Queen for a Day

Hi everyone!  Today is a sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  This card puts the "Simple" in "Clean & Simple"  I used the Wish for It All stamp and die bundle for this card.  Literally, it took longer for the water color and embossing to dry than to assemble the card.

I saw something similar on Pinterest (it used a die cut/stencil rather than a wash background) and thought this set was perfect for all of my "girly, girl" friends.  You know, the princesses in your life!  Or the ladies celebrating a milestone birthday!

The background watercolor wash used petal pink and the crown and sentiment are heat embossed in gold.

After I made it I realized the sentiment is slightly crooked, but sometimes that happens with handmade cards and is part of their charm!  ;)

Stamps and dies:  Stampin' Up! Wish for It All bundle
Ink: Petal Pink
Accessories:  Gold thread -retired - substitute linen thread, aqua painter, Verasamark, gold embossing powder, heat tool

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Back to School Bus

Happy Friday everyone!  I have card that celebrates that most wonderful time of the year - back to school! This card is perfect to commemorate the first day of school.  I used the sentiment "ABC, 123" but you can also swap that out for "1st Day".  Since I don't know any wee ones who were having a "never-been-to-school-before" first day, I chose the more general sentiment.

This card was straightforward to make since there is no stamping or special techniques - pretty much just die cuts.  It was a great way to go through my scrap box and use up some of those small neutral scraps.

Th e card itself is a bit bigger than most, 4.5 x 6 inches.  This allowed for more room for the letters and numbers.  The wood grain frame is made with strips 1/2 inches tall.

Dies used: All Cottage Cutz - Party Animal Bus, Stitched Letters and Stitched Numbers
Paper: Stampin' Up! Wood Grain DSP, Black and various grays and browns.

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Two Challenges, Two Cards and Two Great Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets

Happy Tuesday!  I have two cards today that feature new for 2019 stamps from Stampin' Up!  They are in a style that I really like.  I was attracted to them when I first saw the catalog and they were among the first sets I purchased from the 2019-20 catalog.  Then I realized that they are in same style as my favorite set from last year - Animal Outing!  I'm nothing if not consistent.

My first card is for the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers this week - Petal Pink, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz with Foil cardstock for dessert.  I used the New Wonders hostess set and Bird Ballad designer series paper.  I also used the Stitched Rectangle and Sweet Silhouettes Dies.  To complete the card three Frosted Flower Embellishments were used in Petal Pink.

My next card is for CAS Colours & Sketches color challenge:

Both challenges allow the neutrals brown, beige, black, grey and white but the SCS challenge also allows Stampin' Up! neutrals such as Mossy Meadow and Night of Navy.  Both were used on that card - in the background and to darken the leaves.

To get the skin tone on each I needed to blend my own color.   (I chose to use the inkpads/reinkers to watercolor the images rather than use Stampin' Blends which come with a skin tone.)  I used a light touch of both Soft Suede and Petal Pink.  All the SU browns when watered down are not the correct hue for skin.  When combined these two do a pretty good job.

There weren't many color decisions in the first card, but surprisingly there were in the second.  Lot's of combinations for the shirt, dress, hats, etc.  When faced with that I'll do some quick mock-ups first so I know I'll like the combo I choose.

Here, I did three using the Stampin' Write markers.  Not a great coloring job but enough to let me know which color combination I liked.

After I decided, I cut off the one I liked and laid it above the final image I was coloring so I wouldn't get confused.  I know me and had I been looking at the panel with three combos, at some point I'd have messed up and looked at the wrong couple!

This stamp set, On to Adventure comes with the two pictured above as well as a woman doing yoga and a male golfer.  It's a great all-around set that can be used for birthdays, retirement, bon voyage and more!  On this card I also used the Bird Ballad DSP and the Sweet Silhouettes Die.  It comes with two floral images and three script words - "inspire", "adventure" and "forever".

I've listed all the products I used below.  The New Wonders stamp set is only available with Stampin' Rewards that are earned after you spend $150.   Purchase the On to Adventure stamp set and dies used in both cards and you're almost there!  Just add the paper and embellishments and you've earned the New Wonders set FREE!

As a bonus, if you purchase $150 worth of products that includes New Wonders and On to Adventure I'll send you a FREE PDF of instructions for these two cards PLUS two more using these sets! (Contact me if you already own these sets and purchase $150 worth of products)

Stamps: On to Adventure, New Wonders
Dies: Stitched Rectangles, Sweet Silhouettes, Stitched Nested Labels
Ink: Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Crushed Curry, Night of Navy, Mossy Meadow
Paper: Bird Ballad DSP, Gold Foil, Whisper White Thick, Shimmery White
Accessories: Frosted Flowers, Flower Faceted Gems, Gorgeous Grape Mini-Striped Ribbon, Stampin' Write Markers, Blender Pens, Aqua Painter, Stamparatus or acrylic blocks (I used E)

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Double Duty Card - Again

Hi everyone!  I had a very busy weekend so I decided to combine a sketch challenge and a color challenge this week.

The sketch is from CAS Colours & Sketches:

And the colors are my choice as hostess of the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers:

Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Pacific Point 

I'm really not ready for fall so I wanted one last summer looking color palette.  I know that it's time to start making those Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas cards but I'd like a few more weeks of summer themed creating!

The image is colored with mostly Copic markers color matched to the challenge colors but I did use a few Stampin' Blends.  The coloring isn't my best - it is a little uneven, but I'll just say that she has been in the sun too long and gotten a bit sun damage! 

Stamps:  MFT Drink Up the Sunshine
Markers: Stampin Blends Daffodil Delight and Flirty Flamingo.  Challenge colors - R000, Y11, B00, B12, B16 Coconut - E50, E53, E55, E57, E59  Hair - E53, E35, E37, E29 Skin - E000, E53, E11 Lace - N0, N1, N3

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Go To Layouts and Design

Hi everyone!  I have two cards today for two different color challenges.  Things this weekend were pretty hectic for me so you will see that reflected in the cards I made.  I realized after I was finished that they are pretty similar in design.  The first card is for CAS Colours & Sketches and the second is for Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge.

CC&S colors: Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Grapefruit Grove

Splitcoaststampers colors: Rich Razzleberry, Shaded Spruce, Pineapple Punch and Mango Melody

A realization that I had this weekend was that when I have a good layout or a color scheme I like, it may show up in variations in my cards because it is simply quicker to go with those.  This week it was the layout.

I wasn't even conscious of it until I was actually putting it all together on the second card when I realized both had square elements at an angle.  They both also have subtle backgrounds - one is the embossed panel and the other has stenciling behind the focal item.

I'll admit that for my second card I was in a bit of a hurry.  And when I'm in a hurry, I find that watercoloring is a good choice since it goes fairly fast for me.  My style is pretty loose.  I like the sort of blotchy, mottled effect you can achieve with watercolor.  When things get too smooth I will use my heat gun to dry the piece and go back over it with color to get a bit more contrast.  When I want a smooth, blended effect that is when I go with my alcohol (mostly Copic) markers - but those take time.

We all have our style of creating and being aware of what works for us (or doesn't) and having some "go to" layouts, color combos, etc. can be a real time saver.  The cards above are different yet very similar. So even when using your favorite layout or color combo, with just a little tweaking, your cards will still look different and give you variety.

Card 1:
Dies: Cottage Cutz Potted Cactus
Stamps: MFT Sweet Succulents
Stencil: MFT Weave

Card 2:
Stamps: Magenta 23293-J, Stamping Bella Butterfly Sentiments
Dies: MFT Wonky Stitched Squares
Embossing Folder: Stampin' Up! Swirls and Curls

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