Shell-a-brate

I'm the featured designer this week at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge - so if you don't like the board you can blame me!  Haha! I wanted to make a board that was summer oriented and could also be used for a masculine or gender neutral card. Beach to me is about as neutral as it gets.

 

My card uses the middle row across - beach, yellow, fun-fold.

I went for a softer look and shaded the shell using Distress Oxide inks. In my new craft room set-up they are hidden in a drawer and I now often forget about them. They really are my favorite for ink blending and shading on cards! I tried a using a wax seal in the corner but didn't have quite the right color so I decided the wood palm tree medallion would work just as well and maybe even better.

I hope you will join us for the challenge!

Products used:

• Dies: The Stamps of Life Shell Fold-It
• Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Marina Mist
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Scattered Straw, Stormy Sky, Vintage Photo
• Embellishments: TSOL Enamel Dots and Wood Palm
  

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Color Challenge Parrot

I've been absent from cardmaking for most of June. Sometimes life just gets in the way. I'm back now for the CAS Colours & Sketches color challenge for July. Suzy gave us some very fresh summer colors. They remind me of sherbet.

I have been itching to use this Spellbinders die since I received it in May as one of my monthly clubs. I have seen so many people use it and I think it is just adorable. So for this challenge what could be better than a sherbet colored parrot?!

It was tempting to use all the flowers and greenery that came with this set but I needed to keep it CAS and I couldn't use green - so......we have this card which I really love. To add some interest I used an embossed panel using the Embossing Folder of the Month for May.

The sentiment is cut from a package of sentiment strips from Simon Says Stamp (I LOVE these they are so easy) and I added some glitter dots in the challenge colors. We have some great colors - we would love to have you join us!

Products used:

• Dies: Spellbinders DOM May24 Tropical Friends
• Embossing Folder: SB EOM May24 Lattice Work
• Cardstock: Summer Splash, Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Black, Gray
• Embellishments: Stampin' Up! In-Color Glitter dots, Simon Says Stamp sentiment strips
  

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Pop of Color Flower Card

These are super easy to make cards. I made these for Mother's Day using this month's Team O Tic Tac Toe Challenge board. (Yes, we know the boards in advance!)

 

These cards fit a few categories but officially I chose the left column down.

I used a Flower fold-it from The Stamps of Life. This is an older one that I've had quite a while.  I think with cards like this, it is best to keep the colors and patterns bold and simple. And by bold color, I mean solid or monochromatic rather than using a pattern with a whole lot of color. Here I am trying to look like a flower not show off a pretty floral paper. I could use a floral paper if it were tonal.

Originally I was going to put the plaid in the background and use the solid colors on top, but then you couldn't really see the plaid. Because it is tone-on-tone it works well as the main color for the flower petals. I love dots with stripes or plaid so I chose those for the leaves,

I picked a fun floral embellishment for the center - one I've had for years, probably as long as I've had this die!

Products used:

• The Stamps of Life Flower with Stem Fold-it and various paper for the plaid and dots
• Stampin' Up! retired flower embellishments

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CAS Sketch Challenge

Today’s card is for the sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. When I saw Patricia’s sketch I knew I had the perfect image from Spellbinder’s April’s club sets; I just had to decided whether to use the floss dies or stencils.

This didn’t turn out quite how I had envisioned but I’m not quite sure why. I did have to do the stencils twice as the floss was too short the first time. And after stenciling the second I just didn’t want to try for three. This is a five part stencil and what made it a bit complicated was the step down of each floss. If they had been equal in length as they are on the stencil it would have gone much faster.

I got the all club sets last month because I’ve started back up on an old hobby - needlepoint. I’ve joined a few groups and stitch about once a month with some ladies at a local shop. I decided the set may be quite useful!

Needlepoint has come along way since when I learned as a girl. And it is starting to become more popular even with the younger generations. And one advantage is that you don’t need a craft room the size of Montana to hold all your stuff! The cost for hand painted canvases is pretty steep as are the fibers. That coupled with the fact it can take weeks or months (or even years) to complete a project, you tend not to buy as much. Cost probably works out to the same, just a different volume! ;)

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card today. Now it’s time to go outside and take care of the flowers I planted this weekend!

Products used:

• Spellbinders April 2024 Stencil of the Month, Stamp of the Month, Better Press of the Month

 

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Whaley Special

This is a quick card I made for my great-nephew. I posted the card I made for his new sister and parents last week. The inside says "You are whaley special".

He just turned three and I know that little ones can sometimes feel left out when everyone is making over a new baby. So my husband and I bought him a stuffed whale when we were in Hawaii a few months ago. I thought this card and sentiment perfect for the gift.

It was super easy to make. I added about 4 or 5 dark blue layers of cardstock under the fin instead of using foam dots. This gave it some dimension and a bit of a shadow. I finished the card with puffy stickers from The Stamps of Life.

Products used:

• Dies: The Stamps of Life Whale Fold-It
• Stamps: TSOL Patterns4Whales

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