SPRING BRANCHES

Hello!

Added another flower and I think it’s better!

Playing along with the following challenges in no particular order:

this Inspiration Station challenge (ends 2/28)

and this Just Us Girls challenge (ends 2/25)

and this TGIF challenge (ends 2/26)

and Ellibelle’s Garden Party #12 challenge - anything in or from a garden

 (ends 3/9)

and Alphabet Challenge - V for volume (dimension) on a card (ends 2/4?)

I thought this die cut blue panel evoked a feeling of sky, without using one of my favorite scenic design elements - clouds - AGAIN. Maybe tomorrow 😂 The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold. Branch was die cut and colored and shaded as shown, colored with mini Waffleflower blender brushes and Distress Oxide inks. And to give a feeling of dimension I foam dotted the leaves. Flowers were shaped upwards slightly with soft foam mat and large ball flower shaper before gluing to branches.

SUPPLIES

sentiment stamp - unmarked secondhand set 

branch with flowers dies - Spellbinders Flowering Quince set

background panel die - Penny Black Antique Frame set

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DOUBLE PUG HUGS

 Hello! 

Playing along with this CAS Colours and Sketches challenge (ends 3/2)

The pug was stamped directly onto the card panel in Memento black ink as shown, and then the heart was stamped in red. They were colored with alcohol markers, and to give a feeling of dimension I outlined the pugs with a neutral warm gray marker. Noses got a dab of Glossy Accents for a wet nose effect. Sentiment was stamped repeatedly with SU Blushing Bride. 

SUPPLIES

Pug, sentiment and heart stamps - Simon Hurley Big Hugs clear 

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HELLO THERE CAT

 Hello!

Playing along with this Word Power challenge (ends 2/26), where the sentiment is to be the most prominent, and this As You Like It challenge (ends 2/24?), where the question of the moment is Cute or Elegant (and why). I like most every style - a beautiful card is a beautiful card! These days I tend to make cute and colorful and CAS, because there is so much in the world that is hard and confusing and I enjoy the lightness and visual clarity I get while crafting these 😃

It’s hard to see in the photo, but the sentiment is a gradient, stamped with lighter purple a few times and then over stamped with darker ink on the bottom two thirds. (And of course I ended up with a piece of lint, or cat hair, on the hello stamp on the last impression 😂)

Sky and grass were stenciled, Critters were stamped in caramel colored Memento ink, colored in with alcohol markers, die cut, then elevated with very thin foam tape. I wanted to keep everything feeling very flat because of the sweet, goofy, one dimensional style of the cat and dragonflies, and I think the flat back googly eyes I gave the cat add to this vibe pretty well.

SUPPLIES

cat and dragonflies stamp & die set - Elizabeth Craft Designs Purr clear by Krista Schneider

word stamps - Ranger Letter It by Taylor Huizenga clear set

grass stencil - Taylored Expressions

cloud stencil - A Colorful Life

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IT’S YOUR DAY BALLOON

Hello! 

Playing along with this Freshly Made Sketches challenge (ends 2/23)

and this Seize the Birthday challenge (ends 2/23?)

The box was resized, to help it fold flatter in an envelope, by moving the front corner seam fold lines further in a bit. Balloon pattern was made by laying leftover strips of colored card stock onto a base cardstock covered with Scrapbook.com double-sided adhesive in A2 card size and then die cutting. Balloon highlight cutout is backed with a scrap of translucent sparkly white vellum. Recessed areas of the embossed background panel were filled in with a sparkly Wink of Stella pen (my pen had gotten down to not enough to squeeze out so I put some rubbing alcohol in a small shallow dish, unscrewed the part attached to the barrel, squeezed as much air out of the barrel as I could and while still holding it in that position, flipped it upside down and, placing the hole into the alcohol, released the barrel sides to suck up some of the alcohol. Pretty sure this is not manufacturer recommended but it seemed to work 😂)

SUPPLIES

box die - Spellbinders Surprise Box set

balloon die - Simon Says Stamp Life is a Party set

words stamp - unmarked secondhand clear set

rays embossing folder - Altenew Carnival Canopy

other - gold twine

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CREATE SOMETHING

 Hello!

Playing along with this Sunday Stamp #379 sketch challenge 

UPDATE! 😃

Scissor was die cut out of matte silver and brown cardstock, fixed together with a metal brad, and the handles elevated with tiny foam pop dots.

SUPPLIES

scissor die - Spellbinders Field Notes Tools 

words stamp - Spellbinders Paint Your World Sentiments clear set

stitched border die - MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle

patterned paper - Stampin’ Up! (retired)

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PINK TEA

 Hello!

Playing along with the Addicted to CAS challenge

This card was extremely straight forward to make. I stamped off most of the ink on the large dotted circle so it would fade into the background. The steam was stamped in a charcoal gray ink to lighten it up a bit but still tie into the black sentiment. Just a few random flat back dots to add a little interest. 

SUPPLIES

sentiment stamp - unbranded clear set

cup and steam stamps - Stampin’ Up! Definitely Decorative Tea Time set

 dotted circle stamp - Picket Fence Polka Dot Grunge

Thanks for stopping in today!