Curious kitties

Inspired by a challenge, today's card features some cute and curious kitties. I have had these stamps for a couple of years now, bought probably at FB marketplace, if it is not a charity shop find. I would love to know its brand or maker, as I suspect they would have more stamps with this degree of cuteness.

There is a tic-tac-toe challenge that gave me the idea and framework for this. I pulled out a stencil, an ink smudged piece of background and a die set. 

First I stenciled DO Stormy Sky onto the base. The effect is not too busy, which lets the kitties stand out. Then I die cut a couple of stems and sprayed them a bit with white ink.

The kitties were colored in with markers. Also showing the usage of snippets: the small piece of cardstock was used up completely for the kitties.

 

Lastly I wove a piece of twine from one stem to another. This card has no sentiment - yet. I had several on offer, but I'd like to find the perfect occasion for sending it and then find the sentiment to match.

 

Entering this in these great challenges that led my way today:

Alphabet Challenge: K is for kittens

Retro Rubber Challenge: #281 Fallish Tic-Tac-Toe My row is on top: ribbon/twine - stencil - die cut

 

 I Love Promarkers: #615 Animals

Stencil Fun: September Ag/ yellow optional - I am playing with AG

Snippets Playground: AG

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Make your own background 

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 

Snowdrops

 It was time to take on the pile of paper strips, those that fall on the wayside when one has been cardmaking for some time. I had been binge watching Jennifer McGuire on Youtube and got inspired to do something about my pile. I can only recommend you look her up, if you can't part with good paper strips either.

This was the beginning today: an embossing folder, a die set, markers, and a hexagonal die cut for a project that never felt right.

 

I embossed the background and mounted it. I then die cut the snow drops and colored them in just lightly and placed the hexagon structure behind them.

 

Entering this in these challenges that inspired me today:

I Love Promarkers: # 612 In the pink 

Die Cut Divas: Let's celebrate, white w/a splash of color

Time Out: #319 Pick 2 or more - I picked monochrome- floral - geometric

 

AAA Card Challenge: #320 It starts with S - my word is Snowdrops

And as I was using snippets today I am showing this in Snippets Playground #583

Find your song

 The starting point for today's card was the prompt 'use envelopes'. This was the nudge I needed to get out the stash of envelopes I have been meaning to work with... some day. The second challenge that led my way was a sketch and the third one was the theme 'nature'. 

This was my desk when I started: circular dies, pressed flowers and windowed envelopes. (It was that glassine window I wanted to work with!)

I didn't need much in terms of paper, a few remnants from an earlier used sheet were enough. I cut the circles twice and glued the bottom one on one envelope window, then applied some glue onto the flower and pressed it against the glassine. Then I glued another envelope window on top, waited till everything was dry and cut the circles out very neatly. Lastly I glued the purple circle on top of this floral sandwich. 

 

I placed the circles according to the sketch I was using, the smallest is raised with a foam strip. The sentiment comes from a bird collection (via Creative Stamping magazine), but I found it suited the rather poetic mood of this card.

 

Entering this in these wonderful challenges:

Little Red Wagon: #870 Card plus / Use an envelope

Freshly Made Sketches:  #748

 

 

 

 

 

Simply Clean & Simple: #SCAS August AG w/ option Nature - I am playing with this option

Just Us Girls: #835 AG w/ die cuts

 

 

 

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge: #129 AG mm

and as I used snippets/ remnants today I am showing this in the

Snippets Playground: #538 AG 

 

Evenings are getting darker

August is here and it is lantern time. Their glow in the evening dusk and then darkness is nothing short of magical. I don't own any so I have to make do with my lovely lantern dies.

There were two challenges that made me think how to use my lantern dies creatively this year. (Yes, they haven't been used this year yet!) I pulled out the supplies: snippets of designer paper and a block of alcohol ink prints.

I punched out the lanterns and backed them with light yellow paper to mimic the glow. I selected a background that made me think of evening dusk, then arranged them according to the sketch I was working with. Lastly I added a piece of washi tape to ground the standing lantern.

 

Entering this in these lovely challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches: #747 

 

GCFAOS: #24 Gebruik designpapier (Use designer paper)

Snippets Playground: #537 

Simon Says Wednesday: AG 

Creative Fingers: #327 AG 

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 

 

Happy to you

 I could not believe it. It has been a couple of years since I bought this beautiful die set - and have not once used it. Today a challenge made me think of it and I packed it out. The colors were inspired by another challenge. I used small paper paint chips, too - always a win as I have too many stashed up.

 

This is a birthday card.

 

I am entering this in these inspirational challenges: 

Time Out: #316 Inspiration photo - I was inspired by the open geometric structure

 

Seize the Birthday: #329 Blue, pink and yellow

Snippets Playground: #535 

I am also entering in these AG challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations: #638

 

Paper Rock Scissors: #17 

Sweet delights

There is popular and often repeated saying 'Life is better with donuts'. I don't necessarily agree, being more partial to salty liquorice myself, yet today I felt drawn to a couple challenges where I could live out some candy colors.

My all time favorite color combo is yellow with pink, the whole color range of hues ranging from bright to muted. I just find them so cheerful together. Today I picked small color cards in muted hues and partly with shiny finishes, and combined them with a bright yellow background. 

 

I also used different size circles dies. I don't own stamps or dies with 'sweets' motifs, but I figured with my collection of circle dies I should be able to produce some donuts.

In the end I used two irregular circles and one perfectly round one for the hole.

 

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

Crafty Gals Corner: #278 Anything goes / Sweets for dad optional - I did go with the 'Sweets' for option, but since I am at the age where my dad is long deceased, this card will be for anyone 

Inspired by: #IB393 Inspired by... donuts - I went with the colors and the donuts

 

As You Like It: Favorite color combo - mine is yellow with pink 

Snippets Playground: #535 AG

Simon Says Monday challenge: Food and/ or drink 

 

ETA: After looking at the finished card for a few hours, I decided to add some Liquid pearl accents on each donut. This tiny addition does make it look more finished.

 

 

Just for you

I had fun with this! I used my remnants (or snippets) for the background and then also for the butterflies. 

I had once printed out book pages in miniature and made a gelli print with it. It was almost used up, but there was enough for the background. I had to patch the background in places, but it's not really noticeable.

 I also used supplies that I haven't used for a long time (the butterflies) or haven't used enough (the text stamps). I have no idea who made the butterfly stamp since I have lost its package. (Perhaps someone of you do?)

  

Entering this in:

Stamps+Fun=Creativity: #496 Use bookpaper / Benütze Buchseiten

Moving along with times: #189 One or more butterflies 

Pearly Sparkles: #119 One or more butterflies  

Allsorts: #850 AG

Snippets Playground: #533 AG 

Just snippets

 With just how little can you make a card? My previous cards have been very labor and material intensive, it was time to try to make one with less.

A couple of challenge are very inspiring in this, the Snippets challenge and a CAS challenge. There were others, too, that I took cues from. Here is what I started with,  some gelli print remnants and a washi tape. I also wanted to use my minimal star die, it only punctures dots onto the base.

And here is what it became:

Entering it in the challenges that inspired me today:

A Place to Start: AG/ option New - I played with that option

Snippets playground: #469 December challenge

Alphabet Challenge: S is for Stars

AAA Challenge: #255 sketch - it's cold

Double Trouble partnering with Use Your Stuff #481: Challenge #155 - I am entering all three categories: die cut -check, washi tape -check, Double Dare -check.

Circles

I have made many cards in rapid succession and didn't clean my table in between. There are two kinds of snippets, those awkward shapes and off-cuts one doesn't really know how to use, and those that were cut for a project and then abandoned, because they didn't quite fit there.

Today I used up a lot of "trash" from my table: a stamped sun which did not find its way to yesterday's card, silver "confetti" which was left over from two projects featuring silver snowflakes; three round shapes; antlers (now being used as the snowmans (womans?) stick arms.

The result is a tongue-in-cheek holiday card for a dear in-law.

Entering in these lovely challenges:

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  #179 Round and round

Snippets Playground: #468

Just Add Ink: #681 I was inspired by the lovely colors

 Thank you for your visit!

Have fun

I am forever trying to get rid of my scraps and snippets.The palms are stamped onto the tiniest scrap of green paper that I have been keeping for ages, the "sea" is two strips that were left over from a card base, and so forth, you get the idea. The card was going to be more complicated, with an island, stamped waves and sea shells, but in the end I settled for a cleaner design.

Before I gifted this girl stamp to my niece I quickly made a few impressions for myself for later use. The girl character was supposed to be a pirate and enter a ship, but that ship had no place in this card, it would have become too crowded for my liking. I hope this card still reads funny.

Entering in the challenges that inspired me today:

Papercraft Challenges: #95 Girls Girls Girls

Time Out Challenges: #241 Funny

Snippets Playground: Challenge #457

Just Add Ink: #658 Choose two - can one choose all three? I used scraps, made stripes and added sequins.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Vacation

Thank you for your visit!
 

Snippets for CAS

 Why is CAS - clean and simple - so hard to pull off??  When elements are reduced and the background noise is not there everything else has to sit.

I am in awe of this style and wanted to try my hand at it again. 

The vase is stamped directly onto the card base, the floral arrangement of golden twigs was actually a snippet of golden craft paper put to good use. It's a birthday card. I handwrote the text ("Armfuls of happiness").

Entering it into the challenges that inspired it:

We Love Stamping: June AG / or CAS - I was inspired by the CAS option

Crafty Chicks Challenge: #668 CAS

Addicted to Stamps: #448 Birthdays

Snippets Challenge: #456 

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies