Friday, April 29, 2016

CAS-ual Fridays April Release Day 5

Hello!  Thank you for stopping by for the final day of the CAS-ual Fridays April Release!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of the new products this week.  Everything will be available for purchase tonight at midnight in the CAS-ual Fridays store!





The final stamp set of the release is called TIN ROOF.  This is the stamp set I used on my day 1 and day 2 cards that I told you I'd show you today.  It's one of my favorite sets of the release!  There's also a new die set called SMILING Fri-Dies which includes 3 word dies, "thanks", "bravo", and "smile".











Rather than using TIN ROOF for a background today I used it to decorate my flowers.  I stamped the smaller pattern flower stamp several times on a piece of watercolor paper using Versa Mark ink and embossed in white, then I used distress inks (Festive Berry, Picked Raspberry, and Orange Marmalade) to watercolor the paper.  After it was dry I used dies from Loving Blooms and Friendly Flowers Fri-Dies to cut my flowers.  The sentiment "you make me" is from PRETTY POSIES.  I cut the word "smile" using SMILING Fri-Dies and added some glossy accents to give my card some shine.  To make the green panel on the bottom I used distress inks (Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron) and my ink blending tool.  I finished my cards with some clear sequins.

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog and leave a comment, there will be a $15.00 prize awarded each day of the release to one random commenter!  The prize winners will be announced tonight at midnight and the new items will be available in the store.  Be sure to use my special code below to get your discount!




Thursday, April 28, 2016

Concord & 9th April Guest Designer Take 3!

Hello!  I'm back for my 3rd and final appearance this month as a guest designer for Concord & 9th (sniff sniff).  It's been such a pleasure getting to use their wonderful products to inspire you (hope I succeeded in that)!  Today I have 2 cards to share with you featuring the Friend Like You Dies, and a bonus card using Flourish.








For this first card I created a wreath using the small flowers in Flourish.  I stamped the flowers using Wplus9 Little Piggy, Bo Peep, Falling Star, and Cockleshell inks.  I also stamped some of the little dots with black.   Next I centered the Friend Like You Die on my card and die cut.  I placed some PTI Plum Pudding card stock underneath the die cut to make the sentiment stand out.  I added a few sequins and some black and white baker's twine to finish my card.






This next card started off as a card that I was going to use for my Flourish appearance, but I dropped an ink pad on it at the bottom so I set it aside.  I really wanted to salvage the stamped piece because I love the vivid, tropical colors, so I ended up revisiting it and cutting the bottom of the floral panel at an angle, and cutting off my mistake :)  I should mention how I originally created the floral portion of the card.  I started by ink blending lots of yellow ink onto a piece of white card stock (honestly I can't remember now which yellow ink I used, oops!)  Then I proceeded to stamp the flowers and leaves over the yellow.  I wasn't sure if the color of the flowers and leaves would be affected/altered by the yellow underneath, but as you can see they weren't.  I used Wplus9 Little Piggy and Gala Red for the flowers, and Last Leaf for the leaves.  The smallest image is stamped with Ocean Drive ink.  I cut the sentiment using the Friend Like You die from some teal card stock.  I cut just the word "friend" from shiny gold card stock and inserted it into the die cut panel.  I also cut one of the bracket dies from Friend Like You with the gold card stock.  I wanted to add some kind of greenery cut from the gold card stock to my card but didn't have any greenery dies from Concord & 9th so I improvised and cut a few of the blooms from the Bouquet Die.  They kind of look like tropical greenery to me.  I hung them upside down from the top of my card and wound some gold thread around them.  I think this card has a really tropical feel to it, don't you?










This last card is the "bonus" card I mentioned above.  I created the watercolor panel when I was creating cards for my Flourish appearance, but I wasn't sure I liked it so I set it aside.  A couple of days ago I decided to finish the card by adding some patterned paper, a sentiment, and some gold thread.  When it was finished I was really pleased with it (funny how that works sometimes!)  To make this card I started with a piece of watercolor paper.  I used a faux watercolor technique where you ink up your stamp with distress ink, then lightly mist with water, then stamp.  It gives a watercolor look and is a good technique to use with sold stamps, which all of the stamps in Flourish are.  I also used some Tumbled Glass distress ink mixed with water to watercolor the background around the branch and flowers.  After the watercolor piece was dry I added some gold touches to a few spots by stamping with Versa Mark ink and embossing in gold.  When I decided to turn my watercolor piece into a card I cut the word "wonderful" from some gold glitter paper using the Wonderful Word Dies, and I stamped the word "you're" from Crazy Awesome in black.

I want to thank Angie and Greg for having me this month,  I enjoyed myself immensely, and I really hope I inspired you to pull out your stamps and inks and CREATE something of your own!  Thank you so much for stopping by, come back soon :)

 

 

CAS-ual Fridays April Release Day 4

So glad you've stopped by for day 4 of the CAS-ual Fridays April release!  What do you think so far?  I hope you're enjoying seeing all of the new products.  There will be a total of 5 new stamp sets and 2 Fri-dies released this week!




Today's stamp set is called BRAVO.  There's also a new die set called SMILING Fri-dies which includes 3 word dies.













To make my card I stamped the words "applause", "3 cheers", and "hooray" on white card stock.  Next I placed the Stars Fri-Dies, nested together, over the sentiment, and cut.  Then I popped up the individual stars with foam tape, raising each level higher than the one below it.  Hopefully the picture above will help you understand my description.  I chose masculine colors because I think this will be a perfect card to give to my son for completing his first year of college and making the dean's list both semesters!

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog and leave a comment, there will be a $15.00 prize awarded each day of the release to one random commenter!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the final day of the release!







Wednesday, April 27, 2016

CAS-ual Fridays April Release Day 3

Hello there, and welcome to day 3 of the CAS-ual Fridays April Release!  There are 5 new stamp sets and 2 new Fri-dies being released this month!






Today's new stamp set is called THANKS.  There's also a new Fri-die set called SMILING Fri-Dies that includes 3 word dies.







I used the PRETTY POSIES stamp set that was shown on Monday to stamp my card base (PTI Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, and Hawaiian Shores inks).  The tiniest flower on the background is from the Sassy Smiles stamp set.  I cut the word "thanks" from the stamped panel using a die from SMILING Fri-Dies.  I stamped the word "many" on black card stock and embossed in white.  I added a bit of black twine at the top to finish my card.  I love colorful cards, especially with flowers, with a nice bold black sentiment.  This card was quick and easy to make but it has a big impact.

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog and leave a comment, there will be a $15.00 prize awarded each day of the release to one random commenter!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see another wonderful new stamp set!





Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Essentials by Ellen APRIL Pin-Sights Challenge

Hello there!  I decided to take a break from my design team projects and make a card for the Essentials by Ellen APRIL Pin-Sights Challenge.  I couldn't resist the gorgeous color palette of this beautiful board!!




I love these fresh, Spring colors.  I would normally do a floral card with colors like this, but I've been making a lot of floral cards lately and wanted to switch things up, so I decided to use the Oh Frappe by Julie stamp set today.  This is my first time inking it up and I have to say I LOVE these images and sentiments so much!





First I cut an A2 size piece of white card stock using the zig zag border die from SugarPea Designs.  Next I stamped then colored the frappe cups with Copic markers (RV09, Y11, V12, and CO and C3 for the greys).  To make the strip of coffee bean paper I used PTI Hawaiian Shores to stamp a wood pattern on white card stock and then stamped the beans on top.  I love making my own patterned paper, there are so many choices for patterns and you can get the exact colors you want.  I stamped the sentiment, tied some black string around the beans, and added some black sequins to finish my card.  This was quick and easy to make :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


CAS-ual Fridays April Release Day 2

So glad you stopped back for day 2 of the CAS-ual Fridays April release!  Five new stamps sets and two new Fri-dies are being released this week, and they're all fabulous! 



Today's new stamp set is called DREAM THEN DO.  I love the inspirational, encouraging sentiments in this set!







I used a new stamp set that's being released on Friday to make my black panel, stamping the image with Versa Mark ink and embossing in white.  I stamped the sentiment on my tag (cut with Scallop Tag Fri-Dies), using a variety of ink colors.  This technique was easy to do with this particular stamp because the lines are straight making them easy to mask.  I added some plaid ribbon to my tag and some tiny 4mm sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to the flowers on the black background.  I really love how this turned out, especially the colorful sentiment!

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog and leave a comment, there will be a $15.00 prize awarded each day of the release to one random commenter!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see another wonderful new stamp set!




Monday, April 25, 2016

The Challenge #70

Hello everyone, how are you?  I'm happy to be sharing my card today for a new masculine inspiration photo at The Challenge!












To make this card I started by cutting out a bunch of planes from Reverse Confetti's Here We Go Confetti Cuts from shiny silver card stock.  When I was a girl we lived near a small, local airport and every summer the Blue Angels would come to perform.  I arranged the planes to make them look like they are flying in formation as an homage to that :)  Next I cut a piece of light gray card stock slightly wider than the silver piece and used a die from Edge Essentials Confetti Cuts to cut the holes on each side.  The word "dad" was cut from black card stock using Tie-Rific Confetti Cuts.  I cut the flag banner from Tag Me Confetti Cuts and stamped the sentiment from Tie-Rific on it.  This card was fun to make, but difficult to photograph because of the shine.  I really wanted to use the silver and black from the inspiration photo, along with the plane, and I'm very happy with how this turned out!

