AUTUMN LEAVES

Probably about five or six years ago, my friend, Cindy, sent me some rice paper.  It's one of those paper treasures I've tended to hoard.  When I saw the current challenge from The Paper Players, I knew I had to get it out and make use of it.

Using the colors from the challenge, I randomly stamped leaves in seedless preserves, peacock feathers and rusty hinge DI inks.  Then I spritzed the paper heavily with water, just let it bleed and put it aside to dry.  When it was completely  dry, I stamped several more leaves in the same colors.  Trimmed the piece and added to a light tan card base.  Added the copper border, sentiment and a few enamel dots and done.  I hope my metallic paper will qualify for "glitter or foil" element for the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Our just past challenge of "cute" is finished, but thought maybe a cute Halloween card would be fun for my A Blog Named Hero post today.

I started with the pumpkin from the HA Autumn Icons die set (no longer available) which was cut from some orange paper.  The spider web background came from a gift box which I bought at Michael's last year.  My card base is the HA kraft layering cs.  I coated my little spider with glossy accents and he's hanging from a piece of black floss.  Used HA precision glue for putting it all together (great stuff, never clogs and makes tiny dots of glue so easily!).  I also added DO ground espresso around the edges for a little more definition.

Stop by the A Blog Named Hero blog tomorrow for another fun new challenge and a chance to win a gift card from Hero Arts.  Thanks for stopping by.

FALLING LEAVES

The "Joseph's coat" emboss resist technique has been on my "to do" list for awhile and thought that autumn leaves might be the perfect way to use it.

I randomly sponged mustard seed, spiced marmalade and crushed olive DI inks on a white piece of card.  After it was dry, I stamped the leaves with Versamark and clear embossed.  Then covered the whole background with ground espresso DO.  Used a wonky stitched die to cut the piece and mounted on a dark cream base.  The sentiment was cut from gold cs and a few gold sequins were added to finish it off.

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for my basic design.  The leaves are from Gina K. where the challenge this month is autumn leaves.  Used items from the Festive Friday challenge - gold, green, brown, leaves and stitching. My card also fits CASology's theme of September.

Good to see you here today.

 

CAS CHRISTMAS AND CAS MIX-UP COMBO

When I began designing my card for CAS Christmas (Christmas tree), I hadn't thought of combining it with CAS Mix-Up (embossing with dies).  As I worked on it though, I thought it needed more texture and what better way than to do some embossed trees for a background.

Since these woodland trees are tall and slender, I made a slimline card (3.5x8.5).  I die cut the trees from some Kaisercraft sparkle pp (wish I had bought two pads as it's the most gorgeous paper ever and not available any longer).  Dry embossed the same trees on some gray paper.  Added the trees and sentiment and mounted on a lighter gray base.  Then I so wished I had some rose gold sequins, but had to substitute little punched circles for some added bling.  The sentiment came from the same paper pad, so matches perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

SUNFLOWERS

Received some new slimline stencils from Stamplorations yesterday and had to put them to work right away!!  My fave is the sunflower stencil - and I think I could make it work on an A2 card also.

I used two shades of DO ink (mustard seed and fossilized amber) to blend the yellow and then ground espresso DO for the centers of the sunflowers.  Added some more shading with a copic marker.  Die cut the letters four times for some dimension and added the "birthday wishes" heat embossed in white.  Some Nuvo black drops finished the centers of the flowers.

This card is for the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge this week - used yellow, big sentiment and heat embossing.

Thanks for stopping by.

THANKS

The Paper Players have a tic-tac-toe challenge this week which I thought would be fun to try - metallic, embossing and thanks.

On one of my alcohol ink play days, I used some of the pearl inks to make a background.  Used this for cutting out all of my leaves which I then arranged along the side and top of my card base.  Before adhering them, I embossed two stitched rectangles on my card base.  My card base is white silver cardstock from Neenah.  Layered up the sentiment and added some turquoise enamel dots to finish it all off.  My card really is quite shiny but so difficult to capture in a photo.

 

 Thanks for stopping by today.

 

CUTE

I think Miss Flamingo is pretty darn cute all dressed up to go to a party in the Everglades - especially since "cute" is the theme for our A Blog Named Hero Challenge this month.

After stamping and die cutting Miss Flamingo, created her plumage by smooshing a feather in the same color ink as I had stamped the body.  I free handed the hat and used a punch for the pom-pom on her hat.  Found a balloon die and also a present stamp to add on.  Added some clear enamel dots and done.  Will add "happy birthday" or "celebrate" on the inside when needed.

 

 

Making a "cute" card is way out of my comfort zone - but if I can do it, so can you.  Have a go at something cute and enter it here for our challenge and you'll have a chance to win one of two gift cards from Hero Arts.

 

Hero Arts also has a challenge to use critters on a card - Miss Flamingo certainly qualifies as a critter so am entering my card there.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

CELEBRATE

The negative piece from my candle card of the other day was sitting on my desk and had the idea to use it as a stencil for the TicTacToe challenge (stencil, celebrate, any die cut).  Very CAS today and no flowers!!!

I used a sponge dauber and various shades of DO inks for the candle and a metallic copper for the flames - added a little copper enamel dot in the centers.  Die cut the sentiment,  added it and done, done!!

 Have a good day!

RAINBOW BIRTHDAY

I have been sorting out, destashing or in other words - just plain getting rid of stuff.  In doing this tho, I have found all sorts of treasures I had quite forgotten I had.  Among all were these cute MFT birthday candles that my friend Cat sent me ages ago.  Making a card is so much more fun than cleaning up a craft room!!!

 

I colored the candles with copics and the flames with a gold pen and added some glam to the gold with a sparkle pen.  Die cut the letters in gold metallic, arranged all on a black slimline card and done!  My card is 3.5x8.5.  If you are into making this size card Hobby Lobby has the perfect size envelope in their Paper Studio line (white and kraft - $4.99 for 25).  Also Amazon has the colored ones - the size of these envelopes is A9 - 3 7/8x8 7/8 - perfect fit!  

I am entering my card at Seize the Birthday where the theme is "rainbow colors".  Except for the painstaking part of lining up those candles and letters, this was a fun card to make - and way more fun that cleaning out!!!! 

Have a good day! 

 

WHITE SPACE

One of the challenges I mean to enter every month is the Gina K. challenge and for some reason, I never seem to get around to ever doing it.  But this month the theme is "white space" and I've actually made a card.

 

I stamped the Gina K./HA friendship blooms on a 3.5x8.5 side fold slimline card.  Proceeded to color with my watercolor pencils which I bought ages ago in England - very inexpensive set from WHSmith - but they work just fine and found coloring all these flowers fast and easy.  I just used two shades of pink and a green. Stamping was done on regular cardstock and since very little water was used there was only a bit of warping.  Added the little sentiment and a few black enamel dots and done!  

Thanks for stopping by.

 

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

The current CAS Christmas theme is the 12 Days of Christmas and I used this fun stamp set with all twelve days which I won way back in 2014 from Ellen Hutson.

I arranged all the stamps on my MISTI and stamped in black ink and clear embossed.  Then I used my copics to color the images.  Die cut the sentiment three times and added some Spectrum Noir sparkle to it and also the images.  I believe Julie Ebersole designed this stamp set for Ellen Hutson - love the humor - especially the 4 calling birds!

I am also entering my card at Retro Rubber Challenge where the theme is "Anything Goes".

Thanks for stopping by.

 

BAPTISM CARD

This past week I was asked to make a card for a very special baby who is to be baptized this Sunday - not only was that a challenge, but my friend also wanted it to be a 5x7 card - never had made that size nor a baptism card.  Fortunately, I had a lovely cross die and the perfect sentiment for the inside - "Celebrating one of God's most beautiful creations" from SU.

I die cut the cross background from some wood grain paper and popped up the cross part with some fun foam.  

I am entering this at Watercooler Wednesday's occasions challenge for this week.  

 Thanks for stopping by today - have a great weekend!

 

MORE EMBOSSING

Even tho our current embossing challenge is finished and a new challenge begins tomorrow on A Blog Named Hero, I did a little embossing on patterned paper today.  It was a piece (PTI autumn papers) I had been hoarding from ages ago 'cause I loved the colors.  

 

I stamped my flowered background from a new set that came in the mail this week and white embossed it.  I've been loving making my own backgrounds lately (lots of lessons from Yana!).  Used a copic marker to do some shading on the flowers and leaves for a little more definition.  Mounted on a white card base, added the little vellum die cut leaves with the sentiment and done.  The stamping on the sentiment was done with HA black ink and clear embossed.

 

Since this is my first time out using this stamp set I'm entering it at Darnell's NBUS challenge. 

Check out the A Blog Named Hero post tomorrow for a new fun challenge and a chance to win one of two gift certificates from Hero Arts.

 

INSPIRED BY...

Love the logo on this t-shirt and thought it would be a great idea for a slimline card which is the theme for this week's Freshly Made Sketches.  I am also entering my as homework for MFT's summer school day 1 where the assignment is to use triangles.

My card is 3.5x8.5 and I used Altenew's Bold Alphabet dies for my navy blue letters.  Stamped the flowers in various inks and arranged them around the letters.  Added the little sentiment, a few enamel dots and done.  Actually my card is really a lighter tan - bad light this afternoon for photgraphing.

Thanks for stopping by.