#617 – With Thanks

Hello! Made this card some time ago while trying out the fresh stash of products that Danielle had sent me.. I just love the curvy lines in the Topography stamp.. and it is so versatile! I can think of so many things to do with this stamp. And the dies in Flower Medallion Builder too..so pretty! Here’s what I came up with –

I first heat embossed the Topology background using silver pearl embossing powder, then colored each section using Zig brush pens. My idea was to try out the card with only coloring, and if I felt that didn’t look good, I could always add water and spread the colors to make it prettier.. as long as the colors didn’t clash, it would look great! And that’s what happened – the colors weren’t looking great just sitting there, so I heavily misted them with some pearl water (water + perfect pearls). I kept this aside to air dry.

I then die cut some watercolor paper using the Flower Medallion Builder dies. I used watercolor paper, since the technique would require some thick paper, and the watercolor paper is the thickest and sturdiest I’ve got. After determining the arrangement, I decided which parts required the embossing, then heat embossed the pieces with copper embossing powder three times, making the pieces look metallic (learned this from Jennifer McGuire!). This, paired with the off-white color of the other diecuts looked really pretty! 🙂

Finally, I trimmed the dried watercolored base, adhered it over the card base, then trimmed the excess from the sides. I then adhered the flowers and a pearl in between. As for the sentiment, I did the same 3-times copper embossing, and also foam mounted it on the card.

Although it is pretty hard to capture this on the image, the brilliant metallic shine of the copper embossing and the soft sheen of the pearl water in the background look pretty well matched.. I really liked this combination.. and the off-white die cuts provide a nice contrast against the two colorful and shiny surfaces.. all in all, I am happy with the results! 🙂

Submitting this card to the following challenges –

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #242: Make Your Mark

Happy Little Stampers: May Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Seven Hills Crafts: May Color Challenge (the set of colors in the last image)

Simon Says Stamp: Wednesday Challenge: A Bit of Sparkle

Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂

#616 – Succulents & Watercoloring – Two Ways

PE: Inspired by All the Little Things Inspiring Standout!! Yay!!!

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge Sweet Seven!!

Hello! You know all those pretty succulent stamps that have been released by so many companies.. I did want to get one, but I never knew which one to choose. I did decide on one thought – Waffle Flower Potted stamp set. Those neatly grouped succulents are perfect for my watercoloring needs! 🙂 And after such a long time after buying them, I finally put the image to good use.

I tried two watercolor techniques. Both involve heat embossing, give a messy look, and are fantastically fun to make.

I prepared two watercolor panels – both with the succulent stamped and heat embossed in white. For the first card, I used my inky fingers to create art. Smooshing my chosen distress inks on an acetate, I misted them, picked the ink using my fingers and started adding dots to the paper. The dots aren’t exactly dots, and were rather messy, creating even more puddles and distortion due to the embossing. I let the panel dry in between a couple more layers of adding colors.. just to add to the splotchy look, and making the colors darker.

Once this dried, I added splatters of the same colors and let it all dry. Finally, I trimmed the piece using Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles, added the sentiment strip, stamped on vellum.. and mounted it on an off-white cardstock – the only one in my stash.. I don’t even remember where I got it from! 😀

This card goes to the following challenges –

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #406 –

CAS Mix Up May Challenge: Stamp + Splatter..+ I chose heat embossing and watercoloring and vellum

Happy Little Stampers: May Mixed Media Challenge: Splats

And here’s the second card –

For my second card, I went more traditional. I used distress inks again, but this time, just used water and a print brush for messy watercoloring. Love the soft tones in this one! 🙂

I die cut the panel using Winnie & Walter Essentials Lana Cutaways, the sentiment from Winnie & Walter Sketchy Thoughts, then mounted the panel on kraft cardstock.

This card goes to the following challenges –

Inspired by All The Little Things Challenge #55 (inspired by the picture… they sure do look like succulents to me!!)

Seven Hills Crafts: May Color Challenge (first set of colors)

Stamplorations: May CAS challenge: Feminine Colors

Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂

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#585 – Happy 3rd for Winnie & Walter & Happy 300 for Friday Inspiration File

whew…that’s a long title…!! 😀

But that’s what this post is for – celebrating two fantastic achievements! I wanted to take part in these, by, of course, playing with their challenges! 🙂

A very big congratulations to Winnie and Walter for completing a very successful 3 years and a big congrats to Kara Vrabel (of K and R Designs) in giving us 300 weeks of inspiration by way of her Friday Inspiration Files!!  I am a big fan of both the company and the lady! And I’ve made a couple of cards to be a part of both challenges. Showing the first one here –

I made this card inspired by…quite a few things, actually. 😉 First, I was inspired by Aga’s card (Week 265), then I wanted the card to have three colors, and got the perfect set of colors with the Seven Hills Crafts Challenge this month. I got the perfect stamp set too – Winnie and Walter’s In Bloom: Eva’s Favorite Flowers. This stamp set is just perfect when you want to make anything geometrical! Love it!! 🙂

{source: Blog, Pinterest}

So, after drawing some light pencil lines for reference, I eye balled and stamped all the images, finally coming to the sentiment. I was super tempted to add dimension or even embellishing (it really is tough for me to make such a super CAS card!!) but I left it be.. Oh, and I did add that circle using a green gel pen from Uniball… I wish they had every color I wanted, the pens are great!

Well wrapping off – I am submitting the card to the following challenges –

Seven Hills Crafts February Challenge (I used turquoise, lime and grey) –

K and R Designs 300 Weeks Of Inspiration Challenge –

Winnie and Walter 3rd Birthday Celebrations –

Three Challenge with Shay (I used three colors)

Pattern-Making Challenge with Mayuri

Mood Board Challenge with Heather P all three colors are in the mood, and of course, the pattern is made using flower and leaf stamps!

 

Here’s to more years of Winnie & Walter and hundreds of weeks of Kara’s Inspiration files!

Thank you for stopping by! 🙂

510 – Going Retro!

PE: Top 3 at Sovushka Slavia!! .. and after such a long time too!! 😉

Honorable Mention at Seven Hills Crafts!! 😀

Hello! I’ve been wanting to make a card like this since I saw this card by May Park. Such a fantastic idea!! I had tried it quite some time ago, with not so great results.. and tried it again this time.. and quite loved the results! 🙂

I first die cut 4 panels using Simon Says Stamp One With Nature. The flower is the largest flower from Waffle Flower A Bunch. I used dye inks for stamping the flower and then pigment inks for the solid coloring on the backgrounds. After foam mounting the panels, I stamped the sentiment from Altenew Painted Greetings in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Submitting this card to the following challenges –

Sovushka Slavia: Card Sketch Challenge #56

Seven Hills Crafts: August Challenge: Geometry

Bastel Traum Challenge #43 – Anything Goes

SSS Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes

SSS Work It Wednesday – Use Peridot (I’ve used a mix of greens and yellows)

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

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#501 – CASEing Yoonsun Hur

PE: Spotted by My Favorite Things!!

Honorable Mention at The Heart Desired Challenge!!

Its been quite some time since my last post! I actually made these cards a week ago, but am posting them only now….And as the title denotes, I am CASEing a couple of cards by the amazingly talented Yoonsun Hur!

My first card is a CASE of this card by Yoonsun. If you’ve seen my posts from beloew, you’ll know I love bold and bright colors – and Yoonsun’s card, where she combined this bold look with the muting kraft – just stunning!

For my card, I used flowers and leaves from  My Favorite Things Modern Blooms and a variety of inks, then using another flower center stamp, stamped the dots in black and grey. I also added the dotted lines using Winnie & Walter Scenery: Stripes. Finally came the sentiment – I used Lawn Fawn Cole’s ABCs dies for the sentiment.

Did I mention that I really loved the bright and bold look? 😀 Anyway, I did add a bit of embellishing using some gold and bronze sequins.

This card is made especially for My Favorite Things challenge, who are celebrating 10 years – what an awesome achievement!! 😀 The challenge is 10th Birthday Celebration Bonus Challenge, where we are to include 10 in some way in our creations. In my card, I’ve used 10 stamped elements (including flowers and leaves) and the sentiment carries 10 letters too! 😛

I am also submitting the card to the following challenges –

Virginia’s View (Summer Challenge) #22: All About Colors

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Flora & Fauna

The Heart Desires Challenge #2 (I’ve borrowed a few colors from the theme, and the flowers look quite tropical!)

For my second card, I was inspired by this card of Yoonsun. Now, I really love watercoloring – and watercolor backgrounds are just awesome – more so when done my a coloring genius like Yoonsun.. but I degress..

The only mistake I made in this card’s watercoloring – I chose the wrong watercoloring medium – I used watercolor cakes – I should have used inks.. but anyway, the end result is not so bad… and the lesson is learnt! 😀

So, for this card, I used mostly solid or thick-outlined stamps from Neat & Tangled Paper Cut Flowers and Ellen Hutson Bold Blooms and used Zing white embossing powder. Unfortunately, I did somehow end up smudge up the embossing, even after embossing twice, to avoid the exact thing! Talk about ironic! 😀

The sentiment, from Ellen Hutson Mondo Magnolia is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. Finally the card is embellished using some silver sequins (which are looking black in the image).

I am submitting this card to Ellen Hutson Mix It Up Challenge: Neat & Tangled and Seven Hills Crafts July Challenge: Color Challenge –

Thank you for stopping by! 🙂

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#479 – Happy Birthday Ma!!

PE: Seven Hills Crafts Winner!! 😀

Hello!

Its a fine co-incidence that my Ma’s birthday falls in the same month as Mother’s day. 😀 I had said in my post with the Mother’s day card for my Ma that she loved flowers. She absolutely loved that card. I thought of another flower garden card for her birthday too! 🙂 And what better stamp set than the Altenew Golden Garden for the job! 😀

Since I was doing very light watercoloring, with little water, I chose normal cardstock, but since I wanted a little texture, Fabriano Elle Erre Bianca was the perfect choice.

Once I stamped the flowers from the stamp set in Versamark inks, I heat embossed them using Wow! Silver Pearl embossing powder. I then colored the panel using distress inks and Paper Trey Ink inks. Once the panel dried, I added splatters of Deco Art Glamour Dust Ultra Fine Glitter Paint in gold.

Coming to the background. My initial idea was to have the flowery panel on the whole card, but somehow I ended up die cutting it, and then not liking the idea of adding it on a plain card base. I thought of q few ideas, and in the end went with a gold painted striped background. I used Fevicryl Sparkling Pearl colors acrylic paint in gold – such a beautiful sparkling gold, you wouldn’t believe it! 🙂 Loved it. So, once the background was dry, I foam mounted the flower garden panel.

For the sentiment, I used the Happy die cut from Mama Elephant, cutting it from the same card stock and then from some white foam. I used Zig two way glue. I usually use liquid medium for adhering, since I am not good with alignment. This time I chose this because, one, it is like a spongy stick and there were no chances of the glue seeping out and two, it is a pretty good glue. I think I’ll be using this glue for adhering little die cut sentiments from now on! 😀

And before I forget, as I am prising my new glue stick, the stamped and embossed in white sentiment is from Paper Trey Ink.

And finally, my handmade envelope. I made a different kind of envelope this time. The kind you get if you use We R Memory Keepers’ Punch Board. I cut out a template for myself this time, so its easy to make more.

So, I used PTI Classic Kraft ink to stamp the flowers on the envelope, along with the sentiment from Altenew Painted Greetings, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. I then added a few dots and also colored a few of the flowers using my Unibal Signo gel pen in gold.

So that’s my card for my Ma’s birthday! Hope she likes it! 🙂

Submitting this card to the following challenges – Seven Hills Crafts: May Theme Challenge: Embossing, Seize The Birthday: Dimension, Simon Says Stamp: Work It Wednesday: April: Flowers –

Thank you so much for stopping by!

#461 – You Dazzle Me

Hello!

Back with another card that I just finished –

I first trimmed the center panel, and started stamping sentiments from Neat & Tangled Faced stamp set using Hero Arts Charcoal, Soft Granite and Neon Blue inks. I then a strip of washi tape down one side of the panel and foam mounted the panel on the card base. I then die cut the stars from Brustro Iridescent gold metallic paper using Paper Trey Ink Sketched Stars and Small Sketched Stars dies and adhered these on the panel. I then stamped the sentiment, once using Neon Blue and twice again using stamped off Soft Granite – to achieve a bit of a shadow – on another piece of scrap card stock, trimmed it and adhered that too on the card. Simple and really fast – just the way I like it! 🙂

Submitting this card to CASology Challenge 191: Washi, Stampin’ Royalty #323: Wonderful Words, Seven Hills Crafts: April Color Challenge (I chose the colors from the image in the center) and Sovushka Slavia Card Sketch Challenge #47 –

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