Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice!

The biweekly color challenge is up on the Blog at Color My Heart Color Dare. This is Challenge #581 and runs through Thursday evening, January 11, 2024. I love these colors together, choosing Rosy, Peach, and Lagoon plus a bit of silver metallic.  You may substitute colors that are a close match so I selected Melon Mambo, Blu-raspberry, and Petal Pink as substitutes for the original colors.

First, the front of the bright pink card base was embossed for texture. The silver die-cut band was added along with two hand-cut strips of blue-green paper. In addition, the poinsettias and leaves were die-cut. A circle was die-cut from vellum. The poinsettias were inked with a touch of bright pink ink. 

It seems there is almost always a lesson to be learned when crafting even if you're not a beginner. The sentiment, "Rejoice", was stamped three times on the vellum circle with Versamark ink and silver embossing powder. As I assembled the elements, I realized that the small sentiments on the vellum did not show up well against the bright card base, so I die-cut a smaller circle from peachy cardstock and colored it with a bit of ink. I inserted it behind the vellum so the sentiments were more visible. I also added five silver pearls. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock and stamped with a silver embossed sentiment. A poinsettia was added for decoration.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to join us at the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge Blog to read the guidelines. Our challenges are biweekly in duration and begin every Friday morning so there is always an active challenge in the works.

Happy New Year!

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Honey Bee "Heart Be Light" (sentiments on front and inside)

Inks: Stampin' Up! Melon Mambo; Versamark

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Melon Mambo, Petal Pink; Cardstock Warehouse Blu-raspberry

Paper: Stampin' Up! Vellum; Scrapbook.com "Holographic"

Dies: Kokorosa "Three Poinsettias", Spellbinders "Winter Borders", Hero Arts Infinity (circles)

EF: KWellam Christmas Snowfall

EP: Wow! Metallic Silver Super Fine Powder

Misc.: Pink Fresh "Matte Silver Pearls"

Celebrating the New Year's Ball Drop

Dec 31, 2023 Update: Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers!

Dec 31, 2023 Update: Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers!

Time again for another Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. This is Challenge #557, ending on Sunday evening, December 31, 2023. Following is the sketch:

After looking at the sketch several times, I was reminded of a die-cut that I had in my stash. I thought it would work quite nicely for "my interpretation" of the sketch, which is somewhat avant-garde. This image was cut from gold-patterned holographic paper last year but never used. 

A walk down Memory Lane:

I lived and worked in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, many years ago. I was a young woman, fresh out of college, and eager to begin my career. It was an exciting time for this girl from a small village in Central New York State. I loved everything - the shopping, the subways, the diversity of cultures, and the food. I love to explore museums and there is no shortage of them. In addition, I was living only a block from Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Opera. The musicals on Broadway were fabulous, even from the cheap seats. Celebrating New Year's Eve was another unforgettable experience, which seems to have inspired me to create this card!

Onto a panel of pink cardstock, a stencil representing fireworks was used instead of adding patterned paper. The die-cut ornament was backed with vellum so the fireworks are somewhat visible through the ornament. A few other gold elements were added to represent a party atmosphere and the traditional dropping of the ball in Times Square. (They have been doing that since 1907.)

The finished panel was adhered to a pearlescent black card base and gold bling was added. The inside was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with a touch of fireworks stenciling and a few elements in gold holographic paper. I am not a great photographer but it is so difficult for me to photograph sparkly cards!

Every Monday there is an excellent sketch on display at the AHSC Blog so be sure to visit and play along. Here's hoping the Design Team "gets" my avant-garde sketch interpretation because that's what a sketch challenge is all about.

Having recently discovered If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187, I am submitting just one more card to their December Challenge to use gold or silver.

Thank you for visiting and I appreciate your comments. 

Happy New Year!

Melanie

Materials

Ink: Stampin' Up! Melon Mambo

Cardstock: Stampin' up! Basic White, Pretty in Pink; Cardstock Warehouse Pearlescent Black

Paper: Stampin' Up! Vellum, SBC Holographic paper

Die: Kokorosa (New Year Ornament)

Stencil: Tim Holtz "Burst"

Misc.: Recollections Gem Stickers

Love & Christmas Cookies

12/24/2023 Update: Favorite of the Week at Splitcoast Stampers!

Once the children in our family become teenagers, it's gift cards or cash instead of a wrapped gift. It's now down to the wire and I realized I was short one Christmas card for the cash gift for my 13-year-old nephew. I don't often use ephemera and stickers on my cards because I like to create the elements myself, but I had Christmas paper and accessories on my desk so decided to make something quickly.

My nephew enjoys learning to cook with his mom, so this suite of Gingerbread Christmas paper worked well for a cooking theme. A cut-apart was trimmed and backed with gum-drop patterned paper, then adhered to the red card base, adding a strip of green plaid paper behind the cut-apart. The cute garland of gingerbread cookies was added across the top of the card and a green gumdrop was adhered on the lower left.

The inside of the card was lined with a panel of dark green cardstock and then another panel in white. A sticker with "Official Cookie Tester" was added along with a Merry Christmas sentiment. This was a quick and easy card but I'm sure my nephew will be more interested in the cash than in the card making!

Thank you for visiting my blog.
Melanie

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Real Red, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Echo Park "Gingerbread Christmas" Collection

Celebrating You - Birthday

 

The weekly sketch challenge is up on the Blog at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. This is Challenge #556 and runs through Sunday evening, December 24, 2023. Although the inspiration for this card came from the sketch below, I elected to go with a birthday card, rather than one for the holidays.

Following the sketch, I cut and adhered the various elements to a panel of violet pearlescent cardstock. The circle was added using thin foam tape and I selected black gems because the flowers in the patterned paper have black centers. I added a little bit of hand embossing to the right edge of the violet paper. This is an old technique done with a stylus but my cardstock is heavyweight preventing the embossing from showing in the photo.

If you enjoy using sketches or have been wanting to try a sketch challenge, be sure to visit the AHSC #556 Blog. Although they have many Design Team members, they are not forthcoming with comments, which is disappointing, but I continue to play along because I enjoy the sketches.

It's time to explore other challenges and I have discovered If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187. Their December challenge is to use gold and silver.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I enjoy reading your comments. Merry Christmas!

Melanie

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Pretty in Pink; Paper Papers Pearlescent Satin (Violet)

Paper: Catherine Pooler "Paper Hearts" Collection; SBC "Holographic" 

Dies: Hero Arts Infinity (circles), Spellbinders "Winter Borders"

Sentiment Sticker: Pink Fresh "Celebrating You" (silver)

Misc.: CTMH thin foam tape; Spellbinders Fashion Jet gems

Bold, Bright, and Merry

 

December 16, 2024 Update: Double Winner of the Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers!

December 17, 2024 Update: Featured Stamper at Splitcoast Stampers!

 

Color My Heart Color Dare has a biweekly challenge that's just right for finishing up your holiday cards. Challenge #579 is open for fun, closing on Thursday evening, December 28, 2023. Below is the color board and it is bold and bright!

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I was short on time because my family surprised me with a birthday party forcing me to rush to make the card deadline. I decided to go bold and bright by adding metallic and holographic elements to my card base, using the prints and designs in the paper to reflect colors.

The circles and snowflakes were die-cut and adhered to the card base with thin foam tape. The sentiment was also adhered with thin foam tape. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with additional circles in holographic paper. 

Please join us at the Color Dare #579 Challenge Blog to view the Design Team's cards.

To add to the challenge fun, I am participating in the December challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187 with a fourth card! This challenge ends on December 31, 2023, but I will be joining in future challenges.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Merry Christmas!

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Paper Rose (sentiment on front) & Honey Bee "Mini Messages" (inside sentiment)

Ink: Versamark

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! "Basic White" & Cardstock Warehouse "Blu-raspberry" 

Paper: SBC "Holographic" & various scraps of foiled gold and silver

Dies: Hero Arts Infinity (Circles) & Honey Bee "Lovely Layers - Large Snowflakes"

EP: Wow! Metallic Gold Rich Super Fine

Misc.:  CTMH thin foam tape & Honey Bee gem stickers

Joy to the World (Sketch)

January 2, 2024 - Update:

This card was selected as a "Top Cookie" at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge #187.

My holiday cards are completed so I was tempted to create a birthday card but was inspired by the snowflake on this sketch. I guess I could have gone with a wintry theme but I don't live in a climate with long winters so once the holidays are finished, it's not long before my tulips and daffodils show themselves. But it's time to write about this Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!

Onto a green card base, I added white patterned paper with a design of scattered gold fir trees. A green band backed with gold was adhered to the card front. A square was cut from the same green cardstock and also backed with a panel of gold paper. The large snowflake was die-cut from gold holographic paper and adhered to the square element, which was then added to the card front with thin foam tape for dimension. 

The sentiment was heat embossed with gold powder and adhered directly to the snowflake, and two clusters of three gold gem stickers were added. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock and decorated with small die-cut snowflakes in gold holographic paper. I also added a sentiment that was heat embossed with gold powder, saying "Merry Christmas". I really like this sketch and see myself using it again, tweaking it here and there for other non-sketch challenges.

Be sure to visit the AHSC Challenge Blog #555 on Wednesday, December 13, to view the Design Team's cards and if you haven't played along, it's time to try.

I recently discovered the challenge, If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187, so I am adding this card to their December challenge to include gold and silver.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Honey Bee "Mini Messages - Holiday" (both sentiments)

Ink: Versamark

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Gold Foil; dark green (source unknown)

Paper: Honey Bee "Holiday Wishes" & Scrapbook.com "Holographic"

Die: Honey Bee "Lovely Layers - Large Snowflakes"

Embossing Powder: Wow! Metallic Gold Rich Super Fine

Misc.: CTMH thin foam tape; Honey Bee gem stickers

Happy Owlidays

The challenge over at Try Stampin' on Tuesday is up on the blog, awaiting your card! Following is the required sketch - remember you can turn the sketch or substitute one shape for another if you wish. This is Challenge #636, scheduled to close on Sunday evening, December 17, 2023. 

Our optional theme is "Bundle Up". It's your choice to include this theme with the sketch. I have had this cute stamp set for a time so decided it fit the optional theme perfectly. I stamped the "bundled up" owl along with a branch included in the set. After coloring the images, I fussy cut them. My Copic markers have been packed away for a long time and need to be cared for so I borrowed markers from a family member. Her markers are for Bible art and journaling and are a mix of different ink types but I made them work. In addition, an oval shape was die-cut from vellum, and three snowflakes from white cardstock. One of the sentiments from the stamp set was stamped in brown ink. I resisted the urge to use "googly" eyes because the sclera in the eyes of owls is not white. So I colored the sclera and added black gems for the pupils.

The snowflake patterned paper was adhered to a panel of dark green cardstock and the elements were arranged onto the card, following the sketch layout. The oval with the owl on a branch was adhered using thin foam tape along with the stamped sentiment including another branch. I added a few snowflakes for decoration. The inside of the card was decorated with a bit of scrap paper and a few more snowflakes. With brown ink, I added the sentiment, "Warm Wishes", which is also included in this stamp set.

Be sure to visit the TSOT Blog #636 to view the Design Team's cards and join the challenge!

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please feel free to leave a comment. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Melanie

Materials

Stamp set: CTMH "From Owl of Us"

Inks: Stampin' Up! Soft Suede & miscellaneous assortment of markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Vellum, Evening Evergreen

Paper: Echo Park "Gingerbread Christmas"

Dies: Honey Bee "Lovely Layers" (snowflakes), Kat Scrappiness (oval with embossed rim)

Misc.: Spellbinders black gems & CTMH thin foam tape

Wishing You Joy

Note: Part of the theme is to use a  bow, ribbon, cord, twine, etc. In answer to a few questions I used Washi tape for the horizonal band with the stamped sentiment, which is permitted.

