SC682 Knowing Who Holds the Future

Hi Friends!

It’s time for the weekly sketch at Splitcoaststampers! Diane is our SC682 sketch designer this week and she has designed a simple but elegant sketch that can be interpreted in so many ways!

I decided to pull out my distress oxide inks to create a quick mixed media card using Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps- His Wings, Typewriter Text Background, Faith and Grunge Elements 2.   I thought the feathers would be a fun element for the hanging hearts in the sketch:-)

I incorporated the Just Add Ink #393 Colour Challenge into the design and am also linking to the Word Art Wednesday #318-#319 “Anything Goes” Challenge.

If you have not had a chance to visit the Splitcoaststampers’ Sketch gallery or other challenge sites yet, I hope you will do so- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Tap distress oxide inks onto a silicone mat, lightly spritz with water, press a piece of white cardstock into the ink, pick up the cardstock and press into the remaining ink until you are satisfied with the result.  Dry with a heat tool and repeat the process with additional colors. Lightly spritz the background when you are finished and dry with a heat tool.   Add a few splatters with the waterbrush and a black marker (scribbled onto the silicone mat) and stamp a few splatters using the splatter image from Grunge Elements 2 with peacock feathers distress oxide ink.

  *** FYI-  For the background I used these colors in this order- 1). Twisted Citron 2). Peacock Feathers and 3). Vintage Photo.  

2). Ink the Typewriter Text Background stamp with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink and stamp randomly onto the oxide background.  Heat set with the heat tool, trim to a 4” x 5 ¼” panel and trim off 1 ¼” from the top (for the upper portion of the sketch).  Mount a strip of black cardstock to the bottom of the top portion and wrap the polished hemp twine around the panel (putting the ends behind the panel).

3). De-static the lower portion of the oxide panel with an embossing powder tool, stamp the sentiment from Faith using Versafine™ Onyx Black ink, stamp onto the panel, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool. Once the embossing has cooled, mount the panel onto a piece of black cardstock. 

So hard to photograph the shimmer on the feathers but it is there :-)

4). De-static a piece of white cardstock with an embossing powder tool, stamp the feathers and bird image from His Wings using Versafine™ Onyx Black ink, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool. Once the embossing has cooled, use the distress oxide colors listed in step one to watercolor the large feather along with the peacock feathers. 

5). Fussy-cut each feather and the bird image, apply shimmer to the watercolored feathers with a clear glitter pen and adhere the feathers and the bird onto the card front (I used hot glue and mounted the tips of feather shafts onto the basic black portion at the top of the card front and added the bird image with dimensional foam).  Line up and mount the layered top portion of the card (created in step 2) with dimensional foam. 

6). Add a few sequins to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: His Wings, Faith, Typewriter Text Background, Grunge Elements 2 (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black; Tim Holtz® Distress Oxide Ink- Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Vintage Photo; Spectrum Noir™ Glitter Pen

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories/Tools: Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sequins

Thanks again for taking the time to visit! If you have a chance, we would love for you to join us at Splitcoaststampers for this week’s sketch challenge!  Hugs and I hope all of you have a great week, sweet friends!

SUO193 Love You

Hi Friends!

It’s time for the #193 “Hearts A Plenty” Challenge at SU-Only Challenges!  I decided to use a resist technique with the Bloomin’ Love stamp set and the new Brilliant Red Brusho® Crystal Colour Watercolor Ink Crystals.

I am also incorporating the Tic-Tac-Toe #032 Challenge (bottom row across Sparkle-Love and Free) along with the Dragonfly Journeys #110 “The Power of Red” Challenge and the Simon Says Monday "Resist It" Challenge into the design. 

If you have not had a chance to stop by the SU-Only Challengesite to check out the rest of the Design Team’s samples or the other challenge sites yet, I encourage you to do so- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). De-static a piece of Whisper White cardstock with an Embossing Buddy®, ink the floral heart image from Bloomin’ Love with Versamark™ ink, stamp onto the prepared panel, apply Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder and heat with the Heat Tool.  Repeat the steps for two additional heart images.

