Comfort and Hope

Hi Friends!

I had fun stamping this weekend and while I had the retired hostess stamp set, Bloom with Hope on my desk from a previous project, I decided to create a One Layer Clean and Simple card for the Addicted To CAS #120 “Florals” Challenge.  While I had the retired hostess stamp set, Bloom with Hope on my desk from a previous project, I decided to create a One Layer Clean and Simple card. 

I will also be linking this card to the Word Art Wednesday #300-#301 “Anything Goes” Challenge. 

I hope you have taken the time to visit each of the challenge sites listed above, and if not, I encourage you to do so- fabulous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Ink the Bloom with Hope images with Versafine™ Onyx Black Ink, stamp onto Whisper White cardstock, apply clear embossing powder and heat with a heat tool. 

2). Using Stampin’ Write Markers- Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Mint Macaron, watercolor the image and add a watercolor wash behind the sentiment.

3). Ink the Timeless Textures small splatter stamp with the Mint Macaron marker and stamp onto the panel.

4). Trim the panel, mount onto a piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock, trim again and mount onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  Mount the entire panel onto the Extra Thick Whisper White card base.

5). Apply shimmer to the flower petals with Clear Wink of Stella® to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Timeless Textures, Bloom with Hope (retired)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black; Clear Wink of Stella®, Stampin’ Write Markers- Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Mint Macaron

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

Accessories/Tools: Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, AquaPainter™

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by! Hugs and I hope all of you have a blessed week!

TCC77 Woodgrain Flowers

Hi Friends!!

We are so excited to be back with new challenges at The Card Concept!! We took a break over the summer and while it was nice to have a break, I am thrilled to be back as part of The Card Concept Design Team!

For our #77 “Weathered Floral” Challenge, we have a gorgeous inspiration photo- I absolutely love all of the texture from the wood doors, the woven bag and the beautiful flowers (don't you?) so I decided to create a Shabby Chic Mixed Media card.

I also incorporated The Flower Challenge #12 Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge (Embossing, Distress Inks, Sentiment) and the Simon Monday “Stamp It!” Challenge into the design.

 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- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1).  For the background panel on the right, tap Tim Holtz® Distress Inks onto a craft mat, spritz lightly with water, press into a piece of coated white cardstock, lift up and continue to repeat the process with additional colors (I used pumice stone, hickory smoke and frayed burlap). I also used a layer of Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink, layered a stencil over all of the background and spritzed with water, once that had dried, used the same stencil and applied Nuvo™ Silver Embellishment Mousse.  Additional texture was added with hickory smoke distress ink using the small splatter stamp from Timeless Textures (current Stampin’ Up!).  Quite a bit of layering (hard to see it all in the photo though, but I had fun)!

2). For the left hand background panel, I used a previously embossed piece of woodgrain designer paper, painted a layer of diluted white acrylic wash over the embossing to mimic the whitewash, dried with a heat tool and layered onto gray cardstock.

A close up of the background- right hand side
created with white cardstock

3). The flowers and leaves from the Bloom with Hope stamp set (retired Stampin’ Up!) along with the sentiment from the Scripture Collection 9 stamp set (current Our Daily Bread Designs) were stamped with archival black ink onto white cardstock and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  Once the embossing had cooled, the flower and leaves were watercolored with water-based markers, fussy-cut and once the ink had dried thoroughly, shimmer was applied to the petals with a clear glitter pen and white highlights were added with an extra fine paint pen.

4). The background pieces were layered onto gray cardstock and a piece of 1 ¼” gray grosgrain ribbon along with the white crochet lace was added (both from my stash) before mounting the entire panel onto the white card base.

