Category Archives: Challenges

A Love Deeper Than Chocolate

  • Stamps – The Cat’s Pajamas – “Just Let it Happen”
  • Dies –
    • The Cat’s Pajamas – “Scalloped Duo Dies”
    • Spellbinders Nestabilities – “Blossom Three”
  • Patterned paper – Pink & Main “My Heart” 6 X 6″ paper pad
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Not-a-Hide paper
  • Ribbon

It is hard not to like this cat–especially as it ties into the chocolates. I colored the kitty with Copic markers and layered it up with some dies. I added some happy patterned paper on the card base for added cheer. Happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks for visiting today.

Challenges:

Papercraft Challenges Challenge #5 – Sweet for My Sweet

SUYP Cats Only Challenge #27 – Furrything Goes/Love

TCP Tuesday Challenge #343 – Feature Animals

 

 

 


Poochie Goes Postal

  • Stamps –
    • The Cat’s Pajamas “Just Let it Happen”
    • Lawn Fawn “Conversation Hearts Add-on”
  • Dies –
    • Spellbinders Nestabilities “Fleur de Lis Rectangles
    • Mama Elephant “Heart Border”
  • Patterned papers – “Little one” KaiserCraft 6-1/2″ paper pad
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • White embossing powder
  • Copic markers

This is a fun card I made with a Valentine set I’ve had in my stash for a while, but I’d never used this particular stamp before! I colored the image with Copics and layered it with some patterned papers I also pulled out. I heat-embossed the sentiment in white on black cardstock and layered it all up. Thanks for visiting today.

Challenges:

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #339 – He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

The Cat’s Pajamas TCP Challenge #343 – Animals


You rule!

  • Stamps – Lawn Fawn “Elphie Selfie” and “Wild for You” sets
  • Dies – Lawn Fawn “Elphie Selfie” set
  • Patterned papers – My Mind’s Eye “Happy Day”
  • Cardstock – Bazzill Bling
  • Distress ink – Stormy Sky (for edging)
  • Ribbon

I created this card for a challenge a small group of cardmaking friends had recently to “put a bird on it.”  You know, when in doubt, put a bird on it. So it was fun to put this together and color the animals and their accessories with Copic markers and stack them. I’m trying to use up some of my patterned paper in my stash (not so successfully because there is a lot of it, but its all so pretty!). I liked this simple card sketch from Sketch Saturday challenge blog, and it was a perfect design for this card. Thanks for stopping by.

Challenge: Sketch Saturday Challenge #497


Happiness in 2018

  • Stamp – Inky Antics “New Year Cheer”
  • Die – My Favorite Things “Pierced Rectangles”
  • Distress Oxide Inks – Ranger – Abandoned Coral, Fossilized Amber, and Spiced Marmalade
  • Patterned paper – Authentique “Bountiful”
  • Sequins
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Embossing powder – Lawn Fawn – gold

I created this card using a variety of items I’ve accumulated, both old and new. I’m challenging myself to use (and hopefully use-up!) things in my stash. I always make a few New Year’s cards to send to people who I didn’t quite get Christmas cards mailed to in time. I created the background for this one by combining three different Distress Oxide inks. I really like the calligraphic Inky Antics stamp and embossing it in gold seemed appropriate for New Year’s. I added a few sequins for a bit more sparkle. Thanks for visiting.

Challenges:

Paperminutes Challenge #519 Happy New Year

Papercraft Challenges #2 Happy New Year


White on White Snowflakes

  • Dies –
    • Simon Says Stamp – Merry Christmas, Abby Snowflake, and Melody Snoflake
    • Impression Obsession – Snowflakes Die Set
  • Sequins – Simon Says Stamp – Moonshine
  • Ink – Ranger Ink Distress ink – Tumbled Glass
  • Cardstock – Neenah Solar White
  • Zig Wink of Stella clear brush pen

I created this simple, almost completely white card for a wintery Christmas card. I die cut snowflakes and the sentiment from white cardstock, cutting two of each and layering each pair together so the dimension would make them stand up and out on the white background a little more clearly. I edged the card front with light blue ink and mounted it on a white card base. I applied clear sparkly ink to the snowflakes with the Wink of Stella pen and added some iridescent clear sequins to accentuate the wintery look. Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – “Snow White”

Simon Says Stamp Flickr Group Challenge #84 – “Happy Holidays”

 


Finders Keepers

  • Dies –
    • Little B “Circles”
    • Spellbinders “Standard Circles Large”
  • Stamps –
    • Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection, “Falling Leaves”
    • Hero Arts “Branch Background”
    • Hero Arts/Basic Grey “Dotted Grid”
  • Embossing powders – Ranger Ink Wendy Vecchi – Red Geranium, Sunflower, and Forget-Me-Not; Ranger – Lime Green and White
  • Cheesecloth
  • Tea bag paper
  • Sticker  – Tim Holtz Idea-ology “Small Talk”
  • Ticket – Tim Holtz Idea-ology “Expedition” Ephemera pack
  • Inks – Tsukineko VersaMark watermark ink and Ranger Distress and Archival inks
  • Sequins – Neat & Tangled “Festive Fall Sequin Mix”
  • Flower – Prima
  • Twine – from the kitchen drawer

I’m kind of thinking I should rename my blog “Lots o’ Layers,” based on some of my projects! I certainly get caught up in enjoying the process and never am very sure of the outcome! For this piece I was inspired by a technique demonstrated in the November issue of Craft Stamper Magazine. The unique step that I took away was using white embossing powder almost as a paint rather than embossing from a stamped image.

