Spectacular Christmas

Hello friends!  I popped in to see what the new challenge was at Inkspirational and saw that the word prompt was Christmas in July.  I had recently received my Spectacular Christmas bundle from Spellbinders and knew I wanted to use a couple of the images for this challenge.

Inkspirational #372

The bundle comes with a bear, a penguin, a deer and Santa Claus.  I decided to use the first two for my cards.  Here are both finished cards.

Aren't they so cute?  I adore them.  I started with all the die cutting after I figured out what color combinations I wanted to use.  Initially I thought I would put them both on a landscape 5" x 7" card but changed my mind, instead opting to use the Color Block Accent Arches die along with the Essential Arches dies.  

The dies were easy to assemble, although the glasses with the Ho Ho and adding the earmuffs onto the penguin was a bit fiddly.  The package she's holding is from this month's stitching die set but all the other accessories and the cupcake the bear is holding is from this bundle.

The background on both cards uses the Sparkling Snow embossing folder.  After embossed the arch panels I gently rubbed white pigment ink across the raised portions.  It was very subtle on the light-colored cardstock so after the cards were assembled Stardust Stickles was added to the centers of the stars, snowflakes and dots.

I could have added the finished arches to a larger rectangular card base, but I like the look of the shaped cards.  After white heat embossing the sentiments, they were die cut with a label die then trimmed down to fit the bottom of the embossed panel, after which the critters were added, all with foam tape.

Do you have a favorite critter or color scheme? Personally, I can't pick a favorite, I like them both.

Thanks so much for taking time to visit, I appreciate it!

Stef

• Spellbinders Spectacular Bear and Penguin die sets
• SB Sweater Weather Friend Stitching DOM (gift package)
• Spectacular Holiday Sentiments
• Essential Arches and Color Block Accent Arches dies
• Sparkling Snow embossing folder
• Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Labels die
• Spellbinders cardstock - Mulberry, Orchid, Carrol, Seaside, Teal Topaz, Peridot, Blush, Truffle, Matte Silver
• Stardust Stickles and Glossy Accents
• Tonic Shimmer Pen

Wild Birthday for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new challenge at the Paper Players and this week I am hosting.  It's our CAS challenge, were we want to see limited layers and embellishments plus plenty of "white" space. In addition, we're making birthday cards with balloons (or balloon).

Paper Players

For today's card I brought out a previously unused stamp and die set along with an unused background stamp, so I'll also be linking up with Darnell's Never-Before-Used-Schtuff (NBUS) challenge.

NBUS

I'm also sharing my card over at Seize the Birthday, where Glenda has chosen a topping of CAS with Dies.

STB #320

All the images in the stamp set are so cute but only one had a balloon, so that's what I used for today's card.

Isn't that little tiger so cute?  I used Copic and Olo markers to color everything, then die cut the tiger and the sentiments, which are from the same set.  I then used a white gel pen to make some highlights and also add some white fur around the ears, head, tail and feet.  You can see it better in the larger photo below.

For the background, I used two colors of blue ink and blended them right on the front of the white card base.  I then used white pigment ink and stamped a large birthday text background stamp onto it.  The white pretty much absorbed the ink color, and it came out quite subtle, which is what I was going for.  After drying it with my heat tool, the little tiger and sentiments were adhered after layering them on a couple of additional die cuts.

What do you have in mind for this challenge?  Before you head off to your crafty space, be sure to pop over to the challenge blog for some amazing inspiration by the rest of the design team.  The challenge will remain open until Friday February 20th at 3pm EDT.  I hope you'll be able to join us!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Wild Birthday stamps and dies
• SSS Scripty Birthday Background stamp
• SSS Cadette and Royal inks
• Honey Bee Stamps White Pigment ink
• Copics - YR18, 09, 07, 16, Y35, W4, 2, E0000
• Olos - YG 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, B0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.3

Happy Purrthday for the Paper Players

Hello friends!  It's time for a new sketch challenge at the Paper Players and this week the amazing Jaydee is hosting.  She has come up with such a fabulous sketch, I hope you all enjoy creating with it as much as I did.

Paper Players

I'm also joining the Anything Goes part of the Seize the Birthday Challenge.  

STB #319

Jaydee's sketch is versatile in that it would work well with any size card.  I ended up making an A7 card to accommodate the size of my die cut cats.  Let's take a look!

Once again, Tim Holtz dies tugged at my heart and then they ended up in my cart. 😍

The die set is called Mischievous and has 8 different cat dies.  I think they are so cute because if you've been around cats, these poses will be very familiar.  I knew they would need a landing spot on top of the patterned paper, so I used Hero Arts Nested Scallop Squares to die cut the gray cardstock and Pink & Main Square dies for the white layer.  In hindsight, I wish I'd made the white squares smaller or done a bit of ink blending on them. 

