Little Things for the Paper Players

Hello friends! It's time for a new CAS challenge at the Paper Players and this time the amazing Christy is hosting.  She's chosen a fun theme for our CAS cards.

Paper Players

I don't have many baby animal stamps or dies, but I found one in my stash that is so sweet, I'm glad I remembered it.

I have a number of Anita Jeram stamps from Colorado Craft Company but hadn't used this particular image before.  The little bunnies are just toooooo cute in this scene and the sentiment says it all.

To color the image and create a background, I went back to my roots and used Distress inks to watercolor.  The soft colors are wonderful and perfect for this family of bunnies out for a little jaunt on a Spring day.

When the watercoloring was dry, the panel was trimmed down with an Eyelet Layer frame die.  It was adhered to a panel of light blue then added to the card base with foam tape.  

We would love to have you share your baby animal card with us this week!  I encourage you to head over to the challenge blog where my talented teammates have some wonderful inspiration for you.  The challenge will remain open until Friday, April 24th at 3pm EDT.  Hope to see you there!

Stef

• CCC/AJ Happy Days Stamp set
• SSS Eyelet Layer Frame die
• Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Broken China, Mowed Lawn, Worn Lipstick and Mustard Seed Distress inks

St. Patrick's Day

Hello friends!  I've been playing around with some new things and ended up making a St. Patrick's Day card.  I usually don't create cards specifically for this holiday, but I thought the set from Simon Says Stamp was fun and decided to add it to my stash.

And when I finished making my card, I saw that it would work perfectly for the new Just Us Girls Challenge.

JUGS #813

The set is called Printmaking Clovers and the stamps are layering, so I was able to use three different colors of greens to create the clovers and shamrocks.  The die cuts them out all at once, so that made things easier too.

After creating all the clovers/shamrocks, I moved on to the background.  I used the SSS Falling Shamrocks stencil, inked with the same three greens, then it was die cut with a fun scallop rectangle die.  

The set comes with multiple sentiments and I used the two that worked best with my design, gold heat embossing them on green cardstock and using the matching dies to cut them out.  

I layered a panel of the same green cardstock on the card base, adhered the stenciled panel, then the die cut circle was added with foam tape.  I arranged the clovers/shamrocks around the edges then popped up the sentiment with foam tape.  Super easy card!

Thanks for taking time to visit!  I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for our new challenge at the Paper Players, so stop by if you have a chance.

Take care!

Stef

• SSS Printmaking Clover Stamps and dies
• SSS Falling Shamrocks stencil
• Hero Arts Nested Circle and Scallop Circle dies
• C&9/KW Kristina's Essential Dies (scallop rectangle)
• SSS Spring, Dublin and Lucky inks

Tulip Bouquet for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  Today is the start of a new challenge at The Flowers Challenge where this month we are to use Spring colors, along with the usual floral image.  Couldn't be more perfect for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!

The Flower Challenge

I had a delightful tulip set from Hero Arts gathering dust and thought it was high time to put it to use.

I debated about what the color of the tulips should be and ended up with this pretty violet/purple, courtesy of my Olo Markers.  After coloring the image it was die cut with the matching die.  

Next a Pinkfresh Studio cover die was used to create a subtle pattern on a panel of green cardstock.  I have quite a bit of green cardstock and was happy to find one that was very close to the green Olo marker color. The panel was trimmed down and added to a white card base.  

I tried to use a different shape behind the bouquet but the circle worked best.  After adhering it to the card front, the flowers and sentiment were added with foam tape, and I used a little bit of hemp twine around the flower stems, like they had to be held together lol!

April brings Spring flowers and we would love to see yours in Spring colors this month!  In case you'd like more inspiration, my lovely, talented teammates have plenty to share over on the challenge blog.  The challenge will remain open until April 25th and I'll be back on the 15th with a new card for my reminder post.  

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

Stef

• Hero Arts Tulip Bouquet stamp and die
• Waffle Flower Elegant Sentiment stamp and die
• Pinkfresh Studios Fold Edge Circle and Floral Tiles Cover Plate dies
• Olos - G1.7, YG1.6, 1.4, 1.2, V2.6, 2.4, 2.3, 1.1

In My Heart

Hello friends, I'm back yet again this week, this time with a fun card for the current challenge at The Paper Players.  Claire has chosen some yummy, vibrant colors and I knew immediately what stamp set would work best with them.

PP685

I have had this cute stamp and die set for months but never used it so when I saw these colors I knew it was time to put it to use.

I stamped out all the images, colored them with Copic markers and then used the dies to cut them out.  The sentiment is from the set but I only used part of it, masking off the part I didn't want to include, then used a paper trimmer to size it appropriately.

Next the brick background was stenciled with gray about 2/3rds of the way down the panel, trimmed down to 4" x 5.25", then I built the scene, adhering everything directly to the panel except for the planters on each side, which were popped up with foam tape, as was the sentiment.  

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  I hope you're having a good week and that Spring has finally arrived where you are.  Here in Meridian, our weather keeps vascilating between 50s and 70s but I'm hopeful that by next week we'll be well into warmer weather. ;-)

Take care!

Stef

• MFT Sittin' Pretty stamps and dies
• MFT English Brick Wall stencil
• Simon Says Stamp Earl ink
• Copics - RV19, 09, 06, 04, 02, BG49, 13, 11, YG67, 17, 03, 01, YR27, 24, 15, 11, E11, 21, 00, C5, 3, 1, 00, W5, 3, 1, 0

Dogwood Blooms

Hello friends!  Today I'm playing along with Ann's Spring-themed CAS challenge at The Paper Players, along with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where they both have the theme of Spring and/or Easter.

PP632

One of my favorite flowers in Spring is from the Dogwood tree. There are different patterns to the petals depending on the tree, but most that I've seen are either pink or white.  I did a simple watercolor version for my card today.

I used the beautiful Big and Bold Dogwood stamp from Colorado Craft Company, and as it's name implies, it's a big stamp.  Using a Misti, I stamped a portion of it onto Distress Watercolor Paper with Versamark ink, then heat embossed it in white.  I used several Distress Watercolor Pencils (listed below) to do a simple water coloring adding a very pale aqua around the outside for better definition of the image.

When the panel was dry, it was cut down with a Hero Arts Rounded Rectangle die, then adhered to a white card front.  The die cut sentiment is from the Honey Bee Stamps Birthday Wishes set.  It was stamped in Versamark Clair Nocturne pigment ink, then die cut 3 times and layered together for a bit of dimension, since the main image was adhered flat.  Lastly, a few pink pearls were added around the sentiment.

I'm so happy for spring, although we aren't anywhere near springtime temperatures - even my Crocus have not popped up yet!  But it will be here soon and that's something to look forward to.

Thanks for taking time to stop by.  Take care!

Stef

Distress Watercolor pencils - Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Fossilized Amber, Crushed Olive and Salvaged Patina.

Rain or Shine

Hey friends!  I'm back with a second post today, playing along with the lovelies at The Paper Players and Just Us Girls (you can find my Color Hues DT card here).

PP629

Just Us Girls 668

Even though we had snow the last three days, I still wanted to make a spring card with pastel colors, so I pulled out a cute Birdie Brown stamp set from MFT.

To create my card, I started by stamping and Copic coloring all the images from Rain or Shine.  I have to say the ducks in this set tickle me to no end and especially this happy little cutie!  After coloring, I used the matching dies to cut them out.

In an effort to minimize layers for a CAS look, instead of adding a background on a separate panel, I created my "shape" for the sketch by using a square die to emboss a smaller square on the card base, then masked off outside of it to add a bit ink blending in blue for the sky and gray for the ground.  Next, the puddle, splashes and cloud behind the sun were glued directly to the card front, then I used thin foam squares to pop up the remaining images and the sentiment.  The last touch was to add three raindrop clear enamel stickers from the Spring Enamel Stickers from Hero Arts.

Thanks for taking time to stop by!  Have a great week and take care.

Stef

Copic markers:  B02, 00, 000, V05, 01, 000, RV23, 21, 10, 00, YR24, 16, Y08, 04, 02, T2, 0, E29, 37, 33, 31, 11, 21, 00, 000, R20

Pastel Floral Birthday for Sunday Stamps

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps and this time we have a delightful pastel color board to inspire you.

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current As You See It Challenge, where they have this fabulous sketch.

