Happy Birthday Balloons

Hi everyone.  Time for May's Sketch Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  I know, it's still April for a lot of us :) ... but it's already May in Australia and that's where HLS is based. :)

Here's May's sketch ...

Isn't this fun??!! :)  I love the image that Kylie has selected for this month.  I thought about doing a bokeh technique card, and I may still do that. :)

But when I saw the fun colours and the floaty-ness (is that a word??) :) of the dots, it made me think of balloons.  At first, I cut out and coloured nine balloons, but it was way too much for a small card, so I took it down to three and it seemed just right.  A smattering of sequins and a large stamped sentiment and my card was finished.  It's hard to see the "b" in "birthday", but it's there. :)

I decided after I finished the card, that I wanted to add some sparkle to the balloons. So I got out my Clear Wink of Stella pen and went over the balloons, twice.  For some reason it removed some of the colour, so I had to sponge in some more.  I managed OK, but it was risky and I almost ruined the card and had to start again.  I usually know that if I miss doing something before a card is put together, it's best to just leave it ... luck was on my side, this time. :)

Here's a close-up so you can see the sparkle ...

I hope you'll come join us for this fun challenge.  Be inspired by the sketch above and play along at HLS May Sketch Challenge.  The challenge is open for the whole month, so there's lots of time to play along.

There's also a Design Team Call for the Sketch Challenge and the upcoming new Christmas Challenge at HLS.  If you're interested in joining us, please add DT after your name on your entry this month. :)

Stamps:  The big, the bold and the Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Black (Memento); Distress Inks:  Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Balloon die-cuts made with my Silhouette Cameo, sponges, Scor-Pal, assorted sequins, white baker's twine, clear wink of stella, white gel pen

Challenges:

HLS May Sketch Challenge

Shopping in Style

Hi everyone.  There's a new challenge at Addicted to CAS.  This time it is being run by the very talented and sweet Barb (Barb's Studio Creations).  She has a colour challenge for us this time ...

This challenge is sponsored by

When I was younger, I used to love looking through little boutiques that sold all kinds of fancy tableware, crystal, etc. for your home.  Not that I bought much for myself, but did get lots of gifts for others.  The store clerks would always take a lot of time to wrap up each item carefully and then place it in an elegant bag for me to carry home.  It was so elegant that I didn't need to rewrap it ... just gave it to the recipient in the beautiful bag from the store.  When I saw this challenge, that's what I thought about, so I made an elegant shopping bag.  You never know what's going to inspire you. :)

I stamped a flourish from an older stamp set onto black card stock and heat embossed it with gold.  Then I cut the piece down to a 2" x 2" piece and scored along three sides at 1/8" and 1/4" and then folded them in to create the bag framework.  I added a piece of gold cording for the handle, and secured a small piece of gold patterned tissue paper at the top.  Easy and fun card to make.

We have Pia (Pia's Creative World) joining us as Guest Designer this month.  Please check out her beautiful card for the challenge, along with the rest of the DT by clicking HERE.

As always, the challenge is open for two weeks, so there's lots of time to play.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

I'd also like to enter this into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Clean and Simple and ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes.

Stamps:  Baroque Motifs (SU!); A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Black (SU!)
Ink:  Versamark; Black (Memento)
Accessories & Tools:  Gold embossing powder (Hero Arts), heat tool, gold cording, gold patterned tissue paper

Challenges:

ATCAS #62 - Black, White and Gold
Simon Says Wednesday - Clean and Simple
ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes

Stencil with Glass Bead Gel

Hi everyone.  I've made another stenciled card for the April HLS CAS Challenge.

This time I used glass bead gel.  I posted this card a couple of weeks ago, where I made several panels of the same background using the Saturated Watercolouring technique. Today's card uses one of the panels, this time with a quartrefoil stencil and some glass bead gel.  I love this stuff! :)  The gel I use is made by Golden, but there are probably other brands that make it.  It's a clear, gloss gel that has teeny, tiny glass beads in it.  It dries clear, and it reflects the light, so the colours underneath seem more vibrant.  It's so pretty and sparkly in real life, but hard to capture in a photo.

I simply mounted the panel behind a circle aperture and added a die-cut corner and a few blossoms.

