You're a fungi

I've got one last challenge card to post for August. Whew! It's been years since I've done so many blog posts in one month! This card is my second one for the August challenge at Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero. The theme is "It's Hip to Be Square," and each project needs to include a square(s) in some way. For this card, I went with a clean and simple masculine design.

Supplies:
Stamps: You're a Fungi (Hero Arts)
Paper: Stone woodgrain card stock (Hero Arts); Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: White embossing powder (Hero Arts), Neutrals Candy Dots (Stampin' Up!), 1-1/4" square punch (Stampin' Up!), foam tape (3M)

I wanted to use a neutral color palette, so for the card base I chose a piece of gray woodgrain card stock from an old My Monthly Hero kit. I could have cut the piece in half to make two card fronts, but I decided to score and fold it and use the whole piece for the card base. (Since this is a simple card, I like the extra detail of the woodgrain texture, and it's nice to feel it on the back of the card, too. Makes it seem a little more special.)

I love all the images and punny sentiments in the You're a Fungi stamp set, so I started by figuring out which of the mushrooms would fit in a 1-1/4" square and stamping them on a deep green card stock with Versamark ink. For some of the bitty mushrooms I was able to just fit two of them in one square. I embossed the images with white embossing powder and punched them out. (My embossing is not great. I know all the tips and tricks, but I often still struggle with it, which is one of the reasons I don't do it often. Luckily the rustic feel of this card means the imperfect embossing isn't too big a deal.)

I wanted to include the "you're a fungi!" sentiment, but it was too long to fit in one of the squares. I fixed that by stamping the sentiment in two steps. First I inked up just the "you're a" with Versamark and then stamped it on brown card stock. I cleaned off the stamp and then inked and stamped "fungi!" just below the first part of the sentiment. Then I embossed it and punched it out. Problem solved! And I love how it stands out on the different color of card stock.

I arranged the six squares in the center of the card base and attached them with foam tape. (The gap between the squares is about 1/4".) To finish the card I added three gray enamel dots in the upper left corner. I really like how they add just a little more interest, but since they're the same color as the background, they don't distract from the stamped images.

I'd forgotten how fun it is to do challenges -- maybe I'll try to keep it up and enter again next month. Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn bouquet

The last two cards I have to share this month are both for the August challenge at Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero, but I'm going to post them separately. The theme for the challenge is "It's Hip to Be Square," and projects need to include a square or squares in some way. I've been into fall-themed crafting the past couple of weeks, so for this first challenge card I created a bouquet with an autumn feel.

Supplies:
Stamps: You're So Lovely (Hero Arts)
Paper: Plum card stock (Hero Arts), Basic White card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Lime Green, Moss, Lemon Drop, Raspberry Jam, Grape Juice, Tangerine, Cup O' Joe (Hero Arts); gold Glimmer Metallic ink (Hero Arts)
Accessories: You're So Lovely dies (Hero Arts), Nested Squares Cross-Stitch dies (Rubbernecker Stamps), gold confetti (Pretty Pink Posh), hemp twine (May Arts Ribbon), foam tape (3M)

I started out by stamping and die cutting all of the flowers and leaves (I cut several of each piece so I could make a few cards at the same time) and the white square with the stitched border. I stamped the sentiment on the square and arranged the flowers and leaves around it, letting some of the pieces go past the edges of the square. I used foam tape to pop up the two flowers and add a little dimension.

For the background panel, I used a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of Plum card stock and splattered it with gold Glimmer Metallic ink. When using the metallic ink, I put a little bit on a clear block (most any nonporous surface would work; clear blocks are just handy while stamping) and add a drop or two of water. I mix it up with a small paintbrush and then use the brush to make the splatter. I may have overdone the splatter a little bit on this card, but I love the sparkle! I also wanted to tie in the metallic ink to the flowery focal panel, so I painted just a little bit onto the brown berries, the purple sprig, and the orange leaf.

Once the gold ink was dry, I used foam tape to attach the focal panel to the card base, leaving a border of about 5/8" on either side and 3/4" on the top. I added some gold confetti pieces around the focal panel and in the center of each flower. I adhered the whole card front to a white card base and finished off the card by wrapping a piece of help twine twice around the front of the card and tying it in a knot.

I love how this card turned out, and since I added a birthday sentiment inside, I've got another birthday card for my stash! Stay tuned for my second "square" card in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn wreath

The second card in my series of challenge entries is for Art Impressions' Dynamic Duo challenge, where the requirement was to create something using at least two stamp or die sets. I used four watercolor sets to create a pretty autumn wreath.

Supplies:
Stamps: 4701 - Clay Pot, 4052 - Flower Set, 4868 - Watercolor Flower Set 2, 4607 - Flowering Mailbox (Art Impressions)
Paper: Watercolor paper (Strathmore); Soft Suede, Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up!); Metallic Accents paint (Art Philosophy)
Accessories: Hello die (Lawn Fawn), Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots (Stampin' Up!), hemp twine (May Arts Ribbon), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

I haven't done any watercolor stamping in quite awhile, and I've gotten a little rusty. When I sat down to work on this card, I originally tried to create a whole little scene. That turned out to be too overwhelming (and too much pressure since I was trying to work quickly), so I switched gears and decided to try a stamped wreath instead.

I started by using a pencil to lightly trace a circle on a piece of watercolor paper. I inked the branch image with brown ink and stamped it three times, overlapping each branch with the one before, before re-inking the stamp. This helps create depth and color variation. I repeated the process until I had worked my way all around the circle. Using a barely damp paint brush, I lightly tapped/dabbed the branches so the color spread a little and created a watercolor look.

I gave the branches a little time to dry and then moved on to the rust-colored flowers. (Or leaves. It is an autumn wreath, so they could be leaves, too.) I inked up the image and then stamped two or three times in a little cluster, re-inked the stamp and stamped another cluster, repeating until I was happy with the color distribution. Again, I used a slightly damp brush to dab at the images and spread the color. I let it dry a bit, then repeated with the green leaves and finished with the yellow flowers.

For a little sparkle I splattered the panel with some gold paint and added three gold enamel dots. I glued a twine bow on the wreath and added a die-cut sentiment at the bottom of the card. I layered the panel on a mat of Soft Suede card stock and then adhered it to a Crumb Cake card base.

I really love the way this card turned out (even though I still wish my watercolor stamping was a little better) and I may have to try some other seasonal wreaths.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving sunflowers

Over the last week I decided to make cards for three different August challenges. (So that means I'll have several blog posts coming up!) The card I'm sharing in this post is my entry for the August 2022 Monthly Mix Challenge on the Gina K Designs blog, and the theme is "Adding Texture."

Supplies:
Stamps: Zenflowers (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Basic White, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), colored pencils (Prismacolor)
Accessories: Art Deco and Harvest Flourish stencils (Gina K Designs), Zenflowers dies (Gina K Designs), Bee Pollen Dew Drops (Honey Bee Stamps), Connect Glue (Gina K Designs), foam tape (3M), Gamsol (Gamblin), paper blending stumps (Jack Richeson)

I bought the Zenflowers stamp set a couple of years ago when it was part of a monthly kit from Gina K Designs, but I hadn't used it yet. (I'm not sure how I manage that, but it happens more than I'd like.) So this challenge seemed like the perfect reason to get it out! I stamped, colored, and die cut two of the sunflower images as well as a few leaves. I used colored pencils and did some blending with Gamsol to add some depth to the images.

For the texture on my card, I used two stencils from Gina K Designs, but I used them with an embossing mat and my Big Shot machine to emboss the patterns instead of ink blending or using paste. I used the Harvest Flourish stencil to emboss the front of a Crumb Cake card base and the Art Deco stencil to emboss a wide strip of Night of Navy card stock. I glued the navy card stock to the card front (slightly to the left of the center) and then added the flowers (with foam tape) and leaves (with liquid glue).

I wanted to add a sentiment to the card, and "Happy Thanksgiving" was just about the perfect size. I stamped it on a strip of white card stock, trimmed the ends of the strip, and adhered it below the images, tucking it under one of the leaves and the bottom of the smaller flower. I finished off the card with three yellow droplets. 

Thanks for stopping by!

