Happy 100th Birthday

Because it's the 5th Monday of the month, it's time for SomeThing, AnyThing and EveryThing at Double Trouble, beginning today, Monday, September 30, through Sunday, October 6, 2019. This is only a one-week challenge.

Thing 1 requires playing along with the main Anything Goes theme.

Thing 2 suggests you to partner with any of our previous partners. I selected Brown Sugar's Anything Goes Challenge #293.

Thing 3 is reminding us to use the color pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Reminder: Things 2 and 3 are optional but playing along will increase your chances of winning.

I was asked to make a card for a lady some friends of ours have known since they were children. This lady was about to celebrate her 100th birthday. It was decided we needed a very special card but because the recipient lives in Ohio, it needed to go through the mail easily. After suggesting several ideas, it was decided to make a box card. The card will fold flat for mailing but is easily stood for display.

I started by making the box from heavyweight cardstock, covered with wood grain patterned paper. This is a departure from the usual box design. I added the usual support pieces inside the box then started decorating. I just kept adding flowers and leaves from my stash. The pieces were adhered to a strip of acetate then adhered to the inside supports of the box. Some of the bits are die cuts and others are purchased along with some ephemera. There is even a cupcake with a cherry on top! The "100" badge was die cut from magenta foiled cardstock and gold glitter cardstock. I made a separate for the senders to add a personal note to include with the box or adhere to the side or back. I recently learned that the elderly recipient was thrilled to receive the card.

Join in the Double Trouble Challenge #39 for challenge fun. You could win a prize! And here's a reminder that this is a one-week challenge, rather than the usual biweekly challenge so play along again on Monday, October 7, 2019 for #40.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Paper: WRMK Foil (magenta); Stampin' Up! Glimmer (gold) & Window Sheet (clear acetate); wood grain paper from scraps
Die: Reasonable "Numerals with Candles", Spellbinders large label on back (not shown in photos)
Misc.: Ephemera and various flowers, stickers, die cuts, gems, along with a bluebird and a cupcake all from stash; WRMK/SU envelope punchboard for custom envelope.

Grateful & Thankful

Update: This card was a Weekly Favorite at Splitcoast Stampers for the week ending October 5, 2019.

The Try Stampin' on Tuesday Biweekly Challenge #427 is open today, Tuesday, September 24, through Monday, October 6, 2019. Here is the sketch with an optional theme. I used the sketch and included a cup with "steam" to depict a warm beverage to meet that optional theme.

The coffee cup was die cut from patterned paper and the edges sponged. The two rectangles were die cut with the larger one embossed with coffee beans. The rectangles and cup were adhered with foam tape. A small flourish die cut provided the steam rising from the cup. The sentiment was cut from patterned paper along with a few other elements. The inside was decorated with a fall cutout. A few gold metallic "gems" were added to finish the card.

Be sure to visit the TSOT #427 Blog to view our challenge. We hope you'll play along!

Materials
Ink: Stampin' Up! Baked Brown Sugar
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Lost Lagoon
Paper: Echo Park "Fall" (leaves, sentiment), Carta Bella "Fall Market" (pattern on cup), Bella Blvd "Barn Yard" (brown plaid)
Dies: Whimsy (stitched notched rectangles) Reasonable Dies (cup)
TIEF: Darice (coffee beans)
Misc.: Foam tape and "gems", ephemera from stash

Frog Yoga - 3-D Window Card

Monochromatic cards? I have never been a fan but here I am with one for the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #361... and I enjoyed making it. The challenge runs from Friday, September 20, through Wednesday, October 2, 2019 so check it out at the blog. I used several shades of green with dark brown as my only neutral and the color white, which is free.

I used a fun fold called a 3-D Window. This card folds flat into an A2 envelope making it simple to mail to the recipient. I stamped the frog image then colored and fussy cut it, adding the wiggly eyes. Imagine a frog enjoying Yoga! The little cloud is a die cut. The palm tree was a stamped & colored image leftover from a previous project so I embossed it with clear powder for a soft shine then fussy cut and adhered it to the front, making sure that the palm fronds would fit within the measurements of an A2 envelope. The sentiment was stamped and fussy cut. A few gems were added to finish off the card front. Inside the box, I adhered the frog onto green watercolored paper. The back of the card is white cardstock to permit a place to write a personal note. I decorated it with a cartoon-style alligator cut from patterned paper.

Stop by the Color My Heart Color Dare #361 Blog and give us your green projects!

