Music for Guys and a Simple Pet Sympathy Card

I've been away for a few days so no crafting or blogging.  Here's a Twofer to make up for it.

Cardz 4 Guyz wants to see "Music" so I did a notecard with a bird against a musical background:

The image is stamped and heat embossed, then trimmed and layered on green and red cardstock, popped up on fun foam on a square card base, and added red stick-on dots to the berries on the leaves.   

The second card is for The Sisterhood of Crafters "Keep It Simple".

A very simple card - stamped the sentiment and pawprint in navy on the card base, die cut a heart out of navy cs, and layered it over the base.  I like to have a few dog sympathy cards on hand as well as people sympathy cards.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Magenta
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - cream cs, red and green cs
Size - 4.25" square
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Spellbinders square dies, red Stampendous dot stickers, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Technique Junkies sentiment, SU paw print
Ink - Memento
Paper - white and navy cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - Memory Box heart die

To Travel or to Stay Home in My Garden?

I'm a very conflicted person when it comes to travelling - I do love seeing new parts of the world or revisiting favourite parts, but I also really love spending my time at home, especially in the summer in my garden.

Shopping Our Stash wants to see a "Vacation Destination".  One of my favourite vacations ever was a trip to the Netherlands.  I really loved that country and would happily go back there (I'd especially love to go in the spring when all the bulbs are blooming).  I combined Shopping Our Stash with Color Hues "Teal and Orange".

I had a piece of mixed media cs that I'd drizzled masking fluid on. I sponged it in the Dutch colours of blue and orange, then stamped and heat embossed the windmill, lines from Gorgeous Grunge, and sentiment. Next, using Texture Paste, I glued down some torn dictionary pages with definitions of "windmill" and "Dutch". For a final touch I splattered some Archival Jet Black ink on the card.

A bit outside of my comfort zone, but fun to make!   And it will be perfect for a Dutch-Canadian friend whose birthday I missed!

My twofer is a tribute to my garden where my yellow roses are having a second flush of bloom.  It's for Beautiful Blossoms "Anything Goes Flowers" and The Flower Challenge "Add Spots or Stripes" (I went with spots).

I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest to make this card. I love the watercoloured flowers with all the random stamping around it rather than the paint splattering I often do.

After stamping and watercolouring the image, I stamped the splatters, postmark, script etc. with a very pale ink. Added a heat embossed sentiment on a black cs strip, trimmed the panel with a square die, and popped it up on fun foam. 

   

  

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Deep Red windmill, unknown sentiment, SU Gorgeous Grunge
Ink - Distress Salty Ocean and Spiced Marmalade, Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Archival Jet Black
Paper - white cs, mixed media cs, pages from dictionary
Size - A2
Accessories - clear embossing powder, masking fluid, Ranger Transparent Matte Texture Paste

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Elements of Style and Gorgeous Grunge, Tim Holtz postmark, SU sentiment, unknown script stamp
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, Adirondack Lake Mist, ColorBox white
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs, scrap of black cs
Size - 5.5" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, white embossing powder, Spellbinders square die, fun foam

Stencilled Snowflakes and Blue Sympathy

Both the Inkspirational Challenge and the Double D Challenge want us to use stencils.  And I need to get going on Christmas cards so I pulled out a snowflake stencil and made this card:

I used a "stencil sponging bleed" technique by using various blue and mauve Distress inks to sponge through a snowflake stencil, and then lightly sponging the same colours around the snowflakes to give an ethereal look.  I bordered the panel with a grey/blue glitter cs, cut the sentiment with the same glitter cs, and cut its shadow out of white cs.

You can see instructions for the technique on this video.

My Time to Craft wants to see "Shades of Blue".  I need some sympathy cards in my stash so made this:

I masked a panel and sponged inside the mask with blue, going lighter at the top, darker at the bottom.

I stamped a branch and sentiment in dark blue, trimmed the panel, added some twine and a navy border, and popped it up on fun foam.

