Adapting Thelwell to Christmas and Out of My Comfort Zone Butterfly

ABC Christmas Challenge is "N for Non-Christmas Stash".  My childhood wish was to get a pony for Christmas (sadly I never did but I've managed to spend lots of time with ponies over my lifetime!). I used some non-Christmas pony stamps (of illustrations by the cartoonist Thelwell) on this Christmas card:

I made it very Christmas-y by using red and green borders and stamping the tree in green and the sentiment in red.  I combined two different Christmas sentiments to reflect the child's desire for a pony.

Playing around in the craft room on a rainy day, I decided to mix some embossing powders on the same image and ended up with this card.  Definitely outside of my comfort zone in terms of colours!  It's for Sweet Stampin' "Use a Stencil", Stencil Fun Challenge "Trees and / or Leaves", and Stamping Sensations "Birds, Bees, and / or Butterflies".

I created the butterfly by stamping it on black cs with Versamark ink and then carefully adding various embossing powders to different sections. Then I fussy cut it.

The background is stamped with a text stamp in light ink on mixed media cs. Then I laid the bay branches stencil over it and sprayed randomly with three different sprays - love the effect I got!

Layered the butterfly on top with foam tape popping up his wings, and used a cream card base.

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Isobel Craft Collection Thelwell stamps, Penny Black and Simon Says Stamp sentiments
Ink - Archival Potting Soil, Memento Cottage Ivy and Rhubarb Stalk
Paper - white, red, and green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders rectangle dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black butterfly, SU French Script
Ink - Versamark, Adirondack Lake Mist
Paper - mixed media, black, cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - various embossing powders, Heidi Swapp gold spray, Mr. Huey's leaf green spray, Lindy's mystic malachite spray, TCW mini bay branches stencil, foam tape

Neglected Dragonfly, Smooshed Birthday, and a Blue Heart

Diane and Darlene have started another new challenge - The Neglected Stuff Challenge.  A great way for me to dig out something I haven't used for years.  This month I went with a Tim Holtz dragonfly stamp that I've always really liked.  Why, then, did it sit unused for 10 years!!?  I actually did a search on my blog and the last time I used it was in 2015!

I started by smooshing a piece of mixed media cs with two Distress colours. Using the same colours I stamped a bit of subtle harlequin and mesh stamps to add interest and texture. Then I stamped the dragonfly stamp in black on top. And stamped it again on a scrap so that I could watercolour the wings (using the same two ink colours with Glimmer Spray in the place of water). I fussy cut the wings and popped them up with foam tape on top of the original stamping. I stamped a sentiment, die cut it with a banner die, smooshed it in the inks a bit, and popped it up with foam tape.

And a bit more smooshing on this card, for the AAA Birthday Challenge "Ink Smooshing".

I started by smooshing white cs into two shades of blue Distress ink and when dry, stamped some text on it.  Then cut out sections with two sizes of octagon dies and arranged them on an embossed background.  I die cut a leaf out of a green smooshed leftover background scrap and layered it on the octagon.  I spritzed two shades of Distress Mica spray on my craft mat and smooshed another piece of cs and cut the butterfly out of that.  I stamped the sentiment on bit of blue smooshed leftover scrap.

And a third card for today, so that I can enter it into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge "Hearts" before it closes.  A very quick CAS card compared to my first two cards on this post.

The image is stamped in royal blue ink and heat embossed.  Then trimmed with a stitched square die, and mounted on the card base.  It's such a lovely stamp I didn't want anything to detract from it.

 

Supplies for card:
Stamps - Tim Holtz dragonfly, Savvy Stamps sentiment, unknown little harlequin stamp and mesh stamp
Ink - Distress Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - mixed media cs, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Glimmer Spray, banner die, foam tape

Supplies for card:
Stamps - Inkadinkado text stamp, AMuse sentiment stamp
Ink - Distress Broken China and Tumbled Glass, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders octagon dies, Memory Box leaf die, Tim Holtz butterfly die, Altenew embossing folder, Winter Frost and Fresh Balsam Distress Mica spray

Supplies for card:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - ColorBox Royal Blue
Paper - white cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - clear embossing powder, Lil Inker stitched square die

Valentines

Just in case you're sick of my endless Christmas cards, here's a totally non-Christmas post.  Today I'm going with Valentine cards.

It seems like all the colour challenges I follow are going with red and pink right now.  Colorful Options has a mood board full of red and pink, including an image of red and pink hearts.  Color Hues and Inkspirational are collaborating and they both want pink and red.  Festive Friday's festivity is Valentines Day and you have to pick at least three things from their list (I picked pink, red, hearts, and a love sentiment).  And the Stencil Fun Challenge also wants pinks and / or reds.  So here's my card for all of these:

I attached the hearts stencil to my white cs and sponged with various Distress pink and red inks.  Then washed off the stencil and replaced it over the inking.  I then went over it with a translucent embossing paste.  When dry, I stamped the two sentiments in red ink. 

My second Valentine is for the Time Out Challenge - pick 2 or more out of their list of words.  I picked heart (even the butterfly has hearts on it), love (Valentine's Day), layer (I have a narrow embossed panel, a red border, hearts, a butterfly, and a sentiment all layered on the card base), warm (for warm colours), and stitch (the small red hearts have faux stitched edges). 

The butterfly was in my box of leftover bits and since it has red hearts on it, I decided it was high time it found a home on a card.  I also found the punched red border in there.  I die cut the hearts and sentiment out of the same red, dry embossed the narrow hearts panel, and put everything together.

   

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - SU cherish, Impression Obsession Happy Valentine's Day
Ink - Distress Candied Apple, Festive Berries, and Picked Raspberries
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Craft Emotions stencil, Dreamweaver translucent paste

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown butterfly stamp
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamp sentiment die, watercolour paints, SU hearts embossing folder, border punch, small stitched heart die

Loving Hearts and Birthday Flowers

Simply Clean and Simple want us to use a heart and Colorful Options want to see the colours of our flag.  The Canadian flag is red and white so that works perfectly with hearts!

I die cut the heart once out of red cs and twice out of scrap cs and glued them together for substance and diminsion.  Also die cut the sentiment out of red red, and added both to the top white panel which is popped up on fun foam on the card base.

Then for The Flower Challenge (a birthday card), AAA Birthday Challenge (Fabulous Flowers), Hero Arts Stay Crafty Challenge (Color My World - I coloured in my focal image), and the Triple B Challenge (Birds, Blooms, Butterflies - I used two of them).

I stamped and heat embossed the reverse image stamp of the flowers in black, and then watercoloured them. I made a piece of smooshed cs and die cut the butterfly from it. Added the floral panel and butterfly to an off white layer, and stamped the sentiment on it. Then added it all to a blue card base.

    

   

 

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - white and red cs
Size - 5" square
Accessories - heart die, Love You die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Hero Arts Garden Silhouette, Hero Arts Happy Birthday, Impression Obsession Belated
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - blue and offwhite cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, clear embossing powder, unknown butterfly die

Embossed Pine with Star and a Partially Gilded Butterfly

I made this card for the Jingle Belles challenge "Emboss-able" - embossed texture or heat embossing.  I've got both:

I made a dry embossed background with a 3D folder and also made a heat embossed star using the "encrusted jewels" technique.  I die cut the star from thin chipboard, then placed it on a warm grill on top of a layer of non-stick craft mat then parchment paper.  I sprinkled it with gold embossing powders.  Once they had melted, I added chunky gold glitter and tiny star glitter on top.  The melted embossing powders holds the glitter in place.  To finish it off, I melted UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) on top.

I die cut the pine branch out of a piece of smooshed green background that I had in my box (and again out of scrap and glued them together).  Then glued the branch on the dry embossed panel and hung the star from it with gold cord.  Finished off with a sentiment die cut with a banner die.

For Sweet Stampin' "Things with Wings", I made this:

I stamped the butterfly in my MISTI with Frayed Burlap ink. Then applied FlitterGlu to the stamp, only getting it on parts of the stamp, and restamped it. Pressed gilding flakes onto the butterfly and rubbed off the excess. I like the way it's only partially gilded and looks a bit rustic.

Added the sentiment and a die cut pierced frame.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - various green Distress inks
Paper - white cs, thin chipboard
Size - A2
Accessories - TH 3D embossing folder, IO pine branch die, Spellbinder star die, gold embossing powder, UTEE, gold glitter and tiny stars, banner die, gold cord

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black butterfly, Savvy Stamps sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Frayed Burlap
Paper - white and dark grey cs
Size - A2
Accessories - FlitterGlu, gilding flakes, pierced rectangle frame die

Blue and Aqua

People who follow my blog regularly will know that my favourite colour is blue.  Today I've got two cards with different shades of blue.

First up, for the Triple B Challenge which require birds, butterflies, or blooms and this month has a gorgeous blue mood board. 

A very CAS card - I stamped and heat embossed the flower and sentiment in white on black cs, then painted the flower with Posca paint pens.  Then mounted on a white card base.

Here's the Triple B mood board.  You can see I was inspired by the left and right hand images.

I then went on to the Colorful Options Challenge "Aqua".

I first sprayed the background with 3 different blue Lindy's sprays on mixed media cs. Then stamped the collage image over it. From a leftover sprayed piece, I die cut the solid base of the butterfly. The lacy top of the butterfly is out of blue shimmer cs.

Here's the Colorful Options mood board.  

Loved making these cards but I really need to get back to Christmas cards as I'm behind on the numbers I like to get made by June!

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Visible Image
Ink - ColorBox white
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder, blue and green Posca paint pens

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - PaperArtsy leaf/script stam
Ink - Versafine Clair Twilight
Paper - blue shimmer, mixed media, and white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - 3 different Lindy's sprays (Baby Blue Eyes, Buccaneer Bay Blue, Mystic Malachi), Sizzix butterfly die

Butterflies and Birds

My Time to Craft Challenge wants to see butterflies.  I used this as a chance to make a card for a friend who loves purple.

I created the background by sprinkling purple Brushos on watercolour paper and spritzing with water. When dry, I stamped and heat embossed the butterfly in white, and stamped the sentiment in black and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam.

My next card also has a butterfly but it's for Can You Handle the Pressure? - use an embossing folder with a twist of birds.  I used my embossing folder to frame all my little images, including an image of a bird.

 

 

I stamped some of the images in black and some in dark brown, and then coloured them with coloured pencils. I die cut the images with a small square die cut. I stamped and heat embossed tiny sentiments on the two right hand squares. They are popped up on fun foam on a panel that is dry embossed with the border folder.

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Visible Image butterfly, unknown sentiment
Ink - ColorBox white, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white and clear embossing powders, various purple Brushos, wonky stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Nature Walk, SSS tiny sentiments
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, ColorBox gold
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, SU embossing folder, gold embossing powder, Spellbinders square die, fun foam

Geometric Sympathy, Bright Butterfly, Christmas Heart

I need to send a sympathy card today so used the ATCAS "Geometric" challenge and a technique I learned from Eileen Godwin to make this card.  It's also for Shopping our Stash "It's Not Easy Being Green" challenge.

Using a straight edge and blending brushes, I lightly brushed four colours of ink on the background, turning the straight edge every time I changed colour.  This created the geometric pattern.  Then using the same colours, I lightly stencilled over top of it.

Then I stamped the image and sentiment on top of it, trimmed with a stitched rectangle and popped it up on fun foam.

Next up, a birthday card for my sister.  Penny Black Saturday Challenge wants "Wings", My Time to Craft wants "Create Your Own Background", and Sweet Stampin' wants "Bright Colours".

The background was created using the saran wrap technique with Brushos sprinkled on glossy cs, spritzed with water, then saran wrap scrunched on top and left to dry.  The butterfly was stamped on watercolour paper on which I'd sprinkled the same colours of Brushos and spritzed with water, letting the colours blend and dry naturally.  I then fussy cut the butterfly, glued its body to the background and popped the wings up with bits of foam tape.  I die cut the sentiment twice and glued them together for extra dimension.

For Christmas Crafts All Year Round "Hearts", I used a stamp that is a heart-shaped wreath.

The background was created by sponging with three shades of green Distress ink and splattering with some diluted white paint.  I stamped and heat embossed the heart wreath in white and added a bit of colour with Tombow markers.  Then trimmed the panel with a stitched square die.  Finished off with a dark red mat and a sentiment trimmed with a small rectangle die.

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Stampendous Branch Flight, Great Impressions sentiment
Ink - Distress (Shabby Shutters, Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint, Old Paper), Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Lime Citron stencil, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black butterfly
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs, white glossy cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - blue, yellow, and green Brushos; saran wrap, happy birthday die, foam tape

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Penny Black Christmas heart, unknown sentiment
Ink - green Distress inks, ColorBox white, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and dark red cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - Tombow markers, white embossing powder, Lil Inker stitched square die, Spellbinders small rectangle die