Rudolph Days and more PTI Challenge Entries

I'm still posting mostly on IG, but did want to share a few recent cards with you.  First is my entry for Rudolph Days.  

Most of my cards are one of a kind, but I do make all the same for hubby's cousins.  I've loved this Avery Elle Winter Wreath since I first saw it.  

Usually I make one layer cards for the cousins, but decided to add a mat this year.  Very simple, but I'm happy with how they turned out.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Next is my entry for PTI challenge to make a card with a little sparkle. I finally inked up the 2018 freebie stamp set called Your Beautiful Birthday. I thought it looked intimidating, but actually it's easy & fun to use!

The inks are Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, Smokey Shadow, Weathervane, Lemon Tart & Bright Buttercup.  I heat embossed the words & sprinkle layer in JudiKins Iridescent Sparkle ep.  

The image was die cut with Shape Shifter's Circle 3 & the Smokey Shadow panel was dry embossed with an Echo Park folder.  I have tons of ribbon & found this one that was a perfect match.  The dots are Shimmer Pico Embellisher.  I'm also entering NBUS.

I had such fun with that stamp set, I decided to use it again for PTI challenge to add Rainstones to a card.  Luckily, I still have a few Darnell gave me the first time we met in person.  

This time I stamped the cake layers in Hawaiian Shores, Limeade Ice & Berry Sorbet on a Soft Stone panel.  The cake plate & candles were stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer, the words were stamped in Hero Arts Shimmer & I used a Clear Star Gelly Roll pen on the sprinkles.  

The white Pierced Feature Frames die cut was splattered with gray ink & attached with foam tape.  I do love the look of Rainstones for embellishing cards.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.  

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Copic Markers and Alcohol Inks

It's been awhile, but finally I'm back to show you some of my recent cards.  Surprise, surprise--I actually used my Copic markers & alcohol inks--yay!

I decided to try coloring SSS Cosmos Stem die cuts with Copics--not as intimidating as a stamped panel.  

Love the peachy colors with some yellow Stickles in the centers.  The background is made with the largest pieces of Birchpress Grace Layers A, B & C.  They're all colored with DO lucky clover.  I used a lighter hand for the top & clear embossed the bottom layer.  

I didn't like the stark, white background, so lightly sponged on some squeezed lemonade.  The white embossed sentiment is from SSS Thoughtful Messages & the dots are Pico Embellisher.

The CAS Mix Up challenge inspired me to try again to use my Alcohol Inks.  Not sure I've tried them on vellum before & the look is really pretty!  I did remember a tip to use fewer colors together & I think that is why my panels turned out this time.  For this card I used blue, green & silver fixative splatters.

A die from Mama Elephant Union Square was used to cut the vellum & a soft stone panel.  Then the vellum die cut was inlaid into the soft stone panel.  Poppystamps Powell Butterfly was die cut from white & silver scraps.  The body from a Memory Box butterfly die fit perfectly.  

The sentiment from SSS Thoughtful Messages was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  We mailed this one to an elderly, extended family member facing heart valve replacement surgery.

Next is the card I made for GK Monthly Mix challenge.  I mixed pink & red AI & added some gold foil to this vellum panel.  I stamped the poinsettia from GK Festive Flowers in gold sparkle ep, but it didn't give enough definition to the image.

Luckily the stamp was still in my MISTI, so I inked it in black & stamped again.  Love how it turned out!  I stamped the double poinsettia from the set in Versamark on a pink, textured panel.  The thin SSS frame was die cut from the pink panel & from black cardstock, so I could inlay the black frame.

I stamped the sentiment from the set in black & used a deep, red cardstock for the mat.  Finished with a deep red gem & gold watercolor paint splatters.  I'm also entering CAS Mix Up & ModSquad.

Finally, another Christmas card made with more AI panels on vellum.  Hero Arts Paper Layering poinsettia was die cut from a panel with Crimson & Cranberry AI plus gold foil.  

I backed each piece with plain vellum & used foam tape to adhere the pieces.  Decided I needed green leaves, so made another vellum panel with Lettuce & Sublime Alcohol Inks plus gold foil.  The background is a Sizzix Tim Holtz poinsettia folder used with a deeper gold shimmer paper.  Winnie & Walter noel die was cut twice from black cardstock & brushed with a gold shimmer pen--really pretty in person.  I'm entering ABNH, ModSquad & SSS Wednesday.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Happy 4th of July to my US friends!

Hope everyone is having a safe, fun holiday in the US.  We're watching fireworks on TV & hoping most people take the advice to leave fireworks to the experts.  Everything is so dry & wildfires have already burned a lot of acres.  Plus--big booms make Fritz pretty uncomfortable.

Anyway, wanted to share some cards I've recently made.  

I follow Scrapbook & Cards blog where they recently had challenges celebrating their Summer Magazine release.  The Guest Designer for the sketch challenge is a nurse I "met" on IG.  That motivated me to enter the challenge & I'm honored my card was one they showcased in this blog post!  

I had so much fun using products from many different companies: Pinkfresh Studio, Sizzix, Pretty Pink Posh, Taylored Expressions, My Favorite Things, Poppystamps & AJVD.  

Plus inks, ep & embellishments from Ranger, Lawn Fawn, Pico Embellisher, JudiKins & Eyelet Outlet.  Not sure who made the silver glitter paper that was a scrap.  Ask me if you want info on a specific product.

Next is the card I entered for ITP PTI Challenge to use only dies.  I made my version of a mini slimline using printed paper from the pack I got in the $1 sale years ago.  

The Merry & Bright tree dies were a gift from a friend long ago & I do love the fun look!  I used scraps of New Leaf cardstock & added lines of Lime Stickles.  I've had these wooden stars forever & they were just what I needed here.  The Pure Poppy strips were die cut with AJVD strip die using the partial diecutting technique to make them long enough.  Yes--I did fail to position the plate correctly the first time.  That's what I get for doing it at 11pm--haha!  

The sentiment from Bold Borders: Yuletide was stacked, brushed with shimmer & covered with Nuvo Glaze.  Originally I planned to do a landscape card, but realized in time that I liked this layout a lot better.

My final card is for ITP PTI challenge to make an intricate card.  I had a couple dies that would work, but decided on Shape Shifters: Oval 3.  I've never separated the 3 dies, as I'm afraid it'd take me forever to line them up.  I covered the white die cut with shimmer spray which is so pretty in person.  The sweet little bird is Feathered Friends Mini 8.  

The inks are Lilac Grace, Amethyst Allure, Royal Velvet, Soft Stone, Weathervane, Smokey Shadow & Honey Nut.  I rounded the corners of the Weathervane panel & used the flag die from Tag Sale: Quilted, rather than the branch that comes with the bird.  I've always loved these leaves from Garden Gild, which I die cut from Soft Stone.  The sentiment is from Simple Stems & the black dots are Pico Embellisher.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Poppystamps, Memory Box & a Christmas Card

So why can't weathermen be wrong when you want them to be?!  This time they were right--record breaking heat!  Thankfully, we've been able to keep our house comfortable in spite of it.  The good thing is we will soon be back to the usual summer temps & now they'll seem cool--haha!

My card for Poppystamps June challenge was inspired by Tracey McNeely & Lin Brandyberry.  I used Birch Tree Grace dies Layer A, B & C--just the wreath part.  The flower is Poppystamps Stitched Bloom Trio die cut from a white scrap.  

I inked the largest & smallest with Brilliance Rocket Red & Mediterranean Blue.  Then I covered all of them in Versamark & embossed with Hero Arts Sparkle ep.  

The sentiment from Poppystamps Friends and Flowers was stamped in the same inks.  I embossed dots of the ep on the card front, but doesn't show in the pictures.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday & The Snippets Playground.

Next is my card for the June Memory Box challenge.  I don't know why it doesn't show, but the watercolor panel has a wash of Distress Ink tumbled glass behind the butterflies.  

I used the technique of smooshing the ink on a piece of acetate, spritzing with water & touching it to the paper--pretty in person.  Memory Box Moonlight Butterfly was die cut from 3 shades of blue cardstock & Kaleidoscope Butterfly was die cut from vellum.  The bodies were die cut from a white scrap & are covered in Star Dust Stickles.  

The layers are only attached in the centers & the butterflies are attached to the panel only at the centers.  The sentiment from Poppystamps Grateful Heart was stamped in Delicata Sapphire Blue & the panel die cut with AJVD pierced rectangle was attached to a white card.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Finally is my entry for Rudolph Days.  I used a GK Snowflake stencil, Poppystamps tag die & Winnie & Walter word die.  I white heat embossed the snowflake on a kraft panel & then die cut the tag & popped it up back in place.

Can't tell from the picture, but the word is covered in Nuvo Glaze, so it's beautifully shiny.  The little bows are PPP.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

A Few Cards

Uniko just had a stencil release & I really want to get the layered butterfly & the rose.  Decided to make a card for the May June Challenge using their Gerbera stencil.  Helps justify buying new ones if I've used what I have--haha!  

I began by inking a white panel with Distress Inks squeezed lemonade, candied apple & abandoned coral.  Then I started playing by adding more ink through the stencil & spreading a thin layer of white Liquid Pearls.  Nothing was turning out like I wanted, but I didn't want to start over.  I die cut the panel with the SSS thin frame, taped the pieces in place on the back & removed the frame.  Then I inked through the stencil with Versamark & embossed with Hero Arts Sparkle ep.  That was what it needed!  

The sentiment from Uniko Simply Said Blocks was matted & popped up.  I can't get most Nuvo Drops to make round drops, but recently I discovered that the Jewel Drops work fine for me.  The Limoncello drops were the perfect finishing touch.  I'm also entering WAW. 

Next is the card I sent for May CCC.  I had such fun using the Tim Holtz wreath dies & the little daisies that were included in a card I received previously from a CCC partner.  

The sentiment is from HA/GK Friendship Blooms & I used white gouache for the splatters.  Hard to tell, but the flower centers are covered in Stickles.

Here's the card I made for the ITP PTI challenge to use cardstock scraps.  I save even very small scraps of my PTI cardstock & it's amazing how often I am able to die cut from them.  For this card I die cut scraps of Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, Weathervane & Smokey Shadow.  

The products are Feathered Friends 8, Twig Wreath, Harvest Berries (flower centers), Bold Blooms & Essential Sentiments.  The card base is Soft Stone & I stamped the leaves in Weathervane, the flowers in Soft Stone & the flower centers in Tropical Teal.  I added Smokey Shadow splatters, Star Dust Stickles (flower centers) & Hero Arts Blue Ombre sequins.  Amazing the difference with just rounding the corners!  I'm also entering The Snippets Playground.

I'll finish with a card for the June GK Monthly Mix Challenge.  It's been a long time since I used Karen Dunbrook's acrylic paint technique & it's always fun to see how the background turns out.  

The sentiment from GK A Big Hello was stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne.  The die cut butterfly from the set was heat embossed with JudiKins Black Diamond ep.  

Finished off with a strip of printed paper, black & white splatters and black & white Pico Embellisher dots.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.