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52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October technique challenge

Oct 242015

Hello friends! It’s time for a technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown and this time it’s a fun one: emboss resist. Even though I don’t use this technique often, I always love the results.

I used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge for the layout of my card. I heat embossed the snowflakes and the sentiment with white ink and white embossing powder. Then I brushed a wash of ink and water over the embossing, which resisted the color. I love the subtle variation in the color where the ink tended to pool! Once the ink wash had dried, I die cut my card front and then attached it to a card base. It was pretty interesting (and fortunate) that the two colors of ink I used for the wash ended up blending to match a different Stampin’ Up color. I have to admit I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what our challenge participants at 52CCT create this week! Be sure to link your card at the challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, October 30. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bows and Holly, Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft); Pool Party (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: craft white (SU)
Other: white embossing powder (Stampendous); Baja Breeze and Soft Sky reinkers (SU); Stitched Rectangles die (Lawn Fawn)

Cards in Envy - Trick or Treat

5 Responses »

Oct 192015

Hello, and welcome to another Monday! Since it’s the third Monday of the month, it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next couple of weeks we’re getting into a Halloween mood by focusing on a theme of “Trick or Treat”. Cards for this challenge should be A2 size (4.25″ x 5.5″) and flat enough to fit in an envelope for mailing. Your card can be scary, cute, or anything in between, so long as it conveys the idea of trick or treating.

I’ve used alphabet stamps to spell out the sentiment for my card. I didn’t have enough lower case “r”s for the whole phrase “trick or treat”, so I decided to mix upper case and lower case to make the words. The bunny in the pumpkin and the “boo” quote balloon were both stamped on scrap cardstock. I used markers to color the bunny image, then fussy cut it and the quote balloon. They are attached with dimensional adhesive so they kind of float above the stamped sentiment. The layout for this card comes from the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. I’m also entering this card into the Lawnscaping “Too Cute to Spook” challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today! Now go check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made. I’m sure they’d love it if you visit their blogs and leave a comment. Then share your own trick or treating card with us at the CIE site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, November 1. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Jesse’s ABCs, Critters in Costume (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Tangelo Twist (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Stitched Rectangle die (Lawn Fawn); dimensionals (SU)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October color challenge

5 Responses »

Oct 102015

Hello! It’s time for a new color challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week our participants get to do some choosing of their own: we’re asking to create a card using either blue or purple, plus any metallic color of your choice.

Copper seems to be one of the more underused metallics, in my opinion, so I’ve decided to put it to use on my card by using some copper brads and by heat embossing the sentiment. I’ve paired my metallic with a couple of light blues. The layout for my card is from this week’s CAS(e) This Sketch! challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to check out the 52CCT blog to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then link your own card to the challenge post. You have until 7:00 Eastern time Friday, October 16 to play along with us. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Everything (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: copper (ColorBox)
Other: Stitched Snowflakes dies (LF); copper embossing powder (Ranger); copper brads (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #144

7 Responses »

Oct 012015

Hello! It’s time for a new month of challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches! Stef is our hostess this month and she has some fun challenge ideas in store for us!

As always, we start the month with a color challenge. I’ve decided to combine the colors with the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge that ends this morning. I used the polished stone technique with the blues from the challenge colors to create the marble-look effect on a piece of glossy cardstock. Then I die cut the hearts from it. I also die cut two small hearts from shiny gold cardstock and adhered them over the two largest polished stone hearts. I had a difficult time trying to get the colors to show true in the photo, so you’re going to have to take my word for it that the sentiment is heat embossed in gold.

How will you use these colors? Be sure to check out the CC&S blog to see what the rest of the design team has made. You’ll also get to meet our guest designer for the month of October. Once you’ve made your own card, be sure to link it at the challenge post by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, October 7. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Everything (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Gold Foil, Glossy White (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: gold (ColorBox)
Other: Soft Sky and Night of Navy reinkers, detail gold embossing powder (SU); Hearts dies (Lawn Fawn); corner rounder punch (EK Success)

CAS Colours & Sketches #142

16 Responses »

Sep 172015

Hello! This week at CAS Colours & Sketches we have another color challenge for you. This time we have some great colors from nature, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what our challenge participants do with them.

My card combines the color challenge with several other challenges. The layout for my card is taken from the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge that will be closing later this morning. I don’t have any alien/outer space stamps that fit the theme for the current Shopping Our Stash challenge, but I thought this monster stamp worked well with the colors. Aliens could be monsters, right? The monster stamp is an oldie but goodie from a set I bought about five years ago. The background stamp is even older than that. I used it here to stamp a background for the monster, forming a gradient with the greens, making this card eligible for the current Retro Rubber challenge. I used dimensional adhesive to pop up the monster over the background. The sentiment comes from the same stamp set as the monster image.

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Be sure to check out what the rest of the CC&S Design Team has done with these colors! Then share your own card with us by linking it to the challenge post by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 23. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Little Monsters (Lizzie Anne Designs); Single Brushstroke (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); Word Bubbles Framelits die, dimensionals (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #140

8 Responses »

Sep 032015

Well hello there! It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means we have a new hostess of the month over at CAS Colours & Sketches! Lizy has planned some fun things for us this time, and she’s starting us off with a really nice, soft, mostly pastel color challenge.

I had the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout in mind when I was making this card, although I took a few liberties with it by adding a matted layer and changing the rectangular focal point to a circle. The mint green color that Lizy chose tied into this week’s Paper Players challenge, and I chose the option of circle/embossing/Mint Macaron. Since I don’t have any Mint Macaron cardstock or ink yet, I just used the colors that seemed closest. My first attempt at coloring this image with my Copic markers was a flop – the green ended up too dark, and I just wasn’t happy at all with the result. So I started over again with my circular element and used my colored pencils with odorless mineral spirits. I was much more pleased with the way it turned out. Since I’m planning to send this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids, I chose a sentiment that hopefully will bring some cheer to a child of pretty much any age.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll share your own card with the CC&S challenge colors by linking it to the CC&S site by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 9.

Edited on September 8, 2015: Thank you to Lisa of the Paper Players Design Team for choosing my card as “A Cut Above”! What a nice surprise!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters Ever After (Lawn Fawn); Simply Said: You (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Sage Shadow (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Hampton Arts); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); D’Vine Swirls embossing folder (ProvoCraft); dimensionals (SU); sponge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

8 Responses »

Aug 152015

It’s theme week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and our challenge this time promises to be a fun one! We’d like to see your Christmas or wintry cards made with a child in mind as the recipient.

I’ve relied on one of my Lawn Fawn stamp sets since they have so many cute images. This little teddy bear image was practically begging to be used, so I stamped it three times across the image panel and colored the bears with my Copic markers. I stamped the bow image three times on a scrap piece of cardstock, colored them, fussy cut them out, and attached them to the bears. A couple simple mats and a sentiment later, and my card was finished. I’ve used the current sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch! for the layout. Using the markers to color the bears qualifies this card for the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

And there you have it! Be sure to check out what the rest of the 52CCT design team has made. Then make your own card for a child and share it with us at the 52CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 21. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); Real Red, Garden Green (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

deerly loved

6 Responses »

Aug 122015

Sorry… I just couldn’t resist the punny post title! This is a card I created to combine a few different challenges.

I’ve taken the color scheme from the current challenge at The Paper Players. I would not have thought to combine these colors, and I had a little trouble working with them, but I suppose it turned out OK in the end. I will readily admit this wasn’t one of my best coloring jobs, but I think the marker colors match the specified colors pretty well. The embossed clouds tie into the current AEIHeartU challenge. The layout is from the CAS(E) this Sketch challenge that ends tomorrow morning. The two butterflies are adhered with dimensional adhesive for a little visual separation from the background. The narrow strip of kraft cardstock is stamped tone-on-tone with a subtle texture stamp.

Challenge 27

Thanks for stopping by today!

Edited on August 15, 2015: What a happy surprise it was to see that Nance of the Paper Players Design Team chose this card as “A Cut Above”! Thank you so much!

Supplies:
Stamps: Storybook, Simply Said: You (Avery Elle); Linen (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Kraft (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); clouds embossing folder, dimensionals (SU); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

CAS Colours & Sketches #136

2 Responses »

Aug 062015

Hello! I have a little bit of happy news to announce today – I’m the hostess for this month’s challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches! I hope that you’ll give the challenges a try and have fun with them!

