Happy Birthday Poppies

Today's card was created for the latest Addicted To Stamps And More challenge. The challenge was to create a clean and simple card...something I struggle with. I really love layers and patterned papers so doing a one layer or CAS card is tough for me. But I managed to break out of my comfort zone with this one by doing some light watercoloring on an embossed image. I started by prepping some Canson coldpress watercolor paper with my EK Success powder tool and then stamped the poppy image from Unity Stamp Company's Wishing You Joy stamp set and then birthday greeting from Simon Says Stamp Handwritten Borders stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. I covered the images with Zing clear embossing powder and heat set them using my heat tool. Once that was cooled I did some very light watercoloring using Tim Holtz distress ink in spun sugar and picked raspberry. Then cut the watercolor panel down to 1/4" smaller than my white card base and mounted it directly onto the card using Sookwang double-sided tape so it would keep it from warping. Love how pretty this turned out!

Bookmarks For A Friend

Don't be shocked but today's project isn't a card project! I almost never do anything but cards but I have a dear friend who is having a tough time recovering from cancer (both lung and thyroid) who asked me to make a few bookmarks for her. She was very specific about the quote she wanted to include on the project but left the rest up to me. I absolutely adore my Unity Stamp Company Angie girl stamps and thought these images would make the perfect companion to the quote. So, I started with some Copic-friendly white cardstock and printed the quote onto it using a font on my Windows Office program. I then stamped both the images from Unity Stamp Company's Go Get It Girl and Dream Of Being stamp sets. I colored them in using my Copic alcohol markers. If I might brag on myself for a moment, I'm pretty proud and pleased with the hair on them both. I think my coloring skills are improving! I then did some partial die cutting using a fun tag die from Paper Smooches and then backed them with some pretty patterned paper (sorry...I forgot to photograph the back). A co-worker of mine laminated them both for me and then I added some pretty bashful blue seam binding ribbon from Stampin' UP to finish them off. I hope my friend likes them as much as I do!

Be Amazing

My second card today was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches. I started with a white card base and layered on some patterned papers from the Heidi Swapp Sugar Chic 6x6 paper pad that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I love finding pretty patterned paper on sale, don't you? I die cut the rectangle panel using a wonky stitch Gina Marie Design die and mounted it straight onto the card. I then cut the diagonal paper into a strip and adhered it over top of the die cut panel. Using a MFT oval die I die cut around the beautiful Be Amazing from Unity Stamp Company that I stamped. I colored her in using Copic markers and then added some faux stitched lines around the outer edge for some interest against the patterned paper. I popped the oval panel up off of the card using some 3M foam tape and added a bit of clear Wink of Stella to the tattooed roses. I love this gorgeous, feminine image! 

Spooktacular Birthday

Today's card was created for my best friend's birthday and because I used a stamp that I've never inked up before I thought I would enter in the latest NBUS challenge. I started with some Strathmore coldpress watercolor paper and stamped the witch image from the Unity Stamp Company's Esmerelda Girl stamp set and the moon and bat image from Craft Smart using Versafine onyx black ink. I poured on some Zing clear embossing powder and set it with my heat tool. I watercolored the image using a variety of Tim Holtz distress inks. Once I was satisfied with the watercoloring I spritzed on some Tsukineko frost shimmer spray for some shimmer and to add a bit of distress to the watercoloring. I mounted the whole panel onto my white cardbase using Sookwang mounting tape so the panel would warp the card. I then inked around the edges of the card using black soot distress ink. I stamped Happy Spooktacular Birthday on the inside. I know my friend will love it...I hope you do too!

