Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

 

This weeks Simon Says Stamp Challenge is Anything Goes using their products. 

I definitely don't have to worry about not having any of their products, because I love them!! So I'm linking my card to their challenge!

I had created this panel awhile ago. I just didn't know what sentiment I wanted to use with it to make a card. I've looked at it many times and just couldn't make a decision. I also didn't know if I wanted to add color around the image or not. I finally just pulled out a stamp set and randomly chose a sentiment. I don't know why it's so hard to do that sometimes. 

 

I heat embossed my image with white embossing powder and then watercolored the image with Zig Clean Color markers. I'm still learning when it comes to coloring images, but I think I'm getting a little better. 

The stamp sets I used from Simon Says Stamp are the Handlettered Encouragement for the sentiment and Sketched Flowers for the image. I have seen so many gorgeous cards using the Sketched Flowers stamp set. I'm normally drooling over them because they are just amazing!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

CAS on Friday: Thank You Card & Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge

I'm back in my craft room!

I had started this card and two others using the same stamp set but didn't get to finish them before I left on vacation. Once I finish the other two I'll be posting them this week in some challenges I'm going to participate in. 

I spent some time over the weekend going through the challenges I want to play along with this week. We'll see how many I can actually do!

I'm linking this card to the CAS on Friday challenge. The card has to be clean and simple and be a thank you card.

The other challenge I'm linking to is the Simon Says Stamp Flicker Challenge. This challenge is for cards using Simon Says Stamp products and the theme is anything goes which is one of my favorite themes!

CAS on Friday: Challenge #143 Thank You Card

Simon Says Flickr Challenge #108 Anything Goes

 

The stamp set used for this card is by Simon Says Stamp and is called Sketched Flowers.

I love this set!

For the sentiment I used the stamp set Thank You Flowers also from Simon Says Stamp. 

My background was created using ripe persimmon distress oxide ink.

I stamped the image using versamark ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Be sure to check out both challenges and see all the beautiful cards that have been created!

Thank for taking the time to stop by!

Smile

 

When I saw that The Color Throwdown Challenge was for red, black and white I knew I was going to create a card for it! Black and red are two of my favorite colors for cards. For quite awhile I've gone out of my comfort zone and used other colors because there for awhile I used these two colors a lot! I almost always use black. I will never not be able to do that. 

Please take the time to check out the cards that their design team have created. They are just awesome and gorgeous!

 

For my card I used distress oxide ink with a stencil. After I made three other panels (which I will use for other cards), I made one more and settled on this one. I just couldn't make a decision on which I liked best! I inked up my stencil from The Crafter's Workshop spritzed it with water and then laid my cardstock on the stencil. 

 

I used a die set from Simon Says Stamp called Perfect Shapes for the hexagons. This die set also has a matching stamp set. The wildflower is a die from Sizzix. 

For my sentiment I used a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. All products are listed below. 

My card is linked to this challenge:

Color Throwdown: Color Throwdown #459

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - Choose Happy stamp set

Sizzix: Wildflower Tim Holz Alterations Die

Simon Says Stamp - Perfect Shapes Die

The Crafters Workshop: Mini chickenwire reversed stencil

Distress Oxide Ink: black soot

Versafine Ink: onyx black

Hero Arts: clear embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by!

You Brighten My Day

Here's my take on the sketch for the Freshly Made Sketches 298 Challenge. I'm also linking up to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes.

I love sketch challenges! It's even better when I look at a sketch and know exactly what I want to do. Anything Goes challenges are my favorite too! I love being able to just do my own thing.

I did die cut my "you" three times and adhered it together for more dimension. The rest of sentiment was stamped and heat embossed. I used a stencil for my diagonal strip. Supplies are listed below.

Be sure to take time to check out the beautiful cards on both challenge blogs by clicking the links below. Their design teams do some gorgeous work!

Freshly Made Sketches

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Supplies:

Cardstock

Stamp & Die  - Avery Elle Simply Said: You

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder
Distress Oxide Ink: peacock feathers
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil: Tiles
Doodlebug Design Inc: beetle black assortment

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #453

I love this color combination, it's so bright and cheery! My card is linking up to the Color Throwdown challenge. 

