Naughty or Nice Challenge #11--Use something NEW!!!

Hi and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Since it's a new year, the challenge this month at Naughty or Nice Challenges is....

USE SOMETHING NEW!!

I know, I know, Christmas is over, but there's a reason I'm sharing a Christmas card.  This is the first Christmas that I didn't send Christmas cards out in my adult life. It felt really strange, but after deciding that I was too busy to make and mail dozens of cards, a great relief swept over me.  We've been very, very busy and it was one less thing on my long "to do" list. I didn't bake either, which is so not like me, but again, I just didn't have time. Now, having said that, I did want to send something to my parents and my in-laws so I made a few cards and wanted to share the design with you today.  I hope you like it!  

My something NEW for this card was the silhouette of Santa and his reindeer. I also used a city scene, which I have never used before and distressed the entire background, which I can't remember if I've ever done ;)

I used three colors of Distress Ink to color the sky.  The image of Santa and his reindeer isn't a solid image, so I had to stamp and heat emboss, then had to color in all the spots with a Versamark pen and heat emboss again.  It was fun because with the distressing no two cards were alike :)  I also added some glitter with my Wink of Stella under the reindeer and behind Santa's sleigh to make it a little more magical, although it's not easy to see in the photos.

Supplies:

Santa's Flight by Amuse Studio

Distress Inks in Evergreen Bough, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers

Black Embossing Powder

Wink of Stella in Clear

Versamark Ink

Versamark Pen

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Submissions:
Southern Girls--Festive Project
Hanna and Friends--#212, Christmas
Little Miss Muffet Challenges--Something Blue

White Embossed Hydrangea with Watercolor

Hello, friends! Today I wanted to share a beautiful card I made using watercolor and white embossing powder. I just love this card and think the simplicity of it is what makes it so beautiful.

I started off by rubbing my anti-static on white cardstock before stamping my hydrangea stamp with Versamark Ink and heat setting it with white embossing powder.  I colored the image with my AMAZING Koi Watercolor set using two shades of green and one shade of purple. I made different shades by adding more or less water, depending on what I wanted.  Adding more water will make the color lighter; adding less water will make it darker. I really do love this watercolor set.  It's compact but has a wide variety of colors that seem to last forever, and comes with a water brush and mixing tray.  It's a lot of fun to play with :)

After painting the hydrangea, I set it aside to dry for a couple of hours. I wanted to make sure it was nice and dry before die cutting it so the colors didn't smear. I have done that before and it was so frustrating because I have found no way to save it after the damage has been done! This die was very intricate and removing the paper was tricky on the parts that had little curly q's, so I had to be very careful and move slowly.  Using wax paper usually helps remedy this problem, but I didn't have any an hand, so I went without it. Mental note to use it next time for sure, just to make it a little easier :)

I covered my cardstock in lilac paper and adhered the die cut with dimensional adhesive. And that is that :)  It wasn't a complicated card, but many times, the simple cards are just as beautiful!

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Spellbinders Nestabilities Majestic Elements Adorning Squares

Heat Tool

Dimensional Adhesives

Lilac Colored Cardstock

Koi Watercolor Pocket Field Sketch Box

White Embossing Powder

Hydrangea Stamp

Thanks for spending part of the day with me!

Iron Technique and Exciting News!

Hello out there! It has been far too long! We've had some problems with our internet acting up and suddenly had a TON of unexpected things going on. Life happens ;)  

I made a pack of cards for my mom's coworker who retired and this happened to be one of the ones I came up with. I actually started off with the rainbow background and let it sit for weeks not knowing what I was going to do with it.  I bought this sunflower stamp at Hobby Lobby months prior but hadn't had the chance to use it yet. I had forgotten all about it, but once I dug it up and started coloring it, it hit me that I was using the same colors as the background I had made weeks before! I put them together and really dig the result!

I used the iron technique on the background and really think it's one of my favorite techniques to do because it's just so much fun and the results are so cool!  It's like a science experiment the way the colors blend and change.  

First, I stamped a chevron background stamp onto watercolor paper, then heat embossing it with clear embossing powder. 