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - various blue and mauve Distress inks
Paper - white cs, blue/grey glitter cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Paper Rose snowflake stencil, Simon Says Stamp Snowy Greetings die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Watercolor Trio branch, PTI sentiment
Ink - Memento Summer Sky, Archival Cobalt
Paper - white and navy cs
Size - A2
Accessories - navy twine, fun foam

Neutral Christmas Scene

The Jingle Belles Christmas challenge is "Keep It Neutral".  I went with browns for this card:

I stamped the image and sentiment in brown ink. Using torn paper masks, I created snow hills, sponging white ink over most of the area, leaving just a little at the top of each hill. I continued to add sponged snow hills down the card front. I lightly sponged the sky as well (leaving a halo around images).

Using a white acrylic paint pen, I added snow on the buildings, trees, etc. and then splattered diluted white acrylic paint to add falling snow.

I then trimmed the panel, cut a dark brown panel to border the main panel, and added it to a kraft card base.

 

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Art-Kure church, PTI sentiment
Ink - Distress Walnut Stain, ColorBox White
Paper - kraft and dark brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white acrylic paint, white paint pen

Poinsettias Inspired by Flamingos

The new Peace on Earth challenge has a mood board to inspire a beach-themed Christmas card.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around that so I chose the bottom right image and used the colours in it for this card:

I'd been trying some techniques that involved colouring embossed images.  For this one, I used a 3D embossing folder of poinsettias with watercolour paper.  Then I started out trying the watercolouring technique in this video using a couple of shades of pink but I wasn't liking the results so after I'd laid down some watercolour, I switched to lightly swiping a pink ink pad over the highest parts of the embossing (as in this video).  I was finally happy with the mix of colours and the shading.

Using the colours in the image I was inspired by, I added a green shimmer border and matching die cut sentiment.  I lost the tiny die cut dot that goes over the "i" so added a green stick-on pearl instead. For the yellow of the flamingos beaks, I added some yellow liquid pearls and yellow glitter drops to the centres of the poinsettias.

Here's the Peace on Earth mood board where you can see my colour inspiration on the bottom right:

Please come and join us at Peace on Earth with either something inspired by our mood board or an "anything Christmas" card.

Supplies:
Ink - Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick
Paper - watercolour paper, green shimmer and off white cs
Size - 7x3.75"
Accessories - Nellie's Choice slimline poinsettia embossing folder, various shades of pink watercolour paints, Penny Black Merry Christmas die, green stick-on pearl, yellow liquid pearls, light gold glitter glue

A Swedish Christmas Ornament, a Fussy Cut Dove, and a Blue Hydrangea

Last minute again for a few challenges!

ABC Christmas Challenge "O for Ornament":

I love my Swedish Dala horse dies. These stylized horses have been symbols of strength and courage in Sweden for hundreds of years and little handcrafted wooden versions are sold as gifts, as Christmas decorations, etc.

The background is my new 3D pine embossing folder - it didn't come out with much dimension as I'm having a hard time figuring out the sandwich to use for it in my Cuttlebug.

I added a die cut green pine branch to hang the ornament from. I die cut the ornament three times and glued them together to give some dimension to it.

Next up is 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Fussy Cutting":

I did the embossing folder stamping technique for the background (see this tutorial on SCS). Then stamped and heat embossed the dove and fussy cut it. I popped it up on foam tape on the background, and bordered with navy cs.

And one non-Christmas card just to prove that I do make some non-Christmas cards!  For the Paper Players Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - I picked flowers, feminine, and blue from the left hand vertical row:

I found a muted background in my box of previously made backgrounds (probably smooshed Distress inks) and stamped the image on it, then watercoloured the leaves and butterfly. For the hydrangea petals, I sprinkled blue brushos on coated cs and spritzed with water. When dry, I punched out many petals with the old Martha Stewart hydrangea punch and glued them on the flower.

   
 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Memento Northern Pine
Paper - white, dark green, and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Charlie und Paulchen Skandi-Pferdchen dies, Sizzix branch die, Sizzix embossing folder, green ribbon

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown dove stamp
Ink - various blue Distress inks
Paper - white and navy cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder, clear embossing powder, foam tape

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Inkadinkado hydrangea collage
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - mixed media, rustic, and coated cs
Size - A2
Accessories - blue Brushos, Martha Stewart hydrangea punch, watercolour paints