Happy Little Stampers May Watercolor Challenge

It is time for a new watercolor challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  As always the challenge is Anything Goes with an optional twist.  This month the optional twist is "happy."  How will you interpret happy.

My "happy" is the word in my sentiment.  This is a card I will send to my niece for mother's day.  She very nicely shares her children with me and and lets me be a part of their lives.  This means so much to me since I have not grandchildren.

I chose to die cut a large Tim Holtz cover die out of watercolor paper.  I received a Gemini Jr. for Christmas and it cut the watercolor paper like butter.  It is so nice not to have to crank and crank to cut a large die like this.  I watercolor the top die cut with distress inks.  This is what I brought on vacation to color with.  Several layers of color were added to achieve the color I wanted.  After everything was dry, I used my Wink of Stella clear glitter pen to add glitter to the bird and flowers.

I glued three die cuts together to get some depth to the image.  They were glued to a background which I had lightly colored with oxide ink.  A navy blue mat completes the layout.

The sentiment was generated on the computer on cardstock which I had colored with the same oxide ink.  I cut it apart and added it to the largest flower with foam tape.

Here is a closer view of the bird and some of the leaves and flowers.

Please come join us at Happy Little Stampers for our May watercolor challenge, I would love to see how you interpret "happy."

Oldie Moldie Monday

It is Monday and time to show some love for your old supplies.

I found a pad of paper with coordinating images so I made some cards for older boys.  I am still working on cards for the children's home in South Carolina.  I love the colors of the paper collection.

Remember to show some love to your old supplies.

Oldie Moldie Monday

It is Monday, time to show some love for your old supplies.

I am making cards for a children's home in South Carolina and had stamped this cute image.  I knew I had some well aged Basic Grey paper in pink and brown I could use to finish the card.

I made two of this card.  One will be sent to a friend in Canada where we have a running joke on pigs.

Remember to show some love for your old supplies.

CAS Card Using Stencil

The CAS challenge blogs have added a new one this year.  This  CAS challenge is to use a stencil.

The CAS April Stencil challenge is to use embossing paste.

I love to use my stencils but don't do it often enough.  I also love clear glittery embossing paste.  It is a favorite on winter cards but I am changing it up and using it on a May birthday card.

I first smooshed some distress oxide ink on my die cut panel of Bristol smooth card stock.  I then stamped my sentiment in the lower right corner.  I added the clear glitter embossing paste on the panel and worked around the sentiment.   The butterfly is a die cut from the same paper and I lightly colored the inside of the wings.  I wrapped a piece of black thread around the middle of the butterfly for the antenna.  I matted this panel with more white card stock and added to a white card base.

This was a very easy card to make and I made three more in different colors.

I am also entering this card into the challenge at Seize the Birthday - where the added topping is anything goes.

 Thanks for stopping by.

Twofer - Two Cards from One Stamp

I found a challenge blog called Twofer.  The challenge is to do two different designs for two different occasions from the same stamp.

I love these two little bears from The Stamp Market and luckily they are zoo animals.  They are so easy to color also.  I just colored with distress inks.

I am working on the birthday cards I need for May.  This card is going to a young lady who loves rainbows and she loves animals.  I thought these two little bears would make a perfect card for her.  I very carefully added those little strips of yellow and orange on the rainbow striped paper.  I popped that part of the card with fun foam.

My second card is a Hi - Hello card.  I like to send these out to children that are having a rough time.  It always help to have one in your card stash so when something comes up you have a card you can send out right away.  Of curse, I know a few adults that this card would make them smile.

The card base is one in a set from Hobby Lobby.  I took a stencil from The Stamp Market and used distress oxide ink to add a design to the card base.  I love the soft plaid.  The die cut is from The Stamp Market also.  I glued three layers together to give it a little dimension.  I then took the two bears and tucked them in behind different parts of the die cut.  I die cut some hearts from paper the same color as my stencil color.  I believe the glitter glue changed the colors.

I like this challenge because it makes you think about different ways to use your stamps.

Thanks for stopping by.

Oldie Moldie Monday

As I was picking up I found this colored and stamped panel for a Christmas card.  I added some solid colored card stock and made a Christmas card.

The silver embossing is hard to pick up with the camera.  I do apologize for that.

See what you can do with your old supplies.  I can make an almost instant Christmas card - what is your super power. 

Hello Friend

I have been wanting to play along with the watercolor challenge at CAS Watercolor Card Challenge this month.  The challenge is poppy.  My Mom had all these beautiful poppies that grew around her little building in her yard.  They were so beautiful when they were all blooming.  I have tried to grow them and I have one poppy plant that lives.  I get a couple blooms.  I do wish they would spread.  I do digress - but because of her poppies - I wanted to play along with the challenge.

I have several poppy stamps and the first one I found was this stamp by Gina K Designs.  It is a small set with this image and three or four small sentiments.

I stamped it in black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then colored the poppies with a Gina K ink - this color of red - is to me a true red.  My color did pop outside the lines a couple times so I am calling this loose watercolor.  I rubbed some clear glitter in the center of each flower.  The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed also.  I die cut the floral panel and then die cut another panel slightly larger in the same white.  I added a strip of black cardstock between the two layers.  On the card front I added a strip of black and white stripe from My Favorite Things.  I think those two touches of black add depth to the design but it still stays CAS.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully soon our flowers will start growing and then we will see beautiful blooms. 

Seize The Birthday

Sitting on my design table was this negative die cut and sitting in my box of backgrounds was this inked background.  The two things united and became a birthday card.

I added my sentiment and then I did splatters - I kinda think they look like earthtone measles. 

I am gong to send this to my brother in November - do you think I will remember I made it or know where it is by then.  This is a very good question.

I am entering the card into the current challenge at Seize the Birthday where the challenge is Anything Goes. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Plaid Challenge

I love plaid paper and whenever I see a pretty plaid I buy it.  Therefore the new challenge at The Paper Players was perfect for me. 

I had bought a small bundle of this plaid paper at Tuesday Morning and have designed several different cards.  Today I will share two of them.

On this card I watercolor stamped the image.  The stamp is from The Stamp Market.  I inked it with ink and spritzed with water.  I did each part separately to get the colors I wanted.  I love how the flower picks up the color in the plaid.  A coral card base completed the card.

This card uses a digital stamp from Operation Write Home Days. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Oldie Moldie Monday

It is Monday, time to show some love for your old supplies.

This week I am sharing some Easter cards I made with well aged paper and little bunny images which are actually from a deck of cards. 

The majority of the cards are made with the pink background.  A little eyelet lace adds the finishing touch to the card.  The sentiment is from a Lawn Fawn stamp set. 

Remember to show some love for your old supplies. 

Alcohol Ink Play

This last week my daughter and I were playing with alcohol inks coloring silver Christmas ornaments.  They turned out very nice.  I had given her a sheet of photo paper to catch the drippings as she colored the ornament.  When she was done she had a partially colored sheet so I told her to finish coloring the entire sheet.  She held it up and said it was pretty ugly.  I told her I could make her some great cards from that sheet.  I decided to do thank you cards.  Everyone needs thank you cards.

The weekly sketch at Freshly Made Sketches was perfect for using some of the alcohol colored paper.

 I added a little pink color to the background white.  Die cut the white and alcohol ink piece.  Stamped the sentiment on a strip of paper.  The alcohol ink panel is foam mounted to add some dimension.  It was all added to a purple card base.

Here are the other two cards I made.

I still have half of sheet of colored paper left to make more cards.  I do want to make them all different.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy Little Stampers April Christmas Challenge

It is time for a new Christmas Challenge at Happy Little Stampers for the month of April. 

As always the challenge is Anything Goes but the optional twist this month is nature.

This card is made from leftovers.  I had stamped many of these beautiful pine cones last year and used 6 of them of two cards.  I had stamped some extra poinsettias.  These leftovers kept staring at me and I decided to use them.

I had bought a stamp set that had a small pine bough in the set.  I stamped the pine bough in distress oxide ink along the left side and top and then laid the main design elements on the card and figured out where I needed to stamp some more of the bough below the elements.

I stamped the sentiment in dark brown ink.  The pine cones were glued onto the card front and the poinsettia was pop dotted on top.  The entire front was matted in red and adhered to a kraft card base.  I think it turned out pretty well for using leftovers on it.

The pine cone stamp is from Impression Obsession and the poinsettia is from Gina K Designs.  The sentiment is from a 2018 holiday set from JoAnn Fabrics.

Please join us at Happy Little Stampers for our April Christmas Challenge.

Oldie Moldie Monday

It is Monday, time to show some love for your old supplies.  I am using very well aged paper on these cards.

I did some simple watercoloring on the images.

Remember to show some love for your old supplies.