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CAS Colours & Sketches #191

Sep 152016

Hello! It’s the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s color challenge time again at CAS Colours & Sketches.

The colors made me think of nature. For the focal panel of my card, I made a watercolor wash with Bermuda Bay ink. When it was dry, I stamped a wildflower image on it with a light color of ink. Then I used watercolors to paint over the image. I added in a touch of shimmery paint on a few of the flowers. Then I die cut the circle and the sentiment. The two vertical strips were stamped with subtle prints to give them a little extra visual texture. The focal panel is popped up over them with dimensional adhesive. The layout for this card comes from this week’s challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. I know that Send a Smile 4 Kids often needs cards for the teenagers they aim to serve, and I think this card will be suitable for that purpose.

Our curious furball wanted to know what was going on when I was photographing the card…

Now it’s your turn! Go see what the rest of the design team has done with these colors. Then show us what you can create with them! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 21 to link your card at the CC&S challenge site. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: In the Meadow, Sanded, Linen
Cardstock: Delightful Dijon, Cucumber Crush, Naturals Ivory; The Langton Prestige Extra Smooth Hot Press watercolor paper (Daler-Rowney)
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Gansai Tambi watercolor paints (Kuretake); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); Olivia alphabet die (ProvoCraft); Bermuda Bay reinker, dimensionals

CAS Colours & Sketches #189

3 Responses »

Sep 012016

Hello! Can you believe it’s September already? The year seems to be flying by. But yes, it’s September 1, and the start of a new month means we have a different hostess for our challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches. Karen has come up with some fun ideas for the month, and she’s starting us off with a color challenge.

I tossed a few different ideas around in my head before settling on one. I ended up going pretty darn simple, stamping a line of each of the three colors and then over stamping it with a sentiment in black. A black mat and a card base in the lightest of the challenge colors later, and ta-da! My card was done. I considered adding a few rhinestones but decided against it. Since this card will be going into my stash for Send a Smile 4 Kids I thought the card is more gender-neutral without the sparkle. When I was taking the picture of the card I realized that I could have made the sentiment stand out a bit more if I had heat embossed it, but it was too late to do that with this card. Maybe if I do another one I’ll try that.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you’ll make a card with these challenge colors and share it with us at CC&S. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 7 to link your card at the challenge site.

Supplies:
Stamps: Work of Art (Stampin’ Up); Incredible (Technique Tuesday)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August technique challenge

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Aug 272016

Hello! Can you believe that Christmas will be here in less than 4 months? Yikes! If you’ve been playing along all year with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, you probably have a good supply of Christmas cards all ready to go for the holiday season. I prefer that the cards my family sends out to be all the same design, but I’ve been letting my 52CCT cards accumulate to donate to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

This week we have a technique challenge for our participants to try: watercoloring. There are lots of ways you can go about this. You may use a watercolor wash for a background, you can color images; basically you can do whatever strikes your fancy so long as watercoloring is involved.

I actually have two nice sets of watercolor paints but I haven’t made the time to do much with them. This challenge was the push I needed to go for it. I decided to be brave and try using them to color images. I was heavily inspired by Maaike U.’s card and tutorial from last year. I used her technique of making a template using circular dies and tracing it with a stylus to create the ornament shapes on the watercolor paper. Then I painted the ornaments. I actually made two card fronts so I could work with both sets of watercolors. The card I’m sharing here is the one I liked better. I used Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors on this one. I have the set of 36 paints, and one of them is a gorgeous pale silvery-white shimmer that mixed well with the colored paints. I freehand painted the white “glare marks” and the ornament hangers. Once everything was good and dry, I drew in the ornament strings and stamped the sentiment. A simple mat and a card base later, and my card was done. Considering it was the first time I’d used this set of paints, I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out, but I do realize that I need to work on my shading and light areas when I color.

Here’s a second photo that does a better job of showing the shimmer of the watercolor paint and the copper cardstock mat, although the colors of the ornaments look paler than true to life:

It’s holiday challenge week at Addicted to Stamps and More, so I’m going to share this card there.

Now it’s your turn to visit the 52CCT blog and see what the rest of the design team has created this week! Then pull out your watercolors and show us what you can do with this technique. Link your card to the challenge site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, September 2. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamp: Holiday Script (Lizzie Anne Designs for Gourmet Rubber Stamps)
Cardstock: Raspberry Ripple, Brushed Copper (Stampin’ Up); The Langton Prestige Extra Smooth Hot Press watercolor paper (Daler-Rowney)
Ink: Copper (ColorBox)
Other: Gansai Tambi watercolor paints (Kuretake); multiliner pen (Copic)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

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Aug 202016

It’s time for another theme challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and we have a fun one that I think should be pretty easy to work with: gifts! The Design Team and I have all created cards showing different sorts of Christmas presents. Be sure to visit the challenge blog to see what everyone else has made!

For my card, I used the layout from this week’s CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. I used a gift image in the place of the triangles on the sketch. I stamped it three times onto a scrap of white cardstock and colored the gifts with Copic markers to coordinate with the designer paper I wanted to use for the bottom portion of the card front. After I put the designer paper and the presents on the card, I added a cheery sentiment. Quick and easy, and one more for the Send a Smile 4 Kids stockpile!

I’m also going to enter this into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Now it’s time for you to craft your own card showing off a Christmas gift (or a few!) and link it to our challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, August 26 to share your card. We’re looking forward to seeing what you create! Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum (Lawn Fawn); Wondrous Wreath (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Kraft, Season of Style designer series paper (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August color challenge

5 Responses »

Aug 132016

Hello there! It’s the second Saturday of the month, and that means it’s color challenge time at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This time we’re asking our challenge participants to be inspired by the classic color combo of red, black, and kraft.

It’s been a while since I’ve used any of my digital images on a card, but this one particular bear image seemed to be the perfect thing to use for the color challenge. I’ve colored him with Copic markers and added some hand stitching along the edges of the image panel. I’ve used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the layout of my card. I’ll admit that this card might be more accurately described as “clean and layered” rather than “clean and simple” but I’m going to go ahead and enter it into the current challenge at AAA Cards.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has made. Then show us what you can create with these colors! We’d love it if you joined our challenge this week. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, August 19 to link your card at the 52CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Rhubarb Santa (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Stamps: Happy Everything (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Real Red textured (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); printer ink
Other: markers (Copic); embroidery floss (DMC); dimensionals (SU)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August sketch challenge

3 Responses »

Aug 062016

Hello! Saturday means it’s time for a new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, where we celebrate Christmas all year round. Each week we offer a cardmaking challenge to help you create Christmas or wintry cards so you’ll have a bunch of cards ready to send when the holiday season rolls around. We’re kicking the month off with a sketch challenge.

This month’s sketch was drawn as a portrait-oriented rectangle, but I’ve squashed it down into a landscape-oriented rectangle for my card. I created a little scene on the left panel and used patterned paper for the right panel. The penguins were stamped onto a scrap of white cardstock, colored, fussy cut, and then assembled to the snowy background. I don’t think my camera captured it in the photo, but the cardstock I used for the snowy ground has a hint of shimmer to it.

I’m entering my card into the current Lawnscaping challenge.

Now it’s time for you to check out all the challenge details at the 52CCT site, and visit the rest of the design team members’ blogs for more inspiration. Then create your own card and link it at the 52CCT site by 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, August 12. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow, Hats Off to You, Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Shimmery White (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); patterned papers from Fa La La 6″ x 6″ paper pack (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Landscape Trio die (Mama Elephant)

Cards in Envy - It's a Heat Wave

3 Responses »

Jul 182016

It’s time for another challenge at Cards in Envy, and this time we’re taking on the theme of “It’s a Heat Wave”. This can be illustrated by using summery images or bright colors – anything that reminds you of summertime heat!

For my design team sample, I’ve done a remix of a card I shared late last week, using bright summery colors. I masked off a square area and stamped around it to create a frame for the cake image. Then I removed the mask, stamped the cake, and colored it to coordinate with the colors of the ink I’d used. I added a coordinating mat and ribbon and rounded the bottom corner of the card before attaching the main card panel to the card base.

Now it’s your turn! Check out the Cards in Envy site for all the challenge details and to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your creation(s) with us by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 31. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Year Three (Lawn Fawn); Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Party Pants (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Only Orange (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); orange grosgrain ribbon (Offray); corner rounder punch (EK Success)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

4 Responses »

Jul 162016

Hello! It’s theme challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this time we’re inviting our participants to create cards using the theme of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.

I puzzled over this for a while, and finally decided to go with the idea of “four calling birds”. I thought it would be cute to have the birds perched on a set of Christmas lights rather than simply on a tree branch or on an overhead wire. I stamped the birds and the light bulbs onto scrap white cardstock so that the colors would be more true than if I’d stamped and colored on the sky blue background. Fussy cutting them took a little while but I think it was worth the effort. The birds are colored with markers to coordinate with the colors of the lights. I splattered some shimmery white paint on the focal panel to look like falling snow. The layout for this card is an old sketch from Operation Write Home, although I changed the focal panel from a rectangle to an oval.

