having the right stencil - part 2

Have you ever picked up an item and thrown it in your shopping cart without knowing when or how you were going to use it? Silly me, you're a crafter, of course you have! Well meet another stencil I picked up at my local dollar store a while back.

Mr. Bear. Had to go cool and wintry with him.

Action Deutschland stencil

Distress inks

Poppystamps You Melt my Heart stamp

SUPER easy. But having "the right" stencil helps too I guess.

Inspiration came from two places. I watched Channin P. ink up some layering stencils in a video and it got me thinking how I could incorporate gradient inking on normal stencils. Then I saw the Perfectly CAS challenge - use 1/3 of the card + stencil - and off I went.

I'm joining these challenges:

Poppystamps - Monochromatic (the sentiment is from Poppystamps)

Addicted to CAS - Snow (hope a snow bear is OK)

Perfectly CAS - Stencil

CAS valentine for son

A quick post today to share the Valentine I made for DS. I was inspired by the challenge over at Poppystamps. I went to my dies and found a NBUS beaut which fit the animal challenge and my desire for a CAS Valentine.

Memory Box Bird and Branch die

STAMPlorations Balloons and Banners stamp

Inkystamp Winzige Grusse stamp

Altenew ink

So hard to photograph on a crappy weather day. Here's a closeup for you.

Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day? I remember being in Myrtle Beach with my snowbird parents and being amazed at how Valentine's crazy the folks were! Germans poo poo the holiday as American commercialism ;) I think we'll be going out to dinner. And I bought myself red tulips for the table ;) A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, ya know?!? Hope the day includes lots of hugs for you!

I'm playing over at:
Poppystamps - Animal Menagerie

The Card Concept - Be Mine Valentine

The Paper Players - Red, Pink, B/W

kraft red and blue i love you

I was on a roll yesterday. Ready for some cards?

So I'd seen this color combo. Then I ran across kraft leftovers from Christmas tag creations. So I decided to try to use up the negative piece...

 Spellbinders Iron Works Motif die

Poppystamps You Melt my Heart stamp

Prismacolor colored pencils

white embossing powder

Adhered it at a wonky angle on a kraft cardbase I'd heat embossed with two sweet snowmen. TIP: Used my MISTI. Stamped. Colored. Stamped. Heat embossed. Gives a nice clean finish. Decided to work a snippet of PP into the design too.

So then, having these colors on the brain and wanting to play with some new stamps, I remembered the current AAA Cards challenge to only use one third of your card. The stamps are Inkystamp Retro Chic, Winzige Gruesse and Chic Chicks. The inks are Adirondack Red Pepper, Pool and Latte - still some of the best colors out there ;)

And because this "tree" image reminded me of one of my long ago designs, I revisited it too!

Unfortunately, the color challenge has closed but I'm heading over to:
Daring Cardmakers - Just Stamping
Poppystamps - Starry Night (my snowmen are nestled in stars... close enough?!?)
AAA Cards - Up to one Third

Just Add Ink - New (my Inkystamp stamps)

25 days of christmas tags 2018 - part 1

Tracey's 25 Tags event came into my reader as I was pondering what to make for neighbor gifts this year... Now I know. And have already made a few sets of tags. Wanna see?

Without further ado, here are my first three.

For Day 2 with Altenew I was inspired by Norine's simple tags in kraft and light blue and made this set. And used up some PP ;)

Can you see the sparkle of the glitter CS and the glitter embossed sentiment? Such fun contrast to the kraft CS.

 

Papertrey Tag Sale #2 die
Paper Smooches Snowflakes die
Altenew Festive Silhouettes stamp

For Day 4 with Reverse Confetti I was inspired by Tracey's little gnome set in a cute scene. I used to be so afraid of little scenes, cuz they require coloring, but I bought myself a couple of "cute" sets with dies and am slowly expanding my horizons ;) This set is for the family DD babysits for. And did I mention how great it is to use up some of my PP stash!

