Encore Challenge #3: Hero Arts

We all have so many wonderful things for this hobby. Friends and I noticed that some items only get used once. We love them and promise ourselves that we will use it again, but somehow we never get around to it.  So we created the Encore Challenge! 

We go into our stash and select any item, a stamp set, dies, stencils, etc. and show it the love it deserves. We post our creations on or around the 25th of each month. We would love to have anyone interested play along, as often as you like!

This month I circled back to a stamp set with matching dies by Hero Arts.  The products were included in SCT's Crop & Create Delivered virtual card making event back in March of 2021.  The cards are as designed in the class.  I love them so
much that I didn't change a thing.

The stamp set is "Color Layering Hummingbird" and has dies that cut out the flowers and the hummingbird.

The black panel is die cut with "Through the Woods Window Fancy Die" by Hero Arts.

Ink is applied direct to paper using ink cubes on white cardstock:

• Emerald City by Pinkfresh Studio
• Iris by Simon Says Stamp and
• Blue Raspberry by Gina K Designs

Please visit the blogs of the other Encore Challenge participants.  The list and links are provided below:

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Rebekah - istampscrapcraft

Double Duty Featuring Gina K Designs

 

On the 22nd of each month some friends challenge ourselves to create 2 different cards repeating the same image, sentiment, etc on each card.  We have a predetermined list of the stamp company or specific challenge for each month and then...away we go! 

Our pre-selected company for this month's challenge is Gina K Designs.  We all love her products and have a great time creating with them.

I selected the "Petite Geranium" stamp set and used her "Elegant Thoughts" stamps and matching dies.

For this set of cards I used the Masked Ovals stencil  and ink blended the ovals using Gina K Designs inks:

• Jelly Bean Green
• Wild Dandelion
• Sunkissed Coral

The sentiments were stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturn ink and heat embossed with clear powder.

The next set of cards have the geranium stamped with VersaMark ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

The image was watercolored with Gansai Tambi Pearl Colors: May Green and a mixture of Scarlet Red and Pink.

The gold background panel is embossed with an old embossing folder of unknown origin.  I used SCT's Signature gold foil cardstock.

The watercolored black panels were die cut with an oval die and the sentiments were heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

Please drop by the blogs of the other Double Duty members and comment on their work:

Barb

Jeanette

Carol 

Terry

Creative Crew's March Challenge

We have such a fun challenge this month, put together by Jeanette and Barb!  

Barb chose the colors using her color cube.

 

And Jeanette provided the sketch for the layout. 

We did not have to use an image of a dog, just use an image that comes in from the left margin of the card.

What fun!

Here's my card:  

I just HAD to buy this set during Altenew's sale a couple of weeks ago and when I saw the sketch it was a no brainer!  I used a variety of products on this card so they're listed below.

Spellbinders 3 D embossing folder (I'm not able to find the name)

Lisa Horton Metallic Gold ink direct to paper.  Pearl Lustre Metallic Gilding Polish by Creative Expressions, also applied direct to paper.

Image, sentiment and stencils from the "Timeless Tulips" set by Altenew.

 Various inks for the tulips by Gina K Designs, Taylored Expressions and Concord & 9th.

Champagne Gold Sparkle Spots by Trinity Stamps.

Gold cardstock by Scrapbook & Cards Today

Jeanette and Barb, many thanks for such a fun challenge!  I think we should do more of this type!

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out all the cards from the Creative Crew.  Links are provided below.

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Lorraine - SCS Gallery

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Tracie - Crafty Creations by Tracie 

     

Hot Mess = Success with Lunar Paste!

On the 12th of each month we have a challenge amongst friends. Create SOMETHING making a mess SOMEHOW.  LOL  Each of us can define "messy" in our own way, but we must end up with a card. It's a lot of fun!

This month I created with two colors of Simon Hurley's Lunar Pastes: "Triple Berry" and "Slippery When Wet".  I used the "Daisy Mosaic" stencil by Hero Arts.

This is the set of cards made with the Triple Berry Lunar Paste.

The base is embossed with "Stitched Octagons" coverplate by Pinkfresh Studio.

The second set with "Slippery When Wet" Lunar Paste are also assembled with the same coverplate embossing for the base layer.

Here's the starting point with the Daisy panels.

Two 4.25" x 5.5" panels in each color of Lunar Paste.

Just look at that shine!

When dry, the panels were cut using Taylored Expressions' "Happy Half Sheet" layout guides.

The end result are 8 cards from one session of messy creating!  

Sentiments were a mixture of Altenew's One-Go Birthday Greetings and Mod Sentiments by Taylored Expressions.  All of the sentiments were heat embossed with gold powder. 

Thanks for dropping by my blog!  Be sure to visit my Hot Mess friends using the links below.

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Unused No More Featuring Blue Knight Rubber Stamps

We all have stamps, dies, stencils, etc. which are waiting patiently (?) for us to use them for the first time.  Voila! Jeanette and Barb came up with the Unused No More challenge. We will all create with previously unused treasures from our stash and share our creations on the 6th of each month.

This month I chose "Chicadee on Fencepost" by Blue Knight Rubber Stamps.  This and another Blue Knight stamp came into my collection a few years back thanks to Jeanette's excellent work with the company.  She and her cards inspired me to try my hand with their stamps.

The panels were ink blended with Toffee ink on the lower part and Salt Water Taffy for the sky. (inks by Taylored Expressions)  I used a cloud stencil by My Favorite Things for the sky.

The image is stamped with Chocolate Truffle ink, also by Taylored Expressions. 

Here are those in our group who also have blogs.  Please drop by and admire their creations.

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Rebekah - istampscrapcraft

Shelly - My Creative Rumblings

Encore Challenge #2

A group of card making friends participate in a monthly challenge, The Encore Challenge. We all have so many wonderful things for this hobby, and noticed that some only get used once. We love them and promise ourselves that we will use it again, but somehow we never get around to it.  Hence the Encore Challenge! 

We go into our stash and select any item, a stamp set, dies, stencils, etc. and show it the love it deserves! We post our creations on or around the 25th of each month. We would love to have anyone interested play along, as often as you like!

For this month I returned to the materials we received for the Stamp Joy virtual card making event in 2022. Stamp Joy is hosted by Taylored Expressions and we all receive wonderful products to use during the event.

For these cards I used the Floral Flurry Stamp and Stencil set by Taylored
Expressions. The main panels (Strawberry Milkshake by Taylored Expressions) were stamped with Taylored Expressions Sugar Cube ink and embossed with white embossing powder.

Then stencils 2-5 were used to color the panels using the following inks by Taylored Expressions:

• Strawberry Milkshake
• Guava
• Fruit Punch

The panels were trimmed to 3.75"x5" and mounted on Lollipop card stock by Taylored Expressions.  Then they were adhered to a white top folding card base.

Small strips of white card stock were embossed using an old folder by Darcie, then glued to the front panels. Foiled die cut sentiments by Pinkfresh Studios were popped up for dimension.

These cards were mailed out in late January to my mom and 2 others who are dear to me. Nothing like some mailbox love to brighten their day!

Please visit the blogs of the other Encore Challenge participants!  The list and links are provided below:

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Rebekah - istampscrapcraft

 

Double Duty Challenge with Waffle Flower Stamps & Dies

On the 22nd of each month some friends challenge ourselves to create 2 different cards repeating the same image, sentiment, etc on each card.  We have a predetermined list of the stamp company or specific challenge for each month and then...away we go! 

This month we feature Waffle Flower Stamps and Dies.  I decided to use their Duo-tone Butterfly Stencil set and here are my cards: 

The first card has two pink shades ink blended on the yellow card stock. "Lollipop" and "Strawberry Milkshake" inks by Taylored Expressions. 

Then using the second stencil, Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish by Creative Expressions was applied to half of each butterfly.

While the yellow panel was drying, I used both stencils and applied the Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish on blue card stock. Drying time between each stencil is required.

Using the stencils, I lightly blended "Snow Cone" ink (Taylored Expressions) directly to the bottom section of the card front. 

The blue panel was cut diagonally and adhered to the card front.

Both cards have the sentiment mounted on a little panel die cut from Waffle Flower's Blanket Stitch Layers die set.

Please drop by the blogs of the other Double Duty members and comment on their work:

Barb

Jeanette

Carol 

Terry

The Creative Crew are Spunky!

 I'm just a day behind in getting this posted...life happens!

Carol is the host for this month's Creative Crew Challenge and here are her own words:

"Our theme for the month of February is Spunky Older Babes...aka S.O.B (spunky old broads). I think we are a spunky group of ladies.  The month celebrates women who are intelligent, confident, not afraid to speak their mind or reinvent themselves. As we age we don't get as much recognition as we did when we were younger but we are the same if not better. So show us how spunky you are.

The kit contains lady image from Rubbernecker and sentiments from Dylusions clear stamps. The DSP is from The Paper Studio "Pretty as a Poppy". The kits contain different papers from the paper pack as it was a smaller stack."

Here is what I created with Carol's kit 👉 👉:  

This spunky lady is colored with my Olo Markers, and the sentiment was also colored with a marker and then hand cut & mounted on black card stock.

The papers from Carol are so elegant and pretty, that I thought she needed a little glam with her outfit. So a Wink of Stella provided some sparkle to her scarf and leggings.

Please visit the blogs and gallery of the rest of the Creative Crew.  Their links are listed below.  Thanks for stopping by!

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Lorraine - SCS Gallery

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Tracie - Crafty Creations by Tracie 

Hot Mess = Success with a Variety of Products

On the 12th of each month we have a challenge amongst friends. Create SOMETHING making a mess SOMEHOW.  LOL  Each of us can define "messy" in our own way, but we must end up with a card. It's a lot of fun!

I'm cheating just a bit this month by using a panel that I made a few weeks back, but decided not to use.  Here's my card:

The green background panel was created with a stencil by Gina K Designs. I can't find the name of the stencil, it was part of a Let's Stmap Together kit received in May 2024.

"Later Gator" Lunar Paste by Simon Hurley was applied with his applicator tool.  It's very shiny in real life. Hopefully the picture below captures some of the shine.

The panel was trimmed and matted using Gina K Designs Master Layout dies, sets 1 & 2.  

The Happy Birthday sentiment is by Taylored Expressions and is from the "On Occasion" set. It's stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturne pigment ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. 

I really like the easy-to-mail style and the rich background of this card. I think I will be making some more cards with similar products. 

Thanks for dropping by my blog!  Be sure to visit my Hot Mess friends using the links below.

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Unused No More Challenge: Rubbernecker Stamps, Now Brass and Bliss

We all have stamps, dies, stencils, etc. which are waiting patiently (?) for us to use them for the first time.  Voila! Jeanette and Barb came up with the Unused No More challenge. We will all create with previously unused treasures from our stash and share our creations on the 6th of each month.

This month I chose "Watercolor Lotus" from Rubbernecker Stamps, which became Brass and Bliss last spring.

This pretty stamp set was gifted to those of us who attended the No Foolin' Retreat last April.  Barb, our amazing retreat coordinator contacted a number of companies asking for any gifts they could donate to us. 

Rubbernecker Stamps has been over-the-moon with their generosity. They've gifted us many stamp sets the past two years.

I decided to try and do this lovely image justice with watercoloring.

The image was stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Then the images were watercolored with Kuretake's Gansai Tambi Pearl pigments: Pearl Pink #734 and Pearl May Green #751.

Here's a photo where I try to show the soft sheen that these watercolors give the images.

The panels were die cut with "Notched Corner Frames" by PinkFresh Studio and foiled sentiments by PinkFresh Studio were added.  

These cards are completely flat because they will hit the mail early next week to my mom and 2 other women.  I try to send them a little mailbox love each week.

The embellishment sparkle is a new favorite for me. These are completely flat glitter confetti by Trinity Stamps. Loads of sparkle that looks dimensional, yet they are completely flat! 

Here are those in our group who also have blogs.  Please drop by and admire their creations.

Barb - Barb's Inkin' In Retirement

Carol - Lost in My Craft Room

Jeanette - Cre8tive Play

Terry - It's Totally Terry

Rebekah - istampscrapcraft

Shelly - My Creative Rumblings

January Catch Up Cards

Several friends and I enroll in various Virtual Card Making events and classes.  Sometimes we are unable to attend the class when it is live, but fortunately the videos are available to participants to view later. 

One day we were lamenting how behind we were. One thing led to another and the concept of the Catch Up Challenge was created!  On the last day of the month we would post cards made from an event or a kit received in the past. 

This month I went back to an unfinished class from March, 2022 at the Crop & Create Delivered virtual card making event.  One of our favorite designers, Taylor VanBruggen, featured one of her Create-in-Quads stencil sets and taught us how to make 4 cards out of one round of stenciling!

I must admit that I like the cards much more in person than I do in the photographs.  The colors are very pretty together.

The card bases are all Poblano Pepper by Taylored Expressions.

Ink colors all by Taylored Expressions:

• Peapod
• Spearmint
• Poblano Pepper
• Blue Corn

The designs are all from the class. I only deviated one sentiment to make it an appropriate card for sending it to someone  now.

The stamp set was also part of the class and is called "Oh Yes You Did".  The stencil set is Create-In-Quads Hexagon.

I want to try this stencil  set with some of Simon Hurley's Lunar and Solar pastes, and with some metallic inks by Lisa Horton. Stay tuned!

Here are the links for my friends in the Catch Up Club.  Please visit their blogs and admire their work from some past project or class.

Barb's Inkin' to Retirement

It's Totally Terry

Cre8tive Play: It's Cheaper than Therapy