Holiday Cheer

Hello friends!  Today Color Hues has a new challenge with new colors chosen by the fabulous Jules.  

Color Hues

My initial plan had nothing to do with the holidays but things kind of morphed and that's what I ended up making.

I began with Simon Says Stamp sage cardstock, die cutting it with the SSS Arching Leaf Border die.  I found a couple of nice smokey blue inks from Altenew and blended them on the panel, darkest on the left, fading out to white on the right.  I was planning to add the die cut white flowers and make it a birthday card or use another sentiment, but the colors really had a holiday vibe to me.  

I did search the googles to see what white flowers are used at Christmas and there were white roses, poinsettias, helibores, but nothing quite like these dainty little flowers.  I decided, what the heck, they would look pretty and just be something a little different.

I found the completed sentiment tucked away in the die packaging and thought silver would work perfectly.  Before adding the flowers or sentiment, silver mica ink was splattered onto the leafy panel. When dry, I placed the sentiment then added the flowers, finishing things off with silver baubles for the flower centers. 

How will you use this lovely color combo?  My talented teammates and wonderful guest designer, Birgit Norton, have some amazing cards that are sure to get those creative juices flowing for you, so be sure to head over to the challenge here and take a peek!  You'll have until 9 am Monday, September 29th - I hope you will join us!

Thanks for stopping by.

Stef

• SSS Arching Leaf Border die and Holiday Cheer dies
• Memory Box Layered Impatiens dies
• SSS Sage and Matte Silver cardstocks
• SSS Artichoke and Kale inks
• Altenew Cloudy Sky and Nimbus inks

Joyful Day for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Mid-month brings a new challenge over at Color Hues and this time the lovely Marcia has chosen pink and sage.

Color Hues

I'm also sharing with the Time Out Challenge, where the theme is based on this wonderful quote by one of the great Impressionist painters, Henri Matisse. 

 "There are always flowers, for those that want to see them."

TOC 265

And I'm sharing my card at Seize the Birthday for the Anything Goes choice.

STB 285

No surprise, with the CH colors, I went with leafy branches and flowers, which also worked perfectly with the TOC challenge.

Pinkfresh Studio's new release included those pretty leafy branches, which I couldn't resist (wink, wink).  They were stamped, stenciled with three muted greens, then die cut with the coordinating die.  The sentiment and matching die are from the same set.  One additional die cut was added to the leaf branches and two were added to the die cut sentiment, nice for a bit of dimension and also stability on the die cut background.

Next I die cut several tiny flowers from a Memory Box and Poppystamps die sets and ink blended them in pink.  I used the same pink on the front of the card base, then added the die cut trellis over which I adhered to branches, leaving room for the sentiment.  At first, I just had a few flowers on the branches but kept adding more and more until I'd used almost all of them, and liked how it looked much better.  After they were adhered, I curled up the petals a bit, then added a sparkly gem to the middle of each.  After adding the sentiment, I decided to finish things off with a couple more flowers - why not lol?

What are you inspired to create with these colors?  For more inspiration, be sure to visit the challenge blog, where my wonderful teammates have some fabulous cards to share with you.  The challenge will remain open until 9 am EDT June 29th - hope to see your card in the gallery!

Take care!

Stef

• Pinkfresh Studio Joyful Day stamps, dies and stencils
• Memory Box Layered Impatiens
• Poppystamps Petite Blooms Flower set
• Altenew Garden Trellis Cover die
• Altenew Blush Rose, Silver Sage, Jade and Eucalyptus Fresh Dye Inks
• Honeybee Stamps Aurora Borealis Gem Stickers

Thinking of You for The Flower Challenge and Sunday Stamps

Hello friends!  Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the new sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps and also as my reminder card for The Flower Challenge, where it's Anything Goes (with flowers) celebrating our 7th birthday.  It's always nice when I can make one card for two DT challenges!

Sunday Stamps

The Flower Challenge

 

For my card, I used the lovely magnolia stamps from a collaboration set with Memory Box and Simon Says Stamp.

There are three flowers in the set, so I stamped them all over on a white panel to create my own patterned paper.  I colored it with Copic markers then trimmed it down to 3.5" x 4.75" and mounted it on a slightly larger white panel.  

Next, I layered a 4" x 5.25" panel of brown cardstock on the white card base then added the colored panel with foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped and die cut with the matching die and that finished things off!

So what are you inspired to make for these two challenges?  I'd love to see your card in both galleries, but in the meantime, please take a moment to visit the challenge blogs to see the beautiful cards created by my amazingly talented teammates and guest designers Emily Midgett and Loll Thompson!

Also, this is the final challenge for Viv and Aileen, who started The Flower Challenge seven years ago.  They are dear, wonderful people and will be greatly missed as part of the DT.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

Stamp and die:  Memory Box and SSS So Kind collaboration, Waffle Flower Elegant Sentiments stamp and die

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Concord & 9th Acorn

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics:  RV23, 21, 10, YG09, 07, 05, 02, E59, 55, 53, B000

Just a Note for Color Hues

Hello friends!  It's mid-month and time for another fabulous challenge at Color Hues!  This time the talented Tracey has chosen the colors Cyan and Lime Green.  Love this color combo!

Color Hues

Since I wanted to get the hue closest to cyan, I did a google search and found it is a greenish blue rather than a blue green, so I found what I felt was the closed ink color in my collection, one more on the blue than blue green side.  But quite honestly, I think anything in the green blue/aqua family would work for our challenge, so don't be intimidated by that.

I had been searching through my butterfly dies last month for one to use for a different challenge and realized I had this beautiful Birch Press Design Butterfly Basics die set that I'd purchased 18 months ago and never used.  So this seemed like the perfect opportunity.   I used the simplest combination of dies, cutting the base from white cardstock and the top detail piece from Lawn Fawn Pearlescent Vellum.  I blended Altenew Sea Breeze and Tide Blue on the base, concentrating the darker color in the middle, fading out to a very light blue.  The vellum piece was then glued on just in the middle, which was hidden under two of Lucy's Cards Silver Pearls.

Next a panel of white cardstock was ink blended with Altenew Bamboo and Parrot inks, this time blending the darker color on the outside and the lighter towards to middle.  While the ink dried, I die cut the Birch Press Epiphany Plate Layers A & B from white cardstock.  The dies cut the outer portion as well as two inner circle pieces.  I layered the two larger pieces on the lime panel, then added just one of the inner circles from Plate A, then adhered the butterfly in the middle with glue at the center, one layer of foam on the lower part of the wing and a double layer of foam under the upper part of the wing.  The Memory Box Just a Note Posh Script dies were cut from matte silver and white, adhered together then glued directly to the card.  The last touch was to add a few more silver pearls to pull the design together.  I love these colors and how this all came together!

I hope you're equally inspired by these colors and decide to play along with us - you have until 9 am EST on 2/28.  In the meantime, be sure to use the link above and check out the fantastic cards by the other DT members.

Thanks for stopping by - take care!

Stef

Landscape Christmas for Sunday Stamps

Happy Holidays, friends!  It's Christmas day and also the beginning of a new challenge over at Sunday Stamps.  This time we have a beautiful color combination to inspire you.

Sunday Stamps

 

I used navy, purple and coral with a bit of metallic gold for the sentiment and star. One of my final Christmas cards for 2022 (come back Wednesday to see my last one).

This card was so easy to make.  I started by die cutting the snowy hill from white cardstock, then used that to determine where to being ink blending.  Using an A2 sized panel of Bristol paper, I first added some Abandoned Coral Distress Ink nearest to where the horizon line would be, then added Chipped Sapphire and a bit of Black Soot to the top, then filled in the middle with Villainous Potion, trying not to overlap the coral.  Once the ink dried, the die cut panel was adhered.

Next, the sentiment and star were die cut from matte gold cardstock, then adhered to the card front.  The final steps were to use a white gel pen to create stars in the sky and add the panel to a white card base!  This could be a design I use to make multiple cards next year - I love the colors and, of course, how quickly it came together.

