Copper Birthday

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for my oldest son, Evan.  His birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to make something with heated copper, which he will appreciate.

I started by creating a stencil monoprint background with a mini tiles stencil, using Lindy's magicals.  The colours are very intense and also very sparkly.  I thought they would work really well with the copper.  I die-cut a fern leaf from a heated copper sheet and attached it to the card front.  A simple sentiment is heat embossed in copper to match.

Close-up ...

I was inspired by two of the CAS Challenges to make this card ...

CAS Mix Up

... and ...

CAS Stencil

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stamps:  Everyday Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper:  White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Lindy's Magicals (Bachelor Button Blue, Sassy Sapphire, Tiffanylou's Blue); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Mini Tile Texture stencil (TCW), water mister, copper sheet, mini blow torch, Pair of Ferns die (Cheery Lynn), copper embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up
CAS Stencil

Jessie's First Photo Shoot

Hi everyone.  Today's post is all about Jessie (no card), so feel free to close out if you're not interested.

Jessie (6 mos.) had her first official photo shoot with Alex (photographer extraordinaire!).  The photo above is Jessie sitting on my (back) deck chair ... making herself nice and comfortable. :)  Below is another shot of her sitting in the same chair.

We have a beautiful red maple tree in our front yard that has dropped all it's leaves this time of year.  It makes a perfect backdrop for the photo shoot.  Isn't Jessie pretty??!!

I'm so happy with the photos.  Amazing work Alex!!

Also a photo of Jessie and Violeta (my grand-doggie) ...

... and one of Violeta by herself.

I will also share a photo of Violeta and Tessa (my friend Susan's dog), under the maple tree in my front card, that Alex took back in 2016.  They were both puppies at the time.  You can see in the photo above, how Violeta has matured (and mellowed!).  Tessa looks exactly the same to me now as she did then.  And she didn't get much bigger either.  They are both such pretty girls!

All photos by Alejandro Garcia Photography, copyrighted.

CAS Stencil November Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of our last CAS Stencil challenge for the year.  The team will be taking a break for December.

This month is hosted by the very talented Linda (Life in the Craft Lane).  This is my favourite stenciling technique.  I hope you'll give it a try and play along with us!

I used a crackle stencil and just one colour of distress ink, Brushed Corduroy.  I swiped the ink across the back of the stencil and then placed the inked stencil on an acrylic block, just so it's lifted off the table and is easier to pick up when wet.  I spritzed with lots of water and then turned it over onto a piece of mixed media paper.  I used paper towel to blot continuously until no more ink was coming off.  This created a crisp and clean image.  I removed the stencil and then placed another paper towel on top, swiping across with my hand to pick up any access ink.

A second piece of mixed media was used to make the leaves.  I used Lindy's magicals to get intense colour and shimmer.  Once dry, it was die-cut with a leaf die from AliExpress.  I do love this die!

Cut down my stenciled background and added a stamped sentiment to match the leaves.  Popped the panel on top of my card base with a piece of foam, gluing the leaf in place.

Close-up ...

We are thrilled to have Lucie (Lucie G. Stamps) as our Guest Designer this month.  Please check out the challenge blog to see the beautiful Stencil Monoprint cards from Lucie and our wonderful Designers.  Come join us in the gallery with your CAS Stencil Monoprint card!

Stamps:  Essential Sentiments (Makers Movement)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Brushed Corduroy, Rusty Hinge (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Lindy's Magical Powders (Cowabunga Copper, Maple Crimson), Crackle Stencil (Prima), water mister, Leafy sprig die (AliExpress)

Challenges:
CAS Stencil November Challenge - Stencil Monoprint

CAS Christmas November Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of the LAST CAS Christmas challenge for 2019.  The CAS teams will be taking a break for the month of December.

This month, Trina is our host and she has chosen ...

What says warm and cozy to you??  Is it being bundled up with a warm scarf when it's cold outside?  Maybe a hot chocolate or coffee by the fire?  Whatever makes you think of warm and cozy, that's what we'd like to see for this month's challenge.

The above card was an experiment.  I took a watercolouring image but only watercoloured the hat the nose.  The rest is paper pieced, which took a bit of work since this is a silhouette stamp (not outline).  I think Frosty's lovely rainbow plaid scarf looks super warm and cozy. :)

Close-up ...

We are thrilled to have Bobby (bits and pieces) as our Guest Designer this month.  Please check out the challenge blog to see the amazing "warm and cozy" cards by Bobby and our Designers.  Then come play along.

Hope to see you in the gallery!

Stamps:  Bundled Up (Penny Black); Merry Up (Penny Black)
Paper:  Mixed media (Strathmore 140 lb.); Preppy Prints (Sunny Studio); Real Red (SU!)
Ink:  Distress Inks: (Black Soot; Carved Pumpkin, Fired Brick (Tim Holtz); Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  water brush, fine black marker, hole punch, white gel pen

Challenges:
CAS Christmas November Challenge - Warm and Cozy