Super simple card to create. I just added distress ink to my craft mat, smooshed my card into each ink separately and then dried before adding the next color. Sentiment was heat embossed. Supplies are linked below. 

Color Throwdown #453

Supplies:

Cardstock
Strathmore Mixed media paper vellum surface

Stamp - Funny Bones by Riley & Company

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder
Distress Ink: picked raspberry, mustard seed, twisted citron
Doodlebug Design Inc - lily white glitter sprinkles assortment

Thanks for stopping by!

CASE(E) this Sketch! #232

My card today is for the CAS(E) this Sketch! Challenge #232.

I've made some clean and simple (CAS) cards, but never, ever have I made a card that it this clean and simple! It was so super simple and fast! It's a great sketch. I can think of tons of stamps that I could use with it. Distress Oxide ink was used to stamp the coffee cup. That ink is so creamy, I love stamping with it. This stamp is so hilarious because it's such a true statement! I feel like this every.day.of.my.life......   Love Funny Bones stamps! Supplies are listed below.

CAS(E) this Sketch! #232

Supplies:

Cardstock

Stamp - Funny Bones by Riley & Company

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder
Distress Oxide Ink - spiced marmalade

Thanks for stopping by!

Inspirational Cards

These cards were fun to make. The backgrounds were made quite awhile ago. I pulled them out of my stash once I figured out what sentiments I wanted to use. Once I decided which colors I wanted to use of the mini distress ink cubes I inked the squares next to each other across the cardstock alternating colors. 

I stamped the Hero Arts Leaf & Floral Background over top of the inked panel with VersaMark ink and then I heat embossed with white embossing powder. I didn't try to stamp an impression that was completely covered with VersaMark. I like the distressed look of not having all the embossing powder covering the background image. 

The colored panels that the sentiments are stamped on were inked with distress inks. Both sentiments are from Sweet 'n Sassy and were heat embossed with white embossing powder. They are called Inspirations Word Art 1 and 2.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sympathy Cards

Today I'm sharing three cards I made with one background stamp, a sentiment stamp set and a sympathy word die. All of the backgrounds were made using the Branch Shadow stamp from Rubbernecker. I don't have a lot of Rubbernecker stamps, but the few that I have I really love. They are very good quality stamps.

For the first card I used VersaMark ink and Hero Arts white embossing powder to stamp and heat emboss the background. I then inked over my cardstock with crushed olive distress ink. The word die was cut from some green cardstock and adhered to the card. The bling is ebony black Nuvo Crystal Drops.

The second card uses a sentiment stamp from Gina K Stamps called Scripty Sayings that I stamped with onyx black versafine ink and heat embossed with Hero Arts clear embossing powder. All other supplies are listed above. For this card I inked the background stamp with crushed olive distress ink, spritzed the stamp with water and then stamped onto watercolor paper. I love the image that you get using distress ink and water. 

The final card uses all the supplies above. The only product that is different on this card is the stitched banner die from Taylored Expressions called stitched banner stacklets. This card is the second generation stamped imaged. I spritzed the stamp with water and stamped this image after stamping the image on the card above without adding any more ink. You get a much lighter image and it's not as clear, but I love how it looks!

Thanks for stopping by!

June Swap Cards

I haven't done much crafting since May! I finally cleaned my craft room Memorial Day weekend. It's not "perfect". I know I can do more organizing, but it's far better than what it was! I can actually find stuff now. I took a whole vehicle full of stuff to the Goodwill. I had a lot of organizing containers that I didn't need anymore because of the way my room is set up now. I also found craft stuff I'm no longer using, so it all went away.

A friend was over and I did some die cutting for her. That's about the extent of card making that I've had time for. I've been working on two mixed media canvas creations for my craft room wall. I'm at a stopping point until I figure out what else I want to add to them.

After cleaning my room I decided I wanted to make some more mini albums. I've wanted to do that for awhile but I just didn't know what paper collections I wanted to use. After going through all my paper I selected two different ones to start with. So that's what I've been working on. Needless to say my room is getting messy again!

