Monsters' Happy Halloween!

I recently got this cute stamp set from Lawn Fawn called "Monster Mash," as well as the coordinating dies. One thing I like about it, is that you can use it for general cards, not just Halloween. But for my first time getting it inky, I decided to use it for a Halloween card.

I didn't use a particular sketch for this card, instead making it up as I went along. I started by creating the background. I stamped Hero Arts' "Highline Ironwork Background" stamp onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. When that cooled, I cut it down to 4x5.25", and went over it with Distress stains in Dusty Concord, Crushed Olive, & Peeled Paint. I did end up covering the Dusty Concord with Crushed Olive, since the purple ended up looking a bit lonely with all the green! The two colors combined to make a muted dark green. Then I set that aside to dry.

Another new-to-me die is the "Stitched Film Strip" die from Pretty Pink Posh. I cut a piece of purple cardstock with that. I stamped 3 of the monsters on a piece of white cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored them with colored pencils, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors. Then I cut those with the coordinating dies. I cut a piece of orange patterned paper from my scrap stash to the same size as the filmstrip die cut, and lightly penciled where the openings went. Then I trimmed down 2 of the monsters, so they wouldn't stick out below the filmstrip, and glued them to the background. Finally, I glued the filmstrip die cut over the orange background piece, sandwiching the monsters in between.

The green background piece was still a bit "stripe-y," so I went over it with Crushed Olive Distress ink, to blend the bands of stain colors a bit better. Then I die cut the bottom edge with the "A2 Curved Edge" die from Simon Says Stamp. I flicked droplets of Heidi Swapp's Color Shine spray in gold over the panel. That added just a bit of texture & shine.

I took another piece of white cardstock & stamped the "Happy Halloween" with Lawn Fawn's "Riley's ABC's." I white heat embossed the letters to create a resist, and colored the cardstock with the Dusty Concord Distress stain. I also ended up going over that panel with the Dusty Concord ink and my mini ink blending tool after the stain dried, to even out the color just a bit more. I flicked more gold spray ink over that.

I lined up the curved edge of the green panel above the stamped greeting. I had to tilt that panel a bit, since my stamped letters were just a tiny bit off, and then trimmed the edges to make everything even. I glued the green panel to the purple, and then adhered the filmstrip piece in place. I matted that panel on a piece of blue cardstock, then adhered that to some gold textured cardstock from American Crafts, and matted the whole piece with the same purple cardstock I'd used for the filmstrip die cut. Finally, I added the front to an A2 card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Fall Colors 4 Kids"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

You're Bewitching!

You're probably thinking, for someone who doesn't make Halloween cards, I've sure been making at least a few recently. Well, if so, you're right. I've found a new "outlet," in Send a Smile 4 Kids. This organization collects handmade cards to give to children's hospitals. Then, staff & family can have cute cards to write on to give to kids who are inpatients. It's a good organization, and I encourage you to check it out!

For this card, I based my design on the following Operation Write Home sketch:

I printed my focal image from Jane's Doodles onto a piece of 140-lb. watercolor paper. It is funny sometimes: a piece that looks so large in the sketch printout is actually quite small! I was a bit surprised when I saw my 2x3" panel, but thankfully, it still worked for the little witch! After I let the ink dry for a few minutes, I colored her with Inktense pencils and my water brush. I added a little detailing with a gold gel pen to the buckle on her hat; and light washes of Tumbled Glass & Pumice Stone Distress inks for the background & ground, respectively.

I chose 2 patterned papers for my background. The black is from the "Doodle Deux" Collection 6x6" pad by Prima, and the bold-colored wonky chevron pattern is from "Unforgettable," which is in My Mind's Eye's Collectable collection. I cut the chevron pattern down, and adhered it to the black background piece.

I cut a piece of yellow-orange cardstock for the greeting/mat panel, and printed the "You're Bewitching," which I'd created in Photoshop, directly on that. I tied a piece of black bakers twine from Maya Road around the panel under the greeting, securing the bow with a bit of Ranger's Multi Medium Matte. I adhered that & the focal panel in place on the card front. Finally, I adhered the front to an A2-size card base. A simple card, but hopefully one that will bring a smile to a child's face!

I'm entering this card in Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Fall Colors 4 Kids" challenge.

Hello Pumpkin!

Since the deadline for Halloween/Fall cards at Send a Smile 4 Kids is October 5, I've been working hard to make some to send them. This is one of those.

I started with Operation Write Home's Sketch #203:

The focal image & greeting are from the "Harvest Friends" set designed by Katlyn Traxler. I am a MAJOR cat person, and I just couldn't resist that sleeping kitty! So my main requirements for a card design were a place for the greeting and a circle element for the image. This sketch fit the bill perfectly!

I die cut & embossed a piece of watercolor paper using one of the dies from the Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" Nestabilities set. I printed my kitty onto that, and colored him with Inktense pencils and a paintbrush & water. When that dried, I painted a bit of "ground" by smooshing Pumice Stone Distress ink onto an acrylic block and picking up the color with my wet brush. I did the same for the sky with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. Finally, I inked around the edges with Tumbled Glass & my mini ink blending tool.

I chose the patterned papers for my banners & greeting panel from 3 different 6x6" pads: Simple Stories Sn@p "Color Vibe," and Basic Grey's "Fact" & "Hey Girl." (The paper for the middle banner came from my scrap stash.) The background paper came from the "Off the Bolt" 4.5x6.5" pad from The Paper Studio. I felt that gave a good, bold "fall" vibe, to go with the banners.

I die cut the background paper with the stitched rectangle from the "Femme Frames" die set by Mama Elephant. Because that is slightly smaller than 4x5.25", I made the banners just a smidge narrower than in the sketch. I die cut another piece from white cardstock using the scalloped frame from the same Mama Elephant die set, & inked it with Peacock Feathers Distress ink. I layered those 2 pieces together, and glued the banners to the background.

After printing the greeting on the orange patterned paper, I matted that with a piece of black paper. I adhered the focal image with foam adhesive to the card front. I applied foam squares to the back of the greeting panel, just around the edges, and glued it to the focal panel where it overlapped.

To finish the card, I inked the front of a white A2 card base with Rusty Hinge Distress ink, and adhered the card front to that.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Fall Colors 4 Kids"

Happy Halloween

Send a Smile 4 Kids' current challenge at their blog is "Fall Colors 4 Kids." What is more "fall" (in the U.S. at least) than Halloween? I don't usually have much use for Halloween cards, but figured a child in a hospital might love something like this, so created this card.

I based my design on this sketch by Operation Write Home:

Since I ended up making a 4.5x7.25" card, I obviously had to make some adjustments. My main inspiration from the sketch was the banner over the circle. I felt it would be perfect to spell out the word "happy"!

I die cut the letters for "Happy" from purple cardstock, using this Hero Arts set. I had to make the pennants slightly wider than the 1/2" called for in the sketch, since the letters are about 5/8" wide. I measured & cut the pennants from green cardstock, and glued the letters to them. For the circle element, I used the largest die in Spellbinders' "Standard Circles LG" set. I traced around the outer edge to get a 4" diameter circle and cut it out with scissors. Finally, I stamped the Hero Arts' "Designer Woodgrain" with Rusty Hinge Distress ink on the circle. I spaced the pennants out on the circle, and made pencil marks to guide me when I glued them in place. After I'd glued the pennants, I ran a line of Ranger Multi Medium Matte along the top edge, and laid down a piece of purple bakers twine. I tied 2 little bows with the same twine, and glued them at either end with more Multi Medium. Then I set that aside to dry.

For the "Halloween," I die cut a label using one of the Spellbinders "Grommet Tags" dies from the same green cardstock I'd used for the pennants. I scanned that into my computer, and created the text in Photoshop, using the scanned image for sizing & placement. The I printed the text directly on the die cut label. I inked around the edges with Black Soot Distress ink.

I chose 2 patterned papers from Jillibean Soup's "Owloween Stew" 6x6" pad. I cut the spider web piece to 4.25" square, and the striped piece to fill in the rest of the front. I glued the circle to the larger piece, and attached the label die cut to the striped piece with glue & orange brads. I also glued a piece of ribbon I'd gotten some years ago from Hobby Lobby to the top of the striped panel, to act as a transition between the 2 patterned papers. Finally, I adhered both patterned paper panels to a piece of purple cardstock, and adhered that to my card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's "Autumn & Christmas"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

Just Saying Hello

I have had this sunflower stamp literally for years. We originally got it to stamp on flower pots, I think for a school project of my mom's. (She's an elementary school teacher.) So I have no clue where it came from or who made it. But I thought it would go perfectly with the current challenge theme at a2z Scrapbooking's blog, "Autumn & Christmas." I don't know about other parts of the country, but this is a perfect time of year for sunflowers here in East Texas!

I didn't use a sketch for this card. Since the sunflower image is so large, I figured I'd let it stand pretty much on its own. I stamped it onto watercolor paper, using Colorbox Archival Dye ink in Putty. I colored it with Inktense pencils, using a paintbrush & water to blend the colors.

I stamped the greeting from this set in Hero Arts' Cup o' Joe Mid-Tone Shadow ink. I trimmed the watercolor panel down to 4.25x6.25", and cut two 3/4" wide strips of plaid patterned paper from my scrap stash. I glued them behind the panel on either end, letting 1/2" peek out. I cut 2 narrow strips of brown patterned paper, also from my scraps, and glued them over the seams. Finally, I matted that whole piece to a piece of golden-orange cardstock. I probably could have just cut strips of the cardstock and glued it down the sides, since most of it is covered up, but I didn't think of that until afterwards. Finally, I adhered it to my card base.

I had started this card with the intent of sending it to Send a Smile 4 Kids. But it ended up not being very child-like (at least in my opinion), so I will be holding on to this one, until a good opportunity comes up for me to send/give it to someone.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Stencils & Stamps"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

Scarecrow, Scarecrow

The current challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids' blog is "Fall Colors 4 Kids." I got this cute "Friendly Scarecrow" stamp by Stampendous at Hobby Lobby recently, and it seemed to pair perfectly with a greeting from this set.

I started with this sketch from Operation Write Home:

I rotated it 90 degrees, and enlarged the focal panel to fit my image & greeting better.

I stamped my focal image onto a piece of watercolor paper, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. Since the greeting is a digital image, I scanned the watercolor panel into my computer, then used that image in Photoshop to size & position my greeting properly. I printed the greeting directly onto the panel, and colored the scarecrow with Inktense pencils and my water brush.

Once the focal panel had dried (which didn't take too long), I rounded all 4 corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper. It felt a bit bland, so I went around the edges with my ink blending tool & Walnut Stain Distress ink. It still didn't "feel" right, so I cut a slightly larger mat from a red-orange cardstock, rounded the corners of that, and glued the focal panel to it. It only has a 1/16" border, but it was enough to ground the panel without covering too much of the card's background.

I chose 2 patterned papers from my scrap stash and cut them down for the background. I adhered them to a piece of the same cardstock I'd used for the mat, and adhered that to my card front. I threaded 3 buttons with pieces of raffia, to keep with the fall/scarecrow theme, and glued them to the lower left corner of the focal panel with Ranger Multi Medium in the matte finish. And that completed this card!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Stencils & Stamps"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

Fancy Fold Christmas Card

This month's challenge at a2z Scrapbooking's blog is "Autumn & Christmas." I don't do autumn cards much, so I decided to make a Christmas card for my personal stash. I wanted to something a bit more challenging than a basic card, so I looked on Pinterest. I found this tutorial, and decided it looked challenging enough, so I went for it. And I was right--it turned out to be quite a challenge!

I cut my card base to 7.5x12". The card design can actually be pretty much any height; the width is more important, since you have to be able to divide it into thirds. Next, I opened the background file from Hero Arts' "Artistic Circles" in Photoshop. I resized it and adjusted the color to be kind of a rose hue, and printed it onto my card base. Finally I scored the fold lines, & cut the diagonal sections on the sides.

I used a Fiskars border punch to create the gifts border to go along the top & inside edges. (I don't know the name of it, and it appears to be discontinued.) I also used the Fiskars "Threading Water" border punch to create the green border strips, which I adhered to the inside top of the card.

For the inside of the card, I stamped an image by Penny Black onto a piece of 90-lb. watercolor paper, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I colored it with Inktense pencils, and blended the color with my water brush. (I did have to use regular colored pencils on the mouse's shirt, since it was such a detailed area.) I also stamped the cat and dog from a set by Recollections on 140-lb. watercolor paper, and colored them with Inktense pencils. I added a coat of glitter to the stars hanging from the animals, and the one on the tree, with my clear Wink of Stella brush marker. I fussy cut the cat & dog, leaving a thin white border.

Detail shot of pop-ups

I inked around the edges of the focal panel with Victorian Velvet Distress ink, just to keep it from fading into the background so much. I then glued it to the inside of the card. The pop-up elements for the cat & dog were a bit tricky to figure out. On my first attempt, the pop-ups bumped into each other when I closed the card. Thankfully, I had the foresight to use temporary adhesive until I figured things out! I ended up just making smaller pop-up boxes, and glued them in place, & then glued the cat & dog to each box.

I stamped a greeting from Hero Arts' "Very Merry Christmas" set onto a piece of green cardstock, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder, and matted it with the same cardstock I'd used for the gifts border. I glued it to one side of the front. For the patterned cardstock on the outer middle panels, I used the same Hero Arts background as for the card base, just changing the color to a dark green. After cutting the strips, I trimmed the upper edges at a diagonal, & adhered them to the appropriate sections. I also made a belly band from that same color pattern, to go around the card to keep it closed.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday "Stamping"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Stencils & Stamps"

Happy Day

The theme for Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge this week has been "Rock the Techniques." I've been struggling with that, mostly trying to figure out just what that means. I didn't want to enter something that didn't fit the theme! I finally came up with this card, employing a few different techniques.

I did not use a sketch for this card. I saw a card online a while back, that used the sheep from Hero Arts' "Missing You" stamp set. The card maker had stacked the sheep one on top of the other. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw the card! But I liked the idea of the stacked sheep, so I decided to CASE that element.

***Edited Note: I have since found that card! You can view it at Sarah Gray's blog, Funky Fossil Designs.***

I began by creating my background. I stamped Hero Arts' "Highline Ironwork Background" stamp onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink, & clear heat embossed it to create a resist. After trimming the panel to 4x5.25", I blended Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Fired Brick Distress inks over the embossing.

I stamped the sheep 3 times on white cardstock, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped it again onto 3 different patterned papers, so I could paper piece them. I cut out the white sheep, and then cut out the wool part of the patterned sheep. I glued the wool pieces onto the bodies; "painted" the edges with a black brush tip marker to hide the white paper; and colored the noses, ears, and feet with a slate colored pencil, blending with Gamsol.

I stamped the greeting on a strip of green cardstock using Versafine. (Sorry, but I don't know the name or manufacturer of the stamp set.) I cut a black piece to go behind the sheep, as they kind of got lost if I put them directly on the background. I adhered the black and green strips, and the glued the sheep down. The greeting strip looked a little blank, so I stamped one of the borders from this set in Versafine. I matted the card front panel with a piece of black paper cut to 4.25x5.5", and adhered it onto an A2-size card base. As a finishing touch, I added some Glossy Accents to the sheep's eyes, just to give them a bit of shine.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Send a Smile 4 Kids "Fall Colors 4 Kids"
Operation Write Home/Our Daily Bread Designs "Create Your Own Background"

Merry Christmas Slider Card

The current challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs' blog is "Stitch It!" The idea is to use either real or faux stitching, or have a sewing-themed project. While my intention for this card was to have machine stitching, I had a few technical difficulties, so I ended up just poking holes and going over them with a pen, for faux stitching.

I got the idea for this card from this tutorial at Splitcoaststampers. I modified the measurements to make a larger card. Not easy, and not without having to start over a couple of times, but I made it work!

I started with an image from this digital stamp set by Hero Arts. I sized the bird, and paired it with a greeting from this set. I printed that out onto a piece of white cardstock, and colored it with colored pencils, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend it. I matted that on a piece of dark red cardstock, and then did my faux stitching.

For the card front, I used a patterned paper from The Paper Studio. Basically, I just followed the directions in the tutorial. I did more faux stitching around the outer edges, leaving the top open. I made the tag, which is the slider mechanism that reveals the inside sentiment, from a piece of red patterned paper from the same Paper Studio stack. It is sandwiched between the front & back layers of the card, but slides in and out freely. I added a piece of green ribbon to the top, to make it easier to slide it out. I then stamped one of the sentiments from this Hero Arts set on the inside panel in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Here are a few detail shots:

Inside sentiment

The tag "opens" the card to reveal the inside message.

Side angle of the open card

Detail of the faux stitching

I am also entering this card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's "Autumn & Christmas"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Tag It" (tag used for card mechanism)

Autumn Blessings

The current challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids' blog is "Cute Fall/Halloween Card 4 Kids." I got the apple tree image from Ladybug Crafts Ink on a CD included in a card making magazine, and couldn't wait to use it. I felt it paired perfectly with the greeting from this set from Doodle Pantry.

I have also wanted to do a card based on Operation Write Home's Sketch #223 since they first posted it this past May:

 I never had a focal image stamp large enough, so having this digital image that I could make the perfect size was a huge help!

I began by sizing & printing my image onto a piece of watercolor paper, and the greeting on white cardstock. I originally intended to color the tree with Inktense pencils & water, but thought better of it when I saw how small the leaves & apples were. So I colored them with colored pencils instead, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors on the apples & tree trunk. (Since the leaves were so tiny, I just used 2 colors of green pencil and a little bit of rough shading.) When I finished the coloring, I used watercolors to lay down a gradated blue wash for the sky, and green for the grass. Because the grass line didn't go all the way to the edges of the panel, I used a fine-tip black pen to add the "missing" sections.

While the focal panel dried, I cut the mats from orange-red cardstock, which I felt was a good color to play off the apples. I also die cut a piece of burlap patterned paper from The Paper Studio with the A2-size die from Avery Elle's "Custom Panels" set for the background. After rounding the corners of the mats & greeting panel with my 1/8" Corner Chomper, I adhered the greeting panel to its mat. I felt it needed something more, so I added a red eyelet at each corner. It still looked unfinished, so I got some "True Hemp" twine from Hemptique, threaded a length through the eyelets on each end, and taped the ends to the back of the panel.

When the focal panel was dry, I rounded the corners and adhered it to the mat. I adhered the burlap paper to an A2 card base, and rounded all 4 corners with my Corner Chomper. Finally, I added foam adhesive squares to the backs of both panels and adhered them to the card front.

I Love You

Simon Says Stamp is having a month-long celebration they call "STAMPtember." I believe this is their fifth year of doing this, and it is basically to promote & celebrate all things stamping. On their Monday challenge blog, the current theme is to encourage crafters to use SSS exclusive products. I ended up using 2 in this card.

I based my design on Operation Write Home's Sketch #230:

I didn't really adhere to the measurements, except for the 2.25" tall panel. Other than that, I let my elements lead the way.

I began by taping the Simon Says Stamp "Moroccan Stencil" to a piece of textured cream cardstock. (This was the first "Moroccan Stencil" they came out with. They have another, larger one available now.) I blended Distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Evergreen Bough, and Salty Ocean over it using my Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool. I spritzed it with a couple of sprays of water to add a bit more visual texture, since Distress inks react with water. Then I set that aside to dry.

For the background, I stamped the Stampabilities "Faded Text Background" onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I took 4 colors of gelatos--2 blues, a yellow, and a pink--and colored over the embossed area. Finally, I took a foam blending tool included in the gelatos kit I'd gotten and blended the colors on the cardstock. They ended up retaining their original colors pretty well, though there was some "contamination" between colors, since I did not clean my blending tool off as I worked. But I think it looks good. Finally, I cut that piece to 4x5". (I didn't realize, until I'd cut that panel to the 5" width, that I'd meant to cut it to 5.25"! So I just cut my A2-size card base 1/4" narrower. Problem solved!)

I die cut a doily from 90-lb. watercolor paper using this Lifestyle Crafts die. I pressed Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, & Evergreen Bough onto my non-stick craft mat, and sprayed the inks with water. Then I laid my doily on the ink, swooshing and tapping it into the puddles until I got the desired colors. I set that aside to dry.

I used one of the images from Simon Says Stamp's "Love Languages" stamp set for the smaller circle element. I stamped it in Hero Arts Red Royal mid-tone shadow ink onto a scrap of pink cardstock, and die cut it with one of Spellbinders' "Standard Circles SM" dies. I traced around that die onto another piece of textured cream cardstock, and cut it out to create the mat. I also die cut another circle from that same cardstock for the mat behind the doily. For the greeting, I used one from that same SSS stamp set, with the Red Royal ink on another piece of pink cardstock. I cut it into a narrow strip and rounded the corners on one end with my 1/4" Corner Chomper.

Finally it was time to put it all together. I ran the now-dry doily through my Xyron machine to apply adhesive to the back, then stuck it to the cream mat. I adhered my stenciled piece to the background, centered from top to bottom. Next I glued down my greeting, the doily piece, and the hearts circle piece. I blended Salty Ocean around the edges of a 4.25x5.25" card base on the front. I had originally intended to center my card front panel on the base, but decided to put it in the upper left corner instead. And that finishes this card, which I will now be sending to Operation Write Home.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Make Your Own Background"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday "Stamping"

Happy Halloween!

This is my second card for the "Cute Fall/Halloween Card 4 Kids" challenge at the Send a Smile 4 Kids blog. You can check out my first one here. I don't normally do Halloween cards, mostly because I don't really send them to people. While I by no means object to celebrating Halloween, it just isn't a major holiday in our family. But since Send a Smile 4 Kids has a use, I decided to make at least a couple.

I based my design on Sketch #232 by Operation Write Home:

I liked the Polaroid-style look of the main panel in this sketch, and thought it would be perfect to feature my chosen image & a greeting. For once, I stuck to the sketch exactly! :)

I found this cute digital image at Jane's Doodles, & with this project in mind, couldn't resist getting it. So, after downloading it, I sized & printed it onto a piece of watercolor paper that I'd cut to 2.5x3". I colored it with Inktense pencils, blending with a damp paintbrush. I laid down a light wash of Pumice Stone Distress to ground the kitty & pumpkins, and painted the sky area with Tumbled Glass Distress ink.

I used the Blockhead font from Creating Keepsakes to type out my greeting. I printed that at the bottom of the piece of white cardstock that would serve as the mat for the focal image. I used orange & terra cotta colored pencils to color in the letters, blending the colors out with Gamsol and a paper stump. I tried to get a slight gradient from lighter orange at the top of each letter to the darker, terra cotta/orange color at the bottom.

For the background, I pulled a couple of pieces from my scrap stash. The woodgrain pattern I had stamped with Hero Arts' "Designer Woodgrain" background stamp, using Walnut Stain Distress ink on kraft cardstock. That had actually been intended for another project, but at the time I didn't like how it turned out. I saved it anyway, figuring it might come in useful sometime. Well, this was that time! I also used a scrap of orange patterned paper cut to 2.5x4" for the part behind the focal panel. I matted both my focal panel and its "frame" with black paper, cut to 1/16" on each side of both pieces, to help them "pop" a bit more. I adhered the orange panel to the kraft woodgrain piece, and attached 3 pieces of ribbon on the right side, using my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to staple them in place. Finally, I popped the main panel onto the background with foam squares, matted the background with more black paper, and adhered the completed card front to an A2-size card base.

You Can Lean on Me

Send a Smile 4 Kids posts a new challenge on their blog twice a month. The current theme is "Cute Fall/Halloween Card 4 Kids." I recently got these digital images from Doodle Pantry, and thought they'd be perfect for this challenge.

I first die cut & embossed an oval from watercolor paper using a Spellbinders Grand Ovals Nestabilities die. I scanned this into my computer, to get the sizing and placement of the image & greeting right. Once I'd decided where I wanted the elements, I printed them out onto the die cut oval. I colored the scarecrow & little birdie with Inktense pencils, using a fine paintbrush and water to blend the colors. I also pressed some Tumbled Glass Distress ink onto an acrylic block, and used a larger wet brush to color in the background with a soft, light blue wash.

For the card base, I cut 2 pieces of white cardstock using a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Ovals die. I scored a line a bit from one long "edge" of each, and glued the ovals together above that score line, to create my card base. I also die cut & embossed another scalloped oval from a piece of green Core'dinations cardstock from my scrap stash. I glued that onto the front of the card base.