I'm going to enter this card into a these challenges:  ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes, Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Clean and Simple, and Splitcoaststampers CAS #320 - Stencil It.


I hope I've inspired you to play along with our challenge at HLS.  Add stenciling in some way to your CAS card, and then link up to the challenge. :)  There's still a few days left to join in.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the lovely CAS stenciled cards in the gallery ... and ones done by Nancy, Kylie and me.  Thanks again to Nancy for being our Guest Designer this month!!  Looking forward to our next CAS Challenge which will be posted May 3  at 6am (AEST) ... that's 1pm May 2 my time (PDST). :)

Stamps:  Bitty Birthday (SU!)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Magenta and Orange Liquid Watercolour Concentrate (Dick Blick), Frost White acrylic paint (Tsukineko), water mister, Circle Nestability (Spellbinders), Madera Corner die (Memory Box), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), Quatrefoil stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, Glass Bead Gel (Golden), palette knife

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
ATS&M #141 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday - Clean and Simple
SCS CAS #320 - Stencil It

More Fun with Sprays

Hi everyone.  A week ago I shared THIS CARD with a background I made while experimenting with my sprays and cling wrap.  I made a large panel that day and used half for my first card, and the rest for today's card.  I love the soft colours of this background and wanted them to be the "star", so added two simple, white die-cut leaves and a soft gray, small sentiment.

I still have a panel left using the same sprays, but I covered it with bubble wrap instead of cling wrap.  Made for a fun design.  Hope to make some cards with that soon.

I'm going to enter this into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make your Own Backgrounds.


Off to take my mom to the doctor's this afternoon for a follow-up to her surgery. Hubby and I will stay and have dinner with her, ordering in from a local restaurant. Didn't want to pass along any of the nasty virus both hubby and I had, so we've been keeping a distance from Mom for three weeks.  Really looking forward to seeing her today! :)

Stamps:  Bitty Birthday (SU!)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Yellow, Orange, and Magenta watercolour sprays, frost white paint (Tsukineko), cling wrap, Meadow Leaf die (Poppy Stamps)

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday

Guest on Card Maker's Corner

Hi everyone.  Today I'm honoured to be Guest on Card Maker's Corner.  This is a bi-monthly feature on Rahmat's blog (Cards and Cooking Corner), where she introduces her readers to other crafters and includes some of their work and info about their lives.

Rahmat asked me to pick my three favourite cards I've made to share on her blog and I've included them below as well.  It was hard to pick just three from the over 1,100 cards I've made ... but here they are. :)  They represent my favourite techniques which are watercolouring, stenciling, heated copper and die-cutting.  :)

Thank You Lee-Anne

Autumn Leaves

Pine Branch Tree

Rahmat has also given me ten questions to answer.  Click HERE to see the answers and learn a little bit more about me.  :)

Thanks Rahmat!

Experimenting with Vintage

Hi everyone.  Today I'm doing something a little different for me.  I'm trying to do a vintage / shabby chic type of card.  :)  I had fun, but know that I need a lot more practice with this style! :)

I have an on-line friend who makes the most incredible shabby chic and distressed cards.  If you haven't visited Pamellia Johnson's My Little Craft Things, I suggest you check it out.  She is one amazing card artist, and she has so many wonderful details in each and every creation.

So I thought I'd give it a try, just starting out simple and keeping my card CAS as that is my style.  First, I used white embossing paste over top of a damask stencil. This stencil is the ultimate in vintage style, in my opinion.  I love the white on white, but it's hard to capture the detail, raised design in photos.

Next was my flower spray.  I used a couple of products that I had on hand that Pamellia uses.  First I punched my flowers from light pink card stock and sponged darker pink around the edges.  Then I dabbed on a little Picket Fence distress paint. Once that was dry, all the flowers were coated in Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint. This is where I got tired of waiting for things to dry :) ... this type of card takes a lot of patience :)  After the crackle was dry, more pink ink was dripped over top so that it went into the cracks -- very subtle as I used pale pink ink.  The last step was to dab more picket fence distress paint on top and add pearl centers.  Whew!  Lots of steps, but I think they turned out pretty well for my first attempt.  The leaves were die-cut, sponged with green on the edges, shaped and then dabbed with the picket fence distress paint as well to tie it all together.

Here's a close-up so you can see some of the details.  I need LOTS more practice :)

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:


ATS&M #140 - Photo Inspiration Challenge

SCS CAS Challenge #320 - Stencil it

And it's another reminder for Happy Little Stampers - April CAS Challenge - Stenciling ...

... and another reminder of April Mixed Media Card Challenge - Flowers.

Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery (SU!)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Damask Stencil made with my Silhouette Cameo, Embossing paste (Dreamweaver), palette knife, Little Leaves die (Sizzix), Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), Wreath Strip (Cheery Lynn), sponges, Picket Fence Distress Paint (Tim Holtz), Clear Rock Candy Crackle Distress Paint (Tim Holtz), stylus and mat, half pearls

Challenges:

ATS&M #140 - Photo Inspiration
SCS CAS #320 - Stencil It
Happy Little Stampers - April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
Mixed Media Card Challenge - April - Flowers

Stencil with Sprays

Hi everyone.  Today's card is all about the spring flowers and bright, fun colours.  Don't you just love this time of year??!! :)

I also tried a new stenciling technique for this card.  I used three colours of frost sprays (yellow, lime green, green) over top of a textured mesh stencil on watercolour paper.  I spritzed until I was happy with the colours, then I took a tip from Debby Hughes and placed a heavy jar on top to weigh it down.  After it has mostly dried, I removed the jar and pulled off the stencil.   That piece is used as my base tag for the card.  Love this technique.  Pretty easy and a fun way to incorporate some of my new homemade sprays made with liquid watercolour concentrate, pearl paint and water.  :)

I die-cut flowers, sponged around the edges, and then shaped them with my stylus and mat.  Because the background was sparkly, I decided to spray my flowers with a bit of sparkle as well.  For the leaves, I sprayed another small piece of watercolour paper with the two shades of green I used for the background (left out the yellow) and then die-cut two leaf sprigs.  For the sentiment, I used left over paper from my leaf sprigs, stamping the two words in Versamark and heat embossing in white.  I cut them down to mount them separately.  For the ribbon, I bleached some crumb cake seam binding, and then dyed it with the two shades of green sprays to match the tag. :)

I made this card as a reminder for a couple of challenges.  First, Happy Little Stampers April CAS challenge is stenciling.  Don't have any stencils??  You can make your own with dies, punches or hot glue.  Check out the challenge where you'll find a few videos on how to make your own stencils, and several videos on stenciling techniques.  :)

And also Mixed Media Card Challenge for April is Flowers.

I hope you'll check out the challenges and play along! :)

Stamps:  Bloom Sketches (STAMPlorations)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press); Regal Rose (SU!)
Ink:  Regal Rose, Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Stitched Tag Die (Paper Smooches), Five Point Flower dies (Memory Box), Little Leaves die (Sizzix), Textured Mesh Stencil (Memory Box); Sprays (yellow, lime green, green) made with Liquid Watercolour Concentrate (Dick Blick), Champagne Mist spray (Tsukineko), stylus and mat, seam binding, dazzling details (SU!)

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Stenciling Challenge
Mixed Media April Flowers Challenge

Experimenting with Sprays

Hi everyone.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've been playing in my studio with different products and techniques.  So much fun!! :)

The coloured panel on the above card is done with three different coloured spray mists (yellow, orange, magenta) onto watercolour paper.  I added a few drops of Frost Acrylic paint to each of the watercolour sprays.  While it was still really wet, I placed a piece of slightly scrunched cling wrap over top and let it dry for an hour.  Once it was removed, this is what I got. :)  It's a very subtle design.  The frost seemed to separate from the colours and it pooled where the cling wrap stuck, so the design is sparkly and sort of silver coloured.  Beverly at SCS told me about this technique, and I'm so glad she did! :) Thanks Beverly!

The card above was inspired by a few challenges.  I used embossing paste over my tulip stencil, so this is for Happy Little Stampers April CAS Challenge - Stenciling ... and SCS CAS Challenge #320 - Stencil it.  And I was inspired by the photo from AAA Cards #37 - It's Springtime - aren't those tulips gorgeous??!! :)

Stamps:  Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Yellow, Orange, and Magenta watercolour sprays, frost white paint (Tsukineko), cling wrap, Tulip stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, Embossing paste (Dreamweaver), palette knife, white embossing powder, heat tool, Stitched mats (Lil' Inkers), white acrylic paint

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
SCS CAS #320 - Stencil It
AAA #37 - It's Springtime

With every Rainbow, a little rain must fall

Hi everyone.  Time for a new challenge at Addicted to CAS.  This time the challenge is being hosted by the lovely and talented, Shana (Stress-Free Stamping with Shana).  She chose this fun word ...

 The challenge is sponsored by

I decided as soon as I saw the challenge word, that I wanted to make a rainbow with a cloud burst of rain. :)  How to do that since I have no rainbow stamp images or die-cuts??  What I ended up doing was using my circle nestabilities.  I cut out four different sizes of circles and then layered them on top of each other.  I then die-cut a smaller circle from the center, glued all the rings together, and cut off the size I wanted. Worked perfectly! :)  I then ran it through with a polka-dot embossing folder.

I sponged around the outside of the cloud and added Clear Wink of Stella to the rain drops for a little sparkle ... it looks so pretty in real life.  :)

This month we are so excited to have Pia (Pia's Creative World) as our Guest Designer. Welcome to the team Pia!! :)  Check out her amazing card, and the rest of the DT cards HERE.

Come play along!

I'm also entering this into the AAA Cards Challenge #36 - Easter colours ... just getting in under the wire. :)

Stamps:  Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R); Big Bang Confetti (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  White (Neenah); Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Pink Pirouette (SU!)
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Soft Sky (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Circle Nestability dies (Spellbinders), Polka-dot embossing folder (Sizzix for SU!), Puffy Cloud Dies (Memory Box), sponge, Clear Wink of Stella pen

Challenges:
ATCAS #61 - Showers
AAA#36 - Easter Colours

Spring Tulips

Hi everyone.  I just got my new SU! order on Tuesday.  I bought three new stamp sets, including the one above.  I LOVE this sweet little bouquet of tulips, wrapped in newspaper.  So adorable.  And perfect for the CAS-ology #141 Challenge - cue card: News.

I stamped it onto white card stock using Archival (waterproof) ink.  I took the advice of my good friend, Karen (Snippets) and inked the stamp with versamark first.  Made for a way easier clean-up.  Thanks for the tip Karen!!

I wanted to watercolour the image, even though I was using card stock, so I pressed inks into my craft sheet and added just a little water.  Worked great.  The card stock did buckle a little, but was fine when it dried.  I then fussy-cut, added a wrap of twine, shaped the tulips with a stylus and mat, and added some clear wink of stella to the tulips for a little sparkle.  I then popped up the image for a little dimension and added a simple script-y hello sentiment.

Here's a close-up.  Still can't really see the sparkle on the tulips - it's really pretty ...

Hubby and I are still under the weather, but I'm having success with passing the time making cards.  Card Therapy ... is a good thing! :)

Jer stopped by after work yesterday and brought us chicken soup, buns and muffins. He's so thoughtful!  Nice to have some comfort food and I didn't have to cook --- bonus! :)

Stamps:  Love is Kindness (SU!); Where the heart is (Simon Says)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Versamark, Archival Black (Ranger); Black (Memento); Distress Inks:  Weathered Wood, Mowed Lawn, Ripe Persimmon, Picked Raspberry (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  paint brush, twine, stylus and mat for shaping tulips

Challenges:

CAS-ology #141

Stencil with Sponging

Hi everyone.  Back with a reminder of the April Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Stenciling.

This is the card I made for my hubby's birthday which was just a few days ago.  I used brushos (just the brown which has other colour pigments in it) to create the backdrop on mixed media paper.  This was my first time playing with this paper --- so fun, and it gives a different look than the brushos on watercolour paper.  Love it!!

I used my die from Cheery Lynn (Pair of Ferns), to die-cut a stencil from a piece of acetate.  I sponged over top with Vintage Photo distress ink, and then again down the center of the fern with a darker brown (Walnut Stain).  I then pressed the darker brown ink onto my craft mat, added a little bit of water, and used a paintbrush to splatter on top. So happy with how this turned out and hubby loved it too! :)

I'm entering this into the ATS&M #139 - CAS Challenge.

