SSS Wednesday Challenge - Watercolor

Greetings! It's been a few months since I've posted. We are super busy at work and unfortunately it cuts into my crafting and blogging time. When I do get a couple hours, I've been trying new techniques and my new obsession is water coloring. When I saw the watercolor challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, I knew it was the perfect way to pick up my blogging. So let's get to it!

I started with a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and my Simply Art watercolor set. I choose varying shades of blue and green to create an under the sea feel. I then stamped some waves in Salty Ocean distress ink and blended it out with a water brush. It's a subtle effect that I think turned out pretty cool. Lastly, I flicked some blue watercolor over the background to achieve the little spots.

I've in love with embossing on vellum and I feel that it's perfect over watercolor pieces because it does hide all that hard work! I stamped the sentiment from a Scrappy Moms set entitled "Sail Away" using versamark and white embossing powder. I wrapped the piece of vellum around the watercolor paper and secured it with tape on the back.

For my focal point, I used a beautiful fish from an old set I ad from Clear Dollar Stamps called "Under the Sea." This is such a whimsical and beautiful set. I colored my fish wi Copics and then used Stickles and a white gel pen to add details. After fussy cutting the image I mounted it with foam tape on top of some green twine which I arranged to look like seaweed.

For the final touches, I glued on some sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and grabbed my Wink of Stella clear pen to brush on some waves of shimmer. Here's a close up:

I love finishing the inside of cards and for this one I utilized some shell and plant stamps from the same set and then colored them by using my Distress Markers and a water pen. The sparkle detail was achieved with a Wink of Stella pen and Stickles. It looks super pretty in person!

I hope you enjoyed checking out my watercolor card and I hope you head over the the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog to check out all of the other beautiful entries!

Have a wonderfully crafty day! Until next time!

Supplies: Clear Dollar Stamps - Under the Sea; Scrappy Moms - Sail Away; My Cute Stamps - Fishy Fun; Simply Art Water odor Brush Set; Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock; Distress Markers and ink; Versamark ink; Hero Arts White embossing powder; Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins; Wink of Stella Clear Pen; Stickles Stardust, Tropical Tangerine and Yellow; American Crafts green twine; Reflections teal card base.

 

 

 

 

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Muse Challenge #68

Happy Thursday crafters! It's been such a busy few weeks for me at work and I'm looking forward to a little break with the long holiday weekend. My family is coming up on Friday and my Mom and I are going to go visit the My Favorite Things Boutique. I recently realized it is in Eustis, Florida which is like 25 minutes from here. We are so excited that we both have our little wish lists! Can't wait to share some new creations from our haul soon!

So for today's post, I was inspired by this card created by Marion Vagg over at The Muse Challenge:

I love chevrons and wanted to try out another technique with my recently purchased embossing paste. Flowers were a large part of the Muse design, so I took that inspiration and thought about what brings the flowers, spring showers!

For the background, I used the Raindrop stencil from My Favorite Things with Wendy Vechii translucent embossing paste. While it was still wet, I sprinkled on some Martha Stewart iridescent blue glitter to add some shine. I waited for it to dry completely and then heat set it. The only thing I'm not a fan of is that even when dry, the glitter is still flaking off. I took a soft brush and tried to knock off all the loose glitter, but it's a losing battle. I'm going to have to invest in some embossing glitter so that it stay on, lol!

The little couple and sentiment are from Unity Stamps. It's an itty bitty set called "Rain or Shine." I stamped the image on white and patterned card stock. On the white paper, I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I then fussy cut the umbrella from the patterned paper and attached it on the other image with pop dots to give it more dimension. I finished it off with some Crystal Effects on her rain boots and a silver brad sticker on the center of the umbrella.

I die cut a few cheverons borders from a scrap piece of silver paper I found in my stash. I adhered those to the card and added my little couple. I felt it needed a sentiment but wasn't sure how to incorporate it without intruding on the background. I have been working with clear acetate sheets a lot lately and had a little scrap piece on my desk. I grabbed my StazOn ink and tried it out. It was a perfect way to have the sentiment without breaking up the layout of the card. To attach it, I used Crystal Effects so it remained clear.

I really like the overall look of the card and was pleased with the embossing paste background. This stuff is so much fun and I would definetly recommend it if you are looking for a new way to make custom background with a little dimension.

Be sure to head over to The Muse Challenge to see all of the other fantastic entries. They are really inspiring and I can't wait to see what the next challenge will be!

Thank you for checking out my blog. Until next time!

 

 

 

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Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - Anything Goes

Hello Crafters! I've been intrigued by this embossing paste trend that keeps popping up on some of my favorite blogs. It seems like there are so many different things you can do with it. So I decided to order a couple of stencils and some embossing paste and give it a whirl! Here's my first attempt:

I could not believe how easy it was! I thought for sure that when I pulled off the stencil the paste would have bled through and smudged, but it came out so crisp. I wanted to keep the clouds fluffy so I didn't smooth out the paste very much on the stencil. I also applied my heat gun right away so that the clouds puffed up more.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this cloud background at first. I tried several different things, but I kept coming back to the Sunny Side Up set by Paper Smooches. I stamped the kite onto red paper and two different patterned papers. I then fussy cut the patterned pieces and adhered them to the red piece. When I cut out the final kite, I left just a little hit of the red card stock as a border. I grabbed some red and white twine and taped it to the back of the kite. Using pop dots, I attached the kite and played around with the best placement for the twine. Once I was happy with that I added a couple of little stamped bows.

This little squirrel from Paper Smooches is one of my favorites. He's so versatile and I love to figure out what scenes I can place him in. I stamped him on kraft card stock and used some brown Prismacolor pencils to enhance his fur. I also stamped him on white card stock so that I could cut out his eyes. Once I glued them in place, I applied Crystal Effects to make them a bit shiny. After I fussy cut the little critter, I placed him on the card making sure his hands were attached to the twine.

Originally, I forgot to leave a place for a sentiment. I didn't want to add a banner or more paper so I decided to see if I could remove a cloud. Amazingly, it scraped right off. I used my adhesive eraser to remove any remaining residue. Super easy!

Here's a close up of some of the details:

I wish you could feel the card. The little clouds are fluffy and really add a unique dimension to the card. I can't wait to play with this technique some more!

I'm entering this card in the Paper Smooches SPARKS Anything Goes Challenge. Check out all of the other fantastic entries at the link below.

Thank you for stopping by today! Until next time!

Supplies: Paper Smooches Stamps - Sunny Side Up and Hang Ups; Recollections - Home Basics patterned paper stack; Memory Box - Cloud Cover stencil; Dreamweaver Stencils - white embossing paste; Paper Smooches - Peppermint twine; Stickles - Red and Diamond; Stampin' Up - Crystal Effects

 

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Addicted to CAS - Challenge "Off the Edge"

Hiya Crafters! After seeing Darnell's fun and wacky goose card, I knew I had to enter the Addicted to CAS challenge. The inspiration is "Off the Edge" and immediately I wanted to do an explosion card. My mom had sent me one for Valentine's day and I've been wanting to try making one for months! So here's my entry:

The whole idea of an explosion card is to make the images seem 3D. I had this great stamp set from The Alley Way Stamps. The little creatures just pop off the pages. For this card, I selected the puffer fish as my main character. I stamped and clear embossed him on some brown card stock. I gave him some depth by using a Prismacolor pencil and gamsol. I then stamped the seaweed on different colors of green card stock and fussy cut each one. I intentionally left a little green showing outside the lines. I liked how it looked better then a clean cut.

After I assembled the box, I cut patterned paper for the sides, highlighting the wave pattern with some Stickles. I didn't want to use the patterned paper on all of the sides, so for the bottom half of the box I stamped a few blue bubbles and gave them a little bit of sparkle too. I'm a sucker for a good pun sentiment and this set has great ones!

I attached the seaweed to the inside of the box using glue dots and I pop dotted some on the back panel to give more dimension. The little puffer is attached with a strip of clear acetate paper. This way he appears to be swimming in mid air.

I love these cards because they start out lying completely flat. With that in mind I wanted to add a little surprise. So before the card is a box, there's a special guest that appears on one of the outside flaps...a little shrimp!

I had a blast making this card. The fold design is a bit intimidating at first, but once you nail the measurements it's super simple. I will definetly create another one of these in the future!

There are so many great cards for this challenge. Please be sure to check them out on Addicted to CAS.

 

Thank you for stopping by! Until next time!

Supplies: The Alleyway Stamps - Castaways set; K & Company - Citronella Mat Pad; Recollections - Blue Paper Pack; Stickles - Crystal; Versafine Onyx Black ink; Ranger Super Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder; Brilliance Mediterranean Blue ink

 

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The Kraft Journal - Challenge #171

Good evening crafters!

Today I received my Reverse Confetti order and I couldn't wait to play with the Let's Chill set. I love the little dies and all of the sentiments are adorable. It's so cute and perfect for summer!

Here's what I came up with:

I stamped the Popsicle outline in Strawberry Slush ink on some Crisp Cantaloupe paper. After I die cut the shape, I cut some Strawberry Slush paper for the background, trimming it a little smaller than the front. I then grabbed some Neat and Tangled sequins in peachy tones and glued them behind the lines of the Popsicle. I had recently ordered a bunch of sequins from Neat and Tangled and these were my free gift! To complete the Popsicle, I die cut the stick from a piece of scrap kraft paper and stamped the wood markings on it in Baked Brown Sugar ink. Everything is pop dotted for dimension.

For my layout, I was inspired by this Kraft Journal Challenge #171 sketch.

I first picked a fun summery print for my background. After trying several different pieces of card stock for the horizontal block, I kept thinking that ribbon would work best. So I selected a yellow American Crafts ribbon and then used a little bit of twine to cinch the ribbon and give it a little more interest. To finish the card, I used Diamond Stickles to outline the Popsicle and to highlight the word "chill."

Here's a close up:

 

It was an easy little card to put together. I'm looking forward to playing around with this stamp set and see what else I can come up. Do I sense a shaker card coming on???

Thank you for checking out my card and be sure to see what others have created over at The Kraft Journal. Until next time!

 

Supplies

Paper: Stampin' Up! - Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe solid paper; American Crafts - Hip Hip Hooray pattern paper; Kraft paper for the card base

Stamps & Dies: Reverse Confetti - Let's Chill

Other: Stampin' Up! - Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe and Baked Brown Sugar ink; Stickles - Diamond; American Crafts - yellow grosgrain ribbon; Twinery - Buttercream twine; Neat and Tangled sequins (a freebie!)

 

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Time Out Challenge #5 - "Time Flies, Love Lasts"

Hello Crafters! So I'm taking a risk with this card but I knew it would fit the challenge from Time Out. When I saw the phrase, "Time Flies, Love Lasts," I couldn't help but think about one of our favorite shows, The Walking Dead. I mean that's everlasting love, lol! I was having a stressful week and I may have taken it out a bit on my loved one so I thought this little card would be very appropriate.

I love these little zombie themed stamps from Art Gone Wild. I colored the zombie girl with Prismacolor pencils and used gamsol to blend them. I also used some Stickles on her flower and lips as well as some black enamel for her eyes. I didn't want to get too gory so I kept the card more whimsical by stamping the scribbled circles with versamark and heat heating red embossing powder. The effect is very subtle in person. I used a die cut for the banner, distressed it and daubed a little red ink on the edges. I thought it needed something else. Twine looked too fussy so I used these cute little staples. The best part about the front of this card is that I put the zombie girl on an action wobble! It made me smile because when she moves it resembled a clumsy zombie!

I had this stamp set from Kelly Purkey and that phrase couldn't be more true! I can get a little snappy if I'm hungry, lol! I distressed the grey card stock and inked red around the edges. The sentiment is stamped in black, embossed with clear powder and then I applied red Stickles to give it a little sparkle. My favorite part of this card is the little hand print! I inked up my own hand with versamark and then embossed it with red powder. I thought it turned out pretty cool and looks like it was taken straight from a zombie's hand!

Here's a close up:

I just had to do a themed envelope too! I think I found this zombie hoard stamp in the dollar bin at Michaels and it fit perfectly on the back of the envelope. The black stripes are washi tape which is one of my favorite ways to embellish an envelope. Lastly, I hand wrote the little tag to look like it was written by a zombie.

Make sure to check out all of the other great entries in the Time Out Challenge. I hope you all enjoyed my little terror-ific card! Until next time!

SuppliesStamps: Art Gone Wild - Zombie Heads; Papertrey Ink - Circle Scribbles; Kelly Purkey - I Like You set; Purple Onion Designs - Come Dine With Me set (nom nom); Zombie stamp - Michaels

Other: Stickles - Xmas Red, Yellow; Ranger - Enamel Accents black; Versafine Onyx Black ink; Memento Lady Bug ink; Recollections - washi tape; American Crafts - red hemp twine; Action Wobble Spring; Tim Holtz - Tiny Attacher

 

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Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge

Hiya Crafters! For today's post, I'm sharing a card that I created for the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge. This week's challenge theme is:

 

 

So I've been obsessed with making shaker cards ever since the Pretty Pink Posh blog hop. They are just a neat way to add a bit of movement and bling to cards. I keep looking at my dies and getting shaker ideas! One of my friends was recently was in the hospital so I was inspired to make this card for them.

 

I love both of the Paper Smooches health themed sets, Healthy Vibes and First Aid Kit. They make super cute get well cards that just make me smile. For this card, I was first inspired by the little jar in the Crystal Clear set. I thought it would be a great container for the little pills. I stamped the jar on an acetate sheet using StazOn jet black ink. After I decided where I wanted it to be placed on the card, I die cut the jar and the border from craft card stock. It was hard to tell what the line was without the other half so I separated them a little bit and attached a piece of the red paper to the back to make it look more like a heart monitor line.

 

For the contents of my jar, I stamped the pills on red card stock and used clear embossing powder to give them a little shine. I decided to mix in some clear and red sequins because it looked a little plain with just the pills. The last touch on the jar was to cut out the lid and again I stamped and clear embossed it. To finish up the whole look, I made a little sentiment tag and tied on some twine.

