TCC100 Elegant Fall

Hi Friends!

Woohoo! We are celebrating the 100^th challenge at The Card Concept with a gorgeous inspiration photo and a special surprise!  To help us celebrate, all of our designers invited a special guest designer so we have 24 different cards to inspire you!!

I love this beautiful inspiration photo that Lesley found and was inspired by the colors, the roses as well as the gold to create a Shabby Chic/Mixed Media card! These colors worked perfect for my niece’s wedding this past weekend (her colors were burgundy, light pink, white/ivory and gold). 

I am also participating with the Word Art Wednesday #356-#357 “Anything Goes” Challenge.

Just a reminder that the Card Concept is a bi-weekly challenge that has an inspiration photo along with a suggestion 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 (or you can combine several styles for your own style).

If you have not had a chance to visit us at The Card Concept or the Word Art Wednesday site yet, I hope you will find time to do so- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Apply clear gesso to a 5 ½” square piece of white cardstock, use a heat tool if necessary to speed up the drying process.

2). Once the panel has dried, use Tim Holtz® Distress Oxide Inks, Alcohol Inks along with acrylic paint until you achieve the color that you desire (see colors used below).  Add TH Picket Fence Distress Stain to tone down the color in areas and add a bit of crackle texture paste with a honeycomb stencil.

3). Once the crackle paste has dried, stamp the background with the retired En Francais background stamp (SU!) using Staz-On™ Stone Gray ink, add a bit of distressing with the small splatter stamp from Timeless Textures (SU!) and Stone Gray ink, distress the edges of the panel and mount onto a 5 ½” square white card base.

4). Create the rolled flowers using MFT Mini Royal and Royal Rose Dies from Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink cardstock.  Use a crimper tool to soften the paper before rolling the flowers (I use hot glue to adhere the base).  Die cut the leaves from Wild Wasabi cardstock using ODBD Bitty Blossoms Dies and the scrolls from gold foil using ODBD Fancy Foliage Dies.

5). De-static a piece of white cardstock with an embossing powder tool, stamp the sentiment from Occasional Quotes (retired SU! hostess set)  with Versamark™ Ink, apply gold embossing powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, die cut with an ornate rectangle die and add a bit of gold mousse over the edges.

6). Mount the sentiment onto the card front using dimensional foam,  Add the rolled roses along with the leaves and scrolls around the sentiment (I used hot glue to adhere the floral elements).

7). Add a few pearls to the corner of the sentiment and upper left corner of the card.  Use a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to the roses to finish off the card.

 Stamp Sets: Occasional Quotes, En Francais (both retired Stampin’ Up!), Timeless Textures (current SU!)

Ink/Mediums: Versamark™, Staz-On™ Stone Gray,  TH Distress Oxide- Antique Linen, Picket Fence, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Vintage Photo; Adirondack™ Alcohol Inks- Cranberry and Gold Mixatives™, Ken Oliver™ Metallic Rose Liquid Metals, Liquidtex™ Clear Gesso, Wendy Vecchi™ Crackled Texture Paste, Nuvo™ Indian Gold Embellishment Mousse, Spectrum Noir™ Glitter Pen

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi, Gold Foil (all SU!), misc. HD white cardstock from my stash (for base and panel)

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot™, MFT Royal and Mini Royal Rose Dies;  Our Daily Bread Dies- Fancy Foliage, Bitty Blossoms; Embossing Buddy®, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Distressing Tool, Crafters Workshop Punchinella 6x6 Stencil, Palette Knife

Thanks again for taking the time to visit! I hope you will find the time to check out all of the wonderful cards at The Card Concept and if you have a chance, create a card based on our {Elegant Fall} photo- we would love to see your interpretation!!

TCC83 All Ye Faithful

Hi Friends!!

It’s time for the new #83 {Parisian Postale} Challenge at The Card Concept! I was inspired by the kraft, red, white and black colors as well as the script for a Clean and Layered/Mixed Media card! 

This will be our final challenge for 2017 and we will be back with more challenges on January 10, 2018!

