PEONY

Have been playing a little catch-up today with several challenges - Altenew August challenge and CAS(E) This Sketch #186.

I colored the peony with my Zigs - pink flamingo and light carmine and the leaves were done with cool gray and pale gray - used a damp brush to blend on both.  The paper is MME "Fancy That", the sentiment stamped in HA silver is from Clearly Besotted and the base is Gina K ivory.  Added some Spectrum Noir clear to the flower and a few sequins and done!  

Thanks for stopping by today and love to read your comments - they make me happy to be a part of this great stamping commuity!

PRAYERS

Today Karen has a great challenge over at the Hero Arts discussion group - it's open until 9:30PM PST tomorrow nite so there's still plenty of time to join in the fun and maybe win a nice prize from Karen or Hero Arts.

The challenge is to make a card using solids and outlines, photograph and post within 90 minutes. 

 

I used the flowers from the HA April monthly kit for my outline and the leaves from Stamp Your Own Plant, plus sentiments from the HA Prayers Stamp & Cut.  I gave the flowers a little color with a copic - B000.  Added a few clear sequins for a little pizazz - done and dusted in 70 minutes (including taking the photo and posting).

 

I was also thinking about A Blog Named Hero's challenge for this month which is to use "pop of color".  There's still time to enter that challenge also.

All for tonite - thanks for visiting and love to read your kind comments.

 

CHERRY PINK

This month at A Blog Named Hero the challenge is

and our sponsor is The Ton - great prize available from them for the winner.  They have gorgeous stamps and fantastic ideas for using them on their blog, The Season. Here is a peek of my card today.

Check it out here and enter our challenge here.  ABNH designers have some wonderful inspiration for you.

Thanks for your visit and kind comments.

AUGUST CCC

This month I'm using the colors (lavender, mint and teal) and sketch from Deb's Card Chain Challenge and sending to Deb.  Since Deb has received her card I can post today.

I used Altenew's Watercolor Wonders stamps and dies using Altenew purple inks for the flower and Hero Arts mint julep ink and Altenew ocean waves ink for the leaves. A  Heidi Swapp stencil and salty ocean distress ink were used for the stripes.  A little gold thread, some sequins, a few spatters and a rounded corner were the finishing touches.  Easy card to do and I love those colors together.  It's so easy to do a layered card with the Altenew inks - love them!!

Thanks for all your kind comments and for coming by today.

HYDRANGEA PETALS

I just realized today that if I wanted a go at Ellen Hutson's Pin-Sights challenge, I'd better get creating!!  This morning I had been playing with some watercolor backgrounds - combined a bit red and yellow with a lot of water on cold press paper to make three soft colors.  Than came the real challenge - what to do with it????

Since I wanted the background to show, I decided on the small petals from the EH mondo hydrangea - stamped with Versamark and embossed with HA gold.  The leaves and scrolls are from Altenew's peony scrolls.  Stamped the sentiment on a strip I had cut off from the side.   Added the stripe washi tape on the edge and popped up the main part, added sequins on the petals and done.

Thanks for visiting today and always love to read your comments.  Tomorrow is wash and pack the suitcase for the trip up north.  See you in a few weeks.

COLOR THROWDOWN #403

Love the soft colors in the Color Throwdown challenge this week.

Stamped and embossed the peonies in gold and then watercolored with my Zigs (tea rose, pale pink, almond pink, yellow and a little water).  The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of melon berry cs.  The gold stripe washi tape is another Target $1 bin find.  Main panel is popped up with foam tape - added a few sequins and done.  

Am off to Minnesota and the lake for 2 weeks and have only one blog post scheduled for 13 August before I come home.  I stamped a whole bunch of cards to take with me along with my Zigs (in case of a rainy day!).

Thanks for visiting and your kind comments.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP!!!

The challenge theme at A Blog Named Hero this month is

and the sponsor is none other than Hero Arts who will be providing the prize for the challenge winner!

Here's a sneak peak of my card using one of the new HA summer release color layering stamp and die sets.

Hope you'll pop on over to A Blog Named Hero and check it out - it's a fun and easy card which is going to my grandson.  And be sure to create a masculine card and enter it here.

