Essentials by Ellen July Pin-Sights Challenge

Today, I have a card to share for the Essentials by Ellen July Pin-Sights Challenge:

Isn't it fun?

I used my Essentials by Ellen Mondo Hydrangea stamp set to make my card.

I was inspired by the blue paper lantern and the black and white stripes in the photo.

I started by stamping my hydrangea stamp twice onto watercolour paper

-- once in Memento blue and a second time in versamark (I used my MISTI)

and then I heat embossed it in clear.

I used my Zig Markers and a water brush to colour them ink.

I trimmed out part of the hydrangea by hand and the rest with my trimmer

and layered it over a piece of Crate Paper patterned paper.

I stamped the sentiment (from Papertrey Ink's Songbirds) in versafine

onyx black twice (again using my much-loved MISTI.) 

Thanks for looking!

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ColourQ #352

I'm pretty excited... 

My kids and I are driving into Winnipeg today

to attend a Harry Potter Release Party in anticipation of the new book

that's being released tonight at midnight -- it should be fun!

Today, I have a card to share that I made for the current ColourQ challenge:

I love the soft and pretty pattern on this blouse and wanted

to recreate it on my card.

I started with a piece of watercolour paper, on which I heat embossed

the Altenew Painted Flowers outlines in Zing! Butter embossing powder.

I stamped the flowers and leaves in, spritzing them with water first

before stamping for a watercolour effect.

Then, with a paintbrush and water, I painted over them a little to blur

the ink even more.

I added yellow ink mixed with water to my background

and once it was dry, stamped my sentiment (from PTI's Spring Woods)

in versafine onyx black ink three times with my MISTI.

Thanks for looking!

Altenew July Inspiration Challenge -- Weddings

I'm so excited!

My girl has been at horsemanship camp all week 

and I get to go and pick her up this evening!

I'm sure she's had a great week (& I can't wait to hear all about it),

but man I miss her when she's not around!

Today, I have a card to share for the 

Altenew July Inspiration Challenge -- Weddings:

I was inspired to use my Best Mom stamp set to make my wedding card:

I started by stamping my image in versamark onto watercolour paper

and heat embossing it in white.

Then, I used my Zig Markers, a paintbrush and some water to colour them in.

I stamped my sentiment (from PTI's Songbirds stamp set --

I don't have any Altenew wedding sentiments) in versafine onyx black.

I used my MISTI and restamped it three times to get a crisp image

on my watercolour paper.

A few rainstones finish it off.

Thanks for looking!

CAS(E) This Sketch #183

Today, I have a card to share that I made for

 CAS(E) This Sketch #183 designed by Chrissy Larson :

A woman from my church recently became a real estate agent

and asked if I could make a dozen cards for her.

I borrowed an older Hero Arts stamp set from a friend to make my cards.

I started by stamping the house in versafine onyx black
and heat embossing it in clear.
I used my Zig Markers to colour it in, along with some water & a paintbrush.

I created an ombre effect for the background with a couple of different

shades of blue Zig Markers and water.

I stamped the sentiment using PTI's Pedal Pushers.

Visit CAS(E) this Sketch to see the rest of the DT's takes on the sketch 

and to play along, if you'd like.

You have until Thursday, August 4th to link up your card.

Thanks for looking!

Ink It Up with Heidi Shafer -- Beautiful Bouquet: Dahlia

Today, I've joined again with Heidi Shafer of Mapleberry Musings

for Ink It Up.

Ink it Up is a challenge where, on the second and fourth Wednesday 

of each month, Heidi and I share cards that we've made with new stamp sets

that we haven't used yet.

Today, I'm sharing my card that I made using my 

Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquet: Dahlia stamp set.

Here's my card:

I started of by stamping my flowers from Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquet: Dahlia 

 in versamark and heat embossing them in white on a piece of watercolour paper.

Then, I used three different shades of Zig Markers to colour over top,

using water and a paintbrush to blend the colours.

I stamped my sentiment (from PTI KIS: Sympathy)
in Altenew Evening Grey.

Don't forget to hop over to Heidi's blog to see what
she created for this Ink It Up.

Thanks for looking!

House of Cards July Challenge -- Take Two

I already played along with the House of Cards July Challenge,

which you can see here, 

but I was really inspired by the photo and 

decided to make another card using it: 

I was really inspired by the row of colours along the right side

and decided to use my Big Stripes Cover Panel Confetti Cuts

from Reverse Confetti to make my card:

I started by diecutting my Big Stripes Cover Panel Confetti Cuts

from white cardstock and using it as a guide to blend different shades

of yellow, green and blue inks onto my white panel behind it,

using my new Clarity Stencil Brushes.

