Boo to you

 This card took part in the Card Chain and flew to Wendy in Ireland. Did you get interested? If you want take part, too - the sign-up linky is open till the 6th. 

For this I decided to use my new kind of wonky house stamp (Aall&Create) and my bat die (Gummiapan).

I stamped the house and colored it with markers and arranged the bats around. The text I had to write by hand, as I don't own much in the way of Halloween sentiments. 

  

 Entering this in these challenges:

Die Traumfabrik: #155 Halloween

Creative Knockouts: #581 Halloween or fall - Halloween!

Sweet Stamping: Halloween or the colours of Halloween 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG 

NBUS: #92 November 

Consider yourself hugged

 One of my very first acrylic stamps was this utterly cute fox stamp. The fox is sleeping, has a wreath around their head and roses in front of their nose. I haven't used it for some years now, so it was time to dig it out again.

Inspired by a few challenges I imagined the fox sleeping in their den during the day (foxes are active by night). I stamped lots of leaves and fussy cut them after painting them with markers. The fox was cored in with markers as well. The background just happened, I found a nice striped piece of designer paper with darker and lighter areas in my stash. The arch was a leftover from another project (always a win to use those!). As a final touch I added golden spots. The sentiment says 'Consider yourself hugged'.

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Just Add Ink: #797 Choose two or more - I chose spots and stripes

 

Alphabet Challenge: N is for nocturnal animal

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Trees 

Critter Crazy: #116 November AG

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG

I Love Promarkers: #618 Flowers/ AG - I am playing with AG 

Hip hip hooray!

I have some digital stamps by Mo's Digital Pencil (link), they are so well drawn and great fun. Today I was reminded by a challenge to use one, so I printed out 'Grooving'. 

The other supplies I needed:

The background had many steps: first swipe Wild Honey and Fossilized Amber onto the card base and let it dry well.  I wanted to preserve the color, but I also wanted to use a stencil and add some other colors. As I had an almost empty bottle of clear glue I smeared it through the stencil. It didn't spread evenly, but that didn't matter. When the glue was dry in places and dry enough in other places I went over everything with more Oxides. I first swiped the colors, but that didn't give good coverage, so I spritzed it with water and let the colors run together. 

 

While that was drying I colored in the image and fussy cut it. After that it was just assembly.

 

 Entering this in these challenges that were my inspiration today:

Passion for Markers: #861 Use your favorite digi or stamp

Digi Choosday: #11 week 1 AG 

Stencil Fun: AG/ orange optional - playing with AG

Little Red Wagon: #882 S is for stencil

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG

Greetings from a forest

 Today's card is using a catch-all paper on my desk. The colors are perfect for a fall greeting card and the partially stenciled background makes your eye believe there are orange leaves on the ground.

I started by selecting these three sets: something old (the layered bird scene), something new (the trees stamp) and something useful (the sentiment stamps). 

 

It was really very fast and straightforward: glue the background, stamp the trees and the sentiment on it, then stamp the bird and the tree stump in layers and fussy cut them. Done.

 

Entering this in these inspirational challenges:

Double D: 10/26 Wings

 

Triple B: October challenge 

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Trees 

I Spy with my Little Eye: #42 Autumn in the woods

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG 

 

Big congratulations

 Today's card is for a little girl's big birthday. I gathered the supplies for it: a set of shape dies, a block of designer paper, a stamp and markers and a die for the greeting.

 

I started by die cutting the card base and then the designer paper into this inbteresting squared oval shape. Then I stamped the cat, adding a balloon, and colored it. Then I cut the sentiment out of designer paper as well. It reads " Big congratulations".

Entering this in these great challenges that inspired me today:

TGIF: #tgifc 600 Celebrate with us 

 

Aud Sentiments: #342 Fall and/or any shape but rectangle + a Sentiment - I am playing with the 'or' option.

Die Cut Divas: Shaped cards (2nd entry)

Seize the Birthday: #337 Geometric/ Word die/dies

 

Allsorts: #851 Feminine or AG - I am playing with Feminine

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG 

and because the stamp is brand new I am showing this at

NBUS: #91 October

 

Close your eyes and dance

 A friend who is going through a rocky patch - she needs a card to cheer her up. For that I selected a few ingredients fit for a fall card, leaving the theme open enough so she is not bound by my view of things.

I die cut the oval from a painted sheet of old text. The base for the tree is heavy card stock, but the leaves were cut separately from small scraps of gelli printed paper. The sentiment reads: "Close your eyes and dance" - highly appropriate anytime, but especially in fall as one can dance along with the falling leaves.

 

Entering this in these wonderful and inspiring challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Trees

Cupcake Inspirations: #642 Fall

 

Girlz Rebel Challenge: #57 alles mag / of gebruik hout  - tree is wood, right?

Alphabet Challenge: M is for motivational card/ project 

 

Pink for the holidays

Today's inspiration came from several challenges. I like to combine them, I find all those ideas, and in a way, restrictions, make my brain work harder.

I started by pulling out scrap papers, two sets of dies and a background made with scrap strips. I managed to use up all my off-cuts back in august. (But have managed to accrue several new once since then.)

 

 The bird die by Papertrey Ink is a new purchase. It is small, but really mighty. I can't believe how everything gets layered - head, breast, wing, beak, eye, feet - yet the die package is so compact it fits into a wallet.

As one of the challenges asked for pink I went to town with it: pink snowflakes, a pink bird and pink shaker filler material.

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

As You Like It: Favorite Xmas Critter - and why. For me, birds are my favorite Christmas animal, they are colorful, and always around.

Jingle Belles: While shepherds watched their flocks

613 Avenue Create: AG/ optional Think Pink - I am playing with this option

Girlz Creative Christmas: #200 Traditional colors / non-traditional colors - I chose non-traditional and worked with pink and grey

 Snippets Playground: #544

 

Just a little BOO

 I was inspired by so many challenges today, it was awesome. Geometric, colors, wings, Halloween, a male card... let's see what I made of those ideas.

I pulled out a stencil and two sprays. I don't often use sprays these days, but today I was in the mood for them. I also pulled a funny bird stamp and found a great sentiment in the new Hero Arts 'Heroween' set.

I started by spraying first one color, orange, through the stencil, then shifting it and spraying again with the other one, purple. There was so much spray paint on the stencil that I could make a second and a third generation print. For this card I decided to go with the 2nd generation print.

I then stamped the bird, colored it and fussy cut it out. I then adhered the bird and the sentiment with foam strips to give the card some dimension. Lastly I stamped a little spider onto the card.

 

Entering this in all these nice challenges:

The Male Room: #215 Geometric

Cardz 4 Guyz: #391 Use three: orange, purple, green, black

Sweet Stamping: Halloween, or the colors of Halloween

Simon Says Monday: Halloween / Spooky

GC Splash It with Color: #33 Paars en/of oranje

Creative Moments: #287 Things with wings

Simon Says Wednesday: Halloween/ Spooky

Polkadoodles: #10 week 4 AG 

A golden time

If you read yesterday's post you know I had trouble with gold leafing. Today I managed to complete the surface with the rest of not-sticky-anymore rub-ons.

 

There were some challenges that I wanted to play with, so I pulled a stencil and an old stamp set and some colors. The stamp set must be 3-4 years old by now, but I have seldom used it. For some reason I don't send many cards in autumn.

 

I started by applying colors to the background through the stencil. I had to move the position four times to get full coverage.

 

I then stamped the leaves, fussy cut them out and colored them using the same colors as for the background. I propped them up using foam tape. As I don't have a recipient in mind I left the card blank. to add a sentiment when I know the occasion.

 

Entering this in these challenges that inspired me today:

Retro Rubber: #rrcb283 Be-leaf me - I have had the stamp set for about 3-4 years

 

StencilFun:  October challenge AG/ Orange optional - I have used orange (among others)

A Place To Start: 202610 AG/ Spotlight - I am playing with AG

PIP: #2642 AG 

Use it or lose it

Some stuff is just too precious to be used... Don't fall into the same trap that I did! I had purchased these sticky rub-ons ages ago and kept hoarding them - until today. I think they have been discontinued. The idea was to rub them onto a surface where they would present a sticky side which one would then coat with metallic foil or gold leaf. Well, the leaf set I tried had lost its powers and would only partially transfer.

So I had to find another way to create my vision. As I wanted some metallic I started by stamping this large gingko stamp with Lunar Paste using color named  'Cookie dough'.

 

 Once it was dry I re-stamped it with brown Versafine. I then had two options: either heat emboss to dry the ink (which was sitting on the metallic paste - this would never dry on its own), or rub the ink away. This is what I did. A gentle metallic glimmer is visible under the rubbed parts.

 

I then went on to color the card. My favorite color combo is pink with yellow, which suited the gingko leaves perfectly. I also cut the card along the outlines to give it a nice shape. 

 I quite like cards without sentiments these days. This might get one down the line, but then again, I might leave it as it is.

 Entering this in these lovely challenges that inspired me today:

The Die Cut Divas: A shaped card

 

I Love Promarkers: #617 My favorite colors -- are pink and yellow

Girlz and the Art of Letters:  #38 De letter van L van ... Leaves

Ellibelle's Corner:  I spy with my little eye... #42 Autumn in the woods

Creative Crafters: #105 AG