Thank You

Ellen Hutson is having their September Pin-Sights Challenge at The CLASSroom blog. Actually, today is the last day, so I'm getting my entry in kind of just under the wire! :) I used all the images from the Essentials by Ellen "Mondo Hydrangea" stamp set, as well as its coordinating dies. The greeting is from Stampendous' "Happy Messages" set.

I stamped the flowers & leaf with Hero Arts Soft Granite ink on Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I needed a waterproof ink, but wanted a softer look than black, hence my choice of ink. I stamped the individual blooms multiple times, and the large cluster & leaf just once. Then I watercolored them with my Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors and a water brush. After they had dried completely, I cut them with the coordinating dies.

I liked the "weathered wood" background I used in this card so much, I decided to do another version for this card. This time, instead of leaving the paper white, I lightly inked a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper with Hickory Smoke Distress ink first. Then I applied lines of Perfect Paper Adhesive over the panel, and let that dry completely. After scoring the panel with a stylus to create the look of boards, I went in with more Hickory Smoke and a mini ink blending tool and just blended the ink lightly. Then I blended on Mermaid Lagoon Distress ink. I went back & forth a couple of times with each color, until I had the look I wanted. I finished by wiping off any residual ink from the glue lines with a damp paper towel.

I stamped my greeting on a strip of vellum with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. Because my background would be so busy, I really needed my greeting to pop. I set the ink with my heat tool, and cut the left end of the strip into a V-shape.

After I glued all my die cut images in place with more PPA, I positioned my greeting banner. I held it in place on the front of my panel with a couple of pieces of painter's tape, and wrapped the right end of the banner around to the back of my watercolor piece. I adhered that in place with my ATG adhesive, and removed the tape. I applied tiny dots of PPA behind the greeting on the back of the banner, then put an acrylic block over it to adhere it to the background panel. Once that had set up, I added a bit of sparkle & shine with some Darice 5mm & 8mm Crystal sequins, and glued 3mm clear gems from The Paper Studio in the center of each. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion Challenge #331: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Happy Birdday

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge theme is "Texture." I decided to create one more card for this. I will send this to Darlene at Live Love Cards, to go to a Meals on Wheels recipient. She has a few opportunities if you like to donate cards. You can read more about them at her site.

I used Sketch #10 from Operation Write Home--an oldie but goodie! I first cut 3 tags from cream cardstock, and stamped the owl from Hero Arts "Missing You" set on each, like he's peeking in from the sides. I colored the owls with Prismacolor colored pencils. Since this is a birthday card, and the owl looks kind of funky anyway, I colored him in bright, funky colors! I colored the whites of the eyes with a white gel pen, and used a black Sakura glaze pen on the pupils.

For the background, I used Penny Black's "Dotlets" stencil & Ranger Texture Paste. I taped my cardstock down and taped the stencil in place over it. I then spread the paste over the stencil, trying to get kind of an uneven texture, but not too wild. I removed my stencil and cleaned it & my knife, and set my panel aside to dry. After it had dried, I replaced the stencil, and inked the dots with Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink. For the strip behind the tags, I ran a piece of green cardstock through my Fiskars crimper tool, just to give another bit of texture & interest.

I stamped the greeting, also from "Missing You," on a strip of cream cardstock in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I cut it into a banner shape, and inked the edges with Squeezed Lemonade.

After I inked the edges of my tags with Squeezed Lemonade, I glued my crimped piece to the background, and then glued the tags to it. I punched a hole in the top of each tag, through all 3 layers, with my Crop-a-Dile II Big Bite. Then I set a gold eyelet in each hole. To continue the metal motif, I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and staples I'd painted with liquid gold leafing to staple the greeting banner. I squirted a bit of glue under the banner, just to hold it down. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in a2z Scrapbooking's September Challenge: "Make It a Tag!"

