Kitty Love You

Hi Friends!

Today I am sharing a card that I designed using the Simon Says Furry Kisses stamp set along with a sentiment from the retired Stampin’ Up! set, Short and Sweet.

I love this sweet kitty image from Simon Says Stamp and thought that this card could be used as a Valentine or a general "love you"/"thinking of you" card.  

I am working my way through the over 800 sketch challenges at Splitcoaststampers and this card uses the SC443 Sketch for the layout. This sketch was from 2013 and again, I am so thankful that they do not expire :-)

I am also linking this card to the Simon Says Wednesday “Dies and/or Punches” Challenge (I used the SSS   Open Heart Dies and a retired banner die for this card) and the 2 Crafty Critter Crazies May “AnythingGoes” Challenge.

This was a quick and easy card- heat emboss the kitty images using clear embossing powder and watercolor with water-based markers. Fussy-cut the image and mount onto a die-cut rectangle. Mount the panel onto espresso cardstock, trim close to the edge.

Stamp the sentiment and heat emboss in the corner of the panel. 

Emboss a piece of white cardstock with a pawprint embossing folder, trim and mount onto espresso cardstock.

Create a few banners from designer paper, mount onto espresso cardstock, add to the background panel and mount onto a white card base.

Adhere the main kitty panel with dimensional foam (or, I prefer, chipboard).

Die cut and adhere a few layered hearts to the kitty panel.  Use a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to the kitty images (of course, this would be optional) :-)

Add a few rhinestones to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Furry Kisses (Simon Says Stamp), Short ‘n Sweet (retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink/Mediums: Versafine™ Onyx Black, Stampin’ Write Markers-Soft Suede, Early Espresso; Clear Glitter Pen

Cardstock/Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, retired Pretty in Pink; retired Stampin’ Up! Sending Love Designer Series Paper

Accessories: Gemini, Jr™,  Dies- My Favorite Things Stitched Rectangle A2 STAX Set 1, Simon Says Stamp Open Heart; Darice™ Pawprints Embossing Folder, Embossing Buddy®, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, AquaPainter™, Rhinestones

Thanks again for taking the time to visit my blog- I hope all of you are staying healthy and safe- hugs, sweet friends!

TCC62 Sunflower Thanks

Hi Friends!!

It’s time for the #62 “Thanksgiving” Challenge at The Card Concept!  I just love our inspiration photo with the beautiful colors of the sunflowers, dinnerware, tablecloth as well as that dramatic black and white gingham. 

Since I was so inspired by the sunflowers as well as the overall colors and decided to pull out two retired Stampin’ Up! stamp sets for this card- Sunflower Background and Short and Sweet.

I also incorporated a few of my favorite online challenges- the Viva La Verve November Sketch #1 Challenge as well as the Simon Says Monday “Thanks/Thanksgiving”Challenge and the Retro Rubber Challenge #51 “Be Thankful” Challenge (the sunflower stamp as well as the sentiment is several years old) into the design.

I hope you have a chance to visit us at The Card Concept to check out the rest of our Design Team samples as well as the Verve, Simon Says Wednesday and Retro Rubber Challenge sites- fabulous inspiration from all!!

To create this card:

Distress the edges of the designer paper with a distressing tool (I used a miscellaneous piece of designer paper for the dark background and a piece of retired Epic Day This and That DSP for the orange layer), layer and mount onto a piece of a piece of Early Espresso cardstock.

Add the black and white gingham ribbon and mount the entire panel onto the white card base.

Ink the retired Sunflower Background stamp with archival black ink and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock.

Color the sunflower image with watercolor pencils using an AquaPainter™ adding additional color with Distress Inks (I used Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon) along with Stampin’ Write Markers- Delightful Dijon and Crushed Curry, fussy-cut the image and set aside.

Distress a piece of retired Autumn Meadows DSP, mount onto a piece of Early Espresso cardstock and layer the fussy-cut sunflower, trimming the edge off the side.

Use a clear glitter pen to add shimmer to the petals of the sunflower.

Ink the sentiment from the retired Short & Sweet stamp set with archival black ink onto white cardstock, create the banner points with the retired Hexagon Punch, mount onto a piece of Early Espresso cardstock and add to the card front with dimensional foam to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Sunflower Background, Short & Sweet (both retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Archival Black; Derwent® Watercolor Pencils, Tim Holtz® Distress Inks- Wild Honey, Ripe Persimmon, Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain; Stampin’ Write Markers- Crushed Curry, Delightful Dijon; Clear Glitter Pen

Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso; retired Autumn Meadows and Epic Day This and That DSP, misc DSP

Accessories: AquaPainter™, Distressing Tool, retired Hexagon Punch, 1” Black and White Gingham Ribbon

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 #62 ThanksgivingChallenge at The Card Concept!

