Birthday Fishes

I'm playing with the new Greetery Honeycomb release and this time I made a mini card with the Hey Honeycomb Fish! I also made a small gift bag to attach my little card to the front. I could have made it a tag, but I wanted to try a card that stays with the bag permanently.

I'm playing along at the Inspired By Challenge IB391 with their Fish theme. My fish is swimming amongst the "bubbles" on the bag and the handle of the bag looks like mermaid or fish scales. I chose my colors not from the photo, but from the honeycomb ball.

What I used:

• The Greetery Hey Honeycomb Fish die set, Hey Honeycomb Summer Sentiments stamp set, Honeycomb Balls Tricolor Tropics

• Stampin' Up! Mini Treat Bag Thinlits die set (old), Turquoise sequin trim, Designer Series paper (old)

• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad 

The fish is so easy to die cut and assemble. Then I folded a piece of green card stock in half to make a mini card, and placed the fish die a little above the fold. I ran it through my die cut machine a few times until it cut through the front and back of the little card. Then I adhered the decorated fish to the card front.

I created the bag and used the sequin trim as handles. I popped up the fish on foam tape after stamping the sentiment inside.

This was a fun project. I've had this patterned paper forever and have used it for summer/water cards and projects often. Since I made a mini card I didn't make the honeycomb collapsible...it is permanently open.

Hope your summer is going swimmingly!

Carol

You Brighten My Life

It is Die Week at Just Us Girls #826 and our sweet hostess Carol Mayne asks that we use butterfly dies. I have never had butterfly dies before a few months ago. Check out the team's pretty cards and see what you are inspired by to make a card for our challenge!

What I used:

• Waffle Flower Mix n' Match Butterflies dies
• MFT sentiment
• Distress Oxide inks
• Stampin' Up! Blended Bloom stamp, Aqua painter
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad

I saw a few CAS cards like this on Pinterest and made my own version. I started by stamping the flowers in opposite corners on the card front. The butterflies were die cut from watercolor paper that I had painted first with oxide inks. I only attached the butterflies to the card in the middle so their wings could be bent outward to look like they are fluttering. Happily, I was able to bend my clear stamp into the shape I need to fit it in between the butterflies. And that's it!

Come play along with us using butterfly dies!

Carol

 

YAY!!

When you need to congratulate someone or tell them you are excited for them, why not just use the word Yay! For our Just Us Girls Challenge #825 it is Anything Goes Stencil Week with our new teammate Denise!

What I used:

• Alex Syberia Carnival Party stencil and die set, Foxtrot Alphabet die set
• Spellbinders Silver mix Color Essential Gems
• Distress Oside inks
• Iridescent silver card stock

Our daughter worked at Crate & Barrel during all of her her college breaks and at Christmas she would buy two-sided satin ribbon that I just loved. They had red/green and silver/gold. So when I got this stencil set I had to use two different colors for the fun it creates. I know I will be using these stencils a lot. Finally, I added some sparkly gems to match the iridescent silver sentiment and that was it!

Get out some fun stencils and join us this week at Just Us Girls!

Carol

Fun & Laughs

Hello and thanks for stopping by! We have a fun challenge for you at our Time Out #314 Inspired By Challenge: A Favorite Beverage. There are several drinks that I call my "favorite" but I had supplies to make this one, a Muddled Strawberry-Lime Vodka Martini. The team has created a great variety of their favorites, so check out their blogs to read all about it. We are joined, too, by Joanne James of The Crafty Owl, and winner of Time Out #309 as Guest Designer. 

We have had this drink at The Cheesecake Factory a few times and really liked the fresh flavors. I also like Coconut rum and pineapple juice as my go-to tropical drink, iced tea with lemonade, and limeade, too! How about you?

The gradient color in the drink was hard to capture in a photo. It is darker on the top where the muddled strawberries are and I didn't have the correct size lime to die cut and add to the rim of the glass, but you get the idea, right? But you can see the acetate that is the martini "glass."

By the way, we are giving away a reversible wine/beverage bag that I made for the winner of the challenge. The winner will also be in the running for a future Guest Designer spot at Time Out. 

What I used:

• Spellbinders Olive Martini dies, Friends Sentiments Press Plate and die set
• Pretty Pink Posh Valentine Mug Additions dies
• Simon Says Stamp Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies
• Concord & 9th Orange You Sweet Dies, Mini ink pads
• Distress inks
• Patterned paper scrap
• Sequins
• Acetate

For this card I did all the die cutting first. after ink blending the colors I wanted the fruit and drink to be. Everything was assembled next. The no longer hoarded patterned paper has die cut stitching on it that's kind of swirly for a fun feeling. The photo doesn't show the details in the strawberries that the dies put there...so realistic!

Come play along with us!

Carol

Time For Sun

I love this time of year for cardmaking because I love everything that summer is about. The Paper Players PP787 has a sketch that inspired me to use some hoarded summer patterned paper, and to dig out a sailboat die set that I've had forever to CASE the sailboat in the paper. This is what playing in challenges does for me.

What I used:

• MFT Sailboat dies
• Park Lane Travel 12" x 12" paper pad
• Simon Says Stamp Summer sentiments

It was fun to match card stock to the patterned paper to create this sailboat. I cut into the patterned paper and like how it is "connected" to the sailboat now. I matted it then popped up my little boat on foam adhesive to stand out from the paper. The pre-printed sentiment was super easy to cut down and mat. Now I want to go out on a boat and cruise around islands like the boat is in the paper.

Hope your summer is kicking off well (or soon)!!! I appreciate you visiting here.

Carol

Macaroni Kisses

The AAA Card Challenges #315 sketch caught my eye and I had an idea for it right away. I just made a pasta card and still wanted to make another. So I chose the macaroni die and the "matching" sentiment to make a CAS card. I used red like a tomato sauce that goes with pasta.

What I used:

• Spellbinders Pasta Friends die set, Stay Saucy stamp set
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Heart punch
• Ranger Distress red ink pad
• Ink blending brush

The sketch can be turned in its orientation for this challenge so I moved it to the bottom right. I ink blended the corner of my card base lightly with red ink. Next I put red card stock behind the cheeks and punched three matching hearts to align with the sentiment. The macaroni and hearts are glued to the card front and I stamped the sentiment where it matched the sketch!

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Carol

Hello Sunshine

This card is my second this month on the Poppystamps Blog and I hope you like its spring/summer feel with a couple of our new release products: Nordic Watering Can and Nordic Scatter Flowers. The details in these dies are so pretty and  putting the layers together is easy!

What I used:

• Poppystamps Nordic Watering Can die, Scatter Flowers die, Lattice die, Whittle Sealife Sentiments
• Distress inks
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad

I die cut the Lattice die twice, cut off the frame's edge, and glued them together for a dimensional look. I wanted it to look thick, like a real one on a patio. Next, I die cut all of the Watering Can layers out of the colors I selected. I added a little shading with distress inks to the purple pieces for a shadow effect. It was easy to assemble the layers and I love how the layers beneath show through the cut outs in each piece.

The Lattice went on the card base first, then the Water Can. I stamped the sentiment and cut it down to a rectangle with my paper cutter, then added a purple mat to make it pop off the white lattice. 

I hope you will stop by the Poppystamps blog to see other photos and read about the card. You can also read about it on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol