Sending Thanks

It's the time of year for thank you cards.  I haven't played with my watercolors lately, and I wanted to make something for the Virginia's View Challenge #11.

The theme this month is clean slate...I won't lie...white space makes me itch.  So these cards are particularly tough for me.  But I decided to tackle it anyway.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Die - Simon Says Stamp Thanks
Stamps - Simon Says Stamp Sending and Wishing
Watercolors - Koi
Ink - Versa Fine Majestic Blue
Paper - DCWV
Dots - MME

Wishing...

I made this card specifically for the Simon Says Stamp Flickr group challenge #10 - Dots N Spots.  I was used several Simon Says Stamp branded products, and I love how the card turned out.

I added some distress ink to embossing paste, and applied it to a card panel 3/4 of the way up the card.
While that was drawing, I inked some paper with the matching color and die cut  a sentiment strip and word.

I stamped and embossed in white a sentiment on the strip.  The die word was double stacked and covered with glossy accents. To add just a bit more pop on this monochromatic card, I added some sequins. The finished panel was trimmed a bit and popped up on a matching card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stencil - Simon Says Stamp - Zig Zag Dots
Stamp - Simon Says Stamp - Sending and Wishing
Dies - Simon Says Stamp - Wishing, Sketchy Banners
Ink - Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Sequins - Pretty Pink Posh

One Layer

Another new to me challenge is the One Layer Christmas Card Challenge. It runs bi-weekly and this is the first one of the new year. The theme is anything goes, with an optional twist of using red; the challenge runs to the 19th of January.

One layers cards are tough for me, but I thought I would give it a go.  I so loved this Lawn Fawn stamp set that I picked up during my fall trip to visit my Dad. I didn't play with it nearly enough during my Christmas Card making frenzy in November.

My images were colored with pencils and blended with gamsol. I added a bit of red WOS to my cardinal- my very favorite bird. The background was sponged and I did some masking as well. I just love that font!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps - Lawn Fawn - Joy to the woods
Inks- Memento Tuxedo Black, Simon Says Stamp - Lipstick Red,  Distress Ink - Stormy Sky
Aritist's Loft Pencils & Inky Antic's Gamsol
Red Wink of Stella

Getting a Head Start

I was so impressed with people playing in Christmas Card challenges that run year round, last year.  I wanted to join in but felt I had stumbled on the challenges too late for my way of doing things.  I like order, I don't always achieve it but, I do like it.  So with the new year, I am going to give it a try.

My first play along is with Merry Monday #141 Christmas Critters.  I picked up a few Lawn Fawn stamps duirng my fall visit to California and the critters...well they are so cute. 

I die cut this little penguin out of white paper, then 4 times more out of black paper.  I stamped him and colored him on the white paper using black ink and colored pencils to which I applied gamsol for blending. 
I wanted the little guy to really stand out, and I love giving heft to diecut words, and decided to try the same stacking technique with the penguin. To embellish him I added red and black WOS.  I love how it turned out. 

I stamped small snowflakes, and the sentiment.  Drew in a little ice patch to ground the penguin and added a festive red ribbon and bow to the card front.  After looking at the card I decided the opening corners of the card needed to be rounded.  This little guy makes me smile and I am sure his recipient next year will too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps- Lawn Fawn Winter Penguin
Inks- Memento Tuxedo Black, Simon Says Stamp Lipstick Red, Hero Arts Silver
Ribbon - Michaels
Glitz - Wink of Stella (Black and Red)
Pencils - Artist's Loft,  Gamsol from Inky Antics

100th Scramble

I knew I had a Hero Arts Scramble to participate in on Saturday.  I for some reason had 2 pm stuck in my head.  I slept in, and awoke around 12:30.  Before breakfasting, I decided to double check the time of the scramble, and YIKES it had started at noon.  By this time it was 12:39 - I checked the clock to see if I would have enough time to get a card put together!  After reading Barb's theme - using our favorite Hero Arts Stamp and favorite Hero Arts Sentiment...I thought I could pull something together.

Thankfully, I had some pre cut and folded card bases. I grabbed one and some vellum, some ink, some white embossing powder and three of my favorite Hero Arts stamps.

The card base was first stamped with the large background stamp.  Then the vellum was stamped with the flowers and heat embossed and then the same with the sentiment.  I masked off the portion where the sentiment was placed.

I attached the vellum to the card front with some multi matte medium under the more solid portions of the flowers.  I also added a bit to the top, and wrapped some pink hemp cord around it.  Sequins in two shades of pink were added to some of the larger flowers for a bit of glitz.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Check out the scramble schedule and join in!

Supplies:
Cardstock - Simon Says Stamp
Ink - Hero Arts Bubble Gum, Versa Mark
Stamps - All Hero Arts - CG516 Numbers Pattern, CG525 Tall Flowers, CL738 Messages with Flourish
White embossing powder
Hemptique pink cord
Sequins - Darice (bag of assorted colors)

Two Challenges...No Make it Three (ETA)

Another post today, I am getting back into the card making groove. Our Muse this week is Vicky Dutcher, I love that she used red, white and black. Those were my wedding colors.

I sent hubs a few cards while I was in California after he returned to Maryland, and this Muse is a great inspiration to send him another card. Yes, I am back home - but now and again I send him a card to his business P.O. Box as a little surprise.

I was inspired by the colors and the circular shapes on Vicki's card and the sequins bits.

