Cards and Challenges

Hello! I have a few cards to share from the last couple of months that were inspired by challenges.

First up, I was inspired by this sketch from Sketch Saturday:

I started by dry embossing a piece of whitewash Core-dinations cardstock and sanding the raised areas. I then layered a piece of patterned paper over it and found matching ink to ink the edges. For the tag, I used different blue Distress and Distress Oxide inks and used the smooshing technique, drying between colors. The sentiment and picture were cut from patterned paper and attached to the tag. I stapled a piece of blue ric rac to the top of the tag. To finish off the card, I added a puffy star sticker and some clear star sequins.

My next card was inspired by this sketch from Stick It Down:

I found a sheet of patterned paper that had been in my stash a long time. It had green leaves spread out over it. I ended up getting out my leaf stamps in a similar style and adding more leaves to the paper in different colors. Then I cut it into pieces and used it on my card front. I layered it over wood grain patterned paper. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment and added some ink splatters to finish off the card.

Finally, I have a card inspired by this color challenge:

I used a set of masks and found inks that were close to the colors in the inspiration image to create the background. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on coordinating cardstock and drew stitches around the border of my card front. I used my Cricut to cut the cake. I used Nuvo drops for the flame and took a fine tip Sharpie to outlin the frosting to make it stand out a bit.

 

November Calendar Page

Hello! I am back with my November calendar page. I started with this sketch from Stick It Down:

I started by cutting leaves instead of hexagons for this fall page. I laid those out on my kraft cardstock background. Then I used my sewing machine to add some detail to the corners of my layout. I then laid out my photos. I went with 6- 4x6s and then divided those down further so I could include more photos. I typed and printed my journaling and cut it into strips which I added to my photos. I used chipboard letters and embellishments, along with a few pieces of washi tape to embellish the page. 

 

September Calendar Page

I was looking through my blog and I realized that I never posted my September calendar page! I used the Stick it Down double page sketch from August:

I adjusted this sketch to fit more photos as well- instead of just the one pair of photos on the left page, I added a second. For the background on the left hand page, I ink blended over a mask. Then I covered that and spraying with red ink. I added the circle around that with a yellow Distress Stain, which picked up some of the red, making in orange. I fussy cut a bunch of flowers from patterned paper, and cut circles from some solid water color patterned paper. I arranged those along the right edge of my layout and in a couple of clusters on the left hand page. I maded the "Polaroid" style frames by cutting mats larger than my photos. I hand wrote my journaling on white cardstock strips and the photo mats. The title was cut using the Cricut. I finished things off with some canvas flair and enamel dots.

 

October Calendar Page

Hello! I'm back today with my October calendar page! I started with the current double page sketch from Stick It Down:

I adjusted the photos a lot to work with the number of photos I had. I started by doing six smaller photos on the left page instead of 4 larger. I made the large photo on the right a square photo collage to maximize my photo space. I did the weaving for the background. This is a great design for scraps. There were several pieces that were not the full length that I cut and covered the gap with photos- this does require more concentration when it comes to the weaving. I cut the trees with my Cricut and added texture with colored pencils. I used my Cricut to cut the title as well. For my journaling, I found some coordinating brown strips of cardstock in my stash and hand wrote the captions. To finish things off, I added some chipboard and stickers.

 

Card Catch Up

Hello all! I have been so busy taking and editing photos that I haven't had a chance to post here in a while! I have a bunch of cards to share.

First up is a birthday card for my sister-in-law. I was inspired by the current challenge from The Card Concept:

I really liked the ring of flowers and the hat. I used kraft cardstock to emulate the hat. I stamped my flowers in a curve on my card front. To make the colors more vibrant, I stamped the first layer with white pigment ink and then stamped over the top of that. I used a couple of flower layering stamp sets. To give the effect that the flowers were overlapping each other, I used masks to cover the flowers I stamped first. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. At that point I felt the background needed some texture, so I took a background stamp and stamped it with Versamark over everything. I then blended some brown ink on the the edges. I then sprayed the whole thing with Perfect Pearls mixed with water and added a few splatters. Finally, I added some gold splatters as well.

Next is a card I made last month for one of my nephews. I started with a preprinted watercolor background. I stamped and watercolored the fish on white cardstock. I tore around each image and rubbed blue ink over the to torn edges. I then added sparkly dimensional paint over the dots on the the pieces on the fish and seahorse and brown Nuvo dots for the starfish to emulate sand. I attached the fish with regular adhesive and foam adhesive, stamped the sentiment, and added a scattering of sequins.

My next card used the current Stick It Down card sketch: 

I started with the craft cardstock and stamped and heat embossed the image and sentiment on it. I colored the image with colored pencils. I layered the panel over two strips of patterned paper ( a little tip if you have a long strip of paper instead of a wide piece). I cut the circles from patterned paper. I wanted to add some texture by pressing them in Versamark and sprinkling and heating clear embossing powder multiple times.

For my next card, I used the last Sketch Saturday sketch: 

I started with a preprinted watercolor background and used a mask to ink blend the circles, making a ombre across the panel. I used a corner rounder for the corners and then cut the panel, placing the pieces on the front of my card base. I used my Cricut to cut the sentiment and cut a thin strip of silver cardstock to run across the bottom of the card. I finished things off with some sequins.

Finally, I have an anniversary card. I bought a set of masks to create the flowers a while ago. I had blended them on a card front just to try them and then it sat until I needed a card. I stamped the word "Anniversary" using a coordinating ink color and cut the word "happy" with my Cricut. I added some sparkly ink splatters for some texture. My whole design was off centered, so I added the twine to make it look intentional.

 Whew! I will be sharing my October calendar page tomorrow and then I will probably MIA for a while again. I have a busy month coming up!

Recent Cards

Hello! I have several cards to share today. No challenges, just creating and playing with products.

First up is a birthday card for one of my nephews. I used a cut from my Cricut to make the boy. I used a number sticker to add his age to the flag. For the background, I used a new background stamp. I stamped the background in black and then added various blue ink splatters. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in a matching blue color.

Next is a card I made for our Goddaughter. She plays hockey and was recently in a community production of "Sponge Bob Square Pants: The Musical." I used both of these activities as inspiration for my card. The background paper is from a watercolor background pad that I recently purchased. I cut the hockey player and flowers using my Cricut. I adhered the flowers directly on the background and the hockey player with foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment directly on the background.

Next is a card for my nephew who turns 16 today. I used a scrap from the background I created for the first card and a piece of the watercolor patterned paper from the pad. I cut the key and tag with my Cricut. I also used the Cricut to cut and write on the insert for th tag. I pressed the key onto my Versamark inkpad and then heated silver embossing powder in three layers. I used silver Nuvo drops to add dimension to the ring. I finished off the card with some sequins.

My last card is for my nephew who turned 10. For this card, I started by cutting the balloons from three different sheets of the watercolor patterned paper. For the background, I used a piece of kraft cardstock, ran in through an embossing folder and then rubbed a Distress Oxide inkpad over the raised areas to make them stand out. I edged the balloons with coordinating ink. I adhered the blue and red balloons directly to the card front and used foam adhesive for the green to add dimension. I used some colorful twine for the strings of the balloons. To finish off the card, I stamped, heat embossed and fussy cut the sentiment banner. 

 

August Calendar page

Hi all! I am finally getting around to posting my August calendar page using the last challenge from July at Lasting Memories: use the letters in Autumn to create a layout.

Here's how it worked out for me:

A- aqua

U- upper case letters

T- tag

U- uneven number of photos

M- mica spray

N- numbers (in my journaling)

I started with a sketch from Page Maps. I added a couple more photos to my layout. I used the collection I recently picked up at a garage sale recently again. I just love the fun, bright colors of this one! I used my Cricut to cut the title letters three times from pink cardstock. I stacked them up for dimension. I used some banner punches to make the little banner at the top on either side of my layout. The green and pink rick rack is a border stickers and the lower border is yellow ribbon. I used some preprinted die cuts and stickers for embellishments. I added some ink splatters, sequins, and puffy stickers to finish off my clusters.

 Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

A Day at the Zoo- Lasting Memories

Hello! I have my Week 3 layout to share today for Lasting Memories! This week's challenge was to use something for each of the letters in SUMMER- sequins, upper case letters, Mica Stain, mask, enamel dots, rub ons.

