Simply Soft Sponging

Hi everyone.  Here's my Design Team card for today's challenge at Addicted to CAS.  Remember, this challenge is open for two weeks so there's lots of time to participate! :)

This challenge is being run by the very talented Harriet (Ally Cat Cards), and she chose this fabulous code word:

This challenge is being sponsored by

Prize:  $25 gift voucher

(please follow the rules to be eligible to win)

Stamps:  Simply Soft, Musical Notes Wheel (SU!)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Whisper White (SU!)
Ink:  Soft Suede, Staz-on Black, Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  blender pen, white gel pen, sponges, Big Shot, Square nestie (Spellbinders), adhesives, and dimensionals

I stamped the musical wheel twice in Soft Suede ink.  I stamped the flowers in Staz-on Black ink twice and then colored them in using the blender pen and inks (marker layering technique).  I sponged around the whole image, leaving it lighter in the center and darker on the edges.  Mounted the image onto my card front and printed out a second smaller card front with the sentiment and then cut out a window for the image to show through.


Here's a close-up:

I hope I have inspired you to join in our fun challenge ...  Addicted to CAS - Music. Come check out all the wonderful creations by the other Design Team members.

Fun in the Sun!

Hi everyone.  I have some good news to share with you.  I have been asked to be a guest designer for Bugaboo's Catch the Bug Challenge Blog for September and October! :)  I'm thrilled to be a part of their team ... I just love the fun images designed by the owner, Jodie.  Isn't this Beach Frog the cutest ... he makes me smile! :)

Today is my first Design Team card for Bugaboo ... and it's the Friday Freebie that's available at Bugaboo Digi Stamps FOR FREE right now.  Drop by and check it out ... but don't wait too long as this image will only be available free for the next week.

Then, next Friday, there will be a new free image ... how great is that??!!

I will also be making Design Team cards for some upcoming challenges at Catch the Bug Challenge Blog.  I hope you'll join us for some fun and prizes!

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I kept my usual CAS style for this image ... I colored it with Copics, fussy-cut and popped it up on my card base.  I used a ripped piece of card stock for the sand, adding Stickles along the top edge for shine.  I used a piece of orange felt for his beach towel and also some orange twine for the handle of his pail.

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  Beach Frog - Beach Toys (Bugaboo); Beach Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs), Crumb Cake (SU!)
Ink:  Copics:  G43, G99, R29, R59, Y21, YR07, RV00, R20, B16, B99, 0 (colorless blender)
Accessories & Tools:  Orange felt, Mandarin twine (The Twinery), clear Stickles, glue, adhesives, and dimensionals

I hope I have inspired you to check out the images at Bugaboo - you'll be glad you did!

Road Trip!!

Hi everyone.  A super CAS, one-layer card for today.  I CASE'd this fun card from this week's Featured Stamper on SCS - Gabby (FS342 - Gabalot).  I kept my card even more CAS than Gabby's by leaving off the map and banners.

Congrats Gabby on your honor and I hope you enjoy your special week at SCS!!

This is also for SCS CAS Challenge (CAS235 - Going on a road trip) ... perfect timing!!

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  Fly Away with Me (C.C. Designs)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs)
Ink:  Basic Black (SU!); Copics:  R27, R29, W4, Y21, YR24
Accessories & Tools:  Ruler

Just found out that I was the Top Pick at Merry Monday for my "Peace" Christmas Card.  Thanks to the Design Team for picking my card ... I'm so honored!!  :)

Snowy Wreath

Hi everyone.  Second post for today!! :)  This card is for a couple of challenges ... SCS Queen for the Day (QFTD178 - initial S) ... I am honoring my friend, Susan (susanbri at SCS).  Susan makes many Christmas cards each year and I only learned recently that she has a sale of her cards in the fall with all proceeds going to charity!  You gotta love that!!  She is such a talented card-maker and she leaves the most lovely and supportive messages for other crafters.

Susan, I enjoyed looking through your beautiful gallery on SCS and I chose this gorgeous card to CASE.  I enjoy making Christmas cards too, and you have given me so many wonderful ideas - thank you!!