Very Merry- Christmas in June

Hi Friends!

I had fun in my stamping studio this past week and created a few cards- this Clean and Layered (CAL) Mixed Media card was designed using the FreshlyMade Sketches FMS240 Sketch Challenge along with the Splitcoaststampers’ CC582 "A Real Picnic in the Sand with Cucumbers" Color Challenge (dessert option was picnic- obviously I skipped dessert :-)).

I pulled out a few of my retired stamp sets to create a Christmas card for this year- I am so behind on my Christmas card stamping (I had hoped to start in January) and will have to start soon to get all of my Christmas cards created on time to mail ( I know I have several months but I do have a large Christmas card list :-)).

If you have not had a chance to visit the above challenge galleries yet, I encourage you to do so- it always amazes me how many different cards can be designed with one color, sketch or theme challenge!

To create this card:

Ink the Ageless Adornment image with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock.

Color the image with an AquaPainter™ and ink from Stampin’ Write Markers- Real Red, Cucumber Crush and Sahara Sand.

Add Clear Wink of Stella® to the background area.

Color the frame around the image with the retired Stampin’ Dazzle Gold Marker, fussy-cut the image, mount onto Basic Black cardstock and fussy-cut around the edge.

Use the Big Shot™ with Sizzix® Textured Impressions™ Folders (Holly and Poinsettia- I do not know the actual names) to emboss a piece of Real Red, Cucumber Crush and Sahara Sand cardstock, trim and mount each onto Basic Black cardstock (per the FMS240 Sketch).

Ink the sentiment from the retired set, Short & Sweet with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock, create the banner with the Hexagon Punch, mount onto Basic Black cardstock and use the Hexagon Punch to create the banner.

Trim a piece of Whisper White cardstock, mount onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock, trim and mount onto the Extra Thick Whisper White card base.

Add the embossed layers per the sketch, add the Gold Cord Trim and mount the sentiment along with the stamped holly focal image to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Ageless Adornment, Short & Sweet (both retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Stampin’ Write Markers- Real Red, Cucumber Crush, Sahara Sand; Stampin’ Dazzle™ Gold Marker; Clear Wink of Stella®

Paper: Whisper White, Extra Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Cucumber Crush, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Big Shot™, Sizzix® Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folders (Holly & Poinsettia), AquaPainter™, Gold Cord, Hexagon Punch

Thanks again for stopping by!!  I will be sharing the rest of the cards shortly so if you have a chance, I hope you will drop by again soon :-) 

Hugs and have a great week, my friends!

Mojo337 Purr-fect Thank You :-)

Hi Friends!

I am working on a few pet themed cards for a card drive at Splitcoaststampers and decided to use the Mojo337 Sketch for the layout.

I love this sketch- it was fun to work with and you should see all of the gorgeous examples in their gallery!

Bermuda Bay is another color that seems a bit difficult to photograph- it
is not as bright blue/turquoise as it appears here :-)

To create this card-  emboss a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock with the Darice® Paw Print Background Embossing Folder, trim and mount onto Basic Black cardstock, add the Graphic45® Raining Cats and Dogs designer paper to the stitched Basic Black frame, add the strip of polka dot paper along with the framed designer paper, sentiment and paw print heart and you are finished!

Stamp Sets: Short & Sweet (retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper Distress Ink

Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay; Graphic45® Raining Cats and Dogs

Accessories: Big Shot™, Darice® Paw Prints Background Embossing Folder, My Favorite Things© (MFT) Pet Accents Dies,  MFT Blueprints 20 Die, Hexagon Punch

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

CAS Leaves for Three Challenges

Partial view from our favorite overlook- Jewell Hollow

Hi Friends!!

My husband and I visited Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park today and it was absolutely gorgeous!! 

Look at that tall spindly tree he is in :-)

We saw a Bald Eagle flying across a field before we even left our own county (in an area we never expected to see an eagle) plus in addition to the wonderful fall leaves, we had the thrill of seeing a black bear up in a tree approx. 50 feet high!

