Thanksgiving and Birthday

The end of another month and a couple more cards to enter before challenges close.  I really love coloring stencils which I used for this card made with SSS Full of Thanks.

The image and sentiment were gold embossed and colored with the stencils using CN9 inks in Clementine, Grapefruit, Parsley, Artichoke, Avocado and Fig.  The green mat was inked in Avocado.  I added small gold watercolor splatters and used a narrow gold mat.  Really love how this one turned out and I'm anxious to use more of the images in that set.  I'm entering SSS Flickr, SSS Wednesday via Flickr and WAW via Flickr.

I immediately thought of Christmas when I saw the PTI October Inspiration Challenge colors of Classic Kraft, Vintage Cream and Scarlet Jewel.  That's what I made for my first entry.  But I also had the idea of making a birthday card with the fun, whimsical Your Beautiful Birthday stamp set.  

I did a practice run on scratch paper since I didn't want to ruin a piece of my Vintage Cream Cardstock.  It helped me figure out the size of rectangle to stamp on and how close to stamp the cake layers.  Plus, I hated the look of the cake plate done in brown ink, so changed to gold embossed for the card.  I wanted something else gold and decided to just emboss the rectangle edges like I used to frequently do.  It really makes a difference in person, even though you can't really see it in the photo.  The Classic Kraft panel was die cut with Border Bling: Tin Stitched--an old favorite.  I wanted another layer that wasn't just a rectangle and remembered Melissa layering various shapes on her cards.  I settled on the middle size Love to Layer: Soft Ridges die.  Turned horizontally, it only shows on the sides, which gave color and interest without detracting from the cake panel.  Plus, I did a couple partial die cuts, using only a little bit of my Scarlet Jewel cardstock which is almost gone.  Classic Kraft turned out to be a great color for the cake, I think.  The Scarlet Jewel sprinkles were over stamped in VersaMark so I could use Sparkle embossing powder to add a festive touch.  The candle flame & glow were stamped in Summer Sunrise and Bright Buttercup and then were covered in yellow Stickles.  The sentiment from the very old Tiny Tags set was stamped in Scarlet Jewel on a scrap of Vintage Cream die cut with a small circle and stacked 2 high.  The circle mat was made with a Classic Kraft scrap die cut with a slightly larger circle.  I've made quite a few cards with this cake stamp set and this might be my favorite.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday 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.

Christmas and Autumn

October is coming to a close, so better get my cards into the challenge galleries.  First up is the card I made with leftovers from the Poppystamps Twirly Whirly Tree in my previous post.  

I spritzed a white cardstock negative with Distress Mica Stain Tree Lot.  The outline glitter cardstock tree was then glued in place.  The gorgeous sparkle and shimmer can be seen in my IG post.  The very old wood mounted sentiment was popped up.  Super simple, but I love the result.  I'm entering Poppystamps Make it Magic October challenge to add sparkle and WAW via IG.

Next is my card for the Pinkfresh Studio October challenge.  I had fun using all the dies in their Blanket Stitched Rectangles, along with a flower from Dainty Blossoms--a much loved PFS die set.  

To get Fall colors, I pulled out 3 ink cubes from Altenew's Warm & Cozy set:  Orange Cream, Autumn Blaze and Firebrick.  The largest frame was glued flat to the card front.  The next largest was stacked 2 high and the rectangle was stacked 3 high.  It really makes a difference in real life.  The flower was die cut from gold metallic cardstock and the sentiment from Sweet Friend Floral (another favorite PFS set) was gold embossed on black.  I added a few black enamel dots to finish it off.  I'm sending it to a friend instead of a traditional Thanksgiving card.

Last is my entry for the Altenew October Inspiration Challenge, JUGS stencil challenge and WAW.  It's been awhile since I used Altenew's White Cap Peonies stencil set and I do love it.  Wasn't sure how it would look in the colors for this month, so was happy to see they actually looked beautiful once the stenciling was done.  These are the Altenew inks:  Pale Mauve, Amethyst, Grape Agate, Sunkissed, Firebrick, Silver Sprout and Sagestone.  

Love what adding some gold splatters does to a panel!  Altenew's Sparkled Frame die is one of my favorite products from when I was a guest designer.  I used matte gold cardstock for it and the word die from Floral Acanthus.  Glad I have quite a few enamel dot sets that match my Altenew inks, including these.  I got brave and added both purple and orange.  I considered skipping this month's challenge, but I'm really glad I didn't.  Ended up with a card I really love and I think it will be perfect for a Fall birthday.  

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

Christmas Cards

A couple challenges inspired me to make more Christmas cards.  They are my favorite to make.  As you'll see, these two are completely different.

First is my entry for Poppystamps Make it Magic October challenge.  I thought that would mean things like elfs or witches or mermaids.  Lucky for me, the challenge is actually to add some sparkle--right up my alley! 

I die cut Poppystamps 2014 Twirly Whirly Tree 3 times from white cardstock and once from the white/iridescent glitter cardstock from Memory Box Holiday Glitter pack.  All the pieces remained in place when I removed the tree from the die.  It was so beautiful, I decided to make the top tree green using Distress Oxide rustic wilderness.  Then I paper pieced the glitter cardstock pieces into the green tree.  So glad I did, as it's truly beautiful in person.  You can see the sparkle in my IG post.  Simple framing using Gina K rectangle dies and a favorite W&W sentiment finished the card.  I'll make another card with the glitter cardstock outline tree.  Can't let it go to waste!  I'm also entering WAW.

My other card is for the October Papertrey Ink Challenge with the color combo Classic Kraft, Vintage Cream and Scarlet Jewel. 

The PTI products I used are Joyful Florals stamp set/dies, Vintage Cream and Classic Kraft cardstock, Scarlet Jewel printed paper, Classic Kraft and Scarlet Jewel ink cubes, Scallop Stackers:  Small and Delicate Circle die.  The sentiment was gold embossed and the poinsettia centers were colored with a Pental gold Color Pop pen.  You can see the shimmer and shine in my IG post.  

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