Tulip Basket

Not having made a card in this style for a long time, I decided to give it a whirl and enter it into a couple of challenges. I went to The Cutting Café and downloaded the files.

The back side of the card shows through in a few spots when the card is closed but the front side, when the card is open, is absent of any supporting cardstock.

The files were downloaded, the images resized and cut, colored with Copic markers and edge-sponged with green dye ink. The card was assembled with a satin bow for decoration. The die was used to cut the word once in black cardstock and once in lavender. The words were adhered using the black as a shadow.

 

The card is being submitted to:

1. Cut It Up #122
    (Technique: Fun Fold)




2. Crafting from the Heart #160
    (Theme: Anything Goes)






3. Dies R Us #73
    (Technique: Shaped card)








4. Aud Sentiments #180
   (Theme: Include a sentiment)


Techniques: Shaped card, fun fold card, coloring, sponging, die cutting
Size: A7 (5" x 7")

Materials
Images: The Cutting Cafe
Inks: Stampin' Up! Garden Green; Copic markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Wisteria Wonder
Die: Essentials by Ellen "Wonderful" script
Misc.: Cricut Cutting Machine, 3/4" satin ribbon from stash

New Beginnings

06/01/217 Update: Top Three winner at AHSC #213.

I have had this stamp and die set for a while and this is the first time I've used it. It's the type that requires the images to be die cut first, then stamped. (I think I prefer the other way around.) The tulips are three-step stamps and the stems are two-step. The card started as CAS but upon completion, I decided it was not.

The card base was stamped with a grunge spatter design and the sentiment was added. After die cutting and stamping two sets of flowers, one bundle of three tulips was directly adhered to the white card base. The other five tulips were backed with foam tape and adhered. Five clear droplets in two sizes were randomly adhered.

The inside of the card was stamped with a coordinating sentiment and some grunge spatter. The two remaining die cut tulips were adhered for decoration. Finally, clear Wink of Stella was added to the tulips.

This card is being submitted to:

1. Inspired by All the Little Things #57







2. Crafty Creations #342




3. Aud Sentiments #180




4. Crafting from the Heart #160







5. Atlantic Hearts #213





Techniques: stamping, multi-step stamping, die cutting
Size: A2

Materials
Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Gorgeous Grunge" & Papertrey Ink "Tulip Time"
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! Crushed Cucumber, Pistachio Pudding, Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, Rose Red
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White - heavyweight and regular
Dies: Papertrey Ink "Tulip Time"
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Dimensionals (foam tape); Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets; ZIG Wink of Stella (clear)

True Star - Masculine

It's been a while since I've used watercolor crystals so decided to play with those today. The result was a masculine card - although I think it could be gender neutral. I also wanted to try out a new glittery EP that puffs up when heat is applied. I like the puffiness but the glitter does not photograph.

Lesson I should have learned by now: I live in Arizona and today's temperature is 104 F (40 C). Although the central air conditioner is on today, I also have the ceiling fan in my sewing/craft room working. I should always turn that fan off when using embossing powder or watercolor crystals. It took a bit of time to wipe away the fine powder from various surfaces. Happens every time.

I decided to sprinkle the blue crystals first and then add a spritz of water. The result was a lot of tiny splatter, which I really liked. A heat gun was used to dry the wet paper - front and back to reduce warping. The vellum star and silver foil star were die cut and the white star was heat embossed, fussy cut and sprinkled with drops. The vellum star was adhered directly to paper and the two remaining stars were popped up with foam tape. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with silver EP.

This was adhered to a card base matted on the upper right corner with silver foil. The inside of the card was lined with white cardstock and decorated with wet color. The star on  the inside was stamped with Versamark, heat embossed with silver pearl EP, fussy cut and adhered.

This card is being submitted to:

1. Aud Sentiments #180
    (Use a sentiment.)




2. Crafting from the Heart 160
    (Anything goes.)




3. The Male Room #60






4.  Crafty Creations #341
     (Anything goes.)



5. AAA Cards #90
    (CAS w/embossing)



Techniques: Stamping, watercoloring w/crystals, die cutting, fussy cutting, heat embossing, CAS
Size: A2

Materials
Stamps: Winnie & Walter "True"
Inks: Ken Oliver Color Burst (Ultramarine Blue)
Cardstock/Paper: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Vellum, Silver Foil, watercolor
Dies: Stampin' Up! Star Framelits
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Dimensionals (foam tape) & EP (silver); WOW EP (silver pearl); Stampendous EP (Sparkle Puff)

Fun Jungle Safari - Masculine Birthday

The Latin word "hippopotamus" is derived from the ancient Greek, meaning "horse of the river". Most of us have most likely seen them in zoos rather than in their native habitat - lakes and rivers throughout the African jungle.

But my hippo is just for birthday fun! I never noticed until I decided to color this stamped image, that they are black, gray or brown and they have pinky-orange skin around their eyes, ears and sometimes their bellies and mouths.

The jungle-masculine-adventure idea was inspired by four theme challenges. The layout was inspired by a CAS sketch, which is recognizable in the card but is no longer CAS. (CAS was not a requirement.)

