Freshly Made Christmas Card

I pulled out a Hero Arts stamp that I've never inked....it isn't the easiest to use, but it worked for the Freshly Made Sketch 412, and I was able to make another Christmas card!  The sentiment is a Stampin' Up stamp. 

Spots on Stripes for the Flower Challenge

I've always liked paper with polka dots; it's not as if I use it frequently, but it works with The Flower Challenge for November.  This large flower is an old cling stamp from Hero Arts, another image that I've used often.  This time I stamped it on the polka-dotted paper and embossed it in white.  Then I die cut "hello" with a die from Poppy Stamps and placed both on a layer dry-embossed with a Tim Holtz folder.  

Watercolored Poppy for April

I actually made two different card fronts with two different poppy stamps for CAS Watercolor's April challenge, only to remember that I needed more white space.  It's always good to go back to the blog post and study the DT cards. 

Hero Arts' clear "Delicate Blossoms" stamp is one of my favorites; two tall arrangements of poppies.  I stamped and heat-embossed the image on white cardstock and then colored with SU's Sweet Sugarplum marker (and another darker pink), while using an water brush. I found a piece of cardstock that matched the color and layered the painted piece on it and a black card.  The sentiment from Wordsworth is one I've had for years but never used.  (I have planted a plum-colored poppy plant twice in the past 4 years and neither one came up in the spring.  I'm not giving up!)

Color Throwdown #536

For this particular Color Throwdown challenge, I have been selected as the  Guest Star Stamper! I just felt that I wanted to do something different from what I usually do...and this cute little Penny Black image was just the ticket.  A corner punch from EK Success reveals the two primary colors while an old Hero Arts sentiment finishes the design.  The coloring is all accented with Clear A Wink of Stella, but it doesn't show up in the photo.  Under light, it sparkles, though.   I also chose to try to match the color swatch instead of the color names.  That in itself is always a challenge.  (The card front is cream-colored, but seems to photograph as white.)

Freshly Made...Simply Made

It's fun to find a piece of DSP in a pile on my table and then decide it would work with the latest Freshly Made Sketches.  I cut the DSP with a daisy die from Verve and popped the trio on foam dots,  chose a black and white striped piece of paper for the rectangle and added a sentiment from a new Hero Arts clear set.  

Double D Pink and White

Our theme:  "Pink and White"

(anything using these two colors)

The mood board for the current Double D Challenge contains images of four pretty retro images in pink and white...unfortunately, I don't have one stamp that even resembles any of them!  Pink and white make a beautiful combination, and it's a light-hearted color combo to work with while my world is surrounded (almost buried)in snow!

I chose the Hero Arts clear image, embossed it in white and colored it with SU! markers. Then I fussy-cut it out and applied it to a dry-embossed layer that had already been stamped with a Wordsworth sentiment. 

A Double Decker in a Short Time

I finally got back to the craft room, but we're leaving again tomorrow for 10 days.  So this post includes two separate challenges:  Case This Sketch #291 and Less is More #381, which also happens to be a CASE challenge.

             Case This Sketch

The designer paper has metallic copper printing; the Hero Arts leaf was stamped twice on a watercolor background and cut out to make the focal piece.  Leftover watercolor paper was die cut for the sentiment. 

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Rebecca

      Less is More

This card is 5x5, dry embossed in a folder.  The Penny Black leaf stamp was colored with markers and spritzed with water before stamping.  It was then cut out and applied to the embossed card front.  The sentiment is from Inkadinkado.  Copper colored pearls accent the focal piece. 

Anything Goes on the Flower Challenge

"Anything Goes" is always a fun challenge, and that's the September choice for Flower Challenge.  I stamped an old Hero Arts image in black, colored with watercolor pens and then applied the Cracked Glass technique.  The die is one of an unnamed collection, and I doubled it with the card and accent color cardstock.

Tuesday Card

I've been absent for just about a month, but Chelsea has still received a card each week, except the day we were surprised in Brooklyn with our son's wedding!   When we were in New York for 12 days, I bought a letterpress card with an image of the Statue of Liberty and mailed it to her; when we returned home, I dug in my stash for a card to mail.  Today's card is a new one, but one created from a piece of alcohol ink background.

The flowers are Hero Arts.

Freshly Made Sketches

How to create the "shape" of the Freshly Made Sketch 329?  I chose the Blended Bloom from Stampin' Up, which I colored with SU! markers; I've had the stamp for a couple of years but it had never seen ink.  The sentiment is an old one from Hero Arts.  (Does anyone else have difficulty finding long one-line sentiments? I do, which means banner sentiments are always difficult for me.) 

Less is More with Dry Embossing

It sounded easy when I read this Less is More challenge title, but I admit that I tried at least 3 embossing folders before going back to the one I use the most : Swiss Dots.  The stamp is from Hero Arts with a sentiment from Verve.  The petals of the stamped flower were colored with markers and then covered in Glossy Accents. 

Less is More --- Cute!

I always say I never do "cute" cards; it's just not what I do!  However, I found what might be one of four cute stamps in my stash:  a House Mouse.  I must admit that he is one cute creature.  I colored him with watercolor markers and an aqua pen.  The sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp.  And the result is "Cute" for Less is More. 

One Fall Leaf

CAS Watercolor 

For this latest  CAS Watercolor challenge, I chose the beautiful Unity leaf stamp, painted with Peerless watercolors and popped up on a black layer. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, embossed in gold to coordinate with the gold edge of the black layer.

Freshly Made with an Angle

For this Freshly Made Sketch, I chose neutral papers with muted colors; the flower embellishment was chosen to punch up the color a bit. 

Freshly Made Sketch in Vibrant Colors

This was a sketch that went together quickly, but I didn't care for the result.  A quick change of colored layers, some dry embossing,  and this card for Freshly Made Sketches 287 was complete. The DSP is from a Ken Oliver paper pad featuring what appear to be his Color Burst products.  

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Less is More with Washi Tape

For this Less is More 320 theme, I chose skinny metallic washi tape to frame my floral piece sharing the same colors. The sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp.  

Freshly Made Sketch -- Asian style

I've dabbled some in an Asian theme with this Freshly Made sketch, using some paper from a new KaiserCraft pad called "Hanami Garden." The black layer has a metallic gold pattern.  The Japanese "happiness" is a Hero Arts stamp.  

Mojo Monday -- on Monday

For two consecutive weeks, I've completed my Mojo Monday card on Monday.  That's an accomplishment for me.

For this week's sketch, I chose to use some remaining sheets of Teresa Collins' "Carolina Breeze" designer pad, in yellow, black, gray, and white.  The die is Penny Black's "Illuminate" and the sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp.  

Tuesday Cards

Scrolling through my files of "favorites" and Pinterest cards, I saw one featuring a dictionary page or some other print.  So I dug out my pad of "Dear Jane" patterned paper (text from Jane Austen novels) and the Hero Arts Classic Bloom image.  SU markers provided the color to coordinate with the ribbon and some gold "Dazzling Details" and black Enamel Accents embellished the flower centers. 

Tuesday Mailing Plus Christmas

My Tuesday cards this week are doing double duty: I made a dozen more to mail as Christmas cards, one of three designs this year.   They are definitely non-traditional colors, but I've grown to love the  kraft, for some reason.  The tree die is a new one from Sizzix and the sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp.   Next week, my Tuesday card recipients will get a second Christmas card.