Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #235

Oh my! Once again I procrastinated getting my card done and I was hustling at the last minute. I've been working on books lately and once I switch from card to book mode I find it difficult to stop and make a card. It's the same when I'm in card mode and all I want to do is make cards. I then find it hard to stop and create books. 

When I saw this stamp set that Gina from Gina K Designs used to create a card I fell in love with it! I struggle however with stamps that are multiple step stamping. I have only a few sets because I've shied away from buying them since I feel I don't stamp them very well. I'm going to keep practicing. I feel like such a beginner with this type of stamp!

This is my card for this weeks design team for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. We'd love it if you'd join us with your interpretation of the sketch below. 

I created my background using distress oxide inks. The colors I used for both the background and the flowers were fired brick, fossilized amber and spiced marmalade. I used Gina K Designs ink in jelly bean green and fresh asparagus. Stamp set is also from Gina K Designs and is called Painted Autumn. I also used the match die set. For my black edges I pulled out an older EK Success punch. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Cards Using Distress Oxide Inks

I've been wanting to try this technique since I saw Karen's post on her blog Snippets. I bought my Distress Oxides quite awhile ago but haven't taken the time to play around with them. I've been on a mini book kick recently and haven't made any cards for awhile. When I sat down to start creating these cards, I was wondering if I'd forgotten how since it's been so long! Anyway, these cards were inspired by Karen's blog post.

The one above uses a stamp set from Stampin' Up called Flowering Fields and a sentiment from a stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy called Inspirational Work Art 2. 

For the card above and below I used two different sets from Sweet 'n Sassy. One set is Inspirational Work Art 2 and the other is Inspirational Word Art 1. I also used the Timeless Texture stamp set from Stampin' Up.

The card below uses a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp! called Uplifting Thoughts. I also used two different dies from a Tim Holtz Alterations set from Sizzix. It's one of the mixed media sets. I don't see a name on the package so I'm not sure what it's called. 

I do like these new distress oxide inks from Ranger Ink. They definitely are different than the regular distress inks. I have to try some more stamping with them before I form an opinion. 

Thanks for stopping by!

SaveSave

Stay Balanced

I'm on a Art Impressions kick. I've had these stamps for quite awhile and am now just getting around to using them. I've practiced with the same ones over and over. Now I want to try them all! 

I really like this one called Yoga Yolanda! I really tried to get my shading right but know that I have a ways to go. Love the watercolor look. I'm probably my worst critic because I see what I want to fix. I plan to do this one again a few times and experiment with different colors and so some paper piecing.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Born To Be Wild!

Oh how I love these stamps from Art Impressions!

I got a great deal on this stamp set called Mad Rider and another one from a co-worker last week so I couldn't resist buying them.

I'm still a newbie at watercoloring these Art Impressions images. I've been practicing for awhile and am just now feeling comfortable enough to actually create a card with the images I've colored. I haven't tried using markers, just watercoloring with distress and marvy markers. I'm just going to keep working at it to get better at shading. I have noticed I'm getting a little faster at finishing an image.

To finish off my card, I just pulled some patterned paper and colored card stock from my stash along with some raindrops and adhered it all down on a white base. 

Now I'm going to go work on another image. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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.

Thanks for stopping by!

Purple Flowers

 

This is the second Rubbernecker stamp that I bought at Scrapbook Expo this past weekend. It's called 3 Flowers. I didn't line it up exactly like I should have, but I still liked the way it turned out and decided to go with it. I'm sure I'll get lots of practice lining it up going forward. I'm so glad I decided to pick a couple of their stamps up to try. I really love the quality of them. I also like how easy they are to work with and how they don't look so perfect. I love the watercolor look. I plan to pick up more of their stamps and I'm going to try using some of my Brusho colors to stamp them. I'm actually kicking myself that I didn't pick up a few more stamp sets!

Thanks for stopping by!

 Products Used: Rubbernecker Stamps: 3 Flowers, Distress Ink, Spellbinders Nestabilities, VersaFine

Happiness

 

I love yellow and I don't think it's any secret that black is my favorite color! Every card I used make always had black somewhere on it. I still use black ink but I've gotten away from using as much black as I used to. I'm trying to broaden my horizons and use a few more colors. 