We could not believe this branch would hold him :-)

He was quite the acrobat :-)

We were not the first to spot this bear so we are not sure if he climbed the tree in front of the spectators, or if he was already at the top of the tree when they spotted him, but we had the pleasure of watching him for a few minutes.   It is amazing how agile these bears are and the tree trunk was very small compared to the other trees around him but he have loved the nuts  and/or leaves on that particular tree (since he did not even seem to notice that we were congregating on the drive snapping pictures of him)!

All in all, a wonderful fall day marveling at God’s amazing creation!!  Just glorious!

I was so inspired by all of the fall colors, I decided to create a quick card for Nance’s PP267 “CAS Leaves” Challenge at The Paper Players along with the Stampin’ Royalty SR#300 Photo Inspiration Challenge and the FMS209 Sketch atFreshly Made Sketches.

I hope you have a chance to visit the above galleries- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

Stamp the leaf image from the retired Best of Autumn stamp set using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto a piece of watercolor paper.

Use an AquaPainter™ to add water to the image and color with the Hello Honey, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink pads (“spritzing” and adding more color to create the watercolor wash).

Dry with the Heat Tool and add additional detail with the Stampin’ Write Markers of the same colors.

Use the Big Shot™ with the My Favorite Things™ Stitched Rectangle Dies to cut out the image (I actually shortened the die cut image by overlapping the sides).

Stamp the sentiment from the retired Short & Sweet stamp set using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, flip the cardstock over and use the Simply Scored™ Tool to score along the sides and top.

Add the scored panel to the Very Vanilla card base, adhere the Gold Twine loops and finish off the card by mounting the leaf focal image using dimensional foam.

Another view- of course, my card can
never compare to the splendor of the real thing!

Stamp Sets:  Best of Autumn, Short & Sweet(retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Stāz-On® Jet Black, Hello Honey, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Tangerine Tango Classic Ink; Stampin’ Write Markers- Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Watercolor, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Simply Scored™ Scoring Tool, AquaPainter™, Water Spritzer Bottle, Gold Twine

While I had these colors out, I did create one more fall card with leaves and will share a bit later today.  Thanks again for stopping by- hugs to you, my friends!

HYCCT1501B Love You

Hi Again Friends!

This card was created for Splitcoaststampers’ HYCCT1501B Dini’s “Lend A Hand” Challenge along with the Create with Connie and MaryCCMC375 Sketch and the Just Add Ink JAI282 Inspiration Challenge.

I do not have any stamps with hands but remembered this retired Stampin’ Up! stamp from the Handmade with Love II Angel Policy stamp set, so I did a bit of creative stamping :-)

To create this card:

Directly apply the Smoky Slate Classic Ink pad to the interior of the Happy Hearts Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder to emboss a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Trim the embossed panel, use the ink splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge to apply Melon Mambo Classic Ink to the background and mount onto a piece of Basic Gray cardstock.

Add the Silver Cord across the panel and adhere the panel to a piece of Melon Mambo cardstock, trim and mount again onto the Whisper White card base.

Cut a few pieces of sticky note paper to cover the top and bottom of the hand image stamp and ink with Melon Mambo Classic Ink, remove the masks and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock. 

Repeat this step for three images and cut out using the Big Shot™ with the Square Collections Framelits™.  Cut additional squares with the same framelit™ from Smoky Slate and Basic Gray cardstock, split these squares in half and adhere behind the stamped images.

Mount the hand images onto the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Ink the sentiment from the retired set, Short & Sweet using Smoky Slate Classic Ink onto Whisper White cardstock, trim and create the banner points with the Hexagon Punch, mount onto Basic Gray cardstock and create the banner with the Hexagon Punch.

Adhere the sentiment to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Add Rhinestones to the center of the hearts on each hand image to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Hand Stamped with Love II, Short & Sweet (both retired Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Big Shot™, Square Collection Framelits™, Silver Cord, Hexagon Punch, Rhinestones 

Thanks again for stopping by- I will be sharing more of the cards that I created this weekend shortly!! Hugs and have a great weekend, my friends!

One Layer Simplistic Blossom Card- A Watercolor Experiment :-)

Hi Stampers!!

Ok, I admit, Clean and Simple is so difficult for me!!  I so admire the designers that can lay down a few colors and images that created such gorgeous masterpieces- my hat goes off to you!! 

I keep trying, but trust me, this is not easy for me- lol!!  This card is another one-layer card that I created for the One Layer Simplicity OLS16 Blossom Challenge using the CAS Colours and Sketches #123Challenge and the Splitcoaststampers’ CAS324 Thank You! Challenge (see detailshere and gallery here).

