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

Colour Block Gnome Card

 I saw a card in this style a while ago - it's a neat effect but it takes some time to set it up. 

I used Gina K Masking Magic strips and arranged them on my card front until I had several sections. I placed the stamps temporarily, just to make sure they would fit. The background was ink blended using yellow, green and blue. The masking strips were removed and I stamped the images. They were coloured - that was tough due to the ink already in place. I stamped a small sentiment and adhered it to the side of the card. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Sunflower Inside Pop-Up Card

 I posted a card like this a couple of days ago. This is the one that I taught in my Facebook group - same style but a totally different look! 

The papers are old CTMH papers from an autumn kit. I stamped, coloured and die cut the sunflowers and squirrels. I chose two sentiments - one for the inside and one for the front. There is a panel on the back of the card to write a message. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTCC 69 - Joy to the World

Welcome to My Time to Craft - Christmas Challenge 69!

The theme for this challenge is "Joy to the World".

I used a gold hot foiled background and coloured that with markers in shades of red and green and also coloured the background black. The sentiment was also hot foiled and I lightly inked the background as the original white background was a little too stark for this card. I adhered that sentiment to three circles along with some gold metallic thread. I used several mats for the background to bring out the colours in the background. 

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

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Inside Pop-Up Card - Snowflakes

 This was a fun card to make - a little time consuming as I learned the steps, but the end result is so pretty!

The front has a pair of overlapping snowflakes but all the interest is inside the card. 

Once the card is opened, there are two panels with tunnels. Each tunnel is three layers deep. I placed a hot foiled sentiment inside the left tunnel, along with some die cut snowflakes. One the right side, I just used die cut snowflakes. For both sides, the snowflakes were placed at varying levels within the tunnels. There is a place to write a message on the back. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Trio of Snowmen

 This card is the result of another 30 Minute Cardmaking Stash and Dash. 

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: 1) Type of card - slimline, 2) Colour - rainbow, 3) Technique - paper piecing and 4) Embellishment - die cut or punch.

I chose to make a slimline shaker card with a trio of snowmen. The background was splattered with several shimmer brushes and I die cut circles and ink blended a rainbow of colours on each to make the background of each shaker section. Black circles were also die cut and I pieced together each of the snowmen using rainbow colours of cardstock. I added some "snow" as the shaker filler and stamped and placed a sentiment at the bottom. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 624 - Today, I am Thankful

 Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 624!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is all things fall. 

This is not a normal colour scheme for me but with autumn around the corner, it was a good choice. I die cut the three branch images and inked them with Distress Oxide inks. The rectangles were sized and cut and I inked the edges of the white pieces before adhering the branches. The sentiment was stamped in both brown and green ink and placed in the centre. The background is a piece of old woodgrain paper from my stash - the distressed look was a great background for this card. 

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

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 542 - Noel Wreath

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 542!

I just love this sketch - it is shown in vertical format but it could also be used in a horizontal orientation. 

I die cut everything for this card - the open oval, all the flower and greenery and the sentiment. The background was embossed using a 3D poinsettia embossing folder and I arranged the small poinsettias and other pieces around the lower left side of the wreath. The sentiment was die cut and adhered to the top part of the wreath with some silver metallic thread underneath. I used silver Stickles for the centres of the flowers and teal Stickles around the sentiment. 

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

Fractured Card - For You

 The fractured card design has been making its rounds on social media lately and I wanted to try this idea myself. 

I chose a hexagon shape and a simple carnation image. 

The backgound paper is old patterned paper with a small design. I used a dark blue-grey cardstock to outline the hexagon. The images were stamped and die cut and I added some gold metallic thread underneath. The tiny sentiment was stamped at the bottom of the hexagon. 

The card below was my first attempt but I didn't like the parallel lines created by the paper strips so I angled the hexagon ever so slightly. The effect is so much better!

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 734 - Joy Poinsettias

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 734!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use red, yellow and blue. 

I used only the sketch and didn't use those specific colours. The background was created using Lindy's Magical Powders and that created a gorgeous red and gold background with hints of teal. I used that shade of teal for the poinsettias. I cut a banner shape and stamped a large sentiment on a piece of white cardstock to go on top. The flowers were arranged along the sides to represent the placement of the circles. I added some gold shimmer to the lines on the flowers and a few gold gems in the centres of the flowers. 

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 565 - Birthday Wishes

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 565!

For this challenge, you must use Melon plus two other colours. See the graphic below for details. 

I chose melon, pink and purple (plus black). 

I ink blended a background with Distress Oxide inks and once it was dry, I stamped a silhouette image in the bottom right corner. That was heat embossed in black, along with the sentiment. I used a fine tip black marker to draw tiny dots around the image. The card front was set on a black mat, a melon mat and finally a black cardstock base. 

