Pot of Spring Flowers

Hi everyone.  Wishing you a lovely day!! ... just like the card :)  This is for the LOVEFEST2014 challenges at SCS - challenge E - inspiration photos and hosted by The Cat's Pajamas.

The pictures are a series of garden scene with sweet little bird houses.  I focused on the garden itself, stamping this pot of spring tulips.  This card is Clean ... but not Simple.  It took me several tries to get the pot just as I wanted it.  But I'm happy with it now.  I do love the Pocket Silhouette stamp set and have used it a lot over the years ... I never get tired of it.  I'm enjoying making spring cards, even though spring is a while off yet.

Here's how I stamped the pot of flowers ...  I stamped the pot and then masked around the outside, sponging more ink to give the pot dimension.  I removed the outer mask and then masked the pot itself.  I stamped the three sprigs of blooms, inking them with my markers - green for the stems, pink for the blooms, and thumping a darker pink on the edges before stamping - this gives the two-tone blooms.  I removed the mask on the pot.  I inked my leaf sprig stamp and stamped twice before re-inking and repeating until I filled in the pot (second generation stamping).  I added a little green sponging above the rim of the pot to fill in any blank spaces.

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We've had basically no snow this winter ... until now.  I was so excited when last Friday, the weatherman predicted the possibility of a little bit of snow overnight - yay!  It was an understatement as it has been snowing for the better part of three days.  We have about 8" of snow and it's so gorgeous - pure, white and so pretty on the trees - LOVE IT!.  I'll include a few pics.

This is our backyard ... the large tree is a vine maple that is starting to sag on the left side from all the weight of the snow.  Will try to get out there today and see if I can knock some snow off so the branches don't break.

and here's the front yard ... the red maple tree is gorgeous (yes, we Canadians love our maple trees!). :)  You can tell in the pictures that we still have what I call "snow sky" ... looks like we're in for another day of snow - yay! :)

Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes (SU!); Pot (Rubber-Art Stamps); Cause A Scene - Master #1 - Kittie Kits (Rubbernecker Stamps); Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  white (neenah)
Ink:  Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Crumb Cake (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  sponges, post-it note for masking, stamp-a-ma-jig

Challenges:
LOVEFEST2014E

Bamboo

Headed off to get groceries this morning without Hubby.  He's still not feeling great - 12 days and counting!  Bad cold, but the worst part is the coughing and so not much sleep which, I'm sure, is the reason this illness is been hanging on for so long.  Hopefully he'll be able to get some more sleep soon!

On to the card for today.  Quick and easy Asian-themed CAS card today!  Wanted to use my new bamboo stamp from Rubbernecker Stamps (KK Original Stamps).  Added some texture to the card by using the Square Lattice embossing folder for the dark green background of the square die-cuts.  Used the "thumping" technique to add some interest to the stamped image.  Hope you like.

"Bamboo"

Stamp:  Bamboo (KK Original Stamps - Rubbernecker)

Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Always Artichoke (SU!)

Ink:  Old Olive; Stampin' Write marker Always Artichoke (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Corner die-cut (Cuttlebug), Square Lattice embossing folder (Sizzix), Tombow glue, adhesives and dimensionals

Inked the stamp with Old Olive and then used the Always Artichoke marker to "thump" some color along each of the leaves and along the indented part of the stalks - stamped onto Whisper White card front.

Ran the corner die-cut through my Big Shot with Old Olive cardstock three times.  Ran a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock through my Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Cut the embossed cardstock to size and then used Tombow glue to add the square Old Olive die-cuts on top.

Add the embossed strip to the card front, popping it up with dimensionals to add depth.

Mounted the card front onto a card base of Old Olive.

Christmas Wreath

I had time to play some more in the art studio this afternoon so decided to participate in this week's "Ways To Use It" (WT348) Challenge - Space (create a 3-D object).  I love the wreath that Ann Fitzgerald created on her website and used her instructions for my 3-D wreath card below.  This is made with all SU! products (plus a few red half-pearls from the $1 Store).  Hope you like.

"Christmas Wreath"

Stamps:  Short & Sweet (SU!)

Paper:  Old Olive, Whisper White (SU!)

Ink:  Old Olive, Real Red (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  2-Part Bird punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Tombow glue, sponge, red half-pearls, Stamp-a-ma-jig, adhesives, and dimensionals

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I punched a 1 3/8" circle from a piece of Old Olive cardstock.  I placed the scallop circle punch centered over the hole and punched, creating a scalloped frame to make the wreath.  I punched out twelve branches from Old Olive cardstock using the 2-part bird punch.  I trimmed the tails on all the branches and sponged Old Olive ink on the leaves to give them some depth.  I used a bone folder to curl the leaves and then glued just the tails around the scalloped frame, spacing the leaf sprigs evenly.  I placed a few red half-pearls on the wreath to represent the berries.

Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped my sentiment in Real Red ink in the center of a large piece of Whisper White cardstock, just below where I wanted the wreath to be.  I mounted the front panel onto a card base of Old Olive cardstock and then mounted the wreath in place, popping it up with dimensionals to add depth.

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Today we celebrate Remembrance Day in Canada, in gratitude to the brave men and women that fought for the freedoms we have today ... lest we forget.

On to the card for today ...

Today's SCS challenge "Free for All" (F4A90) is a thank you card, using a favorite embellishment.  My "go to" embellishment is ribbon.  This is a CAS (clean and simple) and monochromatic card that was quick and easy to do.  Hope you like.

"Ribbons and Ferns"

Stamps:  Fern (Sizzix / Hero Arts Framelits); Silhouette Sentiments (SU!)

Paper:  Kiwi Kiss (retired); Whisper White; Urban Garden DP (retired) (SU!)

Ink:  Kiwi Kiss; Stampin' Write marker: Always Artichoke (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  3/8" Kiwi Kiss two-sided ribbon, sticky strips

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I inked the stamp with Kiwi Kiss and "thumped" the edges of the leaves with Always Artichoke to give them some depth.  I stamped onto a large piece of Whisper White cardstock and then added the sentiment in Kiwi Kiss ink at the bottom right.

I attached a strip of Urban Garden DP on the left-hand side of the Whisper White cardstock.  I wrapped two pieces of Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon around the DP, tying a knot with each (offset from one another).  I mounted the main panel onto a card base of Kiwi Kiss.

Inspired by Spring

Happy March!!  I'm so excited that we getting closer to spring - only three weeks away!!  I just love spring with all the trees branching out and flowers starting to bloom.  It's inspired me to make a "Spring Card" today, even though we still have a little snow on the ground here.

 

I really wanted the look of water-coloring with this card, but didn't know how to do it with a solid stamp.  Water-coloring is usually done on cards where there is a line drawing of an object and then you watercolor inside.  So I researched on-line and found a technique called "Thumping" which gave me the look I was wanting.  It's pretty easy.  Basically you ink your stamp and then take a darker color Stampin' Write Marker and "thump" the marker along the edges of the stamp.  Hope you like.

 

"Inspired by Spring"

 

 

 

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature (Stampin' Up!)

Paper:  Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Stampin' Write Markers:  Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories & Tools:  MS border punch, 5/8" Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon (approx. 8"), adhesives & dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig (optional)

 

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I inked the image stamp using the Stampin' Write markers and then "thumped" a darker version of the three colors on the edges .  I stamped the image onto the large piece of Whisper White.  I then trimmed the paper to 5 1/8" x 3 3/16".

Using the MS border punch, I punched one of the long sides of the Pretty in Pink cardstock.  I then trimmed the rest of the cardstock so that the stamped image would fit inside, leaving a 1/16" border around all sides (+ the extra on the punched border side).  I mounted the framed image onto the 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Early Espresso cardstock.  I tied a half knot in the 5/8" Pretty in Pink satin ribbon and placed it across the front panel of the card, approx. 1" from the bottom and adhered it to the back of the panel.  I then mounted the complete front panel onto the card base.

I used Stampin' Write markers to ink the sentiment and stamped it on Whisper White.  I mounted the sentiment on frames of Pretty in Pink and Early Espresso with each consecutive piece being 1/4" larger (leaving 1/16" border on all sides).  I adhered the sentiment on top of the ribbon using dimensionals.

For the inside, I inked only the smallest flower using the Stampin' Write markers (same as for the front panel) and stamped it in the bottom left-hand corner of the Whisper White panel (I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to help with placement).  I mounted the Whisper White onto the Pretty in Pink cardstock and adhered it to the inside of the card.