CAS Mix-Up August 2022

My supply of sympathy cards was depleting fast so I got a new stamp and die set called Dragonfly from HoneyBee to make a few cards.   I'm sending this one to CAS Mix-up where the prompt is 'emboss resist'.

The dragonfly was white heat embossed on PTI paper and inked with Salvaged Patina and Wilted Violet Distress Inks.  I thought it was a little too plain so I cut a SSS stitched circle from the center - thank goodness it fit around the ink blending - and popped it up.  The set has sentiment dies so it was heat embossed, cut and inked with Wilted Violet.  

While I had the stamps out I made a few others that will probably pop up on my blog at some time.  You'll have to come back to see. ;)

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CAS Mix-Up July 2022

The CAS challenges are back after a brief hiatus and I'm so glad.  I really missed them. Today's card is for CAS Mix-Up - Things with Wings and it's a watercolor challenge. 

I remembered I brought with me some hot foiled butterflies that I did while visiting Bonnie this winter.  To make the background, I used a stencil from MFT and Distress Inks to make an impressionistic garden scene.   The sentiment from Hero Arts is gold heat embossed.  

Thanks for dropping by.  I'm off to help lay vinyl plank floors.  

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CAS Mix-Up June 2022

I was so happy to have CAS Mix-Up back that I had to make a card.  I must admit it is not one I'm very fond of.  Usually I won't post cards I don't like but several times I have and find that other people like them and I've even won some challenges with cards that I thought were 'eh'.  

The prompt for the challenge is to use gel/paste through a stencil.  I didn't bring many stencils with me so after some deliberation and the need for masculine cards I used my PinkFresh Studio argyle stencil.  I used Peacock Feathers DI on some light aqua cardstock for the first layer and when it was dry applied the texture paste through the second one.  The same Peacock Feathers was applied to a scrap so I could match the die cut sentiment from MFT.  The stenciled panel is popped up as is the 'y'.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you are having some crafty fun.

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CAS Mix-Up January 2022

I watched the linked videos on loose watercoloring over at CAS Mix-Up and  made this card.

The hummingbird and flowers from WPlus9 were stamped on Canson Watercolor paper and colored with Distress Inks.  I added a few light splatters with the remaining ink.  The sentiment is from Penny Black.

I enjoyed this so much I've packed a few other stamps for our trip south that should work well this technique.  You may not see them for a while but I'll have fun making them.  

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CAS Mix-Up November - Stencils

Loll has brought back the stencil monoprint for this month's challenge at CAS Mix-Up. I don't always have the right stencils or get good results but this time things were going well and I ended up making two cards. 

This one uses an old PTI stencil with Distress Inks.  The panel was cut down and mounted on ivory cardstock.  The sentiment from HA was stamped on a scrap of the watercolor paper and cut with an MFT die that fit perfectly along one of the lattice slats.  A little sprig from TH finishes it off.

This one uses another older PTI stencil but this time with Brushos.  It looks like waves so I added the seashells from Honey Bee, colored with Zigs.  The sentiment is from Altenew.  They are individual words and it took forever to line them up but I like what it says. 

There's still time to enter this challenge and if you don't know about making a monoprint the description and a link to several videos can be found on their challenge blog.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you take time to unwind.

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CAS Mix-UP October and Less Is More #454

I told you I got carried away with the technique at CAS Mix-Up and here I am with six more cards using botanical prints.  Only one will enter the challenge and it will also go to Less Is More.  I'll post that one first and you can skip the rest if you want.

I went foraging in the back yard and found this leaf that I covered with VersaMark, pressed down on my card front and white heat embossed.  I gave it some color with Distress Inks and added the Altenew sentiment.

I made a similar one a little less CAS.

After inking outside the image, a PTI sentiment was added, the panel trimmed and placed on PTI Canyon Clay cardstock. 

Always in need of sympathy cards I made the next two.  

A tiny branch from a winterberry bush was inked with VersaMark and silver embossed.  The panel was bordered with Navy with a navy sentiment.

This is the same branch embossed in copper with a brown border.  The little extra leaf covers a smudge.

The next one is very interesting.  See if you can figure out how it was done.

When sending this cute little plant through my Big Shot I added a piece of paper towel to absorb the juices.  The image on the towel came out better than the one on the watercolor paper so I glued it to a scrap with an adhesive sheet and placed it under some green cut with an MFT oval.

The last one is a Christmas card.

I don't know what kind of pine tree this 'branch' is from.  It's soft and delicate but definitely pine since I could smell it when I ran it through my die cutting machine.  Those images didn't come out but this is what I got when I inked it with VersaMark and heat embossed.  A little Rustic Wilderness was all it needed to give it substance.  I added an ornament from SSS heat embossed in clear and silver and a sentiment from PTI.  An interesting thing about that ornament.  I embossed it three times but it kept soaking into the paper so I didn't get the shiny look I was going for.  

So there you go.  I'm done with this technique now.  I have to move on to other cards and challenges but I sure did enjoy doing these.  Thanks so much CAS Mix-Up team for the inspiration. 

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CAS Mix-Up - October 2021

I tell you those gals at CAS Mix-Up can come up with some fabulous ideas for getting us to try new techniques.  I had so much fun with this month's Mixed Media challenge that I couldn't stop until I needed to get my Halloween cards done.  Now that they are I may make even more botanical prints to enter.  There are a number of videos linked to give you ideas.

I sometimes forget about the "other elements" when I'm making my cards but since die cutting is an option all my cards should qualify.  I'll start with the first one I made.

I took leaves from the Ash tree in the back yard and pressed them with my BigShot on watercolor paper.  I didn't get a lot of color but you can see the veins.  I fussy cut them out, put them on Altenew Spicy Yogurt cs and attached a sentiment strip with tiny staples.  I thought this made a great masculine card.  

Card 2:

For this card I ran an Impatiens blossom through my BigShot.  I got a little more color with this one.  I cut a Lawn Fawn scalloped circle from lavender paper, making a 4 1/4 inch square card. 

Card 3:

This one features a Coleus.  I love how this color came out.   I did add paper towel to the sandwich to keep the juices from flowing down the card.  I die cut with an MFT square and roughed up the edges with a TH edger thingy.  I used the same watercolor paper for my card front and stamped the Altenew sentiment in purple. 

Cards 4, 5 and 6:

For these cards I used my Gel Press.  After braying a variety of Distress Inks, I laid on some Ash leaves, pressed down the paper, removed the leaves without disturbing the paper and pressed it down again.  I wish there had been more color variation on the backgrounds but I will try this again to see what I can get.  The panels and borders were cut with WF A2 dies and the sentiment from PTI was stamped directly onto the panel.  I have a number of Thanksgiving cards to make for my homebound people so this gives me a good start. 

Have you tried to make botanical prints?  I tell you it can be addictive.  The Design Team has some wonderful cards to inspire you.  Which one of these do you think I entered in the CAS MixUp gallery?

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CAS Mix-Up September 2021

Autumn colors is a perfect theme for CAS Mix-Up and using watercolors is a fun way to show off those colors. 

I  gold heat embossed the PTI Botanical Blocks sunflower and colored it with Zigs, adding an  embossed sentiment from Sunny Studios.  Since two of these images fit on one piece of Bristol I did another one.

I used lighter colors for the petals but kept the leaves the same.  I also changed out the sentiment for another one from Sunny Studios.  I have a few people who could use a lift and these cards will hopefully do just that.

Thanks for dropping by.  I love it when you do and even more when you leave a comment. 

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CAS Mix-Up Stencil Reminder

There's still time to enter the CAS Mix-Up Challenge.

Not sure how to do this?  Check out all the inspiration the Design Team has for you over on the blog.  This is what I did as a guest designer.

I inked up a SSS diagonal stripe stencil with Lime Rickey ink by CP.  Leaving the stencil in place, I used an image from the SSS July Kit to stamp over it with Joy Clair Ink.  After trimming the panel, I added a border of dark gray, some die cut leaves from PFS and a sentiment from PTI.

I hope you give the technique a try and enter a card into the gallery.

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CAS Mix-Up August - Stencil

I'm happy to be guest designing for CAS Mix-Up this month.  Here are the parameters for the challenge.

I used one layer of the Argyle stencil by PinkFresh Studio to ink up my panel with CP ink.

Leaving the stencil in place, I used Onyx Black ink on the crackle background stamp from SU.  To keep it CAS, I trimmed down the panel to two rows, leaving me enough to make another card.  I added a couple of blossoms from PFS cut from kraft and a sentiment from Hero Arts.

The CAS Mix-Up Design Team has wonderful inspiration for you.  Take a look and then try out the technique.  We'd love to see your card in the gallery.

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CAS Christmas, Watercolor and Mix-Up Challenges

For some reason I seem to get my cards for the CAS challenges all ready at the same time and so I post them together.  It saves on writing and the Design Team members can comment once if they are on multiple teams.  A win-win for us all.

First up is my card for the CAS Christmas challenge - Joy.

The Casual Friday stamp is heat embossed with Silver Sparkle on metallic cardstock from Neenah.  It needed something more so I used my Scoreboard to add double score lines for a border.

For CAS Watercolor - Red and Black, I painted a flower from Penny Black using Zigs.

A PTI frame, some black spatters and a sentiment from SSS finishes it off.

The CAS Mix-Up challenge wanted us to make our own stencil from a die cut.  As I was looking through some dies I found a stencil I had made earlier and forgot about.  Why reinvent the wheel?

 

I recently purchased some Distress Spray Stains and thought it was time to try them out on the leaf stencil cut from a SSS die.  I started with Evergreen Bough and then add some Tarnished Brass. I had a little trouble with blobbing but it still turned out okay.  I cut the panel with the Nordic Frame from The Greetery and added a gold heat embossed sentiment from Paper Smooches.  

Thanks for dropping by.