At Seize the Birthday #285-Double Stenciling the challenge asked for a, new to me, technique of double stenciling. I am not the best at stenciling but I gave it a go. Initially I used Gesso with a pebble stencil and then realized that I had to wait for it to dry before I could stencil again. So I patiently waited, but did remove the stencil for cleaning before carrying on. Once it was dry I went over it with a faint touch of ink from a sponge and then I replaced the stencil as best I could and using a music note stencil I added the notes using the same ink that was left on the sponge. It kind of worked although I’m sure it isn’t quite what was intended based on the video I watched first. I liked it enough to mount onto a black layer leaving a 1/16″ border. This was added to the card base. Taking the Lavinia stamp and some black ink I stamped the rabbit/hare onto a scrap piece and fussy cut when it was dry. I couldn’t fussy cut the tiny hairs so I did a quick stamp onto the background and went over the hairs with a micro pen to get them darker before gluing the separate one on top. Using an unbranded Love die I cut 3 in black gluing them together and adding it as you see. Three pearl embellishments finish the card.

I am also going to enter this card as a 2nd entry into the June Stencil Fun Challenge.

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Challenge #228, as chosen by Heather is all about summer fun. I decided to use some new dies, along with a few paper scraps to create my card. I started with the flip flops using a YNS die set and built my flip flops in two colours. The little embellishments are part of the set. Then I pulled out an MFT die and did the sunglasses, after which I cut two sets of letters one in black and one in PP. After dry embossing a scrap piece of blue CS I added some torn strips at the bottom, tucking in the flip flops. This PP reminded me of sand. I had the half sun, from SSS, left from a previous project so it was used here. Before attaching the focal piece I went around the edge with a black Copic pen and then added to the GKD card front. Once I had the letters attached with the black ones behind I added them as you see.

It was then I noticed a small mark underneath the shades and very obvious to the camera if not to the naked eye. At first I tried to remove the shades so I could repair it but it started to do more damage. Fortunately I remembered that I had this 3D hat sticker from way back and I was able to find it. Strategically placed the damage is fully covered without ruining the card. In fact I think I like it better with the hat.

This will be my last challenge with Make My Monday, as I have decided to step down from the design team. Life has become very busy lately and I am finding it difficult to keep up with 2 DT blogs as well as my normal crafting. With my paddling practice for the dragon boat team I am with, I am often physically exhausted and in arthritic pain. It is better to unload something that could become a potential source of stress, before I let people down. The exercise is a healthier option, even if physically demanding, than sitting in front of my computer or at my desk for hours on end.

The card fits the current challenge at CYHTP so I am entering it there: Anything Goes With A Twist of Beach

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your time and your comments. Good luck with this challenge.

My promise to myself was to join in the challenges at As You See It for the entire year. Of course that promise didn’t take into account how busy I might be or how on occasion one loses mojo. These past two weeks have been crazy with a lot of other activities besides crafting and if I’m honest, I’m a bit tired so my mojo is definitely not in play right now.

I had a couple of ideas for this card and neither worked. The one idea I liked was impossible in the ten minute window, but will work for normal crafting so most likely a card will be done using it. The first one I tried wasn’t any good at all but I was able to use part of it for a different project.

In the end I came up with this and consider it uninspired but the challenge isn’t after perfection or huge inspiration so here goes. I will say that I didn’t quite make the 10 minute requirement and went over by ten seconds. When the timer went off, I almost jumped out of my chair in shock. Nevertheless, I’m still entering the challenge. I can see that at time of posting there aren’t many entries so at least this one is one more and it can be disqualified due to the timing if the DT’s wish. It certainly isn’t a winning entry in my eyes, but it isn’t so bad that I have to be ashamed of displaying it.

To make the card I added scrap PP to a thin layer and because the edges weren’t great in the middle section I added some Washi tape to make it look nicer. The hearts are fallouts from another project as are the little decorative bits I added. The hearts are why I went over the time slightly. My hands are sore today and I couldn’t seem to glue the bits on easily. The sentiment is from Hampton Arts and I repeat stamped it across the patterned piece.

Challenge #325 – Timed Thank You

Thanks for stopping by, it is appreciated. I hope everyone has a satisfying weekend. TGIF, I need the break.