Reverse Confetti Gift Card Holder Tag die

Poppystamps You Melt My Heart stamp and die

Poppystamps Christmas Delights stamp and die

Klartext Frohe Weihnachten stamp

circle punch

Copics

For Day 5 with Newton's Nook, I loved the ornament shaker tags by Jennifer. When I thought about making ornament tags that could also be hung on a tree, I decided they needed to have lots of shiny gold. So I pulled out a PP pack with lotsa gold (did I mention how great it is to use up stash?!?) and these happened. Quite an exercise in engineering... how to include that dangling star embellishment between all the layers but in front of the acetate ...

 Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornament die

Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornament die

Create a Smile Schone Bescherung stamp

craft foam

sequins

And these additional tags happened with the leftovers from the shakers!

Charlie und Paulchen Frohe Weihnachten die

Tim Holtz Holiday Script Words die

I'll be back with three more tomorrow. So happy Tracey's challenge spurred me to create my neighbor gifts for Christmas in November! Thanks Tracey!

I'm also joining in at:

Addicted to Stamps - AG with option ribbon (#2)

Stamping Sensations - Get Ready for Christmas (#2)

The Paper Girls - Wanna build a Snowman? (#2)

Crafty Hazelnut - Christmas (#2 no buttons but bells!)

Crafty Hazelnut PP Challenge - November (#1, #2, #3)
SSS Wednesday - All that glitters is Gold (#3)

christmas card set - winnie walter and poppystamps

OK. Ready for more cute little animals? Here's another Christmas-card-set-as-neighbor-gift. I revisited this card design using the same Winnie and Walter birdie and some cute Poppystamps deer and watercoloring with Zig Clean Color Brushes.

Card one.

Winnie Walter So Tweet, MFT Radial Stitched Circle , Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Card two.

Winnie Walter So Tweet, MFT Radial Stitched Circle , Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Card three. With some WOS on that sweetie's scarf.

 Poppystamps Holiday Hoopla, MFT Radial Stitched Circle,
Klartext Frohe Weihnachten

Card four.

  Poppystamps Holiday Hoopla, MFT Radial Stitched Circle,
Create a Smile Schoene Bescherung

And five.

Poppystamps Holiday Hoopla, MFT Radial Stitched Circle,
Create a Smile Schoene Bescherung

See that sparkle on the glitter cardstock and his scarf. And the bit of texture from the white dots on his fur.

Are you  a cute or traditional Christmas card kinda person?

I'm taking this card to these challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - #359 Reindeer

The Merry Christmas Challenge - #43 AG with animal option
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Furry Friends
Poppystamps - Faerie Kingdom (glitter)

7 Hills Crafts - November Christmas Color

CAS Mix Up - Holiday

HLS Anything Goes with Dies - November challenge

Thanks for looking today! Tomorrow I've one-layer gnome cards for ya!

an indigo mood board

The goddess of layers, Kate L, put together a fabulous moodboard, rich in layers and indigo hues. Have you seen it over on IG? I was quick on the take with a technique idea but slow with a design.

My self-imposed constraints for my crafting session were: two anniversary cards (needed) incorporating die cut die cuts (to play at Seven Hills Crafts June challenge). 

What catches your eye amidst that beauty? My eye was drawn to that gown. I saw die cut waste, gold embossing and distress inking! This is what I made.

The couple whose wedding I stood up to in a peach gown way back when gets a piece of peachy PP behind the die cut die cuts (one inked with Tea Dye and Festive Berries) and various bloom die cuts in navy on the smaller heart.

I stood up to this recipient couple's wedding in teal - couldn't make that happen here ;) Brought in more lines in a nod to that cool pant suit in the form of PP and washi. Used feathers on the smaller heart. And added some tiny red hearts to mimic a tab on the left. Hearts = love = anniversary.

Thanks for the inspiration Kate! And thanks for stopping by today.

heart dies

triangle die cuts

geometric stamp

blooms die

long leaf die

leafy branch die

tall numbers die

tiny heart/scallop die

feathers die

small numbers die

more tag fun at the CLASSroom

On the eleventh day of Christmas

The CLASSroom gave to me

A perfect tag design by

the amazing Kittie!

Maybe you saw my post yesterday with my first six tags for the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist over at the Ellen Hutson CLASSroom. I love this special event they have every year so I squeezed some time in to play along. Especially after I'd seen Kittie's tag design for day 11 .  I grabbed STAMPlorations Luggage Tags dies and made some tags.

Now before I move on to days 7-12, can you say "Dumbkopf"? That was me yesterday in my rush to get tags made, photographed (in this various shades of gray weather we're having) and blogged. Posted Day 7's tag as Day 3's cuz it has foil too. Duh. Meet my actual tag for Day 3, that was inspired by Joni's foiled spotted deer. I applied rubber cement through SSS Falling Snow stencil, let it dry, then burnished foil onto the dots with my bone folder, Added a strip of double sided tape and more foil where the PP meets the tag and topped it off with an Essentials by Ellen Merry and Bright die cut...

I'm hooking this tag up at Simon Says Stamp November Work it Wednesday - Dies and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Gift It. I think a gift tag counts.

Moving on...
Day 7

These ladies had a nice striped sketch - I CASEd Melania's tag - and having just foiled for the first time (tag up top) I pulled out double sided tape, laid it onto the black tag and then burnished gold foil onto it. Easy. Hard to photograph. Stamp set:  MFT Hand Lettered Holiday    Die: SSS Poinsettia Parade

Day 8

Inspired by Carly's colorful inspiration piece from Margaret Berg and adding a touch of Ashley Goldberg's style I made this one-layer tag with a vellum overlay. I chose to use a camper image to play along with The Heart Desires Challenge #7. I inked the trees up with Distress inks and spritzed them before stamping. Stamp set: Artemio, Precious Remembrance Sketchy Christmas

Day 9

White = Elegant. I can't seem to go all elegant, gotta have a touch of playful.  I heat embossed trees and a house on the tag. You can barely see the gold glow I added to the house windows and door. Added a couple snowy hills, dry embossed. And snuck the gold antlered deer and his family in too. Stamp set: Neat and Tangled Winter Wishes    Die: MFT Snow Drifts and Memory Box Deer Trio

I'm joining the fun at Little Tangles - Silver and Gold. Not sure if you can see it but the silver is on the deer edges so you can see them in all the white. The gold is on the antlers, the house and the heat embossed sentiment. And at Memory Box - Marvelous Metallics too.

Day 10

Inspired by the the girls' use of kraft this tag was born. Used pigment and dye inks in greens. Stamp set: Winnie and Walter Winter Woodland and MFT Hand Lettered Holiday

I'm joining the Rerun fun at Winnie and Walter, although I chose the pine needle bough from Winter Woodland instead of Hollie's Festive Florals. I loved the natural look of Heather's card - kraft and twine.

Day 11

Kittie's tag for this day inspired my design for most of my tags. Love the PP on top, dry embossing on the bottom and a focal image. Unfortunately I don't have a wreath that would have looked the right size on this tag. And I was too lazy to create my own. Thus the ornament.  Stamp set: Waltzingmouse  Die: Spellbinders

Day 12

Inspired by the beautiful color palette and motivated to play in Where Creativity Meets C9 "Winter" challenge I made another tag with vellum overlay. Soft stone tag with world map stamped in khaki. White heat embossed snowflakes falling onto the world. Heat embossed and snipped sentiments atop the vellum overlay. Stamp set: Concord and 9 Map Love and Poppystamps Holiday Hoopla

Whew! Thanks for checking out my tags. Hope you are having a wonderful Advent and not getting too stressed out. We're off for more Christmas cheer this evening. Might even be carol singing... I wish you and yours - and all of us the world over - peace, love and joy this holiday season.