Party Cat

When my mom first saw the "Bosko" image from Jane's Doodles, she fell in love. I think it's just the expression on his face. So, even though it's meant to be a Halloween image, I try to use him on her birthday card that her "grandkits" (our cats) give her each year! :)

I started with Sketch #SC576 from Splitcoaststampers.com. I like this clean & simple design, which allows for a sizeable image in the focal panel, with plenty of room for a greeting (if desired) underneath. I first opened "Bosko" in Photoshop (it is no longer available as a digi image), and sized him on a blank "canvas." I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, & printed the image on that. Then I colored him with my Inktense pencils & a damp brush, to look like our cat Barney. Rather than the witch's hat, I drew on spots and colored it like a party hat. For a finishing touch, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the hat.

For the background panel, I cut a piece of yellow cardstock. I stamped a greeting from "The Party" from Winnie & Walter at the bottom with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also stamped one of the streamer images from the same set in Hero Arts Butter Bar ink, just to give a bit of interest but still keep it subtle. I used another stamp from "The Party" with Hero Arts Lime Green & Orange Soda inks to dress up the background of my focal panel.

I cut a strip of patterned paper from my scrap stash, and a 1/8" strip of "screaming green" cardstock. To assemble my card, I adhered the orange paper & green strip to my yellow panel, adhered my focal panel in place, mounted the whole thing on a white A2 card base, and rounded 2 corners with my 1/2" Corner Chomper. Hopefully my mom will get a kick out of this!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Aud Sentiments Challenge #164 : "Fall Colors & a Sentiment"
Pile It On Challenge #117: "Autumn Colors/Theme"

Two Fall Cards

I'm still in full-swing making fall & Halloween cards to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids next month. I decided to focus on just general fall for this first one.

I used Sketch #SC593 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. I opened the "Sunflowers - Stain Glass" image from Bugaboo Stamps (discontinued) in Photoshop, as well as one of the greetings from Doodle Pantry's "Scarecrow Birdie" set. I created a blank "canvas" the size of my finished panel on the card, & moved the image & greeting onto that. After resizing & positioning each where I wanted it, I printed them onto a panel of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored the image with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to my paper. Finally, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to just the sunflowers & leaves, for an added bit of sparkle.

To finish my card, I cut 4 patterned paper pieces (all from my scrap stash) to size. I adhered my focal panel to a piece of purple cardstock that I'd cut to 4.25x5.5", and then adhered the other pieces in place. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

I suppose you could say my second card has a bit of a Halloween feel to it, mostly because of the patterned paper I used for the background. The paper is one that I've had--probably for years--in my scrap stash. I don't know why I got it (almost certainly for scrapbooking, though, since it was a 12x12" sheet); when I got it; and when I'd ever use it, since I don't really have Halloween photos to scrapbook. It seemed to be the perfect background for Doodle Pantry's "Candy Apple" image (apparently discontinued), though, so I used it here!

I chose Sketch #SC579 from Splitcoaststampers.com for this card design. After I sized the apple in Photoshop, I printed it on a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored it with my Inktense pencils & a damp paintbrush, and fussy cut it out. I "painted" the edges with a black brush-tip marker, just to camouflage the white core of the paper and make it blend in better with the black outline of the image.

After cutting my cardstock & patterned paper pieces to size, I printed the greeting, also from "Candy Apple," on the wider yellow strip. I used a 2" circle punch to create the "hole" for the apple to sit in. I assembled all my pieces, popped the apple up on foam tape, & coated the caramel with Glossy Accents.

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #164: "Fall Colors & a Sentiment"
Doodle Pantry Ants in My Pants Digital Challenge: "Anything Goes" (second card only)
Pile It On #117: "Autumn Colors/Theme"
Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Fall Colors 4 Kids"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes" (first card only)

Happy Fall!

Even though it's still officially summer for another day, I have been creating fall/Halloween cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids. Since they need to receive cards in time to ship them to their participating hospitals, it's necessary for card makers who send to them to work ahead of time for seasonal cards.

I used Sketch #SC606 for my design. I first stamped one of My Favorite Things' "Diamonds & Dots" border stamps (discontinued) multiple times on a piece of 4.25x5.5" white cardstock. I heat embossed the background with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder, then used a flexible ruler to trace the curve on the panel. I cut that out with my scissors. I also traced the same curve onto a piece of patterned paper from Echo Park's "The Story of Fall" 6x6" pad, and cut that out for the bottom panel. For the top panel, I blended Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Seedless Preserves, & Chipped Sapphire, to create a sunset look.

For my pumpkin, I die cut one of the "Scribbles & Splat" dies from Sizzix & Tim Holtz from orange cardstock. I glued that to a piece of lighter orange, and cut around the die cut. I freehand cut 2 leaves and a stem, and drew detail lines on each with a green & brown marker. I used my 2-way glue pen to adhere them to the pumpkin.

I used "Owen's ABC's" from Lawn Fawn for my greeting, stamping the letters in Hero Arts' Butter Bar, Raspberry Jam, & Navy inks onto white cardstock. I punched them out with a 1/2" circle punch.

To assemble my card, I first traced the curve along the bottom of the inked panel onto the front of a white A2 card base. I also cut down my patterned paper piece, and traced along the top of it. I adhered some dark green cardstock so it covered that gap. Then I popped my 2 panels up on foam tape. I glued my letters on the green, making them somewhat askew for a more playful look. Finally I glued my pumpkin in place, and this card was done!

I'm entering this card in Die Cut Divas' September challenge: "Fall & Fall Holidays."

Celebrate Your Special Day

This is my third card for the 2016 Card Design Superstar challenge by My Favorite Things. I used several MFT products: "Blueprints 13," "Vintage Buttons," "Decorative Doily Duo" (discontinued), "Basic Stitch Lines," "Sequins"; & their "Birthday Greetings" stamp set.

I began by cutting a panel of teal cardstock to 4x5.25". I taped all of the "Basic Stitch Lines" dies together to create a "block," and used some painter's tape to stick them to my panel. I ran that through my die cutting machine multiple times, shifting the dies with each pass, to create my background. Once I'd finished the die cutting, I inked the edges with Evergreen Bough Distress ink for some depth & visual interest.

For the base of my element cluster, I die cut a doily from cream cardstock. I also used the washi tape die from "Blueprints 13" to die cut a piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash. I cut a piece of orange cardstock, and stamped my greeting on that in Versamark ink. I then heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder.

After matting my background panel with more of the orange, I glued my doily in place. I adhered my greeting & "washi" strip to that. I die cut some sequins & a button from yellow cardstock, and glued them around my greeting. I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base, and coated my sequins & button with clear Wink of Stella & Glossy Accents for some sparkle and shine. I will send this to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Happy Christmas

I'm slowly but surely getting back to working on holiday cards. Christmas is in just a few months (eek!), and my stash is not nearly large enough yet! I created this one for the My Favorite Things 2016 "Card Design Superstar" challenge.

I got my design inspiration from a card that I saw online. Don't ask me where--I have already forgotten! :( The sample card had a panel on the front with stamping, and the stamped images below the panel matched up with those on the panel. So I decided to recreate that look in my card.

I began by cutting my background panel from white cardstock to 4x5.25". I die cut an angled panel, also from white, with one of the dies from My Favorite Things' "Blueprints 18." After taping my main panel to a cutting board, masking off a 1/8" border on all sides, I traced the bottom edge of my angled panel onto that, to guide my stamping. I then stamped a few of the snowflakes from "Sophisticated Snowflake" (also MFT, but apparently discontinued) in Hero Arts Tide Pool ink, just along the diagonal line I'd drawn.

I cleaned my stamps, and adhered my upper panel with temporary adhesive to the top of my background. I stamped the snowflakes on that in Versamark ink, lining up the ones along the bottom edge with those I'd stamped on the background. I removed the angled panel from my background, & heat embossed the snowflakes with Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder. I finished that panel by ink blending Tide Pool over the whole piece. Then I set that aside to dry.

For my greeting, I used MFT's "Little Letters" & "Little Lowercase Letters" dies for the "Christmas" word; and one of the "Happy Trio" dies (discontinued). I inked a scrap of white cardstock with Tide Pool, using the direct-to-paper technique, and dried that with my heat tool. I then taped my dies in place, and ran the piece through my die cutting machine. I set the die cuts aside to let the ink dry thoroughly for a few hours.

To adhere my die cut greeting, I applied tiny dots of Perfect Paper Adhesive (matte finish) to the back, and glued them in place. I stamped a few more snowflakes on the lower part of my background, around the words, with Tide Pool ink. Finally, I removed the painter's tape that I had used to mask the edges of my card, adhered my angled panel with foam tape, and mounted the card front to a white A2 card base. As one last touch, I added Crystal Stickles to the centers of the snowflakes, and several dots around the rest of the card.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday: "Stamping"

Happy Halloween - Times Two

I created 2 Halloween cards for the Stella Says Sketch Challenge #413 at Catch the Bug Challenge Blog. Both cards will go to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

For my first project, I created a landscape format card. I used the "Halloween Pumpkin" image from Bugaboo Stamps, and printed it onto a piece of kraft cardstock. I die cut that with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals LG" die, and colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I also added some shine to the spiders' eyes with a Sakura black glaze pen. For the mat, I used the largest of Spellbinders' "Beaded Ovals" dies (apparently discontinued), and cut it from a light yellow-orange cardstock. I glued that to a piece of black cardstock, and cut around the edge, just to have a solid color peeking through the spaces in the die cut. Finally, I glued my focal image oval to the beaded oval mat.

I created a blank A2-size "canvas" in Photoshop. I also scanned the beaded oval die cut into the computer, and opened it in Photoshop. I moved that to my blank canvas, and positioned it where I wanted it to be on my finished card. I used that to help me position my greeting, which I created. I then printed that onto a piece of kraft cardstock cut to 4.25x5.5".

I cut a piece of patterned paper from Recollections' "Witch's Dust Halloween" 4.5x6.5" pad for the strip behind my focal panel. I also die cut black borders using the smaller of the "Scallop Border" dies from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I adhered the borders behind the top & bottom of the patterned paper strip, and glued my focal panel to that. I then adhered the whole piece to my card front, and mounted that to a white A2 card base. I finished it off by threading some embroidery floss through a button, tying it in a knot, and gluing the button to my card.

For my second card, I did basically the same procedure, but on a portrait card. I used Bugaboo's "Chubby Ghost Sucker" image; printed it on white cardstock; and colored with my Prismacolors, adding just a bit of shading to the ghost. I cut a beaded oval from black cardstock, and backed it with orange. My patterned paper strip is from Echo Park's "The Story of Fall" 6x6" pad. I did the greeting the same way as in my first card, and printed it on a piece of white cardstock. After I assembled the card, I die cut a button using a My Favorite Things "Vintage Buttons" die. I glued that in place without threading it, and applied a coat of Glossy Accents just to the button.

Autumn Greetings

The September challenge theme at Live Love Cards is "Cute Creatures." I haven't used Hero Arts' "Li'l Hoot" set (discontinued) much since Operation Write Home stopped accepting cards. But I decided to pull it out for a stab at an autumn-themed card.

I chose Sketch #SC602 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 3x3", and stamped my image on it with Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink. I colored it in with my Inktense pencils & a damp paintbrush. After that dried, I masked the owls & branch to work on the background.

I wanted a harvest moon look, so I die cut a circle from some masking paper, and placed the negative part of the mask around my owls. I inked the watercolor paper with Scattered Straw Distress ink to create my moon. I added some spots by watercoloring with Antique Linen Distress ink. After I removed the masking paper, I dried that section, and then placed the positive circle mask down over where I'd already inked. I inked just around the moon with a very light coating of Scattered Straw, to make a glow around the moon. Then I inked the rest of the sky with Faded Jeans, Blueprint Sketch, & a bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress inks, being sure not to let the blue get into the yellow. (I didn't want a green sky! LOL) I really love the way it all turned out!