A new month always gets started off with a color challenge. I’ve chosen some soft pastel colors that haven’t been used much in our previous color challenges. I haven’t made time to play along in the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenges recently and this week’s sketch really intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. I wanted a little bit of color variation in the circles, so I made watercolor washes of the three colors onto watercolor paper. I framed the washes with the coordinating solid color cardstock. I’ve used the inlaid dies technique for the circles so the card wouldn’t be really thick with lots of layers. In retrospect, it probably would have looked better if I’d used different size dies to cut the circles, but oh well. The butterfly was punched from scraps of the watercolor washes. The body of the butterfly is attached directly to the card front, and the wings are popped up with dimensional adhesive.

Now it’s your turn. Go check out the other design team members’ cards at the CAS Colours & Sketches blog – they’ve done an amazing job this week! Then show us what you’re inspired to create using these colors. If you don’t have the exact Stampin’ Up colors, that’s all right – simply use whatever you have that matches them closely. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, August 12 to link your card at the challenge post.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamp: Painted Petals (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Very Vanilla (SU); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Wisteria Wonder (SU)
Other: Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, and So Saffron ink refills, rhinestones, dimensionals (SU); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); stitched circle and stitched rectangle dies (Lawn Fawn); butterfly punches (Martha Stewart)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

8 Responses »

Jul 112015

Hello there! It’s color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. We have kind of a “pick your own” deal this time – we’d like to see what colors you like pairing with kraft.

I’ve always liked the look of light blues and light browns together, so I’ve put them together for my card. When I saw the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge, it made me think of snowflakes, so that worked perfectly for me. I’ve stamped the snowflakes (using two shades of blue) and the sentiment onto shimmery white cardstock. Hopefully the photo shows some of the shimmer. I sponged some pale blue ink around the edges of the white panel. Once I had the card all assembled, it looked like it was lacking something, so I added iridescent rhinestones to the centers of some of the snowflakes for extra sparkle. Honestly, this was one of the quickest cards I’ve made recently! It’ll be going into the box I’ll be sending to Operation Write Home before the end of the month.

I’m also submitting this card into the July CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

What colors will you use with kraft to create a Christmas or wintry card? We’d love to see what you can come up with! Share your card via the linky tool on the 52CCT challenge post no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 17. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow, Sophie’s Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Shimmery White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake (SU)
Other: rhinestones (Recollections); corner rounder punch (EK Success); sponge

Cards in Envy - Just Beachy

4 Responses »

Jul 062015

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy! Our theme for the next two weeks is “Just Beachy”. Make a card depicting whatever says “beach” to you – an ocean scene, beach balls, starfish, anything that you think of when you think of going to the beach. Remember, though, that the main requirement for Cards in Envy challenges is that your card must be A2 sized and not have any lumpy, bumpy embellishments that could push it over the first class postage rate.

I’ve used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout for my card. I paired some watery-looking designer paper with a lightly speckled cardstock that reminds me of sand on the beach. I stamped various seashells and a sand dollar on scraps of speckled cardstock, fussy cut them, and arranged them on the front of the card. The largest shell is raised up with cardstock shims to add a little dimension to the card. A simple sentiment finishes off the card and makes it a suitable addition to the cards I’m compiling to send to Operation Write Home by the end of the month. The beachy theme also makes this card suitable for the current Paper Players challenge.

Be sure to check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has created! Then create a beachy card of your own and share it with us using the linky tool on the site. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 19 to play along with us!

Edited on July 12, 2015: Thank you to Joanne of the Paper Players Design Team for choosing this card as “A Cut Above”! It was a wonderful surprise to start my week!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stipple Shells (Stampin’ Up); Year Round Sentiments (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Naturals White (SU); designer paper (source unknown – I’ve had this stuff for years!)
Ink: Soft Suede (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #131

5 Responses »

Jul 022015

Hello! It’s time for a new challenge at CAS – Colours and Sketches. Jane is our challenge hostess for the month of July, and she’s chosen some nice vibrant colors plus a neutral to get us started this week. I’ve combined our challenge colors with the soon-to-close sketch challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch! The sketch was a perfect opportunity to use this sentiment stamp. I didn’t have flowers in the deep raspberry color, and all my flower punches would have been too big, so I dyed some white Prima flowers with reinker.