I found this collection kit at a scrappy garage sale recently and wanted to use it. I love the colors and patterns! I started with the pink background paper and found the ready made strip for across the bottom. I decided to use a similarly colored Mica stain and a mask to add some subtle leaves to the background. I also used some stamps and Distress Oxide inks to add a bit more texture, but those ended up mostly being covered by embellishments. I then layered my papers and photos on. For my title, I used some chipboard letters. They were patterned, but the colors didn't match the rest of my project, so I covered them in patterned paper to match the rest of my page. I used rub on letters for the smaller words. I also used some rub ons for the embellishment cluster on the right side of the page. I wrote my journaling on a premade journaling piece and added that on the left. To finish things off, I added a canvas flair piece, homemade enamel dots (made from perler beads), and sequins.

 I used the April sketch from the Creative Scrapbooker group on Facebook.

Confessions- Dance Layout

Hello! I have a new layout to share today! I started with this sketch from Rochelle Spears:

My photos weren't two squares, but I made them work with the sketch. Since the costumes in these photos are black and grey, I stuck with black and white papers. I cut the papers and layered them up. For the tag, I found a journaling card with this bracket shape and fussy cut it. I added the mesh ribbon with a staple and wrote with a white pen. I cut the title using my Cricut and attached it with foam tape for dimension. I added some grey ink splatters for some interest, along with some silver Nuvo drops. A rub on border, a piece of washi tape and a chipboard piece completed this layout.

 This was also my Week 2 layout for the month at Lasting Memories. The challenge was to use something for each letter in SPRING- sketch, polka dots, ribbon, ink splatters, Nuvo drops, and grey.

More Cards!

Hi all! I have a few more cards to share! My first two cards were based on the current card sketch at Stick It Down:

I started by creating two background on different colored cardstock using the Misti and the triangle Turnabout stamp. I then took those background and added items to personalize them. For my brother-in-law, I cut the gears from silver cardstock and added gold brads to the centers. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on a scrap of silver cardstock and cut it into a banner. The white card base was a little stark with the darker card background, so I took the Black Soot Distress Oxide pad and rubbed it over the edges of the card front to make the frame.

For this card for my nephew, I used a cute puppy stamp on grey cardstock. I painted a few details with a water brush and the ink pads. I cut the bones from the same cardstock using my Cricut. I edged them with black ink to make them stand out more. I also covered them with Glossy Accents to add dimension. I again took a scrap of cardstock, stamped the sentment and cut it into a banner.

This final card is for my son. He got a phone for his birthday, so I went with that theme. I just cut a couple of rectangles using my cricut. I used a blue pen and my Cricut to add the sentiment. I found some small birthday stamps in my stash and made a row of them across the bottom like apps and added a date stamp across the top. I used a background stamp on my background and added some sequin stars to finish off the card.

 

July Calendar Page- Lasting Memories Guest Designer

Hello! I am excited to share that I am guest designing for Lasting Memories this month! Here is my take on the first challenge of the month! I started with this sketch from Stick It Down:

I wanted to include more than four photos on my layout, so I adjusted the sketch and made it work for eight. I started by adding the patterned paper to my white cardstock. I added some stitching with my sewing machine. I matted the photos to make them stand out a bit more on the busy background. I then decided I wanted a little more interest in the white parts, so I cut the stars using my Cricut. I used my computer to type up and print the journaling strips. For my title, I used a couple of sets of letter stickers. I then added some gold ink splatters around it. To finish off the page, I used some flair, puffy stickers and banner stickers. 

 The first challenge this month is to use something that starts with each of the letters in "WINTER." I used:

W- white 

I- ink splatters

N- navy

T- typed journaling

E- Echo Park

R- red

You can see how the other designers interpreted this challenge here.

Alcohol Ink cards

Hello, I have some new cards to share today! For this set of cards, I started with a 5x7 sheet of Yupo paper. I used alcohol inks to color it. Then I used a large background stamp and Alcohol Ink Lift Off ink and lifted some color off of the paper. 

I trimmed down the sheet to 5 1/4 x4 for my first card. I didn't want to cover much of the design, so I cut a sentiment with my Cricut and added that to my card. Then I punch a couple of flowers to add to the card front. I finished it off with some silver Nuvo drops as flower centers and accents on the design.

I took the ink that I had lifted and stamped it onto a piece of light purple cardstock. I blended blue, pink, and purple Distress Inks over the design to add some depth. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. For the butterflies, I stamped and fussy cut them before adding them to the card. For some added interest on the background, I splattered some shimmer mist to react with the inks. I finished the card off with some Liquid Pearls. I matted the card front on a darker purple to add a frame.

