Saturday 28 November 2015

FS460 - Flowery Friend


You know that I joined the Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper Challenge Hostess Team recently - today is my first opportunity to host the challenge.

This week's Featured Stamper is Susie Nelson. I chose this pretty flower-grid card to CASE:



I focused on Susie's
-theme (floral)
-general layout (grid of 9 flowers)

and changed
-rather than using coloured line images, I stamped in black and coloured with Copics
-inserted my sentiment into my grid
-size and shape of the card.

I used a very old Unity Stamps flower stamp and an equally old Taylored Expressions sentiment.

Friday 27 November 2015

Muse 143 - Joy to the World


This is my card for this week's Muse Challenge, where Tracey has given us this fun, whimsical card as inspiration:



I focused on Tracey's
-colour scheme (red, black, white, gold and some brown)
-theme Christmas/Joy
-black circle element with a scene inside
-red frame

I used a Dee's Distinctively Joy die, cut in gold foil and black. I stamped an image from Papertrey's Stained Glass on the centre of the 'o' and coloured it with Copics, then Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents, which doesn't show in the photo, but is sparkly and shiny in real life. I cut my panel with an MFT pierced rectangle die in a size slightly smaller than the Joy Die, to leave a big red frame, and also to allow the J and the Y to hang over a little.

Wednesday 25 November 2015

MCV30, 25 Days of Christmas Tags


Welcome to Muse: Christmas Visions #30 AND Day 24 of Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags. Today, Muse: ChristmasVisions is the sponsor and we've got lots of inspiration for you! Be sure you check out both sites for details of PRIZES that you can win!

For my tag, I started with MFT Tag Builders Blue Prints 2 and cut one in red, and one in white. I die cut one of the Simon Lined Trees in gold and two colours of green and inlaid it into the white tag before gluing the whole thing onto the red tag, slightly offset. The sentiment is from Simon's Jolly Snowman stamp set.

We've also got two special guests joining us at MCV this week - we are all looking forward to seeing how you are inspired by our tags!


Tuesday 24 November 2015

CASology 174 - Owl


This week's CASology Cue Card is Owl!



This one stumped me for a bit - I don't have a lot of owl stamps - but I have always loved this one old one from Stampin' Up! (Forest Friend). I love the look on his face, but then I was confronted with that age-old problem of making a card out of one little stamp! lol!

Repetition is a good way to 'enlarge' your tiny focal image, and, as inspiration, this week's CAS(E) This Sketch challenge came to the rescue!



I used an old Papertrey Valentine sentiment and a branch and leaves from Lawn Fawn's Deck the halls to ground the owls.

For a change (from a white card base), I used Early Espresso - it warms up the card and the contrast really draws your eye to the focal panel (cut with an MFT Pierced Rectangle).

Now it's your turn! Make sure to check out what the rest of the DT has for you!



Monday 23 November 2015

Pin-Sights - Thankful for You


This is for the current Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights challenge, where we've been given this inspiration collage:


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My eye was drawn to the shimmery satin of the brown skirt and the aqua turban. I pulled out some scraps of shimmery card stock and inlaid the pumpkin from Gourd-jus in brown and copper. I embossed a sentiment from Thankful in copper embossing powder.

Sunday 22 November 2015

FS459 - Sending Joy


This week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper is mkkimber. She has a beautiful gallery and I chose to CASE this card from 2007:




I love the red-green-aqua combination, and I hauled out my precious bits of leftover Cool Caribbean for this! (Same colour Kimberly used, but it wasn't so scarce in 2007!).

I focused on
-colour scheme
-layout
-type-written red sentiment
-large circle element partly off the card
-aqua die cut in bottom right corner

I changed
-theme
-proportion of colours
-card size
-left out the doodling

I used all my new Reverse Confetti goodies - Wreaths dies, WinterWords dies, and WinterWord Coordinates stamp set. I die cut some small red circles, glued them onto the wreath and then added a dot of Glossy Accents for berry-dimension and shine!

Saturday 21 November 2015

MCV29 - Merry Christmas


This is my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge, where Betty has given us this beautiful, classic inspiration:




I focused on Betty's
-colour scheme
-theme (Christmas foliage)
-basic layout
-sentiment made up of black ink and gold die cut

I used WPlus9's Handlettered Holiday die and stamp set. I cut the Merry in gold foil cardstock and inlaid it into a panel (cut with an MFT pierced square die) that had been masked and sponged with Festive Berries and Wilted Violet (just a touch at the top to add a bit of depth). For my foliage, I used Taylored Expressions' Holly die.

Friday 20 November 2015

Muse #142 - Peace, Love, Joy


This is my very-difficult-to-photograph card for this week's Muse Challenge, where Anita has provided us with this pretty inspiration:


I focused on Anita's
-colour scheme
-sentiment including love
-use of tag with a blue element
-stitching
-sparkle

I used Neat&Tangled Falling Flakes, Paper Smooches Gift Tags die, Paper Smooches Toppers (for the ring), MFT pierced circles and a sentiment from Papertrey's Bells & Boughs stamp set. I edged the tag in Stardust stickles and added some silver twine.

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Happy Birthday, Ellie!


We also have a niece celebrating her birthday in November. In fact, her birthday was Monday and although she had this card in hand, I spaced it and forgot to post on Monday.

She's at an age where a Sephora gift card was appropriate, so I made this card to feel reminiscent of Sephora's packaging - black and white with a bit of red.

The strip of DP is from MFT. The red glitter paper and gem are from my stash. The Happy Birthday die is from Simon Says Stamp and is inlaid into the black panel. I find inlaying these 'skinny' dies back into a panel easier than trying to get adhesive on the back of them!

Happy Birthday, Ellie! (here's the birthday girl with her loot - she managed to catch the last day of the 20% off sale!)


Tuesday 17 November 2015

CASology 173 - Pretty


This week's CASology Cue Card is Pretty!


My mind automatically went to flowers, but when I dug a bit deeper, I realized that this poor little word has a lot of baggage! Seems like we all want to be pretty, but we're not really supposed to because (as we all know), it's what's inside that counts. And I know that to be true, but hey, it doesn't hurt to brush your hair or put some lipstick on every once in a while, does it? So I made a compact. When you open it, there's a mirror so you can see that you're pretty. Because you are. And there's some words that remind you to focus on much more than how you look. 

Here's a look at the card with the compact closed. I used a trick from Michele's book, of embossing black on black on the top for some shine, texture and interest. (I put a little video on Instagram)


I used a circle die on folded black cardstock to create the compact. I used a slightly smaller circle of silver mirror card for the mirror and I used Simon's "You're Amazing" dies cut in pink mirror card. The outside of the compact is stamped with a Winnie&Walter Sparkle stamp.

I think that despite the 'action' on this card, it remains CAS due to the white space and simple colour scheme.

Now it's your turn. Be sure to check out the rest of the DT for some more inspiration!


Monday 16 November 2015

November Nephews



We have 3 nephews with birthdays in November. Two (twins) are turning 9 and one is turning 8. Because their birthdays are so close together, they often get 'variations on a design theme' cards from us.

I used Paper Smooches Bam Bubble dies with and Lawn Fawn Louie's 1-2-3s to create these. I cut a 4 inch square in each colour and then cut out the shapes and interchanged them (you can see each card separately below).







Sunday 15 November 2015

FS458 - Merry Christmas



Congratulations to this week's Featured StamperJo Nevill aka Rambling Boots. The card I chose to CASE is here.



I focused on
-watercoloured quadrants
-round white sentiment die cut
-centre image
-sequins

I changed
-theme (birthday to Christmas)
-centre image (cupcake to snowflake)

I started by watercolouring with Kuretake Gansai Tambi on Bristol Smooth cardstock. While it dried, I cut a Christmas Token out of white cardstock and laid it onto a black circle. I then cut the die again from the watercoloured panel and inlaid all the bits into it. I put the whole thing on a white card base and added some multi-coloured sequins.

Of course this process left me with a colourful die cut that just could not go to waste, so I made a second card:



Friday 13 November 2015

MCV28 - Merry Christmas


This is my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge, where Chriss provided us this card for our inspiration:



I focused on Chriss'
-colour scheme
-white on green sentiment
-poinsettias

I used MFT's Merry Christmas Centrepieces die, inlaid with  SU! Cucumber Crush cardstock, and a poinsettia stamp and die from Winter Warmth. For the centre of the poinsettia, I cut gold mirror-card dots using a die from Blue Prints #11.

Muse #141 - Thank You


This is my card for this week's Muse Challenge, where Michele has provided us with this card as inspiration:



I focused on Michele's
-colour scheme
-offset panels
-dots
-gold embossing
-sentiment

I used MFT's Fall Florals and matching dies, pierced rectangles, dotted dp and a sentiment from Soda Pop. I stamped the image using Simon's Hot Mama ink and SU! Lucky Limeade.


Thursday 12 November 2015

Warm Hugs


This is a card I made when I was October Guest Designer for Paper Smooches, but it didn't get blogged because I had so many others.

I used the cats from the Comforting Hugs stamp set and matching die. I wanted to convey warmth, so I added a 'blanket' by cutting a circle out of felt.

I am also linking up to Virginia's View Texture Challenge.

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Tuesday 10 November 2015

CASology 172 - Give


This week's CASology Cue Card is Give.



All we are saying, is "Give Peace a Chance". I used a Hampton Arts wood sentiment and a wooden Impress Star Cluster stamp. I used two blue inks from Altenew (Dusk and Sea Glass) and some Stampin' Up Marina Mist cardstock. The monochrome colours keep things peaceful, clean and simple.

