TIC TAC TOE CHALLENGE

So pleased to be guest designing today for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge085.  It's a really great autumn board with many ways to create a card.  My choice from the board is down the left side - pumpkins, orange and fall. 

I have always found downloading images, resizing and whatever else is involved rather daunting, but when I saw Alex Syberia's new Autumn Bouquet release, I had to give it a try.  My printer won't take anything heavier that 80# cardstock, so that's what I went with using my copic markers to do all the coloring.  My slimline card is 3.5x8.5.  Added my little sentiment, a few sequins and done.  I really would like to color this image with watercolor - maybe will pop over to Kinko's and see if they can help me out.  Anyone have any other ideas??

Be sure to have a go at this inspiring board and enter your fall cards here. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

SEPTEMBER CARD CHAIN CHALLENGE

This month my card is going to Lucille in Colorado.  I used the sketch and colors for my card.

After the flower and leaves were embossed with rose gold powder, I watercolored them with DO inks - crackling campfire, wild honey and shabby shutters.  The inks left on my work surface were spritzed with water and the background piece was smooshed into them.  Spattered a bit of gold paint on it before adding the flower and leaves.  Finished it off with a few gold sequins.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

 

CLUSTERED LEAVES

A quick card today for the current Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge and also the SSS Flickr Challenge.

 

I die cut the leaves from a piece of green alcohol inked yupo paper. The background was sponged with speckled egg, weathered wood and stormy sky DO inks and spattered with water.  Added the sentiment and sequins and done.  The SSS challenge is "anything goes" and I used slimline card, splatter and green for the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

CLEAN AND SIMPLE

A Blog Named Hero has "clean and simple" for its challenge this month and I've made a twofer with a new (to me) set - Togetherness Flower Bouquet.

In order to make two top folding cards, I cut my cardstock to 4.25"x11".  With the cs horizonal, I lightly marked the center with pencil (5.5") and stamped the image with half on either side of the pencil mark - and then turned the stamp and repeated.  I colored all the flowers and leaves before cutting the piece in half - so ended up with two pieces 4.25"x5.5".  If you look at both cards you will be able to see where they match up.  On the bottom card, I added some striped washi tape and the sentiment from the stamp set.  On the top card, I just cut a narrow strip of black, added a different sentiment and a few black enamel dots.  To finish both, I used some black spatter before adhering to a white card base.  Two CAS cards for the price of one!!!

Hope to see your CAS cards this month on the challenge blog - and you may win either a $25 or $50 gift card from Hero Arts!

Thanks for stopping by.

PINK AND BROWN

The colors for The Flower Challenge are pink and brown and finally had some inspiration today and sadly, even a reason to make this card.

I watercolored the bouquet with Karin markers - just used pale pink for the flowers, but different shades of brown for the various leaves.  Before coloring, I embossed the bouquet with rose gold ep.  For some added texture, I dry embossed the card base with a striped cover die, used foam tape to mount the bouquet, added a few brownish sequins and the sentiment and done!  

I am also entering my card at CAS Mix-Up Challenge as I used embossing with a die, wet embossing and watercoloring.

 Thanks for dropping by today.

 

TREES AND TRIANGLES

Two cards today for the Twofer Challenge (trees), the Color Hues Challenge (navy & turquoise) and CAS Christmas (Christmas tree).  Since I used die cuts I'm also entering my card at Die Cut Divas (holidays).

Began by blending chipped sapphire and broken china DO ink on a piece of white card.  Die cut the tree line in white, also the larger tree and hand cut the second snowbank.  Put this all together on a card base.  Then added the sparkle snowflakes, some spectrum noir shimmer on the snowbanks and the little sentiment.  Difficult photographing the shimmer so it wouldn't be so dark.

For my second card, I snipped off the trunks of the largest tree from the tree line die after cutting it multiple times from watercolor paper.  Loosely watercolored them in pale pink, yellow and lavender.  Brushed the edges with some copper metallic ink.  Arranged on a background piece and added a copper border.  Die cut the sentiment several times for dimension and completed with copper sequins. 

 Thanks for stopping by today.

 

 

STRIPES AND SUNFLOWERS

Currently, there's a wonderful photo for inspiration at The Card Concept Challenge and had to use my Botonicuts sunflowers for my entry. 

Used some yellow cardstock for my flowers and sponged on some darker yellows for a variety in color - same thing for the green leaves.  Die cut the black stripe background, added it to a white card base - the little sentiment was stamped in black and embossed with clear ep.

The black and white striped pillows and the sunflowers were the inspiration for my card.  I think my card fits in their clean and layered category - or even just clean and simple.

I am also entering my card at Seize the Birthday where the challenge is die cuts only with a stamped sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today.

FALLING LEAVES

Back in the "olden days" I belonged to a group of lovely ladies who gathered once a month to make cards together.  Now that we haven't seen each other for months, one of our members suggested that each month we follow a theme and make a card for each of our friends (6 cards).  This month the theme is "fall/thanksgiving".

My production line began with an 8.5x11 piece of white cardstock on which I randomly blended DO inks in oranges, yellows, greens and browns.  Then I spattered the piece with water and next with gold metallic paint.  Die cut a bunch of leaves and used some walnut stain DO ink to smudge the edges of all the leaves.  Stamped my card base with a retired Hero Arts flourish cover stamp - also did the tag - MISTI used for this stamping - fast and easy!  Thought the swirl design of the stamp went so well with falling leaves.  Arranged the leaves, added the sentiment, a few gold sequins and done.  After I had the first card finished, assembling the other five cards went quickly.  

Thanks for dropping by today.

A PUMPKIN AND A BLACK CAT

Just a quick post with an entry for the current TicTacToe challenge.

I used cat, pumpkin and orange/rust from the challenge board.  Gave my pumpkin some texture with a Halloween embossing folder.  

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

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.