I went with a round card and used several round dies some with stitching, a heart die, and love you dies.
I first cut my circle card from a large circle, then I cut another out of white card as a backer for the pieces I was creating.   I laid out my dies all the way to the center heart, taped them together and cut them from the front of my card and a piece of white cardstock simultaneously to make sure they would all fit together. I used a metal shim and it easily let me cut through two pieces of cardstock at once.

Next I cut several layers of love and you on black cardstock, they were layered up and brushed with my new black wink of stella.

Once I had all the pieces, I glued everything into place and added a few pieces of sequins. I didn't like the little holes showing the color through, so I dabbed a black brush tip marker through to the paper making the sequins appear to be solid.

I am submitting this to Muse#99, and the Diva's that cut paper January challenge - anything goes.


ETA - A new to me challenge Color Throwdown has Red, White and Black for Challenge #324, I am adding this one to the gallery.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
Cardstock - Stampin Up, Neenah
Sequins - Darice
Dies - Spellbinders Grand Circles, MFT Stitched Circle Stax, Lawn Fawn - Stitched Party Banners, SSS - Love You
Metal Shim - Memory Box

Thinking of you thanks

The colors in the Simon Says Stamp January card kit, seem so made for masculine cards to me. Maybe it is just the wintery darkness of the patterned papers. I love them and am  having a good time playing with them. My next card, is also a thank you card -- for my Dad.  I am always thinking about him too, so it is a two-fer card with a surprise in side...sincere thanks for a wonderful holiday.

A very simple card to make, but I need simple since I haven't done much card making since mid December.

The sentiment is stamped in white pigment ink, and then heat embossed with white powder. I added 5 more snowflakes to the front with white stamping and embossing.  I needed just a bit more, so I pulled out new but forgotten and never used  wood snowflake pieces.

Once the front panel was done I mounted it to the white card base, added a strip of the same paper inside, stamped thank you so much inside and called it a day.

My Dad will love the card.  During my visit I noticed he has my recent cards all hanging on the refrigerator doors. He made a point of telling me he had gotten additional magnet clips...I think he was hinting for more cards!

I am entering this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Something New .
The card kit is new to me, and this is the first time I have stamped and embossed on to patterned paper.

Thanks so much for taking the time to come by.

Supplies:
Cardstock - Neenah Aspen White 110 lb
Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny Altitude 6x6 pad
Ink- Simon Says Stamp white pigment ink, Versafine smokey grey (interior sentiment)
Wood Veneer - Lawn Fawn Snowflakes
White Embossing Powder

A Fresh New Year

I just returned home from 3 weeks in California.  I spent a lot of time with my Dad and the cats...not yet 9 months old and they are no longer kittens. 

I had made several cards and set up several blog posts to run in my absence.  I took no cardmaking supplies with on my trip and had almost no time to craft.  I missed making cards so much.

Upon my return home, I had tons of mail to go through, lots of blogs to catch up on, and before starting some cards a new watermark to create.

I needed to start with something not too complicated until I get back in the groove.  The clean lines of the Freshly Made Sketches looked like a good starting place.

I was anxious to play with the Simon Says Stamp January card kit. I liked the stamp set, the papers and the other goodies in the box.  

I needed a thank you card for my Godson, and this sketch seemed a good match for a masculine thank you.

I used the darker colors of  patterned paper that came in the kit, as well as the "thanks" and "so much" stamps from the kit.  I used a sheet of Stampin Up paper for the card base and the diecut , since the kit's piece of purple paper was shiny, and that probably would not be a good bet for a guy card. 

I stacked the "hey" three times to give it some heft, the die cut is a bit delicate, I glued them together with a Zig two way glue pen.

The 'thanks so much" was stamped with Simon's premium white pigment ink (also in the kit) and embossed with white embossing powder.

The sketch challenge runs several more days, give it a shot. This is a great sketch in my opinion.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
SU Carstock - Elegant Eggplant
Memory Box - Hey Die
Simon Says Stamp Set- Hand Lettered Winter Wishes
Various patterned papers -  Bo Bunny Altitude Collection
White embossing powder

A flowery Birthday

In the midst of all those Christmas cards I had been making, I made a simple little birthday card.  I used WPlus9's More Fresh cuts for the flowers and sentiment.  The flowers were stamped with Hero Arts inks in Pale Tomato, and Neon Pink. The stems and leaves with Simon Says Green Leaf.  My sentiment is stamped with my favorite sentiment ink - Versafine in Onyx Black.

I also inked just the very edge of the front panel with the pale tomato ink...it adds just another bit of color - but more importantly covers up the fact that I had used the back side of a badly stamped panel.

The Darice sequins were added last...not just for movement on the card, they too are covering up some stray smudges of pale tomato that somehow jumped onto this card front after all else was stamped to my satisfaction.  No worries though, no bad words were said...I actually laughed and got out the sequins. After all the card  needed just a little something more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year

I decided to pick out some of my favorite cards from the last year excluding the holiday cards, they are still pretty fresh publication wise.  Thanks for reminiscing with me.

My iphone is my camera, and there are some wonderful photography apps out there.  I used Camera Awesome to photograph and edit, photomarkr to watermark, and for this grouping of photos diptic. I think most were free or very little cost.

I am almost half way through my third year of blogging, and I have learned so much from fellow bloggers and card makers.  I have made friendships that I treasure.  So to all of you my wishes for a happy healthy and prosperous New Year. 

Thanks for stopping by!