One Last NCM Challenge (and Card)!

I was enjoying my Spring Break, minding my own business - blog
hopping this morning and to my great surprise on Joan's blog, Dear Paperlicious, I discovered there was yet one more National Craft Month challenge!  Wooo!  My next stop was the Right At Home Blog to read the details!  The last challenge: use a background stamp.  This caused a bit of a quandary for me - I've been trying to feature Right At Home products this week, but I don't have any of Nicole's background stamps.  Earlier in the week, I created a background sheet using RAH's Abstract Florals for this card and scraps were still on my desk, so I put them to good use on today's card with RAH's Cup of Joy stamps and the one of the Script Greeting dies.  Covering my bases, the coffee cup is stamped with a Happy Birthday background stamp from MFT.

Challenges Entered:
Cards in Envy March 19/ - No patterned paper
Dream Valley #175/ - Spring colors
Through the Craft Room Door 3/27/ - AG
Retro Rubber #83 - AG/ (1 year old RAH stamp; 2 years MFT)
Time Out Challenges #105/ - Birthday

CAS Colours & Sketches #265 - Sketch Challenge

This week's CC&S sketch was perfect muse for one of the sympathy cards I have needed recently.  I was inspired by Kelle Lunceford's gold embossed card using the Tall Blooms stamp set from Reverse Confetti's recent release.  I try not to follow along when stamp companies announce their new releases because I always get sucked in and buy!!  (I must be their target market, right?!?)   In a weak moment, I followed along with Reverse Confetti's blog hop for the March release and of course I ordered stamps, dies, and their 6x6 paper pack (actually, 2 packs because I wasn't paying attention to my cart!!).  I used some self-restraint and pared down my cart because all of their DT cards made me want it all!!  I do think I'll get lots of use out of Tall Blooms, although I keep telling myself it's not exactly like other floral sets I have and I love the sentiments!

Take a look at the rest of the CAS Colours and Sketches DT cards for this week here and then come and play with us this week!

Challenges Entered:
Colouring in Scrapland March/ - AG
Pammie's Inky Pinkies #1812/ - AG
The Paper Girls #148/ - Embossing
Card Mania #102/ - Embossing

Card Remake Challenge

One of the National Craft Month challenges Nicole Baez had at the Right At Home Blog was to recreate an old card design.  My original card was made in October 2017 and used Right At Home's Abstract Florals stamp set and watercolors.  This one combines the stems and leaves from Abstract Florals with some flowers, the sentiment, and a stitched frame from Find the Beauty Die set.  The paper is from Doodlebug.

Challenges Entered:
Pammies Inky Pinkies #1812/ - AG
Crafty Friends #80/ - AG

National Craft Month Fun - Some White Space

I spent some time in my craft room this afternoon playing around with one more entry for Right At Home's week long celebration of National Craft Month.  There have been challenges and opportunities for winning prizes all week.  This challenge a card with lots of white space.

I used the same two Right at Home sets from the watercolor challenge (the sets are super-versatile!) - Script Greetings and Abstract Forals - this time with white embossing powder and Distress Inks.  I used brown embossing powder on the center detail and then added dots from a white Sharpie.  The camera doesn't pick up the shimmer from Wink of Stella on the colored part of the flower.  Blending isn't my strong suit, but the white embossing powder makes it easy to layer on colors and keep the blend looking smooth.

Challenges Entered:
Crafty Friends #80 - AG
A Bit More Time to Craft #64/ - AG
Card Mania #102 - Embossing

Playing with Watercolors . . .

. . . and another entry at the Right At Home Shop's celebration's for National craft Month.  Today's post is about trying a watercolor technique.  I have to admit, I'm a little reticent with watercolors.  I think part of my reluctance is not giving enough time to play with them and then there's the hard time with letting go of control of the results!!  This card turned out okay, though. 

I started out by using white embossing powder for the sentiment from Right At Home's Script Greetings stamp set and then getting my watercolor paper wet and laying down a couple of colors behind it.  I used an aqua painter to layer more colors;  the striation effect with the blues and greens was a happy accident, but I liked it!  I painted random colors for the flowers and leaves on another scrap of paper and then stamped the flowers from Right At Home's Abstract Florals and fussy cut around them.  Some of the leaves are drawn free-hand  and fussy cut.  The wispy leaves are die cuts from another company (as are the flower centers).  Three pink sequins finished this card off.

I had enough fun today that I am researching watercolor paper and paints to see if I want to add to my collection!!  I hope you will share your preferences in the comments!

Challenges Entered: 

Crafty Girls Creations #45/ - AG
A Perfect Time to Craft #03/ - AG
Just Us Girls #433/ - Photo Challenge 
Happy Little Stampers March Watercolor/   

ATSM Challenge #284 - CAS

Welcome to a new challenge on the Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge Blog. Our challenge this week is CAS.  I am in need of some baby cards, which is perfect for a CAS card.  I stamped the bear from an old Amuse set on patterned paper and heat embossed it with brown.  The baby's name was stamped with Mama Elephant's Calli Letters Alphabet set and the frame die cut is LJD Rectangle Peek-A-Boo Window from MFT.  A few layers, lots of white, and a simple design!

Take a peek at the rest of the DT inspiration HERE and then play along with our CAS challenge this week!  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Incy Wincy Designs 3/19/ - No more than 3 colors
Pammie's Inky Pinkies #1811/- AG
The Crazy Challenge #270 - Baby Card
Sweet Stampin' 3/17/ - Use your paper scraps
CAS On Friday #128/ - Celebration card w sequins

CAS Colours & Sketches #264 - Colour Challenge

Fiona's colours for this week's CC&S challenge made me long for a hot summer day.  When I was blending the Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red inks, all I could think about was orange and raspberry sherbet!!

I started by creating a background using heat embossing with white EP and blending inks around the tulips and Bermuda Bay dots.  The stamp is Abstract Florals from Right at Home stamps.  I die cut PTI's Large Tulip Tag Die
from the paper and layered it on top of MFT's LJD Rectangle Peek A Boo Window die. (Which I have been using a lot lately!!)  A strip of washi tape is on paper under a hello die cut, some Wink of Stella, and then Rose Red ribbon finishes off the card.

Challenges Entered:
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #78/ - AG
Crafty Calendar March/ - Add A Tag
Hiding In My Craft Room #344/ - Tic Tac Toe
(Ribbon, Glitter, Blending)
Inspired By All the Little Things #82/ - Photo
Cards In Envy 3/18/ - No Patterned Paper
Dream Valley #175/ - Spring Colors

CAS Colours & Sketches #263 - Sketch Challenge

I loved figuring out what to do with Fiona's sketch for this week CC&S Challenge.  The idea of a sentiment in the middle took me to my collection of word dies.  The word happy, from W Plus 9's Happy Trio die set uses four layers of paper using "Stick It" adhesive to give it dimension.  MFT's Label Maker stamp finished off the birthday part of the sentiment.  From there, I decided to stamp the corners with flowers from my Banner & Wreath stamp set from Avery Elle.  Three ivory matte sequins finish off the card.

Hope you will find time to stop by the CAS Colours and Sketches Blog and add something to our galley this week!

Challenges Entered:
Retro Rubber #82/ - Tic-Tac-Toe (Embossing, die cut, birthday) -stamp 2 years old
Use Your Stuff #303/ - Die cuts
International Art & Soul #28/ - Emboss & Use a Die Cut
Send A Smile 4 Kids (March 5th)/ - AG

My Time to Craft #366 - Easter or Spring

I pulled out my new PTI Bunny Blessings stamp set and dies for the Easter/Spring theme of the latest My Time to Craft Challenge.  The outline bunny stamp is heat embossed in brown on watercolor paper with lots of brown inks layered for the look!  The eggs are stamped and my Copics were handy in making the grass.  The background is PTI's Mix and Mat Confetti Die, which I finally purchased and love it!! So cute, right?!?

We had a snow day on Monday, so the extra time in my craft room meant more time to play.  I started messing around with the stamps and came up with a second card using the more of the Bunny Blessings stamp set and a sentiment stamp from Polka Dot Parade #1 Mini Stamp Set .  I added a little dimension to the white bunny's ears with Copics.

Hope our theme inspires you to load a card in the My Time to Craft Gallery.  You have a fortnight to play!  Pop over and see what the DT has in store for you here!

Challenges Entered:
Brown Sugar #276/ - Spring/Easter
Crafty Catz #407/ - Layer it Up
Aud Sentiments #198/ - AG + sentiment
Cards 4 Galz #66/ - Furry Friends
Craft Rockets #46/ (March) - Something New
Creative Knockouts #235/ - Die Cuts or Punches
Crea Chicky March/ -  Easter
Creative w Stamps #24/ -March Bunnies

ATSM Challenge #282 - Make Your Mark!

Back for another ATSM Challenge - this one is called, Make Your Mark!  A theme about using any medium to make a mark with color is right up my alley, so I pulled out my Copics and colored pencile to create a card for my youngest granddaughter's birthday.  This sweet image, an oldie from Lili of the Valley, reminded me of Marlowe - hair all over the place and a little disheveled from being a busy toddler!!  The red rubber stamp isn't available anymore, but if you like the style, you can find similar characters in their digital images section.  The sentiment is one of my recent purchases from Altenew, called Love Labels.  The circle die cut is Shape Shifters Circle 1 from PTI's most recent release.

Take a peek at what the DT did with the Make Your Mark theme and then come and play along with us!

Challenges Entered:
Aud Sentiments #198/ - AG + sentiment
Use Your Stuff #302 /- AG
Fashionable Stamping #132 - One for the Girls
Send A Smile 4 Kids March 3 - AG for A Girl
As You Like It 3/1/ - Single or multiple layers & why. Multiple!!  So much visual interest and you can hide mistakes!
Seize the Birthday 3/1/ - AG
Colouring in Scrapland March - AG

CAS Colours & Sketches #262 - Colour Challenge

It's the first CC&S Challenge for March and I am wondering how it can be March 6th already?!?!  Fiona is hosting this month, starting with a great colour challenge.

Originally, I was playing with a faux watercolor idea and some stamped images, but things weren't working out as I planned.  (I think I need to spend a little of my spring break time "playing" around with various watercolor techniques.)  This tulip image I've had sitting on my desk (probably since last spring) caught my eye. It's a digi image from Power Poppy called Tulips in a Hobnail Pitcher.   Marcella Hawley has gorgeous illustrations and I appreciate that she offers stamps and digital images on her site.  I pulled out my blender pen and began coloring with the Crushed Curry ink instead of stamping.  Keeping with using ink colors (rather than Copics) I substituted Lucky Limeaid for the leaves and stems and added some Rich Razzleberry for dimension and depth in the greenery as well as the inside of the tulips. MFT's Label Maker stamp set was used for the sentiment.  I distressed the edges and added a twine bow to complete the vintage feel of my card.

The close up gives you a little more idea of where I used the Rich Razzleberry (which seems pretty close to Fresh Fig when stamped in multiple layers like I did for the sentiment!!)

I can't wait to see what you do with this week's colours, but first, I hope you will check out the DT inspiration on the CAS Colours and Sketches Blog!

Challenges Entered:
Color Inspiration #31/ - March
Crafty Cardmakers #206/ - Floral Delight
Crazy for CAS #4/ - Spring
Paper Players #383/ - Spring
Krafting Kimmie #420/ - One Layer Card
Colourland in Scrapland March/ - AG