WATERCOLOR WONDERS

This past week I decided to make cards with one stamp set and use different designs, color combinations and techniques.  I used my MISTI and made two of each background.  The stamp set I chose is Watercolor Wonders from Altenew - I think it came out in about 2015 and I've barely used it.  So far I've made about ten backgrounds so you may be seeing a lot of these flowers!!

I used all Hero Arts inks - three shades of peach and two greens.  Before mounting the flower arrangement I spattered some of the lighter green ink for a background.  I used a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for my design - will enter this in their challenge for this week.  Finished it with a little sentiment and a few flat sequins.

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your kind comments.

SPRING FLOWERS

The other day Erum did a fun watercoloring technique and I decided to give it a try.  Just received the two sets of Altenew watercolor brushes and used them for my cards, but think you could use any that you may have.

I stamped and embossed a bunch of SSS Spring Flowers on some heavy watercolor paper.  Then I scribbled with the watercolor brushes, spritzed with water and let them dry.  Fussy cut the flowers and leaves.  The background is dry embossed with Altenew's Fine Frames.

I am entering my card in the current SSS Flickr challenge where the theme is "friendship".

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

SPRING FLORALS

Today I have a card made for this week's CAS Colours and Sketches challenge.

Several weeks ago Kelly Lunceford made a gatefold card similar to this.  I used Altenew's Fantasy Floral dies and arranged them to fit on one side of the card.  I backed the leaf that overhangs with another die cut for more stability.  Added some striped matching paper on the inside - when sending my card I probably will write a note on a separate piece of paper although there is enough room to write inside on the left.  I think I should send my card to Lin B. as she is so fond of yellow roses!!!  My card is cut 8"x5.5" and scored at 1.25" and 5.5". 

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your comments!

THE STARS ARE OUT!

The theme this month on Darnell's Twofer Challenge is "stars" and I think I finally have created two distinctively different cards using the same stamp.

 

I needed a birthday card for my son and started playing around with the stars stamp - clear embossed for the background.  Found some pp with stars and added that after die cutting the sentiment.  Put it on a pale gray base and added a few gold stars.  Here is a closeup of the background.

For the sympathy card I used a watercolored background with silver embossed stars - along with the sentiment I added some silver sequins and tiny sequin stars.  

The Watercooler Challenge this week is "masculine-anything goes" so will enter the birthday card there also.

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

CARD FOR CAT

For the February CCC challenge I am sending a card to my friend, Cat Craig.

I used the Altenew Layered Floral Elements dies for my flower arrangement - die cut all the pieces from some patterned paper.  The stripes are a piece of washi tape.  After I had everything on the card front, I decided it need a little something, something - so got out the watercolors and gave it some black spatters (put a post-it note over the flowers as I didn't want to spatter them).

I used the challenge sketch, colors and theme (friendship) for my card.

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

MORE CHALLENGES

Seize the Birthday's current challenge is "anything goes" while The Flower Challenge wants us to use our latest stamps or dies, so here's another floral card.

After embossing the Perfectly Perfect from Altenew flowers with gold, I watercolored them with my Zigs and fussy cut them. The background was made by dry embossing with Altenew's fine frames rectangle dies.  Added a few sequins and a little sentiment and done.

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

A COUPLE OF CHALLENGES

Found a few challenges to enter that were intriguing - so with my usual flowers here are my cards.

For Retro Rubber's tic tac toe I chose blue, birthday and textured embossing  I used my old PTI Rosie Posie stamp (2012).  For the background I used Altenew's Fine Frames die and dry embossed with it - difficult to see in the large photo - maybe a bit better in the closeup.  

The code word at Addicted to CAS is "grid" and used Altenew's gradient stripe die for my background and their Perfectly Perfect stamps for my flowers.  I am also entering my first card there as it has a grid background.

 

Thanks for stopping by - always love to read your kind comments.

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

I hope all of my blog friends have a lovely day today with their friends and loved ones and that you enjoy the Valentine card I've created for you and for my A Blog Named Hero post.

For my flowers I used the Color Layering Hibiscus - a super easy flower to layer.  I stamped the centers in HA black and went over them with a black gel pen for some shine.  The leaves were stamped in moss and forever green.  I used a dark red copic marker to give the blooms a little extra dimension.  The heart die cut for the shaker is from the January 2017 My Monthly Hero Kit and is filled with some ombre blush sequins.  This heart die or any heart/shape die would work really well for making the shaker opening.

I am entering my card at a2z Scrapbooking challenge (colors and theme), LaVon's Love Challenge (anything goes) and The Card Concept (colors and theme).

A Blog Named Hero will be back tomorrow with a great new challenge and more prizes to be won from Hero Arts so be sure to check us out!

Thanks for visiting today - Valentine hugs!

PTI WIN IT WEDNESDAY

Yesterday Papertrey Ink began a new challenge page and one of the challenges was to use your favorite PTI stamps.  No problem with that - Rosie Posie which unfortunately is no longer available!

I had fun stamping out flowers in various colors - mostly variations using their melon berry and sweet blush inks.  I used copic markers to give a little extra depth to the shading.  For the backgrounds I used Altenew's watercolor stripes die which I spattered with some gold metallic watercolor. The card base on the left card is PTI's soft stone - another favorite!

I recently found a new (to me) challenge via Dawn Turley - Watercooler Wednesday and am linking up there also.

Thanks for stopping by today - love to read your kind comments.

A COUPLE OF MORE VALENTINES

Was playing around with another Altenew layering stamp today and decided to make it into a Valentine.  I'm also going to add into the All About Layering (class I took a few weeks ago) student gallery.

I first dry embossed a heart die onto the white background, then added it to a soft gray card base.  Arranged my flower and leaves on top along with the little sentiment.  Embellished with a few Nuvo gold drops and done.

My next card uses the same idea of dry embossing with the die and then I added some of those Altenew painted flowers I've fallen in love with again!!

All for now - thanks for stopping by today.

WATERCOLOR & SALT

The other day Betsy Veldman did post about using colored salt with watercolors to create a background.  I had tried just salt before but never colored and it intrigued me and so had a go.  Used some copic ink refills to color some coarse salt in blues and greens.  After doing a wet on wet background, added the salt and let it do its work.  Really wasn't sure if the alcohol inked salt would work, but it did a good job - no problem at all.

Die cut a frame for the salted piece, added the sentiment and the flower and done.  

Thanks for stopping by - have a good weekend.

BE MY VALENTINE

Just a quick post today - trying to get some valentines done since I wasn't able to send out Christmas cards this year. 

Didn't really have a plan when I made the background - just that I had never used the stitched heart die - so randomly die cut and then pieced them back into place for the background.  Had the painted flowers already done so arranged my bouquet and added the little sentiment.  Used my white gel pen for the little added dots in the centers of the flowers.  Must admit adding the white dots was influenced by Joan's post today and really am amazed how much they add.

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your kind comments.

 

CRAFTER'S CHOICE VALENTINE

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! Since the current challenge at A Blog Named Hero is anything you choose, here's my inspiration for you

I stamped the pretty heart from the January 2017 My Monthly Hero Kit and colored it with my Zigs.  Die cut it (also a piece of matching fun foam) and added it to the patterned paper background.  Stamped the little sentiment in HA gold embossing powder and done!  A quick and easy design - these HA hearts would work equally as well.

Join the challenge at A Blog Named Hero (you have until February 10th) for a chance to win a $50 or $25 gift certificate from Hero Arts.

Thanks for stopping by and love to read your kind comments.