Slimline Chevron Bouquet

I am loving the slimline card size more and more - there is a lot of space to fill and I can always find ways to do that! 

This card was inspired by a card I saw on the Pink Fresh Studio website - it was the chevron background that caught my eye and I wanted to try it myself. 

I stamped the chevron background in four pastel colours on each end of the card front and die cut that piece with a blanket stitched die. The floral bouquet was created using layering stencils and was also die cut. I added some shimmer to the flower details before adding a bow and a piece of white twine. The sentiment was die cut with vellum underneath and I added some enamel dots around the bouquet. The card front was adhered to a 4x9 card base using craft foam - perfect size for a standard business envelope. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock, Vellum (all CTMH)

Stamps: Nested Chevrons (Pink Fresh Studio)

Inks: Carolina, Green Apple, Clover, Pixie, Lemonade, Sundance, Saffron, Capri, Bluebird (all CTMH)

Accessories: Garden Florals - stencils plus die, Blanket Stitched Slimline Die (both Pink Fresh Studio), Pink Ribbon (misc.), White Twine (misc.), Enamels Dots (misc.), Clear Shimmer Brush (CTMH), Craft Foam 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Sunset Hello Cards

Mixing colours to create a sunset background takes some experimenting - and I recently found a great colour combo list provided by Kristina Werner. She used Distress Oxide inks as they are easy to blend. 

I used two of her suggestions to create the backgrounds for these cards. I saved the scrap pieces to line the inside of the cards. 

There were four ink colours used to create the first card. These colours were not easy to blend with each other - that took multiple applications of ink to avoid a definite line between the colours. Once the ink was dry, I stamped a black image and the sentiment directly on the card. The bottom part of the sentiment was stamped and adhered to a strip of black cardstock which was centered with the image so it is off centre with the full card. The entire front was mounted on black cardstock and then a white card base. Clean and simple. 

The second card is much darker... and not my favourite for sure. Stamping on a DO inked background is tough as the ink doesn't remain a pure black colour. I suppose embossing in black would solve that problem - noted for next time! The image and sentiment were stamped directly on the inked background and adhered to black cardstock and then a white card base. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Black Cardstock (CTMH), White Cardstock (Hammermill)

Stamps: A Little Hello, Friendly Silhouettes, Wild Blossoms (all Gina K. Designs) 

Inks: Black (Gina K. Designs), DO Inks - Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feathers, Carved Pumpkin

Accessories: none

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 99 - Bow Wow Birthday Slimline

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 99! This is the last challenge for the 2021 calendar year - we will be back in Jan 2022 with our 100th Celebration! 

This challenge will be a month long - lots of time to link up your projects. 

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

I did a lot of searching to find a December holiday or event that I could use - and finally decided on Mutt Day which was on December 2. 

The doggie images were stamped, lightly coloured and the background for each was inked with Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment was stamped and the word "friend"was die cut. There is also a dog-related birthday sentiment stamped inside the card. I used a circle slimline die from CTMH to cut the outline and the inside circles. A few "bow wows" were added and I also added some Twinkle Stickles around the card. 

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

You have until Jan. 2 to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with the Paper FunDay Challenge (anything goes with optional Holiday Twist).

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, White Slimline Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: I Woof You, Friend plus dies (Photoplay), Lucky Dog (MFT)

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts), Bluebird, DO Inks - Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn

Accessories: Well Said Dies (SU), Circle Window Slimline Thin Cut (CTMH), Cloud Stencil (MFT), Touch Markers, Sharpie Markers, Twinkle Stickles 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 450 - Somebirdy Loves You

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 450! 

The sketch is fairly detailed this week... I followed it pretty closely. 

I used the same bracket die to cut three pieces of dotted purple paper and they were aligned along the left edge. I hand stitched a white line down the centre of those pieces. Some white and silver ribbon was adhered to a piece of purple cardstock and placed beside the brackets. The branch and the birdies were stamped, coloured and die cut, along with a sentiment. They were arranged on the right side using foam tape. I added some purple gems and silver metallic thread to finish off my card. 

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! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Purple Patterned Paper, Lilac Cardstock, Hammermill White Cardstock 

Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me plus dies (Photoplay) 

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts), Pansy, Toffee

Accessories: Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Basic Oval Thin Cuts, Stitched Oval Thin Cuts, Purple Gems, White and Silver Ribbon (misc.), Silver Metallic Thread (misc.), Touch Markers, White Embroidery Thread, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Flap Pinwheel Card

I found a video to make this card on YouTube - always a great resource! This is very similar to the original pinwheel tower card but each side has extra detail. It folds down to 5x7 size for mailing purposes. 

Lagoon is the base cardstock colour for my card. The patterned paper is from a paper pack and I stamped each of the smaller panels with flowers that were simiar to those on the patterned paper. One large panel is blank to write a message. I also stamped one of the smaller panels with a Hello sentiment. Since this card is thick in the centre, adding bulky embellishments is not recommended so I used Liquid Pearls to add colour to the centres of the flowers. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Bold and Blooming Paper Collection (Gina K. Designs), White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock (both CTMH)

Stamps: SCT Exclusive Stamp Set (Photoplay)

Inks: Black, Candy Apple, Flamingo, Lemon, Lagoon, Fern (all CTMH)

Accessories: Liquid Pearls - Christmas Red, Ballerina, Juniper, Black Marker 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Yellow Flowers Upon Yellow Flowers...

One of my favourite new products is the In The Meadow collection from Pink Fresh Studio. It includes layering stencils, a large stamp set, a die and (if you desire) washi tape. I used all except the washi tape for these cards as I wanted a different colour scheme. These cards are a mini slimline size. 

The stencils were inked in shades of yellow, orange and green. I used Catherine Pooler inks and they are very bold and juicy. The colours are so intense! There is one die to cut all the images at the same time. I used the miscellaneous pieces for the first pair of cards and the large hanging leaves for the second pair of cards. There are two background dies - one is a scalloped edge die and the other is a blanket stitched die. The sentiments were either stamped or die cut. The last step was to add some shimmer using a gold shimmer brush and some dots using either Liquid Pearls or Stickles.  

Products used are as follows:

Paper: White Cardstock (Hammermill) Gold Foil (CTMH)

Stamps: In the Meadow (plus dies and layering stencils) (Pink Fresh Studio)

Inks: Lime Rickey, Grass Skirt, Limoncello, Tiki Torch, Orange Twist (all Catherine Pooler), Black (Gina K. Designs)

Accessories: Mini Slimline Stitched Scallop Rectangle, Slimline and Mini Slimline Blanket Stitched Rectangles, Hello Die, Hugs Die (all Pink Fresh Studio), Stitched Rectangles Dies (SSS), Gold Shimmer Brush (CTMH), Goldenrod Stickles, Antique Gold Liquid Pearls, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 473 - Gold Foiled Florals

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 473!

It's a tic-tac-toe grid this week - choose a row or column and use those three colours. You may add additional colours but they must be from the grid. 

I had created one card for this challenge and didn't really like the result - that one is further down this post. This is my second attempt! 

I used the diagonal line of Wisteria, Gold and Peach plus Glacier. 

The background was foiled and added to a piece of Glacier cardstock and then black cardstock. The flowers and leaves were die cut using both the light and dark sides of the cardstock and assembled. I tied some twine in a bow and attached it to the cluster. The sentiment was stamped and die cut using small circle dies. I added some gold gems to the centres of the flowers to finish off the card. 

This was my original card using the bottom row (Rosemary, Glacier and Peach) plus the middle column (Desert Rose, Gold and Glacier).

The background... wow - this was a challenge. I am just learning to use a hot foil machine and this gold piece is the leftover piece from a foiled pattern. The foil is extremely thin and difficult to adhere to anything. Once that piece was in place on a Rosemary card base, I die cut several leaves and flowers using both the light and dark sides of the cardstock. The flowers were placed in the lower left corner and the sentiment was slid just under the edge of one of the flowers. I added some twine and Glacier enamel dots. If you look very carefully you will also see six little clear dots - they are clear gems and they add such a nice finishing touch. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret the challenge above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Cardstock - White Daisy, Rosemary, Peach, Desert Rose, Glacier, Wisteria, Black, Gold Foil (Couture Creations) 

Stamps: Mini Messages (Hero Arts), Cosmos Bunch (PFS)

Inks: Rosemary, Black (Gina K. Designs) 

Accessories: Lush Vines Hot Foil Plate (PFS), Summer Shadows Dies (SU), Twine (misc.), Glacier Gems, Gold Glitter Gems (CTMH), Clear Dots (Hero Arts) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

You Shine Stars

This is a very clean and simple card - perfect for everyday use just to let someone know that they are special. 

The stars were die cut from the card front using the same size star die. I chose some small polkadot papers in various shades and added them behind the open stars. The sentiment was stamped and I drew a line around the edge with a black marker. Some craft foam was adhered behind the card front and that was adhered to a piece of pink cardstock and then to the card base. Easy! 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Doodlebug - Brights Paper Pad, Flamingo Cardstock (CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: You are Enough (CTMH)

Inks: Black (Gina K. Designs) 

Accessories: Basic Stars Thin Cuts (CTMH), Black Sharpie Marker, Craft Foam 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CAS Penguin Card Set

I downloaded a set of colouring sheets from Trina Wirihana's website and coloured all the penguins before fussy cutting each one. The card set-up is the same for all ten cards - the background shape and/or the side area is slightly different on some of them. I added the penguins and a sentiment to each card to make a quick set of ten cards as a gift. 

There are too many products used to list them all - papers are from various paper collections.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Acetate Insert Card - Pink Flowers

Here is another acetate insert card - this time done in pink (BOLD pink). 

The floral image was stamped inside the card on the back panel and coloured. It was placed so it shows through the acetate. A second flower and some leaves were cut out and adhered below the acetate and lined up with the stitched borders. I added a sentiment adhered to vellum and drew some black dots around the images. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Black Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Vellum (CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Miss Your Smile (PFS)

Inks: Intense Black (Hero Arts) 

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts (CTMH), Hugs Die (PFS), Acetate, Touch Markers, Sharpie Marker

Enjoy,

Alyson