5).The large floral blossom and sentiment were mounted with dimensional foam and the leaves were tucked behind the floral image.  Pearls were added to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Timeless Textures, Bloom with Hope (both Stampin’ Up!), Scripture Collection 9 (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black Ink; Tim Holtz® Distress Ink- Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Frayed Burlap,  Tim Holtz® Distress Oxide Ink- Frayed Burlap; Stampin’ Write Markers- Powder Pink, Sweet Sugarplum, Mint Macaron; Nuvo™ Silver Embellishment Mousse; Titanium White Acrylic Paint, Clear Glitter Pen, Extra Fine White Paint Pen

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray; retired Well Worn DSP

Accessories: Big Shot™, retired Woodgrain Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, Memory Box™ Distressed Tula Designer Stencil, Sponge Dauber, Claritystamp™ Stencil Brush,  Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, 1 ¼” Dark Gray Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearls, White Crochet Lace

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by!  I hope I have inspired you today and that you will be able to join us for the #77“Weathered Floral” Challenge at The Card Concept!

SC600 Floral Sympathy

Hi Friends!

Woohoo- it’s time for the new SC600 sketch at Splitcoaststampers!  This is such a fun sketch and wow, our Design Team did a fabulous job with showing off the versatility!

I pulled out a few retired Stampin' Up! stamp sets, Element of Style and Bloom with Hope along with Distress Oxide/Distress Inks for a quick Media card.  

I also incorporated the House of Cards August 2017 "Floral Images and/or Colors" Challenge along with the Word Art Wednesday #296-#297 “Anything Goes” Challenge into the design.  

If you have not had a chance to check out the Splitcoaststampers Sketch Gallery or the other challenge galleries yet, I hope you will find the time to do so- as always, gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Using Tim Holtz® Distress Oxide Inks, press the Picked Raspberry pad onto a silicone craft mat, lightly spritz with water, lay a piece of white cardstock into the ink, lift up and press again.  Dry with a heat tool and repeat the process using Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves.  Once you are satisfied with the background, spritz water over the ink, press lightly with a paper towel and dry with the heat tool.

2). De-static the background with an embossing powder tool, ink the Elements of Style stamp set with an archival black ink, apply clear embossing powder and heat set with the heat tool.

3). Use the AquaPainter™ with ink from Tim Holtz® Distress Ink pads- Seedless Preserves and Picked Raspberry to watercolor the flowers and the surrounding background around the flowers.  Color the leaves with the Mowed Lawn TH Distress Marker.  Trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock, trim close to the edge.

4). Trim a piece of white cardstock, mount onto a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock, adhere the entire panel to the white card base.

5). Die cut and emboss the scroll corners from Blackberry Bliss cardstock using a Big Shot™ with the Shapeablilites© Fleur de Lis Accents dies, wrap around the corners (per the sketch) and mount the panel onto the card front using dimensional foam.

6). Stamp the sentiment from Bloom with Hope using archival black ink onto white cardstock, apply clear embossing powder, heat set with the heat tool and create the fish tail banner (I used a retired hexagon punch).  Mount onto a piece of Blackberry Bliss cardstock and adhere directly to the card front.

7). Add white accents to the flower centers with an extra fine white paint pen and shimmer to the flower petals with a clear glitter pen. Add a few pearls to the corners to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Elements of Style, Bloom with Hope

Ink/Mediums: Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black; Tim Holtz™ Distress Oxide Ink- Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves; TH Distress Inks- Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves; Spectrum Noir™ Clear Glitter Pen; Extra Fine White Sharpie® Paint Pen

Paper: Extra Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, retired Blackberry Bliss

Accessories/Tools: AquaPainter™, Big Shot™, Shapeablilites© Fleur de Lis Accents Dies. Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Water Spritzer Bottle, retired Hexagon Punch, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by! I hope you can find the time to come join us at Splitcoaststampers- we would love to see your artwork in our gallery!  Hugs and have a wonderful week, sweet friends!

TCC39 To Everything There is A Season

Hi Friends!!

Woohoo!!  It is time for The Card Concept Challenges to resume and this card was created for #39 Photo Challenge!  I love the blues and the daisies in this fun photo and used those for my inspiration :-)

I also incorporated the Splitcoaststampers' F4A264 "Baby Pinks and Blues" Challenge (blue only, of course) along with the WT529 "It's About Time Challenge :-)

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 can find some time to gather your supplies together and come join in on the fun!! 

