July Swap Cards

I finally took the plunge and watercolored three cards to use as my swap cards this month. This was a big step for me as it was way outside my comfort zone! I've been practicing my watercolor technique for about a year now. I just haven't felt comfortable giving one of them away. I finally decided it was time. They're not perfect, if there is a perfect way to watercolor. Every time I do an image it looks different than the time before. I know I still have a ways to go to get my shading perfected but from here on out I'm just going to start making them into cards instead of putting them in a pile. 

I was only able to get three done in time for mailing. The fourth one I was working on was making me so frustrated! I tried it three times and made the same mistake each time. If there would have been a way to cover up my mistake I would have, but it was one you couldn't fix. So one person in the swap group will get a different card.

For the card above I used the Art Impressions Thin Enough Set. I paper pieced the towels. It gave me a little fussy cutting experience since I don't usually fussy cut anything!

The card below uses the Under My Umbrella Set. I just love these Girlfriends stamp sets. Maybe someday I'll be able to try my hand using my Spectrum Noir markers to make them. For now though I'm just going to stick with my Tim Holtz distress and Marvy LePlume markers and a paintbrush!

For this card I added the sentiment Friends share everything on the inside. 

I love this one! I used the Girlfriend Blend set. I can't wait to watercolor more of these images!

This final card uses a die I've used before from Simon Says Stamp called Single Roses. The sentiment is from a stamp set from The Ton called Get It Girl.

I hope my swap partners like the cards I've sent them. I've been participating in this swap for almost a year now and this is my last month. I've just decided that I need a break. I feel like I'm always down to the wire trying to get them finished and in the mail by the deadline. I have some projects I want to work on and there just never seems to be enough time.

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Many Thanks

I love Dyan Reavelys Dylusions Paints! They are so creamy and fun to work with. I bought one of her journals to use the paints in but I've mostly used them on card backgrounds. 

This card uses a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Many Thanks. For the background I used Dylusions paints and bubble wrap.

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You Are Pretty Darn Amazing

Here's another card using gelato's. I actually made the background awhile ago and just set it aside waiting to be inspired to create something with it. I kept looking at it and finally decided to use an Avery Elle stamp set with a coordinating die. The stamp and die are called Simply Said:You. The three gelato colors I used are cotton candy, grape and blueberry.

I found some cardstock in my stash that matched the background to use for the die cut. It wasn't a real heavy weight cardstock so I cut it twice and adhered it together. I used Memento ink in called bahama blue. The splatters were done with the same color gelato's as the background. The white die cut is called Fancy Labels. Very simple card with bright colors!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

CAS Colours & Sketches: Challenge #118

I thought I'd try the CAS Colours & Sketches Challenge. After reading the rules of the challenge I realized that I didn't have Stampin' Up! cardstock. You could still participate without it so I tried to  match the colors as best I could. I found three different colors of green cardstock in my stash and decided to go with them. Even though there are three different colors, in the photo it almost looks like two are the same.

This is a very CAS card! Lots of open or white space and minimal layers and embellishments. This type of card always challenges me. I always want to keep adding more stuff!

For my sentiment I used a new stamp set called Handwritten Borders that I purchased from Simon Says Stamp! I used a die from Memory Box called Charlotte Border for my green diecuts.

CAS Colours & Sketches: Challenge #118

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Art Soul Life

 

I was able to finish another card last night. My weekend was pretty productive for card making. Nothing else got done, but that's okay! 

This card was created using a cling stamp from Deep Red called Art Soul Life. The sentiment was stamped using versamark ink onto Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock. It looks like I used white embossing powder but actually I used clear embossing powder. These three Tim Holtz Distress Inks were used for the background: ripe persimmon, salty ocean and mowed lawn. I spritzed water onto the paper with a paint brush to create the splotches of water. I really like the look of this and I love this stamp!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Morning Cards

Sharing a couple cards I made earlier today while listening to the wind howl and the rain hit the windows. 

For both of these cards I picked out some random patterned paper from my stash. Lord knows I have plenty of it! I love being able to use it with stencils. The red paper is from October Afternoon and the teal paper is from Core'dinations. I used Hero Arts Petals Stencil Pair with Ranger Texture Paste on both of these cards. The flowers on the teal card are some leftovers sitting on my craft table that I used on another card.

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CAS(E) this Sketch!: CAS(E) This Sketch #116 Challenge

Here's my submission for the CAS(E) this Sketch #116 challenge this week. I've been playing around with the Arianna Blooms and the Arianna Lace dies from Heartfelt Creations that I've had for awhile. 

One thing I've discovered is that I do like using thinner cardstock instead of more heavyweight cardstock when making these flowers. Thankfully I kept all the paper that I picked up at Archiver's through the years when they had the buy some get some for free! It seems to be the right weight will come in handy for flower making. 

I do apologize for the shadows on the photo. I just can't seem to find a decent place to take a photo. I've tried everywhere. Using the window in my craft room seems to be the best, but it's still not ideal to me. 

 

I love the dimension!

Other products used for this card were from Simon Says Stamp! I used the Thanks steel craft die style no. S202. I actually have two of these as I bought it twice! I'm trying to be careful not to do that. The sentiment is also from Simon Says Stamp! called Thanks SSS101347. I like this set because there are lots of sentiments to use with this die. It's pretty versatile because it also includes four thanks stamps that can also be used instead of the die. The card base is from PaperTrey Ink. The sentiment was stamped using Ranger Archival ink and of course I used my MISTI to stamp it!

I can see using the sketch below multiple times. I love how simple it is and can think of tons of different options for images and sentiments. I'm glad I decided to play along this week. 

CAS(E) this Sketch!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! 

Snowflake Cards

For both of these cards I used a stencil by Memory Box called Winter Large Snowflakes. I used translucent embossing paste from Studio 490, Wendy Vecchi to add dimension. I sprinkled Great Impressions glitter sparkling ice over the embossing paste while it was still wet and then set both pieces aside to dry.

I can't remember who the manufacturer of the patterned paper is. I'm leaning toward Recollections. This patterned paper was in my scrap pile and since they were a decent size I just went ahead and gave them some life! The gold glitter paper is from Recollections. 

For the sentiments I used a stamp set from Technique Tuesday called Jingle All The Way. I stamped the sentiments with VersaMark and heat embossed them with gold embossing powder. The bling is from my stash. Card bases are PaperTrey Ink.

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Joy To The World Christmas Cards

 Isn't this Holly Cutting Plate from Taylored Expressions just so cute?! I don't remember where or when I picked it up. For both of these cards I used Papertrey Ink cardstock in New Leaf, Pure Poppy and White. I die cut the sentiment from Bazzill cardstock. This die is called Stacked Words: Christmas by Sizzix, Tim Holtz Alterations.

The patterned paper is by Recollections called Botanica Noel that I picked up last year and barely made a dent in using. I did pick up a small amount of Christmas paper this year, but decided not to go crazy since I have enough holiday patterned paper to probably last a lifetime. Lastly, for the berries I used a Viva Perlen Pen.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Believe

I've made it a goal of mine to make cards with every stamp I have this year. I had so many sets that I purchased and only used once or twice. I went through them, weeded them out and sold them. I have a lot of new ones now and they're too cute to just let sit. I also have many embossing folders I've picked up and am going to try and use more. I'm so guilty of buying certain items and then they just get lost in my craft room somewhere. 

For this card I used a stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy called Celebrate Today. The patterned paper is from DCWV - The Old World Stack and The Paper Studio - Bella Bohemia. I know it's hard to see, but the black strip on the far left is a piece of fabric called Additions by Mark Richards. It's almost has a light burlap/linen feel to it. I die cut the edge with the Tim Holtz Alterations - Torn Notebook.  I die cut the oval with the Spellbinders Beaded Oval Die and then cut it in half. The Field Grasses die is from Die-Namites. 

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Colours and Sketches Challenge #20 - Sketch

I really love that I'm participating in challenges again! It's been awhile since I've created cards and I forgot how much I love it. Working from sketches really jump starts your creativity and gets you going. 

For this sketch over at CAS -  Colours and Sketches the idea is to the minimum amount of layering etc and make the card as clean and simple as possible. I think I achieved that with this card. 

Products  used: PTI in White, Pure Poppy and True Black, Hero Arts Pearls, Hero Arts Stamps - Thinking of You - CL140 and With Sympathy - CL476.

Colours & Sketches Sketch Challenge

This post is linked to these parties:

Colours & Sketches Sketch Challenge

Whimsical Wednesday

Pinterest Power Party

Chick and Crafty Party

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Masculine Cards

The other day I pulled out leftover scraps I have of  Graphic 45 collections when I created a card for a challenge I participated in. Since them it seems all I want to do is make cards! I don't usually make many masculine cards because I don't really have many stamps that are "masculine" related. I found this image sheet from the "A Proper Gentleman" collection in my stash and then went through my stamp sets. I found a few that seemed to work with the images. I just started with the three cards I'm sharing today, but I can probably make about 17 more! When I do, I'll be sure to share them.

