4/29/2021

Big Hugs Curvy Girl

I'm the hostess this week at Tic Tac Toe Challenge and I have Mother's Day themed board for you!  Can you believe Mother's Day is in less than two weeks?

My card actually uses several of the elements and fits a couple of the rows but I chose Mother/Child Image, Coloring and Scallops.  For the Tic Tac Toe Challenge I find I often use multiple elements - especially when it is my board.  I suppose it's because so many of the items on the board go together.

The most time consuming part of this card was the coloring and I did that while on a Zoom group craft session.  It is quite relaxing to talk to other crafters and color at the same time.   I wrote down the colors I used - both markers and Prismacolors - however I misplaced the paper I wrote them on.  Suffice it to say there were quite a few!

This card is also for the color challenge this week at Splitcoaststampers.

Products used:

  • Stamps:  Stamping Bella Curvy Girl Big Hugs
  • Dies: Cottage Cutz Stitched Rectangle, Scalloped Stitched Rectangles
  • Embossing Folder: Stampin' Up! Petal Pair

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4/28/2021

Hand-Penned Petals - New Product Suite

My card today features a brand new set from Stampin' Up! that will be available May 4 in the upcoming Annual Catalog.  I love the loose brushed look of this set.  As a two step stamp set it makes for beautiful EASY cards by using the "solid" stamps to "color" the images.  But you can also watercolor or use markers to color in the flowers yourself, if you are so inclined.

For this card, I took the easy way.  And I love how it came out.  No one would think it was as simple to make as it was.

I used the Sketch from this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers to start.

I stamped the flowers and used the solid stamps.  Because the nature of this is loose, you do not have to be exact with your stamping.  In fact, it looks better if you're not "inside the lines!"  I die cut the floral spray and adhered that to a rectangle cut with the stitched rectangle dies. For my band across the middle I used some ribbon that is folded over.  Because of the dimension of the ribbon, I popped the rectangle up on foam strips.

I'll probably use this as a birthday card although it would be lovely for any occasion.  This card went very fast and would be easy to make in quantity.

Products used:

  • Stamps and Dies: Hand-Penned Product Suite (available 5/4/21) - includes stamps, dies, Designer paper and Genial Gems
  • Dies: Stampin' Up! Stitched Rectangles
  • Ink: Pale Papaya, Highland Heather, Mint Macaron
  • Ribbon: Pale Papaya and White 1/2 Inch Ribbon

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4/27/2021

Birthday Confetti

Happy Tuesday!  I have a card for this week's sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  Last week I missed the color challenge - I was too busy at work!

Wei gave us an interesting sketch and a challenging one for someone like me who likes to color and have a main focal image.  This one really doesn't have that.  So I went through my dies and found this ric rac die by My Favorite Things.  I think it was a freebie with an order.

I decided to use it and then just started going through my papers.  Since birthday cards are always needed I went with that theme.  The dots here remind me a bit of confetti.  I picked my colors from the paper.  To make my sentiment easy to read on the dots I used a shadow die from the Stamps of Life.  Unfortunately the green and yellow didn't photograph super well, but in real life they look quite nice together.

This was a very simple card to make and could be changed up to suit the recipient as long as the paper is not too busy.

Products used:

  • Dies: MFT Stitched Ric Rac, The Stamps of Life Happy Birthday
  • Colors: Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Mint Macaron

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4/15/2021

High Flying Birthday

Time for a Team O challenge at TicTacToe Challenge!  This week I chose the bottom row across.


 

Like my card on Tuesday, I originally had an idea that just didn't pan out.  But unlike Tuesday where I switched direction quickly, I hung on to that original idea trying to make it work for at least one or two hours!  I've learned my lesson - if it's just not coming together it's better to change tack and go a different direction.  

And I'm so happy I did.  I love this card.  First I chose this new (to me) stamp set.  I figured blue was a given since the theme here is flying.  There were still so many options for colors I went to my cardstock swatches and picked out a few blues and then some contrasting colors.  I came up with Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Flirty Flamingo and Watermelon Wonder.