Go see what the rest of the design team and our July Guest Designer have done with these colors. Then show us what you can create with them! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 8 to link your card at the challenge site. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamp: Thank You Note (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Kraft, Very Vanilla (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise (SU)
Other: Rich Razzleberry reinker, pearls, Beautiful Wings die (SU); Scribbles Swirls die (Sizzix); Stitched Rectangle die (Lawn Fawn)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

10 Responses »

Jun 132015

Hello! It’s color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this week we have a fun one that allows for a lot of creative possibilities! We’re asking our challenge participants to create Christmas or wintry cards using the colors black, white, and one additional color that each participant can choose for herself (or himself).

After some mental debate, I finally selected green as my additional color. The first card I created looked better in my imagination than it did once I put it all together. So I checked out this week’s challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch! and immediately thought, “Hey, I can do this!” Four die cut squares, a stamped and punched ornament, a simple sentiment, a few card layers, and a sparkly rhinestone later, here’s the result:

I’m also submitting this card into the Holiday theme challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Which color will you choose to add to our challenge scheme? We’d love to see what you select! Share your card with us at the 52CCT blog by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 19. Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team has made, too. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies for this card are from Stampin’ Up except the square die.
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Christmas Greetings
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Gumball Green
Other: ornament punch, rhinestone; Small Stitched Square Stackables die (Lawn Fawn)

CAS Colours & Sketches #125

14 Responses »

May 212015

Hello! It’s time for another color challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches! Our hostess, Stef, has chosen some bright springtimey colors for us this time.

I ended up making two cards for this challenge. The first one uses the sketch from the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge that closes later this morning. I’ve used watercolor washes of the three CC&S colors for the stripes of the sketch. I die cut the word “hello” a couple times from Crushed Curry cardstock and once from black cardstock and stacked them together for the star-shaped element of the sketch. I was going for the idea of the stripes making a landscape with the “hello” working as a sun, but I’m not sure I quite achieved it because I didn’t want to blend the color washes together too much and end up with a yucky color where the purple and yellow met. But anyway, I think it will still fit into this week’s Less is More challenge theme of “hello sunshine”.

My second card is more CAS than the first one. Since I still had my reinkers out from the first card, I started off with a watercolor wash for the background. Then I added in some simple flowers and a sentiment, rounded two corners of the image panel, and adhered it to the card base. Seriously, the most time consuming part of making this card was waiting for the background to dry. This card uses the sketch from The Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge and the “May Flowers” theme from Retro Rubber.

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Go see what the rest of the CC&S Design Team has done with these pretty colors! Then use the colors to make a card of your own, and share it with us at the CC&S challenge post. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, May 27 to link your card. We hope you’ll join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies for the “hello sunshine” card:
Stamps: Simply Said Hello (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Garden Green (SU)
Other: Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, and Garden Green reinkers (SU); Simply Said Hello die (Avery Elle)

Supplies for the floral card:
Stamps: Spring Garden, Three Little Words (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Garden Green (SU)
Other: Crushed Curry reinker (SU); corner rounder punch (EK Success)

CAS Colours & Sketches #123

4 Responses »

May 072015

Hello there! I hope May has gotten off to a good start for you. A new month means a new hostess for our challenges at CAS – Colours and Sketches! Stef has some fun ideas planned for us, so I hope you’ll consider playing along in our challenges.

The first Thursday of the month means its color challenge time. Stef has chosen a couple of nice neutrals with a punch of color. The neutrals led me to thinking about animals. No matter which of my animal stamps I considered, my mind kept coming back to Rhubarb bear, and this particular image of Rhubarb and his little birdie friend seemed to be the best fit with the colors. I’ve colored Rhubarb with the neutral colors, and I’ve attempted to color the bird to look like the robin that’s preening its feathers just outside my computer room as I’m typing up this blog post. The layout for my card is from the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge that’s closing later this morning. I’ve flipped the sketch mirror-image because the Rhubarb image feels better oriented this way.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CAS – Colours and Sketches design team did with these colors. Then show us what you can make with them! You can link your creation to the challenge blog until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, May 13. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Thoughtful Rhubarb, Somebuggy Loves You (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

Older Entries Newer Entries

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October technique challenge

Cards in Envy - Trick or Treat

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October color challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #144

CAS Colours & Sketches #142

CAS Colours & Sketches #140

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

deerly loved

CAS Colours & Sketches #136

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

Cards in Envy - Just Beachy

CAS Colours & Sketches #131

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #125

CAS Colours & Sketches #123

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Really great links

Really great shopping

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