CAS Mix Up May Challenge

Hi everyone.  It's the start of the CAS Mix Up May Challenge ... so exciting! :)

Bonnie and I were thrilled (AGAIN!) with the amount of creative and inspiring entries for CAS Mix Up's April Challenge - Stenciling.  :)  Thanks to everyone who shared their awesome cards with us!

Here's this month's challenge ...

There's lots of exciting news at CAS Mix Up, so I'll start with that first, and then share how I made my heat embossed card below that.

First, Bonnie and I are thrilled to welcome Nancy Littrell (scandinancy creates), and Susan Bridgman (CardmakersGarret) to the CAS Mix Up Design Team.  YAY!

Also, we have the amazing card artist, Karen (Snippets) as our Featured Designer for May.  Welcome Karen!

And ... we have Betty Keefe (created by bjk) joing us as our first Guest Designer. Betty was the winner of our CAS Mix Up challenge in March - Watercolouring with THIS AMAZING CARD.  Welcome Betty!

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On to my card ...

I white embossed a random bit of script for my background and then sponged over top with three colours of ink.  This technique is called Emboss Resist, where the embossing resists the inks.

I punched three small daisies, shaped them with my stylus and tweezers and then glued them together.  If you are interested in how I shape my daisy flowers, click HERE to see a written tutorial.

A small circle punch of yellow sponged card stock was glued to the center of the flower, and then coated with glossy accents.  Two small leaves where die-cut from green sponged card stock, and three tips of a die-cut sprig were added to enhance the daisy.  I added a little clear glitter glue to the rounded tips for a bit of sparkle. To finish, the sentiment was heat embossed in silver.

All in all it was an easy card to make.  My card has stamping, heat embossing and "my choice" is sponging and die-cuts with shaping. :)

Here's a close-up of the flower ...

I hope you'll come play along with our CAS Mix Up May Challenge - Heat Embossing.  See you in the gallery! :)

Stamps:  En Francais (SU!); Sentiment - Cosmos (Technique Tuesday)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Versamark; Distress Inks:  Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  White embossing powder, Silver embossing powder, heat tool, sponges, Medium Daisy Punch (Punch Bunch); stylus, mat and tweezers for shaping, Tender Leaves die (Memory Box), Beach Sprig die (Memory Box), dazzling details, glossy accents

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up May Challenge - Heat Embossing

CAS Mix Up March Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is so exciting!  Bonnie and I are launching our very first challenge at CAS Mix Up.  We hope you'll come check out the challenge and play along.

CAS Mix Up is all about CAS (clean and simple) design combined with mixed media techniques and products.  I do love techniques!! :)

The challenge has three parts to it.  For March, each entry must have stamping, watercolouring, plus a third item which is your choice (technique or product). There's a suggestions list over on the challenge blog to help you decide on a third item. Check out the right hand sidebar for the list and the rules for the challenge.

For today's card, I started with the soft, watercoloured background using the acetate smooshing technique.  I used subtle colours so that they didn't compete with my flowery branch, instead just providing a bit of interest for the background.  You can use watercolour paper for this technique, but for today's card I have smooshed onto regular white card stock.

I die-cut a long, leafy branch (which I split into two branches) from soft green card stock and then sponged green around the edges of the leaves to give them dimension.  Several blooms were punched from soft pink card stock, and then sponged around the edges with a darker pink.  For even more added dimension, I used my stylus and mat to shape the leaves and the flowers.  I pinched a few of the blooms to create "buds" and left some open, adding more interest.  The flower branches were arranged over the background so that the ends tucked underneath the sentiment banner.  Lots of fun to make.

My card has stamping (sentiment), watercolouring (background) and my third choice was die-cuts.  See, it's easy to play along. :)

I'm also excited to announce that my good friend Susan (Cardmaker's Garret) is our Featured Designer this month.  Welcome Susan!!  I hope you'll find some time to visit her blog and leave some love.

And please drop over to Bonnie's blog (Stamping with Klass) as well to see her beautiful CAS Mix Up card.

I hope you'll come play along with our challenge.  The link is open until March 24th so there's lots of time to enter.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink (SU!)
Ink:  Distress inks:  Tumbled Glass, Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz); Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  piece of acetate, water mister, Lavish Branch die (Memory Box), Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), sponges, stylus and mat

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up March Challenge - Watercolouring

Celebrating with Fusion

Hi everyone.  Today I'm honoured to be Guest Designing at Fusion as they celebrate 2 Years of challenges --- YAY!  My good friend, Julia (Create with Me) is on the Design Team and she asked me to join her for this challenge ... thank you Julia!!

Here's the challenge ...

I LOVE this inspiration photo, and used several elements to make my card.  I used the Smooshing with Acetate technique to add the bright pink and yellow splats background, picking up the colours in the photo.  A bright yellow stamped chevron on the left hand side mimicks the table runner, and a die-cut white leaf sprig with punched flowers carries through the floral theme.  A soft gray stamped sentiment banner doesn't compete with the colours ... and a few clear sequins add a little sparkle to finish.

I hope you'll check out the Fusion Challenge and come celebrate.  Make a card using the photo for inspiration or the sketch ... or both. :)  See you there!

Stamps:  Mix Mash (Happy Little Stampers)

Paper:  White card base and die-cuts (Neenah); Mixed Media main panel (Strathmore)
Ink:  Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade (Distress inks from Tim Holtz); Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  piece of acetate, water mister, Little Leaves die (Sizzix), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), clear sequins

Challenges:

Fusion - 2nd Year Celebration

Happy 3rd Birthday ATCAS!

ATCAS is celebrating it's 3rd birthday!!  YAY!!

Hi everyone.  It's the start of a new challenge at ATCAS.  The challenge this time is being hosted by me :)  ...

We have a whole bunch of sponsors to celebrate our 3rd birthday at ATCAS, with lots of prizes and fun give-aways.  Please check out the challenge HERE to read all about it.


There are lots of ways to add dimension to your cards.  My favourite is die-cuts. Today's card is made with just that.  I die-cut the leafy sprigs in green card stock and then sponged more green around the edges to add shading.  I die-cut three of the flowers, sponged the edges with yellow and orange inks, shaped and layered them to create a lot of dimension.  The center finishes off the flower ... these are actually mini sun punches, sponged with more orange, shaped and rolled into small cones, and then placed close together to create this dimensional center.  Click HERE to see a written tutorial on how I made these flowers.  To finish the card, I stamped the sentiment is the same green ink as the leaves.

We are so happy to have Gerrina (Gerrina's creatieve wereld) as our Guest Designer again for this challenge.  Please click HERE to see Gerrina's "Dimension" card, along with the cards from the rest of our talented Design Team.  Then make a CAS card that has dimension and join in the fun.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

And thanks for dropping by for a visit!!

Stamps:  Fun Birthday Sentiments (Happy Little Stampers)

Paper:  White card base and flower (Neenah); Old Olive, Tangerine Tango (SU!)
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Little Leaves die (Sizzix), Lovely Aster die (Memory Box), mini sun punch (Punch Bunch), stylus and mat for shaping, sponges,

Challenges:

ATCAS#77 - Dimension

Embossing Folder Technique

While I was playing around with new techniques recent, I finally tried the Embossing Folder Stamping technique that I have seen done expertly for a long time by my good friend, Karen (Snippets).  She is the master at this technique.  Not only was I trying something new, but I used coloured card stock ... something I rarely use for card fronts. :)  LOVE the results.  For those that have not tried this, you ink up the raised design side on the inside of  an embossing folder.  Spritz with a little water, place your card stock inside and close it.  Press down with your hands a little, then remove card stock and let it dry. Easy, peasy and oh-so beautiful!!  Can't wait to try it again with different coloured inks on white card stock.

The background looks like watercolouring to me.  I love the randomness and flow of it. :)

This is not CAS so I won't be adding it to the HLS June CAS Challenge (Sprays / Mists), but wanted to share with you this water misting technique. :)  I also included a daisy (shaped a little differently than yesterday's card). :)

I'm heading to the Snippets Playground with this card.  Used lots of snippets for the flower. :)

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Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Ink:  Black (Memento); Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Water mister, Musical Flourish emobssing folder (Cuttlebug), Snow drifts die (My Favorite Things), medium daisy punch (punch bunch), small sun punch (punch bunch), Flourish #6 die (Crafty Ann), sponges

Challenges:
Snippets Playground Week #180

Butterfly and Bloom

Hi everyone.  Time for a new challenge at Addicted to CAS.

This challenge is being hosted by the wonderfully talented Bonnie (Stamping with Klass) and she has chosen this sweet code word ...

