CASEplorations June

If you're looking for my mixed media project today, click here.

Cannot believe it's June already! My garden is in full bloom and it's wedding time of year. Which makes me wonder if you saw the amazing wedding card we are spotlighting at CASEplorations this month? Remember this beauty from Virginia Lu of Yes, Virginia?

This is one of my favorite cards this year. You can't go wrong with vellum and gold embossing. But Virgnia's color choices are also spot on - check out those touches of red popping from both corners. And those PPs add such a playful touch to an otherwise elegant card. I love me some gold twine. And then check out those little vellum circles - just because.  IMHO, it doesn't get any more perfect than this. And you don't mess with perfection.

So how the heck to CASE it?

Well, vellum and heat embossing were certain. Coloring on the reverse too. But then I took a detour. Feminine became masculine. Gold became silver. Flowers became Mod Shapes. Kraft became cardboard.

I'm diggin' that shine of the silver embossing powder... And the wrapped silver metallic thread.

I masked the center strip of my vellum panel with washi and stamped the shapes. Heat embossed. Colored on the reverse with Distress Ink markers. Adhered to panel of white glossy CS. Wrapped thread. Adhered to gray card base (that too is a fantastic design element to Virginia's card, I think). Reached for my scraps and found the cardboard and zebra PP. Reached for my tub of die cut letters and came up with this HB2U jumble and called it a day.

I'm joining the Anything Goes potluck at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. And the Anything Goes party at Seize the Birthday.

And the Anything Goes #146 at Addicted to Stamps and More!

Remember, if you feel moved to CASE my card (I'd be thrilled) or any of the DT Inspiration Projects coming up during June, you can hook up your creations in the Inspiration CASE Playground. It's open until July 5th. Join us, won't you? There are prizes to be won ;)

Mixed Media Card Challenge #12

So what do you notice in my sneak? How about magazine pages, old book pages, colored (black) embossing paste through a stencil, a bit of netting from a container of peaches and a purty rose from STAMPlorations Blossom Overture!

Cuz this month over at The Mixed Media Card Challenge it's about "Collages" (with the optional element of a "Frame"). Oh yeah, I have one of those on my card too. Wanna see?

Stamped some random text on my cardbase. Mod Podged the magazine pages and a strip of old book  to the cardbase and let dry. Heat embossed the sentiment and frame. Stamped, colored and heat embossed the rose before fussy cutting it. Colored some embossing paste with black acrylic paint before applying it through an eternity circles stencil (thanks, Loll). Then I cut four pieces of the netting, stitched them together in the middle and heated them carefully with my heat gun to get them to crinkle a bit before adhering them and the rose with Multi Matte Medium.

TECHNIQUE? heat embossing, stencilling, coloring with markers
TEXTURE? embossing, netting
DIMENSION? netting and rose

Join us with a mixed media card, won't you? Be inspired by those collages you made back in your school days. Or google "collage" and be amazed.  Check out the cards the DT has created, such beauties. The challenge is open until the 25th of the month. Would love to see you there!

I'm joining the Anything Goes fun at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge. And the Anything Goes party over at Seize the Birthday.

STAMPlorations inspiration #20

How's this for inspiration? Take a stamp. Take a stencil. Make a card :)

I'm a sucker for hugs, so this one was easy. A white cardbase. An array of Distress Inks in red, orange, yellow and green and a sentiment from STAMPlorations Fond Expressions. Some pearlescent embossing paste and "hugs" from ARTplorations Hello and Company. Three sequins and it's a done deal!

Need more inspiration? Check out the cards from the rest of the DT and find one you'd like to CASE, then join us at the Inspiration CASE Playground. It's open until June 5th.

I'm parking this card at the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

CU tomorrow!

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.

day 4 ARTplorations stencil blog hop

Welcome ! We have been exploring the plethora of beautiful designs available in the shop. My card today uses Daisy Dance, which was designed to work with the daisy image from Bloom Sketches too.

If you saw my project for day 3, you know I had a spatial thinking issue with this stencil. I had to give it another go.

Distress inks with ink daubers, the stencil AND the stamp this time. And I'm very pleased with the result.

