Creative Crew Challenge: "Thanks Snow Much"!

 Yay! It's the 15th and posting day for the Creative Crew!  

Terry hosted this month and her pick is "Bear Hugs" by Taylored Expressions. She also included sentiments from the "Beary Much Love" set also by Taylored Expressions.

Terry's papers were really pretty, so I headed over to the layout sketches on Split Coast to find something that would use all of them.

The image is colored with Olo Markers. I like that I could center the star between the bears kissing on the image panel!

The only thing used from my stash is some Cherry Pop card stock by Taylored Expressions.  Super cute kit, Terry!  Thank you!

Here are the links to the other Creative Crew members blogs and galleries. Be sure to visit and admire their creations.

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 Challenge

Each month on the 12th a group of friends challenge ourselves to get messy with our creative process.  The type of mess, and our individual definition of messy is wide open.  All that matters is that at the end of the mess we end up with a card created! 

I broke out Simon Hurley's kit from last September's Crop & Create Delivered virtual card making event for this challenge. I really love the cards!

Kit contents:

• An exclusive stamp and die set of penguins and sentiments (no name supplied)
• Spiral Star layering stencil
• Confetti Strip rubber stamp
• Frostbite and Clear Skies Astro Pastes by Simon Hurley (love these!)

These penguins are so adorable. I've already mailed the cards and made several more! 

This card features the layering stencil. The first layer has purple ink (I used Concord Grape by Taylored Expressions) applied with a blending brush.

The 2nd layer has the Clear Skies Astro Paste applied with a palette knife.  

While the panel dried the penguin was water colored by pressing out some ink from the pad, adding a drop or two of water and using a small brush.  I also added some sparkle to his earmuffs and scarf using Wink of Stella.

The sentiment is part of the stamp set. It was heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Both the image and the sentiment were then die cut with the dies included in the kit.

Here's a close up of the second card which features an ink blended white panel.  

It's stamped and embossed with white embossing powder using the Confetti Strip rubber stamp.  Then blue and purple inks are blended onto the panel.

Using clean sections of paper towels any ink on the surface of the embossed confetti rubs off.

The penguin was watercolored in a similar manner as the first card and Wink of Stella was applied to his balloon, hat & scarf.

The last card was really fun!

A white panel was ink blended with a gradient of colors then heat set to thoroughly dry the panel.

Then Frostbite Astro Paste was applied to both layers of the Spiral Star stencils.

A hand cut hill using white card stock has Frostbite Astro Paste applied in a thick layer. Using my fingers I created little peaks and valleys to resemble a snowy hill. This took quite a while to dry since I had such a thick layer.

The penguin was watercolored using the inks for the panel and Wink of Stella sparkled up his hat and scarf.

All of these have already been mailed out.  I especially like how flat they are for mailing yet have a lot of dimension from the Astro Pastes.  I can tell that I'll be making more of all of these for January birthdays and random kindness cards.

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

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Double Duty Challenge with Concord and 9th

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 Concord & 9th.  I went with "Pop Up Par-Tay" stamps, dies and stencil.  Using Cloud 9 Metallic Pigment Inks by Lisa Horton Crafts, I ended up with these!

Starting with two 6x6 panels one in purple and one in blue, the metallic inks were sponged onto the panels.

The blue panel has silver and gold metallic inks.

The background panel is embossed with the Diamond Cover Plate die that was included in the Jolly Holiday virtual card making event by Scrapbook and Cards Today.

The balloon die is part of the Concord & 9th Par-Tay set and the sentiment and balloon strings are from that stamp set.

The purple panel used silver, gold and copper pot inks, which are all by Lisa Horton Crafts. 

The same stamp set is used here. It's white embossed onto one balloon and  the sentiment banner.  The same cover plate from the first card is used to emboss the background panel.

Here's what direct-to-paper with the gold and silver metallic ink pads looks like:

You can see how solid and opaque the coverage is!

The sentiments and balloons were die cut from this.