____________________

I am sharing another card I made using a stencil with sponging ...

This time I was channeling my friend Deepti.  I love all her cards she's made with this awesome layout and wanted to give it a try.  I sponged over brown card stock with a basket weave stencil that I cut with my Silhouette Cameo.  I sponged the same colour ink as the card stock, so it gives more of a subtle design.

I cut the top piece from white with a stitched border die.  I then added sprigs of greenery, along with some hot pink flowers .  A large hello sentiment is stamped in the same brown ink.

This is a reminder for the current challenge at Mixed Media Card Challenge - April - Flowers with optional element of Basket.

I hope you'll join us and play along!

And I'm going to enter this into Virginia's View #14 - Layers and Dimensions Challenge.

And the challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - April Showers.

Brusho Fern card:
Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  Mixed Media Card stock (Strathmore)
Ink:  Brusho colour crystals (Brown); Distress inks:  Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, paintbrush for splattering, Pair of Ferns die (Cheery Lynn), piece of acetate (Grafix), sponges


Hello Spring card:
Stamps:  The Big, The Bold and the Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  White (Neehan); Baked Brown Sugar, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar, Melon Mambo (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Basket weave stencil cut with my Silhoutte Cameo, plastic sheet (Grafix), Five Point Flower dies (C.C. Designs), Olive Branch dies (C.C. Designs), Stitched Borders die (Pretty Pink Posh), sponges, white gel pen, blender pen

Challenges:

HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
ATS&M #139 - CAS
Mixed Media Card Challenge - Flowers
Virginia's View #14 - Layers and Dimension
Simon Says - Spring Flowers

Christmas Angel

Hi everyone.  Today I'm playing along with the Merry Monday Challenge #153 - Angels.

This is the only Angel stamp I have.  And I've had it for a long time and believe I've only used it once.  Good to pull it out and ink it up! :)

Because the image is intricate, I decided to keep everything else very simple to give it a clean look.  The image, sentiment and border are all heat embossed gold.  Using the gold embossing powder around the outside edges of my card front, ensures that the whole card is all the same colour ... which helps with the clean look.

It was hard to photograph this card with the all the shine of the embossing powder.  It definitely looks better in real life.  I really need to work on finding a better solution for my photos.  It's on my 'to-do' list but will have to wait until I'm getting around better ... soon, hopefully!

It's a glorious, sunny and warm day here.  Hubby and I are both suffering with a virus right now, but I'm hoping to convince him to head out to the deck for some fresh air. The rain is supposed to be back with us by Friday so we need to take advantage today and tomorrow. :)

Stamps:  Christmas Silhouettes (Inkadinkado); Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Gold embossing powder (Hero Arts), heat tool

Challenges:

Merry Monday #153 - Angels

Stencil Mask

Hi everyone.  Today's challenge at SCS for new techniques is Cluster Stamping, run by the very talented Joan Ervin.  The challenge is to take a die-cut (at least 2" wide or long ... the bigger, the easier to use), and make a stencil out of it.  Then cluster stamp inside the stencil area.  So fun!!  I had to give it a try.  Mine is basically a one layer card ... except that I always add a smaller card front - so I guess it's more like a one layer card front. :)

I used a window die to cut from a post-it note.  I placed the die-cut window on my card front and then used the rest for the cut (outside of window) as a mask over top.  Then I sponged some green for the grassy area and blue for the sky.  I used only two stamps for the window scene ... a leafy sprig that I stamped two or three times before re-inking (second generation stamping), and a branch with buds.  I love how it turned out.  Taking off the masks to reveal the card front was so exciting. :)  I stamped the sentiment in soft gray to mimic the softness of this sponged scene.

This is perfect for the Happy Little Stampers April CAS Challenge - Stenciling.  And it's a different way to use die-cuts and stencils.  Awesome!

I'm definitely going to be making more of these cards!

Stamps:  Cause a Scene - Master #1 (Kittie Kits from Rubbernecker Stamps); Branches (Inkadinkado); Elements of Style (SU)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Distress inks:  Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass (Tim Holtz); Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Small Madison Arched Window die (Poppy Stamps), post it notes for making mask, sponges

Challenges:
HLS April CAS Challenge - Stenciling
SCS TLC #528 - Cluster Stamping