heat embossed with Liquid Platinum.

This last card was also made for last week's challenge, only I totally messed it up and ended up having to cut the stamped image out with a die and popping it on a white card base.  I used an old Flourishes stamp and added dots of color with several different shades of liquid pearls.  The sentiment is also from Flourishes.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Happy Little Stampers - October Christmas Challenge

The October Christmas challenge at Happy Little Stampers is a good one this month! I love poinsettias and always have several around my house during the holidays.

I made a second card for the October challenge...Love how this one turned out!

The poinsettia stamp is an old one from Flourishes. I stamped it in the upper left corner and then did a partial stamp in the top right corner.  I stamped with Memento black ink and colored the image with Copics.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set. I popped the white poinsettia panel with some fun foam.  I added some gold borders on the card base with a gold leafing pen.  It's really very bright gold IRL.  I added some glossy accents to the berries and a little clear Wink of Stella to the petals of the poinsettia.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - October 2015

The October Christmas challenge at Happy Little Stampers is a good one this month! I love poinsettias and always have several around my house during the holidays.

I used a Spellbinder poinsettia die that I've had for several years, but rarely use.  I cut the largest layer from the white card base, then cut it again in red card stock.  I inset the red layer into the white card panel, then after "fluffing" each of the next 3 layers of the flower, I glued each of them onto the card red base.  I used some gold pearls for the center of the poinsettia.  I cut the panel to 4 inches wide and stamped the sentiment  (SU) in Versamark and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I found some glittery gold washi tape in my stash and added a strip to each side of the card base, then popped the poinsettia panel using fun foam onto the card base leaving the glittery gold borders on each side.  I also touch up some of the flower petals with some Copics, then added my favorite clear Wink of Stella to all of the petals.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

CASology 167 - Silly

I really had to think long and hard about what to make for this week's challenge at CASology! The cue card word for the week is "silly".

I've always loved these stamps from Art Impressions, but until I found these images recently, I had no idea they came as acrylic stamps....I thought they were all wood mounted!  I was delighted to find them as acrylic stamps!  So...without further ado...here's my card for this week's challenge.

I colored the image with Copics and then added a few touches of glittery pen here and there.  The sentiment is also in the stamp collection.  I added a dark purple border on the panel and adhered it to a white card base.  The necklace and bracelets I added using some dimensional glaze from "irResistible".

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM 244 - Jewel Tones

I'm really running behind this week! I've had my cards made since Sunday, and just got around to taking pics today! Whew!

This week the challenge at Less is More is to create a card using jewel tones.  Here's my take on the challenge.

I think this first card is my favorite of the three cards I made.  I love these edge dies from Spellbinder.  I cut the front white panel with the Spellbinder dies twice.  The curved edge with the tiny holes is one die, and the lacy cut is another die...they work together beautifully.  I popped up the lacy cuts over some rich blue/teal card stock and added the blue panel to a white card base.  The sentiment is from SSS.

This second card is actually the first card I made. I cut the lacy star using a Spellbinder die that I've had forever and never used! Guess that makes it a NBUS die!  The "best" is a die from SSS that I've used several times lately and the "wishes" is part of a stamp set from SSS also.  I cut the lacy star from the white panel and then again from the teal card stock.  Because of the open work in the die, I adhered a piece of acetate behind the die so that I could inset it into the white panel.  The "wishes" part of the sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white and popped over the bottom of the "best" die cut.  I edged the white panel with some of the same teal card stock, then popped it all over a white card base.

This last card was super quick and easy!  I cut strips from several different jewel tone card stock, then adhered the strips along the top and bottom of a white panel (4 x 5.25).  I cut the "sending" from the white panel and then cut it again from some of the deep purple card stock and inset the purple die cut back into the white panel.  The sentiment is from SSS.  I also punched a decorative edge to add to the top strips with a punch from EK Success. I finished off the card by added several pieces of deep purple bling and popping the panel on a white card base.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM 243 - Shiny Stuff!

The challenge this week at Less is More is a recipe challenge.  We're to make a card to include something "shiny". (can I just say that I keep typing shinny! LOL!)

I made three cards...I think perhaps this first on is my favorite.  I am really a CAS kind of card maker!

I cut the scalloped edge with the Cameo.  I scored some shiny green card stock at 1/8 inch intervals and adhered it directly to the card base.  I stamped the sentiment from SU and heat embossed it in gold.  I added small green bling pieces at the point of each scallop and then popped the scalloped panel over the shiny green scored piece with fun foam. Super quick and easy!

On this second card, I cut the tree (Impression Obsession) from shiny green card stock, adhered it to a white card base, then added a few small sequins for ornaments. The star is also a die from Impression Obsession and is cut in shiny silver card stock. The sentiment is heat embossed in silver and is a stamp from Paper Smooches. I rounded the bottom corners of the card.

I'm not sure what look I was going for in this card, but it didn't quite turn out like I had envisioned it. I cut the diamond shapes from silver shiny card stock and adhered the diamonds to some copper foil card stock.  Then I cut out a Spellbinder ornament shape. The sentiment is dies from Tim Holtz and was cut in the white panel and also from the copper card stock. I then pieced the copper letters back into the white card panel.  I added some copper lines around the edges of the panel and popped it up on the card base with fun foam.

I still think I like the first one best....which is your favorite? (and can I just say...photographing this shiny card stock is very difficult!!)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

Online Card Class - Watercolor Exploring Mediums

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Online Card Class - Watercolor Exploring Mediums.  I've made a couple of cards from techniques shown in this class...and without further ado...here we go!

I have to say I LOVE how this card came out.  Jennifer Rzasa showed us how simple it was to "draw" our own image and watercolor it....and I'm amazed!

This card came out SO much better than I thought it would!  I will admit that I painted it twice.  The original is on the back of this finished panel.  I didn't like the feet and legs of the first bird.  Don't know if I could ever duplicate this card again...but I sure was happy with the end results.  The sentiment is from Winnie & Walter.  The flamingo was painted with Inktense watercolor pencils as was the "ground" at his feet.  I also used the pencils to flick splatters on the background.  I cut the painted panel down a bit and added a matching pink mat behind it then adhered it to a white card base.

I struggled with this one a little bit.  I stamped my flowers in Versamark and heat embossed them in white.  The flowers are the poppies from SU.  I ended up with half flowers on the left hand side and it didn't really look right, so I trimmed that side off a bit, cutting around some of the blooms and letting them hang off the edge.  The sentiment could have been stamped a little better...but I decided to leave it as it since I went to so much trouble to paint the flowers!  I needed something to make the front panel wide enough since I trimmed so much of it off, so I stamped some white card stock with a linen background stamp, trimmed it to fit the length of the panel and then added a small strip of black between the water colored piece and the linen background.  I think it's kind of growing on me now and I like it much better.

This was a great class, as are all of the Online Card Classes.  If you haven't taken any of these classes, you really should give them a try. I learn something new in every class!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...