August Christmas cards: Simple winter scene

When I sat down to make my August Christmas cards, I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. I made one card with that plan and decided that wasn't it. The card turned out okay (I added it to my Christmas card stash), but it just wasn't what I had pictured, and the process took me longer than I thought it would. So instead I went a completely different direction and ended up with a group of very clean and simple note cards featuring a little winter scene.

I used the Snow Front stamp set (Stampin' Up!) for the images and the Tiny Words Christmas set (Simon Says Stamp) for the little sentiment on the bottom. I think these watercolor-style scene-building sets are so fun, but I often have trouble putting the images together in a way I like. So for these cards I did an online search to get some ideas, and the card that most inspired me was made by Shelly Godby. I kept the placement of the mountains and trees but switched up the other elements a little -- and I especially loved the little red cardinal perched on the sentiment.

Once I decide on a layout, cards like this are very quick to stamp -- I simply choose one image (I started with the mountains) and stamp that on every card. Then I clean off that stamp and move to the next image. You could use a stamp positioner for the stamping if you want to, but I just used clear blocks because it was faster, and it didn't really matter if the placement was exactly the same on every card. With the stamping done, I simply added three sequins to each card for a subtle sparkle. (Well, they're not exactly sequins because they don't have a hole, but I'm not sure what the correct term is. Confetti? Anyway, actual sequins, or any other embellishment, would work just as well.)

I made ten of these cards, so I think that brings my total for the year up to 68 Christmas cards. Woohoo! I'll have to make a list of card recipients to be sure, but I shouldn't need too many more than that. So maybe I'll just do one more small batch in September and then be done. Of course, that's when a lot of the stamp companies start coming out with their new holiday products. Oh, well. If I end up buying any holiday goodies and not using them, they can be first up when I start the process over again in January!

Thanks for stopping by!

Too cool for school

After my last post with the less-than-stellar pictures of some of my gel-print cards, I wanted to share a gel-print card with a good picture! :) And bonus - this gel print was one of my favorites, and I love how the card turned out, too.

Isn't that fun? I had been waiting to use this gel print because I wanted the "perfect" card for it. The colors made me think of an under the sea theme, so I decided to use the S'whale stamp set from Ellen Hutson. 

I stamped a few schools of fish around the edges of a Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!) card base. I die cut the gel print with a stitched rectangle die, matted it with a layer of black card stock, and then adhered it to the card base.

 

 

For the focal images, I stamped and die cut the whale and two more schools of fish and used foam tape to attach them to the gel print. I added three clear droplets to look like bubbles coming from the whale. To finish the card I stamped the punny sentiment "You are too cool for school" on a strip of white card stock and attached it below the whale.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gel print birthday cards

I've been trying to replenish my stash of birthday cards for awhile now, but it always seems like as soon as I make a few cards, I have to send a few out. I'm not really making a lot of progress. So last month I decided I was going to make a bunch of "quick" birthday cards using gel prints for backgrounds. I say "quick" because I have a hard time doing any crafty thing quickly; I always overthink the colors, die cuts, sentiments, etc., so it takes me a lot longer than I think it will to get anything done. But I finally did manage to finish a good batch of birthday cards.

I don't know why these photos are so washed out; they looked fine on my phone, and the colors in person are so vibrant. How frustrating.

I wasn't even going to post these photos because they look so bad, but since I had the post mostly done, I figured I'd just go ahead. At least you can see the layouts, so maybe that will be a little inspiration. (And next time I'll get out my camera to take photos and not try to save time with my phone.)

Anywho, I tried to get some variety in the cards, including a few masculine cards as well as a few kid-friendly ones. I think I used all different birthday dies and sentiments -- no matter how many birthday stamps and dies I have, I'm always looking for new and different styles. They're definitely what I use the most after some basic shapes dies.

I'm finally getting a good-sized birthday stash, but I need to keep going. I get hammered with birthdays in the fall (around a dozen in just October), and with holiday prep in full swing by that time, it's hard to focus on birthday cards. So I'll just keep plugging away!

Thanks for stopping by!