Techniques: Fun Fold, Stamping, Fussy Cutting, Die Cutting, Coloring, Heat Embossing
Size: A2 when folded flat (5.5" x 4.25")

Materials
Stamps: Stampendous "Frog Yoga"; Recollections "Palm Tree"
Inks: Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade; Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Patterned Paper: Doodlebug (dotted green); watercolored scrap; Stampin' Up! (alligator)
Die: Memory Box (stitched cloud); Stampendous (3-D Window)
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Embossing Powder (clear); Gems and wiggly eyes from stash

Autumn Blessings

Autumn is my favorite season no matter where I reside. I look forward to the subtle changes that we have in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and the end of the triple digit temperatures. For the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #426, I followed the sketch below and used the optional theme of Leaves. This biweekly challenges began on Tuesday, September 17, and will end on Sunday evening, September 29, 2019.

The Maple leaf was cut from patterned paper using a die then backed with brown cardstock and fussy cut, leaving a very narrow edge. I decided to add shine to the leaf with clear embossing powder (two layers). Clear embossing will always darken the cardstock and the brown cardstock turned to a dark coffee color. Onto a Kraft card base, a panel of brown cardstock was adhered, then a couple of die cut stitched zigzag borders, in keeping with the sketch. Finally, the patterned paper was added. The Maple leaf was adhered using foam tape for dimension, followed by the thin strip across the lower end of the card and a sentiment that was computer generated. Gold metallic "gems" were added. The inside was decorated with a scrap of matching patterned paper.

Be sure to visit the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #426 and take a look at the Design Team cards for inspiration. We hope you'll play along with the challenge.

Materials
Stamp: Sentiment computer generated
Ink: Stampin' Up! Cajun Craze (interior); Versamark
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip, Hello Honey, Cajun Craze
Paper: Stampin' Up! "Sweater Weather" Collection (retired)
Dies: Mama Elephant Border Die (stitched zigzag); Frantic Stamper Maple Leaf
Misc.: Stampin' Up Embossing Powder (clear), foam tape and gems from stash

Christmas Joy with Tag

Little by little, I am getting Christmas cards made in an effort to avoid a last minute rush. I used the Double Trouble Challenge #38 as inspiration for this card. Double Trouble has one requirement with two options. Playing along with the options increases your chances of winning the random draw for a nice prize. If you opt-in to Thing 2, visit the Use Your Stuff #375 blog and ensure you are meeting their guidelines.

Thing 1: (Required) Create a card using plaid.

Thing 2: (Optional) Enter your card into the challenge at Use Your Stuff #375 ensuring that you have met their requirements as well as ours.

Thing 3: (Optional) Use a tag or frame on your card design.

My card was created from bits and pieces collected from my stash. A white panel and a panel of gold with stars were sized and adhered to a red card base. The plaid tag was created by using a label die then backed in white cardstock. The image of the church was a paper scrap. I trimmed it to size, backed it in gold foiled cardstock and adhered it to the tag with foam tape. The tag was adhered to the card front along with the gold-striped bow and the sentiment. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with matching paper.

The Double Trouble Challenge #38 and our partner, Use Your Stuff Challenge #375, begin on Monday, September 16, and end on Sunday evening, September 29, 2019.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Real Red, Gumball Green; Foiled cardstock (gold) from stash
Paper: Stampin' Up! Gold with stars from scraps; image and plaid from stash
Dies: Stampin' Up! Deco Labels; Reasonable Dies (Joy)
Misc.: Bow from stash; foam tape

Halloween Bats - BOO!

Deciding to make a clean and simple Halloween card led me to the weekly Atlantic Hearts Challenge #333, which started on Monday, September 9, and ends on Sunday evening, September 15.

 

 

Finding a stash of Halloween bits, I liked the spiders and web printed onto the newspaper print in this paper design. I sponged the edges with ink going lighter toward the center. Using a black card base, I adhered the sponged panel. Next, two circles were die cut - a larger one in black and a smaller one in white. I wanted it to look kind of mottled like the moon so added a light touch of ink. The circles were offset and stacked, then adhered to the card using foam tape. Finally, the three bats with wiggly eyes and Wink of Stella were added. The inside was lined with white cardstock, sponged along the edges, and stamped: BOO!

 

 

 

Viewing these photos after posting them, it looks to me as if the bats are flying into their cave from a night of eating insects and raiding hummingbird feeders. (They raid my hummingbird feeders at night.)

 

Here's the link for Atlantic Hearts Challenge #333. Hope to see you there!