And this is also for the Jingle Belles Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - I did a diagonal line choosing dry embossing, red or green, die-cut or punch).

Here's a close-up:

It's a little hard to see in the photo, but the squares of red are dry embossed with a brick pattern.  It adds some extra texture and interest.  I built the wreath from a ring of green cardstock, covering it with pine branch die-cuts which I had painted with snow texture.  Just love how the wreath turned out.  I finished it off by adding a red and green jingle bell (from the $1 Store) tied with hemp twine.

I think I need to get a CD player for my art studio.  I was singing Christmas carols as I was making this card ... and it would have been nice to have the music to drown out my off-key singing :) ... I'm sure that's why hubby headed downstairs for the afternoon! :)


Stamps:  Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs);  Gumball Green, Real Red (SU!)
Ink:  Gumball Green, Whisper White re-inker (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Wreath Strip die (Cheery Lynn), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1 1/4" square punch, Brick embossing folder (Tim Holtz for Sizzix), Sparkle Texture Effect (Martha Stewart), paint brush, Stamp-a-ma-jig, hemp twine, jingle bells, glue, glue dot, adhesives, and dimensionals

FYI, I've had my Sparkle Texture Effects for about three years now - it's amazing how long it's lasted!  Anyways, it was starting to dry up a bit, so I took out what I thought I'd need for the wreath, added a few drops of Whisper White re-inker and a few drops of water and then stirred it all together ... worked like a charm!!

Fall Thank You

Hi everyone.  I know it's not fall yet, but I am ready for some cooler temperatures ... and rain (I LOVE RAIN) - which is a good thing considering where I live :)  We normally get a lot of rain, but hardly a drop all this summer - so I'm ready for a change.

The card today is for a couple of challenges.  SCS Queen for the Day (QFTD178 - letter S) ... I've chosen to honor Roberta (Stampin'nana).  I saw this beautiful fall card and knew right away, I wanted to CASE it.  I changed the layout and used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch #42.

I'm sending this thank you card to Nikki's parents.  They hosted the wedding last weekend at their place and I know that it was a lot of work.  Everything was so beautiful ... Pat and Jeff live on an acre of land and their front and back yards have huge gardens that are so beautiful and meticulously maintained.  And the food Pat made was so delicious.


Here's a close-up of the card:

I used some patterned paper for both the maple leaf and the background strip - yay!!  The leaf die also has embossed veins, so I took my Cajun Craze Stampin' Write marker and drew in along the embossing.  I sponged the edges of the leaf as well for added interest.  A small twine bow to finish.

Stamps:  Sincere Salutations (SU!)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Orchard Harvest DP, Well Worn DP (SU!)
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Basic Black (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Large Leaves #2 die (Cheery Lynn), hemp twine, Stamp-a-ma-jig, glue, adhesives and dimensionals

A Special Wedding Card

Hi everyone.  Today I'm showing you the wedding card I made for my son Evan and his new bride, Nikki.  I used Nikki's wedding bouquet as my inspiration for this card.  I included her favorite flower (orange gerbera daisy) along with soft yellow hydrangea blooms and twine (which she used to tie her bouquet together).  I printed the sentiment on my computer in brown ink to match the center of the gerbera daisy.

Here's a close-up of the card:

And here's a picture of Nikki's bouquet, which was the inspiration for the card:

You'll notice there are four picture charms dangling from her bouquet.  Evan also had four picture charms pinned to his shirt.  They wanted to honor loved ones who have passed and weren't able to be there for their special day.  Nikki had pictures of her two grandmothers, Evan's Auntie Nancy and Evan's Auntie Moe.  Evan had pictures of his two grandfathers, Nikki's grandfather and Evan's Uncle Dave.  It was a very special way of including them and it brought tears to my eyes.

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Paper:  White, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso (SU!)
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Calypso Coral (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Lavish Branch die (Memory Box), Rectangle Nestability (Spellbinders), Small Daisy Punch (Punch Bunch), Small and Mini sun punches (Punch Bunch), Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), stylus, mat, tweezers, sponges, glue, glue dots, twine, adhesives and dimensionals

Love my new Lavish Branch die and think I will get a lot of use from it.

Peace on Earth

Hi everyone.  Today's card is for a "new-to-me" challenge called Merry Monday.  My friend Bonnie is on the Design Team and I have been ogling her gorgeous Christmas Cards all year.  Now that I'm in my Christmas card-making mode, thought I'd enter.

Here's the wonderful sketch for this week:

and I used all dies to make this card (along with sentiment printed from my computer).  I had a little trouble lining up the letters perfectly ... but it just goes to show that this is hand-made :)  I used some pretty Christmas Designer Papers from last year that I've been hording.  Happy to be using more designer paper as my "collection" has gotten out of hand!! :)

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  none ("on earth" is printed from my computer)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs), Be of Good Cheer DP - retired, Silver Glimmer (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, High Rise Alphabet - lower case (MFT), Tree Die from Holiday Cheer set (Sizzix), Holiday Shapes - star die (Simon Says), glue, adhesives, and dimensionals

Scootin' By

Hi everyone.  I started out making this card with three challenges in mind:  SCS Ways To Use It - WT440 - Sun Rays; SCS Free For All - F4A182 - Fun with dots; and Less Is More #133 - Round and Round).  But by the time I added the sun rays, paper pieced my scooter with polka-dot paper, added a road for the bike to travel on and clouds to balance everything out ... it was no longer CAS ... so doesn't qualify for the Less Is More challenge.

I had a lot of fun making this card because I didn't really have a clear vision when I started and it just developed as I went along.  I also didn't add a sentiment because I thought there was enough already going on that I would leave that for the inside of the card :)

Here's a close-up of the card:

Stamps:  Spiffy Scooters (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, Summer Smooches (SU!); Snap Color Vibe (Simple Stories)
Ink:  Basic Gray, Soft Sky (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Puffy Cloud dies (Memory Box), glue, sponges, adhesives, and dimensionals

The sun rays are rectangles (1" x 4"), cut on the diagonal.  The scooter is stamped onto white (base) and cut out; then paper pieced.  I added extra dimension by popping up a second layer on the fenders and seat.

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I've been taking it easy today, because yesterday was a very busy and emotional day.  My son Evan is turning 30 this year ... but not until November.  A few months back, his girlfriend Nikki told me that she was planning a surprise birthday party for Evan to celebrate ... but wanted to have a BBQ and have it outside, so it was going to be an early birthday party and it was planned for yesterday.  All the family and several friends were invited ... and it was held at Nikki's parents place (lovely, lovely home on an acre of beautiful gardens).

Turns out that the surprise wasn't for Evan after all ... it was for all the guests.  It was a surprise wedding!!!  It was really exciting and everyone was just blown away.

Here is the new Mr. and Mrs. Thompson:

I'm still recovering today from all the excitement. :)

Holiday Cards

Hi everyone.  Time for another challenge at Addicted to CAS.  This challenge is being run by the very talented Florence (florence and freddie part 2) ... and she has chosen this code word:

Lots of ways to interpret the code word ... but I chose to design my card for the Christmas Holidays.  I used one of my poinsettias along with die-cut letters to create a sentiment image.  Hope you like.

This challenge's sponsor is

Prize:  4 digital images from Delicious Doodles

(please follow the rules to be eligible to win)

Stamps:  Merry and Bright (Amy R)

Paper:  White, Real Red, Old Olive, Holiday Treasures DP (retired) (SU!)

Ink:  Real Red, Old Olive (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Blooming Poinsettia (Poppy Stamps), Alphabet dies (My Favorite Things), stylus, mat, glue, Stamp-a-ma-jig, adhesives, and dimensionals

The die-cut letters (j, y) are made thick by gluing together three layers.  The poinsettia is sponged, shaped and assembled (see tutorial here).  I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement of the "to the world" sentiment.  The letters and poinsettia are popped up for added dimension.