I die cut a number of different circles and used one large circle for the base. I stamped the two larger circles with VersaMark and then also applied a bit more VersaMark ink with my finger before adding the embossing powder and heating. After stamping the leaves with Distress inks and moving the colors a bit with a waterbrush, I applied VersaMark ink with my finger, then white embossing powder and heat-set the powder. The bright colors of the ink and some of the embossing powders, along with the white embossing powder, made this a visually interesting collage. I added cheese cloth, paper from a tea bag cut into a circle, sequins and ephemera, layer by layer and topped it off with the little sticker sentiment: Finders Keepers. Thanks for visiting today.

Challenge: Happy Little Stampers – Anything Goes with Dies Challenge


Have a Cool Yule!

  • Stamps – The Cat’s Pajamas “Penguin Christmas” and “Polar Holiday” (sentiment)
  • Dies – Spellbinders Nestabilities “Labels Fifteen”
  • Patterned papers – Basic Grey “Jovial” collection and American Crafts “North Pole” collection
  • Embossing Powder – Ranger Ink Wendy Vecchi “Red Geranium”
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Copic markers
  • Sakura Glaze pens

Some of my cardmaking friends alerted me to a request that had been made by a 9-year old boy from Maine with cancer who wants to celebrate Christmas early this year. What he really wants are Christmas cards from all over the United States. The detail that really caught my attention is that he loves penguins! I was anxious to grant him his wish and mail him a handmade card from the other side of the country. Hopefully all of the holiday mail he is receiving is bringing him many smiles.

I went back into my stash to create this card! I’ve had these stamp sets for years! The patterned papers are not new either. I stamped the penguins and colored the image with Copic markers. I added some sparkle and shine with a couple different Glaze pens, but that effect is hard to detect in my photo unfortunately. The sentiment is heat-embossed with the bright red powder and adds some more shine.

Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges:

House of Cards November Challenge: Holiday

Flickr Love Handmade Cards Group: Anything Goes

 


Cerebral Squirrels: Thinking of You

  • Dies –
    • Memory Box “Busy Squirrels” and “Playful Squirrels”
    • Simon Says Stamp “Maple Leaf Corner”
    • Creative Expressions Craft Dies “Atlantic Ocean Collection – Cape Verde”
  • Stamp – Inkadinkado Personal Expressions “Expressions”
  • Ranger Distress Inks
  • Cardstock – Bazzill

I enjoy making Fall cards. When October begins, I think of leaves changing colors, my birthday (hee hee), pumpkins, and squirrels scampering. So I decided to make a card featuring squirrels scampering among the Fall leaves. I’ll probably send this to my son at college, who enjoys all things squirrel.

For this card, I die cut all of the Memory Box pieces from white cardstock and then used Distress Inks to color them. I cut the maple leaf die in the corner twice so I could inlay the contrasting color in some of the leaves. All of the supplies I used for this card have been in my stash for a long time, particularly the sentiment stamp that appears to be made in 2006! Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Simon Says Thinking of You (featuring Memory Box)

Simon Says Stamp Flickr Group – Challenge #82 Fall is in the Air

 

 


A Wild Birthday

  • Stamps – Lawn Fawn “Cheery Christmas,” “Let’s Play,” “Wild for You” and “Jump for Joy”
  • Dies – Lawn Fawn “Cheery Christmas,” “Jump for Joy,” “Let’s Play,” and “Grassy Hillside Borders”
  • Copic markers
  • Ranger Distress inks
  • Cardstock – Neenah Solar White and BoBunny

I always enjoy putting together cute animals to create a scene — and mixing up stamp sets to make something truly unique. Because look how natural it is for that porcupine to roll down that slide? I created the sky using Distress inks and also inked the grass to give the different tufts some variation in value. All of the animals and their playground equipment are colored with Copics. It was fun arranging them altogether. Thanks for visiting.

Challenge:

Lawn Fawnatics Challenge #15 – Happy Little Critters

 

 


Smiling Laurel Burch Cat

  • Stamps –
    • Stampendous Laurel Burch “Indigo Cats”
    • Justrite Papercraft, Inc. “Winged Vintage Labels Two & Three”
  • Stencil – from Stampendous Laurel Burch “Indigo Cats” set
  • Dies – Stampendous Laurel Burch “Indigo Cats”
  • Ranger Texture paste – transparent matte
  • Ranger Distress Oxide inks: Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Faded Jeans, Broken China
  • Ranger Wendy Vecchi Mica ink spray – Buttercup
  • Copic markers
  • Sequins – Doodlebug Designs
  • Bristol and Cardstock

This is a card I entered in the Oregon State Fair Paper Arts competition and it won a first place in the mixed media category. Yay, me! I spent a lot of time layering the Distress Oxide inks and texture paste. The stamp set comes with a stencil that I used, that matches the geometric shapes in the cat stamps. I added the mica spray ink for some shine and contrast.  I colored the cat and butterflies with Copic markers, attached them to the background and finished if off with sequins to repeat the yellow from the spray. I really enjoyed making this card and playing with such a variety of media. Thanks for visiting.

Challenge: Crafty Awesomeness Challenge September 2017