October CAS Mix Up Challenge

Hi everyone.  The challenge at CAS Mix Up this month is Blackout Embossing (also known by other names).  It's a combination of dry embossing, colouring, and direct to stamp inking.

To create my card above, I dry embossed with Layered Leaves Embossing folder (SU!) with a piece of Cold Press Watercolour paper (Arches).  I smooshed the debossed side with Liquid Concentrate Watercolours (Blick Art Materials) randomly with three colours (yellow, orange, pink).

Once my panel was dry, it was placed inside the same folder, lining up the images.  You can feel by pressing lightly that they fit back into position.  Ran it through my embossing machine to redefine the embossing that might be lost when watercolouring.  

I used a Walnut Stain Distress Oxide pad to swipe over the raised areas.  The colour looks more gray/brown to me and I love how it works with the colours of the leaves.  I believe using black ink would have made the colours pop even more.  Next time ... :)

Out of a single card front, I was able to get three CAS cards ... the one above, and two more below. :)

 

Sending this card to the following challenges:

Darnell's IDEAS Challenge - Week 4 - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #91 - first time using my Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Ink 

I hope you'll come join us for this fun technique.  Hope to see you in the CAS Mix Up gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Heartfelt (Penny Black); Cosmos (Technique Tuesday); Heartfelt (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Cold Press W/C  (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink:   Liquid Concentrate Watercolours (Blick Art Materials); Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Layered Leaves Embossing folder (SU!), water mister

Techniques:  Dry Embossing, Smooshing, Direct to Paper Inking

Challenges:

CAS Mix Up October Challenge - Blackout Embossing

Darnell's IDEAS Challenge - Week 4 - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #91

Guest Designing at AAA Birthday Cards

Hi everyone.  I'm thrilled to be Guest Designing at AAA Birthday Card Challenge:  Game #90 - Big and Bold.  Thanks so much Jane and team!

  

 

I do love this time of year.  Fall cards are fun to make. :)

For today's card I started with a background I had in my stash (smooshed liquid concentrate watercolours in Pink and Orange - Blick Art Materials).  I used a large stamp overtop, Crackle Background (Simon Says Stamp), stamping in Vintage Photo Distress ink.  To add the last layer, I used the Peeking Sunflower stencil from STAMPlorations.  I pressed my versamark ink pad over the stencil, sprinkled with Fired Brick Distress Glaze, and then heat set.  You can still see the stamped design in the background, even with the glaze heat embossed over top.  It's awesome!  To finish, I added "on your birthday" sentiment on the inside. :)

Close-up ...

I hope you'll join us for at AAA Birthday Cards Challenge:  Game #90 - Big & Bold.  The challenge is open all month, so there's lots of time to play along.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Crackle Background (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Pink and Orange Liquid Watercolor Concentrate (Blick Art Materials); Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories:   Peeking Sunflower sencil (STAMPlorations), Fired Brick Distress Glaze (Tim Holtz), heat tool

Challenges:

AAA Birthday Challenge:  Game #90 - Big & Bold

September CAS Mix Up Challenge

Hi everyone.  This month at CAS Mix Up September Challenge is a Watercolour Challenge and we are asking for Sunflowers. :)  I used the no line watercolouring technique with diluted distress reinkers.

I started by stamping my image (Radiant from Penny Black) onto cold press w/c paper using Brushed Corduroy Distress ink (light touch).  I used my diluted distress inks to paint the image, using the faintly stamped outline as a guide. It worked great.  

When the image was dry, I added some splatters in dark brown.  I finished the card by stamping a sentimnt (Spring Sentiments - Stampendous) in Ground Espresso DOX ink.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

PBSC August Challenge - Anything PB Goes

Seize the Birthday #333 - Anything Goes option

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Radiant (Penny Black); Spring Sentiments (Stampendous - closed)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Cold Press w/c paper (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Reinkers:  Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Aged Mahogany, Rusty Hinge, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Blick Masterstroke w/c paint brushes

Challenges:

CAS Mix Up September Challenge

PBSC August Challenge - Anything PB Goes

Seize the Birthday #333 - Anything Goes option

Birthday card for Alejandro

Hi everyone.  My son-in-law's birthday was just a few days ago and today I'm sharing the card I made for him.  I used the Sip Sip Ole (Spellbinder's) die set.  I pretty much CASED one of the cards on the site ... just changing it up slightly.  It was so fun to create this card. :)

I started by lightly sponging part of my background in distress inks in soft greens (Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn).  I die-cut the Margarita glass from vellum lined with acetate to give a frosted look, with the acetate giving it strength.  I sponged more colour for the inside of the glass  and added the "salt rim" with acetate covered in large glitter.  The rest of the pieces were die-cut from mixed media paper and watercoloured (or sponged) with more distress inks.  

The drink was layered on top of my background.  I typed the sentiments on my computer (Century Gothic and Autography fonts), printed and cut out to finish the card.  It reads ...

                                        Card Front:                                               Inside Card:

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #89 - first time using this die-set

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  sentiment printed from my computer

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); Vellum, Acetate
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Candied Apple (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Sip Sip Ole die set (Spellbinders), watercolour brushes, sponges, chunky glitter

Challenges:

NBUS Challenge #89

Birthday Cosmos

Hi everyone.  I made this card with three challenges in mind.  First, Inkspirational Challenge #374 - Word Prompt - Garden.  The second challenge is for Darnell's IDEAS calendar.  This week is embossing.  The image on my card is heat embossed. :)

And the third challenge from last week at Splitcoast Stampers, CAS911 - Gems.  I rarely use gems on my cards, and I had to wade through the box of lots of pearls and sequins to find this little tiny package of gems from Pretty Pink Posh that wasn't even opened yet.  I'm never sure of the placement, but hopefully they look OK. :)

I stamped the Cosmos in black ink, heat embossed with clear on mixed media paper and then watercoloured with my Zig markers.  Very fun and relaxing.  I used a new-to-me sentiment from Hero Arts - Togetherness Flower stamp set for the sentiment banner at the bottom.  I covered the card front with a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock and popped up the panel for some dimension.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

Inkspirational Challenge #374 - Word Prompt - Garden

Darnell's IDEAS Calendar - Week 3 - Embossing - I used heat embossing 

SCS CAS911 Challenge - Gems

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Cosmos (Stampendous); Togetherness Flower (Hero Arts - Sentiment)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Black (Obsidian - Altenew); Zig Markers
Accessories:   Clear embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool, watercolour paint brushes, gems (Pretty Pink Posh)

Challenges:

Inkspirational Challenge #374 - Word Prompt - Garden

Darnell's IDEAS Calendar - Week 3 - Embossing - I used heat embossing 

SCS CAS911 Challenge - Gems

Adding Dimension to Die-cuts - Group of Cardmakers

Hi everyone.  We are a small group now with several people moving on.  We decided that this will be our last post at Group of Cardmakers.  We appreciate those that have followed us, left wonderful comments, and shared their talents by playing along.

For out final technique this month at Group of Cardmakers,  we are playing with adding dimension to die-cuts.  There are several ways to do this ... layering, sponging edges, shaping, etc.

Group of Cardmakers - Adding Dimension to Die-cuts - Design Element

I started with a new-to-me die (Garden Cosmos Layering dies - Altenew), a gift from a very good friend ... thanks B!  I cut all the pieces from cold press w/c paper and watercoloured using distress re-inkers and distress inks.  I found it a challenge to put the pieces all together, but in the end it all worked.  I LOVE how my flowers turned out, even though I took creative license with the colour as Cosmos do not grow in a deep purple, but rather a pinky purple tone. :)

To create the card I started with the background.  I smooshed both Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade distress inks with lots of water and smooshed my cold press w/c paper card front.  I used these colours for the centers of the flowers as well ... tying this together.  I watercoloured all the flower petals with wilted violet distress re-inker ... that's how the colour is so intense.  LOVE IT! :)  I used Villaneous Potion distress ink to add sponging around each petal, giving the flower visual depth.  After they were dry, I also shaped each petal using a stylus with my sponge mat ... adding even more depth.  For the stems / greenery, the pieces were watercolour with Mowed Lawn distress ink and sponged with Rustic Wilderness ink.  It's always good to have a variety of shades of green.

The flowers were assembled and then attached to the greenery.  I only used half the flowers from the set, so you will see another card with purple cosmos in the future.

The finishing touch is adding the stamped sentiment (SU - retired stamp - Endless Birthday Wishes), Villaneous Potion ink on white card.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

Darnell's IDEAS Calendar - Week 4 - Anything Goes - Inks / Dies / Sponging / Smooshing

NBUS Challenge #88 - first time using this Cosmos Die set

Simply Clean and Simple July Challenge - Birthday

AAA Birthday Challenge #87 - For the Girls

   

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Endless Birthday Wishes (SU! - retired)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Re-inkers:  Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Wilted Violet (Tim Holtz); Distress Ink:  Villaneous Potion (Tim Holtz); Distress Inks:  Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Garden Cosmos Layering Dies (Altenew); watercolour brushes, stylus, foam mat

Challenges:

Darnell's IDEAS Calendar - Week 4 - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #88

Simply Clean and Simple July Challenge - Birthday

AAA Birthday Challenge #87 - For the Girls

Watercoloured Birthday Cake

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing a card I made for a wonderful friend of Jeremy's.  It's her birthday on Sunday, and I offered to try to make something artsy since the birthday girl was in the art program with Jer many years ago.  I followed a few videos to create the card.

To start, I followed the instructions on this video to create a layered cake and cake stand.  I used Kuretake Watercolours, cold press watercolour paper, and a flat paint brush for the majority of the cake, switching to a detail brush for the bottom of the cake stand.  

The video shows flowers on top of the cake.  I practised a few times on scrap watercolour paper, but in the end decided to follow this short video on an easy watercolour flower instead.  I added some splatters of yellow and violet to finish.  I'm not happy with the flowers, but Jer was happy to give this to his friend to celebrate her birthday.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

Darnell's IDEAS Calendar - Week 1 - Inks ... used my Kuretake Watercolour paints :)

AAA Birthday #87 - For the Girls

SCS WCW295 - A Freebie Week --- paint whatever you want

* * * * *

I will be off-line for a few days.

I'm having my files transferred to a new computer.  It is LONG overdue!

Hopefully I won't be off-line for too long.

See you soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  n/a

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Cold Press W/C Paper (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink: W/C Paints:  Kuretake  
Accessories:   Princeton W/C Paint Brushes:  Flat #4, Round #4, Liner #00

Challenges:

Darnell's IDEAS Challenge - Week 1 - Inks

AAA Birthday #87 - For the Girls

SCS WCW295 - A Freebie Week

Acrylic Block Stamping - Group of Cardmakers

Hi everyone.  This month at Group of Cardmakers, we are playing with an older technique (Acrylic Block Stamping), with a twist.

Please check out the details for this month's technique and link to videos on the blog, along with more card samples from Christine, Pat, & Susan.

Group of Cardmakers - Acrylic Block Stamping

For the card above, I used Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals (powdered inks) with my smallest block to create a CAS card.  I sprinkled Magical powdered inks onto my acrylic block, spritzed with water, flipped it over onto my mixed media paper card front.  Once dry, I doodled the border using a .05 black fine point marker.  Next time I will use something a little thicker. :)  I stamped one of the images from the Floral Silhouette stamp set (Penny Black) in Black pigment ink, and stamped the sentiment (Banner Sentiments - Penny Black).  I cut my focal panel down and popped it up over top of my card base.