2). Once the embossing has cooled, sprinkle a bit of the Brilliant Red Brusho® Crystal Colour onto the panel, lightly spritz with water and continue to add color as needed.  Dry carefully with the Heat Tool.

3). Ink the “XOXO” , “Be Mine” and small open heart images from Bloomin’ Love along with the small splatter stamp image from Timeless Textures with Stampin’ Archival Basic Black Ink, stamp onto the panel and heat set with the Heat Tool.

4). Trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock before mounting onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  Adhere the entire panel to an Extra Thick Whisper White card base.

5). Heat emboss the sentiment onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock using Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder, trim and mount onto the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

6). Apply shimmer to all of the hearts with Clear Wink of Stella® and add a few Pearls to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Bloomin’ Love

Ink/Mediums: Versamark™, Clear Wink of Stella®, Brilliant Red Brusho® Crystal Colour

Paper: Whisper White, Extra Thick Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories/Tools: Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and I hope that you will create your own Stampin’ Up! Only project and join us for our “Hearts A Plenty” challenge!  

On Your Anniversary

Hi Friends!

Today I am sharing a Clean and Simple card designed with the January Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands along with previously released Thoughtful Words and Pick Me Up  clear stamp sets (all available at Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps).

As soon as I saw the two swan images in this set, I wanted to create a card with the two swans facing each other to create a “heart”. 

I did not want to distract from the swan images so I thought a clean and simple (CAS) card would be the best way to highlight the heart area :-) When I was updating my weekly challenge notebook,  I noticed  Joanne’s #377 “CAS Love Notes” Challenge at The Paper Players, I decided to give it a try :-)

I love the fact that the Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands  stamp set is the January set of the month at Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps.  For every $60 purchase (after discounts and before shipping), you can receive this stamp set free until the end of January.  Plus, Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps has free shipping and handling on your $75 order (in the US) so this is a great deal!!

I am also playing along with the Addicted to Stamps and More #276 “Anything Goes”Challenge along with the Happy Little Stampers January CAS “Friendship”Challenge.

If you have not had a chance to visit the above challenge sites or the SNSS Blog/FB Page yet, I encourage you to do so- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Die cut a piece of white cardstock with a stitched rectangle die, de-static with an embossing powder tool, stamp the sentiment from Thoughtful Words  with archival black ink, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with the heat tool.

2). Once the embossing has cooled, mount onto the white card base (Note- you could skip the die cutting step entirely by embossing the sentiment directly onto the card base for a one layer card but I wanted to give the faux stitching effect).

3). Stamp the swan images from Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands with archival black ink onto another piece of white cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with the heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, fussy-cut out each swan.

4). Stamp the heart image from Pick Me Up with red ink onto white cardstock, fussy cut the heart and add a bit of shimmer with a clear glitter pen (hard to see in the photo).

5). Add the swans facing each other with the heart in the center using dimensional foam to finish off the card.

Quick and easy! I hope our friends will like it.

Stamp Sets: Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands,  Thoughtful Words, Pick Me Up (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black; Stampin’ Write Real Red Marker; Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen

Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White

Acessories/Tools: Big Shot™, MFT A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX Dies Set 1, Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- hugs and I hope you have a blessed week, sweet friends!

TCC85 Romantic Rose Easel Card

Hi Friends!!

Woohoo- it’s time for The Card Concept #85 {Rustic Blooms} Challenge!!  I love this gorgeous photo and was inspired by the beautiful colors as well as the flowers to create my Classy & Elegant Mixed Media easel card. 

Since I have been making an effort to give all of my stamps “love”, I decided to pull out the long ago retired stamp, Romantic Rose (Stampin’ Up!) and paired it with a verse from the Scripture Medley 1 stamp set from Verve Stamps.

I am also linking this card to the Try Stampin' On Tuesday “Tic-Tac-Tuesday #1” Challenge (top row across- Black, Die Cut, Pink) along with the As You Like It “Favourite Die and Why? Challenge (I loved stitched dies of all kinds and used two different stitched dies on this card), the Word Art Wednesday #318-#319 “Anything Goes” Challenge and the Simon Says Wednesday "Layer It Up" Challenge.

If you have not had a chance to do so, I hope you will find the time to check out the rest of the wonderful Design Team cards at The Card Concept as well as the entries at the other challenge sites- fabulous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Ink the Romantic Rose image with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink, stamp onto a piece of white cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, watercolor the rose image and background with ink from water-based markers (see the colors listed below).  Use a sponge dauber with broken china distress ink and a stencil brush with peacock feathers distress ink along with two stencils to add layered stenciling to the background (this step could be omitted- I thought that it needed a little something extra and the dotted stencil did not look right so I added the chevron. Once you add it, you can not take it away, so there it is :-))

2). Die cut the panel using a cross-stitched rectangle die (Gina K. Designs) and mount onto black cardstock, trim close to the die cut edge.

3). Emboss a piece of blue cardstock with a woodgrain embossing folder, mount onto the black card front.  Add the triple 5/8” black satin ribbon bow (wrapping the ends behind the panel- see note in step 7) and set the card front aside.

4). Create the easel card base from a 4 ¼” x 11” piece of white cardstock, scored at 5 ½” and 8 ¼”.  Fold for the easel and mount the focal image panel onto the 2 ¾” portion of the upper fold (see the tutorial at Splitcoaststampers here for the instructions on an easel card).

5). Emboss a 2 ¼” by 4” piece of blue cardstock with the woodgrain embossing folder.  Mount onto a 2 ½” x 4 ¼” piece of black cardstock, add this panel to the bottom part of the 5 ½” portion of the easel card using dimensional foam.

6). Stamp the verse sentiment from Scripture Medley 1 (Verve Stamps) with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink, stamp onto a piece of white cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, watercolor with the blue marker to match the background on the main panel. Layer onto a piece of black cardstock and trim close to the edge.  Adhere to the lower layer of the easel card and add a few pearls to the corners.

7). Cut a piece of black cardstock 2 ½” x 4 ¼” and adhere to the back of the lower portion of the main focal image panel (this hides the ribbon ends from view).  OOPS!  If I had planned the project better, this step could have been avoided by adding the ribbon to the blue layer before mounting onto the black card front...but, hindsight is 20/20, right?

8). Finish off the card by adding shimmer to the flower petals with a clear shimmer pen and white highlights to the small flowers with an extra fine white paint pen.

Stamp Sets: Romantic Rose (retired Stampin’ Up!), Scripture Medley 1 (Verve Stamps)

Inks/Mediums:  Versafine™ Onyx Black; Tim Holtz® Broken China and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink; Stampin’ Write Markers-Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Powder Pink, Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi, Island Indigo, Smoky Slate; Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen, Sharpie® Extra Fine White Paint Pen

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Island Indigo

Accessories: Big Shot™, Dies- MFT Stitched Rectangle A2 STAX Set 1, Gina K. Designs Cross Stitched Rectangles; Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponge Dauber, Clarity™ Stencil Brush, Memory Box Modern Chic Chevron and Zippy Dots Stencils, 5/8” Black Satin Ribbon, Pearls, Antique Brad

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope you will be able to join us for the The Card Concept #85 {Rustic Blooms} Challenge at The Card Concept! 

SC681 Sweeter Than Honey

Hi Friends!

It’s time for the weekly sketch #SC681 at Splitcoaststampers! Allison was our sketch designer this week and I love this fun sketch she has designed for all of us!

I wanted to create a quick Mixed Media card using the Sweet As Honey (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps) and paired it with Grunge Elements 2.

I am also linking this card to the Simon Says Wednesday “Add A Sentiment” Challenge and the Happy Little Stampers January Mixed Media “Garden” Challenge (not sure about you, but we always have bees in our garden :-)).

If you have not had a chance to visit the Splitcoaststampers’ Sketch gallery or other challenge sites yet, I hope you will do so- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Using distress oxide inks- fossilized amber and wild honey, press the pads onto a silicone mat, lightly spritz with water and press a piece of white cardstock into the ink. Lift up, dry with a heat tool and repeat if necessary.  Add a bit of splatter with the large splatter stamp from Grunge Elements 2 and the honeycomb image from Sweet As Honey using wild honey distress ink. Die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die.  Use a stencil brush to add wild honey distress ink to the background panel.