I decided to use the new STAMPlorations™ All Ye Faithful Typografia Christmas stamp for my focal image tag and paired it with a retired Stampin’ Up! (SU!) background stamp.

I am also linking this card to the Dies R Us #86 “Christmas Carols” Challenge ("O Come All Ye Faithful" is one of my favorite Christmas hymns) along with the STAMPlorations “Never -Ending Anything Goes” 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- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Using a silicone craft mat, tap Tim Holtz® Festive Berries Distress Ink onto the mat, lightly spritz with water and lay a piece of kraft cardstock into the ink. Dry the panel with a heat tool.

2). With the retired background stamp on the table with the stamp side facing up, ink the stamp with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink and press at random points with your fingers the kraft panel from step #1 into the ink. Lift up and dry with the Heat Tool.  Press a piece of red cardstock (I had this in my stash already die cut with a stitched die) into the script background stamp as well. Die cut the background kraft panel with a stitched rectangle die and mount onto another panel of black cardstock (die cut with a larger stitched rectangle die) and adhere the entire panel onto the white card base.

3). Layer the red script die cut horizontal panel onto a black horizontal panel (again, already in my stash die cut and ready to go).  Wrap the baker’s twine repeatedly over the layer and mount onto the card front.

4). Ink the All Ye Faithful Typografia Christmas stamp with Versafine™ Onyx Black ink, stamp onto another piece of kraft cardstock and heat set with the heat tool.  Die cut with a pierced tag die, lightly press into a bit of the Festive Berries Distress Ink and use a Faber-Castell® Ploychromos™ White Pencil to color the background of the “All Ye Faithful” part of the image as well as the little leaves.

5). Mount the tag onto black cardstock and trim close to the edge.  Add the twine bow and adhere the entire tag onto the card front with dimensional foam.

6). Apply Nuvo™ Festive Berries Crystal Drops to the berries on the sprigs to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: All Ye Faithful Typografia Christmas (STAMPlorations™), French Script background (retired SU!!)

Inks/Mediums:  Versafine™ Onyx Black; Tim Holtz® Festive Berries Distress Ink, Faber-Castell® Polychromos™ White Pencil; Nuvo™ Festive Berries Crystal Drops

Cardstock/Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake , Real Red(all Stampin’ Up!)

Accessories: Big Shot™,  Dies- MFT Stitched Rectangle A2 STAX 1 & 2, MFT Horizontal Stitched Strips, retired MFT Pierced Traditional Tag STAX; Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine (retired SU!)

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 #83 “Parisian Postale” Challenge at The Card Concept! 

TCC67 Friendship is a Journey

Hi Friends!!

It’s time for The Card Concept #67 “Vintage” Challenge!  I love the vintage elements in our inspiration photo- the heart, metal tin, script background, browns as well as the gold!  

I decided to create a Mixed Media Shabby Chic card using retired Stampin’ Up! stamp sets, French Script and Friendship’s Journey.  I love the vintage images and these stamps will remain part of my collection for years to come!

I decided to incorporate the  Happy Little Stampers February 2017 Mixed Media Challenge “Tear/Rip” into the design.

I hope you will find the time to check out the wonderful Design Team cards at The Card Concept as well as the HLS challenge gallery- gorgeous inspiration from all!

To create this card:

1). Ink the retired Stampin’ Up! French Script background stamp using TH Ground Espresso Distress Ink, stamp onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, distress the edges with a distressing tool and apply TH Vintage Photo Distress Ink  with a sponge dauber over the edges.

2). De-static a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock with an Embossing Buddy®, stamp the retired Stampin’ Up! Friendship’s Journey image with Versamark™ Ink onto the prepared cardstock, apply  Stampin’ Emboss® Early Espresso Embossing Powder and heat set with the heat tool.  Once the embossing has cooled, water color with TH Brushed Cordoruy, Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and apply TH Tarnished Brass Distress Stain to the heart, locket, flowers and other areas.

3). Hand tear around the entire panel, sponge additional TH Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the edges and mount onto the distressed script panel.

4). Mount the entire panel onto a piece of Early Espresso cardstock, distress the edges with a distressing tool before mounting onto the white card base.

5). De-static a piece of Early Espresso cardstock, stamp the sentiment from Friendship’s Journey with Versamark™ Ink, apply Stampin’ Emboss® Gold Embossing Powder and heat set with a heat tool.  Trim the panel and mount onto the card front with dimensional foam.

6). Use an Extra Fine White Sharpie® Paint Pen to add white highlights to the flowers and finish off the card with a few pearls.

Stamp Sets: Friendship’s Journey, French Script (both retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink/Mediums: Versamark®, TH Distress Inks- Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain; TH Tarnessed Brass Distress Stain, Extra Fine Sharpie® White Paint Pen

Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Accessories: AquaPainter™, Sponge Dauber, Distressing Tool, Embossing Buddy®, Stampin’ Emboss® Gold and retired Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by!  I hope all of you have a wonderful week and you will be able to join us for the #67 “Vintage”Challenge at The Card Concept!

TCC65 Fresh and Bold- Vintage Ladies

Hi Friends!!

It’s time for TheCard Concept #65 “Fresh & Bold” Challenge!  I love this fun inspiration photo (I know I say this each time but really, this one is fun!) and was inspired by the oranges, pinks and the vintage ladies in the artwork on the wall to create my mixed media shabby chic card.

I pulled out a few stamps that I have not used in quite a while to give them some “love” and also incorporated the As You See It #141 Sketch Challenge and the Happy LittleStampers January 2017  Watercolour “Anything Goes” Challenge into the design (I did not use the opt. twist this time :-)).

To create this card:

1). Use an AquaPainter™ to apply Melon Mambo and Tangerine Tango Classic Ink to a piece of Whisper White cardstock, dry with a Heat Tool.

2). Ink the retired Stampin’ Up! French Script background stamp with Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black ink and randomly press the stamp onto the background paper.

3). Trim the panel and distress the edges with a Distressing Tool, mount onto Basic Black cardstock and mount onto the Extra Thick Whisper White card base.

4). Cut the two banners- one from Melon Mambo cardstock and the other from Tangerine Tango cardstock.  Press both onto the inked French Script background stamp, distress the edges, mount onto Basic Black cardstock and distress again.  Layer the banners onto the card front.

5). Add the White Tea Lace Doily along with the circle die cut from Basic Black cardstock (cut with Spellbinders™ Stately Circles Dies).

6). Ink the vintage girl images from the Crafty Individuals CI-065 “Love Letter Ladies” stamp set with Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black ink, heat set with the heat tool and add shadows with Derwent® Water Soluble Graphite Pencils (using a water brush to blend_).  Add a bit of color to the girl’s dress with Tangerine Tango Classic Ink and the rose with Melon Mambo Classic Ink.  Dry with a heat tool and apply Frost White Shimmer Paint (mixed with rubbing alcohol) over the panel using an AquaPainter™.  Trim the images and mount onto Basic Black cardstock, trimming close to the edge.  Adhere each of the stamped images to the card front with dimensional foam.

7). Die cut the flowers from Melon Mambo and Tangerine Tango cardstock using the MFT Royal Rose Dies, crimp the die cut pieces with a Crimper Tool, roll into the flower shape and adhere the center with hot glue.  Punch the leaves from Basic Gray cardstock using the MS Leaf Punch and add the leaves with the flowers to the card front (I used hot glue for strength).

8). Add a few Pearls to the corners to finish off the card.

I did not add a sentiment since I thought this card could be used either as a note card, birthday or thinking of you and I can leave it as is or add a sentiment later.

