Watercolor - TY

I've had such fun creating my little watercolor scenes and have decided to start incorporating them into my cards. This is the reason I took my course last year. I love the subtle colors with the watercolors to use as a background.

Since there was some pretty purple in the water, I used my purple, hand-made paper for the card stock.


I discovered a new website by visiting Karen Letchworth's blog from Outlawz. It calls for a challenge that I'll enter this in. The challenge is to use watercolor!

V's Sweet Ideas Blog
and I'll also enter it in:
Word Art Wednesday

Traveling Time!

It's summertime and we have the travel bug but are staying close to home for now. Instead, I created a colorful RV card. If you look closely at the RV, you may see a peace sign in it. :)

I chose this paper just for that purpose. The base is home made brown card stock with a glitsy yellow layer to pop out the RV.

I will enter this in:

Outlawz Thursday Twisted Challenge; and
Word Art Wednesday

Tomorrow's Forecast

We have a friend that has undergone an incredible surgery to correct her spine from scoliosis. Her pain is intense but she is home and recuperating. Get well doesn't seem adequate to say so I'm hoping for a better 'Forecast' for her tomorrows!

This card used my yellow card stock, a piece of torn screen, and plenty of sparkle to bring out the butterfly.

I'll enter this in:

Outlawz' Thursday Twisted Challenge; and
Word Art Wednesday

Shaving Cream Technique

Oh, this is too much fun! Why leave all the good, play time to the kids? We adults must be able to garner some of the play and incorporate it into a hobby...well, this hobby for instance!

What do you get when you take a used aluminum roasting pan, fill it with shaving cream and drop alcohol inks into it? A background to die for! This background was made using Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks and dragging the paper straight through, then scraping off the excess.

Stunning and fun, oh yeah, I'll be doing this on a regular basis. Especially when you can get shaving cream from the Dollar Tree Store for ...Wait for it...$1!

I will enter this card in the Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge this week; and
Word Art Wednesday.

White Embossing Again!

I noticed that all the DT cards are on brown paper, different shades, but basically brown. I know that this is the ultimate "craft" paper.But, since my color paper packs also say "craft paper" on them, then I'm pushing the lines here I guess. I did look for some guidelines on the website for a definition and even for a tutorial that might give me a hint.

At any rate, here is my next card for the MFP White Embossing on Craft Paper Challenge. I need about 200 Christmas cards for this year so am making them with every inspiration I can come across.

I used the Christmas Selections 2012 and Snowflakes 2014 from the MFP stamp set collections. And to my amazement, this embossing does look white. I'm so happy the way they turned out!

White Embossing on Craft Paper

So here is card number 2. This was fun to bring together. The background is a new die cut I recently purchased. I love how it turned out!

I was hoping that the darker background would provide enough relief to see the embossing as white, but alas, it still looks silvery to me. I believe I need to go with the red-red craft paper for another try.

This is for mfp Challenge #267. I am a huge fan of these mini nutcracker stamps! Be sure to visit their shop for all the large and small Christmas stamps they have. Really cool stuff!

White Embossing

I'm not sure this will ever be my favorite way to emboss. :)

Mark's Finest Papers has a nice Challenge which asks for white embossing on craft paper. Simple enough, unless you don't have white embossing powder and when you go out and get the powder, it turns more silver than white. (It's name is snow, hmmm).

But the effects are fun and pretty so here is one card for the challenge. It only took 2 devices and about 10 pictures to find one that allows you to see the embossing. I tried a little tweaking with the 'Yummm' stamp in bending it below the cup. I think it turned out cute.

I'm going to make a few more on different colored craft paper to see if I can indeed get the white snow look.

Scraps

I am on a mission to clean up, throw away, organize my card supplies. My Challenge to myself is to keep a pile of scraps in front of me and to continue drawing from it to create or adorn cards and to replenish this pile until it no longer exists!

So, when I saw the Challenge from Outlawz for Clean and Simple using Scraps, I had to enter!

My Stamping In Florida card group taught us the Lattice Border Technique this month and I made several with my homemade card stock just to get some good practice with it. The border along with this lovely flourish and sentiment is all this card needs to stand out. And I used 2 more scraps to create it. Yea!

Corners Only

I'm ready for 'boring' again. No, not with the cards, but with life! Husbands and kidney stones are no fun...for him or me!

In between his agony, I've managed to produce another card. Come on, I have to stay busy in between all the caring right?

MFP has another challenge this week using corners only. It took me a while and leaving this card many times and coming back to it to feel satisfied with the results. The base paper is homemade brown (from shredded, unusable pattern paper), and three layers of card stock. The little thanks and flower is a stamp on material and back-stitching with colors. Something I do in the car when traveling.

Sorry the picture isn't clearer. The bottom corner says "A friend like you is a real gift!'

I will enter this in
 Mark's Finest Paper's challenge and
Word Art Wednesday

Father's Day

We have a super son and son-in-law that we are so proud of. They are both fantastic husbands and fathers. I made this card for both of them.

I will enter it at:
Get Creative and
Word Art Wednesday

Plenty of Blue

Well, I believe I will be participating in an Art Festival in November. It's a long way off, but makes me realize how inadequate my supply of cards is.

Here is one I made to fill the challenges for 5 different sights. Requirements called for were use die cuts, something blue, butterflies and anything goes. Fun, right? From what I can tell, I got it all on one card. :)

All the features on this card are created with die cuts and it is on my blue card stock. I took this picture with a camera, outside, in the bright sun and finally, you can see the colors!


I will enter this on:
A Gem Of A Challenge
Digi's Designs Challenge Blog
Get Creative Challenges
Mark's Finest Papers
Word Art Wednesday

Birds of a Feather

What a fun vacation we had with our 14 and soon to be 16 year old grandkids from Knoxville! Also saw 2 grandsons graduate from HS. Time sure is flying by...and on that segway, here is my card for the Mark's Finest Papers Blog Challenge #264. And I will enter it at Word Art Wednesday.

The card stock is a lighter blue of my homemade paper. The blue color came from used, crumpled, dark blue tissue paper and contains seeds. Most of my papers can be planted to produce something green :)