JUGS313 Love & Sympathy

Hi Friends!!

Woohoo!  Another fun announcement!!  I am so excited to be the October Guest Designer for Just Us Girls!   I just love their weekly challenges as well as their wonderful Design Team – what an honor to join them this month!

Challenge #313 is Word Week and the word for this week is “Sympathy”.  

While it is a difficult and sorrowful time when a loved one passes away, I know that receiving a heartfelt sympathy card helps to ease the pain and allows those who are suffering to know that you truly care.

I hope you will have a chance to check out the rest of the Just Us Girls Design Team projects and create a sympathy card to have on hand in time of need. 

For this card, I also incorporated the Splitcoaststampers’ SC558 Sketch Challenge, CC542 Color Challenge (skipped the "dessert" although I accidentally pulled out the Blackberry Bliss marker before I realized it but then added Elegant Eggplant - oops!) and TLC552 "Floral Frenzy" Challenge.

To create this card:

Ink the background stamp, Corner Garden as well as the sentiment from the retired Love & Sympathy stamp set using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Using Stampin’ Write Markers along with an AquaPainter™  (I scribble the marker onto a craft mat or acrylic block and pick up the ink with the water brush), color the flowers and leaves.

Add additional color with the markers direct to the images and follow with the AquaPainter™ to soften the edges.

Use the Big Shot™ with the Circle Collection Framelits™ to cut out the corner with the sentiment.

Also cut the corner with the same circle from a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock.

Trim the Corner Garden image and mount onto Cajun Craze cardstock, trim again and mount onto Elegant Eggplant cardstock.

Add the sentiment to the corner (mounted onto the curved piece of Cajun Craze cardstock) and mount onto the Whisper White card base.

Create a loose mask from scrap paper and use the Color Spritzer Tool with the Stampin’ Write Cajun Craze marker to add a bit of interest to the background.

To finish off the card- adhere the two strings of Pearls to corner area and use the White Gel Pen to add highlights to the flower centers.

Stamp Sets:  Corner Garden, Love & Sympathy (retired)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink; Stampin’ Write Markers- Blackberry Bliss, Cajun Craze, Delightful Dijon, Elegant Eggplant, Mossy Meadow, Sahara Sand; White Gel Pen

Paper: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Big Shot™, Circle Collection Framelits™, AquaPainter™, retired Color Spritzer Tool, Pearls

Thanks again for visiting- I hope you have a great week and come play along with us at Just Us Girls !

Corner Garden- Monochromatic Red with Black :-)

Hi Stampers!

Here is another card using watercolor with a Faber-Castell® Pitt Pen Black marker for the shadows and dark background :-)

This card was designed using the Colour Me! CCMC78 Monochromatic Color Challenge using Real Red.

I hope you will have the time to stop by the Colour Me! Site to check out the inspiration from their fabulous Design Team as well as the other wonderful gallery entries!

To create this card:

Using Stāz-On® Jet Black, stamp the Corner Garden background onto a piece  of Whisper White cardstock.

Using an AquaPainter™ with Real Red Classic Ink, apply a wash of color building up layers over the flowers.  Add additional Real Red to the flowers using the Stampin’ Write marker and softening the edges with the AquaPainter™.

Use a Going Grey Stampin’ Write marker for the leaves (over the Real Red  Classic Ink) and create the shadows with a Faber-Castell®  1.0 Black Pitt Pen Marker (I originally had a Real Red  watercolor wash for the background but it was a bit streaky so I ended up coloring over it with the Pitt Pen marker).

When the panel is dry, add a few white highlights with the Faber-Castell® White Pitt Pen Marker.

Cut the corner off with the Big Shot™ and the Circle Collections Framelit™- trim the panel and mount onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Stamp the sentiment using Stāz-On® Jet Black, trim the Whisper White panel, mount onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock, trim and mount onto the Real Red card base to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Corner Garden, Butterfly Basics

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Real Red, Stampin’ Write Markers- Real Red, Going Gray; Faber-Castell® Pitt Pen Markers- 1.0 Black, White 101

Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black

Accessories: AquaPainter™, Big Shot™, Circle Collection Framelits™

Thanks again for stopping by-I hope all of you have a fantastic and restful day! 