Finally, I glued the focal panel onto the card front. I felt the spot to the scarecrow's right was a bit bare, so I used a leaf punch by Marvy Uchida that I've had for years to punch some leaves out of white cardstock. Then I used my Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool and some Rusty Hinge & Wild Honey Distress inks to color the leaves. By pouncing the inked blending tool on the punched-out leaves, I was able to get not only color but a bit of visual texture as well. I finished the card by gluing a few of the leaves cascading down from the greeting, and another two onto the scarecrow's shoulder.

Welcome Tinsley

A friend of my mom's just gave birth to a baby girl. We have established a tradition that, when a friend or co-worker has a new baby, we make a scrapbook album for the baby's first year photos. Then, all the parents have to do is stick in the pictures. And of course, what is a present without a card? So this is the card I made to accompany the gift album.

I took my inspiration from the card featured in this post on Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp's blog. I cut a piece of watercolor paper somewhat smaller than my 5x6.5" card base, since I knew I would be angling & matting it. I stamped 2 of the doilies from this Little Yellow Bicycle set around the panel, using Versamark ink. I then heat embossed them with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I smooshed Distress inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters, and Peacock Feathers onto my Ranger craft mat, and spritzed them with water. Then I pounced the watercolor panel into the inks, and moved it around a little. I repeated this process until I got the colors looking like I wanted. Finally, I zapped it with my heat tool to speed up the drying.

I cut a piece of pink cardstock about 3/8" shorter and narrower than my card base. I adhered the watercolor panel on it at an angle, and did a little zigzag stitching on a portion of each side.

For the greeting, I die cut a label out of white cardstock using one of the Spellbinders "Lacey Ovals" die. While the cardstock was still in the die, I blended Squeezed Lemonade over the middle. I formatted the words in Photoshop, and printed them onto the label. When I held the label against the watercolor piece, I felt it blended into the background too much. So I used a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals LG" die as a template, traced around it, and cut it out, then blended Peacock Feathers over it. After the ink dried, I glued the label to it, and then adhered that to the watercolor panel with foam adhesive. Finally, I used my ATG tape runner to adhere the front panel to the card base, and I was done.

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Stamp It!" challenge.

I Love You a Watt

It's been a while since I made a card for Operation Write Home. With the drawdown in Afghanistan, the number of units they have been sending cards to has dropped. So they have been asking that card makers send in fewer cards. But I decided, since I've never been as  prolific as some of their donors seem to be, one more card won't hurt.

I based my design on OWH's Sketch #230:

Besides rotating the sketch 90 degrees, I made the large circle a bit bigger and substituted my light bulb image for the smaller circle.

I used stamps from Simon Says Stamp's "Watt's Up" set. I stamped the rays image 4 times with Wild Honey Distress ink onto white cardstock, forming a circle. I die cut that with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die, and blended Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink over the piece, to soften the look a little. Next, I stamped the solid light bulb image (also on white cardstock) in Mustard Seed Distress ink, and stamped the lower portion with Hero Arts Silver Shadow Ink. I stamped the outline bulb image over that in Versafine Onyx Black and clear heat embossed it. The silver Hero Arts ink kind of blended with the Mustard Seed, so I ended up going over that area with a silver gel pen after I heat embossed the bulb. I also colored in the heart in the outline bulb image with a red gel pen. Finally, I fussy cut the light bulb.

I chose 2 patterned papers from my scrap stash for the background & middle strip. I determined where my greeting would go on the blue, and lightly marked that point. I decided I wanted my greeting to say "I Love You a Watt," but there was no stamp in the set exactly like that. So I inked up the "I Love You" stamp with Versafine, and stamped that. The I took the "I Like You a Watt" stamp, masked the top line with painters tape, inked the "a Watt" portion with Versafine, removed the masking, and stamped underneath the first part of the greeting. Voila--custom greeting!

Assembly was fairly quick. I adhered the blue panel to the plaid, and then glued down the rays circle, cutting off the overhanging bit. I adhered the light bulb above the greeting with foam tape, and coated it with Glossy Accents. I felt the area below the greeting looked a little bare, so I die cut 3 hearts from red cardstock with one of the dies from Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Journaling Card" set, glued them in place, and coated them with Glossy Accents. Finally, I inked around the front of a white A2 card base with Peacock Feathers Distress ink, and, after the Glossy Accents had dried, adhered the card front to the base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Stamp It!"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "STAMPtember Hop"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday (using stamps)

Cozy Christmas Kitty

I decided to enter one more card in the "Sketch" challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs' blog. Once again, I made a Christmas card for my mom to send out this year.

