Autumn Teaches Us

Here's another card for the current Color My Heart challenge.

I decided to CASE myself using the second card in this post as my template.

The stamps and dies are from the Autumn Leaves bundle by Stampin' Up! I followed the same smooshing process as this card, but this time I used Distress Oxide inks. My browns were Vintage Photo and Antique Linen. My two colors were Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade. I followed the same process of smooshing and splattering, this time using Gilt Gloss Spray. I also edged each leaf with more Vintage Photo ink to create definition.

My background was sponged in Picked Raspberry and Antique Linen. The background leaves were stamped in Vintage photo and Antique Linen. I thought about adding more of the gilt gloss spray but decided I liked the contrast of leaves with and background without.

The circular die is also Stampin' Up! but is from the Spotlight on Nature set. I originally stamped my sentiment directly to the card, but it was a smidge crooked and my OCD couldn't handle it. I prefer the cleaner look of no circular die, but I wasn't about to throw out all my work when I could save it by using the circular die.

This card is going out to my mom. Hopefully it will reach her before December because mail from here is SLOW lately!

Until next time,

Becca

Hello Brown!

I'm participating in the current Color My Heart challenge which is browns plus any two colors. I chose Limeade and Journey.

My flowers and the small leaf cluster, as well as the "hello," are from My Favorite Things, the large leaf is CTMH, and the background panel was cut with a Stampin' Up! die.

Here are a close up shot of the cluster as well as a process shot of the die cutting.

I smoshed the inks onto my glass mat, spritzed them with water, and dabbed paper into the mess. I then waited for that to dry before splattering more of the ink using a fan brush then splattering white gloss spray over everything before die cutting. As I was working, I was unhappy with the lack of contrast between the flowers and centers, so I swiped Journey ink directly into my already messy paper and die cut two more centers. I ended up glueing three centers together, the darkest on top, on each flower. My sentiment was also cut three times and glued together to give it more oomph. Finally, I accented with white Liquid Pearls.

I always enjoy a challenge, and this one was particularly fun. In fact, I might add a second--maybe even a third--card to this challenge because I have plenty of ideas.

Until next time,

Becca

CTMH Crisp Air meets Color My Heart #663

 I believe I've already mentioned that we have no air conditioning in our home here in Germany. It's one thing I WON'T miss when we return to the states next summer. The temperatures are climbing again, so I'm huddled in my craft room playing with the current Color My Heart challenge. I'm soooo ready for fall, which accounts for why I used a CTMH set with pumpkins.

I love it when other artists change up the colors, like purple pears or blue pumpkins, so I thought I'd give it a go myself. For those of you who are interested, my pumpkin sections were cut from Glacier and sponged with Capri ink. I added lines with a white gel pen which I think adds an artistic touch. My leaves, stem, vines, and sentiment were stamped in Acorn. The gingham paper is super old. The color is Sunflower. I brayered over it with Lemonade ink to meet the color challenge. I used an MFT border set to create the double edge then accented with some twine and enamel dots.

Dear fall, I hope you are inspired to show up soon. I'm not sure how many more 90+ degree days I can take.

Sincerely,

Becca

Gallery Blooms and Beautiful Motifs

It's hot here, and Germany doesn't believe in air conditioning, so I'm holed up in my craft room with a little fan blowing directly on me. I pulled out some die cuts I made a while back, colored them up, and then added them to a card.

I'm having so much fun with the die cuts from the Beautiful Gallery Suite from Stampin' Up! I combined them with more die cuts from Thoughtful Wishes and a sentiment from Wonderful Thoughts that I absolutely love. It says, "You're wonderful. You're loved. You matter." It's one, long sentiment that I cut into bits and used part on the outside and the rest on the inside of the card. 

I also used the Timeworn Type embossing folder and the Textured Notes die cuts. My cardstock is Cloud Cover and my inks are CTMH Mist and New England Ivy. A double bow and some gems finished it off.

I know exactly who this card is going to, but I just sent her another card yesterday so I'm going to hold off mailing it for a few days. I love sending friends notes to tell them how much they meant to me.

Until next time,

Becca

Gallery Blooms Plays Well with Others

I've been stamping for a long time. I need more floral stamp sets like I need a hole in the head...and yet I couldn't resist the new Gallery Blooms and Beautiful Motifs stamps and die cuts that recently released from Stampin' Up! Here are two cards I made today that make me feel better about this "non-essential" purchase.

This card also uses the new Garden and Glass embossing folder plus a frame from the Storybook Friends set. The picture doesn't show it well, but I die cut it in gold.

On this card, I started by ink blending two different Distress Oxide inks: Picked Raspberry and Candied Apple. After sprinkling it with a little water and using a paper towel to lift the water, I cut the panel down to 5 x 3.75 and added my flowers and leaves. The sentiment comes from Country Birdhouse, just like the top card. I did a little "surgery" on the flowers, cutting a cluster of leaves from one place and tucking it behind in another.

Until next time,

Becca

Gallery Blooms meet Freshly Made Sketches.

 Short post this morning as I'm already late getting ready for church. I finished this card last night but didn't have light to take a photo. I'm entering it in the current Freshly Made Sketches card challenge.

I'm having so much fun combining stamped images with die cuts. This uses Stampin' Up! Gallery Blooms, Elements of Text, and Thoughtful Wishes.

Gotta run!

Until next time,

Becca

Combining Challenges with Dragonflies

One of the reasons I started up my blog again was because I really enjoy participating in various challenges. This card uses a hodgepodge of CTMH and Stampin' Up! products for the following challenges: Color My Heart, Freshly Made Sketches, and CAS on Friday

My colors are Sweet Leaf, Flamingo, and Lemonade (CTMH). I cut them into 1.25" x 4.25" strips, layered them onto a thin piece of cardstock (which is how I'm rescuing a bad purchase of cardstock that turned out to be waaaay too flimsy), then ran it through the Garden embossing folder from Stampin' Up! I then sanded it to expose the white core. I ended up trimming of about 1/8th of an inch from the top and bottom because I wanted it to be noticeably smaller than my center section. I adhered this layer directly to my card base. 

The lattice work die cut is called Linked Together and is also from Stampin' Up! I wanted a more substantial frame, so I cut a stitched rectangular frame from a CTMH die set and layered the two together. I added foam tape to the back, including super skinny lines in a few places in the center to keep it from sagging.

The dragonflies are from CTMH. Adhering them together and then to the Linked Together frame was a bit fiddly but worth it.

The final touch was some clear gems from Stampin' Up! Of all their products I used, this is the only one that's no longer available. 

I haven't added a sentiment because I'm restocking my card stash and blank ones are always good to have on hand.

Until next time,

Becca