Sunday, May 22, 2016

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge 10 Take Two

I'm over at the Stamping Smiles Designs' Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge blog today sharing another card I made inspired by Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #10.  I made it for my sweet niece who just starred in her school play.  It's just a little something to let her know how much I wished I could have been there and how proud I am of her.  You can go here to see my post. :)

Friday, May 20, 2016

Super Simple Card Set (CASometry Challenge Stage 2)

I have a super simple card set to share today that I made for CASometry Challenge 2. Make five: Stage 2.  I am still so excited about this challenge and am loving getting multiple uses out of the set I chose--Flourish by Concord and 9th.  I was really short on time (when am I not?!), so I went the easy route this time and used the set as intended to make a one layer card.  These are so simple, but amazingly it takes stamping 29 different times to make each one.  Thankfully, using a MISTI really sped up the process.
I only used one ink on each card (not including the black sentiment)...remember what I said about being super simple?  Well, I guess that isn't entirely true.  The purple was a darker ink than the others, so I used purple for the bottom layers and for the top layers I used white ink (purposely choosing my white ink that doesn't stamp as bright of a white).  I'm super happy with how it turned out. (Thanks, Tracie, for giving me the idea to do this!)
I made two of each color for the set, and added Wink of Stella to half of them.  The shimmer didn't show up at all in the photos, but looks so so pretty in real life.  It definitely adds a fun touch.  When I brought the cards to my mom, I noticed in the the dimly lit room you could (ironically) actually see some of the shimmer, so I snapped a really quick photo before I left the cards with her. 
I leave you with one last shot of them, each in their own monochromatic simplicity.  Hope this weekend is wonderful one for you!  So glad you stopped by today. : )

Monday, May 16, 2016

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #10

Hello!  Welcome to another Stamping Smiles Designs' Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge post.   Challenge #10 starts today, and I chose to work with the middle column: fade in/fade out effect, ombre, and texture.  
It's funny that although this card has an overall "bold" feel, it is compiled of several subtle details....the slight ombre-ish fading in and out of color, the textured die cut, the clear embossed leaves behind "you".  
I started making this card a few weeks ago and got stuck, so I put it away.  When I pulled it out again, I was still at a loss until I decided who I was going to make it for....and then things just fell into place. Not only did knowing the intended recipient help me finish my card, but I always love my cards more when they are made for someone specific.  That's probably because I think of that person while I'm creating it, which makes me happy. :) I also love that I was able to use a little masking with the sentiment to create something that I actually do say. :) Well, that's it for me today.  Make sure you join us for Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #10.  You can see all the challenge details and my wonderful teammates cards here.  I had so much fun visiting all the entries last challenge.  I can't wait to see how this challenge inspires you.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Pencil Thanks

I had a little bit of time to make a card today.  Yay!  Crafting during daylight hours is a rare treat for me, and I must say, I loved having the sun shine through the windows while making this card.  Would you believe this is a stamp-less card?!  I was inspired by Papertrey's Make It Monday #248: Ink Blending Through Die Cut Masks.  Lizzie suggested using simple geometric shapes, but I need teacher thank you cards, so I used PTI's Pencil Me In dies for my masks.  I don't own the coordinating stamp set, but I bought the dies because I knew I could paper piece the pencil.  But I might just blend ink every time because I really love the subtle differences in color and how the technique naturally kind of highlights one side.  I used several inks on this card: berry sorbet, kraft, and harvest gold from PTI and fog, smoke and slate from Simon Says Stamp.  The colors seemed like the perfect slightly softer pencil combo to me.  I finished my card with a little ombre treatment on a layered Wet Paint die cut, some twine, and a few Pretty Pink Posh sequins.  Sorry to bore you with the details of this card, but I know I'll want to revisit this one and my memory is terrible these days, so I figured I better write it down. :) Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you all are having a terrific weekend!

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Hello (and yay for CASometry)

Hello!  While out and about in blogland, I happened upon a new challenge hosted Anna Kossakovskaya, one of my favorite card makers. (She is amazing!) It is called CASometry Challenge 2. Make 5 and the idea behind it is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.  There are five stages to the challenge, and you have to make a CAS card for each stage using the same stamp set.  Lately I've been feeling like I'm constantly enticed to buy the latest thing, but that I'm not really using the stamps I own like I should or that I'm not really reaching the creative potential each set has to offer.  I love that Anna creative a challenge for something I've already been wanting to do! :) 
And as always, I was short on time, so I pulled inspiration from a couple other challenges to help me out: Simon Says: Flowers (which helped me choose the stamp set I'll be using for the CASometry Challenge - Flourish by Concord and 9th) and CAS(E) this Sketch #171 for the layout.  
Sadly it was a dark day for photos (lots of thunderstorms here), but I was so happy to have a few seconds to make a card and especially for challenges that I'm really excited about that I'm looking past the darkness of the photos...I hope you can, too. ;)  Hope this week is a wonderful one for you!


Sunday, May 1, 2016

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #9

Good morning!  Though I cannot believe May is already here (I feel like I say that every month), I am excited to share my card for the latest Stamping Smiles Design's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge, which starts today.  For this challenge, I chose the middle row: birthday, sponging, and white space.  
With some of these challenges I've really tried to branch out, but this time I stuck to my comfort zone.  I die cut the Papertrey's beautiful Garden Gild cover plate die in white and trimmed out just the larger floral section.  Then I pulled out a variety of inks and sponged the colors onto the die cut.  Truthfully, this took a lot longer than I thought it would, and you could easily achieve the same look by coloring with markers, but if you are like me and don't have Copics, this is a good alternative to add some color.
I felt like the card still needed a little something and while pondering what to do, I remembered that I purchased (finally!) a Wink of Stella brush a few months ago.  I've never used it...hence the bit of pooled glitter on some of the light peach flowers (oops!), but I have to say...the shimmer it creates is gorgeous in real life!  And it is also impossible to capture in photos as I have so often seen other crafters lament.
I added glitter to just a few areas (light peach flowers, white leaves, and centers of the dark coral flowers), and I just love it.  Thanks so much for taking a look at my card today.  I really enjoyed this challenge board and am excited to see the variety of projects it inspires.  You can head over to Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge 9 for all the details.  Hope to see you there! 

PS I'm also linking this card up to the Simon Says: Anything Goes Challenge