And now it's your turn. Many of you are celebrating Thanksgiving later this month, so this cue card is very timely! Check out the rest of the DT blogs for more inspiration:



Sunday 8 November 2015

FS457 - Birthday Cake


I have some news today - I've been ask to join the hostess team for the weekly Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoaststampers. I've been a member of SCS since I started stamping in early 2006 and it's a really fun community of stampers.

My first Sunday to act as hostess will be November 29, but in the meantime, I'm playing along with this week's choice: mhines.

The idea is that you choose a card that the FS has made and then CASE it, making at least 2 changes, and list the differences between your card and hers (or his!). I chose this card to CASE:



I focused on
-colour scheme
-theme
-scallops (created with a dot stamp)

I changed
- size of the card
-oval element to a circle
-positioning of the 'banner' ribbons
-I referred to cake rather than having a cake image.

I used MFT Birthday Wishes & Balloons, Delicious Birthday, Simon Says Stamp Lots of Dots, Stampin' Up label die

Happy Birthday, Michele!


Back for a fourth birthday this week! It's Michele's birthday today but what do you get for the stamper who 'cards everyone'? A birthday card of course!

I chose to CASE this card of Michele's.



I loved Michele's appropriate use of neutrals for her sympathy card but I wanted to brighten it up for her birthday card. I used my brand new Essentials by Ellen Gourd-jus dies, sponged them with distress inks and dipped them in gold (embossing powder, that is!) I used a sentiment from Mondo Magnolia and the Avery Elle Burst die - I love how it gives a sunny feeling to the card!

Happy Birthday Michele! I hope your day is filled with sunshine and love!

Friday 6 November 2015

Happy Birthday, Lynn!


Saturday is Lynn's birthday. Lynn has a big job and a big family and as a result, she must have very little spare time. And yet she still uses her big talent to inspire and her big heart to encourage and support other crafters - she amazes me!


I started out CASing this card of Lynn's.



I love the layered flower and the clean simplicity of Lynn's card. And as I was working on my card, I remembered that I really admire a technique that Lynn often incorporates into her designs - she stamps tone on tone on die cuts.

I used Paper Smooches Botanicals 3 and matching dies to create my cut and stamped flower. For the layer underneath, I used the smallest of the Big Bloom dies. My sentiment is from Birthday Bash. My dp is from MFT and I used an MFT Pierced Square for my white panel. My flower centre is a sparkly Doodlebug enamel dot.

Happy Birthday, Lynn! Wishing you a wonderful day and an amazing year!

(on another note, I'm spending the weekend with my sister in Virginia. I've got cards posted, but my commenting will be very limited until Wednesday).

I'm also linking up to the Paper Smooches December Guest Designer Search.

MCV27 - Jolly Holiday


Here's my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge where Kimberly has provided us with this adorable inspiration card:



I focused on
-the whimsical line image, coloured with markers
-horizontal orientation
-black sentiment
-white on white card

I went searching through my Christmas images and came across this old (and yet somehow un-inked) Papertrey bird from Tremendous Treats: Christmas. I used a sentiment fromJolly Holiday. And to add a bit of interest, I cut out an Avery Elle double-pierced rectangle and laid it back into the panel. It creates a frame with no layers or bulk and helps to emphasize the horizontal position since my image isn't as long as Kimberly's.

Thursday 5 November 2015

Happy Birthday Chriss!



November is a popular month for birthdays in this community! Today it's Chriss' birthday! She is a fellow Canadian (living in the US) and we've become even better friends since she joined me on the Muse: ChristmasVisions team earlier this year.

I love to CASE cards and a birthday is a perfect occasion to explore a friend's blog and remind yourself of all the cards you loved! I chose this card that Chriss made last month and used it as my inspiration:




I started with a 4x4 white panel and cut an MFT pierced circle frame out of it. I sponged it in warm, autumn colours and inlaid it (and the centre white circle) back into the panel before cutting the PTI "celebrate" out of it. I also cut a brown celebrate and inlaid that into the panel as well. I used the star dies from MFT's Blue Prints #25 in copper mirror card for embellishment.

As usual (especially with birthdays at the beginning of the month), this card is in the mail and will likely not land until a day or two after Chriss' birthday, but hey, it's good to keep celebrating, right?

Happy Birthday Chriss - I hope you have a wonderful day surrounded by friends, family and love!



Tuesday 3 November 2015

CASology 171 - Vehicle


This week's CASology Cue Card is Vehicle.


We are always in need of thank you notes in this house and I like to have ones that my son is happy to use. So I made this one with him in mind. I used a Denami tank (I surgically removed the chick to make it more 'masculine') and a punny Hambo sentiment.

To create a little more interest on this one-layer card, I stamped the tanks and masked and sponged a red strip on the inside of the card. I then cut the cardfront shorter so that the tanks and red stripe would show from the outside. This has the added benefit of having less room for writing, and easing the teen-age pressure (although, to be honest, my son writes very nice thank you notes!)

Here's how it looks closed up.


I'm also linking up to OLS, where our theme for November is A Multitude of Gratitude.

Now it's your turn - get truckin' and show us how your vehicles roll!