Double Trouble 99 - Bow Wow Birthday Slimline

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 99! This is the last challenge for the 2021 calendar year - we will be back in Jan 2022 with our 100th Celebration! 

This challenge will be a month long - lots of time to link up your projects. 

The small graphic is below - please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for more information. 

I did a lot of searching to find a December holiday or event that I could use - and finally decided on Mutt Day which was on December 2. 

The doggie images were stamped, lightly coloured and the background for each was inked with Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment was stamped and the word "friend"was die cut. There is also a dog-related birthday sentiment stamped inside the card. I used a circle slimline die from CTMH to cut the outline and the inside circles. A few "bow wows" were added and I also added some Twinkle Stickles around the card. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have until Jan. 2 to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with the Paper FunDay Challenge (anything goes with optional Holiday Twist).

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, White Slimline Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: I Woof You, Friend plus dies (Photoplay), Lucky Dog (MFT)

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts), Bluebird, DO Inks - Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn

Accessories: Well Said Dies (SU), Circle Window Slimline Thin Cut (CTMH), Cloud Stencil (MFT), Touch Markers, Sharpie Markers, Twinkle Stickles 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 450 - Somebirdy Loves You

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 450! 

The sketch is fairly detailed this week... I followed it pretty closely. 

I used the same bracket die to cut three pieces of dotted purple paper and they were aligned along the left edge. I hand stitched a white line down the centre of those pieces. Some white and silver ribbon was adhered to a piece of purple cardstock and placed beside the brackets. The branch and the birdies were stamped, coloured and die cut, along with a sentiment. They were arranged on the right side using foam tape. I added some purple gems and silver metallic thread to finish off my card. 

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above.

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Purple Patterned Paper, Lilac Cardstock, Hammermill White Cardstock 

Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me plus dies (Photoplay) 

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts), Pansy, Toffee

Accessories: Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Basic Oval Thin Cuts, Stitched Oval Thin Cuts, Purple Gems, White and Silver Ribbon (misc.), Silver Metallic Thread (misc.), Touch Markers, White Embroidery Thread, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Flap Pinwheel Card

I found a video to make this card on YouTube - always a great resource! This is very similar to the original pinwheel tower card but each side has extra detail. It folds down to 5x7 size for mailing purposes. 

Lagoon is the base cardstock colour for my card. The patterned paper is from a paper pack and I stamped each of the smaller panels with flowers that were simiar to those on the patterned paper. One large panel is blank to write a message. I also stamped one of the smaller panels with a Hello sentiment. Since this card is thick in the centre, adding bulky embellishments is not recommended so I used Liquid Pearls to add colour to the centres of the flowers. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Bold and Blooming Paper Collection (Gina K. Designs), White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock (both CTMH)

Stamps: SCT Exclusive Stamp Set (Photoplay)

Inks: Black, Candy Apple, Flamingo, Lemon, Lagoon, Fern (all CTMH)

Accessories: Liquid Pearls - Christmas Red, Ballerina, Juniper, Black Marker 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Yellow Flowers Upon Yellow Flowers...

One of my favourite new products is the In The Meadow collection from Pink Fresh Studio. It includes layering stencils, a large stamp set, a die and (if you desire) washi tape. I used all except the washi tape for these cards as I wanted a different colour scheme. These cards are a mini slimline size. 

The stencils were inked in shades of yellow, orange and green. I used Catherine Pooler inks and they are very bold and juicy. The colours are so intense! There is one die to cut all the images at the same time. I used the miscellaneous pieces for the first pair of cards and the large hanging leaves for the second pair of cards. There are two background dies - one is a scalloped edge die and the other is a blanket stitched die. The sentiments were either stamped or die cut. The last step was to add some shimmer using a gold shimmer brush and some dots using either Liquid Pearls or Stickles.  

Products used are as follows:

Paper: White Cardstock (Hammermill) Gold Foil (CTMH)

Stamps: In the Meadow (plus dies and layering stencils) (Pink Fresh Studio)

Inks: Lime Rickey, Grass Skirt, Limoncello, Tiki Torch, Orange Twist (all Catherine Pooler), Black (Gina K. Designs)

Accessories: Mini Slimline Stitched Scallop Rectangle, Slimline and Mini Slimline Blanket Stitched Rectangles, Hello Die, Hugs Die (all Pink Fresh Studio), Stitched Rectangles Dies (SSS), Gold Shimmer Brush (CTMH), Goldenrod Stickles, Antique Gold Liquid Pearls, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 473 - Gold Foiled Florals

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 473!

It's a tic-tac-toe grid this week - choose a row or column and use those three colours. You may add additional colours but they must be from the grid. 

I had created one card for this challenge and didn't really like the result - that one is further down this post. This is my second attempt! 

I used the diagonal line of Wisteria, Gold and Peach plus Glacier. 

The background was foiled and added to a piece of Glacier cardstock and then black cardstock. The flowers and leaves were die cut using both the light and dark sides of the cardstock and assembled. I tied some twine in a bow and attached it to the cluster. The sentiment was stamped and die cut using small circle dies. I added some gold gems to the centres of the flowers to finish off the card. 

This was my original card using the bottom row (Rosemary, Glacier and Peach) plus the middle column (Desert Rose, Gold and Glacier).