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  You'll want to be sure to use the link above to see the gorgeous cards by the other DT members and hopefully be inspired to join us for our last challenge of 2022!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  None

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol, Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold

Ink:  Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot, Villainous Potion and Abandoned Coral Distress

Other:  Memory Box Country Landscape and Star of Wonder dies, SSS Flourished Christmas die, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Is it Halloween Yet? for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this time it is a sketch brought to you by yours truly.  I hope you like it and are inspired to join us!

Sunday Stamps

 

I'll also joining the lovely ladies at Festive Friday for their Halloween challenge - my card features moon, pumpkin orange, black and ghost from the inspo list - and the Anything Goes Fall Challenge at The Four Seasons Challenge.

FF0120

Four Seasons October 2022

My family loves to celebrate Halloween so it's been tradition since I started card making back in 2007 for me to send the three grandkids Halloween cards.  And I love making Halloween cards!  

This was a fun one to put together.  I bought dies that are intended to build dimensional tags but can also be used on card fronts.  I started by die cutting the top (frame with wrought-iron fence) and bottom (spooky house) from black cardstock.  Two additional layers are added in-between were cut from white cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  I also used Copics to color the house windows (cut separately from white cardstock) and the pumpkins.  The backer piece was die cut from white and ink blended to create the moon and spooky purple sky.  When that was complete, all the layers were glued together, the white ghosts added floating in the sky, the pumpkins to the front left and the two bats die cut from black glitter paper adhered at the top.

The banner was cut from some Halloween patterned paper and layered on a black cardbase.  The orange strip across the top seemed rather boring compared to the remainder of the card, and then I remembered I still have oodles of long retired black spider web doilies.  I used one, cutting it down to fit on the corners, then adhered the focal image on top.  The sentiment was white heat embossed and added to the card front then the last step was to add Glossy Accents to the door and all the windows in house. 

Thanks so much for visiting, I appreciate it.  Please use the link above to check out the fabulous cards by the other SSC DT members and hopefully join us with your take on my sketch!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Wicked Together (sentiment/Picket Fence Studios)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Pitch Black (Hero Arts), Pumpkin Pie (SU), Spooktacular 6" x 8.5" paper pad (Honey Bee Stamps), 6" x 6" Glitter Paper Assortment pack (SSS)

Ink:  Versamark; Scattered Straw, Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion, Black Soot Distress Inks

Other:  Haunted Entrance Dome Layer die, Winterwood Dome Layer die, Haunted House Dome Layer die, Nested Globes die (all Memory Box); Skinny Strip die (MFT), Spider Web Doily, White embossing powder, Glossy Accents

Copics:  YR18, 07, 04, BG99, E79, 100

CAS Happy Holidays

Hello friends!  I finally had a chance to work on a couple of Christmas cards last week, and the one I'm sharing today was made for the monthly CAS Christmas Card Challenge.  I was determined to make Christmas cards every month this year so it would not be a panic-filled time in my craft room come December, but then I was wooed away by all the pretty flowers of spring and let go of my Christmas card making fervor.  Now I'm trying to remedy that!  At least it's August and not late fall lol!

CAS Christmas Card Challenge 8.22

For my card, I used some dies that are intended for creating a snow globe shaped tag or ornament, but instead I used them on my card front. I originally saw them used in a Jennifer McGuire video back in November 2020, where she used them to make tags.  You can find it here. I thought they were so cute and finally bought the dies during a Memory Box sale this year.

With the exception of the night sky, everything was die cut from white card stock.  I layered two of the snow globe dies together to create the hills and pine trees, which were then adhered to an ink blended and splattered panel die cut with a nested globe die.  The panel for the sky was one I'd previously created and stuck in my stash for future use. I used Distress Inks and splattered with water and white gouache to create the "snow".

The sentiment was stamped in blue pigment ink that matched perfectly and was die cut with a label die.  A panel of white was embossed with a snow folder, adhered to the white card base, then the snowglobe scene added on top.  Santa and the reindeer, along with the star were adhered and the sentiment label popped up with thin foam squares.  The last step was to add Star Dust Stickles to the Star, Santa and the Reindeer and the trees for that great bit of sparkle!