To create this card:

Apply Gesso® to a piece of Whisper White cardstock and allow to dry (it dries fairly quickly but you can use the Heat Tool to speed up the drying process).

Start layering color using Gelatos® (Bubblegum and Metallic Blueberry), Ranger® Tim Holtz® Distress Stains- Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Picket Fence along with water (spritzing as you go), drying with the Heat Tool between layers, adding Wendy Vecchi® Crackled Texture Paste with the Mini Harlequin Stencil (allowing the paste to dry) and adding more Distress Stains to create the background.

Once you achieve the desired effect for the background, apply Frost White Shimmer Paint to portions as well as using a baby wipe with the Mini Punchenella stencil to remove some of the ink in areas.

Trim the panel, mount onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim again and add the clock charm with a brad, the crocheted lace trim along with the 3/8” Midnight Muse Stitched Ribbon.

Mount the panel onto the Midnight Muse card base and use your finger to apply Gesso® over some of the stenciling and edges of the card.

Stamp the daisy image three times using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock, color the flowers with Stampin’ Write Markers- Hello Honey and Sahara Sand and “fussy-cut” the daisies.

Stamp the verse from the Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBD) God’s Timing using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock, cut out with the Big Shot™ and the MFT Die-namics™ Blueprints 20 Die (also cutting another die the same size from Midnight Muse cardstock), trim the top of the die to size and adhere the Midnight Muse layer behind the sentiment.

Mount the sentiment layer along with the daisies to the card front using dimensional foam and add the Pearls to the corner of the verse sentiment to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Bloom with Hope (retired hostess), God’s Timing (ODBD)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Ranger® Tim Holtz®  Distress Stains- Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Picket Fence; Gelatos®- Bubblegum, Metallic Blueberry; Frost White Shimmer Paint

Paper: Whisper White, Midnight Muse

Accessories: Big Shot™, MFT Die-namics™ Blueprints 20 Die, Stencils –Mini Punchenella (Balzar Designs®), Mini Harlequin  (The Crafters Workshop®), Nautical Charms (The Paper Studio®), retired 3/8” Stitched Midnight Muse Satin Ribbon, Wendy Vecchi® Crackled Texture Paste, Misc. Crochet Lace, Pearls

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful week and come play along with us at The CardConcept!

TCC38 Mixed Media - Weathered Daisies :-)

Hi Stampers!!

It’s time for the new Card Concept #38 Inspiration Photo Challenge!  I love all of the texture from the peeling paint on the chair along with the cheerful daisies and used that as my inspiration for my Mixed Media card.  

This scene reminds me of the summers that we would spend in rural New York State with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins...there were so many gorgeous older buildings with weathered wood- an artist's dream :-)

I combined our Card Concept challenge with the Splitcoaststampers’ WT536 “Get A Little Grungy” Challenge (see details here and gallery here).

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.   

Hope you can find some time to gather your supplies together and come join in on the fun!! 

To create this card:

On a retired piece of Newsprint Designer Series Paper (DSP), apply Ranger® Tim Holtz® Picket Fence Distress Stain to give the appearance of white washed paint.

Add a bit of Ranger® Tim Holtz® Weathered Wood and Shabby Shutters Distress Stain to build up layers (using a Heat Tool to dry between layers of ink).

Once you have the background the desired color, randomly apply Judikins MicroGlaze™ to the areas that you would like to “weather”.

Use a spatula or old credit card to add Studio 490® Wendi Vecchi® Crackled Texture Paste and carefully dry with the Heat Tool.

Once dried, use a paper towel to gently rub some of the crackle paste and background color away (to mimic the peeling paint).  It is a bit difficult to see in the photo but the background definitely has cracks and looks like it has peeled :-)

Once you have achieved the desired effect, use a foam brush to apply Mod Podge® to seal the surface.

Using Stāz-On® Stone Gray Ink, ink and s

Trying to show the crackle, can you see it?

tamp the Musical Score (retired background stamp) onto random areas of the background.

