Mixed Media Card Challenge #11

If you're looking for my Winnie & Walter April/May release post, click here.

If you're looking for my CASEplorations post, click here.

And another one bites the dust. Month, that is. Yes, April whooshed by and it's already time to wish you all a  "Happy May Day". Spring has sprung, the leaves have popped on the grape vines here in our valley and summer is on its way (seems that some years May is the only summer we have here in Germany ...)

We have a new challenge at The Mixed Media Card Challenge. Show us your mixed media cards with "Wings" and an optional element of "Foil" - which seems to be all the rage these days.

Must admit I had only seen the theme and not the graphic when I started thinking about my card. I was planning to create a Confirmation card and was therefore thinking angels. I ended up sticking with the angel idea, but created a baby card instead.

 Where's the blue or yellow or pink, you ask?  Had to go vintage here with those shoes!

I first stencilled some stars onto my cardbase with Tea Dye through a Crafter's Workshop stencil. Then I inked the cardbase with Antique Linen and Tea Dye and an applicator tool. Spritzed it with some Burnt Orange Glimmer Mist and added some embossing paste through a Tim Holtz stencil. When that was dry I stamped some teensy dots and rings from STAMPlorations Mixed Media Grunge randomly, also with Tea Dye. Whew.

Then to the easy part! Tore a piece of vellum. Curved and heat embossed a sentiment from PTI Tweet Talk. Heat embossed some wings from an ancient Crafty Secrets Cherub set and colored them with a Copic marker on the reverse. Heat embossed, fussy cut and lightly watercolored the baby shoes which are also ancient and from A La Carte, before adhering them to the vellum with glue dots.

Stitched the vellum to my cardbase and now I need a new baby boy in the neighborhood!

Stamps, ink, techniques, texture, dimension? Yep.

I'm joining in at PTI Make it Monday #210 where it's about using vellum to soften backgrounds. You may have noticed, it's one of my favorite materials to work with ;)

And I'm playing at Colour Me #69 where they have this lovely natural palette up for offer.

Thanks for looking today. Hope you'll join us at MMCC this month.

ready, set, splatter (Craft Stamper, SSS)

Splatters.  I used to wonder how people made the cool ones.  My fave are still the ones some scrapbookers pull off with black spray paint spilled out of the paint can cap.  But I'm not doin' that in the house.

So, there are the sprayed kind.  The dripped from the tube of the spray bottle kind.  The dripped from a wet paint brush kind.  Or the kind that happen when you bang the wet paint brush against your other hand - but they usually end up somewhere you didn't want 'em.  The ones you make with a stamp that nearly all the stamp companies have come out with in the past six months - but that's cheating, right?  Or you just squish your Distress Inked BG into the remaining ink droplets on your craft sheet (that you misted with some water).  That's how I got these red blotches.  Callin' 'em splatters.

There is a challenge over at Craft Stamper mag for cards using splatters - a featured technique in this month's issue.  Check it out.

My stamping was done with Crafty Secrets Cherubs set so I'm hooking up at Simon Says Stamp's challenge to use clear or rubber stamps.  Some heat embossing and fussy cutting.  Some woodgrain paper.  Enamel dots (LOVE those things). Voila.

Appreciate your visit.

Supplies love:

Paper: PP Ursus, Simple Stories

Stamps: Crafty Secrets

Ink:  Distress Ink, pigment ink 

Tools: scissors

Other: clear embossing powder, enamel dots MME

"let them eat cake" (10 min Craft Dash, Neat and Tangled)

Have you seen all the hoopla at the 10 Minute Craft Dash and Neat and Tangled blogs?  It's a big old

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY 

for both of them.  I just love the whimsical nature of N&T stamps and I would love to become good at creating a card in 10 minutes.  So with a (nearly) perfect plan in hand I set off to create a birthday card.  In ten  minutes.  Or less.  The idea?  I couldn't help myself but when I saw the great free digi stamp at N&T all I could think of was the supposed "Let them eat cake" from Marie Antoinette.  Um, was she even a queen?  Oh well.  Hold that thought.

The goods.

 The card.

The time.

I can't believe I really did it.  Just over 9 minutes.  Even retying my bow two times.  This 10 minute stuff usually kills me.  And although I gathered all my stuff (including the already printed out digi stamp, hope that's allowed) I still scrambled when I decided I needed an additional touch of gray (the heart border from my scrap box) and the twine at the top (luckily I knew where to find it.)

OK, so I guess it's really all in the planning.  Give it a whirl.  And check out all the fun sequin cards over at N&T too.  Loads of inspiration.

