LIM # 347, Darnells' NBUS #12, AAA #99 and Uniko #43

It's not often I combine challenges for one card but the stars aligned and this card is for four different challenges.  Less Is More #347 (see sketch below), the lovely Darnell's 12th NBUS Challenge which forces encourages us to use our 'never before used schtuff', AAA Cards #99 and Uniko #43.

My second chance Stamp of Approval box arrived a couple of days ago and I was anxious to use these leaves.  I smooshed Distress Inks on some scrap Bristol cs and cut the leaves.  I  love how they looked just floating there on my PTI Rustic Cream card base so I knew I'd pop them up on foam but first they needed a little background. I splattered some Rusty Hinge and Peeled Paint DI, both of which I used on the leaves.  The sentiment from PTI is stamped in DOX Vintage Photo.  I'd been wanting a reddish brown and this fits the bill.

I'm sorry the photo is rather blurry.  I'm trying out a new photo editing program and I don't have the kinks out yet.  I'm not usually one who resists change - unless it's in the technology world.  I'm a word person and all those little icons blow my mind.  I also learn best by reading a manual but nowadays there's no such thing.

Thanks for dropping by.  

CAS(E) This Sketch #199

There were so many ways to go with this last CAS(E) This Sketch.  I planned to combine it with an ombre challenge but missed that deadline.  Had I known I might have gone a different way but I still like the card.

I started out by color washing two pieces of watercolor paper with Cracked Pistachio. using one to cut the word die, numerous times.  The panel was splattered with plain water and then with Black Soot.  The words were placed in the opposite order which (duh) means the middle one is on it's own shade.  There's no way around that I guess.  The word die and all the little sentiments are from SSS.

I think Mother Nature likes to tease us.  It's a beautiful day today but I'm afraid it won't last long.  We have to take advantage of it while we can.  I'm sure a lot of people are putting up their Christmas lights today.

Thanks for dropping by.

AAA #46 and HLS CAS Challenge

Masking can really make a card great and give it dimension but it's not always easy to do.  Cutting little masks and figuring out which image to stamp first takes a little forethought.  I practiced on scrap paper before finalizing this card for AAA - Maskerade and Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Masking.

The flowers and vase are from W & W's Lola's Bouquet with hand drawn stems.  The flowers are colored with Zigs and the vase negative masked and stamped with a small print stamp from My Craft Spot (no longer in business).  A little background and shadow, some splatters and a sentiment from PB finish it off.

So glad you stopped by.

Inkspiratonal #80

It took a little marinating for this card to come to it's final stage and I learned a few things along the way.  Here's the photo inspiration for the Inkspirational challenge.

The first thing I saw was eggs, and then the grid that contained them.  I made my background and was happy with it but then came to a standstill.  I cut a couple of egg shapes but didn't know what to do with them.  The half finished card sat on my desk for days.  Then I finally took a hit to the forehead and said "You don't have to do a literal translation." I've known this all along but it just didn't sink in far enough.  

Stamps:  SSS grid and Artful Flowers

Ink: Versamark, Distress Ink and markers

Paper:  Neenah white and Desert Storm, vellum

Other:  Platinum embossing powder.

Another thing I learned is that I need a middle ground.  I went from a card maker with lots of layers, patterned paper and inking to cards that I was trying to make so clean and simple that I wasn't enjoying the process or the final result.   Now that I understand that, I hope I can find my style and be true to it.

LIM #219

I don't often do one layer cards but thought I'd give it a try for Less Is More this week.  We're also to include splatters. Now spatters I can do.  ;)

Using my NBUS Tim Holtz Flower Garden, I stamped the stem in Peeled Paint, the flower in Memento London Fog and watercolored with Distress Inks. Then I covered the entire flower in rubber cement. Once dry, I went around the flower with Frayed Burlap, also using it to splatter and stamp the sentiment from Penny Black.  Finally I rubbed off the rubber cement.  I love this daisy stamp.  I think I'll be doing this again with some different backgrounds.

Thanks for stopping by.  Your visits and comments are appreciated.

Just Us Girls #284

I'm just squeaking under the wire with this card for Just Us Girls - Splatters.  I had the idea so sat down after supper and made it in half an hour.

I used a sentiment from Hero Arts and large splotches and brushes from Paper Smooches.

Thanks for stopping by.  Your visits and comments are always appreciated.

MM #144

I've been making so many valentine cards that it seemed weird to bring out my Christmas stamps but I wanted to get a start on my cards with the challenge at Merry Monday - with a bow.  Now I don't put bows on my cards, at least not real ribbon bows.  Maybe a twine one now and then but if they can't be mailed in a regular envelope then I forego them. Luckily I had a bow stamp and this card was born.

I was perusing the Dick Blick catalog in art class a couple of weeks ago and saw that they had their Inktense pencils on sale half price.  I couldn't afford to pass that up.  I played around with them the other night and knew they would work for this stamp set by Sheena Douglas.  I think the practice one turned out better than my finished card but isn't that often the case.  I accidentally spattered some paint as I was wetting the pencil tip so went ahead and made intentional spatters.  I will tell you, using those pencils takes practice. Lots of it.

Thanks for stopping by.  Your visits and comments are always appreciated.

Watercolor Homework #1

I spent some time yesterday catching up with the Online Card class.

I did some watercolor before taking the class but they showed a few different things to do.  Some turned out okay and some I need to work on more.  I don't want to share too much detail because people paid to take the class to learn these techniques. Day one and two were all about backgrounds.

This HA flourish was the only large background stamp I had.

The center panel on this one is a little wonky but I like the technique.  To make it not so obvious, I drew a black doodle line around it. I thought that narrow line needed a narrow sentiment so I used the handwritten borders by SSS.  I smudged the white border of the card so decided to make a lot of deliberate splots and splatters to cover it up.

Time for day 3.  This one is about stamping with watercolor and is the one I'm most looking forward to.  See you tomorrow with more homework.

CS #174 and ABNH

Sometimes I have trouble getting inspiration from a photo.  Or in this case, a photo of someone else's card. This one was by Donna Mikasa and is so bright and "totally cool".  I usually go straight for the "copy" as I did for this week's CASE Study.

I started out by trying to splatter my card.  I don't have any mists so I watered down some old acrylic paint and flicked it off my paint brush.  What do you know?  It worked.  I embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder, inked over it with Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Inks, and splattered on some more green and then navy ink.  It needed something more.  Sequins or enamel dots are another thing I don't have so I cut navy paper with a hole punch, glued them on and covered them with Glossy Accents.  Voila' -homemade enamel dots.

Since I used a new sentiment stamp from Hero Arts "Say It All" set, I'm also entering this into the A Blog Named Hero challenge - New Year, New Stash.

Thanks for stopping by and an extra thank you if you leave a comment.

CTS #37

Hexagons are all the rage now, so is it any wonder CAS(E) this Sketch put them in this week's challenge.

I have the Happy Hexagons cover plate die from PTI and they are smaller than in the sketch but I wanted to use them anyway.

I had a leftover piece (the outsides) from a previous project that I cut apart, leaving the five hexagons.  I used it as a stencil and rubbed on Tumbled Glass and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Inks. When I was done, it looked rather bare so I added water to the inks and splattered the paper, also adding in some Shabby Shutters. I've seen a lot of splattering lately and I rather like the look.  I auditioned a number of inks for the sentiment and they were either to dark or too light.  Just like Goldilocks, I found just the right thing. A marker on a Hero Arts stamp.  It still looks rather light in the photo but looks good IRL.

I did get some cards made yesterday and I will show them in a later post.  I will also have to do homework for the last week of Summer Camp 2.  I never enjoyed homework as much as I do for this kind of class.

Have a wonderful day and keep crafting.