Use the Distressing Tool to distress the edges and mount the panel onto a piece of Basic Gray cardstock (also distressed with the Distressing Tool).

Mount the entire background panel onto a 5 ½”square Whisper White card base.

Use the Big Shot™ with the Daisies Flowers #2 Bigz™ Die to cut out two sets of daisies from Whisper White cardstock.

Use a foam brush to apply Gesso to the daisies and once dry, assemble the flowers and had the Daffodil Delight button centers (with a piece of DSP as the “thread”).

Create the leaves from Wild Wasabi cardstock with the Martha Stewart Leaf Punch and adhere the leaves along with the large daisy to the card front.

Cut a 1” strip from the Newsprint DSP, apply Ranger® Tim Holtz® Picket Fence Distress Stain and allow to dry.

Adhere ½ of a White Tea Lace  Doily (distressed  with Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper Distress Ink) to the card front on  an angle, cover the doily edge with the Newsprint DSP strip and tuck a few of the daisy petals behind the strip.

Add the remaining daisy and leaves along with Pearls in the corners.

Ink the sentiment using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock.

Create the banner points with the Hexagon Punch and add a bit of Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper Distress Ink to “antique” the paper.

Mount the sentiment to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals® to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Bloom with Hope (retired hostess), Musical Score (retired background)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Ranger® Tim Holtz®  Distress Stains- Picket Fence, Weathered Wood, Shabby Shutters; Ranger® Tim Holtz®  Distress Ink- Old Paper

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Wild Wasabi, retired Newsprint DSP

Accessories: Big Shot™, Daisies Flowers #2 Bigz™ Die, Gesso®, Mod Podge®, Judikins Microglaze™, Studio 490® Wendi Vecchi® Crackled Texture Paste, Heat Tool, Distressing Tool, Hexagon Punch, MS Leaf Punch, Sponge Dauber, White Tea Lace Doily, Pearls, retired Daffodil Delight buttons

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope you have a fantastic week and come play along with us at The Card Concept!

SUO121 Happy Mother's Day

Hi Stampers!   

It’s time for the new SUO121 “Mother’s Day” Challenge and I decided to use a few soon-to-be retired sets to create my card for this challenge.

It has been over twenty years since my mother went to be home with the Lord and even though I miss her greatly, I know one day we will be re-united… as I created this card,  I thought of her- she loved flowers and all things feminine! :-)

I decided to also incorporate the Splitcoaststampers’ CC527 Color Challenge (see details here and gallery here).

 I hope you will find the time to check out all of the challenge sites and create your own “Mother’s Day” project using Stampin’ Up! only products !!

To create this card:

Print the Postage Due image using My Digital Studio (MDS) (or stamp the image) onto Whisper White cardstock, trim and mount onto Pink Pirouette cardstock, trim and mount onto Basic Black cardstock.

Stamp the bloom and stem images from Bloom with Hope using Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock and color using Stampin’ Write markers-  Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi and Sahara Sand.

 “Fussy-cut” the images and mount onto the Postage Due panel using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Ink the Dictionary background stamp using Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink and randomly stamp onto a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock.

Trim the panel, distress the edges with the Distressing Tool and mount onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock.

Use the Big Shot™ to emboss a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock with the Chevron Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, trim the panel, distress the edges using the Distressing Tool and mount below the Dictionary panel.

Use a Sponge Dauber with Sahara Sand Classic Ink to apply and further distress the edges and embossing. 

Add a strip of Basic Black cardstock to cover the seam and mount the entire panel onto the Whisper White card base.

Add ½ of a White Tea Lace Paper Doily to the back of the focal image and adhere the focal image to the card front.

Use the Bow Builder Punch to create the Basic Black paper bow and add to the upper left hand corner.

Stamp the sentiment using Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock, punch out with the Word Window Punch and mount onto another piece of Basic Black cardstock (also punched with the Word Window Punch).

Add the sentiment to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®, adhere the Antique Brad to the center of the bow and add the Pearls to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Bloom with Hope, Postage Due (MDS version), Dictionary, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink, Sahara Sand; Stampin’ Write Markers- Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand, Wild Wasabi

Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Big Shot™, Chevron Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, Distressing Tool, White Tea Lace Doily, Punches- Word Window, Bow Builder, Antique Brad, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to visit – I hope that you will create your own Stampin’ Up! Only project and play along with our “Mother’s Day” challenge!

Happy Birthday- April Showers Bring May Flowers :-)

Hi Stampers! 

This card was created using the Just Us Girls JUGS290 Inspiration Photo along with the Splitcoaststampers CC521 Color Challenge (see details here and gallery here), the SC537 Sketch Challenge (see details here and gallery here), the Way to Use It WT519 “Buttons and Lace” Challenge (see details here and gallery here ) and the Free For All F4A269 “April Showers bring May Flowers” Challenge (see details here and gallery here).

If you have not had a chance to do so, I hope you will find the time to visit the above sites- they have gorgeous Design Team samples as well as inspiration from their galleries!

To create this card:

Using Memento® Tuxedo Black Ink, stamp the sentiment from Bloom with Hope onto Whisper White cardstock, trim and create the banner points using the Banner Punch. 

Use a Sponge Dauber to apply Sahara Sand Classic Ink to distress the paper.

Trim the background papers and mount onto pieces of Lost Lagoon cardstock. 

Add the panels to the Lost Lagoon card base along with the crochet lace trim and the Lost Lagoon ⅜” Taffeta Ribbon triple bow.

Mount the focal image panel onto the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals® and add the piece of White Tea Lace Paper Doily (distressed with Sahara Sand Classic Ink). 

Create the rolled roses from Daffodil Delight and Strawberry Slush cardstock with the Big Shot™ and the My Favorite Things (MFT) Mini Rolled Roses Die along with the leaves from Pear Pizzazz cardstock with the Bird Builder Punch and adhere to the upper left hand corner of the focal image panel.

Mount the sentiment using Stampin’ Dimensionals®, add the retired Daffodil Delight button to the center of the ribbon bow and add the Pearls to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Bloom with Hope

Ink: Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink, Sahara Sand

Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush;  The Paper Studio® Kirby Teesdale Studio  

Accessories: Big Shot™, MFT Royal Mini Roses Die, Punches- Bird Builder and Banner, White Tea Lace Paper Doily, Sponge Dauber, ⅜” Lost Lagoon Taffeta Ribbon, retired Daffodil Delight button, Pearls, crochet lace trim from my stash

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful evening, my friends!!

CAS Congrats! A Floral Photo Inspiration and Sketch Challenge :-)

Hi Stampers!!

This Clean and Simple (CAS) card was created for the Hand Stamped Sentiments  HSSSC210 Sketch Challenge (flipped the sketch) along with the Around the World AW39 Inspiration Photo Challenge  (I was inspired by the colorful flowers) and the CAS317 Bulbs or Bulb Flowers Challenge (see the details here and gallery here).

Again, if you have not had the chance to do so, I hope you will find the time to visit each of the above sites- tremendous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

Ink the floral stamp image from Bloom with Hope using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and repeatedly stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock. 

Use an AquaPainter™ with Melon Mambo, Hello Honey and Real Red Classic Ink to color the petals, Wild Wasabi for the stems and add additional contrast with the Stampin’ Write markers in the same colors along with Sahara Sand for shadows.

Ink the sentiment using Melon Mambo Classic Ink and stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock. 

Use the large splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and Melon Mambo Classic Ink to add the splatter to the background, trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock, trim again and mount onto the Melon Mambo card base.

Fussy-cut the flowers and adhere to the card front to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Bloom with Hope, Gorgeous Grunge, Bravo!

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Melon Mambo, Hello Honey, Pink Pirouette; Stampin’ Write Markers- Melon Mambo, Hello Honey, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo

Accessories: AquaPainter™

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope all of you have a restful Sunday!