Anything Goes!

Hi all!

Just popping in to share a card I made for a couple of challenges. If you head over to the Simon Says Stamp! blog and to the Word Art Wednesday site, you'll see they both have "anything goes" challenges. The Word Art site just asks that you also include an encouraging/uplifting message with your card. Here's my card:


I started out with some watercolor paper and stamped the image. (I don't know who made the stamp--it was a gift from a friend that wasn't stamping anymore and she gave me all her stuff and there's no company info on the stamp.) I stamped it using Versafine ink and then used some distress ink to color the sky. I then colored in the image using my inktense watercolor pencils. After mounting it on the red cardstock, I wanted to add more depth to the image so I inked the edges lightly with some distress ink and then masked the image and stamped some script writing around the image. (You can barely see it b/c of the texture of the watercolor paper but it did add some depth to the card.) The center of the flowers also has some stickles--who doesn't want a little extra shine, right? I then added some twine and a decorative edge and mounted it to the card base. The sentiment is from Skipping Stones and I like picturing the person smiling when they get this card.

Have a wonderful Thursday!
Pat

Sending Smiles

Hi all!

It's been a long time since I've been able to craft--too long! May has proven to be a VERY busy month with tons of changes and challenges. Add to that the end of the school year stuff that needs to happen and, well, crafting time was very scarce. But, tonight I had a lot of fun in my room. A while back, Jennifer McGuire shared on her blog that we should really send cards to people "just because". I liked that! So, that's what I'm sharing tonight. It's a "just because" card I'm sending to a friend. I chose to use the sketch from the sweetest thing site, too. Here's my card and the sketch:
I chose to keep the sketch pretty much "as is" with a few exceptions. I did change the center shape and I added an embellishment on the small banner--but that was it. I used paper from My Mind's Eye and then brown and cream cardstock. The brown cardstock was embossed to just add some texture to it. I added some polka dots to the cream strip that runs diagonally. The stamp is from an old Stampin' Up set and I used my inktense watercolor pencils to color it in and then added glossy accents for dimension. I also watercolored the sky using distress ink. I added a small dragonfly brad to the banner--I've had that brad for YEARS!--and liked how it added that unique embellishment to the card. The sentiment is from Skipping Stones.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! We'll be off to enjoy Seattle...Yay!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Lifting you up in Prayer Card

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a great week. Mine was insanely busy because we start our vacation tomorrow! Yay! So I've been a busy little bee packing and cleaning and getting ready for our week of fun!

Tonight I wanted to share a card I made for a couple of different challenges. The first site is Unscripted Sketches. I saw their sketch for the week and IMMEDIATELY knew I was going to play! And then, the always fun site at Simon Says Stamp and Show. Their challenge for the week was entitled, "fly". I'll be honest, what I had originally envisioned is not AT ALL what I ended up with. So, here's the sketch and my card: Well, I took some artistic liberties with the sketch this week. I had thought of using the chevrons but, for some reason, the thought of clouds popped into my head and I chose to go with clouds and a hot air air balloon. All stamps are from Skipping Stones. I heat embossed the clouds and the sentiment and then paper pieced the hot air balloon. I added some faux stitching and the card was done. Easy yet sure to lift someone's spirits.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Skipping Stones design

Hi everyone!

I know--I've been MIA for awhile. Thanksgiving came and went and we had family in town. But, we also had a friend's mom turn very ill over the holiday. And she passed away yesterday so I have been really busy with other issues. In fact, I really had to muster up some creativity to decide to make a couple of cards tonight. It was therapy for me, though...

I wanted to use the latest sketch from Skipping Stones...it looked so fun--and it was! Here's the sketch:

Here's my take on it:

I used kraft-colored cardstock as the base and embossed it using my cuttlebug. Then, to make the embossed area pop a bit more, I added some vintage photo distress ink. I used an old Creative Memories circle cutter to cut a circle out of the main panel and then cut out a smaller circle using my fiskars circle punch. I stamped the flower image and added a rhinestone and then adhered that to the card base. The embossed panel is mounted with dimensional foam all around the card. I stamped the sentiment and cut it into 2 strips and the card was done! I LOVE this sketch b/c I can see myself using it A LOT for different occasions.

Hope you can play along!

Christmas card with a Skipping Stones Design

Hi everyone!

I was able to sneak into my room for a quick card tonight...I saw this great sketch by the Skipping Stones team and I just had to try it. I think I'll be using it quite a bit! I can picture using it w/all kinds of fun papers! :) Here's the sketch.

I wanted to try a technique that I'd seen videos on and that I've read about but had never actually tried it. It's a faux letterpress technique. There's a few youtube videos on how to do it.



Here's my card.

I started out by inking my sizzix embossing folder with barn door distress ink. Then, I ran a piece of white cardstock thru my cuttlebug and this was the result I got! I cut a long strip of scallops and then cut it in half and used that for my border. I stamped the tree (a dollar stamp) on red pattern paper in silver but it didn't come out quite dark enough so I embossed both the sentiment (from Hero Arts) and image in white powder. I also added a trunk to the tree by inking up some vintage photo distress ink and cutting a small strip. Then I took some Christmas-colored rhinestones and added those for a bit of color. Quick and easy card--and I love the look of the faux letterpress...

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat