CAS Colours and Sketches #282 - Sketch Challenge

Love the angles on Jeanne's sketch for this week's CC&S sketch.  I opted for minimal stamping and used some of my hoarded SU DSP for the main panel on this card with a word die from Sugar Pea Designs.

Hope to see your makes in the CC&S gallery this week.  Check out inspiration from the DT here.

CAS Colours & Sketches #281 - Colour Challenge

Jeanne has chosen some fun colors for this week's CC&S challenge.  My card uses Stampin' Up's Balloon Celebration stamp and features Lemon Lime Twist and Coastal Cabana with pink sequins as accents.  The sequins are iridescent, so the colors are a little more varied in the photo than IRL.  The sentiment uses both colors to create an ombre look.  Such a simple, fun card to make!

I hope you will play along with us this week.  Take a look at the  CC&S DT makes here!  Hope to see yo in the gallery!

New DT Announcement! ATSM Challenge #278

G'Day Mates and welcome new blog visitors from Down Under!  This is my first post as a member of the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge Blog, which comes to us from Australia.  I was thrilled when Kylie invited me to joint this group of talented and culturally diverse designers!

Holiday is the theme for ATSM's Challenge #278.  I've been on a quest to make Valentine cards for my grandkids and am coming to the end of my list.
My card uses products from a variety of companies.  The heart die cut is from Sugar Pea Designs, the  embossing folder is a Cuttlebug, and the stamp is an oldie from Stampin' Up, called Happy Heart Day.

I hope you will take a look at the rest of Team A's takes on the holiday theme and then play along with us in the ATSM gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Moo-Mania & More #159/ - Valentines/Love
Paper Shelter #325/ - For the One You Love
Pause, Dream, Enjoy #6/ -Valentine Card or Treats
Unicorn Challenge #29 - Valentine/Love
Cards In Envy 2/5/18/ - Love you so much
Stamps & Fun=Creativity 317/ - Hearts
Always Fun #44/ - AG
Mod Squad 2/7/- Hearts

CAS Colours & Sketches #258 - Colour Challenge

Patricia is February's CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge host and her first colour combination was dreamy to work with.  I am still working on creating Valentine cards for my grandchildren and this one is going to the youngest.  I actually raided the stamps on my grandkids desk in the craft room - some of you might remember it as an a stamp from an old SU set, called Happy Heart Day. It's paired with a sentiment from PTI using Wild Wasabi embossing powder.  After trying to color that elephant with my Copics and not being pleased with the color, I decided to stamp on patterned paper and fussy cut it.

Hope you will pop over to the CC&S Blog and check out the other DT makes and then play along with us this week.  See you in the gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Aud Sentiments #196/ - Valentine or Love sentiment

CAS Colours & Sketches #211 - Colour Week

Hi Everyone,

We're back with CC&S challenge #211.  This is a color week.  I had to adjust my colors, and am using Peach Parfait, Pure Poppy and Wild Wasabi.

I used a newly purchased Spellbinders die called, Overlapping Circles for my background and pulled out a very old hostess stamp set from SU! called, Simply Soft for the image.  The stem is colored with Copics and the flowers were stamped multiple times, first using Peach Parfait ink, then twice with Pure Poppy.  I used an acrylic block for the stamping to allow for more off-setting.  At first I tried using my Misti for the flower petals, but it was too perfect and I wanted to see more gradation in the bloom colors.  Love how this turned out. . .  CAS and it didn't take me all day!!

Drop by the CC&S blog to be inspired by the rest of the DT and then play along with us this week!

4 Crafty Chicks #257 - AG

It's my last post as a GDT member for the 4 Crafty Chicks.   It's been fun to be on the team and I wish them well.  I know I'll continue to enter their challenges!

The fifth Thursday of any month is a"Crazy Egg" or anything goes challenge for the Chicks, so this one should get your creativity revved up.  I decided to do a little something different and tried one of the watercolor techniques for my card.  I dug out an SU!'s long-retired stamp set, Petal Prints and inked up the open daisy with Daffodil Delight (at the center), Melon Mambo (middle), and Antique Linen Distress Ink (tips), spritzed with water and pressed!  Sounds easy, right?!?  I was in my craft room for hours getting this right!  Placement of the flowers around the sentiment, masking, and color combination!  One of those cards that took a whole lot longer than I thought.  It kind of works that way, doesn't it??  I'm pleased with the results, though. . .  love the look of it.

Stop over at the 4 Crafty Chicks to see what the DT has for you this week.  See you in the gallery!



Challenges Entered:
Fantastic Tuesday #96/ - Make it Feminine
Creative Inspirations #323 - Flowers
Addicted to Stamps & More #155/ - Photo Inspiration
Crafty Gals Corner #30/ - AG

Sister Act Challenge #48

The Sister Act Card Challenge is back again this week with Etsy shop Papers and Pencils as our sponsor.  My card uses a combination of stamps - Delightful Dahlia Additions from Papertrey Ink and an older sentiment stamp from Stampin' Up!  This is a CAS look for me.  Just a few stamps, scraps of paper for the sentiment panel and three rhinestones colored with Copics.

Here's hoping you join Sister Act's anything goes challenge this week.  We love seeing your creations.

A Little Stretch

Paper Doll - MFT

Today's card is one that is a bit outside of my comfort zone and challenged me in a whole different way.  It's inspired by images that are black and white photos and then a little color is added.

The girl is an MFT stamp.  I colored her with Copics to look like a black and white photo.  I then pieced her dress and colored it very light pink and pieced the angel wings by using a butterfly stamp  - (keeping it looking black and white).  My Ranger inks came in handy to create the pink background.  I brought out my paper doll die to add the string of paper dolls in her hands.  The overall card kind of has an "arty" feel to it.  The sentiment and butterfly are from Stampin' Up!.

My card in going in these challenges:
Friday Mash Up - I stretched this challenge a bit  and the card itself isn't as neutral, but the girl herself captured the challenge (neutral with a splash of color).

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C187 - no patterned paper

Avenue 613 - Anything goes  (My Euro Clown card was a "Top 3" in their last challenge!)

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Take a picture!

Thoughts of Spring

It was 40 degrees again in MN, so we are having to create our own spring thoughts right now.  This card is a combination of a few ideas coming together.  About a week ago, I came across this card on SCS made by Bridget Finlay.  I have the same stamp set, and never thought of using the flowers together the way Bridget did.  I've wanted to CASE it and tonight was the night!  I used the colors from the Playdate Cafe's Challenge and a sketch from Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 181.  This card makes me think warm weather is on its way!

Simply Soft - Stampin' Up!

Embossing on Patterned Paper

Harvest Berries - PTI & In Full Bloom-Stampin' Up

The lesson for Day 2 was about embossing on patterned paper.  I made two cards - I don't have any big background stamps, so I had to improvise using one the Gingko leaves from PTI's Harvest Berries.  I stamped them on patterned paper and clear embossed them, and then tool Old Olive craft ink on a sponge dauber and went over the paper.  Afterwards, the clear embossing is removed with paper and an iron.  (It reminded me of wax batik!)  Love the idea and how the leaves turned out.  Not sure about the card layout, but I was also trying a design element I saw in one of yesterday's videos (with the daisy circles).

I am trying to use some already stamped /colored images on my cards so I can concentrate on the patterned paper aspect of the card.  I had this daisy I colored with my Copics leftover.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but t is colored on patterned paper (soft stone from PTI).

Asian Fusion - PTI

I had the black and white polka dot paper on the floor and when I was going through my box of images "waiting to be chosen" for a card, I saw this  vase from  PTI's Asian Fusion set.  It was already embossed with black embossing powder with red Stickles in the center of the flowers.  I inked up my French Script background stamp with red ink and stamped over the black polka dot paper (next time I might experiment with embossing in red), and paired it with smaller red polka dots.  The solid black around the vase and the strip of red border provides contrast for the patterns.  I glued on a crocheted flower and a red button to mirror the vase.

Day 2 of the Pattern Play class

White on White

embossing folder - SU!

There is something beautiful about an all-white card.  I think it's the classic CAS type of card and one where design plays the central focus.

I tried a few versions of this card using a different embossing folder, and then this tulip one but where it framed the whole card - both were okay, but nothing special.  I liked the simplicity of the tulip border with the tree.  I tried it again and left space at the bottom for the sentiment which is popped up with dimensionals.  I love how this turned out.  Now I just have to work on photographing all white cards!

This card is for this week's Featured Stamper challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers, and Simon Says Stamps weekly challenge.

Supplies:
 embossing folder - Stampin Up!
 tree die cut - Memory Box
 sentiment - PTI

Monochromatic with a Pop of Color!

Season of Friendship - Stampin' Up!

Back again with another CAS card.  As I've done the "homework" in my online class, I have found that CAS cards take me a number of tries.  There's nowhere to hide mistakes or add extra things to balance out something that doesn't look quite right.  Even with a good idea, I've found that when something doesn't work, I have to start again.  Mess up on #2, start again, etc.

The card I posted today was my fourth try.  I told myself if it didn't work, I'd have to stop for the night and go to bed.  On my first card, everything was perfect until after stamping my snowflakes with white ink,  I grabbed clear embossing powder.  The snowflakes came out clear (ewww).  Second attempt -I got to the same point  and used white embossing powder.  The snowflakes jumped off of the card (ewww).  Third (now I'm getting tired) - I accidentally grabbed the white embossing powder and the tree and bird were white!  Yikes!  Luckily two hours after I began working and on my fourth try, life was good.  The white embossing powder was back in its drawer and no where near my card!  The snowflakes look great stamped with PTI's white ink.  Clean yes, but certainly not simple!  I guess I shouldn't do this kind of stamping on a work night!!

A CAS Weekend

Back again.  I signed up for a Clean and Simple Card class online on Friday night.  The class was four days in and continues through mid February.  I've spent the weekend working on CAS cards - which most certainly are NOT simple for me!!  My goodness - I could have colored a ream's worth of cards with my Copics in the amount of time it took me to do two cards yesterday!!

Here are a few that didn't end up in the trash . . .

Day 2's Lesson was a one layer white card.
I pulled out my Morning Cup set from Stampin' Up! to make this card (the sentiment is from PTI).  It's stamped with Memento Black and I used a few Copics to add the red and shade the teapot and the cup.  I used my SU real red marker to "doodle" the lines around the card.  In other renditions, I used a rule to make straight lines, but I like the doodle.  It looks effortless, but believe me ~ it wasn't!  You should see how many tries didn't work out.



                                                                                   




This is another version I made, using glitter for the border.  This one was a keeper too.

One of the ideas in Day 3's Lesson was stamping on address labels, cutting them into strips, putting them down on the card front and then stamping on top of them.  I didn't have a background stamp that was particularly graphic, so I make my own in a Valentine's Day theme.  I used stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms Hugs and Kisses and PTI's Tage It's 11 and Tremendous Treats Valentines.  It took a little while to put the background together (again making this not-so-simple!!!)  I made this card a bit bigger so you could see the lines between the cut labels.

As I was stamping on the labels, I had the idea to just stamp the background I created right onto paper and then make a CAS card, which is the one you see below.

This is one of my weekend favorites!  All of those pink stamps are separate stamps from three Valentine sets!  I wished I had one of those Fiskers presses when I was making the background.  Life would have been much simpler!  I also decided to enter it in the Moxie Fab World Background Challenge.


Stay tuned for more CAS adventures!

Welcome back - Week 2!

First off, I would like to thank everyone who has stopped by to visit my blog, my new followers, and people who have left comments!  It's been an exciting first week as a blogger.  At present, my blog has close to 150 visits - and has four followers, two of whom are folks I don't know!  Wooo!   Even my husband is checking my blog (which is pretty cute!).  The only unhappy feedback I've had is from my "Hanging with Friends" partners - because I'm not playing as frequently!

Today's post is a card from this week's Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoast.  I was inspired to create a Christmas card (!) from Bonnie's angel card.

As I have mentioned, I often stamp an image more than once.  Some of the extras go into a portfolio that I use as a reference for the Copics I use when coloring, and some end up in the "circular file".   Others are stored in a box on my desk where they eagerly await the chance to be featured on a card!  That was the case for this angel.

Love Lives Here - PTI

You can see that this is another card that has no coloring, but it utilized my second love - embossing!

•The angel, wings and sentiment are heat embossed with white embossing powder.

•A Cuttlebug embossing folder was used for the white behind the angel and SU's Framed Tulips folder completed the main panel of the card, which is then mounted on white.

•The angel is stamped on SU's Pure Poppy paper.  One of the die cuts from SU's Apothecary Accents set is used to cut her out.

•I cut a slit around each arm to insert the angel wings behind her.  This step took a little fiddling around, but I love its overall effect on the card.


If you look at my Splitcoast Gallery and a couple of cards on this blog, you may notice that I have several cards where the image goes outside of the border.  More on that in my next post!

Inspiration Plus!

I love a good challenge!  I can usually find one to jump start my creative juices over at Splitcoast.  Today's post started out with Saturday's Inspiration Challenge from a company in Asia that makes saris.

I was struck by their bold colors, but there was one that with soft off white, ecru, pearls and sea foam green that inspired me to make this card from an old Stampin' Up! set called In Full Bloom.  My flower is a bit more saturated than the inspiration picture, but I was focusing on shading the flower and concentrating on the light source, shadows, and providing contrast.  I have learned to stamp two or three images when I color to allow me to experiment and not worry about making a mistake.  Overall, this one came out well, and I liked the relative simplicity of the card composition.  (The deepest color paper was "as is" from my scrap drawer - gotta love that!)

I didn't stop there, I colored other daisies in pink, yellow and white.  Here are two more - one was finished using this week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge layout and the other is happily sitting in my stash of cards.

This sketch challenge card used paper from my scrap drawers - always happy to use that up!  Don't you think the yellow ribbon adds a nice touch to the card?  Design-wise, I'm not sure why, but it almost has a "cherry on top" element.

The last card for today was stamped on "damask" patterned paper and then colored. Papertrey Ink's soft stone collection of patterned paper is used here.  Love those polka dots!  I am a sucker for anything polka dot.

By the time I colored this flower, I felt satisfied with my shading (and the light source) - this time I needed to focus on contrast so everything in the daisy didn't blend together.  I knew when I started coloring that this card would be finished in a combination of gray, white and yellow.  The scrap drawer gave me the yellow paper behind the daisy (from an old SU DSP pack) and then trusty Stampin' Up! gross grain dotted ribbon brought it all together.

I have the day off of work and it's another frigid MN day - so I may just spend another day reenergizing myself coloring and making cards!