CAS Hello, Sweet Friend

Hi Again Stampers!!

I wanted to create a few Clean and Simple cards this past weekend and this one was created using the Around the World AW41 Color Challenge along with the CAS Colours and Sketches #124 Sketch Challenge and the Splitcoaststampers’ CAS315 “Ribbon” Challenge (see details here and gallery here).

This is the final challenge for the Around the World site- so sad to see this challenge site end...fantastic Design Team, inspiration photos, sketches and color challenges :-)

Again, if you have not already done so, I hope you will find the time to visit the above sites to check out the wonderful Design Team samples as well as their fantastic galleries!

To create this card:

Stamp the Corner Garden image using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock and color the image using an AquaPainter™ with Classic Ink from Crisp Cantaloupe, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey pads.

Allow the image to dry and add additional color using the Stampin’ Write Markers of the same colors.

Once the image has been colored, spritz with a water bottle and allow the panel to dry.

On a Whisper White cardstock panel, use the 1 ¼” Square Punch to punch the “windows” per the sketch.

Stamp the sentiment using Lost Lagoon  Classic Ink between the punched areas.

Punch out pieces of the Corner Garden image using the 1 ⅜” Square Punch and adhere the colored panels behind the “windows”.

Add the ⅜” Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon bow to the bottom of the panel and mount onto a piece of Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock.

Stamp the butterflies using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto Whisper White cardstock and color using the Hello Honey Stampin’ Write marker, punch out using the Elegant Butterfly Punch and mount onto the card front.

Adhere the card front onto the Lost Lagoon card base to finish off the card.

Quick, simple and the card is finished!

Stamp Sets:  Corner Garden, Papillon Potpourri, Six-Sided Sampler

Ink:  Stāz-On® Jet Black, Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon; Stampin’ Write Markers- Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon

Paper: Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe, Lost Lagoon

Accessories: Water Spritzer Bottle, Punches- 1 ¼” and 1 ⅜” Square, Elegant Butterfly; ⅜” Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon

Thanks again for taking the time to visit- have a blessed Sunday,  my friends!

Birthday Greetings- A Color, Sketch and Theme Card

Hi Stampers! 

Here is another card that I created this weekend using the Freshly Made FMS183 Sketch along with the Create with Connie and Mary CCMC352 Color Challenge and Seize the Birthday 0423 "Make Your Own Background" Challenge.

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

To create this card:

Using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink, stamp the background stamp and sentiment onto a piece of Vellum.

Color the image from behind using Stampin’ Write Markers- Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky and add the highlights with a stylus and piercing mat (again, from the underside of the stamped image).

Trim the vellum panel and mount onto a piece of Soft Sky cardstock (the same size of the vellum panel). 

Add the strip of Basic Gray cardstock along with the Basic Gray bow created with the Bow Builder Punch.

Use the Big Shot™ to emboss a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock with the Chevron Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, trim and add a strip of Basic Gray cardstock at the top of the embossed panel.

Mount the embossed panel onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of Basic Gray cardstock, trim and mount onto the Soft Sky card base.

Mount the focal image panel using Stampin’ Dimensionals® and add the retired Wild Wasabi button to the bow center to finish off the card.

 Stamp Sets: Corner Garden, Wetlands

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink, Stampin’ Write Markers- Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Big Shot™, Chevron Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, Bow Builder Punch, retired Wild Wasabi Button

Thanks again for stopping by- I have had fun this weekend stamping and will share a few more cards later today :-)

To Everything There Is A Season- A Color and Theme Challenge :-)

Hi Stampers!

I had a chance to play in my craft room today and decided to create a card using a watercolor technique for this week’s Pals Paper Arts PPA247 Color Challenge and the Splitcoaststampers F4A268 "Going to Pot" Challenge (see details here and gallery here). 

