Embossed Snow

Hi everyone.  Today I spent a lot of time in my studio.  Had lots of fun and ended up making four cards ... that must be a record for me.  Will share the others with you soon.

This is for the current challenge at Merry Monday (#157) that is being run by my good friend Bonnie.

I used an embossing folder for the snowy background that my friend Susan lent me. Love this folder!!

I die-cut some snowbanks and added dazzling details (glitter glue) along the tops, but it doesn't show in the photo.  It adds a bit of sparkle.

I stamped the owl, coloured it with Copics, added white dots to his scarf with a gel pen and then fussy-cut him out.  Glossy accents were added to his eyes and once dry, he was popped up on the snow for added dimension.  Stamped the sentiment and added some twine and I was done.  Easy, peasy card and so much fun to make! :)

I'm going to enter this into this week's JUGS challenge (291 - word week) as well ... they are looking for cards with twine.

And also a reminder about the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Die-cuts / Punches.  There's also a DT call going on. :)

Edited to add:  Just realized the challenge at ATS&M #143, is Holiday!  Perfect. Linking up to the challenge!  And thanks to my friend Sandie, for letting me know it fits the STAMPLORATIONS sketch challenge!


Happy to get another Christmas card added to my stash.  It's building ... slowly. Need to step it up a bit. :)

Have a great rest of the week!

Stamps:  Winter Owl (Lawn Fawn); Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches)

Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Real Red (SU!); Copics
Accessories & Tools:  Snow embossing folder (unknown), Snowdrift Dies (My Favorite Things), white gel pen, maraschino twine (The Twinery)

Challenges:

Merry Monday #157 - Embossing
Just Us Girls #291 - Word:  Twine
HLS May CAS Challenge - Die-cuts
ATS&M #143 - Holiday
STAMPLORATIONS sketch challenge

HLS May CAS Challenge - Diecuts

Hi everyone.  Time for the May CAS Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  This time we are looking for CAS cards which feature die-cuts or punches.

Today I'm sharing a card made with mostly die-cuts.  I die-cut the branch and leaves, adding dimension to them with some sponging and shaping.

I've done a short video tutorial on how I add depth and dimension to die-cut leaves by sponging ink and using my stylus and mat.  Click on the video link below ... or click HERE to watch it on YouTube.  Please give it a thumbs up if you found it informative ... thank you! :)

Click on PLAY button below to watch video tutorial:
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I fussy-cut two small baby birds (coloured with Copics), and have them peeking out of their nest perched on the tree branch.  The nest is made with a grapevine wreath die-cut.  I cut it up into sections and layered it on top of each other to get the general shape of the nest.  I added a few strokes of dark brown from my marker to give the nest some colour, and then glued little bits of flower soft on top (white flower soft dyed with brown re-inker), to give it even more texture.  Fun and easy to do.

This month I'm excited to welcome Bonnie (Stamping with Klass) as our Guest Designer.  Bonnie loves to make CAS cards and is an avid supporter of HLS.  She is so talented, and I have learned a lot from following her blog.  I hope you'll take some time to look around Bonnie's blog ... you'll be glad you did! :)

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge.  Make sure to have die-cuts or punches on your CAS card, and then add your link to the challenge.   I'll be back throughout the month, highlighting different ways to use die-cuts and punches on your cards.

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! :)

This is also a reminder for the current challenge at Mixed Media Card Challenge - Wings.  And I'm entering it into Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes, CAS-ology #144 - Flight, and ATS&M - #142 Make Your Mark.

Stamps:  Spring Groves; Sentiment Sampler (both from Paper Smooches)

Paper:  White (Neenah); Old Olive, Soft Suede (SU!)
Ink:  Old Olive, Soft Suede, Early Espresso (SU!); Copics: Y21, BG49, BG57
Accessories & Tools:  Tender Leaves dies; Twigs and Berries dies; Grapevine Wreath die (all from Memory Box), sponges, blender pen, stylus and mat, flower soft

Challenges:

HLS May CAS Challenge - Die-cuts / Punches
Mixed Media Card Challenge - Wings
Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes
CAS-ology #144 - Flight
ATS&M - #142 - Make Your Mark

Bloom with Hope

Hi everyone.  I made a card today inspired by three challenges.  First the beautiful card done by Chrissie Stokes for Muse # 115.  I just love her watercoloured images and the bold and vibrant colours on the black background.  The other inspiration was the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch #121, and I'm just squeaking in under the wire for the Less Is More Challenge #221 - Add a Tag.

Chrissie's card for Muse

I experimented a few days ago with a new-to-me technique (faux glass technique) after seeing this beautiful card done by Cathy (Cathys Card Spot).  I followed her link to the video tutorial by Sandy Allnock.  I had fun creating the background with three shades of red watercolours and some Brilliant Gold Pearl Ex dissolved in water.  I definitely need some practice with this technique as my colours didn't turned out very bright, but it was fun to play. :)

I cut out the piece described above with a tag die and then stamped over top with three blooms and heat embossed it in gold, along with embossing the sentiment in gold too.  And I took some more pearl ex and water and splattered that background of the tag.  I stamped the background of the card base with one of the stamps from Gorgeous Grunge and heat embossed it in gold as well.

Stamps:  Bloom with Hope (SU!); Gorgeous Grunge (SU!); A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)

Paper:  Black (SU!); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Stitched Tag Die (Paper Smooches), Watercolour paints, paint brushes, Brilliant Gold Mica Powder (Pearl Ex), gold embossing powder (hero arts), heat tool, gold cording

Challenges:

Muse #115 - Chrissie Stokes
CAS(E) this Sketch! #121
Less Is More #221 - Tag

More fun with Sprays

Hi everyone.  It's the beginning of May which means a new challenge at Mixed Media Card Challenge.  This month the theme is Wings ...

This card is made mostly with my homemade watercolour frost sprays.  I started with a piece of Mixed Media card ... love how the sprays and watercolouring has such a different look than using watercolour paper.  Both are great, just different.

I placed a cubist stencil over my card and randomly sprayed two shades of turquoise for the background.  Removed the stencil and sprayed lime green on top.  Then I stamped the image with Archival (waterproof) ink from Ranger.  I poured a few drops of my sprays into a palette and used them to watercolour the image using a paint brush. The frost sprays are so shimmery in real life which doesn't show in the photo.  A simple sentiment (also stamped in Archival) finishes the card.

I hope you'll check out this fun challenge HERE and see the amazing creations of the other Design Team members.  And I hope you'll come play along.  The challenge is open all month so there's lots of time to join in.

Here's Shery's definition of Mixed Media for the challenge ...

A card that has stamps and inks PLUS at least two products, embellishments, OR techniques that add texture and dimension.


Hope to see you in the gallery! :)

Stamps:  Nesting Bird (Stampendous); Sweet Summer Sentiments (Amy R)

Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Mixed Media (Strathmore)
Ink:  Archival Black (Ranger)
Accessories & Tools:  Cubist stencil (Crafter's Workshop), Sprays made with Liquid Watercolour Concentrate (Dick Blick) and Frost Paint (Lumiere) in Turquoise, Pale Turquoise, Lime Green, Green, Light Brown, Brown, and Blue

Challenges:

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Wings