This challenge is sponsored by

I started by making my bloom.  I punched a white daisy and sponged with three colours of distress inks (ripe persimmon, worn lipstick, picked raspberry).  I cut out one of the petals, folded the flower in half, pulling together the petals on either side of the one I cut out, so that it formed a rounded shape.  Sounds a bit confusing, but easy to do. :)

I then punched four white small suns and sponged the tips of the rays with yellow.  I cut a slit into the center of each sun, and then used my tweezers to roll it up (similar to the rolled flower dies you can buy) into a cone shape.  Four of them were glued to the top of the bloom to create the spiky center.

Here's a link to a written tutorial I did quite a while ago on how to make 3-D daisies, including the spiky center.  I made some changes to make the flower above, but the centers are done just like in the tutorial.  

The butterfly has a sprayed yellow frost background which I cut to fit in behind the black outline layer (cut with my Silhouette Cameo).

We're excited to have Flo (Flos Habseligkeiten) as our Guest Designer this month at ATCAS.  Please click HERE to see her wonderful butterfly card, along with the cards from the rest of the design team.

As always, there's two weeks to join in this fun challenge.  Hope to see you in the gallery! :)

Stamps:  Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Black, Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Ink:  Black (Memento); Distress Inks:  Ripe Persimmon, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Yellow spray, cut files and silhouette cameo for cutting butterfly, Fancy Flourish die (Cheery Lynn), Large Daisy punch and Small Sun punch (Punch Bunch), sponges

Challenges:

ATCAS #65 - Butterfly

Through the Garden Gate

Hi everyone. This is my final reminder of the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Die-cuts / Punches.  I've used both on my card above. :)

I had so much fun making this card!!  I combined an arched window die-cut with a picket fence die-cut to create this pretty arbour.  I wanted to have a spray of flowers tumbling over the fence.  I think it turned out pretty well. :)

There are four die-cut leaf sprigs at the back of the arbour, some with their tips poking through the fence boards and some coming over the top.

I punched small hydrangea flowers, shaded and shaped them and added them to the leafy sprigs.  By turning the flowers in different directions and making some of them more closed than the others (buds), it looks more realistic.

I hope I've inspired you to play along with our challenge at HLS.  Add a die-cut or punch to your CAS card, and then link up to the challenge. :)  There's still a few days left to join in.

I'm going to join in the fun at the Playground again this week, as I used lots of little snippets for my greenery and blooms. :)

There's also a DT call over at the Happy Little Stamper's blog.  Three calls in fact ... one for the Sketch challenge, and one for the CAS challenge ... and one for the new Christmas challenge that will be starting at HLS in July.  We hope to see lots of entries for these fun Design Teams ... come join in!  The calls close at the end of the month. :)


I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the lovely CAS die-cut cards in the gallery ... and ones done by Bonnie, Kylie and me.  Thanks again to Bonnie for being our Guest Designer this month!!  Looking forward to our next CAS Challenge which will be posted June 3  at 6am (AEST) ... that's 1pm June 2 my time (PDST). :)

Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes (SU!)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Ink:  Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Small Madison Arched Window die (Poppy Stamps), Picket Fence die (Memory Box), Olive Branch die (C.C. Designs), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), sponges, stylus and mat

Challenges:

HLS CAS Challenge - Die-cuts
Snippets Playground - Week #178 & #179

Stretching your Dies

Hi everyone.  Back with a reminder of Happy Little Stampers May CAS Challenge - Die-cuts and Punches.

I have been seeing some beautiful cards around with the layout above.  Love the split of the card front with pretty paper peeking out from underneath (coloured panel is made with brushos and lots of water).  I have so many techniques on my "to-do" list and this is one of them.  When I saw this card done by the very talented Angela (from the tool shed), it really inspired me to move this to the top of the list.  I hope you'll check out the link ... Angela's card is amazing!!

The reason for the title of this post ... it's always great when you can use a die for something other than it's original intended use.  This curved die is a snowbank die from My Favorite Things ... and it works perfectly for this design.

Bonnie is our Guest Designer this month, and she has made a fantastic die-cut card to share with you today. Check out the challenge blog to see.  Thanks Bonnie!!

I hope I've inspired you to join in our fun CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers. The challenge is open until the end of the month, so there's still lots of time to play along.   Come join in the fun and add your CAS card with die-cuts or punches to the gallery.

There's also a DT call over at the Happy Little Stamper's blog.  Three calls in fact ... one for the Sketch challenge, and one for the CAS challenge ... and one for the new Christmas challenge that will be starting at HLS in July.  We hope to see lots of entries for these fun Design Teams ... come join in! :)

I'll be back again soon with a different way to use die-cuts.

