Poinsettia

I just got this die to make a small poinsettia and was very excited.  I wanted to try something new and I went ahead to create my own pink and green paper for the leaves.  Since I was doing it, why not making my own light green banner as well?  They are different inks but they all worked fine to give me what I wanted.

It was quite a large area of red pink that I've prepared and because of the layers, the color was not truly consistent throughout the piece.  That was great for this purpose because the petals should show some inconsistency, right?  That was done by Worn Lipstick distress stain.

The leaves were prepared with Forest Moss Distress Ink pad.  The color was just buffed onto plain old cardstock and after a couple circles, I got an area of green big enough for three leaves.

The banner was prepared with Tide Pool shadow ink using the direct to paper technique.  I had a lot of suspicion about this method but it was not difficult at all.   Having said that, I probably want to do it on a small piece only as it did take quite a while to get the cardstock fill with the intensity of the color.

It was fun making my own colored paper.  I probably need not freak out when I want a particular color but don't have that color's cardstock!

My card is entering the following challenges:
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Stampin' Royalty - Anything Goes
Penny's Challenge - Add Black or bling
Seize the Sketch

The Corrosive Challenge - Tic-tac-toe (I've chosen the top row)

 
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

A snow globe evolved into a Christmas Tree

How did a snow globe evolve to become a Christmas Tree?  No, I didn't observe such an evolution while I was making cards, but it was how my idea has transformed.  When I saw this sketch from CAS on Sunday, how I wish I had a snow globe die or stamp!

But then I thought a window card, which is my recent obsession, should be too bad either.  I thought about using a christmas ornament but eventually I turned to my Christmas tree:

I probably have not captured it well in the picture, but the star sitting on top of the tree sparkles.  I have put some Zig Wink of Stella Clear Glitter on it.  It sparkles but only when it look at it straight.  If you tilt it the glitter does not look as sparkling.

For the sentiment, I have tried various embossing powder but as it turned out, the plain old white embossing powder gives the best result.  I tried Holographic, Polysparkle, Tinsel, you name it.  They are all pretty but I was afraid that they do not pop enough on the green banner.  Had I used a black banner, those embossing powders might look better.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Allsorts challenge - Treemendous
Sweet Stampin' - Wood, Tree or Leaves
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Craftin' Desert Divas - Anything Goes
Created with Love - Anything Goes
The Paper Nest Doll - Anything Goes
Tammy Scraping Corner - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you

I started making today's card with the color combo from Color My Heart Color Dare in mind:

I love Gypsy and I love Buttercup but I just can't imagine how to put them together.  They are spring/summer colors so I wanted to see how I can tone down the brightness of the colors.  I decided that I will use quite a bit of neutral colors, and I thought of the For Always paper pack.  With a sketch from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2, I knew that I would use the B&T from the paper pack, then use Gypsy and Buttercup cardstock.  I was going to use Sketch 19 but because I want to show the flower on the B&T paper, I have turned it upside down.  I made the roses from Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge then the fun part was to pick a stamp for the panel.  I have chosen one of my favorite sentiments from Avonlea Card Making Workshop on the Go:

Before I stuck down everything, I had used the background stamp from the set to fill the background of the card.  I used second generation stamping, so it is really subtle but it did make the card more complete.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges - Favorite stamp set
The Hobby House challenge - Roses
Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
Eureka Stamps - Thank you

Thanks for stopping by!

A cute owl

Today's card is based on a card made by Kristina Werner back in 2010.   She has a Holiday Card Series every year and the Series inspires us not just on Christmas cards but all kinds of cards as she gives out so many tips while showing us how she makes the Christmas cards.

My card, though similar to hers, has quite a number of differences.  What's really interesting is that when I first saw her card back in 2010, as much as I liked it I thought the card would look equally cute if the bottom part is trimmed.  Then fast forward to the point where my card is finished, which is much shorter than hers, I thought my card would also look as cute as if the bottom part is removed.  Perhaps I am just too used to the standard size cards so my eyes tend to be drawn to the upper portion.

This card was a lot of fun to make, I really enjoyed the process, except the part that I had to cut the window.  I had always wanted a 2" circle punch and when I was cutting the window, I really wish I had a 2" circle punch on hand.  This is one of those rare instances that a die-cutting machine is not as convenient than a punch as it is really challenging to cut through two layers of cardstock. 

I keep looking at the card as I am so happy with it.  :)  Owls are one of my faves on cards!

My card is entering the following challenges:
Keep it Simple - include source of inspiration
Jingle Belles Rock - Creature
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Creative Knockouts - Favorite Twine
Crafty Little Fairies - Anything Goes
Hanna & Friends - Anything Goes
Hiding in My Craft Room - Use a Critter
The Glory of Christmas - Homemade Background
Savvy Handmade cards - bats or birds

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with Cricut

After I saw this sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge, I took my time to incubate ideas for my card. 

I almost went ahead to use flowers on my card like the sketch suggests.  But I have cards that have many flowers and I truly want to make something different.  So I tried to think really hard what can be used to replace flowers in the sketch.  It took me a long time to figure that out but I think it is worth it. 

Clouds.  I used both the positive and the negative from the die cut for the clouds panel.  The panel is matted with one of the overlays in the Artbooking cartridge as I want to create some "shadow" or overcast.  I tried using a piece of gray cardstock but it was too dark.  An elevated overlay beneath the clouds is just right to achieve the effect.

I've used the sun to replace the ribbon but I kept the sentiment in the same place.

This card was a lot of fun to make and is entering these challenges:
Paper Creators' Craft - Pink and/or blue
My Sheri Craft - A little comfort
Avenue 613 - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

A Christmas Tree

I'm having more and more fun with my Christmas-related supplies!  When I saw this sketch from Pals Paper Arts, I knew exactly what I need to break open:

I want so much to fill the middle with a big Christmas tree and so I started to play with the Lawn Fawn set Trim the Tree:

There has to be presents under the tree and I colored many of them.  I have not counted but I think all stamps in the set comes with a coordinating die so even though the presents are small, it was easy peasy to cut them out.  I used paper piecing on the tree so the top two layers have the stripes going in one direction that's opposite to the bottom layers.  To make the layers pop, I just rolled up a glue dot and stuck that beneath the scalloped edge.  It is a quick way to get clear foam adhesive!

My card is entering the following challenges:
ABC Christmas challenge - Under the tree
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes
Craftin' Boutique Challenges - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments Challenge - Christmas sentiment
Crafty Little Fairies - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Oh Christmas Tree

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Fun with coloring

I continue to catch up with Christmas cards and I finally broke open the stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn to make this cute little card:

Don't you just love the birdies?  As a coloring novice these images are perfect for me to practice - they have just enough real estate for me to color but not too big an area so even if I mess up it is not noticeable.  :P  To tell you the truth one of the birdies was messed up.  Can you tell which one?

I colored them with distress markers, one of my current favorite go-to coloring medium.  I had my big set for perhaps a year and a half but I didn't really start using it until a month ago.  I tried to use them, I really did but the results were an epic failure and I hated to continue wasting paper.  After watching a couple of tutorials online had I slowly learned some basics of coloring.

The sketch of this card came from Sketchbook Saturday Challenge.  I always love Iwona's sketches and love to be inspired by her cards.  She has presented two totally different cards based on this sketch - one is feminine with shabby chic details, the other has bright colors with an encouraging sentiment.  Go to her blog and check them out.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Crafting with Dragonflies - Card with nature/tree/leaves
Fab n Funky challenges - Distress
Lady Anne's Challenges - Anything Goes
Timeless Tuesday - Fussy Cutting Fun
Craft-Room Challenge - Our Feathered Friends
Merry Monday - Use music or carol inspired theme

Thanks for stopping by!