The theme at Cardz4Galz is Summer Fun and for many a round of golf is purely that. A friend has commissioned several cards from me recently and this is for one of her Dads. Due to remarriages she has two. A couple of my stamping buddies helped me a lot two Christmases ago when I needed golf related images and didn’t have anything suitable. I’m so lucky with my group, as they stamped and mailed several images for me to use and all images used here are from what they sent to me. I believe these are from StampinUp, AI and CC Designs. I also used a stamp from CTMH, and some dies from both Hero Arts and SSS and my inside PP is from StampinUp. The front PP and the strip on the interior fold is a stenciled piece I did last year and wasn’t sure about at the time. I don’t remember which stencil I used but it was done on black watercolour paper with Distress Oxide inks. I added some shimmer as well because it helped me to like it more. Using it here in this way has made me like it a whole lot more than I did when I first made it.

After die cutting the image circle on the front I added a frame to it as well added a few clouds to the sky area. I messed up the clouds and was ready to throw it away, but our artist friend dropped by and while here, fixed it for me. The sentiment was fussy cut and also added. For the inside flap I coloured and fussy cut the golf bag and popped it up as you see. Then I used a leftover white embossed circle, using the debossed side to which I attached the golf iron. The circle looks like a big golf ball. On the back of the flap I added a white piece for the personal message. The PP was added to each side of the interior and I built up a small scene for the golf cart. The golfer was fussy cut and coloured using Prisma pencils and I added the sentiment strip above because I found it amusing. It’s a busy card, but it was fun to do and it’s different in style to many I make.

We hope you have fun with this theme and we can’t wait to see your cards in our gallery. Thanks for stopping by, it is appreciated.

This card actually started out as something else and was intended for a different challenge. The original idea wasn’t working, but as you know I hate to waste stuff so I set the panel aside giving my brain time to decide on what to do. How I created the panel was by using Versamark and several different stamps, from Hampton Arts and Joy Clair. Once heat embossed white, I added the inks using sponges that were still wet from yesterday. I had already been playing with these little butterflies which come from Scrapbook.com and were a freebie in my last order. As well I had these small cut circle frames left from something else. Scalloped circle dies from Sizzix is where these came from. I cut the inked panel down so there would be a small border when attached to the card front. I also inked the circle frames to be darker and added the butterflies as you see. There are Pops of Color dots on each of their bodies.

I’m actually quite pleased with the end result, and doing this has helped me to figure out how to complete my original idea too. We have overnight guests coming tomorrow and I should be in the kitchen doing prep for the meals so when the guests are here I can spend time with them instead of being in the kitchen. I may or may not get back into my craft room, but we shall see. The card works for the following challenge:

Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate you and any comments you may leave.

The challenge at Just Add Ink is all about incorporating a fancy edge. I love the new bundle set I bought from StampinUP called Everyday Details and I had this die cut frame left from a different project. Taking one of the stamps from the set I stamped in Lost Shadow ink and then heat set clear. Once cool I added pencils and a water brush to blend them but kept it fairly pastel so it stayed soft and pretty. I did ground the vase with a gray pencil, but the photo doesn’t pick it up. I added the frame and using a foam backing mounted it on the Navy card front. The sentiment is a cut apart, but now I’ve forgotten which company I got these from. I used a small border die to cut this one keeping it very small.

As I have a good friend who has health challenges, I don’t get to see her as often as I would like so I thought this card would be nice to send to her.

Just Add Ink #705…Fancy Edge!

We have glorious weather after a week of rain, so it is warm outside today. It is good to see the sunshine, but the risk of wildfires is still huge so any rain we get is welcomed by many.

Thanks for stopping by, it is appreciated as are any comments you leave for me.

The challenge at Color Hues is to use Yellow and Blue and as is usual Stencil Fun is an anything goes so I came up with this creation. I have two new stencils from TCW one is called crazy waves and the other screen view. I did both on separate pieces but messed up a bit with the waves as the colours mixed a bit. I figured just cutting the edge off made it useable, but as the other piece accidentally placed behind it and I liked the look, both were used as you see here. Actually what I did was to cut the ends off the screen view and glue them to the wavy one which leaves me with a piece I can use on something else. I backed the layer with a yellow and mounted it all onto a navy card. Using my HeroArts infinity circle dies I cut the foiled sentiment from a cut apart set, and a slightly larger one in yellow and mounted them together over the top of a blue ribbon embellishment.