The image is water colored using the re-inkers.

I had both of the blues in polka dot paper but the Soft Sky was just too pale.  The turquoise seemed a bit dark so I used the vellum to tone it down.

I'm not sure who will get this card.  When it was almost finished, I realized that it would have been perfect for my late father who loved to fly RC airplanes and was an animal lover.  His birthday was earlier this month so perhaps I was subconsciously thinking of him.  I may just keep this for myself.

Products used:

  • Stamps & Dies: My Favorite Things High Flying Birthday
  • Stamps: MFT Banner Day Sentiments
  • Dies: MFT Pop-Up Banner, Banner Flags, Petite Clouds; Cottage Cutz Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Slimline, Nested Stitched Rectangles
  • Ink: Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Flirty Flamingo, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Basic Gray
  • Cardstock/Paper: Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Flirty Flamingo, Watermelon Wonder, Basic Gray, Stampin' Up! Brights DSP (retired)

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4/13/2021

Sweet Birthday

Today is a new sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  Wei's sketch at first threw me, but after a bit of thought I had a few ideas.  I wanted to have a cute critter peeking out from the inside circle, but (much to my shock) I could not find the right critter.  And I have DOZENS of them.  But I forged on and found this adorable Lawn Fawn sundae.


 

I searched my paper stash and found this cute Queen & Co. cherry pattern paper.  I took my colors from that and colored the image with Copic markers.  My sentiment is from a My Favorite Things birthday sentiment set.

Once I gave up on my first idea, I just kept finding things that coordinated.  Sometimes when we aren't trying is when everything somehow comes together.

Products used:

  • Stamps: Lawn Fawn Here's the Scoop, My Favorite Things Bitty Birthday Wishes
  • Dies: MFT Stitched Mini Scallops
  • Paper: Queen & Co. Fruit Stand
  • Markers: Copics - Chocolate  Sauce E29,E49; Chocolate Ice Cream E21 E23; Strawberry Ice Cream RV10, RV11; Vanilla Ice Cream E50, E51; Cherry RV29; dish YG11, YG13

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4/12/2021

The Two Best Stamp Sets - EVER

I admit I may have overstated the quality of these stamp sets, however they are two of my all time favorite stamp sets.  I'll get to why in a moment.  

My card is for this week's color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  The colors are Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green and Bermuda Bay with designer paper as dessert. (For those unfamiliar with the challenge, dessert is an optional element.)  Flowers were the easy way to go and since other challenge cards this week took way too much time, I went floral.

The layout of this card is pretty generic and nothing unique.  I've used it before and it makes for a nice CAS card that can be embellished if desired.  I've also reversed it with the bottom part being the patterned paper and the sentiment on top.

Why are these are these two sets, Band Together and Bloom & Grow, my favorite sets?

Band Together offers three versatile large sentiments - Celebrate the Best Day Ever, You Are Amazing and Beautiful Inside and Out - with coordinating inside sentiments that are good for almost anything.  The fonts are a nice size; they do not overwhelm the card front but are not itty bitty either.  Finally they are a pretty combination of a script and sans serif font that is easy to read.  In other words, they check all the boxes! (This set comes with an image that I have never even used!  That's how much I like the words.)

Bloom & Grow is a floral set that at first seemed restrictive to me.  All three images are a floral band.  However they are wonderful to color!  Below are links to four other cards I've posted; using different coloring techniques.  Today's card uses traditional alcohol marker blending for a smoother look.

The card in the upper left also uses alcohol markers but in a loose manner.  When you have flowers of this size, with lots of petals it is easy to scribble the markers loosely instead of detailed shading. This works very well when you have two colors that are close together in color but different shades.

The upper right card was water colored a bit more tightly than the bottom cards and used a light brown ink to keep it pastel looking.  And recognize that layout?

Finally the bottom two cards are are loosely water colored over gold embossing.  This is a look that always turns out beautiful! 

