Poppies for birthday

 The ultimate summer flowers for me are poppies. But since they wither fast, it is safer to give them as a card. 

I have so many poppy stamps to prove my poppy addiction; today my selection fell on these supplies, a stamp set with lovely large poppies, a gifted gelli printed background and sentiments and their frames.

I started by cutting the gelli print to size. I preserved the woman's face, thinking it might peek behind the flowers. But in the end it was covered to an extent that it is unrecognizable only if you know what to look for. I then stamped the poppies and colored them in with markers, then fussy cut them. 

I arranged them on the background, raising the flowers with foam pads, but glueing the stems down. Then I stamped the label, fussy cut it and stamped the sentiment on it. It reads 'Best wishes for your birthday'.

Entering this in these challenges that inspired me today:

We Love Stamping: Summer Blooms

Beautiful Blossoms: #44 AG floral/ photo inspiration optional. I was inspired by the photo

 

Triple B: TB August/ moodboard optional

 

Passion For Markers: #851 Floral Vibes 

Hand Stamped Sentiments: #495 AG/ moodboard optional - I was inspired by the combination of red yellow, green in this moodboard 

 

Creative Inspirations: August AG 

 

Fiddling to get it right

 I usually have a firm idea for the card in my mind, and after gathering the supplies I take a photo of them, before cutting in. Well, today was no different. Inspired by several challenges I selected these.

I was so sure the green background, enhanced by white stenciling, would work. But it did not. The green and white had too much contrast in regards to the delicate butterflies. (The circles are in the picture.)

So a frantic search for a more suitable background started. The choice fell on two.

 

Luckily the first choice worked. I stenciled the flower pattern over the handwriting with Lunar Paste in silver, then cut out the circles. The background had been prepared earlier: the lantern stencil was applied three times with white chalk paste. Now it was dry and I could work in some yellow oxide (Antique Linen) over it.

 

I then glued the circles over the previously stenciled circles and finally adhered the butterflies. The sentiment was stamped directly to the card base and it reads: Enjoy your day.

 

Entering this in the challenges that were my inspiration today:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Going around in circles 

CAS Mix Up: Stenciling over patterned paper

 

Alphabet Challenge: I is for Insects

 Unicorn Challenge: #123 Layer it Up

Krafty Chicks: #834 CAS

Love Those Pretty Papers: ATG/ Look to the Skies optional - I am playing with ATG 

Under the sea

 I was still in the mood for holiday cards and had set out to create some without snow when I noticed a challenge for on/ under the sea. Wait - could I make that prompt work for a Christmas card? I remembered my trusty Santa stamp where he is traveling in space, yes, I think so.

Out came the supplies: the Santa stamp set, some stamped sea life images (thank you Julia!), inks, silver thread and gauze. Later I added the sentiment ho-ho-ho from another stamp set as well as some markers and two more fish from another set.

I worked first with the background, smooshing it with inks. Then I stamped and cut out Santa and colored him. I placed the fish and the seaweed, then found that one fish was not enough and stamped the other two directly onto the card. The gauze was wrapped with silver thread. I placed the sentiment over it.

 

I hope the young man who is going to receive it will find it suitable ( he practices diving) and perhaps even funny.

 Entering this in these challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge: On / under the sea

Peace on Earth Christmas: #118 AG

 

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Christmas without snow

 

Creative Crafters: #103 AG

Jingle Belles: Masculine Merriment 

 

 

Christmas greetings

I still need a few holiday cards. I thought I would be nearly done, but actually, the list seems to be growing. How that happened I don't have the faintest. Again, there were some nice challenges to guide my way.

 

My initial supplies were a stencil, a designer paper, some snowflakes from my ready stash and some Distress paints. This summer I have mostly used my gelli prints, so the designer paper stash has not gotten any smaller. The idea was to stencil over patterned paper.

Later I added another stencil and more colors. I also drew the outlines of the houses, windows and doors so they would stand out more.

 

Entering this in these challenges:

Stencil Fun: August AG / CAS optional. I am playing with AG

ABC Christmas Challenge: P, Q and R are for? I am playing with Q - Quartet: four houses.

Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge: #209 AG Christmas

The Outlawz Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas goes

Polkadoodles: #8 week 3 AG 

On gardening

My firm belief is that gardening teaches you to believe in yourself and your abilities. Sure something might go wrong, and frequently does, but that's how you learn. Learn to water more, or water less, give some plants a richer soil and poorer for some. Learn which plants thrive next to each other and which ones waste away.

Well, enough said I think. There are several challenges that offer a garden related theme, and as I needed an encouragement card for someone, I found this an excellent opportunity to give my gardening stamps an outing.

Gingham makes a gardening scene look so wholesome, don't you think? I figured I could make a gingham with my diagonal strip stamps. I used a shimmery pink ink for that. After that I die cut the background using one of the whimsical rectangle dies.

I then stamped and die cut the flower pots and the watering can and placed them roughly where they should be. I stamped the flowers so that they would sit just underneath the pot rims and then attached the pots with foam tape.  Lastly I gave the flowers big blotches of ink (oxide), just to break the orderliness created by the other elements. The sentiment is from a TH sentiment pad.