As You See It Challenge #272

When I saw the sketch I immediately thought of my well loved Watercolor Stripes stencil and thought it would work well for the sketch plus create a great background for my pastel floral wreath.  I started by stenciling Mint Choc ink over it onto a panel of white, and then I went to work stenciling the pretty wreath.

I decided to get a no line look with my stenciling, so the wreath was stamped in a very light ink, just dark enough so I could line up the stencils.  With the layering stencils I was able to achieve shading for everything except the grapes, so I used a V22 Copic marker to add a bit of shading/outline so they didn't look like just one big blob lol!  When the stenciling was complete, I used a gold gel pen to draw in the stamen on the yellow flowers, then the wreath and three additional branches were die cut.  The wreath was die cut two more times from white cardstock for layering underneath to achieve dimension. 

The striped background was added to the white card base, then the wreath.  The gold foiled sentiment was added across the middle of the wreath, then a few gold baubles scattered around the wreath to finish things off.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by, I appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the beautiful cards by the other DT members, and hopefully play along with our color challenge!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Rainbow Floral

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Hammermill White

Ink:  Gina K Barely There Amalgam; Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Lemon Ice, Warm Sunshine, Lime, Fresh Leaf, Wyteria and Mint Choc (Altenew)

Other:  Fancy Script Words Hot Foil Plate and dies (Pinkfresh Studio), Rainbow Floral dies (PS)

Watercolor Stripes stencil (Altenew), Gold Gel pen (Altenew), Gorgeous Golden Baubles (Trinity Stamps), Copics - V22, YG05

Playing Cards with Michele

Hello friends!  Today's post is a special one because I am playing cards with my friend Michele Ferguson.  I few months ago she asked me if I'd like to join her and truly, how could you say no to Michele?  She's one of the sweetest and kindest people I've met through card making and I was thrilled and honored she asked me to join her.

The theme Michele chose is Hope because April is the National Month of Hope.  Pretty much the only restriction to what we could make was no flowers allowed (!), which was a real challenge for this flower loving gal lol!  However, after I started thinking about the things that represent hope, I thought about Spring, rebirth, metamorphosis...and I decided to use butterflies and a fresh green and white palette.  I hope you like what I came up with!

I started by hot foiling the Lush Vines plate using gold glimmer foil on white paper.  After trimming it down, I used Copics to color just a select number of leaves as I wanted the card to have plenty of white.  After the panel was adhered to the green card base, I die cut the oval frame from gold mirror card stock that fortunately matched up perfectly with the gold foil.

The sentiment was white heat embossed on some of the same green cardstock.  I really love the encouragement, and I think hope, that it conveys.  Along with the sentiment, the two butterflies were die cut - the detail from white and the solid from pearlescent vellum.  All the components were adhered to the card, and I was done.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by, I appreciate it.  I can't wait to see what beautiful creation Michele has come up with - be sure to join me here at Michele's blog, you don't want to miss seeing this!!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Beautiful Butterflies (sentiment/Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Paisley (C&9), Gold Mirror (Tonic), Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)

Ink:  Versamark

Other:  Fancy Oval Frame die (Pinkfresh Studio), Delicate Butterflies dies (Spellbinders), Nested Infinity and Rounded Infinity Rectangle dies (Hero Arts), Lush Vines Hot Foil plate (PS), Gold Glimmer Hot Foil (Spellbinders), White Detail embossing powder (SSS)

Copics:  VG67, 17, 03

Happy Spring for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends!  I hope you're doing well!  I know I am so happy today is the first day of Spring and I've brought you a card to celebrate that.  It's time for a new color challenge at Sunday Stamps, with a bright and pretty palette to inspire you.

Sunday Stamps

I'm also joining the current As You See It Challenge, where the theme is spring flowers and The Paper Players where the lovely Laurie has given us a great CAS challenge with "Blooms".

Challenge #270

PP583

I used a stamp with two early Spring flowers.

I love all flowers, but I have to say crocus are my favorite early spring flowers, with daffodils and tulips a close second.  The image was stamped, Copic colored and die cut with the coordinating die. To properly highlight the flowers, I decided to use a frame, which was die cut three times from white cardstock. They were adhered together then I popped the flowers through at the bottom, trimmed off the excess then adhered the bottom of the flower image to the bottom of the frame.

Next a panel of white was debossed with an A2 size cover die and adhered to the white card base.  As I was determining if the main image should be tilted or straight, I realized that the debossed background looked a little busy behind the flowers.  So I trimmed down a panel of light yellow cardstock and adhered that to the back of the frame, using foam squares behind the two daffodils to keep them level with the frame.  I decided that a bit of a jaunty tilt would be fun, adhered the main image to the card, then added the sentiment.  The final touch was to add a few clear dew drops. (I realized as I was writing this blog post, the lower right corner of the frame hadn't adhered properly to the card front, which I have now fixed lol!).

I am so glad you visited!  Don't forget to use the link above to check out all the amazing cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us for this springtime color challenge!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Spring Stems (Simon Says Stamp), Happy Easter (Anita Jeram/Colorado Craft Company)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Yellow Chiffon (SSS)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Other:  Spring Stems die, Scalloped Stitched Frames die (Poppystamps), Dotted Scales Debossing Cover die (Altenew), Small Clear Dew Drops (Honey Bee)

Copics:  V01, Y15, 11, 000, RV29, 25, 23, 21, YG67, 17, 15, 03, 45 G29, 21, 40

Irish Blessing for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello and welcome!  It's time for a new Tic Tac Toe Challenge and this time Jeanne has given us this very fun board to play with!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is to add a die cut.

For my card I went diagonal from bottom left to upper right - good luck symbol, Spring, ribbon/twine.

While I don't normally send cards for St. Patrick's Day, I couldn't resist this Anita Jeram set from Colorado Craft Company.  Plus I do have a dear friend that is of Irish descent and she will love receiving this.

I started by stamping the guinea pig in the field of shamrocks and the large sentiment on a panel of white, then lightly ink blending with green and blue inks.  I then used Copic markers to color the guinea pig and surrounding shamrocks, then stamped and colored a couple additional shamrocks to add around the sub-sentiment.

Next the colored panel was die cut with a deckled edge die, then added to a white panel that had been die cut with the slightly larger frame die.  I wrapped gold twine around both, tied a bow and secured it all the the white card base with adhesive.  The sub sentiment was stamped, die cut and added to the panel with thin foam squares and the two remaining shamrocks were added to the top and bottom to finish things off.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll use the link above to check out the fabulous cards by the other DT members and join us this week!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  4-Leaf Clover (Anita Jeram/Colorado Craft Co)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Ocean Waves and Firefly (Altenew)

Other:  4-Leaf Clover die, Mix and Match Frames die set (Altenew), Gold Twine (ret. SU)

Copics:  YG17, 05, 03, E33, 31, 30, 0000, R20

A Good Friend

Hello and welcome!  I have a cute card to share with you that I made for the current CAS challenge at The Paper Players.  The lovely Ann has chosen the theme "Wild About Wildlife".

PP579

I'm also joining the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is Anything Goes.

I had on my desk a sweet Anita Jeram/Colorado Craft company stamp set that I was planning to use for an upcoming DT assignment and thought this cute little guy would work perfectly for Ann's challenge.

Our little guinea pig is out and about in the yard and he's doubly lucky because he found a 4-leaf clover and made a new friend!  I started by lightly ink blending a panel of white card stock with green, then stamped the sentiment and the critters.  The panel was die cut with a arch shaped die, then I used a light hand to add blue ink for the sky with a small blending brush.  The guinea pig and dragonfly (I think that's what it is supposed to be???) were colored with Copic markers, then I added a bit of shimmer to the shamrock and the dragonfly wings.  

Next a panel of white cardstock was die cut with a leaf cover die, then adhered to the white cardbase.  I like the subtle pattern while still leaving plenty of white space.  Before adhering the main image, the accompanying sentiment "...hard to find and lucky to have!" was stamped on the inside of the card, then the die cut piece was added to the front with foam tape.  Super easy and simple!

Thanks for taking time to visit!  Take care and have a great weekend!