I shall be entering this into two challenges: Color Hues # 88 Blue and Yellow and https://stencilfun.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by, your time is appreciated.

Pamela has chosen the theme challenge here at MMM as B is for …. and as you can see I chose the theme of baking. As it happens one of my recent requests for cards was for Father’s Day and this is the 2nd card I’ve done in that vein. In this case my friend’s step father is into baking and cooking. As I don’t have any stamps in this theme I asked to borrow from a good friend, who was into StampinUp, and this card is made using one of her sets called Apron of Love, including dies. The sentiment, however is from CTMH. PP is from my stash.

On Instagram there was a card showing this fold by Purple Girl Crafts and fortunately she also created a YouTube video tutorial, which is what I followed. I did get a bit confused at one point, but kept going back to the video until I figured it out. I am beyond thrilled at how it turned out and am excited to deliver it, along with 3 other cards to the friend who requested them.

The trickiest part of this card was the scoring and folding but the look is so different that it was worth the fiddling. I die cut the images I wanted to use and added them as you see. On the inside I added a white piece for the personal message, although the video had PP there, with a message section on the back. I tried to keep the PP generic as it is for a man, but I can imagine this with pretty florals for a feminine version. Before returning the stamp set, my intention is to stamp all the images a couple of times as well as die cut them so I can keep them for later use.

We hope to see your cards in our gallery soon. Have fun being creative and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate all of you.

Several things inspired this card. First the colours at Color Hues, second the masculine style at Sisterhood of Crafters, third the sketch at AAA and last, a use your scraps tutorial by Natasha Foote. I made a background piece using two different styles of blue and white scraps, one was striped and one polka dots but due to the additional circles the polka dots don’t really show. Anyway, I die cut the apertures using a scallop die set from Sizzix and added the background behind them. Then taking a die from a StampinUp set I die cut the smaller circles. The stamp set is from Newton’s nook with two other stamps coming from a GKD set. After stamping the images, I coloured them with pencils and some glitter Sakura pens and using a thin foam I added them to the center of the apertures. I quite like how this one turned out as it is effectively simple in design.

I shall enter it into the following challenges: Color Hues # 88 Blue and Yellow, https://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/, AAA Card Challenges #266: Sketch

Thanks for stopping by, your time is appreciated as are any comments you may leave me.

Challenge number 226 is all about heels and handbags and as I’ve been in a fun fold mood lately, I took it literally and made a handbag. Having seen an image similar to this one on Pinterest I followed it to the link so I could have a closer look. There isn’t a tutorial, but the shape seemed simple enough so I made my own design getting a similar look. First I went searching for some PP that I thought would work and I found the heels. I resized it on my computer and printed onto some CS. Because the CS is light weight I added a second piece on the inside so the card is stronger. Taking a border die by Spellbinders and some PP, I cut the edge of the PP as you see. It was paper rather than CS so I folded it in half first and both sides are the same. Then I took a large circle die along with a slightly smaller one and die cut so I had a frame. This was folded in half and glued giving me a handle. To attach it, I measured where it would sit and made small slits in the border piece on the fold line. When the handle was pushed through I added glue to hold it all in place and then glued over the top of the bag on the fold line. Two small circle die cuts made the button. After showing it to my hubby, we discussed whether I should add a sentiment and his suggestion was to use something generic and curved in silver, so it is there but not obtrusive. As I have a set from a Spellbinder stamp club release that has all curved stamps I used the Celebrate one with VersaMark and then heat embossed in silver. In the future I can add other sentiments inside the card pertaining to which celebration I choose.

I’m actually quite pleased with the result and it wasn’t a difficult card to make. I honestly didn’t measure a thing, just eyeballed the angles and cut where I thought was right.

We look forward to seeing your interpretation of this challenge in our gallery. Have fun! Thanks for stopping by, it is appreciated.