You don't have to go with a plane theme for this challenge, you'll be amazed with the creative cards the design team girls came up with so be sure to visit Lesley's blog and be inspired!

















CAS-ual Fridays April Release Day 1

Hello there!  I'm SO very excited to to be sharing cards all week for the CAS-ual Friday April release!  There are 5 new stamp sets and 2 new Fri-days being released and I know you're going to love them!




Today's new stamp set is called PRETTY POSIES, and there are matching POSIES Fri-Dies.  I love these doodle style flowers and the sweet sentiments in the set!










I started this card by making the background (that was stamped with an awesome new stamp set that will be shown on Friday).  After stamping the background with Versamark ink on white card stock and embossing in white, I did some ink blending using 3 PTI inks, Tropical Teal, Hawaiian Shores, and Aqua Mist.  To make my flowers and leaves I stamped them on white card stock using Versamark ink and embossed them in white and again colored them with PTI inks and my ink blending tool (Berry Sorbet and Summer Sunrise for the flowers and Tropical Teal for the leaves).  I die cut them with the coordinating Fri-dies and arranged them on the tags which were cut from Tag Buddies Fri-Dies.  The sentiment is from PRETTY POSIES, I stamped it on black card stock and embossed it in white.  I happened to have the black ribbon with the little white flowers on it in my stash and I thought it was perfect for my card. 

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog and leave a comment, there will be a $15.00 prize awarded each day of the release to one random commenter!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see another fabulous new stamp set!





Thursday, April 21, 2016

Concord & 9th April Guest Designer Take 2

Hello there!  I'm back for my second post as a guest designer for Concord & 9th.  This time I'm using the wonderful new stamp set Crazy Awesome.  I have 2 very different cards to show you today!








My first card uses the large circular stamp image, which I stamped on black card stock and embossed with white embossing powder.  I chose the word "creative" to stamp on the banner, and I also embossed the little scissors in gold.  I certainly know plenty of "crazy creative" people I could send this card to :)  Next I fussy cut the image, including cutting the inner parts out.  I wanted as much of my background as possible to show through.  To make the background I used several different ink sprays in one of my favorite color combos, red/pink, orange and yellow.  I die cut the bottom of the panel using Concord & 9th's Bag's & Tags Dies.  I still have the 2 long dies (pinking edge and scallop edge) attached, so I decided to add the scallop edge piece to my card below the pinked edge, leaving a tiny bit of space between them.  To finish my card I added the word "you're" (also from Crazy Awesome), along with some gold and clear sequins. 






I wanted to use the large words from the stamp set to create a background and this is what I came up with.  I stamped the words "adorable" "kind" "creative" and "awesome" at an angle using Wplus9 inks.  These word were very easy to stamp and line up straight!  I cut the bottom of the card at an angle and added a black scallop edge.  I stamped the sentiment "you're just my type" on a black circle which I cut using the circle die from Bags & Tags, and embossed in white.  I finished my card with a few pink enamel dots and some black twine.

As you can see, Crazy Awesome is crazy versatile!

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I'll be back next week for my last quest spot with Concord & 9th, hope you'll join me then :)

Monday, April 18, 2016

The Challenge #69

Hello and happy Monday, folks!  So glad you stopped by today!  We have a new inspiration challenge for you today at The Challenge.




I don't know about you, but I LOVE me a rainbow, so I was excited to create a card based on this beautiful inspiration photo!





I used the Heart Board Fri-Dies from CAS-ual Friday stamps to cut my hearts in a rainbow of colors.  I interlinked some of the hearts, and popped a couple of them up with foam tape.  For the sentiment I used both Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script stamp set (to stamp the word "mom" in pink), and CAS-ual Friday's Hope Ribbon stamp set to stamp "you are loved" in black over top of "mom".  I added a few black sequins and a strip of patterned paper (from Stampin Up), to finish the card.

The design team has created some stunning cards this week, please be sure to hop over to Lesley's blog to take a look.  Hope you'll play along with us!


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Reverse Confetti SFYTT #35



Hello, friends!  We're about half way through the month but there's still plenty of time to play along with the Reverse Confetti Sketch For You To Try Challenge.  The winner of the challenge will receive a $20.00 gift certificate to the Reverse Confetti store!








I really love the new TIE-RIFIC stamps and TIE-RIFIC Confetti Cuts and decided to make another card for Father's Day.   I also used HAPPY PRETTY PANELS Confetti Cuts and WHOLE LOTTA HAPPY stamps, they work wonderfully with TIE-RIFIC!  The stars were cut from Kraft card stock using OH MY STARS Confetti Cuts.  The patterned paper is from Stampin Up, I love the masculine colors and thought they would work perfectly for my card :)


Here are the Reverse Confetti products I used on my card today: