Christmas Scene

I don't create many cards with scenes & when I do, it's usually for Christmas.  Ever since I saw the theme for Christmas Kickstart, I've been trying to come up with something.  I have some dies that basically are a scene, but didn't want to use them this time.  Since I wanted to also enter Rudolph Days, last night I sat down & finally got all the pieces completed.  This morning I just glued everything together.

I began by smooshing DIs on a scrap of wc paper big enough to cut out 2 PPP Layered Trees.  I purposely used the textured side for more interest.  After die cutting the pieces, I decided to make this tree darker by blending additional ink.  The ends were covered in Nuvo Drops Morning Dew.  I can't seem to make drops with them, but they work beautifully for a very sparkly glitter glue. 

The IO deer were die cut from a piece of lighter weight wc paper that was smooshed with brown shades of DI.  The snowdrift was cut with a very old MFT die I'd never used & the sky was blended with blue shades of DI.  I used white gauche paint for snow & stamped the W&W sentiment in Memento Nautical Blue.  Now to make a card with the other tree which has a very different look.  Stay tuned!

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Birthday & Friendship

I made 2 very different cards, but both were so much fun to make.  First up is my entry for ITP Project Reach Out: You Are My Favorite.  Must admit--the theme kinda stumped me.  I don't have any stamps with that sentiment & wouldn't put it on a card to a friend.  However, my sweet neighbor girl is turning 6 this week, so a light bulb went on--haha! 

Ms A loves rainbow colors & nature, so I inked the tree from PTI Floral Foliage in Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Bright Buttercup, New Leaf & Enchanted Evening.  Then I stamped in Versamark & embossed with HA Sparkle ep.  You can see the shine & will have to take my word for the sparkle.

The trunk was stamped in Cocoa Bean & the sentiment from PTI Quilled Elegance was inked in the same colors.  I printed the sentiment strip on regular weight cardstock & was so happy the brown was a pretty good match!  I wanted to keep it bright & happy, but the white card base needed a little something.  The Paper Studio woodgrain embossing folder did the trick.  Hopefully, my card will help make turning 6 special, in spite of the social isolation.  Imagine she'll be doing a vido call with her grandparents & her best friend from school.  I'm also entering JUGs & Retro Rubber (both stamp sets from 2012). 

Next is the card I made with my other Pan Pastel panel.  You can see my first card HERE.  This one was made with SSS Square Dance Stencil, Golden Light Molding paste & 3 of my Pan Pastel colors.  Kim's videos HERE & HERE gave me the techniques.

I stamped SSS Spring Flowers leafy branch in Versamark.  Then I pounced & rubbed with  the light green Pan Pastel & added just a bit of the dark blue on the edges of the leaves colors.  Decided to add interest by covering the branch with a shimmer pen.

The black die cut SSS Painted Hugs was stacked & glued over the branch.  Finished off with black Pico Embellisher dots.  I'm entering SSS Flickr 148, SSS IG April challenge & Stamplorations April Stencil Challenge.

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

Pinkfresh Studio & Altenew

Saw something the other day that made me smile.  Our next door neighbors had camping chairs set up 6 ft apart under their carport.  I thought maybe the husband's fishing buddies were coming over.  Next thing I knew, their 2 teenage granddaughters drove up & visited.  No parents, just the girls.  I thought it was really sweet.
My first card is for the PFS April Challenge.  I used the sketch & the colors minus the purple.  Decided to make use of the Felicity Collection prize pack I won long ago.  Hopefully retired products are allowed. 

I trimmed the printed paper to fit an A2 card front after I decided what part I wanted to show.  Then I die cut one of the Ellen Hutson Hex Frames from the panel.  The frame was colored with a Copic to match the blue in the collection.  I stacked the solid hex 3 high & attached it back in place.  All the stickers are from the collection & I played around for quite awhile deciding how to arrange them.

To finish it off I added Star Dust Stickles & darkened the bird's eye with a black pen.  Fun to do something different!

I finally got my card done for the Altenew April Challenge.  Now it looks like I didn't get very close to the rose & peach colors, but too late.  At least the background I had right--haha!

Couldn't remember if smooshing works on glossy paper, but it does & I love the look.  I used a scrap of glossy photo paper & DI hickory smoke.  The splatters are Distress Stain Brushed Pewter & Altenew Black Spray Mist.  I used Altenew Mid-Century Frame Die in the center of the panel after it dried.  The sentiment from Altenew Painted Greetings was embossed with a satin powder over silver ink.

I've had Altenew Fine Bouquet Die quite awhile, so it's about time I used it.  The smooshing was done with PTI Berry Sorbet & Melon Berry.  I made silver paper by coloring a white scrap with Distress Stain Brushed Pewter.  I saved all the little smooshed pieces & put them into the silver outline.  Decided to use black sequins for embellishment, as I didn't want anything too flashy.  I don't usually make square cards, but really like the frame die centered in the panel.

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

Flowers for Friends

I saw the CAS Mix Up theme of bleaching & planned to skip it.  Then I saw that my friend, Betty, bleached DO inks using water.  That'll teach me not to read the whole post--haha!  My elements are bleaching, stamping & splatter.  I was about to start my entry for ITP Project Reach Out: Flower cards, so combined the challenges to make this card.

The last time I tried bleaching with water, I didn't use vivid colors.  The effect wasn't very noticeable, so this time I used DO picked raspberry & wilted violet on a long white cardstock scrap.  When it was totally dry I black embossed images from PTI MIM Garden Gild Mini.  I used a small paintbrush with plain water to remove much of the color.  The effect was obvious with the open blooms & hard to tell with the others.  I liked the contrast, so no problem.  However, the open blooms were a bit blah, so I colored them first with a silver glimmer pen.  That made them a little too dark, so I colored over that with a clear glimmer pen & love it!  The other blooms were actually colored with a pink or purple Distress Marker.  I trimmed the panel to the size I needed & added white gauche paint splatters.  The word from PTI Counting My Blessings was die cut 3 times from black cardstock.  I covered it with the silver glimmer pen & Nuvo Glaze--so pretty in person.