Again, I hope you have the time to stop by the above sites to check out the terrific inspiration from the Design Teams as well as the other entries!

To create this card:

Ink the Corner Garden background stamp using Stāz-On Jet Black Ink and stamp onto a piece of Naturals White cardstock.

Using an AquaPainter™ along with the Classic Ink pads from the color challenge, apply color from the Perfect Plum, Blackberry Bliss and Elegant Eggplant pads to the images (spritzing with additional water, drying with the Heat Tool and re-applying additional ink).

Add detail using the corresponding Stampin’ Write markers, spritzing and allowing the ink to run- just have fun!!

Use the Smoky Slate Stampin’ Write marker to color the leaves and add shadows and once you are satisfied with the background, add the white highlights with a Faber Castell White Pitt Pen marker.

Ink the large splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge using Smoky Slate Classic Ink and stamp onto the card front and use the Heat Tool to dry the panel completely.

De-static the card front using the Embossing Buddy® and ink the sentiment using Versamark™ Ink, position and stamp onto the card front, apply Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder and heat set with the Heat Tool.

Trim the panel to approx. 4” x 5 ¼”, mount onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim again and mount onto a piece of Perfect Plum cardstock, trim once more and mount onto the Blackberry Bliss card base to finish off the card. 

Stamp Sets:  Corner Garden (background stamp), Gorgeous Grunge, God’s Timing (ODBD)

Ink: Stāz-On Jet Black, Classic Ink- Blackberry Bliss, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Smoky Slate; Stampin’ Write Markers- Blackberry Bliss, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Smoky Slate ; Faber-Castell White Pitt Pen

Paper:  Naturals White, Blackberry Bliss, Perfect Plum, Whisper White

Accessories: AquaPainter™, Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

I love the sentiment from this Our Daily Bread Designs set- it is so comforting to know that God's Timing is perfect!  

My husband is will be having his routine maintenance chemo treatment soon and I can tell that his body is growing stronger each day....We are takiing comfort in knowing that God is in control :-)  Thanks again to all of you who have shared that you are praying for us, we can never thank you enough for your prayers- hugs and God Bless!! 

Now off to do some housework – lol!!  Have a wonderful Monday, my friends!! 

CC492 Corner Garden Birthday Wishes

Hi Again Stampers!

Here is my last card that I created for the CC492 Color Challenge atSplitcoaststampers-   Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink and So Saffron and the dessert option is “Dessert”- this time I decided to skip “dessert”   :-)

Again, I hope you will take the time (if you have not done so already) to visit the gallery to  check out all of the wonderful examples and inspiration!!

To create this card:

Using Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink, stamp the Corner Garden background stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Use Stampin’ Write Markers- Chocolate Chip, So Saffron and retired Pretty In Pink to color the flowers and leaves.  Add additional color using Stampin' Blendabilities™- Light markers from the Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake Collections.   Use the Chalk Marker to add a few highlights.

Distress the entire panel using Ranger© Tim Holtz® Distress Stains- first Antique Linen followed by Tea Dye and Vintage Photo.   At this point, the background was too dark so I spritzed with water and decided to lighten the panel using Picket Fence (wiping off the flowers).

Ink the Dictionary stamp using Chocolate Chip Classic Ink and stamp in a random pattern over the panel (place the image face down onto the Dictionary stamp and press randomly over the image with heavier and lighter pressure).

Cut the panel in thirds and mount onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of retired Pretty In Pink cardstock and add the 5/8” Satin Ribbon triple bow.

Mount the panel onto the Chocolate Chip card base.

Add the sentiment to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®  (I used an image that I had previously printed from My Digital Studio (MDS) from Watercolor Trio).

