Plum...Pear...Moldy Cheese

Yep, that was the colour "menu" at the Play Date Cafe this week. Hmmmm. This is their 116th challenge, but it is the first time I have played. Here is the inspiration photo.

This was a great challenge for me as I tend to be a two-colour gal. I never would have put these colours together. The plum and pear, maybe, but not the blue moldy cheese, too. I was surprised I actually had the colours in my cardstock stash, and I pulled out these stamp pads bought a decade or more ago, and they were still good to go. Now I needed a design.

I recently received an amazing prize package from Waltingmouse Stamps for an entry in their annual "Nice" competition. Here are the goodies Claire so generously sent along from Ireland:

Thank you, Claire! This Play Date Cafe Challenge gave me an opportunity to use some of my new stamps, and I used the Waltzingmouse Stamps Weekly Sketch Challenge #82 designed by Anya to determine my layout. 

And here's my card, with some matching fibers to accent:

I am also posting this for the Simon Says Challenge of "Anything Goes" and the Die Cutting Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Northern Lights

The month of January's Christmas Card Challenge on the Waltzingmouse Stamps Forum is to create a card featuring a day or night-time sky. There are some amazing cards posted, including some featuring a great stamp of Santa and his sleigh against a starry sky. I don't have that stamp, though, and was a little stumped about what to do.


Then my family mentioned we might see a rare display of the Aurora Borealis in our neighborhood (we didn't) and that got me thinking of a Northern Lights sky. The stamp set 'A Cottage Christmas' was just the ticket to create a scene to set against that backdrop. One more 2012 Christmas card completed!

A Glittery Thank You

Have you tried Peel-offs and glitter? It's a neat technique, the glitter really stays put, and the thin Peel-off sticker nicely emphasizes the outlines of the glittered image. Below is the Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-off I used to embellish this thank you card. I purchased it at my local stamp store, Stampers! 

I chose the coral gingham paper first and then stamped the trellis background and sentiment (both Waltzingmouse Stamps) to match. To make the glittery floral focal point, I laid a piece of wide Sookwang tape onto a scrap of white cardstock, then peeled back the liner to expose the sticky face of the double-sided tape.  I peeled off the black outline sticker, carefully laid it down on the exposed sticky face of some wide Sookwang tape, then covered it with the tape liner and lightly burnished. Then I peeled back the tape liner and poured Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights translucent glitter over the design, poured off the excess (saved for re-use) and used my finger to burnish the glitter into the tape (per the Burnished Velvet technique).

I coloured the clear sparkly glitter with Tombow watercolour markers and I used a Stampin' Up! blender pen to soften and pull the colour around. (You can do this with alcohol markers and alcohol blending solution, as well, but you need to use a light hand as the solution can eat away at the adhesive.) I backed the floral "label" with another piece of Sookwang tape to adhere to the card. I cut out an oval and a scalloped oval with my Spellbinders Nestabilities dies and elevated them with foam pop-dots. I think it is an easy technique with a lot of "wow" factor (at least in real life). Here's the final result:

Free Stamp Make

In keeping with my goal to not make every card I need at the eleventh hour, here is an Easter card! I sometimes buy a copy of the UK stamping magazine, Craft Stamper, and it includes a free unmounted rubber stamp on the cover. The January issue featured this rooster and a Cock-a-doodle-doo label. 

The Easter Greetings sentiment is from a Waltzingmouse Stamps set. I coloured the rooster with copics and sponged Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on the background. A quick, easy card and nice to use a free stamp, too!

Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz, errr... Party

Once a month (on the 17th) the gals over at Waltzingmouse Stamps hold a Blog Waltz Party. Everyone posts their creations for the monthly theme and then we all visit the various blogs to ooh and ahhh at the plethora of stamping goodness.

Starting this month, the event formerly known as a WALTZ is now a PARTY. Perhaps the design team found waltzing just a bit too tame - maybe they are all party girls at heart? So I am looking forward to seeing what the design team does to whoop it up this month!

