TSOT 626 - To the Wise One

 Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 626!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use patterned paper. 

This sketch has quite a few elements to it - I found it easiest to stick pretty close to the design. 

I chose three masculine patterned papers and those were used for the panels and the background for the owl. The owl was die cut in white and I used oxide inks and gel pens to colour him and add details. That was adhered to the blue patterned paper. I cut a circle and two corners to add as shown in the sketch. The sentiment was embossed in white and added under the owl. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 544 - Deck the Halls

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 544!

I stayed true to the sketch the time - it worked for what I had in mind. 

I ink spattered a card base using gold paint and adhered two pieces of cardstock - one gold and the other light green. The branches, leaves and holly were die cut and arranged on the card. I added a hot foiled sentiment at the right side and brushed the berries and leaves with a gold shimmer brush. Easy! 

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!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Bird on Dogwood

 This pretty card was inspired by one that I saw on the Honey Bee Stamps website. 

The lattice background was die cut twice and adhered to a lighter piece of mint cardstock and then to a black card base. The dogwood branches were die cut from Kraft, white and green cardstock and assembled. I used a fine tip pink marker to add detail to the flowers and placed some iridescent gems on a few of them. The bird was stamped, coloured and die cut and set just under one of the branches. The sentiment was embossed in white and added at the bottom. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 735 - Noel Snowflake

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 735!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is "make it square". 

This is a tough sketch... at least, it was for me. I chose a teal colour scheme and ink blended a background using three Distress Oxide inks. I lightly splattered white paint in the lower corner and adhered that piece to a silver glitter paper base. The square was die cut from white shimmery cardstock and I used the same paper to add the strip along the left side. The snowflake was die cut from teal glitter paper and placed in the centre of the square. I added three silver glitter strips under the square before adhering the snowflake piece. A sentiment was placed across the centre of the snowflake to finish off the card. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 567 - Hey You!

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 567!

This is a very different colour scheme... it's unusually dark colours. I had to think carefully about what I was going to do...

I wanted to keep my card light and this colour scheme was hard to work with for me. I chose Mist, Harbour, Toffee and French Vanilla (plus gold). I ended making as second card as I wasn't overly happy with the first one (shown at the bottom).

The background paper is French Vanilla and I stamped the image twice using black ink. I coloured the flowers and leaves on one piece using markers as close to Toffee, Mist and Harbour as I could find. The centre of that coloured piece was die cut and adhered to the black stamped piece with foam tape, with the images lined up with the background. As an afterthought, I die cut a frame to surround that centre piece as it seemed to be lost on the background. A small hot foiled sentiment was placed along the side. The entire card front was adhered to a Harbour base and the edges were rounded to be consistent with the centre die cut panel. 

For this one, I used a French Vanilla base and stamped the leaves with Harbour ink. I stamped a second panel while the stamps were still in place and embossed those images by stamping with Harbour ink first, then with Versamark and embossed that with clear embossing powder. I coloured the embossed images and die cut that piece, along with a Harbour border. The sentiment was stamped on Mist cardstock and adhered at the bottom of the smaller rectangle. I die cut borders for both pieces and adhered the top piece with foam tape. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 517 - Warmest Wishes

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 517!

The theme for this challenge is to use two or more patterned papers. 

I am heavily into making my Christmas cards and I don't mass produce them. This was a good opportunity to make yet another one!

I chose two patterns from an old Kaisercraft paper pack and cut them into quarter inch strips. I splattered the card front with a mixture of paint and a re-inker and the adhered the paper strips across the card on an angle. The flower pieces were die cut from white cardstock and I inked them using grey and blue ink pads. The flower was adhered at the bottom of the patterned papers and I added some silver metallic thread under it. The sentiment was placed just above the flower and I added some clear dew drops. The card front was adhered to a blue card base.

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your patterned paper creations. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

You are Loved CAS Card

 I saw this card posted on Facebook but there was no watermark... it piqued my interest and I wanted to try a card in the same style. 

The card front was embossed using a stylus - those five vertical lines are very difficult to see in the photo. I die cut some leaves, branches and flowers and the insides of the flowers were inked before the outlines were added. Those pieces were arranged in the centre of the card. I stamped a sentiment in grey ink, adhered it to another piece of white cardstock and placed it under the die cut images. Iridescent gems were added to the centre of the flowers and the card front was adhered to the base with craft foam. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Poinsettia Triple Z-Fold Card x 2

This fun fold card was remarkably easy to create - it just has several layers so it can be thick for mailing. 

I taught this card style and the first card is the one that I made for that video. I love the colours so much more than the original card below as they are bold and vibrant! 

The poinsettias and leaves were die cut from white cardstock, inked and then splattered with water to add some additional interest. They were assembled and adhered in two corners. The sentiment was die cut and placed on the first panel. This card is so pretty in real life and it sits perfectly for display purposes. There is a panel on the back to write a message. 

This was my first attempt and I chose very busy patterned papers - in hindsight, I would choose less detailed papers so they don't complete with the decorative elements. 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Reverse Foiling in Teal

 I love my hot foiling machine and the results are amazing. It's very difficult to photograph the depth and shine to show here... 

Reverse foiling is using the original foil from the first image and using a solid plate to create an image using the leftover foil. It doesn't always work 100% but it's a nice option to use that leftover foil rather than throwing it away. 

I used the same image (a Better Press plate) for all of these cards. One is simply foiled but the other three all have reverse foiled images. If you look closely, you will notice that the reverse foiled images line up with the original images (two cards). 

I chose to use hot foiled sentiments for each of these - they just "fit"! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 148 - From My Barn to Yours

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 148! 

It's all about punches or dies and farm animals this week. The small graphic is below - please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for detailed information. 

The die I used was a slimline die with three open circles. I inked that background piece with four shades of Distress Oxide ink and splattered it with water. The three farm animals were stamped and coloured and I placed them behind the open circles. The sentiment was adhered along the left side and I used a black mat and Kraft cardstock as a base for my card. 

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

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with I Spy with My Little Eye (something from the farm). 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson