Tuesday 31 May 2016

CASology 200 - CAS


This week's CASology Cue Card is CAS!



It is our 200th challenge and I'm so proud to say I've been here since the beginning (along with Jen, Tracey and of course, Melissa!) - CASology was one of my very first DTs!

We thought we would celebrate by going back to our roots. Where it all began. With Clean and Simple design. In effect, this challenge is 'Anything Goes as long as it's CAS'.

AND, there's prizes! Several members of the DT will be offering blog candy. Each DT member who is participating will select a random commenter from their blog who also links up a card at CASology: CAS this week. Winners will be announced on each DT blog as well as on the CASology blog next Tuesday.

My card uses some old and new stamps - I just got Altenew's Best Mom set (prepare yourself - I've been playing with it a lot!). To keep the design CAS, I cut down the image and left it uncoloured, preserving white space. I created a little sentiment element with Neat & Tangled's Everyday Circles and Mama Elephant's Blogging Buddies.

My blog candy is the limited edition, all-occasion "One Big Happy" stamp + die collection from Papertrey Ink:




Now it's your turn! Remember to leave a comment here AND link up a card at CASology for a chance to win my blog candy!

The DT has even more inspiration (and prizes!) - make sure you check them out!


Sunday 29 May 2016

MCV46 - Merry Christmas


I love the bold graphic style of the inspiration that Steph, our Guest Muse at MCV has given us:




I am fascinated by how her green panel seems to glow (perfectly appropriate for a 'Shine Bright' card). I guessed which colours she used (and got it wrong! lol!) and tried to get a similar look by sponging the lighter colour in the centre and then the darker one around the edges.

I wanted a bit more red, so I masked and sponged a couple of lines that helped set up my diagonal layout.

I focused on Steph's:
-colours
-technique (green sponged panel)
-use of black silhouette and sentiment
-white border
-of course, the Steph 'signature' - a Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequin with Silver Stickles in the centre.

I used:
-Gina K Mistletoe Memories (retired?)
-MFT Christmas Tree
-Festive Berries, Cracked Pistachio and Mowed Lawn distress inks
- MFT Pierced Square die

Saturday 28 May 2016

FS486 - Happy Birthday


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Melanie (aka StitchesandSmudges) and I'm the hostess! Melanie's gallery has a wide variety of styles and techniques and lots of really fun cards to case! I chose this one as my inspiration:



I focused on Melanie's:
-use of negative space from a die cut
-pattern and colour under a white panel (including a frame around the white panel)
-green die cut
-script sentiment

I changed:
-butterfly to flower
-stamped background to watercoloured
-stamped sentiment rather than die cut

I used:
-Hero Arts Flower die
-Avery Elle Sentiment
-MFT Stamps balloon string die(stem) and leaf die
-Ken Oliver Colorburst powders to create my background

Friday 27 May 2016

Watercolour Cards


Still playing with Concord & 9th's You Are Enough. This time I watercoloured, using Distress inks. Again, I cut the edge so that the flower petals could hang over a little bit. Sentiment is from Birdie Banners.

I also made this card for Simon's Wednesday Challenge, where Technique Tuesday products are being featured:


The red edge was created by putting some red Ken Oliver Colourburst powder into a container of water and letting the paper soak it up for a while - I love the movement of the edge - almost like it was splashing! I used an old Ali Edwards/Technique Tuesday sentiment.

Thursday 26 May 2016

Inspired by Laura - Hello, Lovely!


My new Concord & 9th goodies arrived and I couldn't wait to play with this big, dramatic flower from You are Enough. I simply stamped the outline and then the two colours and coloured the stem with a Copic.

For my layout, I decided to use a trick that I saw Laura Bassen use earlier this week on a floral card. I cut a straight line down the left side of the flower and fussy cut the petal so that it extends over the MFT patterned paper. I think the black diagonal stripes work well with the sentiment that I put together from Birdie Banners and Wonderful Women.

Wednesday 25 May 2016

Muse 167 - Happy Birthday


It occurs to me now, as I'm posting this, that I was really happy when I saw that Jenni's Muse inspiration for this week isn't flowers.



I love flowers. I love floral inspiration. And I've loved all the beautiful floral inspiration from our Muse design team. But I was excited to see something other than flowers this week.

And then I made a flower card!

I focused on Jenni's
-rainbow colour scheme
-birthday theme
-use of diecuts with black accents

I sponged a rainbow panel and then cut the flowers out and inlaid the petals into my white panel. I used enamel dots to 'solidify' the flower centres and make them look more like daisies and less like poinsettias.

I used:
-Simon Says Stamp Simple Poinsettia Cutouts
-Simon Says Stamp Square Greetings (retired)
-Distress inks
-Black enamel dots

Tuesday 24 May 2016

MFTWSC281 Happy Belated Birthday


Gaah! This card is not really a belated birthday card, it's just late for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge! I missed the deadline by a couple of hours. Here are the details anyway:



I used:
-MFT Blue Prints #26 (balloon die)
-MFT Birthday Bears (sentiment)
-MFT Birthday Wishes & Balloons (balloon string)
-MFT You Move Me (retired) (stars)

I cut the balloon out of a panel I created the other day using Ken Oliver Color Burst powders. So fun!

CASology 199 - Fast


This week's CASology Cue Card is Fast!



We hit a milestone this week. My son got his driver's license. Boy that was fast - feels like last week he was 2, identifying every Honda Civic he saw (that's what we drove at the time), as "our car".

Needless to say, our insurance has increased substantially. And my hair is getting greyer by the minute. But you can't hold them back, as much as you want to keep them safe at home.

I made this card for him and positioned the Inkadinkado car almost off the card front to demonstrate movement and speed. I grounded the car and with a Stampin' Up sentiment and added a stylish exhaust stream from Papertrey's Fancy Flourishes. I love how the flourish has a similar classic/vintage feel as the car. (if you're noticing a same-but-different feel as this card I made for him when he was accepted to his summer flying course, it's because this kid is constantly moving forward!)

Now it's your turn! The DT has some more inspiration for you - be sure to check it out!

Monday 23 May 2016

IALT16 - Happiness


This week's inspiration photo from Inspired By All The Little Things is quite interesting:





I focused on the:
-colour scheme
-bicyle

I used:
-PTI Vertical Cover Plate
-MFT Pierced Square die
-Distress inks (Cracked Pistachio & Peacock Feathers combined to get the 'right' green, Salty Ocean)
-Hero Arts CL885
-Stampin Up Sentiment

Sunday 22 May 2016

Pin-Sights Hello Friend


I'm playing along with the current Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights Challenge - here's the inspiration:

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I used the centre portion to inspire my washed background and black sentiment and then added a flower to pick up on all the florals in the photos.

I'm still getting used to the watercolours - I found it difficult to get the two colours to really fade out towards the centre. The flower was fun, though - it's about 4 different layers of different reds and purples and I love the variation in colour this technique gives.

I used:
-Essentials by Ellen Bohemian Garden and matching die
-Essentials by Ellen Fancy Thanks
-Essentials by Ellen All Inside
-Kuretake Gansai Tambi

FS485 - Happy Birthday



This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Sarah Moerman. I recently found out that Sarah and I lived in the same neighbourhood for a short time when we were kids. Isn't it funny how small the world can be!  She is the perfect choice to be a Featured Stamper - she has a great gallery full of cards that you'll want to case! I chose this one:



I focused on Sarah's:
-striped rainbow dp
-circular focal point
-layout
-black script sentiment

I changed:
-kraft to white
-'yes' to daisy
-black stars to sparkly enamel dots

I used:
-PTI Beautiful Blooms II Number 3 die
-Simon Says Stamp Handwritten Borders
-old, old dp from my stash (maybe Crate Paper?) ETA - a fellow hoarder has informed me that it's from Pebbles Fun in the Sun Collection.

Friday 20 May 2016

MCV45 - Merry


Here's my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge where Cornelia has given us this inspiration:



I focused on Cornelia's
-colour scheme
-snowflake theme
-black script sentiment
-use of vellum

I created a vellum window right through the cardfront - the vellum is sandwiched between the white card base and the kraft panel. I used the sparkly vellum that was included in the May Hero Arts kit (those are the 2 1/2 little greenish dots you can see on the vellum - turns out the sparkles were pretty spread out on the square I cut, but I didn't want to cut into the middle of it! lol). I finished the snowflake with a little Swarovski crystal.

I used:
-Frantic Stamper Snowflake
-Simon Says Stamp sentiment
-MFT Pierced Square die

Thursday 19 May 2016

Muse 166 - Hugs


It's been a busy week and I haven't had much time in my craft room. This is the first card I've made since last Friday and it felt so good to get some creative time!

This is my card for this week's Muse Challenge where Tracey has given us a pretty floral inspiration:


I focused on Tracey's:
-layout
-colourful flowers and leaves
-gold embossed sentiment

I used:
-Concord & 9th Flourish
-Concord and 9th Tree Hugs
White gel pen

Tuesday 17 May 2016

CASology 198 - Stencil


This week's CASology Cue Card is Stencil!



I have a few stencils, but I've never really gotten the hang of them. This week's Cue Card was a great opportunity to practice and develop my skills in this area! Many of them are large and designed to create all-over backgrounds but you can adapt this tool in a few ways to ensure a CAS result! I chose to mask and isolate one of the leaves so that I would have lots of white space.

I used Stamplorations Leaf Prints Stencil and Hashtag Authentic stamps. I sponged the leaf in Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers. Too add a bit more colour and some balance, I sponged a panel with the same colours, but it only peeks out on the opposite corner.

Now it's your turn! Maybe you're a stencil pro, maybe you're a newbie like me - whichever, we can't wait to see your CAS Stencil creations! Be sure to check out the DT blogs for more inspiration:


Monday 16 May 2016

More Watercolored Anemones


I knew I was going to have to play a bit more with WPlus9's Watercolored Anemones. While I love the first card I made, it was largely an experiment. I sat down and just kept stamping, playing around and seeing what could be done. The result, while beautiful (in my opinion) doesn't have much white space and you know how I love white space!

So here are my next two experiments - different colours, different inks, different uses of the flower bits.

The first one uses some plaid PP from MFT (Kate had a dress just like this when she was a baby!) and a Reverse Confetti sentiment.


This one uses a sentiment from Doodle Buds.

Sunday 15 May 2016

SWC - Sending Hugs


Oh, my! Look what I made! I have been admiring cards made with this Wplus9 Watercolored Anemones set for a while and I finally took the plunge and bought it, despite the fact that I can never seem to get layered stamp sets to 'work'.

Watching this video by Dawn made it even easier - her life-changing words? "Lay down some colour and put a centre in it and your eye will see a flower" (that's not exact but that's the message I got and it's RIGHT!)

While I was at Tracey's yesterday, I pulled the set out and just started stamping. I used all the little stampy bits for every flower, using different inks. Two yellows, a blush and a pink. I think I might choose different greens next time, but I am really pleased with the flowers!

I finished it off with a sentiment from That is All and lots of sequins. I am going to link this up to Simon's Wednesday challenge - the theme is flowers.

Saturday 14 May 2016

FS484 - Happy Birthday


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Amber (aka sprtchick). Amber has a really amazing gallery full of pretty, classic-feeling cards and as always, I started by doing a quick run through and choosing 3 or 4 that jumped out at me. Then I examined each one before finalizing my decision - this is the one for this week:



I focused on Amber's:
-colours including the yellow base
-butterfly theme
-black sentiment on the right hand side

I changed:
-the amount of yellow
-fewer layers on my sentiment
-fewer butterflies
-no ribbon or brads

I used:
-MFT Delicious Birthday
-MFT Birthday Wishes and Balloons
-MFT butterfly die (retired)
-Kuretake Gansai Tambi*
-MFT Pierced Square die
-Wink of Stella

I gave this card to my friend Tasha for her birthday at our crafty day at Tracey's house today:


Stephanie, Kate,  Brooklyn and Lindsey were there (Lindsey escaped before the photo session), but we missed Emily, who couldn't join us today.

