Grateful Blooms Cards

 I received this set of stamps and dies from one of the Crop and Create events - there is a beautiful doily die with an outline plus the set of stamps with sentiments. 

It had been a long time since I had used the set and decided to play around to see what I could do. The first card was stamped inside the circle and I added a white organdy bow under the sentiment. The pink panels were embossed and placed evenly on the card front. 

The second card involved paper piecing... ugh. The little pieces are SO tiny. I used four colours of cardstock and then cut two more white pieces to use behind the centre circle. The background was created using thin strips of cardstock and then die cut with a stitched rectangle. I added some blue metallic thread behind the white embossed sentiment and a few blue gems were added above and below the centre circle. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Butterfly Three Panel Card

 I saw a card like this on Facebook quite a while ago - I love how it fits easily into a standard card envelope when it is folded, even with the butterflies overlapping the right side. 

I used a dark blue base with silver foil as a mat and then alcohol inked patterned paper and blue cardstock for the panels. The butterflies were stamped, coloured and die cut and added across the first fold. Parts of the butterflies were brushed with a clear shimmer brush as I didn't want to add any bulky embellishments. The sentiment was stamped on the far right panel and there is a stamped panel on the back for a message. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Slimline Cards with Fold Out Panels

 This was a card style that came to mind after seeing a smaller card size with a similar idea. There are four panels on the slimline card and each folds out to reveal the centre of the card. 

For the first card, I honestly wasn't sure how it would work out so I did not decorate the inside flap panels. I chose a birthday theme and stamped and coloured all the images (very time consuming task). There is a panel on the back to write a message. Other than outlining the edges of each section, I didn't add any embellishments to this card. 

The second card has a birdie theme - and this time, I did finish the inside panels. I stamped the inside panel first and decided to colour the birdies in rainbow colours. The inside panels each have their own branch and bird(s). For the front, I cut the white cardstock first and with the pieces lined up, I stamped the images so some would cross the cut lines. They were coloured and adhered to the front panels. I added coloured cardstock under each section as well. As a final thought, I stamped some butterflies around the card and brushed their wings with a clear shimmer brush. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 114 plus AH 479 - Heart Smile Peonies

 Welcome to Week 2 of the Double Trouble challenge - and a new sketch for Atlantic Hearts! 

The expectation for Double Trouble is the same as last week - it's a two week challenge. Create your own background for your project. The small graphic is below. 

The sketch for Atlantic Hearts is below. 

I struggled with this sketch... it was just difficult for me for some reason. The first card that I created is further down but I decided to make another card since I wasn't thrilled with the first one. I changed the orientation of the sketch as well. 

The background was hot foiled in purple and then stencilled using three shades of purple (Distress Oxide inks). I embossed the peony stamp in silver and then stencilled the flowers before die cutting them. They were arranged on three vellum circles. I embossed a sentiment in silver on vellum and added that across the bottom. The front panel was adhered to silver foil and then to a purple base. I brushed the darkest parts of the flowers with a clear shimmer brush and added some silver gems to finish off the card. 

The card below is the one I originally created for this challenge. The background was created using the Joseph's Coat technique - inked the background in a rainbow striped pattern, added black ink over a stencil and then added Moondust Glitter Gel while the stencil was still attached. It left this beautiful rainbow background with tons of shimmer! I die cut three circles in rainbow colours and stamped the flamingo on the largest one. I manually added dots in the same rainbow colours around the coloured flamingo. The word "party" for the sentiment was coloured and fussy cut. A frame was die cut to surround the background and a few gems were added in the smallest circle. 

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

Both challenges end this Sunday!

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Hello Sunshine Floral Spray

 This die set from Spellbinders has been sold out everywhere lately - I was lucky enough to find it by accident at a local scrapbook store. 

I embossed the background with a floral embossing folder and then die cut several flowers and leaves in both blue and green. Some of the blue flowers were inked to add definition and they were assembled. I arranged the flowers in the lower right corner and added a foiled sentiment at the bottom. Silver Stickles were added around the spray and I brushed the bases of each flower with a clear shimmer brush. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Folio Mini Album

 A friend of mine shared a beautiful folio mini album on her Facebook page, along with the link to the instructions. 

The album holds ten 4x6 photos but I changed some of them to 3x4 photos to allow for even more photos of an event. Not all the sections are shown as there are two pockets with pull out pieces as well. 