Greetings! It's almost the end of another year... where did the year go? And, as usual, it seems that nothing changes from year to year because I was still in a rush to wrap up the completion of my holiday cards for 2023. I am finally getting them in the mail.

Double Trouble Challenge suggests you use this opportunity to "wrap it up" with the holiday cards with Challenge #155. As is customary, we have three "Things" for you. In summary:

Thing 1 (required): We don't want to drive Trouble Maker "die-lerious" so use at least one item on your card that has been cut with your favorite cutting tool. You may use a die, punch, scissors, or a cutting machine. I fussy-cut some flowers and die-cut some leaves for my card. By the way, entering our challenge means your name is in for a chance at the random drawing.

Thing 2 (optional): Double Dare hopes to see your project posted at Use Your Stuff Challenge #481. This is our partner for this challenge and if you link up with them you will have another chance in our random drawing.

Thing 3 (also optional): This is where you can "wrap it up" and complete your to-do list. Twisted Sister is looking for some ribbon, cord, twine, etc., for your project. I used a little Scotch brand Washi tape on my card, on both the front and inside. Play along with Twisted Sister to earn another chance in our random drawing.

My card is a Slimline style and was inspired by a sketch. This sketch can be found at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #554. This weekly challenge runs through Sunday evening, December 10, 2023, so don't miss out on sharing your talent with them. Here's the sketch:

Please join us at the DTC 155 Blog and the UYS 481 Blog as we close out another year of fun challenges. Double Trouble ends on Sunday evening, December 31, 2023, but we'll be back with a new challenge on New Year's Day, Monday, January 1, 2024. 

Special Note: The Use Your Stuff Challenges will be closing down with this challenge on Sunday, December 31, 2023. This is your last chance to play along with them. You may also wish to post a farewell message on their blog.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will leave a comment. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Melanie

Materials

Stamp: Gina K "Under the Mistletoe" (sentiment)

Ink: VersaFine Clair (Green Oasis)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Evening Evergreen, Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Honey Bee "Holiday Wishes"

Die: Honey Bee "Lovely Layers" (leaves)

Misc.: CTMH thin foam tape, Honey Bee gems, Scotch Washi Tape

With Love at Christmas

Welcome! It's time for another color challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare. This challenge is biweekly and runs through Thursday evening, December 14, 2023. As you can see from the color board below, the required colors are shades of blue, pink, and purple, with black, white, neutrals, and metallics being free. You must use all three of the required colors. I used the three colors and added silver holographic paper to my design.

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Using watercolor paper, I began by embossing a design. Water was spritzed onto the paper and run through the embossing machine. Recently I discovered a product called mica stain. This product is sprayed onto paper and produces a soft shine. Having no purple mica stain, the pink and blue colors were sprayed onto the embossed watercolor paper allowing them to blend and produce purple. After letting it dry for about an hour the drying process was completed with a heat tool, taking care not to scorch the paper. Next, and this is optional, the embossed paper was inserted back into the embossing folder and run through a second time. I just wanted a better impression since this was not a 3-D folder.

Using a pad of silver metallic ink, I lightly swiped the embossed piece. This is optional but I liked the result. The finished panel was trimmed to card size, saving the scraps. The embossed design was backed with a panel of silver holographic paper, and more of the silver holographic paper was placed for the sentiment. Using a cut-away scrap, I die-cut the word "hugs". Although it is cut from the background paper, it looks different in the photo. From deep blue/purple cardstock, a shadow for the "hugs" was die-cut. Onto another piece of that cardstock, a small sentiment was heat embossed with silver embossing powder. The die-cut word and embossed sentiment were adhered to the holographic strip. 

The finished design was adhered to a card base in a raspberry-colored pearlescent finish and five silver pearl stickers were added. The inside of the card was lined with a panel of white cardstock, stamped with a sentiment, and decorated with a few scraps of holographic paper and background scraps. Plenty of score tape was used when adhering elements to the shiny paper.

I like the results but shiny and sparkly elements do not always photograph well. Since this is the first time I have tried this technique, other ideas popped into my head as I created my card so I am eager to experiment. 

