For a Sweet Friend

Here's a brand new card with a set I have been wanting to use again. Tonight's episode of Mary Gunn's Craft Roulette #203 resulted in these funn (inside joke) parameters:

Project: Flip Fold Card

Colors: Main Street

Element: Walk(s)

Random: Heart

On my card I have a girl walking down Main Street to/past a bakery. Will she resist going in and getting something sweet? She's wearing a heart print top and the card has a flip panel on the front where I tried to depict a brick column separating the bakery from the rest of the building. Most products I used are Concord and 9th except the ink for the stamping which is Versafine. I put some blue vellum in the window for tinted glass. I also used an older Stampin' Up! punch for the front sentiment piece, SU window die, and SU brick patterned paper. 

Now I want a cupcake!

See you back here again soon,

-Carol

To a Special Friend

I saw on The Paper Players Challenge CAS PP677 blog that the theme is Forever Friends. I recently won a gift card and this Colorado Craft Company set is one that I chose. I sat and colored with Prismacolor pencils and thought about all the things I needed to be doing around the house. Coloring is an escape and I have been wanting to send a friend some cheer.

I made my sky to loosely look like the sunsets lately that we see from the back windows of our house. The photos never look as brilliant as the real thing. And I did not set out to make the perfect ombré, but uneven like the one below.

That's it for today. My little fox says "I miss you" on the inside of the card.

See you back here soon,

-Carol

You put the cute in...

Charcuterie! Have you had or seen a dessert charcuterie board like this one? There are breakfast ones too...as well as many other versions. Can you name all the treats on this one? I could not resist these Avery Elle Char-cute-rie stamps and dies. So fun! 

The Just Us Girls Challenge #715 is Anything Goes with a Stencil. This stencil set that I used for the background is from Honey Bee Stamps called Hearts in Bloom. There are four stencils, but I only used two. I love the shape of the hearts so much!

I made my charcuterie board first. On a random white panel of cardstock, I ink blended the colors I knew I was going to use for the die cuts. Then I placed my dies where I needed them to be color-wise and cut them out. I stamped and die cut the board with GinaK brown ink then ink blended the board here and there to look like wood. 

I adhered the sweets to the board and set it aside. Can you guess what those white dots are supposed to be on the dark chocolate hearts in the upper left corner of the board? The cookies at the bottom look just like some that the grocery store sells!

I stenciled another panel of white cardstock and cut it down to be smaller than an A2 card base. I adhered it to my card base, then grabbed a"napkin" die cut (The Greetery - Coaster die) and adhered that in the middle of the stenciled panel. Then I popped up the charcuterie board on foam tape.

I stamped the charcuterie sentiment and matted it with red to match the hearts. I cut the sentiment in half and put it on the panel as you see in the photo. I ended up, last minute, adding a tiny brown flower stamp in a few places to tie the background into the chocolate on the board.

We are saying thank you for guesting with us this month to Denise Morgans, who contributed such wonderful cards. Would you like to be our guest for a month? We hope you will join us for this stencil challenge. You can even make your own with dies! Looking forward to seeing your cards in our gallery this week!

-Carol

Warm Quilty Hugs

The Craft Roulette #202 challenge seemed like it was really going to be a tricky one until I finally stumbled upon an idea using my Concord and 9th Poinsettia Quilt dies. Friday night's Episode (which I missed live, but watched back yesterday) helped a lot to see what ideas the ladies brainstormed for each parameter.

Project: 5" x 7" card

Colors: Formal and Informal

Element: Warm(s)

Random: Crisscross

I am also playing along over at the Inspired by Challenge #IB276 with my quilty card. I purposely used pinks and greens as seen in their graphic.

So I chose to make a flat 5" x 7" card held up by an easel (a die I just got and love) with a quilt-shaped card that opens on top of the flat card. My "formal" is the sparkly white Hugs die cut that looks like an elegant formal gown. The "informal" is the cotton-looking prints of the quilt pattern. A quilt is "warm" and so are hugs. Finally, the "crisscross" comes from the cross-stitch and knit patterned papers.

Products I used:

Concord and 9th: Poinsettia Quilt dies

Pink and Main: Hugs die

Impression Obsession: Easel die

White glitter cardstock

Random patterned papers

I cut a 5" by 7" panel and the easel from heavy white cardstock. I made an A2 card base using lighter weight white cardstock to cut the quilt card because the dies had to cut through the double layer of the closed card base. I cut the hugs die three times, the last being out of the glitter cardstock. Last, I cut the quilt pieces out of some patterned papers I had on hand.

I stacked and glued the three hugs die cuts together to be thicker and more prominent over the patterned papers. I adhered the pink cross-stitch patterned paper to the large white panel. I added the quilt pieces to the quilt card and the hugs on top. Then I adhered the quilt card to the left side of the large white panel. All I had to do was glue the easel onto the back of the white panel to finish up my project!

This card was actually pretty quick easy to make. It took a while in planning to get all of the parameters met. 

Stay warm!

-Carol

Ombré Sea

For our Just Us Girls Challenge #714, Ina has chosen a moodboard by the sea with absolutely gorgeous colors! For your card you can take just the colors, the watercolor effect, the sea-inspired elements, or the feathery textures. Whatever you take from it, tell us about what inspired you. Here is my seaside card using the colors and shells.

Products I used:

Stampin' Up!: By the Seashore stamp set

Ranger: Distress ink pads

Versafine: Onyx black ink pad

Simon Says Stamp: Sequins

I stamped the shells first, then taped off the edges of my panel with Post-it tape. I ink blended an ombré mix of Wilted Violet,  Chipped Sapphire and Peacock Feathers distress inks. I cut a mat with a piece of lavender cardstock and mounted it on my mini slimline card base. Last, I adhered the stamped panel and sequins. Done!

Please join us with the beautiful moodboard!

-Carol

Happy Valentine's Day

So it was about time (today) to make a little bit more masculine Valentine for my husband, and I had one more idea I hadn't yet tried...so here it is. I am sharing it over at The Color Throwdown #780. They are using red, kraft and white.

I cut an A2 white card base and a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" white panel. I ran the panel through my Big Shot with the Picket Fence Pierced Blanket Cover Plate Die to get the diamond pattern. Then I die cut a Simon Says Stamp Wonky heart out of both red cardstock and white swiss dot vellum. Next, I die cut the My Favorite Things Paper Goods envelope, liners and stamp dies. I assembled the card as you see it. He sees every single card I make and surely will appreciate that I made him one. (I gave it to him before I posted this. I told him about making masculine cards and that the patterned papers were men's tie fabric patterns)

Hope you treat yourself along with others today.

-Carol

Love, Santa

Happy Valentines Day! I know this is a Christmas card on February 14th, but it just happened to fall on this day. This month at Christmas Craft Creations our fun theme is Stenciling or Embossing Folders. I came across this adorable card by Leanne West for Hello Bluebird that I CASEd with what I have on hand. I love all of her details, especially the postage dies! For our challenge, I stenciled the background of my "postage stamps" and I happened to use embossed cardstock. (It came that way but we are wanting participants to use an embossing folder. None of my folders fit this envelope die.) Here is what I made.

Products I used:

Waffle Flower: Postage Collage dies and stencils

Mama Elephant: Holiday Bitties stamp set (images on postage)

Honeybee Stamps: Country Christmas Wreath dies (greenery)

Spellbinders: Envelope of Wonder etched dies (envelope and tag)

The Greetery: Destination North Pole stamp set (Love, Santa stamp)

Prismacolor pencils

Wink of Stella pen

Concord and 9th: Mini ink pads

Versafine: Onyx black ink pad

Bearly Arts liquid glue

Blending brushes

Patterned paper

Red glitter cardstock (red berries on greenery)

Rhinestones

To start, I die cut the postage collage. Next, I stamped the images in the individual "postage stamps" and then stamped them again on Post-It notes. I fussy cut each image...the little gift and crossed candy canes being the hardest to cut. I placed these masks on top of the stamped images in the postage. Then I used my postage stencils to lightly ink blend the background behind each image.

I removed the masks and used my colored pencils to color in the images. I added Wink of Stella sparkle to the snow, whipped cream, candy canes and the snowman's hat.

I cut apart the postage into three sets of two, then I die cut the greenery.

I die cut the envelope and assembled it. (First time using it. Had to watch a You Tube video.)

I played with placement, then tucked the greenery and postage inside the envelope with glue. I made a 5" x 7" card base, cut some patterned paper to fit the front and adhered it. I die cut and stamped the tag, then tied some silver sparkly embroidery thread around the envelope.

Then I adhered the completed envelope to the card front. I added just a few rhinestones and was finished!

We can't wait to see your cards using stencils and/or embossing folders! See you in the gallery!

-Carol