Hello Baby!

Quick update from me. Another card made from Background Check from Online Card Classes. It's not even a challenge entry this time! Just a sweet card inspired by the class.

I used a technique taught by Laura Bassen for plaid stamping. Unfortunately, I didn't have any line stamps, so I masked everything for this background. It was a pain in the butt, but it has a beautiful result! (I ordered some line stamps after I did this because I just adore how this turned out and want to do it again!) I thought the soft colors would look great as a baby card, so that's what I turned it into. (And I hid an ink smudge behind the large blue sequin! Oops!)

Supplies:
Stamps: Just Hatched (Mama Elephant - sentiment), Unforgettable (WPlus9 - elephant)
Dies: Stitched Rectangles (Simon Says Stamp), Small Hello (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Basic Black
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Lemon Chiffon, Mint, Sea Glass, Fog (Simon Says Stamp)
Other: Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Sending Birthday Fishes

I'm taking the current lesson from Online Card Classes called Background Check and I'm so excited about it! I made this card yesterday for the very first lesson and I love the new technique I learned. I can't recommend their classes enough; they're just wonderful!

I created the water piece by blending distress ink on a piece of white cardstock and then laying a stencil over top. I used a baby wipe over the stencil and it bleaches parts of the ink. It's so cool! I can see myself using this all the time! I trimmed the piece down on the sides and added strips of fish scale washi tape to the sides and then, for some contrast, a couple strips of black cardstock. I die cut "sending" from some silver glitter paper and heat embossed the rest of the sentiment on black cardstock to tie it all together. The sequins are my very favorite sparkling clear from Pretty Pink Posh.

I had so much fun making this card and I decided to enter it into two challenges. The first is the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge's No Ordinary Paper. I used the glitter cardstock for my sentiment, so it fits the theme. I'm also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Sparkle and Shine. The glitter paper and the beautiful sequins fit this theme nicely as well. I also added some clear Wink of Stella to the fins of the fish, but the picture doesn't capture the subtle sparkle.

Supplies:
Stamps: Best Fishes (Simon Says Stamp)
Dies: Best Fishes (Simon Says Stamp), Sending (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Silver Glitter
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Evergreen Bough, Peacock, Salty Ocean (Distress Inks), Assorted Copics
Other:Washi Tape, Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Clear Wink of Stella

No-Line Copic Coloring

I decided to try my hand at some no-line copic coloring yesterday. I didn't get around to posting until today because I ended up getting distracted! No harm, no foul. I'm here today to show you the results!

I used the parrot from the Paper Smooches set Ahoy Me Hearty. I just love that little guy! Not too bad for my first attempt, but practice does make perfect after all. I really wanted my sentiment to say Ahoy instead of Hello, but alas, no die cut. I really liked how the black die cut hello looked against the watercolor background, so I went with it anyway.

The Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge is Anything Goes this week and the deadline is today, so I'm getting it in just under the wire!

Supplies
Stamps: Ahoy Me Hearty (Paper Smooches)
Dies: Ahoy Me Hearty (Paper Smooches), Stitched Rectangles and Hello (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Basic Black, Strathmore Watercolor, Whisper White
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Assorted Copics
Other: Sparkling Clear Sequins 6 mm & 4mm (Pretty Pink Posh)

I'm Back!

The vacation was wonderful, but I feel like I may have left my mojo back in Missouri when we left! It's been seriously hard to get back in the card-making groove. I actually cleaned my craft room today instead of getting creative. That's how I know my mojo has said goodbye for a little bit!

I forced myself to sit down and do some simple coloring today and I turned it into a card for the Less Is More Challenge this week. (Just in time, too!) This week is "life's a beach."

I stamped the images from Lawn Fawn's Life is Good set and then did some quick masking to stamp the sand so it looks like it's behind the trees. I used copics to color it all in and then mounted my panel on a Baked Brown Sugar card base. Easy, but I think it was enough to kick me in the butt and get me back in the groove!

Stamps: Life is Good (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar
Dies: Stitched Rectangles (Simon Says Stamp)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Assorted Copics

Enjoy Life!

This will be my last post for a little over a week. My husband and I are going to be traveling back to the Midwest to visit our family and friends, so I'll be really far from my craft room! I'll still get my crafting fix in though (I'm bringing things to color!). I'll be back right after my birthday around the 19th or 20th. See you soon!

For today's card, I was playing along with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. The challenge is to create a coffee or tea card. I love coffee and have several cute stamps, so I created a little scene.

I stamped each image separately and then colored them in with copics. They didn't look grounded enough, so I roughly sketched in a gray counter to go under them. The sentiment was borrowed from a My Favorite Things set called Donuts and Sprinkles. This is a really simple card, but since it's flat, it'll mail really well! I already have someone in mind to send it to!

Supplies:
Stamps: Cuppa Coffee, Coffee Town, Coffee Boss (Sweet Stamp Shop), Donuts and Sprinkles (MFT Stamps)
Dies: Stitched Rectangles (SSS)
Paper: Whisper White, Kraft
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Assorted Copics, Versafine Black Onyx (sentiment)

So Jelly!

I'm playing along with the Lawnscaping Challenge today. The challenge is to add some sparkle and shine to your project and I love, love, love adding sequins to most projects. Here's what I came up with this time!

 I created a watercolor background using distress inks and then splotched some water over the top of the panel and pulled it away with a paper towel to get those lighter marks that look like bubbles. I cut a frame from Baked Brown Sugar cardstock to make it look like you're looking into a large Aquarium. I stamped each image and then colored them with copics. I added some Clear Wink of Stella to my starfish, but the photo doesn't pick up the shimmer. I finished off my card with a heat embossed sentiment on some vellum that was attached to the back of the frame. I popped the frame up off the card with some dimensional adhesive and then attached some translucent sequins.

Supplies:

Stamps: So Jelly (Lawn Fawn)

Dies: So Jelly (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Rectangles (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Assorted Copics, Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Chipped Sapphire, Evergreen Bough, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord (Distress Ink)

Paper: Strathmore Watercolor, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Vellum

Other: White embossing powder, Sparkling Clear, Lavender Moon, and Peridot Mist Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Clear Wink of Stella

Purrfect Day

I have a triple challenge entry card for you today. I honestly didn't purposely set out to make it fit into so many challenges. I was really just trying to get my stamping mojo back! I've been so focused on coloring and techniques lately that I'd nearly forgotten how much fun it is to simply stamp. So today I got back to my roots.

No fancy techniques or tools needed today. I repeated a pattern on my card base to create some interest and then stamped my kitty in Smoky Slate and fussy cut around her and popped her up with foam tape. The sentiment was heat embossed in silver. Keeping it truly simple!

I'm entering this card into three challenges: CASology with the cue word of Repeat, Paper Smooches Anything Goes, and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Furry Friends. Honestly, it just fit without trying!

Supplies:
Stamps: Nine Lives (Paper Smooches)
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Smoky Slate, So Saffron, Versamark
Other: silver embossing powder

Spots & Dots Rainbow

I wanted to participate in this month's Mama Elephant Stamp with Me challenge, so I combined it with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. Mama Elephant wants you to use a rainbow and Simon wants you to use spots or dots. I thought, why not a spotted rainbow?

I'm trying to be more diverse when I'm coloring. I seem to always gravitate to blonds or brunettes, so I decided to try using the human rainbow as well as nature's rainbow. I used the lovely Sandy Allnock's Human Rainbow skin tone chart to help me pick my markers this time. I love how it turned out. I guess I pulled a double meaning out of the challenge! I colored all of my little kids and then added clear Wink of Stella to their masks and Glossy Accents to their boots. The background was made by sponging distress ink through a stencil.

Supplies:
Stamps: Tiny Heroes (Mama Elepahnt)
Dies: Tiny Heroes (Mama Elephant), Landscape Border Trio (Mama Elephant), Stitched Rectangles (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Assorted Copics, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn, Broken China, Seedless Preserves (Distress Ink)
Other: Dots Stencil (SU), Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Clear Wink of Stella, Glossy Accents

You're A Treasure

I'm playing along with the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge today. This week is a designer draft challenge and I simply flipped it on its side.

The first thing I did was to look up pictures of sunsets on Google. Yes, I'm a googler. I was having trouble choosing my colors and looking through some pictures helped immensely! I finally settled on Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks. When you mix them while watercoloring, they blend beautifully and I just love the results I got! I then cut out a panel using a stitched rectangle die and cut some waves with a die in different colors. I stamped the bottle image and then colored it with copics. The sentiment was stamped on the front wave piece in Versamark and then heat embossed with gold because I thought it would go well with the sunset colors. I added the twine to the panel before I adhered it to the card base and then popped on a few sparkling clear sequins. I added some stitched detail to the wave die cuts with a gel pen. I have to say that I love how this turned out!

I'm also going to enter this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Summer. I think that beautiful sunset and the waves remind of spending time at the beach!

Supplies:
Stamps: Ahoy Me Hearty (Paper Smooches)
Dies: Stitched Rectangles (Simon Says Stamp), Waves (Lawn Fawn)
Paper: Kraft, Strathmore Watercolor, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White
Ink: Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, and Seedless Preserves (Distress Inks); Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Assorted Copics
Other: White gel pen, gold embossing powder, hemp twine, sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)