Group of Seven Cardmakers - Floating Frames

Almost a month has gone by since I made a card using the floating frames technique featured on the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog.  I'm now just getting around to posting it.  

I think the technique works better if you have a solid background die cut but since I didn't I went with the option of using small images that could be repeated around the card.  The flowers from Altenew's Truly Amazing set were stamped with VersaFine Toffee and stenciled with Altenew ink.  There are two different images so I stamped and colored two of each, then arranged them around the panel.  The die cuts were picked up with Press and Seal and an MFT oval cut from the middle.  The remaining pieces were popped up with foam tape on the card panel that had been stamped with a Penny Black sentiment in the same Toffee ink.  For a better explanation, there are videos on the Go7 blog.

I made a second card with the oval that was left over.

A scalloped oval from MFT was cut in C9's Marmalade to frame the flowers and placed on a background embossed with Honey Bee's Burlap folder.  The sentiment is a BetterPress from Spellbinders done in Toffee ink.

It's always fun to try new things.  Thanks for dropping by to see what I did.

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Time Out #275 - Theme Challenge

Do you like to bake?  Here's your chance to show off your skills on paper with the challenge at Time Out. 

Our sponsor this fortnight is Lawn Fawn who will be awarding our winner a $25 store credit.  The Design Team has lots of inspiration for you over on the blog.  Here's mine.

The little girl is from MFT  and is colored with Altenew artist markers.  I cut the panel with a scalloped die also MFT and a larger one from some paper that matched the frosting.  I thought it needed something else so I embossed the background with Cross My Heart from Spellbinders.  

I hope we see your sweet treats in our gallery.

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Just Us GIrls #678 - Color Week

It's Color Week at Just Us Girls and our host Nancy has chosen these lovely colors for us.

I went in an entirely different direction from my usual florals.  

I rarely use this set from MFT and thought it was time I got it out.  Plus I need the alcohol marker practice. I cut her with a scalloped oval from MFT and placed it on a stitched rectangle with the Concord and 9th Celebrations turnabout on it in the challenge colors. 

What do you think of when you see these colors?  I hope you'll show us with a card for our gallery.  We are welcoming Claire Apostoloff as our guest this month.  She and the rest of the Design Team have some wonderful inspiration for you. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #579 and Inkspirational #286

I made a card for Freshly Made Sketches and didn't like it at all.  Fortunately I had cut a second set of the Dogwood from HoneyBee so I made a similar card that I like much better.

The blossoms were cut from a Brusho panel I found in my Bits box, the leaves from a scrap I sprayed with Twisted Citron, and the branch from Bristol so I could color it with Zigs. The background is Altenew paper embossed with SSS's Blossom Field.  I embossed a white MFT oval with the SU Subtle folder and placed it on a brown scalloped oval also from MFT.  The sentiment is from HoneyBee's My Favorite Flower. 

Inkspirational has a mood board with what looks like these flowers so I'm sending my card to them too.

Thanks for dropping by.  I love it when you do.

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The Flower Challenge #43 - Reminder

There's still time to make a card for The Flower Challenge. 

Our sponsor is Bugaboo and I'm using the same digital image they gave me for this reminder, sizing it differently.

The panel was cut with a scalloped oval from MFT and colored the teapot with Inktense pencils.   It's placed on some Summer Sunrise cardstock (appropriate for the theme don't you think?) that was embossed with Seeing Spots.  I decided to forego a sentiment.

Why not check out the our guest designer Trina Pham and the rest of the Design Team's cards for inspiration and make a card for this challenge.  You could win a $12 gift card to the Bugaboo digital store.

Color Throwdown #535

If I don't have an image almost immediately of what I want to make, I usually don't enter a challenge.  I find if I force myself to come up with something, I'm not happy with it.  I knew right away what I wanted to do for the Color Throwdown.

I stamped the Concord and 9th Bloom Fill-in with CP Shea Butter then added the blossoms and leaves in Altenew ink.  The sentiment from PB is on an oval die from PTI.  It look me longer to decide on the sentiment than it did to make the rest of the card.

I'm off to my daughter's today to spend Spring break with her.  I'll have my Chromebook so I'll be able to comment but won't be doing any posting.  Anything you see crop up will be a post that was scheduled.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you have a great week.

Just Us Girls #475 - Color Week

Are you ready for some color?  Just Us Girls host Maria has chosen these colors for the challenge.

I must say I struggled with this because I didn't want to make any more valentines.  After days of thinking about it, an idea came to me in the wee hours of the morning.

I see cards where the flowers are stamped around the edges but I rarely do that.  Using the Altenew wildflowers in the challenge colors around the edge of my card worked just as I imagined. I cut an MFT scalloped oval to stamp my PTI sentiment on and popped it in the middle.

What will you do with these colors?  I hope you'll make a card for our gallery for a chance at being Chic of the Week.  The Design Team and guest designer Lisa Elton have some beautiful cards to inspire you.

Happy Little Stampers Christmas - September

Another month has flown by and it's time for September's challenge at Happy Little Stampers Christmas.

Of course I had to do the twist.

I have this layered tree stamp from HA and wanted to see how it would work with my Puff embossing powder to add snow to the branches.  I loved how it looked but then I had to figure a way to display it.  I watercolored around the edge of the tree and cut it with a scalloped oval from MFT.  I knew I wanted a plaid background, something soft to bring out that sky so I used my C9 plaid background and stamped it in Sea Glass and Frayed Leaf  from Altenew.  The sentiment is from the same HA set stamped on a banner from LF.

The Design Team has cards for your inspiration and we look forward to seeing what you make for our challenge this month.  The winner will receive a $20 voucher to HLS which will be doubled if HLS stamps are used.

Addicted to CAS #143

I'm hosting at Addicted to CAS for this challenge and my code word is

One of the things I like about summer is the abundance of berries - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries (black and red), just to name a few.  I've included them all on my card.

The fruit is a layering set from Sunny Studio and I placed them on a MFT scalloped oval that was mounted on a panel embossed with a basket weave folder.  I generated the sentiment on my computer.

Check out the cards made by our Design Team and guest designer AsaJ.  I hope they inspire you to make one of your own.

Addicted to CAS #136

The code word for this challenge at Addicted to CAS was chosen by Ceal.

Since I lost my Mom two years ago I haven't made any Mother's Day cards and I don't usually send them to my daughter and daughters-in-law but this year may be the exception.

I started with a die from AliExpress. I stamped and embossed in silver the sentiment from Altenew and popped it up on foam.  The roses are from WPlus9.  I stamped a whole bunch of them one day and keep them in the stamp folder so they are ready at a moment's notice.  I need to do some in other colors too.

The Design Team has some wonderful cards for you to see over on the blog.  We hope it inspires you to enter a card.  The winner will receive a $20 voucher to Happy Little Stampers.

AAA Cards #112

AAA Cards wants us to use our favorite technique on our cards. I have a number of techniques I gravitate towards but for this challenge I decided to watercolor with my Zigs.

I colored a number of the Altenew flowers, not sure of how I wanted to arrange them on a filigreed oval, and used almost all of them  The sentiment is from Altenew also.

I'm off tomorrow to watch the State robotics competition.  I would never have thought that I could get so excited watching machines carry cubes and put them on scales, then climb the scale with another robot on a ramp.  Maybe the fact that my 15 year old granddaughter is the one operating the arms that pick up those cubes is what makes it so much fun to watch.  I'd love to go see the finals on Saturday but we have a memorial service for the mother of one of my best friends.  Maybe we'll get home in time to see a live stream of the finals.

Thanks for dropping by. 

Merry Monday #249

I did it!  My very first digi image.  I wasn't sure if my printer ink would work and not smear but it did fine as you can see by this mistletoe that I did for Merry Monday.

I printed it on light weight multi-media paper so it would go through my printer and I could watercolor it with Distress Ink.  The sentiment is from My Craft Spot (closed).

Thanks for dropping by.

Merry Monday #248 and Muse: Christmas Visions #80

I'm trying to keep up with Merry Monday and I think I've made a card almost every week.  This week they have a color challenge -  turquoise, purple and green.

I thought those colors called for a rather funky tree so I used this one from N&T, stamping it with Altenew inks.  I just had to use the sentiment that came with the set.

My next card is for Muse:Christmas Visions.  The muse is Kimberly Weiner and more than being inspired I actually CASEd her card.  Here's Kimberly's:

And mine:

I switched out kraft for her blue and pine cones for her birds, adding a glitter word die from TH. If I keep this up I should have enough cards to mail by Christmas.

I'm so excited.  Our former bell choir director is in town and we got the gang together to play tomorrow (Sunday).  I just got back from rehearsal and I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope your weekend is going well.

CAS MIx-Up and Inkspirational #130

I love smooshing so I'm glad there are a couple of challenges that give me reason to play around with it.  My card is for CAS Mix-Up and Inkspirational.

For CAS Mix-Up you had to do smooshing, stamping and your choice.  I heat embossed the stamped sentiment from A Jillian Vance Design and smooshed over it with Distress Oxides (emboss resist - my choice) plus I die cut with a MFT scalloped oval and added sequins.    Do you know how difficult it is to get a sentiment stamped straight on an oval?  Or cut an oval straight over a sentiment.  I thought it was even but now it looks like it's going uphill, not unlike my actual handwriting. ;)

In hindsight I should have done a birthday card since CAS Mix-Up is celebrating it's first birthday.  It's hard to believe that it was only a year ago that Bonnie and Loll began this fun challenge.  Time flies when you're having fun creating, doesn't it?  Happy Birthday and Many More!

I haven't played at Inkspirational in a while but they also have a Smooshing challenge so I'm sending my card there as well.

Thanks for dropping by.

Merry Monday #227

Holiday Cheer is the name of the game at Merry Monday and so I bring you this:

SSS mugs, MFT die, Zig coloring, PB sentiment, American Crafts pp

I'd really be drinking my cocoa or hot cider from a snowman mug but I thought snowflakes and holly would do for guests.  Thanks for dropping by to visit.