Color Hues #28 -- Red and Kraft

I'm a newbie at playing along with Color Hues Challenge. I consider myself color challenged 

and usually take forever to come up with a design after given the color choices.

I can't think fast enough.

 

 

Challenge #28 with RED and KRAFT seemed simple enough and I had an idea in mind

for the design. And how fun is that gif?

Ironically, I used stamps and dies from two companies that are no longer in

business, and I consider myself lucky to own their products.

Neat and Tangled 's Warm Winter Scene Cover Plate has always been a

favorite and those little trees won me over years ago. I cut the plate from 

a scrap of alcohol inked paper. 

The trees were cut from white card stock and I adhered all the pieces to a

mini slimline kraft panel. The perfect Paper Smooches sentiment was white 

embossed and I added some "snow" with Nuvo Drops and a white gel pen.

 

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're off to a good week!

Inspired by Challenge #191 -- I'd Fall for You

Once again it's leaves that drew me to Inspired By Challenge #191--I'd Fall for You.

Check out their cute prompt.

 

 I chose to go with Laurel's sketch.

 

I kept it simple and substituted a large maple leaf for the circular element.

A panel was embossed with a woodgrain pattern and I used a scissors to distress

the edges.

The Stamp Market's "fall" was cut from dark brown card stock and the secondary

"happy" was white embossed, trimmed, and adhered to the panel.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Flower Challenge #61

I've only recently started following The Flower Challenge and it's their 5th Birthday!

I missed the earlier four. 

 

 This month's challenge is to use a shape so I opted for a shaped circle card. I thought

about using Wonky Rectangles as the card base but I've misplaced the set and "wonky

rectangle" doesn't seem like a familiar shape. And it's been a while since I've made

a shaped card so a circle is what I went with.

For my flower, I chose Altenew's Fantasy Floral die and covered white card stock 

with their Painted Fantasy washi tape before cutting out the pieces. It was a bit 

challenging but I finally assembled a bloom that I was happy with.

Altenew's Dotted Swirls Debossing die gave the background a bit of texture and the

card base was cut with MFT's stitched circle dies. I adhered the bloom and leaves

that were inked with The Stamp Market inks. Since we're celebrating a birthday,

I gold embossed a Pinkfresh Studio sentiment, and finished off the card with sequins.

 

 

 Happy 5th Birthday to The Flower Challenge! Here's to many more years of floral fun!

Guest Designer for Inspired By Challenge #189

Danni Reid of Inspired By Challenge invited me to guest design for Challenge #189

and I humbly accepted. They now have a new format with a Christmas and non Christmas

prompt in addition to Laurel's sketch.

 

I chose the Christmas prompt, Mistletoe 25 Cents.

And here's my card. I was inspired by the gorgeous wreath, a bit of gingham, and silver.

 

 
 I cut the Grapevine Wreath from Honey Bee Stamps twice from kraft card stock

and inked them with brown inks before layering them, offset, to create a

fuller wreath.

 

The sentiment was silver embossed inside the wreath and I added greenery and

silver circles cut from glitter card stock. The final touch was a bit of black and

white gingham adhered to the bottom of the card.

Visit Inspired By Challenge to see what their design team created and come and

join the challenge. Huge thanks to Danni and to the IB team for for the invite!

Inspired by Challenge -- Colorful Fall

I found some time to play with the latest Inspired by Challenge 188 because...leaves.

 

 

 

 

I love leaves and own about a dozen different leaf stamp sets and dies.

I used the maple leaf dies from Concord & 9th and chose to use the IB sketch.

 

I inked 5 leaves in different colors and arranged them per the sketch. Gold ink was

spattered over the card and the sentiment was gold embossed.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Flower Challenge 60--Colour Turquoise

Lately I've been playing with stencils and love this coloring medium. Stencils have come 

a long way and layered stencils do all the heavy work for you. Your job is to line them up! 

I used Altenew's Polka Dot Buds Stencil and made several panels in different 

color combos.

 

 When I saw that the latest Flower Challenge was Colour Turquoise, I chose a panel that

fit the challenge. 

 

The blooms and leaves were stenciled with ink from The Stamp Market. Notice the edges 

of the panel? I was inspired by the fabulous Yoonsun and remembered that during my early 

years of crafting, I was distressing the edges of cards like a mad woman. You, too?

Yoonsun uses Tim Holtz Paper Distresser Tool. I owned one before, but used a scissors 

and it did the job. I love the look of distressing. It's very forgiving and you don't have to 

worry about gluing down your panel perfectly or even having the corners curl up. 

It's part of the look!

 

My card was finished off with a sentiment from Waffle Flower Crafts. I thought about

adding some embellishments but didn't want to take away from the busy background.

 

Shout out to Yoonsun for inspiring me to distress again. You may be seeing future projects

with paper distressing on them. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Altenew September 2021 Inspiration Challenge

I found some time to enter Altenew's September 2021 Inspiration Challenge after 

seeing the color palette and photo by Altenew team member Laurie. She shared that

she shot the pic from her patio--what a green thumb she has!

I decided to play with my favorite Altenew stencils--Hill Blossoms Layering Stencil Set

on a slimline card. Here's how I was inspired.

My original plan was to make a one layer card but my inky fingers got in the way 

so I ended up die cutting the images and adhered them to a slimline panel. I added 

the die cut  "hello" and stamped the secondary sentiment beneath it.

The panel was adhered to a slimline card base and finished off with clear sequins.

 I have to add that the "hello" was part of a set that's discontinued. I didn't realize

it until I was trying to link the product. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Online Card Classes -- Crushing on Cardstock Day 4

I'm so happy that I squeezed in a little craft time, after signing up for the latest

Online Card Class--Crushing on Cardstock. Their classes are "go at your own pace"

but after seeing Jennifer McGuire share a technique, I had to give it a go.

 

 Check out the texture inside the die cut circle. Reminds me of mulberry paper.

I can't give out details but if you've been crafting for a while, you might be able

to figure out how the technique was done.

After assembling the panel, I added a Berry Branch from The Stamp Market

and finished off with the Altenew sentiment. I thought about adding sequins or

enamel dots, but didn't want to detract from the texture.

And I can finally display the participant badge!

I'm hoping to work on more projects from this class. I love that it was short n' sweet

and that I managed to join in at least one day. Thanks, Jennifer and Kristina, for a

fun class. Looking forward to the next one!

 

 

 

Leaf Fragments

When Tim Holtz shared his latest release, full of Halloween goodness, I grabbed the

 Leaf Fragments Dies as quickly as I could. I'm a sucker for leaves and the leaf fragments 

are such an original design--Tim said they were his favorite!--I just had to have them.

The leaves were die cut from watercolor paper and ink distressed with inks from Concord 

& 9th and The Stamp Market. I chose three leaves and spattered them with gold

 Kuretake watercolors.

To go with the tattered look on the leaves, I tore the edges of an embossed panel and 

adheredit to a white card base and spattered more gold ink over it. I adhered the leaves, 

then added the gold embossed sentiment.

These days, my crafting time has been drastically cut but I know I'll be making more

cards with these fun dies. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Flower Challenge #58

 

I'm joining The Flower Challenge #58 because the Coneflower Dies from Honeybee Stamps

arrived and I was anxious to put a flower together. 

 

The theme for the challenge is Add Spots or Stripes and I chose stripes so I could use

some patterned paper from a discontinued MFT pad.

Truthfully, I've never heard of a coneflower but thanks to Google and a few samples 

from the Honeybee DT and others on IG, I colored and assembled a bloom.

 

 

I fashioned a stem, because the die set doesn't come with one, and adhered the bloom

and leaves on a striped panel. I stamped the sentiment, then adhered the panel to a 

mini slimline card base.

I think I'll have to construct a few more coneflowers because mine reminds me 

of a droopy daisy. Thanks for stopping by today!

* * *

Edited to add: Honored that my card was chosen as a Top Pick.

 

Thank you to The Flower Challenge DT!

It's a Good Day

Hello! I hope things are getting back to "normal" where you are.

 

When I saw the new Essentials by Ellen Abstract Sunset Die, I decided to do some

paper piecing using a patterned paper pad with earthy colors. How perfect is that?

It took a while to put together and because they're two sided sheets, keeping them

together was challenging. But I learned a bit of patience and managed to assemble a 

scene with almost all of the colors in the pad.

 

The sun was inlaid in the sky, and the card was finished off with the sentiment from

Good Day, another new product from the EBE release.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're off to a great week!

Guesting on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog!

I had the honor of having my card for the Spring/Summer 2021 Coffee Lovers Hop

chosen as a Designer Pick by Helen. With that honor came the privilege of guesting

on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog. 

 

Here's a peek at my card. 

 

I'd love it if you visited the CLC blog for a full card reveal and while you're there, 

stay a while to peruse the awesome caffeinated projects.

 

Thanks, Amy, for the invite to guest with you! ☕

 

Memory Box Challenge -- Water

 The latest challenge theme at Memory Box is WATER. Have you noticed one of  the current

craft trends is all about marine life? I picked up a few ocean themed products and decided

to enter the challenge.

 

Here's my card.

 

I embossed white card stock with Memory Box Waves 3D Embossing Folder and

inked it in greens and blues. The jellyfish was colored with Zig markers and a

waterbrush. 

 

 I started assembling the card and it looked a little too ordinary so I embossed another

card panel with the Waves embossing folder and trimmed a portion of the colored panel

and adhered it to the card base. I popped up the jellyfish, added the sentiment, then 

finished off with some iridescent drops.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Essentials by Ellen Mod Floral Die

 

It's no secret that I LOVE dies. My die collection has nearly outgrown my stamps 

and I'm not complaining. In fact, I went out to get a bigger container!

 

Ellen Hutson's newest Essentials by Ellen Release has a Mod Floral Die that I

just HAD to have after seeing Kelly Griglione work her magic with it. I ordered it

on the day of the release and a few days later, it arrived in my mailbox. Yay!

 

 

 Then I pulled out my neglected Kuretake Zig markers and went to work.

 I wet the diecut piece with my water brush, then tapped color on with the Zig 

markers. I was planning to make two cards and painted two diecuts nearly 

identical and at the last minute, I layered them and I'm so glad that I did.

The sentiment is from the Mondo Tulips Stamp set which I'll play with when I 

have the time. But for now, I'll think of different color combos and play with

the Mod Floral die a teeny bit more.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Flower Challenge #55 -- Pretty Pastels

I'm entering a new to me challenge -- The Flower Challenge and their theme is Pretty Pastels. 

Here's my card using Altenew's Tulip 3D Embossing Folder. After embossing the image

I used their ink blending tool and applied color lightly on the blooms. Then I started

coloring the leaves.

At first glance, the coloring looks ok, but I have to confess that I dropped the ink blending tool

not once, but TWICE, as I was coloring the leaves. Here's a close up of the boo boo.

Luckily, the brush happened to fall near to the leaves. Twice.

 

I thought about tossing the panel but if you squint, it's not too bad. I trimmed the panel and 

adhered it to a gray card base. The sentiment was cut from gold card stock and the shadow 

was cut from vellum. I spattered the image with gold ink, then adhered the sentiment.

 

If I have time, I'll attempt a second card...and hold on tight to that blending tool.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 * * *

I'm thrilled that my card was selected as an Honourable Mention! Thanks so much,

Flower Challenge!

Inspired By Challenge -- Wrap Me Up in Spring

I made some time to join this week's Inspired by Challenge. I was totally inspired

by the flowers and used supplies from four stamp companies on my card.

 

 

This is the first time that I'm using Hero Arts' Watering Can Die. I'm not sure why

the watering can turned out the color that it did because I ink distressed white

card stock with Pumice Stone distress ink. Must be my Pic Monkey editing.

The tulips and fillers were cut from white card stock and colored with Copic 

markers. The can was grounded on a strip of diagonal striped paper and

finished off with the Penny Black sentiment.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Inspired by Challenge -- Spring into Color

 

For the latest Inspired by Challenge, I was totally inspired by team member Michele and

 her gorgeous take on the inspiration photo. Go on, click on the link and prepare to be blown away.

 

I decided to use Altenew's Crocus Layering Stamp and Die Set and Laurel's sketch for my card.

 

 

When I Googled crocus, I didn't see pretty red or pink crocuses. Mine look more like

tulips. I'm calling them fantasy flowers. I used Altenew inks--love that they come in sets

of three or four that makes life so much simpler. 

I cut them out with the matching dies and adhered them to a mini slimline card. I white

embossed the Penny Black sentiment, rounded off the top corner and called it done.

I think the crocus gods are frowning down on me. Thanks for stopping by!