F4A310 Serenity- Sending Wishes Your Way

Hi Again  Friends! 

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week so far!  I have been creating a few cards this week and this card was my sample for the Splitcoaststampers’ Freefor All F4A310 “Get Your Zen On” Challenge (see details here and gallery here).  

The "Get Your Zen On" Challenge is inspired by the Adult Coloring Book rage right now, and if you do not own one a coloring book, you can "Google" Adult Coloring Book Printables and free pages are available online.

The colors look a bit more vibrant in the photo than IRL :-)

Well, I tried to print a few freebies, but ever since I switched my laptop to Windows 10, my printer has been acting up.  The printer would just not cooperate so I decided to stamp my coloring page :-)

  

I started to look over my stamp collection and recalled that I had this retired Stampin’ Up! background stamp, Serenity (from 2002) and thought that it would possibly look like a coloring book page...  I am ashamed to say that this is the first card that I have ever created with it- yes, I have owned it for 14 years or more- again, too many stamps and not enough time- lol!! Although, that is about to change since my sweet hubby is retiring- yippee!! and my fulltime job ended as well...after 47+ years of working FT/OT for hubby and 40+ years of FT/OT for me, we will both be enjoying retirement :-)

I think that this vintage image would be perfect for Mother’s Day and I will have to remind myself to get this one out again soon!

To create this card:

Ink the Serenity background stamp with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock (I always stamp my background stamps by keeping the stamp face up on the table, ink with the stamp pad onto the rubber stamp, place the cardstock onto the image and rub the back of the cardstock with a piece of scrap paper or your hand to transfer the image).  FYI- This image is very large so I started out with a 5 ½” square and once I was finished coloring, etc. cut it down to the A2 card size.

After stamping the background image, color the image using various Prismacolor Berol® Colored Pencils (I have had these in my stash for ages) along with a blending stump and Gamsol® to blend the colors.

To "Antique" or "Not to Antique" - that is the question- lol!

Trim the panel and stamp the sentiment from Butterfly Basics set using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink.

Mount the panel onto Early Espresso, trim again and mount onto the Lovely Lilac card base.

At this point the card is finished, unless you are like me and just had to add more...  I decided that it was not “vintage-y” enough so I grabbed my sponge applicator and applied Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper and Tea Dye Distress Inks for the second version.

Which one do you prefer- stark white or the tea dye version?  

Stamp Sets:  Serenity (retired 2002 Background Stamp), Butterfly Basics (sentiment)- both Stampin’ Up!

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black; Prismacolor Berol® Colored Pencils, version #2- Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper and Tea Dye Distress Inks

Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Lavender Lace

Accessories: Gamsol®, Blending Stump

Thanks again for stopping by- hugs and have a blessed weekend, my friends!

Loving God's Word Bible Journaling Kit

Happy Friday Sweet Friends!!

Woohoo!!  Last week Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (SNSS) announced their exciting new brand, Creative Worship Bible journaling stamps! 

Creative Worship stamps were designed with Bible Journaling in mind, but they can be used for card making, scrapbooking and so much more!

Today we are celebrating the new release of the very first Creative Worship Bible Journaling Kit-  Loving God’s Word Bible Journaling Kit with a fun blog hop and the kit is available until February 11th or while supplies last for $30.95 (plus s/h)!

The Loving God’s Word Bible Journaling Kit includes two brand new stamp sets- His Word and Decorative Banners designed by Krista Hamrick along with a fun bookmark designed by Rebecca Rios as well as some die cut hearts, baker’s twine and a heart doily.   

Loving God's Word BJ Kit- $30.95 

This kit is a great way to get started on your Bible Art Journaling journey or a wonderful addition to your Bible Art Journaling supplies.  

After February 11^th, the stamp sets will be available to be purchased separately at their regular price - His Word $19.95 and Decorative Banners $11.95 - so you can save money on the set plus receive some of the fun extras that are in the kit :-)

His Word

Decorative Banners

Some of you may be like me and are new to Bible Art Journaling :-)  I have found that Bible Art Journaling is a great way to express worship through the study God's Word.  I love focusing on the Scripture as I create plus it helps me memorize verses as well- an added bonus :-)

For this blog hop, I decided to create a card along with a Bible Journaling panel that could be used as a bookmark or as a “tip in”.  

I understand that a “tip-in” is just something that you create outside of your Bible (such as this project) and you can attach it to your Bible using Washi Tape or other adhesives.  Since my “official” Journaling Bible is on pre-order from Amazon and is not expected to ship until March (the Inspire NLT Bible), I decided to stamp on cardstock to create my Bible Art Journaling page. 

For this bookmark/tip-in, I used the new Loving God’s Word Bible Journaling Kit stamps, His Word and Decorative Banners along with a few stamps from Message of Hope (a previous SNSS release).  

OK, now I am going to share a secret and please do not faint- lol! but I decided to carefully cut some of the words apart on both sets to make them more versatile :-)

Yes, I did it and the stamps did not scream at me!! :-)  Cutting them apart apparently does not hurt your photopolymer stamps :-) and you can always re-position the original words back together for stamping later (as I did in the card).

From the His Word set I cut apart “Your” from the “Lord, I long to hear “Your” Voice stamp, “of” from “Word of Life” and “Teach Me” (but the latter, I did not use on this bookmark).

Message of Hope 

From the Message of Hope set, I cut the word “Righteous” from “Righteousness” (used on this bookmark), “With” from “Without”, “Faith” from “Faithful” (well, you are getting the idea- right?)...

I have several clear blocks  and used a larger one (5” x 3 ¼”) for the layout of the first part of the bookmark and two smaller blocks for the second half. 

I choose the words to create the verse along with positioning banners for some of the hand lettered words, placed them onto the cardstock and pressed the block over the words to keep them in the position for stamping.

I did trim it down a bit on the sides after taking this photo :-)

I stamped the images onto Whisper White cardstock (although they could be stamped directly into the margins of your Bible) using Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Faber-Castell® Polychromos pencils (any coloring medium would work).

The lettering in the banners I did by hand as well as the Scripture Verse reference using a Pigma Micron™ pen and created shadows with a black colored pencil.

The second project was a quick and easy card using watercolor paper, Brusho® Colour Crystals and stamps from His Book along with two sets from throwback releases- Nature Silhouettes and Grunge Elements.   

I also decided to use the Splitcoaststampers’ SC576 Sketch Challenge for my layout (Splitcoaststampers (SCS) has a wonderful gallery of over 575 sketches that you can use for your layouts- check the master gallery out here).

Spritz water onto a piece of watercolor paper and shake a few of the Brusho® Colour Crystals onto the wet paper (I used Yellow, Purple and Turquoise).  Allow the Brusho® Colour Crystals to spread and merge – it is amazing to watch how they react to water and dry with a Heat Tool.

Ink the sentiment from His Book using Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and stamp onto the watercolor panel.

Ink the floral images from Nature Silhouettes using Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink, stamp off onto scrap paper before stamping onto the panel and then add a few images without stamping off.

Nature Silhouettes

Ink the bird image from Nature Silhouettes using Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and stamp onto the panel in the upper corner, trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock, trim again and mount onto Elegant Eggplant cardstock.

Grunge Elements

Ink the Grunge Elements splatter stamp with Tempting Turquoise and stamp a bit onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim the panel add the strips of Elegant Eggplant cardstock and mount onto the Elegant Eggplant card base.

Add the focal image panel to the card front using dimensional foam and the card is finished!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these two projects and that you will take the time to check out the rest of the SNSS Design Team projects on the blog hop!!

Inspiration galore and I cannot wait to see what you create with the new Loving God's Word Bible Journaling Kit!   Share your Bible Journaling creations with us on the Creative Worship Bible Journaling Facebook Page (just click on join and Korin will add you) - you do not have to use SNSS stamps to participate but, of course, we love it when you do!! 

You can also find us on Instagram (@sweetnsassystamps) and our Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Facebook page :-)

Thanks again for visiting- have a blessed weekend, my friends!

Isaiah 41:10- Fear Not, For I Am With You

Hi Friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful week so far!  We are still a bit snowed in here on the East Coast (we received 36" here in Frederick, MD but it is melting :-)) so I had a chance to create a card this morning. 

I decided to use the Tuesday Morning Sketches #336 Challenge along with last week’s Hand Stamped Sentiments#229 Color Challenge (the challenge closed on Monday afternoon so too late to link up) and the Word Art Wednesday #218 Anything Goes Challenge.

I love the reminder of the Lord's constant presence with us from Isaiah 41:10 and plan to use this card for an upcoming birthday, but I think this verse could be used for many occasions, don’t you?

If you have not had a chance to visit the above challenge site galleries yet, again, I would encourage you to do so- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

De-static a piece of Whisper White cardstock with the Embossing Buddy®, ink the branch and floral images from Choose Happiness (Stampin’ Up!) using Versamark™ Ink, stamp onto the prepared cardstock, apply Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder and heat set with the Heat Tool.

Once the embossing powder has cooled, color the leaf images with the Always Artichoke Stampin’ Write Marker, spritz with water, use a paper towel to wipe away the excess water and once dry, carefully fussy cut the branches.

Use an AquaPainter™ with ink from the Elegant Eggplant Stampin’ Write marker to watercolor the flower (scribble the marker onto an acrylic block or craft sheet to lift with the water brush).  Wipe with a paper towel and apply additional ink to the floral image directly with the marker, spritz with water and allow the flower to dry before fussy cutting the image.

On a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock, ink the flower using Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and repeatedly stamp the image to create your own designer paper.  Spritz the flowers with water, gently dab with the paper towel and dry with the Heat Tool.

Trim the background panel and mount onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant, trim again and mount onto the Always Artichoke card base.

Use the Big Shot™ to emboss the strips of Elegant Eggplant with the retired Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder and cut a rectangle from Always Artichoke cardstock with the My Favorite Things™ (MFT) Stitched Rectangle STAX Die.

Stamp the sentiment from Rose Wonder (Stampin’ Up! 2016 Occasions Mini) using Elegant Eggplant onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.  Trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant cardstock.

“Huff” onto the Choose Happiness floral image tp re-moisten the Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and stamp the lightened flower over the sentiment (you may want to stamp off onto scrap paper first).

Layer the card per the sketch, add the sentiment panel with Stampin’ Dimensionals®, adhere the branches to the card front (I used Tombow® Mono Multi Adhesive), mount the flower with Stampin’ Dimensionals® and add a few pearls to the corner to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  All Stampin’ Up!- Rose Wonder (2016 Occasions Mini), Choose Happiness (2015-2016 IBC)

Ink: Versamark™, Elegant Eggplant; Stampin’ Write Markers- Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant

Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, Sahara Sand

Accessories:  Big Shot™, retired Lacy BrocadeTextured Impressions™ Embossing  Folder, MFT Stitched Rectangle STAX Die, Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, AquaPainter™, Water Spritzer Bottle, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- hugs and have a blessed week, my friends!

TCC47 Warm Winter Roses

Hi Friends!!

It’s time for new The Card Concept #TCC47 "Floral Elegance" Challenge!  I just love this neutral color palette along with all of the different floral textures in this cake from our fabulous photo inspiration- don’t you? 

For my Mixed Media card, I combined the colors along with a fun textured background (a bit difficult to see the texture in the photo but IRL it almost feels like leather :-)).

Just a reminder that the Card Concept is a bi-weekly challenge that has an inspiration photo along with a number of design styles that you can choose from to create your card- Clean and Simple, Clean and Graphic, Clean and Layered, Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage, Classy and Elegant and Mixed Media.  

I hope you have a chance to visit us at The Card Concept and check out the rest of our Design Team samples as well as the other challenge sites- fabulous inspiration from all!

I have also linked this card to the Artistic Outpost January 2016 “Show us Your AO Art Challenge"- wonderful designs in their gallery as well:-)

To create this card:

On a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, apply Liquidtex® Matte Gel Medium and layer pieces of white tissue paper over the gel (allowing the paper to crinkle a bit).

Carefully use a Heat Tool to speed up the drying process and apply ProArt® Gesso® over the surface.

Once the Gesso® has dried, add color using Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks (layering, spritzing and drying with the Heat Tool between layers).

Once you are satisfied with the background, lay the Memory Box™ Winter Flurry Frame Stencil over the corners and remove the ink using a wet cloth (again, drying with the Heat Tool as you re-position the stencil and continue to remove the ink).

Ink the images from the Artistic Outpost (AO) Skating Emporium with Early Epresso Classic Ink (I used the snowflake and the Central Park Script stamps), repeatedly stamp onto the panel and cut out the panel with the Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBD) Double Stitched Rectangle Dies .

Mount the panel onto a piece of Smoky Slate cardstock, sponge Vintage Photo around the edges and mount onto a piece of Early Espresso cardstock.

Add the 1” Dark Brown Satin Ribbon Strip and mount onto the Smoky Slate card base.

Ink the Holly and the Ivy (A/O) image using Staz-On™ Jet Black Ink and stamp onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.

Using Sponge Daubers, apply Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks around the panel to color the background of the image.

