More Valentines

I've had so much fun making Valentines this year.  A couple challenges want red and pink cards which I'm not sure I've made in the past.  Decided it'd be fun to use IO Lacy Hearts die.  

I decided to use Distress Oxides candied apple and kitsch flamingo, so I inked a white panel with each one.  Then I die cut the panels, saving all the little heart pieces and tossing out the rest.  I didn't look closely at the die and was thinking the little hearts were all the same.  That is definitely not the case--haha!  I started with putting the pink hearts into the red panel.  I'm not very good at puzzles, so it took me awhile.  But I wasn't about to give up and love the end result.  It was a bit quicker to put the red hearts into the pink panel, since I had the other one for reference.  

I wanted a subtle shimmery background, so painted white metallic watercolor onto 2 slightly smaller white panels--so pretty in person.  SSS Simple Happy Valentine's Day words were die cut from black and the shadow from vellum.

I'm entering the pink with red hearts at Just Us Girls and SSS Wednesday.  I'm entering the red with pink hearts at Color Hues.

I also made a non-traditional Valentine for a special friend who likes the color green.  I used my very old rubber brayer to ink the flat side of Memory Box Blooming 3D embossing folder with Pigment Craft Co Eucalyptus ink.  I love that shade of green, but hard for me to photograph.  Before adding the white panel to the folder, I die cut the shadow from the SSS sentiment set I used above.  The inking worked great and I'll definitely use this technique again.  

I inked a scrap with the Eucalyptus to put behind the shadow opening.  The words were die cut from white scraps, stacked and covered with a shimmer pen.  You can see the shimmer in my IG post.  I'm entering SSS Wednesday.

Edited to add:  Also entering Die Cut Divas.

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

Time Out Challenge #256

We're back with a fun photo inspiration for Time Out Challenge #256.  Sarah Gray is a former DT member and the owner of our sponsor, Funky Fossil Design.  All you have to do is make a card inspired by the one Sarah made in the photo below.  In addition to the 25 pound gift certificate to Funky Fossil, the winner gets an invitation to guest design for a future challenge. 

I used a splatters stencil in the background, but mine is coffee splatters instead of paint.  My card is a rectangle, but I basically followed Sarah's layout.  There are lots of ways you can be inspired and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the gallery.  Remember, we only allow cards entered in a total of no more than 5 challenges including ours.

I used Lawn Fawn Manatee ink with Tim Holtz Splatters stencil.  The Stampendous sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne.The stitched rectangle is MFT, the cups are Trinity Stamps (freebie), the snowflake embossing folder is Darice and the little hearts are AJVD.  

I used a detail brush to add white pigment ink to the snowflakes before covering them and the word Friend with Shimmer Pico Embellisher.  Black enamel dots were just the right finishing touch.  I'm sending this card as a Valentine to a blogging friend, wishing we could meet for coffee.

I'm entering SSS Monday and 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.

Birthday Card and Valentine

A couple of my in person friends are on the DT for Seize the Birthday and one of them, Colleen, picked the current topping of Kraft and One Other Color.  I'm very fond of kraft with pink and I finally got the CN9 Poinsettia Quilt Top die set.  Decided this color combo was perfect for my first quilt. 

I've admired this die set for a long time.  It doesn't have to be for Christmas cards.  In fact, I'm not sure you'd even think of a poinsettia, if it wasn't part of the name.  There are advantages over other quilt dies including a separate outline die, a separate stitching lines die and 3 dies for the inside pieces.  Plus it includes the word Joy and a shadow for it.  I found the beautiful darker pink floral paper in an old pad and the pink textured cardstock in my scraps.  I used PTI Classic Kraft (my favorite kraft cardstock) for the card front and the corners.  The little pieces were covered with Versamark Shimmer ink to make them slightly darker than the card. 

The sentiment and layered banners are from PTI, as is the bloom.  I used a floral center from AJVD and little leafy branches from Alexandra Renke.  The flower center is covered in pink jewel Nuvo Drops.  I'm also entering Die Cut Divas.

Last January I had my hip replaced, so I didn't make Valentines.  This year I'm having so much fun being able to make them again.  

For this card I used AJVD hearts, Large Hepburn Couture Creations embossing folder and SSS Simple Valentine's Day sentiment.  I think black, white, silver and red makes for a classic, clean and fresh Valentine for a blog friend. 

This one went to a friend who didn't get the Christmas card I sent, thanks to me sending it to her old address!  Boy did I feel dumb when it came back to me.  I had her new address, but grabbed an envelope I'd addressed long ago.  Hopefully she'll be surprised and happy when she finds this card in her mailbox.  I'm entering SSS Monday and TTTC239 using Heart, Red, Die Cut. 

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

Time Out Challenge #260

Here's my card for Time Out Challenges #260 where we challenge you to be: Striped.  Once again our generous sponsor is Lawn Fawn and they are giving the winner a $25 gift certificate to their store.  

I was inspired by Carissa Wiley's cards for the recent Card Maker Success Summit.  I seldom make shakers and wanted to use her idea before I forgot!  

I picked out 5 colored cardstock scraps that I liked together and die cut them with PFS Color Block Stripes die.  I attached them to the card, rounded the corners and added gold splatters.  Lawn Fawn's Small Stitched Circle Stackables worked great for a shaker window filled with sequins and glitter.  

