The Global Design Project Challenge is all about Beautiful Bugs.
I don't usually call a Butterfly a Bug, but since it's included in their graphic and many of the design team cards, I'm going for it.
I love the drop-shadow technique with full cover die cuts. This one is Simon Says Stamp Floral Card Front.
I added a few clusters of coordinating matte enamel dots and finished with a Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Strip Birthdays.
At our retreat this weekend, Chris Dayton made us an adorable paper flower bouquet with a die cut sentiment that was *potted* in a collapsible CLIC & GO watercolor cup from Faber Castell (so cute). She asked that if we dis-assembled, to use the flower to make a card, so that's what I did this morning.
I found one of my Gel Press Prints from the weekend. (with fabulous ThermoWeb iCraft silver foil) that I made during the weekend to use as my background. I found the flower stamps in The Stamp Market Just Add Flowers.
I wasn't sure the source of the leaves, but the sentiment is Simon Says Stamp + CZ Design Just Because die.
I used the layout from Atlantic Cards Sketch to assemble my card. I attached the alcohol ink panel to a larger white card base to work with the large sentiment.
I used Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Drip Drops for the dot elements on the sketch. I trimmed the leaves & flower petals where they hang over the edge of the card after everything was attached. I also used foam tape on some of the smaller flowers & the sentiment for dimension.
I just got home from my long crafty weekend, and before I start putting everything away, I wanted to make a card using pieces that I made and assembled at the retreat.
I used the colors from the May AlteNew Challenge to die cut and assemble the AlteNew Jumbo Garden Picks (the perfect crafty retreat task).
Next, I paired the assembled pieces with one of my green Gel Press prints from the trip.
I used the sketch from the TGIF Challenges! to assemble my card. It only seemed appropriate to use a sentiment from the AlteNew Crafty Friends Stamp Set.
The friends I have made in this industry are some of the best ... there was so much awesome learning & laughter (and comfy clothes, shopping and good food).
I finished the card with enamel dots in the challenge colors.
I love how this turned out.
I'm also joining the Make It Bloom Challenge at Little Red Wagon.
I’m spending a long weekend at the Gather Creative Studio and Guest House in Waunakee, Wisconsin with 10 other artist friends.
It’s hard to describe just how much fun it is to create in person with other artists again … walking around the room ooohing and aaahing at what everyone is making and what products they are using. Last night there was a hot foiling-palooza with everyone trying the new hot foiling machine.
In case you wondered, this is what my table looked like this morning … I was playing with Alcohol Inks and felt pads to make backgrounds this morning. And yes, there is no shortage of food, drinks and snacks when we all get together.
I’ll be using that air blower and alcohol inks in a bit for more artsy fun.
Yesterday I was making Gel Press Prints … here are a few of my favorites. The combination of green, gold and bronze on this clean-up print has such a wonderful patina look.
And this one has sort of an ethereal feel with bits of dark green scattered through.
I hope you’re having half as much fun as I am during your weekend.
At Jingle Belles, we're still creating using the colors from this fabulous plate of holiday cookies - Grey/Silver, Pink and Ivory/White.
I started with some pink designer paper and added a strip of silver metallic cardstock.
I looked-up a picture of a Narwhal, and saw that they are actually grey spotted, so I used my markers to try to get the same look.
I paired her with the coordinating sentiment from Avery Elle Joyeaux Noel Set and some pink gems.
Another week of blogland discoveries:
Have a tremendous Thursday!
I had some fun using Sketch Challenges to put together some cards with Echo Park's Scenic Route papers and chipboard.
The first one uses the sketch from the Sketch ~N~ Scrap Challenge.
I use three of the papers and two chipboard pieces.
The next card uses five chipboard stickers and the wonderful global map designer paper from the Echo Park Scenic Route collection with the Sketch from the Stick it Down Challenge.
I'm also joining the Anything Goes Challenge at Addicted to Stamping and More because for me, my favorite occasion/holiday is a trip with my Sister.
I'm still having fun with Birgit Koopsen's May Gel Printing Challenge, which is focused on unique tools this year. #birgitkoopsengelprintingchallenge
This was my print made with what she called Cotton Buds (Q-Tips in my world). I loved the fun of random dotting.
Next tool on the list was a random found object ... I opened my junk drawer and chose one of the many small bottles of hand sanitizer we still have left over from the early COVID days. I printed with the bottom of the bottle.
I was loving the same color challenge, so I stuck with it.
Next-up was Sewing Thread. I just cut off long pieces and placed it randomly on the plate.
And finally, a bottle cap. I think this one was my favorite. I used the cap from an empty milk container.
I loved the matte effect of printing with Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic.
Love this one too.
This week's theme at Shopping Our Stash is the Power of Pastels - create a card with a Pastel color palette.
I went shopping through my cardstock scraps and found a Pastel Rainbow. Then I decided to create a card as an homage to the cardmaker who was the first to inspire me to join the cardmaking community that I think of now as my family - Julie Ebersole aka Paper Trufflez aka JulieHRR (and then she led me to Ellen Hutson, who is also one of the nicest people on the planet and my dealer (best store for crafty supplies) - see their story here).
I always felt like Julie spoke my language - both in her clean, simple and quirky card design and her literal use of words. The Essentials by Ellen set Casual Greetings includes several of those phrases including the one I used today.
I die cut my pastel rainbow striped tag with the Essentials by Ellen Tag Trio Die (cutting a second time to shorten the tag a bit to work with my layout and where I wanted to position everything on the colors). I also used a tip from another of my cardmaking muses Seeka - if you make a mistake (like I did several times trying to get my dies cut correctly), just stack another one on top (which worked perfectly to give necessary dimension too).
I tucked that cute little sunglasses critter behind the sentiment from the Summer of Stamping Soak It Up Combo by Avery Elle from Essentials by Ellen.
I finished with some lemon yellow twine and lavender pearls before attaching to my card base with my favorite 2" wide foam tape from Scrapbook.com.
The May Challenge at Poppy Stamps is Floral Fantasy.
I pulled out my Poppy Stamps Peony Bouquet and decided to revisit an inking technique from this inky card from two years ago. I used my MISTI to stamp the Peony image with fade-out grey ink and then grabbed a combination of yellow and peach dye inks and my masking tape and went to work.
After adding the ink, I re-stamped in Jet Black Amalgam Ink (which is why the MISTI is so important). I used the Happy Birthday sentiment from the same set, and then trimmed down my panel to mount with foam tape on a white card base.
Before I revisited the instructions (that reminded me to stamp in fade-out ink), I had already stamped the image with Jet Black Amalgam Ink, so I made a second floral fantasy design.
I cut the Easter Egg off the Poppy Stamps Decorated Egg Stitched Frame and attached it over my stamped Peony Bouquet with foam tape. I used the same sentiment and finished with some Pink Fresh Studio bright pink jewels.
I'm also linking this card up at the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies Challenge & Springtime Challenge at Make My Monday.