Stef

Stamps:  4-Leaf Clover (AJ/CCC)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Gina K Chocolate Truffle Amalgam, Ocean Waves and Firefly (Altenew)

Other:  Pinpoint Leaf Plate Cover die (Memory Box), Essential Arches die (Ellen Hutson), Aqua Shimmer pen (Tonic)

Copics:  E44, 40, 33, 31, 30, 0000, R20, YG17, 05, 03, B000, 0000

Special Delivery

Hello and welcome.  I have a card to share with you that I made for the current Inspired By challenge, where they are celebrating challenge #200!!  Congrats to the DT team!!.  The challenge is to make a card inspired by one of the previous 2021 winners, of which I was fortunate enough to be in February 2021.  However, for today's card I was inspired by Holly and Kailash's cards, which were the winners of IB170. 

IB200

Both Holly and Kailash's card designs that had beautiful wrapped floral bouquets (you can see one in the picture board above), and that was my primary inspiration.  I used different dies, colors and a different sentiment.

For starters, all the flowers and leaf sprigs were die cut from watercolor paper, then they were watercolored using Altenew's 24 pan watercolor set.  While those dried, a piece of kraft paper was stenciled with thin strips using white pigment ink, dried with a heat gun, then die cut with the wrapper die. I used a dot runner on the back of all the flowers and sprigs, arranged them in the wrapper, then tucked a piece of foam tape inside so the wrapper could keep its rounded shape. I then added hemp twine around it and tied a bow, then tied on the tag with the sentiment using linen thread.

Next a panel of white was embossed with the Pinpoint Leaf cover die, the die cut with a scallop rectangle die that was adhered to the light yellow card base.  I added glue to the back of the wrapper then angled it onto the white panel and securing the sentiment tag with a bit of foam tape.  This card is such a departure from all the Christmas/winter cards I've been making, it was quite a treat to enjoy the bright spring colors when it was complete.  

Thanks for taking the time to visit, I really appreciate it.  Take care and enjoy the holidays!

Stef

Stamps:  Special Delivery Sentiments (Waffle Flower)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White and Desert Storm, Lemon Chiffon (SSS), Fabriano Artistico watercolor

Ink:  Shadow Creek (Altenew), Sharktooth White Pigment (Ink on 3)

Other:  Special Delivery and Stems dies (WF), Scallop A2 rectangle die (Honey Bee), Pinpoint Leaf Plate (Memory Box), Slimline Stripes Stencil (Trinity Stamps), Altenew Artist's Watercolor 24 pan set, hemp twine, Linen Thread (SU)

Beary Happy for Sunday Stamps

Hello friends, I hope you're doing well!  It's time for a new challenge at Sunday Stamps where Heather has created this great sketch for us to play with!

Sunday Stamps

I had a sweet little bear that I wanted to use for the vertical rectangle, so I took a little bit of liberty with the sketch to create a "scene".

Initially, I started by looking through the loads of pattern papers I have to use for the background, but nothing worked right, so I created a scene and used a puffy cloud instead of a half circle or doily.  I started by coloring the bear, flower and his little bee friend with Copic markers, then added grass and a blue sky behind him.  Next a panel of Tim Holtz Heavystock was ink blended with green and light blue Distress Inks then die cut to fit on the 5"x 7" card base.

Next the clouds were die cut, inked around the edges with the same blue ink as the sky, then adhered directly to the panel.  A strip of white woodgrain was adhered across the middle, wrapped with Linen Thread, then the panel was mounted on the card base with foam tape.  Our little bear buddy was matted on a slightly larger piece of white cardstock, the sentiment stamped on the panel, then the entire thing added to the card with foam tape to finish things off!  I really love the fun play on the sketch, the only thing I'd change is to darken the ink blending of the sky, because it really doesn't show up well in the photos.

Thanks so much for visiting, I really appreciate it!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the amazing cards by the other DT members and hopefully join us for this challenge!

Stef

Stamps:  Happy Days (Colorado Craft Company)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Tim Holtz Heavy Stock, White Woodgrain (Ellen Hutson)

Ink:  Gina K Obsidian Amalgam, Versafine Clair Nocturne, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress 

Other:  Linen Thread (SU), Simple Puffy Clouds (Lawn Fawn), A7 Layers die (Waffle Flower)

Copics:  E29, 37, 35, 33, 31, R22, 21, 20, Y06, YG67, 17, 13