AUTUMN LEAVES

The challenge this week from The Paper Players is to use some lovely fall colors.

 

I stamped the background leaves with a variety of inks - used my MISTI so the colors would be nice and crisp.  Die cut the copper metallic leaves and arranged along with the copper sentiment which has a black shadow.  Matted this piece on black and then onto a white card base.  Nuvo drops finished my card.

 

 

Can't wait for cool, sunny autumn days to arrive - how about you???  Thanks for stopping by,

A MIX OF THINGS

My card today for A Blog Named Hero is a mix of ideas from several places - awhile back Laurie Schmidlin did a post for Make-It-Monday called shadow backgrounds and Emily Midgitt has been doing some pencil coloring on Hero Arts layering papers. The coloring on the layering paper is so easy and fast - love love it - am going to need to buy some more of that paper!!!

I first stamped my background with soft brown ink on sort of a medium gray paper, cut it down to 4x5.25 and adhered to a base of the same color.  Then I spattered it with white acrylic paint that I had watered down a wee bit.  Next, I stamped the flower and leaves (from a My Monthly Hero Kit - but any flower would work) - again on the same color paper.  I used my MISTI and black ink leaving the stamps in place.  Prismacolors were used for coloring.  The reason I left the stamps in the MISTI was to again stamp in black when I had finished coloring.  This gives a nice black crisp outline.  Fussy cut the flower and leaves, popped up on my background, added a little sentiment and some black Nuvo drops on the stamen and done!

I am also entering my card in Kathy's coloring contest - she has 3 categories and I'm putting this in the intermediate category. 

A new challenge begins tomorrow (15 August) on A Blog Named Hero, so be sure to check it out.  Thanks for visiting today.

BEEN GONE

Just a little update today - I've been gone for a few weeks and unfortunately my friendly muse seems to still be lost in the north woods of Minnesota - so will just show a few pics of where I've been.

Katherine and John's cabin is in the front and Kevin and Diane's place is in back

 

View from the deck

view from deck

 

lone loon

Will have a post for ABNH up on Tuesday and am going to my craft room this afternoon and see if I can find Miss Muse back there!!

All for now...

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

This month's challenge at A Blog Named Hero is birthday cards.  Making a masculine card is always difficult for me (flower lover that I am!) but think I came up with something suitable for my grandson.  Although his birthday is not until October, I have a card ready for my Matthew.

I first stamped the background which is a HA discontinued background stamp, but any background stamp will do.  Then I die cut both that piece and a black mat using the HA rectangle dies.  Die cut the "26" using the HA numbers die (keeping all the pieces) and put foam tape all over the back. Mounted the background stamped piece on the black mat and then positioned the numbers I had cut out back in place.  All this then went on a white card base.  Added the happy and little birthday sentiments, some black Nuvo drops and done.  A fun, easy design to make and one I use often for birthdays and anniversaries.

Join our birthday challenge at A Blog Named Hero  - you know you always need a birthday card and there are two gift certificates to be won from Hero Arts.

I am also entering my card in the A2Z Scrapbooking challenge which is "Birthday Bash".

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your kind comments.

SPLASH

CAS Watercolour challenge this month is to use the splash technique (see the above link on how to do it) on a card.

My friend, Cat, had sent me these beautiful mondo sakura which she had stamped one in black and one gold embossed.  Both of them were colored with distress markers and a little water.  The backgrounds were done with the splash technique using distress ink.  After coloring the flowers, I just fussy cut them and put them on the backgrounds.  On the top part of the flower where it was too intricate to fussy cut, I just added a little ink so it would look like I had cut it out.

Had so much fun making those backgrounds - I think it works better than "smooshing".

I am also entering my pink card in The Flower Challenge for making a monochrome card.

Thanks for dropping by today and always love to read your kind comments.