After all of the powder was melted, I took distress ink and smeared them all over the paper.  This could be accomplished a few ways: using a sponge or dauber, a blending tool, a paintbrush, or the ink pad. For this card, I wanted a more vibrant look, so I smeared the ink pad directly onto the paper.  It rarely looks fantastic in the beginning and sometimes it looks flat out terrible, but after spraying it with water and letting it dry, magic happens. Sometimes it turns out awful, but most times, it just has this really cool blended look to it.  I like to experiment to see what colors I like and seem to gravitate toward rainbow colors or different shades of the same colors.  

The last step with the iron technique is literally doing what the name says: iron the card. I like to make sure it's good and dry, so I let it sit overnight before doing this step.  Before ironing, I think it's best to put a scrap piece of paper over the ink then iron over it to lift off the embossing powder. You don't have to do this step, but it's fun and it wouldn't quite be the iron method if you didn't ;)  The embossing powder resists the water and ink, and when you iron that off, you're left with a flat background.  All of the parts that were covered with embossing powder are now the color of the paper you were using because you removed all of it.  It's really so much fun and it's like Christmas waiting for the final results :)

I stamped and colored the sunflower with Copics before fussy cutting it and adhering it to the background. I chomped the corners and added the little "thank you" sentiment on the bottom with dimensional adhesive, and that was that! I considered putting a little bow or ribbon on it but I really loved the CAS design so I stuck with it.

List of Supplies:

Stampin' Up Positively Chevron Background Stamp

Recollections White Embossing Powder

Iron

Versamark

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Distress Inks (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn)

Copic Markers

Scissors

Sincere Salutations Stampin' Up

Tombo Mono Multi Glue

Foam Dimensional Dots

EK Success Real Estate Sign Punch

We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Heat Tool

Spray Bottle

Water

Perfect Pearls

Thanks so much for sharing part of your day with me! I have some exciting product reviews coming up in the near future, so stay tuned! 

What's in a Background?

Hi there! Thanks for taking a little time out of your day to check out what I've been up to :)

A lot of times when crafters are in a crafty rut, we feel the need to stack and tape and stack some more, adding a lot of weight and dimension to our cards.  Adding all the pizzazz can be very fun (and sometimes frustrating), and I have seen plenty of gorgeous cards that have so much going on visually, but sometimes it can also be disappointing because behind all that glitter and glue and Copic coloring, we are still left with wanting more because something just didn't look or feel right. Then we want to add even more to make it right and the whole cycle repeats itself LOL 

Anyway, I want to be clear that I am not referring to the card makers who create the gorgeous, fancy cards with lace and roses and layers upon layers.  They make those cards because that is their style, and it's so beautiful.  That however is not my style.  At least not yet.

I prefer to make CAS cards (cute and simple cards).   That's my style and although it may evolve, it suits me just fine :) They're cute, adorable, beautiful, happy, and completely ME!

When you don't have a lot of layers, ribbons, embellishments, pictures, etc, you need a nice, simple background.  While shopping at Hobby Lobby one day, I grabbed this flower stamp in hopes that I could find something to do with it. Little did I know how versatile it would be!  I used it to create the background by inking it with Versamark and stamping in random places on pink paper. I stamped it again on Neenah Solar White paper before coloring it with a variety of Copic markers, fussy cutting it and setting it aside.  I stamped the butterflies on vellum and used a handy punch to cut them out :)  I tried a number of times to figure out exactly where I wanted to place everything and had a really tough time deciding.  You'd think it would be easier because there isn't much going on, but it was probably more difficult because of that fact.  Ultimately, I am happy with the final placement of everything and think this one turned out quite cute :)

Here's my product list for this one:

Neenah Solar White cardstock

Stampin' Up Papillon Potpourri stamp set and Elegant Butterfly Punch

Recollections Black Embossing Powder

Versarmark Ink

Pink cardstock

Stampendous flower stamp

Stampin Up Sincere Salutations 

Copic Markers (RV 10, 13, 14; YG 03, 05)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Fairy Silhouette

