#919 – Hearty Hugs and Kisses

Hello and welcome! Its second month of the year, where we celebrate love, but with a new challenge up at the Seize the Birthday challenge, we celebrate birthdays! However, the Topping for this month, selected by our charming leader Nancy, is ‘Hearts‘! So, maybe we can mix things up a little bit too! However, if you are not for the topping, you can just stick with our usual “Anything Goes” birthday! The choice is yours!

And here’s what I made –

I started with making the hearts background. I had a couple of ideas, but I wanted something colorful. Winnie & Walter, which I am naming Seeing Hearts (it’s very similar to their actual Seeing Hearts stencil), which I received for free when they closed shop (:() I aligned this stencil on a white card panel and used distress oxide inks and a few pigment inks to add color in rainbow order to each of the little hearts, taking care to not place colors next to each other. I then set this aside to dry.

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to use this panel directly on the card or go for another background. Finally I decided to go with one of the bright cardstocks that I have. This one is kind of a bright yellow ocher color (yeah, I suck at naming colors, though not using them 😉 !!). I stamped the plaid using The Stamp Market Striped stamp set in black ink. I then trimmed the hearts panel..one strip of hearts on each side..and then foam mounted it on the card base.

Finally the sentiment. I had this leftover piece, which I didn’t use on another project, which used the Neat & Tangled Journaling Alphas dies to die cut and some grey watercoloring on it (yes, watercolored die cut, not inked!). I thought it suited it, but then once I mounted the hearts on the yellow background, felt that it was not showing up as much. So I watercolored over around 3/4th of the pieces with black, left it to dry and then adhered that on my card. The second half of the sentiment comes from Concord & 9th Cuddles & Hugs, for which I used the same cardstock as my card base, trimmed it and then foam mounted it.

And that’s my card! I am also joining the following challenges –

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge: Love/Hearts

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Love is in the Air

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge #398: Birthdays

CrafTangles February challenge: Love

AAA Birthday challenge #22: A Large Sentiment

Stop over the Seize the Birthday blog for more wonderful, heartful inspiration from the rest of our design team and of course, from Carol Mayne, who is our Surprise Party Guest starting today for the next two months, too!

Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂

#901 – Seize the Birthday: Texture

PE: Top 3 at the AAA Birthday challenge!

Hello and welcome! We have a new challenge at Seize the Birthday, and with a new Topping! This time, our dear team mate Glenda has given us the Topping of including ‘Texture’ in our birthday projects. But, if you are not a topping person, anytime is ‘Anything Goes’ as long as it’s a birthday theme.

I went for an easy to make card this time. And here’s what I made –

The background, full of flowery texture is actually a leftover piece from a previous experiment. If I remember right, I first misted the entire paper – its texture paper – and added some green colored distress inks – probably Shabby Shutters and Old Paper. I then used Spellbinders Splendid embossing folder to get that flowery texture.

Now this folder doesn’t add to much depth to the paper. I wanted to use sandpaper to take off some of the embossing, and reveal the white underneath, but what with the texture of the paper and the embossing not having much depth, I gave up since it was going nowhere. However, some of the white became visible, and the texture a bit more noticeable with this.

Now, this panel didn’t have much weight, neither toughness to support itself. So, I added some scrap paper below it and foam mounted it a white card base.

So, coming to the other elements of the card… I had a few leftovers from when I made swatches for all my ink pads. I stamped the flower and leaves from combining the stamp sets from WPlus9 Fresh Cut Flowers and Avery Elle Laurels stamp sets. I then trimmed them to squares of 1.25″, centering the images along the way. I also added some clear embossing on on portions of the flowers and leaves for that special touch! 😉

The sentiment is from Pink Fresh Studio Playful Animals 2, which also I stamped and heat embossed with clear ep. I had initially stamped the sentiment together, but then decided to separate them, and fuzzy cut them into separate pieces. Finally, I adhered all the pieces by foam mounting them over the card. I also added a couple of black gem stones to embellish.

And that finishes my card! I’m joining these challenges with it –

AAA Birthday card challenge #18: Photo Inspiration

Stamplorations 7th Birthday challenge: Linking a Celebration themed project

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Layer it Up

Checkout more inspiration from our amazing design team and our Surprise Party Guest, Angie Cimbalo in the Seize the Birthday challenge blog, for more examples to include texture in your cards! And don’t forget to join the fun with your own birthday project creations!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

#858 – Birthday Bouquet

Hello and welcome! I made a card after looking at some challenges I wanted to join. I’ve been having a bit more free time due to you know what.. but somehow the crafty cogs are not rotating.. I could come up with this card, and then things started to click. 🙂

This one came together really quick. I stamped the images from My Favorite Things Buildable Bouquet and Things with Wings on watercolor paper using Adirondack Earthtones Ginger ink, which is a water reactive ink. I then painted it using distress inks. Of course, some of the ink I stamped the images with also blended in, but that’s what I wanted. Anyway, after it dried, I fussy cut the images.

On a panel of white cardstock, I stamped the My Favorite Things Scattered Surface using the same ink and then used water and a flat brush to spread and lift some color off the panel. Once this dried I trimmed one edge of it at an angle and then cut cut it off for a diagonal panel piece.

To bring the card together, I foam mounted the diagonal panel, then adhered a die cut piece of Reverse Confetti Lacy Scallop Circles. I then adhered the fussy cut pieces on top. For the sentiment, I used a combination of My Favorite Things Alphabets & Numbers by Birdie Brown and Ewe are the Best stamp sets.

I was inspired by the sketch from the MFT Sketch challenge #481. Unfortunately I was just a couple of hours late in submitting to this challenge! 😦

But I am joining the following challenges –

The Flower challenge #42: Anything Goes

Timeout challenge #157: Birthday

AAA Birthday challenge #11: Flowers

MFT The Birthday Project March challenge: Flowers

Watercooler challenge #264: All About Occasions

Thank you for stopping by! 🙂

#851 – Happy Birthday Friend

Hello and welcome! Somehow managed to make a card today – I wanted to make a shaker, since I recently bought some shaker sequins + beads mix! 🙂

On this card, I first applied a light coat of brown distress ink, then used the smallest polka dots stencil from the Simon Says Stamp Seeing Dots I added a bright blue ink. I used the same ink on a scrap strip of white cardstock also, to use for the shaker background. The critter is from Mama Elephant Three Amigos stamp set, which I watercolored using ink from my Zig Brush pens. I then fussy cut them all, and also die cut a strip of cardstock using the ‘Friend’ from My Favorite Things. I then made a shaker card using all these pieces. Pretty quick to make, I should say. 🙂

I am joining the following challenges –

Happy Little Stampers January Watercolor challenge: Anything Goes + optional Die Cuts

STAMPlorations January Stencil Challenge

AAA Birthday challenge #9: A Shaker Card

Fusion Card Challenge: Critter

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

#838 – Birthday Hedgehugs!!

Hello and welcome!! Its been such a looooong time since I made a card to join challenges…too long! So, I finally finished all my DT duties, and after recovering from my week-long fever, having a couple of holidays, I thought of making something to make me happy! 🙂 A couple of cards are the results of this, the first one being this –

I took out some stamps from My Favorite Things, one of the companies that I have a lot of stamps from. I used Geometric Greenery, Happy Hedgehogs and a ladybug from Things with Wings. I colored them all using Zig Brush marker pends, fussy cut them. On my cardstock, I stamped a gray gradient of Etched Tribal, cut out two pieces of Pinking Edge Square, foam mounted them, and adhered all my fussy cut pieces. Stamped the sentiment, a combination of sentiments from Happy Hedgehogs and Top Dog, trimmed it and foam mounted it too.

Something that took a bit more time than normal, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process!!

I am joining the following challenges with this card –

My Favorite Things Color Challenge #128

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #461

AAA Birthday card challenge #6: Color Palette

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!