A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Saturday 26 February 2022

Three Cards (None are Christmas!!)

Three non-Christmas cards from me today, for challenges I want to enter before the deadlines.

First up, for Penny Black Saturday Challenge "Love is in the Air":

A sweet little PB hedgehog, watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched circle die, popped up on fun foam on a red base, and finished off with Glossy Accents on the hearts.

Next is a birthday card for a very artsy friend (who loves abstract art) for the Seize the Birthday challenge.  It has an option called "Dichromatic" - use just two colours, other than black and white.  I think the pink and grey in my image qualify:

I took a small piece of black mirror cs and used alcohol inks on it. I added a drop of white to the centre and blew it outwards with canned air, then repeated several times, turning the cs each time to get it to go out in each direction. Then I repeated with a few drops of dusty pink alcohol ink on top of the white. I ended up with this beautiful abstract pattern that is somewhat flower-like (maybe a peony?).

I framed it with a narrow border of matching dusty pink cs and then a deckle-edged rectangle on which I stamped the sentiment.

This was definitely out of my comfort zone, but was a lot of fun!

And finally, the We Love Stamping challenge has an option of stencilling.  So I made a birthday card for a dear friend who loves knitting and who always has her hair stylist put outrageous streaks of colour in her white hair.  Right now she has streaks of purple and turquoise in the front!

I stencilled a subtle background with purple and turquoise through a stencil that looks like fair isle knitting.  I stamped the sentiment on top.  The knitter (who has a very similar hairstyle to my friend) is stamped, coloured with pencils, die cut, and layered so that the sentiment acts to ground her a bit.

Let me know in the comments if you prefer I post a few cards in one post less frequently, rather than more frequent posts with just one card!

Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - "Love is in the Air"

 

Seize the Birthday

We Love Stamping - "Add Stencilling"









Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black hedgehod, PTI sentiment
Ink - Archival Jet Black
Paper - watercolour paper, red cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, Lil Inker stitched circle die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU sentiment
Ink - white and dusty pink cs, black mirror cs
Paper - white and dusty pink cs, black mirror cs
Size - A2
Accessories - canned air, Spellbinders square and deckle rectangle dies

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Hero Arts Knitting, unknown "Sweater Weather" sentiment
Ink - Archival Jet Black, various shades of Distress purple and turquoise
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Tim Holtz knitting stencil, Hero Arts Knitting Frame dies, coloured pencils

10 comments:

  1. Three great cards Susan, your AI card is stunning- so perfectly abstract artsy :)
    your friend will love the knitting one and the first is so cute.

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  2. A sweet little hedgehog with his heart bouquet is precious. I love the knitting card for your friend. It is so personalized with her hobby and her hair. She will treasure that. The alcohol ink card is stunning. What a fantastic card you made and the frame is beautiful too. Three great cards. As long as we get to see them it doesn't matter if it's three different posts or just one.

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  3. Very cute, I am sure your friend will appreciate your detail of her hair and knitting. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely creation with us over at We Love Stamping.
    Hugs
    Cathy
    xxxxx

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  4. Love all three of these Susan and love that you tailored the last card for your friend. Your abstract card is fabulous and who doesn't love a hedgie? It doesn't matter how you post to me so do whatever is easier for you.

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  5. I love when you try something out of your comfort zone, Susan! Your abstract flower card is amazing! That's my favorite of the three. Using the black mirror cs makes the floral image look so dramatic. Your friend will adore the personalized birthday card! (Love her hair colors) It doesn't matter to me if you post multiple cards in one post or post them separately. :-)
    Hideko xx

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  6. Two great cards, a cut one with the PB Hedgie and the second so effective, many thanks for sharing with us at We Love Stamping challenge.

    B x

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  7. This hedgie is adorable with his shiny hearts! I'm impressed with your alcohol ink. So far I've not been able to control the movement anywhere near what you've done! And the personalized birthday card is sure to be a big hit!

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  8. Fabulous card, love the knitting girl card.
    Thank you for sharing at We Love Stamping Challenge;-))m

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  9. Adorable first card, thoughtful third one for your friend but extra WOW to the alcohol ink one Susan....Such a unique effect and I love it! x.

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  10. Susan, I love seeing all your cards lined up for different challenges. Your hedgehog is so cute with all those hearts! And WOW your STB card is amazing. I never get something that looks abstract yet stunning when I mix and blend colors. You have the magic touch I think! thank you for playing along with us at STB!

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