Beautiful leaves

It will be weeks before we start seeing fall colors here in the south, but that doesn't stop me from making fall cards. I love colorful leaves. These leaves were made using the same process I described in this post, then die-cut with the Memory Box maple leaf die.  Personally, I think they look gorgeous.

The quote stamp is an old one from Club Stamp, inked up in some brown distress ink.

This card is heading out to these challenges:
Victorine Originals #12 --   mood board inspiration (at right)
The Paper Shelter #311 -- colors of fall
Double D -- feature a sentiment/quote
Cuttlebug Mania -- harvest
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #302 -- anything goes

Interesting sky

I don't normally do a lot of techniques, but I saw some gorgeous cards with this technique when it was featured on SCS, so I tried my hand at it.  I think it's called watercolor tissue embossing, but basically, you put ink on a craft sheet (or if you don't have one, use aluminum foil), spritz with water, then press a piece of giftwrap tissue paper into it to soak up the color. Let tissue dry, crumple up, then glue on white card stock with wrinkles emphasized.  When it drives, apply versamark to wrinkles, sprinkle on metallic EP, and heat.  The technique looks good as a background, like here, and also makes really pretty diecuts.

I just pulled out a bunch of inks and used different combinations, resulted in several different tissues, so I'm not exactly sure what inks were used in this particular piece.

For this card, the tissue was matted on a coordinating snippet. The reindeer die is from Whimsy.

This card is for these challenges:
Rudolph Days -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #352 -- Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- metal (silver metallic EP)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #302 -- anything goes

Let's go camping

After all the fun of house moves, we have gotten back into the habit of camping. It's fun to get a way for a few days (usually no cell service), and to just hike and read and enjoy ourselves. We have a small pop-up camper. (I'm not sure what they are called, or if they exist, in Europe, Here's a photo).

So, inspired by my camping and the Sweet Pea Mix It Up Challenge this month, I made this card.  The camper image is from Scribbles Designs, with paper-piecing and colored pencils.  The somewhat playful sentiment was stamped on a snippet and cut into a flag. Also used a border punch along the bottom of the green snippet panel. A bunch of coordinating ribbon flags finish it off.

This card is for these challenges:
Sweet Pea Mix It Up Challenge #35 -- photo inspiration
NBUS Challenge #12 -- both stamps and all the ribbons are NBUS
Pixie's Snippet Playground -#299/300- everything but the card base was a snippet
Word Art Wednesday #300-- anything goes
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Self portrait

It's time for another challenge at It You Give a Crafter a Cookie. All you need to do to play along is to create a project inspired by the cookies -- whether your inspiration is the theme, a particular image, or the colors.  There will be a random draw for a prize from Digital Delights.

I have to admit the image on my card (a digi from Wags and Whispers) captures me as a kid perfectly, aside from the fact I never had braids.  Me and book, inseparable. The image is colored with pencils. That ABC ribbon fits the theme so well and also shares many of the colors from the DP.

I am entering this card in these challenges:
Pattie's Creations #138 -- Back to School
Crafty Girlz -- Back to School
The Paper Shelter #310 -- Make it Digital
The Ribbon Girl -- use any image
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday #300 -- anything goes

Flip-flop butterfly

I think this fold is called a flip-flop card, and it probably has other names as well. One of the stamping groups I'm on has this fold as a theme this month, and I watched a video on how to do it, then totally did my own thing. 
The main butterfly dies are from Simon Says, and they are cut from some gorgeous paper I have been holding onto forever. (No reason to keep it, might as well share the beauty, right?) There are also butterfly silhouettes(from Stamplorations)  stamped on both sides of the front panel in Versamark.
The inside sentiment reads "The time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here" and I'm pretty sure it's from SU.
The paper on the inside is actually cut from a grocery store flyer because it looks like some sort of cool technique and adds some real interest to that part of the card.

This card is for these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #85 -- indigo and sihlouette
Catch the Bug -- theme: chin up buttercup (sentiment)
Cuttlebug Mania -- Anything Goes
HLS Dies -- Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Stamp it (no digis)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Stamp it (no digis)
Word Art Wednesday #298 -- anything goes

A rockin' Cookie Challenge

The newest Cookie Challenge has a rock'n'roll twist. How fun is that?  To play along, just create a project inspired by the cookies. There are two prizes up for grabs this time, digis from Imagine That! and Kitty Bee Designs. 
My card features an image from Imagine That! -- an Elvis Bear, which I think is a hoot. The image is colored with pencils, and a few sequins add that rock'n'roll sparkle. The paper has been in my stash for ages,but the pattern reminded me of good old vinyl records, so it sort of fit. 
My card is for these challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #298 -- anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper