Shiny and earthy for your birthday

 Yesterday I made a square non-white card to fit certain challenges. Then I thought: what if I change one parameter of those four (of yesterday's card) and see what else I can do?

I removed the color challenge and kept 'blooms' and the 'square non-white card' requirement. I added stencil and shine. Out came the supplies:

 

I brayered a background paper first with cream, then pearlescent white acrylic paint. When it was dry I stenciled over it with gold paint. I cut it to size, then die cut the flower silhouettes from white card stock. I painted two of those with brown and left one white. Lastly I adhered the sentiment "Congratulation". 

 

This card became completely diffrent from yesterday's.

 I am entering this in these lovely challenges that were my inspiration today:

Seize the Birthday: #331 Square card, non-white base (2nd entry)

TioT: Summer blooms (2nd entry)

Just Us Girls: #833 Stencils week 

 

Creative Moments:  #284 Shimmer and shine

Creative Artiste mixed media: #128 AG Mixed Media

Colors for your birthday

 Today's inspirations became a recipe: a square card w/ a non-white base - birthday - blooms - a color palette of four vibrant colors.

These were the supplies: dies, papers and a sentiment stamp.

 

I die-cut every flower twice with different colors, then assembled the flowers with inlays onto the yellow paper. I snitched the layout idea from the color challenge, I thought it was genius.

 

Entering this in these challenges that I was inspired by today:

Seize the Birthday: #331 A square card wit a non-white base 

AAA Card Challenge: #319 Color challenge 

 

Try it on Tuesday: Summer blooms

Time Out: #318 Mother Nature 

 

 

A glimpse of heaven

 A card that would depict a hobby while using no stamping? A stencil that would produce a pattern? And a two-color scheme to cover it all? And make it for a male.

I thought I could find an answer to these multiple requirements and set out to select my supplies. I didn't need much, just a stencil, colors according to the scheme and TH text strips.

I stenciled the background and cut it to size, then adhered it to a backing. Now it was time to select the text and bring it onto strip of a vellum. Originally I had two in mind, but in the end I found four that suit each other well. Put together they evoke the dream of every fisherman out there. Listen to this:

"glittering in the sun:

a very wonderful place -

a glimpse of heaven

wonderful dream"

 

Entering this in all the challenges that were my inspiration today:

Creative Crafting Uncles: #79 No stamping

The Male Room: #212 Hobbies - this is for a hobby fisherman 

 

GCG: #26 blauw en/ of zalm (salmon and/ or blue) - I chose both 

Krafty Chicks: #830 Masculine week

Stencil Fun: AG/ make a pattern (optional) - I am playing with "Pattern" 

Simon Says Monday: Add some text  (2nd)

Simon Says Wednesday: Make your own background (2nd) 

I need some vitamin sea

 Today's card was inspired by a trip to the seaside. Add to that a color palette - and I knew exactly what I wanted to create.

I had recently purchase a beachy set of rub-ons. I didn't need much else, just a pan of metallic watercolor and a sentiment stamp.

I rubbed three images onto a cardboard, then fussy cut them out and mounted them with foam strips. I painted a few lines to give the scene some 'vitamin sea' and stamped the sentiment. The sentiment is a tricky one to translate, 'longing for the sea' sounds about right.

 

Entering this into these lovely challenges that served as my guide today:

The Paper Players: #795 Going to the Beach / CAS

 

CAS Colours and Sketches: #590 Colour challenge

 

Allsorts: #854 At the seaside 

613 Avenue Create: AG / Any holiday optional. I am playing AG 

Enjoy your day

 I was so happy to see that there were a few challenges that I could combine with each other: create a background, work according to a sketch, use older stamps and depict flowers, birds and butterflies. So satisfying!

I purchased this set of Carabelle Au Grand Air stamps a year ago (and they are still available worldwide, I just checked). The butterfly stamp from a TH collection is a veritable oldie, I must have had it for at least 5 years if not longer. 

 

I also used a gelli print and my Gansai Tambi watercolors.

I stamped, heat embossed and watercolored three pictures: a bird, flowers and a nature scene. I also stamped, heat embossed and watercolored the butterfly and fussy cut it. Then I adhered all to that gelli print background according to the sketch. I added the butterfly (on foam strips) onto the center picture. The sentiment says: "Enjoy your day".

 

 Entering this in these challenges that were my inspiration today:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #rrcb 276 Sketch time

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Make your own background 

Triple B: AG w/ birds, blooms, butterflies 

Festive Friday: #FF0214 National Friendship Day, Pick 3: I picked flowers, birds, butterflies 

 

 

An Inspiration to the Simple Life

 The title is a quote from an ancient TH sheet. It seemed so apt for today's card.  A few challenges led my thoughts to my summers and summer vacations. The most fun was to stay on a farm and observe the garden and its inhabitants. The birds, the squirrels, the hedgehogs. We put watered milk out for them. 

The supplies were many this time: two stamp sets, two die sets and an embossing folder.

I started by embossing the background, then stamping the hedgehog and the tree. The hedgehog is layered and heat embossed. The flowers were cut from scrap paper and assembled.

The card will go to a friend who is thinking of quitting a city job.

 

I am entering it in these lovely challenges that inspired me today:

As You Like It: Favorite pet (and why) I always wished I could have a hedgehog, they look so soft and cuddly (but of course they are not)

Can You Handle the Pressure: AG, Stars and/or stripes optional - I selected stripes

Nachteulen /  Night Owls: # NSS 63 Urlaub - meine Ferien sind an einem Bauernhof

Creative Knockouts: #575 Outdoor fun

Craft Rocket Challenges: #138 Animals 

Koi greetings

 I needed a card that was not overly sweet. I love my pinks, but blue is a good option, too. There were some nice challenges to nudge me on. 

My supplies were stamps and inks. And paper. I had a blotched background left over from the positivity card and since it had already been half inked I now inked it fully and then stamped the background on it.

The aperture was cut freehand and propped up with foam tape. (If your eyes detect a stitched line along the edge of it - well, that was made with a pattern wheelie.) The koi fish were stamped in two colors and then fussy cut. The sentiment reads: "A little hello".

 

I am entering this in these wonderful challenges:

Time Out: #317 Water

 

The Paper Funday: #89 Make a splash

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Add some text

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends: July 19. AG 

Trust your crazy ideas

 Today's inspiration was color. A call for pastels, popsicle colors and a wonderful mood board formed the starting point to which I wanted to the prompt 'up' and make it a card for a friend. Who doesn't need a friendly nudge or encouragement in the form of a card once in a while.

My supplies were very simple: a shiny new die set, a gelli print and a pastel colored paper pack.

 

I started by die cutting the shapes. This is my first die set which requires serious assembly. I think I am not made for it, I can spot several boo-boos, but I can only hope my friend doesn't see them.

The sentiment came from TH Chit-chat booklet. I combined two partial saying to a (for her) fitting whole.

 

Entering this in these great challenges that served me well today:

Just Us Girls: #832 Mood board week 

 

Shopping Our Stash: #578 Popsicle colors 

 

Tic-Tac-Toe: #279  I used the row "Friendship- Any color - Any shape die"

 

Addicted to CAS: #312 Code word Up 

 

Just Add Ink: #790 Dies, stencils (or both) - I used both if you count the mini strip of gelli print at the bottom.

 

You can do it!

Today's inspiration was actually the word 'stars'. There is a challenge going with that prompt, but that requires an embossing folder and I couldn't do that because of the stamping and die cutting I had in mind. But let's keep the word 'stars' in mind and add a few challenges to that. 

I wanted to make an encouragement card for a child. I have this wonderful stamp set with whimsical animals. The top hat of the rabbit boy(?) offered a great place to die cut a starburst. It is a stamp which actually mostly perforates the image. To make the cut out look like stars I adhered a piece of yellow gelli print behind it. I also die cut and colored a few stars. The rabbit was also colored in with pencils. The sentiment reads: "You can do it!"

 

I am entering this in these challenges that I followed:

 Sparkles Monthly: #202 A kid's card

Sweet Stamping: For the children

Moving along with times: #191 Use a coloring medium

Cut it Up:  #360 Create your own background - I'd like to think the perforation with gelli print behind and stars on top of it is creating a background

A Perfect Time to Craft: July, open challenge 

When life gives your cherries...

 ... there is really nothing to complain. It's my favorite of seasonal fruit. And this of course means that I make a cherry card at least once a year.

My supplies were ink heavy and paper poor. In the beginning I didn't have my greens and browns out yet. It's a layering stamp, I stamped the first layer with oxides and the defining layer with Versafine. 

 

The pink background was made from an assembly instruction for flat-pack furniture which I brayered with pink acrylic and cut to size. As the text was still rather visible I stamped over it with an argyle style stamp to confuse the eye.

The cherries were fussy cut. As they looked rather forlorn I rummaged through my stash and found a cut-up doily which still hat a piece left. It serendipitously fit just perfectly under the cherries to bring them some depth. The sentiment reads 'Happy birthday'.

 

 

I am entering this in these wonderful challenges that inspired me today:

Double D: #dd7/26 Favorite fruit 

 

Snippets Playground: #536 AG with snippets 

We Love Stamping: Summertime

Little Red Wagon: #867 P is for Pink