We all scream for ...

 How about something light and summery? This card features a really cheap set that I picked up a few years ago at one of the big craft chains; a matching EF and ice cream cone die. I used both kinds of embossing for this; the folder for the large panel and heat embossing for the cones.  The cones were stamped with versamark on a light tan card stock, then embossed with clear EP. I love how much color comes out when you do that. The ice cream was colored with pencils, then covered with some Wink of Stella for a little sparkle. The sentiment (Purple Onion) has acrylic dots on either side. 

This card is entered in these challenges:

Can You Handle the Pressure -- beach/anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- embossing

CRAFT #647 -- summer

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2231 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #555 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore #102 --  anything goes

Blinged out Christmas in July

For today's card, I decided to combine a couple of challenges with a Christmas theme. One was  "Bling it on," The Jingle Belle's challenge to do a blinged up Christmas card. Another was the Snippet's Playground and Die-Cut Divas' Christmas in July themes.  For snippets, I used a bunch of very small snippets of very old (I'll bet the blue ones are at least a decade old) Christmas patterned paper to create the strip border under the ribbon in my card. Those strips were cut to 7/8 of an inch each, so pretty small, eh?

For bling, I used some strips of faux gems, and added a couple of star-ish shaped sequents for the star on top. The sentiment die-cut was a gift. 

This card is entered in these challenges:

Rudolph Days July -- Christmas

Die-Cut Divas -- Christmas in July

Jingle Belles -- Bling it on

Double Trouble #116-- Christmas in July and Bling it on

Snippet's Playground #433-- Christmas in July

ABC Christmas -- O is for Old

Pammie's InkyPinkies #2230 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #553-- anything goes

 

Summer fun

 

Out in the woods, enjoying a fresh breeze .... That sounds like a fun weekend, doesn't it?

Here's a little camping themed card, featuring a fun camper from Scribbles Designs. (my favorite thing about that image -- it actually has a crank on the hitch, just like on a real camping trailer!)  It's colored with pencils and die-cut with a stitched circle die that was then sponged with blue ink.  There are a couple of scraggly looking pines die-cut from really old dies, plus some pine-tree patterned paper to stand in for a really nice wooded camping site. 

This card is for these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Let's go on vacation

Creative Inspirations -- Summer Sun

Word Art Wednesday #553 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2229 -- anything goes

 

 

Teeny tiny Christmas stuff

 For this card, I used a new Sizzix die I got. I have never used such tiny pieces before. It was tricky because glue just wants to ooze out from the small pieces, even if you use a toothpick to apply it.

I used a pile of snippets of cardstock (see photo at right) to create the wreath, tree, and background. I also scored the gray background to create the look of clapboard siding.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Snippet Playground #432-- Christmas with Snippets

Die-cut Divas -- Christmas in July

ABC Christmas -- N is for New (new die set)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- make your own background

CRAFT #645 -- Christmas

Word Art Wednesday #551 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2228 -- anything goes

Dies R Us 196-- use a die (Sizzix)

Vintage roses

 I made this card for a friend who loves the vintage style, so I did my best to make it "vintage." I feel like that awesome crocheted lace was the icing on this card.  The image and sentiment are from two different sets by Studio Katia.  I used the good old spellbinders oval dies (which I've had long enough to call vintage, probably, but simple never goes out of style) and an equally old embossing folder. Sponged some brown around the oval for that vintage look.

This card is entered into the challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday: Fabulous Florals

Word Art Wednesday #551 -- anything goes

Dies R Us #196-- Anything goes with dies

Can You Handle the Pressure -- use an embossing folder/twist summer (roses bloom in summer)

Crafts Galore Encore #101 -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #196 -- use an image/any theme

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2228 -- anything goes

Santa Skyline

 

For this card, I used a technique I haven't tried in a while.  To create the background, I took a square acrylic block and tapped some Distress inks on it. (I think it was scattered straw, some lavender, and a blue, maybe broken china?). Then I spritzed the block with water and pressed it on a piece of watercolor paper, pressing to make sure the water worked its way all over the block. 

The result looked kind of like a night sky, so I made this scene, with the glow of the city and Santa flying overhead. Everything is black-embossed. The cityscape and Santa are from Whimsy, the sentiment from Simply Stamped. I cut the main panel with a wide margin to show the movement of the water, and set it an angle because it seemed a little more dynamic that way. Added a few sequins for sparkle.

This card is for these challenges:

Jingle Belles -- the man with the bag

Winter Wonderland -- flying high at Christmas

CRAFT -- Christmas

Rudolph Days -- Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- begins with S

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2225 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #549 -- anything goes

Cars, cars, cards

 Here's another fairly masculine card. I found patterned paper which features some really cool old cars and used it for a car-themed card. I went looking for a sentiment; I have a set of travel-themed sentiments and this one had never been inked before. I added a ribbon with white stitching down the center because it reminds me of a road.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- add a sentiment

CRAFT #641 -- transport

Word Art Wednesday #547-- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2225 -- anything goes