Swim the Sea

I’m still waxing poetic about summer as autumn approaches. While I love the colors of the fall, I like the colors of summer, too. And I’ve always liked primary colors, although I added a few fish cut from Mango cardstock, deviating from the blue/yellow/red color scheme of this card created with one of my favorite sentiments.

Swim the Sea

Have a terrific weekend!

Out the Window: A Poppystamps Project

Today, I’m sharing a card created for Poppystamps. Even though the season is about to change, I’m still clinging to this last month of summer (those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are probably ready for spring!). I’m not quite ready to say “good-bye” to blooming flowers, sunny days, or the bright colors of the summer season.

Out the Window: A Poppystamps Project

In order to fit in the pieces I wanted to include on the card, I decided to “cut” the window/shutter combination at the top. Rather than leave the raw edge, I scored the pieces and folded them back on themselves. That way, there’s a finished edge along the top.

I didn’t originally plan to have the flowers by the watering can. However, after I had all the pieces of the card in place, I decided a few flowers peeking through the fence would help with the depth of field I was trying to create and visually anchor the watering can.

Pinspired Challenge #15

Welcome! It’s time for another Pinspired Challenge. The photo is for you to interpret anyway you want. Be inspired by the colors, the style, the theme – it’s up to you!

Kiwi Lane is offering the winner of this challenge a $25 gift certificate to their online store.

Pinspired Challenge #15

For my card, I was inspired by the theme and the colors! I created the birds’ nest out of cut pieces of the Grapevine Wreath die, which I glued together in layers. I’d love to take credit for such a clever idea, but I found the idea on the blog of Pam Sparks. If you haven’t visited her site or seen her work before, you’re in for a treat!

Now, it’s your turn. Head on over to the Pinspired Challenges blog to see the creations from the rest of the “Pin Heads” and find out the details for playing along. Three runner ups will be chosen and win a “Pin Pal” badge for their blog. A winner, who will also be chosen by the “Pin Heads,” will win a “Pin Perfect” badge for their blog along with the prize from Kiwi Lane. We can’t wait to see your creations!

Penny Black Sunny Days

I absolutely adore the stamp images in the Penny Black Sunny Days set. I’m sharing a card in which I have paired the soccer-playing dog with a sentiment from the Friendship set.

Penny Black Sunny Days

After stamping with Versafine ink and heat embossing, I colored the dog and soccer ball with Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils (there’s just a bit of white pencil on the soccer ball). With advice from Elizabeth Allan, I used Ink Potion No. 9, rather than water, to blend the watercolor pencil. I stamped the image on cardstock, rather than watercolor paper, as I didn’t want my cardstock to pill. I’m happy to report that the Ink Potion did the trick. I also tried a version with my Prismacolor pencils, but I preferred the vividness that I achieved with the Inktense pencils.

I finished the card off with some clouds cut with Memory Box dies and adhered the blue panel to a woodgrain-cardstock card base.

SCC2: Week Three, Day Four

Today’s class in the Online Card Classes Summer Card Camp 2 was all about trying something new. I CASEd the lovely shabby chic creation by guest artist Debby Hughes. Shabby chic is definitely not a style in which I normally craft my cards!

SCC2: Week Three, Day Five

I even broke out my sewing machine to add the stitching, as without it, the cut patterned paper just didn’t look right for this style. I distressed the panel and card base with Antique Linen Distress Ink and the tag with Frayed Burlap. It’s subtle, but the effect does make a difference. To be honest, I ended up enjoying this process much more than I thought I would! The card is still not full-on Shabby Chic, but it’s definitely done in a style different than my usual.