Autumnal Thanks and Masculine CAS

A couple of cards for a couple of challenges today.

First up, for The Color Throwdown and The Flower Challenge:

  

I'm going to friends for Thanksgiving dinner this weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) and I  will need a card to thank them so the autumnal colours of the Color Throwdown are perfect.

The background was created by smooshing various Distress inks on watercolour paper. When dry, I laid the Harlequin stencil over it, then sprayed with water, immediately removed the stencil, waited 10 seconds, and then blotted with paper towel. Again when dry, I stamped with a bit of text.

The flower is stamped and watercolour with Distress inks, then fussy cut. The detail of the stamens almost disappeared when I watercoloured the flower, so I went back in with a brown marker and filled them in.

And then switching back to Christmas, a card for The Male Room's CAS challenge.

I struggle with masculine cards so am happy to have done this Christmas one:

I used a technique called "Black Ice" that I learned from a tutorial over at SCS last year.  I took piece of silver foil cs and lightly dragged my black Staz-on pad down it to create some streaks.  I then stamped the tree with the black Staz-On and then heat set just to be sure I wouldn't smear it.  Then I lightly dragged a Versamark pad over it in the same direction as the black streaks, covered with clear embossing powder, and heat set it.

I trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam on a white cardbase.  I added a white die cut sentiment and lots of clear gemstones.

It's far shinier in real life - just very hard to photograph!  It would have been perfect for The Male Room's previous challenge ("Use Embellishments") but I had missed the link deadline. 

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - PTI sentiment, TH flower, unknown text stamp

Ink - various Distress inks

Paper - watercolour paper, white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - watercolour paints, brown Tombow marker, Harlequin stencil, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:

Stamps - unknown tree stamp

Ink - StazOn black, Versamark

Paper - white cs, silver foil cs

Size - A2

Accessories - clear embossing powder, clear gemstones, TH merry die, fun foam

Hanukkah and a Creature

Jingle Belles wants to see a Hanukkah card instead of a Christmas one.  Here's what I made:

I sprayed a piece of mixed media cs with blue spray for my background and added a silver glitter die cut and silver heat embossed sentiment.

I trimmed the panel with a stitched rectangle die and popped it up on fun foam.


And then over at Addicted to CAS, the challenge is "Creature".

A very CAS card for my sister who is a fellow dog lover:

A simple heat embossed image and sentiment on a deckle edged rectangle, popped up on fun foam.

I'll be back next time with some Christmas cards.  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - SU sentiment

Ink - ColorBox silver

Paper - white and mixed media cs, silver glitter cs

Size - A2

Accessories - blue spray, PTI Star of David die, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, silver embossing powder, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:

Stamps - Raintree dog stamp, TH sentiment

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - clear embossing powder, Spellbinders deckle edge rectangle die, fun foam

Winter Cabin

I'm hosting this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge, and I've chosen "Winter Scene" as the theme.  I live in the Pacific Northwest so more often than not, my typical winter scene is grey and rainy.  To make up for this, I love to make what I call true winter scenes - snowy, sparkly, frosty!

 
I used a stamp I have had almost since I very first started stamping.  It's such a sweet little scene - and ideal for CAS cards.

I started by dry embossing my top layer with an old Cuttlebug embossing folder (I'm really in the mood to get more use out of my older supplies!).  Then I took an exacto knife and a ruler and cut out the centre of the embossed panel.  The stamp fits perfectly into the opening it creates.

I stamped the image on a scrap of white cs and then sponged the sky in a new ink that I wanted to try out - the colour is called Winter so I thought it would be perfect for a winter sky (but once done I decided it's a bit too turquoise so won't use it for skies again).  I coloured the rest of the image with coloured pencils and taped the piece behind the aperture.  I went over the roof and the ground with a Quickie glue pen and added glitter.  Here's a close-up of the lovely sparkle:

Please come and join us at CAS Christmas - you know you really need to get going on your Christmas cards!!  There is lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and October's Guest Designer, Lyn (Lyn's Paper Petunia).

Supplies:

Stamps - Stampendous Snowy Retreat

Ink - Archival Jet Black, Mama Elephant Winter

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - coloured pencils, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Quickie glue pen, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Falling Maple Leaves

It's autumn and this month's CAS Watercolour Challenge host, Loll, came up with "maple leaf" as our challenge.

It's also a special month as it is CAS Watercolour's 3rd birthday...

 ...and to celebrate, we're offering two prizes:

$25 GC for SSS for Challenge Winner

$25 GC for SSS for one random draw of eligible entries

So it's a great month to enter!

Here's my maple leaf card:

Shame on me as a Canadian, but I realized I don't have any maple leaf stamps.  Fortunately the October issue of Craft Stamper came with a small maple leaf stamp and I was able to use it for this card.

I inked it up in Distress oxide Barn Door, spritzed lightly, and stamped.  I tapped some Barn Door, Fired Brick, and Candied Apple ink onto my craft sheet and spritzed with water.  Then wet the whole image and dropped in bits of the watered down inks.  I made three leaves this way.  When dry, I fussy cut them.  I die cut the branch, stamped my sentiment, die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle, attached the leaves, and popped the panel up on fun foam.

When I attached the centre leaf, I set it a bit below the branch as if it was dropping off the tree.

Head over to CAS Watercolour for more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and a truly fabulous card from our Guest Designer, Ros (Mikey's Mom blog).

Supplies:

Stamps - Craft Stamper's gift stamp

Ink - Distress Oxide Barn Door, Candied Apple, Fired Brick

Paper - white and brown cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Sizzix branch die, Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Polar Bear with Gifts

A very quick and very CAS card to enter four challenges.

Stamped, coloured with markers (with a bit of coloured pencil shading on the bear and underneath him), and popped up on fun foam on a red card base.  Love the contrast!

Linking up to:

Penny Black & More "Animals"

Christmas Kickstart "It's a Gift"

52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Bears" 

Rudolph Days "Anything Christmas Goes"

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black bear, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - white and red cs

Size - 4.25" square

Accessories - Spellbinders square die cut, markers, coloured pencils, fun foam

Peace on Earth and a Poinsettia

I've been away in England and Wales visiting friends and relatives - a wonderful trip, but I'm glad to be home none the less.  And just in time to get a card done for the Jingle Belles challenge "Peace on Earth" - one of my favourite themes for Christmas cards.

The dove is cut out of a piece of glossy cardstock that I sprinkled with various blue Brushos and then spritzed with water.

I stamped the sentiment in a co-ordinating blue and heat embossed, trimmed the panel with a stitched rectangle die, and popped it up on fun foam.  I added a gemstone for the dove's eye.

It would be an easy card to mass produce and also one for my friend who buys several of my dove / peace themed cards every year.

And another Christmas card, this time for the Flower Challenge "Anything Goes".

I went with a poinsettia:

I stamped and heat embossed the poinsettia in gold on red vellum and then fussy cut it.  The frame, sentiment, and branches are die cut from cream shimmer cs, and all are mounted on a dull gold shimmer card base.  I added cream pearls to the centre of the poinsettia.

Lots more Christmas cards to come!!

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - PTI sentiment

Ink - Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue

Paper - white and glossy cs

Size - A2

Accessories - various blue Brushos, clear embossing powder, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:

Stamps - Penny Black poinsettia stamp

Ink - ColorBox gold

Paper - red vellum, cream and dull gold shimmer cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - Memory Box sentiment die, Tim Holtz greenery die, Spellbinders square die, gold embossing powder