guest designing at time out #156 - reminder

Popping in today to remind you about the photo inspiration challenge over at Time Out . Lucky me, I get to guest design with the talented DT this fortnight. Here's the fabulous inspiration.

I just love how that fresh yellow pops off the aqua, especially with those touches of white. (BTW, you can see a larger version of the photo over at Time Out.)

This challenge is kindly being sponsored by Altenew. I can't help but think of florals when I think of Altenew. Agree? I headed to my stash (whistled... ;) inside joke for Darnell) and took a look at my florals. I discovered that I had some leftover blooms in with the die and wouldn't you know it, the colors fit the bill. They're the colors of those cute frames on the wall in the photo.

Altenew Rose Flurries 3D die

Amy Tangerine Love die

All I needed to do was adhere the blooms on the background, a piece from my BG stash made by cleaning up some metallic gelato-y messes awhile back. And then die cut a sentiment from lemon yellow CS to mimic the console.

Again, thanks to Sandie and the design team for having me. It's such fun to be part of the inspiration post for this month's photo challenge. Have you played yet? I'm looking foward to seeing your entries in the gallery.

I'm joining the fun at:
Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes
Love to Create - AG Mixed Media
SSS Wednesday Challenge - Something Feminine
The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes

guest designing at time out #156

Posting today as a guest designer to join the talented ladies over at Time Out for this fortnight's challenge. It's a photo challenge. I always love the photos Sandie picks. Don't you just want to eat these yummy colors?

I just love how that fresh yellow pops off the aqua, especially with those touches of white. (BTW, you can see a larger version of the photo over at Time Out.)

Well, since the challenge is being sponsored by Altenew, I headed to my stash and had a looksee. I also headed to my stash of backgrounds looking for something nice and aqua and amazingly enough I found what I needed!

Altenew Persian Motifs stamp and die

Altenew German Label Love stamp

In the inspiration photo, that painted yellow piece really popped out at me. I knew I wanted to place a yellow die cut "something" on an aqua background. Well I had my background, a piece made by cleaning up some metallic gelato-y messes awhile back. Perusing my Altenew dies, I chose Persian Motifs, cut it from lemon yellow and heat embossed the outline in white on it.

Then in a nod to the pile of books in the photo I inked up my Label Love sentiment with four blocks of color. I tore the edges of the background and adhered it. Stitched my sentiment down and adhered the yellow motif with foam adhesive. A few shiny sequins finished my card. Wish you could see the metallic sheen of the aqua BG, it really makes the card.

I'm looking foward to seeing your entries in the gallery, and how you choose to interpret the photo.

Many thanks to Sandie and the design team for having me. It's such fun to be part of the inspiration post for this month's photo challenge. I'll be back with a second make later...

I'm joining the Anything Goes fun at SSS Wednesday Challenge as well as the Hearts and Flowers Challenge over at Die Cut Divas.

pretty in pink

Not that I intended it, but today's three projects all ended up pink-y.

First off I needed a 50th card for a friend. I CASEd myself (you haven't actually seen the male version yet) and for some reason I chose RV63, RV66 and RV69 for my color scheme. So this happened.

Neat and Tangled Inlaid Squares die

Klartext Herzlichen Gluckwünsch stamp

Waffle Flower Cutaway Numbers die

Copics

 I like how the minimalistic sentiment on vellum doesn't take away too much of that fun geometric design.

Then I had a play for the current Altenew challenge. Have you seen Aga's card? Lovely. As usual.

I should preface these next two by pointing you in the direction of Keren T's whose video I had just watched - mesmerized.

So then I sat down with the new-to-me stamp set and dies and for whatever reason, pulled out my collection of gelatos and gelato-like things. I think it was the video that made me think I needed to use my fingers to smear some color around ?!?

This happened.

 Altenew Engagement Wishes stamp and die

Altenew Deco Wallpaper stencil

Gelatos

Altenew Morning Frost ink

I did not actually smear the gelatos on the bloom on the card. Cuz I had smeared the gelatos on another bloom and it was not a good idea. Just left the haphazardly applied strokes of color and then treated my leaves the same way. Added a hint of stenciling to the kraft cardbase, "happy birthday" to the inside and called it good.

 In an attempt to save the smeared bloom I mentioned, I just added more gelato over the smeary mess. And left it unsmeared. Inked up two more leaves with green ink and made a tag.

Altenew Engagement Wishes stamp and die

MFT Dienamics Radial Stitched Circle die

Cuttlebug With Gratitude die

Gelatos, Nuvo drops

Altenew Morning Frost ink

I'm going over to The Flower Challenge with this too, where it's about adding spots or stripes. Added "stripes" of color to the bloom on the card. And "spots" of Nuvo drops to the tag ;)

day 5 ARTplorations stencil blog hop

Welcome to the final day of the ARTplorations stencil blog hop. Hope you enjoyed it. Did you see my card for day 1? I told you how I had some "glow" in mind, but couldn't move past the CAS white version.

Well I moved past it.

Slightly different placement of the stencil. Some extra stamping of text and black dots. And lotsa "glow" created by smearing gelatos around with a damp finger. Not as cute as Melissa P.'s original tag was for the MIM segment, but an interesting technique.

Thanks for looking. I hope you left comments along the STAMPlorations blog hop and even made a card with a stencil for the Flash Linky Party. Shery is so generous with prizes. Check out the deets here.

I'm playing with the ladies over at Seize the Birthday with this Anything Goes birthday card.

And at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday's Anything Goes challenge.

guest star at Winnie & Walter - premiere Comfort & Friends

You may recall back in January I got all wild and crazy playing in the 1st Birthday Bash challenges over at Winnie & Walter. Well, Maya and I were chosen as lucky winners, and get to join the Winnie & Walter team as guest stars for the April/May release! Let me tell you,  I am over the moon to be sharing with you what I've created with these wonderful products. There are sentiments, florals and graphic images. How perfect, eh? Let's get the party started.

Today it's about two new sentiment stamp sets - The Big, the Bold and Comfort as well as The Big, the Bold and Friends - which continue the fabulous W&W tradition of individual words, some bigger in handwritten fonts and some smaller in typewriter fonts. You can see the sets here.

You'll see The Big, the Bold and Comfort, which is perfect for those oh-so-difficult sympathy cards, later this week. I've used The Big, the Bold and Friends on two cards today.

I used many of the adjectives from the set to create a card for a fantastic friend. I stamped the words in Adirondack Willow ink on creme CS before adding an angled panel of Me and my Big Ideas PP at the top of the card.

To finish it off, I added a fussy cut bloom and leaves from Addie's Garden being released this week (gotta come back on Thursday!), gold embossed onto vellum.

Next, is a card made with the first "big" word that jumped out at me from the set. "Hugs". I love hugs ;) I went mixed media this time.

My mixed media piece was inspired by Shery R. I made it by scribbling gelatos onto a piece of CS and blending them with a wet finger. Then I stamped a Multifaceted BG (come back on Friday!), and then I stenciled some gesso through a Bubbles stencil. Kinda makes you want to say things like "groovy" and "far out", eh? Attached it - with adhesive along the top edge only - to a deep orange CS base.

For the sentiment I heat embossed in gold onto vellum. Again ;) Attached this panel to my mixed media piece with strips of two different gold polka dot washi tapes. Added a few gold glitter stars die cut with Winnie & Walter Big Bang Confetti cutaways too. Here's a closeup of the yummy gold embossing on vellum. I must say, I am always impressed with the clean and crisp images of these sentiment stamps. 

I hope you liked what you saw. There is a ton of eye candy over at the Winnie & Walter blog, as well as generous giveaways. You must check it out here and here.

See ya tomorrow I hope!

I'm hooking my first card up at the Anything Goes challenge #141 at Addicted to Stamps. I'm hooking my second card up at Virginia's marvelous Layers and Dimension challenge.

STAMPlorations inspiration #8

It's inspiration time over at STAMPlorations today. I've pulled out one of the oldies but goodies from the Subway Art series, Mom Subway Art Builders #5 for a Mother's Day card. Or just to let Mom know she's a great lady. I, for one, am still working on the "unconditional love" thing.

Dang, it ain't easy!

I used a spray of posies from Basic Grey in the BG, but the beautiful rose bud from Blossom Overture would look great peeking out from behind the tags too!

I revisited a technique and design you might remember from teamie Vicki's birthday card! Stamped the posies in SSS Stone on the creme cardbase and the sentiment on the tag die cut with a MFT tag STAX die.

I applied yellow, orange and blue gelatos to a second die cut tag, swiped them with a baby wipe and then dry embossed the tag with a Cuttlebug polka dot folder. Adhered it peeking out a bit behind the sentiment tag. Added a strip of envelope liner along the bottom of the card. A few MME enamel dots as flower centers finished it off.

Remember, if you feel like CASEing this card, or any of the DT cards from March's Inspiration Project posts, hook your card up in the gallery here and you're in the running for a $15 GC or two stencils of your choice. The winner is chosen randomly.

happy birthday, teamie! (AAA, sprinkle of imagination)

We're having another birthday party over at STAMPlorations.  Can you guess who it's for when you see this?

Image Source

OK, so imagine a luscious, satiny bow tied atop this cake. Or atop a card that rocks big, bold and beautiful colors.  Like B/W and hot pink? Getting any ideas? How about this...

Happy Birthday, dear Vicki!  This card of hers is the one I chose to CASE for our birthday celebration.  Alas, my journey took a few detours.  Interested? If not, just scroll down to my card ;))

So I'm thinkin' "black and white and hot pink with polka dots." Then I see this card Vicki posts and decide I have to incorporate the "gelatos, stamped and dry embossed" thing too. Hmmm - maybe some pieces die cut from a "techniqued" piece of CS, layered over something die cut from B/W PP??

At the same time I see the current challenge photo at A Sprinkle of Imagination and can't get it outta my head. Love that doodled feel... B/W, ya know?

Then enter AAA Cards. Have you heard about this new challenge blog?  Vicki introduced me to it. Clean and simple with some twists.  How fun.  And here is Linda B.'s card to be inspired by this week.

SOOOOO. See the subway art look of the sentiment on the inspiration card?  Ding, ding, ding... STAMPlorations SUBWAY ART: Dare blew into my mind.  And dots, lots of them.  But how to make the doodled flowers play a role too?? And of course a bow, cuz a Vicki-CASEd card must have one?? Well I veered off the big, bold and beautiful road and headed down the lotsa white space one. And this happened.

These are my wishes for you in your "new year", Vicki.  Hope you had a very happy birthday ;))

I'm hooking up to the two challenges which inspired me.  To clarify, at A Sprinkle of Imagination you are to use at least three of the colors.  I colored the centers of the black blooms lime green, but ya can't hardly see it in the photo :(   I'm also joining in at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where it's about "botanical bliss". I think Ashli's project over there inspired me a bit too ;)

Have a wunnerful weekend, all.

Supplies for image the impossible:

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps:  flowers Hero Arts, sentiment STAMPlorations

Ink : Memento black

Tools: tag die Hero Arts, embossing folder Cuttlebug

Other: gelatos, colored pencil, twine

more butterflies and blooms (CASE, SSS, sprinkle of imagination)

Did you see my card yesterday?  Butterflies. (And a giveaway!)  Well with rabbles on the mind and this cool card of Wida's up at CASE Study...

... and a nudge from Tracey M. to use this PTI Cutting Garden bloom, this is what I came up with. 

Some stamping, heat embossing, dry embossing, washi taping, die cutting, splattering...

TIP: Best to do splattering before you've got your card done. Unfortunately, it dawned on me that splatters were one element of Wida's card that I wanted to CASE after I had everything else done. I had to fake them. Do I like my splatters? Nope. Do I like the two-toned embossing on the Ranunculus? Yep ;)

So with blooms on the mind as well as these challenges...

A Sprinkle of Imagination - May

and

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Botanical

I went on another adventure.  With gelatos.  Everyone makes them look so easy but they are definitely not my BFF. Watched this video and thought "looks easy enough." Ha! This is my salvaged card.

Heat embossed the CHF distressed diamonds BG. Knowing I wanted to stamp the CHF daisy, I applied gelatos in lime, turquoise, purple, orange and fuchsia roughly where the bloom would later be.  Spritzed with water.  Painted with a wet brush.  And the darn blue (around the lime center - nod to Darnell K.) just kept disappearing.  Crazy. 

Kept playing with it until I finally decided it was time to give up and just iron off the embossing.  I do like how the distressed nature of the stamp let some of the color through so that the emboss-remove diamonds were not totally white.

But then the next crazy.  Stamped the daisy with purple Adirondack ink. Didn't work. Is there such a thing as "gelato-resist"??? Dabbed it up as much as I could and restamped with orange StazOn. Couldn't see it well enough so I stamped it again with black StazOn.  Then added some more blue gelato where I wanted it to be. Nothing like force, eh? Geesh.

A heat embossed sentiment on vellum and a couple punched dragonflies decided to hop on board.

The purple layer behind the panel?  That was my stamping off of the daisy stamp after stamping it on the panel and before cleaning it ;)

Happy weekend.  I'll announce the winner of the STAMPlorations stamp set tomorrow, BTW.

Supplies for happy birthday A

Paper:  CS Bringmann, vellum, PP Pink Petticoat

Stamps:  PTI, sentiment STAMPlorations

Ink : Adirondack, Versamark

Tools: butterfly die Hero ARts, alpha die PTI

Other: Heidi Swapp spray ink, gold polka dot washi, white and gold embossing powder

Supplies for happy birthday

Paper:  watercolor paper, vellum, old book

Stamps: CHF, sentiment STAMPlorations

Ink : Versamark, StazOn

Tools: 

Other: gelatos

dreamy hello (SSS, Virginias View)

Have you seen the June 2014 issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking yet?  There was one category that I couldn't get enough of... Inspired by Song Lyrics.  You'll die when you see which song/idea came to my mind first... they shared my card over on the PC and S blog!

But I get to share another with you here.  This was for the Stamping on Different Mediums category. (And the complete opposite as far as style goes.)

Artsy fartsy. I stamped the floral arrangement and roughly colored it with gelatos which I then hit with a wet paint brush. Added some bright orange accents with a colored pencil.  Then I randomly stamped the airy Posies from Technique Tuesday on acetate with StazOn and stitched the acetate over the stamped panel. Love how it kinda floats over the image underneath. TIP: Use temporary adhesive to hold the acetate in place when stitching, then rub it off.

Playing at:
Virginia's View #3 cuz stitching is a great way to attach acetate to a card
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where it's about Spring Flowers

Have a great day!

ETA:  This card showed up over on the PCS blog today and it's so cool to see what it inspired Go-To-Gal Laura W. to make!

Supplies for hello:

Paper:  CS Bringmann, PP Kesi Art, recycled acetate

Stamps:  Hero Arts/BG, Technique Tuesday

Ink : Versafine, StazOn

Tools: sewing machine

Other: gelatos