Looking Back

I don't do vintage style very often, but I do have one stamp I love and it is perfect for the Double D Challenge "Looking Back in Time".

To go with the old-fashioned image, I used vintage colours and some lace.

I stamped the image on watercolour paper with Distress Oxide Vintage Photo - I used the Oxide ink rather than the regular Distress ink as it gives a sharper image.

I pressed a few colours of mini Distress inks on a palette and watercoloured the image with them. The Vintage Photo from the original stamping blended in with them a bit, making the colours seem even more vintage.

I pressed some Vintage Photo on my mat, spritzed it with water, and ran some lace through it. It came out darker than I wanted but I went with it anyway.

I went over the snow on the umbrella and in the sky with a Quickie glue pen and then added Rock Candy glitter for a bit of subtle sparkle (sorry, I couldn't capture the sparkle in my photo).

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps - Crafty Individuals

Ink - Distress Oxide Vintage Photo, various Distress mini inks

Paper - watercolour paper, tan and PTI Vintage Cream cs

Size - A2

Accessories - SU lace, Distress Rock Candy glitter

Snowflake Patterns

I live in Vancouver, Canada, where our winters are mild and often completely free of snow, but my sisters live near Toronto - they just had a huge snowfall and it's -30 Celsius today.  So this card was made with them in mind!

And for these two challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year Round where the current challenge is "Let It Snow".

12 Months of Christmas - "Anything but a Rectangle".   I love square cards so it's a great challenge for me.

I used three different snowflake embossing folders. The different patterns are subtle but they are there!

I cut narrow strips of white cs and embossed them. Then cut the bottom edges to make banners. Spaced them out evenly on the card base, and added a silver die cut sentiment.

It's also perfect for two SCS challenges:

CAS518 = Pattern Mash Up - use three different patterns

SCSCCJAN19 = It All Starts Up North - snow, ice, north pole

Supplies:

Paper - silver glitter and white cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - Darice, Cuttlebug, and Sizzix snowflake embossing folders, Penny Black "winter wishes" die

Santa Brought Me a Snowflake

The Jingle Belles challenge is "Look What Santa Brought Me".  I got a new snowflake stamp I've been wanting for awhile.

On coated cs, I created a blue background with blue Brushos and a bit of silver Magicals spritzed with water.  When dry, I stamped and heat embossed the snowflake in white.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

I trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam.  I added a small heat embossed sentiment banner and embellished with a few sequins.

It's a very quick and easy card that would work well for making multiples.  And I do love that new snowflake stamp!

Supplies:

Stamps - Visible Image "Snow is Falling", A Muse sentiment

Ink - ColorBox white

Paper - coated cs, white and black cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - various blue Brushos, silver Magicals, white embossing powder, sequins, fun foam

Twofer Birds

I love birds as a theme for cards so had to squeeze in some time today to make cards for Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge:

Here's the Twofer photo:

I really love that bird stamp with the wonderful quote on its body.  The card on the left is a thank you card for my sister who has really inspired me to follow some of my passions.  The one on the right is a birthday card for a close friend who does bird watching.  The sentiments for the occasions are on the inside because I wanted to use the word stamps that came with the bird stamp.

First up:

I started with a piece of background I made at Loll Thompson's house using Jennifer Maguire's Distress ink monoprint technique (see video here).  It uses blue Distress ink with a leafy background stamp - this is the monoprint version (or what I think of as the negative version).  It came out a bit patchy so I decided to add some layering with the music background stamp and two of the words that came with the bird stamp.

The bird is stamped, heat embossed, and fussy cut, with its legs glued to the die cut branch and its body popped up with dimensional tape.  The whole panel is popped up on fun foam.

And the second card:

I put the bird stamp in my MISTI and coloured it with Distress markers, repeating until I was happy with the results.  Then I put the "happiness" stamp in the MISTI and got it close to the bird's feet to ground the bird.

I placed a leafy stencil over it and used a finger dauber to sponge around the bird with pale blue and pale green.

After I trimmed the panel into a square, I decided I needed something below the "happiness" stamp as I'd kept the stencil sponging above it.  So I wrapped twine around the bottom.  And then had an "ah ha" moment that it would be perfect on a kraft base - popped up on fun foam of course for some dimension.

I'm also adding it to Loll Thompson's new CAS Stencil Challenge:

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - Fiskars "For the Birds" set, Impression Obsession music background, unknown leaf background stamp

Ink - various Distress blue inks, Adirondack Lake Mist, Vivid Cobblestone, Versafine Onyx Black

Paper - white and brown cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Sizzix branch die, clear embossing powder, foam tape, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:

Stamps - Fiskars "For the Birds" set

Ink - Memento Sky Blue, Distress Bundled Sage, Archival Jet Black

Paper - white cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - Distress markers, Dina Wakely Little Birdies Leaf stencil, twine, fun foam

A Night Sky and Stenciled Holly

Yesterday was a horrible rainy day and I got to spend some of it in my craft room and got pieces made for several cards.  This evening I put two cards together.

The first one is for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge:

I have a sentiment stamp of the second line of "Silent Night" - it seemed the perfect place to start when planning my card.

I made a night sky background by sponging four colours of Distress Inks, then flicking some drops of water onto it.  I die cut the little landscape and two small stars and a small Christmas star.  Put it all together with a stitched border and popped the panel up on fun foam.


Then I wanted to do another card for Loll Thompson's new CAS Stencil challenge - an easy challenge to start with:

And, since I was in Christmas card mode, I chose a holly stencil and created this:

I sponged with Distress inks, then trimmed with an inverted scallop die, and bordered in red glitter cs cut with the next size up of inverted scallop die.  I embellished with red glitter domes and heat embossed the sentiment in sparkly red embossing powder.

Two more for the Christmas card stash!

Supplies for Card 1:

Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black;  Distress Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, Seedless Preserves, and Dusty Concord

Paper - white and gold cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - Memory Box Country Landscape and Star of Wonder dies, Simon Says Stamp mini stars die, Lil Inkers stitched square die, fun foam

Supplies for Card 2:

Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment

Ink - ColorBox Chianti; Distress Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles, and Brushed Corduroy

Paper - red glitter and white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Tim Holtz holly stencil, Spellbinders inverted scallop dies, red glitter domes, Old Island Red Dragon embossing powder

Tags on Cards

Krafty Chicks are challenging us to use "Tags".

I love making tags but don't really use them as tags so for me, they are a layer to go on a card.

First of all, the tag:

I used the splash watercolour technique with various blue Distress inks to colour the tag.  Then I stamped the little snowflake flurry across the top and heat embossed in white; and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment.

I die cut the tree twice and glued them together.  I patted Versamark all over it and heat embossed with Frantage Shabby Green embossing enamel.

I patted green and blue Distress inks on my craft mat, spritzed with water, and dragged a piece of seam binding through it.

Secondly, how I created the card:

I stupidly scored my card base on the wrong line of my ScorBuddy, but didn't want to waste it so decided to keep the back of the card wider than the front.  To tie the card base to the tag, I ran a strip of double-sided tape down the part that stuck out wider than the front and covered it with the Frantage Shabby Green embossing enamel and heated it.  Then added the tag to the front, popping it up on fun foam.



Here's another card using one of the tags I made.  This one is a bit over the top for me, but I did it for a SCS challenge to use stickers - never got around to posting it on my blog so thought I'd add it here.

For the tag, I layered with Distress Oxide inks, various stencils, some 3D sparkly paint (on the holly stencil), text stamping, and finally a die cut "merry" (cut once in black and once in gold with the black barely peeking out from behind the gold) and gold star stickers. I added a bit of gold ribbon to the top. 

On the white cardbase, I ran a long gold star border sticker, adding some of the tiny stars from the interior of the border sticker in random spots.


Which one do you prefer?  The first one in my more CAS style or the more ornate second one?

Supplies for the First Card:

Stamps - Rubber Soul snowflake flurry, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - Versamark, ColorBox white, Versafine Onyx Black, various blue Distress inks

Paper - white cs, pre-cut tag

Size - A2

Accessories - Tim Holtz tree die, clear and white embossing powder, Stampendous Frantage Shabby Green embossing enamel, seam binding

Supplies for the Second Card:

Stamps - unknown Christmas text stamp

Ink - various Distress inks

Paper - kraft tag; gold, white, and black cs

Size - 8x5.75"

Accessories - various stencils, 3D green sparkly paint, PTI merry die, star stickers, star border sticker, gold ribbon

Snowy Day

I love the look of sparkly glittery snow, but at the same time, I don't like being cold, so this image gives the best of two worlds - the beauty of the snow combined with a warm cozy cabin with a fire going in the hearth.

I used a great winter scene stamp I've had for years - stamped on watercolour paper and watercoloured the sky, road, and cabin.

I added a double row of score lines around the image to frame it and punched the corners.

Then I went over all of the snowy trees, roof, fence, and ground with glue and added fine glitter - I hope it shows up a bit in the photo!

The panel is popped up on fun foam.

I'm entering it in three challenges:

CAS Watercolour - "Winter" 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - "Add Some Sparkle"

Paper Players - "Snowy Day"

If you have snow where you live, I hope you're keeping warm!

Supplies:

Stamps - Old Island Stamp Co. cabin, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - PTI cream cs, watercolour paper

Size - A2

Accessories - watercolour paints, Martha Stewart glitter, Scor Buddy, SU corner punch, fun foam

Sponged Hearts

I'm finally getting around to making a card for Loll's new CAS challenge, CAS Stencil Challenge.  The first challenge is a pretty basic one:

A friend has asked me to make her a few Valentine cards so I decided to use a heart stencil and sponge an ombre series of hearts.

I started by going over all of the hearts with Spun Sugar, then the lower three quarters with Picked Raspberry, then the bottom half with Worn Lipstick, and the bottom quarter with Festive Berries.

I stamped the "cherish" sentiment on vellum and trimmed to a strip that I layered over the centre of the hearts panel.  I created a frame with a rectangle die and a smaller stitched rectangle die.  The vellum is secured under the frame.  It's all popped up on the card base with fun foam.

Be sure to check out the new challenge here and take a look at the inspiring cards from the Design Team and link up your card by January 24th!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Cherish sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black; Distress Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, and Picked Raspberry

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - TCW heart stencil, Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle die, Spellbinders rectangle die, fun foam

Blue Valentine

Those of you who know me will understand why I could not resist the latest Color Throwdown challenge:

A friend asked me to make her a few Valentine cards and blue is also her favourite colour so I thought I'd do one of them in blue:

I used Karen Dunbrook's technique of smooshing by applying the ink with a scrap of acetate.

I used quite a small piece of acetate as I wanted to limit where my ink went. I lightly penciled lines on my mixed media cs to indicate where I wanted the ink to go.

I started with the lightest blue, patted it on my craft mat, misted it, picked some up on the acetate, and pounced it between my lines. Then dried with my heat tool and repeated with the medium blue and darker blue.

The hearts are die cut out of white shimmer cs. I popped them up on foam tape.

I added a sentiment (on a lttle punched label as my attempt to stamp straight onto the card ended up crooked so restamped and punched it out.

The panel is trimmed with a stitched rectangle and taped onto a blue shimmer card base.

What do you think - is it okay to step away from red and pink for Valentine's Day?

Supplies:

Stamps - SU sentiment

Ink - Distress Oxide Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Faded Denim

Paper - mixed media cs, blue and white shimmer cs

Size - A2

Accessories - heart dies, SU label punch, foam tape, Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die

Blue and Silver Reminder Card

January is flying by!  Can't believe I'm already here to remind you about the CAS Christmas Card Challenge:

I've stepped out of my comfort zone with this card:

First of all, I used Pan Pastels on the card - a product I rarely use, and secondly, I tilted the focal panel - something I rarely do as I'm much more comfortable with my layers being level!

To create the snowflake panel, I sponged blue Pan Pastel all over a piece of cs, then stamped the snowflake background stamp on it, and then reapplied the blue Pan Pastel - the Versamark grabs it and makes it more intense.

I trimmed the panel and bordered it with silver glitter cs.  And die cut the sentiment once from the same cs and twice more from scraps of white cs.  I layered the three to give the sentiment more dimension, glued it on the background, and then attached the panel to the card base.

Please come and join us with a blue and silver card.  There's more inspiration over at CAS Christmas from the Design Team and our wonderful Guest Designer, Kaja (Kajcyika Crafts).  The deadline is January 24th, and your card must be clean and simple, and must use the blue and silver colour scheme.

