Christmas Cards

I recently checked out the Split 4 technique after seeing several people do it.  Here's one of the panels from my first attempt made into a card.  I wasn't that happy with the other panels.

The branches & pinecones are from Hero Arts Happy Holly Days & the sentiment is from a very old HA sampler set used for classes at stamp stores.  The panel was dry embossed, die cut & matted with a textured red scrap.  I added Christmas Red & Stardust Stickles.

I'm entering ABNH & Die Cut Divas.

I did another Split 4 page--this time with images from Uniko's Season of Beauty.  The little dots are from Gina K & PTI.

This is a fun technique & I plan to try again.  Maybe I'll end up with 4 cards, eventually--haha!  I'm entering Time Out.

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Summer Flowers Take 2

Here's what I did with the rest of the panel I used in my last post.  I really like DO fossilized amber with just a bit of the area where it was blended with the abandoned coral.

The Impression Obsession stamps are Sketched Roses and a retired set called Anytime Sentiments.  I added 3 black Pico Embellisher dots.  

The JudiKins Black Diamond ep has been in my stash for about 20 years.  No point in hoarding it & I do love the subtle sparkle it adds to an image.  I'm entering IO Summer Flowers Challenge. 

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Summer Flowers Take 1

I recently saw a card made with IO Sketched Roses which made me decide to use it for the Summer Flowers challenge.  I didn't get a hanging basket or flowers for my pots this year.  Just had no motivation with the pandemic & wanting to stay away from stores.  But my hydrangea went absolutely crazy with blooms & I have my roses which are always my main summer flower.

I began by blending a panel with DO candied apple, abandoned coral & fossilized amber.  Then I embossed the roses using a very old JudiKins ep called Black Diamond.  I loved the result with beautiful summery colors & a bit of sparkle.

The fossilized amber was just too much contrast from the almost ombre look of the red & coral blend.  I switched to this design so I could use a smaller panel matted with black.  The IO Greetings Top Edgers sentiment, was stacked 2 high & covered with Shimmer Pico Embellisher.  I didn't waste the rest of the panel--you'll see it soon.  I'm also entering Allsorts, PB&M & WAW.


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Ellen Hutson & Poppystamps

Another Christmas in July card & this time I used Ellen Hutson Mondo Holly.  My sweet friend, Rosemary, sent me a bunch of the matching die cuts.  I used one of them & gold embossed the beautiful image.

Then I used Altenew wc markers to do the coloring.  I squeezed a bit of the ink from several markers into a palette & mixed to get the shades I wanted to paint with a small brush.  Decided it needed some sparkle, so I painted the berries with Inkon 3 Liquid Pixie Dust.

Blue is often used for watercolor backgrounds, but instead of painting I used a light blue textured cardstock.  The holly was mounted with foam tape & I really do like the look.  The sentiment from the same set was stamped in green.  I'm entering DCD, DRU, Inkspirational & Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

The July Poppystamps Challenge is Glim & Glam: Make it Sparkle.  I wanted to try Kathy's Print Making Technique with flowers, so die cut Poppystamps Stitched Bloom Trio several times from wc paper.  I loved Kathy's results & the process looked pretty easy.  I again used my Altenew wc markers, but had trouble getting the right amount of water.  Luckily I ended up with a strip from the panel that I liked.

I also splattered Distress Stain Tarnished Brass on the panel & the blooms.  Before adding the panel to a vanilla card, I added a thin strip of brown cardstock.  The sentiment from Newton's Nook Blooming Botanicals was stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn.  Tried several times to get a picture showing the sparkle on the bloom which I painted with Inkon 3 Liquid Pixie Dust.

The gold glitter dot in my stash was just what I needed to finish it off.  Hopefully you can see some sparkle & that the layers are attached only in the center with the petals gently lifted.  I'm also entering Virginia's Show & Share and WAW.

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

CAS Mix Up July Stencil Challenge Reminder

I'm back as one of the Guest Designers for CAS Mix Up July Stencil Challenge.  Here's another example of the Stencil Tracing technique & I hope you'll be inspired to play along.  This time I inked SSS Bouquet of Roses stencil using sponge daubers with Brilliance Pearlescent Poppy & Starlite Black.

Love the subtle shimmer of these inks.  My tracing was done with a dark gray Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pen I recently picked up curbside.  Actually, hubby picked it up.  I love being home making cards, but he gets a little stir crazy.  Always good to have errands for him to do!  Glad I got this pen--easy to use & perfect for stencil tracing.

The sentiment is SSS Painted Hugs die cut stacked a couple high & a Cosmo clear background sticker I attached to white cardstock & trimmed with scissors to the size I wanted.  Lately I'm liking a mat barely larger than my panel, so that's what I used here.  Finished off with clear sequins & another card ready to mail.  I also crossed one more thing off my to do list:  make a card with gray leaves.  I like it so much I'm going to try gray with other colors of flowers.  

I'm entering SSS Flickr Challenge 153 & Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge. 

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

Leaves & Butterflies

I'm still playing with Yana's alcohol ink marker technique.  My version is simplified & more color block, I'd say.  This time I used my new PFS stamp called Lush Vines to make an entry for PFS July Challenge using the summer theme without the colors.  I stamped in Memento Toffee Crunch & colored with several green Copics & a deep pink one.  Then I white embossed the image slightly offset.  Such a fun look!

To me, lots of green & white says summer--plus the deep pink which I see in lots of hanging baskets in my neighborhood.  I decided on Soft Stone behind the panel & stamped the sentiment from Delicate Wreath in Versafine Morning Mist.  As you can see, I die cut a rectangle window & mounted the panel with fun foam.  The sentiment was a bit small for the opening, so I added the die cuts from Dainty Blooms & a crochet thread bow.  I'm also entering The 30 Day Coloring Challenge & Inkspirational.

I HAD to have MFT Brilliant Butterflies stamp set, but it was still unopened.  When I saw the Twofer Challenge theme is Butterflies, I was determined to use that set.

Here are my 2 very different cards--one for a birthday & one to say hello.  No bling on either one--just liked them as is.  Actually, I think they could both work for a guy or a gal.  Do you have a favorite?

I started with the birthday card as I also wanted to enter MFT Color Challenge.  I picked 2 shades of blue VersaMagic since pigment ink is best on colored cardstock.

The dark is Aegean Blue & the light is Sea Breeze.  The sentiment from MFT Totally Happy & the detailed butterfly layers were stamped in Versafine Clair Acorn.  I used a brown Zig for the splatters.  I'm also entering WAW.

The second card uses the same butterfly as the top one on the birthday card.  This time I stamped in Altenew Hydrangea & Wisteria.  The sentiment from PFS Delicate Wreath & the detailed butterfly layer were stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne.

I doubled the PTI frame before adding it to the butterfly panel.  I didn't want the thickness of fun foam, so I added 3 layers of cardstock which gave just enough dimension.  No extra postage needed which is always nice.  I'm also entering NBUS & Virginia's Show & Share.

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

Christmas & Friendship

I was so glad to see the theme of Christmas in July for several challenges.  One of those is Gina K Monthly Mix, so I pulled out GK Mini Wreath Builder & Sketched Wreath Builder.

The inks are Brilliance Rocket Red & PTI Ripe Avocado, Simply Chartreuse & Prairie Grass.  It's tempting to keep adding images, but I think this was just enough.  Needed some sparkle, so I added Stickles to the flower centers & berries.

I used fun foam to add my wreath to the Spellbinders Lacey Square die cut & rounded the corners of the square card.  I'm also entering Die Cut Divas & Dies R Us.
Edited to add: Also entering Virginia's Show & Share.

Next is another friendship card & I actually pulled out my Copics!  I was immediately enthralled with Yana's no blend alcohol marker coloring.  She's done at least 3 different cards, but here's the first VIDEO I watched.  My first attempt ended up in the trash.  I probably didn't choose the best image, but my biggest problem was figuring out how to shape each area of color & how big to make each one.  So, I decided to try later & moved on to SSS Flickr Challenge 153.  The theme is coloring since there's currently a 30 Day Coloring Challenge going on.  I pulled out SSS Spring Flowers, thinking I'd use my Zigs.  Then I saw the lines of the images & thought I could use them for a modified version of Yana's technique--and it worked!

At least I love it & I've gotten the most likes for any of my cards on IG.  July happens to be watercolor month, so I pulled out a blue Altenew watercolor marker.   Tried the new to me technique of scribbling on a piece of acetate, spritzing with water & tapping on the panel.  It's like smooshing but with a bit more control.  I added splatters of Distress Stain tarnished brass to the die cuts & the background.

The sentiment from SSS Thoughtful Messages was double stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist & I added gold sequins.  The panel was mounted with fun foam to a white card.  I'm also entering WAW.

Covid cases continue to rise in many areas of the US, including ours.  Apparently 130,000 plus deaths isn't enough to make people change behavior, unless someone they love dies.  Very sad that doctors & scientists are being discounted as making mistakes, so we should listen to politicians for public health.  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. 
Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.