I'm entering this card into ATS&M Challenge (#144 - CAS). :)

Edited to add:  I'm also adding this card to AAA Cards - celebrating a 1st birthday --- congrats to them!!

Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes (SU!)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Smoky Slate (SU!); Brusho Colour Crystals (emerald green, purple, turquoise)
Accessories & Tools:  Snowdrifts die (My Favorite Things), Moonlight and Kaldeiscope Butterfly dies (Memory Box), water mister

Challenge:
HLS May CAS Challenge - Die-cuts
ATS&M #144 - CAS
AAA Cards - 1st Birthday

Stencil with Glass Bead Gel

Hi everyone.  I've made another stenciled card for the April HLS CAS Challenge.

This time I used glass bead gel.  I posted this card a couple of weeks ago, where I made several panels of the same background using the Saturated Watercolouring technique. Today's card uses one of the panels, this time with a quartrefoil stencil and some glass bead gel.  I love this stuff! :)  The gel I use is made by Golden, but there are probably other brands that make it.  It's a clear, gloss gel that has teeny, tiny glass beads in it.  It dries clear, and it reflects the light, so the colours underneath seem more vibrant.  It's so pretty and sparkly in real life, but hard to capture in a photo.

I simply mounted the panel behind a circle aperture and added a die-cut corner and a few blossoms.

I'm going to enter this card into a these challenges:  ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes, Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Clean and Simple, and Splitcoaststampers CAS #320 - Stencil It.


I hope I've inspired you to play along with our challenge at HLS.  Add stenciling in some way to your CAS card, and then link up to the challenge. :)  There's still a few days left to join in.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the lovely CAS stenciled cards in the gallery ... and ones done by Nancy, Kylie and me.  Thanks again to Nancy for being our Guest Designer this month!!  Looking forward to our next CAS Challenge which will be posted May 3  at 6am (AEST) ... that's 1pm May 2 my time (PDST). :)

Stamps:  Bitty Birthday (SU!)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Magenta and Orange Liquid Watercolour Concentrate (Dick Blick), Frost White acrylic paint (Tsukineko), water mister, Circle Nestability (Spellbinders), Madera Corner die (Memory Box), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), Quatrefoil stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, Glass Bead Gel (Golden), palette knife

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday - Clean and Simple
SCS CAS #320 - Stencil It

Experimenting with Vintage

Hi everyone.  Today I'm doing something a little different for me.  I'm trying to do a vintage / shabby chic type of card.  :)  I had fun, but know that I need a lot more practice with this style! :)

I have an on-line friend who makes the most incredible shabby chic and distressed cards.  If you haven't visited Pamellia Johnson's My Little Craft Things, I suggest you check it out.  She is one amazing card artist, and she has so many wonderful details in each and every creation.

So I thought I'd give it a try, just starting out simple and keeping my card CAS as that is my style.  First, I used white embossing paste over top of a damask stencil. This stencil is the ultimate in vintage style, in my opinion.  I love the white on white, but it's hard to capture the detail, raised design in photos.

Next was my flower spray.  I used a couple of products that I had on hand that Pamellia uses.  First I punched my flowers from light pink card stock and sponged darker pink around the edges.  Then I dabbed on a little Picket Fence distress paint. Once that was dry, all the flowers were coated in Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint. This is where I got tired of waiting for things to dry :) ... this type of card takes a lot of patience :)  After the crackle was dry, more pink ink was dripped over top so that it went into the cracks -- very subtle as I used pale pink ink.  The last step was to dab more picket fence distress paint on top and add pearl centers.  Whew!  Lots of steps, but I think they turned out pretty well for my first attempt.  The leaves were die-cut, sponged with green on the edges, shaped and then dabbed with the picket fence distress paint as well to tie it all together.

Here's a close-up so you can see some of the details.  I need LOTS more practice :)

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:


ATS&M #140 - Photo Inspiration Challenge

SCS CAS Challenge #320 - Stencil it

And it's another reminder for Happy Little Stampers - April CAS Challenge - Stenciling ...

... and another reminder of April Mixed Media Card Challenge - Flowers.

Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery (SU!)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Damask Stencil made with my Silhouette Cameo, Embossing paste (Dreamweaver), palette knife, Little Leaves die (Sizzix), Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), Wreath Strip (Cheery Lynn), sponges, Picket Fence Distress Paint (Tim Holtz), Clear Rock Candy Crackle Distress Paint (Tim Holtz), stylus and mat, half pearls

Challenges:

ATS&M #140 - Photo Inspiration
SCS CAS #320 - Stencil It
Happy Little Stampers - April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
Mixed Media Card Challenge - April - Flowers

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling

Hi everyone.  Time for the April CAS Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  This month we are playing with stencils!  Don't have any stencils??  You can make your own with dies, punches or even hot glue! :)  Check out the challenge where there are links to video tutorials on how to make your own.

I made this card for my DDIL's birthday, which was just a few days ago.  I started this card by spraying a yellow frost on the background.  Embossing paste was then added over top of a stencil to get a little bit of pattern in the center of the card, which brings focus inward to the layered and sponged daisy. :)  The daisy is die-cut (three layers), sponged on the edges, and shaped with tweezers, stylus and mat. The center is seven small sun punches that have been sponged, cut and rolled.  I sprayed it with a sparkle mist, which is so pretty in real life. :)

Even though this card has a lot going on, it is still CAS in my opinion, and follows the CAS definition for the Happy Little Stampers challenge.  There is lots of yellow area (open space with no pattern), one main focal point (the daisy), minimal layers and embellishments. :)

This month we are welcoming Nancy as our Guest Designer.  Nancy makes the most wonderful cards, and she also is an avid supporter of Happy Little Stampers.  Thanks so much for joining us this month Nancy!! :)  Click HERE to check out the amazing card Nancy made for the HLS CAS Stenciling Challenge.

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge.  There are lots of ways to add stenciling to a card, and I'll be adding more cards throughout the month of April, showing different stenciling techniques.  I hope you'll be inspired to playing along!!


This is also a reminder of the April Mixed Media Card Challenge - Flowers, which runs until April 25th.  Come check it out! :)

And I'm going to enter this into the new challenge at Virginia's View #14 - Layers and Dimension.

And into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Happy Birthday.

Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Arches Watercolour paper 140 lb. cold press
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon (Tim Holtz); Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Homemade Yellow Spray (using yellow Liquid Watercolour concentrate from Dick Blick),  Starburst stencil (cut with my Silhouette Cameo), embossing paste (Dreamweaver), palette knife, Acrylic White paint, Lovely Aster die (Memory Box), Sun punch (Punch Bunch), sponges, stylus and mat for shaping, champagne mist acrylic paint (Tsukineko) mixed with water to add sparkle to the flower.

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
Mixed Media Card Challenge - April - Flowers
Virginia's View #14 - Layers and Dimension
Simon Says Stamp - Happy Birthday

Faux Mother of Pearl

Hi everyone.  We are already into the second week of the March CAS challenge ... and there are some gorgeous cards in the gallery.  I hope you'll check them out and join in the fun with you CAS Sponged cards!  :)

My card above uses the Faux Mother of Pearl technique.  I have made a youtube video to watch if you're interested in trying this technique.  Basically you randomly pounce a little shimmer paint using a scrunched up piece of cling wrap.  Once dry, you sponge over top with ink ... distress inks and dye inks work best.  The shimmer paint acts as a resist so the ink sits on top of the randomly pounced design --- you just puff it off with a dry paper towel.  Makes for an easy, but beautiful, design that can be used as a background or for die-cutting.  Today I simply punched out four squares from my Faux Mother of Pearl paper and added two-layer butterfly with a scroll die, which I hope looks like a butterfly trail.  :)  A simple sentiment and the card was done.

I hope you'll give this technique a try, or use any sponging technique that you like and join in our fun and easy challenge.  Be sure to keep your card CAS, use some sort of sponging and add to the link at Happy Little Stampers blog.

This is also a reminder of the Mixed Media Card Challenge - Hints of Spring that is running until Mar. 25.   Still lots of time to play! :)

I'll be back next week with a final reminder card for the challenge.  In the meantime, check out the cards below! :)

Butterfly Grid

Stamps:  Bitty Birthday (SU!)

Paper:   White (Neenah); Vellum - 40 lb. (Bazzill)

Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate (SU!) 

Accessories & Tools:   Frost Shimmer Paint (Tsukineko), cling wrap, sponges; Elegant Scrollwork die, Moonlight Butterfly die, Kaleidoscope Butterfly die (all from Memory Box)

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I'm going to share a couple of more Faux Mother of Pearl cards I made while on the Dirty Dozen Design Team at SCS.  These haven't been posted on this blog before, so I'm sharing them today.  They are made from one piece of card stock done with the Faux Mother of Pearl technique.  I cut the piece up to create a background for the first card, and used the leftovers to die-cut the butterfly on the second card.