Stamping the sentiment on top of the metallic inks required repeated impressions. Not a problem with a MISTI tool.

Another bonus to these cards is that they can be mailed easily. They're very flat. However the extra shine really makes them stand out.

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

Barb

Jeanette

Carol 

Creative Crew Challenge with Newtons Nook!

Yay! It's the 15th and posting day for the Creative Crew!  

Tracie hosted this month and chose "Sips and Stories" by Newton's Nook. She chose this image because November has National Animal Shelter Appreciation week and also I Love to Write Day on the 15th.

Here's my card. 

The image is colored with OLO markers.

Designer papers from Tracie include "Lovely" by Close to my Heart.

The I love Books die cut is by Newton's Nook Bookmark die set.

I added some heart and star embellishments from my stash.

Tracie asked us to share a good book we are reading or have read recently.  At this time I am making slow progress on "Revelations of Divine Love" by Julian of Norwich. I'm studying the version that was modernized slightly when published in 1934.  

It is the account of visits to an Ankress (or recluse) named Julian or Juliana who lived in a cell attached to the Church of St. Julian at Norwich. Her revelations occurred in May of 1373 at an estimated age of 30, and were shared when she was approximately 70 years old.  It is a fascinating study for me. 

Hot Mess = Success: Lift Technique with Alcohol Inks

Each month on the 12th a group of friends challenge ourselves to get messy with our creative process.  The type of mess, and our individual definition of messy is wide open.  All that matters is that at the end of the mess we end up with a card created!

I haven't played around with alcohol inks on Yupo paper so decided to give it a go.  This is my first set of cards:

This represents a panel that I wanted to throw away. The inks did not blend the way I wanted and adding rubbing alcohol to help them blend seemed to make things worse.

I set it aside to dry and started again with a different set of colors. Here is my second set of cards:

Both cards feature the "Lift Technique".  Using a stamp with a large, bold design, and starting with the blended Yupo panel, the stamp is inked with the Lift ink pad. 

Stamp firmly down onto the blended panel. Then quickly stamp it onto the blank white card stock panel. A MISTI or other stamp position tool really helps!

Then take a clean paper towel and carefully blot the Yupo panel. Be careful to always fold the paper towel so that a clean section is used each time you move around the panel. The image then appears, just like magic! When no more shine from the lift ink remains you are now finished with that panel.

By now my first attempt at blending inks onto a Yupo panel was dry.  I thought that since I was going to toss it in the trash, why not give the lift technique a try on that one. I turned out better than I expected. 

The stamp used is "Inked Florals" by Unity Stamp Company. 

Be sure to visit the Hot Mess Team and see what Hot Mess they have for this month.  Here are their links:

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Catch Up Challenge

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. 

I was unable to create along with September's Crop & Create Delivered card making event sponsored by Scrapbook and Cards Today.  It is a favorite event for all of us.

I chose to make the cards from the Hero Arts class which was taught by Channin Pelletier.  

We used the "Happy Fall Leaves" bundle of stamps and dies and the "Circular Grid" stencil, which are all by Hero Arts.

I varied my cards a tiny bit from the class but they are 95% true to the class design.

I'm happy to have an assortment of Fall themed cards for mailing out in the coming weeks. That''s what led me to choose the Hero Arts class as my Catch Up for October.

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

Double Duty Cards Featuring Pinkfresh Studios

I am a day late in posting this, but on the 22nd of each month a group of us challenge ourselves to create 2 different cards using the same set, 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!

Stamps by Pinkfresh Studios (one of our favorite companies!) were selected for this month's challenge. I decided to a set that we received from one of their virtual events,  "Pure Joy" stamps, stencils and dies.  A personal favorite of mine.

Here are the two cards that I made. 

This card was watercolored with Yasutomo pearlescent paints on a bright blue card stock. I do not know the origin of the card stock, but it's been in my stash a long time.

The border features a die from the "Rounded and Braided Rectangles" set by Pinkfresh Studios.