I have my party hat firmly placed on my head and have prepared a card for this month's theme, which is Sweet Things.  I will soon need a Housewarming Card for a colleague so I thought I'd prepare it in advance (for a change) and come to the WMS party with it.

I paper-pieced this sweet little cottage from the Sewing Box - Hugs set using Prima papers.

The borders are Spellbinders die cuts and I affixed some black gemstones to the holes.

Here's a close up of that sweet little abode. I just took some markers to the windows and door to colour them.

Thanks for stopping by today. I imagine if you go to the Waltzingmouse Makes... blog you will see all sorts of "SWEET THINGS," so what are you waiting for? Party on!

WMS Sketch Challenge #80

Here's the current Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, and it's a dilly! Anya really tests the cardmaking mettle sometimes!

I had no idea where I was going with this one (and perhaps you can tell!) so I cut some strips, embossed some, chalked the Caged Bird Cuttlebug Embossing Folder birdcages and just kept going until I got something that resembled a card.

The sentiment and birdie are WMS stamps. I placed the sentiment under an epoxy label I picked up at the dollar store years ago. The decorative paper I used is the same vintage. I am making good on my New Year's resolution to use some of the stuff that's been neglected in my craft room. And look - not a gem or other extraneous bling to be seen! The simplicity of this card and the soft chalking just seemed to be opposed to further embellishment.

Give this sketch a whirl and see if you found it as challenging as I did!

MOJO Monday 223

Here's the sketch for this week's Mojo Monday 223.

And here's my card:

I just picked up this DP and loopy trim at my local stamp store's pre-inventory sale, so was pleased to be able to use it.

The cupcake (enhanced the icing with a clear glitter pen) and the sentiment are from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I added the row of hearts with a gel pen. A little Cuttlebug embossing on the two panels gave it a bit of life, and I cut out the scalloped circles with Spellbinders Nestabilities dies.

First Christmas Card of 2012

I never got around to using some of the stamps I bought in the fall to use for Christmas cards, so I was happy to start my 2012 Christmas card stash using them now. I also was inspired by the first Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge of the year and Sylvia's Christmas Card Challenge for January to use white, turquoise and chocolate.

Stamps are all Waltzingmouse Stamps from the wee A Cottage Christmas set. I used Copic markers to add colour, and Martha Stewart fine marble glitter to create the snow. Living in Victoria, this may be the only snow we see this year! I am also entering this in Sparkle Creations' Weekly Christmas Card Challenge.

Mojo Monday 222

I am so happy to be playing along this week in the Mojo Monday 222 sketch challenge. I could only do it because Monday was a holiday for me and so I was able to play instead of work.


Julee Tilman designs very unique sketches, unlike my "normal" card style, so they really stretch me creatively. I love that! Here is this week's sketch:

Here's my card:

The sentiment stamps and the small and large doily stamps are from the Waltzingmouse Stamps line. I am tickled by how well those doilies go with the October Afternoon Thrift Shop printed papers. Of course, I had to add a few Swarovski crystals here and there for accents.

The thing I like best about this card is the way inspiration struck and I split apart some clear sentiment stamps (gasp! I know!) from two different stamp sets and combined them to get my sentiment for my label. "Homespun hugs" was one stamp and "Birthday wishes" was another. A little careful slicing with a craft knife and I was able to create a label that said what I wanted it to convey. (Note: WMS stamps are very high quality; I would not attempt this with thinner clear stamps for risk of tearing.) 

Once I was pleased with my stamp alignment, I stamped and embossed a couple of sheets of this arrangement in various colours, then cut them out using a number of different dies. Don't be surprised if you see this sentiment pop up again in future cards. 

Sympathy Cards

Sympathy cards are something one should have on hand at all times. I never do! So when the time comes to make them, I reach for something simple and quick.

Starting with designer paper or pre-printed cards seems to work well. Minimal stamping and layering, but still enough to say "I care."

A Stampin' Up! bouquet on a scalloped circle.

 

A Stampin' Up! sentiment on a Fancy Tag die cut.