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Alphabet Challenge: H is for Horticulture

Simply Clean and Simple: #scas August AG, optional Nature - I am playing with this option

Just Add Ink: #792 Choose Two (or more) - I chose gingham and flowers

 

Inkspirational: #374 Word prompt: Garden

Ellibelle's Garden Challenge: #18 Anything in or from a garden 

 

 

 

Happy my a**

 Today's card make is a birthday card. I recently won some digital stamps (from Mo's Digital Pencil) and have been looking for suitable inspiration. Which came today in the form of 'birthday'. 

The first supplies were remnants strips. I finally wanted to use up the pile (but did not succeed quite yet...)

 

Then I selected one of the circles and pulled out other supplies: an embossing folder, the birthday boy digital stamp print-out,  markers and some text.

I embossed the background, colored in the image and fussy cut it, then stamped the birthday greetings and selected a rather ungracious greeting from the envelope of other, just as ungracious texts. Imagine this spoken out in posh English... the translation is in the header. I think his face says it all.

 

Entering this in these lovely challenges that were my source of inspiration today:

Allsorts: #856 Embossing, dry or heat - I used dry embossing 

Seize the Birthday: #332 Funny, pun-ny

 Addicted to Stamps and More: #523 Birthdays

 

Digi Choosday: #8 week 3, AG 

Snippets Playground: #539 AG w/ snippets 

Remember

 Today I took my inspiration from a sketch, a tic-tac-toe and challenges with prompts. I don't often make vintage-inspired cards, but today was the day.

It all clicked together when I found this stash of design paper with fades and color runs and delicate handwriting. That reminded me of my stash of floral rub-ons from Japan that I have wanted to use. Add to that some shape dies and gems (not in the photo), and the card was taking shape in my mind.

 

I cut two hexagons and mounted them onto the background paper. I then selected a branch with flowers and rubbed it on. A butterfly was added as were three stratetigally placed gems. The sentiment is a strip that has hung in my stash since a decade - finally I found a good place for it!

 

Entering this in these challenges that inspired me today:

Time Out: #319 Pick 2 - My choices were geometric, stitching and floral

 

TGIF: #590 Sketch challenge

 

Little Red Wagon: #871 "We didn't start the fire" - I chose to go with 'history'

Tic-Tac-Toe: #tttc299 My choice is the diagonal: insects -gems-free

 

Kreativ-Tanten: #116 Alles geht / Anything goes 

A Place To Start: #260608 AG / no rectangles optional - I am playing with AG (2nd entry) 

 

Catching butterflies

Several challenges caught my attention today. It all started with a color palette and the word prompts gave me all the ideas.

This is what I pulled out: a critter stamp, a butterfly stamp, a watercolored background that was left over from a project long ago and my GT watercolors. I really like to use watercolors, as they can be used opaque or transparent.

 

I cut the background to size, then, instaed of matting it just edged it with black ink. I stamped the butterflies, colored a few of them in and fussy cut them. Then I stamped the critter and the net and colored them in, too. I mounted the critter with a foam strip and arranged the butterflies around him. The sentiment reads: Hi, how are you doing?

 

Entering this in these wonderful challenges:

Color Dare: #715 palette - for neutrals I used black and brown

 

Simon Says Wednesday: Summertime blues

As You Like It: Favorite coloring medium - and why Mine is GT watercolors, they go on from transparent to opaque

Avenue 613: AG/ optional twist Playtime - I am playing with this option

 

Creative Friday: #418 Querformat / Landscape format

Critter Crazy: #113 AG

Daisy Chain Challenge: #110 Animals

PIP: #2632 AG 

Well hello there

Today I was again ispired by several challenges to create a card. 

And I needed so many supplies! One of the themes is tropics, so I selected a crocodile stamp that I have had for at least three years now. But also the flower in the "Winter foliage" set looks like it would be at home in a tropical setting. 

 I started by ink blending the background with a medium pale green of the ink set. Then I stamped a canopy of leaves with the darkest ink. I did this directly onto the card base. 

I then stamped the flowers and the crocodile and colored them in with markers. Crocodile has to hide, so I made him/ her blotchy, but went all out on the flowers. I then die cut the tropical greenery and also colored it with markers to match the crocodile.

The 'hello sunshine' die cuts were left overs from the sunflower card, but they seemed very fitting here. 

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #278 Off to the tropics - all stamps used today are older than a year.

Pick 3 : #7 July-August I went with 'Tropics- Sunshine- Sequins'.  

Passion for Markers: #850 Dies and/ or punches

Crafty Gals Corner: AG / Summer vibes optional. I am playing with Summer vibes

The Crafting Challenge: Buongiorno luglio 

 

Santa, oh Santa!

 I was inspired today by a couple of challenges to make a Christmas card, I am still very lacking in the department. With one person in mind, who is given to punny, dry humor I collected my supplies:

 

A Santa-in-Space stamp set, a piece of gelli printed paper, a stencil with stars, a package of somewhat irreverend sayings, and missing from the picture, golden Lunar paste and markers.

I stamped the moon and the Santa and colored them in, then fussy cut them. I stenciled some golden stars onto the background, mounted the gelli print onto black backing before mounting it onto the card. Then I selected a saying from the pack, something Santa could be saying if stressed out.

 

Entering this in these challenges that were my inspiration today:

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Funny/ Punny 

Christmas All Year Round: P and Q - my letter is P and stand for presents 

Stencil Fun: AG, CAS optional - I am playing AG 

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends: #283 August AG

A Perfect Time to Craft: #8 August AG