The heat embossed white sentiment on vellum is nothing new, but this piece of vellum was laying around when I reached for vellum and I decided not to trim it and attach it along the top like I usually do, but rather with a strip of stitching down the left side. I love how the air underneath it diffuses the BG a bit. I also love that new-to-me DI color, Victorian Velvet which is behind the daisies.

So today and tomorrow are extra days over at the blog. But you can join in now by making a card with a stencil and hooking up here. You can also check out my teamies' extra projects and the prizes up for grabs.

I'm playing with the gals over at Seize the Birthday where it's Anything Goes.

Thanks for coming by today. Have a great day.

day 3 ARTplorations stencil blog hop

Welcome to day 3 of the ARTplorations stencil blog hop. We are exploring the plethora of beautiful designs available in the shop. My card uses Daisy Dance, which was designed to work with the daisy image from Bloom Sketches too.

On a side note, have you seen Shery's card ? I was completely stumped when I saw it until I read how she'd created it using the stencil and stamp.

Here's the basic idea. You create a BG. Lay the stencil over it and fill the "holes" around the daisies - with gesso or a darker ink. Then you remove the stencil and stamp with the daisy image.

But you know me. No basics for me. I had seen LeeAnne C.'s card and was enamored with the pale pastel colors achieveable with her technique. So.

Go ahead and check out her tutorial. But come back, OK? You'll enjoy my story ;)

So. I inked up the stencil with yellow and orange Distress Inks, spritzed it and "stamped" it onto watercolor CS. Dabbed up the excess water. That's how I got the pastel yellow/orange daisies. Cool, eh?

Then I put the stencil down and inked the daisy centers with yellow and orange and around the daisies with Shaded Lilac DI and around the center daisy with SSS Lavender too. Some water splatters. A touch of Perfect Pearls mixed with water for shimmer. So far so good.

Now I am the first to admit that I am the worst at spatial thinking. As in, horrible. So when I got to the point that I decided I needed some white on my BG and so I would heat emboss the daisies white, but after five minutes couldn't figure out how to make the stamp line up with my yellow daisies... well then I remembered that I suck at spatial thinking! Or should I just say at planning!

Cuz I had "stamped" the daisies with the "reverse" of the stencil (yes, there is a front and back)! Which is null problemo, unless you want to come back and use the stamp ;)

So. My touches of white took the form of a grungy center from STAMPlorations Mixed Media Grunge. And I heat embossed a sentiment from Fond Expressions onto vellum, die cut the edge with MFT Snow Drifts and added some washi up top and at the bottom for oomph.

Ya live, ya learn.

Check out my teamies' beautiful projects and the prizes up for grabs here. Have a look. We hope you are enjoying this week of stencil inspiration. Oh, and mark your calendars for June 29th. STAMPlorations is turning TWO and we will be celebrating for a week!

day 2 ARTplorations stencil blog hop

It's day 2 of the ARTplorations stencil blog hop and who doesn't love stencils? My next card brings you more flowers, this time using Tulip Prints.

When I saw this stencil I knew I wanted to give it a go in the style of Marimekko. I've been a fan since my college days thanks to my roomie. Which reminds me... I graduated from Hillsdale College 30 years ago this month! Cripes I'm old.

I used Distress Inks and ink daubers to color the tulips. I temporarily plugged the holes of the tulips I didn't want to color with the little masks Shery includes with the stencil. What a great way to avoid mistakenly getting ink where you don't want it!

When done inking, I traced the two tulips with a a fine black marker. After removing the stencil I went over them with a thicker black marker. TIP: Do the tracing first and inking second so that  if you end up with wonky looking leaves you won't be too committed to pitch it and start
over ;)

I was inspired by fabric, remember? Thus the textured CS, the gingham PP strip along the left edge and the wrapped thread, albeit, gold metallic. Because gold.

And like in yesterday's card, I couldn't bring myself to cover up any of the stencilled area with a fancy sentiment banner so I added a fussy cut heat embossed sentiment from STAMPlorations Fond Expressions!

I'm playing at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge "Stencil It" with this card too.

Check out the projects from my teamies and a list of all the fabulous prizes up for grabs here. Have a look and have a great day. Thanks for visiting :)