A medley

 The downside of not being able to play more with my materials these days is that everything takes so much longer than usual. It also seems to become more elaborate.

Take a simple prompt "make your own background" for example and combine it with "anything goes". For example - but this is what I actually used. In hindsight it could have been such a simple and fast card, but this took me hours.

 

First: Take a gelli print, stamp onto it and then heat emboss it. Cut it up for a background. Because it is a tissue paper glue it onto a copy paper. Wait it to dry. Then adhere it with double sided tape onto the card.

Then: Stamp some leaves and berries, color them. Stamp a focal image in three layers (yes, it's one of those layering stamps - pesky, but with such lovely results). Then fussy cut everything and arrange them pleasingly.  Stamp a sentiment, arrange that into the greenery. Then glue everything down.

Entering this into the challenges that I was inspired by today:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Make your own background

TGIF: #tgifc491 Sweater weather 

A Blog Named Hero: September AG

Stamping Sensations: AG or Animal Magic - I'd like to think this is animal magic.

Cherries

 A good friend of mine was born at cherry time. Or, at the time when the cherries used to ripen; now they are ripe much earlier (courtesy of global warming). So "of course" there needed to be cherries on her birthday card.

Good fruit and berry stamps are hard to find. I am not keen on juvenile berries, those are galore... I am looking for more naturalistic looking fruit and berries and finally found a good one. (Hero Arts' Layered cherries)

I started by color blending the entire background.

Then I stamped a bit of noise, barely visible.

Lastly I stamped some leaves in one of the background colors and adhered the cherries as the focal point. The cherries - my goodness did some work go into them. Color layering means you get to stamp it four times instead of just two. The bottom layer was stamped with dark green and brown Versafine pigment ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. Then came the second layer of stamping, this was done in Oxides. The cherries received one more layer with patches of red and pink embossing powders.

Entering this in:

A Blog Named Hero: Smooth

Stamping Sensations: June challenge bright and colorful

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Emboss it

Alphabet Challenge: F is for fruit

 As You Like It: With or without words (and why) - the type of card I am making (semi-clean) does somehow need a text to look complete. I suppose with mixed media cards I wouldn't do it. But yes, my cards are with words so they already spell out the occasion and I can concentrate on writing something personal on the inside.

And because this was the first time using these two stamps I am showing it in NBUS (Never before used schtuff) #63

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

#woodblockstamps

 Woodblock stamps - you gotta give them some love. I still have quite a few from my early days of paper crafting. They are beautiful - but as they are stored in a box it is difficult to remember what I own. I was overjoyed to find a challenge that will, hopefully, activate my usage.

Today I picked a large heart stamp as my focal point. I can't remember when I used it last. It has no markings anywhere, so I don't know whom it is by.

 I stamped the giant love-heart onto a piece of card stock that I had brayered with acrylic paints in a few colors, resulting into a marbled look. The stamping was done in Versafine ink (in turq) which was then embossed with a clear embossing powder. I selected a pink matting layer to go with both the theme (love) and the other stamped items.

For challenge purposes, the bird was stamped with hero Arts Color layering stamp set CM552, the text says "hugs".

Entering this in the following challenges that I used as my guideline:

Allsorts Challenge: #765 Anything but square

Stay Crafty with a blog named Hero: Something old is new again - for me it's the use of mixed media

Stamping Sensations: Mood board - I was inspired by red, pink and birds

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Have a heart

#Woodblock Wednesday January challenge

Blue Christmas wishes

 Just in time - a rather tongue-in-cheek card - but one the recipient will appreciate.

I treated myself to a couple of new stamp sets this holiday. The layered goldfish set is by Hero Arts, as is also the skinny alphabet. 

The first layer of the goldfish was stamped in teal, the top layer was embossed with gold. I used the dotted embossing folder again to create a wintry background. I built a little winter scene for my card with the white tree and snowflakes (the blue one is cut from a gelli print).

I am entering it into these challenges:

Die Traumfabrik: #123 Cobalt blue AG w/ blue

Stay Crafty with a blog named Hero: December challenge - I used sets DC 136 and CL945

Basteltraum: Winterlandschaft - Winter landscape

We Love 2 Create: #11 AG 

NBUS Challenge: #57 December - the goldfish stamps were NBUS

Thank you

 There is always a reason to be thankful. I am thankful for my friends, and on a trivial note, for card challenges that make me think harder and catapult me out of my comfort zone.

It all started with a sketch today, and the need to use old and forgotten rubber stamps, give them some love they needed. I decided to work with my gelli printed and mixed media papers (neglected too often!). And gold embossing just seemed so suitable...

The result was this card. The sketch is awesome, it is a great basis for all types of cards.

Entering it in the challenges that  inspired me:

Retro Rubber Challenge: rrcb#2017 Let's sketch 

Simply Clean and Simple: AG / opt. use the word "Thanks"

Stay Crafty with a blog named Hero : Thanks to a friend

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Thanks/ Thanksgiving

Just us Girls: #705 Word week