One Sketch, Two Cards

The current sketch challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown inspired the design for both of my cards:

For my first card, I chose the ornament image from Sunny Studio's "Holiday Style" stamp set. I first used the coordinating dies to cut the ornament & topper 4 times from white cardstock. I placed the negative space in my MISTI stamp positioning tool, & temporarily adhered an ornament & a topper in their respective "holes." I stamped each with the first base color, then replaced them with unstamped die cuts, and stamped with the second base color. I repeated that for all 4 ornaments & toppers. That way, I didn't have to keep repositioning the stamps, which made things much faster. Once the first layer was stamped & dried (so the inks wouldn't blend), I positioned & stamped the second layers as I had with the first. I used Hero Arts Fresh Peach & My Favorite Things Coral Crush inks for the coral ornament; Hero Arts Pool & Memento Teal Zeal for the light blue; Altenew Vanilla Cream & Memento Cantaloupe for the yellow; & finally Memento Danube Blue & Lawn Fawn Deep Sea for the dark blue. For the toppers, I used Hero Arts Soft Granite & Black inks.

I glued each topper to an ornament, so I could maneuver them as one unit. After I adhered the patterned papers to my card base, I roughly positioned the ornaments. I went ahead and tacked them down with ATG adhesive instead of liquid glue, so if I had to move them I could pull them up easily.

I cut a banner from a pale cream cardstock, to echo the yellow ornament and coordinate with the patterned paper strip. I used Lawn Fawn's "Milo's ABCs" to stamp the greeting, using Teal Zeal, Coral Crush, & Deep Sea inks for the words.

 

I positioned the greeting banner, and repositioned the ornaments so everything was a bit more centered. To make sure the ornaments wouldn't detach, I did squirt some liquid glue under each. I tied a triple bow from metallic thread for each ornament & the banner, and glued those in place. After the glue dried, I adhered my card front to a white A2-size card base.

I used Paper Smooches' "A Blessed Christmas" stamp set for my second card. I stamped 3 of the images onto Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper with Simon Says Stamp's Fog ink. After die cutting them with circle dies, I colored each with my Prismacolor colored pencils. To provide a little definition between the circles, I inked around the perimeter of each with Speckled Egg Distress ink. Finally, I stamped my greeting on another scrap of bristol in Gina K Charcoal Brown ink, die cut that into a circle, and inked the perimeter.

I adhered a piece of green "crackle" patterned paper from The Paper Studio to a 7-1/4x4-1/2" white card base. (I have a stash of envelopes for that rather odd card size, so I'm trying to use them up!) I cut a strip from a scrap of holiday paper from my stash and adhered it along the bottom. I created a banner grouping with another piece of that scrap & 2 other scraps.

I positioned my circles in the pattern I wanted, and went ahead & glued them together, so I could move them around as one unit. I positioned my banner grouping at the top of the card, 1/2" in from the right edge. I glued my focal circle unit down with the left edge 1/2" from that edge of the card. And that finished this card!

I'm also entering both cards in 613 Avenue Create's August Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist).

Happy Birthday

The current Fusion Challenge is "Summer." The ice cream cone image & overall color scheme in the inspiration photo provided the jumping-off point for my card.

I first stamped the cone from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Ice Cream" (discontinued) with Memento Desert Sand ink. I stamped it 4 or 5 times with my MISTI stamp positioning tool, to get good solid coverage. I stamped the detail layer twice with Memento Toffee Crunch after heat setting the Desert Sand layer.

I used Lawn Fawn's Sunflower ink, and Memento Ladybug & New Sprout inks for the ice cream scoops. I placed a strip of scrap white cardstock in my MISTI, stamped the solid scoop layer with the yellow, cleaned the stamp, moved the strip up in my MISTI, stamped the green, & repeated for the red. I stamped the green 3 times to get a darker image that went better with the embossing powder I'd chosen.

I dried the ice cream images with my heat tool, and treated the cardstock with my anti-static powder bag. I placed the strip back in my MISTI, and stamped the yellow scoop with Versamark ink. I heat embossed that with Wow Opaque Primary Sunny Yellow embossing powder. I repeated that process with American Crafts Zing Leaf powder, & Ranger Red Geranium powder for the green & red scoops, respectively. After the embossing cooled, I die cut the 3 scoops & cone with the coordinating dies.

For my card front, I chose a sand colored cardstock. I adhered a 1" wide strip of teal cardstock along the left side, and machine-stitched 3 patterned paper banners at the top right corner.

The birthday greeting in "Color Layering Ice Cream" didn't fit my design, so I pulled the Happy Birthday from another Hero Arts set (fittingly called, "Happy Birthday"). I triple-stamped it onto a scrap of yellow cardstock with Ladybug ink, then cut that into a narrow strip.

I went ahead & glued the ice cream scoops & the cone together, so I could move it around as one unit. I determined where I wanted it, and where it would intersect the greeting strip. I drew a light pencil line on the greeting strip just inside the right edge of the cone, & cut along that line. I adhered my greeting to the card, and glued my ice cream cone in place. There was a bit too much space between the cone & the greeting, so I used the small heart from "Color Layering Ice Cream" as a "filler image." I will send this card to a friend of ours whose birthday is later this month.

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

A Blog Named Hero: "Embossing"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #361: "Tic-Tac-Toe" (did the middle column: embossing, image, & sentiment)

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Happy Birthday"

Dies R Us Challenge #150: "Just Desserts"

Two Christmas Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown's current challenge theme is "Sewing." I created 2 cards for this challenge.

For the design of my first card, I used the sketch from Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #812. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees. I used Bugaboo Stamps' "Mistletoe Bell" image (discontinued), with a vellum overlay for my greeting. I first sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it onto a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I used Gamsol to blend the first layer of color, then went in with more layers, finally using my pencils to burnish the color.

View of image panel under vellum overlay

 

I found 2 patterned papers in my scrap stash for the background. To provide visual separation between the image panel & the bell patterned paper especially, I matted the image panel with a 1/16" dark green mat. I used a strip of that same cardstock along the left edge of my card.

I heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder onto a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum that I'd cut to the same size as the image panel. I lined it up with the image panel, & poked holes along the top edge every 1/8". I use gold thread to stitch the overlay to the image panel. I adhered that to my card, and that finished card #1.

I used Sketch #SC727 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the design for my second card. I first stamped the lamp image from Inky Antics "Decorated for Christmas" set onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut that with a "Large Stitched Oval" die from Lawn Fawn. I used watercolors to paint the image. I wanted to provide a matting effect, but didn't want to cut a larger oval. So I first inked around the perimeter with Speckled Egg Distress ink. That wasn't quite the right color, though, so I went over it with Faded Jeans Distress ink to darken & warm it up just a bit.

For the stitched strip, I used my We R Memory Keepers Sew Perfect tool (discontinued). I cut my strip longer than I needed, since it's basically impossible to know where the tool will pierce the holes. I lined up the Sew Perfect ruler along my cardstock, & ran the tool along that. Because the cardstock is thick, I did have to go back with my paper piercer to poke the holes fully through. After I trimmed the strip to 5-1/2" long, I followed the stitching diagram for that Sew Perfect roller head, with red & pale grey embroidery floss. I actually stitched the grey first, and realized my "error" when I went to stitch the red. I should have stitched the red first, since I wanted the grey floss on top. Thankfully, I was able to weave the red floss under the grey as I stitched, so no big deal. 😊

For the card front panel, I used one of the patterned papers from the "Believe" 6x6" pad by Authentique. I used strong double-sided tape to adhere my stitched strip to my card. I glued the oval in place over that. Then I adhered my card front to a white A2-size card base.

I stamped the greeting, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Joy" set (discontinued), onto a scrap of the same cardstock I'd used for my stitched strip. I used an Essentials by Ellen "Stitching Lines" die to add some faux cross-stitching to the right end of the greeting strip. I cut the other end in a "v," and adhered the banner to my card.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes" (first card only)

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (playing the twist on the first card only)

Die Cut Divas: "Christmas in July" (second card only)

Season's Greetings

I am very excited to be the guest designer at Christmas Card Throwdown for their July sketch challenge! Feel free to play along, and follow the sketch below. You can rotate it, flip it, or follow it exactly.

I decided to use the Poppystamps "Blooming Poinsettia" die set for the circle element in the sketch. I die cut the pieces from Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I ran them through my machine again with an embossing mat, to make sure the veins in the bracts (petals) & leaves were as pronounced as possible. Since I didn't want to color my flower just red & green, I did a search on Pinterest for pink & white poinsettias. I found this image, and decided to go with that color scheme. I chose a few of my Tombow water-based markers to color my pieces. I did some blending on the leaves, but left the colors pretty much unblended for the bracts, following the reference photo I'd chosen.

Because I wanted the bracts & leaves to have some lift, I decided to glue them only at the center parts of the flower & one end of the leaves. So that none of the white on the back of each piece would show, I did a rough coloring, emulating the front of each bract & leaf.

I chose a patterned paper from the "Rejoice" 6x6" pad from Creative Imaginations (long discontinued) for my background. I cut it to 3-3/4x5", added it to a narrow dark green mat, and adhered it to a beige cardstock panel that I'd mounted to my white A2-size card base. I added a banner of pale green cardstock to my panel to go behind the flower. Then I glued my flower & leaves to the lower right corner, letting one petal & leaf extend beyond the patterned paper layer for added interest.

I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts "Color Layering Partridge" (discontinued), with Versamark ink onto a scrap of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum. After I heat embossed it with Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, I cut it into a banner. I applied small dots of liquid glue to the back, behind the words, and adhered it over my poinsettia, lined up with the green banner I'd already glued down. I love how this card came out! I encourage you to join in the fun at Christmas Card Throwdown's blog. Just think of how satisfied you'll be when your holiday cards are finished BEFORE the holidays! :)

Un-frog-ettable

My aunt has a birthday soon. She & my uncle love to perform "oldies" type songs, karaoke-style, for senior citizens. When I saw this greeting stamp from Repeat Impressions, it made me think of Nat King Cole, and his rendition of "Unforgettable." I don't know if my aunt & uncle go back that far in time with the songs they sing, but it still made me think of their singing. I combined the "Happy Frog" (also from Repeat Impressions) with a cake from Art Impressions' "Birthday Cake Set" & a party hat from Lawn Fawn's "Monster Mash" stamp set.

I first stamped the frog onto the plastic sheet for my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig. The stamp is red rubber, so I would have had a horrible time trying to position it accurately with the cake & hat using my MISTI or even just eyeballing it with the stamp mounted on an acrylic block. I then stamped & cut masks for the cake & hat from masking paper.

I used the frog image on my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig sheet to help me position the cake & hat stamps in my MISTI. I stamped them onto a scrap of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I placed the masks over the cake & hat, and then used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig & an acrylic block to stamp the frog. I was so happy it came out looking like one stamp, instead of 3 separate images!

After I cut my image with a Mama Elephant "Tags a Lot" die, I colored it with my Prismacolor pencils. I highlighted the frog's belly & chin with yellow (over a light layer of green), to indicate the candle flame shining on those parts. I die cut a hole reinforcer from pink cardstock & glued it to the top of my tag. I let the glue dry, then punched through the middle with a 1/8" hole punch. I threaded a few lengths of green & white baker's twine, that complemented the frog's colors, through the hole & knotted them.

At this point, I looked at my tag, and wondered what to do with it to make it into a card! Usually, I start with an idea of an image or greeting I want to use, then proceed to find a sketch to base my design decisions on. This time, in a bit of a "cart before the horse" fashion, I created my focal element before coming up with any design. So I pulled out my binder with card sketches, & found #SC727 from Splitcoaststampers.com. The one panel in the sketch was pretty close in size to my tag, so I went with that.

I used a patterned paper from Pink Paislee's "Birthday Bash" 6x6" pad for my background layer. I thought it was understated enough to be a background, but still give a festive vibe. I also cut a strip from a sheet in Crate Paper's "Party Day" 12x12" patterned paper pad. The paper had several strips with various patterns, & I thought the yellow chevron with the pink "Happy Birthday to You" along one side went perfectly as a supplementary greeting. I stamped my main greeting in Lawn Fawn Wild Rose ink, which matched the printing ink color on the patterned paper strip pretty closely. I cut that into a banner, and adhered it to my card front. Finally, I adhered my tag, & mounted the front panel to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

The House that Stamps Built Challenge #DCC J320: "Tag, you're it!"

613 Avenue Create Challenge #234: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

25

Christmas Card Throwdown currently has a sketch challenge. I created this card, inspired by the sketch they posted.

I chose Bugaboo Stamps' "Christmas Doodles" digital set for the images on my card. I actually only used 3 of the 4, omitting the snowflake. To determine the sizing of each image, I created a blank "canvas" in Photoshop that was the dimensions of a vertical A2 card (4-1/4x5-1/2"). I opened the 3 image files (I had previously "broken up" the set into individual images), and dragged each onto my canvas. I drew 2 rectangles with the Shape tool, to represent the panels in the sketch. I set my images to different sizes and arrangements, until they looked good. I did keep in mind the sizes of circle dies I have, so I could easily cut the circles out later.

Once everything looked good, I transferred the images onto a blank canvas, so I could print them. I used a laser printer to print them onto a panel of Strathmore Smooth bristol paper, as I knew I wanted to color them with my Tombow markers, and I didn't want to have printer ink that would smear.

After choosing a patterned paper from my scrap stash, I colored the images with coordinating colors of Tombow markers. I adhered a panel of kraft cardstock to my white card base, added my patterned paper panels to that, and die cut & glued down the image circles. The empty space in the bottom left corner bothered me, so I added five 5mm silver sequins there. To balance that out, I added 3 more in the top right. And that finished this relatively quick & easy card! :)

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #354: "Anything Goes"

HBD

Hero Arts has been having a special series of challenges, called "Stay Crafty with Hero." I am entering this card in their current sketch challenge.

I decided to make a masculine birthday card. I chose my background paper from Echo Park's "Jack and Jill" 6x6" pad. I thought the numbers went well with the theme. The pennant paper is from Crate Paper's "Cool Kid" 6x6" pad. The yellow & blue patterned papers I found in my scrap stash. I normally don't use this many patterns on one card, but since the yellow & blue ones are basically tone-on-tone, they really read as solids. To help the papers stand out a bit more, I inked around all but the numbers panel with Hickory Smoke Distress ink.

I chose the "HBD" greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Stop Drop Party" stamp set. It fit the greeting panel size in the sketch perfectly, and I thought it went with the masculine theme of this card. I stamped it on my blue panel with Delicata Black Shimmer ink.

After I adhered all my layers to my card, I die cut a balloon from dark blue cardstock with a Lawn Fawn "Party Balloons" die. I inked the left side with Hickory Smoke, just to add a bit of shading & dimension, and added the shine mark with a white gel pen. I tied a piece of white crochet twine around the neck, and glued the balloon to my card. Finally, I added 3 dots of glue to the card to tack down the twine, so it would have the appearance of some movement.

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

Dies R Us Challenge #146: "It's Dad's Day (Father's Day/Masculine)"

613 Avenue Create's Challenge #234: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "It's a Man Thing"