Coffee, Create, Sleep, Repeat

Today's card was created for the latest The Paper Players challenge. I started my card off by layering some pretty patterned paper from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan 6x6 paper pad onto a white card base. I then die cut the scalloped edge focal panel using a Gina Marie Designs die and some white card stock from Staples. I then layered the panel onto some cherry cobbler cardstock from Stampin' UP and stamped the coffee image and sentiment from My Style Stamps Coffee Lovers stamp set using Memento tuxedo black ink. I stamped the coffee cup one more time onto some more of the same Dear Lizzy patterned paper and fussy cut the image leaving out the whipped topping. I edged the image with a dual tip Memento marker for a clean look and adhered it directly onto the stamped image below. I shaded everything on the cup using Copic markers for some additional depth and dimension. For a finishing touch I added some matching sequins from The Ton and some glossy accents to the top of the cup. I will be swapping this card out with my September swap partner for the Coffee Lover's card swap. I hope you like it!

Play Hard

Today's card was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge. I started my card by layering some simple grey cardstock that I got from Hobby Lobby onto my white card base. I cut down some patterned papers from Bazzill's Adventures 6x6 paper pad and layered them onto the card. I die cut two circles using dies from MFT and Spellbinders and layered them together setting them slightly off center from each other. I love that funky, asymmetric look. I stamped the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's All Boy stamp set onto the panel and then stamped the game controller, the stars, and the rest of the sentiment onto the circle. I stamped the controller again, colored it using Copic markers, fussy cut it out, and popped it up off of the focal die cut panel. To finish off the card and to add some interest and define the edges and angles I added some black faux stitching around the layers and the outside of the card. I hope you like it!  

Butterfly Happy Birthday

My second card today was created for the latest Cards In Envy challenge. I started with a white card base and layered on darker and lighter shades of turquoise cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I then layered on a piece of white cardstock from Staples. Using a 1" and a 1 1/4" EK Success punch I punched the squares of cardstock and adhered them onto the focal panel of the card. I then punched the butterflies using a Martha Stewart punch and some pretty patterned paper from the KI Color Crush 6x6 paper pad. I adhered the butterflies onto the squares using some glue dots and added some clear rhinestones from Recollections. I stamped the sentiment from the Papertrey Ink Fillable Frames stamp set using Stampin' UP's tempting turquoise ink. As a finishing touch I added a few smaller clear rhinestones from Recollections to add some interest to the sentiment and to match the butterflies. I hope you like it!

Merci

Today's card was created for the current Less Is More challenge. This week's challenge is to create a one layer card using something French. I started by stamping the flowers and leaves from the Avery Elle Petals & Stems stamp set onto some 110 lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I used Memento inks and then I added some shadows and depth using my Copic markers. I then added the sentiment below using the Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9th. I adore this beautiful alpha set and love to break it out when I can. I finished the card off by rounding the corners using my We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper and added some black dashed lines around the outside edge. 

Merry Christmas

My second card today was created for the latest Time Out challenge. The challenge this week is to create a holiday card with no stamping for the focal image. I created my card by layering on a piece of Stampin' UP cherry cobbler cardstock onto my white card base and added some white faux lines around the edge using my Signo uni-ball white gel pen. I die cut a stitched edge rectangle panel out of white cardstock that I got at Staples using a Gina Marie Designs die. I popped it up off of the card using 3M foam tape. I die cut the Merry Christmas sentiment using a Simon Says Stamp die and some more of the cherry cobbler cardstock. I then die cut the wreath and holly leaves using a Memory Box die set and some forest green cardstock from Hobby Lobby and cherry cobbler and early espresso cardstocks from Stampin' UP. I mounted all of the images directly onto the focal panel using my Zig 2 Way Glue Pen. This card was simple and easy and I hope you like it! 

Have A Wonderful Day

Today's card was created for the latest Just Us Girls challenge. I have to admit that watercoloring is not really my coloring medium of choice. The truth is I'm just not that good at it. I like to do the smooshing technique but actual painting is not really my forte. But I thought I would work with an image that didn't really require a lot of painting skills and would be forgiving of my somewhat sloppy painting skills. I started with a piece of cold pressed Canson watercolor paper and stamped the Stampendous Ranunculous Fields stamp using Versafine onyx black ink. I immediately covered the stamped image with clear embossing powder from Zing and heat embossed it. I like using this technique because the heat embossing creates a small ridge on the paper that helps keep the paint in check and, trust me, I need all of the help I can get when it comes to painting! LOL. I painted the image in using Tim Holtz distress inks and once I was finished I dried it with my heat tool and then covered the entire panel with some pretty Tsukineko sheer shimmer spritz for a nice, all over shine and shimmer. The distress inks react to the moisture from the spray so it leaves pretty little water droplets all over the image too. I cut the panel down and added some foam tape to the back and mounted it onto my card base, which I had covered with some bright canary yellow cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I die cut the sentiment panels using Verve Stamps Mini Classy Label dies and stamped the greeting from the Waltzing Mouse Old Country Roses stamp set. I popped the sentiment panel up off of the card using more foam tape and added a few 6mm clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to complete my card. I hope you like it! 

Warm Wishes

I saw this awesome sketch layout over on the Reverse Confetti blog and wanted to case it. I will not be entering the challenge since I have a very limited amount of RC stamps and they are required to win, but I thought I'd have fun casing the sketch. I started with a white card base and layered on some early espresso cardstock from Stampin' UP on top. I cut an angled piece of patterned paper from the Crate Paper Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad and adhered that directly onto the card. I also cut down a small strip of white cardstock and added that between the espresso cardstock and the patterned paper just to break it up a bit and add interest. I cut a smaller rectangular panel from the same patterned paper pad and matted it using the same brown and white cardstocks and adhered it directly onto the card. I die cut the circles and the doily shape from the same cardstocks and some crumb cake from Stampin' UP using both Spellbinders and My Favorite Things dies. I glued them all together and then adhered them directly onto the card base. I stamped the mug and the flower from Paper Smooches Warm Wishes stamp set, colored them using Copic markers, fussy cut them out and popped them up off of the focal panel using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I stamped the greeting from the same stamp set, added a few espresso 4mm sequins from Pretty Pink Posh above it, and some white dashed lines around the outer edges to finish this card off! I will be giving this card to my September recipient in the Coffee Lovers card swap I participate in. I hope you like it!

Noel

Today's card was created for the latest Jingle Belles challenge. The prompt is Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer but not the song or the reindeer, but rather the color red.  I started with a white card base and layered on some real red cardstock by Stampin' Up on top. I then took a piece of Stampin' UP crumbcake cardstock and prepped it with my EK Success powder tool and inked it up with Versamark ink using the snow background stamp from Papertrey Ink's Winter Snow Globe stamp set. I covered it with Recollections snow white embossing powder and hit it with heat tool. Using a Gina Marie Designs stitched edge rectangle die I die cut the panel out. I then stamped the houses from the Hero Arts New England Winter stamp onto some white cardstock using more Versamark ink and covered it with Zing rouge embossing powder and hit it with my heat tool. I fussy cut all of the houses out and mounted them up using Stampin' UP foam dimensionals. I die cut some snowy landscape panels using some Paper Smooches dies and adhered one directly onto the focal panel and the other I popped up with foam dimensionals and adhered it onto the panel, as well as the houses I had fussy cut. I then stamped the Santa and his reindeer from the Avery Elle Joy To The World stamp set using more Versamark ink and heat embossed it using black embossing powder from Zing. I adhered the focal panel directly onto my card base and then stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts Merry Christmas Wishes stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp look. I hope you like it!

Seas The Birthday

My second card today was created for this week's Just Us Girls challenge. I started with a piece of Canson cold press watercolor paper and treated it with my EK Success powder tool so I could do some heat embossing. I stamped the octopus and the sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas Seas The Birthday stamp set onto the paper using Versafine onyx black ink, covered it with Zing clear embossing powder, and then heat set. I stamped one of the party hats from the same stamp set onto some separate watercolor paper and fussy cut it out. I covered the letters on the sentiment and the octopus with some Molotow masking and let it dry. Once dry I wet the watercolor paper with a brush and combined a mix of faded jeans, salty ocean, and broken china distress inks onto the paper using both my brush and a smooshing technique with some clear acetate. Once I was happy with the results and added some water droplets using my mini mister water bottle. I heat dried it and peeled up the mask. I then watercolored the octopus, popped the party hat on top of him using a Stampin' UP foam dimensional, and then glued a few googly eyes onto him. I finished the card up by added some white dashed lines around the outside using my Uni-Ball Signo white gel pen. I hope you like it!

Do More Of What Makes You Awesome

Today's card was created for the latest Send A Smile 4 Kids For The Girls challenge. The challenge is create a fun girl card suitable to donate to one of their hospitals. This challenge gave me a chance to glitz things up. I started by layering some gold foil zebra print patterned paper from The Paper Studio's The Shoppe On The Square onto my white card base. I then cut down a smaller panel of some pink geometric paper from the same paper pad and matted it with some plain white cardstock so it would stand out against the gold zebra print. I die cut an oval flourish panel using some Gina Marie Designs dies and stamped one of the adorable little girls from the All Dressed UP Girl's Night Out stamp set. I masked her off and inked around the die using some Stampin' UP pretty in pink ink and a sponge dauber. I colored the girl in using Copic markers and then added a nice layer of clear Wink of Stella on top. I was hoping the camera would pick up all of that shimmer but my lighting wasn't cooperating with me. I stamped the Unity Stamp Company sentiment onto some white card stock using Versamark clear ink and heat embossed it using Ranger gold embossing powder. I mounted the inset panel, the focal panel, and the sentiment up off of the card using some foam tape. I hope you like it!

Coffee & Friends

My second card today was created for the latest MOJO Monday challenge. I love this sketch and had a lot of fun with picking patterned papers and paper piecing on the focal image. I started by layering some early espresso cardstock from Stampin' UP onto my white card base. I cut some 1 1/8" strips of patterned paper from the Crate Paper Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad and adhered them onto my base. I printed the digital freebie from Stamplorations that was available during the Coffee Lovers Summer Blog Hop this June and did some paper piecing from the same paper pad to create some fun and funky to-go coffee cups. I stamped the heart from the Reverse Confetti I Like You stamp set onto the sleeves of the cups. Then I stamped the sentiment from the Reverse Confetti Be A Barista stamp set onto some white card stock and hand cut a fish tail banner and adhered it onto the panel. I popped the whole thing up off of the card for great dimension using 3M foam tape. I hope you like it!

Just Because

Today's card was created for the latest Freshly Made Sketches challenge. As soon as I saw this sketch I had to case it immediately. I bought the MFT feather dies last year during a sale and am embarrassed to say that I've not used them once since they were shipped to me. So, I knew I had to break them out and use them for this one. I started with a white card base and layered on a piece of patterned paper from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy 6x6 paper pad. I die cut a piece of Canson watercolor paper and layered on some distress ink in picked raspberry. Once I heat dried the paper I added some 3M foam tape to the back for dimension and to help straighten out the paper after watercoloring it. I cut down a small strip of white cardstock and stamped the sentiment from The Cat's Pajama's Simply Stacked Sentiments stamp set using Versafine onyx black ink. I adhered the strip straight to the focal panel and then die cut the feathers using the same American Crafts paper pad. I inked the edges with the same distress ink and adhered the smaller once straight to the card. I popped the other feather up using foam dimensionals from Stampin' UP. A few scattered sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh in 4mm and 6mm finished this card off. I hope you like it!

Wishing You

Today's card was created for the AAA Cards and CYCI challenges. I started by layering some pretty washi tapes by Tim Holtz and Recollections onto a white base. I added a piece of smokey grey cardstock above the tape and added some faux stitching around the edges. I die cut some black, grey, and white cardstock using MFT's layered labels dies. I stamped the sentiment from Verve Stamps Wishing You stamp set onto the white oval using Versafine onyx black ink for a nice crisp look. I added some additional faux stitching around the oval and the inner die cut frame. Using the Stampin' UP Beautiful Wings embosslit die I die cut a few little butterflies using the same washi tape I used on the border. I mounted them to the oval using mini glue dots and them popped the entire focal piece up using 3M foam tape. A few little clear rhinestones from Recollections finished this card off nicely! I hope you like it!