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 516 - Monochromatic Doggies

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 516!

The theme of this challenge is to use dogs and/or cats. 

I have several dog stamps but I chose a full background stamp for this challenge. The background was stamped in black and I coloured only a few select parts in red (tongues, scarves and collars). The sentiment was stamped with both red and black ink and I die cut that piece and fussy cut two borders to go around it. I placed the sentiment at the bottom and adhered the card front to a red mat and then a back card base. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your dog or cat creations. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Mountain Scene Cards

I recently bought the new Lakeside Scene die and stencils from Honey Bee Stamps because I love outdoor scenes, especially ones with a canoe. I spent several years canoe tripping (both flatwater and whitewater) all over Canada so canoes hold a special place in my heart. 

These four cards were all made using the same colours for the stencilling. I die cut the image first (it adds embossed detail) and then stencilled over that. I also used fine tip markers to highlight some of the details. I chose four different settings, two with a canoe and paddle. My intention when I was stencilling was to create a multi-layered card but I didn't get around to that... maybe another time. 

I used clear glitter paste on the lake for one of the cards - it provides such a beautiful shimmer! 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Set of Cards - Friendship

 This is another set of cards for a gift (two sets were made but only one is shown here). 

The card base was masked so only a circle was showing. I used various ink colours to lightly blend colour into the circle. The floral images were stamped and coloured using markers that were as close to the ink blended circles as possible. I only used two sentiments for these cards - both related to friendship. I used craft foam to adhere the card fronts to the bases. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Set of Cards - Ink Blended Backgrounds

 This is another set of cards for a gift - I actually made two identical sets but only one is shown here. 

The backgrounds were ink blended using two or three Distress Oxide inks. The floral image was heat embossed in black along with the sentiment. No embellishments were added - I like to keep sets of cards like this flat for mailing purposes. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

HLS Christmas - Snow Adorable

 Welcome to Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge for the month of September! 

This is always an anything goes challenge but the optional theme this month is a snow globe. 

I have only one snow globe type of stamp set so that's what I used. 

The snowman image was stamped and coloured. That was set behind a snow globe and turned into a shaker with fine "snow" inside. I embossed the background using a snowflake embossing folder and adhered that to a black mat and then a turquoise card base. A few black enamel dots were added around the sentiment.

Come and join us at HLS Christmas and show us your Christmas projects. 

You have until the end of the month to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 147 - When I Count My Blessings...

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 147!

The theme for this challenge is to use colours from the photo. Please visit the Double Trouble Challenge blog for detailed information. 

I used a variety of autumn colours for my card. I ink blended a background using red, orange and yellow inks, splattered it with water and then die cut the background from that piece. I stamped lots of small images and coloured them using the colours from the photo. The pumpkins were stamped, coloured and fussy cut and I arranged them across the third row on the card front. The sentiment was cut into smaller pieces and adhered under the smallest pumpkin. The entire card front was adhered to a black card base.

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

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with the Inspiration Station challenge.

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Dragonfly Dreams - Sunflower Envelope Card

 Welcome to the September challenge at Dragonfly Dreams.

The theme this month is birthdays. 

This envelope card was so easy to make but it is just so pretty! I chose a sunflower theme for autumn while still using a birthday sentiment. I die cut some fir sprigs from dark green cardstock and adhered them to the back of the envelope. The sunflowers were stamped, stencilled and die cut and arranged in the front of the envelope. I added a sentiment with acetate so it appears to be floating. There is a spot under the flap to write a message. 

Come and join us at Dragonfly Dreams and show us your birthday projects. 

You have until the first Saturday of October to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

HLS Birthday - Purple Crocus Stems

 Welcome to Happy Little Stampers - Birthday where it's always an anything goes challenge (theme must be birthday). 

I created the background of my card using a jar of Lindy's Magical Powders. Those powders are amazing - what you see in the jar is definitely not what you get! I ended up with this gorgeous blue and emerald coloured shimmery background. I trimmed that piece down and put two cardstock mats behind it. The flowers were die cut and inked and I added them to an inked partial circle on the left side. A small sentiment was stamped and placed at the bottom. Some clear dew drops were placed around the flowers and the sentiment. 

Come and join us at HLS Birthday and show us your birthday projects. 

You have until the end of the month to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Snowone Like You Fun Fold Card

 This cute card has a neat surprise inside. 

The front has a snowman with a sentiment and there is a small pull tab near the bottom. When the tab is pulled, it reveals an entire second section of the card. 

Inside the pull tab section, there is another snowman and a second sentiment. 

The full card front was adhered to a card base so it stands up and also allows a place to write a sentiment inside. 

Enjoy,

Alyson