A panel of cork was adhered to the white card base then another panel of patterned paper with safari Jeeps in various colors was adhered. The oval frame was die cut from cork and the solid oval was cut from blue DSP that coordinates with the blue Jeeps. The leaves were stamped in three shades of green and fussy cut. The image was stamped in gray ink, colored with Copics and die cut.

The ovals were backed with foam tape and adhered to the card front. The leaves were added and the hippo was backed with foam tape and adhered. The sentiment was stamped in gray on white cardstock and matted with blue paper. The inside of the card was decorated with a stamped leaf.

This card is being submitted to:

1. Cardz 4 Guyz #169
    (Theme: Jungle Fun)



2. Watercooler Wednesday #119








3. City Crafter #362
    (Theme: Travel/Adventure)





4. Try Stamping on Tuesday Sketch #322











5. Seize the Birthday
    (Opt: Creatures & Animals)


Techniques: Stamping, coloring, die cutting, fussy cutting
Size: A2

Materials:
Stamps: Paper Smooches "Huge Hugs" & Crafter's Companion "A Taste of India" (leaves)
Inks: Stampin' Up! Basic Gray, Garden Green, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade; Copic markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Paper: Echo Park "Jungle Safari"
Dies: Paper Smooches "Huge Hugs"
Misc.: DCWV Cork; Stampin' Up! Dimensionals foam tape

Happy Birthday - Feminine

05/23/2017 Update: Diamond Award winner at Color Dare #243.






One card for several challenges presented an opportunity to use new Oxide ink. I used the simple method of smearing ink onto the work surface, spritzing it with water and placing the cardstock onto the wet mess. I dried the card between dips into the watery ink to avoid a muddy look. As it turned out, I only had one color of Oxide ink for the color challenge so used regular Distress inks for the remainder.

Once dry, the inked cardstock was cut to size then stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with silver pearl EP. The piece was matted with black cardstock and decorated with silver glitter paper and a black strip with a heat embossed sentiment in silver pearl EP. A few sequins were also added. This was all backed with foam tape and adhered to the card base. The inside of the card was lined with white cardstock and decorated with a strip of silver glitter paper.

This card is being submitted to:


1. Color My Heart Color Dare #243





2. Just Us Girls #393
   





3. AAA Cards #90







4. Crafter's Café Birthday #173








Techniques: Stamping, heat embossing, "smooshing"
Size: A2

Materials
Stamps: CTMH Happy Valentine & SSS Hand Lettered Greetings
Inks: Versamark
         Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick sub for CTMH Blossom
         Distress Picked Raspberries sub for CTMH Raspberry
         Distress Evergreen Bough sub for CTMH Lagoon
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight), Basic Black, Lost Lagoon, Glimmer Paper
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Dimensionals foam tape; WOW EP (silver pearl); sequins from stash

Watercoloring with Dye Ink

05/16/2017 Update: Emerald Award winner at Color Dare Challenge #242.







Mother's Day is almost here... I wanted to make one more card - for my sister-in-law, Kathy - and use it in a challenge. Kathy, the mother of my two grown nephews, Dave and Dan, likes cards with lots of layers and shine so I think she'll enjoy the card.

The flowers were all stamped with Versamark and heat embossed using pearl embossing powder. Using an Aquapen and dye ink pads, the flowers were painted. Metallic gold paint was also watercolored onto the flowers. The smaller plants were fussy cut, backed with foam tape and adhered to the large watercolored flowers. The card was very lightly spattered with metallic gold paint.

The paper is warped, which is not uncommon with watercoloring. An iron can be applied to flatten it, however, the iron will often transfer the embossing powder onto the surface (i.e., ironing board). The embossing powder is part of the design in this case and I would not want to remove it. If time permitted, I would store the card overnight under a book, but I had to mail it right away. Once the card goes through the mail, the warped paper will flatten:

The main element of the card was backed with black cardstock leaving a very thin mat, then adhered to the card base. The sentiment was die cut and a few translucent dots were added around the sentiment. Because my own mother passed away a number of years ago, I have never purchased any stamps to celebrate the day. The inside of the card was lined with white cardstock and a stamped flower.

The pearl embossing powder and the gold paint visibly shine in this photo:

This card is being submitted to:

1. Color My Heart Color Dare #242








2. The Crafter's Café #172

3. Crafting from the Heart #158







4. Aud Sentiments #179

Techniques: Watercoloring, stamping, fussy cutting, die cutting, heat embossing
Size: A2

Materials
Stamp sets: Stampin' Up! Fabulous Flora & Helping Me Grow
Inks:
     CTMH Desert Sand (background)
     CTMH Canary (substitute for CTMH Lemon)
     CTMH Pear (substitute for CTMH Willow)
     SU! Sweet Sugarplum (substitute for CTMH Blossom)
     SU! Peach Parfait {retired} (substitute for CTMH Tangerine)
     Finetec Pearl Watercolor Set (Fine Gold)
     Versamark
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Sweet Sugarplum
Paper: Stampin' Up! Watercolor
Die: Penny Black "Just for You"
Misc.: Kool-tac clear foam tape, Stampin' Up! Aquapen, Nuvo Jewel Drops (lime green), WOW embossing powder (Pearl)