For this card I used an embossing folder called Whimsy from Lifestyle Crafts. I chose to use Tim Holtz Kraft-Core cardstock from the Nostalgic Collection by Core'dinations and then sanded it to bring out the kraft color. The image and patterned paper behind it are from the "A Proper Gentleman" collection from Graphic 45. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Stamps called All Occasion CL272.

I love red plaid! The image is from the "A Proper Gentlman" collection but the red plaid patterned paper is from the "Commuique" collection by Graphic 45. I ran the background paper through my Sizzix dots embossing folder. The stamp set from Hero Arts is called Birthday Messages - CL139. I used a Fiskars ticket punch on the corners of the patterned paper and a We R Memory Keepers Tab punch on the cardstock for the sentiment. The black pearls are from Queen and Co.

 

This card uses the same embossing folder as above from Lifestyle Crafts and the same Core'dinations Cardstock except in black. Patterned paper is again from the Graphic 45 "A Proper Gentleman" collection. Gems are Metallic Decor from Hero Arts as well as the stamp I used for the sentiment. This one is called Joy Ride CL481. All base cardstock is from PTI.

I will be pinning these to my "Cards & Inspiration" board on Pinterest. If you love cards check it out! I pin cards I find from blogs I read and other boards I come across on there. I'm sure you'll find loads of inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and taking a look at my cards! This post is linked to these parties:

Handmade Tuesdays

Inspiring Creativity

Whatever Goes Wednesday

What I Whipped Up Wednesday

Christmas Cards

Today I want to share a few Christmas cards I created. I actually cut back on the amount of cards I sent out this year. I even **GASP** broke down and purchased some 'store bought' cards! I just couldn't find the time to make as many as I usually do. Plus, I had joined a mini book swap, a Christmas card swap and a tag swap which kept me busy.

For the one above I used a new embossing folder and a new Tim Holtz die I picked up on one of my trips to the Mall of America Archiver's store. I really love this embossing folder!

For this one I used another new set of  Sizzix Framelits that I purchased online on sale. Online shopping is the best! You just can't beat the deals you can get. I took a Hero Arts clear stamp and masked part of it so I would only stamp the word 'Christmas'.

This card was made using a new Tim Holtz Sizzix Movers and Shapers die. I'm so happy I broke down and bought the Movers and Shapers base tray. I've been going to do that for so long. I like the freedom of moving the dies where I want them. 

This inside of this card. I used Canvas Corp Christmas Brights Cardstock for the tree.

This final card was created using up some of my Graphic 45 scraps. I also used a poinsettia die that is from Taylored Expressions.

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Here's a list of most of the products I used for these cards:

Sizzix DOTS & FLOWERS Embossing Folders Textured Impressions	Sizzix Textured Impression CHRISTMAS & THIN ICE Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses	Tim Holtz Sizzix MINI SNOWFLAKES Dies Movers Shapers	Tim Holtz Sizzix BASE TRAY L Movers & Shapers Accessory	Stampendous Dot Sparklers in Red
Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD VINTAGE PHOTO Brown Ranger	Tree-Mendous CL465	Hero Arts Clear Stamps HOLIDAY SAYINGS Christmas cl343	G45 Christmas Emporium	PaperTrey Ink Cardstock
http://www.joann.com/sizzix-movers-shapers-dies-pine-tree/zprd_10083285a/	Red Twine

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Cards From Swap - First Five

I want to share the first five cards I've received so far from a "Christmas Card" swap I joined. There were 17 of us that participated. I thought I'd share just a few at a time so my post isn't so photo heavy. 

This card was created by Kim. I also participated in a Mini Book swap and Kim was my partner. I haven't received her book yet, but if it's as pretty as her card, I know I will love it! 

Yolanda created this one. Love the "Oh, Snap!" That penguin is pretty cute too!

This one is from Serena. I love how vintage it is. The little mitten charm is adorable! Serena was my mini book swap partner. I'm so happy she loved the book I sent her!

Tasha created this card. I love the patterned paper she used for the trees. I also love the trim she used as garland. 

Maggie created this one. Love that funky patterned paper! The tree is a felt material. Very cute card! I share the next group of cards as I get them in.

Don't forget that I'm giving away two sets of 30 Holiday Tags! They can be used on all the gifts your giving this year. If you don't need them, you could give them as a gift. Giveaway ends at midnight CST Wednesday, December 12th. I choose two winners on Thursday. You can see the tags here and get all the details!

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