Watercolor Christmas

 I've recently become interested in watercolors and have tried a few simple things along with the new watercoloring challenge at Splitcoast. This one was really easy -- use painters tape to mask off a triangle, fill it with green watercolor, and decorate. I used gold acrylic paint and gold embossing to finish off the card.

The card is entered in these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #522 -- Christmas

Word Art Wednesday #470 -- anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge -- use patterned paper.

Blue snowflake

 

I think I've said this before, but I'll repeat myself. I love snowflakes as an image or design element, but I prefer they stay out of my life when it comes to weather.

For this card, I played with lots of different snowflakes. The big die-cuts are from a teal colored snippet of cardstock. For the background, I took an array of different sized snowflake stamps and used second, third, and even fouth generation stamping, to keep the background for overwhelming the die-cuts. The sentiment is white-embossed on a pale blue snippet of vellum. (I had trouble getting the vellum to cut straight, and now that I think about it, I usually tear vellum rather than cutting it. I guess that's why.)

This card is entered in these challenges:

CRAFT # 577 -- Christmas

Double D -- winter blues

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #516 -- anything Christmas

ABC Christmas -- Winter Wonderland

Pixie's Snippet Playground #390-- use snippets 

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2046 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday # 466 -- anything goes

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Christmas Fun Fold

 I know a lot of people just love fun folds. These folds usually intimidate me, but this one was actually crazy easy. It's called a Triple Fold, and SCS has a tutorial as part of their Falliday Fest. 

It's also a good way to use up snippets, tecuase the two panels on the right only need about an inch to 1.5 inch wide strips of paper on top of the folded cardstock. There's also an inch-wide belly band, which is another good use for snippets.

I used snippets from a 6x6 pad of Christmas card stock where the dominant color is pink -- and don't ask why I bought pink Christmas paper because I'm not sure. (Some of the patterns are non-Christmasy, such as polka dots, so maybe I was thinking it would be multipurpose?) The pad also has a sheet of coordinating sentiments, and I used one on pop-dots for the center of this card. 

I'm entering this card in these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #515  -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

 Pixie's Snippet Playground #390 -- use snippets

Word Art Wednesday #464 -- anything goes

Catch the Bug -- November anything goes

Crafty Sentiments -- Anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2045  -- anything goes

The Holly and the Ivy #83 -- anything Christmas

Slimline Christmas

 I'm just getting into slimline cards, and I used the current sketch at SCS to create a Christmas card. The snow-covered ground is torn card stock, the trees are cut from a sparkly white paper, and the silver circle is the moon. I found a good use for almost the very last bit of one of my favorite patterned papers for the edges.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

The Holly & the Ivy #82 -- anything Christmas

Pammie's Inky Pinkies # 2043 -- anything goes

Word ARt Wednesday #462 --anything goes

Rudolph Days Challenge -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #513 -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Happy Halloween

 

It's mid-October, so Halloween is almost here. Deanne has a super-cute inspiration for us in the new PINspirational Challenge. (I go for cute Halloween over scary Halloween, so this pin was perfect for me.)  Hope you'll have a chance to create a project and link up to the challenge blog.

My project began with a stamped image that's been sitting in my stash for a while (I'm pretty sure Princess Judy sent it to me.)  I colored it in pencils. To frame it, I chose a some patterned paper from an old Halloween stack, and the papers in that stack are specifically designed to hold photos because an image is partially cut out and you can tuck an image into the slit. The pattern on the piece I chose echoed the tilework int he background of the inspiration photo and made it look like a big bat is flying over the witch. How fun is that?

For the sentiment, I turned to the computer to make a super-vertical sentiment, which I printed out on a snippet of white cardstock and matted on a snippet from the same Halloween stack. The witch is matted on another snippet from the stack. 

For the final embellishment, I found a couple of old eyelets shaped like ghosts.  (I guess the phrase "old eyelets" is redundant. When was the last time you bought eyelets??)

The witch card is entered in these challenges:

Pixie's Snippet Playground #389 -- use snippets

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Crafty Sentiments -- Anything goes

Up, up and away

 

I am very slowly starting to make Christmas cars, and I tried my hand at one in the slimline format. It's really very CAS.  The stamps are all from the same set from Whimsy Stamps. First I stamped the cityscape in black ink on a gray panel, then added the Santa and sleigh image flying off after leaving all the gifties.  The sentiment is in red, and there are a few gemstones to a) make it a little more festive and b) fill some space. 

This card is for these challenges:

ABC Christmas --Up in the Air

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge -#512 - anything Christmas

Word Art Wednesday #460--anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2042 -- anything goes

Stockings were hung

 

Because I couldn't craft for so long, I'm way behind on Christmas cards.  I used the SCS sketch to come up with a quick one.  The central image features a  BoBunny stamp, which is red embossed and matted on a red-and-white printed snippet. It's popped up on foam tape to make room for the striped baker's twine behind it. 

I edged both the sentiment and the central panel with a little red ink, just because I think it makes the element stand out more.

(Just a note, the background paper is looking blue on my computer screen, but it is definitely green. After multiple attempts to take a photo that better reflects the color, you've got to take my word for it.)

This card is entered into these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #511 --use a stocking

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge  --use patterened paper

Word Art Wednesday #460 -- anything goes

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2041 -- anything goes

The Holly and the Ivy #81 -- anything Christmas

Autumn Wreath

 

Here's a simple autumn card featuring some lovely die-cut leaves and a twig wreath. (I have made some actual twig wreaths that I use on my front door, and I do make them pretty spare like this one.)

The sentiment is one of my favorite one for fall cards. (I have it on a stamp, but it's surrounded by leaves on the stamp, so I computer-generated this one.)