The circle looked too plain, so I colored over the stitches with a gold gel pen.  It was very easy to do and made a huge difference!  The gold metallic die cut sentiment is an oldie from Impression Obsession.  Hope you'll check out Time Out Challenges blog where you'll find more inspiration from our GD and the rest of the DT, along with all the details.

I'm entering Die Cut Divas.

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

Couple of Cards

The Caffeinated Christmas Card Snowflake challenge is about to close and I did finally come up with a card.  I messed up stamping the Sweet 'n Sassy Knit Background using white pigment ink on gray cardstock.  Luckily, it was just one spot near the bottom of the panel, so I cut it into a smaller rectangle.  I love the look of wider margins on cards, especially when using smaller images. 

I've had Hero Arts metallic watercolors for a very long time and decided to play around with them.  No luck with trying an artist's technique I saw, so I just painted the red watercolor onto a white scrap.  I'd call it a burgundy red and it has a beautiful shimmer.  My scrap was big enough to die cut Trinity Stamps little cup (a freebie) twice, as well as the Impression Obsession snowflake.  

Luckily there was one edge of the scrap that worked to mat the PTI sentiment.  An old Darice snowflake embossing folder was used for the cups and I added a dot of Shimmer Pico Embellisher to the snowflake centers.  Yay for a nearly flat card ready to mail this Christmas.  I'm also entering Snippets Playground.

Next is a card inspired by a recent one made by my in real life friend, Lin.  She reminded me of the Gina K Video I saved to my favorites two years ago. 

I white embossed a very old wood mounted French script stamp.   It doesn't completely cover the panel, but I actually like the look.   I used Uniko's Flower Power #8 stencil with Distress Oxides Abandoned Coral and Saltwater Taffy.

The sentiment is from Uniko's Simply Said blocks.   Love that enamel dots are flat enough to not need extra postage.   I'm entering Inkspirational and Just Us Girls.

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

Floral, Snowflakes and a Valentine

I have three very different cards to share today.  First is the card I made for the January Altenew Inspiration Challenge.  Have to admit, I tend to reach for products I find easier to use.  But this time I wanted to see what I could do with my neglected Altenew's Handpicked Bouquet. 

It has an outline image with solid images to "color" it in.  The solid stamps are actually fairly easy to line up when you use a dark ink for the outline.  I pulled out inks as close as I could get to the inspiration colors: Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue, PTI Blueberry Sky, CN9 Sprout and PTI New Leaf.  I added white gouache splatters to the bouquet and attached it to another diecut for stability.  The background was made with a brown scrap and Altenew Deck Planks embossing folder.  I carefully added some random areas of white pigment ink and wiped with a paper towel.  Really love how it changed the look, just a bit.  I die cut Altenew Fancy Hello diecut from Blueberry Sky cardstock and attached it slightly offset to a white diecut.  Hero Arts sequins were just the right shade.  I may use this for a birthday card.  I'm also entering Inspired By...Blue. 

Next is a white on white Christmas card with a touch of gold for Christmas Kickstart.  I used 2 of my newest products which I really love.  

SSS Fanciful Flurries embossing folder was used on a white panel which I then mounted to a white card.  A drop of Goldenrod Stickles was added to each snowflake center.  Birch Press Handwritten Merry Christmas and Outline die was cut from the same white cardstock and stacked 2 high.  I used vellum for the shadow diecut.

I know some of you may have seen more snowflakes than you wanted to, but hopefully you can enjoy seeing paper ones. 

My long-time friend, Lisa, has a beautiful mood board for inspiration at Just Us Girls.  I was immediately drawn to the gray heart pillow in the top center photo.  I thought I had gray felt, but turns out I have just about every other color--haha! 

Instead I used a very old slightly textured gray cardstock to die cut Memory Box Grand Heart.  In the same container of old paper, I found white velvet.  You can't tell in a photo, but in person the Memory Box Bingham Heart diecut has that wonderful soft texture.  I used the same gray paper for the background which I made by stamping Sweet 'n Sassy Knit Background lightly in white pigment ink.  The gray panel was added to a scalloped Elizabeth Crafts rectangle as a nod to the edging of the pillow in the photo.  Plus, I love scalloped edges!  I stamped my old wood mounted Savvy Stamps sentiment in Versafine Clair Nocturne, added PRS splatters with white pigment ink and attached tiny pearls to some of the flower centers.  The heart was backed with heavy weight cardstock to raise it slightly off the background.  I'm going to need a wedding card soon, so may use this design in the wedding colors.

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

Sparkle to the Max!

Poppystamps January challenge is Sparkle.  You will have to admit--no doubt my card qualifies--haha!  

This is the first time I've attached a cardstock panel to a double sided adhesive sheet so I could cover it with glitter.  Before removing the adhesive liner, I die cut Poppystamps Triple Heart Twirl 3 times, as you can see.  Then I poured on WOW Regal Sparkles which is just stunning in real life!  And it doesn't rub off, in case you're wondering.  There's a short video in my IG post.  

I attached the hearts panel to a white card without gluing down the hearts.  Took several tries to come up with how to add a birthday sentiment.  Finally, I thought to stamp the words on AJVD stitched hearts using parts of 2 PTI sentiments from Simple Stems.  Looks so much better than the die cut happy birthday I almost put across the middle.  I'm also entering The Snippets Playground where we're celebrating Di's 12th anniversary trying to keep everyone in order--haha!  I'm also entering SSS Monday and Seize the Birthday.

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