I’m going to link this card to this week’s “Make Your Mark” challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and to the “Christmas in July 4 Kids” challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to see what the rest of the 52CCT design team has done for this challenge, and then link your own card at the challenge site. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 22 to enter.

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Sparrows (Lawn Fawn); Holiday Baubles (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Real Red (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Holly Jolly Christmas 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); Frost White shimmer paint (SU); petite oval Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Stripes

3 Responses »

Jul 042016

Hello! Here in the United States, it’s Independence Day, and at Cards in Envy we’re tieing into the patriotic mood with a theme of Stripes. For this challenge, create a card featuring stripes of some sort. It doesn’t have to be a patriotic card; it can be for any occasion. The stripes can be stamped, die-cut, stenciled, or designer paper – whatever you can imagine, so long as it’s striped, it’ll work for the challenge. Remember too that your card needs to be flat enough to fit into an envelope and be mailed at the regular first class postage rate.

I’ve gone with a birthday card for my card for the challenge. After all, Independence Day is regarded as America’s birthday. I gave my card a more neutral color scheme, though. I’ll be donating this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids, so I thought it was best to make it suitable to give to any person of any age. I used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for layout inspiration, but rotated the sketch 180 degrees.

We hope you’ll have fun with this challenge and join in the fun and creativity! Link your card at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, July 17. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hats Off to You (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Watercolor Wonder designer series papers (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Basic Gray (SU)
Other: Party Balloons dies (LF)

Cards in Envy - Just Us Girls

3 Responses »

May 022016

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. Our challenge theme for the next two weeks is “Just Us Girls”. Create a card suitable to give a girl or woman of any age from 1 to 101. Remember that for our challenges, any embellishments must be less than 1/4″ thick, so that the cards can fit in an envelope and be mailed at the regular first-class postage rate.

I’m trying to build up a stash of cards again for Send a Smile 4 Kids, so I decided to make my card suitable for a child. I confess that I was in a time crunch when I was making this card, so I fell back on a design I’ve used in the past. I cut a strip of designer paper that’s mostly pink and white. I pleated it to give it some extra visual interest before I attached it to the card base. I colored the bunny on a small piece of cardstock that I’d cut into a circle. I die cut a couple of mats for the bunny and assembled them all together. I added a sweet little sentiment, rounded the bottom corners, and my card was done.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made! Then we’d love to see your creativity! What kind of girly card will you make? Share your card using the linky tool at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, May 15. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: My Silly Valentine (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Tea & Crumpets designer paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Houston Arts); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); corner rounder punch (SU)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April Pick a Previous Challenge

6 Responses »

Apr 302016

Hello there! It’s the fifth Saturday of the month, which means that at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, we get into the creative spirit by giving some of our previous challenges another go. As challenge hostess for April, I’ve chosen to revisit our previous theme challenges.

I decided to go with the theme from June 2014, Rudolph or reindeer. I stamped the reindeer onto scraps of cardstock, fussy cut him out, and reassembled him onto the designer paper I chose for the background of my scene. I added a red rhinestone to the reindeer’s nose to turn him into Rudolph. It’s a pretty simple and straightforward card, so without further chitter chatter, here it is:

I’ve used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the design of my card. I’m also entering this into the current Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge, to create a card with an animal on it for a child.

Which previous 52CCT theme will you choose for your card? Check them all out at the Themes tab on the challenge site. Then share your card with us on the challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, May 6 to link your card. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); designer paper from Fa La La petite paper pack (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Real Red (SU)
Other: red rhinestone (KaiserCraft)

CAS Colours & Sketches #171

5 Responses »

Apr 282016

Hello! It’s time for the last challenge of the month at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week we have a sketch challenge. It’s a bit unusual with some interesting curvy elements.

The curved lines of the sketch made me think of one of my oldest Stampin’ Up stamp sets. This set has four small border stamps, and three of the stamps have the images arranged in a curve. I decided to go with the little bug design and paired it with an appropriate sentiment from a different stamp set. I turned the sketch on its side. For each pair of curved lines in the sketch, I used the bugs for the “upper” line, and drew in some grass for the “lower” line. To add a little extra visual interest, I offset the mat behind the focal panel. Although this isn’t the type of card I personally would send someone, I think it’ll be a cute one to donate to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll check out what the rest of the design team has made, and then join us over at CAS Colours & Sketches with your own take on this sketch! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, May 4 to link your card at the challenge website.

Supplies:
Stamps: Itty Bitty Borders (Stampin’ Up); Somebuggy Loves You (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Real Red, Green Galore, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

CAS Colours & Sketches #169

5 Responses »

Apr 142016

Hello! It’s time for another sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. Any shape can be used in place of the circular shapes on the sketch graphic, but the elements at the top and at the bottom should be distinctly different sizes. It’s OK to tweak the sketch by turning it on its side or changing it to an A2 sized card. So long as we can see the basic elements of the sketch in your card, it’s all good.