As per the challenge requirement, I based my design on the provided sketch:

I left out the narrow piece under the focal panel, and used 3 snowflake "ornaments" instead of the 4 banners. Otherwise, I stayed with the sketch.

I started by stamping on 2 pieces of white cardstock with the "Gingham Background" stamp. I inked up the stamp for each piece with Festive Berries Distress ink, and spritzed it twice with a fine mist of water, just to get the ink moving a bit more. Then I pressed the cardstock onto the stamp and rubbed across the back of the paper, to get a good transfer of ink. I did this twice, because the stamp was too small for my entire background. I figured it would be easier to line up and piece the stamped images, than to try and line up the rubber stamp the second time with the initial impression. Finally, I lined up the 2 pieces and adhered them to a piece of copy paper to hold them together.

I die cut a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper using the larger of Mama Elephant's "Femme Frames" dies. I stamped the cat (which I believe is by Recollections, though I'm not sure) and a greeting from this Hero Arts set onto that, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I colored the cat with Inktense pencils, blending the colors with my Ranger detail water brush. I also added a bit of gold glitter gel pen for the jingle bell on the cat's hat, and some black & white gel pen on the pupils. I adhered the panel onto a scrap of green cardstock and cut that, leaving an 1/8" border. Finally, I rounded the corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper.

I found a piece of holiday dot-patterned paper in my too-ample scrap stash, and cut it down for the piece behind the focal panel. I matted it on a piece of the same green cardstock, and adhered it to the gingham panel. I then sewed around the edges of the background with dark green thread, for a bit of homespun texture and some more contrast.

For the "banner" pieces, I die cut 3 snowflakes out of Mixed Media paper using one of the dies from this set. I cut 3 scalloped circles from the green cardstock, using a Lifestyle Crafts' "Nesting Scallops" die. I adhered the snowflakes to the scalloped circles, and glued them down below the patterned paper panel. Finally, I adhered my focal panel to the background, and matted the background with a green polka-dot paper, also from my scraps.

I felt the snowflake pieces needed a little "anchoring," so I poked holes at the top of each; and again at the bottom of the focal panel, right above the first holes. I threaded gold-colored embroidery floss through the holes, to act as hangers. I finished by tying bows at the tops of the snowflake circles, adding a little Ranger Multi Medium in matte to secure the knots.

To finish the card, I scored a piece of 8.5x11" cardstock in half, to make a 5.5x8.5" side-folding card. I blended Festive Berries around the front of that base, so I would have a red mat that matched the gingham background stamping, and adhered the card front panel to it. And that completed this card. A lot of work, but I think well worth it, don't you?

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Stamp It"
a2z Scrapbooking's "Autumn & Christmas"

A Great Big {Bear} Hug

Twice a month, Send a Smile 4 Kids has a themed card challenge. The current theme is "Anything Goes 4 Kids." One of the main challenge requirements is that the card must be for a child, since their mission is to collect handmade cards to distribute to children who are inpatients at a children's hospital. While the cards created for the challenges don't have to be donated afterwards, they do appreciate it if you can! I only recently became aware of this organization, so this is my first card ever for one of their challenges. It will be going to them when I have made enough to ship out.

I based my design on Sketch #21 by Operation Write Home:

I did have to enlarge the main panel slightly to accommodate my stamps, but otherwise I adhered to the sketch dimensions.

I used Ranger Archival Jet Black ink to stamp the bear and greeting (sorry, but I don't know the source of the bear stamp) onto a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper. After letting the ink dry for a few minutes, I colored the bear & "HUG" with Inktense pencils, blending the color with my water brush.

For the background pieces, I used a pink and white stripe from the Sn@p "Color Vibe" 6x6" paper pad; the other 2 patterns came from Basic Grey's "Hey Girl!" 6x6" pad. I cut them to size, and adhered them to a piece of kraft cardstock cut to 4.25x5.5".

To finish off the focal panel, I rounded all 4 corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and inked around the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink. I feel that gives it a more worn, "comfortable" look, that coordinates with the (apparently) well-loved bear. I adhered that directly to the card front, and then adhered the front to an A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday STAMPtember "Stamp It" challenge.