I layered the Big Stripes Cover Panel Confetti Cuts panel over top.

I stamped my Pineapples Aplenty stamps onto a coordinating

 Pineapples Aplenty Confetti Cuts.

I wanted to add a bit of dimension to the pineapple, so I stamped

the triangles from Paper Crane over top in Bright Buttercup.

I adhered it to my card with dimensional adhesive

and added a Bitty Banners sentiment stamped on a Bitty Banners Confetti Cuts.

  

 

Thanks for looking!

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Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop

Today, I'm participating in the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.

Our challenge was to use this beautiful photo as inspiration:

Isn't it lovely?

I was inspired to use my Floral Sketches stamp set to create my card.

I was inspired by the design on the wall, as well as the floral pillow to make my card.

I started by scoring my white cardstock panel in the same design as the wall.

I stamped my flowers onto coordinating diecuts and then stamped the outline images

in versamark and heat embossed them in gold.

I stamped the sentiment (from the Songbirds) in versamark onto a strip of navy cardstock

and heat embossed it in white.

I tucked in the one side for a nestled effect.

Thanks for looking! 

Stamp-a-faire 2016 -- Part IV

After church today, Sage and I got everything packed for her week at camp.
Then, after lunch, we headed down to my craft area to complete the final three
challenges for Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-faire 2016.

I wanted to make some cards for Sage today to take along with her to camp.
Every night before she goes to bed, I bless her by saying:
"The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord protect you and smile on you,
the Lord be gracious to you and give you peace."
When she's away at camp, I like to write the blessing in a card
for her to open before she goes to bed, along with some questions
about her day and statements along the lines of me missing her.

We started with cards for Kay's Watercolour Like A Master Challenge:

I decided to use the leaves from my Songbirds stamp set to make my card.

I stamped the leaves in tropical teal, green parakeet, blueberry sky, enchanted evening,

orange zest, summer sunrise, pure poppy and berry sorbet.

I stamped my sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp's Big Scripty Sentiments)

in versafine onyx black.

Sage decided to use my Feathers Finery stamp set,

along with this colour combo:

Isn't it gorgeous?

She was so frustrated with her watercolour, but I thought it turned out amazing

-- especially considering it was her first time using this technique!

She stamped the sentiment from Graceful Greetings.

I was inspired by her using the feathers, so I had to try it, too.

I used this colour combo, but I swapped berry sorbet for the pink

and added simply chartreuse:

My feathers got a little hard to see after the watercoloring, 

so I restamped them over top.

I stamped the sentiment from Walk By Faith.

Next, we tackled Lexi's Colour Blocking Challenge:

I scored my cardstock, created a mask for each rectangle with post-it notes

and blended ink onto each quadrant.

Then, using my Colour Pop Butterflies stencil, I stencilled the large butterfly

in each section and stamped coordinating stamps over top.

I stamped the sentiment and blended ink onto the "happy" diecut

before adhering it to my card.

Sage decided to make a birthday card for her dad.

She really enjoyed learning how to ink blend this weekend, so 

I helped her score her card and showed her how to mask the sections

for ink blending.

She diecut the cows from On the Farm from black cardstock 

and stamped her sentiment (also from On the Farm.)

And lastly, we did Heather's Pointillism Play Challenge:

I don't have a lot of PTI outline stamps, so I chose to make 

a fun Foxy card for Sage.

I have to say, this was probably my least favourite technique for the weekend!

It was just so fussy!

I stamped the tent from Summer Camp and the Foxy fox in versafine onyx black

and heat embossed them in clear.

Then, using some tiny circle stamp stamps, I coloured them in.

The sentiment is from Winter Woods.

Sage had a brilliant idea with hers:

She made a Calico cat so she didn't have to fill him in completely!

She smudged a little near the top, so I suggested she stencil the sun 

over top.

The sentiment is from Wet Paint.

Well, I knew I would have a great time participating in Stamp-a-Faire 2016

and I was totally right!

I thought Sage might make a card or two, but I was thrilled when she

spent so much time stamping with me and ended up making seven cards!

Thanks for looking!

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Stamp-a-faire 2016 -- Part III

Well, Sage and I made two cards each yesterday evening
before calling it a night and watching a couple of episodes of Castle.

Sage had started on Danielle's Gilded in Gold Challenge
in the morning, having diecut and stamped her butterflies using Floral Pops Butterflies.

She used a foam brush to paint on the Liquid Gold.

She was very frustrated (I should have had some smaller foam brushes on hand)

and I had to touch things up a little for her. 

Her best friend, with whom she's going to camp tomorrow, is named Faith,

so Sage wanted to make her a card with her name on it. :)

While Sage worked on her card, I tackled a Masterpiece Inspiration Challenge.

My best friend, with whom I went out for lunch yesterday, requested

a masculine birthday card from me, for a rancher.

I chose this piece as my inspiration (as well as Melissa's card):

And used my On The Farm stamps and dies to create my card:

I started by stamping the checker board pattern (from On the Farm) 

onto my white cardstock panel in pure poppy.

Then, I masked it off and blended classic kraft ink onto my panel.

Then, I layered a Tim Holtz stencil over top and added more kraft ink.

For the tag, I diecut a Tag Sale 7 die from white cardstock 

and just the end of it from black cardstock.

I stamped the tag with images from the set and added

a black cow diecut -- since Sage was painting with the Liquid Gold,

I decided to dip his hooves into the gold -- a fun little finishing touch!

Sage also created a card for the Masterpiece Inspiration Challenge.
She decided to make a birthday card for Jonah using this piece:

She was inspired by the colours in the painting and the numbers,
which made her think of ages, which is perfect for a birthday card.

She has really taken to the ink blending technique and repeated it here,

in smokey shadow, orange zest and Altenew Caribbean Sky.

She spritzed it with water and then used a paintbrush to blend the colours.

She diecut the ferris wheel and cars from my MIM County Fair kit

and stamped them in enchanted evening and blueberry sky.

She stamped the sentiment (from KIS: Birthday) in enchanted evening.

And lastly, I decided to create a card for
Lizzie's Mastering Drips & Splatters Challenge.
I used this Master Colour Recipe, but substituted hawaiian shores for the aqua mist:

I pressed each colour onto my acrylic black and used my water brush
to splatter the ink onto my card.

I really love how the ink concentrated on the bottom of my card like that!

(I liked it so much, I chose not to add drips to it, leaving it as is -- I hope that's okay.

Once it was dry, I trimmed it out and adhered it to hawaiian shores cardstock.

I added some thread and the Inspired: Faith diecut from black cardstock

and the sentiment which I heat embossed in white on a strip of black cardstock.

Well, I tidied up my space last night so Sage and I would be
ready to tackle the rest of the challenges when we get home from church.

Thanks for looking!

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Stamp-a-faire 2016 -- Part II

Well, I came back from lunch with my friend

to find that Sage had gone to the farm with her dad for the afternoon.

So, I had to carry on with the challenges solo. :(

I decided to tackle Danielle's Gilded in Gold Challenge.

First of all, I tried using the Liquid Leaf with a Stencil, but that didn't work.

So I decided to create a large stripe of it on my card.

I stamped my Sketched Florals flower and leaves in berry sorbet

and aqua mist several times using my MISTI and inking my stamp

with an ink blender in between stampings.

I stamped the sentiment (from Songbirds) in versamark

on a strip of black cardstock and heat embossed it in white.

I decided to add some Liquid Gold to the flower centre

and was pretty happy when it turned out in the shape of a heart.

For my next card, I had an extra "faith" diecut from my Starry Night card,

so I coated it with Liquid Gold.

I stamped the Sketched Florals stamps and leaves in aqua mist and

mint julep using the same method as my first card.

I stamped the sentiment from Inspired: Faith in versafine onyx black ink

and adhered my gold diecut.

And lastly, I made a card for Melissa's Floral Impressionism Challenge.

Once again, I used the same Sketched Florals stamps and dies

and the same technique that Melissa demonstrated.

I blended some sweet blush onto my background and 

adhered my flowers and leaves.

I diecut the Layered Banner Banter dies from white cardstock

and blended some summer sunrise onto the background diecut.

I stamped the sentiment (from Layered Banner Banter) twice --

the first time in berry sorbet (twice with my MISTI), and 

then a third time, offset slightly, in summer sunrise that was stamped off first.

Well, Sage is home, we've eaten supper and we're going 

to watch the next Stamp-a-faire videos and see how many

cards we can make this evening.

Thanks for looking!