SEASHELL AT THE SEASHORE

 Hi friends!

Playing along with this JUST US GIRLS challenge 

(ends 7/22)

and this ALLSORTS “At the Seaside” or Anything Goes challenge

(ends 7/30)

Well I just fell in love with the camera angel of that solitary shell in the lower righthand corner of the board!  There could be beach blankets all around it, and dogs barking, and kids laughing and running. Or it could be the only thing in a huge stretch of off-season sand. I hope my card has that same feel about it. 

THE PROCESS

First steps: I started by stamping the shell in gold holographic embossing powder on bright white card stock. The sparkles are subtle and tiny in person, and so they barely show here.  I fussy cut the shell out, and then used Antique Linen and Pumice Stone inks with a mini blending brush to shade it. 

The background was made simply, by tearing strips of blue scrap card stock and gluing them down with the ragged edges showing. One of the lighter colors had a white core which really added to the waves effect. I used a bit of vellum at the shoreline as well. 

*TIP of the Day*

If you start the layering effect with a sheet of copy paper the size you want to end up with, you don’t need to worry about matching up the length at the ends. Just focus on getting the torn edges lined up horizontally as desired, then flip your panel over and trim right along the copy paper sides for a nice clean finish :o)

To finish: I used some of the Pumice Stone ink to blend a shadow into the sand where the shell would rest. The shell was glued flat, and the sentiment was stamped in Pumice Stone and then fussy cut and foam mounted. Three holeless satiny gold sequins applied as shown. 

SUPPLIES

shell stamp - Rubbernecker

sentiment stamp - Stampa Rosa Inc./ Tin Can Mail #C 59-527

gold holeless sequins - Spellbinders Satin Gold

embossing powder - Creations Unlimited Golden Ivory

Distress ink pads

Thanks for stopping in today!

FAITH TULIPS

Hi friends!

Playing along with this CAS ON FRIDAY Challenge 

#338 / Use Dies & Word Stamps

(ends 7/22)

I’m not sure how I feel about this tulip die set. It was purchased pre-loved, but this is its first outing with me. There are a couple things one could do differently next time to improve perspective, etc, and I think cutting from a handmade watercolor wash would be beautiful.

 

PROCESS

To start: The white panel was die cut with the ornate distressed openwork corner pattern and glued to a white card. 

*TIP of the Day*

With openwork fancy dies, just a dab of glue at each main juncture, and then around the entire edge of the pattern, is enough to keep it flush to the base. I like to place a large acrylic block over the card while it’s drying to keep it weighted down and drying flatly. 

Tulip parts were die cut from colored card stock and shaded a bit with ink blending before gluing together. Some glitter glue was added to the lower half of the flowers. 

To finish: Green leaves/stem piece was glued flat, and flower heads were mounted with foam tape. I used a thicker rectangle piece vertically in the center of each, and thinner strips on each side to get a rounded effect. 

Sentiment was stamped directly onto the card front in a dark pink ink. 

SUPPLIES

sentiment stamp - Creative WorshipThe Future #SNS-14-006

tulip layering dies - unmarked

ornate distressed corner die - Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits #660220

Thanks for stopping in today!

LEMON CASCADE

Hi friends!

Playing along with this AAA Cards Challenge, featuring Marlies’s yummy card to CASE. 

Staying in the food theme Marlies chose, and taking a page from GD Maria’s book, I stayed within the fruit-y realm. I just find lemons to be so cheerful, especially in summer ☀️

 

THE PROCESS

To start: On the righthand side, I stamped various lemons in a bluish-gray ink. Then I stamped the wedge 3 times, and a full lemon, images on yellow card stock, fussy cut and shaded them with alcohol markers, and applied them as shown. The wedges are glued flat and the whole is on foam tape.  

The sentiment was stamped in black ink. I found the card too flat looking so I stamped, colored and fussy cut a flower, and a couple leaves from green cardstock, and applied as shown. The flower has some foam tape behind the petals, and was cut almost in half for perspective purposes. 

To finish: Image panel is mounted on darker, textured yellow cardstock. Still not content I added some gloss medium to the leaves and lemon wedge sections. 

*TIP for the day*

Ink formulas matter immensely.  When coloring images in, to avoid bleeding and smudging, I find Memento Tuxedo Black extremely helpful for use with alcohol markers and colored pencils. 

For sentiments, I find Versamark Onyx Black to be juicy and pigmented enough to never need a second stamping to get great coverage. Hope this helps! :o)

SUPPLIES

all stamps - Hero Arts Zest Wishes #CM417 clear set

alcohol markers

Ranger Glossy Accents

black & gray ink pads

colored cardstock

Thanks for stopping in today!

EIFFEL IN THE CLOUDS

Hi friends!

Playing along with this ADDICTED TO CAS Challenge #312

(ends 7/24)

A fun prompt to work with from Addicted to CAS! The Eiffel Tower came to mind immediately - can’t get too much higher UP without a rocket 😁

 

THE PROCESS

To start: The Eiffel Tower was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with a very old, tired jar of metallic powder in an interesting shade. I really wanted that weathered feel vs. bright silver. It’s more silver than gold in person. 

Clouds were stenciled on with a blending brush and a blue ink pad. 

Sentiment was stamped in black ink. 

To finish: The edges of the panel were trimmed off closely to get rid of the harsh build-up of blending lines. Panel was affixed to a heavyweight white card to help even out some warping. 

Hole-less sequins in blingy white were glued on as shown to simulate bright glints of sunshine. 

 

SUPPLIES

sentiment stamp - Rubber Stampede Transitions #3580D

Eiffel Tower collage stamp - Eclectic Omnibus #S-111

cloud stencil - Rosie’s Roadshow Cloud Template

hole-less sequins - Pretty Pink Posh Marshmellow

blue and black ink pads

antique silver embossing powder

Thanks for stopping in today!

ALPHABET CHALLENGE - F is for FESTIVITIES

 Hi friends!

So excited to announce that I have joined THE ALPHABET CHALLENGE Design Team, and will be bringing a fresh new sample card just for the Challenge here every other week! Woohoo - I hope I get to inspire you to get paper-crafty on the regular. 

The current challenge is the letter F for FESTIVITIES - Christmas in July, Birthdays, Weddings, any festivity you know of in July, and you have two weeks to play along!

I’ve chosen to highlight the various Strawberry Festivals we have in these parts. It’s a big deal - rides, parades, all things delicious a person could make, and consume, with strawberries! Our winters can feel long so we max out on every available summer activity. 

I’m also playing along with the following Challenges: 

ELLIEBELLE’S GARDEN PARTY  Challenge #17 - 

Anything in or from a garden (ends 8/10)

WE LOVE STAMPING July Challenge - Summertime (ends 7/29)

WORD ART WEDNESDAY Challenge - Anything Goes #760-761 (ends 7/22)

I started by making a wood “crate” which I proceeded to mostly cover up 😂 I grabbed some kraft card stock and dry embossed it with a wood grain folder, then lightly ran a white pigment ink pad over the raised side, and then the same with a brown ink pad. This panel was cut and pasted in strips as shown. 

All the element outlines were stamped in a dark brown ink to coordinate with the crate colors. The strawberries were coated in the gloss medium and when that had dried I added some dots with the white gel pen. Flower petals were brushed with a Wink of Stella pen for a very subtle sparkle. Lots of fussy cutting and hand-cramping going on here!

The white panel was die cut with a stitched rectangle, and this was mounted over a piece of brown and white petite ginghamy patterned paper. The crate was mounted on foam strips, and some of the images are mounted on tiny foam dots for extra dimension. Celebrate sentiment was die cut twice and stacked. 

SUPPLIES

all stamps - Stampin’ Up! Sweet Strawberry set

Celebrate die - Spellbinders Wild Hello Card Kit #KOM-JUN21

stitched rectangle border die - My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched Rectangles #MFT-0839

wood grain embossing folder - The Paper Studio

brown gingham paper - Recollections pad

gloss medium

white gel pen

Wink of Stella pen

matte gold sequins

assorted ink pads

colored pencils

white pigment ink 

metallic coated cardstock in gold

Thanks for stopping in today, I can’t wait to see what you make!

SELFIE BEAR

 Hi friends!

Playing along with this FRESHLY MADE SKETCHES Challenge

(ends 7/13)

and this CRAFT ROCKET Challenge #138 Animals

 (ends 7/31)

Well I just love Donna’s Polaroid theme! Unlimited possibilities, but you know I’m going to pick a sassy animal every chance I get 😂

 

THE PROCESS

Starting out: I built my little bear using kraft card stock and a couple patterned papers. He got a bit of flush on his cheeks using a mini blending brush and pink Distress ink. The phone was die cut from silver card stock, and lined with irredescent vellum. The frame was cut using a couple basic rectangle dies. I lightly blended some blue behind where his head would be.  Red stars were punched out and affixed as shown. 

Next: I needed to computer print the sentiment I had in mind, and I mounted that on some heavyweight card stock, and then to the frame

Finishing up:. The frame was foam mounted, and also the bear and phone. I actually couldn’t find a star embossing folder so apparently I don’t own one 😂 In lieu off, I punched out some larger stars and glued them down randomly. 

*TIP of the DAY*

You can use nearly any die or punch to create the look of an embossing folder. Just cut out shapes matching your background paper, and glue down tightly!

THE SUPPLIES

bear dies - Dress My Craft Cute Teddy Bear #DMCD5742

phone dies - Miniature Mobiles #DMCD7205

rectangle dies - Spellbinders Nestabilities

star punches - assorted from stash

blending brushes

random patterned paper

assorted colored card stock

silver metallic cardstock

iridescent vellum 

Thanks for stopping in today!