 

Materials

Stamp: Garage sale find BOO! (inside of card)

Ink: Stampin' Up! Hello Honey and Crushed Curry; Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Basic Black

Paper: Recollections "Haunted Manor"

Dies: Spellbinders Classic Circles

Misc.: ZIG Wink of Stella (clear); foam tape; bats from stash

Thinking of You - Single Layer Card

Welcome to my blog!

Today, Friday, September 6, is the first day of the biweekly Color My Heart Color Challenge #359. This challenge closes on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

Have you ever heard of the KISS method of doing something? It means "Keep It Simple, Stamper". So I tried to keep it simple. I selected four colors: Peach, Smoothie, Goldrush and New England Ivy on a white card base. The camera has picked up the Smoothie color as leaning toward orange but I see it considerably more pink.

I was in the mood to do some masking and wanted to try out a some new brushes I recently acquired. I have used brushes for ink dusting but they have a longer bristle and leave a very light hue. The new brushes are for cosmetics and blend ink beautifully and more quickly than a sponge. I found the brushes on Ebay for $1.11 each with free shipping. I like that they are all one size and not a set comprised of varying sizes. After making this card, I know I am going to enjoy using them. By the way, they are easy to clean.

I simply masked off an area on the card base and blended the inks to achieve the look of Peach, Smoothie and Goldrush. Once dry, I removed the masks and stamped the floral image using an ink similar to New England Ivy. I smeared some ink directly onto white cardstock and punched a few butterflies. I also die cut the sentiment from the ink-smeared cardstock. These were adhered. The inside was decorated with a few of the punched butterflies.

We encourage you to join us at the Color My Heart Color Dare Blog to play along with us!

Techniques: Masking, stamping, ink blending, die cutting
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Materials
Stamp: Stampin' Up! "Serene Silhouettes"
Inks: Distress Oxide Tattered Rose, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade & Forest Moss
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (heavyweight)
Die: Frantic Stamper "Thinking of You"
Punch: Stampin' Up! "Itty Bitty Butterfly"

Fall Harvest

Does anyone else have difficulty photographing a card once Wink of Stella has been applied? I took a mountain of photos only to be disappointed with each. No matter how I positioned the light, camera or card, I was unable to achieve a satisfactory photo. Here they are...

Fall weather has not yet arrived in Arizona but I am ready for some cooler weather! In Arizona we have bats and lots of them. In fact, they will feed at night from the hummingbird feeders. They are valuable to the environment so I have no complaints about their existence because we rarely see them. I found this cute freebie digital image of a little bat enjoying a candied apple so decided to make him the focus of my card.

I made this card for Double Trouble Challenge #37, which begins today, Monday, September 2, and runs through Sunday, September 15, 2019. Here is a summary of the Double Trouble Challenge:

1. Requirement: Fall Things - Use a reminder of fall, i. e., leaves, acorns, etc.
2. Option: Link your project to the Paper Girls Challenge #183. Check their guidelines to ensure your project will fit into their theme.
3. Option: Include a sweet treat on your card, i. e., s'mores, pumpkin pie, candy corn, etc.

A panel of cardstock and a panel of patterned paper were adhered to the white card base. The two ovals were die cut from patterned paper, adhered together then backed with foam tape and adhered to the card. The image was downloaded, resized, colored, fussy cut and adhered using foam tape. A sticker with a leaf and two acorns was added along with a stamped sentiment. The inside was decorated with scraps of patterned paper.

We hope to see you at the Double Trouble Challenge Blog and The Paper Girls Challenge Blog - you could win a prize!

Materials
Stamps: Free Digital Image (bat w/candied apple); Sizzix #662271 "Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice" (sentiment)
Inks: Stampin' Up! Cajun Craze & Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze
Paper: Carta Bella "Rustling Leaves", Bella Blvd. "Barnyard" (plaid), Echo Park "My Favorite Fall" (acorn sticker)
Dies: Sizzix Oval Framelits #663510
Misc.:  Foam tape, Wink of Stella (clear) & sequins from stash

Encircled Hello

It's time for another challenge! Color My Heart Color Dare #357 is a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge based on the grid below. I selected the bottom row - Glacier, Peach and Sapphire, using white as my neutral. This biweekly challenge is open from Friday, August 23 through Wednesday, September 4, 2019.

In addition, I followed the layout for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #330, a weekly challenge that is already underway through Sunday, August 25, 2019.

The sentiment, flowers and leaves were die cut. A panel of patterned paper was adhered to a white card base. Next, a smaller panel of cardstock was adhered to a white panel and adhered to the card base with foam tape. The banners were cut with the smaller one adhered using foam tape then lightly sponged with ink. The die cut elements were added along with the pearls. The inside was decorated with patterned paper and another die cut flower.