I used the Hope and Kindness product bundle from CTMH - I needed several coordinating 12x12 patterned papers. Stickers aren't something I use often but the sticker sheet came with the bundle and it was a quick way to embellish the album while still keeping it flat. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Leafy Hi

 The background for this card was created using Simon Hurley's stamping foam. It was new to me and it took a few tries to figure out the best way to use it. 

The foam was pressed into a leaf die and then inked with three colours. I used a blending brush to soften the edges before making the print. A couple of die cut rectangles were added around the image and then everything was adhered to a white card base. I die cut a few leaves in the same colours as the image and added them at the bottom. The sentiment was stamped using two of the three ink colours. The last step was to add some gems around the card. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

You are Beautiful Fun Fold Card

 This card is called a Double Display Z-Fold Pop-Up Block Card - now that is a mouthful! 

The card is actually not difficult to create - there are just several mat and patterned paper layers involved. I wanted the patterned papers to take centre stage so I chose to add a simple sentiment on the front and nothing else. The large sentiment was die cut using white pearl paper so it shines in real life. The smaller sentiment was stamped and fussy cut. The back of this card is also finished with some writing panels.

Enjoy,

Alyson

HUGS Eclipse Card

 This was the third attempt for this card... the first one was finished when I added some Liquid Pearls and while repairing one small smear, I managed to smear two other drops that were not fixable. The second attempt... well, when you die cut HUSG instead of HUGS, that's a problem!

The background was stamped and stencilled using Catherine Pooler inks as they are so bold and vibrant. I die cut the word HUGS (correctly this time) and raised the letters with foam tape on a black background. I added a blue border on a white card base. The small sentiment was added under the large word. Easy... or at least, it should have been easy! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 561 - Stay Cool

 Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 561!

This week, you have a choice. You can use the inspiration phrase or the sketch - or you can use BOTH! 

I chose to use both this week. 

The grid was created in Cricut Design Space and cut out. I placed a piece of light cardstock behind each panel, purposely selecting colours that were not used in the images in those sections. The images were all stamped, coloured and die cut. The sentiment was stamped in three colours and I used a black marker to create a shadow on each letter. 

The images were grouped into like types and I added some Stickles in similar colours around each group of images. The last step was to brush parts of the images with a clear shimmer brush and that can be seen in the close up photos. 

Come and join us at TSOT 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

AH 478 plus DT 114 Part 1 - One in a Chameleon

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 114 - and Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 478!

The challenge at Double Trouble this week is to create your own background for your project - no patterned paper! The small graphic is below.

The sketch for Atlantic Hearts is below. 

I embossed a striped background in white and then inked over the embossing to create a blue-green panel. That was trimmed down to fit in the centre for the sketch. The chameleon was stamped and coloured and then die cut with circle dies. The sentiment was stamped and I coloured the open word in an ombre manner. Some pink metallic thread was added under the chameleon image and a few clear gems finished off the card. 

Come and join us at both Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret these challenges. 

You have two weeks to link up your project with Double Trouble (another sketch is coming next Monday for week two) and one week to link up with the sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts.

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Diamond Shaker Slimline

 This took me much longer than I originally anticipated. I figured since I was using washi tape for the images, it wouldn't be a time intensive card... wrong! 

The diamonds were hot foiled in gold and die cut. I attached three of them together and turned that section into a shaker with gold stars and "snow" inside. Before adhering the shaker, I die cut two stitched slimline rectangles and shaded along the sides with some pink ink on the white piece. The rectangles were adhered together and the shaker was placed on top. The images are all washi tape from the Blossoms and Berries collection from Pinkfresh Studio. I added a sentiment across the centre diamond and finished off the card with some gold gems. 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Thinking of You Layered Strips Card

 I made a card in this style a while ago but it didn't turn out as I had hoped so I wanted to try again. This time, I stamped an image rather than just using stencils (no outline). 

The stamped outline image made all the difference! This is a layering stamp from Altenew and it has several layers for various parts of the flowers and leaves. I stamped two images exactly the same and die cut one of them for the card front. The second image was sized so small parts of the image would be cut off, allowing those sections to be seen on the card front. I layered the images in the same place on the front but raised them with three layers of cardstock. A tiny sentiment was stamped in the left corner before the front was adhered to a piece of green cardstock and then to a white card base. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 501 - Ink Lifted Hello

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 501! 

It's an inspiration photo this week - choose at least 3 colours from the photo. 

I used dark pink, orange and green (plus black, white and gold).

The background of this card was embossed in white and then ink blended (very heavily) with three Distress Oxide inks. I used a small paintbrush and painted water over each of the flowers, lifting some of the colour. The large sentiment was die cut three times in white and once in black and after the letters were stacked, I used a black marker around the edges to cover the white. The small sentiment was embossed in white on black cardstock. The flowers and leaves were die cut and added under the sentiment and some pink and gold gems were added to the centres of the flowers. 

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! 

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I created a second card using this same technique - this one was done in shades of blue and purple. The close up shows the lifted ink a little better. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Coneflower with Reinkers

 I saw this idea from Therese Calvird quite a while ago and thought it was very unique. The concept is to die cut a layered image and layer it under a raised front panel. 

The coneflower die is one I have had for a while and it worked for this technique. I started by die cutting the top panel (the flower and two leaves). That panel was ink splattered using two shimmer brushes. 

The backgrounds that were used to die cut the flower and leaves were created using reinkers. It was an extremely messy process and I didn't use blending solution - only water. I started out trying to move the inks on heavy cardstock but that didn't work so I changed to yupo paper. It was still a bit of a challenge using only water but once the coloured panels were dry, I die cut the flower images in various shades from lightest at the bottom to darkest on top. They were then layered using thin foam tape using the card front as a guide. I stamped a sentiment and adhered it on the left side. The last step was to adhere the top panel and add some purple gems. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Fold Down Block Card

 I found a video for this card on You Tube (Iced Images) and it was not at all difficult to create. 

A colour combination of dark blue, turquoise and yellow worked perfectly - the patterned paper has daisies on it and the images have all three of those colours in them. After the card was assembled, I added a large die cut sentiment along with the stamped words "you are" above it. No extra embellishments were added so this card folds flat for mailing.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Butterfly Pop-Up Card - Version 2

 This is the second card of this design that I have created and I love this one more than the original version! 

The flowers and blooms were all die cut, inked and assembled on the woodgrain paper. The sentiments were stamped and coloured in an ombre colour scheme to match the flowers. The butterfly was die cut and layered. Half of the image was used on the front of the card and the full image was used as the pop-up feature inside the card. I added a panel on the back to write a message. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Retiform Technique Card

 I have seen a lot of cards done using the retiform technique lately and thought I would try it. It's an old technique that is making a comeback. 

Retiform is all about masking - each section of the card must be masked before inking and stamping. I chose a set of three colours along with black ink and a floral stamp set. Each section was masked, inked and then the image was stamped while the masking paper was still in place. The hardest part was moving the masking paper while still leaving a small white space between each section because you can’t see through the masking paper. I suppose an alternative would be to use acetate so you could see the previous section through the clear film - maybe next time! 

Since the images were stamped in black, I used a black card base to bring out the colours.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Rainbow Pattern Slimline Cards

I really like the idea of a rainbow slimline but wanted to add some extra interest to this design. 

The coloured cardstock was die cut using a border die. I cut each piece longer than needed so I could align them offset with each other. The hardest part of this was figuring out the width between each section... a lot of moving and adjusting was needed. Once those pieces were adhered, the black stitched border was added to the white card base on top of the rainbow pieces. 

I die cut a sentiment in white and black and also embossed the words "you are" in white. The last step was to colour some clear gems in the rainbow colours and one was placed in each coordinating section. 

I taught this card in my Facebook group and used punches instead of dies for the rainbow pieces. The outside border and the sentiment were the same for the next two cards. I turned one of them into a shaker. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Butterfly Pop-Up Card

This pretty card was made using a video tutorial from Mixed Up Craft. I decided to use a butterfly for my card as it is probably the only large layering die I have that is also symmetrical. 

I adjusted the size of the card to be a standard A2 size and that also meant changing the pop-up piece inside (which is hidden). I chose a background of alcohol inked patterned paper and then used three shades found within that paper for the layered butterfly. I also die cut several floral blooms and leaves using the same cardstock plus white. Those images were placed around the inside of the card and on the front. The inside butterfly pops up when the card is opened. There is a decorated panel on the back to write a message. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pinkfresh Studio Card Event - Day 2

These are the cards created on the second day of the Pinkfresh Studio virtual event. These products are not yet available - perhaps in future releases from the company. Please see yesterday's post for the cards created on Day 1 of the event. 

Layered stencilling is such a wonderful way to create beautiful images! 

Enjoy,

Alyson