Big trees, tiny city

 I love big, really tall trees, they sort f take your breath away. Aided by a couple of challenges I set out to create a scene with just such trees.

I gathered my supplies: two stamps (Carabelle and Indigo Blue) and some GT watercolors. The top one is actually green, although it looks very black in the photo.

I started by using a piece of printer paper. This isn't ideal, as it is far too thin, but it had such a nice pale background of grey and orange hues. I had used it as a blotting paper under my projects. Too good to throw away, in my opinion. 

I stamped the forest in brown Versafine ink and treated the stamping with clear embossing. Then I took the small stamp with a cityscape and stamped it at the bottom. I used only the buildings and made it look continuous.

 

Then I added splotches of green and orange for the leaves and some blue here and there to mimic the big sky. I love how the city is so small compared to the huge trees in the forest.

Entering this in these wonderful challenges that serves as my inspiration today:

We Love Stamping: Trees and leaves 

Kreativ-Tanten: Wald / Forest 

Just Us Girls: Mood Board week 841 - I was inspired by the look of trees and buildings

 

Creative Knockouts: #579 September 17 AG 

Poppies for birthday

 The ultimate summer flowers for me are poppies. But since they wither fast, it is safer to give them as a card. 

I have so many poppy stamps to prove my poppy addiction; today my selection fell on these supplies, a stamp set with lovely large poppies, a gifted gelli printed background and sentiments and their frames.

I started by cutting the gelli print to size. I preserved the woman's face, thinking it might peek behind the flowers. But in the end it was covered to an extent that it is unrecognizable only if you know what to look for. I then stamped the poppies and colored them in with markers, then fussy cut them. 

I arranged them on the background, raising the flowers with foam pads, but glueing the stems down. Then I stamped the label, fussy cut it and stamped the sentiment on it. It reads 'Best wishes for your birthday'.

Entering this in these challenges that inspired me today:

We Love Stamping: Summer Blooms

Beautiful Blossoms: #44 AG floral/ photo inspiration optional. I was inspired by the photo

 

Triple B: TB August/ moodboard optional

 

Passion For Markers: #851 Floral Vibes 

Hand Stamped Sentiments: #495 AG/ moodboard optional - I was inspired by the combination of red yellow, green in this moodboard 

 

Creative Inspirations: August 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 

 

Wishing you a magical time

 Bird watching is an earnest hobby which my hubby practices. It means plenty of me-time alone in the forests and mountains. 

For his card I gathered the supplies: a stamp (wren), dies of fir trees and a sheet of hand made green paper that I have had for years but never knew what I could use it for. Today it finally found its place in this card, it brought the perfect rustic touch that I was looking for.

 

I am entering the card into these challenges:

We love Stamping: Sports and Hobbies

The Paper Players: #789 Masculine 

The Male Room: #211 The Outdoors 

613 Avenue Create: AG w/ twist of Craft or hobby - I am going with this twist

Dragonfly Dreams: Masculine 

 

"The Journey is the Destination"

 And the string of birthdays continues... It seems to be almost the only occasion I make cards for these days - what about you? Text is faster and more convenient, phones have been invented, there is seldom a real need for a card these days.

My GD is turning nine, and this whilst the family is traveling over half Europe for their holidays. As she is a bright young one and prone to philosophy, I decided to give her some tea-bag wisdom that might make her spending a birthday on the road more palatable.

A couple of challenges gave me great ideas as for where I should be heading. No flowers this time, but a cheerful dinosaur on roller skates, also on road, so to speak. The tea-bag label morphed into a balloon, also inspired by a challenge prompt. And a huge bonus: I got to use random off-cut strips that I tend to collect, but seldom use.

 

"The Journey is the Destination." 

 

Entering this card into these inspiring challenges:

We Love Stamping: May / All creatures great and small 

Stamping Sensations: Cute creatures - dinosaurs are cute, no?

Alphabet Challenge: B is for Balls - I hope balloons qualify!

Darnell's Weekly I.D.E.A.S.: 1. Inks 

Stamploration: May AG  - I used another company stamp

Tea for two

 When I sit down to my desk I never know what I am going to make. Today I was playing with three prompts in my mind: romance - pink - heart.

Tea can be a very romantic moment, perhaps early on when you are just getting to know each other. A passing moment, no-committal but getting more intimate when tea is being served, discussion becoming more animated. Fine porcelain cups and a nicely thrown pot underline the ambience.

 

These thoughts formed my starting point. To get to the finished card I selected suitable gelli printed papers and used those for background and the tea service, stamped some ethereal dog rose for the background and hand lettered the sentiment ("tea for two").

I am entering it into these challenges that inspired me today:

We Love Stamping: Romance (or AG)

Colourful Options: Pink

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge: Hearts 

The Flower Challenge: #88 Add a heart

Addicted to Stamps and More: #461 Make your mark

This little piggy...

 I am playing catch-up with my new stamps and stencils (and there might be some dies, too... - I have been very generous with myself).  

Today I used a new stencil for the background. I was able to make a gingham pattern with it by moving it around a bit. The piggy is also a new stamp, I bought it solely for the reason that the way the arms are positioned I am able to place items into its hands - today it is the flower.

 

Entering this birthday card in these fun challenges:

We Love Stamping: Something new

Stamps & Fun=Creativity: #446 AG

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: #13 Anything floral or Moodboard option: I am using the AG option 

Stencil Fun: AG / option birds - I went with AG option

Lost Coast Portal of Creativity: #181 AG (with stamping)

Wish for peace

 I was happy to find a putto (sometimes called cherub or amorino) stamp (by Couture Creations), as it will have many uses (I am thinking ahead to Valentines already). 

This first time it fits in with the more traditional, religious element of Christmas, but it is bearing a modern message: make a wish. Wish for Peace, for example - sorely lacking in our times.

 

The background was made with a gelliplate and a snowflake stencil in two layers with several different paint colors. The rather Christmassy die-cut serves as a kind of finial to the scene and was hand colored. As was the putto. The putto is raised and the stamped sentiment slipped under his hand.

Entering it in these lovely challenges that inspired me today:

Daring Cardmakers: One-word prompt: Wish

My Time to Craft Christmas: #74 Theme of snowflakes/ Christmas

We love Stamping: Christmas characters 

Paper Dragonfly: #23 Anything goes/ flies

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge: #tttc 236 I selected the row Stamping - free - layers 

Woven

 For a while now I have been keeping all my off cuts that come from trimming card bases or papers. Today seemed like a good time to use up all those snippets and scraps. I created a woven background that I inserted into a round opening.

Two black die cuts form the backdrop for the vividly colored rose, which was embossed with clear embossing powder before I colored it in. 

Entering this in the challenges that inspired me today: 

Scrapping4Fun: #225 Birthday

Stamping Sensations: Summer flowers  (2nd entry)

We Love Stamping: Fabulous florals (2nd entry)

Let's Create Challenge: #197 Add flowers (2nd entry)

NBUS Challenge: #52 - This was my first outing for my neon colors.

Bokeh Congrats

 To make a bokeh background, I started with watercolors. Three or four shades, lighter and darker areas are ideal. When it is dry it's time to apply the circles. I use white chalk paint, a finger dauber and stencils.

I then stamped the focal point, which is the beautiful mum, embossed the outlines, colored it and cut out. I used orange and blue for the card, as inspired by yet another challenge.

I am entering this card in:

Kreativ-Tanten Challenge: #79 Bokeh Technik

We Love Stamping: Fabulous Florals

Stencil Fun Challenge: AG or Birthdays - mine is a birthday card 

Paperminutes: #802 Farbkombi blau-orange

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

Birthday Wishes

This card started with my most favorite floral stamp. I used it last year, but not since. Instead of coloring it in I decided to draw different size circles and stripe them up.

 Even though I wanted to go with a clean look it still was a bit bare. I stenciled hearts with a puffy pink paste.

 The sentiment is my most recent acquisition, I desperately needed some new birthday texts.

Entering this in the challenges that inspired me or which are suitable in other respects:

Seize the Birthday: #235 AG or Stripe it up - I used the stripe option

Make My Monday: #171 Use a stencil

We Love Stamping: April - Stamp of the moment 

We love 2 Create : Week 4: AG

NBUS: #37 AG