Embossed for birthday

Today I took on to combine  a sketch with a color challenge and add some dry embossing and die cutting to the mix. I chose these supplies to begin with - but later changed the bird-on-a-branch die to a doily die.

Here you can see the embossed and partially colored in flowers that have been already die cut out.

I tossed a long time between a white background and a colorful die cut and a dark grey background with a white die cut. The latter won as you see. I added a sentiment and embossed it in white.

 

 Entering this in these challenges that served as my inspiration today:

The Paper Players: #796 Sketch

 

Color Dare: #714 

 

Just Add Ink: #790 Dies, stencils ...or both - I used dies only

 

Cut It Up: #361 Emboss it 

 

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 

Seeing the positive

 Today I chose to 'follow a lead', in other words take inspiration from a card posted for that purpose. I lament that all 'CASE' challenges seem to have disappeared. When they were active I was too new to card making to participate, but now I find the idea fun.

But I digress. I decided to keep the layout,  but build my own scene. I found a lovely sentiment in a stamp set that also gave me the idea for the scene. In the end I settled for my beloved cute cat stamps and small cloud+raindrop dies. 

The background was a simple three color blend. I had created a mask to protect the stamping which allowed me not to worry about getting color on the cat. I die cut the cloud and rain drops from colored papers and backed them with card stock so they would have some heft. I also added some Wink of Stella onto the rain drops and lined the cloud with it.

 

I am entering this in these lovely challenges:

AAA cards: #318 Follow my lead 

 

A Cut Above: July AG / 2 year anniversary challenge 

 

Cut it Up: #360 Create your own background 

Polkadoodles: #7 AG 

Gem of a Challenge: AG 

 

 

An early Christmas card

Today I was inspired first by a sketch and secondly by the word 'critter' and thirdly by Christmas. Throw in some die cuts and coloring, I thought - and here we go.

First I gathered my supplies. For a simple card like this there are many: two stamps and a stamped image of two critters (I had made several impressions from this stamp before I gave it away, so I can't show it), die cuts of fir trees from my ready stash and plenty of markers.

 

I first stamped the irregular round in white. Sadly it is not visible on the finished card - I should have stamped it several more times it seems. I colored the critters, fussy cut them, stamped and embossed the sentiment and adhered all according to the sketch.

 

Entering this card in these great challenges that got my creative juices flowing:

Freshly Made Sketches: #742 - oops, I didn't notice this challenge has already closed! I'll keep it here anyway, because this kicked it all off. 

 

Cut It Up: #359 Critters 

Penny Black Saturday Challenge: AG / pattern papers optional - I went with AG

Peace on Earth: #114 Inspiration photo - My bird has no scarf, but the hedgehog makes up for it I think. 

 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes

No rain, just shine

 Today I found a couple of challenges that support each other well. Take dies and a stamp and some suitable gelli print scraps...

 

... and the card was ready in no time.

 

Thank you for these awesome challenges that make card making so enjoyable!

Entering this in:

In(k)spire me: #592 

The Paper Players: #PP791 (clean & simple) Weather

 

Simply Clean and Simple: AG/ Nautical otional. This is my 2nd entry and I am going with AG.

Cut it Up: #358 One for the boys/ men

 

Token of friendship

These days when real mail is so rare and handwritten letters are well-nigh non existent I cherish a hand made card with a short note from a friend. It can be any occasion or for none at all, other than to say "hello".

Today I needed a card for a friend who lives far away. I took inspiration and guidance from some very apt challenge prompts. The foundation was a color palette. I had been to the paint store just last week and had brought home some green samples. How perfect! Each yielded two hexagons. The dies, in case you are wondering, have been bought at FB Marketplace and I have not written down the maker. They usually come without the original packaging to save on postage as here the postage depends on the thickness more than its weight.

 

The dahlias I cut twice, the base with card stock dyed with Seedless Preserves (TH Distress) and the top layer which was colored in with Versafine Clair Charming Pink.

I am entering this card in these inspiring challenges:

Sunday Stamps: SSC #387 Garden grandeur  

Allsorts: #851 From the garden 

Cut It Up: #357 Friendship 

Creative Knockouts: #572 Die cuts / stencils / punches - I used die cuts

Girlz and The Art of Letters: # 28 De letter van B van...  -  bloemen!

Spring colors

 Spring is playing hide and seek - snow is melting during the days (when there is sunshine) and freezing in the nights. What better opportunity to bring out some flower stamps and start making happy, sun-filled cards.

I had a couple of challenges in mind when I put this card together. In the end you'll see whether I did them justice.

The background is stamped with a (retired) hero Arts background stamp, Branches Bold Prints. Then I embossed it with clear embossing powder. I wanted to ink it diagonal, so I selected two Distress sprays, Twisted Citron for grass and a turquoise (forgot it's name) for the other half.

The flower was stamped, then fussy cut out and painted with pearlescent watercolors. I adhered that onto a round die cut piece of vellum, and finally adhered some turquoise die cut branches behind it. Lastly I put on yellow shiny gems. The sentiment says: Many happy returns. 

Entering it in these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Bright and cheerful

Stay Crafty with a blog named Hero: Heat embossing

Cut It Up: #299 Colors of Spring

Just Add Ink:   #692 Sketch  

Dream Valley Challenges:   #311 Add sparkle

I spy...

.. wintry bear holding a snowflake.

The background was done with ink smooshing in cold, purply hues that I hoped would suggest a cold and snowy winter. The bear i solding a stamped snowflake, but I adhered a die cut on top of that.

There is a glittery silver net ribbon behind the die cuts. I added glittery dots and painted the snowflake with Wink of Stella.

Entering in these lovely challenges:

Allsorts Challenge: #758 I spy.. something beginning with a B - a bear!

Time Out Challenges: #253 Sparkly 

Lost Coast Challenges: #180 In deep midwinter

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Use craft dies

Cut It Up: #292 Use more than one die - I used four, two size circles, the bear and the snowflake

 

Something CAS

The starting point for today's card was a sketch. I had the hardest time interpreting it in a way that felt like "me".  Second inspiration came from a challenge that wanted to see only one other color with black and white. I toyed with pink, but that didn't sit well with my chosen bird stamp. The idea to use the bird came from the prompts "Let's go" and "Look up in sky". The sky is huge where I live and I enjoy watching birds fly.

Here is the result, this is how my brainwaves chose to work with these limitations.

 

Entering it in the challenges that inspired me:

CAS Colours and Sketches: #516 sketch

Fab' n Funky Challenge: #577 Monochrome with a pop

TGIF Challenge: #tgifc430 Let's go

Cut It Up: #282 Look up in sky

Critter Crazy: #76 AG with a featured critter

Easter Wishes

A restricted palette in creams and whites featuring a stamped image and die cuts.

 

The hen was stamped with Fossilized Amber distress ink, the berries using an old ink cartridge that produced a suitably small circle. I then colored the berries and the cheek and the bill of the hen in with Picked Raspberry distress ink.

 

 I'd like to enter this in:

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Easter / Spring

Paperminutes: #738 Ostern / Easter

Perfectly CAS : #25 Die Cuts 

Addicted to CAS: #217 Animals

Cut it Up Challenge: #249 Easter / or create your own background