Supplies:

Stamps - snowflake background stamp (brand unknown)

Ink - Versamark

Paper - white cs, silver glitter cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Memory Box sentiment die, blue Pan Pastels

Winter Fir Trees

We're already midway through January!!!  Time to remind you about the CAS Watercolour Challenge:

I decided to use some wintery trees with a light snowfall:

For the trees, I tapped Distress Evergreen Bough and Bundled Sage on my craft mat, spritzed generously with water, and smooshed / splashed a piece of watercolour paper into it.

When dry, I die cut the three trees.

I tore some strips of cs for the snowy hills, ran my Versamarker along the torn edges, and heat set with Frantage Chunky White embossing powder. 

I put together the scene, then die cut it with a circle.  For the lightly falling snow, I sprinkled with the Frantage and heat set from underneath.  Finally popped it up on fun foam on a square card base.

Head on over to CAS Watercolour for more inspiration from our Design Team and this month's fabulous Guest Designer, Janet (Swanlady Impressions).  You only have until January 24th to link up your clean and simple winter-themed card.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black sentiment

Ink - Distress Evergreen Bough and Bundled Sage

Paper - watercolour paper, white cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - Impression Obsession fir tree dies, Spellbinders circle die, Versamarker pen, Frantage Chunky White embossing powder, fun foam

Brown and Black Sympathy

Squeaking in under the wire at the Color Throwdown challenge:

They seemed ideal colours for a masculine sympathy card:

I love silhouettes on backgrounds I create so decided to do another one for this challenge.


I masked a rectangle on some coated cs and brayered with Frayed Burlap ink. I flicked some water on it with my fingers and got one very big wet droplet that lifted all the colour where it landed and a few other nicer splats.

Then I stamped to silhouette of wildflowers and grass with Staz-On ink. I trimmed the panel down, leaving a narrow white border, and popped it up on the card base with fun foam.

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Just Believe, Great Impressions sentiment

Ink - StazOn Black, Distress Frayed Burlap

Paper - white and coated cs

Size - A2

Accessories - fun foam

Blue and Silver Peace Dove

Christine is hosting the first CAS Christmas challenge for 2019:

I love this colour combination - blue is my favourite colour and I think silver sets it off perfectly.

Every year my best friend asks me to make several Christmas cards with a peace dove theme so this one was made for her.

The background was created by spraying starch on mixed media cs, sprinkling with blue brushos, and then scrunching cling wrap over the top.   I left it to dry and then removed the cling wrap.

I die cut the dove and the frame from silver shimmer cs, and added a sentiment, heat embossed in silver.  Here's a closer photo:

We'd love to have you join us!  Check out CAS Christmas for more inspiration by the Design Team and our wonderful Guest Designer, Kaja (Kajcyika Crafts).  You have until January 24th to link up your cards.  Please keep them Clean and Simple, and follow the "blue and silver" requirement of the challenge.

And don't forget to check out the new CAS Stencil Card Challenge:

Its first challenge will be up and running on January 4th!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Supplies:

Stamps - A Muse sentiment

Ink - ColorBox silver

Paper - white and silver cs, mixed media cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Impression Obsession dove die, MFT pierced frame die, silver embossing powder, blue Brushos, spray starch, cling wrap

"Hiver" is French for Winter

I'm hosting the January CAS Watercolour Challenge:

Nothing says winter to me more than a blue and white cards with a snowy tree.  I used a stamp I bought recently.  For those of you who don't speak French, "hiver" is winter in French.

I sprinkled a couple of shades of blue Brushos on coated cs and spritzed with water.  I allowed it to dry naturally overnight.  Then I put it into my MISTI and stamped with Versafine ink and heat embossed with super fine white embossing powder.

I trimmed it down and framed it with a triple-stacked pierced frame die cut, mounted it on fun foam, and put it on a white card base.

Please head on over to CAS Watercolour and check out the rest of the cards by the Design Team and by our wonderful Guest Designer, Janet (Swanlady Impressions).   You have until January 24th to link up your card - we can't wait to see your clean and simple winter creations!

And don't forget to check out the new CAS Stencil Card Challenge:

Its first challenge will be up and running on January 4th!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Supplies:

Stamps - Lime Citron "Texture Hiver"

Ink - Versafine grey

Paper - white and coated cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - blue Brushos, white embossing powder, MFT Pierced Square Frame die, fun foam