I baked a chocolate cake to celebrate and we all had a wonderful time!




*the butterflies were cut from the first panel I made when I was making this card (I embossed in silver rather than white and didn't feel there was enough contrast). I knew if I held onto it, it would get used somehow!

Friday 13 May 2016

Muse #165, AAA#64 - Thank You


Here's my card for this week's Muse Challenge, where Anita has given us an awesome, shimmery inspiration:



I LOVE that purply colour but didn't have any cardstock in that colour. I also don't have mica powder, so I used a shimmery pink panel and inlaid my dies into them, to get a similar but different effect.

I focused on Anita's
-colour scheme
-floral theme
-layout

I used:
-Memory Box Jumbled Thank You
-Papertrey Beautiful Blooms II Part 3 daisy die
-Doodlebug Matte enamel dot.

I am also linking up at AAA Cards, where the challenge is inlaid dies.


Wednesday 11 May 2016

MCV44 - Merry Christmas


One of the perks of 'owning' Muse: ChristmasVisions is that I get to see the inspiration cards a little early. This week's inspiration from Chriss got me excited and I took advantage of my headstart!



I focused on Chriss':
-white embossing
-tree theme
-blended colours

I used:
-Hero Arts Family and Friends
-Kuretake Gansai Tambi
-Sparkle Shimmer Spritz (so pretty in real life)

Instead of using distress inks, I was inspired to get out my watercolours and practice a technique that I'm really liking.

The technique is layered watercolours. I stumbled on this technique myself but have had positive reinforcement (and legitimization) from Debby Hughes and Dawn Woleslagle.

I wet the paper and dabbed a rainbow of colour around it. Then I dried it with my heat gun. You get hard edges and almost a marbling effect by doing this. Then I painted it all again, shifting the 'borders' of colour a bit, to get even more blending, and also brighter tints of colour. I supposed you could keep going, but I was pretty happy with this. Also, I noticed that parts of my sentiment were retaining the green - not sure if that was because I kept reheating the embossing powder? Any tips from you pros out there?

Tuesday 10 May 2016

CASology 197 - Tear


This week's CASology Cue Card is Tear.




I went for cry rather than rip and made a sympathy card. CAS design works well for Sympathy cards - for this one I let the sentiment (which is quite large) stand on its own, with a row of tiny pearls for an addition of (hopefully) elegance. This old "Verses" sentiment is one I often use for sympathy cards.

Now it's your turn to tear into this week's challenge! Be sure to stop by the rest of the DT for more inspiration:

Sunday 8 May 2016

EH/Savvy - Mix it Up - Joy


This is my second card for the current Mix It Up challenge at Ellen Hutson. I mentioned yesterday that my supply of Savvy product is limited and it is. I have 3 dies and 2 stamps. But my Savvy dies are among my all-time favourites for Christmas. (Here's another Joy and here's Peace).

This time I used a very 'serious' Joy die but made it a little more fun by filling the negative space with Julie's quirky ornament and adding a fun sentiment.

I used:
-Savvy Joy die (appears to be retired)
-Essentials By Ellen Christmas Scribbles and matching dies
-Essentials by Ellen 'Tis the Season

ETA: do you ever feel the need to 'tweak' your cards once you see them online? The placement of the ornament felt too low for me and I wanted it to hang from a string:


What do you think?

FS483 - Lucky!


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Carla aka Covington Crafter. What I noticed in her gallery is that she's game to try any technique or any style and that is something I really admire! When I went through her gallery, this card popped out at me - I love the colouring on the peaches - they practically glow with their warm peachiness!



I focused on:
- groupings of peachy colour with leaves
-patterned paper as a background
-black sentiment

I changed:
-peaches to flowers
-layout and sentiment placement

I used:
-MFT Fresh-cut Flowers
-MFT Lucky
-LawnFawn Perfect Plaid