The stamped words are from the same set.  I added pearls & gems--sometimes just can't keep it flat!  Blogging friends are indeed a blessing, so this is going to one of them.  I'm also entering Inkspirational & The Snippets Playground.

I generally think of pastels as Spring colors, but recently I've noticed lots of vivid pinks to reds when I walk Fritz.  The Gina K April Challenge is Spring Fling & ABNH calls for watercolor.  Here's my card combining the challenges.

The gold embossed floral image from HA/GK Friendship Blooms was colored with Geranium Red & May Green Zigs using a waterbrush.  I gold embossed a sentiment from the same set & splattered the Zigs.

The edges of the card front were gold embossed before I attached the panel.  I'm also entering CAS Watercolor & WAW.

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

Friendship & Christmas

I have 3 cards to show you today.  First is my entry for ITP Project Reach Out: Special Delivery.  Delivered by balloon was my idea, although it didn't turn out quite as planned.

I used another of the PTI scallop note cards from my friend & this time I stamped a flower & leaves from ITP Bold Blooms in Enchanted Evening & New Leaf.  I really like those 2 shades of ink together.  I used a gel pen for the white dots.  The sentiment from PTI Bold Borders: Foliage was stacked 3 high with the top layer die cut from Enchanted Evening cardstock & covered with Nuvo Glaze.  My last Winnie & Walter order before they closed included balloon dies.

The second to smallest one was inked & covered in Frosted Lace Stickles.  The balloon is attached at a slight angle, so I'm also entering Tic Tac Toe using Tilted, Stitched, Blue.  First time to use the balloon dies, so I'm also entering NBUS.

I know we all cope differently with the current challenging times.  There are lots of blog hops & videos on-line which may appeal to some, but I find myself having very little interest spending time on the computer.  However, I happened to see that Spellbinders had a video using Pan Pastels.  Turned out there were actually 2 of them.  I bought a set of Pan Pastels in 2015 & have only used them once!  I've read what to do & seen beautiful examples, but just couldn't figure out how to start.  Kim Kesti's videos showed easy techniques using supplies I have.  I was inspired enough to actually try the technique of applying Pan Pastels over dry embossing paste.  Here's my first card.

I used SSS Heart Mandala stencil & Golden Light Molding Paste.  In case you can't tell, I used lavender, blue & green pastels.  The gray frame is MFT & the sentiment is SSS Painted Hugs.

I had just the right lavendar textured cardstock & I added a clear sequin with a dot of Stickles to finish it off.  I'm entering SSS Flickr 147, SSS April IG & Flickr Love Handmade Cards.
I haven't made a Christmas card in nearly a month & usually I make them about every week.  When I saw that the 5th Stay Crafty with Hero Challenge is Holiday Headstart, I was determined to make a card.  I'm hoping not to need extra postage for cards this year & this one fits that criteria.  I pulled out 2 HA sets: Holiday Wishes from 2010 & Happy Holly Days from 2015.

The evergreen branch was stamped 3 times in Delicata Emerald Green which has a lovely shimmer in person.  The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn & covered with purple tape so I could add the white gauche paint splatters.  I started out with a one layer card, but decided I really liked the white border to brighten it up & tie in with the splatters.  This one is quick enough I might use it for hubby's cousins who all get the same design.  I'm also entering Inkspirational & Retro Rubber.

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

Fun Making Cards

So much in the world has changed, but things seem normal when I sit down to make cards.  First is my entry for Stamplorations April Theme.  I had the idea to use a butterfly image after making my first card with flowers & leaves using acrylic paints.  The 4 paints were randomly arranged on a watercolor panel.  When it was dry I black embossed an image from Stamplorations Trendy Butterflies--one of my first Stamplorations sets.

I fussy cut all the butterflies & splattered them with white gouache paint.  Then I looked for an image to stamp behind the butterflies & discovered the beautiful Leaf Sprig by Stampendous which I don't think I'd ever used.

The sentiment is from Stamplorations Frames & Flowers.  Finished off with a black strip down the left side & white Pico Embellisher drops.  I'm also entering Stamplorations Never-Ending Anything Goes, Time Out & WAW.

ITP is doing a series of  challenges called Project Reach Out.  The latest one is called Keep Swimming & I don't see any product requirements.  Had to think for awhile before coming up with an idea, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I inked an image from PTI Watercolor Wonder in Spring Rain & added some Blueberry Sky at the top.  Then I stamped a very old Fred Mullett fish stamp in black & embossed in JudiKins Iridescent Sparkle.

The panel was die cut with PTI Scallop Stackers: Small & matted with Blueberry Sky cardstock.  Tim Holtz mini alpha stickers were used for the sentiment & I added PPP Sparkling Clear Confetti bubbles.  I'm also entering CASology--Zodiac for the first time in forever!  Pisces is actually 2 fish, so not sure this qualifies.
 
I always send a lot of cards, but now I'm mailing even more.  Handmade cards are always on display at my house & make me smile every day.
Hubby had to do a video appointment with his physician.  I managed to get the app on my phone & everything working in plenty of time.  Pretty proud of my non-IT self--haha!  Can't say video appointments are a good replacement for an actual doctor visit--we're old fashioned.  But in this case it worked great & we were glad to get the needed info from our wonderful doctor without putting anyone at risk.  There are no plans for hubby to get a smart phone--haha!
Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.