I decided to replace the leaves from the owl stamp with die cut leaves. So I cut several from watercolor paper using one of the "Stitched Leaves" dies by Lawn Fawn. I used some red, yellow, & green Inktense pencils to color them, picking the color up from the pencils with a damp brush & applying it to the leaves. Finally, I set those aside to air dry.

I cut a piece of patterned paper for my background from Echo Park's "The Story of Fall" 6x6" pad. I also cut a rust-colored piece from the same pad to go behind my focal panel. For the greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Riley's ABC's" to spell "Autumn Greetings," and stamped it on kraft cardstock with Cup o' Joe ink. I matted that with another piece of the rust patterned paper, and added a bit of distressing/texture by running my scissors along the edges of the mat. I then inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink.

To assemble my card, I mounted the background panel to a white A2 card base. I glued my rust panel to the back of my watercolor panel, and adhered them in place. I adhered the greeting strip down, and then glued down my leaves. I had cut extra leaves, both to add a couple to the edge of my focal panel (so it looked like the branch was coming off a tree), and scatter a few more in a visual triangle around my card. I will send this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Cute Fall or Halloween 4 Kids"
A Blog Named Hero: "Texture"
Die Cut Divas: "Fall & Fall Holidays"

Boo!

My Favorite Things is have a Card Design Superstar challenge. Participants can submit up to 3 cards, using only MFT products. This is my first card.

I chose Sketch #SC551 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I began by stamping the little girl from MFT's "Batty About You" (discontinued) with Versafine Onyx Black ink on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored her with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils & blend it on my paper. I also did a bit of shading under her, to ground her a bit. I added some shine to her eyes with a Sakura black glaze pen, and clear Wink of Stella glitter to the wings on her costume. When everything had dried, I masked the girl & ground off, and used Black Marble Dylusions mist to create some spatters on my panel.

For the background, I cut a piece of striped paper from The Paper Studio's "Trick or Treat" pad. I also cut a diagonal strip from one of the patterned papers in Jillibean Soup's "Owloween Stew" 6x6" pad. I adhered the spiderweb pattern in place, and added a strip of black grosgrain ribbon above it. Then I adhered my focal panel in place.

I stamped the "Boo!" from MFT's "Spooky Sentiments" set (also discontinued) onto a piece of black cardstock, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I cut that into a small banner, pierced a hole in one end, and tied it to the ribbon on my card with some white crochet thread. I did add a glue dot under the banner, just to hold it in place. Finally, I matted my panel with black cardstock, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Cute Fall or Halloween 4 Kids"
Virginia's View Challenge #23: "Spray, Mist, and Splatter"

Two Encouragement Cards

I have 2 more cards for the "Texture-fied" challenge at the Lawnscaping challenge blog. Both will go to Darlene at Live Love Cards, to give to Meals on Wheels recipients. If you would like to donate cards, you can find out more information on her site.

I used Lawn Fawn's "Best Pun Ever" stamp set for both cards. For my first card, I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #206 for my design. I stamped the fan onto a scrap of white cardstock with Hero Arts Soft Granite ink, then colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I punched it with a 2" circle punch. For the greeting, I die cut a slightly larger circle with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die from red cardstock. I curved the greeting stamps to match the curve of the die cut on my MISTI (not a very easy task!), and stamped with Versamark ink. I heat embossed that with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash to size, and matted it with teal & red cardstocks. I glued the red circle to the back of that, so the greeting still showed around the focal circle, then popped the fan up on foam adhesive.

For my background, I used The Crafters Workshop "Sunburst" 6x6" stencil and Ranger Texture paste. I spread the paste over the stencil onto some yellow cardstock, then let that dry. The rays didn't reach all the way in the corners, so after the paste had dried, I used tiny pieces of painter's tape to mask off the areas in between, and spread more paste on to extend the rays. When that had dried, I replaced the stencil, and sponged Wild Honey Distress ink over the paste. Finally, I adhered my focal piece, and matted the panel with navy & teal cardstocks, then mounted it to a white A2 card base.

For my second card, I used Sketch #SC569 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. I stamped the teapot & cup onto Canson XL Mixed Media paper with Versamark, and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. I colored them with a Crimson Inktense pencil and waterbrush, getting a soft color. I used Stampabilities' Bright Pink dye ink to stamp the flowers from Paper Smooches' "Botanicals 2" set. On the teapot, I stamped the leaf image (also from "Botanicals 2" in Hero Arts Green Hills ink. The teacup was too small for the leaf stamp, so I just used a fine-tip green marker to draw in some leaves. Finally, I die cut them with the coordinating "Best Pun Ever" dies.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash, and glued the teapot to it, then popped the teacup over it with foam tape. I also stamped the steam trails from "Best Pun Ever" above the teapot's spout in Hero Arts Wet Cement ink.

For the background, I stamped the "You're Tea-riffic" in Wet Cement repeatedly on the top part of a white cardstock panel. I had masked off the bottom, so I wouldn't stamp there accidentally. When I had finished stamping, I cleaned my stamps, moved the masking tape, and stamped the bottom part in Green Hills, lining up the words at the seam, to give me a two-tone stamped background. Then I inked the top portion with Spun Sugar & the bottom with Bundled Sage Distress inks.

I cut a mat for my focal panel from white cardstock, and inked the perimeter with Wet Cement. I dried that with my heat tool, and adhered my focal panel to it, before gluing it to my background. I adhered a length of cream satin ribbon around the seam between the 2 colors on the background, and used more ribbon to tie a bow around the first piece. Finally, I cut a doily using a Spellbinders "Delicate Doilies" die, trimmed a bit off one side, and glued that next to the focal piece, to add just a bit of texture & visual interest.

To finish my card, I inked an A2-size piece of white cardstock with Wet Cement, just around the edges. After that dried, I adhered my main panel, and mounted that to a white A2 card base.

Be Merry

This is my second card for Merry Monday Christmas Challenge blog's "Black, White, & Gold" challenge. I'll say it again--I really struggled with this. It just doesn't seem like a natural color palette to me, especially mixing white with gold.

I die cut the reindeer using Impression Obsession's "Reindeer" from Craft-a-Board. The first time, I tried using Ferro, but ended up with just a royal mess. So, for my second attempt, I applied Versamark ink to the whole die cut, and heat embossed with Ranger Gold embossing powder. I repeated this 2 more times, to get a smooth & thorough coverage.

For the background, I used Our Daily Bread Designs' "Small Snowflake" background stamp (discontinued). Again, I stamped in Versamark on black paper, and heat embossed with gold. I die cut a window with the largest of Spellbinders' "Standard Circles LG" dies.

I cut another piece of black to A2 size, and laid my embossed panel over it. I lightly traced around the circle, so I would know where to stamp my greeting (from My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments" set). Then I placed that panel in my MISTI, and laid my reindeer in place to help me position my stamp. I stamped in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Wow White Pearl embossing powder. It didn't really show up well, so I restamped it, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. There were a few "holes" in the letters, though, so I went over those with my Versamarker, and heat embossed again with white. That left obvious white spots, though, so I stamped again, and heat embossed with the White Pearl. Finally, it looked good!

To assemble my card, I popped the background up with foam tape, and glued the reindeer in place above the greeting. I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base, and it was done!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Stamp It"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday Challenge: "Use a Stamp"

Have an Upbeet Day!

The current theme for the Lawnscaping Challenge is "Texture." I have not played with my "Rooting for You" stamp set by Lawn Fawn much, so I decided to pull it out for this card. I chose Sketch #SC596, from Splitcoaststampers.com, for my design, figuring the circles along the bottom of the window in the sketch would be perfect for the beets!

I stamped 3 beets onto white cardstock, using Hero Arts Raspberry Jam ink for the base, and Hero Arts Grape Juice for the detail layer. For the beet greens, I used Hero Arts Green Hills & Forever Green. I then die cut them with the coordinating "Rooting for You" dies. I also die cut 3 extra beets & greens from white cardstock. I glued those to the backs of my stamped pieces, both to provide more stability and to hide the bleed-through from the inks.

For the card front, I embossed a panel of kraft cardstock with the "Plaid Background" embossing folder from Darice. I thought this folder was as "garden-y" looking as any! :) I also cut 2 strips of green cardstock, to go along the sides of the card front. I used my craft knife & ruler to cut a window in the kraft panel, as per the sketch. Then I laid that in place onto my white A2 card base, and marked the corners of the window. I cut a window in the front of my card base, using those corner marks as a guide so they would line up. I also cut 2 frames from green cardstock.

I adhered my green strips & kraft panel to my card base with my ATG tape. I used liquid glue (Perfect Paper Adhesive Matte) in a fine-tip bottle to glue down the frames to the front and back of the window.

Before I glued my beets to the card front, I traced the outline of my window onto the inside of my card. I used that to help me position my greeting with my MISTI. The greeting stamp is all on one line as is, but I needed it on 2 lines so it would fit the space. So I did a little "stamp surgery," and cut between the "an" and "upbeet." After I had positioned my stamps, I picked them up with the door of the MISTI, and stamped them on the inside of my card with Grape Juice ink, to tie in with the beets. Then I erased my pencil lines. All that was left was to glue my beets in place with more PPA. I let that dry thoroughly, and this card was done! I will send this to Send a Smile 4 Kids, to brighten a hospitalized child's day. :)

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Stamp It"

Happy Christmas

The theme this week at Merry Monday Christmas Challenge Blog is to create a Christmas card using only white, black, & gold. I'm not in any way accustomed to using this color palette for anything--much less holiday cards! So this was a true challenge for me. This is the first card I came up with.

I used the tree from Hero Arts' "Swirl Christmas" digital stamp set. I printed it on black paper with my laser printer, and die cut it with the largest of the "Tags a Lot" set from Mama Elephant, I then foiled it with gold foil and my Heidi Swapp Mini Minc machine.

For the greeting, I used one each of "happy" & "Christmas" from Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas" mini set (apparently discontinued). I used the banner die from "Tags a Lot" as a guide to help me curve the stamps correctly on my MISTI. Then I stamped the greeting on vellum with Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I die cut that and another piece of vellum with my banner die. I ran both pieces through my Xyron Sticker Maker, to apply adhesive to the backs. Then I adhered them together, to give just a bit more opacity to the banner. Finally, I layered that over my tree.

I cut a piece of gold glitter cardstock to 4.25x5.5", and glued my tag to it with Perfect Paper Adhesive Matte. (Adhering anything to a glittery surface with a dry adhesive can be difficult, hence the liquid glue.) I adhered that to a white A2 card base, and finished by adding some "ornaments" to the tree with Gold Stickles & White Opal Liquid Pearls.

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

a2z Scrapbooking's September Challenge: "Make It a Tag"
A Blog Named Hero's challenge: "Texture" (I hope the gold glitter counts as texture!)
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Sending Hugs

This is my second card for the sketch challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs' blog. Like my first card, I followed the sketch pretty literally:

For this card I decided to do no coloring whatsoever. I chose the "Sweet William" stamp set from ODBD (no longer available) for my focal image. I stamped all 3 sizes of the flowers in Hero Arts Bubble Gum ink onto white cardstock, then inked over them with Spun Sugar Distress ink, just to soften the look a bit. I fussy cut them out, and curled the edges of the 2 smaller blossoms a bit, just to give some lift to the overall flower. After I determined how to line up the die cuts so they were centered one on top of another, I punched a hole through the center of each with my Crop-a-Dile II Big Bite. I glued them together, just in the centers, so I could set the eyelet more easily. (In hindsight, it probably would have been easier just to glue them together, THEN punch the hole. Oh well!) Once the glue had set up, I used my Crop-a-Dile II to set a small green eyelet in the center. At that point, I decided the top & middle sections needed a bit more support for the curling, so I cut tiny pieces of foam tape, and used my tweezers to stick them under the petals. I actually had a harder time pulling off the release paper with my tweezers, since the tape kept coming off the cardstock with it! Finally, I prevailed, and my flower was finished. :)