My first ICAD Challenge

This summer I tried a new (to me) creative challenge: the Index Card a Day (ICAD) Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to create something on an index card every day during the months of June and July, so 61 days total. Using an index card -- just a regular 3" x 5" or 4" x 6" office supply index card -- keeps your creative projects small, approachable, and less intimidating. You don't have to make something fancy or perfect or frame-able; you could practice lettering, make a collage of magazine cut-outs, scribble/draw with markers, whatever speaks to you.

The challenge includes daily prompts (a word or words to jump-start your creativity each day) and weekly themes (a big-picture concept, theme, or medium/material to explore for several days). You can use the prompt and theme together, pick one of them, or skip them altogether and do something completely different.

I didn't make it the whole 61 days of the ICAD Challenge. I got through all of June and the first few days July and then lost focus. I loved the idea and practice of making something every day, and some days I knew exactly what I wanted to do and it was great. Other days I would stare at my blank index card and feel stuck because I didn't know where to start. I thought about jumping back in a few times toward the end of July, but by then I'd lost my momentum.

I am proud of myself for making it through more than half of the challenge, though, especially since it was my first try. Maybe next year I'll try again and be more prepared. This year I learned about the challenge literally a day or two before it started and decided to do it on a whim. (Luckily, my sister had some index cards on hand.) Next year it might be fun to have a basket specifically for ICAD Challenge supplies so I can focus on using those items.

I also might reconsider posting my index cards on Instagram next year. I posted them this year, and while it's fun to share them and feel like part of a community, I always focus too much on the number of likes or comments I get or worry that what I make isn't good enough compared to what other people post. It's silly, I know, since the challenge isn't any sort of competition, but these are things I struggle with in general, not just in relation to the ICAD Challenge.

I couldn't talk about the ICAD Challenge and not share some of my creations. So here is a sampling of my index cards from the challenge (in no particular order):

Day 9. Prompt: Found. Theme: Collage, found paper, acrylics. I cut up gel prints to make this collage, and I love how the darker spots on the "water" look like reflections of the sun and trees. The sentiment was made with alphabet stamps.

Day 33. Prompt: Quatrefoil or ogee. I painted the index card with Ultra Gloss Air Dry Enamel, die cut the shapes from various gel prints and used a white paint pen to add accents.

Day 30. Prompt: Magical. I played around with a lot of different supplies for this card: Gelatos, Micron pens, white paint pen, silver Pearl Pen, stamps, ink, and silver foil card stock.

Day 22. Prompt: Pineapple. Theme: Patterns, murals, motifs, and/or wallpaper. I created this index card in a waiting room, so I couldn't do anything multi-media. I used markers to create a pattern inspired by the outside of a pineapple.

Day 34. I didn't use the prompt or theme for this card. I lightly sprinkled Color Burst powders on an index card and then spritzed it with water. When it was dry (I did have to blot some of the excess water) I used a paint pen to make the border and added two white butterflies. It's hard to see in the photo, but the little embellishments on the butterflies are perfect -- the colors match up, and the design in them even looks like the center of a butterfly.

Day 20. Another one with no prompt or theme. The strips that look like washi tape are made with Distress Crayons and a retired stamp set. The sentiment is stamped, and I used a Micron pen to draw the circles and dotted border.

Day 35. Prompt: Yellow. The background is made with stamps, and I punched the lemons and leaves out of gel prints. This was the last index card I made for the challenge.

Day 14. Prompt: Mood board. I think this is my favorite of all my index cards. I hadn't ever made or really used a mood board before, so I looked up some examples online, chose a theme and colors, and jumped in. I used five stamp sets (I think), and I added a little texture with burlap trim, a paper/bead flower, and a bit of washi tape.

Day 21. Prompt: Solstice. Theme: Typography, found text, lyrics, poetry, lists. The purple background and sun are made with gel prints. The light blue pieces are bits of newsprint-style patterned paper that I painted with acrylic paint. The words are cut from magazines, and I added a tiny bit of gold doily in the corner and yellow dots (Pearl Pen) with the rays of the sun.

 

 

 

Well, there you have it. I did enjoy playing along with this challenge. I tried and learned new things, had fun, and got new ideas for card-making. I even ended up making a set of cards based on the tropical mood board index card to give to a friend. :) And maybe next year I'll be able to make even more!

Thanks for stopping by!