Please take a look at both challenge blogs and play along! Here are the links:
CMHCD357 and AHSC330.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White; CTMH Sapphire, Peach & Glacier
Paper: Stampin' Up! Quatrefancy & Best Year Ever (both retired)
Dies: Sue Wilson (flowers &leaves) & Sizzix (sentiment)
Misc.: Foam tape; pearls from stash

School is Cool!

Challenge #36 "Round and Round" is now up on the Double Trouble Blog. The challenge runs from Monday, August 19, through Sunday, September 1, 2019. We are partnering with the ladies at Joy of Sets #008, which uses a Tic Tac Toe grid and is open through Wednesday, August 28, 2019.

For Double Trouble #36, the requirements are:
Thing 1: Include something round in your design.
Thing 2: (optional) Link your card to the Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe Challenge #008 - but check their guidelines first.
Thing 3: (optional) Include anything related to school.

For The Joy of Sets #008, I used the third column: Circle, Embossing, School. (I used the debossed side of my embossed panel.)

Here are the details. The image was stamped and colored then fussy cut. I believe there is a coordinating die set to go with the stamps but I don't have them. The stack of books were die cut and colored. A panel of cardstock was adhered to the card base. A smaller white panel was texturized to look like brick using an embossing folder then trimmed with a scalloped edge taken from scrap ephemera. This was also adhered. Next, I added the focal image directly to the card while the book stack was placed using foam tape for dimension. The sentiment was stamped onto die cut circles. The inside was lined with white cardstock and a bit more ephemera.

The Design Teams are eager to see your creations at both challenges so be sure to visit our blogs and find out how to play along. You could win a prize from Double Trouble!    DTC#36 Blog    JOSTTT008 Blog

Materials
Stamps: Photoplay "School Days"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Hello Honey, Baked Brown Sugar; Xcel for alcohol markers
Die: Reasonable Dies "Book Stack", Gina K Stacking and Nesting Circles & Scalloped Circles
EF: Spellbinders (brick texture) debossed side
Misc.: Ephemera and foam tape from stash.

Dragonfly Dreams

Today's card was made for the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch Challenge #421 with "Flying Things" as the optional twist.  I was going to make a masculine card using aircraft but I came across this older stamp set and decided to use the dragonfly instead.

Dragonfly Dreams is a two-step stamp, so I used two ink colors to stamp the first step (body & solid wings) and when the ink was dry, I stamped with gold ink using the second stamp (body and veined wings). I fussy cut the image. A panel was die cut to give the edge some stitching and adhered to a white card base. I took a scrap of white cardstock and colored it using the direct-to-paper technique with the gold ink pad. The two strips were cut from the scrap and added. The corrugated cardboard was distressed and adhered. A small square was added along with the dragonfly image using foam tape for dimension and to lift the wings. The clear droplets were added. The inside was decorated with matching paper.

We welcome all skill levels at Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch Challenges so visit our blog and play along with #421. This challenge begins on Tuesday, August 13, and runs through Sunday, August 25, 2019.

Materials
Stamps: Stampin' Up! Dragonfly Dreams
Inks: Stampin' Up! Island Indigo, Tempting Turquoise; Delicata Gold
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Island Indigo
Paper: DCWV (Corrugated)
Die: Whimsy Stitched Zigzag Rectangles
Misc.: Clear droplets and foam tape from stash

Make a Splash - Masculine Birthday

There is another biweekly challenge opening today at Color My Heart Color Dare #355. This challenge ends on Wednesday evening, August 21, 2019. The requirement is to select at least three colors from the grid below and create a project for the challenge. Black and white are considered "free" colors. I selected substitutes that best represent all of the colors. (Candy Apple and Goldrush were blended together.)

One of my brothers is a fishing enthusiast so this card will serve as a birthday card for him. I hope the fish look like Rainbow Trout. Onto a card base a panel of brown cardstock was adhered, then a panel of white. I die cut the cattails and colored them, then adhered them. Next, the two squares were die cut and stacked, then adhered with foam tape. One of the fish, which had been colored with markers, was adhered, again with foam tape, along with the sentiment. A few droplets were added. The inside was decorated with the second fish and a die cut sentiment, "Make a Splash."

Have some fun with us at Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #355!

Materials
Stamp: Computer generated sentiment on card front
Ink: Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky
Dies: Reasonable Craft Dies (fish & cattails), Frantic Stamper (words), Whimsy (squares)
Misc.: Droplets & foam tape from stash