My thoughts are with you

 Today's card is a mish-mash of ideas. The first inspiration came by a challenge asking to case any card in their inspiration line-up. I like this kind of exercise, not only is it a technical challenge, it also means a new view on one's supplies.

Never would I have thought of using dies with an embossing folder, but that's what I selected. (The dies are by Spellbinders.)

I cut a plethora of small flowers and leaves and circles and colored them with markers. 

 

Then I embossed the card base. I made it square instead of a rectangle, figuring I could fit my cuts better. I then colored the embossed parts to match my die cut florals. After that it was a wuestion of bringing it all together. The sentiment says: 'My thought are with you'.

 

Entering this in these challenges:

Just Us Girls: #847 Case a DT - I chose Denise

A Cut Above: November AG

Passion for Markers: #862 Square cards only

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Thinking of you

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends: #289 AG

 

 

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 

 

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-haunting we will go

I brought back a nice hard of supplies from my trip. Today's inspiration came mainly from playing with them, apart from a color challenge that dictates my color choices.

New stuff: a die of a spider web by the Swedish company Reprint and Stampers Anonymous Halloween themed rubber - yay. The sketchy background stamp has been sitting unopened for a while - today it was day to open it.

I stamped the background with Catherine Pooler ink Black Jack. It's not pitch black, so it suited my purposes. Then I stamped the figures with Versafine Nocturne, my favorite. I added each just a dash of color as not to spoil the stark black and white mood of the card.

 

I then fussy cut the figures out and arranged them using foam tape. Lastly I stamped on the sentiments. 

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Colorful Options: Black, Orange, Red, White.  I am using options 1 and 4. 

 

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Halloween/ Spooky

A Cut Above: October Challenge

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Halloween / Spooky

NBUS: #91 October 

 

Black cats in the dark

I have been missing making cards and posting them. A two week trip will do that. Even though I packed along some papers, watercolors and stamps, I could not get into the mood of making a card.

So, re-united with my desk again I was happy to make a Halloween card. I took my inspiration from several challenges: I wanted there to be animals, three of something and I wanted it to be somewhat spooky.

The Heroween die and stamp collection is certainly an overabundance of Halloween related everything - and I succumbed. Today I used dies from two sets as well as a new stencil.

I started by dabbing white ink through the cloud stencil to create a moody background. I then die cut a tombstone, grass, moon, three cats and a raven from craft card stock, which I then colored in accordingly. I also found a length of purple thread and used that for atmosphere.

 

I am entering this in these lovely challenges:

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Halloween / Spooky

Crafty Animals: #110 AG

Fab 'n Funky: #643 Three of something - I have three cats

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Halloween/ Spooky

Critter Crazy: #115 AG w/ a featured critter 

Pay attention...

 It's time for Halloween cards. It not a celebration where I live, but it's fun nevertheless. I like the colors involved and the make-believe horror emanating from bats, pumpkins, ravens etc.

Today I was inspired to take out some colored papers and my Halloween stamps and dies. I Confess, I have just one stamp set and one die that can pass for Halloween, but we make do what we've got, right?

 

I had die cut several trees at a friend's place and today seemed a good opportunity to use some of them.

I started by selecting purple for the background. The moon was stamped on almost fluorescent green and the pumpkins in orange, of course. I die cut the bats from shiny black card stock.

 

The sentiment says: "Pay attention..." It goes on on the inside with: "When the darkness falls you are not alone." I hope this is sufficiently creepy for the recipient. 

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Just Us Girls: #843 Die cut week, Halloween

TGIF: #tgifc597 Color challenge

 

Stamps§Fun=Creativity : #503 Halloween

Simon Says Wednesday challenge: AG 

Autumn splendor

Today's card is the result of die cutting, new and old. I have a bag of die cut remnants, left overs from projects that never happened, or I had made too much for. Today was time to put some of them to use.

 

I die cut two geometric shapes out of yellow and orange papers, those pretty seasonal colors. I die cut the yellow shape twice, once without, once with a frame. That frame is used as a corner piece to offset the form and gain some continuity, if that makes any sense.

 

The wreaths are from my ready stash - so glad I found some use for them. 

The final additoin were a sentiment "Thinking of you" and some flat sequins to mimic the shine of autumnal dew drops.

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

A Cut Above: October challenge

TioT: Autumn's beauty

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes 

Dark and darker

 The season of fading light is descending. It totally affects the colors I choose. Today I chose black.

I have this piece of textured plastic (perhaps a carpet underlay?) that I use for pulling textured prints when I am too lazy to work with a gelli plate and stencils.

 As I had a scene with pumpkins in mind I stenciled it with two orange hues.

Then I cut the background to size and gathered the other supplies: a stenciled orange print from my previous session and a couple of very small gelli print remnants as well as some autumn themed stamps.

I started by attaching the background papers onto my card base. I was working with a sketch (see below), but as you can see, it's not identical. I added another black and orange paper from my stash - I found they worked better this way, not letting any one background dominate but rather support each other.

I stamped the leafy branch with green Versafine and heat embossed it with transparent embossing powder, then fussy cut it out. I stamped the pumpkins and fussy cut them as well. Lastly I grouped them together, raising the large pumpkin with foam pads to create some dimension.

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

The Paper Funday Challenges: #91 AG/ Sketch optional. - I am playing with the sketch

 

Sweet Stamping: Autumn

Simon Says Monday: Use more than one stencil - I used two

Creative Artiste Mixed Media: #131 AG mixed media

Simon Says Wednesday: AG 

Thinking of you

 There's a technique called 'double embossing' - which I have been dying to try out. Basically you heat emboss a piece that's gone through an embossing folder. I was inspired by a sketch and many challenges calling for autumn, so I decided on using a paper block with co-ordinated fall colors (for some reason called 'Day break'), a die set and an embossing folder. I selected an embossing powder in the color of 'dusty grape'.

 

I cut 1 1/4" panels from three colors and partially dry embossed them. Then I gently smeared the embossing ink here and there. I didn't want to cover it all as I wanted a rather organic look. Lastly I heat embossed them and cut down to 1" width.

I arranged them onto a piece of scrap paper and cut this to fit the card. I had a piece of ribbon which I wrapped around on the bottom. I mounted the panel on foam pads and arranged the die-cut and paper backed leaves onto it. The sentiment says: Thinking of you.

 

Entering this in these great challenges:

Try A Sketch on Tuesday: #705 sketch

 

Allsorts: #859 Anything Autumn

Can You Handle the Pressure: AG w/ a twist of Trees. - Paying tribute to trees with those leaves

Crafty Gals Corner: #280 AG / Fall foliage optional - playing along with Fall foliage

Simon Says Wednesday: Anything goes 

 

Christmas greetings

 A sketch led me to think of Christmas and two other challenges reinforced the feeling in me: it's time for another Christmas card, as I don't have nearly enough yet... I have made just nine so far.

I pulled out my trusty snowflake dies, glittery card stock and glitzy little bits and pieces.

 

I die cut three snowflakes and arranged them on top of another, but not before I had cut a strip of vellum and stamped it with "Christmas greetings" which I then embossed as the drying time on vellum was more than I had time for.

 

Lastly came the shiny bits, one of them even has a snowflake design on it which I count as bonus.

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches: #755 Sketch

 

As You See It: #382 Christmas is a-Coming ... My number is 9

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Christmas in September

Craft Rocket Challenges: #140 Use dies