Stamp Sets: French Script (retired Stampin’ Up!), CI-065 Love Letter Ladies (Crafty Individuals)

Ink/Mediums: Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black, Classic Ink- Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango; Derwent® Water Soluble Graphite Pencils, Frost White Shimmer Paint

Paper: Whisper White, Extra Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango

Accessories: Big Shot™, MFT Royal Roses Dies, MS Leaf Punch, Distressing Tool, White Tea Lace Doily, Pearls, Heat Tool, Crimper Tool, AquaPainter™

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by!  I hope all of you have a fabulous week and you will be able to join us for the #65 “Fresh & Bold” Challenge at The Card Concept!

MIX93- Just for You

 Hi Again Stampers!!

Here is the 2^nd Mixed Media card that I created for the Mix-Ability MIX93 Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.   The challenge is Artist Inspired and the featured artist is France Papillon .

I hope you have a chance to check out all the entries in the MIX93 gallery here – wonderful inspiration from all!

The panels for both cards were created using similar colors and techniques- I described in detail the technique for the background in the first part of my previous post here :-)

To create this card:

Once you create the distress main background panel from my previous post (see link here), use the Distressing Tool to distress a piece of Basic Black cardstock, mount onto the card base (again, I used the same heavier weight of cardstock that was used for the background panel).  Use a Sponge Dauber to add Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Stain to the white areas of the card base.

Add a few strands of 1 ½” Burlap Ribbon strands onto the front of the card and mount the distressed, ink background panel to the card front.

Using My Digital Studio (MDS), insert the Touch of Nature and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp brush images into a blank document and resize (I had both of these already pre-printed in my stash).  I had printed both of these out onto the same type of cardstock as noted above for the background panel.

Use the Big Shot™ with the Ovals Collection Framelits™ to cut the flower image and also cut a larger oval from Basic Black cardstock.  Use the Distressing Tool to distress the edges of the Basic Black oval.

Color the floral image using Stampin’ Up! Watercolor pencils and wet with the AquaPainter™.  Add the white highlights using a Faber-Castell White Pitt Artist Pen and stamp the Gorgeous Grunge splatter stamp using Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Use a Sponge Applicator to apply additional Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Ink over the entire image and apply Gesso (I used my finger) with stencils in a few areas.

Add the floral oval to the distressed Basic Black oval and mount the focal image onto the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Create the rolled flowers using Elegant Eggplant and Blackberry Bliss cardstock (I had a few of these flowers on hand so I used both colors).   To create the flowers- use Scallop Circle Punches- One each using the 2 ⅜”, 1 ¾” and 1 ¼”.  Hand cut a spiral from the outside edge of the scallop toward the center of the cardstock, scrunch the cardstock to break up the fibers and hand roll the flowers and adhere to the center of each scallop (I like to use Hot Glue to hold the flowers together)- here is a basictutorial...

Using your finger, lightly apply Gesso to the flowers and use the Faber-Castell™ Pitt Copper 252 Artist Pen to the petals to add a bit of metallic and mount the flowers onto the card front (again, I used Hot Glue).

Stamp the butterflies onto Whisper White cardstock using Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink and punch out using the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  Sponge Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Ink onto the image and add white highlights with the Faber-Castell White Pitt Artist Pen.   

Punch out the Basic Black butterflies using the Elegant Butterfly Punch and mount the sponged butterflies onto the Basic Black butterflies. Add the two butterflies to the card front.

Add the sentiment using Stampin’ Dimensionals® and adhere Pearls to the butterfly centers as well as the corners to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Touch of Nature, Teeny Tiny Wishes- both MDS versions, Papillon Potpourri, retired French Script background

Ink: Elegant Eggplant; Faber-Castell Gelatos™, Faber-Castell Pitt Pen- Copper 252, Ranger® Tim Holtz® Distress Stains, Adirondack® Jim Holtz® Alcohol Inks

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, misc. cardstock (not sure of manufacturer)

Accessories: Big Shot™, Ovals Collection Framelits™, Gesso, Stencils, Distressing Tool, Sponge Dauber, Craft Mat, 1 ½” Burlap Ribbon, Punches- Elegant Butterfly, Scallop Circle Punches- 2 ⅜”, 1 ¾”, 1 ¼”; Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- I am planning on posting more of the HYCCT challenge cards later this evening – have a wonderful Friday!!