The Challenge #93 {Everyone needs a friend like you}

Just popping in with this week's new design for The Challenge! It's keywords again, which I just really love! I hope you got a chance to play last time and that you're excited to play again this week! I realized something this week...my last three cards for the challenge have been YELLOW! How crazy is that?! I guess I just really like yellow! I also decided to use it because one of the keywords is Friendship and yellow roses are a symbol of friendship so I guess that just stuck in my brain.

                                             

 Anyway, you can check out all of the details HERE. If you'd like even more inspiration, you can see what the other designers have come up with as well.

Anita Madden

Claire Broadwater

Kim Heggins

Lee Ann Barret

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Rachel Bergfeld

Vicki Finger

For my card, I chose to use the Glorious Petals Stencil as well as some embossing paste and clear embossing powder for a fun effect. It is the same technique that I used on THIS card and I included a little bit of a tutorial if you are interested. Since one of the keywords is "monochromatic", I only used two shades of yellow! After it was all done, I die cut it using the largest circle nestabilities die that I have. The sentiment was heat embossed using gold powder onto a strip of vellum cardstock. I didn't want to hide the fabulous background that I created so I thought vellum would be a nice choice. A strip of thin gold washi tape underneath the sentiment adds a little bit of shine and a few more circles.

I punched out quite a few butterflies using an old Martha Stewart Crafts punch in three shades of yellow for contrast and interest. I adhered them onto the circle portion using liquid glue. I bent them in the middle first so that they would have a little bit of dimension.

The finishing touch was a trio of yellow rainbow sparkle jewels around the sentiment. I also couldn't resist making a coordinating envelope since I had a template in the perfect size. This sweet little card measures 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 I also created a liner for it as well in another yellow pattern. Everything looks so sunny and happy! I hope you get a chance to play! Thanks for fluttering by!

A second helping of The Challenge #88

I just couldn't resist making something new to show you using the latest inspiration for The Challenge. Last week's challenge will be running for TWO weeks so you have time to play if you haven't already gotten a chance! You can check out all of the details HERE. I wanted to change things up a bit and show you another "look" using these fabulous keywords!                      

When I made the card in my last post[scroll down to see] I really was hoping to make a card similar to what I am showing you today. I mentioned that I couldn't find my watercolor pencils so I decided to revisit the idea, but just blend my colors instead. I really like how it turned out without the pencils! I showed the watercolor panel to my daughter with excitement and I mentioned that it looked a little bit like tie-dye. She promptly told me it was hideous and only hippies would like my card! So...I really hope there are a few hippies stopping by today! Ha ha! {she did later admit that she liked it. Ah, the joys of teenage girls}

The keywords are: square (check). I was hesitant to take a big chunk out of my newly created background, but I wanted to incorporate the square in an unexpected way and I really like the result. Keyword 2: bright [check]. Nothing is as bright and cheery as a rainbow. 

To begin, I adhered the Glorious Petals stencil on top of a 4 by 5 1/4 inch panel of 140 lb coldpressed watercolor paper to my mat board and applied an even coat of embossing paste over the stencil. I offset the stencil slightly so that the center was not placed in the center of the card. I immediately removed the washi tape and stencil and washed it in warm soapy water had my daughter wash it in warm soapy water. Ha Ha! 

I poured crystal clear embossing powder over the entire surface while the embossing paste was still wet. I heat set it to a glossy shine! So pretty! I toyed with the idea of using white, but ultimately decided on the clear so that it would have a softer look.

Once it was cool, I sponged a rainbow of colors onto the stenciled panel starting in the center of the flower portion and worked my way out changing colors as I went. Because I used the crystal clear powder it resisted the ink on the embossed portion. I wiped the excess ink off of the top with a kleenex and then spritzed it with water. So...keyword 3: watercolor {check} keyword 4: flower{check}

While the watercolor piece was drying, I took the opportunity to jazz up the inside of the card with a coordinating rainbow birthday sentiment. Keyword 5: birthday {check} I just inked up the image using my Stampin' Write markers. 

Of course the outside needed a birthday sentiment as well and since I didn't want to cover up the gorgeous background, I opted for a narrow sentiment. I embossed it using white powder from PSX. I placed the die cut square at a slight angle and then adhered the black sentiment strip using foam squares.

The finishing touch was adding the tiny rainbow sparkle jewels here and there. I placed them onto the panel exactly where that color was represented in the panel. It's hard to tell in the photo because they blend so well, but in real life, they look fantastic!

I had so much fun creating this and I hope you all get a chance to play along! There will be a new challenge next Thursday! Thanks for fluttering by!

Blessed beyond measure!

 I told you I wouldn't be able to resist using Round Repeats again! I actually made this right after I put together the mini card and tag from my Secret Sister gifts. I really liked the way the Hawaiian Shores ink looked full strength and then stamped off once. I decided to leave the design with only the two impressions so that I could play around with some of the other elements included in the set.

The second color I brought in is Limeade Ice. Blue and green are so lovely together.....one of my favorite color combinations; so refreshing and calming. I added the center element in a bold black to give it some added interest; I really like how it looks. I also added an additional sentiment to the inside of the card using black ink.

 The card base is created using Limeade Ice card stock to pull in more of the lesser used color. I toyed around with a Hawaiian Shores base, but ultimately, Limeade Ice was the perfect choice. I really like the softness it brings to the project without adding any heaviness.

 Black is the perfect choice for the sentiment to really pop against the lighter background. It also helps balance the black medallions in the middle of the pattern. The  word Blessed was die cut 4 times out of black card stock and then layered on top of each other using Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Adhesive. 

 The stamped portion of the sentiment is from the Inspired: Blessed mini stamp set and it has been only used once as well. So shameful! LOL! I stamped the "beyond measure" portion onto a strip of black card stock using Versamark Ink and heat embossed white powder over the top for a striking and bold look.  

These elements are adhered to a vellum card stock panel using Scor Tape directly under the black sentiment piece to hide any adhesive marks. I love using vellum because of the softness it creates, but sometimes getting it adhered to the project in a sightly manner can cause some trouble. I really like how it looks and I do feel that it is secure enough. I also added a trio of Sparkling Clear sequins for some shine and added dimension. Such a simple card, but it gave me a chance to play around with this fun set. My husband's birthday is Sunday and I am hoping to try it out in a masculine design since I am already done with Father's Day cards. Go me! Ha ha! Thanks for fluttering by!

A little bit of Sunshine

I'm sharing a quick shaker card today for a friend who was having a rough day. I'd just made some cookies so I thought I'd create a quick card to brighten her day.

I don't know about you, but some sparkle, shine, and chocolate are sure to lift anyone's spirits!

I was in quite a hurry because I had another appointment but I was happy I could sneak in a quick card. I had so much fun in the short time I had and now I have all kinds of ideas with this set running through my head. 

The sequins lay just below the sentiment which worked out nicely so it didn't hide the entire sentiment.

To begin, I cut a circle from the upper portion of some Buttercup card stock. I made a white cardbase as well. I used my embossing buddy to reduce the static on the card base.

I stamped the sentiment using Versamark ink directly in the center of the circle. I hadn't glued anything down at this point, I just payed it there for placement. I used white embossing powder and heat set it with my heat tool.

Once that was done, I blended some Hawaiian Shores ink over the sentiment.

I stamped the sunburst images onto the front of the yellow piece and then attached the acetate window with scoretape. I then added the foam strips.

I chose a few different sequins from the Shakers and Sprinkles kit. I also added a few Crystal clear sequins as well.

I added a few more sequins to the front for some added shine and detail. I also added a strip of glitter card stock to add some visual interest and proportion. Thanks for fluttering by!

2017 Grad!

I made a *loose* promise to myself that I would keep clear of my creative space and only do housework and laundry today! Well, we can see how well that worked out!! I was perusing Instagram and saw today's Color Throwdown Challenge and I knew they would be perfect for a few graduation cards! The high school colors are green ,white and black, so these lighter hues are just as good! I'm excited to send these simple cards out to a few deserving graduates!

I wanted to make good use of my time so I inked up one sheet of 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper with the green that matched the color in the challenges as best as I could. I spritzed it with water and let it dry.

While the paper was drying, I pulled together the few elements that I would be using for the rest of the design. My one and only graduation stamp comes from Mega Mixed Messages and it was the perfect size to accent these cards.

The background for this card was created using the Chevron Cover Plate die cut from gray paper and then layered onto a card base of gray as well. This one is for a boy, so I wanted it to be subtle. I am going to brag about the new Sand Eraser that I got last week. It helped me out again on this design. I adhered the die cut numbers too high, because the tassel was an unexpected, but happy, afterthought. I removed them, but it left bits of foam tape as well as pulled the gray paper up. I wasn't happy. I hate spending time on something just to have it ruined. The sand eraser removed the rough gray paper as well as the adhesive that was left. I have an adhesive eraser, but this worked better.

When I die cut the numbers, I knew that I would be creating two cards with one piece of watercolor paper, so I really had to be tricky to get it to fit. The negative space creates the background for this card and the die cut numbers are adhered to the other card.

The watercolor piece is layered onto gray and then onto a white base. The tassels for both cards are from Hobby Lobby! I bought them for book club MONTHS ago and never used them so I was happy to happen upon them yesterday when I was cleaning. I remembered them today and was so happy I did! They are tied to the cards with silver cord wrapped around the card twice for security since the tassels are so heavy.

The sun peeked out from the clouds just long enough for me to snap a few photos! Thankful for tiny  mercies! Tomorrow is my Keeping Christmas post, so stay tuned. You can see a little sneak peek on Instagram @kellylunceford today! Thanks for fluttering by!