I love this sentiment from the Choose Happy stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. In fact every sentiment on this set is wonderful. Background is from the Stampin' Up Timeless Textures set that I have fallen in love with. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

 Products used: Stampin' Up: Timeless Textures, Simon Says Stamp: Choose Happy, Distress Ink, VersaFine Ink, Dictionary Paper, Spellbinders Nestabilities

Smile

 

I know that my crafting style has changed in the last few years. Many of the cards I used to make seemed like they had so much stuff on them. I'm really starting to like more simplified, clean and simple cards. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to make cards that have more embellishments and other things on them, it just means I'm more drawn to the more simple type of cards. 

This card again uses a stamp set from Stampin' Up and a sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 Products used: Stampin' Up: Timeless Textures, Simon Says Stamp: Choose Happy, Distress Ink

Hugs & Hello

Rubbernecker Stamps are my newest addiction! I went to Scrapbook Expo yesterday specifically to go to their booth. I've been checking out their stamps online for months, but I really wanted to see them in person before I invested in them. The quality is great and I love them! I picked up this set called Daisies and another one called 3 Flowers. Today's cards are from the Daisies set. I'll post the 3 Flowers card another time. 

The card above uses Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I colored them on the stamp, spritzed with water and stamped. For the card below I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers on the stamp, spritzed water and stamped. They turned out very similar. You really can't tell the difference between the inks. Sentiments were diecut using dies from Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

Products used: Rubbernecker Stamps: Daisies, Simon Says Stamp Dies: Painted Hugs & Hello, VersaFine, Watercolor Paper, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

How To Make Me Happy......

I bought a new stamp set from Stampin' Up and I love it! I'm pretty sure this set has been out for a few months. I don't have a lot of Stampin' Up products but lately I've found they have a few more items that I'm really liking. 

The other stamp I used on this card is from Simon Says Stamp. Love the quality of their stamps. 

I'll be using both of these sets a lot. I made the card below last week so I thought I add it to this post. It was the first card I made with this stamp set. It was inspired by a card I came across. I'd add the link to it but I can't find what blog I saw it on. 

Products used: Simon Says Stamps & Die: Choose Happy & Thanks For Being There, Stampin' Up: Timeless Textures, PaperTrey Ink, Distress Ink

Thanks for stopping by!

March Swap Cards

These are my cards for the March card swap I belong to called Card Swap Pals.

They are basically all the same except for the patterned paper and the die cut. I used some older patterned paper from October Afternoon that I had in my stash. The die cuts are by Sizzix. They are from Tim Holtz Alterations called wildflowers. I absolutely love them! I also have the stencil and the rubber stamp set. 

Another one of my favorite stamps sets is from Simon Says Stamp called handwritten borders. I've used this set a lot and will continue to. It's such a versatile set. 

Thanks for stopping by!

January Card Swap

It's time to share my cards again that I made for a swap I belong to. We took the month of December off. These are the first cards I've made since November. I didn't even get Christmas cards out this year. I started them and just never finished. I've played around with different mediums and created some backgrounds but that's about all I've managed to do. I really felt like I was struggling when I was making these cards for the swap. I'm hoping that getting back to it each month will get me going. I've even thought I should participate in a few cards challenges thinking that might help to get my creative juice flowing again. 

For this card I used Kuretake watercolors. I watched a video series by Justine Hovey on watercolor and tried this technique. I used a background stamp from Hero Arts called Hexagon Background CG517. I heat embossed with white embossing powder. Sentiment is from PrintWorks F2545.

I used Dyan Reaveley's paints for this card with a stencil by Stampin' Up called Happy Patterns. I love these paints and have nothing but wonderful things to say about them! Sentiment is by Hero Arts C4482. The below also uses her paints. Stencil is from Hero Arts called Petals Pair and sentiment is from PrintWorks E2627.

This card uses a Hero Arts background stamp called Floating Flowers CG124. I again used Kuretake watercolors. I know this looks pink but I actually used red. I think when I rolled my paper towels over it while it was wet it really made it lighten up. Sentiment by PrintWorks D3613.

Now it's time to get started on the cards for February! Thanks for stopping by!

Cards Made At A Crop

I was fortunate to be able to attend a four day, three night crop July 23rd through July 26th. I've signed up for crops in the last few years and have had to cancel because of things that made it impossible for me to attend. There were 14 women that attended. I had a great time, met some new people and look forward to the next one I'm going to. That one will hold 40 people and there are already 32 signed up.

I didn't get much done. Ten cards, that's it. I think I laughed more than I crafted. That's okay though. I don't ever plan to get a lot done when I go to these things. 

