Christmas Card Challenges

 I am loving that Muse has a Christmas Card challenge.  This is the 4th...I am kinda bummed I missed a couple while on vacation.  It is JUNE people...Christmas is coming!  Get started on those cards.

Tracey's pretty trees and snowy  backdrop (pictured below with the challenge icons) are just lovely and one can't help but smile looking at them. I was inspired by the two trees, the simple sentiment in black and that wonderful blue snowy sky.

Supplies: SSS Be Joyful, ME Landscape trio, Epoxy stars, versamark, LF black licorice, DI in Broken China, SSS ink in Leaft Green.

I don't make a whole lot of one layer cards... I find them intimidating. One wrong stamp...and guess what.  I have two stamp positing tools...but neither is fool proof. On to my entry for the One Layer Christmas Card Challenge, anything goes with the optional element a Poinsettia.

Supplies: Stampendous Cling Poinsettia, WPlus9 Festive Greetings, Versamark, LF Black Licorice, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Black liquid pearls, Stampin Up Cardstock.


The last of my holiday cards for this week is for Merry Monday #161-sparkle, bling and shine.

I used Delicata Gold ink and some gold confetti from Pretty Pink Posh for the bling.  Other supplies include SSS Merry and Bright stamp set, On Point SU embossing folder, PPP Stitched duo one die. I also put a few glossy accent dots for some subtle shine.



To get to these challenge pages you may click the link above or click on the challenge icons below:

Muse Christmas Card Challenge #4

   

Happy Birthday Friend

My stash of birthday cards is running low, and I have quite a few birthday's coming up.  Sunday, I was able to play again in a Hero Arts Scramble - the theme was embossing.  One of my top 2 favorite things in card making.  I also needed to get back into a few challenges after visiting my Dad for a couple of weeks.  I had made cards ahead, but nothing while visiting. It takes me a bit of time to get back into the groove!

I also seem to be using a lot of vellum overlay's...may be that is springs influence...softening things up.

Supplies: Hero arts Stencil and Stamps, Goldens Modeling Paste, Distress Inks, Silver Thread, Vellum, Lawn Fawn Die, EH Ribbon, Wow EP.

I am entering this to Seize the birthday, anything goes.

Happy Anniversary

Hubs and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary. As part of our celebrations, we write one another a letter as we did on the eve of our wedding. I think I fall more in love with him each year as I write that letter and reflect on our time together.  

I have two cards for hubs this year to go along with the letter.

This is a little 31/4 by 31/4 inch card. Its sweet and silly inside. 

The stamps are from Simon Says Stamp, Clearly Besotted and Avery Elle.

I used Copics for coloring, memento ink for stamping and spellbinder dies for the layers.

This is my serious card for hubs.  The stamp set used for all but the Happy Anniversary is from a Penny Black set that my sweet and talented blogging friend Greta (thank you again!) sent me. I stamped and clear embossed the graffitti heart then colored it with Barn Door distress ink. My over panel was stamped with the birds and I added the Happy from Clearly Besotted and the Anniversary from Avery Elle to the sentiment stack. I used a spellbinders Heart die to create the partial heart window.  I finished the cut with a craft blade around the two birds. This panel  is popped up. Red, Black and white were our wedding colors and I love using them for hubs' anniversary card.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

A long time coming

I have had this card in my head for quite a while.  It is inspired by the view out my window at sunset. I finally managed to snap a picture one March evening.  Then the hunt for the perfect stamp began.  I found  Tree Line by Stampendous and I thought it fit the idea.   My first attempt at this was not an overwhelming success. I had water colored the background, and the stamp is just too detailed for watercolor paper.

A couple more tries using dye inks and sponging, and distress inks...gave me beautiful backgrounds, but the stamping...yikes.

I decided to give it one more try, and that Misti really made the difference.  I stamped the treeline several times using Ranger Archival black ink.  Those trees needed to be really dark and solid to contrast with the sky.  I used distress inks in Worn Lipstick, Milled Lavender, and Spiced Marmalade to create my sunset.