Here's a close-up:

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Here's another holiday card ... this time using one of our sponsor's digital images.  I LOVE this scene.  I kept it very CAS by just adding a little color with some diluted re-inkers and a paint brush ... and then glittered up the snow to make it more festive.  I used a simple frame and sentiment ... but when it was finished, I realized that it might not be CAS, but wanted to share it with you.  It's hard to see the glittery snow in this shot, but the close-up below shows it well.  Hope you like.

Stamps:  Snowy Mailbox (Delicious Doodles); Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R)

Paper:  Watercolor (Arches)

Ink:  Re-inkers:  Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Real Red (SU!)

Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), paint palette, water, paint brushes, dazzling diamonds, sticky strips, and dimensionals

Here's a close-up ... you can see the glitter better in this shot:

I hope I have inspired you to join in our fun challenge ...  Addicted to CAS - Holiday. Come check out all the wonderful creations by the other Design Team members.

Ornament Tag Card

Hi everyone.  I started playing with tags yesterday and made this one with some (fairly) new dies that I just got ... along with some long-retired patterned paper from Stampin' Up!  As most of you know by now, I'm don't use patterned paper in my cards very often and really need to work on that! :)  I think of myself as a "designer paper collector" :) ... but I'm hoping to use up some this year, adding bits and pieces (so using up scraps at the same time - bonus!) on tags.  Last year I made twelve Christmas tags and had so much fun ... this year hoping to make lots more.  Once I made the tag yesterday, I left it for a while because I felt I wanted to do more with it.  This morning I turned it into a card.  This was definitely inspired by my good friend Nancy ... and this fabulous tag card that she made recently.  Thanks again for all your inspiration Nancy!!

Here's a close-up:

I'm happy with this tag and may make another to use as an actual gift tag.

I used my new snowflake dies from Impression Obsession to die-cut the snowflake for the center of the ornament.  Then I cut out two of the ornaments (one in silver and one in red - glimmer papers).  I used my smallest circle nestability to cut out the center of the red ornament and then layered everything together.  I used my Tombow glue ... which is amazing ... but it's still a challenge to get these to adhere as there is some sort of plastic-y finish on the back of the glimmer paper from SU!.

Tip:  Another thing I learned about cutting out glitter paper with small, intricate dies (especially if there is a plastic-y backing).  I cut them upside down ... so that the backing paper is on top and it has the most pressure from the sharp edges of the die.  You still have to carefully pull the pieces apart after they are cut, but they came out clean for me.

Edited to Add:  As per a lovely message from MaryH ... I'm going to enter this card into the Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground Challenge.

Stamps:  Merry and Bright Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Silver and Red Glimmer paper, Christmas patterned paper - retired (SU!),
Ink:  Old Olive (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Christmas Ornaments die (MFT), Small Snowflakes die (Impression Obsession), Wreath Strip die (Cheery Lynn), sponge, glue, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Honeydew twine (The Twinery), adhesives, and dimensionals

Daisy Hello

Hi everyone.  Here's a quick card I made this afternoon for this week's Color Challenge (CC439) at SCS.  Kim gave us such a fabulous color combination (melon mambo, old olive, daffodil delight) ... with the "dessert" being to include flowers on your card.  Love this color combo ... such great summer colors.  Even though we're only half way through August, it already seems like summer is almost over, so I'm happy to make another summery card before fall is here.

I used the marker layering technique for this image ... stamped in Staz-on Black onto Whisper White card stock, then adding the ink with a blender pen ... so much fun!!  I added a cute, little sentiment and a bit of twine for an accent.

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  Daisy Thanks (Stampendous); Sunny Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Whisper White (SU!)
Ink:  Staz-on Black, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  blender pen, Honeydew Twine (The Twinery), adhesives and dimensionals

After coloring the image with my inks and blender pen, I fussy cut out the image and popped it up on my card front for added dimension.

Trio of Trees

Hi everyone.  I'm on a roll with Christmas cards ... they are my favorite type of card to make and I want to get a lot done for this year.

Today's card is also for SCS Queen for the Day (QFTD174 - previous Queen with initials E - I) from a couple of weeks ago.  Still catching up on some challenges and I wanted to make sure that I made a card to honor "hobbydujour" (Sallie).  I love Sallie's style ... her cards are always so beautiful and elegant ... I especially love her brayered cards.  Today I CASED (copy and share everything) this lovely card that Sallie made last year.  I didn't brayer the background like she did, but sponged instead.  I used the same colors, and the same technique for the "falling snow".  I didn't have a large tree stamp, so I improvised by stamping script onto white cardstock and then die-cutting three different sizes of trees.  I used the same layout as my Glittered Snowflakes card from a few days ago.

Here's a close-up:

I popped up the frame card front, and the trees for added dimension.  I attached the medium sized tree to the frame for interest.  I also added a flat, medium tree and star to the inside of the card.

Stamps:  En Francais (SU!); Joy (Kollette Hall - very old stamp)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Whisper White (SU!)
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Tempting Turquoise, Gumball Green, Whisper White re-inker (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Big Shot, Holilday Cheer (Trees) die from Sizzix, Holiday Shapes (stars) die from Simon Says, sponges, toothbrush, Stamp-a-ma-jig, glue, adhesives, and dimensionals

I randomly sponged the Whisper White card stock with Pear Pizzazz and Tempting Turquoise inks ... Whisper White is the best card stock to use for sponging the SU! inks.  I poured a little water into my hand and then flicked it onto the sponged card stock ... then blotted up the excess water with paper towel.  I wet the toothbrush with water, added a few drops of Whisper White re-inker, smooched the toothbrush into paper towel to distribute the ink, added a little more water to thin and then "splattered" the sponged card stock with the white ink (slowly pull thumb along bristles of toothbrush).  It's messy, but the final product is so great!

Edited to Add:  I am also entering this card into the Christmas Card Challenges #37 - Evergreen Trees.

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Thanks to everyone that commented on my latest Card Candy Giveaway - #6 (Christmas Poinsettias).  I used the True Random Number Generator to pick the winner of the Card Candy:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 44 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

... and the winner is ...

Danielle (D's Crafty Connection)

Congrats Danielle ... please email your mailing address to me (click on the "Email Me" in the right-hand column near the top), and I'll send you the Card Candy. :)

Smile!

Hi everyone.  Today's card is for two challenges ... first Queen for the Day (QFTD174 - previous Queen with the initials E - I) ... and today's CAS challenge (CAS233 - Alumni Love! - honor Harriet Skelly).  Even though it's two challenges, they are both honoring Harriet ... a friend and fellow DT member of ATCAS.  Harriet loves to make CAS cards and I love her style ... check out her blog here.

I CASE'd this sweet card made by Harriet, making the stencil border and flower larger and leaving off the bee (I didn't have one that was the right proportion!).  I love the yellow and black together ... and especially love the gingham center on the daisy.  I also used some NBUS  ... never-before-used-schtuff, as Darnell would say ... :)  I have about 1/2 dozen stencils from Crafter's Workshop and I think it's the first time I've used one - yeah!!

Here's a close-up:

Stamps:  Sweet Summer Sentiments (Amy R); Gingham wheel (SU!)
Paper:  White (C.C. Designs); Daffodil Delight, Whisper White (SU!)
Ink:  Basic Black, Daffodil Delight (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Giant Daisy Punch (punch bunch), Circle Nestie (Spellbinders), Hexagon stencil (Crafter's Workshop); stylus, mat and tweezers, sponges, Stamp-a-ma-jig, glue, glue dots, adhesives, and dimensionals

I punched three daisies, sponged the edges with yellow ink, shaped them with the tweezers and stylus/mat and glued the layers together.  The gingham was stamped onto a scrap piece of Whisper White and then cut out with the smallest circle nestability, shaped with the stylus/mat and adhered to the center of the daisy with two (stacked) dimensionals.

I taped down the stencil onto my card front to hold everything in place and then sponged with black ink.  Then popped the flower up on top and added the sentiment.  I also sponged another strip of hexagons and cut it down to 1 1/4" wide and glued it to the inside of the card for interest.