It is so good to be back cardmaking for the troops. I’ve been away for quite some time. I had thyroid trouble and then I had a total right knee replacement. Still in pain daily from the knee, doing exercises and trying to stay up on it as much as possible. The good news is I can drive now and I can sit at the craft desk and make some cards. I am also preparing from my son’s wedding on July 12th. I am so happy for him and my future daughter in law.
Now onto the party.
The first challenge is from Sybrina – to make a his and her card using any of the OWH sketches.
Sketch #130
Hers: MFT Blueprints 3; MFT Mini Doily; MFT Layered Leaves
Today while looking at the submissions for OWH’s Sunday Sketch challenge I was commenting on a card when I found a new blog called Words 2 Scrap By and their first challenge is to create a card based on the song My Favorite Things (Sound of Music). You can find info here. One of my goals this year is to branch out beyond OWH for challenges and to look fear in the face and just do it, to stop seeking perfection, to embrace my own individual creativity, and to stop being intimidated by rules and regulations of design.
When I saw this challenge I had to laugh. When I was a child I played the piano/organ and when the Sound of Music came out I had to have all the sheet music (I still have it). There were seven kids in my family and my dad loved for all of us to gather round and sing. So I played every song and knew every lyric. In my life nothing happens by coincidence. This was meant to be my first and so here is my first card in my first challenge outside of OWH!
I used Spellbinders Distress Edges cut out from Whip Cream MFT cardstock, embossed the top half with Darice cloudy sky embossing folder. I then used raindrops from Stamps of Life boots4rain stamp set using Versamark. I sponged over the clouds with Memento Summer Sky (to allow the raindrops to show) and Grey Flannel (to add a little cloudy sky). It looks like a blue sky in the photo but it is much darker in person.
Next I used MFT Brick Wall Stencil and MFT Kraft ink to create the wall. I then stamped on the roses from MFT peaceful wildflowers using MFT red hot ink and Memento Bamboo Leaves. It needed a little something else so I went to my little Stamps by Judith grass stamp to add a touch of grass to the bottom.
The last thing I did was add the raindrops to the bottom half – this was trial and error. The top half raindrops are done with clear embossing powder but that didn’t work for the bottom half so I used white embossing powder for the raindrops on the bottom (so they would match the top raindrops). I distressed the edges in Kraft ink around the whole card.
I chose not to use a sentiment on this card so that it can be used for any occasion.
I want to wish the gals at Words 2 Scrap By much success and thank them for allowing me to use this as my diving board to jump into unchartered waters and outside of my comfort zone.
The Midweek Throwdown Challenge at OWH this week is for fall cards. So here are a few I have been working on. Also, please forgive me but I am learning how to add links in my posts, so if it doesn’t work — blame it on the learning curve (I’m actually only trying it on one link).
For these three cards I used the adorable digi images from Sassy Cheryl’s Stamps. The little boy is Noah and the little girl is Sally. I used copics to color them.
The papers on this card are digi papers from Doodle Pantry:
This card I embossed the GinaK Design tropical flowers in black and sponged the background in Memento Morocco, punched the corners and layered on white, layered on black and layered on GinaK Design Sweet Mango card stock, my card base is white. I used tiny black brads in the corners. I think this qualifies as a “FALL CARD” because of the colors.
This last card I used the same flowers and black embossing and used MFT Dienamics Blueprints 3 (which I love, love, love) to die cut the shapes. I also like using the Elizabeth Craft outline stickers (pumpkin) which is colored with Sakura Gel pens on acetate.
Well this one was very challenging for me. I find measuring, lining up, centering, cutting straight and eye balling extremely challenging — yes I said it, BUT I still enjoy card making. I know that all of those skills are necessary in card making but practice makes perfect – right? One of the tools that I found invaluable for this sketch was my “glue boogie remover” (erasure). I had to throw my previous one away – it was so disgusting (it was like when my kids were little and I had to be resourceful at times for “face maintenance”). I purchased the previous one I had from Staples but this time could not find it there — finally found it at AC Moore – it’s a rubber cement erasure and I think Simon Says Stamps may carry it as well (Xyron brand). Very inexpensive — I wouldn’t be without it. I hate, hate, hate when my cards stick together. Unfortunately we have no Hobby Lobby’s in this part of the country but I know they carry it.
Now for my card. The mosaic paper is from AC Moore and I fell in love with it months ago but somehow could never make it work or didn’t have the patience to play with it. This time I was determined to use it. The square on the left is Wplus9 quilt die which first I embossed – I found this so much easier than trying to cut it all out and piece it together. It made gluing the squares so much easier. After embossing the quilt die, I used the die several times to get the squares in different colors. When finished I put it through the cuttlebug using an embossing folder (sorry – all I know is that it is a Cuttlebug folder, don’t know the name). The sentiment is from MFT (Flower Silhouettes). I also tried to incorporate Paula’s 60/30/10 color rules from July’s Bootcamp “Getting Your Priorities Straight”, (obviously I went the monochromatic route).
Please overlook the imperfections and thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!
I was working with the new stamp set I purchased from GinaK Designs called By the Sea 2 (Theresa Momber designer). I love all the nature sets and love to make scenes with them. I am often inspired by Theresa’s blog Crafting the Web. I wanted to try the chalkboard technique using this set, but instead of embossing the image this time, I stamped it with Moonlight White Brilliance pigment ink. I thought about chalking the clouds, but was unsure of how it would travel (with all the handling of the cards for our heroes). I don’t think the photos do the cards justice but anyway here are three cards:
Black cardstock
Stamps – GinaK Design By the Sea 2
Cardstock – Gina K heavyweight white (card base)
Embossing Folder (partial) Darice cloudy sky
This one I used the same stamp set and used Sketch Challenge 172 from OWH.
Cardbase – heavyweight GinaK cardstock in Smokey Slate