Use a paint brush with Titanium White Acrylic Paint (dilute with a small bit of water) to highlight the fur on her collar/arms, ribbon in her hat and the flower at the top right.

Use the Big Shot™ with the (ODBD) Double Stitched Rectangle Dies to cut out the image (I had to re-position the image back into the die after the first pass to reduce the size of the rectangle), mount onto a piece of Smoky Slate cardstock, sponge Ranger® Tim Holtz® Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges and mount onto a piece of Early Espresso cardstock. 

Add the Holly and the Ivy panel onto the card front using dimensional foam.

Create the flowers from Very Vanilla and Smoky Slate cardstock using the My Favorite Things™ (MFT) Mini Royal Rose and Royal Rose Dies-use the Crimper Tool to crimp the paper before rolling into the flower and sponge a bit of Ranger® Tim Holtz® Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges.

Use the Martha Stewart (MS) Leaf Punch to punch out the leaves from Early Espresso cardstock, crimp the leaves with the Crimper Tool and attach the leaves along with the flowers using Hot Glue to the card front to finish off the card.

I did not add a sentiment yet since I think this card could work for several occasions- Valentine’s Day, Birthday (Winter Months), Christmas or a “Thinking of You”...what do you think?

Stamp Sets: Holly and the Ivy, Skating Emporium (both Artistic Outpost)

Ink: Staz-On™ Jet Black, Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress; Titanium White Acrylic Paint

Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Smoky Slate, White Tissue Paper

Accessories: Gesso®, Matte Gel, Big Shot™,  ODBD Double Stitched Rectangle Dies, MFT Mini Royal Rose Die, MFT Royal Rose Die, MS Leaf Punch, Crimper Tool, Sponge Daubers, MB Winter Flurry Frame Stencil, 1” Dark Brown Satin Ribbon, Paint Brush

Thanks again for taking the time to visit- I hope you can gather your supplies and pick a style to create your own card for our gallery at The Card Concept!

Isaiah 41:10- Fear Not, For I Am With You

Hi Again Stampers!!

I am on a Clean and Simple (CAS) trend this weekend and wanted to share a card that was created using the Pals Paper Arts PPA283 Color Challenge- the colors that Brian chose for the challenge remind me of spring and with all of the cold weather that has arrived here on the East Coast, I thought a few flowers were in order :-)

I just love this passage of Scripture:

"Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. "

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

I think that this verse is appropriate for so many occasions...Illness, Sympathy, Encouragement and even for a "Just Because" card and am so thankful that it was included in the Rose Wonder stamp set :-)

Again, if you have not already done so, I hope you will find the time to visit the Pals Paper Arts site to check out their spectacular Design Team samples as well as their fabulous challenge galleries- I am always inspired by this group of designers!

To create this card:

Ink the Watercolor Wash background stamp with Mint Macaron Classic Ink and use a Sponge Dauber to pounce over the stamp and remove some of the ink.

With the inked background stamp facing upward, lay a piece of Whisper White cardstock over the stamp and press with your fingers to transfer the inked image to the cardstock.

Ink the sentiment from Rose Wonder with Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink as well as two of the leaf stems and stamp directly onto the background panel.

Ink the large splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge with Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink, stamp off onto a piece of scrap paper and stamp onto the panel.

Ink the smaller blossom image from Rose Wonder with Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink and stamp three of the flowers onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Use an AquaPainter™ with Melon Mambo Classic Ink to color the flowers and once dried, color the center petals and shadows onto the outer petals with the Stampin’ Write Melon Mambo Marker (using the AquaPainter™ to soften the edges of the marker on the outer petals).

Color the center of the flowers with the Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker, fussy cut each flower and set aside.

Use the Mint Macaron Stampin’ Write Marker to color the leaves and add shadows with the Sahara Sand Stampin’ Write Marker.

Trim the background panel and mount onto the Basic Black card base.

Add two of the flowers directly onto the card front and the third (center) flower, mount onto the card front using a Stampin’ Dimensional®.

Add the Pearls to centers of each flower to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Rose Wonder, Watercolor Wash (background stamp), Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Memento™ Tuxedo Black, Melon Mambo, Mint Macaron; Stampin’ Write Markers- Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Mint Macaron, Sahara Sand

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: AquaPainter™, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to visit- hugs and have a great day!!  

SUO140 Beautiful Blessing

Hi Friends!   