It makes me happy when the idea in my head actually looks like the card in my hand!

I am back from California and had a wonderful time visiting my Dad. Its always a bit emotional when it comes time to leave, and this time was no exception. I miss my Dad, and am glad we talk, text and face time to keep in touch as well as play in the same poker league on line.

Jack and Digger are cute as ever, and have grown to be quite good hunters...I fear for the bird population; and the lizards...so many I saw scrambling around were missing tails...My Dad rescues them and puts them back outdoors when the cats bring them in. Here are recent pictures of the boys, while not siblings, they are very close in age...a matter of maybe a week. They are the best of pals.

Digger

Jack

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Date Night

Another card for Hubs, sure am missing him while in California.

Supplies: Mama Elephant - Purrfect Pair Stamp
              Copic Markers, VersaMark Ink, Memento Ink
               Darice - Kissing Lips Embossing Folder

Hello Friend

I took out the my new Distress Markers in Fossilized Amber and Abandoned Coral along with old favorites Vintage Photo and Forest Moss and had some fun playing with new to me WPlus9's Fresh Cut Containers.

I stamped the distress inks, then played with a 0 round tipped brush and just a tiny bit of water.  Where ever I wanted more color, I used the marker direct to paper.  The sentiment comes from Simon Says Stamp's Friendship messages, it has a perfect font for watercolor cards.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Quick Note

I was definitely inspired by Jennifer McGuire's cards from this post, for the design of my card.  I really liked the concentric circles and the multi levels around the main image.

I have had this WPlus9 Pretty Peonies set for quite a while, and  I am always second guessing my results.  This time, I had some fun with the set.  I used water color paper, and distress inks for the color.  I first stamped the third image of the three step flower, you can see in the picture the darkest areas.  Next I used a very small brush with water to move some of that color around. 

The biggest help though was to take the stamp that covered the most area, and dip it in water and then stamp over the details with the wet stamp.  Then I moved the water colors around a bit more.  After letting it dry, I again stamped the details with full strength distress ink and barely touched those new inked bits with a damp brush.  I am so glad I was finally able to make some peonies that look lush!

I completely skipped the second layer stamp--only because this was a water color.  When stamping with dye or pigment inks, I would use all three layers. You'll probably see a lot more of these water color peonies from me, now that I have a handle on using them.

After coloring the peonies, I cut two circles at the same time from the water color piece.  The small frame circle, I water colored with the same distress ink as the flowers, and mounted it flush to the card base. The center and outer water color paper were mounted with foam tape. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp Friendship sayings.  A few enamel dots and the vellum sentiment strip finished this card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hedgies

I just love Lawn Fawn's Hedgehugs stamp set. It is just adorable.  Of course Hubs will be the first recipient of a card made with these cuties. I made the card before I left for California to visit my Dad.

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn - Hedgehugs Stamps, Black Licorice Ink
Neenah - 110lb white index card
Copic Markers. Stampin Up Ribbon
Pretty Pink Posh - Stitched Duo One
Hero Arts - Envelope Pattern Background, Soft Sand Ink
Distress Inks - Mowed Lawn, Broken China

Dreaming of you

While I am visiting my Dad in California, I often make a few cards ahead to send to hubs while we are apart.

Supplies:
Darice-Pawprints Background Embossing Folder
SSS-Pillow Talk Stamp set
Ink-Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Papers - Neenah white index 110 lb, Stampin Up

Muse Challenge 117

Here is my last "live" card for this month. I am heading to California to visit my Day and won't be back until the end of the month.  I have prepared blog posts for the interim, so please keep stopping by!

I was quite taken with Michele's Muse card...so elegant yet easily masculine with its clean lines.

 

I grabbed Simon Says Stamp Square saying stamp set and matching die and crafted.  I also grabbed the Wishing die, SSS Lipstick Red ink and some Ranger Platinum embossing powder along with Versamark.  This card will be in hubs' mailbox the day I head out to California.

I placed that last square outside the frame for emphasis...its not in the right place...as hubs isn't nearby.

I will be visiting your blogs as time permits. Thanks for stopping by!