I hope you enjoyed my card and be sure to check out the other amazing cards at the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog here! Until next time!

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Paper Smooches - First Aid Kit & Crystal Clear stamp sets
Dies: Paper Smooches - Crystal Clear 1 & Borders Dies 1; Spellbinder - Reverse Wonky Rectangles
Paper: Nikki Sivels - Get Well Soon (Red Crosses and Skinned Knees)
Other: Avery Elle - Berry Blend sequins; Twine; StazOn Jet Black ink; Ranger - Super Fine Detail Clear embossing powder

 

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CASology Challenge - Electric

Happy Sunday Crafters!

For today's post I decided to participate in the CASology Challenge.

 

I saw this card awhile back from Laurie Wilson at Soapbox Creations and thought one day I would be able to use it for inspiration. Well today's the day and here's my take on "electric":

 

For the base, I cut a rectangular piece of white card stock and applied a corner rounded to each side. I then used a circle punch and sliced off the top and bottom to create the outlet shape. I used two more punches to create the slots and dots. I had to extend the slots a little bit with an exacto knife as the punch looked out of portion. Next, I inked the edges of the shapes with a tan ink to make them standout against the craft card stock. I love these little screw brads from recollections. It was the perfect center to the outlet. Lastly, I adhered it all together with some pop dots to give it dimension. The sentiment was stamped in black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

For the inside of the card, I used a fun little lightbulb stamp from Techinque Tuesday. I first stamped it on the card and then stamped it on white card stock. The bulb is enhanced with colored pencils and gamsol with a little bit of yellow Stickles for sparkle. To give it a glass feel, I applied Glossy Effects from Stampin' Up. After it dried, I fussy cut the bulb and attached it with a pop dot. Lastly, I used a color pencil to create the "glow" of the light. It really produced a neat effect on the craft paper. Since my boyfriend ultimately inspired this card, I had to make a matching envelope! The little lamp is from the same stamp set and I die black letters to spell out his name. I thought it was missing something so I used a border stamp to create a little zig zag that I think looks electric running though a current.

 

Thanks for visting my blog and be sure to check out the other fantastic entries over at the CASology Challenge!

 

Supplies

Stamps: Technique Tuesday - Bright Idea; Neat and Tangled Stamps - Little Tangles

Punches: 1" circle punch; Slot punch; Tiny dot punch; corner rounder

Other: Versafine Onyx Black ink; Memento Dew Drop Toffee Crunch ink; Ranger Super Fine Detail Clear embossing powder; Recollections screw brads; Stickles Yellow; Prismacolor pencils; Gamsol

 

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Poppy Sketches Challenge - Sketch #3

For today's blog I chose to participate in the Poppy Sketches Challenge. I was inspired by the color scheme and stumped by the layout. I couldn't figure out how to incorporate the little angles.

After playing around with a few ideas, I finally came up with this little card:

I love the Simon Says Stamp Air Vent die and those angles kept reminded me of the sketch. After I figured out how to incorporate it, I focused on the main angles and tied on some ribbon. The initial knot I tied made "leaves" pop in my head. Voila! I pulled out my Papertrey Ink Notched Flowers die and went to work. I added a little bit of gold ink on the edges to make them pop out more. Overall a fun color scheme to work with and an easy little thank you card to have on hand.

Check out the other great entries at Poppy Sketches.

Thanks for visting! Until next time!

Supplies

Paper: Recollections - Purple Paper Pack

Dies: Simon Says Stamp - Air Vent; Papertrey Ink - Notched Flowers; Clearly Besotted Stamps - Tag Along Die Collection

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Fillable Frames #1

Other: American Crafts Ribbon; Brillance Dew Drop Ink - Galaxy Gold; My Minds Eye - The Sweetest Thing Decorative Button Collection; Plain Twine

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Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Part 2

I had such a great time making my first shaker card for the Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop that I had to make one more! I've had these cute little bee dies for sometime time and finally was inspired to use them! Instead of just being part of the stamped background I wanted them to take center stage and "fly" around the scene.

For the bees, I used vellum for their wings and inked black around the edges so that they would show up better against the polka dot background. To make them sparkle, I added a tiny bit of yellow Stickles to their backs. Once I added the sequins with them, I think the effect worked really well. Here's a close up:

Thank you for checking out my second entry and please make sure to check out all the other great cards at the Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop! 

 

Supplies:
Paper: Echo Park Country Drive (honeycomb); MME Breeze (polka dots)
 Dies: Elizabeth Craft Designs Bees; Spellbinders Nestibilities Hexagons
 Stamps: Memory Box Happy Bee-Day 
Other: Avery Elle Lemonade Blend Sequins; Stickles Yellow; Doodle Twine Black; Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

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