It’s time for the SUO140 “It's Time for Valentine’s” Challenge and I decided to create a very Clean and Simple (CAS) card that could be sent to your Valentine or a sweet friend for Valentine’s Day.

I decided to play along with the Splitcoaststampers’ CAS359 “Wow Them!” White on White Challenge along with the Stampin’ Celebration SC120 Inspiration  Challenge and the Just Add Ink JAI294 “Add Something New Blog Hop” Challenge (the Rose Wonder and Bloomin' Love Thinlits are brand new :-)).

 I hope you will have a chance to check out my sister Design Team member samples at the SU-Only Challenge site as well as the fantastic Design Team samples at the other three sites- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

Use the Big Shot™ along with the Precision Base Cutting Plate and Bloomin’ Heart Thinlit™ Die to cut out the heart image and a few of the flowers from a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Ink the sentiment from Rose Wonder with Smoky Slate Classic Ink and stamp at the bottom of the cut panel.

Trim the cut panel to 4” x 5 ¼” , insert the die cut heart back into the cut opening and mount the entire panel onto the Whisper White card base using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Spritz the die cut flowers with a bit of water to soften the cardstock, shape the flowers to curl the petals and once dried, mount onto the card front.

Add the Pearls to finish off the card.

This card was a bit difficult to photograph but the die cut heart casts pretty shadows through the opening- a quick, easy Valentine to make for anyone in your life!  

What do you think?  I believe that this design could also be a Wedding or Anniversary card - of course, with a different sentiment :-)

Stamp Sets:  Rose Wonder

Ink:  Smoky Slate

Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot™, Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits™ Die, Pearls

Thanks again for stopping by and we hope to see your Stampin’ Up! Only project in our “"It's Time for Valentine’s” Challenge gallery!

Cocoa's Heart- I {Heart] You :-)

Hi Stampers!

Today I am posting on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog and wanted to share a fun Valentine’s Day card that I created with a few more of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (SNSS) Digital Stamps- Cocoa’s Heart and Valentine’s Day Greetings.

Did you know that Sweet ‘n SassyStamps has over 200 exclusive digital stamp images (also known as “digi’ or “digis”) in the online store?  Are you intimidated by digi stamps- you do not need to be...they are so easy to use and you can print them out and color them just like a normal stamp image.

One thing I personally love about digi stamps is that you can re-size them to fit your design plus they do not take up the space in your craft room :-)

I decided to use the Splitcoaststampers’ SC568 Sketch Challenge  along with the Just Add Ink JAI294 "Add Something New" Blog Hop (both of these digital images are new to me :-)) for inspiration.

I hope you will find the time to check out both of these challenge sites as well as the SNSS Blog Post :-).

To create this card:

Insert the digital images for Cocoa’s Heart along with the sentiment from the Valentine’s Day Greeting set ( I cropped and re-sized the sentiment).   

Print the images out onto a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" Whisper White cardstock and color the Cocoa’s Heart image using Spectrum Noir™ Alcohol Markers along with a Faber-Castell® Pitt Penn marker to add the checked border. 

Fussy-cut out the heart, mount onto white cardstock and fussy-cut around the heart to create a white border.

Add additional shimmer to the heart using an AquaPainter™ with Frost White Shimmer Paint over the entire heart (but not Cocoa) and add Crystal Effects® to his nose (both are a bit difficult to see in the photos).

Emboss a piece of Smoky Slate cardstock with the Happy Hearts Textured Impressions™  Embossing Folder and layer onto Basic Black cardstock.

Add the embossed panel to the Whisper White card base, layer the black and white polka dot background and add the Cocoa's Heart and Valentine's Day Greeting sentiment using Stampin' Dimensionals®.

Use the Owl Builder Punch to punch out two little hearts from Melon Mambo cardstock, layer onto on

Another view trying to show the shimmer :-)

e another and add to the banner along with the Rhinestone to finish off the card.

This was a fun card for me to create- I hope you will try some of the digital images for yourself- if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comment area :-)

Stamp Sets:  Cocoa's Heart, Valentine's Day Greetings (both digital images from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Printer Ink, Spectrum Noir™ Alcohol Markers- Blender, BP6, DR5, PP5, BGR3; Frost White Shimmer Paint, Faber-Castell® Pitt Penn marker

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo; retired Neutrals Background Paper

Accessories: Big Shot™ , Happy Hearts Textured Impressions™  Embossing Folder ,  Punches- Owl Builder, Hexagon; Rhinestone, AquaPainter™ 

Hugs and have a blessed week, my friends!!