The images and sentiment are gold embossed. Then the images were  painted free hand.  Everything is popped up for dimension.  A sheet of glossy gold card stock is layered on the reverse side of the front panel.

The second card is ink blended using the stencils and a combination of inks from Taylored Expressions and Gina K Designs. A light amount of pink ink was blended onto the front panel of the card, and the sentiment is stamped directly onto the panel.

A layer of pink card stock is mounted inside the card, onto the back panel so that when the card is closed the pink shows through the die cut border.

Repeated on each card are the die cut images, the border dies, the round layout of the images, and the sentiments from the same stamp set.

I have to revisit this set again and experiment with the images and sentiments in a layout that isn't circular. That could be fun.

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

Barb

Jeanette

Carol 

Creative Crew: Brutus Monroe's "Gingerbread House-Peppermint Lane"

Here we are, the 15th of the month and time for another round of the Creative Crew Challenge!  

Our hostess this month is Lovely Lorraine and she gave us the adorable Ginger Bread Houses by Brutus Monroe:

Papers: Lily White Sugar Coated by Doodlebug Designs and the blue & white star paper from "Let's Go Camping" by Echo Park.

Images are colored with Olo Markers and Pops of Color "Snowflake" was used along the roof line and on top of the chimney.

I hand cut the Sugar Coated card stock into hills, glued the back layer flat and used thick foam tape to give some dimension to the front hillside. The gingerbread houses were then attached, using glue and foam tape, as needed for the dimension.

The inside features the other designer papers from Lorraine: "Homemade Holidays-Sweets" by Colorplay.

The sentiment is by Darcie's and is ink blended with Cherry Pop ink by Taylored Expressions.  It's mounted on top of the reverse side of the paper from Colorplay.

Thank you, Lorraine for a fantastic set of papers and images!! This was such a treat to work with!  

Here are the links to the other Creative Crew members blogs and galleries. Be sure to visit and admire their creations.

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 

October's Hot Mess = Success

Back to my Astro Pastes by Simon Hurley! I never cared for working with glitter until this medium came along. They are so fun!

This card is a black base with Hero Art's "Swirl" stencil and three colors of Astro Paste applied with the wide spatula tool. Colors used are Later Gator, Bee Sting and Slippery When Wet.

Excess pastes were applied to a scrap of black card stock and the "Be Kind" sentiment was die cut from that. It's glued to a black shadow piece and popped up with foam onto the center of the panel.  The Be Kind die set is by Altenew.

The whole panel is foam mounted onto a white card base.

Just look at that texture and shine! What still amazes me is how the glitter stays put. You can't rub it off, zero shedding!

"Be Kind" and visit the Hot Mess Team and admire their creations!  Here are their links:

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Double Duty Cards Featuring Gina K Designs

On the 22nd of each month a group of us 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!

Stamps by Gina K Designs (one of our favorite companies!) were selected for this month's challenge. I decided to crack open my unused 2022 kit,  "Joyful Holiday" stamps and dies.  It was definitely time to let it see some ink.

Here are the two cards that I made. 

Both were made with the "Playful Penguins" stamp set and dies included in the kit.

This card also used the star stamp from the "Star Struck" set which is part of the kit.

The white panel was blended with "Confetti Cake" ink by Taylored Expressions and the stars were gold embossed.  The images were colored with Olo Markers.

The second card is made with images that are all in the "Playful Penguins" set.  The panel and base of the card was ink blended using "Strawberry Milkshake" ink by Taylored Expressions.  

There certainly is a lot of product in this kit. I should get a jump start on making Christmas and winter greeting cards using it.

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

Barb

Jeanette

Carol 

Creative Crew Featuring Newton's Nook

Barb is our hostess this month and she sent us adorable images from the "Happy Howl-oween" set by Newton's Nook.

Her kit also included designer papers by Echo Park Paper and Around the Block.  They all were so cute that I found a way to use all of them.

The sentiment and image has been colored with Olo Markers. Stickles added bling to the pumpkin costume, hat and corners of the sentiment square.

The cute candy corn ribbon completed the whole look.

A big shout out to Barb for such a cute kit!   Here are the links to the other Creative Crew members blogs and galleries. Be sure to visit and admire their creations.

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

September Hot Mess = Success

On the 12th of each month a group of friends challenge ourselves to get messy.  It doesn't matter how we define messy, or what we create.  As long as the process meets our definition of messy!

Lately I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with Lunar, Solar and Astro Pastes by Simon Hurley.  So this month, I set out to use some Solar Pastes with a stencil and see if I could get a jump on my Christmas cards.

These are the two cards that I came up with.

Both card stocks are from a pack of my favorites for holiday cards.  It's by Recollections and is at least 15 years old.  Unfortunately I don't know the name of the pack, but it has this beautiful plum color, an evergreen color, the dark blue and a beautiful Christmas red in the pack.

This card was made with the Cross My Heart color of Solar Paste, applied with a foam dauber tool.

This card was created by sponging on Golden Hour and Beluga Solar Pastes.

Both card bases were edged with matching Solar Paste to accent the panel.  Both panels are popped up with foam.

The stencil is called "Graceful Snowflake" by Gina K Designs.  The sentiment strips and die are also by Gina K Designs and all of these were part of her kit in the October, 2022 Crop & Create Delivered virtual event held by Scrapbook and Cards Today.

I used my finger and rubbed the Solar Paste onto a scrap of card stock as shown here.  When it was dry, which only took about 5 minutes, I die cut the "holidays" sentiment for the card front.

I think that the next time I try this technique, I'll do something different for the die cut sentiment so that it has more contrast. It sort of fades into the base of the cards in these versions.

Lessons learned: 

• Don't try this type of stencil with a regular scraping or spatula tool that you can use with these pastes.  
• Be careful not to overload the dauber with the paste. With this stencil it was easy to get the paste squished underneath the designs.
• Wash out your foam topper on the dauber right away so it's good to go for other cards.

Stop by the Hot Mess Team and admire their creations!  Here are their links:

Jeanette

Barb

Terry

Carol

Catch Up Cards with Spellbinders

It's the last day of the month, and time for some Catch Up cards. A few of us  dedicated the last day of the month as our Catch Up day.  We pick any unfinished kit, event, class, etc from the past and complete it, posting our project on the last day of the month. I decided to dive into the most recent Let's Stamp Together kit.  The live class was held back in July, and the featured company was Spellbinders.  

Here are the cards from the class:

These cards are designed by Spellbinders.

The Stencils, stamps and dies are by Spellbinders and are called Jump for Joy.

The first card caught me off guard since it didn't use any of the die cutting homework and the colors were not noted anywhere (unless I missed it).  Good thing there's a pause button on the replay!

The instructions were to use modeling paste and glitter for the flower, Lily pad and swirls on the pond.

I opted for 2 colors of Astro Paste by Simon Hurley: Frostbite and Tropical Tango. I applied with a spatula over the stencil.  After cleaning up the stencil and spatula, a heat gun was used to speed up drying time. 

Blending brushes were used to color the leaves and flowers. The second stencil was used to add the background leaves and cat tails.

I painted on some light blue stickles for the pond water.

The next two cards used the die cuts from our homework.

This card has a blended cloud background created by using one of the dies in the kit and making a mask.

The gold cardstock on the bottom was free hand cut.  Each sunflower, leaves and the frog have light ink blending for some added shade.

The second card used the die to cut the top of both the front and back panels of the card base.  The sentiments were curved to fit the scallops.

There's a stamp in the kit for clouds, but since my mask from the second card already had blue on it I decided to cut it into cloud shapes and use that.

The grassy hill is ink blended, again using a piece cut with the die to create a mask.

I really like the mushrooms, cone flowers and frogs in this kit. I admit, when I saw all of the die cutting and piecing together, I almost quit. For me, that is intimidating. But now I'm glad that I stuck with it. 

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