Twofer Challenge #41

I am sad to report that the Twofer Challenge will be closing after this month.  Our Darling Darnell has given us a wonderfully fun challenge for the last four years but family and health issues require more of her time and as we well know that takes priority.  Many thanks to you and your team, Darnell, for all the creativity we've seen on this unique challenge.  

Here's the prompt.

I'm so glad I brought stamps with me that I can use for this final challenge.  I would have hated to miss it.

The images are from Gerda Steiner, colored with Zigs.

Here the little bulldog is all forlorn that he forgot someone's birthday.  The 'doghouse' is cut from paper from a Honey Bee Stamps pack with an MFT die.   The card base behind was inked with Altenew using a blender brush.

Here he is consoling his little cat friend.  After masking the horizon, the sky was ink blended with Altenew and then the top was masked and the grass added.  The little speech bubble just happened to be in the stamp set - one I computer generated a while ago.  

I hope you'll make a card for this last challenge.  Or at least stop by and give the design team some love before they ride off into the sunset.

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the subscription form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add  Bobby.bitsandpieces at gmail dot com to your contact list 

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

Twofer Challenge #40

I love birds and one thing that brings me joy is watching them at my feeders.  Fortunately I brought a bird stamp with me this summer so I can enter the challenge at Twofer Card Challenge where birds have to be the focus of our cards - two designs, two occasions.  Here are the two together.

I used the Wren and Robin set from The Greetery for my birds.

For this card I stamped the robins as shown in the stamp set with Altenew ink.  The background was blended with CP inks and the panel cut with an MFT dome die was popped up with foam tape.  The sentiment is from Altenew's Poppy Garden.

For this card I turned the robin into a chickadee - partly stamping and partly coloring with Zigs.  I also used Zigs to color the berry branch from Altenew's Winter Florals and added a sentiment from MFT's Sweet Holiday Penguins.

I'm glad you dropped by.  I'd love it if you left a comment.

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the subscription form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add  Bobby.bitsandpieces at gmail dot com to your contact list 

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

Twofer Challenge #38

Things are really looking yummy over at the Twofer Challenge.  As Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake!"  or in this case make a cake.  Or cupcake.  You choose.

I chose cupcake because that's the best stamp/die set I have that could be finagled to make two different designs.  It's the Layered Cupcake set from Altenew.

Here's the rundown individually.

I stamped the cupcake and added a flower from The Greetery over the icing.  For display, I put it in the nested dome from Waffle Flower. The background is from Catherine Pooler, embossed instead of cut and the tag and sentiment are from My Craft Spot (oob).

I stamped the cupcake and then didn't know what to do with it to make a different design.  Aha!  How about shaker card?  I know the cupcake is still in the middle but the surroundings are different. ;)  The sprinkles are from a tag die set from MFT and the little pieces are some I saved from a die that cuts little holes all over.  Now that I see them I wish I'd done more like that instead of the bigger ones.  

For some added fun, Darnell said we could include our favorite cake recipe.  When my kids were young they didn't really like frosting so I came across this cake that solved the problem.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Cook one small box of chocolate pudding according to package directions.  

Mix in one box of chocolate cake mix, stirring well.  

Pour into 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

    and 1/2 cup of chopped nuts (optional). 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  

It's moist and delicious as is but you could add whipped topping if you like.  EZPZ.

Twofer Challenge #37

As the leaves pop out on our trees here in the Midwest, what a perfect prompt from the Twofer Challenge.

Using Altenew's Leaf Canopy I made a sympathy card and a birthday card.

For the sympathy card I heat embossed the leaves with white pearl, applied the panel to some PTI Jadite cardstock and added the sentiment from Avery Elle in white shimmer paper. I recently saw a Jennifer McGuire video featuring this technique and it was so lovely I had to try it.

For the birthday card I stamped a single branch with Gina K sage ink on dark cardstock and colored the leaves with PolyChromos pencils, going over them with Gamsol.  The sentiment is from PTI.

You've done it again, Twofer Team.  This was such a fun prompt to work with.

Twofer #36

The Twofer Challenge has a twist this time.  They're giving us a choice of what image to use to make two cards for two different occasions.  I missed playing with them the last two months but I'm back with a vengeance with a new stamp set from The Greetery.  Needless to say I didn't stop buying while I was gone but it all came to Ohio so I didn't get to play until I got home.

Quite a different look right?  

I made this card first, stamping the flower as it comes from the set.  I mounted it on Nordic Frames, also from The Greetery.

I knew right away how I wanted to use the stamp for a second card but it gave me fits.  This is actually my second attempt at creating black-eyed Susans from one part of the flower.  I masked the blooms and did a wash on watercolor paper before stamping.  The 'cone' is from an Altenew set, the frame from PTI and the sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly.  

I made both cards without thinking about a sentiment.  Bad idea!!  One is necessary to convey two different occasions for the challenge so I scrambled to find ones that would fit on the cards.

Since I used a NBUS stamp set, I'll send the first card to Darnell's second challenge. 

That's for visiting.  Stay well.

Twofer Challlenge #34

Fortunately for me this month's Twofer Challenge is one I can do from my snowbird home.  I didn't bring many stamps with me but I always have flowers and that is their prompt.

I used Positive Vibes from Altenew thinking we can always use some of those these days although I only used one of the sentiments.

I spent an afternoon making a whole bunch of the flowers in different colors and decided on the orange ones for my encouragement card

I took four of the images and placed them around the edges, cutting off the overlap.  The birthday card uses two of the flower bouquets in pink.

I embossed the background with the Subtle folder and added the Sunny Studio sentiment on an Altenew label die.

Bonnie Klass recently joined the Twofer Challenge Design Team.  Congrats, Bonnie!  I also got a chance to meet and have lunch with her and husband Bruce on our way down to our winter residence in NC. It is always such fun connecting in person with our blog friends.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you have a chance to meet some of your crafty friends.

Twofer Card Challenge #33

This month at the Twofer Card Challenge they are allowing us to catch up with our holiday cards by making two Christmas cards instead of two cards for different occasions.  I took advantage of that and made these using the requisite stars.

I knew I wanted to use the EbyE Star Trail and played around with different images until I found something that pleased me.  Both of my images and sentiments are from MFT.

On black watercolor paper, I used Altenew metallic watercolors to make my aurora borealis.  The bear and iceberg were colored with Zigs and the stars were lined with glitter paper. It's difficult to see it and the sparkle of the heat embossed sentiment in the photo.

For the background on this card I used Distress Inks with a blending brush, then cut the panel with a N&T scalloped rectangle.  The angel was colored with Zigs and shimmer paper was added behind the stars.

It was so much fun to make these cards.  I hope your Christmas card stash is coming along.  The gals at Twofer can help you along with some wonderful inspiration if you check out the blog.  

Twofer Challenge #31

I didn't think I was going to be able to enter the Twofer Challenge because I didn't have any stamps with their theme with me.  

Then I saw a bag I threw some stamps and dies in at the last minute and in there was the answer to the challenge.  Reverse Confetti Triangle Trees.

First up - The trees as they are meant to be used.  For Christmas.

The three different trees were heat embossed in gold and then watercolored.  They are arranged on a panel cut with The Greetery's Crimped Frame that has been dipped in gold embossing powder.   

Here's a close-up of the tree that you will find on the other card.

This one is for a masculine birthday.

I stamped the tree in black around the center point of my cardstock.  All the circles were cut with MFT dies and the bottom two were popped up on fun foam and then placed on a black card front.  

So there you have it.  Two cards using the same RC tree stamp - one for Christmas and one for a birthday. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Twofer Challenge #30

I don't have any sun or moon stamps and that is the prompt for this month's Twofer Challenge.  But I do have circle dies and used one of them for a mask to make moons for my two different cards for two different occasions.

The first card is just to make someone smile.

I placed my circle mask , then inked the background with Distress Inks, trying to make an aurora borealis. It would have worked better using Oxide inks ( I didn't bring them with me) but you get the idea.  The little bear is from MFT and the iceberg from a friend. Both are watercolored with DIs. 

The next card was also made with Distress Inks, using the same moon mask.

I added the sand dunes and fence from PTI and then wondered what sentiment to use.  I thought it would make a good sympathy card and used a sentiment also from PTI.

I'm trying to get my craft supplies organized in my new living quarters and since it's small I have things here and there.  It works fairly well but I don't like to drag things out every day so I'll probably just do sporadic crafting when the weather dictates. Or when I get the itch.  

Thanks for dropping by.  

Twofer Card Challenge #24

I was really excited when I saw the prompt for the Twofer Card Challenge this month.  Flowers.  Flower stamps are my favorite and I have a ton of them.  I decided on Beautiful Peony from Altenew for my cards.

I already had the flower on the sympathy card colored and waiting for a chance to use it.  I added it to a gray card base stamped with the diamond background from The Stamp Market and clear heat embossed.

I thought the image would make a lovely border, so I stamped around the edge of Bristol cs and colored the blossoms with Zigs in a color similar to the peonies my mother used to have.

I needed a rather large sentiment to fill the space and settled on this one from PTI that I thought would make a great anniversary card.  I have four anniversaries in June so it will come in handy.

So there you have it.  Two cards using a peony for two occasions -  Sympathy and Anniversary.  I hope you have a chance to play along.