Add a few Pearls to the sentiment to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Corner Garden, Dictionary, Watercolor Trio (MDS version)

Ink:  Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink, Stampin’ Write Markers- Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pretty In Pink (retired); Stampin' Blendabilities™ - Light Daffodil Delight, Light Melon Mambo and Light Crumb Cake markers;  Ranger© Tim Holtz® Distress Stains- Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Picket Fence; Chalk Marker

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink (retired)

Accessories: Pearls, 5/8” Satin Ribbon (from my stash)

This card was a bit difficult to photograph- the background has alot of dimension and looks better in real life :-)

Thanks again for visiting- I hope all of you have a fabulous Sunday! 

DTGD14Fattire7 A Friend Loveth

Hi Stampers!!

This past week has been the annual Dare To Get Dirty Challenge at Splitcoaststampers and I was honored to be able to create a few samples for the many hostesses of this fun challenge!!

If you are not a Fan Club member, here is the link to learn more aboutjoining.  While the Splitcoaststampers site is free, there are benefits to becoming a Fan Club member :-)    Among one of the wonderful benefits is the ability to participate in the exclusive Dare To Get Dirty challenges and possibly win some of the fantastic, free prizes!!   

For the $25.00 a year membership fee (approx. 6.5 cents a day), you can help support this wonderful stamping resource that I know I personally visit several times a day- with the galleries, tutorials, forums, etc. - this is a bargain for sure (and no, I do not get commission for you to sign up- lol!!)  I just love the Splitcoaststampers site and it has been invaluable to me in my crafting journey :-)

One rule of participation in the Dare To Get Dirty Challenges is that the actual challenge details are secret to all except the Fan Club Members…I can share the card but not the details on the actual challenge :-)

This card is fairly easy to make and unfortunately, I cannot give the detailed steps on creating this card without revealing the challenge, so if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments :-)

Stamp Sets: Corner Garden, retired Say It With Scriptures

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Memento™ Tuxedo Black, Stampin’ Write Markers- Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist; Chalk Marker

Paper: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss

Accessories: Arrows Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder

Thanks again for stopping by- I will share additional cards throughout the day that were created for the 2014 Dare To Get Dirty Challenge…  hope you have a chance to visit again soon!!

As Time and Memory Bring Healing- A CAS card for the PPA211 Color Challenge

Hi Again Stampers! 

I love the colors for this week’s Pals Paper Arts PPA211 Challenge so I created two cards using the colors (usually when I have the colors out for a color challenge it is difficult to only create one card – lol!!)   I will share the second card in a separate post since it also qualifies for a sketch challenge :-)

Again, I hope you will find the time to visit the Pals Paper Arts site- they have a fabulous Design Team and so many entries in their weekly gallery!

To create this Clean and Simple (CAS) card: 

Ink the background stamp, Corner Garden using Night of Navy Classic Ink and stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Color the blossoms using the Night of Navy Blendabilities™ Collection and add a few details with the Night of Navy Stampin’ Write marker and the Chalk Marker.

Using a Sponge Dauber, lightly sponge a bit of Night of Navy Classic Ink around the flower’s edge.  

Use the retired Color Spritzer Tool with the Night of Navy Stampin’ Write marker to add a bit of distressing.

Stamp the sentiment in the corner using Night of Navy Classic Ink and adhere the panel onto a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, trim and mount onto the Whisper White card base using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Stamp the butterflies using Night of Navy Classic Ink onto Whisper White cardstock and punch out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  Color using the Daffodil Delight Blendabilities™ and use the Night of Navy Stampin’ Write marker to darken some of the areas on the wings.

Add the butterflies to the panel to finish off the card. 

Stamp Sets: Corner Garden, Papillon Potpourri, Bloom with Hope

Ink: Night of Navy, Stampin’ Blendabilities™- Daffodil Delight and Night of Navy Collections, Night of Navy Stampin’ Write marker, Chalk Marker

Paper/Cardstock:  Whisper White, Night of Navy

Accessories: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Sponge Dauber, retired Color Spritzer Tool

Thanks again for visiting- I will share the second card created with this color combination later today