Hi everybody and thanks for stopping by today!  I normally don't buy card making magazines, but recently purchased Issue 107 of Papercraft Essentials magazine, mainly for the adorable fairy stamp set that came with it. I didn't have any silhouette stamps and I thought there were so many possibilities with this one, so I had to buy it! I couldn't wait to get home and try it out!  After I shared some pictures of projects, one of my friends said she wanted a card for her friend's daughter's birthday. Great! Here it is:

Isn't that so pretty?!  I used a few Distress Inks to make a watercolor background and added the little mountain using Distress Inks and a paintbrush. The fairy and mushrooms are embossed in black embossing powder and I used Stickles for the fairy dust. Adorable! The little girl loved it and one of her friends was completely mesmerized LOL Makes me feel good :)

Now, even though I love the way the card turned out, I'm not a big fan of the quality of the stamps; they seem very cheaply made. They're really flimsy and do not stick to an acrylic block AT ALL. I had to put a bit of glue on the backs of them in hopes that would help, but it barely did.  I stamped the images a couple of times to make sure I got a good impression, but I just couldn't get a good impression with other stamps in the set so I didn't use them.  Having said that, as I was creating the supply list for this post, I looked on Lavinia's website and saw that many people have complained about the quality of these stamps! They said that although they made the stamps, they used a different company to manufacture them and the quality was not up to par with what they usually put out. If this is the case, I'm really happy because their stamps are absolutely adorable and so unique, but since this first experience was not a great one, I had planned on not purchasing again. Anyway, the post continued by saying if we got a crappy set, like me, we are allowed to send them back for a replacement. I sent an email asking if I could do this because they are based out of the UK and I'm in the states, so I'm not sure if I would be allowed to.  We shall see!

Here's a list of supplies that I used:

Distress Ink in Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot

Recollections Black Embossing Powder

Silver Stickles

110 pound cardstock 

small paintbrush

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Lavinia stamps in Issue 107  of Papercraft Essentials Magazine (sorry, I can't find the name of it!!)

Versamark Ink

Thanks for spending part of your day with me!

Watercolor Hydrangeas CAN make a sick mama smile!

Hello, hello and thanks for joining me today!  I really love the support of my friends and family with this adventure.  One of my friends recently asked me to make a very personal card for her best friend who is pregnant and having a miserable time with hyperemesis gravidarum (AKA the most horrible morning sickness you could imagine!).  The only guideline I had was that she loved vintage things. Now, it just so happens that I too adore all that is vintage, so I was really excited to make something for her that would make her smile, even if it was only for a few seconds!   

Look at that!!  Now THIS project was a LOT of fun! OK, so really all of the cards that I make really are a lot of fun, but this one had so many fun elements in one little envelope: watercolor, pearls, vintage paper, vellum, embossing!  My friend was so happy with the final product and said it looked even better in person, and that the recipient absolutely loved it!

So, what did I use??

Hero Arts Hydrangea stamp

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Stampin' Up Embossing Powder in Copper

Zing Embossing Powder in White

Koi Watercolors

Paint brush

Piano paper

Vellum

Pearl embellishments

Ivory ribbon

Vintage Photo Distress Ink

You're Simply Amazing stamp (unknown manufacturer)

Fiskar's 3-in-1 Corner Squeeze Punch "Dot to Dot"

Thanks for spending part of your day with me :) I hope you liked the card!

OWH Scarf Challenge!

I have been getting away from challenges lately and need to make a better effort to get inspired and involved!  Today's card is a beautiful pink and yellow scarf challenge that was presented by Operation Write Home.   I've been on a a background and distress ink kick, AND happen to be using a lot of pinks and yellows, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I also had a couple of stamp sets since I started making cards in 2012 (how did that happen??!!) and have never used, so now was the perfect time!  I hope you enjoy my take on the challenge :)

Soooo pretty!!!  These types of cards aren't incredibly difficult, they just take time. The iron method is such a fun technique and the results can be quite stunning....and some absolutely cannot LOL Thankfully this one turned out so beautiful :)