To mat the flower, I decided I wanted a doily. I don't have any ready made ones that are small enough, so I used the "Delicate Doily" die from Lifestyle Crafts (no longer available) to cut one from green cardstock. To add just a bit more shading & "life" to it, I inked around the outer portion with Lucky Clover Distress ink. I then glued the flower to the center of my doily with matte Perfect Paper Adhesive.

I found a piece of neutral script patterned paper in my scrap stash, and cut it down to go behind my flower and doily. I matted that with tan cardstock, and glued the doily to it. I also found a piece of pink polka dot paper in my scrap stash (I believe it's by Recollections), which I cut down to 4x5.25". I adhered my focal panel to it, centered & towards the top.

At this point, I realized I hadn't planned where to put a greeting. Granted, I could have left my card greeting-less, but I was determined to have something. So I found a small "Sending Hugs" stamp in Hero Arts' "Acts of Kindness" set. I used an old Hot off the Press "Slide Mount Mania" template to trace a mini tag shape, then cut it out with my scissors. I poked the hole with my paper piercer, and stamped my greeting in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.

I cut a piece of light pink satin ribbon just long enough to wrap the ends around my polka dot panel. I adhered the ends to the back with my ATG tape runner, and then took another piece of ribbon & tied it around the piece running across the panel. I threaded some baker's twine from Queen & Company through the hole in my greeting tag, and tied that around my ribbon. Finally, I tied my ribbon into a bow, catching the baker's twine in it. I tied my twine into a bow as well, and snipped the ends off it & my ribbon. I used a mini glue dot under the tag, just to adhere it to my panel so it wouldn't flop behind the ribbon.

To finish my card, I matted my panel with more tan cardstock, and adhered that to a white A2 card base. I will send this card to Darlene at Live Love Cards, to pass along to someone served by Meals on Wheels. Just a little note inside to encourage them & brighten their day a little! If you are interested, you can find out what cards she is accepting for Meals on Wheels, The Birthday Party Project, and Foster Kids Charity at the Live Love Cards site.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Season's Greetings

Our Daily Bread Designs has been having a sketch challenge this month. They posted the following card sketch, and asked participants to create a card following the sketch.

I began by die cutting a circle from 140 lb. watercolor paper, using a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die. I stamped the "Chickadee" image from ODBD on that in Colorbox Putty Archival dye ink. I also stamped a greeting from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Joy" set in Versamark, and heat embossed it with Wow White Pearl embossing powder. Then I colored the bird with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from my pencils & apply it to the paper. For the background, I watercolored with Distress inks in Faded Jeans, Blueprint Sketch, & Chipped Sapphire. Then I set that aside to dry.

I die cut the largest of Spellbinders' "Splendid Circles" from tan cardstock, glued it to a piece of light blue cardstock, and used scissors to cut the blue around the perimeter of the die cut. I then inked around the outside edge with Pumice Stone Distress ink, just to give it a bit more dimension. When my focal panel had dried, I adhered it to this die cut. I also cut a piece of tan patterned paper from Graphic 45's "Christmas Carol" 6x6" paper pad into a square, and inked the edges with Pumice Stone before adhering my circle over it.

For the background, I cut a piece of paper from "Christmas Carol" to 4-1/8x5-3/8". I matted that with more of the light blue cardstock that I'd used to back my circle. I adhered my focal panel in place. I punched a strip of the tan patterned paper I'd used for the square with Fiskars' "Scallop Sentiment" punch, inked the edges with Pumice Stone, then adhered that to my background. I did a "faux" bow, following this tutorial; then threaded metallic embroidery floss through a button, and glued that to the bow. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base, and added Baby Blue Liquid Pearls to the scallops on my strip.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday: "Use Stamps"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"