Addicted to CAS #110

The challenge this week at Addicted to CAS threw me for a loop.  The code word is "grunge"

I'm not much of a grunge girl although for some unknown reason I bought a stamp set ages ago from Tim Holtz called 'Ultimate Grunge'.  I pulled them out to play around and I liked my test panel so much I made it my card with a few additions.

After I had this made and scheduled, the Design Team got a notice from Kylie about what CAS really is and for us to be sure our cards were clean and simple and to educate other stampers in that style:

- one main focal point
- lots of open (no pattern) space
- minimal layers
- minimal embellishments

The one main focal point and lots of open space is a MUST. The open space doesn't have to be 'white' but it MUST be without pattern.

With this said, I had to change my card so I want to show you how to take the previous card and make it CAS.

I used SSS stitched rectangles to cut several panels from my Neenah Solar White cs.  The center panel was stamped with the same stamps as above and the sentiment was stamped directly onto the panel.  The stitching gives some texture and popping up the panel gives it dimension while still keeping the card CAS.

Where will 'grunge' take you?  We'd love to see what you create following the CAS guidelines.  Enter it in the gallery and you may win a $10 gift voucher from Stamplorations.

Make it Monday #251

Well I did it!  I had almost 1400 emails in my inbox and they were weighing me down.  They were coming in faster than I could read and delete them so I bit the bullet and deleted all but the last 100.  I went through those, commenting on some, pinning ideas from others and begging forgiveness for not commenting on the rest.  Boy do I feel better.  I hope I can now keep up with what comes in.

Now on to my card for today.  For Make It Monday. Dawn McVey has a video on gradient watercolor die cuts.  You'll have to watch the video to see what that means.  Unless you can tell by my card.

I basically rubbed my Zigs diagonally across a piece of watercolor paper and then blended them together with water. After it was dry I cut it with my PTI Cross Quilt coverplate.  I was originally going to glue the cross pieces to the card but they didn't stay in the cut and after applying glue they didn't stay in place on the card front.  Scrap that one and proceed on to use the positive - or negative - I'm not sure in this instance.  I cut a fishtail from SSS and added a sentiment from PTI Birthday Bash and an image from W & W.  I think this is a great masculine card.

Thanks for dropping by.

CAS(E) This Sketch #162, Inspired by All the Little Things #5, and NBUS #6

Here are a couple more of the cards I mentioned yesterday.  This first one is for CAS(E) This Sketch.

Stamp of Approval box to the rescue.  The Casual Fridays sentiment was the starting point for my card and a set from Sugar Pea Designs provides the images.  

My next card is for a new-ish challenge: "Inspired by All the Little Things", another Lesley Croghan creation.  The photo inspiration is gorgeous.

I just got a new stamp set from Uniko and it was perfect for the challenge.

I had the darnedest time trying to photograph the gold embossing.  Even with a light tent it wanted to look black.  I finally laid it down in front of a window and it still doesn't look as gorgeous as it does IRL.  I had intended to put that Altenew butterfly on the rim of the cup but guess what?  Yup, another smudge.  I think it was from the pink I used to color the images. Fortunately the butterfly fit over it and it looks like she's coming in for a landing.  

I'm also using this for my second entry into Darnell's NBUS challenge.

I'd better get back to work on a couple of cards that are eating at my brain. I have practice tonight for a play we're doing for Maundy Thursday so I won't be able to get much done after.

Thanks for dropping by.

Fusion and Pinterest Inspired

Fusion is celebrating their second anniversary and to honor the occasion each member of the Design Team invited a friend to make a card in addition to theirs which means twice the inspiration based on this photo and/or sketch.

The first thing I noticed was the chevron runner and then the flowers which turned into this card.

First step was to color embossing paste with Mustard Seed and run it over a stencil from HA.  While that dried, I stamped, colored with Distress Ink and die cut the Doodlebuds from WPlus9.

My next card is a big departure from the one above but takes me back to my roots in cardmaking.  I don't often play at the Pinterest Inspired challenge but when I saw this photo

I remembered I had some old, old paper that would work in a card.  Did I mention it was old?

I used to use a lot of pattern paper and do a lot of inking.  The dp was cut with PTI's tipped tops, placed on Vintage Cream paper that was liberally inked with Frayed Burlap.  A scrap cut into a flag holds a sentiment from HA.  What a difference between the two cards, huh?  My home decor is a combination of the two.  I have antique furniture, old utensils, spindles, crocks and my beloved owls. To keep things from getting dark, my walls are bright and so are my quilts.

I'm so glad you dropped by.

Hexagons

I finally made my card for the Moxie Fab challenge:  Hexagons - Happy for Hexagons.  I had an idea what I wanted to do early on but a lot of other cards and challenges got in the way.

Using a stencil I made from my PTI cover plate, I inked up the card with Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade and Tumbled Glass.  I also inked the flag to match.  A heart cut from white and stamped with a sentiment from MCS in HA Wet Cement is covered with another heart out of vellum and stitched on. Several smaller hearts cut from yellow vellum are scattered about.  I love how it turned out.

I'm also going to enter this at A Blog Named Hero. - Stencil It.

I'm glad you stopped by.  Please come back again.

FM #120 and OCC

It's great that I'm getting my Christmas cards done by joining in two Christmas card challenges but I'm also getting my Valentines done the same way.  No, there are no specific valentine challenges but they seem to fit into some of the challenges.  For example, this one at Freshly Made.

I turned it sideways and came up with this:

And for the online card class

This was a technique Kristina Werner taught using colored pencils to color through a stencil.  This is an old, old stencil I had and it was perfect for making another valentine.

First card
Echo Park, Simple Stories, scraps of paper
Heart die from Papertrey Ink
Clearly Besotted sentiment

Second card
Soft stone. smokey slate, and white paper
EK Success postage stamp punch
Crayola pencils
My Craft Spot sentiment

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm off to watch the videos for today's Stenciled Class.