I used Distress Ink and water with a bit of Perfect Pearls and the iron method to create the background.  I wasn't too fired up about it at first because I absolutely loved the way the colors turned out and there was the perfect amount of shimmer, but I just didn't really care for the haphazard placement of the designs.  I stamped with Versamark and used clear embossing powder on white paper and it was difficult to see exactly where the images were.  After adding the black doily "ribbon" (it's really a stamp that I embossed), I felt it came together just right.  And I'm so so happy with it!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

List of supplies used:

Distress Inks (Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey and Picked Raspberry)

Lost & Found 3 Ruby and Oliver Stamps

Clear and black embossing powder

"Love" Stamp (yard sale find!)

Black Sequins

Tombo Mono Multi Glue

Versamark Ink

Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

110 lb Cardstock

Scotch brand adhesive

Spray bottle

Perfect Pearls in blush

Martha Stewart Heat T

ool

Watercolor backgrounds

Hey there! I'm so excited! I've been really into watercolor lately and the effects are magical! Some are not exactly what I'm looking for, but others are absolutely beautiful!  Check out two of my favorites from the watercolor backgrounds I did last night:

For these cards, I used a cool ironing technique that I learned from Jennifer McGuire and it is my newest favorite technique!  I always have trouble with masculine cards but really love the look of the top card. I made the card on the bottom for new neighbors that we haven't had the opportunity to meet yet. I love the way the colors on both cards worked together! Easy one layer cards that really pack a punch!  

Watercolor can be tricky! Here is one that I didn't care for very much. I'm going to try to add a little to it and see if it grows on me. Certain colors just don't work well, and I'm learning as I go.

I used the following supplies:

Distress Inks (Top: Pumice Stone, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass; Middle: Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade,  Picked Raspberry; Bottom: Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers. Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves)

Impression Obsession Cover-A-Card in Herringbone and Flourishes

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day Snowman--Paper Smooches Fun and Cute Challenge

Hi there :) It's celebration time over at Paper Smooches and in honor of their anniversary, the lovely owner, Kim, is having a fun and cute challenge! Since I can absolutely do fun and cute, and since I'm all about challenges because I finally have this blog (still celebrating!), I decided to join!  I made this adorable Valentine's Day card for my little guy and he thought it was so pretty :) 

Here is a close-up of the snowman.  I made him glittery because  I love sparkly snow and I have Mother Nature to thank for piling it up high this year :)  I made the heart in the sentiment glossy to add interest.

I used the Freezy Fellas stamp set from Paper Smooches and I must say it's absolutely adorable and the quality is fantastic! I wanted to note that I am so happy with their customer service. I emailed them this week expressing gratitude for low shipping costs, and the owner actually emailed me back! She was honest, appreciative and genuine, all qualities I really value and respect. Thanks again, Kim!

Back to the card.  In addition to the stamp set, I also used the following supplies:
clear embossing powder, Versamark, Memento ink, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8, Copic markers, Glossy Accents, pop dots, and some really stretchy string that I got at a yard sale last year. It worked great because I could move the sentiment around before deciding where I wanted it.  I'm really happy with how this card turned out and the smile on my son's face when he opened it was absolutely priceless :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Finally!!! My first blog entry!!

For my very first blog entry on my very first blog (yay!!), I decided to do a sketch challenge by Deconstructing Jen. I've always admired her sketches and designs, but have never participated because I haven't had a blog to share and I haven't been good at taking photos.  My photos are still very much a work in progress, but I do appreciate your patience as I embark on this new journey.  Anyway, here is my submission for DS135 and I must say that I am THRILLED  with how it turned out! It's beautiful!

For this challenge, I decided to use the Poppies Stamp Set by There She Goes. I love their stamps and am sad to see that they are no longer around, but am happy to have some of their products. The quality is amazing!  I really love chevron print and decided it would be a perfect background for this card :)  The images are colored with Inktense pencils and after I added some buttons I decided it needed a little something extra, so I used two butterflies (also in the stamp set) and adhered them with a glue dot. There you have it! I'm really happy with how it turned out! Thanks for looking :)