I picked up a few new stencils for myself for my birthday and I had some time to play around with them last week. I intended to only make one card, which is the first one I will be showcasing, but I wanted to do some comparisons with the result by using Distress Oxide ink as well.
This is the first example that I watercolored. I knew going in that it would be a loose, organic watercolor rather than crisp and tight like the stencil. I know that I would need to use some spray adhesive on the stencil to keep it clean looking, but that isn't the feel I wanted to create. I used THESE watercolors. They have beautiful colors and are very creamy. I used to only use the liquid watercolors, but I really like using these ones as well.
To begin, I taped the Bold Floral Stencil over a piece of 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper and begin filling in the negative space with green paint. I was mostly focusing on the areas with leaves. I came back in with a beautiful blue color for an earthy feel. I really like the color combination. I did add some gold here and there for contrast.
I removed the stencil and went back in with a wet brush and smoothed and defined some of the lines a little better. This was very fun for me because it felt more natural, rather than following a "Pattern" so to speak. The I really didn't have a plan for the watercolor panel once I was done, so I added a quick and simple die cut and heat embossed sentiment to a strip of Kraft cardstock. I used the Scripted stamp set and coordinating dies. I used the same technique as I did for THIS card if you're interested in reading more about it.
Once I was done with that card, I wanted to compare and contrast by using the same stencil but using Distress Oxide inks instead. As you can see, the results are much softer and have a completely different feel, even though I used the same stencil and colors.
I tried to very carefully only sponge the flower areas blue and the leaf areas green, but you can see where there was some overlap.
This die cut sentiment is from a set I bought a few years ago and I don't remember the manufacturer to link it. I stacked it in the same way I did on the previous card, but decided to add some Glossy Accents as well for some shine. The "dearest friend" sentiment is from the "Scripted" set as well. I've linked it in the previous card. Thanks for fluttering by!
I just couldn't resist making something for this week's Color Throwdown Challenge. I also couldn't help but making an ice-cream card as well using the new Summer Swirls stamp set from Altenew that I got a few weeks ago. It was the perfect set for these sweet, summery colors!
To begin, I sponged some distress inks onto a piece of Bristol paper for a smooth blend. I wanted to recreate the look of three scoops of ice-cream to mimic the look of the cone on top of the ice-cream truck. Once that was done, I spritzed it with some water and some shimmer spray. I really like how it looks sugary and sweet! I set it aside to dry so that I could work on the rest of the card elements.
I colored the truck and the ice cream cone on top using Copic Markers and a little Wink Of Stella for some added shine. The windows on the truck have some Nuvo Crystal Glaze to make them look realistic. I normally would use Glossy Accents, but I was wanting to try the glaze to see how it compares. Here is my result; the crystal glaze is much thinner in consistency than Glossy accents. It says to test before use, which I ignored the first time I used it and regretted it. It feels different so it is important to "test first". Ha Ha!I diecut the colored images using the Summer Swirls Die Set.
I adhered the focal panel to an A2 card base and then stamped the "you" sentiment using Palette Black ink. I thne added the die cut pieces using foam squares. The black sentiment strip was added using foam squares as well. I heat embossed it using white powder for a nice pop.
I sponged the same colors onto one of the ice cream cone images for the inside.
I added some Raspberry Pink Nuvo Drops here and there as well as a trio of Sparkling Clear Sequins. Thanks for fluttering by!
P.S. I have a STACK of cards that need to be photographed as well as a few fun teacher projects I have been working on. I also got a STACK of new stamps to play with as well.
I've been busy as a little bee collecting all kinds of wonderful Back-to-School gifts for my boys' teachers this year. The dollar section at Target had a fabulous selection of rainbow teacher school supplies that I picked up! I knew that I HAD to make some fabulous rainbow cards to match everything! This card was originally made for The Challenge, but with sadness, last week was the last challenge! Sniff, sniff! I had so much fun participating and being part of a team again! I wish Lesley all the best as she juggles her creative life and taking care of her adorable, sweet new baby! If anyone understands needing to minimize, it is me!
My generous sister gave me the entire collection of the new Distress Oxide inks for my birthday and I was DYING to get inky. I had to wait because of other commitments which was torture, but I FINALLY got a chance to play! The challenge was a sketch challenge, so that is what all of the layers and tabs reflect. To begin, I started with the ever amazing and useful Teach and Inspire stamp set from PTI. I absolutely love it and use it ALL THE TIME! I created a rainbow of colors, but not in rainbow order on the focal panel. I wanted to give it a whimsical and fun feel. I just love how the chevron image looks like a book being opened. I gave it a light spritz or two of Shimmer Spray. After that was all dry, I mounted it onto a panel of True Black Cardstock to make it all POP!
I added a few Rainbow Sparkle Jewels here and there on a few of the different color sections for some added sparkle and shine. I am seriously in love with them, as those of you who visit often already know!
The heart embellishments on the "tabs" are leftovers from THIS card and they worked out so well on this card. I added some Glossy Accents because it just looks amazing and adds even MORE shine! If you're interested in how I made them, check out the card that I linked earlier.
I was loving the new colors of Distress Oxide inks so much that I decided to create a coordinating blended background. I used the same colors as I did in the focal panel, but this time in rainbow order. The colors I used are: Candied Apple, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, (Salty Ocean in the focal panel) and Picked Raspberry. After I had blended the background, I spritzed it with water and shimmer spray for optimum oxidization.
I hadn't planned on so much black, but it really made sense to mount it all onto an A2 card base to frame all of the other black layers. I think this design will coordinating perfectly with the gift baskets that I have put together for the teachers. Thanks for fluttering by!
Today is overcast and a little rain here and there so I thought I would share something bright and tropical! I got these amazing palm frond die cuts at Hobby Lobby a week or so ago and they have just been waiting for me to use them. I thought they paired nicely with the Some like it hot stamp set. I don't have any other tropical flora and fauna sets so I was excited to add these to my stash.
To begin, I die cut a large oval window from a sheet of Stamper's Select White Cardrstock and then used the woodgrain impression plate to create the texture for the rest of the panel. After that was done, I sponged some Broken China distress oxide ink onto an A2 card base using the oval opening from the woodgrain piece as a reference for size. I spritzed it with some water and Shimmer Spray Sprtiz for some shine.
The palm fronds are cut from Simply Chartreuse cardstock with a little bit of Simply Chartreuse Ink sponged on the edges for some contrast. These were also doused with a spritz or two of shimmer spray. Once that was all done, I left everything to dry and started working on the hibiscus flowers and other die cut pieces. The "happy birthday" sentiment comes from the Happiness in Bloom stamp set and I really thought the fonts complemented the overall feel of the design nicely. I heat embossed it onto the blue sponged portion of the card base using gold embossing powder. It did warp the card a little bit so I ran it through my cuttlebug to flatten it out again.
I added some Wink of Stella to the flowers to bring in some added shine.
The white oval panel is attached to the A2 card base using foam squares and then I began building the scene around it. The finishing touch is a generous dose of Bright Gold Nuvo Drops here and there. I had so much fun using them on THIS card, I thought I could create a similar effect.
I decided to put the oval piece that was cut from the focal panel to good use and create a sentiment for the inside. I used the "Happiness In Bloom" set again but this time with a different sentiment and mixed black ink and gold embossing. I like how it turned out. Thanks for fluttering by!
I've noticed that the light has started to change the last few days. As much as I love Autumn, it sent a panic through me and it reminds me that I need to savor the remainder of the Summmer; it happens to me every year. I've registered the kids for school, gotten most of the Back to School shopping done so I can just sit back and enjoy the last few weeks! I needed to make a few cards to send out this month and I thought this sentiment was perfect....and I'm obsessed with coloring these berries! I made a card earlier for the current "Make it Monday" challenge; magic slider cards. Let's just say mine wasn't so "magic"! LOL! I ended up making the colored panel into a completely different card, which I will be sharing soon. It used the berries and so I was still in the mood to color them.
To begin, I made a side folding A2 card using Spring Moss Cardstock and then die cut the 3 background "patches" using the coordinating "patch" die, but I can't find it on the PTI website to link it up. I can't imagine that they would have discontinued it and not the stamp set. Hmmmmmm..... I decided to stamp the circular image from the Strawberry Patch stamp set using Simply Chartreuse ink rather than the coordinating Spring Moss for more definition. I was aiming for a "soft" look, but didn't want it to be washed out, either. I found this gave it a perfect balance.
The berries, flowers and leaves were all die cut using the coordinating dies and then colored using Copic Markers. After they were all colored, I added some Wink Of Stella to the highlighted areas of the berries for some added shine. I really like how the seeds on strawberries look so I added some white Nuvo Drops onto the seed portion for some dimension. I realized AFTER I added them, that strawberry seeds are recessed into the berry, rather than on top, but I still like the detail it gives the berries. I didn't have yellow drops, so I used white. I colored the seeds underneath yellow with a Copic Marker and I was hoping that the white would pick up the yellow like it has on other designs that I have done, but it didn't work. I guess the area was too small.I added Morning Dew Nuvo Drops onto the leaves, around the sentiment and the center of the flowers.