Close-up ...

* * * * *

For the next card, I used a medium-sized block and distress inks (mowed lawn, broken china) to create a soft coloured background, pressing the ink pads onto my acrylic block, spritzing with water, flipping over and stamping onto my mixed media card front.  I doodled a border using a 1.0 black fine point marker.  I then stamped one of the birds from Free as a Bird Stamp set (Jane Doodles) and sentiment in black pigment ink.  I stamped the bird image separately onto mixed media paper and watercoloured withmore distress inks.  I fussy-cut and adhered over top of my stamped image.  The panel was trimmed and popped it up on foam for added dimension.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

SCS - CAS9042 - Things that Walk 

* * * * *

Two more quick cards using this technique, both using Lindy's Magicals for the backgrounds.  You are not limited by the size of your acrylic blocks.  You can cut out your acrylic block backgrounds to whatever size fits your image to use as a stand-alone panel ... or place behind a frame.  This is a quick way of creating watercolour backgrounds with easy clean-up.

The card above is from a large block stamping.  I cut it out and stamped my silhouette image (Meadow - Inkadinkado - available at Amazon) and a simple sentiment (Special Sentiments - Penny Black).  Popped the panel up on my card front and it was done.

* * * * *

The card above is from another block stamping, adding it behind my frame (Double Stitched Square Frame - AliExpress).  Simple silhouette die-cut (Little Leaves - Stampin' Up!), shaped with a stylus, was added over top of the background.  I left off the sentiment for now and will add once I decide what to use this card for. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Card #1:

Stamps:  Floral Silhouette (Penny Black); Banner Sentiments (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Lindy's Magicals; Obsidian black ink (Altenew)  
Accessories:  Small Acrylic Block, water mister, Fine black marker (.05)

Card #2:

Stamps:  Free as a Bird (Jane's Doodles)
Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Mowed Lawn, Broken China (Tim Holtz); Obsidian black ink (Altenew)  
Accessories:  Medium Acrylic Block, water mister, watercolour brushes, Fine black marker (1.0)

Card #3:

Stamps:  Meadow (Inkadinkado); Special Sentiments (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Magicals (Lindy's Stamp Gang); Obsidian Pigment (black - Altenew)
Accessories:  Large Acrylic block, water mister

Card #4:

Stamps:  n/a

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); Black cardstock (SU!)
Ink:  Magicals - Powders (Lindy's Stamp Gang)
Accessories:  Small acrylic block, water mister, Little Leaves die (SU!); Double Stitched Square Frame (AliExpress), stylus and foam pad for shaping leaves

Challenges:

Group of Cardmakers - Acrylic Block Stamping

SCS - CAS9042 - Things that Walk 

Watercoloured Tree for Jer

Hi everyone.  I experimented with watercolouring following a video link on the Wednesday Watercolor Challenge from a few weeks ago on Splitcoast Stampers.

I do not know how to draw, but I thought with all the cards I've made over the past 25 years+ using stamps and ink, that I could watercolour.  It's a lot different watercolouring your own image. :)  The video relied on a fan brush, which I couldn't get to work for me.  But the video did help me create my own way of watercolouring this tree. :)  In the end, I used distress re-inkers, along with a round brush and flat brush on cold press watercolour paper.

I'm hoping with lots of practice, I will improve.  I was happy with my first tree, so made it into a card for Jeremy's birthday. :)

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

SCS Watercolor Wednesday WCW308 - 60 second tree (video link - short)

SCS CAS Card Challenge CAS898 - Anything that Grows

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Happy Birthday stamp (Cavallini & Co.)

Paper:   Cold Press Watercolour paper (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Re-inkers:  Gathered Twigs, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Watercolour Brushes

Challenges:

SCS Watercolor Wednesday WCW308 - 60 second tree (video link - short)

SCS CAS Card Challenge CAS898 - Anything that Grows