Time Out #312 - Photo Inspiration

It's time for the photo inspiration challenge at Time Out.

There is a larger picture on the blog if you need more details.  

I started with an inked panel using Weathered Wood, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Oxides.  I thought the Oxides would give me a softer look but it was still too bright.  Here's the fix and final card.

A vellum overlay tones down the colors and gives a great place to stamp and heat emboss the flowers from Altenew's Poppy Garden.  The sentiment is from their Japanese Anemone. 

Our sponsor is Doodlebugs who is offering a $25 store credit to our winner who will also be asked to guest design for a future challenge. 

The Design Team and our guest designer have some wonderful cards to inspire you.  Please check them out and make a card for this challenge.  We'd love to see you in the gallery.

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Just Us Grils #820 - Stencil Week

It's Stencil Week at Just Us Girls and our host Vicki says it's Anything Goes.

I wanted to try something new this time and use my neglected Oxide inks.

Oxides are less transparent than regular inks and I knew I could use them on kraft cardstock.  I did have to order some finger daubers that I could designate just for those inks but that's fine by me.  The image is from Pinkfresh Studio called Painted Daisies and I wanted the flowers white so I started with Hero Arts Unicorn white.  Daisies are my favorite flower after all.  The sentiment is from PF's Cozy Blooms.  

I know you have plenty of stencils so why not  try something new with them?  I can't wait to see what you do.  If you need inspiration, the Design Team has plenty of it for you. 

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Just Us Girls #813 - Die Week

Sue is the host for Die Week at Just Us Girls and this time she has a specific topic.

She wants you to include either something green, something referring to luck or maybe a combination of both while using your dies.  

I want to welcome Milla as our guest designer for the month of March.  Be sure to stop by her blog at Mustesormi to see her wonderful coloring.

I smooshed a panel with Rustic Wilderness, Mowed Lawn and Bundled Sage Distress Oxides and cut it with Penny Black's Classy Frames.  Their Ascending die was colored with Distress Spray in Rustic Wilderness and they were both splattered in gold paint from Altenew.  The frame was cut three more times, once in gold and layered around the panel.  The gold embossed sentiment is from Honey Bee's Gently Squeezed.

There are a lot of greens and die cuts over on the Just Us Girls blog post to inspire you.  We hope to see you in our gallery. 

I'm also sending this to Color Hues for their green and gold challenge.

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Freshly Made Sketches #720

It's not a New Year's resolution because I don't make them but I am trying to use some of my older products.  Today's card for Freshly Made Sketches is a perfect example.

The hive and little bees are from Honey Bee's The Birds and Bees, stamped on Hero Arts hexagons and colored with Altenew artist markers. The background is an older stencil from Funky Fossil inked with what else but Wild Honey Distress Oxide.  The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti.

Thanks for dropping by and spending a bit of your day with me.

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Time Out #303 - Photo Challenge

The photo inspiration for this fortnight's challenge at Time Out was taken by team member Ishani.  

It took me a while to decide what to do until I remembered a die I bought during a sale.

The dies are Flower Center and Flower Petal cover plates from Honey Bee.  I inked a panel with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide and cut it with the Petal die.  Another panel was inked with Worn Lipstick but it was too bright so I went over it with Aged Mahogany and got the color from the photo.  That one was cut with the Flower Center die and backed with SB Antique Glitter cardstock.  The same cardstock was used for the Altenew birthday die, backed with vellum.  

How will this photo inspire you?  Please check out what the Design Team has made and then enter a card in our gallery.  You may win a $20 store credit from Birch Press. 

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Time Out #297 - Inspired By

It's time for another Inspired By challenge at Time Out.

My favorite season is Fall/Autumn and I bet you can guess why. 

Yes, it's all the beautiful colors in the leaves - before they fall and you have to rake them, that is. 😁 I played with Distress Oxides in Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Cracking Campfire, Candied Apple, Rusty Hinge Rustic Wilderness and Aged Mahogany on a panel of mixed media paper until I was happy with how it looked and then cut it with Honey Bee Trees.   I used Broken China and Lucky Clover for the background.  The sentiment is from HB's Sweater Weather on a leftover piece of the inked panel.

So what is your favorite season and how are you going to show us on a card?  There is plenty of inspiration from the Design Team so check them out and enter a card in our gallery.  Our sponsor is Waffle Flower and they are offering a $25 store credit to the winner of the challenge. 

 

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Inkspirational #335 and NBUS #71

Inkspirational has a beautiful mood board for challenge #335.

I saw hyacinths but since I don't have any I thought lilacs would work as well so that's the direction I took.  It's the first time using that die so my card is also going over to NBUS. 

The lilacs are from The Greetery, cut from white PTI cardstock and colored with Altenew inks.  The background is The Greetery's Shiplap Builder.  I've had it in my Bits box for quite a while after trying a technique I saw Betsy do on You Tube.  I can't remember exactly how I did it so I'm glad I have the video saved to try it again.  You may want to try it too. 

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a great day!

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Color Hues #99

Today's post is for the Color Hues challenge and Marcia's pick of pink and aqua.  Congratulations to my friend Bonnie who is their newest design team member.  