I arranged all of the berries, leaves and flowers in a cluster in the center of the card. I thought it would look less predictable and give it a little bit of interest. I also tied a bow of black baker's twine onto the side of the card to tie in the black.
The inside sentiments are from the Strawberry Patch Sentiments and are so fun to use. I'd been missing the "much" stamp FOREVER which made many of the sentiments obsolete and I was so bugged. I FOUND IT while making this card! I was so happy! It was tucked in between the paper that is included in the stamp set. I swear I looked there like 1,000 times, but there it was! Happy Day! I also added a popped up berry to finish it off! I had so much fun putting these cards together (I made two identical cards)! I can't wait to pop them in the mail! Thanks for fluttering by!
I couldn't resist playing in this week's Color Throwdown challenge. You can check it out HERE. I decided to create a Christmas card for the challenge since you can't ever have too many! I thought the colors were perfect for a woodsy look and I have been dying to create a wreath like this since I made THESE gift tags last year.
To begin, I dry embossed a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock using a Richard Garay embossing folder called "Pine Needles" (i think). The sentiment was heat embossed onto a strip of white cardstock using ZING gold embossing powder. I attached it to the wreath using hot glue.
I threaded some black and brown gingham ribbon through a gold jingle bell for some extra dimension and addding in neutrals is acceptable with this challenge (thank heavens). The ribbon/jingle bell is attached with hot glue as well.
I die cut a nestabilities circle out of Kraft cardstock and then attached the wreath embellishment with hot glue. The circle was then added to the embossed panel using foam squares. The embossing design has a lot of little circles all over so I added some gold Nuvo Drops on top of those as well as some larger ones here and there. I really like how it turned out. Adding that much of "one" thing is a little bit scary, but in the end I really like the result. I think I will be experimenting with this more for holiday designs. It reminds me of twinkling lights in the branches of a Christmas tree. I think I will try it with some colored drops as well. So fun! Thanks for fluttering by!
Thanks for joining me today as I share this week's design for The Challenge! It is a fun "glamping" style party inspiration photo. While I took a very literal approach, the possibilities are endless with all of the little details in the photo. I considered doing a bubblegum machine, cupcakes, and more, but when you have the Happy Camper stamp set and coordinating dies as well as the Mountain Scene die, you gotta go with it! I was actually very happy to pull these supplies out, since I haven't used them yet this year. 
You can read all about the challenge and the rules HERE as well as see what this week's guest designer created (it's darling)! You can see what the rest of the team created as well.
Since the theme in the photo seemed to be a birthday party, I decided to create a fun birthday card as well. Of course, the colors were a great inspiration as well! I decided to bring in some of the wood grain by using the Woodgrain Impression Plate. I really like this plate because it has a horizontal pattern on one side and the vertical image on the other so it is a two-for-one! I chose to created a vertical card for today' design. Once that was done, I die cut a circle using a nestabilities die, but saving the inside portion that you will see later on in the post.
Once the circle was cut, it was time to create the scene. I sponged some Broken China Distress Oxide Ink onto the top portion of a white circle that was nestled down into the negative space that the circle die cut created. I spritzed it with a little bit of water to get it to oxidize just a bit. After that was done, I simply die cut and stamped all of the rest of the pieces to create the scene.
The sentiment strip was stamped using one of the coordinating sentiments. I added another strip of pink paper for some added interest as well as a retro vibe. A trio of Sparkling Clear Sequins finishes it off. The top of the card ended up feeling empty to me. I stared at it a while and just couldn't decide what to do. My sister was over and she suggested a banner like the one on the camper or something! Light bulb moment! I remembered that I had the right size banner die from the Globe Greetings die set from Concord and 9th! I die cut them from the same cardstock as the tiny ones on the camper and then brushed them with my Wink of Stella Brush to add some of those "glamping" touches! They were the perfect addition thanks to my sister! LOL!
I mentioned earlier that I was creating this as a birthday card so I decided to use that left over woodgrain circle to use as an anchor for my sentiment. I also used some of the other details that the front uses as you can see. The sentiment is from the Stylish Sentiments: Birthday set which is always my go-to birthday set. I hope you find some inspiration and join us this week! Thanks for fluttering by!
