One stitch at a time at OSAAT!

OSAAT December Prize Pack

This fortnight at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Stitching. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists. Even if you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win the super-duper December prize pack.

I used the sweet Birds with Leaves from Gingerloft along with a lot of hand-stitching to create this texture-filled card:

I printed the digi stamp onto a linen-textured cardstock and colored it with Copics. I cut the piece out with a decorative die. I made a dotted border around the bird in InDesign so that it was easy for me to create the holes with an awl and hand-stitch the border with a mix of silver & blue threads. I used a needle to poke stitching holes on the image itself, and hand-stitched those details with the silver thread.

The sentiment was created in InDesign using the Home Sweet Home font, and also die-cut. I attached it to the card with a pretty stickpin, covering the pointy end with some white ribbon.

I created the background by printing out a stitching template on white cardstock, adhering it to a lovely patterned fabric, and hand-stitching it with silver thread. Time-consuming, but worth it! I pulled out some of the threads on the edges to give with a nice fringe.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Animal Friends Challenge: Everything goes with an animal
Creative Moments: Anything goes / non-traditional Christmas colors
Fairytale Stampers #49: Everything Goes with stamping (digi)

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time,

Pile It On + StitchyBear

Today begins a new challenge at Pile It On, with the theme "Thinking of You/Just Because" (NO birthday, holiday, event cards).

Our sponsor is StitchyBear's Digi Outlet (SBDO), specifically their creators StitchyBear Stamps, Gingerloft, and BB Kakes.

I used Oscar & sentiment by Gingerloft:

I'm also on the DT at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), the challenge blog for SBDO. I had the pleasure of using Oscar for an OSAAT DT card back in March, and he's such a fun fellow that I happily used him again! I colored him with Copics and used a ZIG glue pen to add some Flower Soft. I filled the eyes with Glossy Accents, and the head is attached with an Action Wobble. The feather is a wooden embellishment that I colored with Copics.

Daring Cardmakers

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Action Wobble Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
2. Annabelle Stamps Challenge - Polka Dots
3. Brown Sugar - Anything goes
4. Daring Cardmakers - July Color Challenge
5. Digi Haven - Any Animal
6. House That Stamps Built - Humorous
7. Southern Girls - No Spoolin...no ribbon, twine or cotton

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,

April Showers bring May Flowers

This week at Pile It On we're working off of the theme "April Showers bring May Flowers", which certain has been the weather's theme here! We have plenty of April flowers already, the yard is speckled with purple and yellow. 

Our challenge is sponsored by Gingerloft, so I used her Flower Field digi stamp:

The current Gingerloft Challenge is Torn & Distressed, so I made a grassy border with torn strips of Core'Dinations cardstock. I sanded it, and ink-distressed it with Wild Wasabi (SU!).

The top rainy border is made up of the negative parts from the Die-namics Notebook Edge die by MFT. I cut it on several blue papers (Core'Dinations again), and sanded and inked the pieces with Faded Jeans distress ink by Ranger.

I colored the image with Copics and Sakura glaze pens. I added a little Barely Banana SU! ink to the edges of the white background and the cloud die cut (Impression Obsession). The sentiment is from the Let It Shine set by Verve Stamps, and I stamped it in blue Brilliance ink.

The butterfly and flower and wood embellishments by Prima, colored with matching Copics and Sakura glaze pens. Love these!

This card was inspired by many fun challenges (see below), including the Support Your Favorite Charity challenge Sweet Pea Stampers; I chose to support the Sunshine Mail Foundation by sending in this card. Here's the inside, all signed and ready to go:

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Art Impressions Stamps Challenge #107: Layer it Up
2. Crafty Calendar: Sunshine & Showers
3. Cute Card Thursday #266: Can't Stop the Rain
4. Die Cuttin' Divas #112: Flowers + Die Cut
5. Gingerloft Challenge: Torn and distressed
6. Papertake Weekly: Weather
7. QKR Stampede: Favorite Things ("droplet" die cut, wood embellishments, sentiment, leaf ribbon)
8. Stampin' For The Weekend: Die Cuts/Punches
9. Stampin With The Dragon: Spring Has Sprung
10. Sweet Pea Stampers: Support Your Favorite Charity (Sunshine Mail)

Thank you for visiting and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,

What's Up?!

Time for another Use a Digi challenge at One Stitch at a Time!

I used Oscar by Gingerloft, available at StitchyBear Digital Stamps.

The speech bubble is from Mel Stampz's Patterned Conversation Bubbles digi paper; the sentiment is from the framed version of Oscar, and I out them together in InDesign.

I've had these feathers for a long time, and so was so excited to have a chance to use them! I paper-pieced Oscar and covered him with light brown Flower Soft (for tips on doing this, see my recent Top Tip post)

I made the ostrich-feet "ribbon" by stamping just the feet from an ostrich stamp from the BaZooples #4 set by Inky Antics. The burlap trim is from My Mind's Eye.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Bearly Mine #78: Anything Goes
2. Cards in Envy: Use Paper Strips instead of Ribbon
3. Creative Creations Challenge Blog: 2nd Entry / Things with the letter B (talk Balloon/Bubble, Bird, Burlap)
4. Eclectic Ellapu: Whimsical and/or Funny 
5. Love to Create: Anything Goes
6. One Crazy Stamper: Anything goes
7. Stamp and Create: Fur or Feathers
8. Stamp n Doodle: Anything Goes
9. Through The Craft Room Door: Anything Goes
10. Top Tip Tuesday #97: Funny creation (theme entry)

Hope you'll join the Use a Digi challenge at One Stitch at a Time this week (and be sure to check out my teamies' fabulous projects). For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), you'll be eligible for our main prize. You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but instead you'll be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear Digital Stamps. Can't wait to see what you create! 


Thank you for visiting,

Backyard Beauties

It's "Anything Goes" week at One Stitch at a Time, and I got to play with the beautiful Sunflower Collage digi stamp by Gingerloft, available at StitchyBear Digital Stamps:

Isn't that such a lovely image‽ I colored it with Copics and distressed it with Antique Linen ink. The embossed backing paper was embossed with a texture folder and distressed with a mix of Antique Linen and black ink. The music-patterned paper is from an actual book of sheet music. All the edges were dry-distressed with my Comfort-Craft Distressing Tool. I cut the rosette from the sheet music with my TH die, colored it with the fluorescent yellow Copic, and edged it with black. The butterfly is cut/embossed with the Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die. I think this card sorta captures an overcast, hot August day ... in a good way!

Hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time for our "Anything Goes" challenge. For entries using a StitchyBear Digital Stamps Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), you could win this month's SBDS Artist Collab set (right). You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but will instead be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

I'm entering this into the following fab challenges:

1. Anything Goes Challenge #73: Summer Days
2. Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge 19: Emboss
3. Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #133: Pearls
4. Fat Pages & Cards with Attitude: Add Texture / Anything Goes
5. Jellypark Challenges: Summer Bugs
6. My Sheri Crafts Challenge #91: Include an accordion fold (the yellow rosette behind the butterfly)
7. Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
8. Simply Create Too Challenge #19: Anything Goes
9. Tuesday Alchemy Challenge #26: BINGO (Pearls, Digi, Dies)

Thank you for visiting,

OSAAT Challenge #114: ANYTHING GOES!

Happy Sunday! This week at One Stitch at a Time we want you to strut your stuff... or, just link up some crap because ANYTHING GOES! Just kidding; crafters never make crap, just pieces of art!

I used Sunflower Vase by Gingerloft Digi Stamps, which was chosen for me by OSAAT teamie Nataliya:

I fussy-cut the flowers (after coloring them with Copics), gently curled each, and then layered them with silicon glue. 

I cut out the buttons using a die from the Pot Pourri Becky Fleck/Spellbinders set. I found matching heat-shaped buttons in my stash. Both tyes are just glued on, but I did add some fake thread with a black microliner & a green gel pen.

For the lace border, I ran a green ribbon through the lace and tightened it so that it furled a bit. I attached the white silk ribbon with sparkly brads.

I heat-embossed the sentiment in blue, then cut out the banner shape, added stitching with a microliner, and distressed the edges with both TH Antique Linen distress ink & a distressing tool. The buttons, vase, and background were embossed in my BigShot using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I sanded the background, and added dimension and color with TH distress inks. For a final touch, I did some more faux stitching around the outer edge.

Hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time for our "Anything Goes" challenge. We have two prizes up for grabs this week! For entries using a StitchyBear Store product (be sure to add a # after your name when entering), the prize is a £10 UK gift coupon to Joanna Sheen's shop, or this month's Stitchy Bear Store Artist Collection. You're welcome to enter the challenge using different products, but will instead be entered into the draw to win a $3 coupon to StitchyBear. Can't wait to see your projects!

Inspiration/Challenges:
A and T Challenge #24: Embossing wet/dry
Alota's Challenge #83: Tic Tac Toe (see blog for play card; I used the left vertical row: Die cuts, Lace, Buttons)
Card Makin' Mamas Challenge #45: May Flowers
Inky Impressions Challenge: Use Lace or Trim

Mema's Crafts May Challenge: Bingo ((see blog for play card; I used the top horizontal row: Buttons, Lace, Bling)

Midnight Madness Challenge #138: Fancy Sketch (right)

Thank you for visiting!