I dove into my remaining very, very ancient dsp from Stampin' Up and found this cute watercolor stripe paper in a sort of watermelon color, which worked great with the neutrals.  After layering that on the card base, the squares were popped up, leaving room for the fun sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp/Lawn Fawn Stamptember 2025 set called Purrfect Birthday.  I fussy cut the words to make it more playful, then finished things off with some gray pearls from my stash.

The challenge will remain open until Friday, January 30th at 3pm EST. My talented teammates have some amazing inspiration for you on the challenge blog here.  I hope you'll head over there to check it out, then join us this week.  We'd love to see how you use this sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

 

Gnomie Christmas for Color Hues

Hello friends!  It's mid-month already (!!?!) and time for a new challenge at Color Hues.  The fabulous Julie is hosting and has chosen a wonderful color combination.  

Color Hues

I considered several options but decided to add to my Christmas card stash with a funny gnome take on the holiday.

The stamp set is one that I bought a couple of years ago from Colorado Craft Company. The gnome Santa is kind of different looking but I was really enamored with the polar bear and the three penguins.  Plus I thought the sleigh looked pretty cool too. 

I colored everything with Copic markers.  Santa and the sleigh were red, of course, but then I added gold to all the metallic parts of the sleigh and the bell on Santa's hat.  I used the matching dies to cut them out.  

I had the sky background in my background stash.  I'm guessing but I think it was created using a Distress Spray stain and a Mica Spray stain because it has a shimmer to it.  A couple of snow hills were hand cut, layered on the background, then I added the images.  I covered everyone's eyes then splattered the entire panel with white splatter medium for lots of snow.  After that dried, the final step was to add the sentiment, which is from another CCC stamp set.

I hope that you'll be joining us for this challenge and if you need further inspiration, my very talented teammates and guest designer, the lovely Leslie Miller, have a wide variety of cards on the challenge blog just to do that!  The challenge will be open until Friday, August 29th at 9am EDT.  I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stef

• CCC Chillin' Gnomies stamps and dies
• CCC North Pole sentiment stamp
• Guessing - Salty Ocean Distress Spray Stain and Snow Flurries Distress Mica Spray Stain
• Simon Says Stamp White Splatter Medium
• Copics - R59, 46, 27, 05, 20, YR27, Y15, 13, 11, T4, 2, 0, C9, 7, 6, 5, 3, 1, 0

Hello Friend for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  I'm here to share my card for the latest challenge at the Paper Players.  This time, the lovely Jan is hosting our theme week and she has chosen Travel.

The Paper Players

For my card, I used an older stamp set from Waffle Flower.  It is whimsical and it made me smile, which I hope it does as well for the recipient.  I had fun creating it and also coming up with a silly little back story for the scene.

Our little bear buddy, Fred, has been at the local Farmer's Market and is now traveling home, accompanied by his friends Bert the Bee and Veronica the Birdie, where he'll plant all the flowers he bought.  Fred is very fond of flowers and fills his yard with them every year. ;-)  

Do you ever create stories about cards as you're making them?  I don't always but this time it seemed so fitting.   

Aren't those images delightful? They were all colored with Copic markers then die cut with the coordinating dies.  I created a simple background for the scene by ink blending on a panel of Bristol, which is sized at 4" x 6".  It was mounted on a mat of Balmy Blue, then adhered to an A7 card base.  All the critters and the sentiment were added with thin foam squares.  For a scene card it was exceptionally easy to make.

As you see with my card, travel can take many forms, and we'd love to see what you come up with!  Before you head off to your crafty space, I encourage you to visit the PP blog where my teammates have some wonderful and varied ideas for this theme.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 11th at 3pm EDT.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Waffle Flower Happy Day stamps and dies
• Honey Bee Stamps March 2023 "Free Bee" sentiment stamp
• Simon Says Stamp Marine, Sprout and Cappuccino inks
• Copics - Bear - E37, 35, 33, 31, R22; Wagon, Bike and Hat - B28, 26, 24, 21; Butterflies - B02, 00, 000, RV04, 02, FRV1; Bird & Bee - YR23, Y15, 11, R21; Flowers and Leaves - RV04, 02, FRV1, YG09, 05, 01

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Christmas Hats for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends, it's time for our reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations!  For our November challenge, we're asking you to add a hat to your design.

CCC

I decided to have some fun with this challenge and created an A7 card with lots of cute critters wearing hats.

I couldn't have had a more perfect stamp and die set in my stash that the Christmas Hats one from Colorado Craft Company and illustrated by Anita Jeram.  After coloring all the critters with Copic markers, they were die cut along with the trees in the background.

