Snowy Mistletoe

For this card, I used kraft cardstock sponged with Color Box Frost White Pigment Ink.  The Mistletoe stamp is from the Penny Black Festive Florals set.  I used a Derwent Inktense Water Color Pencil in Leaf Green (with very little water) to color the mistletoe leaves.  The berries were done with a white Uniball Signo gel pen.  The sentiment, from the Hero Arts CL797 clear set, was stamped with the Color Box pigment ink.  I used the same pigment ink again to sponged more "snow" over the top of the mistletoe branches after coloring them, and then once again mixed with water to spatter "snow flakes" over everything with a small paint brush.  I fussy cut one branch and popped it up with foam dimensionals. My inspiration came from Me and Minime Crafting here.  This is for the November Snowflakes challenge at Live Love Cards.  Until next time!

Trick or Treat

This weekend the weather was chilly and breezy, the perfect kind of days which motivated many of my neighbors to set out their Autumn and Halloween decorations on their front porches and lawns.  Me?  I was cold.  I stayed inside creating another card (or two).  This one is for the October challenge over at Live Love Cards.  The challenge is "White Space." I started by adding some score lines to my card base, but I just realized they're not showing up very well in this photo.  I used a Jack-O-Lantern stamp by Hero Arts.  That stamp's package included the orange and black rhinestones.  Actually, I robbed Peter (Frankenstein) to pay Paul (Mr. Jack-O-Lantern here) since Hero Art's Frankenstein stamp also included the same type of rhinestones and I needed a few more.  The "Trick or Treat" sentiment stamp is by Craftsmart.  I've had all of these stamps for a few years, so I don't know about their availability anymore.  A glittered ribbon, a little Copic Coloring and some green Stickles for the edge of the circle were all that was needed to finish of the card front.  I layered it over a piece of black card stock and then adhered it onto a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" blank white card.  Happy Halloween, Friends!

Porch Flag

There's something about a country farm house with a flag proudly waving in the breeze that epitomizes the term "Americana."  While surfing the web for all things card-making some time ago, I happened upon a terrific website called Serendipity Stamps.  It was, indeed, a moment of serendipity.  Don't you just love that word?  Well, long story short, I browsed in their shop for quite awhile, but it didn't take me long to decide that their "Porch Flag" stamp would be among others when I placed my first order.  I love the way Old Glory is front and center, but the details of the rest of the stamp add the perfect finishing touch.  The artist gave us the freedom to decide what kind of tree and flowers are planted out front, so I went with a waxy Magnolia leaf on the tree and a sprawling, blue-violet hydrangea bush.  Today I'm submitting this Copic-colored card as part of the "Anything Goes" challenge this month which you can read about on their blog.  Wish me luck!  See you next time!

Merry and Bright

I really enjoy watching card making tutorials on line.  It never ceases to amaze me how much imagination these creative people have.  I confess that I don't have nearly as much, and I end up being somewhat of a copy-cat most of the time. Today I'm submitting this "Merry and Bright" entry for Darlene's "Holiday" challenge over at Live Love Cards.  It may seem early for Christmas, but we card makers know that August isn't really early at all if we want to get the mail out on time.

Speaking of mail: For this card, as much as I wanted to add a couple of layers of dimension (it seems to beg for it), I knew that it would not likely be a hand-delivery, so I kept it flat for the postman,

I started with the Tiny Star Background by Hero Arts.  I actually saw Darlene use this background stamp on her blog a while back, and I thought it was so cute. Have you ever noticed how inspiration can make your wallet thinner?  I wish that would happen with my waistline instead.  But I digress.

I stamped the Tiny Stars with Versamark ink and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. I sponged Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink over the embossed stars to make the night sky.  The "Merry and Bright" sentiment is a Hampton Art clear stamp, and the trees are from the Stampin' Up Festival of Trees set, The sentiment and trees were also heat embossed in white.  I used Stormy Sky Distress Ink for the trees so there would be a bit of a color difference between them and the sky. I wanted everything to be mono-chromatic for this particular card. The ornaments on the tree are covered with Turquoise Stickles.  I love silver, blue and white for Christmas! The snowy hills were made with a Paper Smooches "Stitches" die.  That die did not cut through the paper (?), so I'll have to check it again on the next round, Anyway, I trimmed the hills just above the stitch line and then used my Versamark pen and Reflections "Opaque Bling" embossing powder to add a sparkling edge.  The white frame around the sentiment is also heat embossed with that same powder. Finally, when positioning the trees, I decided to put the tip of the middle one just underneath a star and color that one whimsical little star with a gold Uniball Signo pen. I put a "blanket" of yellow Stickles over the top of it for some final pizazz.  See you next time!

Coffee Pot Card - Three Masks

For the Live Love Cards July challenge, I used an antique coffee pot stamp I purchased at a rubber stamp convention/show this weekend.  My family always enjoys visiting over a cup of coffee, and since my brother and I haven't been able to do that for a while due to the distance involved, I made a "coffee" card to send to him.

I used three masks. The first was to mask the coffee pot so that I could sponge Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink "behind it" to make the wall while I had also masked off the bottom portion. Then, while the coffee pot was still masked, I masked off the finished wall to sponge Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to make the table.  Before sponging the inks, I scored the top portion vertically (around the coffee pot) to make the wall look like bead board, and I scored the bottom portion horizontally to make the table look like planks of wood.  I finished it off with some Tim Holtz Linen Ribbon for a masculine embellishment.

Live Love Cards - Rainbow Challenge

Maybe things are starting to slow down a bit and I'll have some time to start blogging more often.  Seems like everything has been in a whirlwind since the week before Easter.  I was glad to get home last night after my granddaughter's birthday party and "chillax" for a while before bed.  Of course checking emails, Facebook, blogs, etc. is part of the chillaxin' routine, and I happened across an intriguing email from one of my favorite card makers, Darlene Devries. Long story short, I signed up as a member on her new blog, Live Love Cards, and decided to enter the April challenge, Rainbows.  I'm getting my entry in just under the wire!

Perfect Pearls Resist Technique