Happy Mail

 The Postage Collage set from Waffle Flower continues to grow with coordinating dies and stencils being added all the time. This card uses the envelope die and stencil.

I die cut the basic postage collage outline and then die cut the envelope images. They were stencilled with six colours, with the envelope flap stencilled in a darker ink. I had to do the hearts individually and then gently cut them out and replace them later. I also inked a piece of white cardstock with the same colours in the same places as the envelopes. The front was adhered to a black mat, the inked panel and then a white card base. I stamped and fussy cut a little happy mail image and added that to the front. The hearts were covered with clear Stickles to add some shine. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cut It Up 331 - Birthday Flowers

Welcome to Cut It Up Challenge 331!

This is an anything goes challenge, as long as you use at least one die cut. 

I pulled out a die and stencil set that I received at a recent crafty event. I stencilled the background and then placed the silver die cut outline over top and added the pieces for the centres of the flowers. I used two hot foiled birthday sentiments and placed a vellum oval under the larger one. Nothing else was added as this card was busy enough! 

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

You have until Monday, June 9 to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

MTTC 561 - Arch Birthday Card

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 561!

The theme for this challenge is to make an arch shaped card. 

I used an arch die set and die cut the largest arch twice to create a shaped card. I stamped an inner frame and blended yellow ink in the opposite corners. The floral images were stamped, stencilled and die cut and arranged around the stamped arch outline. I stamped and die cut a two part sentiment, added gold metallic thread behind those pieces and placed some gold gems on the front. 

Come and join us at MTTC 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

Purple Peonies Frame Card

 I had so much fun making this card! I love all the layers and detail. 

I lightly inked the edges of the card base with a light shade of purple. The lattice background along with two white frames were die cut. The lattice piece was trimmed so the corners wouldn't show behind the frame. The frames were adhered with foam tape. I stamped, stencilled and die cut two sets of peonies. They were arranged on two corners of the frame. The sentiment was stamped and adhered with foam tape. Some iridescent gems were placed inside the centre frame. 

After editing the photograph, I decided to remove the sentiment and adhere it again with the left edge under the frame. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Love You Pop-Up Pillar Card

 This is such a cool card - the holographic paper inside is hard to photograph but the effect is truly remarkable. 

This card folds flat to 5x7 in size although it is a bit bulky due to the interior pieces. I didn't decorate anything on the inside to allow the paper to shine but I added die cut sentiments and two clusters of flowers and leaves on the front. There are two long panels on the back to write a message. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

TSOT 671 - Torn Thank You

 Welcome to Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge 671!

The sketch shows torn sections so I used that idea. 

I chose four coordinating papers and tore them as shown on the sketch. Once they were adhered, I die cut that piece with a stitched rectangle die and attached it to a piece of glossy mint paper. The sentiment was die cut from the same mint paper and placed on a vellum shadow. I added some mint gems at the bottom of the card. 

Come and join us at TSOT 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

DT 192 - Simply Enjoy It All

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 192! 

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

I tore several pieces of light teal cardstock and inked each piece, some in turquoise and some in blue. The base was inked with brown ink. I water splattered all but the brown piece. The pieces were all adhered at the sides and I die cut a rectangle shape using a stitched die. The flip flops were downloaded from the internet, printed, coloured and fussy cut. I embossed a sentiment at the bottom and placed the flip flops on the sand except one pair which I placed to appear as through they were floating in the water. The card front was adhered to a white 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. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Floral Birthday Theatre Card

 I posted a different theatre card a while ago - this was a second attempt using different papers. 

I chose a bright colour scheme and a floral theme for this card. The "curtains" with the striped paper worked well as I was able to pull various colours from the stripes for the flowers and leaves. Those images were arranged around the frame of the card and I added more inside. The sentiment was placed at the bottom. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Let Your Smile Arch Card

 This is the second arch card I made while recently playing with some older products. 

The arch was stamped and stencilled. That piece was die cut and stacked three times for dimension. I inked a white background but only part of the way down. The sentiment was stamped, stacked and placed across the bottom of the card and I added some purple gems to finish it off. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CD 653 - Birthday Wreath

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 653!

It's just two colours this week - the graphic is below. 

Working with only two colours is hard... I pulled out my wreath builder stamp set and went to work to create a square wreath using purple and mint. The centre was stamped with a birthday sentiment. I cut several layers of cardsotck to go behind the wreath and eventually ended up with a 5x5 card. Various colours of Stickles were added to the centres of the flowers. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare 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

MTTCC 113 - Glittery Poinsettia

Welcome to My Time to Craft Christmas Challenge 113!

The theme for this challenge is "smooshing". That means to smoosh cardstock into inks to create a background. 

I used shades of blue for the background. I pushed the ink pads onto my work surface and spritzed them with water. A piece of watercolour cardstock was used to pick up the colour. I also splattered that piece with both silver and white paint. The poinsettia pieces were die cut and lightly inked with shades of grey. I sprayed them with a mix of water and Perfect Pearls and set them aside to dry. The centre piece was coloured using a silver gel pen. The poinsettia was assembled when it was dry and added to the background. I placed four strips of silver glitter paper across the top corner and added two hot foiled sentiments using foam tape. Some silver glitter gems were placed around the flower. 

Come and join us at MTTCC and show us your smooshing projects. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Multi Diamond Panel Birthday Card

 This is such a neat card - it is 6x6 when folded flat and there is a panel inside the card to write a message. 

I chose a pink and blue colour scheme. The front of this card is on acetate so the darker pink paper sits free from the front of the card. Since the paper really does all the work on this design, I didn't add much to the front - just the stencilled cupcake image and a small sentiment. There is a birthday sentiment inside. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Octagonal Gatefold Pop-Up Card

 Wow, that title is a mouthful... Octagonal Gatefold Pop-Up Card. 

I found a tutorial for this card here. The great thing is that there are no special dies needed to make this card. 

I chose a set of papers that I love. This card is all about angles and cutting off the corners to create octagons. Since the card itself is quite complex, I kept the decorations simple. I used ephemera for the belly band and also for the inside. I embossed a sentiment and stamped splatters inside as well. There is a panel on the back to write a message. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Just Because Poppies

 This card is from the 30 Minute Card Making Stash Dash. 

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: Type of Card: A2 landscape, Colour(s): ombre, Embellishment: crafter's choice (I used ribbon), Technique: splattering, Sentiment: sympathy OR no sentiment.

I ink blended a background using yellow, orange and red and splattered it with gold paint. The poppies were die cut and added to the left side. I placed a piece of ribbon down the right side. The card front was adhered to a black base with foam tape. After the challenge was over, I added a die cut sentiment to the card.

Enjoy, 

Alyson

AH 630 - Huge Pink Flower

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 630!

This sketch can be interpreted in many ways. I oped for a very large flower for my card. 

The image was hot foiled in silver and I used stencils to colour the flower. I added clear glitter paste in the centre. That image was cut down using a stitched rectangle die. I used the same die to cut another stitched rectangle and trimmed that down along the sides. Those two pieces were adhered to a white card base. I added a hot foiled sentiment at the bottom and a few silver gems were placed around the sentiment. 

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

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson  

Make a Wish

 This card was a bonus card from the last Let's Stamp Together subscription program. 

The background was stencilled with glitter paste (I used a different stencil than the one that came with the kit). The decorations were die cut - including that minuscule silver die cut at the top of each tassel) and they were arranged on the top part of the card. The sentiment was die cut three times, stacked and added to the bottom. I raised the card front with foam tape as well. 

Enjoy,

Alyson 

SS 776 - Sending You a Squeeze

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 776!

I used the sketch as it is presented - it fit my idea perfectly. 

The tag piece was cut to fit over the diagonal strip and I stamped and die cut a lemon image that was placed on a vellum oval. The sentiment was placed on the diagonal strip and I also added the two gold gems at the top. So easy! 

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

Cut It Up 330 - Paper Hugs Sunflowers

 Welcome to Cut It Up Challenge 330! 

The theme for this challenge is "send me flowers". 

The sunflowers were die cut (one die) and stencilled. I used a cloud stencil and light blue ink to create a cloud background and added two darker blue inks to stencil and die cut the sentiment. The sunflower piece was adhered to the cloud background and I splattered that piece with gold paint. The sentiment was added with foam tape and I placed some gold gems around the card before adhering it to a dark brown card base. 

Come and join us at Cut It Up and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have until Monday, May 26 to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

MTTC 560 - Lovely Day Floral Frame Card

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 560!

The theme for this challenge is to make a square card. 

I prefer 6x6 cards when I make square cards. I splattered a white card base with gold paint and die cut all sorts of flowers and leaves from purple and green cardstock. The sentiment was stamped and die cut using a stitched square frame and I die cut a second stitched frame which was added behind the sentiment with foam tape with a piece of green cardstock in between. The flowers were arranged behind the frame and some gold gems were added around the outside of the flowers. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your square cards. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Beautiful Blossoms May - Rose and Hummingbird Front Shaker Card

 Welcome to Beautiful Blossoms and our May challenge! 

The inspiration photo is below - feel free to use that or create a project of your choice, but it must have florals as the main theme. 

I drew my colour choices and the roses from the inspiration photo. 

The floral images and the hummingbird were stamped, stencilled and die cut. I die cut a frame from a card front and also from the card base. The card front was embossed with a rose embossing folder. The sentiment was stamped on the inside of the card and I added two pieces of acetate to create a see-through shaker window. I filled that with clear sequins and placed the images on the front. Some extra sequins were placed around the card. 

Come and join us at Beautiful Blossoms and show us your ideas. 

You have until June 12 to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Hello Vellum Edge Card

 I saw a card similar to this and want to try it myself.

The card base was embossed on the left side with a floral stamp and silver embossing powder. The main piece was die cut. and I also cut two pieces of vellum with the same border die. Lining them up was a challenge! I die cut some hearts along the bottom. The front piece was lightly inked in purple and I embossed floral and leaf images in white on vellum to add under the purple stem. The layers of vellum and the card front were adhered with foam tape and I placed a black twine bow along the side. The sentiment was embossed in silver except the first letter which was die cut. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

TSOT 670 - Sweet Friend

 Welcome to Try a Sketch on Tuesday Challenge 670!

I stayed pretty true to the sketch this time. 

The background was stencilled in grey and I added two die cut strips of cardstock along the left side. The fruits were stamped and die cut and I arranged them along the right with a heat embossed sentiment just below the centre. The card front was adhered to a black mat and then to a red card base. Some grey gems were added around the fruit. 

Come and join us at TSOT 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

DT 191 - Birthday Sunflowers

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 191!

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

I chose to make a birthday card (a pink ticket). 

The background was embossed on Kraft cardstock with a woodgrain embossing folder. I dragged a light brown ink pad over the embossing to add interest. 

The sunflower image was hot foiled, die cut and coloured. That was adhered to the Kraft base and a hot foiled birthday sentiment was added at the top. Some gold gems were placed around the top part of the card.

Come and join us at Double Trouble 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

Thinking of You Oval

 This card was CASED from one created by Gina for Gina K. Designs. I have both product suites that she used for this card and I love the style!

The images were stamped, stencilled and die cut x3 each. The background was lightly stencilled in grey and the rectangle and oval were adhered to larger black outlines. The flowers were arranged on the front along with the sentiment and I added some iridescent gems around the card. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Perfect Day Pink Flowers

 This card was supposed to be made for a design team but I messed up some requirements... so it is just a fun card now!

The lace background was die cut and adhered to a white mat. The floral image was stamped, stencilled and die cut and adhered over the lace background. I added a sentiment between the flowers using foam tape. Some clear gems were placed around the card and the front was adhered to a pink card base. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CD 651 - Simple Roses

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 651!

Use the colour below plus ONE other colour. I chose a shade of peach. 

The rose image was stencilled using only two colours but I added some dimension by stencilling a bit darker at the bases of the flowers and leaves. I splattered that piece with gold paint and adhered it to peach coloured cardstock and then to the turquoise base with craft foam. A foiled sentiment was placed at the bottom right side. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare 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

MTTCC 112 - Glittery Poinsettia

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Christmas Challenge 112!

The theme for this challenge is to use glitter. 

I chose to use a clear glitter paste. I embossed the poinsettia in silver on blue cardstock and used various shades of blue ink (and grey for the leaves) to stencil the image. The last two detailed stencils were also covered with clear glitter paste. Once that was dry, I splattered the entire card front with silver paint and die cut it using a stitched rectangle die. It was adhered to a blue mat and then a silver glitter card base. The sentiment was hot foiled and added at the bottom. I placed some small silver gems in the centre of the flower. 

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

Birthday Celebrations

Last month's Let's Stamp Together kit was all about birthday and congratulations cards. The set contained a stamp, layering stencils and dies. 

These are the cards that were made with the instructor. There are many other possibilities and I can't wait to play more with this kit. 

I love the streamers - both the die cut ones and the stencilled ones! 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Just a Note Stencilled Card

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

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: Type of Card: square, Colour(s): purple, Embellishment: plant(s), Technique: embossing and Sentiment: just because.

I stencilled white cardstock with a trio of purple flowers. I also lightly inked the edges. The purple background was embossed with a faux brick embossing folder. I added three die cut flowers and a hot foiled sentiment to the front. I added purple Liquid Pearls to the centres of the small flowers.

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Card Sets - Embossed and Stencilled Stem

 These cards were created by embossing dies (frames), stamping and stencilling. Once they were all completed, I sorted them by sentiment and colour so each set has eight colours and four different sentiments. They are now packaged and ready to go with me the next time I drop by the hospital to give them to cancer patients. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

AH 628 - Thinking of You Butterflies

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 628! 

I chose some patterned paper and cut the pieces so the pattern continued across the card. They were adhered to a light grey embossed background with foam tape. The butterflies are ephemera, which I rarely use, but I really liked those images. They were placed according to the sketch. The entire card front was adhered to a yellow card base and the sentiment was placed across the centre. I added gold Stickles to the butterflies and a few dots around the sentiment. 

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

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project.

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

DD May - Fintastic Friend

 Welcome to Dragonfly Dreams and our May challenge!

The theme for this challenge is sea life. 

I recently acquired an adorable stamp and die set from Lawn Fawn and it was perfect for this challenge!

I stencilled the waves at the top using Distress Oxide inks and then splattered that piece with water. The sea life images were stamped, coloured and die cut and I arranged them into what I pictured as an underwater ocean scene. The sentiment was added at the bottom. I stamped some smaller sentiments inside the bubble and above one of the starfish. The entire card front was adhered to an orange card base as it brought out the shrimp images a little more. 

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

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

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy, 

Alyson