The next step was to create the background.  On an A7 panel, I ink blended Simon Says Stamp Galaxy for the sky, then added a panel of snowy hills that I hand cut from a panel of white.  Before adhering to the panel, I used a light blue ink both on the base of the piece and at the top of the hills, then glued it down.  The trees were die cut from dark green cardstock, then I used a dark brown Copic marker to color the trunks before adding to the background.  Next, the sentiment was white heat embossed, then the critters were adhered either with glue or foam tape.  Before adding to the card base, I sprayed the panel with shimmer spray then added "snow" with white paint.

Thanks for stopping by and I do hope you'll join us this month for this fun challenge!  In the meantime, please take a moment to visit the challenge blog, where my talented teammates have lots of inspiration for you.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps and dies:  CCC/AJ Christmas Hats, Honey Bee Stamps Pine Trees

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  SSS Galaxy and Marine; Memento Tuxedo Black; Versamark

Other:  SSS Fine Detail embossing powder, Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray, Dr. Ph Martins Bleed Proof White

Copics:  R89, 59, 29, 27, G99, 94, 82, 28, 09, 03, B28, 26, 24, 21, 0000, E47, 44, 43, 42, T4, 2, 0, YR27, 24, 23, Y21, C3, 1, 0, W5, 3, 1, 0

Caroling Owls

Hello friends!  Just popping in with a fun card that I made for this week's challenges at Color Throwdown and Just Us Girls.  I was inspired by the pinks and greens in both challenges.

CTD #769

JUGs #706

I decided to use a darling stamp set from Stamping Bella to create a few Christmas cards. 

These happy owls just make me smile, like so many SB stamps.  I stamped them in an alcohol friendly ink, colored them with Copic markers using pinks, greens and a couple of grays (warm for the owls, cool for the shadows), then restamped them with black pigment ink.  The sentiment is from a Purple Onion holiday sentiment set.

I used two Spellbinders Essential Stylish Ovals to die cut the image and a green mat and added the die cut sentiment with thin foam squares. The embossed background was sprayed with Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray.  When that dried, it was adhered to the A2 card base, then the owls added with thin foam tape for a small bit of dimension. In my stash I had some small snowflakes die cut from silver glitter cardstock, so I added a few of those then finished things off with a white gel pen on the scarves and Star Dust Stickles on the brim and poms of the hats.  I love how this turned out!

I hope you've had a great weekend and if you're in the US, that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

Take care and thanks for visiting!

Stef

Stamps:  Stamping Bella Three Owls Caroling, Purple Onion Winter Wishes Sentiment Set

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, C&9 Evergreen, SSS Silver Glitter

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Dies:  Spellbinders Essential Stylish Ovals, Altenew Featured Sentiment die, Hero Arts Snowflake Confetti Fancy die

Embossing Folder, SSS Icy Snowflakes

Other:  Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray, White Sakura Gelly Roll pen, Star Dust Stickles

Copics:  W3, 1, 0, C3, 1, 0, R43, 32, 20, E08, G28, 09, 02

Winter Wonderland for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome back!  This month's theme at Christmas Craft Creations is Anything Goes - how easy is that?  I'm here with my reminder post and card, and I'm hoping you'll have time to join us and add to your holiday card stash as well - the challenge stays open until Tuesday, August 8th.

Christmas Craft Creations

Last fall I bought a couple of the Anita Jeram illustrated Christmas stamp sets from Colorado Craft Company but never had an opportunity to use them, so I pulled one out and did so for this challenge!

I absolutely adore these sweet little bunnies and their squirrel friend, obviously on their way to a holiday party as they have presents in hand.  The scene was stamped on an A2 panel of white and also on some masking paper.  While I do have the dies for this set, I decided to mask instead because I really love the look of continuity with a snowy scene.  Once the mask was in place I used a light and medium blue for ink blending the background and once that was complete, the critters and the rest of the scene were colored with Copic markers.

After the panel was cut down with a rounded rectangle die, into my splatter box it went, where I gently added snow with white paint and a small round paintbrush.  I did lay a small piece of Post-it tape over the faces of the critters, because if I forget to, inevitably a big splat would hit one lol!  While the splatter dried, the sentiments were stamped with blue pigment ink and die cut with label dies.  The dried panel was glued directly to the white card base, then the sentiments were popped up with thin foam squares to finish things off.

What is your favorite type of holiday card to make?  We'd love to have you share it with us at CCC!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  CCC/Anita Jeram White Christmas

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp Morning and Twilight, Versafine Clair Blue Belle, Memento Tuxedo Black

Dies:  Hero Arts Rounded Rectangle Infinity die, MFT Fishtail Foundations die, Gina K Master Layouts 9 

Other:  Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White Paint

Copics:  E77, 74, 71, 33, 31, 30, 0000, G46, 43, 40, BG96, 93, 90, 57, 53, 11, 0000, B21, W3, 1, 0, R85, 83, 81, 20

Warm Hugs for Sunday Stamps

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new Sunday Stamps challenge, and this week Lisa has given us that fabulous sketch to work with.

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current challenge at Color Throwdown.  These colors (navy, blue, green, orange) are perfect for a fall scene.

Color Throwdown

For my card I decided to have a scene running the length of the card and incorporate the vertical rectangle as part of it, which I moved more to the left to work with my layout.

These sweater-wearing critters are part of a favorite fall stamp set of mine, just because they're so darn cute (thank you Birdie Brown)!  Plus they are fun to color with my Copic markers.  After completing the critter coloring, they were die cut with matching dies.  Next, I worked on the two panels, for which I also used my Copics to make a fall background.  It's not terribly realistic but I'm okay with that since it's the backdrop for critters in sweaters taking a stroll and drinking coffee 😆!  I temporarily adhered the vertical panel to the horizontal one to make the panel intersections as smooth as possible, then permanently adhered them together when it was complete.

After the background coloring was done, the critters, sentiment and clouds were adhered with a combination of craft glue and thin foam tape. The embossed panel was adhered to a white card base, then the scene panels added with thin foam tape.  Since there was so much already going on in the scene, I opted to forego any embellishments on the card.

Here's sending warm hugs to you for taking time to visit!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the wonderful cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us for our sketch challenge!

Take care and stay safe!

Stef

Stamps:  Sweater Weather in the Woods (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam

Other:  Bark 3D embossing folder (Stampin' Up), Sweater Weather matching dies, Stitched Rectangle die (Simon Says Stamp), Petite Clouds dies (MFT), Copic Markers

Monkey Business for The Paper Players!

Hello and welcome back!  I hope this day finds you and your families continuing to stay safe and healthy.

It's Sunday, which means it's time for a new challenge at The Paper Players!  This week is a Theme Challenge and the fabulous LeAnne has chosen A Day at the Zoo.  Come play along with us and show us your Zoo critter!

The Paper Players

For my card I used one of the stamps from Picture Perfect.  I mean, this stamp set is way off the cuteness charts and these silly brothers look like they're up to a lot of crazy monkey business taking selfies!

First step was to color up the "photo" with Copic markers, then I cut out around the edges of the stamped image and layered on Polaroid frame with the fun sentiment.  I also put another piece of card stock underneath to give it more stability.

Next up was figuring out the card base.  I had a leafy frame die that I wanted to use but the aperture wasn't bit enough for the photo frame.  Then I remembered I had a leafy frame stencil!  Yah!  The panel is Lemon Lime Twist and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink was used to stencil on the leaf images. Both layers were popped up on foam tape and added to the white card base.  Easy peasy card!

Thanks for visiting, I always appreciate it so much!  I've added a link to the challenge above so be sure to head over there and check out the other DT cards, and hopefully join us this week!

Stef


Stamps:  Picture Perfect (MFT)
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Lemon Lime Twist (SU)
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne (sentiment), Mowed Lawn DI
Other:  Polaroid Shaker Frame (MFT), Leave Frame Stencil (Simon Says Stamp)
Copics:  YG67, 17, 13, E29, 37, 31, 30, 11, BV000, T2, 0

Time To Celebrate for Seize the Birthday!

Hello, friends!  It's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday! The "toppings" for this challenge is cards for kids, super fun!  Just remember to keep it a birthday theme.

Seize the Birthday

I decided to use a fun Penny Black stamp set with various critters to make a birthday card that will eventually go to our niece's young son.  I began by stamping the images on a 4.5" x 7" piece of Bristol paper with Copic friendly ink, then masking them off so I could ink blend the background sky and green hills.

With the ink blending complete I colored the images with my Copic markers. When the coloring was complete I thought my hills looked a little bare, so I added some grass and a few fluffy bushes in the background.  Separately I stamped and colored the gift down by that cute pooch, fussy cutting and popping it up on foam tape. The polka dots on both birthday presents were colored in with a white gel pen

After trimming down the main panel, the sentiment was stamped, then the panel was layered on a piece of yellow card before adding to the blue card base with foam tape.  The final size of the card ended up being 4.25" x 7".  The last detail was to add some sparkle to the balloons.  I was also going to add crystal glaze to the balloons but I forgot to do that before I took my photos.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above and join this fun challenge at Seize the Birthday!

Stay healthy and safe!

Stef


Stamps:  Time to Celebrate (PB), Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Daffodil Delight and Pacific Point (SU), Strathmore Bristol
Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks
Other:  Mini Cloud stencil (MFT), Tonic Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Copics:  W5, 3, 1, 0, N4, 2, 0, B39, 26, 24, 21, YR07, 15, 21, Y28, 08, 02, 00, YG03, 07, 17, 67, G28