2). Dilute a bit of black soot distress ink and splatter onto the panel.  Mount onto a piece of white cardstock, trim and mount onto the black card base.

3). De-static a piece of white cardstock with an embossing powder tool, stamp the verse from Sweet As Honey using archival black ink and stamp onto the panel.  Apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool. Once the embossing has cooled, die cut with a stitched circle die.  Mount onto a larger circle of black cardstock. 

4). Re-ink the verse, stamp onto a piece of black cardstock and heat emboss with white embossing powder. Once the embossing has cooled, trim and mount onto the layered circle sentiment with dimensional foam. Trim the edge off the side, mount onto the card front and adhere the entire card front to the white card base.

5). Ink the bee image from Sweet As Honey with archival black ink, stamp onto white cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool. Once the embossing has cooled, watercolor with wild honey and hickory smoke distress ink.  Fussy-cut the bee and add to the card front.  Use a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to the bee.

6). Add a few jewel drops to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Sweet As Honey, Grunge Elements 2 (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black; Tim Holtz® Distress Ink- Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey; Distress Ink- Wild  Honey, Hickory Smoke; Nuvo™ Limoncello Crystal Jewel Drops; Spectrum Noir™ Glitter Pen

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories/Tools: Big Shot™, MFT Dies- A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX Set 1, Stitched Circle; Circle Framelits™, Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® Clear and White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Thanks again for taking the time to visit! If you have a chance, we would love for you to join us at Splitcoaststampersfor this week’s sketch challenge!  Hugs and I hope all of you have a great week, sweet friends!

SNSS Sweet As Honey

Sweet ′n Sassy Stamps- Grunge Elements 2

SC680 A Friend Loveth At All Times

Hi Sweet Friends!

It’s time for the Splitcoaststampers SC680 Sketch Challenge!  Carey designed our sketch this week- so versatile for any occasion! I decided to use Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps  Majestic Monarchs along with Peaceful Peonies.  

I also incorporated The Paper Players PP376 "Jaydee's Color Challenge" ( I chose orange as my "other color" :-)) and the Happy Little Stampers January Watercolour “Anything Goes” Challenge into the design.

If you have not had a chance to visit the SCS Sketch Challenge Gallery  , the above challenge sites and/or the SNSS Blog/FB Page yet, I encourage you to do so- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Using Distress Oxide Inks, press the ink onto a silicone mat, lightly spritz with water, lay a piece of white cardstock into the ink, lift up off the mat and dry with a heat tool (see the colors I used below).  Repeat the same steps with additional oxide ink until you are satisfied with the background, lightly splatter a bit more water onto the panel, dry again with the heat tool.

2). Trim the panel and mount onto a piece of black cardstock, trim and mount onto the white card base.

3). De-static another piece of white cardstock with an embossing powder tool, ink the butterfly images from Majestic Monarchs with archival black ink, stamp onto the prepared cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, watercolor the butterflies using markers.  After coloring, fussy-cut out each image and mount onto the card front (I used hot glue to attach each butterfly).

4). Ink the sentiment from Peaceful Peonies using Versamark™ ink, stamp onto a scrap piece of black cardstock, apply white embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Hand-trim the sentiment and mount to the card front with dimensional foam.

5). Use a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to all of the butterflies.  Use a water brush with black soot distress ink to add a bit of splatter and grey mist jewel drops for a few embellishments to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Majestic Monarchs, Peaceful Peonies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black, Versamark™; Tim Holtz® Distress Oxide Ink- Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron; Tim Holtz® Black Soot Distress Ink; Stampin’ Write Markers- So Saffron, Pumpkin  Pie, Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen, Nuvo™ Grey Mist Jewel Drops

Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories/Tools: Embossing Buddy®, Clear and White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- hugs and I hope you will be able to join us this week! We would love to see your artwork in the Splitcoaststampers SC680Sketch Gallery!