Be sure to visit the Color Dare Blog and try our color challenge. You need not use the exact colors as long as they are a near match to what you see on the color board.

I just discovered a challenge that I plan on doing in the future so I am adding my card to If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #187. Their theme is to use silver or gold and ends on December 31, 2023.

I also decided to play along with the challenge at Use Your Stuff #480. Their theme is Shine Bright and ends on December 9, 2023.

Thank you for viewing my blog. I appreciate your comments and questions.

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Honey Bee "Heart Be Light" (front and inside of card)

Inks: Stampin' Up Orchid Oasis (inside of card), Delicata Metallic (silver); Tim Holtz Mica Stain (Snow Flurries/blue & Cocktail Party/pink); Versamark

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White & Orchid Oasis & off-brand of Mulberry Pink Pearlescent

Paper: Strathmore watercolor paper & Scrapbook.com Holographic paper pad

Die: Altenew "Hello & Hugs"

Embossing Folder: Spellbinders

Misc.: Wow super fine embossing powder (Metallic Silver); Honey Bee Pearl Stickers; CTMH thin foam tape; score tape

Violet Garden - Thank You

 

11/26/2023 Update: Splitcoast Stampers "Favorite of the Week" 

ending 11/25/2023.

Serving on Design Teams occasionally steals a little time from participating in other challenges. I had a little spare time today so chose to use this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. This is Challenge #552, ending Sunday evening, November 26, 2023. The sketch is below:

I recently created a collection of 12 cards from a 6" x 6" pad of patterned paper along with some die cuts that were included. (I have a few family members who enjoy receiving bundles of cards as gifts.) I still had a fair amount of the paper remaining and it was on my desk so I decided to use it for this card. I can always use a few extra thank-you cards in my stash during the holiday season so I duplicated the card as well.

My niece was visiting and crafting with me, making shadow boxes as gifts for family members, so I availed myself of her green cardstock because it was a great match with my floral paper. I adhered my little hand-cut squares and rectangles to the green cardstock, and with foam tape added the sentiment and the floral die-cut. A few shiny green gems were added. The holographic paper did not photograph well - it looks wonky in shape and the bright, shiny hues of silver don't show. This card layer was adhered to a white card base. I enjoy decorating the inside of my cards, so I added a matching floral die-cut leaving sufficient space for a personal message.

Be sure to visit the AHSC 552 Blog and join in their challenges! 

Thank you for visiting my blog. I appreciate your comments.

Melanie

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White; green & lilac mirror from an unknown source

Paper: Paper Rose "Violet Garden" including cut-apart, sentiment, and ephemera; Scrapbook.com holographic paper

Misc.: CTMH thin foam tape; Honey Bee gem stickers

Scene of Serenity (Sympathy Card)

Upon seeing the sketch for the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #634, I was pleased to see the optional theme was trees. In my stash, I have had an unused die with a silhouette of trees for some time so I was able to use it here.

I redesigned the orientation to be landscape to fit the die-cut image. I used the circles to represent a blue sky and a yellow sun and otherwise kept the background clean to create a serene mood so I could use this as a sympathy card in the future. The original sketch is below.

Option: Trees

The inside of the card was decorated by lining the lemon card base with a panel of white cardstock framed in green, cutting a second die-cut tree image, and adhering a few of the trees individually. I left sufficient room for a personal note.

There is always an open challenge at TSOT. Challenges are biweekly in duration, beginning every Tuesday morning. This challenge runs through Sunday evening, December 3, 2023. We welcome you to the TSOT Blog #634 to view the Design Team's cards and to try our challenge.

Please join us! Thank you for visiting my blog. I appreciate your comments.

Melanie

Materials

Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Gingko Branch" (sentiment on front); GinaK "Natural Silhouettes" (sentiment inside card)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic White, Lemon Lolly, Mossy Meadow, Boho Blue

Dies: Hero Arts "Infinity Circles"; Stampin' Up! "Gingko Branch"; Kokorosa "Trees in Silhouette"