One Sketch, Two Cards

I used the sketch for Catch the Bug's Challenge Blog's "Stella Says Sketch" Challenge #606 for my design for two cards to donate to Send a Smile 4 Kids. I followed the sketch exactly for both cards, just using different products for each.

For my first card, I used Bugaboo's "Birdhouses" digi image for the focal panel. I printed it onto a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, intending to color it with Tombow markers. I had forgotten that those markers cause the printer ink to smear on the bristol, even when it's dry. So I changed my mind and went with my Mijello Mission Gold watercolors instead. I applied the colors mostly with a #4 round Black Velvet brush from the Silver Brush Company, and used a #8 round for the sky.

I used a patterned paper from Crate Paper's "Cool Kid" 6x6" pad to go behind my focal panel. I also cut strips from green and blue patterned papers from The Paper Studio's "So So Sweet" mat stack. I used a Fiskars "Scallop Sentiment" border punch to punch one long edge of the blue.

I die cut a doily, using a Spellbinders "Delicate Doilies" die, from white cardstock. After my focal panel had dried, I adhered the doily to the back, so about half of it is showing.

To finish my card, I adhered my patterned papers to an A2-size piece of orange cardstock. I stamped my greeting, from Stampendous' "Happy Messages" set, in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Finally, I adhered my focal image/doily piece to the panel, and mounted it to a white card base.

The image for my second card was inspired by a challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com, to use an image and make it look like it was reflected in a puddle, pond, etc. I chose Bugaboo's "Flower Pot 1" digital image (currently unavailable). I sized it on a blank "canvas" in Photoshop, then duplicated that layer and flipped the second image vertically. I blurred that second image slightly, then printed the composite onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. When the image was dry, I glazed a light blue over the lower portion, including the pot & flowers, to simulate a puddle.

I used patterned papers from the "So So Sweet" pad to go behind & below my focal panel. I matted the plaid onto a piece of pale blue cardstock. I used a Recollections border punch (name unknown) to punch a yellow strip, and adhered that & a teal strip below my plaid. I stamped the "smile" from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Happy" set in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto the background. I also added Rhubarb Crumble Nuvo Crystal Drops to the centers of the flowers in the punched border, to bring the magenta from the plaid paper down the card.

I die cut a doily using a My Favorite Things "Decorative Doily Duo" (discontinued) from the yellow paper in the "So So Sweet" pad, and adhered it & my image panel to the card front. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2 card base, and these two encouragement cards are ready to go!

I'm also entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On Challenge #140: "Circles and/or Squares" (used circular doilies)

Otterly Great Birthday

Challenge #24 at Lawn Fawnatics' blog is all about having fun with dies--Lawn Fawn dies in particular! I used several dies, as well as stamps from "Year Five" (with its coordinating dies) & "Fintastic Friends," to create this birthday card.

I began by die cutting a panel of white cardstock using the largest of the "Large Stitched Rectangle" dies, with a "Large Stitched Oval" die nested in the middle. I die cut the oval into 3 sections with the "Ocean Waves Borders" dies, then set that aside.

I stamped some of the fish from "Fintastic Friends" in Hero Arts Charcoal ink around the frame. I filled in the smaller spaces with two of the bubbles from that set. I made sure to stamp off the paper, both around the edges & in the middle, to make it look like a piece of patterned paper.

For the oval, I inked the sky portion with Broken China Distress Oxide ink, adding some Salty Ocean Oxide ink to the upper portion of that piece. I also used Salty Ocean for the bottom wave portion, and Faded Jeans Oxide plus Salty Ocean for the upper wave strip. I spritzed the wave strips with water from my Distress Sprayer, let that sit a few seconds, then blotted it up with a dry cloth.

I stamped the otter and present from "Year Five" in Hero Arts Black ink onto Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored them with Inktense pencils, using a water brush to pick up the color from the pencil and apply it to the paper. After they were thoroughly dry, I die cut them with the coordinating dies. I used a craft knife to cut along the otter's right paw, so I could slip the present behind it.

To know where I wanted the greeting, I first adhered the frame & top part of the oval to a white A2 card base. I lined up the greeting, from "Year Five," in the middle of the oval, and used my MISTI to stamp it in black ink. I glued my otter in place, and adhered the wave sections to the card base. Finally, I added a little shine to the otter's eye & nose with a black glaze pen.

I'm also entering this card in the Dies R Us Challenge #93: "Frame It."