I had to whip these cards out really fast in order to get them in the mail on the due date for the swap I participate in. Hopefully my partners will like them and not notice that they were made very quickly!

I went to a stamp show on June 11th and picked up some new Rubbernecker stamps. This Lilly stamp is one of them. I really like their stamps. I spent way too much at that show, so I am cut off from buying any crafting supplies for awhile!

I kept my design simple and used the same stamp for all the cards. I used Tim Holtz Distress markers to watercolor the images. The colors are very muted. Next time I use this stamp I'm going to use a different type of ink to get a brighter look. 

I used Versafine to stamp the images including the sentiments. I then embossed with clear embossing powder. 

All of the sentiments are from the Sweet 'n Sassy stamp set called Bloom & Grow with the exception of the blue card. That sentiment is from Sparkle 'n Sprinkle.

I die cut both my image and the mat with another new item I purchased at the Stamp Show. These rectangle stitched dies are from Our Daily Bread.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here Comes Life

I made a ton of cards over the weekend. I played around creating backgrounds and tried a few techniques I've been wanting to try for awhile. 

I still have some that I have to adhere down to the cards yet and a few I'm still debating on whether or not to add some bling to. Sometimes I can't make a decision and have to look at them awhile in order to figure out what I want to do. 

For this card I decided I didn't want to use any bling or sequins. I created the background using Dyan Reavely's Dylusions paints and a one of her stencils. The sentiment from Penny Black was heat embossed with clear embossing powder 

I have a few more techniques I want to play around with so I'm hoping to get some time tonight or this week. I guess it all depends on how exhausted I am after working all day!

Thanks for stopping by!

April Swap Cards

I was a little behind in getting my cards out this month! Instead of mailing them on the 15th, mine didn't go in the mail until the 17th. I'm a poky card maker so I had to step it up a bit to get them finished. Generally I don't wait this long but I started a new job on April 4th and I haven't had a lot of creative time. I've been too exhausted at night to do much. By the time I get home it feels as though my head is going to explode from everything I'm learning during the day. It's going to get better, but for now that's the way it is. 

For the card above I used a Hero Arts Clings stamp called Leaf & Floral background. I heat embossed the design and then watercolored with distress inks. I can't remember which colors I used for this card. The sentiment is a Penny Black slapstick/cling stamp from the Life's Messages set. 

The card below does use a background that I had in my stash that I made a few weeks ago when I had my Gelli Arts plate out. When you are using that it's a good idea to make a lot of backgrounds because it's a messy project. I used Dyan Reaveley Dylusions paint in Cut Grass for the background. I used cork from the DCWV Cork Solids Mat Stack for the field grasses. This die is from Die-Namites. Sentiment is from Stampin' Up called World of Dreams.

This next card was stamped with a Hero Arts Reversed Flowers & Leaves background and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I then took three distress crayons in picked raspberry, mustard seed and twisted citron and used my finger to rub them in on the background. The sentiment is from The Right Words stamp set from Dylusions. I heat embossed it and then used a Spellbinders die to cut it. 

My last card was a little bit of a struggle. I'm still learning how to stamp flowers. I'm getting better, but I'm not where I want to be yet. I used this card by Yana Smakulav as the inspiration for mine. The stamp set is by Hero Arts called You're So Lovely. I used Altenew crisp inks in coral berry, ruby red, frayed leaf and evergreen.

I hope my swap partners like the cards I've sent them. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Swap Pals

I belong to quite a few craft related groups on Facebook. The newest group I joined I learned about through a group called Stamping Enablers. The group is called Card Swap Pals. I like swapping with others but I just don't do well if there is a theme as I really struggle with the constraints of that. I like to be able to just create whatever strikes my fancy. With this group you are assigned four swap pals and you can send all of them the same card or each something different and whatever type of card you want. This type of swap is right up my alley. Since this was my first time I decided to send four different cards. 

I want to back up a minute to the group I mentioned called Stamping Enablers. This group is by far one of the best groups I have ever joined! The group has grown to over 4200 members in a short amount of time. I have been in the group since it started. There are so many knowledgeable and wonderfully talented crafters from all over the world in this group. It's been a joy to be involved with such a wonderful people. You can join it by clicking here.