I will admit that I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with this sketch, other than taking it from a square into a rectangular formatted card. Finally I spotted this butterfly die that I hadn’t used in a long time and decided to go with that, using the butterflies for the circular shapes. The butterflies are cut from designer paper that has some very large roses on it. The design is scaled more for scrapbooking than cardmaking, but I figured cutting the butterflies from the middles of the roses would work to give them a slightly multicolor effect. I’ve glued the middles of the butterflies down to the card base and popped up the wings for some dimension. Some tiny rhinestones add a little sparkle. I used some scraps of very old designer paper for the rectangular elements of the sketch, to give a sense of sky to the card. I wanted to get another Mother’s Day card made for Send a Smile 4 Kids, so that’s what decided the sentiment I chose. I’ll be entering this card into their current challenge. Even though it isn’t one of my favorite cards I’ve ever made, I’m satisfied with how it turned out.

What will you create with this sketch? For further inspiration, check out what the rest of the design team and our guest designer have made. Share your artwork with us at the CAS Colours & Sketches site by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, April 20. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies:
Stamps: It’s Good to be Queen (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Watercolor Wonder designer paper (Stampin’ Up); scraps of designer paper from an unknown source
Ink: Going Gray (SU)
Other: Beautiful Wings die, rhinestones, dimensionals (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #168

15 Responses »

Apr 072016

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! Louise has come up with some neat challenges for us, and we hope you’ll join in to show us what you can do with them.

We’re starting off the month with a color challenge, and Louise has chosen some bright colors for it. I used them to create a watercolored background, so the colors are toned down a bit on my card. The way the colors blended kind of created a fourth color, but trust me, I used only the three challenge colors for the background. When it was dry, I stamped some silhouetted flowers to make it look like the flowers are set against a sunset sky. Or maybe it’s a sunrise. Use your imagination! 🙂 I added a simple thin black mat to the image to make it stand out from the card base, stamped a sentiment, and called it done. It felt good to use some of my older stamps for this card.

I’m going to submit this to the current Less is More challenge, where the theme is “white space that isn’t white”.

Go see what the rest of the CC&S Design Team has done with these vibrant colors! Then make your own card with these colors and share it with us at the CC&S challenge post. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, April 13 to link your card. We hope you’ll join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Serene Silhouettes (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps); Everyday Sayings (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); The Langton Prestige Extra Smooth Hot Press watercolor paper (Daler-Rowney)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, and Tangerine Tango reinkers (SU)

Cards in Envy - Flowers or Fantasy

6 Responses »

Apr 042016

Hello there! The first Monday of the month brings a new challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we’d like to see cards based on the theme of “Flowers or Fantasy”. So long as your card shows some sort of flowers or fantasy creature, or a combination of them, it’ll be just fine for the challenge. Be sure that your card has no lumpy, bumpy embellishments more than 1/4″ thick, so that it could be mailed at the standard first-class postage rate.

I wasn’t feeling a floral mood when I needed to make my card for this challenge. I have a stamp set with several fantasy creatures and decided to use the dragon image. I colored the dragon with metallic Gelatos, blending the colors with a damp paintbrush. I hope you can see the shimmer in the photograph. The rainbow-like background was made by rubbing yellow, orange, and red gel sticks on watercolor paper and blending them with a damp paper towel. (Some of my products are plain ol’ gel sticks, and some are the brand name Gelatos.) I fussy cut the dragon, fit him to the card with temporary adhesive to figure out where his fiery breath should be, and then stamped and colored the flames by touching the damp paintbrush to the gel sticks to pick up the color. I also stamped the sentiment before I glued the dragon into place, and then I attached the card panel to a coordinating colored base. I’ve used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge for the layout of my card.

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 fantasy or floral card with us at the CIE site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, April 17. We’d love to have you play along with us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters Ever After, So Much to Say (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight (Stampin’ Up); The Langton Prestige Extra Smooth Hot Press watercolor paper (Daler-Rowney)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: metallic Gelatos, gel sticks (Faber Castell)

Older Entries Newer Entries

CAS Colours & Sketches #191

CAS Colours & Sketches #189

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August technique challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August color challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August sketch challenge

Cards in Envy - It's a Heat Wave

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

Cards in Envy - Stripes

Cards in Envy - Just Us Girls

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April Pick a Previous Challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #171

CAS Colours & Sketches #169

CAS Colours & Sketches #168

Cards in Envy - Flowers or Fantasy

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Really great links

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