Thanks for stopping by!

PAPERTREY JULY BLOG HOP CHALLENGE

Today on Jennifer McGuire's blog she had a guest artist, Michelle Short, who showed how to do no line coloring using a light box and copics.  After a bit of digging around, I found my light box (don't even remember why I have it - it's very old) and the bulb still worked!!!  So after setting it all up, I used one of the prestamped PTI cards for Bold Blossoms. You'll have to watch Michelle's video to see how do this. Instead of copics, I used my Zigs and a bit of water.  I deviated from the watercoloring by stamping the centers of the flowers as I had no idea how to watercolor them.

The inspiration colors are from today's PTI blog challenge.

I found some light grey triangle paper in my stash and used that on the edge of the card.  Stamped the sentiment in black and clear embossed.

This technique was fun to try - not sure it's for me as it took ages for me to get the coloring to where I was happy with it - but I'll give it another try with copics and see if I like that better.

Thanks for the kind comment and for visiting today.

STAMP-A-FAIRE NOTECARDS

Whenever my family gets together for a reunion in the summer, I like to take little handmade gifts for the gals in the family.  Next week, my son and family from England will be at my other son's and daughter's lake places near Detroit Lakes, Mn.  They each have a cabin near each other on the same lake so it works for all of us.

When I saw Danielle's notecards yesterday at PTI's Stamp-A-Faire I knew this was the gift for this year.  Tonite I finished seven sets of four cards each done in four colors.

Besides the two colors here, I also did a yellow and pink version.  This is a much simplified version of Danielle's cards, but when mass producing, simple is the operative word!!  When I first started using the liquid leaf gold, I had a royal mess and won't even go into that - just sayin' that paint thinner will take liquid leaf off a manicure and not harm the polish!  And don't try to liquid leaf a sheet of paper and then run it through the Cuttlebug - gold on your plates and in your dies is not a good thing.  All PTI products - alphabet, butterfly, papers and doilies - and I used Martha Stewart's liquid leaf.

Hope to maybe get a few more of the inspiration cards done tomorrow, but if not I'm happy that these are done thanks to Danielle's inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.

 

 

STRIPES

The challenge over at Addicted to CAS is "stripes" and this month at A Blog Named Hero the theme challenge is "masculine" - so here is a combo of the two.

For the birthday sentiment I layered washi tape in stripes on a piece of cardstock and then die cut.  The "happy" is from a very old Hero Arts set and it was stamped in black and clear embossed.  The gray stripe background was embossed with a stencil by Heidi Swapp.  Popped the gray piece up with foam tape on the white card base.  Added a few enamel dots and done.

There is still time to enter both challenges - but they are ending soon.

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

FLAMINGO

Thanks to a win on the Hero Arts scramble a few weeks ago and a generous friend who supplied the die cut, I created my first flamingo card - and I think he really is quite gorgeous standing there among the hibiscus!

 

I used a variety of inks for the various layers in both my bird and the flowers/leaves.  The striped washi tape came from the $1 bin at Target awhile back (wish I had bought more!).  Stamped the sentiment and the flower centers in black and clear embossed for a nice shine.  Added a few black sequins and done.  I think I will put a birthday sentiment inside for my granddaughter's 16th in a few weeks.

 

I am entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is "Things With Wings". 

 

Thanks for your kind comment and for stopping by today.

 

ARBOSCELLO TREE

Becca is celebrating her 30th brithday in style with a challenge and great prizes.  I met Becca several years ago and even tho she's ages younger than I am, we had a great time talking and visiting in a Starbucks!!  Here's the inspiration and my card for her birthday bash!

I used the colors from the middle right and the tree from the bottom left photos.  Now those colors are not in my comfort zone but I had a go with my Brushos to make the background piece (ultramarine, scarlet and yellow). Grounded the tree with the sentiment strip.  Becca has five fantastic prizes so check out her blog.

Seize the Birthday challenge is "bold and bright" so am entering this card there also..

Love to read your kind comments and thanks for stopping by today.

SPOTLIGHT OF COLOR

The other day, my friend, Becca Cruger did a post using a coloring page - I thought it was such a fantastic idea, I made my own coloring page and did a spotlight of color.