This card is entered in these challenges:

Double D -- wreaths

Creative Inspiration -- Anything goes

Die-cut Divas -- fall

CRAFT #572 --autumn

Word Art Wednesday #460 -- anything goes

It's fall about you...

 

Hello, and happy fall. 

And fall is more or less the theme of the new PINspirational Challenge. (At least that's how the inspiration photo inspired me.)  The plaid and apples gave me the basis for my card.  

The apple image is from The Alley Way Stamps--the name of the set is Fall About You, hence the name of this post. I stamped the apple on a green snippet and a plaid snippet, then die-cut the green in a circle and fussy cut the inside of the apple from the plaid. The sentiment is computer generated on another snippet, and I used the very last bit of the pliad snippet under the sentiment.

To join in the fun at PINspirational Challenge, just create a project inspired by the pin. (It doesn't have to be a card.). Be sure to link up at the Challenge blog. 

I am entering my card in these challenges:

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Catch the Bug -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2040  Anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #458  -- anything goes

Pixie's Snippet's Playground # 388 -- use snippets

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Monstrous fun

 Hi there!

I'm still trying to get back in the stamping rhythm after being out of the craft room for so long. This week's PINspirational Challenge was a good one because of the fun theme.

The image for my card is from Bugaboo (it's called I'm Cute). I printed the image on a pale yellow snippet and also on a snippet with a goofy flower pattern. (The flowers have something like flocking on their centers, so it's tactile, too). For ease of fussy-cutting, I just cut out the head/torso portion for paperpiecing, and colored the rest with pencils. The sentiment is computer-generated on another snippet, and everything is mounted on a dark purple snippet, which is on a white tent-fold card.

Hope you fun with the monster inspiration and let it take in whatever direction. To join in the fun, just link up a project at the challenge site, and happy crafting.

This card is entered into these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Word Art Wednesday #456 --anything goes

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2038-- anything goes

In the Pink

 Hi Everyone,

After an extended hiatus resulting from a long-distance move (and so much more, this being 2020 and all), I'm back to making cards. And I'm back on the DT at PINspirational Challenge.

It's time for another challenge at PINspirational Challenge, and this is a super fun Pin to be inspired by. Here's the drill: you can make any project your inspired to (card, tag, project, fancy cake, it's up to you). You can be inspired by the colors, theme, design, or other element of the inspiration photo, but we need to be able to see the inspiration there somewhere.  Link your card up at the challenge blog by Sept 21.

Hope you'll join in the fun.

My card is entered into these challenges

Word Art Wednesday #454 -- anything goes

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

We all need a little happy about now

     Hey everyone. I hope you are well and holding up in this very stressful time.
     Right now it's time for the latest challenge from PINspirational Challenge. Deanne has given us this spring-themed inspirational photo. (I believe she chose it months ago, but how appropriate.)
     For my card, I used a small clear stamp I got several years ago. I think it's an Autumn Leaves stamp. I inked it in Memento black ink on a white snippet and added some touches of color with colored pencils. The flower centers are all embellished -- from left, there's a button, a bit of Nuvo Drops, and a button-shaped brad.
     The central image is matted on a snippet of patterned paper.
     The sentiment (from Purple Onion) is stamped on a snippet of grid-patterned paper using a Ranger ink called Stream. It's mounted on another snippet of the patterned paper. Everything is assembled on a coordinating pink patterned card.
     I hope you'll join the challenge. Just make a project inspired by the inspiration photo and link up on the challenge blog. If you're stuck inside, crafting is a wonderful way to put your mind on something useful.
     Sadly, my craft room is in boxes, many of which are in a storage space several hundred miles from here. We are in the midst of a house move/relocation that's dragging on far longer than anticipated, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to crafting. This was the last card I made, and I can't tell you how much I want to have the familiar pleasure of card-making right now.
Take care.
This card is entered in these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #374-- use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #432 -- anything goes
The Paper Shelter #420 -- Flowers of Spring
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper 

Love birds

Another PINspirational Challenge is up, and this one has a Valentine's focus. If you need to make a card or two for Feb. 14, maybe this image (to the right )will inspire you as much as it inspired me.

 My card began with a background I'd made previously. I used a snippet of light brown/craft paper and dragged a white craft inkpad on it to give the look of whitewashed wood. For the birds, I used part of an Impression Obsession stamp, inked in Staz-On. (it's really hard to get a good image on top of the craft ink, and I had to reink several times.)  For the birch tree, I used a stamp from Whimsy (I think, or else Stamped Simply) Christmas set.

The tiny hearts were die cut with a tiny snippet of red, then covered with a paper glaze.  The main image is mounted on a white snippet to get a very thin frame, then on a red card. It's 'finished with black and white baker's twine.

This card is for these challenges
Pixie's Snippet Playground #371-- use snippets
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- with love
Crafty Sentiments -- use red

Orange you glad

Hey there! Orange you glad it's 2020... because that means the PINspirational Challenge is back in session. Here's the image that Deanne has chosen for the first challenge.

To join in the challenge, simply make a project that's inspired by this image and link up at the challenge blog. (It doesn't have to be a card. Tags, layouts, decorated cookies -- go where the inspiration takes you. Send the decorated cookies to me.)

Since I am no fan of snow, I was inspired by the oranges in this scene. Oranges are warm and sunny and happy, so that's the vibe I wanted my card to have. I found this snippet of background paper with a citrus theme and made it the central component of the card.  The "Wishing you sunshine" sentiment seemed the perfect match. It's black-embossed on a snippet of paper the same color as the card.

The embellishment is a silk flower on top of a paper flower, held together by a tiny brad.

This card is being entered into these challenges
Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2002 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #369 -- use snippets
Crafty Sentiment Designs -- anything goes
The Paper Shelter #410 -- something sweet
Word Art Wednesday # -- anything goes