We stayed at Besehive in Swanville, MN. For a lot of the ladies this was their third time going. The accommodations were wonderful. The crop room was large and the beds were comfortable. I was also impressed by how well stocked the kitchen was. Credit has to be given to the host of the crop, Tasha, for doing such a fantastic job of putting this altogether. This was her third year hosting. She had promised me a birthday cake the last two years and had planned to make one this year. Time was short so she ordered one and it was delicious! I asked for chocolate and she came through. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting. I don't have a photo, but it had a scissor and buttons on it to represent scrapbooking. It was so cute! 

I've been neglectful with my blog the last three months. I haven't had time to do any of the sketch challenges I love so much or any crafting at all. I've been working on getting the rest of the boxes unpacked (I've lived in my town home for only a year!). I also worked on my garage going through containers and donating items I'm never going to use. I still have a few things around the house that need my attention and I'm slowly chipping away at them. My craft room is always the room that suffers. Slowly I'm getting it in order. I've been going through my craft supplies with a fine tooth comb and have beens listing items in my Etsy store that I'm not going to use or are duplicates. I've also been working on organizing all of my craft supplies in a program called Evernote. I have to give credit to a group I belong to on Facebook called Stamping Enablers for starting this process for me. I've also been inspired by Jennifer McGuire to organize my stamps and dies the way she does.  Going forward I hope to be able to craft a little, do a few challenges and work on my organizing as time permits. Being able to do sketch challenges will allow me to blog more. 

Sorry for such a long post. Let's move on to the cards I created below. For the first card I used a Penny Black Cling Stamp called Gentle Whisper. I used Tim Holtz distress inks and then spritzed lightly with water for the water color look. I also used water color paper. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp called Handwritten Borders.

 

This next card uses a new stamp set I picked up called Color Layering Butterflies from Hero Arts. I didn't pick the die up that matches this stamp set at first. I went back yesterday and bought it. I can't wait to make some more butterflies and try it out! I used Ranger's Dye Inks and the colors are so vibrant.

   

This card uses a new stamp set I picked up on the way to the crop at Crafts Direct in Waite Park, MN. I love that store! The set is called Enamor by Penny Black. I used a distress ink to stamp the image. The sentiment is from the same set. The patterned background paper is from a paper pad by Ki Memories called Autumn Flowers that I picked up in the bargain section. 32 sheets of paper for two bucks, what a deal!

   

For the next seven cards I created the backgrounds using Brusho Crystal Colours. I am in love with them! I first learned about them from a group I belong to Facebook. I started researching them and knew that they would be something I'd like to work with. I used watercolor paper and all of my card bases for all the cards are either from PaperTrey Ink or Simon Says Stamp. All the sentiments for the cards below are from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous. I'll list the name of the stamp set below each card in case you're wondering what it is. 

 

Urban Chic

 

Urban Chic

 

French Memories

French Memories

Stuff To Say

 

Flights of Fancy

 

Good Thoughts

Thanks for stopping by! 

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!

Hello Sunshine

I managed to get a little time in my craft room this weekend and got a few cards made. Today I'm sharing one of them.

The background for this card was created using Gelato's. I used white PaperTrey Ink cardstock that I prepped with gesso since I was going to get it wet. The colors I used are grape, tangerine and lemon.

The image and sentiment are from Hero Arts. The stamp set is called Hello Sunshine Daisies. I stamped them using my MISTI with versamark and then heat embossed with Recollections snow embossing powder. The bling is from My Mind's Eye and Doodlebug Design.

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge: Sketch #101

Every day I get the newsletter from Paper Playful with all the daily listings of challenges. It's one the the emails I love to get and peruse to see if there are any challenges that catch my eye. The other day the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a try. This is my first time playing along with them.

For my card I used Tim Holtz watercolor paper and inked it up with these distress inks: crushed olive, worn lipstick, scattered straw, tumbled glass and dusty concord. I found some thinner Bazzill cardstock in my stash and used two different Fiskars flower punches to create three flowers. I dusted the edges with versamark and then finished them off with white embossing powder. the sentiment is from a Tim Holtz clear set called Phrases 2. Base cardstock is from PaperTrey Ink. I used bling from various manufacturers: Recollections, Doodlebug Design and October Afternoon.

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge: Sketch #1

Be sure to click the link about to go check out the submissions for this challenge! Thanks for stopping by!

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.

Thanks for stopping by!

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!