For my last card, I used a background stamp and Distress Oxide ink on dark purple cardstock. I used the scraps from trimming down the first card front on the bottom half of this card. I cut the cupcake with my Cricut using coodinating papers. To finish off the card, I stamped the sentiment and used a puffy flower sticker to cover where one of my cuts got too close to a previous cut.

 

Birthday Card- The Card Concept

Hello, I have another card to share today! I was inspired by the challenge at the Card Concept:

I love the colors in the inspiration photo, so I started with them. I used a set of layering masks to make the floral background panel. I then found some cardstock in a similar color and used a harlequin background stamp and the same grey ink I used for the blending. I liked the pattern on the pillows in the inspiration photo, this was the closest I had to that pattern. I then used my Cricut to cut the flower from the same color of cardstock. I inked the edges for some interest. I also used a shimmer pen on the grey circle to add a bit of sparkle. I layered a "Happy Birthday" banner over the top of the flower. Once I had all of that on my card front, I felt like it needed a bolder border, so I used a pen and ruler and drew the border around the blue cardstock panel.

 

Birthday and Wedding cards

I have a few more cards to share today! First up is a wedding card. This one came together pretty quickly. I started with a flower background stamp and silver embossing powder on grey cardstock for the background. I then stamped and heat embossed the cake and sentiment on vellum. I layered those over silver cardstock. I used a basic satin ribbon across the bottom to attach my sentiment and then added the cake piece to white cardstock to add a border.

Next I have a pair of birthday cardst I created. I started by using and blue ombre inkpad on the stripe background stamp and stamped that on white cardstock. I then used star punches and punched a bunch of stars from different red papers. I layered those over the stripes, concentrating them at the top and popping some up with foam tape. I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment banner and attached that over the stars. I added a thin red border around my panel before attaching it to my card.

 I used this week's Tic Tac Toe board and the right column: layers, stripes, bright colors.

Birthday Card- Sketch Saturday

Today I am sharing a card I created based on this sketch from Sketch Saturday:

I started with the fruit paper. I love how colorful it is! I found some green patterned paper that coordinated with it and used my Cricut to cut the tag and write the sentiment. This card is for my niece who is turning 5, so I had to add some sparkle with the glitter paper. I edged the tag with green ink to make it stand out against the fruit background paper. I fussy cut an orange slice from the fruit paper and covered it with Glossy Accents for a fun embellishment. To finish off the card front, I stapled a piece of ribbon to the top of the tag.

 

Birthday and Sympathy cards

Hello! I have been busy getting some cards made over the past week and I will be sharing them over the next few days. First up is this pair of cards I made using one 6x6 panel that I stamped using the Marble Turnabout stamp from Concord and 9th. 

I made this sympathy card using the sides that I cut off of the panel. I had some unstamped paper from the edge and I left that as a border. I used the same paper and ran it through an embossing folder to run down the center of the card. I used the same ink colors to stamp the butterflies that I then fussy cut and attached to the card front. For the sentiment, I stamped and heat embossed on a piece of vellum and attached that to my card.

My second card used the center part of the stamping that I had trimmed down to fit on a card front. I stamped some layered flowers and fussy cut those and used a piece of lace to anchor them. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of vellum and tore the edges. 

I used the current card sketch from Stick It Down for this one: 

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for some more cards!

 

Birthday and Father's Day Cards

 Hello! I have some more cards to share today. For all of these cards, I started by stamping a background stamp on light yellow cardstock. I had inked up the stamps with the Hero Arts Serengeti Sunset Ombre inkpad. It created such a fun effect on all of the stamps!

First up, I have a birthday card. I used a chicken wire background stamp for this one. I thought it would be fun to create the illusion of a firework bursting through the hole in the fence. I cut the firework with my Cricut, once from orange cardstock and two more times from white. I layered the pieces all together for dimension. I then stamped and fussy cut the sentiment on a the banner and attached that over the top of the firework. To add some sparkle, I used my finger to rub some Stickles gel over the ends of the firework and glued some gold stars ont he the background. To create the trail behind the firework. I sketched it onto my card with an orange pen.

Next up is this trio of Father's Day cards. Again, I started with the stamped background that I trimmed down to fit on a card front. I used my Cricut to cut the orange frames and then cut white cardstock circles to fit inside. I stamped the sentiment and then attached the frame. I attached them to my card fronts and added gold stars.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my cards!