I hope you haven't minded my gushing over these two sets today.  I'm a bit sad because both are RETIRING at the end of April (although I will still use them.)

I wanted to show you how wonderful these sets are and give you the chance to get them before they are gone!

Products used:

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4/06/2021

Splat Technique Color Challenge Card

Happy Tuesday!  We have a new hostess this month at CAS Colors and Sketches blog, Wei.  This week she gave us some pretty "floral" colors to work with.  I call them floral because that was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw them, but I went in a totally different direction.


For this card I used a watercolor splat technique.  I've used this technique before and there are a couple of ways to do it.  I explain these in this post.  For this card I dipped my paper in Bumble Bee and Merry Merlot ink on my mat.  After it had dried, I used a paint brush and Mossy Meadow that had been thinned with water to add splatters to the paper.

From there I cut the strips and then tore the edges.  This technique is a simple process and one that always gives beautiful and unique results.  (If you want something be consistent every time you do it, then this probably isn't the technique for you.)

Products used:

  • Stamps: Stampin' Up! Simply Succulents (sentiment)
  • Ink: Stampin' Up! Bumble Bee, Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow, Versafine Black Onyx
  • Paper: Stathmore Mixed Media
  • Dies: My Favorite Things Stitched  Rectangles

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4/05/2021

You're the Stripes to My Zebra

The color challenge at Splitcoaststampers this week is offering a classic combination - black, white, grey and a color of your choice!  I had a few colors picked out but waited until I picked my image to decide.  Initially I wanted to do something elegant  and floral.  As you can see - I did not.

For fast coloring I have three go-to critters: zebras, pandas, and penguins.  Notice a theme here?  Add a bit of grey shading to any one of these and they're done!

I was in a bit of a time crunch this past weekend so I used Zippy Zebra by My Favorite Things,  The layout went quickly as  fast as the coloring.  I used Daffodil Delight as my color choice.  Since the challenge rules allow for Stampin' Up! neutrals at any time I also used some Mossy Meadow on the flower leaves. 

Products used:

  • Stamps: My Favorites Things Zippy Zebras
  • Dies: MFT Stitched Curves, The Stamps of Life Flower
  • Markers: Copic markers - N0, N1; Stampin' Blends - Daffodil Delight Light & Dark, Mossy Meadow Light
  • Accessories: Enamel Dots, washi tape

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4/01/2021

Hello Hummingbird

Good morning!  It's another week and new month for Team O at Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I love this month's theme -  mom, feminine and encouraging.  Perfect for leading up to Mother's Day.  Of course the rules are the same.  Pick your row, column or diagonal and go from there.

 

This week I picked the bottom row across: Friend, Purple and Bird.  There are so many hummingbird stamps out there and I love it!  I live in Southern California and we have hummingbirds pretty much year round.  During the winter they are a bit more scarce, but some stay put.

Hummingbirds are fascinating and I once heard them described "if hummingbirds were the size of hawks we'd all be afraid to walk in the woods."  They are aggressive and it sounds like a gigantic bee when they buzz you.  When my youngest was about three years old, she was headed towards where we had the hummingbird feeder.  Suddenly one swooped down and got about a foot away from her face and hovered there.  As she went side to side it just matched her movements.  After about ten seconds of this she screamed and ran away.  She has never lived down "the hummingbird incident".

Besides being aggressive, another thing hummers are is shimmery.  Their feathers can really catch the light.  So for my birds, I used a Clear Wink of Stella and the ink re-inkers to "water color" my image.  Surprisingly this did not harm my Wink of Stella and I can still use it as is.  I just needed to wipe it off on a paper towel.  Below are some close-ups of my birds - I hope you can see the shimmer.


 

I hope you've enjoyed my card today and find time to join us in the challenge.

Products used:

  • Stamps: The Stamps of Life Hummingbird, Thanks4oneyear
  • Dies: TSOL Scalloped Rectangles
  • Ink: Stampin' Up! Lovely Lipstick, Pacific Point, Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape
  • Accessories: Rhinestones

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