random reflections

A Christmas Wreath

Here's another card made especially for two challenges. First the CAS Mix-up Challenge which calls for "Stencils and Embossing Paste." I created the portion with the embossing paste several days ago, and put it aside because I didn't have a design idea for it at the time.

Then I saw the CAS Christmas Challenge asking for a wreath, and it all came together.

Both challenges are back after a three month break, so it's good to have them back!

I applied Nuvo Glitter Embossing Paste through the My Favorite Things "Basket Weave" stencil. I die cut it with one of the circles from Ellen Hutson's "Essential Circles" and then die cut another one from Shimmer Green cardstock which I think came from Papertrey Ink. I used only the frame from that circle.  The wreath is "Breezy Wreath" from Poppy Stamps and is die cut from the same shimmer green paper.

The glittery background is so pretty in person, and the wreath with the gold pearls has a lovely shimmer which doesn't show up well in the photo. You can catch a glimpse of it on the sentiment strip which was gold embossed with a sentiment from Gina K's "Sparkle and Shine" set.

It's nice to have another Christmas card in the stash. I'm behind a month in my goal to create 10 Christmas cards each month, but I hope to catch up next week. 

A Sketch Challenge

I don't often participate in sketch challenges. I have a good friend who loves to use sketches for inspiration, but I usually prefer theme or color challenges thinking it leaves a lot more open for interpretation. However, when I saw the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches, I knew I'd be making a card. I had recently used my Pinkfresh Studio "Nested Hexagons" hot foil plate when I made this card, and I had left-over flowers and time to hot foil a new hexagon today.

I started by using the beautiful Gina K embossing folder, "Tapestry" for a background. I used two of the nested hexagon dies to cut out the frame, and then arranged two flowers and some leaves from the Pinkfresh "Brighter Days" hot foil plate that weren't used for the last card. 

The sentiment is also hot foiled in gold from "Yana's Special Sentiments." Here's a closer look at the embossing folder and the foiling.

Unexpectedly, I had a whole day to craft today, and it's been quite the pleasure. I did take time for a three mile walk. I haven't been good about getting out to exercise recently, but a friend texted me Wednesday and we did nearly four miles. It inspired me to get outside, and I've managed a good number of steps every day since. Hope your day has gone well, too!

Color Hues #43

Julie is our hostess for the new Color Hues Challenge, and she's chosen Blue and Green.

This is the second card I made for this challenge. I had another card posted on the Design Team post, and then created this card in Blue and Green I liked much better.This one was created after taking the Online Card Class: Spring Card Camp 2022, where Jennifer McGuire taught the technique of ink lifting. 

The first step is to ink blend a cardstock panel. I ink blended mine with blue and green inks, and then embossed it in white with Simon Says "Outline Leaves" background stamp. Next I used a paint brush and some clear water and lifted the ink from one half of all the leaves. I have to say I like the result, but I'm not sure how often I'll return to the technique since it's a bit time consuming.

The die cut sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio was cut three times and stacked before adding to the vellum shadow. A few sequins finished it off after adding the panel to a white card base. 

I hope you'll check out the many interpretations of the Blue and Green combo on the Color Hues blog created by the Design Team, and our Guest Designer, Amy. And, then, come join us in the Gallery!

 

A Rainbow of Flowers

As soon as I saw the Pinkfresh Studio June Challenge for Rainbow Colors, I knew just what I wanted to do.

One of my birthday purchases was the "Brighter Days" suite of products. Today I used the hot foil plates, the coloring stencils, and the dies. I did substitute pink for the red in the challenge photo. I did stencil a red flower, but the pink one was so much prettier!

I hot foiled, colored, and die cut two sets of the "Brighter Day" florals and leaves. I also pulled out the "Nested Hexagons" hot foil plate and foiled it in gold. Once die cut, the hexagon served as a perfect focal point for the florals.

It took awhile to find a sentiment that worked well. I finally decided on this one from Pinkfresh Studio's "Scripted Greetings" even though this is a birthday card for a friend. Finding a good sentiment for the inside shouldn't be a problem.

Once again I'm entering the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge: Make Your Mark (coloring stencils), Happy Little Stampers: Dies (Anything Goes) and NBUS---everything on this card is new except the sentiment.

 

 

 

Watercolored Magnolias

I took a variety of images to watercolor while we were away, and as usual, not much got done. I did, however, get these beautiful images from Altenew's "Magnolia Ballerina" finished. 

They don't need much embellishment, and take up an A2 card front. The images are actually larger than this and I've seen them cut down in a variety of ways. I used a photo of the magnolias in Highland Park for my color inspiration, and used Zig Watercolor markers which are great for travel.

I added a pink frame on top of the image cut from My Favorite Things "A2 Rectangle Frame" set. The sentiment is from my favorite The Ton "Easy Expressions: Birthday" set. The final touch was to add three clear sequins.

I'm sending this one off to the AAA Birthday Challenge (Flowers) and Seize the Birthday where the challenge is to use a favorite technique. Watercolor is definitely that for me. 

More Bold Blooms

After creating this card, I still had lots of flowers and leaves left from my watercolored "Bold Blooms" by Spellbinders. Papertrey Ink had a good sale a few weeks ago. I needed some paper and wanted a few of their $5 sentiment stamps. The discount included the brand new products as well, so I added this "Country Hand Basket" die to the order, and I'm so glad I did.

It took awhile to figure out a good placement for the flowers, but I love the way the basket die is open in the middle. It was pretty easy to add even the blue flowers at the end, tucking them under the handle so they showed on both sides of the basket. It's hard to see the texture with the embossing folder above, but it's much better in the close-up.

Surprisingly, it's the only Stampin' Up product I own. Somehow in all my years of card making, I've never found a Stampin' Up distributor. When I saw this striped embossing folder, I ordered it from eBay since it's no longer available. It's the first time I've used it, but it certainly won't be the last! The sentiment is from one of the Papertrey Ink sets, "Vintage Picnic Sentiments" that I've had for years! It's the perfect sentiment for the card, and I love the mix of fonts. 

This card meets the requirements of three challenges: AAA Birthday: Flowers, Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark (in this case watercolors) and Happy Little Stampers: Anything Goes with Dies as well as NBUS thanks to the embossing folder!

Daisy Days

The Greetery has a fabulous suite of products that use stamps, stencils, and die cuts to create fabulous cards. Thanks to a lovely birthday gift, I was able to purchase two of their latest Print Shop sets. This one is called "Daisy Days." I have lots of ideas for this set, but started out with the standard A2 card using the stencils to create the overall pattern which is then die cut and added to a black card base. (I seem to be favoring the bright flowers against black this week!)

The black panel was first cut with the largest of the The Greetery's Postal Frames and layered on a bright pink card base. I also stenciled some single flowers and die cut those to add a bit of dimension to some selected flowers.

I added some black Enamel Accents to the centers of those flowers. The sentiment is also from the latest release, "Scripty Hello." I added some ink blending to the pink die cut to create an ombré effect before adding it to the vellum shadow. I have to say these designs are lots of fun to create!

I'm entering this in the Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge: Anything Goes.

 

 

 

Just for You

I'm always in need of birthday cards, and this is the perfect time of year for floral cards. I have a bunch of new floral dies, many purchased during a big Spellbinders sale a month or so ago. In the mail this week was a new embossing folder from Simon Says that's been out of stock for a long time. I decided to put some of the Spellbinders "Bold Blooms" together with the beautiful "Blossom Field" embossing folder.

I die cut all the florals and leaves from the "Bold Blooms" from Altenew watercolor paper and watercolored them with Zig watercolor markers. I decided I liked the bright colors against a black background, so embossed a piece of True Black cardstock. The card started out as a standard A2 card, but I kept cutting it down until it was finally a square card which I liked much better. It's hard to see the detail in the embossing folder above, but this is a better view:

I cut four additional pieces of black cardstock and added them behind the embossed panel to add some dimension and then added it to a square card. All the florals and leaves were attached with liquid glue. I added a small piece of dimensional tape behind the large white daisy. The sentiment is from one of my favorites, The Ton's "Easy Expressions: Birthday."

I'm entering this in the AAA Birthday Challenge: Flowers, Addicted to Stamps and More: Die Cuts and/or Stencils, and NBUS ( I've never used the dies or the embossing folder before.)

Joseph's Coat Technique

When I enrolled in the Online Card Class "Spring Card Camp 2022" I knew I wouldn't have much time to participate. The first week of class we were in Wisconsin, and the two weeks since have been packed. I don't think I've been this busy since way before the pandemic. Today is the last day you can submit a card to the gallery, and I finally had time last night to try the Joseph's Coat technique.

I was fascinated with the technique, and I'm really pleased with the results. I started by ink blending a piece of card stock with a variety of Distress Oxide Inks in a rainbow of colors. Then you place a stencil on top of the ink blended card stock and brush a heavy coat of Black Soot Distress Oxide Ink on top of it.

Pulling the stencil off is such an "ah ha!" experience. 

I embossed one of the sentiments from The Greetery's "Everyday Labels" and die cut it. I love the font and Art Deco look of these sentiments, and it seems perfect for this graphic background. 

I'm entering this in Seize the Birthday Challenge: Use a Stencil and the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge where they're looking for "Die Cuts and Stencils." 

And also to the NBUS June Gallery as I've never used the My Favorite Things "Basket Weave" stencil before---or this technique!

I have a list of six more techniques I want to try from this class and a nice selection of new products (thanks to birthday gifts,) so hopefully the blog will soon be a bit busier than it's been the last few weeks. 

Home Sweet Home

The current challenge at The Paper Players is  a Clean and Simple one with "House" as the theme, and I have the perfect card to share.

I made this card for a housing warming party at my nephew's beautiful new home, but didn't have time to share it. 

Those cute houses are actually in the Pinkfresh Studio "Our Home to Yours" stamp set which was designed as a Christmas stamp. In bright primary colors, however, the houses work perfectly for any time of the year.

The sentiment, stamped in black, is from the Simon Says "Home Sweet Home" set. I trimmed the panel down so I could add some black and white patterned paper from My Favorite Things. Then it was all added to a bright green pre-made Memory Box card.

I'm also sending this off to Addicted To Stamps and More where the challenge is "Any Occasion."