Turquoise Torn Card

 This card is from another 30 Minute Cardmaking Stash and Dash event. 

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: Type of card: top folding card, Colour: use turquoise, Embellishment: gems, Technique: torn paper. 

I chose several shades of turquoise and teal cardstock and tore each piece before adhering them to the card base. I stamped a sentiment in a teal colour and die cut a few circles to form a circle border. That was adhered at the bottom and I added a few small gems around the sentiment. I finished in 15 minutes - that's a record for me! 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Hello Roses

 Another floral card... I know... I am trying to use some images in my stash and this is a good way to do that! 

I splattered the stitched frame and adhered it with craft foam to the card front. The roses and leaves were arranged across the bottom of the card and a sentiment was die cut from gold foil paper and vellum and placed at the top right. Iridescent sequins were placed all around the card to finish it off. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 158 - Hello Florals

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 158!

Since this is the fifth Monday in January, this is an anything goes challenge. The small graphic is below. Please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for detailed information. 

I chose to create a floral card - my favourite! I added the music element by choosing a music background paper for my base. The flowers were die cut in white and inked in shades of pink. I arranged them off centre among the die cut greenery. I embossed a sentiment in gold and added it across the bottom flowers. Details were drawn onto the flowers with a gold gel pen. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us your creations. 

This is a one week challenge - you have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with the Beautiful Blossoms challenge. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

AH 562 - Sunshine and Rainbows

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 562!

I loved the rainbow stripes in the sketch and decided to use that theme for my card. I chose a squiggly rainbow paper and a coordinating shade of blue for the top. I used three thin markers to draw outlines around the top half of the card. The sentiment was stamped in rainbow shades and a sun was added at the top. I used four colours of metallic thread to create a "nest" and placed it according to the sketch. Some gold gems were added to finish off this card. 

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

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Thinking of You Roses

 I have a bunch of stamped and stencilled images in my collection and I need to use them up! This card uses a few of the floral images that I have been saving. 

I die cut a lattice background and also a stitched border. The background was splattered using the same blue and purple inks that I used to stamp the flowers and the lattice and border were adhered on top. The flowers and branches were arranged along the side and I added a vellum hot foiled butterfly, a hot foiled sentiment plus some iridescent gems. Easy, but so pretty!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

SS 743 - Little Birdie Birthday

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 743!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use your favourite stamp. 

I chose a birdie stamp set that I love and used one of the little birdies on a branch for my focal image. That was cut using a scalloped circle die (inside section). The background paper is from my stash. I inked a sunburst stencil with shades of blue and grey and then brushed it with clear glitter gel. Once that was dry, I added the birdie to the right side and tied some grey twine underneath. I placed some light blue gems in the circles around the bird and adde a sentiment at the bottom. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday 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

CD 585 - Birthday Birds

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 585!

It's another tic-tac-toe board this week - choose any row, column or diagonal line. I used ALL the colours in this grid.

The open background was die cut from gold foil cardstock and adhered to a white card base. I used strips of cardstock in Lagoon, Journey and Harbour to create the bottom section. The birds were stamped and coloured (Mocha, Mink, Peach, Limeade, Papaya and Shortbread). I die cut that image plus a thin border to surround it. I added a hot foiled sentiment around the birds and some gold Liquid Pearls around the card. 

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

Cut It Up 296 - YOU Make Me Happy

 Welcome to Cut It Up Challenge 296!

The theme for this challenge is "this makes me happy". 

I love sending cards like this - they always brighten someone's day. The sentiment makes me happy and it makes the recipient happy as well. 

I used eight Distress Oxide inks to ink a panel of white cardstock from which the sentiment was die cut and I also inked a background panel in the same shades. The sentiment was stamped on the white front and I adhered that with foam tape to the rainbow background and then to the black base. The white outline of the word HAPPY was adhered in place and I added the rainbow sentiment pieces. This took some time but I am so happy with the result!

Come and join us at Cut It Up and show us your creations. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 526 - Potted Plants Card

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 526!

The theme for this challenge is hobbies. 

I chose to make a card for someone who love plants. 

The pots and leaves are die cut and I inked each piece for added dimension. They were adhered to a white card front that was lightly inked with green along the edges. I left a space in the centre for the sentiment - I totally be-leaf in you. A few green gems were placed around the sentiment and I adhered the card front to the base with craft foam. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your hobby related projects. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Snarky Birthday Card Set

A friend of mine asked for a set of snarky birthday cards. I mentioned to her that while cataloging my products over the holidays, I found some stamps that I had forgotten about and we were laughing about some of the sentiments. 

I used the same design for all eight cards and made them a mini slimline size. There are four colour schemes and the sentiments are all different. Many of them have a second sentiment stamped inside the card as it relates to the sentiment on the front. These were quick and easy to make and the recipient loves them! 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Triple Shutter Card

 I have seen many tutorials for this kind of shutter card and finally got around to trying one myself.