Flowery Thank You

Stamps:  Short and Sweet (SU!)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Whisper White, Bermuda Bay (SU!)

Ink:  Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Bermuda Bay (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Frost Shimmer Paint (Tsukineko), cling wrap, sponges, Madera Corner die (Memory Box), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), Oval Nestability (Spellbinders), half pearls

Lacey Butterfly

Stamps:  Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Whisper White (SU!)

Ink:  Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Bermuda Bay (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Frost Shimmer Paint (Tsukineko), cling wrap, sponges, Circle Nestability (Spellbinders), Flourish #6 die (Crafty Ann); Moonlight Butterfly and Kaleidoscope Butterfly dies (Memory Box), Scoring Plate; Paper piercing tool, and mat

Challenges:

HLS March CAS Challenge - Sponging

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Hints of Spring

Daisy Hello

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of the February Sketch Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  Kylie has come up with another fabulous CAS sketch ... which can be used for ANY style of card (doesn't have to be CAS).  I hope you'll come and play along! :)

Here's the sketch ...

I did keep my card CAS (clean and simple), sponging a background using a starburst stencil, and adding a die-cut flourish with a little sponging around the edges to give it interest.  The daisy is punched and shaped using tweezers and a stylus (see my written tutorial here on how I shaped this flower).  I added a teeny, tiny bit of pattern with the brad I used for the center of the daisy.  A simple stamped sentiment finishes the card.  I wanted to match the colour of my brad and didn't have an ink that colour, so inked the stamp first with ripe persimmon and then one quick swipe with barn door and then stamped ... it matched pretty well. :)

That's about it ... pretty simple design.  Easy peasy card to make that didn't take very long.  I hope you'll come and play along with our sketch challenge.

And, if you also enter your card into the same challenge located on the Happy Little Stampers Forum, your name is automatically entered for a random draw prize.

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You may have noticed that I haven't been around for a little while.  Just over a week ago, I was out for a nice walk with my hubby when I tripped and fell.  I tore a tendon in my leg and had to have surgery.  I've just been home from the hospital for a few days now.  The recovery is at least six weeks with not being able to put any weight on the one leg and have it straight at all times.  It's a challenge to say the least.  After that there will physio to get everything working properly again.  This means my on-line time  will be limited and I may not be get back to my studio for quite a while.   In the meantime, I have some pre-scheduled posts with some fun cards that I hope you'll check out.

Stamps:  Where Your Heart Is (Simon Says)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz (SU!); Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon, Barn Door (Distress inks by Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Starburst stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, sponges, Flourish #6 die (Crafty Ann), Medium Daisy Punch (Punch bunch), Designer Brad (SU!), tweezers and stylus for shaping daisy, glue dots

Saturated Watercolouring Technique (Video)

Hi everyone.   My plan was to post watercoloured cards once a week as a reminder about the current CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  But I'm obsessed with watercolouring right now and it seems that just about every card I've been posting lately is watercoloured.  :)  There's so many wonderful watercolouring techniques to try! :)

The card above is made with the Saturated Watercolouring technique.  It's fun and easy to do and probably a lot of you have already tried this.  I've done a video tutorial and posted it below for those interested (both cards shown in this post are made using the piece of watercoloured paper from the video).  The craft mat from Ranger makes it so easy to do these techniques and it wipes up easily too.

Saturated Watercolouring - YouTube video






Here's the second card using this technique ...

I hope you're inspired to join in the fun at Happy Little Stampers Blog and share your CAS Watercolour cards.

I'll be back with a reminder next week with another CAS Watercoloured card using a different watercolouring technique.  Stay tuned! :)

I'm going to enter the butterfly card into the current challenge at Virginia's View (#11 - clean slate).

Butterfly card:

Stamps:  Be Happy (Amy R)
Paper: White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press) - Butterfly
Ink:  Smoky Slate; Re-inkers Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Spray bottle filled with water, Elegant Scrollwork die (Memory Box), Moonlight Butterfly Die (Memory Box)

Leaf card:
Stamps:  Sunny Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Smoky Slate; Re-inkers Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Spray bottle filled with water, Fresh Foliage die (Memory Box), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart)


Challenges:
Virginia's View #11