Monday, December 21, 2015

Serene Silhouettes Sympathy Card


12/30/2015 Update: Serene Silhouettes won a Top Three position in AHSC #139.







This week I noticed that my stash of both Get Well and Sympathy cards was depleted so decided I needed to make a few to keep on hand.

The design for this card was inspired by the sketch at The Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #139.


I also entered these "Anything but Christmas" challenges:

Mod Squad Challenge
Inkspirational #98

All Sorts #342/343

Images were stamped in black on white cardstock, die cut, edges sponged with black ink and adhered to gray cardstock squares. A banner was cut from striped DSP. The three squares were adhered with foam tape to a panel of dotted vellum. This was adhered to a panel of pink cardstock and then adhered to the gray card base. The card base opens on the side, which I prefer for landscape
cards because the card stands up better than a card that opens at the bottom edge. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock and stamped with a coordinating image and a sentiment. In keeping with the sketch, three pearls were added to the upper left side.




Deadline to join the challenge is Sunday evening, December 27, 2015, so stop by the AHSC blog!









The other challenges have varying deadline dates so drop by and visit Mod Squad, Inkspirational and All Sorts.
Techniques: Die cutting, sponging, stamping
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")
Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Serene Silhouettes stamp set
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Pink Pirouette
DSP: Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum, black & white stripe from stash
Dies: Banner Framelits & Simon Says Stamp Double Stitched Squares
Misc.: Martha Stewart stick-on pearls & CTMH foam tape

Friday, December 18, 2015

Scalloped Rainbow

12/23/2015 Update: This card was voted "Top Three" in the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!






Using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #138 for
inspiration, I created the following birthday card. My aunt will be 89 in March so I think I will set this aside to mail to her in a few months. I wanted the card to be feminine and pretty and the sketch helped me achieve that.

Scrap pieces of watercolor paper were colored with watercolor paints in colors of red/pink, orange, yellow flecked with orange, green, blue and purple flecked with pink. The variegation on the scallops does not show up well in the photos. The pieces were then die cut into scallops, flowers and leaves and adhered to the card front panel. A strip of glimmer paper was adhered. The sentiment was stamped, punched and adhered to a die cut blue watercolored label. The label was backed with thin foam tape.

A panel of blue watercolored paper was adhered to the card base. The card panel was then adhered to the blue panel using craft foam.


The inside of the card was decorated with a few die cut flowers and a birthday stamp.






Please visit the AHSC blog and consider joining in the weekly challenge!
Techniques: Stamping, die cutting, water coloring, punching
Size: 5" x 6.5"
Materials:
Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy "Love Birds" (sentiment on card front); SU! "Flower Patch" (sentiment on inside)
Inks: Koh-I-Noor watercolor set, Memento Tuxedo Black 
Paper: SU! Whisper White cardstock, SU! water color paper, SU! Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs "Fanfare Scalloped Border" & "Perky Posies"; Spellbinders "Labels Twenty"
Punch: SU! Modern Label
Misc.: Craft foam, CTMH thin foam tape

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Christmas 2015 Fun Fold

These are the cards I made for family and friends this year. They are all in the mail so that task is out of the way for another year!

First, I made wallets/money holders for my nephews. They will hold cash or checks perfectly. Instructions to make these can be found HERE. The only change I made to the original instructions was to add the indentation on the front with my envelope punchboard. The photos were taken with them standing open like a tent card. The materials used:
Envelope Punch Board, SU! Scalloped Tag Topper Punch
SU! cardstock: Shimmery White, Garden Green and Real Red
SU! ink: Real Red and Garden Green
DSP: Nordic Noel Collection (retired)
Stamps: MFT "Hand Lettered Holiday"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Measurements for making the following fold are at the bottom of this blog post.

All of the following cards were made with a fun fold but I used two different paper designs. The card base was cut and scored to create the fold. For each card, panels were cut from Basic Black to mat the design. Three panels per card were cut from "Silent Night" music paper and adhered to the black panels. One panel per card of Very Vanilla was cut for the inside, sponged with gold ink and stamped with the shepherd image. (I used the MISTI tool for all stamping to ensure a solid image.) Additional gold ink was sponged for a glow where the star would be placed. The panels were adhered to the corresponding black panels. The sentiment was stamped and the card sponged with gold then attached to the black panel.

Here is a photo showing one card folded and then another unfolded:












The DSP was cut, the edges sponged and then adhered to a black panel. All the pieces were adhered to the Old Olive card base. The star was die cut and adhered. On the cards with the Christmas tree, a star was punched and placed atop the tree. For the poinsettias, the centers were embellished with clear Wink of Stella. For additional writing space, a panel of Very Vanilla was placed along the back of the card.

This photo demonstrates how the card can be set standing up:


The final photo shows the front of each card. They are identical except for the change in the DSP:
Techniques: Stamping, sponging, die cutting, punching
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Materials are Stampin' Up! except for the inks:
Stamps: Every Blessing
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black & Tsukineko Delicata Golden Glitz
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Old Olive, Gold Glimmer
DSP: Home for Christmas Collection
Die: Stars Framelits (star inside)
Punch: Itty Bitty Accents (tiny star on tree)
Misc.: MISTI

There is a You Tube tutorial available HERE. I wanted the card to be a perfect A2 size so changed the measurements as follows:
I started with a piece of cardstock 4.25" x 11". On the long edge, one inch in from the bottom, I made a cut from 2.75" to 8.25". I scored at 2.75" from the top edge of the card base to the 1" cut. At 5.25" I scored from edge to edge to create the center fold. I scored again at 8.25" from the bottom edge up to the 1" cut. Fold and decorate. It is now the exact size for an A2 envelope.


Tuesday, December 8, 2015

May the Lord Bless You

12/16/2015 Update: This card placed in the Top Three at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #137.





Using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #137 as inspiration, I made a card of encouragement. This is a tile card, where the card looks as if nine tiles are imprinted with one image. A tutorial for the technique can be found HERE. I used different dimensions than used in the tutorial.


To create the tiles, a square piece (3.75" x 3.75") of cardstock was scored into nine squares (each 1.25" x 1.25"). The stamp was inked and the cardstock pressed on the stamp, taking care to avoid stamping into the scored gaps. Using a mask of scrap paper, the card was sponged to give each tile an individual look. A very light pencil line was drawn in the four scored lines to give a shadow effect.


A panel of cardstock was texture embossed and a piece of twine was wrapped and tied. This was adhered to the card base. The tiled square was adhered to a panel of DSP and backed with foam to raise it for adhering to the panel on the card base. Three pearls were added and the sentiment was stamped directly onto the card. The inside was stamped with a butterfly, leaving sufficient space for a personal note.

Stop by the AHSC blog and join the challenge!

Techniques: Tile card, stamping, sponging, texture embossing

Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")






Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: SU! Best Thoughts, Gina K Designs Bounty of Blessings (sentiment)
Inks: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Stazon Jet Black
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Crisp Cantaloupe
DSP: Pistachio Pudding DSP stack
Misc.: Pistachio Pudding thick twine, Dimensionals, MS pearls, Darice EF

Sunday, December 6, 2015

It's Your Day

The Atlantic Heart Sketch Challenge #136 was the perfect
opportunity to make a birthday card for a friend. For landscape cards I prefer to make them open on the side so they will stand up more easily than if they open from the bottom.





 
Panels of cardstock and DSP were adhered to a card base. A panel of vellum
was added after sponging along the edges. The vellum offers contrast and mutes the bright DSP behind the strips of various papers. The strips were  sponged along the edges then adhered, in keeping with the sketch challenge. A strip of foil was die cut for the horizontal ribbon strip. The rose was also die cut from bronze foil and popped up with foam. The tag was stamped and popped up with foam. A little star was punched from foil and added to the tag. The inside of the card was lined with white cardstock and decorated with a strip of DSP.

Visit the AHSC blog for fun challenges!





Techniques: Stamping, sponging, die cutting, punching
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")
Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Crafty Secrets Grand Greetings (sentiment)
Inks: Melon Mambo, Old Olive (sponging), Memento Tuxedo Black (sentiment)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, vellum, DCWV foiled cardstock in bronze and green
DSP: English Garden Collection
Punch: Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (star)
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Border, Lil' Inker Designs Quilted Flower
Misc.: Dimensionals

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Bluebird Birthday in Stenciled Watercolor

12/2/2015 Update: Top Three Winner in the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #135!






This week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #135 had lots of possibilities but I still turned the sketch to make my card. I have a friend who has a birthday coming up on January 6, so this is her card.


A panel of Blackberry Bliss cardstock was texture embossed and adhered to a white card base. A white cardstock die cut rectangle with rounded corners was texture embossed, three brads were added and the panel was adhered to the card front. On a piece of wet water color paper, Dylusions spray inks (pink and blue) were spritzed in several spots and allowed to dry. Then a stencil of small rounded squares was laid on top of the area to be used and lightly spritzed with water to achieve a soft Bokeh appearance.


Once dry again, the water colored piece was die cut and backed with foam to give dimension. A strip was also cut and adhered like a ribbon in keeping with the challenge sketch. A small bird was die cut from the water colored paper and backed with foam. A floral image for the inside of the card was also die cut. Two flowers were die cut from white cardstock and adhered to the card front. The inside was stamped with a birthday sentiment, leaving ample room for a personal note.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to visit the AHSC blog and perhaps join in a challenge soon!


Techniques: Die cutting, dry embossing, water coloring, stenciling
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise indicated:
Stamp: Butterfly Basics (inside sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (inside), Dylusions Spray Inks
Cardstock: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, water color paper
Dies: Paper Smooches Dainty Flowers, Memory Box Nestled Bird, My Favorite Things Stitched Rounded Rectangles
Misc.: Gem brads from stash, Dimensionals, SU! Spring Flowers EF, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Christmas Dreams

11/25/2015 Update: Christmas Dreams was a Top Three winner in AHSC #134!






Making a card for the sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #134 was tricky this week. I could see plenty of ideas for scrapbooking but it took a while to develop my card. I was shopping and heard the song, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and that's how the idea developed.


Taking a card base of white cardstock, a panel of Calypso Coral cardstock was adhered. A piece of scrap gold-flaked vellum was die cut. The die gives the look of a cloud and represents the dream in the song. Images from several paper collections were fussy cut and adhered to DSP in Pool Party. All but three images were popped up with Dimensionals.

Close ups:


A few little touches were added such as the rhinestone on the tree, the holly on the "25" and the red bow on the small gift image. The house image was too tall for the space so two rows of windows were cut out and the top of the house reattached. Three dots were added to carry the Pool Party color to the lower left corner.

The sentiment is from the song and was computer generated on white cardstock and shadowed with DSP. The inside of the card was decorated with another fussy-cut house image.

Take a look at the creativity of the AHSC Design Team!

Techniques: Stamping (inside), die cutting, fussy cutting
Size: 5" x 5"
Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Computer generated sentiment, Paper Trey "In the Meadow" (inside)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (inside)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Calypso Coral
Paper: MME scraps; vellum (gold flaked) from stash; Nordic Noel & Home for Christmas DSP Collections
Die: Lawn Fawn Puffy Border
Misc.: Enamel dots, Dimensionals, rhinestone

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Blessings Shaker in Paisley

This shaker card was made for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #133. The sketch inspired the card. I used a new set of paisley-like dies and gave them a fall leafy look for a Thanksgiving card and included a shaker section in the lower left corner.

A panel of cardstock was die cut to create four openings. The panel was backed with craft foam after the corner for the shaker portion was cut out with a die. The other spaces were inlaid with die cuts in different colors to fill the squares and rectangle. The paisley-like leaves were cut from foil paper and inlaid with foil and glitter paper.

A panel of acetate was added to the inside of the shaker window. The leaf design was adhered to the card base, sequins in four colors were added and
the top panel was adhered to the base. A die cut scalloped strip was added. The butterfly was punched from foil and the sentiment was stamped, die cut and the edges sponged. The sentiment was popped up with foam. Small pieces of Kool-Tac clear foam were added to the back of the butterfly to pop it up. The inside of the card was lined with cardstock with a scalloped edge and a foil paisley die cut was adhered.

Please visit AHSC and join in the weekly challenges!

Techniques: Stamping, sponging, die cutting, punching, inlay, shaker
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Materials:
Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Love Birds (sentiment)
Ink: SU! Old Olive & Crumb Cake
Cardstock: SU! Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, DCWV Foil (bronze & aqua), DCWV glittered paper (soft gold)
Paper: Scrap stash
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Double Stitched Squares and Rectangles, My Favorite Things Stitched Rounded Rectangles, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Borders, Paper Smooches Loopy Leaf & Paisleys
Punch: EK Success Garland Butterfly
Misc.: Craft foam, Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Kool-Tac clear foam

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Anniversary Hearts - CAS

This morning my husband reminded me that his son and daughter-in-law will be celebrating a wedding anniversary in two weeks, so we needed a card for the occasion. I kept it clean and simple.

The panel was texturized with an embossing folder and adhered to the card base. The hearts were die cut from glitter paper in rose and sky blue. When they were placed on the card, it was obvious that a third item needed to be added. A ring was cut and adhered to the embossed panel. The two hearts were backed with foam tape to add dimension.



On the inside, a smaller heart in silver glimmer paper was adhered and an anniversary sentiment was stamped in black ink, leaving sufficient space to write a personal note.

Techniques: Stamping, die cutting, dry embossing
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")








Materials:
Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy "Love Birds" (inside)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (inside)
Paper: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Silver Glimmer cardstock; DCWV glitter paper stack
Dies: Spellbinders Standard Circles LG, Classic Hearts & Classic Scalloped Hearts
Misc.: Stampin' Up! EF and Dimensionals

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Peaceful Poinsettia

11/11/2015 Update: The AHSC Design Team selected Peaceful Poinsettia as a Top Three in this challenge!
The holiday season has arrived if you've been in any of the stores and so I am posting a card that was inspired by the holiday season. The design is from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #132. I like this sketch so well that I may use it when I make my personal cards to mail. I was also influenced to use the silver glimmer paper and glitter by the Inkspirational Challenge #95.
 
 




Having lived in Florida for many years, my yard was always abloom with huge poinsettias in fall and through much of the winter. At least until a frost. The poinsettia's flower is actually only the yellow center. The leaves turn red as the flower matures and appear to look as if they are the flower. The profusion of color in my winter garden included red, pink, peach, speckled and ivory poinsettias. We trimmed them back in April and August with a dose of plant food and by November they had grown as tall as 8' with huge blooms.
 
In making the card, a panel of green print DSP was adhered to the card base. A panel of cardstock was embossed with a poinsettia design, trimmed in silver glimmer paper, backed with craft foam and adhered. A die was used to cut the frame from silver glimmer paper and then inlaid with a coordinating cardstock frame. This was also popped up with craft foam.
 
The poinsettia was stamped four times, colored, and fussy cut. The entire image included leaves so that was the first layer. Two layers of the poinsettias only were stacked and finally only the center petals were added. I added clear glitter glue but the light reflects both gold and silver tones although I was only going for silver. The sentiment was added and the inside of the card was lined with cardstock and stamped with a border of green.
 
Please visit the AHSC blog and Inkspirationals and join the challenges!
 
Techniques: Stamping, coloring, fussy cutting, die cutting, die-cut inlay, dry embossing
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")
Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps: Reason for the Season & Watercolor Wings (inside border) 
Ink: Stazon Jet Black
Stampin' Write Markers: Watermelon Wonder, Crisp Cantaloupe, Garden Green
Cardstock: Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, Crisp Cantaloupe
DSP: Silver Glimmer, Green print from stash
Dies: Pretty Pink Posh Decorative Tag No. 1, Spellbinders Labels 8
Misc.: Studio G glitter glue, craft foam, The Paper Studio EF