Thanks for taking time to visit!  Take care and have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  My Monthly Hero Oct 2017 card kit (sentiment/Hero Arts)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Strathmore Bristol

Ink:  Versafine Clair Blue Belle; Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch Distres

Other:  Memory Box Cabin Snowglobe, Radiant Snowglobe, and Nested Globe dies, Stars die (Simon Says Stamp), Softly Falling embossing folder (ret. SU), Fishtail Foundation die (MFT), white gouache, Star Dust Stickles

Best Wishes

Hello and welcome! I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy.  Today I'm sharing a card made for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  

FMS499

 

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is to "Add A Sentiment".  

(This is my 2nd post today.  If you're here to see my DT post for Sunday Stamps you can find it here.)

I really loved Jen's sketch but as I was making my card, I forgot the sketch was a square and made my card an A2 size.  

I've had this pretty succulent stamp for a few weeks and thought it would work well with the sketch.  It's a large stamp so I was able to flip it around and get different looks for each corner.  A muted color combination seemed most appropriate for these succulents so I went with very desaturated green, blue-green and violet colors for my Copic coloring.  The lightest of the BG colors was barely visable after coloring, so I took one of the lightest violets and went around all the edges of the large succulents.  Unfortunately, it's hard to see in the photo but in real life it looks pretty.  Then I used a BG0000 to create a light halo around all the succulents.

Next I trimmed down the panel to 4" x 5.25", stamped the sentiment with black pigment ink, layered 4 pieces of inexpensive white cardstock on the back to provide some dimension, then adhered it to the white card base.  Three iridescent sequins finished things off.

Thanks for taking time to visit, I really appreciate it.  Take care and stay safe!

Stef

Stamps:  Elegant Succulent Sentiments (Memory Box Open Studio)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Accent

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  Sequins from my stash

Copics:  BG18, 72, 70, 0000, V95, 93, 91, G28, 24, 21, 20

Sending Hugs for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends and welcome back!  It's time for a new challenge and Sunday Stamps.  This week we have a beautiful color board to inspire you.  I ended up using 4 of the 5 colors (red, dark red/burgandy, kraft/tan, and ivory/cream).

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week so "Make Your Own Background".

Initially when I looked at our color board, I wasn't thinking Valentine's Day but when I sat down to create, I was inspired by a stencil and a cover die to go that direction.

Starting with a panel of Neenah Desert Storm, I ink blended white pigment ink through a heart stencil to make the background.  Next, I took a piece of Bristol and ink blended Barn Door and Aged Mahogany to get an ombre effect of dark and medium red.  When the ink dried both panels were die cut with the Chunky Heart Panel cover die.  The craft panel was adhered directly to a white card base, then the red hearts popped up in the die cut openings with foam tape.

Then I had the brilliant idea to use a shimmer pen to paint all the hearts.  Unfortunately it reactivated the red inks way more than I anticipated, so they no longer had a smooth blend.  What I should have done was spray the inked panel with shimmer spray before die cutting.  Hindsight is always so helpful, right? 

By this time I was highly invested in making the card, so instead of it ending up in the waste bin, I made the hearts shiny by covering all of them with Glossy Accents. I am so glad I did, because I think it really made the hearts just POP!  I let the hearts dry overnight and the following day the word "Hugs" was cut 3x from Ivory card stock and once from red foil, layered and adhered to the Ivory shadow.  I added foam tape in between the hearts and adhered the die cut and the "sending" black sentiment strip.  Finally I added a bit of bling with the clear sequins.

Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it sooo much!  I hope you're continuing to stay safe and healthy.  Have a great week ahead and please be sure to join us for our new color challenge!

Stef

Stamps: None

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm, Red Foil (Memory Box), Koh-I-Noor Bristol, Ivory and Thinking of You Sentiment Strips (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink:  Unicorn White (Hero Arts), Barn Door and Aged Mahogany Distress

Other:  Hugs Dies and Chunky Hearts Panel cover die (SSS), Drifting Hearts stencil (Memory Box), Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Glossy Accents (Ranger)