I stamped a background using Hero Arts flowers and leaves from their April monthly kit and used my MISTI because I wanted a nice dark black.  Trimmed down the panel and die cut the circle.  I colored the flowers and leaves with my Zigs (light carmine and tea rose)and a damp brush finishing the section with a Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen.  Adhered the panel to the card base, popped up the colored piece with fun foam and added the sentiment (old MB die I think).

I am entering this in CAS-Mix Up challenge for this month as the theme is to use markers, stamping and another element which is die cuts for me.  

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.

PRAYERS

This month the challenge at A Blog Named Hero is

and I went with a masculine sympathy card using the Prayers Stamp & Cut die and stamps.

Check it out over at A Blog Named Hero - and then create a masculine card for our monthly challenge and a chance to win a great prize from Hero Arts - our awesome sponsor this month!!  Enter here.

Thanks for visiting today and love your kind comments!

SHADES OF PURPLE

I used a new (to me) stamp and die set today to make my card.  

The background was made by smooshing some ink on my craft sheet, spraying with with water and then smooshing the cardstock into it.  After it was dry, I die cut it and mounted it on a larger die cut.  The flowers and leaves were stamped with purples, teal and mint.  Lastly, added some Spectrum Noir clear glitter, sequins and the sentiment.  A very easy flower to stamp and with all the coordinating colors from Altenew there was little problem choosing what to use.

Thanks for your lovely comments and for coming by today.

JULY CCC

Another card for Deb's Card Chain Challenge.  This month my card is going to Sabrina in California.  I used the sketch, colors and friendship choices which Deb decrees every month.

I used MFT's May Flashy Florals kit (MFT is now selling stamps & dies separately) for the stamps and dies and a variety of inks.  To finish off the card I used Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen for some sparkle and shine.

Always enjoy reading your kind comments and thanks for stopping by.

CHERRY PINK...

"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" was the theme of my high school prom - I know it dates me, but that's what was going through my head all the while I was creating my card for this month's CAS Mix-Up challenge.

I first created the pink background with HA ombre ink.  Then (with temporary adhesive) adhered my background piece (made by using Loll's splash technique) to the ombre piece.  Used my MISTI to stamp the cherry blossoms in black and clear embossed so it was nice and shiny.  Colored the blossoms and branch with copics - the challenge is to use markers, plus stamping and another technique - splash and die cut.  Put it all together, added the sentiment and some Pico centers on the flowers and done.  

 Love hearing from you and thanks for visiting today.

 

JOY

Another card for this week's Merry Monday challenge for gold, blue, white/silver.  Had the PTI paper on my table and decided to make a shaker.

The paper had the circle on the front so die cut that out first.  Then made my shaker part with the fuse tool putting just a variety of gold, silver and blue sequins inside.  Fiddled around and positioned the leftover cut out piece in back of the shaker and put it all onto a silver metallic card base. Added the "JOY" and done. Pretty easy after I had it all figured out.

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

MERRY MONDAY

Merry Monday is closing shop for the rest of the summer so this will be my last Christmas card until September for them.  The challenge this week is blue, gold and silver/white.

This is a fun card to make (and not so fun to photograph) - I think I first saw it in one of Jennifer McGuire's holiday OCC.  It's called a Z fold card.  After scoring the card base at 2 1/8" and 4 1/2", I die cut the HA snowflake and adhered to the folded up card.  Added Spectrum Noir clear glitter all over the snowflake.  Cut another snowflake and added to the large one along with a gold snowflake sequin.  Then I cut some white banners using PTI's banner die (longest one) - you could just cut strips and cut your own notched ends also, but this was handy.  Adhered one side of the banner on the front and snipped it off at the fold.  Took another piece and stamped "peace".  Used another banner for stamping the "love and joy"  for the inside.  Lastly positioned the peace sentiment using foam tape.  I really didn't have any measurements for the sentiment pieces - just kind of eyeballed it so it would look centered.  The sentiments were all embossed with HA gold.

Since I used Hero Arts on my card I am entering it in A2zScrapbooking "Anything Goes" challenge for this month.

Thanks for looking and always love your kind comments.