Happy Little Stamper's August Stencil Challenge

 It is time for a new Stencil challenge at Happy Little Stamper's for the month of August.

As always the stencil challenge is Anything Goes.  These are the best challenges.

Stencils are such an economical way to add interest to your card making supplies.  You can do so many different things with them and use so many different mediums.

This month I chose to make a masculine birthday (actually I made several of this card).  I was visiting a friend and she had this stencil so I wanted to try it.  I used some lovely shades of blue ink on paper I had done some light ink smooshing on.  After I completed the stenciling, I took some colored pencils and added some very subtle shading to the fish to give them a little more depth.

I matted the fish with a dark blue card stock.  I chose to use a kraft card base and a blue plaid for the background for the fish panel.  A simple birthday greeting was added across the plain boring fish.  I did add blue and gold splatters to the card.

Here is a close up of the fish.

Please come play along with us at the new stencil challenge at Happy Little Stamper's.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Little Stamper's August Christmas Challenge

It is time for a new Christmas challenge at Happy Little Stamper's to help you have some cards already made by December when you need to get them in the mail.

The challenge is always Anything Goes with an option - this month the option is flowers.  

There are many wonderful Christmas floral stamps, stencils and patterned paper. I am choosing to focus on patterned paper.  If you go through your supply of Christmas papers you will find many papers with beautiful floral images - the most popular being the poinsettia.  

The paper I used comes from a 6 x 6 pad that is several years old.  It has beautiful shades of purple, white, grey and silver.  The pad also comes with greetings and tags which I used for my sentiments on the front of my cards and also to finish the inside.  Everything is coordinated.  I am sorry I can't find the pad currently (it is hiding from me) but I do know it is an Australian company.

On this card I fussy cut out the flowers on the paper.  I did add color to the flowers to give a more purple definition to the flower as I built the layers.  I die cut a circle for the flower to sit on and added the flower, sentiment and some sequins.  It was an easy card to assemble although the fussy cutting does take time.

On this card, I also fussy cut the poinsettia layers out of the patterned paper and layered them together.  I then added the flower and sentiment to a scalloped rectangle of the same floral paper.  I added silver sparkly enamel dots to the center of the flowers.  

Please join us at Happy Little Stamper's for our August Christmas Challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Little Stamper's Birthday Challenge

This is the start of a new challenge at Happy Little Stamper's - it is a birthday challenge.  It is a great challenge because we all need birthday cards.  It is also the best challenge because it is "anything goes."

This particular card has been in my head for awhile.  I must have seen something similar on a blog, Facebook, or Pinterest.

I started out with a panel of kraft card stock cut to 5 x 3.75.  I brushed or rubbed a light coat of white gesso over the front.  I then took a stencil and added more white gesso in a littlee heavier layer to add some interest and depth to the background.  I took a glue stick and rubbed it on the front and took some dictionary page and put it on top of the glue.  I then tore off the page that did not stick to the page.  I glued a piece of coffee dyed fabric on the side of the panel and then added a strip of grocery bag which I hand pleated and sewed on the sewing machine.  I glued a single die cut on top of the pleated paper bag.  A sentiment was matted with kraft card stock and added to the front of the card.  I distressed the edges of this panel and the mat with scissors.  This was layered together on top of a kraft card base.  To finish the card and bring all the elements together I added black and gold splatter.  

I am very happy how the card turned out.  It looks just like the image that was in my head.

Here is a close up of the flower, fabric, sentiment and pleated grocery bag.

Please come join us for the first birthday challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

Thanks for stopping by.