Thanks for looking. Think I need a nap.

Supplies for eat cake:

Paper: cardbase Papermania

Stamps: Crafty Secrets, sentiment American Crafts, digi sentiment Neat and Tangled

Ink : amuse, Hero Arts 

Tools: border die PTI

Other: crochet thread, washi, pearl

two-fer trigger (Moxie Fab, SSS)

Inspired by the colors and embroidery of the Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab I grabbed my medallion stamp.  It's kinda got the circles-but-square look like the pattern in the material.  But how to get the texture of the embroidery? Which even kinda shimmers?

 How about with more stamping, some heat embossing and even some metallic gelato dots?

Colored the image with markers, misted with water and stamped.  Then misted again and stamped again.

Then I saw my PTI Lovely Layers set still laying there from my monogram card and decided to add more interest and layers with some of the circle images from it (the green and the white embossed).  And then I had the brilliant idea to put some little blooms into those circles.  Ha  (insert nod in Darnell's direction - she's recently reorganized her clear stamps by category) .  You know you probably have many little blooms, they come as fillers with lots of stamp sets, but WHICH ONES?  Took me 10 minutes, but now I can tell you that Hero Arts All Occasion Messages has some great little fillers.  The stitched bloom in the green circles is from a Crafty Secrets sewing set.  The cluster of three teensy berries is PTI Harvest Berries and the teensiest flower ever - embossed on the purple flourishes -  is in the PTI Love Lives Here.  Whoddathunkit?

I've been inking just the outside edge of focal panels lately, barely noticeable but I think it adds a kick.  Just wanted to point out that I did it on the first card, using up the "gelato smush" I had created to stamp the dot clusters.  I just watered it down even more (it was on my plastic painter's palette) and let the edges of the watercolor paper soak some up!  Actually did it to the envelope edges too.  Less waste ya know ;)

Also playing at:

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Happy new week and thanks for looking.

Supplies :

Paper: Cardbase Craft UK, watercolor paper

Stamps: medallion Rubbernecker, PTI Lovely Layers, Harvest Berries and Love Lives Here, Crafty Secrets, sentiment Mia's Stempelküche and The Crafts Meow

Ink : Versafine 

Tools:  Mini Mister, heat tool, corner rounder EKS

Other: waterbased markers, purple metallic gelato Plot, white embossing powder, bling

victorian music soothes the soul (Moxie Fab, SCS)

Pink.  Could be Breast Cancer Awareness.  Could be the Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab world.  Could be both.

Hybrid card coming at you.  Got your sunglasses on?

Heat embossing (notice how I stamped the image with yellow before embossing to give the skyline a glow). Distress inking.  Sentiment printing with the PC.  Stamping of the music scores.

This is the Tuesday Trigger:

And there is a "Music Soothes the Soul" challenge in HYCCT at Splitcoast Stampers.  Pink plus music.  I'm in!  I really liked the title so decided to use it as my sentiment.  I used a freebie font from Creating Keepsakes cuz it's kinda soothing too.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies music soothes the soul:

Paper: cardbase Papermania, CS Neenah

Stamps:  music Crafty Secrets, skyline Kars, sentiment font CK Cursive

Ink: Distress Inks

Tools: PC

Other: black embossing powder

english lit 101 (Paper Crafts)

Quick one here.  Paper Crafts Connection is looking for cards that are "very British."  How's this?

An explanation perhaps?  The Queen's an institution and the Olympics were fab, but I don't own stamps of either and I probably never will.  I do have these ephemera/post stamps from Papermania.  So I opted to pair them with some Alice in Wonderland stamps.  In reverance to my days as an English major.

Stamped my art (he he he).  Punched an edge.  Added some twine and "crown jewels".  Photographed it at midnight in poor lighting and here you have it.  The inside is stamped with "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late".  A belated bday card - capice?  Consider it an American attempt at British humor.

Off to bed.  Cheerio.

Supplies Oh dear:

Paper: CS Neenah
Stamps:   Crafty Secrets, Papermania

Ink: Jenny Bowlin, Versafine gray

Tools: border punch EKS

Other:  twine, beads

erwin...forever young (distress inks)

Time for inky fingers again.  Gotta love distress inks.  And Erwin, our neighbor - gymnist in his younger days, loving Opa today - celebrating his 80th.

I like to make these personalized collage cards - and decided to keep two challenges in mind when making this.  Lily Pad's Simon Says challenge wants stars.  And Simon Says Stamp and Show wants something for the boys.  OK.

Heat embossed the sentiment and distress inked the BG.  Stamped and heat embossed the nest, masked and stamped the branch.  Added some leaves and stars.  Added Erwin (photocopy) with an "e" on his chest and gave him a crown.  Even at 80 he's open to English so I went with the sentiments in English.  The 80th is stamped, the other PC generated.  Rounded corners and distressed edges.  Mounted the image on CS and distressed and made it into an oversized tag.  Put in a vellum envelope since I was hand delivering.  Like it when the "artwork" shows through.

Thanks for looking. 

Supplies Erwin!:

Paper: CS Coredinations

Stamps: BG CHF, nest Crafty Secrets, branch Artemio, crown Viva,  star ?, sentiment Making Memories 

Ink:brown chalk Versamagic, brown Memento,  black Versafine, Distress Inks
Tools: corner rounder EKS, eyelet setter

Other: PC

take care flutterbys

Did some spending lately.  Including some Memory Box dies.  And The Craft's Meow stamps.  And I'm having such fun.

Absolutely love the colors at The Play Date Cafe.  That polka dot tie - OMG.



And since I received my new stamps (yep, sucked up and paid postage from the US - it wasn't so bad actually), decided to have a go at the sketch challenge at The Craft's Meow. 



Took liberties (again) but hey there's a line across the top and a bow and some buttons pearls and a sentiment...

Stamped the hexagon BG and the stitching across the top.  Die cut the flutterbys from CS and embossed them.  Opted for the iridescent pearls.  When I pulled out my pink ribbon scrap box these fabric scrap strips jumped out at me.  IRL the touch of green does wonders for the card, so I bunched them up into a bow.  Attached the flutterbys and stamped their tails (would recommend the reverse order ;) and voila.

This is off to my folks' neighbor who's not feeling well.  And she loves her flowers.  Bet she'll enjoy.

Have a colorful day.  And thanks so much for fluttering by.

Supplies Take Care:

Paper: card base Buttinette, CS American Crafts
Stamps: The Craft's Meow, stitching Crafty Secrets
Ink: Adirondack Ranger
Tools: die Memory Box, embossing folders dots Sizzix, letters Sizzix, woodgrain Craft Concepts
Other:  pearls, fabric scraps, button Sew Sweet

no time to say hello, goodbye (single-layer card)

Saw this guy over at The Play Date Cafe and loved his vintage-ness.  Immediately knew which rabbit I wanted to use.  Then time got away from me.



Something made me go check out PDCC125 again and heavens, I'm nearly late, late, for a very important date!  Earlier today I had been checking out the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge and unusual for the ladies over there (but right up my alley) they are looking for one-layer cards. 

So I pulled out the rabbit and my new WMS stamps.  Had a rough idea for a design but needed to choose a pattern.  Went with herringbone cuz it reminds me a bit of the fencing in the PDC image.

As for the sentiment, I wanted to use WMS too.  Nothing like time pressure (it is 11 p.m. here) to make me work a bit faster.  I pulled out the Say It Loud sentiments and when I saw the "bonny new" I decided it was to become a baby card.  "Bonny" ... like "bunny"... like it's time for me to go to bed!

TIP:  When you generation stamp, if you've inked up the whole stamp but not stamped the entire stamp, line up the stamp properly when doing the second generation stamping or you'll get some first and second generation mix.  See that last little herringbone on the right... oopsy.

Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting...

Supplies a bonny new baby:

Paper: CS Neenah

Stamps: BG and sentiment WMS, rabbit Crafty Secrets

Ink: black Versafine, Versamagic

Other: clear embossing powder(rabbit)

Roy G. Biv

Remember Roy G. Biv?  Hit me like a blast from the past when I saw the inspiration photo at Virginia's Challenge at Lily Pad.



So off I was on another long-and-winding-creative-process road.

The Hero Arts flower challenge still on my brain, I created this card first.  Used a little flower from CL131 to stamp the rows.  If you look carefully I forgot the "B" from Roy!  Velveteen stamping still on my brain, if you look closely you can see a few white on white stamped butterflies around the sentiment.  A little bling.  But I wasn't happy.

This was my second attempt.  Actually went back to the graphic flower from CL131 which I originally intended to use, although a flower top I thought it was more like the buttons from the inspiration photo.  Added some Perfect Pearl mist to make it a bit more interesting.  But still wasn't completely happy.  Needed more white space.

Switched to a different stamp, this time a button from Crafty Secrets.  Stamped the button is a somewhat rainbowy pattern, cut strips and came up with this design.  Think I was subconsciously influenced by the sketch at retro sketches - which I also intended to eventually play but I see I was too late.  Not perfect, but I'm done and this baby is entering Virginia's challenge!

On a side note, DD was much more creative than I with her Cookie Monster muffins.  Although they rose... then fell, so she couldn't slice them open to insert a cookie.  They're yummy anyway.

Thanks for visiting today.

Supplies happy day:
Paper: CS Neenah

Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Distress Inks, Adirondack pigment white, black Versafine

Tools:

Other: bling  stash

Supplies:
Paper: CS Neenah

Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Distress Inks
Tools: edge punch EKS
Other: yarn stash, metal frame CreaMotion, white embossing powder

Supplies:
Paper: CS Neenah and American Crafts

Stamps: Crafty Secrets

Ink: Distress Inks, black Versafine
Tools: die Spellbinders, square punch EKS

Other: twine, button  Sew Sweet

thank you (scraps & sketch)

Do you know the solution to keeping all of the artwork your kids bring home from school without actually keeping it?  Photograph it.  And scrap it.  And then take it one step further and use it for making cards.  (Did I mention I haven't gotten myself to climb the mountain of scrapbooking yet.  It's still a bit too overwhelming.)

DD made me this for my bday a couple of years back.  Distress Inks to the max.

Well now it's been photographed for posterity and turned into this.

Punched the flowers out of the card.  Added a few scraps of pink gingham PP, a mock sewn frame and the sentiment.  I like how it repeats along the bottom like the squares repeat.

Entering the challenges at Fetch-a-Sketch #19.  I was their guest designer back in January and haven't played with them since.  And the colors are from Kathy's Lily Pad Palette.  And since I've incorporated flowers, the Hero Arts March challenge.

 



Appreciate your stopping by.

Supplies thank you:
Paper: blank card Buttinnette, PP Heyda

Stamps:stitches Crafty Secrets,  sentiment Hero Arts

Ink: Distress Ink, Versamagic chalk

Tools: square punch EKS, flower punches MakeMe

Other:

Birthdays are for the birds (distress inking)

Thought I would share another episode of my long-and-winding-creative-process-road.

My destination was programmed into my GPS.  The Cure for the Winter Blues Challenge over at Moxie Fab World.

My map had a lot to do with this photo from Moxie Fab:

Absolutely love all the patterns and textures going on.  And the spot of turquoise.  Actually influenced yesterday's card too.

One tourist attraction along the way, the IKEA flyer in my mailbox.  Check out the great crazy bird tray on the left.  And next to it my first trial layout:

Used scrap birdies die cut from tissue boxes to test the layout.  My plan was to ink up CS with Chipped Sapphire and Broken China distress inks, splotch with water and then die cut the birdies.  So I did.

First detour... decided to use kraft CS for the base.  Next detour... where to place the sentiment and which sentiment?  And I knew I wanted to add something to the background, but I saw no possibilities...

Enter the Musicians of Bremen.  Not sure where they came from, but suddenly there they were in the lane right in front of me:

This opened the road for some cool background work.  And made the sentiment possible.  If you're wondering why you can't read it well... I wanted the sentiment yellow and embossed, but don't own yellow embossing powder.  I stamped with the yellow pigment ink I have and embossed with clear.  And you could hardly read it.  AAAAGGGHHH.

So, not to be brought to a screeching halt by this, I just reinked the stamp with black Versafine, stamped it and re-embossed with clear.  That's like hittin' the gas when the light turns yellow.  If it looks two-tone and a bit offset it's cuz it is!  But there is actually something cool about it.  I was just happy the second embossing didn't destroy the first.

So, last stop was the green stitching to ground the birdies on the lawn.  Because A Passion for Papertrey wants you to use needles and thread in their challenge.  And the yellow bling to represent the sun, cuz I'm still tryin to chase away the winter blues.  (And my other yellow didn't work, 'member?)

I like to liven up a road trip with a triple chocolate Blizzard from Dairy Queen.  And you?

Happy weekend.

Supplies Birthdays are for the birds:

Paper: kraft ?, CS Neenah 

Stamps: BG PTI, sentiment Crafty Secrets

Ink: Versamark, Cats Eye pigment, black Versafine

Tools: dies Tim Holtz, Memory Box, sewing machine

Other: toothbrush to splotch, embossing powder, bling

late for the party

I cruise the Internet taking notice of various challenges.  They roll through my mind over and over.  Keep me awake sometimes at night.  Then I get an idea.  Make a card.  And when I go to post I'm late to the party.

First example:

The Play Date Cafe challenge 119 was to use black and white with a splash of hot pink.  Was beyond me until I was flipping through my stamps last night looking for something else when this Martha Stewart set jumped out at me screaming "make me black and white and let the tulip be hot pink."  OK.  Seriously, probably the quickest card I've ever made.

Late to the party.

Remember this inspiration photo?  The last  Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger maybe.  Tuesday.  Unfortunately due on Sunday!

But, I decided to go with the "Chicletic" anyho.  I had thought about this Trigger photo awhile.  Knew if I touched it, it would be with distress inks.

 Then I saw the Simon Says Stamp challenge to make a tag (too late for this one too I just saw :().  And the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge to include N.Y., London or Paris.  And the girls at Lawnscaping want you to distress.  And CPS has another cool sketch that fits the headboard idea of the Trigger.

OK, so this actually came together.  Girlfriend's bday approaching.  She likes to read.  Enter tag/card/bookmark.

Stamped tag with BG stamp using pigment ink and heat embossed with clear.  Applied Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.  Stamped white CS with distressed harlequin BG and cut strip. Had to make my own Eifel Tower out of foam... stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with black. 

Die cut the half-circle from gold hammered CS and stamped with ticket stamp using Stazon.  Applied letter stickers and teal (looks blue) seam binding.  Stitched it a few times with gold metallic thread (by hand - my machine won't work with it).

Distressed tag edges.  Applied Vintage Photo to edges.  Stamped with French text BG, Tim Holtz spots and some swirls.  Used bubble wrap to hit it with some white acrylic paint.  Added seam binding and ribbon to hole and tied with gold metallic thread.  Hung two beads on thread.

It's fully loaded.

Notice the blue around the top of the tower?  Tried to freehand it first, using an embossing pen.  For some reason the embossing powder didn't stick, thus the homemade foam stamp.  The blue?  Hey, it's a distressed card.  I don't care.

OK, so important question for you.  How do you keep track of challenges/due dates?

Supplies feel better soon:
Paper: Neenah,  pink unknown but cute embossed with hearts

Stamps: Martha Stewart, text WMS

Ink: pink Cats Eye; black Versafine

Tools:  clear embossing powder,sewing machine

Supplies  Paris tag:
Paper: Neenah

Stamps:  backgrounds CHF, Tim Holtz, Crafty Secrets

Ink: black Versafine and Stazon, Distress Inks

Tools: die Spellbinders, edge scissors

Other:  clear embossing powder, bling, metallic thread, seam binding, beads, letter stickers KI memories

with sympathy (emboss using real leaves... really)

Unfortunately I always seem to need sympathy cards.  This time just for my stash.  I put it together using another sketch from CPS anniversary challenge - for this one sketch #220 from day 4.

It's so cool to follow these sketches instead of spending minutes, OK hours, rearranging things to find a good layout.  And I'm finding it a great way to use pieces I have created before.  Like this image which was made running some greenery through my Big Shot with this "No More Shims" embossing mat.  There's a video too here.

Here is the detail.  I used no ink, just the "juice" of the leaves.  How cool is that?

Papertrey's anniversary challenge today is to create a card with leaves and butterflies.  I didn't want butterflies on this card, but the sentiment is PTI and so is the circle-punched embellie.  From the packaging.  Yep, I love to recycle.

This next card is for sketch #121 and day 13 over at CPS.  I'm groovin.  Just need to groove a bit faster.  Still have five or so to go to have a card for all 15 days.  This card is actually a tag:

This is the sketch:

I decided to heat emboss the Hero Arts distressed dots BG.  And chose to work with metallic CS.  Don't do that often.  But looking at the sketch I thought it could be cool to let the metallic peek through the "hole" under the embellie.  And why stop at metallic CS... how about some glittery lips?

Added the sentiment on vellum to tone down the "busy".  Distressed the edges and voila.

This last project is for the Lessology challenge "Flights of Fancy" which requires some wings.  I used a dollar store frame, painted it with light pink, distressed the edges with blue ink and stamped the angel and "ART" from Crafty Secrets.  I put recycled wrapping paper behind the glass and covered my whiteboard marker with it too.  This duo hangs in my craft room so I can keep track of who I need cards for.

  

Thanks for visiting.





Supplies with sympathy:
Paper: Neenah; CS Coredinations
Stamps: sentiment PTI
Ink:  black Versafine
Other:  vintage book, Papertrey packaging, twine, kraft paper, mini brads, hole punch

Supplies for you:
Paper: Neenah; CS DCWV; PP Bringmann
Stamps: BG Hero Arts; sentiment Paper Smooches
Ink:black Versafine
Other:  black and clear embossing powder,  black satin ribbon, vellum, sticker