The background... wow - this was a challenge. I am just learning to use a hot foil machine and this gold piece is the leftover piece from a foiled pattern. The foil is extremely thin and difficult to adhere to anything. Once that piece was in place on a Rosemary card base, I die cut several leaves and flowers using both the light and dark sides of the cardstock. The flowers were placed in the lower left corner and the sentiment was slid just under the edge of one of the flowers. I added some twine and Glacier enamel dots. If you look very carefully you will also see six little clear dots - they are clear gems and they add such a nice finishing touch. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret the challenge above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Cardstock - White Daisy, Rosemary, Peach, Desert Rose, Glacier, Wisteria, Black, Gold Foil (Couture Creations) 

Stamps: Mini Messages (Hero Arts), Cosmos Bunch (PFS)

Inks: Rosemary, Black (Gina K. Designs) 

Accessories: Lush Vines Hot Foil Plate (PFS), Summer Shadows Dies (SU), Twine (misc.), Glacier Gems, Gold Glitter Gems (CTMH), Clear Dots (Hero Arts) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

You Shine Stars

This is a very clean and simple card - perfect for everyday use just to let someone know that they are special. 

The stars were die cut from the card front using the same size star die. I chose some small polkadot papers in various shades and added them behind the open stars. The sentiment was stamped and I drew a line around the edge with a black marker. Some craft foam was adhered behind the card front and that was adhered to a piece of pink cardstock and then to the card base. Easy! 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Doodlebug - Brights Paper Pad, Flamingo Cardstock (CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: You are Enough (CTMH)

Inks: Black (Gina K. Designs) 

Accessories: Basic Stars Thin Cuts (CTMH), Black Sharpie Marker, Craft Foam 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CAS Penguin Card Set

I downloaded a set of colouring sheets from Trina Wirihana's website and coloured all the penguins before fussy cutting each one. The card set-up is the same for all ten cards - the background shape and/or the side area is slightly different on some of them. I added the penguins and a sentiment to each card to make a quick set of ten cards as a gift. 

There are too many products used to list them all - papers are from various paper collections.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Acetate Insert Card - Pink Flowers

Here is another acetate insert card - this time done in pink (BOLD pink). 

The floral image was stamped inside the card on the back panel and coloured. It was placed so it shows through the acetate. A second flower and some leaves were cut out and adhered below the acetate and lined up with the stitched borders. I added a sentiment adhered to vellum and drew some black dots around the images. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Black Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Vellum (CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Miss Your Smile (PFS)

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts) 

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts (CTMH), Hugs Die (PFS), Acetate, Touch Markers, Sharpie Marker

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 535 - Gold Foiled Leaves

Welcome to this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge! 

It is an either-or challenge this week - use the technique, the sketch or both. 

I used both the sketch and the technique - my images are set off center and I used a corner image rather than mixed sized circles. 

I foiled a piece of black cardstock with gold foil and adhered that to a gold foil cardstock background. I chose pinks to go with the black to create a bold statement. The sentiment was stamped and die cut, along with a border. The same cardstock colours were die cut using narrow strip dies that added a pattern to the paper. They were adhered to a piece of gold foil cardstock and placed in the top corner. I added some gold metallic thread and a few pink enamel dots around the sentiment. 

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This is the card that I originally created for this challenge and decided I really wasn't happy with it... 

The background was created using a series of three layering stencils and three blue inks. The circles were die cut in four sizes and the flowers were all Cricut cut. Each flower has a dark blue base, a lighter blue middle layer and a vellum top layer. The stamens were Circut cut in two shades of yellow and small enamel dots were added to the centres. I placed some gold metallic thread behind the largest circle and tucked a small sentiment behind the largest flower. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the challenge shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Wild Berry Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Gold Foil Cardstock, Vellum  (all CTMH), Hammermill White Cardstock 

Stamps: Always Uplifting (PFS), Word Up (Reverse Confetti) 

Inks: Bluebird (CTMH), Summer Shower, Storm, Blue Jay (PFS), Black (Gina K. Designs) 

Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Collection, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Decorative Borders Thin Cuts, Stitched Simple Bracket Thin Cuts, Yellow Dots, Wild Berry Dots (all CTMH), Stepped Back Blocks Stencils (SSS), Foam Tape, Gold Metallic Thread

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 98 and Atlantic Hearts 449 - Peace Poinsettia

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 98! 

This week is a "Something, Anything, Everything" challenge so grab your stuff and create along with us! The small graphic is below - visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for more information. 

I am also linking up my card with Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge where I am a member of the design team. 

My Christmas cards have been finished for a while now but I decided to create just one more as there is always that last minute need for a few extras. I used a holly embossing folder to emboss the background and that was adhered to a few pieces of white cardstock, from which I cut several dies. It added height without the use of foam tape. The embossed panel was adhered to a Glacier card base. I used a piece of plaid patterned paper for the center panel. The poinsettia was mounted on a stitched rectangle die cut and the sentiment was added under the lower leaf. I added some twine along the side of the plaid piece and three enamel dots in the top corner. The last step was to brush the poinsettia with both the Sundance and Clear Shimmer Brushes. 

The extras that I added to my card from Thing 3 (Twisted Sister) are as follows: plaid, embossing, twine, dots (although mine are white instead of black) and a banner.

Come and join us at both Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret each challenge. 

Both of these challenges close on Sunday evening. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Daisy Meadows Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Hammermill White Cardstock 

Stamps: Christmas Joy (Hero Arts), Winter Flower plus dies (Gina K. Designs) 

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts), Peacock

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Dies (GMD), Holly Embossing Folder (Darice), White Enamel Dots, Clear Shimmer Brush, Sundance Shimmer Brush, Mint Twine (misc.), Tri-Blend Markers, Touch Markers 

Enjoy,

Alyson