I decided to pull out some of my neglected retired stamp sets and give them some "love" with the no line watercolor technique (which did not turn out as I hoped and I had to "re-draw" the lines) :-)

This is my second try at the first two challenges listed... I had created another card with this color challenge and simplicity challenge in mind, but even though the focal image is only one layer, the rest of the card appeared to be too "detailed" to be simplistic- I will share this one another time :-)  

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:

Using Sahara Sand Classic Ink, stamp the flower from the retired set, Bloomin’ Beautiful onto a piece of Naturals White cardstock. 

Spritz the paper with water and use an AquaPainter™ to apply Tangerine Tango and Soft Suede Classic Ink to the image.

Allow to dry a bit and add shadows with the Sahara Sand Stampin’ Write marker.

Here is where I had to add additional definition to the outline using a Faber-Castell® XS Black Pitt Pen marker (maybe I should have inked the image using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink to start with, huh?).  Plus, I neglected to show the pitiful hand-drawn line that I tried to create around this image - the card is now 3.5" wide x 5" tall since I cut off that line- lol!

I also think that the no-line watercolor technique may have worked better with real watercolors versus our Classic Ink...plus watercolor paper versus Naturals White...oh well, again, art is about having fun and experimenting! 

Stamp the sentiment with Sahara Sand Classic Ink.

Ink the retired background stamp, En Francais with Sahara Sand Classic Ink, lay the image face down onto the background stamp and randomly press your fingers to achieve the background.

Quick, simple and the card is finished!

Stamp Sets:  Bloomin’ Beautiful, En Francais, Short & Sweet

Ink:  Sahara  Sand,  Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango Classic Ink; Stampin’ Write Markers- Sahara  Sand,  Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango ; Faber-Castell® Pitt Pen XS Black Marker

Paper: Naturals White

Accessories: Water Spritzer Bottle, AquaPainter™

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope all of you have a wonderful evening!   Tomorrow morning I will be sharing my design for the Mixed Media category of the new Card Concept Challenge- now, this card will not be Clean and Simple :-)

Thank You- A Clean and Layered Card for Two Challenges :-)

Hi Again Stampers!

I wanted to create another card this weekend and decided to play along with the CMCC46 Colour Me! Challenge along with the CCC49 Catherine and Cathy Thankful Challenge.

Again, I hope you will find the time to visit both sites to see the wonderful Design Team cards as well as their fantastic galleries! 

I used quite a few of my scraps to create this Clean and Layered (CAL) card:

Ink the sentiment from the retired set, Short & Sweet using Night of Navy Classic Ink and stamp onto Whisper White cardstock.  Create the banner ends using a Hexagon Punch and mount onto Night of Navy cardstock, creating banners as well with the Hexagon Punch.

Use the Big Shot™ with the Wplus9 Studio Maple Leaf Die to cut the maple leaf from the retired Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper (DSP). Set the leaf aside for future use and punch out the negative using the 2 ½” Circle Punch.

Punch another 2 ½” circle punch from Night of Navy DSP and two circles from Night of Navy cardstock.  Layer the Night of Navy DSP behind the maple leaf die cut.

Layer the two Night of Navy cardstock circles together to create a frame and mount the maple die cut image onto the layered circles. 

Use the Big Shot™ with the Adorning Accents Edgelit™ to cut a piece of Whisper White and Tangerine Tangelo Twist cardstock. 

Use the Big Shot™ to emboss both pieces along the cut edge with the Adorning Accents Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder.

Begin the layering process- layer the two embossed pieces onto a piece of Night of Navy DSP, trim and mount onto a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of Tangelo Twist cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, trim and mount onto the Whisper White card base.

Add a small strip of Night of Navy across the top of the embossed/die cut Whisper White layer and a larger strip of Night of Navy cardstock to the center of the panel. 

Add the Retro Fresh Washi Tape over the larger strip in the center.

Mount the focal image using Stampin’ Dimensionals® and add the retired Sycamore Street Designer Button to the center of the leaf (with a small strip of Night of Navy to mimic thread).

Add the sentiment with Stampin’ Dimensionals® to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets: Short & Sweet

Ink: Night of Navy

Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Tangelo Twist; retired Night of Navy, Sweater Weather DSP

Accessories: Big Shot™, Adorning Accents Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, Adorning Accents Edgelit™, retired Sycamore Street Designer Button, Punches- 2 ½” Circle, Hexagon; Retro Fresh Washi Tape

Thanks again for stopping by- I hope you have a marvelous Monday!!