I like to create all kinds of random card fronts and then when I have a pile I make cards with them. This seems to work for me since I never really know what I want to make when I sit down and start crafting. It's also easier for me if I go craft with others. I don't feel like I have to get something done. 

The first card for one of my swap partners I created using a Tim Holtz layering stencil called wildflower. I used PaperTrey Ink white cardstock and I used worn lipstick distress ink. The sentiment and die cut is from WPlus9 called Hand Lettered Hello stamp set and Die. I stamped the hello sentiment with distress ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder and then die cut it. The sentiment "a note to say"was also stamped with distress ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I used Cloud 9 Design rain drops for my bling. I matted the image using DCWV canvas.

This card was created using using the smooching technique. I saw this technique from an email newsletter I received from Kristina Werner. Here's the link to her blog post. This is a fun technique and I know I'll be using it a lot! The die cut and sentiment are both from Wplus9 called Hand Lettered Thanks. I heat embossed the sentiment with black embossing powder. The You die was cut using foam. The bling is Hero Arts Hues Decor. I used PTI cardstock for my base and watercolor cardstock for the smooching. The blue mat cardstock is by Recollections. I don't remember what distress inks I used for this card.

 

Again I used the smooching technique for this card. I don't remember what distress inks I used. The sentiment is from Unity Stamps called Storms Make Deeper Roots. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. The base is PTI cardstock and the mat is by DCWV called The Jeweled Colored Cardstock Mattock. I also used watercolor cardstock.

This next card that was sent off to one of my swap partners is a technique I saw on the blog Pine Is Here. This was my first attempt and I loved it! I need to explore it a little more and go through my stamps to find more that will work. I used Hero Arts Delicate Leaf Cluster for the images. I heat embossed with white embossing powder. The distress ink I used is peeled paint. The die cut was cut from foam and is from Hero Arts called Thanks Stamp & Cut. I just used some pearls I had in my stash of supplies. Cardstock and base is from PTI. 

That's it for now. Time to start working on my swap cards for next month! I'll post the cards I receive.

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!

Love Blooms

 

No challenge for this card.  I was just playing around with a older Woodland Park background stamp from October Afternoon and several colors of Tim Holtz distress ink. I also wanted to use a flower die from Heartfelt Creations that I picked up awhile ago and haven't had a chance to work with. It's called Arianna Blooms and I love it!

For the background I stamped the Woodland Park image with versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I then inked the watercolor paper the six colors below below.

Here's a close up of the background and the flowers. I used Graphic 45's Bohemian Bazaar patterned paper for the flowers. This Arianna Blooms die is so versatile and can make so many different variations of flowers. I can't wait to play around with it some more. 

The sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps called Bloom & Grow. 

I've been using my new MISTI and I love it! I think this will be very helpful for me because with my Rheumatoid Arthritis sometimes I have a difficult time stamping a good image. Just from trying it out with various stamps I think the purchase of this product was well worth it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Sunday Challenge 261

I've been very neglectful when it comes to my blog. Exhaustion is what I've been feeling. I always over estimate how much time I actually have. For awhile I thought I was doing pretty good keeping up with what I love.....challenges! The reality is there isn't much time left at the end of the day to be able to craft every night. So, I've decided I'll do the best I can and participate in them as time permits. I'm sure there will be times when I'll be able to do more than other times. I'm just going to have to live with that. 

This card was made for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. For the background paper and the butterfly I used some handmade paper I picked up at Dick Blick Art Supplies last spring. The red background paper feels like there are small beads all over the paper. I love the texture! The butterfly was diecut using a Poppystamps die called Theo Butterfly. The kraft and the black cardstock is from PaperTrey Ink. For my sentiment I used a stamp set from Hero Arts called Good Friends that I stamped with versamark and embossed with gold embossing powder. 

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 261

Hoping to share more cards and or projects on a more regular basis. Thanks for stopping by!