I got the Waffle Flower Winter Fun set last year and colored up a few of the images with my Altenew artist markers.  The little girl in pink inspired me to use the set for the challenge.  All I had to do was stamp another skater to color in aqua.  For the river I used the Mountains stencil from PFS with Salvaged Patina DOX ink then masked it off and used what was left on my pink brush to make the sky.  For interest I put them inside of Penny Black's Classy Frames, stacking the outside 3 times.  The sentiment is from Stampendous.  Now I just need to make another card with the rest of the already colored images.

Thanks for dropping by.  

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Color Throwdown #785 and NBUS #60

Hey there crafty friends.  I'm glad you dropped by.  

Today's card features my new tulips from Papertrey Ink that I colored to fit the challenge at Color Throwdown.

The color of my blossoms was inspired by a video I saw from Tina Smith - light yellow inked with Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide.  The green leaves are inked with Lucky Clover.  I hadn't used my C9 Double Stripe Card Front Die in quite a while and thought it would make a great background.  The sentiment from Stampendous was stamped in gray on an Altenew Apothecary label.

Since my tulips are new I'm sending my card to NBUS.  It's also the first time I've used the sentiment too.

Have a great weekend.

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Week 8

Hey there!  I'm so glad you dropped by. 

Have you ever made a retiform card?  That's the technique we are to use for the challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  I knew I had done it before and when I looked it up it was almost 4 years ago that I made my first retiform card.  Here's number two.

The most difficult part was finding enough Christmas images that had a similar line width.  Five of them came from Reverse Confetti, one from The Stamp Market, one from  MFT and one from STAMPlorations.  The sentiment is from Colorado Craft Company.   I used Pumice Stone Distress Oxide to ink the sections and to stamp the images.  For a vintage look, I colored them with PolyChromos pencils.  There is a video listed on the blog if you want more information although I watched one from GinaK.  

Think you'll give this technique a try?

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Inkspirational #309

Hey there.  I'm glad you dropped by.  

All my valentines were done and mailed when I saw the heart challenge at Inkspirational.  Now I have a start for next year. 

The Greetery's heart wreath was cut from white and inked with Distress Oxides in Rustic Wilderness,  Bundled Sage and Broken China.  The love die from Neat and Tangled was cut from textured gold.  Once in place I thought it looked lopsided so added a SSS heart in the same gold. 

Stay warm and keep crafting.

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Inspired By #259

I happened upon the Inspired By challenge and I have just the Halloween card for their ghost challenge. 

The night sky sets the mood for my ghostly scene.  It was colored with Distress Oxides after masking off a circle for the moon. The haunted house is a die from MFT with yellow vellum behind the windows.  Both the ghosts and the sentiment are from EbyE. 

Thanks for dropping by.  

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Freshly Made Sketches #607 and The Card Concept 200

While making a card for another challenge I thought the sentiment would be great as a focal point on the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. 

From back layer to front: Plaid paper from Honey Bee.  Warm Cocoa cardstock from Gina K.  Leaves from Lawn Fawn cut from a panel smooshed with Distress Oxides.  A sentiment from Jillian Vance. 

I'm also sending this to The Card Concept as a clean and layered design.  I haven't played with them since they came back from their hiatus. 

Thanks for dropping by.  I give thanks to you -  my faithful followers. 

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Just Us Girls #679 - Word Week

It's coming up to wedding month and that is the word Lisa K has chosen for Word Week at Just Us Girls.

I already have a card made for my granddaughter's wedding so this one will be saved for future use.

I got this Sizzix embossing folder a while ago thinking it would make great wedding or anniversary cards. I rubbed Lost Shadow Oxide Ink on the folder before sending it through my die cutting machine. I placed the panel on some silver cardstock and added the embossed sentiment from The Greetery.   It's softer and prettier in real life.

Now it's your turn to make a wedding card.  There's plenty of inspiration from the Design Team and our guest Claire on the blog.  Who knows?  Guest designing may be in your future if you enter the winning card. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #574

I love smooshed backgrounds and was playing around with Distress Oxides. This is the card I came up with for Freshly Made Sketches.

Inks used were Antique Linen, Speckled Egg and Weathered Wood.  The same inks were used to color strips of paper to angle across the panel, using a sentiment from Hero Arts on the Weathered Wood.  I think this makes a great masculine card to add to my stash. 

Thanks for dropping by.

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Time Out #225

For a short time I kept a gratitude journal.  It really makes you appreciate the little things.  One of the things I'm thankful for is the crafting community I have found.  I've made great friends, both in real life and virtually.  Today I've made a thankful card for Time Out.

I started with Mica Sprays to make a panel to cut my Tim Holtz leaves.  Then I brought out my neglected Oxide inks to make a blended background on Fine Linen cardstock from PTI with Frayed Burlap, Ground Expresso and Walnut Stain, adding a few splatters.  I tried the word die in dark brown but didn't like it so I topped it with a rust colored cardstock.  

ETA: I just saw the challenge at Tic Tac Toe and will be sending my card to them too.  I used the first column down. 

I'm thankful that you dropped by.

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