I chose a retired CTMH pack for the papers. The edges of the blue cardstock were stamped with a leaf pattern in the same colour of ink, just to add more interest. The shutter components were decorated with patterned papers and die cut images which were also inked. I placed a sentiment on the front and another on the back of the shutters. A small pull tab was added to let the recipient know to pull the front panel to the left to open the shutters. The entire card front was adhered to a 5x7 base so it stands up nicely.

The photos show the closed card first, follow by it partially open and then with the shutters fully open. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Vellum Floral Card

 This pretty card has a vellum base with a separate card inside. 

The inside card panel was temporarily adhered to the vellum as a guide for the stamp placement. The floral image was stamped and embossed in white. The inside panel was stamped in the exact same place (allowing some of the white embossing to stand on its own) and stencilled. Inside the centre card component, there is a small leaf image that was also stencilled. I added a thin sentiment on the front of the card. 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Single Flower Card

 This card is the result of the 30 minute card making stash dash. 

The parameters for this change were as follows: stamped background, inking, black and white plus one colour and crafter's choice of embellishment. 

I stamped a leaf image around a piece of white cardstock and adhered that to a black card base. I used an oval stencil and lightly inked inside the oval and then stamped a single flower in black. That piece was adhered to a black border and I added a sentiment and a few sequins to finish off this card. And yes, I finished in under 30 minutes! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Rainbow You are My Happy

 I saw this card on Pinterest and wanted to try it myself. 

I cut strips of cardstock in 1/8" strips and placed them on a piece of printer paper in rainbow order starting from about the one third point and working up. Once that section was complete, I added pieces at a ninety degree angle and worked across the bottom part. That piece was die cut with a stitched rectangle die. I also cut a black border using a larger die from the same set. Those pieces were arranged on the card base and I added a stamped sentiment in the bottom corner. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Smile Big Pyramid Card

 The pyramid card design has been around for a long time - this is the first one I have made in ages. 

I chose a colour theme of blue and yellow. Each patterned paper piece was adhered to matte gold cardstock. I stamped, coloured and die cut several leaf and bud images and arranged them on each panel. I wanted to cover the stems so I stamped some small sentiments in addition to the larger sentiment for that purpose. This card folds flat to 5x7 for mailing purposes. There is a spot when the card is open to write a message. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

MTTCC 78 - Joy to the World with Holly Berries

Welcome to My Time to Craft Christmas Challenge 78!

The theme for this challenge is the use holly and/or holly berries. 

I chose a background stencil with holly images and used a few shades of green for the leaves and red for the berries. The sentiment is in two parts - both hot foiled in gold. They were adhered to a die cut shape and I added some gold metallic thread under one side. The card was matted on dark green cardstock and then gold foil. Some gold gems were placed around the image to finish it off. 

Come and join us at MTTCC 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

Watercolour Washes on Better Press Cards

 These cards are the results of my recent play with my Better Press machine. I saw a post by a Pinkfresh Studio designer who used a watercolour wash on a card and I wanted to try that. 

The image for both of these cards is the same. I used shades of pink for the first card to wash colour over part of the image. I added a holographic striped paper at the left and a dark pink patterned paper at the right. A thin strip of black glitter paper was also used and I wrapped black twine around the left side and left two ends hanging. The sentiment was stamped and added to a circle die cut. I also coloured in the butterfly to make it stand out a bit more. 

The second card is very similar - I used shades of blue on this one. The image was trimmed down to fit on a black mat and I added two thin strips of glitter paper and a sentiment at the bottom right. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

You Make Me Happy Stencilled Cards

 I finally got out my Better Press machine and made a few card fronts. These two were both created using black and green inks. 

For the first one, I stencilled leaves around the sentiment using two shades of green. The detail layer was stencilled with a darker shade of green. I trimmed down the card front and added it to a black mat and a green card base. Some platinum Stickles were placed around a few of the leaves. 

The second card started out the same way but I used a vine stencil and shades of grey and yellow to stencil the vines at the top and bottom, overlapping the sentiment. The card front was trimmed to fit on a green mat and then a grey card base. Again, I added a few Stickles around the card to finish it off. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 639 - Smiling Flower

 Welcome to Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge 639!

I used a background that I had created long ago using magical powders for the three strips. I cut them to the sizes I wanted and matted them with gold cardstock. The background was embossed with a crumpled look embossing folder and I added a heat embossed sentiment across the bottom. A flower and some leaves were die cut from the same colours as the background and adhered to a gold circle. 

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

This challenge runs for three weeks as there is an extra Tuesday in the month of January - lots of time to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

AH 560 - Just a Note

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 560!

This is an interesting sketch - if you look closely, there are details along the edges of the background. 

I chose one of my favourite colour schemes for this card - teal and purple. The background was die cut and adhered to a darker teal card base. I die cut the stitched rectangle border and used three inks to divide it into coloured sections. The diamonds were die cut and I inked two pieces of white cardstock to go behind the two smaller diamonds, The larger one has a floral image placed inside and a sentiment was added on top. Some silver gems were placed at the bases of the flowers.

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 157 - Christmas Sled and Skates

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 157!

This challenge is all about embossing folders or stencils - plus some extra wintery items like sleds, toboggans, skates - and a HAT! 

The small graphic is below. Please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for detailed information. 

I had this challenge all sorted out in my mind - and then realized I had to add a hat! I worked with what I had planned already... The background was embossed with a falling snow embossing folder. I die cut the sled, skates and all the pieces in various colours of cardstock and assembled it all. I die cut a Santa hat and hung it over the edge of the sled. The snowflakes were placed around the sled and I die cut a sentiment from gold foil and added it at the bottom. Stickles were added to the centres of the snowflakes and to the pompom on the hat. 

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 project with the Farmquest Challenge.

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Hugs and Fishes

 This is such a cute card with sweet images.

The water layers were die cut (SVG from Scrap 'n Season Designs) in shades of blue. I stamped the marine images, coloured them and then die cut them. They were arranged on the layers and I also added a sentiment. A white gel pen was used to draw some bubbles. I blended a bit of blue ink on the front, just for some added interest. The layers were adhered with foam tape, making this a rather thick card! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 742 - Sending Hugs with Butterfly

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 742!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use your scraps. 

This sketch is a perfect opportunity to pull out those scrap papers. I chose a background that I made a while ago using magical powders. I used the colours from that piece and chose two very subtle patterns and two cardstock colours. I arranged the pieces according to the sketch and added a hot foiled sentiment and a hot foiled butterfly (foiled on vellum). Some gold metallic thread was added under the sentiment and I also placed gold dots around the main part of the card. 

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

You have two weeks to link up your project.

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 583 - Floating Circle Card

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 583!

Choose at least three colours from the graphic below. Neutrals and metallics are free to use. 

I went back to an old design that I really like - a floating circle card. I used all five colours and arranged them on a piece of acetate which was die cut into a circle. That piece was adhered with foam tape strips. The leaf image and the sentiment were die cut from dark silver glitter paper and stacked four times to create depth. The leaf image was added at the side of the circle and the sentiment was placed at the bottom. I added some dark silver Stickles around the leaf image. The card front was adhered to a Periwinkle mat and then to a white card 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 

Cut it Up Challenge 295 - Always a Reason to Smile

 Cut it Up is a brand new design team for me and this is my first challenge with them!

The challenge blog is all about die cuts - please visit the Cut it Up Challenge Blog for detailed information. 

The theme for this challenge is "a new year". A new year means a fresh start so we are asking you to use new products for your creation. 

I just picked up a new set of dies today! I did some playing around and decided to use a colour combination of pink, purple and green. I die cut the florals and leaves and added a few greenery stems from other die sets to fill in the gaps. The pieces were inked for dimension and assembled on a die cut background. I heat embossed the sentiment in white and stacked it three times before adding it to the front. Some clear gems were placed around the card and I used a white gel pen to add details to the flowers. 

Come and join us at Cut it Up 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

MTTC 525 - Hexagon Friends Card

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 525!

The theme for this challenge is to use a product that is new to you. 

I chose a new set from Concord and 9th that has a triangular background die with two smaller dies that cut triangles to fit within the background. 

I chose a teal colour scheme and die cut the individual triangles in six shades of teal. They were arranged in hexagon shapes on a white background. Once all the pieces were adhered, I trimmed that background and added a silver glitter paper border and then adhered all of that to a teal card base. The sentiment was die cut from silver glitter paper and vellum and I stamped a smaller sentiment that was added add just above the larger one. I placed tiny clear gems in the centres of the hexagons. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us how you use a new item in your stash. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Handmade Hugs Roses

 I know... another floral card. Florals are definitely my favourite element to use and I have a ton of them. 

I was quite ill for a full month before Christmas and I fell behind in my creative work. Luckily I was far ahead with my design team commitments but I have been posting at least once daily to my blog for almost three years now and I want to maintain that pace. I was only working one day ahead... and had to get moving. Since I have many floral images already prepared (stamped, stencilled, die cut, etc.), it makes assembling a card go a little faster. 

This card uses something new to me and that is a toner foiled background. Yep - I dove into that rabbit hole, even though I have a hot foil machine and tons of plates. The purple background was reverse foiled twice, leaving a silver pattern on a purple background. I die cut a frame from the card font, inked parts of it and splattered it with purple reinker mixed with water. The flowers were arranged along the side and I added some silver metallic thread and a foiled sentiment along with some silver gems. So pretty!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Striped Celebration

 This is such a simple card but it is really cute!

I cut several quarter inch strips of cardstock and laid them out on a thin panel of cardstock. I trimmed that down and adhered it to the card base with craft foam. The leaf image was die cut and added in the centre and I embossed a sentiment on black cardstock and placed it at the side. Simple, but effective!

Enjoy,

Alyson