Thank You

No card for a challenge today. I used the same cling stamp from Hero Arts called Leaf and Floral Background that I used on this card. The only difference is that this time I used white embossing powder. On the first card I used clear embossing powder even though it looks like I used white. For the background I used patterned paper from BasicGrey. I really love this stamp and know that I will be using it over and over. The look is so different depending on what patterned paper you use behind it. Even coloring the background with distress ink like I did on the first card make it such a versatile stamp.

For the sentiment I used another Hero Arts stamp from the You're So Kind set. For the first time I used a Kraft Dye Ink that I bought from PaperTrey Ink. I've never used kraft ink before and it reminds me of how much it looks like you just stamped with versamark ink on kraft cardstock like I did with this card.

I added some bling from My Mind's Eye and inked around the edges with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink. Love how this card turned out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks

I love these large cling background stamps! I've got several from Hero Arts and October Afternoon. I've pulled them all out and decided to create some cards with them. I have so many stamps that I've collected and have never used. I've challenged myself to get them out and start playing with them!

For this card it looks like I've used white embossing powder, but I didn't. I took a pieced of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and stamped the Hero Arts Leaf and Floral background stamp with versamark ink. I then heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. For the colors I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in peeled paint, dusty concord and rusty hinge. The sentiment is a die from Simon Says Stamp. I love these word dies and am planning on buying more of them. The bow is tied using three different colors of American Crafts twine.

Such an easy and fun way to create a card! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Thank You Very Much!

Another card using Golden Light Molding Paste. I'm really happy with how this card turned out. It makes me want to go out and buy some more stencils. I really love working with them!

For this card I used Tim Holtz Distress ink in Broken China to color the molding paste. The stencil design is by Heidi Swapp. I used a Hero Arts stamp from the Thanks A Bunch Set (CL663) along with the Broken China distress ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. The white base is from PaperTrey Ink and the island blue cardstock is from Simon Says Stamp. The bling is by My Mind's Eye.

I haven't had much crafting time this week after work. I've just felt tired and cold and haven't felt like crafting. What I don't like is when I get all these ideas going through my head as I'm having coffee before I have to leave for work and can't act on any of them. Hopefully I'll still have all this enthusiasm this evening so I can try some of my ideas out!

Thanks for dropping by today!

The Glory of Christmas Challenge #49

Today my card is for the challenge The Glory of Christmas Challenge #49. Anything goes as long as it's Christmas. Christmas cards are my favorite cards to create. Thank you and sympathy cards come in second and third. 

I've been checking around to find challenges that do Christmas all year round. I think I've found a few so don't be surprised if you see more Christmas cards on my blog in 2015.

The patterned paper I used is Silent Night by October Afternoon. This paper is just so cute, I love it! I bought a couple of these pads when I went to the their warehouse sale. For my ornament I die cut the image using a set of dies called Ornament Dies by Sweet 'n Sassy. They have two different stamp sets that also coordinate with this die set. I then ran the die cut through my Big Shot using an embossing folder from Darice. I don't have the name of it. I had some snowflake buttons in my stash so I cut the shank off the back and adhered it to the die cut with a glue dot. My little bow is made out of jute. The sentiment is by Inkadinkado. I've used this sentiment a lot through the years. 

Believe it or not, I've made all these Christmas cards and haven't even sent out one yet and it's December 23rd! Anyone on my card list will be getting their cards late this year!

Be sure to stop by The Glory of Christmas and check out all the cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Peace Love & Joy

Happy Monday! It sure is cold outside this morning. Listening to the weather on TV, I think just heard  that it's -2° below. The only way for me to get through winter is to remember that everyday is one day closer to spring!

The card I'm sharing today uses a die from Memory Box called Clairmont Ornaments. I actually cut the top part of the die off and decided to use the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Holiday Greens die with it. I'll share another card tomorrow that uses the complete die. 

I stamped a sentiment from Hero Arts with black ink from Memento and embossed it with black embossing powder. The glitter paper is from Recollections. I'm not sure about the patterned paper since I have quite the mess going on in my craft room right now with paper everywhere. I'm going to take a guess and say it's Recollections. My card base uses paper from PaperTrey Ink. 

Stay warm today if you're somewhere cold like I am! Thanks so much for stopping by!