Happy Birthday, AAA Cards!

It's the AAA Cards Clean and Simple Challenge's 4th birthday and they are asking us to post a birthday card for their challenge, as well as participating in their birthday bloghop.

Here's my card:

It was done by putting Distress Oxide on my craft sheet, spritzing with water, and smooshing tissue paper into it, drying between colours.

I glued it onto a piece of cs then die cut the flowers. I went over the stems with a green marker.

For a background, I lightly sponged some of the Picked Raspberry through a stencil, added a sentiment, cut a second flower to layer under the first for extra dimension, and popped it up on fun foam.

Happy Birthday, AAA Cards!

Supplies:

Stamps - unknown sentiment

Ink - Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry, Faded Jeans, and Salty Ocean

Paper - white cs, tissue paper

Size - A2

Accessories - Penny Black Field of Dreams die, Memory Box Texture Mesh stencil, green marker

Eat Sleep Craft Repeated

Last year four of us got together for a craft retreat at Christine Alexander's house and Loll Thompson made us all aprons saying "Eat Sleep Craft Repeat" so that formed the name for the posts we all did last year - see this post.

This year two more joined our group, so we're calling our posts "Eat Sleep Craft Repeated".  The six of us crafted our hearts out, ate great food that we took turns cooking, drank wine, talked and talked and got to know each other better.   Here's the group:

 

From left to right: Nancy Littrell, Trina Pham, me, Loll Thompson, Christine Alexander, and Darnell Knauss. 

We had a long list of techniques that we took turns leading.  One of them was the encrusted jewel technique.  I made quite a few pieces for focal images on cards, but couldn't wait to turn my favourite piece into this card:

In an old griddle pan, we layered a piece of teflon crafting mat, then a piece of parchment paper, and then our die cut.  For mine, I sprinkled on one of the new Seth Apter embossing powders (Fractured Ice), a bit of a Lindy's Desert Blue Turquoise embossing powder, then some shaved ice and glitter, then a layer of UTEE to seal it all.  I put the lid on the griddle pan and let it all heat up and melt together, then removed it and cooled it.

I kept the card very CAS to allow the dove to take centre stage.  Just a simple dry embossed background popped up on fun foam, and the dove and a white heat embossed sentiment on black cs layered on top.

Here's a close-up of the dove so that you can see all the lovely encrusted glitter and shaved ice (it seems to turn a beautiful iridescent green when heated):

We also took a little break and went over to my house (20 minutes away) and had tea and scones in my garden - it was heavenly as it was sunny but not too warm, and a nice break in the middle of all the crafting time!

If all works out, we hope to do it again next year!  And you'll see cards in the future using other pieces made during this retreat.

To check the blog posts of the rest of the group and see some of the other techniques we did, go to the May 23rd posts on their blogs:

Loll Thompson - Stamping with Loll
Christine Alexander - It's a Card Day's Night
Nancy Littrell - scandinancy creates
Darnell Knauss - djkardkreations
Trina Pham - My Crafting Closet

And to make it even better, we skyped with Bonnie Klass (Stamping with Klass) and Nance Salkeld (soulstampin') during some of our techniques.  It worked really well and made it even more fun!  Here they are participating in our retreat via Skype:

It never ceases to amaze me that a simple craft can bring so many people together and forge wonderful new friendships!

Supplies:

Stamps - Paper Smooches sentiment

Ink - Versamark

Paper - white and black cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Impression Obsession dove die, embossing powders (white, Seth Apter Fractured Ice, Lindy's Desert Blue Turquoise, UTEE), glitter, shaved ice, SU embossing folder, fun foam

Same Snowman but a Shaker

While I had out the snowman stamp I used in this card as my reminder card for CAS Christmas, I thought I'd make a shaker card with it as well.

I used an Impression Obsession shaker pouch and matching top layer.  My snowman is stamped and coloured, then I placed some sequins and snow sparkle glitter on top of it, then attached the shaker pouch.  The top layer goes over top of that.  I added some extra sequins to the top layer as it looked a bit bare.  My sentiment came out crooked so I restamped it on a scrap and die cut it to cover it up.

Thanks for dropping by and please come and join us at CAS Christmas - you have until May 24th to link up.

Supplies:

Stamps - Old Island Stamping Co. snowman, unknown sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - sentiment tag die, Impression Obsession shaker pouch, mixture of silver, clear white, and opaque white sequins, snowflake glitter, markers

A Very Old Snowman

I'm posting today to remind you about the CAS Christmas Challenge:

I pulled out one of the very first stamps I ever bought.  I saw a booth at a local craft fair and they were demonstrating heat embossing - I was instantly hooked so bought a few stamps, some ink, and some embossing powder.  Today's snowman and sentiment were two of those stamps.

I stamped him, coloured him with markers, and then stamped and heat embossed snowflake dots all around him with more on the ground.  He looks like he's either saying "yah, more snow" or "oh no, when will it stop".

I popped up a stitched die cut frame over him, added a sentiment, and the card was done - definitely clean and simple, which is what cards need to be for our challenge.  Check out the other cards by the rest of the CAS Christmas Design Team and our Guest Designer, Barb (Barb's Studio Creations).  You have until May 24th to enter.  The winner will be invited to be a Guest Designer at one of our upcoming challenges.

Supplies:

Stamps - Old Island Stamp Co. snowman and sentiment, Judith snowflake dots

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, ColorBox Ice

Paper - whtie cs

Size - A2

Accessories - clear embossing powder, markers, Lil Inker square and rectangle die cuts, foam tape

A Rainbow of Spaniels

Time to remind you to create a card for CAS Watercolour using this month's theme:

Many of you know that I have two English Cocker Spaniels but I bet few of you know that English Cockers come in a wide spectrum of colours, probably more than any other breed - there are over 20 colours allowed under kennel club breed standards.  Breeders often talk about the rainbow of English Cocker colours.  So a stamp that features them seems appropriate for a rainbow challenge.

I stamped on hot press watercolour paper and watercoloured with Gansai Tambi paints.  There were enough Santa hats, gifts, balloon, etc. that I could get all the colours of the rainbow in there.  Then I decided to repeat the rainbow under them to ground them.

I added a sentiment featuring the word "merry" since the English Cocker has historically been referred to as the "merry cocker" due to their happy playful personality.

I added a very thin black border and popped it up on fun foam on a rustic cream cardbase.  I went over the pompoms and brims of the hats with a Quickie glue pen and added glitter.  Here's a close-up:

Please come on over to CAS Watercolour and check out the rest of the inspiration from the Design Team and our Guest Designer, Hannelie of the Desert Diva blog.  You have until May 24th to link up a clean and simple card that uses a rainbow of some sort.

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black dogs and sentiment

Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black

Paper - hot press watercolour paper, PTI rustic cream cs, black cs

Size - 6.25x3.25"

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, glitter, fun foam

Blue and Turquoise

The 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge is a colour challenge this time:

Here's my card:

I had a piece of background in my UFO box that I'd painted with turquoise shimmer dimensional paint. Over top I spread glass bead gel through a star stencil and sprinkled on gold pearlex powder.

I die cut the sentiment frame from gold glitter cs and layered over the stenciled background. Out of the scrap from die cutting the sentiment, I die cut several small stars from the same gold glitter cs and scattered them around the edge of the frame.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper - white cs, gold glitter cs

Size - A2

Accessories - glass bead gel, gold Pearlex, blue shimmer dimensional paint, Simon Says Stamp Holiday Frame die, Memory Box star stencil, various star dies

Tic-Tac-Toe Poinsettia

Squeaking in under the wire for the AAA Cards Clean and Simple Challenge - Tic Tac Toe, using this board:

I chose the left hand vertical column - gold, water colours, flowers.

I heat embossed the poinsettia in gold, watercoloured it, splattered a bit of red, and mounted on fun foam on a gold card base with matching die cut sentiment.  I used gold gemstones for the centre of the flower.

I used my watercolour pencils, but I find it harder to do good watercolouring with them than with my Gansai Tambi paints.

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black poinsettia

Ink - ColorBox Gold

Paper - watercolour paper, gold shimmer cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - gold embossing powder, watercolour pencils, gold gemstones, Spellbinders sentiment die, fun foam

Rainbow or Masculine?

I'm trying to make more than one card when I have some supplies out, so today I've got two versions of the same design using one of my favourite Christmas stamps.

Up first is one that is done in rainbow colours:

The image is stamped in Archival ink, coloured in rainbow order with Gansai Tambi watercolours, bordered in black, and mounted on fun foam on a cream card base.

And the second one is a much more masculine version:

I don't know what black ink pad I used when I stamped up this one - I thought it was the same Archival one I used on the other card, but when I came to watercolour it, the ink ran.  I'm okay with it as it ran into the sky so it just makes it look like a darker sky - and kind of fitting for the masculine look I was going for by watercolouring the buildings in shades of greys and browns.  I bordered it in copper shimmer cs and popped it up on fun foam on a cream card base.

The first card is going over to CAS Watercolour where the monthly theme is "Rainbow".

Then either it or the other one will go over to the Jingle Belles challenge "O Little Town of Bethlehem - cards that feature buildings.

And just out of curiosity, which one do you prefer - the rainbow version or the masculine version?

Supplies:

Stamps - Crafty Individuals

Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black on first one, not sure on second one

Paper - hot press watercolour paper, PTI Vintage Cream cs; black cs on first, copper cs on second

Size - A2

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, fun foam

Snowflakes on a Sketch

I'm not usually a fan of sketch challenges but the latest Less is More sparked an idea in me so I went with it.

I saw snowflakes when I saw the sketch so used a variety of sizes of snowflake dies with SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter cs.

The background is navy cs sprayed with a white Lindy's Stamp Gang spray.  Most of it got absorbed into the cs but a faint splatter shows.

Here's a close-up:

One more for the Christmas card fundraiser!

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black sentiment

Ink - Ranger Archival Cobalt

Paper - white and navy cs, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Lindy's Stamp Gang Frozen Jack Frost spray, various snowflake dies, label die, fun foam

Star Shaker

I love stars so I definitely had to enter a card in this week's Merry Monday challenge:

Here's my card:

The background is a piece from my leftovers box - watercolour paper that has red and green brushos on it. I stamped and heat embossed the stars and then watercoloured them in with gold w/c paint.

I used it as the background for my shaker and used Lucy's Cards Starry Nights shaker filler inside it.  My Spellbinders matting basics dies made it so easy to make the frame to go around the acetate.

Thanks for dropping by today! 

Supplies:

Stamps - Anita's hanging stars, Wordsworth noel

Ink - ColorBox gold

Paper - PTI Vintage Cream cs, watercolour paper

Size - A2

Accessories - red and green brushos, gold embossing powder, gold watercolour paint, Lucy's Cards Starry Nights shaker filler, acetate from packaging, thick adhesive foam, Spellbinders matting basics

Guest Designing for 52CCT

I was thrilled when this card won a recent 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge and they invited me to be a Guest Designer for one of their challenges.  It is a sketch challenge:

The sketch seemed to me a perfect opportunity to use some of my neglected stash of decorative paper so I came up with this card:

I have several sheets of that lovely dp sitting in my drawer and it really should be used!  I cut a piece of it into four squares, each 2.25", and glued them to a red cardbase.

I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment on cream cs and die cut it into a circle, and bordered it with a larger circle cut from the same cs as the card base.

I die cut a green holly wreath, glued it over the dp and partially overlapping the red circle.  Lots of red stick on pearls embellished it with berries.

Please come and join the 52CCT challenge, and try your hand at interpreting the sketch!

Supplies:

Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment

Ink - ColorBox evergreen

Paper - DCWV Cream and Green Holly dp, red and green cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - clear embossing powder, Memory Box Fabulous Holly Wreath die, red pearl gemstones

No Stamps Allowed

This week's Merry Monday challenge is "no stamps allowed".

I went with an interesting background technique using Brushos with spray starch and
cling wrap, and topped it with a simple die cut:

To make the background, I started by spraying a piece of mixed media paper with spray starch. Then I sprinkled with a couple of shades of blue Brushos.  I scrunched a piece of cling wrap over the top and left it to dry for a few hours.

It made a beautiful winter sky to place behind my reindeer die cut.  I had thought of adding a die cut sentiment but I love the simplicity of the card the way it is so put the sentiment on the inside.

Supplies:

Paper - white cs, mixed media cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Ali Express reindeer and tree die, blue Brushos, spray starch, fun foam

Snowman in the Meadow

Welcome to the May challenge of CAS Christmas!  I'm hosting this month and I've chosen "snowman" as my theme.

It seems strange to be thinking of making a snowman when I'm busy getting my garden planted!

.

I used a really old stamp that I've had since I very first started making cards.  It's made by a local company in my part of Canada - Old Island Stamp Co.  I've bought quite a few of their stamps over the years as I like to support local companies.

I stamped it on a very white watercolour paper from Crafters Companion and watercoloured with Gansai Tambi paints.

I used a new sentiment stamp that seems to suit the image perfectly in size and font.

I bordered the panel with a scrap of red cs and decided to pull out a very old border punch to add some interest and get my panel better proportioned for the A2 card base.

With a Stardust gel pen, I added some sparkle to the snowflakes that are part of the snowflake stamp.  I used a Quickie glue pen and white glitter on the hat's brim and pom pom and on the mittens' cuffs.  Here's a close-up to show you the Stardust shimmer on the snowflakes and the glitter on the hat and mittens.

Please head over to CAS Christmas and check out the other inspiration from our Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designer, Barb of Barb's Studio Creations.  You have until May 24th to link up a card.  Please keep it clean and simple, and feature a snowman.

Supplies:

Stamps - Old Island Stamp Co. snowman, PrintWorks sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - Crafters Companion watercolour paper, red and white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, white glitter, old snowflake border punch, Stardust gel pen

A Rainbow of Poppies

 
Goodness, the months are flying by - it's already time for the May CAS Watercolour challenge!

I wanted to use a solid stamp that I could watercolour with my markers and spritzing.  So I pulled out an old PTI set called Botanical Silhouettes.  I put the stem stamp in my MISTI first and inked it up with two different green markers, then spritzed with water, and stamped onto watercolour paper.  I let it dry and then put the flower stamp in the MISTI and inked up the flowers in rainbow colours (except for green), again using markers and spritzing with water. 

I suggest using a mini mister for the water spritzing as you want a fine spray rather than big drops of water.

I had more flowers than I needed so ended up with a couple of shades of red and a couple of orange.  On most of the flowers, I used a couple of markers to get a blend of different shades of that colour.

I stamped the sentiment in black, bordered the panel in black, popped it up on a cream card base, and added a few coloured pearls to the flowers.

There is lots of other inspiration over at CAS Watercolour - from the rest of the Design Team and from our Guest Designer, Hannelie of the Desert Diva blog.  You can interpret "rainbow" however you like but please be sure your card is clean and simple, and includes some form of watercolouring.  You have until May 24th to link up your card.

Supplies:

Stamps - PTI Botanical Silhouettes

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - watercolour paper, cream and black cs

Size - A2

Accessories - various Tombow and Distress markers, coloured pearls, fun foam